Legends of Arkn

Ch. 10 - No Roads Left

An arrow thunked into the ground inches in front of the General's foot. He grimaced, though not at the near miss. They'd reached the ford north of Hahn's Crossing, only to find a separate group of Xero Company waiting for them across the river. They were a smaller force, but they held the dry ground.

"Not very sporting," grumbled the General. "Phan, would you mind discouraging them from shooting at me?"

Phan raised his rifle. He squeezed the trigger and the weapon bucked against his shoulder. The archer across the river dropped, his companions diving for cover. Rifles against bows wasn't exactly a fair fight and none of them seemed inclined to recover the dead man's weapon.

"One minute you're on top, the next you're not," the General said, still gazing across the river.

"We can take them," Phan said, his rifle still trained on the soldiers covering across the river.

"Kayul and the rest aren't far behind, Kenji," Joh said, stopping to stand next to the General. "We should take the pass."

"Mydas Ember," the General said, turning to look north.

Phan followed his commander's gaze, his rifle still raised. The great mountain of Mydas Ember was a long-dormant volcano. The slopes of its adjacent hills and mountains had been mined a century earlier for gold, but the mining camps and towns had long since fallen into disrepair and been abandoned. The pass through the mountains tracked across the slopes of the volcano, eventually leading down into the northern valleys and then over the foothills west to the Forest of the Burning Skies. A separate trailer led south, a pilgrim trail to the shrine known as the Remembrance of Names.

"We've got no other choice, Kenji," Duke Robert said. "The rear scouts report that Xero Company has formed up and is leaving the Cross. They'll be here by nightfall."

The General nodded. "We take the trail to Mydas Ember. Mount up."

"I ordered a rappuccino, where's my fucking rappuccino," said the angular faced man they had abducted from Hahn's Crossing, his voice groggy and disoriented.

Rescued, Phan corrected himself quietly. The man would have been left for dead among the burning bones of the city if the General hadn't conked him over the head and brought him along.

"Who are you?" the man asked, suddenly aware he was not in a tavern and that he was surrounded by soldiers. "Where are we?"

"We're friends," Hahn said. "And you're alive. As to where we are, take a look."

He waved to the mountain above. The angular man rose, scratching his chin. His clothes were indiscreet, a hooded brown robe and dark trousers. The only thing of remark about him, aside from his brilliant hair, were the tattoos running up from his wrists along his forearms, strange flames of green and orange.

The man stepped away from the group, absorbing the news. "I need a little room to breathe."

The General nodded and said, "Phan, bring up the rear. Make sure our guest stays with the group."

"Yes, sir," Phan said. To the newcomer he asked, "What's your name?"

"Chaz," the man said. "Why am I here?"

"The wizard said we needed to bring you along," Phan said, nodding his chin toward where Hahn and the General were mounting up. "The rest of it is above my pay grade."

"What if I don't want to come?" Chaz asked.

"I somehow think they'll figure out a way to make you," Phan said. He waved for Chaz to follow the group of soldiers lining up for march. "After you."

They set off up the trail leading to Mydas Ember's summit. The march quickly slowed into a hike as they pushed further up from foothills to mountainous terrain. Phan turned occasionally to sight the enemy down in the valley. After an hour of marching, his view was obscured by fog, so he settled for focusing on the march.

The terrain was rough, but the scenery was beautiful. Greens and browns and oranges and golds shown from the leaves of the trees to either side of the path. The moons sat in the sky of the dark night. They provided ample light and gave the woods an otherworldly feel, almost a glow or shine that seemed unnaturally beautiful.

"Gonna run away, gonna run away," Chaz mumbled ahead of Phan.

Phan grinned. The newest member of the party seemed less than enthused at being forced along, though he'd proven to be able to bear himself along the path with little trouble.

"What, and not even say goodbye?" Phan said with a half-grunt-half-chuckle.

Chaz tossed a glare over his shoulder, but Phan thought he saw a small grin on the man's face.

"Why do you think we brought him along?"

Phan glanced to his side to find the Wizard had dropped back, now walking along in his robes as easily as if he were strolling down a promenade in the city that bore his name. Hahn was an interesting man, Phan had decided, even leaving aside his powers. He was built lean and his eyes had an intensity Phan found both unnerving and curious.

"I'm not sure," Phan admitted. "Maybe he knows something, or someone, that might prove useful."

"The General was right to put his faith in you, Phan," Hahn said. "That's a rare thing, by the way. The General is a s fine a judge of character as anyone I've met. Kenji is a man of many facets and he is generally about as trusting as he is short sighted, which is to say not very. We're all here for a reason, Phan, even you, even Chaz."

"I'm just here until you let me go," Chaz said over his shoulder. He shivered.

"You dislike the march, I take it?" Hahn said.

"Aside from being taken captive, no, not really," Chaz replied. "I don't like being out at night. It feels like the darkness holds me so tightly."

"At least until the sun rises up," Phan said. Chaz turned at this and nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said. "Something like that."

"I'm not a big fan of marching at night either," Phan said.

"We're here," Hahn said, suddenly breaking up the conversation, his voice edged with tension. He ran ahead of the other two, weaving and ducking through the trail of soldiers.

Phan and Chaz looked at one another, then moved faster to catch up with the rest of the party. Phan chanced one last look behind himself. He caught a shout in his throat. A line of torches bobbed along up the hillside toward them. The lights burned dimly through the fog, but they moved quickly.

"General," he shouted, not too loudly. "We've got a problem."