Heart of a Warrior

Chapter 2: The Mountains Have Eyes

The four of them stood close to half an hour staring out of the window without so much as an audible breath being heard between them. However the smell of burnt flesh eventually broke Alec from his trance.

"We need to find out who took her." He declared. "One of them had a tattoo of a compass rune on his hand. Only sailors from the Mistfall mountains have those right?" He paced back and forth anxiously as Sir Arden examined the body.

"Your daughter did a number on him m'lord. There's not much left that isn't cooked like a festival turkey. But the kid's right, it looks like this one has what's left of a similar tattoo."

The King looked firmly at the group before him. "The people in this room, are the only ones I trust with this. I will have my guards tend to the guests downstairs, but I need you two Huntsmen to gather your best men, and ride after them."

The King was pacing at this point, filling the room with anxiety, as they awaited his commands. "If what you say is true, about the Northern sailor's tattoo, they'll most likely be heading to the Mistfall Mountains. Leave as soon as possible, with as many men as you can manage. I'll muster up the formal army as soon as I can. They will be ordered to camp in the hills near the edge of the Cordonian forest. If it comes to war, send a rider to them. Lennox, you're going as well boy. I need a McCann with them to represent the kingdom in case anything happens. Can you handle that?"

"Y- yes father. I think so." The prince replied hesitantly.

"Bring my sword with you boy. Not only will it give you legitimacy with other kingdoms, it never hurts to have a sword infused with magic."

Lord McCann unsheathed his sword and held it aloft. "Stormbringer has seen more war than every man in this room combined." The King said with pride. The words "She will bring light to the darkness" were inscribed in Gnomish runes and glowed a faint blue upon the silver blade. The sapphire in the hilt glowed in the candlelight, only adding to its noble grandeur.

The king removed the scabbard from his belt, and sheathed the weapon before handing it to Lennox. "Handle it with care boy. The gnomes don't make swords like this anymore."

"My liege, there is already word of dark things stirring to the south, and the civil war among the Amurans has shattered their kingdom in two and could spill over into our borders at any moment. The last thing we need is to start a war with Mistfall by sending an army to their gates." Sir Arden replied to the King's decree. "But I can send my best men north to see if we can find any leads, and go from there. If people see the Huntsmen, they won't be suspicious. And we should take the horses instead of the griffins, to lessen our chances of being seen. If we treat this like hunting a monster, they will even help us. But anything that looks remotely like an army will start a war, even if the King of Mistfall had nothing to do with this." Sir Arden continued.

"You might be right sir Arden. But the army will be mustered regardless. This is my daughter we're talking about." Lord McCann replied. "Take my son with your men and leave as soon as you can. You've no time to waste." The King finished, just as the light of the moon shone brightly on his face, and for the first time in his life, Sir Arden saw fear in the King's eyes.

...

Sir Arden, Alec, and Lennox awaited on horseback, as the other three Huntsmen, led by Sir Arthur Locke, prepared to meet them at the gate. Standing a head taller than most, Sir Arthur was all muscle, and while you'd never know it by looking at him, he was as good of a cook as he was a fighter. The other two, Sir Gerald of Wolfgard, and Isolda, the Huntsmen's alchemist and lore master followed close behind. Similar to Alec she was not a knight like the other Huntsmen, as they both had yet to complete the knight's trials. The Huntsmen tugged on their horses reigns, coming to a stop in front of the three men.

"I know you didn't have much warning, and I'm sorry. But we've been given a direct order from the king to track a group of men heading north. The last they were seen, was on a griffin headed toward Fort Dullahan. We have reason to believe that men from Mistfall are involved, so if we lose their trail, we will make for Frostkeep to hopefully pick it up there." Sir Arden declared. " We will meet Sir Tristan and Sir Duncan at Fort Dullahan, as they are already there investigating some open graves. I shall fill you in on the rest once we meet them, but just know it is of the utmost importance that we make haste." The Huntsmen shared confused glances amongst themselves, murmuring as to what could be so important, as their horses trotted under the city gates, and into the starlit night.

...

"Sir Gerald, you're from the north, do you recognize this tattoo?" Sir Arden showed him a drawing of the rune. "Aye I recognize it." Sir Gerald replied. "That's the tattoo they give to sailors and explorers. It's supposed to be a blessing, to help them always find their way home." He stated.

"This tattoo was on one of the men in question. But what would a sailor be doing breaking into our castle?" Sir Arden queried.

"Well often times sailors from Wolfgard turn to mercenary work after they come home, so they might be working for someone else." Sir Gerald suggested.

They continued in silence for a while, the horses galloping through the seemingly endless night, using only the moon and stars to guide their way through the highlands. Trees towered above them to the south, as mountains loomed ominously to the north, with only a small path carved between the two.

Alec and Sir Arden led the group, boldly trotting onward through the mist. In between the labored breaths of the horses, Alec heard the quiet thuds of something rolling on the sparkling, dew covered grass. In the distance, a nearly invisible spark could be seen protruding from a black orb shaped mass, protruding from the soil.

"Look ou-!" Alec screamed, but his voice was choked out by the deafening explosion that emanated from the detonation. The earth shook, as a second explosion rocked the mountainside. Shrill, unearthly screeches echoed through the forest, as dark shadows descended upon the riders.

"Goblin ambush!" Sir Arthur bellowed. "Ride to open ground!" With haste, the Huntsmen and their royal sorcerer rode like death itself was on their tail. The forest was now ablaze like the world's first inland lighthouse. Goblins poured from every crack and crevice in the mountainside, descending upon the travelers as they fled hastily into the night.

The light of the inferno illuminated the dark shapes, to reveal their sickening features. Their short, emaciated figures were covered in a pale green skin with a long pointed nose. They each wore random bits of armor as though they only wore what they could scavenge. Loose fitting breastplates, or helmets that were worn sideways were the most common. But none of this negated how much of a threat this many goblins were to such a small party.

Now amassing a large enough force to darken the sides of the cliffs, the goblins pursued the party, running on all fours with surprising speed. This chase went on for some time. The goblins, never seeming to lose their distance, snarled and salivated mere inches behind the horses.

Soil and debris continued to fly into their path, as the goblins on the cliffs continued to throw bombs onto the trail, shaking the hills, and knocking large clusters of rock loose from the mountain beside them. The ensuing landslide buried many of the goblins in the center of the horde, but that didn't slow down the ones in front or behind the debris.

With goblins still nipping at the hooves of their horses, the party saw the open hills in the distance, at the end of the tunnel of stone and wood that had them trapped. The silhouette of the tower of Fort Dullahan loomed ahead like a phantom rising ominously from the mist.