After leaving the woods of Eden Halas, they approached the Baffin Range—the great mountain divide that ran along the eastern border of Angarad—rode past Barrenjuck Green, and finally cane to an end at Eden Taryn. It took almost a week of continuous travel to reach the mountains, but fortunately for them it was a journey without incident, and there was ample opportunity to take in the sight of magnificent range as they approached it.
For many thousands of years, the Baffin offered protection to the peoples of Angarad, the Green and the coastal Lenkworth finishing villages from invaders, who found the mountain too much of a hurdle to overcome. Once they reached the foot of the range they turned onto the Baffin Road, which flanked the western side of mountain from Cereine to Angarad. Turning southwards, they followed it until they reached the Splinter—a narrow pass used by travellers to avoid the long journey to Angarad by cutting across the mountain.
In the meantime Celene continued to be mindful of her injuries, and though it had been difficult for her to ride during the first hours of their departure from Eden Halas, the lady of Gislaine bore it nonetheless. Both Keira and Arianne was aware of her attempts to hide her weariness, and Arianne often feigned needing rest herself so they had an excuse to stop when they saw Celene needed it. Meanwhile, Keira had taken to ensuring that they were well cared for when they did stop and camp, taking over the duties for cooking and ensuring that both women took care of themselves. Arianne rather loved her for this.
It was almost nightfall when they finally reached the Splinter. All three women were exhausted from being in a saddle for almost the entire day. No one disagreed with one another when the suggestion was brought forth of making camp that night. They ate around the warm fire, wondering how far they would have to continue tomorrow in order to reach the pass that would take them through the mountains. Little was said of the quest, though all of them were thinking constantly of it.
Arianne was preoccupied with thoughts of Dare and how he would have taken the news of her departure. Without doubt, Lylea would have explained things once he discovered her gone, but Arianne was certain that he would not understand. It did not help that she missed him terribly and each day apart made her long for her King. It was foolishness, this pining for him. It was not as if they had never been apart before. Prior to their marriage he was always travelling from place to place, and his time with her only came in between his adventures.
Arianne’s melancholy did not only originate from her missing Dare—she wished she could be like any woman enjoying the experience of impending motherhood. She should have been happily dreaming of all the promise a baby would bring to their lives. Yet all she felt instead was this terrible weight pressing down on her soul that demanded her completion of her quest or it would cost her everything she held dear. It was not fair.
Celene’s worries differed from Arianne’s. What Ronen felt about her leaving Celene would find out when she saw him after the quest was done. She was too practical to torture herself with how her beloved might behave in this situation. Her concerns were larger than this, especially with the full moon in the sky when they finally camped at the foot of the Baffin. It was almost two weeks since they departed Sandrine. It would take another week to reach Angarad after crossing the Baffin. If they had been on foot, the journey would have taken even longer.
As Celene calculated the days, she knew that time was against them. She was adamant about leaving Eden Halas because she knew that they could not afford to waste even one day if they intended to reach the Enemy before it was too late. It was a long journey to the Frozen Mountains, to say nothing about descending into Mael’s Pit to reach Sanhael, if it still existed.
Keira worries were not about their journey but about what Arianne would do if she thought they were going to fail in their quest. As it was, the woman from the Green debated whether or not she should tell Celene what had been discussed when they were travelling the Yantra. The thought of what Arianne herself would do to prevent a second darkness from befalling the land concerned her. Arianne’s fierce desire to protect those she loved might force her to act irrationally. Was it possible that might mean ending her life?
And would Celene stop her?
That was a possibility the Keira did not wish to entertain at this moment. Yet she was certain even if Arianne never said it to her directly, it was a course the Queen would take if the situation gave her no alternative. Keira knew that Arianne might be strong enough to make such a sacrifice, but what she did not know was whether or not Celene would stand by and let her friend do this terrible deed.
******
The raging wind in her ears and the sudden chill on her skin awoke Arianne from her sleep.
The night before had shown them a canopy of stars ahead—a sure indicator that the day following it would be clear and good for travel. Yet when she opened her eyes and stared briefly at the sky, she saw grey clouds that allowed no sunshine to pass through the thick cloak. The wind was whistling in her ears and she saw the trees covering the Baffin sway, bending to its will with each breath of the gale. Arianne sat up and saw Keira and Celene already awake, packing their things away in order to begin their travel or at the very least, seek shelter away from the tempest.
Arianne looked up at the top of the mountain and saw the higher reaches of it covered in sheets of snow. The wind was gently chipping away at its volume and she understood in an instant why the others were so determined to get moving. If this storm were to grow any worse, it might conceivably precipitate an avalanche that would bury the passage way in snow and force them to take the longer route. However, as she rose to her feet in order to help with their quick departure, Arianne sensed something ominous. It was the same feeling she had experienced in Caras Anara, although there the danger had been more overt and did not require elven senses to detect.
‘There’s some stew left,’ Keira motioned to the pot on the fire place as she rolled up a blanket.
‘You should have awakened me,’ Arianne replied as she sat up properly.
‘Nonsense, you need your rest more than any of us,’ she said with a smile. ‘Come on, eat up and then we’ll get going.’
‘That snow is going to come down soon,’ Celene added. ‘We need to make for the Splinter or else we shall have to go around it.’
Arianne nodded, but there was something in the air that made her uneasy, and as she rolled up her bedding she swept her gaze across the mountain top, feeling a chill running through her that was more than just the cold.
‘There is something not right about all this,’ she declared as she went to the pot and scooped out some of the food.
‘What do you mean?’ Celene stopped what she was doing and stared at Arianne.
‘I do not know,’ Arianne explained in between bites. She ate quickly, because once they were travelling the chance to get a hot meal would be scant.
‘It is a storm,’ Keira declared shifting glances between Arianne and Celene. ‘It is unfortunate, but storms are a part of life. They happen.’ She sounded as if she were trying to convince herself more than anyone else.
‘I do not mean the storm,’ Arianne clarified. ‘I just sense something evil nearby. Trust my word. I do not make this claim lightly.’
‘I believe you Arianne,’ Celene replied honestly. ‘But what is to be done? We must cross that breach.’
She was right.
Whatever menace lurked in the mountains, they still had to proceed. There was no faster route through the Baffin. With that unhappy realisation before her, Arianne said no more and finished her meal so they could complete their departure.
By the time they mounted their horses, the storm was quickly becoming a blizzard with a wall of snow blowing past them as they rode towards the pass. The cold seemed to penetrate all their warm clothing, until Arianne could feel her teeth chattering as they approached the narrow pass of the Splinter. The closer they drew to it, the more Arianne was disturbed by what she was sensing. Something terrible loomed in the passageway—something that was going to harm them. She wanted to turn back, but Celene was right—they needed to make the attempt.
Inside the small canyon that had been carved through years of erosion by water or some other force, Arianne swallowed thickly as they moved deeper and deeper into its confines. The comforting sight of dirt and soil disappeared as the thick cover of snow and the horses grew just as anxious as she. Celene led the way, aware that this leg of their journey was worrying Arianne and she went ahead to show the Queen that there was nothing to fear, though she did not exactly discount Arianne’s belief of danger.
Keira stayed in the rear, trying to remain in the saddle as she was being assailed by almost blinding snowfall, gale force winds and ignoring Arianne’s continuing portents of doom. Her face burned from the cold and her fingers felt frozen as she clung to the reins. The palfrey beneath her that was grunting his displeasure in snorts of cold air escaping his flared nostrils.
They were less than a quarter of the way through when suddenly Celene heard Arianne cry out behind her. Celene brought her mount to an immediate halt and looked over her shoulder. The elf’s features were contorted in fear and sent tendrils of alarm through the warrior maiden. ‘What is it?’
‘Something is here,’ Arianne said looking about her, trying to find something that could convince Celene as well as herself that they should leave here while they still could.
‘Where?’ Celene demanded, her hand reaching for her sword.
‘I don’t know,’ Arianne cried out in frustration, ‘but I can feel it!’
‘I can’t see anything,’ Keira declared, looking about the place, trying to see through and seeing nothing that gave shape to Arianne’s claim.
Celene scanned the canyon wall trying to find something that would give truth to Arianne’s premonitions. There was nothing at first—not until she looked closely and saw that the canyon floor was littered with rocks and boulders of varying sizes. This in itself was nothing out of the ordinary, since rock fall was to be expected when one was travelled through a mountain. However, when she observed the rocks more closely, she saw that they were jagged and sharp, not at all smoothed from years of precipitation. The look of them made her dismount the horse, uncertain whether her need to investigate was inspired by Arianne’s warning or because she herself was starting to see something odd.
‘What have you found?’ Arianne asked, still gripped with this feeling of foreboding.
‘These rocks,’ Celene looked ahead and then behind her on the path they had taken to this very spot. ‘Why are they only here?’
‘Does it matter?’ Keira asked. ‘Let’s just get clear.’
Keira looked up at the increased snowfall, the blanket of white so thick that even the rocks were beginning to disappear under their cover. If it fell any thicker across the ground, the horses were going to have trouble moving through it.
Arianne realised that Celene was right. Behind them the path was clear. The collection of stones that Celene viewed with such anxiety bore no unity with the terrain. They seemed out of place and were broken as if split apart by the axe. Staring up the length of the passage, she saw that the path was clear, and these odd collection noticed by Celene seemed to be only in one specific place.
She shivered, and it was not because the wind was heavy and blowing across her skin with icy force or the snowflakes that had covered the terrain after being dislodged from their perch above. Pulling her cloak closer to her body, Arianne lifted her eyes to the uneven top of the canyon wall above their heads and could only see the raging blizzard of snow and wind. Yet every sense that she possessed told her that this was not right, that the sudden emergence of this storm was by the design of something other than nature.
‘Celene, I think we should take another route.’
Celene stared at her sharply. ‘Arianne, that will be a delay of some significance.’
‘I know,’ she replied anxiously, ‘but I do not make this request lightly. We should go now.’
‘She was right about the spiders,’ Keira reminded, and truth be told, she had enough experience with elves by now to know that their warnings should not be taken lightly.
The fear Celene saw in Arianne’s eyes was real, and though she did not wish to waste time by finding another way around the mountain, there was something about this whole situation that was cause for disquiet. However, for now she trusted her friend’s instincts. Moving away from the rocks, she stepped on something that crunched easily under her boot. The sound was loud and distinct even though the banshee’s wail of the wind.
Arianne and Keira heard it too and they looked at each other in confusion as to what it was when Celene dropped to her knees so that she could investigate. Beneath the print of her boot in the snow was something with an odd, curved shaped partially buried in the snow. Celene brushed it clean when suddenly she pulled back her hand as if she had been bitten.
It was skull—a dwarven skull.
Celene stumbled back in shock, slipping on the ice and landing heavily on her rear.
‘Celene!’ Arianne exclaimed swinging herself out of the saddle and hurrying over to Celene.
‘What is it?’
Celene would have answered, except that when she looked at where she had landed, she noticed another pile of bones, also partially covered by the snow. She let out a short cry of shock as she scrambled away.
‘I think you are correct,’ Celene said in a hasty breath as she quickly got to her feet. ‘I think we should leave now.’
‘There are bones everywhere!’ Arianne gasped and saw what Celene was gaping at.
‘Bones? Whose bones?’ Keira demanded from atop her horse looking about her, trying to see if the thing that had left those remains behind was still present. Her horse was growing increasingly unsettled by the weather, and its unease corresponded with Arianne and Celene’s mounts as well.
At first Arianne thought she was standing on gravel, but that was not it all. The canyon was a veritable tomb. Suddenly she remembered what had Syanne had said about travellers who had vanished trying to cross the mountains—but she had been speaking of the Frozen Mountains, not this pass. What new evil had taken root here?
‘There are too many too say who,' Arianne declared, sighting bones that could belong to either human or a dwarves.
‘I will never question you again,’ Celene retorted as both women hurried to their horses.
They rode out of the Splinter, not looking back and grateful they had come to their senses before it was too late. No one wanted to confront the creature capable of causing so many to die in that narrow expanse. They galloped hard through the snow filled path, paying little heed to the gale that was lashing at them or the unearthly howl that ripped through their ears when they departed. It could have been the wind, but somehow Arianne was not so certain of that. As they reached the mouth of the passage and saw the land beyond the Baffin, each felt a surge of relief at having escape so narrowly.
Or so they thought.
Suddenly, something tore Arianne from the saddle of her horse.
She let out a small cry of shock, but it was eclipsed by Celene’s own shout of outrage as she encountered the same obstacle. There was little time to think as she saw the ground come up to swallow her. All she could do to protect her child was to curl her body into a ball and hope that would be enough to lessen the impact of her landing. She hit the ground hard and though she was certain that her positioning had saved the slumbering babe in her womb, she was helpless to prevent the black fog that descended upon her moments later where she knew nothing else.
*******
‘My Queen,’ she heard Celene’s insistent voice prodding her into consciousness. ‘Arianne!’
There was a moment of confusion when Arianne opened her eyes and felt the dirt scrapping against her cheek, when she wondered where she was. The voice calling her was familiar, and only when her senses returned to her did she realize that it was Celene.
Starlight flooded her eyes, the glare of awakening settling the blur before her into more familiar shapes. She saw night sky filtering through the canopy of trees above her and heard voices that upon meeting her recognition brought Arianne abruptly back to her senses. Arianne started to sit up, but was hampered by the fact that her hands were tied.
Arianne did not know where they were, but it was clear that they were deep within the woods. She had no sense of time and that frightened her even more, not knowing how long she had been unconscious. She could smell smoke close by and upon investigation, saw that it came from the fire of the camp they were in. Sitting above the flames was a cooking pot—its contents simmering with heat and a stench that turned her delicate stomach. There were at least a dozen of them moving about the campsite. Some were guarding her and Celene, the rest were more interested in picking clean the contents of their saddle bags.
‘Are you hurt?’ she heard Celene whisper quietly.
‘No,’ Arianne shook her head as she gazed upon the Lady of Gislaine who was seated before her cross-legged, her arms bound behind her. A streak of blood ran down Celene’s face, the cause being the angry gash slashed across her forehead. ‘Are you?‘
‘It looks worse than it is,’ Celene replied dismissively, since they had larger concerns at the moment.
‘How long have I been unconscious? Arianne asked as she attempted to shake the disorientation out of her head.
‘A few hours,’ Celene answered, watching their jailers cautiously. Their lives hung on a knife’s edge at this moment, and unless she found a way to free them both, neither would survive the night. ‘I feared that you were injured far worse than appeared.’
‘My strength is not what it used to be,’ Arianne explained breathlessly, her eyes following the proceedings in the campsite with as much caution as Celene. ‘Carrying a babe is tiring work, but I am well enough.’
‘Good,’ Celene spoke quietly. ‘That is something at least. Keira is not here.’
‘What?’ Arianne hissed looking about them. ‘Where is she?’
‘I do not know,’ Celene answered, keeping watch for their captors. ‘When I woke she was not with us.’
One of their captors, noticing that Arianne was awake, started towards them, his feet crushing the dead leaves beneath him as he barked the foul speech of the Berserkers to his brothers. Arianne felt her blood run cold as she saw the foul creature advance upon her—his terrible eyes full of purpose. Keira’s absence filled them both with a sense of foreboding, and her despair was compounded by the knowledge that there would be no help for either herself or Celene from this ordeal. The Berserkers fed on man flesh, and what they did to women was too unspeakable to think of. The idea of what could befall them both made Arianne’s heart pound even louder.
‘They will ask your name. Do not tell them,’ Celene instructed quickly, before her words entered the hearing of the enemy.
The Berserkers paused before Arianne and hissed at her, its jagged teeth covered in filth borne like fangs. Arianne raised her chin in defiance of his attempt to scare her, refusing to allow this creature any more power over her then it already had. She wondered why they were not already dead. Berserkers did not waste time with hostages. These were undoubtedly a renegade band left over from war with Balfure.
‘You are fine ladies,’ the Berserker spoke, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at its sinister delivery. ‘Your men will pay a great deal to retrieve you’.
The comment explained a great deal.
So this was what had become of Balfure’s proud Berserker Army? Forced to banditry and ransoming? Clearly they had identified Arianne and Celene as nobility and hoped to extort a ransom from their families. However, by Celene’s warning it appeared they did not know they had the Queen of Carleon in their power.
‘You can find that out yourself,’ Arianne returned sharply, aware that her life depended on her identity remaining secret.
The Berserker bellowed in rage at being refused and raised his hand to strike when another of his party barked at him to stop. His hand paused in mid-air as he snarled at her again in rage, before turning away and returning to the horses. The two Berserkers standing close by watched them closely.
‘They’re preparing to move out,’ Celene explained.
‘What happened?’ she asked.
‘They ambushed us as we attempted to leave the passage. I believe the storm allowed them to emerge into the day briefly in order to captures us. They tied a rope across the mouth of the pass and we rode straight into it. When I awoke, we were here. I am uncertain, but they may have kept us in their lair until the night came so that they may venture out in preparation to depart.’
‘And Keira? Do you think she might have escaped?’ Arianne asked hopefully. The other alternative was too terrible to imagine.
‘Possibly,’ Celene replied. ‘However, we have been unconscious for some time, so I cannot say for certain. They probably have a lair here which they are going to take us to and keep us so they can extract what they need for their ransom.’
Arianne’s stomach hollowed at the thought, aware that Berserkers were not skilled interrogators. Balfure left such cruel and precise work to his Disciples. She had no doubt that in getting their information she and Celene would be made to suffer.
‘Do you think they were responsible for the bodies we found?’ Arianne inquired, almost afraid to hear the answer.
‘Yes, I think so,’ Celene replied quietly, mindful that nothing she said was being overheard. ‘I think they kill the travellers that are no use to them after robbing them blind, and the ones who might have value—such as us—they keep alive a little longer. Although I cannot imagine they would honour any ransom debt paid.’
‘Then we must escape,’ Arianne declared without hesitation. ‘Somehow, we must find a way.’
‘I agree, but that is easier said than done,’ Celene retorted, even though she was slowly attempting to free herself of the ropes tied behind her back. It was not hard to do because the fingers of Berserkers were far from nimble and their ability to tie ropes even less so. With time she would be able to untangle the unruly cluster of knots that kept her bound. However, it remained to be seen whether or not they would have the time to spare. The Berserkers before them were sharing a meal—no doubt the precursor to beginning their journey to their lair. Celene would prefer it if freedom came to herself and Arianne before that.
Or before the Berserkers became hungry and decided a full stomach was more inviting than a ransom.
*******
The Watch Guard observed the proceedings through the trees as one of the two women made a furtive attempt to free herself while still under the watchful gaze of the Berserkers who had captured them. The warrior woman was undoubtedly trying to loosen the ropes around her, because the Watch Guard could read the subtle movements of her body as she made the attempt.
Berserkers were blunt instruments. They were created by Balfure to act with brute force and there was a little subtlety in anything they did. They did not have the intelligence to interpret the furtive glances being traded by Arianne and Celene, but then there was little reason to fear the warrior woman’s freedom from her bonds. Why should they? There were many of them and one of her. Even if she should free herself, she was unarmed and her companion was still tied. It would be an exercise in futility that would no doubt get one or both of them killed.
The Watch Guard considered deeply what was to be done. The Berserkers were preparing to leave with their captives, something that could not be good under any circumstances. There had been reports of travellers disappearing and the Watch Guard was sent here to learn why. The discovery of the women coincided with the answer to that riddle. This was not customary behaviour for Berserkers, but since the fall of Balfure in the Citadel at Astaroth alike, the creatures served no master and were renegades hiding from the King’s forces. Like any creature faced with extinction, they were doing what they could to survive.
Whatever the reason for their unusual behaviour, the Watch Guard had little choice but to act.
The third member of their party, who was knocked off her horse during the Berserker trick, lay at the Watch Guard's campsite, recovering from her fall. She had taken a nasty bump to her head when she'd fallen, and only luck had seen her fall into a ditch and covered with snow when the Berserkers came to collect her two companions. The woman, who appeared to be one of the folk of the Green, had surprised the Watch Guard by her presence. The folk of the Green were not prone to wandering and certainly not in the company of two highborn ladies. These were questions the Watch Guard would ask later. For now, there were more pressing concerns.
There were about a six Berserkers—not a great many but certainly enough to give one who was preparing a rescue pause for a moment. Stupid they might be, but they were not to be taken lightly, and while the warrior woman might be useful in the battle if it came to that, the other was still bound. No, the Watch Guard thought quickly—confronting the Berserkers was out of the question. The best that could be hoped for was the safe retrieval of both followed by an extremely hasty flight. Hopefully with all their skins intact.
The Watch Guard took a moment to grumble at the inconvenience of the situation. True, the women had to be helped, but the Watch Guard had been on a mission too. A mission that was not as urgent as the quandary the noblewomen found themselves, but it was still important. Nonetheless, being one of the Watch Guard meant ensuring the safety of travellers in the realm, and the fate that awaited the two women if something was not done would be worse than death.
He returned to his campsite, because it appeared the captives were going nowhere for now. If this rescue was to take place, the Watch Guard needed help.
It was time to see how resilient the folk of the Green really were.
*******
Celene appeared still as the night while her fingers worked deftly on the final knot behind her back. She had closed her eyes in concentration, focussing singularly on the purpose of freeing her hands. Arianne watched her surreptitiously, appearing anxious for the benefit of their captors and keeping their attention on her by asking questions that they were ignoring. Celene knew that she could not keep up the charade indefinitely because Berserkers were not known for their temperament. While they may not be prepared to kill either of them for fear of losing their ransom, the vile beasts were still capable of inflicting untold horror upon them.
Suddenly, the Berserker leader who questioned them earlier stared at Celene, his eyes narrowing in malice when he realised that she was up to something. Celene felt her heart sink with disappointment as the knot came apart in her fingers but would do her little good because she had been discovered. He cried out to the rest of his comrades as he strode towards her and Celene was filled with dismay at the realisation that her hard work was for nothing. If they did not kill her for what she had done, they were certainly going to tie her up again and she would be right where she began.
‘Do nothing,’ Celene commanded Arianne, forgetting for an instant who was Queen and who was not. ‘Do not interfere with them on my account.’
‘Do not ask that of me!’ Arianne cried out desperately as Celene stood up to face the Berserker coming towards her while the two guarding her brandished their swords in preparation for the order to run her through.
‘Escape,’ the Berserker sneered malevolently, his voice a throaty rumble. Upon reaching her, he gripped her arm to confirm his suspicions that she had been attempting to escape. ‘Escape is pointless.’
He raised his sword, readying himself to deliver a blow that while might not necessarily kill her, but would instead disable her and ruin any chance she had of making another escape attempt. Celene wanted to run, but she knew the weapons of the other two would end any flight before she even had a chance to take a step. She braced herself for the pain and felt anguish rise from the depths of her soul that she had failed her Queen so utterly. However, she would not go down easily and not before making him sorry he had ever taken them prisoner.
There was little chance for the Berserker to do anything, because at that moment a horse burst through the bushes, carrying a rider on its back as it landed a hair’s breadth beyond the reach of the fire. Once his eyes and that of his minions turned to face this new threat, Celene acted swiftly. The edge of the palm slammed into the creature’s face and forced him to drop his sword, which Celene liberated swiftly enough before she tore open his belly with one swipe of the weapon. When the others heard the death cry of their leader they turned back to her. Celene slashed at one of them while the other was halted in his step by the bolt of a crossbow.
Suddenly jumping out from behind one of the snow covered bushes was Keira. She was obviously working in concert with the rider, as he gave her the distraction she needed to steal into the camp. Carrying the same sword that Celene had given her, Keira burst into a smile of gratitude at their wellbeing before taking advantage of the chaos to reach Arianne. The approach of a Berserker prompted Celene into action and she ran forward, intercepting the foul creatur