Echoes of an Age Past 6

Echoes of an Age Past – Chapter 6

"So remind me," complained Lucas, "Whose bright idea it was to take the right-hand path?  Didn't I tell you, if we took the left, we could have followed the river all the way through the mountains!  Sure it winds more, but at least it's not so steep and better yet, not still broken by the shakings, because pretty much no-one's come this way in FOUR HUNDRED YEARS!"
"Like I told you," countered Simon, sneering at the exhausted rogue, "Those maps you read don't show the rapids, or the hidden sinkholes in the riverbed, or the avalanche risks along that path!  I know this area and that river would have been too dangerous, slowing us down at best, killing us at worst!"
"Ohhh, look who's got his bandana on too tight!" shot back Lucas, grinning and quite enjoying their argument.  He and Simon had made it into a game on the road in order to pass the time, "All I'm saying is that we can't really go this way now, can we?"  He gestured at the road before them, or rather the lack thereof.  In the age of the Alliance, the goat paths through the mountains had been widened and paved with flagstones.  Bridges had been laid that spanned the gorges and crevices and those paths had taken the friends deep into the mountains before they hit the reason for their unplanned stop.  During the shakings that signalled the end of the alliance, the roadways across the land had suffered the hardest, sinking into the ground, being washed away by floods, smashed apart by the rising of cliffs and new mountain ranges.  The road the six friends had been following had survived fairly well; in some places the surface had been broken or simply missing, exposing the bare rock below, but they had been able to follow it, until now.  Before them yawned a great chasm of broken, dusty rock, opened by the shakings and tearing a huge chunk out of the road.
"Listen, rock-for-brains, how about you stop whining about what we can't change and call on your memories of your precious maps to figure out a way around here."
"So you admit I'm right then?"
"As if!  If we'd taken-"
"Will you kindly button it, you two?" put in Mark in exasperation, "Arguing isn't solving anything."
"There's really not many options," reflected Sophia, "We're going to have to climb down and up the other side to where the road continues.  I could just fly, but I don't have a spell powerful enough for all of us."
"That would be a good plan," sighed Simon, casting his eyes skyward, "Except for two things:  Firstly and most importantly; we don't have any climbing gear and going down a rock face is hellishly tricky without it.  Going up not so much, but still...  Secondly; going by those clouds cresting the ridge over there, it's going to rain soon."  He nodded to where a bank of dense white cloud was just rolling over the mountaintops a few miles distant.  "Barring a change in the wind, which in these mountains is unlikely, there's no way we'll get down this face and up the other before that hits us.  That's going to make the rock slippery and treacherous and either trap us down there in what's going to be a river, or just make us all fall to our deaths if we're halfway up the slope when it hits.  So we'll either be delayed, cold and wet, or just plain dead."

The group considered this for a moment, even Sophia admitting Simon had a good point, then Nicky clapped her hands and smiled, "What if we didn't have to climb down this side?"  The group looked at her, confused.
"Uhm...  Maybe?" said Simon, "But I don't see how we can avoid it; it's kind of in the way..."
Nicky grinned and turned to her elder sister, "What about the feather fall spell, sis?  I remember you showing mom and dad by jumping off the roof of the house years ago.  It's simple enough and if everyone's enchanted, we can just jump down this side.  That's got to save us some time!"
Sophia struck her forehead with her hand, "Of course.  Why didn't I think of that?" she turned to the boys and sketched a small glyph in the air, her fingertips leaving faint, orange trails as she uttered a short phrase in a strange tongue.  Immediately, Mark felt his shield, swordbelt and pack all hang lighter on him, taking a while to come to a halt when he moved.  He jumped in the air experimentally and it took him a good two seconds to come down again.
"Impressive," he smiled, "Once again I'm glad you came, Sophia."
Sophia allowed herself a little self-satisfied smile at Mark's words; here was something she could do and no-one else could.  Her magic was going to save them a good hour's potentially life-threatening climb.  She turned to repeat the process on Simon, but her smile slipped when she heard her sister's voice repeating the same magical words she had just used.  Lucas grinned as he saw William grow lighter, the cleric's robes swirling about him as if they were weightless.
"Nice," whistled the thief, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Nicky?"
Sophia turned to her sister, her happy mood vanishing as she watched her sister complete the spell on Lucas as well, much to his delight.
Nicky noticed her sister's incredulous gaze and smiled back, "I learned by watching you, sis.  Remember?  With the two of us, we're done twice as fast!"
Sophia stared at her sister, her emotions twisting inside her.  Anger started to win out as the young mage drew the sigil and spat the words, pushing past the boys to step out over the cliff edge.  She fell too slowly for her liking, wanting to be as far away from the lot of them as possible at that moment.  Her sister couldn't let her have one triumph to herself, could she?  The one thing she was good at, the one reason she was here and Nicky just had to usurp it!  Sophia viciously kicked a stone in the wall, pushing herself away from the edge in the process.  The stone came loose, bringing with it a shower of other pebbles and dirt.  Its support missing, a grey stone bounder also tore itself loose under the pull of gravity and before long there was a miniature rockslide cascading down the side.  She felt a sick little sense of vindication at the act of destruction, as though the rocky canyon itself had offended her.  As her feet touched the ground, she kicked another stone, storming off up the valley in a fuming rage.  If Nicky was so useful to everyone, they could just have her and Sophia would just go on her own, the way she'd always wanted.

The sound of feet running on loose rock jerked Sophia out of her quiet tantrum and whirled her around.  Who needed to have it spelled out to them?  Seriously, couldn't they get the message?
"Sophia!"  That was unexpected.  Mark dashed his way towards the young mage, his face concerned, "Sophia, please, don't do anything rash..."
"Rash?  Rash?!  Why on earth would I go and do something rash?" snapped Sophia, "I'm not a child; I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions!"
"I know you're feeling a little frustrated right now," began Mark, holding up his hands in the universal 'I'm not your enemy' gesture, "But-..."
"Frustrated?  Who said I was frustrated with Nicky?  Just because she shows off a little with a spell she learned from me after I mastered it at the age of seven and just because she seems to be able to do everything so much better than me and just because the second I feel like I can have one thing that I can do to actually make a difference just for one tiny group, she has to come along, make me obsolete and suddenly everyone pays attention to her AGAIN, that's no reason I could possibly be frustrated now, is it?"  Sophia's glare would have made stronger men than Mark excuse themselves very quickly, but he held his ground, a look of understanding crossing his face.
"So that's what's been bothering you," he sighed, "Sophia...  You don't have to compare yourself to your sister all the time..."
"Why the hell don't I?" she snapped back at him, "You don't have any idea what it's like!  Ever since we were children, she's always out-shone me at everything!  Do you have any idea what that's like?  She's stronger than me, nicer, kinder, more beautiful, smarter, everyone likes her!  I had to study hard and struggle to memorise so much as a basic cantrip and then she just makes it look easy!  It took me weeks of study and practice, just to master that feather fall spell!  You know how long it took her?  Two days after seeing me perform it exactly once!  You have no idea!" tears shone in her eyes as the emotion of her tirade affected her, but she rubbed at them with the heel of her palm, "You have no idea what it's like to be so hopelessly over-shadowed in everything you do!  I thought that by leaving home, by being an adventurer like our parents, maybe, just maybe I could start to finally be something.  But no, she just had to come along after me like a gods-damned stray dog!  And the worst part?" she rubbed furiously at her eyes again, disgusted at her weakness in front of Mark, who was standing slightly shell-shocked by this outpouring of emotion from the young mage, "The worst part is that she's my sister!  I can't do anything about it; I can't even hate her for it because she's family! Do you know how many times I've come this close to just blasting every damn thing I see out of sheer frustration?!  Just so I might maybe be noticed for once?  I just... ARGH!"  With a scream of frustrated rage and a whirl of her skirt, Sophia spun, giving a loose rock a spiteful kick that tipped it over with a heavy *thunk*.  She didn't even feel the pain at first, due to her blinding rage, but when she put her foot down, she winced; that thing had been a lot heavier than it looked!  Mark reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder, worried, "Sophia... Please, just calm down for just a moment..."
The young mage span back around to confront the swordsman, but suddenly froze, her face paling. "Mark..! Don't move..." Her voice was suddenly drowned out by an ear-splitting roar that filled the canyon, reverberating off the stony walls, to come crashing down again like a wave of sound.  Mark slowly turned his head and gulped.

Crouched on the gravel and glaring at them in equal parts hunger and anger, squatted a ferocious and extremely pissed-off manticore.  It had the body and head of a mountain lion, unlike its more southern cousins, the wings of a gigantic bat and uncoiling behind it, ready to strike, was the bulbous tail of a scorpion, the needle-sharp point glistening with clear, sickly venom and segmented armour running up its back.  "Okay..." whispered Mark, "Don't make any sudden moves.  It may not be after us."
"I don't have much choice," Sophia whispered back, "I-..."
The manticore hunkered down, baring it teeth and snarling as it sprung.  Its winged snapped open and the hulking beast glided through the air, mouth open, claws out and its tail lashing forward.  Mark grabbed Sophia's arm and yanked her to one side, the lethal barb missing her by inches and smashing into the scree of the canyon.  "Okay, new plan:  Run!"
"I can't!" yelled Sophia, limping as fast as she could, "I was about to say; I think I broke something when I kicked that rock!  My foot's agony!"
"Hold on, sister!  I'm coming!"  Nicky's clear voice rang out, closely followed by a rattle of stones as she slid down the steep drop towards her imperilled sibling, her huge sword already drawn.  She leapt into the air, bringing the blade down in an overhead strike that could splinter any shield through sheer power alone.  There was a ringing clang and the manticore bellowed with pain as Nicky's sword clashed against its tail and bounced off the iron-hard plates on its back, the force of the blow causing it to stagger and drop to its belly for a second.  As it stood, there came a whoop from above it and an arrow clattered similarly off its armour.  Looking up, Mark and Sophia saw their friends dropping slowly, still affected by the feather fall, Simon fitting another arrow to his bow string and Lucas waving.  "Save some for the rest of us, will you?"
Mark un-slung the shield from his back as his friends landed, drawing his sword from its sheath, looking back at Sophia, "Can you still cast spells?"
She nodded, her face determined but rapidly losing its colour from it, "I think so. I just need to keep the pressure off my foot so it doesn't break my concentration."
"Good.  I don't think blades'll do much here; its armour's too strong and cougar hide is tough."  As though to prove Mark's point, one of Simon's arrows found its target, sinking into the monster's thigh deep enough to make it even more angry, but not seriously hurt it.

Sophia nodded, raising her hand and starting to incant a spell.  Meanwhile, the others were having a hard time of it.  Simons arrows were drawing blood, but not enough to slow it down, while Lucas tried to find an opening to the manticore's rear, but kept having to retreat, not want to get close to its lethal tail.  William's staff, meanwhile, was nothing short of useless, although his uttered prayers kept everyone from tiring as the fight dragged on.  Only Nicky seemed to be giving the monster any real trouble, her huge sword causing it to stagger with every hit, although it moved with such speed, it was hard even for her to land a solid bow.  Fighting back, the manticore struck out with claws and teeth, swiping at her with its leathery wings and striking with its lethal tail, only to be blocked every time by the flat of Nicky's blade.  Suddenly, it slipped past, although the tall warrior bent back with almost un-natural grace, its claws missing her flesh by a hair's breadth, only to catch the wide band of cloth holding her breasts in, shredding it like paper.  Nicky shrieked with embarrassment, trying to cover herself with one hand, whilst still fighting with the other.
"Any time you're ready, Sophia!" yelped Lucas, jumping back once more, although trying to catch an eyeful of Nicky as he did so.  Even with the situation so grim, he was actually grinning!
Simon turned his head, just as the mage in question finished her spell and flung out her hand, a magic circle blossoming out from her palm. "No, Sophia, don't-!"
A pair of blazing bolts of elemental flame sprang from Sophia's out-stretched hands, twisting around one another in a spiral as they sped through the air.  They struck the manticore's feline face and its roar of pain sounded like nails on a chalkboard, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.  As the cloud of flame and smoke cleared away though, it became clear the spell had not been enough.  Its fur scorched and burnt, the flesh beneath blistered and raw, one eye glassy and partially-melted, the manticore looked a horrific sight.  But what was worse, was the undisguised loathing in its remaining eye that it speared Sophia with as it lunged forward.  Nicky swung her sword, but wasn't quite quick enough, the blade sheering through the manticore's wing as it buffeted her off her feet, but not slowing it down.  Sophia let out a small shriek of fear, despite herself as the monster bore down on her, its tail arcing back and striking forward like a whip, just as Mark raised his shield and stepped in the way.  There was a splintering crack, a cry of pain and the fighter fell, the monster's tail dripping blood as it pulled back for another strike, stepping over the swordsman's prone body.  "Mark!"
"Come here, you bastard!" Lucas yelled, at last making his move, jumping forward and wrapping his arms around the poisonous tail, trying to hold it back with his own weight, "How do you like that, you mixed-up son of a bi- Whoa… Whoa!  WHOA!"  The manticore lashed its tail back and forth, shaking the rogue like a ragdoll, before Lucas' grip slipped and he flew through the air with a yell that was quickly cut off by his collision with the rocky wall of the canyon and the sick crack of ribs snapping.  The manticore looked back at Sophia, almost seeming to grin evilly as it raised its stinger for a final blow…  Nicky was running, still covering her modesty with one arm, but was just a second too slow!  Sophia's life started to flash before her eyes; this was it; she was going to die here, in some gods-forsaken canyon, completely helpless..!  No!  This was not going to be her fate!  She wasn't going to die like this, she didn't push herself so hard, endure all those years of being over-shadowed just to end up a manticore's dinner!

With a scream of panic and anger, Sophia punched upwards at the Manticore's mouth.  It was a futile move, but somehow, her petit frame seemed to gather in a strength she'd never known she possessed and the beast's head snapped back, the burned flesh even splitting open from the force of the blow as though struck by a set of claws!  It drew in its breath to give another roar of anger… Only to let out a rather pathetic whimper.
"Yeah, not so tough here, are you, you bastard."  Three feet of Downland steel, clasped in a Downland fist skewered up, under the monster's ribcage, dark, vital blood running down over the hilt as Mark twisted his sword, shredding the organs within.  There was a sick grating of metal on bone as he levered the weapon against the spine and with a strangely tired sigh, the manticore finally went limp, letting go of its life.  It would have crushed Mark right there, had Nicky not arrived, barging it off him as he lay there panting, covered in blood, not all of it the monster's.  "Mark!  Are you okay?"
He coughed, smirking, "I've been a lot better.  What the hell do you think?  Everyone else alright?"
"We're mostly fine," replied William, his hands glowing with light as he placed them on Lucas' back, healing his ribs to a chorus of pained groans.
"Speak for yourself.  Owww…  Holy bells, Mark!  Your shield!  That son a bitch went right through!"
Mark looked at his shield, still strapped to his limp left arm, a dark red stain leaking out from under it.  "Oh yeah," he said, almost detached, as thought he'd just noticed it, "That's why I can't feel my left side…"
Nicky hastily lifted the shield away with her one free hand and gasped in shock.  A neat, round hole, about an inch across had been punched deep into Mark's shoulder.  Simon whistled, "Damn!  If your shield hadn't got in the way, that would've have been your heart!"
"H-hold on, I can fix this!"  Nicky laid her hand over the wound, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths.  Very, very slowly, the wound started to close over, the process speeding up the longer it went on, Nicky's hand glowing brighter and brighter until she snatched it away, hissing in pain, like she'd just placed her hand in a fire.  The wound was gone, not even a scar to show it was there.  "That should do it…  I think.  How do you feel?"
"Not good," Mark admitted, "Feel like…  I'm on fire, but my heart's ice cold."
Simon cursed, "Manticore poison.  Dammit.  William, quick!  That stuff acts fast!"
The cleric nodded, hurrying over and placing his hand over Mark's heart, reciting the words of a prayer.  Every vein in Mark's body bulged, glowing brilliantly clear blue for a moment as the holy magic burned the poison out of him, before his breathing returned to normal and he sat up.
"That feels a lot better.  Thanks."
"Don't mention it, my friend."
"I guess Nicky can't do everything yet after all, huh?" said Sophia, picking herself up.  Her last words were drowned out however by a rumble of thunder that sent everyone's gaze skyward.  During the fight, the clouds had rolled in, heavy and black overhead and now wet, fat raindrops started to fall.

"Come on, over here," Simon beckoned, from close to a dark opening into a dry, shale cave, just a little way up the near side of the ravine, the entrance partially blocked by fallen scree, "This must be its lair, so it'll be above the water line.  That little avalanche earlier must have woken it up."  The friends filed into the cave, Nicky having to stoop to do so, still covering her chest with one arm.  Simon gave Sophia a hand; given William hadn't had time to fix her foot yet, "Oh, Sophia?  As I was about to say before you launched your spell, manticores are partially resistant to magic and despite appearances, are intelligent, not animals.  Kind of like dragons, only not so much.  Throwing a spell at it was probably one of the worse things to do."
Sophia glared at him, almost snarling in irritation, "Well how was I supposed to know that, exactly?"
The ranger shrugged, heading into the cave, "You weren't.  Just saying for future reference."
Sophia followed him, almost steaming in anger.  It had not been a good day for her.
"It's a bit dark in here," complained Lucas, stumbling over something, "Argh!  Oh gods, I think I just found our late friend's last meal…"
Sophia and William both uttered a spell and a prayed simultaneously, Sophia conjuring a ball of light that floated above her hand, while William's staff started to glow, casting dim shadows across the walls.  Scattered about the cave were piles of bones, some fresh, some yellow with age, most animal, but some human, even wearing tatters of clothes or even armour., but all of them picked clean of flesh.
"Manticore tongues…" shivered Simon, "Very rough, you see.  Like a cat's.  Great at cleaning off all those annoying, clingy little bits of meat from a carcass."
"Think there's anything here in Nicky's size?" asked Mark, picking up an old coat and regarding it critically.
"You're not suggesting we steal from the dead!" gasped Nicky, her face pale.
"It's either that, or you go topless for a while," leered Simon.
"I wouldn't mind!" put in Lucas, earning both of them a rap around the head with William's staff.
"Behave, both of you."
"Hang on a second…" Mark's voice came from further back in the cave, "Can I get a light up here please?"
The group gathered close to see what he'd found.  Leaning slumped in the back of the cave, laying in a crack, too narrow and too deep for the manticore to reach into, was the skeleton of a figure still clad in full armour clearly intended for a woman.
"She must have fought the manticore, retreated in here and had her way blocked," muttered Simon, "Probably died of her wounds."
"That's not all," added William, gravely, "It's faint, but I can feel holy magic in the air…  This woman was a paladin, or a cleric in years long past."  He reached out and used his staff to lift a silver disk on a chain around the skeleton's neck.  On the disk's face was the symbol of a timber axe lengthways; the sign of the Watchman.  William looked up at Nicky, his face deadly serious, "Nicky, I know it doesn't seem right, but a servant of the Watchman, here…  If she could speak to us now, she'd want you to use her armour.  You're a paladin; it's only right you put a holy warrior's gear to use again.  We'll burry her remains here, but there's no sense wasting what you need and fate and the gods have provided."
"I don't know…" Nicky looked at the skeletal remains and the armour it wore, sighing, "I suppose…  If you think that's what she'd want, William."
"I know it is.  A servant of the Watchman would want her gear to be used again in the fight against evil."
Nicky nodded, cheering up a little, "And we'll be giving her a proper burial too.  But there's another problem; it doesn't really look like it'll…  Well…  Fit."
"Leave that to me," replied Mark, rolling up his sleeves, "I'm a Downman.  Working metal is in my blood.  It's been a while, but some modifications shouldn't be too hard.  Besides…" he gestured at the storm outside, "It's not like we're going anywhere in a hurry."