Chronicles of Ilandri - Volume 1

An Awakening (Pt.2)

Nathaniel had never been to Red Pass, but he had heard stories. The name was given to it from the massacre of men that had camped there once and it was said that the restless spirits of the men still lingered there. Many who had dared to travel that way had not been heard of since. The thought of going there himself scared him more than he liked, but he would not let it show to the old man. Every guard knew where the Red Pass was and from the city it was a week's ride even at a reasonable speed. Since Nathaniel had no knowledge of where the old man's hut was in the forest he could not judge how long it would take them. It was at least two days' travel from the city to where he had been ambushed so he imagined they would be about five days, possibly four if this strangely wise old man knew a shorter way.

Nathaniel had not taken a proper look at this stranger during the short time they had been acquainted and as he looked now, it seemed the old man had some sort of aura, a whitish glow. Nathaniel followed on, examining the strange man in green robes. His horse was a beautiful sandy colour and he carried a strange wooden stick on the left side. It looked like a walking staff made from a wood with gnarls that seemed to wrap their way upward to hold a large, dull, black, round stone at the very top. Nathaniel thought it strange but judging by the man's age it made some sense. That was until the black pebble strangely began to glow green. As the glow grew brighter the old man's horse got faster and faster and began leaving Nathaniel behind.

Remembering what the old man had said about his pendant, he gripped it with one hand and placed the other on the side of the horse's neck. Slowly it seemed to be picking up some speed but it was not enough to catch the old man. Up ahead he had taken his staff in hand and raised it above his head, the black stone now burning bright white. Nathaniel's horse began to grow faster and soon was storming ahead to catch up with the old man. Trees, bushes and rocks all whizzed past as the horses stormed up the forest track. Nathaniel had never felt such speed before and was clinging onto the reins with a vice like grip. His legs clamped the sides of the horse to keep him from falling.

The horses raced on, never seeming to tire and the stone in the staff ever radiating an ethereal white glow. The path climbed the hills shrouded by trees, at a fairly constant gradient and still the horses charged onward as if some fire was burning within them. The further they climbed the thinner the forest became as more and more rocks began to show through the eroded soil. The path became quite rocky too and every now and then a hoof would stumble on a large stone, but somehow the animal never faltered and kept sprinting forward.

The trees thinned more and soon ahead of them the light was growing until suddenly they were thrust into full sunlight. The glowing stone soon faded back to black and the horses came to a graceful stop at the foot of the mountains, right on the edge of the forest. "How did you do that?" asked Nathaniel, out of breath.
"Fleet of foot," he replied, "But it is steady and sure feet that we require for the next leg." Nathaniel was still trying to regain his breath as the old man set off once again, this time at a far slower pace. There were still foothills to cover before they could reach the mountain pass, but none of it was familiar to Nathaniel. He had not been there before and now as the towering mountains lay ahead of him, dread filled up inside of him.

The foothills were scarred with great ridges of rock, like gashes in the hillside. The path wound onwards towards the mountains, becoming more treacherous as it climbed higher. The sun began to descend to the horizon and soon the landscape grew steadily darker. They had been riding all day and both Nathaniel and the horses had grown tired. Somehow the old man still seemed full of energy, as if the long ride of the day had been a mere stroll round his little garden. The horses plodded along the path as it came past a ridge of stone that had eroded back into a shelf, which overhung a second ridge. The old man slid down off his horse and led it under the shelter of the shelf. Nathaniel followed with what energy he had left.