Chapter III:
Rescue
1
It was noon of the third day when they reached the road connecting Kanon to Valis. Though it was a major thoroughfare, the mountainous land it cut through meant steep hills and a rough, uneven surface. The summer sun beat down on them mercilessly, and the loud buzz of cicadas could be heard in the distance as they made their way down another ragged
slope.
Slayn was nearing his breaking point in the heat and was dizzy with fatigue. “It’s just going to get hotter,” he said, sighing deeply from under his hood. Just thinking about walking all day was getting depressing.
“Well, it is summer,” Woodchuck smirked with a sidelong glance at Slayn.
“Thank you for that. I didn’t realize,” Slayn said sarcastically.
“What’s this?” Deedlit stopped suddenly. “They look like hoofprints. Unless this is just a very bumpy road…” She knelt and ran her fingers along the ground. “They’re definitely hoofprints—a huge number of horses passed through here. They were coming from Valis.”
“So Valis has risen…” A smile broke on Etoh’s face. “Marmo’s dark army goes against everything Pharis stands for. I knew they’d fight back!”
“Of course!” Parn cried triumphantly. “King Fahn and his invincible Holy Knights would never let Beld’s actions stand! It’s only a matter of time before he falls!”
I hope you’re right, Slayn thought. He wasn’t convinced that things would be resolved so easily—Valis’s knights were formidable, but Marmo’s army was full of monsters who could use the powers of darkness. Their recent run-in with dark elves made it clear how deadly they could be—Slayn knew that without help from Deedlit and Woodchuck, he never would have survived.
A chill ran down his back, making him sweat uncomfortably in the summer heat.
This war will drag on for a long time, he thought, though he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to ruin Parn’s good mood.
They made it out of the mountains the following day. The terrain flattened out, which made walking much easier, though the sunny, cloudless weather continued to torment them. As always, Parn and Deedlit led the way, followed by Ghim, then Woodchuck and Etoh, and Slayn bringing up the rear. Slayn struggled along as fast as he could, huffing and puffing and leaning hard on his staff.
A quaint pastoral landscape stretched out from the road in all directions. They had already passed the border into Valis, and long stretches of farmland were dotted with peasant houses and the occasional landowner’s mansion. No matter how far they walked, however, there were no people to be seen. The residents were either hiding indoors in anticipation of impending battle or had already evacuated.
“Valis must already be at war with Marmo,” Etoh said to Woodchuck. “They must be east of here, since we haven’t seen any soldiers yet.”
“You mean Valis is dominating?” Woodchuck asked.
“Probably…” Etoh replied.
“Valis must be winning,” Parn said without even turning back.
Something up ahead caught Woodchuck’s eye. “Heads up!” he called, squinting into the distance. “There’s something coming!”
Tension gripped the entire group, but Slayn said, “Let’s keep going—they’ll be suspicious if we act strangely.”
“True,” Parn replied, straining to see. There was a cloud of dust—riders on horseback and one carriage. Heat radiating from the road shimmered and distorted the outlines, but it looked like a merchant caravan. Or was it part of the Valis army’s supply lines?
The group tried to stay calm as they pushed forward. Nobody said a word—just kept their pace steady and watched the oncoming group.
“Lady Karla, there are people up ahead,” a nervous voice interrupted Karla’s meditations. She opened her eyes and raised the carriage’s sunshade.
“Hm?” she asked, and one of the mercenaries surrounding the carriage moved closer.
“There’s a group on foot coming this way. They appear armed, but there’s a child with them.”
“A child? I’m not sure what that implies. They’re not Valis soldiers, then?”
“Probably not…”
“All right. As long as they don’t make a move, do nothing. But remain vigilant.”
Karla leaned back in her seat again, feeling the carriage sway beneath her. We’re so close, she thought with a sigh and a glance at the girl sitting beside her. The girl stared vacantly ahead, no sign of life in her gaze. Karla nodded, satisfied, and closed her eyes to ponder her next move.
The caravan drew closer and closer, moving at a brisk trot. Once he could see them clearly, Parn bristled at the warning signs—the fancy two-horse carriage was surrounded by seven horsemen in mismatched armor. While they were clearly mercenaries, it was also apparent that this wasn’t a merchant group, since the carriage was built for passengers and had very little space for luggage. The large guard implied that the passengers were nobles.
The mercenaries seemed strangely uncomfortable with the carriage they were flanking. “What do you think?” Parn asked so only Deedlit could hear.
“I don’t know… They’re a strange group—though, you could say the same about us…”
“True,” he replied with a smile and a glance at their bizarre mix of companions, then collected himself quickly as the tension of both groups washed over him. They were all on high alert, confused by each other’s appearances and ready to spring into action.
As the group on foot, Parn’s party stepped aside to allow the riders to pass.
“It’s getting hot out, yeah?” Woodchuck greeted the lead outrider as he passed. Parn was impressed—the exchange seemed to put the rider more at ease.
“Must be tough on foot,” another rider called back with a relieved smile.
“Tell me about it,” shrugged Woodchuck. He looked away, feigning disinterest. “Get going, already,” he muttered under his breath.
The carriage creaked by. As it passed their group, Slayn peeked out from under his hood. It was ornate, and he could just make out two figures inside—from their clothing, they seemed to be women.
Before he could see more, one of the riders moved to block his view, glowering at Slayn. Someone we’re not allowed to see? he wondered, now suspicious, and watched carefully as they passed.
“Don’t scare us like that,” Woodchuck spat after them once the other group was far enough away.
“That was weird. Don’t they know there’s a battlefield up ahead?” Parn said, stepping back on the road.
“I could see two figures inside the carriage. Women, I think,” Slayn said, still watching them move down the road.
“Women? Aw, I should’ve snuck a look,” Woodchuck joked. He started walking again, shrugging and seemingly unconcerned. The others fell back in line.
“It was odd that the rider moved to block my view,” Slayn muttered as he walked.
Ahead of him, Woodchuck threw up his hands in exasperation. “Again?!”
“What’s wrong?” Slayn asked. He’d put up his hood again to escape the relentless sun but raised his face to see what was happening.
Woodchuck simply pointed down the road. There was another cloud of dust—another group on horseback. Considering the size of the dust cloud and the thundering hooves, the group was moving fast.
“Looks like knights of Valis,” Woodchuck said—he had sharp eyes. “White horses and white armor. The only people that conspicuous are the Holy Knights.”
“Holy Knights of Valis?!” Parn shouted, straining his eyes toward the group. Though they were still far away, he could tell that the horses were white.
The gallant riders spurred their steeds elegantly onward, galloping through the countryside like a white gust of wind. Parn scrambled off the road.