Hidden Fire - section 12

Kai sat awkwardly on the small, grey mare, feeling faintly ridiculous. They were dwarfed by the twelve armored knights mounted on greathorses twice the size of his placid little steed. Gods, even the pack mule towered over his mount. "And has more spirit," he muttered, as the mule tried to bite the young knight that was adjusting its load. The blast of a fireball hitting close by shook the walls, and his noble steed just flicked an ear.

They were assembled by the wall in great reservoir room watching the Baron pace carefully from the left corner of the room, muttering under his breath. "eleven, twelve, thirteen... It has to be here somewhere..." He peered at the wall and pushed on a single stone just above his head. A section of the wall large enough for three men to ride through abreast, slid silently aside, revealing a broad stone lined tunnel gently sloping down into the darkness. He coughed as a rush of old, stale air blew past him.

"This will take us under the Keep's walls, and beneath Tiassa. It exits outside the city in the heart of the Dryad's Wood. Let's pray to the Gods that the Gorangans are too busy sacking my city to be keeping watch on what happens behind them." He turned to Kai. "Can you use one of your fancy lights to show the way, or must we rely on torches?"

Before Kai could answer, there was a huge explosion that shook the Keep to its foundations, and a loud triumphant roar from the throats of a thousand men rang out from nearby. "Sounds like the gates are breached! Quickly through the portal!"

Kai tried to get the mare moving. He tentatively tugged on the reins and dug his heels into her ribs. She turned her head and eyed him, then dropped her head back down and lipped at some grass growing from a crack in the paving near the reservoir. Kai felt his face grow hot.

Baron mounted up and rode to Kai's side. "Come on, man. Time to move!" He slapped the mare's flank. Kai grabbed the pommel and desperately held on as the beast ambled forward, following the Baron into the dark tunnel.

"A quick light, if you please, Archmage."

Kai summoned a ball of magelight. The Baron tapped another carved stone and the wall slid shut behind them.

"This is should be fairly easy trip, until we hit the woods. Once there, we will need to make at least a day's hard ride before we stop to rest. I want to be sure we are well out of the Gorangan army's reach."

"Do we ride to the Mage Citadel? That is many leagues east of here, and a long hard ride. I am not sure our entire troop is up to the task." Sir Thomas' eyes lingered on Kai as he spoke.

Pride stung, Kai answered back. "We need only ride as far as Briarton. There is another portal near there, known only to mages. I can open it and we can pass into the Citadel."

"And if it is closed as well?" Thomas asked.

"Then I will ride with you all the way to the Citadel, even if it kills me. I need to have a few words with Aroostook and his lackeys."

"Brave words, little mage. I just hope you don't slow us down. There's a few things I, and my sword, want to say to them as well." Thomas grinned at Kai.

"Enough jabbering, let's move!" The Baron led the way. As he passed Kai, Thomas took his reins and led the old grey palfrey through the tunnels.

"I'll worry about your horse, you just keep the light going strong. I don't like dark, underground places any more than you like riding." The tall knight shuddered.

Kai looked down at the ground, grimly clinging to the saddle. The sound of the Baron cursing snapped his head up. Oozing sand coated the floor of the tunnel ahead. Gritty water dripped down through cracks spidering across the ceiling. The great timbers supporting the roof groaned and creaked under the weight of the buckling roof.

Kai heard Thomas muttering prayers next to him as the company rode cautiously forward. Kai closed his eyes and tried to scrape together a few last drops of his Earth powers, using them to hold the roof in place as they passed beneath the quicksand. He swayed in the saddle and the beginnings of a backlash headache throbbed behind his eyes.

Finally he heard the clopping of hooves on stone again and knew they were past the danger point. He released the ceiling behind them. A sharp crack echoed through the tunnel as one of the supports behind them gave way and an avalanche of sand and water swirled out around their horses feet. Kai watched in amusement as the all the knights eyed the ceiling above them.

"It's safe here, no worry my friends. I can hold it all firm until we've passed through safely. But if we could, let's move on a bit quicker. I am growing quite fatigued."

"Aye, men, onward and upward!" The horses broke into a trot. Kai bounced awkwardly in the saddle, trying to maintain his concentration while his rear felt like it was being reduced to ground meat. He was grateful when they finally passed beyond the quicksand and he could keep his concentration firmly on his riding. He was just beginning to get the hang of all the bouncing about when they suddenly stopped. He jerked forward, flinging his arms about the neck of his mare to keep from falling off.

Thomas chuckled next to him and dismounted. He offered Kai a hand down. The walls and floor of the tunnel were cracked and riddled with huge tree roots. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way. We don't want to risk breaking our horses' legs trying to ride through here in the dark. We are nearly there, I think."

Kai trudged forward wearily, stumbling over roots hidden in the flickering shadows of his mage light. They finally emerged in a large cave. Kai caught up with the Baron as he stood frowning at the bones littering the floor of the cave.

"Keep your eyes open, men! Lots of wolf sign here. I don't want to be losing one of you to a wolf after making it all this way." He drew his sword, and the movement was echoed by twelve others.

Kai felt supremely useless. He had barely enough power left to keep the magelight burning. He opened and closed his empty hands.

Thomas unclipped a slender bundle from his saddlebag and unwrapped it. "Here, little mage." He proffered him a long slender blade with a deadly sharp tip.

One of the knights laughed. "So you've finally found someone to use your little darning needle, Thomas?"

Another called, "What's he going to do with that thing? Make buttonholes?"

"Oh, ignore them. This'll be much more useful to you than one of those big, heavy meat choppers the rest of us use. With a little training, you'll be able to dance circles around those turtles. But until I get a chance to show you properly, just try to keep the pointy end between you and danger, little Mage, and try not to fall on it."

Kai held the rapier gingerly. He had to admit it did feel better to be armed.

Thomas shook his head. "First lesson, if you hold it like that, the first blow will knock it right out of your hand." He adjusted Kai's grip. "Now stick close to me, and for gods' sake, keep the point low. I don't fancy being speared in the back because you stumbled over a tree root. And don't drop the reins to your mount. I don't want to have to carry you the rest of the way to Briarton, either." His grin belied the sting of his words.

Kai stuck to Thomas' side as the exited the cave and led their mounts into the Dryad's Wood.