Chapter 35: Rider's Courage
Be careful, my Rider. If you are caught in there, you will be too far for me or Eridor to help. Jiarha said.
Yes Jiarha, I will be careful. . . wait for my signal from the hall of the castle . . . Larouf is going to pay for what he has done. Ephian told her.
Jiarha dipped her head and licked Ephian's face lightly, wishing her Rider luck. Ephian stroked her forehead caringly, then turned around and began to climb down the cliff.
They were still on the same hill near Galfni, and had made the plans to invade the city overnight. All they needed was information, and they could get it without causing too much of commotion. If they did create an upheaval, they might get into trouble with the other Riders and dragons.
Jiarha stared at him as he climbed down, then slowly crawled away. They weren't worried that the dwarves in Galfni would spot them, as they had placed spells around the cliff, making it seem as if there was nothing out of the ordinary there.
Jiarha crawled over to Eridor and flopped to the ground near him, extremely tensed and worried about Ephian. They had decided to reduce their mental connection, so that if Ephian was to be attacked by enemy magicians, she would not be detected by anyone. Right now, Jiarha was alone with her own thoughts, something that she truly hated. Ephian had lived some of his life without her, but Jiarha had been with him ever since she had been born, and being without him was an alien and horrible experience for her.
Eridor stared at her for a while, as she remained uncomfortable and kept shifting from one side to another. Then he slowly came closer and nudged the back of her head with his snout, intending to distract her. He himself wanted to think about something other than Elva, whom he had been thinking about since the last night, even after Jiarha had consoled him.
Don't worry so much, he is going to be fine. Eridor told her, and Jiarha groaned slightly.
I hope you are right, but I think I truly understand what you feel like now . . . These feelings can destroy a dragon . . . You are very strong Eridor . . . Jiarha told him, and Eridor lay down next to her.
Perhaps . . . but of course, you are strong as well . . . . Eridor told her uncertainly, then turned away hurriedly. Jiarha looked up at him in surprise. Eridor looked back at her for a while, then turned away again, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.
Why, thank you . . . Jiarha replied to him, and Eridor grinned slightly and looked up at her. But what makes you say that? Jiarha asked him suddenly, and he fell silent, his grin dissolving into a look of worry before he looked down.
Jiarha grinned this time, what was he trying to do? Pursue her? She didn't have a problem with that, but first she would have to find out why he was actually doing it, whether he had any feelings for her or whether he was trying to distract her.
Her heart soared when she considered the first case, and she herself was a little surprised as to why that happened. She didn't feel that way for anyone else, not even Ephian. And she felt disappointed when she considered the second case, it would all be for nothing then.
Well, answer me! Jiarha told him abruptly, and Eridor jumped.
Err, umm, what? . . . . Oh! Yes, what makes me thing you are so strong, right. Eridor said, and Jiarha smacked him lightly with her tail.
You mean to say you weren't even thinking about that all this time? Jiarha asked him playfully, and Eridor seemed ready to fly away.
Of course not, but I just couldn't come up with an answer . . . I mean, you are really strong and determined . . . and caring . . . Eridor began to say, then flattered, and Jiarha had to stop herself from chuckling.
That still doesn't answer my question, come on, tell me, why do you think I am so strong? Jiarha asked him, and Eridor stood and up and stared at her confusedly.
Because you are really powerful, mentally and physically, you can throw me off my paws and tackle me to the ground if you want to and you are strong enough to intimidate a Shade and make men a mile away cower when you are in sight. Should I say more? Eridor asked her, and she stared at him this time, with a weird expression, he turned away, a little scared.
Even Ephian doesn't admire me like that . . . thank you, Eridor. Jiarha told him and Eridor chuckled.
It was my pleasure . . .
Ephian walked towards the gate of the city, and it was wide open. These were been times of peace, and evil was not yet known to everyone.
He observed the gates, which had four dwarven guards on either sides of it. There were a few people coming out and going into the city, though there weren't enough of them for Ephian to slip inside unnoticed. He would have to use magic.
Upon realizing that, he hurriedly began muttering the spell to make the light bend around him, and also contacted Jiarha.
The guards are all on alert, they might notice you two . . . stay hidden as long as you can . . . Ephian told her, and her reply came almost immediately.
What about you? Jiarha asked him, and Ephian replied with determination.
I am not backing out, I can always sneak while being invisible. But you two attract too much attention, so I will tell you again, keep it down . . . Ephian said, and he noticed something weird in her emotions, but he wasn't interested to check what was going on within her.
I understand Ephian . . . and you don't need to be so angry, calm down, you are more vulnerable and liable to- Jiarha seemed to want to continue, but Ephian interrupted her.
Jiarha . . . I love you a lot, but this time, let me do it my way, and trust me to do it as I wish . . . Ephian told her, and began to cut off the connection, but Jiarha stopped him.
I love you too Ephian, but for my sake, don't do something reckless, we are depending on you. Jiarha told him, but Ephian didn't reply. As it was, he was planning to do something more reckless that anything he had ever even thought of doing.
He reduced his connection with Jiarha as much as he could, then again began reciting the spell. After a few moments, he felt a little exhaustion come over him as the magic took effect, then he recovered and looked at his hands. He saw nothing.
Excellent . . . Now to get to that three feet high, bearded oaf . . . Elva . . . this is all for you. Ephian said and strode ahead.
What's wrong? What did he say? Eridor asked Jiarha as the black dragoness shuddered slightly with worry.
He . . . he is going to do something stupid, something worse than he has ever done before, I just know it . . . I knew he'd lose control like this, and- Calm down Jiarha!
What if he does get caught? Or worse? . . . Jiarha persisted.
Eridor sighed, and flames erupted from his snout. Then, he crawled closer to her and unfurled one of his wings and draped it over her.
He won't get caught or have anything 'worse' done to him, understood? Eridor asked her. Jiarha looked up at him from under his wing, then nodded slowly and sidled closer to him.
I suppose you are right Eridor . . . it is pointless to worry right now, there is nothing I can do to change things anyway. Jiarha said, and her voice seemed so helpless, Eridor couldn't help but feel pity for her. The gaping hole that had taken place of the half of his mind was beginning to torture him to madness, but somehow when he was near Jiarha, he felt himself getting better, as if she could help him out of his pain, out of his loneliness and misery. It seemed that she felt the same for him. He was oddly happy when he thought about that.
Jiarha shuddered slightly, and Eridor moved closer to her, covering her completely under the shelter of his wing.
I am glad you are there with me, Eridor . . . I really am . . . Jiarha told him, and Eridor rubbed her neck with his snout.
I am glad to have you here as well. I don't know what I'd have done if you would not have come to me yesterday . . . you kept me from sinking into insanity. Eridor told her, and she rubbed her forehead against his chest.
It . . . it was my duty. Jiarha told him, a little less worried now.
Eridor turned away from her then, unable to look into her eyes. He was shy.
Ephian crept up the street of the city of Galfni, keeping himself to the shadows wherever it was possible. Otherwise, he would creep through the shops and houses at the sides of the streets, and avoided directly getting into the crowd.
He couldn't wield a weapon while being invisible, that was a problem, because enchantments didn't work on his and Elva's sword, and he didn't have another weapon at that moment. He would have to fight at some point or the other, and he would have to do it while being visible.
He reached down to his reserve of energy in the sword, and was pleased to find that he had a huge amount of it, although it was only half of what he had had earlier.
A dwarf was yelling something at the crowd from his stall, and slowly some dwarves were gathering near him, interested in what he had to offer. Ephian crept behind the stall and moved on ahead, keeping close to the wall of the street. He had to get to the castle where the Grimstborith was, and he had to get as much information out of him as was possible. And if the fancy caught him, one Grimstborith less in the dwarves council of clans wouldn't make too much of a difference.
The wall suddenly gave way to an alley, and Ephian turned around to look down to where it led. Ephian grinned next. The way led straight towards the walls of the castle, within which was the palace, the citadel and the chief.
This was a great stroke of luck, I just hope this way doesn't lead me amiss. Ephian thought, them began to jog down that way. He could use magic to raise himself above the walls, which were about fifty feet high. After that, he just had to get inside the palace, and to Larouf's quarters.
The alley was dark and it seemed that no one was there, except several mice and a few boxes here and there. He began to run after that, then sprinted till he reached the wall and uttered the spell to raise himself up and above, and into the castle.
After a few moments, he was inside, now, the chief was the target. He crept towards the huge doors of the palace, which had about a dozen veiled dwarves guarding it, their armors dark and spears in their hands. He went close enough to see that they were the best soldiers of the Az Sweldn Rak Anhûin, and they were supposed to be extremely difficult to beat. Not that he needed to fight them anyway.
Wearing extremely polished armors of plate, and wielding a wide array of weapons, these dwarves were said to have been training in the one of the most brutal ways ever since they were children. But then again, their methods relied more on brute strength, and most of them weren't so smart. Ephian knew this and he also knew how to use that to his advantage.
Ephian grabbed a medium sized rock from the ground and weighed it on his hand, calculating how hard he would have to throw it at the guards to knock one of them out, and to make the others come close to investigate. He would also have to kill those of them who would be sent to raise an alarm or something.
Let us see . . . if I hit the dwarf standing exactly in between then it'll panic them for sure. Ephian thought. There were three guards standing right in front of the door, and the rest of them were strolling here and there or just sitting and talking.
Sneaking past those will be easy, they will just run at the place from wherever I throw the stone, and it will buy me time as well, so that I can slip inside when they aren't noticing. Ephian thought.
It was time to act now, and there was no turning back. He hefted the rock and aimed carefully, then threw it as hard as possible at them. The stone shot in a straight line, increasing in velocity for a few seconds, and then it hit the dwarf standing in the middle, and directly on his forehead with enough power to knock him out cold and make him fall to the ground.
The other dwarves looked at him in surprise, then readied their spears and two of them began yelling and pointing at the place form Ephian had thrown the rock. But Ephian wasn't there anymore, actually he was just a few feet away from them, towards the right.
Yelling in their own harsh language, half a dozen dwarves ran towards where they thought the source of the stone was. The remaining remained at the door, though they didn't stand right in front of it.
Ephian prepared to use magic again. He pointed his palm at a spot right above them and muttered, "Adurna."
Several drops of water fell from that spot and onto the heads of the dwarves, who seemed to be surprised out of their wits. They began to move away from the place where the water was falling, and Ephian got a clear way to get in as the dwarves moved away from the doors. He hurried inside, jumping over the wet floor so that he wouldn't create wet footprints.
The dwarves behind seemed to be bemused by what had happened.
Height of dim-wittedness, I'll call that! Larouf, you certainly need better guards. Ephian thought and laughed.
The inner corridor was highly decorated, with carpets on the floor and also hanging from the walls, small tables with vases on top of them were also kept here and there. The place was lighted by several pillars holding a single, huge white flameless lantern in it.
Ephian crept towards the door straight ahead, and he knew that the way led to the reception hall, which then led to a courtyard and then to the stairs which would lead him to the chief quarters. How did he knew all this? He had scried the entire place earlier that day, so he knew most of the place, and also where he would find Larouf. He had gone to the palace once before, for a feast that had been arranged for them by the Grimstborith.
The entrance hall wasn't that large, just half the size of the hall where he and Elva and their dragons had been quartered in. But then again, there were several dwarves on patrol there, about half a dozen and most of them seemed to be patrolling the area that led to the stairs. The Entrance hall was like a small hall, with several small windows on the walls and many couches and tables at the corners. A few doors led out of it, and the one to the extreme right led to the room that had stairs going to the higher and lower levels.
Larouf might just be paranoid enough to think that I and Elva are not dead, and that we have found out the connection between him and the Shade's appearance . . . and his paranoia is pointing in the right direction. Ephian thought, a wicked but invisible grin coming to his face.
He began to make his way towards the right hand side of the room, heading towards the door that led to the stairs, but he had to be careful and avoid getting into the direct line of the torches, which would cast an awkward shadow of his on the ground, and give away his cover.
But the dwarves seemed to be aware that he had entered somehow, because immediately, all of them froze in their position, then they ran towards the stairs, to block the path leading towards those. Ephian cursed, and then began to sprint as well, racing the dwarves. He was faster than the dwarves, so he might just be able to run past them without them noticing, as they themselves were making quite a commotion of tinkling armors, spears banging the floor and battles axes striking the metal plate on their back.
Ephian made it to the stairs before most of the dwarves, and he ran faster as the dwarves drew closer, then sprinted up the stairs, two at a time, while the dwarves stopped at the bottom, oblivious to the fact that Ephian had already gone past them.
I think there is a limit to how thick a person can get . . . maybe these dwarves are just unaware of their own stupidity. Ephian thought, but the thought didn't cross his mind as to how the dwarves had realized he was in the room. He had just let it go like that, thinking that they might have heard him when he entered the room.
Larouf's quarters were just a few stairs above, and he could finally find out where Elva was. He could finally find out where Orúm was, and how he could save the woman he loved with all of his life.
But the serpent slithered nearby, and his coming would mark the occurrence of several events. It wasn't a battle of swords anymore, but a battle of wits. A battle that Ephian was at the brink of losing.