A/N: It's summer, so I should be able to get chapters out better. And if anybody is reading this out there, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Ahem, excuse my insanity.
ENJOY THE RIDE.
Chapter 6: Atlantes
The sun rose on the mountains, bringing me hope. With many thanks to Melissa and the Great Mother, I rode out. According to Melissa's directions, Atlantes' fortress lay another day's travel into the mountains. A hard day in the saddle would not usually be something to look forward to; but with the promise of seeing Rogero before me, I would have spent months laboring into the mountains.
Venture seemed to have caught my sense of urgency for he never balked no matter what challenge I asked him to meet.
The day was terribly long. My mind wandered to the task set before me. Would Rogero be glad to be free of Atlantes' fortress, or would he be angry with me for making him fight and risk himself again? I wondered if Rogero was searching for a way out as urgently as I was looking for a way in. The biggest worry on my mind was whether the ring would truly work. If the ring failed me, I would never be able to free Rogero. What if Atlantes knows I am not blinded? I thought. Would he slay me magically?
Unable to endure my worries any longer, I began naming all the mountains I knew. That didn't take long: geography was never my strong suit. Then I began naming all of my relatives; that feat took much longer. By the time I had gotten to my mother's aunts, the moon was beginning to rise.
I was not sure whether I should charge straight to Atlantes' fortress or wait until morning. I soon decided that if I didn't want to make the enchanter suspicious, I should wait until morning. No knight in his right mind would charge into a battle with so little daylight left. Besides, Rogero was in no danger in Atlantes' fortress; there was no reason, other than my own impatience, to rush to rescue those trapped in the mountaintop fortress.
I took shelter behind an outcropping of boulders for the night. The moon was full and bright, and it seemed as if the Great Mother was raining Her blessing on me with the moonbeams. I slept peacefully and the morning came sooner than I could have hoped.
At first light, I mounted Venture and rode out to challenge Atlantes. As I rode into a bare field, I caught my first sight of the mountaintop fortress. It was situated on a sheer cliff face: nothing without wings would ever be able to reach that castle.
There was a tree in the middle of the field. On the tree's branches hung numerous shields, and a scroll, nailed to the trunk of the tree read:
All ye who would challenge Atlantes the Enchanter:
Know the terms of engagement.
All who enter into combat with the great Atlantes hazard
Imprisonment and death.
If you would risk all to possess the fortress of Atlantes,
Sound the golden horn and prepare thyself for combat.
I rolled my eyes at the pompousness of the enchanter; surely the man could not be so self-important. I blew the horn just to humor the old man.
Atlantes descended from his fortress just as Melissa had predicted. While the aged unarmed man was less than terrifying, the steed he rode was enough to strike awe into the hardest of hearts. The hippogryph was a beast with the body of a horse and the limbs, head and wings of a gryphon. The hippogryph sported long, razor-sharp talons on its flailing feet and the curving beak of a bird of prey; I had no doubt that the animal could easily kill any attackers.
But my adversary was not the hippogryph. I was after Atlantes. The old man carried no weapons. Instead he carried the shield Melissa had told me about. I was monumentally happy that the enchanter trusted his shield's abilities so fully. Defeating Atlantes would be unbelievably easy.
As the hippogryph descended close enough, I struck at the beast and its rider. I missed, of course; but the enchanter wheeled his mount for another pass at me. I struck out a second time. I think Atlantes was enjoying watching me flail around like a blind man trying to swat a fly: he spent quite a while swooping at me. Finally Atlantes pulled the hippogryph up and forced it to hover out of my reach. He took the covered shield from his saddlebow and began removing the cover. When the shield was free, he turned it to face me. I tumbled from Venture's back and lay on the ground as if the shield had really blinded me.
Atlantes brought the hippogryph to the ground not far away and dismounted. He left the recovered shield and took a pair of manacles from a saddlebag. I lay still as Atlantes approached me. When he was close enough, I jumped up, jerked the chains from his hands, and used them to restrain the enchanter.
AT LAST! I was only moments away from seeing Rogero again. Thank the Great Mother!