Aurix the Bold

There was a decent crowd gathered to see them off from the west gate. Goodbyes were exchanged, as were promises to return when they could. Aurix missed Cragshadow almost as soon as Nyx started to make for the road outside of town.

“I liked it there,” he told Shlee.

“Me too. It seems one of the last happy places left in all Valeria. That might have changed, if not for you.”

“For us,” Aurix corrected. He gave Nyx’s neck a pat.

“It was a great risk you took. A Shapebreaker is more than just valuable. It is a threat to the realm. If someone were to take that information to Xu’ul…”

Aurix cut him off with a shrug. “I think I’m beginning to figure out the difference between the two of us, Shlee. You worry about doing what’s right for the future. I worry more about doing what’s right for right now. The future will take care of itself.”

Shlee chuckled. “Ah, the naive wisdom of youth makes another appearance.” He winked at Aurix to let him know he was teasing. “There’s some truth to both viewpoints, I suppose.” He fingered the dynox symbol hanging from a strip of leather around his neck.

“Tell me about Cragshadow?” Aurix asked.

Shlee brought Aoni to an easy trot. Nyx kept pace beside her.

“It was my home, once upon an age ago. It wasn’t as big then as it is today, but it’s character was much the same. Good people. A community of sharing and cooperation. They take care of one another better than any other place I’ve been. No one goes without in Cragshadow.”

It dawned on Aurix that there had been no beggars on the streets. Everyone participated in some way, and everyone shared equally in the prosperity.

“Why did you leave?”

“A friend needed me. I had no idea when I left that I wouldn’t be back for an entire lifetime. I returned home a stranger. No one I knew or loved remained.”

“Petra?”

Shlee sighed and gave him a resigned sideways glance. Aurix was surprised when he answered.

“She was the spitting image of her grandmother, who knows how many times removed. I thought I was in love with her once.”

Aurix was tempted to press his luck but decided against it and changed subjects. “Was that the same friend who gave you the Ring?”

Shlee kept his face forward, but Aurix could see him smirking. “Yes. It was.”

“Who was he?”

“A good man. Foonish and intrepid, but loyal to a fault.”

“So why would he give it to you? The Ring, I mean. I could just as easily be talking to him right now.”

“Because not everyone is meant to live forever. Not everyone wants to. He lived plenty in his one lifetime, believe me.”

“And you didn’t?”

Shlee was quiet for a minute as he contemplated an answer.

“My time has been both full and empty, sometimes both at once. But I’ve done my part for Valeria, and that will have to be enough.”

They rode along a clear dirt path cut westward into a broad expanse of lush green grass. To their left, the mountains rose and fell like jagged rows of white-tipped fangs set in a rotting, gray jaw. They swung in a giant arc against the horizon. Somewhere beyond lay the sea.

“They look closer than they are,” Shlee said. “It will take us three days to reach them. In about five miles the grass will grow sparse again, and the ground will become as gray and cracked as the mountains. That is the Grimvale. It is a barren and desolate place. Beyond, in the foothills, we’ll find the Helm.”

“How will we know where to go?”

“You needn’t worry. I know precisely where the Helm is.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I put it there.”

Shlee spurred Aoni into a gallop, leaving Aurix to try to ponder this latest shocking revelation.

After a few arcs they came to a fork in the path. To continue west on the main road would lead them toward the vast Wraithwood and the mysterious, shrieking Rilx before swinging north for the capital city of Glynn. Instead, they took the path to the south, leading to the dark valley seated between the mountains.

“Are there towns along the way?” Aurix shouted to Shlee over the wind and hoofbeats of their galloping caples.

Shlee shook his head. “There’s a place to camp on the second night. A mountain stream for the caples tonight, if it’s not run dry. I doubt we’ll cross paths with anyone coming this way.”

Aurix didn’t realize they were descending into the valley until he saw the thick blanket of fog ahead. The ground sloped and slipped beneath it, obscured.

They stopped for a lunch of fruit and meat, then led the caples on foot for a time to stretch their legs. Aurix soon realized the earth was hard beneath his feet, and when he looked down, he noticed the ground was dark and compacted, and not much softer than stone. He looked back and saw only a thin slice of clear sky visible between the horizon and the murk. Shura was high above them, a pale, white disc just visible through the dense haze. Nova was out of sight, but Aurix knew she had risen from the eerie reddish glow that painted the miasma. He felt a bit like a giant, his head just beneath the gently roiling clouds.

“Creepy,” he said.

Shlee nodded, but his head was momentarily cloaked in mist and Aurix couldn’t see the gesture. “Just wait. If the lightning starts, you’ll see something eerier still.”

After a time, the fog dipped so low they had to dismount again in order to see the nearly indistinguishable path in front of them. The colors shifted and swirled slowly above them, from red to orange to slate gray and back again in a strange, slithering dance. Aurix raised his hand and watched his fingertips vanish in the vapor. It was cold, and tiny droplets of condensation ran down his wrist. He shivered.

Eventually, the fog rose, buffeted on the warmer, late afternoon air. It eased a sense of claustrophobia that had shrouded them like a heavy cloak. They took to the caples again and rode, both mesmerized by the hypnotic, undulating waves of color above.

They arrived at the stream before night had fully fallen. They made their camp at its apparent end—a small pool that must have fed a subterranean spring. The dry earth held little in the way of life. Kindling was sparse, so Aurix and Shlee ate by the light of the glimstone.

Aurix was still bruised and stiff from their adventures in Cragshadow, but he took up his sword against Shlee again that evening, despite it. The sounds of their mock battle were dampened by the fog, and hardly seemed to reverberate at all despite the foothills and peaks surrounding them. Their weapons came together with hollow clanks instead of the ringing clangs he was used to. It was as foreign a place as he’d ever been or seen.

The next day was much the same, though the fog that morning was as purely white as the snowcapped mountains. Aurix and Shlee continued south along the compacted earth road, which as far as Aurix had been able to determine, led to precisely nowhere. The early evening brought a repeat of the ominous, swirling red-gray fog, but this time it was punctuated by razor-thin lightning that traced the underside of the clouds, and lit them spectrally. No rain fell, and only the occasional bolt skipped to the surface, but the hair on Aurix’s arms and on Shlee’s head stood on end until the storms ended later in the evening. It took most of their combined energy to keep the mares calm amid the near constant ripple of crackling thunder.

After, Aurix took another sound beating at the flat edge of Shlee’s sword.

“Better,” Shlee said, his breathing heavy.

Aurix, panting and sore, lay on the hard packed earth and stared up at the finally dissipating fog. “Tell that to my bruises.”

Shlee’s laughter quickly turned to coughs and wheezes. “You may not be able to tell yet, but I can,” he said when he’d regained his breath. “It’s getting harder for me to fend you off. You’re learning.”

“Are you going to show me any parries or thrusts, or are you just going to keep beating me half to death every night?”

“I am showing you. The best way to learn is by doing. Your form is improving because you are watching me. Your body mirrors what you see. Your technique is improving because it must, or you’ll be battered and bruised every time our swords meet. If it makes you feel any better, it’s how I learned.”

Aurix found it hard to imagine the old man a defeated and aching youngster stretched out on the ground while gritting his teeth with the pain of a sound beating. “It may soften the blow to my ego, but not those to my body.”

Shlee laughed again. “Trust me, tis better now by the flat of the blade, than at its edge later.”

“Where are we going exactly?” Aurix asked by the light of a small fire. The night air was chilly and he was glad for the warmth. They’d made it to the small camp at the side of the stream and there was enough dry, dead brush in the area to keep it stoked until morning.

“First into the southernmost foothills. We won’t be ascending the mountainside—we’ll be going under it.”

Despite the fire, Aurix shivered. “Caverns?”

Shlee nodded in the firelight. Aurix thought he looked just a bit more skeletal every time the dim, flickering glow illuminated his face.

“There are hundreds of miles of them below us. It’s where the Raspula live, and why their skin is the color of stone. Until Xu’ul came and instigated a desire to conquer the surface, they didn’t come out much. As barren as it may seem here, there is a whole world beneath our feet—plant life, lakes and rivers, a variety of small animals that have never been seen aboveground. Quite amazing really, and in it’s way beautiful, though I wouldn’t want to spend my life down there.”

Aurix sat up with a wince. “And you hid the Helm there? In the Raspula’s underworld?” he asked, incredulous. “That hardly seems smart.”

“In my defense, they weren’t our enemy at the time. And as I said, there are hundreds of miles of tunnels and caverns. Much of it was, and probably still is, unexplored. We were careful not to be discovered, so really, there’s no reason for anyone to believe that the Helm is there.”

“Except that it’s pretty much the perfect hiding place.”

Shlee shrugged and nodded. “There’s that. And nothing stays secret forever. If someone wants something found badly enough, it will be found. It’s only a matter of time. And Xu’ul has the entire Raspulan race at his disposal to help search. Even a blind man, if he wanders long enough, will find something. And as careful as we were I can’t be certain that we weren’t seen. Unlike the Nulla, the Raspula have incredible night-vision.”

Aurix looked around nervously.

“Yes. I’m quite certain that we’ve been spotted already. Coming in along the stream this way, it’s inevitable, really.”

“Will we be attacked?”

“I can’t answer that, Aurix. It’s a possibility. I think it more likely that they will want to see what we are doing, and where we are headed first before provoking us.”

“Why did we come this way, then?”

“Because there’s not much chance we could have managed the foot of the crags to the east. Not at my age, and not with the mares and an inexperienced climber in tow. Nyx could have done it as a goat or mountain cat, but not us. And frankly, this is faster. Time is our enemy now.”

“Do you have a plan to escape? Or are we just walking into certain disaster?”

Shlee chuckled again. “Why should I start planning now?” He stuffed a soft piece of cheese into his mouth and gummed it to certain death. “If there’s a way, the Helm will know it. And if there is no way, then all this has been for nothing. And that, I do not believe.”

“You’re crazy.”

“You try living four hundred revolutions and see if you aren’t a little crazy by the end.”

Aurix thought that was probably a fair statement. “Are you ready to tell me anything yet?”

“Soon. On the way to Glynn, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Are you going to live that long?”

Shlee chucked a piece of cheese at Aurix’s head. “Go to sleep, squit.”

Aurix laughed. It was only then that he realized that Shlee hadn’t called him whelp in several days. He considered it for a moment and wondered what had changed. He was too exhausted to think much on it that night, but reminded himself to ask the old man the next day.

When Aurix woke to the noise of Shlee’s morning rituals, the sky was clear and brightening from a pale purple. Only then did he realize how far they’d come in the previous two days. The last time he’d seen the mountains, it had been at the top of the valley, and from a distance that made them seem small and insignificant. Now, he felt small and insignificant, dwarfed as he was by the massive peaks on either side of them. They had descended into the valley’s basin and were now maybe half a day’s ride from the southernmost foothills of the Jaw. As it was, Aurix felt a bit as if he was a tiny insect standing on the tongue of a goliath’s mouth, looking around at the giant’s looming fangs. It wasn’t hard to imagine another set of teeth slamming down from the dark heavens to pulverize him into a fleshy, pulpy mess fit for swallowing.

“Good morning,” Shlee said. “We’ll have sun today, methinks.”

“I think you’re right,” Aurix said, checking his internal barometer. “That’ll be a nice change after the last two days.”

“Indeed.” Shlee pointed to a soaring peak to their south. “We’ll arrive at the foot of the Skypierce range not long after Nova rises. If nothing has changed, we’ll have a short climb to a cave where we can camp for the night. With any luck, we’ll have the Helm in hand by tomorrow afternova and be on our way to Glynn the next morning.”

After a breakfast of fruit and bread and cheese, they mounted Aoni and Nyx and set out on the next leg of their journey. Shura was warm, and the heat through Aurix’s leather armor helped to work the kinks out of his sore muscles.

“Why don’t you call me whelp anymore?” Aurix asked during a stretch of easy trotting to rest the caples.

“Would you rather I did?” Shlee asked with a thin, humorless smile.

Aurix gave him a frown. “No. I was just wondering. I realized last night that you haven’t called me that in a while.”

Shlee was quiet for long enough that Aurix wasn’t sure if he was going to answer. He’d long since accepted Shlee’s refusal to answer his questions, and had learned not to let it frustrate him. If he allowed himself to get worked up every time the old man was evasive, he might have killed him the codger by now.

Eventually Shlee said, “I guess it just stopped being appropriate for you, Aurix. When you first came to me all anger and impertinence and righteous fire, whelp was a fitting title. It wasn’t meant as an insult, just a reminder of your youth and that you had much to learn.”

“What changed?”

“Along the way, I discovered that I had nearly as much to learn from you as you from me. In Midian, Regulus told me of your bravery in defending that girl, and your kindness toward the street urchins. Riding into battle with the Nulla to help those people, though utterly stupid, was one of the boldest things I’ve ever seen in my long life. And what you did for Dera in Cragshadow was admirable. It takes someone of great courage and compassion to behave that way without regard for themselves.”

Aurix was embarrassed by Shlee’s praise and said nothing.

“I’ve known good men—good kings—not so valiant as that. I suppose whelp just no longer seemed suitable. You’re a fine lad, Aurix. And if you can keep your head on straight, you’ll be an even better man. I said that Valeria could do much worse than to have me as king, but I’m not sure it could do much better than to have you seated upon the throne.”

“I—”

Shlee held out his hand and interrupted Aurix’s protest. “I know, I know. But it wouldn’t be the worst thing. Valeria could use a bit of youthful enthusiasm and naivety after Xu’ul’s dominion.”

By the time the sky began to gradually shift to orange with Nova’s rise, they had reached the point where they would need to start ascending the foothills. They dismounted the mares and began to lead them up toward the mountain bases. Aurix craned his head and found he could no longer see the top of the mountains at their proximity, but he did have to fight off a wave of dizziness for his efforts. The face of the mountain was mostly barren and carved with sheer cliffs the same shade as his sword’s leaden blade. The shadows of the peaks stole the warmth from the air, and Aurix’s skin was momentarily covered in barrochi bumps as his body adjusted to the change in temperature.

Shlee led them upward and east along a winding trail strewn with rock and the occasional boulder that had eroded away and either rolled or fallen down the mountain face. At times the path was so narrow, they needed to travel single file to get by. Before long, Aurix’s legs burned with the climb. If Shlee was feeling the same discomfort, he hardly showed it. If anything, Aurix thought he seemed more steady than usual on the precarious path and moved as easily as water around the obstructions. For his own part, Aurix kept his eyes down and watched carefully for stones and fissures and other obstacles that might otherwise end up hobbling him or Nyx.

Nova had already begun her steep descent when the path they were traveling along finally widened and leveled out. They took the opportunity to take a break and have a snack to rejuvenate themselves for the remainder of the climb. When Aurix looked around, he found they’d already ascended beyond most of the smaller mounts to their left. They sat below them looking like ragged gashes in the stone. And to their right, the towering side of Skypierce looked to go on and up forever. About a quarter mile ahead, the path vanished around a protrusion of the mountain.

Out of breath, Shlee said, “The cave is not far beyond that bend. I’d hoped to set out to retrieve the Helm tonight, but I’m afraid I’m a bit too winded for that. We’ll have to rest and I’ll retrieve it in the morning.”

Aurix finally noticed how pallid and sweaty his companion’s face was. Apparently, though he’d made the trek look easy, it had been anything but. “I can go, if you tell me where to find it.”

“I know you would, Aurix. But the caverns have to be navigated with great care. If you come upon the Raspula, it would be certain death for you. And unfortunately, I know the place by sight and feel more than anything else. The landmarks aren’t obvious. I can’t just give you directions.”

Nyx raised her head into the air, seeming to sniff at the breeze carried along the rolling sea of stone. She whickered softly, and took a few slow steps backward. She wasn’t panicked, but something had her spooked.

“Snake most like,” Shlee said and visually searched the area around them. He came up empty, but by then Nyx had settled down. He shrugged and fished two apples from the sack slung across Aoni’s back and fed one to each of the mares. Then with an effort, he crouched down to sit with his back against a rock wall and took a long swallow from his skin. “Too old for this, methinks.”

Aurix found a place next to him that would give him a perfect view of Nova’s set and gnawed on a hunk of jerky. “It’s hard to believe it’s been less than a fortnight since we left Dren. So much has happened since then.”

Shlee nodded his agreement. “Dren is a nice but sleepy place. The world moves much faster out here. Life can sneak away from you in a town like that. And there are others, just the same. Some enjoy the peace and tranquility, but it’s not really my speed.” He chuckled. “I like a bit more bustle with my hustle.”

“Then why did you choose to live in Dren at all?”

“Who said I chose anything? I was asked to go there.”

“Why?”

“We’re bordering on things that we’ll discuss on the road to Glynn. But I suppose I can tell you this much now—I was asked to go there because it’s where you were.”

Aurix couldn’t have been more shocked if the old man had smacked him across the face. “What? Why? By whom? My parents?”

“Whoa now. Slow down. I don’t have all of the answers yet, myself. The Helm will help clear some things up for the both of us. I just did as I was asked.”

“Who asked you to come to Dren for me, Shlee?” There was an edge to his voice, despite his resolution to let the old man have his secrets until he was ready to share them.

Shlee sighed, apparently weary of deflecting Aurix’s questions. “My king.”

“What?” Aurix shook his head in confusion and disbelief. “Addix? You knew him?”

“I’ve known many kings. But yes, Ra Addix asked me to go to Dren.”

“Okay, what exactly is going on here? That’s the biggest load of slag I’ve ever heard. Why would the king send you to me?”

“I don’t know. I truly don’t. I’m not even sure he knew.”

“When was this?”

“Not long before The Cleaving. He commanded that I leave immediately and go to Dren to watch over you.”

“How on earth did the king of Valeria even know who I was?”

“I don’t know, but I can guess.”

“Then guess.”

“He is the one that had me hide the Helm here.”

“You expect me to believe that he got my name from Ulixes Helm?” Aurix rolled his eyes. “Right.”

Shlee held out his hands. “You asked me to guess, Aurix. Addix believed the God-Forged were too powerful and needed to be kept apart. Not all the kings before him felt that way. Addix’s father had spent his whole life trying to find them; it’s how the Helm passed to Addix in the first place. He knew I’d been given the Ring and allowed me to keep it for my service to Valeria. Sending me—and therefore the Ring—to Dren was just one more way to keep it hidden and safe.”

“Why you? I don’t get this at all? Who were you to Addix?”

“His Regent. And Regent to the thirteen Ra that came before.”

Aurix’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open.

“Close your mouth, or a bug’ll fly in there,” Shlee said with a cackle.

Aurix snapped his mouth shut. He tried to speak, but couldn’t find the words. His head was spinning at the revelation and the pieces were coming together too quickly for him to make any sense of the picture they were forming.

“Listen to me, lad. Ra Addix didn’t like the idea of anyone possessing the God-Forged. When he grew wise enough to understand their power, he sent those Relics that his father had recovered to the furthest corners of Valeria. That was more than fifty revolutions ago. Each of us left Glynn right around the same time, and none of us knew who the others were or where they were going. Ulixes’ Helm, Xyp’s Boots, Ajax’s Shield and the Armor of Parallax were all taken and hidden across the realm. Then we were all sworn to secrecy. No one had any idea where any of the other Relics were and that was just how Ra Addix wanted it. That said, however, I would not be at all surprised to learn that he had donned the Helm and asked if there was anything he needed to know before he relinquished it.”

“And the Helm of the Gods told him about me? That’s ridiculous.”

“There is some reason that I was sent to you before Ra Addix and your parents were killed by a madman wielding the Sword of Rhexis. I should have been standing beside my Ra on the day of The Cleaving.” The old man’s voice shook and his eyes shone with pooling tears. “Instead, he sent me away to find you. I was Regent to fourteen kings, Aurix, I can only assume that he believed that you would be next.”

Aurix shook his head. “Then he was wrong.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m here whether he was right or wrong.”

A piece snapped into place in Aurix’s mind. He remembered what his uncle had told him about Addix having met with his family before the war. “’E asked ’bout our families and our ’omelands… said yer’s was a fine, strong name, Aurix, and said he was sure you’d grow to be a fine, strong man.” Maybe the king had been making more than just simple conversation. Maybe he’d known something…more.

Aurix was silent for a moment as he let it sink in. He watched the sky change from orange to red and then the color of a fresh bruise as Nova descended. When she’d dipped completely beneath the horizon, the transition reversed and the sky brightened again. When Shura was once more aloft alone, the sky was a blue so pale it may as well have been white.

“The friend that gave you the Ring? He was one of them? The kings?”

“Yes, the first of the fourteen. Ra Xystor the Sly.”

“I thought he went crazy? I always heard him called the Insane.”

“Bah!” Shlee spat on the ground in disgust. “People only remember the worst moments of their kings. Should you ever change your mind, you’d do well to remember that.” He chewed on a small ball of bread, frowning through it all. When he swallowed, he continued. “Xystor and I grew up together in Cragshadow. At that time much of Valeria had been feuding for revolutions—not an all-out war, mind you, but there were petty skirmishes for the crown. And though there were many who claimed the throne as their birthright, they were all too busy fighting with one another to bother leading. Glynn changed hands half a dozen times, and still they fought over it. It was bedlam. Back then Xystor was crazy, but like a kit, and he was no foon. Brash perhaps, but no less brilliant for it. He took the capital with a beggar’s army when most of the royal family was away fighting to keep it. He held the castle through a haphazard and halfhearted siege, but by then everyone had grown tired of the fighting. And most importantly, everyone liked him and he ruled. Fairly and well, I might add.”

“And the Ring?”

Shlee held his hand out in front of him and watched the air pucker and bend around his finger. “Xystor claimed to have found it in the mountains of Cragshadow. Only the Gods know how it got there. He didn’t take it off for almost fifty revolutions. I’d become an old man by then, and he still looked half my age. Had it gone on much longer, people might have caught on. But then the episodes started. Terrible outbursts. He’d wake screaming in the middle of the night and wouldn’t stop until he was coughing up blood. Said the wrath of the dead kings was coming for him. The healers tried everything, but nothing helped. He’d forget who we were, even his children and his queen. He stopped eating, tore his hair out—we’d sometimes find him huddled in a corner mumbling to himself in terror.”

“Gods,” Aurix said. “That sounds awful.”

Shlee nodded. “Oh, it was. During one of his more coherent moments, he called me into his chambers. We threw dice and talked about the old days and laughed until we cried. Then he told me he didn’t want to live with his madness any longer. He slipped off the Ring and put it in my hand. I watched my friend age into a shrunken old man in the span of a minute. He made me promise to look after his family and Valeria. A week later, he jumped from one of the castle towers. Some said he laughed the whole way down.”

“I’m sorry,” Aurix said. “That must have been hard for you.”

Shlee nodded his thanks. “I can only assume it was worse for him. I just hope he found his peace.” He sat in silent reminiscence for a minute, then pushed himself to his feet with an effort and a grimace. “Come. The rest of our answers lie just ahead. Let’s get to our shelter for the night, build a fire and finish this.”

The going was still precarious, and half an arc had passed before they rounded the bend. After another ten minutes, Shlee pointed out a dark spot on the mountainside ahead that would serve as their camp for the night.

Aoni followed quietly, but Nyx still seemed uneasy. The muscles of her neck were tense beneath her black coat, and she snorted every few minutes like something was tickling her muzzle. Twice she stopped altogether and had to be coaxed forward. Shlee told Aurix to keep an eye out for snakes but seemed otherwise unconcerned. He was clearly eager to reach the cave and its promise of rest.

It was much larger than Aurix had first believed upon seeing it. The entrance was jagged, like a great tear in the stone mountainside made at the hands of a wrathful God. It opened more than thirty feet high and was nearly wide enough to accommodate all of them entering side by side. They stepped inside by the last of Shura’s light. From the back of the cave, absolute darkness stretched its black fingers out along the walls and floor. It crept and bled ever so slowly toward them, stretching to wrap them in its embrace. Aurix almost thought he could hear the shadows murmuring—whispering—as they spread like a hungry disease.

He shivered and reached for the glimstone. Before he had it in hand, Nyx whinnied frantically from behind him. Her hooves smacked loudly on the stone floor. There was something strange about the sound, but Aurix couldn’t immediately determine what it was. By the time he heard the hissing, it was too late.

At first he thought perhaps a snake had bitten her. He turned toward her and fished the glimstone from his pocket. Nyx backed out of the cave and reared, screaming into the mountains. Her echo came back to them within seconds, and it dawned on him what was odd about the sound of her hooves. They hadn’t echoed back at them—the cave wasn’t empty.

Aurix spun back toward the darkness and uncurled his fingers from around the pebble. Its eerie red light pushed back the sinister black and revealed an even darker reality. Startled, he dropped the glimstone. It clattered to the ground, casting strange shifting shadows until it came to a rest.

Shlee drew both a sharp breath and his sword simultaneously, the sounds nearly indistinguishable from one another. It took Aurix a few seconds to fumble his own from its scabbard.

“Well, well. I almost didn’t believe it would be so easy.” A heavily armored man leaned casually against the back wall of the cave, flanked by two grinning Raspula, their vast pupils shimmering red in the glow. “There’s no need for those,” he said, motioning toward Shlee and Aurix’s swords. “They’ll just get someone killed.” His voice was oddly accented, and as smooth as the surface of a lake on a still day.

“I think we’ll keep them handy just the same,” Shlee said.

“Suit yourself,” the man said and pushed himself off of the wall. At full height, he stood a head taller than the Raspula. He said something to one of the Raspula. It knelt down and sparked a flint into a small pile of kindling, and squinted its eyes nearly shut as it caught. The other turned its head and raised an arm to shield its eyes.

“Much better,” the warrior said, his eyes burning as hot and white as the sputtering flame. “We don’t see nearly as well as they do in the dark. And your toy,” he said nodding at the glimstone on the ground, “is just inadequate. I’m Banjax. We should talk.”

Without lowering his blade or taking his eyes off of the three figures just beyond the fire, Aurix knelt and retrieved the pebble and slipped it back into his pocket.

“I think we’ll just be on our way,” Shlee said and took a slow step backward.

Banjax smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Will you now? And where will you go?”

Two more Raspula appeared at the cave entrance behind them and blocked their way out.

Banjax held out his hands and shrugged. “And how will you get there?”

The newcomers took Nyx’s and Aoni’s reins. The caples struggled, neighing and snorting and pulling against their captors, but the Raspula held on tight.

Aurix wheeled, intent on protecting Nyx, but Shlee held out a hand staying him. “Don’t,” he said firmly.

“Yes, don’t,” Banjax cautioned. “No need for that.”

Aurix kept his body positioned halfway between the threats before and behind, his head on a swivel. In the firelight, he could see the Raspula’s ashen, cracked skin oozing a yellowish, congealing substance that he could only compare to snot. It hung from them in long strings until they grew too heavy and snapped, dripping to the stone floor of the cave with a soft sizzle. As for Banjax, he had a spiked morning star on one hip and a sword on the other. His black plate mail was streaked and stained with crimson. The blood of his conquests, Aurix was sure. He wasn’t sure which of the threats were worse.

“What do you want?” Shlee asked the man.

“Funny you should ask, since I’m fairly sure you already know.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Shlee said. “My grandson and I are just looking for shelter for the night.”

Banjax gave a melodramatic sigh and leaned back against the wall again. “I have the Helm already, whitebeard. You couldn’t have thought it would remain hidden here forever. Not with an army of Raspula searching for it.”

Shlee relaxed his stance and crouched lower, making himself look as frail and feeble as possible. He said nothing.

“Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you were already on your way with the Ring of Anaraxus.”

“You donned the Helm?” Shlee laughed, but Aurix thought it sounded forced and flat. “I don’t think your Ra will be pleased to hear that. I suspect he’ll remove your head as punishment.”

“Do you think so?” Banjax asked, a terrible smile playing at his lips. “Hmm. I don’t know. I rather think he’ll be willing to overlook that little indiscretion when I bring him both the Helm and the Ring.” He pursed his lips and shrugged. “Still, you could be right. I’ll have to check with the Helm before I get back to Glynn. Better safe than sorry.”

“I’m not sure you’re thinking big enough, Banjax. You could just as easily ask how to overthrow Xu’ul—“

“Ra Xu’ul,” the warrior bellowed. “And I have far too much fun killing to give it up just to rule over this sad little realm.”

“I don’t think you have a full grasp of the possible consequences here,” Shlee said, trying another approach. “Valeria is at grave risk if the Relics are brought together and the Nexus opened. There’s no telling what Xu’ul might do with power over all existence. There may be nothing left for you to kill.”

“You have to admit, it is exciting. Don’t you think?”

“If you believe that, I think you’re a lunatic.”

Banjax grinned again. “Such hurtful words. But I’m afraid they don’t bother me. Sorry.” He stepped forward and crouched in front of the fire, warming his hands in front of it. “Listen, only one of us has to die today. I’m sure you don’t want that fate for your young companion, who looks like he has no idea what to do with that piece of junk in his hand. Give me the Ring and we’ll be on our way back to Glynn.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. If it were simply my life, it would be an easy choice. And how do I even know you’ll let my grandson live?”

“You don’t. But he’ll have a far better chance than if a fight breaks out in this cave, of that I can assure you.”

“If you let him go first, I’ll consider it.”

“No!” Aurix yelled.

Shlee held his hand up again to silence him.

“You seem to think you are in a position to bargain,” Banjax said. “I’m not sure you fully appreciate the situation.” He rose from his crouch, and the two Raspula next to him moved forward several steps and unclasped their distinctive circular weapons from their waists. “You’re surrounded and outbladed. You really should reconsider. It doesn’t have to be bloody. It’s your ch—”

Before Banjax could finish, Shlee plunged his sword into the Raspula nearest him and was back in stance awaiting attack. “Stay behind your sword, Aurix,” he said. “Their ringblades roll easily off of a straight edge.”

Banjax frowned as the Raspula fell to its knees and then its face, dead. He drew both his mace and sword and narrowed his eyes at Shlee. “Hmmm. Who are you, whitemane?”

In seconds, the cave was chaos. The ringing of steel on steel was deafening. Nyx shrieked and reared so high that the Raspula gripping her reins was lifted into the air with her. The Gray collapsed to the cave floor in a heap and bellowed as Nyx’s trampled her head and chest with her hooves.

Aurix had his hands full with the second Raspula inside the cave. Her ringblade sliced through the air, forcing him to block with his sword in an awkward position. He barely had time to bring the sword back up as his opponent changed the direction of her swing. As Shlee had warned, the ringblade slipped dangerously off of his sword. When the Raspula pushed forward, his only defense was to slide to one side or the other, leaving him constantly off-balance.

Banjax used his morning star as a shield, catching Shlee’s every blow amid a shower of sparks. The sharp spikes caught and held the blade for just long enough that a twitch of Banjax’s forearm left Shlee wide open for a strike. Strangely, it was a strike that didn’t come right away. The armored giant seemed content to parry and allowed his opponent to dictate the pace of the fight.

Aurix couldn’t take his eyes off of his own opponent for very long without the risk of losing his head, but he suspected Banjax was letting Shlee wear himself out. After their trek up the foothills, Aurix knew it wouldn’t take long. He ducked under a wild swing from the Raspula in front of him, and struck out with his foot, catching her in an oozing knee. She went down with a hiss of anger, and blocked a swing from Aurix’s sword with her ringblade.

Nyx continued to neigh and had turned her attention to the Raspula holding Aoni’s reins. The Gray tried to block Nyx’s hooves with an upraised arm. On the ground at the mouth of the cave, thin wisps of smoke curled into the air from the caustic blood of the crumpled corpse of Nyx’s first victim.

Shlee managed to turn Banjax a quarter of the way around an invisible circle so his back was to Aurix and his own battle. He raised his blade and swung to Banjax’s right side, forcing him to catch the sword with a backhand of the morning star. As expected, Banjax pivoted his arm back to the right, swinging Shlee to his own right in the process. Instead of fighting to counter the swing, the old man allowed it to carry him around. His blade bit into the back of the Raspula swinging wildly at Aurix. Her flesh opened. She screamed and fell into a pool of her ooze. She didn’t scream for long—Aurix put her out of her misery even before Shlee’s momentum had turned him back to face Banjax.

“Not so outbladed now, are we, warrior?” Shlee taunted.

“Not bad, but as long as I stand, you will always be outmatched.”

Aurix took a step forward to join Shlee. Even with his back to him, the old man sensed his approach.

“Stay back, Aurix.”

The Raspula holding onto Aoni’s reins gave up and ran from the cave. She made a strange ululating noise from the back of her throat as she went. Aurix ran to the caples to check on them. Both looked unhurt, but Nyx was still agitated. Her eyes rolled, and a thin froth surrounded her mouth.

It was mostly dark outside the cave but Aurix could see shadows converging on their position from the foothills, accompanied by a chilling chorus of hisses.

He turned back to the fight in the cave. “They’re coming, Shlee,” he shouted. “We need to go.”

“Oh, I think not,” Banjax said, and finally went on the offensive with his sword. He very nearly knocked Shlee off of his feet with the first strike.

It was immediately clear that Shlee was in dire trouble. He stepped backward, deflecting blows awkwardly while Banjax advanced on him, pushing him toward the side wall of the cave.

“Run, Aurix. You need to go. Now!” Shlee said. He was out of breath from the assault.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You must,” he said, deflecting a brutally heavy swing that pushed his sword into the stone. Sparks leapt from the cave floor. “Don’t let this all be worth nothing.” He sprung to the side with a gasp.

There were already two Raspula advancing on the cave from one side of the path and one from the other. Another clutched at the earth in front of the cave, and began to pull herself up. If Aurix jumped on Nyx now, she might be able to run down the enemy and carry him to safety, but it was dark and the path was plenty dangerous, even in broad daylight. The shadows of at least a dozen more Raspula were on the foothills in the distance.

“Too late,” Aurix said. He picked up the ringblade of the Raspula that Nyx had killed. A single strip of cloth provided a handhold. He tried to ignore the sting on his hands as he gripped the weapon and peeked back outside of the mouth of the cave. He hurled the ringblade in the direction of one of the Raspula. The throw was terrible, but it ricocheted off of the side of the mountain, and found a target anyway. It sheared the fingers from the nearest Raspula as she raised her arm to block the airborne weapon. Her hiss of anger and pain left Aurix’s stomach trembling, but the Grays slowed their advance and proceeded with a bit more caution.

“Be quick, Shlee,” he called. “We’re about to have lots of company.”

“Take Nyx! Go. Now!” Shlee shouted.

The lone Raspula scrabbling at the stone just beyond the path in front of the cave finally pulled herself up over the ledge. Her face was a terrifying, grinning mask.

Aurix raised his sword and prepared to take a swing at her, but between the bright clangs of combat behind him, he heard a whisper in the dusk. Suddenly, something was sticking out of the Raspula’s throat, and her wide, sickening grin disappeared in an instant. She dropped to her knees and then slipped back over the edge, crashing into the side of the mountain as she fell.

Aurix’s brain tried to catch up with his eyes, but it wasn’t until the whisper came again and the Raspula coming down the path toward him fell that he realized there were arrows in the air. “What the—?”

A roar echoed down the path from which they’d come. The two Raspula coming from that direction turned back toward the sound. As a gleaming blade pierced the back of the one nearest to him, Aurix realized that they’d both been run through. Then the blade and bodies moved together and the Grays joined their sister in tumbling down the mountainside.

Standing on the path was a hulking shape, with a long spear in hand. Aurix had no idea whether to be terrified or ecstatic. In the distance, he saw two more Raspula shadows drop mysteriously.

A familiar voice called out. “Hail, Aurix.”

His brain finally caught up. “Regulus? Wha—?”

The monstrous man approached and heard the battle still raging inside the cave. “Later,” he said and pushed past Aurix, Aoni, and Nyx and ducked inside.

Aurix was right on his heels.

“Ey! How about you pick on someone your own size and age,” Regulus bellowed, his spear pointed at Banjax.

Shlee looked relieved and leaned against the wall of the cave, his sword still at the ready. His face was pale and sweaty. “Get… get Aurix out of here, Regulus.” His chest rose and fell as he gasped for air.

“How about we all get out of here, instead?” he replied.

“Sorry to disappoint, but that’s not going to happen,” Banjax said. He kept his mace pointed at Shlee but shifted his sword toward the massive newcomer. “He has something that belongs to the Ra. I will not leave without it. You are welcome to die with him, if you wish.”

Aurix was terrified to see that Banjax was hardly winded at all, even after several minutes of battle. He looked like he could go on forever.

Shlee took a chance and swung his sword, but the attack was so slow, Aurix thought even he could have parried it.

Banjax caught it easily in the spikes of his morning star. He twisted his wrist instantly and violently. Shlee’s sword flew from his hand and landed with its hilt in the fire.

“No!” Aurix said and ran deeper into the cave. He tossed his own sword toward where Shlee stood panting against the wall.

Banjax easily swatted it away in midair with a swipe of his blade. It fell with a clatter back near the mouth of the cave.

“Aurix! Enough!” Shlee shouted. He looked exhausted, but his voice was ferocious. “Regulus, you must take him.”

Banjax waited and watched the exchange with interest. “Do what you’re going to do, giant.”

“You can’t beat him, Regulus.” Shlee’s hands were up in surrender but his eyes were on Aurix. They were wet with tears. “I can’t beat him. You must go and fight another day.”

Regulus kept his pike pointed at Banjax, but wrapped Aurix up in his free arm and took a step backwards.

Aurix fought helplessly against Regulus’ vice-like grip. “No! Let me go! Shlee! No!”

Banjax never looked away from them, but he twisted suddenly at the waist and brought his sword arm around, taking Shlee’s hand off at the wrist. The effect was instant. Blood spilled in great gouts from the wound, but as it met the air, it turned to dust and spilled with a quiet murmur onto the rock. The rest of Shlee’s fine hair fell out and his jowls drooped. His skin seemed to pull away from his flesh and sagged, his wrinkles deepening.

Aurix screamed and tried to pull away, but Regulus held him fast. Hot tears poured down his cheeks.

Banjax watched in awe as Shlee began to disintegrate, still spilling dust from the stump of his arm. The skin of his arm began to wither and crack and slid slowly up toward his shoulder.

Shlee smiled at Aurix. A tooth fell from the top of his mouth to the stone floor with an impossibly quiet click. With his last efforts and seconds, he used his free hand to take the Ring from his amputated hand lying on the cave floor. Blood spilled from it, and was the only part of him not turning to dust. He then hurled it as hard as he could out of the cave. It disappeared into the darkness beyond the path.

Banjax roared in anger and turned on Regulus and Aurix.

Regulus kept hold of Aurix and dragged him back toward the caples and the relative protection provided by the invisible archer.

Shlee was beginning to come apart, his flesh becoming as thin as parchment, but his eyes never left Aurix. “Go.” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “Go, my Ra. Go.” His skin began to shred and fall away from his body. He slumped further down the wall and struggled to keep his eyes open. The arm that had once held the ring crumbled, the rest of him followed, accompanied by Aurix’s anguished cries.

Time, which had seemed to slow almost to a stop, suddenly sped back to normal. Banjax advanced on them, furious at the turn of events. “Ra? You? A little nothing?”

Regulus struggled to keep Aurix from breaking free while only just managing to keep his spear between them and Banjax.

Banjax roared and swung his morning star. More concerned with getting Aurix out of the cave safely, Regulus couldn’t maneuver his pike quickly enough to avoid the blow. The wooden shaft shattered, and the spearhead bounced off of the wall with a clang.

Regulus flung Aurix behind him and raised the remainder of the spear up for whatever protection it might still provide. He was otherwise barehanded and no match for a madman wielding two heavy, steel weapons.

Aurix’s jaw clenched and he wondered whether he would be crushed by the mace or impaled by the sword. Then a rage, white-hot and blinding consumed him. He watched as Banjax drew back his sword. Nyx snorted behind him. Suddenly Amezduleq was unleashed inside the cave. The small fire on the floor erupted into a massive inferno.

Banjax spun back toward it and instinctively raised his arm to protect his face.

Regulus lunged to the ground and out of the path of the flames. He retrieved his spearhead and rolled out into the cool night air. Aoni and Nyx sought cover along the path just beyond the mouth of the cave.

Aurix still lay in a heap on the cave floor just behind Banjax. The pressure and superheated air of the explosion surrounded him. In a haze of grief and fury, he saw a gap between the warrior’s greaves and the bottom of the plates covering the back of his legs. His sword was out of reach, but he remembered he did still have a weapon at his disposal. He slipped the dagger his uncle had given him from its leather sheath on his left wrist. Though his position was awkward, Aurix slashed at the uncovered area. The blade struck home and blood poured from the gaping wound.

Banjax dropped his weapons and fell to the ground with a roar of rage and pain. His superheated black mail glowed orange. He tried to strip off his armor with his right hand and reached for the back of his leg with his left. He rolled with the combined agony of the burns and the gash to the back of his knee.

Regulus had regained his feet and helped Aurix up. “We must go!” He took Aoni by the reins and began to pull her down the mountain.

“Wait!” Aurix said, yelling over Banjax’s cries. His face was still hot, but whether from the firestorm in the cave or his tears, he didn’t know. He retrieved and sheathed his sword, took the glimstone from his pocket and gave it to Regulus. “Lead the way.” Aurix grabbed Nyx, his lungs hot and burning, and began to guide her closely behind Aoni. Every so often, he’d hear a quick whisper slice through the night and knew there was someone out in the darkness keeping their path down the mountain clear.