Blades of the Banished - Robert Ryan Page 0,40

tracks of alar horses were on the dusty road. That much was expected, but there also he saw many boot marks, iron-shod and deep.

“Elugs have been here,” he said. “This far up the road they came, but no further. Whether that means they hunt us still, or have given up the chase, I cannot say.”

Aranloth looked puzzled, and Erlissa explained their clash with elugs down at the base of the range.

“That they followed you is a given,” the lòhren said. “But elugs and Azan do not live together, though they may dwell near one another. I would say that they pursued you, but having reached this far, they would go no further into Azan lands. That does not mean, of course, that they do not lie in wait somewhere below against the chance of your return.”

Lanrik sighed. It was just one more enemy that he did not need, and one more reason why he may not live to bring word back to Esgallien of the impending invasion.

14. Foreboding

Lanrik looked out to the north. Home lay in that direction. But immediately ahead was Galenthern. Not the green and lush plains that he knew so well, but still something with which he was familiar.

The grass was baked brown by the sun, and today was a hotter day than most. The plains shimmered below him. He did not see as far as he was used to from the tor near Esgallien on a clear-aired winter’s day, but he could still see well enough, and what he observed made his blood run cold.

Wherever he looked he noticed signs of a gathering army. In some of the nearby valleys, still under a night-like shadow due to their steep sides and depth, he observed camped hosts.

They were elug hosts. They infested the valleys and gorges, and they poured along roads and trails like ants returning to a nest. When their numbers were swollen enough, they would burst like a flood over Galenthern and rush toward Esgallien.

The elugs were not alone. There were riders among them: white-robed Azan. In this war not only would they serve as the leadership of the elug army, they would fight themselves. He saw also lethrin. They were few in number, but their size and black battle dress ensured they stood out.

“This must still be only a part of their preparations,” he said.

Aranloth stirred beside him. “The Graèglin Dennath is vast,” he answered. “But these same scenes must be taking place for hundreds of miles to left and to right. It’s the greatest gathering of our enemies in many hundreds of years.”

A long time they could have watched, for the incessant activity and ever-growing numbers drew the eye, but they did not.

“You don’t see them,” Lanrik said. “But there are Raithlin on the plains. They are not that far away, and I wish to be with them. I’ve had enough of the Graèglin Dennath.”

He nudged his mount forward, and the others followed. There was not much of a trail, and soon even that disappeared. It seemed the Azan preferred their dry mountains and ventured seldom onto the plains.

He recognized few landmarks, for when he and Erlissa had ventured up the trail they had done so at night. But from time to time he saw something that he knew, and using that as a guide, he deliberately veered from the way that they had followed on the first journey. He had not forgotten the elugs. They could be here somewhere, waiting, only now they had more help ready to hand. It was best to try and avoid them.

Despite his fears, he saw no enemies. As they went lower, the elug-filled valleys were no longer visible. Nor could he see much of the plains. The heat rose in waves and the air was full of fine dust.

What he did see was movement higher up, near to where they had begun their descent. But it was not a rider. It was an animal, and it leaped from boulder to boulder and among the shattered rocks of a high and inaccessible ridge. It moved with seamless grace, despite its precarious footing. It was goat-like, though larger, stronger, and fleeter of foot. And it had great horns, twisted things, beautiful but likely deadly. It paused, perched delicately upon the crest of a rounded boulder, and looked down at him even as he looked up.

“It’s a talnak,” Aranloth said. “Rare these days, for the Azan hunt them, though the hunting is dangerous in the beast’s favored high places.