The Key of Ban

Anxious for the day to begin, Coaldon peeked out from underneath his blankets. Excitement pulsed through his whole body. His active mind fermented with many questions. He thought, “It does not seem possible I am a real prince. I wonder what a prince does to keep busy? Oh well, I guess I will find out soon enough. It should be an easy trip to find a wizard. Very little excitement ever happens in the Outlast. I wonder what a wizard is like? Will he be tall, stately and wise? Or maybe he will be short, quiet and noble?”

  Coaldon’s thoughts were transformed into raw reality of life as the cabin became alive with activity. A cold fog greeted the travelers as they prepared for their journey. At first light of day, the group was ready to depart. Extra care was taken to check the supplies before leaving the cabin. Pacer took command of the planning with the expertise of a veteran explorer. Coaldon’s grandmother was concerned about him going on this expedition. Letting go was not easy for her.

  Coaldon looked at Sid with a sad expression. “You are to stay at the cabin while I am gone. You may be needed to protect the place.” Sid lowered his head with the look of dejection. Coaldon gave the dog a big hug and a kiss on his wet nose.

  After a short farewell, the three men walked into the dense fog. Coaldon led the way up a hidden game trail with confident strides. The trail was narrow, rocky and cluttered with debris. Fallen trees and underbrush blocked the way. Carrying heavy packs quickly raised a sweat despite the cold temperature.

  Coaldon easily selected the best path from a variety of choices. His knowledge of the wilderness eliminated many hours of searching for the correct trails. The shroud of fog started to clear midmorning. As they walked, nature greeted them with a show of grandeur. The sunlight, shining through the morning mist, created a wonderland of beauty. The orange and yellow leaves of autumn drifted to the ground in elegant grace. The rays of the sun were refracted through the morning dew into millions of glittering points of flickering lights. The crunch of leaves under the traveler’s feet brought back memories of carefree childhood days. The sound of the woodland animals surrounded the travelers with a chorus of celebration.

  They took a short noon break in a small meadow along the river. The heavy frost of the past few days had turned the meadow grass to a golden brown. Coaldon noticed elves had been following them for the past few hours. He was delighted to see their beaming faces in the underbrush. It was his elfin sight that allowed him to detect his friends skipping through the dense forest. Coaldon decided it was important to gather information from them about the current events in the wilderness. He used the excuse of looking for gemstones to take a short walk into the underbrush.

  As he entered the forest, several elves greeted him. Coaldon was happy to see their smiling, robust faces. Each moment of their lives seemed to dance with excitement. They only stopped laughing long enough to answer Coaldon’s questions.

  He learned Emperor Wastelow was planning to arrest Brad and Ingrid. The wood elves had news about strange events in the Outlast. They talked about the appearance of a black mist that was searching the country side. Shadows in the night had been seen in the wilderness. Mysterious footprints announced the presence of unknown creatures in the high country. Without warning the wood elves leaped to their feet, listened to the wind and rushed into the brush. This sudden action was typical of the elves’ excitable nature. Coaldon sat for several moments reflecting on this new information. It seemed unforeseen problems were being added to their agenda.

  Upon returning to the meadow, Coaldon shared this information with Pacer and Earthkin. This news seemed to confirm their suspicion that an evil power was being awakened in the Empire. They were confident in their ability to handle any problems they might encounter.

  Coaldon set a rapid pace for the afternoon. No sign of any unusual activities was found along the path. The trail became more difficult to follow in the dense undergrowth. The sun was setting when Pacer found a campsite. A large tree with drooping branches provided protection from any unwanted visitors. Coaldon’s feet were sore from the long walk. After a hot meal the travelers rolled into their sleeping blankets. The night was filled with the harmonious sounds of nature.

  The following afternoon brought the first major decision. The group took a short break to decide which route to follow. They could take a longer, easier route to the West or challenge the unknown dangers of the Pass of Doom. A major winter storm could close the mountain passes any day. With a display of enthusiasm the group decided to risk taking the north trail to the Pass of Doom. The trail was shorter, but much more dangerous and demanding. It was rumored that spirits of the dead roamed trails of the Pass. Most people only laughed at this folk tale, while others claimed the Pass was haunted by revengeful spirits. The importance of their mission out-weighed the potential risk.

  They crossed Rolling River in a wide, shallow section below a series of rapids. The most direct route required using the old North Ridge Trail. The group followed the steep rocky trail along a cascading stream flowing out of Silver Glacier. Many times they lost the trail in the maze of rockslides and washouts. Near the top of a ridge, Earthkin slipped on a loose rock with nearly disastrous consequences. He slid down the steep mountainside for fifty strides before he stopped his fall by grabbing a small tree. As he struggled to his feet, Earthkin looked over the edge of a sheer cliff several strides below him.

  The dwarf said in relief, “That was too close for comfort. I have never had this happen to me before. I wonder if a shadow of danger is following us?”

  When they reached the top of the ridge the travelers took an extended rest. The trail continued into a narrow ravine below a towering peak.

  Darkness came early with the shortened days of early winter. They selected a campsite below a rocky shelf on the west side of the ravine. Pacer was happy with the second day’s progress. A fire was started to help drive away the cold night air and prepare a hot meal.

  During the evening Pacer and Earthkin told stories of their adventures in far off lands. Coaldon realized he was traveling with men of vast experience and wisdom. He was surprised when they asked him to lead the party. Maybe they wanted him to experience the role of being a leader. He knew Pacer would step in if things got tough.

  Pacer took extra time to express his fondness for fire. He explained a campfire was known as the traveler’s companion. It protected, warmed, guided, healed, dried, inspired, enchanted and cooked. Before going to sleep, they divided the night watch.

  Coaldon awoke from a sound sleep by a now familiar sense of fear. He felt, rather than saw, the black mist. He pulled on his heavy coat as he walked over to Earthkin. The dwarf was focusing his full attention on the sounds of the night.

  Coaldon stated, “I detected presence of evil.”

  The dwarf declared, “I do not feel any sense of danger. Everything is all right. You can rest assured I am in control.”

  Before Coaldon sat down, he added wood to the fire. The extra heat was welcome to his cold body. Then, without thinking, he jumped up, automatically pulled his sword from its scabbard and stood in a ready position. Several steps behind Earthkin, he saw the black mist illuminated by the campfire. To Coaldon’s surprise, he heard himself command, “Stop, by order of the Blade of Conquest!”

  The black mist remained motionless. Coaldon shouted, “Who is your master? Speak!”

  A moan of grief sounded from the mist. It hissed, “I follow the commands of Crossmore.”

  Coaldon stepped toward the mist ordering, “Tell me why you are here?” With hesitation it responded, “The master is searching for Topple.”

  Coaldon struck the black mist with a quick stroke of his sword. A scream of agony penetrated the silence of the narrow valley.

  Earthkin sat dazed with his eyes focused on the ground. The dwarf slowly raised his head looking at Coaldon with an empty gaze. With a jolt of awareness, he dropped his head into his hands.

  As he collected his thoughts, Earthkin realized he had been in great peril. In a weak voice he commented, “I
felt something beginning to probe my mind with small pulses of energy. The encroachment into my thoughts was so subtle that I was only vaguely aware of its presence. It could have captured me if you had not intervened. My head is beginning to hurt. It must have left some type of poison or vile residue.” Earthkin stood up and walked with slow, uncoordinated movements.

  He gasped, “I have never experienced such evil!”

  Coaldon said, “It was the black mist. It was searching your mind for knowledge. I suggest we get some sleep because of our long hike tomorrow. It is best to discuss this subject in broad daylight. We can do nothing more tonight.”

  Coaldon quickly fell asleep, but his two companions spent a restless night. The unusual events of the night brought the stain of fear.

  The morning sun shone directly into their protected campsite awaking the three travelers. Pacer braved the chilly morning air to rekindle the campfire. A cloud of fog covered the bottom of the narrow ravine. Below them the top of a fog bank stretched out like a soft, velveteen blanket. The delicate song of a mountain blue bird drifted over the campsite. Two rock squirrels scampered over Coaldon’s legs. They both stopped when Coaldon extended to them a warm greeting. They stood on their back legs and chattered a happy welcome. The shadow of a red hawk sent the squirrels running for safety. Coaldon returned to a pleasant sleep as Pacer and Earthkin prepared breakfast.

  For a moment Coaldon forgot he was an 18-year-old half-elf on a mission. He was once again a boy and Grandma Ingrid was calling him to get him up. He remained snuggled deep into his sleeping blanket until Earthkin’s touch abruptly brought him back to reality.

  The party consumed the morning meal knowing a difficult task lay ahead of them. The topic of discussion around the fire was the visit by the black mist. Pacer and Earthkin recognized they needed to prepare to fight a new enemy. Coaldon and the sword were becoming valuable members of the expedition. The group realized the relaxed atmosphere of yesterday had been turned into the serious events of today. This was no longer a casual walk in the woods.

  Pacer decided to take the lead. His eyes never stopped scouting ahead in search of anything unusual. The rocky trail switched back and forth up the steep hillside in a snake-like pattern. They soon reached the elevation where only scrub trees and brush could survive. The bare rocky hillsides offered a stark contrast to the green forest of the valley.

  After hiking all morning the travelers saw the Pass of Doom dominating the landscape directly ahead of them. They discovered it would be necessary to climb a majestic cliff in order to reach the Pass. Coaldon felt a sense of elation at the challenge lying before him. The tops of the nearby peaks were covered with a fresh blanket of snow. Black clouds on the western horizon meant a snowstorm was developing. Pacer decided they needed a short break before tackling the pass.

  Pacer commented, “I feel something is watching us. For some reason, it does not want to reveal itself. We could wait until tomorrow before starting the climb.” Earthkin injected, “If we are going to be attacked, it would be better to move quickly. Whoever is watching us will be better organized tomorrow.”

  The slope leading to the face of the cliff was a pile of large broken boulders. The trail was a maze of different paths branching across the rock field. By choice and by chance, the party finally ended up at the base of the sheer wall. After carefully studying the cliff, they saw a trail cut into rock. The narrow, treacherous trail angled upward toward the summit of the Pass.

  It was apparent by the piles of undisturbed dirt the trail had not been recently used. Large rocks blocked the path in many places causing delays in their progress. It was necessary to climb around jagged boulders with extra care. A fall would mean certain death. The trail had broken away from the face of the cliff in several places. One collapsed section spanned a distance of fifteen strides. After examining the collapsed section, Pacer took the ends of two ropes and inched across the sheer cliff wall with ease. His fingers and toes seemed to hold to the cliff like a spider. After reaching the other side, he secured the two ropes to an outcropping of rocks. One rope was tied higher than the other. Following Pacer’s example, Earthkin tied the rope on their side of the collapsed trail. Earthkin was first to step onto the bottom rope while holding onto the top line. He carefully moved his feet across the rope with surprising skill and balance. He easily reached the other side.

  Coaldon had never confronted such a challenge in his life. He gritted his teeth with uncertainty as he stepped onto the loose rope. The tension in his body caused him to move across the rope in awkward jerks. Half way across the rope he lost his balance falling backwards over the cliff. His feet slipped off the bottom rope forcing him to hang on the top rope for dear life. Swinging wildly, Coaldon’s body smashed into the cliff. In terror he looked down to see piles of jagged rocks far below him. His mind and body froze in the face of impending death. It took several moments before he was able to push away the paralyzing grip of terror. He looked up to see Pacer’s large hands reaching down to him. Hand over hand Coaldon climbed across the rope until he was able to grab Pacer’s hands. Coaldon felt the strength of Pacer’s powerful body pulling him up. He celebrated with a loud shout when he was again safely on the trail. Coaldon glowed in satisfaction at his ability to successfully overcome the challenge of a perilous situation. This achievement helped him find renewed self-confidence.

  They reached the snow line about half way up the cliff. Pacer pushed the party to move up the trail at a steady rate. Coaldon’s legs were starting to burn with fatigue as he neared the top of the grade. The trail opened onto a wide expanse of loose granite and shale. Pacer, who was in the lead, suddenly dived for the cover of a large bolder. Coaldon and Earthkin followed without question or noise.

  As they watched, five large beasts walked onto the path towards them. These tall, muscular beasts had brown leathery like skin. Their round flat faces were adorned with several small, curved horns on their foreheads. Their large yellow eyes squinted in the bright sunlight. Coaldon remembered seeing pictures of these beasts in children’s books. Pacer started to talk in a low voice. “These beasts are called trogs in the ancient Book of Lore. They are very dumb, but were once known to be great warriors. I think they are looking for us.”

  The five trogs continued to walk down the path towards their position. Pacer whispered, “When they are past us, we will attack. Try to wound their legs first.” The trogs were talking in deep guttural voices as they walked passed the large rock.

  Coaldon attacked the first trog with the flash of his sword. The trog fell to the ground with a deep cut on his leg. The roar of pain shocked Coaldon. He had never attacked anything with intent to wound or kill. As he stood dumbfounded, the second trog took a wide swing at him with a long black sword. Coaldon reacted with the swiftness that his grandfather had taught him. He fell to his knees as the trog sword whistled over his head. With precision, his sword cut deeply in the bowels of the beast. A wet smelly liquid sprayed into Coaldon’s face.

  With his eyes covered with the foul liquid, he rolled several times to his right. He jumped to his feet, wiping the fluid from his eyes. He had no time to recover before the wounded beast again attacked him. He blocked a wild swing of the trog with a quick upward flick of his sword. While the beast’s arm was in an extended position, Coaldon made a quick downward stroke. The sword cut deep into the trog’s left legs. The beast fell to the ground in a heap of rolling flesh.

  Coaldon quickly backed away from the battle scene to clear his vision. As he watched, he saw Earthkin and Pacer put down the other three trogs. The roar and cries of the wounded slowly melted into the quiet agony of suffering. It was not something Coaldon enjoyed.

  After grabbing their backpacks and with their swords in hand, they moved swiftly up the trail. They stopped when they reached the summit. A foul aroma led them to a campsite in a sheltered area near the top of the pass.

  Earthkin said, “The trogs must have been guards. But who would want them to guard the pass??
??

  Pacer searched but found nothing of any value in the camp. He did find a piece of leather with the symbol of a cross inside a circle. A large amount of foul smelling food was cached in a nearby cave.

  Pacer said, “It looked as if they were going to be here for a long time.”

  Before starting down the northern front of the pass, the travelers took the time to look over the vast terrain. In all directions they saw the world falling away into a distant haze. Coaldon tried to estimate the location of his home. He felt sad that the grandeur of nature could be corrupted by evil. Darkness was approaching as small flakes of snow started to fall.

  Pacer stated, “We have no time to waste. We must be off this mountain before the snowstorm entraps us.”

  Earthkin took the lead without any discussion. They walked with long strides until it was totally dark. The snow was about one hand deep when they stopped for their first rest. Earthkin took out a short rope from his backpack. He told Coaldon and Pacer to tie the rope around their waists in order to keep everybody together. Earthkin, being a dwarf, could easily see in darkness. Their progress slowed as the snowstorm became more intense. Strong gusts of wind blew snow into their faces. After an hour, the snowdrifts were about four hands deep. At one point, Coaldon lost his footing on the steep slope. As he slid down the trail, he ran into Pacer and Earthkin. The tangle of arms, legs, ropes and packs created a turmoil of confusion. The narrow trail did not allow much room to get started again. It was a challenge for the travelers to keep moving. Cold and exhaustion were starting to affect their minds and bodies.

  Earthkin stopped in the shelter of a rock face.

  He declared, “It is good to be out of the wind! Should we stop here for the night?”

  Pacer declared, “If we stop we may never get out of here. This storm could create drifts forty hands deep.”

  Earthkin and Coaldon agreed to continue after a short rest. Coaldon never believed hiking could be so difficult. He kept going with the doubt of survival growing in his mind. Each progressive step became more difficult. He started to hear voices talk to him. Coaldon kept hearing somebody inviting him to close his eyes and take a long nap. He knew he should not sleep but had to keep pushing his way through each snowdrift.

  Many times Coaldon’s tired body wanted to sit down and rest. In order to change the focus of his thinking, he established a cadence of words. “I can keep going! I will make it! I must keep going!”

  These words were repeated over and over as he staggered down the trail. He was so focused on his struggle to survive that he did not notice when it had stopped snowing. Looking down, he realized the snow was only several hands deep. The trail opened into a small clearing with a stream off to the left. Earthkin and Pacer untied the rope and explored the area. Everybody was happy when Earthkin found a cave hidden by brush. Earthkin’s earth-powers helped detect an open space in the earth.

  ~ ~

  Finding Topple