Proteus nodded, “Got it. Go whenever you’re ready.”
With that Jon suddenly rolled to his right, pushed off the ground with his hands, and got to his feet in a flash. He dove forward and off the edge of the hillside onto a steep slope while Proteus immediately dashed forward before the ambushers fired at Jon but he did hear the whiz of two bolts behind him a moment later. He reached the advanced point without incident and then called out to Jon, “Are you all right?”
“I’m good,” Jon shouted across the trail. “They’ll be moving into position to get at me in a second. I’ll tell you when I see them and you can make a dash.”
“If they’re smart,” said Proteus, “one will move to position while the other keeps his eye on me. If there are only two of them.”
A few moments passed without a sound as Proteus waited for word from Jon and the big gray knight watched a rock platform about fifty yards up the hill from his current position.
“He should be there by now,” said Jon. “I’m going to make a dash. Do you hear anything?”
Just as he spoke a harsh cry sounded from up ahead and Proteus immediately pulled his sword from its scabbard and charged up the hill. Jon, in an awkward position, needed to climb back onto the trail before he followed but, once up, quickly gained ground as his massive strides gobbled up the distance like a champion race horse in full flight.
Proteus got to the ambush spot and found a heavyset orc in thick leather armor studded with metal face down on the ground blood spurting from a wound under its arm. A heavy wooden crossbow with two dozen bolts laid out neatly on the rock sat nearby. A moment later Sorus appeared around the corner and smiled at Proteus. “I got this one from behind but the other one saw me coming, dropped his gear, and ran up the hill. I got him in the leg and tossed his crossbow off the side of the mountain. He crawled off but there’s a cave right back that way. I passed it when I came around. I’m sure that’s where the snake creature and the skeleton thing went.”
At that moment Jon suddenly appeared from around the corner his huge stone sword in one hand and a grin on his face. “Chattering away like ladies,” he said with a smile.
“The work’s all done,” said Proteus and clapped Sorus on the back. “Our young Nightwalk managed to kill this one here and chased the other one off. We were just deciding if we wanted to pursue or look into the cave where our real foes went.”
Jon looked up the trail for a moment, “The crossbowman doesn’t matter,” he said. “Where is this cave?”
“I’ll catch up,” said Proteus as he turned and sprinted back down the trail.
“Where’s he going?” said Sorus to Jon who watched the older knight dash around a corner and vanish from site.
“He’s getting the saddle bags,” said Jon. “With our equipment in case we get stuck underground again. We should have thought of that.”
Sorus nodded his head, “Especially because we just made that mistake a couple of days ago.”
“Proteus will catch up,” said Jon with a nod and a smile, “Where is the cave?”
“This way,” said Sorus and pointed up a little path that led away from the main trail. “I’m sorry it took so long,” he said as they walked. “I ran into a big bunch of scrub brush with thorns and had to go around. Then I got a little lost,” he admitted as he looked forward up the narrow trail. “I ended up too far up the trail and didn’t know if I was ahead of them or behind them so I went back around again.”
“You did just fine,” said Jon. “It’s easy to lose direction in these hills and you came through in the end. Stabbing a fellow from behind is never easy either,” said the gray knight, his own massive strides easily keeping up with Sorus as they ascended the little game trail. “It doesn’t seem honorable but when it comes down to someone living and someone dying it needs doing at times.”
Sorus looked back at the gray knight for a moment and smiled, “I didn’t think about it too much. I saw him there pointing his crossbow down towards the trail and just did it. Here, right up here is the cave. I didn’t get much of a chance to look at it but, like Proteus said, why else would they set up the ambush at this spot?” he said and pointed to a narrow crack in the cliff face.
“There could be another opening further up,” said Jon, but Sorus shook his head.
“There could be,” he replied, “but why not start here?”
Jon nodded. “We’ll have to wait for Proteus, I’m guessing he has flint to start a fire. I’ve got a light stone,” he continued and pulled out an egged-sized piece of crystalline rock of a strange purple color. “Stone of light, show the path!” he said in a quick mantra.
“You can do magic,” said Sorus looking at Jon with wide-opened eyes.
“Not really,” said Jon. “My brother Val made this for me and taught me the command words,” he continued as the rock began to glow with a dim light. “When we get into darkness it gets brighter. Let me go in first, you wait for Proteus. I’ll call out if there’s anyone waiting to say hello.”
Sorus nodded as Jon, rock in one hand and thick gray sword in the other darted forward into the dark. He had to duck and turn his body sideways to enter the narrow crevasse but disappeared within it a moment later. Sorus stood at the entrance and looked first to the entrance and then down the trail and then back again to the cave. The seconds seemed to pass slowly as his heart beat heavily in his chest and he remembered his blade plunging into the back of the crossbowman and then the pursuit of the second. He didn’t feel any regret about doing, it but a strange sense of sadness overcame him as he pictured the dead orc in the rocks. When Proteus suddenly appeared it caught him by surprise and he jumped back.
“Where’s Jon?” said the older knight, a saddlebag over his shoulder but sword still one hand.
“In there,” said Sorus with a motion to the cave. “He went ahead and told me to stay and wait for you.”
“Makes sense,” said Proteus and with that pulled a small stone from his pack, tapped it twice, and then waited a few seconds as it began to glow.
“Does everyone have one of those except me?” said Sorus as he shook his head.
Proteus pulled a second rock out of the bag and handed it to the young knight, “Tap it twice to activate it and then twice more to turn it off,” he said. “Now you have one of your own.”
Sorus took the rock and copied the motions Proteus made and soon the little stone began to glow noticeably.
“Come along,” said Proteus as he ducked into the narrow opening. “We can’t let Jon get all the glory.”
Sorus watched him for a moment and then went in after, although he did not have to duck his head or turn sideways to enter. A moment later he found himself next to Proteus in a large chamber where sparkling lights seemed to glow in the rocks like stars. “Do you see him?”
Proteus lifted the hand that held the stone and pointed to a little glowing light that came from below them and seemed to bounce along like a ball across the ground. “Don’t call out; the noise can carry a long way down here. Watch your feet,” he continued as he pointed to a rock-strewn path that led down towards the bottom of the large cavern. “It’s easy to trip in the dark and I don’t want you cracking open that skull of yours again.”
“Right,” said Sorus with a smile as his hand started to go to his head, but the stone occupied one while his sword occupied the other, and he was unable to check on the bandages. “Forward then,” he finally said and started the treacherous descent. “We can’t let Jon get too far ahead, he’s a bit reckless that one,” he concluded.
Proteus laughed, “You could say that, but when you’re seven foot tall with a sword like that who can blame him for a little overconfidence,” he said and followed Sorus gingerly down the narrow pass. At a couple of spots rock overhangs seemed to show signs of work as if someone cleared the way just enough to allow passage but not enough to make it easy. After a few long minutes and a couple of near tumbles they arrived at the base of the cavern where long rock columns extended from the ceiling in glorius displays of orange and silver almost like a stone waterfall.
“It’s beautiful,” said Sorus as he stopped for a moment to gaze up and around in all directions. “The other cave wasn’t like this.”
Proteus nodded and pointed to a long walkway that lay in front of them. “Someone smoothed that out,” he said, “but keep cautious. These caves usually have centipedes so don’t just put your hand anywhere. They’re poisonous as can be.”
Sorus nodded and went forward as his eyes scanned to the left and right before he peered ahead. Down below he couldn’t see Jon’s light bobbing ahead anymore since the wall of the cave bulged out and blocked off the view. “I don’t see Jon,” he said as he moved forward steadily and almost ran headlong into the young gray knight as he came from the other direction. Sorus jumped backwards and smashed into Proteus, knocking the light stone out of his hand to the floor, where it skittered into a narrow crevice and vanished.
