Priestess of the White

Smiling, she moved to the end of the ledge. It was time to go. Time to return to the army. Drawing magic, she sent herself upward. The valley shrank beneath her. She turned to fly in the direction of the pass.

A rumble brought her attention back to the ground. Dust was wafting up from the rocks below. Then grass, soil and rocks began to stir. Chaia’s words echoed in her mind.

You should not linger here alone any longer, however. You are in danger...

If she was in danger, then whatever was happening was enough to threaten even a powerful sorceress. She felt a flash of fear, but it was followed by an equally strong surge of curiosity. Stopping in midair, she looked down. The rocks were now tumbling down the slope into the valley. Clouds of dirt were gusting from behind them. From somewhere inside the earth, something - or someone - was about to emerge.

She had heard tales of mountains exploding and bleeding out molten rock, causing devastation for great distances. If that was about to happen, she probably shouldn’t be hovering right above these shifting rocks. She should fly away as quickly as possible.

The area of disturbance below her was small, however. The mountains around her showed no signs of upheaval. The only area of strangeness was the place she had been standing.

Chaia didn’t say I had to return to the army, just that I should not linger here alone. Would I be safe if I watched from the other side of the valley?

Moving away, she flew to a rock formation on the other ridge and looked back. She could see a cave forming as more rocks spewed out of the ground.

Tales of great monsters living in caves under the mountains came to mind. Considering how exaggerated the tales of the Siyee were - describing them as beautiful humans with bird wings attached to their spines - it was likely those tales were as inaccurate. However, if such a beast was about to emerge, she wanted to see it.

But I had better make sure it doesn’t see me.

She searched the rock formation for possible hiding places, then dropped down into a shadowy crevice. It was barely wide enough for her to stand in sideways and the air within it was damp and cold, but it concealed her and gave her a view of the valley.

A boom brought her attention back to the opposite slope. Rock and soil sprayed out of the cave. Silence and stillness followed. All vegetation around the ledge was gone. Grass, trees and creepers had been blasted away along with soil and rocks. What remained was clearly man-made.

She saw that the rocks she had assumed were natural were stone bricks. The exposed face had been made up of collapsed walls. A massive lintel stood across the top of a gaping hole. On it she could make out a simple carved design: a pick and a shovel.

It was the entrance of a mine.

Her stomach sank as she recalled the possibility being discussed and dismissed in the war council that the Pentadrians were traversing the mountains via mines. According to the Dunwayan ambassador the mines didn’t reach as far as Hania.

Clearly they did. As a black-robed figure emerged from the darkness, star-shaped pendant glittering, she began to understand how badly she and her fellow White had underestimated their enemy. The sorcerer’s face tilted up to greet the sunlight and Auraya went cold all over. It was the one who had attacked and defeated her months before. Kuar.

She sought a familiar mind.

:Juran?

The response was immediate.

:Auraya! Where are you?

:Here.

As she let him see what she was watching, more of the Pentadrians began to emerge. They blinked in the sunlight as their leader moved out onto the ledge. She could see now that the dirt had been swept away to expose large squares of flat stone - paving.

The black sorcerer reached the edge and looked down the steep slope. He held his hands out, palms down. Grass and soil flew into the air, slowly revealing a steep staircase leading to the valley floor. When the entire flight was clear, the Pentadrian leader stepped aside and his followers began to descend.

:Where are you? Juran repeated, his question more alarmed than accusing this time.

:A valley running parallel to the one you are following. Let me show you. She sent him what she remembered of the view from above.

:How far are they from the mouth of the valley?

:A day’s walk, she guessed. If they have been travelling all night they may stop now to rest.

The sound of voices and marching feet filled the valley, and grew steadily louder as more and more Pentadrians spilled out of the mine. All looked intensely relieved. Some paused to breathe deeply and gaze up at the sun. Once on the valley floor, they stopped to wait and watch their companions emerge. Their leader remained on the ledge, smiling with obvious satisfaction.

And well he should, Auraya thought. What he has achieved is amazing.

:This changes everything, Juran said. We must hurry if we are to meet them. The Dunwayans will have to travel even faster in order to join us.

:The traps they set in the pass are useless now.

:At least they will slow or stop other Pentadrians sneaking through to bite at our heels.

:How long will it take you to head them off? she asked.

:A day. Maybe more. We will have to face them on the plains.

And lose the advantage of fighting in the pass. Auraya sighed. The mass of black robes gathering in the valley below was like a steadily growing pool of ink.

:How did you find this place?

The question came from Dyara. Auraya could not help smiling.

:Coincidence. I was walking along that ledge. Chaia appeared and warned me not to linger. As I left, the ground began to stir.

:Chaia told you they were about to emerge? Juran asked.

:No, he told me I would be in danger if I stayed where I was. I thought at first that he meant I should leave the valley, but when I saw that the disturbance was restricted to one place I decided to hide and watch.

Another figure joined the man on the ledge. A woman this time. She looked familiar.

:You will be in danger if they find you, Juran told her.

Screeching echoed out of the passage.

:Yes, Dyara agreed. Leave now. We have seen all we need to see.

Flapping forms spilled out of the passage. Auraya shrank deeper into her hiding place as black birds began to circle the valley.

:I don’t think that would be wise right now, unless you don’t mind them knowing they’ve been seen.

There was a pause.

:Stay, then, Juran agreed. Wait until they move on.

:And hope they don’t decide to camp for the night, Dyara added.

The pool of black robes had become a lake. After several minutes sinuous black forms flowed out. Vorns. Auraya frowned as she watched the murderous sorcerer Rian had fought join the two on the ledge.

Three black sorcerers. Two more to go. She could do little more than wait and watch as the rest of the Pentadrians emerged. She sensed her fellow Whites’ attention shift away. No doubt they were busy organizing their own army’s retreat down the pass road.

Another woman and man joined the trio on the ledge. To Auraya’s relief, the pair brought no other sinister animal companions with them. The birds and vorns were bad enough. Each column of the army was made up of