Raymond Feist - Krondor - The Betrayal

They left the inn and hurried on the road toward the town of Eggly. Locklear glanced upward, considered the rapidly rising ridge above the trees on the western side of the trail and considered the wisdom of hiking up to that elevation and over the mountains down into a nest of killers over which presided a murderous moredhel sorcerer. Finally he was left with the only answer which he could come up with: there wasn’t a better idea presenting itself.

Resigning himself to a long walk and cold nights, he followed Gorath, with Owyn at his side.

THE WIND HOWLED THROUGH THE PASS.

Locklear spoke through chattering teeth. ‘The things I do for king and country.’

Gorath said, ‘Ignore the cold. As long as you can feel your fingers and toes, it is only discomfort, nothing more.’

‘Easy for you to say,’ said Owyn shivering almost uncontrollably. ‘You’re used to it, living up in the Northlands.’

‘You’re never “used to it”, human. You just learn to accept things over which you have no control.’ He looked meaningfully at the two young men, then pointed. ‘We can expect to see a sentry any time now.’

‘What should we do?’ asked Locklear, the cold and his hunger robbing him of his wits.

‘Wait over there,’ said Gorath, ‘while I scout.’

Locklear and Owyn went to the relative shelter provided by the lee side of a huge boulder and waited. Time dragged on and Owyn and Locklear sat close together to preserve warmth.

Suddenly Gorath returned. ‘There are four guards near the barn,’ he said. ‘Within, I do not know, but even alone Nago is dangerous.’

Locklear stood and stomped his feet to restore warmth, flexing fingers and moving in place, getting ready to engage an enemy. ‘What do we do?’ he asked again, content to let Gorath lead in this circumstance.

Gorath said, ‘Owyn, I have no idea of what you are capable, but Nago is a spell-caster of much ability. He can wither a foe with his arts, turning him to lifeless ash, or drive one away screaming in terror. He and his brother are among the most dangerous allies of Delekhan, and serve him even more vigorously since the coming of the Six.’

‘Who are the Six?’ asked Owyn.

Locklear waved away the question. ‘So, how do we deal with Nago?’

Gorath pointed to Owyn. ‘You must distract him, boy. Locklear and I will dispatch the other four, and anyone else who might be within the barn, but the magician must be your concern. Cause him to falter, to hesitate, to attempt to leave; anything, but you must keep him there for me to deal with and you must keep him from bringing his arts to bear. Can you do that?’

Owyn was obviously frightened, but he said, ‘I will try.’

‘No one can ask for more,’ said Gorath. To Locklear he said, ‘We have surprise, but we must kill the first two quickly. If we are overpowered, or even if we are delayed overmuch in reaching Nago, this will all come to a bad end. If Owyn can’t occupy the magician until we reach him, he will end our journey before we can warn your prince.’

Locklear said, ‘Then why are we doing this?’ Before Gorath could answer, Locklear held up his hand. ‘I know, the noose is tightening and if we don’t do it now, we will never reach Krondor.’

Gorath nodded. ‘Let’s go.’

They hurried down the road until they could see the roof of a barn across a small field that sat hard against the ridge. Locklear stooped over, so as to be less visible as they moved down the trail. ‘Where are the guards?’ he asked Gorath.

‘I don’t know. They were outside but a moment ago.’

‘Perhaps they’ve gone inside the barn,’ suggested Owyn.

Gorath pointed to a notch in the side of the trail, where rain had eroded the soil between two large boulders. He moved between the rocks and slid down the bank to the edge of the field, with Locklear behind and Owyn bringing up the rear.

‘We must hurry,’ said Gorath. ‘The Mothers and Fathers have smiled on us and the guards are inside. We don’t know how long this might last.’ He set a punishing pace, not wishing to be discovered in the open. Locklear forced himself to push on despite his stiff, aching joints. His wounds had healed, though he still felt weaker than he should. He didn’t welcome another fight, but should this Nago be the force behind all the attacks, he welcomed an opportunity to put an end to them, and pay back some of the pain he had been forced to endure.

Gorath reached the barn and huddled in its shadow, glancing in all directions. There was no sign they had been detected. He held up his hand for silence.

They listened. Inside, muffled voices could be heard, though Locklear could make nothing of them, for they were in a tongue he didn’t understand. Gorath’s hearing was far more acute, for he said, ‘They are discussing the fact we have not been seen since Hawk’s Hollow. They fear we may have slipped past them on the road through Tannerus.’

‘What do we do now?’ whispered Owyn.

‘As before, we kill them,’ said Gorath. ‘Act boldly.’ He moved to the barn door and withdrew his sword. He pulled forward his hood, throwing his features into darkness, then put his sword under his cloak and turned to Owyn and Locklear. ‘Be ready, but wait a moment before entering.’

Then Gorath pushed open the door and in the late-afternoon gloom must have seemed a black shape against a darkening sky. From within a voice sounded a note of inquiry. Gorath stepped forward with a stride that communicated purpose, answering in the moredhel tongue. He must have confused them for a moment, for one asked another question before a different voice shouted, ‘Gorath!’

Locklear didn’t hesitate when he heard that, but virtually jumped through the open door. Owyn was a step behind.

The barn was empty save for five moredhel. A table had been placed in the centre of a large barn aisle, with a bench behind it, where the moredhel magician Nago was rising in shock at the appearance of his intended prey.

A moredhel guard was falling from Gorath’s first blow as he rounded on another, lashing out with his blade and forcing the swordsman backward, clutching his bleeding sword arm. Locklear dashed forward and caught the wounded dark elf from behind, killing him with a blow to the back of his neck as he sought to disengage himself from Gorath’s attack, leaving both swordsmen facing a ready opponent.

Owyn saw the moredhel magic-user who was still motionless in astonishment at the appearance of the prey he had been seeking for weeks. But as Owyn moved through the doorway, he felt power beginning to manifest as Nago started an incantation. Knowing there was nothing much he could do, Owyn unleashed the only spell he could throw on short notice, the blinding spell he had practised so much on the journey.