Twenty to thirty metal-clad figures swarmed over each ridge toward the valley floor. The brave little terriers charged the groundmites as if the instinct to attack the creatures had been bred into them. Nobles fell to the ground with arrows bristling from them like pins in a pin cushion.
"Who is that?" Alton asked. He pointed at the opposite ridge and passed Karigan the scope.
She trained it where he pointed. At first she saw no one among the trees and tall grasses, but then a solitary figure standing there became discernible. Just barely. He was dressed in gray. She nearly dropped the telescope.
"You know him?" Alton asked.
"I've encountered him," she replied, overcome by shakiness. "A gray rider. The Shadow Man." Condor shifted his weight and pawed the ground, his ears laid back. "We've got to do something."
"I agree, but what? We would most likely get ourselves killed down there."
Karigan grabbed only air where the hilt of her saber should have been. It was the one thing that had not been returned to her. "We must stop that gray rider. He uses terrible black arrows. They're magic… and evil. We must stop him."
Alton loosed his saber from his saddle sheath. "Well," he said with a rueful smile, "I was tired of being left out of the action. My family will kill me if they find out about this. And if I survive."
Karigan saw that he was about to charge down into the midst of the ambush. "Don't go yet. I'm going to ask for help."
She freed the little velvet pouch from her belt and drew out the bunchberry flower, now with only three petals left on it. Alton held himself taut, ready to ride into the valley to fight for the king, but watched Karigan with his head cocked at a quizzical angle to see how she hoped to find help.
She plucked a petal from the flower and threw it into the breeze. It floated into the sky and was whisked away by the air currents. "Please bring help," Karigan said.
Alton snorted in disbelief. "If that isn't the most outrageous—" Night Hawk reared, and he fought to keep his seat. "Now what?"
What Alton D'Yer considered to be outrageous was blown away by a gathering of wispy, shifting spirits who arrayed themselves before Karigan. F'ryan Coblebay, dead F'ryan, stood frontmost. The faces of his companions stirred and changed as if under water, their voices a breathy babble. Alton blanched, enabled by some whim of the shadow world to perceive the dead, too.
"F'ryan," he said. "How—?"
F'ryan did not acknowledge the young lord, as if he must keep each movement to the barest minimum. Instead, he stood before Karigan. I have come to help one last time, he said. One last time for the Wild Ride.
The Wild Ride, the other ghosts echoed.
Alton glanced at Karigan, stricken, and she knew exactly how he felt. In the valley, several nobles had been slain, though the rest attempted to repel the attackers, but mostly in vain. The remainder of the guards and Weapons left them unprotected and ringed the king, and though several groundmites lay dead, the odds were impossible.
You must end the pain, F'ryan said to Karigan. Soon I will fade and be enslaved by him. He swept his pallid hand across the valley where the gray rider stood unseen without the aid of the telescope. So many have already fallen to him. You must break the arrows. Break all the arrows.
Break arrows, the ghosts echoed.
It is the last time for the Wild Ride, F'ryan said.
The Wild Ride! The Wild Ride! The Wild Ride!
"Hang on for your life," Karigan warned Alton. His wide eyes told her he was clearly frightened.
Condor and Night Hawk sprang down the hill after the ghosts, and it was as Karigan remembered. Everything wheeled past her as an indistinct blur in streamers of color. But this time the ghosts remained hushed and grave, intent upon their goal. Their passage was like a rustle of wind across the grasses, for this Wild Ride lasted only moments, and when it ended, they stood on the opposite ridge abreast of the Shadow Man. The ghosts seethed and wavered behind them. Alton was still white from the shock, his features taut, but he was in one piece.
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timeasmymeasure
Memory snippet for sharing: Wild Ride across the Lost Lake
Date: 2014-12-14 03:46 am (UTC)valley floor. The brave little terriers charged the groundmites as if the
instinct to attack the creatures had been bred into them. Nobles fell to the
ground with arrows bristling from them like pins in a pin cushion.
"Who is that?" Alton asked. He pointed at the opposite ridge and passed
Karigan the scope.
She trained it where he pointed. At first she saw no one among the trees
and tall grasses, but then a solitary figure standing there became
discernible. Just barely. He was dressed in gray. She nearly dropped the
telescope.
"You know him?" Alton asked.
"I've encountered him," she replied, overcome by shakiness. "A gray
rider. The Shadow Man." Condor shifted his weight and pawed the
ground, his ears laid back. "We've got to do something."
"I agree, but what? We would most likely get ourselves killed down
there."
Karigan grabbed only air where the hilt of her saber should have been.
It was the one thing that had not been returned to her. "We must stop that
gray rider. He uses terrible black arrows. They're magic… and evil. We
must stop him."
Alton loosed his saber from his saddle sheath. "Well," he said with a
rueful smile, "I was tired of being left out of the action. My family will kill
me if they find out about this. And if I survive."
Karigan saw that he was about to charge down into the midst of the
ambush. "Don't go yet. I'm going to ask for help."
She freed the little velvet pouch from her belt and drew out the
bunchberry flower, now with only three petals left on it. Alton held
himself taut, ready to ride into the valley to fight for the king, but watched
Karigan with his head cocked at a quizzical angle to see how she hoped to
find help.
She plucked a petal from the flower and threw it into the breeze. It
floated into the sky and was whisked away by the air currents. "Please
bring help," Karigan said.
Alton snorted in disbelief. "If that isn't the most outrageous—" Night
Hawk reared, and he fought to keep his seat. "Now what?"
What Alton D'Yer considered to be outrageous was blown away by a
gathering of wispy, shifting spirits who arrayed themselves before
Karigan. F'ryan Coblebay, dead F'ryan, stood frontmost. The faces of his
companions stirred and changed as if under water, their voices a breathy
babble. Alton blanched, enabled by some whim of the shadow world to
perceive the dead, too.
"F'ryan," he said. "How—?"
F'ryan did not acknowledge the young lord, as if he must keep each
movement to the barest minimum. Instead, he stood before Karigan. I have
come to help one last time, he said. One last time for the Wild Ride.
The Wild Ride, the other ghosts echoed.
Alton glanced at Karigan, stricken, and she knew exactly how he felt.
In the valley, several nobles had been slain, though the rest attempted to
repel the attackers, but mostly in vain. The remainder of the guards and
Weapons left them unprotected and ringed the king, and though several
groundmites lay dead, the odds were impossible.
You must end the pain, F'ryan said to Karigan. Soon I will fade and be
enslaved by him. He swept his pallid hand across the valley where the gray
rider stood unseen without the aid of the telescope. So many have already
fallen to him. You must break the arrows. Break all the arrows.
Break arrows, the ghosts echoed.
It is the last time for the Wild Ride, F'ryan said.
The Wild Ride! The Wild Ride! The Wild Ride!
"Hang on for your life," Karigan warned Alton. His wide eyes told her
he was clearly frightened.
Condor and Night Hawk sprang down the hill after the ghosts, and it
was as Karigan remembered. Everything wheeled past her as an indistinct
blur in streamers of color. But this time the ghosts remained hushed and
grave, intent upon their goal. Their passage was like a rustle of wind
across the grasses, for this Wild Ride lasted only moments, and when it
ended, they stood on the opposite ridge abreast of the Shadow Man. The
ghosts seethed and wavered behind them. Alton was still white from the
shock, his features taut, but he was in one piece.