The End of Heroes by Kevin J. Herbst

Author:Kevin J. Herbst
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781452038193
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Published: 2010-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

The group spent the rest of the night riding, with bits of conversation here and there in terse whispers. They’d continued on, still unsure of what to do when they reached the northern boughs of the Aliand. While the group kept an eye out for trouble by the light of the full moon, the debate raged on. Should they head toward Gateway, or round the Aliand Wood to the west? In the end, all except Aloria agreed that the supplies—especially arrows—and food made Gateway worth the risk. It would do no good to avoid the liches and wander weaponless aand hungry in the Hills of Pendoryl. They could only hope that their good fortune in avoiding the liches thus far would hold.

They marched until dawn, again taking shelter in nooks and crannies near the base of the hills. After a quiet meal, all but Aloria and Malthus fell quickly asleep. The two wizards had made first watch a custom, but that morning’s watch was not one Malthus looked forward to. Aloria had been quiet since the decision was made to head for Gateway.

“How are you holding up?” asked Malthus, sitting down next to the elf. They sat on a large, flat rock overlooking a valley to the west. Farther on, the hills rose even more steeply. Malthus wondered if gargors wandered around during daylight. He hoped not.

“I’m fine,” answered Aloria, her mouth set in a tight line. Malthus knew Aloria well enough to know that “fine” meant anything but, yet this was a no-win situation. If he dropped it, would she assume he didn’t care? If he kept talking, would she erupt, tell him to leave her be, as she had a dozen times before? He decided that whatever the cost to him, the group needed Aloria too much to have her boiling inside.

“Are you upset?”

She sighed, which Malthus took for irritation. “Malthus, you of all people should know this is a mistake. And yet you go along with them. The rest of them aren’t afraid to enter cities—perhaps they haven’t been identified, and aren’t at risk. But we show up there—you show up there—they can track us down. Grey-robed wizards don’t grow on trees.”

“The liches won’t know we’re in Gateway,” Malthus replied. “Think about it. We could have gone many directions from the Orin Bridge. We talked about five or six different paths before we chose this one. We won’t be easy to track. Besides, the food will be gone before the moon is new, and we don’t know how difficult the pass will be.”

“Justify it all you want,” shot back Aloria, “but it’s clear you don’t support me. You made me look stupid in front of everyone. I can’t even open my mouth without Micah saying something sarcastic to me, or looking at me like I’m cracked. I’m tired of it. One of these days, I may just cut off his beard while he sleeps. See how he likes that.”

Malthus shook his head with a smile, imagining Micah beardless.

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