The Labyris Knight by Adam Derbyshire

Author:Adam Derbyshire [Derbyshire, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781095268537
Publisher: Adam Derbyshire Ltd
Published: 2019-04-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Aradol crashed through the vegetation, slipping and sliding down the slope and out into the clearing, just in time to witness Ives drop face first into the crimson orchid bed. The merchant appeared to twitch as the blooms shook violently around him, then stilled, confirming Aradol’s worst fears that something terrible had befallen his friend. He took his first step towards Ives and immediately sank to mid-calf in the mud, his ornate armour adding extra weight and dragging him down into the engulfing morass.

“No Ives, no not you!” the young warrior gasped, struggling to fight his way through the noxious mire, blinking back the tears. Aradol offered silent prayers to any gods who would listen, that he would reach his friend in time, despite knowing that the violent jerking of Ives body signified that no matter how hard he tried to push through the mud, it would never be enough. “Oh damn this armour!” Aradol yelled, struggling with his ornate breastplate, before wrenching it free and snapping one of the leather ties in the process. He flung the armour back towards the muddy bank behind him and started to wriggle out of his chainmail vest, leaving him wearing just a rust-stained undershirt.

“I am coming Ives, I am coming! Hold on!” Aradol turned around and shouted, almost losing his balance in the slick mud. “Commagin, Rauph I need help down here!” He resumed his slog through the mud, turning one way and then the other, wrestling with his gauntlets and bracers and flinging them back towards the dry ground. The discarded armour clanked onto the slope, just in front of Rauph, as the navigator blundered down the slope in response to Aradol’s call.

The Minotaur was initially annoyed he had needed to leave the battle with the Nirschl behind him and then became confused, as he took in the form of Aradol appearing to go for a swim in the swamp, clad only in his undershirt. Rauph’s soft brown eyes quickly scanned the area ahead of the young warrior and at first noted the sweep of scarlet orchids, before his gaze fell upon the body of Ives lying half-submerged within the flowers.

Aradol continued to push ahead, calling Ives’ name as he waded through the mud. The merchant’s body jerked again, as if something were attempting to pull it further into the vivid display of blooms, eliciting another cry of anguish from the young man at the hopelessness of his cause.

Commagin slithered to a stop beside Rauph and groaned aloud at what he observed. The dwarf had witnessed too many corpses in his life not to recognise that Ives had breathed his last. He sadly pushed his glasses back up his nose and took in the area, then rapidly swung the Lady Janet back up against his shoulder, peering along the sights of the weapon, his body instantly alert. The dwarf swept the crossbow from left to right, drawing a bead on everything that moved, his lips mouthing the question no one had yet asked.

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