A Dragon's Ascension - Ed Greenwood [24]
"Calm yourself, Craer," Sarasper said mockingly. "There are only three hundred or so miles of back roads betwixt here and the Silverflow alone- to say nothing of what lies in the next barony, or yet the next. And the royal writ of safe passage can be shredded on each and every one of them, scores of times each day."
Puffing and sweating as he trotted past, the procurer flung Sarasper a furious, wordless glare as he hastened towards the next blind corner, where the road dipped into deep forest and made a sharp turn around a jagged shoulder of wet, vine-and-creeper-cloaked rock as tall as six men. Craer peered into that deep shade for a long time before he made the hand signal for them to join him.
"I heard something, I tell you," he scowled, as Raulin and his fellow overdukes sauntered up to him, Sarasper and Embra wearing bright smiles for his benefit. "We're being followed, or watched as we move into a waiting trap-of-swords, ahead. I can feel it."
"Oh? Do you have such feelings often?" the old healer asked innocently, as they stood together in the tree gloom. "Before or after you empty flagons?"
Craer gave him a dark look, and murmured, "Be still. Please. I-there 'tis again!"
They all froze obediently, straining to hear what had alarmed Craer.
Silence… silence… a distant birdcall, and the whir of wings as an alarmed forest-fall took wing, much closer by.
"There," Craer breathed. "No birdcalls close, but a bird-probably a pinecock, by the sound, and they fly up at the last moment, right when your boot's about to come down on them-disturbed right close by. In against the rock, quick and quiet, and then everyone be still again!"
Everyone obeyed, and when they had shoulders to stone, watched Craer's upraised hand. It urged silence, and silence they gave.
It seemed a long time before they heard the deep, faint sound of a stone turned over by a heavy tread. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, from back behind, from-
Craer pointed straight up, at the top of the rock face above. Then he put his finger to his lips and made the downward, clawlike motion that meant "freeze, keep still."
Raulin and the four overdukes pressed themselves against the rough stone for what seemed a very long time before small stones started to shower down; something was climbing down the rock face.
At about me same time, a warrior strode suddenly out of the ferns and underbrush, into the road ahead… followed by another.
Raulin peered at them, and then gasped.
The warriors stared sightlessly as they came, and their flesh was sagged and twisted, like old candle wax frozen in middrip. They strode steadily but clumsily, as if not quite alive, and-
"Melted," Embra whispered to him. "Beware! If you touch them, they can burst into flames!"
As she spoke, Hawkril unslung his great warsword and stepped away from the wall to face the oncoming warriors. There were seven or eight Melted on the road now, and probably more in the trees. "Behind?" the armaragor asked calmly.
Craer ducked his head out from the stones. "None, but"- he twisted himself around to peer-"four coming down the rocks, and more above."
Embra looked up and took a step away from the rock face, but Sarasper caught at the arm she was raising, and said, "Save your spells-for now, at least. We may need them to get clear of this."
"W-what should I do?" Raulin asked uncertainly.
"Watch out back the way we came, lad," Craer snapped, pointing, "and yell out if you see anyone or any beast coming-what, how many, and how close."
With a sudden rush Hawkril slashed the ankles out from under a Melted. It fell heavily on its side in uncanny, unbreathing silence, and the Melted behind it fell over it. The warsword beheaded that second Melted even before the first warrior rolled to its hands and knees and started crawling towards Hawkril.
He hacked at it once, and then ducked back as the next three Melted came striding swiftly forward, in a group.
"Which mage, d'you think?" Sarasper asked Embra.
The Lady of Jewels shrugged. "It could be anyone;