Darkwalker on Moonshae - Douglas Niles [54]
Moving as quickly as possible, which still meant picking footings with great care, they moved along the narrow ledge, often kicking free stones that seemingly tumbled for minutes before striking the jagged rocks far below.
Finally, at mid-day, they turned from the narrow ledge and walked into the high, windswept pass. Behind them stretched miles of rocky highlands and dense forests. The pastoral farmlands of Corwell were invisible in the haze of distance.
And ahead of them, seen by each for the first time, lay Myrloch Vale.
The glimmering blue waters of Myrloch itself were barely visible. Many smaller lakes dotted the nearer landscape, and rows upon rows of craggy peaks stretched away to the right and left. The trail to the north of the pass descended steeply across a wide, snowy slope, into a lush forest of aspen and pine. Broad meadows, bright with flowers, broke the green canopy of the forests. Sparkling waterfalls, too numerous to count, spilled from the highlands into the vale, feeding the many brooks that created a silvery network of waterways connecting the many lakes.
In one place only, below them and to their right, did Myrloch Vale seem unhealthy. A sprawling region of spindly, leafless tree trunks surrounded a marshy fen. Numerous ponds spotted the area, but did not seem to sparkle with the sunlight as usually did the water elsewhere. Much of the fen was obscured by thick growths of tangled brush, and slumping, mossy trees.
Sable circled away from the pass in a long dive. The falcon glided straight toward the boggy fens.
As the companions passed over the summit, staring in awe at the scene before them, each felt a little prickle across the scalp, as if lightning was prepared to strike nearby. Yet the sky was cloudless.
“Magic!” barked Pawldo, nervously scratching the back of his neck. “Mark my words – we’ll all be salamanders if we take another step into this accursed place!”
Nonetheless, he accompanied his friends through the pass, looking suspiciously about, as if expecting an attack at any moment. Nothing happened, however, and he joined the inspection of the slope before them as the group searched for a way down. The sun had not yet cleared the north-facing slope of the ridge of its snow cover, and a white carpet lay thick across the highlands. Tristan could easily imagine the deep drifts they would encounter when they reached the woods.
Robyn started boldly forward, leading two horses, and the others fell into file behind her. They alternated as leader, and for several hours they made good time, dropping across the slope toward a steeper area where the highlands fell to the timberline.
Tristan, hurrying up to join Robyn, said, “All of you wait a minute while I check this snow.”
“Wait!” cried Robyn. “It’s too weak to hold -”
Before she had finished her warning he had already felt the snow shift under his feet. With a loud crack, the surface slipped to the side and crumbled onto the long, steep slope, carrying Tristan with it. The great slab of wet snow picked up speed rapidly, and Tristan lost the reins of his horse as he fell. The slab began to break apart, and the prince fell between the huge chunks of soggy snow, struggling to keep his head free of the choking mess.
Like a plummeting sled, the snow began to pick up speed, gathering more wet snow as it fell. The prince caught a glimpse of the shelf of snow above him cracking free, dropping his companions into the avalanche behind him.
Snow smashed into Tristan’s face, blinding him, and filling his mouth and nose. Desperately, he scraped it away, still kicking madly to stay on top of the stuff. He got a quick look at the smooth slope before him – at the bottom, a clear blue lake glimmered placidly.
Conscious for the first time of the real weight of his chain mail, Tristan knew that the lake meant a freezing, suffocating death, for there was no way he could swim in the metal garb.
He tried to scramble to the side, but the rolling surface gave him no footing. Clawing at the snow with his bare hands, he felt his skin