Page 249 of Eldritch
I kept on, directionless. Aimless.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
KAZHIMYR
Atop a hill that sloped down to the edge of Hagsmist forest, Kazhimyr peered around the mossy tor. He, Dravien, and Ravezio crouched there, watching one lone guard who slouched in the saddle as his horse aimlessly plodded along the stretch of woods.
“A single guard? That’s all the king could spare?” Ravezio asked beside him.
“I suppose everyone is busy chasing after someone. Besides, we’re the only fools reckless enough to seek out the mortal lands. Poor bastard’s probably bored to death.”
Dravien groaned. “Are we doing this or are we going to stand here whispering all day?”
“I’ll do it,” Ravezio said, pushing to his feet.
Kazhimyr yanked him back to the ground. “I’ll do it. Last thing we need is a statue to commemorate the moment.”
“Ah yeah, better that he collapses into chunks of meat all over the lawn. I’ll bite my lip, spit on the bastard and it’s done.”
“Hurry up about it, will you? I gotta piss.” Dravien gripped his groin where he sat on the ground beside us.
The moment the guard turned away, making another sluggish circuit along the treeline, Ravezio jumped to his feet and tore across the lawn toward him. He managed to get right up on the guard, knocking him off the horse which galloped off without him. They rollicked across the grass for a moment as Ravezio fought him, wrangling him beneath his body.
Kazhimyr pushed to his feet, striding toward the two with Dravien hobbling along just behind him.
His wounds were mostly healed, except for the blade he’d suffered to his knee that’d penetrated the bone. That one would take another day.
“Is he killing him or fucking him?”
“Must be savoring the moment.” Kazhimyr sneered, hastening his pace when Ravezio finally spat in the guard’s face.
The guard seized and convulsed on the ground and all three men strode past him into the woods. Once cloaked by the trees, Dravien drifted off, presumably to piss, returning minutes later.
“Took you long enough,” Ravezio muttered as he sharpened his blade on a rock.
Dravien sailed a mirthless smile back at him. “Big cocks take a while to drain.”
“Enough of this. Let’s get to that archway,” Kazhimyr said and in swift strides they tore through the trees, ignoring the annoying spiritynes that buzzed at their heads or the catallys that watched from their perches.
Over fallen trees and vegetation, they trekked deeper into the woods until, they finally reached the boundary and the archway to the dreaded mortal lands.
From his pocket, Kazhimyr fished out the scroll that Dolion had given him—the chant that would grant them passage. “Anyone know how to read this?”
“I could try. Not sure about my pronunciation. If I’m wrong, we all plunge into the chasm, right?” Dravien yankedthe scroll from Kazhimyr’s grasp and pressed his palm to the shimmering ward. He spoke the words inked on the parchment.“Zi da’dignio, septmiusz me liberih iteriusz.”
The barrier flickered and Dravien glanced over his shoulder. “Here goes.” He pushed his hand through the ward and disappeared to the other side.
Kazhimyr exhaled a breath and followed after him. A strange vibration pulsed through his muscles as he stepped through to the other side where he found Dravien, in a clearing of thorny bushes, looking around. There, the forest had darkened to twilight.
Ravezio stepped toward them, also glancing around. “Strange. I imagined the deadlands to look…dead.”
“C’mon…we’ve no idea what the rest of it looks like.” Kazhimyr took the lead, using his sword to hack away the thorns that reached out for him as they crossed through the bushes.
“How do we even know where to begin?” The question had barely passed Ravezio’s lips when Kazhimyr spied a familiar object ahead.
He hastened his steps toward the black sword lying on the ground and lifted it up to examine it. “It’s Venetox,” he said, confirming that it was Zevander’s sword.
The distant sound of a thunderous screech tensed Kazhimyr’s muscles.
