![]() ![]() The beast shouldered her mount against the rocky bank, blocking the way. My steed, irked to be passed once, was not standing for twice. Sapphrina’s horse bolted after its companion. On a downward bend of the trail, Rubis’s horse, unnerved by one crack of thunder too many, nipped at my steed’s flank and darted past me, taking the second position. But its ominous afterglow lingered for many a minute before fading like a dying ember. Whether it marked the passage of a comet, a dragon, or some winged fiend of the Assorted Hells, I could not say. A bewildering medley of distant roars and bellows and cries sounded at intervals from every point of the compass, keeping us mindful that many fell things indeed stalked these dread hills, heedless of even a storm so terrible as this.Īt one point a fantastic red streak slashed across the sky. No stars could we see, nor even the horns of the waning moon. The steady percussion of the thunder, and the implacable rain beat at us. Our spent horses staggered across the rocky wasteland beneath the awful majesty of the towering dark clouds. We pushed on through the deepening night. “Worry about what is behind us,” said the wizard. The howls of pursuit once more broke through the wind. “Imagine a badger the size of a rhino and twice as mean.” You don’t really know with those sorts until you look. “Some local flavor of boogyman, I presume?” “The terrible, terrible Jib-Jab Man? He’s made up, right?” ![]() “I had almost convinced myself they are imaginary. Not the brightest of creatures.” He extinguished the lantern. Five men could not have lifted it, much less flung it through the air with such velocity. It had the circumference of a wagon wheel. Merc flashed a quick beam from the flameless lantern, revealing a gnarled and splintered tree stump newly embedded in the ground beside the trail. “What was that?” I asked, righting myself. Not that we much minded, being already thoroughly drenched in mud and water. A large, dark blur swooshed over me and thwacked to the ground nearby, throwing up a geyser of mud and water that splattered us all. Mercury grabbed my arm and all but yanked me from the saddle. “Why would I? There is nothing of interest to anyone out-get down!” “I thought you might have come this way before.” “How long until we reach shelter?” I said. If he had since come north and found our trail this could be a long night indeed. According to Merc, the Huntsman was last seen in Brythalia. ![]() He was a powerful fighter, ruthless and unstoppable, who kept a pack of giant wolves as hounds. Even in Darnk, where crime was rare and bounties were paid in pine cones, we had heard of his exploits. The Red Huntsman was one of the most dangerous. Though he said nothing, I knew Merc was thinking what I was thinking: the Red Huntsman.Įvery bounty hunter in the Eleven Kingdoms wanted to collect the fantastic ten million carat price on my head. The wailing sound above the wind was now discernible as a chorus of baying howls from multiple throats. Whatever was behind us, it was getting closer. Though wet, chilled, miserable, and exhausted from a hard day’s travel, we dared not stop moving. The energy so gathered could could be released in various ways. These wondrous enchanted spectacles absorbed sunlight during the day. Mercury found the path with the aid of his sunshades. The dim glow was enough for the rest of us to follow without, we hoped, serving as a beacon for pursuers. His flameless lantern, an enchanted crystal sphere attached to a leather loop hung from the horn of his saddle, shone faintly. Ghostly lightning gave occasional glimpses of the trail ahead. If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 of the excerpt, read those first. While I bring the tale to its mini-epic conclusion, I present another morsel to whet your appetite. I had thought to complete and publish my first-ever Jason Cosmo novelette Rainy Daze several weeks ago, but other obligations have prevented me. ![]()
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