1 Siege of Asgard

Darkness has shifted north of the Northern mountain range, the arctic clouds covered Asgard settlements and mountain gorge that paved the way to the glacial Altai river, with earth shifting it's course and solar glares vanishing, water beneath ice-caps seeping through the caves merged with Altai waters down the valley, ice barrier began melting, opening the ice – settlements to the eyes of intruders from the south, watchers on the gorge shifted their position to the mouth of gorge further south, the newly engineered Iron bar-gate was placed at the mouth of the Altai valley to keep the land secluded from the foreigners, the times when sun rays reached beyond arctic circle have always been dangerous, attracting expedition army of middle earth from south and spies from central plains.

Sun had shifted his course north and the landscape had become brighter, nights have become more colorful with solar flares, with night celebrations, festivals - bars and brothels have begun to profit and days have become warmer, cities have turned green with trees giving up white, long days of hibernation had come to halt for the next six months, with freedom comes threat, so were the borders of Asgard, weather had become more apt for attacks.

( weeks passed by)

With throne comes a ambition, with ambition comes greed and with greed there's prize to pay, as expected - In the early spring, a heavy fire broke out across the gorge, black smoke with red flares spiraled towards the sky, burnt remains flew along the wind and reached watcher's barracks, the familiar voices in pain, screams echoed through the rocky gorge and quick rise in the outflow of water down the gorge, watchers at the main camp watching closely at the water speed were quite alarmed by the change, frightened, smoke tickled his nose, awakening his dark memories, Commander Islegard forced himself out of the tent amidst of the night, all eyes were at the spiraling smoke over the gorge, in no time yellow flame reached the sky.

"Fire! Fire, secure the gate" Commander ordered, chewing the fear in his gut, guards, watchers, firefighters together pulled water carts to the spot.

"Wildfire may be" shouted some, "It's not summer yet! I don't think that's the case!" shouted the another, " Not the time for…hurry up!" shouted Commander Islegard, putting on his chest metal plate.

He faltered "something is not right! Guards buckle up, get your swords" panic, chaos and confusion flooded the watchers "General, not a month has passed by and the Junglies of Kush valley are creating ruckus again" hissed a soldier standing behind Islegard, with guess.

"I doubt it's them!"

"General, you are too lenient, only Junglies are aware of the gorge and gate so well, obviously it's them!"

"Abbas! I know them well enough, Junglies never break promises, they might be thieves by profession, yet they are from Kush valley, the valley of outlaws, refugees, just like us betrayed by middle earth" with long breathe he continued "besides they wouldn't burn innocent lives, I'm sure it's not them!".

"Sire, then please give your command" bowed Abbas, eyes wide open.

"Form the squads, steel armour, swords, on my command" with lungs out, Sir Islegard commanded his men towards the gate. 'Hope my presumptions are wrong'.

Sir Islegard was the adopted brother of Asgard chief, with no heirs and only wife, a tough soldier in his fifties with sufficient wisdom in military expeditions, pale-skinned with black eyes and a long nose with a sharp tip, his long ostrich legs covered with woolen pant and fine leather boots and woollen coat covered with a black cloak, hands always inside gauntlet-gloves was indeed rare sight to admire, he commanded a frontier force since the foundation, his armour and blade were made by Lord Asgard himself, forged with accuracy, for he was master craftsman in smelting, since the iron age - Asgard's swords and shields were considered to be immortals, for they never have been crushed, tales do speak as they were blood-spell forged, watchers formed groups and marched forward with Sir Islegard's lead - towards the frontier gate, as they reached the vicinity of the gate, sir signalled the troops to halt, he turned and muttered "stay alert, come no further" voice half-cracked, he threw his long fur-cloak over his shoulders, to free his arm to pull his sword to face the unknown danger, Sir Islegard gently put his ears front, years of watch over the gate had turned him border-owl, always alert and quick, he heard a abrupt wavy voice coming from the valley down the ridge "we m…st climb .. ridg.. before the troops find anything suspicious, throw those corpses into the river, we cannot leave any traces behin..". There were around twenty armed men, a lead figure pulled a heavy long sword from its sheath and signalled towards the ridge, some with bows and arrows, "no wonder the fire broke out that easily" the rest followed, Sir Islegard spotted a long ladder rope tied to the bottom of a giant balsa tree base, that had paved the way upward to the outsiders, he rushed to the spot and cut the rope with his sword, but to his surprise, there were too many such rope-ladders in place and the entire watcher team was ambushed and all the watchers were dethroned by enemy swords, Sir Islegard didn't stand a chance to make move, as the two men appeared out of nowhere and swung the swords through Islegard's steel gauntlet crippling his arms, pushed him into the deep gorge.

The entire band of watchers was massacred and their corpses were pushed into deep gorges while the gentle snow had helped the intruders to get rid of the last clues, the lead assassin extended his arm and swung the sword cutting the wind, signaling his men to follow his lead.

Robin, the messenger of gorge-gate equipped with siren was resting upon treetop, secretly tasked by Sir Islegard for emergency crisis, had long gone into deep-sleep with cold mountain breeze rustling through trees, the smoke had finally caught his attention, with dry-cough he had finally awoken to the noise of cold wind moving past the trees, and fast-moving foot sounds and metal foots, he wiped frost-covered eyelids and then gazed at the gate for anything suspicious, he whispered, "Why there's fire at post? Why there's nobody at the gate, why is the gate open? Something is not right? I must send a warning signal".

"Robin, how could you snore again? It was your watch now" Nicolas screeched out of anger.

"I know! I know, but it was not long" brawled he, rolling his eyes at the gate.

"Yeah! Long enough for the guards to disappear and the fire to reach the sky" blurted Nicolas, grunting his molars, failing to do their duty.

"Maybe it's Junglies again, trying to steal and burn our reserves"

"You're still not serious, Junglies deal only in nights, besides they have promised our general"

" hmm! That does makes sense!"

All of sudden Nicolas saw red stains slowly vanishing beneath snow and the sound of metal boots fading, "whoops! Robin, out there! Look, look, our troops are retreating, is something wrong with the main camp?" Nicolas sighed, breathing cold wind, as he jumped down from a tree limb, frightened, 'completely fried', while the sky grew further dark, finally, his muscles felt cramped as he settled on his numb butts – then with last long breathe he climbed down to take clear note on what had happened past minutes.

"Nicolas, there's blood, do you see?" Robin warned, gazing at the ground, "Yeah, I see – it's leading towards the gorge" Nicolas followed the bloodstains, to his surprise he saw too many naked corpses flowing down the river and smoke forcing it's way into his nostrils, he coughed – resisting the smoke, everything appeared black, no guards and nothing!" he held his thoughts for a while "hmm, no guards, why there's fire? Why's our men rushing to camps?" he stopped, he had had his conclusions by now.

"Robin, send the alert signal to the main camp!" screamed Nicolas, furiously raising his blade from its sheath he began to chase the intruders in disguise, Robin blew the siren – a war-ready alert signal, the sound reached far sites of shelter caves, warning the entire settlers across the north to keep themselves ready.

Nicolas was put to death, from the arrow that pierced through the woods, Robin was shaken by the very look of it, he stopped blowing siren, to avoid being targeted by the mysterious archers from woods, he positioned himself well, to avoid danger and as the twilight grew darker, a crescent moon appeared on the clear sky, he was completely taken by shock to see an army of southern land marching in, "It's the end of 'sgard" he sighed in agony, he took long breathe and cried for his people "this is my last hope, Oh my lord be merciful" he held the bucina between his dried lips and blew until his throat burned down, as expected barrage of arrows pierced through his back before he gave up on blowing, tears rolled down his cold cheeks as he hit the ground, blood whooshed out from his mouth, nose and eyes, his body stuck deep inside the snow, he died in instant, without pain.

Far west, the library was on fire, the smoke engulfed the night sky, shadowland was taken by surprise, the soldiers fleet of middle-earth have secretly passed the abandoned Ural pass, and assassins along with their swords marched through grasslands, killing and destroying everything on the vicinity of the great trunk, which connected gorge, library and main shelter town and also the eastern blockade.

Lord Asgard and his wife along with the others we're busy preparing for the celebration of the soul-incarnation festival in the main cave, the centre of shelter city, a guard interrupted "Sir, there's panic in the town! There was a war signal from the south, it came from gorge-gate and the library is on fire, a rider from the west had come with news, saying "Soldiers of the middle earth have breached through Ural pass" he bowed gently and stepped back.

"Rombus, ring the tower bell and begin the evacuation to the east – any news from Islegard?" ordered Chief, his face turning pale-red, "Sir, Robin would never blow siren for something silly, I hope the gate is been breached and besides we have lost too many soldiers in the past six months and records mention it was cold and snowstorms that caused the disappearance of them, but looking at current events, I feel it is middle-earth" sighed Rombus expecting some reply from the chief

"My brother is no less than a backstabbing fox, he might have planned it for many years, he is not after me, but after those treasures – ancient scrolls, medicinal travelogue and jades, please take the boy along with Mr Cross and leave this place – there's a secret tunnel leading to northern mountains, hurry up! We have no time to waste, promise me that you keep my little boy safe" requested chief, his eyes filled with sorrow-tears.

"Master, I will protect him with my life, but I beg you to lead the way, I will hold them" Rombus promised, begging the chief to flee.

"If I don't face him now, he wouldn't let others live, I must not sow the seed of suspicion into his mind, of a boy! And I have to be there for my people" replied Chief without remorse.

" Silvia, go with him! I will join you at the mountain pass" said the chief long staring at his wife. "How is that possible, I would die side by you, but never ask me to leave" she cried, the noise on the outside increased. The crowd moved in panic as the soldiers of foreign lands breached the main gate, Chief sent orders "please rush to the second cave and save yourself, there's a secret tunnel to the mountain pass and abandoned mines of central plains".

As the assassins reached the main cave, Chief along with his trusted guards helped to push the rock to block the secret tunnel before it could get discovered by them.

soldiers searched the entire city for the people who surprisingly vanished behind the cave, a leader among the assassin team walked inside the main cave and wandered around suspiciously, at last he began to talk "I pay my respects to Lord Asgard of Shadowland, a scholar of divine knowledge!".

Chief looked at the man without blinking, nor did he step back, he walked in front of Silvia – to protect her from him, he replied "What on earth, the assassins of middle earth are doing here?".

"Nothing escapes your eyes! Of course the lord had sent us to annihilate all that's in Shadowland" replied the assassin.

"You should know that by now, you killed the emperor for the throne and escaped, you have lived long enough, the price on your head is your death - it's an imperial order to eradicate everyone who betrayed the last emperor" said the another assassin, yielding his sword.

"Even if you say so, it doesn't matter who the real culprit is, for all the present emperor want is to kill me and get hold of the treasures, since the library is burnt and my people are massacred, what's there for me to live now" said Chief, with no regrets.

Assassin laughed, ruthlessness in his eyes was clear, his eyes staring at the woman standing behind Asgard, he approached him and then walked around for a while "Not bad at all!" he sighed, "She would make m-----" he taunted, attempting to touch her face.

"Don't you dare?" chided Asgard, grabbing hold of dagger's grip.

"Scholar should know his limits! You are fit to fight mouths, not us, you must bear with this, for you are to see lot more of this in future" said the assassin, his eyes fixed on her.

"You bastards! Animals! Don't…." Asgard vented out, with his right hand he held his wife tightly.

The lead figure laughed, unmasking his face, slowly untying the knot, "do you remember me?" he questioned, "do you?" he preached like dog barking to it's owner.

"It's you! Scoundrel! Traitor – how could you---" Asgard cried, tears coursed down his cheek, anger clouded his face, scholarly face fading away "You bastard die----d…..i…eeee?" he stuttered, swinging the dagger high in air, venting out his anger in frustration.

Blocking the dagger with his hand he pushed Asgard and kicked him the chest while his wife stood, without making any move, but as Asgard lost his balance she rushed and held his back, avoiding crash landing, coldness swept her eyes, she stared at the assassin with demonic look, "lady, we are not here for you, so you better not interfere…." Said the other assassin, standing behind lead figure.

"You are wrong, Ralph! How could I let the princess live a life of widow, somebody need to replace Asgard" he laughed, approaching towards her, "that glow, charm and pretty face! I could never forget that" he said.

"Take Asgard into transportation cage, let the princess accompany me to my chariot" he ordered, "wait! Hold on for a while, I need his right hand, he tried to attack me" he said, as he walked close to Asgard, pulling his sword high in air, his face cunning-cold.

Assassin raised his blade, while Asgard lay unconscious on Silvia's laps, bleeding, "stay away!" she warned him, while she looked at the assassin with killer instinct, she insisted "one step front, you are all dead".

Lead assassin, cared less for her warning, he recklessly walked close Asgard, Silvia leaned back, her hands reached her back, she then released 'fury master' from it's sheath and rolled back, from Asgard, she warned "make your move!".

The grip was half-rusted, but the double-edged sword has long been in rest, with no blood bath.

"I will" assassin smiled, "Drop your pretty sword and I will be gentle with you, I need his right hand that's all!" he said, his sword cutting the air.

"Bring it on, let me see what you have in store" she shouted, anger and demonic voice propelled, her eyes red as burning sun.

Assassin's sword was inch away from the hand, "Coward!" Silvia threw herself toward assassin, blocking his sword effortlessly, slicing the tip of his – sword, she backed away from him, shocked by the cut, he stared at the sword, his face turned cold, he attacked her, "No way!...What sword is that?" he muttered, he looked carefully at the sword, "Could it be the lost 'fury master' no, that's not possible" he guessed again, "Maybe it's the sword she's so confident about…." He attacked again.

Silvia swung her sword moving forward, he jerked his broken sword up, to protect his neck, then retaliated with angle, she blocked, then quickly gliding her sword over his, she sliced his robe, leaving mark of fury master on his shoulder armour, then pierced it into his right arm, assassin pulled back, gazing at the blood, frustrated, with angry-grip, he attacked again, she turned around swiftly, cutting his right arm, "take this!" she screamed, as the blood splashed in drops, over her face.

Rage, helplessness, coldness sprouted on Assassin's face "get rid of that bitch!" he shouted, the other two hesitated, they pulled their sword with half-heart, she turned cold eye and warned "You are no match, but if you insist, then my fury master won't hesitate, one yielding a weapon shouldn't hesitate – especially, when handling the stronger opponent" she yelped at the two assassins, watching the show lead assassin tried to get up.

"That's impossible, fury master was long lost, along with it's master in the Himalayan fire!" said the lead assassin, his left hand over the wound, "There's no way….!" He stuttered, looking at her angrily, "she's trying to defend with her loud mouth, it's crap, kill her…..killllll…..that….bit….!" he ordered.

"That's up to you to believe, you two can either run or follow his commands" said she, her voice still strong and red-faced.

"It doesn't matter, what sword it is – master's words are our commands" without hesitation the other two attacked, better than him, one of them wounded her in the arm, while she blocked the other, she managed to slid the fingers of one who wounded her, making him never to yield weapon again.

The other seemed to be good at it, he attacked without opting to defense her moves "strange!" she muttered, "how could it be?" she murmured, blocking his sword, she finally pulled back and looked at him and shouted "I never hoped the emperor would send his own guard to get the job done" she laughed at him, while he attacked without any words, "only the guard is taught 'defenseless sword skills!" she said, he hesitated, his blows seemed to have lost the vigor, "Nonsense" he said, attacking.

She held her sword with both hands, defending his every move, kneeling on ground sliced his knees, and then said "every skill has it's flaw, if you are careless".

Just in time another one appeared out of no where, "drop it, or else he will die" he warned, sneaking in from hole, "go ahead!" she said, "I will hunt you down and all your family leaving no stone unturned".

"Oh! I'm sorry! My mistake" he bowed, stepping back, "King has promised he wouldn't harm the people , if Asgard would surrender, my lady!" he said, Asgard in faint tone replied "Silvia, let him speak, don't…." said Asgard, bickering, with long breathe.

"Emperor wants him to train the scholars of middle east and pass on his wisdom, that's all, he had pardoned the past crimes" said the soldier.

"What options do I have?" argued Asgard, accepting the only way out – to protect his people.

"It's still better than dying, I will surrender!" said Asgard, and Silvia joined him.

Soldier stabbed all the three assassins and signalled the men to move in, strange men with masks, soldiers of middle earth rushed in with long spears, guarded Asgard as he walked out of the cave-hall.

Rombus took Agastya on his back – walked all night through the tiny hole, with wooden stave in his right hand, burned all the sulfur on their way, lighting their way through the dark, they finally reached the outlet – the next day morning, but the opening was beyond their reach, Rombus looked for the ropes nearby, but there weren't any, soon a rope was thrown down, "there you are!" sighed Rombus, looking at Habolus, a man with immense muscle power who earlier trained all the soldiers, who were later appointed to guard the gates of shadowland.

"Rombus! Hurry up, before the fools discover us, we need to reach the mountain pass, Sir Islegard sent his divine wings, ordering "Get to grasslands, faster!".

"That's very expected of him! Chief is taken hostage, the entire city is doomed" said Rombus, as he finally climbed his way up, with Agastya on his back.

"Did chief not ever mention you about this tunnel?"

"It's no time for that, giddy-up" ranted Habolus, suspicious of the surrounding.

"Chief mentioned that I need to go to a mountain pass, I hope you know the route"

"you don't have to worry, we will reach there within a week"

"What about the guards at the eastern blockade?"

"There's an attack from the demonic cult frequently and even surprise attack from these soldiers from middle earth, so there are only some survivors, so it's not safer anymore"

"Master, it's relief to see you!" sighed his apprentice.

"you must be tired, clinging on to his back like a bat, come here drink this!" Habolus smiled.

" Father told us, he would join us later, why is he not here yet?" Agastya questioned looking all around, he was just 7 years old.

"Your father has finally answered my doubts, so the tunnel was meant for you, no surprise at all, as ordered I will take you far from the mountains to teach you the skills of survival, our lord is taken hostage so you will not see him for now, only if you would learn to survive you might stand a chance to meet him again" grunted Habolus, as if he were too strict.

"No, he cannot die! I don't believe you! LIA..RRRR", Rombus please take me to my father" the young boy cried, pleading.

"No, that's not possible, it's dangerous and I had promised him to keep you safe"

"Kid, there's no going back for you, your father doesn't want to see you weak, you must train hard and then you will stand a chance to see your father"

Agastya cried helplessly, he threw a fist at Rombus and kicked him with anger, then he fainted all of sudden, Rombus held him in his arms and then swung him over the saddle as he settled behind, tying the boy to his belly with rope, he cantered his horse behind Habolus, towards the mountain pass.

Day in and day out, day after day, along Asgard canal they travelled on horseback, crossing numerous villages and sparkling countryside landscapes, numerous hill passes, streams.

"Alas!" sighed Habolus, pointing at the horn-shaped mountains to his far left.

"Oh? Does that mean – we are near mountain pass?" asked Rombus hesitantly, turning slightly to his left, to look at the giant mountains.

"Of those giants, it's the only pass, I mean our way out!"

"Did Sir Islegard tell you about it?"

"No!" Short-replied Habolus, then continued "when the frontier force was formed – Chief mentioned about it, there are no records of it in journals or map, only I, Chief and Sir Islegard knew about it, and in case of emergency I was to receive Royal subjects at the tunnel and then take them to horn-mountain pass"

"It's no surprise, Chief didn't mention about you – in the cave, except for the mountain pass" implored Rombus, amused by Chief's far-sighted thinking.

"This is Sir Islegard's bald eagle, he found it just near that mountain pass back then when we visited for the first time, he named it heavenly wings as it fell on his shoulder from above, he mentioned – if at all he sends a message through him, that means gorge-gate is breached and I must send reinforcements, but this time he mentioned about tunnel which means he is already dead and of course, the city is under attack" recounted Habolus, stammering in pain.

"He will not die that easily" blustered Rombus, gazing at the pale sun, letting his weakness flee as tears.

"I hope so!"

"Hmm! Uncle Rombus where are we? Intervened the boy, rubbing his eyes, amused by the breathtaking mountain view ahead.

"boy, we are going to cross those giants, the once I mentioned you about earlier, we are going there to get you into schooling, you will like it there" smiled Rombus, as he sweet-talked to the young master.

"Master I find this place so nice, but so secluded, dead!"

"That's because of the folktales – of dark creatures, ghosts, soul-seekers which have spread baseless rumors across the plains" mentioned Rombus.

"Rombus we need to make it to mountain pass before sunset, you don't want to face the danger that awaits the mountain valley when it's night, you might have heard rumors but I have seen lot more than I could ever imagine" complained Habolus, yawning.

"Did you hear what master said, so keep your questions for now, let's finish the task in hand" Rombus blabbered, pushing the blame on young master.

"you can still talk and ride, that's still possible right?" boy retorted, mocking at Rombus.

At the moment, from afar came the sounds of several men shouting "where do you think they are heading?, stop! Are they not afraid of soul-seeking mountain creatures?".

Habolus pulled the rein in his right hand and rubbed the horse belly with his left hind, turning it around to take look at men eyeing upon them.

"Brother, what's happening? Are we being tailed?" Rombus griped, looking at Habolus.

Then all of sudden Habolus discovered three figures, jumping from tree limbs to the ground, with swift movement they sounded like wind gushing across the those pine trees, covered in pale green so hard for commoner to discover from far-sight.

"Rombus, protect the boy and just start racing towards the mountain! Don't ask questions, I will catch up with you" ordered Habolus, as he galloped his way towards the pine trees.

"Why don't I see anyone?" muttered Rombus, following orders.

"Master, I saw something in those trees, not so clear!" boy stuttered, keeping his eyes fixed at pine trees.

"No wonder why the chief often boosted of his son's bulls eye!" phrases Rombus, as they chased the unknown mountain route.

Rombus pulled the reins tightly, as he reached the pine tree, and raved "why are the disciples of Tien master roaming across the foreign lands?".

"No wonder our master says nobody can escape from the eyes of General Habolus of eastern command!" talked man in green disguise.

"No wonder your soldiers call you, the eagle of shadowland" said the another.

"I'm not here for your compliments, cut it!" smirked Habolus, as he signalled them to climb down.

Those fancy tales never changed the attitude of Rombus, if someone would dare to speak of evil practices and creatures he was the first one to challenge, so was Agastya, after so many years of staying with Rombus he too had developed strong resistance to believing strange things, their reply would be the same "better stop spreading crooked ideas into society!".

They have had their reasons to not argue with Habolus, for he was a stubborn general with too much pride on his shoulders and besides a good friend too.

"Uncle, when did you start believing bullshit? You never liked the very idea of ghosts, how come you didn't argue against what Master spoke"

"Junior, sometimes we need to let go – arguing with him is, just like striking the skull against the wall" said Rombus, loosening the reins in his hand to bring the horse to trot.

Rombus rode through and through, with time pass by, the mountains grew bigger to his eyes, and finally they reached the lake, just close to the valley.

As the horse slowed down to walk, Agastya put his eyes through cloak, trying to take good look at the lake, "why did he have to slow down?" he muttered, then again peeking gently through the cloak, but this time his cheeks turned red-happy, eyes fixed at green leaves "spring--lake—long green leaves" he scratched his forehead for two to three times, then shouted "It's water chestnut! That's it, uncle I remembered" rejoiced Agastya, he looked so happy.

"why do you have to talk of those, especially now?" Rombus sighed.

"Uncle, there, look-look to your right, spread on that later or green water chestnut leaves!"

"Everything that looks green, is not chestnut leaves" replied Rombus, ignoring to, even look at the leaves.

"believe me, when I see one, I'm sure of it" assured Agastya, his hands rubbing over his belly.

"No wonder, you are the son of scholar, keen eyes for----" gabbled Rombus, as he examined the up-right leaves.

"Uncle, my stomach is growling! That chestnuts-----" pleaded the boy.

"Ok, I understand young master," said Rombus, then he jumped off the saddle and rushed to the lake, he plucked as many as he could grab in his arm, trying some, he smiled and shouted "crunchy and refreshing, they are what they are" he hurried back, handing all to Agastya he swung on the saddle and left for the valley, "finally here we are" sighed Rombus, as he gazed at the mighty mountains, standing tall and tight.

"humungous" hypnotized by giant standing natural structures.

"Of course, from what my father described, this is it, a stream to the right, and the valley ahead ' the pale-red path that lightens up when the purple rays of sunset strike the skin of spring mountains on the west, so-----" said Agastya, rapping the saddle in joy.

"Marvelous, bravo!" panted Rombus, patting the boy on his forehead, "then let's cross before it grows dark" suggested Rombus.

"Hold on, uncle! Something's off with the ground, it's shaking!" expressed the boy.

"That doesn't make any sense, maybe it's the horseback" laughed Rombus, "Chablis, off we go now, he shouted.

Chablis bolted on his forelegs, snorting, spinning around not listening to his master's command, Rombus pulled the reins, angered by the Chablis's foolishness, Rombus flogged him with his whip, Chablis never made any move, this turned Rombus even more.

"Uncle, stop flogging him, you are hurting him, he is frightened! He too sensed it, the ground, put your ears to the ground you will be able to understand, what I'm saying?"

"Nonsense! Maybe he is afraid of these big mountains, that's all"

"No, that's not it, you're wrong again"

"Then, how come I don't hear anything?"

"That I am not sure of, maybe you have grown old! I'm sure there's mining going on here, right beneath us"

"Why on earth they will mine here, if only they are crazy enough to play with nature, have they forgotten about these giant mountains"

"Uncle, from what I have read, it's kobolds" guessed Agastya, recalling the pages from the journal he had once read "that's it—dragon butcher mines".

"Hmm! Kobolds, what next? Is it dragons from multiverse?, don't take me for a complete fool, I too have happened to know this tale 'the lord of north wind' this tale is for children" Rombus was more practical, It made no sense at all, "god, you have even managed to get your hands on fairy tales" smirked Rombus, "I'm not falling for one of your play now".

"No! I'm being serious, kobolds are short statured, they can easily manage to drill underground holes with their sharp claws in no time, with scales skin, reddish to dark blue, demonic red eyes, they hate human scent, grey or tan horns protruding from their head, they smell of pig and sewage water, with large tail that resembles one of crocodile's, but of all these, the admiring aspect of these stunted humanoids are dragon hunting skills, for making armour and forging spellbound weapons out of their canines---" before Agastya could describe further, Rombus intervened "What nonsense! you're sprouting, kobolds, dragons blah, blah--- these tales are for children, I'm not buying your----" spluttered Rombus, pulling the reins, as he turned the horse around, kicking hard over his belly, he screamed "Go, Go Chablis run for your life".

Rhombus's glamour turned all of sudden, cheeks inverted, eyes wide open out of shock "Dingling cracks, bang!" croaked Rombus, frightened, "What's happening? Why on earth, of all the time, it has to crack now?" screeched Rombus, while his whip moved like pendulum, hitting on horse butt, recklessly, with each shot he shouted lungs out "bloody Chablis, fit for nothing!", he had lost his senses as the crack raged towards him, "I don't want to die in this hole" he stuttered, as he jumped off the saddle, the only option that he could think of was too run away from that crack.

The traps behind his horse opened, the way back was completely blocked, Rombus put his long neck ahead and gazed at the pit, he breathed his heart out, "what on earth is this place, why are there so many pits, or is it the ground always like this?", he babbled, his eyes searching for trouble.

Traumatized by the huge crack, that nearly made the ground quiver – Rombus now looked at the boy, half focused.

"Uncle! Uncle! Stop whining like a dog, it's just frost quake, obvious of summer spring, but the real danger is, those traps, dug by kobolds, if you fall – then you are dead meat, those crocodile faced kobolds are pretty cunning!" raved the boy, he didn't seemed to be moved by the quake at all, he had held onto saddle tightly.

"oh! I'm pretty convinced" sighed Rombus, "Kobolds have worked pretty hard, what a pity, efforts wasted!" scoffed Rombus, "heaven sakes! God sent quake" relaxed Rombus, climbing onto Chablis, slowly.

"Hope, there are no surprises ahead!" said Agastya, looking into the valley.

"I'm beginning to wonder, am I really protecting you or is it the other way around"

"hmm! Uncle that's nonsense, and don't worry frost quakes are very rare, it might have been better surprise for those cunning miners down there, digging traps, now it appears to me that they have dug their graveyard" laughed Agastya.

"What we do now? race ahead or retreat?"

"Uncle, for now, trap-tricks are pretty discovered, now is the time to cross the valley, kobolds are busy dealing the damage"

"Ok! As you say, Chablis you heard him right, let's go!" squeezing the horse with his calves, again and again, he screamed "You lazy-big-pig run" losing his temper in the end, with one hard kick close to foreleg, he forced him to Cantor.

Rombus was a stress-talker, he jabbered, nattered of unnecessary past, his glorious moments! "Uncle, stop bragging, I have had seen your glory just before, for now focus on the path" mocked the boy, still holding on to the last chestnut.

"Those traps, are entirely new things to me, besides who welcomes death?" replied Rombus sharply, "Oh! The young master name 'Asgard' must not be mentioned, you are 'Solomon, from now onwards, you are never to say you are a son of-----" paused Rombus, rolling his neck hesitantly.

"Why would I. do that? I'm so proud to be his son, besides he's scholar respected beyond our territories, "Ego is strong enemy, you must overcome it, more you mention your father, more you are shadowed, and in the end, you will be just his shadow" said Rombus.

"Well answered! Maybe these are from my father after all" implored Agastya, laughing gently.

"Yeah! That's your father's wish, I'm just mouth repeating it for you, but don't mistake your father for these harsh words" pleaded Rombus, patting the boy.

"I too want the same, I had always been succumbed to, too many records, travelogues, medical journals and account books, now that I have read too many things, I need to see more of the world now, I will write my own history, and not become shadow of him, still I have to admire how well a planner he is" admired the boy, recalling the past memories of him along with his father.

"No wonder you are a son of scholar, hmm!" said Rombus, "Does Solomon have any background, or is the name flew out of your mouth?" asked the boy.

"Of course he does! The slave boy from 'furrows of Giza, near the coasts of Red waters, who had been to sandy deserts of Thar, and now accompanying his master around the world tour" sighed Rombus.

"It seems you do know Solomon pretty well, was he your slave" asked Agastya, "hmm, no reply! Then I guess, you surely do"

"You don't have to know that!" raved Rombus, turning his neck a bit, "That's fine then, I too don't prefer Solomon------" hissed Agastya, smiling.

"You call me uncle, but is this how you respect that title" jabbered Rombus, "not obeying, disgusting" muttered Rombus, in a low voice.

"Oh! Then how about me? Now that you want me to be your slave" argued the boy, grim faced, "Now you expect me to call you as 'master' but you don't answer this silly doubt of mine" brawled. The boy.

"If all the battles were fought with mouths, then you might be the last man standing" taunted Rombus, accepting the defeat, "---he was not a slave, but friend of mine, indeed a good one, that's all and no more arguments" said Rombus.

"Where is he now?" asked the boy, just as his nature, breaking the rules.

"This is going to be the last, he is somewhere safe, nobody can ever hurt him again"

"Oh! I'm sorry master, I have crossed the line" said the boy, in a low tone.

"Now that you have accepted to lead the life of a slave, this is your first lesson, but accepting to act and acting are entirely two different things, are you sure you want to be one?"

"Uncle, I do, after all, it's my father's wish that I become strong!" said the boy.

Sun was half sunk, his pale purple rays began to fade, "Master, hurry up it's getting dark" warned Solomon, as he gazed at the closing sun.

Miles before the valley gate, path narrowed down, stream widened and the valley turned silent, there were no birds in the sky, no chirping and nothing, even the grass on the way had long gone, Solomon said "we are close! there's no grass on the path, mountains birds are no more and besides it's too silent here, do you see those embankments?" questioned Solomon, pointing his finger at the flood gate.

"No, I just see a pile of small rocks blocking the stream's flow" answered Rombus.

"That's what we call it flood gate, and it helps to retain ground water, so only people could do that!"

. "So, you mean to say, there's village down this stream"

"exactly! There must be, after all they have built beautiful barrier!"

"Master, at the distance, do you see? There's big gate, it might be the end of valley" said Solomon, carefully observing it, straining his eyes.

"Yeah, that might be the end of it"

"Gates and guards are like tea and sugar, I guess it's well guarded, I don't think they would let foreigners a free pass" said Solomon sharply.

"Just as it with our gorge gate, of course they will not let us walk through that, why did chief not mention about this?" muttered Rombus, looking at Solomon.

"What? What's with stare"

"Didn't chief mention about this to you? Or you might have read it somewhere, could you recall anything, anything that can take us through that gate" asked Rombus, again afraid of trapped in the valley all night.

All of sudden Rombus striked on Solomon's shoulder "look! Look! Near the gate, I don't think they're guards, they don't look-near-human to me at all" sighed Rombus, "Maybe it's just that, I'm stressed, oh no I'm hallucinating again!" muttered Rombus rubbing his eyes, and then again looked at the gate, "how come? This time the number is even more, where on the earth are they coming from, like the ants from the hole" Rombus was frightened by the growing number and his eyes turned cold and hard.

"Master, do you remember the fairy tale we talked of, Kobolds from 'the lord of north wind' the one's you are seeing are kobolds – they have managed to reach the gate before us, I'm pretty sure there's never gone be another quake to help us this time"

"Seems like not all fairy tales are just tales" said Rombus, grunting.

"I never knew that one day I'm going to see monsters from tales come true, and now that I have to face them at least give them the taste of my blade" said he, pulling his long sword from it's sheath.

"you must not underestimate their strength, especially the height" warned Solomon, gently observing them.

"Solomon, climb down from the saddle, for you must stay alive to tell the world how I slayed these monsters, and my last heroic battle! And besides you are still a boy and I cannot let you die in vein, for I have promised the chief that I would die protecting his son until my last breath" Rombus was stress talking again.

"Not bad, I thought you would depend on Chablis and turn towards the valley" smirked Solomon, still sitting on the horse.

"Oh! You are right, Valley is still better than facing those monsters" he jabbered, as he shouted "Chablis, go, go" and again he continued "Staring at those, I had forgotten about other options, I'm lucky that I have a slave with a better strategy to my next, what good of it is to become a hero when I won't be there to hear it myself, maybe I will have a better chance tomorrow, it's still a better choice" said Rombus, pulling the reins.

"Uncle, stop talking! Those kobolds have better vision at night like owls" warned Solomon.

"Then it's good, we will attack them next day when the sun's up!"

"Stop talking nonsense, what are your plans for tonight then?" said Solomon, "better not die tonight, then you can think of tomorrow".

"Oh, How did I miss that?" muttered Rombus, shocked again.

The night was gaining momentum with the moon growing brighter and brighter, the crescent face of him taking over the role of the sun, Rombus and his slave heard rhythmic beats of hooves amplifying, just like three drum beats in a row, "someone's approaching!" said Solomon, turning around – yet he hardly had a chance, "Somebody's loping towards us, maybe it's Habolus, who else can it be if not him" concluded Rombus, "I hope it's him, we will stand a better chance with him along our side, fir his expertise lies in handling the foreigners" sighed Solomon.

"Why do I feel so warm? Is the poison acting again to the cold? Shall I reveal it to Rombus and Habolus, no! no! I guess it will make them more vulnerable, even a great Scholar couldn't do anything about it, there's nothing really good about….." confused thoughts haunted Solo, the heat was beginning to control him, he pushed himself.

"It's still in prime, anyway!" he convinced himself, examining his skin for something suspicious.

"Or is it those wild chestnuts from old lake, poisonous? Besides everything that's wild, cannot be trusted" he settled, happily looking Habolus joining them.