aj II

Hezekiah motioned up the trail for Micah to go before him. They had climbed up the first bench in the mountain range to survey, and were now started across the long flat area that hovered before the next ascent. They orcs would have to be careful following them up because there were numerous places to set up ambushes. Hezekiah, Meb and Micah were going to move up the trail as fast as they could, catch up with the rest of the caravan and continue to act as the rear guard until they made it too the cave or met up with its guardians. Here and there were scattered a few mahogany trees, but the landscape consisted mainly of rocks with a few boulders on top of the different slopes. These extended out of the natural curve of the mountain, and only thin grass struggled out of the little soil available. There were a number of small canyons that wandered up to higher levels of the mountain and Hezekiah could just see the last dwarf as he left the first open area and entered the canyon they were following up the mountain.

As slowly as the caravan was moving they had no trouble catching up. The caravan was led now by Galahad, with his wife following him, then all of the maidens with the donkeys, and lastly they were followed by the warriors.

They reached the top of the first canyon which opened out onto a wide mound on the side of a mountain that was mainly covered in flat rocks which had fallen off the side of the cliff face they approached. The cliff face was cut in the middle with a small stream tumbling from inside, and this is where Galahad was headed. The trail leading up to the cut and the stream was lined with stakes. From a distance it looked like leather sacks were hanging from the top of them. Closer examination revealed that the leather sacks were in fact the impaled heads of orcs and goblins. To make it to the head of the stream everyone would have to pass under the glare of those cold dead eyes, and the maidens were not the only ones who paused and shivered. Looking up at the top of the cliff face above him Hezekiah noticed what he had first thought was a rock, stand up. He recognized Aj motioning hello to the caravan. Aj was the keeper of the Trail through the mountain, it wasn’t as much of a trail as a system of tunnels and caves that had been purposefully carved through the mountain, so that those who needed to get from one side to the other in the winter could, without going south all the way around the mountain range. Since Jericho had fallen the tunnel was the only way for travelers to make the trek to the land of the Dessert Dwarfs—in summer or winter. As the caravan started into the slot canyon that the stream had carved out of the cliff face, Aj motioned to Galahad that everything was good to proceed and that he would meet him at the top.

The caravan slowed on the trail that passed through the stream as the dwarves started going from rock to rock up the canyon leading the donkeys through the water. After a couple of minutes the dwarves had to gave up trying to keep their feet dry and just walked in the water. As they went up the canyon they continued to find stakes wedged into the rocks, capped with an orc or goblin head in various levels of decay. Eventually the caravan came out of the canyon onto a small flat that the stream wound through. The flat was covered with even more stakes. Clearly the warning to the orcs and goblins should be clear: they were not welcome in this area. Across the flat again the trail led into a canyon, but this one was not so rocky nor as steep on both sides. As they exited Galahad was greeted by Aj.