Ruthgar's Campaign

In the morning, after a quick breakfast, they set off further. They didn't mention their evening conversation. The sun seemed to have gone mad, relentlessly trying to scorch everything alive on the ground. Exhausted from the heat, Ruthgar took off his shirt and tied it around his head. The constant walking had chafed his thigh against the sword scabbard. The young man re-tied it on his right side. Later in the day, he secured it behind his back. Kathryn tolerated the heat much better, sometimes walking almost waist-deep in the water. She soon took off her wet vest and hung it on the hilt of Ruthgar's sword behind him, which surprised him with its audacity. Ruthgar himself didn't go into the water, despite his companion's urging. "I don't want to take off my boots," he explained, "they don't fit properly. If I take them off, I'll spend an hour putting them back on." The girl, after some not-so-far-reaching reasoning, concluded that the prince was afraid of water. Ruthgar blushed, but he still didn't go into the water. By evening, only crackers remained in their bags. Kathryn spread a very small amount on a handkerchief. "Why so little?" the prince was surprised. "A child wouldn't be satisfied with this portion!" "If you want more, go get it," the girl advised. "When you joined us, you promised safety and plenty of food! Or don't you remember?" "I brought meat and bread," Ruthgar replied softly. "You didn't have to eat so much!" Kathryn seemed to be choking with indignation. The night was cold. Ruthgar was exhausted, having not slept for two days and two nights – not everyone could endure such a regime. But he couldn't wake Kathryn in the middle of the night to tell her that they needed to take turns keeping watch, that it was dangerous to sleep in the open now. Today, he decided to doze off a little, although he knew he wouldn't be able to fall into a deep sleep in the cold. He woke up feeling refreshed and rested, but to his dismay, he realized that Kathryn hadn't slept, but had been keeping watch. Dawn was breaking. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked. "And who will keep watch?" the girl exclaimed. "Otherwise, why did we run away from the palace?" The day was no different from the previous one. On the horizon, a dark strip of approaching mountains began to appear. "Volcanoes," Ruthgar explained to the girl, "these are mountains that erupt with internal fire once every few centuries." "I hope we'll pass in time," Kathryn shivered. The strait separating the two peninsulas began to widen. The dark strip of mountains on the other side gradually disappeared from view. But closer to noon, a huge black cloud appeared above them. Kathryn didn't notice, but the prince heard a distant rumble. Necromancers inspired fear and disgust. Mocking death, the followers of the dark aspect of Ashi wove black rituals in the gloomy Necropolises of the Erish Valley. The dead were disturbed in their graves, rising to serve the death mages. By evening, the volcanoes had grown by a third. The barren landscape was replaced by a rocky one. They had to climb over rocks and descend, risking being buried under them. A large boulder broke loose under Kathryn's foot, gathering speed as it rolled downhill. It stopped, hitting the back of the prince's head. Ruthgar was unconscious for about an hour. The dunes of golden sand were far behind. Sandy mountains appeared far to the left. Ruthgar looked around with concern. It would be even more uncomfortable to spend the night on the bare rocks, and deviating from the route would mean delay. Kathryn was completely exhausted. Her feet, shod in light slippers, were rubbed raw, but the girl stubbornly didn't show it. The prince didn't slow down. He wanted to get out of this scorching hell as soon as possible. They chose a small hollow in the rock for sleeping. The girl immediately fell into a deep sleep, curling up on a blanket. Ruthgar carefully placed an empty bag under her head. The second bag was almost empty, the crackers huddled sadly at the bottom, mixed with gold coins. At night, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks could be heard. The rhythmic sound was soothing, inviting relaxation and oblivion, to be carried away into the world of dreams, wonderfully called sleep. Kathryn felt a sense of unease through her sleep and opened her eyes in fright. Ruthgar covered the magic lamp with a bag and looked anxiously into the night. His heavy eyebrows were furrowed. Seeing that the girl was awake, he gestured for her to be silent. "I'll be back soon," he whispered with his lips. He silently got up, climbed out of the hollow, and went up. Kathryn listened intently to the darkness, but couldn't hear a sound. Fear overwhelmed her in a panic. Had they been caught? Rafiz had a brother left, who would surely seek revenge on those who had wronged him. Other local mages also didn't inspire confidence; they judged everyone by one, and that one was a decent scoundrel. A cry from an unknown animal was heard. In two days of travel, they hadn't met anyone, only lizards. So, Ruthgar really sensed danger and went out to investigate. The prince returned when the girl was about to get up and look around. Kathryn's face reflected great relief. "There are people there," Ruthgar said worriedly.