Free Everwinter: The Forerunner Archives by J. Rock Page B

little bastard.
    I raise my eyebrows at Altair. "You know there's a trap up ahead and you're leading us straight to it?" There has to be something I'm missing, but Altair only nods, pulling away from me. "Thanks for clearing that up!" I call. I hazard a look back, seeing the man on the horse now trotting after us casually, not coming up on us like he very well could. He sees my scrutiny and aims the shooter but doesn't fire.
    Altair is right. This man is simply coaxing us onward.
    I look forward again to see that Altair is way ahead of us now, an indistinct blob on the horizon.
    "Is he leaving?" Traylor asks, the panic prevalent in his voice.
    "No," I say, trying to sound confident. "He must have some trick of his own waiting up ahead." I hope the words sound genuine, because saying them certainly doesn't feel that way. We've slowed to a brisk jog and the coughing man slows his mount accordingly, keeping us in range. I've lost sight of Altair, but the road is coming to a rise and he's probably just on the other side of it.
    "Come on," I urge Traylor, pushing our pace just a little harder. I start to puff. I can feel the air getting thinner. We must be getting close to the Bleaklands. Where is Altair? We crest the rise and what we find halts us dead in our tracks.
    It's not Altair at all.  
    A massive canyon lies before us, the first real influence the Spine of the World has on the terrain in this area. The canyon is spanned by an equally massive bridge, constructed of Sentinel logs and metal rivets scavenged from Forerunner artifacts. At the bridge's entrance, a posse of six men, all atop destriers of their own, waits for us. Shouts rise up at our appearance and the men point, two pulling out shooting irons, the rest producing bows or clubs. My heart wants to leap from my chest.
    Altair, where are you?
    As if in response, I hear a twig snap beside the road and a familiar, lanky shape appears from behind a leafy broadwood tree. It's Altair, carrying a strange object I've never seen before. It's clearly metal, but painted a dull grey with a curious tube-like attachment coming off the top, terminating in an equally curious triangular apparatus.
    "Come! Quickly!" Altair orders. Traylor and I dash into the grass next to the tree without a word. Altair starts running a nd we follow him, out into the grass, headed toward the canyon's edge. The shouts and cries behind us are growing louder and angrier. I quickly glance back to see that the posse had gathered at the top of the rise where we left the road. 
    The coughing man is with them.  
    More shouts are produced, and then the men are following us into the grass. My adrenaline boosts and I want to push harder, but Altair is keeping the same pace, never panicking.
    I'll have to get him to teach me how to do that sometime.
    We're coming up on the lip of the canyon now and, for the first time, I realize that we're headed for a potential dead end. Unless Altair has a way for us to get down the cliffside, these men will run us down in a matter of minutes! The grass ends abruptly at the rock, about ten feet from the edge. Altair waits for us to catch up to him then pushes us ahead, running along the cliff away from the bridge.
    "What are w e doing?" I call back to the man. I look down into the canyon only when I dare, the height otherwise dizzying. It seems as deep as the mountains are tall, a tiny, sinuous blue line marking a stream at the bottom. From what I can tell, there's no way down other than falling.
    "Just keep running!" Altair calls back, still lugging that bizarre metal tank with him. I huff, but don't question it. He hasn't led us astray yet.
    The ground begins to slope upward, rising higher in rocky steps. A massive report issues behind us, the step I'm bounding over exploding into rocky shrapnel. I scream but keep going, turning to see Altair whipping one of his Assassin stars at the man who'd just fired his iron, taking his horse in the throat. The man and animal topple