Spears of Redriver — Part One
Hunt in the Hills
The sun slowly rose over the sharp mountain peaks in the east, revealing the roughness of the rolling hills ahead. Carthus looked north into the distance with a blank stare as his friends climbed the steep hill behind him. The foothills of the Stonewall Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see with a massive spread of woodland to the west. He gave a slight shudder trying to shake the dawn’s chill.
“Do you see anything?” Jeden was the first to catch up to Carthus, stumbling up the last bit of rocky hill. Oro was close behind. They both stood to either side of Carthus and mimicked his gaze for a moment.
“Nothing” Carthus replied with a shrug.
“Nothing but the empty hills… freedom” Jeden smiled for a short moment.
“Freedom, if the Nadaens don’t catch us” Oro shoved Jeden jokingly.
“We don’t know if they are following us, there is no way they’ll know where we’ve gone… they probably don’t even know we are gone yet” Jeden shoved Oro back, but Oro was so much bigger that it took more effort.
“We still have to be ready for it, if they follow us I mean” Carthus nodded and proceeded forward.
“North to Morside then!” Oro agreed.
The three of them continued down the steep hill, climbing the rocky slope. A few birds flew overhead but aside from them, nothing else moved. Carthus was feeling tired and he imagined they all were after having trekked through the wild terrain all night. None of them had any rest since the previous night. They had fled the clan lands, fearing for their lives after Carthus killed another of the Maeli in combat.
Even though the duel was sanctioned by the clan elders, the family of the dead man, the Nadaens, which was one of the largest and most influential families of their clan, took up arms in an attempt to execute Carthus. His friends warned him and, leaving their homes and families, fled with him. For their help and sacrifice, he had no answer. He did not know how to repay them.
“What happens when we get to Morside?” Jeden asked when they reached the bottom of the hill where the dirt was soft and the grass was tall.
“We find work and stay quiet” Carthus answered after a moment of sloshing through what was starting to feel like a swamp. With each step, he sunk nearly to his ankles.
“And if the Nadaens find us?” Jeden asked.
“We fight… or run…” Carthus replied.
“We can take any of the Nadaen Maeli… Carthus killed one of their best, one on one” Oro began jokingly but Carthus interrupted suddenly.
“He wasn’t their best… just a boy, like us” Carthus said regretfully. In truth, the Nadaen soldier he killed, Erius, was a good fighter but the boy was young and had far more ego than he ever cared to admit. He certainly carried himself like he was the best and told everyone who cared to listen.
“Dogs” Jeden sharply replied.
“They are dogs…” Oro laughed.
“No look there” Jeden pointed “dogs!”. All three of them turned to follow Jeden’s gaze and extended hand. On the crest of the hill they had just descended from stood three hounds, sniffing at the air and the grass and dirt around them. Even from the bottom of the hill, Carthus could see the collars of leather painted in Nadaen green and yellow on each hound. He could see their painted fur.
“Get down” Carthus motioned and dropped quickly into the overgrowth. The others did the same, still keeping eyes on the dogs.
“Are they hunting dogs? Nadaen hounds? You think they saw us?” Oro whispered frantically.
“They will find our scent regardless of how good we are at hiding” Jeden replied, fear evident in his shaking voice. Carthus nodded in agreement. He watched the hounds as they began to descend toward them.
“We kill them or we die in these hills” Carthus whispered.
He stayed quiet, holding his breath at times when he didn’t realize it. He kept his eyes sharply fixed on the hounds as they drew nearer but with each step closer the hounds seemed to be more and more lost. The water and mud must have thrown our scent off Carthus gripped his spear tightly in one hand. He pulled his small pack off of his shoulder and froze as one of the hounds came within ten feet. He took a slow deep breath in and threw his pack into the distance past the first hound.
It turned, hair standing on it’s back as it growled with a ferocity that he had never heard before from a hound. As it lunged at the pack, Carthus cast his spear as hard as he could. The blade of the spear hit deep, dropping the large hound into the thick grass and mud. It yelped loudly for a moment and then stopped.
Carthus wasted no time drawing the long knife from his belt and facing the other two hounds. Oro tossed his own spear, hitting a second hound before it saw him. It stumbled with a growl but stood quickly, shaft still sticking from it’s side. Jeden stayed ready with his spear in both hands and eyes wide. They surrounded the hounds who remained steadfast, hair up and teeth barred.
“Jeden, your spear!” Oro urged the smaller man to give up his spear. He reached for it and after a moment of hesitation the climber tossed it over. Oro stepped in stabbing at the large beasts. “Get your spear Carthus!”. As he stepped in again on the second lunge, the injured hound jumped in to grab him but just missed as he stumbled backwards throwing it aside. He answered with his spear before the hound could recover it’s footing in the mud. The second hound lay dead and Oro pulled two spears from the beast.
Carthus circled to keep the third hounds attention. It snapped a few times in his direction but his blade forced a good distance, now covered slightly in it’s blood. Oro circled it on the other side, tossing one spear to Carthus and holding the second at the ready. Carthus caught the spear and instantly stepped in, jamming it into the dogs side. It fell and turned sharply trying to bite him. Oro stepped in on the other side and finished the beast off.
“If the hounds found us,” Oro breathed heavier than normal, “the Nadaen Maeli will be close behind”.
“Their hounds are trained to hunt on their own, the Maeli might not be as close as we think” Jeden replied.
“Either way, they will eventually find their dead hounds… we have to move now” Carthus added. He examined the dead beasts for a moment. Nadaen hunting hounds were known for their size and ferocity. They were very well trained to hunt on their own and to bring their kill home, but even so, the Nadaen Maeli sometimes stayed close to their hounds. These large beasts were bred for killing and Carthus was surprised at how easily they took them down.
The party moved on through the wild hills, carving winding paths through stone and dirt, climbing cliffs and jumping across steep ledges. They made their path how they could through the rocky foothills of the Stonewall peaks. Every now and then Carthus and the others turned their gazes south in hopes of spotting their pursuers if they were in fact on their trail. The young men wanted to be ready and every bit of dust kicked up on the horizon made them increase their pace. They were all afraid even though none would admit it.

