“I will take the cart,” Seth volunteered.
“Are you sure?” Sam whispered to him. “Dal will be going with us.”
“I am sure,” he whispered back.
It was the answer that Tor had been expecting. “Thank you. Now, does anyone wish to accompany Seth rather than travel with the unicorns?”
“I will,” Grimmel answered. “I have heard that they are much swifter than horses and I have enough trouble staying on a horse. I would rather not risk falling off a unicorn.”
Predictably, River stated that she would stay with Grimmel, though she would like to meet the unicorns first. Oak also expressed a desire to meet with them, though did not want to try riding one. The big surprise was Torrick. He flatly refused to enter their territory. He did not trust that they were not luring the entire group further into the plains in order to torture and kill them at their leisure and nothing Sam could say would make him change his mind.
Cirren appeared unsure as to what he should do, so Tor made the decision for him. “Cirren, you will travel with me. We have to be together when we find the rest of the clues and I do not want to risk us getting separated and not meeting up again. We cannot allow our other brothers to get to the rest of the clues before us because we are wasting time searching for each other.” The argument was sound, so he was forced to agree. He had received a fair amount of training, both military and political, and understood how to minimise risk.
“So eleven of us will cross,” Tor announced, then corrected himself when Samson growled. “Sorry, twelve.” He looked up into the sky to see the position of the sun. “We still have a few hours before we are due to meet with Prince Spike once more. We should prepare our backpacks, load up the cart and get something to eat. I have no idea what we are going to do about food while in the plains.”
Everyone did as instructed, removing all non-essential items from their bags and placing them in the cart, as they would have to carry everything they took with them on their backs. They ate well, not only because those who were to cross with the unicorns were unsure where their next meal was coming from, but also because there were too many perishable supplies still in the cart for those who would be going the long way round and nobody wished the food to be wasted.
Midday soon arrived and they all headed up the hill, except for Torrick. The unicorns were waiting for them as they descended the hill. Seth had been unconsciously holding his breath and let out an audible sigh of relief when he spotted Dal among them. Sam walked up to Spike and asked permission for everyone to come forward. Permission was granted and, as they made their way towards the group of unicorns, Sam explained which of them were there only to meet with them as they did not wish to ride. Spike was pleased that so many wanted to meet with his herd and pranced about like a pony in a circus.
Once all of the introductions had been completed, Spike began his assessment. He quickly agreed to those he had already met, including Brin, and swiftly moved on to the other four. He studied Modo for a long time.
“He is a Vexen?” he finally asked. Sam nodded. “Then he is welcome to join us. His people have never caused us harm.”
He moved on to Bellak and the news that he was a wizard caused him great distress. He relaxed and agreed to Bellak joining them only when everyone agreed that neither he nor Ellen would use any magic during the journey without first obtaining permission from the unicorns. Being a wolf, Samson posed no issues, but Spike expressed severe doubts that he would be able to keep up, which Samson laughed off. Lastly Spike turned towards Ban. He took one look at him, shook his head and turned his back on the tayman.
“May I ask what the problem is?” Sam asked, concerned that Ban should be rejected so quickly.
Spike looked her directly in the eye when he replied. He explained that, while humans hunted and killed unicorns mainly for their horns, taymen hunted them for sport. Groups of them would enter the unicorns’ territory and attack a herd, making sure they wounded at least one in the leg so it could not run properly. They would then spend the next few days relentlessly hunting it down. Whenever it stopped to eat, drink or rest, they would harass it, making it attempt to run away, until it eventually collapsed with exhaustion. Then they would remove the skin while the unicorn was still alive. That was before the unicorns started to defend themselves. No tayman had dared to enter the Sha-Na plains in many years. The only reason Ban was still alive was because Spike had promised Sam that none of her group would be harmed.
Sam felt sick and had tears in her eyes as she translated for Ban. By the time she had finished, Ban was pale and visibly trembling. “I am sorry,” he said. “I did not know. My presence must be causing the unicorns great distress. I will leave immediately.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away. Nobody made any attempt to stop him.
Soon it was time to leave and farewells were said. Tor, yet again, confirmed that those who would not be staying with the unicorns knew which inn to meet at. Dal saw Seth’s departing back and quickly ran after him.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I am going to drive the cart.”
“But I thought you would be coming with us,” Dal said, obviously upset. “You cannot leave. Ban can drive the cart just as well as you.”
Seth tried to argue his case for leaving, but found that he did not really want to. The thought of being separated from Dal for so long was causing him a great deal of pain, though he was not prepared to admit it, not even to himself.
“He is right you know,” Tor interrupted. “Our journey will be much more pleasant if you are with us, especially if we find anything to cook.”
“But I have not got my things with me and there will be no way I can bring any of my pots and pans.”
“We can each add an item or two to our packs, just select what you need. Dal also has yet to collect his things so you can head back together.”
“Spike has not agreed that I can come.” Seth was not sure why he was arguing against crossing the plains, but he felt he should. Maybe it was because it felt like other people were making the decision for him.
“Then go and see him now,” Tor instructed. Reluctantly Seth approached Sam and asked her to see if Spike would give his permission for him to join the group. Spike, who had been watching the altercation between the three men, nodded his head before Sam had even finished speaking. Seth and Dal were sent off to pack their bags, grab whatever cooking gear Seth thought he needed and return as soon as possible. As they ran off, Tor noticed that Dal was grinning like the proverbial cat which had just eaten the cream.
“What is going on between those two?” he asked Sam.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself over,” she assured him. “They are both still quite young, especially Dal. It is all part of growing up.”
“I suppose you are right,” Tor agreed, but Sam was worried that they would be having this conversation again quite soon if the two men in question did not start doing a better job of hiding their feelings.
Seth and Dal were gone longer than expected and Tor was pacing up and down impatiently when they eventually arrived. “What took you so long?” he asked angrily. “We almost left without you.”
“Blame him,” Dal replied, throwing a thumb in Seth’s direction. “He spent ages sorting through all of his cooking supplies. He put so much in his pack I will be surprised if he has any clean clothes with him.”
“Here,” Seth interrupted, handing a second bag to Tor. “These need to be distributed between us all.” Tor took a quick look at the contents and nodded his approval. Seth had not included anything that would not be essential if they wished to eat anything cooked during their journey across the plains.
When it came time to mount up, Sam was not sure who looked the most nervous, the humans or the unicorns. Seeing the hesitation in both parties, Brin threw his bag onto his back, his quiver and bow over his shoulder and nimbly leaped onto the back of the nearest unicorn. He was not thrown off or savagely atta
cked, so the rest of the party copied him. Sam was given the honour of riding Spike and being at the front of the group, though she did need Tor’s help to get onto his back.
The unicorns started slowly, giving their riders time to get used to them. It was very much like riding a horse, except the unicorns seemed more sure-footed and trotted much more smoothly.
“I could get used to this,” Patrick said approvingly. Sam did not pass on his comment. Once Spike was happy that the unicorns and riders had become comfortable with each other, he suggested to Sam that she should warn everyone to hang on tight as it was time for a gallop. Sam did as instructed and everyone dutifully placed their arms around the neck of their mount, though kept them relatively slack so as not to cause any discomfort for the unicorns. They were used to riding fast moving horses and the smooth pace of the unicorns made it less likely they would fall off. As soon as the unicorns increased their speed, however, the arms gripped tightly and more than one person closed their eyes.
“Frack,” Patrick called out, the speed at which the unicorns could run taking him completely by surprise.
They continued at the same fast pace for over an hour, before Sam managed to convince Spike that they really did need to take regular breaks. Even Brin’s legs shook slightly as he slid from his unicorn’s back. The others all collapsed on the ground, their legs unable to take their own weight.
“My arms are killing me,” Ria moaned. “Why did they not warn us they go so fast?”
“We didn’t ask,” Sam replied.
“At this rate we will be across in days instead of weeks,” Tor observed when he had regained his ability to speak calmly.
“Why is Bellak not getting down?” Sam asked, noticing the wizard was still mounted upon one of the smaller unicorns.
Sam, Tor and Ria walked up to him. He was staring straight ahead, as though mesmerised by something in the distance, and did not react to them approaching. Tor tried to speak to him, but Bellak showed no sign of having heard him. His face was ashen and Tor worriedly called Ellen over. She looked him over as best she could without dismounting him, frowning slightly.
“What is wrong with him,” Tor asked. “You do not look happy.”
“That is because I am not. There is nothing wrong with him. He has put himself into a trance, that is all. He will be fine as long as he can bring himself out of it to eat and drink when we stop for the night.”
“So what is the problem?” Ria enquired.
“He could at least have taught me the spell before putting himself under. The speed these animals go is terrifying.”
Once they had all stretched out their aching muscles and taken a drink of water, they remounted and continued onwards. As the day passed, the riders began to relax and loosen their grip on the unicorns. They ran so smoothly that the fear of falling slowly receded, allowing the humans to enjoy the ride. By the middle of the afternoon, Brin was not the only one to be barely holding on.
The sun was beginning to set by the time Spike finally called a halt. They had reached a pleasant oasis; a large pool surrounded by trees and bushes. With the unicorns’ permission, Seth soon got a small fire going and began heating water. A few of the plants that grew by the water were edible and would make a decent soup, but this would not provide a sufficient meal. He looked at Sam conversing with Spike and was wondering how to approach the subject of obtaining meat when his thoughts were disturbed by Dal happily calling to him. Leaving Patrick in charge of cleaning and adding the plants to the now boiling water, he set off to find out what the young man wanted.
He found him by the edge of the pool, watching a wild boar who had ventured to the water hole for a drink. “I have found us a source of food,” he said when he saw Seth approaching.
“Nice idea, but I think he is a little too large for us to eat all of him tonight. There will be enough meat there to last us a few days but I cannot see the unicorns carrying the remains for us, can you?”
Dal looked at him, puzzled. “No,” he exclaimed, when he realised that Seth was talking about the boar. “I think there are fish in this pool.” He pointed to where he could see ripples on the surface.
“I think you are right,” Seth agreed, watching the water closely. “I happen to have brought some twine and hooks with me. While I go and get them, can you find a couple of large sticks we can use for poles?”
Having retrieved the fishing equipment from his bag, Seth informed Patrick that he would soon have some fish to add to the soup and was about to head back to the pool when he was waylaid by Sam, who had overheard.
“Don’t forget to clean them before bringing them back here,” she instructed. Samson, who was walking by her side, asked if he should go along. Sam thought this was a good idea. On the surface it looked like the wolf was only after some tasty morsels, but the look in his eyes when he asked the question told her that he really wanted to keep an eye on the two young men. They had argued the last time they were fishing alone together and Samson hoped his presence would prevent a repeat performance.
Sam watched Seth and Samson walk away and did not hear someone creep up behind her.
“Problems?” The unexpected voice made Sam jump and she swore loudly.
“Sorry,” Ellen said, amused by Sam’s colourful language. “I did not mean to scare you.”
“Forgive my language; my mind was elsewhere. What can I do for you?”
“I need to ask a favour.” Ellen seemed a little nervous, which was unusual, making Sam apprehensive. “I want to brush the unicorns.”
“You want to what?” Ellen’s unexpected request startled her.
“We brush and rub down the horses when we have finished riding them, so I thought it would be good for the unicorns as well,” she explained. “Do you think it will be insulting to suggest it?”
Sam smiled. “Put that way, I am sure they will be happy to give it a try.” She went hunting for Spike and soon found him eating leaves from one of the bushes by the water. She put forward Ellen’s request, pointing out that the horses not only enjoyed being brushed down, but that is was good for them, and the humans would see it as a way of thanking the unicorns for their service. Spike was not convinced, but gave his permission when one of the mares demonstrated a willingness to try it out.
Knowing the ever practical Seth was bound to have at least one horse brush with him, Ellen rummaged through his bag, but was disappointed to find it full of nothing but a few clothes, cooking ingredients and equipment. Patrick, however, surprised her by tossing her one from his own bag. “In case you lose your own brush?” she asked, jumping out of the way when he threw a stick, which he was about to put onto the fire, at her. His attention returned to stirring the soup, but she could see he was smiling.
Retrieving another brush from her own bag, Ellen tackled Ria and asked if she would like to help out. The two ladies approached the mare who had volunteered to be the guinea-pig and set to work, while Sam translated everything they said to the unicorn. Spike stood nearby, watching. The mare thoroughly enjoyed the experience and told him how much better she felt, resulting in a queue of unicorns forming behind the group, each patiently waiting for their turn. Spike was the first in line.
By the time all of the unicorns had been brushed, Ria and Ellen were exhausted, Sam was losing her voice and food was almost ready. As well as the fish, Brin had managed to shoot an arrow into a bird which flew overhead, making the soup tasty and filling.
Samson, having eaten all of the fish innards, had returned to camp, found a spot under a tree, turned around three times, laid down and gone straight to sleep. He had managed to keep up with the unicorns, but only just. Every time they stopped to allow the humans to stretch their legs and take care of their personal needs, the poor wolf had collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. He did not stir again until the morning.
The unicorns kept their distance while the soup was eaten, finding the smell unpleasant. While the aroma was mouth watering to the hungry humans, Modo and Brin, t
hey could all understand how it would not be so appetising to a vegetarian and were not the least bit insulted by the unicorns unwillingness to be anywhere near them. Bellak came out of his trance just as Seth was ladling the soup into bowls. Whether the timing was planned or just luck was not obvious, but Sam for one had her suspicions that it was not the latter.
They took it in turns to let Bellak know what an exhilarating experience he had missed out on and that, once you got used to it, riding a unicorn at high speed was wonderful, but he was not prepared to take their word for it and vowed to put himself into the trance again the next morning, and every morning after that until they were back in civilisation.
Once all of the cooking and eating utensils had been cleaned and packed away, the unicorns returned. Patrick spoke with Spike, with Sam translating, intent on learning as much about the life of a unicorn as he could. Spike found the humans’ reaction to their speed highly amusing and took great pleasure in pointing out that they had deliberately gone slow in order to allow the foals, with which Dal was once again playing, to keep up. He added that he also found the wolf intriguing and did not wish him to be left behind, but requested that Sam not pass on that part of the conversation to him as he seemed very proud of himself for keeping up.
Patrick would have liked to continue the conversation all night, but sleep soon claimed him. No guard was posted as the unicorns provided more than adequate protection from anything living in the plains that might view the sleeping people as a midnight snack. Sam was awoken in the night to find a fox sniffing at her ear. To her immense pleasure, instead of running away in fright when she opened her eyes, it regarded her curiously for a while before curling up at her feet and going to sleep. It was no longer there when she woke in the morning, but the hairs it had left behind on her trousers proved that she had not dreamt it.
During the night, Spike had sent some of the unicorns scavenging and they had found a group of bushes not far off that were full of berries. Ria and Ellen went to investigate and returned with enough berries from a drupacea bush for each of them to eat their fill. Washed down with water, they made a boring but nutritional breakfast. Everyone felt surprisingly refreshed. Where spending all day on top of a horse had left muscles aching and caused them to stiffen up during the night, riding a unicorn did not have the same effect.
The Maze Page 22
