A footstep sounded in the cavern, echoing across the stone. Seth dropped to a kneeling position, preparing to lunge if the opportunity presented itself. Another step, then another and another echoed through the open cavern. The steps came in fast succession, but Seth noted that it was only one person who approached their small ambush. He waited tensely, watching, hoping he could catch this enemy off guard. The approaching footsteps slowed and then a large shadowy figure emerged into the dark room, something bulky in its hands.
CHAPTER 51
Garret
Garret remained rooted to the spot as the horses and their riders surrounded him.
“Young man,” the rider in front of him said in an even tone, eyeing first Garret’s face and then sliding his gaze to land sternly on Garret’s hands. Without realizing what he was doing, Garret too looked down. He had forgotten momentarily that he was carrying Sara’s crossbow, drawn and loaded. He had it pointed instinctively forward, towards the rider in front of him. He lowered it quickly, not wanting to provoke the men, if they would even need provoking.
Seeing the weapon lowered, the first rider, presumably their leader, spoke again.
“Who are you and what is your purpose on this road?” It was a demanding tone, but not quite menacing.
“My name is Garret Derringer and I was hunting.” Garret tried to control his voice to sound unafraid.
“Hunting indeed,” the man replied through his helm, again turning his steel gray eyes to the crossbow. He then continued, “Did you happen to notice any goblin tracks during your hunt?”
“No,” Garret replied honestly.
“Hmm.” The man grunted, eyeing Garret as if considering something. He leaned forward in his saddle, scrutinizing Garret. Then he presumably made his decision and continued to speak. “We are Knights to the Kingdom, young hunter, sent to track down a goblin raiding party spotted in these lands. Two nights ago we found them and ambushed them in the night. A single goblin escaped our attack, and we were not immediately able to pick up his trail. Yesterday we found his tracks, heading in this direction. Be careful, young hunter, even a single goblin can be a deadly encounter. If you see him, note his location, and report it to a member of the Valdadorian guard as soon as you might meet one.”
Garret thought quickly of how to respond, and deciding honesty was best, spoke to the knight before him. “I spoke true about the tracks, sire, as I have seen no markings of the goblin. But I have seen the goblin itself.”
At that point all three riders leaned in their saddles to listen closely.
“Last night, as my companions and I slept, the goblin attacked us.” Before Garret was able to continue, the large knight with the steel eyes interrupted.
“Yet you stand here,” he stated, and then waited as if to let Garret continue.
“Yes, sire, the goblin was wounded in the attack, with this very crossbow.” Garret raised the weapon for them to see. However, the knights had no interest in it so Garret let it fall to his side again.
“Then I managed to finish it off with my sword,” Garret said.
“And what of your companions?” This time the question came from the rider to Garret’s left, his voice trailing off as if already assuming the answer.
Without turning to face him, still looking ahead to the knight before him, Garret continued. “My brother was wounded in the fight. He now rests to recover. Our other companions were unscathed.” This revelation from Garret seemed to take the knight in front of him by surprise as the man reeled back in his saddle in response. He nodded his approval after a moment and leaned forward to speak once again.
“Where is the goblin’s body? I must see for myself if it is the same one we have been tracking.” This he once again said in an even tone, and then as if it was an afterthought asked, “And what of your brother? How comes his recovery?”
“My brother remains weak after the ordeal and we have run out of food. That is why you have found me here on the trail. I was hunting, hoping to help him regain his strength so that we may complete our journey to The Choosing ceremony.” Garret feared he may have offered more details than they wanted and added, “I’ll show you the goblin.”
The knight atop the horse in front of Garret nodded in response. Then, as if a command was given that Garret was unable to hear, the three knights dismounted. Holding the reins to their horses, they stood facing Garret, waiting for him to lead. Garret walked quickly back into the thick brush, not wanting to make them wait. He did not look back to see if they followed, there was no need. The knights’ heavy armor creaked and groaned as they walked, and their feet pounded the ground nearly as loudly as their mounts’ hooves. Garret led the small procession towards the stone outcropping where his brother and Sara still rested. Entering the small clearing around the giant stones, Garret motioned towards the goblin’s body for them to see. It still stood, as Garret had left it, impaled upon a stick that he himself had thrust up beneath its ribs, out of its collarbone and into the base of its skull. Two of the knights remained at the entrance of the clearing, the third, whom Garret assumed was the same one he had spoken to, approached the goblin, still leading his horse by the reins. When the knight was sure it was the same goblin as he had followed, he drew his sword and with one mighty swing cleaved the base of the branch where it was stuck in the ground. The goblin’s body tumbled to the ground held stiff by the pole that remained thrust through it. Returning his sword to its sheath, the knight tied the goblin’s leg to his horse, planning to drag it away with him. After the goblin was secured, the knight turned and nodded once to his peers. He then turned his steel eyes to Garret.
“You have done the kingdom a service, Garret Derringer, and so you shall be rewarded.” Drawing his steed to him, the knight untied a large sack from his saddle and walked to where Garret stood. He handed the bag to Garret, then reaching to his waist, slipped his mail covered hand beneath his breastplate and pulled forth a coin purse. This too he handed to Garret.
“The sack is food. It is fairly fresh, and there should be enough to sustain you and your companions until you reach Paldoon’s Hold. From there use the coins to rent horses to make up lost time. The inn will be expecting you. Tell the keeper Sirus sent you. He will have a room and horses waiting. You still have plenty of time to make the journey on foot, but if you wish to participate in the festivities in Castle Valdadore, I suggest you use the horses.”
Garret tried to thank the knight but the man raised his hand in protest. He joined his two companions, and they began to lead their horses back out to the trail. Garret watched them go. Just before they were out of sight the knight he had spoken to turned around and said, “I shall hope to see you at The Choosing, young hunter.” Then he turned and walked out of sight.
Garret could hardly believe what had happened. All their problems were solved. They now had food and also had time to let Seth heal before continuing on. Garret turned to walk across the clearing, a huge grin on his face, impatient to tell his companions of their new found luck.
Garret entered the cavern quickly, not allowing his eyes time to adjust to the deep shadows inside. He walked into the area they had slept the night before, already forming words of greeting on his lips, but came to an abrupt halt. No one was here. His and Seth’s blankets remained, as well as Ashton’s bear hide, and he even noted Sara’s pack against the one stone wall. But Seth, his girlfriend and Ashton were missing. Garret took another step forward into the dark room to see if anything else was there and was struck hard in the stomach. The force of the blow knocked the air from his lungs and hurled him over backwards. He landed with a thud on his back, his head bouncing off the stone floor. Stars erupted before his eyes. Something was upon him then, pinning him to the ground though he could not make out what it was. Garret struggled to free himself vigorously, abruptly stopping as he felt a blade pressed to his throat. He moaned in defeat.
It was that moan that saved his life.
CHAPTER 52
Seth
Seth had seen his opportunity and taken it. As his enemy took one final step closer, Seth lunged with all his might, hurling himself bodily at his opponent hoping their collision would knock the man off his feet. Seth impacted the man, sending them both sprawling across the stone that made this portion of the cavern floor. Seth had nearly expended what little energy he had in the dive across the dark room. Sweat already beaded on his head and arms. His legs trembled and his vision darkened. He could see movement to his right and, untangling his feet from one another, was able to drag himself on top of his opponent. The man struggled as Seth remembered his sword but he was nearly unseated as he reached for it. He grasped the sword and dragged it across the stone. It seemed so heavy, he was unsure if he could even lift it. He pulled the blade to him, and careful not to kill his enemy, at least not before he had answers, rested the blade on the man’s neck.
Seth heard Garret moan in pain and realized his error. Barely able to lift the sword any higher, Seth pushed it with all his might over his brother’s head and released it to fall to the floor with a clatter. Completely and utterly spent, Seth could not even climb off his twin. Instead he just leaned to one side allowing gravity to do the work. Seth fell off Garret, landing with a thud on the hard stone floor. He lay there panting, hardly able to see as Sara reached him.
CHAPTER 53
Ashton
Ashton too had recognized Garret’s groan of pain and had assumed the worst. Thinking Garret was impaled upon his own brother’s sword, Ashton rushed first to Garret to immediately begin his prayer and his healing. Reaching Garret, and assessing his body, he found no wound other than a lump on his head. He then remembered Seth’s tumble to the floor and realized that Garret must have defended himself in the attack and injured his twin. Ashton twisted around on his knees, already in the position to pray and looked to Sara, who now was lifting Seth’s head and torso to her body to hold him tightly like a parent might hold an injured child. She shook her head, letting Ashton know that Seth had not been injured. Ashton turned back to Garret and smiled.
“Welcome back,” Ashton said cheerily to Garret, his childlike face gleaming at the jest, yet knowing that this was probably all his fault.
The remainder of the evening went better than any of them could have expected. Seth had blacked out again for a while, but rested peacefully in Sara’s lap. Garret was unharmed, besides a large knot on his head which he refused to let Ashton treat. After Garret had been able to regain himself, and gather his wits, he and Ashton exchanged their versions of the events that had just taken place. Garret was not upset with Ashton in the least, telling him he had done exactly what Garret would have done had the roles been reversed. After telling his tale, Garret brought out the large sack of food and the small pouch of coins. Curiosity got the better of them, and wanting to see how much they had been rewarded, he loosened the strings of the purse and poured its contents into his hands. Garret and Ashton leaned their heads together, peering into Garret’s palm. Garret sat silently blinking over and over again at his palm. Ashton gasped in disbelief. Regaining his composure Garret poured the contents of his palm back into the pouch and pulled the strings tight. He leaned towards Sara and held the pouch out to her. Sara shook her head silently to Garret’s gesture, not wanting to speak for fear she might wake Seth. Instead of retracting his arm, Garret spoke.
“It’s yours Sara,” Garret smiled as he spoke the words quietly. “Sirus said it was a reward for killing the goblin. If you had not wounded it, we would all be dead, so it only seems fair to me that the reward should be yours and yours alone. The only stipulation Sirus gave with the money, like I said a few moments ago, was that we use some of it to rent horses when we reach Paldoon’s Hold.” Garret gestured again flicking his wrist to swing the pouch in her direction.
Sara’s expression darkened and her face twisted with a look akin to pain.
“I’ve never actually had any money,” Sara admitted, her cheeks flushing slightly. “I don’t really understand how it works, you know, what piece is worth how much. I don’t want to mess up and give away more than I’m supposed to so that we don’t have enough for the horses or something else we might need.” Sara finished her eyes on the floor, ashamed of her ignorance.
“That’s no problem,” Ashton chimed in. “We will teach you.”
Garret nodded in agreement and the two boys scooted closer to Sara forming a loose circle. Ashton watched as Garret poured the contents of the pouch onto the stone floor beside Sara, and sorted the coins. As he did so, Ashton told her their names. The small brown ones were copper. They were the least valuable. The same sized gray ones were silver. One silver was equal to one hundred copper. Next was a large brown one, which Ashton explained was worth twenty-five copper. It was made of the same metal as the first one, just larger. The next coin was a large silver coin, valued at twenty-five silver. Again, this was the same metal as the smaller silver coin, and was larger, therefore worth more. Finally the last coin, which both boys admitted they had never seen before, was a small gold coin. It was the same size as the other smaller coins, but was made of gold, and had a crown stamped onto its surface on either side. This one was valued at one gold, or one hundred silver.
Sara committed it all to memory. Pointing to each coin she would state its value and the boys would nod. They played a short game with her then, placing various coins together and asking her the total worth of the coins. She was an apt student and quickly learned the lesson and was able to calculate the value of varying piles of coins without any mistakes. The final pile they gave her to calculate was the entire contents of the small pouch. There were seventeen small copper coins and three large ones. There were also eleven small silver coins, and two large ones. Finally there were the two gold coins. It took several moments for Sara to calculate, but her mother had taught her math at an early age and she was quite good at it. She figured after several moments that the total value was 26,192 copper, or 261 silver and 92 copper, or 2 gold, 61 silver and 92 copper. The boys congratulated her graduation from their course and assured her that the money that was now in her hands was a small fortune.
Shortly after their lesson, Seth regained consciousness. He was weak, like before, but otherwise unharmed. He apologized to his twin, who brushed it off as if the attack had been nothing. Garret was quick to relate the afternoon’s tale to his brother, with Ashton filling in his perspective of the events that had taken place. Seth was astonished at the amount of money Sara now controlled, and assured her, like the other boys had, that she could buy nearly anything she wanted, after paying for the horses, of course.
Garret brought out the sack of provisions, which he had waited to open until everyone was ready to eat. In it was enough food to satiate their immense hunger and still leave them enough for a full day’s journey. Garret pulled from the sack two long loaves of bread that had apparently gotten squished in the twins’ battle earlier that day. He also extracted a handful of salted pork and dried beef that had been cut into small strips. There was also a large block of cheese from which he carved everyone a piece. They all ate hungrily, filling their stomachs properly for the first time in days. Everyone but Sara had water left in their water skins, but Seth was all too happy to share with her. While eating they talked merrily, their spirits raised by good food and good fortune.
CHAPTER 54
Seth
As the night progressed Seth felt his strength returning, and as his brother and Ashton lay down upon their makeshift beds, he was able to gather his blanket off the floor, fling it around his shoulders, and once again slouch down to the floor, his back to the stone wall that had become his resting place. Sara had followed him around the small cavern, afraid he might get dizzy or hit his head. Seth had a full stomach, his eyelids were growing heavy, and tomorrow he knew would be a tiring day.
He reached out his arms to the small woman that he was convinced was an angel, and smiled as she crawled into his embrace. Seth wrapped his arms around her tightly, lovingl
y, and crushed her body to his. It took little time before both of them were sleeping peacefully.
CHAPTER 55
Seth
Seth’s eyes opened as if a noise had disturbed him. Looking around he realized he was not where he had fallen asleep. Panic seized him and he jumped to his feet. Scanning his surroundings, he was both confused and overcome with fear. He was alone in a dark room with no perceivable door or window. The walls were made from stone and mortar, the stone glistening wetly. The room was dark, but not uncomfortably so. There seemed to be some sort of light source though Seth could not locate it. He spun in circles, slowly, taking in the room and all of its details. He prayed to no one in particular that Sara, his brother, and Ashton were somewhere safe, unharmed. Try as he might he could not recall how he had arrived in this room. Nor could he find any way to escape it. It was as if the room had been built around him, an eternal prison, a tomb, a place from which none were meant to return. He found himself gasping for air. The walls seeming to be closing in on him. He spun himself around again looking in vain for some small detail he might have missed before. There was none.
Seth knew that he mustn’t give up. He had to find a way out, a way back to Sara and Garret. He continued searching the small circular room, this time dragging his fingertips across the stones of the wall, searching for a hidden seam or hinge, anything that might determine a way out. It was then that Seth realized he was not alone. He spun on in his heels, and then gasped in disbelief as he registered the other inhabitant of his cell. His face had come so near to hers when he had turned that it startled him, causing him to fall back onto the wall he had previously been searching. Seth stood, bewildered, staring at the woman before him. She had not been here a moment ago, that much he was sure of. He could not imagine how she came to be here, but he intended to find out.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 13
