First Comes The One Who Wanders

by Lynette S. Jones

  “It doesn’t say what her soul-mate is called to do, does it?” asked Joshuas.

  “No, I imagine that will become apparent as time moves on,” replied Ariel.

  “Maybe so,” replied Cedric. “Many of these sayings have become clear in recent days. None of them, however, mention two ancients coming back from the dead to help us. What should we do with you?”

  “I’ll go with Joshuas to Barat,” said Ariel. “I’m not bound by your council and it sounds as if they could use my help.”

  “And I go where my lady goes,” said Trion. “Also, it sounds as if they’re in need of healers.”

  Cedric bowed. “It’s for you to choose.” He turned to Joshuas. “When will you leave?”

  “As soon as possible. We’ll need clothing and supplies. I fear horses would make us too obvious, so packs.”

  “They’ll be made ready. It’s almost suppertime. What you request will be ready after the meal.”

  “I’m anxious to be doing something,” confessed Ariel. “We thank you for your help.”

  “And I thank you for yours,” replied Cedric. “May the Creator be with you.”

  “He always is,” replied Trion.

  Joshuas led Trion and Ariel back to their rooms then went to his to prepare for the journey. He’d hoped to move fast down to Barat. He wasn’t sure how quickly he would be able to move with Ariel and Trion along. But Cephom had said they needed healers and it never hurt to have more warriors, especially extraordinary warriors such as Ariel. If nothing else, Ariel and Trion could meet Cephom. Perhaps they knew who he was and what his purpose might be.

  Cedric had already provided new clothing. The tunic and breeches were a dull brown and the cloaks were gray. They wouldn’t be mistaken for dark soldiers, but they would blend in with most of the people in the cities and on the roads. As he left his room, a young student hurried over with food wrapped and tied in a bundle. Joshuas thanked him and placed the supplies in his pack. Then he sat down with a tankard of ale, while he waited for his fellow travelers. They weren’t long behind him, looking quite different in the plain traveling attire that had been provided. Ariel had braided her hair in a long plait down her back. She appeared to be quite comfortable in plain traveling clothes, though the attire did little to hide her beauty. Joshuas had to wonder how she dealt with that in the past and hoped it wouldn’t be a problem, now. Though Trion was a big man, he blended well enough. There might be a few belligerent soldiers who wanted to test their mettle by calling him out. But they would deal with that if it materialized.

  Saying brief goodbyes to Cedric, who came to see them off, Joshuas led them back to the tunnels then took the passage he’d used to get into Dirth. They emerged into the ruins as the sun was beginning to rise. Trion and Ariel looked in sad amazement at the ocean of soldiers surrounding Dirth.

  “Is this what Barat is facing, also?” asked Ariel.

  “Perhaps not as many, but most of the gaunt masters are at Barat.”

  “What has happened to Solea?” asked Trion, sadly.

  “I’m not quite sure,” replied Joshuas, taking care to stay under cover as he moved south. “A year ago, maybe two, Solea seemed to be in balance. Then it wasn’t. It’s as if all these creatures just sprang from nowhere.”

  “We must have faith, dear Trion,” said Ariel, touching his arm. “The Creator is in control.”

  Trion pulled her close. “You are my strength, my lady.”

  Joshuas watched the exchange with interest. Clearly, these two were more than friends. How had he managed to save the two that were bound to each other and no others? He let them stand and take in the scene. He’d grown used to seeing Solea overrun. These two were not only being exposed to it for the first time, but they also had to come to grips with how Solea had changed.

  “This is where I served my king,” said Trion, looking around the ruins. “These crumbling walls were once the finest castle in Solea.”

  “We should move on,” Joshuas said at last. “They don’t patrol here, but the guards do look this way. What is left of these walls isn’t much protection.”

  Ariel squeezed Trion’s arm reassuringly, then fell in behind Joshuas. Trion brought up the rear. They moved quietly and as quickly as they could, crouched in the grass. They didn’t stop until they’d gained the safety of an outcropping of rocks. Flopping down, Joshuas took a drink then unwrapped the food the school had supplied. Ariel and Trion did the same. They didn’t talk, for fear there might be troops nearby. Up to this point, they’d been dodging patrols on their left since they’d left the shelter of the ruins. The dark soldiers weren’t very diligent and they’d found their way past them easily. But they knew it would only take one slip for them to be caught.

  Slipping his pack on after he’d finished his meal Joshuas signaled he was going to check the path ahead. Ariel and Trion nodded and ate while they waited for him to return. Joshuas was back within a few minutes, a grim expression on his face. He said nothing, but motioned for them to follow. When they cleared the rocks, they looked out onto a sea of carnage. There had been quite a battle in the small village that used to stand in this place. Dark soldiers lay dead among the villagers. These people were farmers and shepherds. What did they know about fighting? These soldiers hadn’t needed to destroy them.

  “It appears the group that did this is gone. We need to honor the dead,” said Trion, unstrapping his cloak.

  “The pyre would be seen,” argued Joshuas. “Our mission is more important.”

  “They will think some survived, or that some of their relatives came to check on them. They won’t come back,” said Trion, confidently.

  “We don’t know how long it’s been since they left. They could easily return. Especially if the villagers angered them and they don’t want any left to say what happened in this place.”

  “It’s been at least three days,” said Trion, bending down and examining one of the bodies.

  Joshuas gave up the fight. If Jovan wanted them to succeed, he would protect them. Removing his cloak as well, he began the task of gathering the bodies. Once they were all together in one place, they gathered what wood they could find and armfuls of grass. Then beginning to sing, they lit the fire.

  It seemed odd to Joshuas to take the chance of being discovered, yet at the same time, it felt freeing to follow traditions and honor in the face of fear. There was still no one in sight when they rose from their knees. Joshuas breathed a relieved sigh and started through the grass toward Barat. He knew there was an entrance on the west side of Barat, but he’d never been through it. He kept his bearing southwest as they traveled, avoiding the few patrols they encountered along the way. Not many ventured out into the grasslands. There were few villages out this close to the boundary between the earth and the sea. It was good land for grazing and farming, but hard to protect. Most people lived closer to the larger cities, where they could find protection should they need it.

  All the villages they’d encountered had been abandoned. Still, he approached the one they were nearing cautiously, sword at the ready. It was nearly dark, and he’d decided this would be a good place to spend the night. After ensuring the village was empty, he found a house with two rooms. Trion and Ariel hadn’t been alone since they’d been brought back from the Echoes. Joshuas needed to rest and this would be a good time to let them be together.

  “I’ll take this room,” he said, dropping his pack on a chair. “You can have the back room. It will feel good to sleep in a bed.”

  Trion and Ariel looked at each other and smiled at his obvious machinations, but they didn’t protest and went to examine the back room. Joshuas ate, filled his pipe bowl and leaned back in his chair. The idea of having a woman travel with him or asking a woman to settle down with him had been alluring him lately. Not just any woman, he told himself. The idea of settling down with Leilas had been alluring him. If they ever saw each other again, when this ordeal was done, he would do his best to win her back.

 
But perhaps it was too late. Ariel had said that Leilas must choose a soul-mate and that he would have been called by Jovan. He knew that he’d chosen not to listen to her choice and he knew he hadn’t been called by the Creator. Frowning at his thoughts, Joshuas went to check on their safety. The moon was but a sliver on its far side of moving through the month. It wouldn’t be long until the solstice of summer. The night was dark with so little moon to light it. Joshuas watched and listened for a long while before he went back inside and tried out the bed.

  Trion and Ariel came out of the back room arm in arm to join him as he was finishing his breakfast. They looked happy and he was glad he’d taken the time to give them this night. It might be the last they had in a very long time. The house was still cast in shadows when they slipped away. Joshuas knew they were being careful, but he had expected more trouble along the way. Had their magic at Kyris bought them some much needed time? Were the Dredracians still reeling and trying to regroup?

  “Tell me of this Vanya you say you met in the mountains,” said Trion, as they made their way through the unending fields of grass.

  “Young, pretty, not a crafter,” replied Joshuas.

  “A human healer,” sniffed Trion in disdain. “You said she was very gifted.”

  “Human healers can be gifted,” said Joshuas, smiling at Trion’s obvious bias.

  “So they can,” agreed Ariel, with laughter in her voice. “But you might have trouble convincing Trion of that fact.”

  “Humans don’t have the time to learn all the intricacies of healing,” said Trion.

  “I suppose that is why there are crafters who are healers,” said Joshuas, “to teach them.”

  “I would like to meet her,” if we get the chance,” said Trion. “I vaguely remember some young girl I taught healing, but I can’t remember who she is.”

  “Vanya would be far too young for you to have taught her,” replied Joshuas.

  “But it feels like it was just recently,” said Trion, his brow furled as he tried to remember.

  “In Neothera?” asked Ariel. “I don’t remember anything from that time.”

  “Nor do I,” said Trion, “except this girl.”

  “Of course you remember the girl,” muttered Ariel under her breath. Trion threw his head back and laughed, but said nothing.

  “What did this girl look like?” asked Joshuas, something about what Trion said triggering a memory.

  “Tall, auburn hair, very beautiful, though not as beautiful as my Ariel. She wore her hair in a plait like Ariel and dressed in warrior garb.”

  “It sounds like Leilas, the Chidra. I know this sounds strange, but she said she learned healing from you in Neothera.”

  “But she wouldn’t remember,” said Ariel.

  “She said Solein gave her a ring to help her remember,” said Joshuas.

  Ariel paled, but said nothing. Trion moved closer to her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s not the end of the world Ariel.”

  “I’d hoped I’d be the one to take that journey.”

  “But she was chosen,” said Trion softly.

  “What are we talking about?” asked Joshuas.

  “Part of Jovan’s plan to restore Preterlandis,” said Trion. “Ariel thought as Solein’s Warrior, she would be the one to face the usurper, while Jovan’s crafters faced Rengailai.”

  “I’ve never heard this tale,” said Joshuas.

  “I don’t know that many have,” said Trion. “Solein told Ariel, who told me. We assumed he told Ariel because she was the one who would face the usurper. Now, I have to wonder what purpose he had in telling her.”

  “So you could tell us now,” said Joshuas.

  “Perhaps,” replied Trion. “I’ll have to think on that idea. I should like to meet this Leilas.”

  “She’s already started on this journey. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going, except across the sea.”

  “Then perhaps it would be best to honor her wishes,” said Ariel. “We also assumed this would be something she would have to do alone.”

  Joshuas ground his teeth in frustration. To have found someone who might know what Leilas had committed to do and then to have them refuse to tell him was maddening. All he knew of Leilas’ quest was that she wasn’t free to love him and she didn’t think she’d return. He’d had too much time to think about those two statements, he wanted to know more. Still, he respected Trion and Ariel’s silence on the subject.

  Trying to focus on getting to Barat instead of Leilas, Joshuas moved quickly over the remaining miles, making only brief stops for food and rest.

  Joshuas held his finger to his lips, crouching in the tall grass that ran to the walls of Barat on the west side, though there was no need to tell these two that stealth was necessary. They were seasoned warriors and knew the risks as well as he did. The group of Dredracian soldiers they were watching was searching the area near the hidden entrance. The soldiers had been trailing them all day. They’d moved ahead of them within the last hour hoping to cut off their escape.

  “They won’t find the entrance,” whispered Joshuas. It’s well hidden.”

  “Why doesn’t the army guard this side of the fortress?” asked Ariel. “They’re like swarms on the other three sides.” She looked around at the overwhelming numbers of soldiers bunkered around Barat, amazement and disgust playing on her face.

  “There’s nowhere to run on this side of the fortress. It leads to the cliffs that drop into the sea. If the men of Barat wished to escape they would need to go to the east, north or south.”

  “Still, they tempt the men inside to try.”

  “Yes, I believe they’re watching this side more than it appears. At the first sign that men were trying to escape, they’d have them surrounded.”

  “Then we’ll need to take extra care getting inside, so we don’t show them the way,” said Trion.

  “We’ll go in when it gets dark. The soldiers should have grown tired of searching by then.”

  Waiting in the grass, they spotted the spies that kept an eye on this side of the fortress. “I knew they wouldn’t leave this side unprotected,” whispered Ariel. “I can take the spies out easily, and then we can go.” She didn’t wait for Joshuas to protest, she moved silently through the grass to where the spies were lolling near a low, rock outcropping. Ariel was on top of them before they knew that they weren’t alone, and that was the last thing they knew before they lay dead in pools of their own blood as her knife found its mark.

  “We should have almost an hour before anyone notices that they’re dead,” said Ariel when she returned. “Time to go.”

  Joshuas tried to marry the kind, compassionate woman who’d been traveling with him for the last few days with the valiant warrior who’d just ruthlessly killed three Dredracians without even blinking as he began moving toward the manmade waterway that would take them inside the city. It wasn’t an easy way in and out. According to the crafter who’d told him of the entrance, there were two long stretches where you had to swim under the water, against the current. The crafter had gone into great detail, explaining how he’d just managed to survive to gain entry into Barat. Joshuas explained the process to his companions then sent Trion on his way. When he’d disappeared from sight, Joshuas sent Ariel on her way. When she was out of sight, Joshuas looked around to assure himself that no one was watching and plunged into the cold water and began the swim against the tide.

  Breaking the surface, gasping for air, Joshuas found himself facing a dozen pikes placed perilously close to his chest. He was dragged from the water and shoved over to stand with his friends.

  “We’re friends,” gasped Joshuas, shivering from his frigid swim. “Cephom sent us.”

  “Likely story,” said one of the men, poking his weapon into Joshuas’ side. “We’ll find out soon enough that you’re Dredracian spies.”

  Their weapons were seized and despite Joshuas’ protests, they were half-prodded, half-dragged toward a building in the center of the t
own.

  The guard opened the door to the booming, “come,” and shoved them inside. He followed, closing the door and menacing them with his pike. “We found them coming in the back way, sir,” he said to the large man sitting at the desk.

  Joshuas could see the varying emotions playing on the two men’s faces. Trion had noticed and moved toward Jonas, but was stopped by the tip of his sword.

  “You’re ill, my Lord. I can help,” said Trion, stopping where he stood and trying to reason with the man behind the desk.

  “Who are you and how did you know about the secret entrance?” said Jonas menacingly.

  Joshuas stepped forward, next to Trion. “I’m Joshuas Greyanson, Jonas. Surely you recognize me?”

  Jonas peered at him intently, fear playing on his face. “Joshuas? Is that really you? Daina said you were coming.” With that, he fell back in his chair and let his sword fall in his lap. Joshuas indicated to Trion to heal the guard first and then carefully took Jonas’ sword from his hand.

  “Where is Daina?” asked Joshuas, worriedly, as he secured the weapon. Trion began healing the guard, Ariel holding the pike she’d taken from him.

  “In the dungeon, with Cephom. I just couldn’t be sure,” he stopped speaking.

  “Would you like me to see to that?” asked Ariel, hand on her sword.

  Joshuas nodded, “Just don’t kill anyone.”

  “You take all the fun out of it, Joshuas. I’ll be back soon.” She slipped out the door as Trion gently dropped an unconscious guard to a chair. Jonas was shaking as he watched Trion. Joshuas could see he was trying to control his emotions, but was losing the fight.

  “This will help you,” Trion whispered in a voice that calmed and assured. Even Joshuas could feel the effects. Jonas closed his eyes and sighed as Trion murmured healing words.

  Joshuas hadn’t noticed the pervasive feeling of fear that hung in the city at first. But now that he’d a few moments to think, its effect began to make itself known. He spoke a spell to protect those who were in the room.