The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde

by Brian S. Pratt

  He followed the man down the street to the third cross street where he turned right.

  His path was leading him toward the more well-to-do area of town. The crowd of people on the street enabled Bart to easily follow the man without being seen. Finally, the man came to a large, three story townhouse. From the looks of it, whoever lived there was very well off. Taking the two steps up to the door, the man opened it and entered.

  Bart remained against the wall of a neighboring building for several minutes while he took in the surroundings. He was primarily checking to see if there was anyone else nearby that had been with Durik. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he moved into the side alley adjacent to the building in which the man had entered. Not too far down was a window and Bart carefully made his way toward it. The window was just above eye level. He moved beneath it and then glanced up and down the alley to make sure he remained unobserved. Seeing the coast was clear, he jump and took hold of the window sill. Pulling himself up, he looked inside.

  Four men were seated around a table, several papers were laid out upon the table. One of the men wore the robes of a magic user, two others looked to be regular townsfolk. But it was the sight of the fourth man that sent a shiver down Bart’s spine. He didn’t know how it could be, but Durik was alive! He didn’t look well, but he was definitely alive.

  Just then, the door in the wall directly opposite the window through which Bart was looking opened, and Durik’s man Pyck enter. He had seen enough. If Durik was still alive, they needed to get out of town, and fast!

  Bart left the window and hurried down the alley. Once on the main street, he double timed it back to the estate.

  “How could he still be alive?” asked Chad. “He was dead.” As soon as Bart returned to the estate, he gathered everyone together in the front room and told them of his discovery.

  “Did any of us actually check to make sure of that fact?” questioned Kevik. When everyone shook their head, he said, “When his man Pyck announced him dead, we took him at his word.”

  “Damn!” cursed Riyan. “We better get out now.”

  “I need an hour,” Kevik told the others. He then explained about the mixture and how it might come in handy when they reach Catha.

  “Alright,” Bart said. “Seth, Soth, you two take your horses out to the road and keep an eye out for anyone coming this way. If we’re lucky, we’ll make it out of here before it’s too late.”

  Once Kevik was on his way to his tower and the twins had left, Bart motioned for the others to follow him. “Come with me,” he said. “There’s something to do before we leave.”

  “What is it?” asked Chad.

  Bart led them up to his room on the second floor. Spread out on the table next to his bed were several pieces of parchment as well as a quill and an inkwell. “I started this before the unfortunate incident with Durik,” he explained. He showed them what he planned to do and then had them help him in completing it. If they had an hour before Kevik was finished with what he was doing, he should be able to get it done. As he began laying out what he wanted Riyan, Chad, and Chyfe to do, he took up the quill and began working on the half completed map.

  A little over an hour later, Kevik left his tower with two packs, one which contained a bowl and three flasks filled with the far seeing mixture. In the other were all the magical items they had brought from Algoth. He also brought the sword and dagger bearing the dragon-sword coat of arms for Riyan, as well as his staff.

  When he entered the manor house, he found them gathered around the fireplace. Bart was kneeling close to the ashes as he positioned a piece of paper in just the right spot.

  “What are you doing?” Kevik asked. He handed the sword and knife to Riyan.

  “Thanks,” Riyan said. “We’re leaving clues as to our whereabouts for Durik to find.” He then immediately swapped out his old sword and knife with the ones Kevik had just handed him.

  “Why in the world would you do that?” Kevik asked. .

  “The clues aren’t going to point toward Catha,” Chyfe explained with a grin. “Rather, he will be led to believe we’re on our way west to Island Lake.”

  “You see,” Bart said as he finished placing the scorched paper among the ashes,

  “there are certain tell-tale signs scattered throughout this house for Durik and his people to find.” Waving Kevik over, he pointed to the paper within the ashes. Most of it had been burned away, but one corner was of a map that had an arrow pointing to a lake with an island. “If you’ll notice,” Bart said with a grin, “it looks like we tried to burn it before we left.”

  “But there’s no name on this map,” Kevik stated. “How is he going to know it’s Island Lake?”

  “Up in my room,” he explained, “which now looks like it was the most used room in the house, are other clues. One of them is a dispatch from persons unknown which states that he’ll meet us at the lake.” He then stood up. “No one clue will lead them in the proper direction, but when combined with others, will leave little doubt.” Kevik glanced from one to the other. “How do you know he’ll find them? He may not even come here again.”

  “I find that remote in the extreme,” Bart told him. “When he comes after us and finds us gone, he’ll ransack this place to discover where we went.”

  “But the door’s going to be locked,” countered Kevik. “What if he can’t get in?” Bart laughed at that. “No offense, but your locks wouldn’t stop even the most inept thief.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Well, I’m ready whenever you are.”

  “Okay then,” Bart said. “Chyfe, go find Seth and Soth and let them know we’re leaving.”

  “Right,” replied Chyfe and immediately went outside.

  Bart was about to follow him out when he noticed a worried expression on Kevik’s face. “Don’t worry,” he assured him, “I’m sure we’ll get to Catha without them knowing about it.”

  “That’s not what’s bothering me,” he said.

  “Then what is it?” Riyan asked.

  He turned sorrowful eyes to Riyan. “I hate to think of Durik and his men in here,” he said. “This is Allar’s house and, well, it just grieves me.” Riyan placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. He met Kevik’s pained gaze and said,

  “I’m sure Allar would understand.”

  “I hope so,” he said.

  The sound of horses came from out front, heralding the return of Seth and Soth. “We need to go,” Chad told them.

  “Bring our horses from the stable will you?” Riyan asked.

  “Sure thing,” Chad replied. Then he and Bart went out and brought the rest of the horses out front to join the others.

  “Make sure to set the traps Allar had put in place,” Riyan said. “If they plan on storming this place, make them pay for it every step of the way.” Kevik nodded. “Okay. Give me a minute.”

  Riyan relieved Kevik of the two packs he carried. When he took the one carrying the bowl and flasks of mixture, Kevik warned him to be extra careful with it.

  Kevik then went through the house and set the various protective wards which Allar had put in place. When the house was ready he left through the front door and found the others waiting for him. “Just have to do the tower, then we’re good to go.” Moving over to the tower, he activated the wards there and then returned to the others. Mounting his horse, he said, “Everything is set.” Bart gave him a nod. Then he turned his horse and rode in the opposite direction of the lane leading to the main road. The others followed him as he left the buildings behind and set off cross country.

  “Where are we going?” asked Chyfe.

  “You’ll see,” replied Chad.

  They rode to a wooded area some distance south of the estate. When they reached the fringe of the woods, Bart brought them to a halt. To Seth, Soth, and Chyfe, he said, “Stay here with the horses.” Dismounting, Bart removed the rope from behind his saddle and entered the woods. Chad, Riyan, and Kevik dismounted as well and accompanied him.


  “Wonder what they’re doing?” Soth asked his brother when Bart and the others had disappeared into the trees. Seth just shrugged.

  Back when they had first arrived in Gilbeth from the Ruins of Algoth, one of the first decisions they had to make was where to keep the two segments of the key in their possession. Kevik had argued in favor of placing them with the other magical items they had brought back with them. But Bart hadn’t liked that idea. It was one thing to lose those items to robbers, quite another to lose the two segments. So they came up with the idea of burying them.

  They had searched the area for two days before a suitable place had been located. In a dense area of the trees they had found a fallen tree. The trunk had begun to be overgrown with foliage and there were signs of insect infestation. Above the fallen trunk was a thick lower branch extending from another tree. It wasn’t directly above the trunk of the fallen tree, but close enough to accomplish their objective.

  Taking a rope, they had thrown it over the limb, then tied one end to the fallen trunk.

  Using the limb for leverage, they had raised the trunk half a foot off the ground. While the others held it in position, Bart had dug a shallow hole beneath the raised trunk and deposited the two segments of the key within.

  Now, they were there to retrieve the segments and take them with them to Catha.

  Using the same branch as they had before, they tossed a rope over it and secured the rope’s end to the trunk. Then with all of them pulling on the rope, they raised the trunk several inches off the ground.

  Once they had it raised and the others had a good hold of the rope, Bart let go. He moved to the area of the trunk beneath which the segments lay and dropped to his knees.

  “I’m going in,” he told the others.

  “Hurry,” encouraged Riyan. Keeping the trunk elevated was no easy task.

  Bart reached a hand under the log and felt around. Panic began to set in when he failed to find the segments. Moving his hand beneath the trunk first to the right, then to the left, he finally encountered the sack that held them. Pulling the sack out from beneath the fallen tree, he could easily feel the weight of the two key segments nestled within.

  Holding the dirty sack up, he turned to the others and said, “Got ‘em.”

  “Good,” replied Chad as he let go of the rope.

  They gathered around Bart who opened the sack and pulled out the two segments. He handed them to Riyan who placed them in his pack. While he was getting them situated properly within his pack, Chad untied the rope from the fallen trunk, coiled it, and put it in his pack.

  “All set,” Riyan said as he closed his pack. Getting to his feet, he and the others headed back to where they had left Seth, Soth, and Chyfe.

  “Should we tell them about the key?” asked Chad.

  “No,” replied Bart. He glanced to the other three. “They’ll find out soon enough I’m sure.”

  “True,” agreed Riyan.

  When they rejoined the others, they didn’t comment about what they had just done.

  Seth was mightily curious about the whole thing, but didn’t press them on it.

  They mounted and were soon off towards the road leading south. Chyfe said the quickest way to Catha was for them to ride south to the crossroads at the town of Skerin, then turn east. From there they would follow the road as it made its way through the southern edge of the Ki’ Gyrx Forest. Once they reached the other side of the forest, it wouldn’t be much further to Catha. He said the trip should take about three days, maybe four.

  It didn’t take long before they reached the road and were heading south. Around midafternoon the town of Kemmet appeared on the horizon. They kept to the road and followed it through town. Seeing as how Durik was behind them, there was no need to fear being seen.

  By the time the sun had neared the horizon, they still hadn’t reached the crossroads at Skerin. “How much further is it to Skerin do you think?” Riyan asked Chyfe.

  “Not entirely sure to tell you the truth,” he replied. “It can’t be much further though.”

  “Then let’s push on until we get there,” suggested Seth.

  So despite the falling temperature the setting of the sun was bound to bring, they pushed on. The clouds above kept the temperature from falling too drastically, but without the warming rays of the sun, they were all frozen by the time the lights of Skerin came into sight.

  They stopped at the first inn they came to and got the last three rooms. Riyan, Chad, and Chyfe shared one, the twins another, while Bart bunked with Kevik.

  They met downstairs in the common room for a meal and ale. Two packs were never let out of their sight and accompanied them everywhere. One contained the two key segments and sat by Riyan’s feet, the other held the magical items and was by Kevik.

  During their meal, the conversation inevitably turned to Durik. “Do you think he’s made it to the estate yet?” asked Soth.

  Bart nodded. “I’d be surprised if he hasn’t had someone out there by this time to check on us,” he replied. “Once he realizes we’re gone, he won’t waste time in trying to track us down.”

  Riyan turned to Kevik and said, “Maybe the defenses your master had put into place will keep them out.”

  “They didn’t when those men came and tried to kidnap me,” he said. In truth, he had begun to wonder about those supposed defenses of his master. The only one he had seen that worked was the one that caught the lone man during the earlier raid. If that was the extent of them, Durik had nothing to worry about.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  _______________________

  Riders moved down the darkened road in the middle of the night, thirty five in all.

  Most of them had been hastily recruited for this from some of the less than savory taverns to be found in the poorer section of town, left the outskirts of Gilbeth.

  Three men led the group, one an older man with a hard look about him. From time to time the man would cough as if he had difficulty breathing. To the man’s right rode a robed individual and to his left, a man only slightly younger than himself.

  Earlier in the day, a little before dusk, he had sent one of his men to keep an eye on an estate outside of town. The man had promptly returned and reported that the estate now stood empty. Of those whom he had been sent to keep an eye on, there was no sign.

  Needless to say, Durik flew into a rage which only aggravated his condition.

  He had barely survived the inhalation of the toxic cloud fumes. If it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of Pyck, his body would still be lying there by the Tower. But after Pyck had convinced Bart and the others that Durik was in fact dead, he had been forced to wait until they departed before he could remove the healing potion from Durik’s pack and administer it to him. Unfortunately, the delay in administering the healing potion had resulted in the damage done to his lungs being too great for the magical properties of the healing potion to completely heal. And by the time they had arrived back at Gilbeth, it had been too late to administer more. His body had already grown acclimated to the new condition and would no longer see it as a ‘new’ injury. If he would have had sufficient funds, he could have gone to a temple to have it completely healed.

  He sent Pyck to various taverns in the poorer section of town to hire men. Most of those he had with him during the debacle at the Tower were back at their homes and jobs in Kemmet, only a dozen had continued on to Gilbeth with him. Now he rode with a merry band of cutthroats and thieves who were only as loyal as the coins they received.

  “Do you really think coming here will yield any results?” asked Pyck.

  “Since we aren’t sure where they are going,” replied Durik, “yes.” Glancing to the magic user riding beside him he added, “We wouldn’t have to do this if you could have located them better.”

  The magic user sighed. “As I told you before, a man riding in the dark is difficult to pinpoint. If you would have been willing to wait until morning, I could have given you a more precis
e location.”

  “That would have given them almost a day’s head start if I had,” he replied. “I expect to be on their trail as soon as possible.”

  “Just being here is jeopardizing my position,” the magic user stated, and not for the first time.

  Durik gave him an annoyed look. “Get me safely into that estate and you can return to town,” he said. He had called in a favor the magic user owed him. Even with the weight of the favor behind his request, he still had to practically force him to come along. This had been the estate of a powerful magic user before his apprentice took over, and there still could very well be wards left in place. He had to find out where they were going. No one was going to beat him to the Horde!

  When they turned off onto the lane leading to the manor house, he slowed. Lex, the man whom he had appointed leader of the score of men recruited from the taverns, came alongside to see what was going on.

  “Up ahead is an estate,” Durik told him. A coughing fit seized him and it took a moment to get himself under control again. When he did, he said, “I want you and your men to take the estate and hold anyone you find.”

  “We can have our choice of the booty?” he asked.

  “As we agreed,” nodded Durik. “There are only a few things I require, the rest is yours.”

  “As you wish,” Lex replied. Turning back to the men behind him, he said, “Come on boys. There’s loot to be had.” Then with a cry, he and his men kicked their horses into a gallop and raced down the lane. Those who were Durik’s men remained with him.

  “Do we really need all those men?” asked Pyck as Lex and crew disappeared over the hill that stood between them and the estate.

  Then from up ahead, light flared forth as Lex and his men encountered the first of the protective wards. “Yes we do,” replied Durik. Turning to the magic user riding next to him, he said, “It’s time.”

  “Time for what?” questioned Pyck.

  Durik turned to him and even in the scant moonlight Pyck could see the evil grin upon his face. “You’ll see.” Then he and the magic user sped their horses up and Pyck had to hurry so as not to be left behind. His men followed closely.