The field was covered in brown grass that came to Flare's knees and crunched when their horses trampled across it. The field appeared to have once been farm land, but had not been tilled in some time. Perhaps the farmers rotated their fields, or maybe they had just moved away. Either way, they were not taking any chances, and they watched carefully for holes that the horses might step into.
Reaching the trees, they found them exactly as the dwarf had described. The trees were a type of oak, and they ringed a shallow depression. The hollow wasn't that big, perhaps twenty yards wide by thirty or so yards long. Bushes grew between the trees, all along the top of the hollow and helped provide excellent coverage. All in all, it made for an excellent camp. Flare led his horse between two shrubs and down the short slope. Philip followed, and Atock brought up the rear. Reaching the bottom, Flare motioned off to his left. “Let's put the horses over there.” The bottom of the hollow was dirt covered by a thick layer of leaves. Here and there, a small weed had managed to force its way through the leaves, but for the most part nothing grew in the depression.
“We're not actually going to stay here and hope that the dwarf is trustworthy. Are we?” Philip asked, the incredulity obvious in his voice. “He could just want the reward all to himself. He could be bringing the city guards with him.”
Flare looked over at Atock, “What do you think?”
Atock shrugged. “Philip is right. This could be a trap, but I didn't get the feeling that the dwarf was lying.”
Philip threw up his hands, “Oh great! Let's trust a complete stranger with our lives based on Atock's gut feeling.”
Flare was silent a moment. Philip was right to be distrustful, someone had set them up after all, but like Atock, he too felt that the dwarf was trustworthy. “I believed him, too.” Philip shook his head, looking disgusted, but Flare kept right on talking, “But let's be careful. Atock, head to the trees around the stream, just south of here.” He pointed as he spoke, “Keep an eye out for any of the guards, and let us know about anything else suspicious.”
“All right.” Atock answered, looking south to where Flare wanted him to take up watch. “Do you want me to finish taking care of my horse, first?”
“No,” Flare said quickly. “I will re-saddle him for you.”
Both Atock and Philip seemed surprised, “You don't want us to set up a picket line for the horses?” Philip asked.
“No,” Shaking his head, Flare looked from one to the other, “I want to be able to leave quickly, and if we get separated, head north.” He paused, trying to think of a good place to regroup. “If we get separated, then we will meet at that burnt out farm house. Remember where it's at?” Both Philip and Atock nodded. They had passed it just this morning, and had remarked at how total the destruction had been. “Good. Let's get going.”
An hour or two after the sun went down, Flare and Philip heard the shrill cry of a red breasted northern duck. Which was strange, since the red breasted northern duck preferred a much colder environment and didn't migrate this far south. Well, it would have been strange, if the guardians hadn't used the duck's cry in their signals. It was a signal from Atock that someone was approaching. They had learned different animal calls to signal different things. This one meant “Careful! Something unplanned for is happening.” It got Flare and Philip both scrambling to their feet.
“Uh-oh.” Philip murmured in an almost told you so fashion. “That doesn't sound good.”
“Could be worse,” Flare said. And in truth it could have been. Atock had signaled that something unplanned for was happening, but he had not signaled danger or imminent attack, he hadn't even signaled retreat. “You go right, and I'll take the left.” Flare pointed to the trees ringing the hollow as he spoke.
Moving quickly, to his left, Flare drew his sword as he scrambled up the slope, hoping all the time that the dwarf had not betrayed them.
Reaching the top of the slope, Flare lay down next to an oak, and looked out over the field. Luckily, the field was lit up by the moonlight, and he could even make out the highway in the distance. Nothing moved along the road, but several shapes were riding across the field. That must be what Atock meant was unplanned. They had expected the dwarf to show up tonight, but three riders were moving in on them. Adjusting his position to better watch the horsemen, Flare silently waited.
Flare's elven sight quickly identified the left-most rider as the dwarf. Dwarves were notoriously bad riders, and he was bouncing around so much in the saddle, that Flare was surprised he was still managing to hang on. The rider on the far right was doing better than the dwarf, but only slightly. He was bouncing around too, and he appeared to have a death grip, both with his legs, and on the saddle horn.
The last rider, the one in the middle, was the most interesting. He rode his horse like a general going into battle, ram-rod straight and with an ease that bespoke of many hours spent in the saddle. The middle rider looked solid, not fat, but muscular and broad.
They stopped about twenty yards from the hollow, and Flare finally recognized the rider on the right as the thief that claimed to have helped them by trying to rob them.
“Flaranthlas?” The middle rider called out. “My name is Vinekh.” He paused, searching the trees around the hollow. “We are not here to hurt you. May we enter?”
“Awful polite.” Flare mumbled under his breath, but at least they had asked. If they wanted to catch the guardians, there would have been a whole lot more men. “Come on!” He called out, ignoring the huff of impatience from Philip's location.
The riders dismounted, and the dwarf took the lead, and heading for a small gap in the trees, pulling his horse by the bridle. The other two riders also dismounted, and followed the path that the dwarf had chosen.
Flare stood and returned to the floor of the hollow, but he still kept his sword out. No reason to trust them completely. He was pleased to see Philip come down, and he too still had his sword ready.
The dwarf pushed through the small bushes, and moved down the slope to the bottom. He walked slowly, eyeing the two fighters with their swords out. “What's with the swords? You don't trust us?”
Philip spoke before Flare had a chance to, “No. We don't.”
Sighing, Flare sheathed his sword and glared at Philip until he followed suit. “We are just trying to be careful.” He glanced back at the dwarf, “I'm sure that you understand.” The broad man, who was apparently named Vinekh, had reached the bottom, and was standing beside the dwarf; the thief was just a few steps behind.
“We are not here to harm you, or turn you over to the city guard.” The big man said in a loud no nonsense manner. He stood with his shoulders back and his chest out, like the guardians did when they were at a parade. His bearing and voice marked him as a minor noble or perhaps a very well-to-do merchant. Either way, Flare was suspicious as to why he was here.
Glancing over at the thief, Flare started to look back, and then did a double take. It was the same thief that claimed to have been sent to help them, but he looked different in some way. Well, he looked different in several ways. He still had the sickly appearance, but it was lessened somehow. Earlier today, he had seemed liked a weak cringing shell of a man, but now he seemed to have a confidence that he had lacked earlier. He stood straighter, and he met Flare's gaze levelly.
“You seem different.” Philip said, apparently noticing the changes too.
“That's Hughes for you,” The dwarf mumbled. “He gathers information for us, and he's good at it, too. Most people don't even notice him.”
“Yeah. I guess I just blend in.” Hughes said with a grin.
The thief's grin almost made Flare sick, showing off a mouthful of yellow and black teeth. Flare turned his attention back to the dwarf, “And you must be Arnok.”
The dwarf stared at Flare, his gaze not a happy one. “How do you know that? I didn't tell you my name.” His hand dropped to the hilt of his long dagger, and he studied the faces of the guardians. He quickly started looking ar
ound, “Vinekh, I swear that I didn't tell them my name. This must be a trap.”
Sensing the dwarf's unease, the big man had already drawn his sword and held it with the tip of the blade pointing at Flare.
Flare raised his empty hands, “Calm down. Hughes told me your name when he found us at the city gates.”
“Hughes? You did what?” The dwarf asked angrily, turning to glare at the thief. Even in the poor light, it was easy enough to see the dwarf's face going red in anger.
As red as the dwarf was turning, the thief was going pale. “I had to intervene to get them safely out of the city, and they had a sword to my throat.” He recoiled from the heat of the dwarf's anger, and the confidence he had shown earlier had evaporated.
“So, someone puts a blade to your throat and you shout out my name?” Arnok was still staring daggers at the skinny old man, but at least Vinekh had re-sheathed his sword.
Hughes held his hands out in front of him, trying to placate the angry dwarf. “It wasn't like that. You sent me to help them, and I had to let them know I was a friend of yours.”
Arnok opened his mouth to retort, but Vinekh spoke first. “Enough! Arnok, you can sort that out later. We don't have the time to do it now.” The dwarf closed his mouth, but he still shot angry looks at Hughes. The thief, for his part, looked like he wanted to find a tree to hide behind. “Hughes. Take our horses and tie them up.”
The thief scurried to obey; he seemed relieved to get out from under the dwarf's glare.
Flare was confused, “I don't want to seem ungrateful, but why did you help us?” Arnok stopped glaring at the thief, and turned to face Flare. “I mean they were offering a lot of money.”
“Money isn't everything.” The dwarf grumbled into his beard.
Just then, there were three short cries of a blue jay. Smiling, and ignoring the confused looks of their guests, Flare raised his hands to his mouth and hooted twice like an owl. A moment later, Atock came over the edge of the hollow, and descended the slope.
Arnok seemed impressed, “Not as dumb as I thought.” He muttered, barely audible, but Flare's elven ears still picked it up.
“So why did you help us?” Flare repeated again.
“For about ten years now, things have been getting worse in Helum. The taxes are quickly becoming unbearable, and new laws have been passed which make the most mundane things a crime. Some of us are trying to resist these changes.” Vinekh said.
“You're rebelling against your king?” Flare asked, amazed. Rebellion was very rare, probably because of the horribly gruesome deaths that the rebels could expect if caught.
He looked uneasy, but Vinekh nodded. “It got even worse starting several years ago. Some foreign prince visited, and ever since then, the king has given him everything he has asked for.”
The first faint tinges of anxiety stirred in Flare's gut. “What foreign prince? What's his name?”
Vinekh shrugged, “It's Zalustus, and I don't even know what kingdom he's from. But I do know one thing. He's trouble.”
“Is he in the city now?” Flare asked quickly, trying to sound calm, but failing miserably. His pulse was racing. Had Zalustus set the bounty on them? What if he had already caught some of the others?
Vinekh tilted his head, as if studying Flare. “No. Why? Do you know him?”
Flare breathed a little easier, he was not yet ready to face Zalustus again. “Yes. We've met. In fact, I'm the reason he has that long scar down the side of his face.”
Vinekh nodded, seeming impressed. “He hasn't been here in a while, lately, he has been sending one of his lieutenants. Normally it's the Lady Jasmine.” The way he said lady made it seem a curse.
“Jasmine?” Flare repeated, “Never heard of her.”
“Then you're a very blessed man.” Arnok mumbled.
Vinekh nodded, “Quite right. She's a horrible woman. Loves torturing people, especially men. People walk softly when she's in the city, and lately she has been in the city far too often. Anyone arrested for a crime, even a minor one, could very easily die at her hands.”
“Describe her.” Atock suggested.
“Slim and very attractive. White blond hair that comes down to her shoulders. Beautiful face, but with cold dead eyes.” Vinekh's manner changed as he spoke, he seemed to be trying hard to force the image of the woman away, to resist it.
Flare nodded, the description fit one of Zalustus' lieutenants that he had seen at Mul-dune; had to be the same one. “I've seen her, but I didn't know her name.” Glancing closer at Vinekh, he asked, “But that still doesn't explain why you helped us. I understand that you are fighting a rebellion but why help us escape?”
“Isn't enough that we helped? Accept it and move on.” Arnok growled.
“No.” Flare shot back, fighting hard to keep his temper under control. The dwarf rough personality was starting to get to him. “I want to know why, at least if you want me to trust you.”
The dwarf hastily opened his mouth, but Vinekh spoke first, shooting a glare at the dwarf as he spoke. “I lost my brother to that evil woman. Anything that she wants, then I will fight to the death to prevent her from getting it.” He paused a moment, letting his words sink in, “And from what I hear, she really wants you.” He pointed at Flare, before glancing at Atock and Philip. “Don't miss-understand me, she also wants the two of you.”
Philip looked puzzled, “Why, though? I mean why does she want us?”
This time it was Flare that answered, “She wants us because Zalustus wants us.”
There was a moment of silence, each of the guardians lost in their own thoughts. Finally, though Arnok broke the silence. “All right, we told you why we helped you. Now it's your turn. Why does that wench Jasmine want you, and why are you in Helum?”
Flare hesitated a moment, wondering how best to answer. It would not be a good idea to tell them everything, but some shouldn't hurt. His gut feeling was that these men could be trusted, and he hoped he was right. “We were supposed to meet some friends here.” He motioned to Arnok with his hand, “The other descriptions that you mentioned.” That was the truth, and he didn't see how telling them that could be harmful.
“Makes sense,” Vinekh said. “But what are you doing after you meet up with these friends of yours?” He was studying Flare closely, obviously searching for any sign of deception.
Once again Flare hesitated, he could not tell them the whole truth, but perhaps a piece of it would be enough. “We are traveling to just south of the Silver Mountains. We are,” He paused, searching for the right word, “spying out the land.”
Vinekh and Arnok both wore expressions of amazement, while the thief just looked frightened. “That country is cursed.” Hughes finally managed to get out. “Why would you go there?”
“We're guardians,” Flare answered. “We're going there to check and make sure the country is still empty. We're concerned about this Prince Zalustus. We have never heard of him before, and he shows up with an army of goblins and such to try and seize Fort Mul-dune. Why would he do that, and where is he from?”
Vinekh was completely shaken by Flare's words. “Guardians! And traveling to Golt!” Golt was one of the names for the area south of the Silver Mountains, and east of the black forest. It was a shortened version of the full name of Golteranth. Vinekh looked flabbergasted, his eyes bulged, and he kept looking from one to the other. This was the first time that he had really looked disturbed, since arriving at the hollow.
Arnok didn't say anything, but he was staring out over his beard, his eyes as big as saucers.
“Does this,” Vinekh stopped and swallowed and started again, “Does this have anything to do with Kelcer?”
Flare had only thought that Arnok and Hughes had looked disturbed before. Arnok now looked fearful at the very mention of the Kelcer name, and Hughes looked down right petrified.
“No.” Flare answered firmly and quickly. Pushing away a tinge of guilt. Was this trip related to Kelcer? He was a fighter who could
use magic and sorcery, but he didn't think anyone alive still knew wizardry, and he wouldn't learn it if he could. He swore to himself that he was not the destroyer that Kelcer had prophesied about.
Flare's denial of Kelcer instantly calmed the others down. Vinekh sighed, “Good. May it please Adel that I never live to see that day.”
An inspiration hit Flare. “Vinekh, could you help me find a guide?”
Vinekh's eyebrows shot up. “A guide for Golt. I can not help you there. I doubt anyone from Helum would go there, or admit it if they did.” He shook his head at the wonder of it all.
Arnok looked thoughtful, “True, we don't know anyone that could guide them through Golt, but perhaps ol' Morley could guide them through the Black forest.”
“Morley?” Philip asked.
Vinekh nodded, “I hadn't thought about him in a while. He's an old trapper that hunts the Black forest. Not many will these days, but he swears by the forest, says it has the best hides and pelts that can be found. The merchants agree with him, too. He always makes good money after a trip to the forest.”
“Where can we find this Morley?” Flare asked.
“He lives in a small cottage way to the east of Helum.” Vinekh studied them for a moment. “Is what you're doing important?”
Flare glanced at Philip and Atock before answering, “Yes. It is. And your Lady Jasmine is desperately trying to stop us.” He threw her name out, because he hoped that would nudge them to help.
Vinekh nodded, and was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “Okay. Arnok, will you show them the way to Morley's hut?”
The old dwarf surprised Flare by half bowing, “Yes, my lord.”
“Lord?” Philip burst out, “You didn't say anything about being a lord.”
Vinekh regarded Philip coolly, “I was not aware that it was required of me.” Then he sighed, “I am Lord Vinekh al-Muldaria of the house Muldaria.”
Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series Page 33
