by Isaac Crowe
“Max, the barrier!”
When the sun had set the bandits had lit torches, causing Melody’s barrier to shimmer in their light. The dancing light resulted in Max’s drifting into a trance. Now the shimmer flickered in and out of existence. Melody closed her eyes, concentrating; the barrier steadied.
“I don’t think I can hold it much longer.”
Max remained calm, scanning the bandits’ camp. “We shouldn’t need it. It looks like the bandits have left.”
Melody began to panic, her voice cracking. “Didn’t you hear the bandits? There is a lacarath out there.”
Max smirked. “You mean the ferocious animals that prey on remote villages and feast on naughty children?” He cleared his throat, his smile gone. “They’re just legends…right?”
Melody looked grim. “Lacarath are believed to be the predecessors of the lacarna, but I must admit, nobody has seen one in years. However, something sure scared those bandits away.”
“Still, a lacarath?”
Melody’s eyes went wide. “Nooo!”
The barrier flickered once, then, with a bright flash, disappeared. She swallowed hard.
“Can you see anything moving out there, Max?”
Max didn’t move, but his voice shook. “Melody, if a lacarath did exist, what would it look like?”
Melody crawled over to Max where she followed his gaze out to the edge of the torchlight. Standing in the shadows with its side to them was a man-sized, four legged creature. Max pointed a shaking hand at the animal.
“Is that...?”
Melody pulled Max’s hand down, cupping her other hand over his mouth. “Shhh!”
To their horror the animal turned its head in their direction. Both of them held their breath, hoping it hadn’t seen them. After what seemed like an eternity, the animal turned its head forward again and walked out of the torchlight. Melody let out her breath. Max did the same.
“You really think that was a lacarath?”
“I guess I should have said nobody has proven they’ve seen a lacarath in years. We have heard rumors of sightings; however, in the more desolate places of Velrune. That thing out there sure fit the description of those sightings. I’ll have to tell Bastiaan and…”
Melody’s gaze drifted off into the darkness. “Bastiaan, Zeth, I hope you’ve had better luck.”
When Max found Melody surrounded by the bandits, all thoughts of the diggers had left.
“The diggers! Melody, what happened to them? Did one of them head for the next camp? Where’s the other one?”
Melody cupped her hand over Max’s mouth again. “Not so loud Max, that thing may still be around.” She dropped her hand. “Yes, Bastiaan rode for the next camp. Zeth headed north with me. When the bandits started to catch up with us, we separated. I made the mistake of riding into this canyon. I don’t know where Zeth went.”
Max kept his voice to a whisper this time. “Do you know if any of the bandits followed him?”
Melody shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I am not sure.”
Max gently touched Melody’s shoulder. “I bet he’s found his way back to the camp by now.”
“I can only hope.”
Max smiled. “He’s probably better off than us. We either leave and chance getting eaten or stay here until the bandits return.”
Melody shook her head. “I don’t think any of the bandits will be back before daylight. They are just as afraid of the lacarath as we are.”
“Then I guess we wait till daylight. Hopefully the guards from the next camp will find us.”
The two sat in silence for close to an hour, listening for the slightest sound. Max was the first to hear the faint thudding of hoof beats. He tapped Melody’s shoulder.
“Horses are coming.”
The sound of hooves grew louder, echoing off the canyon walls. Max readied his sword and motioned Melody to step away from the entrance. Max took a few steps back to stay out of view, but stayed close enough that he could quickly defend the opening. The sound of the horses grew louder then stopped short of the cave. Max heard voices then a loud shout.
“Hello. Is anyone here?”
Max looked back at Melody, who shared his expression of hope. Is it the guards from the next camp?
As Max eased forward, a figure walked past the entrance and crouched next to the body of a bandit.
“It’s a bandit, Sergeant, this is the right place.”
“Hello, is anyone here? My name is Sergeant Kallis. I have come from the Protector’s camp to the southwest. Lt. Biros sent me in search of his fellow traveling companions.”
Max crept back to Melody. “I’ll go and make sure they really are guards.”
Melody gave a nervous nod. “Be careful, it could be a trick.”
Max puffed out his chest and stepped out of the cave. “Over here.”
The crouching man jumped at Max’s appearance, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword. From Max’s right came the voice of the Sergeant.
“Are you Maxwell?”
Turning, Max saw three other men on horseback. They wore the same light armor as the guards from the previous camps. A fourth man, bound and gagged, sat on another. A fifth horse carried no rider.
“Yes, I am Maxwell.”
“I am Sergeant Kallis, Maxwell. We’ve been sent to find you and two others. It appears you have had a bit of trouble, but I can guarantee, with the exception of the one we captured, the bandits are long gone.” The Sergeant nodded at Max’s sword. “If you don’t mind?”
Max lowered his weapon, embarrassed. “The sheath is still on the horse, wherever he went.”
“That’s okay, you kept the important part. Are the others with you?”
Melody stepped slowly out of the crack. “Only myself.”
“Ahh, the acolyte. What of the digger?”
“We split up before entering the canyon. I don’t know where he is. We had hoped he had made it to the camp.”
The Sgt. shook his head. “Only one rider arrived. Bastiann, I believe. He was the first to alert us to the attack.”
Melody clasped her hands together. “Was he hurt?”
“He would not let us aid him, so I do not know. He told us the location of the attack and that two of his companions had ridden north of the trail with several bandits in pursuit. He pleaded with us to come look for you. While I discussed our course of action with the other guards, the digger took off with one of our horses, not even bothering to take his belongings. Since we had his things, we let him go and prepared to find the rest of his party. We rode out of the camp as Lt. Biros arrived. He told us about you and stressed we bring you back at any cost. He then changed horses and went after the digger.”
Melody sighed heavily. “Thank you, Sergeant Kallis, I’m glad to hear that at least one of my friends made it to camp. Thank you for coming after us.”
Max reached up and shook Sgt. Kallis’s hand, taking note of how his armor shined. The guards they had come across to this point had cared little for their appearance. Sgt. Kallis took pride in his position.
“Yeah, thanks. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to follow the tracks at night.”
“I hate to admit it, but we had all but given up at one point. Finding where you had left the main trail was easy, but we soon lost the light. It’s slow going with torches, and I had decided to head back when we ran into him.” Sergeant Kallis nodded his head in the direction of the bandit they had tied to the horse. “Or, more correctly, he ran into us. He came riding out of the dark screaming like a banshee, nearly running us over. Private Monroe had enough of his wits about him to chase the man down. We tried to get information from him, but he only babbled on about a lacarath attack at his camp. Since we couldn’t get anything useful out of him we gagged him to stem the babbling. We took a gamble that he was one of the bandits the digger had spoken of and followed his tracks to here.”
The man who had been crouching over the dead bandit joined the rest of them. “I
don’t know about a lacarath, sir, but some large creature did a number on these guys. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
One of the other riders puffed out his chest. “No doubt our approach scared it off, right, Sergeant?”
Melody shook her head. “We caught a glimpse of it at the edge of the light. I doubt it left because it was frightened.”
The man on the ground mounted his horse. “I’d have to agree with the acolyte, Sir. Judging by the claw marks on the bandit, such a creature would have little trouble dealing with us.”
Sgt. Kallis scanned the canyon. “While I’ll admit I would like to see a lacarath, I don’t care to meet it at night or without something between it and me. Let’s all make haste back to camp. Maxwell, you ride with me.” Sgt. Kallis turned to the overconfident guard. “Monroe, you take the acolyte.”
Max’s brow furrowed. “Her name’s Melody.”
Sgt. Kallis ignored Max’s comment, instead extending his hand to help Max onto the back of his horse. Monroe helped Melody onto his and without further delay they headed out of the canyon. Max looked back over his shoulder as they left.
“What about the dead bandits?”
The Sergeant didn’t turn. “They deserve nothing from us, and that’s what we’re giving them.”
Max had not expected such a callous answer from Sgt. Kallis. Even if the men were criminals, leaving their bodies exposed seemed wrong. He was too tired to argue the point; however. It was enough of a struggle to stay awake during the three hour ride to camp. Max dozed off several times before the greeting of the remaining guard in camp startled him.
“Sgt. Kallis, I see you found them.”
“Yes. What of Lt. Biros or the digger, did they return?”
“No. Neither has returned.”
“Did anyone else arrive at the camp?”
“No, no one else.”
“Very well, dismissed!”
Sgt. Kallis helped Max swing off the horse before dismounting himself, the other guards following suit. “Lt. Biros instructed me to escort you to the next camp should he not return here. If he is not there, then we are to bring you on to Moenia. Get some rest. We leave first thing in the morning.”
Max shook his head. “I’d like to wait a day. I still have friends at the previous camp. They will arrive tomorrow night.”
“No good, I have my instructions. You will have to wait for them in Moenia.”
Max swayed, light-headed from exhaustion. I think I’ll wait till morning to convince Sgt. Kallis. I can’t think straight now. Max hung his head. “Fine.”
Sgt. Kallis nodded. “Good. Now, I will have someone bring you blankets. Stay next to the fire. You will want the extra warmth to help you recover.”
Sgt. Kallis and the guards left for the guardhouse. Max walked with Melody to the fire where they sat next to one another. Melody sighed, close to tears.
“I hope Zeth and Bastiaan are safe.”
Max felt a pang of guilt. Here I am worried about leaving before Eve gets here. At least I know she’s safe with Mr. Penna. Even without Mr. Penna, she could take care of herself. The diggers, on the other hand, are old and most likely aren’t up to fighting.
Max ignored his doubts and tried to cheer up Melody.
“I’m sure come daylight Zeth will find his way back. After all, aren’t diggers great at tracking and discovering their surroundings? As far as Bastiaan goes, Tyco should be on his trail. If anything happens, Tyco should be there in short order to help.”
“I’m not sure it’s Tyco’s intent to help any of us. For that matter, why did you two rush out of camp without Eve and Mr. Penna?”
Max shrugged his shoulders. “Tyco woke me this morning saying we had to get to Moenia as soon as possible, that you guys were up to something that could be harmful to me.”
Melody snorted. “That’s hardly the case.”
“I didn’t think so, but why did you leave in such a hurry?”
“Fair enough question. Last night we fell into discussing some recent information we had come across. Late in the evening we decided we needed to get this information back to my order as soon as possible, despite any risks.”
“What information was so important?”
“Honestly, we’re not really sure what the information means, so I don’t want to share it yet.”
Max’s brow furrowed. “So, Tyco was right, you are up to something.”
Melody’s eyes widened in shock. “Of course not! Well, yes, but it’s certainly nothing to harm you. We would never do such a thing.”
Max relaxed. “I didn’t think you would, but that’s why Tyco was so intent on catching you guys.”
Melody settled back down. “Sorry, Max, it has been a rough day.”
“That’s okay, I understand. I was there for part of it.”
“Yes, you were.” A warm smile filled Melody’s face. “Thank you, Maxwell Laskaris.”
Max blushed and turned away.
“Here are some blankets.”
Max and Melody both jumped. Neither had noticed the guard carrying blankets arrive. The guard dropped the blankets next to Max then went back to wherever he had come from. They spread the blankets out near the fire, settling in for what remained of the night. The warmth of the fire soon putting them to sleep.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Evangeline, wake up.”
Eve let out an aggravated moan. “Mmmm, go away.”
“Evangeline, my dear, wake up,” came the voice again, this time louder.
Eve felt something poke her lightly in the stomach. Startled, she sat bolt upright, swatting blindly in front of her. The poking stopped. She put her hands down and opened her eyes to the bright sunlight. Mr. Penna stood in front of her smiling and holding a two foot pole.
“It is not like you to sleep so late. The sun has already risen.”
Eve, still not fully awake, only mumbled. “Sorry, Mr. Penna.”
“Rough night I presume?”
Eve’s tail found its way into her hands. “Y-Yeah. I was worried about Max and couldn’t sleep.”
“Is that it? I thought perhaps you stayed up all night gallivanting about or some such silly thing.”
Eve tightened the grip on her tail, keeping quiet. Mr. Penna looked at her expectantly for several seconds then gave up.
“Well then, if that is what is troubling you, the sooner we get moving the sooner you will see him.” He bent over and held his hand out to her. “Now then, let us get you some breakfast and be on our way.”
“Kay.”
Eve, finally awake, let go of her tail to take hold of Mr. Penna’s hand. He pulled her up with ease. On her feet, Eve pointed at the stick in Mr. Penna’s hand.
“Please don’t poke me like that again. You scared me. I might have hurt you.”
Mr. Penna gave a hardy chuckle.
“I-I’m serious.”
Mr. Penna laughed harder. “I am not poking fun at you, Evangeline. I know very well what you can do. This pole used to be twice as long.”
Eve’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry.”
Mr. Penna scratched at his chin. “How does that old saying go? Oh yes. ‘Let sleeping dogs lie or in time of need and dealing with a lacarnian,” Mr. Penna held the pole vertical, “use a really long stick.’”
Eve now shared in Mr. Penna’s laughter. “I don’t remember hearing that last part before.”
“That, my dear, is why I am the teacher. Now, enough of this silliness. Grab some breakfast and let us be on our way.”
Eve had breakfast while Mr. Penna packed the horses, leaving for the next camp as soon as they finished. They maintained an easy pace for most of the day. Eve even let Spook out of her pocket so the mouse could play atop Starlight. Late in the afternoon they came across a large disturbance on the trail. Mr. Penna studied the area.
“It seems a bit of commotion took place here recently. A run in with bandits perhaps? A large number of hoof prints lead North. Evangeline, are you able to detect
any scents with that keen nose of yours? I wonder if these tracks had anything to do with our friends.”
“Maybe.”
Eve walked around the tracks in an ever-expanding arc. Should I tell Mr. Penna about last night? What if he gets mad at me, or worse, hates me for it? I can’t tell him, not yet.
After a few minutes she walked back over to Mr. Penna. “I can definitely smell Max and Tyco. I think I detected a hint of the diggers and Melody as well. Maybe two other groups. One in particular left a rather foul odor.”
“Can you tell who went where?”
“Umm, Max and Melody, and at least one of the diggers, went north followed by the group with the foul odor. The other group, which smelled like the other guards we’ve met, went after them. The guards, Max and Melody returned and headed on to the next camp. Tyco never went north, he kept to the main trail.”
Mr. Penna smiled oddly. “Is that so? That is quite a nose you have Evangeline.”
Eve took her tail in her hands and looked down at her feet. Uh oh, too much.
She poked at a few pebbles with her toe. “Well, some of the scents were layered so I only assumed they left and came back. M-most of it I just kind of guessed at.”
“Uh huh. Well, at least we do not have to worry about making any detours. Shall we be on our way then?”
Eve released her tail in relief. “Definitely!”
Without another word, Eve took off at a run to the west. Mr. Penna took Starlight’s reins and followed after her. They reached the next camp in the early evening. Before Mr. Penna could stop her, Eve ran straight to and inside the guardhouse, speaking rapidly to the first guard she found.
“Did any other travelers come from the eastern camp yesterday or this morning?”
The guard responded crossly. “Where’s your owner, lacarna?”
Eve started to get frustrated. “That’s who I’m looking for. He got ahead of us and should have passed through here already. Have you seen anyone?”
