by Cadman, Dean
Lusam checked again on Neala's progress using her knife as a compass, and confirmed he and Renn were still well ahead in the race to Stelgad.
“So what's your plan?” Renn asked, watching Lusam carefully return the knife to his belt.
“What do you mean, plan?” Lusam asked curiously.
“I mean, how do you plan to rescue Neala? You can hardly walk up to her captor and insist he gives her over to you peacefully,”
“That's exactly what I intend to do, and if he refuses, I will take her by whatever means necessary,”Lusam replied confidently.
“That's it? That's your plan? Walk up to him and insist he gives Neala to you without a fight,” Renn said shaking his head to himself. “Okay, let's say for argument's sake that he complies and hands her over to you, within five minutes his whole guild would be hunting us. Where do we run then? We can't go back the way we just came, or whoever is following us is likely to catch us. We can't hide in Stelgad, that’s for sure, or they would find us easily, and we can't leave openly by road or other Empire agents would surely find us. Then there is Neala, we have no idea what shape she will be in, she might not be capable of walking, let alone running for her life.”
“So you're saying I should just kill whoever has Neala, and avoid us being hunted later?” Lusam replied, not certain he could just kill the man in cold blood if he wished to co-operate, and handed Neala over without a fight.
“No! That's not what I'm saying. I am suggesting you think about what you are planning to do, because whichever way you decide to rescue Neala, there could be much longer term consequences. Besides if you just killed the man holding her, it's quite possible your magic may be detected by Empire agents that happen to be nearby, and that wouldn't be good at all,” Renn replied slightly exasperated.
Lusam really hadn't given much thought past the point of rescuing Neala, and never once had he given either the Hawks' guild, or the Empire's agents a second thought. All he had wanted to do, was to get Neala before she was delivered into the hands of Shiva, and save her from possibly being tortured, or even killed by him. He thought about the problem for a long time, before realising he didn't know the city, or the surrounding area at all, that alone made any plan he could come up with less than sound.
“Could you draw a map on the ground that shows me the land surrounding Stelgad please? I've never been to Stelgad before, so it would be helpful to know what we may be up against,” Lusam asked. Renn cleared an area of ground, and began to draw a basic map of the surrounding area. He marked their approximate location in relation to Stelgad, with the river between them and Stelgad to the south, and the forest behind them to the north and east. To the south, beyond Stelgad he marked a long road to the capital Lamuria, and to the west, another forest, beyond which lay the Elveen mountain range.
Lusam studied the map then asked, “What type of land is it south of Stelgad, on the road to Lamuria?”
“Mostly open plains, with a small mountain range to the west, and the sea far to the east,” Renn replied.
“That doesn't sound too promising, if we found ourselves being chased again it would be difficult to hide on a flat plain with no cover. I take it you still intend for us to go to the High Temple in Lamuria after we rescue Neala?”
“Yes of course, that was the deal; I help you rescue Neala, and you return with me to the High Temple to start your training. But I've been giving our route some more thought recently too. We have to assume the Empire already knows where we are, after all, we have at least one of their agents chasing us as we speak, and we know they can communicate with each other across large distances because of our spies in Thule. “The Vesdari that came after you wasn’t acting on its own, it was being controlled by whoever summoned it, so it stands to reason they know I'm with you too, and the only reason a paladin would be with you, is to take you back to the High Temple to be trained, and that's exactly what they don't want to happen. It depends how long the Empire has been aware of our location, but either the road to Lamuria will already be well guarded, or it soon will be. Either way I'm sure they would catch up with us well before we made it to Lamuria if we travelled south by road,” Renn said.
“But, if we don't travel south, how will we reach the capital?” Lusam asked confused.
Renn studied his own map for a few moments before he replied, “Well, the way I see it, we only have one option available to us. We need to go back to Helveel, and find passage by ship to Lamuria. We can't go south by road, or we wouldn't last a day before we were caught.”
“But, we can't travel by road to Helveel either, and there's no way I'm going back through this forest,” Lusam interrupted.
“I completely agree lad, but we could travel north east, into the Forest of Dannar and on through the Elveen mountains, dropping down into Helveel from the west. If we find ourselves being followed again, at least we would have a chance to lose them in the forest or mountains, there would be no such chance if we travelled south by road on the flat plains. “My original plan, if and when I ever found you in Helveel, was for us to have travelled by sea to one of the southern ports, rather than by road. I know the harbour master at a small sea port just east of Helveel, he can discreetly arrange passage for us on a suitable vessel, we just need to get there first,” Renn said. Lusam could see the merit in Renn's plan, and truth be told, he would love the chance to explain his and Neala's sudden disappearance to Mr and Mrs Daffer. Collecting the rest of their belongings, and the not inconsiderable amount of gold coins he and Neala had worked hard for, also sounded good to him.
“That sounds good to me, but I need to collect some belongings in Helveel, and say goodbye to some people on our way through, if that's okay.”
“I wasn't intending for us to actually enter Helveel. Skirting around the city would be more sensible, that way we avoid any Empire agents that may be there,” Renn replied.
“Don't worry, I'm sure I could quickly slip in and out of Helveel without being seen, I know the streets better than most, and if I'm looking for them, I could spot an Empire agent from a great distance away, especially now I know who, and what they are.” “I couldn't let you risk entering Helveel alone lad, it's too dangerous,” Renn said, sounding a little shocked that Lusam had even suggested it.
“I would be fine. Anyway, it's not me you should be worried about, I doubt they would pay me much attention even if they saw me, they can't see my aura remember, but they would see yours easily enough,” Lusam replied, feeling slightly smug, knowing Renn couldn't argue with his logic. Lusam watched Renn mentally toil with what he had just said, then he replied with the only two words Lusam wasn't expecting, or wanting to hear.
“We'll see,” Renn said.
Lusam really hated those two words, “we'll see.” They always really meant “No, but I don't want an argument right now about it.” when his grandmother ever used them. He decided now wasn't the time or place to argue about what he would or wouldn't do later in Helveel, besides, he knew Renn wouldn't really be capable of stopping him anyway if he decided to enter Helveel alone, so he left the discussion for another time.
Lusam rested his head on a small mound of earth, staring up at the stars high above him, and thinking about what the future might now hold for him. When he had first met Renn in Helveel, he had been extremely desperate to rescue Neala at any cost, and had struck a deal with Renn; Renn would help him rescue Neala, and he would return with Renn to the High Temple to begin his training. The trouble was, he had no idea what that training would involve, or how it would effect his future plans. He had been far too preoccupied that day with thoughts of Neala's immediate rescue, so much so, that he never bothered asking Renn for any details regarding the High Temple, or his training there.
“Renn, are you still awake?” he asked quietly.
“Aye lad, what's on your mind?”
“I've been thinking about my training at the High Temple, and I realised I've never asked you anything about it yet,” Lusam said.
>
“Well, what would you like to know lad?”
“What will they teach me? How long will it take? Why do they want to teach me? Why do they need me?”
“Whoa! Calm down lad, so many questions. I'm afraid I can't answer most of them though, I'm not a mage, so I haven't undergone the training required to become proficient with magic, but I'm sure the length of the training depends on each individual student's requirements. From what I have seen already of your capabilities, I would imagine not very long at all for you, but that's not for me to say. Any questions you have regarding your training would be answered much better by a member of the priesthood, rather than me.”
“I gave you my word, that I would come with you to the High Temple in Lamuria after we rescued Neala, and I intend to keep my word, but I need to ask you a question, and I need you to answer me truthfully.” Lusam said.
“Of course, what is it?” Renn asked.
“When we arrive at the High Temple, if later I decided to leave, and not complete my training, would I be allowed to leave freely?” Lusam asked, desperately not wanting to sound ungrateful for all of Renn's help getting him this far, but he had to know for sure what he was getting himself and Neala into.
Renn laughed loudly, startling Lusam as he did so. “It's the High Temple, not a prison lad. No one would ever hold you there against your will, but I can say for certain that they do indeed need you, even more than they know. Because I was sent to find you, the High Temple must have thought you were important enough to save even as an untrained mage, but your capabilities already far exceed any of their expectations, of that I'm certain. Then there's your recent encounter with Aysha, that, to me at least, is proof enough of how special you are, and I'm sure the High Temple will agree with me on that point.
“When I say this, I don't mean to put you under even more pressure lad, but it's not only the High Temple who needs you right now, it's all of Afaraon. Unfortunately that's as much as I can tell you about it, because, although I'm a paladin of Aysha, and we're trained to hide our thoughts from enemy mind probes, we're still only privy to certain information regarding the workings of the High Temple, just in case we were ever captured, and the Empire tried to torture any information out of us. We can't divulge information we don't know in the first place,” Renn said, trying to reassure Lusam, but seemingly failing judging by the worried look that came over his face.
“Don't worry lad, it's really not so bad at the High Temple. I'm sure they will be very pleased to have you there, and besides, I'll be there with you,” Renn said, attempting to reassure Lusam.
“Thank you Renn, I appreciate that,” Lusam replied quietly. “I guess we better get some sleep. It's a big day tomorrow, and we don't want to be late rescuing Neala.”
“Yes, I agree, we should move at first light tomorrow. Goodnight Lusam, and don't worry lad, after all it looks like you have Aysha on your side, what else could you wish for?” Renn replied. Lusam thought about Renn's words for a while, but sleep soon found him, and he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
Chapter Seventeen
As planned Lusam and Renn woke at dawn and quickly struck camp, leaving few signs they had ever been there. Until today Lusam hadn't been too worried about Neala's immediate well being. He clearly heard the man who had abducted her in Helveel say he was to deliver Neala back to Stelgad, to a man called Shiva, and she was to be alive and unharmed. So the main objective had been to arrive before them at Stelgad, which they had managed to do, but now Neala could be in potential danger again during his rescue attempt, and that made him nervous.
It wasn't long before they started to hear the distant sounds of a large river coming through the trees ahead of them, and sure enough a few minutes later they emerged from the tree-line to find themselves standing on the riverbank. The rancid smell that filled the warm morning air almost made Lusam gag, involuntarily turning away from the river and covering his nose with his hand.
“What's that stench?” he blurted out, trying to only take shallow breaths.
“That lad is Stelgad, or more accurately, the sewers of Stelgad,” Renn replied, seeming unconcerned by the smell. “They flush the sewers straight into the river, as well as anything else they want to get rid of.”
“I always thought parts of Helveel smelt bad some days, but that's far worse, it's disgusting,” Lusam said, very thankful he'd not had the chance to eat yet this morning.
“No matter how bad it smells lad, we need to be on the other side of it before we can go any farther, there isn't a bridge across the river that links this forest to the other side, for obvious reasons. So we may need to swim across to reach the other side from here,” Renn said.
“Swim! In that? You're crazy if you think I'm going to swim in that filth,” Lusam replied, genuinely appalled that Renn would even suggest it. “I'll get us across to the other side without having to swim in that muck, don't you worry about that.”
“Good. I was hoping you would say something like that lad,” Renn said, looking relieved he wasn't going to have to actually swim across the putrid river.
Lusam thought about how best to get them both across the river, and decided the easiest way would be to levitate them both across, rather than try making a bridge out of a force-field. He could see clearly for maybe a league up river before it swept out of sight to the north west, and he guessed Stelgad would be even further away than that. He didn't know at what distance his magic could be sensed by the Empire agents, but he guessed it couldn't possibly be as far as that.
“Renn, come stand next to me please, and try not to move around too much when we are out over the water, I'd hate for you to fall in this river as well,” Lusam said, trying hard to keep a straight face. Renn did as he was asked, but not before giving Lusam a look that left him in no doubt, that if he went in the river, he would also be going for a swim. Lusam levitated them both off the ground and sent them out above the water. It wasn't until they were well out above the filthy river before Lusam realised he had never actually levitated himself before, only objects, and Neala once before. He quickly decided that now wasn't the time to lose his nerve and doubt his ability to get them both across to the other side, so he just focused on the opposite bank, and the task of getting them both there as fast as possible.
Lusam let out a sigh of relief when their feet were once again touching solid ground on the opposite bank of the river.
“What's up, were you nervous?” Renn asked, hearing his sigh. “Yes, a little, that was the first time I've ever done that, and I wasn't sure I could do it until just now,” Lusam replied truthfully.
“And you didn't think to tell me that before we set off from the other side?” Renn asked incredulously.
“Sorry, I didn't want to make you nervous too,” Lusam replied, trying not to laugh at the look on Renn's face. Renn just shook his head and muttered something to himself under his breath.
“Come on lad, let's get back to the tree-line before we start walking upstream to Stelgad, that way we won't be spotted so easily if anyone is looking for us.” Renn said pointing towards the trees now facing them. Lusam didn't reply, but he was more than happy to put some distance between himself and the stench coming from the river.
They walked amongst the trees for the rest of the morning, and with each passing minute Lusam was sure the smell coming from the river got worse the closer they got to Stelgad.
It was just after midday when they crested a hill and Stelgad finally came into view. Lusam was just about to say something when Renn dragged him backwards into the brush, hiding them both from view.
“Well that could be a problem,” Renn said.
“What?” Lusam asked confused.
“That.” Renn replied, pointing to two figures dressed in black robes standing outside what was obviously the gate to Stelgad.
“Oh, I see what you mean,” Lusam said. A moment later two more figures appeared through the gate and joined the first two standing there, then Lusam noticed y
et another two walking from further up river towards the now four men at the gate, making six in total.
“There are a total of three gates into Stelgad, and if the Empire have at least six agents guarding this gate, you can be sure the others are also as well guarded. You can bet they also have the roads in and out of Stelgad covered too. Well, it sure looks like Neala's rescue just got a whole lot harder lad.” Renn said, concern evident in his voice. Lusam's panic threatened to overtake him, but he fought it back, bitterly refusing to give up on Neala's rescue attempt. Calming himself he turned to Renn and asked,
“Which gate would Neala be entering through?”
“The north gate, but it too will be guarded by Empire agents for sure lad,” Renn replied.
“So, the gates are north,west and south?” Lusam asked.
“Actually no. There's this gate at the south, and then the other two are northern gates, one follows a road that curves to the south towards Lamuria, and the other one connects the road to Helveel. Why do you ask?”
“If we can't rescue Neala before she reaches Stelgad, then we will rescue her from inside the city,” Lusam said.
“But, we can't get through the gates lad. It would be suicide to try, there would be more than a dozen agents on us before we even reached the gate,” Renn said, desperation in his voice.
“I don't intend to go through a gate, we will go over the west wall into the city, find the Hawks' guild headquarters, and rescue Neala from there.”
“And how do you intend to outrun the guild members and the Empire agents after you rescue her?” Renn asked. Lusam thought about it for a moment before asking,
“Renn, do you have any gold on you?”
“Yes, some, but we will need it for the ship passage to Lamuria later.”
