by Jo Fontana
"Don't worry Reyden, having friends is new to me too.”
Reyden clapped Omaric on the shoulder. "It shouldn’t have been that way for you, but I understand."
“It shouldn't be that way for anyone," Illithor concurred while looking down at his book.
The arrival of their food interrupted the discussion, for which Reyden was immensely grateful. Reyden also ordered a meal for Morgan and Emory. Omaric volunteered to take the food upstairs.
“Apparently, Glynn woke up,” Omaric stated when he returned.
Reyden sighed and ordered another meal, which Omaric brought upstairs as well. Illithor approached Reyden after he had finished his meal.
“Come outside with me.”
Reyden got up and followed Illithor to the front porch.
“Are you going to tell me why he was able to get you so upset like that? You’re usually only verbally violent.”
Reyden was quiet for a moment. “He just wouldn’t stop taunting me.”
“Is that all?”
Reyden dared not look Illithor in the face. Instead, he looked out over the town from the porch as he answered. “No. Someone just like him…killed my mother. That guy was the one who gave me the scars.”
Illithor exhaled sharply. Then he placed a hand on Reyden’s shoulder. “I know it may be difficult, but try not to make that comparison. Just because they seem the same, doesn’t mean they are. If he knows he can get a rise out of you, the bickering may never cease. Besides, we may eventually learn that he has some redeeming qualities. It turned out you did.”
Reyden snorted at the thought of the thief having redeeming qualities, but reluctantly considered the possibility. He’d reserve judgement until the thief proved him wrong.
“The sooner we get the egg, the sooner we’re rid of the pickpocket. I don’t trust him.”
“Let time and his actions show us his worth.”
“You’re very forgiving considering it was you that he stole from.”
“I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.”
“Oh!” someone exclaimed from behind them.
Omaric walked up beside Reyden. “Reyden? Do you see that glowing line of clouds?”
“What glowing line?” Illithor asked with alarm and looked up into the sky.
Reyden took out an egg, waved it in the air. “It’s gone now. I set up a trail for the kid to follow if he needed me. He’s the only one that can see it, other than me.”
“Really?” Omaric asked in amazement.
“Yes.”
“I see that we are going to have to exchange notes,” Illithor replied wistfully.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The following morning, Reyden was up with the dawn. He gathered his belongings and went downstairs to wait for the others. Illithor and Omaric were the next ones down. Deverick followed, bouncing down the stairs.
“It’ll be a little while before the other three come down. Emory and Morgan are trying to convince Glynn that traveling with us is better than jail,” he said.
Reyden was surprised that the pickpocket hadn’t run. He was uncharacteristically quiet while he waited to see if the others could convince Glynn to go with them. He was wise enough to know that he wouldn’t be able to bully the thief into doing what he wanted. After a while, Illithor got up from his seat and told Reyden that he would return shortly.
Reyden waited but was quickly becoming edgy. Half an hour later Emory, Morgan, and Glynn followed Illithor downstairs. Reyden was conspicuously not paying attention to Glynn and Glynn ignored Reyden with equal fervor. When Reyden realized Glynn wasn’t leaving, he worked hard to keep the expression of relief from his face. He figured it wouldn’t be wise to let a guy like that know how much control he had over everything. Reyden wondered what it was that Illithor said to convince Glynn that traveling with them was a good idea. Reyden stood up and gathered his things before the others were finished.
“Time to go people.”
As they walked outside, Emory grabbed Glynn’s shoulder and steered him over to his horse.
"You'll be riding with me."
When they reached the stables, Deverick addressed Glynn. “Do we need to find out if Rafe has been through town or do you already know?”
"He was in town but he left four days ago. From what I’ve overheard, he's heading east."
"Why would he head east?" Reyden wondered aloud.
“What was stolen?” Glynn asked Deverick.
“A petrified egg,” Reyden replied.
Glynn, while still facing Deverick, announced, "It makes sense he’s heading east, because petrified eggs are prized for their magical properties and would fetch a nice sum of money.”
“Curse the elements!” Reyden swore colorfully.
His demeanor was as stormy as the sky outside as they headed out of the city towards Thunder Forest.
The sound of thunder rumbled louder as they traveled into the forest and the air felt charged with electricity. Reyden abruptly stopped the group. He dismounted and announced, "I need to cast a protection on us if we're going to get through here safely." He pointedly looked at Glynn. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"
Everyone consented, even a reluctant Glynn. Reyden went back to his horse and gathered seven eggs from a saddle pouch. He touched one to his head and it crumbled. He repeated the action for each member of the party until he reached Glynn. Reyden was approaching Glynn when the air around them crackled. He had just enough time to jump in front of Glynn as the sky lit up and a bolt of lightning came down. The bolt hit him directly in the back and the blast threw him twenty yards from where he stood.
Before anyone had the chance to see if he was all right, Reyden stirred and then stood up. He examined the last egg he held and sighed with relief. The lightning strike didn’t cause him to waste an egg. He got up and ran towards Glynn and then quickly cast his protection before limping over to his horse. Reyden’s clothes were still smoking from the impact and a large hole revealed the patchwork scarring on his back.
Morgan rode up to him. “Look at me, please.”
“I’m fine,” Reyden insisted. “That’s why I cast on everyone. As long as the scarring on my back is old, then you have no need to worry.”
"Fine, but I’ll be riding next to you until I’m satisfied you’re truly all right."
Reyden shrugged and kept riding. Illithor rode up next to Reyden and attempted to hand him a cloak.
“Don’t worry about it, I can change once we make camp,” Reyden stubbornly told him.
Suddenly, Emory rode up next to Reyden and Glynn thrusted a silk shirt towards him. “Here!”
Reyden looked surprised before taking it and mumbled a quick thanks to Glynn. Glynn urged Emory to ride up a little bit while Reyden stopped so he could change his shirt.
Reyden realized how expensive the shirt was and muttered, “I’m in the wrong line of work.”
“That was amazing Reyden! I’m glad you’re good at protection,” Omaric exclaimed with relief as Reyden donned the shirt.
“So am I kid,” Reyden grinned at Omaric then announced loudly for Glynn's benefit, "Since I took the shot for Glynn, I’d say we were even.”
Everyone stopped their horses and looked at Reyden in surprise, including Glynn.
"What?" Reyden asked incredulously when he noticed the others gaping at him.
"Maybe they should shake hands or something. An official truce however temporary it ends up being,” Deverick suggested.
Reyden watched Glynn’s expression closely.
"Emory?" Glynn asked. Emory nodded and rode back to Reyden.
Reyden stopped his horse and waited for them to approach. Glynn held out his hand, meeting Reyden’s gaze. Reyden clasped Glynn’s hand and shook it vigorously. The others grinned as Omaric beamed with enthusiasm. Glynn looked at Omaric and chuckled. Reyden rolled his eyes.
Glynn looked like he agreed with Reyden’s sentiments.
Reyden urged Bubbles on without wa
rning. “Now that we’re done playing kiss and make up, I’d like to travel further before the skies decide to open up on us.”
It turned out the forest lived up to its name. The group traveled a few hours more before the storm intensified and the sky stopped bluffing. Deverick pointed out a good place to camp amidst the trees behind a large boulder.
"I say we keep watch in pairs," Reyden proposed once everyone had settled.
“Sounds good. Who starts?” asked Emory.
"I will,” Reyden announced, hoping that Glynn wouldn’t be the one to volunteer to join him. He was pleased when Omaric requested the same watch.
They settled in to eat while huddled under the canvases to avoid the now pouring rain. The gloomy weather seemed to cast a pall over everything and conversation was minimal. Reyden’s watch was quiet and he caught himself dozing. He had to nudge Omaric awake several times as well. Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t place a finger on it. Early the next morning noises surrounding the camp awakened Reyden.
"I’m going to scout the perimeter," Deverick whispered to those who were awake.
Glynn slid into the bushes while Morgan picked up his club. Reyden held an egg and Illithor was looking around warily. Omaric’s bearing completely changed as soon as he grabbed his bow. Suddenly, Deverick’s barking laughter cut through the tension. Reyden wondered what the fool was laughing at. Emory woke when Morgan called to Deverick.
“What is it?”
A few moments later, Deverick hopped down from one of the nearby trees with a familiar looking squirrel-type creature on his shoulder.
The creature looked suspiciously at the three new men and asked with apparent agitation, “Who are they?”
"Morgan, Glynn, Omaric, this is Trouble. We met him towards the beginning of our journey. Trouble, this is Morgan, Omaric, and Glynn, new friends of ours," Deverick made the introductions. "Stick around and you can have some breakfast."
“Good, because I’m hungry.”
"Trouble?" Glynn questioned. "Is that name ironic or descriptive?"
“A bit of both,” Deverick said.
“He stole Reyden’s name.” Glynn held out a hand. “Pleased to meet you Trouble.”
"We'll see if it's a pleasure. Do you have any food to share?"
Morgan raised an eyebrow at Trouble. Omaric was uncharacteristically speechless and stared at Trouble in awe.
Glynn pulled out a couple of peaches in answer to his question. "Will these do?”
“Yes, thank you, and it is a pleasure!" Trouble replied brightly as he approached Glynn for the fruit.
"You're welcome Trouble."
Trouble skittered up onto the canvas and sat there eating the peaches. He curled up and fell asleep almost as soon as he was done. Reyden put his head under the blanket and tried to go back to sleep. He dozed slightly and woke up to the smell of breakfast. He was the first to approach Deverick with his dish.
"Feed me!"
Deverick laughed and dished him out some food.
"Egg man!" Reyden heard from above his head. “Good Morning Egg Man, Deverick promised me some breakfast if I stayed last night."
"I know, just leave some for us. Where’ve you been?”
"Oh I followed you through the plains to the forest. It's not safe for me in the cities so I hid until we got here because I like the forester’s food," Trouble admitted.
"Interesting," replied Reyden. "Does this mean you’ll be traveling with us?"
Deverick grinned. "He likes my food. Maybe he will."
“We’ll see,” Trouble said with a non-committal air.
Trouble’s chatter had awakened Illithor, who walked over to Deverick with his plate. “Good morning, Trouble.”
Trouble waved to Illithor.
Glynn sat down next to Reyden with his meal. “I have a feeling Rafe will avoid Nava Asari and skirt around it instead. He isn’t exactly welcome in the city; there are wanted signs posted all over.”
Reyden looked up sharply at Glynn. "You didn't tell us that before. Just how wanted is this man?"
"Well, let's just say that he isn't an amateur. Don’t feel bad about losing something to him during your first encounter. He's very tricky.”
Reyden gaped at him in disbelief. He glanced at Emory and saw that the Postulate didn’t appear surprised. Reyden stood up and began gathering his things. "Hurry up! We need to leave and catch up to him. I can’t risk someone else getting to him first."
Illithor walked over to Reyden. "Reyden, did you even hear what Glynn just told us? Rafe is very tricky, so I would imagine he won’t be easily caught, by us or anyone else.”
“There’s always the slight chance he could be captured, so don’t tell me it can’t happen,” Reyden hissed.
Illithor sighed. The rest of the group groaned, but Emory encouraged them to hurry their preparations to leave. Reyden felt ill at what he considered another betrayal by the Postulate. How could Emory not mention this? Reyden glared daggers at him. He might have to have a little chat with the Postulate later, it seemed. As they settled on the horses, Trouble jumped on Deverick’s shoulder.
“Let’s make it to the mountain pass before nightfall,” Reyden insisted.
“Yes, Reyden,” they all responded in unison.
While they rode, Reyden’s thoughts made him more and more frustrated. It seemed that everyone had something to hide. He knew Emory had done it intentionally and he was sure Glynn had done it intentionally as well. What did the others know that they didn’t mention? What he wouldn’t give to be able to read minds. He’d bet good money that if he could, he’d have no real need of the others, except for the healer. Reyden knew he might get hurt along the way. He suspected he would possibly need the thief as well so they could take the egg right out from under Rafe.
These thoughts worried Reyden so much that he didn’t note their entry into the mountain pass. His brooding evaporated when he noticed the green cotton-like puffs that floated in the air. While the puffballs filled the sky, he saw a lone rider in the distance. He urged the others toward the down-coated stranger. As they came closer, some of the puffs drifted away from him and floated towards the group.
Deverick muttered, "Uh oh!” Then yelled, “Cover your faces with your shirts!"
The men immediately did as he ordered and Trouble crawled into Deverick’s shirt.
“Momo plants!” Illithor snarled in recognition as he began to light the plants in the air on fire. The plants screamed as they ignited. Simultaneously, Reyden raised a wind that forcefully blew the things off the slumped rider. Unfortunately, this scattered the burning momos, and some drifted towards the mountains
“What are you doing you idiot?” Reyden snarled at Illithor. He then took another egg out of his pocket and moisture started to fall from the sky and doused the flaming Momo plants before they started a brush fire. Sure that the disaster was averted, the companions then headed towards the slumped rider that was in front of them. Several of them were still muttering about the horrible plants.
Morgan hurried to assist the other rider. He removed the rider’s hood to reveal an elven man with shortly cropped light-brown hair. He was dressed in rustic clothing. He looked like a hunter to Reyden. However, he noticed the elf’s horse was fully loaded with supplies. Morgan checked the rider, and told the others that there would be no lasting damage. Then he took out a very smelly plant and waved it under the elf’s nose. The rider opened his eyes and appeared confused.
"I have you to thank for sparing me from a terrible death," the elf said when he got his bearings. "It seems that they felt a bigger target was worth more of an effort than just one scrawny elf."
"Hey!" Emory exclaimed as the others turned to look at him.
The elf laughed and clarified. “I meant collectively. They usually go after larger groups."
"I guess three skinny elves and four humans would make more of an interesting meal—especially with Emory there,” Illithor teased.
“What’s the d
eal with those puffballs anyway?” Omaric asked.
“A few of them are a nuisance but a cluster that size can be deadly,” Illithor explained.
“How are just a few of them a nuisance?” Omaric asked, fascinated by the strange plants.
“I had two or three fly up my nose once and I was sneezing for days,” Deverick replied grumpily.
"It’s better than suffocating to death,” the stranger stated, then continued. “I’m Gil Sunshadow, good to meet you."
Reyden took it upon himself to finish the introductions.
"So where are you headed?" Gil asked after the introductions.
“Past the city,” Reyden answered vaguely.
“Would your group welcome another?”
Reyden sized up the newcomer. The elf appeared to be all right, if a bit formal. There was something about him. Reyden couldn’t put a finger on it, but he knew he’d figure it out eventually. Reyden looked at the others for cues and they did not appear wary.
"That depends on if you’re interested in traveling,” Reyden replied.
“That depends on what the travel entails.”
"Do you know the lands to the east beyond the elf city?”
"I’ve traveled through them frequently."
"Good. We could use a guide to the eastern lands."
"You saved my life, if I can help, I will. How far east are you going?"
"Nonju, or thereabouts.”
“That’s quite a trip.”
“I have to retrieve something that belongs to me,” Reyden explained.
"Well, we better get going, it’s a long journey.”
Gil took the lead and Omaric hummed a song as they rode through the pass. When he was finished with the song, Omaric began to regale the others with his knowledge of the path’s creation. “I’m glad that the earth workers carved out a larger path through the mountains. Did you know they used the granite to reinforce the walls of Nava Asari?”
"Now the turtles can haul goods in and out of the city in much less time than it took before," added Illithor.
Reyden pulled a face at Illithor. "Then your race was able to spread throughout Ator like a virus."
