He returned to his pony. Jess lay quietly behind the bush where he had left her, munching on what grass and leaves she found edible. Jador poured some more water into the bowl he'd left for her and collected his crossbow. He paused to sit back and wipe his face; the heat was unrelenting.
Jador sighed, a part of him wished not to return, to deny that the starved, possibly dead, man in the clearing was his nephew. The thing he found most frightening, was not the thought itself, but the knowledge that he wished for Daniel to be alive and well somewhere else so much that with enough rationalisation, he could do it. He could convince himself that it was not Daniel but some other unfortunate fellow.
Jador turned back towards the camp. Who was he kidding? He would not leave anybody here. Not to that fate.
Day 1 – Morning
North Kenar Woods
(Near Sey-sjhon River)
'Are you sure it was wise to send him on?' Janeth asked sceptically, already knowing the kind of answer to expect, but she could not help but make her point through the question.
Riqu considered the departing shadows that were Sentary and his six companions moving through the sun-dappled forest. It was risky sending such a large group of refugees without an experienced guide, but he had little choice. His adopted daughter, Sariah, had been searching for her brother, Sentary, when she met up with a rebel mage from another division. That mage had helped her locate Sentary and rescue the group from the slavers. But the mage also had a mission of his own and Sariah felt she owed him her help in completing his goal for his help with freeing her brother. So she had contacted Riqu, asking him to meet up with the twenty newly-freed refugees and help disperse them. Having met up with the group several days ago, Riqu found out that seven wanted to go south, five west, three east, and five north. After debating their various options, they had decided that Hanya and Fala, the rebels from South-East Eighth division who had come to help, would escort the west-bound refugees. Sentary and Hagen would lead the refugees who wanted to go south. Janeth, a rebel from Riqu's division, would take the refugees who wanted to go east, and Ria, who was also from Riqu's division, and Riqu would guide those who were heading north. A further complication was the presence of extra patrols near the route those travelling south needed to take, which was a result of the attack on the slavers from whom the refugees had been liberated. Ria suggested that she stay at the camp with their group as it would give them extra time to rest and complete the mourning rituals for one of the refugees who had passed away. Riqu and Janeth could then escort Sentary and Hagen's group past the more-heavily-patrolled section of the route they needed to take. Then Janeth could take her group east and Riqu could return to Ria and help her get their group to their northern destinations.
Because of the extra patrols, Riqu had decided to rest the new refugees for a few more days before starting out. But instead of decreasing, the patrol activity increased. In the end, they could not afford to continue to wait. It had taken them a lot longer to reach the point they thought it would be safe enough to send Sentary and Hagen's group on.
Riqu turned his mind back to Janeth's question. 'A group of seven leaves me very apprehensive,' he admitted.
'Three to four is the ideal size,' Janeth agreed.
Riqu frowned. 'It is, but there are exceptions. In this case Sentary's group includes two elvan children who have found surrogate human parents, which is not uncommon—'
'Indeed, it is a blessing,' Janeth interjected, for it was.
The war and following rebellion had left many elvan children orphaned. As they often ended up in the slave system, it was mostly humans who took care of them, which was why Janeth and Riqu were not surprised to see human-elvan family units. In this case, Te-eira, a young elvan girl with blue hair and honey-coloured eyes, and Hagen, a dark-haired elder human male whose eyes were very similar in colour to Te-eira's, were like daughter and father. Kiril, an elvan boy with silver-threaded gold hair and silver-gold eyes, had firmly bonded with his human companion, Ana, who was very underweight; her light-blonde mane of hair looked like it weighed more than the woman herself. Riqu suspected Ana was giving most of her rations to the children and had warned Sentary to make sure she ate more. Kiril was also forming a strong familial bond with a female elvan he called Reya, who resembled Kiril's deceased mother. Reya was not her proper name, but she had shortened it because it was similar to Ana's. These factors made Riqu reluctant to separate them and led to Janeth's misgivings, because, together with another human female, a brunette with sky-blue eyes called Rose, and Sentary, they made a large group, and a bigger target.
'But despite that blessing,' Janeth said, 'Sentary and Hagen have no experience guiding a group. A rebel knows to set a guard each night, to camp in uncomfortable, but hidden places, to not cross a field in the day time. You may have instructed them to do this, but it is not the same as having experience doing it.'
'No, it is not. But there is only one way to gain that experience. It is also important to Sentary to take on this role and he has good leadership skills. By organising to share the responsibility with Hagen he demonstrates that he is aware he needs help.'
'What of the land? Sentary and Hagen have never travelled to Caradon.'
'They have directions to get to the place where Caradon's scouts will pick them up. I taught them how to disguise the information as a childish rhyme, it will be safe from any mages that might be suspicious of them.'
Riqu turned from the departing group towards Janeth, her lilac-blue hair was pulled tightly back revealing long, pointed ears and causing her high cheekbones to look sharper than they were. Lilac and blue-silver eyes flicked to him and then she looked away.
'It is a path we have to chance, Janeth, we have not the people,' Riqu reiterated, 'and Sentary's commitment is beyond that of many others. He wants to be like us. Do the work we do. He has had his freedom stolen by slavers and seeks that freedom in the choices he now makes. Ill-judgement or not, how can I take that from him?'
Janeth turned back. 'I know your reasoning, Riqu, yet I am anxious regardless.'
'As you always are.'
'At least my pessimism keeps me to the safe paths.' Janeth hefted her pack and bowed in farewell.
Riqu bowed back and watched her depart. He could have argued her last point, but it was not worth it. Janeth never allowed her hopes to rise, for anything. Like Ria, she had been by his side for over two hundred turns. He should be used to her disapproval. Her loyalty and competence more than made up for it, Riqu reminded himself. She never failed to fulfil her tasks, or to be where she was needed.
Day 1 – Morning
Sal-Cirus
Nathan stalked over the last hill and headed down to the road leading into Sal-Cirus. Soon he could see the southern gates of the main entrance were wide open. Nathan considered going around to the western entrance. He dismissed the idea. It would be bad enough walking into the city without a horse or men, let alone skulk in through a lesser-used gate. The tale of his arrival would be around the entire city before the day was out regardless of which entrance he used, so he might as well get it over with. His dignity had been stained enough when he had to ride in that gods-forsaken-filth-pit-on-wheels the farmer dared to call a wagon. And that was after he had laughed when he figured out that Nathan had been walking in circles. Besides, his feet were sore.
How was he going to explain this to Curtin? He'd known the Thane of Sal-Cirus for a long time. They'd met in school and joined the military together. Curtin had even predicted that Nathan would be appointed a thaneship, proving just how well he knew the Thane.
'Nathan,' he had chuckled, 'You will be one of the first of us to achieve a thaneship. And not just of any district, you'll get Ancoulan, because nothing short of the status such a position will provide will satisfy your ambition.'
Now he had to tell said thane that in dispossessing the leader of the mercenary group Sentinel, that leader's men had abandoned Nathan in the middle of the night.
He had hired Sentinel because they were made up of highly-skilled trackers and he had decided that trackers would be ideal for the task set by the Great Lord. The Great Lord, Malithorn Abbarane, had placed him in charge of finding the Saviour spoken of in a vision called The Prophecy. That prophecy had been examined by mages and those mages had determined that in the next few sennats the Saviour at the centre of The Prophecy would travel to Sal-Cirus to start his path, which would lead to his eventual victory in overthrowing the conquerors of the elvan lands. So Nathan had flooded to area with patrols that contained trackers from Sentinel. The mage that had screened Sentinel's leader, Daniel, had told Nathan that Daniel was honest. He had also seemed a competent enough leader, so Nathan had placed him in charge of overseeing the patrols. What he had not expected was the defiant attitude, which had been a novelty worth the entertainment it provided at first, but later it became irritating. That was when he made the mistake that led to his current situation. In punishing Daniel for his continual impudence, he had directed his soldiers to abduct him and take him out to the At-hara Desert to die a miserably slow death. It was known that a bird that inhabited the area, called a dhire-ghi, would eat anything too weak to defend itself, even it was still alive, and so he had decided he would demonstrate to Daniel just how powerless the little mercenary leader was by stringing him up out there as bird bait.
He'd had someone pose as Daniel drinking with a whore that same evening and then told Daniel's men that their leader would not be heading his usual patrol because he was recovering from a hangover and had become ill. He timed this with the replacement of all the leaders in Sentinel's patrols with his own men. This was not the Thane's first time taking over a mercenary group and merging it in with his military. He had recently done a similar thing with Edgar Wulfsbane. He'd been in charge of Wulfguard, who were responsible for collecting taxes in Nathan's district. Edgar had started skimming though. It took less than a day from when Nathan discovered this to when Wulfguard found themselves being reallocated amongst Sentinel's patrols while they waited for their leader's return from an 'important mission' he had undertaken.
In addition to the change in leadership of Sentinel's patrols, Nathan had decided to lead Daniel's patrol himself. There had been reports of sightings of the Saviour's horse and Nathan, being an accomplished hunter, had thought it worth pursuing the lead himself. His presence in the leadership of Daniel's own patrol reinforced his power as well as demonstrating to Daniel's men the kind of man they were dealing with. Nathan had worked diligently to earn his reputation as ruthless and terrifying, and he knew that it would not take long for Daniel's men to realise that obedience was the wisest course.
The problem was that he had underestimated the loyalty of Sentinel's men to their leader. With Wulfguard, they cared not who led them, just that they were paid. Several days into taking over Sentinel's patrols Nathan had woken up to discover that the patrol had left in the late hours of the night. That left Nathan in the middle of nowhere, without a horse and lost. There had been nothing for it but to make his way back to the nearest city. In a way, he was fortunate it was Sal-Cirus. If he had ended up in Denas, he would have to explain himself to the Great Lord himself.
One of the guards on the gate approached and his eyes widened with recognition. He started to speak, but Nathan pierced him with a look that would have given a frail man a heart attack. The guard shut his mouth with a faint click. Wordlessly, he waved another soldier over. 'Get the Thane a horse and send word to Thane Curtin that he has a guest,' the guard ordered. He started to wave the solider on to his task and then halted him. Leaning in close to the other man's ear, the guard added, 'Do not take the time to discuss this with anyone. Send the horse here and then go straight to Thane Curtin. If you tarry to gossip, I'll whip you myself.'
The guard turned back to Nathan and bowed. 'My lord thane,' he said, 'would you like to wait at the Asper Inn? Thane Curtin has taken his meals there on occasion and has found them satisfactory.'
Nathan glanced towards the plain-but-stately building the guard indicated just down from the gate's entrance and dipped his head in approval, allowing the guard to take the lead. Nathan almost smiled. This man was both competent and intelligent.
'What is your name?'
'Haverell, my lord thane,' he replied, pausing to address the Thane properly. 'Sergeant Derrick Haverell, my lord.'
'You are a Captain now. Appoint a replacement. I give you my authority to transfer your previous rank to him. Return to accompany me when you are done.'
'As you will, my lord thane.'
Day 1 – Mid-day
At-hara Desert
Jador took careful aim and willed his arm to stop shaking. He was uncertain how long he had been here, waiting. Often tracking was like that, you became so focused on your quarry, time disappeared.
Just a short while ago, one of the guards rose and approached Daniel. He said something and then laughed cruelly. Some of the other men joined in, causing Jador to wonder how they could look upon him and not feel pity. The guard then wandered off into the brush and Jador had circled around until he had the man in range. A good, clean shot was all he needed now.
Silently, Jador sent a prayer to the gods that his aim was not marred by his age, for it had been a long while since he last had to shoot a 'something' let alone a 'someone'. Just to be sure, he also sent a quick prayer to the elvan gods.
The elvan technically did not have 'gods' as such. They believed in a higher entity, which they often called Fate, but they also called it Salnia-sjhon, infinite spirit. That was the confusing thing for Jador, how could the one entity have several names and be referred to as if it was more than one god? Jador decided that one day he would have to sit down with an elvan and a jug of fine wine and get them to explain it to him. But right now, if any god, human or elvan, could see to it that he did not miss, he'd be thankful.
The guard fell without a sound.
Jador sagged. He was fairly certain one of the others would be after this one soon enough. They would come to see what was taking him so long. Then two more would come looking for the first pair, thinking the first one must have injured himself and the second needed help bringing him back.
The last two would be the hardest. The four having not returned would give indication something serious was amiss. The last two would not look for them. They would go for the horses. Then, when they discovered that the horses were missing, they would panic and try to leave on foot. They would not make it. Daniel's life depended on that.
Day 1 – Mid-day
Sal-Cirus
The soft, lilting song of a flute spiralled through the air, wafting over Nathan with the gentle breeze. The Thane made an appreciative sound as he sunk into the feathery plumpness of the lounge, a glass of brandy hanging loose in one hand. The balcony doors had been left open, and he welcomed the serenity of the cloudless, blue sky and the scent of the plants bordering the balcony.
The bath had been a necessity, the massage a relief. When Nathan returned home to Ancoulan, Regen would not survive his wrath. The mage was very fortunate that he had already left Sal-Cirus, because, in is current mood, he could happily flail Regen alive. He should have warned Nathan of the impending desertion by the trackers. That was what he got for trusting a mage, even if he was human! He had sent word to Ancoulan for the mage to be put in the cells, but Regen had not yet arrived. The mage had asked to go to Sal-Cirus just before Nathan had headed out with the patrols. He'd said he wanted to retrieve some journals that contained the full version of The Prophecy. If Regen brought those journals back, it would go a long way towards saving his life. But even if Regen managed to fulfil that task, Nathan still planned to punish the mage. Nathan enjoyed imagining the mage's surprise and fear when the soldiers in Ancoulan met him and put the chains on his wrists and ankles.
The mysterious disappearance of the trackers was a source of immense frustration. The rest of Nathan's officers reported that they and their loyal men had also been
drugged only to wake up to an empty camp. No horses. No tracks. Nathan had been trying to figure out how to explain this to Malithorn. Actually, he was considering not reporting in at all. He could just return home, pack a few things and leave. If it were not for a lack of supplies and a horse, he would not have stopped in Sal-Cirus. Captain Haverell had mentioned that in the last several days an entire harem had gone missing and an elvan thief had almost killed a blacksmith but for the intervention of a mage. It was almost unbelievable, sixty-eight missing slaves! Rebels had faked papers and smuggled slaves and prisoners out in other guises before, but this many? And without alerting the mages? That part would need to be investigated more deeply.
Malithorn would care little for the harem, it would be the fact someone had stolen them from him that would most anger the Great Lord. Fortunately, Nathan did not have to take responsibility for the harem — that was Curtin's problem. The attack on the blacksmith was suspicious, though. Nathan found it hard to believe it was merely coincidence, not so close to the temple and the throne room where the gemstone was kept... The gemstone had been found some thirty-odd turns before. The mage who found it claimed it had been touched by the Saviour. Keldon's senior elvan mage, who was now Malithorn's head elvan mage, Colnba had verified this. After unsuccessfully trying to destroy it, Keldon had it set into one of several crests that were now hung in Malithorn's throne room. Gareth Blacksmith, the smith who was attacked, had been the one to make those crests, thus Nathan's concern about the gemstone. Especially since it turned out that the thief who attacked Gareth was in fact an advanced rebel mage. Apparently, the gemstone was untouched, but Nathan wanted to see it for himself.
Prophecy's Quest Page 4
