by Philip Blood
"I hate it when he does that," Aerin muttered, glancing at Yearl beside him.
"And where have you been?" Mara asked, in that tone of voice that Aerin knew so well; he was in hot water and Mara was determined to see him cook.
But Aerin was worried about Lor, and anything else, even his own hide, was of less importance to him. "Is Lor here?"
Mara raised an eyebrow at him but answered. "No, I had hoped she was with you miscreants."
"Well, she was," said Dono, drawing out the last word.
"I think I better hear this from the beginning," Mara noted, pointing for the three of them to take seats around her. She continued standing with a scowl on her face and her hands on her hips.
"But we need to go look for Lor!" Aerin stated.
"If she is lost, she'll come this way if not then we'll find her in a few minutes. I can't help if I don't know what happened," Mara explained. "Now start telling."
Katek took up the narration, taking blame square on his shoulders for instigating the scouting mission. Mara glanced at Aerin during part of that explanation and broke in, "Was the plan yours, Aerin?"
Aerin nodded.
"I thought so, it sounded like you, continue," she ordered.
Dono took up the narration for a while, detailing the battle with the Togs on the mesa.
Thereafter Aerin told of the rescue, and the meeting with the Bluecoats, followed by their escape and return to the wagon.
"And now I'm leaving to go and find Lor, she might have been captured by the Togs," Aerin declared.
Gandarel nodded, "I agree, we've got to rescue her!"
"And I didn't know you really cared, Gandarel!" Lor said, stepping into the clearing.
Mara didn't even look up from her students, though they all leaped to their feet.
"Lor, you're alive!" Aerin exclaimed in relief.
"Of course, she is, she has been listening from that bush for the past ten minutes," Mara said, pointing.
Lor grinned, "I wanted to see what lies you guys were going to tell about me."
"And did they?" Gandarel asked.
"Nope they told it pretty straight, but I'll fill in the rest."
"This ought to be ripe," Gandarel noted.
Lor gave him her innocent look, "I ALWAYS tell the truth; you know that." With that statement, she told her story.
Mara was quiet afterward. Though they had disobeyed her order, it had been for a good reason and she knew she wasn't training these kids to be timid. In essence, it was Mara's own fault that they had no fear of sneaking into a Togroth camp. She knew they had far more dangerous things to accomplish in their future. She just hoped they survived long enough to reach those challenges.
To the surprise of all her young students, Mara said, "Well done."
"Well done?" Niler Corbin said incredulously. "These children sneak off and nearly get killed by monsters, and you say, well done?"
"These 'children' killed two Togroths in a straight up fight, and then managed to rescue humans from a Togroth feed pen. The girl then killed another FOUR all by herself. I doubt all the Bluecoat soldiers together managed to kill that many Togs. These are young warriors; they stopped being children some time ago."
The shoulders of Mara’s students straightened at the rare public display of their teacher’s pride.
Niler sputtered, but Mara ignored him. She turned to her students. "Now I'll fill you in on what happened with us." She told them the story of her meeting with the Bluecoats. Gandarel noted that there were a few things not mentioned, but he chalked it up to a difference in what they remembered.
"Now what?" Dono asked when all the accounts were finished.
Mara smiled. "Now we move on west without the Bluecoats. The survivors will probably do as that other group did fall back to the city."
Niler Corbin shook his head, "We'll do nothing of the sort. We're going back to the city, where Gandarel will be safe!"
"There is no safety there, or anywhere, for Gandarel, only paths he can choose," Mara countered.
Niler stepped up face-to-face with Mara and shouted, "You do not make Gandarel's decisions for him… I do."
Mara raised an eyebrow and didn't flinch at the man's close face or his loud words, "Stop shouting before you bring down the Togs on Gandarel and the rest of us. As for Gandarel's decisions, he will make them for himself. I will not force him and neither will you, though you may give him your council, as will I."
Niler scowled, but he didn't say anything further.
"I think we should go back as well," Gandarel stated, the last thing he wanted to do was continue on to the capital.
"There, you see, he listens to me because he knows I am right," Niler exclaimed, though he controlled the volume of his voice.
Mara turned to face the young heir to the Seat of Stone. "Gandarel, if you go back to Strakhelm the Bluecoats will only escort you on to the capital eventually. Wouldn't it be better to arrive on your own, not escorted in like some stray dog they brought in on a leash?"
Gandarel considered for a moment and then smiled. "You are a tricky old woman, Mara."
"I've been called worse," she noted, glancing in Niler's direction.
"Gandarel, I am your counselor, and I am telling you it is too dangerous to continue. We should go back and fetch your Guardsmen before attempting this journey," Niler argued.
Mara laughed, "And then what, empty the city to guard Gandarel on a journey that he could just complete now? What happens if the Togs attack the city while you have stripped it of the Guard?"
Gandarel considered for a moment. "Mara's right, we're going on right now. As much as I want to go back, it's not the right thing to do."
Niler started to say something but he bit off his words, then turned away in frustration.
Mara turned to the rest as if the power struggle had never happened. "Let's get moving, the Togs will be gorging themselves on the meat of the dead by now and not be in a mood to search in the dark."
"There's an image I didn't need," Dono noted.
Mara continued, ignoring his comment, "Let's saddle up and put some distance between us and them by morning. We can pull up and rest during the hot part of the day, tomorrow, and look for signs of pursuit. You four have had adventure enough, get some rest in the back of the wagon," she said, pointing to Lor, Dono, Katek, and Aerin.
With Yearl out scouting ahead of them, they avoided any confrontations with Togroths, and morning light found them entering the foothills. Ahead, rising out of the low morning mists like great teeth, the mighty Dragonback range dominated the sky.
Aerin poked his head out of the wagon and beheld the awesome sight for the first time. The Dragonback was the largest mountain range in the Kingdom. He had been born to the north, on the eastern side of the Dragonback, and only traveled south toward Strakhelm. He had heard the Dragonback described in the histories he used to read with his father, but nothing prepared him for this magnificent sight.
Aerin ducked back inside the wagon and grabbed Lor by the foot. Lor grumbled in her sleep and dug deeper into her blanket. Aerin crawled up next to her and spoke near her ear. "Togroths are everywhere!"
Lor leaped up with the wooden spoon, she had mistakenly grabbed in her sleep, held like a knife ready for combat.
"Please, don't spoon me!" Aerin cried in a faked voice of fear.
Lor looked around blinking and Katek buried his head in the cloak he was using for a pillow as he tried to muffle his laughter.
Lor rapped Aerin on the top of his head with the spoon, "Aerin, you have also made my dirt list, beware."
"Come on, I didn't lie, there probably are Togroths everywhere around, but you HAVE to look out front and see this."
Lor looked at him suspiciously and then glanced longingly at her warm blanket.
"It's worth it, Lor," Aerin said seriously.
With a low growl, Lor scooted passed Aerin and poked her head out the wagon front, where Tocor was driving.
"Sweet Megan
, look at that. Those aren't real, are they?" Lor asked anyone.
Tocor chose to answer her. "They are real, and we've got to go into them. You'll be less impressed as it gets colder. I miss my desert already."
At the mention of cold Lor realized that goose bumps were standing out all over her exposed arms. She was only wearing a sleeveless vest and short pants. She crawled back over Aerin and managed to give Katek a kick as she went by, achieving a nice ‘whooshing’ sound from him.
As Lor got back under her covers she noticed Mara sitting at the back of the wagon, propped up by the backboard. She was using the morning light that came in through a crack in the canvas to read an old document.
"Morning, Mara," Lor said, pulling the blanket up until just her eyes were peeping over the edge.
"Good morning, Lor, this is early for you."
Lor poked Aerin with her foot. "It's his fault, though I have to admit that those mountains were almost worth the effort."
"They are an impressive feature. No doubt one of the reasons humans settled here."
Lor had no idea what their teacher was talking about, so she did what she normally did when Mara said something cryptic, she ignored it.
"What are you reading?"
"I was surprised by the Togroths attacking where they did, so I'm trying to look at the prophecies and see where else I need to anticipate possible variances. I don't want to be surprised again, that last one could have been fatal. By the way, good job catching sight of that reflection on the cliffs.”
Lor felt a warmth flood through her, it was difficult to get compliments from Mara; the woman expected you to do as well as she did at all times. "So what is in store for us?"
Mara smiled. "I'm not reading about what is in store for us, Lor, I'm seeing what to avoid."
"All right, what is there to avoid?"
"Far too much to go into, I'll keep you informed if I think something is pertinent, you can count on that."
"Why don't you just let us read them?"
"I have my reasons," Mara stated but didn't elaborate.
Aerin was listening from under his blanket, and again, he was worried about what the Dreadmaster had said. Mara kept hiding things from them and he wondered why. He suddenly remembered that she had told him they were headed for the 'Chamber of the Nexus', but she told Gandarel that they were headed for the capitol!
Aerin pulled the covers from his face and looked over at Mara on the far side of the wagon. "Mara?” he said.
"Yes, Aerin?"
"Why did you lie to Gandarel? Or aren't we going to that chamber place?"
Mara's eyes were dark pools as she gazed back at him, but he was stubborn and refused to drop his eyes this time.
"Well, that was a rude good morning. Calling someone a liar is not a way to endear them to you, or get straight answers."
"I'm sorry, that just came out wrong. Let me try again, you told Gandarel we were going to the capitol. Is that where we are headed?"
Mara smiled, "Better, but you still infer that I was lying, but I'll answer you. Yes, what I said was the truth, our final destination is the capital, but I did not say we wouldn't be stopping along the way."
"The Chamber of the Nexus," Aerin said, though it was not really a question.
"Yes, Gandarel has a meeting with destiny. I must make sure it happens or many things in these dark writings shall come true. Not the least of which is many of us dying."
"What will happen to him in the Chamber?"
Mara set down the paper she was reading. "Aerin, I will tell you this, I will make sure you, Gandarel, and the rest of my students, past and present, know the answers to that question before I ask Gandarel to enter. I don't want to explain the possibilities many times over, is that satisfactory?"
Aerin felt the blood rush into his face at her last question; he had been grilling her pretty hard. "That would be fine, thank you, Mara," he added lamely.
"Fine then, so if you don't have any more questions right now, may I return to reading my papers?"
"Sure," Aerin said, getting back under his blanket before Mara melted him with a stare.
"Good," she said and lifted the document she had been reading. And though her eyes were on the paper, her mind was on other things.
At noon, they stopped in a small valley and rested the horses. Mara wouldn't let anyone start a fire, so they had to eat cold cheese and hard crackers that she brought out from the wagon stores. After everyone had rested she had them gather firewood and load up the wagon. From here out, until they cleared the mountains, the kids would have to walk or ride like the others, as the wagon would be hauling the firewood they needed to make it across the cold pass.
"Is there snow up there, Mara?" Dono asked. He had never seen snow before.
Mara looked up at the tall white peaks. "Yes, but not down in the Eigen Pass, at least, not this time of year, unless we are unlucky enough to hit a storm. Let's hope that doesn't happen."
"Oh, OK, I was, well, I just wanted to see what it was like," Dono said.
Mara smiled, and Aerin noted it was that look she had in her eye when she was cooking up something for her students. "I think there will be an opportunity for you to experience snow before this journey is over, I do indeed."
From the tone of her voice, and that same look in her eye, Dono suddenly didn't like the idea as much.
They headed out and soon the road started to climb steeply. Looking back from where he was walking along the road, Aerin could make out the hilly lands they had just left behind. He wondered if he would ever return to Strakhelm and the childhood he had known there. He could remember traveling with his parents, but the last few years with Mara seemed as the bright colors of daylight compared to the shadows of night that were previous memories. Each foot they traveled into the Dragonback took him from that bright time, and he felt he would never reclaim it again.
"You look sad, friend Aerin," Katek noted.
The taller boy was walking alongside him.
"I feel I'm losing something. In the last few years, I found my friends in the city streets and we had some great times there. Even Strakhelm’s darker side has become familiar. Ahead I only see a mighty range of mountains, and beyond that, mystery and the unknown."
Katek slapped him on the back. "That's just it, Aerin, when you first entered Strakhelm wasn't it strange, unknown and mysterious?"
"Well yes, now that I think about it. I had just lost my parents; I didn't know what was going to happen to me."
"But now you look back at those adventures you had in fond remembrance. This is no different. Ahead of us lies the adventures of the future, and one day you will look back on this time in fond remembrance, and you will say, 'I was there, with Mara and Katek, and there was nothing like it, nor will there be again.' So instead of being sad about leaving the memories of the past, enjoy the making of new memories, for this is a time of adventure, and you may find you only have a few in your entire lifetime."
"How did you get so wise?" Aerin asked with a slight smile for his friend.
"I've always been smart, but I can't claim to have come up with that bit entirely on my own. My old master Temmen told me much the same when he took me from my first home. His words are my gift to you, they are precious to me."
"Thank you for sharing them with me, Katek. You have cheered my heart."
"Aerin, you are my friend, I cannot have you dragging along like a dead rat on a string."
"Thanks for the picture," Aerin said dryly.
"Don't mention it."
During the next three days of travel, the walls of the Eigen Pass rose around them and soon bracketed the small band of travelers. Ahead they could see the sheer walls of the pass winding off into the mountains. The road still climbed steeply, but the sides of the Dragonback Mountains to either side of the pass soared upwards to heights ten thousand feet above. It was a humbling sight.
That afternoon, Mara called a halt to their progress through the pass. Gandarel was puzzle
d; it was far earlier than they had stopped on the previous nights.
"Here it comes," Lor whispered to Aerin.
"You think so?" Aerin asked.
"Why else would she stop here?"
Aerin looked around. This place in the pass seemed unremarkable if any part of this pass could be termed that. The sheer walls of granite still towered so high above the floor that Aerin grew dizzy when he looked up for too long.
"I don't see anything," Aerin noted.
Mara climbed down from her wagon, and Gandarel trotted his horse over to where she stood. "Why are we stopping?"
"We're going to be departing from the road for a time."
Gandarel looked around, much as Aerin had just done.
"Why?” he asked after a moment. "Is there someone pursuing us?"
Niler gave Mara a puzzled look, he didn't know what she was up to, but he was wary.
Mara shrugged, "I don't know, though it is likely. Still, we must make a detour from the path for now. We will return and pick up the road again once we are done."
Gandarel looked exasperated. "I don't think this is a good time for you to be cryptic, Mara."
"Then climb down from that nag, so I can talk to you, I promise all will be explained."
Gandarel was muttering about strange stops in the middle of ominous mountains, as he dismounted, but he followed Mara and the other students away from the wagon toward a single evergreen tree that towered above all others, and Niler came along. Once they were near the tree Mara stopped.
"Thank you all for being patient with me, it was necessary, but we have reached the point where some of what is hidden must be revealed."
Aerin broke in with a question, "Why are you keeping things secret in the first place, Mara?"
Mara gave him a small smile. "Secrets are sometimes necessary, Aerin. I have many reasons, some of which I am not going to tell you right now, but..." she said, holding up a hand to forestall comments, "I will answer your question as to this. There were events listed in the Prophecy of Gold that should you have known you may not have let them happen. These events were important in that they helped to keep us on the best path."
