They heard a few bumps and grumbling from the other room, and then the door opened. Captain Pollard straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair as he stepped into the room. He glared at his visitors.
"What could possibly be so important that it has to be dealt with before the first light of dawn?" he shouted. The secretary cringed in his corner, but echoed his master's glare at the interlopers.
Sulana replied calmly. "We're leaving at dawn and I need to know something before we go. It's important to my mission."
He motioned his hand in a circle, encouraging her to continue. "Well, out with it then. What do you need to know?"
"I need to ask you about Jaylan Forester," she replied.
The captain's brow knitted in confusion. "How is he involved?" He looked over at his secretary for enlightenment, but the secretary shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"It seems our thief hired Mister Forester to help him find the missing partner," Sulana answered.
The captain stared at Sulana for a moment and considered her words. Then he spoke slowly and carefully. "That seems a bit unusual, but it fits with Jaylan's work for Raven Company. I still don't see what you need from me."
"I need to know if Forester is reliable. I understand he used to work with you, and I want your opinion as to whether or not involving him in my mission puts it at risk. If I take him on the search for the missing partner, would he be a help or a hindrance?"
The captain looked thoughtful as he went over to his desk and sat heavily in the chair behind it. He folded his hands behind his head and responded. "Jaylan is sharp. A little too sharp, and a little too enthusiastic. He annoyed the wrong people and paid for it with his career. But he's an honest man and I would still trust him with my life. Is that good enough for you?" The captain finished with a huge yawn that his large fist barely covered.
Sulana smiled. "Yes, Captain, that's exactly what I needed to know."
Captain Pollard pushed himself out of his chair and headed toward the door to his chamber. "Good. Go away then. Good luck on your mission."
As the captain left the room, Sulana spoke loudly at his retreating back. "Thank you sir, I appreciate your taking the time to see me." The last two words were cut off by the slamming of the chamber door.
Sulana turned to the secretary. "Thank you for your help as well. We'll be on our way now."
The secretary made shooing motions with his hands. "Yes, yes. Please go now. I'll have to prepare a special breakfast for the captain when he rises again and hope that helps him forget this little interruption."
Sulana and Daven both laughed and let the secretary usher them out of the captain's office.
Chapter 4
I sat at my favorite table in the serving room the next morning, hands cupped around a steaming mug of coffee, a rare and expensive indulgence for me. I held the mug up in a brief salute to Dela, who had just brewed it for me. She smiled and left the serving room carrying a tray of dirty dishes.
Coffee beans traveled by caravan all the way from Xelapai, a land far to the south, across a route that was fraught with bandits and dangerous wilderness creatures. The Snow Creek Inn rarely had an opportunity to purchase the beans, but while we had them, the rich and stimulating drink they produced attracted some of the area's more affluent residents.
I blew on the hot brew and took a sip, thinking about the day before me. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I frowned as I thought back to last night's confrontation with the Agents of Whatever.
I needed more information. Running off on a hunt with people I knew nothing about added a level of risk that made me uncomfortable--thus the need for a bolstering coffee. I nodded to myself as I concluded that I needed to get some things straight before we headed out, aggressive agent notwithstanding.
As if on cue, the serving room door opened and Agent Delano walked in.
She spotted me immediately and headed my way, three men trailing behind her. The pale morning light reflecting in through the door and the windows showed me details that I couldn't see during our encounter last night behind the inn. Sulana had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. Her face had strong, simple features that summed up to be cute, verging on pretty. Her stride was even and unhurried, and she calmly surveyed the room as she walked over to my table.
As the four agents came forward, the entire serving room fell silent. The three men with Agent Delano scanned the other occupants thoroughly as they walked confidently through the room behind her. The comfortable way the agents wore their weapons and armor declared them to be competent and dangerous men. Most of the patrons dropped their curious stare and poked at their food or turned to their table companions when one of the agents met their eyes.
I swallowed the last of my coffee, cringing as it burned down my throat but unwilling to leave any of the rare elixir behind. I stood as Agent Delano approached my table. "Would you like to have something to eat or drink before we go?" I asked, gesturing at the seat across from me.
She smiled back at me and answered. "No thanks, we've eaten already."
The smile transformed her face. Shallow dimples framed her mouth and her gaze softened. I blinked and nearly fell back into my chair. Was this the same woman who had leveled a crossbow at my heart a few short hours ago?
"Allow me to introduce my team," she said, gesturing at the three men behind her. Two of them stepped forward to stand beside her, while the third remained just behind, his height giving him a clear view over her head. Standing closer to her this morning, I realized that she couldn't be much more than five feet tall. On her left stood the man I had met briefly last night. He nodded once in greeting as I met his eyes.
"This is Daven," she said gesturing at the man I'd already met. She put her right hand on the shoulder of the man on her right and added, "and this is Talon, my second in command." She hooked her thumb over her shoulder, "and the tall one is Barek, who always seems to have my back," she said with a short laugh. "And I'm Sulana," she finished.
Daven was a bit taller and thinner than I am. He had blonde hair and blue eyes like Sulana, and I guessed them both to be in their early twenties. I wondered briefly if they could be related, but saw no other similarities in their features. Talon was about my height and the oldest of the team, perhaps in his mid forties, with black hair graying at the temples and intent grey eyes.
Barek loomed over all of them, standing at least six-and-a-half feet tall with a broad chest and shoulders. He was probably in his early thirties, and his size was explained by his slanted eyes, brown skin, and long, beaded locks of brown hair. Barek was a Winterman, from the Borealis Tribes that lived to the north. Sulana looked almost like a child standing in front of him; the top of her head didn't even come to his shoulders.
"Gentlemen, this is Jaylan, the man who will accompany us on our hunt today," she said with a wave of her hand.
"If you don't mind my saying so, you seem a bit more friendly today," I said cautiously.
"Finally getting a little sleep has something to do with that, but I've also had the chance to do some checking up on you," she said. "Captain Pollard was kind enough to see me this morning and answer a few questions about you."
I imagined Rakerus' reaction to being awakened before dawn. "Oh, that must have made you popular with him," I said with a laugh.
"He doesn't seem to be much of a morning person, does he?" she said with a smirk. "But after some initial swearing, he was willing to share his confidence in your integrity and capability."
"I'll have to thank him for that," I replied. "This trip will be a lot less tense if we aren't at each other's throats the whole time."
"Yes, well, sorry about our misunderstanding last night. This mission is important, and I can't take any chances. I hope you understand," she said with a tilt of her head.
I shrugged. "Sure. But I'd feel a lot better if I knew a little more about you. For starters, I understand that you are official agents of some kind." She nodded as I
paused. "But I still don't know who you represent."
She glanced quickly around the room, taking in a couple of the inn's customers who were having their breakfast. Her gaze lingered on the bar area, and I looked over to see that Dela had returned to the room and was watching us closely from behind the bar as she unloaded a few bottles of wine.
Leaning toward me conspiratorially, Agent Delano spoke quietly. "How about we talk about that on the move? I'll answer what questions I can once we are on our way. Would that be acceptable?"
I nodded. "Alright, I can live with that." I grabbed my cloak and slipped it on.
A bottle of wine slammed to the counter and looked over to see Dela glaring at me. I patted my coin purse in an attempt to communicate that this was about the contract. Her glare changed to a frown and then her lips drew into a thin line as she went back to rustling behind the bar. She didn't look up again.
"Is that your wife?" Agent Delano whispered as we turned to go.
"Uh, no," I answered under my breath. "Let's just go."
The spring days were getting warmer, but the mornings still had a biting chill of frost to them. The sturdy linen shirt and pants I wore under my hardened leather armor would be fine after the sun had a chance to warm things up a bit. Until then, my cloak would keep off the chill and still allow me quick access to the short sword I had strapped to my waist and the dagger attached to my belt.
Agent Delano noted my outfit and equipment as I settled my cloak on my shoulders and nodded approvingly. "Let's go," she said, and turned to lead the five of us out into the early morning light.
***
I walked into the stable, shivering briefly as I adjusted to the cold morning air. Patches, my reliable horse, nickered softly in greeting and came over to the rail of his stall, snorting steam from his nostrils. Patches had pinto coloring, with brown on his neck, shoulders, and hind quarters. He had white splashed haphazardly across his face, sides and tummy. The name Patches came from two small white "knee patches" on his front legs.
I rubbed his face and gave him a chunk of carrot I'd filched from the kitchen earlier. He munched contentedly as I saddled him up. When saddled, much of his white was covered, except for the knee patches and his underside. It amused me how everyone we met while riding instantly understood the reason for his name.
Our fellow travelers were mounted and waiting for me when Patches and I ambled over to them. Agent Delano gave me a nod, turned her horse, and urged it into a trot without a word.
A few folks hurried out of our way as we rode through the nearly empty streets, but most of the town was blanketed with the peaceful stillness of early morning. Only the bakery seemed fully awake; the rich smell of baking dough wafted out across the road in a thin cloud of steam that floated out of the open front door. We passed through the town's west gate and continued riding west on Riverview Road.
Riverview Road followed the Teardrop River to the west, passing by or through small villages along the way. Eventually the road split, angling across the river and south toward Plains End as South Riverview Road and continuing west toward Silver Falls as North Riverview Road. The entire northern route was flanked by tall conifers and followed along the river at the base of steep mountain slopes and cliffs. The view often opened up to a spectacular panoramic scene of the wide river flowing through the valley. I always looked forward to traveling the north fork of the road as we would today.
The sun angled steeply through the trees from behind us, casting our long shadows to the front and side. Where the sunlight struck the needles of frosty trees along the road, a wisp of mist rose like a tiny puff of smoke. We rode through pockets of warming air perfumed with the sharp odor of pine. I took a deep, satisfied breath, thankful for the change to relatively clear weather, a rarity this early in spring.
Small mounds of snow clustered in the most shaded areas under the trees, but the road was clear. Our horses clopped along firmly on frozen mud that would later thaw and probably become an impediment on our return journey. Unseen squirrels chattered at us as we passed, and an occasional blue jay swooped by with a harsh scolding caw.
Patches and I trailed the other riders. I was just thinking about moving up to ride alongside Agent Delano so I could repeat my question about her employer when she broke into a full gallop. "Let's put a little distance behind us," she shouted over her shoulder before she leaned forward in her saddle and thundered off.
Our horses needed no urging to follow her. They were all a little frisky this morning and seemed more than willing to stretch their legs. The other agents and I charged down the road after her, our cloaks flapping in the breeze of our passage.
We covered the first few miles quickly and then Agent Delano slowed her horse to a walk. "That's a good start. Let's rest the horses a bit," she said as she pulled her pretty tan appaloosa back and alongside Patches.
"You said you had questions. I can only tell you so much," she warned me, "but I'll answer what I can."
"Thanks," I said. "Where are we headed?"
"We lost the trail of the other thief in the woods off the road west of here. We were following his tracks, but they became confusing and finally seemed to disappear. Barek is a good tracker, and it's unusual for someone to completely lose him like that," she said.
I had an uncomfortable thought and grimaced. "About how far west?"
"About as far again as we've already traveled, beyond that little village west of here," she answered. She looked over at me and cocked her head. "Is there something I should know?"
I thought for a moment about what she had described. The little village Sulana referred to was named Dunver. I decided that an experienced tracker losing the trail west of the village was no coincidence. "There's an old healer living back in that area," I said, "and she has some skill with Wards."
Agent Delano sat back in her saddle thoughtfully. "Well, that would explain a lot," she murmured, "but not everything. What do you know about these Wards," she asked.
"Not much, really. She keeps a Ward around her cottage that deflects unwanted visitors, which includes just about everyone. A few years ago, I helped her lay in wood for winter, and she gave me something that let me go through with no problem."
"Do you still have the means to go through the Ward?" she asked.
"No. She gave me a trinket to carry that let me pass. I gave it back to her when I was finished."
Agent Delano nodded. "What can you tell me about her?"
"Well, she's getting to be fairly old now. I don't know how much longer she'll be able to live back up there all by herself. She used to travel around to the nearby towns, healing folk for trade and the occasional coin. She had a strict rule that people needed to call for her when they wanted help, but one day someone brought a sick child up to her home instead. Her husband caught the illness and never recovered. She became reclusive after her husband died."
Agent Delano listened to my story and then grimaced. "Wonderful. An angry healer with warding skills."
"Oh, she's not so bad now," I reassured her. "She seems to know when someone really needs her help. A friend of mine fractured an arm badly, and she came out to treat him when it started going septic. That was the autumn I helped with her firewood in thanks. However, she does still have a strict policy against visitors to her home, and the Wards ensure it's never ignored again."
We rode in silence for a few moments. Our swift ride through the cold morning air had given me a chill, so the sun warming my back was welcome.
I finally turned to her. "So, Agent Delano, how is it that you are in the business of tracking down thieves?"
"Finally getting back to that, are you?" She looked at me intently, her blue eyes locked on mine. "This isn't something I'd like widely known," she confided, "but we are agents of the Archives."
I was stunned for a moment, unable to respond at first with more than "Huh. Really? Wow." Agent Delano laughed at my feeble response.
I didn't know much about the Archives. Just that
it was a refuge and a school for sorcerers. Their members tended to move secretly, and in all my years of working with the Imperial Guard, I'd never run across any Archives agents. Not that I knew of, anyway.
An unpleasant thought entered my head. I narrowed my eyes at her and spoke hesitantly. "Uh...you aren't going to have to kill me now or something, are you?"
She laughed again. "No, don't worry. We aren't murderers. Believe me, I wouldn't have told you, except Captain Pollard vouched for you, and you are going to see some things on this trip that would require some kind of explanation. Sometimes the truth is the simplest explanation," she added with a shrug.
"Well, thanks for telling me," I replied. "How do our thieves fit into all this?"
She thought for a moment, obviously deciding how much she was willing to tell me. "They stole a dangerous artifact from one of our people who was holding it for safe-keeping. My team was deployed to intercept them and get it back."
"How were you able to find them?" I asked with surprise.
"Well...that's one of the odd things you'll see on this trip," she responded cryptically.
I pushed my curiosity aside. Getting answers is often about the timing of the question. She'd apparently said as much as she would on the subject, for now at least.
"Okay. How about the Wards? Do you have a way to get past them?" I asked.
"Wards are most effective when they are unexpected," she answered. "Now that I know what we are dealing with, I think we can push through, depending upon how she formed the Ward."
"There's more than one way?" I asked. I knew almost nothing about the workings of magic. Most of the populace distrusted magic and its practitioners. I had encountered those who used magic enough times to learn to respect it and them, but I had never indulged my curiosity about the subject. Showing an interest in magic was...unpopular.
"Yes. Some Wards are like a bubble," she said. "They are strong around the edges of the effect, but drop to almost nothing inside the affected area. Others are radiant, like light given off by a lantern. They are strongest at their center and the effect eventually trails off to nothing over a distance."
The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled Page 3
