"I guess Tara must have snuck up from behind and knocked us out, then grabbed Susa and her horse and took off while you were busy dealing with those dragonspawn." Veren rose unsteadily to his feet. "I guess Susa was right when she said were shouldn't trust that scar faced hag!"
"But why would Tara want to abduct a common slave girl?" Damion asked in bewilderment.
"She's a slave chaser." Veren reasoned with a shrug. "They can get good gold for the slaves that they catch. She probably saw the opportunity to make some quick gold and took advantage of it."
"I thought I heard a scream when I was dealing with the dragonspawn," Damion told them with a frown. "then the sound of a horse retreating in the distance, but I was too busy at the time to investigate." He cursed. "It must have been Tara! She must have snatched Susa up and made a run for it!" He was furious, and his eyes flashed dangerously.
"What are we going to do?" Raven asked, her face clouded in concern. "We can't let that monster force her back into slavery!"
"Don't worry," He reassured her, his face a mask of controlled fury. "We're going to get her back!" He looked over to Veren. "Can you ride?"
Veren grunted, then nodded his head. "Ready when you are."
"As am I!' Raven declared, jumping to her feet. She suddenly swayed alarmingly, and was forced to lean against Damion for support. "Just give me a moment to compose myself!"
Damion and Veren quickly finished breaking down their camp, and as soon as Raven seemed a bit better, they set off in pursuit of Susa and her abductor.
It was dawn before the rain finally stopped falling, and the clouds cleared to reveal brilliant blue skies. They slowed to a stop when they reached the trade road, unsure which direction they should go to pick up the trail.
"I'm guessing she would head east." Damion murmured, searching the road for any signs of recent use. "Hthiss is the closest city. She is probably planning to sell Susa at slave market there."
"What if she decided to head west instead?" Raven asked, his face worried. "I'm sure she's aware that we'll be hot on her trail, and she knew we were already traveling towards Hthiss."
Damion considered that for a moment. "I think we'll have to chance it." He decided finally. "There aren't any cities to the west, and she wasn't prepared for a trek into the desert. I'm guessing that she is making for Hthiss."
"What was that snake lover thinking?" Veren growled, touching the lump on the back of his head gingerly. "She had to know we follow her to rescue Susa!"
"It doesn't really matter her reasons. The only thing that matters is getting to Susa! I promised her that I would keep her protected, and I'm not going to rest until she is safe!"
They set off at a gallop with Snowfeather circling high overhead to keep watch for any signs of danger. It was nearly midday when the acrid smell of something burning began to fill the air.
"We must be getting close to Hthiss." Veren grunted, sniffing at the air. "It smells like burning peat. They must burn it for their heating and cooking purposes." He face wrinkled in disapproval. "It's no wonder they worship snakes. The smoke from peat is known to cause a man to act rather peculiar!"
It was only a few minutes later that Snowfeather swooped down from overhead. "There are a group of men blocking the road ahead!" He warned Damion with a hoot.
They rounded a bend in the road and found their way blocked by nearly a dozen mounted men dressed in scaled armor painted black. The instant Damion, Raven, and Veren trotted into view, the men drew their weapons and spurred their horses forward.
Damion reacted without hesitation, drawing the Dragon Sword and spurring Storm forward to meet their charge, with Veren following close behind.
Two of the men suddenly dropped from their saddles as Raven began to rain arrows down onto the charging men, but the others continued their attack, ignoring their fallen companions as they tumbled limply to the ground.
Storm crashed into the lead horse, impacting it so hard that the rider was thrown from his saddle. The armored man landed on his head with an audible crunch, then was promptly trampled under the churning hooves of his own mount.
Damion quickly carved his way through two more men, then turned to see another topple from his saddle as Veren drove the point of his sword deep into the man's throat. Another man fell dead as one of Raven's arrows lodged deep in his eye socket with a thud.
The remaining three men, stunned by the savage response to their attack, suddenly wheeled around and fled, flogging their horses mercilessly in a desperate attempt to flee.
Raven took advantage of their flight to demonstrate her prowess with a bow. Two of the men dropped dead from their saddles before their horses had taken three steps. The last one made it another dozen feet before tumbling from his horse with an arrow protruding from his head.
"Nice shot!" Damion complimented her, looking around to make sure there were no survivors. "It seems Tara may have left a few of her men behind to try and stop us."
"They weren't quite good enough to get the job done." Veren snorted contemptuously. He gestured to the dead men's horses. "What should we do with the horses?"
Damion thought about it for a moment. "Let's gather up the horses and disposes of these bodies. We can sell the horses once we reach Hthiss."
It took perhaps ten minutes for them to drag the bodies behind a grove of bushes and chase down all of the horses, then they remounted and set off towards the city.
**************
Hthiss proved to be an unsavory looking city completely encircled by an enormous wall constructed of diseased looking blocks of limestone. The roads leading through town were so muddy that it was virtually impossible to travel on foot, but at some point in time the inhabitants of the city had built a series of raised walkways to allow those on foot to avoid the quagmire.
A group of men dressed in the black scale armor and carrying long wicked looking pikes stood watch near a rickety guard house built next to one of the enormous gates leading into town. They moved out to block the passage into the city, but made no move to attack.
One of the guards, a thin pock faced man with lifeless eyes, stepped forward and held up one hand. "A moment, if you will."
Damion reined in Storm a few paces away. "What can we do for you?" He asked in a friendly tone, though he was ready to respond to the first sign aggression.
"A party of men rode out from here this morning to intercept some travelers accused of stealing a slave." The man stated, looking pointedly at the extra horses trailing behind their group. "Did you happen to encounter them on your way here?"
"We did." Damion answered blandly. "They attacked us on sight."
The pocked faced man didn't seem too surprised. "I'm guessing that they shall not be returning then?"
"It's very doubtful."
"Oh well." The man sighed in mock regret. "I warned them that listening to that woman would get them killed!"
"That woman?"
"A scar faced woman with a serious superiority complex. She claimed to be a slave chaser, though I have my doubts on that. Something about her didn't seem quite right."
"Then Tara did send those men to stop us!" Raven exclaimed suddenly.
The pock faced man nodded. "She did. She rode arrived here early this morning with a young slave girl and paid some of the men to ride out and track down some travelers who she accused of stealing the slave girl. I tried to warn the men not to get involved with a slave chaser, but they didn't listen." He snorted in amusement. "I guess they won't make that mistake again!"
"So Tara is here in Hthiss?" Damion asked eagerly.
The man shook his head. "She stated that she was moving on to Daconia. It's a small temple complex to the southeast, controlled by dragon worshippers. The whole place is full of zealots! Yet another of the fanatical sects that spring up around our country every few years. These dragon worshippers appeared and took over the ruins at Daconia a few of years ago, and have been gathering there to hold their rituals ever since. The woman mentioned s
omething about heading there so she could sell the slave girl to them for use in their rites."
"Their rites?" Damion's blood ran cold.
The man frowned. "The dragon worshippers perform a number of profane ceremonies in which they use slaves for sacrifices. Most Arleians find the practice repulsive. I mean, why waste a perfectly good slave?" He shook his head in disbelief. "It's amazing what religion can do to a person's mind!"
"How far is Daconia from here?"
"About forty leagues, but you will not be able to follow her, I'm afraid." The pock faced man seemed genuinely remorseful. "Outsiders are not allowed any further into Arleia than Hthiss."
"We have to catch Tara before she gets too far ahead of us!"
"If you try to travel any further into Arleia, you'll have every tracker and slaver chaser in the city on your trail. You would be lucky to make it until nightfall."
"That's just a chance that we will have to take." Damion said with a shrug. "We can not allow Tara to sell Susa to a bunch of crazed zealots!"
The man was silent for several moments. "I may be able to help you," He said finally, his voice dropping to a whisper. "but you would have to wait until nightfall." He held up one hand to stop their objections. "If you trust me, I can get you out of the city unseen. Believe me when I say you'll travel much faster when you're not dodging trackers and slave chasers every step of the way."
"Why would you want to help us?" Veren asked suspiciously.
The man fixed Veren with a serious gaze. "I do not wish to see that child used as a sacrifice for some crazed ritual." Then he shrugged. "Plus, I really don't like slave chasers."
Damion exchanged looks with Raven and Veren. "Very well." He agreed reluctantly. "We will trust you, if you can truly help us."
"Then follow this main road through town until you reach the tavern named The Bloody Dragon." The pock faced man advised in a hoarse whisper. "I'll meet you there after nightfall. With a little luck, you'll be hot on that woman's trail before midnight." He stepped back and motioned for his men to allow them through.
They slowly slogged their way through the muddy streets of Hthiss, noticing in passing that there were a surprising number of foreigners mingling with the locals that called the city home.
"Perhaps it would be best if I remained concealed, and keep a watch over the area." Snowfeather suggested.
"Why is that?" Damion asked in surprise. "Wouldn't you like a little rest?"
"You are already drawing enough attention to yourself." The large owl hooted from overhead before he disappeared from view. "Besides, several of those men are staring up at me like I'm a meal!" He quickly disappeared from sight.
Several large groups of slaves, chained securely together to prevent escape, were being led to and from the slave markets at the edge of town by mounted Deirians, Veirians, and Arleians. The slaves were forced to trudge through the calf deep mud of the thoroughfare, and several slipped and fell in the mud, only to be dragged along by their fellow slaves, who dared not slow.
Damion's face was livid as he watched the hopeless captives as they were led away, and it was only through sheer force of will that he was able to keep from attacking their captors. He forced his eyes away and focused on locating the tavern.
"I think I'll take these extra horses to the closest livery and sell them, and then look into getting some supplies." Veren volunteered. "I don't think it's wise to expose Damion to any more slave caravans."
"That would probably be the best course of action." Damion agreed, still gritting his teeth in anger. "Raven and I will get a table and order some food. Hopefully, this fellow is not just trying to stall us to allow Tara more time to escape."
He and Raven entered the substantial structure and muscled their way through the midday crowd to an unoccupied table. As always, Damion drew a large number of suspicious stares as he made his way across the tavern, but he ignored them and flagged down a passing serving girl.
It was an hour or so later when Veren finally returned and announced that they were fully stocked on supplies, including a couple of kegs of ale and several bottles of wine. "I thought it might be a nice to have something other than water to drink at night. Besides," He grinned. "It was all paid for with the gold we earned from selling those horses. The Arleian that ran the livery was delighted to buy them, claiming he could sell them back to the city guard at a premium. I used that gold to pay for all of our supplies!"
Raven frowned. "It seems the Arleians don't mind seeing their fellow countrymen butchered, as long as can make a profit from it."
The one eared man scratched his head thoughtfully. "From what I could gather, they look upon such occurrences with amusement. They are very much like the serpents they worships. They will stab each other in the back if they think can get away with it. They're an unpredictable people. Many of them apparently live their lives only to satisfy their most base desires." He snorted. "I saw one fellow having an intense conversation with his horse. When I asked his companion what was wrong with him, his friend told me that the man had just smoked something called swamp weed." He laughed. "I guess it's harmless, but it sure makes a man do some strange things! I guess here in Arleia, it's even more popular than ale. Strange, huh?"
"So they are actually loyal to no one?"
"That not true." Veren disagreed. "They appear to be fiercely loyal to their queen. If she issues a command, then entire country listens and obeys. All things considered, she has more power over her people than any other ruling body in the world!"
"But other than that, they just spend their days plotting against one another and smoking goofy weed until they are incoherent?" Raven stared at him in disbelief. "How do they get any work done?"
"I guess that's what all of the slaves are for." Veren shrugged. "I certainly wouldn't want some befuddled Arleian building my temples or castles. It'd probably come tumbling down around me with the first stiff breeze!"
"Let's just hope our friend at the guardhouse is true to his word, and can get us through the gate without being seen." Damion's face was grim. "Every second we're forced to sit here, Tara and Susa get farther away!" He suddenly remembered their whole reason for coming to Arleia. "Did you happen to make any inquiries about the shadow dragons? Have there been any sightings in the area?"
Veren shook his head. "The few locals that would speak to me claimed not to have heard anything about any dragons being seen in their land. Most wouldn't even talk to me, though. The people are a little tight lipped around here."
"We could ask a few of the patrons here if they have seen anything." Raven looked around the tavern hopefully, but her face quickly fell. Many of the other patrons were still staring at Damion suspiciously, while others had made it a point to move to the opposite side of the room.
Damion glanced around, and then laughed humorlessly. "Good luck with that, but I really don't think you'll find much help here."
"Does this happen often?" A slight note of anger in her voice. "Do people always stare at you with such fear and hate?"
The huge warrior stared at her for a long moment, surprised by the heat in her voice. "Sometimes, but I have learned to ignore them." He waved to one of the serving girls for another round.
It was almost midnight, and Veren and Raven had both fallen asleep in their chairs, when the pocked faced man finally appeared through the crowd. He quickly made his way over to their table and took a seat, his pale face flushed with excitement.
"We're happy to see you, friend." Damion smiled, breathing a silent sigh of relief. He slid the man a tankard of ale. "We never caught your name." He nudged Veren and Raven gently to wake them.
"The name's Silsias." The man introduced himself with a nod. He took a long drink of the foaming ale, then sighed in relief. "I apologize for being so late, but the men that were meant to relieve us at our posts seemed to have somehow gotten themselves killed." He smiled at them knowingly. "It took a little while to find some men to replace them."
Damion coughed,
then looked away guiltily.
Silsias laughed a barking laugh. "Don't worry, my friends. They will not be missed." He looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear. "I have good news. One of my associates has agreed to get you through the southern gate, for a price. That is the road that leads towards Daconia, and the direction the woman you are pursing was heading when she left Hthiss." He casually slid them a detailed map of the marshes. "You'll find the best route to avoid being noticed marked on this map. If you move quickly enough, and have a little luck on your side, you may be able to catch up to your quarry before she reaches the temples of Daconia."
"You have proven yourself to be a true friend, Silsias." Damion said gratefully. "Is there anything we can do to repay you for your help?"
"Just don't get yourself caught or killed!" The man laughed. "And make sure you kick that slave chaser in the ribs for me a few times for sending my fellows to their deaths."
"Done!" Damion laughed.
Silsias quickly drained his tankard, then rose to his feet. "We have to move quickly to make sure that no one sees you leave. I'll wait outside for you while you gather your things, and then I'll lead you to the southern gate."
They quickly gathered their horses from the stables, then met Silsias in front of the tavern. He quickly led them down a number of side streets to avoid being noticed by any of the guards patrolling the streets, then called for everyone to halt in the shadows of a rundown warehouse.
"What's wrong?" Veren asked him in a hoarse whisper.
"There's a guard relaxing on a bench up ahead." The pock faced man whispered back. "There's no way around him." He cursed angrily. "Wait here." He quickly slipped through the shadows towards the sleeping soldier, then without hesitating, he stepped into the torch light that lit the muddy streets for those still wandering around after dark. He angrily stomped over and kicked the sleeping soldier hard in the ribs, flipping the bench over and spilling the man into the slimy mud. "Wake up, you lazy dog!"
Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons Page 27
