The Harrowing Path

by Cleave Bourbon

  Kerad pulled his cloak around him. “Hurry now; a storm is blowing in.”

  The party rushed into the clearing where the tower of Morgoran rose above the main stone buildings. Rain began to fall in sheets as they passed the guard towers.

  Seancey motioned to the guards. “Secure the main gate from the storm, men.” The guards pulled the iron gates shut behind the party after they entered and bolted them down. A priest of Loracia met them at the entrance to the main hall and bowed before Kerad. “Thank Loracia you have returned, Brother Kerad. Morgoran has taken ill. Neither prayer nor any healing I understand has eased his suffering. He needs your expertise.”

  “You will pardon my haste, dear friends?” Kerad said, dropping his pack in the main entrance hall.

  “Of course, Kerad, see to the master,” Enowene replied. Kerad followed the priest up the side stairs to the tower.

  “I will help Brother Kerad if I can,” Vesperin said, excusing himself.

  “Lady Shey, come with me, and we will see if we can be of use,” Enowene said as she deposited her pack where Kerad had left his. Lady Shey lowered her pack and sighed. Devyn felt as if Lady Shey actually dreaded to follow Enowene, and as he watched her, he noticed her wrinkle her nose at Sylvalora before she finally followed Enowene up the stairway. Sylvalora nodded and lagged behind the rest. Devyn noticed the elf maiden did not seem particularly interested in following Lady Shey or Enowene; instead, she meandered out of the hall and out of sight. Devyn heard Seancey mutter something about the storm just before the ranger excused himself to the courtyard.

  Servants cleared away the rest of the packs and equipment. After a change into dry clothes, Devyn was happy to see a servant come to the living quarters and announce their meal was ready. Kelle and Rennon followed Devyn and Gondrial down the hallways to the table at the dining room center. It was a long table constructed of dense wood with carved, high back chairs. It appeared to be quite old. Devyn seated himself next to Kelle, and Gondrial assumed the head of the table. Rennon sat opposite of Devyn and Kelle to Gondrial’s left.

  “I hope the cook’s in a good mood,” Gondrial began, “because I am as hungry as an ox.”

  “Me too,” Kelle said.

  Devyn shivered as he peered out of the window at the head-end of the dining hall. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Rain poured down, tossed and blown by the wind, which, in turn, howled through the shutters. A servant hurried to the window and pulled the shutters closed, fastening them tightly against the storm.

  The cook served brisket sandwiches and ale. Devyn’s hunger was intense, but he could not seem to stomach the food. He forced himself to eat anyway.

  Seancey entered the dining hall in a rush. “You best finish your meal, Gondrial. Word has it that more Enforcers are on their way. You will need to prepare for them.”

  “How could they possibly be sending more men?” Gondrial asked.

  Seancey pondered the question for a moment. “I suppose they were to meet up with their companions here, or perhaps they were to rendezvous and Captain Praf never showed.”

  Gondrial slammed his mug of ale onto the table. “Once we complete our task at hand, Seancey, remind me to raise an army and do away with those annoying Enforcers once and for all.” Seancey smiled and nodded at Gondrial’s jest. “How far away are they?”

  “Difficult to say. The scout believes a day, maybe less,” Seancey answered.

  “The rest of you, eat up and gather your things. We will leave again as soon as I make some preparations and the rain breaks. A day or less doesn’t give us a very good head start.” Gondrial shook his head, gulped his ale in one breath, and then stomped out of the dining hall. Seancey followed him.

  Devyn’s head began to swim. He felt dizzy.

  “What is it, Devyn?” Rennon asked. Kelle put her hand on Devyn’s forehead to check for fever.

  “Something is wrong. I know we told Vesperin we would stay, but I have an overwhelming feeling we should leave.”

  “What’s wrong?” Kelle asked with growing concern.

  “I don’t know. I just know that we need to go.”

  Rennon stood from the table. “That is more like it. I will go to the kitchen and see if I can get us some food for the trip. Brookhaven is not far away. We can be back in a day or two.”

  Devyn nodded. “Hurry, Rennon, we have to leave fast.”

  “What about Vesperin?” Kelle asked.

  Devyn rubbed his temple with his left hand. “He will find his way. I don’t think we will persuade him to come with us.”

  “Devyn, we can’t just leave him. He is your best friend,” Kelle reminded him.

  “What would you have me do, Kelle? He will find his way.” Devyn stood. “We will have to go on foot. The stable master would be suspicious if we tried to saddle any horses, and he would question us.”

  “We have to take the horses, Devyn, or we would be caught within a few hours’ time on foot,” Kelle said. “We need a diversion.” She thought for a moment. “I think I can come up with something. Meet me at the stables as soon as you collect your things.”

  Rennon returned a few moments later with a basket of bread and cheese. “This is all I could find without the cook eyeing me. It will have to do.”

  Devyn patted him on the back. “It will do. We will be home soon enough; it isn’t that far.”

  “I will gather my things. You coming, Devyn?” Rennon asked.

  “I will be there in a moment,” Devyn replied. Rennon acknowledged him and left the dining hall.

  As soon as Kelle and Rennon left the room, Devyn removed the black leather pouch containing the stones from Cedar Falls from his belt and loosened the drawstring. He turned it upside down and let the three purple stones fall into his hand. They glowed intently and gave off heat.

  “These stones will aid me in decisions.” Devyn squeezed them tightly in his fist. He could feel the power of the stone’s energy enter his body. “Am I doing the right thing?” The stones began to burn his hand, but he did not flinch. Instead, he dropped the stones back into the pouch, drew the string tight, and fastened it back on his belt.

  The rain still fell as Devyn made his way to the stables. Rennon was waiting at the side outer wall. Together they stalked to the side wall of the stables and waited for Kelle, not sure what she might do. They did not have to wait long. A scream cut the air and a black mare bolted from the stables, followed by the stable master and his hands. Kelle ran after them and then stopped, searching frantically.

  “Here, Kelle,” Devyn said.

  “Come on; there are four saddled horses. If we hurry, we can make away with them.”

  Devyn and Rennon bolted for the stable door, and the three quickly mounted up. They rode out into the courtyard before Devyn realized the gates were still closed. They were trapped in the Vale. “The gates!” Devyn shouted. “They will be closed tight.”

  “There has to be a side gate somewhere,” Rennon yelled back. They rounded and headed for the sidewall to the east where only one man guarded the gate they found there. Rennon drew a dagger and threw it forward. It cut the rope holding the counterweight in check, causing it to fall. The gate shot up on its pulley so fast it broke off its frame. Rennon was shocked when he looked into his hand and saw that the dagger he had just thrown had returned to him. He sheathed it even though he was uneasy about the magic it possessed. The three rode off into the rain toward the woods. Once under the cover of the trees, the rain lessened, and Devyn could see much better despite the darkness. He led them to a path that he had seen when they had returned from Signal Hill. They rode hard south on the trail for what seemed to be an hour until they emerged from the woods onto the road. From there they turned back east toward the Southern Road and Brookhaven.

  The rain subsided, but the road was muddy, causing the horses to tire quickly, so Devyn slowed them to a canter. He knew of a quiet spot not far, and he thought maybe he could rest the horses there. Kelle and Rennon were beginning to show signs
of fatigue. They had not recovered from the trek from Signal Hill well enough to start another excursion. Devyn began to wonder if the two would make it to Brookhaven. He, on the other hand, showed no signs of fatigue. Without warning, Devyn felt essence surge through his body. Unable to control himself, he fell out of his saddle and onto the muddy road. His hair stood on end and his ears were ringing. When he opened his eyes, Gondrial stood above him. “Gondrial!” Devyn said surprised. “But how did you...”

  Gondrial held up the book with silver runes and pointed to it. “Magic travel spell. Remember?”

  “I thought the use of that would alert the Enforcers, or anyone else, to our whereabouts?”

  “Brilliant, Devyn, it will, but what choice did you leave me? Get back on your horse. We have to get to Cedar Falls by nightfall.” Devyn did not move.

  “We are going back to Brookhaven,” Rennon said.

  Gondrial clinched his teeth, pulled Rennon off his horse by the lapels of his cloak, and thrust him to the ground. He pointed his index finger three inches from Rennon’s face. “You are a fool, Rennon. Have you not learned anything? Brookhaven is being watched. If you return, you will not only forfeit your life, but you may very well get Brookhaven destroyed in the process.” Gondrial took the reins of Devyn’s horse. “Now mount up. Lady Shey and Enowene are meeting us in Cedar Falls. We must travel to Symbor and catch a ship bound for Adracoria if the Enforcers don’t catch up with us first.”

  Rennon pushed himself out of the mud and met Gondrial face to face. Devyn watched with trepidation as Gondrial fell to his knees under Rennon’s intense stare. Gondrial’s eyes rolled up into his head and blood began to flow from his nose.

  “Rennon, stop it!” Devyn said, rushing to him and pulling him away from Gondrial by his shoulder. Gondrial fell to the ground unconscious.

  “What did Rennon do?” Kelle asked.

  Devyn chose to ignore the question. “What do we do with him now? We can’t leave him here.”

  Rennon looked at Kelle and then lowered his head shamefully. “We have the fourth horse. Distribute the provisions and we will slump him over the saddle.”

  After they managed to get Gondrial up onto the extra horse, they continued on to Brookhaven. They were in sight of Watch Hill when they were met by a party of men on horseback traveling back the way they had come. They wore Enforcer cloaks.

  “Hail travelers.” The lead man said.

  Devyn reined in his horse. “Hail.”

  “Trouble on the road?” The man asked, indicating Gondrial slumped over his horse.

  “No, no trouble-—He’s drunk.”

  “Aye, he’s always drunk!” Rennon added.

  The lead man eyed Devyn. “Where you headed?”

  “Brookhaven.” Devyn said. “My father owns an inn there.” He mentally kicked himself for blurting that out.

  “Oh, which inn?”

  “The Grinning Goose.” he lied.

  The lead man put both his hands on his saddle horn and leaned forward. “The Grinning Goose Inn. Your father owns the Grinning Goose?”

  Devyn could sense something was wrong. Then he remembered that the Grinning Goose was owned by two sisters. “Did I say father? I meant my aunt.”

  The man drew his sword as did the two other riders. “Why don’t you get down from your horse young fellow. I think we need to have a talk.”

  “No thanks.” Devyn said. “I think we will be going.”

  “To the Grinning Goose to meet your aunt.”

  “Aye, that’s right.” Devyn said.

  “The sisters that own the Grinning Goose happen to be my sisters and I don’t remember ever having a nephew.”

  “One small oversight!” Devyn said as he spurred his horse into a dead run. “Ride!” he yelled back to Rennon and Kelle.

  Chapter 14: A Sense of Purpose

  As soon as Devyn set his horse to full gallop, he could feel the Enforcers drawing essence. He grabbed a hold of his saddle horn to steady himself, but he felt the sleep come across him in waves and his bid to remain on his horse failed. The ground came to him fast as he fell hard onto it.

  Devyn opened his eyes to bright white. There was no definition or color, only a vast, white lit, emptiness. Then, slowly at first, an image began to appear and then it was there all at once. A blonde girl of about sixteen years stood before him dressed in all white. She smiled at him sweetly.

  “Am I dreaming?” Devyn asked.

  “Aye, you can call it that.” Her young voice was melodic and pleasing to the ear.

  “I think I fell off my horse.”

  “Aye, you did. I believe you have hit your head as well. But don’t worry, Gondrial was already waking when you rode away from the Enforcers and they didn’t know to put him to sleep as well. He will rescue you. Also, his companions are not far behind his travel spell.”

  “You know a lot about what just happened. Who are you?”

  “I was sent to you at this moment, in this dream, to offer you a new sense of purpose.” She said.

  “Sent by whom?”

  “Fawlsbane Vex. You see, the gods are not supposed to interfere with the events unfolding directly by his own decree. He sent me here to deliver a message...indirectly.”

  “All right.” Devyn said, absently.

  “Don’t go back to Brookhaven. When you return home, the village will meet its doom. Go to Adracoria, as Gondrial is correct for suggesting, and consult with Ianthill.”

  “What? Brookhaven will meet its doom if I return. Why?”

  “You are about to be awakened. I will return to you at a later day to answer more of your questions. Remember! Don’t return to Brookhaven! If you value the village, go to Adracoria.”

  When Devyn awoke, he was lying over his saddle face down. He heard voices. Enowene and Lady Shey were talking.

  “Devyn is awake,” he heard Enowene say.

  “Where are we?” Devyn said, trying to right himself.

  Gondrial rode next to him. “About half a day’s journey out of Cedar Falls. I have managed to keep you asleep most of the way. You took a nasty bump on the head and needed rest to heal.”

  “I thought you kept people with head injuries awake. That’s what Swordmaster Grint always told us in training.” Devyn said, rubbing his temples to alleviate his headache.

  “Oh, well you lived. That’s the important part.” Gondrial said.

  “Hold on Devyn. I will help you,” Enowene said. She rode up beside him and steadied him so he could sit upright.

  “Rennon is awake,” Lady Shey said. “I will help him.” She moved beside him.

  “What happened?” Devyn asked. “Where is the girl in white?”

  “When you bolted off, the Enforcers put you in a sleep. You fell from your horse onto your head. You’re lucky Gondrial came to and was able to rescue you.” Enowene said as she looked uneasily at Rennon. “What girl in white?”

  “Never mind the girl in white, what happened to Rennon and Kelle?” Devyn said.

  “The same. They were put to sleep and you were all arrested. Lady Shey and I showed up and together with Gondrial we managed to defeat the Enforcers and get you free.”

  “Wait, where did you say we were? You didn’t take us home!”

  Gondrial sniffed. “No, we didn’t, but before you have some kind of fit about it, let us explain.”

  Devyn rubbed his bruised head and decided that he would hear them out, they did rescue him so he owed them that much, he reasoned. “All right. And this better be good.”

  “Enowene, you want to explain it to him?” Gondrial asked.

  “Devyn,” Enowene said. “What do you know of a man called Naneden?”

  Devyn blinked. “Well, I know he is king of Scarovia or knows the king or something like that. The soldiers who came into the inn talked about him. They say he is mad.”

  “What else do they say about him?”

  Devyn thought hard for a moment. “I never really paid much attention. I was usually busy w
orking.”

  Enowene reined her horse closer to his. “Did you know he has been amassing an army. That is why the soldiers of Symboria have come to your village. The king of Symboria believes Naneden plans to invade.”

  “Aye, but what are you getting at?” Devyn asked.

  “My knowledge is limited so I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you that Naneden is indeed mad. He does plan to invade Symboria by force, and Brookhaven is likely to be one of the first to go.”

  “Then I must go back to defend my village and warn my parents.”

  “Trendan has been sent to Brookhaven for that purpose. We hope that by taking you to Adracoria, you will be able to persuade the kings of Trigothia to join Symboria in defeating Naneden. That is a much better way for you to help your village.”

  “Me? How could I do that? I am but a simple innkeeper’s son.”

  “Sylvalora believes you to be much more than that. She has researched your lineage and found that you descend from the nobility of the Trigothian kingdom of Ardenia, the strongest of the Trigothian kingdoms. If we can prove your lineage to the king of Ardenia, you may be able to enlist their help. Lady Shey went to Brookhaven to find you under the guise of searching for the highlord’s murderer. She met with the elders of your village and persuaded your mother and father to let you travel to Symbor. She was to evaluate your strengths.”

  “What, that can’t be true,” Devyn said disapprovingly.

  “Oh, did you really believe the village elders and your parents would allow you to just traipse off with a wielder so easily? The wagons were meant to be taken back to Brookhaven without you.”

  “This makes no sense. If I descend from nobility, then why not take my father or mother to Ardenia to get help?”

  “Because it is from your mother’s side that you descend from the kings of old. They would never accept the council of a woman. Ardenia and all of the Trigothian kingdoms hold fast to tradition. Only a male descendant would have any hope of rallying them.”