"I must go! We will not see each other again until after you reach Tulith Morgair."
• • •
By the end of the next day, the company had only managed four leagues farther up and into the mountains. And as they prepared a sheltered campsite, where they hoped their fire would not be seen or the smoke smelled by the Damar, they were too tired for words and almost too tired to cook and eat. Ashlord realized they could not keep going this way and chatted quietly with Ullin about the situation as the two cooked a small meal for the group. After the horses had been seen to, the others spread out on the ground, and all, even the normally energetic Sheila, immediately fell asleep.
"I don't think we can take many days like this one," Ullin said quietly as he crouched next to Ashlord and tossed some diced onions and carrots into the pot that Ashlord was stirring.
"I believe you are right," Ashlord replied, glancing around at the prostrated group. "But I doubt if the way will be any easier until we reach the other side of the mountains."
"Except for one or two, the Damar we have seen today are lightly armed and are in small groups," Ullin put forward. "I doubt if they move at night."
"If you are suggesting we take to the roads by night, there are bound to be checkpoints. Especially as we near their strongholds."
"Unless we give up our mounts and pack animals, I fear we may be weeks in these hills. I'm afraid we must risk the roads. And we must eventually cross Redwater Gorge."
"That is so, and the bridge there is sure to be guarded. There is no way around that."
"But I take it that you do not trust the pass given us by Lord Tallin?"
"I do not," Ashlord stated bluntly. "Merely because it rests upon a very tenuous relationship that may be broken off at any moment without our knowing. The Damar, if they get wind of our destination, would surely sell us to the Redvests. What is worse, if they knew our actual purpose, they may sell us to Duinnor!"
Ashlord stirred the pot for a moment.
"I am grateful for your grandfather's advice and for the papers of passage he gave us," he went on. "But Toolant has been in Tallin Hall a long while, and he is not to be underestimated. By his cunning he has squirmed out of many traps before now, and we must assume that he suspects his position is compromised. If Lord Tallin's agents fail to spring their trap on him, or if the Damar do not believe whatever ruse Lord Tallin has devised, Toolant's position with the Damar will be strengthened and, hence, his position with the Tracian leadership, too. Surely he knows by now of our company's movements, and I don't doubt that soon they will be looking for us. One, or maybe two days at most."
They went on mulling over their options and various choices that came to mind as the evening lost all of its light. When the stew was ready, Ullin woke the others, and Ashlord passed out bowls. They were glad for the meal, and they ate it in silence, circled around the glow of the fire. When Ashlord was satisfied that all would have plenty to eat, he cleared his throat.
"Ullin and I believe the terrain before us is too rough to continue as we have unless we take to the roads and paths."
The group looked up from their bowls and thought about this.
"What about them Damar?" Billy spoke up.
"We think we should try traveling at night," Ullin said. "Moving cautiously."
After another pause, Robby said, "Even with a full moon, which we'll not have again for weeks, I doubt if we can see well enough to avoid Damar who may be guarding the way."
"I do not think they lay in wait as if to spring a trap for us," Ashlord said. "Not yet, anyway, for I doubt if the outposts yet know of our coming. Likely their posts and waypoints will be lit by cooking fires and lamps for us to see well before they see us. And it is unlikely that they have reason to move around at night."
"It is this way," Ullin took up. "We must move with as little sound as possible, you know how noise carries at night. But we must move quickly, too. With luck, we may pass through the Damar as they sleep. Surely they won't expect night travelers. We need to put these mountains behind us as soon as possible and get out onto the open plain, beyond the reach of Damar and Tracia."
"When do we leave?" Sheila asked.
"I think we should stay here tonight and all of tomorrow, resting as we may. Then set out in earnest tomorrow night, well rested."
It was quickly agreed upon, and gladly, too, for they were tired and sore enough for as much rest as they could get. Soon all were asleep again and Ullin, too, stretched out. Ashlord, as ever, did not sleep, but propped himself against a tree and stared open-eyed into his enigmatic thoughts the whole night long. Only once did he stir and that was when the silence of the still air reached his attention. Ullin stirred, too, up on an elbow, to listen. The wind had died and with it the forest closed in, still and peaceful, and the few twigs still burning seemed to crackle ever the louder. Ashlord got to his feet and poured water on the embers to quench them and stirred the hissing remains.
"It will not do for our smoke to be seen in this still air," he said to Ullin, "and dawn is but a half-hour away."
Ullin nodded and went back to sleep, pulling his blanket up around his chin.
Some four hours later, Robby woke stiff and full of aches in places he did not know could ache. Ashlord was still leaning against the tree, his eyes open but with a distant gaze. Sunlight angled down through the tree limbs. Ullin was gone.
"To scout the best way for us," Ashlord told him. "There is some cold sausage and cheese there. Alas, no coffee. We do not chance the smoke. But there is a flask of Fetch beside my saddlebag."
Robby ate his sausage and cheese and chased it with a few swallows of the strong sweet liquor that was a specialty of Barley, one used for everything from wounds and sore teeth to nose-colds and wedding toasts. He coughed inadvertently at the last swallow, but nodded and said his thank you to Ashlord, feeling the warmth of the drink going through him.
"You should move around some, stretch your legs," Ashlord told him. "But do not wander far. You should take as much rest as you can. Our nights will be long ones from here on, and the days are getting shorter."
Robby did as he was told, and so did everyone else in turns as they rose and eventually went back to their bedrolls, except for Ibin who was less inclined to stretch and more inclined to eat. But Ashlord kindly told him that he must do with a bit less so that they might all eat again from their rations in the evening before starting out.
"Inthe, intheevening?" asked Ibin, holding up a sausage hesitantly, near his mouth, looking at it as if he had never seen one before.
"Yes, and until then you must rest quietly so as to need very little."
"I, I, Isee. RestsoIdon'tgethungry," he said, the sausage still poised tantalizingly close to his mouth. He slowly and carefully placed it back into the victuals bag and licked his fingers. Then he slapped his knees and stood up from his crouched position and exerted himself through several exaggerated stretches.
Sheila came to eat when Ibin went to pet the horses, and she took only one piece of sausage and a bit of cheese.
"Surely that is not enough to sustain you," Ashlord said, though he knew that in truth she was more accustomed to privation and hardship than any of them and bore it better, too, with never a complaint. Since leaving childhood, she never had that skin and bone look that many other poor youths displayed, but kept herself trimmed out nicely with never a look of lankiness for one of her height. When she came to live with Ashlord, he nearly spoiled her with food, sensing that he could at least provide regular meals that she never had before. But her constitution, and her discipline, needed little and never was she one to gorge herself. She ate when she was hungry and did not eat for the mere pleasure of it. No wonder she was so strong.
"This will do," she said, simply.
"Very well. Will you give Billy a nudge, for the sake of peace?"
Billy, who had been snoring and sawing logs most emphatically, gave a growling snort, sniffed long and loudly and opened his eyes at the no
t so gentle nudging of Sheila's foot as she passed by.
"What?" he said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"Food," she said. He instantly got to his feet to take his meager meal and then a hearty swallow from Ashlord's flask, chasing that with many gulps from the water flask. While he was doing so, Robby finished his walk around the area and settled back onto his bedroll with Sheila sitting beside him on hers.
"What do you think about traveling at night?" she asked him.
"Well, I think it's best," he said. "With Ullin scouting out a good start, and with his knowledge and experience, and that of Ashlord, I think we'll be fine. I wish Certina would return, though how she'll ever find us is beyond me. She might help us find a good way onward. I think she acts as his little spy, sometimes."
"Yes, and more, maybe. He once told me, or rather implied, that they've been together for a very long time. Still, she cannot be everywhere, can she? If she was here, how might she help? Even with all of Ashlord's wit and caution, and with Certina looking out, the Redvest army coming through the Boggy Wood took Ashlord completely unawares, and I know he does not forgive himself for missing that. I heard him say as much to your father on the day they took Passdale, apologizing deeply and saying that with earlier warning we could have held them off at the bridge at Tulith Attis."
"Hmm. I never thought of that. I bet Ashlord does feel badly about it. Goodness! But even he can't be looking everywhere at once, I suppose, even with Certina's help. I feel for him and understand how anguished he must be. Still, I have no doubt he will guide us by night better than we would do otherwise. I just wish Certina was back and that Lady Moon was bolder."
• • •
The company spent the day dozing and eating lightly between naps. Sheila took time during one of her waking periods to peruse the little book that Mr. Broadweed had given her as they departed Janhaven. She sat in a beam of sunlight with her back against a tree, and surprised herself that she had little difficulty with the writing in the book. Some of the words were familiar to her, lyrics to common songs sung at Firefeast Time, or at Winter Solstice, and some weaving songs sung by Frizella at her loom. Others were entirely new to her, from far places like Glareth, Altoria, and Vanara. She marveled at the beauty of the words and how clearly they spoke of love and adventure, of springtime and playtime, and of wistful loneliness. It occurred to her that Mr. Broadweed was a keen teacher indeed, to have known that she, a girl he hardly knew, had the ability to read and comprehend the contents of this book. But she owed so much of that to Robby and much, too, to Ashlord who had continued and intensified her lessons. She was still reading late that afternoon when Ullin rejoined them and reported finding a suitable way for them, not too far off.
"I suggest we move before it is entirely dark. You know how fast it comes in wooded mountains. We need to go uphill for about an hour before making the roadway."
In fact, it took them nearly two hours, uphill, indeed, carefully guiding and encouraging the horses and each other, zigzagging upward through dense trees and through a particularly nasty stretch of blackberry bushes. After an hour and a half, the sky over the mountaintops still glowed a royal blue, but below the way was already in night-time shadow and the final furlong was a great struggle to them, as it grew steeper and darker. At last they broke onto a narrow road, more like a path, and fell about panting as the waterskin was passed around.
Ullin gave them a few minutes, then said, "Let us make the most of the night," and they climbed to their saddles without complaint.
The forest road was narrow but well marked, and they had no difficulty seeing their way as it alternately climbed and descended around the mountainsides. Ashlord, Ullin, and Robby went first, with Ibin and the pack animals behind, followed by Billy and Sheila. Though the pair at the rear kept as close in line as they could, such were the turns and twists that often Sheila could not see the leaders of the train. Sometimes, at a rising switchback, Robby could look down and see Sheila and Billy below, and on the descending turns, Sheila could catch sight of the leaders, going in the opposite direction below. Though there was hardly a straight way for more than a few feet, and the road traversed steep mountainsides, they managed easily enough for several hours, going quickly but with caution through the murky shadows and pale starlight. When Lady Moon at last cleared the heights behind them, her light helped immensely, and they found greater confidence in their footings. Hour passed hour and the night grew cool and misty until Ashlord called them to a halt, and Ullin pointed to a likely place where they could move away from the road and seek a camping spot to await the dawn and pass the day.
• • •
As Robby and his companions began their night of travel, Certina had just ended her days of flight and delivered the message that Ashlord charged her with. But it sorely tried her patience. She had a natural tendency to be ill-tempered as far as dispositions go, with a fair dose of haughtiness in her attitude. Though her long association with Ashlord did serve to mellow these aspects of her character, it did not take much to make her irritable, and any separation from Ashlord, in time or distance, was usually enough. Indeed, if it had not been for her anxiety to carry out Ashlord's wishes, to deliver his message and wait for one to return to him, she may well have given up. But the only thing she could abide less than frivolity was the prospect of disappointing Ashlord. Still, she had much to put up with, and with growing exasperation she tried the window, the door, even the chimney, fluttering in a very un-owl-like manner about the gardens and the branches looking for her chance. Raynor did not seem to be aware of her at all. She could clearly see him there, on the other side of the latched window, hunched over his desk, reading, reading, reading, shuffling papers, scratching out notes, and reading and reading. Once, she even tried flying straight into the window with as much force as such a little creature as she could bring. But all of her five inches from head to tail barely rattled the glass, and Raynor did no more than turn his head slightly. Finally, he lit his pipe and stood by the window. At last, he swung it open to let out the smoke and to gaze across the rooftops of the sleeping city. Hardly had his hand dropped from the window latch than Certina shot past his head so close that his thin gray hair trailed after her.
That was over an hour ago.
After the old man realized who she was, and after he understood her message, all he did was pace and mutter, mutter and pace, leaving her to sit on the astrolabe on his table. She blinked and turned her head, following him all around the room, without turning her body. A brown rabbit hopped after him, sometimes tangling him up in his robes, sometimes circling him with various thumps. At least the rabbit knows, Certina thought, that there is some urgency here. Still the man paced and muttered. If it had not been for the bits of meat that he offered her (and that she took greedily), she would have left long before now. But she was hungry and tired, and even if Ashlord and this Raynor never needed sleep, she certainly did, and had not had any to speak of for many days and nights. What was worse, she had hardly a nibble since that barely edible vole, tough as saddle and dry as dirt, three days ago. And her feathers were a mess—of all things, to look like this in the Great City! Between snacks, and while she kept at least one eye on Raynor, she preened until she felt somewhat presentable. Once, the rabbit hopped up onto Raynor's chair and stared curiously at Certina, its nose wiggling and its ears twitching this way and that. Certina stopped preening and gave him a sidelong look.
"If I were just an inch taller," Certina said silently with her chin up and her head turned slightly away, "I would eat you." As Raynor paused and scratched his chin, she added, "And your silly master." The rabbit thumped and hopped off the chair and over to Raynor who approached quickly.
It was then she felt it, and though she always had some fear, the kind that comes with incomprehension, she was relieved. His blue eyes reached into her, his voice, not like Ashlord's, but refined in its way. It was a short message. Too short, she thought, for all the trouble and waiting. In spite of her
desire to return to Ashlord, when Raynor waved at the window, she was reluctant to go. After all, she had only just eaten and cleaned up. Not allowed to rest? To get just a wee bit of peaceful digestion? Surely Raynor did not know about Certina's delicate constitution, and she blinked at him with as little expression as she could muster. She continued sitting, purposely blinking even more slowly, as Raynor pointed and motioned at the window. She continued to remain still as his voice grew shrill, and she gained some pleasure from the frenzied waving of his arms, his swooshing gestures, and the redness of his exasperated face. Just when Raynor gave up and let his arms drop to his sides, she flew from her perch and darted between the ears of the rabbit, sending the creature galloping across the floor, and she swooped up so close to Raynor's nose with such suddenness that he knocked off his pointy hat with his wild reaction, stumbling backwards as she shot through the window.
"The impertinence!" she heard him say as she flew upward out of his sight and into the highest limbs of a nearby oak.
"Let him think I am on my way," she thought with deep satisfaction as she alit. "But I need an hour or two!"
She ruffled herself into a ball and slowly closed her eyes.
Who can say where creatures go when they sleep? But if it is a country suited to them as our dreamscape is to us, then Certina certainly reached that place. This time, however, there was something there that shook her into sudden and total wakefulness. Not many hours had passed, and the coming sunrise tinged the east rim of the sky. She longed for Ashlord, to see him and to hear his gentle cooing, to feel the stroke of his kind fingers on her back, and, most of all, to let him have this message. Without further hesitation, she flung herself into the air and darted away, just above the highest branches, following alongside the streets below, rising over rooftops and swerving upward and back down to cross the battlements and walls that circled the city, until at last she was over the surrounding farmlands.
As she flew off into the rising sun, behind her and so high overhead that they could barely be seen, two black forms slowly circled. They tilted gracefully on long thin wings, soaring without effort, patient and exact, as their heads bent downward to gaze between the thin clouds at the city far below. As Certina crossed the first open field, being no more than a speck of dust blowing low across the land, the great black birds banked ever-so-slightly and turned eastward as well. They made four or five smooth strokes with their powerful wings, and settled on a course that would be sure to overtake the tiny owl in a day or two.
The Nature of a Curse (Volume 2 of the Year of the Red Door) Page 31
