by Don P. Bick
Chapter 20
The afternoon air was heavy and cool as they proceeded through the woods. It smelled like it was about to rain any minute. They were very near Nemaris and the closer they got the more cautious they became. The trip had been uneventful since their battle with the large insects. Once they were well away from the swamps they made good time, after a much needed rest from that ordeal.
They expected to be ambushed as they got near the village of Nemaris in the same manner as they were at Statmer. The Guardians would certainly think they could be headed here. The three Martian guards stayed well out in front of the rest of the group, constantly on the lookout for anything suspicious.
Their plan was for Twil to go into the village and locate the Uranian. The rest of them would stay in the woods together. Each of them longingly wished they could go into town and jump in a hot bath, not to mention eat a home cooked meal. The meals they had been fixing for themselves on the trail weren't that bad, but there was still something to be said about food cooked at home.
They came to the top of a small hill and decided it was as good a place as any to defend in the event of an attack. They stopped there and set up a quick camp. The guards were posted around the bottom of the hill. Twil would wait for nightfall before striking out for the village.
Ve-Kim had been a good traveling companion. Although she hadn't wanted to come she never complained. Camran had walked with her through the better part of the preceding day. He learned much about the Venetian way of life, as well as quite a bit about her personally. The more he heard the more he thought he would like the Venetian life style. He told her when this was all over he would like to return to the Venetian settlement for a longer visit. She smiled and told him he was always welcome.
When it was dark Twil left the camp with a small pack and his weapons slung over his shoulder. He said he would return before daybreak. Again, he was to pick up some much needed supplies for them while he was in the settlement.
Twil carefully worked his way in closer to the village. There were no lights visible in the few small dwellings he passed. In fact, he saw no one until he was near the central area of the community. There, two men were just leaving a tavern. Twil stopped them and inquired as to where he could find the mayor of the village. They pointed down the street toward the small river that ran through town.
Twil wasted no time with further talk and headed off down the street in the direction the men had pointed. He stopped just long enough to buy the supplies they needed. They were out of everything and soon they would have to make a major replenishing stop.
At the mayor's house, as he expected, there was a man watching the front. This time there was also one watching the rear. The setting was more rural and the watching men posed no major obstacle for Twil. Moving silently he slipped around some bushes and used a few fallen leaves as cover, in a few moments he was crouched behind some flowers at the rear of the house. Lights were on behind the curtains covering the corner window. This time Twil saw no open window, so one by one he began checking for one that was unlocked.
The person on watch at the back of the house was far enough away Twil wasn't overly concerned about being seen. He figured the man would be watching for more than one person to show up here and would also be counting on having an element of surprise on his side. Twil noticed the watchman was only half paying attention to his job. Probably he had been there for several days, maybe even more than a couple of weeks already. He was bored and had lost interest in watching the house night after night. That would work in Twil's favor.
A window moved. It was closer to the lighted room than Twil would have liked, but it was better than not finding one at all. It slid up without a noise and Twil stuck his head in to find an empty room. Quickly he climbed in and pulled his dagger as he knelt in the darkness. No one came. There were no other sounds. He wished he could just knock on the door like any normal visitor, instead of sneaking in to an important person's home this way.
Quietly, Twil opened the door a fraction of an inch. There was a slight movement in his field of vision, but not enough to make out any detail, so he opened the door wider. From this angle he was able to see a man in the room across and slightly down the hall from the room he had entered. The man was leaning over some papers at the desk where he was sitting. He must be the mayor, thought Twil.
Twil decided to take a chance like the last time and just walk in. He didn't see the woman coming around the corner with a tray of sandwiches. When she saw him she screamed and dropped the tray before he could place his hand over her mouth.
As quickly as possible he explained to the man still sitting at the desk who he was and why he'd had to sneak in. It was up to the man now. There was a knock on the door. The man rose to answer it signaling for Twil to get out of sight. He let go of the woman's mouth and retreated to the room he had entered when climbing through the window.
At the door, the mayor confronted a man who tried to peer beyond him into the room. The man said he had heard a scream and had come to help. His wife was picking up the tray she had dropped while the mayor was pleasantly explaining, with a chuckle, that his wife thought she had seen something run across the floor and it frightened her.
The mayor asked if the man was just walking by and whether he could help him with directions. The man said he was just walking by but didn't need any help. The mayor said a cheerful goodnight and closed the door.
After he was sure the man had left the porch, the mayor went down the hall to one of the dark rooms and peered out the window. He could see the man from the door standing partly concealed behind a bush about twenty yards from the house. He then went to the back of the house and saw that there was another man posted there, looking more alert now than he had been earlier.
As he turned to go down the hall toward the main room in the house Twil appeared at his side, seemingly from out of nowhere. The mayor's wife gave Twil an apologetic smile and looked embarrassed. Twil bowed slightly, apologizing on his own for the intrusion and for having had to place his hand on her mouth. She hurried off to make some more sandwiches.
By the time she returned with the sandwiches the mayor and Twil were deep in conversation. Twil was given directions to the newest Uranian in the settlement. Uri was his name. The mayor stated that if they had guards here they certainly would have them out at Uri's home as well, since he was the obvious choice for the quest among Uranians. As they talked Twil gulped down four sandwiches and drank two beers.
When they finished talking and eating Twil rose to leave, shaking the mayor's hand. The mayor's wife extended her hand and once more apologized for almost giving him away.
Twil left through the same window, this time without incident. The man on guard had gone back to his relaxed position of before. Twil quietly left the woods surrounding the mayor's house and hurried out to where Uri lived. Sure enough there was a man watching the front door. It was now quite late and there were no lights on. The Guardians obviously thought that since the other quest members wouldn't know who the newest Uranian was, or where he lived, it was more logical to spend the extra effort watching the mayor's home.
Twil went around to the back of the house. The house was small so instead of trying to gain entry and running the risk of having a confrontation with Uri, Twil tapped lightly on a window pane. Not loud enough to alarm the person watching the house, but just loud enough to call attention to the noise from inside. A minute later the curtains were pulled aside and a face appeared. When Uri saw Twil standing there with his finger over his lips signaling quiet, he didn't react at all as Twil had expected. Twil had thought the reaction would be one of surprise and perhaps some fear. Seeing a man outside the window this late at night would be disturbing to most people. Not this man. He simply looked into Twil's face as if this were a usual occurrence.
Uri quietly opened the window and asked Twil in a whisper what he wanted. As briefly as possible he got the point across that he was one of the members of the quest and
that the house was being watched. Uri motioned for Twil to wait a minute and he left the window.
In a few minutes he returned carrying a pack which he handed out the window to Twil. With as little noise as possible Uri climbed through the window, then they both hurried off into the woods. The Uranian had apparently been prepared and waiting to be summoned. Without speaking they made their way to where the others waited.
It was the middle of the night when Twil returned with Uri. Camran was on watch. The others were all sleeping, but when they heard the two come into camp they got up to meet their newest member.
Uri was introduced to all the others and they sat for a while talking about what they would do next. Camran suggested they return to RiverRidge to re-supply and plan out their next move. All seven members of the quest were now present. Their moves from now on would not be as predictable as they had been so far. That alone was a relief.
It was only a couple of hours before daylight. Twil left again to try and make arrangements for their passage on a ship bound for OceanBay. He returned just before daylight signaling for them all to hurry and get packed. There was a Neptunian ship leaving for OceanBay in about three hours. Arrangements had been made and the captain thought it best if they could be on board before it became too light.
They quickly gathered their things and set out for the docks, skirting the village as they went. Without mishap they boarded the ship and went below out of sight.
Although Camran could only guess what would be expected of them in the days ahead, one thing was certain, the quest had now begun.
PART II
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Oracle of the Fourth Order
The stone door, barring the way to this key, is opened when it is realized the door is illusion. As the south wind blows and the eastern mountain peak radiates its whiteness in the west, so shall the pass to this key be revealed. The eagle in the west holds the key in his mighty talon.