by Travis Pond
“I had an idea about that. I was thinking…” Tureis trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.
“Thinking what?” asked Ailish.
Tureis paused. He was thinking about how to say this. Ever since talking to his father he had this nag inside of him. One of the reasons for this journey was to restore honor; that of his family and of him personally. Because of this, there was some unfinished business in Freb. Since Freb was on the way to Kurith, Tureis had been feeling he should somehow work to restore his honor for stealing the book.
“How about we pick up food tomorrow just before the shops close in Freb?” Tureis asked.
“Freb!” Seth exclaimed. “Why would we want to go back there?”
“For one it’s on the way to Kurith,” said Tureis.
“Not really on the way. It’s more a roundabout way,” said Seth.
“I was thinking, Seth, that you and I have some unfinished business in Freb. I would like to start in Freb to take care of that,” said Tureis as he looked at Seth. “We can also purchase some supplies and food from the people there. They really shouldn’t recognize us. After that we can travel to Kurith. I saw an old map that shows a small wagon road that cuts through the Poap Forest straight to Kurith,” explained Tureis.
“Unfinished business?” asked Seth.
“The book and the wooden frog,” said Tureis.
“Frog?” asked Ailish. “Where is this wooden frog?”
“It’s over on the shelf,” Tureis pointed toward the stone shelf.
Ailish went over and picked it up and started to chuckle. “It looks like a frog doing a dance or something. It’s quite silly.”
“Hey, that frog saved us from certain death,” said Seth, smiling.
They rehearsed to Ailish the story of the frog and how it saved Tureis and Seth from being caught. After they all had a good laugh, Seth asked again, “Unfinished business?”
“I was thinking about this trip and how it’s partly about our honor and that of our families. Knowing we stole things would go against our honor. I think we should fix things in Freb before seeing the Oracle,” said Tureis.
“But no one knows it was us that stole them,” Seth said.
“Yes but we will know. My father always said it doesn’t matter who knows what you have done, you will always know it. Making it right is the honorable thing to do, whether anyone knows it was us or not.”
Seth thought about this for a moment. Looking at him, it would appear he was having a fierce internal debate as to what to do. Finally he said, “Yeah. You’re right. It is the honorable thing to do. I don’t want my honor to be in question over a dancing frog.”
“Ok, Freb it is. Then on to Kurith along the old wagon road,” said Tureis.
Ailish looked outside. “It’s getting dark, let’s get going.”
They finished packing their bags and prepared to leave, then they walked out of the cave, unsure when they would ever see it again.
Chapter 10
- Escape -
They waited for the sun to go down before leaving the canyon in the direction of Tureis’ house. There were lights on in the windows suggesting Elis would be home. Not wanting to risk seeing Elis, they skirted along the base of the mountain, staying in the shadows until they reached the road.
They continued east along the road, away from the castle, toward the end of town. The road to Freb took off from the Darish road towards the end of town, and went south. They walked along the road, scanning into each field and around each corner hoping not to be seen by anyone. They all wore cloaks with hoods pulled over their heads that covered their faces from the sides. Slung around their necks and over one shoulder, they carried their supplies in small bags. Ailish carried the crossbow equipped with a sling under her cloak, suspended over her shoulder and resting under her arm, ready at a moments notice. Tonight the moon was out, but only slightly brighter than the night before, making it easier to stay hidden and unseen.
Approaching the road to Freb, there was a lot more activity than expected for this time of night. As they got closer they could see a number of the King’s Guard watching the road. The guards were searching anybody wanting to leave Darish. The three of them moved to the side of the road and stood under a large tree in some shadows observing the activity. When people approached the road to Freb, the guards searched their bags and their carts, prior to letting them travel down the road.
“How can we get past the guards?” asked Seth in a whisper. “They’ll search us for sure.”
“They’re probably looking for Braon,” answered Ailish. “He’s not with us so we should be fine. Right?”
“True,” said Tureis, “But how do we know they don’t know about us?”
At that question they fell silent. Tureis had already been thinking of ways to get past the guards, but up to now was unsure how to get past them. As he thought about it even more he wondered if could they use the Matya. Would that even help? What would he do with the Matya to help them?
As Tureis pondered the problem, he let his fingers find the sphere. That familiar feeling of peace, clarity and confidence came to him as the Matya entered his mind. He focused on the problem at hand, searching for a solution.
Focus was a key to using the Matya, but achieving that focus tonight, for some unknown reason, was turning out to be difficult. His mind seemed to be going all sorts of directions and solving this problem was proving to be harder than he imagined. Tureis took several deep breaths and closed his eyes in an attempt to gain more focus.
Seth interrupted his thoughts when he tapped him on the shoulder, “Hey! What about doing that mind thing on the guards? Just get them to walk away. You know, like you did to that guy in the yard behind the bookstore.”
“There’s a lot of them and we’re pretty far away,” said Tureis, unsure he even wanted to entertain the idea.
As Tureis responded to the question he kept his hand on the sphere. As he thought again about what Seth said, Tureis still felt his idea didn’t seem to be the right answer to the problem. He felt frustrated and was still unsure what to do, which was not a feeling he was familiar with. He shook his head to clear his mind and focus again on a solution to the problem.
“I don’t know Seth. That doesn’t seem like a good idea,” said Ailish.
“You can do it!” exclaimed Seth. “I know you can!”
Tureis shook his head, “No...I agree with Ailish. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Seth was exasperated with this whole process. It was obvious to Tureis and Ailish that he just wanted to move on. Patience had never been a virtue of Seth’s. When Seth made up his mind to do something he wanted to do it now. No waiting and no planning; just doing was Seth’s philosophy.
With a slight edge in his voice, Seth said in a loud whisper, “Why not? You did it just fine last time. Just get these guys to move and let’s get going!”
“Seth!” Ailish shot back in an equally loud whisper. “It’s not a good idea. Just leave it and let’s move on.”
“Ok! Fine!” Seth said loudly. “What else can we do?”
“Shhhhhhh,” said Tureis. “The guards can hear you.”
Several members of the Guard had turned after hearing the loud exchange and had noticed the three people standing in the shadows with hoods pulled up covering their faces.
“Shh,” said Ailish quietly. “They see us. Just act natural and maybe they’ll forget we’re here.”
They stood still in the shadows and remained quiet, just observing the guards. Currently there weren’t any people in the area, so several members of the Guard stood and watched the three of them as well. Suddenly, one member of the Guard became curious and began walking towards them.
“One of them is coming! What do we do?” asked Seth in a whisper.
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“Let’s start moving away...slowly,” said Ailish, as calmly as she could, given the fact that a member of the Guard was walking straight toward her.
Ailish took a few more steps backwards, even deeper into the shadows. Tureis and Seth followed. The guard continued walking straight towards them. When he saw the three of them back up in an attempt to move away he began walking faster. “Hey! You there!” the guard shouted. “Stop!”
Tureis tugged on the cloaks of Ailish and Seth and pulled them gently backwards with him into the trees lining the road. After they entered the trees they turned around and began walking quickly back toward Darish. They looked back to see the guard enter the trees and scan the shadows. Ailish pulled Tureis and Seth behind a big tree and waited. After a brief minute, Ailish peered around the tree and the guard was nowhere to be seen.
“He appears to be gone,” whispered Ailish, as she turned back to face them. “But I don’t know where he went.”
Ailish sat back down and both she and Seth looked at Tureis waiting for him to lead them past the guard. Tureis reached into his pocket and closed his eyes. He immediately opened his eyes with a start and put a finger to his lips and mouthed the words, “Wait.”
Ailish and Seth froze and stared at Tureis waiting for further instructions. Tueris again closed his eyes and reached out with his Matya to the area around him. Quietly, he began to lay down flat in the tall grass. Ailish and Seth followed until all three of them were laying in the grass beneath the tree.
They froze in place, not wanting to rustle even a single blade of grass.
They waited.
Nothing.
Just a quiet, still, dark night. A slight breeze blew in the trees and through the tall grass around them.
They waited.
Still nothing.
Impatience was getting the better of Seth and he began to move. Tureis reached out and gently touched Seth’s arm and he became still.
Again they waited.
Suddenly, out of nowhere came six members of the King’s Guard. They came up the small hill and walked around the tree right where they were laying. The six Guard members stopped and looked around. They were standing no more than a few feet from where the three of them were laying. Ailish and Seth held their breath. Tureis closed his eyes and focused on the feelings around him.
If he could connect with the minds of the guards around them he could get them to leave, but he was having a hard time focusing, as his mind seemed to be in a distant land. Tureis began to be filled with worry and doubt as he struggled to focus. After several attempts to connect with their minds without success, Tureis opened his eyes to see what was going on around them. The guards were now searching and were moving in and out of the trees, walking through the grass, looking for them.
Tureis placed his hand into his pocket and closed his eyes. He had to get the guards to move away from them. Suddenly, a way opened up to him. He knew how to get out of the trees and away from the guard...but not yet.
They continued to wait. Tureis focused on the guard furthest away from them. The guards continued walking around searching the area. Finally, a small distance away from them, the furthest guard shouted, “Over here! I got something!”
All of the guards began running away from them, following the shouts of the furthest guard. Tureis got up and began running the opposite direction, Seth and Ailish following close behind. They continued running until they reached a farm along the road. Before leaving the safety of the trees, they looked back and didn’t see anyone following them. They waited another minute to be sure no one was coming down the road, then stepped out of the trees and crossed to the other side of the road.
“That was close,” said Ailish, as they reached a small stand of trees on the opposite side of the road.
“Yeah! We were laying there forever. How did you know to just lay down and stay quiet? How did you know they were coming?” asked Seth.
“I didn’t know they were coming. When I touched the sphere, I just felt like laying down and staying quiet. I didn’t know why,” said Tureis still with his hand in his pocket. “We need to go! Now!” He said.
Along this side of the road was the entrance of the Poap Forest. The road to Freb cuts through this forest. Half way through the forest there’s another road that makes its way to Kurith. This is not the main road to Freb that Tureis and Seth took on their last adventure, as that leaves from the common square and travels straight to Freb. Tonight, the amount of traffic and guard patrols along that road would be even heavier, making it very difficult to pass.
They hoped this less traveled forest road to Freb and Kurith was a better option. So far it was proving to be difficult to gain access to the road as the presence of the King’s Guard was heavy.
Tureis led them into the forest for a ways and stopped. He held up his hands in an attempt to keep the others quiet while he listened. Tureis then put his hand into his pocket and closed his eyes. After a minute, he opened his eyes and softly said, “I think we’re safe now. There is no one close as best as I can tell.”
Ailish turned around and looked into the forest. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything. Nothing seemed familiar to her. “Where are we?” she asked.
“About a quarter mile or so south of Darish. We’re currently walking parallel to the road to Freb,” said Tureis.
“Where is the road to Freb?” asked Seth. Seth was turning around and looking up at the stars, trying to get any bearing on where they were. Tureis stuck both hands out and pointed east and west. Ailish and Seth looked confused. “That’s not funny,’ said Seth. “Which direction is it?”
“Actually it’s both directions,” said Tureis. “We are currently in the forest that’s in between both roads to Freb. The main road from the town square that goes to Freb is west of us. The back road through the forest to Freb and Kurith is east of us.”
Seth began moving east, “Let’s get going then.”
“Hold on,” said Ailish, grabbing Seth’s arm, “There’s a reason we’re here. Let’s stop and make a plan. There are a lot of guards out there looking for us. We can’t just go walking down the road to Freb.”
Seth stopped, looked at Tureis, and let out a large sigh. “Ok. What’s the plan?” he said, a slight bit of frustration in his voice.
Tureis took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind and focus on what he knew. With his hand on the sphere he couldn’t detect any immediate danger, but danger was close. That he could feel. As he closed his eyes he saw the path to take, that if all went well, could get them to Freb, undetected. He just hoped Seth and Ailish would go along with him.
Tureis opened his eyes, “We need to travel in the forest. We need to stay between the two roads.”
Seth looked around, “There’s no one around, why can’t we just walk over to the back road and take that? It would be so much easier.”
“Seth, did you see how many guards were on that road guarding the entrance?” asked Ailish. “There’s probably even more guards walking along the road just waiting for us to show ourselves.”
“There’s also guards walking through the forest looking for us as well,” added Tureis.
“What about the main road from the town square?” asked Seth.
“Same, but even more guards,” said Tureis.
Seth squinted his eyes and stared at Tureis not convinced, “And how do you know this?”
“I just do,” responded Tureis. “I can’t explain it any other way. To be honest, I’m not sure how I know. I just do.”
“He knew to lay down in the forest back there to avoid the guards. We didn’t get caught did we?” asked Ailish.
“Yeah. I guess so,” Seth said, still unconvinced.
“At this point, I can’t explain it any better,” said Tureis. “I will say that in all of our a
dventures we have never been caught. I have used this sphere every time to get us out of a situation and prevent us from being caught. It has never let us down.”
Seth seemed surprised. “You used it every time?”
“Yes. Every time,” said Tureis.
“I, for one, trust him,” said Ailish. “I don’t understand how it works, but I trust Tureis. He trusts the sphere and it hasn’t let him down. So I say we follow the path the sphere says we should take.”
“Well, let’s go then,” said Seth, after thinking it over for a moment.
Tureis reached into his pocket and felt the sphere and the warmth of the Matya. “Ok. Let’s get going,” he said.
After walking several miles they came to a large hill. They stood at the base of the hill, looking left and right as well as up the hill. “Which way?” asked Ailish.
“Go left toward the east. The main road to Freb follows that hill very closely. If we go right we’ll come out onto the road,” said Tureis. They turned left and began walking around the hill. Suddenly, they heard voices from above them. Ailish ducked behind a large tree up against the side of the hill. Tureis and Seth followed.
As the voices grew louder, it became apparent that there were members of the King’s Guard up on the hill, searching. The guards slowly came down the hill, searching through the brush and around the trees. Suddenly, dirt was falling onto Seth’s head. He looked up and saw the toe of a boot standing above him about six feet. The boot was part way over the edge of the hill and the guard was leaning out into the tree scanning the forest around them.
“It’s so dark out here,” the guard said, “I can’t see anything.”
Another guard walked up to the first and said, “Yeah, Emmett is a bit of a fool if he thinks we’ll find Braon and the three guys that helped him escape out in these woods.” Hearing the guard mention three guys that were helping Braon escape caused them to look at each other eyes wide.