by Travis Pond
Ailish started to ask, “Is that the…”
“Yeah. It’s the sphere,” Tureis said with amazement. “It’s glowing! It’s just a faint blue light but,” Tureis held up the glowing sphere and turned around. “I can see enough to know where I am. I think we can continue.”
With Tueris leading the way, holding out the glowing sphere, they continued up the road towards Kurith. After another hour they sat down on a large boulder to rest and ate some food.
“How did you make it glow?” Seth asked.
Tureis held up the sphere and turned it looking at the blue light coming from the surface. “I have no idea how it works or why it started to glow for us,” he admitted. “I didn’t do anything to make it start glowing...at least I don’t think I did. If I did, I don’t know what it was that caused it to glow.”
As they sat there looking at the light, a loud crack came from behind them in the forest. Seth stiffened, his ears listening and his face serious. After a moment of concentration, he whispered, “I don’t think we’re alone here.”
Tureis put the sphere into his pocket, but kept his hand touching it, hiding the blue light. Tureis whispered, “I am sensing danger, but unsure what it is.”
Seth closed his eyes, listening in the dark. He turned around slowly, straining to listen to every sound in the distance. After a moment, he turned back to face the others. He leaned in close and whispered, “We’re partially surrounded. There are two on horseback in the forest behind us and two more in the forest ahead of us and one on the side. They left the path back to the road open and will try to push us toward the road. There’s one more on the other side of the road waiting for us.”
Ailish looked surprised and asked, “How do you know that?”
“Shhh. It’s a feeling I get. In situations like this I can sense what’s around me. It’s one of my gifts with the Matya,” said Seth.
“What do they want?” asked Ailish. “We don’t have anything.”
Tureis touched his pocket, “They want this. They probably saw the light and want whatever it is making the light. Objects of power are worth a lot of gold.”
Seth had been sitting on the ground, his back against the boulder, with his head down concentrating, focusing his Matya. After a minute, he held up a finger to his mouth and whispered very softly, “Shhh. I have a plan and we need to hurry to make it work.”
Seth’s face was as serious as Ailish and Tureis had ever seen. Seth was totally and completely engaged; he was in his element. “How is it that you have a plan that fast?” asked Ailish.
“We can talk about it after we get out of this. It’s time for you to trust me,” Seth responded.
Seth explained the plan he’d developed. There were no discussions or disagreements as Tureis and Ailish quietly moved off to different parts of the forest. Seth stayed behind the boulder for now.
Seth turned and looked toward the area where only one man was lying in wait for them. Almost imperceptibly there came a small sound of something hard hitting the ground. If Seth didn’t know to listen for it, he would never have known it occurred.
Within moments of hearing the sound a blue light shone brightly in the distance. The forest came to life as the blue light quickly moved away through the trees and the horses behind Seth took off in pursuit. Within seconds a soft whoosh was heard, then another, followed by the cries of men in pain hitting the ground and free horses running deeper into the forest.
Again, but this time near the road, the blue light appeared and moved closer towards the road. Footsteps sounded behind Seth running straight toward him. Seth picked up a long tree branch and closed his eyes. He listened, only hearing one set of footsteps. Focusing on the footsteps, he waited. As the footsteps got closer and closer, Seth gripped tighter on the branch in his hand. At just the right moment, Seth stood up and swung the branch with all his might, connecting with something hard. The man shouted in surprise and went down hard with a thud. No other sound escaped his mouth, as he was knocked out cold.
Seth grabbed the man by the ankles and dragged him behind some trees, then removed a small rope from his pocket and bound the mans feet and hands. Seth returned and ducked behind the boulder and waited.
Again the light appeared and footsteps ran towards Seth. He closed his eyes, listened and waited. This time there were two sets of footsteps running in his direction.
He still had the branch in his hands. He gripped it tight and waited, listening to the footsteps getting closer and closer. At the right moment he turned and stuck out his foot. The first man tripped and landed in some brush shouting as he went down. The second man slowed just enough after hearing the first man fall that when Seth stood up and swung the branch it just glanced off his chin. The man swayed, stunned, but didn’t go down. Before the man could regain his bearings, Seth swung and connected again, this time landing it solidly against his jaw and the man went down hard.
The first man was quickly on his feet and grabbed Seth around the waist, pinning his arms and lifting him off the ground. Seth kicked his feet and swung his head backwards, nearly hitting him in the nose, causing the man to throw him down. The man was large with thick arms and before Seth could regain his feet, the man grabbed Seth around the neck with one arm lifting him off the ground.
With the large, meaty hand around his throat, Seth couldn’t breathe and struggled to pull the hand off of his neck. Using his free hand, the huge man reached into his belt and pulled out a dagger. He raised his arm, ready to plunge the dagger into Seth when a whoosh sounded in the trees and Seth fell to the ground.
Seth struggled as he got to his feet and turned around. The man was laying on the ground rolling, screaming and holding his wrist. Sticking out through the middle of his hand was a bolt from a crossbow. After a minute of moaning, the man got to his feet and ran into the forest holding his injured hand.
Ailish ran into the clearing just as the man went crashing through the forest away from them. “Are you ok?” she asked.
“I think so,” said Seth between coughs, as he attempted to breathe normal again. “Just some bruises and a small cut on my arm.”
Ailish looked over Seth, assessing his injuries. She gasped, “You call this a small cut on your arm?”
Seth’s arm was covered in blood and a deep cut extended across the middle of his forearm. Almost without thinking, Ailish took out her bag, grabbed her blanket and ripped a strip from one edge. She folded it over and tied it around his arm over the wound.
“Ah. That’s tight,” said Seth.
“It has to be to stop the bleeding,” said Ailish. “Once the bleeding stops I’ll clean it up and put on a clean bandage.”
“Now that I see it, it really hurts,” said Seth.
Ailish reached for Seth, “Here let me see your arm.”
She took Seth’s arm, placed her hands around the cut and held firmly. Since Ailish had had her Matya awakened, she had come to learn that she possessed several gifts. She was an excellent shooter with a crossbow and great fighter, but she also realized she had a gift of healing. She hadn’t used this gift too many times and had only used it on small wounds, but she had confidence she could help Seth. She closed her eyes and concentrated.
“Oooh, that’s warm. It feels nice,” Seth said after a moment. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “The pain is going away.” Ailish released his arm and sat back against the boulder. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a minute to rest.
Tureis was still standing and had climbed onto the boulder to survey the area. He kept the sphere in his grasp, but left it in his pocket so the light would not be seen. After searching the area with his Matya long enough to feel at peace and with no apparent danger near, he climbed off the rock. “How are you feeling, Seth?” asked Tureis.
“Better now, the pain’s gone. Ailish, how did you do
that?” asked Seth.
Weakly, Ailish replied, “Same as you...one of my gifts of the Matya. I have abilities not only to fight and shoot but to heal as well.” Ailish took a deep breath and leaned back against a boulder with her eyes closed.
“Are you ok, Ailish?” Tureis asked.
Ailish exhaled and replied, “I’m still not used to using the Matya for healing. It tends to make me tired for a minute.”
“I don’t sense any danger, but I don’t know how long these guys will be asleep either. I really don’t want to be here when they wake up,” said Tureis.
Seth looked back and forth between Ailish and Tureis. “So...what just happened here?”
“We got ambushed!” exclaimed Tureis. “If it hadn’t been for Ailish’s amazing shooting skills and your plan we probably would’ve been captured...or worse!”
Ailish sat up straighter, as she gained her strength back and asked Seth, “So, I guess military strategy is your gift with the Matya?”
“Yeah. That and some enhanced fighting abilities,” Seth explained. “I have problems with focus so my fighting sometimes fails. Like it did just then when I missed the second guy and had to hit him twice. I really got lucky that I stunned him with the first blow. And if you hadn’t shot the guy trying to kill me, I might not have made it. By the way, what happened to the other guys?”
Ailish chuckled, “Well, the first guy didn’t see us coming and I knocked him out with the back of my crossbow. I shot the guys on horseback in the leg and they fell off their horses and crawled off into the forest. The guy waiting for us on the other side of the road saw everything that was happening and took off running towards Freb. He’s long gone by now.”
Seth just stood there speechless. This was a first for Seth, he truly didn’t know what to say. His friends had listened to his plan and it had saved their lives. He still marveled that it was his plan--and it worked. He had always wondered if he had it in him to be a military strategist like his father. Today, Seth had seen a glimpse of what he may become. The thought of this brought a smile to his face. He would remember this day for a very long time.
“Well, we’d better get going,” said Tureis. “If those guys recover enough they may try to find us again.”
“Really?” asked Ailish. “Do you actually think they’ll try to find us again?”
“With the way you can shoot, they’d be fools to look for us,” said Seth. They all laughed at this allowing the stress of the moment to dissipate.
Seth got up and he and Tureis helped Ailish to her feet. Tureis removed the glowing sphere from his pocket and together they walked back toward the road, continuing towards Kurith.
Chapter 12
- Kurith -
They entered Kurith as the sun began to peek out from behind the Cossack Mountains. The air was crisp and clear and it looked to be a beautiful day. After last nights altercation with the thieves and a short night sleeping in the forest, it could only get better.
Ailish stretched as she stepped out of the shadows and into the morning sunlight. “Look at all the people,” she said, her eyes wide, scanning in all directions. “This is a larger city than I realized.”
Kurith is positioned on the borders of three kingdoms. The largest of the kingdoms is Thaven to the east. To the north is Zummot with King Hamish Eathain. To the south is the kingdom of Galaera with King Tomas Crosain.
Kurith is a very large city and boasts many inns and boarding houses. People come from all the surrounding kingdoms to deal in trade and sell their various goods and it provides Thaven with a centralized area to export many of their vast resources.
Most of the trade in Thaven is with the Kingdom of Galaera, as the two kingdoms are friendly. Kings Seathan Branagain and Tomas Crosain were childhood friends, and have maintained great respect for each other throughout the years. People from Zummot also come to trade with the other two kingdoms, but their reputation is not one of fairness or civility. Trade negotiations tend to become heated when Zummot is involved and altercations frequently occur.
“I was here once when I was a kid, but I don’t remember this many people,” said Seth.
They were walking down the road towards the center of town. People were running to and fro, in and out of stores and everywhere. Vendors with carts rushed throughout the city searching for the best locations to begin their day selling their goods. It was early in the morning, but Kurith was fully awake and ready for the day.
“I think we need to get some food and supplies, and then we can work on finding Braon. How does that sound?” asked Tureis.
“We also need some new bigger bags,” said Ailish.
Ailish held up her bag. The bottom had a small hole and the strap had ripped. A large knot remained where Ailish had tied it back together. The volume of the bag was also very small, barely holding a couple books and some food. The bags of Seth and Tureis were equally small and ragged.
“I agree,” said Tureis, holding up his bag, revealing a hole in the side.
“I also need some more bolts,” said Ailish. “I used nearly all of them last night fighting those thieves. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some additional weapons as well. Maybe swords or another crossbow or something. Oh, and some more twine.”
Tureis looked at Seth, “What about you? Anything you think we need?”
Seth smiled and closed his eyes, “I need a fresh piping hot bath and a hot breakfast, then a nap on a very soft bed with one… no, two quilts.”
Ailish punched Seth on the arm, “Come on Seth. Be serious.”
Seth rubbed at his arm, “How about breakfast?” he asked.
Tureis nodded in agreement, “A hot meal would do us good. Let’s find a place to eat.”
After consuming large amounts of fresh baked bread, eggs and stew, they began their shopping excursion with full bellies. Seth rubbed his stomach. “I really needed that. It’s been a few days since I’ve had a proper meal.”
“I agree. I haven’t tasted food that good in quite a while,” Tureis remarked.
“Let’s get our supplies and then we can find Braon,” Ailish said as she began walking toward the center of town.
Kurith held many shops of various kinds. Where Darish had a few shops and a single blacksmith, Kurith had several blacksmiths and many shops selling all kinds of unique and high quality items. There were numerous bakers along every street and some of the Inns sold their breads as well.
In Kurith, whatever you needed, it was here...somewhere. You just had to know where to look. The main problem they were facing, with so many options before them, was they didn’t know where to start. They decided to just start walking and see where it led them. Soon they settled in and found many of the supplies they needed.
“We have more bandages and some ointments for wounds and a few dried herbs,” said Ailish. “With all that and the twine my bag is full already. I think it’s time to find a bigger bag.”
“The little food I am carrying has already filled my bag as well,” Seth added.
Tureis pointed, “Look. There’s a shop over there that sells bags.”
Ailish and Seth looked to where Tureis was pointing. Across the road from them and on the corner of a long row of shops was a very small shop that had travelers bags out on display.
Seth looked surprised as they crossed the road and approached the shop. Looking over the items for sale he shook his head and said, “I’ve traveled around this kingdom a lot with my father and I can’t remember ever seeing a shop that only sold bags.”
“Maybe it’s a shop you only see in large towns,” said Ailish.
“Let’s just go see what they have,” said Tureis.
They approached the shop and began looking at the various bags for sale. While browsing the merchandise, the shop owner came out to assist them with their pur
chase. Tureis noticed that he didn’t wear the common attire for people in Kurith.
The shop owner was very tall with long black hair tied in a ponytail. He was dressed in what looked like a dark, long sleeved floor length night shirt. He also wore sandals on his feet instead of boots, something seldom seen anywhere in the kingdom that Tureis could recall. The shop owner stood behind a long table covered with bags of various colors and sizes. He stood with his hands folded behind his back, observing the three of them, not saying a word.
The bags were very high quality; made of fine leather, expertly tanned and crafted. The design was simple, just a single large open pouch covered by a thick leather flap. Each bag had a long leather strap attached to either end, making it easy and comfortable to carry the bag over the head and under one shoulder. Ailish held up one of the bags and compared it to the one she was currently carrying. The new bag was easily three to four times the size and was a lot more durable.
Tureis was drawn toward a bag made of thick, black leather. The flap was adorned with a
buckle that was made of some sort of a silver alloy. Other bags on the table had buckles made of various metals including iron or steel. Tureis held up the bag he was looking at and asked, “Excuse me, sir, how much are these bags?”
The store owner came over and peered at the bag. When he spoke he formed his words slowly, his voice quiet and monotone. With a serious expression on his face he looked at Tureis nodded his head and said, “Hmmmm. Oh... young master, that...is a fine bag. And the silver buckle is...very sturdy.” He continued humming and nodded his head at the bag.
“Would you say the silver buckle or the iron buckle is better?” Tureis asked.
“Oooooh the silver, young master. Silver... for sure,” the store owner responded. By now Ailish and Seth had joined them and were listening to the exchange. Ailish had also picked up one of the bags and was examining the depth of the pocket.