by Travis Pond
Chapter 15
- Border -
The sun was just beginning to rise above the mountain in front of Tureis when he closed the book. Placing the book back into his bag, he sat back against the tree and smiled, taking in the beauty of the spring morning. It was a beautiful day and he’d found his answer. He understood more now than he ever thought possible. It also became clear to him there was a lot he still didn’t know.
Entering the cave with a smile on his face, he found everyone up and eating.
“Where’d you go last night?” asked Seth.
“I went to figure out the answer to our question,” replied Tureis.
“And?” asked Ailish.
“And I think we’re ready to go,” said Tureis.
Ailish was getting impatient. “You’re being very cryptic about this whole thing. Where are we going?” she asked.
“We’re going to the City of Rock,” said Tureis with a smile on his face.
“On the off chance you had to be a little more specific, where would you say the City of Rock is?” asked Eammon.
At this question everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Tureis for an answer. Tureis looked at each of them and smiled and said, “I don’t know.”
Ailish jumped to her feet. “What do you mean you don’t know?” she asked, exasperated. “Which direction are we heading?”
“We need to head toward Kerr,” Tureis said.
“Kerr huh? If we take the road back to Freb and then over to Kerr it’ll take about three to four days to get there,” Eammon said.
“No,” said Tureis, “We need to take the border road to Kerr.”
“The border road?” Braon asked, looking over at Eammon. “Are you sure?”
Sensing something in Braon’s tone of voice, Seth sat up. “Why’d you say it like that?” he asked. “What’s wrong with the border road?”
Eammon looked at Seth and said, “I don’t fancy you’ve ever been on the border road.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “The border road is a sort of lawless zone. Since the road follows the border of two kingdoms, neither kingdom wants to monitor it. As a result it’s a bit of an unsavory area, if you gather my meaning.”
Seth looked at Eammon waiting for him to laugh or even give a small chuckle; it never happened. Seth swallowed hard, “Are you sure, Tureis?”
Tureis nodded, “If we want to find the City of Rock, that’s the closest we’ll get with the information I’ve found.”
After a long look at Tureis, Ailish finally said, “Alright then, let’s get going.” Slowly, they all went back to organizing their supplies and placing them in all the bags. When they were finally ready, they walked out of the cave, on their way to Kerr.
After walking a short distance, Ailish turned to Braon and asked, “Why are we going this way?” It had become obvious to Ailish that they were on the path back to town.
Before Braon could say anything, Eammon cut in and responded, “I need to grab a couple more things from the shop. Besides the road out of town that goes past my shop leads to the border road.”
They continued walking in silence. When they approached the shop Braon and Eammon entered while the other three stayed out of sight behind the shop. After several minutes, they both returned, each carrying an additional bag, this one strapped to their backs with a short length of rope.
Eammon chuckled and said, “I think that’ll about do it. I can’t carry anything else. I really wish there was a better way to carry more stuff with fewer bags. Hmmm...I’ll have to work on that,” He said thoughtfully. “Anyway, shall we get going? The road is best traveled during the day.”
They picked up their bags and readied themselves. Without saying a word, they turned and left the city of Kurith, on their way to the border road. Eammon led the group from the front; probably the best idea since he was from this area and knew the road well.
Tureis purposefully stayed behind the group a little distance, watching around him, observing the interactions of the group. He couldn’t help but think that this was a good group. Everyone loyal to King Seathan and everyone believers in the Matya. Even though Tureis couldn’t sense the Matya with Braon, he still believed in the power and seemed to trust it.
Tureis pondered the new things he learned about the Matya the previous night. The Matya is the force found in all people, an inner voice, an inner light, a energy as real as the warmth of the sun. The Matya also guided and inspired, and if listened to could warn of danger, even save your life. Tureis knew this first hand.
As he had searched the book, he’d finally found the information he so desperately sought and he’d learned about the sphere he carried. The sphere was called an Oracle Sphere. It was created and empowered by the Oracle herself. The sphere was made of pure silver, the most powerful of all metals, able to hold the power of the Matya indefinitely.
The sphere was created to serve the possessor and could only be held by one person at a time. The person receiving the sphere was chosen by the Oracle and the sphere found its way to the person, calling them to it. There were many functions of the sphere including guidance, as Tureis had already figured out for himself. He also understood how it could warn him and inspire him to do things he didn’t understand.
Towards the back of the book, he learned the writings on the sphere were actually a lost language. Very few texts existed that taught the language. The book he received contained some basic understanding of the language, such that Tureis now understood some of the symbols that could appear on the sphere and what they meant. As to where the symbols and writing came from, it didn’t say. Where one question was answered it seemed two more questions took its place.
In addition to reading through the book he received in Kurith, Tureis had also searched through his book about objects of power. While there was no direct reference to a horseshoe that Eammon carried in his secret box, there were several references to objects that helped people with various things. Tureis guessed the horseshoe was this kind of object since the power it contained was not very strong. He also guessed the horseshoe had similar powers as Eammon himself that could enhance his personal Matya with regards to building and all things mechanical.
The horseshoe appeared to be made from some kind of steel that had been polished. Steel was a good metal to contain the Matya, but the Matya would slowly fade over time. He wondered what Eammon did with the horseshoe but knew the object was not evil. For now he would pretend it didn’t exist and tell no one. He could honor the secret that Eammon appeared to be keeping to himself.
As they walked towards the border road, Tureis maintained a short distance behind the rest of the group. Periodically, Tureis would remove the sphere from his pocket and look at it as if waiting for something to change. He’d hoped he would see a message or anything that could guide them towards the Oracle.
“I do have a question for us to consider,” Eammon said with a chuckle. “Shortly we’ll be coming to the border road. Which direction are we going?”
“South, towards Kerr,” Tureis responded with confidence.
“South? Perfect. It’s about a two to three day journey to Kerr,” said Eammon.
“Longer if we find trouble,” Braon mumbled under his breath. No one seemed to hear, or at least no one chose to respond to that last comment.
“We won’t make it to Kerr,” Tureis said.
Seth wasn’t expecting that comment and said rather loudly, “Won’t make it to Kerr? What’s going to happen to us?”
Realizing what Seth thought he meant, Tureis continued, “No. Nothing like that. We’ll be turning off the road onto the path that leads to the City of Rock.”
“Where is this path?” Ailish asked.
“Actually, I don’t really know,” answered Tureis. “The best I can tell, it’s somewhere b
efore we get to Kerr. If we enter Kerr, then we missed the path.”
They continued to walk in silence until Ailish asked, “Is there a sign or something to know where to turn?”
Tureis thought for a moment, “If I remember correctly, there’s an arrow.”
“Just an arrow,” said Eammon. “What? The Oracle’s not good enough for a full sign?” With the last comment they all chuckled and Eammon laughed out loud.
“I guess not. What I read said if the Oracle will accept you, you’ll see the arrow pointing the way,” said Tureis.
Again, they all fell silent and continued walking. After a short time had past, Braon announced, “That’s the border road up ahead.” They continued walking until they came to the road and turned south towards Kerr. Shortly after turning south, they came into a very dense forest. The sunlight was shaded and the air temperature seemed to decrease as they past under the trees.
This forest had a different feel than the others they’d been in. The trees were very dense, even extending up to the roads edge. It seemed a person could get lost easily. As they walked they also noticed a profound silence. The stillness and lack of noise left the feeling very ominous.
They continued for several more hours. Tureis would occasionally check the sphere, looking for any message he may be able to decipher. Up to now he’d seen nothing, but this time when he removed the sphere from his pocket and he noticed a small arrow pointing straight ahead. Could this be the arrow he was looking for? Or was this just one of the random messages that would appear? When he looked back at the sphere the arrow was gone. He placed the sphere back in his pocket and continued walking, feeling confident they were headed in the right direction.
After walking all day, the sun was setting. “I’m getting hungry,” said Eammon. “What do ya think about stopping here for the night? I can fix us some dinner.”
Tureis was walking much slower the past hour. Seth was walking with a visible hunch as he carried his bags and tried to keep moving, but Ailish seemed to have just as much energy as when they started out this morning. Eammon began to slowly migrate to the edge of the road. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and a low moan, just off the road behind some trees. “Ouch, that didn’t feel so good,” Eammon said as he sat up, looking at the scattered supplies. “How about we stop here?” Eammon said with a chuckle and began gathering up the supplies and things he’d dropped when he fell.
The others came around the tree and stepped into a clearing, large enough for all of them. They were only several feet from the road, but due to the density of the trees, when they stood inside the clearing, they couldn’t see the road at all. “This looks as good a place as any,” said Braon as he set his bags down and stretched his back.
They began setting up camp. Eammon quickly had a fire going and with three long sticks and some rope, had constructed a tripod. He then began to make a stew in a pot he had suspended from the tripod with a small chain over the fire.
They all gathered around the fire smelling the wonderful aromas coming from the pot. “That smells amazing,” said Seth. “What’s in it?”
Eammon chuckled, “Oh a little of this and a little of that. My own special recipe.”
Braon interupted, “Oh, he’ll never tell you what’s in there. Just know all his stews are delicious.”
“I can’t wait,” said Seth. “I’m starving!”
Eammon stood up straight and pointed his wooden spoon in the air and said, “You know what I always say; hunger makes good sauce.” Eammon started to chuckle again, obviously pleased with the compliments, and stirred the pot.
“Hunger makes good sauce?” asked Seth. “What does that even mean?”
Braon chuckled and said, “It means it’ll be good.” They all laughed at the comment and couldn’t wait to eat the delicious stew.
After eating a very appetizing meal they sat by the fire talking when Braon asked, “Tureis? When do you think we’ll find the Oracle?”
Tureis looked at Braon and pondered the question, searching his thoughts and feelings for an answer. After a moment he replied, “Tomorrow we’ll find the turnoff, but as far as meeting the Oracle...I don’t know for sure. Maybe tomorrow, maybe not for several days. Why do you ask?”
“Oh no reason in particular,” said Braon. “Just curious is all.”
Tureis continued staring at Braon. Why did he want to know when they would get to the Oracle, he wondered. Dismissing it for just excitement and curiosity, Tureis thought about the feelings he had. He truly felt they would find the turnoff tomorrow, but he was still wondering how he knew that information. It had just felt like the right thing to say.
When studying about the Matya last night, he came across some information on promptings. Since the Matya was an inner light and a divine energy that connected to every living creature, it had the ability to prompt or influence thoughts, even place ideas in your mind. It didn’t, however, force you to think, feel or act a certain way, but merely placed throughs and ideas in your mind, that could be for your benefit. A person still had the agency to choose whether to follow the ideas or they could dismiss them and move on.
The skill to be developed with the Matya was to learn to trust the ideas, the thoughts and feelings. The Matya gave directions, ideas, feelings, warnings, and other promptings. If followed, all of them could be for a person’s benefit. However, some promptings were better than others, and it’s the responsibility of the person receiving the prompting to determine if it should be followed.
Tureis had come to understand a lot of the different promptings from the Matya when he traveled around the kingdom with Seth on their many excursions. So tonight, when he felt the impression they would find the turnoff tomorrow, he knew it could be trusted. His only questions now were where the turnoff was located and would they find it?
Chapter 16
- Ambush -
“That stew was truly amazing,” said Seth. “I’ve never eaten anything so fine, even at the castle.” Seth sat back and rubbed his stomach. Eammon bowed and chuckled, grateful for the compliment.
Braon came into the clearing and sat down near the fire. “Where have you been?” asked Ailish.
“Looking around,” said Braon.
“Did you find anything?” asked Ailish.
“Actually, yes,” answered Braon. “Not far up the road a small group of travelers is camping in the forest. I counted a half dozen with horses. They appear to be from the kingdom of Galaera. Probably going to Kurith or Kerr to do some trading.”
“How do you know they’re from Galaera?” asked Seth.
“One of the horses had a saddle blanket with the yellow and blue emblem of Galaera,” said Braon.
“I’ve never met a person from Galaera before. What’re they like?” asked Ailish.
“I’ve met many from Galaera,” said Eammon. “Traded with many too. They’re usually kind and honest. I have met some spirited ones too, but most of them are very friendly towards Thaven.”
“So is there anything to worry about tonight?” Seth asked with some concern in his voice.
Braon and Eammon stared at each other, sharing a memory with the look. “We will likely have nothing to worry about, but we should probably set up a watch for the night, just to be safe,” said Braon.
“I agree,” said Eammon. “Never can be too careful.”
“I’ll take first watch,” said Braon. “How about Seth takes second and Eammon third. Tureis, what about taking the last watch?”
“What about me?” asked Ailish, feeling slighted.
“Uh...well,” said Braon, unsure of exactly what to say.
“There’s only four watches in a night Ailish. Two hours each,” said Seth.
“Yeah,” said Braon with renewed hope. “Tomorrow you can take a watch. We all take turns.”
Not completely satisfied with that explanation, Ailish looked at each member of the group and smiled at Braon. “Tomorrow night then,” she said.
They all got up and made their way to their bedrolls near the fire. Braon sat next to the fire taking first watch as everyone settled in for the night.
“Tureis. Tureis. You’re up,” Eammon said while gently shaking him on the shoulder. Tureis rolled over and opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was and what was going on. When his eyes focused, he saw a giant red beard that startled him.
“Yeah. Ok. Any problems?” asked Tureis, finally remembering it was his turn to take watch.
“No. All quiet. I’m going to try to get a couple more hours sleep before the sun comes up,” said Eammon.
Tureis sat up and rubbed his eyes. He picked up his bag and went to sit by the fire. He stood for several minutes looking around and listening. When he was satisfied that all was quiet, he removed a book from his bag and began to read. After reading for a while, Tureis put the book back in his bag. He removed the Oracle sphere from his pocket and felt the familiar warmth from the Matya it contained.
Rubbing it with his fingers and rolling it around in his hand, he thought about what he’d been reading and pondered the meanings. Suddenly, the sphere became very hot. Startled at this sudden change, Tureis opened his hand and examined the sphere. Written across the middle of the sphere was a message consisting of a single character.
Tureis stared at the character. From his studying, he knew this character. His heart began to race and he scanned the surrounding trees, looking for any signs of danger and listening for any sounds. Then he heard it, a faint whinny from a horse in the far distance.
Quietly, Tureis got to his feet and made his way to Braon. He knelt down and gently shook him. Braon sat up with a dagger in his hand facing Tureis. Tureis backed up and held up his hands and placed a finger over his lips. He bent over and whispered to Braon in his ear. “Are you sure?” Braon whispered back to Tueris. Tureis nodded and tapped a finger on his ear.