by Travis Pond
Each of the other members of the group removed weapons of various kinds. Seth removed Faithkeeper, placing it on his side, fastening the buckle. Eammon and Braon also placed swords on their sides. Nearly everyone in Purromp carried a sword for protection, so to be seen without swords would call great attention to themselves.
As Tureis removed his sword from his bag he felt the energy it contained. Sepi had given him this sword during one of their meetings, but she hadn’t told him much about it. She told him that it was indeed an object of power and that it possessed Matya from a previous Oracle. She also said the sword would help to enhance his fighting abilities, but other than that he didn’t understand any more about it. Trusting the Oracle, he placed the sword on his side as he prepared to enter Purromp.
It took the rest of the day to pass through the narrow canyon. As the sun began to set, they emerged into a forest just west of Purromp. They stood in a meadow nestled in the shadow of the mountain, not far from the entrance to the canyon. Trees hid the meadow from the main road and the ground was covered in wild grasses.
Tureis placed a hand into his pocket and held the sphere. He closed his eyes, reaching out with his Matya, searching for the presence of other people. This was something new for him. One of the books given to him by the Oracle had taught him this skill and now he was trying it for the first time. After several minutes, he opened his eyes and said, “As best I can tell we’re alone here, I can feel no other presence. I suggest we camp here for the night and enter Purromp in the morning.”
Braon nodded, “I agree. We should also set up a watch for the night. Ailish, you take first watch. I’ll go second and then Tureis and Eammon. Seth, I would be more comfortable if you were not awake tonight, wandering around, accidentally bumping into someone looking to collect a bounty on your head.”
“I think I’ve decided not to argue that point. I’ll just sleep tonight if it’s alright with you,” said Seth, trying to make light of his situation. He was noticeably nervous at being in Zummot.
The next morning, after finishing their meal, they went about preparing themselves and their horses to appear as though they were ordinary travelers from another kingdom. They tied their bed rolls and some of their cooking supplies to the horses. They used the extra horse as a pack horse and they tied various items to its back.
“That should give the appearance of travelers and hopefully help us to avoid any questions and long looks,” said Braon.
“What about the kings mark on the saddles?” asked Ailish. “What can we use to hide the marks and still use the saddles?”
“Oh, I have just the thing,” said Eammon. He reached into his bag and removed six thick black burlap coverings and handed one to each person. “These are to place over the saddles. It will make it look like we are just using blankets to pad ourselves from a long ride, but they will cover the marks and the saddle horn.”
Each of them placed the burlap coverings over their saddles, effectively covering the Zummot markings. With everything ready, they mounted their horses and rode toward Purromp.
Throughout their journey to Purromp, Tureis took a position in the rear of the group. He’d been thinking about the journey and what they needed to accomplish. The more he contemplated the task at hand, the more overwhelmed he felt; but as he pondered the things Sepi had told him, an inner peace and confidence filled him. He just hoped he was up to the challenge and that he didn’t let Seth down. He didn’t know what he would do if Seth was captured... or worse. He tried to focus on something else, something happy. A smile crossed his face as he remembered his feelings while sitting on the rock cliff overlooking the valley of flowers near Saxon.
“Hey,” Ailish said softly. “Hey! Tureis!”
Tureis snapped out of his thoughts and looked to his side. He seemed surprised to see Ailish riding next to him. As Tureis looked ahead at the others, it was apparent that while he was lost in his thoughts the others had ridden ahead quite a distance. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t hear you,” he said. “Do you need something?”
“Last night Braon left the camp,” said Ailish in a hushed voice.
“What are you talking about?” asked Tureis.
“Last night during his watch. He left the camp...for a while,” she added.
“That doesn’t seem like Braon,” said Tureis. “Was he sick or something?”
Before explaining, Ailish paused for a moment and looked ahead at the others, making sure they weren’t being overheard. “I thought that too. After my watch, I couldn’t sleep very well so I just lay there awake thinking about things. I saw him take a gold coin out of his pocket and play with it for a while. Then all of a sudden he got up, looked around at all of us and left.”
“Where did he go?” asked Tureis.
This time Ailish smiled. “I followed him. He didn’t go very far, about a quarter mile. He just sat on a rock and played with the gold coin again. He would roll it across his knuckles for a minute, then he would hold it in his palm and use a finger to sort of draw across the front of it.”
“Did you say draw on it?” asked Tureis.
“It sounds weird, I know. Why?” Ailish asked.
Tureis shook his head, “No reason. Anything else happen?”
“No. He just played with the coin and then stopped and looked at it, drew on it again and waited,” said Ailish. “After he looked at it one last time he put it back into his pocket, got up and went back. I made it back before him and got into bed.”
Tureis nodded his head and looked forward, contemplating this new information, and said nothing. What was this coin and why did Braon have it? After a moment, Tureis turned. “Ailish. We need to get that coin.”
Chapter 22
- Purromp -
They had been riding for most of the day. It was late in the afternoon when they came up over a hill and saw a town appearing in the distance below. “Is that Purromp?” asked Seth. “It looks old and dirty.”
Purromp was situated on the border of Zummot and Galaera in the Gauldon Forest. Ruffians and thugs as well as bounty hunters and just plain criminals liked to stay in Purromp, and the location in the forest left it feeling secluded and protected. It made them feel like they were in their own kingdom, which is fitting since they didn’t follow any of the laws in any of the other surrounding kingdoms anyway.
Purromp had a reputation of being a dangerous town, but it could also be a wealth of information. With the right connections or the right amount of gold, a person may find out just about anything going on in the surrounding kingdoms. This is what they were counting on and why they’d come to Purromp. The trick will be finding the information they needed without getting Seth caught at the same time. This left Seth and Tureis worried.
They stopped at the crest of the hill, looking down on the town. “That’s Purromp alright,” said Braon. “It’s been a long time since I was here last, but I still remember the smell. It’s just as bad as I remember.”
Braon wasn’t kidding either. From their position at the top of the hill an odor seemed to rise from the town. The smell hovered over the area like a welcoming party at an outhouse. They looked at each other with wrinkled noses. “You’re not kidding,” said Eammon chuckling. “Makes me think I’m back home smelling my mother’s cooking. She was a terrible cook.” Everybody laughed at that comment.
“Where are we going Braon?” asked Seth.
“If we want information, we’re going to The Ugly Jug,” Braon replied. “It’s a tavern in the middle of town. Everyone goes there and virtually all business transactions happen there. If someone knows about King Hamish wanting to capture you, it’ll be in The Ugly Jug.”
“They should call it The Stinky Jug, that would fit better,” said Eammon as they all laughed.
“You say that now. Wait til you see it,” said Braon. “It’s pretty ugl
y...and the people themselves aren’t all that flattering either.”
They urged their horses forward down the hill and into town. With each step forward, the smell seemed to increase ten fold. Seth hoped they’d find the information soon, he didn’t’ like being in a town with this many hardened criminals. He also didn’t know how long he could tolerate the smell.
They entered the center of town, dismounted and tied their horses to a hitching post outside one of the shops. The shop owner looked their way, then turned back, apparently not interested in the newcomers. So far their disguise seemed to be working.
The center of town was set up in a circle. A wide street came in from the north and ended in a large circular cul-de-sac. Shops lined the street and around the circle. Positioned in the center of the cul-de-sac was a large tavern. The outside of the tavern was covered in very old and tattered wood making it appear run down.
“Seth, Ailish and Eammon, you stay here and out of sight,” said Braon. “Tureis, you and I will go in and see what we can find out.” Seth nodded and moved to stand between two horses, in an attempt to stay out of sight. He pulled his hood up over his head and kept his face down. Eammon walked around between the horses, making sure the packs were tied down.
“I should come with you,” said Ailish. “I can find out things you won’t be able to.”
“No. You should stay here,” said Braon. “Purromp is not a town for girls. If you walk in there it’ll cause such a shock that everyone will want to know who we are and why we’re there.” Braon turned and walked away, this was not up for discussion. Tureis locked eyes with Ailish and gave her a knowing look and a slight nod. She knew what to do.
They entered the tavern and removed their hoods. A few people turned to see who had come into the door, then turned away uninterested. The inside of the tavern was not a pretty place. Broken glass littered the floors. There were broken chairs and smashed tables stacked in piles in one corner. Large ugly men drinking some kind of ale sat at tables talking loudly. The tavern had the same odor as the town, but mixed with sweat and heat from all the bodies in the room.
Tureis and Braon found an old broken table and two chairs in a corner and sat down. From here they surveyed the room. Braon sat erect concentrating on a certain person sitting at the end of the bar. He removed a gold coin from his pocket and rolled it over his knuckles as he stared at the person.
Tureis kept his hand in his pocket holding the sphere. “Do you know that person?” asked Tureis.
The question brought Braon out of his trance and he looked at Tureis. “Huh?” he replied.
“That man at the bar, on the end,” Tureis said, gesturing in the direction of the bar. “You’re staring at him. Do you know him?”
“I think so. He looks familiar. I’m trying to figure out why,” said Braon. He continued rolling the coin over his knuckles. Then without a word, he stopped rolling the coin and held it in his palm. He looked at the coin and put it back into his pocket. “I remember where I know him from,” he said. “That’s Pol Scalaid. He’s a traveling merchant I’ve seen in Thaven. Occasionally he’s a merchant for hire, if you know what I mean. He used to be in King Hamish’s Guard. He may have some information. I’ll go talk to him and see what he knows. You stay here.”
Braon stood and walked over toward the man sitting at the bar. As he did so, a person wearing a long dark cloak and hood moved in front of Braon, pushing him in the shoulder, causing him to change his course. Braon staggered slightly for a moment but then continued straight toward the man at the bar.
Tureis looked at Pol, studying him. Pol Scalaid was sitting at the end of the bar, eating something from a bowl and drinking a large mug of ale. He was a large muscular bald man, and from the way people were giving him a wide berth, he appeared to be well respected...or feared.
Braon approached Pol, they shook hands and began talking. Tureis looked around him and noticed one member of Hamish’s Guard sitting behind him. He was talking to another person in hushed tones. Tureis closed his eyes and concentrated on the conversation. He gripped the sphere tightly, focusing on their voices using his Matya to enhance his own hearing.
“Yes,” the guard said. “That’s right. The King said it would be that much.
“Just for the Crown Prince—alive?” the second man said. “What if he’s dead...just askin?”
“Nothing if he’s dead,” said the guard very seriously. “And if King Hamish finds out you killed him, he’ll hang you.”
“Do you know where to look for him?” asked the second man.
“I heard just today that he was seen in the forest near here. Didn’t hear which way he was going. Also he’s with four other people. Two guys that can fight and two others.”
Tureis sat up straight. Who had seen them? How did Hamish’s Guard know they were in the forest and who was in their group? Tureis reflected on the people they passed on the road today. There weren’t many, and no one stopped them to talk or even gave them a second look. It just didn’t make any sense.
“What about the other guys? What if they happen to die in the process?” asked the second man with a wicked smile.
“That’s the fun part,” said the guard. “The King only wants the Crown Prince. He wants all the others dead. If you get the Crown Prince and can prove you killed the others, you get an extra bag of gold.” The men went back to eating and the conversation shifted to another subject.
Tureis returned his attention to Pol and Braon at the end of the bar. Their conversation seemed to be taking on a more private nature as they were both leaning in, talking in hushed tones. Occasionally Pol would look up and scan the room, then look back, continuing the conversation.
The conversation between Pol and Braon began gathering attention. From his table in the corner of the room, Tureis had a great vantage point and could see the entire room, as well as the exit doors and the bar. Tureis watched as slowly more and more men began entering through the doors, milling about around the outer walls. Others in the room had noticed the men entering the tavern and quickly got up and exited the bar.
The shift in people in the tavern was slow and appeared deliberate, leaving Tureis with an uneasy feeling. Tureis counted a dozen men standing around the edge of the room with more and more people leaving. It didn’t take long for the bartender to see what was happening as well. Quickly, he cleared off the bar of all things made of glass and left the bar unattended.
Now there were about a dozen men around the edges of the room. Pol and Braon seemed to be completely oblivious to the change as they were still engaged in a deep conversation. As soon as the last person left the tavern, Pol stood and the conversation stopped. Braon looked around and realized what had happened. He turned to Pol and pointed a hard finger at him and said sternly, “You set me up!”
Pol just smiled and said in a gruff voice, “I know he’s around here somewhere. You will give him to me...one way or another!”
“I can’t believe you did this to me!” shouted Braon. He removed his sword and raised it level at Pol. Pol slowly removed the sword from his side and stood to face Braon. The men along the wall reacted to the action of their leader and raised their various weapons and began shouting.
Braon looked around surprised. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized he was surrounded by a dozen angry men brandishing an assortment of weapons and possessing a real desire to use them on him.
During this exchange, Tureis removed an eighteen inch steel rod from his bag and pushed it up his sleeve, keeping the end of the rod in the palm of his hand. As the tension level in the room increased, Tureis moved into the corner of the room, concentrating on the events as they unfolded.
Braon looked around again and lowered his sword slightly. Pol raised his hand in the air and the men standing on the walls around the room advanced toward Braon, surrounding him. This caused Braon
to chuckle a little. “You think I can’t take these guys?” he said in a mocking tone. “What is this?”
Pol shouted, “I know you can’t take these guys! These are the toughest brutes in all Zummot. You will give me the Crown Prince!”
During this exchange, Tureis quietly moved behind the group surrounding Braon. He slid the steel rod from his sleeve and gripped it tightly with his right hand and focused his Matya on what he needed to do. Quickly, the warmth entered his chest and he could feel the power rising inside him. He sent the Matya into the steel rod, and he heard a quiet hum as the power ran through it.
Tureis positioned himself behind the largest of the brutes and waited. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The brutes slowly moved into a tighter circle around Braon. With all the strength he had he brought the steel rod down hard on the back of the lower leg of a large man.
When the rod hit the man’s leg, a bright flash of blue light erupted from the end of the rod. The man screamed, fell to the ground and became still. Tureis quickly swung the rod and was able to connect with three other men the same way. Within a few seconds four large men lay on the floor motionless.
This caught the gang off guard and they turned to face Tureis. Tureis turned and ran across the room, a couple large men lumbered after him. He stopped and faced the two men raising the steel rod. The first man swung a large sword at Tureis. He dodged the blade and struck the man in the upper thigh. A bright flash erupted and the man fell to the floor unconscious.
The second man swung his mace in front of him as he advanced on Tureis. Tureis waited and when the man swung again, Tureis raised the steel rod and wrapped the chain from the mace around it. Then he sent a large burst of Matya down the mace and into the man’s arms. The man dropped the mace and fell to the ground.