The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde

by Brian S. Pratt

  Moving to his left away from the door, Bart quickly doctored more darts all the while keeping a constant lookout for the other three men. By the time he again had five darts ready to go, and the rolled leather was back within his shirt, the man who had been hollering from the window had ducked back inside.

  Scanning the darkness, he tried to ascertain the location of the remaining men. He expected one of the three to remain with Kevik. They couldn’t afford to have him awaken and begin using his magic, that would quickly tip the balance against them.

  The estate grounds remained quiet. Either they weren’t moving or they had something which would shield their whereabouts. That was when he realized the Cloak of Concealment was still in his pack up in his room. Too late to return for it now.

  Bart moved along the side of the manor house, past the doorway, and towards where the lane leading into town lay. That was where the three men had gone and his first order of business had to be the rescue of Kevik. He didn’t get very far before the man who had been in the tower emerged through the door. In that brief momentary glance, Bart saw a sack held in the man’s hand. He had the magic items!

  The man was heading in his general direction. Just then movement caught his attention from the direction of the lane, two shadows were heading in his direction. The glint of moonlight off of steel indicated they had their swords out and ready. Bart didn’t waste any time. He immediately launched darts towards the approaching men, a third sailed towards the man coming from the tower. Each was struck and each sank to the ground as poison stilled the beating of their hearts. The poison he was using was some of the most lethal that could be had. He didn’t have much and reserved it for only the direst circumstances such as this.

  Leaving the dead men behind, he headed towards the lane. He didn’t get far before the sound of the men’s horses could be heard. A groan could be heard coming from that direction, it sounded as if Kevik was regaining consciousness. He needed to hurry if he didn’t want his friend to suffer another blow to the head to keep him quiet. Quickening his pace, he raced over the ground with a dart in hand.

  During one of the partings of the clouds which allowed moonlight through, the scene by the horses was suddenly illuminated enough for him to take in the situation. Kevik was on his stomach, draped over one of the horse’s saddles. His hands and feet were secured together by a rope passing beneath the horse’s stomach. A man bearing a club was heading towards him.

  Despite the fact that he desperately wished one of the men alive to question, he couldn’t afford Kevik to sustain another serious blow to the head. Arching his arm back, he threw the dart at the man. The dart flew true and struck him in the side. A startled cry escaped him as he pulled forth the dart. It appeared as if he looked at it a moment before sagging to the ground.

  Bart raced to his friend’s side. “Kevik,” he said.

  “Bart,” Kevik groaned.

  Taking out his knife, he cut the bonds holding his friend. As he pulled him from the horse and helped him to a standing position, he said, “Let’s get you back to the manor before more of these guys show up.”

  Kevik only nodded.

  Bart placed one of Kevik’s arms across his shoulders before they set out. He angled their path to intercept the body of the man who had been in the tower. When they reached him, Bart picked up the sack containing the stolen booty from the tower.

  All the way to the door of the manor house, Bart kept a continual eye out for any others who might be around. But by the time they reached the door, he had yet to notice anyone.

  He took Kevik in through the door and helped him lie down on one of the couches in the front room. “Will you be okay?” he asked.

  Kevik started to nod his head when a moan of pain escaped him. “I think so,” he replied. “They struck me pretty hard.”

  “Here,” Bart said as he handed him the sack.

  “What’s this?” questioned Kevik.

  “Stuff they looted from the tower,” he explained. “I’m going out to see if there’s anyone else in the area.”

  “Alright,” he said.

  Once Bart had closed the door after returning outside, Kevik cast his light spell. It took some doing, his mind was still a bit rattled from the blow. Grabbing the sack, he started to hunt through it to see if the healing ruby might be contained within.

  Bart returned to the horses and counted eight, which greatly relieved him as there had been eight men killed that night. It was unlikely there would be any others. He then took the horses around back to the stable. Once they were taken care of, he began dragging the dead men into the stable as well.

  After the six bodies outside the manor house were lying side by side in the stable’s storeroom, he went into the manor to retrieve the remaining two. He found Kevik up and looking the picture of health. “Did you use a healing potion or something?” he asked.

  Kevik shook his head and showed him the ruby. “I told you it could heal,” he explained. “Used it to heal the bump on the back of my head.” Then his expression sobered somewhat. “Do you think more will come?”

  “Yes,” he said. He indicated the second floor with a nod of his head. “After I take the one up there and his partner that’s down that hallway” he indicated the hallway on the ground floor, “to join the others, I’m going to see if there’s anything on them that may tell who they were and why they were here.”

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Kevik offered.

  “Do you think that’s wise?” countered Bart. “You could barely stand a few minutes ago. Give yourself time to heal properly.”

  “You may be right,” he agreed. The pain in his head had quieted down, but a feeling of light headedness was still present.

  “If you like, make your way out to the stable’s storeroom,” he said. “That’s where I stashed the bodies.”

  “They’re all dead then?”

  Bart nodded. “Yes, couldn’t be helped I’m afraid.” He then went upstairs and picked up the body of the first man lying by the head of the stairs. Once he had him and the other man lying with the ones in the stable, he began rooting through their pockets. He had Kevik go through any bags or pouches which were secured to the horses. They gathered all the items ranging from coins to papers and carried them back into the manor.

  They went up to Bart’s room as there were still coals in the fireplace and it would be a simple matter to bring the fire back to life. Kevik cast his light spell and laid the items gathered from their attackers on Bart’s bed. Most of what they had gathered were coins and gems of little value. Within a pouch that had hung on one of the horses, they found three pieces of parchment.

  On the first one was a map of Gilbeth with Kevik’s estate indicated clearly with a black circle, possibly made by the end of a charred piece of wood. Kevik held it up to show Bart. “Looks like someone told them exactly where we were,” he said.

  “One guess who,” replied Bart as he placed more wood on the fire and encouraged it to catch. A small flame appeared and he began feeding it the smaller bits of wood.

  “Durik?” he asked.

  Bart nodded. “Him, or one of his agents I’m sure.” With the fire beginning to catch, Bart joined Kevik by the bedside.

  The other two pieces of parchment held writing which Bart was unable to read.

  “Spells,” Kevik explained when he saw Bart’s confusion.

  “Spells?” he asked. “Why…” he paused then glanced to Kevik.

  “Exactly,” he said. Pointing to one he said, “This one provides protection against magic. The other will dispel the simpler spells.”

  “They knew they were coming up against a magic user,” he said. “And were prepared for it.”

  Kevik held up the two spells. “These spells are very inferior,” he explained. “No Scriber would ever let such leave his establishment. The parchment they were written on is cheap and the writing crude. I would be surprised if they even worked.” Bart thought back to the man trapped by Allar’s defensi
ve magic, and how he had broken free. Obviously they would, and have, worked. “So who else besides scribers can make scrolls?” he asked.

  Kevik shrugged. “Anyone, really,” he said. “All you need to know is the way to put them together and the spells to bind the symbols into a whole. Judging by these I’d say whoever did this would have to be an amateur.”

  “That’s comforting,” he said sarcastically. Bad enough to have a ruthless treasure hunter after them, now they must be wary of someone with scriber abilities as well.

  They searched through the rest of the pouches and found another four of the magic protection scrolls and six of the dispel magic ones. “Think we can use these?” Bart asked.

  “I don’t see why not,” he replied. “They are pretty simple and look here.” Holding one up, he turned it over and showed a word scrawled along one edge. “The activation word is written on the back.”

  “That’s handy,” he said.

  “Indeed,” agreed Kevik with a grin.

  None of the pouches held anything which would indicate who these men were or who sent them. Bart however had no doubts whatsoever about who had sent them. “Tomorrow afternoon I’ll go and let Riyan and Chad know what’s going on,” he said.

  “It might be a good idea to report this attack to the Town Watch,” Kevik said. When Bart made ready to object, he added, “It would give plausibility as to why I would need to hire guards.”

  A grin appeared on his face. “Good idea. Though it might be best if you were to be the one to report it.”

  “I had planned on that in any event,” he said.

  They left everything on Bart’s bed, including the sack of magical items taken from the tower when they went over to see what damage the interior of the tower may have sustained. Kevik was most worried over the condition of his staff. You can’t imagine the relief he felt when he saw it still lying where he had left it. “Thank goodness,” he breathed.

  “Take it and what you might need until morning,” Bart said. He was currently at the window looking out. “It might be wise if we stayed together until dawn.”

  “Very well,” agreed Kevik. Along with his staff, he picked up the notes Phyndyr had sent him along with another book. He stuffed the notes within the book to make carrying them easier and followed Bart back to the manor.

  Once back, Bart had Kevik use his bed after they cleared all the items from off of it.

  Bart slept on the floor next to the door. The rest of the night passed by uneventfully.

  Chapter Thirteen

  _______________________

  The following morning, Kevik and Bart went into town to report the events of the night before to the Town Watch. His estate was close enough to town to be within their jurisdiction, so felt they should be informed.

  At the Town Watch, they spoke with the constable on duty. “Eight men you say?” the constable asked after they made their report.

  Kevik nodded, “That’s right. They stormed my estate and almost took off with some rather important items.”

  “And you two fought off eight men all by yourselves?” he asked.

  Bart, who had been willing to allow Kevik to do all the talking since this concerned his estate, couldn’t remain silent after that question. Stepping forward, he replied, “Why would that seem strange?” The look on his face was one of acute annoyance. Not only did it appear the constable on duty wasn’t going to give the situation the gravity Bart felt it deserved, but they had been forced to cool their heels for over an hour before they were allowed to see this man.

  The constable turned his attention to Bart. “Now, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said mollifyingly. “These eight men, if they’re the ones I’m thinking about, have been hitting places in this area for months now.”

  “Is there a reward?” Kevik asked.

  Shaking his head, the constable said, “Sorry, no. There was one, but it had been withdrawn a day or so ago.”

  “Withdrawn?” Bart asked. “Why would it be withdrawn?”

  “I really couldn’t tell you that,” he explained. “It just was. If you tell me where your estate lies, I’ll have a squad come and take possession of the bodies for you.”

  “Yes, I would appreciate that,” Kevik said, then proceeded to give the constable directions. Kevik glanced at Bart and could see he was less than pleased by the way the constable, and the whole town watch for that matter, was treating them. Almost as if it wasn’t important that they were almost robbed and killed.

  Once the constable had the directions written down, he glanced back to Kevik. “We appreciate your taking the time to report this,” he said. “You have the gratitude of us all for ridding the surrounding countryside of the threat these men posed. I’ll have a couple of my constables out to collect the bodies sometime later this afternoon.”

  “That’ll be fine,” stated Kevik. “Are we done then?” The constable nodded. “Yes, I think I have everything I need to know.” Kevik turned his head toward Bart. “Let’s go.”

  Bart nodded. They were soon back out on the street, mounted, and headed away from the City Jail.

  “I think that went rather well,” announced Kevik.

  “What?” Bart exclaimed. “I wouldn’t agree.”

  “Why?” Kevik asked.

  “For one thing, he hardly asked any questions about the attack,” he explained. “And when has a reward for wanted men ever been withdrawn?” As Kevik glanced to him he added. “If anyone should understand about bounties on men’s heads, it’s me.” In truth, he had never once heard of a bounty being taken from a man’s head. Unless of course, they were dead.

  “No,” he said finally, “there’s more going on than what we know.”

  “Durik?” suggested Kevik.

  “Has to be,” Bart replied. “Not sure how or in what manner, but his hand would definitely have to be in this some way.”

  “What do you propose we do now?” Kevik asked.

  “I think we should be there when they come to retrieve the bodies,” he said after a moment’s thought. “The constable said it wouldn’t be until later this afternoon. I suggest we get a meal at an inn and then purchase some food at the market to take back with us.

  Frankly, you need to keep your cupboards better stocked.”

  “Sorry,” Kevik said. “I don’t get into town that often.” Bart simply nodded as they searched for a nearby place to eat. Once they found an inn serving an early lunch, they had a meal of roast goat before heading over to the Market.

  There Bart loaded three full sacks with bread, cheese, and other foods that would hold up well over time.

  Once they were back at Kevik’s estate, Kevik went to the tower and continued working on the spell to infuse his staff with power. Events seemed to be moving forward now and Bart felt they had already spent way too much time here in Gilbeth. Now that Durik had located them, things were going to be moving swiftly.

  During the rest of the day while Kevik was at work in the tower, Bart went through the belongings of the dead men once more. He failed to learn anything new, not that he really expected to. Then when he heard a wagon and two riders approaching, he looked out the window and spied the constables on the way to retrieve the bodies. He hurried outside and showed them where the dead men were stacked in the stable’s storeroom.

  Lending a hand, he helped them in loading the bodies onto the wagon.

  “We’ve been looking for this bunch for months now,” a tall, dark haired constable commented.

  “I hear there’s a bounty on their heads,” another with flaxen hair offered.

  Bart shook his head. Taking the feet of one of the men, he and another constable carried one of the dead men to the wagon. “Down at the Jail they said the bounty had been removed,” he told the constable.

  “I hardly…” the constable with the flaxen hair said just as the third constable cut him off with, “It’s true. It was withdrawn a couple days ago.” The constable got a curious look on his face. “Why? After wh
at these men have done, I can’t imagine that would happen.”

  The third constable shrugged. “Who knows?”

  Bart kept quiet. He was sure he knew what was going on. In his mind he figured that the bounty had been removed as part of the bargain to entice these men to come here. He still wondered if his and Kevik’s capture had been the only item on their agenda.

  As the last man was placed upon the wagon, the tall constable turned to Bart and said,

  “Thanks for your help.”

  “Any time,” Bart replied.

  The tall constable climbed onto the wagon and took the reins. Once the other two were mounted, he flicked the reins and got underway. Bart stood there for a short time while the constables made their way to the lane that led toward town.

  Just as he was about to return to the manor house, he caught Kevik looking out of the tower’s window. Bart turned and mouthed silently, ‘Get back to work’. Kevik grinned, nodded, and then ducked back inside.

  Possible courses of actions he and the others could take kept going through his mind as he made his way back to the manor house. None of which could be acted upon until Kevik finished his staff and the other two were Armsmen. He had thought about paying a visit to Durik and ‘convince’ him not to bother them any more. The only problem with that particular course of action was that he would have to leave Kevik alone. And after last night, he knew that should another situation develop, the magic user simply couldn’t handle it on his own.

  Then an idea came to him that may buy them some time once they set out for the rest of the key. He grinned at the ingeniousness of it as he searched the rooms of the manor for what he would need. This was definitely not something you could do overnight, but with the time he was going to have on his hands while Kevik finished his staff, he should be able to pull it off.

  Later that night when he figured Riyan and Chad would be close to finishing their drills for the day, he saddled a horse and set out for town. He left Kevik locked within his tower with explicit instructions not to leave for any reason until he returned. If the manor started to burn or he heard a woman cry out for help, he was to remain within that tower.