“No,” Seth said. “It’s early morning.” Pointing off to the east he said, “It’s brighter over there.
“You sure?” asked Riyan. Looking at the solid layer of gray clouds, it was hard to tell where the sun lay.
“He’s right,” Chyfe said. “It’s morning.”
“Then today’s the day the Water Dancer could return,” Chad observed.
“Maybe,” added Riyan. “The captain wasn’t too sure of the exact time.”
“Regardless, we need to get off this island before Durik and his men discover us,” Bart said. Turning back to the others he added, “Even if we have to row all the way to shore.”
Riyan nodded.
Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!
A chill went down Riyan’s spine as a scream of soul wrenching terror came from behind them. He turned to look back at the three columns and the darkness of the hole behind them. He was ready to race back when Bart stopped him.
“There’s nothing we can do,” he said. Then the scream died and silence once again filled the world.
“What happened?” asked Soth.
“I would guess they just encountered whatever had killed the old man’s friends and addled his mind,” Bart said.
“But, why didn’t it happen to us?” Chad asked.
“I don’t know,” breathed Riyan as his eyes were locked onto the area behind the columns where the entrance lay.
“We need to get going,” Bart said. “If there’s anyone in the area, that scream will bring them running.”
Riyan turned his gaze to his friend. “You’re right,” he said somewhat sadly. “Let’s go.”
Heading out, Bart led them through the ruins to the heart of the forest. From there, they planned to make their way back to the abandoned settlement and somehow get off the island.
Two ghostly apparitions stood over the dead men by the base of the steps. Both were armored, the double headed falcon coat of arms emblazoned on their breastplates. One turned to the other and said in a language that hadn’t been spoken in this world for over a millennium, “It’s done.”
The other nodded gravely. “At last, we can rest.”
Then just as they began to fade away, the first one chuckled and said, “A fountain.” As they left this world to join their comrades in the next, haunting laughter echoed throughout the empty halls.
The world was quiet as they made their way from the ruined city into the forest. The blanket of new fallen snow seemed to subdue the native fauna into silence. Bart led them further to the eastern side of the island in the hopes of bypassing any other search parties Durik might have out for them. Bart kept twenty feet ahead of the others as he picked the best route through the trees.
Bart suddenly noticed movement off to the right and came to a quick stop. Using hand gestures alone, he signaled quietly back to the others and had them crouch down behind a patch of snow covered bushes. Then two men came into view off in the distance as they passed through the trees.
They were moving in a southerly direction and weren’t heading directly for where Riyan and the others were hiding. If they remained on the course they were following, the two men would come no closer than thirty feet. Still, with the world covered in white, Riyan and the others didn’t exactly blend in.
Riyan kept crouched behind the bush, his breath misting with each exhalation. He could hear the two men talking but wasn’t close enough to make it out. Step by step the two men continued upon their course. When they had passed their hiding spot and were almost out of sight, another party of two men appeared out of the trees further to the west.
The first group saw them and altered course to intersect.
The four men came together and talked for several minutes before each group resumed their search. Once both groups had disappeared back into the trees, Bart stood up. “Come on,” he whispered. “And keep your eyes peeled for others.” Moving out, he continued to remain ahead of the group as he angled them a little bit further toward the east.
Several hours, hours they could ill afford to waste, were spent maneuvering through the trees in an attempt to reach the settlement without notice. Other pairs of searchers appeared from time to time, and each time Bart had them duck down to hide until they passed.
Before the abandoned buildings of the settlement could be seen, they saw the white sails of two ships sitting at anchor. “Think one of them is the Water Dancer?” asked Chyfe.
“Might be better if it wasn’t out there,” Soth replied.
“Why?” Chyfe asked.
“If it is, then the captain would invariably have been contacted by Durik and Lord Eythryn,” he explained. “They might change his mind about taking us, especially if this Lord Eythryn is important in Catha.”
“You have a point there,” agreed Chyfe.
Bart nodded as well. “I’ll have a look around first,” he said as he removed his pack.
After taking out the rolled leather containing his darts, he handed his pack to Riyan. The rolled leather he put inside his jacked and then pulled the hood of his Cloak of Concealment over his head as he stood up. “Stay here and be quiet,” he said. Then he closed the front of the Cloak and vanished. The others watched as footprints appeared in the snow heading toward the settlement.
He didn’t get far before the smell of wood smoke came to him. Then shortly after that the first building appeared among the trees ahead. Slowing his pace, he scanned the area for Durik and his men but so far none could be seen.
Moving out of the trees, he began working his way through the camp. He could see smoke rising from the chimney of the same building they had initially used upon arrival.
Nodding his head, he altered his course toward it.
Voices began to be heard and shortly a pair of men appeared from around the corner of a nearby building. Bart came to a stop and watched the men approach the building from which the smoke was rising. When they had passed him and were between him and the building, he moved forward again to quickly close the distance.
“I don’t think they’re still on the island,” a tall dark haired man said.
His partner, a rather portly man who was beginning to bald replied, “They have to be.
No way for them to get off the island except to swim.”
“The island has probably already killed them anyway,” the dark haired man said. “If we don’t get out of here, we’ll be next.”
The portly man guffawed and said, “Don’t let Durik hear you talking like that.”
“I don’t care,” the dark haired man said. “This place is cursed.” Bart was only a few feet behind them when they reached the house. He kept his distance while they approached the door and opened it. Looking through the opening, he saw Durik and Pyck standing near the fireplace with another man in fine clothes.
Obviously this had to be Lord Eythryn. He was a man of medium height with a face that Bart would guess held a perpetual scowl.
The two men entered and closed the door behind them. Bart moved to one of the opened windows and peered in. The two men made their report which basically stated they had searched with no luck. Durik was less than pleased and ordered them to keep searching until dusk. Bart held still as the front door opened and the two men exited.
Once they had closed the door and were moving away, he again peered through the window.
“That’s everyone but Bannin and Flynn,” Durik said.
“They should have reported back by now,” Lord Eythryn replied. “Might be they were killed by this band you’re after.”
Durik shrugged. “Perhaps,” he said as if the death of two of his men didn’t bother him in the least. “If I hadn’t lost my scriber we would have found them already.”
“Too bad about that,” Lord Eythryn stated.
“They’re bound to turn up,” Durik said. “Most of their supplies were still here when we arrived so they couldn’t have taken too much with them. They’ll be back.” Bart nodded. Yes, Durik. We’re back. How he longed to put a poison
ed dart into him and watch him die. Unfortunately, such affairs will have to be settled at a later date.
Getting off this island was his immediate concern and he didn’t want to jeopardize their chances by killing Durik prematurely, though he was greatly tempted.
Moving away from the side of the building, he made his way through the settlement toward the shoreline. The two ships were clearly visible to him, both were merchantmen.
Neither of them were the Water Dancer thank goodness.
Six men were stationed at the water’s edge along with two smaller boats. Another boat was lying shattered not too far away. From the looks of it, it was the boat he and the others had arrived in. No chance of getting their money back now should they manage to rendezvous with the Water Dancer.
He spent a few more minutes reconnoitering the area before deciding he’d seen enough. Then on his way back to the others, he discovered two sentries posted on the fringe of the settlement that he had failed to notice on his way in. They were stationed at the edge of the forest, most likely to keep watch in the event he and the others should return. With a last glance back to the building wherein Durik was, he entered the forest and headed back to the others.
Making his way through the snow blanketed forest, Bart caught movement out of the corner of his eye. A quick glance in that direction revealed another of the paired searchers heading his way. He quickly made sure that his Cloak was still in position, then began moving out of their path. Stepping carefully so as not to snap a limb lying beneath the snow, he put distance between himself and the pair before continuing toward his companion’s hiding place.
When he saw the top of Riyan’s head over a bush peering in his direction, Bart cast one last look around to make sure no one was around to see. Once he made sure it was clear, he pulled back his hood.
Riyan’s eyes widened in surprise at his sudden appearance. Then his head turned back to the others and said, “He’s back.” Five heads appeared over the tops of the bushes as they watched his approach.
“The settlement is fairly empty,” he explained to them. “Two boats are on the shore with six guards. Durik and Lord Eythryn are in the house we were using.”
“Is one of those ships out there Water Dancer?” Chad asked.” Bart shook his head. “No,” he replied. “Either we missed it or it hasn’t arrived yet.” After pausing for a moment he added, “I located the boat we came here in.”
“And?” asked Chyfe.
“We’re not going to be using it to get off the island, that’s for sure.” He then explained about the two sentries stationed at the edge of the forest. “We’ll have to take care of them before we go for the boats. That’ll be my job. The rest of you head for the boats, take out the guards, and secure one of them for our departure. Destroy the other if you can.”
“Not a problem,” Seth said. He held up the iron mace he had found back in the underground passages.
Bart nodded. “Two of the searchers passed me on their way into the settlement.
They’ll probably still be there, but I don’t think our chances will improve if we tried to wait until they left. I overheard Durik telling one pair to come back at dusk.”
“Which leaves us a few hours before the bulk of them returns,” concluded Riyan.
“I hope so,” Bart stated. He glanced around the forest and saw that it was currently free of Durik’s men. “Break off into pairs when you make for the settlement. That way if anyone should see you moving through the trees, they might think you are just another pair of searchers.”
“Good idea,” Chad said.
Bart took hold of his hood and said, “Give me five minutes, then start heading for the settlement.”
“Good luck,” Riyan said.
“Good luck to us all,” he said. Pulling his hood forward, he disappeared then began heading toward the first sentry’s position. The forest seemed unnaturally quiet as he worked his way through the forest, though it was probably just his imagination.
When he neared the first sentry’s position, he saw where the man had moved into the lee of a tree. The man was staring back to the settlement when all of a sudden, he turned his head and glanced directly at Bart. The sentry stared intently in his direction, he must have heard the crunching of snow under Bart’s feet as he moved closer. Moving more slowly, Bart continued toward him despite the fact the sentry was looking his way. Then, when Bart was only ten feet away, the sentry’s eyes suddenly widened as he saw Bart’s footprints appearing in the snow.
Bart took his knife and threw it at the sentry as he broke into a run. The sentry, already made nervous by the wild tales Lord Eythryn’s men had regaled him and his comrades with, completely lost it when he saw Bart’s knife materialize out of nowhere.
His fear paralyzed him long enough for the knife to strike him in the chest. Then Bart appeared when the hood flew off his head.
Diving for the man, he tackled him to the ground. Getting an arm around the man’s throat, Bart silenced him quickly. Once the man’s struggles ceased, he pulled the knife from the dead man’s chest and cleaned it off on the man’s jacket. He looked over toward the other sentry’s hiding place. It didn’t appear as if the man had heard the attack.
Replacing his cloak’s hood, Bart left the dead sentry behind and headed for the second.
“It’s time,” Riyan said. The others nodded and with a quick look to make sure they were still alone in the forest, they broke into pairs and headed out. Riyan and Chad followed the path Bart had made while Chyfe and Kevik angled more to the right and the twins to the left.
Riyan walked purposefully toward the settlement. When two of Durik’s men appeared through the trees ahead of them, he continued on. “Be ready,” he said to Chad.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Chad nod.
The two men waved to them and Chad waved back. When they altered course and headed toward them, Riyan laid his hand on the pommel of his sword. “Stay cool,” Chad advised.
When the two men came to them, one of them asked, “Did you find them?”
“No,” Riyan replied as he tried to hide the nervousness inside. “They’re not on the eastern shore.”
The man’s partner was giving them a curious look, one that made Chad most uncomfortable. “Going to report to Durik then see about getting a bite to eat,” Chad explained.
The first man laughed. “Good luck,” he replied. “He’s going to have us out searching until dusk.”
Behind the two men, Riyan saw Seth and Soth coming up rapidly. “Can’t wait until we find them and get out of here,” Riyan said.
One of the twins must have made a noise, for the man’s partner glanced over his shoulder. “It’s them!” he cried out.
Riyan and Chad drew their swords as did the two men. Chad danced backwards from one man’s thrust while Riyan struck at the other. Catching him in the side, Riyan had the satisfaction of seeing redness begin to spread as he withdrew his sword. The man whom he struck launched an attack as his partner turned to face Seth and Soth.
The twins arrived and began battling the man’s partner. Throughout the forest, the striking of metal on metal rang out as the battle raged. Seth successfully blocked the man’s downward hack which opened his defenses. Taking advantage of the opening, Soth struck fast and sank four inches of metal into the man’s chest.
He drew out his sword and the man toppled to the side. Then Seth moved forward quickly and removed the head from the man Riyan and Chad were engaged with. “Come on!” urged Riyan as voices were heard approaching from two separate areas of the forest.
A glance deeper into the woods showed a pair of searchers coming fast. Then to their right, two more men appeared.
“To the boats!” Seth cried out as he broke into a run. Riyan, Chad, and Soth followed in a flash. The searchers who had appeared saw them running toward the settlement.
“They’re heading for the boats!” one of them yelled to those at the settlement.
Racing through the trees
, Riyan sought to locate Kevik and Chyfe but were unable to find them. Behind them the shouts of their pursuers intensified as more searchers joined in the chase.
Then all of a sudden they were out of the trees and into the settlement. Riyan had his sword in hand as he ran, for according to Bart, aside from Durik and Lord Eythryn there were still six men by the boats. From up ahead, the clash of swords and the sizzle of sparks announced the presence of Chyfe and Kevik.
They rounded the corner of an abandoned building, and the house they had stayed in the previous night appeared. The front door was covered in green goo and Riyan could see Durik climbing out through a window. Way to go Kevik! Though it didn’t stop him completely, keeping the door stuck with the goo did slow him down.
Racing past the house from which Durik was working to get out of, they rounded another of the old houses and the shoreline appeared before them. Chyfe and Kevik were already there and had engaged the six men. Only two of the men were fighting Chyfe as the other four were encased in goo and out of action. Chyfe held off the two men while Kevik remained behind him. A flash of red and Kevik’s energy missiles struck one of the two men. Knocked backwards, the man went down. Though still alive, he wasn’t getting up very fast.
“Kevik!” Riyan hollered as he and the others raced for the boats.
The remaining man battling Chyfe saw them coming and didn’t like the odds.
Breaking off the attack, he fled along the shoreline. Chyfe made to follow when Seth shouted, “Get the boat in the water!”
Chyfe came to a stop and glanced their way. When he saw Durik and half a dozen others coming fast, he sheathed his sword and moved to one of the boats. Kevik had seen Durik coming as well and moved to help.
“Where’s Bart?” Kevik hollered. The two boats were resting upside down, so he and Chyfe flipped one right side up before they began pushing it into the water.
“Don’t know,” Chyfe replied. “Push!” Together they began moving the boat further toward the water. They managed to get the prow into the water just as Riyan and the others reached the shoreline.
The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde Page 48