“And we eventually found him,” Lluanthro went on. “It cost me three silver coins, but I was told that the prince was arrested several days ago and had escaped recently. There was a big search going on for him. Search efforts focused on the King’s Forest, which some call the Raven’s Wood. It was believed he had jumped off the cliff and swum across the river.”
This news excited Thimeon. The further the pursuers were from the real trail, the better. And no matter where the pursuit focused, it was best to know. “That is good news.”
“Well, since I didn’t know who had escaped and whom I was helping, I didn’t make much of the news at the time,” Lluanthro replied. “But I see now that the news is good, especially if the search is on the other side of the city.” He went on to explain what else they had discovered, this time at the cost of six silver coins. Corandra’s parents had indeed been imprisoned by Golach. Both were arrested, at different times, and taken to the castle. Her father had been seen in a cell by one of the castle bakers, and there had been witnesses to her mother’s capture also. However, it was likely they were no longer in Citadel. Several wagons of prisoners had been taken south to Kreavia and Entain on prison work crews or to be sold in the slave market there.”
At this news, Jhonna buried her head in her hands and wept. Corandra and Thimeon both put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Corandra’s eyes were also full of tears. Nobody spoke for a minute. Then Lluanthro finished his tale. “Nothing else could be done. We purchased a few supplies for travel and departed the city with Rammas.”
“Where is Lyn now?” Thimeon asked.
“He insisted on remaining behind to finish two other jobs He promised to rejoin us later in the afternoon. He said that if Siyen goes with you, he will go also,” Lluanthro said. Then he asked the question Thimeon dreaded. “So now that we have the supplies, where will we be traveling to? What direction do we go?”
Nobody spoke. Thimeon knew that the prince was looking at him. All of them were looking to him. From the moment of their escape from the cells, he had somehow become their leader. He could sense that in the silence of the room and the expressions on their faces. They owed him something. They also trusted him. Even the prince, though he might give advice or counsel one way or another, would follow where Thimeon led—even to the Plains.
He took a deep breath. “We will head eastward. Toward Kreana. After that, I don’t know.”
Several indicated their approval. Jhaban clapped his hands in joy. Even Rhaan, who had argued briefly that they should escape to the Plains, agreed.
“Do we follow the road?” Lluanthro asked. “And how do we get out of the city?”
Thimeon nodded at Dhan, who, with help from Jhaban, described the road to Kreana as he had described it earlier in their discussion over the map. “It is some eighty miles to the coast as the goose flies. The terrain is friendly, and so the road runs relatively straight. Messengers exchanging mounts along the way make that journey in one long summer day. But it is certain we will have to travel more slowly. We will not have fresh horses every day.” He laughed. “And I can no longer walk into an outpost and demand one.”
“I think for the first two days at least we travel only at night,” Jhaban added.
Though Thimeon already knew this, his insides still tensed into a knot. How long of a delay could he afford? Perhaps he should leave the others and travel north and east on his own. Or perhaps he had made the wrong decision. But then the prince reminded him of one thing that gave him hope. “The road to Kreana will soon bring us close to the mountains. It will be colder. There is also hope of hiding in the hills if pursuit gets too close.”
The mountains, Thimeon knew, were the southern border of the Ceadani highlands. There were passes into those mountains. A way back north.
Lluanthro’s voice cut through Thimeon’s thoughts. “And how do we plan on getting onto that road? I mean, all of you, that is? For me it isn’t a problem.”
Thimeon took a deep breath and pushed aside his own second-guessing. “That is the question. And Jhonna, I think, has the best plan to accomplish it.”
As dusk fell, the company gathered in the courtyard behind the house. They gathered their clothes—now mostly dry—and readied their packs and gear to depart when it grew dark. Jhonna heard a sound at the gate. “That must be Athgod, my father’s most trusted assistant. And,” she added with some bitterness, “the only one who remained true to our family. I hope he has succeeded.”
“At what?” Corandra asked.
“You’ll see,” Jhonna replied. She disappeared, and a moment later she came back into the courtyard on a laden wagon pulled by a pair of their team horses. With her was an older man with wisps of gray hair, a friendly smile on a round face, and a stocky frame. Four new saddle horses trotted behind the wagon.
Corandra, who hadn’t been present for all the planning, stared at the horses for a long time before addressing Athgod in a somewhat stern voice. “What is all this? What have you been up to? Where did you get these?”
Athgod looked to Jhonna for help.
“I had him sell our sheep,” Jhonna answered as she leapt off the wagon.
“You what?”
“We couldn’t keep caring for them without help,” she replied defensively. “And Athgod fetched a good price for them. He also sold our team of oxen.”
“Are you crazy? Without asking Father?”
“Don’t worry. We didn’t sell the entire herd. We kept his two best breeding rams and four ewes. I figure that Athgod can take care of six animals while we’re gone. Besides, compared to the horses, you know the sheep are just hobbies for father.”
Corandra appeared furious. “What on earth did you sell everything for?”
“To buy saddle horses and supplies. The prince’s men needed two more swords, and bows and clothing. And Thimeon said we should have rope. And food of course. We have our own two horses, Lilly and Clover, and I thought we could take Mother’s and Father’s as well as the extra bay mare Athgod sometimes rides. He said he wouldn’t need it. But even with our five horses and two of us riding in wagons, we still needed four more.”
“Wait a minute,” Corandra said, shaking her head as her sister’s words sank in. “What do you mean ‘while we are gone’?”
“I’m going with Thimeon and the prince,” Jhonna answered. Before her sister could say a word, she went on. “I guessed that you probably would too, which is why I bought you this new travel cloak.” She dropped a package in her sister’s hands. “It’ll look beautiful on you, and it’s quite warm. Anyway, there’s no reason for us to stay here any more than there is for our sheep. With our parents in prison and Captain Golach after us, I can’t see that we could be any safer here than we would be off in the mountains pursuing some great winged monster. Are you going to come with me or stay and help Athgod?”
31
DEPARTURE FROM CITADEL
Thirty minutes after dusk, two wagons accompanied by twelve horses and their riders escaped the end-of-the-day crowds outside Citadel’s eastern wall and turned onto the trade road toward Kreana. Lyn had found Jhon Symonson’s house after Athgod’s return and announced, to the surprise of both Thimeon and Siyen, that he would join them on the journey and do what he could for Gondisle. Kayam and Siyen also, having lost their chance at the treasure, had agreed to go along. The four officers would not consider parting from the prince, nor would the duke. And Corandra, having learned of her parents’ imprisonment, needed little urging from her sister.
At first Thimeon opposed the two young women joining the company. “This is not a trip we do for leisure,” he argued. “It is a journey more dangerous than you can imagine. Our lives will be at risk every moment—from the Daegmons as well as from Citadel. Once you join with us, you will be marked for death.” A memory of the young Andan girl Llana flashed across his mind. Even now he could not escape the image of the Daeg
mon ripping her from the ground. Corandra was no older than Llana, and Jhonna was younger still. Others in his original company had died also, but the death of the young and innocent Llana had grieved him the most.
His voice became soft, and he fought back tears. “Many have already died. These creatures know no mercy. Neither does Golach.”
At this last comment, several of the officers nodded in agreement.
“Nor do we have time for delays,” the prince added. “You are not trained soldiers. Are you disciplined for hard travel and brutal conditions? Can you sleep on the ground and press ahead in the rain and snow? We cannot spare any of us to bring you home if the journey grows too difficult for you, or if you grow cold or afraid, or you change your mind.”
Corandra and Jhonna both bristled at this remark, but before they could speak on their own behalf, Duke Armas came to their defense. “Everything you say is true, I fear,” Armas said, looking alternately between the prince and Thimeon. “It may be that none of us will return alive. We face the same danger as these young women will face. Even if we succeed, it is likely at least some of us will die. But are they any safer remaining here? Their parents are already gone. The crown grows more corrupt by the day. What would now stop Golach from taking what he wants? Or what if Koranth finds that they have given us aid? I fear that we have already involved them. It is too late to turn back.”
Thimeon closed his eyes, but he did not reply for he knew Armas was right.
But the prince continued his argument. “Then we should send them somewhere to safety. Not only do our own lives depend on speed but maybe the freedom of all of Gondisle. Thimeon is clear that our quest is urgent.”
“And where can we send them in Gondisle that is safe?” the duke asked. “Safe from Koranth and Golach and Citadel as well as from the Daegmon? And how will we get them there?” Armas asked. Nobody replied. “As for slowing us down,” he added, now with a slight smile, “I don’t imagine they are nearly the burden to a horse as I am. It may be we who are slowing them down.”
“If it comes to a fight,” Dhan said, looking right at Corandra, “it will not be like sparring with an instructor in your father’s courtyard. It will be life or death.” But he said no more to dissuade them. The argument was done. Thus they departed, riding beneath a darkening sky down side streets on the outskirts of Citadel, doing their best not to draw attention. Lluanthro sat in the front of his wagon alongside Kayam. Prince Dhan and Duke Armas lay in the back, hidden beneath blankets amid stacks of supplies. They were both too well known by too many people to allow their faces to be seen. But the rest of the party rode.
Thimeon came last. What he would do if trouble arose, he did not know. He could only trust the All-Maker. They had taken all the precautions they could. Corandra and Jhonna had braided each other’s hair in a different fashion than usual, and they wore scarves partly obscuring their facial features. If the moon shone full on either of their faces they would still be recognizable. Still, with three women in their midst they would look less like a group of escaping soldiers. So rather than fully disguising themselves as men, along with Siyen they wore long riding dresses for the first part of the journey.
The four officers most at risk of being recognized wore close-fitting hoods, hid their weapons, and avoided riding next to each other. Thimeon and Kayam looked the most like soldiers. Thimeon had again donned his tan tunic from the Plains along with dark-olive trousers, but he had put on a short leather jerkin on top of the tunic and draped over his back a costly dark-green cape with a fur collar given him by Lluanthro. Kayam had removed his soldier’s uniform, but he still wore his sword and had also donned a buckler. Their story, if anybody asked, was that Lluanthro was bringing merchandise east and traveling with hired hands and a larger entourage for fear of bandits.
Corandra rode her own white mare, Lilly, and Gyldan-Jhonna sat astride a young dapple stallion named Clover. The lieutenants Kachtin, Banthros, and Jhaban, along with Scout-Major Rhaan, rode horses Jhonna had purchased. They were good mounts: four- to six-year-old mares, healthy and well saddle-bred. Athgod was experienced with horses and had known his business, though he did echo Jhonna’s sentiments that her father’s horses were better. Siyen and Lyn had been lent two other horses belonging to Jhon and Maryl. While Lluanthro’s hired servant Rammas, who had almost no riding experience and looked uncomfortable in a saddle, rode Athgod’s calm bay mare named Laurel. Had Lluanthro known that aiding Thimeon would lead him on the path they now took, he would have sent Rammas home with his brother and son. But he would not turn back now, and he couldn’t send Rammas home alone.
Knowing they might need speed, Lluanthro had put all four of his cart horses on the team. Of the three mounts they had acquired from the robbers, Thimeon rode the one he had claimed. He named it Tia after one of his father’s goats since it had the same black splotches on its white flanks. The other two remained tethered behind the wagons to be used later by Dhan and Armas when Thimeon deemed it safe for them to come out of hiding.
Some other traffic moved along the road—merchants returning home late from the city in their wagons. Others, in ones or twos or threes, traveled by horseback for whatever purposes they had. A small party on horseback accompanying a wagon would not likely draw attention. Still, Thimeon was nervous those first few miles until he came to the south edge of the city wall and turned eastward onto the trade road to Kreana. Any face they met might be a spy for Koranth. And a glimpse of the prince’s face would cause ripples of gossip and rumor that would reach the throne quickly.
That knowledge, Thimeon knew, would be on the minds of his new companions. But the thought of bringing these young women into danger, and the danger his previous companions now faced, burdened his own heart even more. Still, he guessed Armas was right and the women were safer with him than they would be remaining. And he couldn’t bear to think of the two girls being left behind and falling into the hands of Golach. Or Koranth. He might have continued to argue for sending them off to safety elsewhere, even if it had cost him a couple of the officers as their escorts, except he was quite sure that the two of them would not be dissuaded. Ultimately, he would not turn away any who were willing to help, even if they didn’t understand the danger. The only person in the company whose coming was not entirely his own decision was Rammas.
To Thimeon’s relief, they had made it past the corner of the city to the Kreana Road with no troubles. Even then he did not breathe easily—not until they had gone several miles along the road. An hour east they came to the last of the large estates that dotted the land around Citadel. There the company stopped for a brief rest. They let the horses drink from a stream by the road. The prince and the duke emerged from their hiding place in the luggage and took the last two mounts. All three women removed their riding dresses—which Corandra said were horribly awkward and impractical—and reappeared in riding pants. After reiterating the plan to ride until the moon was halfway up the sky, they continued on, making as much as they could of the cover of darkness to get as far from the city as possible. Lyn looked back over his shoulder frequently, as did several others, but Thimeon saw no sign of pursuit.
They traveled this way for about five hours. The moon, still in the midst of its long pale phase, rose in front of them, a worn gold coin, and slowly made its way over their heads as they plodded along as silently as a company on horseback with a wagon could. Only when the moon had fallen halfway down to the horizon behind them did they stop to rest, bivouacking in a stand of trees about two hundred feet north of the road.
Thimeon, Lluanthro, and Rammas tethered the horses in the grass on the far side of the trees while the rest of the men made themselves as comfortable as they could on the ground, and the three women made beds in the back of the wagon. Within half an hour most of them slept. Even Corandra and Jhonna were tired enough to fall asleep, though, as Johnna pointed out with a self-deprecating laugh, neither one of them had ever in their
lives slept on anything other than a feather bed. Thimeon, however, his mind weighed with worry and still unable to sleep an hour after they stopped, had volunteered to take over the watch from Rhaan.
He was alert and listening when he heard hoof beats coming at a gallop. Pressed against a tree, he peered down at the distant road. A group of a dozen or so horsemen rode hard down the road. His hand went instinctively to his sword, and he prepared to wake the others if needed. But the riders continued past, and their hoof beats faded into the distance.
The next morning they woke with the rising sun. As they ate a hearty breakfast from the supplies Jhonna had purchased, Thimeon told the others about the riders. “A search party from Citadel, I’ll wager,” Rhaan said. “Good thing they were in a hurry. Even at night, any good scout would have found our camp. If others come traveling more slowly, we won’t be so lucky.”
“If there are only a dozen of them, we’ll have no trouble,” Jhaban said. “There are several swords among us—including Corandra’s—as good as three that might be wielded against us.”
“Nonetheless,” the duke suggested, “if that search party came this way because they heard rumor of our travels, then our escape will be much harder.” He pondered for a moment, then made a suggestion that appealed greatly to Thimeon. “There are no major outposts between here and Kreana—only messenger posts with fresh horses. The next fort with soldiers stationed is up on the border with the Northland. We are far enough from Citadel now that even if a small scouting party finds us, we could escape long before they could bring any pursuit. I think our bigger danger is from an ambush, if the company that passed us brings aid back down. We might be safer riding in the daylight, with scouts behind and in front to warn us of approaching soldiers. We could also scout for an ambush or just keep a sharp eye for anything suspicious.”
At Thimeon’s urging, the company accepted the duke’s plan. Though they had rested only a couple hours, they were soon up and ready to depart. They traveled throughout the morning. The wagon, with four good draft horses, kept a steady pace as the riders trotted alongside. Some of the younger members—including Jhonna and Rammas—were tired and kept dozing off at the saddle. Fortunately the road was easy, and their horses moved along with the others along the flat land. There were still signs of smaller farms on south-facing hills and in little dells. Corandra, who knew the area well, said these smaller farms grew a variety of root crops and legumes that they rotated among two and three-acre plots interspersed with pastures for grazing. They also cultivated hayfields and timber plots. They sold most of their produce to other farmers, though some of it made it to the city. However, there were fewer of these small farms with each passing year. For the most part, especially to the south, Thimeon saw vast expanses of wheat and barley fields, with gigantic contraptions like giant malformed spiders standing in the distance, some for irrigation and others for harvesting.
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