Wylon considered for a moment, “How far south did you intend to go and how many friends?”
Heather smiled slightly, pleased at the man's apparent agreeableness. “There are four of us, and we're going to Falda.”
“To Falda, really?” Wylon smiled at Heather, “Well then, I don't see why not. Our wagon caravan will pass through Falda on our way to Mynar, and it's always good to have more swords along.”
Heather's smile slipped slightly. It seemed almost too easy and she hadn't expected that. She had expected Master Elridge to resist and for her to provide a list of reasons that he should consider. She had even thought of offering the man gold.
“However,” Wylon continued, “We will not supply you with any food or shelter.”
He leaned closer to Heather, and she instinctively leaned back away from him. She opened her mouth to agree, but he talked right over her.
“And if I catch you stealing anything from us or causing us any problems, I will make you wish that you had tried your luck with the bandits. Understood?”
Heather swallowed hard. She had underestimated this man. At first glance, he appeared to be a somewhat friendly old man, but now his toughness was showing through. His eyes were ice cold, with a murderous glint in them, and she had to stop her hand from instinctively sliding toward her dagger. “I understand, Master Elridge.” She managed to get out with a small smile, “and please rest assured that you will have no problems with us.”
Heather left the room and a smile grew on her face. Not only had she found protection from the bandits, but traveling as wagon guards would be a perfect disguise.
Her smile slipped a little thinking about Jefflem, the boy's mind was squarely in his pants. If the boy tried something with her, it might cause problems with his uncle. She shrugged, no use shearing the sheep before their time.
Her smile disappeared completely when she reached the hallway with their rooms. What was she to do about Enton? He was causing problems and they hadn't even left Telur's borders.
Despite her successes, it was a long sleepless night.
The next morning dawned grey and cool, and Heather was talking with Aaron and Mikela when Enton joined them. She stopped talking as he approached, but he didn't seem to notice.
Enton smiled a mirthless smile, “Tagging along with a merchant train. Not a bad idea, although it will slow us down quite a bit. I'm actually surprised that you thought of it.”
Heather fought down a swell of anger. The brute had moved beyond openly disliking her and he was now insulting her. Things were not going the way she had hoped between her and Enton, and now it seemed that it was just going to keep getting worse. She glanced over at Mikela and Aaron, wondering how Enton's attitude would affect them on the journey. Mikela was staring at Enton with a look of smoldering anger, while Aaron was staring at the ground. Enton's attitude was clearly affecting all of them, but what to do about it?
Enton glanced over at the wagons, “The wagons will be nice to sleep in when it's cold or raining.” He looked back at Heather, “I hope that you didn't pay too much for all this.”
Her anger at the man slowly disappeared, and in its place, she found something new, determination. She had tried her best to appease this man, but enough was enough. An idea occurred to her, an idea that pleased her tremendously. Not only could she solve the problem with Enton, but she could get a little revenge on the man at the same time. She noticed that her heart had started beating quicker; he would not like this, not one bit.
“Enton, I have a task for you, and seeing how Flare put me in charge, I'm sure that you will obey.”
His smile dropped away, “What?” His voice did not seem as cocky as it had been only moments earlier.
She smiled at Enton and he swallowed unconsciously. “I am ordering you to go back to Telur.”
He chuckled, “No, really, what is it that you need me to do?”
Heather's right eyebrow shot up, “I'm not joking. I'm ordering you to go back to Telur. You are hindering us and I will not allow it to continue.” She spoke quietly, but with force.
Enton seemed confused, “Hindering you? Without me you don't stand a chance. What do you think, Aaron?”
The anger was back now. Not only was he mocking her, but he was circumventing her to get Aaron's input. Heather opened her mouth to speak, but Aaron spoke first.
“Actually, I'm surprised she didn't do this days ago. Your attitude has been horrible.”
Enton seemed surprised; apparently he thought that Aaron would have supported him regardless of how he had been acting. He glanced at Mikela, but the angry look in her eyes let him know that she was not an ally. He focused his attention back on Heather, “Flare sent me along on this mission, and we both answer to him.”
Heather nodded, “Yes he did, and he also ordered you to follow my orders. So if you refuse them, then you will be disobeying both of us.”
“But you need me.” The tone of Enton's voice had changed now, it was no longer confident, but was now sounding desperate. “You can't hope to succeed on this mission without me. You will need my strength.”
Heather shook her head, “You're hurting us now. I will not keep you around just for what you might be able to do for us later.” She folded her arms and stared at the huge warrior.
He stared back at her for just a moment, and then his features hardened. “Fine.” He took a step closer to Heather, and was now glaring down at her.
It took all her will not to take a step back, but Heather stood her ground. Enton seemed to be bigger than ever, and his features seemed carved from stone. She dimly was aware of Aaron stepping closer up behind her. Even with Enton hulking over her, it was nice to know that Aaron was backing her up.
Enton paused for a moment looking down at Heather, as he did so, he noticed two things. The first was that Heather didn't back up or look away from him, and that surprised him. He hadn't really gotten to know the tracker, but he still wasn't too impressed with her. The second thing he noticed was that Aaron had immediately stepped up beside her. He hadn't expected Aaron to support her over him, if anything he had thought that Aaron would stand by and watch events unfold. “Fine.” He repeated, “But I want you to remember this, because you will regret it. Before this trip is over, you are going to wish that I was there to help, but I won't be.” He glared at her for another moment, and then turned and stomped away.
Heather let out a breath that she hadn't known that she had been holding. “I thought that he was going to kill me.”
Aaron snorted, “Well, if he had killed you, I want you to know that I would have been there to avenge you.” He paused, a small smile creeping onto his face, “Unless I thought that he would kill me too, and then I would have gladly followed his orders.”
Chapter 12
After splitting off from the other guardians, Derek had quickly led Trestus, Enstorion, and Kara eastward along the road, even breaking into a gallop to leave the other guardians behind.
“Derek.” Kara called out from the rear of the group, “What's the rush?”
He pulled his horse up and turned to face the other three, his horse sidestepping as he faced them. He nodded back the way they had come, “Flare thinks that this mission is dangerous, and he doesn't want to know which way we go, so I am going to oblige him. Start looking for a good hiding place off of the road.”
“Who are we hiding from?” Trestus asked.
Derek smiled, “Flare's and Heather's groups. We're going to hide for a couple of hours until after the sun is up, then we will ride back to Telur and pass right through the middle of it.”
Kara and Trestus smiled, but Enstorion seemed uninterested. “Then what?” Trestus asked.
Derek shrugged, “East.”
“East? Not south?” Kara asked, as she spoke, she adjusted a small silver bracelet on her left wrist.
Derek nodded, “East for a while, and then south.” Kara and Trestus seemed unsure, so he added “Trust me.”
It di
dn't take long to find a decent size clump of trees off to the north of the road. They led their horses to the far side and tethered them there and returned to see if any of the other guardians would pass by.
Trestus and Derek lay down on the ground looking around a tree; Enstorion had remained with the horses.
“Do you really think that there is any reason for all this hiding and skulking about?” Kara asked sitting down in the middle of the trees. She was wearing a wool dress that was split for riding and completely different from what she normally wore.
Derek shrugged, and then realizing that nobody could see him in the dark, he added “Don't know, but that's the way Flare wants it.”
Anything else they had to say was cut off by a “Shh!” from Trestus. He had spotted a small group of riders coming along the road. “Down,” he added, although unnecessary, as Derek and Kara were already getting as low to the ground as they could. Three riders and a packhorse were moving steadily up the road.
Trestus and Derek both watched as their fellow guardians passed by on the road. For a moment, Derek could have sworn that the rider in the front had stared up at the trees, but it was impossible for anyone on the road to have spotted them. It must have just been his imagination.
They watched until the riders were out of sight, and then Trestus rolled over on his back, “What now?”
Derek also rolled over, “I suggest we take a quick nap. Once we get moving, I'm not going to want to stop until nightfall.”
After a brief nap, the four of them ate a quick and cold breakfast and then mounted their horses and headed east. It was a little cool in the early morning air, but not yet cold. That wouldn't last long, winter should be arriving any time now.
They rode quietly and at a leisurely walking pace, each lost in their own thoughts. Derek didn't want to tire the horses too quickly, and they didn't want to seem to be in too much of a hurry.
As they neared the city, more and more people were on the road. The sun was up and the markets of Telur were already open. Most of the travelers were on foot and looked bedraggled, but some were on horseback, and others rode on wagons. Most of the wagons were part of caravans, but here and there was a farmer or merchant by himself. The wagons that were alone and not part of a caravan seemed to be from nearby, as they didn't have the look of someone who had been on a long journey.
As the throng of people neared the gate of the city, they were all funneled together so that they could enter through the western gates. Guards stood to the side of the road and watched the mass of people pushing through, even if the guards had wanted to stop someone, Derek wasn't sure they could have. There were just too many people entering the city. Much to the frustration of those travelers around him, several times Derek had to stop his horse and wait on the others. 'Get lost in this crowd, and it would take a week to find them,' he thought. Finally, they all made it through the crowded gates and moved a little ways into the city. Derek was very familiar with Telur and chose roads that would keep them moving smoothly, but he also made sure that they didn't get too near to the center of the city. The four of them had a better chance of getting recognized the closer they got to the castle.
It took several hours to wind through the city. They kept an eye out for anyone watching or following them, but their fears were not realized and they approached the eastern gates without incident.
Derek rode in front, Trestus and Kara rode side by side just behind Derek, and Enstorion brought up the rear with the pack horse. Trestus had offered to lead the animal, but Enstorion had refused.
“What's the matter?” Trestus asked Kara, noting the look on her face.
“I don't want to fight through all those people again. The western gates were enough for me,” she answered.
Much to Kara's delight, however, the eastern gate was not as packed. People and animals were still streaming in, but it almost appeared orderly.
Trestus nodded toward the gates, “Most people want to get to the markets in the morning and they stay until at least the afternoon. This is a good time to leave.”
Derek was a little disappointed that there weren't more people about, but as he kept glancing at the guards, none of them seemed to notice or care. A small group of men to the left were throwing dice, and another group to the right of the gate were leaning against the wall and talking. Neither group so much as glanced at the guardians as they rode through the gates. Nudging his horse forward, Derek led them through the gates and onto the Eastern road.
They rode their horses against the flow of people and wagons headed towards Telur. The amount of people didn't compare to this morning, but it was still frustrating. They rode toward the right of the road, with most of the travelers passing them on their left, although some traveled on the side of the road to their right. They slowly made their way away from the city, and the stream of people began to thin out.
On the right side of the road were farms and some small shops that were doing a good business, and on the left of the road was the forest. They rode along in silence, each in his or her own thoughts.
They stopped late in the afternoon at a village that was little more than a stopping place for caravans. Numerous caravans were already setup for the evening, with the wagons parked on empty fields and the horses tethered nearby. Caravan guards watched them warily as they rode by, but they passed without incident.
“Let's stay at an inn, tonight,” Kara said. It was the first thing that any of them had said in a long time.
Derek glanced back over his shoulder just in time to catch Trestus cracking his jaws in a wide yawn. “Here? We still have another hour of daylight.”
Trestus shrugged, “If we don't stay here, then we will have to pitch camp, and we won't get to ride the full hour anyway.”
“Besides,” Kara added, “My butt hurts.”
Derek grinned, “Well, that settles it; Kara's butt needs a bed.” Trestus smiled back, but Kara just scowled at him. “Kara, I have been thinking about this and we need a story about who we are and why we are traveling. I was thinking that you and Trestus should say that you are married.”
“Absolutely not!” Trestus said, interrupting Derek in mid-sentence. Then noticing Kara's raised eyebrows, he quickly amended, “Uh, not that any man wouldn't be honored to have you.” This didn't seem to help either, in fact her eyebrows couldn't go any higher. “Derek, what I meant to say is that you're the leader and I think it would be better if you posed as the husband.”
Derek grinned in spite of himself, “But you see, I am the leader. I get to make the decision on who is Kara's husband.”
Kara was now glaring at Derek, “You make that sound like a punishment.”
Derek blinked at her, all trace of a smile gone from his face. “I surely didn't mean to.” He assured her.
“Good. In that case, you can be my husband.”
Derek desperately wanted to argue, but judging by the look on Kara's face, that would only make things worse. He noticed Trestus smiling, and made a silent promise to himself to pay him back double for this.
Kara glanced back at Enstorion who was sitting on his horse just behind the other three. “Enstorion can be our advisor, and Trestus will be our escort.”
“Now hold on.” Derek interjected quickly. “I am the leader of this group, Kara, not you. I will make the decisions.”
After a moment, Kara nodded her head, “As you say, Derek. I should not have been so bold.”
Derek smiled at her, “Thank you.” Then without even pausing, he added, “Now, Trestus, you will be our escort, and Enstorion you will be our advisor.” With that he turned his horse and headed toward the nearest inn, but not before he had noticed the ear to ear grin on Trestus' face and the growing scowl on Kara's.
The nearest inn looked a little run down on the outside, but Derek still passed his reins over to the stable boy and headed inside.
The Wagoneer's Seat wasn't that bad looking on the inside, and some truly wonderful smells were coming from the kit
chen. Derek's stomach growled and he realized that he hadn't eaten since morning.
The front door opened into the common room, and it was already full of people, rough looking men for the most part. In fact, the only women that he saw were the serving maids who were running back and forth looking thoroughly disheveled. The noise was almost overwhelming, as everyone seemed to be talking at once. A man stood at the far end of the common room, and seemed to be telling a story, although Derek couldn't hear a word of it. The people sitting right next to the story-teller probably couldn't hear his story. There were two doorways opposite the main entrance. The door to the right was the door that the serving maids kept running through, and presumably led to the kitchens. He led them through the door on the left, and was grateful when the swinging door closed behind them, cutting off most of the sound.
A middle-aged man sat behind a desk on the right side of the small room, and a stairwell led up at the end of the room. “Greetings, I'm Harold and I own the place. What can I do for you?” The man asked. He was a round man with a long white apron that just covered his swelling belly. His dark black hair was going gray in his sideburns, but his thick mustache was still jet black.
Derek smiled, “We would like two rooms for the night. One with two beds, and,” He didn't get to finish the sentence, because Harold interrupted him.
“Don't have two rooms left, only got one left, and it has a small bed.”
“Oh, I see.” Derek said, trying not to be grouchy with the man, “Could you recommend another inn that might have more rooms?”
Harold shook his head, “A lot of caravans coming through lately and all the rooms fill up fast. You're lucky that I still have one.”
Glancing at the others, and sighing, Derek asked how much.
Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series Page 22