The stable master looked back at them curiously when he saw Jalorm whispering. Thistledown reached out with his yar to scan the stable. He missed a step as he took in the blood that covered most of the walls and floor, as well as horse body parts that something had torn to pieces. Feeling a sense of foreboding, Thistledown felt the ground for the tracks he knew would be there. He sighed as he felt the three-toed tracks of the lizard creatures covering the ground inside the stable. The tracks led into a forest that began at the edge of the stable-yard. The creatures were already several miles into the forest, leaving only their tracks as evidence that they existed.
“Lizards,” Thistledown said softly to Jalorm. “They are already deep into the forest now, but I fear we will have to purchase our horses elsewhere.”
Jalorm had tensed at the word ‘lizards’, unconsciously grabbing the hilt of his sword. Celdic, Lendel, Li and Cha’le had not heard the quiet conversation, but when they saw Jalorm tense up and reach for his sword, they reached for their own weapons. Thistledown could feel their yar racing past him in different directions as they searched for the danger. The plump stable master had reached the stable doors, fumbling with a key at his belt. He opened the door and walked in, and immediately jumped back out with a startled yell.
“What in the two moons happened to my horses?” the chubby man cried, staring through the stable door at the slaughter inside. His face was white and his eyes were wide with shock as he studied the gore that covered the walls and floor of the stable.
Thistledown moved up next to the stable master, grunting as his eyes surveyed what his yar had already discovered. “I have come across the likes of this recently, good master.” Thistledown told him calmly, “It is the work of lizard-like monsters. You might think about surrounding your stables with a larger wall.”
The chubby little man turned to stare at Thistledown, his mouth dropping. “A wall?” he exclaimed in astonishment. “I am ruined! I have nothing left! Even the bank won’t loan me any money when they see what has happened.”
Thistledown pulled a large purse full of gold coins and handed it to the stable master. “You have my sympathy good master,” Thistledown told him solemnly. “Build yourself a wall and I will collect payment for this loan next time I pass this way.” Thistledown had no intention of collecting the money back, but he knew the man would spend the money more wisely if he thought he would have to pay it back.
The stable master stared at the fat purse in his hand, looking more amazed at the heavy pouch of coins than when he had seen the slaughter inside his stables. “A wall, you say?” he said slowly, raising his eyes to meet Thistledown’s eyes. “And how high would you say it would need to be to keep the monsters out?” The stable master seemed to be recovering from his shock at the dead horses.
“Fifteen feet to be safe,” Thistledown answered, tapping his finger to his chin thoughtfully, “and it might not be a bad idea to put some spikes on the top.”
The stable master nodded, frowning as he weighed the coins in his hands, more than likely trying to decide how much coin it would take to build the wall. “I am afraid that there are no other stables in North Fork.” Shaking his baldhead regretfully, he sighed. “The king's soldiers have the only horses left in town, but I don’t think that they would be willing to part with them.”
“Thank you for the information,” Thistledown said with a brief smile. “I think I can convince a few of them to give up their horses.”
They began moving back toward the house again, when the stable master spoke up suddenly.
“The next town over was complaining about monsters stealing their children and livestock.” He rubbed his baldhead reflectively. “We all thought they were getting excited over shadows. Odd folk, up there in Fair Venning, but I guess they were seeing monsters.”
Thistledown saw Seranova shift uncomfortably from the corner of his eye. He would have to see what she knew about Fair Venning.
They arrived at the stable master’s house. The dogs, which the master locked away in the shed, barked as they sensed Thistledown near the home.
“Good luck with your wall, good master,” Thistledown offered by way of farewell, moving toward the main road.
“Oh yes,” the stable master mumbled distractedly, “and thank you for the loan. Come and see me next time you travel through here, and I should have something for you.”
The streets were empty in the late evening, with the exception of a few cats roaming in the moonlit night. The two moons were still more than half-full, making torches unnecessary. Thistledown looked back at Seranova. She was muttering to herself quietly, almost arguing it seemed.
“I assume that you and Morindessa came through Fair Venning,” Thistledown remarked, pulling her out of the odd argument she was having with herself. “Did you see any of these lizard creatures while you were there?”
“No,” Seranova answered in disgust. “The fools that lived there tried to accuse Jesha of being the monster that was stealing their children because the local trapper said she had the same kind of eyes as the monsters.”
“I was wondering how she joined your party,” Thistledown murmured, feeling a thrill of pride in how well Riah had raised Morindessa. Riah always had the softest heart, something she had obviously passed on at least a part of to Morindessa.
“They said Jesha was stealing their children?” Lori exclaimed, her young face shining with amazement in the bright moonlight. “What kind of people are they?”
“The worst kind,” Seranova growled contemptuously. “They were threatening to kill the man who raised her if he didn’t hand her over to them. If Morindessa had not been there that night, Jesha would be dead, and probably the man who raised her as well.”
“What did she do?” Lori asked, her eyes wide.
“Certainly not what they deserved,” Seranova declared disdainfully. “She just made a loud bang that scared them out of the inn, and then left a sound around the building that made them uncomfortable when they were near it. She would have been better off breaking their legs.”
“A wonderful solution for violent villagers;” Jalorm drawled from behind Seranova, “break their legs the first time, and their necks the second time.”
Seranova looked over her shoulder at Jalorm expressionlessly, obviously uncertain of whether he was mocking her. Thistledown thought it fortuitous that she did not know him well enough to realize he was mocking her.
“We will be using the soldier’s horses,” Thistledown broke in, more to change the subject than anything else. “I rather doubt they paid the stable master for them anyway.”
“His name was Delton,” Seranova commented, still glancing back at Jalorm with a small frown on her face. “Jesha mentioned it before we ran into your friend. She said the pimply kid couldn’t stop drooling at Morindessa.”
“Delton?” Thistledown stopped dead in the road with a small shiver creeping up his spine. “You are sure his name was Delton?”
The others were looking at him curiously. “Yes,” Seranova affirmed with a nod. “She said his name was Delton. Why? Do you know him?
Thistledown shook his head, starting down the road once more. “Never mind. I thought it was someone else for a moment.”
Seranova stared at him suspiciously, obviously not believing him. The rest of the group wore the same skeptical expressions. He did not want to explain that the only Delton that he had ever known had been a man on Earth who bred horses for a living. The Delton he had known had not been bald, but after hearing the name, Thistledown could piece the other similarities together. Somehow, people from earth were still arriving on this strange planet. Thistledown wondered how many other earth people had suddenly had their lives sucked into this planet.
Chapter 26
Celdic stood alone in his room at The Lucky Door, staring out the window that overlooked the street below. The sun was just beginning to shine down on the rooftop of the inn across the road. The streets were steadily filling up with farmer c
arts and merchant wagons as the town slowly woke up. Lendel was already down in the common room with the others of the party that were awake. The two of them had shared the bedroom, with Lendel muttering in his sleep the entire night.
Turning to his traveler sack, Celdic pulled out one of the new shirts and trousers Terrance had given him back at the cottage. The dark green shirt was made of what felt like sturdy wool, though Celdic was certain that it was not wool. It had secret pockets in the sleeves and under each breast that contained star knives and short throwing knives. A hardened material lined his forearms. Terrance had informed him this material could stop a sword blow. The trousers were just as utilitarian, with a small knife hidden in a pocket on each thigh. They contained shin guards that were made of the same material as the forearm guards. Just below each knee, a small one-inch knife stuck out when he bent his knee. Celdic pulled the new clothes over his smallclothes, hoping that Cha’le had not left any surprises in his boots. A year or more had passed since the last time she put a water demon in his boots. She usually let enough time pass that he grew careless of checking his boots each morning, and then she would leave a new surprise.
The shirt fit snugly, but was also surprisingly limber. Terrance had asked him to wait until he reached North Fork before wearing the finely made clothes. After buttoning up the trousers, he felt a lump in one of the pockets. Frowning, Celdic pulled out a tightly folded piece of paper. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he unfolded it and realized it was a note from his father, Terrance.
Celdic:
I am sorry that I cannot be with you when you reach Shalilayo. I left instructions with Thistledown to have you, Lendel, Li and Cha’le introduced at the court in Shalilayo as my heirs. The ranking officer, Captain Kerns, is aware of who I am and will assist you in the transition to court life. Should anything go wrong, there are several important things that you need to be aware of.
First, Shalilayo is what we have dubbed, a ‘catalyst’. The altars of power that the Derinian Order set up throughout the world can only work in harmony if someone places a Chasel in a device located in the throne room at the Palace. This device looks like a large three-dimensional triangle, with a small cutout in the middle for the Chasel to sit in. If, for any reason, it appears the enemy is going to gain control of Shalilayo, we must destroy this device at all costs.
Second, you may meet a man by the name of Radroc in your travels. He was a close friend once, and may be willing to aid you. His knowledge of the Spiritual Realm is invaluable and may hold the key to victory over the enemy.
Lastly, I want to tell you how proud I am of the man you have become. I hope to return soon, but if I do not, know that you have my love, and the love of your mother to keep you company in the dark storm ahead of us. Be well.
P.S. Cha’le put a burr inside the toe of your boot.
Celdic blinked and re-read the last line. Leaning down, he stuck his hand into his boot and felt the sharp points of a burr. Pulling the burr out, Celdic scratched the back of his head in puzzlement. How had Terrance known that Cha’le would put a burr in his boot this morning? Shaking his head in wonderment, Celdic pulled the boots on and left the room, hoping that Thistledown could answer some of his questions.
The soldiers that had filled the common room the night before now filled the rooms on the ground floor, with some rooms holding up to ten soldiers. Thistledown had made some kind of connection to the soldiers with his yar when their party returned from the stable yard the night before, and the soldiers had all risen from their tables and walked woodenly to their rooms.
Riah stayed the night in the same room as Morindessa and Jesha. Morindessa looked completely refreshed from her ordeal from the previous day, aside from a haunted look in her eyes. Riah, Jesha and Morindessa were sitting across the table from Thistledown, Lendel, Cha’le and Jalorm. Celdic walked around the table, unobtrusively dropping the burr in Cha’le’s long blonde hair as he passed her before sitting down between Jalorm and Thistledown.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Cha’le smiled at him with her eyes twinkling. Her innocent face was full of suppressed mirth, almost making Celdic smile in satisfaction at her failed prank.
“Nice clothes,” Jalorm murmured, studying Celdic’s shirt in fascination. “Where did they come from?” He had combed his dark hair back from his almost-handsome face, an odd change from his normally shaggy hair.
“A late birthday present from my father,” Celdic answered dryly, pulling a knife from one of the sleeves to show Jalorm the hidden pockets.
Jalorm looked impressed, even a touch envious as he wrapped his knuckles smartly against the forearm guard and fingered the star knives in fascination. Morindessa was also studying his new outfit with interest, her dark eyes touched with respect. Celdic remembered the pile of bodies she had left surrounding Riah when he finally rejoined her after killing the archers the previous day. He was not sure who would win if he went up against her, but he suspected the odds were in her favor. Even growing up in Chasel Ri’ Aven, where the women learned to fight alongside the men, it was hard to think of someone as beautiful as Morindessa being so deadly. Long black hair that fell to mid-back framed her finely sculpted features, with a portion of the black mass spilling over one of her shoulders.
“How are you coming along with your technique?” Thistledown inquired with a quirked eyebrow at Celdic. Thistledown wore what Celdic had first assumed to be a set of laborer’s dull gray overalls with a faded white cotton shirt tucked in. Looking closer, Celdic realized Thistledown had outfitted his provincial clothing with secret pockets for various weapons, much like Celdic’s own new clothes.
“I think it is going well,” Celdic answered hesitantly. Life in Chasel Ri’ Aven had prepared Celdic for the sensations that using his yar would introduce, but actually feeling the alteration of his perception as his awareness expanded to include anything that his yar touched still left him in awe. When he was not reaching out with his yar to sense his surroundings, he felt insignificant in the sea of objects that immersed his being. “A lot of the lessons from the Tar Ri’ San that didn’t make sense before are much clearer now.”
“Good,” Thistledown replied, nodding his head approvingly. “It might not be a bad idea for you to participate in the lessons Li is giving Lori so that you can practice the new skills together.”
Celdic flushed slightly, feeling a wave of pleasure wash through his veins at the thought of another excuse to be with Li. “All right.”
Cha’le leaned forward from her place on the other side of Thistledown to smile widely at Celdic, a mischievous twinkle in her deep blue eyes. Celdic decided to change the subject before Cha’le said something to embarrass him. “I found a letter from Terrance in my pocket,” Celdic told Thistledown, pulling the letter out of his pocket and handing it to the little man.
Thistledown scanned the letter quickly. Cha’le sat next to him trying to read the letter without appearing to. When he finished reading the last line, his lips twitched slightly. He glanced sideways at Cha’le, absently folding the letter up before she could read it. “I planned on waiting until we were closer to Shalilayo before revealing this information, but Terrance probably has his reasons for telling you now.”
Thistledown handed the letter back. Celdic knew he would have to burn it or it would inevitably end up in Cha’le’s hands. “I was curious how Terrance knew about the information on the last line,” Celdic asked cryptically. “Can he really see into the future that clearly?”
With a wry glance at Cha’le, Thistledown cleared his throat. “The Derinian order created a device called a Probability Spectrum. With it, a person can see the paths of probability within the spectrum of known factors around us. The Probability Spectrum is tied into various points on the Communion Plane in the Spiritual Realm. It gathers as much information as it can on the surrounding environment and then creates a set of predictions. The more certain an event is, the less branches of probability exist. The probability of what happened on
the last line of your letter was probably a certainty,” he finished with another wry glance at Cha’le, who seemed to be puzzling through what Thistledown had just said. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously when she saw Thistledown watching her in wry amusement.
“It sounds like a search engine,” Lori’s voice said behind him from the doorway, where she was absently twisting a lock of curly, auburn hair and watching Thistledown curiously.
“The old ideas are the best ones,” Thistledown responded with a grin. “As a matter of fact, it was Terrance’s understanding of search engines that gave him the idea of using the Communion Plane as a reference point for gathering information.”
“Ah yes, a search engine,” Cha’le muttered loud enough for all of them to hear. “I might have guessed it would be that.”
Lori’s mouth tightened slightly, but before she could say anything, Jalorm snorted loudly. “I might have guessed it would be that,” he mimicked in an imitation high voice. His eyes twinkled with mirth, though it was obvious from Cha’le’s sudden scowl she did not find his comment amusing.
Celdic sighed in exasperation, looking to either side of him in disgust. Jalorm seemed to know exactly what to say to upset Cha’le the most and Cha’le usually deserved it. Someone would have to do something about the two of them, and soon if they wanted to arrive at Shalilayo without the pair killing each other.
Li walked into the room past Lori, pausing as she sensed the mood of the others. “What a happy little group,” she exclaimed brightly, her dark sultry eyes examining Cha’le calculatingly. “I thought we reserved the fighting for the enemy.”
“Just practicing,” Cha’le replied sweetly, her tone at odds with the flat stare she directed at Jalorm.
Jesha was watching the exchange silently, her cat-like eyes curious. Morindessa and Riah both looked amused at the interplay.
“You know, I think they will do rather well at court,” Morindessa observed to Riah in a detached tone.
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