“The other group fought like Lord Alec did – incredible savagery,” Salem added. “They slaughtered the bandits, took their horses, and went on their way. We saw it all from the cave where we were being held hostage. They must be companions of yours?” she queried Alec as she spoke.
“They are not,” he said flatly.
“They kidnapped my sister. We’re chasing them to get her back,” Jasel explained.
“I’m so sorry. My apologies,” Salem told Jasel.
“So there are no more bandits left, except the one that ran today,” Jody spoke up shyly.
“You say we’re near their cave?” Alec asked. “Are there supplies there we can use? Do you have any belongings you want to recover?”
“Thank you, yes, we do want back the things they stole from us,” Salem replied.
“I will serve the first shift of guard duty,” Alec said as he stood, having eaten his meal quickly. “Andi, you take second shift and Bauer, you go third,” he directed. “Make room for and give supplies to our guests under the wagon, and Hope, see if Mr. Graze is doing okay,” he added as he stepped away from the fire and walked out along the road, then climbed up the hillside to have a broader view in all directions.
He sat and watched the scene below. Kane stayed close to his mother, but in a protective manner, determined to be the man of the family, Alec judged. He believed their story about being ambushed by the bandits, but he sensed that there was something more to their story, something they hadn’t told him. He couldn’t figure out why the family was still alive – bandits didn’t take prisoners without reasons. The woman and the girl had not been badly used, something Alec was glad of but surprised by. Why the family would have been traveling the mountain road in the winter with only horses was another puzzling piece of the story he didn’t understand; traders needed to carry goods, and their horses would not have been likely to carry many trading goods of value.
The stars overhead were bright, and the moon rose in the east, as Alec sat and pondered their guests. Below, the campfire slowly died down, and the members of the group crawled beneath the wagon, carrying stones from the campfire to provide warmth for their nighttime enclosure. Soon Alec was alone under the chilly night sky, seeing nothing but twinkling stars and hearing nothing but one wolf howling at some far off distance.
When the time came to change guards, Alec climbed down, and warmed the stones under the wagon, gave each sleeping body a touch of his healing energy to warm them directly, then shook Andi awake, and crawled into the blankets she vacated, appreciative of the warmth she left behind. He soon fell fast asleep.
Alec awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of Jody making muffled cries as she tossed uneasily. “Father? No, No!” she called, then whimpered. “Why?” she cried piteously moments later, and whimpered again. Alec raised himself on one elbow, and stretched over Hope to place two fingertips on Jody’s forehead.
Rest easy little one. You are safe with friends, he sent the message as gently as he could, hoping that he had found the right way to ease her unconscious mind without calling her consciousness awake.
Daddy? Daddy, where are you? she spoke in a little girl’s voice, a voice full of fear and sadness.
I am not your father, but I will look over you. You will be safe. Sleep in peace now, he transmitted the message, and added a non-verbal sense of comfort and peace like that he felt when he thought of his Savior. The girl gave a quiet sigh, and Alec sensed the tension leave her body. A moment later he used Healing energy to give her warmth, then lifted his fingers from her temple and slumped back down into his blankets.
He had sensed pain and loss and shock in the young girl’s mind, much of it deeply embedded, far from the surface of her conscious thoughts. Her father had meant a great deal to her, and he was missing. The pain was not so fresh as to be from the attack by the bandits only a week ago, but it was not an infant’s memory either. Alec realized that the family had suffered some profound calamity, and he prayed that they would find peace.
When Alec awoke again in the morning, only Hope was still burrowed in her blankets under the wagon, and her eyes were open, staring into his. You comforted her last night; your powers are limitless; why do you even bother to stay among the rest of us? You can do anything. I understand why the grandasteur wanted me to travel with you.
Ailse did not want you to travel with me, she wanted you to stay in one place with me, Hope. You’re the one who wanted to travel. You will learn valuable lessons on this trip; but you would have learned different valuable lessons had you stayed in Ridgeclimb. The lessons of permanence and security and nurturing and care in a home, a nest, a garden are fundamental values, Alec heard himself saying, wondering how long he had subconsciously considered the matter. The values you learn while traveling are different values, the values of mobility, flexibility, adaptability, sustenance in lean times and lean locations.
The lokasennii will benefit from having a grendasteusse learn both sets of values, Hope. I look forward to taking you back to Ridgeclimb when all of this is over, so that you will appreciate those quieter values of home. They are the same principles and values you saw at Warm Springs, but perhaps their lesson will seem more profound after this trip’s travails are behind you, he continued.
Perhaps the grandasteur only wanted me to travel with you so that after I heard your lectures I would not think hers were so profoundly boring, Hope replied, but she smiled, and Alec felt a note of respect in her expression.
That family has some history, Alec told her, sitting up. We should try to comfort them while we can.
“As you wish,” Hope said, then sprang forward and out from under the wagon.
After eating breakfast, Alec began to prod the others to pack up the camp.
“We are going to go past the bandits camp this morning. Would you like to come back west with us to retrieve your goods?” Alec asked Salem, as he began to saddle some of the horses they had acquired from the defeated bandits. The animals were in good shape, relatively well-fed, and Alec hoped that they would find a sizeable supply of fodder at the bandits’ supply depot.
“Thank you, that would make the morning much easier for us,” Salem replied. She and both her children rode their horses very well, he noted as the group started to move west, which made sense if they were a family of traveling merchants.
“Come up front with me,” Alec called back to Salem minutes after they began to move, “and tell me when the cave is nearby.”
They rode silently, Alec enjoying the ride atop the horse as well as the absence of any need to use any of his ingenaire energies on this morning in which the sunshine made everyone feel warm, there was no snow to blow off the road, and there were no evident dangers requiring his Warrior energies.
“Up there, my lord,” Salem said, and reached out to touch Alec’s shoulder to get his attention, then pointed up an intersecting valley.
Minutes later Alec had everyone from his group busy plundering fodder and food stuffs that he planned to use to replenish their own supplies, packing more onto the mules and around the wagon. Salem and her children seemed to know specific items they wanted, and they hunted through a number of crates in one corner of the cave, repacking crates to select what they wanted. They didn’t seem to be collecting any practical items, food, clothing, or fodder, Alec noted as his group wound down its activity.
“Salem,” he called loudly from the cave entrance.
“That’s ‘Lady Salem’,” Kane spoke unexpectedly, in an authoritarian tone.
“Shhhh,” Salem spoke to her son, and she stepped down from the cave and came towards Alec. “Forgive him my lord,” she said earnestly.
“There’s no harm,” Alec said politely, wondering what justification there was for the title of ‘lady’. “I just wanted to let you know that we are almost finished here, and we’ll be on our way west in a few minutes.
“I’d advise you to pack as much food and fodder as you can for you trip east,” he tol
d her. She had stepped down to the same level of stony floor he stood on, and suddenly looked smaller and more vulnerable that she had seemed before. “The road is empty, the weather can be bad, and there will be no hope of resupply until you reach Ridgeclimb, which will take you weeks,” he tried to make his warning sound like friendly advice. “Your family will be in our prayers,” he held out his hand to shake in friendship before he turned away.
“Alec, my lord, wait,” Salem said suddenly. Her children were descending to get closer, interested in hearing their mother’s conversation.
“We are not equipped to travel in the mountains on our own. I have to admit that,” she told him. “We cannot go further west. May we travel with you back east to the Twenty Cities? You would keep us safe along the way I know. I saw you fight, I’ve heard your people speak about your fantastic abilities, and I’ve observed your manners – I know there could be no better guardian for us.”
“Mother, we can go on,” Kane protested. “We can make it to Ridgeclimb. These horses are strong and fast.”
“No Kane, we could not do it; we could not pitch the tents every night, nor start the fires, nor post the guards among ourselves. We must return to the Twenty Cities, and reconsider our options, so that perhaps we can try the journey again in the spring, after the caravan traffic starts traveling again,” Salem held her hand up to forestall further protests, and spoke in a measured tone that was strong and convincing.
“I would welcome you to be our guests,” Alec said to prevent Kane from speaking again. He was pleased that Salem had requested to join them; he had feared to think of them trying to make the journey through the mountains alone. “We are ready to go. Prepare your cargo and we’ll load it among ours; I’ll send Jasel’s strong back up here to help you carry it out.” As he walked away he heard Kane and his mother speak urgently in low tones, indicating that the boy still sought to persuade his mother to continue the eastern trip, but shortly thereafter Kane and Jasel were both carrying crates down to the wagon, where Mr. Graze graciously allowed them to be stored inside the wagon.
Graze sat quietly, not speaking to anyone as they resumed motion, and Alec worried about the man. He’s suffered the twin shocks of losing his sister-in-law and his wife just a few days apart, and Alec hoped his spirit was strong enough to continue the trip. Despite a gruff beginning, Alec sensed that Alfred was not an unpleasant person, just one that had spent his life being henpecked, perhaps doubly, into submission.
That day they made good progress. With the horses available for riding and carrying extra weight, Alec let the bulk of the group travel at a faster speed than the wagon and the mules, relying on Andi and Jasel to provide protection, and Bauer and Hope to tell him of any trouble. They were instructed to start setting camp after sunset, while Alec and Stacha, and the mules, remained with Mr. Graze and his steady-going, oxen-pulled wagon, who lagged behind the others.
“It seems risky to split the group,” Andi had protested.
“Don’t worry, I feel safe with my husband to protect me,” Stacha had spoken up brightly.
Alec saw the frown on Andi’s face. He knew the Black Crag guard had never had a high level of tolerance for Stacha or Racha, but had kept her hostility checked following the loss of the twin sister; he decided to quickly cut off any confrontation.
“I think that since the one gang of bandits that is no longer here was so large, there was unlikely to be any other cutthroats within a few days ride,” he spoke, aware that others nearby were listening in. “Those bandits were apparently a large group, and would have established absolute control over their portion of the highway; I’m sure they didn’t tolerate competitors, so the road should be clear of problems for a day or two. I’m comfortable that we can split up as a way to pick up speed, especially while this nice weather holds.”
Andi quickly accepted his judgment, and the horse riders moved out at an increased pace. The mules and the oxen-drawn wagon quickly fell behind and out of sight of the jaunty horse-riders, all of whom were pleased to feel the sun’s rays and even the bounce of the horses as they rode along, riding for the first time in the case of the Ridgeclimb travelers, and riding freely again in the case of Salem’s family.
Stacha stayed with Alec, and the two of them led their placid mules alongside Alfred Graze; Alec walked while Stacha joined Alfred as he sat atop the front bench of the wagon.
“Gwen and I didn’t even experience winter for the first twenty years we were married,” Alfred said conversationally. He glanced sideways and saw that they were both looking at him. “We had a shop down in Cearche, a millener shop. Gwen made the most fashionable hats in the whole city; all the ladies of the great men and the local nobility had to wear her hats at festival time – she was that good at it. We even hired a pair of local girls to help with some of the stitching, while I ran the shop, and we kept those girls that busy.
“But then Gwen’s sister came to visit us. Her husband had passed away up in Vincennes where they lived, and she had to handle the wrap-up of his trading business. Times were pretty peaceful around the Empire back then, back towards the end of Empress Caitlen’s time on the throne, and we thought the idea of all the adventure, seeing new cities and meeting new people, traveling around on a boat or a wagon or what-not, it sounded so much better than sitting in that tidy little shop, gossiping with the same customers and neighbors every day.
“I wish we’d never left that shop, but it made Gwen happy to be with her sister and help her do her trading, and so long as she was happy, I was happy,” he concluded.
There was a long silent pause, interrupted only by the sound of hooves pacing along the surface of the road. “What did they look like?” Stacha asked.
“Eh?” Alfred responded, caught off-guard.
“The hats – what did they look like?” she clarified, and Alec suspected that her question was evidence of genuine interest.
“Well, it depended on the season,” Alfred answered, and Alec listened with half an ear for the rest of the afternoon to the animated conversation the two had.
More than an hour past sunset the wagon and mules arrived at the campsite the horsemen had selected, their path lit by a ball of light Alec generated to ride in front of the oxen.
Jody was standing by the road, watching the ball in fascination as it glided slowly towards the campsite. “The others say you can do all sort of magical things!” she spoke in a shrill, excited tone, caught up in the wonder of seeing the light, revealing the young girl aspect of her personality.
“You say you’ve never been to the Twenty Cities, but you’re practicing the tricks of the Old Ones from Yangchoo,” Zane accused him.
“I’ve never been to the Twenty Cities,” Alec agreed. “And I’ve never heard of the Old Ones of Yangchoo.”
“You’re doing just exactly what they do,” Zane insisted loudly. “They light up the whole city at night, the streets and the cafes and whatever else they want to. The old ones have magic tricks they use to make the light bright.”
Alec split his ball of light into three smaller balls, and made the three circle around the camp lazily, one green, one yellow, and one white. “I’d like to meet them some day. Maybe after we’ve rescued Kriste we can all go visit Yangchoo and see if their lights are as good as mine.”
“Would you like some roast potato?” Salem asked, as Alec made one of his balls of light drop gently down to eye level in front of Jody, dimmed and shrunken, and seeming to dance on the open palm of the hand she held flat.
“Yes, thank you,” Alec said with a smile, watching as Jody giggled at the dancing light
Salem brought him the potato, wrapped in a cloth to protect her hands from the heat of the warm vegetable. She walked with a gingerly limp, and Alec realized she was saddle sore.
“I would have thought that you would be used to riding a horse,” he commented as he took the potato and tossed it from hand to hand, waiting for it to cool.
“We got a little playful today,” Sal
em answered, and seemed to blush faintly. “I fell off my horse when I was racing Zane, and landed squarely on my back there.”
She watched apprehensively as Alec’s hand curled around and touched the small of her back, bringing them physically close together. Salem’s eyes slide upward and studied Alec’s face apprehensively.
“You will not touch my mother so familiarly,” Zane stepped next to Alec.
Alec ignored him, and released a flow of Healing energy into the woman’s body, easing away the pain of the bruise, dispersing the blood that pooled in the injured spot, and mending the muscles that had suffered tears. Satisfied after only a moment of healing that she would feel no pain, Alec withdrew his hand, and resumed tossing the potato back and forth as he stepped away from the woman.
There’s no place among the Twenty Cities that has anyone with a reputation for doing anything like that,” Salem said softly. “Thank you for healing my pain.”
My pleasure to serve,” he replied, as Zane stood confused by the exchange. “Does anyone else need to have their saddlesoreness healed away?” Alec asked, and he walked away to sooth the others in the camp.
For the next two days the newly combined caravan group used the same method of travel, allowing the horse riders to sprint ahead and cover distance, then set up camp and prepare for the evening, while the mules and the wagon came plodding along at their gentle pace, and caught up in the evening. After three days of such a routine Alec began to grow more cautious. “Did you encounter many other gangs of bandits on your way coming east?” he asked Salem on the third evening after she had joined the caravan.
“We,” she waved her hand to indicate her family, “rode in the middle of the group. From time to time we saw men approach the leaders of our group, and after some brief conversation, we went on without any ado.”
“Were any of those very close to the last time, the time you were attacked?” he asked, but Salem’s recollections were inexact, and she could give only a vague answer. Thereafter the group traveled together as a single unit again. Two days after that, Alec detected a man on a far off hill watching them as they crawled along the road at midmorning, and at noon he sensed a dozen men stationed at hidden locations on the mountainside above them, as a single man stood in the middle of the road, openly waiting for them to approach.
The Caravan Road Page 21