“Then that is where we will start,” nodded Rejji. “If the Sage is known in this area, surely the villagers will have tales of him.”
“Well that will take you a couple of days,” declared Brakas. “I should be able to complete my business by then and meet up with you. I must get some sleep now though so I can get an early start. I will be gone when you rise with the sun in the morning, so I will bid you a safe journey now.”
The Fakarans settled down to sleep as the fire slowly diminished to embers once again.
When the first rays of the sun filtered through the trees, Bakhai rekindled the fire and started preparing the morning meal. Rejji and Mistake were soon awoken to the smell of roasting rabbit and joined Bakhai at the fire.
“I see Brakas is gone already,” Rejji stated.
“Why do we want him to travel with us?” asked Mistake. “He has no interest in finding the Sage.”
“He is a good warrior,” answer Rejji. “It will be safer if he travels with us. Besides, we may find out more information about what the Jiadin are up to and what the other tribes will do in response. He knows a great deal about the tribes and their leaders.”
“And nothing about the Sage,” pouted Mistake. “I don’t care for him.”
“You don’t like him because he captured me once,” frowned Rejji. “He was only doing his job and he did it well. He means us no harm and he can be quite useful. You will see.”
The trio devoured the morning meal and headed eastward along the South Fork, as it raced down from the mountains. The air got cooler and crisper as they rose higher and occasionally they turned to look at the spreading vista below them. As darkness started to set in, Rejji hunted for a suitable clearing to build a fire. Just as the sky became black and the stars began shining brightly, he left the main trail and headed towards a clearing that was visible from the trail.
I would be careful with the fire tonight, Mistake,” Rejji said as they dismounted. “This clearing is a little tight for a fire.”
“Yes, but it is cooler tonight,” Mistake responded. “The warmth will be nice. I’ll be careful.”
Bakhai tended to the horses while Rejji scrounged up some dead wood for the fire. He had to look farther from the campsite than normal to find enough wood and by the time he returned, Mistake had a small fire going. He dropped the wood near the fire and sat with his back to a tree.
“There is a magnificent view a ways off towards the edge,” he smiled. “I have never seen so many stars before. It is very pretty.”
“We are running out of supplies,” Mistake snapped. “We need to visit a village soon. I can’t cook meals without ingredients.”
Rejji frowned and looked to Bakhai who was just shaking his head. “We will come to a village soon, Mistake,” soothed Rejji. “Probably before it is your turn to cook again.”
“There won’t be any need to cook until we get to a village,” Mistake retorted. “We will be eating the crumbs out of our sacks until then.”
“I will see what game I can find in the morning,” Bakhai said softly. “Let us eat before it cools.”
They ate in silence, which was punctuated only by the sounds of crickets chirping distantly. Rejji stole glances at his friends’ faces from time to time. Mistake’s face was a mask of gloom and Bakhai just shook his head. After the meal, Rejji staked out a place to lie down and stared up at the stars through the trees. Bakhai settled down not far away, but Mistake grumbled and stalked off into the woods.
“What is wrong with her?” Rejji whispered to Bakhai.
“She has been moody most of the day,” Bakhai answered. “I would just leave her alone for a day or two.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Rejji asked?
“You did nothing wrong,” smiled Bakhai. “She will be fine. Go to sleep.”
Mistake eventually ended up at the ledge Rejji had been describing to her before dinner. She sat and marveled at the stars for a time, mentally kicking herself for treating Rejji so poorly. She reclined on the ledge and let her eyes wander the heavens, wishing Rejji were there to stargaze with her. It was indeed beautiful, she thought. Oblivious to the cool night air, Mistake ended up falling asleep.
Mistake awoke suddenly and stared up into the sky. The huge full moon hung low in the sky, flooding the ledge with a soft moonlight. She shook her head and realized that she had slept almost the entire night on the ledge and the morning sun was only a couple of hours away at most. As the fog in her mind started to clear she heard the sound again. Yes, again, she thought, for it must have been the sound that had awakened her. It was the sound of riders.
Mistake crawled to the edge of the ledge and peered down at the trail they had ascended the day before. Four riders were climbing the trail at a fairly decent pace. They were not trying to make noise as they rode, but neither were they trying to remain silent. Their heads kept turning from side to side as if in search of something or somebody. Concerned etched into Mistake’s face as they rode through a patch of moonlight and she saw the red scarves adorning the riders.
Suddenly, the leader halted and pointed upward and Mistake’s eyes followed the path of his finger. A lump of terror formed in her throat as she saw the telltale wisps of a smoldering campfire riding gently in the still night air.
Silently, she pushed herself back from the edge. When she was sure she could rise without being seen, Mistake jumped to her feet and started racing through the forest. Mentally, she tried to calculate whether she could beat them to the campsite where Rejji and Bakhai lay sleeping. A dark frown covered her face as she tried to push herself even faster.
Chapter 15
Diakles
Bakhai was startled awake by the noise of the riders. He bolted upright to a crouch and shoved Rejji, wakening him, just as the riders appeared through the trees. Rejji’s eyes popped open and he scanned the campsite. His mind registered that Mistake was still missing, as his eyes locked on the approaching riders, their swords raised high. Rejji rolled to his sword, knowing he would not reach it in time. Just as his fingers wrapped around the hilt, he heard an inhuman scream that sounded like it had come from Bakhai.
Rejji completed his roll and came to a crouch while he tore his blade from its sheath. He looked up and saw the horses high on their hind legs and watched, as if in slow motion, the riders with red scarves tumble to the ground.
“Jiadin!” Rejji shouted as the three men regained their footing,
Rejji saw the fourth rider in the background still atop his horse, but his attention was drawn to the closer three as they charged forward. Rejji saw Bakhai swing at one of the bandits with a large dead branch as he brought his sword up to defend himself from the two bandits descending on him. He crossed swords with one of the men as the other screamed and dropped his sword, his hands going to the dagger, which had pierced his neck, as his knees buckled and his body dropped to the ground.
Mistake, smiled Rejji as the bandit he was fighting lunged at him. Rejji’s mind flashed images of the lessons he had learned with the Zaldoni, and he recognized the moves the bandit was making. He smiled inwardly as planned to utilize what he had learned at Fardale.
He pressed in close to the Jiadin bandit, locking swords for the barest of moments, and then pushed off from the encounter, letting his body fall backwards. As the bandit rushed forward to take advantage of Rejji’s fall, Rejji slammed his feet into the bandit’s ankles and brought his sword up in front of his chest. The Jiadin tumbled forward and Rejji strained to keep the hilt of his own sword from striking his chest as the bandit impaled himself on the blade. Rejji twisted sideways and thrust the dead body away from him.
As Rejji rose and tried to pull his blade from the Jiadin body, he saw the fourth rider pull a dagger out of the side of his horse and throw it back at Mistake. The small thief stepped aside and grabbed the hilt of the thrown knife so quickly that Rejji blinked his eyes and shook his head as if to clear his vision.
“He is getting away,” scowled Mistake as th
e fourth rider turned and raced away from the campsite.
Rejji looked towards Bakhai and saw the body of a Jiadin with the long branch imbedded in its chest.
“I would rather lose him than one of you,” panted Rejji. “I think we might want to get out of here quickly ourselves.”
Mistake nodded and walked over to one of the bodies and retrieved her dagger from its neck. She wiped the two daggers clean and shoved them back into their sheaths.
“That was mighty fine throwing, Mistake,” Rejji said.
“I missed the one on the horse,” she frowned. “At least he was kind enough to return my dagger. I thought you were going to die when you fell. I am sorry for being so nasty last night.”
“I let myself fall,” smiled Rejji who was happy to have his old Mistake back again. “Tagoro showed it to me in Fardale. It only works when your opponent is overly aggressive as this one was.”
“Hey,” Mistake said as she stood looking at the bandit that Rejji had killed. “This one has gold fringe on his red scarf. Wonder why he is different?”
“He is not different anymore,” commented Rejji. “Whoever he was, he is as dead as the others now.”
“I guess,” offered Mistake as she bent and searched the body for a coin pouch.
“I am afraid I scared our horses away,” interjected Bakhai. “We will never find them.”
“What was that you screamed?” asked Rejji. “I thought you had been pierced by a sword when I heard it.”
“I panicked the horses,” replied Bakhai. “I made them think you were a large cat about to strike. It was the only thing I could think of.”
“Well it saved our lives,” reasoned Rejji. “I never thought I would get my hands on my sword before they struck us down.”
“They will be back,” frowned Mistake. “One rule of the bandits is to never let someone kill one of their own without retaliation. Horses or no horses, we need to be out of here now. That rider will bring back an army.”
“For the three of us?” questioned Rejji. “We were lucky this night. They don’t need an army to kill us.”
“Maybe so,” Mistake said while shaking her head, “but these Jiadin were looking for somebody. They weren’t just passing through. I saw them coming from the ledge you told me about. They were searching for someone and must have thought that’s who we were. The smoke from our fire got them very excited.”
“Well it certainly is not us they are searching for,” retorted Rejji, “but let us get out of here just the same. Perhaps we should stay off the main trail.”
“There are many game trails in these hills,” declared Bakhai. “While I have never been this far north, it is much like the hills I grew up in. Follow me.”
Bakhai led them away from the main trail for quite a ways before paralleling it. The trail was ever upward, but it was fairly good footing. The trees grew sparser as they climbed and the soil gave way to rock. After a few hours, there was no longer a trail, only rock, and they could see the peak towering above them.
Around high sun, they reached the peak. The three Fakarans stopped to rest and admire the view. To the west they could see the forests of the South Fork and even the dry plains in the distance beyond. It was a breathtaking sight for Rejji who had spent his life at sea level. To their north and south, they could see an endless string of peaks reaching off into the horizon. To the east they saw forests and meadows and, in the distance, a vast jungle of dense growth reaching towards the coast. Several hundred feet below them to the north was the main trail where it straddled the pass.
“Look,” pointed Mistake, “there is a village down there to the east. Now we can get some supplies. Too bad those Jiadin bodies didn’t have any extra gold on them; we could have splurged on something.”
“Perhaps they left their pouches on their horses, as I did,” admitted Rejji.
Mistake started to nod her head and then twirled to face Rejji. “You aren’t serious, are you?” she asked.
“Afraid I am,” Rejji said. “I have been afraid I would leave it at a campsite when we left in the morning, so I have been leaving with the horse.”
“Great,” scowled Mistake. “Now that we have found a village we can go begging in the streets.”
“The people will share,” Bakhai said softly. “It is better if we could repay them, but they will not let travelers go hungry. We will survive somehow.”
“We can’t make that distance today or tomorrow,” noted Rejji. “Perhaps the day after though. Will you be able to find it Bakhai?”
“I will find it,” he nodded vigorously. “There is water there and fields of vegetables and grain. The animal trails will lead to it. We will have no problem finding it.”
Bakhai started down the mountains with Rejji and Mistake following closely.
***
The Jiadin soldier ran out onto the platform atop the Temple of Vandegar and halted before Veltar, the advisor to Grulak, leader of the Jiadin.
“Where is Grulak?” the soldier panted. “I was told he was up here. I must speak to him at once.”
“He will be back shortly,” replied Veltar. “What is so urgent?”
“I must speak directly to Grulak,” declared the soldier.
“And so you shall,” smiled Veltar, “after I hear what you have to say. Grulak can not be bothered by every soldier of the army.”
“I am not just a soldier,” stiffened the man. “I am one of Diakles bodyguards. I am sure Grulak will speak to me.”
Veltar nodded as he finally remembered the face he was speaking to. “Ah yes,” he smiled. “So you are. How is the future emperor?”
“He is dead,” the soldier blurted out. “He was killed by the one with the crescent palm. Two others died with him. I must inform Grulak now.”
“Dead?” echoed Veltar. “Where did this happen?”
“Near the pass of the South Fork in the Giaming Mountains,” reported the soldier. “I have notified the army of that region and they are in pursuit of the demon, but Grulak must be told right away. His orders are that he be told directly if something happens to Diakles. I have ridden night and day to get here.”
“I will inform Grulak for you,” smiled Veltar. “You should get some rest. I am sure you will be rewarded for your dedication.”
“No,” straightened the soldier. “I am aware of your prodding of Diakles to hunt this demon. Grulak needs to be aware that his advisor endangered the life of Diakles. Were it not for your promises to Diakles of the fame that would be bestowed upon him for annihilating this foe, we would have gone after him with more than just the four of us. You told him he would be victorious. He believed in you.”
“Perhaps he would have been victorious if his bodyguards had put their lives before his,” sneered Veltar. “How is it that you are still alive?”
Veltar’s hand shot out and seized the soldier by the neck. The soldier brought up both hands in an attempt to free himself from the advisor’s grip, but Veltar lifted the man off his feet and snarled at the dangling soldier before him. The soldier’s mouth opened wide as if to scream, but no sound emerged.
“A coward in the face of the enemy deserves certain death,” Veltar spat as he carried the man to the edge of the platform. “But you are worse than a coward. You seek to endanger my position with your loose tongue and for that you shall suffer a lingering death.”
Veltar’s left hand shot out and seized the soldier’s tongue and ripped it from his mouth. As the soldier’s eyes rolled in his head, Veltar dropped the body at the edge of the platform. The soldier wriggled in pain and Veltar kicked the man’s legs off the platform. His body started to slide off the platform and the soldier quickly grasped the edge as his body dangled below him. Veltar stepped closer and placed his feet on the man’s hands and smiled cruelly down at him.
“I think you would agree that you have no further use for this,” grinned Veltar as he tossed the man’s tongue over the edge. “A pity you felt so duty bound to destroy your own life. A s
imple report of Diakles’s death would have been sufficient, but now your reward is this. Savor your last few minutes.”
Veltar could feel the man trying to free his fingers from under the advisor’s feet and snickered. He stood watching the dangling form for some minutes until he heard Grulak approaching, then he simply turned and walked to greet the Jiadin leader. The sound of the soldier’s falling body was lost on the wind.
“I have grave news, Sire,” Veltar said as he greeted the approaching leader. “Diakles has fallen in battle.”
“Diakles?” echoed Grulak. “When? How?”
“As was told in my dream,” declared Veltar. “I have said that the one with the crescent palm must be eliminated. Now he has destroyed Diakles.”
Grulak halted and put his arm on Veltar’s shoulder. His head hung low and he shook it from side to side. “I want this demon killed!” he screamed as his head rose. “I want his head. Who is he?”
“His name is Rejji,” consoled Veltar. “There is an army chasing him as we speak. He has another man and a woman in his company and they are traveling east through the South Fork Pass. They shall have him soon if you allow the army to abandon their orders to hunt down the free tribes. This Rejji is a much greater threat to your plans than the tribes are. He must be eliminated as I have urged in the past. If you had listened to me, Diakles would still be with us.”
“Do whatever you want,” shouted Grulak as he spun towards the doorway. “Just get me his head. I am putting you in charge of that army. See that he does not escape.”
Grulak stormed into the building and Veltar turned and walked back to the edge of the platform. He smiled as he gazed down at the people milling around the fallen soldier and looking up. He looked momentarily at his bloody left hand and turned towards the doorway to the temple.
***
“This is more like a town than a village,” Rejji announced as they left the game trail and wound their way through the fields. “It is many times the size of my village.”
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