by Aaron Thomas
“Is something wrong?” Joahna asked.
Kilen shook off the question, it was not the time to experiment with Tokeye learning to use an elemental as his actual body. “I will be fine. I must still be a little shaken by your return,” Kilen said.
Stepping away from the throne, Kilen looked about searching for something to burn. He found nothing except for the newly woven masterpiece made by Ria. He shook his head, “Ria is not going to like this.”
Max laughed, “Neither is your wife when she finds out the mess you made.”
Kilen stifled a laugh, nodded and concentrated on the wood. A pop echoed off the walls, and a small flame ate away at the throne’s armrest. The excited knot that was Joahna grew in intensity, anticipating his new elemental body. With Joahna’s willingness, the transition was easy and left Kilen’s head empty to his own thoughts and emotions for the first time in a long while.
He knew The Crying Man was somewhere deep in the back of his mind where Tokeye had put him. He hoped that the chains that bound the insane man stayed intact.
Kilen and the others watched as the flame left a trail that burned towards the bottom of the chair then spread to each leg. After the bottom had been covered, the throne was an inferno of burning wood being consumed at an unnatural pace. Kilen stepped back because of the heat, even though he knew his fire imbuement allowed him to stand in flames without being harmed. He laughed a bit inside, thinking about his reaction to back away from the flames, then came up with an excuse to give the others that Twilix would not like him getting soot on his clothes and armor. The thought made him smile, and the idea that no one else shared it made that smile widen.
Chapter 2 - Charger
Bowie and Auburn sat on the almost empty floor of a boat made of ice drifting towards the bank. Looking off the side, he hoped to find Charger waiting on him. The sun had set only a couple of hours ago, and fire lights could be made out along the beach where the Earth Realm’s advanced party was camped. Bowie turned to see Leviathan had torches lit along the walls well. He knew as long as the torches were lit, the Earth Realm had not discovered any threat to Bowie as extinguishing them was the signal of danger.
What Bowie didn’t understand is why they had given him ores made of ice instead of wood. They had melted so much that they broke near the halfway mark to the shore. He hoped the boat would last longer than Twilix had anticipated the journey taking. One large crack down the side had given him a startle a few moments ago, but instead of abandoning ship, he figured he would wait it out. The ship would either break apart or melt slow enough that he would step out to trudge to shore. Both meant he was eventually getting wet, and being wet was almost preferable to being hot in the night.
Bowie leaned to his left to adjust the cloak he had put down to keep his back side from resting on the boat of ice. The cloak did little to keep the cold from soaking through to his leather breeches. It was late June, and he sat shivering on a boat made of ice.
Auburn let out a curse which drew his attention. The girl had her hand in the water and was trying to replicate Twilix’s ores of ice. She had been at it ever since the first one snapped in two.
“Can you even see the water magic?” He asked.
“Can you see the wind magic? Perhaps you could blow us ashore?” she retorted.
He actually hadn’t thought of it, but now he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of actually doing it. Then he got an idea.
“Yeah I can, but it would do little good without a sail. I would exhaust myself before we ever reached the shore.” He held up his hands as if helpless to add to the effect. He dropped his hands and breathed into them as if they were where the cold seeped into his body.
The boat started rocking as she moved to the front of the boat. When it finally steadied, she stood up straight at the bow, putting her foot at its peak for balance. She held out her cloak while stepping on one side.
“I will be the sail,” She said.
Bowie smiled and tried to hold back his excitement that she had fallen for it.
“Okay, get ready.”
Bowie closed his eyes and found the chaotic movement of the wind brushing the surface of the lake. With the wind vision, he found the cloak begin to flap. He directed the gusts to fill a pocket of the fabric as Auburn held it to the boat. The ice vessel’s smooth surface cut through the water making better time to the bank than he had expected. Knowing that he could swim the rest of the way, he gave a sharp blast of air to Auburn’s cloak from the side.
The red haired girl flapped her arms in an attempt to stay aboard the tiny boat but received another nudge of air toppling her into the water. She splashed under the dark surface and came up gasping for air. He was unsure if it was the surprise of being pushed in or the temperature of the water.
Bowie watched her start chasing after the boat, still gliding a bit forward in the water. As soon as it came to rest, he leaped into the water himself finding his toes could reach the bottom. Holding his bow and satchel above the water, he made his way to the shore.
Once on the bank, he bent the bow and strung it ready for anyone to jump out of the trees. Auburn finally caught up and pulled a dry bow string from his pouch while giving him an angry look. He laughed a bit to break the silence.
“It’s my own fault. I should have known you would try something. I’ll pay you back for that someday I hope you know.” She said as she strung her bow.
Bowie gave her a smirk, “I think the camp was just over here. Let’s see if we can’t find some tracks. It hasn’t rained so there should be something we can follow if Kilen didn’t tear up the ground too much.”
“Tear up the ground!? Do you see the thing he made?” Auburn asked.
“How can I not see it? It is a house-sized statue of a lizard with wings and fangs the size of humans.” Bowie left her gaping at the giant statue as he moved farther into the trees. He knew the girl did not gawk long because she soon snapped twigs behind him as he stalked through the trees.
Bowie was able to find the campfire Kilen had built the night they raised Leviathan from under the lake’s surface. None of the belongings they had left behind were there, except for a tattered cloak Kilen left hanging on a tree branch. Bowie tore it down and searched the ground nearby. He could only find the footprints of soldiers that had trampled the area.
“We won’t find the horses here. The bloody Earth Realm has them,” He said as he kicked the remnants of the fire.
“Well, if they have Charger, let’s go get him back. I wouldn’t mind having my horse back as well. I was beginning to think of a good a name for mine.” Auburn said as she started walking in the direction of the army’s camp.
Bowie cursed; he couldn’t very well stop her from going, and arguing with the redhead had often been fruitless. After they had left the Earth Realm’s army, she had become increasingly more obstinate.
It took over an hour for them to reach the outskirts of the Earth Realm’s camp. Tents were erected in rows with soldiers walking about, stumbling into their tents. The guards that walked the perimeter seemed particularly agitated with anyone that tried to wander out and relieve themselves.
Squatting low to the ground and stalking just outside the camp’s firelight, Bowie gave Auburn a second lesson on how to stay quiet. She seemed to take the lesson better to the ones in the past, which made him happy. The last time he had been hunting with her he ended up getting cut with an ax and nearly dying. He sure hoped that history wouldn’t repeat itself.
Bowie could see a long rope tied between trees where the army tied off their horses. It was the same way John had arranged the camp when he was in charge. Hundreds of horses were amassed in those jumble of lines from tree to tree. It would take a miracle to find Charger amongst the horses.
Bowie sat in the grass staring at the drunken soldiers wandering around the camp. He felt a bit like he uses to when Kilen and he was up to no good. He had borrowed a horse one other time from the stable keeper in Humbridge, Mr. P
eter. It didn’t end well when Daniel, his friend, was blamed for losing the horse. Bowie had to turn himself in and provide work for a week.
Today was different; he wasn’t borrowing a horse or stealing one, he was simply taking his horse back. Remembering the mischief he uses to, gave him a couple ideas.
“It will take a lot to get my horse back,” He whispered to Auburn.
“Your horse? We’re getting Sally back as well,” She said as there wasn’t an army sitting in front of them.
He shushed her, “There is an army right there.” He pointed at the drunk soldiers to emphasize the need for quiet. None of them seemed to notice, so he continued.
“You named your horse?” He asked.
“You named yours, so why shouldn’t I?” She retorted.
Bowie ignored her question. He took a moment to finalize his plans but didn’t see a way he could take back the horses without the entire camp knowing of their presence. Bowie held his bow across his lap as he stared at the white tents that littered the open field. Instead of trying to sneak about and go unnoticed, he thought he would make a commotion.
Bowie leaned in close to Auburn, but she backed away from him, “I know it’s a romantic view of the stars but don’t think I’ll be kissing you. There is no time for that, we are right outside the enemies camp,” Auburn said smiling.
Bowie put his hands through his hair and opened his mouth to say something else.
Auburn spoke before he could get words to come out, “Oh and thank you for noticing that I did my hair before leaving. The way you knocked me into the water, I thought you didn’t notice.”
Bowie’s jaw was tight, and he was finished with her attempts to unbalance his mind. He thrust a bottle of lamp oil into her chest. “Take this and go to the other side of the camp. When I give the signal, start putting some flaming arrows into a few of those tents. When the camp’s lit up, get to the road and wait for me.”
“What’s the signal?” She asked.
Bowie wanted to say something witty but couldn’t come up with anything because he was so mad. Frustrated as he was, he still hadn’t thought of what the signal would be.
“If you would have kissed me, I would have told you. You’ll know it when you see it,” Bowie said as he darted off through the tall grass. He would have loved to see the look on her face. He was really quite proud of the comeback, now all he had to do was think of a signal that would be enough to catch her eye.
Bowie watched the line of guards closely as they glanced back into the camp and watched the fun they were missing out on. He was kind of jealous of the camp’s activity. John would have never allowed the men to drink this heavily or allowed them to wander about when doing so. Bowie ducked behind a small tree as best he could and lowered himself into the grass. Captain Lorusk was doing his best to maintain order in the camp by tossing drunkards into their tents as he wandered past. One of the tents collapsed, and the soldier inside almost wandered into a fire. Lorusk yanked him back by one of the tent strings, that’s when Bowie saw Chit laughing from just inside the shadows of the fire. Bowie had wondered where the idiot was.
Bowie crept closer to the horses, trying his best not to spook them but to stay hidden amongst the grass. He made clicking sounds with his tongue to get their attention and not startle them. Moving down the line, he examined the ropes stretching from tree to tree that the horses were tied to. He found Auburn’s horse but refused to call it Sally, even in his thoughts. The horse reared its head when Bowie pulled his short sword free. He knew horses hated snakes and the sound of the sword being drawn must have sounded similar to the hiss, so he waited for the horse to calm before severing the rope.
Lifting the rope, he leads the horse along the line until he found Charger. Patting his horse’s neck, Charger started dancing in place. Bowie calmed him by whispering as he uses to. Charger didn’t fully calm down, but enough that Bowie felt comfortable putting a saddle on.
Walking the horses along the line without drawing the attention of the guards took an effort until he found a green uniform cloak covering some saddles. Bowie quickly covered his shoulders and pulled the hood up around his face. He then makes sounds of a soldier complaining as he put saddles on the two horses. After he had the disguise, he worked as quickly as possible making a great deal of noise not concealing himself at all.
“Nearly midnight and I have to make a run for his bloody breakfast wine,” Bowie complained as a guard came close to challenge him.
The man must have thought his voice was warning enough not to approach, which was good because Bowie did not fancy killing anyone tonight. The guard continued on, and Bowie finished saddling the horses. He was tempted to take more but decided it was going to be hard enough to get these two out. He pulled the belly straps twice, and once again Auburn’s horse reared its head sending a wave of snorts and whinnies down the line of horses.
What he needed now was to figure out a good distraction for him to ride off with two horses into the night. Something that would turn all the guard’s heads so they wouldn't notice him, and signal Auburn at the same time. He looked about and could find nothing and was starting to feel stupid for lashing out and pretending he had already thought of one.
As Bowie stared into the camp, he saw a tent flap rustle in the wind. He knew what his signal would be, but he would need more than just a single tent flying through the camp. Pulling on Charger and Sally, Bowie made his way down the end of the linked together horses. He estimated around fifty were bound by one rope.
Pulling an arrow from his quiver, he ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around the end. Bowie uncorked a bottle of lamp oil and soaked the cloth, then mounted Charger. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was easier in the darkness for him to pick out the chaotic yellow waves of wind magic as it rolled over the grass from the lake. He watched the breeze and bent it ever so slightly to do his bidding.
A small opening below the collapsed tent gave him the leverage he needed to lift it off the ground and onto one of the campfires. Drunken men fell backward, and the burning cloth rolled over their heads bouncing between tents amongst the center of the camp. Bowie laughed a bit at the display of clumsily running soldiers tried to avoid the flames of the dancing tent. A small wind started to combat Bowie’s efforts, so he turned the wind to raise the tent out of the camp and into the sky. His control of the wind magic in the tent was severed, and he opened his eyes.
The grassland was bright red from the spread of flames from one tent to the other as he played with the burning canvas. Men shouted and ran drunkenly to the stream nearby trying to fill buckets with water. As he watched, two streaming arrows started fires on the other side of the camp and spread the chaos even further.
Bowie smiled and kicked Charger forward. His blade cleaved the long rope, setting horses free to run and roam. Pulling Charger to a stop, Bowie leaped from the saddle and pulled flint from his pocket. Hitting stone and flint, the oil-soaked rag on his arrow flared, leaving him temporarily blind. After rubbing his eyes with his shoulder, he nocked the arrow and aimed at the horses.
The arrow released from his grasp flew a finger's distance from the string of horses, causing them to run in all directions. The Earth Realm’s army scrambled to put out flames and catch frantic beasts of burden running in all directions. Bowie mounted Charger and took one last look at the product of his mischief. Kicking Charger forward he hoped that for once he wasn’t caught for his wicked deeds.
Twice, Bowie had to yell to guards as he made his way to the road, “I saw two more horses run in this direction. I’ll get them. You head back and help the others with the fire.”
Once on the road, he skirted the camp with no interaction until he heard a woman’s voice call out. When he turned, Auburn was running to catch up. For a moment he wondered if he should stop. The infernal girl has been a problem for him on more than one occasion. Although he remembered the time, she had saved him not only money but his life.
&
nbsp; Bowie slowed, letting her catch up.
“I was afraid you didn’t hear me,” She said as she slowed to a walk.
Bowie still wasn’t done being angry with her and waited for her to reach out for her horse. Kicking Charger, they jumped forward out of her reach leaving her stranded in the middle of the road. He pulled the horses to a stop and waited without looking back. When he started to hear footsteps on the ground, he kicked the horses to a walk.
He could hear Auburn sigh, so he pulled the horses to a stop. Waiting, she slowly walked up and mounted her horse. Adjusting herself in the saddle, she stuck the bow under a saddle strap and patted her horse. Bowie waited until she was ready to leave, still looking straight ahead. Auburn placed a hand on Chargers saddle and leaned in towards Bowie.
He leaned away, “What are you doing?”
“Repaying you for a clear signal, and for finding Sally,” Auburn said trying to kiss him.
“It’s a bit too late for that. Let’s get to Basham before the sun comes up. I want to get out of these wet clothes.” Bowie kicked charger into a trot leaving Auburn behind. Chew that over for a while, He thought.
The road to Basham was quiet, at least quieter than he thought it would be with Auburn along. What he had said to her must have done the trick because she trailed after him silently all the way to Basham. Even when they arrived, he asked her what kind of meal she would prefer, but she only shrugged in response.
Bowie weaved his way in and out of the streets trying to avoid any that had soldiers patrolling. Slowly, they made their way towards the docks to try and find a boat back to Leviathan. He knew just where to find the people for the job. Dismounting from his horse, he tied it off near an inn that looked to be in shambles. He helped Auburn down as a fight spilled into the streets from its innards of the inn.
The two fighting men continued their duel on the street. Once the inn’s toughs were sure the men were staying out, they disappeared back inside. Bowie looked back at Auburn who was still watching the fight.