by I. B. George
***
The rain which had been pouring down for a day and a half was proving an ally to Robert and his friends. The bad weather kept the people inside and the roads in the Kingdom of Water looked deserted. From time to time, carts with merchants overtook them in silence, their wheels sinking into the sludge on the road. Atop the seats of their carts, the drivers perched, quivering and scowling at the road ahead, careful of any pothole which might have damaged their huge, wooden wheels.
Keeping their hoods pulled over their eyes, Robert and his friends crossed through the kingdom unnoticed. None of the people they came across on the road, whether merchants or lone riders, had given them a second look, preoccupied as they were with reaching their destination where a jolly fire and some good wine were going to wipe away the unpleasantness of a sodden day.
The damp seeped through to their bones, making it inevitable to stop even though they knew they had to take advantage of the merciless weather which sheltered them from the prying eyes of the people who lived around here.
Rolan told them about a small tavern by the edge of a forest where they could find shelter after dark. He had stopped there many times as a child when he used to join his father on hunting trips.
He was hoping that, over time, the owner would have forgotten him and would not recognise him and give him away. He must have changed a great deal since then. His features looked hardened despite the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes which betrayed a jolly character. His face bore testimony to some of the troubles he had been through since he’s left the Kingdom of Water.
“What’s on your mind, friend Rolan?” enquired Radius as he approached him quietly.
Rolan jumped out of his skin.
“Nothing, Professor… In fact, I was thinking that it’s been a while since the last time I’ve been in the Kingdom of Water,” lied Rolan unflinchingly, his worries hidden inside.
“Feeling homesick?”
“Hmmm, you could say that, although I think it’s rather more like mixed feelings. On one hand, I miss my native land. On the other, it saddens me to have to travel like an outlaw hiding from the people in my own kingdom.”
“I can’t relate to that, my friend. As you know, I don’t belong to any of the kingdoms and when I go back to my world, I don’t have any regrets. I don’t belong there anymore.”
“Maybe that’s for the better, Professor. It’s best not to taste the bitterness,” said Rolan with a sigh. “This wretched weather,” he added, trying to change the subject.
“You’re right, we’d better get to that inn you were talking about. We could do with a warm fire and some nice food.”
He turned in his saddle to face his companions who sat snuggled inside their capes. Akura looked particularly pathetic with his soaked and dirty coat. Although he was used to the privileged life at the palace, for the past years he had been forced to adapt to a normal life. He never complained and Radius had always appreciated his endurance.
“I think our friends feel the same way,” Radius interrupted the trail of thoughts that troubled Rolan.
Rolan smiled absentmindedly, not really taking in what the Professor had just said.
“I think we’re still a long way away, perhaps half an hour,” he estimated as he tried to recall his surroundings. “Either way, this road will take us straight there. I’m pretty sure… Mivas’s Tavern is the first inn by the Border.”
“Well then, all we have to do is keep going,” replied Radius.
Rolan nodded in silence and urged his horse to hurry up. The rain kept dripping, cold and gloomy, making the roads in the kingdom difficult to ride on. The six friends shivered under their capes.
The horses trod heavily, leaving deep grooves in the mud on the road. White steam rose up from their backs, which proved just how hard the animals were toiling in that cold and unfriendly weather.
They had left the small wood by the foot of the hill by Zathar’s Trail the day before and they hadn’t allowed themselves more than a short break to rest when they had stopped for a few hours by the edge of a copse on top of a hill along which the road slithered.
There was no time for long breaks and the rain didn’t allow them to stop for long in one place because of the cold and damp which seeped through to their bones.
They kept going in the hope that soon enough they were going to rest by the fire, dry their clothes and have a mug of wine with their hot meal. That image followed them like a mirage and helped them to advance through the rain which kept falling steadily, lashing at them from all sides like a cruel enemy.
They stopped feeling the cold as their clothes stuck to their skin, causing them pain each time the wind blew in their direction. They kept going, knowing that this tormenting road will soon reach an end and then they would watch the cheerful fire dancing lively in the hearth at the inn’s diner.
The road began to climb slightly as it led them to the ridge of the small hill that lay before them. The horses started on the steep hill, carrying the riders to their destination by anchoring their hooves into the muddy clay through which ran the flooded burrows made by the carts’ wheels.
The animals stepped carefully, analysing each step they took and that made the journey the more arduous and long. After half an hour they managed to reach the hill ridge and from there they could see the landscape unfurling on the other side.
Trails of smoke rose from the chimneys of the houses in the hamlet which lay a few hours away, revealing to the seven friends that the inhabitants had taken shelter inside. Slightly nearer, at the foot of the hill, stood a large house, abundantly lit and with a wide courtyard and open gates, which invited travellers in.
“Friends,” Rolan’s voice rang out, “this is Mivas’s Tavern. We should be there in less than half an hour. Praise be to Lokar for guiding our way here.”
He pulled the reins and urged his horse to head towards the path leading to the inn while his companions followed confidently behind.
***
Marching in pairs, the soldiers followed closely behind the seven fugitives. From time to time, Kolar would get off his horse to inspect the tracks left on the road by Robert and his friends’ horses, scrutinising the imprints intently.
It had been pouring down for almost an hour and that made his task even more difficult as he attempted to read the prints that were of any interest. Kolar rode thirty paces ahead of his soldiers, keeping the horse on the left, so as not to damage the horseshoe tracks.
Suddenly he came to a halt and the men behind him stopped as the aide gave them the signal. Kolar dismounted and placed one knee on the grass by the path, bending as close as possible to the ground in order to investigate properly the imprints made into the soft clay. His aide came by his side.
“Something new, Captain?” he asked timidly.
Kolar didn’t answer. He was frowning over a deep groove left by a horseshoe. He placed his hand inside the small dent.
“Judging by the amount of water in this groove and the way the edges have been roughed up by the rain, I’d say they must be at least one day ahead of us.”
“Are you sure it’s them, Captain?” enquired his aide, even though he had stopped doubting Kolar’s skills a long time ago.
“I’m absolutely certain,” he said as he got up. “I can recognise the shape of some of the horseshoes I saw by the cliff climbing down into Akros.”
He got back on his black stallion and turned to his aide:
“We will soon stop for a break. No later than two hours from now. Let’s just hope they stop more often, so we can catch up with them. Hop on… there’s a long and difficult road ahead of us.”
He faced the rest of the soldiers:
“Let’s go!” he boomed as he thrust the spurs into his horse’s belly, making it neigh in pain.
The aide mounted as well and the whole assembly started moving, following the path by the side of which Kolar advanced, carefully surveying every imprint left in the soft soil.
***<
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Through the window, Mivas watched the travellers who had just entered the courtyard of his inn, their hoods pulled over their eyes and their capes soaked with rain dripping down in long trickles.
“Za’avar, you ne’er-do-well,” he called out to the boy dozing by the kitchen hearth. “Get up right now… can’t you see we have customers?”
Za’avar opened his eyes and scrambled to his feet, startled by the innkeeper’s voice.
“Right away, guv!” he called back, still in a daze from his sleep and the warmth of the hearth where he had found himself a bed.
“Get the rooms ready, you lazy rascal!” hollered Mivas. “And put more logs on the fire in the dining room, quickly. Then run and find the cook. Tell him to get a warm meal ready.”
Mivas started wiping one of the large tables in the downstairs room of the inn. Despite having a potbelly like any respectable proprietor, he was quite fast for a sixty year old and able to run around on his short, bowed legs.
He quickly set the table with plates and cutlery as well as some clay mugs. He considered quickly dashing downstairs to the cellar and bring some wine, but maybe he could do that after his distinguished guests have ordered their food.
He came out of the inn, making sure to shelter under the eaves so as not to get soaked by the rain which pouring down from the roof. He watched two of his stable boys as they ran to meet the travellers.
“Hurry up, you scoundrels,” he urged them on as he threw a white napkin over his left shoulder and placed his hands on his hips.
The boys followed his orders, deep down cursing the travellers who got them out of the warm hay where they slept and the cruel rain that dripped down their necks, magnifying the foulness of the weather.
The six friends got off their horses and made their way into the inn while the boys led the horses away by their reins and into the stables.
Radius went into the dining room, took off his hood, removed his cape and placed it on a wooden stand by the huge fireplace. Then Robert did exactly the same, hanging his small cape next to Radius’s. One by one, the other companions took off their wet capes, with Rolan being the last one to do so.
Mivas gave a slight, involuntary flinch when Rolan revealed his face, a fact which didn’t escape the ever careful eye of Azar. Mivas was about to say something but chocked back on his words as Voras called out:
“Rolan, my friend, come and sit here next to me. I really feel like a small flask of red wine from Akros, just what we need to loosen our joints.”
“Rolan?!” wondered Mivas. “I could have sworn it was someone else… the resemblance is striking. Even though I haven’t seen the boy in over twenty years, it’s still almost impossible to be wrong about this. He looks just like his father, may Zathar rest his soul. I heard he fled the kingdom, but there he is now, using a different name. I’d better keep quiet though. Looks like his companions have no idea who he really is.”
“Innkeeper,” Radius interrupted the old man’s trail of thoughts. “Bring something for us to eat as fast as you can and get five rooms ready.”
“Five, honourable? If I’m not mistaken, there’s six of you… I thought…”
“I’ll share a room with my grandson and his dog,” interrupted Radius, indicating Robert and Akura.
“Fewer rooms, less money,” mumbled Mivas to himself.
“Did you say something?”
“Yes sir, I was just saying that I already gave the order as soon as you entered into my courtyard. The rooms are ready. As for the dog… I’ve prepared a bed of hay in the stable with the horses…”
“My grandson had him since he was a child. He’s part of the family so he can sleep with us.”
The innkeeper did some more calculations in his head: “More money lost… I could have charged some pennies for the dog’s bed. Blast, I have customers on a weather when nobody else would venture out of their houses and all I get is tight purses. Let’s hope at least that they do well on the food and wine or my custom will go down the drain with such clientele.”
“You might like something to eat now, sirs. I can tell you didn’t feel like stopping much in this weather.”
“You’re quite right, innkeeper, it’s not exactly nice eating with rain dripping down your chin,” replied Vidar in his grave voice.
“Very well, sirs. Is there something in particular you’d like?”
“We’ll leave it to you to choose the food,” said Radius. “Here’s something for your trouble,” he added and tossed into the air four gold coins which landed with a jingly clink onto the wooden table.
The innkeeper’s eyes sparkled as he swiftly grabbed the coins and, like a magician, made them disappear into one of the pockets of his large trousers, made especially to fit around his paunch. He then went away, walking backwards and bowing deeply to his guests.
Soon enough they heard him shouting at the cook and his aide to hurry up and make something to eat for his ‘distinguished guests’. It was then Za’avar’s turn to scurry to the cellar, followed by the innkeeper’s curses ringing out behind him.
Left on their own, the seven friends could talk at ease.
“We can’t stay here for too long,” began Radius. “We must be on our way early in the morning, before down.”
“You’re right, Professor,” agreed Akura. “There’s no time to waste. Let’s just hope your clothes will dry in the next few hours and you manage to get a good sleep to regain your strength.”
“If only this wretched would rain stop,” mumbled the quiet Voras. “We could reach our destination much quicker.”
Captain Vidar stood up from his chair and looked out the window.
“Something wrong, Captain?” asked Azar, his hand reaching for the waist, where his sword was hanging.
“I’m not sure,” mumbled Vidar. “I have this strange feeling, as though someone were following us the whole time,” he continued while stroking his grey beard.
“I don’t think anyone knows we’re here. Normally, after coming down Zathar’s Trail, we should have been safe.”
He turned to Robert:
“Prince, please bring out your father’s compass. We could check if Vidar’s hunches are correct…”
Robert rummaged inside the bag on the back of his chair and pulled out the compass the Professor had asked for. He lifted its lid and placed the compass in his palm, watching the movement of the needle. The needle went in wild circles, without stopping at any of the symbols on the dial.
“Nothing, Professor,” said Robert after watching the compass for several moments.
“Hear that, Vidar?” Radius addressed the captain.
“Indeed, Professor… Perhaps I’m getting older and my instincts are playing tricks on me. Or they might be soldiers, in which case the prince’s compass wouldn’t work.”
“I find it hard to believe that if Tyreas knew we were heading towards the Border he’d send only one group of soldiers… he already knows that we’ve been through much more than that and we have our friends with Chosen powers on our side. No,” he added, “surely he would send the soldiers plus some of the Water Chosen. As a matter of fact, Khar told me he’d seen a group of soldiers accompanied by four Water Chosen.”
“You could be right, Professor.”
“Or,” added Robert, “it could be possible that those following us are more than one day away from where we are.”
“In that case,” uttered Rolan, “we mustn’t linger here much longer and we should try to maintain our lead. I’m going to tell the innkeeper to light the fire in our rooms so we can go to sleep straight after our meal.”
He stood up and started towards the kitchen. Mivas saw him in the doorway and jumped to his feet:
“Your Highn…”
Rolan gestured to him to hush by holding a finger to his lips. Mivas took the hint and pointed with his eyes towards the door of a small chamber. He led the way and Rolan followed closely behind.
“It’s nice to see you again, innkee
per,” said Rolan, “although I was hoping you wouldn’t recognise me.”
Mivas looked offended:
“Is that possible, Your Highness… ? What kind of innkeeper would I be if I didn’t remember who crossed my threshold? I always make sure I get everything ready for old customers as soon as they get off their horses in my courtyard… only that way I can keep my reputation as the best proprietor around.”
“My friends don’t know who I am and I’d rather you kept it that way, innkeeper.”
“Of course, Your…”
“… and please stop calling me that if you’re going to help me keep this a secret.”
“Certainly, Your… sir,” replied Mivas, correcting himself just in time.
“Please get our rooms ready, honourable Mivas. Make sure you light the fire and change the sheets.”
“Right away. I’ll call that good for nothing Za’avar and give him the orders straight away.”
“Good. Thank you innkeeper. As for what we’ve just discussed, I hope that stays between us.”
“I’ll be as quiet as a mouse, sir. Thank you for doing me the honour of calling by and please allow me to express my condolences on your father’s death.”
“Thank you, dear man.”
“He was a truly special man and your brother tainted his memory with his actions. That’s why you had to flee.”
“My brother wanted to send me straight into Zathar’s arms, innkeeper. That’s why I left in a hurry and never looked back.”
“Did you come back to challenge him?”
“No, I’m here with my friends, that’s all. We’re heading towards the Kingdom of Clouds,” he lied, not entirely trusting the innkeeper.
“Well then, may Lokar be with you! And don’t worry, your secret is safe with me… sir.”
Rolan thanked him with his eyes then went out the door and headed towards his friends.
***
Well propped in his saddle, Kolar was dozing off as his horse carried him along the road to the Kingdom of Water. He was used to sleeping while riding, without the need for a bed or a camp to stretch his legs.