‘Is it just a valley?’ she asked, thinking that sounded a small area.
‘The valley is long and thin, edged by a range of hills. It is the main route in and out of Berwick and opens out into the plains. If there’s people about that’s the most likely area.’
‘How far is it?’
‘Quite a way. We’ll be quicker and sense more around us in wolf form,’ Freddie said, as they jogged into the edge of the forest. If they’d had Jack with them they’d have remained in human form so he could better keep up, but that was now no longer a consideration. Each of them undressed, packing their clothes and weapons onto their backpacks.
Natalya slipped her arms into her pack, hooked the waist strap tight then knelt and let the change take over her body. She always felt such a lightening of spirit in her wolf’s body. She looked across at the tall rusty red wolf that was not only her alpha but her mate. He was a proud and impressive male and she went across to lick his muzzle in affectionate greeting and he nuzzled her face in reply. Moments later they were all ready.
Freddie gestured and each fanned out, keeping within sight of one another so they could check more ground. Whilst they had been assured that at least the first ten miles radius of Féarmathuin had been checked, an aerial search could not compare with eyes and noses on the ground. They trotted warily, alert for any hint of people, or indeed traps left over from the war. The inquisitors tended to like razor sharp trip wires too, that were designed to maim. That was definitely something to be on the lookout for.
The first tiny village they came to they approached with caution, but it was empty of life. Set beside a small river, it must once have been a pretty spot to live. Now, however the five houses stood forlorn and abandoned. Once productive fields lay neglected and overgrown, their edges already being retaken by the surrounding encroaching forest.
Methodically, the men checked each of the buildings for anything useful. They discovered that surprisingly little had been left and what was, appeared to have been neatly put away. It was clear the people had had sufficient warning to pack and flee.
Swiftly they moved on, following the path of the river. They knew the few settlements in the area had been sited along it rather than in the uncompromising mountains all around them. This was high country and whilst the forest gave shelter and bounty, leaving that to go higher was only sensible in summer. Winters were long and harsh, necessitating strong shelter and food stockpiles. No one travelled far or ventured high into the mountains if they could help it, as it meant being exposed to the often savage elements.
Water and fertile ground sufficient to grow food, were necessary for a village. Both were most readily found beside this river. The path they followed had been the original route the villagers had used to trade with one another and come to town. Of course the invaders had made use of it too as indicated by the signs of hastily hewn trees to widen the path. No local would chop down and kill a tree then leave it to rot. It was considered wasteful, not to mention disrespectful, to squander the natural bounty of their home.
At the fifth tiny hamlet, they saw the first obvious signs that the people had left in a hurry. Determining quickly that no one was there, they followed the river edge path onwards to where the river they’d been following flowed over the cliffs in a thundering white frothed waterfall. It was an awesome spectacle of the power of the violently swirling water. Trees clung precariously right to the very edge of the cliff, some at drunken angles, fighting to keep their grip on the soil.
They all looked warily down over the sharp cliffs into the beginnings of the valley they’d come to see. A steep and narrow switchback path led downwards, skirting the edge of the lake at the foot. The Berwick valley would slowly widen and eventually blend into the plains miles farther on. This was the beginning of the area Jack had heard contained the prison. Where was it? Were there any people nearby, perhaps watching them?
Natalya watched as a family of foxes came out of the trees, down below them, to drink from the quieter end of the waterfall’s lake. Their presence was reassuring, indicating that there was nothing nearby that might be threatening. Slowly they turned away from the spectacular view to return to the hamlet. They needed to check it out properly.
‘I think we could use this as our scouting base,’ Freddie said glancing about him thoughtfully, having shifted back to his human form. Whilst his wolf was fast, an excellent hunter with many finely tuned senses, it was to the detriment of detailed human thought. He needed to shift to make any kind of forward plans. ‘Let’s take a break and have lunch. We’ve got plenty of ground to cover, so we’ll split up. Nat I’d like you to stay here.’
‘I can help. I can scout.’
‘Yes, I know you can help; we’re relying on you to detect any wizards approaching or magical traps. However, we each have our skills and we’re experienced at spotting threats. We’ve also been running since dawn and covered a good many miles. Firstly you’re not used to that, and secondly you’re pregnant. I’d rather you didn’t exhaust yourself. Pushing through dense forest is hard. You might miss the signs of a trap.’
‘Granted you’ve had years being on the run,’ she conceded, aware her experience didn’t even come close to his. She was also aware of how protective he felt now she carried his child. ‘What do you want me to do? I’d feel bad just sitting here idle until you get back.’
‘I’m thinking it’d be best if we stayed here overnight rather than try to return. It’d be a better use of our time and strength and mean we could cover more ground tomorrow.’
‘That does make sense,’ she agreed readily. ‘You want me to setup the base camp then?’
‘Yes. That house on the left still has its roof intact. It’s not as mouldy and dirty as the others. Also, I seem to remember one of the reasons this hamlet was here, was because of the fish in the pool and in the lake down below. I haven’t had fresh fish in a while.’
‘Stay safe,’ she told them, watching as each man dropped off his pack at the door of the house they planned to use. Dustin and Rupert crossed the river, via the widely spaced stepping stones the previous inhabitants had placed. While Dustin headed straight away from the hamlet, Rupert ran along the river for a bit before angling off into the trees. Johnny and Freddie would take this side of river, heading out for two hours before circling back. She sighed that her pack could so quickly disappear into the trees. It proved their point that anything could be hiding nearby and be completely unseen. It was not a comfortable feeling.
‘Darius,’ she called softly to his mind and sensed his immediate attention. Like his brother Drako, he was strong in his magic and clearly had no difficulty hearing her mental call.
‘Natalya?’
‘Yes. Hope I’m not disturbing you?’
‘No, go ahead. What have you to report?’
‘We’ve covered a lot of ground today, but there’s far too much to do properly in a day. So far we’ve not seen anyone.’
‘You plan to camp out there tonight?’ he asked.
‘Yes. We’re at the little village at the head of the Berwick valley,’ she said letting him see the houses, river and pool through her eyes.
‘It’s a pretty place, but very run-down,’ he remarked, amazed to see it from her perspective. ‘You’ll stay in one of the cottages tonight?’
‘Yes. The pack has split up to scout a good loop all around us, while I setup camp.’
‘Good. A cottage sounds far safer than sleeping outside and exposed. Make sure you take no risks out there and don’t overdo anything yourself. You’ve a baby to think of.’
Natalya smiled at the concern in his tone. The bear could be short-tempered and impatient, mirroring his inner grizzly. He’d calmed down and become more positive in the months since the return to Féarmathuin. He was no longer the angry prickly bear everyone tiptoed around. This land and castle was his birth right, as Trent’s heir and no one could doubt his drive and determination to reclaim it. Few glimpsed his softer side, but it was
there in his mental tone along with his affection and respect for her. ‘How’s Jack doing?’
‘Amazingly inventive man that. Wish you’d brought him along sooner. He’s revolutionising our material transportation issues, speeding things up greatly. Can we keep him? Where did he come from?’
‘His wife and children could well be in the prison remember. I suspect he’ll do all he can to speed up your rebuild so we can go storm the place. He certainly wants to be in on that action. However he does understand what’s at stake and what needs to happen first.’
‘You’d best find it then. Take care, Natalya.’
Finding a broom and a mop, she decided she could use the time to rid the cottage they planned to use of its years of dust and rodent damage. Pausing for shelter in somewhere dirty was one thing, asking her pack to sleep overnight on a filthy floor, when she could do something about it, was quite another. She scanned the cottage for priorities and wrinkled her nose. This would be so much easier, not to mention quicker, if she could use magic. However that would be foolhardy to say the least. She had no idea if this area was being monitored, nor how close they might be to where they guessed the prison was located. In an area supposedly empty of people, any magic use would send up major red flags. Manual labour it would have to be.
Tying a scarf around her nose and mouth she unhooked the long heavy curtains that served to create two private sleeping alcoves from the rest of the room. A cloud of dust, mould and mildew flew around her and she was glad she’d thought to cover her face. Having disturbed these smelly and filthy things, she was glad to throw them outside. With the door and warped windows forced open, the raised dust soon settled and the air began to freshen. The rushes and straw that had once served as bedding had partially perished into gritty dust that also needed to be swept outside. She hated to think of what kind of insects might be making their home in that lot. The swift flowing river was an ideal spot to throw the dusty rushes so they would quickly disperse. Now she could tackle worktops and then floor.
Quite a while later she threw out the last pail of dirty water and decided she deserved a break. Stepping back inside, she surveyed her work with satisfaction. Since the cottage was small and basically one single room, it had been relatively quick and certainly simple to clean through. The main issue had been the build-up of years of dust and vermin damage. She was glad to have fresh water so close so she could work through repeatedly with the mop until the flagstones beneath her feet were no longer streaked and gritty.
She extended her senses and shuddered to find evidence of rodents nesting in the wall and plenty of insects. Being bitten in the night held no appeal whatsoever and she recalled Jim had a spell he used to rid places of such unwanted pests. Unfortunately she had no clue as to whether it was a magically “loud” spell. She’d wait until sundown to use it, when the heat energy of the setting sun warred with the cool magnetism of the rising moon. If she timed it right and was careful to keep her magic to a minimum, a minor blip of magic use could disappear into that disturbance.
Next she scoured the other cottages and found, as Freddie had hoped, an assortment of fishing equipment. Lugging it all outside into better light she riffled through trying to figure out some of the items. Guessing one wicker thing was a trap, she used the faintest amount of magic to refresh the wood and repair where the rope had frayed and unravelled. Tying fresh rope to it, she placed it in the water upriver from where she planned to try one of the rod and lines. Tied securely to one of the stepping stones she hoped it would catch something and not come apart at the first test.
Sitting down in a patch of sunshine on the bank, she fumbled for a while trying to cast the line into the water rather than hooking it into her clothes. Finally managing a reasonable cast, she sat back and watched it bob on the water with relief. She was glad to be able to sit still for a while. Freddie was right, they’d covered many miles this morning on their own feet and since then she’d been industriously cleaning. She was tired, the sun was warm on her back and she soon found herself nodding.
A tug on her hand jerked her to attention and she realised she had a bite. Eagerly she began reeling the line in, only to curse when the weight vanished. Damn, it had escaped. She sighed, pulling it in to check the hook was still attached before recasting it into a different area of the pool. Where she waited and waited once more.
Noticing the sun was beginning to drop and bugs were beginning to skip along the surface of the water, she sighed. Why hadn’t she just turned into her tiger and gone hunting? Maybe she’d have had better luck. Suddenly there was another tug on the line. This time she was quicker to respond and laughed in delight as she managed to land a respectably sized trout. Bashing it on the head before it could flip back into the water she put it in a pail and smiled happily at having at least something to feed her man.
Casting once more she was amazed to quickly find another bite. She landed another fish and then another in quick succession. She was so preoccupied that she didn’t immediately notice the woodland birds go quiet. Then a bird squawked close by, which sounded particularly loud in the sudden silence and she recognised it for what it was; a warning. Anxiously she turned and spotted a large brown bear approaching. Sending her senses out she realised there was no magic in this creature, it was not animus, but a wild bear.
Wrapping a defensive shield around her only took a moment, but she cursed herself for dropping her guard enough to have risked a mauling. She partially shifted into her tiger and growled, presenting a far larger and deadlier target. The bear had paused at her deep growl and the fact she hadn’t fled. She hoped it would leave. In the meantime, she turned part of her attention to finishing reeling in the fish tugging on her line before it managed to escape the hook. Knowing her shield would keep her safe from attack until she could retaliate, gave her the confidence to continue what she was doing.
The bear came a little closer but stopped when it saw the wriggling fish she pulled out of the water. Natalya decided prudence was the wisest course of action. She had no wish to tempt the bear into stealing her catch. She quickly gathered the pail with the other fish in it and her rod. Walking on her tiger’s back legs wasn’t easy, but by keeping her hands human she could carry her spoils. With the rest of her completely tiger, she bared her large fangs at him, letting another growl rumble from her throat. Walking like the bear did on his rear legs would also be a clear warning in bear language. He might be a brown bear and therefore large, but an animus creature tended to be far bigger than their corresponding animal. She suspected he could tell her tiger was no easy mark even for a bear.
She watched the bear closely but he merely watched her pass with equal wariness. She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the cottage and could close the door. Setting her burdens down she hurried to the newly cleaned window and watched as the bear went down into the water, obviously to catch his own fish dinner. His huge paws were like scoops and the equally large claws could grasp the elusive fish with amazing efficiency. She was impressed. Damn, maybe she should try shifting into a bear next time she was tasked with fishing for dinner. It was shape she’d never tried.
She reached out her senses and felt the pack returning. Rupert and Dustin were together she was relieved to sense. A pair of wolves would be regarded as less of an easy target than one alone.
‘Dustin, can you hear me?’ she called into his mind.
‘Yes. What’s wrong?’ he immediately asked, or rather let the anxious thought sit prominently at the forefront of his mind for her to pick up.
‘There’s a big brown bear, a wild one, fishing in the river right beside the stepping stones. He didn’t seem overly aggressive and didn’t bother my tiger but your wolves are smaller and you’d be passing way too close. Be careful.’
‘Thanks for the warning, appreciate it,’ he said simply and her warm presence disappeared from his mind.
‘It’s nice to know she’s always looking out for us, all of us,’ Rupert remarked once Dustin had rela
ted the warning. ‘No wonder Freddie’s so smitten,’ he added and Dustin nodded agreement. ‘I think I saw another set of stepping stones earlier. Let’s cut back to the river and hope we haven’t missed them.’
‘Good thinking,’ Dustin responded. ‘I can do without running smack into a hungry bear when he’s hunting.’
Whilst wolves and bears crossed paths often, they awarded the other a wary respect and that included not invading the other’s space. Giving each other space was simple enough and avoided most of the risk of a bear charging. Jumping almost over a bear’s head could be regarded as an act of aggression and a bear was unlikely to tolerate that.
‘Talking of which, if there’s a big male fishing, then there must be good fish stocks,’ Rupert remarked. ‘There might be more bears in other parts of the river. We’d best keep our eyes open.’
The door opened and Natalya smiled. She’d seen two four legged shapes approaching from one of the other windows. She wrapped her arms around Freddie who’d just shifted back into his human form outside the door and kissed his cheek. Johnny slid in and hastily grabbed his pack and dressed.
‘The others aren’t back yet?’ Freddie asked when she released him so he too could dress.
‘No, but they’re close. I spoke to Dustin a few minutes ago to warn him of the bear fishing in the pool. I think they’re going to look for another way across the river.’
Freddie immediately went out to look and Johnny and Natalya followed him. There were two bears out there now, keeping a wary distance from each other. As they watched, the big male caught a good sized fish and got out onto the bank to eat it. He devoured it quickly then walked off, evidently no longer hungry. As he began walking, he halted to stare across the water. Then he vanished into the forest.
Forging Alliances: Wizards of White Haven Page 27