The Emblem Throne (The Runes of Issalia Book 2)

by Jeffrey L. Kohanek

  “You need to get moving. We are to leave within the hour.”

  She was right; he needed to get moving. Cam sat upright, causing the hammock to swing. He flipped his legs over the side and dropped to the stone floor. The hard surface felt cold to his bare feet as he wandered the room in search of his clothing, which was scattered about the room. As he began to dress, he glanced toward Puri and found her leering at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Men are not alone in their ability to appreciate the form of another,” she flashed a devious grin.

  Cam felt a flush of embarrassment as he pulled up his trousers. Once he was dressed, Puri pulled the curtain covering her doorway aside and waved Cam outside. He ducked as he stepped through, careful not to hit his head. Having already made that mistake the previous evening, the lump atop his head still hurt.

  She led him along a narrow hall and down a flight of stairs. Moments later, they approached the large room where his friends were staying. Puri pulled the curtain aside, and he stepped through. Heads turned in their direction, more than one face showing a brow raised in question. Feeling his face flush again, Cam glanced at Puri to see her reaction.

  Seeming unaffected, Puri addressed the group. “It is good that you are awake. I feared that some of you might be feeling ill effects from last night’s feast.”

  Brock smiled weakly. “Some of us do feel a bit ill. However, a messenger was just here, reminding us to prepare for an early departure.”

  “This is good.” She nodded. “Gather your things and meet me in the receiving hall. It is the large cavern where we first met.”

  Puri turned and ducked out the door without giving Cam a second glance. He watched the curtain sway as he listened to her footsteps fading. While he had a wonderful night with Puri, he had no idea what it meant. Did she like him or did she just seek him out for the personal contact? He decided that he might never understand women.

  Shaking his head to refocus, he crossed the room to gather his belongings. By the time he had his sword belt strapped and pack shouldered, everyone was ready to go.

  Brock’s gaze swept the room, briefly making eye contact with each of them. “Is everyone ready?” Nods shook in his direction. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Brock ducked through the curtain, followed by his friends. They traveled down the rock tunnel and down a flight of stairs to another tunnel. When they entered the large cavern, they found Puri waiting with nine other Tantarri warriors. She had her long sword strapped to her back, long dagger at her hip, and a loaded saddlebag in hand.

  She nodded. “Good. Follow me.”

  Puri led them to the opposite tunnel while the other Tantarri warriors trailed behind the group. The tunnel brought them to a much wider tunnel that opened to the canyon sky in one direction. Puri turned the other direction, leading them deeper into the mountain. Since the tunnel was quite wide, they walked in a large clump rather than in a trailing column. After a quarter mile, the tunnel revealed light beyond a curve ahead.

  To Cam’s amazement, they stepped out into a hidden valley, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides. The rising sun was just emerging above the high cliffs to the east, brightly lighting the western half of the valley. It was green and lush despite it being winter. A single lake lay near the center, its calm surface reflecting the bright sky above. Herds of horse and cattle crazed peacefully in the fields, feasting on the long grasses. It was gorgeous.

  Three Tantarri men were waiting for them. Puri approached the men, speaking with them before one of them turned and whistled. A small herd of horses came running from around a rock outcropping. Whites, browns, blacks, and spotted piebalds trotted over to the man who had whistled. The man stood calmly among the horses as they surrounded him.

  Puri stepped forward and addressed Cam and his friends. “Please listen carefully. You are to spread out in this area. You may touch a horse with your hand if it comes close, but do not move your feet. Once a horse picks you, we will tell you its name. You are to take a few minutes to become friends with your horse while we prepare to have it saddled.”

  Tipper looked confused. “Do you mean that we choose a horse?”

  Puri shook her head. “You do not choose a Tantarri horse. A Tantarri horse chooses you.”

  Tipper looked at her in confusion, reflecting Cam’s own thoughts. The others began to spread out and Cam followed suit. The Tantarri man who had called the horses walked through the group and made another high-pitched whistle. The horses began to wander among the group. After a number of horses passed Cameron, a tall male piebald stopped before him. The animal sniffed at him before nuzzling him with his nose. Tentatively, Cam reached up to pet the horse’s forehead. He glanced around to find the others speaking to the horses who had approached them.

  “Hi, boy.” Cam spoke to the animal, trying to figure out what to say to a horse. “You’re a pretty horse.”

  The horse whinnied, shaking its head. Startled, Cam backed away a step. A Tantarri man approached with a saddle in hand.

  “His name is Gigamont. He is quite proud,” the warrior said as he hoisted the saddle onto the horses back. “I would not call him pretty again if I were you.”

  As Cam watched the man secure the saddle, he considered another approach.

  Stepping close, he tried again. “Hello Gigamont. My name is Cam. I would be honored if a powerful and glorious steed such as yourself would consider me as a rider.”

  The horse nuzzled Cam’s neck and stamped a front hoof twice.

  The Tantarri warrior stepped back, finished with the saddle. He nodded to Cam. “Much better. You will get along fine.”

  As the man stepped away, Cam stepped beside Gigamont. Placing one foot in the stirrup and one hand on the saddle horn, he hoisted himself up into the saddle.

  “Where’s the bridle?” Brock asked from astride the red roan that had chosen him.

  That’s when Cam realized there were no bridle or reins.

  Puri responded, shaking her head. “Tantarri do not use bridles.”

  “How do we steer the horse?” Parker asked.

  She smiled. “You’ll see.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Ashland moved gingerly, wincing as she sat upon the downed tree. She hadn’t ridden a horse since her first year at the Academy. After one day in the saddle, every movement seemed to hurt from her ribs down to her feet. She glanced over at Libby, who gritted her teeth in pain as she sat beside Tipper. Those two were in misery together, neither having ever ridden before. Libby had opted to ride with Ashland rather than attempting to ride on her own. To the girl’s credit, she never complained though she received the worst of every bump coming through the saddle.

  Tipper, on the other hand, complained to Brock throughout the day. The two boys had shared a horse as well, but Tipper was sure to let Brock know how much every movement hurt. At one point, he even accused Brock of purposefully making it as bad as possible. Brock laughed it off, claiming to be at the mercy of the roan they were riding.

  Brock settled next to Ashland, releasing a small groan as he took his seat.

  “My thighs are sore,” he said. “Using them to guide the horse is taking a toll on me.”

  She nodded in response. When Puri had explained that they had to use pressure with their legs to guide the horse, Ashland had been skeptical. While she was no longer a skeptic, squeezing with her legs throughout the day left them very sore.

  Puri stood from her seat among the other Tantarri and circled the fire toward them.

  “You outlanders ride worse than I had feared,” she said, shaking her head. “Now, you all sit here and complain about pain from riding. I don’t understand how you can go through life without feeling the joy of riding a horse every day. If you rode more often, you’d feel no pain from it.”

  Brock laughed. “It’s not that easy, Puri. Horses are very expensive. In the Empire, only the wealthy own horses for riding. Yes, traders own workhorses to pull their wagons, but those horses are a
business investment and aren’t meant for riding. The rest of the population might dream of owning a horse, but it’s a dream that will likely never happen.” Brock gestured toward his companions. “Luckily, most of us here attended the Academy, or we’d have never learned to ride at all.”

  Tipper snorted. “You guys are lucky. I’ve never even been on a horse before, and now I hurt so much, I can’t walk.”

  Puri shook her head. “You outlanders are strange.”

  Benny, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, responded. “It’s all a matter of perspective. What you see as strange, we might see as normal. Trust me, there are many things about the Tantarri that we think are strange.”

  Ashland nodded. “That’s true. Perhaps we should learn more about each other, and then our differences won’t seem so strange.”

  Puri stared at Ashland, considering her words before giving a nod. “The words you speak are wise.” She sat on a log and stared at Brock and Ashland. “What should I know then?”

  Ashland started, not prepared for the direct question. Brock responded instead.

  “You make a mistake if you judge us by the actions of the Ministry. While they govern us, they represent their own agenda not ours. The citizens of the Empire are just people. We all have hopes and dreams. We want to love and to be loved. While we just want to go about our lives in peace, many of us also realize that we need to work together and support each other for a better tomorrow. We see that compassion breeds compassion and that hate, selfishness, and contempt lead to bitterness and an empty existence.” Brock looked her in the eye. “Do we sound so different?”

  Puri and the other Tantarri had listened intently as Brock spoke. As he finished speaking, Ashland noticed that they were nodding along with each statement.

  Puri shook her head. “No. We are not so different.” She smiled. “I’m glad to know you, outlander.”

  Brock winced. “Please, call me Brock.”

  She smiled. “Okay, Brock.”

  . . .

  As they traveled southward, the forest growth thinned. When they camped for the second night, it was in a low wooded area near a creek. The surrounding country consisted of pines scattered among dry scrub that grew in the reddish dirt and rock pervading the hillsides.

  Mid-morning the following day, they crested a low saddle to get a view of the land to the south, finding a canyon at the foot of surrounding mountains. Seeing made-made structures at the east end of the canyon, Ashland stared at it, trying to make sense of what it she saw. A tall brick wall ran across the canyon from north to the south. A road coming in from the west ran up to the gate in the center of the long wall. A handful of buildings occupied the interior of the compound, but nowhere near the number normally found in a city. People within the compound were moving about in single-file lines, going in and out of the shadows of the cliff that encapsulated the compound. Ashland had never seen anything like it.

  “What is it?” Benny asked.

  Puri shook her head. “I do not know. We are now well beyond Tantarri lands. I was instructed to look for an Empire road that runs along the coast and to take it eastward, but that is still miles south of here.”

  Brock spoke, his brow furrowed. “It looks like a small city, but why is it so empty inside? Why such a large wall for so few buildings?”

  Ashland thought the very same thing. It was an odd sight. She glanced about for answers but found nothing but shrugs and blank stares.

  “This may be dangerous, Hitarri,” Puri said to the leader of their escort. “You’ll need to stay with us a bit longer. The road to Kalimar cannot be far.”

  Hitarri nodded. “Yes, Puri.”

  She raised a hand and waved them forward.

  With Puri in the lead, the horses repeatedly turned in switchbacks as they made their descent. After fifteen minutes of steady decline, the ground began to level.

  Ashland looked toward the wall spanning the width of the canyon, standing over two-stories tall. Men armed with bows patrolled the top of the wall. The gate opened, and a group of twenty men rode out on horseback. It was clear that the riders meant to intercept them when they reached the road.

  Puri called out. “Be wary. We will flee west if they attack.” She turned toward Hitarri. “You must delay them so we can escape.”

  Hitarri nodded, looking grim.

  The approaching riders came to a stop and waited. As they neared the group, Ashland recognized one of the riders. A stab of fear struck when she realized who it was.

  “Eldarro.” She heard Brock mutter.

  Eldarro pointed, recognizing them. “You!” he exclaimed as he pointed toward Brock. “Get them!”

  Puri shouted, “Go!”

  Ashland thanked Issal that she had a firm grip on the saddle horn or she and Libby would have flown off the horse when it launched into a fierce gallop. Libby’s arms tightened about Ashland’s midsection as the horse shot across the open ground and onto the road heading west. Ashland glanced to the side to see Brock and Tipper riding beside her. Her head spun about, finding her other companions on her other side as they followed Puri on the lead horse. Craning her neck, Ashland glanced backward to see enemy riders and horses tumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust, Tantarri arrows sticking from them.

  She turned to face forward as they sped down the gravel road, creating their own trail of dust. Without a doubt, this was the fastest Ashland had ever traveled. She prayed that the horses would hold out long enough for them to escape.

  . . .

  Ashland leaned into Brock, closing her eyes to enjoy the comfort of his embrace. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes.

  “What was that place?” she asked him.

  He looked off toward the road, considering his response. “I’ve been thinking about that. It has walls like a city, but it’s too empty to be a city. Eldarro and those men rode out from it, so it has something to do with him. Varius mentioned sending me to a mine, and I think that’s what we saw.”

  She nodded. It made sense. “For a mine, it sure has a lot of security.”

  “True. Maybe what’s inside is valuable.” His brow furrowed in thought. “Or maybe the security is to keep the people working inside, like some sort of prison. A prison for Unchosen.”

  Their eyes met, both thinking about what it meant. After a moment, Brock’s gaze shifted to the side. Ashland turned to see what had caught his attention and realized that Puri was returning. When she reached the small alcove where they had stopped, she had a grim look on her face.

  “We cannot take the coastal road.” Puri said, shaking her head. “They have sent another group that way to cut us off. They are waiting just east of here.”

  “If we follow the coast west, we’ll end up in Wayport,” Parker suggested. “From there, we could take a ship to Sol Polis.”

  Brock nodded. “That’s true. It might cost more, but it should be just as fast as riding. Maybe faster.”

  Puri’s face clouded. “A ship?”

  “Do we have any other choice?” Ashland asked.

  She looked toward the others, in search of a response. Everyone remained quiet.

  Finally, Puri nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  She mounted her stallion, waving for others to do the same. Once they were all mounted, she led them from the alcove. When they reached the road, Puri kicked her horse into a gallop. Ashland was ready this time, holding on tight as her horse raced after Puri’s and headed toward the place she dreaded most.

  CHAPTER 29

  The sun was high overhead when Wayport came into view the following day. As they crested a small rise, Ashland looked upon the city tucked against the Sea of Fates. Though it appeared peaceful and innocent from here, she knew better.

  They continued down the Greenway at a trot, through the heart of the valley that led to the port city. Like most coastal cities, a high brick wall surrounded Wayport. Scattered farms and other buildings dotted the countryside. By the time they approached th
e city gates, the road had grown thick with activity.

  Ashland watched Parker’s horse pass hers as he made his way to the fore, beside Puri.

  Parker turned and spoke aloud. “I’ve been here a number of times. If you’ll follow my lead, I can get us accommodations. It may take some time to locate a ship heading to Sol Polis.”

  Brock nodded. “That would be great, Parker. Just let us know what to do.”

  “Good.” Parker nodded. “First, let’s dismount and break into smaller groups. Horses are expensive and attract attention. A group this large will surely warrant notice.”

  Puri gave a short whistle and the horses came to a stop. They dismounted, each rider standing beside their steed.

  Brock addressed the group. “Lars, Benny, and Ashland will take their horses and follow Parker. Tipper and Libby can go with them since they have no horses. Cam, Puri, and I will keep a distance behind as we follow.”

  Everyone nodded in confirmation. While Ashland preferred to stay with Brock, she could guess why he had placed her in separate group. She glanced back at him, noting his new rune. You should hide your rune. People will notice. He nodded and pulled the hood of his cloak up.

  Parker turned toward Puri. “How do we lead the horses without a bridle?”

  Puri smiled. “Just place your hand on Tallidad’s neck and begin walking. He will follow.”

  Parker gave a shrug and placed his hand on the stallion’s neck, his horse shadowing him as he walked toward the gate. Ashland placed her hand on her mare’s neck and followed Parker into the city. As she passed through the gate, her stomach twisted in anxiety. After burying the dark years she had spent in Wayport, she could feel them clawing back to the surface.

  . . .

  The stable boy appeared confounded by horses lacking a bridle. After some stern instructions from Puri, he told her he understood how to treat the horses. Ashland glanced back at the boy as they walked away. He appeared bewildered as he watched the untethered horses chew on the provided hay. Ashland smiled, understanding his confusion. It was hard to believe that the horses wouldn’t wander off.