by Chuck Black
The following day, Dalton traveled to Koen’s farm to greet his friend and retrieve his horse. He went first to the stables and found Chaser. He tied up the borrowed courser and then rode Chaser to the front of Koen’s home.
Lacy was the first to see him, and she ran into the house shouting as he dismounted. Koen’s entire family rushed into the front yard. Koen ran to him first, with eyes wide, and hugged him like a lost brother. Dalton was surprised, for this reunion seemed warmer and more enthusiastic by far than his time with his parents or even Brynn. He hugged Koen back and looked at Carliss over Koen’s shoulder. She was smiling bigger than he had ever seen before.
Dalton released Koen and hugged each of the members of the family in turn. Carliss was last. She put her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly, then quickly released and turned shyly away. Dalton had to suppress a smile as he turned his attention to little Lacy, who had slipped her hand into his.
Koen’s family invited him into their home, and they sat around the kitchen table as he told his story. The entire family hung on each word. They were a silent and motionless audience that eagerly soaked up the tale. Here, his passionate words for the Prince brought smiles and nods. It was so different yet natural, and he felt at home. When he finished, there was a unified sigh of relief. Not a word of his story was questioned, and they showed deep concern for the rest of Drox’s prisoners.
Koen’s father put a hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “You’ve inspired us, Dalton. I would love to one day meet this Master Sejus.”
“I hope to return and meet with him again. I have so much more to learn,” he replied.
“What will you do now?” Koen asked.
Dalton looked at each of the faces that were staring at him. “I’ll have no peace as long as I know that a place like Drox’s prison holds fellow knights in bondage. I will go back.”
The family looked solemnly at him.
“You can’t go alone,” Carliss said.
“You’re right. He is too powerful for one man, and the Vinceros and guards there are many.” He looked at Koen and his family. “Will you come with me to petition the haven for help?”
Koen reached out and grabbed his arm. “We are all with you.”
Dalton felt like he was amidst brothers and sisters. “Thank you,” he said with relief
When it was time for Dalton to leave, he went to get the horse Yergillay had loaned him, but it was gone. Koen’s family helped him search the nearby countryside, but there was no sight of the horse. Dalton despaired, for the borrowed horse was a fine animal and it would take him a long time to earn enough to pay Yergillay back.
“It is strange,” Koen’s father said. “We’ve never had anything like this happen here before. I’m sorry, Dalton.”
“It’s my own fault,” Dalton replied. “I must have tied him too loosely.” His joyous reunion was sobered by the animal’s disappearance, but there were larger concerns for the time being.
The next morning, accompanied by Koen, Carliss, and their father, Dalton rode back into Salisburg, but his appearance before the subcouncil of knights and other prominent members of the haven at Salisburg proved to be a disappointment. They gave his tale only a lukewarm reception, and he felt he had to convince them of the truth of it.
“You say there are no locked doors on the cells?” one knight asked. “I find it quite…incomprehensible that the prisoners would just stay there. Why don’t they leave?”
“Fear keeps them there. Fear that Drox will hunt them down again,” Dalton replied.
“Why haven’t we seen evidence of this before?” another knight asked.
“I don’t know,” Dalton said, exasperated. “Perhaps you are not looking!”
Sir Treffen stood. “Dalton, it isn’t that we don’t believe you. We just need more to go on before we act. Where is this prison you speak of?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, realizing that he had never asked Master Sejus of its whereabouts. At the time, he hadn’t considered attacking it, for he was preoccupied first with healing and then with being prepared if Drox ever came back for him.
One of the knights rolled his eyes and turned aside.
“But I know someone who can find it,” Dalton blurted out.
The council conferred quietly for a moment; then Sir Treffen spoke. “We will send two knights to accompany you to find the location of the prison. When you have discovered it, report back, and we will then decide what to do.”
“I will go with him,” Koen stood up from the back of the room.
“And I,” Carliss joined her brother.
Dalton turned and looked at his friends—true friends.
“Very well. So let it be. This meeting is adjourned,” Sir Treffen announced.
Dalton took a deep breath, and Koen, Carliss, and their father came to him. Koen’s father looked disappointed.
“It is not enough,” he said shaking his head.
“What should we do?” Dalton asked.
“Do as they say, but be careful, and do not allow yourselves to be discovered. Meanwhile I will send for Sir Orland.” Koen’s father thought for a moment. “Dalton, show me your best guess on a map as to the location of Drox’s prison, and describe some of the landmarks if there are any. We must be ready to strike quickly.”
Dalton nodded. “We will first ride to visit Master Sejus. He will show us the way to the prison.”
They decided to take one full day to prepare and leave the following morning.
How in the kingdom will I tell Brynn? Dalton wondered.
Dalton, Koen, and Carliss set out for the Northern Mountains the following day. They traveled north along the Frates River to Kaar Lake and then northwest to the foothills of the mountains. They arrived in Lewerton late in the evening and spent the night there. The next morning, Dalton went to the stables to explain what had happened to the horse Yergillay had loaned him and to promise repayment, but the owner of the stables knew nothing of the man or the horse.
“But I was here a week ago,” Dalton insisted, scratching his head.
“You didn’t talk to me,” the barrel-chested man scoffed.
“No, I didn’t. Yergillay met me in the evening and brought the horse to me.” Dalton looked about, searching for the stableman that gave him the horse.
“Which stall was the horse in?” the owner asked.
“The far one on the end,” Dalton pointed. He looked briefly at Koen and Carliss, wondering if they were beginning to think him mad. “It was a fine horse…a courser.”
“Look,” the owner said angrily. “That stall hasn’t held a horse in over a month, and I have never heard of this man you call Yergillay. Be gone from me. I don’t have time for such nonsense when there’s work to do.”
Dalton squinted and shook his head. What is going on? he wondered. How will I find Yergillay and repay him now?
Lewerton was small, and it didn’t take Dalton long to confirm that no one in the village had ever heard of a man named Yergillay. Puzzled, they left Lewerton and headed up into the mountains.
They rode in silence for a while, for Dalton was preoccupied with the strange disappearance of the animal no one had seen and the man he had borrowed it from. After a few miles, Koen teased Dalton about it briefly, then engaged him on talk about their mission. Dalton’s spirits gradually lifted, and by late morning, as they neared Master Sejus’s cave, Dalton could hardly contain his enthusiasm. He cantered Chaser up to the cave and dismounted.
“Come!” he exclaimed, encouraging Koen and Carliss to join him.
They climbed up the gentle embankment that led to the cave and entered. Dalton gawked in stunned silence, for the cave was completely empty—void of any evidence that anyone had ever been there.
Dalton ran his hands through his sandy hair, his eyes open wide. “He was here, I tell you!”
Koen and Carliss briefly glanced toward each other.
Dalton frantically searched for any shred of evidence to validate his story
but found none. There was not even a footprint in the dirt.
“This is where the cot was…and here was where we cooked…and over here was a chair.” Dalton walked rapidly from place to place, imagining each item. “Here…here was Sejus’s workbench with all the tools and trinkets.” He spread his hands out as if he could feel the bench beneath him.
He turned and looked at his friends in confusion. “What’s going on, Koen?” he asked.
Koen put a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know, my friend. You’ve been through a lot these past few months.”
Dalton looked at his friend and hated to think that he too wouldn’t believe him. “You do believe me… Don’t you?”
Koen hesitated only an instant. “Yes, Dalton. We believe you.”
He looked toward Carliss for support, and she nodded. “Let’s find Drox’s prison.”
“All right,” Dalton sighed. “All right.”
As they left the cave, Dalton hesitated at its opening and looked back.
Am I mad? he wondered for a moment, then shook himself and exited.
“Do you have any idea where to look for the prison?” Koen asked.
Dalton looked out into the country, and it seemed as though they were trying to find a needle in a haystack. The land seemed so vast.
“It must be less than a day’s journey from here, for I can’t imagine Sejus being able to carry or drag me much farther,” Dalton said as he considered the possibilities. “He had no horse. The Frates River is to the east, which would be difficult to cross, and the Northern Mountains are at our backs to the north. I came home via the southern route and saw no sign of it. So it must lie somewhere to the southwest.” Dalton swept his hand across a fairly rugged region of country.
Although he tried not to show it, Dalton was discouraged. What if they never found the canyon? Would anyone—even his best friend—ever believe him? What of the prisoners? Were they doomed to a death of abandonment? What of Si Kon, the brave soul who helped him escape? Dalton closed his eyes and relived the terror of those weeks in his mind to convince himself his ordeal had indeed been real.
“Are you ready, Dalton?” Carliss asked. She sat tall on her horse, Rindy
Dalton opened his eyes and looked at her. He searched her eyes, seeking…he didn’t know what. Hope, perhaps.
She smiled and raised an eyebrow. Dalton nodded.
“Let’s go,” he said and slapped the reins of Chaser.
Dalton, Koen, and Carliss searched the countryside for four days, sweeping across the terrain in search of the box canyon. Each day they traveled, the possibilities expanded and their chances of success seemed to shrink. After three days more, their supplies were nearly exhausted and they were farther from the cave than one person could ever have carried or transported a near-dead man.
On the morning of the eighth day, they rose up to begin their travel back to Salisburg, and Dalton fell into silent despair. Even Koen seemed a bit morose.
“We will resupply and come back to search again,” Carliss said, trying to encourage Dalton. She mounted Rindy.
“It’s no use,” Dalton said as he finished packing his horse. Discouragement pulled at his every movement. “We could search for months and not find it. It’s a hole in the ground. We could be right next to it and not even know it.” Dalton prepared to mount his horse. “What a fool I’ve been,” he said.
Carliss shook her head. “No, you’re not a—”
“Draw your sword.” Without warning, Koen had appeared at Dalton’s side, weapon ready.
Dalton stared at him, bewildered.
“What are you doing?” Carliss asked her brother.
“Draw…your…sword!” Koen took a stance.
Dalton slowly drew his sword. Before he had it completely out of the scabbard, Koen attacked. Dalton instinctively finished his draw and thwarted the slice. Koen thrust again and did not hold back. Dalton defended each cut and slice, and as he did, he felt the power of the Prince rise up within him.
The impromptu duel escalated to a voracious volley of swords. Dalton felt the mastery of his blade and took the offensive against Koen. Faster and faster his blade flew until Koen was in steady retreat. In one blazingly quick maneuver, Dalton crosscut and thrust at Koen’s heart with the speed of a panther. Carliss screamed, and Dalton pulled back on his blade at the last moment, stopping the tip of his sword at Koen’s chest.
Both men were breathing hard. Koen held up his arms, acknowledging his defeat. He then pushed Dalton’s blade aside and sheathed his sword. He walked up to Dalton and stared into his eyes, just inches from his face.
“Three months ago I could have easily defeated you,” Koen said between breaths. “Today you are a master. No imagination or fabricated story could do that.”
Dalton closed his eyes, thankful for the wisdom of his friend.
Koen put his hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “You have been with the Prince, my friend, and no one will ever take that from you.”
Dalton opened his eyes wide as he considered Koen’s statement. Deep in his soul he had known that Master Sejus was someone much greater than a mere Arrethtraen, but he had never suspected that he might truly be in the Prince’s presence.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight. He trembled both from excitement and respectful fear as he realized it was true. All that time he had been with the Son of the King.
Koen sheathed his sword and went to his horse. “We will search again until we find this dreadful place.”
Dalton nodded and walked toward Chaser. He looked at Koen and Carliss as he swung into the saddle, grateful for that day they came to the haven—even more grateful for the day they had become his friends. “Any ideas where we should—”
Caw! The familiar, terrifying sound made him jerk his head to the left. Far in the distance, a lone raven circled high in the sky.
“There!” he exclaimed. “There is where the canyon is!”
Koen and Carliss looked at the distant bird and then at Dalton.
“Are you sure?” Koen asked.
Dalton kept his eye on the raven. “As sure as I have been with the Prince!” he exclaimed. “Follow me.”
Dalton was once more filled with the confidence of the Prince. He kicked Chaser into a full gallop toward the circling black speck in the sky…but now there were two.
DEATH RAVENS
Dalton, Koen, and Carliss tied their horses a safe distance from the edge of the canyon and carefully made their way through the trees. As they neared the canyon walls, they crawled the last twenty paces on hands and knees. Dalton peered over the edge with Koen on his left and Carliss on his right.
“Is this it?” Koen asked.
Dalton scanned the floor of the canyon more than ninety feet below them, trying to orient what he had experienced down there with his new perspective up here.
“It looks like the same canyon, but I can’t be sure. Wait…yes…I recognize that outcropping. You can just see the cave entrance beside that grove of trees over there.” Dalton pointed down to their left.
“Look!” Carliss whispered as she pointed through a break in the trees to their right.
“I don’t see anything.” Dalton squinted and looked to where she pointed.
“Nor do I,” said Koen.
“Just to the right of those trees—on the ground!” Carliss’s tone indicated urgency.
Dalton leaned close to Carliss to line his sight up with her finger and followed the line down to the canyon floor. His stomach rose up in his throat as former fearful memories and emotions flushed through him.
“No!” Dalton whispered.
Koen backed away and came up on Carliss’s right side to get a better view. A fellow knight was staked to the ground. Dalton looked up and saw two dozen death ravens circling high above them.
“I’m going down!” Dalton exclaimed, unable to peel his eyes from the man on the ground.
Carliss and Koen stared at him.
“That is not the plan,
Dalton,” Koen said firmly. “The three of us can’t take on this stronghold by ourselves. You said there were at least a dozen guards and six Vinceros when you were imprisoned.”
Dalton turned to the right and looked past Carliss to Koen.
“If we don’t do something, that man will die!”
“If we go down there, we will all die!” Koen rebutted.
Koen spoke the truth and Dalton knew it, but he could not—would not—sit by and do nothing. He clenched his teeth.
“I will not let that man die like this! You two ride for help. I’m going down there.”
Dalton glanced from Koen to Carliss. She was staring into his eyes. “I will help you,” she whispered.
He looked back into Carliss’s eyes and nodded.
Koen took a deep breath and looked back at the man. “Perhaps we can free him and get him back up here before Drox discovers us.”
“I’ll get the rope.” Dalton crawled back a few paces, then ran to his horse. As he opened the pack, Carliss appeared beside him.
“You don’t have to do this, Carliss.” He quickly withdrew the rope.
Carliss unfastened her bow and quiver from her saddle and set them across her shoulder. She looked straight at Dalton.
“Yes, I do. I’m a Knight of the Prince. It’s what we do.”
They made their way together back to the canyon edge.
“The death ravens are circling lower,” Koen said.
Dalton quickly tied one end of the rope around a tree. He scanned the rest of the canyon, then threw the rope over the edge. It caught on a ledge that jutted out halfway down.
“I will scale down first,” Dalton said. “You two stay up here. If the man is too badly beaten or too weak, you will need to pull him up using the rope.”
Koen grabbed his arm. “I don’t like it, Dalton. I should come down with you. What if Drox or the others come for you?”
“We may need to get him up fast, Koen. This is the only way. Besides, I won’t be able to keep an eye on the cave entrance down there. You’ll have to watch it for me.”