First Comes The One Who Wanders (43 page)

They stopped at the end of a crag that hung over the beginning of the Northern Plains. Here, too, were dozens of encampments dotting the landscape. Soldiers patrolled on foot as well as horseback. The entrance to the mountain road was guarded by two rock giants brandishing clubs as thick as tree trunks. Backing down off the outcropping, Leilas sat down on a fallen log to think. She hadn’t expected it would be easy to get to the sea, since she knew Dredracians were coming from Crogmanland. But she hadn’t considered it would be next to impossible.

"Through the forest, over the top of the mountains," said Erion. "It’s a bit tricky, but I think you can do it. Then there is a twenty-mile stretch of grassland, where we might have to make a run for it, before we reach the rocks that bound the sea. Then we work our way down the coast until we find a ship that will take us across to Crogmanland."

"You make it sound so easy," said Leilas, laughing softly. "What are we waiting for?"

Erion took up the leads of his horses. "No riding this leg of the journey." Leilas readied her animals and they began moving quietly along the edge of the cliff. There was something resembling a deer path that Erion seemed to be following. Only a thin line of trees hid them from the view of the enemies below. They traveled this path all night. When the morning began to lighten into dawn, Erion found a good hiding spot and they stopped to rest.

Leilas took the first watch. Climbing to a hidden spot near the edge, she watched as the camps below awakened. There was a great deal of activity, but nothing that resembled packing and leaving. Sets of guards rotated on an hourly basis. A group set out to patrol the forest as she was getting ready to awaken Erion. Filling him in on what was happening, Leilas took his spot on the blanket and quickly fell into a restless sleep.

She was standing near the Chasm of Ceryk, a staff in her hand. Rengailai stood on the opposite side of the split he’d created in Preterlandis. The voices of the lost souls were so loud she couldn’t think. Rengailai’s laughter was driving her to rage.

It was almost a relief when Erion finally awakened her. The sun was setting. They ate a cold meal of bread and cheese, packed the horses and when darkness enveloped them, they started on their way.

"The patrols don’t come up the mountains this far. Our only danger is that someone from below sees us."

"Or that we fall off this cliff," added Leilas, doing her best to watch her footing in the dark.

"I wasn’t particularly worried about that," replied Erion, laughter in his voice.

They reached the peak of the mountain as the sun rose. There were no trees to hide them, so they made do with a shallow shelter under an outcropping rock. The spot was hidden from below by rocks as well as from above. They passed the day half-resting, half-watching until darkness fell again. By the time morning came again, they'd reached the foot of the mountain and the beginning of a narrow strip of grassland that stretched between the mountains and the rocks that bounded the sea. There didn’t appear to be any troops stationed here.

"With luck we should be able to cross this open space tonight and be safely hidden in the rocks by morning," said Erion, finding a grove of trees for them to hide in for the day.

Although there were no troops patrolling this area, it wasn’t long before they spotted the hawks circling. Leilas could feel the power probing the grassland through their eyes from where they were hiding.

"They'll have night birds out watching tonight. They won't leave this strip unguarded," remarked Erion.

"We have no choice but to try and cross. How far away do you think they are?"

"Not far enough. We may have a fight on our hands. If they're following their usual pattern, there will be about twenty soldiers and two crafters."

"Hardly a fair fight," said Leilas. "Between you and me, they don’t stand a chance."

Erion threw back his head and laughed. "That was exactly what I was thinking."

When the dusk had deepened into darkness, they urged their horses out of the trees and into a brisk run. They wouldn’t be able to run them all night, but they would get as great a lead as they could. After an hour of running they slowed to a walk to rest the horses. They'd been riding almost three hours when they heard the screech of an owl raising the alarm. It wouldn’t be long and soldiers would be in pursuit. They urged their horses on as fast as they dared.

Two owls stayed above them, occasionally screeching out. Reining his horse to a stop, Erion took his bow and shot two arrows into the air. The Dredracians spies fell to the ground. "That should buy us a little extra time," Erion said, putting his bow away. "The owls won’t be able to tell them our position."

"I could cast a spell to hide us," offered Leilas.

"The crafters would sense that right away. We're better off to try and outrun them."

They continued on across the grassland without stopping. It wasn’t long until Erion pointed out a small cloud of dust rising. "There they are." Leilas looked harder. Still, all she could see was a small cloud of dust. "They were farther away than I suspected. We might make the rocks after all." Pushing the horses, they bore down on the rocks that rose up at the edge of the grassland.

Leilas knew that even if they made the rocks, they wouldn’t be safe. They'd already been spotted. These soldiers would pursue them until they caught and killed them, or were killed.

When they reached the beginnings of the rocky terrain the soldiers were close enough that the crafters were beginning to chant. Leilas quickly threw a spell of protection around Erion and herself then began a spell of unbinding. The crafters stopped their chanting and cast a spell of protection of their own. Leilas didn’t let that deter her. Speaking the words of the spell in her mind, she sent her thoughts out as she had in Crysalis. The spell seeped through the ring of protection and caught the dark crafters by surprise. The soldiers looked in terror as their crafters melted before their eyes. The shield melted away with the crafters. Surprised at how much energy it had taken to cast the spell, Leilas summoned up her failing energy and cast the only spell she was still capable of weaving over such a large group of soldiers, a spell of forgetfulness. Erion had already found a hiding spot. Leilas joined him. The soldiers looked around, puzzled as to why they were so far from their camp. She could hear them call to each other to mount up and head back to their base before their superiors found them missing. Then, she sank into unconsciousness, her energy drained.

She woke to find Erion teasing beer down her throat. Wondering where he'd found the brew or where he'd been hiding it, she drank it down greedily before attempting to sit.

"You’ve been holding out on me," she teased weakly. "This would have tasted fine in the mornings."

"I’ve traveled with crafters before," replied Erion, finding some hard bread for her to eat. "These are the emergency supplies."

"We are a troublesome lot," said Leilas, closing her eyes as the fatigue washed over her. "Are we out of danger?"

"For now. You were fairly amazing back there."

"Back there? Have we moved on? How long have I been unconscious?"

"You’ve been unconscious for three days. We're on the outskirts of Far Reef." Erion paused briefly then continued with an odd look on his face. "I’ve found a captain who's willing to take us to Crogmanland."

Leilas eyed him suspiciously. "What’s that going to cost us?"

"You," he said sheepishly. "You're going to be the ship’s crafter on this trip."

"Good to know I volunteered," said Leilas darkly. "I could use some real food."

"There's an inn nearby. I thought it might cause some unwanted attention to bring in an unconscious crafter."

"Probably so," said Leilas, finishing the stale bread. She attempted to stand and would have fallen except for Erion’s steadying arms. How far is this inn?"

Erion laughed, picked her up easily and deposited her on her horse. "It’s but a dozen steps and I'll be by your side, my lady."

Leilas clung to the saddle and let her horse follow Erion’s into town. She sat still while he secured the horses and then slid down into his strong arms. It might have been an awkward moment, had she not been so intent on not falling all the way to the ground. Erion wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a brotherly fashion and helped her into the eating area of the inn. She sank into the first available chair, while he arranged for food. Wiping the perspiration from her upper lip, Leilas hoped she didn’t look as ill as she felt. It wasn’t wise to expend as much energy as she had on a battle. She hadn’t realized how much energy she would use sneaking through a ring of protection and casting a spell only with her mind. She would have to be more careful in the future.

Erion came to the table, followed by a servant boy bearing a plate of food. He’d barely set them on the table before Leilas attacked the food ravenously. "Keep bringing food until my friend here says he’s had enough," Erion instructed the boy, addressing his food more leisurely. The boy bowed awkwardly and scurried away from the strange looking pair.

Far Reef was a port town, but a very small port town. They entertained the occasional crafter on their way to or from somewhere. They even boasted that two crafter’s had been born there. It was unusual though, to see an elf and a crafter, whose insignia was a mystery, traveling together.

By the second plateful of food, Leilas had slowed her eating pace down to normal. Her energy was returning. "Tell me about this ship we're taking across the sea," she said to Erion, as she ate.

"Its name is the Silver Seal. The captain’s name is Finnias. I imagine his business is bootlegging, but I didn’t ask. He didn’t ask why we wanted to cross to Crogmanland, either. All he said was that most crafters had been summoned by their masters and if you would work, we could go."

"Do you trust him?"

"As far as I can throw him, and he is a very large man," replied Erion. Leilas’ only response was to raise an eyebrow and take a bite of toast. "I don’t remember seeing any water when we came into town," she remarked in puzzlement. Cephom had described the sea as water for as far as you could see.

"We’re back a little way from the water. You’ll see enough on this trip to satisfy you."

"When do we leave?"

"In the morning. That’s why I was administering the emergency supplies."

Leilas nodded absently. "What of the Dredracians?"

"Word is they're on the move. Groups have moved toward Reyoro Dell, toward Barat and Barroon on the west, toward Menas, and Montshade on the east."

"They are spread quite thin then?"

"You wouldn’t think so, to hear the people talk," replied Erion darkly. "If there ever truly was a balance, there isn’t one anymore. These armies are like seas of dark creatures."

"Don’t despair, Erion." Leilas reached out and touched his hand. "Your people will survive and you're doing what must be done to save them."

"I wish I could be as certain as you, Chidra. My heart tells me I should be home, defending my forest."

"As mine says I should be in the Southern Plains with my friends and family. Our hearts don’t always speak the truth. Our path lies across the sea."

Erion frowned, "Your heart didn’t lie to you about Joshuas," he said after a few minutes.

Leilas didn’t answer him. She was afraid her heart had been wrong about Joshuas. Perhaps she’d mistaken the first stirring of desire for love. Maybe she’d only seen what she’d wanted to see, in believing he returned her feelings. He'd been intrigued by her. But what did he really mean by that? That he'd studied the Chidra for so long, that when he finally met her, he'd been fascinated to see a phantom become reality. There were many interpretations. None of which meant he returned her feelings. If he were her soul-mate wouldn’t they both know and wouldn’t they both want the best for the other? Wouldn’t they want to help the other fulfill their destiny?

It didn’t matter, anyway, she told herself wearily, tired of this debate in her head. She was going on a journey from which she wouldn’t return. She’d told Joshuas her feelings because she’d wanted his love to sustain her through this lonely quest. She swallowed her bitterness. Now all she had were unfulfilled dreams.

She pushed her plate away, no longer hungry. Rubbing her hands over her eyes wearily, she tried to rub her thoughts away. She needed to concentrate on finding the temples erected in honor of Sylph, Crog and Solein. She could only hope that with each piece of the Crafter’s Staff she was destined to find, the way to the next temple would become clear.

Erion let her brood in silence as he drank his ale. There was no impatience there. Time was almost meaningless to him. Although she’d spent hundreds of years in Neothera, she still felt the urgency of time. Perhaps one day, she would find its passage meaningless. The servant boy placed a tankard of ale in front of her and cleaned away the remnants of her meal. She took a long drink and let the warm, fuzzy feeling wash over her. For tonight, she would enjoy the ale’s ability to help her not think.

The morning came too early and her head hurt. She vaguely remembered Erion urging her out of the inn and onto her horse. They were back at the campsite where they’d been the day before. Erion was busy packing their belongings. The horses were already gone. They wouldn’t need them on the ship. After eating the meal Erion left out for her, she slipped the pack on her back and waited for him to lead the way.