Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series (23 page)

Less than
a quarter of an hour
after they
started back, it began to rain again. At first it was the slow and steady drizzle that had been falling most of the night, but as they exited the foothills and reemerged onto the plateau, the heavens opened up.

They hadn’t travelled far into the ruins when Agminion suddenly grabbed Heather by the arm. “There are three on the left and two on the right, and they’re coming fast.”

“Goblins? Do they know w
e
’
re here?” Heather asked as she drew her sword. She looked around for a moment
, trying to find anywhere they could hide or defend. They were in a bit of low-lying area without any of the large mounds where they had made camp. There was very little to hide behind but she
spotted some bushes growing up against a small mound. It wasn’t much but it might keep any attackers from their rear if it came to a fight. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to the bushes.

“I can’t tell,” Agminion mumbled.

“What?” Heather asked confused. She pointed to the ground behind a particularly thick bush.

“I can’t tell if it’s goblins,” Agminion said, walking over to where Heather had pointed. He sat down on the ground and pulled his knees up to his chest. He looked confused and unsure of himself.

Dismissing the sorcerer’s apparent inability to recognize goblins, Heather pressed on to more important mat
ters. “Do you think they know we’
re here? Are they tracking us or is this just an accident?”

Agminion was quiet for just a moment and then he looked up, “I don’t think it’s an accident. I think they’re coming for us.”

Heather nodded. It had been rather unlikely that it was an accident, but that didn’t stop her from hoping. “You said five, correct?”

Agminion nodded.

“All right. Are you r
eady to fight?” s
he asked.

Agminion nodded again but he still looked a little uneasy.

It wasn’t long before their pursuers arrived. One approached from the east and a second came in from the west. They moved slowly and cautiously.

The others must be hanging back
or moving out to form a perimeter
,
Heather thought,
just in case we get past these two.
That thought didn’t sit well with her, it wasn’t like goblins to be crafty. Normally, the beasts just charged in with swords drawn. They didn’t usually set up perimeters.

Peering through the rain, Heather tried to get a better look
at their two followers. It was dark and hard to make them out clearly, but her best guess was that they were not goblins. These two wore long cloaks with hoods pulled up over their faces. Goblins never wore that much clothing.
Perhaps some
more of Zalustus’ lieutenants?
That wasn’t a pleasant thought either. Th
ese
two were definitely searching the ground, perhaps trying to find a trail. Heather leaned close to Agminion and asked, “Where are the other three?”

The sorcerer’s eyes momentarily went unfocused and then he smiled. “They’re all to the south of here. We should be able to go north and escape.”

Heather nodded and looked back at the two pursuers that she could see. They were no longer searching, they were staring straight at the bushes where Heather and Agminion were hiding.

Chapter
19

Heather froze, hoping that their two followers hadn’t heard them and still didn’t know they were hiding in the bushes. That brief hope died quickly as the cloaked figures drew swords and moved cautiously towards their hiding place.

“Uh-oh,” Heather breathed, her hand sliding down to rest on the hilt of her sword. “Min, we got trouble.”

“I see it,” replied the sorcerer. “I’m ready, but I think the other three are coming back.”

“Gods above,” Heather cursed, “w
e’d better hurry then.” Saying that, Heather stood and stepped out from behind the cover of the bushes. The rain had slowed to an occasional drop but there was still a steady breeze. The two figures came closer, but between their cloaks and the shadows, it was still impossible to make out much about them.
Though they did seem too thin for goblins.

Agminion hurried to follow Heather from the bushes. He came to a stop to her right and slightly behind her. It wasn’t cowardice, it was common sense. If this was a swordfight, then she needed to be in the front and he could use his sorcery from the rear. If he was out in front, then the only thing he would manage would be to get in Heather’s way.

The figure on the left held up his hand and the one on the right stopped. “Who are you and why are you here?”

Heather blinked in surprise. She had heard goblins speak common before but they had never spoken it so well. “Uh,”
s
he began and stopped. Shaking her head, she raised her sword. “I don’t answer to goblins,” she spat.

The figure on the left moved forward a bit and threw his hood back to reveal his face. He most certainly was not a goblin. His face was thin and dark, and his jet black hair hung down to his shoulders. His eyes were dark and piercing. “I am not a goblin,” he said, and his voice carried a tone of command. “So I ask again. Who are you and why are you here?”

Swallowing hard, Heather thought furiously. The only humans that she could think would be here were the agents of the
C
hurch, and she didn’t want to admi
t
who she was to them. But how else could she explain what th
ey were doing in the wastelands?

The silence stretched out for several moments until Agminion spoke quietly, “The other three are back and we’re surrounded.”

Struck by a sudden inspiration, Heather sheathed her sword and took a step forward. “These are dangerous times. Ossendar has been claimed.” Both men’s heads jerked at those words and she continued, “We came searching for the armor called Nerandall.”

For several moments the only sound was the blowing of the wind. “And why do you seek Nerandall?” The man on the left asked. His eyes had widened at Heather’s words but only momentarily. He did not surprise easy and he covered it well.

This was the difficult part to answer. Assuming these were agents of the Church, they too would be looking for the armor and would not want friends of Flare to possess it. “We seek the armor because the time of the prophecy is upon us.” That much was true anyway.

“Yes, but what do you intend to do with it?”

Honestly, Heather still didn’t know. She still couldn’t believe that Flare was the Destroyer that Kelcer had warned about, but he had claimed Ossendar. Oh, what she would give to speak with him. “We really don’t know. We seek it, so that we can guard it and decide what should be done with it.”

“And would you keep it from the prophesied one?”

Heather sighed deeply, “If he is anything like what the Church says, then yes we would keep it from him.”

Agminion once again sent his spirit outward to check on the location of the other three. So far, they had not moved. He was just about to relax, when he noti
ced something else. “Goblins!” h
e said quickly and this time
he did not keep his voice down, “t
hey’re coming from the mountains.”

Heather tensed, wondering what to do. They could not continue to stand here, not with the goblins headed this way, but would these men let them pass
?
It seemed that she was not the only one worried about the goblins.

“
Warren
, we must go,” the man on the right said softly. “Let’s kill these two and be done with it.”

Heather tensed, her hand already sliding back towards her sword.

“No!”
Warren
said, and once again there was no mista
king the
command. “They come with us.”

“Hold a moment,” Heather said, “we have friends here and we cannot leave them.” Never mind the fact that she did not want to go with these men under any circumstances.

Agminion caught his breath and Heather turned to see what was the matter. The sorcerer’s eyes were wide and a third man held a knife to his throat. He had snuck up on the sorcerer in between the sorcerer’s checks on the other three men.

“Come,” the man named
Warren
said,
“
w
e must hide.”

Heather let the tension go and relaxed. She couldn’t resist now, not with a knife at Agminion’s throat. She had to go along and wait for a better opportunity.

“Hurry!”
Warren
called. He gestured to her with his hand. “Come!”

Taking a deep breath Heather followed
Warren
and the other man. She could hear Agminion and his captor running behind her.

Warren
led them through the ruins like he knew where he was going. The old stones from the roadway were both a blessing and a curse. They provided firm footing upon which to run, but because they were no longer level, there was also a constant threat of tripping.

They ran for nearly a quarter of a mile and stopped in a small circular clearing. There were two trees and a large mound on the eastern side and a lone tree and some shrubs on the west side.

Warren
’s companion moved quickly over to the lone tree and began searching in the grass for something. Finding what looked like a metal ring, he grasped it and heaved upwards. A section of the ground, maybe two feet by two feet, opened up like it was on hinges. The
exposed
opening was dark.

The first man disappeared into the hole and was followed quickly by
Warren
. He paused halfway down and looked at Heather. “Hurry,” he said in a calm voice, “the goblins are close behind.”

Given those choices, the hole was undoubtedly better, Heather quickly followed
Warren
down
into the darkness.

Upon entering the hole,
she crawled down a steep tunnel
– that Enton
would have had difficulty getting through
– and
emerged into a small chamber. The tunnel was no more than ten feet
long
.
Warren
held up a lit candle and she could see that the room was roughly circular and appeared to have been carved from the stone. It was not wide, maybe four men could lay down side by side.

Warren
pointed to a spot against the far wall. “Please, sit.”

She didn’t need to be told twice but moved over and sat down, resting her back against the wall.

In short order, Agminion and the other three men entered the small chamber. The last swung a circular covering over the hole that led back to the surface. It was difficult to see in the light of a single candle, but the other four men looked very similar to
Warren
. They were all dark skinned and had dark hair. They reminded her vaguely of elves for some reason, possibly because of their height and thin bodies.

Agminion came over and took a seat besides Heather and they stared across the small chamber at the five men. They too had seated themselves against the wall and they returned the stare.

“We can talk,”
Warren
said, “but we must keep our voices down.” He motioned at the tunnel, “This door helps to muffle any sound, but goblins have very good hearing.” No one else said anything and after a moment he continued. “My name is
Warren
.” He pointed to a second man, it was the man who had suggested killing them earlier, “That is
Jerrold.” He then introduced the other three as Quinn, Maynard, and Neely.
None of them spoke.

“
I’m Heath
er and this is Agminion,” s
he said and then quickly asked, “
w
ho are you?” She supposed that would be his first question to her and she wanted to ask it first.

“I just told you,”
Warren
replied, the ghost of a smile playing across his lips.

“I don’t mean your names,” Heathe
r said, “w
here are you from and what are you doing in the wastelands?”

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

Twisting her face into what she hoped was a warm and friendly smile, Heather said, “I’ve already told you. We’re searching for the armor.”

“Yes, you did,”
Warren
agreed, “b
ut you also said something of more importance. You said that Ossendar had been claimed.” All five men wore intense expressions, Neely and Maynard actually leaned forward waiting on the answer.

“Yes,” Heather said slowly. She was confused. She had assumed these men to be agents of the Church, but if that was the case, then they should have already know about Flare. “You were unaware?”

Warren
dropped his eyes to the ground and considered his words. “No one had relayed that information to us.”

“My apologies,” Heather said, “I assumed you would know as I thought you were agents of the Church.”

Their reactions were instantaneous.
All five men recoiled at the words. Jerrold rocked forward and up onto his knees. His face was twisted into a snarl and his hand rested on his knife. “How dare you? Do not suggest such things.” He looked ready to say more, but stopped when
Warren
’s hand touched him. He slowly settled back to a sitting position, although he continued to stare daggers at Heather and Agminion.

Well, well,
Heather thought. She might not know who these men were but she certainly knew who they weren’t. They couldn’t have all faked such reactions, at least she didn’t think so. “My apologies,” she said, “any offense was accidental.” The words placated the men somewhat, although Jerrold still look disgusted. “Perhaps if I knew who you were, then I could prevent accidental insults.”

Agminion remained silent at Heather’s side. He had no more idea than she did who they were dealing with, and it seemed best to let her do the talking. Besides, another idea had just occurred to him. Sorcerers could communicate over long distances. It was a difficult skill and usually required a close bond between the two sorcerers. While he and Dagan did not exactly have a close bond, they had travelled with each other for over a month. He knew the old man and hoped it would be enough. Cautiously, he began to send his spirit outwards, sending it to carry a message to Dagan. He didn’t get far in his plan though.

As one, the five men drew their knives, their swords would be next to useless in these close cramped quarters.
Quinn jumped to his feet, although he was forced to remain in a hunched over position. The other four settled for pushing themselves up on their knees.

“Stop it sorcerer. Stop it now or you die,”
Warren
said. There was no mistaking the seriousness in his eyes.

Heather took a deep calming breath even as her hand fell to her knife. In these close quarters, any fight would be quick and it would end badly for them. “Min, whatever you’re doing, please stop.”

Agminion didn’t need to be asked twice. He immediately recalled his spirit and then held his hands out in front of him. A cold sweat broke out across his brow. “I’ve stopped,” he said quietly.

Slowly the five men relaxed, although Quinn and Jerrold kept their knives out.

“What did you do?” Heather asked.

“I tried to contact Dagan,” Agminion answered. Then a thought hit him and he stared at their captors. “You sensed me using sorcery? But how, you’re not sorcerers
?
”

At that, a piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Heather. Earlier, when Jerrold and Warren had been searching for them, Agminion had used sorcery to check on the location of the other three. That bit of sorcery had alerted Warren and Jerrold to exactly where they had been hiding.

Warren
ignored Agminion’s question and asked one of his own, “Who has claimed Ossendar?”

For a moment, she considered refusing to answer until they told her who they were, but judging from their reactions, that would probably be a bad idea. “It was claimed by Flaranthlas Eldanari. Do you know who he is?”
Warren
shook his head so Heather added, “He’s a half-elven prince and a former member of the Guardians. The king of Telur sent him to get the sword. Flare returned with the sword and
then, for some reason, he fled taking
Ossendar
with him
.”