Chapter 9

In a little over a minute, he saw what had set the dog off. A group of a dozen men on horseback was coming towards them. As they got close enough to see details, Andrew relaxed a bit, they had the local Ducal coat of arms and banner showing. They were also wearing chain mail and leather in the Duke’s colors. Andrew stepped to the side of the road and pulled the mules all the way over to the wood line. They resisted a little then moved as he wanted them too. The dog sat next to him and waited to see what would happen. As the soldiers came up to him, they stopped and what appeared to be the troop commander climbed down from his horse and carefully approached Andrew.

Raising his visor to see more clearly, he said, “Answer up boy, who are you and where are you going?” He had his right hand resting lightly on the pommel of his sword and Andrew could see that one of the rear guards had his bow out and an arrow resting in the stop.

Andrew stood straight and looked the troop leader in the eyes, “I’m Andrew Markenin, son of Lann and Lorna. I am on my way to Tarin’s Crossing to join a caravan and head west to the Cove to meet with a trainer.” He didn’t volunteer any further information but would answer if asked.

“And the animals, the dog I can see as a traveling companion, but two mules, no. Where they come from boy,” he asked sharply.

“Sir, I took them from a bandit slaver camp several miles back up in the hills about half a day’s walk back up the road,” answered Andrew.

“Slavers? Boy, do you, an untrained whelp expect me to believe you just walked in and took these animals and walked back out without them noticing?” he asked coldly.

Andrew explained about the wrecked wagon and dead family. He told them what had happened and how he had come about finding camp in the first place. He also showed the commander the letter of the order he had found on the leader’s body. The note seemed to trouble the commander a bit. “This note boy, any idea where the emissary was headed from the camp?” His look told Andrew he had already guessed.

Andrew didn’t want to lie to this man as lies had a bad habit of coming back and biting you in the ass. “Shortly before I departed home, we had an intruder on our farm sir. He tried to kill me but my mother put a few arrows in him.” Andrew moved to a rock by the roadside and sat. “He was after something that had been left by the family that owned the farm before they were killed by bandits many years ago.”

“Did he find what he was sent for?” the Troop leader asked.

“Yes sir, but he made the mistake of trying to kill us as well. My parents used to be adventurers for the Mercs company and did not approve of his methods.”

“Boy, I know of your parents. You would have been a middle son judging by your apparent age. Why are you out here alone son.”

“I left because I’m not a farmer. The adventurer’s blood is strong in me. You could say I felt a calling so they set me to go to Fairhams Cove to meet with an old friend of theirs to train me to be a fighter and guard.”

“You said your name is Andrew, well Andrew, I know of who it is you’re being sent to be with. Several of my men used to be part of that company. Now, what was it he was after.” he demanded.

Now Andrew wasn’t sure he should reveal he had the gem in his pack. “It was one of the gems in an old barrel the family had kept their wealth and treasures in.” Andrew decided that disclosure this early would not hurt as he wouldn’t be back this way for many years unless a mission leads him back this way. “It’s sealed for now in a magic blocking box in my pack. Whatever it is that wants it knows what happened up to the point it was sealed away. Several times now I have heard mention of the Blood Queen. I am taking it to the main temple in the Cove for them to deal with and I’ll go to the Inn I am to meet my master trainer at by mid-winter.

The Troop leader tried not to react to the name of the evil queen across the sea, he almost succeeded. “If your parents sent you on this journey, then the gems are a problem. As I said, I know of your parents and their companies exploits.” He stood and returned to his horse, “Did you happen to bring thumbs?”

Andrew dropped the pack down so he could reach the small bag on the side pole and removed the small pouch and handed it to the captain. The guard handed it back after glancing inside. “Take this to the command post in the Crossing, you’ll be paid for the killing of the slavers.”

“Captain, be aware I only accounted for seven of the men, there could still be two to four more out here somewhere if I was reading the camp right,” said Andrew.

“We’ll keep our eyes open for them, boy, you be alert and ready for any trouble. There are rumors of trouble out in the Planes Guard region, so we may see refuge’s from there and they may not be friendly.”

“I will, thanks for the warning,” said Andrew.

As he mounted, “Be careful boy, there are things out there that will kill you for a meal before you even know they’re there.” He turned his horse and the patrol followed him down the road Andrew had been walking along and soon were out of sight.

Andrew reset his gear and pulled on the leads for the mules and called for the dog to follow him. “I have to figure out a good name for you, dog.” He said addressing the dog as they walked. “I can’t just keep calling you dog now, can I.” The dog woofed at him and gave a small jump as if in agreement. “Well, Fang never sat well with me as a dog’s name.” The dog snorted as if he agreed with that. “How about Spook?” He asked the dog. The dog cocked his head as if thinking about then gave woof and a short hop. Seeing this reaction, Andrew said, “ Spook it is then. Spook, you are dark enough to be spooky. I will call you Spook.”

The dog paused again for a second then snorted and started walking along with the mules again, keeping his eyes, ears, and nose open for threats and food. A short time later, Spook’s nose visibly twitched and he was off like a shot into the brush on the right side of the road. A few seconds later, a large rabbit jumped from cover with Spook hot on its tail. The rabbit dodged the teeth that wanted to grab it, but in a few more seconds the dog had the rabbit down and the throat ripped out. Spook picked up the dead rabbit and brought it to Andrew.

Spook looked at Andrew as if to say, “Take this thing already will you, it’s dinner time.”

Andrew smiled and took the proffered meat from the tail-wagging dog sitting in front of him. He started walking again and pulled out a small skinning knife that was part of his belt kit. Without stopping he stripped the rabbit down. Spook grabbed up the guts as Andrew gutted it and slurped them down without hesitation. Once most of the bones had been removed, Andrew wrapped the meat in the skin and strapped it to his belt with some cord he kept there for this very purpose. Once dinner was secure, he wiped the blade on the fur then put it away in its belt loop. He did all this without hardly slowing his pace down on the rutted dirt road.

After a quiet night, the small party got an early start on the road. Andrew figured that if an area had an active patrol, then there could be a town in the area he could stop at and restock his supplies. He was not disappointed by this thought. By midday, they came to the outskirts of a large village. Andrew paused long enough to find that the local stable owner had no use for a few old mules so he continued with them. Andrew was able to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables while in town. He also took the time to ask about conditions down the road towards Tarin’s Crossing. He was able to learn that the roads were not in the best of shape and something had moved into the area a few days out that made folks uneasy out that way. What it happened to be, nobody knew. A few hours before sundown, Andrew was out of town making his way north and west once more. He met a few travelers going the other way but none had had any problems to report other than being uneasy about things near a group of farms.

It was three days later that the quiet traveling came to an abrupt end. Andrew could see that the road in this area saw a fair amount of cart traffic judging from the size and depth of the ruts. He avoided them by staying near the left edge of the road. The right edge had a ditch running along it to control flooding. The brambles in it had started to encroach on the right of way. The left was somewhat less overgrown. He was an hour away from sundown when he and his companions came out of the woods and into a large farmed area. He saw a lone figure by a small road leading down from a distant house. As he neared, he saw it was a man of advanced years.

When he was close enough to call out, he moved to the center of the road so as not to run into the figure ahead of him. Spook stayed at his side and didn’t seem happy about the figure. It didn’t move or even seem to notice them as they approached. As they got closer, Andrew could tell it was not a person but a scarecrow figure. Why he wondered it was out here he couldn’t guess, but he moved to the far side of the road to steer clear of it. He just had a bad feeling about it. He suddenly began to feel a sense of unease, like something was watching him, stalking in fact.

As they passed in front of it, a voice came from it and Spook about turned himself inside out diving into the brush. The mules both started but didn’t buck or run. Andrew had the leads in his left hand now, and his sword was drawn and he was looking around to spot the source of the voice. “It’s me kid, the scarecrow. Just keep moving and you’ll be safe enough. The owners of this farm don’t like no strangers on their land.” The cloth head had turned and was facing Andrew now as it spoke. Andrew looked at it and saw it had two ceramic buttons for eyes, a wood button for a nose and a row of heavy stitching across where the mouth would be. He also spotted other buttons on the arms and legs at the joints.

Andrew stared at the talking apparition and decided that to keep moving was the best idea. “Spook, here boy, we have to keep moving.” He called out. Spook poked his head out of the bushes and growled at the scarecrow. He moved over to his new master and kept a close eye on the speaking dummy on a pole. They kept moving and soon the feeling of unease faded. “A remote speaking spell, that is what that had to be unless a bit of nasty enchanting had taken over the farm.” He had to pull at the mules now and then as they wanted to stop and crop at the grass along the roadside. Even from across the road as they went by it, Andrew could smell something from the scarecrow. It was like wet, moldy cloth in some ways and a touch of rot in others.

Andrew kept walking for half an hour by stopping to rest the animals. “I guess we’re clear of that possible threat now.” He said to Spook. “We can stop here for a while and eat. Then we can make camp off the road, how’s that sound boy?” He asked the dog. Spook woofed at him and took off into the brush, then popped his head back out as if to say, “Follow me.” Andrew smiled and gave a short laugh, “Ok Spook, lead on.” He pulled the mules and they followed without further complaint. They knew food, water and rest were coming. Spook led them to a small clearing in the thin woods. Andrew saw a small circle of stones where campfires had been used in the past. This must be a good stopping place to stay the night if a semi-permanent fire pit had been dug in.

Andrew sighed and stretched his back and rolled his shoulders after he dropped the pack off his back. Then he unloaded the mules of the small amount of cargo they had on them. He used hobbles on them to keep them from roaming and long leads to allow for forage overnight. Next, he gathered dried downed branches from the surrounding trees and soon had a small but cheerful cooking fire going. He unwrapped the rabbit meat Spook had brought in and soon had it on a spit over the fire to cook the meal for the night.

He could smell fresh water nearby as well. That was a major factor in making this an excellent camping spot. Spook had disappeared and soon came back, soaking wet with a still flopping fish in his jaws. He lay down and tore into the fresh meat, ignoring Andrew and the coming night. Andrew went down the track Spook had used and soon saw a large pond. He saw a large stream feeding into the pond and the wooden Beaver dam about half a mile down the length of the pond that had caused its formation. Andrew decided to refill his bags from the flowing water as the still water had a bit of a stagnant odor to it around the edges.