Chapter 9

Aston spent most of the remaining night assisting in the lining up of teams of horses for the wagons and carriages. Harnessing them in the dark was slow work until something unexpected happened. Glowing disk’s of some material rose up into the air, spreading out to give the yard a near daylight brightness. The departure preparations sped up dramatically after that. He did manage to nap for an hour before the first call went out. He had his team set and ready, though they did grumble quite a bit about having to sleep in the harness. He sent out a wave of calming thoughts to all of the horses and mules and most settled down to wait quietly for the word to begin rolling out.

Most of the drivers took the calming of the animals as a good sign. A few others had felt the calming thoughts wash over them and wondered at the cause. When a horn was blown an hour before false dawn, the lead wagon headed out of the main gate going west. Aston was glad they were getting away, the political intrigues they were getting caught up in did not sit well with him. When it came time for him to start moving, he released the brakes and snapped the reins. His four snorted and they started out slowly, staying a few yards behind the next wagon ahead of him. He heard the calls and whistles of drivers getting their own teams moving behind him. The road was rough but was not as bad as some he had traveled on getting to this point.

He did hope he would be able to learn more about why folks had tried to take Brena. He knew he didn’t have a chance with her, but he hoped he could at least be a friend. He didn’t have a chance that first day on the road. They pushed hard to get away from a possible looming war. City-States had a habit of just seizing goods when things turned nasty. Waylon had given the drivers a full briefing on what he had learned over the last several days. Two of the City-States, Firn Range and Granite Realm had an ongoing border dispute over a river that flowed between the borders in one valley. “As long as we stay on the upper coast road, they will not interfere with our passage. The increased military activity in that region has had the effect of driving the criminal elements down to the coast, so we will have problems during that portion of the run, so be alert for ambush and other unplanned events.” He had a map showing a timeline of when he expected to arrive in that area. “We will have two weeks of an easy run-up and down the next few valleys, then it starts getting rougher.” He heard the muttering, “That is why I have extra guards hired for this run. The conflict is still fairly new, so it hasn’t reached the point of closed borders yet.”

After the briefing, Aston returned to his wagon and helped get others ready for the rest of the night. Once on the road, the night was full of the sound of horses snorting, mules braying and hoofs pounding the dirt into dust as the caravan rolled up the road, heading up the grade to the first low pass away from Tres.

One thing Waylon had done that night was have the passenger carriage brought back and searched. Weapons and other items, including two more gem slivers, had been found. The carriage had a makers plaque under the driver’s bench. It had been assembled in Riversbend. He had it cleaned up and any of the passengers that wanted to use it rather than ride in open wagons could do so. Several of the travelers did, Brena however, did not. She rode with the head of security near the front as she had been doing. She had loudly pointed out that while there, nobody had tried to snatch her.

Aston sat thinking as the sun rose, its orange glow bringing the world to life. It was warm, but he could feel a faint chill in the air. Summer was coming to an end soon, and the altitude made for cooler weather as well. Inland he could see snow covering some of the mountains, snow that had survived the long hot summers. He let his mind roam, listening to the animals around him, and hearing some others further out. A fox was watching and waiting for them to pass so it could return to its den. Several cats waited and would dart out between the wheel and the following horses to make it across the road. Most times the horses ignored this, but a few started and panicked for a few seconds. It was when he sensed a human thought out of sight that he paid close attention. He discovered it was just a farmer clearing a clogged ditch. His wife was with him helping until she decided they needed a break. Aston pulled his mind back when she flipped the back of her skirt up and bent over a stump for her husband to take her.

Aston searched as far ahead as he could reach before his head began to pound from the strain. He didn’t find anything that seemed like a threat to the caravan at this point in time. He took a moment to reack back along the route they were following. He heard a faint crying, like child in the distance. He knew the feeling of that mind. He sent a comforting thought to the lttle girl named Weena. As the day wore on, the drivers tired rapidly from the lack of sleep the night before. The horses started to get a bit cranky as well. Waylon saw this and urged everybody to hang on for another hour. The drivers did as did the animals. Aston had sent out a thought to them to keep going just a little longer then they could rest. Just slightly under the for-mentioned hour, the caravan rolled to a stop at another marshaling yard. The Inn was big enough to handle the entire staff for feeding, bathing, and sleeping. The stable crew didn’t release the horses from the harness but did make sure all the animals had water and feed bags strapped on for the night. Aston heard the grumbling but tuned it out. It was the right of any creature to grumble and complain if they were less than satisfied. The Inn itself, on the other hand, was a major waypoint on this section of the road. Two other roads crossed here and turned north and northeast. The west road was also better maintained by the local kingdom. The royals in this local happened to be a good and fair lot.

Aston met up with Andrew and Ledger in the dining room once he had a chance to get cleaned up. The dust that horses kicked up was able to cover every square inch of a person and get into places you didn’t even know you had. Brena joined them as they were eating and soon they were talking and comparing notes. Aston was appalled at the story Ledger told him. A sister and two brothers that were hell-bent on using him and killing him. They had murdered his parents and now had paid the price for their crimes in Terin’s Crossing.

The story Brena told him caused several things he had heard on the road to make sense. The refugees from Planes Guard had settled along the Brewman Road closest to the Guard. “Ledger, I have to tell you I met several young ladies along the way. Their baby’s, they look quite a bit like you, and they said the father was a boy that could make stones glow.”

Ledger paled at this news, “Are they hunting me?” he asked, looking ready to bolt at any second.

Aston smiled, “No, they have lives of their own and are doing well. I suspect I may have left a few bastards along the way myself.” He continued to eat and looked at Andrew, “So, what’s your story?”

Andrew told him about his lack of interest in being a farmer and how he had been working to build himself up and some training from his parents when the incident happened. “Those gem shards are a real problem. Brena has a very large chunk with her. Those are what the enemy, the Blood Queen is after.”

“What are the gems then. I know they give off a feeling of utter corruption, but how could they help him, or her.”

“The vampire is very much him,” said Andrew. The Blood Queen is his slave hands in the waking world. Aston, we are dealing with something so ancient and evil, it makes me wonder how much of what we think of as reality is actually true.” He looked at Ledger, “Ledger thinks he knows what happened all those ages ago to strip the world of the power. He just can’t put it in words that make any sense to the rest of us.”

“Well, I ran across some ruins of that time while coming to meet this caravan,” said Aston. “What must have been a massive city that went on for miles, much of it underground.” He stopped for a few seconds, a haunted look filling his eyes. “The underground gas buildup and explosion rocked the entire region. I barely made it out of the forest as it collapsed behind me. I am just glad to still be alive from that.”

“Well, you made it and are on your way to a brighter future,” said Brena. There wasn’t even the faintest bit of humor in her voice as she said that. “I just need to be careful to not lose my cargo.” She paused, having a sudden thought. “I wonder if they think the stone is in this?” she said, holding up the cylinder.

Andrew smiled at a thought, “Remember what I asked you the other night Brena?”

She thought back then answered, “You mean, how do you cover for a small, quiet operation?”

“Yes.”

Ledger answered, “With a big noisy operation.”

Brena glared at Ledger in mild irritation, “I was getting there,” Ledger looked at her sidewise and chuckled.

Now Aston chimed in. “No effort was made to hide your delivery, in fact from the sounds of it, each and every would-be thief and any opposing temple would know you are the carrier some important documents for the Assassins Guild.” He smiled brightly, “You were set up girl.”

Several other folks sitting nearby had been listening as the group had not been trying to keep anything said a secret. One of the women came over and sat on a log next to Aston. “Sounds about right girl, you are being used as a distraction,” she said.

“We have that figured out, Mina isn’t it?” said Andrew, looking at her and decided she was not an immediate threat.

“Yes, Mina.” She looked at Brena, “Listen up young lady, I have a pretty good idea as to why they are using you as a distraction. Your city is not the only one to have the thieves and brotherhood attacked. Plane Guard was only the most open.” Mina looked at the others and asked Brena quietly, “Can they be trusted sister?” She held her left hand down so a small tattoo showed on her knuckles. It was the Brotherhood sigil.

Brena looked at it, then up and met the woman’s eyes, “They are to be trusted.”

Mina smiled, “Good, it is so hard to find professionals these days. Ok, listen carefully, and no questions afterward either. Got that?” she said.

All four nodded in agreement, though they could tell Andrew was reluctant in his agreement. “Ok kid, here’s the deal. The Brotherhood was able to track the source of the orders and you are at the center of their hunt. The Bitch has infiltrated every house leadership on this side of the ocean with those damned gems. We are working to eliminate them as we find them. But the shards and slivers up and vanish when we try to collect them and lock them away. The Brotherhood seems to have been infiltrated as well. The Lady is less than pleased by this turn of events and has set you to carry this tube to the Cove temple. I was ordered to break cover if an attempt to grab you came near to succeeding. Finish your mission to both guilds and you will find things to keep you more than busy enough that revenge will be the last thing on your mind. In fact, you will long outlive those that ruined your life. I must go now. Be alert and try to stay safe.” Mina turned and stepped into the shadows and vanished.

The three men looked at Brena, waiting for her to say something. When she spoke, it wasn’t what they expected. “I really wish I could figure out how they pulled off that vanishing trick so slickly.”

Nobody said a word, Ledger blinked, shook his head and went back to eating. Andrew frowned but decided that asking any more questions wouldn’t get him answers. Aston had been trying to get a feel for Mina the entire time, nothing, a total blank to him. ‘Ok Aston, you want to ask, but if you do, it could make things worse, so silence is the rule,’ he thought to himself. He resumed eating, only glancing at the others occasionally.

The next morning, the caravan hit the road and made good time to the next waystation. This one was just a large open field, but it had water and firewood stocked, so all was well for now.

Tara.

She had her clan and small army pushing as hard as she could keep going without killing the horses. She had avoided dream walking because of the ability Aston and Bloodrend had in detecting her. Word had come back along the road by fast runners that war was breaking out between Ice Spine and Tres. Other runners had brought word of the disaster in Riversbend. She hoped she could catch up to Andrew and the rest before reaching the Cove.

Fairham’s Cove.

The wreckage that drifted into the harbor could hardly be counted as a ship it was so badly mangled. No survivors had been aboard, though some remains the fish had left had been found below decks. The only thing that identified it was a flag that hung from the broken mast. It was of a dagger, a crown, both dripping what looked like blood, with a deep blue background. Word was sent to the king and runners sent up and down the coast to watch for anybody that might have washed ashore from the wreckage. The King and his staff hoped like hell none of the crew or passengers had survived.

West of Tres.

The Caravan was on its fourth week on the road now. They had dealt with three attempted raids by bandits. The guard force was ready for them every time. Aston was keeping his senses out and he had been able to detect them before they would attack. he would send word up that trouble was coming and every bow, polearm, and sword was out and ready for them. The word from travelers heading east was not good. The border skirmishes had spread further south and the borders were getting harder to cross. Waylon sent a small patrol ahead to check the status of the crossing he had been worried about. When they met the caravan on the return, they had bad news.

Guardsman Engils: “The borders are closed. The other side ransacked the last eastbound caravan about two weeks ago. When the crews fought back, they killed them all and seized everything.”

Waylon: “That violates all the transit rules. We have an alternative route. The low coast road may be our only option.”

Driver representative: “That is not a welcome choice Waylon. But I have driven it in the past and it can be done. It will increase our travel time by at least a month.”

Nobody was happy with this news. Brena was becoming frantic, she was told by mid-winter. Andrew’s feeling of needing to be to Fairham’s Cove by mid-winter became serious. Ledger was worried now as well. He knew he needed to go, but didn’t have the same pulling or need. Aston now, he was worried. He wanted to stay with his fellow travelers, but he was needed to take care of the horses. He met with the Master Farrier of the caravan and discussed the problem. He was told to go. “Aston my boy, you have been more helpful than you could know. It is always the first few weeks that things are bad. Now that everybody is settled in and the animals are behaving, I can manage with the help of the drivers that have some skills.”

Aston joined Andrew at the evening meal after everything was settled for the night. “I am coming with you when you go Andrew.”

Andrew said without looking up, “I kind of figured that. We will have great need of your skills, and not just as a Farrier.”

Aston froze, a spoon of stew halfway to his mouth. “I don’t understand...”

“Don’t try to hide mind to mind speaking from a sword that speaks to me that way,” said Andrew with a bit of sharpness to his voice. “He says you mainly communicate with animals.”

Now Aston knew he had to answer in all honesty, “That is true. I can also sometimes influence people if I try. It is hard on me and leaves me with a headache.”

Aston continued eating as they talked. “I can feel if somebody is nearby, that is how I was able to warn about that ambush the other day.”

“Brena said she felt you try to reach her on the first meeting.” Andrew looked up and Aston and spoke in a tone that left no room to argue. “DO NOT try that again with her. She serves others, and I will not risk invoking their wrath, I strongly advise you do the same.”

Aston heard another voice, this quiet and cold, like the cold of chilled steel, “I will enforce that if it comes down to it.” He knew he had just heard the sword speak to him in his mind.

“Agreed,” said Aston, his heart beating with fear in his chest.

“Don’t mind Bloodrend. He is a bit bloody-minded about his duties.” That told Aston that Andrew had heard the warning as well.”

Aston decided to try and divert the conversation a bit, “What about Ledger? He seems like he is lost half the time.”

Andrew set his spoon in the now-empty wood bowl and looked at Aston, judging him. “Aston, Ledger was a scared and broken boy when I first met him. You heard the living hell he escaped. What you see now is a man trying to find his place and the limits of his abilities. He left a crater in a market place when he wanted to simply stop a few bullies that were attacking a little girl. In truth, you should be more afraid of him than Brena or me.” Andrew took his bowl to a wash barrel and returned, “His power will change the world, Aston. I have witnessed him learn and do several things that haven’t been possible in ages.” Andrew pointed up at the glowing disks of wood hovering over the convoy. “Those for instance. He surprised and scared the hell out of himself when he created a hovering stone then lit it up.”

Aston looked at the floating discs of light. He knew things like glow stones and other assorted enchanted items could be made if a person has the talent. The disc’s floating overhead though was something different. He sat back and thought about the coming run for the Cove, It would be hard, but if he came along, they could carry more supplies and tools they would need. The more he thought about, the more he considered the needs of the horses on such a trip.

“Andrew, I will be coming with you. You need me to care for the animals on this ride,” said Aston.

“What about the caravan? They will need you as well,” said Andrew.

“I’ve already spoken to Waylon and I am free to go. It was the start of the run that required extra hands. I can carry extra food and the packs to take the load off of your mounts. Brena could ride the wagon rather than a horse if she preferred that.” Aston was warming to the thought of getting away from the slow caravan now.

“We need to discuss this with the others and Waylon. Ledger and I will need to purchase horses and a few spares for the ride, and horses are not cheap,” said Andrew.

“I can help cover some of the expenses on the purchase,” replied Aston.

“Maybe so, but, as I said, we need to talk this over with the others first.”

“Alright, that is what needs to be done. When.”

Now Andrew looked up and Aston again, his eyes trying to see what was going on in Aston’s head. “In a hurry for some reason?”

Now Aston felt a stab of worry. Andrew still did not trust him and it showed. “Not so much as in a hurry on my part, but for Brena. She has a dire need to be moving faster than we currently are.” Aston did a few quick mental calculations and went on, “At the current pace, even if we can get past the conflicts ahead of us without interference, we will be a full month late. She needs to deliver those messages well before then.” He paused and looked at Andrew and gave a sick grin, “Maybe this is the same reason you feel the need to reach Fairham’s Cove before them as well. You have to see too her making it on time.”

Andrew frowned, “That thought has crossed my mind, and it says there are powers at play here that are way beyond our understanding.” He cupped his chin in his hand and stared at the dancing flames in the nearby cooking fire. A thought occurred to him. “The sliver you had, any guesses of who took it?” he asked.

Aston looked at the fire, then grimaced. “Yeah, I have one guess.”

“Is he likely to try and follow you?”

“More like hellbent on finding and killing me.”

“Then you really do need to come with us. Just so you know, I am on the run for more than just getting the gems away from my family. I am running from a girl that had plans for me that I wanted nothing to do with. I doubt though she escaped her parents to come chasing after me.” Andrew shuddered at the thought of what Kaara had been doing to trap him. He did have to wonder how she was doing as a plow horse.