Chapter 7

Starting out early the next morning before the sun was even up the six of them, Beth, Ariel, Haley, Gem, Michael, and Ayden headed out of town looking for the missing wagon and who took it.

The reason the six of them set out so early was because they knew it was going to be difficult for them to track the wagon back the way they came and to find out who was stupid enough to rob them.

They had asked Gary and Maria to stay behind because not only would it slow them down, but it would of course be ugly once they found who took it, and they didn't want them to get hurt.

First thing they did was to look around the warehouse for directional clues, and while they didn't really have a formally trained tracker, Ariel was the closest they had to it.

Over the seasons she appeared to be a natural at finding what needed to be found and tracking it back to where she needed to go. This was a skill she had since she was a child and one that often allowed her to find almost anything she needed.

The others tried to stay out of her way as she looked around. After giving her a moment to separate the correct tracks from the general mess in the city and followed it out of the warehouse.

As she mounted up she told everyone she was able to make out that at least eight men came for it and they had a fresh team of horses close by that didn't have riders on them. She was sure that they were there so that the thieves could have kept going on through the night.

Beth wasn't happy about having anything stolen from her team, but she was trying to not slip back into her angry or ranting mode. It wouldn't help her now that it was gone, and she really wanted more than anything for Ayden to see her as more than a childhood friend, so she was trying hard to appear composed as they headed out.

As they rode out of town they headed back the way they came six somber individuals were each lost in their own thoughts.

As they drew closer to the town Hamilton, the one between them and the next town Mercerville, Ariel stopped and got down from her horse to look around.

It took her about ten minutes of pacing back and forth, kneeling, and then examined the paths that left the road where she left them waiting for her. She walked a short distance up the two different trails on both sides before she came to a decision.

"It seems that they left the road here and went along the right trail. They tried to make it hard to follow by setting false trails, but either they aren't very good or they got sloppy," said Ariel as she remounted her horse.

Turning to the right they started following the trail that ran just above the town.

After a few moments, Ariel quickly raised her hand and signaled for everyone to stop. The way she did it and quickly, but casually, waved her hand made everyone quickly stop without saying anything. She slowly turned her horse back around and headed they way the came.

After a few minutes of riding back through the forest she led everyone back the way they had come, dismounted, and tied her horse to a tree. Soon the others followed suit, still without a word.

"I counted three how about you Ariel?" asked Beth suddenly breaking the silence.

Michael and Ayden were confused for a moment. What was she talking about?

"I got five. Two were in the trees also with the other three who were trying poorly to hide," said Ariel with a smile.

"I also got five," said Haley as she casually pulled at her sword that was secured to the right side of her body a couple times to reseat it. She wanted to make sure it wouldn't stick in its scabbard if she needed to quickly use it.

"I got six. There was a mage using a masking spell he cast on a tree to keep you from noticing him," said Gem with a smile.

"That means they know we're here for sure then. We should expect company shortly," said Beth.

"Wait, what are you all talking about?" asked Ayden.

"There was an ambush setup for us. Someone knows we're coming and they were waiting. But they didn't want to give up their numbers so they decided to let us pass through. I could see where it was and they aren't very good at hiding," said Ariel.

"Or they are used to people who don't know what to look for so they expected us to fall into their trap. We've been doing things like this for over five seasons. The things the Sisters put us all through when we're not on a battlefield, just to teach us what to look for, is scary sometimes. They didn't stand a chance," said Gem with a smile still.

"But what about that mage you said was hiding? I didn't detect one," said Michael.

"You were looking for active magic, but this type of spell is something only most low level mages do. They cast a spell that works for them so that they can conserve their limited magic.

"What he did was put up a screen and then hid behind it. It not something he needs to keep fueling. It's like looking for an enchanted door or lock. If you know it's enchanted when you look at it, then you can see it. But if not, then it just looks like a normal lock until you look at it magically, right?" asked Gem

"But how did you know to look for it?" asked Ayden.

"Soon as we left Potter's Corner I started using magic to look at everything we passed. Why, didn't you? You know anyone could kill us at a moments notice right?" asked Gem confused for a moment.

Ayden and Michael looked at each other for a moment in shock.

They never thought to try to look at everything. They were only looking for active magic. Seems they weren't quite taking this as seriously as the girls. Their grandmother most certainly would be disappointed in them right now for how lax they were.

"No but we should have been, but we won't make that mistake again," said Ayden with a smile.

The girls smiled back as the boys were blushing at an obvious blunder.

"Ok here's what we're going to do, Ayden, Michael, you get to be bait. You both have no real experience in doing what we're going to do. So I need the two of you to casually walk your horses back the way we were headed about ten or fifteen yards and then wait. We'll take care of the rest," smiled Beth at Ayden.

They wanted to ask if they were sure, but the grim look that they all took shortly after Beth finished speaking told them that they weren't the ones who they needed to be worried about.

Without another word the girls turned, secured their horses to four different trees, and each seemed to melt into the forest before the boys eyes. Shocked boys slowly turned and walked their horses back again the way they were headed about ten yards and then stopped and talked among themselves as they waited.

Because they were dressed casually they looked like travelers. They thought about making some weapons to complete the look, but snow white or crystal clear weapons might be a give away if the mage was the one who approached them first.

Soon they heard two men riding up to them from the forest.

As they approached the two men slowed to a canter about fifty yards out and at about 20 yards from them the two men slowed their horses to a walk.

Once in front of the boys the two men looked down at them with what could easily be called an evil smile. They looked like they had nothing but malice in mind for the boys.

"Yo, boys. What are a couple of boys like you doing way out here? Don't you know it's dangerous for you to be here unescorted?" asked one man.

"We're just exploring the area above town," said Michael with a smile he didn't feel. He could feel they weren't just here for the conversation.

"Yes we were just passing through on our way to the next town," volunteered Ayden.

"Well there is a toll for passing through these forests you know," said the other man.

"Really? We didn't know. We don't have any money so we could just go back the way we came and follow the road then," said Michael.

"No, you're already here so you still have to pay the toll. Of course you will need to pay for yourselves and those four other women who were with you. Where did they go by the way? If they don't have money we are going to take it out in trade," said the first man as he licked his lips.

"They said they had something they needed to do and they separated from us and left. But why the interest in them and how did you even know they were with us? Have you been spying on us?" asked Ayden as he dropped his smile.