Raestin. When he received a nod from the trader, he said, “Cailin,” and indicated for the young guard to come with him. Then he nudged his horse forward and proceeded toward the horse. Cailin hurried to catch up.
“Do you really think this is trouble?” Cailin asked. The horse on the hill still hadn’t turned to look their way.
“It doesn’t feel right,” replied Paul. “After a while, you get a sense for such things.”
As he rode at Paul’s side, Cailin scanned the horizon for any sign of trouble. His crossbow remained slung across his back, easily accessible should the need arise. They were almost halfway to the crest in the hill where the horse stood when Cailin’s horse snorted. Turning its head in their direction, the horse atop the rise shied away a foot or two before coming to a stop.
“It’s skittish,” observed Cailin. Beside him, Paul nodded.
Looking first toward the area adjacent to the river, Paul quickly took in his surroundings. Except for the horse, everything appeared as it should. “Get your crossbow ready,” he said quietly.
Quickly removing it from behind his back, Cailin cranked the handle until the wire clicked into position. Then he removed a bolt from the quiver that was secured to the saddle’s pommel and loaded it. “Ready,” he said. Again, Paul only nodded.
Slow but steady they made their way toward the horse before them. A couple times the horse made to flee, but always returned to the same spot. When Paul was within half a dozen yards, he saw the body lying on the road. Two arrows were sticking from the man’s back.
“Bandits!” Cailin exclaimed.
“Possibly,” said Paul, though his tone said he didn’t believe it. “Why didn’t they take the horse?”
“Because…” began Cailin before stopping. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly,” replied Paul. He then glanced to his young protege. “Keep alert,” he said, “just as I taught you.”
Cailin nodded and placed the butt of the crossbow against his shoulder. Though he held it loosely, he could raise it and fire in no time.
Paul moved forward, continuously scanning the hills to either side as he did. Ten feet beyond the first dead man was another. He too had been killed by an arrow. The deadly missile had taken him through the neck. Of this man’s horse, there was no sign.
When he reached the man to whom the horse had been staying near, he noticed the man only had half an ear. “It’s the two riders who passed us earlier,” he told Cailin.
“Who attacked them?” Cailin asked.
“I don’t know,” replied Paul. “They could still be in the area.” Scanning the area yet again, he didn’t see any sign of those who had done this. Swinging down from the saddle, he went over to Half-ear and knelt beside him. Checking the man’s belt pouch, he found half a dozen copper coins, two silvers, and a small gem that wouldn’t fetch very much. Leaving the coins and gem in the pouch, he stood up and glanced around the horizon again.
“It wasn’t thieves that killed them,” he told Cailin. As his eyes came to rest on the young guard, he added, “He still has his coins.”
“Then who did it?” asked Cailin in a voice full of confusion.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll report it to the Magistrate after we arrive in Quillim.” Moving to his horse, he grabbed the reins then remounted. “It’s none of our concern.” Turning to Cailin, he said, “I’ll stay here. Go tell Raestin it’s safe to proceed.”
“Yes sir,” Cailin said. Then still holding his crossbow loosely, he turned his horse around and quickly returned to where Raestin and the others were waiting. A minute later, they joined Paul by the dead men.
“Whatever happened here is over,” Paul told the trader as he drew near. Looking around the horizon, he said, “No one’s around.”
“Still,” replied Raestin, “we shouldn’t lower our guard.”
“Hadn’t planned to,” Paul assured him.
Before them, the road continued winding its way alongside the river. The forest, though not thick, could still hide a band of men bent on no good. Especially when the road wound its way over and through the rolling hills.
“It’s not more than five miles to the bridge,” Raestin stated. “Let’s make it quick.”
Paul nodded and took the lead. Moving at a pace quicker than what they had before, they headed for the bridge.
Cailin couldn’t help but stare at the dead men as they passed. Who would do such a thing and not rob them? That question and others ran through the minds of every man as they left the scene of death behind.
For the next hour they were more vigilant than usual. Harbingers of death seemed to lurk behind every tree, every shadow was a man with a bow ready to take their lives. When the bridge leading to Quillim finally appeared, a sense of relief came over them.
Paul noticed the drop in the men’s guard. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. Then he realized they were in fact within a forest, sparse as it was near the road. Smiling to himself, he glanced over to Raestin who had a grin himself. “You know what I mean.”
Raestin chuckled and nodded.
They reached the bridge and crossed over, their horses’ hooves echoing on the wooden planks. Not far past the bridge, appeared the first outlying buildings of the village of Quillim. Not much more than farmhouses and barns, the village center was still some distance away. From off in the distance, the baaing of sheep could be heard.
That brought the remembrance of Black Face to Raestin, and the sheep statue he had given his love. He often wondered what Riyan would think when he found out his mother had kept the one sheep that had driven him crazy the most. Thinking of that impending moment brought a smile to him. Riyan was still a bit young yet to understand the sentimentality a woman can have for such things.
As they rode further toward the village center, they didn’t at first notice the lack of people out and about. But when the homes became more numerous, the absence was unmistakable.
“Where are the children?” asked Paul. The last time they had come this way, the sound of children at play could be heard everywhere. But now, only the occasional call of a bird broke the stillness.
“And their parents too,” added Kern. Things around here were a bit too quiet.
Then from up ahead they saw a woman coming toward them carrying a basket. When she took notice of them heading her way, she stopped. Then lifting the hem of her dress, she turned and fled toward the nearest house.
Raestin sat there on his horse stupefied by her reaction. You would have thought Raestin and his guards were the devils themselves by the way she reacted. Running without a sound, she reached the door, began knocking vigorously. When it opened, she darted inside and the door slammed shut behind her.
“Odd,” commented Sterret.
“Yes,” agreed Cailin, “you could say that.”
Continuing their way toward the heart of Quillim, Raestin began to grow worried. Quillim was nothing like it had been on his last trip. Many people had been about then, and most had either offered a wave, or some sort of salutation. This quietness began to have an ominous feel.
Leaving behind the house in which the woman had fled, they continued on.
Soon, the large arms of the windmill appeared through the tops of the trees as it slowly turned in the breeze. But in the quiet stillness through which they traveled, it only intensified their feelings of foreboding.
“Did someone die?” asked Terrance. He was an older guard with almost thirty years experience, the last ten having been with Raestin. Terrance was like the grandfather of the group, easily ten years everyone’s senior, including Raestin. Despite his age, he was still able to hold his own in a fight.
Riding on either side of him were the last two of their group, Koryn and Warry. Koryn was a sandy haired man of middling years who had been with Raestin for the last three summers. Warry on the other hand was dark haired, a bit taller than Koryn, and had but two years with the trader. He and Koryn were close to the same age, and during the time they had served together, grew to be fast friends.
Raestin was about to answer Terrance when shouting came from further ahead. “No!” a man yelled with anger in his voice. “Now, get out of here!” Nudging his horse into a faster pace, the trader hurried ahead.
Five men of an unsavory aspect were sanding before the door of the mill. One took notice of Raestin and his guards. Shortly, all five had taken note of their arrival.
