seen them arrive had told the soldiers these were their horses, it was all over. Walking quickly but not enough to draw attention, he reached the horses. It took longer than anticipated to get Kevik into the saddle, the concealed staff making it difficult.
Once he was finally on his horse, Bart removed his pack and secured it behind Kevik’s saddle to better hide the lower end of his staff. Though not perfect, it should stand up to a casual inspection. A quick glance showed no one in the vicinity had taken notice of the staff’s end protruding from the quiver.
Soth was already in the saddle by the time Bart mounted. “Nice and easy,” Bart cautioned the other two. Then getting his horse underway, they started moving away from the inn.
Three soldiers emerged from a nearby shop and walked straight toward the inn. Barely ten feet away, the soldiers gave them a quick glance as they passed before continuing on.
“They were here,” Bart heard someone announce behind them. Glancing surreptitiously backward, he saw the soldier whom he had almost run into speaking with the others. “They can’t be far,” the soldier said. “Inform Captain Jeka.”
“Yes sir,” one of the three soldiers replied. Then all three turned about and hurried away.
Bart turned forward once again. It was probably just his imagination, but it felt like the eyes of the soldier were boring into the back of his head. Afraid to glance back and satisfy his curiosity, he continued on. At the first intersection they came to, he immediately turned onto the side street.
“That was close,” murmured Soth.
“Yes it was,” agreed Kevik. “I thought for sure we’d be discovered.”
“They are looking for a group with five pale-skinned northerners.” Bart explained. Holding up his now darkened arm he added, “As long as we don’t get wet, our disguise will hold.”
“Wet?” asked Kevik.
Bart nodded. “Water will wash it right off,” he explained. “I didn’t think there would be a decent apothecary in a town this size, so I asked for what I figured we could find.”
“Did you tell Riyan or any of the others about this?” asked Soth.
“I…” he began then trailed off as he realized his mistake. “Damn!”
Kevik chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll let Seth know.” A faraway look came to his face. When his face returned to normal, he said to Bart, “They know now.”
As they reached the northern edge of town and were passing through the outlying buildings, Soth gazed to the sky. A blue expanse broken only by the odd cloud stretched from one horizon to the other. With a day or more of riding before they reached Hylith, he fervently hoped it stayed that way. A rainstorm could prove problematic.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
In an inn outside of Hylith, Riyan waited with growing impatience. They had been here for the better part of a day, and still Bart’s group hadn’t rendezvoused with them. Seth contacted Kevik several hours ago and found out they were still on their way. How long it was going to be they didn’t know.
The inn wherein they were staying was one of the more rundown establishments Hylith had to offer. It’s only redeeming value was that it sat outside the walls surrounding the city, at the outskirts along the road which Bart and the others would be coming. The window of their room overlooked the road, and immediately upon arriving, Riyan had pulled up a chair before it and sat down to watch for the others’ arrival.
Seth was currently inside the walls. It had fallen to him to enter the city and do a little reconnoitering while they waited for Bart’s group. His main objective was to try and find out all he could about the River Man. That way they could use the information to work out a plan to recover the final segment of the key once their friends arrived.
“Want some food?” Chad asked Riyan.
Riyan glanced back to the table where Chad was picking through the remainder of a meal they had sent up. “No,” he replied then turned back to the window. “I’m getting worried.”
Finding one of the last remaining morsels of meat amongst the fat and gristle, Chad skewered it with his knife and ate it. “I wouldn’t worry too much,” he assured his friend.
Sighing, Riyan nodded. “I know,” he replied. “But until I see them coming down the road, I’ll not be able to relax.”
“Suit yourself.” As he chewed, Chad hunted through the unwanted portions left upon the platter in the hopes of finding another nugget of meaty goodness.
Just then the door to their room opened. When Riyan turned and saw Seth walk in, he sighed in relief. That had been another worry plaguing him, fear that Seth would be captured.
“Find out anything?” asked Chad.
“He’s no longer in Hylith,” answered Seth.
Riyan got out of his chair and turned toward him. “The River Man’s gone?”
Nodding, Seth explained, “He left the day after we fled the city. Took most of his soldiers and guards with him too.”
“Any idea where he went?” asked Chyfe.
“The prevailing rumor is that he went north,” Seth explained as he made his way to the table. There he tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the meat’s juice before shoving it into his mouth.
“North?” asked Riyan. “Why would he go north?”
Seth shrugged. “No one knew for sure. But they say he plans on sacking one of Byrdlon’s border towns.”
“Marl Crest maybe?” suggested Chyfe. “Though I’d hardly think that worthy of his attention.”
Riyan began pacing. “Whatever the reason,” he started saying, “it complicates things.”
“Why?” asked Chad. “With him and most of his men gone, it should be a simple matter for Bart to make his way into the castle and take the key segment.”
Coming to a stop, Riyan turned to his friend, “I doubt if he left it in the castle. Something that important would be kept close to hand.”
“I agree,” nodded Seth. “We’re already assuming he knows at least in part the relevance of the key segment. Can’t imagine he’d leave it behind.”
Riyan glanced to Seth before continuing. “No, he’ll have it with him.
As the others began discussing the situation in more detail, Riyan went back to the window and gazed out to the road. He paid scant attention to what the others were saying, his thoughts were mainly on Bart, Soth, and Kevik. Wishing for them to hurry up and get there, he sat back down in his chair to wait.
His gaze went to where the road leaving the city disappeared into the horizon. He had no more begun watching than three riders came into view. It took only a second for him to recognize Bart as the one in the lead. Leaping to his feet, he turned to the others and exclaimed excitedly, “They’re here!”
Conversation stopped as each moved to the window and joined Riyan in watching them approach. “About time,” Seth said. Turning from the window, he walked quickly to the door.
“Tell them to meet us up here,” Riyan told him.
“Will do,” Seth replied as he passed through the door. A few moments later, those at the window saw him emerge and begin walking down the road toward his brother.
“Thank goodness nothing happened to them,” Chad said.
Glancing to him, Riyan nodded. “I was getting worried.”
“So were we all,” added Chyfe.
When Seth met up with the riders, they paused together in the road as they exchanged words. Then Seth pointed back toward the inn. A moment later, they began heading that way. It didn’t take long before their horses were tied to the rail in front and Seth was leading them up to their room.
“…and then we had to lay low for awhile until I could buy more of Bart’s ingredients,” Soth was saying as they topped the stairs and began making their way to the room.
Riyan stood in the doorway. Relief at their safe arrival was evident on his face. “Glad you made it,” he said. “We were beginning to get worried about you.”
“Sorry,” Bart said then glanced to Kevik, “we were unavoidably detained.”
