Kevik got a sheepish look and said, “I said I was sorry.”
Curious, Riyan asked, “What happened?” Stepping back, he allowed the others to enter the room first, then followed after and closed the door.
Bart rolled his eyes. “It was night before last,” he began to explain. “Soth and I were down in the common room waiting for Kevik, he had remained in his room to go over some spell or other. Well, just as our dinner was being placed on the table, Kevik appears coming down the stairs to join us.”
Soth chuckled which drew everyone’s attention to him. Then he started laughing as his finger circled his face. “His face was a splotchy mess!” Breaking into laughter, he couldn’t continue.
Riyan glanced over to Kevik who was turning a bit red. “Splotchy?” he asked.
Kevik nodded. “My face had felt dirty,” he explained. “So I washed it.”
“And made a mess of Bart’s dye job,” added Soth, managing to get his mirth under control.
“Fortunately, we got him back to the room before anyone noticed,” Bart continued. “The next morning, Soth scoured the town for what I needed to fix the mess Kevik had made. It took him half the day to find everything.”
“Meanwhile,” Soth said, “the town was swarming with soldiers looking for us.”
Everyone glanced again to Kevik who said, “I truly am sorry.”
“Suffice it to say, he didn’t make the same mistake twice,” Bart stated.
“And I feel positively nasty,” Kevik announced. “I’m sure there are traces of my last several meals adhering to my face and hands. What I wouldn’t give for a good scrub right about now.”
Bart turned a meaningful glare at him and said, “Not until we’re out of Hylith.”
“I understand,” replied Kevik.
The room was quiet for a moment then Riyan said, “The River Man left Hylith.”
Before Bart could ask, Seth added, “He headed north with a sizable force shortly after we fled town. No one knows exactly were he went, but the general consensus is that he’s on his way to sack a border town.”
“We believe he took the key segment with him,” stated Riyan.
Bart nodded. “That would seem reasonable.” The others watched him as he mulled over the information internally. When he finally came to a decision, he said, “Get ready to ride.”
Kevik sighed in resignation when he heard that. All he really wanted to do was to rest. The constant riding and being on edge for fear of being caught, had allowed little opportunity for him to completely recuperate from his earlier ordeal.
Soth was at the table poking through the scraps of food. “You guys didn’t leave much,” he said just as his stomach let out with an audible indication of his hunger.
“Come brother,” Seth said to him. “Let’s go down and get some food for the road.” Glancing to Riyan, he grinned and said, “Meet you in the stable.”
“Alright,” Riyan said.
After the twins left, the rest of them gathered their equipment together and headed down to the stable to ready their horses for travel. As they descended the stairs to the ground floor, it dawned on Riyan that Kevik was holding his staff. When asked about it, Kevik replied, “Having it in the quiver wasn’t working out. The first day it was fine. But after it fell out onto the road twice the second day, we decided it was time to put away the charade.”
From behind them, Bart said, “By that time, all the search parties looking for us had moved on.”
“I see,” commented Riyan.
Once out to the stable, they saddled their horses and were done before the twins appeared with a satchel of food. Soth was eating a large section of a loaf covered in jam. He broke off two sections and handed one to Bart and another to Kevik who accepted them gladly.
“Now,” Bart said as he swung into the saddle, “let’s go.” Moving out, he led them through side streets until they reached the road heading north out of Hylith.
For the remainder of the day, they continued to follow the road north along the lake. They kept a brisk pace as they wanted to make the next small village before dark. They remembered it having an inn and planned on staying there for the night.
“When we reach the inn,” Riyan was saying, “it might be best for us to remain out of sight. Seth, you and your brother hang out in the common room to see if you can pick up any information about where the River Man is headed.”
Seth nodded. “Will do,” he replied.
An hour later, the village appeared and when they reached the inn, found only two rooms available. It was a bit cramped, but still preferable than sleeping on the ground. Kevik hit the bed as soon as he entered the first room and was out in no time. When it came time to eat, Riyan, Chad, Bart and Chyfe had their meal brought to their other room to allow him peace and quiet. Seth and Soth adjourned to the common room to ferret out information while they had their meal.
Three hours later, Riyan was on his way back from checking on Kevik who hadn’t woken since first laying down, when he saw the twins returning. “Did you find out anything?” he asked when they came together before the room where the others were waiting.
Seth nodded. “Tell you inside,” he replied. Opening the door, he and his brother entered. Riyan followed right behind and closed the door.
Conversation ceased when Bart and the others saw the twins entering the room. Once Riyan had closed the door, Seth said, “They came this way.”
“No one knows exactly where they were heading, but when they left, they followed the road north,” explained Soth.
Bart nodded. “After we leave tomorrow, we’ll question the locals at every town we pass through. We’ll find him.”
Deciding on an early start in the morning, they quickly adjourned for bed. Kevik slept like a rock throughout the night. And after such a long sleep, felt ready to take on the world.
A clear day dawned the following morning and the companions were on the road an hour before the sun finally crested the horizon. With Seth and Soth in the lead, they continued in their search for the River Man and his men.
“I’ve been thinking,” announced Chad. “You don’t suppose they’re going to take on Kendruck do you?”
Soth shook his head. “No,” he replied. “They’d lose much of their trading revenue if that were to happen.” Glancing back to Chad, he added, “For Byrdlon to lose a village here and there, wouldn’t deter men of commerce from continuing trading with the Tribes. But take out Kendruck, and that would affect everyone.”
“Merchants don’t care much for those who cause their profits to suffer,” offered Riyan.
“That’s true enough,” agreed Bart.
In the lead, Seth suddenly came to a stop. “Hold up brother,” he said to Soth. Pointing off to the east, he said, “Look there.”
A hundred riders or more were heading north at a faster than usual pace.
“That can’t be them can it?” asked Soth.
“I wouldn’t think so,” replied his brother.
Bart glanced to the twins and said, “If the rumors are true, then they may be going to reinforce the River Man”
“You may be right,” agreed Chyfe. Resuming their northward progress, they watched the riders continue north until they finally disappeared out of sight.
Over the course of the morning, Seth and Soth would question locals at every village they passed through as to the location of the River Man. In each town they were told the same thing. That a large group had passed through about a week ago, they didn’t stop, and left following the road north.
When they came to where the road reached the end of the lake and began to enter the forest, they saw evidence of where a large force had bivouacked in the recent past. The camp was set off the road a hundred feet or so, and if it wasn’t for the remains of dozens of campfire rings left behind, they might not have seen it.
“They were here,” commented Riyan.
“Possibly,” replied Chyfe, “though it could have been left by another group of riders on their way to join him.”
Riyan nodded agreement as they continued past.
