You could imagine his surprise when they drew close and found the camp unchanged. Soldiers still huddled in blankets near roaring fires to keep winter’s chill at bay, tents remained in their circular formation. All in all, it looked as if they didn’t plan to move any time soon.
“I thought they were heading out,” Riyan whispered quietly to Bart.
“So did I,” replied Bart. “Apparently, Seth’s information was inaccurate.”
“Now…” began Riyan, when Bart laid his hand on his arm and motioned for him to be quiet. He then pointed to the circle of tents on the far side of the meadow. “Look there,” he said.
Straining his eyes, he couldn’t see anything untoward. Keeping silent, he shrugged and cast a questioning look to Bart.
“The tent,” whispered Bart. “The big command tent in the middle.”
“What about it?” Riyan asked, confused.
“It’s not there,” he replied. In fact, now that he examined the tent area more carefully, he could see several gaps in the concentric rings of tents that weren’t there before. Bart glanced back to Riyan and said, “I think the River Man left.” After another moment’s scrutiny of the camp, he motioned for them to return to the others.
“Why would he leave?” asked Riyan.
Shaking his head, Bart said, “I don’t know.”
They were quickly back with the others and informed them of what they had discovered. “I can’t believe he would leave his men like that,” Chyfe exclaimed.
“Me either,” agreed Bart. Turning to Kevik, he said, “We need to find out where he’s going.”
Kevik understood exactly what he was asking. “I only have one of the far seeing mixtures left,” he told him.
“I understand,” replied Bart. “But we need to know.”
Glancing around at the trees, Kevik asked, “Here?”
Bart nodded. “May as well,” he responded. “No one’s around.”
Kevik removed his pack containing the bowl and mixture, and set it on a nearby fallen log. Removing the bowl, he placed it on the log next to his pack then took out the flask of mixture, emptying it into the bowl.
Before he began, he turned to the others. “As I’ve never met the River Man, I’ll need to start at the camp and then see if I can locate him from there.”
“Whichever way you feel is best,” Bart said.
Kevik set the empty flask back in his pack then turned his attention to the mixture filled bowl. Once the spell was cast, an image of the forest began to form upon the surface. Having cast it several times now, he has begun to get the hang of moving the image to and fro. When the image clarified, the encampment of Tribesmen was visible.
Not removing his gaze from the image, he asked, “Which direction do you think he went?”
“Try north,” suggested Riyan. Standing beside Kevik, he saw the image begin scrolling northward. Moving away from the clearing holding the Tribesman army, the image soon showed nothing but trees. That lasted a short time before the trees gave way to the plains.
Other than a tree or bush here and there, nothing was visible. After he must have scrolled the image for ten miles, Bart said, “Try to the east.” Again, just as before, they came up with nothing.
“West maybe?” suggested Chyfe. “He couldn’t be headed south, he just came from there.”
Centering again on the Tribesmen filled clearing, Kevik began scrolling west. In order to cover more ground, he began moving the image a little to the north, then a little to the south, alternating between them as he continued eastward.
The road passing through Sterrith came into view and he spent some time scanning it to the north and to the south. Still, no sign of the group of Tribesmen traveling with Lord Kueryn.
Moving the image west of the road, he continued the search. After another five minutes of fruitless searching, he said, “The spell isn’t going to last much longer.”
“Where are they?” Chyfe asked under his breath.
Then, a group of riders appeared in the image. The River Man and the magic user rode at the fore of thirty riders. Behind the riders followed a line of pack mules. From the way the shadows lay, it was apparent they were heading west. “That’s them!” exclaimed Bart.
The others gathered around as Kevik kept the image centered on the group of riders. Just before the spell ran its course, the riders came to a river where they turned and followed it north.
“Riyan,” Bart said. “Get out the map.” Slapping Kevik on the back, he said, “Good job.”
Kevik beamed at the praise. Turning back to the bowl, he saw that the spell had run its course. Tossing the mixture into the bushes, he cleaned out his bowl then returned it to his pack.
On the log next to him, Riyan was unrolling the map. They quickly found Sterrith and the river to the west. “How did they get there so fast?” he asked.
“They must have left not long after Soth and I returned to the inn,” Bart said.
Chyfe nodded. “They have a day’s head start on us,” he said.
“Not for long,” Bart said as he hurried to his horse. Swinging up into the saddle, he said, “We can’t let them stay too far ahead of us, or we’ll lose them.”
In a minute the others were mounted and following Bart back along the beaten trail to the road. Once there, Bart quickened their pace as they set out westward to catch the River Man.
By the time night had fallen, they were at the river and heading in the direction their prey had followed. With so many riders and mules, the River Man left a trail a blind village idiot could follow. They continued well past dark before finally making camp.
Next morning they were off with the dawn.
The River Man’s trail continued to follow the river all the way to the hills at the base of the Tinderlock Mountains. An hour into the hills they came to a small village situated on the banks of the river. A small, inconsequential road left the village on its way east.
Bart brought them to a halt when the first building appeared. Moving them to a place out of sight, he and the others dismounted and then climbed a nearby hill overlooking the village. Lying atop the hill so their silhouettes wouldn’t give them away, they searched for signs of the River Man.
There wasn’t much to it. Just a few buildings which could possibly be considered the village center and another dozen homes spotted here and there throughout the hills. There was no sign of the group they had been following.
From their position, they could see that the makeup of the town was composed predominantly of Byrdlon stock, with a minority of those whose lineage was that of the Tribes. Bart glanced to Riyan, “Should be alright,” he said.
Riyan nodded. “Maybe,” he replied. “Let’s go find out.” Moving off the hill, the companions returned to their horses and made their way to the village.
The first person they encountered was a man carrying a woodsman’s axe. He saw them approaching but didn’t react one way or another until Bart altered course to intercept him. Then he took his axe in both hands and turned to meet them.
“Good evening,” Bart said in a friendly manner.
Staring at their group, the man offered no return greeting, simply continued gripping his axe.
Realizing he wasn’t going to receive a reply, Bart asked, “I was wondering if you could help us?”
The man shifted his hands on the axe handle. “How?” he asked.
Others from the village began to take note of the man talking with the newcomers. A few began gravitating toward them.
Bart was quick to notice the others on the way. But since they didn’t have a hostile appearance, he dismissed them. “Did a group of thirty or so Tribesmen come this way?” he asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “They passed through on their way up to the lake.”
“Lake?” asked Riyan.
The man nodded. Indicating where the river flowed from the Tinderlock Mountains, he said, “The river flows from a lake high in the mountains.”
“Are you sure they went that way?” asked Riyan.
“They were following the river when they left,” he explained. “No place else they’d be going but to the
