While Larn and the other Travelers finish filling two wagon transports with spears, canisters, flasks, and a few stools, Sash grabs a sheathed knife from one of the tables. She fastens it to the belt around her waist and tucks the tip of the sheath into the back of her pants so that it won’t flop against her when she runs. After realizing that I may need a knife to cut the rope, I grab one as well and place it on the back of my belt in the same way that Sash did. With the coil of rope looped over my shoulder, I follow the others to the gate.
As soon as we reach the wall, a Watcher swings the gate open. With the sound of the turbulent river below, we cross over the bridge and stop at the edge of the Barrens. Jeni and Roen rest their transport handles on the ground and look at Sash for further instructions.
“Follow me through the Barrens,” she says. “I’ll keep my speed down so everyone can stay close together.”
“And then what?” Jeni asks.
“We’ll stop a few miles from the Murkovin camp. I’ll explain everything else once we get there. It will make a lot more sense when you can see the terrain.”
With Sash leading our way and Larn bringing up the rear, we aim to the northeast. If Sash is taking us to the gully where we stopped with Maya, I estimate that it’s about sixty thousand miles away. Although Sash and I can cover that distance in less than two hours, it will take us closer to six hours at the other Travelers’ top speeds. Since we’re leaving in the middle of the morrow, we should still have a couple of hours when we get there to finalize the plan before the Murkovin are asleep.
Sash and I have only had a few hours of rest over the past two morrows. I’m running on pure adrenaline and whatever sap I consume, and I know Sash is in the same depleted state that I am. But Sash correctly surmised that they could be on the move, so this may be our best and only chance to get Tela away from them.
As the morrow wears on, thousands of miles fall behind us. We finally pass the hill where Maya sensed Tela for the first time. Our small caravan of Travelers follows Sash into the same gully that we stopped in with Maya.
After Sash instructs Jeni and Roen to leave their transports in the gully, we all climb up the hill. One by one, each of us peeks over the rocks along the crest while Sash explains the layout of the Murkovin camp to us.
When it’s my turn, I peer across a series of low hills covering the three miles between the Murkovin and us. Just past the low hills are two slightly taller ones, one on the northern side of the camp, and one on the western side closer to where we are. While squinting at the tops of the hills, I spot a Murkovin standing on each one.
“The valley beside the western hill leads inside the camp,” Sash tells me in a hushed voice. “The valley leads to the small hill where Tela’s cavern is. If we can draw the guard on the west side of camp to the south and the one up north farther away from camp, we should be able to get in without being seen.”
“That sounds like it should work,” I say.
“Two more Murkovin are on guard, but you can’t see them from here. One is on the far eastern side of the camp and the other on the south.”
After she tugs on my shirt, we scoot back down to the others.
“Jeni,” Sash says, “if you go a hundred miles north and then come back down on the northeast side of the camp, crash the cart about half a mile from the guards. As soon as they head towards you, leave everything behind and get back to the Delta.”
Jeni nods her head in reply.
“You do the same,” Sash says to Roen, “only on the southwest side of camp. That should draw the western and southern guards away.”
“What if they don’t come after us?” Roen asks.
“Pretend like you don’t see them, put everything back in the transport, and walk towards them. They’ll eventually come after you, but they might also call for help. Once they’re after you, don’t wait for us. Leave everything behind and go to the Delta.”
Roen glances at Larn and then at me. “Bring Tela back safely.”
“We will,” I say.
Sash keeps watch from the top of the hill while the rest of us return to the gully to wait out of sight. The time that ticks away is agonizingly slow. We’re all pretty amped-up and ready to get the rescue underway, but we have to wait until Sash is certain that all the Murkovin other than the guards have gone to sleep.
While Jeni and Roen pace up and down the gully together, I skip stones across the dirt. Larn sharpens the tip of his spear on a large rock. After a couple of hours pass, Sash climbs down to the hill and tells us that it’s time to go. Wanting to fuel ourselves with one last dose of fresh, potent energy, we all guzzle sap.
Just as Sash is about to say something to the group, she tilts her face up to the sky. “Darkness is coming.”
“We’ll have better cover,” I say.
She lowers her eyes to mine. “The other Murkovin in camp could wake up for sap during Darkness.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll be fine.”
“Why do you
