“Rider to the west!” Wil interrupted, pointing.
Relam hesitated, halfway down the stairs already, then turned and climbed quickly back up to the wall, followed by Hadere. The prince stepped to the edge of the wall, leaning on the crenellations, and followed the direction of Wil’s pointing finger. From the Midwood, following the road, came a lone rider, moving at a gallop, powdered snow kicking up in his wake.
“Get that gate open,” Relam snapped to Hadere. “Is that your man?”
“Aye,” the commander replied, nodding. “He’ll hear it from me for being late, I assure you.”
“Good,” Relam muttered, following Hadere down to ground level, his guards falling in behind.
The gates and portcullis opened swiftly, the men in the guardhouses practically trotting around the windlasses as they heaved. No sooner had the west gate been opened than the rider was galloping through the gap and skidding to a halt, the sound of hooves on stone echoing through the city. The rider looked around grimly, then swung down from his saddle and hurried to where Relam and Hadere waited.
“Commander, your highness,” the man gasped. “I have just come from Commander Eckle.”
“Eckle?” Relam demanded. “I hope he has a good reason for not sending word sooner.”
“The commander patrolled the road until dark last night, then set up camp when he realized he would not make it back to the city,” the soldier explained. “When I found them this morning, they were getting ready to come back, thinking either your messenger had missed them or that the king had returned. When I told Eckle that the king was still missing, he dispatched everyone to search. The teams have only just now reported in.”
“And?”
“Nothing,” the rider said grimly.
“Then we must search again,” Relam replied, moving towards the stables, just to one side of the gate. “Did they try tracking my father from where he started the hunt?”
“I don’t think so, no, but-”
“Idiots,” Relam muttered. “Come on, Wil, Galen, Eric. And you Johann. Commander, send those forty riders as soon as you can, we’ll be waiting at the edge of the woods.”
“Your highness, I really must insist that-”
“I’m not staying,” Relam replied curtly. “Let’s stop a moment and think. All of you,” Relam added. Six sets of eyes, the messenger’s the commander’s, and those of his four guards, focused on Relam.
“The hunt started yesterday at dawn,” Relam began. “It was due to end last night at sundown. My father is an experienced and proficient hunter, and he had two fine guards with him. Now, there are a few things that could keep him away so long. One, he didn’t find anything, in which case I think he still would have returned. Who wins the hunt is not important, it’s the spirit of the competition, and he knows that. Two, he could have been injured, in which case one of his guards would have fetched Eckle’s men or returned here. The only situation I can think of where we would receive no word, is if all three of them are too badly injured to bring a message back to Etares.”
The listeners all nodded slowly. Except for Eric. He looked solemnly back at Relam.
“And what, your highness, do you suppose could have injured them so badly?” he asked.
The others swung around to look at Relam as well, waiting for a reply.
“I don’t know,” Relam admitted. “A few things come to mind, though. A large boar, maybe a bear. Outlaws, of course. Everyone knew the Harvest Hunt would take place yesterday and anyone could have lain in wait in the forest.”
“In which case, we had better take those forty men with us,” Wil observed.
“Yes,” Relam agreed, nodding to commander Hadere. “Gather your men. We leave at once.”
Relam selected a mount from the stables and saddled the beast with short, deft movements, focused on what lay ahead. He checked his weapons to be sure everything was in order, then swung into the saddle and rode out of the stable at a canter, stopping just inside the western gate to wait for his guards. It was only a moment before Galen, Wil, Johann, and Eric joined him, Johann bringing up the rear and bouncing uncomfortably in his saddle.
The prince wordlessly wheeled his horse around and led the way out of Etares at a gallop, barreling towards the Midwood, not checking to see if the others were following. Clouds of steam from his breath and his horse’s breath mingled on the frigid air, blowing back past Relam as he rode.
It took only a few minutes to reach the forest edge. Once there, Relam peeled off to the left, towards the Furnier Sea, and began searching for his father’s tracks. His guards fanned out behind him, eyes on the forest, not the ground.
“Here,” Relam murmured, pointing down to a clear hoof print in the snow. “This is where they entered the forest. You can see a few snapped branches further along.”
“Would we do better to join forces with Eckle?” Galen asked tentatively. “Coordinate our search, as it were?”
“Perhaps,” Relam said, shrugging. “But I’m not in the mood to deal with him right now. He would probably attempt to send me back to the city to wait for the results of his inept search.”
“Probably,” Wil agreed. “That’s why we work for you now, sir.”
Relam smiled faintly. “Thank you, Wil. Once we’re in the forest, we’ll stay together. We’re following a trail so no need to fan out to look for signs of my father and his guards. If we follow the trail to the end, we’ll find them anyway. I will do
