Ythnel came out of her reverie and noticed the mustached mage had fallen back to ride even with her. She hadn't caught what he had said and gave him a confused look.
'The man next to you on the platform back in the execution yard, was he your lover?'
'No,' Ythnel shook her head. The man looked at her expectantly, but she didn't elaborate.
'Well, anyway, Brother Hawk asked me to coma back here and check on you. He was worried you might be distracted; you're starting to fall behind.'
Ythnel looked up. The next horse was easily a hundred yards away. She cast a glance back over her shoulder. The patrol from Luthcheq was getting closer. She could actually make out darker spots within the cloud of dust that was following them.
'Sorry. Thanks for the warning.' She nudged her horse a bit faster. The mage nodded and matched her pace.
They rode in silence for a while, closing the gap with the rest of the group. When they finally caught back up, Ythnel decided to ask a question that had been nagging her.
'Why the animal names?'
'Hmm?'
'Why do you call each other by animal names?' she repeated.
'Oh, that. It was a way to protect our identities. We were a secret society, after all.' A broad grin accompanied the mirth in his voice.
'I suppose there's really no point in it anymore; just hard to let go of some things.' He brought his horse in close to Ythnel and extended his hand. 'My name is Viulvos, formerly Brother Fox.'
'I'm Ythnel.' She accepted his hand with a brief smile. 'Who are the others?'
'Well, the portly fellow in front of us is Brother Tortoise, who goes by the given name of Muctos. Our fearless leader, Brother Hawk, who you've already met, is known outside the society as Kestus. Riding behind him is Brother Crocodile. I don't know his real name, unfortunately. One of the safety precautions we took was to share our true identity with only two or three other members. That way, if one of us was captured, we couldn't reveal who everyone was.'
Ythnel nodded. It sounded like a wise move.
'Hmm, it appears our pursuit is gaining on us.' Viulvos's comment caused Ythnel to turn and look back. Sure enough, she could now make out several small shapes that resembled horses. 'Perhaps we should increase the pace a little.' Viulvos excused himself and rode back up to Kestus. After a brief council, Kestus spurred his horse faster and shouted for the others to do likewise.
At the edge of the swamp, Kestus brought them to a halt.
'We'll go single file, slow and cautious. Do not stray. The ground is just as dangerous as anything else.' With that, he led them in.
Twisted, black-barked trees crowded together, competing for what little solid terrain there was. Even in winter, without their leaves, the branches of the trees were so intertwined that only small patches of sky were visible through the canopy. A perpetual haze floated up from the swamp floor, gases escaping in crude belches to warm the air, creating tepid, oily moisture that clung to everything. The wet bogs sucked at the horses' hooves, reluctant to let go.
Ythnel found herself once again at the rear of the line. She looked back quite often, though more from wariness of the sounds she heard than fear of seeing their pursuers suddenly appear. The noises of the swamp were strange to her. A rustle, the snap of a twig, a bird caw, or the hoarse cough of some beast echoed in such a way that she couldn't tell if it was a mile away or right behind her. She shivered at the eerie silences that hung between. It was nothing at all like the continuous bustle of the city.
Their path weaved through the trees, reminding Ythnel of the flight of a dazed housefly after it had been smacked with a roll of parchment. The terrain made it impossible to move in a straight line. Pockets of quicksand or deep pools of water were encountered every few yards, forcing the group to backtrack or alter their course many times. Tension within the group was palpable. As Kestus turned them around yet again to avoid a large expanse of water, it became too much. With a frustrated cry, the mage who Viulvos had named Muctos urged his horse into the stagnant mire.
'No, Brother Tortoise, don't!' Kestus shouted.
'I'm tired of all these detours! We're not making any progress. If we just cut across' Muctos hollered back as his horse waded in up to its rider's calves.
'You don't know how deep it could get, Muctos. Now turn back before we have to come in there and pull you out.'
Movement beyond Muctos caught Ythnel's eye. A shape as thick as her leg and longer than the horse dropped from a distant tree into the still water with barely a ripple. Unsure of what she was seeing, Ythnel moved her horse closer to the water and squinted. For several moments, the surface of the water was unbroken, save for the splashing made by Muctos's progress. Then Ythnel spotted what appeared to be a half-submerged log floating across the top of the water. Ythnel blinked and realized the log was not floating; it was slithering, slowly closing in on an unaware Muctos.
'Look out!' Ythnel warned, pointing at what she could now clearly see was a huge snake. Muctos's horse panicked and reared, dumping the mage into the swamp. The snake quickly switched targets, veering toward the floundering man. Three bolts of green light streaked across the swamp and slammed into the snake. It sank from view.
Muctos's horse had made it back to shore, but the mage was hindered by his cloak and was barely keeping his head above water.
'I should leave you to drown,' Kestus spat as he started to walk his horse out to Muctos. He was still ten feet from the mage, when the snake reared up out of the water right behind Muctos with a demonic hiss. The floundering mage swiveled around to come face-tface with the monstrous serpent and screamed.
Another barrage of green-colored arcane darts smote the snake in the face, almost tearing its head clear off. It hovered half out of the water for an instant before sliding back below the surface, a growing cloud of red under the water marking its location.
Kestus pulled a panicked Muctos onto the back of his horse and waded back ashore. Muctos slid of the horse and flopped onto his back, breathing hard, his soaked clothing clinging to him. 'Thank you, Brother Hawk.'
'Fool,' Kestus rebuked. 'Adder Swamp is so named because of the deadly snakes that infest it. Legend has it that their venom is so poisonous, the god-king Gilgeam nearly died when he was bitten by one while crossing the Adder River.
'Now get on your horse. I trust we'll have no more side trips from anyone else after this.'
Everyone rode in silence. It was unclear what time it was, as the swamp haze and tree branches obscured the sun overhead, but Ythnel guessed it must be close to highsun. Her belly was grumbling. She doubted there were any meals in the near future. There hadn't been any meals in the recent past, either, she realized. In fact, the last thing she could remember eating was morningfeast that first morning at Master Saelis's. Visions of grilled sausage and eggs danced unbidden in her head. Her stomach rumbled even louder.
'A bit hungry, are we?' Viulvos grinned over his shoulder at Ythnel. 'Perhaps Muctos would be so kind as to catch us a big, fat, juicy snake we could roast over a fire.'
'Ha, ha, very funny, Brother Fox.' Muctos frowned from his new position at the end of the procession. Ythnel giggled.
'At least someone appreciates my humor,' Viulvos said. He turned in his saddle so he was facing Ythnel and slowed his horse a bit, closing the distance between them. They rode together for a while without speaking. Ythnel could feel Viulvos watching her from the corner of his eye. Several times he appeared about to speak, but he turned away when she looked at him.
Finally, Ythnel's patience ran out. 'What would you ask of me?'
'Heh, was I that obvious? Very well, I do admit to being curious about a few things. You said you weren't a wizard, but you are a Thayan?'
Ythnel nodded. 'You can be one without the other.'
'Right, right. I suppose you get that a lot.' Viulvos smiled apologetically. 'Can I ask what brought you to Luthcheq? I wouldn't think someone from a country known for its wizards would consider a city prejudiced against the Art as a destination.'
