Arik and Tedi were utilizing their tracking skills to follow Garth’s path. The trail had become increasingly hard to follow, but the boys were still managing to track it correctly. “I heard Garth telling Kalina this morning that our mysterious followers have not been around for over three days now,” Arik said softly.
“Maybe it was all in his imagination,” retorted Tedi. “There might not have been anyone ever following us. I wonder why Garth never has us take turns on sentry duty? You would think that if he was really concerned about somebody being out there, he would post a sentry all night.”
“There are only three of us,” Arik reminded Tedi as he pointed to a leaf on the ground with a fine layer of dust on it. “Not to mention that two of us can hardly keep our eyes open through dinner.”
“What is it that Garth does in the woods every night and every morning?” Tedi asked. “He does it every day and it is the only time that he will not allow anyone to accompany him.”
“I don’t know,” Arik conceded while pointing out the peculiar way the slant of the blades of grass alternated between pointing right and pointing left as if someone had swept something across the grass back and forth to remove footsteps. “I suspect that he is making sure that no one is near. Or, at least, it must have something to do with the security of the campsite.”
Suddenly, the trail totally disappeared and the boys stood up, puzzled. There was not one clue as to which direction Garth had taken next.
“You forgot one of the most important lessons in tracking,” Garth said from behind them.
The boys spun around and faced the length of Garth’s long, sinuous sword wavering between their throats. “What lesson was that?” croaked Tedi.
“The first one that I taught you, fisherboy,” Garth said grimly. “Maintain silence at all times. Why do you think I taught you to use hand talk? Do you think it was to give your idle fingers some exercise? Your tracking skills are coming along fairly well, but you would be dead now because of a very foolish mistake.”
“But this is only practice,” complained Tedi.
“There is no difference between practice and real life,” sighed Garth. “What do I have to do to convince you? If I kill you, you will have finally learned that lesson, but I will have wasted my time teaching it. Do you think we are in some park where no bad people exist? We are but a few miles from Toresh where the Dark Riders have a major garrison. Their own practice sessions use these very woods that you are frolicking in and yet you walk around as if there is no danger. There is danger every moment of your life. Never forget it. Never.”
“What did we miss here?” Arik asked as much to break the tension as to hear the answer.
“Look at the tree bark,” Garth explained. “I jumped up and grabbed that branch, but my feet disturbed the bark there and there. You would have trouble following from there, but if you checked surrounding trees you would eventually find where I came down. Enough tracking for now. You boys are due for some more sword practice. Today you two get the chance to kill me. It should be fun.”
Garth turned and headed back towards the campsite leaving Arik and Tedi shaking their heads. Arik watched the way Garth walked as he followed him. The careful, if subconscious, placement of every step. His feet always coming down on the quietest, most solid surface the path provided. Arik wondered how many years Garth had been walking that way. It was so second nature to the man that Arik was sure he did it without thinking.
The afternoon was as full of activity for the boys as every day for the last two weeks had been. While they still had trouble keeping their eyes open during the late dinner, the aches in their muscles were becoming less each day. Garth came into the campsite late for dinner and sat down with a frown on his face.
“Your friends are still looking for you,” he said to the boys. “There are about thirty Dark Riders several miles to the North and your friend, the witch, is with them.”
“Should we leave tonight?” Tedi asked nervously.
Garth chewed a mouthful of rabbit before answering. “Traveling by night is too dangerous unless you know the country well or you are very desperate. Neither case applies here. One of the hardest tracks to hide is a wagon. I think we can avoid any problems with them as long as you two are out of sight when they come.”
“What about their horses?” asked Arik. “They are bound to recognize their horses and saddles.”
“Not necessarily,” Garth stated. “And if they do, I will tell them that I purchased them from a gang of bandits that headed south. Gypsies are known to trade with anyone. If they argue too much, I will offer to sell them back to them.”
“I can’t believe that you are taking this so lightly,” Tedi burst out.
Garth put down his plate and leveled his gaze on the boys. “I take nothing lightly,” he declared. “I do not always seek a fight when there are other ways out of a situation. I do not shun a fight, but it is better to choose when you wish to fight and not let others decide for you. You would do well to remember to face every problem with calmness and logical thought. Emotion can kill you as quickly as a sword.”
“Is there anything that we can do to prepare for tomorrow?” questioned Arik.
“Get some sleep,” ordered Garth. “If all does not go well, you may be called upon to exercise your new skills and I would like you well rested for the occasion.”
The boys nodded and headed off to their blankets. Kalina and Garth sat talking softly for an hour before they, too, retired.
Niki was practically falling asleep in the saddle. “Why do we have to keep riding, Fredrik? I’m tired and I want to go to sleep.”
“I want to ride a little longer,” answered Fredrik. “We have been too long without something substantial to eat. If we keep stopping early, we will die of starvation. We need to find a village or small town and the longer we ride each day the sooner we will find it.”
“We haven’t seen so much as a farm since that place you stole the chicken,” Niki complained. “I don’t think anyone lives along this road.”
“You may be right,” admitted Fredrik, “but I thought I smelled smoke a little while ago and I wouldn’t mind some food before I fall asleep.”
They rode on for another ten minutes and Fredrik perked up again. “I know it is smoke this time,” he said hopefully. “If we don’t find some food at wherever the smoke is coming from, we go to sleep anyway, okay?”
Niki didn’t answer and Fredrik led them off the road and onto a small dirt path that led into the woods towards the East. The smell of smoke was still very faint, but Fredrik followed it until it got stronger. Finally, he saw the shape of a wagon far up the dirt path. He thought he heard a slight sound like two pieces of metal tinkling against each other, but ignored it. When he reached the edge of the clearing where the wagon was parked, he dismounted and told Niki to get down and hold the horses. He surveyed the campsite and could not see anyone moving. Other than the wagon, the campsite held a string line for horses and Fredrik could see around a half dozen horses. He thought he could pick out two shapes over by the horses that might be men sleeping.
“I’m going in to see what I can find to eat,” whispered Fredrik.
Niki nodded and tied the horses to a small tree. Fredrik crept toward the wagon, keeping an eye on the two sleeping forms. He successfully reached the back of the wagon without waking anyone and began to ease the door open. The tip of a sword touched his throat from alongside the wagon.
“Don’t you know it is polite to knock before you enter a woman’s wagon?” the steely voice asked.
Fredrik raised his chin and the sword followed it up. He let go of the door to the wagon and raised his hands. “Sorry,” he croaked, “I was just looking for food. I haven’t eaten in days and I am very hungry.”
Garth looked at the boy before lowering his sword and sheathing it. As he started to open his mouth to speak, he caught the glare of a magical projectile screaming in from the woods. He threw himself to the ground and kicked Fredrik’s feet out from under him. Quickly twisting his body as the projectile screamed by overhead, Garth wrapped his muscular arm around the boy’s neck.
“One more mistake like that and this boy’s life is ended,” he shouted. “Come out of the woods so I can see you.”
Arik and Tedi leaped to their feet, their bows ready and arrows nocked. The door to the wagon opened and Kalina stepped out. She looked at the boy carefully and then gazed into the woods as if trying to determine who would be helping the boy.
“Whether you value the boy’s life or not,” she called, “do not use any more magic. There is a company of Dark Riders only a couple of miles away and they have a witch with them. Your magic will call them down here
