FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (88 page)

     Clover rushed in from her quarters. She was wearing a thick robe over her night gown and she had her sheathed sword held tightly in her left hand. Her usually neat hair was in disarray. The commotion had woken her up from her sleep and she rushed to Ray’s office as fast as she could. Ray summarised the event for Clover, assured her everything was under control and asked her to go back to sleep. She bid Ray and Serene goodnight and went back to her quarters. Serene sat in silence, waiting for the female Sollenthar to pull herself together so that she could be fully debriefed. It was quite a while before the female Sollenthar got herself together and delivered her report. After that, Ray called for another female Sollenthar to escort her back to her bed in the barracks.

     Ray shook his head in disappointment. He was not disappointed with the female Sollenthar for failing in her duties, but instead, he was disappointed with himself for not training her well enough.

     “Convian Arfix
!
” Ray shouted out of his office door.

     Moments later there was a knock on the office door and a young, tall blond man in his early twenties stepped in.

     “Reporting _ I, Convian Arfix, am doing of this, sir
!
” said the young man after he gave a sharp bow.

     “Orders _ mine of this to you, Snap, is to take 1
st
River and carry out a discreet castle-wide search for Secretary Romar’s carriage driver. Search _ you are to conduct of this in civilian clothes and in disguise. Tail _ upon finding him, you are to continue of this of him and be careful so as not to reveal your presence
!
You may proceed
!
” commanded Ray after returning the bow.

     “Understand _ I do of this, sir
!
” replied Convian Arfix as he     gave another sharp bow, to which Ray returned, and stepped out of the office to carry out Ray’s orders.

     Ray returned to the seat behind his desk and shook his head. He was still upset with what had happened.

     “Think _ what do you of this
?
” he asked.

     “Think _ I do of this that the criminal is carrying out his plan now. Track _ we have lost of this of him for the past half an hour and by the time Convian Arfix locates him, he would have been done carrying it out,” answered Serene.

     “Agree _ I do of this,” concurred Ray.

     Serene thought about Ray’s plan for Dawn. She decided that it was time to get into some of the details.

     “Supervise _ who shall do of this of the actual transportation itself
?
” asked Serene.

     “Supervise _ I shall do of this of the transportation, meanwhile, I need you to ride out tomorrow at dawn to supervise 3
rd
River in the setting up and manning of the observation posts, as they need to be perfectly concealed
.
Wish _ I do of this that I do not have to send you; for I know how tired you have been these past few days, shuttling between Fallsgreen and here, but with Rod severely injured, you are the only one suitably qualified,” said Ray in an apologetic tone.

     “Understand _ I do of this, Minvian Iddell,” said Serene.

     “Assign _ I shall do of this of Clover to arrest Secretary Romar and her carriage driver when the final phase of their plan has been executed, whatever it maybe,” added Ray.

     “Evidence _ would we have sufficient of it
?
’ asked Serene.

     “Evidence _ I hope that we shall have sufficient of it, considering that one of our subordinates had witnessed Secretary Romar incapacitating a Provincial Guard and convening secretly with the assassin; and her carriage driver had assaulted a Royal Guard. Circumstantial _ these are of this, of course, but when the final phase of their plan is executed, hopefully we shall get more evidence of their guilt,” hoped Ray.

     Serene nodded her head. Ray’s plan was sound. She could think of no better plan herself.

     “Tranquil rest, Minvian Iddell
!
” said Serene as she got up and bowed, then walked out the office door.

     “Tranquil rest, Serene
!
” answered Ray as he stood up, returned Serene’s bow and sat back down again in his chair.

     It was truly a big gamble, Ray knew, to go ahead with the transportation of Dawn Breven when there were signs of imminent sabotage, but the need for evidence was greater. He knew that the more complex the crime, the more evidence would be left behind by the perpetrators. And he truly needed every scrap of evidence against Secretary Romar, for she held the key to locating the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan, who in turn was needed to reveal the true mastermind behind the assassination attempts on Prince Patrum. But more importantly, through the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan, Ray could also find out the identity of the mastermind behind his order’s massacre, this so called Baron Chessmaster
!

     The sun shone brightly on the
7
th
Noon of Fourth Month of Dry Season
. Ray sat uneasily on his horse. He was drenched in sweat. And this was not just due to the heat, but more so due to the grim thought of what was surely to come. Secretary Romar’s plan was still a mystery and the fact that it was designed to be executed at the very last moment deeply concerned him. He took no chances this day. He had ordered his subordinates to be in full battle gear. He had arranged for 1
st
River to escort Dawn and two rivers of Provincial Guards to follow in the rear as backup. One additional river of Provincial Guards would be moving ahead as scout.

     Ray rode over to the prisoner carriage.  It was more like a horse-drawn cart with a huge square metal cage secured to it rather than a carriage in the normal sense, but to him, it was like a vault. It was a vault that would keep his precious prisoner safe and secured. He waited restlessly for Dawn to be brought out of the infirmary to the prisoner carriage.

     Dawn was nervous too. But unlike Ray, she showed no signs of it. Her heart pounded fast and her mind raced through every possible escape scenario, but her composure betrayed nothing. The result of the tough training that she had undergone throughout her childhood was being put into effect.

     The door of the infirmary opened. Four Sollenthars stepped in. Dawn’s stomach contracted when she saw how they were dressed. The battle helm reduced her potential target area and the shield’s presence reduced her chances of hitting her target even further. The normally exposed face was now protected. There was only one weak spot that she could aim for if she was to use the blowpipes, which was the throat. But her darts would have to get through the links in the chain mail. Under some rare circumstances she could also aim for the soldiers’ inner upper arms, but she would still have to get her darts through the chain mail. Not only would she have to be accurate, but her targets needed to be in the right position and posture for her to hit them. A slight sense of panic threatened to consume her, but she held it back. She was a highly trained assassin, and this escape was well within her capabilities.

     Ray eyed Dawn like an eagle as his subordinates brought her out and secured her inside the prisoner carriage. Ray took one look around to confirm that his subordinates were ready, and then gave the signal for the convoy to move out. The scout river galloped ahead while the two backup rivers trotted behind. Between the scout, escort and backup rivers were a quarter of an hour’s difference in either direction, by the time they had established a moderate and constant pace. Ray hoped that a quarter of an hour’s warning from the scout river would be sufficient for him to turn the prisoner carriage around and outrun any pursuers; and if they were attacked, they would be able to hold off their attackers long enough for the backup rivers to arrive and rescue them.

     The road to Fallsene City was bumpy and uneven. Small columns of dust rose in the air as the convoy past by. All eyes were wide open, scanning left and right into the dense forest that lined either side of the road. The big, tall forest trees provided ample hiding place for ambushers. It was now late afternoon and both men and horses were tired, thirsty and hungry. Yet Ray did not order for a break for fear of being attacked. So the convoy pressed on, with the hopes of reaching the next town before nightfall.

     The road got bumpy all of a sudden. The prisoner carriage began to make a lot of noise due to it. Ray looked down. There were many small stones and pebbles strewn on the road.
Crack!!!
Ray’s heart skipped a beat
!
He turned around to find the prisoner carriage veering off to one side of the road and one of its wheels, still connected to a broken piece of the axle, was lying on the ground some distance behind. A Sollenthar dismounted and brought the wheel and broken axle to Ray.

     “Sabotage _ it is clearly of this,” said the Sollenthar.

     Ray examined the axle properly as the Sollenthar held it up to him. He could see that the axle was partially sawn to weaken it, as saw marks were straight and smooth, quite unlike the jagged edges of the part that had snapped and broken off.

     “Perimeter _ set up a defensive one of this, now
!
” commanded Ray.

     Immediately, the Sollenthars formed a wide circle around the prisoner carriage, with their shields raised and swords drawn. Two riders rode out, one forward to inform the scout river and another rearward to inform the backup rivers.

     Slowly, Dawn reaches into the collar of her shirt and pulls out the key and blowpipes. She unlocks the shackles around her wrists and ankles in a slow and quiet manner, but does not remove them. Then she waits…

     Ray feels uneasy being stranded right in the middle of a lonely road with all the signs of a trap that is in the process of being sprung. He looks around nervously, expecting that at any time attackers will start flooding out of the forest towards him and the Sollenthars.

     “Fix _ do of this to the carriage, now
!
” he commands.

     A few of the Sollenthars bow in acknowledgement and dismount. One of them pulls out a key from a pouch attached to his combat belt and unlocks the door of Dawn’s carriage.

    
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Sollenthar who unlocked the prisoner carriage door and two of his comrades fall to the ground, lifeless. Arrows begin to shower Ray and his subordinates from both sides of the road.

     “Prisoner _ secure of her
!
” commands Ray amidst the chaos.

     A few Sollenthars dismount to secure Dawn while others move into position to shield them. Those who are still on horseback hold their shields up and counter-attack with Heat Burst Spells. Dawn seizes her chance to escape. She aims her blowpipes and attacks two Sollenthars who are in her way. Both soldiers collapse immediately as the needle-thin poisoned darts get embedded into their throats. Swinging the carriage door wide open, Dawn jumps off the carriage and sprints into the surrounding forest, disregarding the dangers of the flying arrows around her.

     “Chase _ do of this to her now
!
” commands Ray as he realises what has happened and gallops after Dawn.

     A few of the Sollenthars follow suit, but in their haste, they break formation untidily, thus exposing themselves to the shower of arrows coming from the other side. As a result, a few of them fall off their horses lifeless. Wooden shafts protrude from their backs.

     Dawn runs through the maze of trees and shrubbery with the speed of a cheetah and the grace of a gazelle. Ray and the others gallop behind her in pursuit. Pieces of arrowhead-shaped pebbles and spheres of flames fly past her, but not a single one finds their target. Dawn is far too agile for their shots. But her chest feels like exploding. Her veins feel like they are on fire. Every muscle in her body is tormented with pain. They are begging her to stop and rest. But she does no such thing, for she knows that the attackers who are hired to help her escape are also instructed to kill her if she fails. Then, right there, in the middle of the forest, Dawn sees a horse with its reins fastened to the trunk of a tree.  Clearly, it was left there for her. She sprints towards it.

    
Whoosh!
Ray ducks just in time as an arrow flies past his head. He pushes his horse hard. His eyes are still focussed on Dawn, and his heart sinks when he sees that she was sprinting towards a waiting horse. He knows that once she has mounted it she will be impossible to catch. He executes a few more Heat Burst Spells, taking careful aim each time, but the female assassin is just too agile to hit.

     Dawn is close to the point of collapse. Her fingers fumble on the knot of the reins as she desperately tries to free it. Her breaths are deep and erratic. Her heart leaps with joy as she gets the reins loose. Without wasting any time, she mounts the horse and makes it gallop at full speed deeper into the forest. She does not know where she is going, and she does not care either, just as long as she is heading away from Ray and the Sollenthars. She turns her head. She sees Ray and his subordinates disappearing in the maze of tree. She has done it. She is free
!