Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series (32 page)

Derek quickly moved his horse forward. The last thing that he wanted was to put her back in the mood that she had been in for so long.

They followed the meandering course of the road for several hours that day and then all the second day, until at dusk they made a surprising discovery.

They rounded a bend in the road and pulled their horses up in amazement. The entire time that they had been traveling this small road, they had seen relatively few others. The merchants were out, but most of them were leading a couple of pack horses, or pulling a wagon, but only a few of them had more than one wagon. So the large number of wagons off the road to the right was a shock.

It appeared to be an orderly camp that had been set up in the small field just off the road. The wagons were gathered at the southern end of the field, and the tents all nicely arranged in a circle in the middle of the field. A large number of horses were gathered at the northern end, and they were grazing happily. Several men stood or squatted near the horses, obviously watching to make sure that nothing happened to any of them. Most of the tents had a fire burning near by, and even from here, they could smell the wonderful cooking smells. Kids ran and played in the failing light, meaning this camp was not a merchant's camp.

“Uh-oh. What should we do?” Trestus asked. “You want to keep going and make camp in the dark?”

Derek really didn't want to ride any further tonight, and besides the cooking smells were really tempting. “No. Let's see if we can camp with them and maybe share their dinner.”

“Here comes your chance,” Kara said inclining her head toward a man walking towards them.

Derek moved his horse toward the man at a walk; he didn't want to scare him. He halted his horse at the edge of the field though and waited for the man to reach him. Derek knew better than to enter another's camp without permission.

It was hard to see in the failing light, but the approaching man seemed to be tall and thin with hair to his shoulders.

“Hello,” Derek called out as the man got near.

“Hello,” the man replied warily. His accent marked him as a foreigner, but Derek did not know from where. “Can I be of service?”

Derek smiled, although he wasn't sure if the other man could see it or not, “My three friends and I were hoping that we could share your fires for the evening, if you have no objections.”

The tall man paused before answering, “Perhaps. Where are you headed?”

“King's Folly. We want to use the ferry there to cross to the south. My name is Derek and my wife is with us and two other men.”

“My name is Philias, and I'm the leader of this small group. Any of us will be glad to share their fires, and our dinners. That is, assuming you mean none of us any harm.”

Philias moved closer and for the first time Derek got a good look at him. He was tall and slim, and he had a dark complexion with a small neatly trimmed goatee. “We only want to share your fires and maybe some of that wonderful smelling food.” Derek assured him.

Philias smiled, “We are well known for our cooking.”

“If you don't mind me asking, who are you?”

The other man's smile deepened and he bowed, “We are a small group of traveling entertainers, minstrels, story tellers, and bards. We travel from town to town and from village to village putting on a small carnival. We have wonderful stories, and music, and dancing, but we are especially known for the food we prepare.”

“Wonderful.” Derek said, and he dismounted already thinking about the food. Then turning, he called out, “Kara, come on up.”

“Do we have guests?” A woman asked from behind Philias.

Derek turned quickly to see a blond woman, who looked strikingly like Kara, step out of the darkness. Her hair hung in ringlets to her shoulders, and her smile lit up her whole face. A long flowing multicolored skirt hung to her ankles, and a loose fitting blouse seemed to flow around her.

“Yes, Deanna.” Philias said quietly. “Derek and his companions wish to share our fires for the evening.

“Really?” Deanna asked, and her smile got even broader. “I will be glad to share our fires with you. It always nice to see a new face.” Her eyes looked him up and down as she spoke, and Derek found himself feeling the first tinges of anxiety.

“Here we are.” Kara said from just behind him.

Derek smiled quickly, “This is my wife, Kara.” As he spoke, he took Kara's hand and pulled her between himself and Deanna.

If anything Deanna's smile got even bigger, and her eyes flicked toward Kara momentarily. “This is your wife?” She put special emphasis on the word 'This', almost turning it into a slur.

“Yes.” Kara answered, a steely tone in her voice. “And you are?”

Deanna opened her mouth to speak, but Philias was quicker. “I am Philias, the leader of this small band of entertainers, and this is my wife Deanna.”

Derek spoke to his companions, “They have graciously agreed to allow us to stay with them for the evening and share their fires and dinner.”

Philias and Deanna departed to find places for the guardians to sleep, while the guardians tended their horses. Deanna cast a parting glance over her shoulder at Derek as she walked away.

“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Trestus asked quietly. “That woman looks like trouble to me.”

Derek smiled, “Really? I just thought that she looked like Kara.”

“Uh. Well, what I meant to say,” Trestus said quickly, but he was cut off by Kara.

“I know what you mean, Trestus, and I agree. It won't do us any good to get killed by a jealous husband before we even leave Telur's borders.” She straightened as she spoke and looked directly at Derek. “She sees you as a challenge, and I bet you there will be trouble before this is over with.”

Derek shrugged, “We're being followed by a bunch of men who we don't even know and so far they have managed to keep pretty close to us. Maybe we lost them several days back and maybe not.” He nodded over at the campfires, “If they do show up then it would be a lot harder for them to find us in this throng of people.”

After a moment, Trestus nodded. “Sensible,” he agreed.

“I agree.” Enstorion's voice broke the silence, causing them to start. He spoke so rarely that they often took him for granted. “And besides, if we are found here, then perhaps they will mistake Deanna for Kara.”

Derek, Trestus, and Kara looked surprised. They all knew that Enstorion was smart, but they had not considered him to be devious.

Finally, Kara nodded. “All right,” she started to say, and the men started to smile. “But you listen to me, Derek. You need to stay away from that woman. I'm telling you she will try to start trouble.” She turned the bracelet without even knowing that she was doing it.

“Yes, Dear.” Derek said smiling. Kara scowled at him, which only made the smile broaden.

The next day dawned clear and cold. Kara opened her eyes, while it was still hazy, and rolled over to see if Derek was still sleeping in his blankets near her. Paranoia had gripped her the night before, and she had spent the night trying to stay near Derek. Strangely, contrary to her predictions, the evening had passed without any incidents. Deanna smiled at Derek whenever she was near him, but that seemed to be the extent of her flirtations. Perhaps, just perhaps, she had miss-judged the woman, but she still wanted to keep her eyes on Deanna until they left the entertainers camp.

Sitting up, she noticed that Trestus was already dressed and sitting on a stump near the fire. He was holding a plate that was piled high with food. Kara's stomach growled at the wonderful smells. Last night had proved to her that if nothing else, the entertainers knew how to cook, and they had been happy to share. Still, she would be happy to leave them and get back on the road.

Kara stood up and stretched, trying to work out the knots that sleeping on the ground and put in her back.

Trestus smiled, “Someone got up early this morning and cooked some wonderful food. They have a whole table over there.” He nodded over to a wooden wagon that looked like a little house on wheels. A group of people stood around a low table beside the wagon.

“Thanks,” Kara said and walked slowly over to the breakfast table. Ten or so people were standing around, each holding a plate and eating. Kara noticed Philias in the group and walked over to say hello. “Good morning, Philias.”

“Morning,” the tall man replied with a smile. He motioned toward the table with his hand that was holding a piece of bread, “Help yourself to some food.”

“Thanks, I will. I just wanted to thank you again for your hospitality. We really appreciate it.” Kara said smiling.

He started to respond, but he was interrupted by a young man who came running up just then. Several people turned to see what was happening, but the man spoke quietly with Philias and only Kara was close enough to hear.

“Matim, Is everything okay?” Philias asked.

“Philias, we noticed a fire last night that was north along the road. I looked into it, and there are five men who camped less than a mile from here.”

“So?” Philias asked, “This road is well traveled and many of the travelers camp along the road.”

“Yes sir, and I probably wouldn't have said anything about it, but the men are unusual.”

A quizzical look came over Philias' face. “What do you mean unusual?”

“Well, four of them look like fighters, but they have a rich backer. Their clothes and armor are the best, and they don't look like they have missed too many meals either.” Philias started to look skeptical, and Matim hurried on, “But the fifth man is the really unusual one. I think that he might be a mage or something. He was sitting by himself in these dark robes, and his head was down.” Matim stumbled over his words as he spoke, “I was watching them from several hundred yards away through my spyglass, and his head just came up and turned toward me. Then he said something and two of the fighters sprinted toward me with their swords drawn. I turned and ran for my life.”

Philias looked concerned as he turned towards Kara, “Please excuse me, I need to look into this matter.”

Kara hurried back to the small fire they had set up last night, and was glad to see Derek awake. Derek and Trestus sat on a short log beside the fire.

“Hey Kara,” Derek said rubbing his eyes.

Derek's eyes were covered, but Trestus' were not. “What's the matter? You look like you're scared.”

Kara moved closer and sat down between the two men. “Well, I am. I was talking to Philias when a young man came running up and told Philias about these five strange men that camped north along the road.”

Enstorion moved from the trees, adjusting his robes as he walked. He stopped at Kara's words.

Both men on the log tensed, “One in robes?” Derek asked, already sure he knew the answer.

“Yes. Even though the man spying on them was far away, he sensed they were being watched and sent some of the fighters after him.” Kara looked from Trestus to Derek, “Any ideas what we should do?”

Derek leaned closer, “Does Philias know that you recognized the men in the camp?” Kara scowled and leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest, Derek knew that the question had been wrong before he had even finished asking it.

“Oh, of course. I cried, and asked him to protect us.” Kara stood up and stomped to the other side of the fire. “What do you think, that I am empty in the head?”

Trestus quickly hid a smile and looked down.

Derek wished he could hide from Kara's scowl as easily as Trestus had. “I didn't mean anything by it. I just needed to know if they suspected that the men are following us.” Kara's look said plainly that she didn't believe him, and he was about to reassure her, when Enstorion spoke up.

“Perhaps, we should travel with the entertainers.” He spoke with that infuriatingly calm voice.

Derek frowned, “Why would we want to do that?” He fought hard to not show any grumpiness toward the elf. Enstorion was trying to contribute, and he didn't want to discourage him.

Enstorion moved forward and sat down on the end of the log. “Well, there are several reasons. Deanna resembles Kara, which maybe we can use to send them trailing after the entertainers.”

“That does sound reasonable,” Trestus added, his head still down.

Derek nodded, “Go on.”

Enstorion shrugged, “We're safer in a large group than we would be by ourselves.” He smiled at the other guardians, “Of course, you will have to try and fit in with the entertainers.”

Trestus looked up, “Us? What about you?”

Still smiling, Enstorion answered, “I'm an elf. I'm not going to fit in, regardless of what I do to my clothes. I think that I should stay in one of those little wagons.”

Derek turned from Enstorion in confusion. The plan made sense, but he didn't like it. It just wasn't like Enstorion to plan strategy. Trestus and Kara were looking at him. “What do you two think?”

Trestus nodded, “I agree with Enstorion. It might be better for us to travel with others, at least for a time.”

Kara seemed lost in thought, and then she looked up with a smile starting to form. “I like the plan also, and perhaps we can use Deanna's resemblance to me, like Enstorion suggested.”