Quest's End: The Broken Key #3 (31 page)

Alright, agreed Bart then the connection was broken.

When Kevik came back to himself, he saw the others were gathered around staring at him intently. “He’s alright,” he explained. “But not sure how to find us.”

“Did he make it out of Hylith?” asked Riyan hopefully.

Kevik nodded.

“Where is he?” questioned Chad.

Kevik shrugged. “I don’t know,” he replied. “We didn’t get that far.” He then explained how they needed to keep the usage of the rings to a minimum, that the magic user may be searching for such things.

“Great,” groaned Chad. “Now what are we to do?” He glanced around at the faces of the others and could see they were just as much at a loss as he was.

“Wait a minute,” Chyfe said as he turned his eyes on the room where the family was being held. “Maybe they could help?”

“Why would they?” asked Soth.

“To prevent us from harming them,” stated Chyfe, matter-of-factly.

“We’re not going to be harming anyone!” Riyan argued.

“I didn’t say we would,” countered Chyfe. “Just make them believe that it could be a possibility if they didn’t help us.”

Riyan shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ll not be party to anything like that.” Reaching into his pocket he pulled out one of his few remaining gold coins. Handing it to Soth, he said, “See if this will work. All we need is some landmark, anything that could be used as a rendezvous point.”

Soth took the coin. “I’ll see what I can do.” Getting up from the table, he was soon passing through the doorway into the bedroom.

“I think the other way would have been better,” argued Chyfe.

Riyan just glared at him.

A few minutes later, Soth emerged from the bedroom. “Well?” asked Chyfe.

“There’s not much around here but farmland and the river,” he explained as he took his seat at the table. “At the moment we’re a little north of a town called Tryn. Tryn as it happens is the last town before the river enters the Wrath of Hennon.” He then paused a moment before asking, “Sound familiar?”

“Didn’t that couple back in Hylith mention it?” asked Riyan.

Soth nodded. “That’s right,” he replied. “And according to the farmer, if you stand on the bridge spanning the river at Tryn, you can see the mouth of the canyon in the distance.”

“Sounds like a good place to meet,” said Chad. “Have him meet us at the bridge. When he arrives, he can contact Kevik for more precise directions.”

“I agree,” said Riyan.

“But what about the guards chasing us?” asked Soth.

“What about them?” Chyfe asked dismissively. “By morning they’ll be miles away from here.”

Soth wasn’t so blasé about dismissing them so easily.

“Go ahead,” Riyan told Kevik. “Tell Bart.”

Kevik nodded then a faraway look came to his face as he worked the ring’s magic. A minute later, his eyes refocused. “He’ll meet us there,” he told the others.

“Good,” said Riyan.

They settled in to get what rest they could. Riyan volunteered to keep the first watch. As everyone settled into sleep, he stood before the window. Staring out into the darkness, he couldn’t help but wonder what Bart was doing right now.

Right now, Bart was on a horse taken from an inn on the outskirts of Hylith. Riding pell-mell through the moonlit countryside, he pushed the horse as fast as he dared in order to make the town Kevik had spoken of before dawn.

He no longer had the protective magic of the Cloak to conceal his presence. A large area across the back had been burnt and severely damaged. It now bore a hole the size of his foot. As best as he could figure, it must have happened when the magic user’s fireball nearly hit him atop the wall. He remembered the smell of burnt cloth and hair just after it had sailed by. Now the Cloak was rolled up in the bottom of his pack. Though he didn’t think it likely, he kept it in the hopes that Kevik would have some idea on how to repair it.

He rode throughout the night beneath a cold, wintry moon. A lone shadow moving across the landscape, he passed unseen. Any pursuit which may have developed back in Hylith had yet to materialize. With any luck, they believed him to be on his way back to Byrdlon and would concentrate their search accordingly.

After riding hard throughout the night, he finally saw the outline of buildings appear ahead in the predawn light. Not long after that, a bridge spanning the river near the west end of town became visible. Figuring that to be the bridge Kevik mentioned, he made his way toward it. The town appeared peaceful as he approached. A few lone silhouettes passed between the buildings. Of guards and soldiers there was no sign.

On the southern side of the river as he was, Bart was going to have to cross over the bridge in order to reach the town. Taking it slow, he continued toward the bridge. He kept scanning the buildings for any sign of Riyan and the others but to no avail. Could he have beaten them here?

With his thumb, he absentmindedly rotated the ring around his finger as he sought to contact Kevik.

Bart?
came the reply.

Yes. I’m at the bridge. Where are…

South side of town
, Kevik said urgently, cutting him off.
Hurry!
Then the connection was broken.

Kevik?
Bart asked, concern growing. When there was no reply he shouted in his mind,
Kevik!
Again, no reply. The concern he felt began to grow into fear for his friends. Kicking his horse into motion, he rode onto the bridge and quickly crossed to the other side.

Bam!

Just as Bart left the bridge, an explosion blasted apart the quiet of the early dawn. From the south side of town, a column of smoke began rising above the rooftops. “Damn!” cursed Bart as he kicked his horse into a full gallop. Dodging through the growing throng of people emerging from their homes to see what the commotion was about, he raced toward the rising plume of smoke. Then, a second and third explosion rang out.

“Whose stupid idea was it to come in here?” Chyfe demanded.

“We didn’t have any other choice at the time,” Riyan replied.

When the guards that had been chasing them from Hylith caught sight of them just as they reached the outskirts of Tryn, they fled into the town. Now they were trapped within a distillery where lamp oil was produced. Barrels of the flammable stuff were stacked against the walls.

“One flaming brand in here and we’re dead,” stated Chyfe.

They had been forced to abandon their horses when they entered the distillery. Now, the guards outside were taking possession of them and their chances of getting out of this were looking dismal.

The distillery wasn’t all that large, but a single story with two rooms. There was the main room where large copper pots were kept for the distilling of the oil. A smaller room used as an office was in the back. Seth and Soth were in the office barricading the door and window that led out back.

Soth appeared at the door connecting the two rooms and said, “I think they brought friends with them.”

Riyan glanced to him and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Soldiers,” he said, indicating the area behind the distillery. “Lots of ‘em.”

“Man,” groaned Chad. “We’re not going to get out of this.”

“Don’t count us dead yet,” Chyfe replied. Glancing to Kevik, he said, “We have a magic user on our side.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kevik with some reservations. Giving Chyfe a crooked smile, he nodded. Inwardly however, he had a less than optimistic outlook on his ability to get them out of this.

Soth quickly ducked back into the room to help his brother secure it against assault.

At the front window, Chyfe was keeping an eye on the movement of the guards. “Can you goo them?” he asked Kevik.

Kevik shook his head. “Not that many, no,” he replied.

Chyfe kept watching as the guards began to encircle the building. One of the guards, the leader of the group by his bearing and uniform, stood staring at the window from which Chyfe was looking. A bulging satchel hung at his side.

Just then, Seth appeared and announced the back was secured.

“Good,” Riyan said. Turning to Chad, he could see the fear in his eyes. “Hey, it’s not as bad as all that.”

Chad guffawed. “I don’t see how it could get much worse,” he replied.

“Bart’s on his way,” Riyan said assuringly.

“Maybe,” Chyfe said. “We haven’t heard from him since last night.”

Riyan turned to him, an angry look on his face. “He’s coming!” he demanded.

Chyfe remained silent for a few seconds as he met Riyan’s gaze. “Alright, he’s coming,” he finally said. “But even still, what can he do against so many?”

“Just having him out there could mean all the difference in the world,” Soth said from the doorway to the office.

“That’s right,” agreed Seth.

“I still don’t see what he’ll be able to do,” Chyfe argued. Turning to look once again out the window, he saw the guards had moved into position. The leader walked forward toward the distillery and stopped when he had covered half the distance.

“You have nowhere to go,” he hollered to them. “Give yourselves up or we’ll burn the building down around you.”

As the others came to stand beside him at the window, Chyfe said, “I think he means it.”

“So do I,” agreed Kevik.

From where he leaned against one of the barrels of oil, Chad asked, “Does lamp oil explode or just burn?”

“Why?” Riyan asked as he turned toward his friend.

“It just burns,” answered Soth.

“I was thinking that if we were to torch some of this,” he explained, “it might produce enough smoke to cover our escape.”

“How do you propose to do that?” asked Seth, intrigued by the suggestion. “It won’t do any good unless it’s out there,” he added, pointing out the widow.

“Whatever you are going to do,” Chyfe said. “Do it quick.”

Chad nodded. “Riyan give me a hand with this,” he said to his friend. Taking hold of the barrel he had been leaning against, he started moving it. With Riyan’s help, they soon had it a few feet from the door. Then with the blade of his knife, he struck the barrel and made two small holes. When the knife was removed, lamp oil began slowly dripping from the holes.

“Seth, you get the door,” Chad said. Then to Kevik, “Riyan and I will toss the barrel out. Once it strikes the ground, hit it with your sparks spell.”

Kevik grinned and nodded. “I get you,” he said.

Kevik?
Just then, Bart’s thoughts came through the ring and into his mind.

Bart?
he asked somewhat surprised by the unexpectedness of it.

Yes. I’m at the bridge. Where are…

South side of town,
Kevik said to him, cutting him off. It was a struggle to keep aware of what was going on around him while at the same time speaking with Bart.

From where he stood ready at the door, Seth glanced to Riyan and Chad. Once they had the barrel of lamp oil raised off the ground and ready to throw, Chad gave him the go ahead. Seth threw open the door.

Hurry!
Kevik told Bart then removed the ring from his hand so he wouldn’t be interrupted while working magic. Slipping the ring into his pouch, he watched as Riyan and Chad hurled the barrel out the door. Oil droplets poured from the two holes as it sailed through the air. Moving to the doorway, Kevik held out his staff and sent sparks toward the barrel.

Bam!

When the sparks hit the barrel, it exploded in a massive fireball. The concussion from the blast knocked Kevik backward several feet. Riyan caught him before he could fall.

“Damn!” exclaimed Seth, turning to his brother. “Thought you said it wouldn’t explode!”

“So I was wrong,” Soth said.

Chad and Riyan were already getting another barrel in position. Chad turned to Seth and Soth, “Take Kevik and do the same out the back.”

Seth nodded. “Right,” he said. Then grabbing his brother, they soon had a barrel gripped between them. With Kevik following, they went to the back door.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Blows began hammering the back door with a vengeance as the soldiers strove to break it down. “Set it down before the door,” Kevik suggested.

Seth immediately understood what Kevik was getting at. With his brother’s help, they soon had it sitting atop one of the tables they had used to barricade the door. Then with two quick thrusts with his knife, oil began spilling from the barrel.

“Now, out of the room!” urged Kevik as he made for the door. Once he and the twins were out of the room he swung the door almost closed then put the tip of his staff through the gap.

From the front area, another explosion rocked the dawn as the second barrel thrown by Riyan and Chad erupted in a massive fireball. Black smoke filled the air. “Come on!” Riyan yelled. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Already, the smoke from the burning oil was making its way into the distillery and was getting thicker by the second.

“Hang on!” Kevik yelled back to him. Turning again to the barrel sitting atop the table by the door, he saw cracks begin to appear in the door from the blows of the guards. Bracing for the impact, he cast his sparks spell.

Bam!

The sparks hit the oil and exploded. The door behind which Kevik stood snapped off its hinges and struck him hard. Flying backward, Kevik’s back struck the edge of the table, knocking the wind out of him.

Soth was quickly at his side. “You okay?” he asked.

Kevik gave him a nod and tried to get up. That’s when he felt a white hot flare of pain erupt in his back. Leaning heavily upon Seth, he managed to get to his feet. The pain was horrible and constant. “I think I broke something,” he said.

Wham! Wham! Crack!

Seth and Chyfe were using one of the tables as a battering ram against the side wall. As Riyan came to help Soth with Kevik, the wall cracked. Another two blows saw a section of the wall large enough for a man to pass through give way. Immediately, black smoke began issuing through from the outside.

Drawing his sword, Seth passed through the opening. Chyfe had his sword out as he glanced back toward where Riyan and Soth were supporting Kevik between them. “What happened to him?” he asked.

“Not sure,” Riyan said. He had one arm under Kevik’s shoulder while he carried Kevik’s staff in his free hand. “He’s hurt bad though.”