Quest's End: The Broken Key #3 (60 page)

Blood welled from the corner of Rupert’s mouth as he looked at Daniel in a new light. No longer as one who could be counted upon, but rather one of whom he should be wary.

“Sir,” his man Tox said from back in the hallway.

“Are they being followed?” Daniel asked.

“Yes,” replied Tox. “Two men are trailing them. Once they know where they’re headed, one will return to let us know.”

“Excellent,” he said. Yes indeed, he thought to himself, things are coming along nicely.

Before they saw starlight reflecting from the surface of the river, a figure emerged from the darkness. It was Paul, the leader of Raestin’s guards. “Did everything go well?” he asked.

Riyan nodded. “Couldn’t have gone better,” he replied.

Paul noticed Freya peering at him over Riyan’s shoulder. He gave her a grin before returning his attention back to Riyan. “They’re waiting by the river,” he said, pointing in the general direction.

“Thank you,” replied Riyan. As Paul melted back into the darkness, Riyan and the others continued toward the river.

Their families, along with Raestin were waiting at the ford. They had worried that their families may have been waylaid or been visited by some other form of misfortune while en route to the river.

“Mother!” Riyan called as he and the others approached.

“Riyan?” she asked. “Thank goodness.” She, Chad’s parents, Eryl, and Raestin came forward to greet them. Moving next to Riyan’s horse, Kaitlyn gazed up to Freya and smiled. “I’m so very glad he found you.”

“If it wasn’t for Riyan…” she replied, leaving the thought unsaid.

Bart emerged from out of the trees behind them. “We can’t stay here long,” he said.

“What does he mean?” Kaitlyn asked her son.

Riyan gave them a quick rundown of what transpired back at the Magistrate’s manor. When she heard of the deaths of Rupert’s cronies, she gasped. With fear filled eyes, she looked to her son. “Oh Riyan,” she said. She knew their deaths would bring even more troubles their way.

“It couldn’t be helped mother,” he replied. Turning to Raestin, he asked, “Can you and your guards take my mother and the Kelons somewhere safe?”

“But,” his mother interjected before Raestin had a chance to reply, “you’re coming with us, aren’t you?” When he didn’t immediately answer, she said, “You have Freya now. There is no reason for continuing with this…quest.”

Riyan nodded. “Yes, I do mother. We have come too far not to see it through the rest of the way.” She reached up her hand and he took it. “The Horde has been hidden for centuries, and I mean to see it opened.”

Raestin came up behind Kaitlyn and laid his hand on her shoulder. “This is something he has to do,” he said. Then to Riyan, “Take my guards.”

“No,” Riyan replied with a shake of his head. “You keep them. Keep my mother safe.” Indicating the men who had traveled with him through so many adventures, he said, “We can handle ourselves.”

Their gazes met for a moment before Raestin nodded. “As you wish.” Stepping closer to Riyan’s horse, Raestin held his hand up to Freya. “Where he’s going is much too dangerous for you my dear.”

Riyan felt her grip around his chest tighten. “You must,” he told her. “I’ll come for you.”

“I don’t want to lose you again,” Freya insisted.

Turning in the saddle, he looked at her and gave her a reassuring grin. “You won’t,” he replied. “This is but a moment’s parting. I’ll meet you at…” Realizing he didn’t know where Raestin was taking them, he looked questioningly to the trader.

“Terix,” he supplied.

“…Terix,” Riyan finished. “And with the fortune contained within the Horde, we won’t have to worry about anything ever again.”

”Riyan,” Chyfe said. “We must leave.”

Riyan nodded. Taking hold of where her hands held onto him, he loosened her grip and placed one of her hands into Raestin’s. “Take care of her and my mother,” he said.

As he helped Freya to the ground, Raestin replied, “As if they were my own family.”

“Thank you,” Riyan said with great feeling.

His mother came forward. Leaning down to accept her kiss goodbye, he could see tears in her eyes once again. “I’ll see you in Terix mother,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love you too Riyan,” she said.

Then from not so far away where Chad was saying his own goodbyes, Eryl’s voice penetrated the night. “I want to go too!”

“Now Eryl,” his father said. “You are too young.”

“You’re always saying I’m too young,” he declared. Standing with a most determined look for one so young, he stared at his father. “The Horde is going to be opened and I’m not going to miss it!”

“Keep your voice down,” Bart said with growing impatience.

Casting him an annoyed look, Eryl returned his gaze to his father and said with much lessened volume, “You’re going to have to tie me up to keep me from going.”

Father and son stood their ground, neither giving in. Then his father said, “As you wish.”

“Yes!” he exclaimed. His jubilation was short lived however as his father took hold of him and threw him face first to the ground. Then with a knee in his son’s back and twisting his arm behind him, Ferrun looked around and asked, “Anyone have a rope?” Struggle as he may, Eryl could not break his father’s grip.

“Let me go!” he cried again, this time with a great deal of volume. “You can’t…mumph.” His cries were silenced as Bart shoved a cloth into his mouth. Turning to Eryl’s father, he said, “He’s not going to like you too much for doing this.”

“A father does things for his children not to make them happy,” he explained as he took a piece of rope handed to him by Chad. “But for their own good, whether they realize it or not.” Using the rope, he bound his son’s hands and with another, his feet. “I’d rather him live to hate me, than die.”

Once Eryl’s hands and feet were secured, his father picked him up and laid him before the saddle of a nearby horse. Then he mounted and laid a hand on his son’s back while he waited for the others to make ready.

Paul and the rest of the guards had returned by this time and were mounting. “Take the ford and ride fast once on the other side,” Bart told Chad’s father.

“We will,” he replied. “You boys be careful now.” He turned and cast a meaningful glance to his older son.

“Yes father,” Chad assured him. “We’ll get a new mill when I return.”

“Just return,” his father told him.

Chad nodded.

Glancing to those who were going with him, Chad’s father said, “Let’s go.” Lying before him across the horse, Eryl struggled in vain to escape his bonds. Sighing, Ferrun kept a secure grip on his youngest son as he nudged his horse into motion and led the others to the ford.

“Take care mother,” Riyan said to her.

“You too,” she replied. “Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“We won’t,” he assured her. Then as Chad’s father led the others away, Riyan glanced to Bart. “Now, let’s find the Horde.”

“Yeah,” agreed Seth as he came up beside them. “Before those Kevik gooed come after us.”

“How far is it?” asked Soth.

“A day,” he replied. “Maybe more since we’ll need to take a roundabout path to get there.”

“Are you sure we can find it?” asked Chad.

Riyan nodded. “Oh yes,” he replied. In his mind, he could recall every tree, every hill, and every landmark of the area wherein the Horde was hidden. Moving out, he took the lead with Bart next to him. Soon, the ford of the river disappeared in the trees behind them as they began the last leg of their quest. With his mother and Freya in good hands and on their way to safety, he was once again able to entertain visions of the treasures untold that awaited.

A group of riders hidden in the forest watched as first Chad’s father, then the rest of his group, crossed the ford. Once on the south side, they quickened their pace and followed the river east.

One of the hidden riders turned to another in magic user’s robes and asked, “Is he among them?”

Geffen cast his spell and the dart resting upon his palm rotated until it pointed toward the north. “No,” the magic user replied. “He isn’t.”

“Should we follow my lord?” asked another of the hidden riders.

Lord Kueryn shook his head. “The thief will be wherever that which was stolen from me is,” he replied. In silence they waited until those crossing the ford had disappeared further downriver. Then emerging from the trees, he led a group of riders composed of Tribesmen and Byrdlon soldiers across the ford in pursuit of the thief.

Despite their fatigue, they rode throughout the night and into the early morning. Everyone was tired, being up over twenty four hours began taking its toll. A couple times Riyan thought he saw riders off in the distance. But whenever he pointed them out to the others, they were gone. He finally concluded that between the fatigue and fear of pursuit, his mind was playing tricks on him.

If the riders he saw had been Rupert and the soldiers, Bart was sure they wouldn’t have been satisfied to simply watch. “After what we did,” he said, “Rupert’s going to want us bad.” And so, seeing as how none but Riyan had seen the riders, they were dismissed. That didn’t mean of course no one was keeping an eye out. On the contrary, they spent more time looking over their shoulders than to the trail ahead.

They followed the river west for an hour before turning to a more northwesterly heading in order to bypass Quillim. Keeping to the deepest part of the woods, Riyan worked their way in a roundabout manner toward the entrance to The Crypt and what they believed to be the Horde below.

It was still an hour before sunrise some distance to the south when riders discovered two arrow pierced bodies partially hidden in a thicket. They wouldn’t have discovered them at all if the appearance of a kidog hadn’t drawn their attention.

Tox dismounted from his horse, walked over to the thicket. The first man he came to was lying face down. Using the toe of his boot, he turned the body over. When the dead man flipped onto its back, he recognized it as one of the two men who had been sent to follow the shepherd. He didn’t need to examine the other body to know that it was the second man of the pair.

Standing up, he turned to where Daniel still sat on his horse. “It’s the two men we sent after them,” he stated.

Next to Daniel was Captain Glaver who commanded the score and a half soldiers who rode with them. “Damn,” he cursed. “They were good too.”

“Apparently not good enough,” chided Rupert from where he sat on his horse just behind them.

Captain Glaver turned an annoyed look his way and was about to draw his sword when he caught Daniel’s shake of the head. “Boy,” he said, letting go of his sword’s hilt, “you better hold your tongue before someone cuts it out.”

Rupert cast a sullen look to Daniel. Realizing he’d get no help from that quarter, he kept silent.

One of Captain Glaver’s men came up to them. “Sir,” he said, “it looks like they picked up more men.”

“What?” questioned the captain. “How many?”

“At least a score,” he said. “Maybe more.” Pointing off to the northwest, he said, “They headed off in that direction.”

Captain Glaver nodded. “Range ahead and see if you can find them,” he said. Pointing to the two dead men on the ground, he added, “Don’t make the same mistake they did.”

“Yes sir,” the man replied then saluted. Moving to where another soldier held his horse’s reins, he mounted and took off in pursuit.

Daniel glanced to Rupert. “Any idea who these other men are?” he asked.

“How should I know?” replied Rupert.

“It doesn’t matter,” Captain Glaver said. “My men are more than capable of dealing with a force twice their size.”

Daniel locked eyes with him then nodded. “Let’s go,” he said. Then with that, their force resumed the pursuit. Somewhere ahead of them was the shepherd, and with him the knowledge of where to find the Horde.

Late afternoon saw their group deep in the foothills below the mountains separating the human lands from those of the goblins. Dark and foreboding clouds wreathed the snowcapped heights, a promise of inclement weather to come. If the storm should move their way, things could get interesting.

With the knowledge others would be following, they moved along streambeds and wended their way through the hills. They did everything they could to avoid leaving a trail that could be followed. The last thing they wanted was to lead others to the entrance of the Horde.

Finally, Riyan began working his way along the streambed which ran near the berry bushes hiding the entrance. He found it hard to believe that it hadn’t even been a year since that fateful day when Black Face stumbled into it. A grin couldn’t help but appear when he thought of that stupid sheep. Wonder whatever happened to him? Mother probably got rid of him when she sold the rest.

“When we get close,” Bart was saying, interrupting Riyan’s reverie, “it might be a good idea to leave the horses some distance away.”

Riyan nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” he replied. “Maybe in a spot where we can backtrack along the stream.”

“Do you really think such precaution is necessary?” asked Kevik. “We’ve been riding through these hills for hours now and no pursuit has developed.”

Bart turned to him. “It’s only a matter of time,” he explained. “If not them, then others drawn here by the rumors of the Horde.”

“I understand,” replied Kevik.

Riding along the streambed, Riyan saw off to their left the meadow wherein the entrance lay. He caught Bart’s attention and silently nodded over to it. They followed the stream another ten minutes before calling a halt.

A hundred feet from the stream was a stand of trees which would make a perfect place in which to leave the horses. Riyan led them over to it and dismounted. “Take your equipment,” he said. “We walk from here.”

“Didn’t we pass it a little bit ago?” asked Chad.

Riyan nodded. “Yes we did,” he replied.

“I thought so,” Chad stated “Of course to me, one meadow looks just the same as any other.”

Grinning, Riyan tied the reins to his horse on a nearby tree limb, and with Chad beside him, walked from the trees. He glanced in the direction the entrance to The Crypt laid. “Not long now,” he commented.