The Protector of Esparia (The Annals of Esparia Book 1) (13 page)

“Ophir, while Gaylee and I traveled here, we nearly collided with a group of black clothed riders, five in all.  They seemed pretty dangerous, so we stayed clear of them.  Are there bandits around here?”

Ophir scrunched his eyebrows together.  “Five black riders?  Did one have a red sash around his middle?”

“Yes.  He seemed to be the leader.  Who were they?”

“Daenon’s private soldiers, the Elite Shield, or Elitet.  They usually team in groups of five, and are led by a Shield, the one distinguished by the red sash.  Shields are the highest ranking Elitet.  How far from Ider Hoffle were you?”

“Due south, about four hours walking distance.”

Ophir called to a soldier on the street.  “Go to the Academy and inform Second Commander Garn there may be Elitet in Southern Greenwood.  I’m imposing full alert status and want an immediate sweep of the province.  Red currier Larone at Ramadine and send messages to all other posts.”

Turning to John he explained, “Elitet are deadly, suicide units.  Their presence here would be as spies or assassins or both.  The sooner you are at Ramadine, the safer you'll be.”

Back at Lyrista's, John hurried into the house.  He felt like a complete idiot.  It was an emotion he hadn’t felt in years.  He had tried to conceal his lack of horsemanship from Ophir, but was fairly certain he failed miserably.  He really was no horseman, but vowed to master this riding business, even if it was the last thing he ever did. 

To his pleasant surprise, Reese was awake, dressed in a fresh uniform and eating breakfast in the kitchen.  Gaylee sat beside him at the table, a large map spread out in front of her.

“How are you feeling, Reese?” John asked from the living room.

“Much better, thank you.”  Reese swallowed down a half-chewed piece of bread.  “I owe you my life.”

“Well, don’t lose it now by choking on your breakfast,” John laughed.  He glanced into the kitchen.  “Where’s Lyrista?”

“Changing,” Gaylee answered.

“I’m going to grab the duffle bag.  It’s about time to go.”  John ran upstairs and retrieved his bag from the bedroom.  Back in the living room, he checked the contents and repacked.  Ophir entered the home.

“John, can you give me some idea of where your daughter arrived?” Ophir asked.  “That’s where I would like to begin my search.  I apologize for not having left yet, but I have my reasons for postponing my departure.”

John nodded.  “Thanks for going after her.  I’d come with you, but I’d only slow you down, and the sooner Jess is found, the better.  I trust you Ophir, I trust you with my only child.” 

Ophir’s features softened, just a little. 

“I don’t know the location, but it’s the same place where we arrived, so Gaylee could probably tell you.”  John stuffed the last few things into the bag.  “You mention our ‘arrival’ as if you understand how we came here.  Do you know about the portal?”

“I was present when Lady Gayleena and her daughter disappeared into the black tornado fifty years ago.  I assume you came back here using the same mode of transportation.”

“Mode of transportation’, that’s a good way of describing it,” John smiled.

Gaylee walked in from the kitchen.  Ophir half-bowed to her.

“Lyrista gave me a map and I’ve been going over it.  I’ve marked the place where you should begin searching for Jessica.”  Reese brought the map into the main room and placed it on one of the small side tables.  “The location is due south from here, about thirty-three filons.”  Gaylee pointed to a location on the parchment.

Ophir nodded his head.  “I know the meadow.”  He placed his hand on John’s shoulder.  “Don’t worry, my friend.  I promise I’ll find your Jessica.”

“Take the horse,” John offered.

“Thank you, but no.  My steed is not as young, but he is well trained and I prefer what I can trust.”

“Of course.”

“May I go with you, Master Ophir?”  Gaylee, John and Ophir stared at a weak, but determined Reese.  “Please, I must go,” he insisted.  “I’m still honor bound to protect the family Saylon, and this girl, Lady Jessica, is a Saylon.  I’m a good tracker and am getting stronger by the hour.  Please, Master Ophir, accept my service.”  His face was set. 

Ophir eyed the young soldier.  “Do you think you can ride?”

“Yes sir.”

Turning to John, Ophir said, “I’ll take the second horse after all, for Reese.”

Nodding in agreement, John now understood the reason Ophir postponed his leaving.  Reese would want to come.  Would need to come.  Ophir could help him work through his experiences at Saylon Dorsett. 

John’s admiration of the older soldier was increasing with each new circumstance.  “The animal is yours.  I don’t think Lady Gaylee will be too upset if she isn’t able to ride a horse to Ramadine.”  Briefly explaining about the horses being gifts, John insisted on Reese taking one of the strong, beautiful animals. 

Ophir left to fetch his preferred mount and his already packed supplies.  He promised he would inform the First Older that Lady Gayleena and Healer John were ready to leave.  When he returned ten minutes later, Reese stood ready, and to everyone’s surprise, so did Lyrista. 

Dressed in a snappy, deep blue and silver uniform, fully armed with sword, knife and bow, she announced, “I’m going to Ramadine with you.  Reese mentioned last night that my brother is there.  Together, we’ll find the one who betrayed our father and our friends.”  No one argued with her.

The excited buzzing of voices filtered into Lyrista’s house.  Gaylee went to the front window.  “What’s all this?” she asked.  John joined her.  Hundreds of people were gathered outside the home.

“The news of your return has spread,” Ophir explained, “and many want to see for themselves your son, the great healer.”

“Son?”  John was caught off-guard.

“In our law, once you married Shallenon, you became my son.” Gaylee explained.

“It’s an honor, Gaylee, but I don’t need a law to tell me that.”

Lyrista opened her front door.  She nodded to Gaylee, “After you.”

“All right.”  There was an acquiescent tone in Gaylee’s voice.  She straightened her back and raised her head high.  Turning to John she counseled, “Just take a deep breath and you’ll be fine.”  She walked out the door with Lyrista following.

John motioned for Ophir and Reese to go before him.  He stopped in the doorway and stared at the respectful onlookers.  A hush fell over those assembled when the High Older approached Gaylee.  Six men, each dressed in turquoise robes of office, accompanied him. 

“Protector Gayleena and,” the High Older was forced to peer around Lyrista, Ophir, and Reese to address John, still standing at the front door, “Great Healer.  The people of Ider Hoffle are here to pledge our loyalty and our swords to you.  We have been forever bound to the Esparian Protectors, but this day we life-honor ourselves to the House of Saylon.”  Every hoffler, including Ophir, Reese and Lyrista, fell to one knee and gave the Salute of Loyalty.  What the Olders pledged, each man, woman, and child were now obligated to honor.

Gaylee stepped forward.  “I thank you.  We, in return, life-honor our commitment to free this land from the specter of tyranny and oppression.  As long as a Saylon heir holds the office of Protector, the Rights of Liberty will be upheld.”

The crowd rose and gave a great cheer.  Gaylee held her hand for silence.  “You must now prepare for war.  I need Ider warriors to travel from hoffle to hoffle and dine to dine, up and down the border.  Warn the people to be on their guard.”

The High Older bowed in acknowledgment. 

Sensing the brief ceremony over, John left the protective doorway and marched to the waiting carriage.  He opened the door for Gaylee and helped her in.  After stowing his bag at her feet, he mounted his new horse, Fireguard.  Garrett and Mica, the two young soldiers from the night before, were in full dress uniform and armed to the teeth.  The soldier driving the carriage was also heavily armed.  Lyrista, astride a magnificent roan mare, took point, leading the carriage with its escort north, through hoffle streets filled with cheering people. 

No one but John took notice of the two lone riders who headed south in search of a young woman and her legendary companion.  “God speed, Ophir,” he whispered.  “God speed.”

Elitet

Anton doused what was left of the fire with water from the pool that lapped at the edge of the cave.  The back of the waterfall was a scant three feet further away.  He leaned his head into it.  Pulling back, he scrubbed his face and beard with a wet hand and smoothed the mass of long reddish hair out of his eyes.  “I got horses in the back,” he said to Jessica. 

Varnack sighed, “Thirsty.”

“Varnack, you’re awake.”  Jessica grabbed the cup and gave her friend a drink of water.  “How are you going to travel?”  He was still very weak.

“Got that one covered,” Anton said.  He folded the blanket into long thirds, then gently placed Varnack into the center.  After tying both ends together, he pulled the makeshift sling over his head and one shoulder, then hoisted the large animal up, onto his back. 

Varnack’s weight did not seem to bother the huge man as he led the way through the triangular door at the back of the cave.  Two horses stood fully loaded and ready for travel.  Anton mounted his animal with ease.  Varnack’s extra weight did not seem to faze the animal, for he never readjusted his footing after accepting the additional load.  Jessica stared at the massive creature.  The short-haired coat shimmered blue-black with patches of light brown accenting feet and forehead.  Anton stroked the long neck and playfully flipped the animal’s ears. 

“This here’s Jin.  Yer horse’s name is Web.”  

Jessica mounted the smaller, cola brown animal.  She admired the wisps of white running through his coat, which gave the impression of a spider’s web spun all over him. 

Anton opened a small jar of combustible powder and light flooded the area.  They rode single file through a long corridor, Jin barely able to fit and Anton ducking half the time to avoid the tunnel ceiling.  Jessica checked around her soft-padded saddle and found a bulging knapsack along with two water flasks tied to it.  Shaking the containers, she found them to be full.  “Hey,” she called.  “I see food and water here, but no weapons.  Don’t I get something?  I mean, a cool gladiator sword, or a Xena flying ring, or maybe even some of those ninja stick things...”

Anton turned nearly all the way around in his saddle, not an easy feat for a man carrying such a huge cargo as Varnack on his back.  “What?”  His eyebrows were raised nearly to the hairline.

“Well…a weapon?  You know, something to fight with.”

“Do ya know how to use anythin’?”

She thought for a moment.  “I’ve been trained in hand-to-hand fighting.”

“Then ya got yer weapons with ya.”  His tone left no room for argument.

After what seemed an hour of riding through underground twists and turns, a small stream of sunlight grew visible up ahead.  Anton snuffed the combustible powder.  Long vines hung over an exit doorway.  They grew so thick, they allowed only a few light rays to penetrate into the tunnel. 

Once outside, Jessica squinted against the shock of bright sunlight.  Shading her eyes, she turned her face away from the sun.  The hill behind them was wrapped in layers of burgundy vines.  They in turn were covered by large yellow blossoms.   The foliage camouflaged the cave entrance so effectively she was unable to ascertain its exact whereabouts.

Single file, they traveled in silence, trotting in what Jessica deemed an eastward direction through the wooded lands.  She was not a horsewoman, though she did not have the morbid fear of horses that her father did.  Vacationing as a child on a dude ranch constituted the extent of her equestrian training, so she spent the first two hours getting the feel of the animal’s gait, then the next two trying to relax.  After a while, she unwound enough to let her mind wander.  Questions, questions.  However, one look at her uncle’s rigid posture and the questions remained unasked. 

Every few feet Anton turned his head, scanning the terrain from side to side.  Each muscle in his neck stood out.  The tension emanating from him made even the horses skittish.  Jessica could sense Web’s fear and confusion.  “It’s okay, boy,” she soothed and gently stroked his neck.  She felt completely useless, almost a burden.  She had no training as a tracker and was not sure she could even distinguish a deer, if there were deer on Edia, from a tree. 

The going was slow.  They skirted around tree clumps, plowed through dense underbrush, and plodded over thick, spongy moss.  The only sounds in the forest were the occasional bird chirps and their own muted strides. 

They never stopped moving, not even for lunch, so Jessica rummaged in a few of the packs and found more of the same dried fruits, breads, and meats as she’d found on her first night in Esparia.  By midafternoon the forest began to grow thinner, the moss less dense and the dandle shrubbery replaced by tall, willowy grasses. 

Anton slowed his horse and motioned for Jessica to pull up next to him.  “We’ll take a short break before we pass out ‘o the forest.  There’s a solid group ‘o trees over there, if ya need some privacy.”  He dismounted and allowed Jin to chomp on the new growths of tender grass. 

Grateful for the pit stop, Jessica swung down off of Web.  When her feet touched the ground, her legs nearly buckled.  Rubbing her cramping muscles, she hobbled to the shelter of the dense thicket.

Ten minutes later, they were back on their horses.  “We’re goin’ for another couple hours,” Anton warned.  “Ya up to it?”

She nodded.

“Once out ‘o this forest, we’ll be exposed.  Elitet travel in teams of five.  I don’t know how many teams are after ya, but if we run into trouble I want ya to head in a straight course followin’ the big planet in the sky, that’s Ragus.  This time of year it has a northern orbit to Edia ‘n if ya follow it, y’all be led to dines where people can take ya to Ramadine.”

“I understand.”  His seriousness frightened her.  And worse, she had more questions.  Dines?  Better not to ask.  She guessed they were probably cities or villages of some sort.

Within minutes, they left the forest behind.  The tall grasses of the open plain ahead grew nearly five feet high.  Jessica ran her hand over the tops as they trotted through the vast sea.  The pointy tips gave way to her touch, like a feather’s edge bends when stroked.  Towering rock formations and huge, single boulders punctuated the terrain, scattered in random patterns as if sprinkled down from high above by a gigantic shaker bottle. 

Their vulnerability now increased substantially and Jessica felt Anton tense even more.  He scanned the ground ahead, as well as from side to side, always searching, constantly watching their surroundings.  Without the cover of the trees they could be easily seen, and the tall grasses could hide an ambush.  Jessica was on her guard too, straining her senses, squinting to see as far ahead as possible.  They finally stopped when both moons were high overhead.

Anton chose the shelter of an immense rock for their first campsite.  “I’m not goin’ to light a fire.  There’s dried food in yer sack.”

“I already found it.”

Opening her pack, Jessica shared her meat and water with Varnack.

“How ya holdin’up, Jessi?”  Genuine concern filled Anton’s voice.

Not wanting to complain or be more of a burden she simply smiled.  “Fine.  A little tired, but fine.”  Ohhh!  She inwardly moaned.  She was not fine.  She was sore and her inner thighs burned with fire.  They felt red and raw from rubbing against the saddle all day; she was not used to any of this.

Anton grinned at her.  “Sure ya are,” he said sarcastically and he rummaged inside his sack.  Producing a bottle with lotion in it, he tossed it to Jessica.  “Larone figured ya wouldn’t be used to all this ridin’, so he sent this stuff.  Go over there,” he pointed to a sheltered place by the edge of the rock formation.  “Rub that everywhere yer sore.  Ya’ll be a lot better by mornin’.”

Without protest, she took the bottle, and shuffled over behind the large rock.  She poured a generous amount of the lotion onto her palm.  It smelled like honeysuckle.  When the soothing balm touched her sore flesh, the burning pain immediately subsided.  “Oh!”  She let out a squeal of delight.  This stuff was great!

When she finished, she returned to the campsite and placed the lotion in her own knapsack.  “Much better.  Thank you, Uncle Anton.”

“Yer welcome.  We’ll want to leave before sun up, so ya’d better catch some sleep.”

She didn’t complain.  Tonight she felt exhausted.  As she laid out a blanket found in her knapsack, Varnack spoke to her.  “How did Larone know we would be in danger?” he asked.

“So you can speak in full sentences.”  Jessica laughed at her friend. 

Anton looked expectantly at the two of them.

“Varnack wants to know how you and Larone knew we’d be in danger and need help?”

“Two Ider warriors, half dead from the Saylon massacre rode into Ramadine, a couple o’ days ago.  Said they’d been betrayed.  We’d known about the massacre for a day, but the news of a traitor, well, that took us by surprise.  We figured it likely Daenon knew about ya comin’, ‘n if he did, he’d send Elitet after ya.  I left right away.  When ya hadn’t made it to any of the checkpoints, I knew ya were in trouble.  If I was Varnack, I’da headed for Clear Blue Lake, away from the usual trail, so that’s where I went.  Good thing too, I saw those black robes through the trees ‘n rode hard to get ahead of ‘em.”

Anton’s explanation brought up more questions for Jessica, but before she could ask them, Varnack spoke to her again.  It took some focus to understand everything he conveyed.  Usually he spoke little, but this time he had a great deal to say and she wanted to translate it correctly.

“He wants to thank you.  He also wants me to tell you he’s not tired.  Your back is comfortable and he slept quite a bit.  He says he’ll stand guard and awaken you if there’s trouble.  He wants you to rest.”

“Ya sure you’re up to this?”

Varnack nodded, his ears swaying with the action.  Anton scrutinized the animal.  “Fine,” he sighed.  “Ya know the danger here.  I guess I won’t argue, if yer really feelin’ strong enough.” 

Jessica knew her own questions could wait.  Lying on her back, looking up at the foreign sky, her thoughts turned to family and friends and the last four days.  She wondered what Dad and Grandma were doing right now.  She wondered where Thomas was, if he’d seen the leaning tower or the Vatican.  She desperately wanted to talk with Rachel.  Would her friend even believe her?  Jessica wasn’t sure if she believed what was happening!  Everything was so unreal.

Anton’s snoring brought the reality sweeping back.  “Varnack”, she whispered, “can you read my thoughts?”

“No, and you can’t read mine unless I let you.”

She sighed deeply, rolled onto her side, and soon fell asleep. 

About an hour before sunrise Anton woke Jessica.  She rubbed more lotion on her legs, then ate a cold breakfast.  Varnack was placed back in the sling and once he settled, they took off at a brisk pace. 

The terrain remained the same as the afternoon before, tall grasses interspersed with boulders and rock formations of various sizes.  Still wary, but less strained than yesterday, Jessica noticed wild flowers as tall as the grasses.  The bright pinks, oranges, and lavenders lifted her spirits.  Had they not been in a hurry she would have enjoyed picking some and experiencing their various fragrances.

Anton and Jessica traveled side by side in silence, each on their guard while Varnack slept most of the day.  Several times the riders scared up some fat, gray and white spotted fowl nesting in the grass, and once Jessica spotted a grouping of antlerless, deer-like creatures.  She counted seven large birds of prey circling overhead, but never set eyes on another human soul.

When the sun hung low at the horizon, the unmistakable sound of distant thunder drifted in on the quickening breeze.  Before long, the air became heavy with the smell of rain.  “Looks like we’re in for it,” Anton looked at the glowering sky.  “I’ll try ‘n find some shelter, but get prepared for a good soakin.”

He managed to find a small outcropping of rocks low to the ground, barely large enough for the three of them to fit under if they crawled.  Jessica went in first with Varnack next and Anton last, his back to the opening to shield his charges from the wind and rain. 

“It’s a good thing I’m not claustrophobic,” Jessica muttered.  She touched the stone ceiling only inches from her face.  The wind howled for hours while the rain came in intermittent bursts through the night.  By morning the storm passed, leaving the air cool and the ground soaked through for several inches.

“This isn’t good.” Anton surveyed the soil.  “This mud’ll show every print for days.”  Jessica nodded, the worry in his voice echoed her own grim thoughts.

The days melted into each other.  The warm spring sun beat down on the wayfarers.  In the evenings, Jessica described Earth, then Anton would talk of his travels around Esparia and her northern neighbor, Marone.  It had been up in the furthermost reaches of the continent where he had first found blue persite, just a rock, glowing in the snow. 

Once he tried to explain the dimensional specifics of Transmirian spirals, but when he started into particle physics and blue persite sorcery and the Channels of Gonta, she gave up trying to understand.  He seemed to derive great pleasure in expounding his insights, so she politely listened, ooing and ahing where she thought appropriate.  Jessica grew fond of the great man protecting her.  She found him to be without guile, a straight forward individual.