The Troven (Kingdom of Denall Book 1) (18 page)

After Bendar and Kaz were soundly sleeping, Farin quietly slipped from their room. Without his brother in the room listening, he was easily able to get out of the room without waking either of them. Downstairs, some of the inn tables had patrons, but for the most part the tavern was empty. Farin walked out the swinging doors and into the dark streets. Other than returning to the inn at dusk, he had not ventured out much into the streets of Hillside in the dark, and he had never gone alone. Ignoring the warnings of the inn keeper, and everything his friends had said, he pushed down his nervousness and moved forward.

He started on the main street, making his way back the way they had come when they had arrived, then turned down some poorly lit side streets on the far west side of town. Down the dark street Farin could hear some hushed voices, and he decided this was where he would start searching for the thieves, and hopefully retrieve some of their stolen supplies. Now that the driver was back in town, this was his last chance.

He put his back to the wall of the building on his right and slipped down to squat near the ground. Keeping to the shadows, he shifted farther down the alleyway until he could make out the conversation with his enhanced hearing.

“I don’t care where it came from,” came the voice of a man who sounded ragged and desperate, “we need to kill it.”

Farin held his breath, making sure to not make a sound. The marks on his ears flared up as he continued to listen, trying to figure out what was happening in the darkness.

“It’s disgusting! Barely worth the effort,” came the reply. Then without another word, there was a squeal, then it was silenced by a thudding sound. Farin released his breath as he recognized the sounds. On his farm he routinely killed rats that were in the grain room. These were not organized thieves, but the voices of desperate people reduced to hunting rats for food. Although he felt bad for them, there was nothing he could do to help. He moved back out of the alley and closer to the outskirts of town.

As Farin searched through the night, he found that most dark streets were empty in this area of town, and the people he did encounter seemed to crouch and cower when he came close. As the night continued, he became increasingly more confident that there was little or nothing to fear in the quiet, empty town. When he exited the residential quarter that was characterized by tiny homes with little garden plots along the outskirts of Hillside, he continued down the road toward Dungan. He wanted to see the bridge they had crossed on entering town before he made his way back to the inn. Before he could see the bridge, he heard some hushed voices in the distance. He strained his hearing and the small dots on his ears flared a dark shade of red. The voices came from under the bridge, and from his angle the sound of flowing water obscured most of what they were saying. He circled wide, moving off the road until he was in a direct line of the people and could hear them more clearly.

“How long will they stay?” asked a man, whose voice was filled with fear.

“I don't know,” a woman responded, “but each day I've checked them and there is no sign of it.” Farin stood silently in the shadow of a tree, straining his ears to better hear their quiet exchange.

“The intellect insisted that they had it when they left, and Melna’s informant told her that one of the boys had flaunted it at him as they left, mocking him for not having found it when he searched the kid. Where could it be?”

“I told you, I don't know. Maybe they keep it hidden in their room all the time. If I had something worth that much gold, I wouldn't carry it around with me to work in the fields.”

“If you had something worth that much gold, you wouldn’t be staying in such a small room either.”

“Listen to me! If we don't find a way to get that stone we're as good as dead!”

“Don't you think I know that? I've been looking every day!”

“Maybe we need to be more direct,” The talking stopped, and there was some shuffled movement from under the bridge. Farin couldn’t see what was happening from his hiding place, and they had stopped talking. He wondered who they might have been talking about, or what stone could be worth so much gold. He looked back at the buildings on the outskirts of the village. The excitement of being out at night in a village that was big enough to have dark alleys and homeless people was quickly being replaced by the fear that something really bad was about to happen, and he didn’t want to get caught up in it. Whatever these people were looking for, it had nothing to do with him finding his sword.

He stepped out from next to the tree and began slowly moving back to the road that led into the village. When he was out from under the dark shadow of the tree, two people came running from under the bridge.

“There he is! I knew I saw something.”

Farin turned and slipped on some slick leaves, falling down to the ground. He clawed at the ground and pulled himself to his feet, then darted for the village. Behind him he could hear the people chasing him practically on his heels. He looked over his shoulder just as an unseen blast threw him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Rough hands turned him over until he was face to face with a middle aged couple. “How nice of you to come find us. It saved us some trouble.”

The man pulled out a knife in one hand and dragged Farin with the other hand deeper into the woods. When the light of the village was obscured by a wall of trees, the man pushed Farin to the ground, and the woman who was with him tilted her head to the side, scrutinizing every inch of him. She reached forward and patted down his pockets, and when he pushed her hand away, the man kicked him in the ribs. Wincing in pain and holding his bruised ribs, Farin stayed still for the duration of the body search.

“Where is it?” the woman said while licking her lips.

Farin looked to the man and back at the woman who was standing over him. Their features were shaded by the darkness, but he could make out the knife in the man’s hand, and a bottle in the other, perhaps a potion bottle he had used to blast Farin to the ground. Farin also noticed that the woman had a similar bottle dangling from her belt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he answered honestly.

The man brought his knife down close to Farin and spoke in a harsh whisper. “Bendar told us you had the stone! Where is it?”

“Bendar?” Farin repeated, trying to piece together what was happening. “I’ve never had any kind of stone. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The necklace, you fool. What happened to the necklace?” The woman said, practically spitting out the words.

“Gran’s necklace?” he asked in confusion. “It was taken along with everything else.”

The woman slapped him across the face so hard that stars appeared. Farin blinked his eyes, trying to clear his head.

“He’s of no use to us,” she said to her partner. “Let’s dispose of him and be done with it!”

Although his vision had not fully returned, he kicked out at the couple. He aimed his foot at the man, trying to kick where he thought the knife was, but instead he connected with the bottle, which cracked as he kicked it out into the dark forest. Farin kicked out again at the woman and felt his foot connect solidly with her abdomen. She grunted and fell to the ground, and then Farin could hear the man moving in the woods to retrieve the bottle. Farin scrambled to his feet and began to run. He held his hands in front of himself as he crashed through the trees out into the open. Despite his lightheadedness, Farin was able to see the village, and continued running toward it.

When he was back on the road going into the village, he pumped his arms for as much speed as he could, confident he could outrun the older couple as long as they didn’t hit him with magic again. Out of breath, covered with small cuts from the tree limbs, and scared out of his wits, Farin pushed through the inn doors into the now-empty tavern. He stopped for a moment, leaning on a table as he gulped in ragged breaths.

When his breathing was normal, Farin made his way up the stairs to their room, opened it without trying to be quiet, then pushed it closed deliberately hard, waking both Bendar and Kaz.

“What’s that all about?” Kaz asked as he rolled over in the cot.

Farin didn’t answer, but lit a candle. “We need to talk.”

“I think it would be better if we waited until the morning,” Bendar chimed in.

Farin reached down and pointed his finger in Bendar’s face. “Wrong! We need to talk right now!”

Kaz pushed himself up to sitting and reached his arms between Farin and Bendar. “What’s going on?” As Kaz looked at Farin’s face, his own features softened. “What happened to you?”

Farin ran his fingers through his hair, and glared at Bendar. “I’ll tell you what happened,” Farin began. “I was nearly abducted by a man and woman who knew who I was. They asked me about Gran’s necklace and said that Bendar told them I had it.” He pointed at the intellect again to punctuate his words.

Bendar sat up slightly, and the look of fear and annoyance was replaced by a look of confusion. “Were they an older couple?” Bendar asked. “Thin, but in good shape, gray hair, they both have an odd kind of bottle hanging from their belts?”

“Yes, that’s them!” Farin said in an accusing tone. “So you did tell them.”

“Please sit down,” Bendar requested, his brows drawn together. Farin hesitantly sat down, and the tension in the room started to dissolve. “They work with the merchant in town. They seemed like really nice people. Frankie used to live in Pike Point, so he has been very interesting to speak to.”

“Yes, they are very kind,” Farin replied sarcastically as he pointed at his scratched up arms and hands.

Bendar’s eyes widened as he saw what had happened to his friend. He continued, “As I have been going through old records we often talk. When I told them about our Troven, they insisted on knowing everything, I guess they had heard one of Kaz’s stories about the dram attack. I told them about everything we had stolen from us, Gran’s necklace was just another item on the list. I’m not sure why they would think we still have it.”

“Well they do,” Farin cut in, “And they want it, bad enough to kill for it.”

Farin stopped talking and turned his head to the side, and the marks on his ears activated. “Plans have changed. Grab your stuff. We need to go, now!”

Chapter 17

Trusting Farin’s ears, the boys grabbed their travel packs, bows, and hunting knives, then left the room. In the hallway they could hear a commotion in the tavern below. “Are you renting a room for the night?” Braden asked. “If not, then I’m afraid you can’t go up there.”

Not waiting to hear any more of the conversation, Kaz led the group down to the end of the hall. He pushed on the window and it swung open.

“Let’s go,” he said, turning to his friends.

Bendar looked incredulously at Kaz, “Are you seriously going to jump out of a window? Do you want to injure yourself again?”

“No time for argument,” Farin interjected. “They’re paying for a room.” He sat on the edge of the window ledge, turned around, and held on with his hands while dangling down. He let go of the edge and fell to the ground. “Come on,” he called up to them.

Kaz lowered himself to hanging, then dropped down, landing on the ground. His leg flared in pain, but he tried to hide it.

“It’s not bad,” he called up to Bendar.

From the ground, Kaz watched Bendar make his way slowly out of the window.

“Hurry up!” Farin called up to him. As he turned around and tried to slowly lower himself to hanging, his fingers slipped and he began to fall. Kaz and Farin both reached out their arms under their friend to break his fall. Bendar landed hard on Farin, knocking him to the ground, while he almost entirely missed Kaz.

Looking down on the two boys who were groaning and lying on top of each other, Kaz couldn’t help but laugh.

“Come on,” he said, pulling them up to standing. “No time to take a nap.” The three boys left the inn behind them and quickly moved through the dark, empty streets of Hillside.

When they came to the north side of town they began the hike uphill through a seldom used dirt path toward Will’s home where Garin was working. Kaz strained his eyes to see out into the night. His enhanced sight helped him see a little better than the other two boys, but he still felt like every other step was a guess more than anything else. Behind him, Bendar was quietly grumbling about how they didn’t have the supplies they needed, and Farin simply walked in silence.

They walked through the night and into the early hours of the morning heading slowly north. Every time an animal moved in the woods, Farin raised his arm and had everyone stop until he was certain they were not being followed. As the night wore on, Kaz worried about Braden, and wondered what would happen in the morning when people realized they were gone. Would they go east on the main road, or would they send someone up here after Garin? Either way, they needed to get Garin and move on as quickly as possible.

After another hour of walking, Kaz pointed out into the distance.

“I think I see Garin.” In the light of the early morning, he could see a house. It was one of the only houses along this path, and it had a freshly built addition. A young man was walking away from the house leading a horse. “Yup, that’s definitely him,” he said.

The boys moved a little quicker as they closed in on their friend.

“Garin,” his brother called up to him. Garin waved and hurried to embrace his brother.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. “What’s going on, why did you come out here?”

“We’ve actually got some bad news,” Farin answered as he looked over his shoulder back down the path. “We need to get moving now, the bandits are back and there are some other complications.”

“Are you serious?” Garin asked. Then he looked at the three boys. “Of course you are!” He patted the horse next to him gently. “And you’ve ruined my surprise,” he said, pointing at the horse, “What do you think of her?” he asked his friends.

“You didn't steal her, did you?” Farin asked. Garin looked genuinely offended that that had been his first reaction.

“I’m just kidding,” he reassured his brother. He stepped next to the animal and began a quick examination. The short, broad, brown mare stood still as Farin rubbed her nose. “She’s built for work, not speed, and she’s slightly past her prime, but overall, she looks very sturdy. She'll be a wonderful help,” Farin concluded.

“This is quite a hefty payment for helping a man do a little digging and framing,” Bendar said with some suspicion in his tone.

“Oh no,” he said, as he threw a small coin pouch to Bendar. “That’s my payment for the construction. Baby here is a loaner. Will wanted her delivered to his niece in Lexingar. When I said we were headed to Norwell, he made me an offer. If we take a small detour through Lexingar, we can use her to help carry our supplies if we get her there in good condition for his niece.”

“I think our luck is starting to change,” Farin said as he absently brushed the mare's flanks. Baby reared up and whinnied loudly, causing Farin to jump back out of hoof range.

“I also should mention that Baby doesn't like people touching her left side,” Garin explained quickly, as he reached for her bridle and got her under control. “She was whipped as a foal. If anyone is on her left side, she wants to be able to see them at all times. Otherwise, gentle as a kitten.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Farin remarked.

“So, where are we headed?” Garin asked, looking at his companions.

Farin and Kaz turned to Bendar who closed his eyes, and the marks on his forehead came to life. While his eyes were still closed he started talking, “We need to keep moving north on this road, and then we should see a path leading east.” He opened his eyes and looked a little frustrated. “I can’t possibly know how far we have travelled, so I’m not sure how much longer it will be to get to the path.”

“Do you mean that trail right there?” Garin asked, pointing to a small break in the road that could easily have been overlooked. “We use that path to get firewood. It leads deep into the woods. Will told me it gets a bit rocky and steep farther along.”

Bendar nodded enthusiastically. “Perfect, let’s get moving.”

The morning was cool, but quickly warmed up as the sun rose high in the sky.

“Kaz, time to give that leg of yours a rest.” Garin insisted as they stopped to get a drink from a small creek that ran next to the path.

“No argument here,” Kaz replied. During their trip, each boy had a turn riding the horse, but Kaz took an extra turn from time to time as his leg was starting to throb with the exertion of the extra travel.

Through the rest of the day the boys kept moving, not wanting to lose time for any unnecessary stops, and not knowing if anyone had started tracking them. When the sun began to set, they set up camp off the horse trail in a sheltered section of woods. Kaz searched for some worn rabbit trails and set up some snares. They quietly ate a meal of dried meat, bread, and some wild apples they had picked off a summer apple tree near the road. As darkness began to fall, the boys hid themselves, and their horse, behind a thick wall of briars, and crouched close together for the night.

* * * * *

While Farin slept, holding onto his strung bow, his ears picked up the sounds of the night. An owl hooting in the distance, crickets chirping, and the breeze as it rustled through the forest. Then a twig snapped. Farin opened his eyes and slowly reached over to his brother.

Before he could touch Garin’s sleeping body, he moved.
He must have heard it too.
Farin waited in complete silence for any other sign of what had made the sound. Nothing came. He strained his heightened hearing, and through the bushes and trees he could hear shallow breathing. There was definitely at least one person out in the distance who did not want to be found. The person stayed still for several long moments, probably trying to see, hear, smell, or detect the group in some way. Farin barely let himself breath.

“Nothing, let’s keep moving.” Farin recognized the male voice from his encounter near the Hillside Bridge.

“I don’t see any fire,” his companion observed. “They must know they’re being followed. Either that or we’ve only picked up tracks from a local farmer’s trips to gather firewood. We should recruit some help.”

“Maybe tomorrow.” With that said, the two people moved down the horse path a short distance and stopped again. Their search was very thorough. After nearly an hour of waiting in silence, the couple returned, walking back down the path. This time they did not sneak stealthily, but instead tromped through the woods. The woman cursed loudly as she tripped on a root or rock, and fell to the ground.

“We lost a lot of time today! If we don’t find something solid to deliver to Melna, she might not hand over our supply of Han’Or for the summer. You heard about Carla, didn’t you? They found her half way to Norwell, already blind and crazy, and she’s not the first one who has run out of Han’Or. When we get back to Hillside, we’ll let the others know the boys are gone. If we are all searching we’ll find them soon enough. They can’t have gotten too far.”

Hearing her words, Farin reached over and poked his brother.

Garin didn’t turn over, but whispered quietly so only Farin could hear. “Try to get some sleep. It’ll be safer for us to get moving in the morning.”

In the morning Farin sat up and stretched. His body was not accustomed to sleeping on the hard ground, and he twisted his body sideways, allowing his back to crack several times before he rose to his feet.

“Garin, Kaz, Bendar, time to wake up,” Farin whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Kaz moaned an objection, but before he could spout out a witty remark, Garin put his hand over Kaz’s mouth, and motioned for him to remain silent. Kaz seemed to recognize the urgency in Garin’s eyes as he nodded his understanding.

“What’s going on?” he whispered softly.

Garin and Bendar sat up together. “Last night we had some visitors,” Garin explained.

“Same ones that jumped me,” Farin added. “They are definitely looking for us, and they have gone back to Hillside to get some help. For now we are ahead of them, so we need to keep moving.

“Any other cheerful news?” Kaz asked as he twisted his body, releasing an enormous crack from his back.

“We also need to avoid making fire at night, because that will be like a beacon to them.” Farin added.

Bendar took a small stick and began drawing lines in the sand.

“This is Hillside,” he said, pointing to the ground. “If my calculations are correct, we are about here,” he pointed to a faint line. “The main road is the fastest way to get to Norwell,” he pointed to their final destination, “but if we keep moving east through the woods, we’ll eventually hit the North road that leads where we are going through Lexingar to Norwell. It will take longer, but I can’t imagine anyone following us.”

“Looks good to me,” Farin said after examining the ‘map’ carefully. “I just wish we had already traveled more than a hand span away from the people who are trying to catch us.”

“I’ll check the snares,” Kaz put in, “then we can get moving.”

“We’ll pack the supplies, and we’ll eat while we’re moving.” Bendar said as he quickly began to roll up his blanket and stuffed it into a saddle bag. As he did so, Farin gestured to Garin, and the twins retrieved some food they could eat while they were walking and filled up their water skins from the nearby stream. When Kaz returned with the snares he had one scrawny rabbit that he quickly cleaned and hung from his backpack so they could begin their trek into the woods.

After two days of traveling, they left the relatively fertile woods and began walking on bare rocks. Farin had never seen any place that looked so gray. Although some moss and grass patches peppered the large rock terrain, and some trees had managed to get roots in the cracks of the rocks, it was still very barren. He didn’t like how exposed they felt, but it also meant they were leaving no tracks behind.

After three days’ moving and sleeping on rock, and Kaz returning each day with empty snares, Bendar began voicing concerns about their supplies. Within ten days they were living on half rations, making slow progress through the rocky forest. On the fifteenth day, they reduced their food to quarter rations, and their slow progress came to an almost complete stop.

“Bendar, are we going to die?” Garin asked as they stopped to make camp for the eighteenth time. They stopped before dark on a small patch of grass where a large tree had fallen that they could use as fuel if they needed a fire. A crystal brook had carved a crevice in the rocks, making a small creek they used for drinking water.

“I feel like it is a possibility,” he responded as he dropped a medium sized log. He bent to pick it up again and found it difficult to hold the wood in his shaking fingers. “But before we starve to death, I will kill that horse over there.”

“That sounds like a great plan,” Kaz added. He had just returned from setting up some snares near the camp. “Let's eat Baby right now.”

“Don't you dare!” Garin said in a threatening tone. “If it's a choice between us dying or the horse, then we'll kill her, but that is the very last resort.”

“Should we stay here and try hunting and trapping for longer than just one night?” Farin asked. “Maybe we would have a better chance of getting something.”

“I could use a break from all this walking,” Kaz said, his wound on his leg was healed and he spent his share of the time walking, but it was still stiff and sore.