The Troven (Kingdom of Denall Book 1) (27 page)

Chapter 26

“There it is again.” Dune said as he pointed to the ground.

“I still don’t see what you’re pointing at.”

“Just look down at the side of the road where it meets the soft sod.”

“Okay, I see it now,” Trae lied. Every time they passed a sign of the seeker Dune was chasing he tried to show Trae, but Trae was no tracker. He couldn’t tell the difference between a horse track and a human track, and on the hard packed road, he couldn’t make out any tracks at all.

“That track is about half a day old. You can see that the dirt is dried, and the grass off the edge of the road has been packed down after the print was made, which means we have made up some time today. At this rate, we will catch him before he reaches Lexingar, possibly as early as tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll be able to get more information about what he plans to do there.”

“I’ll take your word for that,” Trae commented in a tone that clearly showed he was not interested in any more tracking lessons.

“I’m just showing you because you might need to know how to track someone one day,” Dune started. “I just hope my life never depends on you tracking me down.”

“Well that makes two of us. How about you do the tracking, and I’ll just stay focused on not getting separated?” Trae looked far down the road and sighed loudly while shaking his head.

“What is it?” Dune asked as he stopped looking for tracks and focused up the road. Instantly he had his answer. “Oh no, not another delay!”

A small group of travelers were stopped in front of the Gulpa Bridge while two men engaged in hand to hand combat. The thin bridge was blocked off by five men on either side so the two sparring were undisturbed.

“What are we going to do?” Trae asked.

“I guess we’ll have to watch them. This should be fun.”

“Can’t you just…” Trae moved his hands around in swirling patterns, “you know, move them out of the way?”

“That only gathers more attention, and makes our trip dangerous. I think it’s best for us to just wait for the excitement to die down, and then move on.” The two men slowed their horses as they neared the bridge.

On the bridge there was one man in full armor toying with his weaker opponent. The armored man was dodging wild swings and delivering controlled jabs to the other man’s torso. He called out taunts and jeers, egging the other man on until the man, sensing his eminent defeat, just dropped his hands to his sides. The man wearing the armor swung a powerful backhand that sent the weaker man sprawling onto the ground where he lay in a heap.

“Who’s next?” The man looked into the group of travelers on either side of the bridge. “I’ll let you all pass once I’ve had a challenge. I need to keep warmed up for the tournament.”

One of his thugs walked up and held his hands open to the crowd. “Who will be the next to face the powerful Rawley?”

Trae dismounted and a woman who was standing by the bridge, holding a young, crying child, turned to him.

“We’ve been here for an hour. I need to get home before the rain comes.” With pleading in her eyes she looked at Trae. “Please, help us.”

Trae pushed into the crowd, “I’ll go have a talk with this Rawley.”

“Do be careful,” the woman warned, “he’s a brute!”

Trae pushed through the crowd, making his way to the man who was bellowing out threats and challenges. When the crowd parted slightly, Trae saw the large, fully armored man clearly for the first time. He wore a deep scowl and glared at the audience while he drew his sword and swung it in intricate patterns.

“So I have a challenger!” Rawley said, pointing his sword at Trae.

“I’m just here to cross this bridge.”

Ignoring Trae’s response he continued. “Pick your weapon and we’ll begin.”

Trae turned to look at Dune, but he was several paces behind, riding his horse through the crowd. Not entirely sure what to do, he stood and considered the man.

“What’s the problem?” Rawley asked, “Is this warrior afraid of a fight?”

“I’m glad to see that you’re excited about the upcoming tournament, but these people really need to get going. You’ve had your fun, now move on.” Trae led his horse forward across the bridge.

“I see we’ve found a coward.” The man mocked as Trae passed him. Trae had learned to ignore empty insults from men with empty heads. He leaned down and helped up the man who had fallen in the last challenge. He helped the man make his way over the bridge and through the thugs on the far side. They crossed completely, disregarding Rawley’s comment and existence.

“Perhaps he is a coward, or perhaps he's wise enough to not waste his time and energy on fools.” Trae turned to see that Dune had joined him at the edge of the barricade of thugs still seated on his horse.

The man was noticeably unsettled by the presence of a magician. “I was just having some fun, no harm done.”

Dune looked down at the man. “What will it take to get you off this road and out of my way?”

“I’m just trying to practice, you know, for the tournament.” His voice steadied as he continued. “If your friend can beat me, or at least give me a challenge, we’ll be out of your way.”

“What if my friend knocks you flat on your back, and breaks your nose and every other bone in your body? Then how will you prepare for this tournament?” Dune looked steadily at the man, not breaking his gaze.

“Can he do that?” the man asked, fear creeping into his voice.

“If you do not take your men and get out of the road, you’ll soon find out.” Dune spoke softly, but his voice easily carried over the silenced crowd.

The man began to back away and his friends joined him. Dune and Trae stood on one side of the bridge, and Rawley stood on the other. The crowd walked between them, thankful to be moving on.

Thanks and kind words were showered upon Dune and Trae as the crowd passed. On the other side of the road, the travelers were not as friendly. When most of the people had passed, a small boy with a mischievous look, ducked out from behind his mother and spat on Rawley. Rawley reached out with lightning speed and backhanded the small boy with a gauntleted fist, sending him sprawling and crying on the ground, blood streaming down his face.

Before anyone else could react, Trae stepped across the bridge and shoved hard against Rawley. The man, not anticipating Trae’s strength, flew backward several feet and lay sprawled on the ground. Trae gently lifted the child.

“Are you all right?”

The mischievous look had been replaced with fear and pain as the boy sobbed. Dune took the boy from Trae’s arms.

“I’ll take a look at him.” Dune tended to the child’s needs and Trae turned his attention to Rawley and his band of miscreants.

“That was quite a shove,” Rawley remarked. “Want to try that out on my sword?” The travelers spread out to give them space, and Rawley’s men fanned out in a half circle.

As Rawley’s men drew their weapons, Trae knew they had no intention of making this a fair fight. He felt almost naked as he compared his small mace with the larger swords the men brandished. Fortunately, he was also protected with a medium shield and the feather light armor that would allow him to move more freely than these men could ever manage.

Rawley and his gang crept forward until they were within striking distance. With an evil grin, Rawley made a motion with his sword that directed his men to make the first move. They had witnessed Trae’s strength and heard the threats from Dune, so although they outnumbered him, they advanced cautiously and as a group.

Trae had experienced bullying before, and he had some experience with defending himself, but he knew it would take more than brute strength to get out of this mess. Before he could register what was happening, two men advanced on him from both sides. He brought up his mace to deflect the swing of the sword on his right as his shield was raised to block the attack from the left.

As if by its own volition, after blocking the sword strike, the mace turned a half circle and landed a crashing blow on the helmet of the man to his right and the man crumpled to the ground. Surprised by this turn of events, Trae turned his full attention to the fallen man. Seeing a moment of opportunity, the men to his left pressed forward in unison. Trae was struck by one sword in the left shoulder and an instant later he was pushed back by the force of a man who had run shoulder first into Trae’s shield.

Focusing on the advancing group on his left, Trae widened his stance and pressed back against his shield. As soon as he moved his shield arm, the force from the left side was gone. Trae lowered his shield, and to his surprise, the man who had pushed against him was flat on his back. At that moment Trae realized that the weapons Dune had picked for him were magically enchanted too.

With an added level of confidence, Trae began to advance on the group. He tried to start at one side of the half circle of men, but within moments they had completely surrounded him. He swung his mace at the oncoming enemies. The mace skillfully deflected swords and counter attacked, striking arms, heads, and chests. Each time an enemy’s attack was blocked by the shield, the weapon was not only deflected, but was thrown back with considerable force, often disarming the attacker. Three times men were able to strike Trae, but he did not feel their blows beneath his armor. Within a few short moments, the fight was over.

The only two men left standing from Rawley’s crew were incompetent fighters who had lost their weapons while striking the shield. After retrieving their swords, the men thought better of attacking again. Rawley was among the fallen men. Blood gushed down his face from a broken nose and he was clutching his right arm, which was severely broken.

Without speaking a word, or giving them a second thought, Trae turned around.

“How is the boy?”

Dune nodded his head. “He’s fine. As soon as he was healed, he kicked me in the shin and ran to his mother.”

Trae couldn’t stop from smiling. “I really like that kid.”

Without another word, the pair mounted their horses and galloped down the road. When they had traveled a safe distance, Trae turned to his friend.

“So when did you intend to tell me about the weapons?”

“Oh yes, thank you for reminding me. Those weapons of yours, they are enchanted. Just be careful not to lose them.”

Chapter 27

Kaz waited silently in the woods, scanning in all directions for any movements. There was a slight rustle in a tree to his right, but he was not interested in small game today. The caravan had stopped and set up camp for the last time before going into Lexingar for the tournaments. They were stocking up on supplies, and Kaz had become so expert using his bow that they almost expected that when he went into the woods, he’d come back with an animal that had only an arrow wound in its eye.

Caravan life had quickly become a welcome routine for Kaz. While they were stopped at a village for trading, or at a clearing near a lake to replenish their supplies, he completed archery training each day with Boon, then he went hunting.

When they were traveling between stops, he would get up at the crack of dawn, eat, then help strike camp, hitch up the wagons to horses, and then drive until about noon. The caravan only traveled for half days because they needed to hunt, gather, or trade. If they came to a village they would spend two or three days trading before resuming their trek. Most people rode in the wagons or on horseback. For Kaz, Farin, and Angela, the morning was spent walking, jogging or running to keep up with the caravan.

At first, he and Farin struggled to keep up, while Angela easily maintained pace with the moving wagons while wearing her armor and carrying a short sword at her side. Kaz had felt comforted to see he was not the only one bent over, gagging for air every time they slowed down or stopped, but that Farin was also struggling. Angela made it worse by never missing an opportunity to goad them. At least Kaz wasn’t wearing armor like Blade made Farin do.

By the end of the first month with the caravan, he and Farin were already noticeably different, and now that nearly three months had passed, he could barely be recognized as the boy who had shot arrows from the woods to save the Algernons. He was eating healthy food each day, and his body was filling out with hard muscle. He was in much better shape, but it was nothing compared to Farin’s transformation. Farin was no longer complaining about wearing armor during the morning runs, and looked like he was built to be a blacksmith.

Kaz saw a twitch in the distant woods that brought his thoughts back to his hunt. It could have been a rabbit or squirrel, but from his angle and distance it could also be a deer’s ear or tail. He watched the spot and, within a few silent moments, the large buck stepped out from behind a dense row of trees. With a regular bow the deer would have been safe from even the best hunter, but Kaz was not a regular hunter, and his enchanted bow made him deadly at long distances.

He silently drew his bow back and raised it slowly up so he could sight down the shaft of the arrow. A slight breeze made the leaves shift in the woods and the animal perked its ears up. It was on heightened alert and Kaz knew that any sudden movements would mean he had missed this chance. As the wind stopped, he smoothly released the arrow and watched as it found its mark.

As Kaz dragged the buck out of the woods he looked to the row of wagons and saw Farin and Angela still practicing. Farin was working some forms that looked to Kaz like he was doing an elaborate dance with a longsword in his hand. Although he didn’t understand much about using a sword, he was impressed at how smoothly Farin handled the weapon, and how quickly he had progressed from the wooden practice swords to using the real thing.

It was also fun for Kaz to watch Angela beat Farin in every match they had in the practice ring. He always came to Kaz with lame excuses about being distracted by her deep green eyes, or reminding Kaz that she was a strongarm, but after almost three months he wondered if Farin was holding back a little in their matches. She moved flawlessly from stance to stance, but despite her experience and strength, Farin seemed to have the advantage of speed.

“Haylan,” Kaz called out when he came into the clearing.

Haylan waved at Kaz and rushed over with a small handcart.

“I know he’s trying to get you into shape, but I think Boon should let you get some help dragging the larger animals out of the woods.”

“Thanks for the offer,” Kaz replied as he hefted the animal into the cart. “But if I do get help before I come into the clearing, I’m sure he’d find some way to make me work out even harder. Besides, this one isn’t that big.”

Haylan looked down at the animal and then back to Kaz.

“It’s pretty big,” he countered. “Thanks!”

“Any time,” he responded. “How much more do you need?”

“I don’t know,” he hesitated for a moment and looked over his animals. “Maybe one more in a day or two should do it. They take time to butcher, and we’ll be leaving for Lexingar before we know it.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kaz said as he grabbed the handle of the cart and helped Haylan take the animal the rest of the way to his wagon. “I’ll check in with you in two days to see if you need anything.”

“Perfect,” Haylan replied. “I talked with Blade today, and he has some arrows for you, but he said they’re the last ones he’s fletching for you, so be careful with them.”

Kaz grinned and headed off toward Blade’s wagon. On his way through camp he passed the caravan families who had become his friends over the past months of traveling. They were mostly hard at work getting supplies and wares ready for the tournaments. Kaz had never been this far from Dungan, but even he had heard a little about the event where men and women from across Denall gathered to compete in events to win prizes and prestige. As the activity among the Algernons increased, so did his excitement and anticipation to attend this event.

When he arrived at Blade’s wagon, Kaz lifted his chin in greeting.

“I heard you made some arrows for me,” Kaz began, “Thank you.”

“Actually, Farin made this batch,” he answered. “They’re not good enough for me to sell in Lexingar, so I figured I could let you have them.”

“Thanks a lot,” Kaz responded unenthusiastically. He looked over at his friend, still working through some stances. “He’s a much better swordsman than he is a fletcher.”

Blade nodded, “You’ve got that right. But he is getting better,” he added. Kaz looked down at the arrows, and they did look pretty good. “Besides, I don’t want you shattering the shafts of my arrows while you show off.”

Kaz held his hand to his chest pretending to be offended. “Show off? I just do what Boon tells me to do.”

“Right,” Blade responded unconvinced. “And you don’t seem to mind at all when the girls gather to watch you do target practice.”

Not liking the direction the conversation had taken, Kaz reached down and picked up the arrows. “Speaking of target practice, I think I’d better get going.”

Kaz walked back out into the woods and sat down on a large, fallen tree. Although it had been a lot of work and it wasn’t an easy way of life, he had enjoyed his time with the Algernon Caravan. The closer they got to Lexingar, the more he thought about what he wanted to do, and the more he realized that he didn’t know.

He could easily see himself staying with the caravan traveling around, hunting and working, flirting with the girls and being Boon’s apprentice. He could finish his Troven in safety and see a lot of the country, but for him it seemed like a bit of a cheat.

For Farin staying made sense, he had always wanted to travel the country and have sword training, and he was getting both of those things. And Blade was starting to train him in fletching, leather work, and repairing weapons. For Kaz it was just like being a kid back in Dungan. Doing chores for different families, helping out when he could, but never really having his own place. He felt like he was again in a rut, happily going on in life, but not really in control. He wanted to do something meaningful and lasting. He wanted to make a difference before he went back home, but he didn’t know how.