Waking with a start, Alex saw Skeld’s laughing face above him.
“Time to be up, my friends,” Skeld laughed loudly. “And here’s a little something for you,” he added, throwing a bit of snow into the tent.
“Get out!” Andy shouted, his normal happy expression replaced by a look of pain.
When Alex sat up he understood Andy’s pained expression. His whole body ached, and his legs felt like they might fall off. Slowly he pulled on his pants, but his boots seemed like too much work.
“I’ve never felt so sore,” Alex said, looking at Andy, who was pulling on one of his own boots and trying desperately not to fall over while doing it.
“It’s the riding,” Andy replied. “It will take a few days to get used to it.”
Alex nodded but said nothing. The only part of his body that didn’t hurt was his head, and he thought talking too much might change that. Slowly, he pulled his boots toward him and tried to slip them on.
“Here is a pretty sight,” Skeld laughed, as Alex and Andy emerged from their tent. “It seems they’ve aged a hundred years in just one night.”
“Oh, shut up,” Andy snapped grumpily.
Several inches of wet snow covered the ground, but the clouds had blown away during the night, a pale line of them just visible across the eastern horizon.
“Here,” said Thrang, walking up to Alex and Andy and holding out a canteen. “Take a sip of this, but no more than a sip.”
Alex took the canteen from Thrang, sniffed it, and sipped a little of the liquid. He felt the cool liquid slide down his throat, but didn’t taste anything strange and handed the canteen to Andy. He tried to ask Thrang what was in the canteen, but the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. As soon as he had swallowed, all his pains had disappeared.
“Ancient dwarf remedy,” Thrang laughed, seeing the look on Alex’s face. “Takes the soreness out of muscle and joint. It’ll take a few days for us all to get used to traveling again.”
Alex looked at Andy, who grinned. Stretching carefully, Alex found that Thrang was right—his aches and pains were completely gone.
“Thank you,” said Alex. “That really does the trick.”
Thrang bowed slightly and then laughed. He walked off to the campfire as he sipped from the canteen.
“That’s some remedy,” said Andy, carefully stretching. “I’ll have to get some before my next adventure.”
“Or always travel with a dwarf,” laughed Skeld.
They packed their tents, shaking off the snow, as Thrang prepared breakfast. Thrang made Alex practice starting the fire and putting it out again before he started cooking.
He seemed to be pleased that Alex had picked up the bit of magic so quickly, and Alex couldn’t help feeling a little proud of himself as well.
“The more you practice, the better it’ll work,” said Thrang with a wink.
When they were ready to ride, Thrang had Alex put out the fire once more. The
quench
command worked well in the wet snow and there was little smoke from the fire. Alex felt slightly dizzy again after putting the fire out, but not as much as he had the night before.
With the fire out, they climbed onto their horses and set off along the snow-covered road, riding south as the day grew brighter around them. They continued to travel south for three more days. Each day they stopped at midday to stretch their legs and eat a little, and every time, Alex would practice with the fire before Thrang started cooking the meal. Alex’s control improved rapidly, and after a few days, he was able to put out the fire without any smoke at all. The dizziness had passed completely now that he had used magic several times.
“You’ve picked that up fast,” said Thrang as they ate their midday meal on the fourth day. “Some people practice for weeks and still leave behind a trail of smoke.”
“Do you really think I could become a wizard?” Alex asked, happy with his success.
“If you choose to be,” Thrang answered. “Though not everyone with the gift wants the responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
“Where there is power, there is an accounting for it,” Thrang replied and fell silent.
Alex thought about Thrang’s answer while he ate. Yes, power had to be accounted for, but he wondered who did the accounting.
The road turned easterly that afternoon, and Bregnest took a map from his bag and examined it closely with Arconn as they continued to ride. Bregnest seemed pleased with the progress the company had made in the four days they’d been in Vargland, though Alex had no real idea of how far they’d traveled.
“We’ll camp early tonight,” Bregnest announced when they stopped by a stream later that day. “This water is good, and we should refill our water bags.”
They set up camp between the stream and a grove of trees growing close to the road. The wind had picked up again, but the sky was clear and the late afternoon sun was warm. Thrang asked Alex to start their campfire, but didn’t have him put it out as he normally did.
“You’ve got the hang of it,” said Thrang when Alex questioned him. “Now fetch me a large pot of clean water from the stream.”
Alex took the large iron pot Thrang had pointed to and walked to the stream. The full pot was heavy, and he had to pay attention to where he was walking so he wouldn’t spill the water all over himself.
While Alex and the others were setting up camp and taking care of the horses, Arconn took his bow and disappeared into the woods. As the sun was slipping out of the sky, Arconn returned with two rabbits and three birds that were almost as big as turkeys.
Thrang took the rabbits and birds from Arconn and quickly prepared them for cooking. The rabbits were added to the pot on the fire, while the birds were skewered on long poles and propped over the flames to roast. It wasn’t long before Thrang had a wonderful rabbit stew ready for them to eat. The birds continued to roast, filling the air with a mouthwatering smell.
“You’re a master cook,” said Skeld, bowing to Thrang. “It is a wonder your people let you go on adventures when you cook so well.”
“If you think this is good cooking, you should visit the halls of my people,” Thrang laughed with a pleased look on his face. “I am only a fair cook in my own land.”
“Then perhaps our next adventure should be to your land.” Skeld laughed happily, filling his bowl with more stew.
The company was merry that night, and there was plenty of talk and stories of past adventures. Even Tayo, who normally didn’t say much, told them part of the tale of his first adventure. Both Alex and Andy listened to all the stories, fascinated and entertained. Though Andy had been on one adventure before this one, he said that he had no stories to tell.
“Have you all traveled together before?” Alex asked between stories.
“No, not as a group,” answered Thrang.
“Tayo and I have been on a few adventures together,” said Skeld. “And I think all of us—except for you and Andy, of course—have traveled at least once with Bregnest.”
There was a general agreement with what Skeld said, and then some talk about who had traveled where and with whom in the past. Alex tried to keep track of it all, but there were too many jokes and bits of stories mixed in with the talk. In the end, all he knew for sure was that Thrang and Arconn had traveled together many times, Skeld and Tayo had traveled together, and Bregnest had been on too many adventures to count.
Finally, when the fire was burning low, they went to their tents, tired and happy after their fine meal and long talk. The wind was still blowing, but gently. The full moon rose, covering the ground with a pale light. Alex feel asleep, peaceful and relaxed.
Alex felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. Struggling to open his eyes, Alex was confused to see Tayo in his tent. It was still dark outside and there was a grim look on Tayo’s face. He motioned for Alex to stay silent. Alex nodded and pulled on his boots, following Andy out of the tent. The rest of the company was already gathered around the cold ashes of their fire, speaking softly.
“The horses have broken away,” Tayo said in a whisper. “Something has spooked them into flight.”
“Whatever it is, it hasn’t come close to the camp,” said Thrang. “There are no tracks or any other signs to be seen close in.”
“Should we wait for dawn to seek the horses, or go now?” Arconn questioned, looking at Bregnest.
“They could be far away by dawn,” said Bregnest, looking at the trees where the horses had been tied. “We should look now, but in pairs.”
Alex volunteered to go with Andy to look for the horses, but the others were against the idea.
“You are both young and have little experience,” Skeld commented. “Perhaps you should remain here, in case the horses find their own way back.”
“Good idea,” said Thrang in a heavy whisper. “They are good animals and will try to return if they can. And as nothing has come close to the camp, you should be safe enough.”
“Agreed,” said Bregnest, looking at Alex and Andy. “You two remain here and keep your eyes open. We will look for the horses and return. I don’t think we will need to look far, perhaps a mile at the most. If you need us, call out loudly. Arconn will hear you.”
Alex, unhappy about staying behind, wanted to argue, but the look in Bregnest’s eyes told him it would be pointless. Remaining silent, he and Andy watched the rest of the company walk away toward the trees.
“Should we light a fire?” Alex asked in a lowered voice.
“Best not,” Andy replied. “If something is out there, a fire might draw it to us.”
“What do you think might be out there?”
“Goblins, maybe,” said Andy. “Or maybe a troll.”
“You couldn’t just say robbers, could you?” said Alex, bumping Andy’s shoulder in fun.
“Bandits or robbers would have attacked the camp before taking the horses,” said Andy. “Trolls or goblins are more likely to steal the horses for food and leave us alone.”
“Trolls and goblins eat horses?” Alex asked in a worried tone.
“Goblins do,” said Andy. “I don’t know about trolls, but I’ve heard they’ll eat most anything.”
The two of them stood looking into the darkness without speaking for what seemed like a long time. The light from the full moon gave the nearby trees a strange, shiny look and cast long, dark shadows across the ground. Alex’s ears started to ring as he strained to listen for any sound at all, but all he heard were the branches moving in the soft breeze, the trees creaking gently, and the water running in the stream beside them.
“How long do you think they’ll be?” Alex whispered.
“Depends on what they find,” Andy answered quietly. “Though I don’t think it will be long. We should have set a watch, but I’m sure Bregnest didn’t think we’d run into trouble so soon.”
They fell silent again, listening and swaying slightly from side to side. Time seemed to be moving slowly. Alex didn’t like waiting at camp, though he knew it was probably for the best. He rolled his head around on his neck to fight off sleep, and halfway through the roll, he heard a sound. Freezing, he strained to listen. He heard the sound again: the frightened whinny of a horse.
“Did you hear that?” Alex asked.
“Yes.”
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know,” said Andy nervously. “It sounds troubled.”
The frightened whinny came a third time as Andy finished speaking. It was a scared and lonely sound. It sounded to Alex like a desperate call for help.
“Stay here,” said Alex, turning to follow the sound.