Haven Keep (Book 1) (23 page)

“Yes, I’ve heard of that,” Kaiden said.  “Clerics often foretell the weather.”

“These are no ordinary storms.  The storms I see are searching for something.  A weapon I think.  My father has the same dreams, but he won’t speak to me of them.  He will not be happy if he hears I have spoken to you.”

“Why do you trust me?”

“I have dreamed of you Kaiden, son of Baiden. I know I can trust you.”

Kaiden choked on his mulled mead. He managed to cough out a couple words. “Of me?”

“Yes of you, and others in the north.”

“Why would you dream of me?” 
Who else did he dream of?  Could Tostig be believed?  Could he be trusted?

“I’m not sure.  I only know you are key.  We must unite the forces of the north and what is left of those in the south and on the high desert.  None of us can stand alone in this conflict.  You must help us do that.”

Kaiden shook his head slowly.  “I’m not key to anything.  I can’t even lead a successful hunting expedition.” It was true.  He failed his friends.  Led them to their deaths.   Soren might still be alive, but not likely.  “I am sorry, Tostig, you have the wrong man.”

Tostig’s shook his head.  “No, Kaiden, we need you.  You are key.”

Tostig was interrupted by the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow.  Oded, approached their small fire.

“We must rest in shifts tonight,” he said. “No one is to sleep without someone watching them.”   He stood over them like a father suspecting his sons were up to something.  Tostig and Oded passed knowing looks at eachother and Kaiden swore Oded knew everything they had spoken about.  He did not looked pleased.
             

It was apparent to Kaiden that Tostig was used to this.

“I have paired the two of you together,” Oded continued.  “It seems there isn’t anyone else that trusts you much.”  His level gaze met Kaiden’s.

“I trust you,” Oded said, “and Tostig trusts you.”

Kaiden knew Oded was trying to reassure him and was surprised he actually felt that way.

“One of you will sleep while the other watches,” Oded continued.  “This rope is to tie you
together.”  He held out a length of rope.

“Why do we need to tie ourselves?” Kaiden asked. “I thought you said you trusted me?”

“We do,” Oded explained.  “It is for safety.”

“Safety?”

“So no one is taken in their sleep,” Tostig said.

The beast.  They were afraid of the beast.  Kaiden wanted to laugh at them.  He also wanted to pretend he wasn’t afraid himself.  He knew he was, and now knew they were too.

Oded turned to go.  “Sleep well,” he said.  “Tomorrow we hunt.”  He sounded grim.  “Maybe even tonight.”

He walked off to speak to a group of men at a nearby fire.  Their voices were low and Kaiden could not make out what they were saying.  They looked serious.  It was obvious these men had taken orders from Oded for a long time and Oded was used to being obeyed.

Tostig pulled Kaiden’s attention away from the other fire.  “There is a young man in Azmark.”  There was great interest in Tostig’s voice, a sound of concern.  Tostig tried to hide it as he continued. “A blacksmith’s servant maybe.  He is originally from the south.”

“Tostig,” Oded’s voice boomed.  “I will speak to you.”  He sounded less pleased than before.

Tostig rose quickly.

“Excuse me,” he said, leaving in a hurry.

When Tostig reached Oded an argument ensued.  Tostig pled his case, but Oded was having none of it.    In the end Tostig was sent off on some errand or task and Kaiden was left alone by the fire. 

Tostig was referring to Von.   There was no way it was a coincidence.  Von was the only one from the south Kaiden knew. 
Did Tostig dream of Von?  What was his interest in him?
  Kaiden wanted to trust these men, and felt he should, but he didn’t know for sure. 
Were these men even who they claimed to be?
  They could be an advanced guard or scouting party for the Horde.  Tostig claimed the Horde possessed an unmatched calvary.  Kaiden had never seen anyone handle horses the way these men did.  They seemed to live on horseback.  They were a dangerous fighting force right in the heart of the north.  They could be a great asset or something much worse.

Tostig’s interest in Von made Kaiden uneasy. 
How did Tostig know of Von?
  These were questions that needed answering soon.  Kaiden could not bring these men back home without knowing for sure.  They may not even let him leave.  So far they hadn’t been hostile towards him, but he’d not tried to go his separate way or challenge their authority.  Kaiden was sure they didn’t want their presence known.  There was no telling what Oded would do to ensure that secret was kept.

Well, maybe I can get some sleep without having to be tied up,
Kaiden thought.  He wrapped up in his woolen cloak and made himself comfortable next to the fire.  He used his saddle bags as a pillow.  He couldn’t wait to get back home and sleep in a real bed again.  If he ever got back home.  A few years ago he couldn’t think of anything more exciting than sleeping out under the stars or going hunting with his father and friends.  Those were happier days.  Kaiden tried to let his mind rest and closed his eyes.   He needed all the rest he could get.

A voice brought Kaiden back to consciousness.

“Kaiden, I am Erc.”

Kaiden looked up and saw a man standing over him.  His hair was light brown, his eyes a dull bluish grey.  The man was unshaven, but not unkept.  Erc took a seat on the rock  Kaiden was sitting on earlier.  He looked comfortable and relaxed, butt there was a dangerous air about him.  He was ready for action at any moment.  All these men were.  It was bred into them.

“Tostig has other things to do this night.  I will watch over you as you sleep.”

They didn’t trust him Kaiden thought.  “Do we need to be tied together?” asked Kaiden.

“It is for the best,” Erc answered.

Best for whom?
wondered Kaiden.

There was a length of rope tied to Erc’s wrist with an intricate knot.  He motioned for Kaiden to put out his hand.  Erc was not as talkative as Tostig.  Kaiden found there was nothing he could do, but put out his hand.  Erc began tying the rope around Kaiden’s wrist with the same intricate knot.

“I guess this means we are married or something,” Kaiden said, trying to get a laugh out of Erc.

Erc looked at him flatly.

Wow this guy has no sense of humor either.  Flenn would have laughed. 

“Tostig was interested in a southern man living up here in the north,” Kaiden said.  “I’m not sure who he might have been referring to.”  Kaiden tried to be careful not to give out too much information about Von.  If indeed that was who Tostig was referring to.  “Would you have any idea who he may have been talking about.?”

Erc stared blankly at the dying fire.  “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” he finally said.

Kaiden didn’t believe him.  Erc knew more than he was letting on to.  These men lived together, fought together, and who knows what else for who knows how long.  They would have a hard time keeping secrets from one another.  Unless it was a dream of Tostig’s.  Kaiden somehow doubted that.  If he wasn’t sure Oded was too far away to hear their conversation Kaiden would have thought Tostig had been pulled away before he could say anything else.  What if somehow Oded did hear?  No, that was crazy.

“Are you sure?” Kaiden asked. “Tostig sounded like it might be important.”

Erc looked around nervously then shook his head.  “I really couldn’t tell you.  I don’t pretend to know what the clerics know.”  He shrugged his shoulders.  “If it is important we will all know soon enough.”

Erc’s nervous reaction gave him away.  These men may have experience fighting, however they had no experience dealing with outsiders.  Kaiden could read the lie on Erc’s face.  It was something to think about.   They did not trust him, they tied him while he slept, they were not completely open with him and Kaiden needed to find out why.  It could be they were just cautious, since they knew little or nothing of Kaiden.  Maybe they were feeling him out.  Kaiden hoped that was the case.  If Oded hid more sinister plans Kaiden needed to find out.  For now Kaiden remained their prisoner in all but name. 

“You should get some rest,” Erc said.  “I will wake you when it is your turn to keep watch.”

Kaiden was puzzled. 
This man would sleep while Kaiden watched?  Was it some strange custom of their’s?
  Maybe they trusted him more than he thought. Kaiden rolled over and tried to get comfortable.   As tired as he was, Kaiden did not find sleep right away.   He laid there with his thoughts.   It was weird knowing Erc was watching him.   Kaiden wondered if Soren was alright.  He hoped so, but didn’t want to hope too much.  He laid there for a while, thinking.  He finally resigned himself to just go to sleep.

Without warning a windstorm came upon the camp, with nearly the strength of a micro burst.  An unnatural wind howling through the trees.  It gave Kaiden uneasy thoughts which he tried to quell.  He needed his rest and he tried to ignore it.  After a while his mind began to drift into quiet subconsciousness. 

Erc yanked on the rope. “Kaiden!  Get up!” 

Kaiden was teetering on the brink of dreams when he was awakened.  He could not have been asleep for very long. 
Was it Erc’s turn to sleep already?

Kaiden’s answer came in the form of Erc dragging him across the snow.

“Wake up!  Get up!”

Kaiden decided he’d been awakened for some other reason. 

Kaiden sprang to his feet.  Erc wasn’t the only one who could be ready at a moments notice.  “What is it?”

“The beast.  It is here.”

Kaiden could hear screaming in the middle of the camp, the sounds of a struggle.  Someone was shouting.  “Hold him down!”  The voice was nearly drowned in the wind.

“The beast? What do you mean?” Kaiden demanded.

“The beast has attacked,” Erc answered.  He was almost in a sprint now.  Kaiden, not entirely awake yet, struggled to keep up.  Either that or be dragged.

Erc came to a stop at the other end of the camp.   Oded was standing over a pile of men.  It was hard to tell how many men were in the heap.  More piled on.  For every two that leaped into the fray one was thrown off.  They were all trying to subdue the man at the bottom.  After a few moments they managed to pin him securely down.  Two additional men hog tied him.  The man moaned, made grunting noises, but never spoke.  Even after being bound he continued to struggle.

The man’s wrist was tied to the wrist of a man Kaiden recognized as Arn.  Kaiden met him briefly, earlier that day.  Arn’s face and beard were a bloody mess.  He looked like he’d been hit pretty hard between the eyes.  More than once.

“What happened?”  Kaiden asked.

“The beast has taken over Hin’s mind,” answered Erc. “It calls to him.”

The man, Hin, Kaiden supposed he was, was writhing on the ground.  Still moaning, fighting against the bindings.

“Can we help him?”

“There is not much we can do,” Oded said with a sigh.  “He may regain his mind, he may not.  Some have had their minds wiped clean, leaving their bodies an empty shell.  They do not live long after that.”

Kaiden was startled.  He recalled how Oded wanted to leave the mountain the day before, yet he’d come back searching for the beast.  The same beast that somehow was in control of Hin’s mind.  “So you leave him tied up?”

“Yes.  Until he recovers or dies.”  Oded sounded concerned.  “If we let him loose he will seek out the beast and become its prey.  The beast is still calling to him.”

Kaiden finally realized what the rope at his wrist was for.  It was to keep him from running off and getting killed by the vyr.  That’s what it was.  Kaiden was convinced of that now.  Not a scourge.  The stories never mentioned a scourge stealing your mind, but the vyr were said to do just that, and Soren hinted the thing might be a vyr.  He said Macman was convinced it was.

“Soren called it a vyr,”  Kaiden announced.  “He said he encountered one when he was a boy.  I did not fully believe him.  I do now.”  At least it wasn’t a scourge Kaiden thought.

“Yes, I have heard of this vyr,” Oded said.  “A dangerous creature.  An ancient creature.”

Kaiden nodded.  “They are supposed to be extinct.  Maybe there are still some living here in these mountains.  Or in the Rift.  No one ever goes there.  Not even the men who escape from the mines.”
             

Tostig joined his father.  Kaiden realized that the whole camp was standing around Hin.  At least it appeared like the whole camp.  Kaiden estimated there were about fifty men there.  Fifty!  How could that many men move so fast and leave so few signs.  Kaiden tried to get an accurate count.  He didn’t want to be obvious so he tried to do it quickly.  There were men missing, he was sure of that, men he had seen more than once, but were not there now.  He looked at the crowd again and saw new faces.  Fifty was not an accurate count.  There could be a couple hundred for all he knew.

“The Rift?  What do you mean by the Rift?”asked Tostig.

Oded answered before Kaiden could.  “I thought I’d educated you better than that.  I wish we had some proper maps so you would have learned your geography better.  The Rift is at the eastern end of the Emerald Sea.”

“Is that the same as the Emerald Fjord?”asked Tostig.

“No,” Kaiden said.  “The Emerald Fjord is the inlet of the sea between the north and middle talons.  The city of Azmark is on its banks or at least near its banks.  The Emerald Sea is
to the north and divides the island almost through the center.”

Oded was nodding as Kaiden spoke.

“Im sorry,” Kaiden said.  “I did not mean to interrupt.”

“No, no,” Oded replied.  “I can’t pretend to know as much about your geography as you do.  You go ahead.  I may just learn something myself.”