The Greater Challenge Beyond (The Southern Continent Series Book 3) (42 page)

“We’re being watched,” Skore told Grange in the mid-afternoon, following their brief stop to distribute food for lunch.  “I’ve seen branches moving from followers keeping an eye on us.”

Grange nodded in agreement; though he hadn’t seen the patrols, he didn’t doubt that the group was being watched.  The advance notice the messengers had surely delivered would have guaranteed that patrols would be sent out after them, even if they hadn’t run into any usual patrols in the area.

“You’ve got company keeping an eye on you,” Logan came and advised him just five minutes later.

“So I’ve heard,” Grange answered.  “Will they do anything to us?”

“I don’t think so.  These are patrols sent out from the settlement, not the usual patrols.   They know you’re coming, since you sent messengers to tell them.  They seem to just be keeping an eye on us so far,” Logan said.  “But we’re only a few miles away from the settlement now, so that could change.”

“Is there any place ahead that would be dangerous for us to pass through?  Any place we could be ambushed?” Grange asked.

Logan was silent for a moment.

“Would you prefer to not answer?” Grange asked.

Logan remained silent.

“Everyone stop!” Grange shouted.  He needed to think about what to do.  “Jenniline, come here,” he called.

He looked at Logan, then stepped away, keeping an eye on the man.  “Jenniline,” he said in a low voice when she arrived.  “Logan won’t tell me if there’s an ambush up ahead.  I think there probably is one.  What ideas do you have about what to do?” he asked.

“He said his troop wouldn’t attack us; do you still believe him?” she asked.

“I believe he won’t attack us,” Grange said.  “But he may not stop others from attacking us.”

“What can you do?  Do you want to burn all the brush away, or make us fly over them, or something else?” she asked.  “It seems like there are lots of things you could do.”

The two of them talked and developed a plan.

“Logan,” Grange called, “let all of your people go first, and go in front of us.  If there’s an attack, you’ll be able to pass safely through.”

“But what about your people?” Logan asked in astonishment.

“You know that I can take care of my people,” Grange answered.  “You’ve seen me do it once already.  I’ll try again to not hurt any of the attackers.”

“What if my patrol goes first, and tells them not to attack?” Logan asked, as he considered what might happen in an ambush gone astray.

“You can do that, if you think it will work,” Grange replied.  “But I want to get going, so move your men up front, and we’ll be on our way.”  He walked quickly up into the front and used his wand to open up a passageway through the scrubby brush that covered the landscape, a path that was twice as wide as before, and that appeared to extend for as far as he could see in that straight direction.

“Take your men forward Logan, and I hope you all stay safe.  I’d like a chance to talk with you again when we reach the Bloomingian settlement,” Grange said, as the re-assigned patrol moved to their new location in the front of the travelers.  Grange shook each of their hands as they passed him, then he told his own group to close up ranks and begin moving forward once more.

As they walked, Grange moved back through the ranks, telling each of them what he thought might happen, and he promised to protect them if they all stayed close together.  They obediently did so, and walked onward, wide-eyed, surveying the rainy wilderness around them for any sign of the ambush that Grange had warned them of.
              Ten minutes later the group came to a small cluster of hills, and the path Grange had burnt dove straight among them, until it came to a stop in a black hole that burned into the side of a hill that was inconveniently in the way.

They continued on until they reached the end of the road, and they were about to become boxed in together, Bloomingians standing still waiting, as the travelers from Southgar came upon them.

“Which way do we go from here to get around the hill?” Grange asked Logan.

“Go right, and hug the side of the hill as you go,” he answered.

“And when you get to the other side, you’ll probably be attacked,” he warned.

“You think that’s where it is?” Grange asked keenly.

“It’s where I’d do it; the hills are steeper and the passage between is narrower,” Logan judged.

Grange aimed his wand and burnt a path to the right; it started out along the side of the hill, then stayed straight as the hill curved away.  He waved his wand from side to side, and a glowing canopy appeared over the top and along the sides of the open space. 

“We’ll go that far, then turn again,” Grange said.  “Would you lead the way?”

Logan stared at him, then passed along the path to its end in the brush, and waited as Grange and the others caught up.

Grange stopped at the end of the path and looked.  There was a valley running with steep hillsides squeezing it into narrow confines; Logan was right – it was the obvious place for an ambush.  He pointed his wand and released more of the energy, causing a beam to slice directly down the center of the opening, releasing smoke and steam as it passed through and evaporated the material in its way.

“Everyone, keep your eyes lowered,” he turned and instructed all of those with him.  “Only look at the ground in front of you and keep walking forward.”

“Why, Grange?” Hope asked.

“I’m going to create a bright light above our shield, so that the men above us will be blinded while they try to watch us.  We should be able to walk through without a problem,” he explained.

He waved the wand again, and a bright blanket of glowing light covered the valley floor, hanging just a few feet above the heads of the travelers.  Grange followed with the creation of an extension of his protective shield, and the group began to walk forward, mingling together unintentionally as the Bloomingians stayed with the Southgar travelers.

There were shouts rising from the hillsides overhead, as the men who were waiting to fire upon them lost sight of their quarry.  They began to order men to fire, and arrows began to fall randomly all around the crew that walked along the valley floor; the arrows rustled as they fell into the surrounding foliage, or they struck the shield Grange had erected, giving off musical tones as they bounced away from the energy form.

“Keep walking,” Grange said calmly. They were well into the valley and progressing steadily.   No members of the Bloomingian ambush were coming down, both because they were too blinded by Grange’s glaring sheet of light, and because they were too frightened by the phenomena.  The group continued to walk on through the opening Grange had created.

When they reached the end, Grange motioned for Logan to join him.

“How far are we from the settlement now, and which direction is it?” Grange asked.

“I can’t believe you got us through that ambush,” Logan told him.

“We’re only two miles away from the city,” he said.  “It’s in that direction,” he pointed due south.

Grange released another burst of energy from his wand, and scoured another leg of the journey free of obstacles.  The wand was such a marvelous tool, he thought to himself.  He’d more than halfway emptied it, but he accomplished a great deal in doing so, and he hadn’t strained his own abilities at all.

“Let’s try to move fast, and stay ahead of the forces behind us,” Grange shouted to everyone.  “Start going,” he waved his hand and motioned them forward, then pointed his wand and waved it slowly from left to right, as he created a new wall of energy, a barrier that would temporarily hold back the men who had intended to spring their ambush, but now were caught behind Grange’s force.  He only put a limited amount of energy into the barrier, enough for it to last a few minutes, while he and the others would be given time to cover most of the distance to the settlement of the outcasts.

And then the next phase, the effort to plead his case and persuade the Bloomingians, would begin.

Chapter 31

Grange extinguished the glowing light in the valley behind him as he followed his friends on the path towards the Bloomingian settlement.  He looked back in the late afternoon sunlight, and saw the scores of men who had waited to fire at his party, but been stymied by his use of his wizard powers.  Now they were left behind, unable to attack, and unable to catch up.

He quickened his pace, seeking to catch up with the front of the group.  He passed the mules, who were grudgingly pacing at a quicker pace than their usual plodding meander.

“Thank you Grange,” Brigin’s high pitched voice cheerfully piped up from the far side of one of the animals.

“What are you thanking me for, your highness?” Grange managed to smile as he looked over the top of the mule at the trotting girl.

“For saving our lives back there.  I was worried that I might have brought you bad luck, but now I know I didn’t,” she said smugly.

“What bad luck could you possibly bring?” Grange asked.

“By being the unlucky number, the fourteenth companion in your group,” she explained.  “I didn’t really have a dream about coming with you.  I just heard everyone else describe their dreams, and I didn’t want to be left out, so I said I had a dream too,” her voice had fallen into a confidential tone.

“But you make everything work, so I’m not causing any trouble,” she added confidently.

“No, you’re not causing any trouble at all,” Grange agreed, amused by the girl’s subterfuge.  He hardly knew her at all, but her quick admission told him that there was something to the girl – something that he’d have to watch out for in future dealings.

He resumed his hurried pace and reached the front of the line.  “Are we close?” he asked Logan. 

“Still a mile away,” the man answered, breathing easily.  “Are they catching up with us?”

“No, not yet, but they’re going to; I slowed them down for a while,” Grange laughed, feeling an adrenaline rush of high spirits.  “Everyone can slow down to a walk,” he shouted backwards, as he slowed down himself.  He didn’t want to be huffing and puffing when he arrived at the city of outcasts, where he was sure he was going to have to speak and use his powers to great effect.

“I remember there is Count Victor,” Grange said to Logan.  “Who are the leaders I need to speak to?”

“Victor will just be a formality after the fact.  You’ll have to negotiate with the Triumvirate,” Logan told him.  “There are three men – Histra, Hafir, and Elouis; they make the decisions.”

“I met them,” he recollected his brief captivity.  “They did make the decisions,” he thought about his being sent on a messenger’s quest, and how he had subsequently failed to follow those orders.

“They’ve been in charge of things for a long time.  They won’t like the idea of you trying to upset their way of doing things,” Logan warned.

There was a faint smell of wood smoke in the air, a sign that they were approaching the settlement.

“Logan, if it’s safe for you, you can take your men and go ahead of us, let the people know we’re coming,” Grange suggested.

“Bloomingians to me!” Logan called out, and his troop gathered together.

“You’ve been good to us and honorable; I’ll let people know,” Logan promised.  He held his hand out and shook Grange’s, then started trotting forward at a rapid pace, pulling away from the visiting group.

“Slow down and give them time to arrive,” Grange told his followers.  He felt a slight twitch in his hand, and realized that the barrier behind him had given way, causing his wand to reflect the release of the power that had held the wall in place.  The lead Grange had was substantial though, and he had no worries about the men behind him.

“When we enter their settlement, it will be a place made mostly of tents and similar structures,” Grange told everyone, his eyes lingering on Hope, who had been a captive in one of those tents.

“We will all be protected by my power, while I begin to explain our mission to them,” Grange told his followers.   “And we will show them respect, so that they feel they are equal to us.”

“Aren’t you one of them?” Inge asked.  “Since you’re a Bloomingian, do you mean that you will respect us while we respect them, or will they respect you while you respect us?”

Grange looked at the prince, trying to unravel the confusing syntax, until Inge laughed good-naturedly.

“Don’t worry about him, Grange,” Jenniline said.  “I’ll sober him up,” she said as she stepped in close to her half-brother and took a tight grip on his shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Grange ordered, and the contingent set in motion.  Grange raised his wand and set in place a thin protective shield, one that would slow down an arrow but not stop it completely, but a shield that also happened to be nearly invisible.

There was brightness at the end of the path they followed, and Grange saw that it was the opening of the settlement, where nearly all the brush had been removed from between and among the tents and structures.  It was only steps away, and he felt his heart begin to beat faster in anticipation of the confrontation he was about to unleash.  It was one of the great steps specifically assigned to him by Acton, and in carrying it out he was affirming his role as the Champion of the gods.

As soon as he reached the beginning of the settlement clearing, a dozen arrows flew at him from all sides.  He flicked his wand as soon as he heard the sound of the bow strings, and his shield noticeably brightened as a surge of power strengthened it in time to block the entry of any of the arrows.

“We come here on a peaceful mission,” Grange touched his wand to his throat as he spoke, projecting his voice clearly across the settlement.

“We have come to bring a message of peace.  We come to invite you to join with us and return to Southgar, so that our nation may heal and be united,” Grange said.

“There are new times coming, and there are dangers in the future too,” he spoke.  His eyes were looking around as he slowly stepped forward, while his companions emerged into the open settlement behind him.