The Pool And The Pedestal (Book 2) (25 page)

The boy climbed from the cool water and stood next to the tree gauging his climb.

”Eidyn.” called Kael over his shoulder. “Watch this.”

The Elf prince made no response. Kael turned and looked down into the pool. Eidyn treaded water, staring past Kael to the edge of the glade. Granu and Cefiz retreated to the far side of the pool and stayed low in the water. Kael furrowed his brow and turned to follow the Elf’s gaze. On the far side of the glade, Teeg and Ader stood with their backs to the pool. Facing them stood the delicate figure of Lilywynn. The young woman dutifully reported on her patrol of the surrounding area. A hint of a smile crept across the girl’s face as she continued to converse with Ader and her eyes drifted past him to the pool. Kael’s eyes went wide. He froze and his face ran a deep red. Lilywynn calmly finished her report and bowed lightly toward the two men. A shiver ran up Kael’s spine.

“Kael Brelgson! Either return to your swim or put some clothing on!” called Lilywynn. “I’m tired of looking at your backside and you’ll catch your death in this northerly breeze!”

Kael blinked hard then jumped into the pool to the loud laughter of his companions. Ader began giving Lilywynn instructions as Teeg  turned and approached the pool.

“Lilywynn informs us that a troop of Guardsmen marches from the North.” said Teeg. “They are three leagues away.”

Cefiz looked to the sky.

“The light is fading fast. They’re making their way to the pool.”

“Perhaps they are on a hard march to the South.” said Granu. “And will bypass the pool.”

Cefiz shook his head.

“Probably a retreat unit. Sent to prepare a campsite for a larger group that will arrive in a day or two.” stated the lieutenant. “What does Lord Ader suggest?”

Cefiz stepped from the pool and dressed. The others looked nervously at Lilywynn. Even Granu fidgeted in the water. Lilywynn absently stared at the pool intently listening to Ader’s instructions. Teeg continued.

“Sprig is finishing a sweep of the butte and the area East of our position. Once that is completed, Lord Ader plans to send the Sprites farther afield to search for the main body of the Guard. He feels it would be detrimental if our group were discovered by this Guard unit. Our .... make-up might spook a battle weary force into an encounter.” stated Teeg glancing at Granu. “We might be better off by avoiding this group, or at least by making our encounter less.... stressful.”

“Agreed.” responded Cefiz. “But we cannot change campsites now. There are no suitable destinations nearby and our light fades  fast.”

“Milady!” rumbled Granu across the camp. “Do you mind? I must alight from this pool and dress before the Guard is upon us.”

Lilywynn’s smile broadened.

“I don’t mind at all, Prince Granu.” chortled the girl. “By all means dress. I’ll finish my conversation with Lord Ader and be on my way.”

The girl turned back to Ader and resumed her conversation, the entire time fixing her eyes on the pool’s edge.

“My Lady, please?” coughed an exasperated Granu.

“Prince Granu!” snapped Lilywynn. “I have four brother’s not including Chimbre. Although you’re most certainly double their height, you’ll be displaying nothing I haven’t seen before!”

Lilywynn turned back toward Ader, this time slightly averting her eyes from the pool. Granu grumbled and quickly lifted himself from the water. The big man snatched his clothes from a willow’s branches and tried to rapidly force his large frame into them. In his haste the giant lost his balance and tumbled onto the soft grass of the glade’s floor. The group burst into laughter at the giant’s misfortune as Granu wriggled on the ground attempting to get a tree trunk between himself and Lilywynn. The young woman’s laughter fell like light rain on the group and for a moment their cares washed away.

“I can see that you will not be comfortable until I’m out of sight.” smiled Lilywynn. “Even though that doesn’t mean
you
are out of
my
sight.”

The young woman turned to the butte and cupped a hand to her mouth. She took a deep breath and issued a high pitched cry. A  moment later, Kael heard an answering cry from the heights. The girl saluted the group at the pool and sprinted from the glade.

Vieri sat in the dark shadows of the rocky outcrop staring at the pool below. The assassin guessed correctly. The group’s direction and speed convinced Vieri this location would be their next stop. The Windrider knew any sane traveler would find this spot ideal, and evidence of the glade’s previous use assured her the Guardsman in the group would suggest it. They came as the assassin predicted. So safe and secure in their choice that they hardly scouted the position. They simply dismounted, trekked through the brush and set up a haphazard camp. The skill the older gray haired Guardsman displayed in their training fortress impressed Vieri, but now he acted foolishly and once again the Windrider felt these Northerners to be unwise and sloppy.

They swam and frolicked in the pool as if they possessed no cares or worries. This undisciplined attitude toward danger would be the undoing of the boy. It required no great feat to determine where they would camp, and it would take minimal effort to enter the camp this evening and slit the boy’s throat.

Vieri had scaled the butte around midday. Its heights were a barren, wind scraped slab of granite. There was no cover for the assassin there. Vieri looked down upon the pool from the heights and scouted the butte’s wall. There Vieri discovered the perfect spot to wait for the target. The assassin spied a ledge some ten yards below the butte’s flat top.  Vieri dropped to the ledge from an overhang.  This was suicide for most. There existed no way to climb the overhang back to the butte’s summit and a one hundred yard plunge to the rocky pool below. However, this was no issue for a Borz Windrider. The assassin slid in under the confining ledge next to the bones of wild hares and mourning doves and waited.

The sun dipped toward the horizon when Vieri noticed movement in the camp. The old man and the senior Elf stood as a tiny figure stepped from the thickets. Vieri’s interest was piqued. The Windrider hadn’t noticed this girl with the group before. The girl appeared to give a report to the pair as the men in the pool moved toward shore.         

Vieri noticed a small dust cloud floating North,  beyond the great hill that straddled the road. Guardsmen were on the move. A small party, but definitely a retreat from the Northern marches. This Elf girl must have entered the camp to report on the soldier’s movements. Interesting. The girl acted as a scout for the group. All of those days shadowing this troop and Vieri hadn’t noticed the girl. A mistake. Vieri felt shame. The assassin ridiculed the group as they bathed, overconfident and blind to the world around them. It was Vieri who was blind. For days the assassin missed a key part of the puzzle. Vieri vowed greater vigilance. This type of mistake wouldn’t happen again.

The girl below turned from the old man and let out a cry. A vaguely familiar sound which Vieri fought to recall. As the assassin pondered the cry, Vieri heard light movement on the cliff above.  The Windrider froze as a tiny figure stepped to the edge of the butte. It had the look of a boy, but its demeanor and confidence betrayed its age. The young man cupped a hand to his mouth and returned the call.

The cry of the marshwight. Vieri recognized it now. When the Shan Borz returned to the Toxkri Swamp every year to gather rimshar, Rada had taught Vieri the cry of the marshwight and shown the young Windrider the bird and its beautiful plumage. This boy and his female counterpart knew the bird and its call. Once again Vieri’s interest was piqued. Perhaps a greater investigation of the swamp was warranted. Vieri would council with Rada upon returning to the tribe. For now, the assassin remained covered in black, hidden in the dark shadows of the cliffside. This boy would need to stare directly at Vieri for several moments to even see the assassin. Besides, no Northerner would think to look at such an inaccessible spot for an enemy.

The boy took one last look over the edge of the butte then turned and dashed from sight. The girl must have called him to return from scouting the huge, granite pedestal. Vieri escaped discovery, but the assassin was furious. Far too many mistakes. This target proved to be a difficult task. Rada’s worries were justified. Many forces worked to protect such a nondescript boy. Tonight the job would be finished.

CHAPTER 15: DRAVGO OF AQUABA

Cefiz stood in the middle of the road at the base of the great hill holding the reins of his stallion. Ader stood to his left and Teeg to his right. They weren’t required to wait long before the first of the Guardsmen crested the large hill and looked down upon them in the half-light of dusk.

Immediately, a cry went up and the troop broke formation. Riders fanned across the hilltop and drew their weapons. Several men near the center of the line took stock of the situation and held a brief conference. Finally, a rider slowly descended the hill.

“I see no flag of truce flapping in the North breeze.” called the rider. “So my inclination is to consider all those I encounter in a battle zone the enemy!”

“I wear the crest and colors of my regiment proudly.” returned Cefiz. “And therefore I need no flag of truce!”

The rider continued his approach, eyeing the trio suspiciously.

“In the fading light your colors and crest won’t save you from a crossbow bolt!” snapped the rider. “My men are battle weary and on edge. As you lie on your back in the middle of this dusty road bleeding to death they will happily give their apologies for shooting first and asking your regiment second.”

Cefiz frowned.

“My apologies.” said the cook. “I’ve always believed a flag of truce arouses suspicion. I let my colors and crest speak for me.  I have nothing to hide. I’m Lieutenant Cefiz of the Seventy Fifth Lancers, on a mission escorting emissaries of the Royal House of Luxlor to the battlefront.”

“To me, a flag of truce arouses no suspicion. Any man who has struggled in battle knows caution must be taken at all times. “ said the rider. “However, evoking the colors and crest of a unit long dead and gone does raise a brow. The gold that Izgra pays his spies will be difficult to spend beneath the dirt, my friend.”

“My unit may be gone, but we’re not dead.” grinned Cefiz. “Well, not all of us. And I carry no flag of truce because I carry the blessing of the General Staff.”

Cefiz drew a parchment from beneath his uniform and extended it toward the rider. The rider heeled his mount forward and drew up along side the lieutenant. Cefiz was shocked. He expected a man almost twice the boy’s age.

The rider grasped the parchment and wheeled his horse back to the great hill.

“I’ll show this to my commander. “ called the young man over his shoulder. “Don’t move!”

The rider chucked the flanks of his mount and the horse charged up the hill. A moment later he passed the parchment to his superior and they held an animated conversation. After a few moments, a trio of riders returned down the hill. They halted a yard from Cefiz and inspected the lieutenant.

The middle rider commanded the respect of the other two. He was old. Maybe as old as Brelg. He had the hardened look of a man who’d seen many battles. Scars crisscrossed a face wrinkled by too many years sitting in a saddle under the harsh sun. His comrades glanced between the old soldier and Cefiz, waiting for the man to speak.

“Lieutenant Cefiz of the Orphans.” smiled the old man. “I never thought I would hear that name again.”

“I don’t use it much.” stated Cefiz dryly. “To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

“I’m Sergeant Dravgo Shandley of the Fifty First Cavalry.” smiled the old man bowing his head. “At your service.”

Cefiz chuckled and shook his head.

“Your second in command accused me of being a spy.” laughed Cefiz nodding to the young rider on Shandley’s right. “He couldn’t believe I was from a unit thought to be disbanded long ago. Yet here you are evoking the name of a unit equally as dead, and a man long since ...retired.”

“I’m a soldier, Cefiz.” growled the old man. “I don’t like to dance around the truth. The word is ‘removed’. I was removed from the Guard.”

“Your unit was badly outnumbered at Aquaba Valley.” stated Cefiz.

The old man’s head dipped and his eyes drifted.

“All but three of us were killed.” said Dravgo solemnly.

“A terrible loss of men.” replied Cefiz.

Dravgo’s head shot up.

“Boys!” shouted the old man. “Hardly in their teens. Untrained and ill-equipped for battle. I told the Staff I needed time to rotate my unit home and have it bolstered with properly trained soldiers. They wouldn’t allow it. Instead, we were ordered to support the retreat of the Twenty Third Lancers from the foothills above Aquaba. The Twenty Third never showed.”

“But a Frenzy of Ulrog fell upon you.” added Cefiz.

“Yes. Led by a Malveel.” continued Dravgo shaking his head. “They swept down from the foothills and overran my troop. We hadn’t received fresh mounts in months and my foot soldiers marched for two days straight in order to arrive in time to support the Twenty Third. It was a massacre. We rode as hard as we could, but one by one we were overcome and dragged to valley floor by the claws of Hackles. I managed to defend myself against the pair that ripped my mount out from beneath me, but most of my men were not so lucky. I retrieved a fallen comrade’s horse and escaped before the other Ulrog noticed their fallen brethren.“

“So the General Staff removed you from command.” stated Cefiz.

“Men didn’t want to follow the infamous Colonel Shandley, the man whose entire unit was destroyed at the Massacre of Aquaba.” scoffed Dravgo. “I was removed from command and sent to my families properties in the South.”

“Yet here we sit.” stated Cefiz.

“A sign of the times, my friend.” chuckled Dravgo. “Things must surely be grave if the General Staff needed to retrieve me from exile. Of course, I’m supposed to be in a position where I can do the least damage. And they’d hoped the memories of Aquaba had long since faded.”