The Silver Arrow (20 page)

“Here!” Tremay said to Mosley,
handing him two small tonic-size containers. Mosley recognized them
immediately; the tonic would knock both Agoras out in a matter of
minutes once it touched their tongues.

“I’m not sure how well this
will work on them,” Tremay said, “since they aren’t human, but
we’ll find out soon enough.”

Minutes later, Mosley
returned.

“It is done,” he said. Tremay
raised his right arm over his head, twirling his forefinger in the
air, and the Ackalans all mounted their horses.

Mosley called out, whistling,
and soon his horse appeared out of the woods, trotting toward him.
As his horse was approaching, Mosley took several quick steps and
leaped into the air to settle on his horse’s saddle.

The captured Agoras that were
now unconscious were tossed at the front of the Ackalans’ horses,
their bodies covered so as not to be seen.

Tremay and the Ackalans trotted
into the woods under the quiet sound of their horses’ hooves, which
was muffled by wet leaves.

They soon discovered the track
of the three Golans and a fourth one that could only be Samuel’s.
While Mosley’s demeanor, like every true Ackalan, was unreadable,
he hoped Samuel’s luck was still holding.

They had to be quick and
vigilant at the same time, knowing that Golans were extraordinarily
great marksmen, even as they followed Samuel’s tracks. They saw no
indication from the tracks that they had caught up to him, but that
didn’t mean much, since they didn’t necessarily have to catch up to
him. The Golans’ intent wasn’t to capture but to end the life of
their intended victim.

The wooded area soon opened up
to a little fishing town about half a mile way. The street from
their vantage point was busy with people moving about and traders
trying to sell or buy goods from people that came inland.

From what Tremay could tell,
Samuel’s tracks indicated that he made it into the town and that he
wasn’t followed past the tree line. The Golans’ tracks veered left
back into the woods; either they got their target or decided to end
their pursuit. Whatever the reason, they would find out soon
enough.

“As you all know,” Tremay said,
“the sun will be setting in a few more hours, and we know someone
out there saw Samuel. We have an hour to confirm his presence here
and what he decided to do. We will meet north of this position just
past the watch post.”

Tremay chose the watche’s post
for two reasons. First, the road by the post was the way to Kadan’s
Gate; if they were to discover that Samuel had moved on, they would
already be heading that way. Second, and more important, Tremay
wanted to make sure no one saw what they were carrying, as the
Agoras were not always completely covered.

Tremay chose four men within
the group and asked that they remove all items that would identify
them as Ackalans.

While they were doing this,
Mosley gave a clear description of Samuel−how he looked and what he
was wearing. Once the men were ready, they rode out one at a time
into Lufgard, spacing themselves so no association could be
made.

Within the hour, the four men
returned. After reviewing the information they’d gathered from the
street and inns, it was clear, or at least every indication showed,
that Samuel had escaped his assailants.

An innkeeper claimed to have
helped him and said that he may have boarded a ship called
The
Night Meadow
to Bremah, even though most of the ships were
heading to Kadan’s Gate; rarely do ships go straight to Bremah from
Lufgard.

“Fortune must smile on this
Samuel,” Tremay thought just before saying, “We’ll send a message
to the Patron in Bremah before leaving Kadan’s gate.”

The sun was past its zenith
when they mounted their horses again; with the signal from Hildra,
Tremay’s second in command, they headed back into the woods, away
from the main roads heading to Kadan’s Gate.

As they rode off, Tremay pulled
his horse next to Mosley. “Let's hope the young man’s fortune is as
steady as the northern star. His importance to the Anamerian makes
him important us.” With that, he rode off to the head of their
group.

Samuel’s first day on the ship
was a blur as exhaustion dragged him to sleep. He was met on the
other side by nightmares, the horror from recent events playing in
his dreams. Startled awake by this terror, he was left both
physically and mentally drained.

The weather the second day was
rougher as thunderstorms pounded the ship with heavy waves. The
violent undulation made Samuel queasy, and he threw up once.

“Take this,” one of his cabin
mates said, seeing Samuel’s flushed look. “It is an illacium leaf;
it will help soothe your stomach and stop your heaving.”

Samuel raised his head to look
at the young woman. “Thank you,” he replied as he took the cup she
was handing him.

The swaying motion did not
cease throughout the day, but went on into the night. The next
morning the sea was calm, as if the night before never happened;
the sky was clear blue like the water itself, with the breeze of
the Kadan River driving them along.

Samuel stepped outside his
cabin for the first time and was amazed at how vast the river was;
there was no land in sight as far as his eyes could see. How the
sailors knew where they were heading was a mystery to him.

Looking around, he found a spot
on the deck close to the foremast. It was a little nook with
somewhat of a view. He walked over to the corner of the ship and
sat down watching as others came out from their cabins to enjoy the
weather. It was nice being out in the open, even though the sun
provided little warmth.

A few days ago, Samuel’s
thoughts had been about finding his family and then trying to
escape the Golans that were seeking his life. It had never crossed
his mind until now how he would find Gabram in a city almost as
vast as Bayshia.

He hoped that people weren’t as
ignorant as he was and that in a big city like Bremah, someone
would know where he could find the Ackalans and they would be able
to lead him in the right direction.

As Samuel sat wrestling with
his thoughts, he noticed a lump in his trouser pocket. He dipped
his hand in and pulled out the object. He’d forgotten about the
necklace with the emerald ring that he had picked up in
Bayshia.

Maybe the Patron would have an
explanation for what happened to him in Bayshia. Or would he think
he was crazy? It wasn’t any crazier than everything else that had
happened to him. He remembered Iseac didn’t think he was crazy when
he mentioned people disappearing in flames. This wasn’t anymore
crazy than that. Thinking of Iseac, how was he going to break the
news of his capture to Gabram? He wasn’t sure of their relationship
and how close Gabram was to Iseac. He would wait and see what
happened, and then determine the best approach.

The sail the rest of the way
wasn’t as rough as the second day; however, Samuel couldn’t wait to
be on solid ground again. Every day looked the same, as if they
weren’t moving, but on the sixth day, the man in the crow’s nest
sounded the alarm.

“Land in sight!” he cried.
“Bremah ahead!”

Samuel looked up to at the
watcher standing high on the foremast, his words ringing out like a
tower bell. Those words sent the crew into motion as they dashed
across the deck. The men rushed about their duties, preparing to
dock, with the first mate driving the crew to quicken their pace.
Somehow, in what looked like chaos, they knew exactly what to
do.

For the first time, Samuel saw
the mountainside over the horizon. He squinted; making sure his
eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He could not believe he made
it, as the ship moved closer to land, and then the tip of a massive
wall slowly appeared out of the horizon. It was soon obscured by
trees as they got closer to docking.

It was past midday when they
docked and Durack, like Samuel, couldn’t wait to be off the ship.
The horse was skittish, urging Samuel on as they made their way
down the wooden steps of the ship.

The place was different and one
could not miss the reddish stone used in the construction of the
stores that lined the street by the harbor. It reminded Samuel of
an ant mound.

The streets were lined with
long rows of shops that looked the same at a glance, with the only
distinguishing feature being their hanging metal signs that dangled
overhead. A few shops had their signs mounted directly on the
wall.

The streets were paved close to
the harbor. As Samuel stood looking around at the busy street, he
felt an odd sensation that had nothing do with the humidity or the
fishy smell that was mixed with the crowd. He knew he wasn’t
moving, but he felt as if he were still in motion. It felt so
strange that he had to look down at his feet just to make sure he
wasn’t moving.

“We better get going, then,”
Samuel said to Durack as he held the horse’s reins. The last time
he remembered seeing so many people was at the harvest
festival.

A little intimidated, having
never traveled unaccompanied by a family member, Samuel took a deep
breath before making his way through the crowd. Hawkers moved about
with their goods balanced on their heads. They seemed to
concentrate on the new influx of people, with Samuel’s ship being
one of the new arrivals.

He pressed on through the
crowd, looking at the different establishments and the people that
passed by, some with strange contraptions that went over their
shoulders allowing them to balance their goods in front.

Samuel decided he would find an
inn inside the city, wherever that was, once he was away from the
harbor; but first he needed to get directions. His first stop was
at the tavern called the Ram Rode, and he was surprised to see the
place filled with people. Apparently taverns here at the coastal
area of Bremah were just as busy during the day as one would expect
at night.

He could not believe what the
server girls were wearing—sleeveless and low-cut dresses that
extended just above their knee. No wonder the place drew so many
male customers, like bees to honey. It wasn’t any different at the
Lady’s Fisher, which was close, but on the opposite side of the
street.

“It makes sense,” Samuel
thought, as both taverns were competing for the same customers.

After a few minutes of waiting
to be served, Samuel decided to keep going. Hopefully there will be
others ahead that aren’t as busy as these two, he thought as he
moved on.

Samuel quickly realized that
the farther up he went, the more spread out the shops became, so
when he saw the next tavern, he decided not to try his luck on a
fourth. Even as he approached, the place looked less crowded.

As he was making his way across
the road to the tavern, he saw two uniformed patrol guards on
horseback. They scanned the street for any signs of trouble as
their horses moved gently along.

“Why didn’t I think of this,”
he thought. “They will know how I can get to the city.” As Samuel
picked up his pace to catch up with the uniformed men, he heard his
name. It was clear, as if the person were standing next to him. He
stopped and turned to see who it was that had called. In the middle
of the street, a man dressed in a silk blue robe stood, looking at
him. At the sight of the stranger, everything else faded, making
him appear alone. Samuel blinked, taken by what just happened, as
things returned to normal.

The man’s clothing was no
longer the blue robe he thought he saw, but something different. He
was now wearing a white woolen shirt and brown riding trousers, but
he was still in the same spot as before. The stranger gestured for
him to come even as he made his way over to him.

“I am Gabram,” the man said,
bowing his head in a nod. “I have been expecting you. Please follow
me!” He turned and started walking back into the crowd.

It took a minute for Samuel,
who was still marveling at what just happened, to realize that
Gabram was leaving. He picked up his pace to catch up to him.

“I must be going crazy,” Samuel
muttered under his breath. Whatever was happening to him, he did
not like it. He hoped all of this would go away once he found his
family and returned home.

He focused on staying with
Gabram, who moved through the crowd like water between trees. They
soon took a side street away from most of the crowd and stopped at
a single building with a woman tending to the shrub in front.

“Can you ride?” Gabram asked,
and Samuel nodded in response.

“Good. Wait here for me.”
Gabram walked into the building. Samuel watched the woman, who was
past her middle years, clear the area around the purple and white
flowered shrub. When Gabram returned, appearing from the side of
the building, he was on horseback; with him were two men dressed in
clothing similar to what he remembered Mosley wearing. Ackalans, he
thought, relieved that he had made it.

“They are here for your
protection,” Gabram said. “We have much to talk about, but right
now we have a long ride ahead of us.”

Gabram watched Samuel get on
Durack before sending his horse into a trot, riding between the
waiting Ackalans. He picked up his pace to catch up with Gabram and
they rode off with the harbor slowly fading behind them.

They rode in through a massive
gate known as the western entrance. A notable number of armed
guards were watching as people passed by. Gabram led them north
around the city with Samuel watching in amazement at how different
Bremah was. Most of the streets were paved with the same reddish
cobblestones as the harbor, and some of the buildings were made of
the same material, too. In areas where buildings weren’t obscured
by trees, he could see long stretches of homes built together,
which he’d never seen before.