Trail of the Gods: The Morcyth Saga Book Four (46 page)

Glancing around, she finds that she’s in the
fore of a squad of twenty archers, one of ten such squads
positioned behind the footmen to offer support should that become
necessary. As the storm subsides, she looks around for Jiron and
James but they’re nowhere to be found.
They must’ve made it
through!

From before them, a horn sounds and the
officer in charge of their squad hollers, “Ready bows!”

The other archers remove their bows from
behind their backs and put arrows to string as they await the
command to aim. Aleya follows suit. Standing there with her sole
remaining arrow to string she tries to discover what’s
happening.

From the south the forces of the Empire
approach their lines, stopping a hundred yards away. Leaders from
both sides ride out, meeting for a parley in the middle. Whatever
is said between them, she’s much too far away to be able to hear.
But she has a fairly good idea what they’re talking about.

“We’re in for it now,” she hears one man
next to her mumble.

The leaders stay out there for a good ten
minutes before each turns about and heads back to their lines. When
the Cardri general reaches the fore of his men, he stops and turns
back around to face the Empire.

“What’s going on?” one archer asks.

“Quiet!” yells their officer as he glares
back to them to search for the one who spoke. When they all remain
quiet, he turns his attention back to the front.

The two lines face off with each other,
neither one doing anything to provoke the other. Unable to get a
good view of what’s exactly going on due to the foot soldiers in
her way, she waits silently and tries to figure a way out of
there.

From ahead of her, the foot soldiers begin
muttering and some even gasp. Through the gaps between them, she
sees the lines of the Empire’s forces opening up and a large man in
dark armor emerges from between them. Riding forward, he moves
toward the Cardri lines. The Cardri general and his retinue begin
moving to meet him in the middle.

The sight of the man in armor sends a shiver
coursing through her, though she can’t really explain why. Just
looking at him causes her anxiety to increase.

When the two parties meet, the brief
glimpses she’s able to see through the lines ahead of her show both
sides are arguing with the other. From what she’s able to see, it
looks like the man in armor wishes to move his forces into Cardri
territory but the Cardri general is denying his request. There can
be only one reason the man in armor wishes entry into Cardri.
James!

The two sides argue for several more minutes
before the man in armor turns and moves back to his side. A sigh of
relief seems to ripple through the ranks of the Cardri soldiers.
Aleya, too, is relieved that conflict may be averted.

When the man in armor returns to his side,
Empire horns begin sounding and their forces begin to withdraw.

The Cardri general resumes his place at the
fore of his men as he watches the Empire’s withdrawal. Once their
forces have withdrawn a sufficient distance, the order is given for
the Cardri forces to stand down.

Aleya replaces her arrow in her quiver and
slings her bow across her back. Her worry is no longer about the
imminent attack from the Empire, but how to extricate herself from
the Cardri forces. If found out, it could be just as bad for her
here.

“Form up!” the officer in charge of her
squad yells. She comes to attention when she realizes everyone else
has. Similar commands resonate up and down the lines as the various
officers prepare their squads for the return march to Kern.

“Left face!” her officer yells again. A
little slower than the rest, she turns to her left and waits with
the others for their turn to march. Once the squad before them
begins to move, her officer yells, “Forward, march!” Half of the
Cardri troops remain behind in case the Empire’s forces try
anything.

Her squad begins marching their way back to
the large fortress sitting just south of them. She maintains her
spot in the ranks as they march ever closer to the gates of Kern.
Wanting nothing more than to break ranks and get out of there,
there’s no way she could do so without being uncovered.

The squads marching ahead of her, one by
one, make their way through the gates into the formidable fortress
which guards the southern border between Cardri and the Empire.
When at last it’s her squad’s turn to enter, she almost bolts out
of line in panic, but her courage holds steady and she marches
through the gates.

They pass through the long entry tunnel
through the walls. In the ceiling above are many murder holes where
defenders could drop stones or burning oil down on any attackers
caught within. The other side of the entry tunnel opens onto a
large courtyard where the other squads are getting into
formation.

Her squad is brought to stand in a similar
position as they had back at the battle lines. Once all the squads
have entered and formed ranks, the command is given to fall out but
to remain close in the event the Empire’s forces should move to
enter Cardri.

As her squad breaks up, Aleya, still having
the cloth wrapped around her face, quickly moves away from the
others and makes for a corner of the nearest building bordering on
the inner wall.

“Wonder what all that…” one of the archers
next in line begins to say something to her but stops when she
walks away from him. Feeling somewhat affronted that she would just
walk away while he was talking, he says a few choice words at her
back before turning and beginning his conversation again with
another who’ll stick around to listen.

Upon nearing the wall, she glances around
and when she’s sure no one is looking, removes the cloth from her
face. Placing it within the pouch at her waist, she then removes
her cloak and wraps it around her bow and quiver.

The gate is not very far from where she
stands, soldiers fill the fortress’s courtyard but so far none seem
to have noticed her there among them. With her tunic off and her
bow hidden, she looks just like another one of the servants moving
around the courtyard performing various duties.

Holding her head up and trying to calm the
shaking that seeks about ready to consume her, she steps away from
the corner. The soldiers and civilians within the courtyard pay her
no heed as she makes her way toward the gate.

As she crosses the courtyard, she hears
fragments of conversations going on around her. None pique her
interest until she hears two footmen talking about how during the
worst of the storm, horses ran amuck in their lines. She slows down
to try to hear what they’re saying.

“The riders were never found?” one asks the
other.

“No,” the other replies. “In fact, one of
the horses managed to impale itself upon Loen’s pike. I hear
they’ve got search parties hunting for them all over the
countryside.”

“Think we’ll ever know what really went on
out there?” the first one asks.

Shaking his head, the second one says,
“Doubt it. You know they never tell us grunts anything and by the
time the rumor mill has ground it out, it’ll be so far from the
truth as not to be believed.”

“True,” the first one replies. They start
moving away from her and the rest of their conversation is lost in
the buzz of the courtyard.

Resuming her way toward the gate, she begins
thinking over what she just overheard.
At least James and Jiron
haven’t been caught yet.
As she reaches the entrance to the
inner portcullis for the gate, she quickens her pace slightly.
Moving through the confining passage through the walls, she almost
breathes an audible sigh of relief when she at last reaches the far
side.

She begins moving back out into the daylight
when a hand grips her shoulder from behind. Startled, she cries out
as she jumps three inches in the air. Her cloak wrapped bow and
quiver slips from her hands and falls to the ground. Turning around
quickly, she looks into the face of one of the foot soldiers.

“Sorry, miss,” he says as he bends over to
pick up her package. One end of her bow slips out from beneath the
cloak as he hands it to her.

She takes it from him and says, “Thank you
sir. I was just taking this to have it repaired.”

He nods his head. “I was wondering if you
would like to have a cup of ale with me over at the Shining Flagon
later on. Say in a couple hours when things calm down around
here?”

That’s why he scared me out of ten years
growth? To ask me out?
“I’m sorry,” she tells him, trying her
best to hide the irritation in her voice, “but I already have
someone.”

“Oh,” he says. “Sorry to have bothered
you.”

Turning, she hurries away. After taking a
few steps, she glances back and finds the soldier having already
returned to within the fortress. Breathing a sigh of relief, she
makes her way away from the gates to the fortress.

To the north of the fortress is the city of
Kern, a large collection of buildings whose main purpose is to
house and support the troops stationed there. At least that was its
original purpose, now many trading houses have sprung up, those who
trade primarily with merchants within the Empire.

It’s a mile away and by the time she crosses
the distance, her nerves have managed to calm down. So as not to
attract undue notice, she keeps her bow and quiver tightly wrapped
and concealed within her cloak.

Many people are in the streets, there’s a
buzz going around about the activities out by the keep. The general
mood is one of curiosity rather than fear of an attack. Aleya finds
it easy to make her way through the milling populace without
attracting attention.

One of the last buildings on the north side
of town, before the road leaves the outskirts, is a run down inn.
The aroma coming from it makes her stomach ache with hunger. It’s
been quite a while since she’s had anything to eat other than food
foraged off the land. Warring needs collide within her, the need to
get out of here and the need for real food. The need for real food
wins out and she makes for the inn’s entrance.

As she walks through the door she finds a
quiet inn, only three other people sit at the tables while having
their morning meal. One couple, an older man and lady sit off to
one side. The other is a solitary man who sits in a corner and
whose eyes watch her as she enters. Their eyes lock for a moment
before the proprietor comes forward.

“Good morning miss,” the fat man says.
Beaming a smile which genuinely makes her feel like he’s happy to
see her, he readily puts her at ease.

“Good morning to you, as well,” she
replies.

“What can we do for you here at the Weary
Traveler?” he asks.

“Just something to eat,” she replies.

Nodding, the innkeeper says, “Just take any
seat, and Millie will be out shortly to see to your needs.”

“Thank you,” she replies and moves to a
table far from the gentleman in the corner.

The innkeeper passes through a door into the
kitchen and shortly after, a young lady comes out and makes her way
over to Aleya. Taking her order and her coins, she goes back to the
kitchen and returns with a platter of eggs and ham. Setting the
platter before her, she says a quick “Enjoy,” before returning once
again to the kitchen.

As Aleya eats, she can’t help but notice how
the man in the corner continues staring at her. Maybe he’s just
bored and has nothing better to do, but the attention makes her
decidedly uncomfortable. She knows the danger a woman traveling
alone faces. That’s why she had remained up in the mountains after
the Empire had taken Mountainside.

Her mind wanders to Jiron and James and how
they’re doing. She’s sure they made it safely away from Kern by now
or she would’ve heard about it. She intends to meet them down the
road as James had mentioned before that ill fated run through the
lines which left her stranded and alone.

The people here are not the enemy, and she
has to continue to remind herself about that. They would only
become so if they knew how she and the others had ran through their
lines. Maybe not enemies, but would have definitely posed questions
she couldn’t have answered.

After she meets with Jiron and James, she’s
not sure what she’ll be doing. It’s a long way back to the
mountains above her home, perhaps she’ll try to work her way back
through from this side.

A movement from the corner of her eye draws
her attention to where the man in the corner is getting up and
making his way across the room. At first she thought he was heading
for her but then he angles more for the door and soon leaves the
inn. She’s quite relieved that he’s no longer in the same room with
her, he gave her the creeps.

Once she’s done eating, she picks up her
tightly wrapped bow and quiver and leaves the inn. Outside, the sun
has already risen quite a distance and the temperature is beginning
to rise. The people on the street no longer seem anxious or curious
about what transpired near the keep, most have resumed going about
their normal routines. A few knots of people congregate together as
they hash and rehash what happened. She’s sure that by tomorrow,
the gossips will have the facts of what actually happened mired in
a most improbable tale just as that one soldier had said.

If she plans on making it to the inn down
the road to the north before nightfall, she figures she better
hustle. Moving quickly, she puts the inn behind her as she hurries
down the road. Not exactly running, but alternating between a fast
walk and jog, she soon leaves the outskirts of town and enters the
hills beyond.

The road before her is fairly straight as it
winds in a generally northern direction through the hills. Shortly
after the town has disappeared behind the hills a horse is heard
approaching from the direction of Kern. Always nervous about
confronting someone alone in the middle of nowhere, she edges off
the road and hides behind a hill as the rider approaches.