Fool's Errand (36 page)

She drank from her water skins as needed, slowing to keep from spilling the precious liquid, but not daring to stop and let her muscles start to cool down or cramp. Endurance and continued movement was the key to a run like this. Soon enough, the water skins lightened to the point of not being a burden at all.

As the morning sun crept above the eastern horizon, her weariness faded somewhat as she saw in the distance the tiny silhouettes of the towers of the walls of Aton-Ri. She had made much better time than anticipated, having been invigorated by the beautiful open country and crisp night air.

In the Djarmangara, unless one was in the tops of the highest trees peering above the canopy, one could hardly see more than a few hundred yards at a time through the dense trees and underbrush. She never imagined the sky could be so big, so blue, and so beautiful.

During their journey west, she focused on scouting the road ahead for any possible danger to the caravan. She could not take time to truly appreciate the beauty around her. Now, with danger behind and hope ahead, there was no more fitting way to pass the time. Truly, the One Lord stretched out the heavens with His hands, and in this place, He had stretched them widely.

After entering Aton-Ri’s west gate, she strode toward the city hall, her limbs quivering from the exertion of her long run. As she stood winded and waiting for the messenger to announce her to Mayor Farnsworth, she could already feel her muscles beginning to tighten. After a brief wait while he concluded another meeting, she was ushered in to see him.

“Well, lady Arreya, I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Please tell me you have good news to report.” The mayor looked more than a little concerned.

“Great news, actually, Your Honor,” she said.

She had caught enough of her breath to speak but her muscles were now screaming in protest.

“We have broken the ambushers operating in Dragon Pass beyond Stonehold. It should be safe for quite a while for caravans to resume trade.”

“Yet you return alone?” asked the mayor, his face crinkling even more.

“Only to get word to you as soon as possible, mayor. I ran all night to bring this message. Captain Gideon and several others went on to Cyria to continue investigation of the power behind the raids. Captain Tropham has brought the fallen troopers from Aton-Ri to be entombed in Stonehold in a place of honor before he returns with the survivors.”

“Does Captain Gideon have reason to suspect Cyria?”

“I am afraid he does, mayor. Xyer Garan turned on us in the battle with the raiders. He nearly killed Captain Gideon. Garan also called one of the Ogre bandit leaders by name.”

“Oh dear,” said Farnsworth, looking as if he might be ill at any moment. “I am sorry to hear of Captain Tropham’s losses, but glad the Durgak are accommodating. Is there any other news I need to be aware of before meeting with the other leaders?”

“One interesting development came to my attention during the run here. According to what I heard, Mayor Farnsworth, a clan of goblinoids called the Skullcrushers has been in touch with you about peace talks?”

The mayor, clearly stunned at the scout having this information, nodded an affirmative and bid her continue.

“Well, then I have good news for you on that front. The Skullcrushers, and their new leader Garrack, disposed of some straggler reinforcements heading to join the ambushers. Members of the Bloodskull and Bonecracker clans, as well as amphiboids most likely from Darkmoor, were destroyed last night at the mouth of Dragon Pass by Garrack’s forces. Truth is, they may have saved my life.”

“Well, then, I shall take that into consideration when next I meet with Garrack. For now, though, please tell me in detail everything that happened.”

Arreya spent the next hour recounting to the mayor the key happenings on their westward journey. He was quite dismayed at Garan’s betrayal and the heavy losses among Captain Tropham’s men but was overjoyed at the outcome of the battle and the news that caravan traffic might soon be back to normal.

“Still and all,” cautioned Arreya, “you can’t be too careful. I would still make sure the caravans sent travel under heavy guard until Captain Gideon has fully unwound the mystery behind this organization of the humanoid hoards. Things won’t be truly safe until this Blue Mystic is found and taken out of a position to continue this plot to organize and mobilize the clans.”

Farnsworth nodded agreement and, after a few more minor questions, offered to make arrangements for Arreya to stay and rest at the mayor’s expense until the others returned.

“While I appreciate your generosity, Mayor, I plan to leave tomorrow morning. I will rest for the day and tonight but plan to be on my way back to Stonehold at dawn.”

She knew the urgency was over now that her message had been delivered, and that it would be quite a while before Gideon and the others could complete their task and return. She would have time for a leisurely journey back to Stonehold, enjoying the beauty of the One Lord’s creation. If she were really lucky, maybe meeting some more Centaurs was within the realm of possibility.

An easy day and restful night behind her, Arreya set out on the journey back to Stonehold. Dragging her tired and protesting muscles toward the west gate of Aton-Ri just about dawn, she passed a group of caravaneers who had gotten word from the mayor it was once again safe to travel west through Dragon Pass. There were many more armed mercenaries than usual, but it also looked as though three or four merchants agreed to team up together to send a large, fortified caravan through as a test-case.

The Durgak vendors in Stonehold would be thrilled to see such a throng come through. Many first-time mercenaries passing through Stonehold could not resist buying exotic Durgak souvenirs and fine metalcraft jewelry. Regular soldiers might only be able to afford a simple silver chain or bauble here and there, but these wealthy merchants would be hard pressed to escape Stonehold’s trading district without being cajoled or shamed into picking up a fine bejeweled necklace for their wives, or the women who sometimes stood in for their wives.

Arreya heard tales of the wanton habits of most Adami men, but she hoped to one day find her true bondmate for life. One thing was for certain, however, that be he Adami or Zafirr or some other race, breaking that bond would prove to truly be a fatal mistake. The Zafirr vow was, “Bonded until death” but any mate she took that chose, while she was still living, to
bond
with another would find death not far behind.

After seeing Arreya safely on her way toward Aton-Ri to report to the assembled ambassadors meeting there, the task of hunting down the stragglers was now underway. Duncan, along with Donovan, Sable, and the Durgak
bezrek
fit to travel, grabbed a quick bite of yochama bread and filled their water skins from those of the downed soldiers. Bidding farewell and One Lord speed to the Adami finishing the cleanup, Duncan, Sable, and the berserkers set out up the southern ramp to where the ambushers had lain hidden.

At the top of the ramp, Sable, surveying the situation, rendered her discouraging assessment.

“There are a thousand times a thousand tracks here,” she said as she looked over the trail leading east and west at the top of the ramp. “I doubt I could track a caravan of Nephilim through all this mess. On a lighter side, though, we know the squeakers and gobblers headed west. Most of the tracks to the east are from horses leading to the ramp, not away from it.”

“Is that significant?” Duncan asked, having no experience in tracking and looking to the veteran scout for guidance.

“From my guess,” answered Sable, “the trail west must narrow or become otherwise unmanageable for the horses. East leads to wherever they kept the horses, but there must be some sanctuary to the west the fleeing squeakers were making for.”

“Well, then I guess we split up,” answered Captain Donovan. “I will take four of my
bezrek
with me, and we will follow the eastern trail. We shouldn’t need a professional tracker to follow the signs of so many horses. In these rugged mountains, truly subtle places for the horses to leave the trail should be rare.”

“Aye, captain,” Sable acknowledged. “And the rest of us?”

“You take my brother and the other five
bezrek.
Follow the fleeing squeakers. Once you are away from the muster point, I suspect the trail will become easier to pick out.”

“I’ll do my best, captain.”

“You are an excellent tracker, Sable, and have served my company well. I trust you to look after my brother for me and to lead them well. My men should be able to handle most anything you run across. I believe if I saw right, no more than half a dozen squeakers and gobblers got away. One
bezrek
is more than a match for that.”

Sable did not regard Donovan’s words as idle boasting. She had served with the Third Berserker Company for nearly two years now, and seen these stout and grim warriors at their best and at their worst. They could laugh, drink, and make merry with the best of men, but when it came time to do their duty, their deadly determination and battle prowess was fearsome to behold.

She had once seen a berserker lose his arm to a vicious cut from a Nephilim blade and battle on single-handedly to fell the giant before passing out from loss of blood. Even with the severity of his injuries, that berserker, named Kellik, and who now was nicknamed
One Blade
, survived. He currently taught at the Berserker Corps Academy, training the young cadets how to fight with a single weapon should they ever be deprived of their customary dual axe-and-dagger weapon set.

“You know, brother,” began Duncan, a little put-off by Donovan’s insistence on him needing a caretaker. “While I have not taken the path of running around and stomping on things until they stop moving as my career choice, I am still capable of looking after myself. I think your plan is wise, however, as Sable and I with a few of your stout-hearted warriors can likely handle whatever lies to the west. You just make sure you don’t run across another herd of bandits and get your stumpy-selves trampled by their horses before they figure out you are something other than rocks in the road!”

Donovan smiled. Duncan had always needed some degree of looking after, but his spirit was as stout as any
bezrek
.

“Well met, brother. You work on keeping your head attached, and I shall mind mine. If we have not found each other by alternate roads by tomorrow evening, meet back here at the ramp and will decide what direction is most worthy of pursuing. The others should be long gone by then, but we shall see what we shall see, and if we have sufficiently tied up the loose ends, we will return to Stonehold.”

Without another word, Donovan called out four of his berserkers, and headed down the eastward trail. Sable and Duncan led the remaining Durgak warriors to the west in pursuit of the escaped goblinoids. Just as Donovan suspected, not far down the trail the tracks became much less muddled.

“A large company of goblinoids came this way recently,” Sable announced, spying the clearer trail beyond the bedlam at the top of the ramp. “Several sets of tracks, splayed and dug-in from hurried flight, lead back toward the west.”

“Excellent,” Duncan commented. “Lead the way, Sable. They have a more than ample head start on us as it is.”

Sable led the Durgak very quickly in pursuit of the tracks leading away from the ambush site. The shorter-legged Durgak were hard-pressed to keep up with the nimble Fenratu scout, but the fire of the hunt was in her blood. The longer it took to catch up with their quarry, the greater the chance that they would reach reinforcements or that they would get a word of warning out to whoever was behind the ambushes of their defeat in Dragon Pass.

The western trail continued to narrow and wind as it ran slightly higher up the slope of the mountain. It was soon clear why the horses could never have come from this direction. The Ogres would barely have been able to traverse this narrow way much less a horse and rider. Ahead the trail turned sharply around an outcropping. Sable slowed her pursuit and allowed the Durgak to catch up.