Out of the Faold (Whilst Old Legends Fade Synchronicles) (7 page)

Denon and Kev, Wal and Wills were four archers who rode
near the back with the pack horses.
Pat and Ste
nnor were
the scouts. Fenran an
d Colt did mos
t of the cooking while the rest;
Roben, Teer,
Finus, Erle, Roge and Dunph took care of all the other tasks like security, horses, provisions, and general comradery.
Amias lingered
as his men started up the road.

He said to her, “I hope you don’t mind. Since we are going the same way I thought we might accompany you.”

“In case of more mudslides.”

He smirked. “Yes, that too.”

His horse spun forward and took off to the front of the pack. The cart she drove took up the rear ahead of the two extra horses they
’d
brought for supplies.
Their journey through the countryside was so pleasant Karl had forgotten about the miserable rain and mud
of days before
. The sun was warm, the breeze refreshing, farmlands to their east and forests to the west stretched on forever. The girls were happy and laughed often, even Krisa, who had been so somber most of the time. The men appeared to ride lighter and told marvelous sto
r
ies to keep everyone entertained. She suspected they’d edited many of them to suit their audience, when she noticed Amias give someone a warning look when he started the
story. She grinned to herself.

The sergeant, Kel, sat next to her one evening while the others took care of their duties. He told her, “It’s been lonely out here.”

“I’m sure it has,” she said unsure whether she should take the comment as a proposition or innocent observation. She couldn’t imagine he would be brazen enough to ask a Brother of
Faold
to bed down, even if the Brother was a woman.

“We have been to cities and stayed in nice villages,” and with a knowing look he added, “…not always been alone if you understand.”

“Yes,” she affirmed with a slight blush.

“But it is nice to have you and the girls with us. You’d think a bunch of soldiers would have no use for children but the men have not complained once.”

“That’s good. The girls look up to them.”

“It’s like being home,” he told her. “The men left behind brothers and sisters, their own innocence in many cases. The Captain rides us hard with a lot of discipline but the girls have brought humanity back into the camp. Oh, and you too, Brother Karl.”

“Thank you.”

“It is refreshing to encounter folks who aren’t there just to get something out of you,” he said as others returned to the fire to prepare the evening meal. She could imagine at every town people treated them like purses to empty, an envoy of the king that you don’t get close to but
which had
resources you wanted. She remembered the first time she’d met them on the road, the female giggle in the dark and the wagon wi
th a barrel of ale in the back.

“We won’t ever ask anything of you,” she told him.

“That’s not what I meant,” he added apologetically.

“I know,” she smiled,
putting a hand on his forearm.

He nodded then rose. Pearl sat with her to show her a new long stick she was peeling to make into a walking stick. The
wood beneath had a stunning pale smooth surface. She agreed it would be beautiful.
Glory was busy brushing the horses with
that night’s groomsman
and Krisa was on the edge of the camp, half in the shadows of the trees, busy setting out her bedroll. She sometimes disappeared into the dark but was never far. If Karl called for her she always appeared within minutes. She’d asked her once what she was doing and the girl shrugged and said simply, “Just watching.”

The gods had been listening to Karl’s prayer the other night. Captain Doran took his position at the front of their convoy as the leader and she drove the wagon at the back. When they camped at night he barked orders and secured the site while she helped with food and getting the children settled in. There hadn’t much opportunity
for Karl’s will to be tested and she was fine with that. She’d watch his back during the long journey and catch his eye infrequently,
as
he took his job seriously.

Morning dawned with a chill in the air. Glory had pushed herself up against Karl in the night so she had to untangle herself from the girl to rise. She found seclusion to relieve herself in the trees then returned with firewood to build the fire back up. Kel rose to help then the rest of the camp yawned and stret
ched to the smell of breakfast.

Down the road came a cart, slowly moving toward them. The scouts and Krisa disappeared into the trees as it approached. The man and wife waved as they passed but kept going without word. Within an hour of their journey that day Karl noted that there were more people on the road and the farmhouses were close together, villages more frequent. They passed through,
buying fresh bread for the day or vegetables for the stew pot that evening. Captain Doran stopped twice to meet the mayor or local lord as a courtesy.
His scribe went with him to the meetings so she was sure he was working.

A city
, Caborn,
was within two hours travel, they were told, to
everyone’s relief. “Bed,” was a unanimous chant among the girls and they giggled.
Brynntown
had been bigger
than Caborn
. The wall around the keep here was made of logs with stone archways. The city itself was more haphazard and less wealthy.
Krisa’s eyes were once again flitting from side to side, taking everything in. They passed the Sanctuary but Karl surprised the girls by not turning toward it for lodging. They went, instead
,
to the inn
nearest
the Keep. Captain Doran told her he would send a messenger
with their plans fo
r departure before he rode off.

The innkeeper was pleasant but offered to give directions to the Sanctuary. She shook her head and produced coins to show she was prepared to pay him. He finally acquiesced leading them up to a large room with a bed they could all fit in snugly.
Pearl bounded to it and rolled all around on the huge bed then called out, “Tucker could fit three whole whores in here.”

Karl gasped in shock and Glory asked what she meant.

“Boars,” Karl stated, quickly covering up Pearl’s indiscretion. To Pearl she put her finger to her lips and turned away, hardly able to contain a fit of laughter.
Krisa
had not reacted but had
slip
ped
over to the window
to
stand watching the people below.
Brother Karl
moved to her side.

“What do you think?” she asked her.

“They are afraid of us, Brother.”

Karl was startled. She hadn’
t seen that in the people of
Caborn.
She looked out the window and saw nothing unusual. “What makes you say that?”

“The
innkeeper doesn’t want us here. H
e was looking around to see if his other guests saw us check in. Instead of watching the Marshalls the people studied us, but it was like they’d seen something bad and moved away quickly
. The couple in the road earlier
too
.
The Keep has sent guards to watch this inn and one was sent to the Sanctuary as soon as we came here.
”

Brother Karl
stared out the window. She didn’t know if she should believe the girl or deem her paranoid. “What about the couple in the road?”

“It was the woman. She started to smile but when she saw you and Glory and Pearl she dropped her arm and looked ahead. I was in the trees.”

Karl did see a guardsman across the street, patrolling the walk in front of shops to glance in their direction occasionally.  “Maybe they aren’t used to seeing a Brother like me,” she told Krisa, who nodded but wasn’t convinced. “I often have people question me.”

“It’s the yellow robes, Brother. Not you.”

They moved from the window to the sound of a knock at the door. A young girl perhaps only two years older than the initiate Sisters stood there in a pale blue plain dress asking if they needed anything, a bath or food. Karl arranged for them to bathe and requested a barber be sent to them. Pearl’s uneven hair was repaired, cutting it shorter into a cute bob th
at curled around her ears. Glory was pleased. The two girls, though worlds different, had become fast friends. Pearl still shocked Glory with things she’d say or do, but Glory took it upon herself to instruct her in etiquette. Krisa got along with them but was more reserved.

A messenger was brought to their room by the same girl after their dinner was served. Karl found it odd they were not invited to the dining room but thought it might not be the best place for children. The other patrons seemed decent but there was
a large cask and gaming tables.

The note read:

Esteemed Brother,

Rooms have been prepared at the Sanctuary for your party. Brother Fen Hilliard Tooke Bethtown requests your presence to report the progress of your journey.

It was sealed with the
Faold
seal in wax. Brother Karl wrote a polite decline stating the girls had already retired for the night and they were leaving at dawn the next morning. She added a valediction, a short prayer wishing them good health, and handed it back to the messenger.

No other messengers arrived. She expected Captain Amias Doran to communicate their departure plans
but none came. By mid-morning the girls were getting restless so she suggested they take a walk but stay fairly close to the inn. The market was full of people,
stalls full of fabrics and trinkets, food, knives and tools
, anything they could ever need. Karl watched Krisa, who in turn watched everyone else. The girl’s eyes stopped roving only when something peculiar caught her attention but Brother Karl didn’t see anything. Not until she purposefully stood still and looked around as Krisa did. Stall keepers would glance at the girls then turn away or call out to other potential buyers. They watched the girls out of the corner of their eyes until they passed. Guards were stationed around the square. They paid little attention to the girls at all. She noted two Brothers at the entrance to a side street and another two a short distanc
e from where she stood, app
earing like guards themselves.

“It is a pleasant morning, Bro
ther,” a voice said behind her.

She turned to note a balding Brother in familiar grey robes
standing watching
her. “It is, Brother,” s
he said, lowering her own hood.

“Your note said you were leaving early today. I am pleased you are still with us since we didn’t get a chance to talk.”

“Ah, Brother Fen Bethtown? I was expecting to leave but we were delayed,” she told him.

“I hope no one is ill.”

“No, but thank you for your concern.”

“There is an awful fever sweeping our lands to the north. I trust you’ve heard?”

“I hadn’t,” she told him with
caution
. Thoughts flew from her family to the King and then to themselves, as they’d be moving north as soon as she heard from Captain Doran.

“You have come from the so
uth?” he asked, peering at her.

“Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t stop to report,” she told him, removing her official papers from inside her robes and placing them into his open hand. “I am guardian to the three girls. We have come from
Brynntown
and on our way to
Mount Sestra
where they will study with the Sisters.”

“They should be lodging with Sisters at the Sanctuary,” he told her sternly.

“The last time we stopped we did stay with the Sisters but one is afraid of the dark and she caused the Sisters a sleepless night with nightmares,” she lied. She inwardly said a silent prayer of forg
iveness for lying to a Brother.

He looked at her in a manner of trying to decide if she was deceiving him. He read her papers then handed them back, satisfied they were official. “Since you have not left yet we will expect you to stay with us until you do. I’ll have your things brought from the inn. If we have to we will leave a lantern lit the entire night for the little one. They are initiates. They should not even be in the market in their robes.”

“They have not started to tutor with Sisters yet. They have just left their cradles, as they say. I would not expect them to adhere to the strictures we adhere to.”

“But I do,” h
e said finally and turned away.

The pairs of Brothers standing in the market ushered the girls back to Brother Karl. They were escorted to the inn and told to pack their things. Back in their room Karl sat on the bed in contemplation while Krisa stood at the window again. Glory and Pearl chattered and complained as they packed.
Karl looked to Krisa and saw a troubled expression.