The Fur Trader (18 page)

“What are you doing?” William asked in a harsh whisper.

“Go over there and see if you can see this,” Garrin said without bothering to answer the question.

William did as he was told, moving to the position Garrin indicated and then strained to look around the fallen tree. “No,” he said.

“Good, let’s hope the riders won’t see it in time either. They come racing around this bend, and either slam into the sled or trip up their horses trying to avoid it, then we spring up from behind the tree and take them down.”

Just then, the canister hanging from Garrin’s belt popped open and out came Kaspar. The little animal quietly leapt out onto the snow and buried itself near a tree on the opposite side of the trail. William pointed to the animal questioningly, but Garrin held a finger up to his mouth and nodded with his head toward the tree. The two men got into their hiding positions and crouched low with their weapons.

They sat in the silence, hearing only the wind and seeing nothing more than the now quickly fading sunlight. Then, a horse cried out. The sound was only barely audible, but it was distinct. One of the traps had worked. William thunked Garrin’s shoulder with a soft backhand and nodded as though to say he was impressed.

“Won’t be long now,” Garrin said in a whisper.

They clutched their weapons and remained still in the snow. A few minutes passed before they could hear the tell-tale sound of hooves clomping along the trail. The hooves became louder, falling in perfect rhythm as they brought the riders closer to the trio. Soon Garrin could hear the heavy breathing. The horses were tired. He hoped that that fact, combined with the slick ice and the nearly faded light would be enough to win the day.

A moment later the first black nose raced around the end of the fallen tree. The rider was bent low over the neck, quiet as the animal galloped along the trail. Neither saw the sled in time. The horse crashed into the contraption, splintering the rails as its legs became tangled and the horse crashed to the ground. Garrin rushed out and drove his spear down into the fallen rider’s back. He felt his sturdy spear bite between vertebrae and then plunge deep into the softer tissues. The rider convulsed and then went still.

A flash of blue light erupted from the side. Garrin turned to see a quickly-freezing bolt of blue lightning flying toward him.

A patch of snow exploded on the opposite side of the trail and a mess of fur and teeth seized the second rider’s outstretched hand. Kaspar bit into the rider’s hand and wrist at least a dozen times in the span of two seconds. The rider lurched to the side, crying out in agony as the lightning spell fizzled away into nothingness.

Out of the corner of his eye, Garrin saw William racing gracefully down the fallen log, rapier out and dagger in left hand. The nobleman leapt from the mess of roots at the end and flew in a graceful arc over the rider who was still wrestling with Kasper. William struck down twice, in incredibly fast stabbing thrusts through the rider’s neck. The second rider fell to the ground, squirming and weakly trying to cover his neck with one hand while trying to shake Kaspar off his other arm.

William ceased his attack, and instead turned his attention to calming the rider’s horse.

Garrin moved quickly to finish the second rider, but he needn’t have worried. Kaspar found the man’s neck and finished the job.

The trapper looked down the trail, but he couldn’t see the third man.

“Should we go back and look for him?” William asked.

Garrin shook his head. “Let the winter finish him off. If we go toward him, he could just as easily set a trap for us. Besides, you have gotten us another horse. That should help us get away. If he is on foot, even with magic, I wouldn’t give him more than a night or two out here.”

William nodded his agreement. “Let’s check the other mare over here.”

Garrin turned around and they walked to the first horse that had run into the sled. The animal was struggling to stand, but didn’t appear to have any broken bones. Finally it stood on its legs, but it was shaking and it whinnied and shrieked as if panicked.

“Something’s wrong,” Garrin said as he moved to stand in front of the animal. That was when he saw it. One of the sled’s rails had snapped off and was protruding from the horse’s chest. Slick blood covered the animal.

“No, this one’s no good,” Garrin said. The trapper raised his spear and moved to put the animal down, but the horse spooked and bolted off into the woods before Garrin could get close enough for a sure strike.

“Sorry about the sled,” William offered.

Garrin looked down and sighed as he saw the wreckage. “Better the sled than us,” he said calmly. “Besides, we wouldn’t be able to take it all the way over the pass anyway. There are parts you have to climb. No way around it. Either way, we still have a horse to carry our things, and it should still help us be faster than the last rider.”

“If he is still alive,” William pointed out. “He might have been thrown into another trap when he fell from the horse. Maybe it caught his neck.” William reached up to grab his throat and he rolled his eyes into the back of his head.

Garrin thought it odd that the man could make such a joke so quickly after being attacked. Either this was something the nobleman expected due to the attempted kidnapping, or perhaps it was a lifestyle William was accustomed to for other reasons. The trapper glanced back to the tree where Richard was slowly making his way down. Rux and Kiska stood guard at the trunk, surveying the area and protecting the child.

“That should be the last of them,” William said as he moved in closer with a big smile. “I mean, if they sent out a few men in each direction, then that would mean these were the only ones close enough to find us. We should be in the clear.”

Garrin nodded absently. “We need to find shelter, fast.”

*****

Seidrif reached up and felt the knot growing on the back of his head. It stung a bit, but it wasn’t serious. He followed his brothers’ tracks in the snow, studying the sled marks as well. He thought it was curious that someone would choose to use a dog sled out here, rather than employ a sturdy horse. Then again, the dogs he had seen standing with the man on top of that hill were very large. He would have thought they were actually split-tails, but that was impossible. No human could ever tame such a beast.

As he trudged up another ice-covered hill, the wizard grunted his displeasure. He understood why his brothers had gone on ahead without waiting for him, but he was still set on having words with them. They had better not be planning on taking credit for returning the child by themselves either. Just the thought of them doing that was enough to light the fires in his eyes and quicken his step.

The sun was dropping quickly, and the shadows were stretching out over the forest. Seidrif pulled his hood back slightly, opening his peripheral vision as much as possible without letting too much of the biting cold near his head. This was prime hunting time, he knew. The wild animals of the mountains would be coming out for their prey. With the scent of fresh blood not more than half a mile behind him where his horse had fallen, and another horse had been slain, it was not too outlandish to think that he might be attacked by an animal tonight.

As if fate could read his mind, he no sooner thought about the possibility than he noticed a movement off in the trees to his right. He turned and freed his right hand, ready to blast an animal into oblivion should it try to make a meal of him.

Instead, a slight deer came bounding out from behind a pair of pines and stopped in the trail as she turned her head so that her left eye could study Seidrif. A moment later, she leapt away, disappearing back where she had emerged from. Seidrif sneered and then continued along the trail. As the last of the sun faded away, he pulled a small crystal out from under his tunic, pulling the chain up over his head. He hung it over his left wrist and whispered to the white stone. A brilliant light appeared, chasing away the shadows and also creating a sphere of warmth around him.

The light helped him navigate along the trail, and if there were any beasts in the trees beyond, they never came close to the bright magic.

He came to a large, steep hill where the trail ran up and then around to the left. He thought he saw a large fallen tree as well. He kept to the left, where the snow was fresh and better for walking upon. He climbed up, hunching forward slightly and concentrating on his feet until he reached the top. He reached out, seizing one of the roots and pulling himself around the tangled mess.

His eyes caught a puddle of frosted crimson upon the ground. His heart stopped in his chest and his tongue felt as though it swelled three times its size as he surveyed the scene before him. His brothers lay upon the ground, dead. Blood covered the area. A broken and wrecked sled was mixed in with the carnage, but there were no other bodies.

A yellow-eyed wolf with black fur lifted its head from the carcass of a dead horse and bared its fangs. Two white wolves were with the first. Seidrif wasted no time. He pointed his right palm at the animals and a great wave of air slammed into them, picking them up and dashing them into a pair of large trees. Their bones crunched and cracked as they yipped and groaned. Another wolf came into Seidrif’s field of vision then. This one had been chewing on Bolgrif’s arm. Seidrif conjured a massive force and crushed the wolf into the ground, squishing him as though he were nothing more than a furry insect under foot.

Tears filled Seidrif’s eyes and an anger boiled within him that he had never known before.

He had been sent by his king to find a traitor.

He had been hired to find and return the child.

This was no longer simple business.

The traitor was going to die by Seidrif’s hand.

Garrin stopped in the dark woods. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, and none of them could see well, except for Rux and Kiska, but they couldn’t lead the trio.

“Why are we stopping?” William asked.

“I’ll get my flint and tinder kit,” Garrin replied. “We need light.”

“No, what if the third is still hunting us? A torch would be seen from a great distance away.”

“If I can’t see my way, then I can’t lead us to safety. We need light.”

“Your pouch,” Richard’s voice called out from the shadows.

A moment later, a soft, red glow illuminated William’s face and a small area around Garrin. The trapper looked down and saw that his pouch was glowing. The crystal inside was offering its light.

“The crystal
is
magic!” Richard exclaimed.

“I don’t care. Cover it up, we can’t afford to be seen,” William said.

Garrin pointed down to his closed pouch. “It
is
covered up. Even inside the pouch it’s wrapped in cloth.”

William opened his mouth to say something, but his jaw hung low and his eyes narrowed on the bag. Finally he shook his head. “Then we should hurry. Do you know a place around here?”

Garrin opened the pouch and reached in, but the crystal floated up and began to spin slowly in the air. The trapper reached for it, but the crystal started to fly through the air toward the north.

“What are you doing?” William asked.

Garrin shook his head. “I’m not controlling it, it’s moving on its own.”

“Let’s follow it,” Richard suggested. Garrin and William looked back to the boy. Richard pointed to the crystal. “If the sorceress wanted us dead, I think she could have managed that without tricking us with a cursed crystal. Maybe it is meant to help us. Let’s follow it. I mean, if it was bad magic, wouldn’t Kaspar be attacking it?”

“Richard…” William looked to Garrin for support.

“Why not?” Garrin said. “All right, Richard. Let’s follow it for a bit and see if it leads us somewhere useful.”

William huffed and pointed at Garrin, but the trapper shrugged and gestured for Richard to lead the way after the crystal, which was now hovering twenty yards in front of the group.

“Grab the horse’s guide rope, will you?” Garrin said to William. “I’ll keep an eye on Richard and Kiska and Rux can protect our flanks.”

The three of them walked for the space of an hour through the forest. Whenever the snow or fallen logs slowed their progress, the crystal would hover in place and wait for them to catch up before moving along. Its red light illuminated the forest around them much in the same way a large fire might, casting orange and red hues across tree trunks and reflecting off the white snow sitting upon the branches.

William followed along silently, but Garrin knew his patience was running thin. The moon was now peeking out from behind the clouds just enough for him to know that it was getting late. They would need to stop soon and rest. The trapper hoped that Richard was correct, and that the crystal was helping them, but he was also keeping his eyes peeled for any area that might make for a good shelter for the night. The problem was, all he saw was snow and trees. Under normal circumstances he could easily make a lean-to, with tree boughs for a bed and a fire out front to keep animals and the elements at bay, but this was no ordinary night. They were being hunted by a wizard. They needed a cave, or some other location where they might be able to defend themselves from attack. Yet, even after another hour of following the floating crystal, he saw nothing that was even remotely suitable.

It wasn’t long after that before William was insisting they should set up camp.

*****

Seidrif walked along the ridge of a hillock, eyes fixed on the red glow a couple hundred yards off to his left.

Foolish of you to use a fire while being hunted
. Seidrif sneered wickedly. He had himself extinguished his magical light when he had first seen the orange and red glow. It made for much slower progress, but he had all the time in the world. In fact, if it took him three hours to reach them, so much the better, for they would likely have fallen asleep near the fire and would be easy pickings. It wouldn’t of course, take hours to cross a couple hundred yards, but it was pleasing to know he wouldn’t have to hurry in order to catch his quarry.

He picked his way through the snow carefully, ducking under branches and weaving around tree trunks as his eyes alerted him to their presence. More than once he had to fight against a stick that would pop up in front of his leg, but he moved slowly and methodically to ensure that he wouldn’t break them.

A thump sounded in the distance to his right, jolting awake his reflexes and causing him to spin around and put his hands up in preparation of an attack.

Nothing came.

Maybe another deer.
Seidrif sighed and shook his head. Perhaps it would be better to have some amount of light to use. He pulled the crystal out once more and whispered to it gently, speaking the incantation that brought forth a gentle glow. This time, instead of letting it dangle from a chain around his wrist, he held it firm in his left hand, making only a narrow slit between his left index and middle fingers to allow for some light to flow out. He used this method to shine the light on the spot where he had heard the sound just moments before.

As he had suspected, a stunned pair of doe eyes looked back at him, head still and neck strained as the deer’s ears twitched back and forth. Then, it bolted off through the forest, hooves sounding like thunder in the otherwise silent trees.

Seidrif kept the light pointing downward at the snow, doing what he could not to announce his presence to the campers beyond. He crouched low as he moved down the hill and into a small ravine. He fully enclosed the glowing crystal in his fist as he came up over the other side. The fiery red glow was closer now, its light dancing upon the trees and snow.

The wizard smiled to himself. The rage within him compelled is feet forward. Now he would surprise the traitor.

He stealthily made his way through the trees. The glow grew bright enough now that he could extinguish his own crystal entirely once more. He moved from tree to tree, hiding behind one for a moment or two before moving closer.

Soon he could hear the fire popping and crackling off in the distance.

Seidrif peered around a tree and studied the camp. A lean-to was built up against a small hillock, nestled up against a large, gray boulder. His eyes scanned the area. Where were those dogs? He would have to bring them down first if he wanted the element of surprise.

As he searched in the firelight, he saw a mass of fur near the fire. It appeared as though the dogs were asleep. The thought occurred to him that if he wanted the dogs to stay out of the fight, he would do better to overwhelm them before they woke. He had the power to obliterate the camp at once. This way he could finish the dogs, the traitor, and the guide all at once. The only problem was the child. If he poured everything he had into the spell, there would be no way to spare the child from the magic.

He knew his king would not be pleased if the child was hurt. He had almost decided to stay the stealthy course but Seidrif’s anger boiled over his reasoning when he saw a shadowy form move into view with his back to him. A trap hung from the man’s left side, dangling and clanking as it swung on the belt. It was the same kind of trap that had brought his horse down. Had it not been for that trap, he would have been with his brothers, and they would not have died. No, there would be no mercy this night. Better to explain that the battle got out of hand than let his brothers’ blood cry out for vengeance and go unsatisfied. The wizard stepped out from behind the tree and summoned all of the strength he could muster into one, staggering spell. The trees rustled as wind gathered in his hands. The shadowy form turned around to find the source of the noise, but by the time he saw Seidrif, it was too late.

The bearded wizard let loose his crushing wall of wind. Trees snapped, snow flurried before him as though whipped up into a blizzard, and the man in the camp was thrown onto his back, tumbling over the fire and slamming into the lean-to, which in turn splintered apart.

Seidrif walked easily through the cleared forest area, admiring his handiwork and studying the fallen branches now covering the camp. He smiled at his power, but the elation was short lived. He walked near a large branch that had landed across one of the dog’s backs. He studied the fur and realized it was no dog, but a wolverine. The mess of fur next to him was a wolf, not unlike the ones that had been at the previous battle scene. Seidrif cursed the night when he saw the tell-tale broken legs and lines of blood on those two animals. These were not the trapper’s companions, they were his prey.

The bearded wizard lifted the branches and trees from the camp with another spell, letting them hover twenty feet above the fire, which was struggling to rebuild itself after the spell’s bombardment. Along with the trees and branches, the lean-to went up into the air. Seidrif’s fury boiled hot again as he discovered only one bedroll.

“Who…who are you? What do you want?” a man groaned from the ground.

Seidrif turned and narrowed his eyes on the trapper. “The traitor and the child, where are they?”

“The who?” the trapper replied as he held out a hand. “I work alone, no one is with me!”

Seidrif could see the truth of the situation in the trapper’s pained, terror-filled eyes. This was not the right trapper. The bearded wizard snarled and flicked his wrist. All of the rubble circling in the air above coalesced into one massive pile of wood before dropping down and burying the screaming trapper. The wood crashed and splintered and the man’s screams were cut short. The bearded wizard then levitated each of the burning logs from the fire and sent them to the tangled mess of wood. The fire took some coaxing, but it caught onto the rest of the pile soon enough.

Within minutes, there was a fire roaring to life in the forest.

The wizard put his back to the destroyed camp, and continued his search for the child.

*****

Garrin put his hand out suddenly and halted the group. “Did you hear that?” He turned around and scanned the forest.

“Avalanche?” William posited.

Garrin shook his head. “Those aren’t very common in these parts.” He strained his eyes. Off in the distance he could see the glimmer of a camp fire. “Perhaps the wizard has given up for the night and decided to set up camp.” The trapper pointed to the fire and Richard and William turned to look.

Something bumped against Garrin’s hand. He looked down to see Kaspar pushing against the canister’s lid, which was blocked by Garrin’s hand.

“Sorry,” Garrin said as he moved. Kaspar came out and climbed up to sit upon the trapper’s shoulder. “What do you see?” Garrin asked.

Kaspar watched the fire, the light reflecting in his eyes, and then he chattered low and quiet.

Garrin nodded. “It’s the wizard.”

“Look!” Richard gasped.

Something large rose up in the darkness, nearly covering the fire’s light.

“What in Hammenfein can that be?” William asked.

Garrin shook his head. As he watched the scene unfold, the dark shape fell once more. A few moments later, the fire seemed to jump in the darkness. Then it grew. A chill ran down Garrin’s spine as he watched it.

“I don’t know what it is, but I don’t want to find out either. Let’s move.”

Fortunately, they had already come to the mouth of a cave. The crystal was hovering a few yards inside, waiting for them. Garrin instructed the others to head into the tunnel a ways while he stayed near the entrance and set up a few surprises of his own for the wizard.

His first set of traps wasn’t overly elaborate. In fact, it was only a series of tripwires. He tied them across the floor of the cave, just a few inches above the ground and secured to roots or other stable objects he could find. It wouldn’t kill the wizard by any means, but if he managed to trip the man, then the split-tails would for sure hear it and the camp would be alerted. If he got extremely lucky, maybe he could get the enemy to knock himself out.

Once he finished with four tripwires, he moved down into the cave, inspecting the walls as best he could for other ideas. He found one more area that was perfect for the last bit of small rope he had. It took some doing, but he was able to thread the rope along the floor for a tripwire, and then up the wall behind a large root and then across the ceiling. He used the slack to tie a long piece of wood he found and then hoist it up to the ceiling. Lastly, he pulled all the remaining rope back through the tripwire so that it was snug. When he was done, the trap hung next to the ceiling, waiting to fall upon any invader once tripped.

Satisfied that he had enough to at least slow the wizard, he moved to catch up with the others.

He found them another fifty yards in the tunnel, standing before a large door carved from stone.

“What is this place?” William asked.