Things Unseen: (An epic fantasy adventure series) (The Caris Chronicles Book 1) (31 page)

After that, Janen wanted her to ride all the time, but as much as Caris loved riding, it was obvious that Janen, Syngar, and Kalen were extremely fatigued. She declined the offer, and braved out Janen’s protestations by declaring her own love of walking and desire to have the freedom to search for more herbs.

When they first left Telvendor, the trail headed south but as they travelled it wound around until they were heading east toward The King’s road.

The small group were still some days from the road when Caris began to feel uneasy. She had dreamt of grey ones during the night and ferocious creatures that looked like lizards but stood on hind legs as tall as a man. She thought Janen had most likely caused her nightmares with the stories he had been telling them last evening about fighting the acid spitting beasts, and wished she could shake the images from her head now that it was broad daylight.

“I had a terrible night’s sleep because of you,” she grumbled playfully at the handsome man riding Prince beside her.

“Because of me?”

Caris frowned at the strange look of hope that flitted across his face.

“Your stories of lost ones and lizard creatures filled my dreams.”

“Oh!” Janen laughed, “I never knew you were so squeamish.”

“Squeamish you call it! I can’t get them out of my head, lizards hunting through trees and waiting in bushes by trails, scores and scores of grey people filling The King’s road.” As Caris described the pictures, they became more vivid. Terror engulfed her as she felt herself surrounded by her enemy. The sharp tangy stench of unwashed skin filled her nostrils, snarls and guttural voices were all around her.

Slowly the images receded and Caris realised she was lying on the ground, a cool wet cloth on her forehead. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock at the face hovering just above her own. As her eyes came into focus, she recognised the worried features belonging to Janen.

“Get out of the way, she’s fine,” Kalen pushed Janen away.

“Make yourself useful and go get a fire started, we won’t be going anywhere for a while,” she paused, then looking at Caris, asked, “Unless you believe we are in immediate peril?”

Caris shook her head in confused reply. Why would Kalen ask her that?
How would I know? I just fainted; I hardly think that constitutes us all being in peril.

“Some fruit for her now Janen, and then I think we’d all enjoy a meaty soup for our midday meal,” she said to Janen who was still standing next to Caris, reluctant to leave.

“Go! I told you, she will be okay.”

Janen walked away, still glancing over his shoulder.

Caris giggled, “It’s as if he thinks I’m going to run away if he loses sight of me.”

“Mmm hmm,” Kalen murmured with a worried frown. “How are you feeling?”

As Kalen asked the question, Caris became aware that her head was pounding in pain.

“My head hurts,” Caris replied in a cute little girl voice she was sure had never come out of her mouth before. She giggled again, stopping as the pain in her head increased.

“Vision drunk,” Kalen murmured.

“Who drank?” Caris asked, starting to giggle again.

Kalen looked up and Caris noticed Jeniel on her other side. “Jeniel! My best friend! You’re so beautiful, isn’t she beautiful?” She asked turning to Kalen. Kalen nodded absentmindedly and Caris looked back at Jeniel who was grinning at her.

“I haven’t seen this before;” she said, looking at Kalen, “Is this common?”

Kalen shrugged, “it happens to some seers.”

“But she is not in danger?”

“Well I suppose that depends on what she saw, but other than a bad hangover she shouldn’t suffer any ill effects. Some istry tea will help.”

Jeniel grinned down at the giggling Caris. As she prepared to stand, she leant down to give Caris a kiss on the cheek. Caris threw her arms around Jeniel saying, “I love you.”

Jeniel giggled in return and said, “I love you too.” Then disentangling herself from the awkward position went to brew some tea on the fire Janen was preparing.

Kalen gently turned Caris’ face to her own, “Caris, I need to know what you saw.”

Caris giggled, “My head hurts so much!” she said sounding surprised.

“I know it does sweetie, can you tell me what you saw in your vision?”

“It was horrible! There were grey people everywhere, they smelt terrible, blah,” Caris said sticking out her tongue.

“What else did you see?”

“Scary lizards with long claws, they were trying to find us, they wanted to scratch us and take the pendant. They shouldn’t take the pendant; it’s The King’s pendant. Stealing things is bad. Maybe we should tell them it is bad. You can tell them, I don’t want to tell them. They’re scary.”

“They’re very scary, I’ve met them before.”

“You’ve met them?” Caris asked in awe. “Oh, when you fought them. Janen told us. That’s what started my scary dreams,” she pouted.

“I don’t think that’s why you’ve been seeing them. What else can you tell me about what you saw?”

“There were so many of them, everywhere. We couldn’t hide and we couldn’t escape.”

“Where, where were they Caris?”

“In the trees, and the bushes, everywhere.”

“The lizards and the grey people were in the same place?”

“No, they were near each other, but the grey people stayed on The King’s road and the lizards stayed in the trees. They didn’t like each other. I can see why, I don’t like them either. They’re not very nice. Not like you, you’re nice. Everyone likes you, especially Jispri, Jispri really likes you and so does...”

“On The King’s road? Where on The King’s road?”

“Where we’re going,” Caris said, surprised that Kalen didn’t know. “They’re everywhere along The King’s road, they’re looking for us, for the pendant.” Caris’ brow furrowed as she wondered how she knew that. She shrugged her shoulders and started to get up.

“I wonder where Janen is. I want to see Janen,” she said excitedly.

“Do you feel able to walk,” Kalen asked as she steadied her.

“I’d walk anywhere to find Janen,” Caris said with a sigh.

Kalen suppressed a smile and helped Caris walk over to sit by the fire, where Janen worked, preparing soup.

“You’re so good at making soup Janen, isn’t he Kalen? Isn’t he good at making soup?”

Kalen smiled.

“You said she was okay! What’s wrong with her?”

“She will be okay, she’s just drunk.”

“Drunk? Why? What did you give her?”

“Nothing, It’s just a reaction some seers get after having a vivid vision.”

Janen’s face went white. “What do you mean... seer?” he asked in a low voice, barely louder than a whisper.

Kalen looked at him in confusion, finally saying, “Janen, I know your village didn’t know much about Caris’ gifts but surely you know she has the markings of a seer?”

“What markings?” he choked out the words.

Kalen frowned at him, “These markings,” she said holding her hair out and pointing toward her own eyes.

“So she’s to be a healer and a seer?” he mumbled to himself. Forgetting about the soup, he said, “I’m going to hunt.” Kalen watched him wander off into the trees without his bow. She shook her head at him and moved over to the fire to finish the soup.

Jeniel sat by Caris, listening to her enthusiastic talking, and rescuing her tea from spillage from time to time. Crispin lay on his bedroll close by, resting his sore stomach; and Kilew helped Syngar with the horses while plying him with questions about their quest to retrieve the pendant.

They left the horses to crop grass and settled themselves at the fire. It wasn’t a cold day but it was a habitual meeting place, so the small group sat well back watching the small flames leaping about.

“Kilew, is there some way of calling the scouts in? Caris has had a vision, and we need to discuss its content with everyone.”

Kilew turned away from the group and holding his hands up to his mouth, in a complicated cone, made a piercing bird noise that echoed into the trees. After pausing, he did it two more times and then turned back to the conversation.

“I don’t suppose you could find Janen, Syngar? If we wait for him to finish sulking, he will miss the whole conversation.”

“Janen doesn’t sulk,” Caris chimed in.

Syngar was about to protest but Caris continued, “I’ll go find him!”

“No, no, no,” Jeniel laughed, pulling Caris back down. “Syngar will do it, wont you Syngar?” she asked with a brilliant smile.

He stood, smiling wryly at himself as Kalen snorted. He looked at Kalen and said, “I’m too old for this.” She laughed at his retreating back.

“Ooo, my head hurts,” Caris said, holding her head in her hands.

It wasn’t long before two female scouts loped into the clearing with their long light strides. A little while later Syngar returned with Janen.

“Found him sitting under a tree, seems he forgot his bow,” Syngar said with a smirk.

“See, I told you he wasn’t sulking, he was hunting!” Caris crowed, not understanding Syngar’s comment.

Janen gaped at Syngar in betrayed indignation.

Syngar laughed, “I didn’t say you were sulking, she did,” he gestured at Kalen.

Janen turned a hurt look toward Kalen.

She smiled at him, “I don’t know when you are going to stop torturing yourself over insignificant things. It’s hard not to say you’re sulking when you are.”

“It’s the sort of thing I would expect you to say to me, not to others about me,” Janen responded in a low voice.

“You are right, more sensitive than usual, but even so, if you think I spoke out of line, then I am sorry,” Kalen replied sincerely.

Janen shrugged and went to sit by himself at a small distance from the group.

“Glad you’re not sulking,” Syngar quipped, as he sat down beside him.

“Caris is a seer,” Janen said.

“Of course she is,” Syngar replied.

“You knew? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Everyone knows.”

“Not everyone knows, I didn’t know, my village didn’t know.”

“Truth to tell, I don’t know why you’ve got your breeches in a knot over it, it’s a special gift. You should be happy for her.”

“Of course I’m happy for her, I’ve always been happy for her. I was happy she never had to know the limitations of poverty, coming from a wealthy family; I was happy she was the best bow person in our village; I was happy for her being so clever and strong willed. I’m happy to see the delight she has found in plant lore and learning healing and I am happy for her that she is a seer. She is amazing, she was always beyond my means and so it shouldn’t worry me that she grows ever more beyond me.”

“Janen, I don’t think she is as beyond you as you seem to believe,” Syngar said as Caris collapsed beside them laughing.

“Janen! Why are you sitting so far away? Did you catch anything when you were hunting? Remember when we used to hunt together? I miss those days.”

“I miss those days too,” Janen mumbled.

“Lillin, are the other scouts far? Do you think they’ll be long?” Kalen asked.

“They are keeping watch; we can relay messages to them.”

Everyone moved in closer to Kalen, concerned to hear what she had to say.

“Caris has had a vision of The King’s road swarming with lost ones looking for us and surrounded by the Dark One’s lizards in the trees.” Kalen paused as those who hadn’t already heard the news murmured their horror. When their attention returned to Kalen she said, “I think our only option is to avoid them. Lillin, Minkre do you know of another path south?”

“There is a path; we passed it two days ago. If we press forward, we will reach a trail branching off this one heading south, it winds back to the path we need. We will save some time going that way, rather than doubling back. The path I speak of winds through the forest south and comes out to the east of Nader’s Crossing. We will lose days going that way rather than by The King’s road,” Minkre replied.

“The King’s road is no longer an option. It is no longer safe for travellers. It is imperative we bring word to The King as quickly as possible. I see now that I should have stayed with the elves and sent you all ahead of me. Even now, I am considering returning. I know we cannot spare any scouts to return with me, I beg of you to allow me to return alone,” Crispin said.

“That is not an option,” said Kalen at the same time as Jeniel spoke,

“No, you must not.”

Crispin looked around the circle, struggle evident on his face.

“Oh Crispin, it’s all my fault. I was the one who caused your injury. I will take you back to Telvendor!” Caris declared.

“It was not your fault Caris. You are not a geboath, you did not attack me, you have saved my life more than once and I would happily entrust myself to your escort back to Telvendor, but The King will have need of your gifts and I cannot deprive him of them. I will speak no more of returning. We will move forward with all haste, and I will spend longer in the saddle each day,” he said the last with a pointed look at Kalen and Jeniel in turn. “I think we should go forward, rather than back, if the scouts and Caris have no objection.”

Kalen moved to Caris’ side and began questioning her about whether she knew how far the lizards penetrated the trees. Lillin disappeared into the forest.

When Lillin returned some time later, she reported that the other scouts had noticed nothing of concern ahead. Kalen had gathered no more useful information from Caris. So the group decided that as Caris’ vision had shown the lizards surrounding The King’s road and they were still some days from that point, they should be safe to press forward until the end of the day.

Once the decision was made, they quickly packed and mounted up, Kalen putting Caris on her own horse. They rode the rest of the afternoon, until as dusk approached, they reached a point on their path where another path forked back alongside the one they were travelling. It led quickly downhill, separated from the path they had travelled by large boulders and a steep incline. The land they had travelled so far had been for the most part flat and Caris, who was coming down from her giddiness and labouring under an intense headache, was nonetheless, intrigued by the varying landscape.

One of the scouts held a quick conference with Kalen and Crispin and they made the decision to follow the trail to the bottom of the valley to camp by the creek. Caris rode with a throbbing headache and a sense of contentment. She suspected she had made a fool of herself more than once since her vision but as she looked around her companions, she was aware she was in a safe place.

It’s strange,
she thought
, we are being hunted by scores of grey people and vile lizard creatures. I am definitely not safe, but with these people, I feel safe from judgement.
Tears welled up in Caris’ eyes as she realised the burden of hurt she had carried for so many years. She allowed herself to explore that pain briefly before looking around at her new friends with an immense sense of gratitude.