War of the Fathers (5 page)

Tere Huel sighed, squinting from the light, it was
early morning and the angle of the sun was blinding. The dew was beginning to
evaporate and he could tell already that it was going to be a hot day. They'd
camped on the outskirts of Neberan late last night and had been careful to
conceal their presence from the road. It wasn't necessary, what were the
chances that Adar would be in this backwoods town anyway? Still, old habits die
hard. While they were on a retrieval mission, it had been his mission for the
last fifteen years. Even though the feeling of urgency had long since
dissipated, they'd awoken before first light and broken camp.

Tere took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing
on the sound of the gravel crunching underneath the hooves of their horses. He
froze. Had it really been more than fifteen years since the night that he found
Adar beside Nelion as her life ebbed away? It was a night that continued to
haunt Tere’s dreams.

Adar’s pristine white clothes had been spoiled with
Nelion’s blood and his cold emotionless face had stood in contrast to the
dreadful pleas of the man dying beside Nelion. If Tere had known how that night
would change his life, he would have run from Rarbon and never looked back. So
many things would have been different. Tere pushed away the memory with a
prayer to Vicael.

“You want to go in alone?” Tarner Neatel asked as he
wiped his brow, it was easy to forget when they were riding that Tarner was a
good foot shorter. Tere had always supposed that was the reason Tarner was
always so determined to get what he wanted. Today Tere couldn’t tell if Tarner
wanted to come or not.

“I don’t know.” Tere touched his fingers to his lips
completing the prayer, if the others noticed, they didn’t comment. He slowed
his horse to a stop and looked down the hill at the town. “Neberan is small.
Three armed men will be noticed right away, where one might avoid attention.”

Larae would like this morning,
Tere thought as
he closed his eyes imagining he was back home, sitting on the porch eating eggs
and toast with Larae cuddled beside him as Sharu played nearby, having showed
no interest in her breakfast. After several long seconds, he reminded himself
Sharu hadn’t been that small for almost two decades.

There had been a time when that memory warmed him, but
now it was just an empty husk. The years of watching Sharu grow to a woman were
past and even though he had made regular return visits to Rarbon, it was never
long after arriving before Rahar Abel insisted that Tere leave again to chase some
other rumor of Adar.

At first, every day Tere had spent away from his
family was a bit heavier than the last, but that had changed. The gulf between
Larae and him had grown until Sharu was the only connection they had remaining.

These days it was better for him to be away because
Larae had taken a lover. Tere didn’t have proof but at times there were words
that his wife and daughter exchanged that left him puzzled. He’d refused to ask
questions or give much thought to the matter. What was the point? He couldn’t
blame her because duty had become his mistress.

Melyah take the Rahar!
Rahar Abel claimed that
his grandson Jorad must be found to protect Rarbon, but he said many things
that Tere had long since stopped believing, it was mere duty that caused him to
continue the search. He had, after all, his oath to obey.  

“If you find Adar you’ll want us with you,” Tarner
said. “You can’t kill him alone.” Perhaps Tarner did want to come.

“I should go,” Lous Liup said, startling Tere. The man
spoke so infrequently that Tere was never sure if Lous knew what went on around
him. “Adar doesn’t know me.”

Tarner snorted. “I’d give you ten minutes before you
forgot why you were there.”

Lous just shook his head and didn’t answer as Tere
closed his eyes again and wished the sun would melt away the pain. It didn’t
matter why they were still looking for Jorad. What mattered was that Abel still
believed Jorad could be found.

“I’ll go alone.” Tere noticed Tarner hide a smile and
realized that must have been what he’d wanted from the beginning. Tere almost
changed his mind just because he didn’t want Tarner to think he could be
controlled, but he relented. Tarner and Lous could both use the extra rest and
it would be better for Tere to scout out the city alone. If by some remote
chance Adar was here, they didn’t need to announce their presence.

Jorad sat beside Soret on a fallen log and did his
best to think of the right words to say. They were on the outskirts of town and
had a good view of Vigorock as it shined in the late morning sun. Oh how he
wished that he had more time to puzzle out its secrets. The key to the ancient
weapons could be right in front of them and because they didn’t know what they
were looking for they would probably just pass it by. How much more efficient
would it be to get Vigorock to work now rather than spending an unknowable
amount of time trying to get into the Portal only to be faced with similar
questions if he was successful?

Several small children with huge grins ran by and he
watched them as they passed. The smallest lagged behind and was calling to the
others to wait. As Jorad stared at the children, he wondered if there was anything
he could do to help them. Adar and he had agreed to warn everybody they could
before they had to leave, but he knew that their efforts would be futile. Even
if he somehow found the parents of these children, it would not be an easy task
to convince them that they were in danger.

Adar had mentioned something about going to see Mayor
Keeret and Jorad wished him luck. The mayor was a prickly woman and didn't
particularly like Adar. Melyah, even if she liked Adar, a story about the
Hunwei wouldn't go over well.

Jorad yawned. He and Adar had arrived at the boarding
house in the early hours of the morning and gone to bed. He had done his best
to sleep but the stress of returning to Rarbon kept him tossing and turning.
He'd finally managed to doze only to be awoken by Adar a few minutes later.
They decided to leave Zecarani in the early afternoon after Adar tied up a few
loose ends.

Jorad's first thought when he awoke had been for
Soret. He'd grabbed a slab of bread from the kitchen and scarfed it down on the
way to the Tedenhel Store. The return of the Hunwei had at least solidified his
decision about her, his concerns about her parents seemed trivial in comparison
to the days ahead. Luckily, when he had arrived at the store, Barc and Hira
weren't around. It took some doing, but he'd managed to convince Soret to come
with him on a walk.

“Ruder was right,” Jorad said, not knowing how to
start. He couldn't afford to have this conversation go badly but there also
wasn't much time before he would be leaving. He needed to convince her to leave
Neberan by either coming with him or by going somewhere safe and hiding.

“Ruder is crazy,” Soret said, her eyes bored into him
but he held her gaze. She was wearing brown trousers, a green blouse, and had
her hair back in a ponytail. She might have thought she looked prettier when
she had dressed up for the wedding, but she was just as beautiful now. He could
smell the hint of the shampoo she used this morning.

Jorad shrugged and recounted to her the events of the
last day, his certainty that the Hunwei had returned and that he was going to
Zecarani to help Adar find a way to fight them. He left Rarbon out of the
explanation for now.

“I can't believe you're trying to convince me the
Hunwei are real.” Soret shook her head while standing up. “I need to return to
the store. I promised dad I’d make some deliveries. I don’t have time for
this.” Soret stalked away with her back straight. He’d seen that walk before,
and knew that she was furious. He would have liked to give her time to calm
down but didn't have the luxury. He chased after her.

Somebody called his name from behind as he ran, but he
ignored it because Soret turned. “Is this your plan to trick me into marrying
you? You’re not the first man to try something like this on me. My dad won’t
give me a dowry if I pull a stunt like that. So if that’s your plan get it out
of your head now.” She stood in the middle of the road. Several people were
passing by on either side, but she didn't seem to notice the strange looks she
was getting.

“Soret,” Jorad began but before he could continue,
Erro Paler pushed between them and Jorad almost lost his balance. Erro was the
same height as Jorad and reeked of cologne. His gaudy sword hung at his side
and he wore a triumphant look.

It took everything Jorad had not to punch the idiot.
He didn't know for sure if Erro had been spreading lies about him, if he did,
it would have been much harder.

“Here’s the man you want,” Erro said.

Several of Neberan’s town guard had approached as
well. Jorad recognized Thon Reaver, who nodded, but without his characteristic
friendliness. Thon was a decent fellow, who stood a head taller than Jorad and
had broader shoulders. The man always reminded him of an ox. Instead of the
open smile that Thon usually wore, he was tight lipped and scrutinizing Jorad’s
face. His thick sword, that was more club than sword, was strapped to his back.

Thon looked like he was trying to decide if Jorad had
done something wrong. Erro was doing his best to hide a smile. What was the
fool grasping at now?

Jorad clenched his fists. The last thing he needed to
do right now was get in trouble with the town guard watching. He made a
commitment to himself that the next time he had trouble with Erro that he was
going to give the fool a thorough beating.

“Erro--” Soret said.

Erro interrupted her and she scowled. “It’s not about
you,” Erro said. “Jorad is wanted for murder.”

That got Jorad's attention. At least Erro had decided
to make accusations to his face now. The treatment Jorad was getting from
Soret's parent's made more sense with this little tidbit coming to light. He
tried to refrain from sneering, but he only half succeeded.

“I’m not a murderer,” Jorad said. “Keep this up, that
could change.”

Thon smiled and the other guard—Sein wasn’t
it?—laughed. Erro pulled a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket. It was
old and creased in multiple places. Jorad tried not to look anxious, hoping it
wasn’t what he thought.

How had that followed them here? Colonipo was half a
continent away and it had been several years. Would that afternoon ever stop
haunting them?

“You go too far,” Soret said.

Jorad agreed, he’d been too patient. Erro was spoiling
for a fight and maybe it was time he obliged. Thon continued to stare at Jorad,
at least that made sense now.

“Here, let me see that little paper again.” Thon took
the paper and held it up, comparing it to Jorad, who smiled toothily.

Jorad hoped he never ended up on the wrong side of
Thon, who was a dangerous enough man without a weapon. The thick sword just
made him all the more formidable. Jorad had seen him practicing with it one day
several weeks ago. The man moved it with the ease a normal size man handled a
regular sword. Thon passed the paper to Sein, who switched his staff to his
other hand so he could take the paper and hold it up for comparison. Jorad
continued to smile.
Let them see this doesn’t bother me.

“This has been a waste of time,” Sein said, handing
the paper back to Erro. For his part, Sein looked relieved. There was a visible
relaxing of his narrow shoulders and the grip on his staff lessened as well.
“That drawing could be anybody. Even you Erro.”

“You’re right,” Thon said. “Sorry for the confusion
Jorad. Just a mistake, that’s all.” He put out his hand to Jorad, who took it.
“Enjoy the rest of your morning.”

“But it’s him!” Erro held the paper up so that Soret
could see it. “You deserve to know the truth.”

Jorad relaxed. It wasn’t the one he’d been thinking of,
if they’d had that one, Thon and Sein might not have been so easily convinced.

“I’ll never come back to you,” Soret said.

Erro choked on his words as his jaw clenched. “He’s a
murderer.”

“If Colonipo wants him, they can come get him,” Thon
said. “Until then this piece of paper isn’t enough to ruin a man’s life.”

“You can’t just let him walk free.”

“He’s killed nobody here,” Thon said. Erro grabbed the
paper back from Soret and stuffed it into his pocket before leaving.

Jorad turned to talk with Soret but she was already
stalking off again. Cursing, he ran to catch up to her. What was it that Adar
said? Some women took it as their purpose in life to make men work hard for
their affections. Jorad shook his head as he ran after her. This was a matter
of life and death. He needed her to pay attention to him so he could help her
survive the days ahead.

Tere spent the day scouting Neberan, which despite its
small size was dusty from all the traffic. The biggest buildings were a
boarding house, an inn, and a one-room schoolhouse. He was surprised at the
number of shops in town, but he assumed that meant most of the farmers in the
surrounding area did their business here.

At least there was a school. Most towns this far away
from major cities didn’t have one and children were educated only if there was
nothing better for them to do. In contrast, all the towns surrounding Rarbon
had at least one school and several teachers, even those that were small enough
they barely qualified to be called such.

Tere had made the right decision to leave Tarner and
Lous. The people he passed refused to make eye contact with him and when they
thought he wasn’t looking would stare at his sword. Three armed men would have
been a cause for concern and news of their presence would have spread like
wildfire. As it was, one stranger with a sword would be enough to cause gossip.

Instead of asking questions right off, he looked
around and told anyone that asked—there were few of those—that he was passing
through on his way to Zecarani and needed supplies. He wasn’t expecting to learn
anything that way but knew people would clam up the moment they felt unsure
about him. However, if a merchant thought that he was interested in buying something;
a casual question could elicit useful information.

Tere was in the middle of a conversation outside a
leather merchant's shop about a new coat he didn’t need, when he noticed a tall
young man that had a familiar look to him. Tere couldn't quite place what made
the man stick out. Was it his build, sword, light brown hair, or the way he
walked with an arrogant confidence? His fifteen year search had already been a
long enough road that he didn't trust the feeling of familiarity. He'd
experienced the same thing many times in his hunt for Adar and it had always
led to a dead end. Tere's eye began to itch and he did his best to wipe the
dust on his face away from his eyes, but he only succeeded in making both eyes
water.

The kid must have noticed him because he stared back
at Tere. He was with a woman who looked like she was angry about something. Tere
frowned, he’d seen that same expression on Larae many times and it had never
meant anything good. Poor lad would have a terrible time dealing with her while
she was like this.

The leather merchant, Timor, noticed Tere looking at
the couple. “That leather coat on Jorad? Best work I’ve done. I could make you
one like that for three juen of silver.”

Tere’s heart must have stopped, but he managed to
cover his surprise. Jorad had his sword strapped to his back, like a Radim and
it was one of the few swords Tere had seen today in Neberan.

Jorad wasn’t a common name in Rarbon, but this far
west it wasn’t uncommon at all to find two or three men in a village named
Jorad. In the early days of the search when they would ask for anybody named
Jorad, they’d get half a dozen leads. They hadn’t asked after the name often.
Adar would have stopped using their real names, or so Tere had assumed. Maybe
Adar was slipping.

The lad seemed surprised to see Tere. Had he
recognized something about Tere or something from Rarbon? Jorad had known Tere
as a small boy, but that was long enough ago that Tere wasn’t worried he'd be
recognized. Tere doubted the boy had recognized anything from Rarbon because
he’d been careful to dress in clothing that didn’t proclaim him to be anything
other than a man with a sword. He'd even covered the hilt of his sword with
cloth, hiding the distinctive marks.

The young man Timor had indicated, looked like Adar
and seemed to have something of Nelion in him as well, but that could just be
Tere’s imagination playing a trick on him. Searching for something for so long
made it easy to see things that didn’t exist.

Jorad walked faster and the woman that he’d been
chasing now ran to catch up to him. Tere thanked Timor and left but not before
he mentioned that he might be back for the coat. It was best to keep up
appearances, even if it might not be necessary any longer.

What were the chances of Tere finding a man named
Jorad, who carried a sword in a place where most others didn’t, that had
recognized something about Tere?

Once he mounted his horse, Tere had to restrain from
galloping out of town. Now that he had found them, he didn’t want to mess up.
So as much as it bothered him, he continued at a walk on the road out of
Neberan. With every passing moment he became more anxious and worried. This was
the best lead since Adar had disappeared and Tere’s men were half a mile out of
town. It had seemed a small thing to leave them, but now Tere cursed his
decision. He’d become careless. He smiled at some of the people he passed but
they didn’t return it and looked straight ahead pretending not to notice. So
much for the rumored hospitality of the west. 

Tere alone might be a match for Adar, but together
with Lous and Tarner they should be able to take him. Even though it had been
years, Tere was certain that Adar would still be in shape. The man had been
diligent about his training even when he was going through the trials. He
wouldn’t have become lax now.

Tere snorted. Adar had always been driven as though
somebody were cracking a whip over his head. Tere doubted that Adar lacked the
motivation to continue his training. Living life on the run would be reason
enough.

Tere reached the edge of town, made sure no one was
around and urged his horse to a gallop.