First Comes The One Who Wanders (34 page)

They rode in silence until they reached the forest road then stopped on the side of the road, just past the intersection and had their midday meal of bread, cheese and wine. It was a plain lunch and adequate to ease her hunger. Leilas thought of the cake she'd be enjoying if she were still at Dirthstone Manor. But those days were gone forever.

The forest road was more of a trail and accommodated only single file. Erion took the lead, while Leilas took the middle and the reins of the pack horse. Joshuas guarded the rear. None of them expected to run into trouble on this road. The messengers used the main road, as did the guards and most weren't bound for the Southern Plains. In fact, all the travelers they'd seen were traveling in the direction of the sea.

Leilas couldn’t help but think they were going to join the Dark Masters’ army. It bothered her that she’d seen no activity of the Jovanulum gathering. When was the call going to go out to them that war was imminent?

The wind blew against their backs as they traveled and soon Leilas was numb with cold. She wrapped the rein of the pack horse around her wrist, so she wouldn’t drop it from her numb fingers. Occasionally, Erion would call her attention to some landmark or make a comment about the road or the weather. Otherwise, they rode in silence until nightfall. They were near no towns or villages, so they made camp in an open clearing on the fringes of the wood. Making a break of dirt, Joshuas did his best to shelter them from the wind and then built a fire.

Leilas placed her pack near the fire then leaned close trying to thaw her frozen hands. She wished she’d thought to ask for gloves at the School of Sky. When she could feel her hands again, she went in search of water. There was a stream about a quarter of a mile away, she filled their water skins and their bucket and then started back to camp. Just outside the light of the fire, she stopped at the sound of unfamiliar voices.

"Where’re you headed?" asked a gruff voice.

"To the Forest of Furlin," answered Erion in his musical voice. Leilas had noticed that just the sound of his elven voice usually stopped most of the questions.

"An elf, eh? And a crafter from the look of it. Anyone else with you? Looks like you’ve got an extra saddle and horse."

"We bought a horse off a traveler a few days ago. He was in need and we were looking for a second pack horse. It worked out," replied Joshuas. Leilas stood quietly and tried not to make any noise or disturb the night animals. She couldn’t see who was talking, but the fact that Joshuas had misled them told her they weren’t friends.

"We’re looking for a girl," said the voice ignoring Joshuas’ explanation.

"Me too," joked Joshuas. "Do you know where I can find one?"

"Shut up, crafter, before I stick you with my poker," said a second voice, raspier than the first.

"This girl is a crafter like you, dressed in green."

"Who’s looking for her?"

"We are," snarled the voice. "Our master wishes us to find her."

"And your master is?" prompted Joshuas, ignoring their warning to be quiet.

"Our masters are sent from the dark one himself."

"What do they want with this girl?"

"You ask too many questions, crafter. Have you seen her?" Leilas heard feet shuffling and the sound of someone being dragged to their feet. Setting the pail and water skins down, she slipped her hand to her axe.

"Since she sounds like a Land crafter," said Joshuas, in a slightly strangled voice. "I'd be more than happy to tell you, if I’d seen her. But unfortunately, I haven’t." Leilas had to wonder why he was even trying to reason with these men. She was ready to jump out and attack. "After all," added Joshuas, "I'd be foolish to think I could take on so many of you."

The voice grunted and Leilas heard Joshuas fall to the ground. "There'll be others coming through. If you do see her you’d be wise to tell them."

"We’ll keep a sharp lookout," replied Joshuas. His words were followed by a loud crashing as the group moved out of the forest and back onto the road. Leilas waited until she couldn’t hear them anymore then stepped into the clearing. Erion and Joshuas were nowhere to be seen. Leilas probed gently with her thoughts and found them trailing the group back to the road. She could also see what they were after. One of the soldiers had helped himself to one of the packs. Joshuas’ pack and it seemed there was something quite valuable in it that he wanted back badly enough he was willing to face this group of brigands.

"Stay where you are," he spoke into her mind. "It's too dangerous for you here." Leilas was tempted to ignore him and join in the fight that was bound to take place. She’d actually moved to the edge of the clearing before she stopped. Joshuas and Erion had been taking care of each other for a very long time and it would only complicate matters by making them worry about her. Swinging her axe in the air in frustration, she replaced it in her belt and went back to retrieve the water. This time it was her turn to do nothing but worry.

An hour went by, then two. She had the horses saddled, her pack in her hand ready to go find her friends when the third hour was gone. Making sure the fire was cold she climbed on her horse, gathered the reins of the others and headed for the road.

Tracing the road back the way they came, Leilas caught up with the band of unruly soldiers at the entrance to the forest road. Tying the horses to a tree, Leilas crept through the forest until she was even with the group. There was no sign of Erion and Joshuas or his pack, only thirty soldiers whose loyalty lay with the Dark Lord.

Leilas had been sure she would find her companions here as prisoners of these men. Now that she hadn’t, she began to fear the worst. She began to worry that they were laying by the side of the road somewhere, dead. Leilas cast her thoughts out to Joshuas but felt no answer in response. She called to Erion only silence answered her. Going back to the horses, she hurriedly retraced her steps, checking the roadside all along the way. When she reached the spot where they had left the road, she checked the campsite.

"Where are you, Joshuas Greyanson?" she called aloud in frustration, but there was no answer. Regretting that she’d let him talk her into staying behind, she sank down to the ground and waited in the cold.

Morning broke gray and dismal. There was still no sign of Joshuas and Erion. Leilas wasn’t sure what she should do. Gathering some wood, she started a small fire and cooked breakfast. She was still alone by the time she’d cleaned her utensils and repacked. Did she wait or did she go on?

She didn’t want to leave if there was a chance her friends would return. Maybe last night she’d followed the wrong group on the road. Maybe there had been another. She knew as soon as she had the thought, it wasn’t true. There'd been virtually no one on this road. The odds that there would be two large groups of soldiers were slim. Where could Joshuas and Erion have gone and why? Why didn’t he try to communicate before he left?

Leilas sat and searched for answers to these questions until the bleak sun shone weakly through the clouds straight above her head. The weather was turning quickly and every day she delayed made the trip harder. Eating a cold meal of bread and cheese, Leilas decided to give them until the morning. That decision made, she made a small fire and settled down to wait.

~~~

"They have the book of prophecy," said Joshuas to Erion, seeing his pack on the back of one of the men disappearing into the woods. "It's in my pack." He charged after the man without even stopping to consider. That book had been given into his hands to keep safe. He couldn’t let it fall into the hands of the Dredracians now, just when the masters were going to have need of it. Sprinting through the wood, he caught up with the group when they reached the road. Trailing them through the trees, he felt Erion following him. Leilas was about to come after them too, he could feel it. Sending his thoughts out to her, he told her to stay where she was. He and Erion would handle this and be back in just a little while. As he moved through the trees, he kept an eye out for the man with the pack. Moving from the back of the group to the front, he couldn’t find the man. Stopping, he let the group move past him, checking each man as he passed.

He let his head fall back in frustration as the last man passed. Whoever took the book was no longer with this group of soldiers. Erion stepped up behind him and placed his hand on Joshuas’ shoulder. "I thought I saw a path break off from the road a little way back. Perhaps he went that way." Joshuas nodded and started back the way he came. Finding the trail that Erion had spotted, he began trailing the mysterious stranger through the woods.

It didn’t take long to realize that their thief was heading southeast toward the Drakmoth Mountains. If he reached the foothills before they caught up with him, it would be almost impossible to catch him. Joshuas broke into a trot. Morning broke overhead, but he ignored it and kept on running, stopping only long enough to drink. The man ahead of them was moving quickly, faster than a human could move. Joshuas was beginning to suspect their prey was a dark elf. He just didn’t know why they would send someone to steal the light crafters’ copy of a book they already had. Unless he stole it to keep the masters from studying it, or to draw him away from the Chidra.

Joshuas came to a sudden halt. What a fool he was. Of course it was to get the Chidra alone. She was the key to all of this. He’d let his obsession with Greyan’s prophecies cloud his judgment.

"We have to go back," he panted to Erion. "We left Leilas unprotected."

"Which is what they wanted us to do," finished Erion, groaning.

They turned to go back to the campsite, when they found themselves in the midst of a group of dark elves, bows notched and aimed.

This isn’t good," said Joshuas, not moving. One misinterpreted move and a dozen arrows would pierce his heart. One of the elves spoke to him in a dialect he didn’t understand. Erion laid his weapons down and told Joshuas to do the same. The elf spoke again and laid the pack down on top of the weapons.

"He said they've done what they were told to do. They won't kill an elf and a crafter with no just cause, mortal enemy or not," said Erion smiling grimly. "They're going to leave us tied up when they leave."

"I would too, if I were them," said Joshuas. "I can’t get in touch with Leilas. For once, she did what I told her to do and stayed behind."

"Obviously, this was a ploy to separate us," said Erion, as they tied his hands and feet.

"It worked, too," replied Joshuas, as an elf tied him to a tree. "But what are they planning to do with Leilas?"

The leader of the dark elf troop called out terse orders to his people. They worked in silence. Joshuas tried to probe their thoughts, even though he knew that his crafter magic was practically useless against elves. He ground his teeth in frustration when his attempt was unsuccessful. Once they were tied, the elves sat down and waited.

When the sun was setting, the elves gathered their packs and weapons. Leaving the stolen pack and the weapons they'd taken from Erion and Joshuas where they'd dropped them, the elves disappeared into the woods. As soon as they disappeared, Joshuas spoke a spell of unbinding and his ropes fell off. Moving over to Erion, he untied his ropes then picked up his pack and made sure his book was there. Finding it right where he had placed it, he tucked it inside his tunic. He would be cautious now that it was too late.

As soon as Erion had retrieved his weapons, they set out at a run for their camp, hoping they weren’t too late. Joshuas ran until he could run no farther, them slumped against a tree to rest. "Just a few minutes, Erion. I’m not as young as I used to be." Erion took a drink and waited patiently for his friend to recover. They ate a quick meal out of the pack and then continued. They had reached the entrance to the forest road as the sun was beginning to rise. Once more Joshuas tried to reach Leilas with his thoughts. But it seemed as if he was sending them into a void. Grinding his teeth in frustration, he continued on to where they'd last seen the Chosen One.

They walked into the forest and spent several minutes looking before Joshuas stopped and glanced around in confusion. He would have sworn this was where the campsite was supposed to be, but all he could see were trees. There was no clearing, no ponies, no fire. When he looked at Erion, he seemed just as confused.

"I was sure this was where we set up camp," began Joshuas.

"As was I," agreed Erion. "But you can see as clearly as I, there is no camp here."

Joshuas backtracked to the road, Erion following. Then he headed for the clearing again. They ended up where they were before, in among the trees. There was no clearing, no horses, no Leilas. Sitting down, Joshuas tried to calm himself and think. He felt like he was in a dream. Everything seemed to not quite make sense.

"There is a powerful dark magic here," said Erion finally. "Strong enough it's even affecting me." He sank down next to Joshuas.

"We must try to counteract it," replied Joshuas, trying to think. "We need to find Leilas." Closing his eyes, Joshuas cleared his mind and then began to chant. Now he could feel the magic, the strength behind the magic. Slowly, he probed the spell for Leilas, moving his mind around the edges of the spell.

When he quit chanting, he shook his head. "I've never encountered such strong magic before," he admitted.

"Nor have I," said Erion. "Who could have cast such a spell? Not those dark elves."