Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) (48 page)

“
Do you think Fato
will find them?” Gnat asked.

“
I think so.” Basha
said.

“
It doesn’t matter
which way we turn, they always keep coming after and finding us.
What are we going to do now?” Oaka muttered.

“
How far away are
they?” Basha asked Monika, ignoring Oaka.

“
Thirty, forty, fifty
miles--” Monika shrugged as she tried to discern their location.
“It doesn’t matter. By the time we reached the bottom of the
mountainside, they will probably already be there to greet us.” She
whispered.
“And then we would
have to fight them to survive.”

“
We could stay up
here.” Oaka said, tilting his head back. “Climb higher. Go another
way, avoid Coe Wina. We could even keep going down in the dark,
reach the bottom sooner and race to Coe Wina in the hopes of
avoiding Goga and his forces.” He listed their options.

“
They would chase us
down in the valley. They might climb up after us. They would
continue to follow us, no matter which way we go,” Basha said,
shutting his eyes as he listed the results. “We can’t keep going
forever, not like they can.” He said.

Basha felt a strange resentment
bubbling up inside of him in that moment, something that had
threatened to spill over for days, just waiting to come out. Why
did he and the others have to deal with all of this mess, all of
this danger? Why couldn’t they just live a normal life like most
people did, with nothing more to worry about than a common cold or
crops failing or being evicted from his home? Something that didn’t
involved being chased down by Black Wolves and Goga’s men? At least
in normal life, life-altering or life-changing events didn’t mean
that you would get run down and killed. You might get hurt and
eventually would have to face your death, but not like this.
Please, gods, not like this, not with his friends or his
brother.

“
What can we do?”
Gnat whimpered, but no one answered her.

Basha just clutched Gnat’s hand. “We’re
going to make it, you’ll see,” He whispered, not really believing
his words.

Fato returned with the news that they
had already expected, and then they sat in silence. They ate little
that night, especially with their rations dwindling, and then they
huddled together for warmth. It wasn’t as cold as last night, but
they felt the chill on the mountainside and inside themselves. They
needed company. There was nothing that they could do now, and they
did not feel like traveling on in the dark to try beating the
inevitable, when it was already here, or would soon be. They tried
to sleep, but it was pointless.

They roused
themselves from a restive trance as the first light approached in
the sky from the other side of the mountain on the
25
^th
day of Markee, not even dawn and yet they were all ready to
continue on, the humans trudging down the mountainside in a bleary
wakefulness. The sun moved on, and rose ever higher that morning.
They managed to find their steps without slipping, and did not look
up as Fato flew ahead.

“
Why even bother?”
Oaka muttered to himself. The falcon could not help them, even if
he managed to reach Coe Wina and convinced the people there to send
help to the group--they would already be dead.

Basha lifted his head and stopped
walking. “Look,” He said, pointing down.

Now wide awake, the others stopped
walking and looked down as well. Beneath them, near the grove of
trees Monika had seen yesterday, they spotted a lone figure in red
and black uniform begin the climb up the mountainside.

“
Red and black?”
Monika said.

“
It does appear to be
that way,” Oaka remarked.

“
It could be a guard
from Coe Wina!” Gnat cried. “Red and black are definitely not Coe
Aela’s colors.” She said.

“
It could be, but how
did this person get here so fast?” Basha asked. “Did he know that
we needed help? And why is he here?”

“
I think it will be
another hour or two before we are close enough to even shout such
questions at him,” Monika said, and then they continued down, now
racing to reach the figure coming up to meet them.

“
Hello!” Basha called
when they were close enough.

“
Hello!” The figure
called from far below, stopping to raise his voice towards them. He
sounded faint, but at least they could hear him.

“
We are coming to
you! Are you from Coe Wina?” Basha shouted back.

“
Yes!” The voice
called up in reply.

“
That sounds
promising.” Basha said to the group.

“
Can we believe him,
Basha?” Oaka asked.

“
Do we have a
choice?” Basha asked. “It’s either him, and whoever else might be
with him, or wait for Goga and his men to show up.”

“
You give us such
tough choices.” Oaka said.

“
These are our only
choices, unless you can think of any,” Basha said, shaking his head
as he turned away from Oaka. “We have to hurry up, before it might
be too late.” He said, climbing down. “Sir!” Basha called out to
the man below. “We need help! We are being chased by men from Coe
Aela!” He cried.

The distance around the mountain had
been longer than going over the mountain, but Captain Goga had been
certain that he and his men would meet the group coming down the
mountain tomorrow morning or later on, as the horrible weather on
the upper slopes of the mountain must have slowed them down in
their ascent or descent. He had been unable to spot the group
climbing or descending the mountain when the telescope he had in
his possession was not powerful enough to focus on such minute
details, but he felt certain that the group would try to scale the
mountain before attempting to circumnavigate it. They might have
the foolish notion that a mountain ascent would be faster than
going around.

Goga would catch them one way or the
other, as all he had to do was wait. He could not proceed until he
was certain that they would or would not pass by here, and he could
not proceed without further risking arousal of Lord Lagotaq’s ire.
He also did not want to risk upsetting Doomba even further by
letting these youths get away from him. He had known the risk
coming into this mess, as it was obvious, and it was even worse now
that they were in the shadow of Coe Wina so to speak, with the
fortress a few miles away from here on its mound. All he had to do
was just keep his head, watch himself and the other guards as they
proceeded to chase down the group, and then be quick about their
business so that they could leave the area as soon as possible.

At least he might hope Lord Lagotaq
would be forgiving, able to understand that what he, Captain Goga,
was doing here was dealing with some personal, private business
that had just happened to spill over onto Lord Lagotaq’s land, and
could be dealt with accordingly and swiftly before he would
retreat. Not judging too swiftly, mind, that it could be
constituted as a threat. Unless Lord Lagotaq had developed
senility, then, and would not happen to notice the force of men
crossing his land—well, Goga hoped for this, too. He knew that
Doomba would never forgive him if he failed.

Goga and his men approached a grove of
trees near the base of the mountain that afternoon as the sun
slowly dropped in the sky. He felt that this might be the best
place to wait out for their descent to reach him as the shade might
block their view of his forces. His telescope was out, scanning the
mountainside as usual, but not a trace could be seen. He wondered
if he had missed them. Perhaps they had seen his approach--

“
Captain Goga!
Captain!”

“
What? What is it?”
Captain Goga asked, turning around to greet the guard coming up
towards him. Hava hovered in the background, as he usually did
these days.

“
Some of the horses
have wandered off again. Their riders have gone in search of
them.”

“
Is that all?” Goga
sighed, annoyed at being bothered by such a trivial matter. “Is it
the same three horses?” He asked, remembering the previous
occasion.

“
The exact same
three. They’ve been trouble ever since we left Coe Aela.” The guard
remarked. “That’s twice now they’ve wandered off, and they’ve
always acted up.”

“
I believe those
horses were requisitioned from the stables,” Hava remarked,
scribbling down a note in his developing manuscript of Goga’s
history. “The horses might have belonged to the group we have been
chasing, before the group left Coe Aela, and perhaps that is why
they act up.” He said.

Goga paused a moment to think. “You
know, that is perhaps the first sensible thing you have ever said,
Hava.” He said.

Hava stopped writing. “The first?” He
asked.

“
All right, you have
said more, much more, but that is perhaps the best,” Goga told
Hava, before turning to the guard. “Spread the word. All men on
foot, be alert, and prepare to scour the grove. All men on
horses--follow me.” He told the guard. The guard ran off to inform
the others, and Goga turned to the scribe. “Hava?” He
asked.

“
Yes, what?” Hava
asked, caught up in the action as the men prepared themselves with
the mounted guards coming towards them.

“
Give up your horse
to a man who needs it more, and stay with the guards on foot!” The
captain ordered. “Or better yet, don’t go into the grove at all. We
don’t need you to help us!”

“
What? After I came
all this way?” Hava cried.

“
Just do it!” Goga
told him, and then turned to his mounted men, six of them for now,
with three gone to look for their horses, and the seventh about to
exchange places with Hava. “Men of Coe Aela--no, you all are my
brothers.” He said hurriedly. “We ride towards Coe Wina. I don’t
know what is to happen next, but I believe that the chase is almost
done, one way or the other. The group is near, I feel that now, and
they are within our grasp, but it is a dangerous thing we do now,
especially when Coe Wina is so near. But we are not cowardly sheep
scum, no, we will not turn back. We will continue on and find them
before they reach the castle. We will be swift and to the point!”
He cried, riding off with all seven men.

Hava was left with the ten remaining
guards on foot, but then they continued on towards the grove, to
check if anyone was in there, and he was alone, out in the open
with quill, book, and paper still in his hands, his packs on the
ground. They had lost one man already, the man whose left leg had
been torn apart by a Black Wolf had died of his injuries, and they
would lose more now.

Hava grumbled to himself, kicking the
ground. He should have known better, he should have expected that
this would happen eventually, that he would be kept out of the
action, but he had gotten used to the idea that he would be
privileged enough to know and understand what was going on at Coe
Aela and with Captain Goga, so that he could write about it
someday. Captain Goga was an intriguing character, and though Hava
had been reluctant at first to be partnered up with him, to write
for him, at least he had gotten something interesting out of the
deal, in the fact that he might be on the front line with a rising
star who could be an important Follower of Doomba someday, not to
mention lord of Coe Aela. That alone might be worth the trip.

But now he was left out, and he
wouldn’t know for certain just what happened, only what Goga and
his men would care to mention to him. Next time, Hava swore, he
would not be left out of Goga’s activities, he would become
involved.

The men had entered the grove, and next
he heard a scream from that direction--he knew immediately that it
had been an ambush, especially as the trees themselves seemed to
move with the force of the attack. He picked up as many of his
packs as he could and ran; he had to get away before whoever was in
the grove attacked him as well. Perhaps he would go up the
mountain, as at least he knew there might be some shelter up there,
away from the range of their bows and arrows. This valley had
ridges, hillocks, and ravines, some trees as well, where he might
find shelter and hiding spaces for awhile, but it was all still too
close to Coe Wina for him to feel comfortable, and he would
eventually have to move out of this valley to get as far away from
Coe Wina as possible. No, the mountain was his best bet, he would
climb if he had to, perhaps cross over to the other side of the
mountain, back towards Mila Forest, or he might traverse the range.
Become a hermit if he had to, ha-ha, but no, he had to get
away.

Goga and his seven men rode across the
valley, their horses pounding the ground with thirty-two hooves,
and he grimaced to himself. Perhaps he should have thought this out
better, made certain that he had a plan in place when he went
around the mountain to capture the group, but there was no way he
could have anticipated every possibility of the group’s movements.
Perhaps Fobata would have done a better job at this, he was the
strategist of their unit during the campaign waged against Urso
almost twenty years ago, but Fobata wasn’t here, was he? No, it was
just him and his men now, just the way it should be, although Goga
dearly wished that his brother would--

Suddenly, Goga noticed the lip of the
ridge ahead, the drop, and what could only be a wide ravine
ahead—“Pull up!” He called, jerking back on the reins of his horse
and startling the beast at the sudden arrest, but the other horses
and their riders went on ahead.