The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (13 page)

‘Venison tonight!’

Xerxes and
Brutus reached the stricken deer first and leapt off their horses.  Brutus
quickly grabbed the beast by the antlers and twisted sharply to break its
neck. 

‘Nice
shot!’  he called out appreciatively to Mistral and the twins when they cantered
over. 

‘Phantom’s
call,’ said Mistral then shrugged.  ‘Personally, I was going to try for
all three.’

‘Of course you
were,’ said Phantom sarcastically.

They stood
together admiring their kill in happy silence for a few seconds before Phantasm
spoke, breaking them out of their proud reveries.

‘Not meaning
to be the dark voice of reason, but just how are we going to shift that?’

They all
looked at him for a moment before turning their attention back to the
buck.  Phantasm was right, it was huge.

‘I think our
Training Lieutenants could help here,’ said Xerxes with a grin.

The two
Lieutenants were unusually amenable to the idea of dragging the deer jointly
behind their two horses, prompting Mistral to begin a serious conversation with
Cain about how to keep drugging them when they returned to the Valley, but the
mischievous apprentice was strangely reluctant.

‘No Mistral,
I’m not going to risk being expelled for drugging our Training
Lieutenants!’  he said firmly and kicked his horse into a trot to pull away
from her and end their discussion.

They camped
early that night within sight of The Emerald Forests.  Bali had assumed
the role of some sort of leader in the absence of any coherent direction from
the two Lieutenants.  The other apprentices seemed happy enough with his
guidance but Mistral looked sulky whenever he turned to offer a quietly spoken
suggestion.

‘Who died and
made him our leader?’  she demanded in a low voice to Phantasm while they
made preparations for camp. 

‘The
Lieutenants, practically,’ said Phantasm mildly.

They both
turned and looked to where Caleb and Cyrus were slowly dismounting from their
horses, both still looking slightly dazed and confused.

‘Bali is an
experienced hunter and tracker Mistral, he knows what he’s doing,’ continued
Phantasm in a quiet voice.  

‘Huh,’ snorted
Mistral.  ‘I think we should have ridden on and made it to the
forests.  We could start hunting the goblins straight away then.’

‘What, in the
dark?’  Phantasm demanded in a cutting tone. 

Mistral looked
as though she were about to continue arguing but was interrupted by the arrival
of Phantom to ask for help with skinning and jointing the huge buck they’d
brought down.  Shooting Phantasm a final dark look, Mistral followed
Phantom over to where Xerxes and Brutus were making a start on the deer.

Bali was not
keen to light a fire within sight of The Emerald Forests in case it drew the
attention of the goblins but he was unanimously overruled by the other
apprentices.

‘I’m not
eating raw venison!’  Brutus announced with a grimace. 

‘We’ll need
the light of the fire to play cards!’  Xerxes argued.

‘And for
heat,’ added Phantom. 

In the end
Bali agreed to a fire so long as there was always one apprentice on lookout
duty.  Grendel opted to take the first shift and lumbered off to sit
quietly as short distance away, looking out towards the looming forest.

They ate
roasted venison and played cards again until late into the night.  Caleb
and Barak needed no additional assistance in falling asleep early and Cain was
starting to look slightly worried by the lasting effects of the previous
night’s dose of valeriana and white poppy mix.

‘I think I
definitely overdid it,’ he muttered, gazing at the snoring bulk of the two
Lieutenants.

‘Never mind,’
said Phantom brightly.  ‘At least they’re leaving us alone.’

‘Hmm, but to
be on the safe side I think I’ll dilute the rest in a gourd of wine for the
return trip.  Maybe the liquor added too much to the overall
result.’  Cain murmured thoughtfully.  He tipped the contents of the
small glass bottle from his pocket into a full skin of wine and stored it
carefully back into his saddlebag. 

Mistral took
the second shift from Grendel.  Wrapping herself warmly in her thick cloak
she tucked her arms around her knees and stared out at the dark mass of trees
across the moonlit grassland.  Lost in thoughts about the coming day,
Mistral didn’t notice she had company until the sound of someone sitting down
lightly made her look round. 

Phantom
wordlessly handed her a skin of wine and gazed at the shadowy forests. 
They sat together in comfortable silence, sharing the wine and listening to the
muted laughter and chatter from the other apprentices playing cards around the
fire.

‘Is Columbine
still being a miserable cow?  Mistral asked, casting a glance over her
shoulder at the camp. 

‘You mean more
than usual?  Then the answer is yes, she went to sleep as soon as we’d
made camp.  I don’t think she’s going to be much use tomorrow.’

‘All good
news,’ said Mistral happily.  ‘More goblins for us!’

Phantasm
joined them after a short while and the three of them sat together talking
easily about the forthcoming goblin hunt until Saul came to relieve them from
lookout duty at midnight. 

Cyrus and
Caleb were back to their usual surly selves by the morning, barking orders and
throwing their weight around as though they hadn’t just spent the previous day
in a useless daze.  Cain had chosen the wrong morning to have a hangover
and overslept, providing Caleb with a perfect target for his bad-temper.

‘Cain! 
Why aren’t you up and ready yet?  Put that fire out!  Who said you
could have a fire this close to our quarry?’

Cain leapt out
of his cloak and scurried around under Caleb’s wrathful gaze, frantically
dousing the fire and tidying up.  He stuffed his cloak hastily into his
saddlebag and jumped when Cyrus let out an angry shout.

‘Is that a
gourd of wine?’  he demanded, reaching across to grab the skin of wine
sticking out from Cain’s messily packed saddlebag.

‘No, no, it’s
just water,’ said Cain, quickly arranging his expression into one of wide-eyed
innocence.

‘A likely
story!’  Cyrus sneered, pulling the stopper on the skin and sniffing the
contents experimentally.  ‘Just as I though!  Wine!  I think
you’ll find yourself in trouble with Master Sphinx when we get back to the
Valley!  You were all forbidden from bringing wine with you on this
Contract.’

‘Sorry Cyrus,’
Cain said, looking chastened.  ‘It won’t happen again.’  he reached
out to take back the gourd.

‘I don’t think
so!’  Cyrus jeered, holding the gourd out of Cain’s reach.  ‘You can
watch your wine being enjoyed by people who’ve actually earned the right to
drink it!’ 

Laughing
nastily he tipped the gourd up and took a long drink before passing it over to
Caleb, who finished the rest in one long swallow.

There was a
stilted silence while all the apprentices turned to watch the wine mixed with
Cain’s potent drug immediately begin to take hold on the Training
Lieutenants.  

‘Oh no,’
Phantasm moaned, watching the glassy-eyed pair start to sway. 

‘Well that’s
our Training Lieutenants out for the day,’ said Cain matter-of-factly when
Caleb and Cyrus both toppled heavily to the ground, already emitting loud
snores.  

‘Briefing in
five minutes,’ Bali called out calmly and stepped over Caleb carrying his
horse’s saddle.

‘Relax,’
murmured Phantom, smiling at Mistral grinding her teeth together.  ‘We
have to go in there with some sort of plan, other than your grand idea of
bursting into the forests with a dagger clenched between your teeth and waving
a sword around!’

Mistral sat
with her arms folded staring sulkily into space while Bali outlined a simple
plan for the day.  Everyone agreed not to take their horses into The
Emerald Forests; they would only risk them becoming injured when the goblins
attacked.  Columbine was nominated to stay and guard them and the
slumbering Lieutenants.  To everyone’s surprise Konrad requested to also
stay on guard duty.  Phantasm shot Phantom a significant look but didn’t
say anything.

Bali and
Xerxes were the best trackers and were the obvious choices to go on ahead to
establish the goblins’ movements.  They would then ride back to report
their findings, leaving their horses so that they could then all go in on foot
hunt down the band together. 

‘When it comes
to the fight I suggest that we pair up.  My tribe had a few skirmishes
with goblins and they always fought dirty, usually attacking in groups.’

Everyone
nodded and immediately began to divide into pairs.  Grendel was happy to
fight on his own, Brutus and Cain agreed to join forces, the twins didn’t even
need to discuss it which just left Saul partnering Mistral.

‘Ready
Xerxes?’  Bali asked quietly.

Xerxes nodded
and strode over to untether his horse.  Swinging himself up into the
saddle he gathered up the reins and pulled his horse around to face the other
apprentices. 

‘Don’t forget
the small matter of our sweepstake!’ he reminded them all with a grin.

‘See you in a
bit ... and don’t take too long about it either!’  Brutus called after his
brother.

 Xerxes
waved over his shoulder as he and Bali rode away across the grassland towards
The Emerald Forests.  The remaining apprentices now had time on their
hands to kill and began to tidy the camp up, cleaning tack and checking their
armour and weapons were ready for the day.

Already
prepared, Mistral and Saul stood looking dispassionately at the snoring
Lieutenants, discussing the many times the pair had made their lives a misery
with their bullying. 

‘It’s so
tempting to do something to them,’ Mistral murmured, tilting her head on one
said and studying Caleb’s face.  He was snoring loudly with his mouth
hanging slackly open.

‘What? 
You mean something more than putting them in a drug induced stupor for two days
solid?’  Saul asked.

‘He made me
muck out the pigsty for fighting with Columbine.  Surely that’s worth more
than a couple of days sleep!’ 

‘Talking of
Columbine, d’you reckon Konrad’s taken a shine to her?’  Saul said,
raising his eyebrows.

Mistral
grimaced, ‘Please, I’ve just had my breakfast.’

Saul laughed,
‘He’s an odd one that Konrad.  Bali shares a room with him and reckons
he’s hardly ever there, even to sleep.’

‘Where does he
sleep then?’  Mitral asked with a frown.

Saul shrugged,
‘I don’t think he does.  He’s got drow blood in him and they’re very
strange creatures.’

Mistral
nodded, ‘Phantasm said pretty much the same, in fact he actually told me to
steer clear of him.’

‘Warning you
off us all was he?’  Saul asked with a grin.

‘Hmm, something
about you all being a bunch of thieves and assassins.’  Mistral laughed
and moved quickly out of the way as Saul made to punch her lightly on the arm.

‘I sincerely
hope you’re going to be hitting harder than that when we’re fighting those
goblins!’

‘Without a
doubt!  I wish they’d hurry up and get back.  This waiting is killing
me.’ 

It was another
two hours before Xerxes and Bali rode back to their camp and by then Mistral
was almost beside herself with impatience.  The rest of the apprentices had
settled down to a subdued game of knucklebones to pass the time but the sight
of the two apprentices galloping towards them caused their spirits to suddenly
soar.

‘Finally!’ 
Saul said excitedly to Mistral.  ‘Now we can get on with our first
Contract!’ 

Bali was
typically composed whilst Xerxes was just as typically breathless with
excitement.  He threw himself from his horse and strode over to where the
apprentices were all gathered, waiting expectantly.

‘Easy trail,’
he announced confidently.  ‘Bali reckons there are about twenty of them …
maybe more.  But nothing we can’t handle!’

There was a
sudden flurry of activity while everyone quickly strapped on armour and
weapons.  Filled with nervous energy, Mistral paced impatiently and
watched Saul check and then re-check his armour for the third time.

‘Oh for crying
out loud!  Will you get a move on!’ 

‘Mistral, calm
down.  It’s not as though the goblins are going to run away,’ Saul said
with a final tug at one his armour straps. 

They began to
walk towards The Emerald Forests with Bali striding ahead of them.  When
they drew nearer to the treeline it was easy to see how the forest had gained
its name.  Although it was still too early for the spring buds to have
begun to burst into leaf, wherever they looked was a vibrant shade of
green.  Thick, spongy moss covered the ground, swathing the tree trunks
and hanging in winding strands from the bare tree branches.  The air was
damp and filled with the steady sound of dripping water. 

‘Nice,’ murmured
Phantom, wiping moisture from his face when they entered the forests beneath a
hanging canopy of moss.

‘That’s what
made them so easy to track,’ explained Bali in a quiet voice.  ‘The moss
holds the imprint of feet perfectly.’

They moved
deeper into the greenish gloom of the forests, following Bali’s cautious
lead.  Even with no foliage on the trees few rays of light made it through
the tangle of branches overhead and it soon grew unnaturally dark. 

‘Do you want
to hold my hand?’  Saul whispered with a grin when he caught her looking
around edgily.

Mistral threw
him a scathing look and walked on, but in truth the forests unnerved her a
little.  It was too quiet.  The moss created a strangely enclosed
feel to the forests, making her feel trapped ... claustrophobic even. 

To stave off
the panic slowly creeping up on her, Mistral concentrated on studying the
spongy clumps of moss on the ground, looking for the tracks that Bali and
Xerxes had found earlier.  It didn’t take her long to spot several small boot
prints, perfectly captured in the wet moss.  She could instantly see what
Xerxes meant by it being an easy trail.