The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (29 page)

Erin groaned. “Tempo just added the ground
pests to the list.”

The group of men guarding Wras separated from
the guild train at the Y and headed east. Without conferring with
each other they all kicked into a gallop. Wras had been talking or
screaming the whole journey. If it wasn’t complaints or whining it
was threats. That grated on everybody's nerves. Then there was the
unspoken threat of where his crazy murdering cousin was, what he
was doing now and where he would show up next. The group guarding
the prisoner had to deal, without a lot of shelter, with the
weather, quakes and small biting ground varmints. They couldn’t get
to the miners fast enough. Everyone wanted this job done. The
sooner they handed over their prisoner the happier they would
be.

Not an hour later the road split again. The
messenger who had been riding with them gave a wave and peeled off
to deliver his message and the packet, that contained further
information, for the mayor of Morraton. The detail took the road
for the Sidetel Pass. They were all watching for the group of
miners from Khanlund that would take Wras the rest of the way to
the Great One. In less than a half an hour they were in the
steadily climbing foot hills. They rounded the bend in the road and
camped ahead was the eagerly awaited group of miners. They slowed
and approached. It could be a trap and there were ways to check.
They had to be cautious. Wras remained strapped to his horse with
two men of the detail guarding, while the others of the group
walked their horses forward.

The miners walked forward and pleasantries
were exchanged. The lead miner raised his hand to shake the hand of
the logger leader. As their hands touched a small jade disk was
slipped from one hand to the next. Neither man acknowledged the
transfer. The logger leader continued the report of the trip as he
surreptitiously looked at the stone. It had etched on one side, a
pick, and on the other, a tree. The stone was a sacred symbol
between the two guilds. That was one of the passwords. Now lets get
to the rest.

The detail leader from Sherroton studied each
man in the miner group. He found one who had short blond hair and
dark eyes and he pointed to him. “Give me the name of your mother’s
sister.”

The man blinked at him then replied, “My
mother’s sister is Zin, married to Holm.”

The lumberman nodded then commanded, “Show me
your left forearm.” The blond miner slipped off his jacket and
rolled up his sleeve to reveal an old scar the shape of a right
angle. Again the lumber man nodded. “Did you know that this man,”
and he gestured at Wras, “conspired to kill Holm because he and his
cousin felt he was a witch?”

The blond looked shocked. “No, I was not told
that. Holm is a good man. Is he alright?”

“He is. It was a near thing but he will live.
Do you vouch for the honesty of the men you travel with?”

“Yes, I have worked beside these men for
twenty years. They know me and a few know Holm.” There were several
voices raised from the miners, all pledging loyalty to the job at
hand.

The miner leader spoke up. “We have been
personally chosen by the Great One and we will take this man to
him.”

The logger leader gave the man a nod. “So be
it. Do not let him escape and be alert against anybody who wants to
free him. I don’t fully understand, but I have been told by Mayor
Cheroan, who I trust and respect, that our very lives depend upon
securing Wras, and eventually Bure, in Obsidian. He is in your
charge.” The lumbermen solemnly handed over Wras, who was still
cursing and threatening, to the miners. They then wheeled around on
their horses and trotted back toward Morraton. When they got around
the bend they broke out into an easy lope. They were to spend the
night in the founder city, replenish their supplies and then head
back home, to Sherroton, the following day.

The miner’s looked at Wras. They were saddled
with the criminal now. The distance to travel was less, but slower
and more treacherous. They all mounted up and got moving. There was
distance they could travel before nightfall. Every mile they could
cover brought them closer to the end of this duty.

They stopped for the night higher into the
pass. When the storm hit it was horrendous. First the lightning
striking the peaks around them, then the crashing thunder which
made the horses and the detail nervous. Loud sounds could play
havoc in the mountains. When it quieted everybody gave a sigh of
relief. Then the heavy rains came. There was some sleet mixed with
it which made conditions more miserable as people huddled in their
tents. Wras’s complaining became just one more large irritant and
one of the miners finally told him to either shut up or be
gagged.

The night was spent in the chilly tents. As
soon as the sun was up they broke camp and started off. They had to
travel at a walk to be careful in the slick conditions. They were
hoping that when the sun was at it’s zenith it would clear off the
road and they could pick up some speed.

Erin was barely awake when Gyan spoke in her
mind. Tempo perked up but didn’t do anything to distract her.
‘Erin, you have done very well, my young sage, but I think you need
to leave the caravan.’

His statement startled her. ‘Where would I go
and won’t I be exposed by separating from them right now?’ Erin
asked.

Gyan responded and there was a smile in his
voice. ‘To the best of our knowledge, only three individuals are
involved. There may be more but, at this time there is no
indication of that. You have been instrumental in bringing things
to the conclusion that we have right now. Your skills are getting
stronger by the day. In some ways that makes you a little
vulnerable. Think of it as a youth putting on an enormous growth
spurt. For awhile he is gangly and a trifle clumsy. Right now your
empathic sensitivity to Bure’s strong emotional vitriol puts you in
peril. You need to be with another empath and learn how to shield
from Bure. You must protect yourself.’

‘As the Great One I know your worth. I am
sending you a teacher guardian. It actually works into your cover
story so your departure from the train will be understandable. You
have been looking for your ‘Uncle Cron’. Well, he had an
unfortunate accident but you do have a cousin Drune.’

Erin gasped. ‘Drune. The sage Drune is still
alive?’

‘Yes, I asked him to go undercover and gather
information. It is time for him to surface again. Right now he is
looking for his young cousin in Sawblen. I will speak to Lor. You
will see all of your friends again but for now we really must make
you stronger. I will be in touch. Do you have any questions right
now?’

All she could think of was, ‘How soon?’

‘Within a day or two, not more. Take care of
yourself, Erin.’

Erin got out of her blanket. Tempo was
watching her. ‘Erin, will I continue with you?’

‘I don’t see why not, my little friend. But I
have no answers. We need to meet my cousin, first. If he is any
family of mine he will accept you.’ She said with a smile and
stroked the little skunk behind his small ears.

Erin was up taking care of the horses when
she remembered something that her father had said a long time ago.
She approached Raz and Kennet who were in conversation. She
patiently waited until they looked over at her. “Good morning lad!
How did you sleep last night?”

She grinned, “Probably about as well as you.
These storms are something else! Say, I wanted to tell you
something.” They both looked at her attentively. “For some reason I
was thinking of my family, this morning, and all of a sudden I
remembered a story my dad told me. You know, one of those stories
that is handed down through the generations?” They both nodded. “It
was about a quake that happened perhaps a century ago, in Sawblen,
and it was really terribly devastating. The way the story was told
was that a quakes severity is not just how deep underground they
occur, but also the type of ground they are under. Are you
following me so far?” They were listening to her very intently and
nodded for her to continue. “If the ground is marshy or a loose
fill, like where land has been smoothed out with other dirt, then
the quake moves like rolling jelly. That is what happened in the
story. It was a fishing village that had been built where they had
dredged out the harbor and built up the land. The whole village
collapsed. So my thought was if the caravan is moving through the
Sawblen and a quake occurs the first thing everybody should do is
stop! Immediately stop, get off the wagons, and hold onto the
horses! I hope it doesn’t happen but with all of the quakes that
have been happening, it is a possibility. What do you think?”

They both looked at her. It was Raz who
spoke. “I hadn’t put that together. I remember the old story, too,
but I haven’t thought of it in years. You have a point. That is
probably exactly what we should do.” The two men looked at each
other.

“Thanks lad,” Kennet said, “We will pass the
word before we start.” Both men moved off in opposite directions to
talk to the guild members. Erin picked up the leads and led the
team to the front of the wagon.

Lor walked up to her and she told him what
she had relayed to Raz and Kennet. “That’s a good point and I
appreciate you passing it on. I’ll miss you. I’ve enjoyed traveling
with you and will always consider you as my friend.” he grinned and
slapped her on the shoulder. “It was a surprise when Gyan told me
about Drune. I’m glad he is with us as I’ve always enjoyed him.
Your cousin that you never knew about. It is believable, in a way.
You two have similar coloring. Well, let’s get aboard.” Tempo came
running up so he could be lifted onto the wagon. He had been eating
very well lately, with all of the vermin coming to the ground
surface after the heavy rains, and was growing. Tempo was now twice
as big as when he first met Erin on launch hill.

The caravan moved out of their protective
hollow and onto the road, picking up speed as they got on the hard
road surface. By midday they were at the large stone bridge that
crossed the, now swollen, river. They lined up and crossed one at a
time. As each wagon hit the smooth stone road on the other side
they picked up speed again. The sun was filtered with some high
clouds and the wind was up but everyone was grateful that it wasn’t
raining. They made good time and were almost mid province by
sunset.

Because of the staggered crossing of the
bridge, the train was spread out on the road. Raz, who was the lead
wagon stopped in an area of mixed hard pan and grass to set up
camp. As each wagon caught up they pulled off and unharnessed the
horses. The grass here was not of high quality so the horses were
fed some of the extra feed that each wagon carried and tethered
either to the wagons or to stakes driven into the ground.

The wind had been fitful all day but as the
sun set it increased in velocity. Lor’s wagon had just arrived and
Kennet’s was within sight when the wind became a gale and was
driving the sand before it. Visibility dropped and the sand blasted
everything, scouring hide and wood alike. The horses that were
stake tied were pulling to get out of the wind and the others moved
closer to the wagons trying to find some shelter. Erin hadn’t had
time to unhitch their team so she reached out with her mind and
tried to reassure and encourage the horses to stillness. Kennet
managed to drive his horses in and Erin reached out mentally to
them also. Tassy’s wagon had not arrived and everyone heartily
hoped that she was alright.

The wind howled for hours, buffeting the
wagons. Finally about midnight it waned. Guild members got out of
their wagons to assess the damage. The crescent of Cear glowed red
in the night sky with bright silvery Luna. The combined light cast
an eerie glow over the changed and devastated landscape. Raz and a
few other men walked back to find Tassy while the others checked
the state of the horses and wagons in camp. A few of the horses had
run off. Others had gotten sand in their nostrils and had collapsed
and were mostly covered by drifted sand. Erin, Flar and Alliz were
caring for them. It was a success that everyone felt when a horse
got on it’s feet and shook. Miraculously none had died. Three were
missing. Some of the horses that had been ground tied to stakes had
broken free to stand in the shelter of a wagon. The sand had
filtered everywhere, through any crack and crevice in the wagons
and crates. Everybody and thing was sand colored. One of the small
supply wagons unloaded it’s crates and loaded every spare water
barrel for a trip back to the river just as Tassy’s wagon was led
into camp.

When the storm had hit she realized that she
couldn’t make camp. She had stopped where she was, aligned her
wagon so the wind blew from behind her, and locked her brakes. That
action put her across the road but somewhat protected her team. The
guild men had found her standing by her horses trying to urge them
back on the road and forward to the camp site. It was well into the
night and approaching dawn when everybody was checked and well. The
horses were cared for and re-tethered. The exhausted people got
back into their wagons to get some sleep.

The sun was part way up the clear blue sky
when the guild members started to stir. A communal fire was lit and
food was cooked for everyone. The wagons had to be unloaded and
swept out. Tassy strung a line, high, between wagons, hung out her
yardage and beat the sand and dust from it. People used the
remainder of their water to wash their wagons and themselves. Erin
was brushing and currying several teams and Tempo was helping by
catching and eating the sand beetles that wanted to burrow into the
goods strewn across the campsite.