The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (30 page)

The supply wagon that had been traveling all
night, to the river for fresh water and back again, pulled into the
circle of wagons. The men who had been on the water detail retired
to wagons to sleep as other members took care of the team and
redistributed the fresh water. At the communal fire a large pot of
stew was fixed to simmer as people worked.

By mid afternoon, though they still labored,
visible progress had been made. Alliz had mixed some paint and
guild members were sprucing up their wagons where paint had been
sand blasted off. Erin was the first to notice a rider in the
distance. She kept her eye on him as she completed her task of
reloading Lor’s wagon. When it appeared that he was coming toward
them she walked over to Raz and Kennet and brought the rider to
their attention. By the time he was close, several people had
stopped to look.

The rider was leading five horses, three of
which were horses that had run away from a guild team. As he walked
the horses into camp he waved and gave a big smile in greeting. “Do
some of these belong to you? I found them behind a sand dune north
of here. When the storm hit I was lucky enough to be by a rock
outcropping with my three. This morning, while making my way to the
road I ran into these and started looking for who they might belong
to.” He got off his horse and held out his hand. “My name is
Drune.” Erin went over to the horses to look them over, all the
while keeping track of the conversation. The horses were in good
condition and had been groomed. The guild members they belonged to
also approached and picking up the leads walked over to thank the
young man. He was in his late second decade and had light ash brown
hair that was straight and cut short enough that he couldn’t tie it
back. He was as tall as Lor and looked fit.

Raz shook his hand. “Thank you. We are in
your debt. The sandstorm caught us last night as we had just begun
to make camp. Some of our horses got away and we were concerned
that they hadn’t survived. You are welcome to rest with us for the
night and share our meal. What brings you out in such strange fall
weather?”

Drune smiled and shook his head ruefully. “I
am in search of a young cousin I have never met. My father, Cron,
recently died. The last thing he had asked of me was to tell his
sister, who he hadn’t seen in years.” Erin turned and approached
the stranger. “When I arrived at her home it was empty and a note
had been nailed to the door that had said that my aunt and uncle
had died. Apparently I have a young cousin that is looking for my
father. His name is Terran.”

Erin stepped forward and several members of
the guild who knew the cover story gasped. There were others who
had guessed that Terran was a young woman or had figured out that
she was Robse and Shamra’s daughter, Erin. They were confused and
protective of her.

Lor stepped forward from the back of the
crowd. “Drune! Good to see you! Man I haven’t seen you in several
years. I didn’t know that was your father’s name. Terran,” and he
gestured to Erin, “has been traveling with me and been a real asset
to the caravan tending to our animals. He has an pet skunk that has
been our early warning system for quakes.”

“The lad saved my neck as well as my team.”
said Kennet.

Raz spoke up, “He saved my team also and has
been invaluable calming the beasts through all of the quakes and
ugly weather. We’re protective of the lad.” There were murmurs
throughout the guild members.

Drune had been studying Erin, who has been
studying him. “It is good to know that the lad has had such a fine
group of people to travel with. I do have the note that was left
behind, that I can show you, as well as the letter that my dying
father wrote to his sister, if that would be of help.”

Alliz came forward and gave Drune a hug.
“Welcome my friend. I haven’t seen you for a couple of years.
Weren’t you a page to the Great One before you became a miner?” The
guild members visibly relaxed upon hearing that Drune had known the
Great One. They didn’t want to hand over Terran to just
anybody!

Drune walked over to Erin and said kindly,
“You’ve had it rough, Coz, handling the death of your parents at
such a young age.” He pulled off her hat and ruffled her shorn,
scraggly hair cut. “I can see you have been handling your haircuts
also.”

He looked at Lor and gave him an accusatory
look. Lor held out his hands in helplessness. “Don’t look at me. It
has just begun to grow out. I was actually hoping to trim it a
little more even today since we probably won’t be traveling.”

Tempo walked up to Erin and stood in front of
her in protection. Drune got down on his knees to meet the skunk.
Tempo did a rapid pounce and the young man cocked his head then
slapped the ground a few times in response. Drune then held out his
hand for Tempo to smell. ‘Looks like I’m accepted as part of the
team. Okay, we can go with him.’ said Tempo and touched his nose to
Drune’s hand.

Erin smiled at the little skunk’s comment and
spoke for the first time. “Tempo accepts you so I guess you pass
the test, cousin Drune.”

Everybody visibly relaxed and Drune was taken
to the communal fire. He sat down to eat with Lor, Alliz, Raz,
Kennet and Flar as everybody else got back to their activities. “We
sure have had a spate of bad weather and rumbles,” he said, “There
are some folks, not many mind you, who have heard a rumor that
there are witches in the realm that are causing all of this.” There
were scoffs from Kennet and Flar. “I have heard folks talk of a man
called Bure, who are telling them that the witches are causing
hardship and devastation because they have infested the realm.
These people are simple hard working souls, who haven’t much
schooling outside their craft. They can’t begin to understand or
explain why we have had such a nasty autumn and Bure’s explanation
seems reasonable.”

Raz slapped a hand on his knee. “Bure, his
brother and his cousin have been killing people that are older and
have a reputation of being wise and talented. They justify their
killing by the ‘witch’ story. They are evil men. His brother died
in Sherroton, accidentally by his own hand and his cousin is, right
now, being escorted to Khanlund under sentence of banishment. Bure
is a dangerous crazy man. There are no witches. That is an archaic
word from children’s stories.”

Drune looked at him calmly. “I agree
with your assessment and am glad that the other two have been
caught. But do not take this lightly. He has planted the idea well
and it has taken root in some folk’s minds. If this unseasonable
weather and the quakes continue, there will be other people who
will start to believe. Should that happen those simple souls will
start their own selective killing to stop what they have been told
is an infestation. Bure’s wicked mind is very sly. Even if he could
be caught the damage is done. It was very clever of him. Now for
generations to come, any untoward problem that occurs can be blamed
on innocent people and they can be called a witch.” he shook his
head sadly and looked at his stunned audience.

Erin, Drune and Tempo packed up at dawn the
next morning. The spare horse carried her packs, Drune’s and the
food. She had said good-bye to everybody in the caravan and
promised to see them again. Her choppy hair cut had been trimmed
and was somewhat more presentable. Tempo was nestled on top of the
packs on the third horse. Erin had spoken to the horse and
introduced Tempo to him. He said he didn’t mind, that Tempo didn’t
weigh much at all and as long as the little one didn’t get excited
and spray, the horse was fine with the arrangement.

They were headed to Yerra, just like the
caravan but they could travel faster. As they rode they were able
to talk over things. Drune was a couple of generations older than
Erin but looked to be no more than five years her senior. They were
the two youngest sages in the realm. Both had the empathic ability
as well as intuition. Drune had developed his empathic shields and
was going to give Erin some techniques to try. Gyan also believed
that Drune could buffer the strength of the impact if he were there
with Erin when she felt a shout from Bure. He could pick up Bure,
also, but not with the devastating impact as Erin.

The other reason for going in the direction
they were was that there was a sage they wanted to see in Yerra.
Char had been on the list from Targ’s pocket so they knew he was a
target. The Great One had warned him but they wanted to check with
him, anyway, because Bure last known whereabouts was in the
area.

They came upon a very small village, part way
through the morning. It was a small glass blowing community. Making
glass was one of the skills that the province specialized in. This
was due to the fine quality of sand to be found here in special
deposits. They stopped and bought some supplies from the general
store. The conversation, in the shop, was all about the sandstorm
the night before and the storms that they have been having in the
last several months. Everybody had known somebody who had been lost
at sea or who had had a loved one die in a storm. Some of the folk
had heard about the quakes that had rocked the prairie provinces an
hoped they wouldn’t get any. Drune was taking his time picking out
some jerky and, as an afterthought, a few bandanas that he felt
they may need if another sandstorm occurred.

One older man, who had a look of a fisherman,
spoke up. “I heard that these storms are caused by some bad magic.
I know a fella who told me that the realm was infested by witches
and they are the cause.”

Now Zeed, that sounds pure ridiculous. Magic?
Witches? Why would witches, if there were any outside of children’s
stories, want to make so much misery when they live here too?”
There were nods around the room.

Another man spoke up. “I heard same as Zeed.
A guy I used to know when we were striplings said that he had seen
’em. He was trying to stop ‘em from doing their evil. This guy is
smart and a rough one. He don’t believe in children’s stories.”
There were some that were considering that logic. Drune paid for
his purchases and they left.

They didn’t speak until they were moving
again. “Not everyone is buying it but the fact that some are is
very disturbing.” Erin said. She looked back at Tempo who had
burrowed under a pack flap when they moved into the village.

Drune nodded. He changed the subject as he
handed her a piece of jerky. “One of the ways I learned to shield a
particularly strong emotion was to give my body something else to
think about. See, the mental force of Bure’s rage can swamp you and
fill your mind, sort of like you were drowning. It seems that you
can’t break free. I found that if I slipped a piece of jerky in my
mouth I would start to salivate and chew on the tough stuff. It
would break the grip of the emotional concentration. A hard candy
like a lemon drop would work also. Not knowing when the pesky
fellow is going to let go with his emotions, again, you need to
keep some of this available in a pocket.”

“What has happened in the past?” he
asked.

Erin thought over the answer before she
spoke. “I could hear Wras and Targ and could sense who was thinking
by the ‘flavor’ of the emotion. But they were no where near as
loud. I’d hear Bure across a province or two when he lets loose an
emotional burst. Have you heard him?”

“Yes, but not that loudly. It could be that,
somehow, the pitch of his energy pattern, like a musical note, is
close to your natural mental resonance. That would make it harder
for you to shield. What have you done before?”

“With Targ and Wras, I could, pretty much
slam the ‘door’ shut. They were eroding my energy a little and Ree
send me some stones that have helped me be stronger with my
shields. After that they didn’t get to me.”

“But Bure’s emotions come on fast and hard
and I can’t seem to break free until he cools off. After the energy
of the emotion wanes I can see him briefly. The last time I had
just fallen asleep after a hard day. His rage woke me and I
couldn’t pull free. When he had settled down I fell into an
exhausted sleep and I dreamed I was him, and not me. I had
impressions from his thoughts knew where he was and where he was
going until he really cooled off and turned down the volume of his
emotions.”

Drune let out a low whistle, “Wow, yeah, I
would say that his resonance and yours are close enough to link
when he is disturbed. Well, I will be with you and can connect and
reinforce you if need be. Keep the jerky near and don’t go far from
me. Lets put on some speed and get to Yerra.”

They rode hard for a few hours then walked to
give the horses a rest. As they dismounted so did Tempo. He could
hunt and eat as they walked. Erin had been thinking about her all
of her companions. ‘Keir are you near? Could you come to me and
meet Drune? He’ll be working with us.’ Keir flew down and landed on
Erin’s outstretched arm. It was good to feel his light weight and
the gentle squeeze of his talons again. Drune had instinctively
ducked as the falcon swept in. Keir walked up her arm and settled
on her shoulder. Erin rubbed her cheek against the merlin’s glossy
chest feathers.

“Drune, this is my companion Keir. He has
been with me since my mother died and is a faithful friend. It is
through him and Nuit, who you haven’t met yet, that I have stayed
in contact with Ree.” She touched her cheek one more time to Keir
and said aloud. “Keir, Bure is somewhere in the area and has been
planting the idea of witches so we have to be extremely careful.
Take off my friend. I will leave my mind open for you.” She brought
her arm up to her shoulder for him to step onto. As she
straightened her arm he flew off, quickly catching the thermals and
rising to a greater altitude.