The Stewards of Reed, Volume 1: The Rise of Fallon (7 page)

The old man nodded and then turned back to his door without saying another word. It had been more excitement than he had experienced in many years, and he needed a nap.

*************

Gentry knew he was only about a half hour from the walls of Bartow, so he rode at a slow place to give his poor horse more time to recover from the stress of the river crossing and the commotion that had followed.

The Town of Bartow lies in a relatively flat plain nestled between two Rivers – the River Nye and the River White – and one might think that Bartow is therefore subject to frequent flooding. And perhaps it was in the time before a system of earthen levees was constructed around the main part of town. That was more than six hundred years ago, and ever since Bartow had remained dry. Even in the Great Flood of 1044, which destroyed nearly a third of the Village of Reed, nary a drop of water seeped through Bartow’s levees.

The levees, which stand twenty feet high and thirty feet wide in most places, have the added advantage of restricting entry into Bartow. There are only a few gaps in the levees and each of these is manned by armed guards. People coming in and out of the town must frequently, though not always, explain their business to the guards.

It was not until the guard station came into his sights that Gentry realized he did not have a proper answer should the guards inquire about his business in Bartow. He could not very well tell them about his quest to deliver a message Lady Dinah – they might become curious and demand to see it. As he approached the guards, he was desperately trying to dream up a plausible story while simultaneously scolding himself for not thinking of this before.

The guards at the entrance gate seemed bored but stood a little straighter as Gentry approached. With the Main Bridge out of service, they had not seen many travelers come through the West Gate as of late and were immediately suspicious. “Stop,” the guard on the right ordered while the guard to the left stepped forward with his hand on the hilt of the small sword sticking out of his sheath. “What is your business in Bartow?”

“I require additional supplies before starting my journey north,” answered Gentry.

“And where might you be headed?” asked the guard.

“The Taiga Forest,” replied Gentry.

At this the guard’s eyebrows raised and he looked at Gentry curiously. “What for?”

“To hunt white deer.”

Both guards had a good laugh at those words. The guard at the right shook his head and said, “People have been trying to hunt those deer for hundreds of years. They always come back empty-handed…if they come back at all,” he added ominously.

Gentry shrugged, “I shall make a point to come back this way with my hide.”

This made the guards laugh even more, but they beckoned him inside the gate and that was all that mattered.

*************

“The Easterners are invading. What do you make of this, my lord?” Cedric spoke casually, but his eyes intently studied the wizard.

“Aye. I have seen as much for myself.” Lord Jameson stared out his window towards the towering Divisidero Mountains. “Their numbers are small, though. Less than a hundred souls – at least thus far.”

“But why do they come? What do they want from us?” The casualness of Cedric’s voice could not belie the hint of fear in his questions. He was a family man now. His wife had recently borne him a daughter, and though he had hoped for a son, he could not imagine life without the child. She was everything to him – he must keep her safe.

“That I do not know. To my knowledge the Eastern Wizards have always had certain protections in place to prevent such a thing; I can only surmise the invaders have their blessing.”

“Then what shall be done?”

The wizard frowned. “It is too early to say. I have alerted the queen that things are amiss in the borderlands. We must wait, for now, and see what the coming months bring. It would be ill-advised to react in haste to that which we do not yet understand.”

*************

Gentry had been to Bartow more than a few times but it never ceased to amaze him. The town was easily twenty times the size of the Village Square in Reed. The buildings seemed to tower over everyone though they were probably only three or four stories high at most. The cobblestone streets were crowded with pedestrians and the occasional horse and carriage. People were busy picking fruit and bread from the outdoor markets, children were running about laughing, dogs were running about barking, and Gentry was certain he saw a few wayward chickens scattered around. Loud singing could be heard from a nearby tavern where some men (and women) had already enjoyed their fair share of ale for the day, though it was not quite noon yet. Gentry made note of the tavern and decided he might want to visit it later.

He made his way to the Cornerstone Inn and Tavern, one of the many inns that housed visitors to Bartow. The inn had a nice stable, and after Gentry saw to it that Casper was well taken care of, he dropped his satchel off in his room and headed for the university. Along the way he grabbed some cheese and bread. He had not realized how hungry he was until just then.

Gentry was curious to see if the university’s library held any more detailed maps of the Stratford Region, particularly in the areas to the east and north of Norman, the areas that were not well delineated on his father’s maps. A kind librarian guided him to the right section and he spent the next few hours poring over the maps.

It had been a somewhat worthwhile exercise. One of the maps showed a series of streams between Norman and Yukon, causing the path between the two villages to be somewhat jagged, presumably jutting north and south as needed to find the narrowest stream crossing. Gentry also noted that there was in fact one main path that led north from Yukon to the area where his father believed Mt. Xavier to be. There were cautionary notes about rockslides being prevalent in that area, but nothing that mentioned Mt. Xavier or Lady Dinah’s castle specifically.

He could see that the sun was starting to go down and he decided it was time to leave. Though he did not make it back to the lively tavern he had spied coming into Bartow, the Cornerstone Inn and Tavern had a nice little pub inside where he was able to enjoy a pint or two (or three) of his favorite beverage before heading to bed. The next morning he stocked up on some food for Casper and himself, some rope and extra blankets, and he headed out of town.

*************

The road north to Colton was in the shadow of the Atlian Mountains; the wind was ferocious and although it was spring, it was dreadfully cold. Both Gentry and Casper were miserable but they trudged forward through this barren land of rocks and wind. Each night they took shelter near the largest outcropping of rocks they could find. Gentry had the benefit of a small tent. Unfortunately Casper had nothing but the shelter of the large rocks and a few extra blankets that Gentry had purchased in Bartow. Gentry gave Casper a good rubdown at the end of each day and this seemed to satisfy the horse enough to tolerate the blustery night. “We shall find you a good stable in Colton,” Gentry promised.

After two long days and nights, the Village of Colton finally appeared as a distant spec on the horizon. The wind was merciless and the going was slow, but Gentry and Casper fought their way to the village, arriving just before noon. There was only one inn in town, the Settler’s Inn. It was a far cry from the rather posh Cornerstone Inn and Tavern back in Bartow, but it had a stable, and a pub conveniently located on the first floor.

Gentry brought Casper back to the stable. The stable boy seemed fairly competent albeit quiet and somewhat nervous. He was a slight boy, barely over five feet tall, and Gentry guessed that he could not have been more than ten years old.

There had been another man, a local, in the stable barking orders at the boy when Gentry arrived. The boy flinched when the man raised his hand to make a point. This caused the man to laugh and he proceeded to taunt the boy. It was all Gentry could do to hold his tongue.
The last thing I need is to cause trouble for myself
, thought Gentry, keeping his head down as the man finally left the stable.

The boy saw to the man’s horse and then came to collect Casper. Gentry tried to make conversation with the boy, and though he took care to be as pleasant as possible, it did not seem to register. The boy barely looked at him. He just stared at the ground saying “Aye, sir” in a quiet little voice whenever Gentry spoke.

As he started to leave, Gentry reached into his burlap sack for a gold piece and placed it in the boy’s hand. The boy’s eyes grew large at the unexpected gift and for the first time he looked straight at Gentry. “Thank you, sir,” he said, smiling brightly.

“Please take good care of my horse,” Gentry said.

“Aye, sir,” replied the boy, clutching the gold piece tightly.

*************

Gentry had not slept much the past few nights, so after leaving Casper he headed straight to his room for a nap. His room was on the second floor of the Settler’s Inn. It was small – just a bed and a little desk with a window overlooking the alleyway behind the inn – but it was all he needed.

The sound of boisterous noises from the pub on the floor below woke him up around dinnertime. His stomach was growling, so he headed down to the pub for some food, and perhaps a pint of ale. His father’s cautionary words about avoiding such a beverage in Colton were long forgotten. Gentry was seated at the bar chewing on some overdone dried-out meat with a little ale to help wash it down when he heard a particularly loud group of characters enter the inn.

“Well, look who decided to show his ugly face again,” shouted an overweight man sitting at a booth somewhere across the room from Gentry.

“Shut your mouth,” responded an angry voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

“Still a bit surly from your little incident in Bartow?” teased the overweight man. “Looks like he left you with a nice black and blue present.”

Gentry, whose back had been to this entire conversation up until now, could not help but turn his head to see what the fuss was about. He almost choked on some dry meat when he saw Dennison – his one eye bruised and swollen shut, the other just bruised – and Clive standing in the room. They were surrounded by a handful of other men, presumably their friends. Gentry turned back around as fast as he could, left money on the bar for his tab and quickly made his way to the staircase leading up to the rooms. The bar was loud and rather crowded so Gentry was hopeful that he might leave before being noticed. He knew he could handle Dennison and Clive if necessary, but he was no match for all of their friends, too.

Alas, sometimes quick movements draw unwanted attention, and Clive did in fact see Gentry heading up the stairs. “Dennison!” he cried, pulling at his friend’s sleeve. “He is here!”

“Who is here?” Dennison barked, angry at being interrupted before he could respond to Ned, the overweight man who had been giving him a hard time.

Clive pointed to the stairs and Dennison caught a glimpse of Gentry just before he disappeared down the hall to his room. Dennison quickly gathered his entourage and started after the man from the River Nye.

*************

Gentry’s mind – and heart – were racing when he returned to his room. He secured the latch on the door and instinctively moved the small desk in front of it to act as a barricade. He did not know if he had been seen or not, so he was debating whether to lay low until the early morning hours or make a run for it now. The sound of several footsteps running up the stairs and the subsequent pounding and breaking open of doors along the hallway settled the debate; it was time to leave. Gentry grabbed his satchel (fortunately he had not unpacked anything being as tired as he was) and opened the window to the alleyway below.

Jumping out of a second-story window is a good way to hurt oneself – but for once luck was on Gentry’s side. Several hay bales were lined up in the alleyway below. They would break his fall. He jumped right as Dennison’s motley crew started forcing the door to his room open. Gentry scrambled off the hay bales and then bolted to the stable to retrieve Casper.

The small desk proved to be quite sturdy and had held the men back for a while, but eventually they broke through and swarmed the room. Dennison noticed the open window and poked his head out into the alleyway. Alas, he did not see anything; the alleyway was deserted. “Wizards be damned!” he shouted, slamming the window closed and then kicking the desk that had held them back. Dennison left the room in a foul mood; his entourage followed behind not daring to say a word.

Gentry arrived at the stable door out of breath. “Make haste, boy! I must leave with my horse at once!”

The stable boy jumped up and had Casper out in no time. He could tell the kind man was in trouble, so without even thinking about it he said, “Sir, there is a brown house at the left fork in the road heading north. You shall be safe there.”

Gentry thanked the boy and took off riding Casper as fast as the horse could go. Gentry was panicked and therefore eager to make his way to the Colton Gap and be done with Colton (and Dennison) for good, but nightfall was fast approaching and that gave him pause. The mountain pass was difficult enough to traverse in the day time with all the steep cliffs and rocky ledges, not to mention the possibility of a sudden storm coming through. This time he remembered his father’s words of caution, and at the fork in the road, Gentry turned left and sought out the brown house.

The sun’s final rays were shining over the Cook Mountains to the west, providing just enough light for Gentry to make out a little shack of a brown house down the road, mostly obscured by trees. As he approached he noticed a little shed behind the house and brought Casper inside. It was not a true stable, but there was a little bit of hay on the ground and enough space for Casper to turn around, so it would do for the night. Gentry found a well, retrieved some water for Casper and started rubbing the horse down.

*************

After some time the boy arrived. He had brought Casper’s food, which had been left behind in the rush. The horse chowed down on some oats and carrots and settled in for the night. The boy then brought Gentry inside the little brown house. “You may sleep in my bed for tonight. I do not mind.”