144: Wrath (8 page)

"I could not begin to guess, except that his blade seems very unique," the Faldred replied.

Polas stood and tried to shield his weapon from their view as he made to leave the bar.

"Of course!" The young girl stepped in front of Polas, blocking his path. "Excuse me, sir. That sword you carry, it is the Blade of Leindul, is it not?"

Polas tried to step past her, hoping that she had not chanced a long enough glance at the sword to be sure.

"You must be Master Kas Dorian. We’ve found you," the girl said. "Leindul be praised."

Polas stared at her for a moment, scoffed, and brushed past her. The Faldred met him with a wide smile and an outstretched hand, but Polas took a wide berth around the man and exited the saloon.

"When did I become so damned popular?" he grumbled.

The fiery-haired girl caught up with Polas near the hitching post while the Faldred waved her forward and wandered off down the street. Polas checked his saddlebags and adjusted his horse’s reins.

"Master Kas Dorian, please wait," she said. "My name is Xandra, the Daughter of Hope. It is my destiny to join with you on your crusade. My teacher, Flint the White Handed, and I have journeyed from the Hollow Mountains to find you."

From the alley beside the saloon, Kiff came speeding out. He rode atop a floating board that bobbed and weaved over and around trash bins and discarded boxes. Six glowing magestones were affixed to the bottom of the board giving it an arcane lift. He skidded to a halt next to Xandra, kick-flipped the board up into his hand, and landed neatly on the ground.

"Hello, now, where’d you find this heat?" he asked. "New recruit to join us on our epic quest?"

Xandra continued to stare at Polas, the conviction in her gaze unsettling him a bit.

"I don’t know who she is," Polas said. "And neither of you is joining me."

"With all due respect, Master Kas Dorian," Xandra said, "this is what I have been training for my entire life. My destiny lies along the road you travel."

"You know," Kiff said, "I’m traveling that same road myself. I guess that means our destinies are intertwined as well."

Polas and Xandra both turned blank faces toward the Undlander.

Kiff shrugged. "Look, Polas –"

"Master Kas Dorian," Xandra corrected him.

"Look, Master Kas Dorian," Kiff said with a mock bow, "Matthew the Blue told me to go with you, so that’s what I’m going to do. And this heat here looks about as stubborn as a leszay bug on an ant’s nest."

"You should talk less, lest your mouth walk you into trouble," Xandra said, casting an angry glare at Kiff. "Besides, it’s not my decision." She softened her gaze and returned her eyes to Polas. "As I said before, I was born for this."

Polas climbed onto his horse and looked down at her.

"You have no idea what you’re getting into, do you?" Polas said a sigh. "Probably raised by that Faldred friar and trained your whole life for something you don’t even understand. Do you even know where I am going?"

Xandra spread her arms out wide and closed her eyes. "You are going to restore Hope to Traesparin."

"Not quite." Polas sat quietly for a moment, staring down the stone-worked street. A lord rode atop a grey steed, and many of the citizens stopped to watch him pass. A group of young lords trailed behind him on their own, less impressive horses, and behind them, a young Peltin boy in rags cleaned up the trail left in their mounts' wake. "I once thought that myself, but the truth is far less inspiring. There is no hope where I am going. There is only death. Waysmale does not treat its visitors kindly."

Xandra squared her shoulders and took a step toward the front of Polas’s horse, grabbing its reins.

"I understand that, sir," she said. "And I assure you, I am no mere child."

Polas had a flash; a brief memory of little Leyryl when she was six years old, demanding that she be allowed to plow the fields with Kurth, insisting that she was old enough.

Kiff cocked his head to the side. "Did you say Waysmale?"

Polas chose to ignore the boy. "Not a child, you say?
Ov neeyolshen di tinai yahk tohloo eenlas ahkulo
."

"
Lotuh nee ol ov ayvehs. Lotuh germna di Leindul
," Xandra responded.

Polas was impressed. The High Peltin language had been considered archaic even in his time.

"Pardon," Kiff interrupted. "Can we perhaps pick a language everyone knows? I caught maybe one word out of that, but I don't think there are any outhouses in the area. Though the Nest does have a somewhat clean latrine."

Behind them, the Faldred the girl had called Flint approached, leading three horses. One horse was dark brown with a white nose and carried the bulk of their gear. The second was a ruddy tan color with a dark mane and an oversized saddle. The final horse was pure white with bright, yellow-brown eyes.

Polas attempted to turn his horse and leave, but Xandra held tight.

"I am joining you, Master Kas Dorian," Xandra said tapping her quarterstaff on the ground, "unless you are prepared to prohibit me. We can travel with you as allies, or we can follow along in your trail."

"Five falcons on the heat," Kiff said.

Polas hesitated for a moment, considering her offer. He was not above teaching a young girl a lesson in manners, but deep down he respected her conviction.

"Very well," Polas conceded, "but you are responsible for your own lives. I’ve led a legion to their deaths in the valleys of Waysmale. I will have no more lost souls to weigh on my conscience."

Flint handed the reins of the white horse to Xandra with a confused look.

"What did I miss?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

They rode west from Odes’Kan toward the plains of Nas Sonath. Polas led the group without a map or familiar road-marker to guide him. He never spoke of their destination or of anything really. The others kept stride behind him as they passed over the gently rising and falling landscape.

Polas looked up into the crystal sky and drank in the beauty around him. Wind swept across their path, rustling the tall grass and bringing with it the sweet smell of tevri blossoms. High overhead, a sparrowhawk floated lazily with the breeze. A herd of bison thundered over a distant hill, kicking up dust and thenel seeds in a cloud behind them.

Flint nodded as one barely escaping sleep, holding on to wakefulness only enough to keep his horse trailing after the others. Xandra rode a few lengths behind Polas, leading their packhorse beside her own. The Undlander swerved back and forth on his hovering board, doing an occasional trick off a nearby boulder.

"Could you please stop doing that?" Xandra asked. "You’re frightening the horses."

"I follow, heat," the boy said as he slowed his board to keep pace next to Xandra. "You'd prefer that I stay right here and keep you company."

Xandra sighed heavily.

"So, Xandra right?" he said. "You a Coranthen?"

Flint opened one eye and inclined his head to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"No. I am a Peltin," she said curtly. "And you are an Under-Peltin."

"
Undlander
, thanks."

He swept his board out to the side, skipped off a large boulder, and startled Xandra’s horse. Had the Undlander been made of ice, Xandra’s eyes surely would have melted him.

"And what brings an Undlander out of his cave and into the sunlight?"

Kiff rose up into the air on his board reaching his right hand toward the sky.

"You know, adventure and excitement," he replied. "I figured I’d make my fortune on the surface before retiring to a palatial estate in Harrowheart."

"It’s more likely that he’s finishing a Name Quest," Flint interjected.

"Master?" Xandra said, sounding a bit startled.

"It is customary in Undlander culture for young boys to leave home on a ritualistic Name Quest in an effort to earn what will become their family name before returning home to begin the next generation of Undlanders. Though it is difficult to guess an Undlander's age behind his trappings, I would assume this is the case with our new ally."

Xandra turned back toward the boy. "What is your name?"

"Kiff."

Flint was silent for a moment while he waited for Kiff to continue.

"Kiff? And what of your earned name?" Flint asked. "Have you not --"

"Just Kiff," the Undlander said. "At least until we get to know each other a little better."

Flint laughed and slowed his horse to remove himself from the pair’s conversation, but he could not help but enjoy watching the back and forth. Xandra had spent so precious little time with any creatures outside of the Hollow Mountains that he thought of interactions such as these as good training for her.

"So, Xandra," Kiff said, spinning his board around a few times before facing forward again. "Why are you traveling with a wrinkly, cave wog and a creepy, old man?"

Flint nearly choked. "Cave wog!"

"This ‘cave wog’ is my teacher," Xandra replied. "He raised me at the Temple of Leindul in the Hollow Mountains. And as for Master Kas Dorian, it is my destiny to take part in his great quest. It has been prophesied that --"

"Do you people ever stop to breathe?" Polas cut in.

Xandra lowered her head in humility and Flint resumed his quasi-nap.

Kiff shared in the forced silence by straying a bit away from the party. He swung his board out wide and chased a few prairie dogs into their dens. A few times, he stopped his board and let the group leave him behind, only to race back to them moments later.

He tricked off another boulder, tripped up, and careened off the road a bit. He regained control, checked to make sure the others had not seen him, and drifted back over to Xandra’s side.

"So, Xandra," Kiff said, "I’m no scholar, but Xandra means fearful or something?
Eksahn
is High Peltin for fear, right? I took a few language classes in my youth."

Flint cleared his throat and encouraged his horse forward to join them. "Xand-ra. From
eksahnras
. Quite literally, ‘fearless.’"

"Wow, ‘fearless’ huh?" Kiff was impressed. "That’s a good name." His board dipped and lifted over a bump in the road. "Is it true?"

Xandra glared, and Kiff almost felt the need to dodge.

Kiff considered pressing the issue further, but thought better of it. Instead, he ducked low, holding the edge of his board, and sped forward to catch up with Polas.

"So, Mr. Butcher," he said, "you planning on riding all the way to Waysmale? We might run into trouble with that watery expanse some people call an ocean."