The Year of the Lumin (6 page)

Chapter 9

The road to Kuli

The sun was nearing the middle of the sky. Early that morning, they left Talik and had been traveling ever since.  It was a small group, made up of Noir, Adeel, and three other men from Talik clad in the hawk-adorned leather armor.  They each rode on horses; Noir’s horse was lent to him by the blacksmith, Gonn.  They had traveled north from the town toward the mountains in the distance.  After their first few hours of travel, they had run into and then followed a small dirt road which Adeel said was used mostly by Kuli and another neighboring town in Chiron territory.  During their trip so far, the terrain had changed to flat plains, and then to rolling hills with patches of trees.

Noir held the horse’s reins loosely in his left hand.  He had his right hand propped on the hilt of his short sword at his side as he had seen actors in movies do it.  It had not taken Noir long to get the hang of horseback riding.  However, his leg made it hard to get up and down from the saddle.

Noir wore clothes that Adeel had given him before they left.  She said the odd clothes would draw unnecessary attention to him.  Noir was glad that she did not ask more about them.  The new clothes were simple, much like what the other people in Talik wore.  She gave him an extra set which he carried in a cloth sack on his back.  He threw out his old clothes before they left.

As they left Talik, Captain Grandel had come to see them off and wish them luck.  Ratt had tried desperately to come with them, though Grandel denied it.  Noir was now missing his company.

The three men riding in front of him were very jolly, often filling the small road and area around them with loud laughter, though they were not very talkative with Noir.  Adeel made up for that by telling him many things about their trip, Fafnir, and lux.

That morning, while riding her white mare alongside Noir's horse, she had explained the itinerary for their journey.  By sundown their first day, they would arrive in Kuli, a small farming town in the eastern side of Chiron’s territory.  The next day would put them into the cliffs of the Garrison Mountains, and the next to Fafnir’s lair.

“I want to stress this again, Noir.  Who do we talk to when we’re in Kuli?”

Noir sighed.  It was the third time that Adeel had made him say it.  He recited it verbatim, “Only our group and the innkeeper at the Chauffeur’s Inn.  And only talk to them when no other ears can hear.”

“If we give out the whereabouts of Talik to the wrong person, it could spell doom for the town.”

She started to say something else when she was cut short by Elrid, the one who seemed to be of the highest rank of the men.  He had reigned in his horse and had one flat hand in the air signaling the rest to stop.  Noir pulled on his horse’s reins until it stopped.  The three men seemed alert.  They were looking in the direction from which they had come.  Noir twisted around in his saddle to look behind.  Once turned, he heard the steady rhythm of galloping hooves, but nothing could be seen around the bend of the road around the side of a hill.

Elrid kicked the sides of his horse making it start toward a small patch of trees off the side of the road.  He said quietly but sharply, “Off the road now!”

They rode their horses the short distance and into the trees.  With almost no underbrush, they offered little cover.  “Dismount,” called Elrid.  Everyone was already off their horses and crouching on the ground by the time Noir fumbled his feet out of the stirrups.  “Quickly, boy.”

Noir threw a leg over the horse’s back and fell painfully to a crouch on the ground.  All five looked toward the road.

The galloping sound grew nearer until a single mounted figure could be seen.  The rider looked like a young, thin man with dark tan skin riding a very large powerful horse.  The horse seemed much over sized for the small figure riding it.

Exasperated, Elrid stood up and said, “Lumin blind me!”

Another of the men said “It’s that fool boy from Talik.”

Adeel asked, “Blind me, you're right.  Wasn't his name Ratt?”

It
was
Ratt.  Noir looked at the rider and couldn’t believe it.  He looked back at his group and noticed that all four sets of eyes were suddenly on Noir.  All he could manage was a truly confused, “What?”

The other four exchanged glances with each other and stood up.  Adeel motioned to Noir.  “Well, he’s your friend.  Go on.”

Noir hesitated indecisively for a moment, and then limped out of the clutch of trees toward the approaching young man.  “Ratt!”  He waved his arms and called again.  “Hey, Ratt!”

Ratt slowed down his horse and pulled it off of the road toward Noir.  He called back, “There you are!  I’m glad I found you.”  He slowed the horse to a stop and dismounted, falling nearly his own height down from the large animal.

Noir asked accusingly, “What are you doing?”

“I’m following you.”

“Yeah, I see that.  But why?  You were told not to come.”  Ratt then leaned and looked past Noir at the rest of the group who were walking toward him.  He gave a worried look at them and then turned back to Noir.

Ratt said, “You, my friend, are a complete buffoon and don’t know your foot from a dune wyrm.  I figured you’d need someone with a little knowledge at your side.”  He gave a stunted grin and looked at the others again.

Adeel walked up to the large horse that Ratt had rode up on.  She patted its neck and said with a knowing smirk, “Nice horse you got.  How did you manage to get such a beauty?”

Ratt looked at the ground and stammered, “I, um.  I don’t know.  I just found him.”

Elrid thoughtfully rubbed his chin and walked up to Ratt.  “That’s interesting since that happens to be Equin, Captain Grandel’s horse.”

~~~

              At the request of Noir, the group decided to let Ratt stay with them.  One of the men had to leave the group to lead Equin back to Talik.

              Noir talked down to Ratt who was walking beside his horse, “So you thought I’d be better off with
you
instead of a trained, armed warrior?”

              “Hey, I got a dagger.  Plus I’ve got eyes like a hawk!  And an arm like a bear!” Ratt said jokingly.

              Noir smiled, “Arm like a bear? What the heck is that good for?”

              “Throwing stuff!  Rocks!  I dunno.”

              Despite his efforts, Noir laughed.  He was glad for Ratt’s company, though he was pretty sure the others weren’t.  Ratt was the first person that he had met in this world who seemed to be on his same wavelength.

              The group rode on with Ratt walking beside Noir.  Adeel rode on the other side of Noir, telling him more about the three vigors and lux.  The two remaining armor-clad men rode together a few feet ahead and talked.  Noir’s legs, bottom, and back had begun to ache hours earlier from riding.

As they traveled, the sun sank down the horizon, painting long shadows from the hills.  Each hill hid the sun making it seem dark until they crested it.  Each time they rose over a rounded hill top, the sun was lower and the sky more crimson.

Adeel gave the same warnings to Ratt as she had to Noir about talking to people in the town, though she repeated them even
more
times for Ratt.

Noir guided his mount up another hill and was greeted with a dusk-painted view of Kuli.  A small village made up of wooden houses was in the middle of tilled fields.  The fields rolled over the hills of the area, each one with hand-made wooden fences around them.  A couple herds of sheep were grazing on the hills that were not covered with fields.

Noir learned that the second remaining man was named Ryojek.  He was a guard that Noir had seen a few times while he was a prisoner.  Ryojek stood up in his stirrups and said, “Ah, Kuli.  It's good to be home.”

Adeel said, “And that is why you must not go in with us.  You will be recognized and undoubtedly asked where you have been all this time.

Ryojek sat in his saddle again and turned to Adeel.  “This I know.  Though it is still pleasing to look at my old home again.”  He turned his horse off toward the east.  “I will see you tomorrow morning then.”

Elrid responded, “Yes, friend.  Be safe.”  With that, he turned his horse and rode off away from the party.  The rest moved forward toward the town.

They met a few people on the road who looked like farmers.  The people greeted the newcomers, but seemed wary of them.  Noir tried his best to be friendly.

When they got to the more dense part of town, the other riders dismounted, so Noir did as well.  They led their horses past the wooden houses and greeted people as they walked.  Adeel leaned in to Noir at one point and said quietly, “Remember what I said about talking to people.”  He nodded.

They came to a two story wooden building that seemed more solidly built than most of the other structures.  A sign hung out from the building over two large doors that swung slightly in the wind.  It had a picture of a horse drawn carriage carved into the wood.  “The Chauffeur’s Inn,” Ratt read out loud.

A boy younger than Noir came up to the group and said, “Greetings sirs.  If you are staying the night, do you need stables for your mounts?”

Elrid responded, “Yes, son.  Take good care of them.”  Then he gave the boy one tali and handed him the reins for his horse.  Adeel and Noir gave him their reins as well.  The boy walked around behind the inn with the horses following behind.

Elrid pulled open one of the doors and entered.  The sound of many people talking  escaped out into the town air.  Adeel followed and so did Ratt and Noir.

The front lobby was fairly large with four round tables and a bar with stools pulled up to it.  Two of the four tables were filled with men and women talking loudly and drinking from large, crudely-made metal mugs.  One woman was standing and had a hand full of empty mugs.  With her other hand, she placed fresh mugs on the tables at the requests of the customers.

Behind the bar was a man with a goatee who was perhaps in his early twenties.  He was wiping down the counter with a cloth.  He stopped cleaning when he saw the newcomers and wiped his hands on his apron.  “Welcome to The Chauffeur’s Inn.  Welcome.  Have a seat if you’d like.”  Only Adeel sat. She leaned her back on the bar watching the others in the room.  “Do you need a room for the night?”

Elrid gave the bartender a questioning look then asked, “Where is the man who owns this inn?”

The bartender’s warm smile was suddenly gone.  He looked down at the wet counter and said, “My father passed away this winter.  A group of straghs got him and my grandfather.”  He paused then looked up at Elrid again.  “My name is Assai.  I inherited the inn and try my best to fill in for my late father.”

Elrid then spoke, but there was a strange tone in his voice as if he was hiding feelings.  “I am sorry to hear that.  I met him a few times.  He was a good man.”  There was a long pause as though Elrid was dealing internally with something.  “Well,” he waved his hand in the air, “innkeeper Assai.  We will need two rooms.  Three beds in one, one in the other.”

Assai’s smile came back.  Noir noticed that the man’s expressions and mannerisms seemed odd somehow, though he couldn't put his finger on why.  “Yes sir.  Let me go get them ready.  Please sit and enjoy yourselves in the meantime.”

The young man put the wet cloth under the bar and then headed for a flight of stairs.  Elrid sat next to Adeel at the bar, so Ratt and Noir followed suit.  Elrid leaned in close and motioned the others to do the same.

“This worries me.  His father was a renowned swordsman and Talik’s long-time contact in Kuli.  That man could have slain ten straghs single handedly.”

Over the laughter and banter of the others in the lobby, the group heard furniture being moved overhead.  Noir said, “So what do you think this means?”

Adeel answered, “Well, it means that this Assai guy is lying to us.  Or worse….”  She trailed off.

“Worse how?” Ratt asked.

Elrid responded, “He could be sye controlled.  If that’s true, it means there‘s a strong enemy Syeter near here.  They also may have read the mind of the late innkeeper.”  He moved to stand up as though something had just occurred to him.  “Talik’s location may be jeopardized.  We should return at once.”

“No.”  Adeel lightly grabbed his arm to keep him in place.  “This boy’s strength with lux is an immeasurable asset to us.  With his help, we may be able to actually survive the attack on Talik if it ever comes.  If we go back now and abort his lux training, we don’t have a chance no matter what.  Plus, we will need you if things go bad with this possible Syeter.”

Elrid stayed half-standing thinking over the words.  Then he sat again.  “You are right, Luxin Adeel.  Your wisdom is appreciated.”

Adeel spoke again.  “We will see Noir’s safe travel to Fafnir, then we will immediately return.  It will be a matter of days before we are back in Talik.  A small price to pay to get a powerful Luxin on our side.”

Though a part of him felt flattered, Noir did not like being talked about as if he were a pawn in someone else’s chess game.  A series of thumps coming down the stairs signaled that Assai was returning.  He entered the lobby and said, “Sirs, your rooms are ready.”