Authors: C. R. Daems
We left early the next morning for Ulia, a six-day trip
which would take us within a day's travel from the Wild Mountains and Arucci.
The first night I had Shelly call Eaton and Lutz for a meeting.
"For the next two days and nights, I would suggest we
be on high alert, as we will be passing within a day's ride of Arucci, which we
know from the abbot has men and women connected with the group that tried to
overthrow Duke Brodka. I believe they are a cult, which means they are
organized, have leaders, and a plan we upset. They may or may not know we are
headed for Ulia. But if they do, they may want to kill Lady Shelly and me
because of what we know," I said, giving the reason I was proposing extra
caution.
"Rather than put Lady Shelly in jeopardy, why not take
an extra day and swing wide of Arucci?" Eaton said.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Eaton, for your concern,"
Shelly said. "It not only puts me in more danger but also the troopers and
the rest of the caravan. That concerns me more than my safety, but we are on a
mission for Duke Wetzel, and that requires us to find out as much as we can
about each city between Calle and Kariso. Besides Duke Wetzel being my liege
lord and having given him my word, this assignment impacts all of Aesona. That
makes this assignment worth risking our lives. I have been a slave once and
that was enough. And," she laughed, "the Ojaza admit Zara makes a
poor slave. Having said that, I am willing to split the caravan into two groups:
one to stay within less than a day of Arucci and the other to swing wide of the
city."
"That would mean reducing our fighting force, because
we can't send one group with no protection," Eaton said, frowning. Shelly sent
for the cook, mule drivers, and Lutz's team—the troopers didn't have a
choice—and the discussion went on for hours. In the end, Shelly agreed to
stay a full day's ride from the end of the Wild Mountains and everyone agreed
to keep the caravan together. I took Shelly and Lutz aside after the meeting
broke up.
"Lady Shelly, I'd like to scout the area for the next
couple of days. That will give us an early warning it they do sent anyone after
the caravan."
"I think that's a good idea; however, I'd feel better
if you took someone like Lutz with you. Eaton can assign troops to guard me,"
She said, frowning with concern. I grinned.
"Lutz is great in a fight, but he'd slow me down. I'm
not taking Greystone."
"She's right, Lady Shelly. I used to think like many
others that on horseback we could run down the Indians even if they were a day
or two ahead of us. Zara has convinced me otherwise."
"Alright, but don't take any chances. Oh, forget it.
I'm more likely to charge off without thinking." She laughed. "But
remember, the success of this assignment depends on you."
I nodded and walked off to collect some trail food and a
bow, and to change into dark clothes. When I was ready to leave, I found Eaton.
"Lieutenant Eaton, would you look after Greystone while
I'm out scouting for the next few days?" I asked.
"Sure, I like that idea. I know why Lady Shelly wants
to pass close to Arucci, but …" He didn't finish but I understood. He had
lost half his command and it was still fresh in his mind. They weren't just
troopers; they had been friends and comrades. I nodded.
"I understand. I'll be back in a couple of days unless
I find trouble." I waved and began a slow run into the night. Ironically,
I still felt more comfortable on my own in the wilderness than with people in a
castle or even at the community. I still didn't trust people, and they didn't
trust me—with rare exceptions like Shelly, Lutz, and Ethel.
I headed closer to Arucci to have a better chance of
noticing anyone leaving the city. I stopped around midnight for a few hours’
sleep. At dawn I continued closer. The ground slowly changed from open prairie with
small forests to rocky ground with hills, gullies, and smaller trees, which
reduced the visibility—none while in a gully, and while I could see from
a hill, the other hills hid anyone in a gully on the other side. I moved slowly,
keeping me between the city and the caravan.
Toward midday I saw a detail of twenty riders angling south
toward where the caravan would be the next day. I followed them, staying well
back. Around midnight they made camp, but sent out several scouts … or were
they assassins. If assassins, I should follow them; if scouts, I should remain
with the main camp. Assassins, I decided and took off after them. The main
party was there in case the assassins failed. I followed them for several
hours. It was still dark when the three reached the camp and began slowly
circling until they found the tents.
One sat, and I soon felt my head become clouded as the other
two began creeping toward the tents. I quieted my mind and the area suddenly
became bathed in a blue mist. I could see a young man sitting on a rug similar
but different to the Monk’s. I screamed an Ojaza war cry and my image of a wolf
charged the Siren. His head jerked in my direction, and his image of a large
bear was slow to materialize. Before it had totally formed, the wolf had its
jaws locked on its throat. He tried to reform into a man with a sword but
couldn't seem to make it with the wolf tearing at his throat.
I could see Lutz had engaged the other two—Indian style—slashing
through the first one’s leg as he passed him for the second. The second he cut on
the arm, causing the man to drop his sword. A back slash to the neck finished
him. When Lutz turned back to the other man, Eaton had already killed him. My
Siren lay dead by then. I rose and walked back to the two men.
"What happened?" Shelly shouted as she came
running out of her tent.
"Zara interrupted an assassination attempt." Lutz
nodded to the dead bodies.
"Any more out there?" Eaton asked as he scanned
the area.
"Seventeen, about three hours away. I think they are in
reserve in case this assassination attempt doesn’t work. They will probably
start out at dawn if these men don’t return."
"That’s not good. They’re on horses. It won’t take them
long to overtake the caravan—by sunset," Eaton said, frowning in
thought.
"Unless we disrupt them," I said, thinking. "Leave
now. I'll catch up."
"No!" Shelly shouted as I walked toward the picket
line, with her following. "I forbid it!"
"Would you see a lot of people killed and wounded when
maybe I can avoid it?"
"As you taught me against my will, there are tradeoffs.
You're the mission, so yes."
"But I could be killed in the fighting if I stay, and
you could be killed, which would also impact our assignment. My way, I can
control the fighting. If we let them attack us, I can’t."
Shelly was quiet while I untied Greystone. "Damn you,
Zara. You take too many chances."
"I don’t think Wetzel gave us more than a fifty percent
chance of surviving. The risks were always high. The trick is to assume the risk
that is the lowest. Disrupting them is in this case the least risk." I
swung up on Greystone. "You need to get the caravan moving."
"Just remember: if you die, I’ll probably get killed as
well!" she shouted after me. It was a clever taunt, something for me to
factor into my thinking.
I rode Greystone hard until I thought I had come halfway,
then stopped, hobbled her, and began a slow run toward their camp. When I
arrived, the camp was still quiet. I had thought to do an Ojaza run through their
camp, wounding and killing as many as I could, then encouraging whoever remained
able to chase me. Even if it didn’t discourage them, it should put the caravan
out of their reach. But Shelly’s remark haunted me. Not me dying, but her dying
if I did. I hated the alternative, and it took a long time to quiet my mind for
what I had to do. I almost waited too long, as the camp had begun to come to
life as I circled to the picket line. Sword in hand, I raced along the line,
cutting the hind leg of each horse. I was past the last horse before the sentry
realized why the horses were panicking.
"There he goes," the sentry screamed, pointing in
my direction. It was mass confusion as troopers tried to saddle their horses. Eventually
they realized what I had done and began chasing me on foot. I ran at a moderate
pace, knowing a trooper in the best condition couldn't get close to me before I
reached Greystone and then would be too exhausted to continue. I was right. By
the time I reached Greystone and walked her to high ground, I could see only a
few still running and they were ten minutes away. I rode at a slow trot,
knowing those men had no chance of catching me. But to be overly cautious, I
took a track that would lead me back to the caravan’s old camp.
As I expected, the caravan was long gone. I dismounted and
ran alongside Greystone. At midafternoon I caught up with Eaton and his
troopers, who were riding well behind the caravan and acting as a rear guard. I
mounted and rode up beside him.
"Are they close behind us?" he asked, turning in
the saddle to look.
"No, and they won’t be following." Attacking the
horses was still making bile rise in my throat. Ironically, killing the
soldiers wouldn’t have bothered me as much.
"How?" he asked, scanning me for wounds.
"They’re on foot," I said, reluctant to say what I
had done. He seemed to understand and nodded.
"I’ve always thought the Indians were savages we could
defeat easily, but watching you in action I'm glad we aren’t really at war with
them. They don’t think like us, which makes them really dangerous because we
assume they do." He laughed. "Thanks," he said and nudged his
horse into a trot to catch up with the caravan. Shelly didn’t say anything when
I rode up alongside her. Lutz scanned me from head to foot.
"Since the troopers have closed up the formation, I
assume the threat is over," Lutz said, looking back. I nodded.
"Yes, but I’d still like to cover as much distance
today as we can. Who knows about the Indians in the Wild Mountains? They don’t
need horses," I said in anticipation of the
how
question. We rode in silence, each lost in our own thoughts.
Shelly called a halt as the sun was setting.
"Lady Shelly, I'm going to scout the area," I
said. She looked like she wanted to say something but then nodded. I headed
away from the caravan in the direction of the mountains. I saw nothing
suspicious as I crisscrossed the area about two hours from our camp. A little
after midnight, I returned to a ridge about an hour from the camp and stayed until
sunrise.
* * *
"What do you think we’ll find at Ulia?" Shelly
asked that morning as she sat down next to me with a plate of hot porridge and
bread.
"Hopefully, a soft bed and hot food."
"I can’t believe you said that. Are you sick?" She
did a head-to-foot inspection of me then put her hand on my forehead.
"No, I think I’m becoming civilized." I laughed
and so did Shelly.
* * *
We entered Ulia in the late afternoon of the next day. Even
though we were expected, we were delayed while the guard checked with the
castle, which sent an honor guard to escort us. When we reached the castle the
minister stood waiting with servants.
"Welcome, Baroness Shelly. I’m Minister Warren. Earl
Gallegos sends his apology for the delay. The guards at the gate knew to expect
you, but several caravans have been attacked over the past few months and they
are rightly nervous of anyone they don’t know. I have rooms prepared for you
and your ladies, and the captain will see to your troops and caravan retainers."
He waved to a young girl, who immediately ran to his side. She looked to be
about sixteen years old, thin and lanky with short curly blonde hair and a
pleasant if nervous smile as she curtsied. "Claire will see to your needs
while you are here."
"Lady Shelly, if you will follow me, I’ll take you to your
rooms and get you settled," she said, looking to see who else would be
going. When she saw me, she paled. "Will you require three rooms, My Lady?"
"No, Claire. My companion will stay with me,"
Shelly said. Claire visually relaxed, and started up the steps to the three
story rectangular building. The stone building looked to have been enlarged at
least twice over the centuries, judging by the variation in stones. The
original stones were rounded and of different sizes and the mortar between them
irregular. In the next section, the stones were rough and of different sizes
but rectangular and the mortar evenly spaced. In the final section, the stones
were smooth and polished and the mortar barely could be seen. We entered the
newer section and were led up a blue and gray carpeted staircase wide enough
for four abreast and down a hallway lined with portraits and paintings of
battle scenes. The rooms were enormous as usual and Shelly’s suite included a
sitting room. The clothes had no sooner been delivered than hot water arrived
with soap and towels.
"Isn’t this better than sleeping on the ground and
riding a horse all day?" Shelly asked as Sarkis and Musa helped her bathe.
"Yes, Lady Shelly, although you could walk instead of
ride," I said with a straight face. She gave me a scorching look of
disapproval.