Chapter 5
A Party of Five
Tarquinius dragged a leather satchel from the chest at the foot of his slim rope bed, tossing it with one hand onto the covers while the other fumbled the clasp open. His eyes scanned the contents left over from his last trek then he turned back to his trunk and rummaged through it, searching for the best items to take on this journey of unknown length.
He picked up and jammed his boot in the space between lid and side wall, then with both hands freed, picked up his short knife and shoulder holder, a box of flint and strikers, his waxed leather cloak and several pairs of warm socks.
These followed the satchel onto the bed. Rummaging around in the depths of the trunk soon produced several fletched arrows, a short compact bow and a length of tightly wound braided rope and a ring, the shank a basket weave of silver and bearing the imprint of a wolf on the flattened signet top, with diamonds imbedded into the snarling teeth.
The ring had been given to him by his grandfather on his sixteenth birthday, just before he died. He thumbed the ring, remembering and then shrugging, slipped it onto his right forefinger. It fit him like specialty armour. His grandfather had told him to always wear it when entering the forest, for it had the power to protect him from the evil that roamed those haunted woods.
He pulled the lone boot free and the trunk lid dropped closed with a smack.
As he was straightening up, there was a gentle knock on his door.
"Come in!" he called and the door eased open. A freckled short nose preceded an even more freckled forehead and cheeks. Amy Drusa followed her head around the corner and spying Quin, popped into the room like a cork released from a bottle. Excitement bubbled in a face framed by curly brown hair.
"Can I come? This sounds like a grand adventure! I heard about it all in the kitchens! You, being sent to recover the princess! What could be more exciting or romantic?" she squeaked, bouncing on her slipper shod feet.
"Amy, you can't come on this trip, it will be rough travelling with little rest. I am chasing dangerous men, who have kidnapped the princess, of all things! They are hardly going to welcome us to their fires to share their meal. You would only get in the way" he finished baldly.
Amy's excitement faded as she realized Quin was serious. "You listen to me Tarquinius, you have this all wrong. Just suppose you catch up the princesses' abductors. What then? You cannot hope to recover her on your own."
"And what do you know about taking care of her? I am the one who assisted the priests in their preparations of the special elixir she needs. I watched them when they prepared her potion; only I know how to prepare it properly. Do you know how?"
Quin shook his head. "But they are sending me with potion." He motioned to several glass vials that were lying on his bedside table. "I acquired these from the Elixir maker in the Thespian Hills and I would suspect they will be sending a priest or two."
"What if something happens to them? What if something happens to you? Do you know how to bind wounds, to stitch them? Do you know how to take out an arrow and be sure you will not lose your arm or leg in the process? Do you?"
Quin shook his head, like a bear trying to shake off bees he had disturbed in a honey comb.
"You will still need help, no matter how many priests go. You know they will be of no use to you. To them, you are an annoyance." Amy said stubbornly.
She crossed her arms across her chest. "I have my own horse. I will not be a burden. I can help with meals. Please Quin? Take me with you?"
Quin paused in his packing to look at his lifelong friend. He studied her determined face and the total lack of fear she showed. Entering the forest was enough to scare the most hardened warrior. He also knew he trusted her more than anyone he knew.
"You understand this is dangerous?" he said softly to her. "We will be going into the Weircat Woods?"
"Yes I understand, but I also know you need me!" she said fiercely. Quin sighed in acceptance, capitulating.
"We leave an hour before nightfall. Meet me by the western castle gate."
With a squeal of joy she ran forward and hugged Quin, then dashed from the room, skirts flying in her wake.
As it turned out, Quin was joined by two knobbly kneed and deep robed priests, their silken garments bound by fine corded blue silk sashes, the lapels embroidered with wavy multi-hued threads that represented the flowing cyclical return of the sacred waters from earth to sky to earth again, hardly the gear he would choose for rough travel in dangerous territory.
Both priests looked disgruntled at being asked to ride. They were used to carriages or servants porting the curtained chairs they favored. The idea of straddling a horse was repulsive, demeaning to their lofty positions. Awkwardly they sat their mounts, gripping the reins with the least amount of finger contact they could manage.
Nevertheless, they sat the horses provided and were waiting as Amy arrived. The last companion was a servant brought along to ease the priest's discomfort at the upcoming journey.
The short balding man was between Amy and Quin in height, roughly 5'10 and skinny, his lean frame hunched with the weight of the priest's parcels. When it became clear that the priests intended to have the man walk the entire way, Quin snorted his disgust and went into the royal stables to bring out two additional mounts. One was a grey pack mule more suited to carrying the heavy burden of the priests. The other was a dappled pony similar to Amy's obviously borrowed from one of the stable staff.
Julius bobbed his head and murmured thanks as Quin helped him load the mule then patted Julius on the shoulder. "We will travel faster if all are mounted" he smiled.
Quin mounted his black stallion, which frisked with excess energy, eager to be off. Quin reined him and seeing that all were ready, proceeded down the cobblestone lane that lead away from the stables and out to the town proper.
The river ran alongside the castle, parallel to the road they travelled. The bridge to the western shore lay about a mile from the stables, the stone wall of the city ending at its mouth. Reaching the western fortress gate, he nodded to the guards present and with a tap of heels to the belly of his stallion, trotted up onto the wooden arched structure.
Black waters flowed swiftly beneath the bridge span, making him feel dizzy. The deadly speed and turbulence of the water hid a more sinister fact, that the River Segovia was poisonous. If not for the priests' blessing of their walled water source inside the castle walls, there would be no kingdom, no people, nothing.
Only animals could drink the water without becoming violently ill and dying. The River Segovia was poisonous to humans.
Reaching the opposite side, he sighed in unconscious relief and took up a trail that lead along the western shore of the river, moving upstream of the flowing water. His eyes scanned the rocky surface of the shoreline, looking for any clue as to where the kidnapper may have come ashore. He was sure that they would not have attempted to sneak the princess out through the city as the area was too well guarded.
Most feared the treacherous waters but under cover of darkness, a boat would have been nearly impossible to detect. Whether they went upstream or down, that he was unsure about.
The late afternoon sun had sunk behind the trees by this time, casting the area in shadow. Not exactly the best time of day for picking up a normal trail, let alone a nominal one, but he was not looking for broken vegetation or the like, not yet anyways.
Amy kept her pony nose to flank with his, trying to prove her worthiness for the journey, from the outset. The priests and their servant meandered along behind, looking bored.
After an hour of searching and as the skies faded from early sunset to purple twilight, Amy asked, "What are we looking for?"
"To cross the river by boat, the kidnappers would have needed to have a landing point in mind, one that would allow them to pull a boat up onto shore and into the underbrush quickly and silently. Dragging a boat over rocks makes a lot of noise and leaves a clear trail to follow."
"So...what are you looking for?" Amy repeated
"I am looking for....this." He reigned in his horse and pointed. There, at the edge of the river, was a small sandy alcove, all but invisible from the shoreline, but just large enough to pull up a small boat. The smooth shore was just visible from the pony's back.
They both dismounted and approached the alcove to inspect it closer. Parting the bushes, they slid down through the five foot scrub brush tangled bank and onto a small spit of sand. Quin let his gaze rove over the stand of brush then back.
Suddenly his gaze was caught by a smooth wooden sliver. Striding over, he pulled at the brush which came away easily under his hands. A small wooden dinghy was revealed, large enough to hold two people only.
"Well we know that two people max did the actual kidnapping." He turned to gaze down river to the Princess Tower. His eyes travelled up to the window barely visible in the descending twilight.
"An incredible feat, one I am not sure I could have pulled off." He found himself forming a grudging respect for the kidnapper's abilities.
He touched Amy's arm and gestured towards the shoreline above. They climbed back to the waiting priests. "We will camp here and start out at first light. That way, the trail should reveal itself, in the same light as the person or persons who created it."
Setting up camp was a quick affair, at least for Quin and Amy. The priests were another matter, insisting on a tent being erected with proper bedding, after which Julius provided a hot meal warmed over a fire he created just for the priests.
Amy and Quin leaned back against the log of a fallen tree and munched on dried jerky and blueberries for dinner, washed down with water from their skins. They only ever drank from their own skins. Amy had packed additional water for them enough for two weeks of travel if they were careful.
Amy nudged Quin and pointed at the gloomy woods about a hundred yards distant. A large black bird rose from the treetops, screeched loudly and then dived back into the canopy.
"What is in there, Quin?" she murmured, her voice laced with concern. Not in panic, just concern of the unknown. Quin glanced at her, proud of what he saw.
"There are all kinds of twisted creatures in there. It is said there are tigers with two heads and snakes that can wrap themselves around the torso of a full grown man so that not even his head shows. The snakes are found by the swamps, I have heard, although I have never encountered one."
He took another bite of his jerky and chewed thoughtfully. "I have encountered a deer or what looked like a common mule deer, until I got closer and realized its head was actually the shape of a horse and that it had what looked to be wings folded on its back. A mutation of some sort I think."
"The most dangerous animals are the wild boars. Normal wild boars are fierce enough, but these are reported to be the size of a bear and their snouts are covered in tusks so that you can barely see their eyes. They are smart too. I have heard their intelligence is bordering on human. They hunt in packs and strategize to trap their prey."
Amy shivered, pulling her moss colored cloak more tightly around her. "We will need to keep a sharp eye then." She glanced over at the priests who were waving their arms demanding more food and wine be brought to them as they lounged in their tent. Julian hurried over and bowed at the waist, offering a silver tray with steaming food. "Those two will be completely useless. If anything, they will attract attention we do not want."
Quin laughed. "Maybe they will be useful in some way...the way they are fattening themselves up, who would look at us with them alongside?" Amy laughed in return.
As the last of the light faded, they gathered their sleeping mats and stretched out, side by side, to rest.
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