Death Comes To All (Book 1) (34 page)

"I
thought you said that this road is used more often than those we've
used before?" Bane reach up to scratch at his face, but managed
to stop himself. He knew that the glue that held on his facial hair
should have set already, but he didn't want to take any risks. He
could ignore the annoying itch for now.

"Didn't
you tell me before that it was customary for merchants to exchange
pleasantries and information when they passed on the road?"

"That
tends to be true on the smaller, less traveled roads, but not along
this route. Generally, those that travel the back roads are not
honest merchants, but smugglers and thieves. Such people are
untrustworthy by nature, and therefore less likely to trust others
that they meet. On the main road the merchants are more likely to be
honest, to a point anyway, and are less likely to want to talk with
those they meet. Since these roads are watched so carefully they
don't fear bandits as much as those traveling less protected routes.
They don't need to get a feel of those they meet. Only a few bandits
are brave enough to harass travelers here, and they don't actually
walk the road but wait in ambush instead. Even those few foolish
souls tend not to last long before running into the guard. That's
probably what happened to the trog who commissioned Ocean's Hand."

"From
what you've told me about Bloodheart, I wouldn't think he would care
enough about his merchants to protect them so well."

"Merchants
who are robbed of everything they have can't pay his outrageous
taxes,” Grant pointed out. “Those that keep their goods
are having a hard enough time doing so. He isn't protecting them so
much as protecting his investment in them. Even the worst of men can
do good things, however they tend to do so only when it's in their
own best interest.

“
The
guards along the road would be a good thing if those that give the
orders weren't so corrupt. Some of the guards are corrupted as well,
though there are just as many trying their best to help others. There
might be times you are given no other choice but to kill the guards
in our path, but it's usually best to avoid doing so if you can. Not
everyone who opposes you will be evil. It's an unfortunate truth, but
a truth none-the-less. Far better for everyone if we can avoid them
altogether. Should we come into contact with them, we will just have
to hope that our disguises pass their scrutiny."

Trick
once again took to the air, leading the group from his elevated
position. It did not take them long at all to reach the road. With a
final push they forced their way through the last of the thick growth
onto a wide dirt passage.

This
is a much newer road compared to the one we used to get to the city,
Bane thought to himself.

The
older road had been constructed of far more durable materials,
however so much time had passed since its creation that little was
left of its original splendor. This new road was just a path of hard
packed dirt. Since it was well kept it had few holes dotting it, and
made for much smoother traveling.

Now
that they were on the road they mounted their horses and set off at a
brisk trot. Bane had tied the tether of the pack horse to the back of
his saddle, leaving his mind free to navigate his own animal.

He
had rarely ridden horses. They had little use for such animals at his
father's farm. Sorvinians were powerful enough that they didn't need
to hook a plow up to an animal; they could pull it themselves easily
enough.

Bane
did not really feel confident enough in the saddle to ride and try to
control a second animal at the same time. Luckily, both his mount and
the pack horse were well trained animals. They would not throw even a
piddling rider unless frightened, which they apparently didn't do
easily.

Grant
led the way, with Bane and the pack horse bringing up the rear. They
kept Raine carefully placed between them as if to protect her from
harm, though Bane had little doubt that the feral woman could handle
herself as well as either of the men could.

Still,
were she a helpless woman, betrothed to marry into a poor merchant's
family, that would be how they would treat her. It was important that
they kept up appearances.

They
passed several merchants, some traveling the same way by foot and
others heading toward the city they left behind. For the most part
those that passed almost completely ignored them. If anyone
questioned how such a bent old man could sit so strong and confident
in the saddle, they didn't choose to say anything about it.

They
also passed two guard patrols as they rode. The first looked closely
at Bane, but then dismissed him after a glance at his companions.
They were looking for a two men, after all, a middle aged man and a
young man with flowing locks of red. They weren’t looking for
an elderly man and his fair-haired son, traveling with the younger
man’s bride.

The
second patrol was a bit more cautious. The patrol leader strode up to
them imperiously, his right hand draped confidently on the hilt of
his sword. He took them all in at a glance, his gaze lingering, only
for a moment, on Bane.

“
We
are looking for two men,” the man stated with an obvious air of
self importance. “One of them you would have remembered, a
giant of a man with flaming red hair and a massive great sword
strapped on his back.”

“
We
were just coming from the city,” Grant said, his high-pitched
voice crackling as he spoke. “We haven’t passed anyone
heading in that direction that would look anything like that. Are
these men dangerous? We don’t have anything that most
highwaymen would be interested in, but we couldn’t afford a
guard either. Should we be concerned?”

“
These
men would have been coming from the city as well,” the guard
said in answer. “They weren’t heading in that direction.
These two men killed a government official and, we believe, fled the
city. Have you seen anyone who might fit that description leaving the
city or heading away from it?”

“
Is
that why we were questioned at the gate when we left? I would like to
lodge a complaint about that. They held us up for nearly four
hours....”

“
You
can deal with a little delay,” the man said, cutting him off.
“I don’t have time to listen to every complaint from
every merchant who passes my way. Now have you seen anyone fitting
that description or not?”

Grant’s
eyes glazed dangerously for a brief second at the guards rude
demeanor, but quickly caught himself. Bane could tell that the
assassin would have liked nothing more than to teach the man a
lesson, but there was not any way for him to do that without breaking
his cover, and that was out of the question.

“
I
can honestly say that I have not seen a single person on this road
that fits that description,” he answered instead, biting back
the retort that was surely on the tip of his tongue.

He
wasn’t lying either,
Bane realized with some amusement.
They had changed their appearance long before they starting using the
road, so they really hadn't seen anyone who fit that description
while on it.

“
Well,
if you see anyone like that than tell the guards at once,” the
man replied in a dismissing manner.

“
Should
I be concerned about these men?” Grant asked, his voice
wavering slightly in mock fear.

More
likely he’s trying to keep from laughing,
Bane thought.

The
patrol leader either didn’t hear him or didn’t think he
was worth answering. Whichever the case, he certainly never suspected
that the old merchant he was talking to was in fact the very man he
was supposed to be looking for. He never asked a single question
about who they were or where they were going.

What
a useless man,
Bane thought.
He’s so absorbed in his own
self-importance that he can’t see what’s staring him
right in the face.

They
traveled until nightfall, leaving the road and going perhaps two
miles eastward before finding another wide clearing. This one did not
have any sort of water on its borders, but they weren’t trying
to hide from the people on the road now either. Instead they were
hiding right in plain sight, and wanted to look and act just like any
other merchant family would be doing.

It
would be safe to build a fire and cook themselves a hot meal now, and
perfectly in character for them to do so. The campsite they were
using was further from the road than most of the merchants would use,
but an old merchant, like the one Grant was posing as, might know of
better sites further away. It wasn’t too out of character for
the group to use it.

They
didn't have time to hunt before it was too dark to see, and Grant
didn't want to take the time to do so in any case, so they had to cut
into their supplies for their dinner. Bane at least was able to roast
some of the peanuts that he had gathered the day before, but
everything else was food they had bought in the market. Once they
were another two or three days beyond the city they could start
taking time out of their day to hunt, fish, and gather food once
again. The more they could save out of their supplies, the better off
they would be.

This
time Bane took a watch as well. He wasn't sure if he had completely
recovered from his use of his magic; he was in fact fairly sure he
hadn't, but he had more than enough energy to stay awake a few extra
hours and keep watch over his friends as they slept. He decided on
first watch, as he thought it would be easier to stay awake a little
longer than it would be to wake up early and try not to fall back to
sleep.

Raine,
who had not fought in the battle the day before, decided to take
second watch, which was often the most difficult of the three. It was
hard for most people to wake up half way through the night, stay
awake for a few hours, and then go back to sleep until morning
without feeling drained the next day. Grant, who tended to often wake
up early anyway, took the last watch.

The
night passed quickly and uneventfully. When Grant woke him the next
morning Trick was already on his shoulder, chatting merrily in his
ear. The assassin absently fed the dragonling another small piece of
jerky. Bane suspected that the man had been doing so for some time
that morning. At least it wasn't likely that Trick would stop them
demanding food that day, though he doubted that their sapphire
colored friend would have done so along the road anyway.

He
had been absent most of the day before, pretty much from the time
they started traveling the road until they left it to make camp. Bane
thought it likely that Trick knew exactly how dangerous it could be
for them if he were spotted in their company. While it was unlikely
that the guards knew about the animal, as he had kept out of sight
most of the time they were in the city, he was still an unusual
enough sight to make a lasting impression.

Anything
that brings attention to us is a danger best avoided.

Trick
flew off on his own once more before the group set out for the day.
Once on the road they continued to follow it southward. Bane wondered
how far Grant planned on following it. He was fairly certain that the
trade route they were on stretched all the way to Miani, however he
didn't believe that they would be going that far. At some point they
would have to leave the road, either to start down another path or to
create their own. Either way he was certain that Grant's unerring
sense of direction would lead them true.

They
passed several merchants traveling towards the city, as well as
another guard patrol. This far from the city the patrols were fewer
and farther between, with fewer guards in them. They also passed a
guard station, where the men that patrolled the road were housed.

If
the guards here were looking for them at all, they showed no signs of
it. They didn't stop the group as they passed, nor did they ask any
questions. Bane thought it likely that they would have been told to
keep a look out for them, but if so they didn't appear concerned
about finding them. Undoubtedly they simply didn't expect their
quarry to have made it this far without being spotted.

Bane
found himself slowly getting used to riding, though every night when
they settled down to rest he felt as if every muscle in his body was
sore and stiff. Being bounced around on the animal, holding the same
position for such a long time, was clearly taking a toll, but not one
he couldn't bear.

At
least he doesn’t expect me to practice after this riding,
he thought when they stopped for the first night, carefully trying to
work a painfully sore muscle in his lower back.

Of
course his aching muscles wasn’t the reason, he knew. The only
reason he wasn’t forced to practice was simply because the
guards might think it strange if a poor merchant's son was seen
practicing with a blade, even a wooden one.

Keeping
the cover is more important than anything, even training.

His
companions didn't seem to have any difficulties. They were used to
riding on horseback at times, while he was certainly not. Still, he
wasn't going to complain about a little stiffness. The distance they
could travel on horseback in a single day would take three or four
days on foot, and they needed to make good time.