Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (31 page)

“About time, Renn!” the tall man said, turning and walking away down the hall, completely ignoring Neala.

“It’s good to see you again, too, Arturo,” Renn said sarcastically.

“Bah!” he spat, flailing his arm as he said it.

“Don’t worry, he’s always like that. That’s why he got assigned this post—because of his wonderful social skills,” Renn whispered, grinning at Neala.

“I heard that! And I
actually
requested this assignment, ya big oaf! I thought I’d get some peace and quiet here, seeing as very few people were supposed to know about this place. But it seems some of the local paladins never leave me alone,” Arturo griped.

“Twice in the last two years is hardly pestering you,” Renn said defensively.

“It is when both visits are in the last twenty four hours!” Arturo spat back at him.

“I’ll try leaving a few more years between visits next time, I guess,” Renn replied, shaking his head and looking apologetically towards Neala.

“You do that! But for now, you can see yourselves to the tunnels. I’m off back to bed.” And without even glancing back, he was gone.

“Pleasant chap,” Neala said under her breath.

“Hmm, he seems to get worse with age. Come on, lass, let’s get moving. I’ve been told the tunnels are fairly tight, so the going is slow in places. It surfaces about a half-mile from Helveel in a copse of trees, just off the northern road. Arturo said the tunnel might be partially flooded in parts, due to the heavy rain they’ve had recently. I guess we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed it’s not too bad,” Renn said.

“Oh, wonderful, I finally get to wear some clean clothes, and now we’re going to be crawling through a mud-filled tunnel,” she said, shaking her head. Renn chuckled, and they both headed for the basement where Renn had been shown the tunnel entrance the previous day.

Arturo had left several candles burning in the basement for them, together with two oil-filled lanterns. Renn lit both lanterns using one of the candles, then opened the hatch in the floor to reveal a very tight-looking opening to the tunnel. He handed both of the lanterns to Neala, then said, “I’ll climb down the ladder first, then you can pass me both lanterns down before you come down.”

Neala nodded and took the two lit lanterns from him, then watched as he squeezed through the tight opening and disappeared into the dark tunnel below. She moved to the edge of the opening and lowered one of the lanterns into the hole. She could see Renn had reached the bottom of the ladder several feet below and lowered the first lantern down to him. After passing him the second lantern, she climbed down the ladder, closing the hatch behind her.

Thankfully, the tunnel was larger inside than the opening had suggested. Although they still had to walk in single file, at least Neala didn’t have to hunch over to walk, unlike Renn. The tunnel seemed to stretch on for a very long way, and although it smelt of damp, luckily there were little more than muddy patches here and there on their route through. When they finally reached the far end of the tunnel, they came to another ladder leading up.

“Wait here. I’ll go check above for any signs of people. Turn off the lanterns and leave them at the bottom of the ladder before you come up, please. Arturo said he would collect them later,” Renn said, handing his lantern to Neala and starting to climb the ladder.

“No problem,” Neala replied, extinguishing one of the lanterns and placing it on the ground. Renn reached the top of the ladder and listened for any movement or voices above. He didn’t expect to hear any, as he had been assured the exit of the tunnel was well away from the road, and well secluded from the view of any passers-by. He listened intently for a couple of minutes before pushing open the hatch to reveal a small clearing surrounded by dense trees. He climbed out of the hole and remained in a crouching position, while peering between the tree trunks for any signs of movement, but saw nothing. He signalled for Neala to come up the ladder and began to orientate himself as to which direction the road lay. The sun was just cresting the horizon to the east, and he guessed the road would be found somewhere to the south of where they were.

“Well, at least we didn’t have to go swimming to get through the tunnel,” Neala said, brushing off what little dirt her clothing had acquired during their subterranean travels. Renn chuckled and followed her example, patting down his clothing and clearing his hair of all the cobwebs he’d encountered leading them through the tunnel. Renn pulled the cover back over the tunnel entrance and replaced the camouflage he had disturbed, once more rendering the tunnel entrance all but invisible to anyone who might happen to pass by.

“I think the road should be that way,” Renn said, indicating to the south with a nod of his head. “I think we should find the road first, then stay hidden within the trees until we see Lusam and Alexia approaching.”

“Sounds good to me. Hopefully they won’t be too far behind us,” Neala replied, trying to rid her mind of all the unwanted thoughts she’d been having ever since leaving Helveel about Lusam and Alexia.

***

Alexia guided Lusam to where she and Neala had left their supplies and picketed the horses the previous day. Thankfully all was untouched, and the horses still had plenty of grass left to eat. They quickly saddled the horses and collected their supplies, then headed back towards the river. There was a bridge that spanned the river about a mile downstream, which they planned to use to get back over the other side. Then they would head directly north until they intercepted the northern road. It was only referred to as the northern road because it exited Helveel via the north gate, but the road soon swung around to the east and followed that direction all the way to the coast. They stayed well within the treeline until Helveel disappeared from view, before moving out into the more open space of the riverbank, making the travelling much easier, as they could now ride the horses instead of just leading them.

It was less than an hour before they came across the bridge that spanned the river. The sun was beginning to rise over the hills to the east, lighting up a clear sky that promised a comfortable dry day ahead for them. Lusam hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, but secretly he was excited to be going to Fairport. He had never even seen the ocean, let alone travelled aboard a ship before.

After crossing the bridge they headed due north until they intercepted the road. They had discussed their travel plans in detail the previous evening and knew that Renn and Neala would be waiting for them about a half-mile back towards Helveel. It had been suggested that Renn and Neala meet them nearer the bridge but there was no cover to hide there while they waited for Lusam and Alexia to arrive. Also, they all felt it would be unlikely to arouse suspicions if Lusam and Alexia
were
seen heading towards Helveel from the east, so the current plan was agreed by all.

Lusam and Alexia didn’t even travel half the expected distance before they saw Renn and Neala emerge from the treeline up ahead and wave in their direction. Lusam’s heart leapt at the sight of Neala, and he couldn’t help himself when a huge grin spread across his face. It wasn’t long before he could make out Neala’s equally wide grin, and soon they were hugging each other tightly, as if they had been separated for months.

“Eww, put him down, will you…” Alexia said smiling, with fake disgust in her voice.

Neala had felt guilty about not trusting her best friend the way she had. She knew it was only the fact that she loved Lusam so much, and couldn’t bear to lose him that had made her even think that way. What had happened in Stelgad had been put behind them both a long time ago, and after Alexia had explained what had happened, Neala had forgiven her completely. So to bring it back up now was unfair of Neala, and she knew it. She looked over Lusam’s shoulder at her friend sitting on her horse and silently mouthed the word,
“Sorry.”
Alexia winked back at her, then smiled broadly.

“I suggest we put some distance between us and Helveel as quickly as we can. The sun is just about up, and the road is bound to get a lot busier soon,” Renn said, scanning the road towards Helveel for any traffic.

“How many days do you think it will take for us to reach Fairport?” Lusam asked, finally releasing Neala and mounting his horse again.

“Normally it would take nine or ten days, lad, but I’m hoping we can do it in less than a week. We’ll no doubt need to exchange our horses a couple of times on the way, due to the pace we’ll be setting. So I hope when you said you had plenty of gold, you weren’t exaggerating too much,” Renn replied.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of money, I’m sure,” Lusam said. “I forgot to ask, did you gain any news from the temple last night?”

“No. Nothing we didn’t already know I’m afraid, lad. Arturo, the temple priest, said he was waiting for several letters that hadn’t arrived yet, but he isn’t exactly a chatty man,” Renn replied dryly.

“No kidding,” Neala laughed.

“There are simply far too many rumours and stories circulating for there not to be something wrong in the capital. I feel it’s imperative that we reach Lamuria as fast as possible. Our entire country’s survival might very well depend on it, and ultimately, on
you
, lad.”

Lusam didn’t respond but he felt confident he could deal with almost any situation since reading the second Guardian book. He only hoped his confidence wasn’t misplaced.

The weather remained fair for the next six days, and as Renn had predicted, they had been forced to swap their horses twice already for fresher animals in the villages they had passed through. Only one night were they forced to sleep outside under the stars, and even then they had managed to buy fresh food from a village they had passed through earlier that day. The Inns they had stayed at were simple abodes, with only basic food and ale available to the weary travellers, and a pallet to sleep on come nightfall.

At each successive Inn—as they grew closer to Fairport—the stories regarding the imminent fall of Lamuria grew more prevalent, and more gruesome. Some of the patrons told wild stories of undead creatures wandering the countryside, killing whole families in their sleep and laying waste to any livestock they encountered. Others told of huge armies amassing outside the capital, ready to crush Lamuria and seize the High Temple for the Empire. Most disturbing of all, however, were the stories relating to the complete destruction of Lamuria that had already occurred. It was simply impossible to know which, if any, of the stories were actually true, or not. The only way they would know for sure was to travel to Lamuria themselves, and find out how bad the situation really was there.

According to Renn, they were now only about ten miles away from Fairport, so they decided to leave the Inn a couple of hours before daybreak to continue their journey. If they could arrive in Fairport early enough, maybe they could book passage on a ship leaving that day, instead of wasting another day in port.

The weather wasn’t as kind to them on the final day, and those last ten miles felt more like fifty. The rain was more ice than water, and with the easterly wind, it drove hard into their faces for most of the way there. Lusam was very tempted to create a shield around them, to keep them warm and dry, but doing so would have been foolish under the circumstances, so he endured the unpleasant weather without complaint.

The first glimpse they got of Fairport was from the top of the hill overlooking the bay. It was a reasonably sized town, with many large warehouses situated near the docks and numerous houses nestled towards the base of the cliffs. It was apparent by the many people moving around on the dockside below that an early start to the working day was not uncommon here. Lusam counted five large ships being loaded and unloaded at the dockside, as well as three more at anchor a little further offshore. The road that led to the town below took a long meandering route down the hillside, making the journey up or down the road as easy as possible for anyone hauling goods in or out of the harbour area. What amazed Lusam the most, however, was the sheer size of the ocean. It stretched as far as he could see to the horizon, both to the north and south. He wondered just how big it actually was, but he didn’t want to ask, in case it made him look stupid in front of Neala or the others.

Renn continued down the gently sloping road towards the docks without pause, and the others followed close behind. Once they reached the bottom they dismounted from their horses and tied them to a sturdy looking fence.

“Best you three wait here and watch our stuff while I go see if I can find Byron, the harbour master. Fairport is well known for having more than its fair share of vagabonds and thieves. They wouldn’t think twice about helping themselves to any of our unattended items. Hopefully we can book passage south on one of these ships,” Renn said, nodding towards the docked vessels. Lusam had noticed several scruffy looking men hanging around the warehouses, but they seemed more interested with the contents of the buildings than their arrival in Fairport—for the moment at least.