Redemption (19 page)

"I do not besmirch his name," replied the Arin prince. "My own father is a king, and I do not think of him as a self-centered evil man. His only desire is to better the lives of the people of Arin, just like Orro tries to do in Harangar. I have great admiration for Orro, and I am greatly thankful for the time he spent with Jared and me, but his likeness to a king is impossible to ignore. If you were honest with yourself, you would see that."

Winona rose and stormed off into the night. Prince Antion rose to go after her, but Jared stepped out of the cave to stop him.

"Let her go," Jared said softly. "She does not understand you yet, but she will in time. Her life was built on stories of a land that existed long ago. When she begins to see the truth, she will change."

Prince Antion sighed and nodded. He turned to Jared with a questioning glance. "Have you changed?" he asked. "We have spent months in daily meetings with Orro. Are you any closer to understanding what it is that you must do?"

"I am," Jared declared strongly. "I am prepared to confront Zinan and end his reign of terror. It is always sad when a life must be taken for any reason, but this is one time where there can be no other option. The Land of the Nine Kingdoms must be restored to tranquility, and it is up to me to do it. I will not fail you, Prince Antion."

Prince Antion's eyes widened with appreciation of the change in Jared. Although he had kept daily sessions with Orro at the same time as Jared, Orro's sessions were always private. The only time the two of them worked together in Orro's presence was when they practiced drawing the Talent out of the Arin prince.

"You have grown a great deal in Harangar," smiled Prince Antion.

"I think both of our lives were changed by the trip to the city in the clouds," Jared replied sadly, "but it is not within our power to change them back. Come get some sleep. Tomorrow's journey will be just as stressful as today's."

Above the mouth of the cave, Winona hid among the rocks where none of the outsiders could follow her. She had listened to most of the conversation between the two foreigners and realized that Prince Antion was unaware of the danger that was fast approaching him.

* * *

Captain Woon halted the Borundan soldiers at the border where the headwaters of the Vine River separated Vineland from Hyrem. One hundred soldiers sat quietly waiting for instructions to cross the border.

"Starting tomorrow," announced Captain Woon, "we will begin the search for Prince Antion and the others. Today we will ride directly west and set up camp at the end of the day. That will become our base for two days. During the first day at each camp, eight groups of ten riders each will search from the base camp in forty-five degree increments. Each group will ride out for half a day in the prescribed direction and then return to the camp. The second day we will move the camp forward along a path that will sweep across Hyrem."

"Why such large groups?" asked one of the soldiers. "It hardly takes ten men to search for the prince."

"I want each group large enough to engage Prince Antion's group in a prolonged battle," answered the captain. "If any one of the eight groups fails to return at the appointed time, my entire army will move in that direction to find out what happened. If you are among those lucky enough to encounter the enemy, there will be no reason to go in for a quick kill. You may engage the enemy or merely track them. Either way you can be assured that the other ninety of us will be arriving within a day. If we used just two or three scouts, we could lose our men and lose track of the Arin dog at the same time. I do not intend to lose him once we have locked onto his trail."

"Do we really need a hundred men to kill six or seven of the enemy?" scowled a soldier.

"Do not be lulled into a false self-confidence," warned Captain Woon. "Captain Xero had thirty men under him, and they were all able men. Those men are dead now. They perished in Hyrem trying to find Prince Antion. Be wary; be alert, and do not underestimate your enemy."

* * *

Winona led the group to the floor of the endless canyon and halted the column.

"Here ends my knowledge of the terrain," she announced. "I know nothing of the lands beyond the mouth of the canyon other than what I have seen from the mountains."

"Take the lead, Derri," ordered Prince Antion as he gazed skyward. "We have about three hours of light left. Keep that in mind as we travel. If you find good shelter for the night in two hours, I would prefer to stop early for the night rather than risk having no shelter at all."

"There is not much in the way of shelter up here," replied the Salacian prince. "Would you prefer to spend the night here and start fresh in the morning?"

"No," answered the Arin prince. "The days are short enough as it is. We cannot afford to lose too much time. Do the best you can on the shelter, but we will avoid riding at night unless we have to. I don't want to sink in a snow drift."

"Where shall I head for?" asked Prince Derri.

"The closest city," replied Prince Antion. "We will replenish our supplies there and try to find Winona an Odessian beauty."

"The closest city is Caxon," interjected Prince Umal, "and I have two horses waiting there. Remember the ones I left for you and Jared when you stayed with Audric?"

"That will work well then," agreed Prince Antion. "Take us to Caxon, Derri."

The Salacian prince pulled the fur hood over his head and started out of the mouth of the canyon. The landscape of Hyrem was a blanket of white with great snowdrifts that reminded him of the sands of Odessia. The group had been protected from the winds inside the canyon, but that changed the moment they left the mouth. Strong winds churned the blanket of snow causing visibility to plummet. Prince Derri squinted into the maze of white dunes and plotted his course. He pointed his horse towards an artificial valley between two huge snowdrifts and then lowered his head to keep the swirling snow out of his face.

The wind calmed once the group came into the lee of the giant snowdrift, and Prince Derri plotted the next portion of the trek. He continued the maneuvers for three hours without finding any shelter. Eventually it got too dark to travel safely, and he halted the group in one of the artificial valleys.

Balrec had supplied the group with several large pieces of canvas, and the group constructed a crude shelter. The night passed without incident, and they got off to an early start in the morning. Prince Derri led on a southeasterly course towards the headwaters of the Vine River. The winds had died down during the night, and the swirling snows did not hamper his visibility much, so he picked up the pace and kept zigzagging between the snowdrifts. As high sun approached, Prince Derri saw movement ahead of him. It was only a momentary flash of dark against the bright white landscape, but he immediately called a halt.

"I think I saw someone up ahead," he announced. "You should hide while I go check it out."

"I will go," volunteered Prince Umal. "These hills may be made of snow instead of sand, but it is the type of terrain that I know well. I can check the path ahead without being seen."

Both princes looked to Prince Antion for direction.

"Go, Umal," decided the Arin prince. "Derri, choose a place for us to hide."

The Odessian prince dashed forward while Prince Derri led the group around the base of a large snowdrift to a place that was hidden from the southeast.

Prince Umal raced up the side of a giant snowdrift and dismounted just before the peak. He threw himself down in the snow and crept upward until he could see over the top. He was gazing almost directly into the sun when he saw the group of riders emerge from in between two large dunes. The strangers were still a fair ways off, but they were heading on a course that would make a meeting inevitable. The Odessian prince watched closely and counted the number of riders. Just as Prince Umal was about to abandon his position and report back, the strangers halted.

Prince Umal rode swiftly around the large snow dune to where his friends were hiding.

"There is nothing wrong with your eyes, Derri," the Odessian prince reported. "There were ten riders coming this way out of the southeast. They would have come upon us if they had not turned around."

"Turned around?" questioned Prince Antion. "Why?"

"I do not know," answered Prince Umal. "They just halted their advance and turned around. They are now retracing their prior path."

"A Hyremite patrol?" posed Sandar.

"I have never known of a Hyremite patrol," replied Monte, "at least not along the border with Caroom. They will often travel in groups, but not on a patrol."

"I agree," added Prince Derri. "They do not even patrol the border with Salacia. The Hyremites are basically nomads. When they travel they do so with their entire families."

"Why would anyone other than the Hyremites conduct a patrol up here in winter?" Prince Antion frowned. "If Captain Xero was still alive, I would suspect it was his men, but we know that he is dead, as are all of his men."

"I will go and check on their tracks," offered Prince Derri. "Perhaps it will shed some light on the situation."

"Not alone," warned Prince Antion. "They could be setting a trap."

"I will go with him," offered Winona. "Perhaps we could pass for a young Hyremite family if we encounter anyone."

Prince Antion's eyebrow rose, but he nodded his agreement. Prince Derri and Winona rode out of the hiding place with the Salacian prince in the lead. The prince kept to the valleys created by the dunes even though that required him to weave a great deal to arrive at a spot where the tracks were still visible. Prince Derri dismounted and stooped next to the tracks while Winona remained mounted, her head constantly turning as if expecting the strangers to return. After a few minutes, the prince rose and mounted his horse.

"They did not appear to be in a hurry," commented Winona. "Perhaps a group just realized that they were heading in the wrong direction and turned around."

"I don't think so." Prince Derri shook his head. "The riders were Borundan soldiers."

"How can you be sure?" Winona asked skeptically.

"When you find tracks in the mountains," the prince asked, "can you judge whether they are male or female? Can you estimate the height and weight of the person making the track?"

"Of course." Winona nodded. "Such things are elementary in tracking."

"It is the same with horses," explained the Salacian prince. "The Borundan army has a distinctive manner of shoeing horses. While it is possible for a horse once owned by the Borundan army to come into the possession of others, all ten of these horses were shod in such a manner. This was a Borundan army patrol."

"And you think they are up here looking for Prince Antion?" asked the scout.

"Undoubtedly." The prince nodded. "What bothers me is why they turned around, and why they left along the same path they took to get here. That is not the proper way to search for someone…unless…" Prince Derri's voice faltered, and he turned to gaze to the southeast.

"Unless what?" inquired Winona.

"Let's return to the group," Prince Derri said as he mounted his horse. "We are losing daylight while we stand here and speculate."

The Salacian prince led the way back to the group.

"They were Borundans," he reported. "I do not think it would be wise to continue on our present course as we would be following them. I plan to head due south from here, but we should proceed with caution. Hyrem cannot be considered safe for us."

Prince Antion sensed tenseness within his old friend that he knew was more severe than Derri's words portrayed, but he chose not to question it yet. He merely nodded his agreement, and the group mounted and followed Prince Derri's lead. When the darkness of night approached, the group set up the shelter in the lee of a large drift. Prince Derri requested that sentries be set and that each shift be manned by two watchers instead of one. Prince Antion readily agreed.

The group camped without a fire and dined on trail rations. After everyone had eaten and the sentry shifts had been determined, Prince Antion caught Prince Derri away from the others.

"What are you hiding?" Prince Antion asked his friend. "You know something that you are afraid to mention to the rest of us."

"It is not that I am afraid," the Salacian prince replied. "I am not sure if my hunch is correct, and I do not want to raise a false alarm. Traveling in such cold weather demands an extra toll of each of us, and our sleep is important to our survival. I would not hide the truth from any of you if I was sure of anything."

"Understood," Prince Antion nodded, "but I would still like to hear your thoughts. I am just as likely to lose sleep over what I imagine the situation might be. The truth would sit better with me."

"I am not sure of that," sighed Prince Derri, "but I will accede to your wish. It bothered me that ten Borundan soldiers would suddenly turn around and retrace their path. It really makes no sense if they are indeed searching for you, and what other reason would the Borundans have for being up here?"

"I follow you so far," agreed the Arin prince. "We have to accept that the Borundans are searching for Jared and me."

"There is one tracking technique that makes sense as to what we have observed so far," the Salacian prince continued. "It is called the sunburst technique. It is usually conducted by a group of ten men. The commander sends eight of the men out from a stationary position. Each man goes out along either a major compass point or a minor one. They ride out for half a day and then return to camp. If any man does not return, the entire group then moves along the path of the missing man."

"That allows them to search in every direction at once," nodded Prince Antion. "That sounds clever. What if they all return?"

"If they all return," answered Prince Derri, "the main base is moved a day's travel along one of the spokes and the process repeats itself. By using this technique, the Borundans can search a swath of land the width of an entire day's ride. A great quantity of Hyrem can be searched in a reasonable amount of time. Any group that finds tracks or other evidence can quickly alter the path of the entire group."

"But there were ten men in the party that Prince Umal saw," frowned Prince Antion. "If they were using the sunburst technique, wouldn't most of them have stayed behind?"

"If there were only ten Borundans," nodded Prince Derri. "That is what bothers me. They sent ten times the amount of men that the technique calls for. What does that suggest to you?"

"Merciful sword!" exclaimed Prince Antion as the full impact of the situation dawned on him. "Would King Zinan truly send a hundred men up here in the middle of the winter? King Gharkin would have a seizure if he knew."

"Truly he would," agreed Prince Derri, "but what is the Hyrem king going to do about it? Would he be foolish enough to declare war on Borunda when King Zinan already controls Vineland? I think not. I suspect that King Zinan has correctly determined that the Hyremites will do nothing about it. Gharkin might scream and protest, but Zinan will not care about that. The dark king has nothing to lose."

"I understand why you chose not to reveal this theory," sighed Prince Antion. "It would cause many sleepless nights. How can we determine if there is any validity to your theory?"

"If they are using the sunburst," answered Prince Derri, "tomorrow will be a day to move their camp. I cannot believe that a hundred Borundans could safely pass through either Oran or Caxon unchallenged. Therefore, they must have entered Hyrem from Vineland. If that is the case, they will be moving westward through the country."

"That puts us directly in their path," frowned the Arin prince.

"True," agreed Prince Derri, "but we have to get south of them somehow. They will discover our tracks when they get here. Once they do, they will begin tracking us."

"We cannot afford to have a hundred men tracking us," worried Prince Antion. "Did you have a plan in mind?"

"I do," nodded the Salacian prince. "Instead of heading south tomorrow, which would certainly leave tracks that they would have to cross on the way to their new camp, we stay here and wait for them to pass by. If we see that there are indeed a hundred Borundans tracking us, we will follow the group sent eastward."

"Why the eastward group?" asked the Arin prince.

"For us to cross their path," explained Prince Derri, "one of the groups will surely spot our tracks. It doesn't matter whether it is the eastern group or the western group that we attack, but it must be one of them. I chose the eastern group because they will be coming back this way after they set up camp. We can set up an ambush and destroy the group and then cross to the south. We will have at least a half day's lead on the rest of the group because it will take them that long to realize that one of their groups is missing."

"I don't know." Prince Antion shook his head. "Why can't we just wait until they move on completely? We could hide here for a few days."

"The group that heads northeast out of their new camp is bound to come across our tracks and follow them here," answered Prince Derri. "The sunburst is very effective in open terrain like this. Only a windstorm could hide our tracks, and we cannot conjure those at will."

Prince Antion fell silent for a moment as he stared at the shelter and the warriors in front of it.

"We will discuss all of this with everyone in the morning," the Arin prince finally declared. "While I agree that there is no reason to alarm everyone before the night's sleep, we cannot remain here for the day without an explanation. They have the right to know that an army might be passing by us tomorrow."

"Agreed," nodded Prince Derri. "I will even let the last shift of the sentries know in advance in case the Borundans arrive early."

* * *

The stars shone brightly in the moonless sky, and Talot gazed up at them in wonder as he often did from the jungles of Lom. As always, the giant felt small and insignificant in comparison to the multitude of heavenly bodies.

"Do you ever wonder what is up there?" Winona asked softly.

"Always." Talot nodded. "No matter how chaotic things get down here, the stars always appear quiet and peaceful as if they are watching us with emotionless eyes and wondering what we are making such a fuss about."

Winona glanced at the soft-spoken giant as if seeing him for the first time. Her brow knitted at his rational and peaceful thoughts.

"You are not a prince," she said softly. "You are not even an Arinite. Why are you risking your life to protect the Arin prince?"

"I don't know," admitted Talot.

"You don't know?" puzzled Winona. "Do you mean he asked you to protect him, and you did not even ask yourself why you should?"

"Prince Antion never asked me to do anything," replied Talot. "From the moment I met him, I felt something drawing me to him. It is hard to explain, but I am compelled to stand by his side, no matter what happens."

"Even unto death?" frowned Winona. "Do you think he is using the Talent to compel you?"

"Prince Antion has no control over the Talent within him," Talot shook his head. "If I were to tell him in the morning that I was going home, he would thank me for having stood by him and then he would wish me a safe journey. Prince Antion has never asked any of us to stand by him, yet we all will. And yes, we will stand by him to the death. Each of us may have a different reason for being here, but we are joined by a common goal. We will see Prince Antion and Jared all the way to that final confrontation with King Zinan."

"And after that?" probed Winona.

"I do not know," frowned Talot. "I suspect that most of us will not survive long enough to worry about the answer to that question. Let me ask the same question of you. Why are you with us?"

"Orro commanded me to accompany them to the final battle," replied Winona.

"So you feel nothing drawing you towards Prince Antion?" questioned the giant. "You are merely serving your king?"

"Orro is not a king." Winona started to protest, but she quickly realized that Talot meant no slight by his words. "Yes," she continued softly. "I am following the orders of Orro. I would not be here if I had a choice."

"But you do have a choice," Talot pointed out. "No one has the right to demand your life as a token of your devotion. You might not be welcomed back in Harangar, but you could live elsewhere."

"That is unthinkable," frowned Winona. "It is an honor to serve Orro in any way that I can. I am blessed to have been called upon to serve him."

"So you are driven by the thought of the accolades that you will receive when you return home?" inquired Talot.

"I will not be returning to Harangar," Winona replied in almost a whisper.

"Why not?" Talot asked as he dropped his gaze from the stars and stared at the scout. "Why would you not return?"

"I do not know," admitted Winona. "I suppose that Orro has predicted my death before the end of this mission. He did not tell me, and I chose not to question him."

"That is not right," Talot shook his head. "While the rest of us realize that we will probably die before the end of our journey, each of us is here of our own choosing. No one demanded that we join, and no one should demand that you do. You should refuse."

Winona felt uncomfortable and conflicted with the giant's words. She truly felt that it was unfair of Orro to ask this sacrifice of her, yet she also knew what an honor it was. As much as she wanted to agree with the giant, she could not force the words out of her mouth.

"Your culture does not allow you to express your true feelings," Talot smiled sympathetically. "Do not try to. I understand the turmoil within you. I know that you are a capable fighter, but you should not get involved in the battles of our world. You should hang back from the fights and protect Jared. The rest of us will try to protect both of you. I personally will do whatever I can to see you returned safely to Harangar, and I am sure the rest of the group would feel the same."