The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) (9 page)

Pat cringed. "Oh..."

"We'll be sure to keep ourselves away from 'em," Canto promised.

Kilo laughed. "But Ah know ya well enough to know ya won't keep out of trouble. Oh, and when ya get to the city could ya say hi to my sister for me? She's probably worried Ah've been eating by a cantankus."

Canto frowned and shook his head. "Ah don't think that would be a good idea. She's probably still sore from me leaving."

"Yep, but ya might want to see her anyway. She sometimes talks about ya," Kilo told him.

Canto raised an eyebrow. "She does?"

"Yep. Talks about kicking yer ass." Kilo laughed and patted Canto on the back. "But in all seriousness, watch yerself down there and try to keep out of trouble."

Canto chuckled. "Ah make no promises on that, but it was good seeing ya again and Ah hope I won't hear that horn of yers blow."

"Why?" Ruth wondered.

Kilo lifted the horn, an instrument fashioned from the horn of some large animal. "This is a bullfalo horn. It's been in my family for a few generations."

"I've never heard of a bullfalo," Pat spoke up.

"They're a rare beast found in the far north. Ah don't even know what one looks like, but my great-grandfather killed one and took its horn as a trumpet for when trouble arose. A blow can carry for ten miles, even over these rough mountains."

"Then we also hope not to hear your trumpet," Ned agreed.

Kilo smiled and set the horn back on his hip. "So do I. Now off with you before the trumpet needs blowing from Canto's trouble-making."

Canto nodded toward the cantankus. "Mind lending me one of yer cantankus?" he asked his old acquaintance.

Kilo smiled and shook his head. "Not on yer life. Those beasts are the only thing that can get over these paths quickly without us breaking our necks. Now go on before Ah change my mind about letting ya through."

CHAPTER 10

The companions left the fort and found the Dirth side of the trail more hospitable. It widened so they could travel three abreast, and they descended to a more oxygen-rich environment. The trees grew taller and changed to ones more suitable to a wet climate and the path followed a dozen creeks that merged into half that number of rivers. After a half day of easy riding they arrived at a fork in the road where the rivers ran off to the left path and a few miles off they could see marshland. The right trail led north and dropped into a valley where sat a large swath of fertile farmland. A large city made of stone sat in the center of its hinterland.

Canto turned right while Ned directed his horse to the left path. "That's the wrong way," Canto reminded the castor. "The city's to the north."

"But the city of the Stars is this way, and there's where I want to go," Ned told him.

"Ah gave my word we would keep ourselves away from 'em," Canto insisted. "So let's go to Dirth."

"No, you promised you'd stay away from them. I made no such promise," Ned pointed out. He glanced over his shoulder at the others and pulled at his beard. "Though now that it's mentioned, we may not all need to meet the Stars' leader."

"Why do any of us need to meet their leader?" Canto countered. "The stone is in Dirth."

"But you forget that we need the item to destroy it, and the ancient castors were great friends with the Stars," Ned replied.

"They would be," Canto grumbled.

Ned turned to his apprentice. "Fred, you come with me. The Stars are most friendly to castors, and won't feel threatened by our presence. The rest of you can follow Canto to Dirth and have a look at that stone. If you find any clues to the treasure item send a crow. We'll be at the palace of the Stars."

"Send a crow?" Ruth repeated.

"It's how dwarves communicate over the region," Canto explained to her. "The beasts are smart enough to train, and have simple needs."

Ned clopped down the left-hand path. "Let's be off now, Fred. This shouldn't take more than a day."

Fred cringed and glanced at Pat and Ruth. Pat shrugged and Ruth looked apologetic, but there was nothing they could do. They'd only be in the way with the Stars, and Fred needed to follow his master. The young man sighed, his shoulders slumped, and he steered Fluffy to follow Ned.

Canto glanced behind himself and looked over who remained. His eyes fell on Sins. "A few rules when we enter Dirth. The king probably considers the stone his property, so don't touch it before we get permission. He's a fool, but he'll have our hands for touching his treasure. As for the food, eat what yer given and don't insult any of the lady folk by refusing the stuff. Ah don't want us to start another War of the Blood."

"War of the Blood?" Pat asked him.

"Blood Pudding," Canto elaborated. "Someone insulted a woman's blood pudding and there was civil war for two years between those who hated the pudding and those who, well, were fond of the cook. One side even pushed ta other into the bogs and they were dragged down by the weight of their axes."

Ruth covered her mouth in horror and Pat frowned. "Why didn't they drop their axes?" she countered.

Canto scowled at her. "A dwarf never drops his ax unless his arm is cut off."

"And how did it end?" Pat wondered.

"The one who spoke the insult had to eat the blood pudding for a whole month," Canto replied.

Pat raised an eyebrow. "That's it? All that and that's the only punishment he received?"

"If ya knew how bad that blood pudding tasted ya wouldn't take it so lightly," he countered. He turned his ass and tromped down the trail. "Now let's get there before night. If those dang Helpers aren't helping anyone then the city is a dark place after the sun sets."

While the larger group headed for the city, Ned and Fred made their way down into the swamps. The hard dirt path transformed into a wet, mucky trail that wound its way through weeping willows whose branches brushed against the filthy pools of water that sat beneath them. Mold and fungus covered the few rocks that poked out of the dark waters, and frogs croaked their deep tunes. Dead trees poked out of the water, and thick sludges of moss floated on the surface. Every now and then a Dirth bug would crawl over the path, emit its gas in one hideous fart, and move on. It was a dreary, damp place, and Fluffy nearly dismounted Fred when he violently stopped at the entrance.

Fred whipped his head this way and that to see what was the danger. There was nothing but frogs and Ned, who stopped to see what was the matter. "What's wrong?" Ned asked him.

Fred shook his head. "I don't know. Fluffy just stopped and he won't go on."

Ned pursed his lips together. "It's the smell of the bog. Cantankus have sensitive noses to it, and can smell the bog stench even as far as Dirth. They won't go inside the marshland if they can help it."

The young man nervously glanced around at their inhospitable and spooky surroundings. "So we have to leave him here?"

The old castor smiled and shook his head. "Fortunately I know just the spell." Ned slipped off his horse and went up to Fluffy. He bopped his staff against the beast's nose, and a thin barrier covered the nostrils. "That should work. What do you say, Fluffy? All better?" Fluffy gave Ned a big, long lick. Ned came away with a large drool booger on his nose. "A simple woof would have sufficed."

Ned performed the same favor for his horse, mounted his steed, and led the way through the marshland. Even the humans had to cover their lower faces to stifle the stench. It was a mix of rotten eggs, an uncleaned and well-used locker room, and one of those silent and deadly farts that could rival a skunk. After a few miles Fred couldn't take it much longer. "Are we there yet?" he gagged.

Ned glanced out at the marshland and squinted his watering eyes. "Difficult to say. The Stars can be very unfriendly, and if they don't want us inside their city we may never find our way out of the marshland."

"What?" Fred yelped.

Ned didn't act at all worried. "The Stars have enough magic to enchant the marshland and change the direction of the trail to lead us in an infinite circle, and we would never know their trick until the smell overpowered and killed us."

The color drained from Fred's pale, green face. "There's no way out of here? We're going to die?"

"Not entirely," Ned comforted him. "If we spot a Star and follow the creature it may lead us to the city, or a horrible death by drowning in the bog." Fred and Fluffy whimpered, and the young man slumped over his cantankus in abject misery until Ned let out a small exclamation. "There she is!"

Fred shot up and whipped his head around. "Where what is?"

Ned spurred his horse into a sprint. "Don't dawdle!" he yelled at Fred.

Fred and Fluffy quickly followed the mad chase through the dangerous marshland after something Fred couldn't see. The stench of the bogs grew worse until Fred felt dizzy. The path ahead of them blurred and sounds became muffled. His grip on the saddle horn loosened, and he didn't have enough consciousness to catch himself before he slipped off. He fell headfirst into the bog, and he was awoken from his daze by the sticky water that poured into his mouth, ears and nose. Fred thrashed and kicked, but he didn't know which way was up and which was down. His feet caught in tree roots and his body was covered in the rotting material of the bog.

Just before the young man lost consciousness a voice, clear and loud, rang in his head. "Your staff!" it cried out.

Fred used the last of his strength to reach for the staff, and when his hands wrapped around the stick parts a bright light exploded around him. The oppressive bog was pushed back from his body and fresh air surrounded him. Fred clutched onto the staff and coughed out all the bog he'd swallowed. He cracked open his eyes and realized he was in a barrier bubble like the one he'd created fighting the water monster over Salaron Bridge. Beyond the walls lay all the decomposing matter that had tried to suffocate him, and Fred was disappointed to find there wasn't a speck of light anywhere around him, though he swore he saw an old ax head among the rotting vegetation. He thought he felt himself moving, and realized that though the barrier protected him he still sank into the bottomless bog. The movement gave him the direction of up, but there wasn't any sign of the surface.

His salvation came in the form of a glowing fishhook that came down from the heavens and hooked onto his barrier without bursting his bubble. It pulled him up through the muck and when he broke the surface he fell back in relief. Ned stood on the path with his staff in hand and Fluffy beside him. From the top of Ned's staff ran a golden line that ended at the glowing fishhook. Ned guided the bubble onto the path, and Fred would have kissed the solid ground if it didn't smell and look so rancid. Besides, he had no intention of climbing out of his safety bubble. Fluffy, however, rubbed himself against the barrier and Fred let the poor thing in for some fresh air.

Ned let his fishhook vanish and perused the young man. "What a fine adventure this is, but we seem to be getting into more trouble than fun. What say we get out of here?" Fred and Fluffy enthusiastically nodded., and Ned glanced around them. "We've lost our guide, and from the familiar trail I'd say we're going in circles. We must not be wanted, so I'm afraid we're just going to have to make a splashier entrance."

"You mean we can still get to the city, or can we go to Dirth?" Fred asked him.

Ned crept up to the edge of the path and looked into the bog. "Both, but our first destination is the Star city," he reminded his apprentice. Ned created a barrier around himself and his horse with the exception that his arms and his staff lay outside the bubble. He clasped the staff in both hands and held it over a pool of bog water. "Better prepare yourself. This is going to be messy," he warned Fred.

Fred's face paled. "Prepare myself how?" he exclaimed.

Ned's reply was to tap the bottom of his staff against the surface of the water. It created a ripple effect where the vibrations spread over the connected pools of the marshland. The greater the distance away from them the larger the ripple grew until it was a wave of water that flowed over the dead and living trees. The water harmlessly lapped against the castor barriers, but farther off Fred saw the ripples slam against trunks and cover the path ahead of them. There was even a large spot in the distance where it crashed against some unseen rocks.

Ned gave an exclamation of joy and pointed at that spot. "There she blows!" he cried out.

"There what blows?" Fred asked him.

"The city of the Stars. It's invisible to those they don't want inside, but its walls can't lie to nature," Ned chuckled. He dropped his bubble and mounted his horse. "Now that we know where it is the magic of the marsh no longer affects us and the path will lead us to it. Keep your barrier around your head and follow me."

Fred shrank the barrier to that size and mounted Fluffy. They trotted along, and after a few miles the winding path straightened. They rounded a large, dead tree and before them stood a city with a gate. Fred halted Fluffy, frowned, and pulled the cantankus back behind the tree. There wasn't a city visible there, but taking a few steps forward and looking around the other side of the tree the city reappeared.