With the arrival of Nijal and Shchander, the curious company was complete. Xith, Amir, Noman, and the others would now go to the last place the dark lord would expect. They would journey straight into the heart of darkness itself to confront the darkness sweeping the land before the darkness confronted them.
Crossing the Wall of the World at night was a dangerous gamble but a gamble that was accomplished without accident or incident. The company entered the thick woodlands of the Western Territories, traveling day and night for two full days before slowing the pace. The distance did little to quell Xith’s nerves. His mind was continually on edge since Vilmos left them. He had failed. He had tempted fate and lost; its sting upon him was as a thousand lashes against his innermost self. He had altered the paths, and they were now lost to him. He felt the convergence sweep in, but nothing beyond.
Yet most puzzling among his many disconcerted, disconnected thoughts was the whereabouts of Ayrian. Although intuition told him Ayrian was not dead, he could not conceive another fate for him. In his mind, Ayrian slowly ceased to exist as hope of his sudden re-appearance waned. He was greatly saddened by this because Ayrian was the last of the mighty eagle lords.
The thoroughfares they traveled, although they were the primary connection between the kingdom and the outlying cities of the territories, were wildly overgrown in many areas. Progress along them with a carriage was slow and tedious. Xith sat absent-mindedly holding the reins in much the same manner that he had chastised Nijal for previously, watching the team of horses plod along the path.
Amir rode beside Noman, honing his muscles with a series of tiny contractions and relaxations, being careful to stretch them after they became fatigued; thus, he maintained his awareness and he was not the only one in the company to feel increasing unease. He took every opportunity, although they were few, to wrest his sword from its sheath. Nijal was often his companion, willing or not, but most times willing. Shchander sometimes joined in with Nijal, making it two against one, to give Amir a challenge, but he was most comfortable watching.
Noman was also content to observe. He spent most of this waking hours reflecting on the turnings of the Path. He enjoyed the intellectual conversations he and Xith would have late in the evenings, which as of late had been of varied lengths, usually lasting well after the two should have retired to get adequate sleep for the next day’s travels. Sometimes he would secretly cast the sticks, playing at the game of Destiny though he knew he should not.
Since their passage into the forest, the company had switched their practice of traveling in darkness, for the path was extremely treacherous at night even with the talented Amir leading the way. Noman put to full use the hours that would have been wasted. He sent Amir to search for any signs that they were being followed or tracked. He sent Nijal and Shchander in search of game for their food stocks, as the supplies were running short. Both searches were fruitful.
Adrina whiled away days in relative solitude within the confines of the carriage. Nijal seemed to ignore her presence since Shchander’s arrival, not that she blamed him. She could see that the two were old acquaintances, and they had much catching up to do; nonetheless, she felt left out.
She picked up scattered bits of Shchander’s stories of Imtal through Nijal, only enough to arouse her curiosity but not enough to quench it. She was very glad to hear that Calyin and Lord Serant were in the Great Kingdom. From time to time she would unconsciously massage the fingers of her hand, soothing away a pain that was no longer there. Nijal remained the only one who knew of the mark upon her. She told no one else and made sure Nijal didn’t speak of it.
Within the cover of the forest, Xith allowed Adrina to open the central window’s curtains. The view of the forest as it passed by was often beautiful, pristine, and peaceful. The smell of the evergreens with a touch of moisture from the morning’s dew powerfully massaged her senses. A feeling of happiness flowed within her.
Under the thick shield of the forest, nightfall became apparent only as the last of the shadows merged and became a mass of blackness, which also signaled a halt to the day’s trek. Amir, Shchander, and Nijal worked out a suitable place for them to stop, one that offered sufficient concealment. Camp was set up in a matter of minutes; no time was wasted in obtaining food or rest. The watch shifts had long since been worked into a routine and all knew when their turn would be.
Morning arrived crisp and clear although no one within the forest’s domain knew it. Amir greeted the bird’s joyful salutes to the new day with one of his own, which brought immediate silence to the area around him. He had breakfast sizzling over a makeshift spit before anyone else awoke—two fat rabbits, whose juices oozed down into the hot coals, producing an aroma that permeated the camp.
Feeling a presence behind him, Amir whipped around quickly. “Morning,” quietly intoned Nijal, with a smile on his lips. Amir knowingly shook his head and returned Nijal’s greeting. “Good, very good. Keep up the practice, but next time don’t disturb the ground you walk over.”
“What? You didn’t even know I was there until a moment ago.”
“You broke a twig three steps back, but you are getting better,” said Amir, handing Nijal a piece of meat. Amir watched Nijal eat, studying his movements before he ate. Noman and Xith soon joined them around the small fire; without a word they sat down and divided the remainder of the first rabbit between them.
“Where is Shchander?” asked Xith of Nijal.
Nijal shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know. The last time he had seen Shchander was when he had relieved him from first watch. Nijal didn’t let the thought slow down his appetite. He hurriedly finished the large section of leg and grabbed another one.
As usual Adrina was the last to arrive; her face was pale and her eyes still had sleep in them. Nevertheless, she had a cheerful smile on her face as she sat down next to Nijal. She wasn’t particularly hungry this morning, even though the aroma of food brought a desire to try some. She picked at a piece of meat while the others ate, and then handed the remainder to Nijal, who didn’t refuse it, and just as quickly finished it.
“How many days do you estimate until Zashchita?” asked Amir, making conversation with Xith more for Nijal’s benefit than his own.
“At the very least a passing.”
“Two weeks is a long time.”
“And Krepost’?”
“I would count on an almost equal amount of time.”
Nijal asked “We are going all the way to Krepost’?”
“Yes, we are.”
“But, I thought—”
“Nijal, don’t worry. I can see it on your face.”
Nijal frowned and drank from his water skin. The water tasted good although he would have preferred something else. Afterwards, he passed it to Amir, which was the polite thing to do. “But two turnings?” said Nijal, dishearteningly. “It’s—”
“Such a long time,” completed Noman.
“It will be gone before you realize it has passed,” added Xith.
“Shchander,” said Adrina, “come and eat.”
“What’s wrong?” she said again, waving to him to join them.
Amir readily detected something out of place. He dropped the skin of water to the ground without thought and stood drawing his blade as he did so. Nijal was next to follow him toward Shchander. Xith and Noman responded by whisking Adrina away in the opposite direction.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” spoke Shchander.
As his words fell upon the air, men stepped out of the forest’s cover. They were clad in distinctive heavy leathers and the poise of their weapons in their hands spoke of their skill. Amir slowly moved backward towards the center of the camp, not taking his eyes off Shchander, unsure whether or not Shchander supported the attackers.
Nijal moved in behind Amir and covered his back. He watched as Xith, Noman, and Adrina also moved back into the middle of the camp as their avenue of escape also closed. The four stood, watching and waiting, as the men approached, with Adrina carefully maneuvered into relative cover between them.