Noman, Xith, and the others departed Zashchita just as the darkness of night waned. Shchander discussed the news he and his men had learned while at the inn. Noman was very pleased to note that word of the princess’ disappearance was heard on no one’s lips. Xith was also pleased; however, Y’sat’s words still weighed heavily on his conscious, as he assumed they did on Noman, but Noman carried them better. Xith considered it good fortune, though, that most of the news was pleasant.
The next two days passed relatively slowly as they forgot the enchantment of the city. The dark specters that seemed to be with them before they had reached Zashchita returned and it was with heavy hearts that Noman and Xith kept on. Their thoughts often went to Ayrian and to Vilmos—the two that seemed to be lost to them—and to Adrina—the one who they seemed to be losing.
They held to the main roads through brief stretches of open prairie, yet mostly they moved through thick, lush forest greens. Growth in this area was very different from the heavy pine, tall oak, ash, elm and even a few cedars and walnut. An abundant mixture grew in the old forest, but the great forest now lay far to their west. Here the trees tended to be thick groves. Those they rode through now were beautiful, deep, and green, and the pungent smell of pine assaulted their nostrils. Ahead lay a large stand of thick, dark-wood trees that stretched out far beyond their view, which was apparent only because of the high, fir-covered hills they rode along now. Each time they mounted a new hill, a different piece of the land ahead was revealed to them as they peered out through the branches.
Adrina was bored as she sat in the carriage with the sun lightly playing across her face. She rubbed the mark glumly; she could feel life within very often now. She stared openly at the one who sat directly across from her, hoping her eyes would stir his tongue although it had not yet in many hours of riding.
When they entered the thick, dark wood, it became quickly apparent to Adrina, for the sun vanished. She did not have the advantage of looking out over the horizon to see what lay ahead. She moved close to the wall of the carriage, hugging it close, feeling comfort in its presence beside her.
“Do you ever speak?” questioned Adrina, driving away the darkness she perceived with her words. “Do you have a name?” she further asked before a response could be rendered. “Are you always this tight-lipped?” queried Adrina.
“Seldom, and yes on both accounts, Princess Adrina.”
“What is it?”
“What is what?”
“Your name?”
“Shalimar,” quietly whispered the man, as if his name were an evil thing.
“That is a nice name,” returned Adrina, attempting to stir his tongue.
Shalimar’s only response was a slight smile, which was quick to fade as his eyes resumed their far-away stare. He longed to be elsewhere although he was also happy to be right here. His feelings were very mixed.
Afternoon shadows soon came; and shortly afterward, night fell around them. They made camp not far from the road, far enough so they were out of sight but close enough so it would be easy to leave if the need arose. The coach was their primary concern; it could not travel over rough terrain and needed a clear path. It also cast a large shadow, one passers-by might see if they looked closely.
Another day arrived and went, then two more passed. The country they were in was very different from that which they were accustomed to, but the changes were very subtle. The land had a feel of wildness to it, and a sense that most of it laid untouched by the hands of man. The road narrowed to a wide path, but tracks were deep along it although they had met no one since they had departed Zashchita, a fact that did not seem significant to them.
Xith was quietly brooding; he and Noman had just had a very lengthy argument, which Xith felt that he had lost. After thinking about it, he decided he would not let the questions sit. He clipped his mount and raced up alongside Noman. “I still do not like it. I tell you, I feel an absence. At least let me try, just a little test, a mere spark.”
“Xith, I do not think it is wise; perhaps we are free of any who would follow, but afterwards, who would know?”
“Do you not believe the words of Y’sat?”
“Yes, I do, but we must wait.”
Xith couldn’t help the smile that lit his lips and cheeks. He liked to see the fire revive in Noman’s eyes. He turned to respond, but as he did the happiness left his face and the group came to a sudden halt. Amir’s sword danced in his hands as he reined in his mount alongside Noman.
“The forest has eyes,” called out Amir.
“Yes, I know,” said Noman, turning to smile at Xith. “Put away your weapon. They will do us no harm this day.”
Without question, Amir lowered his sword and sheathed it. He then spurred his mount towards Nijal, to the forward watch. Shchander and a few of his men still claimed the rear watch, and they trotted along at a good pace behind the coach. Adrina still sat discontented in the carriage with the tightlipped Shalimar to watch over her. Although she was thankful that the face remained the same before her, she wished Shalimar would say something more than a morning and nightly greeting, which was nothing more than courteous speech.
Night found them as their path came to a small tributary of the great river, the Krasnyj, which was flowing very well in these eastern lands that they rode through. Morning came, bright and cheerful, with late afternoon catching them looping down a gently sloping hill into a vast, high-rimmed vale with a lake sweeping across most of its midsection. The last sounds of birds and day creatures left them as night arrived, and the sounds of night appeared in their place with the gentle croaking of frogs, the song of crickets, and a soft northerly wind.
Xith cast off the dark shadows that had hung over him for days, and all found time to bathe in the lake before retiring under the starlit sky. Noman knew the lake and the surrounding valley; it was a near halfway point on their journey and a pleasant place to relax and forget the worries of travel and all else that lay behind for a time. He also recalled a name for it, though he would not say if someone had asked him. He preferred the ways of old, when naught had name except that given to it by the Mother. A tree was a tree and a valley was a valley. He remembered a people of long ago, which he knew were now scattered far across the seas; and staring out over the gray waters before him, he wondered how they fared. He did not know what suddenly brought on the peculiar thoughts, but they came; perhaps it was the stranger that he had touched in Adrina’s mind some time ago, or perhaps a distant thought had triggered his recollection.
It was late morning before they could draw themselves away from the pleasant shore, find the strength to move around it to the far side, and take the road up and out of the valley. Laughter had found and lightened many a heavy heart. Adrina had finally been able to carry on a conversation with someone other than herself. She had felt that everyone had been shunning her as if they feared her or she had a disease. Now she was happy, and a smile touched her lips and brightened her cheeks.
As they mounted the steep hills, they looked back over their shoulders down into the pleasant lake; only Noman searched beyond to the edges of the forest, seeking something that was not there. The eagerness of morning was quick to fade as a light drizzle found them late in the day, continuing until the night. A deep chill loomed in the air of the camp that night, and very skilled hands worked long and hard to build a fire to warm cold bodies.
The wet weather stayed with them for three more days, rutting the roads and slowing their movement to a crawl. They again found themselves amidst the green and brown of forests; in fact, this had been true since they completed their uphill ascent of several days ago. Here the land was mostly flat although it held a slight downhill slope much of the time. The air seemed to be growing colder each day as the weather grew more and more foul. The sight of snow would not have surprised them.
Now they lunched in a small clearing just off the road, stopping to wait out a hard downpour and using the time to rest weary animals and to bring nourishment to their own tired souls. Long into the afternoon they waited for the storm to pass or let up from its long torment, but it did not. So here they were forced to make their camp for the night. Neither spark from skilled hands nor flint rock brought fire to the wet wood they gathered, and still fearing their use of magic, this night passed by cold and wet, without the benefits of a fire.
Scattered shouts in the night roused the sentry, and soon everyone was awake or mostly awake, returning to sleep only when weapons were close at hand and the shadows in the woods had long since passed. Amir was last on watch and first to greet the early rays of a dawning day, a day that he sensed would be clear and cloudless. He was also the first to discover that Adrina was missing.