Discovery

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Later in the day, as they climbed to the top of another hill, a valley spread out beyond, a wide river snaked down the center. Hannah recognized it immediately. She saw the ford where Sir James and she had crossed, and directly below were the patterned rectangles of their fields and pastures. The fields were ready for the hay to be cut and stored for winter. No animals grazed the pastures.

Her eyes ignored all of that for the place where a house, barn, and outbuildings had once existed. Fire-blackened and charred remains sickened her.

“What is that?” Sage asked, her voice soft and fearful. “And who did it?”

“And you might as well ask, why,” Hannah added, her voice cracking with emotion. “The answers are that what you see is the remains of a farm where I went to seek help. I received it. The assassins, the mage, and Royal who pays him burned the farm and killed all the animals because they suspected the owners helped me.”

“The evil gods would avoid this place. I don’t feel safe even looking at it.”

“When we came through here, the farm was prosperous, the people kind. I owe them and will pay for the kindness and two horses we rode.”

Sage turned to look at her. “Well, I was not trying to insult you, Hannah. I was just saying it looks dangerous. What if there is someone waiting for you down there? I mean, someone waiting to kill you because they left him there in case you returned?”

The idea sounded farfetched but not impossible. Hannah said, “Okay, we’re not in a hurry. As far as we know, the Young Mage is far behind and does not even know our direction. We can afford to sit and watch for a while. If we see someone or maybe smoke, we decide what to do then.”

Sage squatted on her heels and said softly, “Unless the Young Mage has dogs.”

Hannah turned. “Dogs?”

“If I were him, I’d pay for hunting hounds to follow our scent.”

“Can’t you cast a spell or something?”

Sage lowered her eyes. “No, not really, but you think spells solve all problems. I know a few spells and enchantments, but most are the sort I sell at the market to lonely old ladies. Remember, I’m not much older than you, and I was never supposed to teach you more than reading. But I don’t want to sit here while dogs close in on us.”

Hannah listened to the sounds of the forest as her fear increased. She said, “The family that lived down there crossed the river at the ford and followed the road in their wagon to where their family lives. The river is shallow there. We can circle and stay behind cover and get across the river without being seen. Then we can find where they went.”

They moved back into the trees and circled the farm, always staying well back from being sighted, and Hannah listened for the baying of hounds but didn’t mention it. A few odd expressions from Sage gave Hannah the impression she also listened.

Finally, they knelt behind a stand of willows growing at the edge of the river. They had still not seen any sign of anyone at the farm, friend or foe. They dropped into the water without any bank, and cattails grew in the wide bend where they stood, but not near the shore.

Sage pointed them out. “They grow in deeper water, more than knee deep. That means it is shallower near the shore.”

“You’re sure? I can’t swim,” Hannah said.

“Hardly any current here, either. They don’t grow where there’s current. We can get down there and walk along the edge until we are in the open where the ford is, and then we can run.”

Hannah decided that if Sage were wrong about the water, she would be there to save her. But the muddy water only came to her ankles. She splashed upstream, using the willows for cover and still listened for the barking of dogs on their trail. If she heard them, she decided to run. Sage would have to try to keep up with her. She smiled at the thought.

She watched through the openings of the willows as they moved, keeping an eye on the homestead, but never seeing anything alive but one small goat. The river widened where the road entered the river; the bottom felt firm, and when she walked up the other bank relief filled her. They looked at each other in triumph and used the road to hurry along.

At the first farm, a stout young man used a pitchfork to throw hay onto a wagon. Hannah waved but didn’t stop. She needed to know where Springtown, the place where Cooper’s sister lived, but anyone following them would also talk to the farmer and he’d be sure to tell them where she was going.

She didn’t stop at the second, third, or fourth either, for the same reason. If Cooper and Tara had not seen his sister in a year, the town must be at least a day’s travel away. In the late afternoon, a wagon pulled by a tall horse with enormous hooves drew up behind them. A tall man sat in the seat. They stepped to the side of the road so it could pass on the narrow road, and as it came alongside Hannah asked, “How long to Springtown?”

“Walking? This time tomorrow, right down this road, little lady.”

After she had thanked him, the horse kept pulling the wagon on ahead. Sage said, “What if he tells them where we’re going?”

Hannah cocked her head like she did with Cleanup when he asked a stupid question. “If he tells them, then they are ahead of us because he’s going the same direction as us.”

Sage snickered and said, “Are you sure you’re only twelve?”

“Eleven,” They both shouted at the same time and giggled. Following the road made the travel easier. They stretched each step and kept both an eye and ear behind. From the top of a long hill just before sunset, they paused and watched the road behind.

Sage said, pointing to a rock formation on one side of the road. “I want to sleep there, tonight unless you have a better idea.”

“I usually camp near water. And farther from the road.”

“Everyone else does, too. So we won’t because that’s where they will look for us. But we can last without water until morning. If any horses ride this road during the night, we’ll hear because we’re so close they will wake us. We can slip away and go down into the forest again, moving away from the road.”

Hannah said, “Hey, I like that idea.”

They explored the barren rocks and boulders until they found a level place large enough for two to sleep, and with a trail out the back that led away from the road. A waist high rock ledge protected them from sight on the road. After walking all day, both were fast asleep before sunset.

The next morning came early. They watched the road and found nobody following them. On the road again, they ate the last of the salted crackers and hurried. They passed through a small village with a dozen barking dogs of every shape and size. A boy of ten pointed down the road when they asked for Springtown.

As noon approached, they followed the road over a low hill and a prosperous town spread below. Farms lined both sides of the road as it crossed the valley, but a cluster of buildings stood at a crossroad. At the first farm, Hannah asked a woman hanging out her wash, “Tara and Cooper?”

The woman shook her head and reached for more laundry, ignoring her. At the next farm, much the same answer. But at the third, a gruff man said, “The Gray Wolf Inn.”

No more explanation, obviously a man of few words. He may have meant to ask for more information at the Gray Wolf, or that they stayed there, but it made no difference. Hannah flashed her best smile and lifted a hand of thanks as she kept walking, never even breaking stride.

Entering the town was less hectic and more confusing than the village with the dogs. In Springtown, a single old yellow lab woofed a greeting and then laid back down in the shade. They passed a small lake that didn’t have a river feeding it, so it had to be fed by a spring. Springtown, it made sense. Next to the lake stood the largest building in the town, a wooden structure made of milled and sawed boards, two stories high.

More importantly, over the front door hung two signs, one a confusing set of words, but the first started with a G, and a wide board with a gray wolf outlined, and gray paint coloring it. Hannah headed for the front door.

“I thought you couldn’t read,” Sage chided.

“I can’t but I can tell when I see a gray wolf,” she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the other sign, then she pushed the heavy door open and walked inside. A common room greeted her, and she felt Sage at her heels. Tables ran the length of the room on both sides, the ceiling low and blackened by years of smoke from the fireplace at the far end.

Two women sat opposite of each other at the table, cutting carrots and turnips while they talked. One leaped to her feet in surprise. “Hannah!”

“Tara, I’ve been looking for you.”

She rushed to give Hannah a bear hug. “Cooper, come in here.”

The man stepped into sight from the doorway that went to the kitchen, a mug in his hand. Seeing Hannah, he rushed to her side. “Did you go to our farm?”

“I did. They burned it. The house, the barn. Well, everything. I’m sorry.” Hannah said.

The other woman said to Hannah, “Have the two of you eaten?”

“No. This is Sage my….. friend,” Hannah explained.

Soon they were seated and explained all they knew. News tends to travel slowly, but the death of the Old Mage had already spread, as well as the advances made against the King. But the news of the death of Sir James quieted Tara and Cooper, so Hannah didn’t tell them of William’s death or that a mage was chasing her.

The food placed on the table consisted of great bowls of heavy stew and soft bread with yellow butter. She answered questions as she ate, and Sage said little. Hannah told them again how sorry she was about their farm and placed two gold coins on the table in front of Cooper. “Sir James wanted you to have this.”

He didn’t reach for the coins or touch them. Instead, he glanced at Tara. Her hand went to them and took one. She said, “We cannot accept this. Our buildings were worth perhaps a large silver, but a coin like this would buy our whole farm, new buildings, animals, and have enough left over to buy another.”

“He wanted you to have both coins. You have other things to replace, and you will need more when your sons marry to set them off to a good life.” Hannah pushed her bowl away and fixed them with her best stare. “You insult the memory of Sir James if you do not accept them both.”

“One coin is far more than we need or deserve,” Cooper said flatly.

He has never dealt with a girl like me. “Okay, take one coin and be happy. Now, I think the Young Mage is after me, as I said. I need two fast horses, saddles, supplies, and closed lips. I also need directions to where they cannot, or will not, follow. Those things are worth the second gold coin to me.”

Cooper’s sister, who had remained silent, spoke for the first time. “I own this inn, and I have the horses you need, and the rest. I’ll go have one of my boys get things ready while my stupid brother gives you directions.”

“Stupid?” Cooper asked. “Why, do you say that?”

“Look at her eyes, brother. She will give you one gold coin because you insist that it is enough, but when she leaves my inn, she will ‘forget’ to take the other. Or she will slip it into your purse, or leave it at the bottom of her bowl of stew, which is what she already did when you were not looking.”

Cooper reached for and tilted her bowl to expose the second coin below the surface of the stew. Defeated, he said, “Get their horses and supplies ready. I’ll talk to her, but be quick about it.”

His sister fled the room wearing a smile. Tara said, “You are sneaky, Hannah.”

“You cannot prevent me from leaving a coin here. Now, where can Sage and I go that is safe?”

Cooper said, ignoring the coins because he understood Hannah would have her way. He pointed to the crossroads. “Take that road to a village called Torrington. There you will see another road, a smaller one. It leads into the hills you’ll see on your left. Follow it. It will rise and rise until finally, you will reach the top of a mountain pass in about a full day. Then the road will travel down for another full day.”

“They will not follow me over the hills?” Hannah asked.

“Your journey will not be over, yet. The road will take you to a village called Pemberton, and there you will take the road to the Emerald City, the center of another kingdom. There they have their rules, kings, and queens, and there they have little like or respect for people from our kingdom.”

Hannah said, “Will they hurt us?”

“No, but my suggestion is that you should change your names and cut that black from your hair, so you are straw-headed again. Do not mention your origins. Use the money from selling the horses we provide to live until you find jobs.”

Hannah wanted to tell him of the coins still in her purse but held back. Telling less meant that nobody would have to lie if the mages came here and asked people about her. Still, his advice was good. No, better than good, it was perfect.

“One more thing,” he said in a solemn tone. “When you return, please stop and visit us.”

“Return?” Hannah asked, casting a sideways look at Sage.

“I have seen much of the world while protecting Sir James’ back and from those travels, I learned there are special people walking the world. You are one of them. Your tale is far from finished, Hannah.”