Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series Read online

  As it got hotter, Heather began to sweat. At first, it wasn’t so bad, but then her clothes began to get damp. With several hours still to go before lunch, the damp clothes and falling dust began to make her itch. The itching was atrocious and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it but endure.

  The day passed slowly and became almost unbearable for the smuggled Guardians. If there had been a way to sneak out and not get caught, then Heather most assuredly would have tried. But she knew that if she opened the trap door, then they would all be caught.

  Four times during the day, the caravan was stopped and searched by city guards. These searches were much quicker than the morning search at the city gates and did not delay them for long.

  In the mid-afternoon, Heather was reminded that she hadn’t eaten anything by the growling of her stomach. The hunger pangs were not that bad, but her tongue felt like it was swelling up. She would have gladly killed someone for a glass of water. She had not had much to drink before they left the city, as she heeded Aldric’s advice. Between not drinking much and sweating all day, she found that not being able to visit the bushes was not too much of a problem.

  She believed they were maintaining a fast pace, but she could not see out of her little box and she could only guess on how far they had come.

  Gradually the heat disappeared and Heather knew the sun was going down. It made her want to cry with delight.

  Finally the caravan came to a stop. The wagons quit moving and the horses were unhitched. There was an enormous amount of noise as the Waggoner’s began setting up camp.

  Heather listened to the hubbub and began to fear that the camp was being set up right beside the wagons. Despite the assurances of Aldric, she feared they would not get away unseen.

  Sighing, she put her mind at ease. Even if they had to fight their way free of the wagon drivers, they were out of the city and surely they could get free on their own.

  Remaining silent, she listened as the sounds slowly died out. Soon, she smelt smoke and knew the wagon drivers were preparing the evening meal. It was hard to make out what was being said, but there was quite a bit of laughing. This actually made her feel more at ease. If the guards were far enough away as to not be heard clearly, then they would have difficulty hearing the Guardian’s escape.

  Gradually all the sounds disappeared. A quietness descended on the caravan, broken occasionally by a horse stomping a hoof.

  Heather lay there breathing slowly, trying to remain calm, but all she wanted was out of that torturous box. What is taking Agminion so long? She thought. Twice she nearly opened the door on her own, but she stopped at the last moment, remembering the words of Aldric; “The sorcerer will know when it’s safe to leave the wagons.”

  Sighing again, Heather lay her head back and waited. Sooner or later Agminion would think it safe.

  A small tapping on the underside of her wagon jerked Heather from a fitful sleep. She moved too far and smacked her head against the wooden slats again. Silently cursing, she undid the three latches and practically fell onto the ground.

  Blessed cool night air flowed over her and she took in deep gulps of air, enjoying the open feeling of the night.

  Agminion stood before and, even in the poor light, he looked terrible. His skin was blotchy and red, his eyes looked swollen and puffy, and his hair stood out in all different directions.

  Heather nearly laughed at the poor man’s appearance, but then she realized that she must look as bad if not worse. She bit back her laughter, climbed to her feet, and looked up at the sky.

  Agminion moved up close and spoke in a low whisper, “We have several hours until sunup.”

  “Where are the others?” Heather asked, realizing that the other Guardians were no where to be seen.

  The ghost of a smile played across the sorcerer’s face and he pointed, first to the left, “The men are relieving themselves behind those wagons.” He then pointed to the right, “Mikela and Cassandra are behind that one.” He smiled at her and waited.

  It took a moment, but Heather finally realized what he waiting on, “I don’t need to join them. Is there any water?”

  The sorcerer handed over a small canteen of water and Heather turned it up. The water was lukewarm and smelled musty, but it seemed the greatest thing she had ever tasted.

  Agminion waited until she was through drinking before he spoke again. “Are you ready? We need to start moving.”

  Heather lowered the canteen and appraised the sorcerer. “Along the road?” she asked.

  He shook his head and pointed behind the wagons. “I suggest we move back into the woods. We need to sleep and we can avoid the guards.”

  Despite her little nap, Heather was exhausted and agreed without another word.

  Agminion led the two of them westward, making sure to remain in the shadows of the wagons, until they met up with the rest of the Guardians. They all looked as disheveled as Agminion had, but they smiled at Heather. They gathered together in the shadow of the last wagon.

  “We’re headed into the forest,” Agminion said. “About half a mile in, we’ll find a small river. We can wash this infernal dust off of us and make camp.”

  “And then what?” Dagan asked. If the rest of them looked rough, he looked like someone had beaten him with a stick.

  “We’ll discuss it later,” Agminion said, climbing to his feet.

  Something in the man’s tone irritated Heather, “No. We’ll discuss it now.” It wasn’t the most strategic place to discuss their plans, but she didn’t like the way the sorcerer had taken to giving orders. She was in charge and she meant for him to know it.

  Looking somewhat surprised, Agminion knelt back down. “This isn’t the time nor the place for this. We must get moving.”

  “If you want to accompany us, then you had best start following orders,” Heather said.

  Agminion looked like he might choke on his tongue. “Are you insane? I am not under your command.”

  “You’re quite right about that.” Heather answered, “You are most certainly free to leave, but if you want to stay with us then you will follow my orders. I’ll have your word on it.”

  “No,” Agminion said simply. “I’ll come along with you, advise you, I’ll even fight beside you, but I will not swear obedience to you.” Heather opened her mouth to respond, but he talked over her. “And as I am the one with the way out of Aramonia, I suggest you acquiesce.”

  Heather was silent for a moment. It galled her that she had to back down in front of the other Guardians, but if Agminion did have a way out the kingdom, then she would let him tag along. At least until they were in a foreign land. “All right, you can come along. What are the plans?”

  Making a placating gesture, Agminion looked furtively around. “There is no time. The wagon drivers will be waking at any moment. We must go now.”

  After a moment, Heather nodded. She climbed to her feet and led the party into the woods.

  The trek through the woods was not difficult, although they took great pains to be quiet for the first half of the journey. After a quarter of an hour, they assumed they were far enough away from the wagon caravan and they gradually became less fearful of making noise.

  There was little enough talking amongst the group and Heather could tell the others were exhausted. It seemed that she was one of the few who had managed to sleep, and to tell the truth, the sleep had not been that relaxing.

  A little over a half mile into the woods, they came across the stream that Agminion had promised. It was not wide, maybe twenty yards across and it was rather slow moving. The water was black and ice cold, but refreshing. It was deep enough that they could completely submerge themselves in the frigid waters and they wasted no time splitting into two groups. The guys went to the east a little ways, while the women plunged in where they were. It was a relief to wash off the dust and sweat, even in the extremely cold water.

  As soon as they were done with themselves, they washed off the clothes they had bee
n wearing. This was going to be a long trip and they would need every change of clothing they possessed.

  Once done with the laundry, they donned one of the other outfits they carried and went looking for the men. They soon found them around the first bend in the stream. Atock was busy making a small fire, while the others had already laid down.

  Heather stood there for a moment, looking down at the already sleeping Agminion. She had questions for him and she wanted answers. She sighed. He had done what he had promised, so she decided that her questions could wait until the morning.

  Chapter 4

  The Guardians broke camp the next morning as the sun was struggling to rise above the eastern horizon. The early morning chill made them all shiver and there was a fog covering the forest. The fog was thin and translucent and really it was more of a mist.

  Eating a small bit of cold biscuit from their packs, Heather dreaded the coming march. After a whole day in a tiny cramped compartment, they had only managed a couple of hours sleep on rocky ground. It was true that they were soldiers and had been trained for much worse, but that didn’t mean they had to enjoy the misery.

  A rather loud pop caused Heather to focus her eyes and she turned her attention from the un-eaten biscuit to Enton. The big warrior was sitting on a log stretching his neck out by pulling his head, first to one side, then the other. Another loud pop rang out and she turned her back, not particularly enjoying the sight.

  Her eyes fell on Agminion, who was returning to camp from the trees to the west. He headed straight for the pack of biscuits that sat on a large stone.

  Heather climbed to her feet and intercepted the sorcerer before he could reach the food. The man owed her some explanations and it was time she collected.

  Stepping between the sorcerer and the food caused him to pull up warily. His eyes flicked from Heather to either side, as if he was expecting to be attacked.

  “So what’s your plan?” Heather asked. She could feel the eyes of the others focus on them, and Enton and Atock both stood and moved closer.

  Agminion hesitated. He still looked wary but also determined. “All in good time,” he began. He stopped rather abruptly as Heather spoke right over him.

  “Now is a good time, and if you wish to continue this little journey with us, then you need to start talking.”

  Indignation flared across Agminion’s face and he swelled up a bit, rather like a frog. “I am a king’s sorcerer,” he began in a cold deadly voice. “I will explain the plan as necessary and it currently is not necessary.”

  Heather shook her head slowly. “No. That’s unacceptable.” She waved her hand in the general direction of his pack and blankets. “Get your things and leave.”

  Agminion’s eyes went wide in surprise and then the surprise quickly turned more ugly, more angry. “You forget yourself,” he said in a deadly quiet tone. “King Stennis put me in charge of this adventure.” His eyes never left Heather’s and he didn’t blink.

  Heather smiled in reply. “Stennis is a king that I do not follow and whose authority I do not recognize.” All the Guardians were on their feet, as was Cassandra. Dagan, alone, still sat on a fallen tree. The old man was slowly eating his biscuit and appeared to be completely uninterested in the argument.

  Although it hardly seemed possible, Agminion’s face got even angrier. He pulled his eyes from Heather and glanced at the Guardians surrounding him. He smiled slightly. “King Stennis released you and you are in his debt.” The words did not have the affect the sorcerer was expecting. No one replied to him and their expressions remained hard, almost threatening. Once again, Agminion looked around at those surrounding him. “You forget that you’re dealing with a king’s sorcerer. I would not be so easy to take in a fight as you might think.”

  “I know what you are,” Heather replied, “and I have forgotten nothing. It is you who have forgotten.” She motioned over where Dagan sat on his log, “I too have a king’s sorcerer. So, I would say that definitely swings the odds in our favor.”

  Dagan climbed to his feet at Heather’s words and he no longer looked so indifferent. He now wore a bit of a scowl.

  No longer smiling, Agminion turned towards Dagan. “Is that true? Would you fight against a fellow sorcerer for this girl?”

  Dagan didn’t answer immediately, but instead he moved closer. “It is not true that I follow Heather’s orders. I am not a Guardian and I have never been asked, ordered, or commanded to follow her.”

  Heather’s eyes flicked to the old man and a small thrill of panic ran through her. What was he saying? Without Dagan on their side, things could get very nasty, very quick.

  A gloating sickly smile was already forming on Agminion’s face, but it disappeared as Dagan continued speaking.

  “However, even though I do not recognize her authority over me, I also do not recognize your authority,” he said, staring at Agminion. “There really isn’t any choice for me to make. If you’re foolish enough to let this become a fight, then I will support Heather and the Guardians.”

  Heather slowly released the breath she had been holding. There was good and bad in this outcome. She had taken Agminion down a notch, but Dagan’s refusal to acknowledge her leadership was problematic.

  The wariness had returned to Agminion. The haughtiness was gone. It was difficult to say exactly how he looked, not scared, but maybe worried.

  “Agminion,” Heather began, trying not to smile. She hated to lose and didn’t want to gloat at another’s loss. “You can leave or you can explain what you have planned.”

  Agminion was silent for a moment. He no longer looked angry, well, not as angry anyway. Finally he sighed. “The plan is simple. We follow the river east. Eventually, the river turns southward and we’ll leave it heading north.”

  “North?” Atock asked. “Why not cross the border into Dalar?”

  “Because relations between Dalar and Aramonia are not good. We have troops on this side of the border and you can believe that they’ll have troops on the other side. If we were able to get through to the border without being stopped by King Stennis’ troops, we would still have the troops of Dalar to get through.” Agminion spoke the entire time in an exasperated tone. He took a deep breath and continued in a slightly more calmer voice. “When the river turns to the south, we’ll go northward, like I said.” He paused, looking liking he didn’t want to continue. He took one glance in Heather’s direction, saw the look on her face, and kept talking. “We’ll go northeastward until we come across Alandell Lake.” He hesitated one more time before grudgingly finishing, “They’ll be a boat there for us. It’ll take us all the way to Emerald Lake, a couple weeks south of the Faerum wastelands.”

  Heather smiled. Not only had she backed Agminion down, but the sorcerer actually had a decent plan. A boat would simplify their lives tremendously. Plus it could drastically cut down on the amount of time their journey would take. “Excellent. Now why would you resist telling us that? It’s a good plan and the boat is a surprisingly good idea.”

  Agminion nodded, apparently taking her words as a compliment.

  “So there has to be a reason you didn’t want to share.” Dagan said, watching the other sorcerer carefully. “What is it?”

  “I suspected that you might want me to leave the group.” Agminion admitted after a moment’s hesitation.

  “I still might,” Heather said.

  “The king has ordered me to attempt this quest with you.” Agminion said, once again showing some of the earlier fire. His voice got louder and his determination shown in his features. “I will not disappoint him.”

  “What else?” Dagan demanded, ignoring the quarrel. “What is it that you’re still not telling us?”

  Agminion’s angry glare turned on the old man, but after a moment he dropped his gaze. “Time.”

  “What about time?” Cassandra asked, confused like the rest.

  “Our ship will arrive in five days. It will spend two days disembarking its cargo and then another d
ay, two at the most, loading new cargo. We have to be in Providence Port in eight days, nine at the latest or our ship sails without us.”

  Heather glanced around. Her confusion was mirrored on her comrades’ faces. From what she remembered from her geography training in the Guardians, Alandell Lake was practically buried in cargo trips that crisscrossed from side to side. “So what if the ships sails without us? There have to be plenty of other ships that would take on passengers.”

  Agminion nodded. “There are, but they won’t take you to Emerald Lake. Most of them aren’t even capable of travelling in the rivers north of Alandell. And there’s also the problem of the soldiers and guards still looking for us. Any ship captain that sees us would rather turn us over to the authorities and collect the reward.”

  Okay, that makes sense, Heather thought. “So how do we know that your ship captain won’t turn us over as well?”

  Agminion smiled for the first time since Heather had accosted him. “Because the ship captain is of House Thorne.” He said the words with a certain amount of satisfaction, like they explained everything.

  Heather looked around again and was relieved that everyone else looked as clueless as she felt. “And why do we trust this House Thorne?” she asked hesitantly.

  Looking from face to face, Agminion’s appearance changed from one of triumph, to disbelief, to frustration. “House Thorne is my family,” he finally managed through clinched teeth. “The captain is my Uncle Kapernum. He won’t turn us over to anyone.”

  “Are you sure?” Aaron asked. “Maybe he doesn’t like you very much?” He was grinning as he spoke, and several of the others grinned as well.

  “He likes me well enough,” Agminion answered, and then he continued in a lower voice, “besides my Grandmother would kill him if he betrayed me.”

  They were finished with breakfast and packed up about a half an hour later, and they began following the stream to the east. The going wasn’t overly bad at first. The bank of the stream was easy enough to follow and the ground was rocky and firm. They made good time and gradually most of the group became more cheerful. Dagan and Agminion were the two lone exceptions. Dagan was his normal curmudgeonly self, and Heather guessed Agminion was still pouting about losing the morning’s argument.