And it wasn’t just the children who were disappointed. Returning to his wagon to gather his bedding from under the seat, Ebenezer found that one of the front wheels had cracked. It put an end to the early start he had hoped for. He knew the monastery would not be reached the night after tomorrow, as he had initially planned.
Swiftly, he returned to Castimir and Gar’rth, who were still sitting in the crowded hall.
“My wagon is going to need fixing” he announced. “The front wheel is splintered and won’t last the journey north.”
“I do not think we can take your wagon north with us anyway, Ebenezer” Castimir said. “The roads are non-existent and the dense woods will make it all the slower.”
The alchemist sat down heavily on the bench. He hated being away from his wagon for any period of time.
The young wizard’s usually humorous face darkened.
“And if our friend’s condition is as severe as you think it is, time will not be on our side.” He cast a swift glance to Gar’rth, who sat next to him, unaware of their conversation. “We need to find a guide, Ebenezer, or else we could find ourselves lost in the heart of The Wilderness.”
Ebenezer raised his eyes and looked despairingly into Castimir’s round and clean-shaven face.
“Tell me, wizard, which guide did you have in mind?”
“Well, alchemist,” Castimir laughed, his eyes darting past the old man’s shoulder, “do you see that woman over there? The one with the big…”
“Even I’m not so old as to miss her, young man.”
“Be that as it may, it’s not her, Ebenezer.” Castimir exaggerated a sigh of despair. “It’s the dark-haired girl who is standing next to her-the one in the pale blue gown.”
“The one with the silver tiara?” the alchemist asked, glancing in the direction Castimir had indicated. “She doesn’t look like one of the barbarian peoples. Who is she?” He was peering at the girl through his thick glasses, and his gaze caught her attention.
She turned her head uncomfortably.
“You’re staring at her,” Castimir hissed in alarm. “She’s a priestess!”
Their conversation caught the attention of another traveller who had just entered the hall. A blonde-haired girl with a pale face sat quietly on a nearby bench, her back to the wall as if she were unwilling to let anyone out of her sight. She held her long sword carefully across her lap as if it was more precious to her than anything in the world.
She looked exhausted, and peered earnestly at the succulent meats that the barbarians cooked over the open fires.
“Do you think a priestess will know the way to the monastery?” The alchemist faced Castimir. “And if she does, would she be willing to help us?’
The wizard shrugged.
“That is the question we have to ask.”
Castimir looked about him as if deep in thought and again noticed the young blonde who was staring enviously at their food. He watched her for a second, noticing how pretty and how sad she looked, as if she carried the troubles of the world on her shoulders.
He noted how Gar’rth watched her, too, and he was shocked to see a look of fear on his face. Or was it a look of hope? He knew so little of Gar’rth-where he was from, what his background might be-that it was hard for him to understand his expressions at a glance.
“Are you all right, Gar’rth?” he asked, placing his hand on the youth’s shoulder, suddenly concerned that he was about to fall ill again.
Gar’rth closed his large hand around Castimir’s in a grasp of friendship. Then he stood and made his way over to the girl in silence. She watched his approach with a distrustful stare.
He stopped before he reached Kara, taking a portion of meat that had moments before been cooked over a fire. Amongst the barbarian people a guest could eat freely in the hall, a tradition of which the girl must have been unaware.
“Food?” Gar’rth muttered, holding a clay dish out to her. He backed away, however, as he saw her eyes flash in sudden anger.
“I have no money!” she said fiercely, thinking he was taunting her.
Castimir rose to intervene.
“Young lady, I must come to my friend’s rescue. He speaks only a few words of the common tongue, but you should know that guests of the barbarian tribes eat freely. As long as you do not abuse their trust, then you have nothing to fear.”
The young man’s round, smiling face disarmed Kara. Her flight from Falador and the theft of the horse had made her angry with herself. She was not a thief-she had never stolen in her life- but she knew she had to escape from the knights.
“Thank you,” Kara said, bowing her head to the man with the plate.
He smiled at her, and returned the bow.
“It is not appropriate for a young lady to be travelling alone,” the blue-robed man continued. “Forgive me, but I know my companions would be as happy as I if you would accept our invitation. Will you join us?” He extended his hand in exaggerated gallantry.
Kara accepted, and as introductions were made, she was confident that she had made a good decision. There was safety in numbers, they knew the tribe’s customs, and Kara felt less threatened than when she had sat by herself.
But there was more to it than that. Castimir’s joking and Ebenezer’s scientific speculations were second in importance to the one called Gar’rth. She felt a bond with him, as two outsiders might come together in the face of common hostility or danger. It was as if they alone shared a secret knowledge that barred anyone else from coming between them. He could not speak the common tongue yet his actions spoke for him and his gaze never left her face.
Kara sensed a great strength in him that made him stand out against the fiercest barbarian warrior. When he returned from fetching travelling blankets from the wagon, he pushed open both of the double oak doors to the hall without pausing to muster his weight or gather his strength. It was a feat that even the largest warrior found difficult, yet here was a youth who had done it without strain.
The barbarian chatter thinned as the men saw him enter, a cold gust racing into the hall from the darkness outside. Some murmured in approval of his obvious strength, while others stared darkly at the youth.
Kara noted one barbarian woman gazing admiringly at Gar’rth and fiercely at her. She felt the woman’s hostility from across the hall, cold enough to douse any warmth from the burning braziers.
She shifted her sword uneasily and tried her best to ignore her.
THIRTY-NINE
“How much longer?” Doric asked Theodore.
Theodore was not certain if the mare could go much farther. It had been a mistake to bring Doric at all, he thought, for the dwarf’s grumbling was wearing down his own spirits.
His only hope was that Kara would have to stop for food and shelter, allowing him to catch up with her. He was sure his horsemanship was better than hers, and he hoped that would count for a great deal.
“Do you see those fires ahead?” he shouted to Doric, nodding his head forward to indicate the flickering flames of the burning braziers that stood either side of the main road leading into the barbarian settlement.
“Aye,” came the reply. “Is that it?”
“It is. Only a few minutes now until we can rest for the night. We may even be lucky enough to find Kara here.”
“Please” he said under his breath as they galloped into the village and passed the wooden paling.
Please let Kara be here.
It was the woman’s jealousy that led to the fight.
She had watched Kara and Gar’rth for an hour, whispering enviously to her friends about the blonde-haired outsider who sat with the mysterious youth.
And the woman’s attention had not gone unnoticed by a young barbarian warrior who had worked hard to secure her affections. The barbarian’s angry eyes focused on Gar’rth. His anger was fuelled by the mocking smiles of his fellow tribesmen.