“Hmmm …” Orick said, wondering how Gallen had learned so much. Gallen must have spoken of this place with the giants.
In the distance, toward the ancient city of Tywee, Orick saw the white flashing of wings as a fish eagle swooped to grab a fish from the water.
“If this bridge is so important, why isn’t there a city here now?” Orick asked.
“The kingdom fell into ruin. It was attacked from the south, by men who came out of the desert. The villagers who live here now are weaker men, too divided to stand against their overlords. They pay a small tribute and live in relative peace.”
“And who might these southern warriors be?” Orick asked, knowing that they would have to go south soon, and might have to pass through their lands.
“Can you not guess?” Gallen said. “They’re the Tekkar.”
Orick licked his lips. “I don’t like the Tekkar.” He’d known that they served the Inhuman, but somehow he imagined that they would be far away-not a present danger. “Will we meet more of them soon?”
Gallen said, “We made good time last night. A hundred kilometers since sunset. And it’s a beautiful, clear day. We’ll go a hundred more kilometers before the day is done. But we are almost a thousand kilometers from the desert, and the Tekkar do not like climates as cool and wet as this. It will be a few days before we find them.”
Orick grunted in relief, and Gallen sat brooding, looking out to sea. Orick headed down between the dark pines to see if breakfast was ready. Squirrels were out in the morning sun, searching for nuts, chattering. At the foot of the trail, Orick found Maggie.
“Have you seen Gallen?” she asked.
“He’s up top.”
“Is he all right?”
“Quiet,” Orick said. “He just seemed to want some time alone, to think.”
Maggie bit her lower lip and frowned. She glanced up the trail, then headed up in a hurry.
Orick watched her leave, and something in her face bothered him. She’d been panicked, as if she didn’t trust Gallen to sit and think for five minutes.
Orick almost headed to camp, but curiosity got the better of him. Maggie was nearly running up the steep trail, darting between trees.
Orick turned and rushed after her, but halfway up the trail, Gallen met Maggie coming down, and Gallen had obviously seen Orick. The two of them walked down together, arm in arm, and Orick tagged along, certain that once again he had missed out on a chance to hear their secret conversations.
When they got back to camp, the Im giants all sat around a small cooking fire, circled by dark trees. Their tunics were stained by sweat, and they smelled none too sweet to Orick, but the humans next to them didn’t mind. Breakfast was ready, and they passed out the corn cakes, tasty enough fare for the road. Even Tallea was up to sitting a bit while she ate. It felt good to Orick to be in the daylight, with the sun shining on his fur.
Ceravanne addressed them all as they ate. “Today we must make some decisions. The roads to Moree are many, and each is fraught with its own dangers. We’ve come west out of expediency, but how far west shall we go? And when do we head south? I walked abroad in this land many years ago. The hills and mountains look little changed, but rivers have turned, old roads are forgotten and new ones are unknown to me. So I think it best to ask our friends, the Im giants, for their advice, and to ask Tallea the Caldurian for her help.”
“I not been to this land,” Tallea said.
“I know the roads along the sea,” Fenorah said, “and I know the roads inland by reputation. You could head south this morning at Marbee Road. It’s a wide road built upon a bed of stone, and it follows the river where it passes through many small hamlets, and borders many a field. The folk along the way are friendly enough, and accustomed to strangers. But I fear it is a dangerous road for you: the hosts of the Inhuman have already gone south on Battic Road, and Marbee Road will meet it in one hundred and twenty kilometers. They may be waiting for you there or beyond. Still, if you hurry, the chances are good that you could keep ahead of them.”
“What other choices do we have?” Ceravanne asked.
“Beyond Marbee, fifty kilometers, lies the Old King’s Road,” Fenorah said. “It is a winding road among the hills, built to connect old fortresses, many of which no longer exist. But there is many a farmstead along it, and a few villages.”
“And some places along the road often flood,” Ceravanne said.
“In the spring, this is true, but the roads should be clear this time of year,” one of Fenorah’s men protested. “But once again, it meets Marbee Road in two hundred and forty kilometers, at High Home. Beyond that, the next best trail would be the ancient highway at the foot of the Telgood Mountains. Only a few wild people live in those mountains-Derrits and the like. The road is mostly unused and has gone to grass. Some would claim that it is no longer safe, but I have hunted along its trails, and a sturdy wagon should make it through.”
“I know that way well,” Ceravanne said. “In younger days it was called the Emerald Way. The caravanserais would come out of Indallian, and at night when you camped in the valleys you would see the lights of their fires burning like winding rivers of stars along the hills.”
“That could not have happened within the past three hundred years,” Fenorah mused, a faraway look in his eyes, “though my grandfather recalled those days-the glory and the wars.”
“Indeed, it was the richness of this land that destroyed it,” Ceravanne said.
“If Derrits along road, road not good,” Tallea said. “Troublesome people.”
“What are Derrits?” Orick asked.
“They … are solitary giants,” Ceravanne said, “built for life on a sterile world. They are very strong, and very cunning.”
“They’re cowards and killers,” Fenorah said, glaring, grasping the hilt of his sword as if he wanted to cut one down.
“Eat other people,” Tallea said. “Build traps.”
“They can eat just about anything-from carrion to raw soil,” Ceravanne said, “and they will eat you, if you’re alone and fall into one of their pits.”
“We can’t use that road,” Maggie said, “not with a quick-running animal.”
“I agree that it is a dangerous choice,” Ceravanne said thoughtfully. “But beyond that old highway, there are no roads south until you cross the Telgoods. They’re a high mountain range, and we couldn’t cross easily.”
“Six hundred kilometers,” Fenorah said, “just to cross the mountains, and that land is so distant, I do not know the roads there.”
“I have been there,” one of Fenorah’s men said. “The roads south are good, better than any we have here, for the Lords of Telgood keep them. But the mountains also veer west, and if you go to Moree, then you will be spending much time in the high passes. The wingmen live there, and it is not safe to travel in parties as small as yours-especially without bows.”
“More importantly,” Ceravanne said, “we would be traveling hundreds of kilometers out of our way. And we need to hurry.”
“So,” Gallen said, “it sounds to me that perhaps our best choice is the Old King’s Road. It gives us a chance to race against the Inhuman, and it sounds safer than the far roads, more civilized.”
“But therein lies another danger,” Ceravanne said. “If we pass through hamlets and villages, undoubtedly we will meet more servants of the Inhuman. Do you suppose that they pose no threat?”
“All roads may lead astray,” Orick said, “and the longer we sit here, the more dangerous they become. I think Gallen is right in his choice.”
Ceravanne looked to Fenorah, as if the giant held the final word. “The choice is yours, dear lady,” he said. “No one should make it for you.”
“Then I will follow Gallen,” Ceravanne whispered. “Still,” she said more loudly, “there is another matter we must consider. And that is the question, who of us shall go? We know that the servants of the Inhuman are rushing ahead of us, we know that they will be prepared. If any choose to come, they will be risking great danger. So, I have spoken with Fenorah, and he has agreed to let any who desire return to Battic.” Her eyes rested on Maggie.