Mountains to the Great Star Lake. The region had been the object of conflict between the Kingdom of the Isles and the Empire of Great Kesh for over a century. Both sides maintained claims, and both sides sent patrols into the Vale, but the Kingdom observed an unofficial accommodation with the Empire, and the Kingdom patrols did not venture too far south, and the Empire patrols did not wander too far north. As a result, the region had spawned a host of bandit gangs, mercenary companies, minor robber barons, and constant struggle. Finding a pillaged town or a burned-out village at any point was not unusual. If banditry got too out of hand, one nation would look the other way while the other sent troops deep into the Vale to punish the malefactors.
Zane looked around as if suddenly aware of a potential menace behind every tree bole. Tad seemed less convinced. ‘What would bandits want with an empty wagon?’
Caleb’s smile was indulgent. ‘Anything that you can sell, they’d want to take. Now, get some sleep.’
The boys turned in and Caleb took the first watch. The night passed uneventfully, though Caleb roused himself twice to ensure the boys were not falling asleep while keeping watch. Both had, and he gently chided each, promising not to tell the other about the dereliction.
By the third night, both boys were keeping alert and Caleb felt comfortable sleeping until dawn.
The wagon bumped down the road and Caleb said, ‘One more night under the wagon, boys. By mid-morning tomorrow, we’ll be within sight of Yar-Rin.’
Both boys nodded with a lack of enthusiasm. Riding in the back of the wagon for days had taken its toll. Both boys were bruised and sore from the constant jostling over what passed for a road in these parts. Caleb had observed that with the constant strife in the region, neither nation was taking great pains to repair what passed for highways in the region. Occasionally a town or village might elect to send out a gang to repair a stretch that had fallen into such disrepair that it was impairing commerce, but unless a significant loss of income was involved, the locals tended to ignore the problem.
Which meant that at times the boys were thrown around the back of the wagon without mercy, hanging on to the sides to keep from bouncing right out of the wagon bed. Finally Tad said, ‘Don’t bother stopping to camp, Caleb. Just get us there. I’ll sleep in the stable if it means not having to endure another day in this wagon.’
As Caleb suspected, the wagon journey had conspired to make the boys a great deal more amenable to learning how to ride. He knew he could probably find three saddle horses in the village and that after a couple of days the boys would be sore in a whole new array of places, but that eventually they would be happy to be travelling on horseback.
They were travelling slightly uphill, as the terrain rose from flat farmland and pastures and scattered woodlands, into a more heavily forested range of hills. Rising up to the south of them on their right hand was the Pillars of the Stars, the range of mountains that served as an absolute marker for the border of the Empire of Great Kesh. Yar-Rin was located in the foothills of the eastern terminus of those mountains, in a lovely valley that separated the mountains from the mammoth forest known as The Green Reaches.
But the most significant thing abut reaching Yar-Rin was they would at last be out of the no-man’s land that was the Vale of Dreams and be in Great Kesh. Caleb was determined to begin inquiring about possible apprenticeships for the boys, for he was anxious to be done with this responsibility and get back to his family on Sorcerer’s Isle. He really had no business taking the boys into Kesh, save there were little opportunities for boys their age without fathers in the Western Realm of the Kingdom these days. There was a general malaise of commerce that had been plaguing the region for over two years, giving rise to all manner of social ills: youth gangs in the larger cities, increased banditry and theft, prices for common goods soaring, and more than usual privations heaped upon the poor.
The wagon jostled more than usual when the wheels rode up over a large rock and the boys were thrown back and forth again. They were on the verge of voicing their displeasure when Caleb abruptly reined the horses in.
They had rounded a bend in the road and were now at a small crest before a long downhill run into a shallow dell. Trees now hugged the side of the road and the late afternoon shadows made the way look menacing.
‘What is it?’ asked Tad, standing up so he could look over Caleb’s shoulder.
‘Thought I saw something in the tree-line up at the top of that rise,’ he said, indicating the top of the road where it rose up on the other side of the vale.
Zane stood up next to his foster brother and put his hands over his eyes.
‘Lower your hands, Zane,’ said Caleb. ‘We don’t want them seeing we know they’re there.’
‘Who?’ asked Tad.
‘Whoever it is who is waiting for us.’
‘What are we going to do?’ whispered Zane.
Dryly, Caleb said, ‘I don’t think they can hear us.’
‘What if we just wait here?’ asked Tad.
Urging the horses forwards, Caleb said, ‘They’d just come here.’
Zane sounded worried. ‘Why don’t we turn around?’
‘Because then they would be certain we have something of value we’re hiding.’ The horses picked up speed heading downhill, and Caleb said, ‘Listen carefully. I’m a teamster and you’re my helpers. We delivered a load of trade goods in Stardock from a trading concern called Mijes and Zagon.’
‘Mijes and Zagon,’ repeated Tad.
‘The goods were paid for in advance and we are returning our wagon to our employers in Yadom.’
‘Yadom,’ echoed Zane.
‘Why the story?’
‘Because if they think we’re hiding gold on us, they’ll kill us before they look for it. If we’re just teamsters, they’ll maybe let us walk to Yar-Rin.’
‘Walk?’
‘They’ll take the wagon and horses, and anything else they think is worthwhile.’
‘You’re going to let them?’
Caleb said, ‘All I have to lose is my sword, and I can buy another.’ The wagon reached the bottom of the dell, the road disappearing under a shallow wide rill strewn with rocks which caused the wagon to bounce the boys more than usual.
As they started to climb upwards to the next ridge, Zane said, ‘What if they don’t believe you?’
‘Then I’ll shout “run”, and you two take off into the woods. As fast as you can, work your way back down into the dell behind us – you’ll never elude them if you’re trying to run uphill. When you get to the bottom, follow the creek to the south, then in the morning you’ll find a game trail a mile south coming out of the foothills. It will lead back to this road about five miles outside the village of Yar-Rin. Go there and find a man named McGrudder at the sign of the Sleeping Rooster. Tell him what happened and do as he says.’ Tad started to ask a question, but Caleb said, ‘Now silence. Do not say anything. I will do the talking.’
As they mounted the rise Caleb slowed the wagon, and at the crest, halted the horses. The sun had set over the ridge behind
