The Supreme Warrior *2014 ABNA Contest 2nd Round*

CHAPTER 9.1: Into the Forest

Once outside the castle walls, Cal made his way to Gellan Ware’s camp on the edge of the fairground. He reported to the Trader’s guard captain and asked for a place to sleep. He spent the night lying on the ground underneath a wagon wrapped in his cloak, surrounded by rough men.

Cal did not sleep for the second straight night. His emotions had been stirred around too many times, and his soul was seasick. Each moment he laid in the dark seemed like an eternity. His heart thundered anxiety with frenzied beats; charged with the desire to run far and fast from Dannik before someone discovered Alynde. Yet, Cal could do nothing.

I have already cast the dice.

Already, guilt gnawed at him. Round and round his mind whirled, trying to think of something else he might have done. He had refused to participate in his father's war. He left a coded message for his mother revealing his father's scheme, which would require a family signet ring to decipher. He had warned Alynde to save her family when she refused to join him. He could find no other answer.

What fate have I left them to?

He spent the rest of the night trying not to think about it. Cal tried to lock that question deep inside his mind, to maintain his own sanity.

The Trader roused his caravan before dawn. The time to do something had arrived. Now, however, Cal was so tired that his fatigue roared in the front of his head, and thoughts only slowly plodded through his mind. Nevertheless, his brain still overflowed with the need to escape.

Captain Naedros introduced Cal to the Trader, who spared him no more than a single grunt, and turned back to arranging the caravan’s march order. First, the drivers lined up their wagons. Next, hands fed and watered the draft animals, while the farrier checked each team’s shoes for wear. Finally, the Captain split the men-at-arms into squads and assigned them wagons to guard.

Every few moments, Cal’s eyes tracked the sun’s position, his frazzled mind trying to evaluate the chances that Alynde had prematurely escaped. He agonized over the entire process, his brain silently urging, “Move! Move! MOVE!” at every delay. His hands ached to throttle the Trader into action.

Alynde won’t start screaming immediately after she frees herself. She’ll want to buy time for her family to escape. Nevertheless, Cal’s subversive imagination conjured up numerous scenarios that forced Alynde to blurt out all she knew. This excruciating mental torment taught Cal that implementing any plan is far more difficult than its designer can foresee.

He forced himself to stop thinking about her.

Cal’s squad leader detailed him to oversee the porters loading the wagons. His job was to ensure they did not pilfer the goods they were supposed to deliver. When he realized the hands were carting elenium short bows specifically crafted for his father’s dragoons, Cal was so surprised he briefly forgot his fears.

Few elenium goods ever escaped the Telgeisis Valley. The Barons refused to sell them, because weapons crafted from the rare wood bestowed critical battlefield advantages. Siege engines made from elenium were more durable and easier to move than machines made from other trees. Elenium shields resisted fire, and elenium longbows possessed unsurpassed range.

Gellan Ware must have paid a fortune! Gods, Father moved the moon and the stars to make his play.

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When the early morning mists lifted, Gellan Ware’s caravan left Dannik. At the head of the column rode Captain Naedros and Gellan Ware, both riding horses. Behind the two leaders marched a group of thirty guardsmen. Twelve wagons followed, each pulled by a team of four horses. Behind the wagons walked the hands, pulling along pack mules and spare wagon animals. At the rear, eating the dust of the entire column, came another group of thirty guardsmen. Amidst this group, marched Cal.