Four Horsemen: Chapter 14 Part 1 of 1

Chapter 14:

Ami’s pace slowed, a constant quick trot through the forest, the afternoon showing the glimmerings of night. Petor, like the others rode in silence, watching for creatures, gazing skyward to spot the streak of light they’d seen earlier.

“Lets take a pause here,” Valter called out.

Petor slowed to a stop, the horses shaking their heads, happy to have been let free. Petor slid off, collecting his reins as Ami nudged  him with her nose.

“Glutton,” He rummaged in his bag.

“Think fast!” Mya said. He snagged the fruit out of the air and held it out to Ami.

“Here you go girl.”

She eagerly chomped on the apple. Mya tossing the others apples.

“I don’t think mine needs it,” Valter patted his mount’s metal hide. She tossed her head in agreement and let out a low hissing noise, like a large kettle coming to boil.

Valter smiled and rubbed a hand over her side.

“Night will be upon us soon, we should make camp,” Petor covered his eyes from the yellowing and reddening hues dappling the clouds.

Questions started rising to the top of his mind, just as he was figuring out how to ask them.

“Where are we?” Valter asked.

Petor raised a hand, and lowered it. “Crap.”

Mya scratched her chin, following a tree up and up into the darkening skies above.

“Hey Valter give us a boost.” She pointed at a tree.

“Alright,” Valter kicked the ground, setting himself and lowering into a squat, linking his fingers together.

Mya climbed onto his hands, holding his shoulders.

“Fire!”

Valter exhaled snapping up straight and sending his arms above his head.

Mya’s happy chortle filled the forest. “Buns of steel!” She intoned, catching onto the tree and scurrying up it as if it was a ladder.

Valter sighed and shook his head as she disappeared up into the canopy above.

Petor checked his rings and pouches, the capacity was big enough to fit a bag’s worth of gear. Two were filled with food, another one dedicated to water. His pouch held clothes, tents and other gear.

“There you are,” Desari withdrew a collection of maps, putting them ontop of a fallen tree. Petor and Valter watched as she passed over them, there were dozens in several scripts and different legends.

She snapped out a map, tracing  a road, tapping on cities. She smelled the map and rubbed her fingers over a recent notation.

“This is it,” She stuffed the others into her rings and opened up the map.

“It was open to this page,” Valter indicated the fold lines.

“That looks like it, the mountain and the city upon it,” Petor pointed towards the markers.

Desari quietly read the notations on the map.

“City’s name is Soreli, temple-city to the god Jorai,” She shook her head as if in pain. “Really original. Says that it would take us four days ride to get there.” She pulled out some string, measuring it against the scale, pulled out a pencil and marked it, folding the string she marked it at each loop.

“That should be enough.” She centered it on the mountain and circled it around.

“Four towns.” She bit the inside of her lip. “Can you hold that?”

Valter pinned the string to the mountain as she ran it along the roads. She marked two towns.

“So we came from one of these towns probably.” She ran fingers over the paper and tested the folds. She grimaced. This map has been used too much to make it easy to identify.”

Petor’s eyes were drawn up to the trees where Mya was clambering down, swinging between branches as if there wasn’t a fifty meter drop below.

She landed nearby and wiped off her hands, a smile splitting her face.

“What did you see?” Petor asked.

“The stars, ah, you see, a navigator is never lost,” She winked and tapped the side of her nose as she walked up to the map and stabbed a sappy finger to a point in the forest, leaving a smudge, “We’re here.”

“You’re sure?” Desari raised an eyebrow.

“As sure as there are stars and sun’s in the sky,” Mya gave a quick nod.

Desari moved the map around, centered on the sappy finger print.

“So the city of Jorai is in the North East, we have Gliham and Rygate villages that are to the south and south west,” Desari pointed out the two towns.

“Gliham we could use the road,” Valter said.

“Rygate is over a river. No direct road from Jorai,” Mya said.

“Rygate would take a day and a half. Gliham we would be there tomorrow afternoon,” Desari said.

“Rygate,” Valter said.

“Don’t matter to me much,” Mya shrugged and crossed her arms.

“I agree,” Desari said.

Petor rubbed his chin, reading where the different streams entered the river. “It is going to be a nasty river, we’re going to have to find a place to cross,” He tapped at two named bridges. “These two are the closest, that one is on the main road to Jorai so its out, while this one would add two extra days and then its on the road from Gliham anyway.” He read the roads from Gliham. “From Gliham there are three other towns and one city we can travel to. Rygate there are only two, more ways to be lost.”

Desari pursed her lips.

“The rivers pass Gliham, and they are heading out to the sea, it would be faster than even our mounts can go. One day and we’re gone.”

“If we can hide our mounts, remain incognito,” Valter grimaced. “I hate this hiding crap.”

“Even if it is a river barge, its water under my feet.”

“So Gliham now?” Desari asked dryly.

“Hey, Petor was convinving,” Mya spread her hands, with that infectious ‘mouth wouldn’t melt butter’ smile.

“Gliham it is,” Desari started folding up the map.

“I’ll start gathering fire wood,” Petor stepped away.

“Best not, smoke in the middle of the forest would be a good giveaway,” Valter said.

“Jerky and road biscuits,” Desari’s suffering laced every word.

Mya snorted as she found a rock to sit on.

Valter checked a metal band around his wrist.

Petor smiled, This feels familiar. Why?

The frown wormed its way onto his face as he sat down and leaned against a log, staring up at the trees.

“Umm, does anyone have an extra sleeping blanket?” Valter asked.

“Uhh I got some extra blankets,” Petor checked in his storage pouch and pulled one out, sized Valter and took out two more, throwing them over.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Petor held up and hand and smiled. “Keep them, we can get more in Gliham.”

, it flew from his hand, expanding, the golden rune disappearing as the midnight black spread, the red line cutting a bloody line, cutting between here and there.