Anders pulled away, giving him a strange look and ran to catch up to the others, unsure if he should tell them what had just happened.
Chapter 8
The War of The Magicians
Max had led Ivan and Anders nearly half way back to the inn when Anders finally decided he should mention Solomon’s cryptic trance and what he’d said to Anders just before leaving the tree house.
“Something strange happened between Solomon and me right as we were leaving,” he said to his two companions.
At that, Ivan stopped in his tracks. “What exactly do you mean by strange?”
Looking perplexed, Anders said, “I mean what he did was very odd. As I was walking out the door, he grabbed my arm. When I turned to see what he wanted, his eyes had rolled back into his head and he looked as though he was in some kind of trance or something.”
Ivan stepped closer to Anders and earnestly asked, “Did he say anything to you?”
“Yes,” Anders replied, concerned at Ivan’s serious reaction. “He said something about the path ahead being a dangerous one. That there was an evil hunting me, so that I shouldn’t follow every turn because it will find me but not to stray too far from the path or I’ll never find it again. Or something like that… What do you think it means?”
Ivan pondered this warning for a moment, then answered, “I have no doubt the evil he is referring to is Merglan. It would be wise for you to try to remember every word of the message and heed its warning.”
“What do you mean ‘the message?’” Anders asked. “He was just having an episode and talking nonsense, right?”
“I’m afraid not,” Ivan said lowering his brow. “Solomon’s body was being used to transmit a message to you. Whoever sent it must be trying to warn you. It’s not to be taken lightly or ignored.”
“Should I be worried? Who would want to send me a message like that?” Anders asked, shaking his head in confusion.
“Don’t dwell on who sent it too much; I doubt it came from someone or something that meant you harm,” Ivan said, dismissing Anders’ concern.
“How do you know that?” Max interjected.
“Why would someone who wanted to do Anders harm go out of his, her or its way to warn him about it?” Ivan responded rhetorically.
“I guess that makes sense,” Max said, looking skyward and coming to terms with what Ivan said after giving it a second’s thought.
“He said something else just before the message or whatever it was ended,” Anders said. “He said, ‘Follow your heart and your truth will be revealed.’ That doesn’t sound much like a threat; more like advice, I guess.”
“That’s pretty vague,” Max said mulling over the words.
Ivan started walking again. “Keep the message fresh in your mind. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We need to get back and see what progress Red and the others have made. We have spent too much time talking.”
Max shot Anders a look of surprise at Ivan’s sudden grumpiness. Anders responded with a silent shrug, delivering his, ‘who knows what’s up with him’ message. The two quickly caught up with Ivan as they followed the trail back to Brookside.
Red and his two men were waiting for them in the pub on the ground floor of the Brookside Inn. They had a round of drinks in hand and were talking loudly.
Joining them at the table, Ivan asked, “Were you able to send word to your people?”
Red nodded while gulping down his brew and added in his gravelly accented voice, “This morning we went to the docks hoping to catch the fishermen before they went out for the day. We began asking if anyone had seen or heard of the Rollo’s naval fleet sailing past here. None of the fishermen had ventured out very far from the reef, so they were of little help. Next, we tracked down local merchants who’d just docked their ships. By noon we found the news we were hoping to hear. A captain who’d just sailed from Argon City landed this morning. He had seen the warships being prepped and loaded when he left the Rollo Islands’ capital. He told us they were going to leave the following morning. That was three days ago. We didn’t have much time to get a carrier falcon with a message. If there aren’t any hang-ups, the falcon will intercept them, but they’ll still have several days to go before they make it here to the Brookside area. The best option for all of us is to continue on foot to the Statue of Old Kings.”
Ivan looked at Red sternly, “Good,” he said, seemingly satisfied with Red’s decision. “How long will it take for the ships to arrive at the statue?” Ivan asked.
“About two days,” Red said. “I saw the location on a map and it doesn’t seem too far to walk from here. We’ll be able to meet them there with plenty of time to spare.”
Ivan shook his head, saying, “The Statue of Old Kings may look close on a map, but we have to cross part of the Bareback Plains. It’s the largest grassland area in the world.”
“So, you’re saying it will take longer then?” Red asked.
Ivan nodded, folded his arms across his chest and said, “To walk there would take twice as long as riding. If we get horses and leave tomorrow morning we will be there in three days. I hope you mentioned in your letter to allow us at least a day or two to meet up if we are not there when they arrive.”
“I did just that,” Red said with a smile, realizing he hadn’t totally messed up their plan. Ivan seemed to relax a bit after hearing this and let his arms drop back down to his sides.
“I know someone who can sell us some horses,” Max said cheerful to be able to help. “My family has a herd of horses on the outer edge of town. I haven’t talked to them in a while, but I’m sure they would help us.”
“Very well,” Ivan said. “We will go there in the morning. I’m sure your family will be happy to see you.”
Max looked down at his feet and didn’t acknowledge the remark.
“You all know how to ride, don’t you?” Ivan asked.
Anders and Max nodded their heads, each having plenty of experience on horseback. Red and his men, however, looked at each other and shrugged.
“How hard can it be?” Red said.
Max and Anders burst out laughing. “You’ll see,” Max said and laughed more.
A bartender with a weathered face walked past their table. Ivan motioned swiftly with his arm, stopping the man before he passed. To Anders’ surprise, Ivan coughed up enough coin to order meals and a round of brews for them all.
When the drinks arrived, Ivan said in a cheerful tone, “Here’s to a successful day. We may not have had the best luck on our journey, but we did something… well, mostly right today.” He raised his glass and the others clinked their mugs together in salute.
After a hearty meal of steak, eggs, potatoes, and pound cake along with several more brews, the stories began to flow between them. Anders listened as Max bragged about his many travels. Clearly he was proud to have visited so many places at such a young age. He reiterated to Anders that he wasn’t one to back down from a tough challenge.
