The Realmsic Conquest: The Hero of Legend - Book 1 [2015 Watty Award Winner]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hacking through miles of uncharted woods made Thane extremely irritable. Although the journey back to Centre Pointe from the Hellish South Plains had been relatively easy, the rest of the trek north already proved challenging, to say the least. Still, Thane and his men traveled without resting, fueled only by their desire to capture King Maebus and his Realmsic Advisor.

Since no roads existed north of the kingdom, Thane and his men were forced to chop their own path through the uncharted North Woods. After crossing the Northwest River, inch by inch they painstakingly made their way, cleaving with their swords and burrowing through layers of untamed wilderness. Behind them lay a path of freshly cut destruction.

Briefly during the trip, Thane had spoken to Damian again through his mobile device. He was advised to navigate toward the historic Pumice Path. Being the only reliable travel road in a land of dangerously elevated mountains, it was likely the chosen road of the two Realmsic nobles. Damian, aware of Thane's tracking ability, claimed that the General would have no problems detecting their trail. In the meantime, he would send more Legionaries along their newly created path to assist them.

Along his way to the Pumice Path, Thane concentrated on his surroundings, noting anything that seemed unusual or suspicious. Part of him still felt duped for having traveled south. He vowed not to make the same mistake twice. Much was riding upon his acquisition of the crystal, and he hadn't made it this far—joining the Legion after losing his brother in the war, rising through Damian's ranks, and becoming the Warlord's right-hand man—only to fail.

On horseback, Thane led his men, pushing through the uncharted woods with the same ambition; the same fury that had so far guided his success. No matter where Maebus hid, Thane would find him, or perish in the search.

• • • • •

The first rays of morning light shone through the windows of the Annal, gently waking Kelm. His back was sore from sleeping on the bare hardwood floor, but even that was better than spending another night outside in the elements, especially with Maebus' leg still badly injured. Kelm was pleased with the progress he'd made last night. Maebus' leg was far from healed, but at least it showed early signs of a full recovery. He estimated a couple more days was all he needed before they could resume their journey eastward to the Ancient Lands.

With the upper level of the Annal fully illuminated, Kelm got his first real look at their interior surroundings. He whistled softly in awe.

Dilapidated wasn't descriptive enough a word for the decrepit condition before him. Because of the slanted flooring of the building, every object, over time, had slid into a dirty, broken pile in one corner of the room. A heavy layer of dust matted the floor like snow, exposing his and Maebus' footprints from the previous night. Cobwebs dangled from the ceiling.

Kelm tried to cease his involuntary yawn for fear of breathing the stale air too deeply. Stretching the stiffness from his arms, he positioned himself against the wall beneath the windowsill. Peeking through the pane, he caught a glimpse of the town outside.

Yep, just as bad as the inside.

Surprisingly, a few of the townspeople were out and about, sloshing their way through the mud as he and Maebus had the previous night.

The building received curious glances from the passersby, but nothing more before they went scurrying past and continuing with their day. Their aloofness was interesting to Kelm. Clearly they knew he and Maebus were in the Annal, but he felt no sense of danger.

Still, the morning was young.

At that moment, Maebus awoke with a groan. Ducking back down from the window, Kelm slid a few inches across the floor over to his friend.

"I don't remember falling asleep," Maebus said. "How long was I out?"

"It's morning now."

"Oh!" He seemed surprised. But Kelm couldn't determine if it was the time of day, or their shambled hideout that shocked him.

Maebus gently rolled up his pant leg to survey the damage. He groaned again.

From how he was now able to bend and stretch his leg, Kelm realized that it must feel much better than before. But, unfortunately, it still looked a tragic mess.

"That'll look ugly for at least another couple of days," Kelm said. He reached in his travel bag and pulled out a handful of berries for Maebus to eat.

"How are we on supplies?" Maebus asked.

"If we go easy, we've got enough food and water to last us the duration of our stay here."

Kelm stood fully and brushed the dust off his robe. "Now that you're up, I'm going to explore this Annal a bit."

"Okay," Maebus said through a mouthful of berries.

"I don't recommend we leave this building unless we absolutely have to," Kelm continued. "That being the case, I want to see what's downstairs, perhaps read some of the documents contained here and get a sense of exactly where we are."

"That sounds like a plan. I'll sit here and eat."

"Good! Build and conserve your energy. I'll be back."

Kelm grabbed a handful of berries for himself and moved toward the stairs. With the slanted angle of the building, the walk down was just as precarious as last night's walk up. The Wizard held tightly to the rickety railing, hoping not to pull it from the wall and fall. Upon reaching the bottom, he fought to maintain his balance.

The floor was littered with papers and books. He reached and picked up a document that crumbled in his hand. Reaching for another, the same thing occurred. Stepping over a few inches more, he delicately grabbed a book, which broke into pieces and collapsed into a powdery substance at his feet. Kelm sneezed repeatedly from the particles that filled the air.

Well, that explains all of the dust.

For twenty minutes at least, he wandered around trying to obtain any information he could, but the records contained within the Annal proved unwilling to cooperate—perhaps as revenge for the centuries of obvious neglect.

Kelm returned upstairs.

"Learn anything interesting?" Maebus asked.

"Yeah, this place is miserable."

For the next couple of days, they maintained a low profile, staying in the Annal and avoiding the open windows. The town locals would occasionally walk by. Most continued their quick glances as they sprinted away, while others were brave enough to actually peek into the lower-level windows. At various times, Kelm had the sensation they were actively being spied upon. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. Besides, he and Maebus had no place else to go. The next town was probably several miles to the east. Even magic wouldn't help sustain Maebus' leg during that trip. The only option was to focus strictly on healing him in the hope of leaving town as quickly as possible.    

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