Tak

Khalkedon - Part 3

     It took them just over an hour to reach the town of Aldervale, a journey that had nearly killed Tak the first time he'd attempted it. He looked about curiously as they passed through, wondering whether he would see anyone he recognised. Lyssa herself, perhaps, or her father, Jack. There was no-one in the street, though, everyone having retreated indoors to cower in fear until the riders had passed, and a few minutes later they were out in open farmland again, riding through country that was totally unknown to the young wizard.

     Tak was surprised how fast his riding skills came back to him. Before they'd gone a dozen miles he was handling his horse as though he'd been riding all his life. It was a wonderful feeling to be out in the open again, riding under an empty sky with fields and trees on either side, and his heart soared with delight as he watched birds wheeling overhead and small animals scampering off the road ahead of them to the safety of the low hedgerows and ditches that ran alongside.

     He wanted to give his horse its head and let it speed away in a full gallop, the cold wind blowing his hair and stinging his face, the road a blur beneath the flying hooves, and only his fear of Gal-Gowan, riding ahead of him, stopped him. If only he'd been on his own, master of his own destiny. He felt now as though Castle Nagra had been his prison for the past five years, that Molos Gomm was his jailer and Gal-Gowan a guard taking him to be tried again. The deceptive sense of freedom he was exulting in now made him realise just how dark and stuffy Castle Nagra really was. How he'd been stunted and warped by it, like a tree growing in the mouth of a cave. This was where he belonged. Out in the open air, where he had room to grow. Where he could breathe.

     They reached another town at around midday where they stopped for a meal. The patrons of the inn they chose were nervous and respectful as they served them, being especially careful around the red wizard himself, and the other customers fell silent and stared at them fearfully. It made Tak feel horribly self conscious. He would much rather have blended in among the locals, listening in on their conversation and maybe enjoying a chat with some of them. Getting to know the place and the people. Being treated as an equal and maybe making a friend or two.

     Gal-Gowan, however, was lordly and superior in everything he did and said, treating the innkeeper like a weak minded fool as he ordered him about in his imperious manner. Grimacing as he sniffed suspiciously at his food as if he was being offered the scrapings from a pig trough and glaring at the other customers as if they were carrying some vile disease that he feared he might catch if they got too close. It made Tak feel horribly embarrassed and he found himself thanking the staff effusively for every little thing they did. Complimenting them on the quality of the food in an attempt to compensate for the red wizard's terrible manners.

     Nothing he did could make up for the fact that he was a member of Gal-Gowan's party, though, and although the staff were polite enough on the surface he could sense the resentment and anger flowing beneath. As soon as the last crumb had been eaten and the last drop of wine drunk Tak hurried out to stand by his horse, eager to be away from the hostile atmosphere, but when he glanced back he saw the innkeeper's face light up with delight as the red wizard paid him with gold. More, he later found out, than a small hostelry like this would normally expect to make in a month.

     The afternoon saw them arrive at another small town where they exchanged their horses for fresh mounts. The red wizard was greeted with familiarity if not friendship by the stablemaster, and Tak deduced that this was the place where he always changed horses on his way to and from Castle Nagra. After that they rode hard to cross a stretch of rolling moorland that even Gal-Gowan seemed afraid of, and Tak didn't miss the way the soldiers scanned the horizon ceaselessly, as if expecting to come under attack at any time. It took them four hours to cross that wide and empty land and the horses were frothing at the mouths by the time they finally let them rest, but as the yellow sun touched the horizon they came to another small town where they changed their horses again and stopped for the night. Tak deduced that these two towns, one on either side of the downs, existed solely to allow people to cross that fearful land as quickly as possible, and he wondered what could possibly live there that even Gal-Gowan was scared of coming face to face with.