King's Exile: Book 1Teaser Preview

Chap. 3, Part 2 A Troop of Guardsmen

The road stayed deserted, so Dax continued on until the afternoon shadows were long. The fact that the road was deserted made him suspicious. Did the lack of traffic have something to do with his disappearance? At the top of a rise there was an open area, and he noticed the sunlight catching a cloud of dust in the distance ahead. He watched for a time and decided the cloud was coming towards him. It might several farm wagons, but it might also be the Guard detachment returning from their exercise. He didn't want to be caught on the road and questioned, so he retreated to the trees careful not to leave any sign of his passage lest some sharp-eyed guardsman notice and investigate.

Just beyond the road the forest fell away into a steep ravine on the right. Dax carefully climbed down over mossy boulders to the bottom, and he followed the course of a small stream north away from the road. A rock overhang had a dark shadow below, and he made his way to it. The cleft opened back into the rock far enough to conceal him from sight. He welcomed the hiding place.

Soon Dax heard horses. The noise increased, and he began to wonder if his hiding place was far enough from the road. Over the clatter of hooves he heard a shouted command, and the noise stopped. In the quiet, he heard another command.

 “Guardsmen, dismount and make camp for the night. We’ve had enough for today. We’ll be back in Tazzelton by noon tomorrow.”

Camp? Dax hadn't counted on this. His niche would keep him well hidden unless they searched the ravine with torches. Still, he would have to spend the night down in the sold rock shelter, and he would not sleep well so close to a troop of guardsmen. And, there would be no question about a fire and hot food. Dax sighed, sat down beside his pack, and found something to nibble on. After a while he reached into his pack and caressed the egg.

A short time later he heard rustling along the other side of the ravine. He inched forward until he could look past the edge of his hiding place. Two guardsmen appeared on the opposite rim above him. Cautiously Dax drew back into the darker shadows until he could just see the men past the edge of the rock. They looked down into the ravine and around at the surrounding forest. They were close enough he could heard their casual conversation.

“Suppose we've gone far enough in to satisfy old Tender Butt?”

The second guardsman grinned. “Far enough for me, I think. I'm not about to climb down into that thing now that it’s getting dark. I’ll take my chances on bandits, but there hasn't been trouble on the River Road for a couple of months now. I’m betting we’re safe enough.”

“He said to check the forest for at least a hundred paces.”

“Yeah, and you are up for promotion to tre.” The second Guardsman slapped his companions shoulder. “Don't worry. I've been keeping track of our paces. I will report we went the full distance.”

Dax could see enough to tell the guardsmen had on their regular field uniforms, but they both had a yellow sunburst patch on their left shoulders. Although Dax did not know all the markings and awards for the Guard's full dress uniforms, this insignia on their everyday uniforms was new to him. He knelt beside the rock and leaned around carefully to get a little closer.

“Well I certainly don't want to go back too soon,” the second Guardsman said. “We'd just have to help get all those horses fed and settled for the night.”

“Not the kind of job for honorable veterans like us, huh? I don’t care what kind of burr the dragon lady put up Keir’s butt. Castellen or not, this just ain’t right.”

“Yeah, that kind of nastiness makes me feel all the more ‘diligent’ about this little reconnoissance, it does.” The man snorted then hocked and spit. “Sun-blaze Guard or not, I don’t hold with work like that.” Both men turned and moved out of Dax’s view.

“Yeah.” Dax heard, and after a pause, he heard another voice say, “How about we just follow this thing a little farther then circle  back.”

Dax wished they would go help with the horses, but their attitude seemed anything but diligent this evening. He found himself wondering what kind of nastiness they were talking about. Searching for him might have been tedious, but nasty?

He heard them a little farther up the ravine when a loose rock turned under the foot of one of the guardsmen, and he cursed as it clattered down into the ravine. The other laughed. “Yeah, some scout you'd make.” With a final curse, the first used his boot to send a larger rock crashing down into the ravine before they moved away. Dax realized he had been holding his breath.

With a troop of guardsmen camped along the road, there was nothing for it but to spend the night hidden in the ravine. Wrapped in his coat, he made himself as comfortable as he could sitting upright in the niche with his pack next to him. Cramped and cold, Dax gnawed on a stick of dried meat and another biscuit. Every position he tried was an intolerable combination of awkward, uncomfortable, and confining. Eventually he found a way to lie that was merely disagreeable. Seeking a little ease amid the discomfiture of his situation, he reached into his pack and put his hand on the egg. It felt warn and reassuring, but he lay awake for a long time before dropping into a fitful sleep.

In the morning the Guard detachment had gone, and the road was deserted when Dax emerged from hiding. He had stayed concealed in the ravine for some time after he had heard them muster out at dawn for their trip west to Tazzelton. Determined to make better time this day, Dax headed east on the road taking shelter only when he heard a traveler approaching. Once two riders on horseback coming around a bend from behind caught sight of him before he could hide. Rather than attract attention by scurrying into the forest, Dax just kept his head down with his face in shadow and plodded on down the road. They jogged on past without interest.

By late afternoon he was tired and sweaty. As hot and heavy as the clam digger's coat was during the day, Dax had found it none too warm during the chill of the night. He decided to make a real effort to find a better place to spend this night, and before the sun set that evening, he turned into the wood. A surprisingly short time later, he stumbled across a well-used hunters’ campsite in a small clearing. Just off the route a firewall built of logs shielded a stone fire ring from the direction of the road. He heaved a sigh as he set down his pack. Perfect. He could have a fire and warm food tonight.

Once the fire was going, he made a few false starts before he managed to rig a support for his tin cup. In it he warmed a rude stew of biscuit and beef. It was the first hot food he’d had since leaving the castle, and, although it was not a bowl of soup from Ma Cookie’s pot, he felt much better after he had eaten.

Pleased with himself, he stretched out near the embers of his fire. He looked up and saw the sky through a space between the trees. He caught a glimpse of Darda, the dart, as the moon moved among the stars, a familiar sight which added to his feeling of well being.

As he relaxed his mind wandered, and he had a sudden thought. Hunters traveling in the area would most likely camp along the road itself instead of out sight. People used this camp site, but it was well hidden. He realized what other typed of hunter would find this place most convenient. Outlaws preyed upon travelers from time to time. Reports would come in for a day or two, but the Guard was never able to find them. A band of thieves could use this site, waylay a passing merchant or noble, then leave. Dax abruptly felt more vulnerable. He had a weary thought to move off a distance for safety’s sake, but before he could act, he fell asleep.

Nothing happened that night except a bad dream. He woke in the night with a pounding heart, but his memory of the dream-peril faded before fully awoke. Again the flush of fear through his system restored clarity to his thinking. Dax’s fear disappeared, his mind focused, and he felt the same strong purpose he had felt the night he had discovered Mathilde’s plot. His determination renewed, he felt brave enough to do what he had to do. He might not be able to avenge his father’s death today, but would do everything he could to stay out of the clutches of the people who had murdered him. Someday Mathilde would pay.