Eclipse

Chapter 5

The sky was overcast and the wind that blew through the trees was freezing. Mumbled protest came from the tied up guards as the thief went through the wagon. They divided the spoils into sacks.

Tobias stood to one side and watched. His red hair was covered by a leather cowl. Beside him stood Reid, dressed in similar black leather.

"Nice haul, don't you think?" asked Tobias.

"Perhaps," grumbled Reid.

"What's wrong with you, Reid? You've been in a bad mood since yesterday."

"Doesn't it seem strange that Hayden knew about this? Not even our contacts in the mines knew about this transport."

"You worry too much. He probably overheard the soldiers talk about it in Lake Towns. You know he likes to go to the taverns there," Tobias looked as his crew, "hey! The gold comes in separate sacks."

Reid watched as Tobias went over and corrected the unfortunate thief and sighed. All of it is going to their hideout. What does it matter in which sack the loot is in? A guard protested as a thief went through his saddlebags.

"Something there you don't want us to find. Or is it something you don't want your comrades to see?" Reid smirked at the guard as he took the saddlebags from the thief and swung it over his horse.

"You like to see them squirm, don't you?" asked Tobias when he saw what Reid did.

Reid only smiled and ran his hand through his hair.

"Load the sacks on the wagon and let's go," ordered Tobias.

"What about the guards?" asked a thief.

"Leave them. Someone will come around who will find them," he turned and mounted his horse.

"What?" he looked at Reid, "It's not like they don't deserve it. Fine. Do what you will. But if they follow us, it's your hide," he spurred his horse and followed the wagon. Snow began to fall and soon the tracks will be obscured.

Reid sighed and threw a dagger on the ground near the guards' feet.

"Free yourselves," he said before he mounted his horse and galloped away in different direction than Tobias.

His horse couldn't run very fast, with the weight he had to carry, but Reid didn't care. The snow would soon obscure his tracks and by the time he gets to Rodney's the horse would be lighter.

The wagon bumped along the road over unseen rocks. Only Tobias and three other thieves remained with the wagon. The rest have broken of and hidden themselves in the caves to hide the some of the loot and to keep a lookout for anyone following them.

The three thieves at the front of the wagon laughed at a joke but Tobias rode behind them in silence. He kept an eye out for the entrance to the cave that led to their hideout. Even knowing where it is, it's easy to miss.

It was getting late and the eclipsed sun was casting long shadows through the bare trees when Tobias finally spotted the gnarled oak tree that stood near the entrance. He called to the driver and they stopped in front of the concealed entrance to the caves. They made their way inside and Tobias told them were to empty the sacks. He brought his horse inside and stood to one side as two thieves emptied the bags and refilled them with dirt and pebbles. They would serve as a decoy for anyone following them.

When they were finished, the cave floor was littered with gold coins and gems of all types and sizes which glittered in the fire light. The thieves nodded to Tobias and left. They would travel through the night and leave the wagon near Lake Towns where one of the locals will take it and send the horses to Rodney's house.

Tobias waited until he could no longer hear them before he put a pot over the fire and left the stew to simmer. He sorted through the loot, piling them in different heaps as he divided the spoils. He picked out the largest of the uncut gems and hid them in a secret alcove. The rest he hid in the respective receivers designated cave. Being the leader of the Shadow bands gave him the biggest cut, with Alaska and Reid getting the second biggest. The rest is divided between the crew.

Tobias has been hiding wealth in hidden alcoves since he joined the Shadow Bands a few months after it was formed. With what he had been stockpiling for the last nine years and the cut he gets from being one of the Ravens, he was a very rich man indeed.

Small fishing boats bobbed on the water and bare fruit trees stood like sentinels along the banks of the lake. Through the trees Reid could see houses with smoke rising from their chimneys. It was early afternoon and people were out and about in the towns surrounding the lake. Men worked in vegetable gardens and women did laundry. Children laughed and ran around. Soldiers patrolled the streets and the children gave them a wide berth. To the east of the towns, nestled beneath the first of the forest trees stood a house. Hanging baskets hung beside the front door and the first floor windows all had window boxes. They were all empty and covered in snow but Reid knew that when the thaw came, they would all start to bloom and give the residence a bit of beauty. The main part of the house was built out of stone, but the wings and upper levels were wood. It used to be a stone hut in which the village healer lived, but more and more people needed a place to live because of the sickness. Mrs Baker, Lake Towns' healer, took in those who were too sick to work and with the help of the villagers takes care of them as best she can.

Reid guided his horse towards the Healing House, as the locals call it. He dismounted behind the house, out of sight of the town and entered through the back door into the kitchen.

"Bianca."

The girl kneading the dough looked up in surprise.

"Reid, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was hoping to find Alaska here." He took an apple from the basket beneath the window.

"Isn't she doing a job for you?" Bianca flipped the dough over.

"I though she would be back by now."

"Not yet. Where did she go? Aya's been asking about her."

"I can say. How's Aya doing?"

Bianca sighed, "Not good. She's getting worse. But so is almost everyone here. She's been sleeping more and more. And she has gotten so thin. I don't know how Alaska does it. If she was my little sister, I would have curled into a ball a long time ago."

"She's stronger than you would think. Do you think I can go see her?"

A noise from the house made Bianca look up, "You have to go. My mother is on her way and you know she doesn't like visitors in the kitchen. You can come by later."

"I wish I could but I'm only stopping by. I'm on my way to Rodney's." Reid turned towards the door but Bianca stopped him.

"Be careful, Reid. The King has doubled the patrols."

"Thanks for the warning." He closed the door just as Mrs. Baker entered the kitchen.