THE REALM

Chapter Twenty Four

  The familiar feel of the saddle was the same, but the horse wasn't. I'd run the old mare too hard. She'd died sometime in the night and when I'd left the house this morning it had been to find my saddle on this horse. I had felt a moment of remorse for the old girl as she'd given me her all, but this horse was definitely an upgrade.

  Would it be fast enough, though, if the abhorrent strain of lion people suddenly came over the plain towards us?

  I started to turn to look back, but abruptly stopped as the stitches across my chest pulled painfully. White knuckled, I held onto the saddle horn as I saw stars for a moment. It really didn't matter how fast the horse could go, because the small caravan of people I was accompanying were slow, painfully slow.

  I wasn't leaving them. I looked ahead to the old Farmer's wagon only to see the baby that I'd saved happily grabbing at its adoptive mother's hair. I smiled for a moment as I watched the two.

  It was nice to know that I had helped bring about such a moment. It made the pain I felt across my chest every time I took a breath worth it somehow.

  I turned the horse sideways in a wiser nod to my limitations in order to look back over the way we had come. A column of smoke was even now rising into the late morning sky.

  I glanced to the side at the old farmer who had pulled his mount up as I had done. I saw it all there on his face. The pain and even bitterness caused from suffering great loss.

  "It can be rebuilt. Crops can be planted again," I said in an attempt to lift the despair from the other man's eyes.

  Slowly the old man shook his head, "Not this time I fear. There's no going back and there's nothing worth going ahead for. It's over. I'm done."

  "You're only done if you quit. You don't strike me as the type of man to let a plant perish from lack of water."

  The old man's eyes turned to me and almost angrily he asked, "What's that got to do with it?"

  "Just as you wouldn't let new transplant seedlings die from the shock of moving, I know also that if you put your will to this that you will survive and prosper even as a plant would have under your care.
Consider this day your transplant to a new location. It will only get better from here."

  Ruefully the old man shook his head, "You're strange boy. You'll go far with confidence like that."

  I shook my head, "I don't have much confidence sir. I only said what I did to help you feel better."

  The farmer nodded and said, "Well it worked. Now let's be getting on with making the future a better place."

  We rode on and it wasn't long before I saw a long line of cavalry headed our way.

  I watched the column of soldiers from the Kingdom of Thyana come nearer. They were too little and too late.

  Farms all over this southernmost plain of Thyana must be ablaze and only now was the army coming to investigate. It didn't say much for the management of the kingdom or its love for its people.

  The column of riders drew to a halt and the old farmer did most of the talking. I endeavored to keep a low profile, but it was apparent that I was the subject of a lot of speculative interest.

  I didn't want a lot of questions so I drifted away to face back over the way we had just come. I could still hear what was being said though. Apparently we were the last group of survivors that the column had come across.

  Farms ahead and behind were ablaze with most of the inhabitants dead or wishing that they were. It was agreed that there was little to be gained by going on, so the military contingent would tag along as an escort with the old farmer and two other farmers that we had met up with this morning.

  Fools! Here was a formidable force of soldiers and their commander was turning back to serve as an escort instead of chasing after the demonic individuals responsible for the loss that was everywhere to be seen. Was this the actions of just one captain of a troop or was the whole kingdom like this when faced with a threat?

  If so, then the Kingdom of Thyana didn't have much to look forward to. They would be backed up to their cities before they knew it, with the wealth of their once great nation burnt to ashes all around them.

  I fell into the column and headed north. North was where my destiny led, but if I had been a son of this land my place would be back there hunting down the murderers from Itarga.

  I'd rather face a pack of Saber Cats any day than being in the presence of just one Lion Man. That didn't change the fact that I wanted to kill every last one of them.

  That desire remained a steady passion that burned brightly on the inside, but meekly I followed along with the column. Perhaps I was learning the art of diplomacy after all.

  The capital city of Thyana was far larger than any I had ever encountered. In fact I'd say it was three times the size of the capital of Smirnaz that I had seen only briefly as a boy. It was far wealthier too.

  Everyone seemed to be a person of greater means than I. What was I to do in such a place?

  I had no money and no clear path as to how to accomplish the mission with which Kuri had tasked me. It had taken us eleven days to reach the capital city of Thyana and, while I was impressed with everything I saw, I also felt a keen yearning to be away from it.

  So many people. It was hard to tell in such a pressed throng as to who was friend or enemy.

  It seemed there was to be a briefing before a higher court official as to what had happened in the south. I wanted no part of that, but I had no choice in the matter.

  We stopped before buildings that had giant columns rising up all around. The building had pretentiousness written all over it. This must be the government then.

  I dismounted and headed for the steps of the building only to see the old farmer keep moving on with the column. Hey, what was the deal here?

  They were taking my horse with them!

  The old farmer saw my look of consternation and shrugged bitterly, "It's you they want to talk with. As for the horse, it's mine anyway and I'll need the money that it will fetch me here at market in order to start over."

  What the old man was failing to state, however, was the fact that he was also cavalierly leading away my saddle, along with what few belongings I had in the world. I made to go after him, but four guardsmen stepped into my path.

  Was I supposed to do? Let the old man steal from me?