"Treydon." Bellator said as he nodded towards a group of men travelling in the trees ahead of them.
Treydon nodded, and pulled his hood up. They had dirtied their faces, hoping they would be noticed less by anyone they happen to know.
As they got closer to the men, Treydon started to speak loudly, in a lowered scratchy voice. "Franko, did you say that gem was found in the old ruins of Ofre?"
"Yeah, some group of people were talking about the magical properties being compared to godly powers." Tredyon replied in a changed voice as well.
The four men on horses near them slowed down, listening.
"I wonder if it should belong to the Magus, to help his needs." Treydon suggested.
"Oi, old man, what gem do you speak of?" One man asked Treydon.
"I don't know. I overheard a group who camped near us a few nights ago talking of some godly gem they hoped to find." He lied.
"And where are they headed to look for it?" He asked again.
"Some old ruins, they said, called Ofre. Never heard of it." He said in his scratchy tone. "I'm too old for treasure hunting."
"Will you bring this news to the Magus?" The man asked again.
"I will try, but I'm old and I plan to use the rest of my strength to fight for the Magus." Treydon answered the rider.
"We will bring the message as well. Good journey." He said and the four of them rode off ahead of Treydon and Bellator.
"That was easy enough." Treydon said to Bellator.
"Let's look for another group to talk to. The more people talking about it, the better chance Kai's men will catch someone speaking of it." He suggested.
Both men moved down the path after leaving a good distance between them and the other group. A larger group complete with a wagon carrying weapons, staves, there were three steel poles. They chose not to stop this group and moved to the side. Behind this group was another wagon pulling team. This one is complete with carved wooden poles. Each pole had a symbol carved into the wood, top to bottom. The rune of separation. Treydon was sure this was a part of the process of bringing Amaia here.
He started to cough violently, Bellator reached for his water, Treydon flung his hand up in an accidental motion knocking the water skin to the ground, the contents spilling out. He jumped down, pulling Treydon from his horse.
"Water, Please! My Father needs water!" The man driving the wagon stopped and handed Bellator a fat water skin. He poured it into Treydon's mouth.
"Drink, Father, Drink. We will get to the Magus and warn him soon enough." Bellator said.
"Warn the Magus of what?" Asked the second man, who was hidden under his cloak.
Treydon happened to catch a glimpse of ruins around a belt around the second man's waist, he pulled Bellator close to him whispering harshly into his ear, "The one in the cloak is wearing seer ruins. Do not falter on your thoughts, Concentrate on our plan. Make it as real as you can to yourself, and hope the gods are with us."
Bellator looked at Treydon and nodded, "Will you take a message for us? Tell the Magus we followed a group of travelers to a place called Ofre. They speak of a godly gem that will give power to the Magus?" Bellator studied the man's face waiting for his response.
"I am trusting you with time sensitive information that will benefit our Magus, Sir. Will you deliver this message?" He asked more sternly.
The man nodded. "Indeed I will."
"Wait," Said the cloaked seer, his voice sounding like it belonged to a snake, "let me see your face, old man. I want to see if you are a liar, or if the reason I have not received any vision," Borge pulled his cloak down, looking at Treydon with two deformed empty eye sockets. "Of this godly gem, is simply fate." He finished.
Bellator froze. He thought Borge was dead. He was a dark seer, he tried to murder hundreds of youth to give his old master immortality, a magic forbidden by awakened law. Immortality was for the gods, and our death was only the next step into a new life for the awakened. Even with Borge's scared eye sockets, Bellator could feel a stare. He was a part of the group of warriors from Perifrey sent by Kai to retrieve him for judgement. Bellator killed many people around Borge, who worked for Borge personally. He was sure to be recognized by him, even with his grown facial hair. His mark above his eye brow was a target for detection, He bows his head slightly and turns to the side.
Treydon stood up, acting frail and weak, and pulled his hood off, allowing the hair from the top of his hair to fall around his shoulder and face.
Borge said nothing. After a moment Borge scoffed and motioned for the driver to move forward.
"We will deliver your message, old man." Was all Borge said giving no hint to if he believed, or cared about what they had said to him.
Bellator and Treydon waited a moment playing out their disguise, both hoping they weren't pressing their luck. When they could no longer see anyone else coming towards them, they mounted their horses and turned west.
"I think that's the extent of our luck, as short as it was." Treydon said as they were leaving down the path, slowly at first, and then faster the farther they were away.
It was well into the night before they stopped, they wanted to put as much distance as they could between them and the valley before stopping.
"Let's rest a bit and then leave again before the sun rises. I want to get out of this area, we have no way of knowing if that seer knew us or not." Treydon suggested.
"Borge." Bellator said.
Treydon stopped what he was doing and looked at Bellator. "You know him?" He asked.
Bellator nodded, "Yeah, he is an evil man. We need to stop Kai fast. If Borge is helping him, then that means they will do whatever they must to get what he wants." Bellator said.
"He uses dark magic, and..." He took a deep breath, "I thought he was dead."
"Apparently not." Treydon said.
"We brought him back to Kai, we killed his men. He was supposed to be dead!" Bellator said in an angry whisper .
"Calm down, we will take care of it. We need to get to Kaida and Valandria before Borge gains any kind of vision regarding our plans. If we do possess any more good fortune, Ota is on our side, and will block that man's visions of us." Treydon said. "Rest, I'll take the first watch." He told Bellator.
Bellator nodded. "Treydon, would you take Kai's place as Magus when he is removed from the position?"
"Naturally it would revert back to me as the living heir." Treydon replied.
"But?" Bellator said.
"But, I am no longer the same man, Astra and I were soldiers before we were parents. I don't think that's a life we want back... That I want back." He admitted.
"Who would it pass to if not you?" Bellator asked.
"That depends." Treydon took a drink of his water skin. "It depends on if Kaida lives, or dies." Treydon looked at Bellator, "Small magic is still magic. Kaida is my heir. The Magus used to be appointed by the people in the beginning, the one they trusted the most to guide them. Then things changed and we changed the way we govern ourselves. We appointed a king Magus, making the position one handed down by bloodline. My bloodline has been in control for centuries now."
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As Treydon and Bellator were talking the dark sky lit up in three bright flares. Both of the men jumped to their feet, and quickly mounted their horses. Turning what they hoped was west, they took off through the trees, urging the horses to go as fast as their tired bodies would carry them.
As they weaved their way through the trees, they could hear men behind them. Treydon threw up a long ice wall behind them, growing through the trees and blocking anyone from following them, he didn't bother to check if it helped or not, they kept going. They could hear angry voices in the distance.
Bellator spotted one of the signs from Valandria, "There!" He shouted to Treydon.
The men followed along what they hoped was the path Kaida and Valandria took earlier, their horses bobbing between trees and bushes as they walked slowly.
The horses were exhausted, Treydon speaking to his horse encouraging it to keep going.
"These horses wont go much longer, We need to stop." Bellator said to Treydon.
A short trek into the woods brought them to a thick dense spot that had a group of fallen trees stacked together, Treydon and Bellator both encouraged their horses to lay down behind the pile of trees so they were out of sight. There was enough cover here and it was still dark. Something they could not count on much longer. The sun was rising in the east and it would light up the forest and make it easier to be spotted by unfriendly eyes. Bellator's information about Borge made things pretty convenient for anyone to happen to be so close to them in such a large forest, Treydon was sure it was Kai's men who were following them.
"It's going to be light soon. We need to be out of sight. Let's continue west from here, we will have to rest first, give the horses a break." Treydon suggested he started to cast enchantments around them to hide their location from spying eyes this time.
"And if we can't find the marks left by Valandria?" Bellator questioned.
"Then we have lost them and we better hope we find this Ofre before Borge does." Treydon replied.
After the cloaking enchantments were cast, both of the men relaxed a little more. Unless someone happened to stumble straight onto them, their small camp was out of sight from anyone passing by. The horses were watered once again, they helped themselves to the grass and other foliage that lay in front of them. Bellator and Treydon both leaned against the felled trees, both resting. Treydon was unable to sleep however, so once again offered to watch for anyone unwelcomed, and Bellator slept while he could.
As Bellator and the horses slept, Treydon was thinking about old times growing up with Kai. About what he could remember from the scroll. All the things that Kaida has told him about the conversations between her and Aadi. How could Kaida kill a god and his own brother without losing herself in the process. He knew she was tough. Tougher than either himself or Astra ever was. He wished there was a chance for them all to have a different life.
As he was resting he heard a rustling behind his head. Turning around he found a brownie standing on the log he was leaning against. He was wearing a brown leafy outfit, some kind of hat made out of the same brown leaf, and holding a tiny pointy spear.
"You're not where you're supposed to be, magic man!" The brownie said to Treydon.
"Rest is something we all need small hunters. How far am I from Valandria, of the Dradalis clan, do you know?" Treydon asked the brownie.
"Not far, but far enough away you won't make it today. Tomorrow." The brownie said.
"Will you guide us, kind sir?" Treydon asked him.
"Sweet talkin eh? That wont get me to like you, ye know!" The brownie said to Treydon.
"Don't have to like me, friend, just asking you to help me." Treydon said patiently.
"Only because I was asked by the Dryad anyways." The brownie confessed. "And you may call me, your royal highness, the spry, the tallest leaf climber, the incre...HEY, Are you not listening to me?"
Treydon had moved over to lay down. "Are there more of you around us now, Spry?" he asked the brownie, not really caring to listen to the long version.
"Yes, always, and it's not Spry, it's Sir Knight, the most clever of all..." The brownie was saying,
"Good, then watch over us and wake me in a while after we have slept then please, Spry. I will tell the Dryad of your great deeds." Treydon interrupted the brownie again. He had no patients for brownies, like Kaida he found them pests.
The men rested while brownies zig zagged through their small camp, keeping the horses happy where they were, bringing them treats from the forest. Treydon was stirring and sat up to watch a female brownie go running across the camp with a fresh apple towards the horses. Spry was standing on the logs of the fallen trees, watching the brownies. Treydon stood up and stretched,
"Thank you, Spry, I appreciate you and your peoples help."Tredyon told Spry.
Bellator also stood and stretched, being almost afternoon now the brownies were happy to leave. Most of them scattering into the surrounding woods under neither leaves or the logs, a few jumping their way up the trunks of trees. Spry stood studying the men, about to leave he heard a bird call and crouched, "DANGER!" He yelled, an arrow zipping out from the trees straight into the crouched Brownie, pinning him against the wood.
Treydon spun around to see a group of men standing at the edge of their camp, they couldn't see them but they knew they were there. Another man sent another arrow through the cloak, as Treydon and Bellator were climbing onto their panicked horses, they ran straight towards the men. Colliding into the men, unknowing Treydon and Bellator were coming at them, the horses ran two men over trampling their bodies as they ran past.
Arrows were whizzing by them as they ran from the group. Treydon felt as though something wrapped around his waist and pulled him from his horse, knocking the wind out of him as he hit the ground. Trying to catch his breath he rolled onto his side spotting Bellator, also laying on the forest floor. He had an arrow through his back just below his shoulder, and his eyes were closed. Treydon was unable to tell if he was alive or not. His body was being lifted off the ground, he felt like he was being squeezed. Kai emerged from the trees, his arm outstretched casting the binding spell on his brother. Treydon yelled out in pain as the binding spell was tightening.
"Ahh Brother, it is you! When Borge showed me the vision of the two men talking of a godly gem, even hidden behind your facial hair, I knew your face, as if we were kids once again." Kai said, his voice dripping with hate for Treydon. He squeezed his fist together a little more, causing Treydon to groan in pain.
"Finally, I have something your daughter will want. It is her after all who is holding the Gem of Aadi, is she not?" Kai asked Treydon.
"There is no gem of Aadi, Kai. Not anymore." Treydon lied to Kai.
Kai burst into laughter, watching one of his men kick Bellator in the ribs. He didn't move. Either he was dead, or he was close to it. Blood was seeping into the foliage around Bellator's upper body. The man shook his head and walked away from Bellator, leaving his body where it was.
"How about we take a trip back to the Valley together, eh Brother? See how long it takes your bitch daughter to give me what in exchange for your life." He said to Treydon, as he moved Treydon's floating body towards him, then dropping him into the hard ground.
Kai's men bound Treydon's hands together, shoving a gag into his mouth and covering his head with a fabric bag. Tying a rope around his neck, they dragged him forward, leaving Bellator's body in the dirt.