It was almost dark, as best they could tell when the party approached the next of the chain of wooded islands on their route. Sa-sa was waiting for them.
“What is it?” Tanadon asked?
“We’re almost there and I think there’s a trap ahead but I can’t find it.”
Tanadon’s hard stare and frown followed the disclosure. “If you can’t find it, how do you know it’s there? What’ve you got?”
“It’s an open space, empty of anything except a small pool of water, trees, grass, and rails for hitching horses. Also, the fog has lifted and you can see what’s left of the evening sky. It’s too good and too safe to be safe. What’s more, it’s only a short walk to another island that has a wooden shrine at the far end with a bell in it. There’s also an overgrown stone roadway leading onward, but it’s covered by the fog and I couldn’t see anything.”
“That’s our destination?”
“I think so. The knight said there was a bell to summon Raytheda and the wagon tracks circle that area and stop. I think this is it.”
Turning in his saddle, Tanadon asked, “Sir knight. Can you tell us why Raytheda would leave such a safe-looking place just before the gate to his door?”
“Raytheda’s reasons are his own. That is all I can tell you. Some parties have left their horses there and continued on foot. Some have not. I have often watered my horse here. The pool is fresh. That I could do so does not mean you can.” He paused. “Or cannot. That is your decision to make.”
Muttered curses punctuated by his fist smacking his thigh was Tanadon’s first response to the knight’s answer. “We leave the extra horses in the next clearing. We need the wagon’s contents to fight the sorcerer so it goes.” Scowling again at Sa-sa, he asked. “Could this be a way to separate us from our horses so we can’t make a fast escape?”
“Could be. If the sorcerer kills us he has the horses to use or sell. We can’t run as fast on foot. He likes clever traps and misdirection. This is so simple it could be part of the trap that springs when we ring the bell. We planned to dismount to fight him. Yeah. Clever trap without a trap. It wouldn’t take much magic to keep this place clear.”
Walthor called out from his pallet in the wagon bed, “That’s it! That’s what’s been bothering me about his traps! They’re almost not magical. He’s husbanding his magic. He isn’t as powerful as he once was, or the stories say he is. The story about him being cursed may be why. He’s saving it up for when he needs it. If he thinks he can kill us off before facing us, he may be easier to beat than we thought with the things we brought.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“So far, he be doin’ a damn good job at that,” Rolf Redbeard said. “This be da biggest part o’ why no ones ever come back.
Gregor listened to the Hawks discuss strategy but he watched the knight. He sat his horse listening to them with the same smile he had just before they went into the previous traps. “Of course, it’s a trap. It’s all one big trap from the very beginning. From the very beginning…”
His mind circled the last thought as he tried to remember everything that had happened from when they entered the town. By the time Tanadon called out to move forward, Gregor realized he had to decide what to do. If he was right, he might live through this. “If I’m wrong, at least I’ll die a quick and easy death,” he mentally decided. There were many ways he could die. If he had to die, he intended to make a good choice for the way he died.
When they entered the next clearing, it was just as Sa-sa had described. It felt safe. It was dusk and the last bit of the sun had just sunk below the waters of the swamp to the west, illuminating the island with a soft twilight glow. Gregor drove his wagon to the pool so he could water his team. Tanadon told everyone else to do the same. Even the knight watered his horse. They left the extra horses picketed on long leads for grazing and gathered extra grass for them to eat.
Finally, they were ready to leave the glade and prepare for what everyone thought, and hoped would come next. It was a quiet time as everyone readied themselves for the battle to come.
Gregor approached the knight while the others were busy. “Sir knight, you said all of us will die. You still believe that to be true?”
“I know it to be true. Are you ready to die?
“No. I don’t want to die. But if I must, I will beg a boon of you as a Knight of the Order of Mabendus Aurias. I’ve heard stories that say you will keep your word if freely given.”
He nodded. “Aye. When I freely give my word, I will keep it. What would you ask of me, Gregor, son of whomever?”
“Of Halgor my Lord. Gregor son of Halgor. I ask your boon, that if I must die, you’ll give me as easy a death as you can.”
“That is a request most strange, Gregor, son of Halgor. Why do you ask it of me?”
“I ask because if you give your word, I believe you will honor it. Because of what you have and have not said. Also, I ask it by your station as a knight and by your name, which you have never spoken.”
The knight’s bright green eyes stared into Gregor’s. There was no smile, no humor, and only a nod in response. “So be it, Gregor, son of Halgor. I will give you your boon when you ask it of me. I so swear by my order of the Knights of Mabendus Aurias and, as you have put it, by my name which I have not spoken. So be it.” With those final three words, he smiled again. This time, Gregor felt it was a genuine smile as the knight’s armored hand clasped his shoulder. “It is time to mount and to end this. Do your duty and your best.”
Gregor returned to the wagon, hoping he’d made the right choice. Mounting, and setting his team in motion, he followed the Hawks between the trees into the next area. Sa-sa said it was the end of their path and where they would meet Raytheda.
“And where we will all die,” thought Gregor.