We rode out after a brief meal. Rolf shared his jerky with Sir Paljin and I laid out some dried fruit and vegetables. It wasn't a big meal but it was enough to get us started. We were more energized by the thought that we had people to help.
We ran the horses as hard as we could, I checked back on Sir Paljin to see how he was doing from time to time. It appeared that his healed wound had no affect on his riding. He rode as if he had never been wounded the day previous.
It was late morning when we arrived at the sight of the ambush. There were bodies of Raider archers laying on the ground, but none of the caravan. That could mean only one thing.
"The caravan got away. I count thirty bodies. I was wrong about my initial count."
"Looks like Sir Jacob had enough time to gather the wounded and the dead. That is a good sign. Rolf, do you recognize any of these men?"
"I don't believe so. Wait, this man here. He is a Captain in the army. I have only seen him as he walked through the camp, but he was with our vanguard."
Rolf was standing over a rather large man near the tree line. He must have been the last one out of the forest to join the fight.
"Is it standard practice for the Captain to be the last one to join the fight?"
"Yes, but look at him, he wasn't on his way out, he was on his way back in. That looks like his sword over there under that tree. He was run down trying to get away."
"Bravo to Sir Jacob then. He routed them when the odds were evened."
"Where is the trail Sir Paljin?"
"It is a few hundred yards to our north. We should be able to find it on the left side of the trail."
"We should move these bodies off the trail. I understand why Sir Jacob left them, but they could lead to that vanguard finding us."
"I agree."
We all worked together over the next hour carrying the bodies of the archers into the woods and hiding them under limbs and shrubs. It was messy but necessary. If the vanguard turned around and followed this trail, they would know that this was the trail we escaped down. That in turn could lead them to where we were going.
As soon as we were done with the bodies, we mounted up and rode for the trail that should take us to the caravan. It was as Sir Paljin said. Even at a trot, we got to the trail in minutes. Cart and horse tracks turned on to the trail. I told Sir Paljin and Rolf to ride ahead, and I was going to mask the trial as best I could. No need to keep giving our enemy a path to us if we could avoid it.
I cleaned the trail with a freshly cut tree limb. I cleaned for a hundred yards in all directions, then I got on my horse and marred the trail leading to our trail head and beyond it. I rode back and forth for an hour, building up tracks to make it look as though an army had passed through. It wouldn't full everybody, but it would fool most. I only hoped that however came down the trail wasn't proficient in tracking. When I was done, I cut through the woods to get to the trail that the caravan was on. If a qualified tracker came through, they would notice the single trail of tracks and know that the trail had been cleaned. I couldn't risk that.
Sir Paljin and Rolf were probably an hour and a half ahead of me at this point. I only hope that the trail runs straight until I catch them. If there is a fork I would have to try and track them. The caravan should be easy enough to follow on the trail, so I'll stick to following those tracks.
I rode hard for two hours before I finally saw two riders in the distance. They were still goin at a trot, so I should be able to catch them in a half hour. My horse was getting tired though. All the work we did marring the trail and then the hard riding to catch Sir Paljin and Rolf were taking it's toll. I had to slow down and let it rest. I slowed from a flat out run to a gallop. That should still get me to them in good time.
I couldn't tell who was who from this distance, but I saw one of them raise their arm and wave. They then pulled off the trail and dismounted. They had seen me and were waiting for me. I slowed my horse to a trot to conserve even more energy since they had stopped.
They had their horses tied to trees and they were sitting in the shade waiting for me as I rode up.
"You took longer than we thought cleaning the trail. I dare say that you must have done a thorough job. We expected you to catch us within an hour."
"I created false tracks to lead them away. I only hope that my falsehood looks true enough."
"The trackers for the Raiders are novice at best Pitre. We don't get training, the title is given to those that show even the slightest ability to see a track."
"That is some cheery news then. Sir Pitre, we have been following the trail of the caravan. It's been rather easy. I suspect that Sir Jacob won't stop until he either comes across a well fortified location that would be easy to defend, or the Crystal Palace. That being said, the Crystal Palace is a four days ride along this trail. He will undoubtably have to stop before the Palace."
"They are still a day ahead of us. Even if they do stop, It will take us a lot of hard riding to catch them sooner than later."
"Rest your horse and off we will go."
We rested the horses for an hour. While they were getting cooled down, I searched the area for berries and vegetables. I worked my way through thick brush and trees. I found random berries but no edible vegetables in the area. I did find a small steam of clean water to fill all the water skins. I had to rush back to the trail to gather all of them.
"I found a small stream to fill the water skins. Give me all that you have so that I can fill them before we ride off."
"Do you need any help with them?"
"I should be able to manage for myself. You two rest up a little more while you have the chance."
"Pitre, you have been going non stop since I left you at The Crossing."
"This is true. I don't believe he even slept the night you showed up."
"I feel fine. You have nothing to worry about with me. Besides I'm the only one who knows where the stream is."
"Fair enough, but when you get back, we are going to hold of riding a little longer so that you can get even the smallest amount of rest."
"As you say Sir Paljin."
I gathered the water skins and made way for the stream. As I neared the stream, I could hear a rustling coming from it. I slowly made my way through brush and saw a small pack of wild boar drinking from it. I would have to wait for them to finish. If I disturbed them they would likely attack. I would let them go in peace as soon as they were done. I took the time to slip into the Swordsman's Euphoria, and reach out to the stone. I looked at the world around me in that golden light. I could see the aether attached to the boar, with it's purplish glow. It didn't flare off of them like it had Arial or my father. It was a thin line of light that surrounded them. While I looked around I saw something that stood out. It was feint golden glow. It was high in a nearby tree. I pulled more of the aether from the stone and adjusted my sight to see closer. It was tree lion. It was resting in the tree, staying cool in the shade. I had never seen that golden glow from anything other than my father, and myself. Tree lions were rare, and stayed away from people. They were large with brindle coats. My father told me about them, but I had never seen one until now.
The boar were beginning to move away from the stream after having their fill of water. I crept slowly so as not to startle them as they left. They were a good deal away, but no need to call attention to myself. I checked on the tree lion, and it continued to just lie lazily on the large tree branch. After filling all the water skins, I made my way back to the trail.
"It's about time, did you take my advice and just rest near the stream?"
"No, there were a pack of wild boar when I returned, so I waited for them to finish. I saw something unusual while I was waiting."
"What was that?"
"I saw a tree lion resting in a tree."
"Aptly named those tree lions."
"You saw a tree lion?"
"I did."
"Pitre, that is a sign of good luck where I'm from."
"I thought you didn't remember where you are from."
"I don't remember everything, but what I do remember is the tree lions. There were many around my village, and it was always good luck when we saw one. It meant good fortune."
"You had many tree lions around your village? They are very rare here. I have never seen one myself. Pitre, can you take me to it, so that I can see it as well."
"I'm not sure you could. It was rather far from my location at the stream, I only saw it be using the Swordsman's Euphoria."
"You did what? You used the Swordsman's Euphoria to see it. How did you do that?"
"It is something my father taught me. I used it to enhance my sight."
"Can you teach me?"
"I'm not sure. I've only tried to teach one person before, and I was terrible at it, my father took over the training of my friend Arial."
"Can you try? You might be better at it now."
"Ok, I will try, but I make no promises. You need to go into the Swordsman's Euphoria."
Sir Paljin began doing the first movement. I watched him go through the movements and then saw the look in his eyes as he was nearing the end. He was in the Euphoria.
"I need you to concentrate on your eyes. Feel the Euphoria as it ripples around you. Feel it begin to collect at your eyes, and focus on having it help your vision, to make you see something closer than it is. Look down the trail at a distant tree and try to bring it closer to you."
I watched as Sir Paljin stood in deep concentration, then a surprised look came across his face and he quickly shook his head.
"That was miraculous Pitre. I saw a tree about a hundred yards away as if it were right in front of me. It surprised me so much that I lost my focus."
"That's good, and expected. Now the you know what to expect you will not be surprised by it, and will be able to hold it longer, but I fear that you are still not ready to be able to use it to see the tree lion."
"Sadly I have to agree with you. I nearly jumped out of my boots when the tree was right in front of me. You say that your father taught you this technique."
"Yes. This isn't something that you learned at the academy."
"No, we have no knowledge of anything like this. We use the Euphoria to aid us in battle. We are able to last longer than average men, move faster, and strike harder, but I never knew there was more to the Euphoria."
My father had told me that he hadn't taught the Targen Knights all the movements, but he said nothing about not teaching them things that would clearly help them. I wondered what else he hadn't taught them and why.
"What does it look like when you are in the Euphoria?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do your surroundings look a little different when you are in it?"
"Oh, you mean how everything looks a little blue."
That is not how everything looked to me. I saw a golden hue when I was in the Euphoria. I fell into it quickly to see everything around me. Sir Paljin did have a bluish glow around him, but Rolf, Rolf had a golden glow. It was similar to the boars, in that it was a thin line, but it was golden.
"Yes, that is what I mean. Rolf do the Raiders have anything like the Swordsman's Euphoria?"
"I have never heard of such terms. Is it some kind of magic? It must be if you can bring a tree to you."
"It isn't magic. You remember what you told me about that girl in your camp?"
"You mean Elandra. The stories she told of controlling an energy?"
"Yes, it is like that. There is an energy that when you go into the Swordsman's Euphoria, you can use to aid you."
"Can you teach me this Swordsman's Euphoria?"
"I don't know. I clearly have become a better teacher, at least with Sir Paljin here, but I don't know if I can show you what you need to learn to be able to do it. Also, it takes a very long time to learn."
"This is true. It took me nearly two years to learn how to achieve it."
"Two years?"
"Yes, why, how long did it take you to learn?"
It was then that I remembered my father's word about not telling anyone about all that I know.
"Oh, it took me a year or so. I don't remember truly how long it took."
"A year or so? That is faster than anyone I've ever heard of. You truly are amazing Sir Pitre."
If he thought that was fast, he would have died of shock at how long it truly took me. My father was right to hide some things, but why so many. I guess I would learn in time.
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