Chapter Nine: Strength enough...
You have to be aware of your curiosity and it's bounds.
Don't just go after them without thinking first.
That, my child, is where you always run into trouble.
-Lady Tamaida of Ninequor to her daughter on her sixth birthday.
Teirra followed the two knights through the undergrowth and tall trees of the forest around Slate Coast. With the sun nearly set, it was becoming increasingly difficult to see where to set her feet. Riders train for tracking at night as well as day, but Teirra had never been as good as some of her classmates. Her home was farmland, she could sneak through crops even in the darkest night, but here she had to struggle to remain quiet.
The voices grew louder as they neared the campsite and they could make out a large fire near the center of the bedrolls. Alan grabbed their sleeves and signaled for them to split up and scout more ground. Teirra didn't like it.
Domitran nodded and headed to the right while Teirra headed to the left, stringing her bow as she went, still hoping it was simply a hunting party. Watching it more and more, she began to doubt that.
As she crept closer the voices and conversation became clearer. The sentries on the edge of the camp huddled in small groups, talking or smoking as they pleased, hardly aware of what they were meant to do. The main group sat around the fire as it crackled, staring into the dirt around it, several men holding sticks and drawing in the dirt.
"What if we assaulted the castle itself. That wall there."
"The Lioness has troops there."
"This wall, only a few there, a Rider group."
"Outright attack would be foolish without a full force. We have to gain victories without looking like we're gaining victories. The Tortallans are cautious and filled with all sorts of mages."
"They'll overlook Slate Coast."
"Not with the Lioness here. She is the King's Champion."
Teirra looked to Alan across the camp. His green eyes blazed back at her. This was definitely not a hunting party. They had just stumbled across the conspirators themselves, planning for the next attack. It wasn't their full force, only a dozen or so. Teirra suspected that it was only their main leading party.
Prancer, she shouted as loud as she could for her friend. Find the Lioness. Get help. The need to see this, and it's important.
Alan motioned for them to regroup, eyes still blazing. Teirra shifted slowly backward, watching the came, then froze at the snap of a large twig. She glanced at her foot to see if she had been the cause and let out a breathe when it hadn't been her. Her gaze fell on Alan who shook his head slightly. Alan and Teirra's eyes flew in the direction of Domitran.
Domitran winced and did his best to hide, as well as a knight his size could. The sentries and those by the fire snapped into attention at the sound, several grabbing nearby weapons. Teirra looked to Alan, who was after all her superior in this situation. She didn't know what to do.
"Search the woods!"
Teirra crept back to Alan as quickly as possible, using the cover of the conspirator's sounds to move faster. "What now?" She whispered.
Domitran came up beside them. "Sorry, I stumbled." He muttered by way of excuse.
"Alright, split up and head back to the Rider's camp. If you get caught shout. Teirra, send for help." Alan whispered quickly to them, looking at each of them in the eye.
"Already done, sir, a while back." Teirra told him as she would Opion.
"Good. Let's go." Alan headed off in one direction.
Teirra nodded, patting Domitran's arm gently in reassurance. He hadn't meant to spoil their whereabouts. Then she was off, heading in one direction, swiftly but quietly. She only hoped she was going in the right direction. She'd hate to wind up miles away and have to explain herself, especially after today. She would only prove how troublesome she'd been the last few days. Teirra would never be a Rider at this rate.
Teirra glanced behind her, to check where the men of the conspirator's camp were and stumbled over a large root in the process. She fell, hard twisting her ankle in a streak of bad luck, it would seem. In the darkness, she winced and pulled herself up. She was a fool, a clumsy fool. She should have stopped them and herself from going into the woods.
The clash of metal on metal brought her back to her senses and to the place her mind went that helped her get through a fight. She searched for the source and started limping in the direction the sound was coming. At least it grew louder and she was bringing herself closer to her friend, whichever one it may be.
Teirra grabbed an arrow and strung it to her bow, keeping it loose and low and prepared. She saw darker shadows ahead of her and a flare of light just big enough to see by. As she got closer, she found an advantage point behind a good sized tree and pulled the arrow back. She identified one of the attackers and released, aiming as carefully as she could. Teirra winced as the man fell, hitting a fellow comrade on his way.
"There's more!"
Teirra growled. She had hoped that the other attackers wouldn't have noticed their fallen friend had fell by way of arrow. They'd find her soon now that they were aware that there were more than one.
The light flared brighter, allowing more visibility. Alan, the source of the light, caught her eyes slightly before the swinging blade of his sword flew past his face. She let out a silent prayer that he would be alright and that help was soon on the way.
Prancer, please! She cried out, even as she was fitting another arrow to her bow. She was just about to release when an arrow struck the tree beside her head. Startled, she whirled around.
The darkness made it hard to make out tree from foe, leaving Teirra to guess where her foe might be. Terror seeped into her veins, and every muscle wanted her to run to safety, but Teirra knew she couldn't do that. Her honor would never allow her to do such a thing and her honor had kept her alive so far. She had to trust in that.
Another arrow whizzed past her head to hit another tree, making her duck slightly in reaction. Following where the arrow had come, she aimed and released. She heard the thud as the arrow sunk into the bark of a tree and nearly cursed aloud. She reached for another arrow to find that she only had a few left. Teirra had left most of her quiver back at camp, not thinking she would need them. That was foolish, she scolded.
"Teirra!" It was Domitran's voice that rang in the night. It was in the opposite direction of Alan and herself which only frustrated her. She wouldn't be able to get to him and still help Alan.
Teirra glanced back to where she saw Alan fighting in the light. He was holding his own, as she would expect the son of the Lioness to do. Perhaps she could leave him, just for a moment to find Domitran.
Alan saw her look back to him and read her face. "Go to him! Teirra, watch out!"
Teirra swung around as a man came running to her. In a panic, she let her arrow fly, at point blank range into the man's chest. Teirra jumped back, her stomach threatening to empty itself then and there.
"Find him, Teirra!" Alan shouted to her over the sound of his sword clashing against the sword of a foe. "They'll find me better than him!"
Teirra nodded, forgetting that her friend couldn't see her do so, then she was off, fighting her way through the woods toward Domitran's voice. She bit her lip against the frustration and pain in her ankle. It was slowing her down and she didn't need that right now.
"Domitran!" She shouted, hoping to get a response.
She stumbled into a relative opening in the trees with Domitran whirling to face her, sword swinging. Teirra cried out and stumbled back, out of range. She could just make out Domitran's tired smile. "Are you alright?"
Domitran nodded. "They were no match for a big fellow like me." He grabbed her arm slightly and started away. "We've got to get back to Alan."
Teirra heard the sound which came too fast for her to utter a warning before Domitran gasped.
"Domitran!" She screamed as saw an arrow shaft thrust into the big knight's shoulder.
The force brought the knight down to his knees and Teirra's arrow to her bow. Trusting her instinct, she let it fly and heard the slight gasp as it hit the man. She couldn't tell where, nor did she care. Her only concern was for the knight knelt in front of her. It wasn't the picture she had fantasized about as a little girl.
"Let's go." She reached down and helped her friend to his feet. She wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him upright and led him back the way she'd come, forgetting for the moment about her swollen ankle.
They walked for a few minutes, Domitran dragging by the second, when Teirra thought they should be hearing sounds of Alan's fight. She looked around, hoping to see that flare of light to guide them by, but saw only darkness. Panic was beginning to fill her chest, making it hard to breathe. She would never forgive herself if she had abandoned him to his grave, nor would his mother, she suspected.
"Alan!" She screamed, much like she had for Domitran moments earlier. "Alan, please answer!"
A sword came at her, forcing her to shove Domitran aside and dive away to avoid the cut that surly would have sliced her from her shoulder to her hips. Their attacker seemed less interested in her at the moment and more interested in a quick kill. He moved to stand over the sluggish Domitran who was too weak from blood loss to do much else but cower away.
Teirra dropped her bow and pulled out her sword. Before she could even think, she thrust it into the man's back and kicked him off the blade. The action made her sick, but she couldn't let her friend die because of her weak constitution against blood.
She heard another man come from behind her and turned to meet him. Their swords were crossed and Teirra wincing in pain at the strength of the blow when she looked into the green eyes of a friend. "Alan!"
The blonde knight smiled and stepped back. Light flared, then died down to a respective level. He sported a large gash on his right arm and an even larger one on his leg. In the light, his face looked pale and drawn. He noticed Domitran in an instant and knelt by his friend's side.
"You called for help?" Alan asked her softly.
"Yes. They should have been here. Domitran, he need's help. Where are they? Prancer didn't-" Teirra mumbled, for the moment unable to piece together a few coherent thoughts.
"I can help a little with Dommy." Alan replied. "Hold him still while I break the shaft."
Teirra swallowed hard and knelt down and did as she was hold. Domitran moaned slightly as the shaft broke, then seemed to settle down a little. "Mighty fine place our curiosity has let us."
"Don't talk, Dommy. We'll find help. Keep watch, Teirra. I'm going to be a little preoccupied." Alan told her quickly, if not sternly.
"What are you going to do?" Teirra couldn't stop herself from asking.
"My mother taught me healing, just keep watch, please. There won't be any more light, so-" Alan looked at her tiredly.
Teirra nodded quickly and turned away. It hurt to see her friends so worn and weak looking while she remained relatively unscathed. It should have been her that was laying there with an arrow in the shoulder, not Domitran.
As she watched the shadows for anymore signs of attack, she reached out for any horse nearby. If she could just get a mount to help Domitran and Alan back to camp, that would be enough. No horse was in the immediate range she usually used and was forced to concentrate harder to touch the mind of a friend.
Excuse me, sir. She interrupted a young stallion sleeping. Teirra shook her head back at camp, to shake off the sweat pouring down her face.
Yes? The young stallion woke up at least agreeably.
I need help. My friends are hurt and need to get back home before they- She drifted off slightly. Instead, she showed him images of her hurt friends as much as she could.
They're big and I'm sleepy. The stallion lulled.
Please, help me! For the first time in Teirra's life, she forced some of her will into her command. She would apologize later, but right now, she just needed help without hesitation.
Fine. The young horse agreed and raced to reach them.
Teirra's attention snapped back to camp in an instant and she staggered on her feet, mainly from exhaustion at the fight. Movement caught her eye behind her and she turned in time to see Alan collapse over beside his friend.
Teirra went to his side. He looked ghostly pale in the dawning light of the new day and he was damp from head to foot. "Oh, Alan, what did you do?" She un-tucked her shirt and ripped a long strip from it. She wrapped that strip around his bleeding arm and ripped another to wrap around his wounded leg. She used the cuff of her sleeve to dab his face and arranged him in a more comfortable position.
Then she saw to Domitran, whose complexion looked slightly better than it had and he was coming around. His shoulder looked better and the arrow pulled out. It had stopped bleeding for the most part on account of whatever Alan had done. The knight was conscious only for a moment before he went out again. Teirra thought it for the best.
A snort in her ear made her aware of the stallion who she had asked to come. He was tired from the run, but willing to help her before he rested. He nudged her slightly.
"I- I don't know if I can lift them. Can you handle two? A walk, that's all." Teirra looked at the horse with pleading eyes.
He tossed his head arrogantly. Of course, faster if you like. Then he knelt down, so she could help the men onto his back.
Alan moaned as he woke slowly. Teirra didn't notice at once, as she was trying to bring the big knight over to the horse. Alan must have notice her struggle. He came over, stumbling, and helped get Domitran onto the stallion's back.
"I'll hold him on." He mumbled dulling and climbed onto the horse's back. The horse slowly brought himself to his feet with a toss of his head.
They must eat rocks. He looked back at her.
Thank you, my friend. She smiled and walked beside him, reaching up to balance both men and keep them on the horse. It was a patient struggle.
Teirra didn't know how long they had walked. The grey morning was coming up, lighting the woods a little better. All she knew was that every step brought them closer to the camp and closer to Slate Coast. She was a walking ghost by now, hardly awake.
"Teirra!" She looked up to see a man running towards her and realized it was Taex when he neared. With him so close, she gave up the fight to stay awake and collapsed onto the ground. At least someone had found them. Now, she just wanted to sleep, long and hard.
Author's note: Ugh, I'm not very good at writing battle sequences, so please forgive me. Nor am I good at getting my characters out of the mess I create for them. I only hope I can do it here. Now comes the complicated part...