Chapter 4: New Paths
Around noontime the hustle and bustle of the streets was just as much as the day before. Wives gossiped over what they thought caused all the damage outside the Inn while men stood around grunting about what they would have done in Tassadar's position. All in all very little had been disrupted and life moved on as it had before, that is all except for Baro.
He talked to Crystal as he brushed Whirl whip's coat and cleaned the dirt and grass out of his hair. Shadow every so often playfully swatted at the horse's tail and jumped behind one of the stalls to avoid being kicked by powerful rear legs. Still, Crystal wouldn't say much more about what had happened with the Necromancers, but Baro had learned a lot. She was from an average family in the northern providences where it was cold for a good part of the year. Something she described as white water that melted in your hands covered the ground and made everything really cold. This seemingly magical water fascinated Baro so much he asked her endlessly about this 'Snow.'
"Your crazy! Water doesn't stick like that. It certainly couldn't be made into a ball!" Baro laughed thinking of children pelting each other with this frozen water.
"Maybe someday you'll see it for your self. He he, just remember to duck." Crystal smiled and fumbled through a bag she shouldered on her left side. She took out some rolled up parchment and unfolded it for Baro. It was a drawing of the western empire and detailed all of the places Crystal had been, marked with dates and symbols. "Here," she said, "This should interest you."
"Wow, you drew this? It's very good." Baro said admiring the artwork. The edges were done with a golden weave design with several woodland animals on the corners including a squirrel, a wolf, a songbird, and a deer. Mountains and forests were drawn in surrounding a small sea that outlet into a larger ocean. Landmarks were drawn in with great detail and colored on such a small scale it was amazing. Crystal blushed when Baro commented on her work and put the map away after he was done viewing it.
After awhile Tassadar came into the stable with a bundle of food and supplies in his arms. "What's all this?" Baro asked inspecting the load. There must have been a tent for two, many blankets, enough combined food for three weeks, a couple of torches and different odds and ends.
"Crystal was right, you aren't save here any more. I read this scroll while you were knocked out, you must have dropped it when the solider hit you." Tassadar handed Baro the scroll that he had found on the necromancer earlier. It stated briefly in the common tongue 'Search for the last of the Gehan. Leave no survivors.' The scroll itself was very old and had some strange runes written at the bottom. Parts of it were burnt or torn but the entire message of runes stayed intact.
"I don't understand; what does this have to do with me? Who were the mages after?" Baro said with growing confusion.
"Baro, how much of your father do you remember?" Tassadar whispered close to Baro's ear.
"Small pieces, he was away most of the time. I can remember that my mother and Mrs. Wanto raised me." Tassdar nodded and replied
"That was his decision. He didn't want you raised in the city, but he also told me when you were born to watch out for you if you ever passed into Marpin."
"That's why you opened this Inn?"
"Yea." Tassadar sighed and wiped his forehead. "I was thinking about it anyways and when your father asked me to I couldn't refuse him. He saved my life on more then one occasion, and he was my friend."
"Was the name your idea?" Crystal asked as she laid back on the ground.
"Ha! We both came up with it, but that's another story. Baro, I promised to keep you save while in Marpin but I don't think that's possible now. These necromancers that hunt you, they hunt you for the same reason they did your father."
"What is it? Who was my father?" Baro raised his voice, on the verge of shouting. Tassadar simply shook his head and said
"That I cannot tell you. All I know is that it was in the service of the king. What the necromancers called the Gehan, that is a mystery that no common man could know. I will say that Thorv was a good man, I was proud to have known him."
Baro just shook and hung his head. So much had happened today it all weighed heavily on him. Baromosa thought back to all of the chaos earlier and the innocent people moving to Marpin to get away from this. Whatever it was about him, it had brought about the deadly magic users.
"Then I must leave this place. If these orders are spread among these fiends, they will not stop chasing me. There must be somewhere I can go where I won't endanger so many people." Baro stood up straight and looked outside of the stable into the distance. So much of the empire stretched out over the horizon and he hadn't seen any of it before he was almost assassinated.
"If you go you're not going alone." Crystal said and put a hand on Baro's shoulder. "Me and shadow are getting sick of this place anyway, aren't we girl?"
The wolf barked in reply and sat at Baro's feet. "We're going with you and there's nothing you can say to change are minds." Crystal mounted Whirl whip and looked up with a smile. "It could be fun riding a horse! How do you get these things to go anyway?"
Baro mounted the horse behind her and laughed with Tassadar. "Where should we go is the better question. I don't know where to hide, let alone where to find answers to all this."
"Well the nearest city is a couple days ride north, might take up to a week with two. " Tassadar suggested. "Watch yourself out there, you're the only real friend I have left."
"We'll meet again before the end Tassadar. Don't lose the tavern while I'm gone." Baro laughed a bit. Tassadar kicked a piece of burnt wood over and shrugged, heading back inside.
"Well, sounds like we're going to Glodin Falls," sighed Crystal. "Should be easy enough to get lost in that maze."
"You didn't like it there?" Baro asked.
"Its all walls! Nothing but towers and alleys everywhere and not a flower or blade of grass to be scene within the city. Oh well, who am I to complain? It's not like we have much choice."
"What about Shadow? Can he keep up with Whirl whip or should we have to stop for him the rest."
"Don't worry about her. If we need to hurry she can catch up with us during the night and sleep during the day. She's a great tracker you know."
"Ok well lets get going. We've got lot of ground to cover." Crystal blushed after Baro said that and there was an awkward pause.
"Crystal? Everything ok?" Baro said concerned.
"Just one thing… I was serious when I asked how these things go. I never rode a horse before…" Crystal said softly.
"Oh, I didn't know. I thought everyone knew how to ride a horse." Baro said surprised.
"Well it's not like everyone's BORN knowing how. It's not like it's MY fault!" Crystal said getting frustrated.
"I'm sorry, come on, there's no better time to learn. First lets just take the reigns like this." Baro put his hands around Crystal's waist and on her hands, guiding them to the reigns gently. "Good, when your ready to have him walk forward, just squeeze your legs against him and release as he gets going." She did as she was told and gave out a little shriek when the horse lurched forward.
"Don't let go of me!" Crystal cried when Baro loosened his hold on her waist.
"I'm here, don't worry." Baro said reassuringly.
After a few giggles and practice walks up and down the street, Crystal got the hang of it pretty quickly. She had learned how to steer, speed up, and slow down the horse pretty well and thoroughly enjoyed herself by the sound of her laughing.
Soon they had both agreed it was time to actually start the journey so Crystal guided Whirl whip to the Northern gate and rode off with Baromosa into the golden plains. The wind was fairly calm and unnoticeable compared to the rush of riding with a new person. Baro smiled into the sun as he saw Shadow dart his way across the field stealthily as if he was trying to avoid being seen. He laughed with Crystal and they talked about this new adventure as if they had been friends for a long time.