Chapter 2
The five, with Naruto in the lead and Zuko holding the rear, made their way through the darkened roads and alleys of Baretha. Each traveled fully armored. Kiba had his studded leather vest and bracers under a wolf-hide cloak. Zuko wore a cuirass beneath an arming jacket as well as greaves and a splintmail bracer on the arm opposite to the clawed gauntlet. Danny too wore an arming jacket but beneath it he had a chainmail hauberk instead of a cuirass. Naruto wore a brigandine with steel bracers for his forearms. Shino… Shino just wore his layers of robes and his wide-brimmed wicker hat, though from his waist and his saddle were tied long, hexagonal boxes. Each box wore a symbol in the swirling script of the Ajhuku, and were one to lower an ear to one of the boxes they would hear a low buzzing.
Naruto constantly checked with Kiba in case the Adhakan or his warhound detected anything. Danny and Zuko maintained a constant vigilance, paying attention to upcoming corners and rooftops, watching for any signs of an ambush. Those who rode closest to Shino could hear a slight buzzing around him, and in some shafts of light they would see small thumb-sized figures flitting in and out of Shino's robes. Naruto raised a hand to halt the party, before reaching into a saddle-pouch to remove the directions Brey had given and a glowball. Glowballs were one of the few exports from the elven holds. Small glassy spheres and each one enchanted to give off light; a single glowball could be active for a week before needing to be replaced. They were smaller and more convenient than oil torches but hard to come by without the right contacts and suppliers, such as those Shikamaru knew.
After consulting the directions Naruto led them down another small roadway. Another half-turn of such travel the five sellswords had reached the rendezvous point. When they had arrived, at an open square area with a fountain in the center, they were met by their client. Or rather by their client's coach driver. The driver looked to be a tall man, at least six feet in height, but anything else would take time to determine as the fellow was wrapped in a long, thick cloak and hood. And even from what Naruto could glimpse beneath the hood, the man's face looked to be bandaged completely save for the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. The coach itself was of an interesting design. Most coaches Naruto had seen, especially those used by merchant elite, tended towards glamorous and elegant design. This coach however with its heavy and boxy appearance, looked to have been crafted more for sturdiness and hard travel. Good, it showed the client wasn't a fool. Bad, it showed the client wasn't a fool and had been prepared enough to have such a coach designed and built.
The coachman held out an open, expectant palm. Naruto understood and handed over the letter and envelope with the Ashford company seals. The driver tapped on a panel next to his seat. The panel slid open from the inside and a slim, pail, hand reached out to receive the papers. The driver leaned his head close to the compartment opening, listening to whispered instructions. Finally the panel slid shut and the coachman sat up, his head facing the gathered sellswords. "We are moving out now," he spoke in a deep, firm voice, "We will leave through the North Gate before turning west." This was a voice used to being obeyed. So much for a simple coachman.
By the time they got to the North Gate, the moon had well passed it zenith and was reaching its three-quarter point. None of the gatemen payed attention to the party, none of them even looked at the small group of coach and horsemen. If anything the guards were putting effort into not looking. Someone however must have been paying enough attention for as soon as the party and coach had neared the gatehouse, the massive doors that sealed the northern entrance of Baretha opened. Huge oaken constructs reinforced with heavy iron and laced with empowering enchantments, such were the gateways of Baretha, as they had been for five hundred years. The gates slowly swung inward, revealing clear and open land stretching to the tree-line miles and miles away. The land surrounding Baretha had long been cleared to deny invading armies the shelter of a forest's shadows.
The moment the coach cleared the gateway, and all four wheels rolled onto the imperial road, the driver whipped the horses into speed. The mercenaries immediately followed suit. Naruto with Kiba and Akamaru rode ahead, Shino hugged the side of the coach, whilst Danny and Zuko held the rear. Within a turn of the glass the group had reached the shade of trees.
The Lockwood Forest was one of the oldest forests in Umbria. It is said that King Rupert I, the first king of Umbria, used the Lockwood to hide his army from his enemies. In thanks of the old wood, Rupert had all the wood for his capital brought in from other forests, making it a Royal Edict that only the King could permit the removal of a Lockwood tree. And so the great forest remained, the only trees ever cleared were for the sakes of the Imperial roadways, by the permission of King Edward I.
Once within the shadow of Lockwood, the coach slowed with the riders following in suit but maintaining their positions. As they journeyed through the elder forest, the thoughts of some began to wander. Naruto's mind kept going back to the warnings Shikamaru had given. Naruto could trust the Nara, his information always panned out to some degree and they'd known each other since their first days at the Academy. So if Shikamaru said something was rotten in the duchy of Florecca- err… Umbria, then somewhere something was rotting. Shika had noticed when something was off with their teacher Mizuki, if Naruto and Sasuke hadn't paid attention sooner, then… Naruto shook his head. They were on the job, he told himself, no distractions.
The moment he was beneath Lockwood's eaves Danny felt the weight of the forest upon him like a hundred pounds of plate armor. He should have seen this coming, the moment Naruto said they'd be leaving through the north gate. Places like Lockwood, such as Redvale, the Deep Marshes, and the Alfarren Forests where the elves ruled accumulated much over the millennia. Some believed these old places saw so much history, often enough violent and bloody, that these events shaped the very spirit of the land. And in some cases, such as within Lockwood, that spirit would become aware. Most of time such places were content enough to sleep. But just because the bear you're passing is asleep doesn't detract from the truth that you're passing a sleeping bear. And as if from a great distance, Danny could hear a rhythmic rumbling, not unlike a gigantic-
"Danny," came Zuko's voice from the right, "When we stop for the night we will resume your training."
"But-," they'd been traveling since last night was what Danny wanted to say but one glance from Zuko told him that there was going to be no argument. Zuko took a lot of things seriously, for him only one thing ever seemed to be more important than training and that was fighting. Not to mention the times the maniac actually combined both. "Yes sir
"Eat up," and Danny's flashed out to catch the hard biscuit Zuko had tossed, "You'll need your strength when we cross blades."
"Thanks." Great, not only will there be training, but actually having to duel Zuko promised certain suffering, practice or not. Though he was hungry. As Danny nibbled away at the biscuit, and without Zuko distracting him with promises of pain, Danny again could hear that far away rumbling, feel it as if it were next to his own heart. For Danny to feel that, when the forest's heart was so distant, and asleep for that matter… sometimes it just didn't pay to be half-dead.
They arrived at an inn just as the sun touched the horizon in its descent. They were still in Lockwood but the inn took up what was once a large clearing in the forest. The front of the inn sat on the side of the imperial highway. Kiba and Shino led the horses and the coach down a side path towards the stabling area, whilst Naruto went inside flanked by Zuko and Danny. Upon entering the inn, Danny stayed by the doorway, he casually leaned against the wall with his arms across his chest and his hands far from the longsword at his belt. He kept one eye constantly trained outside on the road, only paying fleeting glances to his boss and his fanatic of a teacher.
As the two made their way to the innkeeper's desk, Naruto noticed something about the common area they were walking through. It was almost empty. This time of day, when the sun was setting and Nocturne drew his cloak across the world, people should be down here singing, drinking, and chasing pretty girls, who also happened to be completely absent.
The only others in the commons was four rough looking men rolling the bones. Two were big fellows, one of whom wore a thick beard that looked to have been pulled from a bear's hide. One was rail-thin with the face of a weasel. And the last one looked like he… he did! The guy actually had a gold loop through his nose. They didn't have money on the table and looked to just be passing the time. None of the four had weapons on them, far as he could tell. The half-elf looked to Zuko at his side. Zuko nodded once showing he had noticed the oddness of the room, and shook his head signaling he hadn't seen any weapons on them either, well nothing to worry about at least.
Zuko hung back while Naruto talked with the innkeeper. He kept one eye, his good eye, trained on the gathered quartet. None of the four seemed to have even acknowledged their arrival which was odd in its own right. Everyone stared at the scar. One of the four, Nose-ring, looked up but noticed Zuko's attention and immediately ducked down lower to his game. Hmmm… odd.
"Okay," Naruto spoke loudly as he ambled back towards Zuko, "Rooms are you and Danny, me and Shino, no dogs allowed inside so Kiba'll stay with Akamaru in the stables, while bandage-face and his mystery boss get their own room."
After the rooms had been allotted Zuko led Danny to the back of the inn, past the stables, where the old clearing ended. Zuko walked ahead into the forest and Danny followed. The trees of Lockwood loomed above him, as if walking among them on foot instead of mounted changed his whole perspective. From the ground up he could realize the age and power of these great oaks and elms to have survived the ages as they had. With his Sight he could see the wisps of life long-passed dancing along and within the old trees, starting from the roots beneath and running to the ends of leaves. The moment Danny stepped past one of the great trees he dropped and rolled to avoid the longsword that nearly took his head. All thoughts of spirits and wisps were replaced with focus and instinct.
"Your reflexes are improving." Zuko's voice contained just a shred of approval but Danny only cared about getting up to face Zuko with sword in hand. The younger man held his own longsword with both hands, at mid-guard, feet spread, and his body angled to present a smaller target. "Stance is good," the scarred easterner uttered before launching himself forward. Zuko's blade flew at Danny's head first, a steel blur with the quickness of a viper. Danny blocked and parried, just barely for the strike held both speed and power. The strength in Zuko's sword-arm still jarred the bones of Danny's arms, even after years of hard training with the master duelist. But Danny didn't think of the past, only of blocking the next strike that came at his torso from the other side. Again Danny parried, and again this time sending Zuko's blade away from a diagonal chest slash. On the training went, Zuko constantly attacking leaving Danny with no opportunity to respond. "This is pathetic Danny."
"Maybe…" Danny was already breathing hard, "we should do this in the morning. You know, after I've had a chance to sleep." Zuko lowered his blade as Danny made what he hoped was his most pitiful yet optimistic expression.
"No." Damn the man. "We're heading out at dawn. There's no telling when another chance to train will come. Now," raising the longsword back up, "attack me Fenton. Attack!" And the training resumed. They went on even when the sun was nearly gone from the sky. The whole session looked very one-sided with Zuko being in constant control of the mock-duel. Any time it looked like Danny had a chance to strike back; it disappeared in a haze of steel and fury. Everything came to a stop when Zuko held the blade's edge a breath away from Danny's neck. Sweat rolled of Danny, and his chest burned worse than after that fifty mile march. Zuko, on the other hand, wasn't even breathing hard. "Go inside. Eat, drink, and rest. We're done for now." When Zuko had said 'done' there was a tone of both finality and disappointment. Danny nodded as he walked stumbling towards a back entrance to the inn. He'd have to ask Shino for some poultices. Despite Danny's exhausting defense some of Zuko's attacks had slipped through leaving half-a-dozen grazes and cuts. "And if you find that Adhakan mongrel tell him he's to drink nothing but water tonight. That goes for everyone."
As the young Fenton entered the inn, Zuko watched after the retreating form. He turned, shaking his head. The boy had potential, he knew it, Naruto knew it, even the mongrel and his dog probably knew it. But still Daniel had fear. Fear of what Zuko didn't know. It couldn't be him, he remembered years ago when he nearly lost his temper on the boy. There had been fear in those eyes yes, but there had been courage as well, and a nerve that refused to back down. But now, when Danny was at such a critical point in his training where was that will of his? It wasn't an aversion to violence or battle, fighting side by side in war-torn wilds and on unguarded roads burned away that possibility. It was almost like… Danny was holding himself back.
Zuko made his own way to check on the stables, make sure the Adhakan hadn't left behind a mess, though with Shino's company the chances were lower. As Zuko turned the corner of the inn he payed one more glance into the wood. The forest was still but for the chatter of the birds and the buzz of the insects.