Dawn of Twilights Past

Chapter IX

Drawing up on the resupply point, they dismounted. The boy came running from the tent in anticipation of business, grinning from ear to ear when he saw the arrival of the three beautiful women.

“My ladies,” he bowed lightly, eyes glittering like stars in the moonlit sky, “how may I help you?”

“Same items as last time, but we have no time to wait for them to be collected,” said Karish, walking Whispering Wind over to the water bucket kept for the mounts. The ride had been grueling. The mounts were thirsty, emptying the buckets in moments. Karish turned around, motioning for all to move with haste. Dar and Arad moved quickly to re-secure the items on the wagon and check harness straps and water for all four horses. Valia and Saeran also moved swiftly to check straps and water mounts.

“Valia,” Karish exclaimed, “are you all right?”

“No,” Valia exhaled smartly, skin pale, clammy sweat forming on her brow in the cool night’s breeze.


“What’s wrong,” Karish continued her query, knowing that Valia knew something the rest of them did not. She was very attentive and inquisitive into items that involved her attention and business.

“That black I mentioned when we first set out, feather light to the touch, is building as the hours pass. I don’t know what’s happening at the temple, but we have to get out of here now,” Valia exclaimed, looking much like she would bolt if given the chance. “All of us together cannot fight what is building in that temple,” she finished with another sharp exhale. Gray Ghost’s eyes flashed white, ears laid back, snorted loudly, picking up on his mistress’s distress and slowly feeling the building danger in the East himself.

The boy returned shortly carrying twice his weight in supplies. Karish took the bags, handing them over to Dar, simultaneously tossing enough coin to cover for all the items supplied to the boy, plus a little extra for his expedience. He bowed graciously like a duke in a court standing before the king, turned and sprinted back inside the far left tent.

The party mounted, moving in a westerly direction at a fast clip. They would stop for a couple of hours at the hottest part of the day, sleep, then roll out for the mountains by mid afternoon, hopefully clearing the desert for the mountains by tomorrow night.

The desert rolled by like a wagon wheel, tediously repeating the same image over and over. The sand billowed in the rear, never touching the cool night sky reflected in the cold blue glow of the moon. The hours passed by, all three women growing weary of the extensive time in the saddle. The men, hardened beyond caring, shifted in their saddles and carried on, a job to be finished.

Hours later, the horizon, slowly illuminated by the early morning sunrise, outlined the mountains in the distance. The cool of the morning departed like a blurring shadow on the desert floor in a flurry of growing temperatures. Sweat coursed down shoulder blades and cleavage alike, formed on brows just to be absorbed by the headdress, already miserably drenched through.

Karish pulled Whispering Wind to a stop, signaling everyone else to stop. “We rest here till the temperature cools.”

Dar and Arad unharnessed the two horses from the wagon and unsaddled their own mounts, supplying food and water before stringing a large white cloth off the edge of the wagon for shade. Valia, shivering violently, followed suit, unsaddling, watering and feeding Gray Ghost. Karish looked at her with concern knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do for her except remove her from the danger. Saeran stood nearby watering Paladine, adding a touch of food. “No overeating for you,” she whispered, patting his neck.

The horses taken care of, the two men grabbed their individual sleeping rolls and laid down under the wagon, avoiding the direct heat of sunlight for a few hours’ sleep. Silently, the women sat themselves under the wagon. It was time to evaluate their next course of action. Too many things had changed since their departure from Sharak. They would have to adjust fire on their plans.

“Valia, what is truly happening in that temple? I need to know if this is going to affect us in the near future or at all,” Karish inquired, quietly taking a sip of water then idly taking small bites from a piece of dried fruit, patiently waiting for an answer.

“Someone has to be told about this madness. This evil is slowly infringing further and further into my mind. There is more than one creature there now. The Toubot holds no magic of their own and the men are not trained to fight this type of battle. They will be hard pressed to eradicate the danger. This type of malicious danger builds like a malignant disease, small in one area then working its way out till it has destroyed everything around it.” Valia shivered in the heat, a fine sheen of sweat reflected off her pale face.

“I have an idea,” Saeran stated abruptly. Both women looked at her closely, waiting for her to continue. Taking a deep breath, “The Toubot need help, the other towns need to be warned, and we still have a shipment of goods sitting in this wagon,” reaching back and tapping the edge of the wheel. “Here is the plan, you tell me if I’m nuts or not. Karish, you return home with the goods, to accomplish two things: One, you will return our income for the year, and two, you can warn all the towns on the west side of the Wild Wood of the impending danger. Valia, you and your people are the only creatures of magic available to help us against this nightmare. I believe you should travel to your people and enlist their help. Now myself,” she exhaled, paused, then continued, “I will return to Sharak and see if I can find or acquire that book from Deiondre. I will also try to find out what is happening in the city without getting myself killed,” she finished her scheme with a smirk.

“I don’t like it,” Karish said, looking intently into Saeran’s eyes. “I don’t like splitting the group up like this, especially in the condition she’s in,” nodding toward Valia, “but I also know that if we don’t do something quickly, something drastic, this danger is going to spread like the plague.

“Valia, can you handle the trip in the state you’re in?”

Valia nodded, “Yes, I can,” she said forcefully, only hoping it was true. This infringement on her mind was taking a toll on her and she didn’t know how long she could hold out. She needed to get back to her people and warn them. Their race was not a large one but they had strong magic. She could only ask. Her family was prominent within the high council of elders. They had collected favors and directed actions on more than one occasion. This would just have to be another.

“Then it’s settled,” Saeran chirped successfully, worry carving into her mind like a perfectly shaped knife. She had no choice, she had to maintain her carefree stance for her two companions’ sake.

“We depart each other’s company here. Pull enough supplies for two days and enough coin for seven. We rest here till that fire ball rolls itself halfway down the sky and we don’t scorch ourselves to death departing this oversized sandbox, then we move like there is no tomorrow. We meet back up in seven days at the Cross Roads Inn sitting east of Wild Wood on Analan Path.” Karish continued with the plan where Saeran had ended. “Let’s get some sleep, we depart here in four hours.” Finishing off the fruit, she rolled over and laid down in the shade. Sleep lingered on the edge of her mind, worry whittling on her like an old man on a stick.

They woke hours later, still miserably hot and sticky despite the cooling afternoon breeze, clothes soaked through from the heat, sand-chaffing skin uncomfortably. The men were already moving and half prepared for departure, having been awake for half an hour. They were proficient. The women took their time, not wanting to experience the direct heat of the sun’s rays anytime soon. They could see the scrub brush in the distance as a black shadow off the mountain’s base. It would take several hours’ travel to reach the base, but once there the cool of Lower Pass would be a blessing in disguise for Karish. The other two would not be so lucky.

They worked quietly, even talking took energy and they needed as much as they could get right now to continue an already grueling trip. Half an hour later Karish told Dar and Arad that they would stay with her through Lower Pass into Wild Wood and ultimately home, at that time they would be released from her service. They nodded in unison, both riding the wagon, saving the mounts for their return trip. Valia and Saeran, mounts saddled, food packed, coin in hand, waited patiently for the signal to move.

Karish rode over to Valia, giving her a big hug, sadness in her heart. She didn’t want to leave but necessity dictated. “Move with haste, return quickly, stay safe,” she mumbled in her ear, “and I will see you at the Cross Roads Inn in seven days’ time.” Moving Whispering Wind around Gray Ghost, the animals nickered to each other with their own good-byes. She moved next to Paladine, reached over and almost yanked Saeran out of the saddle with her affection. “You stay out of trouble, get in, find what we’re looking for and get out,” she said seriously, “I will see you in seven days’ time at the Cross Roads Inn.” She hated good-byes. Let’s make this quick then, she thought to herself, water forming behind her eyes, ready to roll if she would just allow it to. She would not, this was not the time or place. Things were changing in the world of men and they had been tossed right in the middle of the Maelstrom.

They waved their final good-byes. Saeran, turning east back into the Sharak, departed in a flurry of sand tossed from Paladine’s hooves as she spurred him forward, moving rapidly towards their next destination. Valia, placing her hand on Gray Ghost, conveyed her desires directly into his mind. He turned northwest, moving into a ground-eating stride towards home. Watching the sand slowly settle, the two women disappeared into the distance under a haze of fine floating powdery dust. It was time for her to go her own direction. Motioning for Dar and Arad to follow, she spurred Whispering Wind into a trot. The wagon horses would not be able to keep up any sort of fast pace while pulling a heavy wagon through the sand. The mountains, normally forbidding, looked like a toy easily picked up and moved out of the way. They were so much more to her, they were a challenge to be taken and conquered.

At their current pace they would reach the base by midnight, rest there, take the mountains at midmorning in the cool morning air filled with wild flowers layering the mountain valley and lake. Ah, the lake, she thought with a sudden pout to her posture, there would be no lake this time. The wagon had to be taken on Lower Pass. It was the only trail wide enough to handle a wagon pulled by two horses.

She was curious about the brothers. They had said very little throughout the whole trip, normally talking to each other in their own guttural tongue. A conversation might be the perfect thing to take her mind off the departure of her two best friends and the dangers rearing their ugly heads in the east due to an overambitious young man.

Slowing in order for the wagon to catch up, “Is this your normal job,” she asked, trying not to be obtrusive. They stopped talking, looking over intently to catch what she had just said.

Arad took the lead, “Yes, my lady. We are hired for our skill and discrepancy for many jobs.” He paused to find the words to continue, accent thick, “We make an honest living, unlike most who come from our land,” nodding to Dar as he emphasized the point about his people.

“Do you have a family to go home to?” Karish was honestly interested in these two very young, experienced men.

“No, we don’t live the lifestyle of women, children, goats, and crops.” Arad shrugged, “We don’t miss it either, maybe later when we build a home and have money.”

The air felt suddenly cooler. Throughout their conversation the mountain had placed itself in front of them, casting its shadow behind its shoulder. She looked up, awed at its beauty. Black scrub brush walked its way up to them from the base of the mountain. “This is it, gentlemen. I’m going to scout ahead. Set camp and I will be back shortly.”

Dar and Arad went to work with a purpose, not worried about the woman in white. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. They stopped, dismounted and took care of the horses first. Horses were their transportation, their livelihood. The wagon was maneuvered in order to place themselves between the wagon and the mountain. Any fire built behind the wagon would not be seen from the desert, since the desert allowed a thief or cutthroat to see for miles in any direction, allowing for a possible ambush later. They were settled in, heating water in one pot and stew in the other when Karish returned.

“Absolutely nothing to worry about, gentlemen. The path is clean and well traveled, nothing out of the ordinary,” she said while sitting herself on her blanket pulled off the backside of Whispering Wind’s saddle, which she had just placed next to the wagon. This was a good thing right now when too many other things were going askew and all at the same time.

They ate quietly, striking up a conversation over the flickering yellow and orange flame of the fire, glowing embers giving off heat in waves. Conversation was light; family, horses, and travels. They didn’t hold off long after the meal to roll into their blankets, tired, wanting only the blissful oblivion of sleep. The morning sun caressed Karish’s face lightly like a child trying to wake its mother without upsetting her. She rolled over, looking out over the desert, so desolate, death mirrored in every granule of sand.

As usual, the two men were up, quietly sitting around the fire, making water for tea and leftovers from last night. Smiling, they motioned for her to join them. How amiable she thought, how could you not like these guys. Placing her blanket around her shoulders, she walked over to the fire and poured herself a cup of hot water for tea. They had laid the leaves out on a cloth next to the fire. She slid a few into the glass, watching the water bruise with color, the aroma enticing.

Following the meal, Dar started cleaning up the site. He seemed to be the cook and the cleaner of the two, while his brother Arad continued talking to her, asking her about her home and why she selected to come to a place that would easily rob you as sell anything to you as an outsider. She indicated her outfit and he knew she blended in pretty well. She was also very capable of handling the ousted of society.

They took the mountains at midday, Karish in the lead, the wagon several wagon lengths behind. At their current pace they would reach the halfway point by dusk. They plodded on, afternoon then evening rolled by, uneventful, almost boring. Karish selected the dismount point several feet off the trail on a slightly sloping hill. There wasn’t a lot of extra space to move around, but there was enough grass and water for the mounts and a birdbath for her. They ate dried beef, munching thoughtfully, looking over the fire at the small open area just off the path. There were no other places to rest from that point on to the end of the trail departing the mountain range.

Night wore on slowly. They took their fairwells and rolled into their blankets for another night under the stars, a light bubbling of water in the backdrop, crickets chirping loudly. Sleep came quickly, almost as quickly as the morning and another day on the trail.

The next day they traveled through the pass, uneventful, conversation almost non-existent; everything had already been said over the last two days. They cleared the mountains that day, rolling up the trail out onto Wanderer’s Path. Rushing water from Tumbling River was loud in the distance; flowers were closing for the evening, waiting for the caress of the sun’s rays on the morn to show their flashy colors again.

They set up camp in the same place the three women had used when they reached the mountain pass the first time. Grass swayed lightly in the afternoon breeze. Worries from the previous days were forgotten in the peace of the forest. Karish, backwards planning, knew that it was only going to take half a day to reach Salen, her hometown, from here. She had already utilized two and a half of those seven days for travel through the mountains. She still needed to warn Kalil, a full day’s ride south of Salen, and Mount, a full day’s ride north of Salen; total travel time, three days, added to the two and a half, almost three, she already had. Since her end destination was the Cross Roads Inn, she would travel down to Kalil then back up to Mount. With this plan of action, her last stop would be close to Analan Path and the Cross Roads Inn. “I will make the Inn a day early and have everything ready for Saeran and Valia when they arrive. Ingenious,” she thought, crossing her fingers, hoping that nothing goes wrong.

Morning arrived in a flurry of color and motion. A cool breeze caressed skin and rustled garments across bodies. Karish had changed back to her travel cloths. Both men looked at her in astonishment, closed their mouths, composed themselves and reverted back to complete professionalism. This woman was more than beautiful. It was a shame everyone could look at her like a prized cow. A woman that beautiful should be devotedly doted on by a single strong capable man, not drooled on by every man that had a chance to look at her body and face. But this was a cultural difference and they should be used to it by now, strange West Landers.

Breakfast consumed, mounts saddled, both men were looking forward to dropping off the wagon and riding home. The money had been good, they would be able to start a small business of their own instead of supporting someone else’s business for a fraction of the pay.

Karish had double-checked the wagon, verifying nothing was missing or broken. Quickly patting the wagon horses, eyeing up legs and bodies for injuries sustained in their travels, they looked healthy and ready to go, especially after last night’s consumption of rich green grass and fresh water. Walking back to Whispering Wind, she mounted, motioning for the men to follow. Home was right around the corner, they would be there by nightfall.