111 – About roads and Karen

  Steven escorted Caspian around, after getting him his canteen from the inn. The smell of the carriage pony’s had triggered Caspian’s nausea a second time, so Rox drew the lot to get their stabled horses and cart, after first changing clothes. Caspian had simply given her one of his money pouches to draw from. Steven and Caspian had then gone shopping for the food.

  Rox had the help of the stable hands to groom and harness the horses. Caspian had traded out the large four wheel cart for a smaller two wheel one with no bench. She purchased good provender for the ponies and walked out leading them. Rox encountered Steven and Caspian in a market. Caspian looked mostly recovered from his alcohol induced illness.

  They secured the groceries in the cart, picked up a few more, including a water barrel, and went back to the inn. They cleaned up their rooms, and packed everything, taking it down to the cart. Caspian had chosen well, as everything fit with some room to spare. As they cleared out, Caspian paid for the rooms.

  Just before dinner Karen rode up on a laden horse. She looked more like a gaucho than a local, having dressed for the late fall local weather by wearing a woolen poncho, and trousers with boots that came to her knees. Earlier she had not worn a bonnet as many of the local women did. Now she wore a round brimmed ladies sun hat, though the poncho had a hood hanging on its back. Steven and Rox noticed a few knives here and there on her costume. She had a large bedroll, and full saddle bags front and back. Yielding to the rest of the party, Karen dismounted and walked with them, hanging her reins on the back post of the wagon.

  Rox fell into step with Karen as they walked behind the cart and horse. Cyrril lay on the top of the cargo on the cart, and dozed in the evening light. Both women were sure that he was somehow watching them, more specifically watching Karen. They left the city gates and Karen stepped up and asked what the plan was.

  Steven spoke, Caspian having yielded the lead to him all afternoon while recovering from the ale.

  “First, you tell us which way we should be going. Then we go to just before dark, set up camp, eat and turn in. In the morning we eat, break camp, and set out. We pause to unpack lunch, and eat as we go. We rest as the animals need.” Steven recited the schedule Caspian had set since day one.

  Karen nodded. “We can head out this road, take the first south heading fork. Pass through a village in the morning. About mid afternoon tomorrow we turn off the secondary road, and take a small road that will go more or less straight line for another day and a half of walking to the Ring Road. We go south on it until we get to the correct secondary road and then east most of two days to the mountains, and the correct canyon and cave mouth.”

  Karen continued. “Were you riding, we could cut that time in most of half. But as you are not it is an easy five day walk . . .” She waved her hands and let the subject go. Having them on foot actually made it easier for her. She hoped.

  The road traveled into a forest. Young trees were clumped about with a few larger old trees here and there. The trees here were leafy, or they were during the spring and summer. This late in the season, the leaves on the ground did not even crunch anymore. They did not find any dead-falls, but there were stumps that showed the attention of woodsmen. Brush and bushes were scattered about. Birds and other animals were about filling their spots in the cycle of things.

  That evening, they stopped and camped in a bare spot beside the road. The three horses were hobbled together. Karen’s all but immediately went to sleep, the other two settling down shortly after. The cart was next, with a tarp covering the still packed supplies. The Caplan’s tent was set up relatively next to the cart. They did not set up Caspian’s tent. The fire was between the road and the cart.

  Steven and Rox noticed a change in Caspian’s usual magic setup around the camp. Rox could tell that there was an extra spell, and it organized on an inward direction, rather than as a barrier or outward direction. The magic in place, Caspian turned in underneath the cart wrapping himself as usual in his coat and cloak, having already filled and then relieved himself from his canteen twice. Cyrril disappeared for a while, to hunt.

  Steven sat down opposite Karen at the fire, Rox joining him. She watched them easily interacting and felt a mild pang of jealousy. Every other couple she knew behaved according to the formality of Skarg Society Rules. This meant being quite formal in public. The informal times when she interacted with them was usually delivering an inebriated person to their home, or in some other semi-formal setting. As it was, Jasper and his wife were the only couple that Karen ever saw completely informally. Watching the familiarity of Steven and Rox reinforced Karen’s desire to find a man for love, and not just for formal society’s sake.

  Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 139

  “On the road again . . .”

  Karen. She is a mystery. What is her real roll in this story: The help at the fortunate moment? The spy sent to spoil things? Something else? Whatever, we will find out. Just hope it’s not the hard way.

  Rox narrated their adventures to me as we walked. I don’t like swimming in Tahoe in July and August. She said the river was colder than Tahoe in March.

  The morning found them all stiff from sleeping on the ground, and late fall chill. Rox commented that when they had left the elf city, it had been just getting to comfortable late spring or early summer weather. Now here they were in cold weather again.

  “Still in cold weather,” commented Steven.

  Caspian kept quiet, moving little. Karen was most adapted to the situation, so she made little noise about anything; she dressed for walking, instead of riding. This morning at Rox’s permission and Steven’s non-commitment Karen added her saddle and bags to the load on the cart, and her food to the common store. Karen’s horse was too big for the cart harness, so she simply tied it off to the back.

  The day found her walking beside or around Caspian, as Rox and Steven kept to themselves. One couple led the cart the other either ahead or behind it. Though neither Caspian nor Karen knew it, Rox and Steven did this deliberately. Neither had much to say, but soon the mere proximity required them to talk about something. So Caspian started with what interested him: the local plants and minerals. Karen was soon outstripping him on herb lore, within in a limited scope. Caspian demonstrated a larger base, Karen a more focused knowledge of herb and counter, medicinal and edible.

  As and after passing through the farm village Steven and Rox both noticed that Karen walked as if she felt a bit light. Just before lunch Steven deliberately put his sword on, and Rox put her weapon harness on, putting her staff into her quiver. They then watched Karen, and decided that while her physical movement showed she was used to carrying equipment weight, she was a good enough actor to not display any discomfort with being apparently out of uniform.

  Then Karen began dropping the bombshells. “Caspian, do you have any kind of fore-knowledge?”

  This was a non sequitur from their prior conversation about shipping goods.

  Caspian answered before he could catch himself. “Not usually. The last time was a few months ago.” He paused, and asked the follow up question. “Why do you ask?”

  Karen kept walking. “Part of my job. My Guild maintains a general understanding that the local wizards let us know when one of us is to be involved. Of course more times than not, this is not honored. But then we would usually not be sent after them if they were honorable.”

  Caspian’s mind caught up to his feet. “So you are admitting you are an assassin?”

  Karen smirked. “Journeyman in good standing. It’s not something I talk about openly.”

  Karen closed that conversation and turned the conversation to lunch, and the boulder that was the landmark for the road they wanted.

  That evening as they sat around eating dinner, Caspian tried to sit away from Karen. For her part, Karen told a little more. Steven thought to himself, and later told Rox that Karen’s speed at putting forth information was giving Caspian a taste of his own medicine, compared to how forthcoming he was. The most significant difference being that they knew she knew, and Karen admitted to knowing, more than she was willing to tell.

  Karen had first started the business part of the dinner conversation with re-confirming she was a Guild Journeyman. Next she casually mentioned that she had assignment to kill Caspian before she was done. The Caplan’s she had been given the option whether to kill, or not. She was going to wait for Caspian to tell her it was time for her to kill him, and that in the meantime she would do what she could to reunite the Caplan’s with their kids. Karen then told them that she would not tell them who hired her or why, until after this was over, and that this was a Guild policy, so there was no sense pushing her on it. Would they please pass the bread?

  The Caplan’s were a bit surprised by Karen’s forthrightness, and put on edge, but quickly relaxed. Steven summarized their conclusions.

  “However you came to be with us, you are with us now, and so far not a threat. You have had opportunity to kill us, and passed on it. So we may as well be hospitable and friends until whatever happens.”

  Caspian finished his meal, and then set up his tent, cast a spell on it, and crawled inside. Cyrril was unaccounted for, out hunting as usual for this time of day.

  Rox and Steven cleaned up the meal. Karen fed and looked over the horse and pony’s, and then sat back down at the fire. Rox sat down beside her at the fire as Steven put things away, and worked on some bread starter he had picked up in Skarg. It was almost ready to use. He could probably cook it tomorrow.

  “So, you’re an assassin?” Rox started.

  “Yes.” Karen kept herself as matter-of-fact-conversational as she could.

  “Here only for Caspian?”

  “Yes, generally.”

  “So why haven’t you killed him yet? I was not paying full attention when you explained that.” Rox had heard, but wanted to reinforce this.

  “The Guild’s understanding is that most Wizards know when they are to die, a few days before they do so, generally. The honorable ones that are to be assassinated have the grace to tell their assassins when this happens. Sometimes they lie. Either way, Caspian is my contract, and being honorable I expect he will let me know.” Karen continued watching the fire burn down to coals.

  “Caspian prefers the title of Mage. And announcing you are here to kill him seems rather cold blooded to me. Have you killed any other wizards?’

  “Permanently?”

  “Is there any other way?” Rox remembered her fight in the palace.

  “It took you two tries. ‘If a magic user’s body is not permanently decapitated, or otherwise destroyed beyond habitation by the soul, there is a chance that he will come back’.” Karen recited this from her lessons.

  “So how many have you permanently killed?”

  “Three wizards that I was paid for. One for personal reasons.” Karen did not have to try to remember her tally. Ask her about others, and she would have to sort it out.

  “What made the one different?”

  “He was a necromancer. He raped and killed my sister, then raised her to be undead and continued to use and abuse her.” Karen rubbed a spot on her left shoulder without thinking about it.