Fury in the Wind chp 13 - The Satchel

 Carris was still shaking when Kenway handed her a piece of dried deer meat. The encounter had left her trembling and Kenway limping badly, and now, with no idea if there were more riders after them, Kenway had shunned the idea of a fire, and so Carris shook for two reasons.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. Her voice was quiet.

Kenway gingerly sat against a large rock in the small clearing they had found near the base of the mountain. He had to be in so much pain, but he never cried or even grimaced when he thought Carris was looking. He had simply laid in the snow for several seconds after helping Carris scamper back over the edge of the riverbank. He had then told her to buy just a few pieces of dried venison and to meet him by the horses. By the time she had purchased it he was already mounted and had recomposed himself, straightening out his clothes and brushing as much slush and mud off him as he could.

They had ridden for another four hours, Kenway always leading with his face straight ahead. Carris knew he must be suffering. She had offered to stop twice, but he had dismissed the idea. Now, finally having stopped for the night to give their horses a rest before the day or two it would take to get to Thessapon, he spoke.

“You handled yourself admirably.”

“Not bad yourself, for an old scholar,” Carris said. She realized that the humor might come across as insensitive, but Kenway chuckled softly before she could apologize.

“That was my first real fight in years.”

“My first ever.” Carris closed her eyes, but the sight of the captain lashing out with his dagger and those rabid eyes engulfed her visions. She snapped them back open.

“It’s not every day that you have a traitorous soldier hunting you down,” Kenway said. He whistled through his teeth. “Bested a captain of the Astorian Army, we did.”

“We got lucky,” Carris said. She couldn’t shake the feeling of how helpless she had been, hanging from the tree root.

“Nonsense lass,” Kenway said. He tore a chunk of dried meat off and chewed on it thoughtfully. “You met adversity and handled it straight on. I must confess, I could not believe my eyes when I saw this young girl bull-rushing an armed and fully armored captain! And unarmed yourself, no less!”

Carris blushed and couldn’t help the sense of pride that swelled in her chest and made her feel warm all over for just a moment. “I didn’t know what else to do. Something told me that he was dressed as a friend but spoke as an enemy.”

Her mind flashed back to her argument with Malcolm. He was dressed as a friend, but he also had spoken as an enemy. Then again, perhaps from Malcolm’s point of view she had looked the same. That was ridiculous, and Carris kicked herself for thinking that. She had been trying to be a faithful and honest friend. He was in the wrong, and it was his fault that she was gone.

“It raises a number of questions,” Kenway was still speaking.

“Hmm?”

“For one, why was an Astorian captain after us? Two, how did he know that I had been up to the Flatheads? Your village is the only living settlement I came across this past week.”

“They may have told him,” Carris said. “We stay removed from the war, but I can think of a dozen men who would be more than full of themselves if they helped capture a traitor of the Crown.”

“I have no doubt that they may have led him in our direction, but I told no one of what I saw up on those mountains until we spoke last night. No.” He bit his lip. “This man saw me up there.”

“You said you saw someone up there,” Carris offered.

Kenway shook his head. “Whoever or whatever that was saw me plainly. This captain asked me who I was. Remember, he even had to speak to the hostel host to make sure he could find me. No, this soldier was doing the bidding of someone else.” His eyes narrowed. “And he may have others with him.”

“And what about the satchel?”

Kenway’s eyes flittered Carris’s way. “The satchel?”

“Yes. I held onto it. Whatever is inside was important enough that he di-” Her voice drifted off. It was a terrifying thing to say out loud. “When he tried to kill me, he refused to cut the satchel loose, even though it was pinning him down and keeping me in the fight. Whatever inside was important enough that it cost him his life.”

Kenway pushed himself off the rock with a groan. He held out his hand. “Give it here.”

Carris scrambled to her feet, everything a bit achy, especially her arms that had held her up from her doom in the Gnofen. She hurried over to the tree line where their horses were tethered. She grabbed the satchel and hurried back.

“I tried picking the lock with the dagger, but I don’t know what I’m doing.” She offered both the dagger and the satchel. “It’s locked.”

“Not for long.” Kenway had a glint in his eye. He snatched the satchel roughly and hobbled back to his rock.

“You’re not going t-”

CRACK! Kenway smacked the lock down on the stone and a flash of sparks lit up the night for a second. Carris was about to suggest cutting away the fabric with the dagger, but Kenway was already winding it up with the strap. This time the lock struck the rock at an angle and bounced off, landing between Carris’s feet.

“I guess that works,” she said.

 Carris stepped his way as he turned the satchel upside down and caught a scroll that tumbled out. Kenway tossed the satchel on the rock and undid the ribbon holding the scroll. Carris leaned over, trying to make out the writing in the near completely dark. She heard Kenway’s intake of breath.

“What is it? Looks like gibberish.”

“It’s the same as the Flatheads monument.”

“What does that mean?”

Kenway sat on the rock, placing the scroll back in the satchel. “It means that none of this has been a coincidence. There was someone up there that day. Someone that caused the avalanche and killed my friend. And they tried to finish the job with the captain today.”

“Who?”

“Sadorians. When the captain had me at knifepoint, he said that Sadoria would rise again.”

“But he was an Astorian captain,” Carris said.

“Before the war Velhurland was divided by a border, but Sadoria and Astoria were close-knit just like their namesake brothers. Perhaps he was on the Astorian side of The Line when the war broke out. He may well have been working as a spy and traitor since the beginning.”

“But something changed?” Carris was starting to see the picture.

“Something in the Flatheads. This language, or runes, whatever they are, will tell the tale. I must get back to the Red Keep to search through my library.”

Carris twiddled her thumbs. She had never thought leaving home would land her in such a chaotic situation so quickly.

“You aren’t required to involve yourself,” Kenway said. “You can return home. Try to mend things.” He held up the satchel. “This could be a sign of worse things to come. You should be at home with your community.”

“And what would it help?”

Kenway shrugged. “It may help nothing. But do you want to risk your interactions this week being the last thing you ever see of them?”

Carris’s heart was beating faster now. “You speak like they’re in danger.”

Kenway pointed to his knee. “We are already in danger. Who’s to say what could come next?”

“But Potter’s Creek has stayed out of the war. Why would they be involved?”

“Sadoria is desperate. King Ormen will strike hard and fast while the anvil is hot this spring. If Sadoria is to turn the tide, it is now, while we’ve been lulled in the cold of winter. A desperate enemy is the worst kind. And if there is someone up in the mountains, who knows what way their sword will turn.”

Carris’s leg was shaking now. It wasn’t true. Kenway was just fearmongering. There weren’t even any troop camps near Potter’s Creek. The only one was at Hoden’s Pass, and no one was getting through that during the winter. Unless there were more traitors in those mountain regiments.

“I’m coming with you. If I am right, then my friends will be safe when I return. If I am wrong and you are right, then I can’t help them back home anyway. We didn’t work too badly together today. Alone, we would’ve both died.”

“If I hadn’t let you tag along, you would never have been in peril,” Kenway said. It was a bit condescending to say that he had ‘let her’ come along. She had paid for everything thus far, after all. But his voice was soft, as if he was disappointed in himself more than annoyed with her.

“It’s too late to change that now. I’m deciding to continue with you.”

Kenway accepted the statement. “Then we must rest tonight, for we might not do it again for quite some time. But this cold will kill us if we aren’t careful. We should take turns staying awake so as to not forget to ever wake up again. I will take first watch.”

“No,” Carris said, a bit quicker than she had intended to. She blushed. “It’s just that I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep much as is. And you need to rest your leg.”

Kenway had no argument. They decided that three hours was a fair amount, and Kenway wrapped himself up in his horse blanket, the rock his cushion and a cluster of soft pine leaves for a mattress.

Carris sat atop the freezing rock, keeping herself wrapped up with her own blanket, her legs shaking, partly to keep awake and partly to stay warm. She couldn’t believe that she was sitting on that rock, that she had been a part of an assassination attempt, that she had nearly died! Two days ago, her fight with her friends had been the most gut-wrenching experience, and now she was in a race against time for a puzzle she didn’t even understand or know if there was an answer to it.

The cold draped over her, and she did her best to shake it off. Her legs were stiffening up while shaking more violently. For the first hour she was wide awake, but the night’s embrace soon turned into the enemy. She jerked her head up at the sound of a rustle in the woods. She had no idea if she had been asleep for hours, or if she had nodded off for just a moment. Time was all fuzzy. It was still dark, so very dark in these woods. She listened for another sound.

Her mind told her that someone was out there. A second assassin to finish the job that the first could not. She stood up, bringing life back into her legs. She sucked in air as she realized that her legs had fallen asleep. She stomped her boots repeatedly, wincing as the feeling came back in excruciating pain. But she had to stay vigilant. She scanned the area but could barely see the trees fifteen paces away, nothing more than a dark blob rising into the deep blue sky. She could hear the horses nickering. She decided that if they weren’t worried, then she didn’t need to worry either.

That logic was convincing for exactly twelve seconds, then she was pacing again. Her boots crunched in the snow as she stepped toward the horses slowly. She could have sworn she heard a matching footstep. Someone could be just out of eyesight, mimicking her move, creeping closer. She clutched the dagger in her belt. She crouched and waited, trying to stay as still as possible. Holding her breath made her even shakier.

A hand clamped her shoulder, and she shrieked, fumbling for the dagger as she fell back. She crashed into the snow, pulled out the dagger, and accidentally stabbed her own blanket. She put a hand to her chest as she saw Kenway putting up both hands, still on one knee.

“Sorry, sorry!” He whispered. He pointed out to the trees and raised his arms in a silent question.

Carris gulped in the cold air, trying to regain herself. She gingerly pulled the dagger out of her blanket and sat in silence for a few moments. At last she stood, brushing off her pants and shaking out her blanket.

“I thought I heard something.” She shook her head. “My mind is playing tricks on me.”

Kenway smiled weakly. “I did not mean to startle you. Your pacing must’ve woken me. Can’t be too careful out in these woods.”

Carris cupped her head in her hands, a headache forming. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry. I dozed off. I have no idea of the time. The moon has been behind the clouds all night.”

Kenway stood and stretched his arms with a groan. “No matter. I’ll take over watch. Mind giving up your dagger?”

Carris handed it over. “Probably safer for both of us if you have it anyway,” she said.

Kenway chuckled lightly and set up post on the rock. Carris laid down on the pine needle bed. Sleep was at the corner of her eyes in seconds. The heat of the moment cooled off and before she knew it the grey skies were bright, and her bones were as stiff as ice. She didn’t even feel like she had gotten any rest. If anything, she felt more tired than before she had fallen asleep. She unraveled herself out of her blanket to see Kenway already saddled his horse.

“Morning.”

Carris mumbled something along the same lines, trying to stretch out and bring some life back into her achy bones. She felt like she was a hundred years old. Her hair felt and probably looked like a robin’s nest that had been knocked out of a tree and set on top of her head, and she was covered in pine needles.

Kenway was kind enough to take the blanket from her and saddle her horse as she woke up. He led the horses over, holding out the reins for her.

“To Thessapon!”