The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

Her road had grown much more difficult since the civil war broke out, but she was smart enough to keep from being seen. She avoided cities and the major roads, as we had done. Some time ago, she had visited Taitou and learned that we had been there, but she left before we returned. Now she guessed we were lurking somewhere in the nearby wilderness. That was where she had been searching for the past week. But she did not have my skill at finding paths through the wild, and so the going had been slower. She slept in ditches and under trees, muttering complaints about the fact that Mag and I would not sit still and let her catch us.

But because she was being so careful, and quite by accident, she discovered the Shades.

She was leagues north of Taitou, creeping through a wood called the Brackenbough (which, I am sure, would have amused Dryleaf greatly). Day was fading to night. Sheer luck kept the Shades from seeing her. She was only a few spans from the edge of their encampment deep in the woods, but she did not know it.

Suddenly a thought struck her. We might have set up a camp and built a fire, and mayhap she could see the smoke from far off if she climbed a tree. She tied off her horse and found the tallest tree she could. Grunting and cursing, she hauled herself up hand over hand until she had cleared the tree line surrounding her perch. And just as she had hoped, she saw the smoke of a campfire.

But then she saw many more columns of smoke. Not just one campfire. Nearly a dozen.

The rider frowned. She knew the fires were not from Mag and me. But now she was curious why so many people should be camped deep in the Brackenbough.

She made her way back down to the ground, but she did not mount her horse again. Instead, she set off into the woods on foot. From her belt she drew her short sword and her club, one in each hand. Then she moved forwards with every bit of stealth she could summon.

But she never reached the camp. Two figures appeared in the forest ahead, forcing her to stop.

The rider drew up behind a tree. She stuck out one eye, taking a few moments to study the figures before her. They stood a span apart so that they could just see each other through the woods.

Sentries. But what were they guarding?

Then the rider noticed their outfits of grey, with blue cloaks pulled tight about them.

She knew what that meant. She had seen Shades before. From the campfires, it seemed to be a decently sized force. Mayhap two hundreds. That was more than the rider had ever seen in one place.

“Dark below,” she grumbled.

She slid behind the tree again and then snuck away south, quiet as a rather large mouse. Soon she had rejoined her horse and untied it from the tree branch.

Now she had a choice to make. This discovery troubled her, and she could not simply ignore it. Such a force of Shades moving through the kingdom could threaten all of Dorsea, and that was more important than Mag and me.

Taitou was to the south, and she knew that town held a small garrison of Mystics. If anyone could deal with this situation, the redcloaks could.

The rider blew out a loud, exasperated sigh, sending it misting up into the wintry air. Then she climbed into the saddle.

“Come on, boy,” she said, patting her horse’s neck. “We make for Taitou. One more delay I will take out on the wanderers’ hides, whenever we find them.”

Dryleaf went about his business in Taitou, while Mag and I set to ours in the encampment. We had drilled our squadrons on packing their kit, but they still needed our attention and an occasional sharp word. By the time the sun was lowering towards the horizon, I was nearly worn out. Dryleaf found Mag and me just as we had reunited and started supper.

“I hope your day was fruitful,” he said.

“The only fruit borne today was a thistle,” I said, “and I feel its needles all up and down my back. Why is it I can travel hundreds of leagues with the two of you and feel fine, but after spending one day helping others prepare for a journey, I feel ready to quit?”

Dryleaf chuckled. “Ask any parent if they were ever as tired before children as they were after.”

Mag smirked. “We are their officers, not their parents, and they will have a rude awakening if they forget it. But what of you? What were you able to learn?”

The old man shook his head with a smile. “I should have predicted this, but the Guild of Lovers already knew about the march. They have a wagon ready to follow the army with some half-dozen lovers. Two of my friends, Orla and Nikau, will be coming along. In any case, the lovers must have heard of it from some of the Mystics who are closest in Kun’s council—who I would have difficulty befriending, of course. It appears the march was a complete surprise to most of the redcloaks. Even Tou had not known of it.”

I met Mag’s gaze. “That means Kun was afraid of word getting out,” I said.

“And that likely means he is going after the Shades,” said Mag, tapping her fingers on her thigh. “This is something, at least. You could learn nothing else?”

“Only that we are marching north,” said Dryleaf. “No one knows exactly where.”

“North,” I mused. “I know of nothing important that way. Other than the town where you grew up, Mag.”

Her mouth twisted towards a frown, as though she had almost said something but then thought better of it. “That place is anything but important.”

Just then, Tou approached us. He gave us all a quick nod and touched Dryleaf gently on the shoulder to let him know he was there.