The Sworn Knight by Robert Ryan (novels to read txt) 📕

She surprised even herself then, and hugged them. She wouldnot argue against their decision.

“Then let us be away,” she said. If they must endure dangerby being with her, then at least she could do whatever was possible to protectthem. And the sooner they were on the move again, the safer they would be.

They headed off. As usual, she led them, and she employed allthe skills she possessed to try to hide their trail. But where they were now,this was not easy, nor would it fool a hound who hunted them by scent. So,while she tried various things, she mostly spent her time finding the easiesttrail ahead. That would spare their energy, and perhaps keep them ahead of theenemy.

Alithoras was alive around her as she walked. Perhaps it wasthe fear of impending death, or worse. Perhaps it was the joy of traveling newlands that she had never seen before. But she loved the grassy slopes and thelittle forests, no bigger than a farm was back in Dromdruin. She loved it all,and she breathed deep of the fresh air and luxuriated in the wilderness. Therewas no evidence of long-ago battles. She saw nothing that even indicated peoplehad lived here. Ever. The land was wild and free.

They passed by herds of aurochs, grazing on the verge ofwoodlands. Hawks hovered in the air, gliding to unseen currents and remainingalmost motionless except for their heads that swiveled from side to sidesearching for food. In patches of bare dirt, she saw the tracks of a badger anda fox.

All around the grass was green and lush, and even as shesmelled a strong scent and recognized it, a covey of quail burst from nearlyunderfoot and hurled themselves with a whoosh of wings in the air. They did notfly far, but landed in cover again.

Her heart raced, and it kept racing as they walked. It wasno time for surprises, but the wild was like that. Those who traveled in it gotused to its ways, and accepted them. Just as they accepted the dangers. Theycould break a leg far from home, or twist an ankle or fall down a steepembankment. But those risks were worth it, many times over.

She thought of Faran, and wished he could see this land. Hewould like it. She wondered where he was. He could not be that far away yet.Perhaps where he was, it was similar to this.

At least he was not in danger though. That was a thoughtthat gave her strength. Savanest had come after her, and whatever came of thatFaran would be safe. So as much as it hurt to be away from him, it gave her joyas well.

They moved down a slope, angling their way along a gulley,and the sun warmed their backs. She had changed the direction of their normaltravel.

Asana drew level with her. “What are we looking for, Ferla.”

She could see in his eyes that he had guessed the answer.

“I’m hoping to find a good place to defend. We cannot hide,for the were-hound will find my scent.”

Asana was not surprised. She had been right, and he knew.But he was wise enough to explore all options first before committing to that.

“What if we found water though? A creek or a stream does notseem unlikely in this land.”

That was certainly true. And earlier she had wished justthat herself. But then she had considered her way through it.

“In the past,” she replied, “I have used water to hide ourtrail. But it didn’t work, did it?”

Asana frowned at that. It was something he had not realizedbefore. She could not blame him for that. She was the one with the trackingskills, and the better knowledge of the wild. She glanced at Kubodin though,and saw that he knew.

“How could the were-hound follow a scent through water?”

“It’s widely believed,” Ferla said, “that water can hideyour trail. But it’s a myth.”

Asana raised an eyebrow.

“It’s true,” Ferla continued. “Walking through a body ofwater can fool a human tracker. At least sometimes. A human tracker relies oneyesight and spotting the trail. The better ones can get inside the mind ofthose they track as well, figuring out intuitively what choices they mightmake.”

“But a dog?” Asana asked.

“A dog tracks by scent. Each of us leave our scent behindwherever we go, and that includes in water. If we were in steep country, andfound fast running water somewhere, maybe we could use that. But we’ll have nosuch luck here. Yet even with swift-running water, a dog would just pick ourscent up on the other side.”

They kept walking, and Asana thought on what she said.

“It’s not really possible to evade them then?”

Ferla shook her head. “Not really. Not by hiding our trailor scent. Hounds just can’t be fooled that way. There is another way, but itwon’t work for us.”

“What other way is that?”

“We could try to outrun them, for a fit human can do so overa long distance and tire the dog out. We might just be fit enough to do that,but not in armor and carrying weapons.”

“You know a lot about this,” Asana said.

“Tracking and hunting is not much different from fighting.They are all skills, and if you practice and have good teachers you can learn alot that most don’t know.”

They came out of the gully and walked over a flat area,although the land rose ahead of them again in another slope.

“I assume,” Kubodin said, “that you’ve dismissed the idea ofleaving our weapons behind and running?”

He looked like he hoped very much that that was the case.

“I have. All our weapons and armor mean too much to us. Butmore importantly, running is not certain to bring us to safety. And if not,what then? We would still end up facing the enemy, but would be defenselessagainst them.”

They tackled the slope ahead of them, moving up swiftly withlong strides. Kubodin dismounted from his mule, giving the animal a chance toclimb without carrying extra weight.

“Then there’s nothing for it but to do as you suggest. Wehave to find a place where we can make a stand. Do you have any ideas on that?”

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