The brigand flicked the catch and levered the stopper open. He sniffed at the flask suspiciously. "Urgh," he said.
Amber watched in horror as he upended the flask, tipping the contents out onto the ground. "No!" she cried.
Miro went into action.
He sprang forward and his fist clipped under the bald brigand's chin, while his other hand grabbed at the flask.
The brigand fell down, clutching his head, and suddenly his sword was in one of Miro's hands, the flask in the other. Two of the bald man's followers charged, but the cart was in the way, preventing the fourth man from coming forward.
Miro ducked a slashing sword and thrust into one brigand's chest. As his opponent fell he turned to the next, the man with the club, attacking furiously until he opened up the third man's throat. The fourth man came around the back of the cart, his sword raised and face twisted with a combination of fear and rage.
Tungawa was in the way. The alchemist raised his hands, but the sword came forward to enter his chest, penetrating through the black robe.
Miro twisted and ran at the last brigand before the man reached Amber. He blocked an overhead blow and slashed his opponent's chest, cutting through the flesh and sending a spray of blood into the air.
Miro's arms lowered and he panted, falling to his knees.
Amber came forward. "Tungawa!" she cried.
Blood soaked the front of the fallen alchemist's robe. Amber heard scurrying behind her and saw the bald brigand rise to his feet. She saw the thoughts cross his face as he realised he was the last of his men standing, and then he turned and ran.
Tungawa rolled to his back and stared at the sky. He coughed, and redness splattered from his mouth onto his lips and chin.
Amber felt Miro beside her.
"My lung has been punctured," Tungawa gasped. "I can feel it filling with blood. I won't last long."
"The cure," Miro said. He shook the flask but it was empty. "You have to tell us how we can get more."
The old alchemist's lips curled in a smile, and his eyes began to glaze. "Reach into my robe. Look for a book."
Miro felt around inside the blood-soaked robe until he found a leather-bound book, thick, but small enough to fit in a pocket. There was blood on the outside, but the pages were protected.
"The knowledge you need is in there. Find the most gifted of your loremasters and give them this book. Not only does the book detail the cure you need, it contains our greatest secrets. When you give it to them, tell them this."
Tungawa's voice faded, and both Amber and Miro leaned in close.
Finally he spoke again, little more than a whisper. "Tell them everything is toxic, and small amounts of things considered poisonous can do good, while large amounts of safe substances can kill. For every bad there is good. My Guild has helped as many as we have hurt. I hope someone remembers this."
A gurgling rattle came from Tungawa's chest, and his eyes stared sightlessly. The alchemist was dead.
42
THEY left the alchemist where he lay, along with the three bodies of the brigands. With no time to lose, they took the cart along the road until they saw the bridge Tungawa had spoken of.
It was a narrow span of stones, and with the wide river surging below the oxen were reluctant to cross, but they eventually got the cart over the bridge. The road ahead was infrequently travelled, the alchemist had said, but if they continued south, passing through the forested hills, they would reach the small border town of Rengwin. From then on, they would be in Veldria.
Miro and Amber travelled day and night, one of them always with the reins held firmly in their hands. They could see the oxen were flagging, and gave them short rests, but always they drove on, pushing south, desperately trying to outrace the army and reach Emirald before the enemy.
It was impossible to say what Rengwin had once been like. The town was in ruins, buildings burned to the ground and timbers lying across the road. The strewn remnants of houses blocked the streets so that they couldn't take the cart any further. The army was definitely ahead of them.
From here on, they would be walking.
Their footsteps angled slightly towards the setting sun, heading south but with a westward bent, a path that would intersect the great road connecting Emirald to the main Gokani border crossing. Miro and Amber both kept a keen eye out for it.
Shading his eyes, Miro saw the road ahead. "Look!" he pointed.
Like a river of grey stone the road pointed directly south. In that direction was Emirald. Miro only hoped the Emir would keep his promise.
"I can't see the army on the road," Amber said.
"Neither can I. I don't think we've passed it though, which is concerning. You saw Rengwin. The enemy must be ahead of us."
"We should shadow the road. If we keep it in sight and travel south there's less chance of running into trouble."