Arutha reined in his horse and the others halted. “We are a half day’s ride from the city. If we’re not overtaken by sundown, we can count ourselves free of pursuit. We need then only worry about what may lie ahead.” He paused, as if what he was about to say was difficult. “Behind all the bantering words, you’ve chosen danger, all of you.” He looked from face to face. “I count myself fortunate for such friendship.”
Jimmy seemed the most embarrassed by the Prince’s words, but he fought back the urge to quip. “We have—had a vow in the Mockers. It’s from an old proverb: “You can’t be sure the cat is dead until the cat is skinned.” When a difficult task lay ahead and a man wished to let others know he was willing to stick it out to the last, he’d say, “Until the cat is skinned.” He looked at the others and said, “Until the cat is skinned.”
Laurie said, “Until the cat is skinned,” and the statement was quickly echoed by Gardan and Martin.
At the last, Arutha said, “Thank you all.” He spurred his horse forward and the others followed.
Martin fell in beside Laurie. “What took you so long?”
“I was held up,” said Laurie. “It’s somewhat complicated. We’re going to be married.”
“I know that. Gardan and I were waiting for Lyam when he came back from your room. She could, I think, do better.” Laurie’s face betrayed his discomfort. Then Martin smiled slightly as he added, “But then, maybe she couldn’t.” Leaning over, he extended his hand. “May you always be happy.” After they shook, he said, “That still doesn’t account for the delay.”
“It’s a bit delicate,” Laurie said, hoping his future brother-in-law would let the matter drop.
Martin studied Laurie a long moment, then nodded in understanding. “A proper good-bye can take a while.”
NINE - Forest
A band of horsemen appeared on the horizon.
Black figures stood outlined against the reddish sky of late afternoon. Martin sighted them first, and Arutha ordered a halt. Since they had left Krondor, this was the first band of travelers they had encountered obviously not traders. Martin squinted. “I can’t see much at this distance, but I think them armed. Mercenaries perhaps?”
“Or outlaws,” Gardan said.
“Or something else,” Arutha added. “Laurie, you’re the most traveled among us. Is there another way?”
Laurie looked about, getting his bearings. Pointing toward the forest on the other side of a narrow strip of farmland, he said, “To the east, about an hour’s ride from here, is an old trail that leads up into the Calastius Mountains. It was used by miners once, but it’s little traveled now. It will lead us to the inland road.”
Jimmy said, “Then we should make for that trial at once. It seems those others have tired of waiting for us to come to them.”
Arutha saw the riders on the horizon start in their direction. “Lead the way, Laurie.”
They left the road, heading for a series of low stone walls that marked the farms’ boundaries. “Look!” shouted Jimmy.
Arutha’s companions saw the other band had reacted by spurring their mounts into a gallop. In the orange glow of the late afternoon, they were black figures outlined against a grey-green hillside.
Arutha and the others took the first low stone wall in a smooth jump, but Jimmy was nearly thrown. He managed to right himself without losing too much ground on the others. He said nothing but wished fervently there weren’t three more walls between himself and the forest. Somehow he managed to keep seated and still not be far behind when Arutha’s party entered the woods.
The others were waiting for him and he reined in. Laurie pointed. “They can’t overtake us, so they parallel us, hoping to intercept us north of here.” Then he laughed. “This trail is northeast bound, so our nameless friends will have to travel an additional mile of brush-clogged woodlands to cut our trail. We’ll be long past them when they do. If they can find the trail.”
Arutha said, “We still must hurry. We’ve little light, and the woods are not safe at the best of times. How long to this road?”
“We should be there two hours after sunset, maybe a little sooner.”
Arutha motioned for him to lead the way. Laurie turned his horse and they all moved deeper into the rapidly darkening forest.
Dark boles bulked on both sides. In the gloom, with scant illumination from middle and large moons filtering down through high branches, the woods seemed a surrounding solid. Throughout the night they had been picking their way along what Laurie insisted was a trail, some ethereal thing that suddenly appeared a few feet before Laurie’s horse and just as quickly vanished a few feet behind Jimmy’s. To Jimmy one patch of ground looked much like another, except that the meandering way Laurie chose seemed to have slightly less debris cluttering it. The boy constantly looked back over his shoulder, seeking signs of pursuit.
Arutha ordered a halt. “We’ve seen no signs of being followed. Perhaps we’ve shaken them.”
Martin dismounted. “Not likely. If they have a skilled tracker among them, they’ve found our spoor. They’ll be moving as slowly as we are, but they’ll be keeping pace.”