Chapter 7: A Possible Future

When honor and duty beckons it is best to heed the call or momentum, and the unseen qualities of this world's Serene Minor will weep no more for you and your kind. If you want the universe to share its graces with you, you must first be willing to risk all. So states the Ancient Texts of the Enlightenment Age.

They rest as long as they dare. It is true they have no specific timeframe in mind, but to move without purpose often opens the door for uninvited guests. Although Kyle's leg is well on its way to being badly infected, they have no choice but to get moving. Even though they are not sure what, if anything, can be done once they finally do find medical help, and even further down the road, confront the Masters.

Lynx finds an herb that resembles one of its mountain cousins, and mixes it with saliva to put it on Kyle's leg and chest and on Tork's arm to try and draw out the poison.

Lynx clarifies, "I am not sure if it will work or not, because it is a little different than the herb I readily find in the Pheminol Mountains, but it is worth the try, and my Mother has always seen fit to provide for her children."

Once again, as is often the way of things, life makes the choice for you. That philosophy will be repeated many times over the coming future, for it holds true for a great many things.

Maddox walks over to a tree and breaks off a branch with his mighty arms for Kyle to use as a crutch. He smoothes it down and makes it as comfortable as possible. "Try this, my brother."

Kyle wraps a piece of cloth around the part he will tuck under his arm. "Yes, thank you, Maddox."

The journey that lay ahead of them is going to be, without a doubt, long and arduous. With their feet and boots dried out, except for Lynx, he has no need to wear boots over his hooves, and their wounds temporarily treated, they embark out on their quest once again in search of ... Well, they really don't know exactly what, but they are sure they will know it when they see it. Hopefully.

It is not long before Kyle and Tork start to lag behind. It is becoming painfully obvious that they are not going to make it much further without some kind of medical attention. If not for the fact that Kyle and Tork are wizards, who naturally draw in energy from creation, they probably would have already succumbed to their injuries. The marsh, which is a dank and humid place for bacteria to thrive in, is full of unknown natural hazards that can act like poisons under the right circumstances.

The fact that they are still covered from head to toe in the sticky smelly stuff does not help matters. Plus, not to mention the longer they go without food and clean water, the less their bodies will be able to fight the infections.

Lynx offers, "I will go forth and search the forest for food and drink, and to see if I can find safe shelter and the badly needed help for you and Tork." Kyle thankfully agrees, "Yes, I think that would be a must at this point. Normally we would not want to split our forces, but our choices are getting slim. Be on the watch, and may the Heavenly Gods walk with you. Here take my water flask, it is almost empty."

Maddox adds, "See if you find horses to ride. At this pace it will take a month or more to reach the Rye Mountains."

As Lynx is leaving he says reassuringly in his speedy translated voice, "I will scout and find what we need. Stay well, my new found friends, and watch for my return." As Lynx disappears into the forest, Kyle, Maddox and Tork resume their journey heading south towards the Rye Mountains and their destiny.

They travel another half of a day, though it is difficult to tell the passage of time as the canopy of the forest often hides the movement of the sun, when off in the distance they hear horses coming their way. The canopy in the older parts of the forest often reaches fifty paces above ground level with multiple layers, and the roots of the massive trees are bigger than men as they eventually disappear into the ground. This close to the mountains the yearly rainfall is massive and, the lush green mossy forest oftentimes looks more like a rainforest rather than the ancient woodlands forest that it actually is.

They are not sure if it is Lynx or if it is someone else, so they take cover behind several fallen trees and a pocket of a local bush that has red branches and green leaves that painfully stick you if you are not careful. The bushes seem to be prevalent in this part of the forest, which seems to be dominated by ancient trees. The bushes may only stand at no more than a pace and a half tall, but at times they grow in such clusters that they become so dense that they virtually make a wall. In fact, back in the days before the modern-day fence it was used for that very purpose.

They wait anxiously for the riders to pass. To assume anything in battle, or any life-threatening situation, often invites defeat. The difference between life and death is usually no more than a heartbeat or two.

It is a patrol of Clan Soldiers. About twenty of them, Kyle calculates. They are riding slowly and deliberately looking over every mark of territory they ride past. As they are riding by just off in the distance on what appears to be a recently worn path, they stop and most of them dismount their horses. Some go off behind trees to do their thing, while others just stand around talking, and still others start walking off into the forest in different directions as if they are looking for something.

One is headed right towards the Companion's camouflaged area.

"Hey, Bracken, you smell that? It smells like something died!"

"Yeah, Harren, what the abyss is that smell?"

Just when it seems he is going to stumble right over them, this rather large Clan Soldier, who must be in charge, because when he yells, "Let's go!" all the Clan Soldiers do an immediate about face and get on their horses and slowly ride away.

As the Clan Soldiers are just disappearing into the woods a voice from behind freezes them, "They are like that all through out the Blackheart Forest."

Kyle, Maddox and Tork all just about jump out of their skins. They draw their weapons and quickly turn around, and it is Lynx standing there with a grin on his face.

"I did not mean to startle you, my friends, but I dared not make a sound while they were there"

Tork whispers, "You scared the Heavenly Gods right out of me, Lynx. Do not do that, my energetic and rambunctious friend."

"Sorry, my young friend. I will try not to do it again."

Kyle inquires, "What did you find out there, and you say there are Clan Soldiers all over the area, huh?"

"Yes, they most definitely are all through out this region. I heard talk amongst them that there are going to be three or four Masters coming to lead them. However I did find a ranch a couple of hours up ahead, but I could not go in for there were Clan Soldiers there."

"Do they have horses?" Maddox asks hopefully.

"Yes, the ranch does have horses. Also I did find a stream and some edible plants to get us by until we make it there, or wherever. Here drink."

Maddox wrinkles his nose in disgust and says, "Where this stream. I need bath. I smell like an Aug."

Kyle agrees without trying to seem to, "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. We definitely can all use a bath, and maybe the fresh water will be good for Tork's and my infections. Lead the way, Lynx."

So as commanded, Lynx leads the way. It is not far, but they do have to dodge another patrol of Clan Soldiers. When they get there it is a nice clear stream, and deep enough to wade in. The forest is thick right up to the bank of the stream, and it is getting dark so it should be safe enough to use.

As they start to get undressed to go in, Kyle takes off his now disgustingly dirty brown cloak and dark green shirt, and for the first time the others see the scars that the wizards' trial and other battles have left on him. Scars from both burns and long gashes tell more about this man's character than anything that could be said. The only thing that speaks louder is the fact that he is here walking the walk, not just talking the talk as many pretenders often do.

Sir Kyle Whiteknight, the Centurion Wizard from the land of Parrethia, who stands two paces tall, whose medium length brown hair and full sized mustache accentuates his light brown eyes with golden highlights running through them, is a man, nothing less, nothing more. You can see the golden power of the Heavenly Gods in his eyes, which look both kind and gentle with a strong determination emanating from them. Yes, the power of the universe flows through him. Through knowledge and understanding and a bloodline long allied with magic, he is just a man. That is all you can ever ask of any male, just be a man.

As he takes off his shirt it sticks to his wound, and his chest is a deep red from the infection and his thigh looks much the same. The plant Lynx found earlier stopped the throbbing, but all of them know it is not going to be long before Tork's and his infections set into the blood stream, and then there will be almost nothing anybody can do for them.

They clean themselves and their clothes, and yes, the fresh cool water seems to help their wounds a little, but it does more for their spirits and auras. Still, some kind of medicine is going to be needed before the wounds will go away entirely.

As they are getting ready to move on, Lynx has concocted a new natural remedy that he seems more sure of this time, because they are more like roots and plants that are from his mountains. "It will not cure the wounds, but it will at least slow up the progress, and maybe even stop it from going any further."

After Lynx puts the remedy on and wraps it up with some cloth, and their clothes are at least somewhat dry, they head out in the direction of the ranch that Lynx spotted that lay just up ahead now.

They travel for some time, and the sun is just getting ready to come up when they come through some thick under brush, and there in the distance they see the ranch. They see no Clan Soldiers, in fact the place looks deserted, but they will approach with caution.

Even though the morning sun is up by now, the forest still holds onto its shadows as if it fears the rising of a new day, but at least they can tell the outline of the ranch and the fact that the ranch has been made right in the thickest part of the forest. They have cleared away the trees. The effort must have taken generations. There is a great open area with horses and other animals on it. They want to get into the heart of the place before the sun is fully up, so they cautiously start moving in.

They are hiding behind a barn when they first hear what sounds like the stirrings of humans. A man of some size walks out of the house and goes into the barn they are hiding behind. Kyle and Maddox go around to the front of it, waiting for the man to walk out.

Kyle whispers to Maddox, "Grab him and clamp your hand over his mouth until we get him calmed down. We do not wish to harm him."

Just then the man walks out. Maddox grabs him and pulls him behind the barn. The man is very strong, but Maddox is not going to let any human have the satisfaction of being stronger than him, so he holds on for dear life.

Kyle comes up to the front of the stranger, who stands several marks taller than he, and tries to calm him, "We are not going to hurt you. Please, we just need some supplies and information, okay!"

The man nods his head in acknowledgement, but in his eyes you can see he is furious.

"First of all we need to know if there are any Clan Soldiers about?" The man shakes his head no. "Now listen closely, are you friends with the Clan Soldiers or the Masters?"

The man shakes his head no again, but you can tell that he does not like being accused of helping the Masters. Kyle knows even if he is in league with the Masters he would not tell them, so he just wanted to see his reaction, and the man's reaction makes Kyle trust him a little more.

"Because this is your place and your land I am going to trust you. Now, my friend is going to take his hand off your mouth. I suggest you do not make any unnecessary noise, because my friends and I are not in the best of moods, alright." The man nods his head yes.

When Maddox takes his hand from off of the man's mouth the man says, "Are you the ones the Clan Soldiers were here looking for last night?" The Companions look at each other, and then Kyle looks back at the man and shrugs his shoulders, "Yes, most likely. We have a minor disagreement with them about how they treat people."

The man laughs heartily at first and then becomes quiet, "My name is Cantorso, and this is mine and my family's place, and we have lost many friends and family to the Masters. They are no friends of ours. You are most welcome here and you will get your supplies."

When the man speaks those beautiful words, Kyle thinks back to before he came to this land when the other Centurion Wizards of Parrethia said that he would get no help from the people of this land, because their wills had been broken. He thinks to himself how wrong they were, and only if they could see how many good hearted people still live in the land of Owen they would have come along to fight the evil, too. Or at least Kyle wants to believe that. But it is too late for that now, because he is here to do it alone. But then he looks around at his new friends, realizing that no good person will ever truly be alone, no matter what corner of the world they may wander to.

Kyle tells Maddox to let the man go, and then he says, "Sorry for the way we introduced ourselves, but we must take all precautions, for we are on a very important mission to win back this land from the Masters and the evil god Zarton."

Cantorso just raises his eyebrows.

Then Kyle continues, "This is Maddox." gesturing towards him, and then he goes on down the line introducing Lynx and Tork.

Cantorso shakes each of their hands in turn.

Finally he concludes, "Our young Mister Tork here and I have infections that are slowly getting worse. We need some kind of medical attention. Can you help?" Cantorso nods his head, "Yes, our neighbor up the road is a doctor. We will send for him. Don't worry he can be trusted. Just the other day the Masters came and took one of his children and killed her in front of all to see, with the message that if anyone is to help the traitors fight them and their god Zarton the children will be the ones to pay." Kyle and the crew slump their heads down and whisper, "We are sorry, but this must be done!"

The man says with sad eyes, "It is not your fault. They have been killing our children for generations. If it means that a few more must die in order for their reign of terror to come to an end, then it must be that way. Can you really defeat them?" "We are not sure. I am a Centurion Wizard from the land of Parrethia, and Tork here is of Mystic blood. We think we can, but we will need help." "Come meet my family and have some food, and then we will send for the doctor, and then we will talk about the coming war."

Kyle asks Lynx and Maddox, "Brothers, search the nearby woods and the other buildings before coming in to eat."

Kyle and Tork, with their new host, walk into the house. The house is a nice little green home that is surrounded by roses and all manner of beautiful things that are placed in specific places where the sun makes it through the forest canopy. Their home is loved with honest efforts of a good people trying to see light in a world of darkness. Kyle thinks to himself at least not all of the wholesome beauty is gone from this land. They walk in and there sitting at the table getting ready to eat breakfast is a woman, a teenage girl and another man.