Vanion came out through the main door, his Styric robe gleaming in the mist-filled darkness. Im sending twenty knights with you, he told Sparhawk quietly. You might be followed, and theyll offer some measure of protection.
We need to hurry, Vanion, Sparhawk objected. If we take others with us, we wont be able to move any faster than the pace of the slowest horse.
I know that, Sparhawk, Vanion replied patiently. You wont need to stay with them for very long. Wait until youre out in open country and the sun comes up. Make sure nobodys too close behind you and then slip away from the column. The knights will ride on to Demos. If anybodys following, they wont know you arent still in the middle of the column.
Sparhawk grinned. Now I know how you got to be Preceptor, my friend. Whos leading the column?
Olven.
Good. Olvens dependable.
Go with God, Sparhawk, Vanion said, clasping the big knights hand, and be careful.
Im certainly going to try.
Sir Olven was a bulky Pandion Knight with a number of angry red scars on his face. He came out of the chapterhouse wearing full armour, enamelled black. His men trailed out behind him. Good to see you again, Sparhawk, he said as Vanion went back inside. Olven spoke very quietly to avoid alerting the church soldiers camped outside the front gate. All right, he went on, you and the others ride in the middle of us. With this fog, those soldiers probably wont see you. Well drop the drawbridge and go out fast. We dont want to be in sight for more than a minute or two.
Thats more words than Ive heard you use at one time in the last twenty years, Sparhawk said to his normally silent friend.
I know, Olven agreed. Ill have to see if I cant cut back a little.
Sparhawk and his friends wore mail-shirts and travellers cloaks, since formal armour attracts attention out in the countryside. Their armour, however, was carefully stowed in packs on the string of a half-dozen horses Kurik would lead. They mounted, and the armoured men formed up around them. Olven made a signal to the men at the windlass that raised and lowered the drawbridge, and the men slipped the rachets, allowing the windlass to run freely. There was a noisy rattle of chain, and the drawbridge dropped with a huge boom. Olven was galloping across it almost before it hit the far side of the fosse.
The dense fog helped enormously. As soon as he had galloped across the bridge, Olven cut sharply to the left, leading the column across the open field towards the Demos road. Behind them, Sparhawk could hear startled shouts as the church soldiers ran out of their tents to stare after the column in chagrin.
Slick, Kalten said gaily. Across the drawbridge and into the fog in under a minute.
Olven knows what hes doing, Sparhawk said, and whats even better is that its going to be at least an hour before the soldiers can mount any kind of pursuit.
Give me an hours head start, and theyll never catch me, Kalten laughed delightedly. This is starting out very well, Sparhawk.
Enjoy it while you can. Things will probably start to go wrong later on.
Youre a pessimist, do you know that?
No. Im just used to little disappointments.
They slowed to a canter when they reached the Demos road. Olven was a veteran, and he always tried to conserve his horses. Speed might be necessary later, and Sir Olven took very few chances.
A full moon hung above the fog, and it made the thick mist deceptively luminous. The glowing white fog around them confused the eye and concealed far more than it illuminated. There was a chill dampness in the air, and Sparhawk pulled his cloak about him as he rode.
The Demos road swung north towards the city of Lenda before turning south-easterly again to Demos, where the Pandion Mother-house was located. Although he could not see it, Sparhawk knew that the countryside along the road was gently rolling and that there were large patches of trees out there. He was counting on those trees for concealment once he and his friends left the column.
They rode on. The fog had dampened the dirt surface of the road, and the sound of their horses hooves was muffled.
Every now and then the black shadows of trees loomed suddenly out of the fog at the sides of the road as they rode by. Talen shied nervously each time it happened.
Whats the problem? Kurik asked him.
I hate this, the boy replied. I absolutely hate it. Anything could be hiding beside the road wolves, bears or even worse.
Youre in the middle of a party of armed men, Talen.
Thats easy for you to say, but Im the smallest one here except for Flute, maybe. Ive heard that wolves and things like that always drag down the smallest when they attack. I really dont want to be eaten, father.
That keeps cropping up, Tynian noted curiously to Sparhawk. You never did explain why the boy keeps calling your squire by that term.
Kurik was indiscreet when he was younger.
Doesnt anybody in Elenia sleep in his own bed?
Its a cultural peculiarity. Its not really as widespread as it might seem, though.
Tynian rose slightly in his stirrups and looked ahead to where Bevier and Kalten rode side by side deep in conversation. A word of advice, Sparhawk, he said confidentially. Youre an Elenian, so you dont seem to have any problems with this sort of thing, and in Deira were fairly broad-minded about such things, but I dont know that Id let Bevier in on this. The Cyrinic Knights are a pious lot just like all Arcians and they disapprove of these little irregularities very strongly. Beviers a good man in a fight, but hes a little narrow-minded. If he gets offended, it might cause problems later on.
Youre probably right, Sparhawk agreed. Ill talk with Talen and ask him to keep his relationship with Kurik to himself.
Do you think hell listen? the broad-faced Deiran asked sceptically.
Its worth a try.
They occasionally passed a farmhouse standing beside the foggy road with hazy golden lamplight streaming from its windows, a sure sign that even though the sky had not yet started to lighten, day had already begun for the country folk.
How long are we going to stay with this column? Tynian asked. Going to Lake Randera by way of Demos is a very long way around.
We can probably slip away later this morning, Sparhawk replied, - once were sure that nobodys following us. Thats what Vanion suggested.
Have you got somebody watching to the rear?
Sparhawk nodded. Berits riding about a half-mile back.
Do you think any of the Primates spies saw us leave your chapterhouse?
They didnt really have very much time for it, Sparhawk said. Wed already gone past them before they came out of their tents.
Tynian grunted. Which road do you plan to take when we leave this one?
I think well go across country. Roads tend to be watched. Im sure that Annias has guessed that were up to something by now.
They rode on through the tag end of a foggy night. Sparhawk was pensive. He privately admitted to himself that their hastily conceived plan had little chance of success. Even if Tynian could raise the ghosts of the Thalesian dead, there was no guarantee that any of the spirits would know the location of King Saraks final resting place. This entire journey could well be futile and serve only to use up what time Ehlana had left. Then a thought came to him. He rode on forward to speak with Sephrenia. Something just occurred to me, he said to her.