"The Lundari Witch: Diamageen's Shadows chapters 4,5, & 6" by Lundarigirl

1. Seventeen-year-old Tobias Rowan has wandered the word of Ceaestene alone for four years while looking for his kidnapped sister. He has hardened his heart and become a loner in an effort to relieve himself of the pain of her loss and his parents' deaths four years ago. But he may have met the one person who can break him out of his shell: a spirited sixteen-year-old girl nammed Bree Arengaren, who dreams of being the world's first female knight. Tobias meets her at the Roal Knight's Academy, where he is applying for a job. It pays handsomly, but involves rescuing an important ambassador from the goblin-infested Diamageen Forest, a place where few have emerged alive. The danger doesn't deter Tobias--he was planning on going to Diamageen anyway to look for his sister--but he is horrorfied to know that his employer, Sir Hayden, has saddled him with an unwanted traveling partner--a teenage boy named Ankinon despite his insistance that he works alone. We join Tobias as he sets off for the Academy on the morning of departure. He's ready to meet his co-worker and has braced himself for any surprises that the day may bring ... or so he thinks! 

2.  

3. Chapter Four: A Fellowship of Three

4.             Tobias’s two doubloons bought him a space in an innkeeper’s smelly stable for the night, but at least the fee included a hot bowl of stew, and it was far better than sleeping in the street.

5.             He was up before the sun the next day, and at the gates of the Academy just as the sky turned from an ash-grey to a rich pink.

6.             Upon entering the courtyard, Tobias saw what he assumed to be Academy servants saddling three onyx-black horses and loading packs onto a fourth. He learned from the tidbits of conversation he overheard from the servants that all four were female and they were for “the crazy kids with a death wish,” obviously meaning himself and Ankinon. He was puzzled by the third saddled horse. Why would there be three when only two riders were setting out this day? Was someone going with them? Tobias nearly shuddered at the thought. One companion on this trip was bad enough. He didn’t need a second asking uncomfortable questions about him.

7. Tobias soon spotted his traveling partner, the black-clad youth Ankinon, standing a few yards from the horses, and he wasn’t alone. A familiar red-head was with him. Tobias never expected to see Bree again—he’d assumed she’d left the Academy after they’d parted company last night—and why she was here now, he could only guess. He didn’t imagine she’d want to speak to him after he was so rude to her, and he was a bit apprehensive of her and the questions she might ask, but his curiosity about her presence in the courtyard drove him to approach her. Maybe he’d glean his answer from the conversation between her and Ankinon and he could avoid talking to her.

8. Bree drew her sword and held it out to Ankinon, who whistled, impressed.

9. “Wow,” he said. “Caltic steel—enough to bring in a small fortune. How’d you get a hold of so much? You a relative of the king or something?”

10. Tobias shared Ankinon’s curiosity about Bree’s blade. She’d have to be royalty, or someone very rich and/or extremely lucky to have access to the quantity of caltic steel to make a sword. The metal, nearly indestructible, was the creation of special ore found only in the kingdom of the dwarves and elven magic. Only the richest in Europa could afford some, especially now that no new caltic was being made due to the dissolving of the elves’ and dwarves’ friendship.

11. Bree smiled. “Better. I am the daughter of a traveling merchant who was on friendly terms with the dwarves before they decided to cut their ties with the rest of the world.”

12. “And they gave him this sword?” Ankinon asked. “Fire and fang, they must’ve really loved him.”

13. “They just gave him the metal, and he left it to me in his will. It was my step-dad who made the sword out of it. He’s the best blacksmith in the county. My mom added the topaz. It was from a necklace my grandma had given her. I’d thought she’d never part with it, but she said she wanted to contribute something grand to my sword so I would remember how much she loved me and believed in me. She, my step-dad, and Cavin, they were the only ones who believed in me back home. No one else did. No one else would even consider being my friend.”

14. Ankinon stretched his arms behind his back. “Well, I believe you’d make a great knight, but why you’d want to be one is beyond me. Do you have any idea how boring a knight’s life is?”

15. Bree’s eyebrows raised into a you’ve-gotta-be-kidding-me look. “Boring? You haven’t read very many legends have you?”

16. “I’ve read plenty. What they don’t tell you is that a knight’s job is all about rules. He’s a slave to not only the king’s whim, but the rules of etiquette, the rules of politics, even people’s approval, if he cares about that sort of thing.” He reached over to a nearby plate of fruit on a table, snatched up an apple.  Now me, I live by only one person’s rules: mine. I go where I want, adhering to no one’s whim, but my own, free as the wind.” He bit into his apple.

17. “Uh-huh. And suppose you don’t have to stop and earn coin for expenses.”

18. “Okay, there are times where I have to adhere to the whims of my temporary employer, but sometimes, I find quicker ways to earn gold. Either way, it usually isn’t long before I’m back on the road with a full purse.” He pulled on his leather jacket—a jacket, Tobias noted, that looked far too expensive for a vagabond living on odd jobs. “These clothes, I bought these not too long ago with the prize money from an archery contest against a lord.” He pulled out a longbow and a quiver filled with green-fletched arrows from beside the table. “These beauties have won me a nice bit of profit from many a knight and nobleman who thought that because they leaned to shoot from some fancy school that they were better archers than a ‘street urchin.’” He effortlessly strung his bow, then tossed an orange to Bree. “Toss that up in the air for me, will ya?”

19.             “How far?” Bree asked.

20.             “As far as you can and still catch it.”

21. Bree tossed the orange straight up into the air. The orange shot upwards and nearly flew as high as the uppermost window on the courtyard wall before plummeting back down to the deck. Bree lunged forward and caught it before it could make a pulpy stain on ground.

22. “Nice catch,” Ankinon said. “Now, how much are you willing to wager that, if you were to throw that up again just like you did, I would be able to put three arrows in it before it came down again?”

23. “He’s not serious,” Tobias mumbled under his breath. To put one arrow in the fruit would test the skill of the most accomplished archer. To put three in would be impossible.

24.             “I don’t gamble,” Bree said. “I’ve heard too many horror stories about people losing everything they have because of it.”

25.             “But it would make this more interesting.”

26.             “No.”    

27.             Ankinon shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just be ready to throw that orange up when I give you the word.” He put an arrow from his quiver on his bow string and turned his back on Bree. “Okay, now.”

28.             “But you’re not even aiming,” Bree said.

29.             “You let me worry about that. Now throw it.”

30.             Tobias shook his head. Now I know he’s crazy. There’s no way he’ll pull this off.

31.             Bree shrugged and tossed the orange straight up into the air. “It’s up.”

32.             Ankinon whirled around and let his arrow fly. In the time it took Tobias to blink, he let loose another, then another with the same rapid speed.

33.             It was only after all three arrows were shot that Tobias looked to see if they hit their target.

34. How could he have hit it? he wondered. It looked like he didn’t even take the time to aim. But as the orange descended, Tobias could clearly see that there were one, two, three arrows stuck in it. He stared at it, dumfounded. Bree’s mouth hung agape as she followed the orange’s descent with her eyes.  She did not move forward to catch it as she had the first time. It was Ankinon who caught it.

35.             “That was incredible,” Bree said.

36.              “Thank you, milady.” Ankinon made a low, sweeping bow. “And what does our mute observer think of this morning’s show?”

37.             Bree turned, and, when she spotted Tobias, unexpectedly smiled.

38.             “Tobias,” she said warmly. “Good morning.”

39.             “Good morning,” Tobias returned. Why was she being so nice?

40.              Ankinon casually flipped the arrow-punctured orange back on the table and began circling Tobias, inspecting him as a butcher would a cow. Tobias flashed him a questioning look.

41.             “So you’re the son of the great dragon slayer,” Ankinon mused. “Funny, no one would no about it by looking at you. Your dad looks all beefy and broad in his portrait in the Academy. You, well you’ve got some muscle, no denying that, but you look a little too much on the slim side to be taken seriously as a warrior.”

42.             “The same could be said of you,” Tobias mumbled under his breath.

43.             Ankinon looked more akin to a bean pole than he did. He was noticeably more slender and an inch or two taller.

44.             “Did Sir Hayden tell you who I was?” Tobias asked.

45.             “Indeed he did,” Ankinon answered. “He told the two of us,” he gestured to himself and Bree, “at dinner last night.”

46.             Tobias swore silently. He’d hoped the knight wouldn’t tell people about his relationship to Samuel Rowan. People always acted as if he were a noble around him when they knew. Though, it didn’t look like that was going to be the case with Ankinon.

47.             “He also said you weren’t always the grouch Bee said you were,” Ankinon continued, “so I have some hope you won’t be a total bore on this trip.”

48.             “I hope so,” Bree added. “Though, I’m sure we’ll have excitement enough.”

49.             “‘We?’”  Tobias’s tone betrayed more of his apprehension than he’s wanted to show.

50.             “Yes. I’m going with you. I talked to Sir Hayden not long after you did, and he hired me. I wish he was headmaster here. He’s a lot more open-minded than Sir Lionel.”

51.             Two emotions sprang within Tobias: one was despair at having another companion to deal with, the other concern about how ready Bree was to traipse through the goblins’ realm. Did she know what she was getting into? Did she consider the possibility that she might not come back alive, or was her head so filled with thoughts of glory that there wasn’t room left for such thoughts?

52.             “Have you given any thought to how dangerous this mission is?” he asked.

53.             “I have,” Bree retorted. “I know what the goblins are like, I know the risks, but if they don’t scare you or Ankinon, why should they scare me?”

54.             “Don’t try to talk her out of this, Tobey,” Ankinon said. “Pages and servants have been trying to do that all last night and all morning. She won’t budge. Anyway, do you know when our generous employer will be out and about? He said last night that he was going to see us off.”

55.             Bree pointed to the closest courtyard entrance. “There he is.”

56.             Sir Hayden limped towards them, leaning heavily on a cane that Tobias knew he used only when an old wound he’d received from a dragon long ago prevented him from walking without it.

57.             “Good morning my brave trio,” he said. “I’m glad to see you’ve taken the opportunity to get to know one another.”

58.             “I was just telling Tobias how qualified I was for this mission when you walked in, sir,” Bree said, with a slight scowl at Tobias. “He doesn’t believe me.”

59.             “Miss Arengaren’s fighting prowess comes highly praised by Cavin Thunderhoof, a legendary trainer of knights and other heroes.”

60.             “I’ve heard of him,” Tobias said. “Enough to know he doesn’t give such praises lightly.”

61.             “Did you also know that her late father was the merchant sailor Michael Arengaren?”

62.             “She mentioned it. The dwarves liked him well enough.”

63.             “That is a gross understatement. He was one of the few humans they respected in recent history. I’m hoping they’ll honor his memory by allowing her and those who travel with her to at least enter their country. She’s invaluable to this mission.”

64.             “She’s invaluable only to the latter part of it. There’s no need for her to go into—“

65.             “Tobias.” Sir Hayden spoke with a calm and reasoning tone. “I know you prefer to work alone, but believe me when I say that the three of you working together on this mission is best. You have enough eyes to watch each other’s backs, and you each have the strengths to balance each other’s weaknesses.” He clamped a strong hand on Tobias’s shoulder. “You’ll bring out the best in each other, and in the end, I believe you’ll be better off for it.”

66.             Tobias bit back his disagreement with that statement. He could tell that the knight’s mind was made up and there would be no talking him into remitting his decision.  He could try talking Bree and Ankinon into staying behind, but he guessed that might be impossible as well. Bree was too adamant, and, judging by what he knew of him, Ankinon wasn’t about to back out of a chance to earn seventy-five crowns.

67.             Ankinon gave Tobias a friendly pat on the back as the two were about to mount their horses. “Don’t worry, Tobey, if Bree and I have to save your hide from green-skins, we won’t tease you about it—much.”

68.             “I go by Tobias, not Tobey,” Tobias retorted.

69.             “Aw, but Tobias is such a boring name. Tobey has more personality, something you could use more of, my friend.”

70.             Tobias rolled his eyes. It was going to be a very long trip. 

71.  

72. Chapter Five: The Snake and the Liar

73.             Tobias, Bree, and Ankinon made good time on their journey. They were out of Hercros before most of the population ventured out into the streets. On the open road, Bree and Ankinon chatted about traveling, adventures, and their plans after this mission was over, while Tobias kept to himself.

74. Ankinon also told jokes, and Bree laughed at every one. Even Tobias found a few of them funny, but not funny enough to break his stoic visage.

75.             “Do you know any jokes, Tobias?” Bree asked him late that afternoon after Ankinon had told a joke about two dukes and a crab.

76.             “None that I care to tell at the moment,” Tobias replied, resisting what had to be the fiftieth attempt Bree had made that day to assimilate him into her and Ankinon’s conversations.

77.             “Well, when are you going to feel like sharing? When are you going to start being friendly? You don’t laugh or smile. Has life been so rough on you that you have to shut yourself up like a clam?”

78.             “What life has done to me is my business and mine alone.”

79.             “But you could …”

80.             Ankinon interrupted her. “Words aren’t going to soften him up any, Bree. Just leave him alone.”

81.             Thank you Ankinon, Tobias thought.

82.             “Besides,” Ankinon continued, “why concentrate on the clam when ribs are so much more pleasant to think about?”

83.             “Ribs?” Bree asked.

84.             “Yeah. There’s an inn in the town just up ahead that makes the best. They make pretty good lamb chops too —and chicken and beef. Their fruit salad’s not half bad either.”

85.             Ankinon continued to describe the inn’s menu as he flicked a fly from the mane of his mare, which he’d named Tempest. Tobias tried not to listen; his stomach was already demanding dinner and hearing Ankinon talk about food wasn’t helping things. He was thankful that they were almost to the town of Taizon, and he’d soon be eating his fill at the inn where he and the others would be spending the night.

86.             The sun was close to setting when Tobias and his companions crossed the threshold of Taizon’s gates. The inn Ankinon spoke of was near the center of the simple, moderately-sized city. Ankinon, as it turned out, was popular with its waitresses, who smiled fondly at him as he greeted them. Some blushed, while others blew him kisses. A dark-skinned waitress ran over to him as soon as she saw him, bypassing several customers who were waiting to order, and showed him and his group to the finest table in the dining area.

87.             “He’s such a flirt,” Bree said, amused, while Ankinon was busy talking with a blonde named Leonna. “How does he keep track of them all?”

88.             Tobias didn’t care one way or the other about it, just so long as it didn’t cause him and his companions any trouble.

89. ***

90.             Tobias opted not to go up to his room after dinner. Instead, he found an empty table in the far corner of the dining area and studied the map of Diamageen that Sir Hayden had given him. He didn’t know where Bree and Ankinon were or what they were up to and, as long as they didn’t cause trouble or get into it, he didn’t really care. What concerned him at the moment was studying the map. He was relieved to find that Diamageen had a fresh water spring, or at least it did at the time this map was drawn. Tobias hoped that the spring was still there. He might need—he, Bree and Ankinon, he corrected himself—might need it to replenish their water supply.

91.             Part of Tobias knew that it was foolish to be studying the map since it was possible that Diamageen could have changed almost completely in the fifty years since it was drawn, but he wanted to be prepared. If anything happened to Ankinon, or if it turned out that the boy didn’t know Diamageen as well as he’d claimed, then following an old map was better than walking through the goblin realm with no idea what was around the next bend.

92.             What puzzled Tobias about the map were the different symbols on it. Four symbols—a scythe, a roaring fire, a bull’s skull, and a whip—circled a jagged rock formation that the map maker had marked “The Spire.” Above the Spire was a small circle, no bigger than a doubloon, with a hideous shrunken head with fangs in the center of it. This symbol was significantly larger than the others. Below the Spire was the pattern of black dots that matched the pattern of stones on Ankinon’s ring. What did it mean? What did any of these symbols mean? Were they some kind of territory markers, or were they something else? 

93.             When the dining area closed for the night, Tobias finally climbed the stairs to his room—the one he was forced to share with Ankinon because the innkeeper had only two vacant rooms available for the three companions. As he entered it, the light of a small lamp he carried revealed that both beds in the room were empty. There was no sign of Ankinon anywhere, but there were signs that he had been in the room earlier that evening. His bow, quiver, and sabre were propped up against one of the beds and a small paper sack lay on the pillow. Tobias guessed that he was somewhere with Bree or one of his other lady friends.

94.             Yawning, Tobias put the lamp on a bedside table and pulled off his boots. As he bent to place them in front of the room’s wardrobe, a slender green form sprang at him from the shadows, causing him to leap back. It was a bioc snake, the largest he’d ever seen!

95.             The bioc, one of Ceaestene’s most poisonous serpents, raised itself up until its diamond-shaped, hooded head was nearly level with Tobias’s knees. Its golden eyes and white fangs gleamed in the lamplight. Tobias drew one of his many knives from his belt, ready to cut the snake in two if it attacked. He would have to be quick. If the boic’s venom entered his blood, it would kill him in a matter of hours.

96.             The bioc swayed back and forth as it surveyed its prey. It slithered forward a little, causing Tobias to instinctively flinch. The snake lunged forward. Tobias sprang at it, slicing its head off just before the deadly fangs could sink into his arm.

97.             He panted heavily as he waited for his furiously palpitating heart to slow its pace. A sudden knock at the door made him give a startled cry and nearly jump out of his skin.

98.             “Tobias?” a voice on the other side of the door asked. “Is everything okay in there?

99.             It was Bree.

100.             Tobias took a deep breath and got his nerves under control. “Go get the innkeeper. Tell him I found a bioc in here.”

101.             “A bioc? Hold on!”

102.             Tobias heard Bree draw her sword. Then the door to his room flew open before he could tell her to stay out. She held her sword down towards the floor, ready to stab anything she saw moving there.

103.             “It’s dead,” Tobias said, gesturing to the decapitated snake. “I already killed … Wait.”

104.             Tobias looked down at the bioc and noticed that there was no blood pouring out of its body. He poked it with his toe. It felt suspiciously hard for a serpent. It seemed more like wood.

105. Suddenly, the headless snake rose up on its hindquarter. Bree yelped. Tobias’s eyes narrowed. In the flickering light and shadows, he barely made out a slender black string rising out of the snake’s back. It was enough to tell him that the “bioc” was nothing more than a realistic looking puppet. He didn’t have to be a sage to know who was pulling its string.

106.             “Ankinon,” Tobias said flatly.

107.             He lifted the lamp from his bedside table and followed the string with its light to the top of the wardrobe. Sure enough, there sat Ankinon, clamping the end of the string with his thumb and forefinger.  

108.             With a sigh, Ankinon leaped off of the wardrobe and mournfully held up his decapitated toy. “Honestly Tobey, was it completely necessary to cut its head off? I paid two doubloons for this thing.” His pouting frown suddenly turned into a mischievous grin. “But it was worth it to see the look on your face when I sprang it on you.” He laughed heartily.

109.             Bree snatched the pillow off Tobias’s bed and whacked Ankinon on the head with it. “You creep!” But she was grinning from ear to ear and her voice betrayed her obvious amusement at the prank.

110.             “What?” Ankinon asked. “You were the one who said he needed to smile more. I figured a good joke would get him in touch with his happy side, provided he has one.”

111.             Tobias sank down onto his bed. It was a pretty good prank: simple, yet effective. It reminded him of the jokes Hadassah used to play on her third grade math teacher, a strict, cranky disciplinarian named Mr. Jolli. The corners of Tobias’s mouth turned upward slightly, and he almost laughed.

112.             “We have more important things to worry about than my ‘happy side,’” he said stoically. He flicked the head of the bioc puppet off his bed. “Let’s talk about the map.”

113.             “What about it?” Ankinon asked.

114.             Tobias picked up the map from where it lay beside his boots and unrolled it so Bree and Ankinon could see it. “What do these symbols mean?” He ran his finger over the five symbols around the Spire. 

115.             Ankinon took a long stick of black licorice out of his bag. “Hmm. Clan symbols, I guess. I heard the goblins talking about their different clans the last time I was in Diamageen. I’ve seen some of these markings carved on the trees. I’ve only heard two of the clans referred to by name. They were the Desolation Clan and the Destroyer Clan.”

116.             “Desolation and Destroyer?” Bree asked. “Not very original.”

117.             “Yeah, well, desolation and destruction’s what the goblins specialize in—that and being ugly—so the names fit.” Ankinon reached into the paper bag on his bed and removed a long piece of black licorice.

118.             Bree sat down on Tobias’s bed. “They weren’t always like that. That’s what the legends say about them anyway.”

119.             Tobias stared down at the map and said nothing. He’d heard many legends about the goblins. All of them said that the goblins were humans until they were transformed by the Dread Warlock in a failed attempt to make creatures ten times more powerful than the gratzki. What the legends could never agree on, however, was whether or not innocent victims were stolen from their homes and transformed against their will, or if they were criminals and traitors who let themselves be transformed in exchange for power. They became twice as strong and fast as any average human and their life spans had increased by hundreds of years, but they could no longer go out into the sunshine without perishing.

120.             Ankinon swallowed his mouthful of licorice. “They may have been human once, or maybe they weren’t. Doesn’t really matter now. If there was any humanness in them, it was taken out or bred out a long time ago. There’s nothing left in the green-skins now but bloodthirstiness and nastiness. Believe me. They nearly took me apart when I ran into them. It was only thanks to my quick thinking that I was able to get away from them.”

121.             “And now you’re going back to face them again,” Tobias said.

122.             “For seventy-five crowns, heck, yeah.” Ankinon chomped off another large chunk licorice.

123.             “I’m curious, what was the reason you ventured into Diamageen the first time?”

124.             Ankinon tilted his head towards the ceiling and smoothed his hair. “Bragging rights, adventure. You know, that sort of thing.”

125.             Tobias eyes narrowed. There was a subtle, barely noticeable tenseness to Ankinon’s words and body as he said those words. It was something he’d learn to spot during his career as a bounty hunter. There was no doubt about it in his mind. Ankinon was lying. But why? What reason would he have for covering up why he had ventured into Diamageen? The only thing that came to Tobias’s mind was that Ankinon had had some business with the goblins. It wasn’t something he wanted to believe, not when both he and Bree were relying on the boy to guide them through Diamageen and not when he had no proof to support that claim. Yet, if Ankinon chose to be dishonest with him about something like this, how could Tobias trust him?

126.             Tobias stood and moved to stand beside Bree. “Could I speak to you outside, please?

127.             Ankinon crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t be so secretive, Tobey. If you have something to say about me, say it to my face.”

128.             Tobias met his gaze “I’m just starting to have my doubts about your qualifications to lead us through the most dangerous place in Europa.”

129.             Bree slid off the bed and got to her feet. “What are you talking about? He’s perfectly qualified. He’s been there before.”

130.             “He’s a liar, Bree. He was lying about why he went into Diamageen. I could hear it in his voice.”

131.             “What? How could you say that? You know what Ankinon’s like. He loves taking risks, that’s why he lives the kind of life that he does. His story makes sense to me, just like it made sense to Sir Hayden when Ankinon told it to him. We both trust him. Perhaps you should —”

132.             “Perhaps you should be more careful with whom you entrust your life.”

133.             “I know less about you than I do Ankinon, yet I trust you to help watch my back on this trip. For crying out loud, Tobias, why do you have to be so hostile towards Ankinon, and towards me? We’re supposed to be a team. How can we work together and save the ambassador’s party if you insist on putting up all these barriers between you and us?”

134.             There was pleading and hopefulness in Bree’s eyes, as if she was determined that this time Tobias would finally take her words to heart and break out of his self-imposed dark exile.

135.             Tobias turned away from her, unable to look at those eyes. “I’m sorry that I’ve been so hostile. I never meant to be. Not towards you. But I ask that you respect my wishes and stop trying to pry into my life.”

136.             “I’m not trying to pry,” Bree said gently. “I just want you to come out of your shell and stop being such a loner. I know what it’s like to be all alone, to wander around feeling cut off from everybody because you feel like you have nobody. It’s horrible. You don’t really feel like you’re living, you just exist, wandering from one day to the next.  I can’t understand why anybody would choose that kind of existence. I got out of it by dedicating myself to someday becoming a knight and a hero. But you, you don’t seem to have a purpose or a reason to pull yourself out of the pit you’ve locked yourself in after your parents died. I feel sorry for you.”

137.             “Don’t.”

138.             Tobias didn’t want her pity. He didn’t want her feeling anything for him. Why did she have to care for him so much? It wasn’t like he could care for her in return. Bree was right; a part of him did die with his parents, the part that could give his heart, in friendship or otherwise, to anyone. And if he could give it again, what then? Would he make friends with Bree and Ankinon? What if he did, and then they were killed by goblins? He would endure the pain of loss and grief again. It broke his heart the first time, he didn’t think he could go through it again.  

139.             Bree’s was right about something else, too. For four years Tobias had been simply existing and not really living, save for one thing—finding Hadassah. Unlike Bree, though, he didn’t care.

140.             Both his existence and Bree’s, however, would be short if Ankinon turned out to be treacherous; he and Bree might be dead by the next full moon, and then who would be left to rescue his sister?  

141.             Tobias pointed at the so-called guide, who had retreated to his bed and was finishing off his licorice stick. “And don’t be too quick to put your faith in him.”

142.             Ankinon reclined on the bed. “If you don’t trust me, Tobey, you’re welcome to try and navigate Diamageen alone with an out-of-date map. I’m sure Bree and I can get along without you.”

143.             Tobias scowled. He was sorely tempted to do just that, continue on without Ankinon, but Bree would never leave him, and despite Tobias’s determination not to care for her, he didn’t want her alone with Ankinon either. Besides, they still needed his help to find the ambassador’s party. As far as Tobias could tell, he had told the truth about being in Diamageen before.     

144. Tobias stood beside Ankinon’s bed so that he towered over the boy. “See that you live up to Bree’s expectations of you. If you betray us or get us in trouble because of your lies, I promise you will regret it.”

145.             Ankinon jumped to his feet, pressed his face within inches of Tobias’ and scowled back at him. “Threaten me again, and you’ll be the one with regrets.”

146.             Bree pushed the two young men apart. “That’s enough. For crying out loud, this expedition has barely started, and you’re already at each other’s throats. People are counting on us. For their sakes, would you please try to get along?”

147.             Tobias and Ankinon continued their exchange of icy stares until, finally, Ankinon blinked and broke their eye contact. He stepped around Tobias and whispered in his ear, “Remember what I said.”

148.             “You remember what I said,” Tobias retorted.

149. Chapter Six: Into Diamageen

150.             Tobias’s distrust of Ankinon had not decreased when they and Bree left Taizon early the next morning. Ankinon said he was willing to forgive and forget Tobias’s harsh words if Tobias agreed to take them back. Tobias said he would, providing Ankinon told the truth about why he had visited Diamageen the first time. Ankinon insisted that his previous story was true and that Tobias was paranoid. The two pretty much quit talking to each other after that.    

151.             The companions crossed the many leagues between Taizon and the border of Europa’s eastern lands in just two days. On the morning of the third, they finally left the open lands and entered the shadows of Diamageen’s towering trees.

152.             The forest stretched out before them over many hills for many leagues. It would take days, maybe weeks, just to get from one side to the other. How long would it take them to find the ambassador’s party? Tobias wondered.

153.             “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ankinon asked Bree.

154.             “Yes,” Bree agreed. “It’s like any normal forest. Who would think it was so … so… dangerous?”

155.             Tobias did not miss the hint of apprehension in her voice.

156.             Neither did Ankinon. “Relax kid, you’re safe with us. Well, with me anyway. I’m not so sure about Daddy’s Boy over there.” He jabbed his thumb at Tobias.  

157.             Tobias glared at Ankinon but said nothing. He slowed his horse and scanned the trees and the forest floor for any sign on the missing ambassador and his guards. Ahead of him, Bree and Ankinon did likewise and, for once during the waking hours of their journey, did not engage each other in conversation. All was quiet, save for the singing of birds and the clopping of horses’ hooves.

158.             Bree suddenly let out a frightened gasp and drew Tobias’s and Ankinon’s attention to a large tree less than six feet to their left. At its base, a huge bear skeleton stood on its own accord as if skin and muscle still held it together.

159. Eerie, Tobias thought. It’s almost like something out of a nightmare.

160. He and his companions moved is for a closer look and soon found that the skeleton, which looked like it hadn’t been separated from the rest of its body for more than two or three months, was held together by some kind of  thick pitch and was anchored to the tree by slender ropes.         

161.             “It’s a decoration,” Ankinon explained, unprompted. “The goblins like to string bones all over their place. Looks like their artistic skills have improved since last I was here.”

162.             Bree looked at the bear skeleton with disgust. “This is art?”

163.             Ankinon shrugged. “At least they didn’t leave the meat and guts rotting on the bones.”

164.             Tobias silently agreed that was something to be thankful for. “These bones and ropes show little signs of age,” he said. “I’d say this was done fairly recently.” He sensed something moving in the branches above him and looked up. What he saw was horrifying, but it wasn’t unexpected. “That wasn’t.”

165.             Bree and Ankinon glanced up into the treetops to see what he was talking about. Bree’s face turned a sickly green and Ankinon’s expression sobered, but he didn’t look surprised.

166.             Hanging from the branches above the bear were more bones, brown from several years of exposure to the elements.

167.             They were human bones.

168. ***

169.             The three companions encountered neither goblins, nor any dangers of any kind over the next four days. However, they saw no campsite or human footprints, or any other sign of Ambassador Heach’s party. Everywhere they searched, they saw more bones hanging from trees like gruesome ornaments. A good quarter of them were human, but they showed sings of being cleaned of their meat over a year ago.  Tobias guessed that they were the remains of the poor souls those accursed dragons drove into Diamageen from the village of Koraira twenty years ago. The sight was both macabre and sobering. Even Ankinon’s cheerful and cocky attitude diminished significantly in the presence of so much death and desecration.

170.             Almost every tree that bore human bones in its branches also bore one of the goblins’ clan symbols on its trunk. The symbols were either carved into the bark with a knife or painted on with what looked like blood. Tobias noticed that most of the trees were adorned with the shrunken head symbol and he wondered what the significance of that fact could be.

171.             On the afternoon of the fourth day, the companions rode towards the spring Tobias had seen on his map. Their water supply was running low, and they needed to replenish it.

172.             Ankinon tried to improve Bree’s and Tobias’s somber mood by telling them about his encounter with a bandit called Dirty Charlie. Tobias had heard of him; he was a centaur who was known for his pungent odor, his grime covered body, and his ability to cheat in games of chance, all of which earned him his nickname. He was also known for his superb skills with a bow, his huge ego and his temper—which explained why Dirty Charlie wanted to gut Ankinon after the boy had beaten him in an archery contest.

173.             A shrill bird cry echoed through the forest canopy and caused Tobias’s mare to fidget nervously. Tobias stroked her neck and calmly assured her everything was all right. She had become anxious and easily spooked ever since she stepped foot inside Diamageen. Yesterday, she had nearly thrown him because she had been terrified by a rabbit. Tobias sympathized with his mount, but hoped she’d find her courage before some unforeseen disaster happened because of her panicking.

174.             Tobias had mixed feelings about bringing the horses along. On the one hand, he and the others might need the animals’ speed to outrun the goblins should they ever need to escape from them. On the other hand, with their noise and their droppings, the horses increased the adventurers’ risk of being found and attacked by the goblins.

175.             Ankinon continued his story, oblivious to Tobias’s mare’s nervousness. “I jumped into a wagon full of cheese just seconds before Charlie and his goons bolted down the street. Charlie stopped his stinky carcass right in front of the wagon and started barking orders to the goons to tear the street apart to find me.” He puffed out his chest and deepened his voice. “I am mighty Dirty Charlie, the dumb and smelly. Heed my odorous tongue and find me that upstart who bested me so I can sic my fleas and head lice on him. Noooowwww!”

176.             Tobias’s horse reared and gave a terrified whinny. Tobias held onto the reins as tightly as he could and managed to stay on her back.  He tried to calm the horse, but it did no good; Ankinon’s impression of Dirty Charlie’s bellowing had scared her witless. She charged forward, bolting through foliage and under low branches that caused her rider to duck in order to avoid them.

177.             Soon, the grass and dirt under the mare’s hooves became rough stone, but she didn’t appear to notice. Tobias tried again to calm the horse and get her to stop as he fought to keep calm himself. Ahead, he saw that the rocky trail ended and beyond it was nothing but air. He considered jumping from the horse’s back, but she was galloping too fast for him to do that without breaking his neck. His only hope now was to pray he could get back in control of her, or that the fall awaiting them wouldn’t kill them.

178.             Pulse racing, Tobias gave the reins one last desperate tug. The horse skidded and stopped just millimeters from the edge of the cliff. Tobias looked over the brink and, to his relief, he saw that the fall wasn’t anything for him to worry about. A mere five feet directly below the cliff was a narrow but deep pool. The mare, however, wasn’t as comforted. She flew into another fit of panic, bucking and whinnying wildly. Both Tobias and his saddle were thrown off her back. Tobias felt himself plummet through the air and land in the spring below.

179.             Tobias was able to get a better look at his surroundings once his head broke back through the surface of the water. He saw a slender waterfall gush out of the tall rock wall to his right and knew at once that he had found the spring that was on the map. He saw nothing of his horse, but saw the saddle she had discarded on the small cliff. Bree and Ankinon were standing near it with looks of relief on their faces.

180.             “You okay?” Bree asked.

181.             “I’m fine,” Tobias said. “Can you catch the mare?”

182.             Ankinon shook his head. “That horse is long gone by now and there’s no way we’d be able to find her and catch her before nightfall. And even if we did, we wouldn’t have time left over to find a safe place to camp where the green-skins couldn’t find us. Fire and fang, that animal can run. Even at full gallop our horses couldn’t catch her.”

183.             Tobias had to agree with Ankinon. The sun was already low in the sky. He and the others needed to hurry and refill their canteens, then find a safe place to camp for the night before the goblins emerged to walk the earth. They couldn’t afford to go after his mare. There simply wasn’t time. It was a shame; the mare was a beautiful and mostly faithful animal. He almost shuddered at the thought of what might happen if the goblins found her. They might eat her and add her bones to the horrid collection that adorned the trees. But it was more important that he get his companions to where they could be safe for the night. All he could do for the mare was hope that she made it out of Diamageen safely. He was glad that Sir Hayden had given her to him as a gift and not a loan; otherwise he would be obligated to replace her.

184.             Ankinon scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. “I guess this is kinda my fault.”                                       

185.             Bree glared at him. “You guess? Kinda?”

186.             “All right, so it was totally my fault.” Ankinon looked back down at Tobias. “Sorry about spooking your horse. Look on the bright side, though; you got a bath and your clothes clean all at the same time.”

187.             His apology was sincere which dispelled any suspicion in Tobias’s mind that he’d frightened the mare deliberately. And it was more civil than Tobias had expected from Ankinon after their conversations back in Taizon.

188.             “I accept your apology,” Tobias said. “But losing the mare also means that we have to be more careful from now on. If the goblins find her, they may suspect that there are humans in their realm and hunt us down.”

189.             “While I agree with you, Tobey, I think I should point out that it would be the miracle of all miracles if we were to get the ambassador and get out without the goblins catching so much as a whiff of us. And if we have to go into one of their strongholds, the odds of us avoiding any green-skins are slim to none. Not that it couldn’t be done—after all you’ve got me on your side—but I’m just letting you know so you don’t get your hopes up too high.”

190.             Tobias turned and swam toward the western shore of the pool, the only place where he could climb out of the chilly water. The low sandy shore was covered with thorny bushes that came up to Tobias’s armpits and snagged his soaked clothes the instant he climbed out. As he carefully freed himself, he caught sight of part of a silvery metal lying on the ground under one of the bushes. Cautiously, he pushed the thorny branches aside and plucked it off the ground. It was a helmet and it was adorned with a dark green feather.  He recognized it as the kind of helm Europa’s captains wore.  From the looks of it, it hadn’t been lying on the ground for more than a few weeks.

191.             There was no doubt in Tobias’s mind that the helmet belonged to one of Ambassador Heach’s escorts. He began to pick his way among the thorn bushes looking for signs of the rest of the party and any clues that showed what would have caused a soldier to loose his helmet. Had there been a struggle? Had the party fought goblins and escaped, or had they been taken alive or had they …?

192.             Tobias froze. He could see a grove of tall pine trees just beyond the thorn bushes. Jutting out from behind one of the trees was a skeletal human arm.

193.             Tobias tore out of the thorn bushes and into the grove. He soon saw that the arm was attached to a full human skeleton that was held together by thread and strung up by ropes like a puppet. Its arms and legs were outstretched to form an X. It was clothed in a blood-stained grey and black uniform of a European soldier.  

194.             To Tobias’s horror, eight other skeletons, all clad in identical uniforms, were strung up from the trees in a similar fashion. Each was positioned in a different, comical pose. One was doing the splits, and another had his legs crossed and wore a beard made of duck feathers.

195.             They were the skeletons of nine of the ambassador’s twelve escorts. Tobias could tell not only by the uniforms, but by the conditions of the bones; they were still white. These remains had been hung here only recently. 

196.             The shrunken head goblin clan symbol was painted in blood on the tree bark above each skeleton, further confirming Tobias’s convictions about who was responsible for these soldiers’ deaths and the desecration of their bodies.

197.             “Goblins,” he hissed.

198.