Chapter 3


Covarla awoke about an hour before dawn. She silently got out of bed and got ready to travel. Her bags were waiting on the floor. She took a moment to double check them before slinging her pack over her shoulder and grabbing her saddlebags and bow.
The kitchen was dark when she entered. Covarla set her bags in a corner by the door and lit a lamp. She moved around the kitchen trying to find some tea without waking Adria. Soon she had a pot of tea ready and a cup poured in front of her.
She got out her map while she waited for Adria to wake up. She had to go to the Keymar pass, then to Litiz to see if anyone knew anything about her parents' assassin.
Suddenly she had an urge to hit herself. She had tucked the package Cear Huyett had given her into her belt pouch and forgotten it. 'That's a good start,' she thought to herself. 'Master Huyett gives you an important clue and you forget about it.'
She gently pulled the cloth wrapped item out of her pouch. Slowly she unwrapped it, not sure what she would find. Inside was a golden medallion on a thin golden chain. On the golden disk was a crest of some kind. Covarla looked closer and saw that it was a large green dragon wrapped around a sword. On the other side was her mother's name surrounded by a border of roses.
"I've never seen a crest like that," said Adria as she stretched and entered the room. "May I see the pendant for a moment?"
Covarla handed the medallion over to Adria. Adria looked at it intently for a few moments as the buzz of magic filled the room. She sighed as she handed the medallion back to Covarla. "It is magical, I can tell that much just seeing it, but other that that I can get no readings from it."
Covarla looked at the medallion for a moment before putting the chain around her neck and tucking it under her shirt where it couldn't be seen. "I wonder where my mother got this medallion at, I've never seen her wear it before," said Covarla.
Adria sat down and sipped a cup of tea. "Are you ready to leave soon?"
Covarla nodded towards the bags in the corner. Adria smiled at her. "My bags are in my room," said Adria.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few minutes Adria and Covarla were loading their horses and mounting. They rode out of town quietly before anyone else woke up. They rode at a mild pace so as not to wear out their horses. They had a lunch packed and ready in their saddlebags and had other food supplies in their packs. They rode quietly with little talking for hours.
The road stretched out ahead of them, seeming to go on forever. Covarla took out the map of Para she had placed in her saddlebags. The road they were on led northeast toward the capital. Closer to the capital city it split and turned sharply northwest towards the mountains, the city of Keymar and the Keymar pass. They were going to reach the crossroads in about three days if they made good time and then about a week would bring them to Keymar where they would resupply before crossing through the pass.
In Keymar and the pass they would look for clues about the assassin and follow them where they led. Covarla still had the piece of cloth tucked away in a pocket.
Covarla looked around at the landscape. Flat plains ended at rolling hills off in the distance to her left. Small huts were spread about for the herders who watched the horses that were breed in Para. On her right the plain ended with a large forest. On the other side of the forest was a small village along the road to a large temple. Behind her was her village, Amaranth.
Even though Amaranth had a road to the capital passing through it along with a road to one of the largest temples in the country, it wasn't very big. No major cities existed to the south, only small fishing villages by the coast and farm towns on the fertile plains. The major cities in the country were located near the border to Litiz and near the mouth of the river that flowed through the capital city. The only reason a temple was located out in the middle of nowhere was because it was located on the site of a famous religious battle. Most of the traffic to and from the temple passed on the road between the crossroads at the capital and the temple itself. At noon they stopped for lunch below a tree before continuing on.
~~~~~~~~~~

Covarla studied the map again for what seemed like the hundredth time. They were almost at the crossroads. She chafed inwardly at the slow pace they had set over the last two days because of the bad weather. No one had been traveling in the weather except them, which had made the journey even more dull.
Covarla and Adria kept falling into odd silences when neither of them could think of something to talk about. Covarla didn't know much about magic and Adria didn't know much about swords, which left them both short on ideas.
Adria whistled at Covarla to get her attention. Covarla looked at Adria who nodded toward the road in front of them. Coming towards them was a large group of armed men riding hard.
Covarla tucked her map back into her saddlebags as she and Adria moved over to the side of the road and slowed their pace. The roads were not patrolled, but Para had never had a problem with bandits. Whenever bandits appeared the army moved one of its smallest branches to stomp it out immediately. Unlike other countries, Para maintained its army. Mainly because the army had one of the best fighting schools in the country along with a school that taught history and politics. It was also one that allowed both men and women to be taught equally.
The riders were quickly closing the gap between them. A high ranking officer was leading a group of academy trained soldiers somewhere, though Covarla couldn't think where to. The officer signaled a halt when he was near Covarla and Adria. The soldiers expertly stopped their horses in perfect ranks and the officer rode towards them.
"The village of Amaranth is two days away, am I correct," he asked.
Covarla nodded. "Yes, but why are you headed there," she asked.
The officer looked towards the village. "We've been sent to investigate a murder. We were told a man and a woman were killed and their house ransacked while their daughter was attending a sword competition."
"Oh! How horrible," said Covarla sadly.
"I'm glad the girl was watching the event, otherwise it would be three deaths we'd have to investigate," the man said.
"Thankfully, yes. Well, we must be off if we're going to get to the capital by nightfall tomorrow," said Covarla as she suppressed a wry grin. "I'm certain you'll find the information you're seeking in the village."
The man waved farewell before motioning for the soldiers to follow him down the road.
When the men were out of site Adria looked at Covarla for a moment. "Why didn't you correct that man about the competition or give him any information about the murder, and why did you tell him we were going to the capital," Adria asked her.
Covarla replied, "I want to be the one to find out who killed my parents, not some army officer who doesn't think I can win a competition. If he knew it was my parents that were killed, he'd spend all day asking me questions. Eventually he'd find out about the pendant and then he'd probably confiscate it as evidence."
"You have to admit he may have bee able to help us," Adria pointed out.
Covarla shook her head. "He would probably have wanted to bring that band of soldiers with him, to protect us. Never mind the sword on my belt and the bow and arrows I have and your magic. Plus, larger groups take more to fee, attract more attention and tend to move slower than two people can."
Adria thought for a minute. "Quite true," she said. "They'll probably still want to question you when they find out you're involved. Which means they'll be four days behind us, give or take a day depending on how long they stay in Amaranth."
Covarla chuckled. "And however long it takes them to find out we're not going to the capital. No one in the village knows where we're headed except maybe Master Huyett," she added. "Anyways, I don't particularly want them to catch up with us, so we'd better keep a faster pace."
They rode faster than normal that day, stopping only to rest their horses and eat. They rode for a few hours under the light of the moon. They stopped a few hours before midnight under a large tree. Adria put up her magical words and barriers that would protect them until they awoke about an hour before dawn.
That day they arrived at the crossroads and joined the throng of people headed towards Keymar. Covarla and Adria rode along the side of the road, out of the way of the many carts and wagons, but on the opposite side as the people travelling on foot. There seemed to be just as many people on horseback as there were on foot though.
Covarla and Adria followed the route towards Keymar and the annual Keymar faire. There was a sword competition being held there that Covarla was going to enter in hopes of winning and collecting the price money. Their small funds were rapidly being depleted as they traveled. Thankfully they had not had to travel through faire traffic between Amaranth and the crossroads. The faire there wouldn't start for another month or so.
Adria planned on searching for clues from people she knew with Covarla after the competition. They would look in some places that Adria was familiar with.
Covarla had been planning on entering the faire competition if she on the Amaranth competition. Anyone could enter, but usually only winners of local competitions and the best students from the academy entered. The only higher level competition was being held in Selea in a few months. Master Huyett had told her she had a chance at winning the Keymar competition.
The throng of people lessened towards dusk as those that could afford to stopped at one of the roadside villages for the night. Others found a bush or tree to sleep under. Some people could be seen making camp in an abandoned field or a haystack.
Covarla and Adria were the last people on the road. They let their horses run the last hour as a change from the slow pace of the crowd. They made camp under the stars.
Before Covarla fell asleep she sat remembering the time she had spent with her parents planning on travelling this same road if Covarla won the local sword competition. She thought back to the many days she had trained, alone and with others, for that competition.
Somehow the faire at Keymar had slipped her mind over the past few days. I guess I have a new goal now, she thought to herself. Instead of being the world's greatest swordswoman, I now dream of getting justice for my parents. At least I can still attend the competitions if I'm in the city. And if I can enter, I'll win it for them. Odd, but thinking of a time she had spent with her parents made her miss them a little less and not feel so lonely.
Covarla had trained hard for the last competition and would try her hardest at the faire. She was worried about the participants from the capital academy. They would have had some of the best teachers in the country. Covarla knew that Master Huyett had been one of the best students at the academy in his day, but she still had doubts about her own abilities.
She fell asleep while mentally preparing herself for the second half of the journey.
~~~~~~~~~~

The crowd grew packed together as they approached the gates to Keymar. It was getting near dusk but half of the men and women driving carts and wagons turned off towards the fairs that still had some business going on inside.
The music and chatter coming from outside the city walls was almost a match for that coming from inside. It seemed as if both gatherings were constantly trying to be louder than the other.
When it was Covarla and Adria's turn to enter the gate a bored guard made some notes on a sheet of paper after asking for their names. He then turned to the next person and asked the same question.
Once inside the city the crowd grew slightly less packed for people on horseback. Covarla made a note of the few people here that rode horses. Adria motioned for Covarla to follow her as she moved down one side street after another until stopping before the back gate of what seemed to be an inn.
A man inside opened the gate for them and led their horses away after they had dismounted. Adria led the way through the kitchen of the inn and spoke softly to one of the serving girls. The girl went through a door that Covarla guessed led into the common room. In a few minutes a somewhat large smiling woman greeted them.
"Good to see you again, Adria," the woman greeted cheerfully. "And who is this young lady with you?"
Adria smiled at the woman. "This is my friend Covarla. She's here for the sword competition." Adria then turned to address Covarla. "This jolly soul is Mistress Omare. I've known her for many years."
Mistress Omare smiled at Covarla. "Come in," she said as she herded them into the common room and seated them at a table. "And call me Maive, Covarla. I'll have your things put in some rooms and one of the girls will bring some food. You'll probably want baths before you go to bed." She chattered on and on at Adria before turning back to Covarla. "You got her just in time, dearie. The competition starts tomorrow. Don't worry about not having signed up yet, they always expect one or two late entries, so there won't be any hassle. Good luck to you, though, because you'll need it. No offense, but the competition looks tough. The three best students from the academy are participating and some of their teachers will be in the stands watching. But don't worry, the judges are unbribable, so it'll be a fair competition."
Covarla murmured a thank you while Maive was taking a breath. Just then one of the serving girls came to get Maive's help with something in the kitchen. Another girl brought out two bowls of stew and a plate of bread along with two mugs of juice. The common room's table's were half full of patrons. In one corner was a woman playing the lute.
The room began to fill up after the sun set. The serving girls and some boys brought out plates full of food and mugs of ale or wine or beer. Once Covarla and Adria had finished their meal a girl appeared at their table to show them to their baths while a boy cleared away the dishes.
Covarla was very glad to sink into a tub and wash off the dust from the road. She had felt like every pore in her body had been filled with dust and dirt. I probably look like I've been living in a mud pit, she thought.
When she dried and got dressed she walked into her room, which had a door connecting to Adria's room. Her packs were set on top of a dresser and her saddlebags were set in a corner with her bow and quiver of arrows. She changed out of her dust ridden clothes before crawling into the bed and blowing out the candle.

Previous Chapter Home Next Chapter