The Silent Foot Falls

He sat alone on the grassy berm, staring up into the cerulean evening sky. He liked to look at the clouds. A lot of people did- they could see things in them. That cloud looks like a so and so, a this and that, a dog, a cat, whatever it was. That was the short game though. The long game played out a little differently. When Alphi looked at the clouds, he liked to see how they were connected. To imagine how they could be connected. Each cloud might be something, but the whole sky was a picture. Why was the dog chasing the cat? Who took care of the animals? He was interested in the answers to the questions that the whole picture asked. He could see a wispy cloud glowing with dim bands of yellow and orange as it crossed the horizon towards the sunset. Where was she going? A strong tailwind was blowing a larger mass of solid clouds behind him. What would he do? Why?

He reached into the sleek pocket of his dark cloak and clutched his worn leather black book with his nimble fingers. Right now, this black book contained all the information he needed in the entire world.

18:30, Cusgrove Pass, West from Llynno, Moren’s Insignia, Corrine in wagon

He closed the little black book with the bronzed clasp and slid it back into his pocket. He was growing restless. The specified time had come and gone. His brow gathered in worry. Would they come as he had planned? He went through every aspect of his plan in his head as he had done countless times in the last few hours. He ensured he had his dirks in his sleeves.

He was snapped out of his mental checking by the sound of creaking wheels in the distance. This would almost surely be his targets. Normal wagon traffic would have ceased before dark. The only characters out at this time would be the ones that kept the normal wagon traffic away- the brigands, raiders, or in this case kidnappers. Alphi wondered if they knew what they were getting themselves into when they took Corrine. They obviously knew her parents were wealthy, but did they have any idea about the company she kept? If they did, they had made a serious error in judgement. If they didn’t, they had only made a serious error. It didn’t really matter either way.

Once he caught sight of the wagon, he saw the symbol and knew it was the right one. He silently slid down the grass bank of the berm into a patch of gnarled, shoulder-high trees. They would provide sufficient cover in this light. He crouched. The moon was half full and the clouds from earlier had dispersed. He needed to stay completely out of sight until the wagon got closer. He was relieved to see that it was only one wagon with 3 guards. This shouldn’t present too much of a problem.

Once the heavy wooden wagon was about 20 feet away he threw a firecracker onto the muddy rutted road. It exploded with a loud bang that left the horses panicked and stopped their forward movement. Alphi whispered “vintu”. He was immediately enveloped in darkness.

He adeptly ran with nearly silent footfalls towards the wagon and the three men who had now jumped from the wagon. One was patting the horses in an attempt to stop their rearing. The other two had their weapons ready and were looking for the cause of the unexpected disturbance.

“You take the left side of the road, I will take the right,” shouted a short and squat, but muscular man.

Great! If they split up, his job was even easier. Since he was already on the right side of the road, he closed in on the shorter man.

“Tailback! Get those horses under control, now!” the man shouted.

Those were the last words he would ever utter. Alphi approached him from behind as he followed the right side of the road towards the back of the wagon. The man was instinctively heading towards the wagon’s backloaded doors where the cargo would be stored. Alphi grabbed the man from behind simultaneously covering his mouth with his gloved hand and plunging one of his dirks into the carotid artery at the side of the man’s neck. A rush of blood, black in the moonlight, spray painted the side of the wagon and the man quickly went limp in Alphi’s arms. He dropped the man to his final resting place in the dry brown grass.

Alphi knew the other man would be quickly approaching the back of the wagon. He crouched down and steadied himself. As soon as he saw a flash of movement pass the corner of the wagon he pounced as quickly as a large cat. He plunged his dirk just below this man’s sternum angling it toward the heart. The man gasped loudly and collapsed. The noise was not so important know. There was only one man left. Alphi liked his chances one on one with just about anyone in Hellandriand.

“Who’s there?” shouted the man from the front. He had gotten the horses calmer now, though they still grunted their equine displeasure.

“I’m right here,” Alphi said as he rounded the front of the wagon and the darkness from his magic receded.

“Who are you?” Tailback shouted with palpable fear in his voice.

“I am a friend of the girl you kidnapped.”

“What are you talking about? There is no girl! A girl?” Tailback stuttered as he scuttled backwards until the wagon blocked his path.

“She has a name you know? Corinne. She also has a family, and a few dangerous friends. You have made a grave mistake.” Alphi replied.

“Please don’t kill me,” Tailback begged. “There is no girl, check for yourself,” he gasped as he threw a key ring to Alphi that had but two keys.

Alphi gave the skinny, scraggly, rat-faced man a hard stare. Tailback squirmed under the gaze. “Tell me two things, Tailback. Do you work for Moren? And why shouldn’t I kill you?”

“How do you know my name?” Alphi took a step forward. Tailback started talking a mile a minute. “I don’t rightly know who Moren is, I just work for these guys because I thought they would hurt me if I didn’t. They needed someone who knew some about horses and I grew up with a couple myself. I don’t know nothing about no girl. There is no girl I swear it. I don’t know what exactly is back there, but I know its no girl. I just, just…. please don’t kill me, I’ll do anything.”

Alphi rolled his eyes and growled, “I don’t usually let scum like you live, but I don’t usually kill helpless cowards either.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small smooth stone. It had a slight glow as he opened his hand. He took several more steps toward Tailback. Tailback was shaking like the grass in a strong wind. Alphi reached out with the stone in his hand.

“Take it,” Alphi barked.

Tailback reached out and gingerly took the stone out of Alphi’s hand and then immediately jerked against the front of the wagon again.

Alphi almost laughed at him. He pushed the laughter away and sternly said “Repeat what I say, while keeping that stone firmly in your hand.” Tailback nodded diffidently. “I Tailback, pledge myself to you Alphi, and this oath shall never be broken.”

Tailback slowly and quietly repeated the words Alphi had indicated with a quiver in his voice. Once he had finished, the stone glowed bright red for about ten seconds before going back to the dull yellow glow. Alphi bet that Tailback nearly shit himself. Tailback handed the stone back to Alphi.

“What was that thing?” Tailback asked.

“That is an oath stone. I don’t trust you in any way, shape, or form. Now I know you will do as I say. You are compelled to.”

Alphi kicked the key ring back towards Tailback. “Take these around back and open up the wagon. Let’s see whether you are lying about there not being a girl. I might get to kill you yet.”

Tailback grabbed the keys and wobbled to his feet. “Ok, ok, there is no girl,” he muttered as he rounded the wagon. He grabbed the smaller silver key on the key ring and wiggled it in the lock on the wagon. With a quiet snick, the lock released and Tailback opened the heavy wooden doors.

“Illume,” Alphi said, as a bright ball the size of his fist started floating about twelve inches from his hand. He stepped over the body of the thinner man and climbed into the wagon with his light ablaze and his heart sunk. Tailback wasn’t lying. Corrine wasn’t here. Where the hell could she be?

At the front and center of the wagon’s storage compartment, there was a large wooden chest with gilded metal bands and a large golden locking mechanism. “Open it,” he growled at Tailback, his mood worsening. He was so close and yet… never mind this.

Tailback stumbled forward casting a large eerie dancing shadow on the front of the compartment and the chest. Tailback unlocked the chest, lifted the heavy lid and scurried out of the way.

The gleaming was apparent immediately. Alphi took several steps forward and could see that the chest was full of stacked Queen’s Coins. There had to be at least twenty thousand in there piled in neat stacks. No- there were exactly twenty thousand. Ten rows by twenty rows- and he would bet just about all of it that they were stacked one hundred high. This was almost enough to make him smile, should make him smile, but this is not what he wanted to find, not what he was expecting. Normally he would have been absolutely jubilant. It’s strange how perspective can cast both happiness and sorrow.

“Lock this back up, and lock the wagon’s doors. I will be out front,” Alphi ordered.

Alphi slowly walked to the front of the wagon as the sounds of Tailback following his orders added to the tapestry of crickets and frogs that could be heard from the surrounding area. He climbed up to the passenger side of the wagon and sat on the hard, wooden bench. Momentarily, Tailback rounded the wagon into his view.

“Get up here and take the reins,” Alphi said. Tailback let out a slight moan as he climbed the step on the driver’s side. He must have hurt himself trying so hard not to defend the cargo he was paid to watch over.

“So, you are not going to kill me, right?” Tailback was nearly whimpering.

“For now, no,” Alphi replied.

“W-w-why did you decide to let me live and not the others?” Tailback stuttered.

“I can use you I think, I saw something in the clouds,” Alphi said. After a moment of silence less the crickets and frogs, “Now to Llynno, we need to find Corrine.”