Seeker (The Source Chronicles Book 1) Read Free Page B

me to do.  We certainly can make good use of the wool, and I shall bet you a gold piece he was smuggling something, too.”
    “She’ll be pleased with this one,” another said.
    Soon the eight attackers had mounted the horses and the cart, and simply continued along the path in the direction the merchant had been traveling.  In a matter of minutes, the sounds of his squeaky wheel faded, and soon were gone. 
    All he saw now was the road and the trees.  He heard the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, the breathing of the constable at his back, and birds and a gentle breeze occasionally catching the colorful leaves of the trees.
    “Help me, merchant, we need to get free before night,” the constable broke into the sounds of nature.
    His fear was suddenly replaced by an almost irrational anger.  “I paid good coin for your protection, and what just happened, constable?   What was that?”
    “That was The Falcon Raiders, taking us by surprise,” was the response he received.  “They have only been known to attack unarmed merchants before, which is why the Lord Mayor believed the protection we offered had been working.  Come on, man, push your back against mine, and let’s try to stand up.”
    Grumbling, contemplating his losses, the merchant pressed his back to that of the constable, wondering who would cover his expenses, and what the King might do about these Falcon Raiders.

Chapter 3
    “C’mon, lad, this place has long been abandoned, now.”
    “I know, I know,” his younger partner sighed despondently.  “But after what happened here…”
    He remembered.  He had been here, then.
    All around them, only stone and concrete foundations, and the charred remains of brick and rock walls, marked the homes and shops that had stood here.  Almost six years had passed, and the little that remained was devastated.
    He remembered the flames.  He remembered the screams of the dying.  Disturbingly, he remembered the stench of charring wood, searing cloth, and most horrifically flesh and hair.  He found himself glancing up, looking for the thick, acrid black cloud that had marked Tarmollo’s passing.  But his eyes found only the grey overcast, threatening rain.
    “Andim?” the younger man called him back from his reminiscing.  “I’ve found stairs…they don’t look like they got flamed.”
    Andim fully returned to the here and now, and passed through the two foot tall remains of a door post, into the blackened ruins of someone’s former home.  The younger man was standing above the wide opening, nervously looking into it, as though something might leap out.
    “Can you see all you need to from there, lad?” Andim queried.
    The boy’s head jerked up, and he could not hide the fear in his eyes.  “I can see down to the bottom, and it looks like it didn’t get too burned.  But it goes a bit to the left, and I can’t see what’s there.”
    Andim looked at his young partner sympathetically.  “C’mon now, Kallan.  It was half a decade ago.  We left no one behind, the plague has long been gone.  The village has stood untouched since.  Anything we find that is usable will be safe.”
    Kallan was shaking his head.  “I understand that.  I do.  I just…I just don’t like the way this place feels.  It’s so…eerie.”
    Andim nodded knowingly.  “I recall what happened to this village, lad.  It was terrible.  But we need a new headquarters, and she thinks this abandoned hamlet will do.  Nothing has touched this place in over five years, but we have to be absolutely certain of that, we don’t want any surprises.  If you think it would help, take a deep breath, hold it, and go down the stairs quickly.  Make sure no one has disturbed anything recently, and if you find anything of use, come back up and tell me.”
    Kallan started to bob his head up and down, feeling the reassurance from his recently adopted mentor.  He began to take deeper breaths, clearly preparing.  Finally,