Jaleigh Johnson - Unbroken Chain - The Darker Road

“He’s right about the portal,” Cree said. “I overheard some of the humans talking-a group of them paid for passage with the caravan beyond Rashemen-about the portal being in one spot for too long. Bandits are leaving their scouts in the hills to watch for caravans from the Underdark. They know the wagons will be fully stocked, so when one comes through, they send word to their fellows to set up an ambush.”

“What about guards on the other side of the portal?” Ashok said.

“We have them,” Cree said, “but secrecy is a more effective weapon, according to them. I agree.”

“I’ve heard worse tales,” Skagi said. “Wagons snatched as soon as they come out of the portal. They kill the guards, drovers, and steer the horses into the hills before anyone can get his breeches in order.”

As Skagi spoke, Vlahna passed near them on her horse. She rode bareback and had a shortbow slung over her shoulder in addition to the chain wrapped around her arm. “You won’t have to fear that happening with Tuva,” she said. “He’ll pose as drover on the lead wagon and make any attacker pay a steep price if they want to make off with it.”

“No matter what we do, we’ll have to fight off our share of bandits,” Ashok said. Looking at the three shadar-kai, he could tell that none was about to complain. An eventful journey was a successful journey, in their eyes, for it meant they never had to worry about fading into oblivion.

Vlahna sidled her horse closer to Ashok’s mount. He saw her animal’s nostrils flare, then it tossed its head as if it smelled something unnatural. Ashok tensed, half expecting it to cry an alarm, but the horse just edged away.

Vlahna laughed. “I guess she doesn’t like you,” she said, addressing the disguised nightmare. “Can’t imagine why-you’re stunning.” She put out a hand to pat the horse’s neck, but Ashok pulled on his reins to draw the stallion out of reach. Vlahna looked at him questioningly.

“He doesn’t like anyone,” Ashok said.

“Except you?”

“No, he especially hates me,” Ashok said. “But we have an understanding.”

She laughed again, spurred her horse with her knees, and rode away. Ashok saw Skagi and Cree watch her go. At the front of the line, Tatigan and Tuva had finished their conference with the other merchants and were taking their places in the wagons.

“Prepare to move out!” Vlahna called to the assembly. “All of you, mind your horses and weapons, keep your eyes open, and-above all-keep to your stations. Tymora give us all a kiss and a smile.”

With those words, she took her bow off her shoulder and nocked an arrow. Ashok readied his chain, and the brothers fell in beside him on their horses. The rest of the caravan either rode on horseback or took cover in the wagons. Ashok noted with interest the tension in the body language of the other races, and the relaxed, almost playful atmosphere among the shadar-kai-all except Ilvani. The witch sat with a vacant expression.

Skagi leaned over. “A kiss and a smile? Is she offering, do you think?”

Ashok and Cree laughed. “You’re not getting either,” Cree said.

“Well, what do you think, pup? Are you ready to taste Faerunian air?” Skagi slapped Ashok on the shoulder.

Ashok glanced at Ilvani. She met his gaze and said, “I put on my boots.”

“I suppose that’s something,” Ashok said. “Let’s go.”

As he passed through the portal, Ashok looked up and saw the gray, cloud-heavy sky. His first feeling on seeing a sky so similar to that of the Shadowfell was one of intense disappointment.

I was looking for the sunlight, Ashok thought. Darnae had once described to him how the heat of highsun in the city where she was born had scorched her skin and caused bright orange spots to burst in front of her eyes. But that was during the summer months, and Ashok knew they were too far north to feel that kind of heat at any point during their journey.

He returned his attention to the caravan and heard the twang of the first crossbow bolt just before it hit the side of a wagon. The second bolt caught Ashok in the shoulder and knocked him off the nightmare’s back.

He fell on his shoulder, but the impact left him more surprised than hurt. When he got his breath, he found himself staring at a clump of grass and a strange, three-leafed weed growing from the earth. Ashok cursed himself. He let his attention wander for a breath, and the ambush caught him completely off guard.

Shouts went up among the caravan. Vlahna and the six shadar-kai riders broke away from the others and charged up the low hills. From his vantage, Ashok couldn’t see how many attackers they pursued. He looked for Ilvani and saw the top of her pale red head just above the wagon wall. At least she’d had the sense to take cover. He wished he could say as much. Sighing, Ashok rolled onto his back and yanked out the crossbow bolt.

Cree jumped off his horse and came to Ashok’s side. “Are you all right?”

Ashok threw away the bolt in disgust. There was no blood on it. “I’m fine. It didn’t even penetrate my armor.”

“Aren’t we going after them?” Skagi wheeled his horse around, kicking up dirt and grass. “Those other Blites can’t have all the fun!”

“They won’t catch them,” Ashok said. “These were just insect stings. If it was a real ambush, they would have aimed for the horses first.”

“He’s right.” Tuva weaved through the wagons, checking the beasts and arranging the drovers in a defensive formation. “There were only three of them. They were testing our reaction.”

“Maybe the sellswords will make them think better of trying a real ambush,” Cree said.

“Or more likely they’ll simply return in greater numbers,” Ashok said.

“You in one piece?” Tuva asked him.

Ashok nodded. As the leader walked away, Ashok put his hands against the ground to lever himself up. He stopped when he felt the grass beneath his palms. He pulled off his gloves.

Green blades, tinged with brown from the first frosts, were spongy and soft, very different from the sparse, brittle vegetation of the Shadowfell plains. He felt moisture beneath them, and a rich, earthy smell drifted up.

The air, too, held a great deal more moisture than the Shadowfell. It had rained on this spot, or maybe snowed, very recently. Ashok looked around at the hills and low-hanging clouds and became aware of other striking differences between his home and this new world.

Colors.

Some of the clouds were dark blue around the edges, and a variegated mist hung over the horizon. Rain in the distance-he smelled it in the air. It would reach the caravan before nightfall. The grass swayed and bent in the wind. The subtle movement had a hypnotic quality-as if the land itself were alive and aware of their presence. The rustle of the wind through the grass was different from the sound of its hissing over barren, eroded soil. A glance at the horizon revealed nothing to confuse the sky with the ground. They were different entities, but Ashok still felt disoriented. He couldn’t quite find his balance-he didn’t know where to rest his gaze. Everything moved, and so everything could be a waiting threat. Seen in that light, Ashok felt uneasy for the first time.

“You sure you didn’t crack open your skull?” Skagi asked him.

“I’m fine,” Ashok said.

The big man scratched his chin. “Good, then. You think you might get up to join us, or should we pick you up on the way back from Rashemen?”

Ashok blinked. He felt as though he’d just come out of a trance. Distantly, he heard Tuva order everyone back to his or her place. They were moving out again, and Ashok was still sitting in the grass. He stood up.

At last, he was in Faerun.