The trip to Jardensvale was less traumatic this time; rather than being washed down a flooding river in the rain, Laryn and Kenna rode on horses through the trees.

  Laryn had nearly declined to take the horses, thinking they’d be stealthier on foot, but Gall had convinced him, with the argument that the faster they traveled, the less opportunities there would be for Ondwins to spot them.

  Besides, having a horse to help transport the spell module wasn’t a bad idea either.

  They met no one in the woods as they traveled east to the Lewin, then north along its banks to the place where they’d ford the water. The river had returned nearly back to its regular size, though signs of damage from the flooding were still visible.

  Large trees, huge knarled knots of branches, and collapsed banks revealing tangled roots revealed the power of flowing water.

  They chatted a little as they talked, but Kenna didn’t seem particularly interested in conversation. At one point Laryn asked her what had happened to Krupp, the foul mouthed low goblin who’d been imprisoned by Devlin. He hadn’t seen the creature since the night that Devlin escaped.

  But Kenna hadn’t seen him either, and mention of the horny beast seemed to worsen Kenna’s mood, so Laryn dropped the subject.

  He considered the growth of his kingdom as they journeyed on. Simply defending themselves against Harrat wasn’t going to be enough. The man had to be defeated. He had to be driven out of the wildlands, or killed.

  If Laryn had the stealth magic of the pale assassins, he might have considered sneaking into Harrat’s camp to do the deed himself. Mages could sense the use of magic in their vicinity, but from what Laryn could tell, the stealth spell was only detectible when first cast. It must have had a high cost to use, because the assassins seemed to wait till the last possible moment to use it, but… what ever it was would be worth it to kill Harrat.

  The more he thought about it, the more nervous he grew for Zaremba’s safety. He was definitely going to prioritize her bodyguard mages when he returned.

  A short time after they crossed the ford, they spotted men moving through the woods.

  “Those are Ondwins,” Laryn said.

  “What are they doing here?” Kenna whispered back.

  Hiding behind foliage, they watched the men moving through the trees in the distance. They disappeared from view and didn’t return.

  Laryn and Kenna proceeded with more caution.

  They saw roving patrols of soldiers three more times that morning, before they reached the outskirts of Jardensvale, but none of them seemed to notice Laryn and Kenna.

  From a position of concealment, they watched the ruins of the town. This time, rather than goblins looting the village, Ondwins moved around the wreckage.

  “It looks like they’re searching for something,” Laryn said.

  “The spell module.” Kenna picked seeds from a piece of grass. “This is where they saw us; Not a bad assumption that the spell module might be here.”

  “A good guess,” Laryn said. “And they’re right, aren’t they?”

  “Close, but not quite,” Kenna said. “Come on.”

  They made their way around the south of Jardensvale, and found a sheltered hollow. After a brief discussion, they staked the horses and left them behind. The next portion of their journey wouldn’t be very conducive to horseback riding.

  Climbing a steep, rocky slope, the trees and undergrowth grew more dense around them. A single wrong step could send one of them tumbling down an avalanche of stone, leaving them beaten and bloodied against the trunk of one of the slender trees growing there.

  The ground leveled off slightly, and they emerged into a flat, grassy area.

  “Horel’s balls,” Kenna cursed.

  The grass had been trampled down, and large depressions indicated places where tents had stood. A few firepits still smoked slightly.

  Laryn surveyed the scene. “Someone camped here last night. But they are gone now; surely that is a good thing?”

  “Maybe,” Kenna said. “Let’s go.” They continued making progress. The tall hill rose up to the south of them, but they weren’t climbing it. They stayed at about the same elevation, working their way across the side of the mound. Laryn searched for signs that someone else had passed here recently, but found none.

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  As the sun dipped low on the horizon, they stopped.

  “How did you find this place?” Laryn asked, looking around at the wilderness surrounding them.

  “A good hiding place, isn’t it?” Kenna said, looking pleased. “Bram and I scouted around for weeks after we came to Jardensvale, and eventually found this spot. You wouldn’t ever know it was here.”

  “We’re here?” Laryn was surprised. He didn’t see anything particularly special about this spot. Trees grew tall on the steep slope of the hill side, preventing any visibility for more than a dozen meters. A rivulet of water ran down a small channel in the dirt, undergrowth growing thickly around it.

  “Nearly,” Kenna said.

  She led him up the rivulet a short distance. A boulder protruded from the side of the hill, and the water dribbled from a dark shadow at its base.

  Pushing aside a large shrub, she ducked down into the shadow and disappeared.

  Laryn followed her, and found a narrow hole leading into the side of the hill. He pushed through, water soaking his chest, and found that the cave opened up a short distance beyond.

  They crouched in the darkness for a moment, allowing their eyes to adjust. A frail light broke through the opening of the cave, but did not illuminate much in the dark cavern. The constant dribble of water droplets echoed in the darkness.

  Kenna fished through her pack and produced her flint and steel, along with some oil soaked rags wrapped to sticks. She ignited one of these torches, and orange light revealed size of the cavern within.

  Laryn was able to stand up straight after taking a few more steps forward. Dark holes opened up in every direction, leading deeper into the cave.

  Every surface was damp and slimy.

  “This way,” Kenna said.

  Laryn followed her. “How do you know?”

  “There aren’t a lot of ways that a human can go in here. There’s only one way that Bram can go.”

  “Didn’t you say he was huge? How did he fit through that hole?”

  “Barely,” Kenna said.

  The cave curved around, so they could no longer see the light shining through the entrance. The floor of the cave sloped at a steep angle, and water constantly dripped down on them from overhead. Small stalactites dangled from the ceiling, and Laryn had to remain constantly vigilant so as to not crack his skull open on the stone.

  Perhaps fifty meters into the cavern, Kenna stopped.

  There at her feet rested a large wooden box. A cube, about a half meter tall.

  “It’s in there?” Laryn asked.

  Kenna knelt and undid the latch, opening the box. A velvet cover slipped aside, and a shiny metallic surface gleamed in the torch light. Intricate patterns of runes etched across the metal were indecipherable to Laryn. Kenna placed a hand on the spell module.

  “He was so proud of this,” she said. “Kellin. My master. He was probably executed for his part in letting us escape with this. But part of me still hopes he is alive.”

  “Okay,” Laryn said. “Let’s get this thing out of here.”

  He closed the lid. The box that held it had two straps on it; shoulder straps for transporting it around.

  Laryn crouched in front of the crate and slipped his arms through the straps. He leaned forward, tipping the box and trying to get its weight off the ground. It was heavy; probably about as heavy as a kingdom core.

  With a grunt, he rose to his feet, leaning forward at a dramatic angle to keep the weight balanced on his back.

  “You got it?” Kenna asked, concerned.

  “I think so,” Laryn said.

  “Be careful. Don’t drop it. If you damage it…” She left the rest unsaid. Laryn got the message.

  The route back through the cave took much longer. Laryn’s footing on the slippery ground was unstable at best, and he resorted to crawling on his hands and knees in several places.

  As they neared the entrance, Kenna suddenly doused her torch, plunging them into darkness.

  Only the entrance of the cave remained, shining like a star in the night sky.

  “What the—”

  “There’s someone moving out there,” Kenna said. “I just saw a shadow.”

  They crept quietly and slowly forward. Progress was difficult in the darkness. When they neared the entrance, Laryn eased the spell module off his shoulders, setting it down on the ground.

  On hands and knees, they moved toward the entrance.

  Nothing moved beyond.

  “Are you sure you saw a person?” Laryn asked. “It wasn’t just some kind of shadow passing by? An animal or something?”

  Kenna held a finger to her lips, silencing him.

  Laryn listened. Beyond the echoing dripping of water, and the trickling stream leaving the mouth of the cave, beyond the rustling of leaves outside, he picked out the faint murmur of voices.

  “—somewhere. A wild goose chase—”

  “—swear! Smella fem, fresh fresh. Here!”

  Laryn met Kenna’s eyes in the darkness. He whispered, voice barely audible. “Is that a goblin?”

  She nodded, and Laryn bit back a curse. If the men out there were Ondwins, using a goblin to sniff out Laryn and Kenna, then they’d definitely find them. But if they were somehow looking for someone else?

  They had a few options. Hide; hope that nobody came into the cave. Prepare an ambush. They could kill people as they entered the dark cavern, but that was risky. If they didn’t kill everyone, someone would certainly go for help, and they’d end up barricaded in a cave.

  They could hide further back in the cave, and set up an ambush for any party that made their way inside. Laryn didn’t like any of these options very much.

  “Are there any other ways though the cave?” he asked. “Other tunnels?”

  Kenna didn’t know.

  Laryn activated [Survey]. He felt a rush as the skill penetrated the stone around him. Unfortunately the information provided to him wasn’t helpful. It didn’t give him a map of the cave, just a description of minerals in the area, as well as a note mentioning ‘caves.’

  Creeping closer to the entrance of the cave, Laryn listened more closely.

  The sounds of someone loudly snuffling nearby reached him.

  “Krupp smella fem,” came the goblin’s voice. “Trail lead right toa water. Very fresh.”

  “Come on.” This a man’s voice, tired and annoyed. “It’s leading us on. What would she be doing out here?”

  “Looking for the spell module?” This suggestion from a different man.

  “That stinking goblin is leading us on,” said the first. “There’s nothing out here for us.”

  The sound of a cough and shuffling footsteps nearby gave Laryn the impression of maybe a half dozen men.

  Laryn pushed his head a little further into the opening of the cave, wondering if he might be able to catch a glimpse of the enemy waiting beyond. But wait; there was an easier way to do this.

  He threw himself onto the ground and pulled his body out of the gap between the boulders, bursting through like a creature newly born into the world.

  Tucking his head, Laryn rolled down the hill and sprang to his feet. He activated [Temporal Thinking Space].

  The time warping bubble coalesced around him, and he slowly turned to examine his surroundings.