The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll Page 16

  “Don’t make eye contact with them,” Davin warned Radash.

  “I do not think that I will. Not all of them were at the ceremony, but I would not like to risk being found.”

  “Couldn’t agree more, especially since they’re looking for me as well,” Davin agreed.

  As he drew past another small gathering of soldiers he realized something odd strapped to each of their waists. It looked like a large piece of parchment. Every single soldier had it attached to them. If it was a map, there was no need for lowmen to be carrying it. What could be so important that required every single soldier to have it?

  “Do you notice what they all carry on their person?” Radash asked, as if reading Davin’s mind.

  Davin nodded. “It must be a new order. I’ve never see anything like it on the soldiers we’ve encountered previously.”

  “The army only assigns mandatory issue items to lowmen when it is essential to their current mission,” Radash said, concluding his last thought.

  “And right now the army’s current mission is finding the two missing Descendants,” Davin finished, looking at Radash with surprise. Then his voice turned curious. “How do you know this information?”

  Radash swallowed. “I studied your military when I arrived here. I was afraid that my father would find some way to set them against me. He is a man of resources.”

  Davin didn’t question Radash about it anymore. He wanted to know what this parchment read. It could help him better understand their plan.

  They rounded a corner and saw a Cureist bringing vials full of all kinds of strange liquid into his shop. His eyes froze on Radash as they began to walk past him.

  Davin knew what was happening, and tried to hurry past the man. Teague sped up behind him. They were only a few steps from the next cross street when the man’s voice sounded.

  Davin shut his eyes and prepared for the worst.

  “I recognize you. You’re that boy from the ceremony. I should turn you in.”

  Davin saw on Teague’s face turn pale. They turned back toward the flabby-faced man.

  Davin tried to think quickly. “Why would you want to turn him in? The governors and the army have gone mad. Can’t you see it?”

  His flabby face jiggled as he shrugged. “Mad or not, they control this place. I’m not getting in the way of their plans.” He turned to Radash. “They’ve been searching the city extensively for you, boy. It’s about the only thing they’ve done here since the ceremony. So I begin to wonder, why’re you so important to them?”

  Based on this new information, Davin now wondered the same thing. But they didn’t have time to sit around and talk about it. Their only option would be to make a run for it, knowing that soldiers wouldn’t be far behind.

  Teague spoke up. “I do not know why they would want me so badly. I’m sorry.”

  Davin tried to catch Teague’s eye. It took a moment, but Teague understood instantly.

  The Cureist must have figured out what was going to happen next because he cried out for the City Guards and Grand Soldiers at the top of his lungs, claiming that he found their escaped captive.

  “Time to go,” Davin said, and they sprinted in the opposite direction. It wasn’t more than a few seconds before they were spotted.

  So much for leaving the others behind.

  Chapter 12 The Lost Driocht Scroll

  They ran through the market place, trying to quickly remember the route they came in on. It was difficult. They couldn’t run where they had seen soldiers on guard so they had to improvise. At each turn, someone was there to block their path and Davin had to start pushing people out of the way to get by.

  There were shouts of pedestrians all around them as they ran. Not wanting to get into trouble themselves, people began telling the soldiers where to go. Soldiers quickly began to give chase, shouting at Davin and Radash to stop. But soon arrows whizzed by their heads and many came within inches of their bodies. As they rounded another corner, a couple of soldiers’ raised their bows to them. Davin shouted for them to duck, and the arrows sped by them overhead, striking the side of the building harmlessly.

  Even with the help of the shop owners, the soldiers couldn’t keep up. They called out for the young men to halt, but it was no use. The running footsteps faded slowly as they put distance between them and the soldiers. After a couple more hasty turns, they were sure their chasers had lost sight of them.

  Davin lead them down a small alleyway and pulled to a halt. He glanced around the side of the building leading into the alleyway. Radash bent over to catch his breath, and Davin watched for their pursuers.

  “You alright?” Davin asked, as his head scanned the street. Radash nodded his answer, still winded.

  Not a minute later, two soldiers rounded the other side of the building they were standing against. They must have split up when they hadn’t seen which direction Radash and Davin had gone. Davin smiled. That was exactly what he had wanted.

  Davin ducked back behind the wall before the soldiers saw him. He turned to Radash.

  “I’m going to need your help. The may be the only opportunity we’ll have to see what they are carrying. If it has anything to do with Egan and myself, I want to know about it.”

  Teague nodded, but his eyes remained distant and he said nothing. It was clear that he had just accepted the fact that they could no longer leave.

  “I need you to jump out and start to surrender yourself when they come by. Can you do that?” Davin asked quickly.

  Teague’s eyes widened with fear. “Are you mad? What if they recognize me? It could spell death for me right on the spot.”

  “It won’t come to that, I promise. Now go, and make sure their backs are turned to my position.” With that statement Davin pushed him out in the street.

  Davin listened to the conversation that ensued as the soldiers arrived. Teague offered his surrender and there was a bit of questioning.

  “There he is, grab him and we will take him to the governor,” one of the soldiers said.

  Radash shrugged. “I give up. I don’t want to run anymore,” he answered in his best street bum voice.

  There was momentary silence, then, “No one gives up that easily. And where’s the other one that was with you?”

  Davin waited a few seconds more. Hopefully Radash had them turned around, or he would lose the element of surprise. He couldn’t risk a glance around the corner again. Their backs might not be to him. He gave himself a countdown and then ran out from behind the buildings.

  Drawing on his Ancient strength, Davin reached out to the soldier nearest the building and slammed his head into the wall. There was a dull smack and the soldier’s eyes rolled back in his head. Radash kept his eyes on the unconscious soldier while the other one attacked Davin. Davin grabbed the soldier’s sword hand and once again drew on the Ancient strength, ripping the sword away from his opponent’s grip.

  The soldier punched at Davin, but hit only air as the punch was dodged. The soldier’s momentum carried him a few steps past Davin. Grabbing the arm of the flailing man, Davin swung him around and back into the same way the other one had run into.

  Davin and Radash dragged them into the alleyway and put their helmets back on them.

  “Do you think it wise for us to just leave them here?” Teague asked.

  Davin shrugged. “It would take us too long to carry them back to Liam’s place. They would find us and we would lose our hideout or be killed.”

  Davin reached down and removed the parchment from the man’s belt. He examined it thoroughly. It was a part of a map of the world. This particular piece showed most of the Blind Desert in the northern part of Talamaraon, a wide span of ocean, and the kingdom of Isolanan in the middle of the sea. The map looked very ordinary except for a stretch of strange markings along the all sides like a border. It also didn’t feel like parchment. It was smooth, though it appeared wrinkled and weathered.

  He showed it to Radash, pointing out the markings.


  “That is no language that I’ve seen, but then again I am not a Scholar of History,” Radash shrugged, not recognizing the strange attributes either.

  They decided they would to show it to Liam. Davin stashed it away in his pocket and they were off.

  They walked silently for several minutes as they reentered the residential section of North Seaside District. They no longer felt the need to run, but Davin kept them at a swift pace nonetheless. It probably wasn’t wise to take any chances.

  He looked over at Radash, whose face remained wrinkled in distress.

  “What’s the matter with you? You act like we didn’t make a clean getaway,” Davin asked.

  Radash looked up at him, gathering his answer. “We should have never tried to leave. It has probably put all of us in more danger than we already were.”

  Davin threw his arms outward. “There is no way we could have known if they would have recognized us.”

  “Still,” said Radash, “the entire situation could have been avoided if we hadn’t left.”

  “It’s easy to say that now. And besides, I would have still tried to escape the city if it wasn’t for this.” He held up the piece of parchment with the mysterious markings. “This is important. It has something to do with Egan and myself. I know it.”

  Radash still looked morose. “I do hope the information we find is worth it, because we may have more issues to deal with soon.”

  “Listen; if anything comes of this we will be ready.” Davin was already tired of Radash’s attitude on this, somewhat ironic considering his own usual position. “If they get anywhere near this area of the city we are prepared to go quickly, and even if they do find us they will have to deal with a strong fighter in Egan.”

  “Let us just hope it does not become an issue,” Radash replied as they arrived at the gate to Liam’s yard.

  The full darkness of night had set in as they stepped through the gate and back inside the house. This gave Davin a little reassurance that they hadn’t been tracked by anyone. But he knew that if he tried he could probably debunk that idea with relative ease so he pushed the whole thing from his mind.

  They both entered the room where Liam and his guests were lounging.

  Liam called to them genially. “Welcome back, gentlemen. Did everything go as planned?”

  “Yes,” Davin said simply.

  “That is good to hear, join us again, will you?” Liam replied, unconcerned, and he resumed his conversation with a man across from him in finely sown black vest and trousers.

  As the night wound to a close, a clearly drunk and staggering group of people fumbled their way to the door. Page gave Liam a kiss on both cheeks and left, waving lazily to the rest of them behind her back.

  Davin and Radash were relieved and exhausted when the party finally broke.

  When the last of the guests had left, Davin explained what happened while they were out in the city, about how Radash was recognized, and the parchment the soldiers were carrying.

  When Liam asked to see the parchment, Davin reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece from the soldier. “Every single one of them was carrying the same thing. I know that’s not normal unless it was a mandatory issue.”

  Liam took it curiously. He unrolled it. It came to be about two feet long either way you measured. The two older men looked at one another. Liam’s face became mesmerized. He quickly shot a look to Davin.

  “You say that all of the soldiers were carrying this?” he asked quickly.

  “Yes, do you think it has to do with Descendants?”

  “It’s very possible. The markings on here almost look like...Ancient text.” He spoke slowly, entranced by it.

  “Does that mean that it might have come from our ancestors? Why would anyone in the Grand Army care about a map our kin made? How would that help them?”

  Liam eyed him perceptively. “Why, indeed. I will need to research this. Will you kindly excuse me from this afternoon’s lesson, Davin?”

  Davin shrugged. “By all means.”

  Liam stared at the parchment another moment, and then raised his head toward Davin again.

  Liam finally spoke, “I am glad things ended well. Your situation could be much worse right now.” He paused, his gaze clearly reading Davin. “I understand why you came back. Why did you decide to leave in the first place?”

  This was the moment he’d been waiting for. Should he tell them the real reason or make something up? It appeared that Liam already had an idea about Davin’s mindset.

  “I had no intention of coming back when I left,” he said firmly. “I was going to continue on my own.”

  Egan must’ve found this a complete surprise because he pulled himself upright. “What?”

  “I understand,” was all Liam said.

  ***

  “You are not thinking about your opponent or your strikes. You are just swinging blindly,” Egan admonished him during the sword lesson.

  “Sorry. I will try harder,” was all Davin would say every time Egan corrected him.

  Davin tried to get his mind off of his late night excursion. It was difficult. It kept coming back to him during the middle of a fight. He would misjudge a strike or not react quickly enough with a block and Egan would rap him on the shoulder or the arm. There were a good number of bruises and small cuts piling up.

  As the sun grew higher in the sky Egan grew more and more impatient with Davin. He continued to hit harder every time Davin messed up.

  But it didn’t seem to be solely Davin’s lack of progression. Egan’s attitude stemmed from something else. Davin only had short moments to think about it though because Egan was relentless.

  “Can you lighten up please?” Davin protested, hoping Egan would listen to him.

  “You are better than this. You have to find the strength within yourself to keep your thoughts at bay,” Egan replied harshly.

  Davin sighed and examined his tender arms and shoulder. Much to his liking he noticed that under all his bruises he had begun to accrue some nicely toned muscle.

  “I can’t,” he answered after a moment, “not today.” He turned away, angry at Egan for this treatment.

  “Unacceptable.” Seconds later Egan was charging at him again, now with even more ferocity.

  During the last part of their sparring Egan seemed to be in a more than tempered state. Davin realized he was lucky that he hadn’t walked away with several broken bones, considering the fire in Egan’s eyes. Still, he was feeling enough pain to remember for a while.

  Egan finally put up his hand to stop them. “We are done for the day. If you have this problem tomorrow, things will be worse,” he threatened. Davin gawked as Egan threw his sword towards Davin and walked into the house in a huff. It made him feel a little better that Egan was not controlling himself.

  Who’s acting on emotion now?

  After filling his belly he waited for Liam in the fencing hall, but then remembered that Liam would not be providing any instruction today. He would be on his own. The hours passed and Davin didn’t make any progress, much as he had expected.

  By the middle of the third week he had begun improving again, but not by much. Egan had started to become harsh again after their first couple of fights. Davin could feel his temper rising. This was ridiculous.

  At once, he had had enough. The morning was drawing late. He wasn’t going to let Egan get away with another lesson like this. Forcing the distracting thoughts out of his mind, he got into a ready position. His sword was half an arm’s length in front of him pointed directly at Egan.

  Davin took a deep breath, feeling confident. “I am ready now. Begin, “he called.

  Egan charged with sideways slice on Davin’s left side. Davin assessed his opponent and blocked, flipping the sword smoothly upside down and positioning it along that side. He quickly pushed Egan’s sword off of him with a strength that caused Egan to flail for a minute. Egan regained his composure, but it was too late. Davin had already brought his sw
ord up along Egan’s shoulder in a downward swing. A fresh cut appeared where Davin had made contact.

  Davin held his sword at his side and gave a sideway smile. “As few strikes as possible,” he growled.

  Egan examined his cut for a moment while Davin waited. Looking up at Davin, he nodded and gave a half smile. “Well done. You fought excellently. Improvisation and assessment of your opponent, as well as harnessing of your emotions. You have the basics. All it takes now is practice to become proficient, and we can do that on our travels. While we remain here, you will focus on Driocht.”

  The severe tone had left Egan, but he still looked put out at the idea of dealing with Davin any longer. That much was clear by his uncharacteristic formality.

  Davin remained confused. The only thing that had happened before Egan’s attitude change was the situation in the city. Could he really be that upset that Davin and Radash had went against his advice about leaving the mansion? No, he wouldn’t take it out on me like this, not like a pouting child. It had to be worse. What had they talked about when they came back?

  It had been about the scroll…and why he had left in the first place. Davin blinked twice, realizing what it was.

  Egan had been offended by Davin’s intention to leave them behind. It was a nice sentiment, but a bit surprising that Egan felt this way. Or is it, we are the only two Descendants left that we know of. And Egan had already risked his life several times to keep Davin safe in their travels.

  In the end, they might have to part ways. It was clear that Egan had big plans that were of no interest to Davin. But for now their fates were tired together. He had to apologize to his kinsman, but at the right moment.

  The idea of traveling caused Davin’s mind to switch courses. “Where will we go after we leave here?” he asked, hoping Egan would say the capital. It felt obvious to him now that whatever his plans were, he needed Egan with him. Training had revealed that.

  Egan laid his sword down and started over to the table where Liam was standing. “It is still to be determined, though we have discussed some ideas.”