A tremor rippled across the frame of the picture and Kyriu snapped to attention. With a gentle thrust the picture drifted away from the wall. Lozan's head popped out from behind it, eyeing the room before the rest of him emerged and pushed the picture closed behind him. Lozan looked weary, his face red and hair matted down with sweat. His robes were soiled in a few spots, notably on his chest, where there was centered a large, heavy, mud imprint that looked like it was made by a boot. But Lozan wore a satisfied expression and he wandered off without stopping in the direction of his bed room.
Kyriu eased out from the shadow in which he had concealed himself and looked in the direction of Lozan's bed chamber. He wasn't angry with Lozan. In fact Kyriu had known about the tunnel since it was constructed. He had even walked it once to see for himself where it came out. He lost interest when he found out that it ended at the top of the rise that the Citadel was built on. It had a great view of the valley below and Kyriu concluded that Lozan used it as a way to escape the demands of being Citadel ruler; a place where he could go to get some peace and quiet to reflect on his duties. Kyriu had learned over the years that peace and quiet, or alone time, was something that humans craved from time to time so he decided to let Lozan have his little secret. It made no difference to him and if it made Lozan be that much more receptive to his leadership then so be it. He could live with that. But he was puzzled over the look on Lozan's face when he came back. When Kyriu had left Lozan after the meeting with the runner and the bad news the runner had delivered, Lozan had looked defeated. Like a man that was in over his head and had realized that he was going to drown unless something drastic happened that changed the course of events he was caught in.
However, when Lozan had returned from the tunnel, he looked much relieved. Kyriu would even go so far as to so he was elated. That’s quite a swing in emotion. Possibly more than could be achieved with some me time. As a being that thrived on fear, Kyriu was sensitive to changes in the emotional state of humans. He wondered to himself if he should take another trip up the stairs and have a more detailed look around, perhaps there was more going on up there than a little escape for Lozan.
"My lord?" Lozan had emerged from his bed chambers and was standing there staring at Kyriu with a quizzical look on his face. Lozan had donned new robes and his face was no longer red and streaked with sweat stains. Having washed up, he looked back to his normal self.
Kyriu debated if he should confront Lozan about what he had been doing up at the top of the mountain but opted not to. "Have you decided what you are going to do about finding Tagan?"
"Well, I uhh." Lozan struggled for something to say. "The patrol is still out there. I was planning on sending out additional personnel."
"Send out a small additional troop but I have learned other news that changes our approach."
Lozan’s pleasant demeanor was threatening to sink once more. He wasn't sure he could take any more bad news. So far he felt like he had handled things as miserably as he could.
"Braulor and Tagan won't be staying in the high mountains for long."
"Are you sure of this?"
"Quite sure." Kyriu’s tone was neutral even though he felt annoyed at being questioned. But he knew that Lozan was aware of his failures and didn't want to continue making things worse. He was trying to think things through and make sure that everything would work out in his favor.
"Why would they come out? They must know that they are being pursued and will look to keep going across the mountains."
"They will come out and then we will recapture them." Kyriu’s tone had a ring of finality to it.
"Where will they come out, my lord?" Lozan ran over the lay of the land in his mind, trying to think ahead.
"Where, is not important right now but there is a person they seek. They think this person can help them and are going to leave the safety of the mountains to find them, but they will find us instead." Kyriu kept mum about Rean Le. Lozan could learn of her later, for now he only needed to know they would have their chance to recapture Tagan and Braulor. Getting back in Kyriu’s good books should be enough to placate him. "Right now we need to make haste. Time is already slipping away from us and we have many miles to cross to catch our prize."
"We, my lord?"
"Yes, we, Lozan. This is too important to let some troops deal with and possibly make things worse. You and I are going to be there to make sure that Tagan is captured alive. The other one can be killed if necessary, he is unimportant to our plans."
"Yes my lord. I will tell the stable master to ready the horses." Lozan stood up straight. He was sounding stronger now. Even though he had not been out of Brankin Huoh for quite some time, and the thought of it scared him, he was glad to have something to do; something to focus on and take his thoughts away from what would happen to him if Tagan was not recaptured. He followed Kyriu out of his private quarters, calling for servants as he went to make everything ready.
Tyhreb slowed his pace as Kenok’s farmhouse came into view. He found a good vantage point with no trees or other obstructions from which to assess the situation and sat down on the cold ground and surveyed the scene below. He didn't blink for long minutes as his head swiveled slowly from side to side taking everything in. Nothing escaped his attention. He was like an eagle looking for a mouse in a field. From where he was he could see the whole valley spread out before him. Each farm had a different color and texture depending on what was growing. There was the yellow of wheat, the green of peas and barley. Other plots of land showed only the brown of dirt. It looked like a giant puzzle.
Kenok's house stood near to the mountain but not snug against it and Tyhreb estimated there to be perhaps a few hundred yards where he would have no cover to hide behind until he was at the house. Tyhreb could tell from the chill that was setting in, the sun was getting ready to set for the night. He could hear the sounds of night creatures as they began to stir, readying for the approaching night. They wouldn't bother him though. They never did. The waxing moon was hanging like a tiny sliver in the clear sky. A few stars were popping out to keep it company but it would be a dark night. Tyhreb nodded to himself with one less thing to worry about. It would be a good night to complete this task and get back to his home. He missed it already. As much as he enjoyed taking care of these little jobs for Lozan, Tyhreb preferred to stay close to his home.
Lozan. Thinking of him made Tyhreb growl to himself, low and treacherous. He was still fuming from not receiving their agreed upon signal before their meeting but he had to focus on the task that Lozan had given him. What he would have done if Lozan had made it all the way to where he lived Tyhreb didn’t want to think about. Nobody had ever made it that close before and he wanted to keep it that way. He was certain that he had put enough fear into Lozan that he would never try to approach without signaling first ever again.
Tyhreb looked down at the quiet farmhouse again to get his bearings one last time and then retreated into the bush to wait for nightfall. He went through his pack, organizing as he went. He didn't bring much with him for this job as he figured he would only need two or three nights to grab Kenok and get back to the meeting place to hand him over to Lozan.
He stuffed a burlap sack in his large pocket. He wondered if he should have brought one big enough to shove Kenok into, lock, stock and barrel but it was too late now and he wasn’t fond of the idea of having to carry this man across the high passes he would be going through on the way back. Better to make him walk under his own power. His sword was strapped to his thigh. A knife hung, pommel down, from its sheath on his chest. If he was going to take a person or two out he’d have brought more weapons. The people that Lozan sent him to take care of were either well-armed or had security that was well armed. Tyhreb was certain that he wouldn't even need to use his weapons to grab one civilian. His plan was to sneak down there, gain entrance to the house and snatch Kenok right out of his bed before he even knew what was going on. Lozan had specified that he wanted Kenok alive so h
e hoped there would be no struggle. He could control himself in most cases but he didn't want to let down his guard with Kenok and do something foolish like kill him.
Tyhreb took two pieces of rope from his pack. One he stuffed in his pocket, near the burlap sack. The other, he knotted around the top of his pack, taking the loose end and throwing it over a branch of the tree he was under and pulled his pack up out of the reach of animals, then tied the rope off to the bottom of the tree. He would be back later to get it.
With everything ready, all there was to do was sit and wait. Tyhreb leaned back against the tree and listened to the sound of the woods. It calmed him. His breathing slowed and eyelids began to droop.
Chapter 26