Santorray pulled off the rest of his restrictive Corrockian guard uniform. Scars covered his body and some scars, such as the angled one on his back, covered the entire length of his torso. Few areas were without wounds from swords, claw marks, arrows, dagger stabs, and countless other items. The freshest was, of course, the gash Thorik had given him with his spear.
Thorik put the Spear of Rummon in the holders of his backpack. “It’s so good to see you.” He couldn’t help but give his friend a tight hug, even though he was in the Blothrud’s way for tending to his injury.
Grewen approached, limping from the earlier knock down by Santorray as the Blothrud had raced out of the tower. “What just happened here? Did my eyes deceive me, or did Irluk finally acquire Ambrosius’ body?”
Avanda was still in shock. “How could either of you do this? Ambrosius is part of our family.”
“True,” Thorik said. “But Darkmere is not.”
“Darkmere?”
“Yes, without question.”
“How do you know?”
“I didn’t at first, but then I noticed he was holding his staff with the wrong hand. But what gave it away was the staff. I carved a Runestone symbol into it myself, but it was the Portent Runestone, not the Runestone of Health. Darkmere wouldn’t have noticed the subtle differences in the designs.”
“And that is all you went on?”
“Yes.” Pulling out some cloths to help bandage the Blothrud, Thorik glanced up at Santorray. “How did you know?”
Santorray had been holding his palm over the bloody injury. “Easy, I was sent here by Ambrosius to meet you at the crossing. I replaced the prior guard with myself.” He gave a confident nod. “Just in case it was a trap. Obviously it was. Darkmere arrived at the same moment you did.”
“But,” Thorik began to ask as he tried to make sense of it all. “How did Ambrosius know that we would be here?”
“He’s been following your logs.”
Thorik pulled the wooden box from his pack. “Did he take the notes from a coffer such as this? Did it have this inscription on the base?”
Santorray worked on his wound and never looked over. “I never actually talked to Ambrosius. His messenger pigeon, Draq, arrived and notified me of Ambrosius’ findings. I then rushed over here to meet you.”
“Ambrosius must have the twin to this prattle box.”
“He’s been watching after you for a long time.”
“You mean, even before we destroyed the Temple of Surod?” Thorik asked.
“Long before that. He sent Captain Dare down to save you from the Palm Islands and I followed Ambrosius’ instructions to help you find Ericc.”
“You knew he was reading my logs all this time and never told me?”
“If you had found out that he was alive, there was a high likelihood of others finding out as well. He needed to heal before Darkmere and his minions started hunting him down again. He couldn’t risk letting you know, therefore I couldn’t.”
“But now you can? What changed?”
“Apparently you have already been telling others that Ambrosius lives. His secret is out.”
Thorik felt slightly guilty for foiling the E’rudite’s plan. “But, how did Darkmere know about us coming here, if Ambrosius has the twin coffer?”
Santorray shook his head at the naive Num. “You’ve been traveling in Corrockian territory for many days. Do you honestly think that no one would have spotted you and alerted him?”
“But how would he have known to meet us here at this specific bridge?”
“It’s the only crossing of the river in these parts, unless you pass at Corrock itself. It’s easily determined where you would be forced to cross. I made the same assumption myself. You’re a predictable creature, Sec.”
“If I’m so predictable, then how is it I was able to stab the mighty Santorray without him being prepared for it?”
“You’re correct, I should have assumed you would have backstabbed me while I was saving your life.” He smirked after.
Thorik apologized again for the misunderstanding.
Avanda still wasn’t satisfied with their answers. “So, why would Darkmere arrive disguised as Ambrosius?”
“Perhaps he was after information,” Grewen speculated. “If he had wanted to kill us he would have just sent a small troop of warriors to wipe us out. But this tactic smells of an attempt to gain our trust to find something out.”
Thorik pulled the bandage tight around Santorray’s waist. “Well then, he has succeeded.”
Santorray sucked his stomach in slightly for the bandage to be tied off. “What do you mean?”
“The only information I have was attained from Bakalor and Irluk,” Thorik answered. “Darkmere will have plenty of opportunities to ask them questions once he arrives there.
Looking back toward the bridge. There was no sign of Brimmelle and Bryus, so Avanda headed back to see where they had gone.
Grewen began to chuckle as he looked at the recent battlefield. “You know, I would love to see the face on the Death Witch and Bakalor when they realize their prisoner is actually Darkmere.”
Santorray considered the situation at hand. “If it were me, I‘d come back to take my revenge. We should stay alert.”
“Yes, but we are small ripples in the waves of this pending war,” Thorik replied.
Grewen found the comment enlightening and entered his own comment. “You never know what ripples will be the final blow to dislodge a shoreline boulder.”
Thorik rolled his eyes at the thought. “Trust me, they have more important issues at hand than to take revenge on a Num trying to travel home.”
“Travel home?” Santorray jerked his head with surprise. “I thought you were going to Govi Glade to save your grandmother.”
The words took an emotional toll on Thorik’s face. “I…well, I lost the dagger.”
Santorray was stunned. “This is not the Sec I remember. You look older, but you are not acting wiser than the last time I traveled with you. You have given up on Gluic, just as you did with Ambrosius’ son, Ericc.”
“I haven’t given up!” Thorik fired back.
“Then why aren’t you out searching for it?”
“Because we had to be here in time.”
“In time to what? To spring your trap? To see who had been reading your precious logs and notes?” Santorray’s voice carried. “This was more important than finding your grandmother?”
“It’s not that simple. Brimmelle asked me to leave his mother at peace.”
“When did you start listening to him?”
“Hang on. When we traveled with you, you wanted to leave her behind in River’s Edge, and then you ended up stabbing her. Why would you care about her?”
“I don’t,” Santorray barked back sharply. “I personally don’t care if you try to save your grandmother. But a real warrior would fight for what he believes in long before he would be concerned about himself or who was spying on him. A warrior stops at nothing to achieve what he wants. You fought for Gluic then, why aren’t you willing to fight Brimmelle for her now?”
“I don’t know. Ever since Bakalor attacked us, it’s been different. His curse over me has softened my courage and made it difficult for me to stand up for myself and fight with confidence.”
“That’s an excuse!”
“No, it really happened. And I’ve never been the same since.”
“I don’t care if it’s now harder to fight for what you believe in and what you desire! All that means is that you have to want it that much more. Your curse is an excuse to not have to try harder. It’s a crutch that you flaunt in order to justify why you’re not willing to do what it takes!”
“No it’s not. It truly has affected me.”
“I never said it didn’t affect you. It happened! It hurt you! Accept this fact and stop allowing this excuse from preventing you from getting what you want. Bakalor can’t stop you from achieving your goals, only you can! So, tell me that you are
going to turn around and find Gluic! Send Bakalor a message that you are victorious over his attempts to weaken you!”
“Santorray, I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for Granna.”
“That’s Fesh talk!”
“No it’s not. It was somewhere between Lagona Falls and Trewek. That is an amazing amount of desert to search through.”
“So, you’re going to quit. Yes? Say it, Sec. Say that you are going to quit on your grandmother!”
“I can’t just turn around and start marching back from the way we came.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’ve come so far.”
“Then say it out loud. Say you’re quitting on Gluic. At least be proud of your actions, like a real warrior, regardless if it’s right or wrong. Take a stand and make a move,” Santorray yelled. “Tell me you’re quitting on your grandmother. I want to hear it.”
“I could give you a hundred reasons why I should leave her out there.”
“There will always be a hundred excuses why not to struggle to accomplish something great. Greatness is only achieved when you follow your beliefs in spite of your reasons not to. So, tell me right now, are you going to quit on her or are you going to find her.”
Thorik’s voice was now nearly as loud as Santorray’s as the two shouted back and forth. “Obviously I want to find her.”
“That’s not an option! Either you are going to find her or you aren’t.”
“I could try for a year and still not find her.”
“That’s because you haven’t decided beyond any doubt that you will find her.”
“What?”
“A warrior first determines the results he expects and then determines how to reach them. You, on the other hand, want to plan your way and hope it results in success. And because of that, every obstacle can potentially throw you off course. A warrior finds a way regardless of what is thrown at him.”
“Failure to plan usually results in failure of a goal,” Thorik snapped back.
“But planning only comes after you determine exactly what you want to accomplish. You need a goal so firm and real that nothing will draw you off course. Once you have it burning down in the pit of your stomach, nothing can stop you from achieving it, plan or not. You must become a driven man to be a warrior.”
Thorik felt the fire within him begin to grow again. He had lost it ever since they had been in Della Estovia. His passion for what he wanted had been less than what it once was. But now, with Santorray’s words, he was starting to feel empowered over his own life once again.
“Shout it out, Sec!” Santorray roared. “I am giving up on Gluic!”
“NO!” Thorik shouted back.
“You don’t have the desire anymore. Give up!” He taunted the Num.
“I will not give in. I refuse to give up,” Thorik screamed at the Blothrud. “I will find my grandmother! And I will release her from Varacon!”
“I don’t believe you!”
“I don’t need you to. I’ll find her with or without you!”
Santorray stepped back, as though a wave of energy from Thorik’s words had pushed against him. Ambrosius had ordered Santorray to ensure that Thorik make his way to the Govi Glade. The Blothrud had not only succeeded in changing the Num’s course, but he had strengthened the Num’s character. Pleased with his mission, he nodded approval. “And that, Sec, is what a warrior sounds like.”