After turning onto the road on the right, they hardly encountered anyone.
The sun was sinking little by little, and the road was rougher than the main road. Dust rose every time the horses' hooves struck the dry earth.
Leon slowed down a little.
They had spent more time than expected detouring earlier.
We won't make it to a large village by tonight.
Matthias pulled up alongside him.
“Where are we staying tonight?” “We’ll see.” “You said we might sleep outside.” “Yeah.” “Is it very cold?”
Leon glanced at the sky.
It was still the tail end of summer. It wasn't cold enough to freeze to death.
“A little at night.”
Matthias looked down at his coat.
“I think I’ll be fine.” “You only think that because you haven’t slept outside.” “Have you done it a lot, Leon?” “Outside?” “Yes.” “A lot.” “Is it comfortable?” “No.”
Matthias fell silent for a moment.
“Then why did you sleep outside so much?” “Because there was no room.”
That should explain it well enough.
A little farther on, the fields ended and a low forest appeared.
Two houses with firewood stacked beside the road and a small shed stood together. A horse was tied at one side of the yard, and an old man was splitting wood with an ax.
Leon stopped his horse in front of the house.
“Can I give the horses some water?”
The man set down his ax and looked at the two of them.
“Use the well in back.” “Can we buy a little feed, too?” “How much?” “A day’s worth for two horses.”
The man calculated for a moment, then held up three fingers.
Not too expensive.
When Leon took out the coins, the man walked toward the shed.
Matthias also dismounted. This time, he didn’t stagger as he came down.
“Getting better.” “What is?” “Getting off.”
Matthias moved his leg once.
“It hurts less than before.” “Good enough, then.”
The two of them led the horses to the well.
The man brought over two bundles of hay, then glanced at Matthias.
“A lot of people have been traveling with kids today.”
Leon’s hand stopped over the water bucket.
“A lot?” “Not exactly a lot.”
The man set down the hay.
“Some men on horseback came by earlier asking if we’d seen a kid.”
Leon didn’t ask right away.
He watched the man’s face while the horses drank.
He looked like he was just making conversation.
“What kind of kid?” “Not sure.”
The man glanced at Matthias, then at Leon.
“Thirteen or fourteen, maybe. I think they said he was wearing brown.”
Matthias’s hand stopped on the reins.
Leon asked,
“How many were there?” “Four.” “Where did they go?” “South.”
The man pointed down the road.
“They left a long time before you got here.” “Were they armed?” “They had swords. They weren’t wearing armor, though.” “What about the horses?”
The man raised his eyebrows.
“The horses?” “Did they look like they’d been running hard?” “How would I know?”
Right.
Leon asked no more questions.
The man seemed interested now, though.
“You know them?” “Probably.” “Are they the good kind?”
Leon thought for a moment.
“I don’t think so.”
The man shrugged.
“Then you’d better get moving.”
He had a point.
Leon handed over the money for the feed.
“Is there anywhere around here we could stay the night?” “My shed’s empty, if you want.”
The man pointed toward the shed.
“Two horses and two people would fit.” “How much?”
After hearing the price, Leon glanced at the shed.
One door.
One small window in back.
Plainly visible from the road.
“No, thanks.” “Too expensive?” “No.”
Leon tied the hay behind the saddle.
“We’ll just go a little farther.”
The man nodded without comment.
Matthias didn’t ask either.
That was faster, at least.
Once the houses disappeared from view, Leon left the road.
More precisely, he took a narrow wooded path branching off to the side.
Matthias followed and asked,
“Are those people looking for me?” “Probably.” “So you’re not sure?” “Thirteen or fourteen. Brown clothes.”
Leon glanced at Matthias.
“There could be someone else who fits that description.” “I see.”
Matthias said it calmly, but his expression was stiffer than before.
Leon went a little farther, then stopped his horse.
“Matthias.” “Yes.” “You said people might follow us because of what you have.” “Yes.” “Why?”
Matthias didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t know.” “Who’s after you?” “I don’t know that either.” “Not at all?” “No.”
Leon looked at Matthias for a while.
The boy didn’t avoid his gaze.
“You didn’t ask?” “I did.” “And?” “They didn’t answer me.” “Who?”
Matthias paused briefly.
“The person who sent me away.”
He didn’t give a name.
Leon didn’t press him.
“Do you know what the item is?”
This time, Matthias’s gaze dropped to the small bag.
“I know it’s important.” “I heard that yesterday.” “I don’t know much more than that, either.”
Leon furrowed his brow slightly.
“It’s your item.” “It isn’t mine.”
At that, Leon’s gaze returned to the bag.
“Then what is it?”
Matthias kept his mouth shut for a moment before answering.
“I was entrusted with it.”
By whom?
The question came to mind, but Leon let it go.
That wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Have you opened it?” “No.” “They told you not to?” “Yes.” “Then leave it at that.”
Matthias looked at Leon as if surprised.
“You’re not going to look?” “Now?” “Yes.”
Leon started his horse moving again.
“What would be the point?” “We might find out why they’re following us.” “We might.” “Then?” “Opening it now won’t make those four go away.”
Matthias thought for a moment, then followed.
“That’s true.” “And if you decided not to open it, stick with that for now.” “Aren’t you curious, Leon?” “I am.”
Leon answered immediately.
“But being curious and needing to know are different things.”
Matthias said nothing for a while after that.
The wooded path didn’t continue for long.
They followed a small stream south before meeting another dirt road. It seemed to be little-used; a bit of grass had grown in the middle.
Leon dismounted and looked at the dirt.
There were no recent wheel tracks.
Only one or two hoofprints.
This is better.
“We’re taking this way today.” “We’re not going back to the main road?” “No.” “Because those people were on it?” “Could be.”
Leon checked the saddle strap.
“More than anything, it’s easier if they don’t know where we went.” “Are we erasing our tracks?” “Not to that extent.”
Erasing every trace would take even more time.
There was no way to completely hide the tracks left by two people and two horses.
“We’re just making us more trouble to find.”
Leon looked at Matthias.
“We don’t know much for certain.”
The boy thought for a moment, then admitted it.
“That’s true.”
The sun sank farther toward the mountains.
Leon didn’t force the pace.
If they really were being pursued, he wanted to move quickly, but wearing out two horses on the first day would be worse.
A little later, they came upon a small stone bridge.
The stream beneath it was shallow, with tall reeds growing along both banks.
Leon didn’t cross the bridge. He went down toward the stream instead.
“Are we going this way?” “Yeah.” “But this isn’t a road.” “Water flows even when there’s no road.”
Matthias looked like he didn’t understand, but followed anyway.
The streambed was firm, and the water came no higher than the horses’ ankles.
They moved south along the stream for a while.
Matthias asked from behind,
“Does this keep us from leaving footprints?” “Leaves fewer.” “You said earlier that we weren’t erasing our tracks.” “We’re not doing it deliberately.” “It looks like you’re deliberately erasing them now.”
Leon kept his mouth shut for a moment.
“A little.”
Matthias let out a quiet laugh.
“Why are you laughing?” “I’m not.” “You were.” “You reminded me of Fel.” “Why?” “He said you only ever tell half the story.”
Fel left something useless behind.
Leon looked ahead along the stream.
They needed to find a place to sleep before the sun went down completely.
The place they found after leaving the stream was an old shepherd’s hut.
One side of the roof had sagged a little, but it was enough to keep out the rain. A low hill behind it kept it almost entirely out of sight from the road.
Leon made a circuit of the area.
There were no recent signs of people.
Only after tying up the horses and dividing out the hay did Matthias set down his bag.
“We’re staying here?” “Yeah.” “There’s no door.” “There’s a roof.”
Matthias glanced at the entrance.
The door had fallen off completely and was leaning against the wall.
“Not much of a place.” “It’s free.” “That’s a plus.”
Leon was setting down his pack when he looked at Matthias.
“You like money?” “Better than not having any, isn’t it?” “Fair point.”
They took out the food they’d been issued.
Hard bread and dried meat.
Matthias started to soak the bread in water, then stopped.
Leon asked,
“What?” “You said yesterday that it tasted the same.” “It’ll be harder today.”
Matthias hesitated, then poured in the water after all.
Leon ate the same thing.
Silence settled over them for a moment.
Outside, the only sound was the horses chewing hay.
Matthias spoke first.
“Leon.” “Yeah.” “Is it a problem that I don’t know why?”
Leon chewed and swallowed his bread.
“A little.”
Matthias’s hand stopped.
“Not a big problem?” “For now.” “Why?” “Because we know someone’s after us.”
Leon set down the rest of his bread.
“Tomorrow, all we need to know is how many there are and how close they are.” “And after that?” “We’ll think about it then.”
Matthias looked at Leon for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood.”
This time, he didn’t ask anything else.
Leon glanced once at the darkening road beyond the hut’s entrance.
They had changed routes twice before even finishing the first day of the five-day escort.
The road to the mill...
We might arrive a little later than expected.