Страница 28 из 68
“We won’t be on foot for long,” said Alex. “The horses may have run, but I can call Shahree back to me. She’ll bring the other horses with her, and then we can go.”
“Then call to your friend, and rest while she comes to you,” Sindar said, his voice little more than a whisper. “I will search for any signs of a trail, and try to find our friends’ weapons while you gather your strength.”
Sindar hurried off as soon as he had spoken, leaving Alex alone.
Alex stood for several minutes, trying to relax and letting his feelings melt away. His mind became clear, and he focused his thoughts on Shahree, trying to picture her as clearly in his mind as he could. He knew that Shahree would not go far and that she had only run becuse he had told her to. For a long moment he held his breath, concentrating on his horse.
“Shahree,” Alex called softly. “Shahree, come to me.”
For a moment he stood listening, hoping that his magic had worked. There was no reply to his words, though he had not expected one. And then his magic told him that Shahree had heard him and that she was already gathering the other horses and galloping back to him.
“I have found our friends’ weapons,” said Sindar when he returned to Alex a short time later. “And I have found the trail of the goblins who have our friends. Now we must consider how best to pursue our enemy.”
“What do you mean?” Alex questioned, thinking that they would simply ride out as soon as the horses returned.
“Goblins will not travel in sunlight unless they absolutely must,” said Sindar. “They are unsteady on their feet while the sun is up.”
“So if we catch them in sunlight, we will have a great advantage.”
“I doubt that we will catch them during the day,” said Sindar, rubbing his face in thought. “These goblins will move at night. They will find a hiding place when the sun starts to rise and not move again until it begins to set. Our advantage is that days are long in Norsland during the summertime, so we will have more time to pursue them and they will have less time to flee.”
“And when we overtake them?”
“Then we will rescue our friends, or at the least avenge their deaths. Rescue will be difficult, as goblins would sooner kill their captives than let them go.”
“Then we have a great disadvantage in trying to save them.”
“We may find a way,” said Sindar. “Much will depend on where and when we find them.”
“How many goblins do you think there are? I mean, how many are we going to have to kill to free our friends?” Alex questioned.
“Fifty—maybe sixty of them,” Sindar answered. “From the trails I could find, it appears that they have broken into smaller groups and are all ru
“At least we have done some good,” said Alex. “The horses will be here soon, and then we can start after the goblins.”
“They will know you for a wizard and a warrior, and they will fear you,” Sindar commented. “You have used a lot of magic; perhaps you should rest a little longer before we start.”
“Their fear may drive them to kill our friends,” said Alex in a worried tone. “I can rest once we have rescued the others.”
“Their fear will drive them to run, but not to kill the others. They will keep them alive as hostages, and use them to drive you away, if they can.”
“How could they use my friends to drive me away?” Alex asked.
“They will make threats and promises. They will promise to let them go if you will promise not to attack. Their promises will be lies, of course, but as a wizard, you would be bound by your promise.”
“I would not feel bound by anything I promised to goblins,” said Alex defiantly.
“They are clever and wicked. They will make you promise by something that matters to you greatly. I have seen others caught in such traps before.”
“I do not know what promise goblins would ask that I would feel bound to keep, but I do not wish to find out. Perhaps we should start walking now, the horses can catch up.”
“Your magic needs time to recover,” Sindar said slowly. “And we may need all the magic you can summon to save our friends.”
“My magic is fine,” Alex answered. “I will be able to do whatever needs doing when the time comes.”
“Are you so sure?”
“I—” Alex started and stopped. “No, I guess I’m not. Whalen explained how there is only so much magic a wizard can do before it runs out. He told me that magic is like a bowl catching raindrops. Every bit of magic used takes some of the water out of the bowl, and it sometimes takes a long time for the bowl to fill up again.”
“From the looks of this meadow, I would say you poured a great deal of water out of your bowl,” Sindar said in a worried tone.
“Whalen also said that different wizards have different sized bowls,” Alex answered, not wanting to think about what might happen if his magic ran out. “He told me I would know when the bowl was nearly empty, and right now, it doesn’t feel very empty.”
“Very well,” said Sindar. “We will begin our chase as soon as the horses return.”
Shahree and the other horses appeared in less than an hour. Sindar and Alex checked them all to make sure they were unhurt before they started off after the goblins. Alex was worried for his friends and what the goblins might do to them, and his worries made him eager to be moving.
Sindar led the way, and Alex followed close behind him. The goblin path was easy to follow. The creatures had hacked at trees as they passed and stomped the grass flat; Alex could have followed the path in the dark if he had to.
“How do you know that our friends were captured by this group of goblins?” asked Alex.
“Boot prints,” Sindar said. “The goblins trample everything, but here and there I see prints from leather boots.”
“But how do you know they belong to Bregnest and the others?” asked Alex.
“Goblins don’t wear leather boots. They either go barefoot, or they wear square-toed boots with iron soles.”
Alex didn’t ask any more questions, trusting that Sindar knew what he was doing. They rode without stopping until the sun was down and the only light was the deep red of the western horizon. Sindar insisted that they rest for a few hours and get something to eat. It had been a long time since Alex had eaten, and he was hungry, but he didn’t feel at all sleepy.
“You are still hot with anger, though you seem to have your emotions under control,” Sindar commented. “You should rest, even if you don’t feel the need. When we overtake our enemy, you must be fresh and ready for battle.”
Reluctantly Alex tried to sleep, but his dreams were full of goblins and he kept waking up. He finally managed to slip into a light but restful sleep. His mind remained alert as his body relaxed, and he let his thoughts search for a way to free his friends.
Before the sun was up the next morning, Alex and Sindar started following the goblin’s trail. “I would guess from their tracks that only fifty or so of our enemy remain,” said Sindar. “If no others join them, we may have a good chance of killing them all.”
“Fifty goblins against the two of us?”
“I know. It seems unlikely that we could kill them all and save our friends at the same time.”
“It is a difficult problem,” Alex commented, seeing how troubled Sindar was. “First things first, however. We must find the goblins, and then we can decide how best to destroy them and rescue our friends.”
“You are correct. These tracks are only hours old. I think if we ride hard, we may catch the goblins tonight. Though I would prefer finding them while the sun is up if we can, since that is when they will be the weakest.”
“That would be best. If luck is with us, we may find the goblins tomorrow and free our friends by tomorrow night.”