Outcasts Of Velrune Part 4

"Thank you, Mr. Penna."

Mr. Penna chuckled. "I will say, you are a sly one, Mrs. Ta.s.si. It is no wonder why that girl gives Maxwell so much trouble. She is your daughter through and through, adopted or not."

"I've done all I can for her. She's on her own now."

"Not if Maxwell becomes..."

Starlight carried Eve out of hearing distance, but that was fine. She had heard enough. Both Mr. Penna and her mother had faith in Max. She had to trust them that things would turn out okay. Eve, though she had no fear of falling, wrapped her arms around Max.

CHAPTER FIVE.

Tyco kept them at an easy pace as they left Swift.w.a.ter. To the west of them loomed the dead lands, beyond which lay Moenia, the capital and their eventual destination. To the north and east stretched open plains in which Max and Eve had spent most of their childhood riding and playing. The safest way to cross the dead lands lay towards the north at the Clanrye River.

Max grew excited at the thought of seeing the river and everything that lay beyond. Starlight picked up on Max's excitement and began to trot. They had not gone far before hearing a shout from Tyco.

"Slow it down a little there, Max."

Max pulled back on Starlight's reins. "Whoa!" Max turned to look back at Tyco. "Sorry, guess Starlight is a little excited."

Eve giggled. "Yeah, it's all Starlight's fault. I'm sure she's very excited to go and see the capital."

Max turned to look over his shoulder. "You know, you could be walking right now."

Eve smiled. "Yep, and I'd probably get there quicker."

Tyco and Mr. Penna caught back up to Max. They now rode three abreast. Tyco eyed Starlight.

"Starlight's a fine horse, but she'll need that energy for crossing the dead lands. It is not a path you mosey along on, enjoying the scenery as you go."

"But don't the Protectors have camps along the path?"

"They do, but they are s.p.a.ced far enough apart that you need to keep moving from first light till dusk in order to make it from one to the next. Otherwise, you'll be caught out in the dark between camps. Nighttime in the dead lands is a very unpleasant experience."

"What about those who don't have horses?"

"If you absolutely have to travel by foot, then you do so in large, well-armed groups. However, Protectors provide horses for rent on both sides of the dead lands."

Eve let out a snicker. "Well isn't that nice of them. Let me guess, you have to pay a fee at each of the camps along the way as well."

"It helps pay for the cost of having members of the Protectors stationed at the camps." Tyco nudged Teak a little ahead of the others.

Eve snorted in disgust. Max elbowed her and spoke up so Tyco could still hear him. "Makes sense to me. It's like paying to stay at an inn."

Max could feel the cold stare from Eve. "I suppose, as long as it's a fair price."

To ease the tension, Max had Starlight slow a bit until they were several lengths behind Tyco and Mr. Penna where he began telling Eve what he thought they might see on their trip. She held silent at first, but soon joined with her own ideas.

In the early evening when they stopped to make camp. Not long after everyone had dismounted, Mr. Penna called out to Eve.

"Evangeline, can you come over here and give me a hand please?"

"Yep!"

Eve walked over to Mr. Penna, who had stopped a little short of the others. He leaned over and whispered something to her before she began to help him unpack. That surprised Max. Usually he had to do the grunt work. He shrugged his shoulders and went to work unpacking his own things.

What are they up to?

Max finished unpacking about the time Eve and Mr. Penna, with the mare in tow, rejoined the rest of them. Mr. Penna tethered his mare to Teak and left them and Starlight to graze. Tyco and Max had no fear of them running away; both had long since proven dedicated to their masters.

Everyone sat down together in a circle to enjoy a meal of dried meat and fruit before the sun set. By the time they finished, the stars and moon had appeared in the clear night sky giving them light to see by. As they enjoyed the cool night, Max watched Eve take out the small bundle Mrs. Ta.s.si had given her. She carefully unwrapped it, revealing a wedge of cheese. Max's eyebrows furrowed.

"I didn't think you liked cheese, Eve?"

"I don't," Eve gave her usual mischievous grin, "but it's not for me."

"Then who?"

Eve reached into her s.h.i.+rt pocket and pulled out a brown and white mouse. With an expression that dared Max to say something, she placed the furry little thing on the ground in front of her.

Max sat in complete disbelief. He watched Eve as she broke off a piece of the cheese and held it out in front of the mouse. It took the cheese immediately and started to nibbling. Eve lay down on her stomach, propped her head up in her hands and watched her new friend eat. Max shook his head. At times he really did think she was crazy.

"I'm not sure which I'm having a harder time believing: that you brought that thing with you or that Mrs. Ta.s.si actually gave you cheese to feed it."

Mr. Penna, who sat next to Max, watched Eve and her mouse as well. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Despite her fussing, Mrs. Ta.s.si has quite a soft spot for all creatures of Velrune, though I doubt it was for the mouse in this case." Mr. Penna broke out into a hardy laugh. "People, on the other hand, should be wary of her."

Max sighed. "Well, I guess if the little guy is coming with us we might as well give him his share."

Max reached into his saddle pack and brought out a piece of bread. He broke off a corner and tossed it over to the mouse. The crumb barely touched the ground before the mouse s.n.a.t.c.hed it, ran over to Eve and hopped back into her s.h.i.+rt pocket.

Eve giggled and looked over at Max with a twinkle in her eye. She gave him an odd smile that he had not seen before.

"Thanks Maxy."

Max tried to figure out the her expression and only half paid attention as she continued.

"Oh, and, by the way, her name is Spook."

Still confused, Max jumped when Tyco interrupted them. "I think it's about time we got to sleep. After tomorrow, we have a lot of hard riding ahead of us. We'll need all the rest we can get."

Tyco stood and walked over to his bedroll. He lay down and quickly went to sleep. Eve rolled over onto her back, so as not to squish Spook, and soon fell asleep herself. Max shook his head and heard a soft chuckle from Mr. Penna.

"I don't understand her, Mr. Penna."

"Nor will you ever, Maxwell, not completely. Do not worry though. It is more important that you try, not so much that you actually do. Over the next couple of weeks you must remember that."

Max shook his head again. "I don't understand you either. Do you ever just say what you mean?"

Mr. Penna rocked back, slapping his knee and laughing. "There are times you are so much like your father, Maxwell."

Mr. Penna faced out into the open plains and grew somber. "I believe Mrs. Ta.s.si has put her trust in the right person."

Max wondered what Mrs. Ta.s.si had to do with the conversation. "What?"

Mr. Penna cleared his throat as he shook off the thought. "Tyco is right, Maxwell. We will need our rest. Get to sleep."

Max sighed. He knew he wouldn't get any more information. He flopped down on the ground and fell asleep. Dreams of cats and mice playing together all across Velrune filled his night.

The next morning, the four repacked their gear with Spook supervising from atop Eve's shoulder. Max mounted Starlight and bent to help Eve up behind him. He noticed at once that she now wore a pink band around her neck. It was about a half inch in width and had a small pink stone set in the front.

"I've never seen you wear that before."

Eve crossed her arms. "Mrs. Ta.s.si gave it to me before we left. It's popular to wear them in Moenia."

Max looked at it with some amus.e.m.e.nt. "If you say so."

To Max, the band resembled a collar you would find on someone's pet. The stone looked smooth and seemed to give off a very faint glow unlike anything Max had previously seen. Eve's crossed arms, however, warned him to drop the subject. He helped her on the horse.

The landscape changed little as they rode north, so Max grew excited when in the afternoon he spotted a line of trees that spanned the horizon.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere."

In response, Max heard the familiar, dry, voice Mr. Pennas used in his cla.s.ses.

"That would be the river Clanrye. The Clanrye starts as a spring in the mountains to the far northeast. Several springs empty into it as it winds down the mountains and across the plains. It then flows over the cliffs and into the dead lands, sustaining the camps below. We will be crossing it shortly before the dropoff as the trail down lies on the other side."

Max rolled his eyes. "You really do plan on stuffing me with as much information as possible on this trip, don't you?"

Mr. Penna laughed. "There is always something to be learned, Maxwell."

The four soon reached the edge of the river. Tyco scanned the bank.

"There should be a ferry somewhere near here that we can use to cross."

Eve stared nervously at the rus.h.i.+ng water and moaned. "A ferry? I was sure I remembered crossing over on a bridge."

Tyco looked back at Eve. "You most likely crossed at Hedgewood. Unfortunately, that is almost a four day ride to the east." A grin formed on his face. "We'll understand if you're too frightened to cross and continue with us."

Eve's eyes stayed fixed on the river as it cascaded down the steep slopes not far to their left. She gave a slight quiver. She really didn't like Tyco.

"No, I'm going."

Max twisted around on the horse.

"When did you cross the river, Eve?"

Eve's voice was distant. "Back when Mr. and Mrs. Ta.s.si brought me to Swift.w.a.ter."

The grin left Tyco's face and he started riding towards the east. "Let's head up the river a bit. The crossing shouldn't be far."

Max tried to question Eve further, but he could not draw her attention. Before long, they came to a dock with a large winch. On the far side of the river, Max spotted the ferry. Tyco nodded towards it.

"There it is on the other side. We'll have to pull it back using the winch."

Tyco dismounted Teak, walked over to the winch and began to turn the attached wheel. Everyone else, except Eve, got off of the horses. She turned to Mr. Penna.

"Um, just how wide is the river?"

Mr. Penna answered without hesitation. "Three hundred and twenty feet; give or take a few feet."

"A-and how deep?"

"Twenty-five feet in the center."

Tyco looked up from the winch, that unpleasant grin back.

"Sure you want to go with us Eve? If you're not careful you might end up going for a swim. Well, I guess lacarnians don't swim, do they?"

Mr. Penna turned to Eve.

"Don't worry, Evangeline, a properly weighted ferry is very safe. You will be fine."

Max reached out and helped Eve off of Starlight. "Yeah Eve, don't worry. I personally have no intention of going for a swim, so I won't let you either."

Eve slid off the horse. She wondered if Tyco came this way on purpose just to try and make her turn back. She s.h.i.+vered again as the small ferry reached the dock.

"That looks awfully small for all of us and the horses to fit on."

Tyco inspected the ferry. "Well, it was built to only carry two riders and their horses. We'll need to make two trips. Mr. Penna and I will take Teak and the mare. The ferry is made so you can pull it along the ropes strung over the river. Once we are across, Max, you will have to use the winch to bring it back. When you and Starlight are on, Mr. Penna and I will use the winch on the other side to pull you over."

Eve crossed her arms "And me."

"We'll see." Tyco grabbed Teak's reins and led him onto the ferry.

Mr. Penna sighed. "You will be fine, Evangeline." He led the mare on to the ferry and together he and Tyco began to pull it across the river.

Max watched them cross. "It sure is a lot bigger than the Swift.w.a.ter River at home, and a good bit deeper too."

Eve's voice cracked. "Yep."

Max grimaced. That was a stupid thing to say.