Deus Ex Machinarium

The trail they were maneuvered to use was, thankfully, roughly headed north. It was about two horses wide, but at places, it narrowed to just a single horse or footman. It was also traversing neighboring hills, without gaining much in elevation, and quickly became hidden from view by a dense forest of pine and spruce. Brandt insisted on rushing through the night to gain as much distance from Kaar Erd as possible. Trawins was surprisingly compliant, thus hoomin’s last concern was whether the trail led somewhere, from where they could continue their journey. After all, It could have been blind a trail towards some guard or watch tower, private estate, or whatever else. Their leave from the Oth’Graev basin was both so hasty and secretive, they didn’t check.

The morning welcomed them with a slight drizzle. They were still on the trail and in a dense forest. Brandt estimated they gained about thirty, maybe even forty kimers, yet they encountered no settlement or even a hut. So far into it, it was beyond doubt this trail led somewhere, but it eluded him to where.

The answer to this question came about two candles past dawn. Through a clearing in the trees, he noticed a few houses clustered in the valley below them. That turned out to be a logging and beekeeping village with a distillery. Their arrival was a minor sensation, especially considering where they emerged from. A herd of children pestered them, especially Anh, for trinkets and sweets, which neither could provide. The tanai was, on top of that, bothered with questions about his flight, posture, large head, robe, and Vhirs knew what else.

Brandt wasn’t happy with this newfound attention, considering it an unnecessary risk. But since it seemed hopeless to try to avoid it, he managed to forge some supplies and information out of it. It turned out that the trail they traveled was used to move honey and ale to Kaar Erd for sale and existed because an alternative route took over five days to reach the same destination. He was also informed that the same trail continued northeast through the jagged edge of the mountains, linking hunting camps, apiaries, and villages similar to the one they were just visiting.

They also bought a large jug of dark honey mixed with a blend of local herbs. To the joy of Anh. Brandt strategically omitted the real purpose of their visit. He was still “Beorg Mac Keone” and his employer was still a cartographer.

Not that the villagers cared all that much. But in Brandt’s opinion, it was best to leave as many false trails after them as possible. As soon as their business was done, they left.

The following days became a seemingly never-ending journey on a path through forests and hills. Sometimes they would meet a hunting party or run through a logging camp. Twice they stumbled upon a village, where they would stop, take on supplies, and enjoy a quick rest. Then they went back, into the rocky trail northeast.

During this time Brandt was mostly worrying whether they were followed. Every time the trail would open enough to do so, he would gaze back in search of the pursuit. After a few days without any signs of such, he dropped his guard down a little, but not enough to drop the ‘cartographer with a bodyguard’ misdirection.

The tanai shared his companion’s worries for about two days, after which he slid to the way of being closer to how he was when they left Sheridawn. Brandt, however, noticed a slight change in Trawins’ demeanor. He became a little more … melancholic was probably the best word to describe it. Or maybe anxious. Ever slightly so, as it didn’t stop the tanai from plunging nose first into ‘exotic flora’ and bundles of ‘unknown strata’, when all of these looked like the same piece of blossoming mountain greenery.

The morning of the seventh day since they left Caer Sout was cold with the skies enveloped by heavy grey clouds. Brandt was awakened by the smell of a freshly made pot of herbs and rabbit stew cooked by Anh. Ever since they left the mining town, the tanai took over the cooking duties and, hoomin had to admit, he was getting good at it.

Brandt was devouring the stew with a side of crunchy, wheat bread stuff they bought in the last village they visited, which was the favorite food of local hunters and woodcutters. Brandt forgot the name of the thing, but it had the form of a flat pancake, but was a good finger thick and could be sliced in half and filled with, well, just about anything. Anh laced it with honey. Brandt didn’t bother, preferring to do what he was doing now.

They spent the previous day’s afternoon laboriously ascending a difficult section of the trail. To ascend a nigh vertical rock wall it meandered and turned on itself. It also was one horse wide for the majority of the way. Sometimes it was even carved into the mountain’s bulk or relied on rickety wooden bridges to pass through crevices in eroded rock. Their progress was slow and very careful. Initially, Brandt wanted to camp as soon as they reached the top of the mountain. But slowly worsening weather forced them to set for the night on a wide, grassy ledge - a hundred mers long and spanning fifty at the widest. Judging from the remains of other camps, their expedition was not an exception.

When Brandt finished his meal, he put aside the bowl and cutlery, stood up, and decided to fulfill his self-imposed duties. He allowed himself to calm down, somewhat, after the frantic escape from Kaar Erd, but every day, he searched for signs of a chase. Nord strategically chose every camp to have a clear view, place permitting, at least several kimers below and after them. To the dismay of Anh, who viewed this as a waste of usable time in exchange for “security”. They even had a minor row about this.

Today’s camp was exceptional when it came to hindsight. The view off the ledge allowed Brandt to observe the bottom of the valley they came from. Which was at least half a day’s travel from them.

Brandt took a long wide look over the valley below. After a few moments, he noticed silhouettes of horsemen. Five of them. Precisely where he and Anh were yesterday’s noon.

-” Mr Trawins! Please come here!”

Anh interrupted cleaning up after breakfast and floated to the edge, where Brandt stood. As soon as the tanai was close enough the hoomin pointed at the riders below.

-” Five horsemen.” - mused Anh - “Nobody on foot. No pack animals with them. You suspect it is a chase after us?”

-” I’m certain it is.”

-” Is it really?” - sarcastically noted Anh after a short pause

-” I don’t want to find out. They are headed our way. We need to get moving.”

Brandt turned on his heel and moved toward the camp. Without uttering any other word, he began to pack.

In the interim, the sky became increasingly shrouded with a heavy canopy of clouds. Wind started to pick up and a threat of rain began to loom over them.

A half a candle later they were en route. Just after the campsite the trail was quite wide and would accommodate three horses, or maybe even a cart. With a fairly steep upward slope overgrown with mountain pine to the right and a somewhat shallower, but still intimidating slide to the left. The comfort of width waned as Anh and Brandt pushed forward. A candle later the trail again narrowed to a single horse width.

Eventually, they needed to form a queue. The ever-narrowing trail forced Brandt to get off his horse and walk at the front. His steed was right beside him. Then walked their two pack horses and at the end was Anh, floating casually and shuffling his notes, fully capitalizing on the fact that the steep slope to their left wasn’t all that much of a worry for one who levitates.

Ever since they started, the wind was not easing off. For the longest time apart from persistent soughing, the only noise around was the click-clacking of spurs over the rocky ground. That ended in the moment when the rumbling of a storm echoed from the darkening sky.

They were steadily pushing forward for over a candle when droplets of rain started to fall from the sky. At first, there was just a slight drizzle, but it steadily intensified. Brandt took a glance at the tanai behind him.

-” A perfect moment for a rainstorm, isn’t it!” - he shouted back

Anh sighed and didn’t answer right away.

-” Yes!” - the tanai finally shouted back - “We don’t have enough problems!”

-” Can’t turn around!” - the hoomin nodded towards the direction they were still traveling. The animals didn’t seem to want to continue, becoming visibly distraught. Brandt however confidently pulled his horse by the bridle and the pack horses reluctantly followed.

The rain grew in strength. What a quanter earlier was a slight drizzle, now a washing downpour. Despite this, they slowly pushed forward.

Moments later lightning came from the sky, and soon after thunder echoed all around them. Equally suddenly, the pack horses stopped, skipped, and neighed in terror. Brandt pulled the bridle more and forced the animals to follow him.

Not even a few drips later, another lightning illuminated the sky and thunder rumbled the air around them.

The rearmost horse pulled his head violently, forcing the before it to halt. The animal kicked the air with his hind legs, missing Anh by cemers. As the animal landed loud crack could be heard and with immense force it fell to the left, off the trail, pulling the animal before it with it, and forcing it to squat.

Brandt moved like lightning. He jumped to the right, and in less than an eyeblink, was by the hind of the middle horse and was cutting the leather straps that tied both animals.

The downed horse was screaming. When the straps gave way, not a moment later, gravity took over and the beast of burden rolled down the steep incline, kicking its legs. Then with a loud thud, landed below them.

-” My things!” - shouted Anh, and immediately flew towards the downed animal. In the meantime, Brandt tended to the second-pack horse and checked if it wasn’t hurt. Then tried to to calm it down.

The fell horse presented a sorry sight. It was bleeding, having tumbled down over fifty mers down. It was bruised by the carried load and had legs twisted in weird directions. The long wake of its fall was marked with splattered mud and broken bushes. Anh quickly toward the downed animal, but once the extent of the suffering of the animal dawned on him, he froze unable to act.

The horse was still alive, trying to move, scrambling violently and bleeding.

-” You need to kill it!” - shouted Brandt from above - “you can’t help it. Nobody can!”

Anh didn’t react. Just stared at the animal for another moment.

-” Kill it! Use hexergy!”

Anh still didn’t seem to do anything.

-” Trawins! Don’t waste time! Kill it!”

Anh slowly turned his head towards the hoomin. An expression of utter horror was painted on his face. It dawned on Brandt, which in retrospect ought to be obvious, that Anh isn’t a child of a farmer and possibly never had to even take part in slaughtering an animal. The Nord took a quick look at the horse he was tending to. The animal seemed fine, considering the conditions.

Then another thunder rumbled the air and immediately, the other horse neighed nervously.

-” Trawins! I can’t help you! You need to do it!”

Anh blinked twice. Then slowly turned his head towards the downed horse. The animal was still alive, breathing heavily, with blood over its teeth. Tanai concentrated, half shut his eyes.

The horse flinched violently, splattering mud and water all over, and then stopped breathing.