Another glass passed before one of the scouts rode back, turning his mount to ride on the side of the captain away from the scholar. “We’ve got tracks ahead on that road coming from the southeast. They’re heavy enough for coal drays.”
“That’s the side road that’s closest to the mine. Any more recent signs of riders?”
“No, sir. Not so far.”
“Follow the wagon tracks. We’ll be behind you. If you see any recent hoofprints or the wagon ruts turn off the main road, report back.”
“Yes, sir.”
The side road joined the main road several hundred yards farther north. Quaeryt glanced back as he rode past the junction, noting that the southeast road had a gentler grade than the section of the main road the company had just traveled. Even he could see that the ruts made by the wagons coming from the side road were considerably deeper than the older and half-obliterated ruts made by wagons passing earlier. That suggested to him that the teamsters were indeed familiar with the roads. That and the fact that no one would seize coal unless it didn’t have to be carted too far and unless they had a use for it also suggested that High Holder Eshalyn’s suspicions were certainly justified.
More than a half glass passed before one of the scouts rode back to report to Meinyt.
“They had problems with one of the wheels up ahead, sir. They were there for a time, possibly a day or so.”
“When did they leave?”
“I’d guess sometime early today. It could have been late last night…”
“That’s not likely. Tell the others to watch closely for anything at all.”
“Yes, sir.” The scout turned and rode forward.
Meinyt swung his mount to the side. “Squad leaders! Ready arms!”
“Ready arms!” echoed back along the road.
“Forward.”
Quaeryt checked his shields, then urged the mare forward to stay beside the captain. After several hundred yards, they reached an area where part of the shoulder was torn up and where a large number of sizable rocks had recently been tossed just beyond the edge of the road.
“They used the rocks to support an axle, it looks like,” observed the captain. “Coal’s heavy, and those wagons weren’t meant to be used here in the hills.”
After studying the marks in the road briefly, Meinyt signaled for the company to continue.
Quaeryt kept glancing ahead, but saw nothing but the trees and the road … and the low bushes and grass between the two.
The company had covered about another half mille before Meinyt spoke again. “All the tracks on the dirt of the road’s shoulder are gone. They’ve been rubbed out with branches or the like, but the grass is trampled in places.”
As the captain turned in the saddle, Quaeryt heard the faintest crackling just ahead and to his right. Then three riders charged directly toward the captain, with three behind them, all carrying blades ready to strike. There might have been more riders farther back, but Quaeryt couldn’t tell.
He instantly strengthened and widened his shields, then turned the mare into the charge. He had to grab the pommel of the saddle with his good hand to keep his seat as the two leading attackers and their mounts rebounded from the shields. One mount went down, pinning the rider, and the other two rode into the woods on the west side of the dirt track. The next three turned and rode back down the narrow track whose entry had been disguised with a shield of brush and branches. Quaeryt managed to rein in the mare and circle back to rejoin Meinyt.
The captain didn’t look at the scholar. “Column! Halt!”
Two rankers dismounted quickly, and managed to help the fallen horse off the downed rider, who moaned, but did not move. One leg was bent at an angle that suggested it was broken.
“Rough splint that leg and get him back on his mount,” commanded the captain. “He might be able to tell us something. Second squad! Hold here, and guard the lane entrance-and the prisoner. Pass it back. We’ll check a bit farther along the road.”
Less than a mille farther, just over a low rise and halfway around a gentle curve were the beds of two wagons-empty and without wheels, traces, or draft horses.
“Namer-frigged-sows,” muttered Meinyt as he reined up, studying the damp shoulder of the road again.
“They brought small carts here and emptied the wagons and stripped them,” said one of the scouts. “You can see the tracks heading through the woods there. It’s not even a lane.”
“Let them go. By now, they’ve scattered everywhere, and that lane is another ambush waiting to happen.”
“How far is it to Saentaryn’s holding?” asked Quaeryt.
“A mille, maybe two, up the long hill ahead, and then there’s a lane to the east. I haven’t been up the lane, but the major says that’s where it is. We’re not about to go there with only a company and no orders. Let’s hope our captive will say more once he’s back at Boralieu.” Meinyt stood in the saddle. “To the rear … ride!”
Quaeryt had to urge the mare to keep up with the captain as his mount quick-trotted back down the road. The scholar kept looking in all directions, but nothing else jumped out of the woods. Until the company was well away from the stripped wagons and back into the lower hills just north of Boralieu, neither man said much.
Then, abruptly Meinyt turned in the saddle. “What did you do? I haven’t seen that brush trick before, and I haven’t been in these particular hills for a while; so I didn’t remember that little lane.”
“I was lucky. I just turned my mount in to them at the last moment. It upset them just enough.”
“They were armed. You weren’t. How did you manage to avoid that?”
“Like you said … I ducked, and let the mare shield me.”
“She doesn’t even have a cut.”
Quaeryt shrugged. “What can I say? I was lucky. After the last time, maybe the Nameless looked on me a bit more favorably today.”
“A lot more favorably, I’d say. Fortunate or not, scholar, I appreciate it.”
“They targeted you, didn’t they?”
“I’d have to think so. They made one pass and rode off. If they’d disorganized the company, they might have stayed around and tried to pick off rankers.”
“Is that usual?”
“They don’t like pitched fights or anything that lasts. Strike and run. Crossbow quarrels and vanish. They’re good at that, but not so good at standing and fighting. So they don’t. I have to give them that. They don’t do what they’re not good at.” Meinyt laughed, with a touch of bitterness behind the sound. “That’s probably a good rule to follow, but it’s not always practical when you’ve got a mission to carry out.”
“That’s why you didn’t pursue them.”
“The major will understand. So will the commander, and the governor will see that the only report that gets to Lord Bhayar is that we were attacked, and captured one brigand and had no casualties. That’s not as good as it could be, but better than some patrol reports. That’s the way it goes in dealing with the hill holders. Thank the Nameless that the governor understands how they work.”
“He understands a great deal,” said Quaeryt mildly. “Do you think the princeps does as well?”
“They both do. That’s what the major says. The princeps is quieter. Everyone thinks he only knows supplies and figures, but some of the older rankers remember when he was a battalion commander. He wasn’t flash, just solid.” The captain shrugged. “That’s what they say, anyway.” He blotted his forehead, brushing away red flies. “Hate patrolling this time of year. Every bug and mosquito known to a soldier is out trying to get the last meals possible before winter hits.”
Quaeryt didn’t know about the winter, but he definitely agreed about the insects.