“I guess they would have to hurry,” Kahlan said, not quite following what he was getting at.
“The people of Stroyza live in a remote area that isn’t near roads or even good paths,” he said.
Kahlan shrugged. “That’s because the people back in the great war put the third kingdom in the most remote area they could find. They wanted it as far away from civilization as possible.”
Richard nodded. “That’s right. But even so, there are roads closer to the barrier than Stroyza going back in that direction. Even the paths that are near Stroyza go to other places for the purpose of trade and supplies, not toward Aydindril and the Keep. The people of Stroyza live in caves and don’t use horses. As Ester told me, Stroyza is their home and they have nowhere else to go, so travel isn’t an important part of their lives.”
“Maybe they used to travel,” Nicci said. “It could be that they forgot to keep horses in the same way they lost so many of the things they were told when Stroyza was founded back in the great war. After all, they don’t even know how to read all the messages left for them on the walls of the caves because they lost the ability to read the language of Creation.”
“We can use horses,” he said, “and we won’t be able to get there first.”
“That’s only because they have a good lead on us,” Kahlan said.
“Yes, but even if we caught them, we have to worry about getting past them. They have incredible numbers, many with occult powers. They have a spirit king risen from the dead. They have thousands of half people–tens of thousands. They’re spread out across the land. Worse, Sulachan can reanimate as many of the dead as he needs. He’s a wizard with great power. He can use occult abilities.
“So how was one lone person from Stroyza supposed to get past all that, keep from being captured, and get to the Keep in enough time for them to mobilize forces to protect people? By the time the people in Stroyza would realize that the barrier was breached, it would be too late to get to the Keep in time to warn them.”
Nicci scratched her cheek. “That does seem like a pretty ill-conceived solution to the problem of the barrier.”
Richard nodded. “Especially since the people back in the great war–the ones who built that barrier in the first place and put the dangerous half people and occult powers they couldn’t destroy behind the wall–knew that it was eventually going to fail. They didn’t put Stroyza there in case it failed, they put it there because they knew it was going to fail, and they wanted us to have ample warning to defend ourselves. They didn’t take the threat lightly. They wouldn’t have let the fate of the world depend on such a tenuous method of warning people.”
Kahlan was frowning in thought. “When you put it that way, it doesn’t make much sense.” She looked up. “So, what are you thinking? You believe they had some other way to warn people?”
“I do.”
Before he could say more, Commander Fister rushed in, holding his sword against his hip to keep it from flopping as he ran. He had several men with him. Kahlan recognized the men as the scouts who grew up in the Dark Lands.
CHAPTER 32
“Lord Rahl, what is it?” the breathless commander asked.
“Are the men getting horses together?”
“Of course, Lord Rahl. They are being packed with supplies, now. Are we to take you and the Mother Confessor back to the palace at long last?”
Richard waved off the question as a dead issue. “No. We would never make it. Just as the guardian at Stroyza would never have made it.”
The commander frowned as he panted, catching his breath. He glanced at Kahlan and Nicci before turning a puzzled look on Richard. “Where are we headed, then?”
“We’re going to Stroyza.”
Kahlan knew that was where he wanted to go. She just didn’t know why.
“Stroyza! Back across that forsaken, trackless wilderness and over the mountain passes we crossed to get here?”
“Irena said that there were roads and trails she used to come here before. I don’t know if she really did come here, but she may have been right about there being roads.” He turned to the three men. “Is that true? Are there roads and trails we can use to get to Stroyza, rather than go back across those mountains at Saavedra’s back door?”
Without having to think about it, the three nodded.
“There is a pretty good road part of the way,” one of them said, “but partway there it starts heading off in the wrong direction. From that point, though, we can take trails used by merchants as trade routes. That will at least get us close to Stroyza. It’s not the easiest of trails, but far easier on horseback than going back over the mountains on foot and having to hack our way through uncharted wilderness.”
“All right, then, we need to leave at once.”
The commander clapped a fist to his heart. “As you wish, Lord Rahl. All the men can be ready to go before you get down to the stables.”
Richard looked over at the desk. “No, we’re not all going. I need the men to split up. I only want to take a detachment of a dozen or so men. More will only slow us down.”
The commander cleared his throat. “I beg to differ, Lord Rahl. Not one of my men would slow us down. They would sooner die of exhaustion than slow you down. Besides, you will need their numbers if we’re attacked by any more of the half people.”
Richard flashed the man a brief smile. “I understand your concern.” He gestured back at the scrolls. “But these scrolls are incredibly valuable to me–to all of us. They have already been in the wrong hands and that has resulted in all the trouble we now have. We must keep possession of those scrolls at all cost. They are to be protected with our lives. Eventually they will have to be taken back to the People’s Palace, where I will need them. Until then, they must be guarded.”
The commander scratched his scalp as he glanced over at the desk piled high with scrolls. “Do you want the men to start back with them now?”
Off behind the hulking commander, Kahlan saw the scribe, Mohler, hurrying into the room. He came up behind the soldiers and stopped, waiting to be summoned. Richard urgently motioned him forward.
“Yes, Lord Rahl? What can I do for you?”
“I need you to collect all the Cerulean scrolls, including the ones that have similar symbols on them, and get them all packed up so they are safe to travel.”
“They arrived in leather tubes that protected them from the weather,” Mohler said. “A number of scrolls will fit in each one. If they are rolled tightly together, it would not take more than maybe ten or twelve of the tubes.”
“Are they waterproof?”
Mohler glanced over at the scrolls. “Enough to protect them from rain and such, but not enough if you were to drop them in a river or plunge them under water. They are very ancient, Lord Rahl, very fragile.”
“All right,” Richard said to the man, “pack them carefully for traveling, then seal the lids with pitch and wax to better protect them. It will also keep them from being opened.”
“Then take them back to the palace?” Commander Fister asked.
Richard considered a moment. “Not yet. They would be more vulnerable when traveling. For now they would be better protected here. This place is a fortress, after all. Hannis Arc and Emperor Sulachan have no reason to come back here. For now, I want the bulk of the men to stay here and protect them.”
The commander clearly looked reluctant but didn’t argue. “As you wish, Lord Rahl.”
“And make sure that the men understand that these are incredibly valuable to stopping Sulachan and the half people. These scrolls must never again fall into enemy hands.”