The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling Read Online Free

guild members appreciated
elimination of the loathsome creatures. The little skunk made his
rounds rapidly and managed to return in time to be placed in a
hollow on top of the packs. Goodbyes were said and they were
off.
    The road they traveled wove through a narrow
valley in the most mountainous province in the realm. They were
surrounded by peaks and the valley, though flatter than the
surrounding countryside, climbed steadily. It was much too hard on
the horses to gallop the whole way but what they were able to do
was cover a lot of distance then get off and walk for a while to
let the animals cool down. Tempo would forage as they stretched
their legs. It was on one of these slower spells that Erin noticed
steam coming from a few of the peaks. She pointed it out to Drune
who stopped dead in the middle of the road and stared. “Erin, those
volcanos have not been active in many centuries. I have prospected
on that one,” he pointed to one with a steam plume, “for rhenon and
gemstones. That they are waking up is not a good sign. We can’t
make the city in one day but we can get closer. We need to
move!”
    Erin held up her hand. “Let me talk to the
horses.” She went to each one and explained briefly the urgency.
‘Let me know when you need to change pace. I don’t want you injured
but we need to cover more ground.’ The pack horse answered for the
other two. ‘I’m carrying a little more weight than the other two.
If I get tired we could switch the packs to Shep or Fos and someone
could ride me. Right now we are good to go.’ Erin relayed the
message then scooped Tempo onto the pack horse and mounted Shep.
They quickly moved into a lope to warm the horse’s muscles, then
into a gallop.
    By communicating with the horses they were
able to travel further between walks. They did switch the burden of
the packs and that allowed the horses to be less tired. It was late
afternoon when Tempo gave a loud growl and spoke in Erin’s mind.
‘Quake’ Erin yelled the same word to Drune who was ahead. She
simultaneously told the horses and reassured them. ‘We need to
watch for rocks and ground moving but we are in this together. The
quake won’t last long. Stay calm.’ They slowed to a walk then
stopped because they didn’t want the horses to stagger and fall as
the ground moved beneath their hooves. The animals didn’t like it
and laid back their ears but for the most part remained calm. As
soon as the ground stopped moving they were walking again. They had
increased speed back to a lope when just behind them there was a
rumble and a clutter of house-sized rocks slid down a nearby slope
and half way across the road. If they had been slower they would
have been at that spot when the slide hit. It was a chilling
thought. Drune and Erin looked at each other. ‘Are you three up to
getting out of here?’ She asked the horses. The answer was a
universal tossing of heads and all quickly broke back into a
lope.
    They had gotten to a wider section of the
ascending valley and could see the lights from Kunscap in the
distance when they ran out of light. Being surrounded by mountains
it seemed to take longer for the moons to rise. The horses were
tired. They had made phenomenal distance that day and deserved a
good night’s rest. Drune took the packs and saddles off the horses
and set up camp. Erin made sure that each horse was fed, watered
and groomed after they cooled down. She talked to each and praised
their efforts. Tempo was off hunting and Keir was nearby settling
down for the night. Erin and Drune were quiet as they ate. It had
been an exhausting day and all they wanted to do was get some rest
and resume travel as soon as they could tomorrow.
    Erin was completely asleep in her bedroll
when Tempo curled up against her and closed his eyes. He had a full
belly and had detected skunk scent in the area. He was a satisfied
little animal. Nuit was nearby keeping watch.

Chapter 3
The Repository of Knowledge

    They reached