Fortress Draconis by Michael A. Stackpole Page B

aroma managed to clear his head a bit, then he spat the pulp into Resolute’s left hand. The Vorquelf smeared the paste across the girl’s belly.
    As Crow turned her head and started cleaning up her face, Will recognized her. “That’s Sephi.”
    Crow nodded. “It is. The faceless one over there is probably Distalus. The other two are probably local trappers hired on as guides.”
    Will blinked. “But they were going to Yslin. What are they doing here?”
    “Good question, boy. If we save her, we might get an answer.” Resolute snorted and jerked his head back toward the stream. “A better question is, ‘What are gibberers doing here?’ If you have an answer for that, I’m more than glad to listen.”
    They sent Will to collect their horses, which he was able to do in short order. He did find tracks that indicated Sephi and the others had ridden into the area, and found one dead horse that had been shot with a crossbow. Of the others—and he assumed there were at least four more—he saw little sign. When he returned with the horses, he reported what he’d seen.
    Crow, who was just finishing up bandaging Sephi’s forehead, took the news with a nod. “If we are lucky, the horses ran off and will find their way to the meadow below Rivenrock.”
    “And if we aren’t?”
    “They won’t fill the temeryces’ bellies completely, so the frostclaws will be back looking for another meal.”
    Resolute looked up from the dead huntsman he was searching. “These bodies should suit them just fine. Can she sit a horse?”
    The older man nodded as he pulled a blanket over her.
    “If she wakes up. Otherwise we’ll have to tie her into the saddle.”
    “She doesn’t have much time, so you’d best get her dressed and ready to go.” Resolute untied the belt on the corpse and slid buckskin trousers off him. Despite some blood, they seemed to be in good shape. “Put these on her. They’ll be big, but warm. Boy, look through their baggage, see what you can find.”
    Will bent to the task he had been given immediately, for two very good reasons. First, it appeared Resolute was content to deal with bodies and Will really didn’t want to do that himself. Second, he was hoping that in the baggage he would find reasons why Distalus and Sephi hadn’t made it to Yslin.
    He started by gathering up and going through Sephi’s things. The clothes that remained in her baggage had all been folded neatly, and having been dumped from the back of a bucking packhorse had done little to disturb that arrangement. He found a small wooden box that contained pens and ink and some paper, but none of it had any writing on it. That wouldn’t have mattered since Will couldn’t read more than a word or two, anyway. A small, flat piece of cedarwood with a groove at one narrow end had been tucked inside the bag and smelled pretty good—and Will had seen similar things in chests in the city, so he knew it was there to keep bugs out.
    Deciding he’d seen all there was to see in her stuff, he started through Distalus’ bags. He wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that the old man’s things had been untouched by the gibberers. The fact that his clothes had been similarly folded suggested that Sephi had packed for both of them. He found another box of writing tools and a leather-bound journal. He opened it and found faded brown ink on the tan pages. Some drawings decorated the pages, including birds and plants, but a lot were of cities and towns. The words eluded Will, but at the point where a slender wooden slat had been used as a bookmark, he thought he recognized a sketch of Stellin. He also found another of the cedar pieces, again with a groove in the narrow end.
    Of considerable interest to him, though, was a pouch heavy with coins—some gold, most silver. He opened it and spilled a number out. Several were from Alcida, a few more from Savarre, and even one from Helurca. Another random lot selected from the purse yielded coins from Naliserro and Salnia, Jerana and Saporicia.
    Will