Garinor decided his best course of action was to continue shadowing the hunters. He left the unconscious man on the wagon, took a few provisions, and then slapped the horse’s backside to get it running again. The horse and wagon disappeared along the dirt path.
He knew he couldn’t stay there, for the location was marked with all the supplies the thief had thrown from the cart. What he had been looking for, Garinor had no idea. But he needed to move, and quickly.
He could see the faint wagon tracks in the dirt, but he wouldn’t be able to follow them for long. A decent breeze would cover them well enough, but it was all he had. The path cut through an overgrown wheat field, with occasional trees dotting the landscape. He hurried along the side of the road, but it wasn’t long before Garinor noticed a visitor.
A silhouette appeared in the distance long before he heard the hammering of hooves in the dirt. He ducked down into the overgrown grass and turned to watch as Lorrel sped past on a horse. With no wagon behind it, the horse made excellent time. He also knew that he was heading in the right direction, and once the hunter reclaimed his other horse and the wagon, he would turn around head back this way, for sure. Garinor was guaranteed a guide back to the hunters.
He decided to make some headway on his own, though, and he worked his way through the wheat field, always keeping the road nearby. There were a few other paths that branched off from the main one, but a low cloud of dust marked only one of them, and that cloud had to have been made by the angry pursuit.
Moving as fast as he could, Garinor made good progress. In the distance, the top of the barn rose into view. It was some distance off on foot, but he knew now he had come the right way. The wheat field gave way to horse- and cow-trimmed grass, and with it went Garinor’s cover.
He dashed along to the nearest tree and from there he could see two of the hunters sitting outside the house playing some sort of game. Of the others, he could see nothing. They could be anywhere, and that scared him. The tree overhead rustled and he looked up, startled, but it was only a squirrel. The only safe place he could think of was that top floor inside the barn. He needed to figure out a way to get in there and hope the other hunters wouldn’t see him. The three dogs also roamed around, and that was an added danger. Surely they would run him down and attack.
He checked around and found a few small stones, a basic plan forming in his mind. He knew it was slim, but he had little choice. As hard as he could, he lobbed one of the stones toward the house. It thudded into the ground a few yards from one of the dogs. Curious and alert, the dog hurried over to see what made the sound. The other two dogs seemed to know it was after something and they joined the first.
Garinor launched a second stone and this time struck one of the dogs, which let out a screeching yelp. He felt bad. He hadn’t meant to do that. The two sentries peered up and yelled at the dogs for playing too roughly with each other. Garinor waited a moment and then launched his next stone. This one sailed over the heads of the dogs and bounced a few times along the ground. Thoroughly spooked, the dogs barked and gave chase.
The two sentries sprinted off after the dogs. Garinor sped across the road and leaped behind another tree. He gave a quick scan of the surroundings, then made his way to the water trough. There were still no signs of the other hunters and Garinor didn’t hesitate. He sped across to the plow and paused there.
The house door opened and three hunters emerged and then raced around to chase after the other two, who were still following the dogs. He waited there for a moment and saw another hunter inside the house close the front door but remain inside. Garinor was only a few steps away from the barn now. He listened intently but could hear no sounds from within. Holding his breath, he went swiftly to the barn door.
He swung inside and pressed himself to the inner wall and waited for a few seconds. To his dismay, he could hear breathing. He wasn’t alone. Looking around, he didn’t see anyone. He crept along the wall toward the ladder, wondering how he could ever scale it without being caught.
“I’ve got you now, scoundrel!” boasted a throaty voice three stalls away on the other side of the barn. Garinor went white.
Another voice piped up with a shriek. “What? Where?” A blonde woman lifted her head from one of the stalls on his side. Her head whipped back and forth, but she didn’t seem to see anything.
“Avast!” shouted the man and a loud thud sounded from somewhere. “Take that!”
The woman positively growled in fury. Her voice grew loud and filled with rage and she unleashed it all at once. “Ollin, you moron!” She strode from her stall and went into another one and dealt a hearty kick. “Stop dreaming so loud!”
“Hmmph?” The man seemed to have awoken at last. “What’s the deal?”
“You scared the sap right out of me with your yelling, you oaf. And you woke me right up!”
He muttered something that sounded to Garinor like, “Go soak your head,” and then rolled over to resume his nap.
Furious, the female hunter stormed from the barn, not even glancing over in Garinor’s unhidden direction at all. He didn’t wait a moment longer. Up the ladder he flew, tucking himself in the far alcove once again, where it took some time for his breathing to return to normal.