Free Everwinter: The Forerunner Archives by J. Rock Page A

in the Glass Gardens long enough to know what's edible."
    Altair nods, actually seeming impressed. "Let's get moving," he commands. 
    Traylor and I obey.  
    I don't know how long we've been asleep, but I feel more refreshed now than I have in a long time. Maybe Altair felt bad for marching us so heavily this past week.
    Maybe the man has a heart after all.     
    We make it to the road, pausing to make sure the way is clear, then continue just as we had the day before. We go on for a few hours in silence, simply enjoying the morning.  
    "Any sign of trouble while we were asleep?" I finally ask, coming up next to Altair, matching his stern pace for the first time today. The mountains are not far off now, seeming to stretch infinitely to the sky. We'll be in the foothills in less than an hour, I estimate.
    He shakes his head. "No, but I do not believe we are out of hot water yet. Before we left the road yesterday, I lost the trail of that man's horse."
    "You mean the coughing man?" I ask to clarify.
    Altair nods. "I think he may have taken a path off the road, but I cannot be sure." There are multiple animal trails leading into and out of the grasslands along the road, but most are barely wide enough to accommodate a man, let alone a destrier. "Trackers cover themselves well,” Altair explains, “guiding their horses where they know a track is less likely to print." His words make me nervous. Until now, I’d considered Altair to be infallible; that nothing could genuinely harm us while we are in his presence. It turns out, unfortunately, that he is human, after all.
    "Should we be concerned?" I ask, feeling a bit more anxious.
    Altair shakes his head. "No. I do not think it will be a problem. In fact–"
    KRAKOOOOM!
    Something crashes into the dirt directly between us, sending up a spray of rock that I'm forced to shield my face from. Altair whips around instantly, pushing myself and Traylor behind him. His hands are a blur, producing the deadly throwing stars I'd seen him use only once before. Seconds later, the coughing man and his horse emerge from the tall grass a half mile down the road, holding something high and clear over his head.
    A shooting iron.
    The man lowers the weapon and points it directly at us. This time, the ground next to Traylor explodes in a pulverized hail. The man lets forth a spine tingling wail and kicks his destrier in the ribs, urging the animal into a charge. Altair holds his ground while Traylor and I begin to slip in the opposite direction. The horse keeps coming, and Altair raises his arm to fire a star. I sense that this is going to be over very quickly. Without warning, the coughing man pulls his horse to a sudden halt, still a good distance down the road. Altair lowers his arm and stands erect.
    "H e is just out of my range and he knows it," he says in a defeated tone. He watches as the man raises the shooting iron once more. "RUN!" Altair bellows. We do, dashing headlong down the road toward the Spine of the World. Altair remains at the rear, trotting behind just me. I hear another shot, but it doesn't seem to come near. I slow a bit and let Altair catch up to me.
    "Shouldn't we try and lose him in the grass or something?" I ask, gesturing to the tall vegetation lining the road beside us.
    "With our quarry on a destrier?" Altair replies in a mocking tone. "He'd be able to see us easily while we’d be left blind."
    "Oh," is all I can come up with.
    Altair frowns. "Don’t worry. I don’t believe he means to kill us. I think he merely wishes to corral us. Elsewise, he would have shot us down already."
    "Corral us?" I ask, still running. "Where?" Ahead, the mountains are a lot larger than last I'd looked at them.
    "A trap," Altair states matter of factly, adding nothing more. I almost put the brakes on, but Altair doesn’t falter so I keep up to him. Traylor, though his legs are short, has little trouble keeping up as well. He's used to people chasing him around Krakelyn, the