Free Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 by Brian S. Pratt Page B

worry.”
    “Alright,” agreed Chad. Getting a fairly smooth board from the scrap pile, he wrote in charcoal:
    Went for a ride with Bart, took Eryl. Back after dark.
    When he showed it to Bart he asked, “Will this do?” Nodding, Bart replied. “Yes. But there will still be hell to pay when you get back.”
    “Not if the stone is fixed I won’t,” he said.
    “What’s going on?” asked Eryl.
    Chad turned to his younger brother and said, “I’ll fill you in on the way.” Then he and Bart mounted the horses then Chad gives his brother a hand in swinging up behind him.
    They rode quickly from the house and entered the hills surrounding Quillim until they intersected the road.
    Once on the road heading out of town they were soon up to a canter and Quillim disappeared behind them. Eryl was having the time of his life riding behind his brother.
    In all his seven years, the times he had been more than a couple miles from home could be counted on one hand. And to top it off, his parent’s were not with them. All he had to deal with was his brother. Chad, even with all his older brother bossiness, was still a whole lot better to deal with than his mother and father would be. They rarely let him have any fun.
     
    Chad filled him in on what they planned to do soon after they were on the main road that traveled north and south along the foothills of the Western Mountains. This road was very well maintained and they were able to make good time.
    As the sun arced overhead, Bart knew they were never going to make it to Wardean and back by sundown. Or even remotely close to sundown. But that wasn’t what was on his mind as they drew ever closer to the city of Wardean. His past was a tangled skein, and some of the worst of it had to do with the city they were heading toward.
    Before he came to live in Quillim, he had vowed to himself never to set foot within the walls of Wardean again. Yet here he is, on his way. With any luck, they’ll be able to get in and out without anyone the wiser.
    It was an hour away from sundown when the walls of Wardean came into view. They had pushed their horses hard to try and reach the city before the sun went down. For that’s when Bart said Phyndyr closed his shop.
    “There she is,” Bart said as they rode closer.
    “Wow,” said Eryl in wonder. He had never been to a city this large. Whenever his father had business here, he always took either Chad or his other brother Tye. “Isn’t this where Tye is seeing about his apprenticeship?”
    “That’s right,” Chad replied. “I wish we had time to visit.”
    “Why don’t we?” his brother asked.
    “Need to return home before mother and father worry too much,” he explained.
    “We’re already away longer than I had anticipated.”
    “Too bad,” he said.
    Beyond the wall they saw the Keep of the Border Lord where it sat like an indomitable fortress. Wardean is the Seat of Duke Yoric, the Border Lord given the task of keeping the goblins on their side of the mountains.
    Bart took the lead when they reached the gates leading into the city. “Unless there is trouble nearby they keep the gates open throughout the night,” he explained.
    “What kind of trouble could there be?” asked Eryl.
    “Oh, goblins for the most part,” he replied. “Though ever since Duke Yoric became the Border Lord hereabouts, they’ve been fairly quiet. Haven’t been seen on this side of the mountains for years.”
    Once through the gates, Bart led them quickly through the streets. The light was fading fast and if they didn’t get there in time, they risked the unpleasant choice of either staying the night or returning home empty handed. “It isn’t far,” Bart said as they turned off the main thoroughfare and down a side street.
    Half a block down, Bart indicated a two story building coming up on their left. It looked rather formidable, with only slits for windows that were far too narrow for even a small child to squeeze through. The face of the