TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 06

Daxas rolled her eyes at him. "Pola!" she barked.

"Y..Yes?!" replied the startled collie.

"Get out of my pack," she growled before turning on her heel and walking out of the tower's clearing, closely followed by the rest of the women after quick hugs and kisses for their shocked former packmate. With a final wave, Kal followed the girls, leaving the wizard and two dog girls by themselves in the clearing. Neither Rose nor Pola had recovered from their surprise.

"Are you going to stand there or come inside?" Kelthor asked the collie.

This snapped the girl out of her reverie and a moment later she came bounding across the distance between them, tackling Rose to the ground.

Kelthor floated over in his chair once they got done rolling around in the grass, raising an eyebrow at the unusually passionate kiss they were sharing. As they came apart and looked up at him he glared down at Rose, who had ended up on her back beneath the collie. "Now you know what I felt like when you came home," he grumped before floating on towards the tower.

---

Kal and the girls took the rest of the day getting back to the southern road he had arrived on nearly four months ago. Off to the east, the city of Carriston was barely visible on the horizon, disappearing a moment later as the sun dipped below the trees. Kal set up the tent and activated its camouflage, telling the girls that they would all need to be well-rested tomorrow, so there would be no watch unless he felt there was a specific need. To allay some of their concerns, he also set up a ward to alert him if something intending to cause them harm got too close.

For the most part, everyone fell into their beds as soon as supper was over, asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Kal had been using his stamina rune and was doing better than any of the women, including Daxas who had prided herself on her ability to run for hours. Since Kal was still in good shape, the girl whose turn it was to share his bed that night insisted that she was up for some fun. A few minutes later he was gently rolling the woman off him. While attempting to ride him she had leaned forward and laid her head on his chest, falling asleep within seconds.

Kal apologized profusely to her the next morning for being so boring in bed that she fell asleep, the mortified girl hid behind her alpha in embarrassment until Dax told him to stop. She then gave him the week off, telling the girls they were to sleep in their own beds until they get to the point where they aren't exhausted at the end of the day. After three months of sex twice a day, sometimes more, he was actually looking forward to the break, even if he wasn't looking forward to sleeping alone.

As they came to the road, a girl reddish-brown hair and long ears that faded to black at the tips skidded to a halt, growling and huffing while staring down the road in the direction they were about to travel. One of the girls behind her nearly bowled her over from the sudden stop but the woman was so focused on whatever she had smelled she hardly noticed.

Dax trotted over, "What's wrong Refia?"

"It's one of them," she growled, glancing at the wolf before continuing to glare down the road. The dog girl was also known for having the best nose of the entire pack.

"Them?" asked Kal.

"One of the men who captured us."

Kal shrugged, "Maybe one of them got Shell's warning and decided to try his luck elsewhere?"

"The timing seems a bit fishy," said Daxas, "and we still have no idea who broke Kelthor's wards or what they learned."

"Let's assume it was Kogen's wizard and they learned what our plans were. The leader of the thieves' guild gave us three months before letting him out of the city, if he's coming after us he should be behind us."

The wolf didn't look impressed with his assessment, "Since we are assuming things. One: that assumes that the leader of the thieves' guild wasn't lying. Two: that Kogen didn't come up with some other means of getting out from under the thieves' guild's thumb. We know already that he had customers within the lordship who thought very highly of him."

"Hmm, good points," he looked over at Refia, "can you tell how far away he is?"

She bowed her head and sniffed up, down and across the road over the next couple of minutes, "About three days, I'm guessing."

Kal and Dax both stared at her.

"The trail is days old on a major road and you can tell it was one of the slavers?" asked Kal.

Refia nodded.

"I'm impressed."

"Me too," Daxas chimed in, still looking astounded. The bloodhound beamed with pride at the praise.

"Three days, that means we should catch up with whoever it is sometime tomorrow at the speed we're going," said Kal.

"Um..."

"Yes, Refia?"

"I meant three days for us, not them. I believe the scent is around four days old and there's a strong smell of horse, but I don't think they are going very fast."

Kal's face scrunched up as he tried to wrap his head around what she just said. "How do you smell how fast a horse is going?"

Refia crouched down, her tail tucked and ears drooping more than usual under the human and pack's scrutiny. "A walking horse will have a strong, defined scent trail that changes a lot over a short distance, a galloping horse will be more even, lighter and spread out because of the speed and less of the scent gets to the ground?" she explained, sounding uncertain and looking around at disbelieving eyes.

"That... actually makes sense," Kal finally said after close to a minute of silence.

All eyes turned to the mage and Refia nearly collapsed with relief.

"How?" asked Daxas, "and don't use the big words from your books, you might as well be speaking a different language."

"I won't need to," he said smiling, "Ria, I need one of the pouches of sleeping sand." The small satchel immediately began leaking the powdery spell component as soon as the point of light touched his palm. Kal handed the pouch to Daxas, "Walk down the road a little way, try to keep the stream of sand steady," he said directing her down the smoother ruts from carriage and wagon wheels. After she had taken a handful of steps he had her stop and move to the rut on the other side of the road. "Now throw it back to me."

Once Daxas had tossed the satchel back, she could immediately tell what Refia was talking about. One side was a thick strong line that she made over a couple of seconds while the other was wide, nearly indiscernible, and made almost instantly.

"Refia seems to have a nose sensitive enough to tell the difference between the two. Impressive doesn't really seem like a strong enough word," said Kal, smiling at the long-eared dog girl.

"I have to agree," said the wolf, still contemplating the two lines of sand. She was amazed by the girl's ability and slightly annoyed that she couldn't even pick up a whiff of what the bloodhound was talking about. "We have an enemy about three days away if they stop for the night like we do. What are we going to do about it?"

Kal's haste rune lit up on his vambrace and began slowly rotating, "We have a mage well versed in combat and a pack of dogs led by a wolf. Unless they brought a small army, I'm not too worried about it."

"There's only one of them," Refia chimed in.

Kal smiled, "Again, I'm not too worried. Shall we?"

Nodding, Daxas shifted and dropped to all fours, running after the mage along with her pack.

---

Kal needn't have worried about sleeping alone. That night Daxas and Alina followed him into his room, the wolf reminding him that as far as the girls were concerned, this was his and her bed and she had been taking the bed of whoever he was with that night. Alina had come just because Dax wanted her there and the bed was more than big enough for the three of them.

The next few days went by without incident other than occasionally ducking into the forest on either side of the road to avoid travelers. Three months of hunting in the forests around Kelthor's tower meant that even this didn't slow them down terribly. Kal was occasionally met by jealous glares after these forays since his style was more up and over the trees than through the underbrush. It only took one time of not finding a good place to land and crashing through the forest canopy before those glares disappeared.

When they arrived at roughly the place where Refia had predicted the slaver to be, she ended up apologizing profusely for not taking into account that he was moving as well and that he was likely in this area when they had that conversation. After having a couple of girls run across a small strip of road at different speeds and comparing the change in their smells to the horse's she gave a new estimation of the morning after next.

Daxas made a short attempt to do the same as Refia but had to finally admit that the dog girl had her beat when it came to this, taking heart that she could at least smell the horse now.

Kal managed to make it to that night before ending up on his knees choosing where to put his prick as Dax made out with the black-haired dog girl lying on top of her. The tough decisions made by an up and coming mage.

---

The next day went by uneventfully other than the girls confirming Refia's belief that the person on the horse was Kogen. The bloodhound had mentioned two days earlier she thought it was him, Kal got the impression she knew before then but hadn't wanted to draw any more attention to herself.

It was nearly midday the following morning when the group approached the armored man waiting for them in the middle of the road, his mount tied to a tree just inside the woods. Kogen had noticed them some time ago, which was no surprise. Unlike the other travelers they had come across, Kal and Daxas decided to stay on the road instead of taking to the woods, effectively announcing their presence to the slaver. Despite the girls all wanting to confront the man, Kal stood alone before Kogen, the women a good distance back and looking unhappy with where they were. With the departure of Pola back at the tower, every one of the remaining dog girls was carrying one of Kal's children and he was adamant that they stay back and out of harm's way since he was facing someone with similar abilities to his own.

"Ria, staff," he said to the sprite sitting on his shoulder as he came to a stop a few paces away from Kogen. The bag's avatar was there in case he needed something from her but also so the bag could return to Perra if he misjudged his opponent badly. Doubt had begun to creep into his mind as they approached and he saw just how large the man was, despite his previous bravado when speaking with Daxas.

Whispering a word to the weapon, the platinum endcap stretched downward covering the wood until it looked like a metal pole with a gold cap on one end. He had deflected swords and such with the staff without seeing any marks on the wood afterward but none of those had been magical to his knowledge, or as big as the one strapped to the slaver's back.

"Well, you're a disappointment, I think you're the most pathetic looking mage I've ever seen," said Kogen, looking the young man up and down.

Kal shrugged, leaning nonchalantly on his staff. "Disappointing enough to steal all of your slaves while you lie snoring in your bed. I was of the understanding I had a bit of time left before they put out the... sorry, I was going to say 'dog' but I wouldn't want to insult the ladies back there. I think 'trash' is more appropriate for a slaver anyway."

Kogen scoffed, "As if those idiots could keep me locked up. The only reason you're still alive is because you were at the old man's tower. Even I'm not foolish enough to challenge two wizards at the same time."

"You came after me, I'd say that's pretty foolish," said Kal, smirking. "You think highly of yourself if you believe I didn't consider coming back to Carriston and informing the lords and ladies what happened to their friends who vanished after purchasing a toy from you."

The leader of the slavers threw his head back and let out a deep bellowing laugh. "The lords and ladies already know the collars are trapped! It's only the common folk who I don't bother to tell."

"Hmm, then I guess it was a good thing I didn't consider you to be worth wasting my time."

The large man's mouth tightened. "You have something that belongs to me," he said as he reached over his shoulder and drew his sword, pointing it at the younger man. "I intend to have them back."

"You are absolutely correct, I do. And you are welcome to them. Ria, would you please give him back the all those things Jakis gave us?" he asked the sprite who was now hovering off to one side as he studied his opponent. He definitely had enhanced strength, and no small amount either to be able to hold a sword that large with his arm straight out.

"Even the oil can?"

The odd question caught Kal off guard. "The what?" he asked the sprite, looking at her in confusion.

"The oil can. You had me give him the desk back, but you forgot about the oil can he let you use. It falls under the category of things Jakis gave you."

"Fine, everything but the oil can. Maybe someday we'll get back to Carriston and give it back to him. Wait! Better yet give one of the collars to me, I want to throw it at him!"

"You realize he's still pointing his sword at you right?"

"Yup."

"Aren't you worried he's going to attack you?"

"Not at the moment," said Kal with a cheeky grin. Glancing over at Kogen he saw the man had lowered his sword and was staring daggers back at him.

"Care to explain why?" Ria asked as the collar formed in one of Kal's hands

"No, but maybe he will," said the mage, nodding in Kogen's direction as one of the collars materialized in his hand

"He hasn't said anything," the sprite commented looking over at the leader of the slavers, whose face seemed to be getting more and more red as Kal and Ria largely ignored him.

"I don't want the damn collars back!" yelled the large man. "Give me the bitches!"

Kal raised an eyebrow, "If a piece of ass was all you were interested in, I'm sure Madame Tufa would have helped. Never been there myself but I understand she comes highly recommended. However, that's beside the point. I don't care if you want the collars back, you're getting them back regardless." Kal reared back as the speed rune shone nearly white, launching the collar at Kogen.

With the tiny distance between them, the thick leather slave collar reached Kogen in the blink of an eye. Then continued on as the slaver sidestepped the projectile. A fraction of a second later the leader of the slavers rocked forward slightly as the collar detonated a good distance down the road behind him. The man turned slightly to stare wide-eyed as the wisps of fire from the explosion faded away, those traps weren't supposed to be that strong.

Meanwhile, Kal was assessing what he just saw. The man definitely had enhanced reflexes and speed to dodge the strip of leather, which was impressive considering the armor he was wearing. He was also smart enough to not attempt batting the collar away, either that or dodging was all that his increased speed would allow. He didn't see the need to tell the man that the collar would only explode a certain distance away from him.

In between lessons with Kelthor, Kal and Ria had been planning for this encounter, except for the part about the oil can, that had been a bit of a surprise. Kal had carefully taken apart the collars after cutting the sliver wire that connected the trap rune to a tiny crystal that would be frighteningly easy to miss were it not for his special eyesight. The rune only did one thing, detected when someone was trying to remove the collar, at which point it would shatter the larger crystal used to power the control runes. The resulting explosion would vaporize the slave, master and everything in the room. Kal made some modifications to the runes, adding the distance detection, disconnecting the slaving runes and locking the crystal in a full state. The result was a bomb that went off only when it was far enough away for Kal to feel safe and didn't run the risk of someone catching it and throwing it back at him. He unwittingly made it strong enough to take out an average-sized house instead of just a room.

"Kal! Why the hell are you two standing there staring at each other?!" shouted Ria, making plain her confusion and frustration.

"Because of this," Kal waved the end of his staff along the ground in front of him, then took a step back as a rectangular pit running across the entire road quickly opened up. Kal peered over the side, "Spikes at the bottom, nice. This one is plainly meant for killing instead of capturing."

"How... it's supposed to be undetectable," growled the slaver, though he already had an inkling that the whelp had known about it.

Kal tapped his temple, "I didn't detect the trap, I just saw the magic." He immediately regretted telling the man, he really didn't want everyone knowing about his ability. "Are we stuck like this or can you cancel it so we can beat the hell out of each other like real men?" he said putting a hand on his hip and thrusting his chest out.

Growling with annoyance, Kogen pulled an amulet out of a pouch and pointed it at the pit. With a word the emerald in the middle glowed as the pit closed up, the magic fading away while Kal watched. The large man tossed the medallion behind him and charged across the gap between them with a roar.

Kogen's armor was an amazing piece of magic, found when out adventuring in his younger days and a large part of how he became so successful. Besides giving him unnatural speed, strength, and being able to put it on with a wave of his hand, its most impressive feature only manifested when he went into combat. Strips of steel ran up his neck and down the back of his arms and legs before expanding and clicking together in the front. By the time his sword contacted the mage's staff he was in a full suit of armor.

Metal screeched as the two came together, with Kal immediately on the defensive as the slaver rained blows down upon him at a blistering pace. Kogen smiled, the boy was doing everything he could just to keep up with him, eventually, he would make a mistake.

A short time later, Kogen wasn't smiling anymore.

The man in front of him should have been dead long ago, but after the initial exchange, the young mage had fallen into a rhythm where it seemed like he was deflecting the slaver's attacks with as little effort as possible.

"Tell me something Kogen," that Kal was able to speak in the middle of the fight seemed to infuriate the large man, "you are fast and strong," their weapons came together with a ring of metal on metal, "but how long can you keep that up for?" As the mage finished speaking his eyes began to glow bright blue and another teal-colored rune lit up on his vambrace.

The leader of the slavers pushed the younger man away, taking a step back himself. His fights didn't usually last this long and he hated to admit that he was getting winded. Meanwhile, his opponent didn't even appear to be breathing hard. He needed to finish this quickly or the boy would simply outlast him.

Steel rang on platinum once again as Kogen charged in, pushing himself and his armor as hard as he ever had. Within seconds he could tell that something had changed. Before the mage had been deflecting the flurry of attacks, now he seemed to know what direction they would come from before he even began the motion. He was going to lose this fight.

The slaver's sword came down on Kal's staff in a blow heavy enough to make the mage wince. When he looked back up, Kogen was gone.

"Kal! The girls!" screamed Ria.

Looking in their direction he saw the leader of the slavers just hitting the ground and bolt towards Daxas and her pack. Kal swore as he realized Kogen had used that last swing to launch himself at the women. The speed rune glowed white as he ran after the slaver but the mage quickly realized that there was no way he could overtake the armored man in time. The girls had no weapons to defend against Kogen's sword, he was going to watch this man cut down every one of them.