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Chapter Seven

The Footsteps of a Madman

I spent my time keeping my distance from The Hound as he incoherently babbles to himself. It was strange because at first he acted as if he were trying to go two different directions at the same time. The most I could make out of what he was saying was that he could feel which direction the boys, we were looking for, were.

My thoughts kept returning to Master Gil Dova'Col and how he met his end at the white fog of Mashadar. His final scream haunted me and I wondered if I was going to become as crazy as The Hound is. Then I thought of the taint on Saidin and I wondered if I would look and act like the Hound.

Over the next few days I noticed we were moving in a zigzag direction. The Hound was also changing the more we traveled. What I once thought was just babbling was beginning to become more coherent as time went on.

This made me worry that perhaps I was going mad and that was why The Hound was slowly not as insane as I once thought. The more he talked about his hatred of the boys I soon found myself agreeing with this also. I was now chasing after enemies of The Dark One and since they started trying to run from Him, it had caused me nothing but misery.

A few days later The Hound walked in complete silence for once and he had changed course again and seemed to be following a singular route this time. The sudden silence made me fearful about what he was thinking.

Had he discovered I was following him? Was he now leading me into a trap? This made me keep a further distance from him but I notice no change at all in his personality. Whatever madness had taken him seems to have somehow been cured... or had it?.

"Children of the Light," I suddenly heard him say. I frantically looked around to see if there were any Whitecloaks around.

The Children of the Light are an independent military organization dedicated to finding Darkfriends and rooting out evil and corruption wherever it may be found. Their zeal in this endeavor often borders on the insane and makes them dangerous opponents. Their headquarters is the Fortress of the Light in the city of Amador in Amadicia. Although Amadicia has a king, the Children hold so much political and military power there that they are undoubtedly its true rulers.

They typically refer to themselves as 'the Children'. They are commonly referred to by others as 'Whitecloaks' due to their snowy white cloaks worn over their armor which is the most distinguishable feature of their uniform and the aspect that makes them easy to identify and instantly recognizable. This is not a name favored by the Children themselves and is likely to offend them if used in their presence.

The Hound stealthily crept into a Whitecloak camp. while I hid and watched. The Whitecloaks were busy guarding the perimeter, though not too well it would seem, while others were busy cleaning and polishing armor and weapons.

A few young recruits were busy doing laundry and grumbling about it. They were quickly reprimanded by a full soldier and reminded that it was their duty to fulfill under the Light. I was glad that so far I was not forced to wash someone's smallclothes while working for The Shadow.

Having been a slave before I remember what it was like to wash my master's clothing and it was not a fun job. Sometimes I think Master Dav'Altor would soil his garments on purpose just to punish me because I would be forced to clean them.

The Hound snuck up behind a guard and snapped his neck. The sound I could just about hear sounded like someone stepping on a stick. He quickly dragged the body into some bushes. I watched as a Whitecloak came to investigate, probably summoned by the sound.

"Liapes!" Josol shouted as he searched for his now dead comrade. He slid the visor of his helmet up as he looked around as he cautiously stepped forward looking for signs. I glanced back at the bushes I saw The Hound enter and there was a tiny bot of movement that unless you knew what you were looking for it would go unnoticed.

"Liapes!" He shouted louder. This Time the Hound stepped out from the bushes wearing Liapes' armor with the visor pulled low to hide his face. Josol watched him suspiciously as he slowly approached.

"I don't recognize you, stranger. Identify yourself!" Josol said as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Aye. I was recently promoted and thank the Light I no longer have to launder everyone's cloaks. You're probably not used to seeing me in full armor. My name is Fayine though most just call me Fain." The Hound replied shrewdly. He decided to twist his name just as he had been twisted by The Dark One into becoming The Hound for him.

"Fain? You said? That bears resemblance to a peddler that I've heard travels these parts." Josol remarked.

"That it does and because my name is similar I feel the other recruits named me to mock me." Fayine replied and he seemed to smile yet there was something hidden by the visor that blocked his true intent. I thought I briefly saw the look of murder just as he had killed Liapes yet he seemed to me that he was patiently waiting for the right opportunity before he dispatched another Whitecloak.

"Where is Liapes? He is supposed to be guarding this post."

"I heard him mutter about going to the privy. He was training me and just told me to stay and watch." Fayine replied.

"How can you watch when you're playing in the bushes?" Josol asked contemptuously. Fayine raised his gauntlet and scratched the back of his head.

"Pardon sir, but I saw a rabbit and hoped to catch it. I thought it would be a nice gift for The Lord Captain and Commander." Fayine answered.

"You intend to bring a rotten corpse all the way to The Dome of Truth to give it to The Lord Captain Commander???" He asked suspiciously.

"The pelt yes but the meat, as you rightly said, would spoil so I'd make a snack for myself." Fayine said and my stomach suddenly reminded me that I had not eaten yet and the thought of roasted rabbit made my mouth water.

Josol eyed him but relaxed the grip on his sword hilt as he looked around for tracks to see where Liapes went off to. He noticed that something had been dragged into the bushes where Fayine had come from.

"See something?" Fayine asked as Josol crouched low to examine the ground. as his eyes followed the trail into the bushes. Fayine struck swiftly as if he were a viper and he drug his fingers into Josol's eyes and just as he read ready to scream. Fayine moved his hands to cover his mouth while Josol struggled as blood dripped from his eye sockets.

Fayine giggled as he used his other hand to remove a dagger and with a slow precision he slit the Whitecloak's throat. Josol let out a few gasping breaths before he fell forward dead. I watched in horror as The Hound stripped Josol's body of armor and tossed the body on top of Liapes.

"Too bad. It looks as if they had a fight of some sort and killed each other. Hope it wasn't a lover's spat with them wearing only their small clothes?" The Hound chuckled again then he removed the armor and placed them side by side near the bodies.

Now that he had become The Hound again he began to follow the trail he was on in the direction of the boys. His madness was showing again and I realized he was the same Hound he had always been. He seemed to have learned how to better hide his madness.

I wondered that if I became mad because of the taint could I be the same as him?

The Lord Captain shouted orders to the men in his company as they frantically ran about. A couple of the children had vanished at shift change and the thought of anyone deserting The Children of the Light was unthinkable.

"Sir!" One of The Children of the Light said as he ran up to him and saluted. He just glared back, not in the mood for familiarities at the moment. He recognized him as Child Kidrol who was one of the oldest in the company.

Child Kidrol had been in the service of the Light for many years and he had taken part in destroying numerous Tar Valon Witches during his time. He was very respectful and it surprised Lord Captain Noban that Child Kidrol had not been promoted yet.

"What do you have to report, Child Kidrol?" he asked, trying to keep himself in control. He did not want his temper to appear as a sign of weakness. He also did not want to appear to be uninterested in a possible desertion because that might encourage others to leave also.

"We found them... what is left of them in some bushes. Real unnatural like if you ask me." Kidrol said.

"Unnatural? How?"

"Both were found dead laying on top of each other in only their small clothes." Kidrol said, hinting at the strangeness in which they were found.

"Robbed?" Lord Captain Noban asked.

"Their complete armors were found next to each other a few feet away from the bodies."

"So two of The Children are found almost naked in bushes with their armor sitting a few feet away? Are you sure nothing was missing?"

"I haven't checked personally but from what I'm told the sets were complete. If bandits then why leave the goods behind, that's what I want to know." Child Kidrol said.

"Take me to them, I too want to check on this. They were supposed to both be on duty so finding them half naked doesn't make sense."

"Aye sir," Child Kidrol said as he turned and led Lord Captain Noban towards the spot where they were found. The Lord Captain looked around and glanced at the marks on the ground.

"Where was the bodies found?"

"In these bushes." Child Kidrol said as he pulled back a few branches and exposed the bodies as they still remained in place. The Lord Captain covered his nose as he saw insects crawling on the bodies.

The bodies were indeed on top of each other and their arms were strangely wrapped to look like an embrace. The Lord Captain stepped to the side to view them from another angle. He saw dried blood from the eye sockets of Child Josol. The head of Liapes had rolled to an unnatural angle as if separated from his neck yet it was still attached.

"One is missing his eyes and the other had his neck snapped. Seems strange that they managed to lay on top of each other both being killed in the manner they had." Lord Captain Noban muttered to himself. He saw Child Kidrol was making notes and let him knowing that those could help him later to recall everything they saw and experienced.

"Where are their armor?" Lord Captain Noban asked and Child Kidrol took him to where he saw two suits that lay side by side. The Lord Captain searched one of the suits very closely as Child Kidrol watched and waited.

"A sword is missing,"

"By the Light, you're right! Can't believe I missed it." Child Kidrol remarked as he made a few more notes and began to sketch pictures of the bodies and the armors.

"These two were murdered and made to look as if it were something else. Whoever it was thought that The Children of the Light are fools."

"They will pay once we find them!" Child Kidrol stated definitively as he finished up and closed his notebook with a sharp thud as the pages hit.

"Whoever it was, they were very good at hiding their trail so there is no way to tell which way they went." Lord Captain Noban replied sourly.

"They can't be far because no one is foolish enough to run from The Light." Child Kidrol answered.

"If memory serves, there was a report of some shaggy haired youth that had killed other Children of the Light. The report said he was unnatural with the eyes of a darkfriend. Send out reports immediately of this and mention that that darkfriend may be involved. The others nearby need to be on guard in case they are headed in their directions." Lord Captain Noban ordered. He turned to walk away leaving his orders with Child Kidrol. He trusted him to clean up the mess and set things in order.

Ktanos had distanced himself even more from The Hound as he used Saidin to hide their tracks from the Whitecloaks. Before he ran after him he had taken a sword from one of the soldiers' armors. He took it because if The Hound attacked him he wanted a weapon that would help distance himself from The Hound.

The trouble was that he had no formal training with a sword so he thought that might be a disadvantage in a fight. He only hoped that should he need to defend himself that The Hound was as inept as he is.

A few days later, they happened upon a poor farm. The animals looked extremely thin and their bones appeared visible. It was clear the late winter had greatly impacted them. The chickens seemed the best out of them all but chickens would eat anything, like the feces of other animals.

There were no cows visible but there was a horse that had its ribs showing. The Hound did not hesitate to untie the rope on its halter and then climbed on its back and rode off. I frantically tried to run after them but I couldn't keep up. He quickly escaped and Ktanos fell to the ground exhausted and pounded his fist to the ground.

He failed in his task and as he looked around he saw no other horses, or people, anywhere. He thought about it and knew the direction The Hound was going. If he could find a map he might be able to see where he was going and where these boys he was tracking might be headed.

The trouble was that Ktanos had no idea how to read a map. He'd seen Master Dav'Altor doing it numerous times so he figured it could not be too difficult. He got up and his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in a while.

Since there was no chance of catching up to The Hound, he might as well have some food as he tried to think of a plan. He rose and began to search the farm hoping that there was something left.

When he entered the house he saw the remains of the owners looking as if they were the victims of a brutal animal attack. Their mangled corpses were haphazardly tossed about and dried blood was scattered everywhere. Bits of their flesh was decaying all over the living area where the bodies were.

Ktanos was not sure what bothered him more the rancid smell of decayed flesh and dried blood or the insects that were feeding on the remains. He lasted only a couple of minutes before he ran outside and sicked up on the ground. This attacked some of the Bite Mes from inside as they now had a new food source.

He tied a cloth across his nose and mouth and it blocked the smell but only by a very little bit. He also took deep breaths then held his breath as he went back inside to search. Surprisingly there was enough food for the farmers to just bearly live on and even some food saved up for the animals.

He quickly fed the animals knowing the pains it feels to starve. He did not want to force them to suffer especially when there was food available. He then prepared what was still good from the food store but he cooked outside the house, because of the smell, and looked up and saw that it might rain.

While the meal was cooking he did a quick search of the house to see what he could find. Nothing much interested him except there was a small map of the area. Looking at it he had no idea how to read it. The trouble was that he could not read in general and the pictures did not help. He did not know the area well enough to recognize the images as landmarks.

He sat and ate my meal in despair because I had no idea what to do next. He could follow the direction The Hound went but with him being on horseback there was no way he could catch up to him unless he could find and steal a horse of his own.

A sudden thought came to him as he thought about the bodies and wondered what had attacked them? It could not be trollics because he doubted they would just leave them scattered about. More than likely they would eat them but trollics never ventured this far south.

Couldn't be wolves because they would never enter the house especially with all the animals outside they could feed on. Could this have been those Whitecloaks? It seemed overly brutal even by their standards.

A sudden thought hit him as he thought about backtracking to the Whitecloaks and maybe steal one of their horses. He would have to be extremely careful because if he was seen the whole group would chase after him. They were probably already on high alert after The Hound killed two of their soldiers.

He wondered if he should go back to find Bao the Wyld because he completed the task of eliminating Master Gil. He was told to complete that and technically it was Master Gil that sent him after The Hound. The Great Lord of The Dark wanted those boys, The Hound was after, and going back without them could shame Ktanos.

He looked down at the symbols on the map and saw what looked like a river. He could try and find that and follow it to the next town, or farm, and get directions from there. Right now that seems to be the best option.

A distant crash of thunder let him know he was done traveling for the day. The last thing he wanted was to get sick traveling soaked and it was so cold down here that he knew he would become ill if he did.

He decided to sleep in the barn away from the decaying bodies inside the farm house. The smell alone was enough to make him ill.

The next day Ktanos released all the animals and tossed out the remaining food. He figured this gave them a slim chance of survival but it was better than starving to death in their pens.

The sun was shining brightly but it did little to warm the land. The sky was thick with clouds though there were a few breaks where the sun would appear and shine through. Just as quickly as it appeared it would soon vanish again.

There was a light frost on the ground that sparkled when the sun appeared. Ktanos saw smoke coming out of his mouth with each breath he took. He returned inside the house to find warmer clothing he could wear.

He packed up some extra rations and made his way walking in a slant in the direction he had seen The Hound go. He searched around looking to find the river on the map. Ktanos guessed that if he saw which side of the river he was on then it would point where he was on the map.

He was about to change direction when he finally cleared the forest and found that he was on the left side of the river. This helped him guess where he was and he then turned and began to walk towards the next city. The map had an image of a large bridge but it made no sense to Ktanos. He guessed it was a city that had a bridge that crossed the river he was following.

He eventually met a pedler that was traveling close to the river looking for a ferry to bring him to White Bridge. Talon Bopel, the pedler, read the map to him and told him the name of the city.

Whitebridge is a major town in Andor, and is a crossing across the River Arinelle. The location's name derives from the stunning white, intricately built bridge that spans the river. Scholars speculate that the bridge is an artifact from the Age of Legends, meaning that the bridge must be thousands of years old.

"So what a lad like yourself doing wandering out here alone?" Talon Bopal asked. He had offered Ktanos a ride to White Bridge with the promise that he would help him set up shop once they got there.

"My... father... died in a trollic attack and he sent me running for safety. I stumbled upon a deserted farm and found the map but was never taught to read." Ktanos replied.

"No one ever taught you?"

"No sir, my father was a smith and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps but reading never seemed important." Ktanos lied.

"Most smiths have some knowledge in order to sell their wares. Never heard of a blacksmith that couldn't read and write, to sum degree." Talon Bopel remarked suspiciously. Ktanos looked away embarrassed but not because of his illiteracy, but because he feared he was caught in a lie.

"I'll make a deal with you lad. You work for me and I'll teach you how to read and write." Talon Bopel proposed. Ktanos flinched because until recently he had never thought about it before. Since he was no longer a slave it might benefit him to be able to read and write even if just a little bit.

"How long will it take?" Ktanos asked. The thought of learning inspired him but he feared this would delay him trailing after the young men The Great Lord wants.

"Couple of months, give or take, depending on how quick you can learn. If you're going out on your own you definitely want to be able to read unless you want others to take advantage of you and think you are stupid.

Not to mention that since I travel from place to place you can get to cities faster with me than on foot. Unless you really want to walk the whole way!" Talon Bopel remarked with a smile. Ktanos thought it over and since The Hound had a horse then having the peddler help him might let them meet up again. He could only hope that they were both going to White Bridge.

"That sounds good but I can't promise how long I can stay with you."

"That's fine lad, once we get to White Bridge I'll hire some new guards so it'll be nice to have company until then." Talon Bopel said.

"What happened to the guards you had?" Ktanos asked.

"Dead," Talon Bopel replied sourly and he flicked the reins on his horse to speed the animal up slightly. "Not sure what happened but one by one they were found dead in the forest. They were cut up as if an animal attacked. Real strange, as if each one wandered away from camp and was attacked. Not sure how or why but whatever you do don't leave camp on your own unless you want to end up like them." Talon Bopel said and he eyed Ktanos to try and judge his reaction.

Ktanos was busy thinking about the farm and guessed whatever killed them must have killed the guards also. What kind of creature could lure away fully armed men and butcher them like cattle?

To Be Continued