The Mountain Dark by Kathryn Le Veque

Author:Kathryn Le Veque [Veque, Kathryn Le]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medieval
Published: 2019-05-08T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Uttoxeter

THE MORNING OF leaving Uttoxeter, the weather turned horrible.

A storm blew in from the west, bringing fierce winds and heavy rain that started before dawn. By the time the escort pulled out of Uttoxeter, the elements had turned vicious and the escort was battered by high winds and rain.

The roads, which had been relatively good up until that point, deteriorated quickly. With the stormy weather, by mid-morning, the road they were traveling on, which would ultimately lead them to Chester, had turned into an uneven series of small chasms and holes, so much so that the carriage was beginning to get stuck regularly. Twice, the soldiers had to roll it out of a hole, or out of a fissure when the wheels got stuck, but it was only a temporary fix.

The conditions were growing worse.

The provisions wagons were beginning to stick, too, as the road quickly turned into a quagmire of mud and madness. The column would travel for a mile or so before the wagons would get stuck again, and then it would take them a half-hour to push them out. Men were weary and soaked, and the day wasn’t even halfway over with.

It only grew worse.

Inside the carriage, Cadelyn and Yerik and the dog were having quite a time of it. The road was horribly rough and every time it would get stuck, the two of them would go flying to whatever side of the carriage was in distress. Cadelyn had a nasty bruise on her elbow as a result and Yerik had hurt his wrist trying to stop himself from colliding with the wall of the carriage.

After at least six or seven hours of such horrible conditions, the wagon fell into a rut for the last time and couldn’t be moved. Twenty soldiers and a team of horses trying to pull it out didn’t work, and when it finally lurched forward, the rear axle broke, ending the life of the carriage at that point. There was nothing more they could do, at least not in this weather.

Kress, who had been one of the ones trying to shove the wagon out of the hole, was the one who finally opened the rear door. He found Cadelyn and Yerik sitting down on the cushioned benches, but nearly everything else in the carriage was scattered on the floor, including the dog. Goliath’s head popped up when he saw Kress and he wandered his way over to the open door, trying to lick Kress’ face as the man propped his helm up on his head, wiping the water from his eyes.

“The carriage is broken,” he told Cadelyn, pushing the dog aside. “I am going to move you to the provisions wagon, which is still operational. Bric and Achilles are rigging up a tarpaulin for you to sit under.”

Cadelyn came to the door, standing next to the dog as she peered outside, seeing the wind and the rain.

“A tarpaulin will not do any good in this weather,” she said. “If I wrap myself in it, that will be better than trying to keep it up under all of this wind.

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