Bell Mountain (The Bell Mountain Series) by Lee Duigon

say they really had to be on their way; but when he tried, his legs buckled. He was asleep before he hit the ground, and never felt it.
     

     
    Cold woke him—that, and someone tugging fitfully at his wrists.
    He opened his eyes and saw stars. Night! How could it be?
    Wytt chittered at him. Then he saw that the Omah was standing on his belly, jerking and chewing at a scratchy rope that bound his wrists.
    Ellayne lay next to him, asleep on her back, wrists and ankles tied. For just another moment, Jack was confused. Then understanding came to him with a jolt, and he almost sat up—which would have bucked Wytt off him just as he was trying to set him free.
    “Hurry, Wytt!”
    The little man chattered loudly, like an angry squirrel. Clearly he was doing the best he could, as fast as he could, and didn’t want any scolding. Jack waited, and silently wished the Omah wouldn’t make any more noise. Wherever Hesket was, Jack wanted to be free before he came back.
    A few more minutes passed, and Wytt broke through the rope around Jack’s wrists. Jack sat up to untie his ankles.
    Only then did he see Hesket lying on his back a few paces away.
    The fire was out. At first Jack thought the man was sleeping. But sleeping men breathe, and Hesket wasn’t breathing. His mouth gaped open. He was dead.
    The moon and the stars gave light enough for Jack to see dark blood dried all over the man’s face, and Wytt’s sharp stick protruding from Hesket’s left eye. It had been driven in deep enough to kill. The man’s dead hands clutched mittfuls of grass, and one of his knees stuck up.
    Panting, Jack fumbled at his ankles until he got them free. Stiff and sore, he rolled onto his hands and knees. Nearby, the hobbled donkey watched with only mild interest.
    Who killed the man? There could be only one answer.
    “Wytt!” he cried. “I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve saved us. Good boy!”
    Wytt hopped over to Ellayne and pulled at her bonds. Jack crawled to her. Between them, they woke her.
    “Jack?”
    “It’s all right,” he said. “Lie still so I can untie you. That man put something in our tea to make us fall asleep, and then he tied us up.”
    “Where is he?”
    “Shh! You’ll see.”
    When Jack untied her and helped her to sit up, she yelped when she saw the dead body.
    “Wytt did it,” Jack said. “He must’ve waited till he fell asleep, then stabbed him through the eye with his stick. And I’d say it’s a good thing he did.”
    “But he’s dead—”
    “And that’s the end of him. Your father told you this country’s full of outlaws. I guess Hesket was one of them. He had something nasty in store for us. Sell us into slavery, I guess.”
    “He drugged our tea.”
    “He won’t be doing it to anybody else. And we’re the richer by a donkey.”
    They didn’t want to stay there with Hesket. Having slept since midday, they thought it best to move on. The North Star would show them the way. Jack recovered his bag and gave Wytt a piece of bread. Before they started out again, Wytt yanked his stick from Hesket’s eye and wiped it on the ground to clean it. Ellayne shuddered.
    “It isn’t going to be just a nice adventure, is it?” she said. “It’s going to be hard, and other terrible things are going to happen, and we’ll be lucky if we make it to the mountain, let alone all the way to the top.”
    Jack nodded. “I’m afraid so. But King Ozias always said he only came out alive through so many dangers because God was watching over him. Maybe He’s watching over us, too. If He didn’t mean for us to get there, He wouldn’t have sent me the dream.”
    They paused to pray that it was so, and then went on. Jack led Hesket’s donkey, and Wytt ran along beside him.
     

CHAPTER 15
To Lintum Forest
    By the time Jack and Ellayne actually reached Lintum Forest, Martis had been in Ninneburky long enough to find out what he wanted to know and to write a report to the First Prester. This is what he