Jess dipped her head. “Well said, Raphael. Well said indeed.”
Her friend grinned. “I have been around Guild friends and Delving allies too long not to pick up the gist of it, my dear Jess.”
Jess turned to a grim-faced Malek. "That rift is as good a declaration of war as any, is it not, shieldbrother? And when the clarions of battle call out, a Squire must answer."
Malek nodded. "I'm afraid so, Jess. Against all enemies, we must stand. Eloquin never gave us an exception, just because it might be the damned legions of Hell trying to break through." He flashed a bleak grin. "Time for us to play the hero again, hey? All right. Let me armor up, and I'll meet you at the stables." He turned to their host and bowed low at the waste. "Duke diOnni, thank you so much for sharing your hospitality with us, but I fear that Jess and I must part with all haste."
The duke dipped his head, a soft, melancholy smile touching his lips even as he gazed at them both. "And welcome to my table you shall always be, Malek de Sousel, Jessica de Calenbry, heroes of my House. I regret only that I cannot do more to assist you both."
Jess flashed a cheeky grin. “Some rations for the journey ahead would not go amiss, my duke. Particularly if you have any dried fish.” Twilight purred happily at the request.
The duke chuckled warmly. "No worries on that account, dear Jessica. I took the liberty of having my men assign you all several pack mares supplied with all sorts of useful gear for a traveling party just last night, knowing that this day would eventually come, though I too had hoped, like dear Josie here, that we could all spend more days together taking our ease beside the Royal Gardens. It was to be a parting gift for you when you were ready to embark upon the next leg of your journey. I didn't realize it would be quite so soon. Still, I can assure you that my men will have your steeds and pack mares ready for you within the hour."
“A very wise and generous lord indeed,” Twilight declared.
“Thank you, Your Grace. For everything.” Jess bowed a second time.
“No, brave and valiant knights of diOnni. It is we who thank you.” Duke diOnni and Raphael both bowed solemnly and low towards a flushing Jess and Malek, Josie's gaze filled with gratitude and admiration as well.
“Don't be thinking that all those treats are just for you, Jess,” Jera reproved with a smile. “You and Malek aren't racing off for adventure and glory alone, sister-in-arms.”
Jess's look of surprise was soon replaced by a grim shake of her head. “I wouldn't recommend that, for you or Alex. It was one thing to dip your toes in Shadow, and what that says about you both we shall leave aside until you are ready to embrace it. Yet the dread I feel even now tells me this is no gentle decline we face, but a steep cliff plunging straight to the darkest bowels of Shadow itself.” Jess's gaze was solemn. “The situation is truly dire in Pomell, and we have absolutely no idea what to expect.”
Alex nodded. “Exactly my point.”
Jess sighed. “I don't want you getting hurt. Either of you.”
“Your concern is noted, Jess,” Alex said dryly. “But we're still going.”
Jess shook her head in frustration. “Alex, what happens if we actually do find a rift leading straight to Shadow? Or worse?”
Her friend's smile turned bleak. “I don't know, Jess. How about we do what our school is counting on us to? Retrieve that artifact so that it never falls into the wrong hands again, and if we can somehow close that rift, gods willing, all the better. Yet if such is beyond us?" He shrugged and sighed. "I do understand the bigger picture, Jess. I will, with the duke's permission, entertain Lute this very morning and instruct him as to the nature of the hideous clouds brooding off in the distance. Clouds which I fear may not be apparent to those with no gift to cross the boundaries of Shadow." He glanced at a suddenly troubled Jera as he uttered those words, his own gaze suddenly haunted, Jera squeezing his arm in wordless sympathy.
"I, for one, think that an excellent idea, young Alex," the duke commended with a cheerful nod of approval, as if determined to dispel at least the gloomy mood suddenly effecting his table, if nothing else. "We shall count our blessings to sup with so many talented individuals, even as we do our part in defense of Erovering. You, young Alex, shall explain things as best you may to our friend Lute, thus discharging our most important duty, even as the four of you make preparations for what I infer must indeed be the location of this mysterious, forgotten Pomell."
The duke's gentle gaze turned serious. "I would implore you, however, not to rush head-on where angels themselves might fear to tread. No one could ask more from you at this point than to investigate from the periphery of this brewing storm. Perform your reconnaissance, ascertain if the artifact you seek can be simply and safely retrieved, but if not, please be so wise as to take the prudent course, placing your well-being above personal glory or even the glory of Highrock, and return to whatever base of operations the Guild sets up with all haste.
"Your report would be of significant use to the Guild, your reconnaissance giving their own Delvers vital information with which to combat this Shadowrift, so to speak.” He gave an encouraging smile. “I have no doubt the Guild would reward such brave scouts well, both in coin and glory, and I will suggest such myself, more than happy to be your advocate in this, as in all things of significance, as the least of the boons you have all earned in pulling my family, quite literally, from the brink of oblivion itself.”
Josie blushed at those words, Raphael holding her tight and kissing her softly before turning to his friends with an embarrassed nod and smile. "Father is right, my dear friends. Make your reconnaissance, do what you must, but if the situation seems at all dire, please return with all haste. It would, after all, be for the greater good of the realm if you did not perish to folly, and any report you gave would help the Guild in its efforts to avert this threat, one that I can only surmise is still so subtle that only those with your growing talents, Alex, or the virtues of your familiar, Jess, can even sense the doom this growing storm represents.”
Alex turned to Raphael, impressed. “I see that, mage or no, you were definitely paying attention to our conversations during our travels.”
Raphael chuckled softly. "I am no fool, my dear Alex. A wise trader learns to understand both what is around him as well as the needs and wants of those he may one day serve through trade, and you and Jess did wile away many an hour of our journey talking about the underlying nature of reality and dream, and your own dangerous pursuit of sensing the underlying truth of all things, Alex. All this, even as Jess led us down odd woodland paths that I suspect hadn't been trod by man in centuries, in the heart of Erovering's primeval forests, a place where most men wouldn't dream of going, even to this day." Raphael shrugged. "It was not too hard to piece together that you are striving to understand and eventually master the language of creation itself, if it is within the realm of mortals to accomplish such. And I must say it was quite interesting hearing you argue principles and intentions with our dear friend who is the least scholarly among all of us, despite her sometimes profound insights. She is, after all, perhaps the only Druid who has chosen to reveal herself in centuries, and who better to toss ideas of metamagic around with, than someone who has mastered a completely different paradigm of manipulating reality?"
Raphael chuckled. "No need to look so horrified, my dear Jess. We all know you protest even a lick of arcane talent, for all that you dance about in darkest Shadow like a lord of old, every tree and bush of field and forest obeying your beck and call. I won't even tell you the envy your cuttings in the greenhouses inspire in the royal gardeners!" His gentle gaze turned momentarily haunted. "I too was at the Chateau, Jess. Well do I remember the terror of you and Malek charging a dozen men armed with spear and crossbow. Yet you laughed even as the men fired, charging onward with no fear. And why should you have hesitated even a moment? Your enemies' surprise was your victory, even as those bolts spun off harmlessly, not a one daring to pierce your flesh. And spears I thought of a certa
in would send you hurtling off your horse instead twisted out of their owner's grips or shattered outright, as if wood wouldn't dare cause you even a lick of harm."
Jess, flushing with odd embarrassment, bowed her head, not even knowing what to say.
"Thus it was not too hard to surmise that you have made some progress in the pursuit of your own project, Alex, and that one side effect of your research is, I suspect, sensing the hidden nature of things closed off to the rest of us."
Alex smiled, dipping his head in respect to father and son alike. “I understand all the better how the diOnni clan became so prosperous, with men like you at the helm.”
Josie's gaze was filled with equal parts love and worry. “So the moment your gifts sense raw danger not easily overcome, I do hope you will be smart enough to return with all haste. You have your own beau to protect, after all.”
Alex turned, gazing softly at his paramour, whose own rosebud lips hardened into a frown, Jess was amused to note. “Don't even think about it, beloved,” Jera coolly stated. “Where you go, I go.”
Alex chuckled softly. "I am hounded on all sides. Very well, then. I shall consult with Lute this morning before we head off, so that he may ready a band of worthy Delvers far more experienced than we to close off this hellish rift, even as we ride onward with all haste, striving to scout out the situation as best we may. If the storm only reflects trouble brewing, the danger not yet catalyzed, then I propose we strike our enemies fast and hard, grab what we safely can, and return to the capital with all haste."
Alex's expression turned grim. “If the danger appears too grave, we shall head back to reconnoiter with whatever adventurers and bards are heading our way. For our goal then will no longer be the wand, but to do what we can, with Delvers or knights and wizards at our back, to help defend Erovering from all threats. Whether they be a Velheim strike-force, or creatures of living nightmare, it makes no difference.”
All of them nodded at that, Duke diOnni himself dipping his head in deference to Alex's words. “Spoken like a true student of Highrock. The Crown will be fortunate indeed to have a battlemage with your skill and virtue fighting for our great nation in its time of need.”
Shortly thereafter, a deferential butler brought in a concerned looking Lute, whose grave expression took on a definite pallor as Jess and Alex explained the significance of the brooding clouds off in the horizon, presaging a doom that perhaps only those with the gifts of Delvers or the courage to search for forbidden truths could hope to sense.
"Thank you, Alex, Jess, for sharing this with me. Putting the welfare of our nation beyond our prize in contest shows virtue worthy of the Guild. Indeed, the safety of Dawn transcends any petty bauble in any case." He flashed a sad smile. "I shall let the Guildmaster know right away, and we shall send a full party in that direction. If things are as bad as I fear they might be, well, I would only say that your idea is a sound one. Scout prudently. If the threat appears too grave for a young band of Spring Delvers to take on by themselves, by all means, report to representatives we have in place at any of these locations." Lute carefully pointed to several inns at towns within a day's journey of where they suspected Pomell might be located.
Jess blinked, surprised to find the normally composed Lute's hand actually trembling.
“Each of our contacts at these inns have pigeons that will communicate down our line of associates. Rest assured, wherever our band of adventurers is located, they shall be able to make all haste, as soon as they are informed of the exact location and nature of the threat.” He nodded solemnly at the pair. “Of course, your party shall also be rewarded for whatever help you can grant us in understanding the nature of this threat, to say nothing of earning the warm regard of your Guildmates, no small thing.”
Alex looked away.
Jess nodded. “Thank you, Lute. Hopefully, it shall be a problem easily vanquished and no need to trouble the Guild over, in any case.”
Lute smiled. "Hopefully, Lady Jess. But until this very moment I had no idea these clouds even existed, let alone their nature, and I can only wonder how many of my Delver brethren will be able to see those clouds, let alone sense the threat, now that we are alerted as to its true nature." His gaze turned measuring. "We are fortunate to have such potent Spring Delvers join our fold, just when your skills are so desperately needed. Almost as if the land herself summoned you forth to serve her, in her time of need."
Alex flashed a mirthless smile. "None of us are Guild, Lute, and I am not even a Delver. We are both students of Highrock, doing our best to keep our promises, while acknowledging that the safety of our homeland comes before all other considerations."
Lute nodded. “I do understand, young Alex, and grateful I am to have your assistance. I shall be off then, as we dare not tarry with things so dire.” Dipping his head before the youths, he smiled. “I look forward to sharing a cup of wine with you both, when you next recount your tales.”
Jess grinned at that. “I hope for the same, friend Lute, and I thank you for your assistance.”
“No, valiant young Delvers, it is I who thank you.” With those words, Lute was off, Jess and Alex heading back to rejoin their companions, the weight of urgency suddenly pressing upon them both.
Their farewells, though brief, were heartfelt, and Jess left feeling a true kinship with the diOnni clan. She shared a smile with Malek as they mounted their restive destriers, her brother-in-arms now fully kitted up like an ancient knight ready for battle, as was she.
“Well shieldsister, it looks like we are off into the thick of it once more, hey?”
Jess smiled and nodded, happy to see that Alex and Jera had taken the time to carefully inspect their mounts for soreness or burrs before saddling up their own rounceys, for all that their gazes were heavy with worry only slightly ameliorated by the tight grins they flashed.
Malek chuckled softly. “Equal parts terror and exhilaration, no? Don't worry, we'll get through it all, right as rain. We always do.”
Jera glowered. "And that's how you managed to get lanced clean through, right Malek? And Jess near lost a leg in our last madcap little adventure. The pair of you hale and hearty now only by gods alone know what odd Delver's gifts you have. Honestly, Malek, I just want us to get through all this in one piece."
Malek flushed but wisely forbore to comment, settling for a dry chuckle instead as they made their way sedately along the tree lined boulevard, ignoring the pointed looks they received, most nobles walking or taking carriage, mounted riders being seen as somewhat gauche in that part of the city, as Raphael had explained. But as they were adventurers as much as nobles, making their way on a mission of import, Jess did her best not to care one way or another what a stuck up seneschal or petty noble might think of her.
For all that she took some comfort in the sheer beauty of the capital with its massive buildings of glittering whitestone, graceful towers reaching for the very heavens, and grand shimmering domes of copper and bronze, Jess found herself unable to truly savor the sights before her, plagued instead by ever growing worry over what dread happenings they would find at the end of their fateful journey.
The solemn glances she exchanged with her friends made it clear she was not alone in her sentiments, for all that Malek tried his best to cheer her up with silly quips mocking the occasional foppishly dressed lords they passed; wearing their gaudy tights, clashing doublets, and overly embroidered capes. Attire which of course Jess and her friends had been assured were the height of fashion, yet to them looked like the height of buffoonery.
Not surprisingly, more than one self-important lord took offense at Jess or Malek's openly amused grins. Yet their hands only momentarily gripped the hilts of their rapiers as if to offer challenge before taking a better look at the hardness of the young adventurer's gazes, how competently they wore their arms and armaments, how much the pair looked almost eager for a fight, before slowly lifting their hands free of swept hilts, hastily finding excuses to withdraw.
&n
bsp; “Bloody pansies, each and every one of them,” Malek sighed.
Jess chuckled. “I quite agree, my brother. Not a single one of them would even offer challenge.”
“And perhaps that's for the best, Jess,” Alex gently reproved. “You have both managed to acquit yourselves admirably and well in your first stay here at the capital so far, Duke diOnni himself now the closest of allies. Now you hardly want to muck that up by maiming some poor lord's son who probably feels as self-conscious about his silly attire as you do, would you? Besides, I suspect you've both paid witness to enough duels that have gone horribly wrong, of late."
Jera nodded solemnly. "Admit it, Jess. You've passed by any number of over-dressed lads these last few days with naught more than a forgiving smile. The only reason why you are now acting the boor is because they are muttering disparaging things about your horse whom you love, and the fact that you are as nervous about where we are going as the rest of us."
Jess felt her cheeks flush with her friend's pointed rebuke and she shook her head, feeling just the slightest bit ashamed of herself. She exchanged a wry look with her shieldbrother.
“When you're right, you're right, Jera,” Malek allowed. “And I do believe I see Westgate ahead, just as massively impressive as Northgate. Let us be on our way then.”
Once again making use of the far less busy lord's gate, they found exiting the city a trouble-free event. With quality steeds and polished armaments that gleamed in the morning sunlight, eyes hardened by all they had seen and done, Jess was sure she and her shieldbrother looked every inch the pair of knights to the bleary-eyed guards before them, despite their youth. Alex and Jera were also given no more than a single glance, wearing traveling attire of the highest quality, their freshly groomed mounts bright and lively.
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