The Last Garden

by J C Gilbert

  Elaine shrugged. “If we get unlucky and I am recognized, then we would have to stay off the main road, and that would slow us down significantly. We should probably stay off the road anyway.”

  “Let’s just see how things go after the village,” I said.

  “Yeah,” said Elaine.

  I slept soundly that night and woke the next morning before dawn. Elaine was in a deep slumber, and when she did awake, she was not in a good state. She had a fever in the night and was now weaker than ever. I fixed breakfast, but Elaine could not eat. I ate down what I could, and weighed up whether it was better for us to continue to the village where she could rest in comfort, or to sit tight where we were for the day so that she would not have to move.

  Predictably, Elaine was convinced that she could get to the village all right. So, we packed up our things and prepared for the morning’s journey. Elaine had to rest every twenty minutes or so, though she was extremely reluctant to do even that. After an hour and a half of journeying like this, I was about ready to insist on making camp again.

  “No,” said Elaine. “The village is just over the hill. It would be ridiculous for us to stop now.”

  “I really don’t think that you’re going to make it over that hill,” I said.

  “We are better to try,” said Elaine. “Look, I’m not an idiot, I know that I do not have much left in me. Take these,” she said, pressing a small brown bag into my hand palm. “They are coins for the innkeeper. Just in case I pass out before we get there.”

  “A delightful thought,” I said.

  Just as Elaine said, the Village of Rlanor was just over the hill. I recognized it as the same village that I had visited with Elaine, the same village where I saw Elaine’s cruelty for the first time. What a contrast that Elaine was to this one. Back then, she had been strong, determined, and callus. And now?

  Her eyes had glassed over, and she could hardly walk. Sweat from another fever dampened her brow, and it seemed like she would topple over at any moment. I supported her as best as I could, and we entered the village around mid-morning. The Village of Rlanor was quite lively with people coming and going. I wondered what effect the disappearance of the goblins would have on the lives of these people. As we walked under the stone wall that surrounded the village, I wondered how long it would be before they realized that the wall was no longer necessary.

  The tracks through the village were mostly of packed dirt, and in places had turned to mud by some recent rain.

  People gawked at us as we searched about for the inn. I was conspicuous enough in my hastily selected attire without having the dazed and lace covered Elaine half carried over my shoulder.

  At length, I found the place and soon secured us a room. I lay down Elaine in the bed and went in search of water. By the time I came back, she was already in a deep and fitful sleep. I did not know whether it was best to wake her to make sure that she was staying hydrated. I elected to leave her be, and sat by her bedside as she slept.

  Sometime after midday, Elaine stirred. She looked very confused and glanced rapidly around the room.

  “We are at the inn? When did we get here?”

  “This morning," I said, “how are you feeling?”

  “Better, but that’s not saying much. I think the fever broke.”

  I passed her the tankard of water, and she drank deep.

  “Thanks for that.”

  I smiled, and half expected Elaine to say that she was ready to continue the journey. To my relief, she made no such suggestion and settled into her role as a sick patient better than I might have expected.

  Once she had fallen asleep again, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to take a look around the village and see what I could see. The wall around Rlanor gave the impression that it was much larger than it actually was. I took a turn around the outside of the wall to get a feel for the place. The people here seemed to live a rough life tied closely to the land. There were not many animals here besides a few dogs and the occasional cat. I wondered if that was a choice or if the constant goblin threat had prevented the people here from raising livestock. Either way, there was a lot of industry going on around various crops, woodworking, cloth-making, and metallurgy.

  I found a place to sit near the western gate of the village where we would be leaving as soon as Elaine could walk, and watched people as they came and went. I was aware that there was a part of my mind that never considered the world’s within the books to be quite real. It was moments like this that I tried to remind myself that these people were not just people in a storybook, they were alive, really alive, and really depending on me.

  When I returned to the inn, I found that Elaine was still asleep. I went downstairs to the common area, ordered a drink, and tried to build up my courage to ask the barkeep a few questions.

  “Far from home, I think?” asked the barkeep.

  “How could you tell?”

  “Your clothing. We don’t see much like that sort around here.”

  “Yes, of course. I’m traveling. Tell me, who is it that rules over these lands? I had heard that there was a queen here that is much loved by her people.”

  “Aye, that there was. I suppose you did not likewise hear that she disappeared from these parts about half a year back. T’was her sister, they say. Tried to take over, you see. The Lady hasn’t been seen ever since.”

  “No sign at all?” I asked, wondering what had happened here since Mason returned with Tabitha in the form of a parrot, riding on the back of his gigantic duck.

  “Afraid not. Avonheim is ruled over by committee now, apparently. Not rightly sure how you get on the committee, though. Rlanor Village here is autonomous, of course. There would be no use us depending on a committee this far out. When the goblins raid we must be prepared to defend ourselves alone.”

  “I had heard that it was expected that the goblin raiding would soon cease.”

  “Is that so? It would be a different world indeed if that were the case.”

  I went back out into the village around sunset to watch the light change. The evening air was filled with the scent of dozens of fireplaces burning fragrant logs. As I sat in the village square, I noticed that a man was looking my way. He was rough and wearing a long brown coat, hemmed in mud. Just as I glanced over to him, he glanced away, apparently trying to appear like he had not been looking at me at all. It made me uneasy. After a brief while, I returned to Elaine, the orange of the evening still hanging in the sky.

  Once upstairs, I was about to relate to Elaine what I’d heard from the barkeep when a chance glance outside drew my eye to that same man I had seen in the square. He was talking to a soldier, and at that moment had just turned to point directly at my window at the inn. I pulled myself away but was not convinced that I had done so in time.

  “I think it’s time we moved,” I said.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  There was not much time. We gathered up our things as quickly as we could and headed down the stairs and towards the kitchens.

  “Where are you going?” asked the barkeep as we rushed past him. The kitchen was full with the sound of clamoring pots and the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked bread. I scanned quickly for the back door, saw it, and pulled Elaine after me. I found myself in a grubby alleyway of mud and food waste and chickens. The smell was overwhelming, but there was no time to worry about that. We pressed on quickly through the alley, diving down another, taking another passage, and generally continued westward as far as I could tell.

  Elaine had recovered a lot from her day of rest but was still not well. I did not hear anyone following after us, but I could not be sure. I did not risk a glance back until we were at the western gate.

  “I’m sorry, but I think that we will be sleeping on the road after all,” I said when we were beyond the wall.

  “I can handle it,” said Elaine. “What did you see?”

  “I don’t know, there was a man, I caught him looking at me earlier today, and then just
now when I was at the window, I saw him in the town square talking to a soldier. He was pointing right at us, Elaine.”

  Elaine nodded, “you did the right thing,” she said.

  “Bit of an odd time to be heading out,” said a voice.

  I turned around to see a woman dressed in the black armor of the night watch. She regarded us with a satirical look.

  I looked at her, opened my mouth to say something, and then shut it again. I then turned and walked with Elaine quickly down the road as the world turned to silver.

  “I don’t like that,” said Elaine. “It is a pity that we did not manage to leave before they changed the guards. It is her job to take note of any unusual comings and goings. I think that presently, we would be regarded as unusual.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t know what to say to her.”

  “No, it’s not you. I didn’t mean to imply that it was. It is just unfortunate. Come, let us make some ground before we find a place to camp. If that man you described is at all sure that I am who I am, then he would be a fool not to come after us. I don’t know what the situation is like now, but when I was last in Avonheim, the ransom was enough to set a whole family up for life. It is hard to resist that kind of money.”

  “I think I’ll manage,” I said with a smirk.

  Elaine punched me weakly in the arm. “Come on,” she said and started off down the path. Though I knew logically that it was rest that restored her strength, it seemed to me that Elaine’s energy had come back to her from the light of the stars.

  When at last we did make camp, I repeated my trick with the stones as best as I could, though, without the river stones, it was hard to find anything dense enough to retain the heat. Once I was sure that Elaine was asleep, I sat up and moved to rest against the trunk of a tree. It did not seem like a good idea for us to be sleeping without a watch, so I took it upon myself to stay up through the long hours of the night.

  Sometime just before dawn, Elaine awoke. She quickly read the situation and shook her head.

  “You haven’t slept, have you?”

  “No, I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

  “You’re probably right, but I don’t like it. You have a rest now. We will start for Avonheim in the mid-morning.”

  I woke to the feeling of Elaine nudging my arm with her foot. I was so prepared for something to have gone wrong that I quickly sat up and scanned the area.

  Elaine laughed. “You seem tense,” she said. She had taken it upon herself to decamp while I slept.

  “What time is it?”

  Elaine shrugged. “Later?”

  We were not walking long before I heard the distinct sound of a strong river washing by. We continued a little distance and came to the toll bridge that we had passed last time we were in the region. The tollman stood, same as before, waiting for travelers to pass.

  “Are you ready to be a nun?” I asked Elaine with a smile.

  “I had forgotten about that,” said Elaine.

  “I hadn’t,” I said. I still had a distinct remembrance of the fuss Hank had given me last time I was here, as well as the extreme rush that followed after I ignored him and talked to the tollman anyway.

  Same as before, the tollman greeted us and asked for payment. Same as before, I handed him two silver coins.

  “Generous, indeed,” said the man. “I remember you. You came by here a couple months back, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “That’s right,” I said. “You recognize us?”

  “That I do,” said the man. “I must confess it was the two coins that jogged my memory. It is not often that you see generosity on the road these days.”

  I smiled. “I wonder if you might do us a favor,” I said, my heart beginning to beat fast.

  “Might be,” said the man. “Depends on the favor, doesn’t it?”

  “If anyone comes by after us who happens to be asking about morning traffic, I wonder if your memory may fall into some lapse? Just for a minute or two?”

  The man gave me a funny smile. “I think I can manage that,” he said with a nod.

  When we were across the bridge, and once more under the cover of the trees, Elaine took off her coverings and smirked at me. “Nicely done, book girl.”

  I smiled. I was feeling pretty good. I didn’t know what it was, but there was something about that bridge that made me want to challenge myself.

  Elaine seemed to be returning to health now. She led us through an overgrown path to avoid notice on the main road. When we stopped to camp that night, Elaine elected to take the first watch.

  “We will be crossing into the realm of Avonheim tomorrow morning, and if all goes well, I will be with my sister by nightfall. I have to warn you, Alex, I don’t know how this is going to go down. The things I’ve done in this land were truly awful. Even once I have returned Tabitha to her human form, I don’t know how she will react. I don’t know what she will think of me.”

  I wanted to comfort Elaine, but there was nothing to be said.

  “I’m sure she won’t think ill of you for helping me,” said Elaine. “After all, you are her successor as Keeper, and if I understand it right, you have been one of the greatest Keepers the multiverse has ever known.”

  “I just do my best,” I said, a rush of gratitude swelling through my heart.

  “Which is more than most people do,” said Elaine.

  The night passed without event. Elaine woke me shortly after midnight and I kept watch until morning. We set out early and planned to cross into the realm of Avonheim before lunchtime. It must’ve been about 11 o’clock when Elaine slowed her walking and took a deep breath.

  “We are here,” she said.

  I looked about. We appeared to be in just as much wilderness as we were before. “How can you tell?”

  Elaine shrugged. “I just know. I’m nervous, Keeper. I’ve waited for this for so long, to try and make amends, but now that it comes to it, I feel my courage failing.”

  “You’ll be OK,” I said.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  We stopped for lunch by the banks of the moat that surrounded the fortified city of Avonheim. Last time I was here a fog clung to the whole region. I could not even see the citadel from this side. Now it loomed large like a mountain of stone. I felt exposed to the hundreds of little windows that lined the buildings of the townsfolk, and the turrets of the soldiers.

  “I found it!” said Elaine from just inside a clump of mangroves. “It’s a little weatherbeaten, but I think it will do the trick.”

  I went to her as she pulled her boat out from among the mud and leaves.

  “So we’re going to row over in broad daylight?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “We are sure to be seen. You know that, right?”

  “I’m well aware of the risks,” said Elaine. “Our only hope is to make sure that if we are seen that we are seen by the right people.”

  “And which people would those be?”

  “The Tower Guard. There is a better chance that they will not shoot me on sight. I think.”

  “That’s encouraging.”

  “You can turn back now if you would like. Or maybe just go in the front gate and look for your friend, you know, the one that stole my duck.”

  I hesitated. It didn’t sound like a bad idea. If Elaine were captured, then I would have a better chance of helping her get to her sister if I was with Mason. On the other hand, if someone tried to kill Elaine while I was not with her, then there would be nothing that I could do to stop them.

  “No, I’ll go with you. It’s not worth the risk. If anything were to happen to you…”

  “You never know, maybe if we are very lucky and I am killed, then maybe Vicious will die too.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I kept my eyes fixed on the upper windows that I had seen from the riverbank as Elaine rowed toward the outer wall of Avonheim. Elaine insisted on rowing the boat herself
and was now strong enough to resist any objections I might have.

  When we reached the far bank, Elaine rowed the boat into the mud. We hopped out, and I helped Elaine pull the boat onto the shore. The mud was thick and speckled with crab holes and mangrove roots. There were some trees against the wall, one of which was hiding the tunnel through which we had first escaped from Avonheim. Standing watch over the tunnel was a golem.

  “Oh no,” said Elaine, approaching the golem with one hand reaching up to its face. “All this time you have been waiting for me,” she said. The golem turned and might have looked at her, though it was hard to say for sure. Elaine rested her hand on the golem’s cheek and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she smiled sorrowfully.

  “God, I’m awful.”

  “Elaine-”

  “He was a carpenter, once. I had him fix some shelves to the walls of a cottage I rented in a village that doesn’t exist anymore. Three guesses why it doesn’t exist anymore.” Elaine sighed deeply. “Well, I have released him from his bond to this shell. I don’t know what happens next, but he is free.”

  We stepped inside the tunnel and made our way through the darkness with the aid of a single flame rat who I had scurry up the pathway ahead of us. As we got further down the tunnel, the sounds of a busy town echoed toward us.

  “Not empty anymore?” I asked.

  “Apparently not. We will have to be careful. I had hoped that we might be able to break into an abandoned house and see about some clothes to help us blend in. Let’s hope that it is still abandoned. We are both kind of conspicuous.”

  There was only a small beam of light peeking through a gap at the top of whatever was covering this tunnel. Elaine inched the covering aside and pulled herself through and into the street. I followed soon after. The light of day was dazzling after the gloom of the tunnel. I felt immediately exposed to all those thoughtful windows and the dozens of people making their way through the city.

  “We have been lucky,” said Elaine. “I don’t think anyone saw us coming through.”