Duke Valeran scowled at Aiden. “All right, Aiden, what kind of mumbo-jumbo happened this time? You never do anything simply, do you?”
Aiden looked up at the three clustered around his bed. “You are right that something happened. I don’t know how and I had no intention of healing myself, but I’m glad it happened.”
Gavin put his hand on Aiden’s arm. “We are too, Aiden. It sounds like you almost died. Again. You’re making a habit of that.”
The Duke interrupted. “Is this something we need to talk about in private, Aiden?”
Aiden nodded, and the Duke looked over at Doctor Heken who shrugged. “Honestly? He’s the healthiest patient I’ve ever seen. He is young anyway, but the medibed says he’s in optimum health. I’ve never seen that reading before. I wish I had readings from before he had this happen, it would have been interesting to see.” The old man pushed a button on the panel, causing the medibed to tilt upwards, making it easy for Aiden to step out.
“Aiden, if you begin to feel ill or oddly at all, come see me right away.” The Doctor eyed Aiden suspiciously. “Obviously, all those rumors about you I’ve been hearing aren’t hogwash, but I hope this isn’t temporary.”
“Yes, sir, I hope not either,” Aiden agreed.
“Do you want to let the medibed fix your leg, Your Grace?” the Doctor asked before Duke Valeran could turn away.
The large man looked at the machine, obviously considering it before nodding. “Yes, I should.” He glanced at Gavin and Aiden. “Boys, why don’t you go up and get something to eat while I get this leg fixed. It won’t take more than a few hours, and I don’t need to be hobbling around like this. Not right before I have to deal with Brun. Far too much to do.”
“Okay, Father,” Gavin agreed, laughing softly as Aiden’s stomach growled. “Sounds like a good thing to do. We’ll be up in the castle waiting for you. I think Aiden has another one of his wild stories to tell. I’ll try not to dig it out of him before you get a chance to hear.”
The Duke nodded, grunting as he clumsily climbed into the medibed and waving them off. Aiden and Gavin left in their hunt to find food. His stomach was hurting, and food sounded exactly like the right kind of cure.
Chapter 9
The trip through the corridors of the castle was uneventful until they’d made it almost to the kitchens.
“Oh!” Aiden said, pointing up at a corner of the ceiling, “Is that one of the Ovarkos?”
Gavin looked up at the colorful, six-legged, furred lizard that was currently chewing on something. “Yes, Mother was able to get them without a lot of fuss. I think Romald just likes to make father squirm. From what I understand they’ve released them throughout the castle though they don’t like to go outside. Probably too cold for them from what I hear. They have plenty of fur so not sure why they don’t like it outside. Maybe they will adapt.”
“I hope so,” Aiden said, watching the diminutive lizard scamper off down the corridor. “I’m not anxious for the scratchers to keep sending spiders in to spy on us.”
“Me either. I think only a few of the castle servants are having trouble adapting to them. Most of them think they are cute, but a few just see something crawling around. The head chef, especially. I keep hearing him scream every once in a while when I come to get a snack.”
Both boys laughed as they walked into the kitchen. They knew enough not to venture in too far since there were always cooks and servants bustling in and out of the large room. The castle was large, and there was rarely a time when the kitchens weren’t busy. Neither of them wanted one of the cooks to ban them for getting in the way. As if making fun of them, Glowby zipped in and began drifting in and out between people’s feet. Aiden knew he couldn’t do anything but mentally stick his tongue out at his friend.
“Can I help you, young lords?” one of the servers asked as she chopped up some ingredient.
“Yes, please,” said Gavin, as he flashed his most charming smile at the woman, who smiled back. “My roguish friend and I would like permission to raid and pillage your fine establishment, if we may? He’s not had any breakfast, and I have no excuse other than to cause mayhem.”
The woman laughed, taking a flour-infused towel off of her shoulder and flicking it at them playfully. “Now, now, there’s no pillaging allowed, master Gavin. I’m afraid we’ll have to offer you a tithe instead. Would four meat pies suffice?”
Gavin glanced at Aiden and saw approval before both of them nodded, speaking in unison. “Yes, Ma’am.”
The woman grinned before going over to one of the large cooling tables, loading up two wooden platters with some beautifully browned pies before coming back, handing a platter to each of the hungry boys.
“Now, as suits you barbarians, you’ll have to leave us poor folk alone and not come back for at least a day. Besides, I hear there are some maids preparing a patrol to bring you ruffians to justice.”
Aiden and Gavin both grinned and waved as they left the woman to go back to her work, taking their loot with them. The meat pies were warm and smelled divine, making Aiden’s stomach grumble even louder. Finding a nook with a window overlooking the skyharbor where the skimmers normally docked, they sat and began to eat.
“You should have heard Father cursing this morning after he found out you weren’t here, Aiden,” Gavin said, grinning. “Did you really step in front of a wagon?”
Aiden nodded, chewing for a second before swallowing. “Yeah. We were over on Bail Street, and you know how steep and long it is. I saw all those people behind us. They wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Aiden paused, taking another small bite and then talking around it. “It almost worked.”
“But you forgot about the cargo?”
Aiden nodded. “But I forgot about the cargo. I didn’t even think about it until they were sailing over the front of the wagon. All I saw was this big black blob coming at me, then nothing. I wonder if that’s what it feels like to die.”
“Who knows,” Gavin said, setting his plate down and leaning back as he looked out the window. “At the very least, that’s what it feels like to get clobbered. You have experience with that, right? Remember when you first met Oya Dihya?”
“Really?” Aiden said, scowling good-naturedly. “You want to remind me of things like that when you are the one that set that up?”
Gavin rolled his eyes innocently. “That is true, isn’t it? I had almost forgotten.”
“Well, don’t worry, Gavin,” Aiden said. “I’ll remind you whenever you need it.” Aiden took another bite before looking around. “By the way, where is your over-muscled shadow?”
“Markam? You should be nicer to him, Aiden. He’s just doing his job and can’t help being suspicious. He’s down getting some new boots made and they had to measure his feet. I had to talk him into going, but I convinced him I should be safe in the castle itself.”
Aiden shrugged, “I don’t know, those Ovarko look terrifying.”
“I’m just glad they are there. Father hasn’t said anything about it, but besides these odd stories about fish and fishermen disappearing, there have been some deaths he is pretty sure were caused by the Scratchers. Not too many, but Father said they always specialized in taking out leaders and important people.”
Aiden shuddered remembering what happened on the ship as they were heading to Riften. “Has there been anything like what happened to us on the ship? With the spiders?”
Gavin shook his head, suddenly putting his plate of food down and making a face. “Ugh, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that until we finished eating.” He paused, taking a deep breath before looking back at Aiden. “But to answer your question, no, not that I’ve heard. Honestly, I’ve not heard anything about our encounter either. I bet Father doesn’t want to cause a panic.”
“I couldn’t blame anyone for freaking out,” Aiden said, the flashback of the men laying on the deck after they’d begun to drive the spiders back crashed into his mind. At first, he thought about pushing it down as he
’d always done but shook his head and let the thought flow. It was gruesome and terrifying, but he firmed his mind and forced himself to remember. After a few moments, his discipline won out.
“Uh, Aiden?” Gavin said, waving his hand at his friend, “everything ok?”
Aiden blinked and looked up before nodding. “Yes. Yes, I…was just remembering. It was a horrible time, but we need to make sure things like that don’t happen again.” He put his plate down before looking at Gavin with a serious expression. “Gavin, do you know anything about the plague that is happening over in Caitrel and Banum? Or the war?”
Gavin paused, considering for a moment before responding. “I know a bit of general knowledge, but not a lot. However, I do know someone who would know.”
“Who?” Aiden asked, raising his eyebrow at his friend.
“Stelios. Since we have become committed to their cause, he’s had his head together with Romald more often than not and you know Romald. He knows everything.”
“Can we go see him? I have some questions.” Aiden eyed his friend, “it’s about where I was last night.”
Gavin’s eyes grew wide as he stood. “Oh boy, it’s about one of those dreams, isn’t it? Okay, let’s go see if he’s in his room.”
***
As it turned out, Stelios was in his room recovering. Both Duke Valeran and Stelios had leaped forward trying to save Aiden from the oncoming wagon and had been caught by surprise when the contents of said wagon had flung itself at them. The powerfully built, dark skinned guard captain had come off the best out of all of them with only a night of unconsciousness and a splitting headache. A fact for which Aiden was glad.
“Well, if it isn’t the wagon tamer and his chummy sidekick!” The big man grinned, waving them into his quarters. “Come to tie streamers to my bandages?”
Both boys grinned but shook their heads, not having had time to pick up some ribbons. It was a schoolyard custom of younger children that whenever someone broke a limb or somehow got hurt, to make them feel better by tying streamers onto them as a kind of celebration and prayer for them to get better.
“No, Stelios, but I should arrange for a gaggle of children to come visit you in your quarters as payback for calling me a sidekick,” Gavin said, grinning. “I’d love to see what the other guardsmen say.”
Stelios laughed, “I’d not be able to come out of my quarters for a week! You would do that too, wouldn’t you, Gavin? Rat!” He grinned as they all sat down at his small table, looking at Aiden with a suddenly serious frown. “But really, Aiden. I was sure you were dead, and from all reports, you should be. What happened?”
Aiden paused but finally shrugged. “I was going to wait to let Duke Valeran know, but honestly I need to get some answers about the plague and maybe the fighting with Norpon. Gavin said you might be the right person to speak. After I had gone unconscious, or worse, I traveled again. This time, I think I ended up on the front lines of the war with Norpon. I’m not entirely sure, but I woke up on a battlefield and checked some of the dead’s livery. It was Norpon, Caitrel, and Banum troops.
Gavin and Stelios exchanged glances before looking back at Aiden. “Were they fighting?” Stelios asked. “What are your questions about it? Any battlefield is going to be a difficult place to visit.”
“No, not fighting. I think I arrived between battles,” Aiden said, leaning back in his chair. “There were a lot of dead just lying around, but they were mostly Caitrel and Banum troops. Some Norpon, but not many, at least until I got to the fort. There were much more there.”
Stelios grunted and tilted his head. “What did the fortress look like? Was it stone?”
Aiden shook his head. “No, it was dirt and then wooden walls and spikes. It looked formidable, though. I heard some of the men talking about it being on the border with Caitrel and Revyek. Some of the men were saying there was a large swamp around it that made it impossible for the Norpon troops to get around? I didn’t see it, but there was a lot of mud. That was one of my questions if you recognized anything like that?”
Stelios didn’t answer right away as he considered Aiden carefully for a long moment. “I do recognize it or at least its description. I’ve not been there myself, but Duke Caitrel mentioned a Fort Tezrosh that was holding on by its fingernails. It’s the key to their heartland. If Tezrosh goes down, Caitrel will probably follow once winter hits. I spoke to Romald about it, and he agreed with everything the Duke said, but he called it Camp Swamp Gas.”
“That’s got to be the place, then,” Aiden said, frowning. “The men were miserable and very weak. They’re killing men that desert and nailing them up on buildings, too. I wanted to ask about the plague. I…I think I saw what it was doing to the men, but I wanted to confirm.”
“It is a wasting sickness from what I understand. It doesn’t seem to kill itself but makes people very weak. I’ve heard not even the Naiadens know what is causing it.”
Gavin nodded. “That is what Carol said. She seemed quite perplexed by it. Didn’t they say that diseases and things were alive? Aren’t they supposed to be super-experts at living things?”
“Well, I think I understand why they couldn’t figure it out.” Aiden paused, taking a breath and looking back and forth between Stelios and Gavin. “I saw what is causing that weakness.”
After he had described the floaters, what they were doing, and how they had attacked him, it left Aiden and Stelios speechless for a few minutes.
“How are we supposed to fight something we can’t see?” Gavin asked. “Gods, I almost hope that you just had a fever dream, Aiden.”
Stelios shook his head. “No. No, I hope he did see this. Whatever these floaters are, now at least we have some idea of it. That’s more than anyone else has gotten. But something is confusing me, Aiden? How are you able to see people and these creatures? I thought you couldn’t see living things in the Anderealm?”
“Yes, you’re right. But here’s the thing. I wasn’t in the Anderealm. I was in someplace totally different. A new realm. One which I think healed me.”
“Well, this is officially above my pay grade,” Stelios said, rising from the table. “Time to go talk to your Mother and Father, Gavin.”
They found the Duke and Duchess sitting in a small, comfortable side room. Valeran was lounging on a couch with his leg up on a pillow, waving his hands around while he talked and Ahnarad listened patiently. When Stelios and the two boys entered the room, Valeran waved them in.
“Ah! There you are, and it looks like you’ve managed to find my wayward Captain,” Valeran said, grinning through his bushy beard. “Did you get something to eat?”
“Yes, Father,” Gavin said. “Aiden and I both got some meat pies from the kitchen. However, I do have to report I lied to you.”
“Oh?” Valeran perked up, his eyebrow raised. “Well, I’m sure you had a good reason, or you’re just pulling my leg to get a reaction. Just as long as it’s only figuratively. My leg is still delicate.”
Duchess Ahnarad snorted, looking up from the papers she was reading. “Pfft. Stop it; you are fine. You know as well as I do that the medibed does perfect work. I refuse to feel sorry for you, and I am not letting you sneak down to the kitchen to grab some of the cream rolls the chef is making for dessert this evening.”
“Aww! Just one?” Duke Valeran tried to give his best sorrowful look at his wife. “It’s not every day I get a broken leg, and it did hurt. I even had to use crutches.”
“That was your fault as well,” Duchess Ahnarad said, going back to reading the papers she had in her hand. “I heard all about it from Doctor Heken how you terrorized him into letting you go. However, I do know why you did it, and it was quite sweet of you.” She looked up, smiling before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the nose, causing the big man to blush. She paused and looked over at Aiden, smiling at him warmly. “I’m very glad you are safe and healthy, dear, even if it is another mystery.”
“That’s what I lied about, Father,” Gavin
interjected, sitting in one of the soft chairs in the room. “I told you I wouldn’t dig, but Aiden needed to speak with Captain Stelios, and he’s got some interesting news. There are still a lot of question, but it’s quite a story.”
Aiden sat as well and repeated the story to the Duke and Duchess in its entirety. As he went on, their faces floated between grim and awed at the details of the wild tale, but they believed every word.
That’s Camp Swamp Gas, alright,” Duke Valeran said, slapping his leg as he mulled over everything Aiden had just told him. Duke Caitrel told us back in Riften that they’ve reinforced it enormously, but it’s barely holding out against Norpon. These creatures you talk about sound horrible. How is it that the men don’t feel their tentacles? You said they burned.”
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