Lord Ridgeback slowed and approached Nathan and the sergeant cautiously. He sniffed at the sergeant then sat in front of Nathan, his eyes never leaving the sergeant.
“Lord Ridgeback is to be allowed free entry in and out of Elderwood at all times. Please inform all gate commanders. I’ll make sure Lord Ridgeback only approaches the gates during daylight hours to avoid any problems.”
“That would be greatly appreciated, Milord.”
“Also, we’ll be taking the eastern path towards the castle, if you could have one of the riders go ahead and warn anyone in the area we are coming that would be prudent.” The eastern path bypassed the city center, sticking out the outer walls. With luck they’d meet very few people on their way to the castle, but Nathan didn’t want anyone getting scared by Lord Ridgeback. He knew within hours the whole kingdom would likely be hearing stories of the great wolf walking around with him, but, for now, the cautious approach was best. Also, Nathan worried how Lord Ridgeback would react to being around so many people. So far, Nathan couldn’t sense any fear or confusion. It seemed the wolf understood the mindlinks Nathan had given him describing Elderwood and the people and if anything, he sensed curiosity from his new companion.
“Ellenson. You and Timmons walk up the eastern path. Make sure no one is surprised by Prince Stoneblood and Lord Ridgeback.”
As the two men started running into the canyon, Nathan turned to Sergeant Bravlin. “How are things in Elderwood?”
“Good. Lady Avera runs a tight ship, every day the city grows. I never imagined we’d be able to build this fast. I thought we’d be living in tents for years.”
Nathan nodded. The sergeant was right. They owed a lot to Lady Avera. Her organizational skills were on full display as she kept the hundreds of projects moving forward as they developed the city along with the farms and other projects. “Yes. She is amazing. Thank you, Sergeant Bravlin. Try not to take too many coins from unsuspecting victims on the news of Lord Ridgeback’s arrival.”
Sergeant Bravlin grinned. “I make no promises, Milord. I will tell the truth and if they don’t believe, take their coins to teach them a lesson. I only hope Sergeant Meeks is in a doubting mood. Thanks again for that tip on his left hand.”
…
When they arrived at the castle, Nathan found Rose sitting with Quinton in the gardens examining the fountain.
“Nathan! You’re home,” Rose excitedly said as she rushed to give him a hug.
To Nathan’s surprise, Rose only gave Lord Ridgeback a sideways glance as she rushed to him.
Enjoying the hug, Nathan smiled at Quinton, who was paying much more attention to Lord Ridgeback than Rose had.
When Rose finally broke the embrace, she looked over at Lord Ridgeback. “What a beautiful creature. What’s its name? Where did you find him?”
Nathan laughed. That was the Rose he knew, filled with curiosity and questions. This is Lord Ridgeback, Lori for short.”
Lord Ridgeback turned his head and gave Nathan a questioning look.
“OK, maybe we are still working on the nickname. And I didn’t find him, he found me.”
Showing no fear, Rose stepped towards Lord Ridgeback. “Hello, Lord Ridgeback. You sure are a pretty wolf.” She reached out and scratched under his ear.
To Nathan’s surprise, Lord Ridgeback not only accepted Rose’s touch, but he started wagging his tail. With Rose’s attention fully on Lord Ridgeback, Nathan turned to Quinton. “How are things here?”
“Good,” Quinton replied. “I was just explaining some of the finer details in our fountain illusion to Rose. She’s been working on simple ones in class and wanted to see what we did to make it so realistic. I told her how I cheated and used one of your gemstones.”
Nathan smiled. Quinton was being too modest. The gemstones did provide a power source to enhance the magic in Quinton’s illusions, but it was his cousin’s creativity and artistic talent that made the water into a dancing couple. “Don’t believe a word he says, Rose. Magic gemstones are not the key to a good illusion.”
Rose didn’t hear a word he said. She was too busy showering love on Lord Ridgeback, who was taking it like an overgrown puppy.
“How was your trip? Obviously, you made a new friend. A mindlink like Thorn?”
Nathan shook his head as he watched Rose and Lord Ridgeback. “Yes, although this is by far the friendliest I’ve seen him. I was working my way through the badlands when I spotted a girl being attacked by a troll. I went to help but another troll showed up. Lord Ridgeback here saved my life.”
“And the girl?”
Nathan laughed. “Yes. She didn’t need my help at all. She was actually hunting the troll. It wasn’t until I showed up that things got messy. Her name is Camille and she took me across the badlands to meet with the village elders in Layton. It was a very enlightening meeting.”
“How so?”
“Camille, and most of the villagers in Layton, and the other far west villages are Ingla.”
“Really?” Quinton said. “That’s interesting. I didn’t know there were Ingla in Solotine. Are they magic users?”
“Not all. But many. Camille used a magical spider web to catch the troll.”
“Interesting. That could be a handy bit of magic to learn,” Quinton said.
“She’s also beautiful, Nathan forgot to mention that,” Rose said as she continued to scratch and rub Lord Ridgeback.
Quinton raised an eyebrow, a look Nathan knew demanded further explanation. But what Nathan wanted was an explanation of how Rose would know if Camille was beautiful or not. “And how do you know that?”
Rose turned and smiled. “Sorry, trade secret.” She then turned back to Lord Ridgeback. “Silly boys, think they’re the only ones who have secrets. I bet you have lots of secrets, don’t you, boy?”
Nathan could only stare at Rose.
“I’m assuming from the look on your face Rose is right,” Quinton said. “You’re not thinking of sneaking off and living in an Ingla village, are you?”
“He thinks it’s too soon for him to be talking to other women. He still thinks Ava would be upset with him if he did,” Rose said.
“Rose. How in the seven hells are you—”
“Nathan,” Lady Avera yelled from the balcony. “It took you long enough. Come up. We have to discuss the plans for our trip to Raumont.”
“Can Lord Ridgeback stay here with me? We’ll just stay here in the garden while you meet with Aunty,” Rose asked.
Frustration and confusion filled Nathan’s mind. He wanted to stay and talk to Rose. To find out what made her say those things about him and Camille. What was worse was deep down he knew she was right. But how? And leaving a giant wolf alone with a young girl sounded like a terrible idea yet looking at the way Lord Ridgeback basked in the attention Rose was giving him led him to believe Rose was the safest person in all of Elderwood at that moment. “What do you say, Lord Ridgeback, want to come inside or stay here with Rose?”
Lord Ridgeback flopped down on his side.
Nathan sighed. “Traitor.”
Both Rose and Lord Ridgeback ignored him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on them. Although I will be keeping my distance. I suspect your new friend isn’t as friendly with everyone else as he is with Rose.”
“He’s not even that friendly with me,” Nathan said. Reluctantly, Nathan headed into the castle. It felt strange leaving Rose with a giant wolf, but he could sense Lord Ridgeback’s emotions. Nothing would happen to Rose. But it wasn’t just leaving them alone that bothered him. Rose’s comments about him and Camille were strange, and he wanted to question her about them, but it would have to wait.
“Welcome home, Nathan,” Aunt Avera said as he entered the meeting room.
Nathan joined Avera on the balcony where she was watching Rose and Lord Ridgeback. Rose was sitting on top of the wolf and pulling back on his head.
Aunt Avera held a hand to her chest. “I don’t know if this is the
cutest thing I’ve ever watched or the most terrifying.”
Nathan watched as Lord Ridgeback dipped his chin forward and Rose tumbled to the ground giggling. “I’m pretty sure it can be both.”
“You connected with the wolf.”
“Yes. How did you know?” Nathan asked.
“Is there any other explanation for a giant ridgeback wolf walking into Elderwood and playing with Rose like she is family after only knowing her a few minutes?” Avera turned and headed into the meeting room. “I can’t stay out there. We’ll never get any work done waiting to see if your wolf eats Rose.”
Nathan couldn’t agree more.
“I want to go over what you should expect during the visit to Raumont. This trip could go a variety of ways,” Avera said as she sat at one corner of the large meeting room table, pointing for Nathan to take the seat next to her.”
“What do you mean? I thought it was just a festival. Drink some wine, be friendly and show support for Count Mavane.”
Aunt Avera sighed. “If it were only that easy. Nathan, by now you should know when it comes to politics nothing is straightforward. In normal times this would be exactly as you described it, except there would be trade talks happening at the same time. These are not normal times.”
Nathan chuckled. That was an understatement. The last couple years had been anything but normal. “OK. What should I expect?”
“That is the problem. I don’t know. There are many elements in play here. We need to think about all of them. First, the situation in Tarnstead. Duke Bristol is one of the more vocal lords when it comes to his dissatisfaction with the current way things are being run. He isn’t outright rebellious, but behind the scenes he is gauging his support among the other cities. How Elderwood fits into that is likely something of a concern to them. Second, the fact that Elderwood has mages, including our new magic school will be an issue. The third issue is your age, they are going to test you. See if you can be manipulated.”
“Sounds like a wonderful time. Why am I going again?”
“You gave Count Mavane your word. And the fact is, Raumont could be an important trading partner for us. The potential to grow markets for our farmers and merchants is important. The festival is a great way to do that. And don’t worry you won’t be going alone.”
Nathan sighed. Being prince was a pain in the butt at times. “What is our plan then? What is our goal for this visit aside from increased trade?”
“I would say our goal is to listen and learn. The dynamics in Tarnstead are confusing to say the least. I know how you feel about Count Mavane and supporting Salma, but we need to stay out of the politics of Tarnstead as much as possible. And the lunar festival is our venue for showing magic in a positive light so avoid discussing it as much as possible, other than to encourage curious people to come to our festival.”
“OK. I think that is a reasonable course of action. Aside from the trip to Raumont what do we have on the list?”
“Nothing of grave importance. I would like to see us add a few more instructors for the mage school. And Demarion Black wants to meet with you soon. You’ve been a little lax in your own magic studies.”
Nathan smiled. “Demarion Black thinks anything less than full night and day dedication to magic studies is a waste of my time. However, he is correct. I haven’t been spending as much time on my studies as I’d like.”
“It comes with the territory I’m afraid. The more responsibilities you take on the thinner you must spread yourself. Don’t get me wrong. I think it is great you still want to do blacksmith work and are out there learning about our neighbors to the west, but you can’t be everywhere at once. Just make sure the important things in life don’t suffer because you are too busy.”
“Good advice,” Nathan said. It was already on his mind. How to balance all the things he wanted to do with his responsibilities. He’d be lost without Avera and Verin to take care of the day-to-day operations of the kingdom. Even ignoring his duties as prince, the list of things he wanted to spend his time on was long and would be changing again now he had to factor Lord Ridgeback into his thoughts. “Speaking of learning about our neighbors, I had a very successful journey west.” Nathan started telling Avera all about Camille, the village of Layton, and everything he learned about the Ingla society of their western neighbors.
Avera tapped her hand on the table as Nathan finished talking, after a few moments where she was clearly deep in thought she replied. “We’ll make more of an effort to learn about our new neighbors. Trade with them, build a relationship. Lord Zellox has used spies and traitors to turn our neighbors against us before. I would hate it if he poisoned the well against us because we were too foolish to build those relationships when we could.”
“Agreed. The village elders are sending a group here for the lunar festival. That will be a perfect opportunity to work on those relationships.”
“Just like the visit to Raumont is for working on the relationships with our eastern neighbors. Let’s just hope dealing with Layton is less complicated than dealing with Raumont.”
“Speaking of complicated relationships, I’d best go check on Rose and Lord Ridgeback.”
“Yes. I suppose having a giant Ridgeback wolf for a companion could be complicated,” Aunt Avera said.
“Lord Ridgeback? I was talking about Rose.”
13
Returning to the garden, Nathan found Rose laying on the ground with her head resting on Lord Ridgeback’s belly. She was discussing magic with Quinton while the wolf slept.
“All caught up with Aunty?” Rose asked as Nathan sat on the grass beside her.
“Yes. It seems Elderwood has survived marvelously without me around to mangle up the management of our fine kingdom.”
“Letting Aunt Avera run the kingdom was the smartest choice you ever made,” Quinton said.
“Smart choices? You mean like not being late for dinner with Sharon?”
Quinton jumped up. “Exactly those kind of choices, Nathan, good to see you but I must get going.”
Nathan chuckled as his cousin took off at a fast-paced walk towards the city.
“You have questions,” Rose said once Quinton was gone.
Nathan looked over at the girl. How was it she could read him so well? Was she growing up that fast or was he that transparent? “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Nathan, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while but didn’t know when would be the right time. I think I better do it now. The necklace Hanna made for me. It really does connect us to Ava’s spirit. However, the link between Ava and I is much stronger than the one between the two of you. In fact, I’m able to talk to her.”
“You talk to her?” Nathan asked. Shocked by Rose’s revelation. “That is good. I mean that is great. How is she? Is she here now?”
“She’s OK. Being a spirit is different than being alive. She doesn’t feel sad for having to die. She knew we did everything we could to save her. No, she’s not here now. I wanted to talk to you alone.”
“I see,” Nathan said.
“Nathan, Ava does watch you, just like she watches me. She knows about Camille.”
“Camille? Nothing happened with Camille,” Nathan protested.
“Exactly. A beautiful woman shows interest in you and you ran away like a scared little girl. And I’m a little girl I know what that looks like. It’s not pretty. Ava isn’t happy with you right now. I don’t know if spirits can get mad or not but if they do, then she’s mad.”
Nathan shook his head. “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You avoided an opportunity to meet someone nice. And you blamed it on Ava. Or you didn’t want to dishonor her memory. Either way, it hurts Ava. She doesn’t care about you honoring her memory. She cares about you being happy and focusing on the living. She isn’t coming back. You can’t live life alone. You’re too great of a guy not to have someone. Ava likes Camille.”
“I’m not sure I’m the right person for Cam
ille. People get hurt because of me.”
“No. People get hurt all the time. You can’t take the responsibility for that.”
Nathan sighed. His head was starting to hurt. Rose was bringing up things he was already struggling with. But to find out she could communicate with Ava and knew so much about Camille felt weird. He’d always known it was possible. Hanna had said as much, but now it was happening he had to deal with the fact Rose had a connection to Ava while he didn’t. And not only that, but Ava wanted him to move on, something he’d thought wrong to do. Camille was an interesting woman, and perhaps he should’ve made more of an attempt to find out what she was truly like. “Well. That explains your eerie ability to read my mind. Ava has been giving you the inside details.”
“Yup.”
Nathan frowned. “But what about this bond between you and Lord Ridgeback?”
“Same thing. I know random weird stuff happens to you all the time, but this time it wasn’t so random. Ava picked Lord Ridgeback for you. And this fine pillow of mine can sense the connection between Ava and me. Certain animals are naturally more receptive to spirit magic.”
“OK. Why on earth did Ava pick a giant wolf.”
Rose shook her head as if he was asking the dumbest possible questions. Not that he blamed her, this whole conversation had him feeling like he was on the outside looking in through stained glass trying to figure what was going on. He felt as dumb as his questions sounded.
“She picked Lord Ridgeback because he is as loyal as he is fierce. You sometimes think you are invincible, or worse, that your life might not matter as much as those around you. Lord Ridgeback here is your protector.”
“Is he supposed to protect me from danger, or from myself?” Nathan asked.
Treachery in Tarnstead Page 12