by JF Smith
For the next three days, Roald and Gallun and Gellen helped Gully as they could with chores around the cabin. They also gave Gully a silent but steady companionship as he spent large stretches of time doing little more than thinking and wandering.
They fixed the rungs of the simple ladder, and then mended a few leaks in the roof. They collected new firewood together. They hunted some and gathered berries and fetched water from the stream. In the quiet times, Roald, Gallun, and Gellen followed behind Gully as he went for long walks in the woods. They lay together on the stone in the middle of Gully’s favorite meadow and watched the sky and clouds pass by overhead. Gully also spent a great deal of time staring silently into the fireplace.
It was during these quiet times that Gully would take the pendant from around his neck and study it. He would hold it close to his eyes, as if trying to read something written very faintly inside the crystal. He would turn it and rotate it, over and over, as he would look at the flame of the fire or a candle through it. Roald had long since found out how important the sigil was to the Balmoreans. Even now, when Gully would have it out from beneath his tunic, Gallun and Gellen would keep a respectful distance and refuse to even look at it.
The only frightening moment of their time together came when Gellen disappeared late in the morning of their second day in the cabin. None of the others had noticed him missing, but there was suddenly a shocking howl off in the distance that turned into a formless scream, then back and forth between the shouts and the howls right after.
Before Roald could even piece together what the horrifying sound was, Gully had leapt up and was running, following the sound as fast as he could go. The only reason Roald and Gallun were able to catch up to him was because Gully had slowed enough to pick up a sizeable, sturdy branch that had fallen from a tree.
Not much further than that, they found Gellen, almost totally dragged under a bog that was pulling him down. He was changing between man and wolf so fast, trying desperately for his front paws and then his human arms to gain purchase, that Roald could not tell the two apart.
Gully threw himself on the closest safe spot of ground and reached the limb out to Gellen, who turned and stayed human so he could grab it with his hands. Gully wrapped his arm securely around his end of the limb while Gellen tried to frantically pull himself free. His fevered attempts to scramble to safety only seemed to work against him, though, and he had sunk almost entirely beneath the surface.
Gully shouted, “Slowly, Gellen, steadily!”
Gellen heard him and stopped fighting against the bog. Instead, he relaxed and pulled on the branch patiently as Gully had instructed. Roald and Gallun, in the meantime, had positioned themselves and grasped onto Gully so that he would not be pulled in with Gellen.
It took minutes that seemed to last forever, but Gellen finally was able to pull himself up onto firm land, panting, exhausted and covered in mud. They stood together, and Gellen, head hung low, leaned forward until his tired head rested on Gully’s shoulder. Gully, fighting to catch his breath, put his hand to Gellen’s neck to reassure him.
Gellen held up two fingers to Gully, which Roald took to mean that this was the second time Gully had saved his life. Gully said nothing in return, but did give Gellen a few thumps in the middle of his chest with his palm. Gully turned to begin the walk back to the cabin, but Roald watched as Gellen could not let this go so simply. Gellen, a few tears streaming through the muck on his face, pulled Gully back and wrapped him in an embrace so tight that Roald feared the wind in Gully’s lungs would be crushed out. Gully said no more, but let Gellen express his thanks in his own way. With the threat to Gellen over and everyone safe, Gully led them all to the stream so that they could wash the muck and grime off.
Their time in the cabin wore on, and Roald began to wonder what all was going through Gully’s mind. He wondered if it was no more than Gully coming to accept that his father was gone, or if there was maybe something more to his brother’s thoughts than just that. He had the idea that maybe Gully had decided to give up on being king and planned to live here in the bogs again, alone, but he did not think he would have accepted the company if that was the case. Even if he was unsure what Gully was thinking, he was committed to seeing it through with him. It did not matter to him how long they stayed. He was there with Gully for as long as it would take.
The third full day at the cabin, after the sun had gone down, Roald watched Gully sit in front of the fireplace. This night, Gully was not idly studying the pendant as he had done before. This night, Gully sat and stared into the crackling fire without moving, scarcely even blinking.
Roald wished very deeply that he knew what he could do to help his brother. His eyes began to droop and he thought that perhaps he should go to sleep and let Gully continue to spin deep inside himself as he had done for days now.
Roald’s head jerked up from where he had almost nodded off in his chair, but this time, Gully was staring at him. Roald sat up and wondered what had changed.
Gully said softly, “I’m ready, Roald. Tomorrow morning, we go home.”
Gallun and Gellen, already asleep on their mat, began to stir at the sound of the voice in the room.
Gully stood and said, “But first, tonight, there is someone to whom I must go speak.”
Roald’s brow furrowed deeply. “Speak to? Out here? Who is there to speak to in these bogs?”
Gully nodded and said, “Come, it won’t take long.”
Roald looked closely at Gully in the firelight. He wanted to argue, but Gully’s face had changed. The thought and worry and concentration that Roald had grown accustomed to since Gully’s coronation was now different. In their place, Roald saw acceptance and peace.
The four of them set out into the night, the light of Vasahle illuminating their path as best it could through the forest above them. Roald would have never dared to set foot more than twenty paces from the cabin door at night, but he had no fear as he followed behind Gully. Gully spoke no more as they walked, and Roald did not press him on the matter.
It was not long before they arrived at the meadow that Roald knew was Gully’s favorite. They walked to its center, where the bright light of the laughing moon filled the meadow so that they could see quite well.
Gully stood on the stone where he had spent many idle days of his childhood and looked up into the night sky.
Roald almost spoke, but he followed Gully’s gaze up into the sky, to where the Trine Range constellation gleamed in the night overhead.
Gully stared directly at it and said aloud, “You and I have not spoken much, and you know that the faith I have in our astrolatry isn’t enough to fill a thimble. But if you are up there, Colnor, you will hear this from me first...”
He paused and looked down for a moment before looking back up and continuing, “I do not know what you intended for me after putting me here, old man...”
Roald listened, almost uncomfortably at the way Gully was referring to his father, King Colnor the Fifth.
“But I hope that you are prepared for what I am now going to do,” said Gully with determination. “You’ve had your say in my life, but now it will be my turn. You have my vow.”
Roald shivered at the statement. Gully’s tone was not that of malice, or spite, or a threat. His voice was that of firm resolve; that no one, not veWarrnest, not the patriarch, not Thaybrill nor himself, not his honored father in the constellation above, that no one would ever drive him to any path other than his own.
Roald had a thousand questions run through his mind, but when Gully looked down from the skies to him, they melted away to nothing as crystalline honey in hot water would. Until this moment, Roald would have followed Gully’s lead almost anywhere. Now, his willingness to follow him became absolute.
Roald said, “No matter what, Gully, I am by your side.”
Gully stepped over to Roald and placed his hand appreciatively on his shoulder.
Roald said, “At some point, you’ve got to choose
whom you trust, whom you’re willing to let in. I hope you’ll let us help you, Gully, however we may be able to do so.”
Gully pulled Roald close and embraced his brother, rocking him back and forth beneath the stars of their parents. The relief that Roald felt in his brother’s touch was immense. What he felt in his brother’s embrace was a peace that had not been there before. Whatever Gully had decided, his previous reticence was gone and it had brought him solace. Whatever Gully had decided, Roald was satisfied with it and was glad for it.
Gully turned to the twins and said, “Both of you, too. Thank you. Thank you for being whom you are, the ones that are always there for me.”
It took the twins by surprise some, but Gully embraced each of them tightly in turn as well.
To Roald, he said, “You are right, Roald. I must accept the trust and support of those nearest me, or none of this will succeed.”
The king put a hand on Gallun’s and Gellen’s shoulders and his eyes glinted in the blue light of the moon. “The two of you, without hesitation or reservation. Or regret or fear of losing you, my friends.”
He faced back to Roald again, and Roald could see him smiling in the moonlight. “And not a one more than you, Roald. Even when I fought it with all that was in me for fear of losing you the way I lost my father, there is no one, not a one, whom I trust more than you. My brother and my friend and my conscience. Always... my rock.”
Gully took a deep breath and said, “Come, I’ve had my say and we may return to the cabin now. Tomorrow morning we make our way back to Lohrdanwuld.”
Overhead, the stars turned silently while the four men made their way back to the cabin.
~~~~~
The following morning, Gully paused to look at his cabin one last time before they struck out for Lohrdanwuld.
“I miss this already, Roald.” He stared at his home wistfully as he spoke.
“You can return, Gully. You will.”
“Yes, I will,” agreed Gully, and he shrugged. “But things are different now. My life has been taken from me. I always knew it would one day, I suppose. I just never expected that I would give it up willingly. The person who came into these woods is different than the one who now leaves them.”
Roald said, “I’m afraid I do not understand your meaning. You are the same as a few days ago.”
Gully said, “In some ways yes... others, no. Fate put a choice before me and I resisted that choice, until now. Unable to ignore what fate was insisting upon, I have now chosen. What comes now will be different from what the past has been. Were it not for you, and my wolf brothers, and Thaybrill, and others standing beside me, I would not be able to do this.”
Roald put his arm around Gully’s shoulder, “There is nothing I would not do for you, Gully Snipe. Always know this.”
“I do. And I feel the same for you.”
Roald glanced up into the morning sky beyond the trees. “I think my mother, seeing us from her spot above, would be proud of us. Not for the titles or wealth or responsibility we now hold, but for the fact that we are the brothers she always wanted us to be. I think that she is very pleased by this. And so am I.”
They turned and began to walk the long path out from the cabin to the South Pass Road. Gallun and Gellen trudged along behind them in their kilts, but stuck very close to Gully.
“Now that you are speaking again...” began Roald.
“I knew the admonishments would not be held at bay forever,” said Gully with a dry smirk.
“You must treat this seriously, Gully!” grumbled Roald. “You made me Lord Marshal, and you know I cannot express my gratitude enough that you trust me in this position. However, you cannot make me responsible for your safety and then do this to me! I know how independent you are, how you will let no one tie you to a horse post for even an afternoon. But you cannot make me responsible for your safety and then disappear on whatever whim blows under your surcoat!”
Roald stopped and sulked, waiting for a response. Gully stopped a few steps later and faced back towards him. Roald expected the usual argument from him.
Roald added, “It would be the end of me if something happened to you. And you understand my meaning there... It would be the end of me! I do not ask to hold you back or for you to give up your freedom, but you must allow me to make sure of your safety and well-being!”
Gully laughed out loud, causing Roald to frown even further. “The piss and vinegar you are filled with are not serving you well in this, Bayle. You must allow me to do the job you have asked of me, or perhaps it would be better if you asked someone else to do it.”
Gully continued to snicker and he finally replied, “You misunderstand, Roald. I know what you mean, and you are right. I have not been kind to you, and you of all people deserve it the most. This is one of many things I have thought about very deeply over the last few days.”
Gully began to walk again slowly, and Roald caught up to him. Gully said, “We need to replenish the ranks of the King’s Guards since we rooted out the traitors. We need ones we can trust... ones that I commit to allowing by my side wherever I venture, and at all times.”
Roald looked at him suspiciously, as if getting his way could not be this easy. “It sounds to be a very good start, provided, I suppose, we can find guardsmen that you trust to take these positions.”
Gully said, “I have some in mind.”
“Who?”
Gully nodded behind them at Gallun and Gellen, who now realized what Gully was suggesting. “They’ll need to be trained some as King’s Guards, but their abilities as fighters are already top-notch. And I seem to be completely unable to lose them from my path anyway. There are none whose loyalty I have more faith in. I will pledge to you to never sneak off on my own again.”
Gallun and Gellen nodded vigorously, buoyed by the prospect of a place where they belonged once again, a place at the side of the person who had saved their lives and who had come to mean so much to them.
“They like the idea,” said Gully, nodding to them. “I would like to offer a number of the Merchers a place in the King’s Guard. Would you be willing to accept them in such a position? Would the other guards accept them?” asked Gully.
Roald smiled in relief, “Accept it?! I would welcome it! I would finally not have to lie awake in worry at night! And a number of the other guards have already shown a keen interest in the balmor fighting techniques. Some will fret over such a change, but we will make this work!”
Gully said, “Good. We will discuss this further when we get back to the Folly. I have many things to set in motion, and if the Balmoreans are agreeable, this will be among the easiest!”
The comment caught in Roald’s ear, and he could no longer hold his curiosity at bay.
“Gully... if it’s not out of place, what have you decided to do?” he asked. “What was it that you warned your father’s star of last night out in the meadow?”
Gully took a very deep breath and added as he continued walking, “I believe the time has come to destroy the Iisendom.”
Chapter 42 — The Black Line Between What Was And What Will Be
The crevasse that ran next to the Courtyard of the Empyrean seemed to be forever damp. There was a runnel of water originating from somewhere up on Kitemount that flowed down into the fissure and kept the bottom perpetually wet as the water sought its way out. Despite the ever-present water, there was nothing but stone and rocks and boulders down at the bottom. Nothing lived or grew down there as far as Gully had ever seen.
Gully propped his boot upon the short balustrade wall and looked down to the bottom of the crack in the mountain. His eyes stuck to the one thing below him besides the rocks — the blue and white breeches and doublet that marked the body of Krayell Delavoor. The body lay broken and twisted, in the same spot it had landed. Gully’s elbow rested on his raised knee, and he leaned over to rest his chin in his hand as he looked below in deep thought at the dead body.
After he had thrown Krayell off the tow
er, he had ordered that the body be left untouched and alone in the bottom of the ravine, a warning to anyone that sought to betray the kingdom for personal gain. He demanded Krayell be left to rot in the sun and damp at the floor of the chasm where his body had fallen, his remains fodder for whatever insects or carrion birds chose to make a meal of him. Krayell was the only man he had ever killed, and his only regret, and it was a deep one, was that his death throes and pain had not lasted a thousand times longer than they probably had.
He stood and tossed the piece of charcoal he held in his other hand up in the air a couple of times, catching it easily. He took a moment to pull at the pleated doublet of violet and the mantle clasped at his throat, the one colored the same as ripe pannyfruit. He disliked the formal clothing he so often had to wear, but today he wore even more of the regalia than usual. Today was special, and he was the one that insisted upon wearing it.
In a way, he had Krayell to thank for what was about to happen. If it had not been for a comment of Krayell’s during their final confrontation, he wasn’t sure he would have seen what had since become patently obvious. He wasn’t sure he would have seen the choice as clearly as he did afterwards. What might have been an innumerable number of phantom paths through a dark forest suddenly became clear, with the one true path glowing in his mind as if lit by torches on either side for as far as he could see.
Or perhaps the choice, and how to choose, would still have been unavoidable, even without Krayell. This was what he had now spent the better part of an hour mulling over, and no matter whom he trusted, this deep secret would have to stay with him, and him alone.
Despite the patriarch’s talk of fate leading him to a choice and then leaving it for him to decide... despite the fact that, to all others, it would appear as if Gully had made a choice. Despite talk of the sanctity of free will. Despite the fact that, in some ways, it felt like he had freely chosen, Gully sensed, he knew... that he had not. Something... something, and he knew not what, would absolutely not have allowed any other choice than what he was about to do. It bothered Gully and it disturbed him because he had never sensed anything like this before. Stranger still was that, if he had been given a choice, he would have certainly seen the wisdom of this way, but the choice was not given to him to make in the end. Something had not trusted him to make the right choice, or perhaps rather, something had not dared risk him making the wrong choice.