Midnight Quest

by Honor Raconteur

  “Oh, this is going to be an interesting trip,” Sarvell observed to the world in general. “I can just see it now.”

  ~*~*~*~

  The trip back to Veris could hardly have been described as eventful. Nothing untoward or surprising happened in the six days they were on the road. In fact, it didn’t even rain. The only delay they experienced happened in Shipp, as it took several hours of waiting in the city before they could board the ferry and cross the Honorvar.

  They arrived mid-morning in Rounsefell and without any fuss or fanfare went straight to Chantel’s home.

  When they entered the main courtyard, Jewel couldn’t believe the amount of noise that assaulted her ears. It seemed that dozens of people were running around in every direction, calling questions and instructions to each other, and even some curses as people accidentally jostled each other.

  She couldn’t begin to piece together what all of this noise and confusion meant, so she turned to ask Rialt.

  “Preparations, by the looks of it,” he answered slowly.

  From slightly behind them, Sarvell put in, “I’m seeing a lot of crates for paper lanterns, and all sorts of candles and rolls of ribbons. Either Chantel is starting preparations early for the dedication or…”

  “Or the schedule’s been met,” Chizeld completed with a note of excitement. “The bridge has been removed and the crystal can be moved!”

  “Do no get ahead of things, now,” Rialt warned, although it sounded as if he were hopeful as well. “It could be things went awry while we were gone. Do you see Chanty in this mess?”

  “There,” Sarvell directed. “Near the foot of the stairs.”

  “Ah, there she be.” Rialt raised his voice to a booming level. “CHANTEL!”

  It took a moment, but then Chantel’s voice could be faintly heard calling back, “Oh good! You’re back!”

  Jewel shifted in preparation for dismounting, as she knew that Chantel, being a physically affectionate person by nature, would want a hug. But just as she leaned her weight forward, Rialt snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her back.

  “I would no suggest dismounting yet,” he warned calmly. “In this crowd, like as no, they will run you flat. Bide a bit.”

  Actually, he might have a point about the dangers of being on foot here… Jewel sat back and waited for Chantel to come to her instead. In mere moments, the other priestess had fought her way through the crowd and arrived at Jewel’s side. “I’m glad you’re here!” she exclaimed with genuine excitement. “You’re just in time. The last parts of the bridge were removed yesterday, so we can actually move my crystal tomorrow. How did it go in Jordia?”

  “Well,” Jewel assured her, unconsciously smiling. It was difficult to be subdued or depressed around Chantel. “The crystal there gave us a little trouble, but nothing like yours. We were able to pull it free and put it back in place with only a little work.”

  “You’ll have to tell me all about it over dinner,” Chantel commanded. “For now, let’s go—wait. Are those wedding bracelets on your wrists?!”

  Jewel could feel her cheeks heating up with a blush. “You know that question you asked me before I left? Well, as it turns out, you were right.”

  Chantel laughed out loud with pure delight. “Oh, you are so telling me the full tale over dinner! If you didn’t get a proper reception, I insist on throwing one for you as well!”

  “We did,” Rialt assured her dryly.

  “Well, I want to throw you one anyway!” Chantel retorted.

  Sarvell remarked to no one in particular, “I just knew she was going to say that.”

  “Hush, you. Alright, this way. You’ve got time to have a bath and settle in a little before dinner. Rialt,” here her voice became mischievous and coy, “I suppose this time you don’t need a separate bed moved into Jewel’s room?”

  Rialt’s voice stayed deadpan as he responded, “No need for the trouble.”

  Jewel buried her face in both hands to hide her rapidly heating face. “You’re going to spend every minute teasing us, aren’t you?”

  “Of course!” Chantel sang. “What else are friends for?”

  Friends, indeed.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  They left the next morning for Ziehr’s Pass right after breakfast. Chantel had kept Jewel up a good portion of the night, getting the full story of the events in Jordia and a thorough description of Alexandra. Jewel hadn’t minded talking and sharing everything, but she certainly was paying the price for their late hours this morning. She had yawned her way through breakfast and the side to side motion of the horse didn’t help in her efforts to stay awake.

  In between talking about everything else last night, the two women had planned out the dedication ceremony so that Chantel knew exactly what to do once the crystal had been moved into its proper place. Jewel had this uneasy feeling that she needed to make every moment count, and she could not afford to linger once the crystal had been moved. She needed to get to Ramath. She didn’t know why this urgency pressed against her like it did, but she couldn’t ignore the feeling.

  Chantel assured her that everything was in place. Experts in climbing and harnesses were already at the site, waiting for the two priestesses. Once they arrived, all they had to do would be to climb down and push the crystal up and back onto the cliff’s edge. Jewel didn’t think there would be anything simple about this, and she sent many a prayer heavenward that nothing went wrong while they tried to wrestle a crystal the size of a two story building up a cliff face.

  At some point during the five hour trip to Ziehr’s Pass, her sleepiness ambushed the responsible side of her nature. Pillowing her head on Rialt’s shoulder, she snuggled into the crook of his arm and fell asleep.

  “Jewel.” Something gently shook her shoulder. “Wifey, open those eyes of yours. We be about there.”

  She took in a deep breath and stretched her shoulders as she came awake. “How long did I sleep?”

  “About two hours, give or take.”

  Jewel lightly smacked her cheeks to help her wake up a little more. “What does it look like?”

  “Busy,” he responded promptly. “Quite a few men here, all with climbing harnesses and the like. They have set up anchor points with ropes and pulleys already,” he noted in satisfaction. “After we be strapped in, we can get straight to it.”

  That all sounded heartening.

  Jewel extended her senses as they reined to a stop. The wind felt slightly stronger to her than it had the last time she was here. There seemed to be a slight whine as the wind whipped its way around rock and through trees. The air, though, felt warmer and she felt grateful for that. Hanging off a cliff while shivering with cold did not appeal to her in the slightest.

  The waiting men murmured to each other in calm, collected voices as the women dismounted. Someone approached their group with a heavy tread that spoke of a very solid heavy build.

  “Priestess Moltabon, men are ready. Per orders, tandem harnesses prepared.”

  “Many thanks, Foreman. My partner is this man. Jewel, who do you want to go down with you?” She gave a slight giggle. “Or should I even ask?”

  Jewel resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at her. “Quiet, you.”

  “I will go with her,” Rialt answered calmly.

  “Er…Rialt?”

  “What be it, Sarvell.”

  “You’re rather larger than the rest of us. Wouldn’t it make sense for a smaller man to go down instead? To make it easier on the rest of the crew?”

  “It would,” Rialt agreed amiably. “But you took her down the last time. Reckon it be my turn.”

  “Chizeld could do it too,” Sarvell pointed out dryly.

  “He does no have climbing experience,” Rialt returned calmly.

  Sarvell didn’t buy this and asked, “Chizeld?”

  “Not a bit.”

  Rialt made a noise of satisfaction. “Then it be up to me.”

  All of that sounded very reasonable,
but Jewel didn’t believe for one second that Rialt would have let someone else take his position. The iron grip he had around her waist said quite clearly that he didn’t trust her safety to anyone else, not even these two.

  She decided not to say any of her thoughts aloud and asked an obvious question instead. “So where’s the harness?”

  It took a few minutes to put the harness on. She understood, now, why Rialt had insisted that she wear pants instead of a skirt. Trying to pull a harness in between her legs and buckle it around her waist while wearing a skirt…well, she couldn’t see how she would have managed that, now. She felt like her fingers were thumbs as she tried to help put it on, but Rialt did indeed know what he was doing—he untangled the harness and buckled into place with the calm surety of a veteran climber.

  “Are we ready?”

  “We be,” Rialt assured her. “Straps are comfortable?”

  “Nothing’s pinching anywhere.” She assumed that passed as ‘comfortable.’

  “Good enough. Now, lift your legs up like so…eh, there be a lass. I will walk us to the cliff face. Foreman, be the line secure?”

  “Secure,” the Foreman assured him in a gruff voice. “Line is tight.”

  “Alright, lads, let us down nice and slow!”

  Jewel trusted her weight to the harness and Rialt as they were slowly lowered over to the side. She went backwards at a slightly horizontal angle, as Rialt didn’t just drop feet first as she half-expected, but planted his feet at the cliff’s edge and walked down. She could hear his boots scraping against the rock as he moved. His arms tensed and relaxed in a rhythmic way as he grasped the rope.

  Jewel’s ears started popping as they changed elevations, the wind whipping around them at sporadic intervals. It felt very strange to be suspended like this, but at the same time, rather liberating. If not for the solid warmth of Rialt’s chest against her back, she would swear she was floating.

  “A bit more!” Rialt boomed out, half-startling her.

  Right, she was supposed to be working… With a quick breath, she brought her mind back to focus. The crystal felt like a lodestone to her, its presence massive to her senses. She also felt like she could reach out and touch it with her hand, if she stretched out. Actually, she should probably try that and see if she could. Jewel extended her right hand to its limits but failed to grasp anything but thin air. “Rialt, I can’t reach.”

  He let out a low grunt. “We will adjust that in a moment. Let me get down to the bottom first.”

  She bided her time as they were lowered several more feet.

  “Crystal should be about level with you,” he informed her. “Stretch out again and let me see how we fare.”

  She obediently did so and let her hand stay there, hovering.

  “Hmm…good two feet off, belike.” He raised his voice again to that booming volume that carried to every corner. “More to the right!”

  The rope started shifting, pulling on Jewel’s center of gravity to the right. Rialt bent his knees slightly and then without any warning, he pushed off the cliff face. For a few moments, it really did feel as if they were just suspended in mid-air. Jewel let out a delighted shriek of laughter.

  “Eh? You like this?”

  “It’s really fun,” she responded, trying not to giggle in a demented way. “Do it again!”

  With a suspiciously devious chuckle, he did as requested and gave another hard push, sending them out into the air again. Even though she expected it this time, she still had a half-terrified, half-delighted tingle racing up her spine. Another delighted shriek escaped from her mouth.

  “I can see right now I will need to take you climbing more often,” Rialt observed amusedly.

  Oh. She could do this again? “Yes please!”

  “Who’s laughing down there?” Chizeld called from the top of the cliff. “Jewel?”

  “This is fun!” she called back.

  “Rialt, not supposed to corrupt Priestess!” Chizeld scolded mock-seriously.

  “Too late!” Rialt drawled unrepentantly. “Now, wifey, focus. Can you reach it?”

  “Even if I can, will you do that hop thing again anyway?” she inquired hopefully.

  “Sure, wifey, sure.”

  Smiling in anticipation, she reached out and stretched as far as she could. This time, her fingers barely grazed the smooth, cold surface. “So if I can’t, then that means I get two hops?”

  “A greedy, niggardly woman you have become,” Rialt responded sorrowfully. “Belike Sarvell’s influence.”

  “No doubt,” she agreed peaceably. “Two hops?”

  “Mayhap three,” he promised.

  Oh goodie.

  It did, in fact, take three hops to get her in the right position to put her hand firmly under the crystal’s surface. The fourth hop was just because they could.

  While Jewel and Rialt played (much to the amusement of everyone watching them), Chantel and one of her armsmen were lowered down on the other side. It did not take enough time for Chantel to get into position, in Jewel’s opinion. They only got five good hops in before Chantel called out, “We’re ready!”

  Sometimes being an adult was no fun at all. With a sigh, Jewel forced herself to behave and reached out her hand, situating it firmly against the bottom of the crystal. “On three!” Jewel called to Chantel. “One, two, three!”

  The crystal made a harsh grating sound as it inched its way up. Jewel was abruptly grateful that Rialt had refused to let her go down alone. It took concentration on his part to slowly climb back up, even with people on top helping him to do so. She couldn’t afford to split her concentration as the crystal would slip if she tried. She’d never been forced into such an awkward position while trying to move a crystal before and until this moment, didn’t appreciate how difficult it would be.

  Their pace could only be described as a crawl as they inched their way upward. Since she had always been the one manipulating the crystal before, using her own limbs, she had always been the one to set the pace. This slow, trudging speed tasked her mental concentration and her arm started to ache from being thrust out at such a straight angle. To her, the crystal’s weight registered as something that she could easily carry. But any weight at all on top of her arm would eventually take its toll.

  “Your arm be shaking,” Rialt observed in concern.

  “I’ll make it,” she assured him through gritted teeth.

  “Be it so heavy, then?”

  “Awkward would be a better word. How far are we from the top?” It seemed like they’d been at this for hours although she couldn’t imagine that was true.

  “Four or five strides.”

  So, ten or so feet? Jewel sucked in a breath and pushed it out again harshly between clenched teeth. She could make ten feet. Maybe.

  “Take your mind off it,” Rialt suggested. “Think of something else instead.”

  “Can’t,” she refuted. “The crystal will slip if I do. Chantel! How are you doing?”

  “Arm is shaking!” Chantel called back. “But we’re close to the top!”

  A grinding, almost ear-piercing sound came from behind Jewel, sounding as if it came from the opposite end of the ravine. She identified the sound without a problem, her heart giving a leap of victory.

  The top of the crystal had been dragged free.

  While this was a good thing in and of itself, it also meant that the balance of the crystal’s weight shifted. Jewel felt her hand sliding abruptly downwards as the crystal tried to slide, becoming abruptly top heavy. She let out an inarticulate sound of distress and thrust her arm completely under the crystal, trying to regain her grip on it. If this heavy thing went to the river’s bottom, she couldn’t imagine how they’d get it out again.

  “What?” Rialt demanded, half-alarmed.

  “The crystal’s weight has shifted,” she managed to explain between pants. “I’m losing my grip on it.”

  “Cherchez’s beard, that be no what we need right now.” Rialt took in
a huge breath before belting out, “Chizeld! Take our weight and drag us up! The crystal be slipping and I need to help Jewel with it!”

  “Will do!” Chizeld called back.

  Rialt slipped an arm under hers and flattened his palm around her hand. She appreciated the support beyond words. Trying to hold up her arm and wrestle with the crystal had about sapped her strength. Even though his added strength didn’t do a thing to help with the crystal, it did support her failing arm, which made all the difference. Furrowing her brows, she redoubled her efforts on the crystal. In an effort to get a more steadying grip on it, she twisted her torso as much as she could to get her other hand under it. This only semi-worked, as the harness interfered with her efforts. Still, the second hand offered the leverage that she needed to steady its weight.

  “Better?” Rialt asked against her ear.

  “Yes.” She couldn’t spare anything more than that one word, as she felt the crystal’s balance tip again, this time going forward.

  “The base is starting to clear the top!” Sarvell informed them. “You’re almost there!”

  All the gods be praised.

  She didn’t need anyone to tell her when the majority of the crystal’s base had finally cleared the top, as the crystal abruptly started tipping forward. The sound of the wind changed, too, becoming more of a sporadic rush that she associated with being near the edge. They had to be mere feet from the top, then.

  “Almost there, Jewel,” Rialt whispered in encouragement. “Almost there.”

  Her mind took up the mantra. Almost…there…

  All at once the cold stone against her skin pulled away, and the tremendous weight of the crystal rocked forward. A loud impact vibrated the ground and air as it slammed into place. With a groan and a sigh, the crystal came to a complete stop.

  For a moment, silence reigned among the group and then someone let out a victorious shout and the rest echoed him. Someone pulled them up the rest of the way and Rialt took a large step from the edge before kneeling down. She put her head on his shoulder and just breathed for a moment, not caring that she was still strapped in place.

  They’d done it. The crystal was back up. All that they needed to do now was drag it a few dozen feet to the right resting spot and then her first task would be complete. The crystals would all be in their proper places again.