As he contemplated the matter, he hypnotically stared at his boots while treading over the cold ground, hardly noticing that the pace of their hike had lessened. Nor did he hear Ramsey speak aloud to the others as the last brilliant beams of sunlight shot across the emerald treetops in the southwest.
“I said we’re here,” Ramsey repeated, tapping William on the shoulder.
“Huh?” he muttered, looking up while shaking his mind free of muddled thoughts. “I was just…” He held his breath for a moment in mid-sentence, astounded by the sight before him.
They had just climbed a slight rise in the forest when they halted and stood before a huge clearing tinged with the golden light of the setting sun. The open space, roughly circular in shape, measured over a half mile in diameter and was surrounded by a wall of living trees. And though William was utterly impressed when seeing a rural, yet vibrant village suddenly appear out of nowhere in the middle of a forest, from a bird’s-eye view the Star Clearing would appear as nothing but a tiny speck against the vastness of the Ebrean as a whole. A slight breeze stirred among the thatched rooftops of some of the nearer cabins as the scent of wood smoke wafted through the air. A handful of white stars were discernible in the darkening skies of twilight.
“This has been our home for the last seven years,” Ramsey told William with wistful pride. “Yet I would abandon it tomorrow if Harlow, Linden and Surna were free nations once again.”
“You and the others once lived in the Northern Mountains?” he asked. Ramsey nodded. “I’m guessing not Kargoth,” he added with a slight grin.
“Your questions will be answered soon,” he replied. “Enough talk now. Let’s conclude this journey. It’s been almost a week since any of us have seen our wives and children. I can only hope that they have missed us half as much as we’ve missed them.”
They wandered through the Star Clearing across a patchwork of dirt paths, passing several homes already glowing with firelight. All were ready for the coming colder months as piles of chopped wood had been neatly stacked along the sides of the buildings. Most homes stood beside generous plots of land that had been thriving gardens during the spring and summer, but now lay fallow, awaiting the inevitable snowfall of the winter season. A large stream passed through the middle of the Clearing, though William noted that several homes had wells dug nearby. Near the farthest edges of the circular village along the northern border, a handful of large fields were cultivated to grow corn, hay, apples and other vegetables, while chickens and livestock were raised on a separate farm nearby. William assumed that the other four Clearings were similarly arranged, guessing that Ramsey and his men were involved in some type of protracted struggle against Vellan. Though he terribly missed Montavia after only a thirty-one day absence, he couldn’t imagine the heartache that Ramsey and the others felt after being separated from their homes for seven long years.
As they advanced toward the center of the Clearing, one by one, Ramsey’s three companions bid him and William farewell and returned to their homes. Since he was in charge of this expedition, it was Ramsey’s responsibility to report his findings before he could finally see his own family. Soon after, he escorted William to a sprawling wood cabin of two stories set beneath several tall trees and mottled with the purple and gray shadows of twilight. Burning torches were affixed in metal holders near the main doorway and along the front of the building. Off the cabin’s main section were several smaller wings of similar construction built at varying angles to match the flow of an adjacent stream coursing through the gently sloping landscape.
“Is this where your leader lives?” William asked. Though the structure didn’t match the scale and elegance of Red Lodge, it was impressive to behold nonetheless.
“He does,” Ramsey said, “though other families reside here as well. In fact, we all lived here to begin with when the first few of us moved to the forest. This was the original building we constructed that served as our home. Now it mainly houses our government, so to speak, as the rest of the Star Clearing expanded around it. But many still visit the large common room a few times each week to catch up on the news of the day or to relax during some of their free time.”
“Still, your leader must consider himself very lucky to live under such a fine roof. His part of the residence must be vast indeed.”
“Quite the contrary,” a vaguely familiar voiced called down from a small wooden balcony above, the tall figure wrapped in murky shadows. William couldn’t distinguish the man’s face, though he recalled hearing his voice recently. “My quarters here are quaint, to put it politely, and my wife wonders why we don’t build our own cottage nearby. But I tell her that since I was elected to represent this Clearing, I should remain where I am accessible to everyone.” The man noted that Ramsey was grinning at his comment. “And how was your trip to the Fox and Pumpkin Clearings?”
“Productive. The men are already making their way to the border of the Ebrean, but I can provide you the details later. I am just glad to be home,” he said. “And I have brought a guest.”
“So I see. Hurry inside. We’ll meet in the small dining area. We’ll have dinner while we talk. I hear there’s roasted lamb tonight.”
“We’ll be right there,” Ramsey replied as the man stepped through a small doorway and disappeared inside.
“He seems an affable sort,” William said. “And though I look forward to meeting him, his voice is vaguely familiar. But how could that be?”
“Maybe hunger is playing tricks on your mind. As you’ve never been to these parts before, how could you have ever met our leader?” he asked. “Anyway, the sooner we’re inside, the sooner all your questions will be answered.” He indicated for William to follow him up a stone path to the front entrance, after which Ramsey opened a sturdy but ornate door constructed of pine wood, allowing the warmth within to greet them. They stepped inside as the flaming torches gently flickered in the evening air.
After passing by the common area occupied by a handful of people, quiet conversation and a crackling fire, Ramsey and William walked down a narrow hallway. They entered a small room with three round tables and a fireplace built into one corner. The table nearest a window had three place settings and a flickering candle. The pine walls, floorboards and ceiling beams had been recently cleaned and polished, and the warmth from the fireplace made William think he had stepped into a fine inn along a well-traveled highway. A moment later, someone entered the room behind them.
“My wife is going to join us for dinner, Ramsey, but we’ll have to set an extra plate now that you’ve brought a guest,” said the man who had been on the balcony. “Who do I have the honor of welcoming to the Star Clearing?”
Ramsey and William turned around to greet the man, but before Ramsey could utter words of introduction, he noticed that William and his leader were staring at one another with expressions of vague wonderment as if each were trying to attach a familiar face with a forgotten name. Though they had only briefly encountered one another sixteen days ago, it didn’t take long for either of them to recognize the other’s face.
“Eucádus?” William articulated the gentleman’s name with mild shock, remembering that this man from Harlow had asked him and his brother several questions after they arrived unannounced during the war council at the Blue Citadel. The tall man with light brown hair, leaf green eyes and a freshly shaven face appeared less haggard and anxious than he had been at the sometimes boisterous session. “You’re the leader of this place?”
“Indeed I am.” Eucádus was pleased that the boy had remembered him since he and Brendan had been bombarded with inquiries from so many people during that hectic afternoon in Morrenwood. “And how does a young prince from Montavia find his way deep into the Ebrean Forest to my very doorstep?”
Ramsey stood there agape. “You two know each other?” An awkward grin was plastered across his face until he suddenly processed Eucádus’ last few words. “And did you say prince?” Eucádus nodded. “Of Montavia?”<
br />
“It seems that Ramsey is not aware of your lineage, Prince William. Did you not see it fit to inform him?” he asked with amusement.
“The truth is, we had both kept personal information to a minimum as there were issues of trust,” he said. “But had I been informed by name that you were the leader Ramsey had spoken of, I would have felt more at ease to reveal my true heritage.” William reached into his pocket, remembering that he and Brendan had removed their silver rings while in the village of Parma. He slipped it on his finger, glad to have a bit of normalcy return to his life. “I suppose it’s safe to wear now that I’m among friends.”
“You have nothing to fear here, Prince William,” Eucádus assured him. “Right, Ramsey?”
“Not a thing, Prince William,” he meekly replied, hoping he hadn’t inadvertently insulted the boy through his words or actions during the day.
“That’s good to hear,” he said, “though I would much prefer it if you would both call me William–or even Will–if it wouldn’t be too much to ask. Though I’m proud of my title, it tends to wear on me a bit outside of formal occasions.”
“Then Will it is,” Eucádus said, admiring the boy’s good-natured disposition. “And where is your brother? Did you make this unexpected journey to our temporary homeland by yourself?”
“He did not,” Ramsey said, uncomfortably clearing his throat.
“So where is Brendan?” Eucádus glanced at William for an answer, noting a sad, faraway look in the boy’s eyes now glistening in the firelight. When William and Ramsey stared knowingly at one another with grim expressions, Eucádus sensed that something terrible had transpired. His heart suddenly filled with anguish over words not yet spoken, over words he was dreading to hear.
While eating dinner with Ramsey, Eucádus and his wife, Liana, William explained how he and Brendan had left the Citadel while preparations were made for the marches to Rhiál and Montavia. Only after they were on the road, he said, did his brother reveal his true intentions of seeking an audience with King Cedric of Drumaya, hoping to convince the monarch to join in the fight for Rhiál’s freedom. The others listened with great interest about their encounter with Sorli and of Brendan’s suspicions of that man and the deer along the roadside.
“I guess my brother was correct,” he said after he recounted in grim detail the attack and astounding transformation of the stranger’s hand while in the cabin. Though William described Arileez’ appearance in extraordinary detail, no one at the table had ever encountered or heard of the likes of him before.
“A strange species of wizard, perhaps, or some vile sorcerer of the kind the world has never known,” guessed Eucádus. “But what troubles me most is how he found you–and why. What was the creature after?”
“I can tell you,” William said as he ate a forkful of roasted lamb and washed it down with some apple cider, scanning the three faces watching him in fascination. “Well, to a certain extent.”
“Please do, but in your own time,” Liana kindly said, offering a motherly smile as she gently touched his arm. She could tell by his strained expression and the tone in his voice that William had suffered deeply. She knew he would never completely recover from the horror he had witnessed.
William nodded gratefully for her concern. “I had taken an oath with others in the Blue Citadel not to reveal what it was that that thing who attacked us was after. However, I could tell you without technically violating my oath that it is something which might serve in our fight against Vellan. If certain people are successful in their mission to locate a particular person in an undisclosed place, well then, Vellan and some others might be in for a surprise.”
Eucádus glanced at Liana and Ramsey, trying to gage their reactions to what they had just heard, noting they were as perplexed by William’s words as he was. He sat back and rubbed his chin, not even trying to make sense of the particulars. “I would never ask you to violate an oath, Will, and I won’t begin now. But how does a mysterious mission to find somebody living who-knows-where tie in with the attack on you and your brother?”
“The man who killed Brendan assumed that we had the object to which I referred, to which I took an oath not to reveal.” He tiredly shrugged his shoulders. “Why he assumed that, I don’t know. And perhaps I never will.”
“A horrible case of mistaken identity,” Ramsey said.
“My brother and I were attacked twelve days after we left Morrenwood, so I can only conclude that the individuals whom that strange entity were really after are now far away and safe from his grasp.” William wondered where Nicholas, Leo and the medallion were at this moment and if they had yet located the wizard Frist. “At least in that respect, Brendan’s death was not in vain.”
“From what you told us, your brother fought and died valiantly,” Eucádus said. “You should be proud of him. He would have been a fine addition to the fight we are going to take to Vellan.”
“So you are going to confront him?” William asked. “I had suspected as much from what little I learned, but Ramsey did not give me many details about the lives or intentions of those in the Five Clearings.”
“He was just being cautious, as he should have been. But as you did learn that there are five of these communities,” Eucádus said, “Ramsey must have had an inkling that you were on our side.”
“Though I had no inkling that you were a prince,” he replied with a genial smirk.
“Still, I would like to know more of how the Clearings came into existence if it is not too much to ask,” William said.
“I shall be happy to tell you,” Eucádus replied as he refilled each of their cups from a wooden pitcher of apple cider. “All of us living here and in the other Clearings are from the three mountain nations currently under the cold shadow of Kargoth. Ramsey hails from Linden, closest of the three to Vellan’s border, while Liana and I call Harlow our home. We now all reside inside the protective borders of the Ebrean Forest for these past seven years.”
“Why?” William asked.
“It is not because we prefer it,” Ramsey said, “but because our lands have been turned into shells of their former, independent selves. Our leaders have allowed this to happen, whether out of fear, greed or outright collaboration with the enemy.”
“Vellan essentially commands the destiny of our countries,” Eucádus continued, “including our trade, our armies and the very movements of the people themselves. His so-called advisors have been accepted into our governments, willingly or not, after violent attacks had been staged throughout the trio of nations, killing many people and destroying homes, businesses and farms. And though Vellan’s Enâri troops cross our borders at will to raise havoc from time to time to achieve his aims, it is only a matter of time before they flood across permanently and take up dwellings where they will.”
Ramsey nodded, the distress on his face palpable. “Our informants tell us that Enâri raids are becoming more frequent to ramp up fear among the people.”
“You communicate with people back home?” William asked.
“Of course. We have a network of spies. From time to time some of us have even returned to our homes for short periods under cover of darkness to promote our cause and recruit more members, but not without risk.”
“Some of those who have spoken out against Vellan’s tyranny at home have been killed or disappeared,” Eucádus informed him. “But instead of fighting back, those in power have made excuses for the dictator inside his mountain in Del Norác to keep what measly positions and privileges that Vellan allows them.” He noted the look of disgust upon William’s face. “So years ago, after fruitless efforts to change the situation in the Northern Mountains, a movement slowly took root. Many of our people escaped and regrouped here in the northern Ebrean where we could flourish and grow unbothered. Our Clearing, known to its residents as the Star Clearing, is the oldest and northernmost of the five. The others take the names Oak, Fox, Pumpkin and Haystack.”
“And each has its own leader,
too?”
“Correct, though we coordinate with one another on decisions affecting all the Clearings. We keep in regular contact as our goals are identical–namely, to defeat Vellan and free our respective homelands.”
“When will that push begin?” William asked.
“The day after tomorrow,” Eucádus said. “At least that is when our mechanism will be set in motion. But we will not be confronting Vellan directly, though that was our original intent for many years. As you learned at the war council, the political landscape has changed in recent days. We now shall take the fight to Vellan in a more roundabout way.”
“By confronting his supporters in Maranac and defeating King Drogin,” William said with enthusiasm, recalling King Justin’s plan.
“Exactly. You have arrived at a most interesting time, Will. Our troops will leave the Star Clearing at dawn and hike to Drumaya and meet with King Cedric. We’ll get his final word on whether or not he’ll join our march to Rhiál. If you recall, there was a man at the war council who was King Cedric’s representative. I had spoken to Osial before you and your brother arrived.”
“I remember the name,” William said.
“Anyway, he had promised to speak to King Cedric to convince him to join our cause. I sensed that the ambassador was more with us than against us after we had had our say, though just barely.” Eucádus shook his head as he drank from his cup, still plagued with doubts. “We’ll find out shortly if we have another ally in the fight. Otherwise, we march alone to Rhiál. We must make a stand with or without Drumaya’s assistance.”
“You will not be totally alone,” William said. “King Justin shall ride to Rhiál, too. He will bring with him a formidable force.”
“Indeed he will,” he replied with an encouraging smile, “though the numbers that ride with him will be lessened now that Prince Gregory heads to Montavia with part of the army to free your homeland. But since you claim that some mysterious mission is underway that might benefit us all, well, that gives me added hope.”
Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web (The Complete Epic Fantasy) Page 56