Alyssa looped her arm through Meric's and started marching forward once more. It was not a long walk to the Keep, and even before they had cleared the buildings, the walls around her home could be seen. As she expected, they were met on the road not long after they passed beyond the last house. Her brother was leading the detail of guards, and he was dressed for trouble. He had filled out some since she had last seen him, and looked comfortable wearing the dark brown, leather brigandine and the sword belted at his waist. The confusion on his face as he looked over their party disappeared in a smile when his eyes finally fell on her. Charles was off his horse in a flash and met her halfway in between the two groups, wrapping her up in a hug. He was a little taller than she remembered, too.
"Alyssa! How... what..."
The laugh could not be contained at the ridiculous look on his face, but she took pity on him and cut it short. The rest of her group had closed the distance while she greeted her brother and she turned to make some introductions.
"Meric, you remember my brother Charles?"
"Indeed I do. It is good to see you again, my Lord."
The youngest Camden waved that greeting off, and shook Meric's hand.
"Never Lord to the man that saved my sister's life. It is just Charles, and it is good to see... you..."
Her brother trailed off as Barsta stepped forward and offered a slightly deeper bow than before.
"Greetings. Barsta of Dovinhall. It is an honor to finally meet you. Alyssa has spoken of you often. May I presume to call you Charles as well?"
"Uh... Of course. A pleasure to meet you as well."
Alyssa felt that the rest of the introductions could wait, so she decided to take charge and get them moving.
"We can finish this later, Charles. We have been on the trail for many days. We need refreshments and rest. Lead the way."
Her brother shook off his surprise well, grinned and looked at Meric.
"She has always been this bossy, you know." Charles dodged a swipe from her and moved over to his men. "Harold, will you lead my horse back? I will walk with them."
The senior Freemont guard nodded and took the reins, but before he could move off Alyssa called to him.
"Harold. These three are prisoners and need to be locked up somewhere until Commander Vettor, or Captain Bridgewater can discuss them with Captain Hiller." Alyssa waved at all of the appropriate people as she spoke of them.
The Lieutenant signaled to two of the men with him and the bandits were taken into custody. With that out of the way, Alyssa turned once more for home.
#
Freemont Keep was modest in size compared to some of the other Noble Houses. Her ancestors chose quality over ostentation, and built it with a mind toward defense, yet still retaining an aesthetic look. The outer stone walls were high and sturdy, but once you moved past them you found a sprawling house with only two stories. Instead of building up, they built out. The house contained abundant rooms; many were for comfort and leisure, but there were plenty for function also. Armories, barracks, utility for the staff. All in a layout that was designed to be efficient, but also deadly to anyone foolish enough to attack them.
Alyssa's party strode down the long hallway from the main entrance and passed by displays of beautiful sculptures and paintings, flowers arranged in expensive vases and a few elaborate tapestries. All things that would catch your eye as you moved down the lengthy passage, and many helping to hide secret doors to hidden rooms connecting to the barracks on either side. There could be forty armed men mere feet away, waiting to attack should the need arise. Thankfully, there would be no need on this day.
Alyssa entered the main drawing room at the same time as her mother came in from the east wing. Neither stopped as they approached, and Alyssa was caught in a hug tight enough to make her ribs creak. Her mother held on for a moment more and let out a relieved sigh before letting go.
"I have missed you, my Little Angel."
Alyssa blushed at the childhood name she had not heard in so long, but was too happy to care. She had also missed her family, and did not care that her eyes were misting up as well. Too much of a high-born Lady, her mother did not make her other guests wait too long before she welcomed them. Once again Barsta stepped forward and introduced herself before continuing on.
"Lady Elena, I am honored. I have very much looked forward to meeting the woman that raised Alyssa. She is a remarkable young woman, and you should be immensely proud. Her poise and acumen when addressing my King and Council were essential in convincing them to agree to this delegation and mission. Reopened relations between our two people was something that many Dwarves have desired for some time, but believed was still a long ways off."
Alyssa's face was surely a bright red at this point, and she started to wonder if it would be considered rude if she left. Meric's hand on her back halted that line of thought, but she still eyed the exits. She carefully avoided looking at her brother, but knew he would be teasing her mercilessly later.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lady Barsta. I have always been very proud of both of my children, but it still brings my heart joy to hear of her accomplishments. I am quite certain that if someone else did not tell of them, I never would."
Alyssa had turned away from the group and was busy studying the room to see if she could spot any changes, though it was more to give her time to collect herself. Meric stood patiently next to her, also looking around the room. He gave no indication of his thoughts as his gaze shifted, except to smile at her when their eyes finally met. By the time she made it back around to her mother, Elena and Henry were the only ones left. Both her mother and the long-time staff member were smiling.
"You know, your brother never wavered from the belief that you would be returning safe and sound, but I do not think even he expected to see you here."
"I doubt anyone could have. Our new friends came up with an alternate route for us to travel. Instead of having to chance coming back through hostile Rennick lands, they brought us through the mountain tunnels on an ancient Dwarven trade route that exits in northern Glendon. We traveled a nearly straight line south to here. We will need to leave for Dallena tomorrow or the next day. Resupplied and with some horses and wagons if you can spare them?"
"Of course, dear. Though I wish you could stay longer, I understand. There is so much to tell you, and I know you need to refresh after being on the trail for so long... We can talk more later, but there is one thing I think you will not mind taking a few more moments to listen to." Elena smiled again before speaking, but also pointed to the house staff and looked at Meric. "Meric, would you please allow me a moment with my daughter. She will let you know everything I am about to say later, but I would like to share this news privately."
"Of course, my Lady." He smiled at Alyssa and followed Henry out of the room. Her mother continued right away, thankfully, before Alyssa's imagination could come up with too many terrible scenarios.
"The King has made public the knowledge of the Gifted Order, and informed all that the laws punishing those for merely having the Gift have long ago been abolished. You do not have to hide who you truly are anymore."
Before her words could fully sink in, a teary-eyed Elena wrapped her up in another hug. Soon they were both crying, laughing and hugging even tighter. No more secrets, no more lies to her friends, no more hiding. There were so many more implications from that bit of news that would be much farther reaching than the impact on her own personal life, and she knew that this may even cost her some of the few friends she had that were not privy to her status, but still... it felt so freeing.
#
Instead of telling Meric her news right away, she had asked for one of the staff to send a message to his room telling him to go ahead and take the time to clean up. After cleaning up herself and then spending an hour catching up with her mother, she got dressed and went in search of Meric. She had found the new uniform the Queen sent extras of to Freemont. Queen Briannah knew that she kept sp
are clothing at her childhood home, and sent a few of the new Gifted Order uniforms to Elena just to keep in her old rooms. Her thoughtfulness made Alyssa extremely happy now. Even though she knew wearing the uniform could be put off until they reached Dallena, she was not going to wait. This new development in her life was going to be fully embraced.
Before Alyssa's mother had left to send word to Dallena about their return, Elena told her all about the new clothes, explaining the two options women could choose from. The top was the same either way; a dark-grey silk tunic that tied at the throat and hung to mid thigh. The shirt was embroidered in gold at the collar and cuffs with the Marten Falcon. Over the tunic, went a royal purple with gold trim uniform tabard proudly displaying the Marten Coat of Arms. The tabard also had a golden disk pinned above the left breast as a symbol of her Order. The choice , both in black, came for the bottom; there was an ankle-length skirt that could be worn with the tunic tucked in, or you could chose the leather pants with the tunic hanging loose. She decided on the skirt for the evening and would switch to the other for when they traveled again.
Staying with her comfortable black boots, she took one last look in the mirror and made for the door. She strode down the hallway in good spirits, glad to be home, however short the stay would be. Alyssa almost collided with Shaya and Charles at the corner stairwell, but they were able to stop at the last second.
"Alyssa... you startled me."
"Shaya. Where are you two headed?"
The Dwarf maiden's cheeks flushed slightly while Alyssa's brother just grinned.
"I found Shaya exploring and offered to be her guide," Charles replied.
"Of course you did. Somehow you always seem to find yourself with the prettiest girl in any group. What is next on the tour?"
Shaya blushed even deeper and started spluttering. Alyssa cut her off before she could get too far. She knew the woman was way too old for her brother and would never do anything untoward. The Dwarf may have been shy, but she was also straight spoken and would have corrected Charles immediately if he attempted any real flirting.
"Relax, Shaya, I am just teasing my brother. It has been way too long since I have had the opportunity."
Shaya looked slightly mollified, and explained what they were doing.
"We were looking for you, actually. As much as we have spoken about where you grew up, I thought you might want to join us. A few of the others are waiting downstairs. Barsta was not joking about some Dwarves wanting to speak to your craftsmen. Thanin, Davic, and Enber are particularly interested in heading back to the village."
"Actually, Thanin will want to stay here. The blacksmith is located inside the walls at the east end of the bailey. He does more work for our House than he does for the village, so father let him set up shop here."
"Ah, I did not realize that was what he was looking for. What about the others?" Charles asked.
"Enber is a healer, so... the apothecary; I am sure he and Jennifer will get along. Davic will probably want to talk to the Mark about carpentry. As for me, I need to speak to Meric. You all have fun."
They both shrugged and turned to follow her down the stairs, but they went their separate ways at the bottom. As she went along, Alyssa waved and even accepted a few hugs from the people she had grown up around. It was nice to be back, and would have been nicer still to spend a week or so here. That was not to be, however. They would be leaving the next day, and she would likely stay busy for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, her mother and brother would accompany them to Dallena, so she would have some more time with them. There was no way to know what the future would hold, so she would just try to make the best of it.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Arriving in Style
It was an interesting week that passed as they made their way to Dallena. Thankfully it was more Woodard's kind of interesting, than Brody's. Meric had enjoyed the trip to a certain extent. They left Freemont with an extra ten guards, all wearing the Freemont livery, in addition to a fancy carriage, several wagons and enough horses for those that could ride. The Dwarves would be walking. This was stated clearly and with a challenging look from Fastil when Brody opened his mouth. Somehow, Brody kept his comment to himself, and only mumbled a half-hearted comment about keeping up.
As it turned out, that was not a problem. The carriage and wagons slowed them enough that when coupled with the Dwarves impressive stamina, the party was able to keep close together and organized. The Dwarves did concede to loading their supplies into the carts, helping to make the journey easier on them, even if they did not want to admit it. Each of them had carried a pack that would have overburdened the Humans on the long trek from the mountains. The strength and toughness of their new friends was never in doubt, having seen them fight, but the Dwarven race was a proud one.
Meric switched between riding with Humans and walking with Dwarves, enjoying the easier traveling conditions that allowed all of them to relax a bit. With the addition of the Freemont troops, and being able to travel on the major road to the capital, the week went much more smoothly than the trail-less path they had forged on the way south. The cold weather was still not enjoyable, but being able to move faster and huddle up in layers when riding helped.
The truly interesting part was seeing the varied reactions to the presence of the Dwarves. In the mornings and evenings, or on the two days it snowed, their shorter companions snugged up their fur cloaks and looked almost like over-bundled children. These times only produced odd looks and a few questions. On the days when the sun shone bright and hoods were thrown back, many people stopped to openly stare, point, and shout even more questions. Dhuren and his people took it all in stride, again keeping a good attitude about it and even having a laugh at some of the passers-by.
With the House of Camden's colors in abundance, including the Freemont pennant riding at the fore, they were never really given much trouble. Even when they stopped for the night at the various inns along the way. They had spent the first night on the trail at one of the bigger farmsteads at the edge of Freemont's holdings, but the closer they came to Dallena the more frequent villages and towns became. Most of them were small compared to cities like Dallena, Correnta and Seegrin. However, the road turned into one of the major trade routes and small villages had popped up along the way, providing inns and numerous smaller trading opportunities. The Dwarves were enjoying themselves, it seemed, and often took advantage of any stops the party needed to make. To keep down on any fear or possible trouble, there was always at least one Human with them, and whether any were from Meric's original group or not, one of the liveried guards from Freemont was present.
This was the way it went up until they closed in on the capital. Instead of pushing on ahead and arriving late in the evening, they stopped at the last small village before Dallena so the Dwarves could clean their armor and prepare to make an impression.
#
Dhuren looked at his warriors with pride. For a moment he imagined hundreds of his people lined up in ranks, looking like the shining examples of Dwarvenkind that now stood before him. It was enough to make his chest tighten. The red scale armor with charcoal colored trim shone brightly in the early morning sun. Every piece of metal on every Dwarf was polished to a high sheen. Weapons and shields (if any) received the same treatment. Even their boots were cleaned and treated with a black paste-like substance Shaya had produced with instructions to coat on thickly and let it sit overnight, giving it a good polish in the morning. The results were boots that practically looked new, and almost shone on top of the toe. Beards were precisely braided (which Brody highly approved of) and helmets snug. They were as ready as they would ever be.
There were only a few differences to the uniform look of the Dwarves. Since Astus lost his helmet to the Corrupted drake, they offset this by having him carry the standard with the King's flag. The red field with the black hammer and mace was reinforced by the uniforms, and Astus' red beard and hair seemed to fit in well. The other excepti
ons were the three nobles of the group. Dhuren's own armor was emerald green scales with a dark grey trim, proudly displaying the colors of Vostenhall. Fastil, who had equal right to wear those colors, had instead chosen to go with the King's. As was also his right as a former Guardian, he wore his old uniform. It was identical to the men before them, but with the scheme switched; charcoal scale and red trim. Barsta, though a skilled warrior in her own right, chose to keep to her role of Ambassador and wore rich amber, dark green, and white robes. She carried a ceremonial staff of office, and her blond hair was arranged in numerous braids, three of which looped down to her waist and back up.
"That is quite a sight, my friend." Meric had moved up alongside Dhuren, and looked truly impressed.
"I thank you, and must agree. May our enemies quake in their boots."
"Hear, hear," Meric replied.
"Well... is all ready?"
"It is. James sent one of the Freemont guards ahead as a runner. There should be no interference on our route, other than the crowd. Four of Lady Elena's people will lead the way with their pennant flying, so that should keep the way clear of onlookers. Just follow them to the keep, and we will be right behind you."
The group was forming up in front of the inn, and had already drawn a crowd of onlookers. Even as they were preparing to leave, the numbers grew. Most of the people gathering to watch had already seen the Dwarves the night before in the common room of the inn. Knowing it might be the last chance to get in some revelry for the foreseeable future, Dhuren had ordered the innkeeper to keep the ale coming. Lady Camden had, in fact, chosen this particular place to stay because of his people's love of drink. This inn's own brew was a favorite of her husband, and Brody had reassured them that it should meet with their approval, having sampled it himself before. Their new friend had not lied; the brew was different, but still very good. They had gone through all three barrels that were ready to drink. After checking to ensure Dhuren was serious about keeping the ale flowing, the innkeeper sent his son out to buy a few barrels from other brewers. Not as enjoyable, but passable all the same.
An Adept's Duty: The Scepter of Maris: Book Two Page 23