by AS Hamilton
'Wait a moment,' Sariah said, frowning briefly, her father had mentioned a rebel who was a superbly-skilled archer. 'Were you one of the rebels who extracted my father?'
Sarre grinned. 'Which time?'
That made Sariah arch her brows. 'The last time…' she replied uncertainly.
'When Malithorn had him? Yes, I was there.'
The warrior smiled. 'Then I have heard of you, but never by name. My father told me several stories that included an archer of 'exceptional skill' and, 'more raikiwa braids than sense',' Sariah related with a smile.
'Ah, yes, that is definitely me,' Sarre confirmed.
Sariah found she liked him immediately.
Using a command of will, Sarre opened a second door set in the far side of the chamber and gestured for Sariah to enter first. Then he took the opportunity to give Brynn a hug.
'It has been a while, inalla,' he murmured, releasing Brynn and stepping into the larger room before Brynn could object to being called 'little one'.
'I am taller than you now, you do know that,' Brynn retorted following behind him.
It lifted Brynn's spirits to see his friend. Sarre was Kanya-beyen, which was what the golden-skinned elvan called the group of islands when they first settled there. In their culture they wore their hair shoulder length while growing their braids to the waist. Sarre had well over fifty braids swinging about his belt and all along them were raikiwa beads. Beneath the cloak, the archer was wearing black, multi-pocketed pants, like Brynn's, and a black long-sleeved tunic. When Sarre raised his hands to push his hair back, Brynn could discern an armguard on each forearm, both would have crossbows built into them. Sarre was known as 'the Archer' as he could use any kind of bow ambidextrously and with faultless accuracy. A swath of black material was wrapped diagonally about his waist underneath the heavy belt. Brynn knew that beneath that fabric was Sarre's courting belt. A courting belt was a series of fine, interlinked chains with sections of crystal beads. The sections of beads were made by females and given to males as an offer of courtship. Sarre rarely left the belt behind because it was his only connection to his family. When he was undercover Brynn knew Sarre kept the belt in a leather roll. But then Sarre would also take his braids out too. That both were in place at the moment was not surprising, Sarre insisted on putting in his raikiwa even if it was only for a short time. The archer told Brynn that when other elvan saw him, the raikiwa and courtship belt reminded them of who they once were, what they fought for, and that they were still strong. These small things, he said, made it possible for their people to get through such challenging times.
Brynn's gaze moved over the room. Octagonal in shape, it was sculpted out of actual rock. The minerals in the creamy-coloured rock glittered from the polished surfaces. To one side was a 'u' shaped cooking area. Nothing interrupted the polished pearl-coloured bench-top, but Brynn knew that there were doors in the bench and along the wall that a flicker of mind-will would open, giving access to the various appliances within. The wall opposite the cooking area was occupied by a long bench seat that extended along the side walls. It had thick cushioning in a dark orange that matched some of the sparks of minerals glittering in the stone walls. Tables were set in the space in front of the long seat, each one resembling a tree, with stools and chairs carved in similar shapes.
'Sit. We need to talk,' Sarre said gesturing to the table area.
Brynn found himself smiling, as he noted that Sariah took a seat on the padded bench in the far corner, allowing her to survey the whole room and the entry. He, too, chose to sit on the padded bench and found that the subtle curve in the cushions supported his back, which ached a little from all the riding he had been doing. The tables were made of a white wood streaked with an orangey colour similar to the cushions. Whoever had sculpted this room had focused on making it seem light and open and the details, such as matching the colours made it seem less like an underground bunker and more like a home. He found that comforting — it was something familiar in a world he found foreign and daunting.
Two more rooms were positioned opposite the entrance. Through one open door Brynn could see a row of beds, the plum colour of the blankets matching another of the minerals in the rock. The other door was closed.
'Infirmary,' Sariah said, noting the direction of Brynn's gaze. 'It has two healing stations and more beds. Most of the time when we come here, we have wounded.'
Sarre made a sound that Brynn interpreted as agreement with Sariah, but that he also thought 'most of the time' was an understatement.
'Oh, that reminds me, the infirmary is occupied,' Sarre added casually.
Brynn raised his brows with interest. 'Anyone I know?'
Sarre smiled. 'Yes, and, no. He took care of you for a short while when you were about a turn old, but not since then. His name is Leyhera—'
Sariah straightened up. 'The journey-walker?'
Sarre's smile broadened to a grin. 'Indeed.'
'I have not seen a journey-walker in some time,' Sariah said. 'Why is he in the infirmary?'
'Nothing serious. He was brought here because this is the last place his pursuers will expect us to put him. But he will have to be smuggled out. And soon.'
Brynn said, 'So while you were here, and since you had some time on your hands…'
Leaning against the bench in the cooking area, Sarre raised both hands. 'Oh, I had nothing to do with extracting him. Linuk gets that credit. But she was forced to change her plans.'
'Linuk was here?' Brynn asked.
Sarre nodded, unclasping his cloak and hanging it by the door. Next, he took off the material about his waist, revealing his courting belt.
'She hardly ever travels out of the valley. Linuk is one of my tutors,' Brynn explained to Sariah. 'So you are here to assist Linuk?' Brynn asked.
Sarre inwardly squirmed at the question, but he had to be honest with Brynn. 'Actually, my presence is not due to Linuk's activities…'
Brynn waved away the explanation. 'Belon and Linuk thought I could use a nursemaid. Great!'
Sarre understood Brynn's frustration, he and Kassan often ended up in arguments with Belon and Linuk about letting the younger mages gain real life experience. Keysjhon always stayed sensibly neutral, but even he had to admit that, at some point, they had to let the younger mages learn when to use their talent and make decisions, or mistakes, on their own.
'It will not always be this way,' Sarre consoled.
Brynn shook his head. 'I know, I know, ' he sighed. 'My youth makes them apprehensive.' His tone was not as convincing as he would have liked. He did not want to appear petulant in front of Sarre.
'As it turns out, though,' Sarre continued, 'Linuk has need of me, so I will not be fulfilling the supervisory role they intended. Linuk was going to take Leyhera with her, but ended up having to lead pursuers away, so I will escort him to the rebel base just outside Sal-Cirus before I return to Ancoulan.'
'How did you get away from Ancoulan?' Brynn asked, knowing that it was difficult for Sarre to leave his undercover position as the human mage, Regen, for very long.
'I told Nathan that there were journals here that might reveal The Prophecy to him.' Sarre turned back to towards the bench and used his mind-will to access the balessia machine, which slid out from its compartment in the wall. The device filtered water through ground balessia and cocoa beans to create a spicy chocolate drink. 'I made reference to the journey-walkers from the House of Falkon-kai– '
'Leyhera's house,' Brynn observed.
'Indeed. It was a happy coincidence, actually, but I find it helps to lie through partial truths— harder for Abbarane mages to detect.'
'If there is such a journal, why have we not taken possession of it?' Sariah asked.
A cupboard door slid open and Sarre removed three cups. 'If it ever existed, House of Falkon-kai will have it stashed away.' Sarre turned back to address the two elvan behind him, 'All the houses hid their treasured possessions, our house included. Although, Tiengara hid mostl
y those inventions we did not think we could afford to have Keldon exploit. By Fate's hand, there are caverns under the Tiengara ranges that house all the carriages for the transport network.'
'Is that where all the weapons went?' Sariah wanted to know.
Sarre's expression did not change, but his tone did, ever-so-slightly. 'What weapons would they be?'
Sariah's red-gold eyes narrowed. 'The weapons used early on in an attempt to repel Keldon's forces.'
Sarre gave the warrior a tight, brief smile. 'Such rumours are false.' Sariah looked about to object, but Sarre held up a hand. 'There were designs. I know, my parents took possession of them. House of Tiengara is a house of innovation and invention, thus, ours was the burden to monitor weapon designs and ensure they stayed within the ruling of the original founders. That ruling being that weapons were to be restricted to meet the same levels of advancement as surrounding countries.'
'Burden?' Brynn questioned.
'The pressure was immense to actually build some of those designs, especially when Keldon first invaded.'
'But you never did, why?' Sariah asked. 'I mean, I concede, there are risks, but if those weapons were applied through the right strategy, it could have tipped the balance. Even now, they might be the difference between continued enslavement and freedom.'
'Can you imagine,' Sarre asked in return, 'what it would be like if every Abbarane soldier had sophisticated weapons that could kill from a distance? If the average Abbarane solider had the ability to use talent, they would all be outfitted in armour like yours, which would be bad enough, but imagine adding advanced weaponry to that. It would allow them to kill with an ease too terrible to contemplate.' Sarre turned back to the bench, removing some canisters from a cupboard that slid open as his hand came close to it. 'The Abbaranes are without conscience, as I am sure you well know.' Sarre paused, the sorrow in his tone intense. 'I certainly know it. My sister was killed first as Keldon tried to persuade my parents to build weapons for him. I was the spare, the one Keldon would let live. But Keldon underestimated our commitment. My parents purposely attacked him, forcing him to kill them and giving me the chance to escape. Many feel like you, Sariah, and do not agree, but the Crown, their heirs, and the council all agreed that the restriction on weapons should stay, and so it did.'
Brynn saved the warrior from having to respond, turning the subject back to the journals. 'If there are no journals, what will you tell Thane Kennelm? His temper is vicious enough without provocation.'
'Oh, I have journals,' Sarre said, injecting a lighter note into his tone. He paused to pour a half scoop of balessia beans and cocoa beans from each of the canisters into the top of the balessia machine. The machine automatically started grinding, depositing the grounds into a compression chamber and, after compressing them, poured hot water through the grounds, delivering the brew into the cups Sarre had placed beneath the dispensers.
Sarre continued explaining as he watched the machine do its job. 'It is just that the journals I find will not be of any use to Nathan. I will waste as long as the rebels need 'translating' them and, ultimately, they will not be the correct journals. But then I made no guarantees they would be.'
Sarre moved to the cooler set flush with the wall. 'Who would like fresh cream?' he asked as one door shifted out and slid open, dispelling the illusion that it was a part of the wall.
'Two spoons, please,' Brynn said.
'I am fine without,' Sariah replied.
Sarre carried the drinks over on a tray, placing Sariah's cup in front of her as well as a wide bowl of water. Sariah lifted Kaydyr off her shoulder and onto the table for a drink. Sarre put the tray in front of Brynn before taking a seat at the end of a table opposite them. The archer cradled his cup with both hands and inhaled the spicy-chocolate aroma with his eyes closed in contentment.
Picking up a silver stirrer from the tray, Brynn stirred in his cream. Some elvan, like Sarre preferred to let the cream melt into the brew. Brynn noted that the stirrer and the silver frame encasing the glass had the same design; vines with flowers and berries from the balessia plant.
'When will you approach Toormeena?' Sarre asked Brynn, placing his cup on the table.
Brynn did not get the chance to answer as Sariah did a quick double take. 'You do not intend to extract Toormeena, do you?'
Sarre half rose, gesturing for Sariah to be calm. 'Be assured, neither of us intend to free Toormeena, we know such an attempt would endanger her. Brynn just needs to have a conversation with her.'
Sariah's jaw snapped shut. All emotion vanished from her face and then a frown gradually formed. She tilted her head towards Brynn, Kaydyr also tilting his head in unconscious mimicry of her actions. 'You said Sarre was especially skilled at extraction.'
'He is,' Brynn's smile elicited a deepening of Sariah's frown. 'If you recall, until we got to Sal-Cirus, I did not know Sarre was here.'
His assurance did not cause the warrior's expression to lighten. 'Yes, and if you recall, after you sensed him, you made a comment that 'your companion' was just the person you would have wished to be with you had you possessed the knowledge of Toormeena's location before setting out.'
'Oh, yes, that. I did not have Toormeena in mind when I said that, but I was, indeed, referring to Sarre's extraction experience.'
It was Sarre's turn to frown slightly as he settled back in the chair, shifting to rest his ankle upon his other knee. 'This is not part of the plan mapped out at Caradon.'
'Instincts.'
Sariah looked mystified, but Sarre understood the ambiguous response. He was the one to counsel Brynn to listen to his instincts. It had helped Brynn progress his training instead of becoming stalled by the self-doubt he found consuming him under Belon's and Linuk's scrutiny. And Brynn had proved many times that his instincts were well-honed.
'What are these instincts telling you?'
'That I have a better chance of a conversation with Toormeena if military and mages are both preoccupied by, say... a missing harem.'
Sarre picked up his cup, and spent a few moments gently swishing the contents as he considered the idea. 'That is going to be risky, with many lives made vulnerable.'
'It is achievable, if we keep it simple. No direct attacks or mind-will, just illusion and subtle influencing.'
Sarre looked up and raised both brows. 'Explain.'
'According to your reports, Nathan has been siphoning enlisted soldiers and mercenaries from all the cities to search for the prophecised elvan his mages have told him is coming. Under such circumstances, it would not be remarkable if Nathan requested another contingent of soldiers.'
'So far, I agree,' Sarre answered slowly.
'The harem is kept just above a barracks,' Sariah breathed.
'Yes, a wondrous convenience in the soldiers' view, I am sure,' Brynn said. 'One that will also serve us, because that means there will be more than enough uniforms for the seventy-odd women in the harem.' Brynn could not hide his excitement as he added, 'Sariah also pointed out another marvellous convenience for the soldiers…'
'The main stables are not far from the barracks,' the warrior said in response to Sarre's questioning look.
Her words elicited a smile from Sarre. 'Convenient, indeed.'
'Indeed,' Brynn agreed. 'You and Sariah have the women change into uniforms, march to the stables, and then, with the help of some fake orders, get them out the gate.'
'Are you two are actually considering this?' Sariah's tone was doubtful. 'This is more likely to end in a fight than succeed.'
'What!' Brynn exclaimed, 'Surely a warrior who can put her blade to the throats of sleeping slavers desires to see freedom granted to these captives.'
He was obviously goading her, still Sariah was not entirely convinced. 'And how is this going to empty the city of soldiers?'
'My guess,' Sarre said, 'is that once we have the women somewhere safe, he will do a controlled alert.'
Sariah groaned. 'I should have guessed that. I already
told Brynn there's a rebel post about two hours from here.'
'That you did,' Brynn confirmed. 'So once the women reach the base, I will prompt a guard to check on the harem, thus triggering a search and emptying the city.' Brynn looked at Sarre. 'You said you need to get Leyhera out, you could take him with the group.'
Sariah's expression was still sceptical. 'And where will you be while Sarre and I are getting the women out?'
'I will remain here. I need to concentrate on the guards I plan to influence as well as the illusions I will employ. I also intend to watch the elvan mages that work for the Thane of Sal-Cirus, just in case.' Brynn was pleased he sounded more confident than he actually felt, as any trace of nervousness would put Sariah off.
It was a big risk. The biggest he had ever undertaken, but he was determined to prove to Linuk and Belon that he was capable of these kinds of tasks. But Sariah must agree, because she was the key. Because her spirit was combined with Kaydyr's, the mages monitoring Sal-Cirus would not be able to identify her as elvan, nor would any illusion he placed over her trigger any mage-set wards. If he were to influence the minds of the soldiers looking at her to perceive her as a human male, that would be different, mages would see that. But if all he did was reinforce their existing inclinations while laying the actual illusion over Sariah, any mage looking for rebel interference would not detect it.
After a long pause, Sariah said, 'It just might work.'
She managed to make the statement without sounding too cynical and Brynn's relief turned to elation. They were actually going to do this!
'You should probably not remain here,' Sarre said thoughtfully.
Both Brynn and Sariah turned enquiring faces to Sarre.
'You should never use talent in isolation in enemy territory unless you have no choice. A crowd makes it easier to hide. I recommend you go to a tavern, they are open late and filled with people. In fact, there was a place I used to go when I was assigned tasks in this division. I think it's still around because I have heard others mention it off and on.'