“You saved us from the priest’s cage, so we are even,” Dostin replied without thinking about it. “How do you know about Telgra? Do you know the short man and the heavy one who are helping her?”
It took Mikahl a moment to figure out that the monk was talking about Phen and Oarly. “How could you know about them?” he asked.
“Corva saw the tracks and told me it was a big, heavy man with little feet and a really short man who helped her into a boat.”
“Corva is an excellent tracker then,” Mikahl nodded. “That’s exactly what happened. She is on her way to Dreen with two of my most trusted friends. Should I give her a message? I will see her later this day.”
Dostin scratched his head and thought about it. “Tell her to wait for us in Dreen. Corva and I will come along as soon as we can.” He glanced at Corva. “Is he going to be all right?”
“Aye,” Mikahl nodded. “He’ll come around. I will tell your friend Telgra to wait for you. If you stay put until a boat gets here, you should be safe. Tell Corva I said thank you for his help and that he is welcome anywhere in my kingdom, as are you, mighty Dostin.”
Mikahl laughed at his choice of words. The brave monk was mighty.
He looked at the sky. The sun was starting up into the day with vigor. “I’m off, my friend,” he said. He checked to make sure that the broken Spectral Staff was still lashed to his back, then he drew Ironspike. At once, the bright horse appeared under him, and in a single rising leap he was off.
He flew straight to Low Crossing and ordered a boat to be immediately sent to pick up Dostin and Corva. “Treat them like royalty and escort them directly to King Jarrek,” Mikahl ordered. “Tell him to have the monk and the elf escorted to Dreen as soon as possible.”
The boat captain gave a head bow and promised to comply with his orders. After that, Mikahl was on his way to Dreen where his young queen waited.
“Where are we?” Corva asked after he fluttered his eyes open and saw that they weren’t near the ceremony grounds and it was broad daylight. His head had a throbbing, egg-sized lump on it. His fingers discovered how tender it was when they found it.
“Oh, hello, Corva,” Dostin grinned happily at the elf. “We’re waiting on a river boat right now. Telgra is on her way to Dreen, and we are supposed to see King Jarrek for help getting there. The High King says that we get to stay at his castle. He says that he owes us for helping him.”
“Shhh,” Corva hissed with a half grin on his face. Dostin’s voice made his head hurt worse. He'd always wanted to see the great city of Castlemont. The elves who had seen it all agreed that it was a wonder to behold. The idea that he was about to betray his Queen Mother, though, wasn’t lost on him. He decided that even she had to agree that if Telgra was in Dreen, he had to go get her.
Dostin loaded grass on the fire. The pillar of smoke it created was reassuring, but the amount of insects and strange noises around them kept them uneasy. When the old river boat finally arrived, they both found they couldn’t wait to get on it.
Chapter 13
Phen was too heavy to ride a horse so they had to take a horse-drawn wagon from Fork to Dreen. The only wagon available had just been used to haul a load of fruit to the docks at Fork. The bed was sticky and pungent and was drawing insects. Luckily, the farmer put Phen on the bench seat in the middle. He drove his two-horse team from Phen’s left, and Karee road under her hood on Phen’s right. Oarly was too drunk to mind the bed of the cart.
Phen offered to pay the farmer handsomely for the trip, but the man wouldn’t hear him.
“It’s my pleasure to give Marble Boy and his companions a ride,” the farmer replied proudly. “My boy Brendley was sacked at Seareach by those Dakaneese bastards. A ride is the least I can do for you, sir.”
During a rough section of road about halfway through their journey, they were jostled to and fro dramatically. The driver looked back over his shoulder to the wagon bed and cringed. Nervously, he nudged Phen, who followed the farmer’s pointing finger with his eyes.
Phen burst out laughing at what he saw. The farmer visibly relaxed and continued urging the horses along.
Oarly was out cold. Phen couldn’t contain his mirth as the jolting motion of the wagon tossed the dwarf around. Oarly’s hair, beard, and every inch of his clothing was matted with sticky fruit juice and bits of leaves and debris. A swarm of bright yellow bees hovered around him like a cloud.
Karee chuckled quietly when she saw. “At least he won’t smell like a goat now.” She gave Phen’s cold hand a squeeze.
“Aye,” Phen replied. “We might have to shave him to get all of that out of his hair.”
They arrived at the low, but seemingly endless, red block wall that surrounded the city of Dreen. It was just after dark, but the gate guards let them in with no questions. Once they recognized Phen, they all saluted. Karee watched with sleepy eyes as they rode past street after street of low built one- and two-story red brick structures. She asked through a yawn why they were built so far apart.
“See the fences between the homes? During the day, those pens are full of horses and cattle. Some still are.” Phen pointed at a large yard full of cows. “The whole city’s commerce is based on horse flesh. It’s probably the biggest city in the realm, but it has far fewer people than Xwarda or Seaward City.” Phen looked at Karee to see if she was still listening, and found her nodding into sleep against his stony shoulder. He hadn’t even felt her lean against him. A few long hours later, they finally reached the castle’s palisade wall. By then Phen was fighting sleep as well.
The fatherly look of concern on Lord Gregory’s face when he quietly escorted Karee into the castle was overpowering.
“Phen, you should never leave without telling someone where you're going or what you're about,” the Lion Lord scolded. The man’s gaze made Phen feel a visceral sort of fear. “Now let us take in this elven girl who has caused such a stir.”
Phen looked at Lord Gregory inquisitively. “How did you know I was traveling with an elven girl?”
“The same way I know that master Oarly is going to sleep in the hay barn until we can get all that muck washed off of him.”
Karee chuckled at that then peeled back her hood.
Lord Gregory had traveled, for a time, with the elf Vaegon and had attended many a Summer’s Day festival where the elves dominated the archery competition. He was still taken aback by the wild look of the girl.
“Lord Gregory, may I present Lady Karee,” Phen said in a somewhat official manner. “Lady Karee, this is the famous brawler, Lord Gregory. He’s also known as Lord Lion, or the Lion Lord.”
“That’s enough, Phen,” Lord Gregory said. “I was told that her name is Lady Telgra.”
“It is!” Telgra exclaimed with a happy clap. “I’m sure of it.” Her tired gaze evaporated and her look became serious. “Who told you about me?”
“The High King returned from the Isle of Salaya earlier this evening. He would have greeted you himself, but he is already in his bed chamber.” Lord Gregory looked at Phen and grinned. “After relieving the high priest of his life, he was exhausted.”
Phen started to say something, but Telgra cut him off. “But how does he know my name?”
“She can’t remember anything about herself,” Phen explained. Phen was a little disappointed, but it wasn’t the fact that she would not be going by the name Karee now. It was the news that King Mikahl had killed the priest who had turned him into a statue. That man could have reversed the spell on him. It was a last-resort hope that he had been holding on to, just in case the Leif Repline fountain didn’t restore him. Now it wasn’t even a possibility. At least the bastard could do no more harm.
“…told the High King about you,” Lord Gregory was explaining to Telgra. “A monk named Dostin and an elf named Corva. Both helped the High King kill the priest and regain possession of the staff he was using to wreak havoc. Dostin sent word with King Mikahl for you to wait here for them.”
“That is six days away at best,” Phen told her.
“How soon are you leaving for the Leif Repline?” she asked.
“I’m not certain.” Phen looked at Lord Gregory. He knew he and Oarly had been ordered to report because of Hyden Hawk’s message, but he didn’t know why yet, or what the message was. Suddenly, it was all that mattered to him. Hyden Hawk was his closest friend, as close as a brother to him. His change of demeanor must have shown, for Lord Gregory clasped him on the shoulder and chuckled.
“King Mikahl will speak with you in the morning regarding your journey. I will speak with you more after that.”
“I’m going with Phen,” Telgra said a little more forcefully than she had intended to. “The Leif Repline might help me remember who I am.”
Phen put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
“No one will try to stop you,” Lord Gregory assured her. “But if you go with Phen, you’ll likely miss your friends.”
“Then I will miss them,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t remember them. I want to know who I am without people who claim to know me asserting their influence.”
Lord Gregory thought about that a moment then gave her a nod. He didn’t tell her that her friends would not be told where she had gone if she went. The location of the Skyler Clan village wouldn’t be handed out to them no matter what. Instead, he smiled kindly and urged them toward the castle.
“Queen Rosa wanted to greet you personally, but she and the king have retired, like I said. I’ll escort you to my wife, lady. She will help you find a bed and someone to tend your needs. Phen, you must rest and be ready to attend council in the morning.”
The Lion Lord led Telgra up the stairway. About halfway up, he paused and turned back to Phen. “I already had stablemaster Wade gather up Oarly.”
Phen started toward the kitchen but remembered that he couldn’t eat or drink. He couldn’t really sleep, either, not physically. He ended up in his small downstairs room, where he washed himself with a wet cloth, then laid back in his bed and let his mind drift.
He thought about Karee, or Telgra, the beautiful elven maid who was a good archer and had dreamed about him once. He found, though, that wondering what Hyden Hawk had to say in his letter dominated his thoughts. He missed his friend. For a long time he’d thought Hyden dead, but after the High King’s wedding, a mysterious gift from the Skyler Clan gave them all hope.
Phen laughed. Hyden was such a horrible spell caster, yet the things the man accomplished without so much as trying to use magic at all were spectacular. Hyden always joked, in a self-mocking sort of way, that he was a great wizard, when in actuality he was. Not the sort of flashing smoke and lightning type of mage, like Pael, but a wizard of a far grander scale. Once, with only a suggestion, Phen saw Hyden start a series of events that led to thousands of Wildermont slaves being freed.
Hyden had also tricked the Dragon Queen out of her first dragon and then set it free from the magical collar that bound it. Claret had helped defeat Pael, and then recently saved Phen and carried him into O’Dakahn and destroyed the Dakaneese army. All of that, just because Hyden Hawk once helped her.
Phen was still thinking about all of it when a knock came to his door. He got up, opened it, and was surprised to see people bustling about in the corridor beyond the dark-haired, long-bearded Cresson.
“The High King awaits you,” Cresson said with a sheepish grin. “They are in the council hall. You can break your fast there.”
“No, Cresson, I can’t,” Phen said with an ironic smile. “I haven’t eaten in months.”
Cresson nodded and walked away. Phen followed him to the council chamber and was surprised to see Queen Rosa and Lady Telgra leaving the room giggling.
“Oh, Pin,” Queen Rosa said. “She is a delight.”
“You’ve never told me all the things you did for your queen while she was a hostage,” Telgra said with clear admiration showing on her elven face. “You really are a hero.”
“The best hero in all the lands,” Queen Rosa said with a kiss on his cheek.
When Phen finally was inside the room, he found he was hiding his face as if he were blushing.
“As your friend, Phen, I’ll say this,” the High King said after the door was closed and bolted. “It is good to see you back safely. Later, I want to hear your tale. Master Oarly has already told me some of it, but he couldn’t tell all due to some sort of oath he said you’d sworn.”
“Where is he?” Phen asked. A sharp look from General Escott reminded him with whom he was speaking. Phen just shrugged back at the man. Mikahl had said they were speaking as friends, not as a king and subject.
Mikahl laughed. “He’s at the pump house being sprayed down. While I was going through my morning routine, he came stumbling out of the hay barn. I almost killed him because he looked like some kind of wild creature.”
“Aye,” Phen chuckled. “What of Hyden’s letter?”
A few sets of eyes fell on Cresson then, but the mage’s expression stayed blank.
Lord Gregory harrumphed at the High King.
“We will get to that.” Mikahl’s tone had changed. “Now Phen, as your king, I will say this. You are an important and integral part of this kingdom. Disappearing without notice is inexcusable. A note to me saying that you were departing and couldn’t be specific would have saved us all, especially Queen Rosa, a whole lot of needless worry.”
Phen waited for more scolding, but it didn’t come. Instead, Mikahl pulled out a scroll and read Hyden’s letter to them. By the time he was done, Phen was head over heels with excitement. He couldn’t believe that Hyden Hawk was going to go with him to the Leif Repline fountain. He should have known, because Talon would need the restorative powers as much as he did. He wasn’t very thrilled about having a four-man military escort, but at least King Mikahl agreed that Telgra could go with him.
Just when Phen decided that things couldn’t get any better, he was told that the party would leave on the morrow. By the gods, he had a lot to do. Gathering the books Hyden wanted, and his own texts, would take hours. Mikahl made it clear that they would stay at the Skyler village for the roughest winter months. The High King explained that it was far too late in the year to try to go all the way to the fountain before spring.
After the meeting was concluded, Phen found Oarly by the barn, still fighting a persistent bee and picking leaves and twigs from his tangled hair.
“Give me the emerald,” Phen said.
“Emerald?” Oarly’s expression went completely blank.
Phen could tell that something was amiss. “The emerald we took from the Serpent’s Eye cavern. I gave it to you before that blasted thing tried to eat me. Remember?”
“I… uh… I sort of remember,” Oarly stammered. “I thought I gave it back to you once we was in the boat.”
“There was a storm raging down on us when we got back into the boat. I have no pockets, Oarly. I know you didn’t give it back after we washed up in the marshes.” Phen’s anger was plain.
Oarly realized what had happened then. He took two steps back, to get himself out of Phen’s range. “What do you need it for right now, lad? We’re about to go on another quest.”
“I’m going to have it mounted on a staff while we are gone,” Phen explained. “It should be ready for me when we get back. It is a rare and powerful magical gem, you know.”
“You will have to wait until we get back,” Oarly said, taking another step away.
“Until we get back?” Phen took a step toward the dwarf.
“I thought it was a rock poking in my leg back in that marsh where we washed up.”
Oarly bolted away as fast as his short legs could carry him. Looking back over his shoulder he called, “I pulled it out of my pocket and left it there.” By then, he was moving at a short-legged dead run toward the safety of the castle gate.
Chapter 14
Phen was forced to spend a good part of the morning mapping and notating directions to wher
e Oarly had left the emerald. He decided that the dwarf was impossible. Hopefully the magical jewel would still be there in the mud when he had the chance to go back after it. His mind was alive with other thoughts, though. The idea that they were going to cross all the way out of the Giant Mountains into unknown lands was wildly exciting. Hyden’s letter said that there was something there that would banish the hellspawn forever. That also meant this journey might take a very long time.
According to Phen’s best calculations, based on the various maps he'd studied, it would take them more than three months to cross the mountains. The jagged peaks and bitter cold were inhospitable at best. Not to mention the numerous legendary creatures that supposedly lived in the depths of the range-mammoth shagmars, unfriendly ice dragons, and the mystic and deadly dread wolves were just a few of the monsters they might encounter. Plus there were mountain trolls, orcs, and night stalkers. There were also razor-toothed snow worms, fog wraiths, and all the creatures he had studied under Master Amill and Master Sholt back in Xwarda. There were countless tales of adventurous groups of men, just like their own, that had gone off into the depths of the mountains never to return. These stories had been told over campfires for thousands of years. Even the giants, whose entire kingdom was within the range, didn’t go to some of the deeper places.
By the time Phen had finished making his maps, and collecting his and Hyden’s texts, he had a pile too big for him to carry. He had to find King Mikahl and see if they could take a wagon to Hyden’s village. With cold weather gear, rope, supplies and weapons, and the huge pile of books, they would need twenty pack horses if they couldn’t.
Oarly was coming out of the council chamber as Phen approached. The dwarf put up both hands, palms out in a show of supplication. “I’m sorry about the emerald, lad,” he said gruffly. “I truly am.”
“It’s all right, Oarly.” Phen gave a sincere smile. “It’s just a trinket, in the scheme of things. You’re my friend, and we can find it when we get back from this journey.”
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