"Saint Leander works in mysterious ways," Celos called out to Aleena.
Without breaking stride, Aleena grunted from the strike of a club glancing off her shoulder. She slapped the ogre with the broken spear shaft she held and then drove her sword between his ribs. She caught a glimpse of the figure and stiffened. Moonshine bumped into her, knocking her to the side and saving her from a strike from an ogre-wielded axe.
She jumped back to her feet and searched for the newcomer but couldn't see through the ogres. She frowned and glanced over her shoulder to see the knights holding their own against the distracted ogres. She nodded. "We can do this," she said. She turned to Moonshine and leapt upon the fighting unicorn's back. She grabbed her mane with one hand and raised her sword with the other. "We will do this!"
She urged Moonshine into the group of ogres and let her sword fall on the first one to come close enough.
Chapter 25
"This is Dragonfall?" Alto said as he stared down the valley at the chaotic sprawl of streets and partially constructed buildings. He wore a chain hauberk over a soft leather shirt and pants, gifts of Baron Highpeak before they set out for the mountains. It seems that Alto's broad shoulders continued to make finding plate mail that fit him a difficult task.
"It's, um, nice?" Namitus offered.
The withering looks from the others made the rogue clamp his lips shut.
"Stand ready," Alto warned as he loosened his sword in his scabbard.
Patrina swallowed and nodded on his left.
"You expecting a fight?" Carson asked.
"You've heard of how Sarya planned to sacrifice Patrina and me for her ritual to turn her into an undying silver dragon," Alto said. "I imagine being trapped in a statue a couple of years would make her anxious to pay back the people that put her there."
Carson nodded. "I'd be mighty upset if I were her."
Alto smirked and turned to him before saying, "I'll keep that in mind in case I ever need to put you in a cell."
Carson laughed. "You'd have to catch me first!"
Alto turned away from the grinning huntsman and saw Patrina was staring ahead at the mountain where Sarya had made her lair. Her eyes went to the flat top where the empty caldera lay open to the sky. It was where she'd been chained to a pole in preparation for the sacrifice before Alto had saved her and slain Sarya. "Are you well?"
She started and looked at him, a thin smile on her lips. "It feels like yesterday."
"You don't have to come with us," he offered.
"I do," she said. "I need to see her defeated once and for all. Maybe then my sleep will be untroubled."
Alto frowned. "You have trouble sleeping?"
She shrugged and said, "Sometimes," before guiding Winter to take her down towards the bustling city.
Alto watched her go, too stunned to move. Garrick rode up next to him and offered, "If you'd have spent a few nights with her, you might know that."
Alto's nostril flared and he turned on the grinning barbarian. Garrick shrugged and rode ahead after the Kelgryn princess. The former farm boy clenched his teeth and rode after, signaling the rest of his companions to follow them into the dragon's den.
The goblins and ogres working in the city glanced at them but paid them little mind. The men, most of them workers from Highpeak, watched and cheered as Alto and the others rode past. Alto found he had a smile on his face in no time and soon forgot Garrick's jest. The smile was short-lived, however. After traversing half of the city, a commotion ahead drew their attention to a couple of long buildings.
"What's going on here?" Alto asked as they slowed their horses and watched the men milling about the buildings. Many were injured or helping others who had been hurt. Several bore bandages fresh with blood.
One man looked up at them, a bandage across his head and partly obscuring his vision. He reached up to peel it back and squint as he studied Alto and the others, and then his eyes widened. "Fetch Sir Celos," he cried out. "Help has arrived!"
"Help?" Alto asked as he turned to his friends.
Karthor rode forward and threw his leg over his horse without saying a word. Alto stared at the priest in open-mouthed shock.
"Knights of Leander," Kar said. "And they've seen some fighting."
"Some fighting?" repeated a knight sitting on the ground and holding a bloody bandage on his leg. "We've seen weeks of it! We were all but done in when the forest answered Dame Aleena's prayer and came alive to help us."
"The forest came alive?" Carson asked.
Sir Celos emerged from a doorway and walked over to them, "Not the forest," he explained. "The animals. We were helped by a woman who calls herself a beastmistress."
"Beastmistress?" Mordrim snorted. "Sounds like someone Garrick should be courting."
Garrick turned back to the dwarf and scowled.
Celos ignored the interruption and continued. "The bears, wolves, and birds came to her aid and fell on our enemies so we could drive them back. A few escaped, including their leader."
Karthor rose up from where he tended to a man's wound and turned to Celos. "You fought ogres? I thought there were elves in the west?"
Celos frowned and glanced at the knights before he turned back and met Alto's gaze. The two warriors stared at each other for a long moment before Celos nodded and said, "Come with me. We can discuss these things in private."
"I will stay and help," Karthor said.
"We have priests tending to the wounded," Celos said.
"Then why are these men still suffering?" Karthor asked.
Celos turned to Alto, his eyes asking for help. Alto fought to keep his lips down and said, "Come as soon as you can."
Sir Celos spun away before Alto could return his attention to the man. Alto spurred his horse forward and then slowed the stallion to match Celos's walk. Alto studied the dents and stains on the man's armor for a long moment before he said, "You've seen a lot of fighting up there?"
A chuckle slipped out of Celos's lips. "As Sir Breknar said, we've been fighting for weeks. Months really, with a few short spells in between."
"I'm curious what could make the Knights of Leander take up arms against a peaceful nation," Alto said.
Sir Celos spun and looked at him, coming to a stop in the middle of the road. He opened his mouth but Alto raised his hand. "We can discuss it when we reach our destination."
"If you're speaking ill of the Knights, we'll go no farther!"
Alto stared down at the red-faced paladin and said, "Sir Celos, we've met before and you've always treated me little better than a criminal. I won't pretend to understand this, other than to suspect the cause has to do with Aleena."
Celos stiffened but Alto pushed on before the knight could reply.
"In our quest to defeat the Order of the Dragon, we have become privy to knowledge that calls into question anyone who has spent time here. You have been away for some time. Let me ask you, does it seem odd how people behave in this nation? In this city, in particular."
Celos stared at him until his left eye and cheek twitched. He let out a deep breath. "When we return from the battlefield, Aleena is full of fire to meet with Queen Rosalyn. A short time later her fire is aimed elsewhere."
"Aleena has always been a headstrong woman," Alto said. He bit his lip to cover the smile that threatened his expression. "If she has been influenced without her knowledge, she is not to blame."
"We are all responsible for our actions," Celos remarked. "She has always kept her faith close to her heart. Saint Leander has stayed with her through our trials."
Alto nodded. "I don't doubt that. It's good to hear, given what we've learned about—" Alto turned to look at the mountain ahead of them. "About things," he finished.
Celos turned to stare up at the mountain. His eyes narrowed and then he nodded. "Come, we will put this to rest."
"That would be good," Alto said. "I'd like to put our differences to rest as well. I admire your strength and conviction, Sir Celos."
Celos made a noncommittal noise and led the way up the road towards the mountain. They dismounted at the mouth of the tunnel into the cave and paused to look at one another. Garrick grinned and pointed out a few places.
"Killed the ogres here and the giant in there," Garrick said. He glanced at Mordrim and added, "You probably killed a few, too."
Mordrim snorted but he refrained from responding when Alto glared at both of them and then turned and followed Sir Celos into the mountain.
"Where are the giants?" Alto wondered aloud.
Celos answered without looking at him. "The queen has sent emissaries to them but those who returned said the giants weren't interested."
"Those who returned?" Kar chuckled. "Maybe the ones who didn't make it back were interested?"
"Kar," Alto growled.
"Or maybe," the wizard continued to think out loud as if he hadn't heard Alto, "they know that things are amiss. Goblins and ogres don't make for good friends, let alone when you add men into the mix. Giants are a smart lot, smarter perhaps than many here."
Celos marched on without comment. Alto glared at Kar and earned a shrug from the wizard. He turned away and glanced at Patrina, hoping to see a friendly face, but all he saw was how pale her cheeks were. The Kelgryn princess stared at the walls and the floor, her eyes darting to every nook, cranny, and passage.
Celos led them to the same cave that Alto had once taken to rush up into the mountain. The entrance was trimmed out in a door and the walls and floor had been smoothed. Celos opened it and led them into the passage and up the rising ramp it turned into. They arrived in a small landing, complete with doors and decorations. A lamp on one wall cast light on a mural on another wall. A bench sat between two doors, the leftmost one being the one that Alto knew would take them up to the caldera where he'd once battled Sarya.
Celos turned to the right door and opened it. "Dame Aleena should be this way," he explained.
Alto heard Kar's breath hiss in his throat but he ignored the wizard. He glanced at Patrina and saw the tautness of her cheeks as she clenched her teeth and stared ahead. Her eyes flicked to his, and her nostrils flared. She forced a quick smile and then stared at the paladin's back. Alto turned and stepped after Celos into the new passage.
They walked for a ways, ignoring other tunnels that intersected it. Mordrim grunted a few times and once Alto heard the dwarf mutter something about a new tunnel and poor digging. He ignored the sturdy warrior's comments and followed Sir Celos to an open door that descended down to a ledge on the side of the mountain. Several chairs were arrayed around a table where a brown-haired woman sitting in a simple tunic and pants was running a stone along the edge of a sword.
Aleena looked up and her eyes lit up when they landed on Celos. She shifted her gaze to the others and a smile grew on her face until she saw Alto. She lingered on him, her lips parting and a redness filling her cheeks. She rose slowly and turned to face them, displaying the dirt and blood on her clothing. Her plate armor was piled on the floor beside her.
"Alto!" she finally managed to breathe.
Alto saw Patrina stiffen out of the corner of his eyes. He forced a smile on his face and bowed his head. "Aleena, it's good to see you well."
She grinned and stepped forward, extending her hand and letting him bring it to his lips to kiss it. Patrina coughed lightly as Celos shifted and dragged his boot across the stone ledge enough to make some noise.
"Well, well, isn't this wonderfully awkward!" Kar observed. He chuckled and a moment later Namitus let loose a snort of his own.
"Awkward? Nonsense," Aleena said. "We're all friends here. It's Graak and his misguided ogres that need fear us!"
"Graak?" Garrick repeated, earning the attention of the others. "So it's true—he lives."
"Unfortunately," Aleena said. "How do you know him?"
"I tried to make a woman of him," Garrick said. "He slew kinsmen of mine, and I fought him. Left him wounded and I thought dead, but it seems I underestimated him. It won't happen again."
Aleena gasped. "It was you who injured him?"
Garrick nodded. "Some time ago now."
"Would that your stroke had been deeper," Celos said as he moved to stand at Aleena's side. "He's reverted to pillaging and murdering innocents. Dame Aleena has replaced him as the general of Queen Rosalyn's army and seeks to bring him to justice."
The companions turned to share looks with one another before they refocused on the two paladins. "General?" Alto asked.
Aleena smiled. "I'm not serving drinks anymore, Alto."
"You did fill out a serving girl's shirt well, though," Kar offered.
Celos growled and turned towards the wizard. Patrina coughed but Alto caught the smirk behind her hand. He sighed and looked at Aleena and nodded. "You deserve it," he said. "But I have to know what's going on here."
Aleena's eyes narrowed. "What's going on? What do you mean? I've shown my faith to Saint Leander and my prowess on the field. Queen Rosalyn has—"
Alto held up his hand to stop her and, after a few moments, she realized it and clamped her lips together.
"I said you deserve it," Alto told her. "I meant it. I believe in you, Aleena. I believe the strong-willed girl I once knew could accomplish something like this. What I need to know is what is going on with the elves and the ogres. And I want to meet Queen Rosalyn."
Aleena's shoulders dropped as she relaxed. Her features softened and she nodded. "I knew you'd understand," she said under her breath before she cleared her throat and turned back to where her sword and armor lay beside the table. She frowned and then turned back to Alto. "I'm hardly fit to visit the queen. Please, sit. You all look like you're fresh from the road. She's asked about you, you know. The Hero of the North. She's been quite interested in my stories of our time together."
Alto ignored the daggers he could feel Patrina's eyes hurling his way. "I'm hardly someone worth talking about," Alto mumbled. "As for the road, you look like you're not far from it yourself."
Garrick took Aleena up on her offer and walked around the table to pull out a chair and dropped his hulking frame into it.
"Careful," Kar warned as he moved to a chair. "There may be ogres here but that chair's not built for one!"
Garrick grinned and leaned back in the chair.
"It's true, we arrived just this morning. We were attacked by the elves and we went to negotiate; they attacked us time and again. It was war, but the cost of the war that Graak unleashed was inhumane."
Garrick snorted and when everyone looked at him he said, "He's an ogre without a sword—he's got to take out his anger somehow."
Patrina closed her eyes and shook her head at the barbarian's crude reasoning. Aleena's eyes widened and she forced herself to look away from Garrick. "Yes, well, whatever the reasoning, I came back and demanded he pay for his war crimes. He condoned the torture and murder of innocents. And worse, he watched and approved of—of acts too horrible to speak of. He probably committed a few himself!"
Alto nodded and waited for her to collect her thoughts before she continued.
"Queen Rosalyn agreed with me and offered me the job of being her general. She sent me back out to deliver the news and bring Graak to justice."
"But you haven't?" Alto asked.
She sighed and shook her head. "No, his men ambushed us time and again in the forest. We defeated them each time and continued to search, until he trapped us in what had once been the elves' capital city. They outnumbered us and all seemed lost until Leander sent us help."
"The animals of the forest?" Namitus asked.
Aleena tilted her head and said, "Yes. Why, did Celos mention it?"
Celos opened his mouth to reply but stopped and cleared his throat instead. He nodded back towards the tunnel that led into the side of the mountain to where a goblin was leading someone out towards them. She emerged onto the landing and looked around, and then blushed even as a massive rat and a brown and black mottled cat large enough for the goblin
to ride stepped out on either side of her.
"Perfect timing!" Aleena said as she turned to the woman who was dressed in form-fitting leathers. She looked uncomfortable with all the attention on her. "This young lady was sent by Leander with the gift of the animals of the forest to help us."
"Jethallin," Alto said with a smile. "We looked for you but heard you'd left."
Aleena's lips fell open. "What? You know her too?"
Chapter 26
Jethallin answered Aleena's question. "We met in Mira."
"She helped save us," Alto said. He glanced at the rat and swamp cat and added, "Didn't have any pets with her then."
"These aren't my pets," Jethallin said. "They're friends."
"Beastmistress," Mordrim muttered under his breath. He elbowed Garrick in the shoulder and winked at him.
Jethallin lifted her chin and looked at the dwarf. "Yes, that's what I've been called. I don't know how or why, but the animals and I understand each other. We help one another, and they helped to defeat the ogres after the ogres butchered the elves of the forest."
"Oh my, this is interesting." Kar lurched to his feet and stepped closer to her. "You talk to them?"
She nodded. "I do."
"And they talk to you?"
Jethallin glanced at the others and then shrugged her shoulders. "I, um, I can understand what their needs are."
"Fascinating," Kar mused. "I'm going to need to talk to you later, young lady."
Jethallin's nose wrinkled. "I wasn't interesting before but now I am because I can talk to animals?"
Kar nodded. "Pretty much, yes."
She snorted.
"Jethallin, where's Jennaca?" Patrina asked her.
Jethallin bit her lip and glanced to the mountains to the west. "I'm not sure. I—"
"Who's Jennaca?" Aleena broke in to ask.
"My daughter," Jethallin said.
Aleena's eyes widened. "You have a daughter? You're younger than my brother!"
"Yes, I do."
"No husband?"
Jethallin winced. "My life was difficult in Mira."
"I'm sorry," Aleena offered. "Mistakes can be—"
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