Avalyne Series 01: The Queen of Carleon

by Linda Thackeray

  The guard took a moment to grumble at the inconvenience of the situation. True, the women had to be helped but the guard had been on a mission too. A mission that was not as urgent as the quandary the noblewomen found themselves, but it still important. Still, being one of the watch guard meant ensuring the safety of travellers in the realm and the fate awaited the two women if something was not done would be worse than death.

  Returning to the campsite because it appear the captives were going nowhere for now, if this rescue was to take place, the guard needed help.

  It was time to see how resilient the folk of the Green really were.

  *******

  Celene appeared still as the night while her fingers worked deftly on the final knot behind her back. She had closed her eyes in concentration, focussing singularly on the purpose of freeing her hands. Arianne watched her surreptitiously, appearing anxious for the benefit of their captors and keeping their attention on her by asking questions that they were ignoring. Celene knew that she could not keep up the charade indefinitely because Berserkers were not known for their temperament. While they may not be prepared to kill either of them for fear of losing their ransom, the vile beasts were still capable of inflicting untold horror upon them.

  Suddenly the Berserker leader who questioned them earlier stared at Celene, his eyes narrowing in malice when he realised that she was up to something. Celene felt her heart sink with disappointment as the knot came apart in her fingers but would do her little good because she had been discovered. He cried out to the rest of his comrades as he strode towards her and Celene was filled with dismay at the realisation that her hard work was for nothing. If they did not kill her for what she had done, they were certainly going to tie her up again and she would be right where she began.

  ‘Do nothing,’ Celene commanded Arianne, forgetting for an instant who was Queen and who was not. ‘Do not interfere with them on my account.’

  ‘Do not ask that of me!’ Arianne cried out desperately as Celene stood up to face the Berserker coming towards her while the two guarding her brandished their swords in preparation for the order to run her through.

  ‘Escape,’ the Berserker sneered malevolently, his voice a throaty rumble. Upon reaching her, he gripped her arm to confirm his suspicions that she had been attempting to escape. ‘Escape is pointless.’

  He raised his sword, readying himself to deliver a blow that while might not necessarily kill her, would disable her and ruin any chance she had of making another escape attempt. Celene wanted to run but she knew the weapons of the other two would end any flight before she even had a chance to take a step. She braced herself for the pain and felt anguish rise from the depths of her soul that she had failed her queen so utterly. However, she would not go down easily and not before making him sorry he had ever taken them prisoner.

  However, there was little chance for the Berserker to do anything because at that moment, a horse burst through the bushes, carrying a rider on its back as it landed a hair’s breath beyond the reach of the fire. Once his eyes and that of his minions turned to face this new threat, Celene acted swiftly. The edge of the palm slammed into the creature’s face and forced him to drop his sword, which Celene liberated swiftly enough before she tore open his belly with one swipe of the weapon. When the others heard the death cry of their leader, they turned back to her. Celene slashed at one of them while the other was halted in his step by the bolt of a crossbow.

  Suddenly jumping out from behind one of the snow covered bushes was Keira, obviously working in concert with the rider gave her distraction she needed to steal into the camp. Carrying the same sword that Celene had given her, Keira burst into a smile of gratitude at their well-being before taking advantage of the chaos to reach Arianne. The approach of a Berserker prompted Celene into action and she ran forward, intercepting the foul creature before he could accost the lady of the Green. Swinging her blade with precision, she slashed at the Berserker’s chest, cutting through his leather tunic and spilling dark blood against the greyed snow.

  ‘GET TO THE HORSES!’ The rider astride the mare ordered, raising the crossbow to take aim at the Berserkers again.

  ‘Come on!’ Celene urged Keira who had resumed cutting the ropes that bound Arianne as she dispatched another Berserker.

  ‘You don’t have to tell me twice!’ Keira declared, wincing as she saw Celene cut down the enemy before turning to help Arianne to her feet.

  Arianne stood up, shaking the remnants of the cut ropes from her wrists as she turned around and hugged Keira in relief. ‘We did not know what happened to you! We thought you were dead!’

  ‘I was lucky, I was thrown from my horse and rolled into a little ditch that was just deep enough to hide me from the Berserkers.’ She explained as she took Arianne’s lead and sought out their horses.

  Their mysterious rescuer was still holding the Berserkers at bay, continuing to fire bolts from the crossbow and cutting down their numbers. Astride the mare, the watch guard did not remain in one place long enough to be unseated. Nevertheless, the Berserkers would start to regroup and even though only a few of them were left now, it was time for them to leave.

  ‘You can talk later!’ Celene barked and hurried towards the horses. Keira and Arianne did not argue following her closely, reaching the horses in good time as Celene waited for them to mount, ensuring that they were not accosted by Berserkers as they climbed into the saddle. Once they were safely astride their horses, she did the same since the Berserkers were more interested into the watch guard who continued to be the centre of attention.

  ‘Let’s go!’ Celene shouted as she dug her heels into her horse and the animal bolted forward.

  Arianne did the same and the horse broke into a powerful gallop across the campsite. A Berserker attempted to pull her out of the saddle but Arianne kicked out, smashing the ball of her foot against its mouth and feeling its teeth crumble underneath. The Berserker staggered back and Arianne dug her heels into her horse with even more strength, forcing the mare to move even more quickly. The horse thundered forward, following Celene’s mount as they crossed the camp towards the woods.

  Looking over her shoulder, she made sure Keira was following and was relived to see the woman keeping pace with her horse. Upon seeing their escape, their mysterious rescuer broke off the engagement with the remaining Berserkers and joined them in flight. Leaving them behind, the women rode into the forest with the swiftness of the wind. Arianne heard the swoosh of an arrow and leaned out of the way as it sailed past her ear and embedded itself into a tree.

  Arianne did not know how long they rode through the night, aware only that they were putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the enemy while they were doing it. The forest with its thick trees had shielded them from the ravages of the snow storm that was such an obstacle at the Splinter. However upon emerging into the open air, they were once again lashed by the strong winds and snowfall. Fortunately as the Berserkers did not ride, it was unlikely they were pursued and their rescuer took the lead, appearing to know the terrain with some familiarity.

  Shortly before dawn, they were led to one of the many watch guard stations that were built along the Baffin Road to provide travellers with shelter for them and their horses.

  Arianne was grateful when she finally dismounted her horse and led them exhausted animal out of the wind and biting snow. The elements had taken its toll on all of them and their silence as they settled in for the night, revealed their exhaustion. Arianne did notice that their rescuer had the slightness of frame and figure that was distinctly female.

  ‘We are in your debt, lady,’ Arianne said as she helped Keira bring in their bedding while Celene started a fire in the fireplace.

  ‘Yes,’ Keira agreed. ‘You saved us all. Me first and then the rest of us. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come upon us.’

  Keira had awoken to find herself in the company of this stranger who had apparently tended the wound o
n her head and taken her out of the snow when the Berserkers had overcome Arianne and Celene. Spit only knew how she had managed to move Keira without being seen by those loathsome creatures but Keira was grateful that she had. After leaving her to recover, the stranger had tracked the Berserkers back to their campsite and determined that Arianne and Celene was alive. By the time she had returned, Keira was awake and anxious to find a way to help her companions.

  Fortunately the watch guard had a plan on how to do that and upon deciding to play decoy, provided Keira with the opportunity to sneak into the Berserker camp and free the Queen and the Lady of Gislaine.

  The watch guard who was rummaging through her satchel, glanced over her shoulder at the words of thanks and stood up, lowering the hood of her cloak as she faced them for the first time.

  Long, black hair spilled forth, framing a face with lightly bronzed skin and eyes of brown. Both Celene and Arianne stared at her with surprise for she was certainly not from a race of men that was familiar to them. Keira had expressed similar surprise when she had revealed herself to lady of the Green during their formulation of the plan to rescue Arianne and Celene. Like her companions, Keira had never seen anyone who looked like this either.

  It was not simply that her skin was dusky but her features were decidedly exotic. Arianne had heard Lylea speak of humans who lived on the other side of the Burning Plain that swore fealty to Balfure but desert had kept them from crossing over in Carleon. Was this watch guard one of those folk? In any case, she was a long way from home. Arianne wondered who her people were and was genuinely curious to learn where she had come from.

  ‘There is no debt my lady,’ she said to Arianne, head bowed slightly in respect. ‘It is my duty as one of the watch guard to ensure that travellers are able to go about their business in safety. However I must confess that this is the first time that I have ever had to rescue noblewomen travelling alone. With the Berserkers roaming wild after Balfure’s defeat it is not wise to wander alone. Should you not have escorts?’

  ‘We have business that requires stealth,’ Celene retorted, bristling with annoyance that everyone seemed to think they were incapable of fending for themselves because there was no man amongst them.

  ‘Then I would suggest you exercise some prudence,’ the woman retorted. ‘What happened back there could have been worse if I had not stumbled upon you.’

  ‘We would have found our way out of that predicament,’ Celene said defensively.

  ‘Yes,’ the watch guard responded with no small amount of sarcasm. ‘I saw how well you were finding your way. Another minute more and your problems would have been ended permanently.’

  ‘Come on,’ Keira interjected before tempers flared. ‘We just escaped Berserkers without any of us getting hurt or killed. I’m tired and hungry and the last thing we need to do is argue about this. Celene is right, we have important business to deal with that requires some discretion but we’re also grateful at what you did for us.’

  Arianne smiled at Keira’s ability diffuse the situation by discarding all the other nonsense that came from the clash of personalities. ‘And I second that,’ Arianne said supporting Keira’s efforts to move past the moment. ‘We are thankful for your assistance. We need to cross the Baffin. If we cannot go through the Splinter, is there be another route that we might take?’ Arianne asked since this watch guard seemed to know the area.

  Relaxing visibly and shedding the tension of the moment, the watch guard offered a conciliatory nod at Celene who returned it before she answered Arianne. ‘There is something preying on the travellers in the Splinter. Many have died attempting to cross there. However, there is an old goat herders trail half a day’s ride from here that will allow you to across the mountain safely. It’s not widely known but I think your horses will make it through if you travel carefully.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Celene said, feeling a little less tense now that they knew there was an alternate route across. ‘Do you know what happened to the people in the Splinter?’ Celene asked.

  ‘No,’ she confessed. ‘But I have seen the bodies and I did not remain long enough to find out what killed them.’

  ‘That is probably wise,’ Arianne could not disagree with that course. ‘Can you lead us there then?’

  ‘I can lead you to the trail but that depends on where you need to go,’ she looked at them in question, wondering where these noblewomen were headed to risk such danger as travelling alone.

  Keira did not bother trying to hide their destination after this stranger had saved their lives. ‘We are travelling to the Frozen Mountains, we need to get there well before the next full moon.’

  ‘Keira!’ Celene protested, uncertain whether or not she wanted the woman to know that much about their destination.

  ‘Look, we’re already delayed and if she wanted to kill us, she would have just left me in the snow and you two to those Berserkers. We’ve done all we can alone and we’ve almost been killed twice. We need to being smarter about this or none of us are going to get there in one piece.’

  ‘I know but..’ Celene started to say when Arianne cut her off.

  ‘You are right Keira,’ Arianne said with sigh. ‘We have almost been killed twice and we cannot continue to keep stumbling through the dark, hoping we don’t step on a wyvern.’ Turning to the woman, Arianne spoke to her. ‘Keira has told you where we need to be. Can it be done?’

  The woman frowned and replied after a moment’s thought. ‘It is going to take some doing. It is a long journey and very little time in which to make it. Might I ask what is the purpose of such a trek?’

  ‘It is safer if you do not know,’ Arianne replied before Celene could. ‘Except that it is a matter of great importance.’

  ‘It must be,’ the Watch guard countered, ‘if the Queen is making it.’

  Arianne stared at her. ‘You know who I am?’

  Celene stiffened and reached for her the hilt of her sword but Keira who was standing near her, touched her hand shook her head. She honestly believed this watch guard was not a danger to them and may even prove useful to their quest.

  ‘Yes,’ the stranger nodded, ‘I was at Sandrine for the King’s coronation, I saw you at your wedding.’

  ‘Then you will help us?’ Arianne asked, her distrust of this watch guard waning because a woman who was willing to rescue strangers from the hands of Berserkers could not be entirely without honour. Furthermore, this watch guard seemed capable of defending herself like Celene and that to Arianne was a resource they could not squander.

  ‘It is my duty to help my Queen,’ the woman bowed in. ‘You and the Lady of Gislaine.’

  ‘Well I’m here too,’ Keira snorted in mock hurt although she was glad to see an accord of some kind had reached between them all so that they could get moving again.

  ‘My apologies my Mistress Furnsby,’ she apologised with s smirk, aware that this was the proper way to refer to the mistress of a household in the Green.

  ‘Call me Keira,’ Keira corrected, never liking to be addressed so formally.

  ‘And as you know who I am, I would prefer you call me Arianne,’ the queen said to the Watch guard. ‘This is Celene and what do we call you?’

  ‘Melia,’ she replied finally. ‘My name is Melia of the Nadira.’

  ‘Welcome to our quest Melia of Nadira,’ Celene said wryly, her hand no longer on her sword. ‘Let us hope you do not live to regret it.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  MELIA'S STORY

  Their new companion, Arianne, Keira and Celene learned, had been a watch guard since the restoration of the kingdom.

  They knew she came from beyond the Burning Plains, across the desert where the men who had dared to cross that parched land had settled when they had found fertile ground. Lylea had spoken of kingdoms with such exotic names as Rayan and Chaldea while Melia herself admitted her people were called the Nadira. Unlike the elves or dwarves, men had an insatiable need to explore and Arianne could very well believe they wer
e willing to slip beyond the reach of the known world to conquer new frontiers.

  If this Melia had come from those faraway lands than she had been travelling for a great many years.

  Arianne knew that Dare appointed many watch guards to protect the lands surrounding the Green from Berserkers or any other threat that might befall that gentle race. Before the war hardly anyone had known about the existence of the villagers in the Green. Since the defeat of Balfure, the revelation that a couple from the Green had given refuge to the future king might be vulnerable to remnants of the shadow lord’s army who wished to revenge for the part it played in the king’s ascendancy. As result, watch guard towers were establish near the Green and each tower had a cohort of guards who patrolled he area and kept a vigil on those lands.

  However, with the end of the occupation, people were travelling freely from one end of the kingdom to the other. No longer afraid to visit other cities and free to leave Carleon’s borders for other lands, people were embarking on lengthy journey’s across the kingdom. Furthermore, with commerce and trade being re-established between Carleon, Angarad and Lenkworthia, it seemed that the watch guard’s duties were being expanded to include the protection of these travellers.

  It may well be that in the future, the reach of the watch guards could be much expanded over Carleon.

  What quest had brought Melia to this part of the world however, was something she felt no inclination to reveal. She did explain that shortly before the war against Balfure, Melia joined the defence of Cereine and served with a captain who would become one of the watch guard when it was over. He had invited her into his ranks and Melia accepted. Her duties usually found her assigned to the eastern face of the Baffin but on occasion, she crossed the mountains to attend to business of her own.

  It almost seemed like Fate’s Arrow had directed her to be where she needed to be to help them escape the Berserkers.

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