“We can,” Karlona acknowledged. “And don’t forget, we’re trying to go by Elves now, or Shadow Elves, so no one confuses us with the Bright Elves.”
Elves. It was a name to get used to, but one Jak kind of liked. It was an ancient word for ‘enhanced beings’ but also served as a tribute to Elva, one of the many humans who had given her life to save that of the Fae. Both the Bright and Shadow Fae had taken up the name for themselves.
“Of course, my apologies,” said Skellig. “Well then, I suggest we stay here for the time being. The Water Fae are comfortable, if perhaps confined, in the small inlet here. And we can easily defend the northern end if need be, since the pass is narrower.”
Jak nodded at the former Watcher. “Thanks Skellig, go ahead and do what you need to.”
Skellig gave a curt nod and began walking back to where they held Marek. Yewin and Karlona followed. Jak was about to do the same, before she thought better of it. She needed to think the situation through a bit before talking to Marek again.
She turned to Seph. “You haven’t said much.”
Seph ran a hand through his dark hair. “It’s a lot to process.”
“Do you believe him? I feel like you would.”
He squinted his eyes at her. “How so?”
Jak shrugged. “Well, you know, all that talk about dying and coming back to life with a mission. It’s not that much more far-fetched than your stories about finding a book of prophecy, or what you say about an all-knowing God.”
“The man died, Jak. Even he admits that probably happened. Since when has anyone returned from the dead?”
Jak closed her mouth. She had to admit he had a point there.
“Still,” he went on. “If there was a need for it, I could see God sending a messenger like him to guide us.”
“So you think he’s telling the truth.”
“Not necessarily. I just think we shouldn’t discount it. We live in a time of incredible change, a time where prophecy becomes history. We can’t make assumptions just because it’s an unusual situation.”
Jak nodded, and wrapped her arms around him in a soft hug. He hugged her back. She closed her eyes, letting the moment wash over her. Just minutes before Marek returned, they had shared a kiss. And it had been a good kiss too. Not hot and passionate, but sweet and innocent. And she had kissed him first, which had been exhilarating in its own right. But what really thrilled her was that he had kissed her back.
“So I take it this means we can...I dunno,” he trailed off.
She looked up at him, while still keeping her arms wrapped around his waist. “What?”
“I mean, you and Marek were close, right?” he said, rather sheepishly. “That isn’t going to...uh...complicate anything?”
Jak let out a soft laugh and leaned into him again. “Any relationship with me is complicated. But no, Marek and I never had that. He wanted it, I think. And perhaps in another life I might have loved him. But in that life we’d still be living in Riverbrook. He and I would have a farm somewhere, and it would be an unassuming, simple life.”
“And do you want that?”
She paused. It was a legitimate question. She took her time in answering. “There have been times when I thought I did. A simple life is also a good life, sometimes. And I would have had my father around. But I would never have met my mother, or any of you. Perhaps the Fae would have all died out or never formed in the first place. So no, I don’t think I would choose that life.”
“Even if it means your father would be alive?”
She broke the embrace, “Just how eager are you to get rid of me?” she said with one eyebrow raised.
He grinned, “I’m just more surprised that you’ve...that we…” He seemed unable to finish the sentence.
“That we kissed?” she said, with emphasis.
“Well...yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and still smiling.
Jak smiled back, but that smile quickly faded as her headache began acting up again. She put one hand to her temple and rubbed slowly, breathing out as she did so. Was it just her, or did she see the faint outline of a man again? Was Marek correct that she was seeing Cain? She had seen him once before from a distance. That time she had nearly died, bleeding out from a dagger wound to the gut. He had somehow spoken to her, though he had been a great distance away, probably in Mt. Harafast. Was that what was happening now?
“I’m sorry,” said Seph, his smile gone too as he observed her massage her forehead. “You’ve got a lot going on. We can talk about this later.”
Jak nodded. She wanted to talk about it with Seph, but now didn’t seem like the best time. Right now, they had some business to take care of.
Just then, a scout came running towards her. She recognized him as one of the Sightseers Skellig had ordered to watch the mountain pass. Upon seeing her, the scout ran in her direction.
“What is it?” she asked, her stomach fluttering. Was the queen coming for them after all?
“We have deserters from the queen’s army, Lady Oren,” said the young man. Jak winced at the name they had chosen for her, but she let the man continue. “A small handful left the queen and followed us into the pass.”
“That’s wonderful news!” Jak said, pushing past the young man. And it was. Just before entering the mountain pass, she had presented the army with a choice of staying with the queen, or coming to her and joining them, in exchange for multiple brands. It was a strong incentive, but one she wasn’t sure would actually work. Apparently it had.
“There’s only two dozen of them,” the scout said. “We confronted them about a mile back. But they’re cooperating.”
“Excellent, I’m going to meet them.” said Jak. At last, something she could be happy about. Something she could do. “Go tell Skellig and have her meet me there. She can bring anyone she likes.”
“Yes, Lady Oren.” The scout saluted and turned to run further into their camp.
Jak gave one final look at Seph. The young preacher was smiling at her. “Sounds like you’re needed, Lady Oren.” He spoke the title with a glint in his eye.
Jak scowled but smiled once she had turned away from him, and began jogging in the direction the scout had indicated. Time to see what these new recruits had to offer.
3
Just as the scout said, there were exactly two dozen soldiers from the enemy army. All of them had surrendered their weapons and waited patiently for Jak’s arrival.
“I’m glad to meet you, Jak. My name is Tennet,” said the leader once Jak arrived and they introduced themselves. “We had to wait until night time before we could safely leave. The queen gave orders that anyone who attempted to desert would be shot on sight.”
“And yet you still decided to come.”
“We’re not alone either,” said another of the soldiers, this one a woman. “But we knew we couldn’t all leave at once, not the way things are. So we chose to come first, to see if you...if you would make good on your offer.”
Jak nodded. “If you’re truly willing to join us, I will. Did you encounter any resistance in getting here?”
“Very little,” said the first man. “We snuck out, and they either didn’t realize we were gone until it was too late, or the queen simply didn’t bother. She spent most of the time before we left shut up in her tent anyway. We don’t know what she was doing there.”
“Well, in any case, we’re glad you decided to come. I know it can’t have been easy to leave your companions like that.”
“There are many of us who have long felt dissatisfied with the way the queen handles such affairs,” said the woman. “We only came because we were the only ones with no families that could be put in danger. We promised the others we would talk to you, see if your promise was genuine, then find them again.
“And we will do what we can to help with that. We already have several men and a few Shadow Elves that we sent to Skyecliff and Tradehall to recruit everyone who wants to come.”
The cl
ink of armor behind Jak signaled Skellig’s arrival. Jak glanced at the major, than back at the deserters. “I’ll let Skellig decide what we do with you in the immediate future. You’ll understand if we don’t fully assume you’re all here for honorable purposes.”
The others nodded. “We’re ready to answer any questions you have. Hopefully we can earn your trust.”
“You’re already well on your way there,” said Jak. “Just remain honest and we won’t turn anyone away.” Thoughts of Marek surfaced in her head. Would they turn him away? She put that out of her mind and turned to Skellig. “I’ll leave it to you then.”
Skellig nodded, and Jak began running back to the main camp. There was something exhilarating about all of this. She honestly hadn’t anticipated anyone from the army would actually come join them so soon. If anything, she had just made the offer to make them think twice about attacking. But to see them come, that was an encouraging sign. Perhaps there was still hope for their little band after all.
Though her positive thoughts had one dark streak to them. Marek. He was the biggest obstacle thrown in their path, and unexpected. Sure, it would be simple enough to just drag him along with the rest of their company. What was she going to do about him?
The next few weeks passed rather painlessly. No more soldiers from the queen’s army appeared, but she trusted that there were more that simply needed added assurance.
It didn’t take long before Skellig cleared the new arrivals as trustworthy. It then became Jak’s job to fulfill her promise, that of giving each of them multiple brands. She started by only giving them one brand at a time. That was partially to keep her own strength up, but also so she could meet with each of them multiple times, and get to know them better.
And from what she could tell, it was working. They were adjusting well, even after the pain of desertion. Each of them knew their decision was a good one, but that didn’t keep them from feelings of guilt, like they had betrayed their comrades. But Jak and Skellig, as well as the other members of the council, did what they could to ease the stress. For most, that meant giving them a chance to return and find others willing to join them. Skellig eventually let them do so. They were to meet at pre-arranged locations around Skyecliff and Tradehall, to coordinate the desertion of their fellow sympathetic comrades.
It would not be an easy task, though. They had already risked a lot by joining Jak, and the queen would have loyalists on the lookout for any Fae sympathizers. Jak would have gone with them if she could, but her skills were needed elsewhere.
After waiting several days more for other deserters, the council decided it was time for their group to continue their movement into the mountains. They would need to find a more defensible location, not to mention a place where they could hole up for the winter.
They continued traveling deeper and deeper into the mountains. At long last, they arrived at a split in the road, following a similar split in the river. The bulk of the river continued through the pass, but a small stream ran alongside the other, less traveled road.
“From what I remember,” said Gabriel as the entire council met by the river to discuss their next moves, “The right passageway is what leads to the southern kingdoms. That’s why it’s far wider and the better kept of the two. The other continues through the mountains to an uninhabited valley. There used to be an old mine down that way, but after a collapse it was largely abandoned. Few have reason to go that way.”
“We know the valley,” said Noralim. “It’s a wonderful place, with enough space for farming and plenty of water from a large lake.”
“How do you know it?” asked Jak, staring down at the dwarf where he stood next to Girwirt the gnome.
“It’s not far from Mt. Harafast,” he clarified. “But on the opposite side from where we were. There’s a small path that only us dwarves and gnomes knew about.”
“Too small and narrow for you giants,” added Girwirt.
“Is it defensible?” asked Skellig.
“It could be,” said Noralim, clasping his hands together. “There are very few ways to get in or out. The main entrance could easily be defended with minimal effort if a fortress was built to keep out intruders. And there are enough resources to survive indefinitely inside the valley if someone laid siege. We could build such a fortress for you in no time!” He wrung his hands together, clearly excited.
“Yes, but that would take time, and we can’t assume we have it.” said Skellig. She turned to Gabriel. “What about the southern kingdoms. Would they welcome a group such as ours?”
Gabriel stroked his beard. “It’s hard to say one way or the other. Politically, I know there isn’t much love for Queen Telma since she began increasing taxes on their traded goods. That might work in our favor. But they, like everyone under Telma’s rule, are susceptible to fear. And many still fear the unknown.”
“Hm,” Skellig ran a hand through her short hair. “I think I would still feel more secure among a people where the queen’s army, not to mention demons, are less likely to bother us.”
“Cain will find us wherever we are,” said Jak. “I’m certain of that. He wouldn’t let something like political boundaries stop him from coming after the Fae…after me.”
Yewin raised one glowing hand. “I, for one, am in favor of taking the road less traveled. As long as we are given the time we need to create secure defenses, I think we stand a better chance there, where we can face any potential enemies on our terms. And if the valley is large enough, it could be a suitable place to establish Illadar.”
He winked at Jak. Yewin hadn’t spoken much about Illadar, but he clearly believed in it. Or at least, he believed in Jak. According to Seph’s Book of Illadar, Jak bore every resemblance to the hero that would lead them there. She could only hope that she was up to the task.
“You’d have to carry us Water Fae for part of the trip,” said Cerai, where she hovered next to Amelia in a large pillar of water. “The river is thinner no matter which path we take, but if we continue through the mountains it looks like more of a trickle.”
“We have enough wagons to help with that,” said Skellig. “Though it would slow us down.”
“We will help,” the words nearly burst out of Noralim, who was bouncing up and down on his feet. Jak had rarely seen him so excited. “Once we get there, our water friends will be happy. You’ll see. The lake there is wide and deep. There’s something for everyone there. Caves! You should see the caves.”
“Excuse me,” said a voice from behind Jak.
Every head turned to see Marek approaching them. His hands were still tied together as a precaution, and a young Watcher boy came running up behind him.
“I’m sorry, sirs,” the young man said as he caught up with Marek. “He ran off while I was relieving myself. It won’t happen again.”
“Next time find someone to take the watch for you,” said Skellig through a frown. “You should know that.”
“Yes sir,” the man’s face reddened. “He just hasn’t been any trouble before now, and…”
“What did you want to say?” Jak asked. She wasn’t talking to the young Watcher, but to Marek. He had been waiting patiently for the conversation to end, but something seemed different about his posture. There was something more...intentional about it.
“I assume you’re deciding which way to go,” said Marek, nodding appreciatively at Jak. He took their silent reply as confirmation. “Where the group goes doesn’t matter to me, but Jak and I must take the path on the right.”
Jak glanced at Gabriel. That was the path that led to the southern kingdoms.
“Why do we need to go there?” Jak broke the silence first. The others were staring at Marek, clearly distrustful. Even Amelia folded her arms, staring down her nose at Marek.
“That’s where we’ll find the second Pillar of Eternity,” he said.
“The Pillar is in the southern kingdoms?” Jak asked, blinking.
“What? No, we don’t need to go that far. It’s
on the top of one of the mountains. I woke up not far from there. That’s the one there.” he pointed at a snow-capped peak. He was right, it wasn’t far, but it was tall. Possibly the tallest mountain Jak had seen since Mt. Harafast.
“Mt. Knot?” asked Gabriel. “The Pillar is inside Mt. Knot?” Apparently the mountain was important enough to name.
“That’s the one,” said Marek. “Though I don’t think it’s inside. Not like the first one you found. I believe we’ll find it when we reach the top. Jak and I must go there.”
“She is not going anywhere alone with you,” said Karlona. Jak glanced at her mother. The woman had been no more or less trustful of Marek than the rest of them, but when it came to the protection of Jak…
“It doesn’t have to be the two of us. Others can come as well.” said Marek. He turned to look at Jak directly. “Jak, I know all of this is hard to believe, but I need you to trust me on this. The Pillar of Eternity is there, and you know how important that is to defeat Cain. Once we have it, we can come back to meet the others wherever they end up going.”
Jak sighed, not breaking eye contact with Marek. Yes, there was definitely something more urgent in his gaze this time. She had always been able to tell if he was lying. This did not seem to be one of those times.
“I think…” she paused, leaving the verdict suspended on her lips. “I think we should trust him on this one.”
Karlona and Skellig frowned, but the rest of the council remained mostly unchanged in their expressions. Yewin began nodding his head slowly, which was enough confirmation to embolden Jak further. “We know none of what we do to defend this valley will have any effect on Cain if he wanted to attack us. And besides—” she turned to Skellig. “—you said you’d need time to set up the defenses. Well if I’m not with you, perhaps Cain will ignore you for now.”
The moment she said it, she knew it to be true. Cain wanted her, not these others. That was evident in the momentary flashes she got of the monster, accompanied by her headaches. Those had grown increasingly more numerous over the past few weeks, and sometimes the visions grew clearer, enough for her to get a glimpse of what Cain was after. And it wasn’t the Fae. Not yet, at least.
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