The Mining Guild office, just down the street, remained open, despite years of mine inactivity. Aveline passed the building daily, but she rarely paid the crooked, weather-beaten structure any mind. She strained to pull the door hanging on rusty hinges open. Inside, an elderly man with a shock of snow-white hair snoozed behind a desk.
“Excuse me.” Aveline cleared her throat. The man’s snoring continued unabated. Even after tapping on the top of the desk, she noticed no change in consciousness. Finally, she kicked the desk with enough force to move it.
The man jerked his head, blinking several times before his eyes focused on the knight-captain. “Lady Aveline? Forgive me, I don’t know why you’re here.”
“I need diggers.” She leaned on the desk. “I need enough people to excavate a collapsed cave near the old copper mine east of town, and I need them now.”
“There’s Mikhail… no wait, he died last week.” The old man leaned back in his chair, tapping his chin. “Alexei… is no longer fit enough to dig. Hm. I think Leonid is dead too. Anastas is bedridden. Kosta… no, he left for Cliffport years ago.”
Aveline threw up her hands. “Why is there a Mining Guild if there are no miners?”
“People don’t like change. We had money in our treasury after the last of the mines closed and nothing to spend it on, so we’ve stayed open.” He wrenched a knife free from where it was stuck in the top of the desk, then picked at his teeth. “Hasn’t been much to do. The mudders have their own shovels, but they don’t know anything about excavating. I suppose you could ask old Kilment, but I doubt he wants to go out to an old mine. I’ve been thinking about closing down, to be honest, since I’m the only one who still comes to the guildhall.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aveline sighed. The town’s diggers had grown old since the last of the mines closed. Apparently, the guildhall was a meeting place for old folk to sit and reminisce about the good old days and not much else. “What then, do you suggest?”
“You might be able to hire some folk from Cliffport if your need is desperate or dwarves from Dwegerthon.”
Aveline thanked the old man for the information before heading for the stables. She found Lieutenant Valon waiting for her. His frown told her all she needed to know. “If we want anyone from town to go out there, we’ll need to conscript people.”
“I’m not forcing townsfolk to risk their lives for this.” Aveline clenched her jaw. “You’re in charge until I return. If I return. I just hope the draks are up to the task of excavating that cave.”
Valon offered her his hand. “You’ll come back, m’lady. I have faith in you and the Crow Queen.”
She gripped his forearm. “Thank you, Valon.”
Hefting her pack, Aveline headed out of town. Turning right just past the gatehouse, she followed the city wall until she found the Crow Queen’s hut. Beyond it, she spotted what looked like a burned section of land stretching eastward from the city wall. Approaching the charred area, she determined it was rotted, not scorched. Blackened vegetation writhed, withering before her eyes, like a creeping finger stretching across the land toward the distant sea.
She returned to the hut, shouting for Tasha. Upon the door opening, stairs erupted from the ground. Aveline climbed them as they appeared, not bothering to wait for them to reach the top before beginning her ascent.
“There’s something going on outside.” Aveline leapt over the gap between the top of the still-growing stairs and the threshold. “Have you seen it?”
Tasha, levitating above the basin, nodded. “Yes. Whatever Koloman has become is corrupting the land as it passes.”
Just then, Aveline noticed Torben sitting in a chair next to the door. Despite herself, she backed away. Torben crossed a closed fist over his chest. “My Crow Queen has told me what I need to know. I am honored to aid you, Lady Aveline.”
Aveline nodded at Torben. “There aren’t any diggers left in town, Tasha.” The knight-captain shut the door, crossing her arms as she leaned against it. “They’re all too old or too dead.”
“That’s unfortunate.” With unfocused eyes, Tasha stared forward.
“I’ll get Socks while you go to Dawnwatch.” Reaching in her pouch for the letter she’d written to Maxim, she noticed the room gently swaying. Aveline glanced out the window. The hut moved away from the city, following the blighted trail.
“No need. We’ll follow Koloman’s trail as far as we can. I think I can outpace it, so I’ll veer off for Dawnwatch before we head to the mine. We can carry Maxim and whatever soldiers he can spare. It’ll be tight quarters, but I think I can go from the fort to the mine in under a day. I’ve sent word ahead for the draks to get started, if they can.”
“Well, if you’re sure.” Aveline tucked the letter in her pack. Giving it to Maxim would be a mere formality now. “What if it gets there before us?” Aveline shivered at the thought of what Koloman had become, or what emerged from him. “Will the draks be in danger?”
“Almost certainly. I told them everything I could in my message. I emphasized they were to put their own safety above all else.”
Aveline moved to a chair by the table and settled in. “I just hope we’re not too late.”
* * *
Tasha only partially listened to Aveline while she focused on guiding the hut. As her friend seemed uncomfortable around Torben now, the conversation quickly lulled. Soon, Aveline drifted off to sleep. Torben seemed content to observe the passing landscape from his seat by the window.
Following the blighted trail proved easy enough. Moving forward at the pace of a human running on foot, it shriveled all plant life in its way. More than a match for the entity that was once Koloman, Tasha soon guided the hut past the end point of the trail. Unable to directly detect the source of the blight, she observed only its relentless drive eastward through the wilderness. Soon, adjusting course, she veered toward the north and Dawnwatch.
While controlling the hut required near-total concentration, Tasha found traveling more or less in a straight line did little to fatigue her. She hoped when she finally stopped, her body would neither collapse nor force her to sleep to recover her strength. In the periphery of her vision, she regarded the waning King and waxing Queen glide overhead as the earth sped below her. She piloted the hut through the night until dawn broke.
Overhead, gathering clouds flushed pastel rose and blue as the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon. Dawnwatch appeared in her view. Through her connection with the Earth Mother, Tasha sensed the dryad.
I see you, Crow Queen. Why do you speed this way? The dryad’s voice, unmistakably Gwilvanwen’s, echoed in her thoughts.
Can you rouse Maxim? Tell him Lady Aveline requires his aid. Tasha slowed the hut as they drew closer to Dawnwatch, circling to locate the front gate.
I’m not your messenger. What’s in it for me?
Somehow, Tasha managed an entirely mental sigh of exasperation. We’re en route to close a chaos rift and defeat some sort of chaos beast. It’s already blighting the land between Curton and the mine. Imagine what it will do if it finds out you’re here.
I’ll just wake Maxim then, Crow Queen.
Tasha stopped the hut a short distance from the front gate of the fort. Aveline still slept, slumping in the chair with her head tilted back . Torben opened the door.
“Aveline, we’re here.” Tasha shook her friend’s knee.
Gasping, Aveline rubbed her neck. “Damn. This is going to ache for a while.” She gazed at the bed.
Tasha gestured toward it. “You would have been welcome to that, or the one in the back. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it. Controlling the hut takes effort.”
Aveline stretched. “It’s fine. It’s no worse than sleeping on the ground. I’ll take the bed in the other room on the trip to the mine, though. Away from Maxim and his people, if you don’t mind.”
“You’re welcome to it.” For her part, after moving the hut throughout the night, Tasha did not feel fatigue to the point o
f needing rest. She hoped she could maintain her energy until they completed their task.
Hearing shouts from within Dawnwatch, Aveline, Tasha, and Torben descended the steps. As they approached the gatehouse, the portcullis raised with the clanking of metal and wheels. Maxim, still in his dressing gown, met them at the entrance. Tasha noticed a single broad leaf stuck in his beard.
“Now, what’s all this then?” Squinting, he looked past them at the hut. “How did that get there?”
Tasha spread her arms. “After all you’ve seen, you still doubt the power of the Crow Queen?”
Aveline snorted. “It’s not really important right now, Sir Maxim. What’s important is that we have a rampaging abomination headed for the old copper mine and we need to stop it and close a chaos rift.”
The knight-captain handed him the letter she’d written. “I’m formally requesting your aid.”
Upon examining the seal, Maxim broke it, then read the letter. “Ah, yes. Well, in that case, I shall muster as many as I can. I’m sorry to say it won’t be more than a few. I cannot leave Dawnwatch unoccupied.”
Gwilvanwen slunk around the corner, placing her arms around Maxim’s neck. “It wouldn’t be unoccupied. I would still be here.” Running a finger through his hair, she kissed his ear. His face flushing bright red, Tasha deduced how he acquired a leaf in his beard.
“Yes, well, I can spare myself and two others.” Maxim extracted himself from Gwilvanwen’s embrace. “Will that be sufficient, Lady Aveline?”
“It’ll do.” Aveline turned to Tasha as Maxim retreated into the keep to dress himself and rally his soldiers. “I hope it’s enough.”
Tasha nodded. “I believe it will be. If all goes well, I will need you only to keep the abomination busy while I close the rift. It will take all my concentration. Closing the rift might destroy it outright, but, even if it doesn’t, it should weaken the creature considerably.”
She stifled a yawn. Despite feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, or, perhaps, because of it, Tasha felt a wave of fatigue overtake her. “While we’re waiting, I’m going to rest.”
Aveline followed Maxim into Dawnwatch to assist in preparing the soldiers, while Torben followed Tasha up the stairs. “I will ensure no one disturbs you.”
“That’s not necessary.” She clasped his arm. “I want to leave as soon as they’re ready to go. Will you be all right out here by yourself?”
“Naturally.” Torben withdrew the carving he’d been working on from his pack, then held it before Tasha. “Besides, I’m not alone. Your birds will keep me company.”
Revan and Korbin flew in at that moment, circling the interior before landing on the windowsill. “Very well. Wake me when we’re ready to leave.”
She retired to the bedroom, collapsing into the bed. Falling asleep soon after her head hit the pillow, she dreamt of endless forest glades and bountiful harvests. In her heart, Tasha knew the goddesses would guide her, no matter what transpired at the mine.
Chapter 65
A gate guard, Gwilvanwen, and Aveline were the only people stirring in the early hours at Dawnwatch, and Maxim, of course, in his chambers. Whistling, the knight-captain viewed the renovations that Maxim and his recruits completed to restore the command post. Based on Tasha’s descriptions, she had expected the task to be almost insurmountable.
One of the guards roused by Maxim exited. With his mail jangling, he crossed the yard. She surmised from his dark complexion he hailed from the north. Obviously, he was one of the recruits Maxim enlisted from Cliffport. Aveline waved him over.
“Where are you headed?”
He offered a sloppy salute to Aveline. “Sir Maxim says we are to make for the old copper mine east of Curton at once. I go to ready the horses.”
She took his arm to keep him from running off. “That won’t be necessary. The Crow Queen is taking all of us. What”—she pulled her hand away from his arm, her fingers covered with oil—“what in Anetha’s name have you done to this armor? What is your name?”
“Oliver, son of Sebastian the Coopersmith of Port-of-Dogs. The armor we’ve had to clean and oil. We weren’t quite finished.”
“I’m Lady Aveline, Knight-Captain of the Order of the Shield, Watch Captain of Curton. It is appropriate for you to refer to me as ‘m’lady’ or ‘Captain Aveline.’”
Chastened, he bowed. “Yes, m’lady. Sorry, m’lady.”
She turned him to face the barracks. “Return to the armory and take off that armor. Change into clean clothes. When you come out next time, have the armor and what you need to finish cleaning it. I’ll not have you enter into battle dripping like you fell into a vat of butter.”
As he trotted off, she shouted after him. “And tell whoever else is coming the same.”
“My, aren’t you a stern one?” Gwilvanwen appeared alongside Aveline, as though from nowhere, and ran a rough, bark-like finger under the knight-captain’s chin.
Aveline slapped the dryad’s hand away from her face. “These men haven’t been properly trained yet.”
“Oh, they’re not all men. There are a few women here as well. But they don’t have fun like Maxy and me.”
Raising her eyebrow, Aveline turned. The dryad circled Aveline, strutting. “Frankly, I don’t care what you and Maxim get up to, as long as you don’t suck him down into your tree for all time.”
Gwilvanwen pushed out her bottom lip. “I would never do that to my Maxy… he does like it in my tree, though. Says it feels like a warm hug that never ends. Oh, we do have such pleasures there.”
Aveline held up her hand. “I do not need details.” Closing her eyes, she tried to banish images of the dryad and Maxim from her mind. “I just need him to be able to perform his duties. Though, I’m impressed you were able to seduce him. I didn’t think he was the type to fall for a fae.”
“I can be very persuasive.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Aveline viewed another soldier exiting the barracks, a woman this time. Like Oliver before her, she had the warm ochre complexion of a northerner. She wore her hair shorn much closer to her head than Aveline’s. The woman wore greaves and a breastplate that bore several dents and gouges; however, her they had been recently polished. She moved with seamless fluidity, as if her armor were skin.
Marching toward Aveline, the soldier slung her bow and quiver over her shoulder. “Lady Aveline.” Resting one hand on the hilt of her sword, she saluted.
Aveline returned the hail. “And who might you be? Are you coming along on this little misadventure?” Upon uttering the words, Aveline regretted her flippant attitude about their upcoming fight.
“Abigail Stonewright. I didn’t know any northern folk served Almeria. Follow the princess down, did you?”
Aveline bristled at the presumption she should answer such a question from a stranger. The wide-eyed glee in Gwilvanwen’s eyes anticipating a verbal reprimand persuaded her to take a more diplomatic approach.
“No. My parents brought me down to Curton. They were traders. Sadly, they died over the winter, and Sir Agnar, the former commander of this garrison, took me in and made me his ward. I’ve been here ever since. That was before Valene married Gavril. Now, Stonewright, are you coming with us? What do you want from me?”
Abigail cleared her throat. “Right, sorry, m’lady. I got excited seeing another warrior from the north. Oliver’s a bit of an idiot. He’s staying here; I’m taking his place.”
“I see.” Aveline clasped her hands behind her back. She narrowed her eyes, glancing at the dryad, who still watched them, albeit with less glee. “Is that what Sir Maxim ordered?”
“Not originally, m’lady. He intended Oliver and Lukas to accompany you. Lukas is fairly competent, but Oliver can barely hold his sword straight. Sir Maxim thought it would be a good training opportunity for him.”
Aveline saw the logic in Maxim’s thinking. “You disagreed?”
“Yes, m’lady.” Abigail glanced over her shoulder at the barracks. “For one, Maxim d
oesn’t think women should be doing any fighting. Two, I’m the best he has. And finally, I’ve heard enough talk about the Crow Queen from the faerie there that I know you wouldn’t be asking for assistance if an untrained kid could help.”
“Well, you got that right.” Aveline observed Gwilvanwen slink across the yard and sink into her tree. “How many folk from up north are down here, anyway? I hardly see any of you in Curton.”
“With due respect, m’lady, there’s not much reason for us to go to Curton. There’s a fair number of us in Cliffport. Oliver was pressed into a sailing crew, but they found out he’s a lousy sailor, so he ended up working the docks. One of the trading companies paid me well to be a guard for them down in Cliffport at their warehouses. That’s where I found him.”
“Nice of you to take him under your wing like that.”
“Yeah, well, he owes me money. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight.”
Typical mercenary attitude. “And Maxim’s paying you more than that trading company?”
“Hardly. But the warehouse burned down one night. He pays more than not working does.”
Maxim emerged from the barracks followed by a stout, bearded man with a ruddy complexion and arms like tree trunks. The man carried a maul slung over his shoulder, and the mail he wore threatened to spill out his belly.
“That must be Lukas.” Over Abigail’s shoulder, Aveline watched the men approach.
Abigail glanced backward. “He’s a bruiser.”
“Ah, Lady Aveline.” The men saluted. Aveline noticed Lukas wore a pack twice the size of the one she carried.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes. However, I hoped I could have a minute to rouse the rest of the men and give them instructions to follow until I return.”
Aveline nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll take Lukas and Abigail and get them settled.”
“Settled, m’lady?” Abigail motioned for Lukas to fall in behind her. They followed Aveline past the stables and toward the gatehouse. “Won’t we need horses?”
Summer of Crows Page 47