The Obsidian Palace (Through the Fire Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “It’s possible. I don’t like admitting it, but it’s possible,” Sella admitted. “Still, the last straw for me was earlier, when I was talking about what I wanted to do. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain why I wanted to improve myself and tried to dissuade me. Sure, he was worried about me, but… I’m not going to deal with that. I want to be able to do what I feel is right for me, not what is proper for a noble. It might be a small thing to him, but it isn’t for me.”

  Ruethwyn hesitated for a moment, then nodded and sighed. “I do understand that. You don’t want to be tied down or constrained by him, is that right?”

  “Exactly,” Sella said, smiling slowly as she looked at Ruethwyn. “I’m glad that you understand, at least.”

  “I try. You’re both my friends, but it’s your life, Sella. You’re the one who has to live it, and to make your own decisions,” Ruethwyn told her, keeping her tone as sincere as she could manage. A tiny part of her was worried about how this might turn out, but she suppressed that worry firmly. “I’m just hoping it doesn’t impact your friendship.”

  “I’m sure it will, though I’ll try to keep it from destroying things entirely,” Sella agreed, looking at Ruethwyn intensely. “There’s also the conversation that you, me, and Korima had back when we were leaving the academy. I’m still not sure of everything, but I want to explore other options, too.”

  “Um, that…” Ruethwyn replied, taken aback again. She saw the smile on Sella’s face, and a tiny part of her was suddenly worried.

  “Oh, don’t be like that. I just—” Sella began, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “Excuse me, is Ruethwyn there?” A man spoke, and Ruethwyn let out a breath of relief as she recognized the voice of Sir Whisperblade.

  “Drat,” Sella muttered, looking disappointed.

  “We’ll have to pick up this discussion later. At least I’ll be prepared for it, then,” Ruethwyn said, quickly standing.

  “Oh, alright,” Sella said, almost in a huff as she looked away.

  Ruethwyn walked over and opened the door, then smiled as she saw Sir Alaran Whisperblade. He hadn’t changed much since she’d first seen him, though he wasn’t wearing armor or the surcoat of a knight. The black-haired man was of average height and build, but Ruethwyn knew that was deceiving, as he was incredibly fast with the sword at his belt. His blue eyes were clear, and his skin wasn’t quite as tanned as it had been before the winter, but he looked well.

  “Sir Whisperblade, it’s wonderful to see you,” Ruethwyn said, smiling. “You haven’t changed much at all, unlike me.”

  The knight looked her over for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “I’ll agree there. I was a bit skeptical of Master Emrick’s description of you, but I see he wasn’t exaggerating. I’m glad that you’ve recovered from your injuries, even if they did require rather more drastic changes than I expected.”

  “Thank you,” Ruethwyn said softly, her voice sincere, and she nodded to Sella. “You know Sella, of course. The others went shopping, but I don’t think we need to wait for them to talk. Would you like to come in?”

  “Ah, I believe that would be improper of me. While Sella is a nice young woman, she isn’t sufficient to act as an official chaperone under the circumstances,” Alaran said, smiling slightly. “I believe that the innkeep has a sufficiently private corner we could use, or we could go for a walk. Anywhere somewhat public would do for me.”

  “Oh, of course,” Ruethwyn quickly agreed, then looked at Sella. “What do you think, the corner downstairs?”

  “Sure. Why don’t you two head down? I need to get stockings and find my shoes,” Sella said, slipping off the bed entirely.

  “See you in a minute,” Ruethwyn said and stepped out of the room as Alaran moved out of her way. As they headed downstairs, Ruethwyn asked. “So, how are you?”

  “Well enough, on the whole. Still displeased that I wasn’t able to rescue your fellow villagers, but that’s how things go, sometimes,” Alaran said, letting out a heavy sigh. “We’ve made some progress with the incident at Lord Elisir’s manor, but not as much as I’d like. The people they’ve sent, those that we’ve found, don’t tend to know about any of the others in the country. It’s really quite worrying.”

  “I hear you there,” Ruethwyn agreed, reaching the ground floor. It was starting to pick up for the evening, but she saw a corner booth was unoccupied, one which looked to have been deliberately kept separate from the other booths and tables. Ruethwyn smiled at the sight of it, but asked, somewhat concerned, “Did you hear about our encounter near Waterstone?”

  “I did, yes. What Sir Vintas sent was troubling, to say the least. I do apologize that your assistance led to them targeting you,” Alaran said, regret in his tone. “If you’d like, I could arrange for guards to accompany you for a time, at least. I do wonder if your change won’t throw them off, though.”

  “I’m not sure. As to the guards… I don’t think that’s necessary. Especially not with what I’m planning,” Ruethwyn told him, taking a seat in the booth and sighing. The knight waited for her to be seated before sitting across from her.

  “I was curious why you wished to meet with me. Your message was quite vague, after all, though I have my suspicions,” Alaran said, tilting his head to consider her. “Are you planning to attempt a rescue?”

  “Ah, yes? Not immediately, but in the near future. I was hoping you could help me figure out how to get through the Golden Dominion, and how to get out again, should I succeed,” Ruethwyn said, flushing. “You said you’d help if you could, but I know that was—”

  “I offered my help, and you will have it,” Alaran interrupted, his voice like iron. “Simple information on how to get into the Golden Dominion is easy. Getting out will be more difficult. Some of the things I know, I have to ensure I have permission from Her Majesty to share. How much time do I have to prepare?”

  “Ah, that’s a good question,” Ruethwyn said, taking a breath, then paused as she saw Sella approaching. After a moment of hesitation, she moved over to let her friend sit next to her.

  “Hey, things going well?” Sella asked, looking between them.

  “I believe so,” Alaran said, smiling. “Ruethwyn was just going to tell me how much time I had to prepare for her expedition.”

  “As I was saying, I’m not sure. Right now we’re heading to the Lightweaver Enclave, probably tomorrow or the next day. We think that they’ll have a way for me to conceal my current, rather distinctive, appearance. I’m guessing that will take a week to a week and a half, but I’m not certain,” Ruethwyn explained, then hesitated and continued. “I haven’t made plans beyond that, aside from the fact I intend to leave for the Obsidian Palace. I have a bunch of enchanted items to help with the infiltration, and I can show them to you.”

  “A week and a half? That should be plenty of time for me to make arrangements,” Sir Alaran said, nodding in approval. “Are you willing to wait that long?”

  “That won’t be a problem for me. The gods know that I need whatever help I can get. For the longest time, I was just focused on preparing, and now there’s an enormous amount of logistics that I didn’t think through,” Ruethwyn said, letting out a soft breath of annoyance. “I suppose I was a bit shortsighted.”

  “I can’t say that I blame you. At least you thought about it before you went ahead with things, though,” Alaran told her, looking more at ease.

  “Out of curiosity, how many people do you think could safely infiltrate the Golden Dominion?” Sella asked suddenly, looking the knight in the eyes. “I’m talking about if I wanted to help Ruethwyn in her attempt.”

  Alaran looked surprised for a moment, then he spoke slowly, looking Sella over. “In all honesty, infiltrating the Golden Dominion isn’t hard for elves and humans. The lands there are populated by both, so it takes someone with an unusual appearance to draw their attention. Ruethwyn’s current appearance is a good example.”

  “As I said, part of why I�
��m visiting the Lightweavers is because of that,” Ruethwyn interjected, noticing a man get up and start toward them, only to be intercepted by a servant who managed to turn him away. “Korima pointed out that I was rather distinctive.”

  “Yes, you did, which eased my mind greatly about your attempt,” Alaran nodded in approval, then continued. “As for Sella’s question… more than about eight people in a single group will draw attention, and smaller groups are more likely to go without being detected. A motley group is also less likely to be noticed, since a group of soldiers can be rather distinctive as well. That was something of a problem in our last foray into the Dominion.”

  “I see,” Sella murmured, and Ruethwyn could see her friend relax, the hint of a smile on her face.

  “Sella, I just want to point out that it isn’t necessary for you to come with. I don’t want you to get hurt, and—” Ruethwyn began.

  Turning her head, Sella interrupted by the simple expedient of kissing Ruethwyn. Stiffening slightly, Ruethwyn froze as she felt her friend’s warmth against her lips, her thoughts suddenly jumbled. A moment later, Sella broke the kiss and spoke, her tone mild yet pointed. “Rue? Shut up, please? I’m going to make my own decisions, and you aren’t going to dissuade me.”

  “Um, well…” Ruethwyn managed only that much before she slumped slightly and nodded, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks as she said, “Fine, then. I won’t try to convince you to stay behind anymore.”

  “Good,” Sella said, her voice firm.

  Ruethwyn couldn’t help but wonder why her friend was being so assertive. Was it really just because of Essryl? Still, when she thought about the beautiful, incredibly confident Illisyr, a shiver ran down Ruethwyn’s spine. She supposed that Essryl could have that impact on almost anyone. Either someone would lose their confidence or try to stand up to her.

  “I’m glad you worked that out. Now, is there anything else I need to know?” Alaran asked, tapping the table. Ruethwyn could see him failing to hide a smile and couldn’t help a sigh.

  “I’m guessing that Korima and Tadrick are going to insist on coming with, at this point. I don’t know for certain, but I think that it’s a good assumption to make,” Ruethwyn said, trying to shuffle her thoughts back into order. It wasn’t nice that Sella had completely disorganized things on her. “As for other things… not really? Most of the enchanted items I’ve made are single-use and intended for dealing with things once we’re there.”

  “Very well,” Alaran said, nodding and pulling a small piece of paper from his belt pouch. Offering it to her, he explained. “Send a message to me at this address when you’re prepared to meet, I’ll meet you there the following day. I’m going to try to get together everything I can to help you by the time you return.”

  “Thank you,” Ruethwyn said, smiling as she took the paper and looked at it and the address written on it. She recognized the area of the capital, but not much more. It was in an area with more homes than most, without the extremely expensive manors from what she’d heard. “I’ll definitely do that.”

  “In that case, I shall take my leave. I hope your trip to the Lightweaver Enclave is safe and uneventful,” Alaran said, standing up.

  Ruethwyn began to stand, as did Sella, and Ruethwyn smiled at the knight and nodded. “Thank you, Sir Whisperblade. Your support has helped me when I thought I wouldn’t be able to get anyone’s help.”

  “You’re most welcome. Good eve to both of you, and good luck,” Alaran said, then started toward the door at a brisk pace.

  “When you didn’t think you’d get anyone’s help?” Sella asked after a moment, looking at Ruethwyn skeptically, crossing her arms. “What are Korima, Tadrick, and I, chopped tubers?”

  “Of course not! I just hadn’t gotten to really know any of you at that point. It was all the way back when you were learning to condense mana, remember?” Ruethwyn protested. She glanced around as she continued, seeing all the people watching them. “Besides, can we take this elsewhere? I’m afraid of being swarmed again.”

  “Hmm… perhaps so,” Sella said skeptically, but she started toward the stairs as she added, “Korima’s right, though. You should learn to deal with all the attention, since it isn’t likely going away any time soon.”

  “I’ll learn to deal with it after figuring out things with the dragon,” Ruethwyn replied quickly, and she darted past a man before he could speak, quickly ascending the stairs. She was starting to think that her fey blood was affecting others, but she wasn’t sure about that.

  Sella’s laughter followed her, but Ruethwyn could deal with that much.

  Chapter 14

  “I wish Sir Whisperblade had waited for us to get back. I had a few questions I wanted to ask him,” Tadrick said, loading a couple of bags into the back of the carriage with a sigh.

  “You’ve said that a dozen times, Tadrick. Repeating yourself isn’t going to convince Sir Whisperblade to appear from nowhere,” Ruethwyn replied absently, looking the carriage over closely. After the incident with the wagon and how a wheel had come off, she wanted to be sure she wasn’t going to be experiencing the same thing from the other side. Fortunately, Tadrick’s family appeared to take good care of their carriages, so she thought this one wouldn’t have the same issue.

  “That doesn’t mean that I don’t wish he would,” Tadrick retorted quickly, though Ruethwyn thought his smile was slightly stiff.

  The previous night had proved awkward, to say the least. Sella had taken Tadrick aside, and Ruethwyn still wasn’t certain what had been said, aside from being fairly sure that things had ended between them. A tiny part of Ruethwyn wondered if they might get back together in the future, but things between the two weren’t as easygoing as before.

  “Hey, Rue!” Korima exclaimed an instant before she hit Ruethwyn, almost knocking her over yet again. Ruethwyn yelped, but inwardly she was relieved that someone hadn’t changed. “Are you ready to go yet? I’m so excited! Sure, it’s going to take a couple of days to get to the town, but I can’t wait to show you around!”

  “Could you not try to knock me over all the time, Korima?” Ruethwyn asked, reaching up to rub the kitsune’s head affectionately. “I know you’re enthusiastic, but I’d rather not be worried about getting hurt.”

  “Nah, you wouldn’t get hurt! I was ready to catch you if you started falling,” Korima said smugly, grinning broadly as she gave Ruethwyn a tight hug, then let go. “It’s not that big of a deal, anyway, and someone has to make up for you being so reserved all the time.”

  “She has something of a point, Rue, even if I’m not sure that tackling you is the right way to deal with things,” Sella agreed, seeming to consider before slipping off her cloak. “It’s a bit warmer today, so I don’t think I need this.”

  “It’s probably best to keep it on hand, though. The air smells a little off, so we could get some rain later,” Korima chimed in, sniffing and looking at the sky. “I think some of those clouds are suspicious, too.”

  “Suspicious how?” Tadrick asked, looking up at them. “They don’t look too bad, though I suppose there could be rain in them.”

  Ruethwyn looked up and frowned for a moment. The towering clouds were a bit darker than normal but didn’t look like they’d result in a thunderstorm to her.

  “Oh, that’s what I’m meaning. Not a mana storm or anything like that… those aren’t terribly common. I’m just saying that the temperature could drop suddenly,” Korima explained. “Rue might not care about cold, but the rest of us don’t have that luxury.”

  “True,” Tadrick said, glancing at Ruethwyn and smiling as he said. “I kind of envy you, there.”

  “It’s rather nice, though with the enchanted dress it wouldn’t be much of an issue,” Ruethwyn said, shrugging slightly. “I’m told it isn’t perfect, and that magic can overwhelm my resistance, but I do wonder if I’m going to be more vulnerable to heat, now. I’ll have to ask Zaria when I summon her next.”

  “That sounds like a possible
problem,” Korima agreed, then looked at Tadrick. “Are we ready, Tad? I think that was the last of the luggage.”

  “It’d better be. I can’t believe how many souvenirs you decided to pick up,” the young man groused, giving her a mock glare. “Yesterday, I thought you were going to get a handful, not enough to fill a couple of sacks!”

  “I wouldn’t have needed help carrying them if I’d been going for just a handful,” Korima retorted, shrugging and smiling. “Anyway, your help was very much appreciated! I’ll be sure to let everyone know when we get to the enclave, too.”

  “I suppose. Come on, let’s get moving,” Tadrick said, closing the baggage compartment and locking it.

  Ruethwyn nodded and took the lead in getting into the carriage. She’d been spending a lot of time traveling lately, she reflected, and that wasn’t likely to change in the near future. Still, it wasn’t a bad thing, even if she didn’t sleep as well on the road.

  Looking behind her, Ruethwyn paused and helped Korima into the carriage, then Sella. It did give her time to work through a couple of other problems, though, she realized. Her life was much more complicated than she’d expected it to be.

  Jethel finished feeding her horse, mentally nodding in satisfaction. The group of young elves, and the kitsune, hadn’t been very secretive about where they were going, which was helpful. She’d have to send word to her superior once she was sure they were gone. Following the group had been tiring, and she was looking forward to not having to deal with them anymore.

  She watched the driver settle into his seat and adjust his hat, then the reins of the carriage flicked and they began moving. They weren’t moving quickly, but she saw they were heading for the south gate, and Jethel smiled to herself.

  The one good thing about the group was how much attention the redhead elf attracted. It had made it easy for Jethel to look at them without being as obvious, since she attracted a lot of attention everywhere.