The Eighth Warden Bk. 02 Ch. 09-10

"Prince Rusol," the duke said, "this is Lord Ansel, Baron of Tarwen."

"Welcome to Telfort, Lord Tarwen," Rusol said. "I believe we've met before, though it was some years ago."

"Yes, Your Highness. I don't make it to Telfort often. I regret that my wife couldn't come with us—her health makes traveling difficult—but I'd like to present my oldest son and heir, Toman."

"Your Highness," Toman said with a bow. He was an unsmiling young man, about Rusol's age.

Rusol inclined his head just slightly. "Toman, is this your first time in Telfort?"

"I've accompanied our caravans to the city a few times, but I've never had call to visit the palace."

"Your Highness," Ansel said, interrupting them, "if you have a moment, I'd like to discuss something important with you."

"Yes, Baron?"

"Many of the mercenaries that the kingdom is recruiting are from the hills, and rather than taking the road through the pass, they're coming straight through the mountains. It makes my people uneasy to have armed foreigners in the valley. And hillfolk, no less."

The new duke drew in a sharp breath, then looked toward Rusol with a worried frown on his face.

Rusol said, "Well, Lord Tarwen, you'll be happy to know that even now, we've begun slowing the pace of our recruitment efforts. I trust visitors through the mountains have dwindled with the cold weather?"

"Yes, Your Highness. There have been fewer in recent weeks."

"I suspect that by the time the snows melt, we'll have finished recruiting, so you'll have nothing more to worry about."

"Thank you, Your Highness. Might I ask why the kingdom needs mercenaries? We have the strongest army in the north."

Edmond grimaced again. If the new duke was too scared to speak his mind, was he truly a good choice to lead the region? Tarwen seemed much more forthright, even if the man's questions were forcing Rusol to keep tight hold on his anger.

"And I aim to keep it that way," he said. "There are threats on the horizon we must be prepared for. There are barbarians attacking some of the settlements north of Larso, and, of course, your friends from the hills. The hillfolk are less likely to attack if we're employing half of their fighting men, and by strengthening our numbers, we can make sure our neighbors have no interest in expanding their borders. We'll continue our current peace because nobody will be strong enough to make war against us."

"I see. Thank you, Your Highness. My people will be reassured."

After Tarwen and his son had left, Edmond said, "I apologize, Your Highness. I didn't know he was going to ask you about that."

Rusol stared at him. "Why not, Your Grace? Because you weren't aware of your baron's concerns? Or because it was your responsibility to bring those concerns to my attention and you didn't?"

Edmond's eyes bugged out. "I...I...Your Highness..."

Marten came up from the side and placed his arm around the duke's shoulders. "What my son means to say is that when something comes up, you're welcome to send a letter or pigeon note so we can learn about it sooner. Just because a matter is important doesn't mean you need to wait until we see each other in person, though we do appreciate the fact that you felt it deserved the personal touch. Now, run along, Edmond. This is your party and you should enjoy it."

"Y...yes, Your Majesty."

When the man was out of earshot, Marten turned to Rusol. "Trying to turn our new duke against us so soon?"

"He's weak and foolish. Any of his barons would be a better choice, even the old one with the limp."

"Foolish, perhaps, but it's his birthright. If I take away his title without cause, then every other duke in the kingdom will rise up in revolt. Still, now that you've put a little fear into him, perhaps he'll be more diligent about his duty in the future. Good job."

Rusol blinked in surprise. "You're happy about it?"

"Happy's not the word I'd use, but sometimes the peerage need a reminder about who's in charge. Just a small reminder, though—we're not tyrants, after all. Now, let me get a closer look at this armor your mother's been going on about." Marten took a step back and looked his son up and down. "That's some fine work. She's afraid to tell me how much she spent, but it must have been a fortune if it's truly mage-crafted."

"She thought it would make me fit in better."

"It certainly makes you stand out at least. Let's see...for a longsword, you should keep the belt where it's at, but you want the scabbard to rest lower on your hip so you can actually draw the blade. Let me show you." Marten led him to an out-of-the-way alcove, where nobody could see them, and helped adjust the harness so the scabbard hung farther down and at more of an angle. "There, that's better. You know, if you're going to start wearing a sword now, it wouldn't hurt you to learn a few things."

"If I get into a fight, Father, the sword isn't what I'm going to be depending on."

"No, but you may end up in a situation where you need to fake it. I'm not talking about sending you to the knights, but I can show you a few things in private. Nobody else needs to know that you never learned how before."

###

Chapter 10

He did this on purpose, Razai fumed to herself after she'd returned to the room she'd rented. He wanted the warden to bond me! She was once again back in her Aden persona, since the cityfolk didn't know the demons were dead. Plus, that was how the innkeeper knew her.

What was she going to do? She'd spied on her target's conversations enough times to know that he and his friends were looking for a way to end the warden bond, but if she went with them, she'd be playing her father's game. What did Vatarxis want? Surely he didn't think a warden would aid him in his schemes, did he? She scratched at the itch on her forehead until she realized what she was doing.

There was a knock at her door and she opened it to find her quarry. After all the time she'd spent tracking him in the shadows, it felt wrong to come face to face, despite the brief conversation they'd had back at the warehouse.

"What do you want?" she asked.

He peered at her curiously. "You look like Aden again."

Razai grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the room, then shut the door before releasing her disguise. "Those people out there are scared, and I've been chased by enough angry mobs in my lifetime. I'm not the only demonborn keeping out of sight."

"How are you doing that? Are you a wizard?"

"No." She didn't elaborate. "How did you find me?"

"The binding spell tells me where you are. Or what direction you're in, at least."

She stared at him. "Please tell me that's a joke."

"No. I'm sorry. It works in reverse too, but it'll probably take you a few weeks to get a feel for it." He looked uncertain. "You rushed off earlier. I wanted to make sure you understood what happened."

"I know what a warden is, all right? I told you that. I just don't want to have anything to do with one."

"But how did you know about it before I told you?"

"What I know really isn't any of your business." She had to keep him on the defensive so he wouldn't realize she'd been following him. "Besides, it doesn't matter—we'll never see each other again."

He sighed and nodded. "If that's what you want. I just wanted to apologize again, and make sure you're all right."

"I'm fine, so you can go now."

"We're looking for a way to end the binding spells. If I can do it on my own, I will. If you need to be there for it, I'll find you."

She nodded curtly, not wanting to give away that she already knew about their plans.

He waited, but when she didn't say anything else, he finally left. She closed the door behind him, then took a deep breath as she heard his footsteps move down the hall, toward the stairs.

What game was Vatarxis playing at? She doubted the warden was in on it, though she couldn't dismiss the idea just yet. Whatever was going on, she didn't intend to be part of it. The warden was going north, and he didn't seem inclined to chase after her. Her decision seemed simple enough. She'd go south at first light, as quickly as she could.

#

Two days later, Corec faced Yelena across a table, uncomfortably reminded of the way he'd felt when he was a boy and had failed to do the reading his tutors had assigned him. Yelena's ship had arrived the night before, and Venni had told her the whole story.

"You've got to get this under control," the woman said with a resigned sigh.

"I know," Corec said. "I was so surprised that I was able to recognize her as a mage, I didn't realize what was going on. Why didn't you tell me wardens could identify mages?"

She scowled at him. "Don't try to pin this on me."

"I didn't mean it like that. I just wasn't paying enough attention, and I should have been. I thought I'd stopped the spell, but then it started again."

"How did you not know we can recognize mages? I didn't mention it because there's no way you could have bonded four—five—people without knowing they were mages first."

"I guess I must have been doing it without realizing. It felt familiar, once I figured out what it was."

Yelena shook her head. "You're doing everything backwards. I'm starting to think the First is right—someone's messing with the normal order of things."

"You've talked to the First?"

"Not recently, but between you and Seven being chosen so closely together and you not knowing what the hell you're doing, something odd is going on. I wonder if someone's figured out how to take control of the abandoned spell that chooses the wardens, so it's no longer picking people randomly."

"But if it's not random, then why pick me?"

"That's a good question." Then she frowned at him. "And what's with only bonding women? Young, attractive women...at least the ones I've met."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you're doing this without realizing it, you probably need to take a good look at yourself and figure out why. You've almost certainly crossed paths with just as many male mages, so why pick the ones you did?"

"I...don't know. I never thought about that." The idea was disturbing. Corec had just assumed he'd cast the binding spell on any mage he'd encountered except for the ones he'd already known were mages, like the wizards he'd consulted. But if he'd had enough control to only target women, he didn't like to think about what that suggested.

Yelena gave him a moment, then said, "Now, this demonborn...what did you say her name was?"

"Razai."

"Razai, then. How did she react?"

"She laughed so hard she started crying," Venni said, coming into the room and taking a seat.

"Laughed?" Yelena asked.

"She wasn't just laughing, though," Corec said. "She realized what happened before I told her. She knew I was a warden and that I'd cast a binding spell on her."

"She did? How?"

"She refused to tell me anything helpful."

Venni nodded. "I got the impression that someone sent her to help with the demons, but I don't know how she recognized Corec as a warden. Especially since the rune didn't appear."

"Didn't appear?" Yelena said. "Oh, that itch again? That's really not supposed to happen. The rune is meant to show up as soon as the spell is complete, not a week or two later. I'd hoped you'd be able to fix that after the practicing we did."

Corec said, "Maybe if I'd cast the spell on purpose, it would have worked right."

"In any case, this is disturbing. There aren't many people who would know the signs of the warden bond, particularly without the rune. Where is she now?"

"She's gone. I went to speak to her again after the fight, but she didn't want to talk. She practically slammed the door in my face. The next morning, she went south, and she's still heading that way."

"You may have to consider that she targeted you on purpose. She got you to bond her and now she's gone—that could be exactly what she wanted. That's one pick you wasted. Or maybe two or three, depending on what the others decide. Do you see why you need to be careful? You only get eight."

"I didn't know that, but the First had eight runes. Well, four runes and four scars."

"He's lost a few over the years." Yelena looked down. "Don't ever ask him about them."

"I won't."

"Do you think Jakar might know Razai?" Venni asked Yelena.

"Jakar?" Corec said.

"He's one of my bondmates," Yelena said. "He keeps some contacts among the demonborn in Tyrsall. Their community is pretty tight-knit, so I can't just go talk to them myself, but he's in Terevas right now, trying to find out what's going on there. The queen is ill and she's named her younger daughter as heir. There have been rumors of infighting within the High Council."

Corec frowned. "Does it matter? Terevas is two thousand miles away."

"Everything is connected. The current queen has kept borders and trade open to outsiders, and both the duke and I have business interests there that'll be affected if there's a coup. You need to be aware of what's happening around you. Don't you have a concubine to keep track of this sort of thing?"

"You mean Treya? She's not my concubine."

"She's still your bondmate, isn't she? You have to learn to take advantage of everyone's abilities—that's part of being a warden."

"He needs a little time to get used to the idea," Venni said. "You remember what it was like back at the beginning."

"Hmm. I suppose." Yelena pulled out a coin pouch. "Anyway, here you go. The baron gave me your pay this morning."

"Pay?" Corec asked, taking the pouch and peeking inside. "This is all gold!"

"Fifty gold pieces."

"I didn't even know we were getting paid. This is a lot of money."

"It's not that much—Anders is one of the richest men in the kingdom, and it's his responsibility to protect High Cove."

Venni grinned. "I told you you weren't a caravan guard anymore. You need to remember you're a mage, and mages don't come cheap."

Corec nodded. "There were eight of us there, so I guess that comes to six gold and ten silver each? I'll hold on to Razai's share in case I see her again." He pulled six of the coins from the pouch and passed them to Venni, then dug in his own belt pouch for the silver.

"I hardly need the money," Venni said.

"You did most of the work. You, Boktar, and Ellerie. The rest of us wouldn't have had a chance without you three."

"Speaking of which," Yelena said, glaring at her wife, "you couldn't have waited one more day for me to get here?"

"And let more people die?" Venni asked. It sounded like an argument they'd had before.

Yelena shook her head in annoyance. "What if there had been more demons?"

"I was with a warden and four of his bondmates."

"All of them barely trained!"

"Nobody can live forever," Venni said.

Yelena's eyes flashed with anger.

Corec stood up before she could reply. "Why don't I leave the two of you alone," he said, and quickly left the room.

In the hallway, he found Boktar and showed him the coin purse. "We got paid for taking care of the demons. It'll be enough to keep us going for quite a while."

"That'll be helpful," the dwarf said. "Elle and I haven't had any money coming in since we left Matagor. Oh, and I asked around and got a recommendation for another weapon smith."

"Great. I'll go check it out now."

#

Corec browsed through the shop. "Are these the only ones you have?" he asked the clerk, who was hovering by his side. There were only two greatswords, and one looked ceremonial—too large and heavy to wield in a fight.

"If you need something special, you can ask the smith," the clerk replied.

"I won't be in town long enough for that." Corec pointed to the usable blade. "What do you call that?" Near the end of the ricasso—the unsharpened part of the blade closest to the hilt—there was what looked like a second, smaller crossguard.

"Those are parrying hooks. Do you grip the ricasso when you're fighting close up?"

"Of course."

"They'll help you parry, and they'll protect your fingers on the ricasso. The style started in the northern plains, but it's been spreading for a few years now."

"Do you have a scabbard for it?"

"For a sword this large? No. Who would carry it around like that?"

"I keep it attached to a harness on my back, and detach it when I need to draw it."

The clerk shook his head. "Sorry, I can't help you with that."

"How much for just the sword, then?"

"Thirty-five silver."

Corec managed to keep from coughing in surprise. He could probably bargain that down to thirty, but he'd only paid twenty for his last sword. The weapon looked impressive, but he didn't have enough knowledge about smithing to know if it was truly worth that much. There wasn't much choice though, since this was the first smith he'd found who had a greatsword for sale. It wasn't a common weapon.

Every smith he'd spoken to had been willing to make one for him, but for a blade of the size he used, it would take at least a week, even without any decoration, and the group was planning to leave High Cove the next morning.

"I'll give you twenty-five."

"Twenty-five?" the clerk said in an offended tone. "Just look here at the metalwork..."

#

A few days after they'd left High Cove, Boktar brought the procession to a halt in the middle of the afternoon. Shavala rode Socks up to the front of the group so she could listen in on his conversation with Corec and Ellerie.

"I saw a stream right up ahead," Boktar said, "and the map doesn't mention any settlements in the next twenty miles. I think we should go ahead and stop early for the day."

"That sounds good to me," Corec said.

Shavala nodded. It was still light out, so she could do some foraging. The shorter the days grew, the less often she had a chance to do so.

Ellerie sighed. "I suppose we need to get used to camping in the cold anyway. There'll be fewer towns and villages once we get closer to the mountains."

After the group had moved to a clearing near the stream, Shavala dismounted and removed her saddle and tack, then ran her hands up and down Socks's legs and checked his shoes for pebbles and caked-up mud.

When she was finished, she spoke to the horse. "Go wait for Corec. He'll take you to water and brush you. Be good or he'll put your halter on. I'll be back after dark." Socks gave her a look, but then trotted off in Corec's direction. While the horse couldn't understand other people the way he could with Shavala, he did know enough voice commands that Corec would let him stay loose as long as he behaved himself.

Shavala leaned her bags against a tree, but didn't start setting up her tent. She could do that later, under the mage lights Corec and Ellerie would cast. If she wanted to get any foraging done, it was best to get to it while there was still light out. Bobo was busy setting up a fire pit, so she cast her eyes around for Katrin, finding the other woman laying out out the tent she shared with Corec.

Shavala helped Katrin stretch the canvas to its full length, then said, "Did you still want to go out foraging with me? I think Bobo's going to be too busy to come."

Katrin looked down at the disassembled tent. "I suppose I can finish this later."

Before they left, Shavala picked up her bow, and slung her quiver over her shoulder once more. She liked to keep them with her when she was exploring, in case she ran into trouble or saw anything worth hunting.

On their way out, they passed by Ellerie, who stood peering to the west through a break between the trees. "I thought we'd be able to see the mountains from here," the nilvasta woman said.

"No," Boktar said. "We're two hundred miles away. There should be a road heading west once we reach Lanport."

"Should we have taken the Mountain Road instead?"

"I figured it was better to approach from the east. If the city was here, it's more likely to have been between the mountains and the sea than out on the northern plains. We can head south along the mountains, and if we find it, it'll save us a trip up the other side. Otherwise, we'll go back up north along the plains side, and hopefully find a route through the Heights so we can avoid backtracking afterward."