The Eighth Warden Bk. 05 Ch. 17-18

Chapter Seventeen

The sun was bright and warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, making it difficult to hold enough charge to fly, but after a week and a half, flying had become second nature.

Sarette had passed over Four Roads early the previous day, not taking the time to stop, and now she could see the dragon's keep approaching. She dropped in altitude as she passed over the river. The village appeared to be in much better condition than it had been when she'd left. Most of the collapsed structures were gone now and new buildings were taking shape in their place.

She flew over the fortress wall--high enough up to be out of bow range just in case some young, inexperienced archer trainee didn't recognize her--and came to a halt above the courtyard, hovering in place. A group of soldiers were training in front of the barracks, but there was plenty of unoccupied space beyond that. She dropped straight down, landing with a rush of air which blew dust and dirt away from her in all directions.

The armsmen came to a startled halt and stared at her. They'd seen her fly before, but the sparks flickering around her body were new, appearing as she'd built up strength during the journey south. They faded from view as she allowed the internal charge she carried to dissipate.

"Gentlemen," she said, greeting the soldiers with a nod, then paused in surprise. "Sir Georg?" The last time she'd seen him, he'd been on his way back to Larso.

"That's Armsmaster Georg now," he said. "Hightower was too much of a bore. I couldn't let the rest of you have all the fun." He gestured to the men. "And I hear you're the captain of this lot."

"I am." At least she had been when she'd left.

"You heard that, men!" he said. "Your captain is here. Why aren't you saluting?"

They managed a rough semblance of a salute.

Sarette figured she should say something. "Soldiers, I appreciate your attention to your tasks. I'll speak to Corec, Marshal Boktar, and Armsmaster Georg about your current assignments and then we'll figure out what we need to do next. I'll meet you here bright and early tomorrow morning. Until then, Sir Georg?"

"Right," he said. "Back to work, boys!"

Sarette headed for the keep, eager to bathe and change her clothes, but she ran into Corec and Ariadne coming out to look for her.

Corec grinned. "I figured you were here when your bond suddenly changed directions," he said, clasping her forearm. "It's good to have you back."

"How did it go?" Ariadne asked. "It took longer than you thought it would."

"I haven't seen a storm since I left the plains," Sarette said. "If I'd only been going a short distance, I could have created one myself, but I couldn't have kept that up all day. I had to try and fly without it." She gestured back at the practice yard. "It looks like there have been some changes?"

"The knights forced Kevik out of the Order for helping us," Corec said. "The two of them showed up a few days ago. That won't change your position--you're still Captain of the Guard. Georg's going to handle most of the weapons training, and I'm trying to convince Kevik to start a new order of knights. Oh, and Nedley's bringing back seven more soldiers for you, so you'll have twenty-one men under your command. You'll need to pick a third squad leader, but take some time to get to know them all first."

"I guess I shouldn't have stayed away for so long."

"Well, we've had them clearing the roads and mapping out the best patrol routes, but with you and Georg here now, and Nedley on his way, it's time to get some real training done. Rusol has to know where I am by now, so we've got to get ready."

Sarette nodded. "I need a bath, but after that, we can talk about what you want done."

"Tomorrow should be soon enough for that. Leena let us know you were almost here, so we've been planning a get-together to welcome you back."

Sarette managed to keep the smile from slipping off her face. What she wanted more than anything was to sleep, but it would be good to see everyone again.

"Sure," she said. "I just need to get cleaned up first."

"I'll walk with you," Ariadne told her. They both had rooms on the third floor.

Ariadne was quiet as the two of them climbed the stairs, but she kept glancing in Sarette's direction as if nervous about something. When they reached their suites, she said, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"What is it?" Sarette said.

Ariadne led her into her own room and closed the door behind them. "I have to tell you what I learned in Tyrsall."

"Were you able to find someone at the temple who could help?"

"I spoke to Hera." That was the name Ariadne used when referring to The Lady.

"She was there?" Sarette asked. "In Tyrsall?"

The other woman shook her head. "It was a vision. And I guess I should say she spoke to me--I don't think she could hear what I was saying. She told me what happened to the Chosar. She said..." Ariadne paused, then started again. "Have you ever heard of wild magic?"

Sarette crinkled her brow at the change in topic. "No."

"My people encountered it from time to time. We don't know where it comes from, but we call it wild magic because no one's ever been able to control it. Hera said wild magic can kill the Chosar, and that the ritual did something that caused it to attack us. I think that's what she meant. The wardens had to change our people to protect them from it. Or maybe the people changed themselves--she wasn't clear on that part."

"Changed them how?"

"She said the Chosar split into separate groups--the children of the sea, the stone, the sun... and the storm."

It took Sarette a moment to understand. "You mean the stormborn?"

"Yes."

"That can't be right. The people from Tir Navis were gone long before Borrisur created... before he..." Sarette's thoughts were going in all different directions.

"I think Hera used the word children on purpose," Ariadne said. "Wild magic was dangerous to the Chosar, so they changed their children to be different. When you say Boreas created the stormborn, maybe that was how he did it--by turning Chosar into stormborn." She sighed. "I've had the clues this whole time. The seaborn look like Chosar. The dwarves took over our settlement in the Skotinos Mountains, and they live underground like some of the Tirs. The stormborn... Snow Crown felt more like home than anywhere I've been since waking up, and you've always reminded me of my own people. Now I know why."

Sarette wasn't sure what to say, and she was too tired to come up with an appropriate response.

"Don't you see?" Ariadne said, tears in her eyes. She clasped Sarette's hands between her own. "You're Chosar. I found you! You're still here!"

It was clear from the look in the other woman's eyes that this was something she needed. She'd been desperate to find news of her people ever since she'd awoken. Whatever Sarette thought about it--and she would need more time to figure that out--she couldn't deny her friend that acknowledgement. She gathered Ariadne in a hug, startled to find the other woman trembling. She held her until she calmed down.

"What are you going to do now?" Sarette asked, stepping back.

"I still need to talk to Boktar," Ariadne said. "I was waiting because I wanted to tell you first. After that, I'm not sure. What if this is what Galina meant? Not that Borrisur was Chosar, but that all the stormborn are? Would that cause the chaos she was worried about?"

"It might. Or finding out the dwarves and seaborn are our cousins." The three peoples had very little interaction with each other, given the locations of their homelands. "Are you going to tell them?"

"I'll ask Boktar, but..." Ariadne hesitated. "But I think people should know their past."

#

The wizardry archive in the Glass Palace held nearly two hundred spell books, as well as dozens of drawers full of loose scrolls with individual spells. The archivist had identified five books which had once belonged to battle wizards. Ellerie thumbed through them until she found the one she was looking for. Someone had added new pages at the end describing each spell in the Elven language, but the original descriptions were written in Chosar.

She added that book to the stack she was assembling. Hopefully it would include the spells Ariadne needed. Ellerie returned the other four to the shelf, then sought out her next target, a book of detection spells.

She sat down to read through it, and found the prize she was seeking at the very end--a spell to identify mages from a distance. If it worked the way she hoped, then in the event the keep was attacked, it would give her a way to locate the biggest threats before they were close enough to become threats.

Ellerie was so engrossed in her study that she didn't notice someone else had entered the room until her sister sat across from her.

"I never welcomed you home," Vilisa said. "Sometimes I just get angry at the smallest things. I didn't mean to."

That sounded like their mother when they were younger, but Ellerie couldn't tell her that.

"It's all right," she said instead. "You had reason. It's good to see you again."

"And you," Vilisa said. "Mother told me what you've been up to. I always thought Tir Yadar was just another excuse to go." Before leaving Terevas, Ellerie had told her sister more about her plans than anyone else.

"Maybe it was," she admitted, "but it was also something I could accomplish for myself. Something that said that just because I didn't want to be queen didn't mean I couldn't be something else."

"You're happy, then? Out there?"

Ellerie hadn't thought of it in those terms. "I am. What about you?"

Her sister barked a short laugh. "What do you think? I've had to take over all of Mother's duties. She hasn't been able to attend a Council meeting in two years."

"You always liked that sort of thing."

Vilisa sighed. "I liked the theory. The reality is different. The councilors are bloodworms, most of them. They alternate between demanding proof Mother is still alive and making plans for what they want to do after she dies. Half of them are trying to form coalitions in opposition to my candidacy, and the other half keep trying to introduce me to their sons. If they keep at it, I may need to start hinting that I'll follow Mother's path, and never acknowledge the father of my children at all."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ellerie asked.

"Your offer to reopen the old trade routes came at the right time," Vilisa said. "Mother says you're looking for an investment?"

"We intend to open the roads anyway, but dealing with the dragon cost a lot of money. We don't have enough left to operate the region or keep the area safe from bandits."

"I've looked at the numbers," Vilisa said. "We'll see significant savings for any trade along the eastern routes. Mother said the investment will be paid back with discounted rates for the toll bridge?"

"Eight silver instead of the standard twenty, on any amount you offer up front," Ellerie said. "The Senshall Trading Company has a similar deal, but I'm sure they'll appreciate using your discount rather than their own when they're carrying di'Valla goods."

"Not just di'Valla," Vilisa said. "I'm going to extend the offer to the rest of the High Council. It should improve our standing before the election."

"Are things really that bad?" Ellerie asked. It was rare for the monarchy to pass to another family.

"Not exactly. The other coalitions can't agree on a single candidate, and they'll never vote for each other's choices. But with Mother being sick for so long, anything that can strengthen our position is helpful. I'll be able to ignore the more annoying councilors for a while."

"If you think that's best."

"I do. Besides, there's less risk to the family if we're not paying for it alone. I'll sell chits to the other houses based on how much they contribute. Will five hundred gold be enough?"

Ellerie blinked. Combined with other toll income, it would allow them to get by until tax revenue started coming in, and even pay back some of what they'd borrowed.

"Ahh, yes, that'll do. But Mother said she won't make a deal until I can get Leena to bring Melithar back here. She doesn't want to take my word for anything."

"Mother hasn't made any of the decisions for months," Vilisa said. "Will Melithar tell me anything different than what you've said?"

"No."

"Then that's good enough for me."

Ellerie nodded. "What about the rest of my proposal?"

"Opening diplomatic relations with a tiny region that doesn't even claim to be a nation? I'd have to agree with her on that part--I don't see what benefit it would offer."

"The trade routes, to start with," Ellerie said. "And we may be small, but we hold more land than Deece. You've got an ambassador there. I'll admit, the population is tiny, but it's growing fast now that the land is available again. I'm not asking you to sign treaties with Corec as if he was the king of Matagor. I'm just saying that when our mines are operational and our farmers are producing excess crops, it would be good for Terevas to provide a representative to make deals."

"I'm not going to send an envoy just for that," Vilisa said. "Not if you're already there. You'll have to handle it yourself."

"You want me to serve as your ambassador?"

"You know the situation and the people better than anyone else. Can I trust you to make decisions based on what's best for Terevas?"

Ellerie considered that. "When I'm making a decision for Terevas, yes. The rest of the time... I'll do my best."

"Then I'll have the paperwork drawn up." Vilisa gestured to the spell books. "Are you looking for something?"

Ellerie laid her hand on the small stack she'd gathered. "I'm taking these. I'll bring them back someday, but I don't have time to copy a bunch of spells right now."

"You're leaving so soon?"

"Not for a few more days," Ellerie said. "I still have some things to take care of here. But after that, I don't know what else I can do. She doesn't seem particularly interested in talking to me, and I can't just wait around for her to die. The only thing I'd accomplish by being here is to hurt your chances at becoming queen."

"I was hoping you'd stay longer," Vilisa said. "I want to... I don't know. I feel like I barely know you anymore. I want to fix things between us."

"So do I, but maybe now isn't the right time. We'll see each other more often if I'm going to serve as your ambassador. It will get better, Ville. I promise."

Vilisa nodded. "I hope so. But if you're going, you're not going alone. You're the queen's daughter, and until I have children, you're next in line for the throne, abdication or not. You're entitled to a retinue. I want you to take a squadron of sentinels."

Ellerie wasn't sure how to respond. "I... don't even know where I'd put that many people. The keep is full, and the barracks are primitive. Wouldn't a secretary make more sense?"

And what would she do if Rusol attacked? Allowing Terevassian forces to fight Larsonians would have ramifications she wasn't prepared for.

"A secretary?" Vilisa asked, raising an eyebrow. "You want me to send a spy?"

"No."

"Then take the soldiers, Your Exalted Highness. When you're making deals in Mother's name, or mine, you represent both Terevas and di'Valla. You need to look the part."

#

Shavala came out of her trance, interrupted by the sound of Risingwind's excited squawks. She opened her eyes to find Corec dismounting his horse. The little dragon rushed over to greet him, causing Dot to shy away, snorting.

"Easy, girl," Corec said to the horse. He positioned himself between the two of them before kneeling down to scratch Risingwind's head. "Hey," he said to Shavala with a grin.

She smiled back. "I didn't know you were coming today."

"I heard rumors about what you've been up to." He gestured to the walnut trees surrounding them. "You're helping the farmers grow things?"

"Not these," Shavala said. "They were already here. I was just healing them of root rot. Zhailai's at the farmstead up the hill. The wife was nervous around Risingwind, so I brought him down here so we wouldn't scare her."

Corec nodded. "How are other folks dealing with seeing a dragon? He's gotten bigger just since the last time I came to visit. I thought you were trying to avoid people."

"We can't avoid everyone forever," Shavala said. "It's going well enough so far. When we hear about a family who lost someone to the mother dragon, Zhailai goes there alone and I keep Risingwind away. One man chased us off, but the rest have accepted our help."

"And you're growing crops the way you grew the trees in Tir Yadar?"

"It's not quite the same. The staff likes tershaya the best. For anything else, Zhailai and I can only do so much--and the land can only handle so much. We're just bringing the crops up to where they should be at this time of year."

"Then the farmers will get in a full harvest this season?"

"Most of them have only planted a few fields, but we'll make sure they can bring in what they do have before the frost comes."

"I'll admit, I've been worrying about that," Corec said. "Most of the farmers who came here can afford one bad season, but I don't know what'll happen if they all have a bad season. We can barely afford to import enough food for just the people at the keep. I'm not sure the folks in the villages have realized how much it'll cost to have everything they need sent down from Four Roads for the next year."

"I don't think it'll come to that," Shavala said. "Even without the farmland, there's a lot that can be foraged. I've been mapping it all out as I go. Most of the nuts and fruits and feral crops won't be ready until fall, but there are berries that'll ripen within the month. We'll have to start sending groups out to harvest them. I can show you where."

"Really? That would be a big help." He blew out his breath, then chuckled, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. "I don't know what I'm doing half the time, and everyone keeps wanting me to make decisions. It's a good thing you're here. I had no idea what I was going to do if we couldn't feed everyone this winter."

"I'll help you with that part, at least," Shavala said. She wanted to say more, to reassure him, but she'd left the keep just as the village had begun to grow in size. She didn't know enough about the challenges he was facing. As much as she wished to support her friends, circumstances demanded her attention elsewhere for now.

"Thank you," he said. "How did you come up with the idea of helping the farmers?"

"The druids do the same thing back home. Zhailai and I couldn't have accomplished much on our own, getting such a late start, but the staff makes it easier." When he glanced around, Shavala added, "Zhailai's got it now."

"You're letting someone else use the staff?"

"I can't keep it forever. It belongs to my people, so I need to make sure the other druids know how to handle it." She wasn't ready to give it up yet, though. She'd made commitments, both to the trees she'd grown in Tir Yadar and to Ellerie.

Corec nodded, then gave the dragon one last pat and stood up. "While I'm here, I should talk to the family. Do you know the name?"

"The husband is Kenet, the wife is Elwina."

"That doesn't sound familiar. I may not have met them before."

"We'll come with you," Shavala said.

"I thought the wife was scared of the dragon?"

"Only a little scared, and Zhailai should be just about done by now."

They headed up the hill, Corec leading Dot while Risingwind loped ahead of them, eager to get back to the others. The dragon liked meeting new people--whether they liked meeting him or not.