The Bard, page 30
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” Tor said coldly. “We are currently more interested in staying alive.”
“That is just like you,” the Queen scoffed. “Always thinking of things other than the running of your country.”
“Please do not start on that again,” he said wearily. He and his mother had been having this conversation for as long as he could remember.
“I am not starting on anything,” she said defensively. “I am merely pointing out that it is something you all need to think about. While you are off gallivanting, this country is not running itself. All of you will need to spend a great deal of your time in court when this is over. No more spending months at a time wandering through the forests.”
Tor abruptly stood up, knocking his chair over. “I will not listen to this any longer. We have had a long and tiresome journey, taking a lengthy detour to come and see you. As far as I am concerned I have fulfilled my duty. Good night mother. I will depart in the morning. Hopefully I will not see you before I go.”
Without another word he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter 27
While Hawk was looking after Sam in her room, the wedding festivities had continued. This was the first time that Quartilla had attended any sort of celebration without her family to watch over her and she was enjoying herself immensely. Unlike Ria, she did not put a red ribbon in her hair, so none of the altarian males approached her, but many of the locals did, encouraging her to join in the dancing. She found herself in the arms of an elderly man one minute, then those of a boy barely old enough to be out of his parents sight the next, as partners continually swapped. The entire time she was laughing with delight, stopping only when she became tired or thirsty. She did not notice Nosmas watching from a discrete distance, ready to intervene if any of the men became too friendly, but it seemed the entire city was in a party mood and nobody acted inappropriately. Nosmas noted, with some satisfaction, that Quartilla never once attempted to obtain any alcohol, always opting for chilled fruit juice. While she was of a marrying age in some countries, he still felt she was too young to start experimenting with alcoholic beverages and was thankful that he did not have to play the ‘overprotective guardian’.
“Not joining in?” an out of breath Seth asked him when he eventually managed to drag his wife away from the dancing.
“Not my sort of thing,” the Wizard replied. “I am using the fact I have to look after Quartilla as an excuse whenever someone tries to drag me onto the dance floor. I see Ban is a hit with the children.”
Seth looked to where Nosmas was pointing and saw the tayman was surrounded by a large group of youngsters, each taking it in turn to ride on his shoulders as he spun himself around. Their giggles were drowned out by the music, but their animated faces clearly displayed how much they were enjoying themselves.
Nisse was also proving to be an extremely popular visitor. Not many of the locals had seen an elf before and the ladies were almost fighting amongst themselves over who should have the next dance.
The night was still relatively young when the music unexpectedly stopped. Everyone looked around in surprise. “The bride and groom shall now depart,’ a voice boomed out and Alate swept Helen into his arms before taking to the air. His strong wings caused a breeze as he lifted his new wife away from the cheering crowd and flew off in the direction of his mountain home. They would spend the night there before he moved permanently into the palace. “Let the celebrations continue,” the same voice sounded as soon as the happy couple were out of sight, and the music started once more.
When Quartilla was too exhausted to continue, she moved away from the revellers and was pleased to see Nosmas nearby. He escorted her back to the inn and she was shocked to find both Ria and Sam were already asleep. Without bothering to undress, she slipped under the covers of her bed and was soon gently snoring.
One by one, or sometimes in pairs, the members of Tor’s group returned to their beds, too tired, or in Oak’s case too drunk, to stay awake any longer. Eventually only Hawk and Ellen were left and they continued to dance and chat and generally socialise with the ‘die hard’ celebrators until the sun began to rise. They made a hasty departure, jumping into their coffins moments before the sun’s rays began to hit the city.
Quartilla was woken by the sound of vomiting. “I thought you were over your morning sickness,” she called out sleepily.
“I am,” Sam replied. “That’s Ria. I think she sampled a little too much wine last night,”
“It was not the wine,” Ria groaned. “It was whatever the altarians were drinking. It is lethal. I am sure it did not burn my throat this much when it was going down.” She pulled herself off the floor, where she had been vomiting into her bedpan, and crawled back into bed. “Kill me now. Please.”
Before either of the smiling women could reply there was a loud knock on the door. “Come in,” Sam called out, making Ria cover her ears and wince in pain. Pennon walked in, looking bright and fresh.
“Good morning,” he said cheerfully. “I have come to escort Ria to breakfast.”
“Go away,” she said. “I hate you and never want to see you again.”
Pennon looked deeply hurt until he saw Sam pointing to the contents of the bed pan. The smile he gave made Sam shiver. Ria was not going to enjoy the rest of the day.
“Come with me,” he ordered, physically dragging Ria out of her bed. “I know the perfect hangover cure.”
Sam got dressed while Quartilla changed out of her party clothes and into something less colourful, then they both made their way down to the inn’s dining room, where a late breakfast was being served. Ria and Pennon were sitting alone at a table so the two women walked over to join them. Ria was staring at a glass in front of her, the green contents matching nicely with the green colouring of her face.
“Drink,” Pennon ordered, pushing the glass closer towards her.
“What is it?” Sam asked, taking the seat next to Ria.
“Trust me,” Pennon replied, grinning at her. “You do not want to know.” He turned his gaze back to Ria, who was regarding the mixture doubtfully. “Drink,” he repeated sternly.
Slowly she moved her hand towards the glass. “Either drink it or I will pour it down your throat,” Pennon snapped, making her wince as pain shot through her head.
“Alright,” she hissed back at him. “But only if you stop nagging.”
“Just like an old married couple,” Sam whispered to Quartilla, loud enough for Ria to hear. She shot her an evil glare before picking up the glass and gulping down the contents. She slammed the almost empty glass back onto the table and gasped. Her eyes were filled with hate as she grabbed the mug of cool water Pennon was holding out for her and drank it down quickly.
“I find bread helps,” he said in a reasonable tone, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. He broke off part of a loaf that had been delivered to the table, along with butter and jam, and held it out towards her at arms length, like a zoo keeper feeding a hungry animal. He snatched his hand back as soon as she had grabbed the food and stuffed it into her mouth.
“You bastard,” she yelled once she had swallowed. “What was in that? My throat is still burning.”
“A number of different fruit juices, along with a generous helping of a special sauce our women make to baste meat with. It hurts the throat, but it definitely cures hangovers.”
“I think I would prefer to suffer from the hangover.”
Later that day, everyone met up once again in the throne room. Now that the wedding had taken place, all visitors were free to leave. Preparations had to be made as they planned to depart as soon as possible. Fuzzle was with them, as was Pennon and Nisse. Ria sat on a chair, holding her head in her hands and groaning, but at least her colour had returned to normal.
Supplies and logistics were discussed, with Fuzzle promising to provide them with all they needed. There was much protesting, but in the end they gave in, gratefully accepting her generous gift.
“River and I will not be accompanying you,” Grimmel announced unexpectedly when discussion turned to who would be travelling in the wagon. “I am not permitted to be present when you solve the latest clue, so we have decided to remain here until Petro arrives and fill him in on all we know.”
Nobody liked the idea of leaving without two of their friends, but saw the logic in the suggestion. Ban, too, opted to remain behind. The latest clue banned his presence also and he wanted to avoid being left alone at Patrick’s castle.
Nisse, having fulfilled his duty in delivering his message to Sam, decided he too would depart that day, but he would head straight back home instead of travelling any part of the journey with the others. Before leaving the room, he approached Sam and wished her good luck with the pregnancy. She had been hoping he would assure her that he would say nothing about the child she was carrying to Brin, but was sadly disappointed. Instead, he reminded her of her promise to keep him informed as to her progress whenever possible.
“So we are down to 10,” Dal observed.
“Nine,” Pennon announced. “If I can persuade Ria to remain with me that is.”
Patrick ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him. His laugh could still be heard through the walls. “You are a very brave man,” Seth observed.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ria snarled.
“Nothing,” Seth said, jumping backwards and holding his hands in front of him defensively. “Come on,” he continued, turning to his wife. “We should go and pack.”
“That is a good idea,” Patrick said, walking back into the room, having recovered from his laughing fit. “Meet back here in an hour.”
The room emptied, leaving Ria and Pennon alone.
“Well?” he asked, stretching out his wings and folding them back again behind him.
“No,” Ria replied without hesitation.
“Why not?”
“Look Pennon,” she said soothingly. “You are a nice enough person, and I am sure you will make someone a wonderful husband someday, but I am not ready to settle down just yet. Let me finish this quest. Then, if you are still available, I will reconsider your offer.”
Pennon did his best to change her decision, accusing her of denying him the chance to prove himself to her, but her mind was made up.
“I can sweep you off your feet you know. Literally.” To demonstrate, he pulled her into his arms and flew upwards, stopping just before making contact with the ceiling.
“Put me down,” she snapped, feeling nauseous once more. “If I want a man who can carry me into the air, I may as well get together with a vampire.”
Pennon almost dropped her. “That was not called for.”
“Sorry,” she said. “But I really think you should put me back on the ground before I vomit all over your nice new shoes.”
He did as instructed, then escorted her back to her room; the entire route he talked to her about the advantages of living with an altarian, while neatly deflecting any disadvantage she could come up with. It was all to no avail though. As soon as she reached her room, she thanked him for his company and promptly shut the door in his face.
An hour later, bags were packed, supplies had been loaded into the wagon and everyone was in the throne room once more. Pennon was not present, having already said his goodbyes to Ria privately.
“What route do you plan to take?” Fuzzle asked, studying a map. “Your most direct route seems to be to head towards the Kinfen mountains, then go west until you have cleared the foothills, before going south through Emvale.”
“That was our plan,” Patrick confirmed. “It is going to be a long journey, but there is no avoiding that.”
“Be careful crossing the border,” she advised. “We have been receiving a number of reports of bandit activity in that area. I would advise you to consider another route, but your only other option would be to cross the mountains.”
“Thank you for the warning, but I am sure we can look after ourselves.” Patrick looked around him. “Is there any reason we cannot depart immediately?” he asked everyone.
There were no objections, so swift goodbyes were made to River, Ban and Grimmel and they all headed out of the palace. Once everyone was mounted, they slowly made their way out of the city to resume their travels.
The journey across Janton took less time than they expected and they were surprised when they hit the foothills of the mountains and had to head west. Due to the nocturnal members of their group, they had chosen to travel by night and rest during the day. They met few travellers and those that they did pass were polite and friendly, some even joining them for a meal by the fire. Of those they spoke with, only one had crossed the border, but he confirmed what Fuzzle had said about the bandits. He was a regular traveller between Janton and Emvale, so he knew the less travelled routes, thus avoiding the trouble hot-spots, but over the previous months, accounts of attacks on those who followed the main roads had increased dramatically.
“Is there another route we can take?” Quartilla asked nervously, once the merchant had departed.
“Not without delaying us significantly,” Patrick replied. “But do not worry. We are used to encountering this sort of trouble. I am sure we can handle a few bandits.”
“Besides,” Seth joined in. “We are a large group. It is unlikely anyone would be stupid enough to attack us.”
It was nearing midnight when they drew close to Emvale and they decided to rest the horses and take a refreshment break before crossing the border. Woodland lay to their right and Ellen volunteered to gather firewood so Seth could cook a meal. As she walked towards the trees, Patrick raced after her, announcing he would help.
A few hours earlier, as soon as they had awoken, Hawk and Ellen had flown out across the fields on their left and soon returned with the body of a wild goat, which they deposited into the back of the wagon. With Nosmas’s help, Seth now retrieved it and started to prepare it for cooking. He removed the hide and began rubbing the exposed flesh with various herbs and spices. He despatched Oak, Sam and Ria into the woods to hunt for edible vegetation while Hawk took Dal and Quartilla north to where he had seen a small river. Though their water supply was not running low, they always replenished it whenever the opportunity arose. Nosmas remained behind and began to dig the fire pit.
Oak, Sam and Ria were the first to return, arms filled with plants and roots. Seth had just finished with the carcass and had begun to hunt for large stones to place around the fire. As Patrick and Ellen were yet to return, the three arrivals were sent off once more to find them. Seeing no sign of their passing, but spotting lots of useable twigs and small branches on the ground, the unanimous decision was made to collect firewood first and hunt for their friends later. By the time the water gatherers returned, the meat was cooking and Oak, Sam and Ria had departed once more, searching for the errant couple. When they returned alone, worry began to set in.
“They have probably found some secluded place to be alone,” Ria suggested, but her voice betrayed the concern she was feeling.
“Can vampires even have sex?” Dal asked Hawk curiously.
“Of course,” he replied, slightly embarrassed by the question.
“We have our answer then,” Seth said, faking enthusiasm. Nobody was convinced. The meal was soon ready and, though filling and tasty, was eaten in silence.
“I will go out and see if I can see anything,” Hawk volunteered as there was still no sign of Ellen or Patrick by the time everyone had washed up and were ready to leave. The trees were very dense in places, so anyone walking among them would not be seen from the air, but there were a number of places where they were more sparsely populated and Hawk promised to check them all out. A short time later he returned having found no sign of them. Two options were open to them; continue on their journey and hope that their friends caught up with them, or split up into groups and continue searching. The choice was obvious so they discussed tactics for the search. Hawk predicted that it would take roughly an hour to reach the border if they continued following the road, so Seth and Dal opted to drive the wagon slowly until they reached an agreed upon rendezvous point just short of crossing into Emvale. The rest split into pairs, each pair moving progressively deeper into the wood before heading south. Hawk went with Sam, frequently flying above the tree line in case he could spot anything from his aerial view. Everyone else set off on foot, instructing their horses to follow the wagon.
“What if they went north or left the woodland?” Dal asked Seth as the horse pulled the wagon slowly forwards.
“If nobody has found them by the time we all reach the border, we will reassess our options.”
A large wooden sign marked the start of Emvale lands and Seth asked the horse to pull up beside it. A stream ran close by, so he released the animal from the harness and instructed all of the equine beasts to take a drink. He and Dal sat down nearby, nibbling on sweet biscuits and sipping water as they anxiously waited for their friends to join them.
Ria and Oak were the first to arrive, shaking their heads as soon as they were spotted. They had found no sign of Ellen or Patrick. They had not called out as they searched, instead the decision had been made to be as quiet as possible in case bandits were about. If their friends were in trouble, it would do them no good if their rescue party announced their presence to their captors.
Hawk flew into sight a short time later, Sam in his arms. The trees stopped before they left Janton, a previous ruler of Emvale having cut down all of the trees on his side of the border in an effort to define the boundary. As soon as they had walked out into the moonlight, they had headed back to where they knew the others would be waiting.
Nosmas and Quartilla were the last to arrive, the latter looking pale. “I found Patrick’s sword,” Nosmas announced, holding up the metal object, “but nothing more.” He sat down, gratefully accepting the water that was handed to him. “I have a feeling of foreboding.”
