Chapter 10: Chapter Nine

The ranger woke the next morning before the light was more than a dull gray in the east. Entoris was good to his word. They found three full packs and water-skins waiting at the edge of the clearing. Albaran had readied himself and prowled the edge of the forest restlessly while Del and Maug gathered their things.

The walk through Bellon was a quiet one, each member of the little band lost in their own thoughts. Albaran led them southeast toward the border of Aruelia.

They stopped for a quiet lunch when the ranger decided it was close to noontime. Del and Maug tried to talk then, but it soon turned into an argument with Albaran over the best route to take and how much information he was required to give them. Del spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to convince the Velli they were working toward the same goal and then, when he finally relented, that the information needed to be shared with Maug as well. It was a tense and uncomfortable evening meal and Del was happy to take the first watch just for the quiet.

They traveled for nearly three days like this. Maug and the ranger trading ever deepening insults and Del having to reign in the one that went too far. Except for the fourth time she had to tell Albaran to stop referring to her as ‘your majesty’ and he tried to tell her it was a mandatory custom of the Velli. She had been gentle with her rebukes until this point because she thought it was out of respect.

"I was raised with the Velli," she said, with a mixture of awe and frustration, "and I know very well it is not. Are you just doing it to irritate me?" The ranger just nodded solemnly.

“I’m glad you finally got the point. I was getting sick of saying it.”

She’d considered herself quite neutral in the ongoing feud between the elves until then. But the ranger found his water skin filled with salt the next morning and spent almost an hour trying to clean it out before refilling it. He refused to speak to either of them for the entire next day.

The trees began to thin and grow sparse on the morning of the third day. By that afternoon they found themself at the edge of Bellon looking out on a wide field. Small houses were visible in the distance. It was hard to tell if it was a small town or just a homestead.

“We should change before finding the road,” Del said and unslung her pack from her shoulder. Maug did the same.

“Change?” Albaran looked at them questioningly.

“Yes, change. We can’t go into Aurelia looking like this.” Del motioned to her current leather traveling pants and long unbraided hair.

“Why not?”

“What do you mean, why not? We’ll draw too much notice.”

“Does that matter?”

“Of course…” Del tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. “Of course it matters. We are supposed to be finding Wymar, not getting nabbed by the first patrol that sees us.”

Albaran looked at her with utter disbelief. “I am a Velli,” he said simply.

Del and Maug exchanged confused glances.

“What does that have to do with us getting nabbed?” Maug asked, surprisingly patient for once.

“No one would…nab…a Velli. We are the high elves. I may not be a Lord, but I am still of the Velli. No one would dare.” There was no doubt in his statement, and Del almost felt sorry for him. She remembered what it had been like the first time she had left the safety and lies of Bellon.

“Albaran, things may not be as you think outside Bellon.”

“Explain.”

“This far from the capital, very few people have ever even seen a Velli. Many don’t believe they are real. Just showing your face in a town will cause a stir. Even in the capital, a Velli would be an unusual sight.”

“I would just kill them.”

“What? No.” Del choked out. “You can’t just kill people. I mean, not like that,” she said when Maug gave her a wry look. “We are trying to move quietly and without notice. A Velli marching into town and stabbing everyone that looked at him would be the opposite of that.” Albaran seemed to think that over.

“Fine,” he said finally.

“I still do not understand how that is hiding.” Albaran gestured to Del’s long green dress. It had surprised her to find it tucked into the bottom of the bag from Bellon. It was a fine cut, if a bit out of fashion. She had put her hair back in braids and beads as well. They were making their way across the field toward the small town and, hopefully, a road.

“I am Aurelian. The best way to avoid notice is to blend in. An Aurelian woman in Aurelia makes sense.”

The ranger tugged at his oversized hood and grunted in answer. He had not been happy with the hooded cloak Del had pressed on him. He said it would make fighting difficult. Del had to point out multiple times that they were trying to avoid fighting. Maug was back in his bright tunic and floppy hat. They had pointedly not talked about the idea of lady and servants they often used in this situation. Their silent agreement was Albaran would probably take that poorly.

The town turned out to be closer to a large homestead. There was one small shop they sent Maug to for supplies, but they found no other reason to linger. The few people on the main street stared at the tall ranger, even with his hood up. A small dirt road ran out of the town and, they hoped, to a larger road. Albaran said the last location he had sent Wymar was at least two days south on foot. Luckily, Aurelia was one of the smaller territories in Orvesa or they would have had little chance to catch up.

A few hours before sunset, the road widened and joined another well-beaten track. They saw a few riders and carts, but thankfully no guards. The group walked until the sun was well behind the distant horizon and they could see the lights of a town in the distance.

“Should we try it, you think?” Maug asked.

“Probably best not,” Del shook her head. “There’s not enough traffic to hide us and if we show up and the gate is closed, it will just draw attention.” Albaran didn’t seem to have an option. He had been unusually quiet since they had left the first small town.

They found an out of the way spot off the road and set about eating a sparse dinner and finding comfortable places to rest.

“I will take first watch,” Albaran said and walked into the trees. Maug just shrugged and rolled over.

Del had a hard time finding sleep. She could hear the ranger pacing around the perimeter of their camp, so she rose quietly and went to join him. He didn’t stop when she appeared so she matched his steps.

“I can watch. I can’t find sleep, anyway.” She said.

“I am not tired,” he said stiffly.

“Fine, but there’s no point in two of us being up and moving.”

“I am fine,” was his only reply.

“Is everything…well?”

“There seems to be no dangers at the moment.”

Del sighed, “that is not what I meant. Is everything well with you?”

“Yes,” he said, and picked up his pace.

“Albaran…” He stopped so suddenly she almost ran him over.

“You left. You left the Velli and Bellon. I thought you were a weak fool for it.”

“Oh…”

“They teach us that Aurelia is a grand place but weak, supported by our magic and our grace…”

“Ah,” Del said, understanding what he was trying to say. “And that all the other lands are wild or poor or filled with villainous madmen?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “But this,” he gestured around them, “this is…it is…”

“Plain? Normal?”

“Aurelia is supposed to be our ally, to know us and love us. I can not even show my face here.”

“I had similar issues when I first left. I might have known a little more about Aurelia than you, but not much, and nothing except what I was taught in Bellon about the other people of the world. It was a shock at first.”

He stopped and looked at her, his burnished gold eyes narrowed. She knew what it was to realize the people you trusted, loved had been so wrong.

“When I first left Bellon,” she said, “I walked for nearly two days before I saw the first town. I had brought little in the way of supplies, so I was very relieved to have finally found civilization.” She laughed. “I expected warm meat, mead, and a comfortable feather bed. Instead, I found a tiny town that had experienced a poor harvest and had no desire for outsiders. I was lucky the dogs they set on me didn’t have the strength to run far.” She saw his eyes widen in surprise. “It is a land like any other Albaran. Full of people who are good and people who are bad. And every other land is just the same. Vintera has mages, and Sarona has pirates, and Gidura has farms…but they are all just people, living the way they always have and always will.”

He resumed his walk but stayed silent. She walked beside him for some time. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“Did they lie, or do they not know?” The idea of the Lords of the Velli, his Lords, not knowing the world, seems to trouble him deeply. She had always been a reluctant student, a reluctant Velli, so maybe the idea of them being so deeply flawed had carried less meaning for her.

“I think it’s a bit of both, honestly. They tell tales to keep people away and to keep people in. They tell tales to keep themselves relevant. But they are also separate. They have lost the thread of the world and I don’t even think they know it. But,” she continued, “the capital of Aurelia is what they say, if that helps at all. It is beautiful and rich and the people are uptight, horrid prigs.” She smiled at him gently.

“It is simply something I must adjust for,” he said stiffly. “We will find Wymar and things will return to…what they were.”

She knew that even were he to return to Bellon now, he would never truly trust the world there. It was a hard lesson, and she hoped, for his sake, that he accepted it.

The next morning they joined the small flow of traffic into the town. Maug alone and Del and Albaran together with him carrying their belongings. The ranger accepted the weak excuse of her not sleeping well and needing the help. The town’s grand name, Emerald, was unearned. Two crossing streets lined with small homes and shops and only one small inn.

“We’ll hit a couple of shops and then make our way to the other side of town. I doubt there is much else for us here.” Del said when they were inside the gates.

“And the Zersapi?” he asked.

“He will meet us there. He is going to the inn.”

“Why?”

“To find rumors over a game of cards, I suspect.”

“We do not need rumors. I know where we are going.”

“Yes, but extra information never hurts,” she said absently. She was trying to determine if the store they were in front of was an herb dealer.

“Why do you allow him to wander? It could cause problems.”

“I don’t allow him to do anything. We work together.” She shrugged and moved down the street. “Maug and I have always done things this way.”

“You mean thievery and menace.” It was a statement. She rolled her eyes.

“Maybe some thievery, yes, but only from those that have it to spare. And I never really was much for the menace part. That’s more Maug’s department.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“You think that makes it better?” He scowled.

“Alright,” she stopped and looked at him, “what’s eating you?”

“I do not know what you mean.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I do not understand how this could be the life you chose. Squalled towns and drunken nights after stealing from good people. You could have been a queen.” His words were flat, but he stared at her with disgust. She started down the street again.

“Not all towns are squalled,” she said over her shoulder. “And I seldom get drunk, thank you. And I promise there are very, very few ‘good’ rich people. The point, though, is this is the life I chose. I get to decide my fate. Now, keep your head down, please. People are staring.”

A cart vendor selling slightly shriveled vegetables was looking at Albaran’s only partially covered face with open curiosity. The ranger stared back, partially unsheathing one of his daggers. Del put a hand over his.

“Put that away,” she said in a harsh whisper.

“He may cause trouble later.”

She pushed the blade down and huffed.

“We don’t kill shopkeepers because they might be trouble.”

“I could simply silence him.” He said matter-of-factly. She took his arm and pulled him down the street, aware they looked odd but beyond caring.

“And you are judging me?” she mumbled as they made their way farther into town.

Within an hour, they had visited the town's butcher and an herb seller and made their way to the outskirts of town. Del was relieved to find that both stores were fully stocked, and the townspeople were healthy for the most part.

Maug joined them shortly after the sun reached its zenith and they started south again on the dusty road.

“If I’d had a whole day, I probably could have found the exact location of our new king.” Maug bounced a full coin purse in one hand as he spoke. “There are too many rumors to sort in just a couple hours, though. Still, it was a nice place. We should put it on our list to visit again.”

“We don’t have a list,” Del said.

“We should start one, then.”

“Bar maid?” She asked wryly.

“The tavern keep, actually,” he grinned at her. She shook her head. Albaran walked ahead of them a short distance, but Del could feel the disapproval radiating off of him.

Maug had discovered that the next town they would come to on the south road was called Kimes and there was likely a large guard patrol staying there. They had passed through Emerald just the day before.

“Probably best we go around that one then,” Del said. “We have supplies and a few nights out won’t kill us.” Maug didn’t argue, but that was probably due more to him not wanting to seem weak in front of Albaran than him actually being ok with sleeping in the woods for a night.

The traffic on the road was sparse. A few wagons passed them, but they only saw a handful of others on foot. It made Del uneasy. Everywhere they had been from Gidura to Bellon was full of guards and mercenaries. The distinct lack of them now made her weary. She said as much to Maug, but he only shrugged.

“Maybe they’ve given up.” Ahead of them, the ranger grunted. “Finally have something to add, Al.” Maug prodded.

“You judge the King’s Guard by your own cowardly standards. That is unwise.” Color rose in Maug’s cheeks, but he laughed.

“You think the King’s Guard brave?” he asked. “Have you ever actually met one?”

Albaran’s shoulders tensed. Del knew the answer. The only knowledge he had of the famed King’s Guard was from his teachings in Bellon, and those were probably terribly flawed.

“I have not, Zersapi, but I have met you.”

Maug started forward, but Del caught his arm.

“Leave it,” she said under her breath. When he looked to keep going anyway, she tugged harder. “Please.” He shook her off, but kept his pace beside her.

Kimes came into view a couple of hours later. They waited for a break in the heavier traffic near the town, then left the road and headed east. The plan was to make a quick circle around the town and meet back up with the road and continue south, hopefully ahead of any King’s Guard.

Almost immediately, they ran into trouble. The small wooded area ended abruptly in a series of large open fields dotted by small farm houses. Half of the fields were stunted and lifeless.

“Gonna be hard to get through there unnoticed,” Maug said, crouching at the edge of the woods.

“They are farmers,” Albaran said beside him.

“Aye, farmers who notice things. Especially strange people walking through their fields.” Maug said.

“We could try swinging farther east and around them,” Del suggested.

“Looks like they go a good ways,” Maug said, squinting out across the fields. “Must supply all the towns in this area. It would add another day, maybe.”

“No,” the ranger shook his head. “We are already risking Wymar being moved or captured. We can not delay more.”

“Fine, then we could go back to the road and try to swing west,” Del said.

“No,” the ranger said, again. “That is just more wasted time. We will go through town, as before.”

“It won’t be as before. Are you forgetting the guards?”

“They have no reason to stop us.”

Maug laughed. “They have about a hundred reasons to stop us.”

Albaran got to his feet. “We will go through the town.” He started back into the woods.

“Hold on,” Del walked after him. “You can’t just decide where we go.”

“We must hasten. It is dangerous to continue on this path, you say. We know nothing of the west path, but if we try and fail again, we will have wasted more time. The risk of going through the town is less than falling behind.”

“Oh, and now you get to decide what risks we are going to take, too?” Maug asked. “You are not in charge here, Al.”

“And neither are you Zersapi.” The ranger growled.

“Great! Now that we have decided who’s in charge, would you like to know what we are going to do?” Del said lightly.

They both turned to her in confusion.

“Well, if you are not in charge,” she pointed to Albaran. “And you are not in charge,” she pointed to Maug. “Then that leaves me. Or Tafa, I suppose, and I speak for her so same thing.” She bowed mockingly to them. “I appreciate your faith in me.”

Strangely, Albaran nodded. Maug blinked at her but said nothing.

“We will go back to the main road and then head west of town,” she held up a hand to stall the ranger's objections. “If we do not see a clear path west, we will enter the town.”

“There is no need to pursue another path, the town…”

“Is the most dangerous path if we are noticed. Blending in will be easier in the town, but if we are noticed there, the consequences will be more dire.”

“Then why is it even an option?” Maug asked.

“Because it is also the quickest way and there is a possibility the guards have moved on.”

“It makes little sense…” Albaran started, but Maug talked over him.

“We won’t know that until it’s too late…”

“You know what the worst option of all is?” She raised her voice over them. “Standing here in the woods arguing.” She turned and headed back toward the road.

Late afternoon sunlight filtered through heavy clouds, making the long fields of wheat look like seas of golden water. Long fields on the west of Kimes.

“Damn,” was all Del said before turning back to the road.

“Hey, wait,” Maug called. “We could try to go further west…”

“No,” Albaran said in his usual tone as he passed them. Maug pulled a face at his back.

“He’s right Maug, we can’t waste more time.” Then to Albaran, “wait. We have to go in together.”

Kimes' gates were still open when they met the road again, and well guarded. Del had done her best to brush the green dress, but it was showing the wear of walking through woods and dusty roads. She had to tell the ranger twice to pull his hood forward. At the gates, the guards paid more attention to them than she would have liked, but they let them pass without incident.

“We walk straight through,” she said as they passed the first inn. “Quick and easy.”

Kimes was larger than Emerald. They passed crisscrossing allies and roads and two inns. The streets were busy.

“You know, a small stop wouldn’t hurt,” Maug said as he stopped in front of a loud tavern.

“It would probably hurt Al’s nerves,” Del said quietly beside him. The ranger had stopped a dozen feet away and was staring daggers at them. Maug laughed when he saw him.

“That would just make it better…” The tavern door banged open behind them and three King’s Guards stepped into the street and nearly ran them over.

“Out of the way. Move, cur,” the closest one said as he shoved Maug out of the way.

Del stepped quickly to one side with a stern look at the three men. They didn’t address her, but at least they didn’t push. Before the door of the tavern shut, she saw at least a dozen more inside. She waited for the three to pass out of sight down a side street before returning to Maug.

“Well, at least we know our bad luck isn’t running out,” he said dryly. “Where’s the Velli?”

“Here fools,” he appeared from an alley beside the tavern. “I wonder at how you have survived this long.”

“I’d be happy to show you…”

“Can we save the demonstration until we are safely out of this town?” Del hissed. “The town filled with King’s Guards?”

As they continued walking, they attempted to stay close to the street and steer clear of open doors and stalls. They crested a small hill and saw the southern town gates. They were closed.

“What…?” Del stood in the street, staring at the closed wooden doors.

“That’s not good,” Maug said beside her.

“Why are you stopping? We must leave.” Albaran started to walk past them, but Del stopped him.

“The gates are closed.”

“And? Do they not open?”

“They shouldn’t be closed this early.” Maug said.

“It is a gate. It can be opened.”

“It can be,” Del said. “But it is closed early for a reason. Probably because they are trying to keep someone in.”

“We must get through.”

“Yes. And we will. We just have to be a little more creative about it now.” Del nodded to Maug.

“Allow me to show you how we survive,” he said as he disappeared down an empty alley.

Del saw the questions Albaran wanted to ask, but he kept his stony silence.

“Come on,” she said, crossing the street to a small open cafe. She found a seat near the street and sat. The ranger began to take the street across from her.

“No,” she said sharply. “You have to order. Here,” she dug some coin from her pocket without counting it and handed it to him. “Just a tea for me and you will wait by the street.”

“I will do no such thing,” he said. “Order your own tea.”

“Albaran,” Del sighed. “We have to play a part here. It is the only way we can keep out of sight.”

“If we are to hide, there are better places.”

“There are not. Two people lurking in an alley will draw more notice than a lady and her…helper. And we can not stray far if we want Maug to find us easily. Now order the tea and keep your head down. Trust me. Please.”

He mumbled angrily under his breath, but went. When he returned, he sat down the delicate teacup with a little more force than necessary and turned his back on her. She tried to ignore the awkward glances she knew they were drawing and sip her tea like the unbothered lady she was trying to seem.

Maug returned an hour later and, to Del’s irritation, spoke to Albaran briefly before quietly disappearing again. The ranger pulled his hood forward and walked to her table.

“We must go.”

“Where? What did he say?”

“That we should go.”

“Does he have a plan? Did something go wrong?”

“That is not a conversation a lady of Aurelia should have with her helper, is it?”

She huffed, but left her seat and followed him south down the main street. He turned right down a side street, then left. They came to an alley, and he paused. Maug appeared and waved them further down the alley. Once they were all in the shadows, he spoke quickly and quietly.

“There is a small door in the outer wall not far from here. Only two guards.”

“That’s the best option?” Del knew it probably was if he was presenting it, but she had hoped for something better, quieter, than incapacitating two guards. “No low place in the wall or handy overhang?”

“Not that I could find in an hour.” Maug shook his head. “Maybe if we had a day…”

“No.” Albaran said and Del sighed.

“Alright. Let’s have a look at his door.”

The town wall was close set gray stone stacked at least twenty feet high. Impressive for a place as relatively small as Kimes. They crowded in an alley a few hundred paces from the wooden door. It was no bigger than one on an inn or tavern. So small that it didn’t need two guards. It was obvious their presence was connected to whatever had closed the gates. The men on either side of the door looked around the small alley in front of them boredly.

The door stood at an intersection, with one alley running parallel to the wall and a minor road extending further into town meeting directly in front of the door. They were hidden in an alley off that road. Thankfully, it looked to be a residential area, no storefronts or busy food places for people to gather. But if they didn’t hurry, the evening meal would have people returning to their homes.

“Alright, we’ll have to cause a distraction of some sort. Maybe I can fain an injury or some other emergency?” Del whispered to the two behind her without turning around.

“I doubt that’ll be enough to draw both away.” Maug answered.

“Probably true. But we can hope and if it does work, I can use the ring on the one I draw away and come back for the other.”

“Sounds reasonable…hey, where's Al?”

Del swung around and peered into the darkening alley. Albaran had been there when they had stopped to watch the gate.

“What in the…he wandered off? Now?” she hissed. “We can’t leave without him. I wish we could but…”

“Um, Del,” Maug was once again looking out of the mouth of the alley. Del joined him.

Albaran was walking down the street toward the door as if he had all the reason in the world to be there. As he approached, he lowered his hood. His dark hair shone in the afternoon sunlight. Both guards' eyes widened in surprise and confusion, but they did nothing to stop the tall elf.

When he reached them, he nodded and said something she couldn’t hear. The guards looked at each other questioningly and before they could look back, Albaran had drawn his belt dagger and stabbed the man on his left in the side of the neck. He drew the blade out and ran it across the other man’s throat so fast he didn’t have time to scream. Del hissed and ran from the alley.

“Are you insane?” She skidded to a halt beside Albaran. “We wanted to get out unnoticed. How is this not noticeable?” She gestured to the dying men, thrashing silently in spreading pools of blood. “Even if we move them, there’s no hiding this.”

“There was no way to pass by quickly without their deaths. If we leave now, we can avoid notice.”

“I could have used the ring,” she hissed. He looked confused for a moment, then shocked.

“You would use the Ring of Orvesa for such pettiness?”

“It’s not petty if it gets us out of town without bloody guards to explain.”

“Uh, not to interrupt,” Maug interrupted. “But we may want to have this conversation later.” He was looking down the side street at a group of people moving toward them.

“Shit, come on.” She lunged at the door and threw back the heavy bolt with a loud clang and ran into the open field that bordered the town. The other two followed without bothering to close the door behind them.

They made it across an entire field of tall wheat and halfway through another, with only stunted brown sprouts before the arrows started falling.