This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to the Protector of the Small series, any of its characters belong to Tamora Pierce… Much to my disappointment. This goes AU about midway from the book Page. Fair warning. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it. This is mostly centered on Joren. This is also a slow build Kel/Joren.
AN: So sorry for all the delays, my life is a little distracted right now, but I have vacation for the next week and fully intend of pushing through to finish this story so, please keep an eye out if you have been longing for the conclusion, there are only a few chapters left for me to write at this point.
June 4-7, 460
When they reached Haven, Wyldon sent one of the companies that they had brought with them to sweep the area around them to ensure there weren't any Scanrans left. They were long gone though, as were the wildlife who were petrified of the killing devices and wouldn't be back for several days. This made the woods surrounding Haven hauntingly quiet. They could smell the smoke and Stormwing activity well before they reached Haven.
Joren could tell that Kel was forcing herself to hold back from rushing to find her people. Wyldon sent couriers to Northwatch, Mastiff, new Giantkiller, and Steadfast at the sight of the mess of churned up road at the crossroads with the Giantkiller road. He then sent Company Eight to follow Giantkiller road with orders to pursue because the wagons would slow them down.
After that, Wyldon ordered Kel to lead them into Haven. The remainder of the ride to Haven was a bloody mess. Haven may have fallen but they made the Scanrans pay a hefty, bloody price. Joren saw his first killing device as they neared the walls of Haven, it hung half over the wall, snared in a net, though it had clearly been disabled. The gates to Haven had to have been broken open by a battering ram. Haven itself was in ruins.
The enemy had attempted to burn the place based on the scorch marks around the bases of buildings and the smoke still weakly floating out of broken windows but there were obviously fire protections in place throughout as the walls were still intact, for the most part. The infirmary was burnt to ash though, or Joren guessed that was what it was, given that that building would be the only one that couldn't have magic placed over it or risk having those magics interfere with the healing that occurred in that place.
Joren followed Kel quickly as she dismounted and made for the ramparts. Wyldon gave orders to find the wounded and dead and lay them out by the gate. They found a pile of soldiers near the gate as they climbed the steps. Joren felt concerned that Kel's expression had gone icy cold and he knew better than try comforting her in this mood. There would be time later, when it was all over and done with.
Joren got a close up look at one of the killing devices and shuddered. He realized that it was probably a good thing that he wasn't on the front lines per King Jonathan's orders. The woman sliced in half told him enough about how deadly they were and while Kel was borderline fearless, Joren had a strong sense of self preservation still that meant that he wasn't likely to handle fighting that kind of thing very well.
Joren noted that all the dead had the unmistakable mark of Stormwings and figured they didn't care who or why the fighting occurred, just that they had fought. He also noted that Kel's expression had gone from icy to confused. Joren felt confusion himself when a Stormwing came down and gave a half apology for mutilating the dead refugees. It was then that it clicked why Kel was really confused. Where were the refugees. Her last letter had said that there were around four hundred and change refugees in the camp.
Kel ordered the sparrows to find Merric and his patrol. Then they searched the headquarters and found only one body. Kel's expression turned to further confusion, "Where are the clerks? This doesn't make any sense. Where are the children that carried their messages through the camp?"
Joren figured it out just then, "Blayce, they came for the children, to take them to Blayce Younger."
Kel's eyes snapped to him, comprehension dawning. Her expression turned hard once more. Joren silently resolved to figure out how to help her regardless of the situation. They left headquarters and found Neal weeping near a body of a woman and the burnt infirmary. Joren watched as Kel tried to comfort their friend briefly before going through the barracks, building by building. They found another lifeless killing device behind the latrines. That one was only defeated thanks to the sacrifice of a sparrow that had wedged itself into an eye so that someone could get near enough to crack the dome.
The others that had come with them found the dead and laid them out in rows on one side of the ruined gate. Kel watched silently as the men worked. Wyldon came over and tried to reassure her, "You couldn't have known that this was coming, Stone Mountain. It's not your fault."
"Yes, sir," Kel whispered half-heartedly.
Just then a bunch of sparrows flew over the walls and swirled around Kel. Wyldon demanded to know what was going on. Kel got the birds to settle and ordered the two senior-most birds, Nari and Arrow to report. Ragar popped up beside her at that point, "They found the red-haired man and his patrol. They're injured." He explained before the sparrows could manage the signals.
Kel and Wyldon looked at him in confusion, "Lord Joren selected me to serve Lady Keladry in part because I have wild magic with sparrows. Just sparrows mind, but I'm also a very good battle mage. The injured are due south of here." Their expressions cleared and refocused on what was important.
"Captain Tollet, take five squads," Wyldon barked out the order immediately. "Proceed with caution. I believe whatever took place here, we missed it, but there's no point in carelessness."
It was a matter of seconds to arrange for the sparrows to lead the men, Ragar easily conveying the instructions. Kel went back to inspecting the rows of the dead. Joren could see that Kel was mentally confirming what Joren had already suggested. The majority of those dead were in army uniforms. She got even more confused as she appeared to be trying to figure something out, but Joren wasn't sure what as Kel wasn't speaking her thoughts aloud. When she questioned Sargent Connac about finding the convicts and the wounded, Connac replied they hadn't found either within Haven. All the horses were gone as well.
Kel did another search of the camp and still found no answers to what she was looking for, even though she seemed to find places that Joren wasn't even certain how she knew where they were. They then went through the hidden tunnel and found the cows and pigs. After that, it was announced that they had found Merric and Joren and Kel rushed back to Haven.
More people had arrived and bore signs of heavy fighting. Kel seemed to relax slight as she saw the mage marks of the convicts, though Joren wasn't certain why. It was clearly the patrol that they had found. Kel learnt quickly where Merric was and then entered her room. Neal was already working in concert with Delorah to heal him.
Merry smiled at Kel weakly, "Thirty of them. The caught us at the southern part of the sweep. Not that we chased thirty, mind. The sparrows fetched us. I should have waited for their count, they've gotten so good at counting, but we only saw seven, so we followed. I swear the sparrows call us ten kinds of idiot when we did it. Stupid thing…"
"How were you to know more were waiting?" Kel demanded softly, crouching near the bed.
"You would have been suspicious. You'd've waited for the sparrows," Merric responded petulantly.
"Neither of us can know that," Kel responded kindly. "I might have done the same thing. So, stop torturing yourself. What next?"
Merric grimaced, "We heard the horn calls from the fort just when they ambushed us. We tried to get past, go back to Haven, but there were too many. They drove us south, but then they broke off. I think they heard one of their own horn calls. They weren't really interested in a fight, Kel. Just in getting us away from Haven. As it was, we lost two men. Leithan and… and Qafi, that Bazhir convict. Fought like a wolf he did. Kept me from being cut in two. Kel, I'm sorry. We should have been more careful. How many dead? How many?" His hands were clenching the sheets.
"We don't know," Kel replied, being straightforward. "We're still looking."
Neal glared at them, "Look, if you can't hush…"
Wyldon interrupted him, "Save your strength Queenscove. Get him so he can be moved without hurt, but we've other wounded. Mastiff's healers can finish up once we get there. That goes for you too, Mistress Rosewood."
Neal looked about to protest, while Delorah looked to Kel. A glare at Neal was all it took to keep him from protesting and Delorah took that as her instruction to obey Lord Wyldon. Kel turned back to Wyldon, "My Lord, I'd like to search the area for survivors. I'm hoping they used the tunnel to get out."
Wyldon nodded reluctantly, "Take three squads. Be wary, Stone Mountain."
"Merric's fine for now. He can be moved safely," Neal announced, pulling his magic back.
"Too contrary to get yourself properly killed," Kel half-heartedly teased Merric.
"Sorry, I let you down," Merric whispered before falling asleep.
Wyldon and Kel responded in unison, to their horror and Joren's amusement that Merric hadn't. After that, Kel was also given the order to round up any animals that they could locate while looking for the survivors. Joren didn't even bother making an attempt at going with Kel for this part. He knew that Wyldon would prevent him from doing anything even slightly out of bounds for his instructions from the king. He was already pushing it just being here. Joren waited patiently for a while before a courier from Company Eight arrived and informed them that there had been a trap of four killing devices on the road, waiting for them.
Joren cursed himself blue at the news. Wyldon ordered Kel's group called back in and the soldiers to mount up. He glanced at Joren who approached him, "I'm surprised you aren't demanding to come with."
"King Jonathan specifically ordered me against single combat, Wyldon. I figure if he didn't want me fighting one on one with a human, he definitely doesn't want me fighting those monsters," Joren responded with a shrug. "Besides, someone's going to need to keep my wife from trying to rip everyone's heads off when she learns they you have enough mages in a single company to hold four killing devices while she's left struggling with Neal and hedge witches."
Wyldon gave him a raised eyebrow at that, "I've always found Lady Keladry to be rather level headed."
"Oh, she is very good at restraining her wrath, I'll give you that, Wyldon. But Kel's definitely got a temper. You don't think all those scuffles we got into back in page training was just my former circle of friends being pricks, did you? No, she went out, found us bullies and straight up went in for the kill. I think she thought she could beat the stupid out of us," Joren chuckled darkly.
"Well, it clearly worked for you," Wyldon stated.
Joren shook his head, "That took a very strict and firm Knight-Master, Wyldon. If there was one thing that you made a misstep on in our training, it was ignoring the bullying that my group did while we were pages. If you'd nipped that behavior in the bud, Vinson may not have thought he could get away with or attemptted to do what he did to those girls. What we did was wrong, and what Kel did was do her best to prevent it when you didn't. Her friends joined in and did put a stop to it, but only because they outnumbered us."
Wyldon frowned at this information before waving everyone, who was now ready, out and onto the road. They crossed paths with Kel's group returning, and Joren noted that Kel was livid, in her quiet way. The squads splitting off and joining Wyldon's column while the Stone Mountain men-at-arms helped herd the animals back into Haven. They corralled them up and penned them back into their pens. It was a bit of work getting the massive graves for the dead to be dug, though Joren knew that Wyldon wouldn't allow time for them to make individual graves.
Joren frowned when between breaks in the digging, Kel made more rounds as if hoping to find some of the refugees alive. It was obvious to him that the Scanrans had taken all the survivors. At mid-afternoon Wyldon sent a messenger to summon Kel and Neal to meet him at the intersection with the Giantkiller road, with instructions to bring Merric and the other wounded. He also wanted the remaining squads he left with them.
Neal complained the whole way about moving half-healed men and then got the soldiers to rigging stretchers between two mounts. The injured were loaded onto those and carried down Haven road. When they met Wyldon, he was grim, "It was a trap. Four of the monsters, no humans. The mages had to melt them to completely stop them. Company Eight got badly chewed up before the spells took hold. Queenscove…" Wyldon trailed off as if haunted by what he had seen.
They waited a moment before realizing the Wyldon had been distracted, "Excuse me, Lord Wyldon, you had orders for me?"
Wyldon came back to the present with a frown, "I did? Yes, of course. You're the strongest healer in the district. You must check each man as we ride. The refugees are gone, long gone. The devices slowed us down long enough for the trail to go cold. I can't waste more time searching when they're across the Vassa by now."
"But sir," Kel protested. "We haven't found but a tenth…"
"We have other problems, Stone Mountain," Wyldon snapped an interruption. "Maggur's got that cursed pattern, remember? Two or three attacks at once. I want us in Mastiff before he strikes, if he hasn't already. And there are other factors. I can't explain them right now. Here are your orders: You and Lord Joren take your men-at-arms and mages, plus Sergeants Connac and Hevlor's squads. Bury your dead. Ride to Mastiff at first light. You'll be reassigned. Bring those farm animals and keep your eyes and ears open. If Mastiff is besieged, report to Lord Raoul at Steadfast. Do not engage the enemy at Mastiff. Understood?"
Kel was about to protest but Joren grabbed her hand and squeezed, not enough to cause pain, just to get her attention and shook his head. Just as Wyldon sighed, "We have bigger problems to concern us, Stone Mountain. Lord Joren, see to it that she follows the orders. Bury to the dead and get your troops to Mastiff." Wyldon signaled for the rest to head out.
As they turned and guided their horses back to Haven Kel turn to and glared at Joren, "Really? You are just going to forget the refugees." She snarled at him, clearly angry that he was seemingly siding with Wyldon.
"Don't be so dramatic, Kel. If you kept protesting, Wyldon would have worried that you might not follow orders and dragged you back to Mastiff. Now he thinks I will make sure you do, and we'll be halfway across the Vassa with our men-at-arms and two mages before he realizes his mistake," Joren stated bluntly.
Kel's eyes widened, "You're going to outright disobey both Wyldon and the King?"
"Nonsense, King Jon's orders were explicit. My responsibilities are to see to the safe passage of two hundred and fifty refugees away from the border. He said that was my only task. They currently aren't safe, and they are probably not even on our side of the border. So, the way I see it, it's my duty to ensure that they are safely retrieved so that I can bring them south. However, since I also have orders not to get into any one on one combat with Scanrans unless unavoidable, and King Maggur in particular, which means that I need you to assist me. King's orders trumps Lord Wyldon's orders, which means you, me, our men-at-arms and mages go after the refugees and the two squads Wyldon left us can deliver the farm animals to Mastiff," Joren finished with a smirk.
Kel's anger vanished in a flash and she shot him a sweet, if exasperated smile, "And Sergeants Connac and Hevlor are just going to go along with this because?" She asked as she glanced back at the two squads behind them.
"Because we are in charge of them and they aren't about to disobey a lord that has the King's ear and a great deal of influence with it," Joren smirked and looked back at the two sergeants who he knew could overhear the entire conversation.
"He's right, Lady Kel. You two are in charge of us. You just need to order us to go on without you and we have to obey," Connac stated with a knowing smirk. "Who am I to disobey the orders of a great lord and his Lady Knight wife."
They went along Giantkiller road long enough to look for trail signs and Kel found a twist of bright red yarn which she stated looked like it came from Meech's rag doll. She then tied the yarn around her right ring finger. They then returned to Haven and got to work finishing the graves. They were done by dark. While the convicts made dinner, the rest laid the dead in the mass graves and buried them with dirt while murmuring prayers.
After that, they burned the Scanran dead on a pyre on the other side of the river. They then cleaned up enough to eat. After supper, Joren listened to stories of the fallen that were told by the soldiers. Kel paced and circled Haven until Joren forced her to go to bed, using an arm around her waist to keep her laying down until she fell asleep. They rose early and Joren gave Connac and Hevlor their final orders. Master Ragar talked some of the sparrows into acting as scouts for the party taking the animals back to Mastiff.
They all headed out, splitting off at the crossroads. Kel and Joren's group making decent time, though they had to keep a slower pace, so as to not wear out the horses, they moved faster than they would have if they had wagons to contend with.
Wyldon was furious, livid even. He was even contemplating murdering the Lord and Lady of Stone Mountain. Both the sergeants that he had left with Lady Kel and Joren had made it to Mastiff with the farm animals. However, the Stone Mountain men-at-arms, the couple, and their two mages had not.
Sergeant Connac and Hevlor both shifted uncomfortably just as Lord Raoul came storming in, "Please say what the Haven convicts just told me isn't true. Please tell me Kel and her insane husband didn't go haring off with just two squads of men-at-arms and two mages."
"I can't tell you that, Goldenlake, because they cursed well did. At least it isn't Keladry alone!" Wyldon snapped angrily making the two sergeants jump. "Apparently, Lord Joren decided that King Jonathan's orders to 'bring the refugees south safely' meant at any and all costs and decided that overrode my orders. You lot should have known better."
"They ordered us to go, milord," Hevlor protested. "We can't disobey an order from nobles, especially ones as powerful as the Stone Mountains…"
Wyldon silenced him with an icy stare.
Raoul dismissed them and the two sergeants fled. Raoul spoke to Wyldon in an ominous tone once they were alone, "I thought you knew her. I thought you knew both of them. Did you believe she would let them take her people? Did you really think that Joren is capable of denying his wife anything? And yet you left her, and him, with twenty loyal men sworn to serve their family, and their family alone. Just told them to bury the dead and report here… I'd've wrapped her in chains and brought her back over her horse. Joren, I'd've had to gag too. This is a girl who risked having to repeat all four years as a page to find her maid. And HE HELPED HER!"
"Gods all bless, Goldenlake, you think I don't know I made a mistake?" Wyldon asked, deflating. "I wasn't thinking. I had a dozen things on my mind. You would have, too, in that spot. Mithros! All those killing devices just thrown away for a refugee camp? I was sure it was a diversion."
"If it was, then our information about next week's attack here is wrong," Raoul informed Wyldon. "No, Haven was another matter entirely. Five hundred-odd slaves will fuel a lot of iron monsters, don't you think?"
"I know I erred," Wyldon muttered numbly. "You're not saying anything I don't know."
Raoul shook his head, "If she dies, Mithros forgive you. I never will." He then left Wyldon's office.
They found Hildurra, one of the clerks, Kel explained to the group, not far past the melted Killing Devices. They guessed by the blood staining the woman's clothing that she had bled out from wounds sustained from the attack. There were healers among those taken, so they had to assume that the Scanrans weren't allowing them to help the injured.
They didn't have time to bury the poor woman, but they did shift it so that it was out of sight from Stormwings. Kel explained that she hoped the refugees would make the enemy's retreat a misery, because she had trained them to resist as much as possible. They had little in the way of food but Jump and a few of the other camp animals took down a fresh killed boar just when the group settled down to make dinner. They also brought in a few rabbits and squirrels. They sliced up the meat and shared out parts of it with the animals before cooking the rest for themselves.
They had made camp within Giantkiller's walls. The men-at-arms only agreeing to do so since Kel made an offering to the restless dead of the fur and entrails of their meal. They bunked down in one of the partially intact barracks and tried to get as good a night's sleep as they could, while resting the horses as well.
They were woken by the sounds of others entering the ruined fort. Everyone quietly gathered their weapons and crept towards where the animals had already headed. Joren frowned at the excited noises of them greeting friends. It became obvious quickly that it was Dom's squad from Third Company of the King's Own. Kel marched over to the men who were still settling the horse.
"What is going on here?" She demanded angrily. "Are you out of your minds?"
Dom smiled, "We were just debating waking you, but I guess that's irrelevant now. Did you all get enough sleep? We can make breakfast if you want to get a bit more rest."
"We haven't run mad," Fulcher, one of the squad members that Joren could recognize, stated. "We're under orders. My lord sent us to do whatever you say needs doing."
Kell looked at them incredulously, "My lord sent you? And you got here all the way from Steadfast, in, what, a day?"
"No, milady Kel," Wolset, the other one that Joren recognized, answered. "Us and Aiden's squad rode to Mastiff with my lord. Some parley with my lord Wyldon. Were there when Connac and Hevlor got in. My lord told us you'd likely be about here now."
"You can't do this," Kel argued. Joren didn't see the point. Even if they didn't come with permission, the damage was already done. He would do his best to protect them if they were lying about their orders, though it definitely sounded like something Lord Raoul would do. "You don't know what we're doing, the laws we're breaking…"
"We aren't breaking many. I've got a few bases covered because of how Jonathan phrased his orders to me," Joren interrupted. "Kel, we need all the help we can get. You know we're going up against superior numbers. The refugees may fight, if given half a chance, but you need numbers to give them that half a chance."
"Listen to your pretty trophy Lord husband, milady Kel. He's not wrong," Wolset got a glare from Joren for implying that he was just a pretty face but didn't let it get to him. The man would see soon enough that his sword was plenty sharp and his aim with a bow was nearly as good as Kel's.
"And we do have a good idea," Dom added. They got the fire started and began cooking food while Kel had been arguing with them. Dom also produced bribes to entice Kel to accept their presence. There was a roll of maps which Joren suspected held all the roads north of this area. "You don't get these unless we come too."
"Don't forget the purse my lord gave us for bribes," Wolset pointed out.
"That's blackmail," Kel growled out.
Joren remembered just then that he had a good deal of coin in his saddlebags, not intentionally, mind. He had brought it with him to give Kel something to spend if there were any rouge caravans risking the border so that she could buy more supplies. He kept quiet though, as he knew the others were talking Kel into letting them come with their renegade group.
"Actually, it's extortion," One that Joren didn't recognize stated. "Blackmail implies…"
His squad mates dragged him off to saddle the horses while everyone else finished eating. Kel sighed in relief and at Joren's questioning look told him the man was named Lofren and was a bit overzealous when it came to discussing legal matters with anyone willing to listen because his father was a magistrate.
They cleaned up quickly after this, and Joren chose not to comment on Dom's squad's lack of opportunity to rest. He figured the group was probably more accustomed than most to no getting a proper rest while gearing up for a fight. Fortunately, Kel seemed to forget to argue further as they all saddled their horses and prepared to leave. Joren eyed Kel as she pulled out a band and tied it around her head.
"Griffin feathers keep my eyes and ears from being deceived by illusions," Kel explained.
Joren nodded and smirked, "Guess that little monster was good for something after all… besides being a lie detector."
Just as they were about to leave, Hoshi and Joren's horse, Bloodborne, whinnied in excitement. There was a response from two horses down the road. The men all saddled up with swords and bows out in lightning speed. The animals however quickly responded however and Ragar smiled, "The sparrows say it's your 'horse boy' and the 'wild-man'."
Kel looked exasperated. When she saw them though she started cursing, "I'll kill him. I'll kill him very dead and leave him for the border ghosts…"
"Can we do it later?" Dom interrupted. "We lose daylight if you kill him now. Besides, Peachblossom is as good as a squad himself."
Kel and Joren both nodded in agreement to that. Joren smiled and greeted Tobe pleasantly enough. Kel argued with Owen as they rode north. They couldn't waste daylight, but Owen really shouldn't be with them. Joren agreed with Kel on that. He wasn't even a knight. Tobe at least had magic and street urchin savvy to keep him alive, as well as Kel's training.
"Don't be upset," Owen said finally. "I had to come. We owe these people our protections. My Lord was just stuck. General Vanget sent word that the enemy will cross the Vassa into our district in five nights, when the moon's full…"
"Owen you shouldn't tell me this," Kel scolded, keeping her voice down though. "I doubt Vanget wants others to know!"
"But you have to. I know you didn't understand why my lord turned his back on all those civilians. Well, that's why. King Maggot wants to cross with a thousand men two miles downriver from Mastiff. My lord and Lord Raoul and General Vanget are smuggling companies and mages into Mastiff before the enemy comes," Owen protested. "Kel, it must've killed him to refuse to save your people. That's why I had to tell you. I think he knew I was going. He didn't say anything but…"
Owen left he sentence incomplete. A short while later, the sparrows came zipping up in warning. Ragar translated for them before they could get through the signals, "There's a group of eleven approaching. They don't know if they're enemy or ally."
"Maybe a patrol from the new fort," Kel whispered to Dom and Joren. "What do you want to do?"
Dom eyed her incredulously, "Your party, Kel. Your orders."
Joren could tell that Kel didn't like that but then ordered them all off the road to hide in the trees with hand signals. The sparrows fanned out once more to act as sentries. Joren noted that Ragar and Delorah positioned themselves near enough to Kel to get information to or from her if necessary.
Joren bit back a groan when the patrol came into sight. It was Quinden of Marti's Hill with a squad of soldiers. The idiot didn't even have scouts out. Of course, that worked to their group's advantage, but if they were Scanrans, the patrol would be dead before they realized an ambush had been set. The patrol, thankfully, passed without being aware of their presence. Once they were out of ear shot, they group got back on the trail heading north.
Joren was grateful that he was near enough to hear Kel's soft conversation with Tobe and he realized the boy, an orphaned bastard who didn't even know his own mother's name, had better sense than a trained knight. He had to hold back the roaring laughter that he would normally have indulged in. He wasn't so changed from his mischievous youth that he couldn't find humor at the expense of idiocy and Marti's Hill had proven his in spades if Kel's servant knew what he didn't.
It was mid-morning when Kel's friends, the ones who had been at Mastiff at least, caught up with them, "Go back. Have you lost your minds completely? You're needed at Mastiff!" Kel snapped at them.
"We're needed more here," retorted Seaver. Joren wasn't close to the young man but figured that he might grow on him with that attitude. "You'll have a fight on your hands when you reach your people."
"I have warriors! Thirty of them with Dom's squad, and my people can defend themselves, given weapons. You have an oath to the Crown!" Kel was shouting. Joren was getting a kick out of the fact that his wife had finally well and truly lost her temper in righteous wrath when people ended up doing the things that she had always drilled into them about the need for duty and chivalry. "This is treason, you sapskulls! You can't just decide when you're in service to the realm and when you're not!"
"Like you have?" Neal asked sweetly. The other knight stopped in front of Kel.
"This is different. Joren has very specific orders from the King to retrieve the refugees and bring them from the border safely. It's not much of a defense, but he is, technically speaking, obeying the letter of King Jonathan's orders," Kel argued.
"Excellent! That means we can all claim ourselves under the same orders and be safe from more than a slap on the wrist," Faleron stated happily. Joren smirked at his friend. Kel sputtered, and Joren had to hold back his laughter once more.
"He should still be in bed! You had to tie him to his horse to get him this far!" Kel screeched.
Merric smiled, "But I'm really well tied. I slept most of the way here." That did it and Joren burst into hysterical laughter.
His wife gave him a death glare, but it still took Joren a few moments to recover enough to speak, "Kel, my dearest love. Heart of my heart, we will all be fine. Well so long as we don't need to get Merric off his horse too quickly. I have learnt many lovely things about our much beloved king. One of which was that he and his friends, as young knights, directly disobeyed his father's orders to not cross into Tusaine just in order to rescue another certain lady knight. He can't punish us for rescuing five hundred refugees if he broke the rules to rescue his squire." Joren finished with a chuckle.
"Sir Alanna told me about that. See, we'll be fine. Joren's right," Neal stated.
Joren watched the wind fall out of his wife's sails and Dom teased his cousin before greeting Sergeant Connac. Joren could tell the Kel was silently fuming but hoped that she was at least a little reassured that they would be well. He also encouraged Mistress Delorah to use a bit of her magic to help strengthen Merric, just in case.
Not long after that, Kel found another string of yarn and that seemed to calm her a great deal. Joren noticed her glance back at the group of nearly fifty people and smile a bit. Five miles later, they found another sign of the refugees passing when they found the dead wife of once of the refugees and her husband a hundred yards away, hung no doubt for protesting the disposal of his wife. Kel and the others cut him down and they placed him near his wife, even if they couldn't bury them.
They gave them a quick prayer and Joren hacked up a few bushes to cover them with the branches so that that had at least that much dignity in not becoming stormwing fodder. The Stormwings were following them, though and Kel lost her temper at one that was fool enough to get close to talk with her. After that, there were only the usual trail signs to follow the passage of the refugees. Fortunately, they had the animals to help look, they were more observant, and they knew what to look for.
Thanks to the birds, they avoided a column of Tortallan soldiers heading west. Joren determined during their ride after the refugees that the animals weren't worth their weight in gold, gold was too heavy. They were worth their weight in saffron. Far more expensive, and lighter than gold. Those birds were going to get the best seed in Tortall when they returned home.
Five miles from the Vassa, the refugee trail turned due north. Their tracks went down a gentle slope till they reached the Vassa, where there was evidence of flat-bottomed boats. Kel spotted those same boats on the opposite side of the river. Joren dismounted and while everyone discussed how to handle the situation. Joren stuck a finger in and determined that the water was too cold, not that he would risk swimming it. He still had never fully conquered his fear of drowning and now he had to face it head on once more
It was Neal who interrupted the discussions of how to get the boats, "Military folks. The only way you know how to solve problems is by beating them with a stick." Joren gave him a raised eyebrow, though he wasn't going to complain if Neal had a safe way across the river.
"And you're not military folk? Seaver asked with a glare. "Oh, I forgot. You're a mage. Mages think, if you can't twiddle your fingers at it, what's the point?"
"Lads, this isn't valuable in the least," Kel snapped, not willing to allow things to escalate.
"I wasn't referring to magic," Neal stated smugly. "I was referring to a scholar's way to solve problems. When a situation arises, rather than bungle it yourselves, call an expert. Follow me."
Even though Neal had arrogantly said it, everyone, even Neal waited for Kel to give the order. One of the men-at-arms sidled up to Joren, as Kel spoke, "Will your solution get us across some time before next week?"
"Considerably," Neal stated firmly. "It's not entirely legal, but I won't tell anyone if you won't. Joren, no snitching to the king."
Kel didn't take long to decide, though Joren already knew what she would say, "Let's go, then."
The man-at-arms was one of the ones who had talked to Joren about adopting a child, "Well, milord, when I first saw her ladyship, I wondered why you'd married a giant of a woman. Now, I'm wonderin' why she married such a lesser man." He joked.
Joren gave him a raised eyebrow before smiling, "Because I was the one who was smart enough to earn her love over time, Master Palos."
Palos Woods shook his head, "Still say she married beneath herself."
"I think so too, but let's not tell her that," Joren smirked. "Wouldn't want her to come to her senses, now would we?"
Palos chuckled and fell back into the squads of men he had brought with him. The trip down the side trail that Neal led them down looked like a game-trail, but with the slightest hints of being more than that. They forded the Brown river and were technically speaking in Scanra, but since that was their goal anyways, Joren wasn't complaining. Any homes they came across were long abandoned, except for the last one. Neal ordered them to string out as much as possible as nearly fifty people could.
"How did you know this was here?" Seaver demanded, still smarting from the earlier implied insult to his intelligence.
Neal smiled crookedly, "You meet the most interesting people, riding with the Lioness. They're usually friends with her husband. Kel?"
Kel nodded before following Neal down the track. Joren sighed, "Calm down, Seaver. Neal isn't prone to unnecessarily risking his own neck for useless tasks. He isn't that kind of person."
They watched as the palisade gates swung open and a few people walked out armed with crossbows. Joren noticed Kel signaling Neal something, but was too far away to see what it was. Neal rode forward a little and began talking. After one idiot tried to grab Peachblossom, Joren snorted in amusement. The horse probably only didn't take the man's arm off because Tobe told him not to.
Shortly after that, an elderly woman mage appeared from behind an illusion and Joren realized that something must have brought her to reveal herself. Neal got into what appeared to be a whispered argument with the man. Neal seemed to be trying to bribe the man, but the man looked uninterested. The argument was ended when the elderly mage ordered them to do it.
"The hand of fate is on them. On her, and that man with the silvery blond hair. Bring your people inside the walls till moonrise," The elderly woman ordered. Joren jerked when he realized that the woman was talking about him. He understood it being Kel's fate to be going after the refugees, what with what the Chamber had ordered her to do, but why him too?
"Mother, just look at them!" The man protested loudly as everyone began guiding their horses forward when Kel waved them forward.
"I did. Maybe you should look harder," The old woman retorted before hobbling back inside with her cane.
The man sighed, "Call your people in. The Whisper Man owes us large for this."
Joren's eyebrow rose at this information. The Whisper Man was a name that Joren did know. It was Baron George of Pirates' Swoop. Joren only knew that because he'd had the pleasure of learning it from the king while working with him on several projects. Joren and Kel got together with Dom and they figured out the coins to pay for the passage, which was going to cost a bit due to their numbers. Still, they at least got to rest for a while, while they waited for the sun to go down and moon to rise.
Kel's pacing was getting to the smugglers, so Joren suggested they go outside for some fresh air. With fifty odd men in the longhouse, it was cramped. The old mage stood at the half-open gate, staring blindly at the clearing before her. The couple hesitated, uncertain if they should disturb the woman.
"You're better mannered than most nobles," The woman stated without looking at them. "Not that we're experts, but we see more than we ever wanted to. That moon won't rise any faster however much you fidget."
Joren watched as Kel forced herself to calm. It always amazed him how she could seemingly melt away the tension in her, "I thought smugglers worked in the dark of the moon."
The old woman looked at them and grinned, "Not on the Vassa, girl. You need all the help with the Vassa you can get. We have our little arrangement, both sides. They're well paid to overlook us on the far bank, and we've a friend who explained to Vanget we do more good than harm."
"You mean the Whisper Man," Kel stated, she didn't ask who he was as Joren had already told Kel earlier. The woman confirmed it with a nod. The woman pointed out a fox and her kits before turning back to the longhouse. Kel paused. "You said I had the hand of fate on me and my husband on him. How could you tell? Do you have the Sight as well as the Gift?"
The old woman cackled, "Who needs the Sight to tell that much? A wench in armor, wearing a griffin-feather band. You've got a clever set of animals about you, and you're leading half a company of men who don't look like they're the sentimental type. Oh, yes! And you're chasing after two hundred warriors and nearly five hundred prisoners, led by Stenmun Kinslayer. You don't need magic to see the fate in that, and more than you need healer to know you and your fold are deranged." The old woman finished as they reentered the longhouse.
"And my husband?" Kel asked.
"He's god touched. That tends to leave a mark on people that most with stronger Gifts can see if they know how to look. His fate was altered in some way by the gods, for what purpose, that I can't say," The old woman stated. Kel and Joren didn't argue, knowing that she was talking about Kyprioth's interference.
"I did try to stop them, you know," Kel turned back to the point of everyone following her.
"That's your fate, too," The mage responded, releasing her arm finally. "Be happy they respect you so much they didn't listen. It's not like you're off to a May fair. Not with Stenmun against you."
After the conversation, they were given an excellent meal. Merric idiotically tried to talk Kel out of crossing and earned an exasperated look from Joren as the knight got Kel worked up again. It ended up in resulting in Kel revealing that she had been set the task of killing Blayce the Younger by the Chamber of Ordeal and the fact that she talked to the Chamber. Though, Tobe helped with that reveal.
Crossing the Vassa was a nightmare for Joren. The drinking from the krater of potion that kept them from remembering how they crossed if questioned, that was easy. Joren hid his fear well, clenching the reigns of Bloodborne as they led the first group of horses onto the flat-bottomed boats. He forced himself to focus on keeping his horse calm as they crossed. He focused on himself on not falling over as the boat rocked as well.
He released a sigh of relief when they were safely across and was among the first to get his horse off the boat. He glanced at Tobe, who stayed on the boat as it was brought back across, he had agreed to make every crossing so as to help keep the horses calmer. Joren couldn't help but wonder if it was the Trickster God who had sent the boy to him and his wife, but whatever god had done so had truly blessed them. The crossing went much smoother due to his assistance than it could have. It took a few trips for the smugglers to get them all across, but they managed.
Owen's horse was clearly of a similar opinion on the matter of crossing the river as Joren, and Neal commented that he had felt safer on ships at sea in the middle of a storm, so at least Joren wasn't the only one who disliked the crossing. At least he only had to do it once more on the return trip. They were soon following a good-sized trail along the river's margin to the main road north where the refugees had crossed with their captors.
"Let's get ready," Kel ordered them all softly. Those closest to Kel passed the word along further down the line. "Tobe, I'd better take Peachblossom now. You ride Hoshi."
It made sense as they had a far greater risk of encountering the enemy now that they were across the Vassa. Joren rode on one side of Kel, while Merric took the other. They were quiet for the first mile before Merric suddenly asked, "The Chamber of Ordeal?"
Kel nodded. Joren sighed, realizing that Merric was still processing that bit of information. Not that he blamed the other knight, it was an unpleasant bit of information.
"You said you talked to it before we left Corus. You… you went inside?" The horror in Merric's tone made it clear what he thought of entering the Chamber a second time.
Kel just nodded again.
"You went into the Chamber a second time," Merric stated, clearly in disbelief. Joren understood his position, even if he was overreacting a little bit.
"I had to," Kel stated firmly.
"And you're allowed to talk about it? Your Ordeal?" Merric asked uncomfortably.
"Not the Ordeal," Kel was being patient, more so than Joren ever would have been. "It said I could talk about the second time, the task it set me, if I could find anyone who would believe me. Do you believe me?"
"I have no idea," replied Merric, clearly unsettled by the whole idea.
"Then we don't need to keep talking now," Kel pointed out. "That would be a good thing, seeing's how we're in enemy territory. Don't you think?"
Merric fell back a bit after that. They finally reached the main road after another two miles and while Kel eyed the boats she shook her head and focused on leading them further along the road after glancing at the sky to check the position of the moon. Instead, she signaled for them to move out, following the trail left by roughly 500 refugees and the trail they left behind.