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.
Chapter 27: Blayce's Castle
As soon as they got a look at the villagers' barely present stores of food, Joren watched as their group banded together to feed everyone. He followed his wife only as far as to the outside of the building they had food going in which was the local alehouse. He knew that she wouldn't be able to rest right now, as much as she probably needed it. Joren secretly suspected that the gods had compensated for his wife's frequent lack of obvious emotions with an abundance of impossible energy stores. It was the only explanation for how she seemed able to keep going, even as he knew everyone else was starting to show signs of wearing down.
He watched Kel speak to the man who had first spoken to them, who had introduced himself as Zerhalm, when she reentered the building, "Why are you so starved when your fields are clearly flourishing?"
Zerhalm laughed harshly, "We've a mage in the castle, in case you'd forgotten. Most of it goes to him, and he knows what's due. If we hold anything back, like our children, Blayce has Stenmun grab one of us, skin him, and hand him from the castle walls to wait for death. Or her, in my wife's case."
"Why don't you go to his overlord?" Owen demanded to know. "Or even to the king in Hamrkeng, and ask for justice?"
Joren shook his head at the obvious naivety of his young friend. Zerhalm snorted in distain, "We did. King Maggur has made a pet of this mage from Galla. Couriers say we'll eat like kings when we've land in the south, but we don't hear of any great victories." Joren winced in pity. He hadn't heard of any victories because Scanra hadn't had any. Tortall had, overall, better fighters, better trained mages, and better supply lines. The only thing that Maggur had going for him was the killing devices and while they were scarier than Joren had imagined, they, ultimately, weren't going to be enough to win this war for Maggur. Especially not if they managed to do away with Blayce. Joren had learnt enough dealing with Numair that the more complex and against nature a working was, the more likely it was to fail the moment that the caster died. Death magic was something that always fell into this category.
"Have you no children left? He took them all?" Kel's question was laced with horror as she realized what Joren had already considered most likely.
"First it was just the prettiest girls and boys, around ten-years-old," Zerhalm's eyes were haunted as he spoke now. "Those days, we didn't know it was him. We'd go to bed and wake in the morning to find them gone. Next went the pretty ones who were nine, eleven, twelve. Around then we found our weapons had gone missing. Our bows, our spears, all we used to defend ourselves from raiders. We wend to him for help against the thieves and for weapons to fight them with. Stenmun had his men beat us, demanded our older boys and girls as servants, and kicked us back home. We were told to feed the castle and not ask questions. Then the young children went. The warlord Rathhausak, King Maggur now, he came to the castle. We begged him for help. He had ten of us killed and hung on the walls."
"Your children? All?" Kel's voice was soft, as if she didn't want to believe what she was hearing.
"Even the ugly ones, the crippled ones, the slow ones, the babes in their cribs, over winter this year," Zerhalm's voice turned to a whisper, pain clear as day. "All. And in every village hereabouts. They brought more children in by the cartloads, under Maggur's banner, so no one would try to save them. Our neighbors, folks beyond, the lords of Scanra were afraid to protest. By then Rathhausak had their wives and children."
"What about the seer?" Owen asked. "The little girl, um…"
"Irnai," Kel supplied.
"Why doesn't Blayce have her?" Owen questioned. It was a fair question too, if you didn't consider that Shakith would likely protect one of her own, after all, if Kyprioth interfered on Joren's behalf, when Joren was fairly certain he didn't really deserve such interference at the time, surely Shakith would protect a child seer who likely did deserve such protection.
"I don't believe he knows she exists," Zerhalm answered. "She walked in here a month gone. Never said where she lived, who her people are. Told us the Protector of the Small was coming. Told us it was our best chance. Forgive my saying, but you don't look like much of a chance to me, not against Blayce and Stenmun and a hundred and fifty men-in-arms in the castle."
"He had a hundred-seventy at midnight last night," Gil pointed out. That earned him a grunt from Zerhalm.
"Pessimist," Neal remarked as he healed something on an old man's leg.
Joren snorted softly, "You're one to talk."
"Four years of Blayce the Gallan does that to a man," Zerhalm retorted at the same time.
"Then he wasn't always here?" Fanche questioned as she checked an arrow.
"No if we call him 'the Gallan', Mistress," Zerhalm told her. "That's were he said he was from."
That earned him looks from Fanche and Saefas.
Zerhalm sighed, "This was Fief Rathhausak, once. The line dwindled. Young Maggur went off to foreign lands to be paid for fighting. He came home, but once, took his family with him, just his mother and an old aunt. We were happy with no lordling over us, till Maggur gave the castle and lands to the Gallan."
Joren could read the barely discernable contempt his wife's face was showing. He contemplated how to turn the conversation away from the lack of care Maggur had shown the people he was supposed to care for. Thankfully, instead, she turned her mind to strategy instead. She grabbed a stick and began a rough map of the castle walls and surrounding lands in the dirt. The hollow-eyed woman, Agrane, she'd said her name was, knelt next to her and added to the map.
"I was cook, until the Gallan decided I was too old and ugly to keep. Would I had put metal shavings in his food before that. It wasn't until after that we learned he was taking our little ones. We'll bring you up through the cellars, past the dungeons. Now, here's the underground level. Here, is the ground floor and the castle grounds inside the wall," Agrane drew maps next to each other of the corresponding levels as she explained.
Soon, other villagers were adding to the maps and made suggestions, based on what they knew of the layout of the castle. Joren allowed a smirk to creep across his face as he watched his wife expertly examine the maps and ensuring they were accurate as the villagers could manage. He realized that Maggur, and Blayce's biggest mistake, was something that any good lord learns as a child. If you don't take care of your people, they can turn against you, aiding your enemies. It was a lesson his mother had taught him, and his father had neglected, which is why his mother had ultimately won their battle for control of Stone Mountain, even before his father's death.
Now, his wife was going to take advantage, just as his mother had, in a much more lethal manner on Blayce and Stenmun. Here were the people, who should have and would have been loyal if only they had been cared for properly, handing his wife all the information she needed to prepare a hopefully successful assault on the castle. As his wife laid out the attack plan, Joren couldn't help but feel a level of smug satisfaction.
Naturally, the children they had rescued already were to stay hidden in the village, but Tobe would go for the warhorses. Some of the villagers would go with them as guides. Kel and Joren would go in and fight on foot, but their horses would be going in through the gate with the others and would be just as good as four men in battle apiece against the castle's soldiers.
By the villager's best count, there were nearly one hundred and fifty armed men inside the walls, not counting those that their group had killed on the road, "The main thing is to hit fast and hard. We take them by surprise, before many can so much as grab a weapon. If you don't like hitting them when their defenseless, remember they help Blayce. Now, rest, all of you. We leave at moonrise."
Joren went with her as she walked outside the village alehouse. She seemed to wander a bit before pausing beneath the tree where her sparrows roosted for the night. She was whispering to them when Dom and Neal approached them.
"I wish you'd let one of us go in with you," Neal began. Joren snorted in offense, as if he couldn't have his wife's back. Neal glared at him. "You haven't seen real combat since you were a squire Stone Mountain."
Kel shook her head, "Joren is a better swordsman and archer than you, Neal. Besides, Connac's and Gil's squads will do well inside. Dom and his lad on horseback will create more confusion when they get in. You're better placed with Dom, your group will be in more danger from archers than mine. Also, I will need you to help Joren get our people home if I don't make it or take command if Joren and I both don't make it. If we die in there, you have to get our people home. Listen to Dom, he's more used to commanding groups. But your duty is to take our folk back to Tortall."
Joren's heart clenched at the idea of loosing Kel. He had purposefully put the idea that it could happen out of his head throughout the entire trip and he refused to acknowledge the idea now, either. Dom sighed, "We'd best take these people, if they'll go. Leaving them here for King Maggot seems like a bad idea."
Kel scowled before clearly agreeing, "Will you talk to them? After, I suppose, if we get and after."
"We'll get it, Kel. I have faith in you," Dom stated seriously.
"So do I," Neal stated, though he was clearly unhappy with her considering her own potential death.
"Me too," Owen had snuck up on them. "It'll be jolly, Kel. An evil mage destroyed, a chance to take a bite out of Stenmun and his men, isn't this why you became a knight? It's why I wanted to be a knight. I may not get to be one now, but it'll be almost worth it, to rob Maggur of the killing devices. And I thought we were supposed to rest, and here you four aren't doing it."
"We're coming, Mother," Kel teased Owen with a crooked grin. "Or did you learn that from Wyldon?"
Owen's own eyes were light with mischief, "Nope. I learned it from you, Mother." Kel made a playful swipe at him as he ran for the house that they were supposed to rest in.
"That boy makes me feel old," Neal complained as they settled down to rest.
Joren chuckled grimly before coaxing his wife to lay down with him for a nap.
The hidden entrance to the castle was along what barely quantified as a goat's track in Joren's opinion. There wasn't much space between the trail and the drop into the freezing Pakkai River. The moonlight barely was enough to give them sight of the path. Kel slipped on some of the rocks and Joren was grateful to both Zerhalm and Gil who had reacted quickly enough to keep her from sliding into the river. Going into a river like that in full armor was a death sentence for certain.
Agrane was leading the way for their group to a runoff tunnel from the castle's depths. Joren silently swore he would reinforce Stone Mountain's own tunnel in the near future as he hadn't really thought of it before now, and he doubted his father had thought of it ever, but not securing properly was clearly a bad idea. Joren doubted his wife relished the thought of wading through the human waste anymore than Joren was, but it was hardly an evil compared to the fate of those children if they didn't get to them quickly.
Their group halted and Kel signaled silently to wait. He watched his wife shuffle ahead as she approached Agrane who was running her hands over a solid wall. The former cook sounded angry, "I don't understand! It was right here. I always counted the steps in and out!"
"They bricked it up?" Zerhalm questioned as he ran his hand over what looked like seamless wall. It didn't look like there was anything ever there, but Joren doubted these people were running a ruse on them. Especially since Kel appeared to be able to see something that they couldn't and got to the front of the group.
Kel almost seemed to reach through the wall and Joren realized that it must be an illusion even as Kel spoke, "It's an illusion. An illusion that they filled it with rock. That's so shoddy. He expends magic to hide the thing, but then he doesn't replace the grate. Mages… so lazy," Kel muttered as she began extracting what amounted to severely rusted bars that were nearly crumbling as Kel pulled them out. Joren noted that they were iron and realized that it might be wiser to replace the grate over their runoff tunnel with steel bars. It would far more expensive, but the safety of his people was worth the expense and it wasn't as if his family was hurting for money.
Joren mentally noted he should suggest Cleon do the same with his repairs, if he hadn't already replaced the grate at his castle. From there, Kel leant down and seemed to do something before coming back without her weapons and helm. She then held out her arm to Agrane and Joren realized that she was going to have to help them all through the illusion as it likely felt real to those who could see it.
Joren was helped into the tunnel just after Gil and his nose wrinkled at the scent. He had to bend a little to keep from banging his head on the top of the tunnel. He didn't take his helm off, not wanting anything that clung to the ceiling getting into his hair. Instead, he bent even further. His wife, who was taller than him didn't have that luxury and had been forced to remove her helm while carrying her glaive and bow in hand, unable to have them on her back.
Once more Agrane led the way through the tunnel. Joren had pulled out a kerchief from one of his pouches to help fight off the worst of the stench, though, he suspected he was going to have to burn the clothing he had on underneath his armor once they got back to Mastiff. They walked for a good while until Agrane halted the group beneath a grate. It was clearly better maintained, but once more Blayce's hubris was evident as Kel was able to lift it and ease it off to the side. His wife then braced her arms on either side of the opening and jumped, levering herself up out of the tunnel. Joren watched as Kel assisted Zerhalm and Agrane out of the tunnel before preforming the same maneuver as his wife, just to prove he could.
Kel shook her head at him as he turned to assist the others out, figuring it might prove to be too much for the half-starved villagers. Agrane instead lifted bags full of dogs up and one cat. It didn't take too long, Joren realized that while the regular soldiers were solid and healthy, the convict soldiers didn't weight much more than the villagers and neither did Saefas and Fanche.
The storeroom they were now in was covered in dust and mostly empty, but for some burlap sacks which they used to get the worst of the mess from the tunnel off of them. Once they had gotten what they could off of them, Kel tested the door and finding it unlocked, eased out of the room. Joren and Agrane were just behind her. Joren had drawn his sword, ready to kill if he had too. Kel used Jump as a scout since a small dog wouldn't be entirely out of place in a castle full of ratters.
The next two halls were empty. The third was better lit and lined with locked metal doors. Kel waved to the man, Morun, Joren had finally learnt his name, that was a picklock. Morun immediately got to work while Joren and Kel watched the stairs to the castle's upper levels. From behind the locked doors came out the castle servants, locked up at night to prevent them from escaping. When Kel tried to get them to leave through the tunnel, only a few, the weakest looking, went. The rest showed them the empty guardroom where they helped themselves to the weapons there.
The dogs and cat went up the stairs to scout further for them. Agrane had told them that once the servants were locked up for the night, Blayce retreated to the upper floors to play with the children and use his work room. The soldiers went to their barracks, were they could ignore what happened in the keep. Joren shook his head at the stupidity of that. There was a reason why even the most secure dungeons had guards. Instead, they supposedly just locked them up and left them alone. Kel wisely sent the dogs and cat to scout the ground floor and upper floors just to be certain the routine hadn't changed.
Slowly, the dogs and cat trickled back down the stairs and gave their reports in what had to be the oddest conveyance of answers through tapped paws, standing on hind paws, shakes or nods of their heads and tiny, quiet yips. If he hadn't been informed by his wife that Daine had expanded these animals' minds, he likely would have been stunned and marveled at the scene as the villagers were. Instead, he had enough experience with the wild mage to know that this was what one expected from exposure to the demi-goddess's magic.
Kel informed them that the ground floor was clear, and the second floor held the children. The third held a lone adult male in a room with a closed door. Their group creeped up the stairs to the ground floor and into the main hall. It was decorated as any hall would be in an older keep. Kel sent a small group up to the second floor to get the children. A second group exited the castle through the kitchen, where they were less likely to be noticed. Joren noticed his wife fidgeting until the first child appeared at the top of the steps.
The little boy was dressed ridiculously in over the top, pure white clothing, but still clutching a ragged doll with half a head of red yarn hair, rushed down the stairs to Kel and hugged her as best he could around her armored waist. He was followed by a flood of other children that all seemed to need reassurances from Kel. She in turn did her best to give it, with liberal, if quiet kisses to the heads of those she could reach and hand clasps to all the rest.
The group of adults that had gone up to the second floor finally came down with the babies. The infants had been given drops that Neal had supplied to keep them sleeping till the morning. The dogs came down with them. It took Kel a short while to convince the servants to get the children out through the tunnels. Anytime the servants moved to argue, Kel silenced them with a finger to her lips and they eventually understood what she was telling them. She wasn't giving them a choice.
The servants herded the children down the stairs towards the tunnel, though Joren noticed that two of the older girls hadn't gone. Kel tried to quietly persuade them to go as well, but the two girls, nearly teens, stood firm. Joren shook his head as they moved to the kitchen hall. Those who had gone ahead to this area waited, prepared to use the long tables to barricade the barracks' exits with the tables. Kel handed off her glaive to Gil before she strung her bow. Joren sheathed his sword and did the same. Kel handed out her griffin fletched arrows, Joren receiving a few himself.
This would be the hardest part. The had to quietly kill the men on the walls so that they couldn't rouse those in the barracks before they got the gates open for the rest of their people. Joren glanced out into the courtyard just after his wife did, noting that it was as well lit as Agrane had told them it would be and laid out exactly as she described. Once more, Joren marveled at the idiocy of Blayce for angering the villagers to the point that they would happily help the enemy in vengeance for his actions. He watched as his wife began to make the locations of the sentries, who were thankfully facing outward. Joren spotted the wagons as Kel pointed them out to Connac's men who nodded and crept over to them. Joren followed his wife out of the castle carefully.
He watched as Kel signaled to everyone with bows to which sentry to take down. He fitted his griffin-fletched arrow and took careful aim of his target. His, Joren shot just at the base of the neck, where it wasn't protected by the helm or his jerkin. The man immediately crumpled. Joren was fairly certain he'd hit the man's spine given that he had fallen like a puppet with its strings cut. Kel put two arrows in her target, hitting him in the back. Gil's first arrow glanced off his target, but he was swift to nock a second arrow and firmly plant it into the man's eye and he too went down. The others were also true in their shots, taking down the men before they had even the chance to rouse anyone.
Connac's men wheeled the wagons in front of the doors to the side and rear of the barracks, firmly blockading them. The men with the tables, braced them against the shuttered windows silently. Kel began signaling people to get into position to kill anyone who made it out of the barracks. Others went up to where the portcullis could be raised. At her signal they began to raise it. The noise from the portcullis was enough to start waking people in the wheelhouse, who were swift to be cut down as they were unprepared for an assualt.
It didn't take long for there to be a racket coming from the barracks and then things became hectic. Joren found himself quickly in the thick of things, first killing those who managed to get out of the barracks through the unbarricaded windows and then others who managed to get out while still armed. A few men in, Joren glanced at the gates and saw them open with the rest of their people flooding through the gates.
Throwing the horses and the other men into the mix, and chaos ensued, especially when two of the tables were knocked away from blocking the shuttered windows failed, giving more men safer exits from the barracks. Joren was forced to focus on his opponents and not able to keep track fully of what everyone else was doing in the fray. Joren was quickly separated from Kel, to his annoyance, but he kept cutting down men with annoying ease. For the most part, these men were poorly trained. At some point he knew he had gained a shallow cut to his leg in a lucky swipe from one and another slightly deeper cut to his left arm from another.
Just as things were dying down, Joren began looking around to see if he could find his wife and saw that a lingering Scanran fighter was about to strike at one of his men-at-arms from behind and dove in to prevent the unnecessary death. He managed to succeed at that endeavor, but not without a price. The Scanran got a glancing blow across the left side of his face, and while Joren was certain it wasn't life threatening, he judged by the level of pain that he might have lost his left eye, though he hoped he didn't. The man-at-arms, one by the name of Claus, produced a clean kerchief from a pouch and then tore a strip of fabric from the dead Scanran to bind the kerchief over his injured eye.
Joren didn't wait for further assistance, he scanned around with his good eye and noted that all that remained were their people standing, though their numbers were down a bit. Joren grabbed a nearby discarded spear and used it to brace himself as he stood again, feeling the pain in his leg and arm more fully as the adrenaline from the fight faded. However, the lack of a visual on his wife was enough to have Joren feeling concerned and renew the adrenaline.
He limped over to Neal who was working to keep Gil alive, "Where's Kel?"
"She went inside to deal with Stenmun and Blayce. You should get your injuries seen to by Mistress Rosewood, Joren. You look done in," Neal commented as a glance showed real concern over his injured face.
"Later. I need to find Kel first," With that Joren headed straight back for the keep as quickly as he could on his injured leg.
Thankfully, no one tried to stop him, though Joren suspected that was more because even in his current state, they knew better to get between him and making sure Kel was well. Joren carefully scanned through the rooms on the first floor. Though he didn't expect to find her there, he didn't want any stray fighters to catch him unawares. Once that was clear, he did the same thing on the second floor before heading for the third floor. Here, he found Stenmun dead, though clearly not long so. His wife had slashed the man's throat, caved in his skull, presumably with the base of her glaive, and judging by the odd angle of the man's legs, had gotten him down by using a leg sweep. His body was littered with other various superficial cuts, but how he'd died was clear enough to Joren. His wife had gotten him on the ground, slammed the base of her glaive into the man's skull, killing him and then cut the throat to be certain that Stenmun wouldn't be getting back up.
The door beyond was Joren's next focus, he made a few steps towards it, only to curse in realization that there was an illusion over the damned thing. Just then it broke, though and he was able to proceed forward. As he got through the door of what was clearly a workshop for the mage, Joren saw his wife standing over the mage, dead, beheaded by his wife, with her glaive.
"You're wrong about my king, I think," Kel spoke to the body, clearly not aware that Joren was there. "But better that he not have the chance to be tempted by the likes of you. And frankly? What you just got was far more merciful than you deserve."
"Well, you always were the one prone to mercy, love," Joren couldn't help saying with a chuckle to Kel. She whirled around and then staggered, as if disoriented.
Joren moved as quickly as his leg would allow him to stabilize her, "I see you got here to see the end of the show. What happened to your face?" Kel groused as Joren held her upright.
"I got that lovely scar-to-be from a lucky strike by a lingering Scanran while saving one of our men-at-arms. I swear, you've made me soft," Joren stated before he looked around the room carefully and frowned. "There's something wrong with this room… It's too small."
"What are you talking about?" Kel groaned as Joren pulled away from her, leaving her to lean against her glaive for support.
"I checked all the rooms on my way up to make sure none of Blayce's men decided to save their skin by hiding in the keep. Based on the sizes of the rooms below, this room should be at least double this size," Joren tried not to lose his balance, having difficulty with his orientation due to his limited sight. He headed for one of the bookshelves and started pulling down all the books. When they were cleared off, he shook his head and tugged on the torch scones in the wall until one gave easily and a loud click could be heard before a slight grinding noise. A glance along the wall revealed that part of the bookshelf had shifted.
Joren went over to it, and shoved, revealing a hidden second room, filled with papers and books. Kel's jaw dropped open in surprise, "How did you know to look for that?"
"One of the towers has a room like it at Stone Mountain. I found it just before I started page training. I only just remembered it just now. It is filled with a bunch of old books and a suit of armor, woman's armor. I figured no one else knew about it, since if they did, my father would have destroyed it. I never told him, unwilling to face his wrath by pointing out evidence of our family possibly having a female knight in it at one point. I never really investigated it. Didn't know what to do with that sort of information. We can check it out when we get back to Stone Mountain, if I am ever allowed to leave the capital again," Joren joked as he walked over to his wife, leaving the door to the hidden room wide open.
As they moved to leave the room, they saw the door had changed to that of the Chamber of Ordeal from the inside. It had a face sculpted into it's keystone, with yellow eyes, and it spoke directly to Kel, "Very tidy. I said you would do it, and you have."
Kel looked annoyed, "Yes, it's done. I 'fixed' it. I killed a swordless man and saw a lot of good people murdered. Now you have your balance, I have the little ones, and you and I are quits, understand? Find someone else to do what you can't."
Joren would have laughed over his wife practically growling at an elemental if he had the energy. The Chamber spoke again, "Yes, we are finished. Do you think this makes you free of your fate? You are the Protector of the Small. You see real people in the humans and animals overlooked by your peers, and you teach others to do so as well. There will always be work for you."
His wife scowled, "I don't mind that. It's what I mean to do, though I'd never call it by a silly name as Protector of the Small. At least now I know where I'm going and what I'm doing, which I never did with you. I can find my own road from here." Kel moved forward and Joren with her. Mercifully, the door opened to Scanra, Joren didn't want to contemplate the implications of the Chamber being physically present so far from Corus, but he knew he would not have a pleasant time explaining it to the King when he got back.
As they left the room, the Chamber left them with what Joren was certain was meant to be a parting tease, for all that it was in a monotone manner, "Gods all bless, Keladry of Stone Mountain, Protector of the Small."
Kel grumbled about Chambers that thought too highly of themselves as they limped their way down the hall. Once they were past Stenmun's corpse, they saw the cat that had come north with them. Kel was kneeling before Joren knew what she was about and clearly disoriented from it. That was when Joren noticed the bleeding wound and her shoulder and swore as he helped her back up and with some maneuvering, managed to drape the cat across his opposing shoulder before he assisted his wife in hobbling down the stairs.
Kel attempted to stop at the base of the steps, but Joren kept her from doing so. She had clearly lost more blood than he had, and he wasn't about to let her pause as he was certain he wouldn't be able to get her back up if she went down. He managed, to just barely get her through the keep's doors before she slumped to the ground.
Neal and Delorah rushed over to them to tend to them both, as Joren decided that he needed to sit as well. He attempted to stand on his injured leg when they, along with some of their battered group, tried to move them away from the keep a bit, but his leg buckled under him. Joren gave only a token protest to Saefas and Fanche who braced him on either side so that he could stand while Neal and Dom took hold of Kel and carried her to a pallet on the courtyard, while Mistress Delorah assessed her.
The female mage looked like she was in a fresher state than Neal was, but Joren wasn't too surprised by that, as she hadn't participated in the fight. As soon as they were both settled, Neal and Delorah got to work immediately on Kel's shoulder, while Joren, now drained of the adrenaline completely fought to stay conscious. He lost that fight quickly as Neal waved Mistress Rosewood off from Kel and ordered her to tend to Joren.
The woman took one look at him and with a flow of pale pink magic, Joren was knocked unconscious. Joren woke some time later, before his wife did though, just as the sun rose. The first few moments, Joren was slightly disoriented, as, while he wasn't in a lot of pain, he couldn't see out of his left eye, and then he remembered his injury the night before.
Tobe popped up from where he had been napping on Kel's other side as Joren reached for his left side of his head, startling Joren. The boy softly apologized, "Mistress Rosewood said that the damage to your eye was too severe. Not even Duke Baird could restore sight to an eye that's been tore out like yours was. She was surprised you even managed to stay upright through the pain."
Joren shook his head and lied a bit to the boy to keep him from worrying, "I've always had a strong control over my pain and in the heat of the moment, I probably didn't even realize how bad the damage was." His leg was rather stiff too, to his annoyance. Joren also noticed they were surrounded by dogs as the others were working to gather their dead for a pyre. Neal had noticed Joren sitting up, Joren realized as he scanned the courtyard with his one good eye.
"I don't know who I should be angrier with, your or your wife," Neal grumbled even as Joren turned to assess his arm. "Your leg should be fine to ride with now, but before, you shouldn't have even been standing on the blasted thing, never mind your face. At least you don't have to worry about being called a pretty boy anymore."
"Be angry with Kel. King Jonathan is likely already preparing his five-hour rant about being reckless when he needs me for keeping the conservatives in line," Joren retorted before pushing the sheet he had over him off stiffly. "I take it, if I can ride, I can stand on my leg, or will you through a fit over that as well?"
"Well, yes, now you can, but I recommend not doing it without something to brace yourself with. I left a spear over here that you can use as walking staff for now. Riding isn't going to be pleasant for you though. We had to spread our healing out to get everyone in shape to be able to ride," Neal grumbled.
"Aren't you glad I managed to find you some help?" Joren asked as he nodded over to where Mistress Delorah was working on Saefas.
"Of course, though I doubt you were anticipating our northern excursion when you hired her," Neal pointed out while checking Kel's shoulder and then putting a little more magic into it.
"No, I wasn't, but I still brought her to help you, though she would have answered to Kel alone," Joren pointed out. "She and Ragar are staying too. While I return to face King Jonathan in all his wrath."
"You seem less optimistic about your treatment, now that we've managed to rescue the children and only have the task of returning back home," Neal pointed out as he moved over to Joren and moving the bandage that was covering his damaged face before shaking his head. "Though, I imagine King Jonathan won't be happy to see his pet Lord prime-minister-in-waiting in such a rough state. You'll be wearing a patch over that eye socket for the rest of your life."
Joren grimaced at that, "At least I didn't disgrace myself in the process. Two hundred children saved is worth an eye, I would say."
Neal was somber as he spoke this time, "You'll never be able to fight again, Joren. That leg… you real shouldn't have been on it after it was injured. Gods, I don't know how you managed to stay standing on it. The bastard who go you, cut the tendon. We reattached it, but you'll always have a limp in your right leg and between that and the eye." Neal shook his head in apology.
Joren shrugged, "It wasn't like King Jonathan was going to let me near a battlefield again, anyways. At least this way no one can claim he's keeping an able-bodied man from serving on the front to manage some of the more complex politics for him."
Joren had managed to get up by that point and then turned to watch as some of their people carried Stenmun and Blayce's bodies out of the keep. Joren scowled, but as he noted that some of the villagers relaxed at the sight, he realized why they likely did it. Joren used the spear Neal had provided as a walking stick and limped sharply over to Dom who was ordering people about, arranging for the pyre for their people.
Dom eyed him and his leg, "Did Mother Neal allow you out of bed, or are you defying your healer's instructions?"
"I'm allowed to stand on the leg just as long as I use the spear for support," Joren countered. "What are our losses?"
"We lost a total of seven, plus some of the animals. When you think about it. It's clear the gods were on our side for this one. We almost lost Gil, it took both Neal and Mistress Rosewood to save him. She apparently knew a few tricks that Neal didn't. We'll have to tie the poor man to his horse to keep him on it, but he should pull through. Saefas is also in rather rough shape. Thankfully, enough of our people are in decent enough shape that if we do encounter any patrols heading south, we should be able to manage handling them," Dom explained. He glanced at Joren's face. "I understand they couldn't save the eye?"
"According to Tobe, there wasn't an eye to save. The blow the hit my face must have torn it out without my realizing it. I was too far gone into battle fever to realize it. I've always had a distorted perception of pain, didn't feel it as much as I should have," Joren shrugged, giving the same lie to Dom that he did to Tobe. He had been aware that the eye was gone with the pain he had felt. He had just pushed it aside in favor of concern for his wife. "It's not like I was expecting much combat after this anyway."
Dom snorted at that, "No, and no one would allow you to join in either now."
Joren went over to Mistress Rosewood where she worked to apply further healing to Gil. He didn't dare kneel at the present, instead he just asked her, "How is he doing?"
"He should survive, if the journey isn't too rough and we don't have to pull him off his horse repeatedly as we did due to the Scanran patrols while heading north," She stated, her tone stiff. She looked uncertain as she eyed him.
Joren nodded, "Well, let's pray the gods favor us with an easy journey south."
Mistress Rosewood hesitated before speaking again, "My Lord, I would have saved the eye if it were possible. I hope you know that. However, that, along with the scars… there is only so much two healers can do when we are dealing with this many injured." She looked like she was expecting Joren to lash out at her even as she glanced at were his wife laid, still asleep.
"I know that, Mistress Rosewood. I don't expect miracles and I knew going into this battle that it was unlikely any of us would come out unscathed," Joren pointed out as his glanced up at the sky, noticing there were Stormwings gathering on the ramparts. He knew they wouldn't risk approaching while they were still there, but they likely hoped they would at least leave the Scanran dead for them.
"I see, that's… very logical of you, my lord," Mistress Rosewood stated. "I should go find someone to help me secure this one."
Joren nodded and hobbled back over to his wife who he noticed was now waking. He kept his distance while she spoke with Tobe and then got a bit of a tongue lashing from Neal over the care for her shoulder wound. Joren stood silently as she forced herself to get up and assess the damage. He watched her expression tighten as she saw those who were finishing up preparing the pyre. She then allowed Fanche and Gydo help her up as they spoke for a bit before she came over to him.
She glanced at his bandaged face and scowled, "Were they able to repair your eye at least?" She asked in concern.
Joren shook his head, "Neal said it was torn out in the initial blow. There was nothing there to fix. At least you don't have to worry about women throwing themselves at me anymore. Not that I was interested in them before."
Kel barked a harsh laugh at that, "Oh, didn't you hear Owen on the road, ladies like men with scars. It makes them look dangerous. They'll likely be worse now that your face isn't prettier than theirs is. Men with scars are heroic, were as a woman with scars is just damaged." She finished almost bitterly.
Joren limped to her and kissed her on her chapped lips, "I'd take a heroic, beautiful wife with a few scars any day over a lily soft court lady who doesn't even know how to hold a spear, never mind a glaive."
She gave him a weak chuckle before shaking her head, "You're mad. At least you have a dashing scar to show for it."
Joren shook his head and watched his wife as she hobbled about a bit, assessing things, comforting one of the two girls who had stayed to fight, and then gathered everyone around to hear her next orders, "We need to get out of here sooner rather than later. I want the torch put to the keep. Make sure the level where Blayce kept his workroom and that second hidden room burns in particular. Take nothing out of there. I mean nothing." She gave that order sharply, making it clear that she meant that order in its full weight.
"The keep burning will be a torch for the countryside. The quicker we go, the safer we'll be," Kel finished. Tobe brought Peachblossom and Bloodborne round for Kel and Joren. It took Dom and Zerhalm's assistance to get the two of them into the saddle. Joren winced hard as the position pulled his still partially injured leg uncomfortably.
They lingered just long enough to make the funeral prayers for their fallen and most of them mounted up while the last few went up into the keep and set first the third floor, then the second and first floors alight. The fire wasn't likely to be put out until the castle ran out of fuel. The remainder of their group mounted up as the heat of the keep ablaze pushed them more towards the gates. Kel was asked what to do with the Scanran dead and to Joren's surprise, she ordered them to be left for the Stormwings. He didn't counter it as he would have no valid arguments. The Stormwings' purpose was to deter war with their vile treatment of the dead, according to Daine. This was as good a sign of Tortall's opinion of death magic as there could be.
Instead, he merely followed her away from the castle Rathhausk at the front of the train of adults and children.
Kyprioth slumped against his sister Shakith with an incredulous look on his face at her. He had hung around to watch the final results of her plan. He shook his head in disgust, "You made me go through all that effort to redeem the boy for that? A single hidden room? Why was the blasted thing so important that you called in the boon I owed you for the prophesy about the Copper Isles all that time ago?"
Shakith raised an eyebrow at him before waving her hand over the mirror that they had watched the events unfolding from, "This would have occurred in twenty-three years from now. Technically, it will still occur, however the outcome would be vastly different."
Kyprioth watched as a shifty looking group of mages rode up to the now overgrown castle. They picked their way through the courtyard riddled with bones. Their expressions were elated for a group that was investigating a ruin. They wound their way around the soot coated keep, searching for something, though mostly they just found soot, dirt, and a few plants growing inside the worn keep. Still, they made their way up the stone stairs to finally the third floor.
Where Joren had pulled the torch scone before, they too pulled it, revealing the undamaged room full of papers and books. The mages all acquired evil grins as the dug into the workings of a necromancer, "This is what they would have found if Joren of Stone Mountain were not there to find that room. This is what they will now find."
She waved her hand again and the scene replayed. Only this time, when they reached the final floor, it was to find the hidden room already open, nothing left in it excepting piles of ashes. The shifty group of mages turned on each other immediately and got into a volatile fight. Shakith waved her hand over the mirror again, allowing the visions of potential futures to dissipate.
"How probable was that event to occur?" Kyprioth asked, disgust in his voice. All gods excepting Uusoae distained death magic.
"There was a greater chance of that occurring after Lady Keladry's success than she had of succeeding were it not for Joren of Stone Mountain's presence," Shakith stated firmly. "It was a near certainty."
Kyprioth sighed, "And there was no one else that we could have used to find the room that would have taken less work than Joren of Stone Mountain? He was stubborn for a while. If it weren't for a promise of death if he didn't change, he never would have."
"No. No one else would have even thought to look for the room, or known what to look for without a far greater amount of effort. His was the most straight forward means of getting the job done," Shakith responded promptly. "Now, I believe you have your islands to reclaim, do you not?"
Kyprioth huffed at his sister's dismissal, but she was right, and his debt to her was settled, which worked out for him as well. He left to go back to eying out his choice for acting as his agent in the isles and working out his plan to get her there. It would be even more work than it had been to maneuver Stone Mountain to his followers' Trebond keep. Still it didn't stop him from grumbling to himself about who there had been a whole squad of thieves he could have just educated about hidden rooms.
It took them five days to get back to the Vassa River, though the gods had to have been favoring them because they didn't encounter any patrols during the trip south. They still moved cautiously, having to take into consideration both their injured and the children and villagers who couldn't ride for as long as the warriors.
The smugglers on this side were rather put out to be ferrying so many over the river for 'free' as they stated. Joren quieted their complaints by passing over a hefty sum of coins from the pouch that he had kept quiet about until then. Dom gave him a sour look but didn't comment. It took a long while to get everyone across, and Joren, Kel, Neal, and Owen were the last ones to cross. Joren noticed his wife was asleep as soon as they cast off, a luxury he couldn't manage given his hatred of being on boats.
He spotted Lord Wyldon, Lord Raoul, and Duke Baird waiting on the other side along with their friends who had brought the adult refugees back safely as they approached the Tortall shore, but didn't comment, he merely nudged his wife awake. As soon as they were off the flat-bottomed boat, Kel, Neal and Owen all behaved like they were facing their execution. Joren rolled his one eye as they knelt and bowed their heads in submission.
"Sargent Domitan, tell me these children aren't the result of your squad's Scanran frolics," Raoul stated cheerfully as Joren braced himself upright on Bloodborne. The riding had been as hard on his leg as Neal had promised him and Joren hoped that Lord Wyldon had thought to bring wagons for the injured.
"Well, sir, my men helped," Dom joked, he was clearly messing around and Joren smiled at the knowledge that their friend had been telling the truth about Lord Raoul giving them the orders to assist Kel and him.
"You missed a tidy fight," Raoul told Dom. "Smashed one of King Maggot's little armies to bits. Come along and I'll tell you about it."
Meanwhile Duke Baird was gathering up all the children and the civilian adults to tend to them, to Joren's relief. He looked Lord Wyldon in the eye firmly even as Kel and their two friends kept her head bowed. They were now left alone with just Wyldon and their friends who had brought back the adult refugees. Owen was the first to break the silence, "My lord, I'm sorry, but I got Happy killed. I didn't mean to… he fought as hard as any knight… but he got killed anyway, and I never wanted that."
"Is that all you have to say to me, that your horse is dead?" Joren noted that Wyldon's tone was the same one he had used when dealing with pages who had gotten into trouble for one reason or another.
"No, my lord. I disobeyed you. I betrayed you. And I'd do it again, under the circumstances, not meaning any disrespect, sir. But I miss happy," Owen's contrition was the kind that Joren had to force himself to not laugh at the statement. He knew they were on thin ice and didn't want to make it seem like he didn't know it, though he wasn't lowering himself to kneeling for Wyldon. They were equals in rank and Joren wasn't under the man's command.
"And you, Sir Nealan, have you any comments?" Lord Wyldon inquired, his voice losing it's hardness.
"No, my lord," Neal replied, knowing for once to keep his mouth shut.
"I believe, Owen, that you are familiar with my dislike of needless dramatics," Wyldon's tone had turned sardonic now. "I am not about to declare you a traitor because the mount I gave you was killed in battle. He did what he was trained to do. I am sad for the loss of the horse. He was one of the best I've raised, but I would be sorrier still for the loss of a squire in whom I can take pride."
Joren did smile at that while Kel, Owen, and Neal spoke in unison, "Sir?" Their heads snapping up to look at their former training master.
Wyldon looked at all of them, even Joren, who was leaning heavily on his horse now due to his leg's increasing ache, before focusing on Kel, "One of the hardest lessons for any commander is this: It is a very bad idea to issue an order one knows will not be obeyed. Lady Knight, had my mind not been on other things, I would have known better than to forbid you to rescue your people. I had placed them under your care, knowing you would protect them with every skill at your disposal. I cannot now say I didn't want you to take your responsibility too seriously. The same applies to Sir Nealan and to Sir Merric, who were also charged with their well-being. Furthermore, King Jonathan, when informed of Lord Stone Mountain's actions in following his wife to Scanra stated that his orders were strictly to collect refugees from the danger zone and not to challenge anyone to single combat. Therefore, unless he challenged someone to single combat, even he can't be punished. If I do not punish you, then I cannot in fairness punish those who aided you." Wyldon finished, his expression carefully blank, though Joren suspected that their little excursion to Scanra had definitely made the old lord proud.
Kel looked to her friends behind Lord Wyldon who looked sheepish but shrugged, as if to say they weren't going to argue. Kel looked about to protest, but Joren's leg buckled just then and she was distracted by it enough that she didn't argue further. Wyldon ordered Neal and Owen to see Joren over to Duke Baird who might be able to further help his leg. He also stated that he wanted a private word with Kel. Owen hesitated, asking to make sure Wyldon wasn't about the yell at her. Wyldon took some issue to the statement but Owen took the hint as Joren leaned heavier against him and with Wyldon's assurance that he wouldn't yell at Kel they left.
Joren shortly found himself settled in a wagon while Duke Baird examined his leg before shaking his head, "I can relieve the pain for now, but I'm afraid Neal and Mistress Rosewood have done all the can for the leg. I doubt it will be this painful normally once it's fully healed, but with all the riding you had to do it certainly hasn't helped it heal. I hope you are planning on riding in the wagons on your way south, Lord Joren?"
Joren nodded in agreement, "Yes, your grace. Given the pain of the last five days, I doubt I will relish riding for a long while."
"I doubt it will be pleasant for quite an extensive amount of time," Duke Baird agreed. "Now, as for your eye, I'm sorry, but not even I can repair a lost eye. I've heard of a mage that Master Numair spoke of, and fought during the Immortals War, that replaced his eye with a ruby and used complex magic to be able to see through it, but as you have no magic I doubt it would work, even if I knew how to lay the necessary spells for it."
Joren shook his head and joked, "Never mind how tacky it would look."
Duke Baird chuckled, "It's good to see you have a sense of humor about this. King Jonathan wasn't happy when he learnt of your actions."
"No, I imagine he wasn't. Hopefully, he will look at the bright side and be happy that my wife did away with a dangerous mage that was wreaking havoc on our borders," Joren pointed out.
"You know he won't let you leave Corus again while this war continues, right?" Duke Baird scolded firmly.
"I figured that's how things would play out. Hopefully, with those blasted monstrosities dealt with, it won't last much longer," Joren responded grimly.
"From your mouth to the gods' ears, my boy," Duke Baird stated as he allowed a little more magic to flow into Joren's leg. "Now, stay off the leg for the next few hours, though I doubt you'll be able to support your weight on it for the rest of the day."
Joren nodded in understanding as Kel and Wyldon joined them. Wyldon eyed Joren, "How bad is the leg… and the eye, I suppose?"
"The eye is gone, thanks to an unlucky cut from a Scanran and according to the three healers that have seen to it so far, I will be acquiring a cane when I return to Corus," Joren stated bluntly.
Wyldon winced at the information, "I see. Well, it isn't like King Jonathan was going to allow you near combat again anyways."
"Very true, and I already have a stunning wife who is unlikely to turn to dislike of me for being a cripple," Joren added earning a scowl from Wyldon while Kel rolled her eyes at her husband. "I'm looking on the positive side. Please do not act like I need pity. I knew the fight would be hard won and there was little chance of walking away unscathed. Yes, the price was high, but it's far lower than it could have been."
Wyldon sighed and then nodded in agreement, "And with any luck, you and your wife's actions will have cut King Maggur off at the knees. We had best get a move on if we want to reach Mastiff before dark. Lady Knight, you're likely in no better shape to ride than your husband, so you can share a wagon with him. I hear they're well sprung, as they were purchased by Lord Joren himself."
Joren chuckled, "I'll be bringing a lot of children south. I wanted to be able to make a good pace. I'm glad that it will ease my suffer as well." Kel climbed into the wagon, more to be next to him, Joren suspected, than because she truly needed to ride in a wagon rather than on a horse.
A few more children and some of the Scanran villagers joined them in the wagon while Bloodborne and Peachblossom were secured on a lead line by Tobe who then secured the line to the saddle horn of Hoshi, who he was clearly planning on riding back to Mastiff. Kel offered the boy a smile as they started to move.