Taredic Leshara stood in the center of his workroom, bewilderedly truing to figure out what had happened. A Herald-Mage and a trainee were collapsed near the door that he had been building a Gate into. He recognized the trainee as one of the Frelennye brats, Staven's twin who was supposedly mad. As for the Herald, well she was of no importance. He ordered the two beasts they rode in on into his stable, they were good show beasts if nothing else, and it's not like his hostages would need them.
Hostages; the word felt good to his tongue as he repeated it to a servant, ordering them to be taken to his prison. The brat would be most useful, of course, as a ransoming tool to finally do what his father was unable to: take hold of the Frelennye keep. He was a better tool than what he was planning to use when the spell had gone wrong. A swarm of krandis would have devastated the Frelennye crops almost instantly, but would do little to settle the feud, merely adding a victory to his side.
But these hostages would cause an immediate yield to his side; putting him in charge of the keep without the constant annoyance of father and older brother Evan. Even the Herald had her uses. The Heraldic Circle at Haven wold pay dearly to regain one of their most seasoned members. And if not, her life would release enough energy to supply him for any other projects he had in store.
Taredic grinned. Once he ruled Frelennye he could go on to own enough land to equal his father. No one could laugh at him then…
Tylendel's headache subsided after what seemed like years, and he was able to sit up a little, gasping from the pain in his ribs. He waited for his head to stop swimming before taking a look at his surroundings. It was a cold, dank room, reeking of sweat and blood. He looked at the bloodstained walls, and he heaved, causing another burst of pain in his ribs as he emptied the contents of his stomach.
Sweat glistened on his forehead from the effort, but it was worth the pain as his stomach began to calm. He found Savil still unconscious on the ground next to him. He briefly remembered Jaysen teaching him about Mages becoming sick after using excessive magic. He debated waking her up for a ladle-full of water, but decided to let her be. She needed her rest.
His next concern was Gala, and he mind-called her franticly.
: I am here, Chosen.: She replied, her calming mind voice soothing his fears. : I am in a stable. You are in the dungeon of Taredic Leshara's keep. You Gated here by accident.:
: What? - How?: He stumbled over his mind-speech. Taredic Leshara was the son of Wester Leshara, his mother's murderer, though it was never proven. Being in the same area as the man made his blood boil with rage, especially after seeing what had taken place in this dungeon. His mother was not the only one murdered by the hand of this family.
: Dearheart, you must stay calm. We need to escape. He will use you to extricate the settlement he wants from Staven. He's almost as mad as his father, love. You cannot fight him.:
Tylendel saw the sense in her argument, though he didn't like it. He would kill Taredic Leshara for the pain he had inflicted on his family, and not think it an offense. But he remained calm, if only to appease Gala, and thought carefully.
: We can't do anything now. Savil is still knocked out, and I won't leave with out her.:
Gala agreed, : No, we must wait a few days. Taredic won't try anything until he can contact your family and the Heraldic Circle. We have until then to plan an escape.:
: Will you be alright until then?:
: I am fine where I am. Taredic doesn't know our intelligence, and thinks us as rather well trained show horses. If he wishes to keep us for display, neither Kellan nor I will be harmed.:
: That's a relief.: Tylendel spoke as he noticed Savil stirring. : Stay safe, love. Savil is waking.:
Tylendel went to the water bucket and poured himself a drink before filling a ladle for Savil. If Jaysen was right, she would be feeling worse than he did.
She opened her eyes wearily, and searched around. Her eyes caught on Tylendel as he kneeled beside her.
: Drink this teacher, it will soothe the pain.:
She sat up, painfully, but crossly. : My pain? I've had worse. Where are we, and why are you using mind-speech?: She demanded.
: Gala said we're in the prison of Taredic Leshara.: he mind-spoke, and she Felt the barely suppressed rage at who she knew as his family's enemy. : We being guarded, so I don't trust talking out loud. But he has no way to shield or over hear mind-speech.:
: True.: She said, then paused. : Do we have a way to get out of here?:
: Gala's working on it,: he replied, : but we wanted to wait until you were more rested. We shouldn't be in any harm at the moment. Taredic is trying to ransom me to my family and you to the Heraldic Circle, but I he can't-:
: I know damned well what he'll do if he can't. This dungeon reeks of blood-magic, and I'm well worth the possible retaliation in death energy. And you're right about my resting. I feel like I've been dragged through the nine hells and back. But what about you? You're the injured one.:
: I'm recovering all right. I'm not dizzy when I stand anymore, and my ribs are barely hurting me.:
: That's good. The faster we heal, the sooner we can leave here.:
The door opened and Taredic strolled in, smugness dripping from his smile.
"Well, my hostages. I see you have woken. It'd rude to walk into someone's house uninvited and unconscious." He laughed, being the only one who thought it funny. Then he sneered, seeing that there was no response to his witticism. Anger rose in him, and he called a guard. "Kill the old one, Haven refuses to negotiate for her. Bring the brat to me, we can torture him for information."
The door closed solidly, and the Herald and trainee stared at it.
: Chosen, I heard. Kellan and I think we can escape from here tonight.:
Slowly, they formed a plan. Tylendel only wondered if they could pull it off.
Hostages; the word felt good to his tongue as he repeated it to a servant, ordering them to be taken to his prison. The brat would be most useful, of course, as a ransoming tool to finally do what his father was unable to: take hold of the Frelennye keep. He was a better tool than what he was planning to use when the spell had gone wrong. A swarm of krandis would have devastated the Frelennye crops almost instantly, but would do little to settle the feud, merely adding a victory to his side.
But these hostages would cause an immediate yield to his side; putting him in charge of the keep without the constant annoyance of father and older brother Evan. Even the Herald had her uses. The Heraldic Circle at Haven wold pay dearly to regain one of their most seasoned members. And if not, her life would release enough energy to supply him for any other projects he had in store.
Taredic grinned. Once he ruled Frelennye he could go on to own enough land to equal his father. No one could laugh at him then…
Tylendel's headache subsided after what seemed like years, and he was able to sit up a little, gasping from the pain in his ribs. He waited for his head to stop swimming before taking a look at his surroundings. It was a cold, dank room, reeking of sweat and blood. He looked at the bloodstained walls, and he heaved, causing another burst of pain in his ribs as he emptied the contents of his stomach.
Sweat glistened on his forehead from the effort, but it was worth the pain as his stomach began to calm. He found Savil still unconscious on the ground next to him. He briefly remembered Jaysen teaching him about Mages becoming sick after using excessive magic. He debated waking her up for a ladle-full of water, but decided to let her be. She needed her rest.
His next concern was Gala, and he mind-called her franticly.
: I am here, Chosen.: She replied, her calming mind voice soothing his fears. : I am in a stable. You are in the dungeon of Taredic Leshara's keep. You Gated here by accident.:
: What? - How?: He stumbled over his mind-speech. Taredic Leshara was the son of Wester Leshara, his mother's murderer, though it was never proven. Being in the same area as the man made his blood boil with rage, especially after seeing what had taken place in this dungeon. His mother was not the only one murdered by the hand of this family.
: Dearheart, you must stay calm. We need to escape. He will use you to extricate the settlement he wants from Staven. He's almost as mad as his father, love. You cannot fight him.:
Tylendel saw the sense in her argument, though he didn't like it. He would kill Taredic Leshara for the pain he had inflicted on his family, and not think it an offense. But he remained calm, if only to appease Gala, and thought carefully.
: We can't do anything now. Savil is still knocked out, and I won't leave with out her.:
Gala agreed, : No, we must wait a few days. Taredic won't try anything until he can contact your family and the Heraldic Circle. We have until then to plan an escape.:
: Will you be alright until then?:
: I am fine where I am. Taredic doesn't know our intelligence, and thinks us as rather well trained show horses. If he wishes to keep us for display, neither Kellan nor I will be harmed.:
: That's a relief.: Tylendel spoke as he noticed Savil stirring. : Stay safe, love. Savil is waking.:
Tylendel went to the water bucket and poured himself a drink before filling a ladle for Savil. If Jaysen was right, she would be feeling worse than he did.
She opened her eyes wearily, and searched around. Her eyes caught on Tylendel as he kneeled beside her.
: Drink this teacher, it will soothe the pain.:
She sat up, painfully, but crossly. : My pain? I've had worse. Where are we, and why are you using mind-speech?: She demanded.
: Gala said we're in the prison of Taredic Leshara.: he mind-spoke, and she Felt the barely suppressed rage at who she knew as his family's enemy. : We being guarded, so I don't trust talking out loud. But he has no way to shield or over hear mind-speech.:
: True.: She said, then paused. : Do we have a way to get out of here?:
: Gala's working on it,: he replied, : but we wanted to wait until you were more rested. We shouldn't be in any harm at the moment. Taredic is trying to ransom me to my family and you to the Heraldic Circle, but I he can't-:
: I know damned well what he'll do if he can't. This dungeon reeks of blood-magic, and I'm well worth the possible retaliation in death energy. And you're right about my resting. I feel like I've been dragged through the nine hells and back. But what about you? You're the injured one.:
: I'm recovering all right. I'm not dizzy when I stand anymore, and my ribs are barely hurting me.:
: That's good. The faster we heal, the sooner we can leave here.:
The door opened and Taredic strolled in, smugness dripping from his smile.
"Well, my hostages. I see you have woken. It'd rude to walk into someone's house uninvited and unconscious." He laughed, being the only one who thought it funny. Then he sneered, seeing that there was no response to his witticism. Anger rose in him, and he called a guard. "Kill the old one, Haven refuses to negotiate for her. Bring the brat to me, we can torture him for information."
The door closed solidly, and the Herald and trainee stared at it.
: Chosen, I heard. Kellan and I think we can escape from here tonight.:
Slowly, they formed a plan. Tylendel only wondered if they could pull it off.
