Kyerind had frozen again on the way downstairs, and it had taken every effort the other three had to lug him down. It was especially difficult for Shiryami, because she was spending most of her power in resisting the freezing spell herself. It was working, since she kept one elbow on the staff Lilynris had given her, but it was very difficult.
"I think the ice is melting," Lilynris said. "We can put him down now."
She, Ashayie, and Shiryami did so. "Do you think you're going to freeze anytime soon?" Ashayie asked her, now back to normal.
"I'm putting a lot of effort into resisting it," Shiryami responded slowly. "We'd better go out to the shed before Uncle Hyhinmor leaves."
Kyerind shook his head. "Did you have to carry me?"
"What, you think we're just going to wait for you in my room?" Shiryami said, shaking her head. "We are in a hurry here. I can already see the crusaders coming."
Kyerind sighed, then reached up and opened the door. Without its customary creak, it swung open to reveal a cloudy, misty landscape. "I can barely see," Kyerind muttered, using a simple fire spell to create a small flame.
The others sneaked out, and Shiryami closed the door behind her. She then turned around to see the Crusader Major not far away, leading his troops. Other creatures appeared, too, that she had never seen before.
"Shiryami!" Ashayie yelled, taking her arm and lugging her along. "Don't let the fear stun you, and don't let yourself get frozen again! You can freeze while you're in the crate."
Shiryami managed to get enough sense back so that the Poogle and Acara scampered swiftly over the grass and through the mist to find Lilynris and Kyerind again. "Running helps," Shiryami said, locating Kyerind's flame. "Where's the shed, anyway?"
"Not far ahead," Kyerind said, leading them through the air. "Look, there's Uncle Hyhinmor, loading up the crates to go to the Palace."
The Shoyru lugged another crate into his truck; Lilynris and Ashayie gaped as the mists revealed it. "What is that?" Lilynris asked.
"Dad uses it to take merchandise to the Palace or the village," Kyerind responded. "It may look pretty odd to you, I see?"
"It certainly does. I've never seen something like that before."
"It works perfectly well," Shiryami said. "Come on, let's get moving."
Her uncle, however, had glanced up in lugging another crate into the back of the truck. "What brings you adventurers here? Kyerind? Shir--Shir--yami? Doesn't seem like a very good place for any of you to be, with the crusader army coming up any minute from the northwest to seek out and find the rebels."
"He really is clueless," Ashayie muttered. "I was hoping he wouldn't be here. Shiryami, don't you dare freeze again."
What were you expecting? Shiryami thought. Something easy? It's never easy. I will not freeze. I will not freeze. I will not...
Uncle Hyhinmor stared at them for a little while longer. "You're not just coming here to make a map of the Two Rings and then go home, are you?"
"There's no way to go home. The Circle of Twelve sealed this place. Nothing," Lilynris said, twisting her mouth in irony, "can leave it. Or, more accurately, nothing with good intentions."
"I see."
"No, I don't think you do see," Ashayie said. "Basically, the army is after us. We want to go to the Palace. Obviously, they are in our way. We are seeking another way to get there. Figure the rest out for yourself, if you can."
Uncle Hyhinmor considered this for a while. "If you mean you're calling on me to do a good deed and rescue you from certain death...I could never leave anyone to die. I'll give you a hand."
"Thanks, Dad," Kyerind said. "Thanks a lot."
"How do you think I could help you, though?"
"We would stow away in the crates," Lilynris explained. "Sounds insane, but it's better than certain death."
"All right, then. By chance, I have four empty crates. And there are four of you."
"Works out perfectly then, doesn't it?" Ashayie discreetly elbowed both Kyerind and Shiryami to keep them from freezing. Shiryami noted that the cartographer looked rather impatient. Why was she acting so strangely earlier? Shiryami thought.
"Why, yes. I shall have to include a few other goods inside, though. How else do you mean to get out?"
"Most likely by ordinary means," Lilynris said. "Ashayie and I have enchanted knives for this sort of purpose; Kyerind might be able to use fire magic in order to get out. But I don't know about Shiryami."
"Well, I'll pack a boxcutter in with you, Shir--shir--"
"Shiryami, Uncle Hyhinmor. That is my name." She accepted the boxcutter from Uncle Hyhinmor, who went to seal Kyerind into the first crate. Lilynris looked over her shoulder nervously at the approaching crusaders.
"I'll distract them," Ashayie said. "I'm expendable; I can do it."
Shiryami grabbed her elbow. "No way. You are not expendable. If they get their hands on you..." She shuddered. "No one has entered the Two Rings for centuries, so how could you know your way here? Your secrets will be dragged out of you painfully, and you will also reveal the rest of us. You'll die the same way my parents did." The small tear froze on Shiryami's skin, but the ice shell did not form.
Uncle Hyhinmor placed Kyerind's box in the truck. "You're next, Shiryami," he said.
Shiryami walked over to the boxes and twirled the Thunderstar Staff in her hands, wishing she could get the chance to use it against the Crusader Major. On the other hand, the freezing spell would probably go into effect there. She took one last look at the mage and the cartographer, trying to decide their course of action, before popping into the box and letting the freezing spell take effect.
As Uncle Hyhinmor sealed the box and Shiryami froze over, she could not hear anything else that was happening outside the box. So here it is, she thought. Now I leave home forever. Whether we win or lose, I am never going back. The halfway point in their adventure suddenly seemed plain to Shiryami. No longer was it a danger to simply battle her family at the dinner table. The upcoming battles would be more conventional. Even before they defeated Jahbal--because we must defeat him; I cannot believe otherwise--there would be other tests. For example, a certain librarian had asked for it the night before.
Was she ready for those battles? Could she hold her own against the librarian and other guards that she might find?
A third box thumped onto the pickup truck. Shiryami tested it with her magical power and found that it belonged to Ashayie.
^It's mine, all right.^
Where had that voice come from?
^Of course the box belongs to me, Shiryami. Knowing how the stories go, do you honestly think that Lilynris would not be last? She's probably having some difficulties out there. Your uncle, of course, is still trying to fulfill both his oaths. He's saved you, me, and Kyerind, but he just might leave Lilynris to die and arrange for the others to kill us.^
Shiryami responded, ^You're being really optimistic. Do you have any idea what's going on out there?^
^Oh yes. The guy that Lilynris is fighting has declared duel status. If Lilynris wins, your uncle gets to take him away and the crusaders leave. If he wins, then we're up for grabs.^
^Lilynris must be really confident. The Crusader Major's a tough opponent.^
Ashayie seemed to snort. ^Maybe for you. For Lilynris? She's got reason to be confident. She beats up everyone else she sees. According to her, Eleus Batrin tested several other mages before coming to Lilynris. None of them came back with everything that Lilynris had after her tests. You're not growing unconfident now, I hope, and wanting to go back?^
^Forget that. Have I not said twenty trillion times that I hate it there? I'll face all the dangers I have to so we can win.^
Ashayie seemed to be listening for something; Shiryami couldn't tell what. Then, a noise came from outside the box, and something heavy thudded inside the trunk. The thump was certainly heavier than that from Ashayie's box.
^It's because of all my things,^ Lilynris's voice said. ^Well, Shiryami, looks like I wound up doing the revenge bit for you. Hope you don't mind?^
Shiryami yawned inside the box. ^Nope.^ The ice shell which she had fought for such a long time then encased her, and she fell asleep inside the box.
The jolting of the truck woke her up about half an hour later. Shiryami listened carefully and then heard Uncle Hyhimnor's voice: "Delivery." The ice shell was off.
Someone grabbed Shiryami's box and lifted it out of the truck. She moved the gem on her staff closer to herself and hoped that the spell would take effect again. It did, and she froze over. Good thing. I wouldn't want to move and make them suspicious about this box, she thought.
Unless Ashayie was right and Uncle betrayed us.
He wouldn't do that.
Not to Kyerind, and maybe not to me. But what about Lilynris and Ashayie? He doesn't care about them.
Shiryami found she couldn't answer herself.
"There's something weird in this box," a gruff voice said, somewhere to Shiryami's left side. "Something moving."
Even if the ice shell hadn't been there, Shiryami would not have moved another speck.
"It's your imagination. You've been awake too much."
"It might not be imagination," a third voice said. "There are strange things outside this Palace. The Master told us to be wary. There is an adventurer in the area, after all. And a trail guide. Perhaps the farmers have brought them to us."
"I think I've found the other one," Servant Guy #2 said. "What shall we do with them?"
Total silence. Shiryami remained completely immobile in her ice shell, terrified that they would discover her too.
"Take the two suspicious boxes you-know-where," Servant Guy #3 said after some hesitation. "The other ones go to the storage room.
"Go."
Shiryami found her box lifted again by more servant guys, and made sure to stay frozen. Except for one thing she allowed herself...crossed fingers.
I suppose that Kyerind is still frozen too, she thought. Good thing. With two of us still around, maybe there's some hope that we can rescue them...
But Lilynris and Ashayie are going "you-know-where." How are we going to discover them?
I'm still alive and standing. The practices are over. Time to fight it out. Maybe that librarian has a clue...
"I think the ice is melting," Lilynris said. "We can put him down now."
She, Ashayie, and Shiryami did so. "Do you think you're going to freeze anytime soon?" Ashayie asked her, now back to normal.
"I'm putting a lot of effort into resisting it," Shiryami responded slowly. "We'd better go out to the shed before Uncle Hyhinmor leaves."
Kyerind shook his head. "Did you have to carry me?"
"What, you think we're just going to wait for you in my room?" Shiryami said, shaking her head. "We are in a hurry here. I can already see the crusaders coming."
Kyerind sighed, then reached up and opened the door. Without its customary creak, it swung open to reveal a cloudy, misty landscape. "I can barely see," Kyerind muttered, using a simple fire spell to create a small flame.
The others sneaked out, and Shiryami closed the door behind her. She then turned around to see the Crusader Major not far away, leading his troops. Other creatures appeared, too, that she had never seen before.
"Shiryami!" Ashayie yelled, taking her arm and lugging her along. "Don't let the fear stun you, and don't let yourself get frozen again! You can freeze while you're in the crate."
Shiryami managed to get enough sense back so that the Poogle and Acara scampered swiftly over the grass and through the mist to find Lilynris and Kyerind again. "Running helps," Shiryami said, locating Kyerind's flame. "Where's the shed, anyway?"
"Not far ahead," Kyerind said, leading them through the air. "Look, there's Uncle Hyhinmor, loading up the crates to go to the Palace."
The Shoyru lugged another crate into his truck; Lilynris and Ashayie gaped as the mists revealed it. "What is that?" Lilynris asked.
"Dad uses it to take merchandise to the Palace or the village," Kyerind responded. "It may look pretty odd to you, I see?"
"It certainly does. I've never seen something like that before."
"It works perfectly well," Shiryami said. "Come on, let's get moving."
Her uncle, however, had glanced up in lugging another crate into the back of the truck. "What brings you adventurers here? Kyerind? Shir--Shir--yami? Doesn't seem like a very good place for any of you to be, with the crusader army coming up any minute from the northwest to seek out and find the rebels."
"He really is clueless," Ashayie muttered. "I was hoping he wouldn't be here. Shiryami, don't you dare freeze again."
What were you expecting? Shiryami thought. Something easy? It's never easy. I will not freeze. I will not freeze. I will not...
Uncle Hyhinmor stared at them for a little while longer. "You're not just coming here to make a map of the Two Rings and then go home, are you?"
"There's no way to go home. The Circle of Twelve sealed this place. Nothing," Lilynris said, twisting her mouth in irony, "can leave it. Or, more accurately, nothing with good intentions."
"I see."
"No, I don't think you do see," Ashayie said. "Basically, the army is after us. We want to go to the Palace. Obviously, they are in our way. We are seeking another way to get there. Figure the rest out for yourself, if you can."
Uncle Hyhinmor considered this for a while. "If you mean you're calling on me to do a good deed and rescue you from certain death...I could never leave anyone to die. I'll give you a hand."
"Thanks, Dad," Kyerind said. "Thanks a lot."
"How do you think I could help you, though?"
"We would stow away in the crates," Lilynris explained. "Sounds insane, but it's better than certain death."
"All right, then. By chance, I have four empty crates. And there are four of you."
"Works out perfectly then, doesn't it?" Ashayie discreetly elbowed both Kyerind and Shiryami to keep them from freezing. Shiryami noted that the cartographer looked rather impatient. Why was she acting so strangely earlier? Shiryami thought.
"Why, yes. I shall have to include a few other goods inside, though. How else do you mean to get out?"
"Most likely by ordinary means," Lilynris said. "Ashayie and I have enchanted knives for this sort of purpose; Kyerind might be able to use fire magic in order to get out. But I don't know about Shiryami."
"Well, I'll pack a boxcutter in with you, Shir--shir--"
"Shiryami, Uncle Hyhinmor. That is my name." She accepted the boxcutter from Uncle Hyhinmor, who went to seal Kyerind into the first crate. Lilynris looked over her shoulder nervously at the approaching crusaders.
"I'll distract them," Ashayie said. "I'm expendable; I can do it."
Shiryami grabbed her elbow. "No way. You are not expendable. If they get their hands on you..." She shuddered. "No one has entered the Two Rings for centuries, so how could you know your way here? Your secrets will be dragged out of you painfully, and you will also reveal the rest of us. You'll die the same way my parents did." The small tear froze on Shiryami's skin, but the ice shell did not form.
Uncle Hyhinmor placed Kyerind's box in the truck. "You're next, Shiryami," he said.
Shiryami walked over to the boxes and twirled the Thunderstar Staff in her hands, wishing she could get the chance to use it against the Crusader Major. On the other hand, the freezing spell would probably go into effect there. She took one last look at the mage and the cartographer, trying to decide their course of action, before popping into the box and letting the freezing spell take effect.
As Uncle Hyhinmor sealed the box and Shiryami froze over, she could not hear anything else that was happening outside the box. So here it is, she thought. Now I leave home forever. Whether we win or lose, I am never going back. The halfway point in their adventure suddenly seemed plain to Shiryami. No longer was it a danger to simply battle her family at the dinner table. The upcoming battles would be more conventional. Even before they defeated Jahbal--because we must defeat him; I cannot believe otherwise--there would be other tests. For example, a certain librarian had asked for it the night before.
Was she ready for those battles? Could she hold her own against the librarian and other guards that she might find?
A third box thumped onto the pickup truck. Shiryami tested it with her magical power and found that it belonged to Ashayie.
^It's mine, all right.^
Where had that voice come from?
^Of course the box belongs to me, Shiryami. Knowing how the stories go, do you honestly think that Lilynris would not be last? She's probably having some difficulties out there. Your uncle, of course, is still trying to fulfill both his oaths. He's saved you, me, and Kyerind, but he just might leave Lilynris to die and arrange for the others to kill us.^
Shiryami responded, ^You're being really optimistic. Do you have any idea what's going on out there?^
^Oh yes. The guy that Lilynris is fighting has declared duel status. If Lilynris wins, your uncle gets to take him away and the crusaders leave. If he wins, then we're up for grabs.^
^Lilynris must be really confident. The Crusader Major's a tough opponent.^
Ashayie seemed to snort. ^Maybe for you. For Lilynris? She's got reason to be confident. She beats up everyone else she sees. According to her, Eleus Batrin tested several other mages before coming to Lilynris. None of them came back with everything that Lilynris had after her tests. You're not growing unconfident now, I hope, and wanting to go back?^
^Forget that. Have I not said twenty trillion times that I hate it there? I'll face all the dangers I have to so we can win.^
Ashayie seemed to be listening for something; Shiryami couldn't tell what. Then, a noise came from outside the box, and something heavy thudded inside the trunk. The thump was certainly heavier than that from Ashayie's box.
^It's because of all my things,^ Lilynris's voice said. ^Well, Shiryami, looks like I wound up doing the revenge bit for you. Hope you don't mind?^
Shiryami yawned inside the box. ^Nope.^ The ice shell which she had fought for such a long time then encased her, and she fell asleep inside the box.
The jolting of the truck woke her up about half an hour later. Shiryami listened carefully and then heard Uncle Hyhimnor's voice: "Delivery." The ice shell was off.
Someone grabbed Shiryami's box and lifted it out of the truck. She moved the gem on her staff closer to herself and hoped that the spell would take effect again. It did, and she froze over. Good thing. I wouldn't want to move and make them suspicious about this box, she thought.
Unless Ashayie was right and Uncle betrayed us.
He wouldn't do that.
Not to Kyerind, and maybe not to me. But what about Lilynris and Ashayie? He doesn't care about them.
Shiryami found she couldn't answer herself.
"There's something weird in this box," a gruff voice said, somewhere to Shiryami's left side. "Something moving."
Even if the ice shell hadn't been there, Shiryami would not have moved another speck.
"It's your imagination. You've been awake too much."
"It might not be imagination," a third voice said. "There are strange things outside this Palace. The Master told us to be wary. There is an adventurer in the area, after all. And a trail guide. Perhaps the farmers have brought them to us."
"I think I've found the other one," Servant Guy #2 said. "What shall we do with them?"
Total silence. Shiryami remained completely immobile in her ice shell, terrified that they would discover her too.
"Take the two suspicious boxes you-know-where," Servant Guy #3 said after some hesitation. "The other ones go to the storage room.
"Go."
Shiryami found her box lifted again by more servant guys, and made sure to stay frozen. Except for one thing she allowed herself...crossed fingers.
I suppose that Kyerind is still frozen too, she thought. Good thing. With two of us still around, maybe there's some hope that we can rescue them...
But Lilynris and Ashayie are going "you-know-where." How are we going to discover them?
I'm still alive and standing. The practices are over. Time to fight it out. Maybe that librarian has a clue...