Alder woke up lying uncomfortably on a pile of rocks. Her head ached
tremendously. It took her a couple of minutes to convince herself to open
her eyes. The barrier was gone, but there was a blood-red mist hovering
over the tree tops.
As she quickly unshielded, a sense of urgency pulled her to her feet. She ran to Kaila, who was grazing next to Damon's unconscious form. Hunter and Nike nervously stomped their hooves, until Alder in turn soothed them and told them to guard their wonders. With a sense of purpose, they calmed. Alder jumped into Kaila's saddle and set her off at a fast trot.
How long has it been? Judging the sky, Alder decided that she had only been out fold for about a candlemark. The sun had risen with the light of false-dawn.
The sense of urgency that had pulled her before was redoubled, and it left her barely coherent. She was confused as to where this urgency was coming from, as it seemed almost tangible.
Alder forced herself into a light trance, and searched for that tiny part of her mind that held her magical channels. Grasping for magic had become second nature to her, and she didn't have to look for her channels to initiate a spell. She hadn't gauged her channels in months. And what she found there shocked her out of her trance. She quickly sent herself back to her channels, to see a new one. And when she reached out a tentative mental finer, she was overwhelmed by the terror and pain coming from it. And all of it linked to Avery.
Lifebond. I have heard about this. I need to get there NOW before it's too late! Alder urged Kaila to her fastest pace, and braced herself. Kaila's lope was ground eating, but remarkably smooth considering the speed.
At the Palace, Alder had studied maps of all the country, and had memorized strategical routes through Tonnar in case of war. And this must surely be the start of a war. Tonnar had kidnapped an heir from Emelis. They had overstepped the boundaries of law for a petty blood- feud.
Soon Alder found herself passing a humongous bird-shaped boulder that she recognized as a landmark on one of the maps she had studied.
Not far to Tonnar. Alder kept feeling waves of pain coming from Avery, so much that it almost paralyzed her. She tried to shield the worst of it so that she could concentrate on finding her path.
Alder came to the edge of the forest, and saw a path leading into Tonnar. She could see some women dressed in muted grays hanging clothes on a wire outside their homes, and immediately noticed their similarities.
They all wore dull colors and did not chatter amongst themselves like the women of Callista. They seemed to look alike too. All had dark brown hair and were very tan. They did resemble the people of Emelis a great deal, despite the lack of color.
And then she realized that she wouldn't be able to pretend that she was from Tonnar. None of the women were in the streets, and none of them had any animals that they lead. She wouldn't be able to cast an illusion, because she would still be out of place. She would have to become invisible much sooner than she had expected.
Alder dismounted quickly. She reached into her saddle bags and removed four pieces of cloth, and four strings. She grabbed the first cloth, and leaned down. She picked up Kai's front hoof, and wrapped the cloth around it. She tied it in place with the rope, and then continued to wrap the rest of Kai's hooves. Kai didn't much like having her hooves covered, but it was necessary. To walk through Tonnar unnoticed, they would have to be invisible, and it wouldn't do to have the sound of Kai's hooves arousing suspicion. After all, nothing was supposed to be there.
After Alder remounted, she gave Kai the 'guard' signal, and slid into a trance. She reached into her Channels and clocked herself and Kai with her invisibility magic. It was slightly disorienting to look down and see the ground so far below. Kai, unperturbed by the magic that surrounded her, continued to guard. Alder released Kai's guard, and urged her forwards down the road at a slow pace, as to not cause unnecessary noise.
She inched her way down the road at a pace that kept her in agony, but she knew that she had to go slowly, or else she could be caught. She finally reached the end of the first road, and turned on to the road that lead to the main holding. In the distance, she could see that there was a passing point ahead that you had to get checked by to pass into the main holding.
Why would they have a checking point to get into the main house? Something is going on here. I don't like this. She unshielded a bit, to check on her lifebonded. She was surprised to find that the terror was gone completely. In fact, everything had gone completely. She wasn't receiving anything from the bond. She could tell that Avery was still alive, but she wasn't feeling anything, either physically or emotionally. Something was VERY wrong here.
Hellfires. I'm going to have to tie Kai up somewhere. Thank gods that she is so well trained. Alder dismounted silently, and lead Kaila into the bushes. It was also her good luck that it was so early in the morning, as not too many men were out on the roads. Alder found an out of the way alcove with an air of disuse. She quickly told Kai to stay in place, and rummaged through the saddle bags by feel to find a little bottle.
She walked back down the road to the pass-through post. There were four men waiting in line to enter the pass-through booth. She waited behind the men as the first three passed through. It seemed to take about three minutes per person. She would have to act fast.
The man in front of her waited impatiently as he awaited his turn to get passed through into the holding. The badge on his green uniform indicated that he was a Commander. She quickly reached for her bottle in her pocket, and opened it. She put one hand over his mouth tightly so he could not yell. She put the bottle under his nose, and his protests immediately subsided. He fell over limp into her arms. She eased him down onto the ground, grabbed his ID card and unpinned his badge from his coat. She immediately recreated his image in an illusion so complete that no one would second guess her identity.
She cast a spell of invisibility over the man quickly. She didn't have much time. She quickly hid his unconscious form in the bushes. The poison that she had used would wear off in a couple hours, leaving him with no memories of what had happened. He would wake up in the bushes, and think he had drunkenly fallen asleep in the bushes the night before. As for the ID card and badge, he could always get another one later.
Alder quickly checked the ID card. Blake Cabot. Just at that moment, the guard came out. And all of that in three minutes. "Come in," the guard said. Alder followed him into the booth, and was ushered into a seat. "Name."
"Commander Blake Cabot."
"Reason for entering the holding?"
"Guard Duty. I have to be at my Command Post," Alder replied, trying to make her voice masculine.
"ID?" he prompted, and Alder passed over Blake's ID card. He looked from the picture on the card to Alder, and saw nothing out of place. "Commander, do you know when the plan will go into play? Has the Master told the ranks when it will initiate?"
"I do not yet know. He hasn't told us yet," Alder improvised. A plan? That even the guards are in on? Oh gods. I'll have to see what this is about.
"All right. You may go," he said, and opened a door to the other side of the booth.
As she quickly unshielded, a sense of urgency pulled her to her feet. She ran to Kaila, who was grazing next to Damon's unconscious form. Hunter and Nike nervously stomped their hooves, until Alder in turn soothed them and told them to guard their wonders. With a sense of purpose, they calmed. Alder jumped into Kaila's saddle and set her off at a fast trot.
How long has it been? Judging the sky, Alder decided that she had only been out fold for about a candlemark. The sun had risen with the light of false-dawn.
The sense of urgency that had pulled her before was redoubled, and it left her barely coherent. She was confused as to where this urgency was coming from, as it seemed almost tangible.
Alder forced herself into a light trance, and searched for that tiny part of her mind that held her magical channels. Grasping for magic had become second nature to her, and she didn't have to look for her channels to initiate a spell. She hadn't gauged her channels in months. And what she found there shocked her out of her trance. She quickly sent herself back to her channels, to see a new one. And when she reached out a tentative mental finer, she was overwhelmed by the terror and pain coming from it. And all of it linked to Avery.
Lifebond. I have heard about this. I need to get there NOW before it's too late! Alder urged Kaila to her fastest pace, and braced herself. Kaila's lope was ground eating, but remarkably smooth considering the speed.
At the Palace, Alder had studied maps of all the country, and had memorized strategical routes through Tonnar in case of war. And this must surely be the start of a war. Tonnar had kidnapped an heir from Emelis. They had overstepped the boundaries of law for a petty blood- feud.
Soon Alder found herself passing a humongous bird-shaped boulder that she recognized as a landmark on one of the maps she had studied.
Not far to Tonnar. Alder kept feeling waves of pain coming from Avery, so much that it almost paralyzed her. She tried to shield the worst of it so that she could concentrate on finding her path.
Alder came to the edge of the forest, and saw a path leading into Tonnar. She could see some women dressed in muted grays hanging clothes on a wire outside their homes, and immediately noticed their similarities.
They all wore dull colors and did not chatter amongst themselves like the women of Callista. They seemed to look alike too. All had dark brown hair and were very tan. They did resemble the people of Emelis a great deal, despite the lack of color.
And then she realized that she wouldn't be able to pretend that she was from Tonnar. None of the women were in the streets, and none of them had any animals that they lead. She wouldn't be able to cast an illusion, because she would still be out of place. She would have to become invisible much sooner than she had expected.
Alder dismounted quickly. She reached into her saddle bags and removed four pieces of cloth, and four strings. She grabbed the first cloth, and leaned down. She picked up Kai's front hoof, and wrapped the cloth around it. She tied it in place with the rope, and then continued to wrap the rest of Kai's hooves. Kai didn't much like having her hooves covered, but it was necessary. To walk through Tonnar unnoticed, they would have to be invisible, and it wouldn't do to have the sound of Kai's hooves arousing suspicion. After all, nothing was supposed to be there.
After Alder remounted, she gave Kai the 'guard' signal, and slid into a trance. She reached into her Channels and clocked herself and Kai with her invisibility magic. It was slightly disorienting to look down and see the ground so far below. Kai, unperturbed by the magic that surrounded her, continued to guard. Alder released Kai's guard, and urged her forwards down the road at a slow pace, as to not cause unnecessary noise.
She inched her way down the road at a pace that kept her in agony, but she knew that she had to go slowly, or else she could be caught. She finally reached the end of the first road, and turned on to the road that lead to the main holding. In the distance, she could see that there was a passing point ahead that you had to get checked by to pass into the main holding.
Why would they have a checking point to get into the main house? Something is going on here. I don't like this. She unshielded a bit, to check on her lifebonded. She was surprised to find that the terror was gone completely. In fact, everything had gone completely. She wasn't receiving anything from the bond. She could tell that Avery was still alive, but she wasn't feeling anything, either physically or emotionally. Something was VERY wrong here.
Hellfires. I'm going to have to tie Kai up somewhere. Thank gods that she is so well trained. Alder dismounted silently, and lead Kaila into the bushes. It was also her good luck that it was so early in the morning, as not too many men were out on the roads. Alder found an out of the way alcove with an air of disuse. She quickly told Kai to stay in place, and rummaged through the saddle bags by feel to find a little bottle.
She walked back down the road to the pass-through post. There were four men waiting in line to enter the pass-through booth. She waited behind the men as the first three passed through. It seemed to take about three minutes per person. She would have to act fast.
The man in front of her waited impatiently as he awaited his turn to get passed through into the holding. The badge on his green uniform indicated that he was a Commander. She quickly reached for her bottle in her pocket, and opened it. She put one hand over his mouth tightly so he could not yell. She put the bottle under his nose, and his protests immediately subsided. He fell over limp into her arms. She eased him down onto the ground, grabbed his ID card and unpinned his badge from his coat. She immediately recreated his image in an illusion so complete that no one would second guess her identity.
She cast a spell of invisibility over the man quickly. She didn't have much time. She quickly hid his unconscious form in the bushes. The poison that she had used would wear off in a couple hours, leaving him with no memories of what had happened. He would wake up in the bushes, and think he had drunkenly fallen asleep in the bushes the night before. As for the ID card and badge, he could always get another one later.
Alder quickly checked the ID card. Blake Cabot. Just at that moment, the guard came out. And all of that in three minutes. "Come in," the guard said. Alder followed him into the booth, and was ushered into a seat. "Name."
"Commander Blake Cabot."
"Reason for entering the holding?"
"Guard Duty. I have to be at my Command Post," Alder replied, trying to make her voice masculine.
"ID?" he prompted, and Alder passed over Blake's ID card. He looked from the picture on the card to Alder, and saw nothing out of place. "Commander, do you know when the plan will go into play? Has the Master told the ranks when it will initiate?"
"I do not yet know. He hasn't told us yet," Alder improvised. A plan? That even the guards are in on? Oh gods. I'll have to see what this is about.
"All right. You may go," he said, and opened a door to the other side of the booth.