Chapter Ten
The procession moved with great speed and seeming disregard for whatever noise they made. Their leader had explained while she and the rest of her unit had means to hide themselves from the Charr, Devona and her companions did not, thus there was really no sense trying to be sneaky when they would surely be spotted.
Devona had tried to ask the woman how anyone could be seen on a moonless night such as the current one, but their escort had shrugged it off and said the answer was complicated, and that she wasn't even certain if she understood it herself.
"All I've been doing for the last week has been running it seems." Cynn grumped between heavy breaths.
"Then by all means make yourself useful and stop. Perhaps you'll be an easier target for any Charr prowling about." The shrouded leader retorted flatly.
Devona found herself starting to like this woman.
They had been forced to quickly dispatch of one small patrol just moments before sunrise, but with numbers on their side for once, it hadn't presented much of a threat beyond alerting other nearby foes.
The army gathered at the bottom of the basin they were perched on top of as daybreak finally came was entirely another matter.
"By the gods, there has to be close to five hundred Charr down there." Mhenlo whispered.
"Four hundred, eighty-six, at last count." The leader of their escort said. "Although I'll acknowledge the number has probably increased during the night. Is it too much to hope that you four are a signal of further numbers to come?"
"I'm afraid not. We have only learned recently that any humans had survived the Charr's advance on the northlands, and we did not waste time reporting this news in our haste to find your people."
"Are we correct to assume that you are survivors of the Hylan Colony?" Aidan queried.
"Survivors? Barely. It's only been through ingenuity that we've lasted this long. But these numbers will soon be far beyond what we can hope to stave."
"So the reports we were told were not inaccurate." The ranger remarked grimly.
"Then what good did you mere few intend to have?"
"Our fearless leader went off on a crusade to find our missing Prince Coran." Cynn grumbled. "The trail has led us here."
For a brief moment, Devona noticed the eyes of their escort bulge, then dart back and forth among her kin warily. The other shrouded figures seemed amused, as if laughing at the absurdity of what Cynn had said.
"You speak nonsense." The woman said coldly. "How could a prince have survived such a travel without a god's luck?" In a whispered aside to Devona, she added, "I suggest you silence that loudmouthed caster of yours. The atmosphere towards the royalty of our native land is not… pleasant… among the survivors."
"But the snake said…" Cynn started.
"Stop your stories this instant, Cynn." Devona snapped. "If it weren't for your spells, I would have tossed you into the nearest tar pit."
Cynn opened her mouth, but for once, words betrayed her. An accusing finger shot up, pointing at Devona, then at their escort, then at Devona again, all the while her lower lip hanging so low it could have caught up a small animal.
"Well, as much as I am loving this exchange of invective, may I ask just how we plan on getting there…" Mhenlo asked, pointing towards the barricaded colony, "… through them?" He then finished, pointing towards the army of Charr.
"There are ways." Their escort said, gesturing to the east with her right arm. "Follow me, but quickly."
Devona took up a position right at the woman's heels, and said, "It occurred to me that I have never seen a fortified wall quite like that before. Where did you come up with that idea?" She was referring to the wooden trunks, sharpened at the end, and angled outwards at varying degrees.
The woman again darted her eyes to both sides before saying softly, "A… wanderer… came upon our barely surviving colony roughly two years ago. At the time, we were huddled in the cave structure behind us. He was the one who designed the fortifications the way they were. It dissuades wall climbers and various enemy charges."
Devona said nothing more, not wanting to force their escort into saying anything more than she meant to. Nonetheless, the warrior was now certain that their search was nearing an end. Despite the fact that returning to Ascalon would likely be even more perilous than the search, Devona was immensely relieved.
Five years… she wondered how Coran had changed. Then she shook the thoughts out of her head. There was far too much to worry about then the musings on an old friend.
The path seemed to reach a dead end at a towering cliff face, and a massive boulder at least thirty feet tall imbedded into the rock wall. Their escort approached the side of the boulder, and pressed her hand against the stone. After roughly five seconds of silence, there was a distinctive click, then the sound of grating rock as the boulder swiftly hinged open, revealing a smooth, polished back attached at the center by a series of thick iron chains and a thick, steel, telescoped pole.
The half boulder had clearly been covering up a tunnel roughly half its size, which their escort waved them into quickly. Once all members of the party had entered, they proceeded down the oddly lit tunnel as the cover snapped shut.
"What manner of torch are these?" Cynn asked, examining the glowing balls of glass providing surprisingly bright light into the tunnel. They certainly weren't burning like any candle or flame she had ever seen.
"You ask questions that are best answered by Charon. He is the wanderer that brought this and much other knowledge." Their escort answered.
"Charon?" Mhenlo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, named after the boatman to the Underworld. When we found him, he was near death, and looked like the shriveled remains of a man left to die. Since he had somehow forgotten his own name, that one stuck."
Devona gulped. Had Coran somehow lost his memory during what must have been a perilous trek from the Forgotten Academy to the remains of the Hylan Colony? What would that mean if he had?
"Set your mind at ease." The shrouded woman whispered in her ear. "My father and your prince realized quickly it would be in his best interest to 'forget' where he had come from or who he was."
The tunnel wasn't terribly long, no more than a mile, before it turned abruptly northward, and into the open air once again, where a carved stone stairwell descended into a maelstrom of human activity.
"Men and ladies, welcome to the Hylan Colony…" Their escort said, before bitterly adding, "For however long it stands, at any rate." She then motioned to her company, and ordered, "Report to my father, and then inform Charon that we have unexpected visitors. He might wish to speak with them. Our guests will be in the meeting hall of the central square building."
With silent nods, the other black-clothed people parted ways, and that prompted their escort to pull off her hood, and motion for the four adventurers to again follow.
The central square building was a simple enough construct, having the appearance of a box made from earthen brick, and a slightly angled leather roof, likely to channel away any rain. Inside, it was much cleaner, with neatly trimmed and painted wood walls and finely shaped and carved doorways.
The woman turned suddenly right through one such door, into a large off-white painted room with a long, dark finished wood table and chair extending almost its entire length. Their escort ordered them into the chairs nearest the doorway, and said, "I will return shortly. Do not move. The people of the colony are understandably on edge, and might attack any strangers without thinking."
The woman disappeared out the doorway, leaving the four to themselves. Sensing this, Cynn immediately went on the attack like an angry bear, taking a seat next to Mhenlo, and across from Aidan and Cynn.
"How… dare you… you… you… treacherous little whore?" The elementalist raged, pointing violently at Devona. "This is your little obsession, and then you try and paint me as some lunatic!"
"I didn't have time to explain, but apparently the people of this colony are somewhat agitated by the royalty of Ascalon." Devona answered. "Our shrouded friend informed me it would be a good idea to not let on that one of said family was in their midst."
"It makes sense." Aidan answered. "No doubt the colony would have asked for aid, but due to its distance, King Adelbern would have had neither the time nor the means to lend any significant help. The colony would have felt betrayed by Ascalon."
"That would also explain our prince's sudden amnesia." Mhenlo said with a sigh of relief. "I must admit I was not looking forward to explaining to a young man here that he is actually of a king's blood, and needed most desperately by his kingdom."
They quickly went mum as they heard the sounds of movement from outside, and their escort once again entered the room, sitting down in a chair at the end of the table. "Now, you can answer the questions I have. How did you come to know that Prince Coran of Ascalon could be found here?"
Devona instinctively took charge of answering any and all queries. "A Forgotten One known as Sslani, headmaster of the Forgotten Academy, had informed us that he could be found here."
The woman turned her eyes to the doorway then asked, "Why are you searching for him? I find it odd that it would take so long to suddenly decide to find him."
"We have come to inform him that his father has died, and that he needs to return to Ascalon."
The woman shrugged, "For whatever reason? Does Coran not have an older brother who is already in line?"
Devona gulped, the memory of the Shiverpeaks burned into her brain. "Prince Rurik… was killed leading refugees from Rin over the mountains towards Kryta."
"And what of his sister? Even as a woman, she would have right to the throne before Coran."
"Princess Elana was killed in the initial charge of the Charr after the Searing. I'm surprised the prince wouldn't have known that."
"I didn't…" A gentle, sorrowed voice said from the hall outside the doorway. "Sslani's information of Ascalon was broken at best, and cut off at worst when the Charr overwhelmed Tranquility Temple."
"Coran… you should have let me finish my…" The black clothed woman said, swiftly standing and turning towards the hall.
"Yuu, that will be plenty." The voice answered, and a choked sob followed before he continued. "I suspect I already know one of your guests, and I see no reason to assume she is not speaking true."
With that, the owner of the voice entered the meeting hall. To Devona's surprise, he looked almost exactly as she had last remembered him… although the slight hints of time had begun to creep onto his smooth, almost polished face.
"I was going to have Yuu ask just what you had planned to do once you had found me, but it seems like an unnecessary question now." Prince Coran said glumly. "And while I wish we had met under better news, I am glad to see some familiar faces again."