Chapter 13: The City that Tempted Fate Part 1: To the Forest of Niall
Roland surveyed what was the beginning of their Kingdom to come. The sky skimmers had brought food, goods and materials – anything that could be safely loaded onto the skimmers and flown down – from the pirates homebase, as well as scavenged from the bandits' now abandoned camp, and they had worked through the day to use those materials to erect a large number of tents. They'd even cut down some of the nearby trees and started work on some rudimentary fortifications in the form of wooden fencing.
"It's really coming along, isn't it?" Aranella remarked.
"Oh yes," Evan agreed. "The pirates work so quickly, it's hard to believe this was all just grass only this morning."
"I don't know about you, but I can't help but feel completely useless," said Roland.
Aranella chuckled. "I know what you mean, but as Batu said, we help them more by staying out of their way and leaving them to it."
"Right." Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Batu approaching. "Speaking of," he said and nodded in Batu's direction.
"Oh, Batu. How is everything?" Evan asked.
"That be all the tents pitched, Yer Majesty," he reported.
"Great! Which one's going to be mine?"
"Which one's going to be ours, you mean," Lofty corrected.
Batu chuckled at his enthusiasm. "We be leavin' the choice up te you, Yer Majesty. Yer free te pick any tent that be takin' yer fancy."
"Oh, thank you, Batu! Come on, Lofty! Let's go pick a tent!"
"Right behind you, mun!"
They were about to run off and peruse the tents but Roland stopped them. "Hold on, you two. We need to discuss something first."
"Yes, we do," Aranella agreed. "These living arrangements are only going to be sufficient for our short term needs. So we'll need to look into something long term."
"Right and to do that, we'll need building materials."
"Oh, you mean like wood and stone?" Evan asked.
"Exactly. Though I'd suggest looking to harvest some wood to begin with, since it'll be a lot more durable than hide. Quarrying stone will require more… well let's just say it won't be as simple. And that's assuming we even have the tools, let alone the expertise."
Evan looked back at the forest that surrounded their encampment. "What about all these trees?"
Roland followed his gaze. "The whole reason we settled on this location was because the trees acted as a screen that would hide us from any potential enemies. If we take too much, we loose that protection. And besides, trees like this are more suited to firewood and small scale construction. If we're going to start building in earnest, we'll want something bigger. Hardier."
"Right… So what about all the wood that was used to make the Base?"
"That would be ideal but…"
"It be too much'assle te take it all apart and bring it down," Batu explained. "The skimmers not be built te carry that much extra weight, so if we wanted'em, we'd'ave te bring'em down on foot."
"That'd be a right undertaking, mun."
"Aye. A right undertakin' indeed," he agreed and Evan frowned and hummed.
"Batu, do you have that map?" Aranella asked.
"Aye." He pulled it out and they crowded around.
"Let's see." She assumed a thoughtful posture as she scrutinised the map. "According to this, there's a large forest south of here." She pointed. "The Forest of Niall."
"It seems to be about halfway between us and Goldpaw," Roland observed. "Does anyone know if it's owned by Goldpaw, or is it free to anyone?"
"I'm not sure."
"I believe it be the property o'someone called Niall. Hence the name. But we pirates've never travelled so far south, so we've never met'im. But the stories about'im be sayin' that he not be the most generous o'folks. So if'e's still around, then I don't be reckonin' on'im givin' us anythin' fer free."
Roland folded his arms. "If that's true, it sounds like we'll be needing to make a deal then."
"But what would we have to offer?" Aranella asked. "We're only just starting out."
"That is a good question," he sighed. "But one that's going to depend on exactly what Niall wants."
"But what if he doesn't want anything, Roland?" Evan asked.
"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there. But who knows, maybe you owing him a favour will be enough."
"I guess we'll see," said Aranella.
"Right. But not today. There's still work to be done here and it's too late in the day to start out on such a long journey. So we'll leave tomorrow. First thing. Which means, Evan. You'll need to appoint someone to stand in for you while we're gone."
"Right… Um… Who should I chose?"
"Uh, well. I would suggest Batu, but if he's coming along then you'll have to pick someone else."
"Who would you suggest, Batu?"
"I be suggestin' Qadan. His fightin' days may be behind'im, but'e still be commandin' the respect o'the people. He'll be able te keep everyone in line while yer away."
"All right. Then Qadan will be acting Chief for tomorrow."
"Then it's settled," said Roland. "Let's finish up and get an early night."
"Righto! Let's go pick out our tent, Evan."
"Right behind you, Lofty!" The two hurried off.
Aranella smiled after them and commented, "It's so nice to see him happy and smiling again – or at least, happier and smiling after everything that's happened."
Roland smiled as well. "I'm sure it is. But more than that I'm sure it's nice to see him acting his age."
"Yes. It is."
"Lofty seems to be the perfect Kingmaker for him, in that regard. He's got no shortage of self-assurance after all."
Batu laughed. "Bahaha! That be true. And it be startin' te rub off on the little laddie too."
"Right. He's already come a long way in such a short space of time."
"Yes, but… he still has a long way to go," Aranella sighed.
"He'll get there," he replied confidently.
Shouting drew their attention. "Boss! Boss!" Tani, Khunbish and Chingis were running towards them, dodging and weaving past the toiling pirates.
"Higgledy pig! Higgledy pig!" Runcible and his new friend, who'd they learned was called Wiff-waff were running along behind them.
Batu folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at them once they'd finally arrived. "What be all the shoutin' about?"
"We found something!" Tani exclaimed. "Well, Runcible and Wiff-waff found something at least."
"And what somethin' be that, te cause such a fuss?"
"It's some kind of statue, but-"
"But it be no ordinary statue, Boss," Khunbish cut in.
"Aye! It be'avin' the most unsettlin' air te it," Chingis added.
"Higgle!" They both exclaimed.
Roland, Batu and Aranella all exchanged looks. "Sounds like it might be worth taking a look," said Roland.
Batu hummed. "Should we call fer Evan?"
"He is our King," Aranella replied. So they hurried off in the direction Evan and Lofty had disappeared. Both agreed that the mysterious statue was something worth investigating and they all climbed onto the sky skimmers, Roland with Batu, Khunbish with Chingis and Aranella, Lofty, Evan and the two higgledies with Tani.
"So we were looking through the bandits' camp, right?" Tani began after they'd all touched down. "And we noticed-"
"Higgle!" Runcible objected.
"Sorry, Runcible and Wiff-waff noticed something first, and they got my attention. At first I thought it was just a building in amongst the ruins, but it was way out from the main camp-"
"Which is why Khunbish and Lofty didn't notice it when they were investigating the camp the other night?" Roland stated more than asked.
"Right! Which would be weird enough, but it had a funny shape to it too. So we all thought we'd go take a look. But it wasn't a building, it was this." Tani gestured to their discovery. "Seems like the bandits didn't like it either and had it covered up."
As soon as Roland laid eyes on the mysterious statue, he knew exactly why. The statue was about the size of a large draft horse and seemed relatively innocuous at first glance, but first impressions quickly wore off. As best he could describe it, it appeared to be some kind of dragon, but… a little to the left. It had antlers in place of horns, a strangely shaped face that looked more like a mask, and more eyes than was reasonable – six to be precise. Chingis also wasn't kidding about the statue having an "unsettling aura". Just being in its presence made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Gazing into its eyes gave him the distinct impression that it was staring back, and he swore that he could almost hear something, as if someone was whispering just beyond the edge of his hearing. "Hey, let's move back," he said, a suggestion that was met with immediate and unanimous approval. Once he felt himself relax, he asked. "So… what is this?"
"I would assume it's a statue of this lost nation's Kingmaker," said Aranella.
"So would I," he agreed but frowned at the same time. The statue hadn't exactly been carved in the most flattering of positions. Its mouth was open in a roar but its tail was curled around it, as if to protect itself. All in all, the statue seemed like it was backing down from something rather than standing its ground. Was that really a good look for a dedication to a nation's Kingmaker?
"It be in pretty good nick fer something so old," Batu remarked and Roland froze. Because he was right. While the rest of the ruins were disappearing under moss and lichen, or were being eroded by wind and rain, the statue's fine details remained as intricate as the day they'd been carved. And whatever type of stone it had been carved from, it was as black as charcoal and was nothing like the quarried stone the lost people had made their buildings from.
"Perhaps it's under some kind of spell," he suggested.
"But why go to all the trouble to protect one statue and nothing else?" Aranella asked.
"Good question," he replied. "Whatever the case, I don't like it," he said at length.
"Do you think it's dangerous?" Evan asked.
"I don't think so."
"Should we be movin' it away somewhere?" Chingis asked.
"Higgle pig pig!" Both higgledies objected, shaking their heads vigorously.
"Best to leave it be," said Lofty.
"Lofty and the higgledies are right," Roland added. "It's so far out of our way that I think the better idea would be to do as the bandits did; Cover it up and just leave it where it is."
"It's gonna be givin' me nightmares," Khunbish grumbled.
"You'll manage. At any rate, I don't think disturbing it is such a good idea either. If it is being protected, then there's probably a reason for it, and I don't think we want to find out what that reason is."
"Higgle!"
"Ye'ave a point there," he conceded.
"We'll tell the others that it's here and instruct them to leave it alone. Now let's get this thing covered and get back. There's still work to be done and we have to prepare for tomorrow as well." There was a chorus of affirmation and together they re-covered the statue with the tarpaulin that had been covering it previously.
Early the next morning
Evan blearily opened his eyes to someone gently shaking him awake. Aranella smiled back. "Good morning, Evan."
"Nella?" He replied sleepily.
"It's time to get up."
"Are we… are we leaving Nella?"
She chuckled. "Not yet. There's a towel and bucket of water for you to wash up with, and breakfast should be waiting for you by the time you're dressed."
He yawned. "All right." He rolled out of bed after she'd left and splashed his face with water from the bucket to wake himself up. He looked around the tent and noticed Lofty was missing. Probably already at breakfast he thought, the little Kingmaker did have a big appetite despite his small size after all. He quickly washed and dried his armpits, pulled on his clothes and shoes and stepped out of the tent. The sun was just barely over the horizon indicating that it was very early indeed. The smell of food made his stomach growl and he followed his nose to where breakfast was being served. Roland, Aranella, Batu, Tani, Lofty and a handful of other pirates were sitting and eating their breakfast. This morning it was two fried eggs, three thick-cut slices of bacon and a slice of bread. Juice and water had been served up in a jug and he poured himself a mug of juice after he joined his companions at the table.
"Morning, Evan," they chorused, or "sunshine" in Lofty's case.
"Morning everyone," he replied brightly.
"Sorry I left without you, Evan, but you were dead to the world when I tried to wake you."
"That's all right, Lofty. I suppose I must have been very tired from yesterday."
"It was a very eventful day yesterday," Roland commented.
"Aye, it was," Batu agreed.
"You can say that again," Tani seconded.
"Did everyone sleep well?" Evan asked.
"More or less," she replied. "We did our best to make the beds as soft as possible, but we pirates are more used to sleeping in hammocks."
"They could do with being softer," Roland agreed. "But you did well with what you had. We'll just have to put getting more bedding onto our todo list for later."
"Right," said Evan. "Should we add it to the board?" The pirates had set up a board for pinning notes up with things that needed doing, so everyone could keep track of what needed to be done, as well as what was being taken care of.
"You haven't finished your breakfast, Evan," said Aranella. "So eat up. We have a long journey ahead of us today."
"Right." He began tucking into his breakfast in earnest, but stopped to ask, with his mouth full of food. "How are we getting there?"
"Evan," she scolded. "You mustn't talk with your mouth full."
"Sorry, Nella," he replied, his mouth still full of food.
She sighed as Tani laughed. And Batu chuckled before explaining. "We be takin' the skimmers te cut down on travel time. But the winds are not bein' with us today, so I be estimatin' a journey o'bout two days. Three if conditions don't improve, or get worse."
Evan swallowed his food and repeated. "Three days?"
"That's unfortunate," said Roland. "I don't suppose there's a spell that can change the winds in our favour?"
"If there be, it not bein' a spell us pirates are familiar with."
"Hmm. What about you, Evan? You know how to use magic, do you have any spells that could change the weather?"
"Oh gosh. I'm not that strong, Roland. If Father was here, or…" He bit his lip and dropped his gaze.
"Or Mausinger?" He supplied.
"Yes," Aranella replied. "Such spells would not have been, and are not, beyond either of them."
"I see. What about you, Lofty? You are our Kingmaker after all."
"I'm a Faery Kingmaker, not a wizard. If you want more spells, you'll need to find someone to teach you. Or read a spellbook."
"At least we don't have to worry about storing things," said Tani. "Our armsbands take care of that problem."
"Aye," Batu agreed. "So we've got enough tents n'bedding stored away fer us all, as well as enough supplies te last us all fer a week. O'course we can be huntin' fer more should we run out."
"Hold on, if food can be stored in an armsband, why wasn't there a supply of food stored away in Evan's armsband for when, or if he'd need it to escape?" Roland asked.
"Armsbands store items, they don't stop the flow of time," Aranella explained.
"Ah. I see."
"Chingis will be comin' with," Batu continued. "'E'll be our third pilot, an'e'll also be watchin' the skimmers while we be speakin' te this Niall fella."
Evan looked around. "Where is he?"
"E's te meet us at the skimmers when'e's ready. So if'e is, that be where'e be."
"If we're ready, we should join him," said Roland.
"All right." Evan downed the rest of his juice and stood. "Let's go."
Chingis was waiting for them at the sky skimmers along with another pirate that Evan recognised as the elder pirate that had "greeted" them upon their arrival at the Sky Pirates' Base. Runcible and Wiff-waff were also waiting, sitting patiently on one of the sky skimmers and began hopping up down in their excitement when Evan and his companions finally appeared. "Higgledy pig! Higgledy pig!"
Chingis and Qadan stood to attention. "King Evan," they chorused.
"Good morning, Chingis, Runcible, Wiff-waff," Evan replied brightly. "Are you Qadan by any chance?"
"That I am, Yer Majesty. I was told ye be havin' a job fer me to do while yer away."
"That's right. I need someone to take charge while I'm gone and Batu suggested you."
Qadan inclined his head. "It would be me'onour, Yer Majesty."
"Thank you, Qadan. Then I can safely leave the kingdom in your hands."
"What be yer orders? Be there anythin' in particular that ye be wantin' done afore yer return?"
"Anything I want done?" Evan assumed a thinking posture. "Let me see… Well… until we get the wood from Niall, you won't be able to build anything, so um…" He trailed off.
Roland stepped in, sensing his uncertainty. "At the moment we have our temporary accommodations as well as our need for food met. What we don't have is water."
"Oh! Water! Of course. I would like for you to complete the construction of a well, please, Qadan."
"Will do. Be there anythin' else?"
"The beds," said Tani.
"Oh yes. More bedding for the beds."
"Aye, aye. Be that all?"
Evan turned to Roland and Aranella. "Um. Is it?" Roland folded his arms and hummed in thought. "I suppose it's too early to begin work on the new river, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Roland replied. "We haven't decided where we're going to put down our buildings, or what those buildings are going to be." He turned to Qadan. "I don't suppose you've got a city planner hidden amongst your ranks?"
"'Fraid not, Mr Roland."
"I didn't think so. We'll have to work things out once we have our building materials secured. Assuming we can even get that far."
"I'm sure if we ask Niall ever so nicely, he'll be more than happy to help us," Evan replied.
"Yeah! There's no way even someone as miserly as Niall will be able to say no to that face," Tani added with a big grin.
Roland couldn't help but smile and chuckle. "I guess we'll see."
"Well we won't find out if we continue dawdling," said Aranella.
"Right," said Evan. "Just the well and bedding then, please, Qadan."
"It will be done, Yer Majesty. And safe travels te ye all."
"Thank you, Qadan. If all goes well, we'll be back within the week."
"I'll'ave someone watchin' the skys fer yer return."
"Wait, hold on," said Roland. "If it turns out Niall or whoever does want us to run some errands for him, we may be longer than a week."
"Oh… that's true," Evan conceded.
"But surely ye not be much longer than a week, even if that be true," said Qadan.
"That will probably depend," Roland replied. "But it would best to set some kind of allowance before you send out a search party."
"That do be fair. What should the allowance be?"
"Uh, let's see…"
"What about two weeks?" Tani suggested. "Three days one way. Three days back. That gives us, what… eight days in between? I can't imagine any errands he might have for us taking us that long."
"Sounds good. If we don't reappear in two weeks then, send out a search party."
"Understood." He saluted and then departed.
"Before we be settin' off." Batu paused to pull out a leather canteen from his armsband, one that was full of water. "Here's a canteen fer when ye be getting' thirsty," he said as he handed it to Evan. "We'll be stoppin' fer lunch, and then we'll be makin' camp fer dinner," he continued. "Any other stops will be takin' as needed, so if ye be wantin' us te set down fer any reason, get the attention o'yer pilot and they'll signal te the rest te land. Chingis, Tani. We'll be flyin' abreast o'each other so we'ave eyes on each other at all times."
"Aye, aye, Boss," they chorused.
"Now to the skimmers and let's be off."
"Higgledy pig! Higgledy pig!" Runcible and Wiff-waff jumped up and down, excited by the prospect of flying through the air on the skimmers, as everyone took their places – Evan and Lofty with Tani and the two higgledies, Aranella with Batu, and Roland with Chingis – and prepared to take off.
"Hold on you two," Lofty told them. Once they'd settled down and secured themselves to the skimmer, Batu, Tani and Chingis gunned their engines, and they were off. They levelled out once they'd reached a sufficient altitude, exchanged looks with each other to check everything was still in order and then accelerated to travelling speed after Batu had given them the signal. Roland had to turn his head away because Batu hadn't been kidding about the wind not being in their favour. The wind resistance was bad enough on its own but the added pressure of the headwind made it near impossible to breathe while facing it and his eyes watered fiercely. So much for being able to enjoy the view while they flew, he thought with a mental sigh.
Roland was throughly relieved when Batu finally gave the signal to land. He wasn't feeling hungry yet and the sun wasn't high enough in the sky to be so late in the day, so this was probably just a break and not the preplanned lunch stop. "Thank the gods," he heard Aranella mutter as her feet touched the grass. Batu's bushy moustache, as well as Chingis' moustache and beard, were now throughly frizzled and Evan, Tani, Lofty and the higgledies all laughed at them when they noticed.
"Well that was fun," Roland remarked and Chingis snorted.
"That be a lot harder goin' than I thought it would be," Batu sighed.
"Is there nothing we can do to shield us from the wind?" Aranella asked.
"Well…"
"Yes?"
"It be increasin' our travel time, but we can walk the skimmers fer a while if ye'd all prefer."
"Walk them?" Roland repeated. "Walk them how?"
"Now don't be askin' me exactly'ow, but the skimmers can'over while they be close te the ground. It's how we move'em around if they need te be moved. So while they're in this'overin' mode, then can be 'walked'. Or in other words, pulled along without much'assle."
"Huh. That's handy."
"Aye. So what do ye say?"
"Yes please," Evan and Tani chorused.
"Yeah," Roland added. "Maybe we can start flying again when the wind has eased off."
"I second that," said Aranella.
"Me too," said Lofty.
"Higgle!"
"Aye."
"Then we be decided," said Batu. "We'll set the skimmers'overin' and walk till lunch, and then we'll be seein'ow things be."
They ended up walking all the way through to dinner whilst clashing occasionally with the local wildlife. The golden grass of the Heartlands had long since turned to green and forest was beginning to close in on both sides.
"We'd better set up the tents while we still have the light," said Roland.
"Aye," Batu agreed.
"You three see to the tents," said Aranella. "I'll take Evan and Tani to go look for some firewood for a campfire." A supply of firewood had been stored away in Batu's armsband, but it was an emergency ration – only to be used in the event that suitable firewood could not be obtained.
"Good idea," said Roland. "But if we're struggling by the time you return, we'll need your help."
"Of course."
"Oi," Lofty objected. "What about me?"
"You can help us if you'd like. We may even be able to find some mushrooms."
"Ooh," Tani, Evan and Lofty all chorused. "I've not had mushrooms before, mun."
"They're very nice," Evan replied. "They have a bit of an unusual taste but I don't think it's unpleasant at all."
"We don't have mushrooms that often, so it'd be nice to have them again," said Tani.
"Then let's keep an eye out for mushrooms, as well as anything else that's edible," said Aranella. She paused. "You do know what edible mushrooms look like don't you?"
"Uhhhh," they replied and Evan and Tani exchanged awkward looks. "There are inedible mushrooms?" Lofty asked, his tone bordering on disbelief.
"I didn't think so. Unfortunately I don't have my book of mushrooms with me, so I suppose there'll be nothing for it but to have you bring me any mushroom you find and I'll tell you if it's edible."
"All right!" They chorused. "Let's go mushroom hunting!" Lofty added.
"Higgle!" The two higgledies added.
"You want to come too?" Aranella asked them.
"Higgledy pig!"
"Then by all means. You can help us gather mushrooms. Do you know what edible mushrooms look like?" Wiff-waff responded with the Head Tilt of Confusion but Runcible nodded indicating that he did, which was no doubt thanks to Martha's teaching. "Very good, Runcible. You can show Wiff-waff so he can help you." Runcible saluted, then he took Wiff-waff's hand and led him away into the nearby woods. "We should head out as well. It won't be easy searching through the woods in the dark."
They headed into the woods. "So what should we look for first, mun?" Lofty asked.
"Let's focus on firewood first since we'll be needing that more than mushrooms."
"Righty'o." They moved through the trees, picking up sticks and branches, and anything else that looked flammable and stored it away in their armsbands, or in Lofty's case, gave it Evan to store in his armsband.
"How much do we need?" Evan asked.
"As much as you can find. We'll have need of more firewood later on don't forget."
"Right."
"By the way, Tani, I… wanted to apologise. For what I said the other day. Or at least insinuated. After spending some time in your company, I have come to realise that I have perhaps judged you all a little harshly."
"You judged us based on what you've heard," she replied.
"Yes, I did. And I should've known better."
"It's all right," she sighed. "Thank you for saying that, but… I know we pirates are good people at heart, but that hasn't stopped us from sometimes doing something well… well, bad. It's like Roland said. "Being good doesn't stop you from sometimes doing bad things". And if the bad things are all people hear about, then they come to think that's all we are, when we're not. I don't like that they think that but… at the same time I guess I understand why they do. And I got a little snippy with you because of that so… I'm sorry for that too."
"You've had a hard life, Tani. You and all the pirates. It's definitely put things into perspective, but… now you've been given the opportunity for a better life, I'm sure this will mean you'll become better people as well."
"Yeah," she smiled. "I think so too."
"I think we've gathered enough firewood for now. Let's see about finding some mushrooms."
By the time they returned, Batu, Roland and Chingis were putting up the last tent, so they started a fire and began making dinner. Meat was sliced, vegetables were chopped and Aranella added the mushrooms they'd found to make a stew.
"That sure smells good," Roland complemented as he, Batu and Chingis joined them around the campfire.
"Thank you, Roland. I used to help in the Castle's kitchens when I was younger, so I know a thing or two about cooking."
"Ye needn't be shoulderin' the burden all yerself," said Batu. "Us pirates be knowin a thing or two about cookin' as well."
"Oh I don't doubt that, especially after the feast the other night. I just thought I'd treat you all to some Dellian cooking for a change. And…well I… I suppose I was feeling a little…"
"Homesick?" Roland supplied.
"Or nostalgic." She sighed. "Sometimes it's still so hard to believe that I'm really here. And that this time last week I was still in Dell looking forward to Evan's Kingsbond Ceremony." All of a sudden her eyes started watering fiercely. "Gods I'm sorry," she mumbled, wiping away the stray tears spilling from her eyes. "I don't know why this is happening all of a sudden."
"It's the stew innit, mun," said Lofty softly. "Bringing back all sorts of memories, like. I'm guessing the last time you had anything from Dell, was when you were still in Dell, when everything seemed all right." Aranella nodded wordlessly.
"Nella," said Evan. He and Runcible hugged her from one side while Tani and Wiff-waff hugged her from the other.
"You still miss it, don't you?" Tani asked.
"I do," Aranella sniffled. "Gods you must think me so ungrateful. You've all been so welcoming-"
"We left our'ome out o'choice fer a chance at a better life," Chingis cut in, but gently. "Ye were thrust from yer home and the better life ye already'ad. Ye'ave a right to be mournin' that loss."
Aranella bit her lip, still fighting back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, so Evan said. "Please, Nella. You've always put my needs before yours, it's all right to put yourself first for once. You don't have to be strong for me all the time." She stopped fighting then, allowing the tears to flow freely from her eyes. Roland was surprised when Batu and Chingis began singing, the song sounding very much like the mourning song they'd sung for their dead. So perhaps this was another. It only made Aranella – and Evan – cry harder. He hung his head to mask his own tears, even though as far as he was concerned, he had nothing to mourn. But you were torn from your home just the same, said a distant voice in the back of his head, and your son, as well as everyone you have ever known aredead, unless and until the world is saved. But he was already resolved to save them, whatever it took, so why was he still crying? Because loss is still loss, and you are not a heartless man, no matter how much it has become hardened over the years.
Dinner was eaten mostly in silence and Chingis offered to take the first watch, leaving everyone else – an exhausted Evan and Aranella in particular – to crawl gratefully into their beds.
A/N: Nothing suspicious going on this chapter. Nope. Not a thing. C: