Karigan walked through the quiet main street feeling unnerved. She couldn't tell if it was her memories of Shawdell that bothered her, or if it was being so close to the place that mutilated her and changed her life. Maybe it was a bit of both. She gritted her teeth and kept walking, her face turned to the side as the rain blistered her skin. She spotted The Fallen Tree and made a beeline for it, sighing with relief as she entered the warm stable. She shook rain off of her hood and limped forward to settle Condor in. God her back hurt. A boy noticed that she was struggling and came over to help.
"Thanks," she said, digging through her bag and hoping that a copper was still in the pocket. She found one and flicked it to him. He grinned and pocketed it straight away.
She walked through the stable towards the inn door, inhaling the scent of horse along the way. It was very reassuring. She pushed the door open and immediately coughed, wrinkling her nose. It was going to take some time to get used to the smell of humanity again and frankly, it made her feel a bit sick. Eletians just smelt so good.
She walked up to the inn keeper who was busy cleaning glasses behind the bar and watching the room.
"Do you have a room for the night?" she asked wearily.
"Depends. Do you have money?"
She thought this was an unusual reply, a bit hostile, but shrugged it off.
"This will be under the Crown's account."
He looked at her sceptically and grunted.
"You got proof?"
She showed him her papers and he assented. With a jerk of his head, he indicated for her to follow the guard to his right. She did as she was told, feeling uneasy as she walked towards the small, clean room that was hers for the night. There was a very tense atmosphere downstairs. Something didn't feel quite right here.
She dropped her bag to the ground with a thud and went through her exercises. Sadly she would not be receiving either a lovely bath or Somial's healing tonight. Normal life was looking a tad dreary and she sighed in wistfulness. However there was no point in complaining, so she removed her coat and lit the fire, pulling the grate in close so she could head to dinner. As if on cue her stomach rumbled and she rose, locking the door and trotting downstairs.
She paused at the bottom and searched for a free seat. Someone left from the table by the fire so she murmured her thanks as the patron walked past and took his seat, grateful to be bathed in the heat. An unanimated waitress came over and quietly placed food on the table. It was good, but Karigan was a bit surprised; inns always offered a few choices rather than one meal and normally it was padded out. There wasn't much in this soup other than some barley, peas and chard although it was very good. She ate her food without complaint, wolfing it down with plenty of bread although there was no butter in sight. Eletian food might be the best, but this was still pretty damn good.
After she finished Karigan sat back with a sigh, her stomach full. She felt very sleepy all of a sudden and was content to sit in the heat and drink her small mug of ale, listening to the patrons talk around her.
"Not looking good," muttered one of the men to her left. "I heard the eastern flank was cut last week but who knows? Martha's boy's in that neck of the woods, Aeryc preserve him."
Karigan sat more upright, alert. She had been desperately hoping for news of whether the war had started in earnest and hopefully this would be her chance to hear what was happening. She tried to listen surreptitiously but it was difficult with the wind and rain lashing the windows. Damn, inconvenient summer storm. She shifted her chair closer as nonchalantly as she could.
"Supplies ain't looking good either. Bumped into Thorn yesterday, he said they ain't gettin' any flour till next week. Rations have all been diverted. And still weeks to go till the spring harvest shows 'er face."
Karigan was confused. Weeks until spring? It was the end of summer, and she looked out the window; it was a bit of early autumn rain. Nothing unusual for this time of year. Clearly ale had addled his head although he seemed like he knew what he was talking about. She frowned and leant her head closer to the talking pair.
"Ai, and the king had a close call last week by all accounts. Marty says that his brother, who's inna north front says that he's desperate now, joining in the front action, takin' no care o' life or limb. Driven to distraction by a woman, they reckon. Won't be long for He takes 'im down. Then what. With the poor Queenie herself green under the thumb, and them 2 little royally toddlers runnin' amuk. Country wouldna last more than a week, and we'll all be beggin for scraps. Gahhh, this damn war's been goin' too long now, wouldna be surprised if I'm ten feet unda before the winters end."
Karigan got to her feet abruptly and nodding to the waitress, walked quickly to her room. She locked the door then paced up and down in a panic. What in the five hells? If the queens children were toddlers, than she must have been gone at least 2 years! 2 and a half years if it was the end of winter! How was that possible! She knew it had felt like a long summer, but she was a smart woman and could mark the basic passage of time. She raked her hands through her hair, ringing her waves unconsciously. But now she thought about it, things seemed to be moving into her awareness as if a cloud was lifting from her vision. The sun had always shone in Eletia, without exception. Her cycle had occurred many times yet she had not considered what that meant. She had barely thought about her family or friends or the war effort, as if the thoughts couldn't grasp a hold in her mind. She hadn't even visited her beloved Condor! And if the magical area was powerful enough to ensure the weather remained constant, and her memories clouded, she was pretty sure it would be strong enough to distort time. She swore loudly, before drawing a deep breath and trying to calm herself down. She stared into the fire, hands on hips. What to do.
I have to get back, she thought. I have to find the riders. Without locking the door she ran back downstairs and then slowed to a steady walk as she reached the bottom, trying to appear relaxed and solemn. She approached the bar keeper again, framing her request carefully. It wouldn't do for them to know the Elt lived so close.
"Sir, I've been on an errand around this area for some time now and I need to return to my regiment. Do you know where the king's main battalion is presently, where the generals might be?"
She didn't dare mention the Riders; she remembered from her last trip to this ghastly town that they weren't looked on with too friendly an eye. She waited for him to speak with bated breath as he looked her over whilst slowly drying a glass, and was relieved when he finally nodded.
"Aye, I know where they are. They're about 1 league north of here. Don't know what a lass like you would be doing around these parts by yourself but if you'll take my advice, you won't head that way. Won't be long before they're pushed further south now."
She thanked him and returned to her room, fretting. She must join the king, must see him, if he was deteriorating like the men said. It might have been heresy but it felt too close to home, now she knew how long she had really been gone for.
Have some sense, she told herself firmly. He'll be ok, and you can't leave now. It's too dangerous in the middle of the night and you don't know the lay of the land. You're no help to anyone if you're dead.
She shivered again, donning her coat before sitting herself in front of the fire. She decided to meditate to calm her nerves. She removed the gauzy patch and tucked it into her pocket, enjoying the fleeting moment of heat on her exposed eye socket as she widened her gaze and her mirror vision came into focus. She took several slow breaths and felt her nerves calm and once she was settled, she gazed around for her golden thread. There it was! She grasped it loosely and then tightened, hoping for a vision to lead her forward. Unlike her afternoons in Eletia, images slammed into her, the same 3 repeating over and over. She kept relaxing her grip enough for the visions to pass through more easily so she could make sense of them. A chill passed through her as a wall of arrows descended. Just as they were about to reach her, the image changed into the same copse of trees that she had been seeing for months. And the final image was the white world, with a single pair of boots in front of her. The images repeated until she closed her eyes and loosened her grip completely, the images fading into the grey flow of energy. What could this mean? Unless…
She opened her eye again and found the thread. Seastaria had spent months – or was it years – urging her into the white world. Why? Why would she try and teach Karigan how to travel voluntarily into that place. What was the white world if not a portal to other places?
Karigan held her core and waited until the white patch floated into her vision, letting it absorb her. She was in the white world. The boots were in front of her, just like they had been in the vision. And boots were made to allow you to journey to other places. She tucked her thread firmly in its usual spot and walked forward carefully. How about a test first.
After a moment she said out loud, "I want to travel to the front door of the Fallen Tree Inn." Nothing happened and she held her breath. Damn, this was her only idea. She decided to keep walking into the white void and almost instantly a door appeared to her far left. She quickened her pace and once she was at the door, grasped the handle and gingerly opened it, staring out in shock. There was the door to the inn! She walked through and stopped dead in her tracks, mouth open. It had worked. But hang on, it was midday? What was happening? She quickly entered the Inn and made a beeline to the innkeeper, hastily putting on her eye patch. He stared at her with suspicion.
"What's all this then woman? Leave without paying a tip, leave your things here, your damn horse. I meant to feed it? And now you're back after a week. You're lucky I haven't got rid of the beast yet."
She stammered an apology. "I-I'm sorry, it's that mission I was on, there was an unexpected issue. Is my horse ok?" she asked desperately. Poor Condor! He gave a dismissive jerk of his head to the stable and then pulled her bag from behind the counter.
"I'm putting that on your tab," he warned and she nodded emphatically, hoisting the bag up and striding quickly towards the stable. Things were moving too fast.
She hurried out to Condor and yelled his name. He came up to her quickly and nuzzled her face. She flung her arms around his neck.
"Hey buddy," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, I've had the strangest night and I didn't meant to leave you. But I need to go again, and I don't know how long I will be. Think if I let you walk back towards Somial you can keep yourself safe for a while?"
He looked at her with a bored expression, as if to say, who do you think I am? She smiled and bit her lip. She didn't want to set him free but she was fairly confident that mortals didn't travel near that forest entrance and if her hunch was right, he would be safe. They would protect him. She put her pack in the saddle bag then led Condor back up the street to where she thought the path was that Somial had taken his leave from. She frowned when it appeared to be impassable bush.
"Damn, secretive Eletians," she muttered to herself. She walked him up and down but couldn't find an opening. She sighed and then looking around, closed her eyes, feeling a bit silly. "I need Condor to be safe, would you protect him?" she whispered into the air. Nothing happened, the bush was as quiet as it had been before. She cracked an eye open and then the other, astounded to see a path in front of her. Huh, it had worked!
She turned and gave Condor a long hug and a kiss. "I hope I see you soon boy, but you'll be safe here. I love you," she said as tears dripped down her face. She was going to war; this might be their last hug. He snuffed at her face and rubbed his neck alongside her before ambling down the path. "Bye," she whispered with a shaky inhale as he disappeared around the corner.
She swallowed with nerves and unencumbered, sat right where she was on the side of the road. So time was an issue in her new version of the white world. Good to know. She removed the patch for safekeeping again and found the white world quickly.
"I need to travel to the King."