"So what's your plan?" Timothy asked as they sat down to lunch together. They had found a good selection of fresh fruits, bread and cheeses in the market and made a delightful picnic meal of them, then retreated to a shaded spot beneath the trees of a small public garden in which to eat. "How do you intend to rescue your sister?"
"Frightfully good question," Edmund said, looking at Peter meaningfully. The High King sighed.
"Well, at this point I really only see one option," he said. "We have to get to Tamas, and we can't use the Wrens since they won't sell us tickets. The only other option is to cross the Void ourselves."
"But the magician said no one has ever crossed it before," said Lucy.
"We have to stop Su from getting married," Edmund put in around a mouthful of cheese.
"On her behalf, stop speaking when your mouth's full," said Lucy delicately.
"Yes, Mum."
"We have to consider, though," Peter said seriously, and everyone looked over at him. "Is this…are we willing to risk our lives to prevent this wedding?"
There was a small silence, full of chewing and thought. Finally, Timothy spoke, sounding reluctant to do so.
"Where I come from," he said slowly, "it is customary, when two people are married, to ah…spend the first night rather intimately. If your sister is forced into marrying this king, you must also consider that she may also be forced into other, more unsavory things."
The awkwardness following this statement was broken only when Peter reached for the bread loaf and attempted to cut it with his broadsword, at which Edmund snorted. The younger king produced a small throwing knife from what looked to be a money pouch on his belt and handed it to his brother, who looked shocked for only a short moment before shaking his head and cutting the first slice for Lucy.
"We've got to do it," she said after a minute. "For…for those reasons, and more. Because she's our sister and we'd do anything for her."
"You're right, Lu," Peter said, passing around the small container of berries they'd bought.
"So we're doing it," Edmund said decisively. "We haven't got time to waste. We should leave as soon as we're finished eating, really. Get some supplies – armor for Timothy, food for all of us – and head out, right away. Which way is the Void anyway?"
"Any person in the city ought to know," said Lucy.
"Excuse my ignorance," Timothy cut in. "But what is the Void?"
"Vast, uncharted wilderness that no one's ever managed to cross," Edmund said, waving one hand dismissively. "Without dying, that is."
"Who'd you hear it from?"
"The townsfolk," said Peter. "Why?"
"Probably just stories, then," Timothy said, sitting back. He fiddled with the hilt of his sword. "People like to exaggerate. It's probably just a thick forest is all."
"I'd still suggest getting armor," Ed muttered.
They finished the meal quickly, feeding the leftovers to the birds that had flocked around their picnic. Aided by directions from some of the locals, they also found an armory (or rather, a blacksmith who specialized in armor). There, Peter's expertise found them a reasonable mail shirt, Edmund's skilled haggling found them a reasonable price, and Lucy's quick social grace found them escape after said haggling roused said blacksmith's temper ("throw in your firstborn son and it's a deal"). From there, they proceeded to a smaller market, where with a few copper coins apiece they split up and bought the most basic, nonperishable food that they could find, acquiring enough to (hopefully) last until they reached Tamas.
Regrouped just to the east of the market, the four of them split their purchases into rations and took up the packs Timothy had thought to buy. Then, equipped, armored and ready, they inquired as to the direction of the Void, received a very strange look, and were told it was beyond the city's northern border. They set out for it.
Unfortunately, Tamitha was a rather large city, and it was a good half hour before they finally glimpsed the city walls, and another ten minutes before they broke the crowds and came close enough to see that there was no gate. Lucy stared at it for a moment in befuddlement before Peter caught the attention of a passing elderly woman.
"Excuse me," he said politely. "How does one leave Tamitha, m'am?"
"By Wren, of course," she said as if it were obvious. "You can buy tickets over in Central Square for a good price. After His Highness' wedding, given."
"Ah," Peter said. "You see, that's our trouble, we'd rather like to reach the city before the wedding. What I meant to ask is, how would one cross the wall just behind us?"
She fixed him with an odd look. Edmund rolled his eyes behind her back.
"One wouldn't," she said confusedly. "It simply isn't done. What a silly question."
"Yes, how silly," Edmund said dryly. Peter looked as if he would have dearly loved to bury his head in his hands. Thankfully, the sarcasm was obviously lost on the old woman, and she nodded politely at them before hurrying on her way.
"Edmund," Peter said as soon as she was out of hearing distance. " Never touch alcohol again."
"My head doesn't hurt anymore. This is just my natural impudence."
Peter groaned.
"All matters aside – how do we manage this?" Timothy put in, shifting his pack up on his shoulder.
"There are stairs," Lucy said, pointing. And there were; a narrow, uneven set of steps led up to the top of the great stone wall, where the ramparts had been constructed. A single guard was visible, standing with his back to them, watching something beyond the city limits. Lucy noticed that he carried a bow and a full quiver.
"Perfect," said Peter. "Now all we need is some rope."
"Not this again," Edmund grumbled. He was ignored by everyone.
"There was a stable a little ways back," Timothy said. "I'm certain they'd have something."
"Good thinking."
They backtracked slightly and successfully borrowed a long rope from the on-duty stable hand, a weedy-looking teenager who had looked rather overwhelmed by their armaments. When they returned to the wall, the guard had moved closer to the top of the staircase, but as Lucy pointed out, they couldn't be doing anything illegal. At worst, they would be thought fools. So they trooped up the stairs in single-file, holding carefully to the wooden support rail, and arrived at the top, where they looked about for something to which the rope could be fastened.
Lucy's first glance over the top of the wall was rather anticlimactic. For something apparently feared and avoided, the Void didn't look too intimidating. It appeared to be, as Timothy had speculated, simply a rather thick forest, with a wide, fast-running river rushing pleasantly around the side of the city. She supposed this was what supplied their water.
After a few minutes' searching, Edmund discovered a torch bracket a ways down the wall, presumably for the nighttime watch, and Peter fastened the rope to it securely, throwing it down over the edge of the wall. It was a little too long, and it coiled just a touch on the overgrown ground at the foot of the wall, but that certainly beat being too short. After testing the hold in several different ways, Peter pronounced it safe, but said he would go first in case it wasn't after all. He checked his shield to make sure it was securely strapped to his back, checked his sword to make sure it was sheathed properly, checked his siblings to make sure they weren't doing anything he disapproved of, and carefully climbed onto the highest embankment, across which the rope lay.
"Be safe," Lucy bid him. He smiled, took hold of the rope, turned himself around and slid one foot over the edge. Inch by inch, he eased himself over the edge until he could brace both feet against the wall properly and begin to descend. She watched him for a moment, then looked back over at the city side of the wall. A small crowd had begun to gather. People were whispering to each other, pointing and gawking at the scene on the wall.
"Hey, you," Edmund called down to a boy who looked to be about twelve. The boy looked surprised, turning around to see if Edmund was actually talking to someone behind him. Edmund looked impatient. "Yes, you. I'll give you a silver coin if you take this rope back to the stable when we're finished with it."
A silver coin was good money – the boy nodded eagerly.
"Sharp idea," Timothy said, clapping Edmund on the shoulder. Though not thrilled by the physical contact, Edmund managed a thank you and craned his head over the wall to look down at his older brother.
"Hanging in there, Peter?" he called.
"Very funny," came the reply. Peter finished his descent (it was about twenty feet) after a few more minutes and Timothy elected to go next, Lucy after him, and finally Edmund set both feet into the knee-deep brush that covered the ground before the forest started.
As one, the four of them looked over towards the wood. The foliage was dense. Strange shadows played beneath the towering trees. Occasionally, there was the cry of some odd beast, and Lucy felt to make sure she had her dagger. She did.
"Well," Peter said at last. "Let's get moving."
They moved out.