Author's Note: I had a hard time with this chapter, so I hope it is not too tedious. Please let me know. Also, I realize that I had spelled a couple of names consistently wrong in the first two chapters, so I went back and updated them. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you have the others!
Lynx slowly drifted into consciousness. The cool breeze that once leavened the hot afternoon became intermittent, then died completely into heavy, still air. The sun itself seemed to fade in and out of brightness. Most importantly, the carter's loud monotone slowly became incomprehensible as it was drowned out in a sea of background noise. That, more than anything, was what must have roused him from the first decent sleep he'd had in almost a month.
He propped himself up on one elbow and peered blearily around him. Sure enough, they were deep into the heart of Sacor City. It was the buildings that blocked the wind and sun. The crowds – the source of the constant sound - pressed close around the small cart as they went about their midday business. For the most part they ignored them, but every once in a while a startled shopkeeper or housewife would focus on his battered features and torn clothing and recoil in affronted surprise. He lay back down wearily. As big as the cart was, it would take them some time to wind through the crowd to the hill on which the castle rested.
Home. The thought was rich with content and happiness. For all that he loved the wilderness and shied away from human contact, Lynx had slowly come to realize during the journey through Blackveil Forest that he considered the castle grounds his true home. It was there that the gawky, shy boy learned how to ride and carry out his messenger duties. It was there that the young man had fallen in love with and later lost his heart's companion. And it was there that he sometimes taught his childhood skills of wilderness survival and dead reckoning to the newer Green Riders so that they might know how to reach home through any mission, no matter the danger around them. Even if he did not know each and every face by name because he was so seldom present, Lynx knew that the presence of the other Green Riders meant home.
His heart constricted at the sudden reminder of his lost companions.
Yates. Before this mission, Lynx knew him because the man refused to take his survival courses seriously. He was not as bad as Tegan was later, but at the time, Lynx thought he had encountered the worst student possible. No matter what happened, Yates would laugh. No matter what hardship accrued from his refusal to pay attention, Yates would smile and shrug it off. I thought you didn't care, he thought mournfully. I thought that you didn't pay attention to anything or anyone unless it amused you.
He remembered the time he had thrown his hands up and stomped off into a seasonal monsoon. Lynx could not take it anymore. "Go ahead and laugh, Yates!" he remembered hissing. "I'm trying to teach you how to stay alive, but go ahead and laugh while the summer sun bakes you and the winter rains freeze you and the animals come to eat what's left of you." When he had returned an hour later, dripping wet and no calmer, he had walked into a perfect camp and a warm blanket waiting for him. Neither ever said another word about it, but Yates had passed the course with flying colors and Lynx had slowly come to realize that the other Rider laughed because it was the only way he knew how to deal with things.
Thinking of Yates made him close his eyes for a moment. "I'll smile for you, Yates," he whispered. "No matter what the weather is like. I will remember you at our gathering. And I will find Karigan, or what happened to her."
Karigan. Thinking of Karigan was even worse than thinking of Yates because if the dead Green Rider would want anyone to come out of this mess whole, it was Karigan. In her own quiet, stubborn way, the woman was as much of an enigma to Lynx as Yates had been. Without a doubt, she was the best Green Rider anybody had trained in decades. Karigan was careful and remembered everything. She was patient when she had to be, despite her natural temper. She was brilliant with the sword. She had also fought the Riders' Call tooth and nail and for far longer than anyone else in living memory. She still fought it, although she claimed loudly she accepted it.
A wry smile spread across Lynx's face. Whoever fell in love with that woman had their hands full and no doubt about that. Still smiling, he chuckled to himself in wonder over the secret he had learned in Blackveil. Poor Yates, he thought. He always knew he didn't have a chance, but who would have thought that the king had first pick? He felt sorry for his fellow Rider. There was no chance of that relationship working out, no matter who felt what; not with Zachary and Estora's wedding plans moving along so quickly and all of the Lord Governors in favor of the union.
Poor Karigan, he thought this time. Lynx had overheard her whispered conversation with Yates. He pitied her. Is it better to love and lose, or love and never realize? He would always grieve over his lost Coleya, but at least he had the memory of her returned love to bolster him. No matter what King Zachary might say to his Rider, there would never be that for Karigan.
These musings kept him occupied during their slow meandering through the city until the cart came to a halt well before the castle walls. He glanced at the carter, surprised that the man would stop here. The man looked embarrassed.
"Pardon, Green Rider," he said. "Pardon. I can't go any further. The guards don't take kindly to anyone coming too close to the walls after the king was so badly hurt." Lynx didn't say anything, shocked, and the man rushed on. "I have a wife and child to think about. I'm sorry. They took old Cottrell away and no one has seen him since. I'm -"
Lynx cut him off before he could apologize again. "King Zachary, hurt? What happened?" It was the man's turn to stare at him and Lynx calmed his voice. "I've been absent on a mission and had not heard anything more than vague rumors. Please tell me what you know." The story shocked him. It was not so much the danger to the king – that was always going to be present to some degree or the other, no matter how beloved – as the response to it. Without strict business to attend, no one was allowed on castle grounds for any reason. Some civilians had indeed been taken away after a swarm of well-wishers had ascended the hill to ask after King Zachary and Queen Estora.
He shook his head. Sacoridia had collectively gone mad at the worst possible time. What was King Zachary thinking? With the carter's help, he levered himself to his feet and slung his worn bag across his shoulders. He took the man's hand in a firm grip. "I thank you for your help. I will remember it." The last few coins he had slid from his grip to the man's.
Ignoring his stumbled thanks, Lynx started to slowly hike up the hill toward the castle gates. By the time he reached them, he was stumbling in pain and exhaustion. The gates, always watched, were now actively barred and twice the normal guard complement stood at attention. Still more regularly patrolled the area. Lynx shook his head. I don't like this at all.
Two of the soldiers walked out to meet him, barring his way with their pikes. "What business do you have here?"
"I am Lynx, a Green Rider returning from a mission. I have a message for the king."
The soldier snorted. "Don't look like a Greenie. Where's the horse?"
Lynx gritted his teeth. "Not with me, obviously. Look, if -"
"Then how do we know you are who you say you are, Greenie?" he grinned obnoxiously.
"If you just send for Captain Mapstone, she will vouch for my presence," he tried again.
The man examined his nails for a second. "The Captain is a busy woman. I think that you -"
"Lynx! Is that you?" the shout was incredulous. Mara pushed bodily past the guards to support his listing frame, her hair blazing in the sunlight. "Are you okay? Where is Owl? Where are the others?" He felt more than saw her shake herself to a halt. "Never mind. Let's get you up to the menders."
After a few growled threats from her about having them on latrine duty for the rest of the careers, the soldiers grudgingly let them pass. Once they were well out of ear shot of anyone else, Lynx tugged Mara toward the main entrance leading directly to the throne room. This time of day, the king was almost certainly holding audience and it would be the best place to present his report. "I hear the story told to me in the city was not exaggerated by much," he said laconically.
Mara shook her head. "Even less than you know," she replied. "There haven't been any riots down in the city yet, but the atmosphere is tense enough for one. I keep meaning to talk to the Captain about it, but there never seems to be any time." She heaved a tired sigh.
He glanced over at the Chief Rider out of the corner of his eye. She did look worn down and exhausted, as if she were burdened with concerns not her own. He thought about saying something, but long habit held his tongue. If she wanted to say anything to him about it, she would. Still, maybe a gesture would do no harm. She had been on her own too much since the old Barracks had burned down. "If you need anything, come find me," he said simply.
She flashed him a grin. "That won't be difficult for a little while anyway," she teased. "In your condition you won't be leaving menders' wing for at least a week. Speaking of, why are we going this way?" She tried to pull him back around the side of the main wing.
He frowned at her. "Not until I report, Mara. This can't wait."
Her shoulders slumped but she stopped trying to steer him toward the menders' wing. "I know I shouldn't ask, but did anyone else make it out?"
"None of our soldiers or the forester made it out," he couldn't help the grim sense of satisfaction that colored his voice as he remembered the times the slime had tried to kill Karigan behind everybody's back. Mara glanced over in surprise, but didn't say anything. "Three of the Eletians did not survive for sure." His throat closed. "Yates didn't make it," he choked out past his grief. "We don't know what happened to Karigan and Lhean, but the two Eletians went back to Elt Wood to make their own report after we buried Yates. I came straight to Sacor City as quickly as I could."
The other Rider bowed her head momentarily, eyes filling with tears. "Thanks for letting me know," she whispered. "The Captain will want to start arranging something."
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Mara's glare silencing anyone that tried to stop them. The rich wooden paneling and thick tapestries that surrounded them in the palace seemed surreal to Lynx. The luxury was so far removed from the horrors of Blackveil Forest. He wiped his eyes wearily. He was so tired, but he was afraid to sleep. He know the nightmares brought on by that evil place would never leave him entirely. Every time he had tried to sleep on his journey here, he was haunted by the dark voices of the twisted creatures that inhabited the cursed forest.
"Lynx," he heard Mara say, but the rest faded away into a gray blur. When he blinked the haze away from his eyes, he found himself slumped on Mara in the middle of the hallway just in front of the throne room doors. The woman tried unsuccessfully to push him off of her.
"Sorry, Mara," he muttered.
"Get off of me," she hissed. "You need to be in Menders'!"
He groaned. That actually sounded good. "I need to report," he said.
Two shadows coalesced from out of nowhere he could see, solidifying into two of the Black-clad Weapons that shadowed the king everywhere. Lynx knew next to nothing about them, except that they were very single-minded in their purpose and very insular. Only Karigan seemed to be able to tell any of them apart.
One of them reached down and hauled Lynx to his feet with one hand and Mara to hers with the other. "A little help, Rider Brennyn?" The tone was perfectly mild so Lynx had to be imagining the glint in his eyes, right? That glint – or whatever it was – disappeared entirely as the Weapon turned his full attention on the battered Rider.
"Thanks, Donal," Mara said, a hint of chagrin in her voice. So Karigan wasn't the only one who knew some of the Weapons, Lynx thought in amusement. "This is Rider Lynx."
"From the Blackveil expedition," Donal said. "Wait here and I'll inform the king." He melted back into an alcove Lynx swore wasn't there a second ago.
"He sure doesn't waste any time," he said.
Mara snorted and absently reached up to rub one of her scars. "The Weapons never do, once they set their minds to something. You've heard the Captain talk about them before, right? It's even funnier when Mel is home and running around mimicking her...right in front of one of them."
They sat quietly for a few minutes on the bench as people started to stream out of the throne room and then stood and made their way inside when Donal reappeared to beckon them forward. Lynx wearily paced up the runner toward the thrones where both Zachary and Estora were sitting. He was not shocked at the sight of her crown since the carter had told them of the sudden marriage, but it would still take a little while to get used to. He made an awkward bow which would have overbalanced him if Mara hadn't been at his side. King Zachary quickly stood and waved off any further formalities.
"Come sit down, Rider Lynx," he said gently, concern visible in his face. There was a chair in front of the dais, which the Green Rider sank into with some relief. "Tell me everything," the king said simply, propping his chin on his hand.
Lynx started at the beginning. He described the Eletian contingent and their attitudes. "From the very beginning, they ignored us and would only speak to Karigan when possible," he grinned. "Lieutenant Grant didn't like that very much, of course, so the journey was fairly eventful from the start. They did, by the way, appreciate your gift of chocolate. It came in handy later."
He described the oppressive atmosphere, the deadly lifeforms, the difficulty of making camp each night. He glossed over most of the journey itself, knowing that the king and his advisers would want to hear every detail many times in the next week. He talked about the reactions of the Eletians. "They were almost grief-stricken every time we approached a recognizable landmark or road sign. The youngest, Lhean, became more and more quiet as we traveled deeper into the forest." He explained the ancient road organization.
His voice was growing hoarser, and he was thankful that the first few times someone had started to ask a question, the king had brusquely waved them into silence. After the description of the blood-sucking hummingbirds, few seemed able to voice any questions. Lynx could almost see jaws incrementally falling open with each wild twist of his report.
"The deeper we penetrated into the peninsula, the more pockets of wild magic we ran into. The Eletians seemed to have some sense of them on the edges, but within the interior they had no more notice than we did. The influx of wild magic had the same effects on us Riders as before." Zachary's face turned grim, but Estora looked only confused. Captain Mapstone had arrived shortly after Lynx had started and leaned forward at this point.
"So your abilities were completely unpredictable," she clarified for the Queen.
"Yes, Captain."
"What a nightmare," she murmured as he continued his report. The king looked more grim with every new detail. Was that grief in his eyes? Lynx knew that he had no hope of accurately reading anything King Zachary wanted to hide from him. He wasn't good enough with people and the king was only too good at concealing himself.
Like with the rest of the journey, Lynx highlighted only portions of the trip through Castle Argenthyne and Karigan's role in helping the Eletians save their Sleepers. He did not spend that much more time on Mornhavon's return and possession of Yates, but that was mostly because he still didn't understand everything that happened.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "We were all standing there in a stalemate, with that thing staring through Yates' eyes and pressuring Karigan to give him the mask. The Eletians just seemed to fade into the background, although it was clear they would kill Karigan if she made the wrong choice. It was all so strange. Then Karigan flung the mask down, breaking it and spraying us all with these sharp, glass-like shards of it. The universe shattered apart all around us as the mask shattered at our feet and then there was this sensation..." He shook his head and wrapped up his report. He described finding himself on the Wanda Plains with Telagioth, Ealdaen, and a dying Yates and eventually parting from the Eletians to make his way home. He handed his battered messenger bag to the Captain. "That contains Yates' journal and maps. Karigan kept it up after he couldn't see."
One could hear a pin drop in the silent throne room. The grim and otherwise undefinable expression on the king's face remained in place. He gazed at the Rider thoughtfully, clearly lost in his own thoughts. Finally, he shook himself slightly and sat up straight. "So Rider Sir G'ladheon and the Eletian Lhean are the only members of the expedition that are unaccounted for so far. Mornhavon has returned but is injured and he is gathering an army of groundmites led by a necromancer. Most of the Eletian Sleepers have been led to safety beyond his evil grasp."
Lynx only nodded. He was so tired.
"Very well, Rider," Zachary stood abruptly, reaching for the battered journal in Captain Mapstone's hands. "You are injured and exhausted. Please forgive me – us," he corrected, after a glance at Estora, "for keeping you up so long. We will speak more in a day or so, once I have a chance to read over Yates' journal." The king's hands clutched the worn leather of the binding as he turned away to stalk out of the throne room.
Lynx heaved a quiet sigh of relief. Maybe now he could finally get a good night's sleep. The quiet thoughts of the horses in the pasture had acted a minor balm for his battered thoughts throughout his report, gently easing away the worst of the lingering malaise left from the twisted creatures in Blackveil.
"Your Majesties!" A Weapon raced up the runner. She must have made some signal since none of the other Weapons in the room acted concerned or even drew a blade. "Sergeant Quinn has found Karigan and an Eletian in the catacombs beneath the tombs! They are alive!"
Lynx stared at her in disbelief, throat closing in happiness. Mara clutched his arm, a tear running down her cheek and a smile on her face. The uproar of commotion from the others in the room and the sight of the king rushing past him was the last thing he remembered before somehow finding his way to his room and falling across the bed. He was asleep as soon as he sank down onto the mattress. Mara chuckled and removed his boots before closing the door behind her as she left.
Tonight, at least, all was well with the world.