"Finally." That was Marach's greeting as Niira joined the group. He was leaning back against a tree lazily and didn't even look up at her as she approached. Reezy stood nearby, and Alakyl sat in the shade, panting lightly.
"What's this about? Just when I start to relax..."
"Sorry to interrupt your happy times," Marach muttered.
"He's coming," Reezy said softly.
Niira felt her blood run cold. No...he's found me... I can't go back.
"Wuff." Alakyl growled softly.
"I thought he'd stay away longer if I came," Reezy continued. "But last night, I could feel his presence like a beacon when I was meditating. I don't know exactly where he is, but he's coming fast." Feliform priests were often individuals who could sense magic naturally, even use it to some extent. That Reezy could sense Shining Claw, a dragoon, from so far away was not surprising.
I can't go back. "I have to...have to get away from here then. I'm not going to risk innocents being swept up into this." Niira swallowed. Shining Claw was not above hurting those who tried to prevent him from doing what he wanted. If he became angry enough, he might just decide that all of Bale was standing in his way.
"Exactly," Marach put in. He shifted, digging his foot-claws into the ground.
"There's still some time." Reezy tried to sound reassuring. "Figure out a plan of action for yourself, say goodbye to people this time..."
I don't want to leave.
"Wuff!"
"I don't want to run any more," Niira said, feeling defeated. "I'm certainly not going to just run around Endiness." Cities were larger and closer together in Endiness than the Northlands. Sooner or later, Niira would run across one, and her uncle would follow.
"We could try to find the Seventh," Marach suggested. "Then at least you'd be running with a purpose."
Niira let out a shuddering sigh. "I guess." Somehow, that didn't seem like a better situation than facing her uncle's wrath.
-----
Niira had intended to tell her father about this that night, but for some reason she couldn't find the right words. Instead, she asked to meet with him and her closest friends--Coen and Albert--the following night. Telling everyone at once seemed easier than having to search out everyone and explain the situation and say her goodbyes three times.
Then it had all come out. She had decided to leave at the end of the week; Marach thought that heading southwest would be a good start for finding the Seventh, as it was an area he and Niira's mother had never covered years before.
Alakyl would stay behind. The wolf protested immensely on this point, but in the end Niira won. She didn't see any sense in involving two dragoons in this chase, when there was a good chance that neither would come back alive. The Seventh was reputed to be quite hateful toward others and definitely not someone to be trifled with. This last thought was exchanged through the Northland tongue, as Niira didn't want to have to explain to people that this was as good as a suicide mission. She did add, in the human language, that she fully intended to return to Bale once the Seventh was found, or when her uncle had retreated once more.
But all the intentions in the world don't mean anything if I can't stay alive.
Her father would have none of it. He was furious that she was just leaving and not staying where, in his mind, she could be protected. The she refused to allow him to assist in the search as well just added insult to injury.
Niira knew what it must seem like to him. Like she suddenly wanted nothing to do with him or anyone. She looked away from him. I wish I could explain it all to you. But that'd only make matters worse. "This is not your war," she said finally. "It's the Northlands'. I can't involve outsiders in this."
"It became my war when you were born," Lavitz hissed.
"I won't let you."
"Try and stop me."
"Try and find me once I get out in the wilds."
"Enough." Albert's voice was soft, but the force it carried made everyone fall silent and look at their lord. He was slouched back in his chair, his face drawn, almost as if he was in pain. He sighed. "Lavitz will go with you."
"What? No, Albert...Your Majesty...no..." No...please...you don't understand...we may never return...
"This is not a request, Niira." He gazed at her, his usually soft eyes glinting harshly. "I am ordering it."
Why? Niira opened and closed her mouth a few times. She was unsure if she still held citizen status in Serdio, and therefore whether or not she had a right to contradict Albert's commands. Then she remembered that even if she wasn't any more, her father still was, and he certainly would obey orders from his king. So the knight would be coming with her after all. This could mess everything up.
There was some more discussion between Marach and Lavitz, if it could be called discussion. Marach tended to talk in sarcastic remarks that nobody ever knew if they should take seriously or not. Coen was oddly quiet through the whole affair, not looking at anyone in particular. He looked unnerved by the entire situation. Niira watched him silently. He never was able to handle stress well. I still wish someone would tell me why Albert put him in charge of the Third Knighthood...
Then she realized that everyone was rising to leave, dismissed by the king. She pushed her chair back and was already halfway standing when she saw Albert fall back in his chair, wincing. His breathing suddenly became labored. He pressed a hand to his chest, as if indicating a strong pain. Niira felt every nerve in her body shouting that something was terribly wrong. But presently, the king recovered, lowering his hand again.
"My lord...?" Lavitz said softly.
Albert smiled weakly. "It's nothing...old war wound." He pointed over his shoulder, indicating his back. Lavitz nodded once, but was clearly unconvinced.
Niira was still shaking. What the...what?
"War wound indeed," Bead Pouncer muttered to her in Northlandish.
"What is he talking about?"
"He had a powerful magic object in his body once."
"Once?"
"During the Second Dragon Campaign, he was taken captive by his uncle, in Sandora. And while he was there, some Wingly stole the object from him."
"How?"
"How do Winglies ever do anything? With magic. He cast magic on his hand and just--" Marach made a small forward-jerking motion with one hand as he turned to the room's door. "Reached in and grabbed it out." He stepped out.
Niira shuddered as she followed the guardsman. "That sounds...ugh."
"It's hurt him before, but never this bad."
Coen was the last to leave, after Niira. He was the only one who heard Albert's soft words of, "Coen. I must speak with you."
-----
Wha... Coen felt himself freeze. The last time King Albert had talked to him alone, it had been on the topic of Coen's father. More correctly, Coen's reaction to the situation involving his father. For a moment, he panicked that Albert wanted to talk about it again. Gods no...
But the young knight closed the door and turned around to face his king. "Yes sir?"
Albert sighed softly, as if thinking of what to say. It was a rare thing for him to not know what to say. "Sit down, please."
Coen did as such. The back of his neck tingled oddly. He didn't like the feeling.
"How much do you know about the Civil War?" It was an alternative name given to the Serdian War, used mostly by politicians.
"A good deal, I believe." Coen had grown up with the war around him. As he had trained to be a knight, he had fully expected to be thrown into battle against the Sandorans as soon as he was ready. But thankfully the war had ended before that.
"You know why I was taken prisoner by Doel?"
Coen tried to choose his words carefully. He was never very good at it. "You gave yourself to him in exchange for leaving the people of Basil in peace." He could still remember hearing the news all those years ago. And the shock and general panic that had soon followed.
Albert looked as if he had heard all this a hundred times before. "You know who else wanted me there?"
"The Wingly," Coen answered. "He wanted the Moon Gem." That was something that not everyone knew about. The knowledge of the Moon Objects had, for the most past, remained confined to the royal families of Serdio, Tiberoa, and Mille Seseau, and their closest aides. Coen had only found out once he became the Third Knight, and even then it was only when he overheard a conversation between Lavitz and the king, years after the war.
Albert nodded. "Coen... I had that cursed object in my body since I was six years old. An ancient magic gem placed in the body of a mere boy. I still have the scars from that operation." He blankly traced a finger down the middle of his chest; Coen inferred that was where he had been cut open in order to receive the divine object. He cringed involuntarily. "When you have something like that placed in your body, one of two things happens. Your body either tries to reject it, against the Moon Object's wishes, and the conflict kills you. Or, your body accepts it, learns to live with the magic, and you survive." He glanced briefly at the knight. "You understand?"
Coen nodded once. "Ye-yes, sir."
Again Albert sighed. He suddenly seemed to frail and hopeless. "It was a symbiotic relationship, between my body and the Moon Gem. I housed it. I hid it from the wrath of Soa. It kept me alive in some circumstances that I should not have lived through. We shared life."
Coen suddenly did not like where this was going.
"It was part of my life for many years. And now it's been gone for years. At first, it was wonderful. But now my body finds itself...incapable..."
No. Coen closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to tune out the rest of the sentence. No. No. I'm not hearing this.
"I am dying without the Moon Gem."
No. No. No. No.
"I tried to find someone to help. It was Master Haschel who went all the way to Deningrad for me, did some searching through the library, talked with some old acquaintances there..." He trailed off, as if in the middle of a memory. "He returned to his home town and sent word to me that something was being made to keep me alive, in place of the Moon Gem." He stopped again, swallowed. "It was sent from Deningrad to Rogue last year. It should have been here months ago."
"What happened?" Coen found himself asking, despite his spinning head.
The king was silent for a while. "I don't know. There have been no communications to and from that area ever since."
"Someone found out about it? Someone who has something against you?"
"That's what I originally thought. But Haschel would have never let such a secret out. He may play the fool, I don't know, perhaps he is a fool, but he can do anything without anyone knowing if he has a mind to. No...I'm positive he would have never let word of it slip to anyone. And I know the people he found to make the object would have been the same way. I trust him to be cautious."
Coen thought for a while. "Is he dead? Did someone..."
Albert waved that idea away. "I don't know. Someone has to go there and find out."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I trust you."
Why? After what I did...
"You are one of the few people, I believe, who would be able to slip up to Rogue without causing a fuss. You don't look overtly like a knight, at any rate."
"That's a good thing? Why don't you call one of the dragoons?"
"Because they're too well-known. There would certainly be questions if one of them went. I don't need this situation broadcast across the continent."
"Why not send Lavitz?"
Albert made a soft growling sound. "He would be questioned. He's a dragoon too, remember. And he acts like someone raised in the military. And, he's been known to make stupid decisions based on his desire to protect me in the past."
Instead, you send him on a mission that he knows little about and that has nothing to do with you. I suppose that makes sense. "So...you want me to go to Master Haschel's town and find this...moon object and bring it back?"
The king nodded. "Find out why there was a sudden lack of communication. Who wanted the moon object blocked from my access."
"Why not ask the Tiberoans...? Right, trying to keep things secret." Coen shuddered, running a hand through his short dark hair. I wish I could say no, but he is the king. "You want me to leave..."
"As soon after Niira leaves as you possibly can."
"So that Lavitz won't know." He knew exactly what Albert was talking about when he mentioned the First Knight's insane desire to protect his king.
He took Albert's silence to be an affirmative.
Still, he tried to find a way out of this. "Sir...is it wise to have the heads of two knighthoods out? I mean, especially if Niira's uncle really does find his way here..."
"I'm sure your lieutenants can handle things during your absence."
"Of course." Coen felt weak. He hoped he wasn't trembling too visibly. The king of all Serdio is placing his life in my hands. Why? I'm not suited for things like this. "I...I can't do this alone." His voice sounded small even to himself.
"I don't expect you to," Albert said. "Take who you want with you. But keep the group small. It would not be wise to attract the attention of whoever caused the trouble in Rogue."
"I know. I think I've already decided who I'd like to come with me." That is, assuming I can convince them to join me.
-----
Later that evening, Coen walked to Mrs. Slambert's house. He hoped the First Knight wasn't there at this hour. He would certainly make things more difficult.
Thankfully, he wasn't. Coen was allowed in by Lavitz's kindly mother. To his relief, he found Reezy sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace. Alakyl was stretched out in front of the flames, completely ignorant of the sparks that landed in her fur. Coen still did not trust Niira's cousin completely, but he felt certain that Reezy was key in getting his plan to work.
Reezy looked up at him as he approached. The Northlander had finally changed to his human form; even as a human, he would still stand out in a crowd. He features were definitely not Serdian, a fact which was not helped by the small beard he sported on his chin, a cut not seen in Serdio. "Yes?"
Coen sighed, pushing down his nervousness. "I need your help. Can we speak alone? You too, Alakyl."
The wolf raised her head and eyed Coen curiously. She and Reezy exchanged a look, then she stood and stretched stiffly. "Wuff," she grumbled.
"Somewhere we won't be overheard."
"Oh, it's that important, huh?" Reezy's voice held an edge of sarcasm.
"I don't have time for this." Coen hoped he had made himself sound enough like a superior knight to get the idea through Reezy's head.
"No need to get snappish about it." The Northlander stood and motioned to one of the nearby rooms. "That good enough for you?"
"As long as nobody walks in while we're talking, yes."
Without another word, the trio moved into the room. Coen made sure to pull the door closed behind him.
"So what's the great problem that you need my help now?" Reezy folded his arms across his chest.
"I actually need to ask Alakyl. But I can't understand her, and she doesn't like being near me really to begin with..."
"Well I guess it's a good thing I can understand her then, huh?"
Coen had almost forgotten that the wolf spoke a different language. He had assumed that since Niira understood it, and Reezy was family, that he could understand it too.
"Rrr...wuff."
"King Albert has asked me to do something that I can't do alone."
"Well, what can I--Alakyl--do?"
"There was something that was supposed to be sent here from Rogue, a city in Tiberoa, but it never arrived."
"I assume this thing is important."
"The king's life depends on it." He hoped the foreigners would have enough respect for another country's ruler that they would understand the importance of this.
Both of the Northlanders were quiet for a moment. "Yes, I suppose that is important," Reezy admitted.
Thank the gods. "One of the king's old friends, Master Haschel, was in charge of it. But nobody's heard from him for months. Which is odd...I've been told that he's a master of martial arts and a dragoon."
"So whoever or whatever stopped this 'very important something' from reaching your king has to be powerful enough to stop a dragoon." Reezy was quick to figure it out.
"Two dragoons, actually. There was a second one living with Haschel. At least, if I'm remembering correctly."
"Hmm."
"Wuff."
"King Albert wants me to go there. But there's no way I can stand against something that could incapacitate two dragoons."
"Again, what does this have to do with us?"
"Alakyl's a dragoon, isn't she?"
Reezy bristled. "How do you know that?"
"Niira mentioned it." Well, it was a rather off-handed comment she made a few weeks ago...I hope I heard her right.
"Wuff." Alakyl's ears swiveled back.
"I came to ask if you would help me with this. I know Albert isn't your king, but...there's nothing that can hold its ground against a dragoon except another dragoon. We can't send for the group from the Second Dragon Campaign because it'd cause questions to be asked, and then I remembered you were here..."
"Hrrr...wuff. Wuff says wuff."
"She says she doesn't trust you."
"I know that."
"I'm not sure I quite trust you either." Reezy narrowed his eyes at the young knight.
"Wuff!"
Coen glared back. "I'll go alone if I have to. But there'd be a much better chance of success if I had your help."
Alakyl made a soft whimpering sound. Reezy replied with something Coen didn't understand. It only made the wolf whimper again.
"Well?"
"We'll think about it."
"Think about it?" Coen felt a deeply-hidden anger rising. His king's life was being threatened, and these two wanted to think about it? He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Fine. Niira's leaving in two days. I'll be at the north gate of Bale that afternoon. If you're coming, meet me there before sundown. Bring a horse, I intend to move quickly. And don't say anything to anyone." With that much said, he wheeled about, pulling open the door and hurrying out of the room.
They'll 'think about it?'