Techromancy Scrolls: Adept (21 page)

She released his arm and they sat back in their saddles. “Yes... York.” Then she brightened. “Twenty-one. We are escorting our Duke to the defense pact talks down in Far Reach.”

She looked at the man and me and said, “Sir Roderick of Flatlash, this is my squire, Laney of Wexbury.” He leaned the other way toward me and I had Goliath step up and I grasped the man's arm.

The man was a jovial sort as he chuckled and surprised me by pulling me in and slapping my back like he did my Lady. He released me and smirked. “Pleased to meet you, Laney. Last I saw this troublemaker, she was a squire herself.”

Then he had his steed step back as he glanced back at Celeste as he studied me, his eyes on my sash. “You're making them awfully tiny up there in Wexbury I see.” Then he added, “And a Techno Knight as well.” He squinted at our group and shook his head in mock disgust when he saw Tennison. “Three? Three Techno Knights in escort duty? We'd give anything just for a second. Sir Ian is getting up there in age.”

Celeste squinted an eye in apology, shrugged, and joked, “It must be something in the water up Wexbury way.” Then she looked at me with a smug grin. “And we figure the smaller they are, the harder they are to hit.”

The man laughed so hard I thought he'd drop over dead from lack of oxygen. I couldn't stop grinning at the man even though the two Knights were making fun of my height. I offered, “I'm just the right size, thank you very much.”

He regained his wits and just motioned with his arm to our group. He smirked at Celeste and me and said, “Duke John left just this morning with an escort to the talks. Get your raggedy band inside the gates, I'm sure we have a pig pen somewhere we can host you at the castle.”

I caught the ever so slight nod that my Lady gave to our people and Sir Tennison got everyone in motion. We took our places as they caught up with us, and we followed Sir Roderick through a large portcullis that was twice the size as our South Portcullis. The rest of his group took escort positions around us.

Roderick looked back at Celeste with a furrowed brow. “Is she as powerful as you were back then?”

My Lady played it off with a shrug and said, “Not by a long shot, but she's twice as dangerous. She uses her head.” I'm really going to have to ask why they seemed to cause as much confusion as possible when it came to what our magic users could do. I understand it to a certain extent, never let the enemy know your actual strengths. But Flatlash has always been our longtime ally.

I took the time to look around at the keep. It was positively packed to the gills. Not much open space anywhere. All the buildings were at least two stories, and touching each other by stairs along the lanes. It looked like they were stacking families with private entrances to the upper floors through those stairways.

Their serfs looked like ours, their clothing no richer nor poorer and they all had looks of curiosity and wonder on their faces as we passed. Outside of the buildings, were covered wooden walkways that bordered the lanes. I didn't see even the meager four-foot wide strips of grass that passed for yards in Cheap Quarter. They seemed to utilize every square inch of space here.

There didn't appear to be any organization to the keep as storefronts were intermixed with dwellings. I may be spoiled, coming from Wexbury where the entire structure and organization of the keep had been engineered from the start.

Now don't get me wrong, I was amazed at Flatlash Keep. It seemed to have layers upon layers and each layer built up to the castle that was in the center of the keep. All lanes appeared to be like the spokes of a wheel so you would wind up at the castle when you took any of those spokes, and it was in view from about anywhere in the village.

I thought Castle Wexbury was huge, but Castle Flatlash, while not as long as at home, was multiple stories taller, reaching toward the skies, with parapets and towers. With spires that reminded me of the castles in the tomes mother would read to us. One odd thing was that there was no inner wall surrounding the castle. Instead there were a ring of water, twenty-five yards across surrounding the Castle and there looked to be three drawbridges spanning the water.

On the other side was the only green I had seen in the keep. A meadow about three hundred yards wide, which ringed the castle on the artificial island. There were hundreds of people on the lawns. They all looked to be in the bright colors of nobles instead of the drab, natural colors that commoners wore.

We were challenged at the main drawbridge by a group of knights that didn't have the black and greens of the Flatlash knights, they instead wore crimson. Bowyn must have noted my curiosity and spoke from just behind me, “The Duke's Elite. They are similar to our castle guard who are autonomous of the ranks of the Knights of the Realm. They answer only to the Duke as our castle guard answer to Duke Fredrick.”

I nodded in understanding. Our castle guard didn't wear full armor like this though they were armed.

Sir Roderick answered the challenge and pleaded our business. The leader of the Duke's Elite made a hand signal and stepped aside, giving us a bow as we proceeded. I followed Celeste's lead and bowed in response as we passed. I looked back and the Elite gave a soldier's salute to Duke Fredrick as the coach passed.

A runner went ahead of us and by the time we crossed the meadow there were maids, guards, and a woman dressed in black and green finery assembled at some great iron bound oak doors that were twenty feet across each. I could see a courtyard with fountains and a turnaround by a grand staircase through the doors.

The company halted when the coach was in front of the group. A footman ran out as our coachman dismounted. They placed small steps by the door of the coach and the door opened. A slender hand in an emerald glove, extended to take the footman's arm and Duchess Lucia stepped out of the coach as regally as I had ever seen. Then Duke Fredrick stepped out beside her and the footman transferred her hand from his arm to the Duke's, then disappeared as rapidly as he came.

They stepped up to the Lady and then the women smiled and Lucia hugged the woman and said, “Camille, it is so good to see you.”

The other woman was all smiles as she made a shooing motion with her hand and the maids attacked the coach like a well-oiled machine to get the Noble's belongings. “Lucy, it has been far too long,” then she leaned her cheek over to the Duke. “Fred.” He kissed her cheek, then she looked at Sir Roderick. “Please see to our other guests. They are to be treated as honored guests of the realm.” Then she turned and took an arm of each of my rulers and marched them through the doors.

Roderick smiled as he watched them go. He turned to Celeste. “We could double bunk you all in the barracks or set up tents here on the Fairy Ring. He indicated the meadow. Celeste slapped his back in a friendly manner. “The Fairy Ring would be just fine, we don't need to inconvenience your knights.”

He nodded and motioned his men and they rode through the doorway into the castle on his unspoken order. He finished with, “They'll have porters set up the tents and we'll have a feast set up for you on the lawns. Then we can catch up.”

She nodded and leaned into him and looked around and whispered, “We have two shadows, east and west.”

His eyes narrowed and he nodded once in understanding. Then he followed his men, clasping the arms of each of our knights and archers as he went. He whispered something to the young runner who nodded then ran like the wind back the way we came.

Celeste looked at Father Sol, hanging low on the horizon, then smiled at me. “Another night under the stars.” I smiled at that.

Before I knew it, there were four large canvas tents set up and porters and maids were setting a feast on long plank tables. A lot of Flatlash knights joined us in the feast and I sat back with a permanent smile listening to their knights and ours trading apparently exaggerated tales of battle and adventure. I thought it wonderful that two separate realms could share such camaraderie.

As the night wound down and the Flatlash Knights started trickling back into the barracks, Sir Roderick walked up to me where I was staring at the lights of the village which resembled a wagon wheel of fireflies. The lights flickered, so they must have been oil or some sort of piped gas instead of electricity. Such waste of resources.

I looked at him, then to their church down the hill for the time, but they had no clock in the bell towers, though they did chime the hour. He smiled and leaned against a bollard beside me and looked over his village. “There is no need for you to sleep out here tonight Laney. There is room in my bed.”

I didn't know what to say. I know it was meant as an offer and he wasn't being rude or lewd, just letting me know he appreciated me, and if I wanted...

I blushed at the offer and looked down. “I'm sorry my Lord, but...”

Then a warm hand was on my shoulder and Celeste's chin rested on my other. I could feel the heat of her body behind me and caught a hint of her scent as she told him softly, “But she is with me, Rod.”

I was ready to melt though I knew she didn't mean her words the way they sounded. Sir Roderick just bowed gracefully at us with a knowing smile and said, “Then I bid you ladies a good night.”

I smiled. “Good night Sir...” He tilted his head and I rolled my eyes with a smile. “...Roderick. Good night Roderick.”

The cheeky man gave Celeste a knowing wink as he left. I whispered, “You know what he is thinking don't you?”

She just grinned and moved to my side, her arm around my shoulder as she shrugged. I followed her eyes to the sky, to the nightly meteor showers. Freya and Athena were passing in front of Mother Luna now in their yearly orbit of the larger moon. She noted me shivering and pulled me closer. Then we saw a flash on Luna. A debris strike. Only two or three occurred each night. She whispered, “Make a wish.”

I smiled at her, I hadn't wished upon a strike in years. I looked back up then at her beautiful profile in the moonlight and made my silent wish. Then she asked, “What did you wish for?”

I just shook my head. “If I tell you, then it won't come true.”

She shared a smile with me then started pulling me toward the tents. “Let's get you inside where it is warm. You need your sleep, the Black Forest awaits.”

I woke up screaming with Celeste rocking me. “Shhhh... It's okay Laney. It's just your dream again.” I buried my face in her shoulder. It felt so real. I could handle the pain, I couldn't stand the sight of Celeste's bloody face as she told me to run again.

I looked over to see half the knights in our company sitting up looking at us. Nobody said a word. Verna just stretched and stood yawning. She pulled up Kristof and kicked Tennison's leg. “Let's retrieve the horses from the livery and get the wagon hitched. It is going to be a long trek to the mountains from here.”

She looked at Celeste. “Time?”

Celeste looked at her wrist and said, “Five thirty.” Then added, “Get everyone fed and we'll depart at eight.”

Sir Bowyn stood and stretched and I averted my eyes. The man slept the way he came into this world. He pulled up his trousers then scratched his head and started following the others as he pulled on a tunic.

He paused beside us and asked, “What if her dreams are a premonition?” He watched as Bex exited the tent.

Celeste shrugged and replied, “Then we deal with it when the need arises.” She looked away from him and down to me. “You okay now Laney?”

I nodded, she released me, and we started getting ready for the day. I noted the morning wasn't quite as crisp as it had been on the lower plains of Wexbury. I knew that would change soon, fall in the mountains can be unpredictable and it was always cooler there.

We broke bread in the barracks. I noted that for a larger village, they didn't seem to have the variety of foods that Wexbury had. Then I realized it was most likely my earlier observation, that they had no gardens and livestock inside the walls. I wondered what kind of crops and livestock they cultivated outside the walls of the keep. Was the bulk of their foodstuffs produced by Flatlash Minor?

I smiled over a piece of bread and Bex asked, “What is it?”

I shrugged and explained, “It seems I have more questions than answers, and not enough time to ask.”

He took a bite of egg and grinned. “I always ask until they tell me to shut up. Knowledge is power.”

Celeste chimed in like she had a secret as she chewed, “Laney has always been inquisitive. A rare quality.” That made me think of her watching a young girl being flogged at the whipping post all those years ago. My hand absently went to the back of my shoulder where I could feel the outline of a scar. She tilted her head as she looked at my hand then she seemed to sober and look down, absently tearing her bread to small pieces.

I repeated my mother's mantra. “A question unasked is knowledge wasted.” I looked at Celeste and caught her eyes. “I already have so many questions I'll need to ask when our escort mission is over. There are so many things I don't know about the keeps.”

This coaxed a smile from her. “I'll answer all I can. If not I can find the answers.” I smiled back and crinkled my nose at her.

A Flatlash voice sounded behind us, “Oh get a room you two. Are they always like this?” And everyone laughed at my blush as someone answered, “Worse.”

We finished the meal and retrieved Fredrick and Lucia. Duchess Camille spoke as they boarded the coach, “Fair weather and godspeed.”

We all bowed to the Lady of Flatlash and then mounted up. I actually made it up onto Goliath on my first try though it probably looked like I was hanging on for dear life until I was settled in the saddle. I kicked Verna in the leg when I saw her smirk. This just made some of the other evil Knights chuckle.

I watched as huge electric motors lowered the three drawbridges they had raised the prior night. Sir Roderick and a small contingent delivered us to the gates. Roderick rode up between Celeste and I and clasped her arm and they slapped shoulders. “Fair weather. We will see you on the return?”

My lady nodded then Roderick turned to me and gave a soft smile. I went to clasp arms and he instead caught my hand and kissed the back of it. “If you ever wish to trade up. I'm always here my Lady.”

I don't know why I felt so brave around my red headed knight, but I grinned at her then at the man. “What? And have you break the hearts of all the maidens in the keep? Perish the thought my Lord.” This got a guffaw from the man then he winked and moved off. He really was a pleasant sort. I find so many knights that way, and I wouldn't have thought it just three months prior.

He moved closer to Celeste and spoke quietly, “Our scouts put one shadow at the west end of the Deeps, in the great marshes. We could not locate the one to the east.”

She nodded a thanks to him, then the motors on the huge portcullis started pulling in the giant chains when the big man motioned to the guards. They strained against the immense weight of the gate, and soon it was lifting high into the archway. Celeste turned to look at our company, raised a hand and let it drop, and we resumed our journey.

I smiled as we made our way around the keep, giving us a spectacular view of the forty foot tall Walls of Heinrick the Bold. They had never been breached since Flatlash was conceived. We reached a crossroad, a 'spoke', in The Ring. The ten foot stone pillar with a brass signposts at the top and a dragon weather vane at its apex. One road sign pointed back the way we came, it read Flatlash, another pointing south read Treth. A third pointed east toward the mountains, reading York. Then the final one pointed down an unpaved, packed earth roadway to the west. The sign for that road read Fringe. Someone had painted a skull and crossbones on that one.

This is where we would lose our shadows I thought. They wouldn't conceive of us traveling the mountain roads. We turned east into the beginnings of the Black Forest with a thick canopy of trees stretching to the horizon. I was excited about this. The old growth deciduous forest was so named because even when Father Sol is high in the sky, the thick canopy blocks out most of the sunlight and it is like a perpetual twilight below.

That alone was intriguing, but with the weather cooling with the seasons, it looked as though the forest was ablaze with colors. Swaths of brilliant reds, yellows and oranges made the trees look like a fantasy painting on canvas. I took a moment to behold the splendor of nature before falling into position.

Duchess Lucia smiled at my childlike delight as the coach passed me. It snapped me out of it and I urged Goliath on. Her smile for me was just that jarring and unnatural. The one-sided feud she seems to have with mother, usually spilled upon me. I don't think the Duchess has said two complete words to me since she learned who my mother was.

I grinned at the smile Celeste had for me when I fell in at her left. She always had a knack for making me feel special. I said, “The forest is so gorgeous. The Whispering Forest isn't as thick and it has so many conifer pines breaking up the groves of leafy trees. The colors here are amazing.”

My companion squinted at me and tilted her head then looked around like she was just now seeing things around us. Then she nodded and said wistfully, “I'd almost forgotten to look around me. I'm always lost in the patrol. Thank you for reminding me. It really is beautiful Laney.”

It was like a curtain was drawn when we entered the forest. Rays of sunlight streamed in small points, lighting the way enough to navigate by. I could hear dozens of types of bird calls and other animals chittering about, though I didn't see much.

I noted the berms just ten or fifteen feet off the road and pointed. Bowyn gave me a start when he answered from directly behind me instead of Celeste. “The royal road crews. They are sent out every spring to make sure The Ring is clear from fall and winter debris. That is hundreds of years of leaves removed from the roadway. Some of the richest compost in all the lands.”

I nodded thanks then smiled and peeled off, it was time for a random traverse. The other squires joined me. I asked, “Have you ever seen such wonders?”

I remembered my station when both of them chimed in, “Yes.” It reminded me of their noble status and that I was just a girl from Cheap Quarter. Of course, they have seen these wonders. Nobles can afford to travel the realms. Bex read this in my face and said, “But it is a marvel to see someone's first impressions.” Brenda just nodded her agreement.

It was on my third rotation that Celeste called out, “Sir Scot, ride ahead with a hunting party, we'll break for midday meal in an hour, fresh meat would be nice.” I was surprised when he called out, “Laney, Peter, with me.” I looked up at Celeste and she shrugged and grinned. I was no hunter. First time for everything I guess. I urged Goliath on as Sir Scot and an archer galloped past, he easily kept pace with them.

I glanced back to the smug look on my Lady's face and narrowed my eyes. I think she planned this so I could have another first. I smiled to myself as we rode. Scot was in instructor mode for me since Peter was obviously a seasoned soldier. “We serve triple duty here in areas where there is limited visibility.”

He counted off on his fingers as we barreled down the shadowed roadway. “First, as advanced scouts. A small group is more nimble and can retreat to warn the others of danger faster than we could turn our caravan around, no matter how small it is.”

Then he smirked. “I think Celeste is allowing me to take you out because we haven't reached what we are designating as the hostile territory between Treth and Far Reach. I'm sure she'll never let you out of her sight once we get there, you are her favorite.” He winked at me and I blushed.

Then he held up a second finger. “Once we ride hard for a half hour, we hunt for wild game as the group catches up.” Then a third finger. “Then we find a clearing or other defensible position for the caravan to stop while the porters make a meal of our catch.”

Then Peter chimed in, “Be sure to not be too good in the hunt or you will be cursed to be in the scout position for eternity.”

This got Sir Scot laughing boisterously. “You should have thought of that before you became the best shot in the realm now shouldn't you have, Pete?”

The other man just shot him a playfully poisonous look. Then he softened and looked at me. “Have you hunted?” I shook my head and he prompted, “Snares? Or can you use a bow?” I shook my head again and he grinned like a fool and said to Scot, “We have a virgin here.”

I blushed for other private reasons, then narrowed my gaze and shook a finger at the men. “I'll not fall for a snipe hunt. I may be green, but I'm not simple.” This got a chuckle from the men and they held their hands up in surrender. “I'll not be out chasing my tail and making a fool of myself seeking out imaginary creatures.”

We slowed after a bit and we circled ourselves then dismounted, lashing our mounts to a limb just over the berms. Pete took his bow and slung the quiver over his shoulder. We walked for a couple minutes, both men scanning the ground then Scot put up a hand then pointed at his eyes then the forest floor to the right. I saw pebbled scat, there wasn't much, so it wasn't anything big like Elk. I figured it was deer.

We followed a trail I couldn't see, but each man made a point of showing me scuffed bark on a tree or a snapped over stem on a plant. I started looking closer for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. I was beginning to get the hang of it, though they saw dozens of things I did not. It may have well been a red string leading them to the small clearing we approached a few seconds later. They crouched and I crouched behind them.

We were crosswind from a three-point buck maybe thirty yards away. I looked around the clearing as Peter nocked an arrow. I was about to look back at the buck to watch the kill when I saw something at the edge of the clearing, and I slapped Pete's arm up as he released. His arrow made a swish sound as it arced high into the air.

Both men looked at me as if I had gone crazy. I whispered. “This buck is hers, I will not steal from the mouth of another.” They followed the finger I was pointing and they saw the caramel pelt and the tip of other's tail stalking toward the deer.

I had never heard a cougar scream before. But as it pounced on the back of the buck, digging her front claws into his flank, it screamed out a battle cry. Birds exploded from the trees into the sky. Her fangs sunk into the back of his neck and she shook violently and I could hear the snap from where we sat in the shadows. The deer stopped struggling. I went pale. A cougar could do the same to me.

Scot sighed in disappointment at me as he signaled us to start getting back to the horses. When we were out of earshot, we stopped at a fallen tree trunk for Scot to shake a pebble out of his boot. He spoke quietly. “Well, I guess squirrel stew it will be since we wasted so much time on the buck.”

I squinted a challenge, “He wasn't our buck.” He actually grinned at that.

I heard something behind the log that I recognized immediately, and I smiled as I reached for the boot scabbard Celeste insisted I have. Scot looked at Peter. “Pete, can you find a squirrel or two? I'll head back to meet the caravan.”

I dove over the log with my little dagger in my hand I grabbed my prey, and with one slash silenced its cry, just like I would a chicken. I popped up smiling to see to a sword and an arrow pointing at me. I gulped then held up my prize, “You two are welcome to the squirrel, I'm looking forward to a good turkey lunch.”

Their weapons dropped and I'm sure you could hear Scot's bellowing laugh a mile away. I grinned as I held up the big Tom. The Knight teased, “Bested by a tiny waif of a girl Pete. There will be retellings of this at the campfire tonight, I assure you.”