Starcrossed
By Pedro Diego Todosbueno
Dedication
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To my two beautiful daughters. Thank you for bringing such magic to my existence.
Prologue
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He opened his eyes to a world he scarcely recognized. As his vision came into focus and he saw the
rubble that lay strewn at his feet, the gravity of the situation weighed heavily upon him.
“What have I done?” The man's long blonde hair hid his clear blue eyes. He swept it aside and
surveyed the eerily quiet scene around him.
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Rubble, variously on fire, littered the ground. The sound of a whirring engine breathing its last breaths
interrupted the usual song of parrots welcoming the morning. The engine sputtered as it gasped for air,
noisily announcing its demise. The cool palm trees and blue lagoon in the distance only served to
highlight the seriousness of the event. This was a slice of hell in the middle of Valhalla.
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Jordan, walked to the shore and gazed listlessly out to sea.
“What have I done?” he could scarcely turn around to view the carnage left in his wake. It was over,
three years and eons of planning were complete. His triumph was assured and his name would now be
as immortal as the stars. He had found the gate. He had opened the Lighted Staircase and now, come
what may, the two worlds were connected.
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Part I
Chapter 1
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Syd raced around the tree three times holding the rope tight in his hand with all his might. His sister,
Jade, was three years his senior and calmly humored the boy as he tried to tie her to the tree.
“Alright Syd, now make it tight this time. If I get loose so easily as I did yesterday, I shall tie you to
the millstone and then set Gravey dancing with the whip.” Gravey was Jade's mule, well he was her
father's mule, but when he wasn't turning the mill, he played with Jade.
Syd continued his spin around the tree with renewed determination. She'd never get out of this, he was
sure of it.
“Okay, are you all done?”
“Yep, Jade you'll never get out of this,” Jade just looked at her brother with an air of amusement. Syd,
for his part, had coolly folded his arms, a look of assured satisfaction on his face.
“Okay, Syd, count to three,” Jade closed her eyes as her brother counted slowly, “One, Two . . .”
Before Syd could reach three though, Jade opened her eyes just in time to see the rope fall silently
around her ankles.
“How'd you do that? Jade, tell me, how'd you do that.”
Jade humored her little brother and smiled sweetly as he implored her to divulge her secret.
“Didn't Ma ever tell you that magicians don't ever tell?”
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Jade's Ma, Tam, had said that numerous times as she showed her children a card trick here or some
sleight of hand there, making something mundane disappear and reappear apparently at will. The truth
was though, Jade didn't really know how she did it. She closed her eyes, she saw herself free, and
when she opened them, it was so. It had always been thus with her and her father had, from a very
early age, made her promise to use the utmost discretion when using her “Vision.” That's what he
called it, her “Vision.” And she was never to use it except around family and even then she wasn't to
use it often or for anything that might be considered personal gain.
“What's the use of this Vision if I can't use it to get what I want?” Jade remembered asking her father,
Doc, early one morning when he caught her by the bay visualizing fish right onto the hook of her
fishing line.
“Jade, dear Jade, there's a balance in these things. Whenever you catch a fish like this, it means that
another fisherman, one who perhaps bought bait and has been waiting for hours or perhaps one who is
fishing to feed his family, goes without. Keep the Balance Jade, remember the Balance.”
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That's how it was with her father, he was always talking about Balance and about the old ways. Well,
Jade decided that untying her brother's knots, Vision or no Vision, could scarcely throw anything out of
balance. Besides, it was fun.
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“Jade, I said, how do you do that?” Syd, was persistent if he was anything.
“And I told you . . . I won't tell you.” Jade skipped off to the pool beside the wandering oak tree, that's
what she called it. How else would a giant, age-old oak tree find its way to the edge of a crystal clear
lagoon if it didn't wander there. She sat down and felt the breeze touch her cheek. It felt soft and she
was ready to walk into town to visit the market as she did every week.
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Jade had really lived a charmed existence. She was thirteen-years-old, she liked to keep her auburn
hair short, and she generally wore trousers so that she could play with the boys. She and Syd had lived
with their parents in a small cottage by the shore all their lives. Her window looked out at the sea and
she could smell the sea breeze blow in in the afternoon. Her father was a fisherman and occasionally
he would take his children with him when he went out to sea. He sailed a small vessel, sometimes Syd
would have to sit on Jade's lap, but he knew the sea and the tides well and so always seemed to be able
to find the schools of fish as they darted from lagoon to lagoon.
Twice a week, Jade would walk with Gravey to the nearby town of Merryweather to take her father's
catch to market. It took her an hour or more to travel each way but the journey was pleasant and
Gravey was one of Jade's best friends. His company made these trips most enjoyable. Merryweather
was a small town by almost any standard in The Realms. There was one inn where men would go to
drink and women would go to visit, chat, and quiet the fights that broke out from time to time. And
then there was the market, the town hall, and a few dozen residences. Even though Merryweather was
a small town, it was a veritable metropolis, full of wonder, to Jade's young eyes.
Today was a market day so Jade took the rope that Syd had been using to tie her up and secured her
father's catch to Gravey's back. She was ready to leave before lunch and her mother sent her off, as she
always did, with a short list of supplies and household goods to bring back with her. Life had been this
way for as long as Jade could remember. She would work and play in the sea and then travel to town
where everyone knew her and greeted her with a warm smile and a kind word.
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Nonetheless, Jade had always known that there was something different about her. Her father refused
to tell her exactly what it was that set her apart. Whenever she asked him about it, he simply told her
that she was special, just like everyone else, and then changed the subject to something more mundane.
As Jade walked Gravey down the North Road, the quickest way to Merryweather, she breathed deep
the smell of the sea and said a prayer of thanks for the beautiful day and the marvelous life fate had
bestowed upon her. Little did she know though that the same fate that had blessed her with a life of
wonderfully pleasant and comfortable routine was about to turn everything she thought she knew
upside down.
Chapter 2
“No, how many times must I tell you? NO!” Alejandro Vermonte was a man to be heard. Whether he
whispered or bellowed, his presence demanded attention. The fact that he was the king of The Realms
made this even more apparent.
“Sire, it's just a girl, a lowly sea-farer no less: daughter of a fisherman. Mercy, I beseech thee sire,
what harm could she do to your kingdom, to our kingdom my liege?” Simon was laying prostrate, his
face touching the ground by the king's feet. Simon was the king's chief adviser as he had been to the
king's father. Yet, even though he held one of the most powerful posts in the land, even he knelt low
before the king.
“What harm? What harm you ask. Now, she is a girl. Girls become women and women like her
become witches. Kill her now, I have spoken.”
“But sire, sire, there is another way. A way even more advantageous to you and to your kingdom. Why
not raise her as your own. She is young enough that even her ties to the sea, to her sea-faring people
can still be buried beyond her young memory, lost in the sands of time.” Simon had his king's
attention.
It was an interesting proposition. The prevailing wisdom dictated that nothing could tame a seer. No,
seers were as free as butterflies, as relentless as the tide, and as certain as the moon and the changing
seasons. Seers were one with the elements, with nature, and with the Balance. They could sense many
things and were rumored to hear the thoughts of those with whom they spoke. Being one with all that
was around them meant that what a seer said was very important. In one way they foretold the future
because what they said tended to happen. But on a far deeper level, what they said subtly steered the
future too. The line between cause and effect became blurred with seers; did something happen
because the seer said so or did the seer say so because she could sense what was inevitably to pass?
Philosophers and other self-important men had tried to answer these questions. Their futile attempts to
understand such immense concepts as time and Balance only served to ironically highlight their
ignorance. Such concepts were not there to be analyzed, dissected, and wrapped in a parcel for
someone to place under a tree at christmas. No, these concepts were to be lived, loved, and laughed
with.
Alejandro considered Simon's suggestion. What his adviser said made sense. Why not harness this
force? The girl was old enough that she had learned how to focus her energy, how to prevent herself
from willing those around her into non-existence. Yet she was still impressionable. Granted, a seer
would always seek the Balance. It was a part of who they were, just like water flows down hill and the
moon circles the earth. However, could someone, could he, Alejandro, alter what the seer perceived to
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be Balance. Could he trick her into skewing the Balance, skewing fate so to say, in his favor. He held
his chin in his hands and thought long and hard about this prospect.
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“Bring her to me, Simon. The king desires a new toy. Send Riders for her though, have them blind her
before they bring her here. A child does not quickly bite the hand of her rescuer does she?”
“Excellent idea my liege, excellent idea.” Simon turned to crawl out of the presence of his master. He
may have just done more harm than good in the situation, but at least he had saved her life, or at least
bought her time, hadn't he? Jade had to survive, she was the chosen one. The stars and the prophesies
all confirmed it: the snake to toy with the titans. But she was so young. If only her keepers had a few
more years to raise her, to teach her the old ways of the sun, the moon, and of time. Nonetheless,
sometimes fate throws greatness into one's path and one must either catch it firmly or else be crushed
as it rolls by.
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“Catch this Jade. The ball comes quickly, yet open your eyes and catch it. Flow, and you shan't go
astray. Dear, be strong. I've bought you time, but you already held that didn't you?” Simon shuffled
through the door so as not to let the sound of a footfall draw the ire of the tyrant he appeared to serve.
Alejandro, for his part, was still imagining the games he might play with his new pet.
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Chapter 3
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Gravey and Jade returned home just before dark. Gravey sighed a long deep rolling sigh. He was tired.
Not just with the day's work but with the season. In the fall, following the harvest, Jade's family would
run the mill as long and as hard as Gravey could walk, dragging the large millstone behind him. He
was burying his nose in his bag of oats, debating whether to eat or just let his eyes close and drift into a
sweet dream, when he felt a familiar hand behind his ear.
“Hey there Gravey. Long day huh?” Gravey lifted his head to see Jade's bright green eyes staring back
at him, a hint of sympathy in the look on her face. Jade grabbed a handful of oats and held them up to
Gravey's nose. He ate them slowly and carefully, thankful for each bite.
The sun was setting earlier and earlier each day. The long days of summer were quickly fading into the
autumn coolness. Even Jade felt the coolness in the breeze as she stood close to Gravey feeling the
warmth of his body.
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“So Boy, hard day?” Gravey snorted an incoherent response. “Wanna ride? Or explore the shore?”
The old mule's tired bray was answer enough. Gravey had barely the strength to eat let alone play with
the girl he loved like a daughter.
Jade's father had spoken of buying a new mule for three seasons now. However, each time he broached
the subject at the dinner table, Tam, his wife, coolly shut down the conversation. “Oh dear, Gravey has
at least five more seasons in him. I see it in his eyes. You know dear, there's more to that old mule
than meets the eye. I see it.” And she did see it ever since Gravey, a colt at the time, dragged Jade,
barely breathing, out of the river where she had fallen while playing in a tree hanging over the swift
current. Neither Tam, Jade's mother, nor Doc, Jade's father, heard a thing when Jade fell. She was not
quite four-years-old at the time, and the rushing current drowned out her strangled cries. Gravey heard
her though and vaulted his body into the river after her. No one ever quite knew how, but several
moments later, the mule was dragging Jade by her down coat to the shore a good ways downstream.
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Ever since that day, Tam insisted that Gravey was a guardian angel and that he was there to watch over
their special daughter.
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Gravey buried his nuzzle into Jade's hand as she fed him. After he had eaten, Jade spent a good long
time brushing him and rubbing him down with a special concoction her father made out of fish oils and
sea grass. Jade said little while she did this but just sang gentle tunes in the mule's ear while she erased
the stress and tension of the day's work with her touch.
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“It's evening now, the moon is in
showing it's face in the night
The day is done and my dear we've won
our right to enjoy this night's light
Feel the moon's beams kiss your face in the breeze
relish the gentle repose
That comes through the way the moon seems to say
Tomorrow, the grass it still grows
Tomorrow, the grass it still grows.”
Gravey's head was rolling to the gentle rhythm of Jade's song, in time with the way she stroked his
mane. He was almost asleep under her loving spell when something caused him to start. It wasn't
something he heard or even something he smelt. He felt it. Something wasn't right. He stood tall and
looked around with a nervous bray.
“What is it boy, what do you hear?” Gravey was pulling now. The mill rope was still tied to his
harness. Jade grabbed it in an effort to calm her anxious friend, but he just seemed to pull harder in a
growing panic with no apparent cause.
Doc came into the barn just in time to see Gravey pull free of Jade's grip and start bolting towards the
door. his quick and ready hands caught the rope as Gravey rushed past him.
“Woah Gravey, calm boy.” Gravey did calm quickly in response to Doc's firm and reassuring voice.
“That's enough, that's enough. What happened Jade? How'd this old mule get so spooked? Did Syd
hide a snake in the barn again?”
“Pa, I don't know what happened. I was rubbing him down with your goop and he just up and got
excited.” The rest of Jade's thought was cut off as a boy hobbled into the barn and collapsed ten feet
away from where Doc held Gravey, who was now frantically trying to cower behind his master's large,
strong frame.
Jade ran to the boy's aid. His hair was white. Not just blonde but white. His eyes were pink too. He
couldn't have been more than twelve-years-old, but he looked like he hadn't bathed in a week and his
exhaustion suggested he may not have eaten in as many days.
“Pa, I'll run and get Ma.” Jade was gone a second later, running as fast as she could, calling for her
mother as she sped towards the house.
Doc managed to get Gravey into his stall and knelt down to pick the boy up. Suddenly, the child's eyes
came alive. He grabbed Doc's arm with a lightning fast hand. His grip was strong, nearly as strong as
Doc's. The boy said nothing but the urgency of the look on his face and the alarm in his eyes caused
Doc to look around for some looming, yet unnamed threat. A moment later, the boy's grip let go and he
slipped into unconsciousness.
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Doc picked the boy up and carried him out of the barn just as Tam and Jade were running from the farm
house. Doc set the boy down on some grass as Tam brought a water jug to the boy's lips.
“Where'd he come from?” Tam asked. Doc shrugged in response. “Well, he's not even old enough to
man a boat yet.” Tam let the water trickle down the boy's shirt as she spoke to her husband.
In Merryweather, boys weren't allowed to fish by themselves, to man a boat, until they were fourteen
years old. Tam continued, “I guess he'll just have to stay here till we can find his parents. Jade, go into
town and tell Old Man March that this child wandered here and see if he has heard of any parents
looking for lost children.” Jade stared at her mother, a questioning look on her face. There were only a
handful of children in their village. Something in the sea made it very difficult for women in the
village to conceive. Each new birth was celebrated by the entire village as a miracle and as a gift from
the gods. As a result, each child really was raised by the village and Jade knew that this boy was not
from this part of The Realms. His white hair and delicate features said he was from the north: near the
wild lands where men still hunted and trapped big game for meat, fur, and trade.
“Go dear, hurry now. This boy's parents are likely half witless with worry.” Jade left at her mother's
insistence and started running towards the North Road: the main road connecting the town with the
fishing huts and farms on the coast. “Wait, Jade, take Gravey with you.”
“But Ma, he's tired.”
“Hush up girl, do as your mother says, besides Gravey could use a chance to walk off some of those
nervous jitters. Go to town and bring back help.” The finality in Doc's voice made it clear that any
argument would be futile. Besides, it would be nice to have some company on the walk into town even
if she didn't ride Gravey the way she usually did.
Jade and Gravey walked quickly up to the North Road while Doc carried the boy, conscious but still
limp, to the farmhouse.
Chapter 4
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“No, you don't cry, YOU don't cry.” The boy cowered at Alejandro's feet. He was thirteen-years-old,
and he was the heir to his father throne. More than that though, Alejandro saw the boy, welts clearly
visible on his back, as his legacy.
“You don't cry, boy.” Alejandro picked his son up by his wrist so that he was hanging with his toes
barely touching the ground. The boy was crying though. Tears stained his cheeks, which were red with
frustration, anger, and fear. He swung his leg towards his father's knee as a curdled scream burst forth
from his lips. This man, his father, he hated him and loved him all at the same time. He hated him for
the way he made him drown his dog when he was seven. Alejandro, for his part, thought that
mercilessness was a form of strength. A kind of strength that a king must have in his arsenal. Herald,
or Hatch as his minders called him, loved his father because, well, because Alejandro was his father.
Alejandro easily avoided the kick and then threw Hatch to the ground as though he were a doll or some
other plaything. “Good. I thought not that you had it in you.” Alejandro was laughing over his son's
whimpering sighs. “That's what I like to see there, fire boy, Fire!”
Alejandro walked away as Hatch nursed his sore wrist. He picked up a rock and looked to throw it at
his father's back but instead threw it at a rat scurrying along the castle wall. The rat was knocked over
the edge and into the moat where Alejandro had just made Hatch throw a stray kitten that he had found,
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named, and hidden in his closet, feeding him scraps from his table. That was Alejandro's parenting
philosophy: he made his children hard, strong, and sometimes evil. However, this way he felt sure that
the young prince would have the steel reserve necessary to oversee an empire.
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Hatch was strong though. Stronger than his father knew. He was strong enough to have kept the sense
of compassion and justice that accompanied his strong sense of pride. No matter how many times he
was beaten or forced to kill animals or whip servants, he still gave extra food to the servants in his
quarters and even let their children play with his old toys and games.
The young prince rushed to the side of the wall where the rat had been seconds earlier. He said a
prayer after the fallen rodent, sorry to see a life, any life, needlessly wasted like that.
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“Safe Journeys my friend
Though you left soon
Before the sun it kissed the moon
Yet twilight precedes the dawning of day
So safe travels my friend as you make your way
Over the river to the land beyond
Take comfort my friend in the words of this song.”
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“Boy! What are you doing boy?” Alejandro turned and started walking back to where his son peered
over the castle wall.
“Sir, I was just watching the cat drown sir.”
“Good, very good,” Alejandro left without saying goodbye. Hatch didn't notice though, he was still
mourning the cat and the rat that he had just sent to watery graves.
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The next day, Hatch woke up early, even before the chambermaids came to light the fire in his
bedroom. He grabbed half a loaf of bread that he had taken from the kitchen the day before and rushed
out to his balcony.
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He loved to climb. He had always loved to climb. It was easy for him to scale the wall, overgrown
with ivy as it was, down to the garden under his window. He jumped the last few feet and landed
silently like a cat on the grass below him. He ran to the wall and whistled like an owl. The early
morning hours were silent. This time of year, even the birds were still sleeping in their nests, those that
hadn't flown south to warmer climates anyway. Hatch waited, listening closely until he heard another
owl hoot in response. That was his signal. He threw the bread and the remnants of a leg of lamb over
the wall. The food was wrapped tightly in a white handkerchief, which also contained a very special
package this morning. He hoped that he was entrusting this parcel to good hands, hands that would
hold it for him till he could reclaim his prize.
He heard a scuffle and then heard footsteps hurrying away as a young girl grabbed the food and ran
home to her hungry siblings.
“At least someone will enjoy breakfast this morning,” Hatch muttered to himself as he scaled the wall
leading back up to his window. He smiled as he climbed back into bed. It wasn't just that he was
helping someone feed a struggling family, this was his way of rebelling against the evil indoctrination
imposed by his overbearing father. It was a way, small as it was, for Hatch to assert his will, to be
himself in his father's castle.
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Chapter 5
Jade ran as fast as she could, but Gravey seemed reluctant to follow her. As she neared the meadow
where earlier that day they had taken a shortcut to the North Road, Gravey refused to go through the
open gate. He whinnied and brayed as Jade tried to pull him through. However, she couldn't seem to
make the mule budge. It wasn't that Gravey was stubborn, although he was a mule. He sensed
something was out of order. Of course the journey at dusk into town was unusual, especially where he
had worked all day and had already made the trip to market once. And of course the boy's appearance
earlier had spooked him, but this was something bigger. Gravey could feel forces gathering and there
was no clear way to convey his hesitations to Jade.
“Come on boy, Pa said to hurry. Come on!” Jade alternated between pleading and and commanding.
Commanding the mule to do anything, as she knew from experience, was an effort in futility. Gravey
merely neighed in response and refused to enter the meadow.
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Jade stopped her relentless push into the meadow to listen to what Gravey “said” to her. It wasn't that
she heard what the mule thought or anything silly like that. No, she felt it though. She put her ear
against Gravey's coarse hide and started whispering soft, cool, gentle sounds to him. Gravey calmed
down now that Jade had stopped pulling him towards whatever it was he seemed intent on staying
away from. Jade felt it too. Not a threat necessarily, not danger, but she could feel what Gravey could
feel, something wasn't right. It was dirty, oily, unclean.
“Okay boy, we can stick to the road.” Gravey hung his head and turned back to towards town in
response. The duo picked up the pace to make up for lost time and just a moment later, they met Mister
James and his horse and buggy heading out to the farms.
“Jade, ho there, young one. Where are you heading so close to dark?” Jade knew Mr. James from the
springtime fair, he was a storyteller and a good juggler too. Every child born near Merryweather for
the past fifteen years knew his stories and songs by heart.
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“A boy,” Jade was gasping for breath, “A boy needs some help.”
“Who's boy, not the Yates' boy ending up in the river again.”
“No, I didn't know this boy.” Mr. James's eyes went narrow as he appeared to gaze into the distance.
“Aye, aye, look dear one, this is not a night for you to be out like this. Lets hurry to your home and see
what's afoot.”
“But my Pa, my Pa, he said to hurry and see Old Man March in town.”
“And hurry we shall. My Bessie,” he patted his mare's flank, “can outrun your tired mule I dare say.
Now get in the buggy and lets go see this boy of yours. If he needs to go see Old Man March, my
buggy's the fastest way to get him there. There's something on the breeze tonight, and it doesn't feel
right.”
Well, Mr. James seemed to make sense. If the boy needed to go into town, Mr. James's buggy was the
fastest way to get him there. Plus Mr. James knew all manner of cures and carried potions for many
common ailments. She closed her eyes and thought about how her Pa might feel about abandoning her
errand and bringing Mr. James back to the farmhouse instead. She started when she saw the boy, pink
eyes wide open, looking back at her. He was well. She knew it. How she knew it wasn't clear, but she
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knew it as well as she knew anything. The boy was up and drinking her mother's goose broth.
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“Very well,” Jade thought of a compromise, “I'll run home and tell Pa you went to town to get help.”
“I have a better idea little one. You get into this here buggy and we'll both go tell him.”
“But Pa said to go to town for help.”
“Ahh, now those are two different things there my dear. Did he want you to go to town? Or did he
want you to bring help?”
Jade rolled her eyes, Mr. James was always a stickler for specifics, even in his stories. And unless you
asked a question just so, you didn't get the answer you sought.
“He told me to go to town AND to get help.”
“But what did he want? Look dear get in. Your father asked for help, a boy needs it, and I have a
buggy. I can get him where he needs to go faster than anyone in the village. Lets give your Pa what he
needs, what he really wants. He didn't know what to ask for. Lets fill in the gaps for him shall we.”
Mr. James's argument made sense, Jade agreed and got into the buggy. The buggy started off quickly
and Gravey, much relieved that he was going home, sauntered along behind them quite contentedly.
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The buggy pulled up to Jade's farmhouse just after dark. The light was on in the house, sweet smelling
smoke wafted up from the chimney, and the doors to the barn had already been closed for the night. If
her pa had done the evening chores for her then Jade knew things must be okay. As she opened the
door to the farmhouse and walked into the small kitchen and dining room, she smelled her mother's
raspberry pie still in the oven. She closed her eyes for a second and couldn't help imagining the taste of
her mother's award winning pie melting in her mouth. Just then, her mother sprang up from her seat in
front of the fire and ran over to the oven.
“I thought I smelled it burning, but I just barely put the pie in. It shouldn't be done for another twenty
minutes.” Tam pulled a steaming hot, perfectly cooked pie out of the oven as she wondered aloud. “I
guess I had the oven hotter than I thought. Oh Jade, that was fast. However did you make it into town
and back so quickly?”
Just then, Mr. James pushed his way into the front room, leaving Jade in the doorway behind him.
“Jade found me on her way into town. When I heard you had a child in need, I came as fast as I could.
Jade, come in dear, you're letting the cold in.” Jade walked through the door and closed it lightly
behind her. The scene that met her eyes both warmed her heart and sent chills down her spine. Jade's
father was laying on the rug by the hearth rolling dice with the white haired boy who was laughing and
sipping a cup of her mother's chocolate.
Doc got up to shake Mr. James's hand. He gave Jade a reassuring pat on the back, “Good work Jade.
I'm glad you brought help so quickly.” Mr. James gave Jade a sly nod and a wink.
“Well this boy hasn't said a word yet, but he's been beating me at dice for over thirty minutes now.
Never seen one person roll so many doubles. Six in a row Jade, six in a row. If I didn't know better, I'd
say he had the luck of the One himself.” Jade's pa laughed at that. People in the village, ever
superstitious as farm folk tend to be, had said that of Doc and his farm for years. Somehow, no matter
what he planted, Doc's farm grew bumper harvests year after year. Mr. James didn't laugh though. He
went over to the hearth where the boy was still sitting and sat down with him.
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“Well he looks well enough. Boy, what's your name? We can't very well just call you Boy now can
we.” The boy looked back at Mr. James holding up the dice cup asking him to play.
Tam sat down near the hearth so that the flames danced shadows across her face. “He hasn't said a
word all night, he just stares back at us with those striking blue eyes.”
Blue eyes? Jade knew she saw pink in them before. She went over to where the boy sat. He looked up
at her and, yes his eyes were blue: a beautiful shade of sky blue. Jade had hardly let this register when
she heard, no she felt, but she felt the words in her head, “the sky plays tricks with my eyes. I'm
Devin.” She looked at the boy with a look of alarm that she was scarcely able to hide. She had felt
what others were feeling before. But this was the first time she felt it in words. It was like he was
speaking to her, connected to her somehow. She backed away nervously. Mr. James just watched, a
look of amusement on his face, “Well I think we should call him Devin. He looks like a Devin to me,”
he said. The young boy nodded earnestly in agreement.
“Well Devin, shall we have some pie?” Tam sliced into the pie fresh from the oven and Devin ate it
hungrily.
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Chapter 7
The young girl, Jesse was her name, grabbed the bread as it fell to the ground by the castle wall.
“Thank gods,” she whispered as she clutched the seasoned loaf to her chest, wrapped as it was in a
handkerchief. She looked around wondering whether the night guard had seen her. No, she was still
safe. Her younger brother and sister would have breakfast. Her father, too proud to beg, too poor to
provide, and too dull to steal, had forbidden her from taking charity. But her father's pride was a poor
excuse for her family's hunger.
From time to time, Jesse would join the beggars in front of the cathedral when the wealthy parishioners
left their Sunday church services. On one such occasion, a boy at the church, not just a boy but the
prince of The Realms, had secretly whispered to her to wait by the castle wall before dawn. The first
morning she waited, nothing happened; she assumed it was one of the prince's games, playing with the
lives of his subjects just like his father. How wrong she had been though, her mother had warned her
against making assumptions and it turned out that, as usual, her mother had been right.
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The next day and almost each day since then, something would come over the wall. One day it would
be bread. Another day there would be some meat and a piece of cheese. And more than once a small
package, wrapped it a handkerchief, would hold cakes and cookies much to her sister's delight. Jesse
had grown accustomed to sneaking to and from her home on the outskirts of Vercouth, the city that
surrounded the royal palace. She stuck mainly to the shadows, darting from one niche to another. She
had become quite proficient at avoiding the town guard. On one occasion she almost ran right into two
guards as they turned a corner, she was able to play the role of an old woman so well that they never
looked twice in her direction. She moaned something about having to beat the birds to the river to do
the washing and they never looked back.
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She made her way home quickly and quietly as she always did. She went straight to the pig pen where
her father's pigs wallowed in the mud. She threw some slop in the trough, as was her chore, and went
to milk the family's cow. As she knelt by the stool, hidden by the cow's huge though skinny flank, she
unwrapped the day's breakfast. “How odd,” she thought as she pulled a plain pine box, about the size
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of a music box but not nearly as elaborate, from the handkerchief wrapping. Before she had the chance
to examine it though, she felt two sets of eyes watching her from further inside the barn.
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“Okay you two, you can come out now. No need to hide from me.”
Traeder came out first, followed quickly by Ruth. Jesse's younger brother and sister seemed
mesmerized by the wooden block.
“I know what you two are waiting for,” Jesse threw the pair the half loaf of bread. Well it had been a
half loaf of bread. Jesse had eaten some of it so it was now more like a third of a loaf. Nonetheless,
the two quickly split what remained and ate hungrily.
“Now, how do you suppose we open you?” Jesse looked all around the box for some kind of latch or
even a seam. It looked as though it were a simple block of wood though. However, it was too light and
had to be hollow. Jesse held it up to her ear and shook it. She heard a rattle from within.
“Well now, what be in there?” Jesse was still examining the box when Traeder, only ten-years-old and
a bit smaller than Jesse, who had just turned thirteen, grabbed the box from her hand.
“Here, Jess, I can open it, watch,” Jesse stared in disbelief as her brother held the box over his head and
threw it to the ground. The cry of outrage had barely escaped Jesse's breath when the wooden box
crashed to the ground, bounced underneath the cow, and landed near Ruth's feet. The box was not even
scratched.
“That's not pine,” Traeder exclaimed. Traeder spoke so loudly that Jesse shushed him, reminding him
that it was still early and their neighbors were sleeping.
“Perhaps not, what is it though?” Ruth knelt down to pick up the box. As she did so, some words
began to appear. The letters started off as the lines in the grain of the wood, they started to swirl and
move, and finally they formed shapes and then letters. Jesse and Traeder quickly ran over to the box
and likewise stared as the writing materialized.
“To be held for Hatch, Prince.” the letters were clear and stayed that way for just a moment before the
lines started twisting this way and that again until only the grain of the wood remained.
“Who is this Hatch?” Traeder seemed perturbed that someone might be trying to meet his sister without
him knowing.
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“I don't know, I know who the prince is though, and I'm not at all excited to meet him,” Jesse
answered. Traeder stood as tall as he could, “Well he seems to want to meet you. Jesse, I shall have to
escort you tomorrow. It isn't safe for a girl to be running around the city at night meeting princes and
all.”
Jesse rubbed her brother's head. He was three years younger than her but he was already almost as tall
as she was.
“Oh how valiant. Thank you brother, but no. Perhaps I shan't even go to meet him at all. I'm sure a
boy should send flowers before telling a girl to meet him at night.”
Just then a large and coarse hand reached down and lifted Jesse up by the scruff of her neck. It was her
father. Traeder started sputtering some form of explanation about waking early to milk the chickens
and walk the pigs. Lucky for all of them, their father was in a good mood.
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“That's good, you all woke early and I see the pigs are fed and it looks as though Jesse was teaching
you how to milk Tessa. He knelt down and, much to the dismay of his children, he picked up the
wooden box. As he lifted it up to inspect it, the words dissipated back into the grain of the wood.
“Ruth, don't bring your toys out here, keep you wood blocks in the house.” He handed the treasure to
Ruth and she obediently walked inside, Traeder and Jesse following close behind her. All three
children were eager to see what else the “block” might have to say. The block, however, had other
ideas. It stayed a wooden block the rest of that day. Jesse's curiosity soon overcame her own sense of
pride and she decided that, flowers or no, she would go see the prince the next morning at the usual
time and place. As she went to sleep, she dreamed of adventure and intrigue. If she knew what was in
store for her though she'd have scarcely been able to sleep at all.
Chapter 8
Every child in the Realms knew what Riders were. Or rather, they knew what they weren't. They
weren't real or at least that's what their parents and teachers taught them. Every child had heard the
stories though. Dark clad shadows that rode on the thoughts and fears of their prey. Some people said
they were like skeletons, others said they were ethereal like ghosts, and still others thought they were
beasts who stood on two feet like men. All of the stories were fantasy, but like all fantasies they spoke
an ounce of truth.
As Jade's family amused themselves inside the farmhouse with raspberry pie and games of dice, the
Riders swirled their insidious presence in the forest on the outskirts of the farm. The entire family was
oblivious to the danger that awaited. Mr. James however sat on the porch smoking his pipe as he stared
out into the woods, vigilantly watching the night.
“They're here you know.” The voice popped into Jade's head again clear as day. At first she thought it
was just her imagination or perhaps a stray thought of her own. However, she quickly learned to
discern the voice's origin. Jade looked at Devin and asked aloud, “What? Who?” The rest of the family
looked at her wondering who she was talking to.
“The Shadow Riders, they are outside. Go to the window.” Jade got up as nonchalantly as she could
and went over to the window. There was a crash and shattered glass sprayed Jade's face as Mr. James's
arm and half of his shoulder burst through the glass and into the living room. Jade had just enough
time to glimpse Devin's pink eyes staring back at her as Mr. James pulled her through the window and
started carrying her over to his buggy. His hand was holding her mouth so tight that she could hardly
breathe let alone scream for help. She closed her eyes and tried to use her Vision. However, the fear in
her throat and in the pit of her stomach made it impossible for her to concentrate long enough to focus
her will on anything but her own plight.
Doc ran to the window and grabbed at Jade's feet as they slipped into the darkness. The empty night air
met his grasp. He had just enough time to yell Jade's name when the front door exploded into the home
mixing splinters and debris with the broken glass. The darkness, the emptiness, the despair rushed in
like a flood. One moment the figures, the Riders, looked like shadows, the next they looked like robed
men, the next they looked like pure darkness. Not just their form but their very substance shifted
seamlessly as they scurried about the house sniffing out their prey. Doc wielded a chair like a club and
felt it smash into a thousand pieces on the floor as it flew right threw a Rider's chest. Tam's scream was
cut short as another Rider drew the breath from her lungs and let her slip into unconsciousness. Syd
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ran to the door followed closely by Doc who could not bear to lose two children to the dark that night.
Devin sat calmly by the fire, the red of the flames dancing in his eyes.
Then it was over. The Riders dissipated into nothingness as quickly as they had come. Devin was
gone too. It was as though a window had been opened and the dawn's light had chased the shadows
away into nothingness. Only it was not dawn, it was night, and the farmhouse's living room was filled
with the sound of Doc's angered shouts and Tam's gasps for breath. Doc looked all over the farm for
Mr. James, his buggy, and Jade, but he couldn't find anything. As the first rays of dawn peeked over
the horizon, he decided to abandon his search and to start the lonely walk into town. He got Gravey
from the stall, but as soon as the mule was out of the barn he reared up on his hind legs, knocked Doc
to the ground, and ran off into the forest. Doc walked into town alone, silent tears writing sonnets
across his darkened countenance.
Chapter 9
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As the first rays of sunshine lit up the castle wall, Jesse was waiting patiently in the shadow of an old
oak tree, as she did each morning, waiting for the owl hoot signaling the arrival of her anonymous
benefactor. She heard the hoot, but this time it came from behind her. She spun around just in time to
see a rather small figure dart into the shadows beside one of the houses lining the road nearest the
castle. As was her custom, she hooted in response and thereby signaled her location to the boyish
figure trying to hide in the bushes. The prince made his way over to the tree where he had heard the
hoot, but when he got there, no one was there, or rather he couldn't see anyone there. Jesse had sprung
up into the tree as quick and as nimble as a cat in the time it took Hatch to cross the street.
“Psst, where are you?” Hatch was not accustomed to having to hide. Generally when he entered a
room everyone, except his father of course, was made to avert their eyes or fall to a knee out of respect.
He was not in his castle though and these streets were Jesse's playground. She watched from her perch
in the oak tree while Hatch scratched his head in puzzlement. He even looked up into the tree but Jesse
was able to hide so skillfully that his eyes looked right over her.
After waiting a few moments to make sure the young, clumsy prince was alone, Jesse swung down
from the branch and landed silently behind her young counterpart. She tapped him on the shoulder and
Hatch nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked at Jesse, a look of incredulity growing on his face.
“What do you think . . .” Jesse put a soft finger over Hatch's lips and signaled him to follow her. The
prince did his best to scurry silently in Jesse's wake, but the effort seemed to draw more attention than
it diverted. Finally, Jesse found a dark spot under the stairwell to a local butcher's shop and she pulled
the prince into the shadows.
“Well, I suppose that introductions are in order,” the confidence in Jesse's voice surprised even her.
Hatch, dressed as he was in a simple cloak and without his entourage announcing his every move,
seemed a little plain.
“I am Herald, son of Alejandro, first in line to the . . .”
“Yes, I know who you are. I meant that I should introduce myself. I'm Jesse.” Jesse held out her hand
to shake Hatch's, but the young prince merely looked at it not knowing what to do with the gesture. He
was used to his subjects kissing his ring or falling at his feet but the idea of a handshake was a
completely alien concept to him. Just then a familiar voice, familiar to the prince at least, joined the
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conversation.
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“Your highness, you may take the young lady's hand and tell her your name.” Hatch and Jesse both
spun around in complete surprise to see Simon, the king's royal adviser, removing a hood from is head.
“You did not think I'd let you wander about the city unsupervised did you? Who would see to your
lessons after all?” Hatch didn't seem to know whether to scold his father's aide or to run away from
him. Jesse, for her part, drew a knife and started to back away. Simon scarcely looked her direction
but said in such a soothing and persuasive voice, “calm dear,” that Jesse lowered the knife and simply
stood there waiting for what Simon might say next.
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Simon often had that effect on people. That was one reason that he was one of the king's most trusted
advisers. What he said just seemed to make sense, even when dealing with very complicated situations
and problems. Simon's words and the ideas behind them seemed so simple and so correct that one had
no real option but to follow his suggestion. Jesse felt the knife drop to the ground.
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“As I was saying, Hatch, you may take the young lady's hand and introduce yourself.” Simon pushed
Hatch forward slightly so that he almost stumbled in to Jesse who was still looking at Simon, a look of
fascination on her face.
“I'm Hatch,” the introduction was as awkward as the handshake, but Simon seemed satisfied.
“Well you two, lets get a room at the inn shall we. Jesse my dear, you should really come with us. I
know your parents might be worried for a moment but, since you are in the prince's service, I'm sure
they'll understand.” Jesse nodded along blankly. Of course her parents would understand, Simon said
so.
Simon led the two children through the streets, which were now barely lit by the rays of dawn. They
found a simple, plain, but clean inn. Once Simon had made the arrangements, the three retired to their
room to discuss their next move.
Chapter 10
Alejandro woke up before dawn as he usually did. He started each day deliberately and that usually
meant that he started it with a period of meditation in his chapel. Alejandro didn't go to church, but he
built one on his castle grounds nonetheless. The Gothic architecture, stained glass windows, ill lit
interior and melancholic mood made for a pleasing place for him to clear his mind. This morning
though, as he knelt in front of the alter, he felt something awry. Alejandro felt something slipping from
his imagined control.
Whenever someone becomes too accustomed to thinking that they are in control, the realization that
they really aren't in control can cause quite a peculiar feeling. This morning, as Alejandro sat stewing
over his own devious vices there at the alter of the church he built for his own pleasure, he felt it. Fate
was turning things its own way. For many years now, Alejandro had stood against the tide, trying to
hold back the sea from its inevitable encroachment onto the shores of his kingdom. He knew his
attempts to thwart fate, to upset the Balance, would be in vain. Yet filled with pride as he was, he kept
trying to assert his will over the Balance. What he knew, but insistently pretended that he did not
know, was that water always finds its level; the stars keep turning in the heavens; and fate marches on
to its own drum despite the efforts of men to skew its rhythm with their own sycophantic interruption.
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Alejandro opened his eyes with a start. He looked around; he was still alone in his chapel.
“The boy,” he thought aloud, “where is that boy?” In one fluid motion he stood, turned, and his cloak
billowed out behind him as he strode out the open doors into the cool, brisk morning. He headed
straight over to his son's wing of the castle. Technically, the west wing of the castle together with its
dining room, kitchen, and garden, was assigned to Hatch; however, it also housed all of his brothers,
sisters and the small army of nannies, cooks, and maids who tended them.
Mrs. Peabody met the king at the door and immediately fell to her knees in submission.
“Where is the boy?” When the king asked for the boy, there was only one boy that he might be
referring to: his eldest, his heir. His other children were secondary and of little import in his plans for
the kingdom. In fact, he had even considered killing them all to avoid any sibling rivalry or the
prospect that his kingdom might be divided after his death. It was only Hatch's steadfast pleas that
spared his siblings' lives.
“In his chamber Sire, it is not yet dawn. He usually does not wake until breakfast.”
“Show me,”
Mrs. Peabody rushed down the hallways with Alejandro never more than two steps behind her. She
ushered the maids out of the way as she went so as not to draw Alejandro's ire. When she got to the
main chamber, Hatch's bedroom, she stopped and knelt.
“Sire, we are ordered to never enter here before dawn.”
Alejandro pushed Mrs. Peabody and her ample frame out of the way with his knee as he flung the doors
open only to find the bedroom empty.
“Herald!” the king roared. The entire wing came to a stand still as the bustling maids, cooks, and
errand boys stopped out of pure fright. The prince was gone and even though Alejandro had the entire
royal staff search all morning, he was not found anywhere on the castle grounds. Mrs. Peabody
organized and ran the search of the west wing. She searched frantically, yet her demeanor became
increasingly morose as the futility of the search became apparent. By mid-morning she had resigned
herself to her fate and the king's order to let her rot in the dungeon came as no surprise.
Shortly thereafter, once the sun was high in the sky, the king's personal guard issued forth from the
castle gates on horseback to scour the city for the heir to the throne. Alejandro called for his chief
adviser to further discern how best to search the city. Simon was nowhere to be found though. The
rumors flew faster than the king's guard. The royal adviser had kidnapped the king's son. Most
assumed that the kidnapping was a ploy for a ransom or part of some other kingdom's plot to invade
The Realms. Meanwhile, Simon, Jesse, and Hatch sat in a small room in a nondescript inn on the
outskirts of Vercouth, the royal city, deciding their next move.
Jesse and Hatch both stared entranced as Simon carried the wooden box around the room. The light
from the fire, since the curtains were drawn, was the only real light in the room. It danced off of
Simon's hands and accentuated the intrigue of the small wooden article he held under his arm.
“Hatch, this was foolhardy. It was brash.” Simon shook his head, “your father will now likely set the
whole army on a search. Had it just been for you, he may have sent a search party, perhaps even
assigned a unit to it, but for this,” Simon stared at the box, “he will stop at nothing.”
Hatch knew that the box he held was his father's most prized possession. Alejandro had waged a war
on the northern tribes to obtain it. Even now it rarely, if ever, left Alejandro's chamber. Hatch didn't
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know what it did though. He just figured that something worth fighting a war over might come in
handy someday. Such is the wisdom, and the foolishness, of children sometimes.
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“What is it?” Jesse asked the question that even Hatch was too timid or too proud to ask.
“Well, technically we don't know,” Simon was pacing in front of the fire examining the box from this
side and that; suddenly he tossed the wooden block into the fire as Hatch stifled a cry in his throat and
nearly dove headlong into the fireplace to retrieve it.
Simon held out his hand, and Hatch sat back cross legged on the floor staring forlornly at the box
through the flames.
Simon plucked the box from the flames with a pair of fireside tongs and continued, “what we do know
is that nothing can harm this box, or open it,” and true to Simon's word, the box was unscathed by the
heat. It was even cool to the touch. “There are some who believe that only the Morning Star can open
it and that then The Realms will be made one under her rule.” Yes, the prophesies. Every child had
heard of the Morning Star, a great leader who would overthrow tyranny and rule the land during a time
of plenty. Most of The Realms thought that the prophesies were nice children's stories and not
something to be taken seriously. For who could imagine a life without tyranny, without oppression, a
life where people were free to be and do what they wanted? Well for those who could imagine it, the
prophesies and the prospect of the Morning Star, were very real, very real indeed.
Open eyes in the morning
To greet the sun's first ray
As the dew is swallowed and the lead in it hollowed
Night dissolves into day
Come sweet child with the wind as your steed
Come and carry us through
The night let it falter as we learn to alter
The world with our very mood
The Morning Star lights the way and calls forth the day
So hang your head low now with dread
You tyrants and thieves from your castle you breathe
Down our necks as we beg you for bread.
It was a song Jesse had learned from her mother in hushed tones. It seemed it was a tune that everyone
knew but no one sang. It was new to Hatch though and as Jesse sang the verse he listened intently.
Chapter 11
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Jade opened her eyes, it was dark though. She tried to sit up, but she was tied down to something. She
tried to scream, but there was a rag in her mouth. Panic subsided and a firm but comforting hand
rubbed her shoulder.
“Good, you are awake,” it was Mr. James, “I'm going to take your blindfold off now. Just relax.
You're in a safe place now.” Jade flinched, as a hand brushed her face to remove the blindfold. The
blindfold was lifted and Jade squinted as the mid-morning sun caught her eyes.
Mr. James started untying the ropes around Jade's hands and feet and quickly loosened the
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handkerchief tied around her mouth.
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“What . . . why . . . father . . .” Jade had so many questions, so many thoughts all racing through her
mind at once, that she did the first thing she thought of: she started to run. Mr. James caught her
though and held her close to his chest. This was the man who had pulled her through the window and
away from her father. She kicked at him and tried to bite his arm. But then a thought occurred to her,
it came through with clarity and calmness in the midst of her panic. “Did he kidnap you or save you
dear; don't make assumptions here. Get informed and then decide your next move.” The voice wasn't
intrinsically audible but it rang clearly in Jade's consciousness. She calmed down as Mr. James
loosened his grip and let her sit down by his buggy.
Jade looked around, calmer this time. She was clearly in the forest. Which one she wasn't sure, but it
was near the coast. She could tell that by the brush and bushes under the trees. She heard Mr. James's
mare huff a sigh of relief as Jade turned to see the welcoming eyes of the horse, apparently also glad
that Jade was now awake. The buggy was in bad shape, there were rips in its side and one of the
wheels was nearly splintered. When Jade looked again at the mare, she could see that the horse had an
arrow sticking out of her flank.
“What happened?” Jade asked with trepidation but with calmness in her voice.
“Riders,” Mr. James looked at the ground as he spoke. “Riders came to your home shortly after we got
there. I thought I sensed them as we were riding home but I couldn't be sure. I saw them only a
moment before they got to the door. I pulled you out the other side of the house to get you to safety.”
Riders? They were the things of children's stories and child's play. Her mother used to threaten her
with riders for not doing the dishes. They weren't real, were they? She closed her eyes and thought for
a moment. Yes, they were real, and she had sensed them too, so had Gravey. Until now though, Jade
just hadn't known what it was she was sensing.
“Ma, Pa, and Syd, oh and Devin?” Jade started to become frantic again, “what happened to them?”
Mr. James answered, “As far as I could tell, the Riders all followed us. They wanted you, not your
family. Your family is likely just fine. As for Devin, well I believe he is playing a greater part in this
game than we first gave him credit for.”
“Do you think he was with the Riders?”
“Not necessarily, but I think that his appearance and that of the Riders was connected somehow.” Jade
nodded in agreement, “whether he was leading them or running from them is yet to be seen.”
Just then, they heard movement in the bushes behind the buggy. Mr. James grabbed his cane as a
weapon in one hand and held a dagger in the other. He and Jade both spun towards the source of the
noise. Jade was calm as she heard a familiar and welcome bray. It was Gravey, and on his back rode
Devin calm and cool as could be.
“Well, if Gravey likes him then he can't be all bad.” Jade ran up to Gravey and threw her arms around
his neck in a tearful embrace. All of the pent up emotion about Riders, her family, being whisked away
in the night, and being tied up all rushed forth in a tearful explosion. That's right she was tied up, Jade
thought, why would Mr. James tie her up? There was more going on than she knew and something told
her to be very careful and play her cards close to her chest. For this moment though, Jade was just
happy to be with her best friend, Gravey.
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“At least I can count on you boy, can't I.”
Gravey looked back at her and brayed in agreement. Devin looked at Mr. James and smiled sheepishly,
still not saying a word.
Chapter 12
The knock on the door was scarcely loud enough to hear before it flew open in a shower of splinters.
Hatch and Jesse both screamed. Simon turned around, dagger in hand, to see three of the king's guards
looming in the doorway.
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“What is the meaning of this?” Simon tried to look intimidating but the guards were clearly
unimpressed.
“You, Simon of the Cloth, are under arrest for crimes against the crown. Seize him. Bring the boy and
the girl too.”
Hatch and Jesse looked at each other and then at Simon wondering what to do next. Jesse had had
several experiences with the king's guards and took charge quickly. She charged headlong into the
group of guards, knocking over a table as she barreled into the largest guard with her knife out and her
teeth bared. Hatch ordered her to stop and then ordered a guard to hold Jesse down. No one was
listening to a word he had to say though. Simon, for his part, stood watching the events unfold with a
keen and wary eye.
Jesse bit down hard on the hand of the guard that held her. His grip loosened just enough for her to slip
away and clamber between another guard's legs. She was through the door. She looked up and saw
three more guards. One was wearing the helmet of a commander and two had crossbows aimed in her
direction. The commander held up his arm, signaling the archers to hold their fire. Jesse knew that
there was a time to fight, a time to run, and a time to live to fight another day. She dropped her knife
and struggled little when a strong hand grasped her from behind.
Simon calmly told the three guards in the room that they should let him talk to their commander. The
guards agreed. After all, this was the king's first adviser and the commander should be the one to
decide what to do with his quarry. As Simon walked into the hall, he implored the archers to lower
their weapons. After all, what danger could he and a girl pose to such a heavily armed contingent. The
archers dropped their weapons and let them fall to the ground. Finally, Simon stood face to face with
the commander who was still holding up his arm signaling the cease fire.
“What is the meaning of this? What have we done? You know that I am the prince's tutor and that he
is in the room. Why, pray tell, have you interrupted this lesson?”
The commander thought for a moment, things suddenly seemed foggy to him. Why was he there? Did
his men really almost shoot the king's first adviser? Suddenly what was so clear a moment earlier
seemed cloudy and nonsensical.
“It seems to me, for whatever that's worth after all I'm not a military man, but it seems to me that this is
a matter I should discuss with the king” Simon's suggestions just made so much sense. Of course this
was a matter for the king to discuss with his chief adviser. What were the guards even doing there? It
must simply be some misunderstanding. The commander finally lowered his arm far enough to scratch
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his head.
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Simon continued, “Perhaps it would be best for you to let me accompany the prince and his classmate,”
Simon motioned over to Jesse who was still being held by one of the guards, “back to the castle to
speak with the boy's father.”
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The commander answered before he even realized what he was doing. “Sir,” he was talking to Simon,
“I must insist that you proceed directly to the king. Escort the prince and his classmate back to the
castle, and tell the king that my men found you here. The king has requested the presence of his son.”
“Well, I hate to cut a lesson short but I suppose your order does make sense. Very well, I shall escort
the prince back to the castle immediately.”
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The commander gestured to have two of his men serve as an escort. Simon raised his hand, stopping
the men in their tracks. “This has been quite traumatic for the young prince. As you can imagine, he is
not accustomed to being threatened with swords and arrows. Perhaps it would be best to let me
accompany the children by myself.”
“Sir I must order you to escort these children directly to the king. You do not need an escort today, but
you are to proceed there immediately.”
“Of course, of course. Children, follow me right this way.”
Hatch and Jesse both held on to Simon's hands as though their deliverance and salvation depended on
it. The trio calmly but quickly walked through the inn's doors and into the mid-morning sunlight. The
guards, still mesmerized by the eloquence of Simon's speech, stood still and simply let their prey walk
away.
Once they were outside, Simon ushered the children quickly around one corner and then another.
Whenever either child tried to speak to him, Simon just shushed them quietly and hurried them along.
It wasn't until they were several blocks away, and almost out of breath, that he stopped long enough to
talk to them. He pulled them into an alleyway as they both started asking him questions.
“How did you do that?” Jesse was staring up at Simon, a look of wonder on her face, “How did you
make all those men, the king's guard no less, let us just walk away?”
“Some call it the power of persuasion. Remember child that a persuasive argument can turn away a
sword faster and with less bloodshed than a shield.” Simon made so much sense, of course it could.
Hatch seemed unimpressed, “so that's it then, you're taking me back to my father?”
“Well that might not be very good for my health, or for Jesse's for that matter.” Simon scratched his
chin as he thought about their next move. “No. I think that it's wiser for us to keep moving. I like my
head where it is and would prefer not to donate it to the chopping block just yet. What were you doing
this morning anyway. Why run away?”
“Well, my father . . . it's just that . . . my kitten,”
“That's enough child, I understand.” Simon continued on in a hushed tone, “Hatch, listen and listen
closely for this decision is yours to make. You may make it now but there are consequences that
accompany it, whatever you decide to do. Those consequences affect many people, both those you
know and those you don't. You may return to the castle, tell them that I kidnapped you, and that you
escaped from me. Your father will take you back and likely be proud that you were able to thwart my
plan.”
“But that's not what . . .” Simon held up a finger and Hatch was silent.
“Listen boy, you may go home or you may come with me and Jesse,” this time Jesse spoke up,
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“I never said I was going anywhere. Where is my decision in this?”
Simon sighed a patient sigh, “My dear, you do not have a choice in this matter. Your path has been laid
out for you. You cannot return home. If you do, the king will kill you and your family. No, your fate
is tied to mine from now on and tonight you and I shall go to a safe-house I know and soon we shall
sneak out of the city and seek refuge elsewhere.” Simon turned his attention back to the prince, “Sire,
you may return home or throw your lot in with me and Jesse. The road will not always be easy. It will
not always be fun. But it will be adventurous, and dangerous. I pledge my life to your safety though.
The choice is yours.”
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Hatch looked to Jesse for guidance. She was staring at the ground. She was still apparently digesting
the prospect of never seeing her family again. He looked to Simon who offered no persuasion or
suggestion one way or the other. Finally, he followed his heart.
“I choose to follow you. Where shall we go Simon?”
No sooner had Hatch announced his decision then Simon gave the signal and the wall behind them
opened up to reveal a secret door and a passageway. “This way my prince, come this way. This is a
safe-house for those fighting against or condemned by your father. We are safe here and we are among
friends.”
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The doorway was guarded by two burly men with swords tied to their hips and tattoos on their arms.
They did not look like savory people but then savory characters come in all shapes and sizes. One
man's criminal is another man's savior just like one man's king is another man's tyrant. Hatch got quite
an education that day and his adventure had just begun.
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“Where are we going Simon?” Hatch finally managed to ask.
“We seek the Morning Star son. We seek the Morning Star.”
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Chapter 13
Jade's feet felt numb. They had stopped hurting hours ago. It seemed that they had walked for days.
Mr. James insisted that they stay away from the road. He said it was too dangerous. Since they were
forced to walk through the dense and dark forest, they had to leave the buggy behind. Moreover, there
were too many low hanging branches to ride either the mare or Gravey. No, they had been forced to
make this journey on foot one long mile after another.
In reality, they had only been walking for a couple of hours but Jade was tired. She had not slept
properly the night before.
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“How much further?” Jade asked.
Mr. James turned to where Jade and Devin followed behind him, “Well, I imagine the journey will take
us far across The Realms. There are Riders on our trail dear or did you forget.”
Jade had not forgotten. She remembered the Riders and the chill they sent down her spine all too well.
She was happy to get as far away from them as possible.
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“Food,” the word resounded in her head clearly as though it had been spoken. She looked over at
Devin who was staring at his shoes; his stomach was rumbling.
“Perhaps we can stop for lunch,” Jade half asked, half ordered Mr. James to slow his relentless pace.
“And what my dear do you suppose we should eat?”
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Jade closed her eyes for a moment and visualized her next meal. A moment later, she looked Mr. James
directly in the eyes, “There is a hare caught in a snare just around the corner there. Some blue berries
in a patch behind us could make a nice sauce.” Mr. James looked at her, puzzled for a moment, but he
marched off and returned minutes later with a hare in his hand and two pockets full of blueberries.
Jade figured that her father wouldn't mind it if she used her Vision under these circumstances. After all,
what would happen to the Balance if she died of hunger. No, she was sure that using her Vision this
time was just fine.
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Mr. James built a small and very hot fire and roasted the rabbit quickly in the coals. As soon as the
meal was cooked though, he put the fire out so as not to attract the attention of their pursuers. Once the
three of them had eaten and were licking the last of the blue berries from their fingers, Jade decided to
ask Mr. James some of the questions that had been plaguing her.
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“How did you know?” Jade asked.
“What dear? Eat your rabbit,” was Mr. James's curt response.
“How did you know they were coming?”
“How does one know anything? What kind of question is that?” Jade could sense that Mr. James was
playing games with his words again.
“It's a sincere one. And sometimes people know something's going to happen because they planned it.
I answered your questions now how about mine?” Jade wouldn't let Mr. James get away without
addressing her honest inquiry.
Mr. James smiled and shook his head, “Well well, you are growing up aren't you. Jade, haven't you
ever just known something was going to happen. I mean, not just thought it might or that it probably
should but just known it was going to happen just like you know that the sun is going to rise in the
morning?” Jade wasn't sure that she knew what Mr. James meant.
“Well sure, I know my pa will get mad if I don't do my chores.”
“No, no, that's something different. You know that will happen because you can put those series of
events into motion. If you initiate the cause, then you can expect the outcome. No, what I'm talking
about is something deeper. You see Jade,” Mr. James thought for a moment. Was Jade old enough to
handle this part of the Truth? Well it seemed that fate had forced the matter in this regard. She had to
be ready because there was not much time left. “Everything is connected. Everything is part of one
big moment. Everything that will happen has happened before and will happen again and is happening
now.” Jade looked at Mr. James sceptically. Was he just playing his games again? “Sometimes we feel
things that have already happened and we feel them happening again. Other times we think, or know,
something will happen and we make it happen. Take a self-fulfilling prophesy for instance . . .”
Jane had had enough, “Were you working with the Riders?”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you mean what do I mean?”
“Was I working with the Riders? Why would you ask me that? If I wanted to harm you, wouldn't I
have just killed you on the road? Nobody would have missed you for hours and even then no one
would have expected me.”
Mr. James looked to his feet. Jade was not ready yet for the deeper Truth but she was getting there. He
was also sure that the experiences in store for them would cause her to mature quickly. After all, there
is no greater teacher than experience itself.
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Jade looked up and saw Devin staring at her. He was obviously well fed and ready to continue the
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journey. “Well, what was his answer?” Devin's voice rang in her head. Jade thought a moment, what
was Mr. James's answer? Was he working with the Riders?
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Chapter 14
Over seas and through the field
We wage our war and never yield
To hunger that comes to satisfy minds
Through desert sands and sands of time
You know us well, oh sweet sweet child
Wisdom of ages and yet so mildly taking each stride with confident purpose
The only way to the rest of the chorus
Is to walk like you mean
Act like you seen
Know that you bring
And float gently down the stream
Gently down the stream.
The “safe house,” as Simon called it, wasn't really a house at all. Rather, it was a series of tunnels.
Some were lit while others were darker than the darkest of nights. As far as Jesse could tell, the tunnels
connected a series of bars, shops, and houses around the city. Simon pointed to a series of pull-strings
on the ground. There was a pull-string embedded in the wall every twenty meters or so. Simon
explained that, if someone was ever being chased by the king's guards or if any of the king's men found
out about the tunnels, someone could just pull one of those strings and that part of the tunnel would
collapse. Hatch asked how the person being chased got out of the way of the collapsing tunnel, and
Simon just looked at the ground and explained that sometimes one person's life must be sacrificed to
ensure the safety of the rest of the hive. Whenever someone pulled a pull-string, it was called the last
gift. It was the last, and greatest, gift that that person would give the rest of the resistance.
After wandering around the tunnels for what seemed like hours, Simon finally led them into a large but
ill-lit chamber. There was a table in the middle of the room and a simple meal had already been placed
there along with water and some wine for Simon.
“How are we ever expected to find our way out of here?” Jesse asked Simon with just a hint of alarm in
her voice.
“Well dear, that's the other defense we have against anyone who might chase us through the tunnels.
Unless someone is intimately familiar with the dark twists and turns, they can wander around here for
days without finding a way out or seeing another soul. Stick with me child and you won't get lost.”
Jesse found little comfort in Simon's words this time. She knew her parents were looking for her. And
her siblings would likely go hungry without the daily meal she brought them each morning. She
thought that, guards or no, she would rather be at home than in this stuffy room under ground. She
decided that, if men were meant to live underground, they'd all see in the dark. She missed the sun
already.
“Simon, where are we going?” Hatch asked between bites from a turkey drumstick.
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“Well, first of all we must see to our appearance. I have some friends here who are experts in disguise.
The guards are looking for a man traveling with two children, a boy and a girl. They will never suspect
an old washer woman with two young girls in her care.”
Jesse giggled. At last Simon said something that cheered her up. When three women entered the room
with scissors, dresses, and stern looks on their faces, she smiled long and hard. When Hatch spat his
turkey all over the table in protest against what was obviously about to happen she let out a long and
hearty laugh.
Simon put on his wig and dress. One of the women painted a large mole on his face and thinned his
eyebrows. He spoke with a high and raspy voice and even Jesse could scarcely recognize him. Hatch
fought, commanded, and ordered the women to stop undressing him all to no avail. Before long, he
looked very pretty in a simple but nice sack-cloth dress, buckled shoes, and shoulder-length blonde
hair. Jesse thought about complimenting Hatch on how pretty he looked but thought better of it when
she saw the coals smoldering in his eyes. It was an excellent exercise for him though. A little bit of
humility, learned through experience, is an excellent preparatory tool for a future leader. At least that's
what Simon said.
Jesse was very pleased to see her dress. She was dressed in some of the finest clothes she had ever
seen. Her hair was washed and perfumed and she was given a silk scarf to tie behind her ears.
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Once the disguises were on, Simon began to describe their story and to explain their new identities. He
explained that Jesse, or Jezebel as she would now be known, was a noble young lady from Vercouth.
Hatch of course took offense at this, arguing that he was the noble one. However, Hatch dropped his
protests once Simon made fun of how pretty the scarf would look in Hatch's hair. Simon, or Sarah, was
Jezebel's maidservant. And Hatch was Sarah's daughter, who was aptly named Simone. Simon
explained that the disguises would get them out of the city, but once they got to the coast they could
change into their regular clothes.
“So we're never to return? My brother, my sister, they will be so hungry. My pa will likely be
searching the whole city for me, and my ma died of fever last year. Simon, Sarah, it's not fair on my
family.”
Simon answered her with a sympathetic voice, “You're right dear, it's not fair. Hatch and I both chose
our fates, but you had yours thrust upon you. Your family will mourn your passing for some time. Yes,
they'll be told that you drowned in the river fishing for trout,” Jesse was crying. It wasn't just the
thought of her family's grief that upset her so. Jesse was upset because she knew that she'd never die
fishing, why couldn't the story be more glamorous?
Simon continued, “after that child, rest assured that your family now has many many friends at their
disposal. Everything will be easier for them now. Shopkeepers will discount their goods for no
apparent reason. Your father will have no trouble selling his farm goods and he can now take work
nearly anywhere in the city, and employers will be quick to hire him and pay him well. Our friends in
the resistance are quiet and subtle but we have vast reach, and once we decide to take care of someone
they are never in want again. You have made a sacrifice, of sorts, but your family will be well
rewarded for it. Plus, I imagine that the level of adventure in store for you makes this, not a sacrifice,
but a gift from providence herself. But child, rest assured that your family has no need to worry. And
nor do you, I swear it.”
Again there was something so comforting about the tone of Simon's voice. Jesse, strong willed as ever,
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shook her head against his spell and looked him straight in the eye.
“You brought me here Simon, speak plainly with me. You have a silver tongue yes, I see that, but
speak plainly with me and use not any of your magic or spells.”
Simon was at once taken aback by the candid tone that Jesse took with him. She was right, he did have
a silver tongue. It was a gift and a magic of sorts. He had the uncanny ability to persuade people to
believe anything he said. Very few people could see through it, and it seemed that Jesse was one of
those people. Her discernment and resistance to magic was a gift too and a rare one. It seemed that
fate put her in their group for a reason.
“As you wish my dear. I shan't use the magic in my voice to influence you again.”
“Magic voice, what? What about me? I don't much like the thought of you using magic against me
either, Simon.” Simon turned towards Hatch who looked very funny. There he was shouting orders in
his dress and pretty shoes, his hands on his hips. It's not that someone can't issue orders or demand
attention in a dress, it's just that Hatch didn't do it very well.
“Sire, magic? Would I use magic against one as powerful as you? Really sire, I have pledged myself
to your safety haven't I? Would I lie to you?” Jesse could feel Simon's subtle magic course through the
tone of his voice. Hatch, however, took what Simon said in stride and agreed that the matter was
settled.
“Good.” Hatch's voice had the air of finality. Jesse wondered whether he even heard what Simon said,
or rather what he didn't say.
And so it was that an old washer woman and the two girls in her care left the tunnels of the resistance
well fed, well equipped, and well dressed. The city looked different to Jesse. It might have been her
clothes or the way people reacted to her. People rushed to get out of her way and they seemed eager to
entice her to stop and examine their wares.
As she passed a butcher who had caught her shoplifting sausage a week earlier, she had to stifle a laugh
when he insisted that she try a free sample of his best bratwurst. She enjoyed the bite of sausage
immensely, mainly for the irony it provided. However, she didn't enjoy it nearly as much as she
enjoyed giving the sausage she stole to her brother and sister for breakfast. She supposed that things
would be fine for them as Simon had said. She could already tell that the resistance had “friends” all
over the city. One man would nod silently to Simon and another might scratch his nose or tip his hat in
silent recognition. Nobody harassed them as they made their way through the city until they reached
the city gates. There, it was no longer possible to avoid the guard who were on high alert looking for
the prince and the king's last first adviser.
Jesse held her breath as Simon walked right up to one of the guards manning the gate and started
yelling at him. Even Hatch, for all the orders and commands he was used to giving, stood dumbstruck.
They were, after all, supposed to be avoiding suspicion weren't they?
“Look you, I don't care how big your sword is. Do you know who this is?” Simon gestured over to
Jesse, “This is Lady Jezebel of the Fourlight South,” Jesse did her best to look regal as Simon winked
at her and came and knelt at her feet. “Milady, milady I'm so sorry for this delay. Please forgive me,
these louts,” he nodded over to the guard who was becoming increasingly impatient, “won't let us to the
front of the line.” Simon again approached the guard, “Look you, we need to get to Burberry before
nightfall. I insist that you examine us now. Let us through.”
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The guard looked at Simon with disdain. “I don't care who either of your girls are here Mam, but we
are under strict orders to look for the prince. In fact, you go to the end of the line. You'll have to wait
even longer. When I've inquired of everyone else here, I'll consider whether to talk to you. I don't
appreciate your tone Mam. Not at all.”
The guard waved Simon and his “girls” to the back of the line where they waited and waited. Hatch
tried to talk to Simon frantically several times, but each time Simon silenced him with his finger.
“Watch and learn young prince, watch and learn,” was all he said.
When they reached the front of the line again, Simon demanded to see the guard's commanding officer.
“I want to see your commander right now sir. I demand it. This kind of treatment is not proper.”
“Look lady, I'm not calling my commander over here to talk to you. He's interrogating someone else
right now and does not have time for you. In fact neither do I. Get your girls and their stinking donkey
out of my sight. And don't you ever come back through these gates again while I'm on watch. Like I
said, I don't care who your girls are, just get going.”
Simon smiled just for a second, “well if you don't care who we are, then we'll just be on our way then.
No thanks to you, none at all.”
And just like that Sarah, Jezebel, and Simone signed the exit ledger and waltzed right through the open
gate. Not only were they permitted to leave the city, they were ordered to do so. Jesse could breathe a
little easier. Wherever she was going, she was sure that it would not be boring.
Chapter 15
It was well after dark before Mr. James heeded Jade's increasingly persistent demand to stop for the
night. Devin rode Gravey once the forest thinned enough to allow it. Mr. James and Jade rode the
mare. They made good time that day. The trio passed south of Merryweather as Jade said farewell to
the land she called home. By early afternoon, they reached the bank of the Fireside River. No one was
sure exactly who named the river but it was clear that many fires had ravaged the other side of it. The
river stood as a firebreak protecting the town, farms, and fishing villages from the wild fires that raged
through the forest every few years. The tree trunks on the other side of the river were still black from
the last fire.
Mr. James had Gravey and his horse trek through the swift current for over a mile to elude anyone who
might be following them. As the moon reached its peak, Mr. James announced his plan for the night.
“Well children, the town of Springinn is up ahead. I have friends there who would be glad to offer us
hospitality. We must be sure though that there are no riders in or around the town before we enter.”
The tone of Mr. James's voice was stern and serious. Both children listened intently as the gravity of
the situation began to sink in. “I can enter the town alone and find out whether anyone's been acting
odd or asking questions. I can do that quickly, but you must promise me that you'll stay here and
remain out of sight. Can you do that?” Both Devin and Jade nodded earnestly.
“Now listen carefully, if there have been inquiries made or if I smell trouble, I'll try and lead anyone
following us well away from here. If I'm not back by morning, both of you ride Gravey as quick as you
can back to town. Jade do you know the way.” She did, she knew it well. Jade had lived in and
around Merryweather her entire life.
“But why would we go back to town? Isn't that where the Riders are?”
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“If I don't return, it means I have led them far away. They'll be chasing me thinking that you two are in
my care. Town is the last place the Riders would think to look for you. After all, who in their right
mind would head back towards their pursuer?”
“Exactly! Who in their right mind would head back towards their pursuer?” Jade said sarcastically.
She was alarmed and looked at Mr. James sceptically.
“Exactly.” There was a note of finality as Mr. James got his mare ready to go.
Jade slept fitfully after Mr. James's departure. She and Devin made a rudimentary bed out of reeds and
brush and slept near each other for warmth. However, Jade's dreams were odd. She dreamed of a
tower: an enormous stronghold built by thousands of men over many years. It was crumbling to the
ground. She dreamed that she was alone left standing on top of the rubble, a scepter and a banner in
her hands. A sword, still sheathed, was hanging from her belt. She remembered looking over and
seeing the faces of her family, her friends, and even Devin and Gravey etched into the stones of the
tower that lay strewn around her feet. She woke suddenly to the sound of Gravey beating his hooves
against the ground and whinnying noisily.
Someone, or something, was coming. Jade sat bolt upright and gazed into the dark woods, which were
lit only by the pale moonlight. She heard a twig snap followed by a soft footstep. She stifled her urge
to call out to whoever was approaching their camp. A moment later, she noticed Devin silently but
wakefully scanning the woods for the source of the commotion. She heard a voice echo in her head.
“They are here somewhere, somewhere near. I can smell them.” She felt the malice in the voice. It
was dripping like sweat as it rang in her ear.
Suddenly another voice, Devin's, shouted at her to run. She could sense Gravey's earnest desire to flee
too. All of a sudden, time slowed and Jade saw the events unfold with perfect clarity in spite of the
ensuing chaos. Three dark shadows entered the camp. The Riders alternately sought to engulf Jade
and then Devin in their darkness. Gravey reared up on his hind legs and broke the harness that secured
him to the tree. Devin pulled a still smoldering branch from the fire and lunged at the dark silhouetted
figures. Gravey stomped directly on the coals of the fire and sent a shower of sparks and heat onto one
of the shapeless forms setting it alight and sending it running from the camp.
It was as though Jade were watching things unfold from a distance. As though she were watching
herself pick up her blade and fearlessly rush into the fray. She grabbed Devin's hand and Gravey's neck
simultaneously. Time was still unfolding slowly even though everything was happening at once. She
hurled herself onto Gravey's back in one fluid motion and then, with more strength than she knew she
had, she kicked Gravey's flank and hauled Devin onto his back. She blinked and time sped up.
“Hah,” she yelled as Gravey galloped through the brush. She closed her eyes and knew that Gravey
would find the way. Whether he was fueled by fear, adrenaline, or Jade's Vision, Gravey galloped
through the dark shadowy figures, one of whom was still engulfed in flames. Gravey galloped for what
seemed like hours. The two children did not know how far they had traveled or for how long, but they
knew they were deep in the forest and Mr. James was nowhere to be found. He had apparently failed to
lead the Riders away from their location.
“How did they know where to find us?” It was Devin's voice in Jade's head.
Jade replied audibly. “There was only one other person who knew where we were.”
They stopped for a moment and examined their surroundings. The brush was thick and went on in
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every direction.
“Where do we go now?” This time the voice wasn't quite audible, it was more of a feeling. Jade
recognized Gravey's honest inquiry. “Forward boy,” she patted his neck, “always forward.”
Chapter 16
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Jezebel, Sarah, and Simone walked through the gates of Vercouth and started walking north along the
Great Road. The Great Road connected The Realms from east to the west. It was dotted with small
forts and towers that housed the king's guards who ensured the safety of travelers and lined the king's
treasure rooms with the taxes they collected for their “protection.” When on the Great Road, travelers
did not have to fear bandits but many travelers complained that being robbed by bandits was both
cheaper and more pleasant than dealing with the king's guard so frequently.
“I'm not a girl, Simon!” Hatch was getting incensed with his continued disguise. Jesse, on the other
hand, was enjoying her regal attire and the kind attention it brought her.
“We are no longer in the city. Can't I take off this dress? I can hardly seem to walk in it.”
Simon reminded Hatch that his, or her, name was Sarah until further notice.
“Simone,” Simon said, even though Hatch still refused to respond to his assumed name, “you know
that the Great Road is crawling with the king's men. We must wait at least a couple more days before
we drop this guile. I find dresses quite refreshing to walk in. So much freer than trousers and it's nice
to feel the breeze down there.”
Jesse winced at Simon's attempt at humor and said, “I wonder if I can get us a horse though?” Jesse
looked around at the other farmers, merchants, and travelers passing them on the road. “I may at least
be able to get us a ride. You two wait here.” Jesse saw a caravan up ahead. It looked like it was led by
a merchant who was moving his wares from one place to another. She left Hatch and Simon by the
side of the road and approached the caravan with her wits, her appearance, and little else.
One of the hired guards, his sword displayed prominently by his side, stood up and put his hand on its
hilt as Jesse approached.
“Fear not sir, it's just I, a lady in waiting wondering if I may speak to your master.” Jesse assumed the
verbiage and carriage of a highborn noble with surprising ease.
“Look child, my master has no time for one such as you.”
“A pity that. I had thought that one with as much esteem as he might wish to do business with my
father.”
“What business is that dear, Trey Greenwald has loaded his carriages and is traveling to Firstbreeze
near the Southern Coast.” The guard paused for a moment wondering why he felt so compelled to
divulge his business to this child.
“Well, my father often buys fine wools from here and would welcome the opportunity to do business
with a merchant carrying such a fine selection. My birthday is coming up, and every year my father
throws me such a party.”
For some reason that he couldn't quite explain, the guard found himself interested in this child's story
about her birthday parties. Jesse continued undaunted and uninterrupted.
“Last year, I asked him for three bolts of silk from the Northern Tribes to make curtains for my doll
houses. Our servants traveled three weeks to purchase them directly from the Northern Tribes
themselves. This year I have asked him for the finest cotton prints to clothe my dolls. I have 243 of
them you see and they each must have a wardrobe. I saw your master's wares while his carriage was
being inspected at the gate and I thought that one roll in particular looked fine, very fine.” The guard
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examined Jesse closely, noting her lovely attire and pretty necklace. This child obviously had too much
money spent on her and here he was working hard for every copper coin his master threw his direction.
He started thinking and decided that he might profit from this girl's obvious greed and spoilment.
“Well dear, when is your father coming here?” the guard asked in an unusually smooth tone.
“Oh, he is behind us at least two hours.”
“Us? So you're not alone. Where is your mother then child?”
“My mother is with my father.”
“Who then are you here with?”
“I'm just here by myself?”
“By yourself, I think not child.” The guard was getting clearly agitated. This was not going at all how
Jesse had envisioned. The guard stood up and started looking back down the road.
“What is this? Some kind of trick?”
Jesse started to panic, and the guard could feel it. He could smell the growing fear on her. “No sir, no,
not a trick, I was just looking for . . .”
“Looking for what? Looking for trouble no doubt. Look here, I shall introduce you to my master. Put
your hands behind your back.” As the guard was tying Jesse's hands behind her, Simon walked up and
addressed the guard in his most persuasive and, in this case, feminine tone.
“Oh sir, I'm so glad you found our dear Lady Jezebel.”
“Lady? This child's barely thirteen, and she's no lady I dare say.”
“See sir, the thing is, she's not well. She escaped my most vigilant care just now and I have been
running around trying to find her.” Simon tried to explain.
“Who else are you with mam?” The guard was insistent.
“It's just me, my lady, and my daughter Simone here.” Simon gestured to where Hatch was lingering
somewhere behind.
“Well then you two best come with me too.”
“No sir, please no sir.” This time Simon's pleas went unheeded. The guard tied all three of their hands
and took them to see the merchant, his master, who was entertaining guests around a makeshift table,
which was spread with many seemingly succulent dishes.
The guard waited several moments before clearing his throat to announce his presence and that of his
prisoners to his master.
“What is it now boy?”
The Guard stammeringly explained how he had found these three women, well one woman and two
girls, and how they seemed suspicious.
The Merchant Greenwald answered, “What are you doing boy? Are you insisting on apprehending and
tying up every friend who might be sharing the road with us. Unfetter these new guests, right now.”
The guard quickly, albeit somewhat reluctantly, untied his quarry as Jesse, now in tears, found herself
thanking her captor.
“Well, that is very well mannered, Mi Lady.” The merchant was used to working with nobility. It was
nothing new to him. And he had never seen a noble, adult or child for that matter, thank a guard for
anything, let alone for untying their hands.
“You are no lady are you dear.” Jesse, through a tear stained face neither admitted nor denied the
charge.
The merchant continued undaunted, “Boy, perhaps you were right. Something seems amiss with their
business here on the road. Where are you going?” The merchant still addressed his questions to Jesse.
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He had her on the ropes and he knew that was where one was most likely to elicit the truth.
“We are going,” Jesse looked over to Simon, to Sarah, for any sign of guidance but the merchant
would not let her attention drift.
“I asked you the question girl, not your handmaiden. Why look to her?”
“Please sir, please sir,” Simon tried to interject but the guard behind him silenced his efforts with a
strong hand on Simon's shoulder.
The merchant was looking intently at Jesse and she was left speechless.
“Well, boy, as the 'lady' has nothing to say, have her and her cohorts ride with the livestock at the end of
the caravan.”
“Shall I retie them sir?”
“No no, I enjoy your youthful exuberance, but they need not be tied. Keep them with the caravan
though and don't let them leave your sight.”
The guard escorted Jesse, Hatch, and Simon to the back of the caravan where the goats and the sheep
were being herded. The animals were kept away from the rest of the merchant's goods so as not to
stain the fine fabrics with the smell of livestock. The three were made to ride on a hay wagon and,
contrary to his master's instruction, the guard tied each of their hands to the cart.
“Whatever the master says, I don't have time to be watching you all the way to the coast. Here you stay
tied until we decide what to do with you.” The guard said as he tied Jesse's hands particularly tightly.
Jesse was in tears, “Simon, Sarah, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just thought I could
get us a ride like you got us through the city gates.”
Simon finally spoke up in a high and placating female voice, “Sir, where is it you are taking us and
how long till we get there?”
“Firstbreeze is where we're taking these goods. And it will probably take us five days or more,”
answered the guard.
“Oh, and won't you let us walk at all?” Simon asked.
“We'll see. For now, you must ride in that wagon until I decide to do something else with you.”
Simon leaned back and put his hands behind his head as he reclined on a bale of hay. He had already
wriggled loose of the guard's halfhearted knot, “Jezebel my dear,” Simon's voice was low as he
whispered into Jesse's ear, “you did get us a ride dear, you did. Just because things don't work out like
you plan doesn't mean you didn't get what you wanted, or what you asked for.” Jesse quickly slid her
hands free of the guard's knot and untied Hatch at the same time. “I guess you're right. This isn't so
bad and he is taking us to the coast and all.”
“Well, ride or no ride, the smell here is awful.” Hatch exclaimed, holding his nose. Simon laughed to
himself, the young prince apparently still liked to find something to complain about.
Chapter 17
Jade saw them first but Gravey recognized them for what they were: bats, thousands of them. It was
daylight so they were sleeping, but they gave the trees in this part of the forest an eery shadow as they
blackened the branches with their slumbering forms. Every once in a while one bat would move its
wings or stir momentarily and the entire tree would respond as the movement spread through the
colony like ripples over a still lake.
“Quiet,” Jade yelled the command at Devin without saying a word. He responded by slowing his pace
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and watching his footfalls more carefully. She figured that if he could talk to her with his thoughts then
perhaps she could do the same. Well, whether or not he “heard” her, he responded appropriately.
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As they walked further into the forest, the trees grew closer together. It seemed there were more bats in
the branches too. Before long, Jade could hardly even see the sun anymore. The only sign that it was
still daytime was the occasional beam of sunlight that made its way through the thick, palpitating,
almost breathing canopy over head.
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As they walked further into the forest, the forest grew denser and the light started to dwindle. As night
approached, the bats became increasingly animated. At first it was difficult to stir the colony, but now
even the snap of a twig underfoot caused the entire forest to respond with a breathy flutter as thousands
of faceless, shadowy forms murmured overhead.
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“We must find some place to stop for the night. Soon this whole forest will erupt when the bats decide
to hunt.” Jade was still trying to make her thoughts known to Devin. He heard her just fine, he just
wasn't always interested in what she was thinking. He looked at her and simply kept on walking.
“Well, wherever we decide to stay, it shan't be here. Shall we keep going?”
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Jade responded by quickening her pace just a little. The sun was clearly setting and the bats overhead
were becoming increasingly restless. They were ready to hunt and Jade could only hope that her small
party wouldn't be on the menu. There were thousands upon thousands of bats all around. They all
seemed to move as one. As the sun drew its last breath before heading over the horizon and ceding to
the night, the bats started flying. Not in a great horde, at least not yet, but there was plenty of
movement as bats jumped from one branch to another. Jade pulled a torch from her bag, one of the few
items that Mr. James had left them. She considered lighting it as she heard the bats ruffle and shuffle
overhead. Lighting the torch would do one of two things, it would either ward the bats away and create
a cocoon of safety around them, or it would wake the slumbering horde overhead and cause the bats to
break into some kind of cacophonous chaos. She held her flint and tinder over the torch and looked to
Devin. He stared back at her blankly. She could smell his growing anxiety as the branches above
became increasingly animated. Jade prepared to light the torch, things were going to happen very
quickly from here anyway. Just as she held the flint, ready to strike, a strange and earthy voice called
to her from behind.
“I shouldn't do that if I were you.” It wasn't a human voice, if it were a voice at all. It sounded more
like wind roaring through a canyon. Jade turned around to see a cave behind her concealed by the trees
and the twilight. The opening was at least twice as tall as she was and three times as wide. Bats were
darting in and out of the cave now as the night silently announced its arrival with a blanket of cool
lightlessness.
“Come inside me. I shan't eat you, not exactly anyway. To the right, near the entrance, is an alcove
where you can watch the exodus.” The windy voice addressed Jade with a breathy whisper, barely
audible over the shuffle of the bats within the chamber. “Of course you can stay where you are, but the
bats will likely rip the skin from your bones as they leave for their nightly hunt. No matter, the choice
is yours.”
Jade pulled on Gravey's tether and led him into the cave.
“What are you doing?” Devin asked. Jade was now easily able to recognize his voice.
“In here.” Devin followed quickly but warily. Jade found the small alcove that the breathy voice
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mentioned. It consisted of a few mid-size boulders laid around a part of the cave with a particularly
low ceiling. Anyway, the small chamber was apparently too low to the ground to interest the bats
because it was empty, at least as far as Jade could tell.
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As soon as the three were behind the boulder and inside the small alcove, the windy voice howled. It
yelled a low growl, a rumble that increased in depth and power until Jade could feel the bass of the
voice rattle her very soul.
“Goooooo Nowww, Niiiighhht coooomees.”
The cave exploded into life as thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands, of shadowy shapes burst into
life. The entire cave breathed a long howl of relief as the winged horde rushed out into the night. The
rush of bodies flying past the alcove and into the night seemed to draw Jade's breath from her. The awe
of the spectacle mesmerized her. It was as though the cave had unleashed some giant, primordial,
writhing, yet utterly beautiful, organism into the world.
The bats moved and swirled as one, as a rush that would rival the tide's relentless pursuit of the shore.
The hurried procession of winged bodies flying out into the night seemed to go on forever. It seemed
as though the swarm had no end. The cave itself was breathing its essence out into the night. After
several minutes though, the rush seemed to slow, the roaring flutter of wings lightened a little and Jade
could start to make out the shapes of the bats as the swarm began to thin. After close to to ten minutes,
Jade heard something that she thought she'd never hear again: silence.
The silence lasted for only a moment. The whistling, whispering, breathy voice of the cave again
called out. “Beautiful wasn't it? Now I may rest. My pets won't be back till the first rays of morning.”
“Who are you?” Jade, no longer fearing the bats' reprisal, yelled her query into the dark depths of the
cave. A light flickered on somewhere deep within the cavernous expanse seemingly in reply. Jade,
Devin, and Gravey, not knowing what else to do, walked cautiously through the bat droppings that
lined the floor towards the flickering firelight up ahead. Although the wind, and with it the voice, had
died down, Jade could feel some kind of greasy satisfaction coming from the cave itself.
A short way into the cave, the narrow passageway opened up into a vast cavernous expanse. It was the
largest “room” Jade had ever seen. One could fit a whole castle in this one cavern. In the middle of the
cavern was a blazing fire with an odd little man warming himself by its embers.
“Come, come, come close to the fire. The bats shan't be back for hours. I've got some rabbit meat
cooking in the coals here.” The little man barely came up to Jade's shoulders, yet his beard was long
and was braided into three braids that he had tied in a bun atop his head.
“Was that you, that voice, that rumble I heard?” Jade asked the question even though it seemed
obvious that such a large, powerful voice could not have come from the diminutive man stirring the
coals in the fire before her.
“Rumble? Voice? dear, do I look like I have a rumbling voice? No dear, I don't, and you hear my voice
now. Was this the voice you heard dear?”
“Well then who was that inviting us into the cave?”
“My dear, my dear, all kinds of voices can be heard in the wind. One just has to listen. Perhaps you
are a listener, yes?”
“A listener, what do you mean?”
“Oh dear, here I am, I haven't been a host in so long that I almost forgot to offer you a seat. Come sit,
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come sit. My name is Regarde and you are Jade and this must be Devin. The mule though, what is his
name?”
Jade was stunned. How did this little man know her name? She stammered for a moment before she
told him that her mule was Gravey. All of a sudden, Regarde knelt down, his nose touching the bat
droppings on the floor, “Oh noble, noble steed, welcome, a thousand welcomes.” Jade looked over at
Devin who merely shrugged his shoulders, sat down, and fished some rabbit from the coals with a
stick.
“Yes, yes, eat my dears, eat. Regarde won't hurt you, no he won't. Sit, dine, rest.” The little man
picked some rabbit out of the coals with his fingers and started to bite into it. He was either not
bothered by the heat or he was otherwise unable to feel it.
“Now, now, now, tell me my sweets, how is it that two children come to the cave of caves and almost
waken the exodus during the daylight?”
Jade considered Regarde's question for a moment and then thought of one herself. She decided that it
would be best to learn more about their host before she divulged their story of Riders, flight, and the
loss of Mr. James.
“Do you live here sir? And who's voice was it that I heard calling us into the cave?”
“Well dear, the word 'live' is such a strong word. Home is where the heart is and my heart is here right
this moment so I suppose I am living and I am here so, yes, here I am and here I live. I sing quite
frequently, was it singing you heard?” Before Jade could answer, Regarde broke into an animated song
to which he danced a neat little jig
“To all and all to all we come
Come home dear now, we roam somehow
To all and all to all we're some
Some prone here now, someone here now.
So me dears sit and rest
So me dears you heed my test
And go where the strong do wander
And go where the young they wonder
And wander and wonder along
And wander and wonder along.”
By the time he finished the song, Jade had not only forgotten her question but it now seemed utterly
unimportant to her. Regarde sat down with his new-found friends, a slight but naughty smirk on his
face.
“So dear my dear, I feel so queer, you starting to steer the conversation to where you tell me how you
got here now?” The little man didn't even look up as he asked Jade the question, if in fact it was a
question.
“What? How did we get here? Well,” Jade heard her self answering and felt just fine with it, “We
we're with an old friend, Mr. James. We were traveling through the forest and he went on ahead to find
us a bed for the night but he never returned, so we continued on and here we are.”
“Well what a start you bring to sing, yet I'm sure there's more in store and this story's for all to hear so
speak aloud and hear for here there's nothing to fear so bring truth near my dear.”
“There were Riders,” the words escaped Jade's lips before she knew what she was saying. Regarde
didn't even skip a beat though and continued his relentless albeit entertaining rhyme.
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“And you and the two of you what do you do and how'd it be that the two of you are here with me.
Riders this and Riders that chased you were, were they the cat that chased these mouses into my
houses. Now now, be still myself behave. Who are you Jade? Where from you come? I sense there's
more behind your eyes so tell me truth, I smell through lies.”
“Well, there's my Vision . . .” Jade couldn't seem to stop herself.
“What town did you wake in before you fled from the oven a bakin'?”
“We were on the coast,” Jade closed her eyes and imagined chains falling off her like she did when her
brother would tie her with ropes. All of a sudden she could think clearly again and screamed at the top
of her lungs.
“I hear you here you man of words. This and that I make the turn. So now speak clear and drop your
spell. Answer me and now do tell.” She looked around, not sure exactly where that last outburst came
from, “Who are you? Was it your voice I heard calling us into the cave?”
The little man's spell was indeed broken so he answered coolly, “I am Regarde, and yes, yes it was.”
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Jade felt the cool breeze pick up and blow through the cave. Where was it coming from? If there was a
breeze then it meant that the cave had at least two openings. As she examined her surroundings,
Regarde examined her almost as though he could tell what she was thinking.
“The wind is there my dear. I merely bend it a bit to make the words. I felt your touch from far away.
More story's here so dear please stay.”
“Why did you help us? Why did you show us that alcove?”
“I mean you no harm, but nor shall I invite harm into my presence. I asked you questions to determine
your intent. I see now that no one else knows you are here and that you mean me no ill will. With that
I call you friend and with that my spell doth end.”
“Well, how you read I'm not quite sure but read you do and you divine rightly, strange man.”
Regarde paused for a moment, making sure that his guests felt comfortable. “You did something there
my dear, when you changed the flow of the conversation. When you became the asker instead of the
asked. You turned the hunt. That's what we call it. I wonder, do you do that often? You mentioned
Vision.” Regarde could tell that he had asked too much.
Jade withdrew, “that's private, why so many questions anyway?”
“That's good Jade, that's very good. There are some things one doesn't speak aloud in the presence of
polite company.” Regarde focused his gaze on Jade and she felt his voice reverberate in her
consciousness, “So you hear this then?” Jade tried not to let her face shift in response to the intrusive
voice she felt between her ears. She grimaced ever so slightly and gave Regarde all the response that
he needed.
“Hmmmm, well you are a listener then and a maker. Interesting, one such as you I've not seen or heard
of in this generation.” Regarde was looking at her with a new respect. One that bordered on awe.
“Well dear my dear, share my table. It sounds that you might be able to wait here a while while the
shadows they scatter and you are safe here for that matter.”
“Listener? Maker?” Jade was certainly not impressed with the little man's riddling ways, “tell me what
you are talking about. It seems that others know more about me than I even know about myself.”
Regarde let out a slight sigh as he stared into the coals of the fire. “You are young dear. But then you
are old. You must grow up and grow up fast. It seems that fate has twisted and forced upon this
moment a culmination of time and times. Yet we flow and make the most of each delight we make in
sight . . .”
Jade interrupted his rhyme, “Tell me plainly. Please. Speak plainly. What is this happening to me?”
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“Some things can't be told, or taught through just the spoken word. Some things must be experienced
to be made real. I tell you my testimony but the truths therein would be meaningless unless you made
the testimony your own.” Regarde could sense Jade's frustration, “I can walk with you a while though
as you embark on this illuminating journey.”
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Jade was starting to understand. She looked around and saw that she had little choice. She could
hardly even find her way out the woods without a little guidance. She held back the flow of tears that
she felt welling up in the back of her throat. She nodded her assent and with her intention set, her
lessons began.
Chapter 18
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Alejandro covered his head with the shawl of the sacred. He was already in his ceremonial garb: today
he was to enter his chamber. He performed this ritual every several days. It was a way that he could
commune with the spirits and get information otherwise hidden from the mortal realm, his realm. He
removed his shoes at the door and entered the sacrosanct chamber.
There was incense already burning. He had purged his body and his mind of all impurity through
fasting and meditation. He hummed a simple mantra over and over and prepared to view his most
prized possession: the Chalice of the Ancients.
The Chalice was actually not a cup at all. It was a box. Sometimes it appeared to be an intricately
carved and ornately decorated treasure chest. Other times it looked like a simple piece of pine wood.
Alejandro had been trying to open it for months, ever since he recovered it from the Temple of Ice
guarded by the Northern Tribes. He had learned much of the magic inherently vested in the Chalice. It
appeared that it could read the intentions of its beholder. It would adapt to those intentions too.
Sometimes it reflected expectations as to what it should look like or how heavy it should be.
Sometimes it defied all expectations.
Alejandro was familiar with the prophesies. He had studied them since his childhood. Every child in
the castle was familiar with them. He knew that the Chalice held the secrets of time itself and was only
supposed to be opened by the Morning Star: by the child of prophesy that Alejandro sent his Riders to
bring him. Nonetheless, although the prophesies had proven correct numerous times over the centuries,
Alejandro believed that they only proved themselves because people wanted them to be correct. They
were self-fulfilling prophesies. And Alejandro decided that he would try to rewrite this one.
He lit another stick of incense as he murmured his prayer. He reached down and removed the scarf
from the chalice. What he saw surprised him. It was a block of wood. That wasn't surprising though
because Alejandro had seen the Chalice masquerade as a wooden block for weeks at a time. This was
different though. The finish was polished. There was no visible grain either. That was one thing about
the Chalice, the grain was always visible in the wood. Sometimes it molded or melded itself or flowed
in swirling patterns, but the grain was always visible.
He picked up the wooden block and held it to his ear. There was no tell tale rattle as he shook it gently.
He strode over to the fire place and hurled the block of wood into fire. It ignited immediately and
burned quickly. Alejandro let out a roar of disdain that echoed down the halls. He called for the head
of his personal guard. Five minutes later his captain was in the sacred chamber lying prostrate, his face
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to the floor, at Alejandro's feet.
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“Captain, are you not the chief of my personal guard?” Alejandro's voice dripped with sarcasm and
cool condescension.
“Sire, you know I am.”
“And then are you not charged with my protection and the security of my palace?”
“Sire, you know I am.”
“And do you not know that my most prized possessions are held in this very chamber? And did I not
specifically instruct you maintain security here?”
“Sire, I placed my best men in charge of this assignment.”
“Then how is it that someone has infiltrated this room and has stolen from me? Who is responsible?”
Whenever Alejandro asked who was responsible, there was only one right answer. The king was not a
man who easily entertained blame-shifting excuses.
“As always sire, I am responsible.” The Captain of the King's Guard, one of the few people that
Alejandro had ever considered a friend, dropped his voice as the bubble in his throat waited for the
inevitable.
“Who is your second in command?” Alejandro let the question linger while his captain considered the
import of his reply.
“My lieutenant is Rail Philips, sire.”
“Summon him.”
A moment later, a battle hardened man with a scarred face and rough hands that looked like they had
been burned prying open the very gates of hell, walked into the room.
“Are you Lieutenant Philips?”
“Sire, you know I am.”
“Your captain has failed me. Impale him. You are promoted to captain.”
Philips drew his sword and thrust it through his friend's back without hesitation. He then picked up his
dead captain's sword and knelt waiting for his next order.
Alejandro continued coolly as though nothing had happened, “The Chalice of the Ancients, it has been
taken.” The new captain stopped breathing, this was dire news indeed. The king had waged an entire
war to get his hands on that artifact.
“Do you know the prophesies, captain?” Alejandro did not wait for a response, “Do you know what
would happen if the Chalice were to find its way to the Morning Star?”
The newly promoted captain did not know and so wisely remained silent.
“There were only a few people who had access to this chamber. Simon, my chief adviser was one of
them. Do you know him?”
“Sire, we have been scouring the city for this rogue, this sheep in wolves' clothing, he is responsible for
kidnapping your son and heir.”
“Yes, yes, well bring him to me. My interest in the return of my son is eclipsed only by my interest in
the return of the Chalice on a silver platter garnished with my chief adviser's head.” Alejandro's eyes
were livid even as he held his voice to a moderate tone, “make it so captain, your continued time in my
service depends on it.” There were only two ways out of the king's service: discharge and death.
Under Alejandro's rule though, no one in the king's service had been discharged. Captain Rail Philips
was eager to see his tenure in the king's personal guard continue for years to come.
“Sire, I will.” Captain Rail, as he decided he would be called, excused himself from the King's
presence and doubled the number of units set to search for the king's son. Failure was not an option, at
least it was not an option with the propensity to take the captain anywhere he was interested in going.
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Chapter 19
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Hatch tossed and turned in the early morning hours. It didn't matter how he arranged the hay under his
head, he just couldn't get comfortable.
“Hatch, what are you doing?” Jesse's voice was clearly audible even though her eyes were shut. She
felt Hatch trying to take some hay from under her head. “You know I can feel you stealing my pillow.”
Hatch jumped at the sound of Jesse's voice, “Well, if you hadn't used up all the hay for your bed, I
might not have to.” Jesse sat up and looked around, they were riding on a hay wagon. There was hay
everywhere.
“Hatch what are you talking about? There's hay everywhere. When we're walking, you don't want to
walk. When we're riding, you don't want to ride. Why did you even ever leave the palace? What's
your game?”
“Well I didn't leave the palace so I could ride in the back of a hay ride as the prisoner of a fat old
merchant did I?”
“And what do you propose to do about it? You wouldn't want to get your dress dirty now would you?”
Jesse couldn't help but smile at the sour expression on Hatch's face as he looked down at his feminine
attire.
“Well, dress or no dress, I know what I'm doing. I'm going to go have some fun. You can stay here
with the sleepy old stick in the mud,” Hatch pointed to Simon's slumbering figure, “if you want to.”
“Oh yeah, well I'm not letting you go by yourself. And do leave that dress on would you. Gallivanting
around the camp in you drawers just wouldn't be very ladylike now would it?”
Hatch shot Jesse a perturbed look as he clambered off the hay cart in a most unladylike fashion. Simon
smiled knowingly as the youngsters in his charge went to look for adventure before dawn.
Darting from shadow to shadow and remaining hidden in plain sight was nothing new to Jesse. She
had wandered the city streets in this manner since she was a very young girl. Hatch, on the other hand,
was far more accustomed to having his presence announced wherever he went. How else were his
subjects going to know to bow unless his arrival was heralded with trumpets? Subtlety was a game that
Hatch was still learning the rules to. Jesse expertly and silently skirted between tent flaps and even
lightly stepped over a slumbering guard who had nodded off by the fire. Hatch however seemed utterly
incapable of silence. Each footfall was loud and clumsy. When he nearly knocked over a weapons
rack in his attempt to work his way between two tents, Jesse had had enough.
“Look, silence is the key here. Learn to work with your surroundings, don't fight them.”
Jesse then did something she had never done before. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. She
could feel the camp around her. It was as though she were able to hear the steady sleeping heartbeat of
each soul in the camp that night. To her it was as though she were one with every breath, every spark,
every flame, even the air she was breathing. She cleared her mind of all thought and simply moved.
Her mind was clear so Jesse didn't see or really concentrate on what she was doing. She just flowed
with her feelings and stayed at one with her surroundings.
Hatch saw the whole spectacle unfold. Jesse was dancing, that's right dancing, through the camp with
her eyes closed. She was dancing as though she were dancing to the rhythm of the guards' dreams.
She deftly jumped over one guard and landed with her toes near the head of another. She then did a flip
and a pirouette and landed into a somersault right through one tent. Jesse danced for almost 30 seconds
through the camp without making a sound or even leaving a footprint. Jesse opened her eyes and found
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herself at the other side of the camp. She looked back to see Hatch staring at her with his mouth wide
open. She looked around and could scarcely understand how she had moved so far and through so
many obstacles. She just shrugged her shoulders though and signaled Hatch to hurry up and join her.
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Hatch took one step and promptly knocked a guard's helmet off the seat on which it sat. Luckily, Hatch
caught the helmet before it hit the floor. However, in doing so, he knocked over the suit of armor
sitting right next to it. The clang was enormous, as was the guard that woke up just in time to see his
breastplate and greaves tumble to the ground.
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“Run!” Jesse knew that game too. And this was one that Hatch was far better prepared for. He looked
at the guard for a moment and then hiked up his skirts and ran as fast as he could. He jumped over one
guard who was reaching for his sword and promptly stomped on the back of another as he made a
beeline to where Jesse was standing on the outskirts of the makeshift camp. They both bolted into the
dark woods and out of sight. Jesse took Hatch's hand and simultaneously signaled to him to be quiet by
putting a finger to her lips. She led him from tree to tree around the camp and back to the hay wagon
where Simon still appeared to be sleeping notwithstanding the ruckus in the camp that was quickly
moving their way.
Jesse jumped up into the cart in one fluid movement and then pulled Hatch up by his collar. Once she
had him in the wagon, she grabbed the rope that the guard had used to tie their hands and expertly tied
both of Hatch's hands to the wagon. She looked at the second piece of rope and thought about how she
might do the same thing for herself. Again she closed her eyes and just felt what she wanted to have
happen. Her hands seemed to know the knot, and her fingers expertly threw the rope this way and that,
from fingertip to fingertip, and completed the knot just before a guard emerged from the brush behind
the wagon.
“Hold there you,” the guard managed to say the words between gasps for air, “there you are. What do
you mean by waking the entire camp with your wanderings young ones?”
Simon stirred and appeared to finally wake up. In his most endearing and feminine voice he stated,
quite nonchalantly, “my my, is it morning already? What time is it sir?”
“Morning, not nearly, your young charges were seen barreling around the camp. I knew they were up
to something.” Hatch and Jesse, taking a cue from Simon, acted as though they had just been roused
from a deep sleep.
“These two?” Simon sounded surprised, “Sir, did you not tie their hands yourself? Children like these
surely could not undo the knots of an expert such as yourself.”
The guard strode over to the wagon as three other men came to offer assistance.
“Here they are men, we found the culprits.” The guard went to grab Jesse's arm to drag her out of the
wagon but it was securely fastened to the rail. The rope was so tight that there were marks on Jesse's
small wrists. The other three guards just stood back and watched. The first guard then grabbed Hatch's
arm and quickly found that it too was secured.
“Sir, sir, as I said, you are an expert in the use of ropes and knots. These children could not have done
as you say, you see that all three of us are still securely tied, just as you left us.” Simon motioned to his
own hands, which had mysteriously retied themselves to the wagon, “perhaps it was a wolf or coyote
you seek?”
The guard looked at the ropes in exasperation. Seeing children in the camp, was it a dream? The old
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lady had a point though, no one could undo his knots, least of all two little children.
“Alright then, as you were. Men, check the perimeter, there might be animals about tonight.”
The guards walked away without any more commotion.
Once they were alone again, Simon leaned over to Jesse, “Be a dear would you and loosen these ties.”
Jesse again closed her eyes, her fingers moved quickly and deftly loosening this piece here and then
sliding the rope through that loop there, In three seconds she was free and she was loosening Simon's
bonds. Once Simon was massaging his recently released wrists, Jesse looked over to Hatch, “Now
you, I should leave you just like that for a while, causing such a commotion. What were you
thinking?”
“I was trying to be quiet . . .” Hatch's tone was uncharacteristically conciliatory.
“Well, that's the problem isn't it. Too much trying, not enough doing. When you concentrate on being
quiet like that, you invite the clamor to find you. Just do Hatch, just do.” Jesse sounded like her father
after she once told him that she tried to get all her chores done before dark. Simon was looking at her
with a quizzical furrow in his brow.
“Well, that's a mature charge to come from the lips of one so young. Tell me Jesse, or Jezebel rather,”
Simon corrected himself, “what did just happen? The way you moved through the camp, is that
something you've done often?”
Jesse thought about it for a moment. She was used to being stealthy in her travels around the city but
this was the first time that she had moved quite like that. She looked at the ground.
“No I thought not,” Simon continued, “what happened dear?”
“I don't know. I just cleared my mind and moved, that's all. It was as though it were happening
through me. The dancing and the ropes, it was as though all I had to do was move out of the way, or at
least move my thoughts out of the way, and then the rest of it just happened through me. It was easy.”
“Yes it was, dear I'm sure it was.” Simon looked up at the sky, a knowing grin beaming from his face.
“Yes, yes, through you.” Hatch motioned to his hands, still tied to the wagon, “Well, can you get out
of the way and allow this force or thought or whatever move through you to untie my hands?”
Jesse came back to the moment, She undid the rope holding Hatch's hands and winked at him as he
massaged his wrists.
Chapter 20
Regarde said little more the rest of that evening. He looked at Jade and Devin, but he seemed very
attentive to Gravey. He went and got the mule a variety of grasses and brought them back to the cave.
He also spent over an hour brushing him and rubbing his tired legs with oils. Jade, for her part, was
content to rest. Devin was sound asleep.
Just as the first rays of sunlight made their way into the cave. Regarde quickly urged them all into a
chamber towards the rear.
“Come my dears, dawn is near. Quickly now, the bats know how, the dawn follows night, and here
they'll be before first light.”
Devin stirred in his sleep and then sat up wiping the sleep from his eyes. Jade and Devin followed
Regarde back into the cave as he lead Gravey, who was all too happy to follow this new found friend.
Seeing Gravey so comfortable with Regarde put Jade at ease. Ever since he pulled Jade from the river
and saved her life, Gravey had been very careful about who he would let near Jade. Once they were at
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the annual spring fair and Gravey repeatedly kicked at a clown who was trying to pin a flower to Jade's
shirt. Jade's father had apologized profusely for Gravey's actions until Gravey kicked the clown again
and knocked loose a coin purse out of which rolled, among other things, Jade's mother's ring. It turned
out that the “clown” had been picking pockets all day, and Gravey somehow knew and then protected
Jade. Ever since then, Jade decided that, if Gravey was okay with someone, then she was probably
safe. It was strange then that Gravey had not reacted with more alarm towards Mr. James wasn't it?
Jade decided to ponder this fact another day and followed Gravey and Regarde deep into the cave and
into a small, well lit chamber through a passageway deep in the tunnel.
“The light's here my dears, the bats won't come near. They like the dark so safe we're here.” Regarde
found his seat near a table, sat down and starting flipping through the pages of an enormous book.
When it was opened, the book was almost as wide as Regarde was tall. Jade looked around at the
homely and snug little living quarters. The ceiling was just barely over her head so the she had to duck
slightly to get in the door way. There was a small bed, almost like a nest, in one corner. A stove and a
kerosene lamp stood in another corner. In the middle of the room was a table set with three chairs.
“Do you have a family?” Jade asked Regarde, making conversation.
“No, no, no family. Except for my beauties, the bats you see, this home I built only for me.”
“But three chairs? do you entertain often?” Jade was being mildly sarcastic with the remark but the
look in Regarde's eyes was deadly serious. The seriousness of his countenance was reflected in the
tone of his voice.
“These chairs are here for you.” no rhymes and Regarde was looking straight into Jade's eyes as he
spoke, “I have been waiting for you, for hundreds of years.”
This made about as much sense to Jade as anything else that Regarde said, which meant it made very
little sense at all. Nonetheless, the small man continued, “This book here, it is the Prophesy.”
“The Prophesy, isn't that a child's tale?” Jade asked.
Regarde flipped a few pages and started reading.
“'She came she named the mistress of all
walking through night, she carried through calls
of the wild night-wings divine
lightless carriers and riders to find
the one to teach and taught with mind
to navigate worlds and journey through time
the night bats hold the key in lair
so child of mine wait you there.'” Regarde looked up from his book and got down on one knee. “That
was my charge milady. You yourself gave it to me three hundred years ago and calmly I have waited
here for your return.” Jade looked down at the man by her feet and started laughing, this had to be
some kind of joke. Regarde kissed her hand and then turned the book to another page.
“'She runs through the night
her companions she left
to continue her path and see to her test
the James man will fall to those who ride
in her wake as they take her calm sense of pride
she wanders to where the rhyming voice leads
where the bats they gather and call to her steed
ruby eyes with her and steed humbly sees
'tis jade heart of all that here that thee be's.'” Regarde calmly closed the book and looked into Jade's
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eyes. The James man? Falling to Riders? The ruby eyes? Was that a reference to Devin's pink eyes?
And the humble steed? Well there was scarcely ever a more humble steed than a mill-worker's mule.
Yet this was all so much for Jade's young mind to take in. The prophesies, the heart of all, could it be?
Jade sat down at one of the chairs set there for her. Although the rest of the furniture in the room
looked as though it were made for children, obviously so Regarde could use it, two chairs were normal
size.
“Jade rest now, you've come far, but you have much to learn and I have much to teach. Take solace
now though, your goal's within reach.”
Jade rested her head right there on the table. She slept soundly, she was tired. She awoke to the sound
of the exodus, the roar of wind and wings as the black hoard roared through the cave into the night.
Regarde had already placed three books and a slice of bread next to where Jade had fallen asleep. “Get
up child, the night is young, read these three tomes before it's done. With that, Regarde, Devin and
Gravey wandered out of the small room, leaving Jade to her studies.
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“Uuuuggghhh, to think I left the coast, days of fishing and nights of star gazing, to come and read
books here in this hole in the ground while Devin and Gravey get to go play outside.” The truth though
was that, even though Jade loved fishing and star gazing, when she was growing up in her small fishing
village she would often dream about embarking on an adventure like this. Yet here she was and it
wasn't quite as glamorous as she had envisioned. Adventure, intrigue, and promise are all very fun and
sound delightful, but there's always some work that goes along with it. Jade knew this, so she settled
down and looked again at the tome in front of her.
“The Prophesy and the Goblin Trade Embargo,” the text was ancient. It felt as though Jade were
learning a new language. Words were spelled differently than she had been taught and their usage was
new too. The more she read though, the easier it became. She was now reading about how the
Prophesy had affected the economic recovery following the Giant Wars some four hundred years
earlier. As far as she could gather, the goblins sought to normalize trade with the giants following the
war. However, the Prophesy spoke of normalized relations through fighting, and this made the giants
hesitant to participate in more formal avenues of diplomacy.
Regarde walked in murmuring softly to himself about how much grass it took to keep a mule well-fed.
“So dear, how go the studies here?”
“Aaarrggh,” Jade could scarcely contain her exasperation, “these are by far the worst fairy tales ever
told. Every child in my village knows that goblins and giants are imaginary and that, once their
imaginary war was over, the goblins went to build cities underground while the giants hid in the icecovered mountains. They just stopped speaking to each other.”
“Underground you say? Mountains you say? Imaginary you say?” Regarde was chuckling to himself.
“You who have been alive, at least in this incarnation, for some thirteen years. You've lived in one
village and have cried few tears. Yet you seem to think that you know all of what is and what might be.
Instead of writing these things off as imaginary, tell me, tell me, what does it say to you . . . here?”
Regarde thumped his chest.
“Well, so far it seems like foolishness to me. If the giants had been more concerned about just living
their lives than discerning and fulfilling the bloody Prophesy, then they would have had plenty of the
goblin jewelry they sought through trade. They wouldn't have needed to try and steal it in the first
place.”
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“Ah, so did the Prophesy foretell the halt in trade or did it cause it?”
Jade thought a good long time on this. Regarde, sat down in his smaller chair and seemed content to
wait for her answer.
Finally, Jade answered, “Well, the Prophesy came first so it did foretell the trade problems. But there
would have been no trade problems if there was no Prophesy. The giants just would have bought the
gems instead of declaring a war to take them. So, both. Is that the right answer?”
“Hmmmm, the right answer? Is there a right answer? I wonder if the answer can ever be right if you
have to ask whether it is correct? In my experience, I have found that if I question the answer it is
rarely right. Unless of course it is right for me, then it is always right. Who decides what is right
anyway. Again, in my experience, I have found that I am most happy when I decide what is right for
me. So let me ask you, is that the right answer?”
Jade was so tired of these wordy games, it was a simple yes or no question, wasn't it? “Who cares if it's
the right answer,” Jade slammed the book down. “Who cares.”
“That my dear is the right answer. Oftentimes if the answer to one question comes too easily, it is
because we have asked the wrong question. A good response to any question, therefore, is whether
we've asked the right question. That's enough of that book though. See what you think of this one.”
Regarde unrolled an ancient scroll in front of Jade. This one looked even older than the last, it's edges
were ragged and some of the letters were obscured by burn marks.
“Potion Potency as it Relates to the Price of Mountain Cocoa.” Jade read the title aloud before she
buried her head in her arms, “Where are the fairy stories? Why must I read this hum drum and why
must it be so boring?”
“Well dear, there are several ways I could answer that, but are those really the questions you want to
ask? Read a while, don't lose your smile, be content to walk a mile, in these shoes,” Regarde held up a
pointed shoe with a hole clearly visible in the sole, “Try not to lose, your focus dear, the answer's here.”
Regarde pointed at the scroll as he sauntered out the door singing some silly tune to himself. Jade
poked her tongue out at his back. Regarde just shook his head and closed the door behind him.
1915
Devin had taken to riding Gravey around the main chamber while the bats were away at night. The
entire chamber came alive when the bats left. There were translucent spiders with glowing eyes and
there were glow worms with fluorescent bellies. Whenever a spider ate a worm, the blue of the spider's
eyes mixed with pink of the worm in their belly to make the most beautiful shade of purple. Gravey,
for his part, was pleased with the attention. Since he no longer had to work the mill, he was thankful
for the opportunity to exercise, and Devin was a fun soul to play with too.
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And that's how the three travelers, Devin, Jade, and Gravey spent their days. They generally slept
during the daylight hours so as not to disturb the bats, and then Jade would read all night long
interrupted only by some kind of cryptic comment from Regarde while Gravey and Devin played in the
cave.
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After about a week and hundreds of pages and hours of reading, Jade decided she had had enough.
Bats or no bats, it was time for her to go. She waited till midday, once everyone in the cave, bats
included, were sound asleep. She got up from her feigned slumber and moved quietly, even holding
her breath, through the cave to where Gravey was sleeping tied to a stalagmite.
“Come boy, lets go. I'd wager the Riders are gone and Pa is likely wondering why my chores aren't
done.”
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She took Gravey by the reins and led him through the main chamber. The bats began to stir overhead,
unaccustomed as they were to having their daily slumber interrupted. Jade closed her eyes and “saw”
silence, then she “saw” the sun outside beaming through the thick vegetation. She even “saw” the
mottled pattern on the ground that the sun created. She imagined each leaf in great detail as well as the
shape of each shadow it cast upon the ground. She then felt the sun on her face and imagined the
breeze on her forehead. Finally, she “saw” how Gravey's coarse fur felt under her hand. She could
“see” every hair and could even feel him breathing. She opened her eyes and it was so. She was
outside, just barely outside the cavern, and the sun felt glorious. Everything was exactly as she
imagined it and Gravey was right beside her. Her “Vision” as her father had called it was getting more
powerful it seemed and she was getting better at directing it this way or that.
“Lets go boy,” Jade climbed onto Gravey's back and started to ride. It had been days since she had
seen the sun or smelled the fresh air. Her freedom felt divine. As Jade rode off into the woods, not
exactly sure where she was going but with an unswerving certainty that she would make it there, three
pink eyed bats flew after her. Back in the cavern, Regarde smiled as his young pupil flexed her wings a
bit.
“Oh dear my dear, though your not here, know that I hear and see you so near.” Regarde rolled over
and went back to sleep.
Chapter 22
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The days passed slowly, tied to the hay wagon as they were. It was far faster than walking though, and
even Hatch had to be thankful for that. Nonetheless, the unmistakable smell of a sea breeze was a
welcome sensation for all three of the travelers. They had been traveling now for almost a week. After
Hatch and Jesse's little escapade, the guard assigned to watch them kept a very close eye on them.
They were permitted to walk into the woods one at a time after mealtimes to relieve themselves but,
other than that, they were kept secured to the wagon in which they rode.
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Jesse spent the first day or two after her escape trying to tie and untie the knots around her wrist like
she had on that first night. Her fingers were generally very adept anyway, but the skill level she
experienced under the stars that night seemed to elude her. With the smell of the sea though came the
first interaction with visitors that the caravan had seen since it left the city.
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They knew that they were approaching civilization, so the guards at the front of the procession were not
surprised to see an elderly woman begging along the side of the road. She was a small woman, even
though she was obviously hunched over. At full height, she was still only as tall as a child. However,
notwithstanding her diminutive frame, she barreled into the middle of the roadway as the merchant led
his party towards the town up ahead.
“Sir, kind sir, do stop to give a poor washer woman a ride or at least a bite to eat.” The woman's tone
was inviting but it felt somehow hollow. The guard driving the lead carriage in the caravan lifted his
horse whip and looked over to the merchant to see whether he would give the signal to simply scare the
woman away. The merchant thought about this for a moment, but he did not give the signal the guard
was waiting for.
“Where do you go old woman?” the merchant's voice was thick with condescension.
“Sir, kind sir, me home be just up ahead, I was gathering wood for my fire,” she held up a feeble bundle
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of sticks, “but my strength is not what it once was and a ride, even just up the road, would help an old
woman out immensely.”
It took the merchant a moment to answer. It was as though he were in a daze. He shook his head after
a moment and seemed to come back to his senses.
“Up the road, I suppose we can assist you old woman,” The merchant leaned over the edge of his
carriage and whispered some instruction to one of the guards walking beside it, “throw her in the hay
wagon with the others.”
The guard led the old woman by the hand, her stooped head barely came up to the middle of his belly,
until he was out of earshot from the merchant at the front of the caravan.
“Get in there you,” he grabbed the woman's arm and flung her around like a rag doll. The old lady
wailed in response, but no one could hear her. At least no one who cared to intervene.
“What, what? Why do you do this to me? Why? Why?”
“Look, you saw that man up in the front right, Merchant Greenwald, the bald man who offered you a
ride?”
“Yes, yes, kind sir he's a good man.”
“Good man,” the guard huffed in mockery, “well he sells all kinds of things. People by the coast like to
buy lions, tigers, and giraffes, before they set sail to far off regions. Some animals fetch a pretty penny
over seas.”
“Yes, yes, Greenwald is a great, kind, and good man, yes.”
“Yeah yeah, well, some along the coast like to set sail with even more exotic pets. Now the two young
girls back here, I can see they'd be useful for cleaning or something else. But you and the other old
woman, bah, the boss won't mind if there's a bruise or two on you. All I knows is that now I gots
another baby to sit till we can sell you all at market.” The guard started to laugh, a deep and dark
laugh, while the old woman appeared to dissolve into tears, falling at the guard's feet so that he had to
pick her up and throw her into the back of the hay wagon.
Simon woke up, startled by the commotion. He wiped a piece of hay out of his eye and demanded to
know what was going on. The guard ignored him and brought out some heavy chains from under the
hay wagon.
“This here's to make sure you don't go anywheres else. We're almost to the coast. Are ye's ready for
the next part of yer trip?” The guard took Jesse's head in his hand and started to look at her this way
and that. “Yes yes, you'll fetch a pretty penny at market you will. You'll keep some rich witch's home
very clean won't you.” The guard laughed heartily as he chained Jesse, Hatch, Simon, and the old
woman together. Once he felt sure that his prisoners were secure, he meandered off to the rest of the
camp where the captives could hear the guards laughing. Everyone else it seemed was excited to go
home.
After a moment, Hatch spoke first, “Uh Simon, what did he mean? And why are we in chains?”
Simon answered all too nonchalantly under the circumstances, “Well, it seems that the merchant,”
“Greenwald,” the old lady chimed in.
“Yes, well, it seems that this Greenwald has decided to sell us to one of the ship captains going south.”
Jesse had heard about this but thought that there was no way that the king would allow such a
barbarous thing as slavery to exist in The Realms. Despite her best efforts, she started to cry.
The old woman put her arm around Jesse and pulled her in close. Suddenly, the old woman didn't seem
so old, nor so frail. She was still small, even shorter than Jesse, but she was strong, Jesse could feel it
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“Well well, do tell, how's it be we meet you three, here I see I do know thee.” The woman's voice no
longer sounded so old either. “Look here look there, under nose, in the air, yet here I find you so to say,
napping here in the hay.” Whatever this crazy old crackpot was saying, she certainly had Simon's
attention.
“Now hold thy tongue you crone and breathe, do tell do tell I shall believe, explain to me intentions
true. I smell through lies, they reek on you.” Simon was staring directly at the old woman as he spoke.
“Wherefore now, dos't thou ask, to keep my mind from mine own task. I see you found diamonds
rough, peace I bring now don't be gruff.” The woman replied, her eyes never broke contact with
Simon's.
“What you say, know that I hear, these wards of mine their cause is clear. I bring them with and our
work's our own. What business have you? Now make it known.”
“Business this and business that, they are the mice, am I the cat? This you ask but the answers lie
within your head you know, don't lie.”
Simon and the woman were spitting their convoluted verse back and forth faster and faster such that it
was becoming more and more difficult for either Jesse or Hatch to determine who was asking who
what.
“I have been looking, you know my name, and your woman clothes hide not your game. King's advice
I now seek, Simon dear now do you reek, of fear . . .”
Simon interrupted her before her flow could grow further.
“No dear I fear not the truth, for I know what I see in you. Intentions clear not foul I see, so what is
your name now tell me.”
“Tell me he says, yet he forgot to speak what is and not what's not. I know your name now, you reveal
too much by the level of your zeal. Simon the name it comes to mine. Now be still and . . .”
Again Simon interrupted her flow, “Find the time, I see you now, Elanda clear that name somehow,
rings true to me. We've met before, shall we travel to the shore? How providence has had you meet, us
three right here now lets get free.”
With that, Elanda, not an old woman at all but a very short and strong one, threw off her shawl and
snapped her fingers. Time stopped. Jesse looked around, she could see the horses paused mid step.
She could see Hatch's face frozen in a confused grimace, and she saw Elanda calmly working to undo
her shackles.
“What? How? Who?”
“Elanda's my name, weren't you following the conversation? And don't fear my dear, I'll harm you
not.” The iron brace fell off of Jesse's hand.
“Now be a dear and release your friends.” Elanda looked at her rather matter-of-factly as she spoke.
“I've never picked a lock before.”
“Well, there's a first time for everything. Take your time, we have plenty of that.”
Jesse looked around. She saw that time had not in fact stopped. She could see spit slowly rolling down
one guard's mouth as he ate and she could sense a slight movement in the carriage. They were still
moving or so it seemed.
Jesse pulled a hair pin from Hatch's wig with a grin on her face and put it into the lock around his wrist.
“Okay, now don't think, just do.” Elanda's voice was cool as she spoke.
Jesse cleared her mind and just felt the lock, she could sense every part of the mechanism, each cog,
each wheel. She flicked her wrist and the lock fell to the ground, Hatch was free. A moment later,
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Simon was free too. No sooner was the last lock undone than time sped up and everything returned to
normal. At least as normal as anything had been since Jesse left the city.
Hatch rubbed his wrist and saw the lock laying open on the ground.
“What the, woman? Simon who is this and how does she know you?”
“Elanda dear that is my name, I know Simon as he plays the game. And players seem to know and see
each other's colors truly be.”
“And how did these locks come off here? Simon, what is all this?”
Simon breathed a sigh and continued in his regular tone, “Elanda, it is a pleasure, these wards of mine
they have many questions. We seek the Chosen and hold the Chalice.”
Elanda immediately knelt in front of Jesse. Jesse just stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. “Is
this the Chosen then? She is a knower that much is clear, and a slower, that brings me cheer. When I
played with time to set you free she sped up too and stayed with me.” Simon looked surprised. Jesse
was apparently far more gifted than he gave her credit for.
“No, this is Jesse, and the other graceful young lady is Hatch, Prince of the Realms.” Hatch huffed in
response. “The Chosen is near the coast and we must take her the Chalice.”
“Well now we're free, close to the sea, shall we leave? Or slaves we'll be.” Elanda's melodic rhythmic
verse seemed to put everyone at ease.
“Well I suppose this is as good a time as any to make our escape. I suppose we have two options, we
could fight our way out or we could sneak our way out.” Simon rubbed his chin as he thought about it.
“Or just be our way out,” Elanda said, and with that the entire camp started to become foggy. It was as
though a thick fog were rolling in from every side. The guards started to run in fear, afraid that some
sea goddess had thrown them a curse for harboring slaves. The horses all started to fidget and whinny
as the fog rolled in. And then as quickly as it came, it left.
The hay wagon was empty, the open shackles lay on the floor. And walking calmly next to the wagon
was a well-dressed nobleman and three young boys. They were all dressed in the finest materials from
far off lands.
Simon, now dressed as a nobleman, strolled up to the merchant and calmly asked to look at his supply
of clothing. The merchant retrieved some of his finest clothes and they looked eerily similar to what
the man and his three sons were already wearing.
“Oh I see, I see, we must have the same tailor in the Vercouth. Well, I shall perhaps look again at your
wares before you leave. Do try to have some new fashions with you.” And with that, Simon, Jesse,
Hatch, and Elanda, now dressed in the Greenwald's finest clothing, walked away from the caravan
while the guards scoured the countryside for two old women and two young girls.
Chapter 23
2110
Captain Rail ran a tight ship. Those under his command were rewarded for success and punished
brutally for failure. It had now been almost ten days since the prince and the king's adviser had
disappeared. It had been almost a week since Rail had killed his predecessor and assumed authority
over the search. Still, the results were slim and the trail was growing colder by the day.
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At first Captain Rail tried torture as a means of exacting information from those he took into custody.
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This didn't work because, generally speaking, as soon as anyone even saw the instruments of
inquisition, hooks, poles, ropes and spikes, they would blurt out any name or story that they thought
might see to their release. As such, Rail's men had taken several families into custody, usually fathers
with a daughter and a son. Jesse's family happened to be included.
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Jesse's father, Soni, was frantic after Jesse disappeared. Some of the town guard tried to tell him that
Jesse had drowned while she was fishing by the river. Soni refused to believe it though. Jesse was a
very strong swimmer and an accomplished fisherman. The guards' story just did not ring true. More
than that though, he could feel that she was still alive; he knew it somewhere deep within him, so he
relentlessly continued to search the city for her. He went to all of the nooks and crannies she was
known to frequent. He then asked every store owner in the Pleb District whether they had seen her.
The store owners were unusually accommodating. Several assured Soni that his daughter must be safe,
and more than one tipped his hat, brushed his nose, or gave him a sly wink as if to tell him that he need
not worry. Without fail though, every store owner he spoke to offered him some of their wares,
whether it be food, a shirt, or a map of the city, to aid him.
This all seemed very strange to Soni at the time because these store owners all knew that he had not
worked steadily since his wife passed away and so had very little money. A week earlier, some of these
same store owners had even chased him away for loitering in front of their stores. Little did Soni know
that the resistance had now adopted him as one of their wards, and they had decided to ease his plight
by generally making life easier for him. However, for his own safety, it was important that he never
learn that Jesse had run off with the prince. One thing the resistance had failed to account for though
was the love that a father feels for his daughter. And Soni was prepared to do anything and everything
to see his Jesse return home.
And there it was. Three days into his relentless search for his daughter, Soni decided to seek answers
from somewhere higher up. He had previously spoken to some of the town guard and even pleaded
with them to aid him in his search. Most had dismissed him casually, recounting the story of Jesse's
fishing accident. Nonetheless, he continued undaunted and eager for answers. Soni was desperate. He
walked up to the main gate of the guards' chief quarters and pushed his finger directly into the chest of
the guard on duty.
“My daughter is missing. What are you going to do about it?”
The guard looked at Soni, who was himself a large man with rough hands strengthened by years of
working in the field, and then wound up to hit him. The guards weren't necessarily stronger than any
other man in the town, but there was an unspoken rule that they upheld tenaciously: if a guard sought to
hit someone, they would do so with impunity and without retaliation. Fighting back was generally not
considered an option. The consequences of tangling with the city guard could oftentimes be extreme.
But even the guard could not fully account for the love that a father feels for his daughter.
Soni saw the punch coming before the guard had even fully decided to throw it. However, instead of
just steeling his jaw and preparing to absorb the blow, Soni threw his knee into the guard's diaphragm,
knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over with pain. Soni then promptly followed
that blow with an uppercut that quickly and easily sent the guard's helmet flying and knocked him
unconscious. Soni was standing over his fallen foe for barely a second before he was tackled to the
ground by three of the guard's comrades. He remembered spitting at one before a hard knock to the
back of his head knocked him unconscious.
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He awoke, as he had done many times before to the sound of his children's voices. Traeder and Ruth,
his younger children and Jesse's brother and sister were in a dungeon cell with him. His brash actions
had caused his two remaining children to be taken into custody. Traeder and Ruth were both crying
hysterically. As Soni shook the cobwebs from his head, he held his children gingerly in his arms.
“Are you hurt?” He turned Ruth's face this way and that looking for bruises, “No, they didn't hurt us,
Pa. But why are we here? What did Jesse do?”
Just then, Soni heard the door unlock with a clang as Rail entered the room holding a club in one hand
and a letter in the other.
“Good evening, I'm glad you are up.” The calmness in Rail's voice was terrifyingly cool and clinical.
“My lieutenant tells me that you tried to break into the guard house at the palace.”
“No, no it wasn't like . . .” Rail looked at Soni with a look making it clear that he should listen and
remain silent. Soni, his children crying in his arms, lowered his gaze and stilled his tongue.
“You also assaulted a palace guard, an offense punishable by death.” At this, both Traeder and Ruth
burst into tears. Soni looked directly into Rail's eyes with unwavering calm. “Now I hear that your
daughter went missing the same day as the prince and the king's adviser, you may have heard of that.”
“Yes of course, but my Jesse, she'd never . . .”
Again Rail shut down Soni's sentence with but a steely, icy look.
“Some people believe in coincidences, do you?”
Soni waited a moment to make sure that the question was not merely rhetorical before answering, “In
my experience, sir, there is no such thing as coincidence and fate is only that which we make of it. But
the idea that my Jesse somehow . . .”
Again Rail interrupted Soni mid-sentence, “I do not believe in coincidence either. How long have you
searched the city for your daughter?”
“Ten days sir.”
“Have you found any trace of her within the city?”
“No sir.”
“Then she may not be in the city then?”
“True sir.”
“Would you like to search elsewhere for her?”
“I would walk this entire world and all of The Realms to find my daughter sir.”
“That I know is true. I also know that there are few things in this world that can motivate a man like
the love of his daughter. I have reason to believe that, if you were to find the prince and the king's
adviser, you would also find your daughter. You obviously fear nothing in your search, you have
already proven your willingness to die for this cause. You were willing to storm the palace gates to
find your daughter. You can obviously handle yourself in combat as you bested one of my men, and it
took three of them to take you down. I believe our interests here are in alignment and that you are
more motivated to conduct this search than any other man in the city.”
Rail paused for a moment. He was taking a gamble here, but so far his best efforts at finding the king's
son and adviser had proven fruitless. The trail was growing cold and this man would obviously stop at
nothing in his search. Rail knew how the king rewarded failure and so it seemed that he had nothing to
lose.
“You know I could kill you,” again the children burst into tears at the sound of Rail's voice, “but I am
merciful, in a way, and you may be useful to me. I won't kill you today. I will help you search for your
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daughter. Here is a letter, signed by the king, appointing you a special investigator of the throne. I will
give you twenty men and the authority of the king's own seal to find your daughter. When you do, you
must hold the king and his adviser for me. You may then do what you will with your daughter, what
was her name?”
Soni, paused for a moment, what a reversal of fortune or so it seemed. He was not going to die but was
offered almost limitless resources to conduct his search. The gods must have been smiling on him.
“Jesse sir, my daughter's name is Jesse. But what of my other two children? Their mother is dead and
there's no one else to care for them.”
“I brought them here for a reason. They will serve the king while you are gone. A father's love for his
children is a very powerful motivating force. When you return with your Jesse, you may have the rest
of your family too, along with an estate and a sizable reward. Should you fail, well, that is not a
contingency we need to plan for is it?”
Soni looked at the two young children in his arms. The fate of all three of his children swung in the
balance or so it seemed. Although Rail asked him for a decision, Soni knew he had no real choice.
“I am at your service sir. I thank you for your mercy.”
“Don't thank me yet. Bring me the king's adviser and the prince and I will be the one thanking you.
Your children will work with the king's servants in the kitchen until you return for them. They will be
well cared for and will attend their lessons with the children of the other servants. Do not fail me.”
With that, Rail walked out of the cell, leaving the door ajar behind him.
“Pa, pa, what does this mean?” Ruth managed to ask the question through sobbing gasps.
“Dear, what this means is that you will wait for me here. You're safe here. You'll have to do chores for
the king and go to your lessons, but I have to go and look for Jesse for a while. You want me to find
our Jesse don't you?”
“Yes, pa, you will won't you.” the certainty in Traeder's young voice was unmistakable.
“Yes, I will.” And with that, a handmaiden came in to take Traeder and Ruth, much calmer now, to
their quarters to show them where they'd be staying. A guard brought in a uniform, armor, and a sword,
along with instructions as to how Soni would conduct his search. Just as the sun was setting, Soni, now
in the King's service, led twenty well-armed, uniformed soldiers down the North Road to find Jesse
and, with her, Hatch and Simon.
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Part II
Chapter 24
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The woods seemed friendlier by far in the daylight. And having lived with the bats for several days,
Jade was not the least bit intimidated by the winged mass hanging from the branches overhead. Jade
and Gravey sauntered through the forest for several hours before it began to thin out into grassland.
“Gravey, where do you think the road is?” Gravey looked around in response. “Well, lets just keep
traveling this way shall we, we're bound to reach a road sooner or later.” Not even five minutes later,
Gravey stumbled upon a road, an old road. In truth, it was more of a rocky trail but one could tell that
it was once a very large thoroughfare. Ancient elm trees lined either side of the road in very straight
and tidy rows.
Jade led Gravey down the road as she gazed up at the elm trees overhead. The surreal feel of the scene
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wasn't lost on her as she looked around. Here she was, a young girl leading a mule down an ancient
and ruined highway in the middle of nowhere. She followed the road for several minutes before it
opened up into a wide expanse. Jade would not have known that the road had widened but for the fact
that the elm trees she had been following spread out into a wide and open circle.
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“How odd, it's almost like the road just up and quit on us Gravey, what now?” As Jade examined her
surroundings, she saw the remnants of a fence long overgrown with brush and vines. She looked closer
and could tell that there was once a garden where she stood. As she led Gravey around the field, Jade
almost tripped over one large stone and then another. She was standing on the foundation of a huge
and ancient building. The stones had been torn down and ravaged by time but she could tell that they
were made of the finest marble. As she continued to explore her surroundings, she could see the
remnants of some great battle. She found helmets and even one huge sword that seemed far too large
for any human to wield. Finally though, as the sun began to fade and twilight announced its inevitable
arrival, Jade sat down right in the middle of the clearing and made a fire.
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“Well, here we are Gravey, I asked for a road but I kind of thought we'd find one that led somewhere.
Anyway, it's time to find something to eat.” Jade thought about using her Vision to find something to
eat, like she had done when she was with Mr. James. “No Gravey, I think it might be best for us to go
hunt for a rabbit or find some tubor root to eat.”
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Jade's father prided himself on his knowledge of the outdoors. He always seemed to know what kind
of plants one could eat and what kind of natural remedies might be available. He taught his children
how to fend for themselves in the outdoors and Jade remembered her lessons well. She quickly found
some wheat grass for Gravey. It was all over the place. At one point, the ruins may have housed a
large farm or plantation. There were also several apple trees with ripe fruit. Jade made a fire, cooked
some flat bread made out of the wheat grass and water and ate a couple of apples. As she laid down,
her head on Gravey's flank, she stared up into the sky.
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“The stars Gravey, it's been so long since I've just stared at the stars like this. It's beautiful isn't it?”
Jade was startled when she heard a response, “Beautiful.” She looked around. The voice was clearly
audible, yet Jade couldn't see where it had come from. She grabbed her knife and yelled out into the
dark, “Where are you? I'm armed. Don't come any closer.”
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She heard the voice again, “Closer? How much closer am I supposed to get?” Jade spun around just in
time to see a childlike silhouette dissolve into the darkness. “Where'd you go? I saw you? Leave me
be.”
“Leave you be, leave you be? That's is your request from me? Well dear we shall see what we shall
see.”
Jade had become used to the rhyming verse and back and forth that she used at times with Regarde,
“Enough I say, enough I see, come hither you reveal to me. Why are you here, what is your name,
What do you want, what is your game?” Jade smiled at how easily the verse was coming to her.
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The voice responded, “She sees, she sees, I'll not leave you be, not when I make such good company.
Come with me, come with me, come and see the free I be,”
“The free you be? I see I see, yet where is it that you'd take me?”
“My home of course, a fire I share, come be my guest, does that sound fair?”
“Where do you live, why would I go? With one without his presence shown?”
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And with that, a small man, roughly the same height as Regarde, appeared out of nowhere. It was
already dark so Jade could not be quite sure whether the man just appeared or whether the night was
playing games with her eyes.
“Come with me dear, I've shown no fear. You see me now, and I know just how, things tend to go and
this night I know, that giants come, to play with some, come with me now, better run.”
No sooner had the little man finished his rhyme then Jade heard a tremendous crash and saw one of the
huge elm trees sway as an enormous figure cut its silhouette through the night sky.
That was all the encouragement Jade needed. As one giant and then another emerged from the tree
line, she grabbed Gravey's harness and ran after the little man. She reached the tree line just in time.
When she turned around, she saw three huge forms milling around the center of the field where she had
been star gazing only moments earlier. Her jaw dropped in amazement, “but I thought, I thought . . .
giants are only in stories aren't they?” Gravey was obviously a little unsettled by the sight too because
he almost pulled the reigns right out of Jade's hand.
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“Stories, stories? What you say? Well unless the stories are here today, I'd say those giant's are real
Aye?”
“Well they sure look real to me.” First Riders and now giants. It seemed that all of the magic and
intrigue that Jade grew up thinking existed only in fairy tales was real.
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Three more huge figures emerged from the treeline and joined those in the center of the field. “Gravey,
I'm just glad we ate our dinner early, otherwise we may have been on the menu.” Jade held Gravey
close to calm his nerves. A bonfire quickly grew as the six huge figures lumbered around throwing
whatever wood they could find into the fire. Jade noticed though that they never touched any of the
ancient elm trees. They were off limits or so it seemed.
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The fire grew until it was almost as big as the giants. Jade heard the distant beating of one drum and
then another. She could tell the drums were still far away, but the vibrations they emitted were so low
that Jade could feel the beat in her bones. Jade could discern three different drums all approaching
from different directions. As she listened closer, it seemed like they were talking to one another in
some ancient rhythmic language. The gathering of giants grew as one group, lead by a drummer,
arrived in the clearing and then another. In the space of several minutes, the group of giants grew to
about twenty.
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Each giant brought a large branch or the trunk of a small tree and threw it on the fire. By the time the
gathering was complete, the bonfire in the center of the clearing had grown to a veritable inferno. The
drumming had grown in intensity too as did the howls and shouts of the giants as they greeted each
other. Jade was so mesmerized by the scene that she completely forgot about the strange little man
who had warned her to leave the clearing. She almost jumped for a second time that night when she
heard his voice behind her, “See, you see the giant's bring, their trees and clubs here to sing. The moon
is high the night is long, so giants come to sing their song.”
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The singing started as a low chant. The giants paced around the fire still beating their drums. As more
voices joined the chorus, the singing increased in speed and intensity. Just when the song seemed to
reach a climactic crescendo, silence suddenly erupted as the singing stopped. Jade looked around but
her new found friend was nowhere to be found. Then Jade saw him, he was floating lightly over the
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fire. She recognized his voice but it was booming across the clearing and must have been magically
enhanced.
“Friends we are and friends we've been – through war and peace tonight we bring – a song not long
forgotten of, the wars we remember now with love, for the peace we share and the cares we air, goblin
and giant we prepare, to celebrate fighting's cease, friends now come and be at peace.”
And just like that, more and more little people seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before long, there
were at least as many of the small people as there were giants. If it was the giants' job to bring the fire,
the goblins, Jade supposed they must have been goblins since apparently anything was possible, were
seemingly in charge of refreshments. Each goblin presented a large vase full of some sort of bubbling
liquid to each giant. Several minutes later, everyone in the clearing seemed to be laughing hard and
singing harder.
“So, do you still think the giant and goblin wars are just a story? Because that story seems to be
dancing right in front of me.” For the third time that night Jade was startled by a voice behind her. She
turned around and was heartened to see Regarde.
“Regarde, what . . . how . . . I mean, when . . .” Jade was stuttering.
“I see I see, still coming up with the right question eh?” Regarde shook his head as he laughed a bit, “I
told you I waited three hundred years for you. You didn't think I'd let you get into trouble.” Three bats
landed on Regarde's arm. Their eyes were as pink as Devin's.
“Well, I just thought that I could use some fresh air. It's not like I was going to be gone forever.” Jade
looked at her feet as she spoke.
Regarde answered, “I told you that some things were best learned by experience. Sometimes the best
way to learn about what's possible is to experience the impossible. A week ago, would you have
thought it possible to celebrate the end of the giant-goblin wars on the site of the final battle, the one
that destroyed the goblins' last over-ground city? Now come, experience this to the full, follow me.”
Jade followed Regarde into the center of the clearing. A couple of giants looked at her with quizzical
grins but quickly went back to their drinking and singing.
Regarde continued, “500 years ago a peace was declared between the giants and the goblins. Every
year we celebrate like this. The giants share their fire symbolizing their strength and protection, and we
share our dandelion wine demonstrating our good will. As long as we celebrate like this every year, we
are reminded of how strong a force peace is. This also gives both sides a chance to air any grievances
that might have built up over the past year. So tell me now dear, which is more interesting the fable or
history?”
“What's the difference?” the line between fairy tales and real life was becoming increasingly blurry for
Jade.
“Excellent answer my dear. There's hope for you yet there is.” And with that, Regarde disappeared
into the revelry. Jade too, and even Gravey, enjoyed the evening drinking, laughing, and singing with
the goblins and giants.
Chapter 25
2395
Soni rode his men hard. They were used to being driven relentlessly. They were members of the elite
Crown's Guard after all. However, the sheer single-minded determination that Soni bore was more than
even they were accustomed to.
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Each time the company reached a new village, Soni ordered everyone to assemble in the town hall or in
the local church, any place that could accommodate the entire village at once. He then asked the mayor
or some other official for a list of people who had come or gone during the last fortnight. The villages
scarcely ever kept track of the comings and goings of their residents and visitors, and Soni knew this.
Nonetheless, when the hapless and unwilling town official failed to recount each person who had either
come or left the village, Soni beat him cruelly. Only when his chosen “example” was sufficiently
beaten into submission did Soni consider listening what the other townsfolk had to say.
The villagers and townspeople were consistent with one thing, a caravan of textile traders had traveled
through the area about the same time that the prince, Simon, and Jesse disappeared. The third day from
the castle, just when Soni was becoming discouraged that the trail may have been growing cold, his
search provided a lead, one he could follow. Three days ride from Vercouth, and still two days from
the coast, Soni stormed into yet another small farming village. However, this time the villagers were
already assembled in the small church in the center of town. The town counsel was sitting in a line in
the front pew and, chained to a seat in front of them, was a badly beaten guard.
Soni strode into the church and walked down the isle as though he intended to give a sermon from the
pulpit. He ordered his men to take the town counsel into custody so he could better determine what
was afoot.
“Please sir, please, we only mean to assist the crown.”
“And since when has the crown needed your assistance?” Soni slapped the man speaking to him hard
across the face.
“Sir we heard of the questions you've been asking across the countryside. We only seek to offer our
service as meager as it might be.” The elderly man's eyes were shut as he cringed away from another
blow: one that never came.
“What service do you imagine to offer old man?” Soni raised his eyebrow.
“This man here,” the old man pointed to the guard chained to the chair at the front of the church, “he
traveled with the merchant Greenwald and came to our village three days past.”
Soni approached the beaten man. It was clear that he was prepared to talk.
It wasn't that Soni liked to hurt anyone. It wasn't that he wanted to inflict pain. To the contrary, Soni
was generally a very gentle man. He would care for his animals with mercy and compassion. His love
for his children was fierce though. And it seemed that the lives of all three of his children hung in the
balance. Love like this is a very strong motivator. For Soni it meant that he would do what had to be
done, even if he did not revel in the doing. He grabbed the guard's head in his hands and surveyed the
bruising on his face. Before he could even ask a question, the guard started stammering answers.
“Three days past sir. Three days past, no men, only old women and two young girls.”
“What's this gibberish you speak?” Though he had patience, Soni did not have time, “Speak clearly and
I may let you see the sunrise tomorrow. Speak ill and your words will be your last.” Soni stepped back
as one of his men held a sword to the chained man's throat.
“Yes sir,” the guard slowed down and recounted how he lost his employment with Greenwald after two
old women and two young girls, all meant for the slave market, escaped on his watch. He explained
how there was a noble young lady, her handmaiden, and the handmaiden's daughter. He also described
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how they were picked up just outside of Vercouth.
Soni listened carefully for any clue that might tell him whether this Greenwald had seen his daughter.
The guard described how Jesse had tried to sound like a noble woman and how her act was less than
convincing. The guard described the noble young lady, Jezebel, with as much detail as he could. When
he described the way she fought being tied to the hay wagon, Soni thought that this young lady just
might be his Jesse. What was she doing buying cloth from a merchant outside the city though?
At first Soni's heart jumped with hope, hope that Jesse might be only two days ahead of him. His joy
quickly turned to anger though when he thought of how this man had intended to make her a slave.
Soni turned to the guard and hit him hard with a gauntleted hand. The guard fell to the ground
unconscious.
“This man,” Soni addressed the rest of the village now, “shall be sold into slavery as he no doubt has
done to countless other souls. Hold him here till the slavers return this way. This town may be spared.
You have acted wisely in preserving this information for me.”
Soni had a trail, but he couldn't be sure that it was the right trail till he caught up with this Greenwald
character. Something told him he was on the right track though. And, in any case, it was better to have
some direction than to travel with none at all.
“The coast eh Jesse? What are you doing on the coast my dear?” Soni and his men rode out of the
town before dusk with a new determination in their stride.
Chapter 26.
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Hatch felt far more comfortable in his new attire. His new story was that he was a boy descended from
successful merchants; he was wearing a fine silk shirt and cotton pants. Jesse too felt more comfortable
in the boys clothes she was wearing. Dresses always made running, climbing, and hiding a bit of a
challenge. Jesse didn't even mind the fact that she had to cut her hair. Elanda cut her hair too. Now it
seemed that Jesse was to see the coast.
As they traveled, Jesse thought about all that had happened since she left the city. It had scarcely been
two weeks and already she had found the resistance, helped smuggle two royal fugitives from the city,
been captured by a slave trader, escaped the same, and now she was to see the coast. Whatever else
this journey had been, it had not been boring.
“Simon, how will we know when we find the Morning Star?” Jesse asked.
“Well dear, that is something we can't force. Remember this has all been written in prophesy. So if we
want the Prophesy to be fulfilled, the only thing we can do is make sure that we are doing our part. As
long as we are where we're meant to be, then everything will unfold the way the Prophesy foretells. If
we push too hard though, we may skew the balance even if we don't mean to.”
“So, we just go about doing our thing and hope it all works out?” Jesse had a puzzled look on her face.
“Yes and no. We need not look at the whole story, just our part in it. As long as we set our intention to
fulfilling our part, however major or minor that might be, then we have done all we can. Remember,
no one controls the future, we each just control our part in it and even that kind of control is merely an
illusion.”
Jesse shook her head, even Simon's most straightforward answers could make her head hurt sometimes.
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“Don't worry my dear, that is the key. Don't fret on these things, just let what will happen, happen.”
And with that, Simon quickened his pace, letting Jesse ponder the riddle he shared.
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When they entered the town of Merryweather, it seemed that everyone was suspicious of the new
arrivals. Simon entered the inn first and the low hum drum of conversation, which is common to such
places, ceased immediately. Simon ordered wine for himself and food for the rest of his party. When
Old Man March brought the family their food, he leaned in to talk to Simon with as much discretion as
the tavern afforded him.
“Look, best ye all be off once you've eaten. Folks here aren't taking too well to strangers of late.” Old
Man March looked over his shoulder and was unsurprised to see the rest of the bar trying to eavesdrop
on the conversation. Everyone went back to their drinks when Old Man March cleared his throat.
“As you wish fine sir, so be it. But we had hoped to find some board here. We have traveled far and
my boys here could use the rest.” Simon answered.
“Not tonight good sir. There is ill news on the breeze of the king's guard searching for travelers and
interrogating villagers. No, it's best for both our sakes if you continue your journey tonight.”
“What has passed here good innkeeper that would make such obviously good people hesitant to express
common hospitality?”
“Well the news from inland in one thing. Apparently, the king is searching for a woman and her
daughters who escaped on their way to the slave market up the coast. I say, best of luck to 'em, the
slave trade is a vile business.” Old Man March lowered the tone of his voice again, “look, you can
have some supplies free of charge, but it is not safe for you to stay at the inn tonight.” And with that,
Old Man March went back to serving his other customers.
“Well there you have it boys,” Elanda spoke with a smile on her face and a giggle in her voice, “it
seems that news of our exploits precedes us. How fortuitous that fate would see it just to herald our
arrival. I wonder how our exploits are being conveyed.”
Jesse and Hatch were obviously tired, they had been walking for hours without a break. The thought of
a warm bed and a full belly felt like heaven. Yet, as they all walked out of the inn and continued up the
road, it seemed that they were destined to spend another night outdoors.
As they walked along the main road through town, every eye in the small village seemed to be
watching them. Jesse fought the urge to hide in the shadows. That would just attract more attention to
their movements. Then, out of the quiet, a loud male voice rang out, “Oy there, boy, watch where you
stick that thing.”
“Look what I found sneaking through shadows at night. Come out of shadow and face my light.
Though the house is quiet, will this mouse fight?” Elanda led Mr. James by the point of her dagger out
of the shadows where he must have been following them.
“Who is this?” Simon directed the question at both Elanda and the man in front of her.
“I am Alexander James, here I am known as Mr. James. Lower your knife boy, lest you'd like the entire
village up in arms around you.” Mr. James wrapped his cloak tightly around him as he stood up to his
full height. Although he towered over Elanda, Elanda did not back down.
“Look, just follow me. You may stay in my barn tonight. I seek what news you may have from the city
. . .”
“Who said we were from the city?” Simon interrupted Mr. James mid-sentence.
“Well, I seek news from the city. If you've been traveling at all, and the tiredness on your boys attests
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to that, then you have news I've yet to hear. Come to my residence. The hay in my barn is more
comfortable than anything you'll find along the road.”
Simon thought for a moment, and decided that this strangely hospitable fellow might just have some
news that he'd be interested in. He nodded his assent and followed Mr. James to his humble abode.
Mr. James ushered his guests into his home looking around outside to make sure no unseen eyes
watched their comings and goings. Once inside, Mr. James stoked the fire that was still smoldering
from earlier that evening. He offered hot drinks to the children and brought some wine for himself and
Simon.
“Right then, you were following us kind sir before my son here began following you.” Simon got
down to business with little ado.
“So I was, so I was. You see there's been happenings around here of late, and it's proven prudent to
keep a close watch on strangers and those who might be asking questions.” Mr. James was calm but
serious, “But I could easily ask of you, what was it the four of you were doing passing through town?”
“And I could tell you that our business is our own and we owe no explanation for it. It is wise to
exercise care on the road around those who ask questions too easily,” Simon answered.
Jesse grew tired of the back and forth between Simon and this Mr. James, “Well, since you are both so
distrusting of the other's questions, why not stop asking and start offering answers?” Both men looked
at Jesse with surprise and then back at each other and burst into laughter.
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Mr. James was the first to speak, “Right you are boy. If we keep at it like this, we'll make no progress
at all. Rather, let me start with an answer and see if your master here shall return in kind.”
“He's not my master,” the words left Jesse's mouth before the thought fully formed in her mind.
“Well, there we have it, you have given me an answer to a question I had not asked. I thank thee child
for your step of good faith.” Mr. James continued, “Here sir is an answer to a question unasked though
the answer may leave my tidings unmasked. Information I offer may it lend to you aid, these facts I do
proffer before memory fades. People here are careful around strangers because we've had word that the
king has sent his personal guard out into the villages to inquire about the king's son and his adviser.
Men have been tortured and whole villages have been punished in the king's quest for information.”
“Thank you kind sir for your show of good faith. I return in kind and do here keep pace. The king
indeed searches for his son and his adviser. Yet the news that you bring makes me reluctant to sing
without first a show of your trust.”
Mr. James thought for a moment, he answered clearly and slowly, “Friends, I lost a ward near the same
time that the king began scouring the countryside for his. There were Riders here. They chased a
child, and I hope that I bought her enough time to make it to safety. Though I've heard nothing of her
for almost two weeks, I find solace in news that the Riders still hunt for her. As long as they are
looking for her, it means they do not have her. I have spoken true and give you useful information,
what news from the city?”
Simon thought for a moment, Mr. James had truly disclosed some valuable information. And it was
information that exposed him to some level of risk. Mr. James had trusted them, he decided to
reciprocate, to a point.
“I heard that Riders had left the City. That was just over two weeks ago, before the prince and the
king's adviser went missing.” Simon clearly had Mr. James's attention, “They were searching for one
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girl in particular: a seer. We've not seen any Riders ourselves though, nor have we seen any of the
king's guard, not since leaving the city anyway.”
“The Riders came for a girl named Jade. They ransacked her house, but I managed to get the girl away
safely. I found the Riders on our trail and tried to lead them away. Riders have been seen on the roads,
so I do not think that they found her.” Mr. James was somber in his tone.
Simon had to proceed very carefully. He now had a name for the Morning Star and that gave him
direction, but it would only put Mr. James in danger to know their true identities. “Sir, do you seek this
Jade?”
“Ah, a question, and I thought we were only trading answers.” Mr. James was not about to let Simon
off the hook that easily.
“Right you are,” Simon responded, “The Riders were rumored to have strict orders to find the girl,
blind her, and return her to the castle alive. The fact that they still search likely means that this Jade
still eludes them.”
“I have not been searching for Jade. The Riders followed me for a long while and they likely still stay
aware as to my whereabouts.”
“Where did you last see this Jade?” Simon asked another question, a fact that was not lost on Mr.
James.
“What news do you have of the king's son?” Mr. James looked directly at Hatch when he asked this
question. He did not exactly expect an answer but, rather, his question was was a signal to Simon that
it was time for the conversation to shift away from such weighty matters.
“Well, that was a lovely chat. May my sons and I rest here for the night?”
Mr. James answered with a nod and went to get some blankets from a closet.
They now had a name, Jade, and a hometown, Merryweather, and perhaps even a new ally in Mr.
James. Simon went to sleep considering how he might use this information to further his quest.
Chapter 27.
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Growing up, Jade imagined that goblins were green and generally ugly. She thought they hid under
bridges or stole single socks from the laundry. But for the past week, she had been living with one
without even realizing it. Regarde was a goblin and, as far as Jade could tell, he was just like her
except that he was smaller, had more hair, and was given to speaking in rhyme.
She met many goblins that night in the clearing and more than a few giants. Giants seemed intelligent
enough even if their conversation was a bit preoccupied with hunting and competitions of strength.
They liked the drink the goblins brought with them.
Before Jade knew it, the sun was peaking up over the horizon signaling the beginning of a new day.
One thing she learned the previous night, if she had not already learned this lesson, was that even fairy
tales and bedtime stories could come to life at any time. Here she was in the middle of a long lost
goblin city celebrating the joys of peace with a group of goblins and giants.
As Jade sat on a small hill away from the slumbering bodies and drunken merriment, Regarde came to
sit by her. He had scarcely said two words to her since he invited her to join the revelry of the night
before.
“Well young one, I agree with your insistence on reliving history rather than reading about it.
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Experience is the best teacher I always say.” Regarde was chewing on a toothpick as he spoke.
Jade turned and looked him straight in the eyes, “Did you know I was coming here? Is that why you
had me read those dusty books? Was there something in the prophesies about me coming here?”
“Hmmmm,” Regarde appeared to ponder this question if only for a moment, “Child, you ask many
questions. Why? What would you do with all the answers? I'd wager that even if you knew all that
there was to be known, you'd still be sitting right here enjoying the sunrise with a friend. So then the
question becomes, if all the answers in the world would still find you right here, what good are answers
anyway? Now, more interesting questions, that's something worth talking about.”
Jade was starting to get it. The more she strove after the answers, the more she tried to have everything
worked out, the less she felt one with what was happening at that moment. However, when she focused
on what was happening right then and there, the answers came to her easily. She never left the cave
seeking to find a gathering of giants and goblins, yet when she let herself just be, the magical and
wonderful made itself known. It was as if her life and that of the magical were indelibly intertwined.
Just then, a particularly large giant walked up to Regarde and Jade and laid a rather large tree branch at
their feet. Jade noticed a few white apple blossoms on it. “I bring you tree, flowers are there. Come to
our home, see how we fare. Humans are greedy and force their own way, yet you here are gentle. So
what do you say?”
Regarde looked at the giant and then at Jade, “Well dear, he would like an answer. Will you go with the
giants to see where they live?”
“Well, but wait, are you coming Regarde? What about Gravey? Oh and Devin, what about Devin?”
“More questions, more questions. Jade, I was not invited. This is your decision. Keep in mind one
thing while you make it, there is no wrong answer.”
Jade thought for a moment. On the one hand, to be invited to a giant's home must be quite an honor.
More than that though, it was bound to be entertaining. Then she thought of her family, a trip with the
giants would only take her further from her goal.
“Think carefully dear for this opportunity may not come again. It is bound to be exciting and eyeopening. It may not always be fun, it may not be easy, but it is extraordinarily unlikely to be boring.”
Regarde spoke in an uncharacteristically straightforward manner. Jade just could not shake it though.
It seemed that Riders were after her, and she knew little of what had happened with her family since
she left her village in the dead of night.
“Giant, I offer humble thanks, for your offer of hospice and invitation. But I decline to visit with your
ranks now at this solstice after celebration. I feel that there may be work for me to continue with
Regarde here.”
Once the Giant left, apparently satisfied with the cordial delivery of Jade's declination, Regarde leaned
in and whispered into Jade's ear, “So why then did you leave the cave? Was it to find other adventure
or was it to avoid the books and reading?”
“No, Regarde, sure the reading was boring, but now I see that these things are not just stories. It's real,
it's all real. That makes the reading more interesting. But no, I guess I mainly just wanted to get home,
see my ma and pa. But that's not going to happen soon is it?”
Regarde looked at Jade in response and then said, “Well, is it? Will you go home? It's not up to me
where you sit or whether you roam.”
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“No, I suppose that's my decision. I will go home. But where is my home? That's perhaps a more
interesting question.” Regarde smiled, apparently Jade was learning something, “for now though, I'd
like to continue my studies with you. If that would please you.”
“Please me it would, and we know now we should, start the walk home, for we've far to roam. Enjoyed
you this stay with the giant's today?”
“Yes sir I did, the giants are fine. Though the company right here,” Jade looked at Regarde, a look of
thanks on her face, “I find divine.”
Regarde and Jade spent the morning visiting with the giants and nursing a couple of goblins through
the worst of their hangovers. Jade learned that goblins, in order to fix a hangover, just kept drinking.
They were ready to say their farewells just before lunchtime. The trip back to the cave was bright and
lighthearted. Jade was still in awe of her experience of the night before and could hardly contain her
excitement. If goblins and giants existed, then anything in her fairy tales and bedtime stories could
come true.
As they got back to the cave though, something did not seem right. It was still well before dusk, yet the
bats were restless and bothered. It was as though their daytime slumber had been interrupted by
something or someone. Regarde lifted his head and smelled the wind.
“Quiet dear, something is here.” Jade crouched down and watched the entrance to the cave. She could
hear a rustling coming from inside the cave somewhere. Devin knew better, he would not be disturbing
the bats. Just then Jade heard a cry; it was not audible but it sounded in her head nonetheless, “Jade,
they are here: Riders!” Jade almost jumped up and screamed and would have done so were it not for
Regarde's firm and calming hold on her hand.
Another dark and oily voice sounded in Jade's head, “yeesss dear, we have your friend heere. Come
find us befoore we reach the shoore.” As soon as the echoing reverberations of that voice died down,
three Riders hurried out of the cave. One held a sack cloth bag over his shoulder, and from it Jade
heard Devin's whimpers and whines. Again, Jade almost sprang up. This time Regarde had to hold her
tight, one hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. He whispered softly into her ear, “Nay
child not yet, don't place hasty bets on foolhardy rushing when we should be shushing. They shan't
hurt our friend for they want you not him, so bide our time and we'll rescue just fine. Now's not the
day to fight in this way.”
Once they were back in the cave, Jade yelled in exasperation, “What good is this Vision if I can't even
protect my family and friends?” Jade was distraught. If only she had worked harder, done more, then
she'd have been able to help, been able to fight.
Regarde answered calmly, “Child you have seen few summers. There is time left to learn. Don't look
at what could have, or what should have, been this or that. This is a perfect moment, in all of its relief.
For 'tis better that you are not with the Riders as well. Look to what you can do now, and keep your
focus here.”
“I can learn about this Vision I have. I still have yet to learn who I am and what all this means. Why
are Riders looking for me? What's so special about me or about who I am? What was all that in the
prophesies? That's it, where are the Prophesies; maybe that will tell us where they took Devin.” Jade
started leafing through one stack of papers and then another indiscriminately.
Regarde put his hand on hers and calmed her desperate and frantic search for answers, “Jade, we know
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where they are taking him. They are taking him to the coast. Most likely to Merryweather or some
place near it. They are not hiding him from you, they want you to find him. And there is time for the
Prophesy and I agree you should make yourself familiar with it, but right now lets rest. We did not
sleep last night and we have been traveling all day. Things will look clearer by the light of a new day.”
Jade knew that Regarde was right. She was helping no one in the frantic state she was in, and if she
just rushed off into the night, she'd likely collapse out of exhaustion before morning. She laid down on
her mattress on the floor and slept. She slept fitfully and dreamed vividly, but she rested and woke
early the next morning. She knew it was early because the bats had not yet been scared back to their
home by the dawn.
Chapter 28
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Soni arrived in Merryweather early the next day. He quickly found Old Man March in the inn. He sat
down calmly with two of his lieutenants while five more of his men sat at a nearby table. Together, the
soldiers were quite an intimidating sight. The rest of the tavern quietened down as the soldiers took
their seats. Old Man March hurried to bring them a menu and two pitchers of ale.
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“Sir, it's a bit early to be drinking is it not?” When one of his men heard Soni say this, he started
pouring ale back from his glass back into the pitcher.
“Well to each their own, just making our hospitality clear. Whatever I can do for the king's men. We
can be very accommodating here in Merryweather.” Old Man March chuckled nervously as he spoke.
“Well, breakfast for each of my men if you would, and then sit with us a while. I would like to chat.”
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Old Man March swallowed hard. He was a large man, his belly spoke of years working in a bar and his
barrel chest and wide arms spoke of decades swinging a blacksmith's hammer before he inherited the
inn. Yet he had heard of how this officer asked questions, and he knew that his life just might depend
on the answers he gave. He hurried back to the kitchen and made a dozen heaping plates of eggs and
potatoes. He figured that it was better to provide too much food than not enough. He had his cook and
his cleaning girl help him get the plates back to the tables.
“Here you go sir, eat up, eat up. Tell me if there is anything else I can provide for you.” Old Man
March started walking back to the kitchen when he heard Soni call after him, “Bartender, a word if you
please.” Old Man March turned around and walked back to the table.
“Yes sirs, how may one humble as myself be of assistance?”
“Well, start off by cutting the feigned pleasantries. I have some questions. Please sit and join us. Here
is an extra plate; eat with me.”
Old Man March started to refuse the offer to eat; however, the look in Soni's eye made it clear that the
order to eat with him was a demand and not an invitation to be declined.
Old Man March dutifully started eating from the plate in front of him. The rest of the men had not
even lifted a fork yet. However, after seeing Old Man March dig in to his breakfast, the others soon
joined in.
“Not poisoned I see, that bides well for you old man. Here, trade me plates.” Soni took Old Man
March's plate and began to eat hungrily.
“Do you know why we are here?” Soni managed to ask between heaping spoonfuls of eggs.
“Sir, I have heard rumors of your travels, but I do not assume to know of the reasons for them.”
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“Well that was a diplomatic answer if ever I heard one. Are you a politician perhaps?” The other
guards at the table snickered quietly.
“I am the mayor of the town, yes sir.”
“Well then, I am speaking to the right man. Let me ease your ignorance sir, if ignorant you are, and I
suspect you are not. I search for a merchant, Greenwald is his name. I'm told he sells the finest
textiles.” A look of surprise crossed Old Man March's features for barely a second. Clothes shopping?
Was that really what brought the king's men to Merryweather?
“Sir, the merchant caravans rarely make it this far south. I have not seen one yet this season.”
“How do you buy supplies? You obviously keep some goods here for sale to the villagers.”
“That I do, yes sir, and if you need any supplies do let me know. . .”
“I'm not here to buy anything old man.”
“No, of course not. I travel to Springinn, a town two days ride to the north. They have a market that
many of the merchants in these parts here attend. It is not a city like Vercouth to be sure, but it is much
larger than the other towns one finds along the coast.”
“Yes, yes I know it,” in truth, Soni had never heard of the town, Until a week prior, he had rarely even
traveled outside of the city, “And here? Have there been other goings on? Travelers passing through,
that kind of thing.”
Old Man March considered whether to relate the story of Jade's disappearance and quickly thought that
it was best not to hide anything of such obvious relevance.
“Well sir, it's interesting that you should ask. Just two weeks ago, the village was visited by Riders.
One of our children went missing after that. We hope she eluded them and is hiding somewhere but, as
you know, that's unlikely when Riders are involved.”
Riders? Soni thought that Riders only appeared in children's bedtime stories. Yet the fear in the old
man's eyes as he recounted the story spoke otherwise.
“Where did they go? Who was this girl?” Soni decided that the timing of the kidnapping of this girl
with the disappearance of his own daughter and that of the king's son was more than coincidence. He
decided long ago that, when things looked like they might be connected, they usually were.
“Where have they gone?”
Old Man March answered, “One man said he saw one on the road outside of town two nights ago, but
he left here late and had been drinking all evening. He was likely just jumping at his own shadow. The
girl was . . . is . . . named Jade. Her father lives several miles down the north road. He is a fisherman
and has a small farm on the coast. She was taken, or chased rather, from her home there.”
“Hmm, very well. Men I think we know where we go from here.” Soni got up to leave and his men
reluctantly left their plates still steaming on the table. Some of the more confident men started
shoveling the warm food into their pockets.
As Soni walked out the door, he turned in time to see the relieved look dissipate from Old Man March's
face with his renewed attention. “One more thing old man, any other visitors? A young girl perhaps, or
old women traveling with young girls? Who has visited town lately?”
“No women sir. A man came through here last night with his three sons but he did not stay in the inn.”
“Hmmm. Well, you say that you are the mayor here are you not?”
“Yes sir, I said it was so sir.”
“Then no one is to leave the town till I say otherwise. All visitors are to stay here till I can question
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them. As I hope you have seen, I can be a reasonable man. However, it is not wise to challenge even
the least of my decrees. Can you see to that?”
“Yes sir, right away. I will send word through the town that none shall leave till you give permission.”
“Very well, I shall have one man stay here and three more patrol the town to offer any 'assistance' you
may require.”
2830
The tone of his voice made it clear that by “assistance” Soni meant insurance. And with that, Soni and
all but one of his men walked through the door. One guard was very pleased to sit down to his
breakfast. He stopped the cleaning girl from taking three of the plates left by his comrades. He ate
well that morning.
Chapter 29
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There was a sturdy rap on the door. Simon rolled over and tried his best to ignore the disturbance. It
was incessant though and only increased in intensity the more Simon tried to ignore it. Simon looked
around the room and saw Jesse and Hatch still sleeping soundly. Elanda was not there though. She
walked into the room a moment later with her knife out.
“Where is that James man? What are we to do about the door?”
“Well naturally, we should open it,” Simon said as he sauntered over to the door and answered it
casually yawning as he did so. When he saw a heavily armored and armed man at the door, he acted as
though it were nothing out of the ordinary.
“Do you know what time it is?” Simon asked the guard as one might ask one's mother-in-law.
“Almost lunch time. Open up, king's business, We must search the house.” The guard's tone was
commanding even if it was a little unsure.
“Almost lunch? I've not even had breakfast. Ellen dear, come here, it seems we've overslept and we
have company.”
Elanda froze, she scarcely knew what to do so she did what any recently awakened woman of the house
might do under such circumstances, “Oh dear, dear, I'm not dressed. Don't let them in, I'm not
appropriate.” Elanda rushed around the living room wondering what to do: children on the floor, knife
in her hand, armed guard at the door, Simon yawning. Simon's yawn was the only thing that didn't
seem out of place. Elanda let down her hair, pulled down the shoulders of her blouse, hiked up her
leggings and threw a blanket over her shoulders so it looked as though the blanket were the only thing
she had on. When she got to the door, she truly looked as though she had barely woken up.
“James dear, what is it?” Elanda feigned surprise when she saw the guard at the door, “What have you
done now you brute. If you've drug our name through more filth with another one of your schemes,
Simon, I mean James, it'll just be the end of you.”
“Oh do excuse the Mrs. She's a bit excitable this hour of the morning,” said Simon through another
exaggerated yawn, “Dear, he says he needs to search the house.”
Even with her best poker face on, Elanda looked like a deer caught in headlights. Beneath the blanket
she was wearing, her hand was closed tight around the knife.
“Oh look, she's upset that she didn't have time to clean up. Dear, I don't think the constable . . .”
“Uh, king's guard” the helmeted man corrected him.
“Yes, yes, I don't think the guard here would mind a little mess.” Simon turned towards the guard,
looked him straight in the eye, and made sure he had his full attention, “However, you know don't you
that even if you look around in this house, you won't find a thing, not even a mouse. The floor may be
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dirty and the curtains are stained and the remnants of dinner, well they still remain. But other than that,
there's naught shall ye find, no children, no baggage, no trace left behind. So look if you will but you
shall not see, anything that's now been hidden from thee.”
With that, Simon stepped away from the door and invited the guard in. The guard looked around and,
notwithstanding the two slumbering forms on the floor, turned to Simon, thanked him, apologized for
the inconvenience, and gave a polite nod to Elanda before he left to go and search the house next door.
As he was halfway to the gate in front of the house, the guard turned around just before Simon shut the
door, “Oh sir, what was your name?”
Simon answered, still yawning, “James.”
“Last name?”
“That is my last name.”
“Oh yes, first name?”
“Mister.”
“Very good, good day Mister James, Mrs. James.” And with that the guard continued on his way.
Once the door was closed, Elanda threw off her blanket. She was still holding her knife. Her white
knuckles were showing. “What was that? You did not tell me you were a speaker. I've half a mind to
run this blade through you right now.”
Simon looked at the blade and answered calmly, “No, no, that doesn't seem prudent now does it. It
wouldn't do to leave a mess in someone else's house.”
“No you don't. You know that your words don't work on my kind.”
“Your kind?” Hatch was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “Elanda, what do you mean your kind?”
“Well,” Simon barely registered Hatch's question, “good sense and reason work on any kind, and
running me through with that blade makes no sense and is not reasonable.”
“Whose kind? Simon, what are you talking about?” Hatch stood up. He forgot though that he had
taken his pants off the night before. He crumpled into a heap, trying to cover himself with a blanket,
when a tell tale smirk crossed Elanda's lips.
Elanda answered with a chuckle, “The kind who wear pants in polite company. Really Hatch, a royal
upbringing should have taught you better.” Simon, started packing his things as Jesse, wakened by the
commotion, looked around disoriented.
Just then there was another knock at the door. This time though, the rap was light and the door opened
before Simon could answer it. It was Mr. James.
“I went to see if there was any news at the inn. When I was walking home, I saw a guard at the door.
What happened? How are you all here and safe?” Mr. James hurried himself in and placed a bag of
eggs down on the table.
“Oh, well, Elanda was running around in a blanket, and Hatch here was in his drawers so the guard left
in a hurry hoping to keep himself clothed. It really doesn't matter how we did it, does it? Just rest
assured that the guard is sure that you have nothing to hide. Oh but, should it come up, you have a wife
who, by the looks of things, is not shy if she is anything.” Simon gave Elanda a wink and she huffed
loudly and walked away. Mr. James, for his part, wisely went to the kitchen to cook some eggs.
Once everyone had eaten and they were sitting by the fire, Mr. James shared what he had learned
during his excursion. “Well, the king's guard is in town . . .” Jesse, not knowing that her father was
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leading them, almost gagged on her hot chocolate. She had had many unpleasant interactions with the
guard in Vercouth. Elanda patted her on the back and Mr. James calmly continued, “It seems they are
looking for a merchant, Greenwald I believe. There was also talk of a group of women who escaped
from his caravan a half day's walk south.” Elanda and Jesse exchanged knowing glances and a grin.
Hatch's cheeks turned slightly red.
Mr. James continued, “Someone at the inn mentioned a man with his sons, but it doesn't look as though
you four are very high on their priority list. They are, however, looking for Jade and the group of
women. Since they searched the house here, and wherever you hid you must have hid well, I think that
you are all safe to stay here till things cool down.”
“How long do you suppose that will be?” Simon asked.
“Well, there is a camp of guards outside town and there are several patrolling the streets. It could be a
while. I have a cellar, hidden of course, where you can stay till it's safe to leave.”
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Jade returned to her studies with a renewed determination. The books she read were all the more real
to her now. If giants and goblins were real then she decided anything must be possible. So when she
read about the Fairy Embargo or the Pixie Revolt, she was as enthralled as a child reading a favorite
bedtime story. She was starting to spend more time each day practicing with her Vision too. Regarde
would sit on the floor with her after the bats had left for their nightly hunt and encourage her with one
exercise or another.
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“Okay, now close your eyes,” Jade listened to Regarde carefully, “See a lotus flower blossoming near
your heartspace.” Jade imagined the flower blooming radiantly, it was the most majestic shade of
white. “Now, as the bloom opens, see a white hot light inside it filled with peace and love bringing
healing to everything it touches. See the light getting brighter and brighter so that the light fills your
entire body. The light keeps expanding till it fills the room. And it keeps expanding till it fills this
cave, this forest, The Realms, the entire world, and now it flows out to the stars, still bringing healing
to everything it touches.” Jade could see the light from her lotus pulsating with the beat of her heart.
She felt at one with everything, at one with life and time itself. “Okay now open your eyes.” Jade did,
but she could still feel the lotus of light in her chest.
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Regarde gave her a moment to reorient herself to the room she was in, “Dear, you see before your
thoughts were scattered, Vision without focus leaves seers tattered. So focus my dear, that is the key,
keep the flow up, and with Vision you see, the pure the good focus on that, and that becomes greater
wherever you're at.”
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Jade was also getting better at speaking in rhyme the way Regarde did. She would simply clear her
mind. She knew what she wanted to communicate, so with her mind clear but her intention set, she
would just let the words tumble out. It felt as though she were speaking what she was feeling without
her thoughts or judgments getting in the way.
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“What's the point though? How do I fight? The Riders they came and took friends in the night. If I
Visualize rabbits and stew and ropes broken, how does that help the friends that have spoken, so freely
to help me and save me and here, it seems I have Vision yet am I a seer?”
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Regarde stopped for a moment and just looked at Jade, “Jade you are a child. Everyone has Vision, it is
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part of the spark that makes us alive. Just hold to the flow, learn not to strive. Decide where you're
going and you shall arrive. I can teach you these wonders of how not to be seen, how to make others
see what you want them to be, but without focus on pure, on love and not hate, your Vision is wild, and
we'd have to abate. So stay with me here, focus on now, the other fun comes, I'll show you how. But
right now and right here, my eager dear, focus on lessons the now and the here.”
And so Jade continued her lessons, meditation, and studying for several days. Although she recognized
the importance of the exercises Regarde showed her, she was eager to help her friend. After about
three days, she broached the subject with Regarde.
“It's been three days, Regarde. Three days since they took Devin. He did not leave me when the
Riders came to Merryweather. I should not leave him now. Anything could happen in three days. He
could be anywhere. They could have done anything with him.”
Regarde thought for a moment. “Rest assured, they have not harmed him. They need him alive to
draw you out. However, keep in mind that once they have you, they'll have no reason to keep him safe.
He is far safer with you here and he there than any other way. I know it's a bitter pill to swallow, but
right now you are a dangerous girl to be around.”
Jade let this sink in for a moment. It was true. Her friends, her family, she had put them all in danger.
And Regarde was right, if they needed Devin alive, then it was in her best interest to stay away from
him. Perhaps the best thing she could do to help her friend was to commit to her studies.
As Jade pondered these things, she heard something that she was not accustomed to hearing: the bats.
Sure, the bats made a massive ruckus during their nightly exodus and their return to roost every
morning, but it was near midday as far as Jade could gather. The bats were supposed to be asleep and
silent. Yet there it was and Regarde heard it too.
“Quickly my dear we must flee, we must flee. Imagine the books into invisibility.”
“What?” Jade had never made something disappear before and she wondered how someone would
imagine something not there?
“The books all around, there's too many to take. Vision them unseen for goodness sake.”
“How?” Jade was frantic, she could hear the din of the disturbed bats getting closer and closer.
“Don't think, do.” and with that, Regarde blew out the candle in the room plunging the small chamber
into darkness. Jade felt Regarde take her hand.
“Jade, the books are sacred and Riders do steal. See the room clean and think with your feel.”
Jade cleared her mind and imagined the room the way it was the first time she saw it, clean but a bit
messy. There were no books out and no manuscripts on the table or anywhere else. Then she took that
vision and thought on it with as much focus as she could. With her mind focused like this, she could
feel the other minds near her. There was Regarde, she could recognize his immediately. There were
many minds of bats all cranky at being woken or fearful of a predator in their midst. Then she felt
three oily dark minds, Riders. She focused on those three minds and again imagined the room the way
it was the first time she saw it. It only took her a few seconds, but when she was done she felt slightly
fatigued.
“That'll do, that'll do, follow me, I'll lead you.” Regarde took her hand and started racing ahead
through tunnels and chambers. It was pitch black and Jade could not see a thing, but Regarde ran faster
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and faster through the black emptiness. Jade was used to the breeze in the cave and so knew that there
were at least two entrances, but she had never seen the other side of the cave. As Regarde pulled her
hand, forcing her to run faster and faster, the sound of the bats died away in the distance and the breeze
felt harder and fresher on her cheek. Then she saw it, the light at the end of the tunnel. It was just a dot
in the distance but it was there. Regarde stopped running and crouched down along the rocky wall of
the tunnel.
“No one knows of this entrance to the cave. Yet stay here a moment and let me go see, make sure
there's no Riders waiting for thee.”
Jade responded quickly and firmly, “No, not again. This happened with Mr. James and I know not
whether he is even still alive. We stick together.”
“Well, be silent and step light.”
Jade and Regarde crept up to the opening and peered out from the shadows. They were there, three
more Riders. These ones were on horseback and they milled around some thirty meters or so from the
cave's entrance.
“Jade, we are trapped here. You must disappear. I'll lead them away but you disappear and stay.”
“Disappear? How? I don't even know whether the books disappeared.”
“Sometimes it is necessity that facilitates the discovery of our greatest gifts. And Jade it is necessary.
Don't think, do.” And with that, and before Jade could say a word in protest, Regarde was off. He
made a huge racket as he hurled himself through the cave's opening and into the forest screaming
obscenities at the Riders who started to follow him.
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Jade waited a moment and then thought to herself, “Okay, don't think, do.” She closed her eyes and
tried to just imagine the cave's opening without her in it. It didn't matter, she was still in the picture.
Then she reached out to any other minds in the area. There were four getting fainter and fainter as they
got further and further away. But there was one more dark mind waiting just outside the cavern. And
he felt her looking for him. She could feel the Rider as it started moving into the cave. Instinct took
over and Jade cleared her mind of all thought. She could still feel the other mind in the cave coming
closer, but for her part she cleared her mind of all thought and seemed to just drift away. The Rider
came to within a few feet of where Jade was crouched and then turned and started walking away. Once
he got outside, he mounted his horse and galloped away to join in the hunt for Regarde. Whatever
happened, whatever Jade did, it worked. She was safe as she walked out into the daylight. She heard a
familiar voice sound in her head, “Good work dear, very good work.” It was Regarde and Jade could
feel that he was enjoying himself as he led the Riders around and around in circles.
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When Soni arrived at Jade's childhood home, he saw Doc outside mending some of his fishing nets.
He could sympathize with how Doc felt. Doc had apparently also recently lost a daughter. He told his
men to wait far up the road. He approached Doc by himself.
“Ho there, 'tis a fine day for fishing no?” Soni walked up and sat next to Doc, who appeared to be
thoroughly engrossed in his work.
“Ay, but fishing in fine weather can amount to naught with holey nets.”
“Ay, 'tis true, 'tis true. My name is Soni. I heard about your daughter.”
Doc looked up, he saw Soni's uniform and went back to his work. “The king's guard eh? What does
the king have to say about the loss of my daughter? Since when has he taken an interest in the goings
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on of Merryweather?”
Soni could see his own sadness and anxiety in the eyes of the man in front of him. “The king may care
or he may not. I come here because I empathize with your plight.”
“And which plight is that? If it is the disrepair of my nets, then the best way you may empathize is to
aid in their repair.”
Soni sat down and began tying up the holes in Doc's fishing nets. He had never been a fisherman, but
he had had many odd jobs before his employment in the king's service. Along the way he had learned
to repair nets.
“My daughter went missing just over two weeks ago. We live in Vercouth and my search for her has
brought me to the coast so it seems.”
Doc looked up, he was hesitant to trust this man in uniform even though they apparently had much in
common. He set his mind back to the task at hand, mending his fishing nets.
Soni continued, “I searched Vercouth far and wide. I was not in the king's service then. In fact I was
only commissioned a week ago. It seems that the king's son went missing the same time as our
daughters.”
“So the aristocracy is not completely immune from the plight of the peasant. That justice brings some
solace to my heart. What is it you want sir? I too empathize with your plight, but what is it really that
brings you here?” Doc had relived the story of Jade's disappearance enough times. He was not eager
to retell the story yet again.
“Well, I have found that life offers little in the way of true coincidence. When monumental happenings
are in the winds, it affects all of The Realms. No one is immune from the winds of fate. My search for
my daughter was frantic and it landed me in the king's dungeon. Yet my steadfast resolve apparently
caught his eye, and now I search for the prince with the sure knowledge that the answers to my own
questions will make themselves known on this journey.”
Doc had to respect Soni's approach. So many other people had come asking questions about this or
that. Yet Soni shared a piece of his own story and Doc, in response, felt comfortable responding in
kind. “Soni, I searched for my daughter far and wide. Up and down the coast I traveled. I questioned
those I met to the point of violence. Mr. James was present that night and I dare say that my
questioning blackened his eye. There were Riders, perhaps you heard, and I searched for them
relentlessly. The problem with Riders though is that many people never see them, even in a crowd, and
as for those that do, they do not relish discussing the experience. From Springinn to the Burning
Bridge of Twisight, there were only a few leads and following those trails turned up little useful
information. For now, I wait here. Sometimes fate brings us our heart's deepest desires only when we
learn to let go of our yearning.”
Soni responded, “And other times fate brings us our desires in response to our most steadfast
persistence.”
“And sometimes, those two principles are not mutually exclusive.” Doc put down his net and looked
Soni directly in the eye, “Do you have news of my daughter?”
Soni chuckled lightly, “I am accustomed to asking the questions in these circumstances but, no I don't,
at least not yet. But I'm interested in finding your daughter because I feel that aiding you in your
search may well help me in mine.”
Doc was relieved. He knew that the Balance could not be pushed one way or another. That was why
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he had contented himself with working at home in lieu of running around the countryside asking
questions and searching aimlessly. Yet was this the aid that he had been praying for? Doc told Soni his
story and recounted the places he went and the people he spoke to during his search. Soni, for his part,
listened closely and then told Doc what he had learned about Greenwald and the strange disappearance
of the group of captive women. After more than an hour, Doc held up the fishing net. Every hole had
been repaired and it was now in good order.
Soni got up to leave, “Before I leave, Doc, I feel compelled to invite you to join my search. You are
welcome to join me and my men.”
Doc looked up, gratitude was written in his countenance, “Thank you Soni, I wish you the best in your
search. If you hear more of Jade's whereabouts, please inform me.”
“I will,”
Doc nodded and then continued, “However, I shall stay here for now. I feel that Jade, or news of her,
will reach me here. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let fate and the Balance run its course.”
“Very well then, should Jade, or news of her whereabouts, reach you here, please send word to the
garrison in Springinn, they shall know how to get word to me.”
“As you wish. Soni, I have enjoyed our talk and I thank you for your assistance with mending my net.
You were right though, it is a beautiful day for fishing and I think I shall make the most of it.” Doc
went to put the net in his fishing boat.
Soni got up, nodded his farewell to Doc, and started up the road to meet the rest of his men. Doc
waited till Soni was out of sight and then rushed inside his house where Tam and Syd were waiting
nervously.
“Tam, get my traveling bag and cloak. I am going to follow the king's guard. They search for Jade,
and I think I should be there when they find her.”
Tam got some rations and traveling supplies together for her husband. She and Syd both hugged and
kissed him as he walked out the door to continue his search for his daughter.
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“How long are we to stay in this accursed cellar?” Hatch had just lost another game of cribbage to
Jesse.
“How long are you going ask that accursed question?” Jesse mocked as she recorded the score.
Hatch got up and paced around the cellar as he had done every fifteen minutes or so since Mr. James
led them down there four days earlier.
“Hatch, pacing the cellar will not make it bigger and won't make the time go by any faster.” Even
Elanda, who they found out was actually 175 years old, but who could appear to be any age she chose,
seemed to be getting impatient. “Go back to your studies, or cards, or cartwheels, but do something.”
And Hatch did. He started to write. Hatch was actually a very well educated, if not rather restless, boy.
His father had been sure to make sure that he had only the best scholars and tutors teaching him since
he was born. He was well versed in the history of The Realms and of his royal family. He posited that
all of the adventure and intrigue he was experiencing should rightly be recorded for posterity, or at least
for entertainment value. He sat down and he wrote. Jesse practiced throwing her knives at a barrel
across the room. And Elanda and Simon continued studying the Chalice of the Ancients.
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“The Chalice seems to read intent,” Elanda said for the fourth time that day.
“Yes dear, we've established that, but how then does one 'intend' it open?” Simon was getting
increasingly frustrated.
“Well, why do you want it open?” It seemed to Elanda that they had had this conversation before.
“Well, why not?”
“What then is your intent, to open the box or to know what's inside it?”
“Elanda, I've told you before, those things are one and the same.”
“No, Simon, they are not. If you intend only to know what is inside it, then that knowledge could just
as easily come to you from a book or from someone who has opened the box. If you intend to open it,
it must be to use what is inside.”
“Well how am I to use what's inside unless I know what that is?” Simon threw the box against the wall.
The grain of the wood started to swirl until the it spelled the word “Morning Star.” Simon yelled at the
box in response, “Yes, thank you, I know. You wish to open for the Morning Star. She isn't here right
now so you'll just have to work with me.” The grain swirled again until the box looked like a regular
nondescript piece of pine.
Elanda picked up the box and studied it carefully for the hundredth time since she first saw it.
“'Morning Star' what are you telling us?” She turned the box first this way and then that. “Morning
Star,” She mumbled to herself. “Where is the Morning Star?” The grain of the wood swirled again
and then rested in the shape of an intricate spiral.
“Simon, if the box responds to intent and you were so intent on discovering what lay inside, perhaps
the Morning Star is inside the box.”
“That's ridiculous, how on earth would a young girl fit inside that small pine box? Jesse, be a dear and
jump inside the Chalice of the Ancients for a moment would you. See if there's any other young girls
in there.” Jesse ignored Simon and his sarcasm.
“Who says the Morning Star is a girl?” Elanda was still studying the box as the grain rearranged itself
again, this time to mimic the rolling waves crashing against the shore.
“All of the prophesies, that's all. All of the wisdom and studies of every noted scholar in the last 500
years. Elanda, why waste my time like this.”
“Do the prophesies really say that the Morning Star is a girl?” Elanda slowed down to ponder.
Jesse began to recite part of the prophesy that Simon had made her and Hatch memorize during their
“lessons” on the hay wagon.
“The Morning Star, new peace brings. And children wonder, learn to sing. Her name is sweet and
youthful eyes tell the true and see through lies. When Chalice of Ancients the Morning Star holds,
wisdom be opened and girl shall behold, the balance of one and of all in her hand, and peace like a
river shall flow through the land.”
“See!” Simon was getting more and more worked up, “'When Chalice of Ancients the Morning Star
Holds wisdom be opened and GIRL shall behold.'” Simon said the word “girl” so loudly that there was
a polite thump from Mr. James who must have heard Simon from upstairs.
Elanda was intrigued and was getting excited herself: excited, but not frantic or frustrated like Simon,
“'When the Chalice of Ancients the Morning Star holds.' Simon, there's two ways to read that. It could
mean when the Morning Star holds the Chalice of Ancients or it could mean when the Chalice of
Ancients holds the Morning Star.”
Simon thought for a moment and whispered the rhyme under his breath, “And it doesn't say that the
Girl shall behold the Chalice does it.” Simon wasn't asking a question but was, rather, thinking out
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loud, “All it really says is that a girl will hold the Balance at the same time that the Chalice holds the
Morning Star.” Simon was beside himself. Had he really missed something so basic? He had been
taught since he was a boy that the Morning Star was a girl that would hold all power in her hand when
she obtained the Chalice of the Ancients, and that she would use that power to restore the Balance.
That's what everyone thought. The scholars assumed there was only one way of looking at things.
Perhaps though the girl was just a seer and the Morning Star was something else. That would make
Jade an important piece of the puzzle without being the entire puzzle itself. Simon laughed at himself
playfully, “and here I am always telling others not to make assumptions.”
“We must get a copy of the Prophesy,” Simon exclaimed, “If this passage, the most famous and most
quoted, has been misread then perhaps others have been too. We could be going about this all wrong.
And worse, we could be needlessly putting a young girl and the first seer in a century in unnecessary
danger. Quick Hatch, fetch Mr. James.” Simon was the one pacing the room now.
“I'm not your dog.” Hatch started to say.
“HATCH!” Elanda, Simon and Jesse all said at once. Hatch reluctantly climbed the stairs and returned
a moment later with Mr. James.
“James, uh Alexander,” Simon started but Mr. James interrupted him.
“That's Mr. James.”
“Yes, yes, Mr. James, have you a copy of the Prophesy?”
Mr. James thought for a moment, “I don't, not here anyway. But I know where one is. Jade's father
kept one at the farm.”
“Can you get it for us?”
“Yes, It's about time I checked in on Doc and Tam anyway. It's late though so I may stay the night
there. I'll return tomorrow. Stay down here and stay out of sight until then.”
“Yes, yes, do hurry though. It's important.”
“Of course it is. Seems that lately everything has been of dire import. I shall return when I'm able to.”
Mr. James hastily prepared for his trip to Doc's farm.
Jesse threw another knife at the barrel she had been using for practice. “Bullseye,” she thought to
herself. Her aim was getting better everyday so it seemed.
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It was getting dark, and Jade's surroundings were unfamiliar. The dense forest and evergreen trees
around the cave's other entrance were replaced by a colder and more arid environment on this side of
the Northern Mountains. There were bushes, none of which Jade recognized, and there was a stream
running down the mountain. Other than that, the landscape was alien to her.
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She could tell that the cave was actually a long tunnel through an enormous mountain range. It was
hard to say how far she had traveled through the cave with Regarde. They were moving quickly
though and had traveled a long ways. There had been many twists and turns, and Jade wondered
whether she could find her way back. This made it unlikely that the Riders were able follow her
through the cave. Jade was thankful for that. If it was a long way through the mountain, the journey
over it was even further. As Jade stared up at the mountain range behind her, she figured that it would
take many days to cross such a great divide.
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Jade figured that she could be anywhere. She knew that she had to move fast though. There were at
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least a few Riders in the tunnel and four on this side of it. She gathered her cloak and her wits about
her and started walking forward.
A short while later, she noticed the vegetation start to change. Where there used to be small bushes and
the occasional flowering tree, there were now many trees. However, they were not trees she
recognized. They had what looked to be flowers on them but the flowers were large. They were a
burnt orange color and they were shaped more like pine cones than any flower she had seen before.
She picked one and held it to her nose, it smelled earthy and raw.
Jade pulled her cloak tight around her as the breeze got colder. She figured that she must have traveled
north because this side of the tunnel was decidedly colder than the bat-filled forest on the other side.
She began to pick up some of the spindly branches she found on the ground. Though it was cold, it
was also dry, and she could tell by the weight of the wood she collected that it would burn well.
She had to work out some form of shelter for the evening. The sun had not even yet set and already she
could feel the temperature dropping. As Jade put the branches and twigs in a pile, she heard the tell tale
shuffle and snap of a twig. Something was approaching. She leaped into a tree faster than she knew
she could climb. She was sure that nobody would think to look up in the tree for her.
As Jade looked around for whoever, or whatever, was approaching her makeshift camp, she saw it there
by the fire, a book. In all her haste to climb the tree, she left the book of Prophesy by the fire pit. As
Regarde had rushed her out of the cavern, she had managed to grab one of the two books of Prophesy.
she had been forced to leave the other behind. She heard a crack and then heard something moving
slowly but surely towards her. If the pile of twigs wasn't already sign enough that someone was hiding
nearby, the book was a complete giveaway. She had to think fast. Should she jump down and grab the
book or just stay where she was?
She swung down so that she was hanging from the branch that, just a moment earlier, she had been
sitting on. Then, as silently as a cat she sailed down to the forest floor without making a sound. She
grabbed the book and rushed behind a tree where she hid and waited. Whatever it was, it had almost
reached her camp. She could hear a shuffle near the pile of sticks. Her heart was beating loudly. She
heard rummaging through the sticks as whatever it was came nearer and nearer the tree she was hiding
behind.
Jade was sure she should run but she felt frozen at the same time. She cleared her head and tried to
reach out to any other minds around her so as to turn herself invisible again. Just as she felt the other
mind in the camp, she heard the most welcome and marvelous sound she'd ever heard. She heard the
bray of a mule. She rushed around the tree and threw her arms around Gravey, her beloved and most
trusted friend. In his mouth, he carried his saddle bags complete with a blanket and provisions.
“Good boy, Gravey, good boy. How did you get here through all those twists and turns in the cave?
And, look here, you have the other book, the other half of the Prophesy.” As Jade ruffled through the
saddlebags, she found the book she left in the cavern.
“Who put this in here? Gravey, is anyone else here?”
She could feel Gravey's calm as she closed her eyes with her hand on his neck. She also cleared her
mind and felt for anyone else who might be nearby. No, no one else was there, and she could tell by
how calm Gravey was that he had not been followed out of the cave. She hugged her friend and held
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him close for a moment before she decided it was best to move on. Even though it was dark, she was
heartened by the arrival of her friend, and now that she had a blanket she was not nearly as cold.
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Jade put the saddle bags on Gravey's back and led him through the forest. Even the stars looked
different and she knew the stars well. Doc had taught her to recognize and even read them from a very
early age. She must have traveled far if the stars looked to be in different positions. No matter, she felt
confident that, with her friend by her side, she could navigate this new land and, one way or another,
she would be just fine.
She walked with Gravey through most of the night. It was healing for her. She cried with him and let
all of the feelings that she had kept pent up inside her just flow as they walked through the alien forest
lit only by the night sky. Gravey, for his part, calmly listened and nuzzled Jade softly, showing her that
he understood. Before Jade knew it, she could see the early beginnings of a sunrise. The sky seemed
to come alive and dance with a million colors as the sun rose over the horizon. The clouds were
moving quickly and that only added to beautiful dance of color overhead.
“Well boy, what a night,” Jade said as she examined her surroundings. There was a stream off to her
right and she figured that Gravey must be thirsty. She was feeling a bit parched herself. As she got to
the stream though, she heard a sound she did not expect. It was a sound that she used to know well but
one that she hadn't heard for a long time: laughter. Jade froze in her tracks, Regarde's training warned
her to be cautious. Yet the child within her yearned to go and play, to join in the laughter. Then she
noticed it, soap in the water. Bubbles were floating down the stream. Upstream, just around a bend in
the flow, she could hear women laughing and washing clothes. She felt excited, but she knew that
prudence dictated that she should proceed with caution.
As she quietly approached the women, she heard something else too: the crying of a baby. Women
washing clothes and watching over their babies were as safe as anyone a wandering girl like Jade could
hope to run into. She broke through the foliage and into a clearing where three tall, golden-haired
women looked up at her from their washing. Their surprise and astonishment was written all over their
faces. First one woman and then another spoke to Jade in a language she couldn't understand. She
couldn't understand their words, but she could feel their underlying care and concern. These women
meant her no harm. To the contrary, they wondered if she was okay and they wanted to feed and care
for her. Finally, the third woman spoke. She spoke with a heavy accent, but she spoke Jade's language,
“Child, where are you from? Welcome to the Bearpaw Northern Tribe. You are safe here. How far
have you traveled?”
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Few people knew their way around the woods or how to stalk prey as well as Doc. He was a fisherman
yes, but he had spent weeks on end hunting in the forests around Merryweather to supplement his
family's meager diet. His wife would joke sometimes that, if anyone could vanish into thin air, it would
be Doc. He followed the armed party into town and reached their camp just before dark.
When Soni asked his sergeant about what he had seen at Mr. James's house, Doc heard the guard
mumble about Mr. James's wife. Well, Mr. James had been a bachelor for as long as Doc could
remember. He had never known Mr. James to enjoy the company of a woman.
“Well Mr. James is just full of surprises isn't he,” Doc said under his breath. Soni apparently decided to
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go and talk with Mr. James himself because he went directly into town without even watering his horse
or getting a meal for himself.
At Mr. James's house, Doc could tell instantly that no one was home. His buggy had been gone for
weeks, ever since the attack at the farm, but there was no smoke coming from the chimney and Mr.
James kept his fire going whenever he was home.
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Soni knocked on the door several times and waited. There was no movement within Mr. James's home,
but there was a tell tale peak from behind a curtain across the street. Soni saw it and immediately
pointed at the window and yelled for the person behind it to come out.
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Mrs. Larmady had lived in the same house her entire life, which happened to be longer than just about
anyone else's in Merryweather. She had tended even Old Man March when he was a baby. She had
changed the diapers of everyone in town; consequently, she was not accustomed to being intimidated.
The old woman emerged with her cane in hand. She shook it in Soni's direction. “You'll not find Mr.
James here, no ye won't. He's gone off to visit old Doc and Tam. He came here and asked for some of
me sweet bread to take with him. Said he'd be back tomorrow.”
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Soni took off his hat and addressed Mrs. Larmady politely. This was something that Doc had to
respect. So many times men are given a sword or some authority and they immediately feel that it is
incumbent upon them to demean everyone else they meet. Soni was different, Doc could tell. He was
not a man to be trifled with, but he was respectful and courteous, to an extent anyway.
“Mam,”
“That's Mrs. Larmady to you, young man.”
“Yes, er, Mrs. Larmady, has Mr. James spoken to you of his encounter with the Riders some three
weeks past?”
“Heh, shows what you know, young man.”
“That's Liutenant Soni,”
“Ha! That's young man to me. When you've seen as many winters as I have or raised as many
children . . .”
“Yes, young man works just fine,” Soni was determined to keep the old woman on track.
“Hrmph. Well, as I was saying. Anyone who has dealt with Riders is not quick to tell of the encounter.
But I dare say that Mr. James has told me more than he's told anyone else.”
“I seek the Jade girl. I mean her no harm. Where be the Riders? I wonder if following their trail may
lead me to the girl.”
“And since when has the king sent an armed contingent to search for the missing daughter of a
fisherman?”
“My reasons are my own. Yet rest assured that I mean her no harm.”
If there was one thing Mrs. Larmady had learned during her many winters, it was how to discern
someone's intention. She had heard excuses from so many boys over the years about why this window
was broken or why that cake went missing that she was able to see the truth and smell a lie. She could
tell that Soni was telling the truth when he said he meant Jade no harm. She hobbled over to him and
urged him to lean down to hear her whisper. However, when he did, she spoke in a loud and bellowing
voice, “Bats, bats, lots of them. South of Springinn I dare say.” Soni plugged his ears and stood up in
surprise.
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Mrs. Larmady just smiled at her little joke and continued in her normal voice, which was fairly loud in
and of itself. “He followed the Riders to the outskirts of Springinn. If the girl has not made it to the
town then there is only one place she could have found refuge, the home of the bats. It's a large cave a
half-day's journey north of there. No roads, so travel light. If she's not there, or in the town, then . . .
well then the alternative is too harsh to speak of.”
“Why did not Doc know this, he said . . .”
“That man is not in the right mind to search for his daughter. He's too close to think clearly. He tried
to speak to Mr. James with his fists before he used his mouth. If he were to try that with the king's
guard, I wonder how far he'd get.”
“You might be surprised,” Soni chuckled to himself thinking of how he broke the nose of the guard at
the castle gate. “However, I shall travel that way and see what I can see. Much thanks for your
assistance.”
Soni left and Mrs. Larmady wandered back inside her house. As soon as Soni got back to his camp, he
told his men to be ready to leave at first light. His men asked whether they should go and fetch either
Doc or Mr. James before they left. Soni nodded “no” and shot a knowing glance to a shadow behind a
nearby bush. Doc thought he saw Soni look in his direction for a moment. He shrugged off that
thought though and sneaked off into the brush to spend the night. Already his trust in Soni was proving
to be well-placed.
Chapter 35
Jade was quickly welcomed into the home of one of the Bearpaw Tribe's women. Although she
understood little of the language, she quickly noticed different dynamics in the village than she had
grown up with on the coast. For starters, it was clear that the women ran the small village. Sure,
sometimes they let the men think that they were in charge, but Jade quickly saw who really made the
decisions, at least the ones that mattered.
For instance, when she first got to the town, the men seemed inclined to start quite an uproar. And
these were big men, the shortest Northman was at least half-a-head taller than Doc. They seemed to
think that Jade might be a threat or a bad omen. More than one eyed Gravey as though he were on the
menu for the night's meal. However, an old woman leaning on a staff that looked like it was carved
from the bone of some giant animal calmly grabbed Jade's hand and led her into one of the huts. Other
women quickly followed, but the men stayed outside and their incessant chatter quickly quietened.
The women swooned over Jade and brought Gravey into the hut too, which greatly relieved Jade's
momentary anxiety as to his fate. Jade was thankful when she saw the woman who spoke her
language. Jade found out that Sapphire was her name.
“What is your name dear?” Sapphire urged Jade to sit by her.
“My name is Jade.”
“And your parents, where are your parents dear?”
“I have not seen them for weeks.” Although she instantly felt that she could trust these women, Jade
decided to use her discretion and played her cards close to her chest.
“And how did you come to be here?”
Before Jade could answer, she heard a voice in her head, “Be gentle dear, safe you are here, mention
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not Riders or more they'll decipher. Knowledge they have these women of gems. Learn while you're
here, study with them.” It was Regarde's voice alright. She was glad to know he was still alive.
“I got lost in the woods near my home. I found refuge in a cave and somehow ventured through to a
new opening and here I am.”
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The old woman, the one with the staff, stood up. Emerald was her name, and her name reflected the
startling green hue of her eyes. She looked unconvinced. Nonetheless, she accepted Jade's story and
listened as the others discussed her fate for some time. Finally, the old woman spoke. Her speech was
slow, but she spoke the language of The Realms. Sapphire translated for the other women.
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“Girl, Jade eh? Do you really think you just stumbled here as a matter of chance?” Emerald looked
deep into Jade's eyes as she spoke.
“What is chance Mi Lady?” Jade tried to be as polite as she knew how, “Is chance not the brother of
fate? My life has known little of coincidence lately.”
“Hmmm,” Emerald seemed satisfied with Jade's answer. She turned to Sapphire and ordered her to
care for Jade and to teach her the language of the Bearpaw Tribe as well as their ways and traditions.
Sapphire nodded and took Jade's hand as she led her out of the rather large hut.
Once Jade was standing in the light of day, she saw that the men were all busy about their business.
Now that she had Emerald's blessing, they had apparently lost interest in her. The village, Jade saw,
was more than a camp, but it was definitely mobile. The houses were more than huts but they were
made of thatch walls that could be quickly put up or taken down. There were simple fire pits all over
the camp and some had solid but quickly built stoves built over them. As far as Jade could tell, the men
were doing the hunting and the cooking while the women tended the children, and there were many
children. Jade had scarcely ever seen so many children in one place. Each family in Merryweather
was lucky to have one child. Doc and Tam were rumored to have the luck of ages to have borne two
children. Here, each woman seemed to be caring for at least four or five. The children all had long
blond hair and she saw more than one with pink eyes much like Devin's.
Devin, yes that's right, Devin. He had been taken by Riders and here Jade was in what could be his
own hometown. Again, Regarde's tell tale voice rang in Jade's ears. “Worry not of the boy, yet that
village enjoy. I'm after the lad and fun I shall have. The Riders are daft as escape plans I draft.” Jade
reached out. She could feel Devin. His mind was far off yet it was there, and as far as Jade could tell it
was clear and reasonably calm.
“Very well then, if I must stay here, then I shall learn and live and laugh.” Jade loved the sound of
laughter, and with all the children running around there was plenty of laughter in the camp.
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Chapter 36
“Simon, stop that pacing. Jesse, what is it with men and their pacing? It matters not how many times
you two boys walk around the room, it will not hasten Mr. James's return.” Elanda had been watching
Simon and Hatch walk circles around the small cellar all night long. The good thing about hiding in
the cellar was that there were no windows, so no one outside the house could tell that Simon, Hatch,
Elanda, and Jesse were inside. The bad thing about hiding in the cellar was that there were no
windows, so it was nearly impossible to tell what time day or night it was.
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“Where is he, Elanda? He should be back by now. How many days has it been?” Simon was clearly
anxious. He had already written down as much of the prophesy as he knew by heart and his
reinterpretation, or Elanda's reinterpretation rather, was making more and more sense. However, the
wording had to be precise. Even a change in punctuation could alter the meaning of an entire phrase or
stanza. Simon had been reciting one particular verse repeatedly.
“In the night, the James man came
Cleaning and leaning and gleaning in rain
To carry the morning to where the star
Meets the ocean not from afar
There in the night, true colors they show
And James man is known and seed there are sown
Daughter of Wild, where be thou now
How does the puddle fill with you now
Drink deep ye child and learn ye to swim
Before ye the chalice behold again.”
“Daughter of Wild?” Simon muttered to himself, “Well, this isn't exactly Vercouth, but this little
hamlet is hardly wild. No, when the prophesy speaks of the Wild it is generally referring to the
Northern Tribes. Elanda, this just doesn't make sense.”
“Simon, I'll tell you what doesn't make sense,” Elanda leaped through the air and landed right on
Simon's shoulders. Another twist and she threw him so he landed in a chair near the wall, “walking
circles all day, or all night, while I'm trying to sleep!”
Just then, before Elanda could turn her attention to Hatch and seat him next to Simon, they heard the
door open and they could hear Mr. James come home. The concealed doorway to the cellar swung
open a moment later, and Mr. James descended into the cellar. He carried warm bread and a bottle of
wine.
Simon leaped up from his seat, “Mr. James, the Prophesy. Where is it?”
“Upstairs,” Mr. James looked taken aback by Simon's intensity. “I brought you all breakfast. Fresh
bread and a bit of wine to warm the tummy.”
Jesse and Hatch were both starving. They immediately grabbed one small loaf, shared it, and began
eating hungrily. Elanda shot Simon a cold glance, “Morning, it's morning? Simon, you have kept me
up all night long with your bellyaching and whining. Think not that I'll forget this, but since it's
morning lets eat breakfast. No Prophesy till after we've all eaten.”
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Elanda's word was final and even Simon knew it was pointless to try and fight with her over it. They
all ate quickly and drank some wine. Then Simon ran upstairs ignoring Mr. James's pleas for
discretion. Simon found the books of Prophesy he had been waiting for. As Simon read hungrily,
Elanda sat down with Mr. James to discuss other matters. With Simon now quieted, the children laid
down and rested.
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“So, how are your friends, Doc and Tam? How are they dealing with the fact that their daughter is
elsewhere while they are here?”
“Well interesting thing that, it seems that the king's guard has decided to stop searching for the prince.
They are now searching for Jade. Doc is following them. Tam and Syd seem to be doing just fine.”
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Simon looked up, “The king's guard is looking for Jade? This cannot be good. If the king finds Jade,
he plans to blind her, tame her, and keep her as his pet.” Everyone in the room turned to look at Simon.
Even the children sat up in their makeshift bed.
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“Simon, there is more to this story, I fear it is gory. Share with us now what you know tell us how, it is
that you kept this secret so long. We're all here together and secrets are wrong.” Elanda was alert and
ready for action.
“I sent Riders after the Morning Star. I sent them after Jade.” Simon stared at his feet as he spoke.
Elanda sprang with catlike grace onto Simon's shoulders for the second time that morning. This time
though, Simon landed hard on the ground with Elanda, wild eyed, holding a knife to his throat.
Simon croaked his response, “It was the only way to save her. The king ordered her killed, thinking
she was the Morning Star of course.”
“Oh and who told him that?” Elanda spat as she held Simon to the floor.
“Well, well, yes, I'm working on that. But he wanted her dead. I talked him out of killing her and
instead he ordered Riders to find her and bring her back to the castle. Terrible I know, but at the time it
seemed like that was the only way to save her life. Besides, if she were brought to the castle, I could
watch over her safety.”
“And a wonderful job you have done of that so far.” Elanda was livid. She sprang up off of Simon's
chest and started packing up her gear, “We go, we go now. Whether or not this Jade is the Morning
Star, we must find her before the king does.”
The rest of the party, Mr. James included, appeared to be in agreement. They were ready to go a few
minutes later. Mr. James waived at Mrs. Larmady as he led the awkward procession out of his house.
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Elanda rushed them onward relentlessly. “James man, show me where you left this Jade girl.”
Mr. James retraced his steps through the wood until he found the remnants of his buggy.
“I left her here, I went to Springinn to find us a place to stay for the night. She stayed here with
Devin.”
“Devin?” Everyone turned to look at him.
“Oh, didn't I mention that there was a boy with her? Strange boy, didn't say much and his eyes changed
from blue to pink. He looked like he could be from the Northern Tribes. Well, when I got to
Springinn, there were three Riders there. I lead them as far away as I could, but when I doubled back
Jade and Devin had already left.”
“The king sent seven Riders.” Simon said as Elanda studied the small camp for any sign of the
children.
“Three came through here. I can feel their stink. It feels like oil on water.” Elanda closed her eyes as
she felt the grisly essence left by the Riders, Jesse could feel it too. It felt like something between fear
and disgust. “They came here, but they did not kill here. I can feel that much. No, the children
escaped. The Riders went that way.” Elanda pointed back towards the road, towards Springinn.
“They went to get reinforcements. They must have been scared by something. This Jade must be able
to fight.” Hatch sounded impressed as he spoke.
“We follow the Riders. If we kill them, Jade is safe.” Elanda started walking back to the road,
following the Rider's “scent.”
“And what of the king's men?” Simon asked as he followed.
“If the Riders find her first, there won't be anything left for the king's men,” Elanda replied as she set
forth with renewed determination.
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Chapter 37
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Devin breathed a sigh of relief. There was only one Rider guarding him now. He wondered how many
days it had been since they took him from the cave. It felt like weeks, or lifetimes, but he figured it
was probably only a few days. He knew his last three days had been spent in a small shack
overlooking the ocean. The shack was perched precariously on a cliff, and Devin's window stared
directly out over the sea.
The room he occupied obviously belonged to a child at some time, probably a little girl. There were a
few books on the bookshelves and there were more than a few toys scattered on the ground and under
the bed. Devin read the books quickly and then found a deck of cards he used to play games with
himself to pass the time. He also found great enjoyment in staring out to sea and feeling the sea breeze
delicately caress his face. It made him feel free.
Before they reached the shack, Devin traveled the woods with four Riders for at least a few days. He
decided that the Riders weren't that difficult to get along with once one understood how they worked.
They were governed entirely, at least as far as Devin could tell, by their own convenience. That made
them very predictable. And even if a situation is predictably dismal, and Devin quickly decided that his
was not, there is some comfort found in knowing what to expect. The Riders, it seemed, would
invariably act in their own self interest. Right now, it was in their best interest to keep Devin alive, so
he still lived. He sensed no malice in the way the Riders treated him. Actually there was no emotion at
all. Their actions were driven by cold expediency and little else.
Devin was not quite sure what they wanted him for. He knew it had to do with Jade though. As soon
as he met Jade, he could tell she was special. Her name said it all. In the village where Devin was
born, “special” girls were named after gems, as was Jade. Boys, however, were different. If a boy was
born “special” it usually wasn't apparent until he was in his teenage years. Once a boy started to
display “the gift,” as the women called it, he was set out from the village and made to fend for himself.
Until Devin was born, there had not been a boy with “the gift” for over a hundred years.
Devin discovered he was special early, he was only twelve years old. First he started to hear voices.
He thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him, or perhaps just his own thoughts running wild.
But then the thoughts, the voices, became clearer. He was hearing the thoughts of those around him.
Sometimes he could hear all of the thoughts in the village at once. One might think that a power like
that would be fun, even wonderful at a party; however, not so. He quickly came to know everyone in
the village far more intimately than even they knew themselves. He stopped speaking out loud shortly
thereafter. It seemed there was no need to do so anymore, at least not for Devin. He also learned that
he could think in such a way that others could “hear” his thoughts too. This had very interesting
consequences because the person “hearing” Devin's thoughts would often think that the thoughts were
their own. So if Devin thought, “hmmmm, I think I'd like a glass of water,” The person who heard the
thought would many times go get a drink.
This all made interaction with the rest of the village rather complicated until one day Emerald, the
Elderwoman in his village sat down and talked to him. It was both the most loving and the most
painful conversation that Devin had ever had, and neither of them even spoke a word.
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“Devin, Love, there is so much to teach you, yet I know not how.”
“Emerald,” Devin thought. He was so glad that Emerald could communicate with him this way, “what
is happening to me? I hear these things all day long with only short reprieves, usually at night.”
“Well dear, you are 'special.'”
“'Special?' but only girls are 'special.' The men hunt and build the village when we move. The women
bring forth life into this world. Only women, women like you, have 'the gift.'”
“Yes dear, yes, I know that is what I have taught you. But once in a very long while, a boy is born with
'the gift' and then that boy is very 'special.' And young one, that is you, you are special.”
As Devin remembered the conversation with Emerald in his village several weeks earlier, he
remembered how it felt as though his whole world were being turned upside down.
“Well, fix me then,” Devin thought.
“Fix you?” Devin could hear the laughter, “You're not broken, but you must learn how to tame this
power you have, And child, with you the power is immense. It must be very strong to have manifested
itself so strongly so early in your short life.”
Devin remembered feeling confused. This was so much information to take in, but he remembered
feeling relieved to hear that at least he wasn't broken.
“Emerald, what must I do?”
“Devin, dear dear Devin, I only ever met one other boy with 'the gift.' He was my brother, my older
brother. When I was six-years-old, he was just ready to go on his First Hunt.” In Devin's village, when
a boy turned sixteen, he was made to go hunt alone for three weeks. He was not allowed home till he
killed a bear, a wolf, or until he captured an eagle unharmed. Emerald continued, “He was fifteen and
he started to make things happen. First it was small things, like food would cook quickly or a family of
mice would start running circles in a hut. But then bigger things started to happen. There was a huge
fire one night, and another day it snowed in the middle of summer. My brother never did anything
wrong but there was no older man with the 'gift' to teach him how to use it, how to control it. He had
no teacher.”
Devin interrupted. That's how it was with his thoughts though, sometimes they just jumped out. There
was little restraint this way, “Emerald, you could teach me. You could be my teacher.”
“If only that were so my dear. Yet women use 'the gift' differently, and it affects us in another way. No,
our gifts are related but they are as different as night to day. Neither is more or less than the other and,
just like the sun and moon, there would be no beautiful sunrises or heart warming sunsets unless they
worked together. But, no, our gifts are different.”
“What happened to you brother?”
“Well dear, we had to send him away to go and find a teacher, a male teacher. It was dangerous to have
him in the village. It put everyone at risk.”
Devin remembered how his heart sank. “Did he find a teacher?”
“Yes, Devin, yes he did.”
“Did he come back to the village?”
“No Devin, no he did not. His path took him elsewhere. But you may find him. No, you must find
him, that is your journey. His name is Jordan. I know he lives because I see the Lighted Staircase in
my dreams. And sometimes he visits me in my dreams. He lives on the coast and he has changed his
name.”
“How will I know when I find him then, and who is to go with me? Emerald, I am just a boy, I have
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not even been on my First Hunt,” Devin remembered how tears began to well up in his eyes.
“Devin, dear dear Devin, this is a journey you must take on your own. I would not send you out though
unless I knew you were well equipped to handle the journey. As for how you shall find Jordan, well,
when I was six, I still had trouble pronouncing his name, so I always called him James, remember
that.”
Chapter 38
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Mr. James led the small party through the woods. It wasn't that he was their leader or anything
dramatic like that, it was just that he knew the woods better than any of the others. Elanda seemed to
know where she was going. She could sense the Riders, and though Mr. James could sense them too,
he was happy to let Elanda think that she was in charge.
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“This way, they are not far off.” That is what she kept saying hour after hour as they got closer to the
coast. Mr. James could tell that there was only one Rider ahead of them. The others had gone
elsewhere. He thought he knew where they were going too. Elanda kept leading them towards the
Lighted Staircase, a place to which Mr. James had not returned for many years. It made sense though
that the Riders would take Jade there, if in fact they had her.
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As it got dark and as the sea breeze began to cool their sweaty brows, it was Simon who decided it was
time to stop for the night.
“We are close though, I can almost smell the cold on their breath.” Elanda had pushed them so hard all
day that Jesse and Hatch were exhausted.
“Elanda, how shall we fight the Riders when we get there if we are too weary to even walk?” Simon
was huffing and clearly out of breath.
“I'm with Simon on this one. I know that you don't sleep,” Mr. James knew that Elanda was a goblin
the moment he met her, “yet the rest of us will be in much better condition after a night of rest and
some food in our bellies.”
Elanda thought for a moment, “Okay then, we rest here. Mr. James, make camp. Simon, get food.
Children, light a fire.”
Mr. James and Simon exchanged knowing looks and promptly decided to ignore Elanda's command.
Simon started to erect the tent and Mr. James got his bow from his pack and ventured into the woods to
find some game.
Before long they were all eating rabbit and squirrel around a warm fire in a makeshift but not
uncomfortable camp.
“When we get to the coast, we must tread carefully. I sense that the Riders do not yet have Jade.” Mr.
James decided that it was best to reveal that he too could “feel” the Riders. Elanda looked up at him
like she was seeing him for the first time.
“No, no, I agree,” Simon said, “if they had Jade they'd be on their way back to the castle by now. Their
orders were specific. Bring the girl to the king.”
“Then we can assume that they lay in wait for something. And they'll be ready to fight; they always
are,” said Mr. James.
Elanda looked over at Mr. James and replied, “It seems there is more to you than first I thought James
man. Have you fought Riders before?”
“I told you I have, when I rescued Jade from their clutches last time.”
Elanda raised her eyebrow, “Rescue? Really? That was your idea of a rescue, leaving two children
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alone in the woods? Remind me not to have you rescue me should I ever find myself in peril.”
Mr. James continued despite Elanda's interruption, “I think I know where they are, there is a shack just
two hours walk from here. It is easily defended. The shack is bordered by cliffs on three sides so there
is only one way to approach it. However, there is a secret entrance, one that only I know of . . .”
Elanda interrupted Mr. James's train of thought, “He says he knows a way in to see. He plays he sows
seeds I see, of truth or false, lets see shall we. Of times and most of lines I see. Shall we follow, where
do you lead, to beauty true or to some foul deed?”
Mr. James interrupted Elanda's flow before she could really get going.
“I lead forward, safety bound, where once the lost became the found. Follow me, no danger there, I'll
lead you true but I don't care. If you prefer to go on your own, I too can go all alone. I offer safety,
heed my word, the way past Riders, fly like a bird.”
“Fly like a bird, ha that's a fool. Shall we dance or have you a tool, for wings to make or do you lead,
us to the fire my words you'll heed.”
“I lead you not, I need not that place. Yet I speak true look in my face. I know more now than even
you. Elanda search me, my heart is true.” Mr. James paused for a moment but Elanda was left
speechless, “that's right I sense you've naught to say, so follow me hear what I say. The way to rescue
girl you seek is to play a game of hide and seek. A tunnel leads us to the house, we enter quiet as a
mouse. And take the child from the grasp and Riders fail there at their task. 'Tis a better way than you
have offered, what think you Simon of what I've proffered?”
“Mr. James it seems that you have thought this plan, yes thought it through. Safe it seems and beats a
fight, I'll follow you, you spoke of flight?”
“Flight, oh yes, on eagle's wings. I caught one there or so it seems. The Lighted Staircase offers
shelter, lets go there and see I've felt her. Jade's not there, she's far away. Safe for now I do dare say.
Yet Devin child with reddened eyes I must fetch him, I speak not lies.”
Elanda jumped in, “Devin child, reddened eyes, what speak you now, where Jade lies. That must be
our destination, lets leave at dawn no hesitation.”
“Elanda go now where you will. Devin's my ward, I care now still, for this boy, he is my blood, and I
seek him now to flee the flood. My path is chosen we now shall see, which of you shall follow me?”
Jesse and Hatch were entranced by all the rhyming back and forth. They both raised their hands. They
would follow Mr. James, they liked playing hide and seek. Simon raised his hand and, reluctantly,
Elanda did too.
“Well, it's decided in the morn we tread, carefully to avoid the dead, yet now it's late lets rest our head.
We've eaten now it's time for bed.”
And with Mr. James's rhyme, they all rested as best they could. It seemed that whatever lay ahead,
tomorrow was going to be a very exciting day indeed.
Chapter 39
Springinn was a larger town than Merryweather. But all of the coastal towns were more or less alike.
Each had an inn, which served as the town tavern and the central meeting hall for town business. Most
had at least a couple of guards who tended their farms during the day and then served on the night
patrol once or twice per week. It wasn't that there was any real crime to worry about. The worst the
night watch tended to see was a drunken friend who needed guidance home or a few young men
playing games at night, keeping the neighbors awake.
And each town had a church. The churches were generally built on the outskirts of town. They all had a
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steeple and a bell that also served as the town's fire alarm. Everyone would gather once a week for a
meal though. It wasn't so much a place of worship as it was a place where all the town could gather and
celebrate each other's various forms of worship. And it provided a sanctuary. One rule was held sacred
above any other, there could be no violence inside the church walls. Occasionally, men would squabble
over this belief or that practice and they would agree to go meet at the tavern to fight. Usually though,
by the time they reached the tavern, they had decided that the walk made them thirsty and they forgot
their disagreement over a few pints of ale. All of this made Soni's arrival in the town of Springinn a
very rude awakening for the townsfolk.
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It wasn't a rude awakening only because he began ringing the church bell incessantly before dawn;
several of the townsmen thought there must be a fire and had already grabbed their buckets and were
running to the shore in their underwear to collect water. It was a rude awakening because Soni had his
men gather all the townspeople in the church, in the sanctuary.
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“Riders have been here,” Soni grabbed the mayor and hoisted him up onto the stage in front of the
pulpit. Several women let out a gasp of shock at seeing the tumult in the sacrosanct chamber, “I asked
you last week whether there had been any strange visitors. Are not Riders strange?” Soni threw the old
man down the steps and into the first row of pews. This time several young men looked like they might
just rush the stage, but they observed their own rule: there should be no violence in the sanctuary.
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“Now I shall ask this once, and a wrong answer, or no answer, shall be met with dire consequences.”
Soni signaled to one of his men who grabbed a woman from the front row and held a knife to her
throat.
This time the mayor did take several steps towards the pulpit, “Stop, you mustn't, not here . . .”
Another guard floored the mayor with a solid blow to the head. This was as much as Doc could stand.
He knew that the people on the coast were pleasant, hard working, and generally peaceful. But when
pushed too far, they could be known to push back with a vengeance. Several times through history
other peoples had mistaken their kindness for weakness and paid dearly. Doc decided it was best to
quell the situation before it boiled over.
Doc jumped down from a window near the balcony where he had initially climbed in to eavesdrop on
the proceedings. Three of Soni's guards drew their swords until Soni signaled them to stand down.
“My friends, my neighbors, stay calm. Lets not further sully the beauty of this chamber by escalating
the fighting here. You though, Soni of the king's guard, must stand down if you desire information.”
Soni took a seat and the feeling in the church relaxed palpably.
Doc turned back to the crowd and continued, “Soni, the lieutenant here, has also lost a child. He seeks
her. While I do not condone his methods nor his actions here today in this place, as you know, I share
his desperation. Nearly four weeks ago now, Riders raided my home and my Jade went missing into the
night. At the same time, Soni's daughter disappeared from his home in Vercouth. None of us here have
any love for the king or his coat of arms that Soni where's upon his shield. Yet, see him not as a king's
man but as a father searching for his daughter.”
An elderly man near the back of the room spoke up loudly, “Yet his man holds a knife to my daughter's
throat.” At this the crowd again became animated and more than a few of the guards put their hands on
the hilts of their swords until Soni ordered his men to fall to one knee. The girl on the stage ran back to
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her father's eager arms.
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Doc continued, “I feel for this man's quest. I share the desperation of his circumstance. If information
any of you have, share it, not because of the threat of violence or any show of force but because there
are two young girls out there and they are pursued by Riders.”
Jasper was a young man; he was thin, unnaturally so some might say. And he was generally considered
the town fool. More than once, the other young men of the town had waited until Jasper had drunken
too much and then thrown him into the sea. Once they even ran off with his clothes so that Jasper was
made to run naked from shadow to shadow until he could nab someone's laundry from their clothesline.
He was not a bad man, he was not even stupid, but he was bitter, and his hair was greasy, which was
one of the excuses the other young men in town used when they threw him into the sea.
Jasper stood up, “The Riders came to me they did.” All eyes turned his direction. Jasper liked the
attention. He had never been the focus of a church gathering or a town meeting before. His eyes grew
wide as he continued, “Yes, they did, they spoke to me. It was an awful awful experience.” One of the
young women gasped in horror as Jasper continued his story, for that's all it was, with a renewed vigor.
“They asked me where Jade was they did. And I refused to tell them.” Jasper paused for dramatic
effect. He was enjoying the theater of it all.
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Doc had enough. He had nothing against Jasper personally. He felt a bit sorry for him actually, but the
life of his daughter was at stake. “And what did the Rider's voice sound like?”
Jasper answered, “Well sir, it was terrible low like. And then, um, it was shrill like the howling wind.”
Doc could see through this boy's efforts and held up his hand to strike him until he remembered where
he was. Nonetheless, his threat worked and Jasper cowered down.
“Okay okay, I hid when I saw the Riders, so what? I hid in the corner behind a water barrel outside the
tavern when they walked by. I did hear them though. They talked about bats, they were going to
Squeaky Cavern.”
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Few of the townspeople had ever actually been to the cave of bats that Jade found quite by accident.
Most turned around when the trees began to carry more bats than leaves. There were legends though of
Squeaky Cavern, the bats, and the undead spirits who dwelt within their chamber. And Regarde, of
course, did his best to encourage these rumors so that the townspeople left him alone.
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“Squeaky Cavern eh? Bats?” Soni thought outloud, “ This is the second person who has mentioned this
place. When Mrs. Larmady mentioned it, I thought it was just the ramblings of an old woman. Here
though we have at least some confirmation. Perhaps I should take this young man in for questioning.”
Jasper recoiled at the idea of being questioned by the king's guard. He knew that such questioning
could be quite unpleasant, “well, I suppose that the word of two independent witnesses is enough to act
on,” Soni continued, much to Jasper's relief. “Doc, do you know where these bats are?”
Doc looked at Soni, “I've not been there. The bats hunt so well that there's little game left in that part
of the wood. But, yes, I can find it.”
“We shall leave then,” and with that, Soni and his men filed out of the church through the open door
and into the mid morning's light. Soni ordered one of his men to give Doc a horse. This time, Doc and
Soni rode side by side in search of their daughters.
Chapter 40
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Jade opened her eyes. It was not yet dawn. Nonetheless, she heard the sounds of the mothers in the
camp waking their children and making breakfast. She could also still hear the men snoring. As far as
Jade could tell, the children seemed to sleep in any number of huts each week. They called all the
women mother and the boys called all the men “brother.” The young girls did not mix much with the
men. Interestingly, even the old men still called the women “mother” from time to time.
Jade had been in the village for three days, and she had already become reasonably familiar with the
names of everyone in the Bearpaw Tribe, although she still had trouble telling some of the children
apart. The children all had blonde hair, and most had blue eyes. They were all beautiful and so could
have easily been brothers and sisters. Jade picked up the language far faster than anyone had expected.
Sapphire didn't exactly teach her the language of the Northern Tribes, she just took Jade along with her
and forced her to use it to communicate. Jade learned quickly, being totally immersed in the culture as
she was. Jade herself had only stayed one night with Sapphire. She had spent the other nights in the
tents of other women with the other children.
Jade also loved the clothes that the girls were allowed to wear. The leather dresses were frilled around
the hem and decorated with feathers. The women made jewelery too. They crafted necklaces and
earrings out of various items found in the forest. Jade wore them too.
On her third day in the village, Jade was summoned to Emerald's hut. There she found Emerald,
Sapphire, and Ruby seated around a fire. It was hot and steamy in the hut: so steamy that Jade could
hardly breathe.
“Take a shawl dear,” Emerald spoke in the language of the tribes and held out a very light cheesecloth
shawl. Jade looked around and saw that each of the women had draped their regular clothes over chairs
near the entrance and were wearing just the shawls. Jade looked around for a place to change.
“Worry not little one, you've got nothing we've not seen before.” Jade changed into her shawl right
there and draped her clothes over an empty chair. She then sat down by Sapphire. Though the
conversation was in the language of the North, Jade no longer needed Sapphire to translate for her.
Emerald poured some water on the stones in the middle of the hut. This released a strong and sweetsmelling plume of steam.
“Jade, you are not a child. How many winters have you seen?” Emerald leaned back most immodestly
while she breathed in the steam.
“I am thirteen-years-old Emerald, almost fourteen.”
“Well, you are a woman then. It is time for you to walk the tread.”
Jade looked over at Sapphire for guidance, but Sapphire would not even raise her gaze to look Jade in
the eye.
“Walk the tread mother? What is it you wish?”
Emerald leaned in and spoke firmly but quietly. “Child, you are special, very special. We can feel it.
You are a seer are you not?”
“A seer? What is a seer?”
“You make things happen, don't you. Strange things, things you can't explain. Perhaps an animal once
spoke to you, or you find things in your pockets that you did not put there. What is it child?”
“Well, I can feel what Gravey is feeling, like I mean if he's tired or excited, or if he wants to play. Is
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that what you mean?”
“That's a start dear, what else?”
Jade thought for a moment. Her father had taught her never to speak of her Vision, but these women
already knew so much. Jade decided she could trust them, “I have Vision.”
Emerald nodded in agreement. The other women gasped in shock.
“Show me!” Emerald was firm.
Jade got her belt from her dress, which was laid over a chair, and handed it to Sapphire.
“Here, tie me up as tight as you can.”
Sapphire looked over to Emerald who nodded her approval. A moment later, Jade's hands were tied
tighter than they had ever been before. As she used to do with Syd, she closed her eyes, cleared her
mind, and imagined herself free and saw the belt falling to the ground. She opened her eyes and calmly
handed the belt to Emerald.
Emerald looked stunned for a moment and then regained her composure. “What else?”
“Well,” Jade started to say.
“What Else!!” Jade was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the way Emerald was questioning her.
Nonetheless, she decided she could still trust these women.
“Well, once I made things well kinda disappear. But that wasn't it, not really, but I could make the,”
She almost said Riders until she corrected herself, “people see things I wanted them to see. I was able
to make it so they couldn't see me.”
“Show me!”
Again, as she did in the cave a few days earlier, she closed her eyes and reached out to the other minds
in the room. These minds were different though. They felt strong, enormous even. She then tried to
see the room and imagine what it would look like without her in it. The other minds were suddenly
gone though, as though there were shields in front of them. When Jade opened her eyes, she was afraid
she had done something wrong.
“Sorry, I guess, I guess,”
“Hush Child,” Emerald looked relaxed, “You did just fine. We could feel you, you see we are special
too. We have felt you for weeks now.”
“What did I do?”
“You are a seer, we can show you the way, the way to open your thoughts, to let them go, to be like the
stream or the mighty oak. You are young and already you are strong, very strong.”
Sapphire and Emerald shared a knowing glance. Ruby looked as though she were exhausted. She got
up and left the room, not bothering even to grab her clothes. The cheesecloth shawl barely covered her
dignity but she hardly seemed to notice.
“Child, you are strong,” Emerald continued, “Very strong, what you did was very advanced. You were
placing your thoughts in someone else's mind. It is a very powerful thing. We two can block you
easily. But Ruby is not quite as strong. You wearied her defenses. She will be fine once she rests and
drinks some water.”
Sapphire spoke up. It was the first time she had said anything since Jade entered the tent, “Jade,
however you found your way to our village, I'm glad you are here. I have been searching your mind
for answers since you came, yet it seems you too can shield. You know little of what you are doing
though. Your power is immense but it is still clumsy and unfocussed. With just a little teaching
though, you will be a great seer, one of the best.”
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Jade found this all a bit much for one afternoon. She thought perhaps it was the steam getting to her
but she knew it was more. Finally, perhaps someone could explain to her what she was and what she
could do with her Vision. While these thoughts were still forming in Jade's mind though, Emerald
spoke.
“Sapphire, you speak too quickly. She is no seer, and our knowledge we only share with those who
qualify. She must walk the tread.”
Sapphire looked over at Emerald and then at Jade with a look of sympathy on her face.
“Mother, she must be trained more first, most girls are trained from the time they learn to walk.”
“She is ready. She must be. She will walk the tread tomorrow.”
“And then what?” Jade was surprised at how calm she felt with the entire situation.
“And then you shall be a woman, and we shall teach you all of the secrets that accompany womanhood
here in the North.”
“Okay, so where do I walk? What is the tread?” Jade felt even a bit excited at this prospect.
Emerald and Sapphire shared a knowing glance. Finally, Emerald replied, “Well dear, right now we
enjoy the steam,” she poured another cup of water on the stones releasing a sweet-smelling plume of
steam, “tomorrow we shall see what we shall see.”
Chapter 41
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Jade woke early the next morning. She was alert albeit a bit tentative as to what was to happen that
day. She felt ready though. She felt more confident than she had ever felt in her short life. As she left
Emerald's hut, where she had slept the night before, she could smell the sweet smell of sugared fish
cooking for breakfast.
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Emerald called out to her from one of the stoves, “Go see Ruby, child. She is waiting for you.”
Jade found Ruby's tent easily enough. She had never yet had a proper conversation with Ruby. Ruby
was polite enough to Jade since she arrived, but she had been more standoffish than the other women.
When Jade stepped into Ruby's tent, she could smell the same sweet steam she smelled the night
before.
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“Hmmm, so here she is. Ready to walk the tread are you?” Ruby did not seem in a good mood at all.
Jade just politely nodded her head in agreement.
“Ready? Then put this on.” Ruby threw Jade a blood red dress. It was still made of leather but it was
redder than the sunset. It was not a pretty red either. It looked as though it were an angry red. Jade
complied and took off her dress and then donned the blood-red garment.
“Good, now feel this,” Ruby grabbed Jade by the shoulders and pushed her down into a seat and then
stared straight into her eyes. Jade's head started to spin. It didn't hurt, but it was most unpleasant. She
calmly closed her eyes and used a trick her father taught her while they were fishing one day.
“You know Jade,” Doc had said, “you can be home anytime you want.”
“Home pa?” Jade remembered asking.
“Yes, home is where the heart is. If ever you should wish to be home, just close your eyes and count
your heart beats. Feel the blood rush through your lungs, through your head, and through your veins.
Feel the completion of the circle as the blood makes its way back to your heart. Do this and you can
find peace in any situation.”
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Jade did as her father had taught her and the dizziness left her. She felt nothing but peace and
acceptance. Ruby yelled in response and held her head as though something had just struck her in the
temple. “Out, get out. You may be able to rebuff me, but you have far to go dear. Far to go before the
tread is over.” Jade could hear Ruby laughing as she walked out of the tent.
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Outside, the rest of the village had changed. At least it looked different to Jade. There were now great
fires where the huts once were, and the children no longer played games. They were all chained around
a tree crying hysterically. Jade ran up to see what had happened and where the adults were. The
children just screamed and screamed and seemed unable to respond to Jade's pleas for information.
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Jade just did what came naturally to her. She closed her eyes and imagined the children free. When
she opened her eyes, the chains were lying empty on the ground. The village looked like it had before.
There were no children in the village though, and the adults all seemed angry and sullen. She went up
to Sapphire to see where she was to walk to get to the tread. Sapphire turned her way, her eyes were
blood red, and her mouth opened as an unearthly wail screamed forth from her cold-blue lips.
Jade turned to run, more out of reflex than anything else, until she caught herself and thought, “Why
am I running?” She felt no fear or anxiety inside. She turned around and Sapphire was again just
preparing bread to cook on one of the fires. Sapphire refused to look her way even though Jade
repeatedly called out to her.
Jade strolled over to another tent, a large man sat in front of it. As Jade went to enter the tent, looking
for the other children, the man stood up and raised a huge axe above his head. It looked as though he
were about to swing it and cleave Jade right in two. Jade did not flinch though. She just thought how
heavy that axe must be: very very heavy. And the man, as large a man as Jade had ever seen, toppled
over backwards, overcome by the weight of an axe he had wielded a thousand times before. Jade
watched the man fall to the ground wondering what had happened to his axe and then walked calmly
into the tent. There she saw Emerald lying on the ground. It looked as though she were not breathing.
“Emerald, Emerald, where must I go to walk the tread?” Emerald did not respond. Was she dead?
Jade did not think so. More than that though, she knew in her heart of hearts that Emerald was not
dead. No, she was healthy. As soon as Jade decided that Emerald was assuredly alive and well,
Emerald sat up, coughed, and pointed outside the tent. She did not say a word but Jade heard it clearly,
“Go, leave, begone evil child! Return to the cave you came from!”
Jade was still calm. After all she had been through in the past three weeks, she decided that this was
nothing. She had come this far just fine, and she knew she would be fine no matter what. She even
began to sing. It was a tune she had heard the children of the tribe sing a hundred times, but she sang it
in her own language, that of The Realms. She made up the words as she walked through the village
looking for someone to tell her were to go to walk the tread.
“We walk, we walk, we walk the tread
Fear not, fear not, fear not the dead
They hear you, steer you, love you, near you,
We walk, we walk the tread”
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Then Jade saw something she did not expect to see, it was Gravey. Walking away from her, out of the
village. She called to Gravey with her mind, “Here boy.” Gravey just kept walking. Jade ran to catch
up, but Gravey stayed well ahead of her. He was going back to the cave.
Jade followed him, still singing calmly to herself the same tune over and over. Gravey had never
steered her wrong before. So Jade figured that, if it was time to leave the village, then the women
could have it and their darn tread, whatever that was. Jade knew with certainty that she would be fine,
just fine. If she made it this far, she could make it through anything. When Gravey got to the mouth of
the cave, he stopped short of going in.
“Come one boy, lets go home.” Jade tried to pull him into the cave but Gravey refused to go. Then
Jade heard it. No, more than that, she felt it: Riders. Lots of them, coming through the cave. They
felt cold, bitter cold, like they drew the very life and love out of the air around them. Jade was still
relatively calm. She looked for a place to run and tried to coax Gravey into the brush, but he refused to
move. The Riders were getting closer. Jade could feel it. They were almost at the mouth of the cave
now.
Jade was still amazed at how calm she was. She was not flustered in the least. She wrapped her arms
around Gravey's neck and closed her eyes. She reached out with her mind and felt the Riders. Yet they
were not Riders, at least not like the ones she felt before. Nonetheless, she imagined the clearing the
way she had seen it before she and Gravey were in the picture. She imagined every detail, down to
every leaf on the ground, and then she pushed that thought out around her as hard as she could.
The Riders could not see her, she could sense that. Even when she felt their minds all around her in the
clearing, they walked right by her and dissipated into thin air. Jade didn't open her eyes for a few
moments until she heard Emerald's voice asking, “Where is she? Did she go into the cave so we
missed her?”
“No mother,” it was Ruby's voice. When Jade opened her eyes, she could see Ruby, Emerald, and
Sapphire all staring into the cave. She spoke up and all three women turned around in surprise,
“There you are, so shall I walk the tread? I've still not had breakfast.” The tune Jade had been singing
was still playing through her mind as she asked the question.
“My dear, my dear,” Emerald's voice was quivering with something between fear and excitement, “you
just did.” All three women knelt down and Jade looked around a bit confused at the whole thing. Then
she looked down and saw that her blood-red dress had turned a beautiful shade of sky blue.
“Um, Mother, can I have breakfast now?” Jade was quite hungry.
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Chapter 42
It had been many years since Mr. James last lit the Lighted Staircase. The last time he opened it, he
was still a young man. He remembered how the sea and the land both shook and trembled as though
someone had stirred an enormous snowglobe. He was called Jordan then, and he had more strength
than wisdom. Since then, he had learned much about power and how not to use it. This time however
it seemed he had no choice.
He closed his eyes as he began to call the Staircase. The feel of the power, the magic, the flow,
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coursing through his very being was intoxicating. It was so intoxicating that many people couldn't put
it down once they learned to tap into it. He cleared his mind and focused on his breath. He became
one with everything around him. He could feel every breath and every heartbeat of the others in his
party. He opened his eyes, and there it was. The Staircase wasn't really a staircase at all. It was more
like a tunnel but a tunnel of pure light: pure energy. It radiated warmth, but it wasn't hot. It was almost
as though it radiated pure contentment, pure happiness.
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With the Lighted Staircase, Mr. James could travel anywhere in The Realms or beyond. He could even
jump between times if he so chose. However, one end of the Staircase, of the tunnel, was always in the
shack overlooking the sea. He, and those with him, could travel from the shack to anywhere and
anytime. And conversely, he could travel from anywhere and anytime back to the shack.
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Once the staircase was open, it stayed open for only a few moments. But that was all he needed.
Simon decided, and Mr. James and Elanda agreed, that it was best for Hatch and Jesse stay at the camp.
Tangling with Riders was not something children were necessarily equipped for. At least that's what
Mr. James thought at the time.
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“Okay, Jesse, Hatch, you must stay here. We should be back in but a moment. You may not even
realize that we've gone anywhere at all. Time works differently with the Staircase. If for some reason
we are not back in thirty minutes, run to Merryweather as fast as you can. Here is the key to my house.
Hide in the cellar till someone comes for you. We shall return soon. Be safe.” And with that, Mr.
James gave the children a quick wink before jumping into the portal. Simon and Elanda followed close
on his heels. Before she followed the men through though, Elanda shot them both a look telling them
that they'd best heed Mr. James's words. And just like that, the Lighted Staircase winked, and the camp
was back to normal.
Hatch grabbed a stick from the ground, an unused piece of firewood from the night before, and started
walking around the camp swinging it like a sword. Jesse just rolled her eyes.
“If I were there, those Riders would have something to think about.” Hatch was fighting some
imagined foe in front of him.
“Something to think about?” Jesse laughed to herself, “like which part of you to eat first?”
Hatch ignored her snide remark and kept imagining himself with a sword in his hand, “If this Jade girl
could fight off three Riders, then I know I could take one of them. I'd give him such a thrashing like
you'd not believe.”
“I'm sure you would. Really Hatch, what is it with boys and their need to fight? I traveled all over the
city, at night even, and with a bit of stealth and a well placed word I was able to avoid ever needing to
fight. Until I met you that is.”
Hatch was still in his own world and hardly heard a word that Jesse said, “You know, I'm quite a good
fencer really. Been studying swordsplay since I was five.” Jesse rolled her eyes. Hatch continued,
“You know, I hope they don't come back.”
Jesse got up and promptly grabbed Hatch by the back of his collar and made him sit down on the
ground by her feet, “Don't you ever say that. Don't you know that when you say something, you just
might get what you ask for. As for me, I pray they do come back and soon too. Who do we know
here? What would we do on the coast by ourselves? How long has it been anyway?”
Hatch picked himself up and dusted off the back of his trousers, “I know what I'd do, I'd go and get this
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boy Devin myself. I'm not scared.”
“You're not that smart either are you? How long has it been? Mr. James warned us not to wait too
long.”
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Hatch sat down by Jesse and waited, playing with the rocks between his feet. The minutes went on and
still the adults did not return. It had been almost an hour by the time Jesse spoke up.
“Hatch, they should have returned by now. Mr. James said it should have taken a half hour or even
less. It's been far longer than that now. Perhaps we should go.”
Hatch nodded his head in agreement, “If they've been captured, then they might give away our location.
The Riders could be on their was here right now.”
“I knew you should have been quiet. All that talk about them not coming back and now look what
you've done.” Jesse could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes. She held them back though. She
was determined not to cry in front of Hatch, not again.
Hatch thought for a moment and then decided to take charge, “Jesse, your right, we should go. But we
can't go back to Mr. James's house. That would be the first place they'd look for us. No, you can go to
the town and hide there. Yes, that's best for you. I shall go find this shack though.”
“Hatch, you can't honestly think you're going to fight the Riders by yourself.”
“Well, we'll see. I'm not saying I'm going to charge into the shack but it seems that we should at least
see whether Simon and the others are there. I can look from afar I suppose.”
Jesse hung her head. She had been through so much in such a short time. She didn't want to feel alone.
Not again. “No Hatch, I'm coming with you. You're about as subtle as a cow when she hasn't been
milked in a week. No, if we're going to spy out this shack, then I'd best go with you.”
Hatch started to object, but he could tell by the look on Jesse's face that there was no persuading her.
“Ok then, lets travel light. Get a few things we might need, leave the rest, and lets go. We've waited
long already.”
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Jesse was a step ahead of Hatch and tucked a torch, some rope, and some rations into her pack. She
grabbed the Chalice of the Ancients and announced that she was ready to go.
“Ok then, shall we?” Hatch started walking down the small track heading towards the coast.
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Neither Jesse nor Hatch had been to the coast before. Neither of them had been to the shack either.
Nonetheless, they knew where the coast was and they knew the shack was perched on a cliff. When
they broke out of the forest and onto a sandy beach, they saw the cliffs rising high to their right, to the
north. And there, sitting somewhat precariously overlooking the ocean was a single, small, somewhat
rundown cottage, probably only two or three miles away.
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“There it is, but we'd best wait here till dark. I think our approach would be best concealed in the
night.” Hatch was becoming more accustomed to leadership. Jesse was glad to let someone else lead,
as long as Hatch kept making reasonable and not foolhardy decisions anyway.
“I can feel them Hatch. I think I feel Mr. James, and I can feel a Rider, maybe several of them.”
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“Good, all the more reason to wait till it's dark out. Lets eat a bit, we should keep our strength up.”
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Jesse and Hatch shared the small meal Jesse pulled from her pack, and then they rested until the sun
was almost over the horizon. The moon was already in the sky, and Jesse was thankful that it was full.
“Jesse, you know how you danced through the camp with your eyes closed when we were with
Greenwald that time?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Well, could you do that again?”
“Hatch, now is really not the time for dancing . . .”
“No, I mean, could you flow like that? could you climb the cliff that way? They'd never expect us to
come from the sea would they. We could listen at a window and decide what to do next.”
Jesse thought for a moment, she had tried a few times to flow like she had that night with the caravan.
Sometimes it had worked, sometimes it hadn't. Then something strange happened. Well at least it was
something new for Jesse: she just stopped thinking about it. She shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Yeah, of course I can. Don't see why not.”
“Good, then you scale the cliff as quiet as you can. I'll approach from the front and see what I can see
from that side. Between the two of us we should be able to get a very good idea about what's going on
inside.”
Jesse nodded in agreement and started walking to the beach. Hatch called out after her, “Jesse, thank
you.”
She turned to look at him, “Thanks, for what?”
“For being my friend, really. I've never had one before.”
Jesse walked back to Hatch and held out her hand to shake his. As they shook hands, she looked him
directly in the eyes and said, “Thank you Hatch, for being a friend too. But, also, thank you for the
food you sent me and my family. That was one of the bravest and most heroic things anyone has ever
done. I know you shall be a great ruler one day, great and compassionate.”
Before she sounded any more mushy or lost her nerve, Jesse started walking towards the beach. Hatch
looked out after her for a moment and then headed back into the woods to approach the shack from the
front.
Jesse made her way quickly and quietly to the cliffs. She darted from one shadow to the next. She was
so skillful and stealthy that she hardly even left a footprint in the sand on the beach. Once she was at
the foot of the cliff, she looked up for the best way to climb. She knew she was an excellent climber.
She was able to scale a sheer wall if she set her mind to it, but this was different. The rocks were slick
and wet and she could hardly see any handholds.
“Well, here we go. I know I can swim well too, so there's nothing to fear if I fall, nothing to fear.”
And with that, Jesse flung herself onto the cliff. She felt one with the earth, with the sea, with the night
itself. She just felt her way up the cliff as though she were sliding down a river, just following the
current where it flowed. She opened her eyes, she had not even realized they were closed, and she was
at the top of the cliff. There was a light coming from one of the shack's windows and she could hear
voices within.
“Simon, James, you fools. How could you not know when the Staircase would take us here?” It was
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Elanda and she was clearly annoyed at the men with her.
“I told you, I haven't used the Staircase for a while. And I told you that time is different in the
Staircase. Besides, it was better than your idea. Just rushing in, swords swinging.” Jesse recognized
Mr. James's voice.
“Well, your way just got us tied up didn't it. I can't seem to get these ropes free. They must be
enchanted.” Elanda was clearly exasperated.
“I know, I only felt one Rider when we entered the staircase. I don't know how the other three got here
so fast.”
“Well, perhaps they know how to use the Staircase too. Did you think of that.” Jesse could here
Elanda struggling against her bonds as she spoke.
Mr. James shook his head. It was so obvious. If he could feel the Riders then the Riders could
probably feel him too. Now there were four Riders in the shack. He, Elanda, and Simon were all
captured. Devin was in the other room and Jesse and Hatch were both all alone out in the woods
somewhere. Mr. James knew he was special, that he had powers, but what had it gotten him? First he
lost Jade and Devin, and now he'd put Jesse and Hatch in the same danger.
He closed his eyes and tried to reach out to his Source, his powers, but they weren't there. At least he
couldn't feel them, the Riders must have blocked them somehow. Elanda and Simon both experienced
the same thing. It seemed hopeless.
Jesse heard all this and felt the sorrow in Mr. James's heart from her perch on the cliff. She decided
that, even though this was only a spy mission, she should try and at least free the adults. But four
Riders, using powers and all, what was she to do? Then she heard something that made up her mind
for her. The front door to the shack opened and she heard Hatch's voice screaming a litany of swear
words, some that were new even to her. He had been captured.
What happened next happened so quickly that Jesse hardly realized what she was doing before she had
done it. She sprang through the window and saw a Rider by the door staring into some kind of crystal.
Jesse didn't know why she ran for the crystal, but that's what she did. She was so deep in the flow now
that it seemed like time was standing still and her body was moving. It seemed like she was just
watching the events unfold in front of her. She flipped over the Rider and kicked the crystal to the
ground. Instantly, she could feel Mr. James and the other two increase in power. They were still tied
though.
The Rider reached to grab Jesse but she cartwheeled away and kicked the table up so that it hit the
Rider in the face. As he fell back through the door, she turned and threw a knife directly at Mr. James's
head, it landed with a thud right by his ear and next to his hand. Then she dived over the upturned table
and through the Rider's legs grabbing two of his knives in the process. She threw both of these, one
with each hand, and they landed right by Elanda's and Simon's ears. The three adults quickly sawed
through their bonds on the knives by their heads and suddenly they were all free. The Rider was no
longer blocking their powers and they were armed. The tables had turned: literally and figuratively.
The Rider was disoriented and disarmed. He looked to see Jesse flying towards the front door where
Hatch was struggling against two other Riders. She felt rage and something else too coursing through
her as she flung herself at the Riders holding Hatch. Hatch was in full motion too. He grabbed a piece
of wood from the fire near the door and shoved it right into one Rider's face. Jesse landed on the
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shoulders of the other and threw him down so that Hatch could grab his sword. Elanda appeared from
another room with a boy holding her hand. The boy was young, beautiful and had pink eyes. He also
seemed extraordinarily calm given everything going on around him.
Mr. James yelled from the room in the back, “Quickly children, quickly, through the Staircase.” They
all hurried to the back room of the cottage and hurled themselves into the light, through the portal.
Jesse landed with a thump as Hatch landed on top of her and Elanda, Simon, and Mr. James all
followed. Devin was the last one through and the portal closed behind him. As the portal closed, Jesse
could feel the Rider's anger disappear into nothingness. They were safe.
“Where are we?” Elanda was the first to ask.
Jesse looked around, they were in some kind of village, and it seemed that the whole village was
gathered around a fire observing some kind of ceremony. Their haphazard party had landed right in the
middle of it all.
“Well, I had to think of a place quickly. So I opened the staircase to the first place I thought of, home,”
said Mr. James. A girl in a sky blue dress ran to meet him. She threw her arms around his waist.
“I knew you'd come. Mr. James, I knew you'd come for me.” Jade had rarely ever been so happy to
see anyone before in her life. Mr. James, Jordan, knew exactly how she felt. As he held Jade is his
arms, a huge wave of relief eased his mind.
Chapter 44
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Jade quickly introduced Mr. James to Emerald who was leading the ceremony to welcome her to the
tribe. She, of course, knew him already. Emerald hugged her brother long and hard. Mr. James told
Jade and the others that Jordan was his real name. He shook his head and his hair changed color and
seemed to grow. His facial features changed too, so that he suddenly seemed much older. He was a bit
taller too as far as Jade could tell.
Simon only looked a bit surprised as Mr. James changed his appearance before their eyes, “Oh so you
can change form eh? I always thought that would be fun.”
Jordan replied, “Well it came in handy in The Realms. A Northman by the coast would have raised too
many eyebrows.”
Emerald, held up her arms to calm the commotion. Several of the men in the village had drawn their
axes to attack the intruders. They returned to their seats at Emerald's signal. Emerald spoke both in the
language of The Realms and in the Northern tongue, “Well, we have much to celebrate don't we, much
indeed. Jade has walked the tread and is now welcomed into our village as one of our own. A woman,
and a woman with sight no less, far sight. And now, my brother, a few of you remember him, has
returned. Devin too, who left us just a few weeks ago.” Emerald was holding Devin's head so tightly
to her chest that he could hardly breathe. He felt happier and more alive than he had ever felt before
and so didn't mind being smothered in his mother's loving embrace.
Emerald continued, “Jordan, dear Jordan, who are these that you have brought with you?”
Simon spoke up in his most eloquent high voice, “Wise women and most honored hunters of the North,
may I present, Prince Herald of The Realms, his keepers and protectors Jesse of Vercouth, and Elanda
of the Nightfolk” At this, Elanda bowed deeply, “And I am Simon, a humble tutor for these children,
my wards.”
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Emerald looked at Simon and then at the others, “Well, there is much for us to discuss. Yes, there is.
But for now lets celebrate. The food is already prepared. Guests, please sit with us. Join us in the
feast.
Elanda whispered to Jordan, “Won't the Riders be following us here? If they can also use the staircase,
couldn't they show up here at any moment.”
Jordan thought for a moment, “Yes, they know we are here. I acted so quickly that I could not very
well hide our path or our destination. Yet, they would never come here. Not into the middle of the
Bearpaw Tribe's village. No, look how many hunters and wise women are here. No, we are safe. They
will come sooner or later, but they'll need many reinforcements before daring to come here. We are
safe for now, and we can all decide on a plan of action in the morning. For now lets eat. We are
successful, thank the gods, in the quest we set out on this morning. Jade and Devin are safe as are the
rest of us. Our troubles shall wait. Lets enjoy the night. I've not been home for a very very long time.”
And with that, the folk from The Realms and those from the North shared stories, laughter, and a lot of
food and drink well into the night.
As the merriment started to wane in the early hours of the morning, and as the hunters and women of
the village went to find their huts, Elanda went and sat next to Jesse, who was enjoying a cup of hot tea
by herself on a log.
“Jesse, you are an amazing girl, do you know that?” Jesse nodded in agreement, “tonight, what you did
was more amazing than anything I've seen in many years, in several lifetimes to your kind.” Jesse was
listening as Elanda continued. “It's not the fighting that was amazing, or the acrobatics or the climbing,
but your center was there. Your flow is strong, stronger than almost any other I've seen. You are what
my kind calls a keeper. You keep the flow. You have a well, a spring inside you that ushers forth a
strong current of flow, of life force. And you my dear have already learned to release it. Then you can
move and dance through life without thinking, and that's part of the key. You also know things that you
haven't done before. That too is a part. And I can show you how to flow through time too, like we did
back with the caravan. Would you like me to teach you?
Jesse nodded, “Yes Elanda, we're the same aren't we,”
“Well, the same, yes, different, yes, but what you are referring to is the connection. And yes we share
that, and we share that strongly indeed.”
“Elanda, can I ask you a question?”
“Anything child.”
“When I saw Hatch being held by those two Riders, he was kicking and fighting them, I felt something,
something new.” Elanda was listening and Jesse continued. “I felt anger, rage, but there was something
else. It was stronger, and cleaner too. And it had to do with Hatch even more than the Riders.”
Elanda looked into the fire in front of them as she warmed her hands, “Well dear, you are growing up
quickly indeed. Many of us, many of us keepers, can tap into anger. I can do that very easily and there
is power there.” Jesse remembered how Elanda had flown at Simon in Mr. James's cellar. “But there is
greater power in something else my dear. What you felt tonight was love. And that's the most
powerful flow in all of everything.
“Love?” Jesse sounded a bit skeptical as she looked over at Hatch who was clumsily standing on a
table half dancing as he relived the fight back at the shack. He was obviously aggrandizing his part in
it.
“Hhmmm, love?” Jesse was smiling though, at least he was entertaining.
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“It's okay my child, your secret is safe with me.” Elanda was smiling too. Tomorrow would bring
what it would but for that night, there was much to smile about.
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Part III
Chapter 45
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More than a few of the guard became unsettled by all the bats in the trees overhead. Doc and Soni
barely paid them any mind though. Their single-minded determination to find their daughters drove
them onward. The wariness of the soldiers' steps increased though as the bats overhead became more
animated with the onset of dusk. Soni considered whether to camp for the night.
“Soni, 'tis not the place to spend the night. Not here, at least not without a bonfire. If we are to stop for
the night, we should stop now and have the men gather enough wood to keep a formidable fire raging
all night long. Otherwise, the only way to avoid the bats' ire is to keep moving till dawn. The bats are
less likely to focus their attention on us if we keep moving.” Soni saw the wisdom in Doc's words and
nodded his assent.
Soni ordered half of his men to make camp while the other half gathered wood. They had little time,
perhaps an hour before sunset, so some of the men took to breaking large branches off of trees with
their horses. By the time the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the Northern Mountains, and
before the moon had shown her face, the bats took flight. The sound of thousands of wings all flapping
in the night along with the barely audible screech of the bats' hunting song unnerved even the most
battle-hardened of Soni's men. Even Soni was mildly shaken by the onslaught. The horses were nearly
maddened by the spectacle, and it seemed that the horses' anxiety only fueled the bats' relentless hunt.
The fire, for the most part, kept the bats at bay though.
A few of the men used their blankets as nets and quickly caught several bats. They skewered them and
roasted them over the raging fire. There was little in the way of real meat on the bats, but the soldiers
were thankful for the meal. It meant they could save their rations for a time when they were in more
dire need.
Doc was calm. He chose a spot near the fire and unrolled his blankets and rested well. His eyes
seemed half open all night long, but when morning came, he was the first one ready to continue the
journey. No one else got any rest that night though. By the time dawn announced its arrival and the
bats settled into their perches for the day, the rest of the men, Soni included, were exhausted. Soni had
driven them hard the day before and they had not yet slept.
“Soni, it's best for your men to meet the Riders well rested. Fighting Riders must be done only when
one's mental and physical faculties are at their best.” Again, Soni saw the wisdom in what Doc had to
say. Soni was very grateful for Doc's advice and even more thankful for his companionship.
“Right you are, I think it's best that I let them rest for a moment. Perhaps we can leave here around
noon. How far do you think we are from the cave?”
Doc replied, “less than half a day's march, even through the dense woods. I rested last night. I'll scout
ahead and see if I can find the cave. You stay here with your men and then, when I return, we'll have a
better understanding of what lays ahead.”
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Soni was hesitant to wait at the camp while Doc continued the search. However, the next night would
likely be restless so he might not get another chance to rest. He thanked Doc and laid down near the
smoldering fire from the night before.
Doc continued on deeper into the wood. Though the vegetation was thick, there was little in the way of
undergrowth so he made good time. By mid-morning he was staring into the huge cavern that Jade
called home just several days earlier.
“Were you here my girl? I pray you were.” Doc considered whether to return to the camp
immediately. He thought better of it though. His curiosity and unshakable desire to glean some news
of his daughter drove him on. He waded through the bat droppings that lined the bottom of the cavern
looking for any sign that someone, anyone, had taken refuge in the cave. Then he saw it, the bridle
from a horse's harness. It was ripped in half as though a horse had pulled hard away from its master.
On it was the telltale insignia of the Nightwatch, the insignia of Riders.
Doc threw heed and caution to the wind. If Riders had been there, then they likely found Jade. He had
to know her fate. He ventured past the first large chamber. His path was lit only by a makeshift torch
that he ripped his cloak to make. He stepped lightly so as not to disturb the bats more than he had to.
He quickly found Regarde's small chamber home. It was lit by a single candle as Regarde sat reading
one of his books.
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Regarde didn't even look around before he said, “Father of, a daughter's love, you've not yet lost, and
shan't feel frost, of northern ma, and hunter pa, she's safe and she has not suffered.”
Doc was speechless. He wasn't sure whether it was the strange little man's rhyme or the bizarre nature
of the entire circumstance.
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He shook the cobwebs from his head and went to grab the bearded man by the neck. As he lunged
forward, all the anger and frustration Doc had pent up over the preceding weeks rushed out at the little
man in a loud and agonized roar.
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Regarde deftly sidestepped Doc's lunge and continued chanting, “girl you seek, be she meek, but power
in her, no beginner. Riders swallow defeat it's hollow. Yet come they back with reinforcements. To
find your daughter, wait here for her.” Doc again shook the cobwebs from his head. This time though,
he reacted more rationally. This man had knowledge of Jade's fate. Perhaps he could glean
information with a more subtle approach.
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“Man or boy, bear me joy, in news of this or news of that. Tell me now though where's Jade at.” Doc
was no stranger to the rhyming verse of the goblins although he had not used it for many many years.
Doc could feel the breeze flow gently through the chamber and knew that there must be another way
out of the cave.
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“Go ye search but don't besmirch her studies now as she grows in power. I'll tell you not the way to
see, a hindrance now you'll only be. Time's not yet ripe, and yet you gripe. So patient be and Jade
you'll see.” Regarde calmly turned back to the book he was reading.
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Doc did his best to control his temper, yet the nerve of this strange little man. He knew where Jade
was, his Jade. Who was this goblin to tell him what constituted safety for his daughter? He went to
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grab Regarde by the shirt but, as soon as he reached out, his fist grasped nothing but air where Regarde
had been a moment earlier.
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“Where is she!” Doc screamed. The cave echoed and the bats started clamoring with their shuffling
wings. “Tell me now or I shall go get the king's guard and bring this entire mountain down around
your ears if I must!”
Regarde calmly looked up at Doc and promptly disappeared seemingly into thin air. Doc yelled his
rage as he went to leave the cave. The bats were active now, having been woken from their daily
slumber. They flew around Doc and several left cuts on his face. As Doc reached the mouth of the
cave, he heard a voice reverberate in his head.
“I know this is hard for you, but you must exercise restraint if you want Jade to remain safe. Trust you
must. Jade is fine, and safe. You'll see her again, but she's got work to do. If you return to the cave
though, the maze shall swallow you. This is not grievance but a gift.” Regarde's voice drifted off as
Doc's rage increased.
Doc traveled quickly back to the camp. As he ran up to Soni, several men put their hands on the hilts
of their swords sensing the rage in Doc's eye and in his step.
“Come, we go now.” Doc was stern and serious.
“Did you find them? The cave?” Soni looked alert but one could tell he had just woken up.
“I found this,” Doc held up the Rider's insignia, “In the cave, there's a man, of sorts, who has further
information. I'm certain he'll buckle under your questioning. He is in the cave though, it might take all
your men to find him.”
Soni quickly signaled his men to mount their horses. They left the camp without clearing it. Each man
grabbed their saddlebags, armor, and weapons and they galloped off after Doc who led the way back to
the cave.
Chapter 46
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Doc, with Soni just a few steps behind him, drove hard into the forest, so hard that the men scarcely
had time to be afraid of the writhing mass of bats overhead. As they neared the mouth of the cave, the
horses slowed down of their own accord. The bats were getting restless having already been disturbed
once that day, and as the sun waned and welcomed the twilight they only became more agitated. Doc,
however, tied his horse to a tree and started walking towards the mouth of the cave.
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Soni stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Best we not rush in. Lets plan this. You said there's a
man inside, what traps has he laid?”
No sooner had Soni asked this then a voice thundered from somewhere deep in the cave. “Go Now!
Night Comes.” The exodus began.
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The horses were the first to feel the wind of the exodus as the mass of bats reached the cave's entrance.
All those beating wings rushing into the night caused several horses to tug hard against their masters'
hold. Several broke free and ran into the wood panicked and erratic. Once the bats reached the mouth
of the cave and started flying into the night, the fog of small winged bodies got so thick that Soni's men
could scarcely see each other, let alone hear each other's screams. Even Soni's faithful stallion pulled
free of his grasp and fled into the forest. Soni dived behind a bush and lied face down in the dirt
covering his head with his hands. Even then, he could feel scratching and tugging on his fingers as the
bats mistook them for prey. Soni could hear the cries and screams of a few of his men as the mass of
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bats descended and began to eat the flesh right off their bones.
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Soni didn't get up until he felt Doc tug him to his feet and drag him into the cave.
“Into the cave, into the cave now.” Doc's scream was barely audible over the roar of the exodus.
All of Soni's men made it into the cave. Most had scratches on their faces and hands. Two men had
lost ears and one had an injured eye. Inside the cave though, it was eerily quiet. Once the bats left the
chamber, an odd but sweet silence remained.
The breathy and ghostly voice of the cave spoke again, “Your daughters are safe. I tell truth I don't lie.
But trust me you must be patient to find. If you go forth in the cave, lost you'll become, so be patient,
behave, your daughters will come.”
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Doc screamed out into the cave, “Lost ha, I shall find ye and peel the skin from your bones. Give me
my Jade.” He started to run into the cave, but Soni tackled him to the ground before he could get very
far. “Doc, calm now. I am as anxious as you to find my Jesse, but this is not the way. Let the men
dress their wounds and then we go forward together.” Doc conceded the wisdom of Soni's command
and sat still while Soni's men prepared to venture deep into the cave.
4535
Several minutes later, the men were ready to go. One wore an eye patch and most had dressed their
cuts to avoid infection, yet they all wore the same steely and grim look on their faces. Twenty of the
king's most well-trained and battle-hardened men were ready for battle. Soni and Doc had an imposing
company at their command as Doc led the party deep into the cavernous expanse.
Doc quickly traced his steps to where Regarde's chamber had been. Only this time there was no
chamber. Where earlier that day Regarde's room had been, there was only a three-way fork in the road.
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“It was not like this,” Doc scratched his head with puzzlement.
“Perhaps it was another way.” Soni looked around, but this was the only way out of the main chamber,
other than to go back into the wood and return to the bats.
“No, it was here. This is some form of trickery. Which way to choose though?” Doc examined each
of the passageways by the light of his torch. He saw footprints going down one passage and decided to
follow that one. Soni knelt down next to Doc and could feel a slight breeze on his face.
“I can feel a breeze, there must be another entrance this way.” Soni picked up some sand and let it slip
through his fingers as the wind blew it slightly, demonstrating his point.
“This way then.” Doc and Soni had scarcely gone three feet into the passage before there was a mighty
earthquake. The cavern shook and the ground split upon. It felt as though the entire mountain were
going to fall around them. The men were dodging boulders as the roof started to collapse.
“Back, back to the entrance men. Go back now, get out of the cave. There is magic afoot here.
Quickly now.” Soni's men obeyed his order as the cavern shook. But in all the tumult, a large boulder
landed hard on Doc's leg. He was pinned to the side of the passageway. He pulled against the stone
with all his might, but it would not budge. His leg was held tight. Soni turned around and rushed back
into the passage to help Doc. Soni strained against the boulder and even used his sword as a lever. The
stone would not budge though.
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Then, behind Doc and Soni, back towards the main chamber, a rock slide sealed the passage where Doc
and Soni struggled against the rock. As soon as the passageway was sealed, the earthquake stopped
and an eery calm filled the cave. The boulder, as if it had a mind of its own, rolled off of Doc's leg.
Doc rubbed his leg. It was sore, but it was not broken.
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“Ho there, are there injuries?” Soni yelled this to his men through the wall of rock that sealed the
passageway.
“Nothing serious sir. Nothing to cause us to stop.” Was the muffled reply through the rock. Doc and
Soni were separated from the rest of the men. Soni pushed against one rock and then another with all
his strength. The boulders wouldn't budge though. Doc could still feel the slight breeze on his cheek.
Another entrance lay ahead.
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Soni called out to his men, “There's another opening ahead here. You all go back to Springinn, hold
there till we meet you. Sargent, you are promoted. Guide the men well.” Soni gave a few other orders
and then turned back to Doc who was now, almost miraculously, able to stand and walk albeit with a
slight limp.
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“Well, the entrance can't be far ahead. Lets get out of here and then return to the men overground. We
can decide our next step from there.”
Doc nodded his agreement as he and Soni ventured deeper into the cave, Their path was lit by Doc's
torch that still burned bright enough to guide their steps.
Chapter 47
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Alejandro was furious. He had been angry for weeks. He took his frustrations out on the palace staff
who generally cowered in his presence and universally did their best to avoid him. Yet, when the
Riders returned, not just empty handed but with news that his son, the Morning Star, and Simon were
all now under the protection of the Bearpaw Tribe, his fury boiled over.
“How did this happen,” he screamed as he spat the words at the seven Riders kneeling before him. “I
sent you after a girl, one girl! All you had to do was get her and bring her to me. Now I find out that
you literally had my son and adviser in your grasp and you let them slip away.”
The Riders merely hung their heads in response. “Captain Rail,” the captain of the king's guard had
been summoned to this meeting, “you fought in the War of the North did you not?”
“Yes, my king, you know I did.”
“Do you remember the Bearpaw Tribe?”
“Yes, my king, you know I do.”
“Tell of their strength.”
“They were the most formidable warriors. Their arrows were true, they threw knives with great
accuracy, and their bravery rivals even the king's personal guard.”
“And their numbers?”
“They are a fierce tribe but they're numbers are relatively few. There are perhaps three hundred men
and as many women.”
“I care not about the women. It is not as though they fight is it?”
“You know the women wield forces my king. They fight but they don't carry swords.”
Alejandro thought for a moment. Just five years earlier he had declared war on the Northern Tribes to
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procure the Chalice of the Ancients. It had taken every man in his army and his losses were great. His
army had only recently recovered in strength. Nonetheless, he could likely muster the forces necessary
to launch another campaign over the Northern mountains to confront the tribes.
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“Captain, how many months till we can declare was on the Northern Tribes? Can the army be
mobilized in three months? We shall need perhaps thirty thousand men, more than we used for the
Northern War.”
“Yes, my king you know we can mobilize in three months. But we do not need so many men.”
Captain Rail continued as Alejandro listened.
“You need not declare war on all the tribes. This is a matter of blood. They have your son. Were you
to go retrieve him, the other tribes would not interfere. This time your war is only with the Bearpaw
Tribe. If we get three hundred men across the mountains, we can return with what has been taken.”
“How long to prepare five hundred men?”
“You know we can leave in thirty days my king. It would take only one month to cross the mountains
after that.”
“Be prepared to leave in twenty, make it so.”
“You know I will my king.”
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The Riders, apparently excused, left the royal hall. Rail left to prepare a contingent for an assault on
the Bearpaw Tribe and Alejandro returned to his sullen meditations over the Prophesies. The Riders'
news was dire indeed. If Jade was the Morning Star and if she now held the Chalice of the Ancients,
the Prophesies predicted his downfall.
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“I make my own destiny. No matter the Prophesies. I am the king.” Alejandro was unsure of himself
and heard it is his voice.
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Jade held the Chalice gingerly. “So this is what it was all about? A pine box? What do I do with it?”
Simon, Jordan, and Emerald all watched Jade as she turned the Chalice first this way and then that.
The Chalice began to warm and then it started to radiate a soft glow. But that was all.
“Open it, open it,” Simon was eager and was sitting on the very edge of his seat.
“How? But more importantly, why?” Jade remembered her time with Regarde and his insistence that
more interesting questions were better than bland answers.
“So we can see if you can.” Simon huffed.
Emerald had been observing things silently but finally spoke up, “The Chalice will not be forced. It
has warmed to Jade's touch. That is a greeting of sorts. But it will not open until she wants to open it.
Or, more correctly, until she needs to open it.”
The grain of the wood on the Chalice began to swirl seemingly in response to Emerald's wisdom.
“Open it is for those who need but don't want. Closed indeed to those who want but don't need.” The
grain swirled once again until the Chalice resembled a plain block of pine.
“Well, I feel no need to open this,” Jade said honestly.
“But we need to know what's inside!” Simon began pacing around the small hut.
“No WE don't. And you only want to know what's inside. What would you do once you knew?
Nothing I'd wager.” Emerald was right. None of them needed the Chalice to open, not yet anyway.
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“For now the only only thing Jade needs, is to tend to her studies.” And with that, Emerald ushered
Jade out of the hut and into Sapphire's waiting arms.
“How long do we have Simon?” With Jade gone, the adults returned to their conversation about the
inevitable attack from the Realms.
“Well, the king can organize an assault in perhaps a month. And then it would take a company another
month to cross the mountains. Alejandro will likely attack in eight weeks, ten at the most.”
“That is so little time.” Jordan hung his head as he spoke, Emerald nodded in agreement.
“Well, we had best prepare then. The men will fight, as will the women. We have three 'gifted' women
in this tribe. Four if you include Jade.”
Simon interrupted Emerald, “Elanda has power, as do the other children.”
Emerald continued, “Yes, yes, Jade is a Seer and a Maker. Jesse it seems is a Keeper. Hatch and you
are both Speakers, which shan't do us much good in a battle,” Simon huffed in response, “and Jordan
and Devin are both Sowers. Yet the children cannot fight, not yet anyway. Two months is so little time
to teach them the old ways. Yet they learn fast and must study hard. Nonetheless, if Alejandro wishes
to fight, the Bearpaw Tribe shall be ready and we shan't let go of any of the children or the Chalice
without a fierce battle.” Emerald still remembered the Northern War. The king's army had ravaged her
land. She relished the opportunity for some payback as did the rest of the tribe.
The men of the Bearpaw Tribe began preparing for battle. The children dedicated themselves to their
studies. Elanda taught Jesse how to use the shadows to her advantage and how to flow through space
and even time. Simon taught Hatch how to use his words and the intention behind them. Jade studied
mainly under Sapphire's tutelage. And Devin spent hours each day with Mr. James. Each of them
progressed quickly and learned to tap into the Flow and the Balance with relative ease. Every
afternoon, Emerald spent some time teaching them all about the old ways, and then the men of the
village taught the children how to wield a sword and use a bow. Simon often sat in on these lessons.
“Everyone has Flow. We are all one with the land, and with each other, whether we realize it or not.
Although we say some are seers,” Emerald gestured over towards Jade as she taught the children one
afternoon, “and some are keepers, all tap in to the one Flow. It is the same Source, it is just manifested
in different ways. You all are one and none of you has a power that works better or more than any
other. Rather, the Flow is completed and complimented when you use your powers together. Jade,
when you use your Vision, your flow alters the River's course so that what you see starts to happen.
Hatch, when you use your Speak, you change the flow in another's reality so that they believe what you
say with certainty. Jesse, when you flow with the One Source, you feel what the flow is doing and are
able to flow as one with it like swimming down a stream to your chosen destination. And Devin, you
can sow seeds in the minds of others like casting a fishing line out into a river. It is all one Flow
though, one River, one Balance.”
Hatch interrupted Emerald, “Yes, yes, Flow this, Balance that. Give me a sword and I shall show you
flow and balance.” The other children giggled as Emerald rolled her eyes.
“Okay, okay, go see Lars and EagleEye. 'Tis time for your fighting lessons. Enjoy it children, enjoy
it.” Emerald shooed her students from her hut where two large, formidable men were waiting to tutor
them on the finer points of swordsmanship and archery.
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Soni and Doc used their torch sparingly. They traveled through many tunnels, feeling their way along
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and following the breeze they felt on their cheeks. They traveled like this for several days. They
followed the breeze, feeling it get stronger and stronger, until their way was blocked by a rockslide or
boulder, forcing them to find another way through. After about a week of this, Soni lit the torch, now
almost done, and surveyed what was left of their rations.
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“Doc, we have about one week's rations left, ten days if we eat like children.”
Doc nodded, he knew this was coming. Soni continued, “we seem to have traveled far, but we may be
no closer to finding a way out of these winding caves.”
It was true, Doc and Soni had traveled miles and miles north, they could feel that. But they had no way
of telling how far below ground they were or how far away the other entrance was.
“Well, I know one thing from experience,” Doc said calmly, “every morning I wake up and every night
I'm alive when I go to sleep. I know that we'll be fine. The Balance works well with me, some call it
the luck of ages. I am kind to the Balance and the Balance, without fail, is kind to me in return.”
That was another thing Soni liked about Doc, his persistence and constant optimism. Doc never hung
his head, and he knew there was always a brighter tomorrow. That helped Soni feel better about the
situation in general.
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The two men continued on. After several hours though, they heard something. At first it was just a
shuffle, perhaps a rock that one of them had toppled a few moments earlier. But it persisted. They
were being followed. When they walked, a tell tale shuffle and tap mimicked their footsteps. When
they stopped, so did the “echo” that followed them.
Doc turned to Soni and grabbed his hand in the dark. He made a series of movements he learned years
earlier when he lived as a soldier, long before he settled down to fish and start a family. Doc used the
hand signals to tell Soni to wait there while he kept moving. Soni understood and hid behind a rock.
Doc doubled his footsteps so it sounded like two men were walking. Several moments later, he heard
Soni's roar followed a sound he did not expect: the cry of a child.
“Please sir, please, don't harm me. I meant you know harm.” Soni lowered his blade as Doc rushed
back with the torch lit to where Soni was straddled on top of a young boy. Soni held the boy down
with a knife near his throat. The boy spoke as though he were perhaps ten-years-old or so, but he was
small. He was so small that he looked more like a six-year-old. Soni stood up and picked the boy up
off the ground, holding the boy's head level with his own. “Who else is following? Who else knows
our whereabouts? Who sent you?” The boy only whimpered in response.
“I sneaked out, I left the city three days ago. My ma was being terrible to me, making me cook meals
and scrub floors.” Soni looked up at Doc. How could it be that their pursuer was only a spoiled child
who ran away from home? The boy continued, “I ran away and got lost. I thought you were the night
patrol, so I was following you to get home.” The boy stopped whimpering and looked at Soni like he
was seeing him for the first time. “Who are you and how did you get here?”
Soni shook the boy till he was again cowering sufficiently, “I'll ask the questions boy. Who are you and
how did you get here?”
“I am Gredil. I'm from Darknaught, the goblin city of course.”
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Soni shook the boy, “You are from where? Lie not to me boy. Goblins, ha!”
Doc put a hand on his friends shoulder, urging him to maintain his calm, “Boy of night of dark to here.
Where is your home from whence appear. Goblin city so you say, take us there, show us the way.”
The boy looked at Doc and answered carefully, “Take you there? You know not the way? I'd be in
trouble, some might say. That way is secret or so it seems the way is shown only in dreams.”
Doc continued undeterred, “And dreams I've dreamed and call I've heard, in the brook and from the
bird. Friend I am, hear you it not? So show us there, we'll harm you not.”
The boy seemed to think on this for a while before he continued his rhyme. “Through passage and
perhaps through time, we travel so to say the rhyme, that opens ways not known to men, man then how
do you know them?”
“I know, I've seen, experienced, been. So take my hand and show me there. To your land sound that
fair?”
“And my payment what should it be . . .”
Soni jumped in, he was getting the hang of this, “Or else you'll have to deal with me!”
And with that, the boy blinked three times and a door materialized in the rock in front of them. It was
framed by glowing letters that even Doc did not recognize; he knew what it said though. The message
was always the same, “See you this door, then welcome you are, what is in store, is known by the
stars.” Doc muttered the saying under his breath and the door swung open slowly. The boy invited
them in to the goblin city of Darknaught.
As Soni quickly learned, goblins were not green, they were not evil, and they were not mean. The were
old though. Goblins lived for hundreds of years, so keeping themselves entertained was their primary
concern. That made them playful. They were tricky and sometimes naughty, but mainly they were just
playful. Doc and Soni looked around the marvelous cavern they entered as they walked through the
door. They were so enthralled with the wonder of the place that they didn't even notice the door behind
them disappear. When Soni did turn around, all he saw was the thoroughfare behind them as though
they just appeared out of nowhere.
“What the . . . Doc, what is this place?” Soni was awestruck. He wasn't speechless, but his jaw hung
open with amazement. The place was lit, it seemed, by the moss that grew on the streets and on the
buildings. There was one bright blue glowing orb above everything else, and that also provided light.
The light was dim but it was constant and more than sufficient to see one's way once one's eyes
adjusted.
The boy who led them into the city was nowhere to be found, but a small man with long dark braided
hair pulled on Doc's coat sleeve and said in a very pompous voice, “Visitors, right this way peas.”
“Did he just say 'peas'” Soni asked Doc as they both followed the strange little man through the even
stranger city. What seemed most odd to Doc was that, even though he and Soni towered over everyone
else on the street, no one was intimidated. No one even acted as though their appearance and presence
were anything out of the ordinary.
The little man introduced himself as “Site” and explained that he was in charge of the city's welcome
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committee. Apparently, Doc and Soni were expected and the High Counsel wished to welcome them
personally. This was quite an honor and, as Site looked the men up and down, he kept repeating that he
wondered what the big deal was.
Through the streets they followed Site, who always stayed a polite two steps ahead of Doc and Soni.
The street was lined with vendors yelling about good deals on cave fish or spider web. And it was
busy. Masses of little people were wandering on this errand or that, generally chatting happily to one
another in rhyme. After a few minutes, Site stopped at the base of a giant staircase that looked like it
was made of the finest marble. It was lit by thousands of fireflies that moved out of the way of the feet
of those who climbed it. Doc decided it made for a very organic experience.
“You may leave your weapons here, they shan't be necessary before the counsel.” Site explained.
Soni recoiled at the idea of giving up his sword. The little man continued undeterred, “Well, keep your
sword with you if you'd like. Not only is it unnecessary in front of the counsel but it would be quite
ineffective too.”
“I'll keep it with me all the same,” said Soni as he and Doc followed the man up the stairs. The fireflies
flew and flitted this way and that to avoid being stepped on. At the top of the stairs were two huge
gold-plated doors. These door rolled to the side as Soni and Doc approached. Site stopped in front of
the doors and explained, “The counsel is ready and waiting, you may enter. I shall wait here.”
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Soni and Doc entered the large chamber and the doors rolled shut behind them. Soni threw his sword
though so that the hilt stopped the doors from shutting entirely. Doc looked at him with a quizzical
look. “What?” Soni asked in response, “I don't like closed in places.” And with that, a table
materialized in front of them as a voice overhead invited them to sit down.
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Doc and Soni sat in the chairs that materialized beside the table. When they did, the wall in front of
them began to roll to the side. It was not a wall at all. Rather, it was just a curtain printed with the
pattern of bricks. Behind this curtain sat three old men and four even older looking women.
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One of the women spoke up, “Good morning Doc and Soni,” she looked to one of her colleagues as if
to ask, “it is morning isn't it?” The old woman's counterpart nodded in agreement, “oh good, all this
keeping track of time by the updwellers' standards gets so tedious doesn't it.” She again turned her
attention to the two dumbfounded men in front of her.
“Well, gentlemen,” again she turned to her colleagues, “Gentlemen? What does that mean? They don't
look so gentle to me.” And with that the boy who had shown them into the city appeared next to Doc
exclaiming, “They're not gentle. The big one there threatened me he did.”
Soni growled at the boy and sent him scurrying away to hide behind the counsel.
The old woman continued, “Very well, welcome not-so-gentlemen. It is so kind of you to join us.
Please accept our hospitality while you are here. My name is Rosewood and this is my counsel.”
Doc nodded in response and started to introduce himself when he remembered that Rosewood clearly
already knew his name.
Rosewood continued, “We have been observing your movements and all of the happenings above
ground for many months now. We are glad to finally make your acquaintance in a more, shall we say,
personal fashion. We know your quest and we seek to help you.”
Soni spoke up at this; he was barely able to contain himself, “You know where Jesse is? Tell me now!”
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he reached to put his hand on his sword before he realized it was still holding the door open.
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Rosewood continued, “Yes we do, and you may go to her in good time, but both Jade and Jesse are
working right now. You will go to them soon though.” Again, Rosewood turned to the others at her
table, “Time is such a funny thing isn't it? To think that something has or hasn't happened yet when it's
all been done, is being done, and has yet to happen.” The other goblins at the table nodded their
agreement. Rosewood again addressed the visitors, “Well, let your daughters work in safety, for they
are safe, entirely safe at this moment. Soni, what of your other children, Ruth and . . . oh what was the
other's name?” “Gerald,” one of the other men at the table cried out. Soni let the error slide, it was
comforting to know that even these goblins didn't know everything.
Soni answered, “Ruth and Traeder are safe in the castle, under the king's watchful care.”
“Hmmm,” Rosewood feigned taking a moment to think about this, “in the king's care they are, but is
that safe when they are far, away from you and this you knew?”
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Soni's head spun for a moment but then his love for his children, for all his children, brought him to his
senses. “My children loved they are always, in my heart if not my gaze. Really, do you think I'd leave
two children in harm's way?”
“Very well, safe they are and safe they'll stay under the stars.”
Doc was glad that Soni's children were safe but spoke up, interrupting the flow between Soni and
Rosewood, “And Jade! What of Jade?”
Rosewood looked at Doc with a knowing and compassionate smile. “Doc, your daughter too is safe.
Both of your children are safe and you shall see them soon. At just the right time, the Balance dictates
it. For now though, and now is all we have here, enjoy the City of Darknaught. We shall show you the
way out at the appointed time.”
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Rosewood summoned Site and gave him orders to show Doc and Soni to their quarters and to make
sure they had food and clean clothes. Soni picked up his sword as the doors rolled open.
“I guess I didn't need this after all.” Soni and Doc followed Site through the open doors and into the
wondrous city of Darknaught.
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“Keep your guard up boy!” Lars was the biggest, and hairiest, man in the village. He was also the
authority on swordsmanship. He had taken a particular interest in Hatch's studies.
“Keep your guard up at all times. I fought your father, you know that?” Lars had Hatch's attention.
“You did what?” Hatch had never known anyone who fought his father and lived to tell about it. “Yes,
before he invaded the Northlands to steal the Chalice of the Ancients, the Northlands and The Realms
had a treaty. We would send some of our royalty to live and learn in the palace for a year, and the king
would send a member of the royal family to train here. After a year, the two would fight. I taught him
him much that day,” Lars laughed as he remembered the dual, “I taught him humility for one thing.”
“You fought my father?” Hatch was still trying to wrap his mind around the concept. Here he was
fighting a man who had fought, and beaten, his father.
Hatch raised his sword and attacked Lars with a renewed determination. His fury rose as he let out a
curdled cry and lunged at Lars with pure death in his eyes. Lars easily sidestepped the blow and sent
Hatch flailing to the ground. When Hatch turned to face his opponent, Lars's sword was at Hatch's
throat.
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“Don't let him in your head like that, boy. He's your father, don't be emotionally attached to that
though. When you are fighting, clear your mind. Many tap into anger to fight, it's an easy but sloppy
and unfocussed way to address your opponent. There is great power in anger and resentment but it is
unpredictable and uncontrolled. As often as you slay your opponent, you leave yourself open for
attack.” Lars offered Hatch a hand and helped him to his feet.
“Now try again,” Lars invited Hatch to attack, “This time though, clear your mind. Picture your father,
see his defeat, but do not become emotional about it. Let go.”
Hatch attacked again, he pictured his father and the cats he had made Hatch throw over the castle wall,
he felt the blows to the side of his head and heard Alejandro's voice calling him stupid. This time tears
welled up in his eyes and he crumpled in a heap as Lars easily parried his blow.
“That's good boy. Remember, you will follow in your father's footsteps. You will be king. But you are
not your father and he has no power over you save that which you give him. He is not you either, he is
not inside your head. This is a good release son. It is better to feel these things so you can address
them. Awareness is the first step in awakening. That's all for today son. That's all.”
“Not yet, once more,” Hatch assumed an attack stance and Lars readied himself too. This time, Hatch
cleared his mind. He pictured his father and saw him indifferently. His father was neither good nor
bad, he just was. His experiences were neither good nor bad, they just were. And with that clarity,
Hatch dove at Lars. Lars was easily a head taller than Hatch but Hatch naturally used this to his
advantage, stepping in close to the big man. Hatch flowed naturally through space and his
swordsmanship looked like a dance to the growing crowd around them. Hatch was deep in the Flow
and moved seamlessly from one attack form to another. Lars was forced to step back and moved to
parry a blow to his chest. However, Hatch slid low and delivered a heavy knock to the back of Lars's
knee. Had he been fighting, Lars would have just lost a leg.
A mighty cheer erupted from the crowd around them. Hatch held out his hand and helped Lars to his
feet. Lars, for his part, burst into laughter.
“That's it boy, good work. You cleared your mind, untied the knots. And now those knots can never be
tied again unless you do it yourself. Those demons have no power over you!” Lars patted Hatch on
the back as they went to get some water.
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The children were all excelling at their studies. They even picked up the language with ease. The
adults marveled at their quick progress. Two weeks into their training and study, Emerald addressed
the children during one of her afternoon lessons.
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“You four have done well. Very well. However, time is short and you must continue now with even
greater pace. War is at our doorstep and we must all be ready to meet it.” The four children exchanged
knowing glances. They had not spoken of the Rider's return, but they all knew it was coming.
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Emerald continued, “We must talk of war now. The men are ready, they have fletched many arrows
and their swords are sharp. We women have prepared many potions and have blessed this place. We
are ready for battle too. The children, all those too young to carry a sword are to go deep in the
mountains where they will be safe. You four shall stay and fight though.”
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“Good, I'm not hiding in any . . .” Emerald stared at Hatch and he shut his mouth.
“As I was saying, you four will fight. But before that, you must all walk the tread.” Jade knew that
she had already walked the tread and looked at Emerald, a puzzled look on her face. “Jade, yes I know
you walked the tread, but you must do so together. The fates of the four of you are joined. You must
learn to work as one if you are to prevail in the coming battle and the struggle that lays beyond. You
are young, but you can do this.”
“You have each walked the tread in your own way already. Devin left the tribe and returned with his
tutor. Jade walked the tread laid for the gifted women of the Bearpaw Tribe. Hatch faced and
conquered the demons of his childhood, and Jesse rescued her party and brought them here. Each of
you had help along the way, yet now you must help each other. Look to each other for help on this
quest. You have one week to return with the feather of a giant eagle. You leave tomorrow. Pack and
prepare wisely. That's all for now children. Next time we talk, children you will no longer be. I will
welcome you back as men and women of the cloth.”
“The cloth?” Even Jade had not heard of this before.
“The cloth, that's what we call the everything. You see everything, every experience, every time, every
life is woven together in a tapestry, a cloth. Some lives are like strands that, when pulled, unravel
easily and slip out of the tapestry without affecting anything else. Others, like you, are bedded deep in
the tapestry, in the cloth. When you are pulled, the tapestry bunches up around you. You four have so
many connections to other parts of the cloth that it is important for you to remain at ease. The ripples
of your young lives travel far indeed. Once you have the giant eagle's feather, you will be welcomed as
men and women of the cloth. Go now, rest tonight. You all have a long week ahead of you.”
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Soni stood up and bumped his head on the ceiling for the third time that day. Their quarters were
small. They were spacious, even elegant, but they were obviously made by goblins for goblins, so Doc
and Soni both had to watch their heads. They had been in the goblin city of Darknaught for over one
week now. Several times Soni had tried to approach the counsel to demand permission to leave. He
only demanded permission when his own attempts failed.
There were two entrances to the city. One to the north, aptly called the Northern Gate, and one to the
south called the Southern Terminus. The first day that he and Doc were there, Soni strode up to the
Northern Gate and walked through it. There was a very short passage, only about twenty meters long,
and then the passage opened up into another large gate leading into the city, he was at the Southern
Terminus. One polite goblin, a low ranking bureaucrat or so it seemed, informed Soni that he needed a
ticket to leave the city otherwise the passage would just lead from one side of the city to the other. Soni
put the goblin bureaucrat to the test; he race through the passageway several times but all he found was
a shortcut from one side of the city to the other.
For the last few days, Soni had taken to striding up to the doors leading to the council chambers and
demanding an audience. Each time he was denied. The counsel always seemed to be busy with this or
that. When he asked how to buy a ticket from the city, Soni was told that one could easily be purchased
from the counsel for a small donation. Soni felt the gold coins in his coin purse; all he needed was an
audience, yet he had been turned away each time he sought one.
Doc, on the other hand, started exploring the city with the curious eyes of a child. He spent a full day
marveling at the glowing moss and wondering how he might use such a thing to help his fishing. If the
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moss intrigued the fish half as much as it did Doc, his nets would be heavy indeed.
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Doc also spent several days at the local medicinal dispensary. The herbalist who worked the counter
was obviously an expert in all kinds of cavern remedies for both common and exotic ailments. For
instance, Doc quickly learned that the blue ringed night roach excreted a substance that, when made
into a tea, helped the drinker see in the dark. This came in very handy, and he traded several blue
ringed night roaches for a pouch of valerian root he happened to have in his bag. The herbalist had,
apparently, never left Darknaught and so was very interested to pick Doc's brain about the various
herbs and plants he used above ground to treat this or that.
However, even this proved tiring after a while. For the last two days Doc had lied in bed reading books
about goblin skirmishes with giants and about the subterranean economy in general. Soni spent his
time pacing around the room bumping his head on the ceiling.
“We've got to get out of here!” Soni exclaimed as he rubbed the latest bump on his head.
“All in good time. Soni, what are you going to do?” was Doc's calm response. Even Doc's sense of
calm was starting to irritate Soni, “If the goblins hadn't taken us in, we'd likely still be wandering
around in the caves. You know that much is true. And what's more, you asked that boy to bring us
here. You should be careful what you ask for, especially around goblins.”
“Well I didn't ask to be made a prisoner here did I!” Soni looked at Doc with disdain, not because he
was angry at Doc but because he knew that what Doc said was true. “Doc, our daughters are out there.
We're so close.”
“The goblins say they're safe.”
“Yes, the goblins know where they are and that just makes me more upset.”
“If we were to leave Darknaught, who's to say that we'd find Jade and Jesse any sooner on our own.
The goblins know where they are and they've made no indication that they intend to keep us from them.
Sometimes the more you rush something, the longer it takes.”
A third voice joined the conversation, “Well said, well said, but sometimes even the Balance can use a
little shove here or there.” Soni spun around to see a goblin calmly stroll from behind the sofa as
though he had been there all along. Doc was quick though and already had a knife pointed at the
goblin's back before he could turn around.
“Wait, I know you,” Doc lowered his weapon slightly as he recognized the goblin in front of him, “you
were that man, or goblin, in the cave.”
“Regarde, at your service.”
“What are you doing here? Why wouldn't you just help us find our daughters before?” Doc lowered
his knife but raised his voice.
“I told you that they were where they needed to be. And they still are. They study safely with the
Northern Bearpaw Tribe.
“Study? What? How . . .” Soni stammered.
“Yes, yes,” Regarde continued, “there's time for all that later. Right now though, I think it is time to get
the two of you out of the city and into the Northlands. It's not that the counsel wants to keep you here,
its just that there are so many committees to consult, there's the Bureau of Undocumented Uplander
Irrigation, the Department of Underland Security, and even the waste management sector has tried to
get in on the act.”
“Waste management sector?” Soni shook his head.
“Yes, have you seen the kinds of things that you uplanders throw in your streams and rivers? Just the
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other day I saw the oddest contraption floating down the underground river, it was . . .”
Doc interrupted Regarde to keep him on track, “You were talking about giving the Balance a shove.”
“Yes, yes, right you are. I know where tickets, or seals rather, are kept. Why don't we just go take one.
We will leave a donation of course. A large one judging by the weight of your coin purse,” Regarde
looked over to Soni eying the purse hanging from his belt, “but why don't we cut through the red tape
so to say?”
“Where are they? Where are the tickets, or seals, kept?” This was what Soni had been waiting for. Doc
though was fascinated that his Jade had made it safe all the way to the Northern Tribes and now she
was studying there. “How is Jade, do her studies go well?”
“Yes, yes, like I said though, there is time for that later. Lets get a ticket and then get you both out of
here so you can ask your children for yourselves. I have a plan, listen closely.”
Regarde began to draw an outline of the counsel chambers carefully pointing out the guard posts. Soni
and Doc both listened closely to Regarde's plan for escape.
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Jade, Jesse, Hatch, and Devin, all left early the next morning. The Northern Woods looked vast but
unintimidating. They had been given little in the way of guidance as to how to find a giant eagle let
alone take one of its feathers. Jade felt out into the forest to see if she could feel any such creature.
The forests were teeming with life though and Jade found that she was feeling so many entities that it
was difficult to distinguish between them. She felt joy as a squirrel found a nut it had buried months
earlier. She felt anxiety as a stick insect held its position to hide from a sparrow. And she felt the
sparrow's confusion as it wondered why the stick smelled so much like food.
Devin recounted some of the childhood stories he had been told about the giant eagles, “Giant eagles
always help the heroes in the stories when they are most in peril.” Now that Devin could speak his
own language with his friends, he spoke verbally far more frequently. “They generally just show up
and save the day. It's said they can smell valor and that they are attracted to heroic deeds.”
Hatch scoffed, “So then, shall we just go about saving the world till we almost die and then look
heavenward for a great eagle so we can calmly ask, 'so, thanks for assistance, may we trouble you for a
tailfeather?'” Jesse laughed a bit at this.
“Yes, that's exactly what we should do.” Devin sounded sure of himself. According to the stories, that
was the only way to find a giant eagle.
Jade spoke up, “Well, I believe the stories have some truth in them for sure, but we should find more
out about these giant eagles though. Is there anyone who has seen one?”
Devin thought, “Well, there's Emerald, and Mr. James, er Jordan, was rumored to have met one. But
other than that, there's only the ugly swamp lady of Midland.”
“Who?” the three other children asked in unison.
“Oh yes, the ugly swamp lady of Midland. She's an old hag that left the village to live in the swamp
many many years ago. It's rumored that she and Emerald got into a fight and the swamp lady ended up
leaving over it.
“And just where does the ugly swamp lady of Midland live?” Hatch just had to ask.
“Er, in Midland Swamp. Where did you think?” Devin rolled his eyes as he answered.
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Regarde explained his plan to Soni and Doc quickly and quietly in their quarters. It was simple,
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surprisingly simple. There was a window underneath one of the bureaucrat's offices on the third floor.
Soni would give Regarde a large sum of money, and Regarde would simply suggest that the bureaucrat
should take his wife out to dinner as Regarde's belated anniversary gift. Regarde was well known
around the counsel chambers and had conveniently forgotten this particular bureaucrat's anniversary for
twelve years in a row now. Regarde began to explain how the man had married Regarde's cousin, twice
removed, merely to raise his own social position . . . until Doc gently cut him off and redirected his
focus to the plan at hand.
Regarde would offer to watch this man's office while he took Regarde's cousin, his wife, out to a very
fine lunch and then simply throw the bureaucrat's Counsel Seal down to Soni and Doc who would be
waiting below the window.
“Well, won't he realize that his seally thingy is missing?” Soni asked.
“Oh I doubt it,” Regarde answered, “to them it's just a stamp used to make papers look official. You
two can use it to open the passage. I can return it to the office at a later date. The only downside I see
to this plan is that I shall likely have to visit my cousin and her dreadful children for dinner this holiday
season. Well, I guess we all make some sacrifices don't we.”
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Doc liked the plan. It was simple and that made it more likely to succeed. Plus family was important
to Doc and, if this plan urged a reunion within Regarde's odd little family, so much the better. At first
Soni seemed to like the idea of storming the gates and rushing into the counsel chamber at night.
However, after a short time, he conceded the wisdom of Regarde's plan.
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“Well, tomorrow we see if wise it be to take the key and leave city. But now lets eat shall we?”
Regarde started to help himself to some of the breakfast that had been brought for Doc and Soni. Soni
started oiling his armor as he had done every morning since their arrival. Doc returned to his book.
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The children reached Midland Swamp by noon. It was a vast meadow. It stretched to the horizon and,
at first, it looked like a grassland. The only thing that suggested it was not a grassy meadow was the
eery silence that surrounded it. As they approached, the children saw a flock of black crows rise up
into the sky like a mighty cloud or an exploding volcano. And there was an old woman, there in the
middle of them all, shooing them away with her cane as she approached the children.
Hatch went to draw his sword until Jesse, calmly and with a smile, put her hand on his, urging him to
put the sword away. Hatch slid the sword back into its scabbard but kept his hand on the hilt.
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“What are you doing?” The woman was screaming as she approached the bewildered children. Jade
was still staring into the sky. She had never seen so many birds in one place. Then she realized they
weren't birds at all, they were bats. They were larger than the ones she had seen in the cave, but they
were bats.
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“What are you doing? Don't you know what time of day it is?”
Devin spoke up, “Good day Mother, it is noon. Peace to you.”
“Peace to me? Peace to me?” The old woman pointed her cane to the sky, “If I had not shooed those
bats away, you'd have walked right through them and they just might have eaten you alive. Peace to
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me indeed.”
Jade tried appeasing the woman, “Mother, we meant no harm.”
“Meant no harm? But harm you caused. The bats awoke before we spoke and now I see who you be,
but who be these other three?” Jade was used to this flow by now, even when speaking in the Northern
Tongue.
“These three with me, friends they be. We four are joined on a mission be. Emerald she sent us free to
seek the feather of eagle's wing.”
The woman answered, “Eagle's wing, not here you see. These my bats this their land be.”
“Not any eagle but giant's sought. A feather or else our plan is naught. Have you seen where giant
eagles fly, point us there and we'll pass by.”
“Roam you ha. I see that not, you come here, perhaps you sought, to take from me my prize oh yes.
Truth I see that I have guessed.”
Now Jesse chimed in, “Steal from you, I don't think so. We came to ask where eagles flown.”
Devin joined the rhyming chorus, “So do you know, where to go, to find the feather giant eagles
grow?”
Devin blushed slightly at his last rhyme until Hatch rolled his eyes and loudly exclaimed, “Look, we
just came to ask where the giant eagles are so we can go get a feather. It's not that hard is it?” The
other three children shook their heads. Hatch looked around at each of them as though to ask, “what?”
The woman started to walk away, and Devin thought that Hatch's outburst had caused her to leave.
After taking a few steps though, the woman paused, “Well, are you coming? I've got lunch on the fire.
You four must be hungry.” The four children were hungry and they followed the ugly swamp lady of
Midland back to her home.
“You know, you're not ugly at all.” Hatch said as they walked into the woman's abode. Jesse kicked
him in the shin urging him to keep his mouth shut.
“No, no, I like this one,” the woman pointed at Hatch, “he speaks his mind. He may be brash but he is
honest. That I can trust. Perhaps introductions are in order, I am Amethyst.” Amethyst took off her
shawl and let her long blonde braids cascade down her shoulders. She stood to full height, no longer
hunched over holding her cane, and the four children let out a collective gasp of wonder. She was
beautiful, very beautiful. Her face had an ageless quality about it. She was not young, but she did not
look old either. Jade shook her head and introduced herself and her friends.
“I am Jade of Merryweather, this is Jesse of Vercouth, Devin of the Bearpaw Tribe, and you've met
Hatch, Prince of the Realms.”
Amethyst chuckled as she poured each child a healthy serving of stew.
“Why did you cook so much Mother?” Jade asked, “this is a veritable banquet for one who lives
alone.”
“Dear one, I made this feast for you.” Amethyst looked at her guests with love in her eyes. “It is rare
indeed that a humble Wise Woman such as myself gets to entertain those so close to the center of the
cloth.”
“Center of the cloth?” Jade asked. Emerald had taught them about the cloth, the Balance, the tapestry
of life, but she spoke of the cloth as one complete and equal entity. The idea of a place in the cloth was
a new concept.
“Ah, I see, you are Emerald's student's aren't you?” The children nodded their affirmation.
Amethyst continued, “Yes, yes, she was always going on about the equality of everything. Refused to
label anything as anything. Thought that was somehow passing judgment on something. Let me ask
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you this though. Which is more important to you, your hand or your foot?”
The children pondered this for a moment. Hatch was the first to speak, “What kind of question is that?
That makes no sense at all.”
“Exactly,” Amethyst explained, “They are different. They do different things. They are all part of the
body. To say that a hand is not a foot or that a neck is not a hand is not to pass judgment on anything.
Likewise, some life strands are towards the center of the cloth. Some stay at its edges. And others
move all over the cloth.”
Jade sighed, just as she thought she understood the concept of the cloth, she was introduced to a whole
new dimension of it.
“Is that why you live here? Because you fought with Emerald over the cloth?” Devin had always
wondered why the ugly swamp lady of Midland left the tribe.
“No, no. Of course not. Emerald is my sister and I love her dearly. When my brother left, I spoke
with the eldest wise woman at the time, Crystal was her name. I fought with her long and hard about
sending my brother away. When the village forced him to leave, I swore to never set foot in the village
again till Jordan returned.”
The children all looked at each other. Jade smiled and said, “He's returned. He's been at the village for
the past few weeks.”
Amethyst smiled a knowing smile. “Ha, my sister has grown wise hasn't she. Very wise. I think we
should eat, rest, and then all return to the village in the morning.”
“But the quest,” Hatch put down his spoon as he spoke, “We may not return until we find a giant eagle
and take a feather from it.”
Amethyst was still smiling, “Was that the quest oh Prince of the Realms? Or did you just have to return
with a giant eagle's feather in hand? I have one of those around here somewhere.”
Hatch blushed for a moment and then went back to his stew. He was learning to listen more carefully.
“Here it is,” Amethyst pulled a large feather that had been woven into one of her golden braids.
“Isn't this cheating?” Jesse asked the question that all four of them were thinking.
“Tell me this,” Amethyst stroked the feather as she spoke, “which is the greater feat little ones, to bring
healing, reconciliation, and unity to a tribe that has been divided for decades, or to go steal a feather
from a bird. No children, I think you did just as Emerald intended. My sister is wise, wise indeed. For
now though, eat. You must tell me news of the village and of The Realms. I sense there are great
movements afoot and I intend to play my part in them.”
Chapter 57
“Good morn to ye.” Regarde raised his eyebrows as he spoke to the bespectacled female goblin on
guard duty outside the counsel chambers.
“Good morning it is, good morning it be, how may I be of service to thee?” Although her tone was
pleasant, there was no hint of amusement on her face.
“This morning there's friend, or family, I'd like to see, can you help me?”
“A goblin has lost his family? Cry from the rooftops now shall we?” Still the goblin guard did not even
crack a smile.
“Family lost, I think not, he's your boss, and I think he's got, an appointment to see, his cousin dearest,
unfortunate for me, kin I'm the nearest.” Regarde's forced attempts at humor were beginning to wear
thin.
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“Family this, family that, save it for home, I'll show you my back. Come again with an appointment
card, call ahead, is that so hard?”
Regarde could sense his chance for entry slipping away. This was his last chance. “Okay okay you got
me there. He's family, yes but I don't care. The truth it seems it must suffice to cool this guard as cold
as ice. This man he married my cousin see. And it's sodded me off as it should be, me in that office
with papers and seal, yet here I am making this deal. My cousin I must see this holiday, so let me in
turn me not away.”
The guard turned to look at him, at least he had her attention.
“That rings true, yes it do, but why should I help you?”
“Help is a word I use so rare, just turn away do you dare? You said you'd show me your back well
dear, that's all I ask so the coast is clear.”
The pretty guard smiled a little and did as Regarde asked. She turned her back so she was looking the
other way. However, she cleared her throat and held out her hand behind her.
“I see the path is clear for you. A donation now shall see you through.”
Regarde grumbled as he put a few coins in the guard's hand. This just made her smile all the more.
“I see, I see, a smile's the key. Yet not from humor just money.” Regarde had to have the last word as
he ascended the stairs and walked through the open doors. Although he had the last word, the pretty
guard made sure he heard her counting her money as he walked away.
Regarde nodded politely to the few people he saw hurrying around the counsel offices. Most seemed to
be busily hurrying about something incredibly important. Regarde had long ago decided that the most
important thing with government work was to make sure nothing ever got done. So one goblin would
rush around as fast as he could without telling any other department what he was doing. The other
department would then rush around as fast as possible to try and undo what the first goblin did in the
name of the freedom of information. And so went the merry-go-round.
Regarde found the office he was looking for with relative ease. A plaque on the front door announced
that he was visiting the Director of Internal Affairs Concerning the Inappropriate Use of Fungaloid
Light, the “D.I.A.C.I.U.F.L.” for short.
“Cousin, my my how long has it been?” Regarde burst through the doors and almost made a
particularly small and bald goblin behind the desk, who was almost hidden by the papers looming over
his head, spill his coffee all over his day's work. The little goblin used his neck tie to dab up the drops
that spilled and then looked up and answered in an annoyingly squeaky voice.
“Hrmph, lets see my eldest child is thirteen, so that would make it twelve years, Regarde. What are
you doing here?”
Regarde pushed a large stack of papers to the side and sat down on the little goblin's desk.
“Klause, good friend, and closer cousin, I've come to make a amends. How is that beautiful wife of
yours? My cousin dearest?”
“Dead.” Was Klause's curt response, “Tragic roach skiing accident almost a year ago.”
“Oh my,” this was perhaps the first time in his waking memory that Regarde had ever been left
speechless. He recovered quickly though, “I know, I know dear cousin. That's what brings me here.”
“What? What? That's ridiculous.” Klause's squeaky voice increased in pitch as it increased in volume.
“How dare you come here, not having seen the family in years and years, and move my papers and
offer condolences for someone you obviously cared little for, and you offer them to someone for whom
you care even less.”
It wasn't that Regarde wasn't sorry to hear of his cousin's passing. He was actually quite fond of her.
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That was one reason he had been so hurt by her marriage to this little goblin in front of him. However,
Klause apparently loved her very much. He had, after all been taking care of all the children alone now
for a year. Regarde's heart went out to Klause, but he had a job to do, and Regarde felt certain it was
best that he did it quickly.
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“How dare you say that I don't care for her. Why do you think I detested you and your petty office so.
I came here to offer an olive branch and you take it and smack my face with it.” Regarde pretended to
be getting worked up.
Klause, for his part, had been using his seal to stamp a series of papers as he moved them from the left
side of his desk to the right side. He started stamping them harder and harder as he got more and more
frustrated.
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“Where were you, like a brother to her, yet at her funeral, absent you were. I've four mouths to feed,
including my own, hard work's how I do it, now leave me alone!!!” Klause almost punched a hole
right through the last paper he stamped.
“Hard work ha,” Regarde shook his head, just because he did what needed to be done didn't mean he
relished the doing, “stealing more like, and mouths you feed? Go take a hike. Red tape feeds your
children and you make it more, like torture than work now brace you therefore. Speak not of my
cousin or the love I hold dear. How dare you berate me when I have come here. To offer you peace
and offering bring, now feel my wrath and taste you my sting . . .”
Klause looked up at Regarde with utter loathing in his eyes. Regarde moved over by the window as
Klause started his rhyme, “Sting you bring? Curse I sing? Upon you to this morning bring, a rhyme
unto my door from you, get ye gone, for I'm now through. If family I ever was, no longer yours let
bees buzz. I work I feed my children true, and naught they'll ever here of you. Now gone you be and
gone you go, have you wings? We soon shall know . . .” And with that, Klause jumped on top of his
desk and sprang at Regarde with all his might. Regarde tumbled backwards and fell out of the window
as Klause gave him an almighty push. As Regarde turned to see the ground rushing up to meet him, he
grabbed the seal out of Klause's hand and landed on Soni's head a moment later.
Soni was surprised to say the least. Doc helped both Regarde and Soni up off the ground. He turned
Regarde this way and that, looking to see whether he was injured in any way. He showed no outward
signs of injury but tears rolled down his cheeks like waterfalls.
Doc looked him over “What happened?”
Soni asked, “Did you get it? Did you get the seal?”
Regarde was hanging his head in absolute sorrow, “Aaarrrgh,” he let out a wail of agony, not for any
physical pain but for the searing emotional loss he obviously endured. “Yes I got the seal, the deal is
done, key I have, but what have I won?” The tears continued to stream down Regarde's face. “Price I
paid too dear to say, what have I gained by this game I play? So easy twas to steal the seal yet rend my
family I feel. Was much to give, was much to pay, stealing's easy any day.”
The reality of what had just happened began to dawn on Doc, sympathy washed over his face. “Yes, it
is indeed easier to steal a key than to reunite a family. I see things did not go as planned. My thanks
Regarde, the price was high. Yet freedom bought now lets fly. Though your family be rendered, our
daughters now be remembered. Regarde,” Doc dropped the rhyme and addressed Regarde as
straightforwardly and honestly as he knew how, “ lets go and get the girls. Let not your sacrifice be in
vain. One thing I have learned, and you know this too. Time heals many injuries. Give it time my
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friend, it all comes clear in time.”
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Regarde wiped the tears from his eyes as he handed the seal to Soni, “Right you are, lets go.” Regarde
rushed them away as several counsel guards came to see what the commotion was. Soni, Doc, and
Regarde managed to get away before the guards could question them. Once they made it to the
Northern Gate, Soni walked through it like he had done several times before. This time though, the
passageway continued straight ahead. They were not rerouted to the Southern Terminus but continued
down one passage and then another. Doc and Soni both drank some roach tea so they could see in the
dark. That made it much easier to follow Regarde who knew these passages by heart.
After several hours, Regarde stopped and turned to Doc and Soni who were both huffing and puffing.
“Okay, if you follow this passage for about another day, perhaps a day-and-a-half, you shall come to
the north side of the mountains. A day north of that and you'll be at the Bearpaw Tribe's spring camp.
Remember, the king's men have been crossing the mountains for weeks now. If they are not ahead of
you, they are close on your trail. Fare ye well my friends, I return to make amends.”
Soni and Doc both looked at Regarde with the sincerity of their thanks written all over their faces. No
further thanks was necessary and words would hardly have conveyed their gratitude as well as their
humble countenances. Regarde turned and started rushing back to Darknaught to see to his family.
Soni and Doc rushed onward to see to theirs.
Chapter 58
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The children's return to the village wasn't heralded with congratulations or songs of their prowess. Nor
was it met by surprise at the brevity of their absence. No, the village was busy. The children were
fletching arrows. The men either practiced their swordsmanship or sharpened their weapons, and the
women mended armor, prepared rations, and tended the children. Emerald's hut though was lit and
silent. A telltale plume of white steam wafted up from its chimney. The gifted women were preparing
in their own way and Amethyst strode up to join in the preparations.
The children had all filled her in on the happenings both in and out of the village during the short
journey back to the Bearpaw Tribe. Amethyst was ready to fight. And that was nothing new to her.
She explained that the each Wise Woman had a different gift, or a different emphasis when it came to
the One Gift. Emerald was gifted in sight, she could see the future and the happenings elsewhere with
particular clarity. Ruby was a gifted healer. Sapphire was gifted with knowledge and ancient wisdom
of all sorts. But Amethyst was a fighter; she bore well the gift of fire. She explained that all wise
women could wield all of these kinds of magic, but some just gravitated more naturally to certain
flows. Amethyst felt at home with fire and Jade, looking in Amethyst's dark pink eyes, could tell why.
Amethyst, followed by Jade, entered Emerald's hut. The other children waited outside. The
newcomers quickly put on the cloth garments already donned by the others and took their seats, which
were prepared ahead of time.
“Welcome sister, may the Balance weigh mightily in you favor.” Emerald smiled at Jade as she greeted
Amethyst.
“My thanks sister, the Balance bestows its favor upon you.” Amethyst returned the traditional greeting
before running over and throwing her arms around her little sister. Emerald, though younger than
Amethyst, looked quite a bit older. Nonetheless, both women were soon crying tears of joy for the
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reunion. After a moment, Amethyst also greeted Sapphire and Ruby. Emerald did not even so much as
mention the children's quest before she got down to business.
Emerald poured a ladle of water over the stones in the center of the hut. A thick plume of sweetsmelling steam filled the room.
“I have seen much, my sisters,” Emerald's eyes rolled back in her head as she recounted her vision,
“men come, they are only a day or two away. At least five hundred. But there are seven Riders with
them. Four lead them and three are at the rear, making sure the men don't flee or fall behind.” Ruby
and Sapphire hung their heads at this. Amethyst's eyes grew darker and more intense.
“The crossing of the mountains has been hard on them. This we expected. They have no horses and
the men are tired and hungry. Yet they are many.”
“And what of the other tribes?” Amethyst already knew the answer to this.
“Hatch is the king's blood. As long as we offer him refuge, we stand alone.”
“And what of the Morning Star?” Amethyst looked over to Jade as she asked this.
“'Tis still the night. The star is here but has yet to peek over the horizon.”
Amethyst took charge, she was obviously in her element and her legend preceded her in the eyes of
both Sapphire and Ruby who had grown up hearing horror stories about the ugly swamp lady of
Midland. “How many fighting men in the Bearpaw Tribe today?”
Ruby answered, “Three hundred.”
“How many fought in the Northern War against The Realms?”
“Half of those.”
“Have enchantments and protections been laid?”
Sapphire and Ruby looked at each other before Sapphire answered, “Mother,”
Amethyst corrected her, “Sister.”
“Yes, sister, we laid those we knew. You have others we do not know. Wards have been placed on the
armor and each of the men are equipped with at least two potions of healing.”
“Good, good. I say we be ready for a fight. You three continue as you were. Jade come with me, we
must speak to Jordan and Lars. 'Tis an even fight.” Amethyst seemed eager, even blood thirsty, as she
put on her regular clothes and walked out of the tent.
The other children had already told their tale to Jordan, Simon, and Elanda when Jade and Amethyst
rejoined them.
“Hello brother.”
“Sister,” Jordan nodded as his sister greeted him with far less ado.
“Come, we have much to do and only a day in which to do it.” Amethyst yelled this over her shoulder
as she strode over to Lars's hut. He was fighting three of his men at once and had two of them already
bested and on the ground when Amethyst approached. When he saw Amethyst though, he immediately
knelt on one knee out of respect.
“Get up you oaf. Is that how you intend to meet the enemy? On bended knee? Like I said, get up.”
Lars got up and opened the door to his hut so that the party, including the children, could discuss the
battle preparations.
Amethyst again addressed the gathering, “You children are now men and women of the cloth. You are
here because you are, for better or worse, at the center of the struggle that is upon us. Hatch, you may
learn much here that may be useful when you assume the throne. Listen carefully.”
Lars already had a large map of the area drawn and laid out on a table in the middle of the room.
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“Okay, big man, tell me your plan.”
Lars outlined the battle plan for all those in attendance. The devilish smile on Amethyst's lips only got
broader as she listened attentively.
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Chapter 59
“How much further now Mi Lord?”
The Rider answered, “We can attack by morning.”
“But Sir, the men have not slept in three days, they've not eaten in two.”
The Rider looked at his lieutenant; he loathed having to work with humans. He levitated a good three
meters above the ground. When he spoke, his voice was loud like thunder and rumbled the stones
under then men's feet. “Do you tire?”
The men all cowered in response nodding their heads, begging the Rider to let them continue without
rest.
“Do you fear?” At this, most of the men nodded in agreement. Not that they feared the Northmen they
were to fight but that they feared the Riders that drove them onward so ruthlessly.
“Do you fight?” At this, the men all jumped up as one and yelled a mighty roar of agreement as they
stomped their feet and banged their shields.
The Rider returned to his conversation with his human lieutenant. “You see the men need not rest, they
need not food, their fear of me keeps them awake and fills their bellies. We attack at dawn.”
The lieutenant could already see that the moon was high. Dawn was only a few hours away. Come
what may, their fate would be decided all too soon.
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No one slept in the Bearpaw Tribe that night. The Wise Women continued their chanting and magical
preparations. The men all rested but remained alert and vigilant. Lars gnawed on a turkey leg as he
looked at his map for the hundredth time that night.
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The sun rose as it always did, peaking its rays first over the hills to the east. It cascaded a beautiful
canvas of color over the land. Lars breathed deep the air as he led his men towards the mountain pass
where the soldiers were forced to enter the Bearpaw Tribe's land. As his men formed ranks facing the
mountains, he rode tall on his horse and called out to his men.
“Men of the North.”
A mighty chorus, “Ho Ha” answered him.
“Do you thirst?”
“Ho Ha”
“Do you hunger?”
“Ho Ha”
“Do you smell the break of dawn bringing blood to your cold steel blades?”
“Ho Ha”
“Are you victors?” This final call was met by an earth shattering roar and cry as every man over
sixteen-years-old in the Bearpaw tribe yelled their call to victory, theirs was more than a call to war.
As Lars's men quietened down, the rumble of the approaching soldiers could be heard. The soldiers
banged their shields as they walked. The mountains formed a bottle neck of sorts through a narrow
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canyon, which opened up to a grassy field bordered by forest. Lars and his bravest warriors sat atop
their horses just inside the clearing.
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As the soldiers filed out into the clearing, the darkest of the Riders rode out into the middle of the field.
Lars and Jordan rode out to meet him.
“We meet again oh James man of the Prophesy.” Jordan returned the Rider's greeting with a steely
glare.
“Where are your men, Northman. You've barely one hundred at your back.” Before Lars could answer,
the Rider swung his sword at Lars's neck with inhuman speed. The blow was only barely parried by
Jordan's own sword. A lock of hair fell from Lars's mane.
“Who be you?” Lars roared his reply, “Who be you to call this conference and strike at me. Perhaps
there be only one hundred behind me but that be plenty to beat the likes of thee.”
The Rider backed away on his horse but answered coldly. “We outnumber you five to one. Give us the
boy, the Chalice, and the Morning Star and we shall leave you be. Do what you will with the adviser.”
This time Lars struck out at the Rider. The Rider all too easily parried the blow but backed away out of
caution. “None you'll take this day. You are on our land and for that ye'll pay.” Lars spat these last
words as the Rider returned to his ranks. The battle line was drawn.
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Jade looked down from her perch high in the mountains. The king's army certainly looked much larger
than Lars's.
“Wait dear,” Jordan held Jade's shoulder, offering her reassurance. “Wait till all the men are well into
the clearing.”
“Stick by the plan Jade, stick by the plan.” Jade had spent the last hour reminding herself of this like a
mantra.
It happened suddenly and without warning. The men of the Bearpaw Tribe began their charge. There
were only one hundred of them behind Lars but they all had horses. And the horses of the Bearpaw
tribe were every bit warrior as were the men who rode them. The thundering hooves combined with
the blood-curdling yells from the men sent chills down Jade's spine.
The king's archers sent forth one volley and then another. Jade saw a few of the men go down. Most,
even if they were knocked from their horses, got back up, some with two or three arrows protruding
from their bodies. They rejoined the charge. As the Northmen closed in on the soldiers' position, one
of the soldiers' lieutenants blew a horn and the soldiers began their advance. Theirs was a methodical
advance, each line had a shieldsman, a swordsman, and a man with a lance. As the line of horses
crashed into the soldiers' formation, many fell to the lances. Once the riders were down, the
swordsmen made quick work of finishing the job. The Northmen lost many warriors during that first
charge but those that survived entered what the men of the North called the Rage.
Even from her perch, high above the battle, Jade could feel the change. It was palpable. The Northmen
had no thought at all. No emotion even. They were one with their weapons and one with the moment.
On horseback or not, they flowed from one kill to the next, slicing through the king's ranks like a hot
knife through butter. Soon Jade could see pockets of space opening up around groups of two or three
warriors as they felled their foes. Lars fought alone. His horse had fallen but, as he swung a
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battlehammer in one hand and an axe in the other, no soldier dared approach. Those that did, fell
quickly.
Then the Riders entered the fray. They were on horses but they Rode on the fear of their adversaries.
Most of the warriors were engulfed in the Rage and this offered them some protection from the wave of
fear that came with the Riders; however, Jade could feel the momentum shift. The circles of soldiers
started closing in on the warrior enclaves. Few of the warriors were still mounted although some of the
horses fought on without riders.
“Jade, now. You must follow my mind in this. I ask you to do something that you must not do unless
you are guided through it.” Amethyst held Jade's hand. “Feel fear!”
“What?” Jade knew enough to know that fear was a destructive force indeed.
“Heed me girl, think of the most terrified you have ever been. Feel it, be it.”
This did not sound right to Jade. Emerald had taught her to best her fears, to face them, to beat them
into submission, now Amethyst wanted her to feel them? Jade trusted Amethyst though for reasons she
could not necessarily explain, she knew they were linked. Even more than she trusted Amethyst
though, she trusted herself and her own intuition. Jade let it flow.
The most afraid she had ever been. A memory, one Jade did not even know she had, surfaced and
sprang vividly to the forefront of her mind. There she was, a baby, barely able to walk and she had
fallen into the river. Her head was under water, the current was swift, the sound of the current was
loud, she couldn't breathe. She cried for her mother but her cries were muffled as water curdled her
screams. She was going to die. Then she felt a coarse mane under her hand and felt strong teeth grip
the back of her dress as Gravey grabbed her with his mouth.
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“Now give it to me. Give it all to me girl!” Amethyst looked like she was in a crazed trance as Jade
held her hand. Jade did it, she let all the fear she had, all the fear she knew, flow from her hand into
Amethyst's. Jade could see Devin doing something similar with Jordan. Jordan and Amethyst both
stretched out their hands to the battlefield. The energy was electric, Jade could feel it. It felt oily and
slimy as it cascaded down the mountain. Flowers wilted and even the evergreen pines browned a little
as the fear, the pure fear, flowed down the mountain to the men below.
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Down on the battlefield, or in the brush just next to it rather, Simon saw the signal. The spell had been
cast. The thing about fear is that it does not discriminate. When Jade, Amethyst, Jordan, and Devin, let
loose the flow of morbid energy, it was sure to affect all those it fell over. That is unless Simon had
anything to say about it. And, as always, he had plenty to say.
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Elanda magnified his voice with her will and Simon boomed over the battlefield. He spoke in the
Northern Tongue so that only the warriors could understand him.
“Men of the North. You are not afraid. Your minds are clear. Your strength is here. Feel the cold of
your blade as it mingles with flesh. No fear here the blood smell is fresh.” As Simon repeated this
using as much persuasion as his own will would allow, the Northmen were insulated from the wave of
fear rolling across the battlefield. The soldiers could not understand Simon though, so his words
offered them no protection. The effect was quick and severe.
From their perch high above the battlefield, Jade and Devin saw the effect of the spell they wove. The
soldiers scattered. They started running back and forth. They broke formation and, though the Riders
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did their best to intimidate them back into line, the soldiers were already so afraid that the Rider's fear
only made things worse.
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Then the other ranks of warriors, fresh, hot headed and cold blooded, emerged from the forest around
the battlefield. Lars had divided his men into three companies. One to charge with horses and two to
take the flanks on foot. These men had laid low. They had watched their brethren fall, waiting for the
call. When they unleashed their fury it was a sight to behold. The soldiers were already beside
themselves with panic but now flanked by twice as many northmen as they fought before, most started
to flee back into the narrow canyon.
“Now Jade, now.” Jordan smiled slightly as he nodded his signal to Jade. Jade found Jesse's and
Hatch's minds on the other side of the canyon and projected one simple word, “now.” Jesse and Hatch
both heard it and sprung the trap that had been waiting for this precise moment. Jesse pulled hard on
one side of a rope while Hatch did the same on the other. Safety pegs flew aside and a small but
considerable avalanche rolled down into the ravine and blocked the soldiers' escape. The soldiers
turned, panic-ridden, to face the coming line of enraged Northmen. The carnage was severe and it was
complete. Well, it was almost complete.
As Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby all tended the wounded, one of Lars's men came to give a report.
“There are two, only two among the dead. Lars pulled away from Sapphire who had laid her hands
over one of his arrow wounds. “Only two? Well, then five Riders live to fight another day. And
soldiers?”
“None live brother. No soldiers survived. Perhaps a handful fled, but most fell”
Lars nodded his head in acknowledgment. He did not cherish this news but it was as it had to be. He
then asked the question he was avoiding.
“And how many Northmen fell?”
“Seventy dead sir, and just as many are wounded, though the Wise Women promise recovery for most.”
Lars let out a cry of rage, sorrow, misery, and respect. The howl was joined by as many of the
Northmen as could speak. Even Jade, Hatch, Jesse and Devin, now back with the rest of the Bearpaw
Tribe howled their own lament. After a moment, the cry subsided, but its memory lingered.
“See to the dead, brother. Each is to get a hero's burial. Before the feast of Morning.”
“It will be done.” The Northman went to carry out Lars's order.
Hatch approached Lars reverently having seen his true heroism on the battlefield, “Father, uh Lars,
what is the Feast of Morning?”
“You fought by my side today young one. Now you call me brother, and brothers we be. The Feast of
Morning is also the Feast of Mourning. The morning after a battle, the living gather to remember their
fallen brethren. We welcome the dawn and thank the sun for victory, we remember the night and send
our brothers to safe journeys. Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of Morning.”
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A smoldering bonfire reddened the dawn as the sunrise introduced its hues of pink and purple. The
soldiers' bodies had been burned in a bonfire that raged all night long. The field of battle was soaked in
blood and gore, as it had been many times before. It always recovered as would the Bearpaw Tribe.
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Back at the village, the mood was one of somber celebration. The bodies of the slain warriors all lay in
rows, wrapped in the same cheesecloth material that the Wise Women used in their steam ceremonies.
They would be lit on fire too once the sun reached its peak. The adults were all attending to this or
that. So the four children had some time to themselves and spoke around a small fire away from the
others. After all they had been through, they were hardly children anymore though. Though they were
young, Emerald had announced them as men and women of the cloth.
“Well, we certainly have come far from hiding in trees back in Vercouth,” Hatch elbowed Jesse
playfully as he reminisced.
“Hide? All you ever did, as I remember, was make a lot of noise tripping over your own two feet.”
Jesse smiled as she answered.
“Vercouth, I've never been there. It seems so far away now.” Jade had heard stories of the great city
when she was growing up. Even through this whole adventure though, she never even got to see
Springinn. “Devin, what were the Riders like?”
Devin started to answer Jade telepathically, but then remembered that sometimes forcing thoughts into
another's mind was considered a bit rude. “Well, they weren't bad. Not even evil. They were just
single-minded. They had a goal and nothing would deter them from it. They had no moral qualms at
all. They were kind enough to me though.”
Jade thought, how could that be? No emotion, no hate, no love, just a job to do. Then what was the
point? Why do anything?
“Because we enjoy the doing my dear.” Jade spun around in time to see a Rider's dagger between her
eyes. She went to cry out but the yell got curdled in her throat. Each of the other children were
likewise struggling against a Rider of their own. Jade saw the portal to the Lighted Staircase open just
a few yards away. She screamed out, this time with her mind. She focused all the love, power and fear
that she had inside her into one almighty wail. The Riders, all five of them, covered their ears as
though they were dogs and someone had blown a whistle. Jordan, Emerald, and Amethyst apparently
heard it too because, as the Riders recovered enough to pick up their weapons, those three burst into the
small clearing where the children had been talking.
Jesse and Hatch were unaffected by Jade's mental scream. They looked around for only a moment
wondering what had caused the Riders to drop their weapons before they both drew their own swords.
Hatch attacked one expertly and dropped him to his knees. Jesse flew through the legs of another and
dealt a harsh blow to his calf. However, the fifth Rider, the most black, the Rider who had challenged
Lars in the clearing before the battle, grabbed both Jesse and Hatch by their throats and held one in
each hand dangling them over the ground.
Another Rider whispered in his dark hiss, “Master, the Staircase closes, we must be quick.”
There they stood, it was for but a moment but it seemed like an eternity. Jade and Devin were both
held securely in a Rider's grip. The leader held Jesse and Hatch by their throats above the ground.
Jordan, Emerald, and Amethyst looked on about ten meters away, fearful to approach since the leader
could snap Jesse and Hatch's necks like toothpicks. Jesse could feel the power rise in each of them
though, it felt like there was so much electricity in the little clearing that it might all just burst into
flames or wink everything into non-existence at any moment.
Then the eery silence that accompanies moments of indecision was shattered. Doc and Soni burst into
the clearing, not with rage, at least not only with rage, but with undivided and extreme focus. Doc
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swung his sword around in fury flowing from one attack form to the next in an effortless dance as he
cut a swath through the Riders. As he brought his blade up to swing at a Rider's neck, Jade was
released so the Rider could parry the blow. Jade took the chance and spun around the Rider, ducking
beneath her father's swing and darting to the side. A moment later, Devin did the same thing and came
to rest behind Jade as they both marveled at Doc's expert swordsmanship.
Soni was wielding two swords now, one slightly longer than the other. He catapulted himself over the
leader, the Rider holding Jesse in his grasp. He cut each of that Rider's arms deeply, forcing him to
drop his quarry. The wounds didn't stop the Rider from drawing two swords of his own though. In just
a moment, the tables had shifted but just barely. Doc, Soni, Emerald, Amethyst, and Jordan were on
one side of the clearing. The children were on the other, just steps away from the Lighted Staircase that
was quickly dwindling. And the Riders were in the middle.
As the adults squared off against the Riders, a growing mass of warriors came to see what was afoot.
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“Quick, back to the Staircase, back to the shack.” The blackest Rider oozed black, thick, syrupy blood
from the wounds Soni had inflicted. He looked up at Soni with pure pleasure in his eyes. “Your
children are with the king. Once word reaches him of what has happened here, or should we not return,
they will make a fine meal for the king's dogs.”
Jesse started to rush forward except that Hatch held her back, “Traeder and Ruth, no you dark lighted
stump. I'll kill the king and overthrow his kingdom before I let him hurt my family.”
The blackest Rider just chuckled as he continued to stare at Soni, “You know it's true, now what will
you do as you stew in the spew that I throw at you?”
Soni was overcome by rage. He had found his Jesse, she was well and now all that lay between him
and her were these Riders. But they threatened the two children he had left at the castle. It was more
than he could take, he roared and rushed the Riders. Things happened very quickly after that.
Rage is a powerful force, very powerful indeed, but it is chaotic in nature and breeds more chaos. And
as Soni surrendered himself to his rage, urged on as he was by the Rider's spell, pure chaos ensued.
Another interesting thing about chaos though is that it too is part of the Balance. In a way, it is a purity
of its own. When there are no plans, no preconceived ideas or expectations, the Flow is at its freest to
find the Balance in its own way. Jordan knew this. He reached out to Jade's mind and shielded the
message so that only she could hear it.
“Jade, take the Staircase, go there now. I shall close it behind you so the Riders can't follow you.
You'll be safe but you four will be alone, for a time anyway. Go!”
Jade heard Jordan's voice, the same familiar voice she had known as Mr. James's growing up, and she
acted quickly.
“Come,” Jade didn't just project this thought, and nor did she command it, she just kind of thought it as
though it were the only way things could happen. Of course the other children would follow her, there
was no other alternative. The other children heard Jade's call and responded quickly. All four children
were through the Staircase just before Jordan winked it out. The five Riders turned to face the
Bearpaw Tribe. If Riders were capable of feeling fear, rather than just projecting it, they were afraid.
Their fear was short-lived though as they quickly met their end.
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The children all rolled, one on top of the other, into the shack. The portal behind them winked out just
as Hatch pulled Jesse through it. They waited for a moment to see if it would open again to let the
Riders through. None came though. However, none of the adults at the village came through the
Staircase either. It seemed the children were all by themselves. The silence was eery until Jesse burst
into tears.
“Ruth, Traeder, my brother and sister. They are with the king. What will he do?”
Hatch thought for a moment, he knew the answer, “Well, Jesse,” Hatch put a friendly arm over Jesse's
shoulder, “he won't do anything for well over a month. The mountain pass is blocked so any surviving
soldiers won't be able to report for at least sixty days.”
Jade added, “and Mr. James, uh Jordan, said he closed the staircase, so the Riders can't use it to travel
for right now either. We have time Jesse, we have time.”
“But then none of the adults are coming through either, are they?” Jesse knew that things weren't
hopeless but they sure felt that way.
“Adults where? Adults who? Just what did they do that you can't do too?”
Jade turned around quickly, Hatch drew his sword. “Hatch it's okay. Regarde, Regarde, you're here, oh
it's so good to see you.” Jade ran up to her friend and threw her arms around the small man.
“Yes, yes, I'm here too true. But there's one even more excited to see you.” And then Jade heard a bray
she recognized very well coming from the window.
“You brought Gravey, but how? He was at the village?”
“More interesting questions dear. Much you've learned and much you hear, but much to be done that
much is clear. Lets not ask why blessings come, lets just say thanks and be as one. Where to go now?
That's an interesting one.”
Hatch put his sword his away. “Well it seems that Jesse and I both have family matters to deal with at
the castle.”
“To the castle then, here we go, Oh Jade you dropped this, don't you know.”
Regarde threw Jade a plain pine box. The grain seemed to swirl in recognition as Jade caught it. Hatch
spoke again, “Yes, we'll go to the castle but for now lets rest. It seems we're safe here and there's no
point starting a journey unprepared.”
They all agreed and sat down to a simple meal of rabbit and berries that Jade just happened to See
outside the window. Jade was excited. She was not necessarily overjoyed to embark on this next part
of her journey, but nor was she fearful. She was ready. Ready for whatever lay ahead.
Epilogue
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Alejandro stared into his divining pool. It was blurry, he could not tell what had happened in the
Northlands but he was surprised to see four children suddenly come into clarity as they spontaneously
reached the coast.
“So you return to me boy? And you bring friends, and the Chalice, and the Morning Star. Good work
son, perhaps there is hope for you yet.” Alejandro let out a long and dark laugh.
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