Chapter Sixteen - One of the Varnhyme

The sun set beyond the Amandu Mountains, and the stars twinkled in the sky. Cynthia, or Jocelyn as her alias was here, looked up at the jewels in the heavens. Night fell around the camp, and enveloped the camp in darkness. The only sound was that of cricket’s chirping, and the hushed voices of those on guard.

“North to Aiulindale, or south to Merisna? Where would they look first?”

The soldiers jumped startled, as they heard a soft voice coming from the direction of the large oak tree outside of camp. They turned to each other surprised, and listened closely to what the voice said.

“I can’t go back to Merisna, the Duke, or King, has soldiers there. They’d be sure to find me. My only choice is to go onward to Aiulindale, and take my chances with them following. Unless I wanted to risk going to the Amandu Mountains. Going east would be out of the question, I would run into that garrison there.”

The soldiers turned to each other in shock and astonishment. One spoke to the others in a quiet, yet amazed voice.

“She must have escaped. Fan out. We need to get her back.”
“Should some of us stay here sir?”
“That would probably be be . . .” he felt a small tugging on his mind, “ . . . tter if you helped us search for Jocelyn, or whoever she is. I don’t think the King will be too happy if she’s escaped.”
“You are most likely correct, sir.”
“Very well then, let us search for her. If you find her, holler.”
“Yes sir.”

The soldiers spread off, searching around for the missing prisoner. And the girl on the ground slowly opened her eyes. They still gleamed green in the dark. She could tell by a soldier’s cry that something with green eyes was out there. She instantly shut them again. Moving slowly away from where she had been lying, her hands bound at the wrists, she kept them closed for five whole minutes, counting them out under her breath. Once five minutes were up, she opened them, and knew they had returned to their usual grey.

Waiting a few more minutes for the sounds of the soldiers’ voices to grow quieter, she glanced up at the sky. Quickly noticing the position of Elbrenhine, she pushed herself to her feet, and moving stealthily through the night air, she followed it north. She made slow progress, pausing every now and again, closing her eyes before the emerald green of them shone to brightly, and moved her lips, throwing her voice in the direction she wanted it to go. Then she reached out and gently tweaked the thoughts of some of the soldiers. It would be dangerous to do it without her eyes closed in the night, the gleam of the emerald would give away her location. She sighed, and wished she could do it with them open, it would be easier that way. Cynthia Varnhyme, what are you thinking? Wishing for that which you cannot have. Make use of what you have got, and do not complain about what you have not. You are a Varnhyme, Use what you have learned without wanting for more.

Morning dawned bright and clear over Elenaesia. Edmund awoke after a less then relaxing night, he was awake for half of it, and the half when he did sleep, he did not sleep very well. He heard snatches of conversation between Kathryn, Jessica, and Yoran, but waited a few minutes before forcing his eyes to open. And then immediately closed them. Then he opened them again, and blinked, staring at the sight.

“Believe I do,” said Yoran, “that a Ligon before us we do see.”
“I think Yoran’s right, Edmund,” Jessica murmured.

Kathryn remained calm, remembering the hope and faith she had that they would restore peace to Elenaesia, and not allow it to be torn asunder by civil war.

“What do you propose we do then?” she asked. “We are in no position to do anything as far as I can tell.”
“Kathryn’s right,” agreed Edmund. “There’s nothing we can do. Other than hope the Pegasi do not drop us.”

The brilliant ruby red of the Ligon flashed in front of them as she circled around the Pegasi, forcing them to fly lower and lower to the ground. She snorted, and red orange flames flew out of her mouth, and smoke breathed out of her nostrils. She, for they had concluded it was indeed a She-ligon, made hissing sounds at the Pegasi, and clawed at them with one of her paws in the air. Her huge wings were spread out, and she soared above them, flying closer to the Pegasi than ever before. Finally, in sheer fright, the Pegasi released the four of them onto the ground, and flew away, much faster now that they no longer carried their burdens.

Edmund rolled over onto his back, and then slowly sat up. He pushed his hair back out of his face, and looked around him. The other three members of their company were also on the ground nearby.

“Is anyone hurt?” he asked quickly, checking over himself as he spoke.

The girls responded that they had a slight bump or two on the head, but were fine. Yoran seemed to be in perfect condition, but Edmund knew that there was at least one injury somewhere on the squirrel.

“Now what do we do?” asked Jessica.
“Well, we should probably look for the lair of that Ligon we saw. Remember what Heather the Sage said? Look in the lair of the Ligon called Mara. We’re in a forest. We saw a Ligon. Who is to say that this isn’t the Forest of the Ligon of which the Sage spoke?”
“Believe that Edmund is correct, I do,” said Yoran. “Search we must if to find the Stone of the King we are.”
“Then let us begin our search,” said Kathryn, slowly standing with the help of her sister.
“Shall we go north?” Edmund asked Yoran.
“The best course of action I believe that would be.”
“Then let us be off.”

“We are not in a position to be able to dance off to Eirtue, and still be able to face the Duke head on, my lord king!” protested Sir Taliesin.
“I am afraid I must agree with Sir Taliesin, my liege. It is not in our best interests to gallivant over there, when we know from experience that the Duke will meet us head on here,” agreed Sir Caspian.
“But that is what concerns me. We have seen him in battle, against Microsia. But would he not know that we know how he fought then? What he uses as battle tactics and plans?” queried Sir Martin.
“By that do you mean that he may change what he uses just to catch us in a trap?” asked Sir Evyn.
“By my troth, I do not believe he would do such a thing,” said Sir Bedwyr.
“Well, Bob, it is possible. But I think that we would most likely meet him head on. That is what I have known him to do,” said Sir Rupert.
“That is my problem,” Sir Geminad cried. “His tactics have shown him to attack head on. If that is the case, what does he wish to accomplish by taking Eirtue?”
“The failure of the attack on Ge’irdae would not be enough to sway him from this path,” cautioned Sir Flavus.
“Would he want to be taking over Ge’irdae and Eirtue, to gain more power?” asked Sir Taran.
“Why do we not go back to Aiulindale and wait there?” asked Sir Thanet.

Sir Paulo remained silent, and studied King Eldor intently as he listened to the other ten knights of the Eleven voice their opinions and concerns. The concerns were valid, and the opinions were not invalid. The king raised his hands and motioned for the knights to quiet down.

“That is enough,” he said slowly. “I have heard what you have had to say. Sir Paulo, what have you to say on this matter?”
“I could say everything that has been said, from retreating back to Aiulindale, to questioning the wisdom of staying here instead of going to Eirtue, to saying that the best option is staying here.”
“Then you have no counsel to offer? No advice whatsoever?” asked King Eldor.
“Nay my lord King. I do have some counsel. It is up to you to heed it or not. There is nothing that we can do about Eirtue now, short of splitting the army or taking it all there. That I do not believe is a viable option. However, I do not believe it wise to leave Aiulindale completely undefended. We must send a small portion back.”
“You can spare that, but not enough for going to Eirtue?” Sir Flavus asked in astonishment.
“Eirtue is under attack, Sir Flavus. Aiulindale is not. We do not need to try and regain Aiulindale, like we would if we went to Eirtue. However, I believe that whatever else the Duke may have planned, he will most certainly come down here and attack us.”

Eldor nodded at last. “Very well then. I will make my decision. You may leave now. I will think over what you have said.”