The Sorcerer and the Witch-King's Heir

So then they all had to traipse back to the palace, with the sergeant in charge of their security even more anxious (because the first procession would have been observed, giving an assassin time to plan for the second one) and constantly suggesting things like changing routes or even adopting disguises or maybe going to a third location first, to throw any enemies off the trail. Eventually, they made it back to their chambers, and the real arguing could begin. Karina started. "I am not leading an archeological survey into the Breckenridge," she said firmly. "I am an abbess. I have duties and responsibilities here." "We all agreed," Chancellor Evander began, but she cut him off before he could say it. "We never agreed that I would have any duties outside of the city," she said firmly. "I am not going, and that's final." Evander tried to bluster, but there was no come back to that. She was right. Daryl tried to redirect. "Who else do you have in mind for the survey, Chancellor?" "Well, someone from the library, of course," Evander said, clearly unhappy with the change in subject. Adelaide made a small noise of protest. "Whoever you recommend," he clarified quickly, waving his hand. "Oh, so she gets the consideration but not me?" Karina said, fuming. "It has to be you!" Evander said, losing his temper. "You're the only who's ever seen the damn thing!" Silence fell over the assembly. Slowly, with as much decorum as she could muster, Karina stood, and left the assembly. A few minutes later, Daryl chased her down. "Karina," he said. "Karina, please, don't just leave like this. This is important." She said nothing. She kept walking. She was a nun, an abbess, for heaven's sake. She would not lose her tempter. She would not show how Evander had bothered her. She would not break in front of these men. She was beloved of the saint. She was needed by her sisters. She kept walking. "Karina," Daryl said breathlessly. "Please, stop walking. Just talk to me." Daryl had been there. Daryl knew. He had no business asking her to be reasonable, and he knew it. When he realized she wasn't going to stop walking, he stopped talking. He fell into step behind her, tucked in his chin, and followed her back to the abbey. Karina went about her business, studiously ignoring her shadow. She reassured Sister Delphine that all was well, false alarm. She went to the dormitories to talk to the postulants and giving them a very stern talking to. She went to the sister in charge of the novices and apprised her of the issue. She went to visit the cellars and spent an hour pouring over invoices, inventory, and order forms. She went to the sacristy to sort through the linens and prepare for the evening service. She went to dinner, and to evening prayer. Then she went to her parlor, the fire already dancing brightly in the grate, and she sat in front of it, put her feet up, and closed her eyes. Long minutes passed in silence. Finally, Karina opened her eyes and glared at her ex-lover. "Why are you still here, Daryl?" "The Chancellor rattled you," Daryl said, leaning forward. "But he's right. You need to go on this expedition." "Absolutely not." Daryl said nothing else. The fire snapped. Karina got bored. "Why?" she demanded. "Why do I have to go?" Daryl sighed. "You know why." "Say it." "Promise not to send me away if I do?" She gestured her assent. "What was done to you was unspeakably evil," Daryl said, choosing his words carefully. "But it also was a mistake. It gave us an advantage, a way to see into the mind of the enemy. It won us the war." He paused. "I know how hard this is for your, Karina. I know, because they did it to me too. Not for as long, but long enough. You know what they knew. You see what they saw. You can find this thing, and you can tell us how to destroy it." "It doesn't work like that," Karina whispered. "It comes and goes, flashes, nightmares--" She was shaking. Hearing the screams again. Back in the darkness again. Soundlessly, she mouthed a prayer to St. Agnes. Daryl leaned forward, taking both her hands in his. "I know," he said softly. "I know that this is hard. And I know that I promised you, when you took holy orders, that nothing like this would happen again. That you would be safe. But Karina, we can't let them come back. This is a simple retrieval mission. A week or two at most, destroy the artifact, and then it's over. For real this time. But if we can't find it, if we can't figure out how to destroy it, we leave the door open for their return. And we can't let that happen." Weeping openly now, Karina asked: "Will you come with me?" "Yes," Daryl promised. "All the way to the end." ** The survey team consisted of Mother Karina, Daryl, Amaya -- a scholar from the National Library who specialized in pre-war monarchy history and artifacts, and Tobias, a sergeant in the Palace Guards. Corrin wanted to go, but everyone agreed it was stupid to send all three of them in case "there was a horrible accident and they all died." There was also a pony, to carry their supplies, a groom, to take care of the pony, and two night watchmen, under the command of Tobias, in case of a violent attack on their caravan or if they needed some heavy digging done. Amaya wanted to bring an apprentice, a stone-mason, and a cartographer, but they talked her out of it, promising to send additional manpower if it was needed once they found the artifact. It seemed a ridiculous amount of manpower and luggage for what was really only a three or four day walk into a nearby, perfectly civilized forest with no history of banditry whatsoever, but Karina was not consulted on the arrangements, and this is what everyone seemed to consider appropriate for a government outing. In the end, it was almost a week before they were ready to leave. Karina went to the apothecary to replenish her supply of valerian the day before they were set to depart, but it was closed up with a "Family business" sign on the door. She sighed. Just her luck. So there would be nightmares on the way back, that's for sure. She toyed briefly with the ethics of breaking her vow of celibacy if things got desperate, then decided that that was a decision to make when and if the opportunity presented itself. Fortunately, they got an early start the next day. They took a carriage as far as the inn at the edge of the village, but the roads weren't suitable leading up into the mountains, so they paid a groom to take it back into the city. After a lengthy lunch, they began walking up into the hills. Karina hadn't walked like this since she was a girl, but she found the exercise strangely freeing. The rustle of leaves under foot, the focus on her footing and breathing, the sound of the birds and the murmured conversation of her companions all blocked out the wild and dangerous thoughts in her head in much the same way that prayer and contemplation did back at the abbey. Maybe monasticism hadn't been the only option for her. Maybe she could have been a wilderness explorer. She laughed aloud at the thought. Daryl glanced at her, but she shook her head, still smiling a little to herself. When the shadows began to lengthen under the trees they stopped for the night in a clearing near a muddy spring. One of the guardsmen dug a hole around it, and soon they had fresh, clear water. The other dug a latrine on the opposite side of the clearing while Tobias established a security perimeter and Amaya gathered stones for a fire ring. Everyone pitched in, and soon they had their bedrolls spread out in a loose circle, and a cheerful fire going, around which to eat their cold rations and drink the wine the innkeeper had talked them into buying. Karina felt recklessly, freed for the first time in two decades from the rigorous schedule of the abbey. She hoped the saint would forgive her when she returned. She wondered if she should resign as Mother Superior after this. It was hardly setting a good example for the sisters under her care. Then again, maybe it was the perfect example. She could show the sisters that the monastery could be a place of safety and structure when they needed it, but didn't have to be a prison to constrain them for the rest of their lives. She imagined telling the bishop that and laughed again, but she thought that St. Agnes would approve. Daryl sat next to her. "You seem to be in a good mood," he said. "It's strange, isn't it?" she said, smiling and scooting over to make room for him. "I think it's just...well, everything. The sense of adventure. The wonders of this natural world the gods have given us. The fresh air." She smiled again. She did seem to be smiling a lot today. "I'll drink to that," Daryl said, and they clinked their mugs together. There was a sudden, brilliant flash of lightning followed by a deafening roll of thunder. Karina looked up in alarm as the heavens suddenly opened, and a torrent of rain engulfed them. The camp descended into chaos. They had brought tents, but they hadn't set them up because the night was clear without a hint of rain on the horizon. Even moments ago, the stars had been visible in a perfectly cloudless night. This storm, this violent storm, had come literally out of nowhere. There was more lightning, more thunder. The survey members all shrieked, jumping away from the tree they were huddled under, and running back into the rain to escape the risk of lightning strikes. The pony whinnied in terror and tried to bolt from its tether. Daryl found Karina in the chaos, caught her arm and pulled her close to shout in her ear over the crash of thunder and pounding rain. “This storm!” he said. “It doesn't feel natural!” “The bell,” Karina shouted back. “We thought it was coincidence but what if we were wrong? What if someone else is after this thing?” “Our departure wasn't exactly kept secret,” Daryl agreed. They looked up at the ridge, where the worst of the storm seemed to be concentrated. Lightning flashed every few seconds, but none of it came near their camp. Despite the horrible flashes and noise, their main concern seemed to be the rain. Tobias joined their huddle, panicky and out of breath. “The lightning,” he said, pointing. “Why is it all striking in one place?”