King of Sword and Sky
Page 102
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"A Fey should never be so busy he cannot see to his mate." He rose and pulled her to her feet. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere I should have taken you weeks ago." Rain tracked down Gaelen and informed him that the Feyreisen and the Feyreisa would be leaving Dharsa for a few days.
Gaelen eyed the pair of them, smirked, and said, "About time, Feyreisen."
Rain's response was to shoot back a string of Feyan words Ellysetta had never heard before, but several of the warriors nearby laughed and cheered their king so robustly she was certain whatever he'd said didn't bear repeating amongst the women. Gaelen whirled on the chadins and barked with such ferocity they snapped back to instant, stone-faced order. Leaving the Fey to Gaelen's gleefully merciless instruction, Rain cleared a spot to Change, and a few chimes later, he and Ellysetta were winging west, away from Dharsa.
Celieria ~ Teleon
«Lord Darramon has arrived.»
Leaning against the stone wall of Teleon's highest guard tower, Kieran sent the message arrowing into the Mists to the warriors and shei'dalins waiting in the war castles of Chatok and Chakai. To the west, a caravan of carriages, wagons, and mounted riders crossed the hilltop and started down the sloping grade.
«We come.» The voice of the returning weave was distorted by the energy of the Mists.
"He took his time, considering he's here to have his wife cured of a deadly illness," Kiel murmured. "I was beginning to think he wouldn't show."
"Those mounts are mortal-bred, not ba'houda." Kieran counted three dozen outriders and two more wagons carrying servants and provisions. "I doubt they've been on the road less than three weeks."
"Shall we head down to meet them?"
Kieran straightened up from the wall. "Aiyah, but let's stay clear of the Stones grid." Lillis and Lorelle were playing Stones with the quintet assigned to guard them today—and soundly beating them, by all accounts Kieran had been receiving throughout the morning. «Ravel.» He spun a quick Spirit weave to the leader of the quintet currently watching over the twins. «Lord Darramon has arrived. Kiel and I are going down to greet them. Keep the girls out of sight.»
Though the twins understood how vital it was that they remain within the Spirit-weave-concealed confines of Teleon, lately they'd been showing signs of boredom, which translated into a proportionally increased propensity for wandering. Only yesterday, Kieran had found them playing Princess in the Tower in the lower-level guard towers, and he'd barely caught them before they climbed down the knotted bedsheet they'd thrown over the ramparts. Had he arrived even a few chimes later, they'd have landed on unprotected land and been visible to any passersby.
«Understood.» Ravel's weave sounded harried, as if the twins had been running him ragged.
Kieran swallowed a quick grin. They probably had. Lillis and Lorelle had energy to spare.
«Fey, ti'bor» he sent on the common path, calling the other warriors to join him at the outpost's front gate. He and Kiel ran along the main road that zigzagged down the mountainside to the outpost, cutting corners by making use of several stairways and a few quick Air slides. Behind them, four dozen warriors followed their lead. They stepped through Teleon's Spirit weave and into the mortal-built outpost at the bottom of the mountains before the first of Lord Darramon's outriders reached the main gate.
With a salute to the guardsmen manning the gate towers, the Fey passed beneath the raised portcullis and gathered on opposite sides of the open gates to await the approaching caravan. Each warrior kept nimble fingers within easy reach of his red Fey'cha blades.
«Your uncle would come in quite handy right about now,» Kiel remarked silently. «A quick weave of Azrahn and we'd know if there was any killing to be done.»
Kieran shot him a sour look. «Not funny, Kiel.» He regarded the approaching party. «Fey have survived for millennia without weaving the forbidden magic. And so will we. Just keep a steady hand and a sharp eye.»
The first dozen riders to reach the outpost were coated in travel dust and clearly saddle-worn, but Kieran couldn't detect anything suspicious about them. He exchanged brief introductions with the lead rider, a Captain Waters, who had a steady, no-nonsense gaze that any Fey could appreciate.
"The caravan will not enter until I give the all-clear, Ser vel Solande," Captain Waters said. His horse whinnied and pranced nervously in Kieran's and Kiel's presence, sensing the latent predator in the two Fey. "I'm sure you understand. These are unsettled times."
"Of course," Kieran answered easily. "Make your inspection. The stable master's boys will tend your horses when you're done." He pointed through the gate to the stable on the right side. "Our barracks are full, but you may make camp along the south wall after we inspect your party and their belongings."
With a nod and a tip of his brimmed hat, Captain Waters spurred his nervous mount forward, past Kieran and Kiel. Once within the walls, the Celierian captain's eyes scanned the interior of the fortress in quick, assessing sweeps.
Kieran watched the man from the corner of his eye, wondering if he was checking for traps or looking for weaknesses in the fort's defenses. Despite the prohibition against reading Celierian minds, he sent a quick Spirit weave brushing against the captain's consciousness. Outright burrowing in a mortal's mind for information was a breach of the Fey-Celierian alliance, but skimming the thoughts of a potential enemy to ensure the protection of Fey women was not. The captain's mind was guarded, but devoid of suspicious thoughts.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere I should have taken you weeks ago." Rain tracked down Gaelen and informed him that the Feyreisen and the Feyreisa would be leaving Dharsa for a few days.
Gaelen eyed the pair of them, smirked, and said, "About time, Feyreisen."
Rain's response was to shoot back a string of Feyan words Ellysetta had never heard before, but several of the warriors nearby laughed and cheered their king so robustly she was certain whatever he'd said didn't bear repeating amongst the women. Gaelen whirled on the chadins and barked with such ferocity they snapped back to instant, stone-faced order. Leaving the Fey to Gaelen's gleefully merciless instruction, Rain cleared a spot to Change, and a few chimes later, he and Ellysetta were winging west, away from Dharsa.
Celieria ~ Teleon
«Lord Darramon has arrived.»
Leaning against the stone wall of Teleon's highest guard tower, Kieran sent the message arrowing into the Mists to the warriors and shei'dalins waiting in the war castles of Chatok and Chakai. To the west, a caravan of carriages, wagons, and mounted riders crossed the hilltop and started down the sloping grade.
«We come.» The voice of the returning weave was distorted by the energy of the Mists.
"He took his time, considering he's here to have his wife cured of a deadly illness," Kiel murmured. "I was beginning to think he wouldn't show."
"Those mounts are mortal-bred, not ba'houda." Kieran counted three dozen outriders and two more wagons carrying servants and provisions. "I doubt they've been on the road less than three weeks."
"Shall we head down to meet them?"
Kieran straightened up from the wall. "Aiyah, but let's stay clear of the Stones grid." Lillis and Lorelle were playing Stones with the quintet assigned to guard them today—and soundly beating them, by all accounts Kieran had been receiving throughout the morning. «Ravel.» He spun a quick Spirit weave to the leader of the quintet currently watching over the twins. «Lord Darramon has arrived. Kiel and I are going down to greet them. Keep the girls out of sight.»
Though the twins understood how vital it was that they remain within the Spirit-weave-concealed confines of Teleon, lately they'd been showing signs of boredom, which translated into a proportionally increased propensity for wandering. Only yesterday, Kieran had found them playing Princess in the Tower in the lower-level guard towers, and he'd barely caught them before they climbed down the knotted bedsheet they'd thrown over the ramparts. Had he arrived even a few chimes later, they'd have landed on unprotected land and been visible to any passersby.
«Understood.» Ravel's weave sounded harried, as if the twins had been running him ragged.
Kieran swallowed a quick grin. They probably had. Lillis and Lorelle had energy to spare.
«Fey, ti'bor» he sent on the common path, calling the other warriors to join him at the outpost's front gate. He and Kiel ran along the main road that zigzagged down the mountainside to the outpost, cutting corners by making use of several stairways and a few quick Air slides. Behind them, four dozen warriors followed their lead. They stepped through Teleon's Spirit weave and into the mortal-built outpost at the bottom of the mountains before the first of Lord Darramon's outriders reached the main gate.
With a salute to the guardsmen manning the gate towers, the Fey passed beneath the raised portcullis and gathered on opposite sides of the open gates to await the approaching caravan. Each warrior kept nimble fingers within easy reach of his red Fey'cha blades.
«Your uncle would come in quite handy right about now,» Kiel remarked silently. «A quick weave of Azrahn and we'd know if there was any killing to be done.»
Kieran shot him a sour look. «Not funny, Kiel.» He regarded the approaching party. «Fey have survived for millennia without weaving the forbidden magic. And so will we. Just keep a steady hand and a sharp eye.»
The first dozen riders to reach the outpost were coated in travel dust and clearly saddle-worn, but Kieran couldn't detect anything suspicious about them. He exchanged brief introductions with the lead rider, a Captain Waters, who had a steady, no-nonsense gaze that any Fey could appreciate.
"The caravan will not enter until I give the all-clear, Ser vel Solande," Captain Waters said. His horse whinnied and pranced nervously in Kieran's and Kiel's presence, sensing the latent predator in the two Fey. "I'm sure you understand. These are unsettled times."
"Of course," Kieran answered easily. "Make your inspection. The stable master's boys will tend your horses when you're done." He pointed through the gate to the stable on the right side. "Our barracks are full, but you may make camp along the south wall after we inspect your party and their belongings."
With a nod and a tip of his brimmed hat, Captain Waters spurred his nervous mount forward, past Kieran and Kiel. Once within the walls, the Celierian captain's eyes scanned the interior of the fortress in quick, assessing sweeps.
Kieran watched the man from the corner of his eye, wondering if he was checking for traps or looking for weaknesses in the fort's defenses. Despite the prohibition against reading Celierian minds, he sent a quick Spirit weave brushing against the captain's consciousness. Outright burrowing in a mortal's mind for information was a breach of the Fey-Celierian alliance, but skimming the thoughts of a potential enemy to ensure the protection of Fey women was not. The captain's mind was guarded, but devoid of suspicious thoughts.
