She poked at the drawing with her stick. “Just trying to get all the issues straight in my head. The light coming out of the source, either moon or sun, is pretty ordinary. It passes through a crystal of some sort—maybe quartz, or perhaps something else altogether. But coming out of that, it’s different. That’s why I made the lines wavy with the little marks through them. It’s obviously a different color but that’s not all of it. If it was just colored light, you couldn’t ride on it, now could you? Something else must be happening to the light inside the crystal. What? Got no idea. But it seems to me we’re looking for something unfamiliar. It wouldn’t be ordinary colored glass. That just produces colored light.” She shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know. But I tell you, the secret—the key—is in the crystal. Do you remember anything, anything at all about your crystals back home?”
“Nothing that I haven’t already told you. They were old. They had lots of scratches and gouges on them.”
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “So that would mean that whatever the material, it’s relatively soft. If it was super hard, it wouldn’t scratch or gouge easily.”
“I suppose. How hard is quartz? You have any idea?”
Burns stood and stretched, pacing around the clearing. “I’m not up on that kind of stuff, but I think it’s harder than some and softer than others. Kind of middle of the pack.”
Jarek sighed. That didn’t help much. It might be quartz, or maybe not. They knew that much to start with. “I guess we just have to wait for Corny to bring us back something.”
“You hear anything yet?”
“No. I spoke with Virgil and CeCe last night. They both said he’d be okay. I guess that all we can do is wait.”
She shook her head as she stared at the ground. “Doesn’t feel right. I tell you, Jarek, something doesn’t fit.”
“How so?”
“I know that Corny goes out for extended periods and he’s good at it. But when he goes on those long trips, he usually takes his oversized pack. He left it here this time. I tell you, it just doesn’t feel right.”
The sun reached its peak and began to retreat toward the west. Shadows grew long. Virgil and his team wandered into the clearing outside the cavern just before sunset. A tired looking lot, they streamed by with barely a nod. Jarek grabbed Virgil by the arm to stop him. “Anything?”
The captain glanced behind him and then at Jarek. “Nothing today. But, like I said, don’t worry. He’ll show up. Likely he hit the jackpot and is just having a hard time getting it all back here.” He smiled but was not able to hide the worry in his eyes.
“Thank you.” Jarek thought of the young man out in the wilds, alone. He wouldn’t have a comfortable, safe pad to sleep on or hot food, probably. He fought back the urge to strike off across the swamp in search of Corny.
Dinner was a joyless affair for the Azyrean. He chose to sit alone. He took very little food on his plate and struggled to eat that. He had no appetite. He tried to tell himself that, if anyone would be rightfully worried, it would be Virgil, who appeared calm. But Jarek feared that it was just a façade to cover his worry.
He looked around for CeCe. Maybe her contacts had heard or seen something. But she was nowhere to be found either. He dismissed his rising concern. After all, this was a rebel camp at war with the king. People would come and go and be gone for days as needed. It wasn’t like Pangrove, where everyone went to work in the morning and back at night to their nice comfy homes.
He wandered the cavern aimlessly, meandering around the inside perimeter, his head down and his hands clasped behind his back. He avoided as many people as possible. Burns was hard at work on some devices for Virgil, so steering clear of her was easy.
Jarek finally found himself at the threshold of Commander West’s den. Why not? He stuck his head around the corner and called, “Commander?”
A low voice responded, “Come.”
He shuffled in and stood before the commander, who sat on a pad, leaning against the wall. “May I speak with you?”
She nodded. “What’s on your mind?”
“It’s Corny. Maybe nothing, maybe everything. He was gone all day yesterday and didn’t come back last night. Now he’s been out all today too, and Captain Virgil couldn’t find him.”
West offered reassuring words, “To be fair, the captain wasn’t out specifically looking for him. He kept an eye out while on patrol, that’s all.” She paused for a moment. “Do you know specifically where he was going?”
“Only that he was going to be looking around some abandoned mines. I don’t know where, but I got the impression they were close.”
“Yes. There are a number of old, boarded up holes in the area. And they would be a good place to look for those kinds of stones.” She stroked the hair back from her face. “Tell me, Jarek, did you discuss this with anyone?”
He searched his memory. “Not really. No one other than those of you that I normally talk to about this stuff. Oh, and, of course, Burns. But we talk about everything.”
“I see. Okay. Well, I suspect that Cornell is fine. He’ll probably show up within the next few days loaded down with all kinds of crystals.” She offered the same forced, painful smile that Virgil had shown earlier.
“Thanks. Sorry to bother you.” He turned to leave but West interrupted him.
“Oh, and on your way out, could you ask the captain to step in here please?”
Chapter 57: Jarek
Once again, Jarek slept little that night. He kept going over in his head what he knew, or thought he knew, about where Corny had gone and what he was doing. With each passing hour, his fears grew. His imagination began to take charge. All the visions sweeping over him were bad, and they got worse. As dawn approached, he had convinced himself that there was no hope.
He rose early and grabbed a cup of coffee as the patrol began to make ready for the day. They ate, drank their hot brew, and secured their packs. As they gathered near the door, something was different. The large group had split into two smaller ones. Virgil stood speaking with one of the soldiers, whose name Jarek did not know. After a few moments, that soldier approached one of the groups, spoke, and gestured toward the door. They followed him outside.
Virgil, who had stayed behind, went to the other group, who huddled around him. After a few moments, they shouldered their packs, picked up their weapons and began to exit the cavern. The captain paused, turned, and looked over toward Jarek, and nodded. Then he was gone.
If the night had been a long one, the day took forever to pass. Jarek waited outside the cavern entrance, straining his eyes toward the path that emerged from the swamp. Every shadow that passed, every movement of every bush, caught his eye. Lunchtime arrived but he had no appetite.
By early afternoon, Jarek felt the closest thing to complete panic that he’d ever felt in his life. This was worse even than the night of the moonbeam fiasco. It was bad enough when he was certain something was wrong. But he had seen that same sense of urgency and worry in Virgil’s eyes this morning. The captain knew something was amiss. And if he split up the skirmish team, then he probably had West’s permission, which meant that she was worried. too. All because of the stupid crystals.
Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, “I should have just kept my mouth shut about the stupid rocks. They probably don’t even mean anything.” If anything happened to Corny, it would be on him.
“Not your fault.” Burns plopped down beside him. “We do dangerous stuff here. We all know it and accept it. Every time we go out, we know that we might not come back. That’s just the way it is.”
“Why do you do it?” It seemed one thing to want the world to be a better place. But for people to actually die, that seemed a hard thing to understand.
“My parents were both killed by the king. They killed my dad when they came to drive us off the land we were working. The soldiers took my mom with them, leaving us kids alone. We didn’t know what to do, so we just started down the road goin
g in the direction they took her. We came on her body late that afternoon. She was beaten bloody and just left on the side of the road. And she hadn’t done anything to them. None of us did. They killed my parents because they could. I tried to look after the two younger ones but they both caught a fever and died. Nothing left at all.”
“I’m sorry, Burns, really I am.”
She forced a smile. “And that’s why I do it. You can ask others. They have stories too. But the one thing we all have in common is that we want to see the king gone.”
Jarek wondered what Corny’s story was. What drove him to risk his life every day? And how did the crystals become so important that people should die for them?
“We need to get back to focusing on the problem. All this talk’s not helping. Any time now, Corny is going to walk out of those woods with a bunch of crystals, and we need to be ready to start work when he gets here.” Burns stood. “Let’s go grab a cup of coffee and talk about what happens to that light inside the crystals.”
Just as Jarek stood, Virgil emerged from the path out of the swamp, his face grim. His team followed single file. Toward the end, two of them carried a makeshift stretcher, and upon the stretcher was a form, half-covered by a gray sheet with deep red stains.
As they came closer, Jarek recognized Corny’s face, even though it was battered and bruised. He appeared to be unconscious, but the fact that his head was not covered gave Jarek a moment’s hope. But the blood on the sheet, by the beam, that was a lot of blood.
Chapter 58: Marzi
Marzi cringed at the sight of the lord consort. The incident at the council meeting and Lothran’s explanation left her with a sense of dread, beyond any hope.
“Good evening and please excuse the late hour of my visit.” Lord Rintaur bowed his head briefly. “With your permission, Lothran, I should like to speak with Marzi privately.”
Lothran nodded and excused himself. Ryshara stared at Rintaur momentarily and then glanced at Marzi. “I would be happy to step outside if you would like to take your privacy here.”
Rintaur shook his head. “Thank you but I should not like to trouble you so. We can move out onto the sky terrace for our conversation.” He glanced at Marzi. “If that is acceptable to you.”
Marzi glanced first at Rys and then back at Rintaur. “I guess so.” She hopped down from her perch and shuffled toward the terrace door.
As the two settled into chairs under the night sky, the lord consort cleared his throat. “What I tell you now, Marzi, is for your ears only. Based on what I know of you thus far, I am not sure how well I can trust you. But given the circumstances, I have little choice. As a matter of formality, though, I would like your assurance that you will keep my words to yourself. I offer to share with you not because you deserve to know but because I hope that it will help you to understand better.”
His words cut into Marzi’s heart. She had never considered herself untrustworthy but Rintaur’s words rang true. Up until then, she had not kept her word, nor had she distinguished herself by following the rules. “I will try.” As the words came out, they sounded hollow even to her. She would either keep her word or she would not. “I will. I will keep this private.”
In the dim blue illumination of the outside plant bulbs, she watched him nod. “The empress is a good leader—the best that our people have known in over a century. She is wise and of even temperament. But her greatest quality is her ability and willingness to put the needs of the Bough above her own personal needs.”
He reached up and rubbed his chin. He offered a shallow smile. “What she said about you not being—she did not mean that. I hope that you can forgive her that outburst.”
The words struck Marzi as odd. After all, the empress had not instigated the argument. “I guess I said some things I shouldn’t have.” That seemed okay to admit. After all, she still wasn’t signaling her agreement to the conditions.
Rintaur chuckled. “Indeed.” The laugh faded into a smile, which vanished as he turned his head upward toward the stars. “Parents and children—these things, these relationships, are complicated. The empress—my wife—grieves still for the loss of our daughter Arien.” He waved his hand across the sky. “Up there, your parents no doubt worry for you. Perhaps they have hopes that you will return. Or maybe they simply grieve your loss. Either way, we both know that this has shaken their world to the very core. And yet they are free, I assume, to express their grief or hope. You must understand that our feelings for our daughter are no less intense. And yet, as leader, Ariessa must give precedence to the needs of the Bough. She cannot freely and openly grieve and hope.”
Marzi shuffled her feet on the terrace floor as she spoke. “Why not? I mean, if you can tell me. Why can’t she be sad?”
“It helps to have some context. In order to do that, we must go back in time more than two centuries. As the last war came to a close, the world was battered. The civilizations that remained were steeped in hatred. Different kingdoms chose different ways of dealing with it. But the elven race chose isolation. The sundering put land barriers in place separating the races, but our leaders placed emotional barriers, convincing the people that they did not need the others. They vowed never again to be drawn into the affairs of other races. Over the decades, through the times of different rulers, we became entrenched in that notion.”
This was similar to what Marzi had heard earlier, although she didn’t see the connection to Ariessa’s daughter. She nodded but kept silent.
“Mostly, the elves accepted this. But not everyone. Some held the idea that we could not exist forever by turning a blind eye to the world and its continuing problems. Still, the realm held together and remained on the path of isolation. But about ten years ago, a seer name Saige, along with a group of her followers, mounted a more vigorous challenge to that direction. They felt that the benefit of re-establishing contact with other races—the trade and the sharing of ideas—outweighed the risks. To make a long and painful story short, the group broke all ties with the Bough and moved to the boundaries of our land. Our daughter, Arien, of sixteen seasons at the time, left with them. To my knowledge, the group exists within the caves below the cliffs, the ones overlooking the Silver Sea. I can only assume my daughter is still alive and is a happy, productive part of their group.” He fell silent.
The problem seemed simple enough. “Well, since you know where they are, why don’t you just go out there and talk to her?”
Rintaur burst out laughing. “Ah, Marzi, I so long for the simplicity of your outlook.” He paused and nodded with a smile. “But, no, it is not that simple. These elves severed ties with us. There have been no physical hostilities, but, make no mistake, a somewhat convoluted state of conflict exists between us and them. Were Ariessa not the empress, I am sure she would have already made the journey. I know that I would have. But she leads our people and must honor what is best for them.”
“Surely you could just go out there and see her, you know, to make sure she’s okay.” This separation seemed so wrong. A mother should be able to see her daughter.
“This separation is, perhaps, the price of leadership.” The lord consort cocked his head thoughtfully before continuing. “The journey to the cliffs is a dangerous one, as you discovered for yourself. Those wolves that attacked are all that is left of their line. They were corrupted during the great conflict or sundering, and each generation of beasts has become more feral than the last. Traveling to the cliffs is best done in a group. And even if you reached the cliffs, there is no guarantee that you would be able find Saige and the others. If you did, you still might not find your way home.”
He turned to stare at Marzi. “I will tell you this, though. If you are to find your way back to Pangrove, there is no doubt in my mind that it will be with the help of Saige and her followers. They are the only ones that, to my knowledge, have even considered travel beyond the realm.” He paused and narrowed his eyes. “But you must understand, Marzi, that you are forbidden from makin
g such a journey. The consequences of such an attempt could be dire indeed, both for you and anyone assisting you.” He turned his face back toward the stars. “That is, if you were to be caught.”
Chapter 59: Marzi
For the second time within a few days, Marzi found herself sneaking out of the Bough under cover of darkness, following the stream to the south. She’d thought hard about the lord consort’s words. She understood, or thought she understood, that he expected her to go but, if she were caught, he would not be able to protect her. Another, darker worry that plagued her was that if she were caught, he might be implicated for helping her and, thus, his life would be destroyed. And yet, for his daughter….
She kept to the water, although she didn’t know why. After all, on her last outing the elves found her rather easily despite her wading in the stream for the first few hours. As the first streaks of light appeared in the sky to her left, she stepped out on the bank and reached for her water skin.
“Really? You thought you could sneak out ahead of us?” Ran emerged from the brush and tossed her a piece of dried meat.
Marzi stood dumbfounded. How had they gotten here before she did? How did they know she would even be here? And what was this about sneaking ahead of them? She started to conjure up some kind of response when Ryshara interrupted her thoughts.
“I know that you are anxious to get a head start on this scouting mission, but you should have waited for us.” She plopped down with her back to a tree trunk and took a deep drink from her skin.
Marzi glanced from face to face—Ellemareth had also stepped clear of the brush and crossed her arms in front of her, a rigid countenance locked in place as she uttered, “Trouble, nothing but trouble.” Last of all, Lapis came out of the brush and watched expectantly. Marzi stuttered out a few words, looking for something to say but nothing made sense.
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