MistyTrail frowned at the old woman, her mind searching her memory banks to find what was suddenly gnawing at her.
The door opened again and then closed. Garl entered and crossed the room. He hugged his sister and kissed her cheek.
“I told you he would be here soon,” smiled Gamara.
“The whole city is in search of this column of soldiers,” commented Garl as he broke the embrace. “It is only a matter of time before they realize who was smuggled out of the prison.”
Tamar turned to face his men. “I am forever indebted to you men,” he said. “You have accomplished a great deed today by freeing the lost princesses from prison. I can ask no more of you. I release each of you to return to your stations so that you are not hunted down by the army.”
“Our faces have already been seen,” replied Fengri. “It would be foolish of us to return to our posts now.”
“Some faces may indeed be remembered,” nodded Tamar, “some may not. It is up to each man to weigh the consequences of his actions from this point forward. I fully expect to be hunted down and executed. I will not think ill of any man who chooses not to stay with me, for to do so invites almost certain death.”
“I would not have come this far if I did not believe in you and the lost princesses,” declared Lortar. “I am with you to the end.”
Ripples of agreement spread through the soldiers, but Garl stopped it by raising his arms above his head.
“Even if you decide to stand against the army that will come,” stated Garl, “the princesses will not be staying. They must begin their search for the lost king. They must leave Elvangar.”
“We plan to leave by ship,” interjected Mistake. “I would like someone who knows how to sail to accompany us. I have tried sailing and failed at it.”
“I will take you wherever you want to go,” promised Tamar.
“Then you men should know that they might stand alone against the army,” nodded Garl. “Are you men still enthused to give up your lives?”
“Tamar and the princesses are not yet on the ship,” replied Fengri. “I would not like to see them fail because I was fearful of my life. Count me in.”
“And me,” added Lortar. “To return to my post is to forfeit my life. I will take my chances in the jungle until the princesses return.”
The rest of the soldiers added their agreeing voices to chorus. Tamar smiled and the men and nodded.
“Now all we have to do is steal a ship,” declared Tamar.
“We know where a ship is hidden,” offered Mistake. “We have to get to Alamanda.”
“Through Etta is the best path,” declared Garl. “That may well be one of the first places the army searches.”
“Then we should move out quickly,” declared Tamar. “Speed will be our defense against capture.”
“Avalar?” MistyTrail suddenly asked as she came out of her trance. “Did you say Avalar?”
“Yes,” nodded Gamara. “That was the king’s name. Your father was King Avalar.”
“Not was,” MistyTrail said excitedly. “Is. Avalar is alive.”
“I knew it,” Garl said triumphantly. “I was sure that I would have felt his death. How do you know he is alive?”
“I saw him,” replied MistyTrail. “He is on the Island of Darkness.”
“What are you talking about?” frowned Mistake. “We never saw him on the Island of Darkness. I would remember.”
“You did not see him,” replied MistyTrail. “Do you remember when Eltor posed as a Motangan soldier and marched us through the prisoner cages?”
“How could I forget?” Mistake shivered as she recalled the episode.
“In the very last cell was a single male elf,” explained MistyTrail. “He was by himself, but he was different than the rest of the prisoners. He was calm and at peace with himself. It was as if his imprisonment had not affected his demeanor.”
”I do remember you mentioning a strange elf in the last cage,” frowned Mistake, “but that is quite a leap to assume that it was our father.”
“Granted,” nodded MistyTrail, “but he spoke to me. He said but a single word, and I did not understand what he was trying to tell me. That single word was Avalar. He said it so calmly and self assuredly. I guess any other elf would have immediately known what he was saying, but I was not from Elvangar. I hope he did not despair from my lack of understanding.”
“Then we must return to the Island of Darkness,” Mistake swallowed hard.
“Yes,” MistyTrail nodded nervously. “It is a journey that does not cause me great joy, but we will rescue our father or die trying.”
“It is time for you to flee,” interrupted Garl. “Take your men out the back, Tamar. Always keep the princesses protected.”
“You are not coming?” asked Mistake.
“No,” answered Garl. “There is work for me yet in Morada. Volox, Anija, and the boys are in danger. I am the only one who can help them. Leave now, and I will do what I can to slow down your pursuers.”
Tamar nodded and ordered his men to get ready. Fengri opened the front door and gazed out. He signaled that the way was clear. Mistake hugged Garl goodbye, while MistyTrail gently kissed Gamara’s cheek. In moments the group was outside the small house and entering the forests along a well-beaten path.
Garl followed the group at a distance. When they finally rounded a bend and passed out of sight, the old man raised his arms in a magical dance. As his hands swayed back and forth, buds erupted through the hard packed soil of the trail. Long stalks followed the buds, and soon the entire pathway and the floor of the forest around it erupted into dense foliage. Garl continued his magical spell as the thicket spread in every direction. When he was done, Garl smiled in satisfaction. Whether the army detoured around the thicket or tried to cut through it, they would waste over an hour. Garl turned and strode towards the city center.
He passed dozens of soldiers searching every nook and cranny of the city. They searched every alleyway and left sentries on every corner as they tried to close the city down.
* * *
“That is all she said?” asked Volox. “Release the spell?”
“Well,” hemmed the guard, “it was a little more than that, but it made no sense.”
“This Council will determine if it makes sense of not,” retorted Volox. “Tell us exactly what she said.”
The guard nodded and answered, “She said ‘Stop it. Release the spell. You are hurting our mother.’”
“You are hurting our mother?” echoed Volox.
“So the foreigners are deranged,” snapped Malid. “That does not excuse their behavior.”
“No,” countered Volox as he took the scroll out and passed it to the elder next to him, “but maybe this will explain the words used.”
“What is that?” asked Malid angrily. “What is in that scroll?”
“Read it aloud,” Volox urged the elder who held it.
The elder read the entire scroll. Many of the elders were shocked to hear the words, others frowned in confusion as they wondered what they were listening to.
“What is the nature of that scroll?” asked Amber. “Is this something that you made up as a joke? This is not a trivial matter that we are dealing with.”
“It is one of the later Prophecies of Kieran,” declared Volox. “It is a copy of course, but you can verify it against the original with the queen’s permission.”
“But we already know that we are in the Time of Calling from our research on the earlier Prophecies,” frowned one of the elders. “If this is truly coming to pass, then those foreign girls really are the lost princesses. We cannot possibly execute them until we learn the truth of this matter.”
“That is exactly my point,” Volox readily agreed.
A solider opened the door and stepped into the room. Malid turned to him with scorn etched on his face.
“This Council is in session,” scowled Malid. “Remove yourself immediately.”
“I came to aler
t you to potential violence,” declared the soldier. “People are gathering in the street demanding to see the lost princesses.”
“What?” snapped Malid. “They must be dispersed immediately. Where is the army to control the mobs?”
“The army is busy sealing the city,” answered the soldier. “There has been an escape from the prison.”
“An escape?” Volox asked innocently. “Who has escaped?”
“I heard it was the two foreign girls,” answered the soldier. “I heard that Tamar is responsible for the escape. I am sorry to have to tell you that.”
“Get out,” Malid shouted at the soldier. “You, too,” he added to the guard who had been called as a witness.
Both men scurried out of the room, but they left the door open. Malid stood steaming as he glared at Volox.
“This whole meeting has been delayed by you,” accused Malid. “You have stalled at every turn to give your son time to free the prisoners. You are an accomplice to the assassination attempt on Queen Alycia. You shall hang alongside the girls when they are captured.”
“I have been doing my civic duty to make sure that you did not rush blindly into executing the lost princesses,” Volox defended himself. “In fact, that is exactly what you would have done, never knowing that you were destroying the Prophecies of Kieran.”
“That does not excuse your actions,” retorted Malid. “You are guilty of treason. Hanging you will have no effect on the Prophecies of Kieran. Besides, I am willing to bet that this scroll is a forgery. I do not know what game you are playing at, but it is over. You shall hang before the day is over.”
“Why should we wait for the hangman?” snarled Karaza as he entered the room through the open door. “The scroll is definitely a forgery. I think such extraordinary treason deserves and extraordinary death,” he sneered as his arm rose menacingly and pointed at Volox.
Chapter 28
The Royal Tree
Volox cringed as Karaza’s hand pointed at him. The elder knew he was endangering himself by stalling the execution of the princesses, but he had not expected to die like this. He closed his eyes and offered a quick prayer to Kaltara. Nothing happened.
Volox opened his eyes and saw Karaza sneering at him. Other elders were leaving their chairs and moving away from Volox. The whole room seemed to be in motion when an old man stepped through the door.
“Put down your useless arm, Karaza,” Garl said. “Elvangar does not accept executions without a vote of the Council of Elders, and they have not yet voted for one.”
Karaza spun and faced Garl. “So you are the one shielding him?” he spat. “I suspected as much, but you have just violated the queen’s orders. You have been banned from the city for years.”
“So I am,” nodded Garl, “but you are not going to do anything about my return. You have already tried to kill Volox several times today and failed because I was protecting him. I will continue to protect him. Now I see you trying to kill an elder and claim that you are doing so because of what transpired here in the latest session. Tell this Council why then you tried to kill him before this session.”
“I tried no such thing,” spat Karaza. “Summon the guards, Malid, and have this criminal arrested.”
“I can produce witnesses who will testify otherwise,” Garl retorted, ignoring the threat of guards arriving, “but why quibble over such details. I will not allow you or anyone else to kill an elder without trial.”
“All this talk of killing will stop,” declared Malid, as he grew nervous in the presence of two powerful mages. “The Council of Elders will not rule on any executions this day. The foreigners have escaped and must be recaptured before they can be executed for attempted assassination, and Volox is not going anywhere. If this Council finds him guilty of treason, it will do so only after a thorough investigation. For today, this Council is adjourned.”
The frightened elders scurried for the door and left the room quickly. Karaza glared at Garl and then Malid. He stormed out of the room. Only Malid, Volox, and Garl were left in the room.
“You have made a powerful enemy in Karaza,” Malid said to Garl. “You would be wise to leave Morada immediately.”
“Karaza has been my enemy for almost two decades,” replied Garl. “Back then I thought it best for the sake of Elvangar to seclude myself in a remote village. That was the worst mistake of my life. I am not about to repeat it.”
“You are going to defy the queen?” gasped the Head Elder.
“Defy the queen?” echoed Garl. “No, Malid, I am going to straighten the queen out. Those two young women that you were trying to execute are Alahara and Alastasia. Furthermore, they are currently on a quest to return King Avalar to power.”
“King Avalar?” frowned Malid. “He has been dead for years. Karaza even found his remains.”
“Then won’t Karaza be surprised when the king returns?” quipped Garl. “I must take Volox with me when I visit the queen. It is necessary for his protection. I suggest for your own betterment that you accompany us.”
“You can’t be serious?” balked Malid. “The palace is closed to all. Even if it was not, Queen Alycia would never see you.”
“You underestimate me, Malid,” smiled Garl. “Come along.”
Volox moved to Garl’s side. The old man extended his hand to usher Malid through the door. The Head Elder stood indecisively for a moment and then shook his head and left the room. Garl and Volox followed and then Garl took the lead. He marched across the plaza and approached the palace guards with Malid and Volox close behind. The guards tensed as the trio approached.
Garl did not say a word. As he got closer, he waved his hand as he stared at the guards surrounding the platform. The guards stepped aside and Garl led the two elders onto the platform. He reached out and pulled the rope causing a distant bell to ring in the higher reaches of the Royal Tree. The platform rose smoothly. When it stopped at the uppermost level, two guards drew their swords defensively.
Garl smiled and stared at the guards. Their minds instantly clouded with confusion, but that lasted only a second before they sheathed their weapons and stepped aside. Garl led the way along a corridor.
“Why do these guards obey you?” whispered Malid. “Does the queen know that you are coming?”
Garl ignored the question as they entered a large room. Over a dozen soldiers occupied the room, and Garl knew that he could not cast compulsion on all of them. He concentrated on the two closest to him. They nodded and pointed to a short corridor on the other side of the room.
“What is going on?” asked a distant soldier. “We were told no visitors.”
“Would you deny entrance to the Head Elder?” asked Garl as he fixed his gaze on the vocal soldier.
The soldier suddenly shook his head and lowered his gaze to the floor. None of the other soldiers decided to interfere. Garl led the way along the short corridor, and the group entered the throne room. Garl closed the doors and then waved his hand over them. The ancient wood of the doors suddenly sprouted new life. Vines grew out of the woodwork and crisscrossed both of the doors. In mere moments a massive binding of vines sealed the doors. They would not be easily opened.
“What are you doing?” asked Malid. “I don’t like the looks of this.”
“It is to ensure our privacy,” answered Garl. “Wait here while I awaken the queen.”
Garl crossed the throne room and entered the queen’s chambers. He found the queen fast asleep on her bed, still dressed in her royal garb. Garl frowned as he placed his hand on the temple of the queen. He nodded knowingly after a moment and cast a spell to remove the one cast by Karaza. The queen opened her eyes and stared up at Garl.
“You?” she scowled as she jumped out of bed. “How dare you show your face in my city? You have been banished for life.”
“Yes,” Garl sighed with annoyance. “I have heard that before. Come into the throne room. You have visitors.”
The queen opened her mouth to further verbally abuse t
he old man, but Garl had already turned and left her chambers. The queen stormed into the throne room and saw Malid and Volox waiting for her.
“What is going on?” the queen asked in confusion. “I have not called for a meeting of elders in my throne room. Why are you here, Malid? And why is Volox here?”
“So many questions,” Garl said softly, “but you are not asking the right ones. Why aren’t you asking who induced your coma-like sleep that I just awakened you from?”
The queen blinked with confusion. She turned and stared out over the railing and saw the setting sun. She looked back at Garl.
“How long have I slept?” she asked calmly.
“Only the better part of a day,” answered Garl, “but the spell that you were under would have kept you in that state indefinitely.”
“Why should I believe you Garl?” snapped the queen. “I believed in you once, and you tore my heart to shreds. You were relentless with your foolish statements of hope and joy. You can’t imagine how sickened I became just by the sound of your voice. How dare you return?”
“Earlier today you had a meeting with two young women,” Garl said, ignoring the queen’s tirade. “Did those girls try to kill you?”
“They attacked me magically,” snapped Queen Alycia. “No one attacks the queen and gets away with it.”
“Did they try to kill you?” Garl repeated stubbornly. “What spell did they use on you?”
Queen Alycia’s brow creased as she replayed the meeting in her mind.
“It hurt,” the queen replied softly. “My head felt like it would pulverize.”
“Did it feel like a Kieran compulsion spell?” asked Garl.
“Yes,” the queen gasped, “but no. I mean the symptoms were the same, but it was much too powerful for a compulsion spell. Besides, I do not believe the fairy tales they were trying to sell. There are no missing Kierans. I am a Kieran, and I would certainly know if any were missing.”
“Except for your own daughters,” Garl said softly.
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