Pony roughly pushed him over onto his back and chased him all the way, urgently, hungrily, growling with every determined movement. Then they were joined and all was motion and sound. The stunned Elbryan fought hard to remove his thoughts from the tumult, trying to make some sense of it all. Always before, their lovemaking had been gentle and warm, full of words and teasing caresses. Now, it was physical, even angry; and the grunting, growling sounds escaping Pony's lips were as filled with rage as with desire. Elbryan knew and understood that she wasn't angry with him, but rather that she was releasing her anger at all the world through him. This was her release from, or denial of, all the horror and pain. And so Elbryan allowed her to lead him in this most intimate of dances, tried to give her what she most needed from him, both physically and emotionally.
Even when they were done, wrapped in Pony's cloak and in each other's arms near the small fire, there was no conversation, no questions. Too overwhelmed and too consumed by the physical release to press the issue, Elbryan dozed off, and was only half aware when Pony slipped from his grasp.
He awakened barely minutes later, to see Pony sitting in the middle of the small field beside their weapons, with Elbryan's cloak pulled tightly about her. He studied the faraway look in her eyes, the glisten of a tear on her soft cheek.
Elbryan looked up at the empty grayness of the sky, as confused as he had been when Pony had locked him in that first kiss. And she was even more confused than he, he realized. He decided that he would wait patiently for his answers, would let her come to him.
When she was ready.
An hour later, when Elbryan returned to Caer Tinella, the town was bustling with activity. The ranger came back alone, for Pony had left him on the field without a word. She had kissed him tenderly though, perhaps in apology, perhaps merely to assure him that she was all right. Elbryan had accepted that kiss as explanation enough for the present, for to him no apology was needed; but no matter what Pony did or said it would not alleviate his fears for her. Their lovemaking that morning had been necessary for Pony, comforting and freeing, but the ranger knew that the demons within his lover had not been exorcised.
He was worrying about her, wondering what more he could do to help her, as he walked to his appointment with Tomas Gingerwart.
Though Elbryan arrived early, Tomas was already waiting for him in the centrally located barn that served as the town's meeting hall. Tomas was a hardy man, not very tall but stocky and hardened from years of farming. He rose and extended his hand to Elbryan; the ranger clasped it noting that Tomas' hand was rough and his grip strong. Elbryan realized that in all the weeks he had known Tomas, this was the first time they had shared a handshake. And Tomas had a wide smile—another rarity—on his dark face.
Tomas' plans were in motion, the ranger realized.
"How fares Nightbird this fine day?" Tomas asked.
Elbryan shrugged.
"Well, I would guess," Tomas said lightly. "Your beautiful companion came through town only a few minutes before you, and from the same direction—from the northern forest." Tomas offered a wink as he finished, a good-natured gesture and not lewd, but Elbryan returned it with a scowl.
"The caravan has been sponsored," Tomas declared, clearing his throat and changing the subject. "If it wasn't so late in the year, we could depart in a few weeks."
"We must be certain that winter's grip on the land is ended," Elbryan replied.
"We?" Tomas asked with a smile. Ever since Elbryan and Pony had joined him in Caer Tinella, Tomas had been trying to persuade Nightbird to join his Timberlands-bound caravan, but the ranger had been elusive and had not committed to the journey. Tomas had pressed him hard, but fairly, though some of the sponsoring merchants would not provide their money and supplies unless the ranger agreed to lead the way.
Elbryan looked at the hopeful, crooked grin on the weatherworn face of Tomas Gingerwart and recognized that the man was his friend. "I will accompany you," he confirmed. "Dundalis was my home, and Pony's as well, and I believe that we have as great a stake in its rebuilding as any."
"But what of your duties to the Kingsmen?" Tomas asked. It was no secret that Nightbird had been working with Shamus Kilronney, captain of the Kingsmen brigade, to ensure the security of the land. Shamus and the ranger had become friends, so it was rumored, and Pony was reportedly even closer to the man.
"Captain Kilronney is convinced that the region is secure," Elbryan explained. "Pony spoke with him yesterday—and might again be with him this morning, discussing his plans for returning his brigade to the south."
Tomas nodded, but he was obviously not thrilled with the news of the soldiers' impending departure.
"She is trying to convince the captain to remain a bit longer," Elbryan went on, "perhaps through the winter, and even to accompany us farther to the north in the spring. No doubt the King desires the reopening of the Timberlands as soon as possible."
"He does indeed," Tomas replied. "The merchant Comli, my chief sponsor, is a personal friend of King Danube Brock Ursal. Comli would not be so eager to press north unless he was certain of the King's desire to reopen trade with the Timberlands."
It all seemed perfectly logical to both men. During the war, many sailing ships had been lost or damaged by powrie barrelboats, and the only timber large enough to replace masts came from the appropriately named Timberlands, the land of Dundalis, Weedy Meadow, and End-o'-the-World.
"Perhaps Comli's emissary should also speak with Captain Kilronney," the ranger suggested.
Tomas nodded. "I will see to it," he promised. "Glad I am to have Nightbird and Pony along on this dangerous journey, and every sword we can enlist will be a welcome addition. I need not explain my fears to you, for we both understand that no one has yet determined the extent of the retreat of the demon dactyl's army. We might strike out to the north only to find ten thousand goblins, giants, and powries camped by the roadside, singing their songs of cruelty and torture!"
Elbryan managed to smile at that, for he did not believe the words for a moment. There might indeed be monsters up there, but not on the scale to which Tomas alluded—not with the binding force, the physical manifestation of the demon dactyl, destroyed.
"I only wish that Roger Lockless were here and could journey with us," Tomas added.
"Belster will find him if he has returned to Palmaris," Elbryan assured him. When Elbryan and Pony had passed through Palmaris on their return from St.-Mere-Abelle, they had not only established Belster as the new proprietor of Fellowship Way but also had charged him with finding Roger and telling the young man of their latest movements once he returned from his trip with Baron Rochefort Bildeborough to speak with the King. The ranger did not doubt that Roger would rush back to Caer Tinella to join him and Pony as soon as his duties to the Baron were ended.
"I hope he returns before the beginning of Bafway," Tomas said, "for the start of the third month marks the start of our journey, unless the weather turns against us. It might be that the road will stay clear enough for him to get to us, if the weather holds."
Elbryan nodded, noting the tension on the man's face. Tomas was eager to go north, as were many others, but they were all taking this unseasonable weather too much to heart. The end of Calember had brought a fall of snow, but that had been almost completely melted by many days of warmer weather. It was important
—to the King of Honce-the-Bear, to the Baron of Palmaris, to the merchants, and to men like Tomas—that once the Timberlands was free of monsters, men from Honce-the-Bear be the ones to resettle it and restore the timber trade. The Timberlands was the only area that could supply the needed logs for ships' masts. By treaty, the Timberlands was not ruled by any of the three kingdoms—Honce-the-Bear, Behren, or rugged Alpinador—but it had always served the King and merchants of Honce-the-Bear well to have the region populated predominantly by their own. Rumors had come to Caer Tinella recently that the Alpinadorans meant to settle the deserted Timberlands, and while none feared that s
uch a development would stop the trade in the large trees, all realized that it would make the merchants of Honce-the-Bear pay more dearly.
Elbryan had not been able to confirm those rumors and, in fact, believed that they might be merely a plant by Comli or some other fearful merchant to spur the caravan northward sooner. But the ranger couldn't argue against the logic of getting back to the north. And aside from the practical considerations, there were personal ones. His father, Olwan Wyndon, had gone to Dundalis to live on the frontier, to tread places where no man had been, to view sights never seen by any man. Olwan Wyndon had taken great pride in his decision to go north and had become the unofficial leader of Dundalis.
Before the darkness awakened.
It was also near Dundalis, in a sheltered grove, that Elbryan had found the grave of Mather, his long-lost uncle—the elven-trained ranger who had come before him—and where he had earned Tempest, once Mather's sword. And in the forest near Dundalis, Elbryan had met Bradwarden the centaur, a dear friend now returned to him, it seemed, from the grave itself. And in that same forest, Bradwarden had introduced Elbryan to the magnificent black stallion, Symphony, the ranger's mount, the ranger's friend.
His ties to the region were deeply rooted. Now he felt a duty to his dead father and family to go back and help rebuild Dundalis and the other two towns, then to serve as their protector, the quiet and little-seen ranger vigilantly patrolling the forest.
"Word has it that new settlers of the northern land are to be well rewarded," Tomas remarked.
Elbryan looked at him carefully, noted how he rubbed his hands together. If Tomas wanted to go to the Timberlands to make his fortune, then Elbryan knew the man was in for a great disappointment. The life there was hard. Hunting, fishing, foraging, and farming were necessary as well as the trade in wood. No, a man did not settle in the Timberlands to get wealthy; he settled there to live in a freedom that could not be found anywhere else. Tomas could speak of being "well rewarded," but Tomas would learn, if he did not already know, that those rewards came from more than the King's gold.
"We get ahead of practical thinking," Elbryan remarked. "Resettling Dundalis and the other towns depends upon whether or not the monsters have deserted the region. If they are still encamped, it will take more than the four score you mean to bring north to unseat them."
"That is why we asked Nightbird to lead us," Tomas said with a wink, "and Pony."
"And that is why Pony is trying to convince Captain Kilronney to stay in Caer Tinella through the winter and then to come with us," Elbryan replied. "Let us hope that he agrees."
"And let us hope that he and his soldiers will not be needed," Tomas added sincerely.
"Ah, Jilseponie, how sad I am to see that the light is out of your eyes."
The melodic voice from above did not startle Pony, for she had suspected that Belli'mar Juraviel was about. She had chosen to come to this forested area south of Caer Tinella because it afforded her a view of the distant Kingsmen encampment and also with some hope of finding the elf, for Juraviel had been away for several days, scouting the southern roads. That morning, after Pony had crossed Caer Tinella, a group of Palmaris' garrison soldiers had ridden down the road past her as she moved quietly through the shadows under the trees. The riders had already come from the village, she realized, and they were headed straight for the Kingsmen camp.
"How long will clouds fill your eyes? " Juraviel asked, fluttering his nearly translucent wings to settle on a branch at her eye level. "When will you let the sun sparkle in them again, that those around you might glory in the reflections? "
"I was thinking about my family," Pony replied. "When I lost my mother and father in Dundalis, I lost all memories and thoughts of them for years. I would not have that happen to my memories of Graevis and Pettibwa."
"But you were young then," said Juraviel, to offer some hope to the beleaguered woman. "Too young to comprehend such tragedy, and so you let the tragedy pass out of your thoughts. Too young."
"Perhaps I still am."
"But . . ." the elf started to protest, but he saw that Pony didn't blink, just kept looking absently toward the Kingsmen encampment. How sad for this young woman, who had lived for only a quarter of a century, to have lost two families! Looking at her now, Juraviel feared that her beautiful face would never brighten again.
"Tell me of the soldiers who rode in this morn," Pony bade the elf suddenly.
"Palmaris garrison," Juraviel replied, "riding hard. I shadowed them and hoped to listen to their conversation, but they did not stop or slow, and I heard not a single exchange of words."
Pony chewed her lip, staring at the distant encampment, and Juraviel understood her concern. Had these soldiers come to tell the Kingsmen that she and Elbryan were outlaws?
"Baron Bildeborough is a friend," Juraviel reminded her. "Your horse and sword are proof enough of that, even if you doubt Roger's judgment."
"I do not," Pony was quick to reply. Juraviel's point hit home; Baron Bildeborough was no friend of the Abellican Church, certainly. And Bildeborough had shown great faith in Roger by giving him Greystone and Defender, the horse and sword Roger had passed on to Pony.
"These soldiers are for the Baron, not the Church," Juraviel went on. "And with Baron Bildeborough now understanding that it was a man of the Church who murdered his beloved nephew
—apparently with the blessings, even orders, of the Church hierarchy—he'll not take their side against you and Elbryan. No matter the promises of the Abellican Church leaders or the pressures from the King of Honce-the-Bear."
"Agreed," said Pony, and she turned to regard the elf. "But did you get a good look at the riders? Might Roger have been with them?"
"Only soldiers," Juraviel assured her, and he did not miss the cloud that passed over her fair face. "It is possible that Roger has not yet returned to Palmaris from Ursal."
"I only hoped," Pony replied.
"You fear for him? He is in the company of a powerful man," Juraviel pointed out, for they had been informed that Roger had gone to Ursal with Baron Bildeborough to speak with King Danube Brock Ursal himself. "Few on the western side of the Masur Delaval north of Ursal wield as much power and influence as Baron Rochefort Bildeborough."
"Except perhaps for the new abbot of St. Precious."
"But his power is just that," Juraviel replied, "new. Baron Bildeborough holds the superior position, for he has been entrenched in Palmaris for many years, the heir to a long line of leaders. So Roger should be safe enough."
The argument made sense to Pony, and her expression showed some relief.
"Yet still you want Roger back with us," the elf continued.
Pony nodded.
"You wish him to accompany the caravan to Dundalis," said Juraviel, for he had some suspicions about Pony's intentions. Like all the Touel'alfar, Belli'mar Juraviel was blessed with the ability to sit back and study a situation, to observe and to listen, and then to reason things through.
"Roger is a valuable ally. I fear for his safety and prefer that he remains with Elbryan until he has learned more about the dangers of the wide world," Pony said firmly.
Her words were spoken calmly, but perceptive Juraviel did not miss that Pony's deep-seated resentment of the Church that had evolved into absolute hatred. "With Elbryan?" he pressed. "With both of you, you mean? "
Pony gave a noncommittal shrug, and that halfhearted answer only reinforced the elf's belief that she did not mean to go north with the caravan. He let the silence linger for a long while, let Pony alone with her thoughts as she stared at the distant encampment.
"I should go to Captain Kilronney," she said finally.
"Perhaps he has been recalled to Palmaris," Juraviel offered. "There are few monsters about," he added when she looked puzzled. "A force as strong as his might better serve the King in other regions."
"There is one troublesome group of powries to the west that he wishes to destroy before he turns south," said Pony. "And, for Elbr
yan, I will soon ask Captain Kilronney to spend the winter in Caer Tinella and then accompany the caravan to Dundalis."
"Indeed," said the elf. "And will Jilseponie also accompany the caravan?"
His blunt question hit her hard, and she did not reply for several seconds.
"Of course, Elbryan thinks you will go," Juraviel offered, "as does Tomas Gingerwart. I heard him say as much."
"Then why would you ask—"
"Because I do not believe that you intend to make the journey," Juraviel explained. "Your eyes are turned southward. Will you not return to your home?"
Pony was caught and she knew it—she even subconsciously glanced south again. "Of course I intend to return to Dundalis," she said. "If that is where Elbryan goes, then it is my place."
DemonWars Saga Volume 1 Page 133
