Midnight Quest

by Honor Raconteur

  “I don’t know,” Clari admitted frankly. “It’s hard to judge the size of that crystal because it’s so thoroughly covered in vines. Right now, I’d guess not.”

  “It will no fit,” Rialt said adamantly. “If it be the same size as Ramath’s, it will no fit. We will need to carve a path for it.”

  Jewel’s brows drew together as she thought about that. “I’m not sure if they are all the same size. I never had cause to move the Thornock crystal, so I never got a very good sense of how large it is. Chizeld, is there any lore that suggests all of the crystals are exactly the same size?”

  There was a long, ruminative pause before Chizeld slowly responded. “No. Don’t believe there is. All lore simply said crystal was very large.”

  Very large could hardly be considered a precise measurement. “Well,” Jewel commented to the table in general, “I guess we’re just going to have to wait until that crystal is uncovered and then plan from there.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Rumor mill must have been working overtime during the night, as a good three dozen men with sharp axes and knives showed up the next morning. Some of the earlier arrivals actually started hacking away without any direction or supervision. They were quite enthusiastic in their work, so much so that by the time Jewel and everyone else arrived on the scene, patches of the crystal were visible.

  From some of the comments Jewel overheard as the men worked, she guessed that not everyone here had the purest of motives. A few of these men held obvious grudges against Mr. Braun and were taking this opportunity to get a little of their own back. Jewel frankly didn’t care what their motivations were as long as they were willing to work.

  “While the men are working, why don’t I bring you up to the crystal’s proper spot?” Clari invited. “That way you’re more familiar with where we need to take it.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Jewel approved.

  “Um…do you think your guard dog will mind?”

  “Which one?” Jewel asked her dryly. “I have four of them, after all.”

  “Ah…I meant Rialt.” There was a hum of amusement in her voice when Clari added, “He is the worst of the lot, after all.”

  “No,” Jewel denied with a resigned shake of the head, “he’s not. He’s just more straightforward about it, is all.”

  “That I be,” Rialt agreed from behind her. Jewel jumped slightly, as she could have sworn he was working with the men cutting the crystal free until he spoke. Just when had he arrived? “Now, where be you pretty lasses headed?”

  “Up top,” Clari answered easily, as if she hadn’t been talking about the man behind his back. “I thought Jewel would like to get a better sense of where the crystal needed to be before we moved it.”

  Rialt played along, his voice cheerful. “Splendid notion. Since I will be helping to guide you both, I will come along.”

  He caught Jewel’s hand with one of his and guided it through to rest in the crook of his elbow. She went along with it easily, keeping her other hand solidly planted on top of Bortonor’s head. Flanked by both guard dogs, she started walking toward the top of the hill, guided by Clari’s lighter footsteps and clear voice.

  The path was not a steep one (fortunately) but had a steady incline that quickly induced an ache in the calves and knees. From the way that Clari bounded forward, she was apparently used to navigating the trail as nothing about it bothered her. Jewel used the fact that she couldn’t see to buy her a little breathing room. In truth, by the time they reached the top, she felt a little winded.

  “Here it is!” Clari announced. “Do you feel it?”

  “Oh yes, easily,” Jewel assured her. It had that same sense of rightness that every crystal’s place did. Strangely, though, she could not detect any structure nearby. A small breeze drifted over the hill, ruffling through her loose hair. If a building were nearby, that breeze would carry the scent of wood, or paint, or perhaps stone. Here…nothing. “There’s no building?”

  “How can you tell?” Rialt asked in surprise.

  “I couldn’t smell it,” she answered simply.

  “That’s quite the nose you’ve got,” Clari observed. She sounded surprised as well, but also a little…envious? “No, the building is long gone. They couldn’t figure out a way to get the crystal out of the building two hundred years ago, so they just burnt it to the ground before shoving the crystal over the side.”

  “You’re going to have to build a new one.”

  “You don’t want me building anything, trust me on that,” Clari refuted with a warm laugh. “But I’ll draft lots of help and get it done. Ready to go back down?”

  “Yes.” Jewel followed them back down, her mind whirling as she thought. The positive part of the building being gone was that moving the crystal back into place would be a snap. She felt sorry for Clari, though, who was faced with the task of rebuilding it.

  “Jewel, Clari!” Sarvell hailed from ahead of them. “We’ve nearly got the crystal free!”

  “So I see!” Clari called back to him. “That was quick work!”

  “Three dozen determined men have that kind of effect,” Sarvell responded easily. “Now what?”

  Clari didn’t respond immediately but when she did, she did not sound pleased. “Rialt, it doesn’t look to me like that crystal will fit through the rows.”

  “No, it will no make it.” Rialt heaved a heavy sigh. “Braun will no be pleased.”

  They reached the bottom of the hill in time for Sarvell to say in a lower tone, “It has to be as large as Ramath’s crystal or perhaps a mite larger.”

  “No way crystal can be moved without carving new path,” Chizeld observed from somewhere nearby. He sounded more distant than Sarvell, so Jewel assumed he stood closer to the crystal.

  “It would be smack in the middle of the vineyards,” Clari bemoaned. “Well, this is a fine pickle we’re in. And here I swore we wouldn’t damage more than the vines that covered the crystal.”

  Jewel frowned thoughtfully. “There really is no path we can take? Are we completely surrounded?”

  “On all sides,” Sarvell confirmed darkly.

  Hmmm… “Clari, you know how I said that the crystal will move as long as we put a hand against it and will it to move?”

  “Yes…”

  “Did I tell you that I was also able to push it up so that it sat on its base?”

  “No…why is that important?”

  “Well,” Jewel paused a moment to find the right way to phrase her words, “I was only able to maneuver it that way because, to me at least, the crystal was light. It felt more like I had a fifty pound sack of potatoes to haul around: awkward and unwieldy, but not impossible to shift.”

  A digestive moment of silence passed before she ventured, “You think that we can put this thing up on its base and not cause as much destruction as we tow it out of here?”

  “No,” Jewel denied, frustrated that she hadn’t managed to pass along the image in her head, “I think that between the two of us, we can pick it up entirely and carry it over the vines.”

  Clari let out a short, incredulous burst of laughter. “Great gods, but you’re not kidding! You really think that will work?”

  “You did no see her, lass, haul Ramath’s crystal up a steep hill as if it were nothing but an errant dog.” Rialt sounded distinctly amused. “Eh, I have no doubt that between two priestesses, the crystal will hop on command. The hardest part belike be already over.”

  “Well.” She let out another laugh, this one more bemused than anything. “We certainly don’t have anything to lose by trying.”

  “You get on the front end,” Jewel directed. “That way I can simply follow you up. Gentlemen, I’m trusting you to guide my steps.”

  “Always,” Rialt assured her gently. “Chizeld, Sarvell, if you will keep an eye on the crystal’s path? I will watch her feet.”

  As the men sorted out who would take what side, Jewel had Bortonor take her to the back end of the crystal. When J
ewel reached it, she put both hands against its hard surface and just felt it for a moment. Yes, this one was completely depleted of energy like the Ramath crystal. She did not envy Clari the task of recharging it, either, not after Chizeld’s accounts. It also had the same sense of lightness, however, which made her think that her unorthodox plan would work.

  “Ready back there?” Clari called out.

  “Ready when you are!” Jewel responded loudly. She waited as Clari pushed the crystal up to where it was at an incline from the ground. The watching workmen muttered to themselves, gasping or cursing in amazement to watch a single young woman maneuver such a massive crystal.

  “Alright, Jewel, your turn!”

  Jewel took a breath before pushing the crystal’s surface up. She walked her hands along the surface until she could put them underneath, maneuvering herself to be directly under it. It was not unlike two women shouldering a yoke with pails strung between them. The weight and distribution of the crystal’s mass reminded her of it, at least. “Rialt, am I in the center?” Jewel asked.

  “Eh, close enough,” he assured her. “Clari, we be ready!” he boomed out.

  “Then let’s walk!” she called back.

  In deference to the woman walking along behind and the men that were trying to guide them safely out, Clari kept the pace to a moderate walk. Jewel was extremely grateful for this. Just walking up the hill had almost winded her. Carrying a crystal as big as a house was sure to tax her stamina even more.

  “I’m going to have to get you to yell for me more often,” Jewel teased her companion. “My voice is too soft, I’m afraid. You’re easily heard, though.”

  “A commander has to be heard on the battlefield,” Rialt responded neutrally.

  “Ah.” A point she had not considered.

  They made steady progress out of the vineyard. Jewel’s ears were trained on her surroundings, but although she heard many leaves being brushed, she didn’t hear anything snap. They must be barely clearing the vines.

  “This is quite the sight,” Chizeld observed, a timber of amusement in his voice. “Two women hauling up the crystal while the men watch in admiration.”

  “It’s a legend in the making,” Sarvell agreed from the other side. “I trust you’re taking notes, Chizeld?”

  “Of course.”

  “Watch your step now,” Rialt cautioned. “We be going up.”

  They were indeed. She could feel the incline. Slow and steady, they made their way up the slope. Jewel’s arms started to ache at the constant weight above her head. Her legs, already having made this hike once today, were starting to shake at the effort of doing so again.

  “You be looking a bit tired, lass.”

  “I’ll make it,” she gasped out. “Just tell me we’re almost there.”

  “We be almost there,” he parroted, deadpan.

  “Say it like you mean it!” she groaned in exasperation.

  “You actually are almost there,” Sarvell assured her. “Just a dozen paces more.”

  She could do a dozen more paces. Maybe.

  From ahead, Clari shouted in exaltation, “I’m at the top!”

  Thank all of the gods for small miracles. Jewel grimly forced her legs forward until she felt herself walk onto more level ground. Then without any ceremony or fanfare, she put her end down. It was Clari’s crystal. She could shove it in the right place.

  She listened with half an ear as Clari dragged the crystal along, the gravel grating against the smooth edge of the crystal. Mostly she focused on getting her breath back.

  Rialt gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Two down.”

  Jewel straightened up and gave a satisfied nod. “And two more to go.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  With the crystal in place they really didn’t have any reason to stay longer. In the back of Jewel’s head a mental clock relentlessly ticked, reminding her of the quick passage of time. The barrier might last another year, but that was only if no one tested its strength by slamming against it and wearing it down faster. She also shuddered to think of what Belthain’s politicians were scheming in her absence. No, the sooner all of the crystals were in place—and safely regulated by the various high priestesses—the better.

  Since they planned to leave the next morning, Clari spent the night in Jewel’s room. They stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking. Jewel tried to impart everything she could to Clari but was woefully aware that Clari would have to learn her duties as she went. After all, the situation in Bryn was very different than the established Order in Thornock.

  Needless to say, they got a slow start the next morning. Jewel managed to drag herself out of bed when everyone else did, but she sleep-walked downstairs and yawned all of the way through breakfast. Most of it passed in a blur. In fact, the only thing she truly remembered out of the morning’s events was a promise to Clari to keep her updated on their progress.

  Her guards took pity on her and handed her up into Rialt’s waiting arms. She cuddled into the crook of one arm, head on his chest, and let the rocking gait of the horse lull her back to sleep.

  She awoke around noon when everyone dismounted to stretch their legs and eat something. “Where are we?” she asked as Sarvell lifted her down.

  “On our way to Hawleywood,” he answered. “We’re only about seven, eight hours away from it. My family is based out of that city and we thought it wise to stop there to get supplies. Besides, I only sent a very brief letter to my parents from Wexels. They’re sure to be worried at this point.”

  She turned her head this way and that as her feet settled gently to earth. “We’ve left the foothills.”

  Sarvell let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Alright, how can you possibly know that?”

  “It’s the sound of the wind, and the scent of the air,” she explained with a mischievous smirk. Surprising people like this simply never got old. “The wind over the foothills had a certain sound to it. The scent of sunbaked rock was very strong there, too. Here, all I can hear is tall grass rustling back and forth and I can’t smell the earth at all.”

  Rialt dismounted with a thump next to her. “You know, lass, if it was no for your explanations, a man would think you use magic to know what you do.”

  She made a mental note to try playing that angle the next time someone asked a question. “Alright, so we’re heading to Hawleywood. Any other decisions made while I slept?”

  “Eh, a few.” Rialt took her arm and guided her several steps away from the horses before encouraging her to sit down. She could hear and smell fresh bread being cut, so assumed that Chizeld was preparing some sort of sandwich for lunch. “Between Hawleywood and Parod’s Ford there be no much of anything.”

  “A few towns and villages scattered here and there, but not any major cities,” Sarvell input from behind her.

  “Right,” Rialt agreed before continuing, “So we thought, we will stop for supplies at Hawleywood and lend an ear to the local gossip. Thornock no doubt has soldiers stationed at every river crossing. But some might be more heavily guarded than others, depending on where they thought we were headed.”

  Made sense. The Hatton River went the entire length of Bryn. They had to cross it sometime. But if she remembered her geography right, they had limited choices on where to cross. The river generally had too many rapids or was too wide most of the time. Only two places were passable—either Parod’s Ford or the major trading city, Zarraga.

  “Where we go from here depends on the crystal’s location.” Sarvell came to sit down next to her.

  “The best records in Veris are kept in Rounsefell,” Chizeld chimed in. “Also has the only Temple of Elahandra.”

  “So we absolutely have to go to Rounsefell,” she concluded thoughtfully. “How far away is that?”

  “Rounsefell is at the bottom of the territory, about a day’s travel east of the Honorvar River,” Sarvell responded instantly.

  “So due west and a little south,” Chizeld noted.
“Zarraga would be adding days to the trip. Parod’s Ford is a better option.”

  “If it be no heavily guarded,” Rialt corrected. “It might be easier to blend in with Zarraga’s crowded streets. We might even want to catch a boat and ride the Honorvar down. It would make an easier trip that way. Faster too, belike.”

  Jewel had never been on a ship before. She had no idea if it would be easier on her or not. But if it was safer and faster, she’d certainly be game to try. “I’m amiable to either plan. Whatever way works best.”

  “It depends on what my father has heard. He’s got ears all over Evard, so he’s sure to have heard something.” Sarvell’s boots made crunching noises on the grass as he shifted his position. “Chizeld, hand me that sandwich. I suggest we eat quickly. If we push it, I think we can make Hawleywood by evening’s fall. Personally, I think we should avoid being out in the open like this until we know what’s going on in Belthain.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Sarvell once again went ahead, entering the city alone as a scout. This time he felt far more confident about spotting the dangers. Hawleywood, after all, was basically his hometown. The family business had its base here and his parents had a house here.

  As he entered the front gates, the guards there waved in recognition before letting him go through. He smiled and waved back, as if he were just returning on some errand or such. Then he went straight for the town center.

  Hawleywood had always been a sort of trade hub between Thornock. Because it connected two major highways, a lot of traffic came through it, and with that traffic, a lot of information. Four large post-it boards were in the town square for this reason, where anyone and everyone could post information. If Thornock had posted a bounty on Jewel’s head, this would be the place to look.

  As expected of the spring season, most merchants were already gathering up last-minute wares before putting together a trade convoy. As Sarvell rode through the main market roads, he could hear haggling all around him in practically every accent. He turned right, going up the slight hill to the main square. Almost instantly the smell of food washed over him. Despite the fact that he had eaten two hours ago, his stomach gave a petulant rumble.