I giggled, “Yes, I suppose not here?”
Gerard shrugged, “No, but I understood the point of it well enough.”
The hills started to get a bit larger, and rockier from then on out. There were also a lot larger gaps in the trees as we continued on. Gerard seemed to be in a good mood, and we chatted lightly whenever we weren’t in a canter. We moved a bit faster that day, and took lunch on our horses, but it was still twilight when we finally arrived at Lorbridge.
I asked, “What’s that sound, is that water?”
Gerard smiled, “The river Lor, it’s treacherous to swim across. The city is built close up to it, and the large bridge across the river is actually connected to the city. Lorbridge has high stone walls, which makes the bridge deadly to cross for enemies. It’s the second bastion against invasion from the north, should Ironcastle fall. It’s hard to make out right now in this light, but we’ll cross it in the morning.”
I nodded slowly, “Will they open the gates? I think they’re already closed.”
Gerard nodded, “Not for most, but for two paladins they will.”
He paused a moment, “Katrina, I’m sorry I’ve been so distant, if you are still interested, I would like to share a room with you tonight.”
My whole body tingled at the thought, it was about time.
“Sure, that’d be okay,” I said as casually as possible.
He laughed, “Fine, we’ll do that then. And Katrina.”
I looked over at him and he locked eyes with me and said in an intense voice, “I think I love you, and if we do this, I won’t be letting you go.”
Yep, definite tingles, in all the right places.
I said a bit breathlessly, “I love you too Gerard,” and wished he had waited until we were in the city, and preferably off our horses. I wanted to kiss him so badly right then that my body was on fire with it. I was a healthy young woman, and the sexual tension between us had gone on for far too long, that I truly cared about him only made it that much more powerful.
I wondered what had pushed him over the hump of his ego, maybe the close call in the last fight? He might have died, that has a tendency to reorder the mind. Still, I wasn’t curious enough to ask about it.
“Halt! And identify yourselves!” someone yelled down at us from the wall. Talk about a mood killer.
Gerard said the light spell, which lit up the soldier, the gate, and us, like it was the daytime.
“Paladins Gerard and Katrina, open the gates,” Gerard said in a deep commanding voice, and the mood was totally back.
The guard replied, “Right away,” and then ordered in a loud voice, “Open the gate!”
Just a few minutes later we were inside the city, the stone walls weren’t as impressive as Magehaven, but they were close. The city wasn’t any bigger than Bellmeadow, but it was much more fortified. We stopped at the inn, took care of our horses and then moved inside.
The tension between us reached a new height as we ate dinner quickly, and without a word exchanged. I couldn’t help the smile on my face, when we went up to our room. As soon as the door closed, he kissed me demandingly, all his doubts seemed to be gone, and he seemed intent on truly claiming me.
I was very intent on being claimed.
I moaned into his mouth as we struggled to get the armor off of each other. Finally, I just used telekinesis to get all the damned straps at once, and giggled into his mouth when all his armor clattered and clanged to the floor.
He picked me up with a smile of his own and put me down on the bed. Then he claimed me, and I claimed him right back. It was quite a while before we got around to sleep, and I’d never felt more satisfied or fulfilled in my life. I was in love, and Gerard was a wonderful caring and attentive lover. It had been nothing like the disappointment of my first time.
I laid against him as we fell toward sleep, and I wondered how this would work. He’d have to go off on missions, would I go with him? What if my goddess had somewhere else for me to be at the same time? Does Arella and Ictia get along okay? I was deliriously happy in his arms, but I knew I’d need the answers to those questions sooner or later. But for now, I simply enjoyed being in his arms, and got to sleep…
Chapter 14
After waking to a morning reprise of last night, and a bath that I insisted on, we were running a bit late again as we chowed down breakfast. Not that Gerard or I minded all that much, we were both in a very good mood as we both finished up our morning meal, and went out to the stables.
Lorbridge looked a lot livelier during the day, there hadn’t been much light last night when we’d arrived, and of course there were no such things as street lamps on this world. As we moved down the street, the sound of the rushing water got louder until it was a roar, and I could see a large stone bridge outside the northern gate.
When we got past the gate, there was only about ten feet before the bridge with thick walls started. I could see it was set up like a murder box on this near end, the walls were higher here on the sides. Anyone coming across the bridge would be facing arrows from the city walls straight ahead, as well as above and to the sides. I imagined magic or oil might come into play as well.
The river itself was a good fifty yards across, and moved swiftly below us as we crossed the bridge. I didn’t think it looked all too dangerous to cross, that an enemy would choose to take this bridge, until I caught sight of a group of water snakes that were close to fifty feet long, and perhaps two feet wide. Suddenly the fast movement of the water seemed like the easy part to overcome. I wondered what else was down there in the water.
Then we were across, and it was more rocky hills and patches of forest. By midmorning, I could already see the large mountain range to the north. It looked deceptively close, but I knew we wouldn’t make it there until later this evening.
Gerard said in an easy voice, “We should restock our food supply at Ironcastle, we’ll not be able to stop at an inn again for at least three days, possibly four.”
“Well, I have this nice little tent I’ve never used, but why?”
Gerard smiled, he’d been doing a lot of that today, “It’ll take two days to cross the mountain pass and the wasteland. The first city on their side is named Merrikeep, and it’s a lot like Ironcastle. It’s more a military post than a town, and even the dullest guard will know two paladins travelling north will be from Trelin, not Jendas. We’ll have to skirt around the keep carefully and remain unseen. After that it’s another day’s ride north to Fairshore, which is alongside a very large lake. It should be safe to get an inn there if we avoid any other paladins.”
I asked curiously, “Wasteland?”
Gerard nodded, “It’s about a half a day’s ride, most of the two days we’ll be in the pass. It will probably get a bit cold in the higher altitudes. Anyway, the wasteland. Trelin and Jendas used to be the same kingdom at one time. The wasteland is where the largest battles in the civil war took place. A lot of powerful magic was used by both sides and the area still hasn’t recovered. It’s safe enough to cross, nothing at all lives there, the land is just dead and can’t support growth.
“You’ll understand when you see it.”
I nodded slowly, I still had so much to learn, even after all the cheating I’d done with telepathy.
It was late afternoon when we reached the mountains, and they looked rather impassable to me farther on, but I could only assume there was a pass as Gerard had said. The road skirted and wound through a couple of mountains, and the road that had turned into a trail wide enough for a single wagon seemed rather steep in places.
It was getting a bit late, when we rounded a bend and saw a large open valley before the forbidding mountains truly started. It was maybe a quarter mile wide, but it was a few miles long, and there were many farms dotting the landscape. At the other end of the valley was what looked like a large keep made of red stones, although I supposed they could get away with calling it a small castle. Beyond that, a small steep trail led up between two mountain tops, I could onl
y assume that was the pass.
The guards did look like a rather rough lot as we entered the keep, but outside of a few looks there wasn’t any trouble. They seemed to recognize Gerard at any rate, and I wondered what he’d done to get sent up here to train the troops if this was a punishment type detail as he’d implied.
“Gerard! You got a masochist streak? What are you doing back up in the hind end of hell?”
Gerard nodded his head toward the man who was in a captain’s uniform that looked to see better days, and was unbuttoned at the throat. The man wearing it looked a bit worn and in his mid-forties, I’d never seen an older soldier here, but he still looked tough as leather.
“Sal, just passing through this time.”
Sal’s eyes narrowed, “Passing through eh? I guess I shouldn’t ask what you’re up to then?” he was clearly asking.
Gerard laughed, “I’m on vacation my friend, obviously. This lovely lady is my companion Katrina, I promised her I’d show her the world, and she’s making me keep my word.”
Sal snorted, “Right, and I’ve got an old red castle to sell you.”
Gerard smiled wider, “We just need to raid your stores, and a place to sleep tonight.”
Sal tilted his head, “Alright, keep your secrets. I probably don’t want to know anyway, unless you’ll be coming back from your vacation with an army on your heels.”
Gerard shrugged, “I doubt it. I actually am on vacation as far as the king is concerned, this is temple business.”
Sal raised an eyebrow, but when Gerard didn’t expand on that he said, “Alright, tell the supply clerk I said you could refresh your food supplies, and pick out a room in the east corridor.”
He finally looked at me, and nodded in greeting, “Good luck… on your vacation.”
I smiled innocently and said, “Thanks.”
Gerard and I got our horses settled, and picked up more food supplies. We took out our cold weather gear which gave us a bit more room for extra, we’d need to put it on tomorrow before entering the pass. After a hearty meal by smelly torch light, which I’m sorry to say I was getting used to, he took us to a room in the east corridor which was far from the common room and revelry.
“Do they do that all the time? Drink I mean?”
Gerard smiled, “Pretty much, yes. There’s not much else to do up here.”
I shook my head, “So what did you do to earn your stint as a weapons trainer?”
Gerard smiled slyly, “Why, I won a competition of course, and the king sent his best.”
I frowned, I was dying of curiosity. Gerard was about seven years older than I was, but appeared to be very responsible, I should know after all the time we spent together. Still, that didn’t sound right. He must have done something wrong.
“I’m not sure I buy that. Explain.”
He looked faux shocked, “Would you accuse a paladin of the goddess Ictia of lying?”
I smiled and kissed him softly, and then shook my head, “Twisting the truth maybe? What happened?”
He laughed, “It was a true contest, my honor was at stake. When the fight was finished, I was the only one left standing, and the king rewarded my prowess with shaping up this rough lot into fighting form.”
I thought about his wording and narrowed my eyes in suspicion, “You were in a tavern brawl weren’t you, and you vanquished your other drunken foes before being arrested.”
He tried to look offended, but his lips started to twitch, “Close, we were drunk. But it wasn’t a tavern, it was the practice grounds in the palace, and it was after we raided the ale supply.”
I giggled, “I can’t imagine you doing that.”
He shrugged helplessly, “It’s good to let off a little steam once in a while, keeps us from getting too hard. We may have gone a little overboard.”
I shook my head while I took off his armor, without telekinesis this time, “What was it about?”
He smiled, “What paladins always fight about, whose god or goddess is better, and why.”
I laughed, “Really?”
He shrugged again, this time a bit embarrassed, so I dropped the subject and got to more important things, which required no conversation at all, before we turned in for sleep.
Chapter 15
Cold.
Even with the warmer undergarments the pass was cold, and the surrounding peeks acted as a kind of wind tunnel. I did cheat it a bit with telekinesis, but it was hard to constantly keep up something like that, and it also burned up a lot of calories which meant I’d have to eat more. So it was just better to deal with it most of the time.
It was about midday, and the trees were very scarce, we weren’t above the tree line of the mountains, but we were very close. I started to wonder how Trelin or Jendas used to be one kingdom, with a natural barrier like this between them. Gerard had an answer for that though.
“Teleportation, and gates. The commoners pretty much just stayed where they were, but the nobles and mages could move back and forth at will.”
I considered that, and wondered again if I had teleported when I’d been scared out of my mind that Gerard would die. It wouldn’t do me much good right now if I could teleport anyway, I’d only be able to do it to places familiar to me, or within line of sight. Maybe I could make our trip back easier, I’d try anyway, when the time came. Until then I’d have to deal with the cold. Still, I didn’t want to get my hopes up, I’d never been successful when trying to do it on purpose.
Either way it should warm back up when we went down the other side of the pass.
We stopped as the sun went down, and I still didn’t get a chance to use my tent. I shared his instead. It was also a lot easier to keep a small space warmer without the wind trying to blow away the air I warmed, so we slowly lost our chill as I devoured a large dinner.
The cost of my abilities demanded payment. I was just glad we’d packed all that extra food. One thing was for sure, I was over being happy to be back on the road. Assuming we survived, I hoped I’d have the time to slow down after this quest to the north, and perhaps learn more about the world, and Arella. I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d be doing, but I knew I wanted it to be with Gerard, whatever and wherever it was.
Going downhill was always easier, and we reached the bottom of the mountain pass by noon the next day, and stopped at the edge of the wasteland to both eat lunch, and take off the extra garments. It wasn’t hot by any stretch, but it was probably somewhere in the sixties, which the normal blouse and leather vest was more than warm enough for.
The wasteland itself was pretty much just a desert, but one without any life in it at all. There were no cacti, brush, or small animals. It was just sand, rocks, and dirt. I couldn’t even imagine what could do what was done to this land. Nothing would grow in this soil.
It was dead.
Welcome to Jendas I supposed, but I didn’t see a sign. I shook my head at my own silly thoughts. I also felt a stab of pain as I remembered my old life and world. I loved Gerard, and I thought I could make a good life here. I even had a heroic purpose and a goddess who seemed to love me for reasons I couldn’t explain. But that didn’t mean losing my old world to the passage of time didn’t hurt.
I’d mourned some, but I was holding a lot of it inside, I was too busy right now to really work through it.
Gerard slowed from a canter, and then to a walk.
“We shouldn’t go much farther, there isn’t much cover out here, and we’ll be in sight of Merrikeep shortly.”
I asked, “What’s the plan exactly?”
Gerard replied, “I’ve never been here, but according to the reports of people that have, it shouldn’t be that difficult to sneak around them in the dark, if we’re careful. We’ll rest up, and leave when the sun falls. This valley we’re in will shrink quickly to a ravine, and Merrikeep is right in front of the other side of it. If we hug the walls and manage to stay silent…” he trailed off.
I frowned thoughtfully, “I might be able to fly us,
for a short distance.”
My telekinesis could handle a lot of weight in the short term, I could toss boulders if I wanted, and two people and two horses weren’t even close to my limit, but flying for an extended period would be out of the question. Still, getting up above their keep and going for a half a mile past it shouldn’t be that bad.
He looked a little nervous, “In the dark? What if you run into something?”
I smiled, “I can feel what’s around me with it too, unless they shielded a cliff wall with magic, I won’t miss it.”
He didn’t look reassured, and I couldn’t help the teasing smile that pulled at the corner of my lips.
He cleared his throat, “We’ll try to sneak, if it looks like we can’t get by, then you can take us up and over? Wait, what about the horses, won’t they panic?”
I shook my head, “I can soothe them, not a problem. Hopefully we won’t need to try it.”
He nodded, and dismounted, I followed suite and we had an early afternoon meal, followed by a short nap.
Travel in the dark of night wasn’t fun. Either one of us could have made light of course, but that would just have gotten us caught. We moved ahead slowly and tried to hug the wall of the ravine as we walked our horses. Gerard had tied some cloth on the horses’ feet to muffle the sounds of their hoofs, and I’d had no trouble convincing them to stay quiet.
I couldn’t really see more than a few feet in front of me, and although I couldn’t see the keep, I could feel all their minds when I did a telepathic sweep. So far, none of them had come close to us. It was just taking a nerve wracking long time to get passed their keep. It seemed silly at first that they didn’t have torches and the entire gap monitored, but I realized the intent of their keep, and our Ironcastle for that matter, was to stop an army, not a couple of people sneaking across.
I imagined they didn’t get the supplies necessary to keep the ravine walls lit at night, and no army would be able to sneak past the way we were, they would make too much noise. Relatively easy or not, it still got on my nerves, the last thing we needed to do was get caught and cause some kind of diplomatic incident.
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