The Guided Journey (Book 6)

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “She has been well-behaved, sir,” the steward assured Kestrel. “Cook has grown rather fond of her. She enjoys Cook’s squirrel pies better than anyone else in the manor, I believe.”

  Kestrel and the steward guardedly discussed what had happened when he had left the town so hastily, then briefly discussed the state of the manor, where the finances were flush with the revenues from the mushroom markets they had hosted through the spring.

  “We are ready to go, I believe,” Kestrel finally told his odd entourage. The imps assembled around Putty, who warbled with unhappiness at facing the prospects of another trip.

  “Kestrel traveler, you must let us spend time with your yeti when we do not travel, so that she will not think we are only here to travel with her,” Mulberry scolded Kestrel.

  “We will go back to the garden where we met the last time we were in Kirevee,” Kestrel told the imps. He was glad they did not have to plan to arrive upon the top of the tower, and go through the lifts once again.

  He and Lucretia left, and arrived in the garden where the tent had been erected over him as he recuperated from the battle with a city patrol, a battle that should have never taken place, but somehow had, because of an unfortunate coincidence of events.

  When they arrived, the first thing Kestrel saw was the granite statues of the patrolmen who he had turned to stone.

  “Oh,” he said softly. So many things had happened in the intervening hours that he had completely forgotten the earlier adventures he had undergone during his relatively brief interlude in the Northern Forest.

  “What? Oh,” Lucretia asked, then turned and saw the statues as well. There were flowers laid at the feet of each of the patrolmen. Putienne and the imps arrived at that moment.

  “Thank you all for your help,” Kestrel said to the imps. “I don’t think we’ll need your help any time soon,” he told them.

  “Good bye, Kestrel friend,” several of the imps said, and promptly disappeared.

  “Good bye, Kestrel. I’ll be back when it’s my shift,” Acanthus said.

  “And I too will be the one assigned to keep you out of trouble soon enough,” Mulberry chimed in, before his two regular companions disappeared, and only Stillwater was left.

  “We have decided that one of us will be with you at all times,” Stillwater explained, in response to Kestrel’s quizzical expression. “We will honor our god’s command to assist you at all times, in all ways possible.

  “Besides, Kestrel friend, we find that you provide great adventure and entertainment!”

  “I’m glad someone finds such things so joyful,” Kestrel laughed.

  He stood, looking thoughtfully at the statues, considering the way he had petrified the men, and trying to determine how best to call forth the energies that would restore life to the men.

  “I’m going to go now,” Lucretia spoke. “I need to make myself presentable before any one sees me!

  “Will you be here long, and where are you going next?” she asked.

  Kestrel pondered her question. “I’ll be here until I figure out how to undo this problem,” he said as he motioned towards he stone figures.

  You do it like this, Kere’s voice sounded in his soul, and he suddenly had a vision of how energies could be drawn from the earth and combined with the powers within his own soul to produce the proper application of his abilities.

  And you also do this to release my energies back to me, she added, in a tone that was humorous, yet firm, as another vision befell him as well.

  “I will do so right away,” Kestrel spoke aloud. “And thank you, thank you so much. You saved my life with your gift.”

  “What did you say?” Lucretia asked.

  Kestrel closed his eyes, and began the release of energy back to the goddess as the she had shown him, feeling the power seeping away from the places in his soul, accumulating in his heart, then suddenly bursting away in a dramatic departure from him, leaving him gasping from the feeling of loss. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground, before Putienne rushed to his side and picked him up gently.

  “Thank you, my friend,” Kestrel said. He laid his head on the yeti’s shoulder, feeling comforted and protected by his friend’s bulky size.

  “I wish I had a picture of you two!” Lucretia laughed. “Well Kestrel, while you enjoy Putienne’s gentle ministrations, I will go upstairs and get cleaned up, and if you’re not here when I come down, I’ll look for you at Ripken’s.”

  Kestrel nodded his head, and after Lucretia left, he slid back to the ground, and exercised the ability that Kere had shown him, restoring the bewildered patrol members to life. The members of the patrol were dazed and flustered as they quickly left, and Kestrel began to lead Putty through the day lit streets of the city, causing pandemonium among those who witnessed the yeti that strolled behind an elf, both of them protected by a blue dome of energy.

  When he reached the gates to Ripken’s palace, he was leading an impromptu parade of guards, curious observers, and scampering children, and Ripken himself stood looking out from a second floor window, Princess Aurelia next to him, within the curve of his arm as they listened to and watched the chaotic procession arrive. Ripken motioned with his free hand to the gate attendants, and they allowed the two hounded visitors to enter.

  Kestrel gave a sigh of relief when the gates closed he and the yeti into the safety of the manor grounds, as he wearily released the shield that had protected Putty and him from attack He began walking Putty to the garden, relieved to be free of the carnival atmosphere the followers in the street had provided. He began to think about how he could apologize to the newlyweds for missing their wedding and bringing such distractions and interruptions to their plans.

  “Kestrel!” a voice called, and he turned to see Raines and Orren hurrying towards him. He stopped and waited until they reached him, slightly winded.

  “My lord! It’s so good to see you!” Orren spoke, using the human language, which Kestrel needed only a moment to revert to and understand.

  Seeing the two humans reminded Kestrel of the strange twists the journey to Kirevee had taken, especially in the last four days, when the manifestations of the Viathin had begun to intervene in the trip. It was hard to imagine that months of long, grueling travel through the mountains could be left virtually un-remembered because of all the horrors and surprises that had been packed into the very end of the journey.

  “It’s good to see both of you well and alive,” he told them, smiling.

  “We’re so relieved to see you alive as well,” Orren said.

  “You fought against a god! And you fought so well! I had no idea we were with such a tremendous person!” Raines gushed. “You saved our lives when you came and starting fighting Krusima in the garden.”

  “I’m sorry you were involved in that battle,” Kestrel said. “And I’m glad you weren’t hurt; I’m sorry that there were others that were hurt,” he told them.

  Just then Ripken and Aurelia emerged from a doorway, and strolled rapidly over to see Kestrel and Putty as well.

  “I presume you were taking the yeti to the garden where our last adventure with you began?” Ripken asked, as he motioned a servant forward. “May Lombar lead the animal to the greenery?”

  Kestrel reassured Putty that she could go and wait for him in the relative comfort of the garden, then turned to the newlyweds. “My apologies, my lord and lady, for all that has disturbed your wedding day. I’m so sorry to have interrupted it with so many distractions.”

  “Kestrel! Don’t be silly! There are reports that you were fighting with the gods, right here at my home, protecting my people from murder,” Ripken interrupted.

  “We’re so happy that you are alive and well,” Aurelia added. “We heard that you fought valiantly. Now, may I ask, have you seen Lucretia?”

  “I’m right here,” the elven maiden spoke up, walking up to the group. “I was behind Kestrel and Putty, and had to wend my way through the crowds that followed them here.


  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t at your wedding!” she told Aurelia, grasping the princess in a tight and tearful hug.

  “Oh my dear, the wedding happened, and Ripken and I are married, and you are safe – those are the things that matter,” Aurelia said tearfully. “Come inside and tell us everything that has happened since I left your apartment.

  “Those elves of the patrol? Did you restore them?” she asked suddenly, turning towards Kestrel, who smiled and nodded.

  “I did restore them, with Kere’s help,” Kestrel put her at ease.

  The group went inside, and separated, as Kestrel promised to speak to the humans in their own language at a later time, before the four elves spent a long afternoon in conversation, going over the many startling revelations. Kestrel then recounted his adventures from the previous year, explaining the war with the Viathins and his travels with Moorin to and beyond Uniontown, and the discovery of the southern elves.

  “So you’ve traveled with Kestrel these past few days to all his wonderful haunts in the Eastern Forest?” Ripken asked the unusually quiet Lucretia.

  “To some of them,” she admitted. “It was quite unnerving when the goddess showed up in person – looking like Moorin! – and told him to prepare for battle, I will admit. It even makes the wild parties in the blue tower seem relatively tame now,” she said.

  “See what you’ve done; you’ve spoiled me for other men,” she scolded Kestrel, then laughed.

  “So what will you do now?” Ripken at last asked the question that gnawed at Kestrel.

  “I don’t know,” he reluctantly admitted. “It sounds as though there is a need to move, and to move quickly, but I don’t know what direction to go in,” he said.

  Hampus arrived at that moment, and Kestrel gave a brief recap of his story, then excused himself to go see the humans and explain his adventures to them. “I want to talk to you about the Eastern Forest later,” Kestrel told Hampus.

  Afterwards, when Orren and Raines had heard his report of what had happened, he went out to the garden at sunset and saw Putty. He watched the western sky turn red, then purple as the sun descended. In the dimming light of the end of the day, a woman appeared in the garden, and Kestrel instantly knew it was Kai – she was glowing with a white light, yet insubstantial and transparent.

  “You planned to go to Seafare, didn’t you?” she asked Kestrel directly.

  “I did want to go see Picco, and my daughter,” he agreed.

  “Do so. Come down to the human land, and come to my temple in the city after you make your greetings,” she told him. “I’ll be waiting for you. We have much to discuss.”

  “This news of Viathins returning – it worries me,” Kestrel told her.

  “That should, and so may other matters we will discuss. Come when you are ready, but do not dawdle too long,” the goddess told him.

  “Kestrel?” Hampus’s voice sounded at the doorway to the garden.

  “We’ll talk soon – safe travels, my young champion,” Kai gave a faint smile, then disappeared.

  “Kestrel?” Hampus called again as he walked up to where Kestrel stood, now alone.

  “I thought I saw someone here with you,” the elf said to Kestrel.

  “There’s just me,” Kestrel replied, not wanting to discuss the disturbing warning that Kai had delivered. “The light at this time of nightfall can play tricks with your eyes.

  “There are some things about the Eastern Forest that I want you to know,” Kestrel said.

  “When I went to Center Trunk the very first time, the spymaster was Sylvan, and he started me on the path of being a spy, to go and check on what the humans were doing,” Kestrel began.

  “But I found out that our bigger threat was the Viathins that were invading our world; they were compelling the humans to attack us, and the Viathins were even trying to take over the imps and the elves as well as the humans,” he continued.

  “The princess was kidnapped from the palace, and nearly sacrificed to the Viathins,” Kestrel added. “So she may forever feel unsafe, and she is going to become the reigning monarch when her father passes, of course.”

  “What are you saying, Kestrel?” Hampus asked directly.

  “I hear that the princess is seeking to exercise greater control in the palace. She has sacked Elder Miskel as the head of the guard, and perhaps made other changes as well,” Kestrel explained. “So you may return to a palace that is running differently than the one you left.

  “My advice is to be prepared to have to be the voice of reason and common sense for the princess. Go talk to Miskel discreetly and find out what is happening, then use your judgment to do what is best,” Kestrel advised.

  “Your friends, the imps,” Hampus began. “They could have carried us from Center Trunk to Kirevee in about five seconds. Instead, we spent most of two months getting here. We visited Firheng, climbed the mountains, fought the yeti, met the humans, and battled the Viathins. And none of it was really necessary to get here, was it?” he asked.

  He went on without waiting for a reply. “I learned a lot on this journey,” Hampus said. “I don’t think I realized how big the world outside the Eastern Forest was, or how many differences there are between our land and the rest of the world. But at the same time, other people aren’t so very different from us. It’s been a good journey – frightening at times, but good.”

  “Those are important lessons to learn,” Kestrel said. “It sounds like you’re ready to be a great prince consort.”

  “So you think the best way for me to get back is through Estone?” Hampus asked.

  “That will be the best conventional way,” Kestrel agreed. “Run down to North Harbor, then take a ship from there to Estone, and run from Estone to Center Trunk.”

  “I’ll do that. I’m supposed to return to the palace tomorrow to sign the treaty to establish relations between our two kingdoms,” Hampus said. “After that I’ll be able to plan the trip home, and I’ll have plenty to think about during the journey. Thank you,” he grasped Kestrel’s hand in a tight squeeze, then left to return to his room in Ripken’s manor.

  Kestrel watched him go, satisfied that the journey had been good for Hampus, and good for the Eastern Forest; he then turned and went into the far corner of the garden to fetch Putty, and the two of them also went into the manor.

  “Kestrel, there’s still the matter of your shipment to the palace,” Aurelia spoke to him in the hallway as they passed, the princess walking with Lucretia towards the door. “I have that keg that’s waiting for you.

  “Etiquette says that Ripken and I should remain together here in his home for a week, but I know father would like to see you and hear your story about the battle you fought – there’re stories in the palace about you fighting Morph,” she told him. “And you’ve already ruined my reputation by taking me out cavorting the other night,” she laughed and placed her hand lightly on his.

  “Come with us to the palace tomorrow to take receipt of the shipment, and talk to father,” she urged, and Kestrel gladly agreed.

  “Good night Kestrel,” Lucretia told him. “I’m going to go home and fill pages of my diary with our story; either that or I’m going to fall into an exhausted sleep that will last for days!” She kissed his cheek, and continued with Aurelia to the door, while Kestrel and Putty went up to the room they shared with Hampus, the room they hadn’t spent an actual night in.

  The furnishings in the room had been added to in the interval of Kestrel’s absence, with a second bed provided to end any dispute about which of the elves would sleep on the floor, and so they settled in for the evening, and slept soundly, knowing that for the time being, they had no pressing duties, no impending battles, no stalking enemies to haunt their sleep. Putty slept on the floor next to Kestrel’s bed, until he stepped on her in the morning – when he belatedly realized she had stayed in the same spot the whole night through – making her roar, and awakening Hampus as well.

  They all went to the palac
e that morning – Ripken, Aurelia (both nominally hidden in layers of heavy clothes), Hampus, Kestrel, and Lucretia, who returned to Ripken’s manor early in the morning to rejoin the group. Kestrel was greeted warmly by the king and queen, who were still appreciative of his victories the previous year, victories in the tournament, over the Viathin-influence of the banished nobleman Exmoor, and over the strange illness that had threatened to take Aurelia’s life.

  They spent the morning recounting tales, alerting the royals to the renewed threat of Viathins returning to the land, and they in turn promised to be ready to fight in any way possible. During the mid-morning, Aurelia sent for the keg that had been delivered to her at the palace on behalf of Kestrel; it was stoutly constructed, built sturdily to contain the large hoard of gold and silver coins shipped inside.

  “I believe I know how to use part of this,” Kestrel said thoughtfully. “I’d like to leave most of it here in your care, if I may. It’ll be too heavy to carry with me,” he said, as he sorted out a stack of coins to take, then returned the rest to the keg to be stored in the palace vaults.

  “We have a guest who arrived for the wedding who would appreciate the opportunity to meet you,” Aurelia’s mother said after much of the conversation concluded. Kestrel was escorted to a small sitting chamber, where he met Count Stelten, Moorin’s father. Kestrel spent a long time telling the Count about his daughter’s new life and surroundings, and her hope to make the future better for the southern elves.

  “You should be proud of her,” Kestrel told the nobleman. “She’ll be a leader and an inspiration for her new people as they live through the years of waiting for a forest to regrow in the southern lands.”

  Afterwards, Kestrel and the others left the palace and returned to Ripken’s manor, where Kestrel went to talk to the humans.

  “I am going to run to North Harbor tomorrow, and from there I’ll catch a ship to Seafare,” he told Raines and Orren. “If you want to go to either city with me, I would welcome you as companions.

  “I have this to give to you, to help you both with the start of a new life,” he placed a pile of gold coins on the table.