Forged

by Liam Reese

  He could see no one from it, but his vantage point was limited. Holding his breath he put one arm through the bars.

  If Thorn had been the more muscular type, or if had been Karyl had been the skilled lockpicker, the whole plan would have been dead in the water. As it was, trying to maneuver his arms around to get the correct angle was tricky. He found the lock itself without difficulty and retrieved the tools quickly from his cloak, then propped the lock against the door and went to work. The silence outside made the clinks of the metal echo like a pistol shot; he felt sure that the whole camp would be awake inside of a minute.

  His companions ranged behind him utterly still, and thankfully, completely silent. Doing such a job with any sort of distraction would have been impossible.

  He was certain it was the heart beat throbbing in his fingertips that made the last connection; the lock gave way with a quiet click, and he unwrapped the chain from around the handle and pulled back the bolt.

  He was blocking the window; he turned back to reassure them. The light fell on six eager trusting faces, all turned up to him, waiting and believing in him — even Irae. Shocked, he stopped still, trying to find his tongue.

  “Well?” hissed Lully.

  This was enough to stir him into action. He pressed his finger to his lips, jerked his head toward the door and pushed it open just a little bit. The creak that he had earlier observed was little more than a mumble. One by one, they slipped and jumped down to the ground, and stood free at last in the warm morning air.

  Thorn turned to Lisca, who gave him a short, perfunctory nod and disappeared around the corner. He turned next to Irae, who was shaking her head ominously. He shook his back and held a finger to his lips.

  She was clearly biting her tongue against all the things she wanted to say, but she stuck to the plan and took off.

  The horses were surprisingly unbothered by the strangers among them. He found three tied to a tree quite close to the cart. Irae returned quickly with another two that had been left to wander in the grass. Thorn had next to no experience with horses, but he found that they were only slightly inclined to bite him, and he fended them off without much difficulty.

  They joined the others on the far side of the camp. Graic and Lully were assisted onto a horse to ride together, Thorn helped to hoist Karyl onto the largest horse, and with Ruben ensconced somewhat nervously on a small paint, Jelen chose a bay gelding for herself. She swung herself up and looked at Thorn. On the horse, she could actually look down at him for the first time.

  “We should go,” she whispered.

  He held to the reins of the last two horses. “Wait,” he murmured.

  “It is a stupid plan. It doesn’t even deserve to be called a plan. She can’t hope to succeed. We should go without her.”

  “Wait,” he said again. “There she is.”

  There she was, indeed, half-running, with quick light steps. She wore a brilliant smile and appeared absolutely none the worse for wear, whatever her adventure had been.

  “I set the rest of the horses loose,” she whispered as she took the reins from him. “They’re none too loyal. I don’t think anyone will be able to catch up with us, as long as we don’t wake them as we go.”

  Thorn put a finger to his lips, making the signal to everyone. Irae’s lips moved. He was relatively sure she still swore silently.

  They pushed into a walk, the clopping of the horses’ hooves muffled by fallen leaves. It was only after they reached the road and had proceeded along it for some time that Lisca finally urged her horse into a gallop. Thorn cast a glance over his shoulder, but Irae had kept her horse at a canter, so the injured members of the party could keep up without too much jostling. Just when Thorn was certain that Lisca would leave them behind entirely, she slowed down for them to travel along the road in a cluster.

  “How on earth did you manage to bash him over the head?” exploded from Irae at last, as though this were an argument that had been going on in her head for quite awhile. She sounded angry that Lisca’s plan had worked.

  “I told you. We arranged it.”

  “But how? You said, Listen, Sir Rogue, I’m going to break out of the cart and you must sit very still and let me hit you over the head, or I will be very cross.”

  “Something like that,” said Lisca. “More accurately, I said, Listen, Cousin Rickerd, I can manage to get out of the cart without your assistance, but you must sit very still and let me bash you over the head afterwards or your leader will know that you have helped me to escape. And if you don’t do this, I will tell your mother that you’ve left home to join the rogues, rather than going to university in France as you told her you would.”

  The silence that Irae lapsed into was surprisingly loud.

  But it was the pealing sound of the bard’s laughter that finally broke the air.

  “And if you’re going to say that it is too big of a coincidence for my cousin to be working with the rogues, and then for me to be caught by them — well, you’re probably right. There is probably more going on here than meets the eye, but I’m not going to go into it now.”

  Irae pulled away from the rest of them, her quiet as clear as a beckoning finger. Thorn followed her.

  They rode for a while in mutual muteness, and at last he ventured, “The horses are a great help.”

  “Indeed.” Her voice was tight.

  “Quite the improvement.”

  “As you say.”

  “I expect we’ll be able to reach the mountains a great deal faster, perhaps even in another day. We must have traveled quite far in the night time.”

  “Where are we going, precisely?” Her voice was distant, uninterested.

  “Ah,” he said, and shied back from actually telling her. “You’ll have to ask your pet legendarian about that.”

  Irae only grunted a little.

  Thorn didn’t understand her taciturnity and was quickly growing tired of trying to placate her.

  “I do like this horse,” he said. “I’ve scarcely ever ridden one before, but they’re a lot faster, don’t you think?”

  “They have twice as many legs, it would be a wonder if they weren’t.”

  “And so useful for a quest such as ours,” Thorn said. “Really, I don’t know why we didn’t have horses to begin with.”

  “Because we didn’t have the money!” Irae was clearly exasperated. He could tell, because she was yelling at him. “We aren’t highwaymen, you know.”

  “Well,” he said, shaking the reins a little, “we are now.”

  9

  The Next Part of God’s Plan

  They continued on and had a horseback council of war.

  “First of all,” said Irae, turning to Ruben, “where precisely are we going?”

  The bard started so badly that he nearly fell off his horse. He clutched at the saddle pommel and turned a betrayed smile on Thorn.

  “You didn’t tell her? I thought you told her!”

  Thorn objected to this. “It isn’t my responsibility to tell her! You’re the legendarian. It’s yours!”

  “But I told you first!”

  “I am not her ear horn,” said Thorn. “The things I hear are not automatically channeled into her brains. There actually seem to be some issues with this,” he said, looking around at all of them. “So let me say right now, if you want to say anything to Jelen, you’d best tell her yourself. I am nobody’s messenger boy.”

  Irae herself carried on as though he had said nothing, and as though most of the conversation to date had, in fact, not even happened. She was still looking expectantly at Ruben, and she now raised her eyebrows.

  The bard heaved a sigh. “Rindor,” he said, dejectedly. “The Anvil is in Rindor, held as a sacred object by the giant monks.”

  “The what?” said Lully.

  Ruben looked up at her swiftly, frowning. “The — the monks. The giant monks. Of Rindor.” She shook her head. “Don’t tell me you — have you never heard of them?”

&nbs
p; “No, never.”

  “Oh.” He looked around at the rest. “Have … have any of you? Dear Lord, whatever happened to classical educations?”

  “Don’t be a snob,” said Lully. She had hardly said a thing since Karyl had set her arm, and Ruben’s reaction was another, slightly gentler smile in her direction rather than any irritation.

  “I’ve heard of them, of course,” said Irae. “My father — he told me of them. They fought alongside my grandfather in the wars, but they haven’t done much for some time now.”

  “You’re going after the Anvil of the Soul?” said Lisca. She had been keeping to the back of the group, and now gave her horse another nudge in the ribs to come up abreast of Thorn and Irae. “Why?”

  “I believe that if God had intended your life path to coincide with ours, he would have made it that way from the beginning,” said Irae, so stiffly that Thorn shot her a glance of surprise. “So kindly keep yourself out of it.”

  “Well, that seems like a silly thing to say,” said Lisca. “I don’t know what God has to do with it. But we providentially met in the same prison cart after being captured by the same band of rogues. Providentially, I was able to provide one of the mechanisms that sprung us free while Thorn here was, providentially, provided the other. So I think there is more than enough evidence for God’s agreement with me being involved in your life path, for anyone who thinks that he cares deeply one way or another.” She patted her horse on the neck. “Why are you going for the Anvil?”

  “Tell me more about the monks,” Irae said sternly to the bard.

  Ruben looked from one of them to the other and opted for the one who had hired him.

  “They’re dangerous,” he said. “You might not think it, given that they are members of a religious order, but much like the soldiers they once produced, they are well trained in battle. The Anvil is kept as a holy relic and will most likely be found deep within their halls.”

  “How can we steal a holy relic?” said Karyl.

  “It wouldn’t have belonged to them in the first place,” said Lully, “is it really stealing if you steal it from someone who stole it?”

  “Moral arguments aside for the moment,” said Irae, “can we go in disguise, then? It may not be easy to sneak into the monastery.”

  The noise Ruben emitted made it clear he did not endorse this plan, but equally clear that he was reluctant to say so.

  “What’s the problem?” Irae asked.

  “Er, they are giant, according to my information,” said Ruben. “Well over ten feet tall. It isn’t just a nickname, or something like that. At least, not according to the histories I’ve found

  Irae rubbed at her chin.

  “Stilts?” said Graic, but no one was entirely sure whether it had anything to do with the current conversation or not, so no one responded. Lully merely patted her on the shoulder with her good hand.

  “So, what’s the next part of the plan?” said Karyl, sounding as if he wanted to rest.

  “Whose plan?” said Lisca. “God’s?”

  “You are not invited,” Irae told her.

  Thorn held up a hand, which she ignored.

  “What she means, rather,” he said, “is that of course, you needn’t put yourself in any further danger. Your father must be very worried about you. You should go home.”

  “Home?” repeated Lisca incredulously. “After having one of the greatest adventures of my life, and on the cusp of another? Knowing what I know about who you are and what you intend to do?”

  Irae would not look at him, so Thorn exchanged wary glances with Karyl instead.

  “Who I am?” he prompted.

  “You’re Forged,” said Lisca. Even as they traveled, her eyes were fixed on him, and they positively glowed. “You’re one of the legendary Forged. The leader of the rogues said you were of great importance to the king — of course, someone like you would be. I have heard that he was looking for more of the Forged. He wants to help them; change their lot in life.”

  “He could start with changing the laws against helping us,” said Thorn.

  “You can change laws more easily than you can change people,” said Lisca.

  Thorn glanced swiftly at Irae, who met his gaze as though despite herself, and looked away just as quickly as Lisca continued.

  “And the king himself needs help, of course — you’re going to him, to offer your abilities in his times of trouble, and you need the Anvil of the Soul so that you can truly change his circumstances.”

  “To which troubles do you refer, exactly?” said Jelen, but Lisca ignored her.

  “Well, all that is true enough, as far as that goes,” said Thorn slowly, his mind spinning.

  “How could I turn away from such a noble cause as yours? I might be able to do something to help.”

  “Shouldn’t you go home to your father?”

  “I’ll send him a message, the first chance I get. He can’t help but understand when I explain what I’m doing.”

  “Hells,” said Irae, apparently unable to stop herself any longer, and she jarred her horse into a trot again. Thorn looked around at all of them.

  “No one’s going to go after her?” he said. “Still? Just me?”

  “You’re the best bet,” said Lully faintly, lifting her splinted arm. Karyl nodded, swaying in his saddle a little.

  Thorn heaved a sigh and gave up on arguing his case. He caught up with Irae well out of earshot of the rest and followed along behind her until she slowed and came to a stop. Then he waited, figuring that silence was the wisest course.

  She appeared to be gathering her thoughts.

  “Do not presume to speak for me,” she said at last.

  “I —” He stopped. Whatever he had been expecting, this was not it.

  “When I said that she was not invited in our plan.”

  “Ah.”

  “What I actually meant,” said Irae, “was that I don’t want her to come with us, not at all, not even in the slightest. If you weren’t so much like every other man and bowled over by the sight of a damsel in distress, you would have picked up on that.”

  “That’s hardly fair, Jelen —”

  “Irae! My name is Irae, Thorn, and I am the rightful December Queen, and you must understand that her very presence infuriates me. Batrek Felcin has been a close advisor of my uncle the traitor for the last few years. If anyone colluded and assisted my uncle to take the throne, it was him. And to her you, Thorn — ” She stopped, suddenly, looking caught between tears and anger. “Thorn, the man I called to for aid, coming to her defense and protecting her feelings. And all the while she calls the traitor the kindest man she has ever met! It makes me want to spit. It’s a wonder I haven’t caught fire simply from trying to hold in my anger.”

  “I do understand,” said Thorn. “I think everyone clearly understands how you feel about her presence. But you yourself know that keeping your identity a secret is a necessity. Especially while she is with us.”

  “All the more reason to send her on her way.”

  “How do you propose we do that, now that she is determined to stick with us? Now she believes us to be as loyal as she is to your uncle. If we shake her off, she will want to know the reason why. And if we cannot be utterly convincing, what’s to keep her from going straight to that castle and telling him about the strangers she ran into, whom she suspects of having evil designs, and one of whom looks a great deal like his niece, the deposed queen of the kingdom?”

  In a quiet, sulky voice, she said, “She doesn’t know what the princess looks like. I haven’t sat for a portrait in more than five years.”

  “Be that as it may. You know that your uncle has pulled the wool over the eyes of many in Balfour. Many in Ainsea, for that matter. Isn’t it possible that she is one of them, a victim in this, like you?”

  “Yes,” said Irae, more quietly still. “It is possible.”

  He tried to catch eyes with her, but she studiously looked the other way.

 
“Are you still angry at me? You are, aren’t you. What for?”

  She hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “After the fight. The things you said.”

  “Oh.” He cast his mind back; it didn’t take long for him to remember. He hadn’t been very complimentary, but then, she hadn’t deserved to be complimented. He remembered what he said. He also remembered, most clearly, her white knuckled clenched fist as she yelled back. The odds against a reciprocal apology, he knew, were astronomical. Nevertheless, in the interests of peace — “I am sorry I yelled at you. And told you that you were foolish.”

  “Stupid was the word I objected to the most.”

  “Yes. That too. It was wrong of me to say.”

  “No.” She shook her head, which surprised him. “It was true. It was true, it just — it wasn’t that I thought we could win, on our own, as we were. It wasn’t even that I really intended to get into battle. But I thought that you would… help.”

  “Help?” he echoed.

  “That you would use your abilities. That the fight would be over before we knew it, that the highwaymen wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “Oh.” He looked away from her, his face flushing. “That isn’t how it works.”

  “Well, how was I supposed to know that? All I know are stories about legendary powers. Stories don’t come with instructions, you know. And you’ve been very reticent about sharing any details beyond the bare minimum, and don’t think I haven’t noticed. Because I have.”

  “I don’t like to talk about it. It makes me feel —” He shrugged his shoulders and wriggled them under his cloak. “Itchy and uncomfortable. Like I’m surrounded by bees and just waiting for them to sting.”

  It wasn’t the entire truth, but it wasn’t a lie, either.

  She looked up at him at last, and her eyes were steady. “Would you talk to her about it? Would you tell your precious young noblewoman how it works, what it looks like, what you can do?”

  “No,” said Thorn. He shook his head. “You sound ridiculous. No. Who am I here for, Jelen? No one but you.”