Lady Shey looked around the table. “These are folks from Brookhaven come to buy a wagonload of ale for the Tiger’s Head Inn. I thought it best to come along incognito with them to avoid any awkward situations. I believe you know most of them. It has just been a while since you have seen them.”
“Oh yes, Brookhaven folk. Hey, by awkward situations do you mean like running into old Tobani De’Marr? He is out of the city, and he has gone to Darovan. I have already tried to find him for you.”
“You didn’t!” Lady Shey looked horrified. “Find him, I mean.”
“No, I didn’t,” Gondrial said. “I just told you he is out of the city. I thought I was the one who was drunk!”
“Gondrial, if you would have brought him to me I would have boiled your liver and made stew.”
Gondrial laughed. “Relax dear, no harm done.” He turned and looked at Rodraq. “Rodraq, old buddy, you look as ugly as ever,” he slurred. “I thought marriage would pretty you up some, but I guess I was wrong. Where is the misses anyway?” Gondrial glanced around as if looking for her.
Rodraq’s expression did not alter. “You have mistaken me for someone else. I have not been married for some time; furthermore, I certainly did not know you when I was married.”
“You’re very formal and serious aren’t you. No, I remember. You said you had a family when I spoke to you in Brookhaven. I remember.”
“We were making small talk while we waited. I remember also, but I never said I was married. I did tell you I had son.”
“A son, you, Rodraq?” Gondrial said, patting him on the back. “That’s right! Who would have thought you would know how to do anything but swing a sword? Apparently, you can wield a—”
“gondrial!” Lady Shey interrupted. “We have guests at the table who are not yet of a suitable age for your boorishness.”
Gondrial looked confused for a moment and blinked. “You are right; where are my manners? I apologize.” Gondrial squinted at Trendan. “Brookhaven, eh? I don’t believe I have ever seen you there. You don’t look Symborian to me, son, you look like an elf.”
“I am an elf, well, half-elf, sir, I was born in Arillia,” Trendan said.
“I thought so. I too am half-elven. My mother is from Lux Amarou and my father is from Arillia.” He chuckled. “A high man and an Arillian elf, now you have to see the humor in that relationship.”
Lady Shey put her hand to her forehead as if she were suddenly developing a headache.
Trendan chuckled uncomfortably. He felt like he was missing something in Gondrial’s joke. He recovered. “Pleased to meet you, good sir.”
“You may skip the pleasantries, young half-elf, I have no need for formalities. My parents are highborn, but I don’t have to be.”
“That makes no sense,” Lady Shey pointed out, almost in a whisper.
“As you wish,” Trendan stated eloquently.
“Have you the wagon as I instructed?” Lady Shey said, changing the subject.
“As requested, my lady, it was the first task I tended to upon arriving in Symbor this morning. It is in the stable here at the inn.”
“Good, we are in a bit of a hurry. We had some disturbing news on the road, and I want to take care of business and return as soon as possible.”
“Oh, what kind of trouble?” Gondrial asked.
“We have something of a mystery brewing; I will explain it all to you as we journey to the east quarter tomorrow to shop for dry goods and load up the ale. This is neither the place nor the time to discuss it. Do you think you will be sober enough to accompany us by tomorrow morning?”
“Is a sataflass a tree?” Gondrial stated.
“No, Gondrial dear, a sataflass is actually a shrubbery,” Lady Shey said.
“Oh, really?” Gondrial looked perplexed. “Are you certain?”
“Aye, my drunken friend, quite certain.”
Gondrial shook his head. “At any rate, I can accompany you just fine.”
After supper, Devyn thought it might be a good idea to get good night’s sleep. The next day was sure to be a long one, and he did not get any arguments from the tired party of travelers when he suggested that they should turn in early as well. Rodraq and Trendan walked back to the wagon to make sure it was secure, and they returned with the women’s personal bags. Kelle, Sylvalora, and Lady Shey shared a room. Lady Shey made it clear that she would be keeping an eye out for mischief. Devyn said goodnight to Kelle and joined Rennon in their room. Trendan and Vesperin shared the room next to Devyn. Rodraq and his men stayed in the room nearest the entrance to the hallway in order to keep an eye out for strangers. Symbor could sometimes be a dangerous place for traveling merchants.
As Devyn was getting into bed, he thought he heard the sound of a door opening to the next room. He could have sworn he heard Gondrial’s voice speaking to Vesperin and then footsteps tracking down the hallway. Devyn wondered what Gondrial had said to Vesperin but not enough to prevent him from slipping into a deep, meditative sleep.
Chapter 6: A Short Excursion
Lady Shey hid in the shadows just beyond a hedge of trees near the guarded palace walls as Gondrial silently and skillfully stalked to her side. “I thought you would never get here! Where have you been?” she said in a loud whisper.
“Sorry, love, I thought you wanted to meet at your room, and I accidentally stumbled into that cleric, Vesperin.”
“What! Did he question you?”
“Of course he did. I get the feeling he trusts no one.” He paused a moment as Lady Shey stared at him. “Not to worry, I put him to sleep.” He pointed at his temple with an index finger.
Lady Shey wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. “You could have ruined everything, you thickheaded dolt.”
Gondrial smirked. “Name calling from such a pretty face, how tragic.”
“Now that I have you alone, I’ve been meaning to ask. Where did you put the sword, Malinfel?”
“It’s safe. It turns out it’s surprisingly easy to hide. I left it in Trigothia.”
“Trigothia? You went all the way to Trigothia?”
“I took the girl, Deylia, to Seabrey and I was going to put her on a ship to cross over to Trigothia, but there were a few complications and she asked me to cross with her, so I did.”
“What complications?”
“Enforcers aboard the ferry. We managed to get across without incident. I taught her a few tricks to evade detection. She should be safe from now on if she follows my advice.”
“Good, she seemed like a nice young lady from what I saw in Brookhaven.”
“Which reminds me, how did you travel so long with a Drasmyd Duil and not detect him?”
“Never mind that right now, put that guard to sleep.” She pointed at a lone guard standing watch at a single gate. “And I will open the gate.”
Gondrial whispered a few words and the guard collapsed onto the ground. Lady Shey motioned with her hand, and the gate silently opened.
“You should teach me that one day,” Gondrial whispered to her as they stealthily passed through the gate.
“Only if you teach me how to cast that sleep spell,” she whispered back.
“It’s a deal,” Gondrial said.
“halt! Who goes there?” a guard shouted as he rounded the eastern corner of the palace.
Gondrial whispered a few words, and the guard collapsed. “There is a downside to not killing them, Shey dear, they will wake up and remember something amiss.”
Lady Shey shrugged her shoulders. “They can’t see us clearly in the dark, and we will be long gone by the time they report the incident. Nothing to worry about, Gondrial.” She opened a side door to the palace and grabbed Gondrial’s arm, pulling him forcibly in. “Now, do try and stay quiet. If the floor plan you found is correct, it should be one room from the main hall to the library.”
Gondrial stumbled behind Lady Shey. “It’s dark in here.”
“Find the door. It should be directly ahead of you,” Lady Shey sa
id as she felt her way carefully in the darkness. “I hate when you do that! You can see perfectly well in the dark; you’re half-elven.”
Gondrial chuckled. “That never gets old.” He went directly to the door, opened it, and stepped inside. He stopped Shey from entering right away. “Uh, don’t make a sound.” He whispered into her ear. “Just follow me straight through.”
Lady Shey slipped into the room behind Gondrial. Inside she did not find a hallway. Instead, it was another room dimly lit by torches at either end. The new room was as wide as the room they were leaving, but it was much longer in length, and at the opposite end was an archway. At first, in the low light, she didn’t know exactly what she was seeing in the room. It appeared to be full of casket-like boxes lined three on top of each other and spanning the entire length of the room. Lady Shey let out a low gasp as she realized where they were.
“Gondrial, is this some sort of barracks? Where did you get these floor plans?”
He pushed her back inside the first room. “I bought them from a corrupt guard in the marketplace. This is going to be tricky so no more talking.” He held his index finger up to his mouth.
“Gondrial, you fool, he sold you a trap. Quickly, let’s get out of here before we wake one of them.”
Gondrial nodded. “All right, we will find another way through.” He took her hand so he could lead her out before realizing there was a looming dark figure barring the opposite door. One of the guards stood directly in the open doorway with his arms crossed, staring intently at them.
Gondrial straightened and cleared his throat. More of the off-duty palace guards rose from their slumber. “Well, this isn’t the way to the royal bath? Damn it, my lady, I think we took a wrong turn,” Gondrial lied.
Shey knew enough of Gondrial’s tricks to realize they were found out. She followed his lead. She also knew they needed to split up and regroup if they wanted to get away from the guards. “Indeed, perhaps if you retrace our steps you will have better luck,” She said, taking a step back toward the open archway. Gondrial nodded. “Understood.”
The guard unfolded his arms and reached for his sword.
“Run, Gondrial!”
The two pushed off of each other and ran in opposite directions as the stunned guards bolted after them. Gondrial managed to trick the guard at the doorway, by sliding under his feet, and escape into the night. Lady Shey made it through the archway and into the palace.
“Summon the hounds!” bellowed a guard.
Gondrial saw a hedge with a terrace reaching up to a second-floor window. Thinking it easier to get inside the palace than to run to the gate, he deftly climbed the terrace, narrowly escaping capture by a searching guard close on his trail.
Lady Shey slipped into a hallway located on the first floor and into a small room. Undiscovered, she waited patiently in the darkness until she could hear no activity outdoors or in the hallway before she slowly began to move about the room, looking for another side door. After a few moments, she held up her hand and let out a puff of breath, which formed into a soft, glowing ball hovering over her palm. Being careful not to let the light of the ball grow too bright, she shaded it in her palm, allowing it to become just bright enough for her to see her surroundings more clearly. She apparently had stumbled into a small, unfurnished anteroom. It was grey, dark, and devoid of anything but dust, a small window, and a side door. Lady Shey tried the side door and found it locked. She whispered a few words, and the lock gave an audible click as it gave way. Slowly Lady Shey moved her head out of the doorway and peered both ways. It was another hallway. Not a soul stirred, so she ventured out of the anteroom. The sconces lining the hallway were mostly unlit, and the rest glowed dimly. The small globe of light she carried gave way, and she dropped her hand to her side. She tried, but she could barely make out the patterns and mosaics on the tapestries lining the walls. At the left end of the same hall was a set of double doors. She tiptoed down the hall. She slowly pushed the two wooden doors open. By dumb luck, she had stumbled upon the very room she was trying to find, the library.
The king of Symboria’s library was a marvel to behold; the shelves of books lined two floors top to bottom with a spiral staircase on either side of the room. The woodwork of the room, crafted by Sylvan elves, was intricate and sleek. In the center of the room, a grand wooden table for the king to sit at and read. Several divans, covered in luxurious, red velvet with silk throw pillows, lined the rows between the bookshelves on both sides of the library. Six sconces lit the room with a soft yellow glow. Lady Shey knew approximately where the book she searched for was located, and she wasted no time making her way across the library to find it. It took only moments for her to discover the silver-bound volume, and she carefully removed it from its resting place on the shelf.
“Thunder!” she cursed to herself. “I forgot to check it for incantations! Careless of me.” She exited back into the hallway and held the book to her chest. As she headed back toward the anteroom, she heard the alarm sound outside in the courtyard. The guards were searching near her location. The situation had become more serious now. Lady Shey had to find a way out undetected. The guards rushed around the interior of the castle, she exited through the anteroom window and slipped out of the unguarded side gate. Now safely in the streets, her thoughts reached out to Gondrial. She hoped he would try to escape and not try to get to the library on his own. She paused behind a shop to find out. She spoke a few words, and soon her mind’s eye raced back to the palace and directly to Gondrial. Lady Shey watched in horror as he kissed the queen deeply on the lips and exited her chamber, putting back on his button-down shirt in the process. The doorway to the king’s room across the hall burst open, and the king himself stepped out just in time to see Gondrial running down the hall. Infuriated, Lady Shey let the incantation die. “Let him get caught, the fool! I hope he does get caught and beheaded!” she huffed. “I was actually worried about him while he was safe and sound in the queen’s chamber. I am a dupe.” Not knowing if she was angry with Gondrial or with herself for caring, Lady Shey ran toward the inn with the book.
DEVYN THOUGHT LADY Shey looked a bit unkempt as they ate breakfast. Her face was puffy and her eyes were red and swollen. Lady Shey, speaking in bursts of anger, would not say why she appeared so ragged. Sylvalora received the brunt of her foul mood by asking her where Gondrial had gone. Sylvalora and Kelle decided to go shopping for dry goods without her.
Devyn and his companions went to the docks to load the ale. Lady Shey returned to her room with Rodraq and his men close behind her.
“I bet that scoundrel Gondrial is behind Lady Shey’s foul mood. I would bet my right eye on it,” Rennon speculated.
“I don’t think so, Rennon. He seemed too drunk to bother with anything but sleeping it off last night. I think she must have had some trouble falling asleep. Perhaps you should give her a sleeping powder tonight,” Devyn said as the two young men climbed up onto the red wagon.
“I will if she needs one,” Rennon replied, “but I still think it’s Gondrial.”
Devyn rolled his eyes. “All right, if you say so.”
Vesperin chided Rennon. “I think Devyn is right. She appeared to me as someone who had stayed up all night.”
Rennon’s face turned red. “All right, if she is unable to sleep at night I will ask her if she wants a sleeping powder.”
The four young men had no trouble finding the dock and loading the shipment of ale. After paying the dock master, they drove the wagonload of ale back to the Dragon’s Eye Inn and waited for Kelle and Sylvalora to return with the dry goods. As midday approached, Kelle and Sylvalora finally returned.
After a quick midday meal, Sylvalora roused Lady Shey from a nap, and the party packed up in preparation for the return trip. Trendan began driving the red merchants wagon with Vesperin at his side. Rennon and Devyn moved to the ale wagon, and Rodraq assumed the scouting duties. Lady Shey’s two guards took their place at the rear of the small caravan, and Lady Shey
sat on the back of the dry goods wagon with Kelle and Sylvalora riding on the top support behind the driver. Devyn’s merchant caravan entered the final gate check in the early afternoon where two gate guards inspected both wagons.
Devyn thought the guards had found something amiss on the dry goods wagon, but, after some talk, they waved both wagons onward, and the caravan moved out of the gate and back onto the main road home.
“I wonder what was so interesting about the dry goods wagon,” Devyn said to Rennon.
“I’m sure I don’t know, but as soon as we get a bit farther out of the city we will stop and check the wagon ourselves,” Rennon replied.
Devyn nodded. “That might be a good idea.”
LADY SHEY CLIMBED DOWN from the back of the dry goods wagon, opened the door, and stepped inside, watching the city of Symbor slowly fade in the distance. She pulled the silver-bound tome from beneath her dress and held it to her bosom as thoughts of Gondrial entered her mind. Suddenly, she regretted leaving him at the castle, and she feared the worst. Her worry shifted to sadness. “Goodbye, Gondrial,” she said aloud. “I hope you made it out of the palace all right.” Then she remembered him kissing the queen and she became angry again.
“Goodbye? But I just got here. Those guards almost found me until I distracted them.” Gondrial pushed a bag of beans off him and moved to sit on a crate next to Lady Shey.
“Gondrial!” Lady Shey said with a start. Setting the book aside, she threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. Then she remembered she was still angry with him, and she pushed him back just before she slapped him squarely in the face.
“What was that for?” Gondrial asked as he rubbed his stinging cheek.
Lady Shey did not reply. Instea, she hugged him warmly, and then followed her hug immediately with another slap in the face.
The Harrowing Path Page 8
