by Jacey Sturch
There is one more person in the room that I don’t recognize. There is a woman standing by Cort and Jena. When we enter, everyone turns and looks at us. The people from town all smile at us. The woman whom I don’t recognize walks over to introduce herself, “Hello. My name is Raina Morley. I am from the resistance headquarters in the capital, Embergrove. I will be accompanying you to the capital to make sure you arrive safely.”
I look at the woman I now know is called Raina. She is tall with a muscular build. She has green eyes and long black hair that is braided away from her face, so it isn’t in her way. She is wearing traditional plate armor and has a battle axe strapped to her back. I step towards her and shake her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Leora. Glad to have someone going with me.” Raina appears very stoic, but a small grin shows on her face, before she becomes serious again.
Raina approaches the table in the room, which has a map of Asinia rolled out. “If you will come over here, we can go over the planned route to get to Embergrove.” We all gather around the table to look at the path that Raina is pointing out. “We can follow near the main roads. They are mainly surrounded by forests all the way to the city. So long as we stay in the trees, it should be safe. There is rarely anyone on these roads as it is, and people who are on the road, don’t venture into the trees. It will take us about a day to get there. We already have supplies gathered and packed. If you are ready Leora, we can leave at dusk.” The plan sounds good. It should be easy to get to Embergrove if we stay near the roads, and being in the forest should keep us hidden.
I look up from the map to face Raina, “I agree with this plan. It seems like a good idea. I also have my pack with me, I am ready to leave at dusk.” Raina nods her head, “Then it is decided. If we are leaving at dusk, that gives us about ten minutes to gather everything and for you to say your goodbyes. I’ll be waiting in the corridor outside.” Raina then stands, gathers her pack of supplies and walks out the door to wait for me.
I quickly exchange goodbyes with the other townsfolk before turning to my parents. “Mother, Father, I will mis both of you dearly. I hope the next time we see each other will be after the queen’s defeat. When we are all truly safe.” Mother rushes up to me and envelopes me in her embrace. I feel her trembling slightly as she holds me, as though afraid she will never see me again. “My sweet little light, I will mis you too. And I know you will succeed. You are brave, kind, determined, and the cleverest girl I have ever met.”
Father steps forward, placing a hand on mother’s shoulder, “Iris, honey, you need to let the poor girl breathe.” Mother does let go, albeit reluctantly. “I know Baldric, but she is my baby. I won’t see her for a long time. I had to hold her before she left.” Father looks at me, “Leora, you know I am not one for long goodbyes. So, I will just say, good luck and remember, no matter how bad things get, never panic. If you panic, you have already lost. I know you can do this. We both love you very much.” I start to tear up, but hold it back, “I love you both too. I will see you when this is over.”
We hug one last time as a family, then I gather my pack and walk out the door to meet Raina. She stands just below the stairs, waiting with her pack. She stands up straighter when she sees me enter the corridor. “You ready to leave Leora? Said goodbye to everyone?” I walk closer to her, “Yes, let’s get moving. Cover more ground before it gets too dark.” Raina nods and walks up to the cellar door.
Stepping back into the sunlight, Raina and I quickly enter the forest and begin the journey to Embergrove. We walk until it becomes too dark to see and then set up camp. Raina builds a small fire to help keep warm. I don’t know much about Raina; I might as well use this time to get to know her. “So, Raina how did you end up with the resistance?”
Raina looks down to the fire and a look of sorrow flashes across her face. “Obviously, no one likes the queen. But not everyone joins the resistance. I joined after the death of my brother, Zayne. He was taken to work in the castle during one of her acquisitions. Four months later, his body was sent back to us. According to the guards who brought him, he had been working in the kitchen. One day he messed up the queen’s food and she ordered him to be killed because of it. My parents never recovered from the grief and loss. They died shortly after Zayne’s death.”
I shouldn’t be shocked. Everyone has heard of the cruelty that takes place in the castle. “Raina, I don’t even know what to say.” Raina looks up with a sad smile, “You don’t have to say anything. I mis them every single day, with all of my heart. But I promised my parents that I would avenge Zayne’s death, and I intend to see that promise through. Even if it is that last thing I do in this life.” We sit in silence for several minutes. I am not sure what to say, anything that I can think of just sounds like an empty platitude.
But Raina breaks the silence for me. “If you don’t mind, I am going to head to bed. We need to get an early start in the morning if we want to make it to Embergrove tomorrow. Make sure to put out the fire before you go to sleep”
Raina leaves the fire and goes to bed. I sit by the fire for a while longer, just staring into the flames. I can’t understand how the queen can be so cruel. How can she do all of these horrible things? I eventually get up and go to my bedroll after putting out the fire.
It feels like I am only asleep for a few minutes before I am awoken by Raina as the sun is rising. We quickly pack up our supplies and continue our journey to the capital. Raina tries to act normally, but the strained lines on her face tell me that she is still upset from the conversation last night. I will get justice for her. And not just Raina, but justice for everyone the queen has hurt.
Chapter 3
The sun, painting the sky a myriad of colors, was beginning to set when we arrived at the capital. As Raina and I came to the top of a hill, I was able to see Embergrove for the first time.
The city had a large wall surrounding it, to protect it from any enemies. From the hill we were on, I was able to see over the wall and into the city itself. It appeared to be divided into three sections, each section being at a higher elevation than the last.
The first section, just past the walls, appears to be residential with several houses crammed together. All of the houses are very close to each other, with little space for anything else. Ivy vines grew on the sides of the houses, the only apparent source of green near the houses.
Further into the city is an area that appears to be for merchants and businesses. Cobblestones line the streets and pennants hang from strings, to try and make the area look inviting. Stalls are set up along the sides of the streets, near the bigger buildings in the area. There is even a small park in the center of the marketplace.
Finally, at the highest level of the city, stands the castle. The castle is incredible. The tallest towers seem to rise almost to the clouds. It is made of beautiful white stone. The roof is made of brilliantly blue tiles that rival the ocean itself.
Rising from the courtyard behind the castle building is The First Tree, the tree that signaled my birth with the golden light, all those years ago. The tree is even taller than the castle, and the top of the tree disappears into the clouds. It is breathtaking.
Embergrove is more amazing than I had imagined. Raina and I continue closer to the city walls, but as we get closer, Raina turns and walks along the wall instead of going through the gate. She calls over her shoulder, “We won’t go through the front gate, might draw unwanted attention. There is a secret way into the city that leads directly to the resistance headquarters. We built it as a way to get in and out of the city undetected.”
We walk a bit further along the wall, when Raina stops. The part of the wall in front of us looks newer than the rest of the wall. Raina pushes on the stones, and the wall swings open to reveal a tunnel dug out of the earth that goes farther into the city.
The tunnel is lit by torches, casting an orange glow on the walls. Raina beckons me into the tunnel first and then closes the hidden door behind her. She then takes the
lead again, leading me through the tunnel. We walk in silence, the only sounds are our footsteps, echoing off the tunnel walls.
It doesn’t take long before we arrive at another door, similar to the one at the resistance base back home. This door, however, is made of metal and appears much sturdier. Raina knocks on the door, and the slot in the door opens. Through the slot, I can hear the sounds of people milling around the room and talking quietly among themselves. Once the person on the other side recognizes Raina, they quickly open the door and let us in.
This place is much bigger than the base back in Glimrest. The main room is much larger and is illuminated by candle light. There are several doors that lead to other rooms. Two of these doors are open, revealing the rooms on the other side. One door leads to a storage room, where I can see crates of food being stored. The other leads to an armory, complete with a make shift blacksmith shop for weapon repair.
In the main room are about thirty people and they are quietly talking in groups. Some stand over tables looking at maps, and others seem to be doing inventory of the supplies. Raina passes all of these people and leads me to one of the closed doors.
She opens the door to reveal what looks like a war room. This room is darker than the main room, with only a few torches lining the rough stone walls. There is a large table in the center of the room, with several chairs surrounding it. On the table is a map that shows not just our kingdom, but also the neighboring kingdoms and the Aral ocean to the east. There are also stacks of books and papers laid on top of the map.
Surrounding the table are five people, who are engrossed in their conversation while pointing at locations on the map. When Raina closes the door behind us, all five people look up. Among these five people are three men and two women.
The first man has long black hair, tied in a low ponytail. He has a tan complexion and a lean build. Then, the next man has much shorter brown hair and looks older than everyone else in the room. He is paler and has a stockier build, a long sword is strapped to his back. Next to him is a woman with long, free flowing, blonde hair. She is also pale, and very petite. Across from her is the last man in the room. Bald. with an athletic build. He looks to be middle aged. Finally, next to him is the other woman. She has long, fiery red hair, pulled into a ponytail, and her build is lean, much like the first man.
Raina introduces me to the small group, “Everyone, this is Leora of Glimrest. Leora, these are the other leaders of the resistance movement here in the capital. The man with the black hair is Xavier Garrick. He leads the raids against the queen’s supply caravans. That man there, with the brown hair, is Willem Notley; he is in charge of our weapons and runs our little blacksmith shop down here. Next to him, the woman with the blonde hair is Isabelle Clive. Sometimes we have to use disguises, and she is our resident seamstress. The bald man across from her is Geron Reed. He helps train our people to use the weapons we collect. Finally, the woman with the red hair is Clarina Allerton. She handles our food supplies and helps make the meals for everyone.”
As Raina introduces everyone, each person nods or waves when she says their names. Xavier steps forward, “I am glad you both made it here safely. Right now, we are going over the details for our next raid. We are about to leave to intercept the caravan.” He pauses for a moment, as though debating if he should continue.
He seems to come to a decision and asks, “Would you like to come with us, your highness? Help us with this raid? It should be very simple, and it shouldn’t be too dangerous.” I smile at him and respond quickly, very excited by the opportunity to help, “Of course! I would be honored to help. And please, call me Leora. I am nobody’s highness yet after all.”
He grins hearing this, “Well then, Leora, be prepared to leave in five minutes. Meet me at the door to the tunnel. Everyone else will have already gathered at the end of the tunnel.” I nod my head and turn to leave. Raina follows me out and shows me where I can store my pack for now.
Once my pack is safely stored away, I go to the tunnel door and see Xavier already waiting there. Upon my approach, he grins and opens the door to the tunnel. As we walk through the tunnel, Xavier tells me the plan. “This should be pretty simple. A supply caravan is coming into the capital today. One of our men in another village already sabotaged the carts the caravan is using. The wheels are going to break on a few of the carts, which will make them have to stop. By the time we arrive, they should already be stopped and be making repairs. From there we just knock the guards out and use the newly repaired carts to bring the supplies back here.”
By now we had reached the end of the tunnel, where the rest of this small raiding party is waiting. Including Xavier and me, there are five people here. The three others stare at me for a moment, but then quickly refocus on the mission.
The door out of the tunnel scrapes open and the bright sunlight floods our vision. We exit the tunnel, stepping out into the cold air. Our small group quickly makes its way into the forest, to keep from being spotted.
We don’t have to walk far before we stumble on the caravan. The guards are almost finished with the repairs, with the new wheels now being attached to the carts. Xavier gives a sign to our group, and we leap from the tree line.
The guards hardly have time to react. I dispatch the guard closest to me by hitting him in the head with the hilt of my sword. He immediately crumbles to the ground, unconscious. I look around and see that the rest of the guards are in similar condition, the raiding party having worked quickly.
Once the guards have been tied up, Xavier and I go over the contents of the carts. After Xavier has finished taking inventory of the supplies, he comes to speak with me. “All together, there aren’t many weapons. But all of this food could keep us well fed for months. And there are enough raw materials here that Willem will be able to repair most of the broken weapons and armor.”
Xavier goes to assign each of the members of our group to a cart. When he comes back, I join him on the cart he is driving and we leave to go back to the headquarters.
The road back is rough and bumpy, jostling us every few minutes. After riding in silence for several minutes, I ask, “So, Xavier when we get back, what do we do next?” He turns to face me while keeping the cart straight, “First we will unload the supplies. Then these carts will be taken somewhere and left where the guards will find them. Some of the food will be given to those who need it and are not part of the resistance. If you want, you can join me for that job as well.” I smile at him, replying eagerly, “I would love to help give the food out.”
After that, the conversation continues on to more mundane subjects and getting to know one another, until we arrive back at the tunnel entrance.
The group makes quick work of unloading all of the supplies. Soon, the other three members of the raiding party leave to abandon the carts somewhere. Xavier and I head back into the main room of headquarters, where Clarina is hard at work, dividing the food so some of it can be given to those in need.
She finishes quickly, placing the food in small sacks that will be given away. She hands a sack to us and tells us about where the sack needs to go. “This time the Stansfield family has agreed to help. They said they will pass the food to those in need as discreetly as they can. I also put some food in there for their new baby. Remember, just knock and leave the sack at the door. It is better that they don’t see either of your faces. And try not to be seen by a guard. Violating the queen’s curfew could get you in major trouble. Be careful and see you two when you get back.”
Xavier nods at her and leads me to one of the other doors in the room. When he opens it, a small dark hallway is revealed. At the end of the hallway is a set of stairs. When we get to the top of the stairs, we come out of a set of cellar doors; just like the base back home.
I look around and it seems that we are at the lowest level of the city, surrounded by dilapidated houses. We stick to the shadows to avoid attention and hurry to the Stansfield home.
After passing rows of houses, Xavi
er stops at a house near the edge of the residential section of the city. All of the windows are dark and the house is still. Xavier drops the sack on the doorstep and knocks on the door. We slip away, further into the inky darkness. We wait for a moment and see the door open. A man comes out of the house and picks up the sack of food, before heading back inside.
Once he sees that the sack has been taken inside, Xavier starts to head back the way we came. “Now that he has the food, he will deliver it to the families that need it in the morning. And with that, our job is done.” I wish this had taken longer so I could have seen more of Embergrove. I look around wistfully, wanting to see more of this city.
Xavier must have seen me, because he says, “We don’t have to go back right away. I could show you some of the marketplace if you’re curious. So long as we stay hidden, it should be fine. The guards can’t arrest us for violating curfew if they never see us.” I hesitate, not wanting to get him in trouble, but before I can do the responsible thing and reject the idea, he has grabbed my hand and begins leading me up the stairs and into the marketplace.
At the top of the stairs, the street opens up into a massive plaza. The sides of the plaza are lined with storefronts. In the middle of the plaza is a large fountain, the sound of it quietly bubbling filling the quiet square. Small stalls are scattered along the edge of the square, tattered and dulled cloth hung over them for a covering. Tattered pennants hang from strings, as though from a celebration a long time ago. This place feels like a ghost town, like no one has been here in a long time.
Xavier, as though reading my mind, comments, “This area of town is pretty empty now. Most people don’t have the money to shop, and even if they did, most of the stores have been shut down. Either the queen’s taxes took everything from them, or the owners were taken to work in the castle. Not even the royal guards come here very often. Though, there is one place nearby that I still like to visit as often as I can. Follow me.”
