They walked through the corridors of the castle, nodding to some of their acquaintances who were only now emerging from the battle.
“Is everything alright?” a short woman asked nervously.
“Yes, everything is fine,” Aldene said with a beaming smile. “We’re safe from the rogues for now. We just need to speak with Lord Albin for just a moment. We need a favour.”
The woman exhaled. “Very well. He should be in his room, resting. He is still quite weak from the sickness.”
“Thank you,” Aldene said and brushed a hand to the woman’s arm. She continued on with Marcus right next to her. Some of his braids have come undone, but there were still two at the nape of his neck that were still intact. He noticed her looking at him and he gave her a smile.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. Some of your braids are loose.”
“Would you help me tie them back if I help you with yours?”
“Of course,” Aldene said with a grin.
They stood side by side in front of Lord Albin’s room, which was guarded by two women who nodded, having recognised them from their frequent visits to the chambers. The doors opened and they saw that Lord Albin was sitting on a chair next to a window overlooking the courtyard which was now a battle field.
“My lord,” Marcus said with a slight nod. Aldene followed his lead and they waited for Lord Albin to turn to them.
“Marcus. Aldene.” His parch voice was calm and welcoming, as was the smile on his face middle aged face. “It is so good to see the two of you unharmed.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Aldene approached the table in front of Lord Albin and poured him a cup of water. “From the sound of your voice, you need some more fluids in you, Lord Albin.”
“Quite right. I got carried away praying for my fallen men. I hope their ancestors will guide their essence easily to the other realm.”
Aldene nodded her head mutely, agreeing with the lord. It was important to all Enzlans that their essence left their bodies and moved on.
Lord Albin accepted the cup from her and took a large gulp. “Marcus, I believe you will be glad to know that while everyone was busy fighting, the healer you had placed unconscious woke up. Seeing himself in chains and behind bars in the dungeon, he quickly confessed to the crime.”
Aldene shot Marcus a questioning look.
Later, his eyes told her. Aldene raised a brow and poured more water for Lord Albin.
“I’m relieved to hear that. Did he give the name to the one who gave the orders?”
Lord Albin scowled into the water before downing it. “He didn’t know the person, only that the money arrived when they said it would.” He pushed the cup away. “You have refilled my cup a dozen times by now, Aldene. Surely that is enough?”
Aldene hid a smile. “Yes, my lord.”
Lord Albin sighed. “Now, is there anything in particular you came to visit me for?”
“If we are not asking too much, would you permit us to use your magic mirror?” Marcus asked. “We would like to contact home.”
“You have a daughter, I seem to recall,” Lord Albin said. “I understand your worry and love, as I would wish to do the same for my own children.”
Aldene’s heart was in her throat at those words.
“Unfortunately, my mirror was being used to survey the grounds during the battle. The great shock that came with the Ician rogue caused it to fall.”
Marcus’s face became grim as he heard the news. Aldene went back to his side and stood close enough to touch.
“Lord Albin,” Aldene said. “We have been delayed by the battle and we are glad that we were able to help. But we are anxious to go home.”
Lord Albin nodded. “I thank you again for all that you’ve done. Your belongings were being packed before the rogues invaded, so you should be ready to go immediately. I will have your horses prepared for you.”
The two murmured their gratitude and farewells to the lord. When the doors closed, they made their way down a flight of stairs to the wing where the visiting healers had their rooms.
Sure enough, Marcus’ bag was packed and he noted that his bag was also sitting by the bed. He quickly went through both bags and was satisfied with the contents. After changing his shirt for another green one, he slipped the blue bag over his shoulders and turned to see that Aldene was removing her light plate armour.
They dropped off the borrowed armour at the armoury, said their goodbyes, and saddled their horses with fingers that long since memorised the movements, as did the rest of their body when they mounted up and started to ride toward the gate.
The snow had started to fall, giving the landscape a soft and cold blanket that covered all the imperfections in the world. Sounds were muted by the snow as they set their horses on a steady pace.
“What was that you were talking about with Lord Albin?” Aldene asked after a few miles.
“One of the healers was poisoning Lord Albin even as we tried to find the cure to his illness,” Marcus replied. “Whenever we came close to a cure, the symptoms always changed.”
Aldene nodded. “It was as though the illness started afresh after every time we created a cure.”
“It was Konnoly, the healer from the Southern Islands. He was bought by someone with a large sum of money to poison Lord Albin.”
“How did you find out it was him?”
Marcus ducked under a tree branch. “I was in the infirmary treating the soldiers coming in with wounds. I had run out of supplies and was getting more when I accidentally knocked down a few books from Konnoly’s worktable. Some papers fell out, and I saw that they were lists of ways to counter our cures to make sure that they didn’t work.”
“That bastard!”
“After I hit him with a scale—”
“A what? A scale?”
“He pushed me into a stack of them,” Marcus said defensively. “Stop laughing!”
“S-Sorry!” Aldene leaned into her mare’s mane and tried to control her giggles. “But—scales—oh, Marcus!”
“The weights that were on the same shelf fell, too,” Marcus said with a light glower but he couldn’t stop his own lips from twitching upward.
“I’m sorry, carry on,” Aldene said, pressing two fingers to her lips to keep them from becoming an uncontrollable smile.
“I brought him to Lord Albin, who had Konnoly tossed into the dungeons until we had time to deal with him.”
“At least he’s caught now,” Aldene said. They passed on in silence for only another heartbeat before Aldene burst out laughing.
“What?” Marcus demanded.
“You could have easily stopped him with your magic but you hit him with a scale!”
“It’s not as funny as you make it sound.”
“I’m definitely telling Gerald and Maya about this.”
“Don’t you dare!”
Aldene stuck her tongue out and increased her mount’s speed. Marcus shook his head and patted his own mare. “Come on, girl. we can’t let them beat us.” His mare tossed her head and raced after Aldene, whose laugh pierced through the quiet, peaceful world.
They passed the village entirely, opting to continue on to reach the town. Their horses, bred for speed and stamina, would make it there just fine. Besides, with the snow falling throughout the night, it would be harder to start their journey in the morning.
Aldene slowed her horse to a walk as they approached the gates, which were closed shut. The torches lining the wall made shadows dance on the snow a few metres away from the wall. They stepped into the light and she shouted, “Hello!”
A figure peered down at them. “Who goes?”
“A Healer and a scout!”
“What happened to the Ician rogues?”
“Captured or killed at Lord Albin’s castle,” Marcus said.
There was a short cheer from the other soldiers manning the gate. There was a shout and one of the large gates opened enough for a horse to slip through one at a time.
“The rogues didn’t even try to get through our gates,” the soldier on the ground said. “Just charged right past us and to the castle. We didn’t even have time to warn my lord.”
“They didn’t try to hide their attack from us,” Marcus said. “We saw them coming hours away and were able to prepare.”
“Really?” the soldier scratched his chin. “That’s damn odd of them. What were they thinking? That is suicide.”
“Apparently, someone told them we would be weak and few in numbers,” Aldene said coldly.
“Do you have a hot meal and a bed for us?” Marcus asked, wanting to drop the subject in case there were eavesdroppers.
“Of course, just go straight down that road and you’ll see the Pumpkin Inn.”
Many houses along the road had their windows and doors covered until only a sliver of candlelight peered through. Not a single house was asleep. Not on this night, so close to the end of the battle. News wouldn’t have reached them so soon about the outcome but they’d know soon enough. Marcus planned to be out of the town by dawn, knowing that they would want to know everything that happened up in the castle.
“It certainly looks like a pumpkin,” Aldene remarked. Marcus looked up and chuckled. The inn they were to stay at was build with light coloured wood that, in the torchlight, looked slightly orange. The walls to the inn was also rounded, most likely helped to be that way by magic.
“Do you think they have pumpkin soup?” Marcus wondered.
“Let’s find out.”731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvrgznpWDb
