'True enough,' Ashaniel said gravely, inclining her head and regarding Kellen for a moment. She glanced around the table at the other counselors, seeming to reach some sort of silent consensus.
'You cannot mean to send him off alone,' Tyendimarquen said in disbelieving tones. 'One blow from an Endarkened claw, and our hopes would lie in ruin.'
'It is in my mind that perhaps we would be overhasty in sending Kellen off into the mountains entirely alone,' Morusil said slowly, speaking for the first time. 'But a large escort would only draw the same attention that—as you rightly point out, Tyendimarquen, my esteemed friend and colleague—we very much wish to avoid. So perhaps the escort of a single Elven Knight would be the best compromise between recklessness and caution.'
'A foolish compromise, if the barrier itself is guarded by Endarkened warriors,' another counselor said.
'I do not believe it is so guarded,' Idalia said thoughtfully. 'The Endarkened have counted perhaps too much on the fact that you would not discover the source of your trouble. Why waste their resources guarding something they think is perfectly safe? What is more, the Endarkened, for all their evil, are not stupid. I believe they would know better than to draw attention to the source-point of their barrier by heavily guarding it. The faster we—and Kellen—can move against them, the less likely it is that they will figure things out in time to mount such a defense as you fear, Ainalundore.'
'Very well,' the King said, reaching a decision. 'Kellen will go, with a single Knight to accompany him. Tomorrow he rides, and now, let every hand be turned to help him on his journey. It is decided.'
The King rose to his feet, and sketched the same symbol in the air as before. There was a change in the air of the room, as though they'd all been in a sealed jar, and somebody had just opened it. One of the Elves— Kellen realized he never had found out all their names—went to unbolt the door again.
It was all over so fast. I a thought they'd be talking for hours…
Evidently Elves could decide things quickly, when a fast decision was what was needed.
It seemed as if he'd barely sat down, and now, suddenly, he was being sent off alone, the deliverance of Sentarshadeen in his keeping. He was going to rescue the Elves by magic—him, Kellen Tavadon.
Unbelievable.
'Come on, Kellen, on your feet. We've got to get you to the armory,' Idalia said, pulling him out of his chair.
'Huh?' Kellen said inelegantly, roused from his reverie.
'Armory? Where they fit you with armor? You're going up against Shadow Mountain; you can't do it in a silk tunic, you know. You've got a lot to do before tomorrow morning, and so do I,' Idalia said.
'Tomorrow? He didn't really mean that,' Kellen said, dropping his voice to a whisper, as the King and Queen were still on the other side of the room, giving orders to their counselors.
'He did. You'll see. The Elves can do things in a hurry when they want to. Come on,' Idalia said.
Morusil was moving away from the knot of Elves around the King and Queen. He stopped in front of Kellen as the three of them reached the doorway.
'It grieves me to know I will not have the opportunity to tell you more of my stories, young Wildmage. But perhaps upon your return we will all have more leisure,' Morusil said, and laid a hand on Kellen's arm in a gesture that was at once protective and fatherly, and the comradely reassurance between equals. 'I think, perhaps, there is a great deal you should know, in the fullness of time.'
'I'd like that very much,' Kellen answered.
Idalia stared after Morusil as he left, then back at Kellen.
'I didn't know you knew him,' she said curiously.
'I met him while I was out walking around the city. He was out watering his garden. I didn't know he was one of the royal counselors.'
'He ought to be. He's the Queen's uncle. Now come on.'
IDALIA was right about Elves being able to do things in a hurry when they wanted. Less than an hour later Kellen was standing in the armory, having his first-ever suit of armor fitted to his body.
The process was a lot more complicated than the morning he'd spent at Tengitir's getting new clothes.
