A twirl of her hands, and a portal opened up before them. Aurelia stepped inside, a strange hardness overtaking her features. Before Harruq could step in to follow, Haern grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
“Stop defending your brother,” Haern told him.
“But he’s not…”
“No,” Haern insisted. “Look at me and listen. Aullienna was her child, perhaps the only child she’ll ever have in this brutal life we have left. No matter the reasons, no matter who else might share the blame, Qurrah still took Aullienna away from us. Let Aurelia hate him. Don’t try to deny her that.”
Harruq pulled his shoulder free.
“Hatred is not for her,” he said. “And you’re a fool if you think that’s what she needs.”
He stepped through the portal, almost hoping Haern didn’t follow after.
Just as Aurelia said, they exited outside the Green Castle’s walls. Seleven waited there, pawing the ground nervously. Aurelia called him over and stroked his neck.
“Let’s go,” she said, mounting the winged horse. Harruq and Haern shared a glance, but neither said a word to one another. They climbed atop Seleven’s back, and in a great gust of air, soared into the sky amid surprised cries from the nearby guards atop the wall.
“I assume we’re going toward that knight?” Harruq asked, needing to shout to be heard.
“That’s right,” Aurelia shouted back.
They flew southwest, the land a lifeless image below them. They said little to one another as the hour passed. The hills smoothed out, spreading wider. Several patches were so thick, and the grass so thin, that they seemed brown scars atop the landscape. Lines of smoke bloomed in the distance as Sir Kull’s camp neared. A few commands from Aurelia and they banked low, landing at the camp’s outskirts.
“Don’t expect too warm a welcome,” Haern said as they dismounted.
Armed men rushed toward them, their swords drawn and their battered shields at ready. Harruq and Haern kept their hands at their sides, while Aurelia approached with her palms upward in a gesture of peace.
“Halt!” said the first soldier to arrive.
“We’re here to talk with Sir Harford Kull,” Aurelia said. “The matter is urgent, and I demand an audience.”
The soldiers glanced at one another, some fearful, some suspecting a trap. The sight of an elf on a winged- horse was strange enough. A cloaked assassin and a burly half-orc only tripled the confusion.
“Wait here, and keep your blades sheathed,” one of them finally said. “I’ll see if Harford will come.”
“Be nice to arrive somewhere without having people ready to kill me,” Harruq said as they waited.
More soldiers swarmed about them, maintaining a safe distance between the three. From deep in the camp came a group of eight, with the front two carrying banners of a red bear. Harruq fidgeted nervously as they waited for them to arrive. First King Antonil, now Neyvar Ceredon, Lord Sully, and this Sir Kull person. He was so tired of meeting people with potential power to have him killed. He longed for the simple nights of skulking about Veldaren in search of a troublesome thief or murderer.
“Presenting the Lord of the Southlock, Sir Kull!” shouted the banner carriers in unison. Sir Kull stepped forward. He was a tall man, his skin dark and his hair darker. His beard hung all the way to his belt, twisted in loops and braids. The knight smiled, but the joy never reached his eyes.
“A pleasure to meet such an odd group of guests,” he said after a quick bow. “Might I know whom I have the privilege of welcoming?”
“My name is Aurelia Thyne of Nellassar,” Aurelia said with a curtsey. “This is my husband, Harruq. Beside him is Haern, the King’s Watcher of Veldaren.”
Sir Kull seemed a bit surprised by the last part.
“The Watcher?” he asked. “I had heard rumors, but he was supposed to be a ghost made of cinders and coal. Yet I see just a man.”
Haern chuckled.
“If pressed, I’ll give you a demonstration, good Sir. You may not enjoy it.”
Aurelia glared, but Sir Kull only laughed.
“Indeed, indeed, how foolish of me to make light of such claims. Please, tell me, why have you come to my camp?”
“Lord Sully has already prepared his army,” Aurelia said, making sure she projected her voice far and wide so the rest of the camp heard. “He marches this morning, and his aim is clear. All your men will be killed.”
A wave of nervous chatter rolled through the ranks.
“We expected such a response,” Sir Kull said. “Though perhaps not so soon. Why does this matter concern you?”
“That is irrelevant,” Haern interrupted. “Lord Sully has two-hundred mounted warriors to fight at his side. I see no stables, no horses within your camp. You are what, three hundred men? You will be trampled underneath their hooves.”
Sir Kull’s smile faded into his beard.
“Why have you come?” he asked again, his voice low.
“To warn you,” Aurelia said. “And to present you with hope. To the northwest are the many hills beside Sully Lake. The rocks and steep slopes will render their horses annoyances, and nothing more.”
The knight crossed his arms and looked to his trusted retainers at his side.
“If they have that many men on horses, the chipped hills will be our doom,” one said. “Perhaps we can move northwest while we scout out their strength.”
“You must hurry,” Aurelia said. “The Green Castle is not far. Time is not your friend.”
Sir Kull drew his sword and saluted them.
“I don’t know your reasons, nor if you speak truth. If you do, I owe you greatly. If not…we will meet again.”
He turned and left, the soldiers returning with him. The three Eschaton remained alone on the outskirts of the camp, watched from afar by a ring of soldiers obviously there to keep an eye on them.
“So what did we just accomplish?” Harruq asked.
“The further northwest they move, the closer to the orcs and the Bone Ditch they’ll be,” Aurelia said. “Lord Sully will have to give chase. If we can get them to see the destruction the orcs have spread, perhaps our words will turn from rumors to truth.”
After giving Seleven a few more minutes to rest and drink from a nearby stream, the three mounted and soared into the air.
“Where to now?” Harruq asked.
“We’ll need to slow Lord Sully down to give them time,” Aurelia explained.
“Awesome,” Harruq said. “Do I finally get to hit something with my swords?”
“No,” Aurelia shouted.
Harruq sighed.
L ord Sully’s knights rode ahead of the main army but not far. The Eschaton watched the process from atop a nearby hill, Aurelia’s keen eyes seeing more than the rest.
“He’s too cautious,” Haern said. “If he’d abandoned the footmen and rode straight for Kull's camp, they’d overrun them with hardly a sweat. Instead they wait for the slower group of soldiers and lose much of their advantage.”
“Richard thinks Sir Kull is coming toward him, not away,” Aurelia said. “Now to make sure their travel is far from pleasant.”
Aurelia closed her eyes and lifted her hands to the heavens.
“Don’t disturb me,” she said. “And stay back. There might be a bit more lightning than I expect.”
Harruq and Haern shared a look and retreated to the bottom of the hill. High above Aurelia, the dim gray coiling of clouds slowly turned. A great wind howled from the east, bursting with sudden life. White light shone from Aurelia’s fingertips, then spread to her palms. The wind swirled around her, teasing her dress and lifting her hair. The clouds grumbled angrily, deepening to an ugly black.
Thunder roared. In the deep cold, the sound was ominous and unwelcome. The minutes passed, the wind quickened, and soon the sky was a dark curtain. With slow, careful motions, Aurelia pointed her fingers west. Magic
