Broin took a deep breath and sighed. "Be straightforward with me," he said. Lee could hear the desperation in his voice. "Is there a way to fight him?"
"Yes," Lee answered with conviction. "He is not all powerful-at least, not yet. Keep doing what you"re already doing for now. Before it"s over, we will need allies anywhere we can find them. It may not come to all out war, but if it does, we"ll need to be united and ready. My friends and I are journeying to a place that may reveal a way to end this without bloodshed, but there is no guarantee of success."
"Then we will aid you in any way you wish," Broin said with resolve. "Simply tell me what it is you need."
"There is only one thing I would ask," Lee replied. "It is a personal request, but one of great importance to me."
"Ask," Broin invited. "I will help if I can."
"There are people dear to me in Hazrah," he said. "I cannot abandon the things I must do, so I will send my friend and companion in my stead."
Millet"s eyes went wide. "You don"t mean to send me away!" he cried.
"Please," Lee begged. "You must see my wife and child safely away from Hazrah. I can trust no one else, and they will believe you when they see you."
Millet nodded his head and put his hand on Lee"s shoulder. "I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to them."
Lee turned to Broin. "I would not have him go alone, so I ask that you send someone to help him as he needs. I can pay all of the expenses, and whoever goes will be well rewarded."
"I will go," Malstisos volunteered. "But do not insult me with promise of reward. You are a friend to my kin, and that is enough." He smiled at Millet. "We leave when you are ready."
"Thank you," said Lee. "I hope one day to return the favor. Now, if you all don"t mind, we"ve had a long journey, and I"m sure my companions are longing to spend some time in a warm bed."
"I agree," said Broin. "We can talk more tomorrow."
They all stood up from their chairs and bid one another goodnight.
Gewey went straight to bed, while Millet and Lee discussed the rescue of Lee"s family. Kaylia stopped in to give Gewey his nightly dose of jawas tea, a routine he had come to look forward to.
"She certainly does take good care of you," Millet observed. "A thing not to be taken for granted."
Normally such teasing would have embarra.s.sed Gewey, but tonight he just smiled and let the jawas take him away.
Chapter 22.
Gewey was the first to rise the next day. He got dressed and wandered downstairs, following the smell of sausage. Angus was setting up the table when he spotted him at the door.
"Please sit," Angus urged him, pulling out a chair. "It"s good to see an early riser around here."
Gewey thought about waiting for the others, but dismissed the thought when Angus placed a plate filled with sausage, eggs and fresh biscuits in front of him. To top it off, there was even fresh orange juice. In Sharpstone, orange juice was rare; the only times he"d had it before were when his father had taken him to visit Lee as a child.
The sun was shining through the windows and Gewey could hear the bustle of a new day beginning outside.
"It"s been some time since the sun has broken through," Angus observed, pleased.
"Let"s take it for a good omen," Broin said as he strode into the room.
Gewey felt embarra.s.sed for not waiting to eat, but Broin didn"t seem to mind. In fact, Angus brought him a plate and some juice and he immediately started in himself.
"You said very little last night, my young friend," Broin noted. "What are your thoughts on what goes on in the world?"
Gewey had to wash down a mouthful of sausage before answering. "Honestly, it"s hard to make heads or tails of it. Compared to what I"m used to, things have been moving very fast."
Lord Broin nodded with understanding. "Yes, indeed. Things feel out of control, even for those of us who are more accustomed to dealing with the fast pace of the world. But I"m curious, how did you end up involved in all this to begin with?"
Gewey was unsure how to answer. Broin could see his unease and waved his hand.
"Forget I asked," he said. "Let"s talk about your companions instead. I"ve noticed you seem quite comfortable traveling with elves. Have you always been so accepting?"
"I think the elves are a wonderful people," Gewey replied earnestly. "After being around them, it"s hard to imagine why they aren"t welcome among us. They may be terrible and dangerous when they want to be, but they are also wise and full of joy. I"ve never seen anyone who loves his brother so selflessly, or defends his honor so pa.s.sionately. Of course, my experience is limited to the few I"ve met."
"You are wise beyond your years," Broin told him. "Now if you would allow me, I would give you something."
"Please," Gewey protested. "Your hospitality is more than enough."
"But I insist," he said, leaving the table. A few minutes later, he returned carrying a long sword sheathed in a black leather scabbard. There were symbols running down the length of the scabbard in silver inlay, and to Gewey"s eye, it appeared to be the same type of ancient writing that decorated Lee"s box. Broin attached the scabbard to a studded leather belt, and then handed it to Gewey. "This sword was given to me by the King of Gol"Giatha, for saving the life of his son when I was a young man. I want you to have it."
Gewey stared at the weapon, stunned. "This is too much. I can"t possibly accept this."
"You can, and you will," Broin said sternly. "Whatever quest your friends are on, I would have to be a blind fool not to realize you are a big part of it. If I wanted to guess, I would say you"re probably the most important part."
"Why would you say that?" Gewey asked nervously.
"You"re not a servant," he replied. "You"re not a warrior. And your friends take special care when anything to do with you comes up." He leaned back in his chair, evaluating Gewey. "You"re young-too young to be on such a dangerous journey by all accounts, and yet you carry yourself as a man ten years your senior. Whatever your reason for being here, I would have you as well protected as I can make you. That sword will never break nor dull, and it has never been drawn from its scabbard; once drawn, only the person who drew it will be able to wield it, and no other. More than that, I do not know, but it is certainly a special weapon. Besides, I"ve always used the sword pa.s.sed down to me by my father; I have no use for another."
"I can"t thank you enough," said Gewey, looking the sword up and down.
"Now that"s a kingly gift," Lee remarked as he and the others walked in. "May I see it?"
"Please do not unsheathe it," Broin requested. "As I told your young friend, once drawn, it will only serve one master-or so I was told."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Then by all means, Gewey, draw your sword."
Gewey hesitated for a moment, and then drew the sword. It slid easily from the scabbard, as if it had just been oiled. The blade glimmered brightly, touched by the light through the windows. Suddenly he felt his hand grow warm, and the hilt began to throb. He wanted to throw the sword down, but he found himself unable to let it go. He gasped in shock, nearly knocking over the chair beside him. Then, as quickly as the sensation began, it was gone.
"What happened?" Gewey exclaimed. "Why did it do that?"
"Do what?" Lee asked, concerned. "What did you feel?" Gewey described what happened.
"I know what you experienced," Dina announced, stepping forward. "Hand Lee the sword, but be careful not to lose your own grip on it."
Gewey held out the sword, holding the tip of the hilt in one hand and cradling the blade in the other. Lee touched the flat side of the blade and instantly drew back, wincing in pain.
"You"ve seen such a thing before," she said, referring to her medallion. "But I"ve never heard of a sword being forged like this."
"So what the King told me was true," Broin said, satisfied. "The Order of Amon Dahl would love to see this." Dina froze and stared at him.
"My dear," he chuckled. "I suspected at least one of you must be of the Order the moment I heard Lee"s story last night. I guess now I know which one."
"Does anyone else suspect?" she whispered.
"Not likely," he replied. "Your lot is pretty secretive, and not too many people read as much as I do-no one I can think of, in fact. But every time I"ve ever run across stories about the Sword of Truth, the name Amon Dahl follows right behind. To tell you the truth, I wasn"t certain until just now. Only someone of that order, or maybe an elf, would have seen a material like this being used. But don"t fret; it"s just another in a long line of secrets that will keep me company when I die." He smiled pleasantly at Dina.
"But enough chit-chat." He turned to Maybell. "Angus will take you to the Temple District whenever you"re ready, Sister."
"Thank you," she said, sitting down to eat.
"I"ll be accompanying her as well," Lee added.
"Of course," he replied. "As for the rest of you, I a.s.sume you don"t want to be spotted by unfriendly eyes, so please tell me if there is anything you need and I will see that you have it."
"A lifetime supply of orange juice," Gewey blurted, before he could stop himself.
Broin chuckled loudly, nearly doubling over with his laughter. "A lifetime supply might be more than I can provide, but you will not want for it while you"re here. It"s a favorite of mine too, so I keep plenty."
Gewey turned red and thanked him.
Once everyone had finished breakfast, Angus showed Maybell and Lee to a waiting carriage and climbed up with the driver. Gewey and Kaylia sat in the parlor with Lord Ganflin as he showed them a popular card game from Althetas. An entire pitcher of orange juice sat on the table beside Gewey.
Millet busied himself with preparations for his journey. After a short but fierce debate with Lee the night before, Millet decided to venture out alone to purchase horses and provisions for the ride to Hazrah. Broin offered to accompany him, but Millet insisted he would rather be alone.
Dina, Malstisos, and Broin went to the study. Dina had planned to reveal her heritage to the elf, but apparently, Prustos had already done so. Malstisos offered to explain the elven code of honor to her, and Broin insisted on joining them, not wanting to miss an opportunity to expand his knowledge.
After lunch, they all gathered together in the parlor to exchange tales and sing songs. Gewey noticed that many of the stories were just slightly different versions of some of the ones he had heard back home. The names and places were different, but the themes were the same. He had no voice for song, so he left the singing to Dina and Kaylia, who he thought had far more beautiful voices than he did.
Broin and Ganflin recited poems, but when it came Gewey"s turn, he could think of nothing to share.
"Come now," Broin encouraged him. "Surely you know a song from your home, or at least a story told to you as a child."
"Yes," Malstisos said, grinning merrily. "I weary of these lofty tales, spun by men of learning. I would rather hear a simple tale told by simple folk." Everyone cheered him on until it was clear they would not be satisfied until Gewey took a turn.
Gewey took a deep breath and tried not to be too aware of all the eyes looking at him. "Long ago," he began, "there were two brothers named Bernard and Kyle who were the sons of a farmer. The farmer owned two large pieces of land: one in the fertile lowlands, and one in the rocky hills. When he pa.s.sed away, he left the brothers all his land and possessions. Bernard loved his brother very much, so when his brother came to him and asked to be given the rich lowlands so that he would have the means to marry his love, Bernard agreed, even though this meant he couldn"t afford to start a family of his own. Kyle swore that one day, he would buy Bernard a farm next to his and share all that he had with his brother.
"Years pa.s.sed, and Bernard waited as his brother took his wife and had three fine sons. He hoped that his brother would honor their agreement, but as the time wore on, he never did. Finally, Bernard became too old and weak to work his land, and because of his brother"s betrayal, he had no sons to work in his stead. Kyle had become rich and bought up all of the lowland farms in the county, but because he was selfish, he never did anything to help his poor brother.
"One day a great storm came and the rivers overflowed. With nowhere else to go, Kyle went to the high hills with his family to take refuge. But because he was ashamed, he did not go to his brother for shelter. Instead, he sat with his family in the pouring rain atop a high hill and watched as all their crops were swept away by the flood.
"The next day, the youngest of Kyle"s sons became very ill, and in his desperation he took the boy to his brother"s house.
"Bernard greeted his brother with joy and helped him nurse his son back to health. "Why do you help me?" Kyle asked. "I have wronged you and broken my promise, and because of that you have no sons."
""You have wronged me, brother," Bernard replied. "You have left me alone here on this rocky hill. Your shame has kept you from me. But that does not change that I love you. And though I have no sons, what has been worse is having no brother." Bernard"s words held no hatred; instead, he wept with joy at the sight of the brother he had missed so much. Kyle vowed that when the water receded, Bernard could come live with him and his family.
"The farmer"s heart swelled with joy, and when the land dried, they all headed down the rocky hill together. On their way down, they saw that the rains had uncovered gold that ran from Bernard"s house all the way to the basin. Kyle offered to have his sons collect the gold for Bernard, but Bernard insisted that they share it; Bernard had all he wanted as long as he was with his family.
"The younger brother refused and sent his sons to bury the gold, making them promise not to dig it back up until the two brothers were both dead. Together they went back to the lowlands, where they happily spent the remainder of their days. When the brothers died, the sons went to find the gold, but it was all gone except for two interlacing veins. Try as they might, they could not remove the gold from the ground. It was then the sons knew the spirits of the farmer and his brother rested there, so they left it buried for all time."
"Now there is a story for elf ears," Malstisos cheered. "Your father told you this?"
"Yes," Gewey answered. "When I was a small boy, he made sure to tell me a story every night. He even traded with the merchants for storybooks when he had told me all that he could remember."
"He sounds like he was a good father," Broin said.
"He was," Gewey agreed, suddenly missing him very much.
There was a loud knock at the front door. Broin went to answer it, and moments later, he returned holding a letter and looking concerned.
"What is it?" Lord Ganflin inquired.
"A letter has arrived for Gewey," Broin said, handing it to the boy.
"For me?" Gewey asked, startled. He opened the letter and read it. "You must find Lee right away." His voice sounded frightened.
"I will go to the Temple District and find him immediately," said Broin. "Do you know what temple he and Maybell would have gone to?"
"Ayliazarah," Gewey answered. Broin nodded and flew out the door.
"What does it say?" Kaylia asked anxiously.
Gewey handed her the letter. His own name was written just above the broken seal.
"To Gewey Stedding of Sharpstone"
"I wish to speak to you on behalf of my master. I mean you no harm and will be awaiting your presence at the Bean and Broth tavern. Bring who you wish, but I will be alone and unarmed. Do not flee. All of your movements are being watched, and it would be unfortunate if you did not hear what I have to say. I will wait for one hour."
It was signed "Saylis Fernmen".
"I will go with you," Kaylia said firmly.
At first Gewey was going to tell her he didn"t want to put her in danger, but one look at her face told him there would be no argument.
"The rest of you must stay here," he said. Gales of protest came from the rest of the group, but Gewey was determined. "We can"t all be in the same place if this turns out to be a trap. The rest must stay here until I return."
"Do you plan to wait for Lee?" Dina asked.
"For as long as I can," he replied. "But if he is not back in time, I must go without him."
Gewey went upstairs and retrieved the sword Broin had given him and drew it. The blade sang as it slid from its scabbard. He stared at it for a long moment, and then sheathed it again.
"I hope you won"t need it," Kaylia said from the doorway. "But all the same, it is good to be prepared." She tapped her finger on the hilt of her long knife and smiled wickedly.