Heirs of Hyarch

Chapter 127: What a Bird Knows

Myronel was relieved to see Edeline and Hamond finally enter their borrowed room. That faded slightly on seeing the grim look on his sister's face. Hamond at least seemed calm, if more than a bit tired. There was no doubt it had been difficult getting to the Sluice, something reflected by their clothing looking more tattered and dirty than Myronel remembered.

"Not going to ask if we succeeded?" Hamond lowered himself to the floor, laying down his...spear? Where he had gotten that, Myronel could only wonder.

"I will," Sedat spoke up, "Did...whatever you were going to?"

"The Sluice is gone." Edeline seemed to cheer up slightly, clearly distracted from what was actually bothering her. "The people here will not have to worry about being twisted into the creatures again, and the effort of the other sphinxes to seize that magic has been stopped too."

"Well done," Myronel said. He had known they had defeated the Sluice, having caught sight of the massive burst of light when he'd gone to quickly grab some additional food for Sedat. It was no wonder the sight had disturbed so many people in Hallowscroft. It certainly had frightened several men and women out on the street here. He'd said a few reassuring words, but it hadn't helped all that much.

Still, the other part was a little concerning. "What about Taeseger?"

"She took our side," Hamond said, "They would have killed her otherwise. It was for the better, since we would not have been able to bring an end to the Sluice without her aid."

Myronel wasn't certain she should be trusted so easily, but it wasn't like he could have been there. Not having any magic to defend himself with really held him...no, it held them all back. Even Nela was better prepared to deal with these threats and dangers than he was.

But that was enough of his problems. "So where are Ugotlas and Taseseger now?"

"Talking with Ayden," Edeline answered. "They are planning to remain here in Lasfont for now, so they wanted to discuss future arrangements."

That sounded reasonable enough, although it made Myronel wonder about the possibility of some sort of reprisal by the other sphinxes. There was nothing they could do about it without remaining here themselves, and there were several reasons that wouldn't be smart. At some point, they just had to trust it would work out.

For now, there were more important matters. "Are you going to sit down?" Myronel asked Edeline. He could understand if she was still tense. He'd been that way himself after more than one battle, with his body still ready to fight even when it was over. If it was some other problem...there would be time tomorrow for that.

"I will be fine," came the unsurprising answer.

Myronel was about to argue otherwise, when Nela's voice came from just outside the room. "I think that's them. Hope those two had a better day than we did here."

Myronel flinched at the likelihood of that topic coming up. He supposed that Sedat would've brought it up if Nela hadn't, but again, it could have waited for another time. Edeline and Hamond needed food and rest, not additional worries.

Edeline stepped out of the way as Nela entered the room, Jylania close behind. "I'm guessing neither of you are seriously hurt. Any wounds at all?"

"None, although my knee is sore." Edeline gave Nela a concerned look. "But what was that about us having a better day?"

"Guess who found out about Sedat," Nela said, walking over to Edeline's side. Without a word she reached down and felt at Edeline's leg, Going by her face, Edeline definitely didn't appreciate it, but she said nothing.

"We were able to stop her before anything happened," Myronel noted.

"One of the guards pointing a spear at Jylania doesn't count as anything?" Nela spun to glare at Myronel.

He'd meant it in regards to no one ending up hurt or dead, but it couldn't have been pleasant for Jylania either. "I'm sorry," Myronel said quickly, "That was thoughtless of me."

"We did expect trouble from Takhat," Edeline pointed out, "I will admit that I had not expected it to involve you. My apologies."

"You did warn me this journey would be dangerous," Jylania answered, almost sounding calm and steady as if they were discussing what meal to have next. A slight tremble gave the truth away though. "I chose this anyway."

"You and me both," Sedat added cheerily. The look Jylania gave Sedat in response lacked any such cheer. Myronel hoped Jylania wasn't blaming Sedat for what the guard had done.

"So, you talk to the alderman yet?" Nela probably caught that as well, hence the change of subject.

"We briefly spoke," Edeline said, "He seemed distracted by some other matter. I guess we now know what that was about."

"So he didn't ask you to do anything?"

"No. Why would he?" Edeline seemed confused, a feeling Myronel was sharing. Nela hadn't mentioned anything about this earlier. Although in fairness, Takhat's half-crazed plan had posed a more immediate problem.

"Starting to seem like his assistant's the one making the real decision," Nela grumbled, glancing away for a second. "Anyway, that assistant of his wanted us to go find someone who can send wagons and supplies and all that here so the people can leave."

That seemed an understandable request, one they were in the best position to handle. And yet...with Edeline around, the only ones who would listen would be those less than loyal to King Roderick. Difficult, but given recent events, there should be someone willing to provide such aid.

"He is aware that at least half the nobility would refuse simply because I was there?" Edeline shook her head. "If the people here were relying on this, they ought be prepared for a long wait."

"I had one idea," Nela told Edeline, a hint of unusual nervousness in her voice.. "Although you'll probably hate it."

"If it's going back to Kelshir, I would not mind. Although it would put additional worry on Lady Kelshir."

"I'm afraid not." Nela paused for a moment. "Lord Melyn."

"Please tell me that was a joke." Edeline buried her head in her hands.

Nela silently shook her head.

"It would be very risky," Myronel said, thinking quickly. "If Lord Melyn is wanting to prove his loyalty to the crown, turning Edeline over would be an easy way to do that. If he is really involved with a group of rebels, he may be devoting his resources to that and have none to spare."

"We will have to pick a direction from here," Hamond stated, "And I did pass through Melyn on my way east, so we wouldn't be going in blind there."

"I thought you might have," Edeline said, "But the Witch of Wrath will expect that very move. We cannot."

"You saw her again?" Myronel guessed that was what had been weighing on Edeline this whole time. They should have expected her to linger in Lasfont, although how she thought it would be more beneficial than working with everyone else escaped him.

"She confronted us on our way back," Hamond explained, "We were able to work together to drive her off."

"We could have done more if it were not for my mistake," Edeline added bitterly.

"You made it back, and this time without running into a wall, right?" Nela said, "I'd call that winning, even if you didn't get everything. Still better than what we had to deal with."

"Let's try to focus." This would just go in circles forever if someone didn't reign it in. "The home region of the pyrebirds is to the west, near the border with the Spellking's land, right?"

"Right," Hamond answered.

"So assuming that is our next objective, and we don't want to be going near or through Melyn, what other routes could we take?"

"Not many," Hamond admitted. "Most of the major northern roads running east and west converge on Melyn. We'd either have find a way to slip through the wilderness, which would make acquiring supplies a lot more difficult. Or we could head more south, which would put us closer to Diademia."

"If they're searching for us, that'll make it all too easy for them," Nela said, "Ronny, didn't you tell me about them setting aside men to defend the capital?"

"I did." Myronel had to admit he didn't know that many details of the Spellking's original siege of Diademia. What he did know is that the siege had barely failed, at the cost of many men and most of the House of Pelagoin. Ever since King Roderick took the throne, he had maintained a reserve of the royal knights and other forces to defend the city.

"You're right about one thing. I hate this." Edelime moved to lean back against the wall before sliding down into a sitting position. "I know we cannot just abandon the people here, but...can the world just let me walk my own path?"

"Can I ask a question?" Sedat spoke up.

"Go ahead," Hamond said.

"You want someone with a lot of coin? Think those are only found in big towns and cities."

"I am well aware." Edeline slumped down even lower, clearly struggling with the obvious conclusion. "Melyn it is then. Aether's blood, don't make me regret this."

"If there was another way to do this, I'd suggest it immediately," Hamond said, "We aren't that lucky, though."

"With that over with, can we get some food ready?" Edeline looked over at Hamond pleadingly. "If this is our road, then I want at least one good meal before we set foot on it."

"Me too!" Sedat added.

"I agree, but there's one more thing to be done first." Myronel stared directly at Sedat. "You have something to tell them, do you not?"

"Was hoping you forgot," Sedat answered.

"Forgot what?" Hamond asked.

Sedat took a deep breath. "Father always refused to tell me about mother. Never quite knew why, but it always upset him when I said anything about it. Just figured she was long dead before I knew her. But then came the one night when he stole a couple of bottles of beer, and got down deep in them."

"Wait, then who-" Hamond stopped as Myronel held up a finger.

"Told me when he was younger he would sneak out, and meet with some woman he called wonderful. Then they found out about them meeting, but by that point...he said I was born. Asked what happened then, but he refused to say, so again, thought she was dead. But now I had a name to go off of...Takhat."

"Shit," Nela muttered. It was one thing to know who Sedat's mother was, but knowing just what had happened was entirely different. Myronel himself felt a little numb.

"Few years later, word got around among the ashabti that there was a new captain in the town guard. When I heard she had that same name, I thought it might be a different woman, but...somehow, I knew it was her. Tried to put it out of my head, since I would never get to see her or meet her. But it didn't change a thing. She had to be my mother."

"And then the Sluice's spell happened," Hamond concluded, "So...does Takhat know?"

"The only reason we found out was because Takhat recognized the name," Myronel said.

"Wait, that would mean that she had to be there to name her, but..." Hamond paused. "I think we ought to try and get Takhat's side of the story."

"She won't speak to me," Sedat immediately said.

"I wasn't saying you had to come," Hamond replied, "But it might be a good idea. You likely won't ever get to see her again if you come with us, and I don't want you to have any regrets." It was all too apparent to Myronel that Hamond held such regrets.

"Maybe." It was hardly an agreement, but it might be the best Hamond was going to get.

"Just let me know by tomorrow if you change your mind." Hamond climbed back to his feet.

"Let me help," Nela quickly said, scrambling over to their bags. "Want me to grab everything, or have something in mind besides a mixed stew?"

You wouldn't think they'd all just finished their battles to save the people here, Myronel noted with amusement. It seemed just so ordinary...and perhaps that was for the best. If they didn't exactly look like the renegades and saviors they were, how was the rest of the kingdom of Hyarch going to know?