Sokan listened with half an ear as the guard gave his report to Basa. Apparently, a small contingent had been attacked by a ranger. None of them had been killed but one of them had been injured — bashed over the head by a thick club. There had been a struggle near the guard’s unconscious body and then tracks leading off in all directions and vanishing — a trick druids often used when they did not wish to be found. For his part, the bard wondered if they were going to be able to find either Kass or Kelsa. Rangers and druids were twin forces of nature and could move through the forests, using it to shield them and their movements from prying eyes. Half of the epics he knew touched on their near-supernatural ability to blend into the landscape or to communicate with animals and use them much the same way a wizard might use an enchanted familiar.
“It seems that my sister does not want to be found,” Basa sighed when she flounced over to where Sokan was standing. “She nearly crushed Guardsman Yorik’s skull.”
“Any sign of my brother?”
“She either helped him escape or took him with her. The tracks were unclear on that. The two of them did come to blows, it seems. She overpowered him — no one is certain how,” she added, giving the bard a glare that warned him not to press for information she did not have, “and they have vanished off the face of the land.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking, Basa. You’ve told me that your sister left because she did not want to become Prime, correct?”
“That’s what she told me when she took me to the Conflux. I asked her why she became a druid instead of becoming a healer and she said that her vows to the Sisterhood of Menesla and her blood-oath of Guardianship meant she would never be able to become Prime. I told her that I thought that was silly and that she could be both but she said she chose to become a druid because it meant she could never become Prime.”
“Except that your father changed the law and named her his heir right before the Reaper’s Supper.”
“Yes. I told her that I think she would make a great Prime and that she could make our land a good place to live and she could change all the laws to be whatever she thought they should be but she said she never wanted to have that kind of power and that she didn’t have the temperament to deal with it. She said a lot of things that didn’t make sense to me,” Basa said sadly. “She even said she would run off and marry the first foreign man she could find if that’s what it would take.”
“That wouldn’t work. Do you know who exactly is leading the other army now? The last we heard in Estalia, there were three armies and a major battle near the Lemnal Sands. Obviously you were victorious. Who else was?”
“There was no victor. The third army was not Patogan. They were Verelian. We were forced to band together with Qoth’s army to defeat them and drive them out. My army was actually much larger before that…” Basa sighed. “They captured several hundred of my soldiers and tried to kill me before we were able to escape. That’s when I decided to try to track down Kelsa. She protected me once before. Maybe she could help us again.”
“Your adviser actually allowed you to form an alliance with your enemy? Basa! That’s insane!” The girl blanched and looked guilty. Her chin began to quiver and she started biting her lips as her eyes watered. “Basa? What’s the matter?” he asked softly, squatting down and putting a gentle hand on her arm.
“Hessa got sick and died a few weeks before that happened. I got sick, too.”
“Hessa was your adviser?”
“Yes. She was like my mother. She took care of me. The other women in the camp look after me now but there’s no one like Hessa around anymore.”
“I see,” Sokan said. His mind began to race. “Did anyone else get sick at the same time?”
“Yes. A lot of people did. But only a few died. It was the burning flux. The healers couldn’t save everyone.”
“Basa, I want you to promise me something right here and now.” The girl nodded solemnly. “I want you to promise me that you will do exactly what I ask you to do. I’m going to protect you. I think I know where Kelsa is going and why. I also think that Qoth and your eldest sister Ravina have spies in your camp. I want you to pack a few clothes tonight — nothing too bulky. I will steal a pair of horses and some food for both of us. Once everyone is asleep, we’ll sneak out of camp and ride off together. Once I’ve helped you reunite with your sister, you should be safe until we figure out what to do.”
“Do you truly think that Qoth has spies here?” Basa asked in a whisper, her blue eyes wide with shock.
“I do.”
“I promise, then. I will do exactly what you ask.”
“And I will do my best to keep you safe from harm,” Sokan vowed. He grinned when Basa threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Epic or no, he would do his best to keep his word to this little girl.
Basa dozed lightly in front of him, her head lolling as he kept the horse at a fast walk. Sokan would be glad when they reached the outskirts of Sethelia. The trade-post was supposed to be a haven for all and his cape should assure him safe passage to the druid’s grove in the temple of Nyria. Once there, he hoped to trade the horses for either spelled and warded cloaks or transport directly to the grove outside Artra. He believed that Kelsa was headed for Artra herself in order to take the Oath so that she would be unable to assume the Seat of the Primarch. It made sense, after all. She’d been determined enough to avoid becoming a ruler that she’d chosen the difficult life of a druid in the Sisterhood of Menesla. The only reason she had not married a foreign man was because her own supporters — fanatics who thought themselves to be adhering to her father’s wishes — would kill the man.
Idly, he wondered why she bothered to oppose Qoth and Ravina so stridently. The simplest way to undercut their bid for the throne would be to take it herself. Basa was confused on that point as well. Granted, Sokan did not expect a seven-year-old to understand the finer points of politics and political maneuvering which is why he wanted nothing more than to meet this Kelsa and get the answers for himself. Sighing, Sokan clucked to the horse, urging it to a trot as he tightened his hold on Basa. He wanted to reach Sethelia before sunrise.
“Where are we?” Basa asked sleepily when Sokan gently shook her awake. The sun was just beginning to rise and the sky was a pearly gray and pink-tinged orange color. “I’m hungry.”
“I have some bread you can eat while I curry the horses. We’re just outside of Sethelia.”
“We came all that way in one night?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Two people can move much more swiftly than an entire army,” Sokan replied. “And, I kept us at a good pace all night. The horses are winded. Hopefully, the druids will let us trade them. I stole the best I could get my hands on. At the very least, we can get some gear that will help us reach Artra undetected.”
“What kind of gear?”
“I’ll tell you that later. For now, eat your breakfast bread while I brush the horses down.” Basa nodded and began rummaging through the packs Sokan had taken off the horses while he removed their saddles and blankets. He pulled the currying combs out of one of the packs and set to brushing down both animals with a quick efficiency. Once Basa finished eating, he directed her on how to check the horse’s hooves and how to remove their bridles. He filled their feed bags and secured them, tying lead ropes loosely around their necks before draping the blankets over their backs and settling the saddles back on them. He did not bother fastening the buckles — they would be trading everything soon enough.
“Is it time to go?” Basa asked eagerly.
“It is,” he nodded. Sokan fastened his blue cloak around his shoulders and settled his bags and instruments in their accustomed places. He pulled out a hooded cloak and put it on the girl, instructing her to keep the hood up and giving her a few bags to carry as well. He gestured for her to walk just ahead of him as he took hold of the two lead ropes and clucked to the horses to get them walking. “Walk around the town, Basa. Don’t go through it.”
“Why?” she asked.
“We just want to find the grove for now. Once we’ve done that, you’ll be safe there while I do the rest of the trading and gather news. You’re too recognizable to risk venturing into town without guards. The druids will offer you sanctuary, though, because of your sister.”
“I see,” she whispered.
“It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself. It would be the same even if there wasn’t a civil war.”
The two of them walked in silence, taking a game trail around the outskirts of the town. Sokan could hear the early morning bustle of a prosperous trading post getting underway in the sounds echoing faintly out to them. By the time the sun was peeking over the horizon, they had made it to the grove without rousing any suspicion. They’d come across only a few tavern owners and shopkeepers who were checking out back of their establishments and had eyed the pair of them in askance. Sokan’s cloak and a quick explanation that he was on a pilgrimage to all of the druid groves in the memory of his beloved cousin who had served as a glade keeper allayed their suspicions. They paid little attention to Basa who Sokan claimed was his younger sister, much to her delight. Their arrival at the grove was met with some skepticism until Basa demonstrated her royal heritage by changing her hair color at which point they were ushered back to see the keeper of the grove.
“I assume that you are here to claim sanctuary because your sister is a member of our order,” the keeper said calmly.
“Yes,” Basa replied.
“We also wish to trade the horses, saddles, and bridles for assistance in reaching Artra undetected by the armies,” Sokan said calmly. “Altogether, they are worth several thousand gold marks. That should be enough for a pair of shielded cloaks if not a direct moonbeam transference from this grove to the grove at Artra.”
“And why do you wish to reach Artra so quickly and without being detected? The army would be the best place for this child,” the keeper asked.
“She wishes to meet with her sister and I believe that she is not entirely safe with her army. There are spies there who are intent on doing her harm. Her sister, a member of your order, would protect her as well as being able to provide information that would bring about a speedy resolution to the conflict tearing this kingdom apart.”
“Not to mention that every bard worth his lyre would give all he owned to take the Oath of the Search,” the keeper said with a small smile. “We can get you to Artra and help you find Nitra — the name your sister was given when she became a Guardian — but after that, you will be on your own. And Gesthina,” the keeper added, causing Basa to jump with surprise, “remember to rule with wisdom.”
“By the light of the twin moons, I shall do my best to rule wisely,” the girl said with a solemnity that made her seem far older than her age. Sokan tried not to look surprised at how readily the druids had agreed to help them. Basa seemed to trust them but something made him wonder if his plan was as wise here in the light of day as it had seemed at sunset. Something about the entire thing was making him feel as if they were being herded and he wondered just what traps might lay in wait for them between Sethelia and Artra even if the order was sincere in their offer to assist them.