Chapter 56 The Truth Comes Out
As we ate, we slowly got to know one another.
Magdala and her children seemed nice enough, but there was something about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
A magic, of sorts, but it was foreign to me, and the closer I came to figuring it out, the further away I ended up.
I finally gave up and focused on my meal.
The stew was excellent—I could taste the salt of the bacon, along with thick chunks of beef, quartered potatoes, and a savory gravy.
“This is wonderful,” I said. “I’d love your recipe.”
Magdala beamed. “It’s all in how you handle the meat. Master the braise, you master the dish.”
Aisling chuckled, but when I glanced at him, he was staring at Brynn. I knew men well enough to know that he was interested. Brynn didn’t seem to notice. She just focused on her food, looking tired. I knew the goblin fight had demoralized her.
“Well, you’re a master with the cooking pot,” Thornhold said. “If there’s plenty, I wouldn’t mind a second helping—but not if you need to save it for later.” He glanced at me, giving me a subtle nod, and relaxed. It was obvious that he also felt safe with the Ossayla clan.
Magdala held out her hand for his mug, refilling it with a smile. “There’s more than you think, so anybody who still hungers, you’re welcome to a refill.”
Alina turned to me. “You carry a great magic with you,” she said, holding my gaze. “I can feel it. It’s dangerous and chaotic, but…” She blinked, shaking her head. “You can’t get rid of it.”
Startled, I glanced over at Magdala.
“My daughter is a visionary. She’s the only one of our family clan who can step into the slipstream and see behind and beyond.” Magdala frowned. “I don’t want to intrude, but…”
“We aren’t dangerous, though yes, I carry something that is connected to a great evil. I can’t just throw it away. In fact, we’re searching for a way to destroy it.” Actually, I wanted to just toss it the hell away from me, but images of Frodo and the ring kept popping into my head.
Magdala smiled. “Oh, you’re dangerous, all right. But perhaps not to us.” She glanced at her daughter. Alina gave her a nod, and everyone relaxed.
After dinner, Magdala yawned as Aisling stoked the fire and everyone gathered around it. “I wouldn’t continue the climb right now,” he said. “There are ice giants in the area. And stone golems. Both are extremely dangerous, and neither is easy to kill.”
“Where are you headed?” I asked. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.” I was learning that not everyone wanted to give up their secrets too easily, and sometimes it was better to leave others to their lives and not intrude.
“Our village is another day’s hike from here. We live high enough on the mountain to avoid most bandits, but not so high that the dragons notice us.”
“Dragons?” Reggie squeaked. “You have dragons here?”
I groaned, remembering the lore of Abarria. It included dragons, but I had forgotten that until now. And they did live in the higher climes.
“They have dragons,” I said. “Remember? We heard about the modules—” I stopped. I didn’t want to bring up game terminology because it would confuse the Syms—well, no longer Syms but, apparently, living, breathing people.
Reggie nodded. “Right. So, we have ice giants, stone golems, and dragons to look forward to. What else should we watch out for?”
Aisling rolled his eyes. “You travel into these mountains without knowing what dangers lie within? You must truly need to cross them. You’re lucky in that you ran into us instead of some of the other lycanthroids.
Our people run the gamut. Some, like us, are open to strangers.
Some prefer solitude. And some…despise anyone outside of their clans.
You must have a great need to reach the Summer Kingdom. ”
I stared at the ground. I wasn’t an expert at reading people, but since we’d come into the game, I’d found my senses heightened. And Magdala and her family made me feel comfortable.
“We do need to cross the mountains,” I said. “We’re on the run from a necromancer—he’s powerful and dangerous. Unfortunately, I found something of his and now I can’t get rid of it.” I slowly reached inside my robe and pulled out the key. “This belongs to him, and he wants it back.”
“A key? Where did you find it?” Rupert asked.
“In a dungeon. We didn’t know who it belonged to. We were clearing out a number of beasties and found the key there. I hung it around my neck so we wouldn’t lose it, and now I can’t take it off. You’d literally have to kill me to pull it from around my throat.” I stared at the fire.
“How will it help you to reach the Summer Kingdom?” Sean asked.
“The queen of the Summer Kingdom—Rheyna—will know. The key keeps her sister, Devastey, locked away in an interdimensional prison. Devastey is—”
“We’ve heard the tales,” Magdala said. “She murdered thousands. And you seek the Summer Queen—”
“We think she can destroy the key, which would destroy Devastey’s chances of escaping. The necromancer who follows us—”
“Is Zaran, Devastey’s consort,” Alina said. “And he’s following you. And that is the great evil I sensed.”
I expected them to throw us out. If it were me, I’d think about it, in order to protect my family. But apparently, the Ossaylas weren’t quite so skittish.
“We’ll help you as best we can,” Magdala said. “It would be a benefit to all free peoples of Abarria if Devastey were forever locked away. Will you come with us to our home? I know you need haste, but we may be able to shave time off your journey and provide you with an alternative route.”
I let out a long sigh, feeling nothing but relief. We might actually catch a break. And if Zaran did find us, then we wouldn’t be fighting alone. I glanced at the others, and they nodded, the same relief on their faces.
“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you so much.”
“I take it you have no family in the area?” Magdala asked.
I shook my head. “Our families…they live far away from here. They can’t help us.”
“What made you leave your homes?” Aisling asked.
I didn’t know how to answer that. Luckily, Thornhold came to the rescue.
“Our lands were overrun by bandits. Our families have scattered—there was little left by the time the bandits got done with their pillaging. There’s nothing to go back to, and so many were killed,” he said.
I stared at him, filing away his explanation for future use. It made sense, and it forestalled further questions. Who would pry into such a traumatic event? The others picked up on the story.
“I think I have a couple of aunts left,” Brynn said. “But we were separated in the battle. I managed to hide, and when it was all done, I couldn’t find them.”
“My mentor was killed. I was out in the woods, gathering herbs when it happened,” Reggie said.
I glanced at Alina, hoping she wouldn’t give us away. But she didn’t seem to be picking up on our fibs. I yawned—truly, I didn’t have to fake my weariness—and rubbed my eyes.
“I think I’d like to sleep,” I said.
“I think we should all get some sleep. We’ll reach our home by tomorrow night. We’ll keep watch,” Aisling said.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting others keep watch while we slept. “We can stand watch with you,” I said. “Two on watch is safer than one.”
The lycanthroids took us up on our offer. As Brynn and I snuggled down in our tent, with Aisling and Thornhold on watch-duty, I tried to push thoughts of Zaran and the key out of my mind. But I was all too aware of the key hanging around my throat, and the journey ahead of us.