CHAPTER VII #2
I don’t know exactly, but I can suspect why he is on this travel with us. Keane and Desmond no doubt want him to experience everything in Woodlands, most likely to gain him on their side if or when the time comes to enact the changes that are needed.
Alexander catches my gaze as I openly look at him, grinning with that quiet smile before he nods his head in greeting.
I nod my head in return, turning to the four familiar companions next to me.
Holis is at my right and sitting atop his horse, Arrow.
His black hair is matted at the top of his head in thick curls, his light ebony skin shining under the dim morning sun.
We give eachother a friendly smile before I look past him and towards his twin brother, watching as Mana quietly adjusts the large kedge at his back.
To my left is Cal, grinning broadly as he always does, though this time with a heavily bruised face and a cut on his cheek from the fight.
His flaming auburn hair is tucked behind his ears and falling just above his shoulders, his rugged full beard jutting down to his collarbone.
Alanna is next to him, looking out to the group with her cool grey eyes and her pale hair falling long behind her back.
Her face is set hard and her lips thin, her body shifting in her seat as her well-toned arms flex slightly with the movement.
It feels good to be back with my crew, to be back and traveling together.
I smile again and turn my gaze to Keane and Desmond, watching as they approach the rest of us.
The brothers are both wearing deep green satin shirts, with Desmond’s cut short to the sides of his biceps and accentuating his muscled arms and shoulders.
His dark ebony skin pairs well with his dark attire as he moves forward silently, almost impassively, looking over our group with his unreading eyes.
His black hair is cut short around his head with his dark beard clipped around his jaw and proud chin, the full of him sitting in his saddle as the quiet and foreboding Master Informer he is.
Keane is atop Ash at his brother’s side, his shoulders set straight and his body tall and commanding.
His own deep green shirt falls tightly across his muscled arms, reaching down past his elbows and bunched just below.
I catch from afar the many scars that line his arms and hands, with a recent thick one from the Bulwark Plains shining white in its new form.
His brown hair is swept perfectly over his head and his leaf-shaped ears, his features sharp as he looks over the group silently with his brother.
I smile at the sight of him, watching him move so deliberately as he guides Ash forward and addresses all of us with full red lips that I can’t take my eyes off of.
“We depart this morning for Woodlands Court,” he announces with a calm voice, “and will take an early lunch at Lenoir’s Gate and Village before stopping for the night in Auclair’s Outpost.”
I smile at the news, happy to be visiting Auclair.
“We will ride hard the next morning for the Forest of Quiescence, forgoing the main Road of Silver as we enter the woods south of Etter. My aim is to make rest in the village just after sunset tomorrow…”
Stormfall’s talons briefly grip my shoulder, listening to Keane from his near sleep at my side.
“We will spend the next morning in Etter before we connect with the Road of Silver and head west along the Road of Gold, spending the late night in the temple city of Alston. My brother and I have a few meetings in Alston which will hold us in the city for an additional day. We’ll leave the next morning for Dankworth and spend another night in that Woodlands city.
We will then leave for Fensby at dawn and spend another night in the border city before resuming our travel into Brassard and the Court of Warriors… ”
“Lord Alexander,” Keane turns his calm gaze to the Discerni. “The Court of Warriors welcomes you to spend your return travel through our lands as you make your way back to Bardot…”
Alexander gives Keane a quiet nod before the King glances to the three Knowledge men at my side.
“Cal, Holis and Mana…”
I spot Alanna shift in her seat as all of them look at Keane in question.
“You are aware of where our travels will lead following Woodlands. Gaumond’s doors are always open for your stay if you wish to remain there and not take the travel back to your court during the interim…”
The twins glance silently at each other from my right just as Cal’s lips jut down in a small frown. My full body stiffens when I catch his inquiring brown gaze, wanting, but also knowing, that I will not demand my friend’s travel with me into Livyatan.
It will be his choice. All of their choices.
“Something to consider, Your Grace,” Holis speaks for the three. “Thank you.”
I let out a deep exhale as Cal turns his gaze to the brothers, now looking at them with his questioning glance.
The twins remain quiet at my side, giving Cal a look that tells him they all need to have a conversation in private.
Cal grimaces and turns in his seat to Alanna, watching as she nods her head in agreement, also wishing to speak to him alone.
Ancients, this is happening.
Desmond moves Raven forward and address the full group from Keane’s side.
“Many of you have no doubt heard of the environment and lifestyle of Woodlands, while others have experienced it first-hand.”
He flicks his gaze to Alanna and gives her a solemn nod as the rest of us still.
“Our travel into the court is not one of engagement, but instead one of greater awareness. Whatever you may see, whatever you hear…”
Desmond’s dark eyes land strong on mine, willing me to take in his next words. “You will not act. Know that the situation in Woodlands is being carefully looked upon by His Grace and I. Any involvement from our group will only further the already strained relations there.”
Desmond holds my gaze hard as Stormfall grips my shoulders again, this time unfurrowing his wings as his head rises to look square at the Master Informer with me.
I do not nod my head nor give any promises to Keane’s brother, and instead hold his dark eyes with my own, knowing that I will agree to nothing when it comes to Woodlands.
“Are there any questions?” Desmond grimaces, looking over the rest of our group.
Lord Alexander watches the brothers in small thought, asking steadily. “I did not hear any mention of the Capitol, La Cour. Does our travel avoid it completely?”
“It does,” Keane replies with a calm nod. “Though if you wish to make the travel on your own, we can elicit a few Warrior men to ride with you after Fensby.”
The Discerni Lord remains quiet as he considers the King, letting his features revert into the standard indifference. I watch as Desmond turns to his brother, the two of them holding a silent and quick conversation before Keane flicks Ash’s reins and turns him around.
“Let’s ride.”
I take a deep breath and urge Millie forward, leaning down to pat the side of her neck as I let my gaze trail behind me to Castle Bardot, silently saying goodbye.
We reach Lenoir’s village before the sun meets its noon apex, walking our horses through the calm and quiet town that guards an entry gate resting along our border. The gate leads to a large tower that overlooks the forest, looking out to the Plains of Unknown.
Lenoir is a decent-sized village, one in which many of Knowledge’s old soldiers choose to retire at.
The townspeople here opt for a leisure life, working the Basset Fields or manning the large greenstone gate.
The homes and storefronts are fashioned just as all others in Knowledge, using the stone from the mountain as their walls and the trees from our woods as their fixtures.
The village and people are lively in their daily routines, walking around casually as we make our way through the main road. The population is older, though not elderly, with many of the faces smiling in their everyday lives as they greet the King and our group with small interest.
Keane announces that he, Desmond and Lord Alexander need to take a small meeting with the Lord of Lenoir before he stops the rest of our group at a tavern.
The men make their way back towards the massive gate with Canon at their side while the rest of our traveling group promptly enters for an early lunch.
Alanna and I both head straight for the pub, watching as Cal and Nathaniel situate two tables next to eachother to fit our group.
I glance at the cool Discerni at my side as she orders a round of ales. Alanna is quiet, but so is the rest of those traveling, her and others lost in their own silent thoughts as we wait for the barkeep.
“Have you and Cal talked about what happens after Woodlands?” I ask her softly.
Alanna gives a small scowl before her grey eyes find mine.
“Barely,” she grimaces, “but I’m sure it will come up soon. He has his life in Bardot, while I don’t ever see myself leaving Gaumond…”
“A mere four-day ride,” I give her a small smile. “Three, if you ride hard. It can work.”
“Yes,” Alanna sighs, reaching into her pocket for cinerin.
I sigh with her and help pay for the round, grabbing the mugs as we make our way back to the men at the table.
Our lunch is quiet and the conversation is small as we all keep to ourselves, everyone truly lost in our own thoughts.
It isn’t a dynamic I wish to have on the road to Woodlands, but it’s also one I know everyone needs.
Holis and Mana sit with their heads bent in quiet conversation, no doubt beginning their own conversations on where their travels and lives will take them following this trip.
Their job for King Zander, as well as Cal’s, was completed when we returned from Red Falls.
But the twins still aim to stay by my side, protecting me as the champion for the Ancient in which they dedicate their lives to.