Chapter 27
Aella
We stood in the Tuireen library, waiting for Loden to acknowledge us.
He sat at a table with a pile of books before him and held up a silencing finger when we tried speaking to him.
That was ten minutes ago. Idwal, the same druid we talked to at our last visit, sat at an adjacent table with even more tomes before him.
I could barely see the man’s head over them, though he wasn’t very tall anyway.
He looked up and scowled at us. “What do you want?”
You handle Loden whenever he gets his head out of that book, I said to Darrow mentally. I’ll update Mister Sourface.
He smiled. You’re giving me the better end of the deal.
I’m sure you’ll make it up to me later.
With pleasure, he agreed.
I liked that we could be playful and passionate without the messiness that came with deep feelings. After not seeing Darrow for almost a week, I’d worried if we could manage it, but so far today had been perfect. He respected my wishes while still making me laugh.
Idwal scowled and looked down his long nose at me. The elder druid might be balding and frail, but he could produce a more fearsome glower than any warrior I’d ever met. “What do I owe the honor of your visit, Lady Aella?”
“This morning, we finally solved the mystery of what happened to the five druid children who went missing from Marbard Academy twenty-eight years ago,” I said, deciding he didn’t deserve any pleasantries. I didn’t want to waste time with them anyway.
He slammed the book he’d been reading shut. “Tell me.”
“We questioned a dark elf prisoner in Veronna who gave us the whole tale. She said that a group of them infiltrated the academy that night and took the children away on a ship that crossed the Forgotten Ocean. Apparently, they survived the journey and have been living in Karganoth ever since. They kept them quietly hidden in small villages in the mountains, which is why we never heard about them. Now, they’re loyal to the dark elves,” I said in a rush.
Idwal’s rounded ears turned red as he slammed his fist on the table, rattling the tomes. “Those vile creatures. How dare they cross us like that? And to what purpose?”
I had to resist the urge to take a step back at his furious green-eyed glare.
“They encouraged the kids to keep improving their enchanting skills as they grew older and more powerful. Now, one of them can spell red sphere stones to do things like make Karganoth soldiers invisible for days. It has allowed them to sneak across Zadrya and attack our towns and villages without us seeing them coming. Another can create power-boosting gems.”
Idwal stood and grabbed his cane, which rested against the table. “They will pay for that.”
“How?” I asked, considering the druids weren’t ones to go on the offensive.
A malicious smile spread across his face. “All I can say is the dragon slayers have been too bored lately with nothing to keep their fighting skills honed, and I’ve just come up with the perfect job for them. They will get our people back one way or another.”
Before I could ask any other questions, he hurried away toward another druid near the back of the cavernous library.
I guessed it didn’t matter if I heard the specifics.
If he was going to direct the dragon slayers at the dark elves, Karganoth had better watch out.
It was almost impossible to kill those people, and they didn’t die of disease or old age, which meant they had centuries or more to become lethal killers.
I wished I could be there to see what they did.
Turning my attention to Darrow, I found him talking to Loden.
“I’m certain that I’m close to figuring out the last ingredient we need to repair the intergalactic ring,” the half-druid explained, glancing at the book before him.
“It’s the most important element, but all our tests from the sample we took in Penoria have been inconclusive on which rare ore it might be.
I’ve gone and collected several that didn’t match. ”
I could confirm that since he’d had me transport him once five days ago, when the location was too difficult for the Tuireen channeler to handle.
A message from a sebeska had arrived, begging me to drop everything and take Loden to a mountain ridge between Juvarn and Hartoll.
It turned out there was a small village there with eighty Frostdar living a secluded life.
They had a working portal ring, though none of them could power it.
The sequence had been in my notebook, or else I didn’t want to think about how we would have gotten there.
It had been a miserable three-hour trip.
I hadn’t brought a jacket, so I half-froze in the high peaks while waiting for Loden to get his sample.
Halfway through the visit, a kind woman with three children had found me on the trail.
She’d brought me back to her home and let me sit by her cookfire until the other half-druid returned.
I was so glad the dark elves hadn’t found the Frostdar up there, but I’d warned them to be careful in case Karganoth’s army came that way.
They didn’t receive much news that far from civilization.
“Will the library let you bring any books back with you to study?” Darrow asked his friend.
Loden shook his head. “No. Only residents of Tuireen have borrowing privileges, and even then, I’ve heard they require special permission.”
I ran my gaze over him, noting his mussed brown hair and unshaven face. His ivory skin was rather pale, making the dark circles under his eyes stand out. “When was the last time you bathed or slept properly?”
“Um…a couple of days,” he admitted sheepishly.
Darrow glanced at me with understanding in his eyes before focusing on his friend. “You won’t do any good without rest. I’m ordering you to return with us, attend the meeting to update the prince on what you’ve learned, and then you will eat, bathe, and sleep at the castle.”
“But I have so much…”
“No excuses,” I interrupted. “We won’t take no for an answer.
A break from this place and your mission will help give you some clarity when you return.
Also, you’ll come with us in the morning to help me move my plants from Ivory Castle to Darynia.
I need all the help I can get, and a good dose of flora will be refreshing for you as well. ”
He swallowed. “You mean…the murder garden? You think that’s going to be relaxing?”
“They’re not murderers. They’re protectors,” I said defensively.
Darrow gave me an amused look. “You’ve finished preparing the ground already?”
It would take another couple of months at my current pace to make it fully presentable, but some things couldn’t wait.
I hated being away from my precious plants for so long—what remained of them—and wanted them back with me as soon as possible.
They deserved a new, safe home after what they did for me.
“Enough that it is ready for everything I want to bring.” Thankfully, I was able to ask other gardeners on the island for some supplies so I could match the soil requirements for each species. “Everyone needs to help because I don’t want to leave them there another minute.”
Loden’s brows drew together. “Who is carrying the crunchertrap?”
A visual of him holding the plant at arm’s length while it snapped at his face had my lips twitching. “I will as long as I don’t hear any more complaining from you.”
“What about the tractvines?” Darrow asked, apprehension in his gaze. I could sense his need to be supportive, warring with his desire not to be eaten alive. That was understandable.
“It’s been about three weeks since the battle, so they should have finished digesting their meals by now. I plan to bring a few carts we can pull through the ring, so no one has to touch them except me,” I reassured them. “And anyway, they’re weaker when they’re not rooted to the ground.”
If not for Tadeus sending me word that he was keeping everything watered and fed, I wouldn’t have stayed gone this long. He’d admitted the bowing trick I taught him still worked.
I almost laughed at the terrified expressions on my husband and Loden’s faces as they asked a few more questions about some of my other plants.
Darrow had been in the garden and seen everything, but I’d had no idea Loden had peeked in there while I was healing from my injuries after the dungeon.
Since I had another hour to pass before I could portal us back to Darynia, I didn’t mind discussing the topic.
“Jax is not going to be happy about this job,” Loden said, shaking his head.
Darrow leaned back in his chair. “It will be good for him.”
“I’ll give him the tullipworm plants to handle.” At their inquisitive looks, I explained. “They aren’t deadly, but if he offends them, he’ll be itching for days afterward. They are affectionate and enjoy licking people.”
My husband shook his head. “Where do you find all these plants?”
“Near various portals I explored over the years across Zadrya,” I said, shrugging.
“We’re going to need to put warning signs on the gate.”
Loden nodded. “Large ones with death symbols on them. I know an artist who could make a nice placard that would be in keeping with the place's murderous garden theme. He has a waiting list for his work, but it will be worth it once he finishes.”
“I’d have to approve of the design first,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
Darrow ignored me and whispered in his friend’s ear, knowing very well I could still hear him. “Make commissioning the sign a top priority when we return.”
“Of course.”
I sighed. “You two are asses.”
Idwal hurried our way, cane tapping the floor loudly as he maneuvered between tables. “Good. I’ve caught you before you left.”
“Did you need something?” I asked, noting his tone was more polite than earlier when I spoke to him.
“Yes.” He turned to Darrow. “Is the prisoner who knew about the missing students still alive?”
Funny how he thought to phrase the question that way.
“She is,” he said.
“Good. I’m glad to see you exercise restraint now and then, though I have no doubt your wife played a role in your decision.
” Idwal paused to give me an approving nod, though there was no way he could have known how that interrogation played out.
“Then I will go with you because I need to speak with the dark elf and find out what else she might know.”
Darrow stiffened. “I’d have to put a request through my father…”
“If you want our continued assistance, you’ll allow it now,” Idwal said firmly.
I grinned. “Lord Gannon will get over it, considering it’s to our benefit that they get those missing druids back from Karganoth before they enchant too many more stones.”
“Excellent point,” he relented and stood. “How long do you need to be ready?”
Idwal glanced toward the back of the library.
“Allow me to grab my bag since I will likely be staying the night. I always keep an extra set of clothes here in case my work keeps me too busy to go home. The others are also drafting questions for me to ask since we have this rare opportunity. Perhaps half an hour.”
I calculated that, along with the fifteen—more like twenty with the elder druid—minutes it would take to cross the city and reach the portal. That would fit well with how long it would take me to finish restoring my power.
“That’s perfect for me,” I said.
Darrow turned his gaze to Idwal. “Thirty minutes, but no more. We have much to do.”
The druid hurried away, barely using his cane.
Loden gave us a rueful grin as he watched the librarian go. “That man practically lives in this place.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing he’s getting out for a day then,” I said, mulling it over. “Do you think he’d be up for helping me move my plants?”
They laughed, but didn’t give me an answer. Something told me I’d be sending him back to Alavaar first thing before I could even go to Therress. Ah, well, not all druids had a fondness for plants.