“Thank you Red, I greatly appreciate your help,” Quinn told him.
“It was my pleasure,” said the healer.
They went back to the inn, where the innkeeper insisted they have some breakfast. After they ate Quinn found both horses saddled and waiting. He gave the innkeeper’s son another coin and bade the others good-bye. Then he climbed into the saddle, tied the reins of the other horse to the saddle horn, and set off.
The days went by swiftly, and soon Quinn had to make a decision to either continue north on the coastal road to Black Bay, or turn east and ride for Ebbson Keep. He had no idea where Zollin was, and while he knew he needed to get on Mansel’s trail as quickly as possible, he also knew the young warrior would be far ahead of him. If he turned east, he could miss Zollin and Mansel entirely. It was a difficult choice, but he felt that he couldn’t take any chances. He stayed on the coastal road and traveled north as swiftly as he could.
Chapter 19
The Weaver’s Road led Mansel to Fort Jellar. He saw the smoke from the fires long before he was in sight of the city itself. He wasn’t sure what was happening but decided to proceed with caution. He didn’t want to be held up by city officials who may have heard about his previous run-in with the village constable.
His main concern was getting across the border quickly. He left the road and circled the army encampment. The Weaver’s Road ran straight across the border, and Mansel angled back toward it. He recognized Ebbson Keep from the descriptions he’d heard as a child: the towering stone structure was one of the oldest in the Kingdom of Yelsia, and traveling singers would often describe the great battles that had taken place there. Mansel decided to see if he could learn anything about Zollin at the Keep.
There was a long line of scouts spread out along the border, and Mansel decided his best bet for crossing would be to wait for nightfall. It was late in the day at any rate, and so he took the opportunity to rest. When night fell, he resumed his journey, leading his horse as silently as possible, when a cloud passed in front of the moon. He couldn’t see the scouts, but there were lights burning at Ebbson Keep, so even in the dark it was easy to keep his bearings, and once he felt he had safely reached Yelsian soil, he remounted and rode to the Keep.
There were guards stationed at the main gate who told him that no one was allowed in the fortress until morning. He saw to his horse and made camp for the night with a few other travelers who had arrived too late to be allowed into the Keep. The next morning, Mansel was questioned thoroughly before being admitted into the fortress. He explained that he was looking for Zollin, the wizard, at which point he was escorted into the Keep’s main building and told to wait. He was just beginning to grow restless when a guard led Kelvich into the room.
“Mansel!” Kelvich said in surprise. “This is completely unexpected. How are you? Where is Quinn?”
“One question at a time,” Mansel said in a testy voice. “I need to find Zollin. Do you know where he is?”
“No, but you got here just in time. I was getting ready to go in search of him myself.”
“Did he slay the dragon?”
“There’s been no word from Zollin,” Kelvich explained. “We set an ambush for the dragon in the ruins at Ornak. I was sent here with a treasure trove of ancient scrolls that we discovered in the ruins. We did hear that Zollin and the soldiers drove the dragon off and that Zollin and Brianna went in pursuit of the beast on their own. They were headed into the Northern Highlands. The dragon hasn’t been seen since, but neither has Zollin or Brianna.”
“Then that’s where I will go,” Mansel said.
“We can ride together,” Kelvich said in a merry tone. “This is fortunate indeed.”
“Are you ready? I don’t want to waste my time here.”
“Oh, I’ll only be a short while. Tell me, where is Quinn? Did you succeed in escorting Prince Wilam back to Orrock?”
“We’ll have time to talk about that later,” Mansel said.
He was trying to keep his frustration from showing, but his self control was waning. He felt guilty at having thrown Quinn overboard. He knew that if he revealed that Quinn was dead, Zollin would insist on knowing what happened. He needed a credible story, both about Quinn and Prince Wilam. Simply revealing that the Prince had stayed with Gwendolyn at the Castle on the Sea would surely make his task even more difficult. And just thinking of the Prince being near Gwendolyn made Mansel angry. His only happiness was daydreaming about how his Queen would reward him when he returned with Zollin. But when he tried to picture Gwendolyn his mind grew conflicted and confused. Whenever he tried to think of what Gwendolyn looked like, he saw a lonely-looking woman and smelled the briny scent of the sea. He had to forcefully push all those thoughts away, and each time he did, he felt his rage increasing.
“Oh,” Kelvich said. “All right, I’ll gather my things and we’ll be off.”
“Make haste,” Mansel said. “I’ll see that we have plenty of supplies.”
Mansel turned on his heel and walked briskly toward the door where a guard stood sentry. Kelvich nodded to the guard, who opened the door for Mansel. Then the sorcerer hurried up to his quarters. The Duke had been impatient for Kelvich to leave, but Kelvich had wanted to bring the translations the scholars had been working on. If for some reason the dragon did still live, there might be information in those texts that would help them defeat the beast.
He had packed his belongings so that he would be ready to go. He just needed to stop at the scriptorium and get what he could from the scholars working there. He found Jax just outside the scriptorium.
“There you are,” Jax said in an excited voice. “The Duke wishes to see you. Come on.”
He grabbed the elderly sorcerer’s hand and began leading him away.
“Wait, wait, Jax. I need to speak to the scholars first.”
“But it’s the Duke!” Jax said in surprise.
“This will only take a moment.”
Kelvich hurried into the room and told the scholars that he needed to take the translations they were working on. The scholars argued that they weren’t finished, but Kelvich insisted, telling them he would return shortly to collect whatever they had ready. Then he let Jax lead him back up to the Duke’s audience room. As always, there were several people in the room, some talking to the Duke, others talking quietly to one another.
The Duke looked up as they came in.
“Thank you, Jax, you can wait outside,” the Duke said.
Kelvich noticed the crestfallen look that crossed Jax’s face, but to the boy’s credit he didn’t argue. He went quickly from the room, and the Duke waved Kelvich over.
“I assume you know the man who came looking for Zollin?”
“Yes,” Kelvich said. “His name is Mansel. He was sent south with Zollin’s father Quinn to escort Prince Wilam to Orrock.”
“Did he succeed?”
“No, I don’t think so. He’s alone and he’s in a hurry to continue his search for Zollin. I can only assume that he failed and that something happened to Quinn.”
“You think the wizard’s father is dead?”
“Most likely,” Kelvich said sadly.
“Are you leaving to begin your search?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” the Duke said. “Please convey my sympathies but also share the urgency of our situation. If the army at Fort Jellar attacks, I’m not sure how long we can hold them back.”
“I understand,” Kelvich said. “I’ll do my best.”
“Jax is staying with us,” the Duke said.
“You’ve spoken with him about it then,” Kelvich said in surprise.
“No, and neither shall you. You know how I feel about the boy. I think it is better for us all if he stays.”
“That should be his decision.”
“In more idyllic times I would agree. But it appears that we are on the brink of war, and I need every able-bodied man I can get.”