"We can catch a horse this day," Juraviel replied, and he chuckled, imagining Brynn Dharielle walking right up to one of the wild horses in Andur'Blough Inninness and coaxing it back to Caer'alfar. "And begin the training process, on horse first and then with Brynn."
Lady Dasslerond was shaking her head before he finished. "There are no horses in Andur'Blough Inninness suitable for the girl," she explained. "This will be her greatest challenge, her chance to bring our gifts to her to their pinnacle, and as such, we must give her the proper tools."
Juraviel narrowed his gaze, hardly believing what his lady was saying. "You wish me to go to To-gai?" he asked doubtfully.
"That is not possible," Lady Dasslerond was quick to answer. "No, my eyes look in a different direction, to call in the favor of a friend."
"Bradwarden," Juraviel stated, finally catching on, but then his expression turned to one of doubt. "Are you thinking that Brynn Dharielle should ride Symphony? "
Lady Dasslerond rocked back at the notion, apparently caught off guard but also apparently intrigued.
"She could not begin to handle that one," Juraviel said. The thought of anyone other than Elbryan or Jilseponie riding Symphony didn't sit well with the elf. "She is not nearly large enough to control the horse," he went on. "Her legs would not reach around Symphony's considerable girth, and never would Symphony even feel the press of her skinny limbs."
"Tuntun rode him," Lady Dasslerond reminded him; for indeed, Tuntun had ridden Symphony all the way to the Barbacan in pursuit of Avelyn's party. "She was no larger than Brynn."
"But she was stronger," said Juraviel, "with muscles honed by years and years of training."
"You do not wish to see Symphony given to Brynn," Lady Dasslerond noted slyly.
"I do not believe that Symphony can be given to anyone," Juraviel answered. "By Nightbird's own description to me-supported by BradwardenSymphony chose him as much as he chose the horse."
"And if Symphony accepted her? "
Juraviel didn't reply, just stood there staring at the lady.
"You do not believe her worthy of Nightbird's mount," Dasslerond went on, easily gaining the upper hand now, "as Tuntun did not believe Nightbird worthy of Mather's sword."
"Nightbird taught her differently."
"As Brynn will teach you," Lady Dasslerond said. "Go out this week, Belli'mar Juraviel. Find Bradwarden, the centaur, and discover his feelings on this matter. You will enjoy the visit with your old friend, I believe, and with Roger Lockless, who is rumored to be in Dundalis with the centaur."
Juraviel didn't begin to disagree.
"Return with a horse for Brynn Dharielle," the lady instructed, "Remember that she will carry on the responsibilities of a ranger, as did Nightbird, and that her road will be no less fraught with danger. And remember, Belli'mar Juraviel, that much of the power Brynn Dharielle will find will come as a result of her horsemanship.
"Choose well," she continued, her tone friendly but stern. "When you are with Bradwarden you will learn if that horse is to be Symphony, and if you see the way dear, do not let your personal jealousies defeat our cause." Juraviel straightened, recognizing clearly that he had just been put in his place, in no uncertain terms. Lady Dasslerond was placing her trust in him; she could have sent any of the others to Bradwarden with instructions to retrieve Symphony. No, this was a test, Juraviel understood, a way for the lady to measure whether or not he intended to repeat the same errors he had made with Elbryan and Jilseponie. At that moment, Belli'mar Juraviel realized that he would return with mighty Symphony, if the centaur and the horse would agree to it.
"There is one other matter for you to investigate while you are in the lands of the humans," the lady added. "Our scouts have reported that the gemstones Jilseponie used were never recovered after the battle in Chasewind Manor."
"The Touel'alfar have never been concerned with the magical gemstones," Juraviel replied, "except for the emerald given to you. They are the domain of the humans, by your own words."
"And I mean them for a human," Lady Dasslerond interrupted. "Have we not discussed this? The child will be all that his father was and all that his mother once was. We will teach him the sword and the magic."
Juraviel thought back to that fateful day. Brother Francis had been the first one into the room, he remembered; but if Francis had found the stones, he would have turned them over to the Church immediately and so they would not still be missing. But there was another in the area of the battle, according to the version of the tale Juraviel had heard, another human with a reputation for light fingers. He looked at Dasslerond, and she nodded and walked away. She had a pretty good idea that he could locate the missing gemstones, Juraviel knew.
Yes, Juraviel had a good idea who had the stones.
Eager to see his old friends again, the elf was out of Andur'Blough Inninness that very night.
Chapter 8
Abbot Agronguerre held his breath as his guests at St. Belfour-Prince Midalis and the two barbarians Andacanavar and Bruinheldeentered the study. The abbot had purposely removed the room's normally comfortable chairs, replacing them with five straight, hard-backed seats arranged in a circle with no apparent "head" position. Brother Haney would be the fifth in attendance, seated away from Agronguerre-again purposefully, for the abbot wanted his guests to feel as if this was a meeting of comrades and friends and not a drawing of lines between Vanguard and Alpinador, between Church and barbarian.
He watched the expressions of the two Alpinadorans carefully, nodding his agreement when Prince Midalis quickly took the seat to Brother Haney's right, thus leaving the chairs on either side of the abbot for their guests. Bruinhelde seemed to bristle a bit, but Andacanavar calmed him with a pat on the shoulder, motioning for him to take the seat to Agronguerre's left, while the ranger slid easily into the seat to the abbot's right.
That scene fit in well with what Midalis had told him about the Alpinadoran leaders, Agronguerre realized. The Prince had indicated that the ranger Andacanavar was by far the more worldly and friendly of the pair; and that Bruinhelde, though obviously an ally, was more set in the ways of his northern people and far more suspicious of the Vanguardsmen, and particularly of the Church, whose precepts were not in any way in accord with the Alpinadoran perception of God-or, in their case, of the gods, for their pantheon of deities was quite extensive.
When the pair were seated, and after a moment of uncomfortable silence, Prince Midalis began to speak, but Agronguerre, as the host, interrupted him immediately.
"A glorious victory on the field this morning," the abbot said, nodding in turn to each of his guests, "though we grieve for your losses, as we grieve for our own."
"Temorstaad died bravely," the stern Bruinhelde answered, his voice halting and accented, revealing his lack of command of the language. "I hope I may die as well."
Agronguerre widened his eyes at that for just a moment, until he realized that Bruinhelde wasn't calling for his own death, but was merely indicating that he hoped he would die as honorably as had Temorstaad.
"We do not grieve for those killed in battle as you might," Andacanavar tried to explain.
"We, too, pray that we might die honorably," Midalis put in.
"Though we surely pray that more of our enemies will find such a fate," Abbot Agronguerre dared to chime in, somewhat lightheartedly. He thought he had just committed his first blunder of the meeting when Bruinhelde fixed him with a confused stare, but then the barbarian leader chuckled and nodded.
With the tension alleviated, for the moment at least, Agronguerre bade Andacanavar and Midalis to lead them to the purpose for the meeting, a discussion concerning their continued alliance in the effort to rid the region of the minions of the demon dactyl. It went well for some time, rolling along, with plans for future tactics interspersed with reminders of the victory that day on the field, and even a remark from Bruinhelde that he thought Midalis and his riders had performed bravely and honorably.