"Auri."
"She’d probably drop you. I would. How many days do you think they’ll keep walking vaguely in this direction before giving up?"
"I don’t know." Fallon glanced nervously at Lord Surclere, whose expression was much the same as it ever was, yet somehow gave the impression of a strung wire being wound tighter with every step. "I think most likely some would continue looking, and the rest would try to get out of the forest. Depending on exactly where we are in Semarrak, continuing north might be the shortest route out, anyway, though then there’d be mountains to get through."
And then what? Permanent unconsciousness? Years as a sleeping magical puzzle for student mages to try their hand at? No, this pit in his stomach would swallow him up long before then. This was absolutely the worst time for the revelation he’d been hoping and fearing for so long. Duchess Surclere absolutely had to take priority, but there would be a point where the energy cost of maintaining the Dream would eat away at him so severely that nothing could pull him out of the downward spiral.
Auri poked him in the shoulder. "Stop fretting yourself into the ground, worry-wort. You should be celebrating! They know! They knew you were enchanted and they were trying to figure it out, even. Your Duchess turned out not to be useless after all. Let’s hope she’s not dead."
"Don’t be so callous, Auri."
"Blah." Before Fallon say anything more, Auri pointed: "That’s why I pulled you in. What do you think that is?"
Something was glowing, far off among the trees. At first Fallon thought it might be one of Semarrak’s legendary inhabitants, those that supposedly dwelt at its heart and had descended from powerful, humanoid Eferum-Get. But when he followed Auri to the limits of her range and peered through the widely-spaced tree-trunks, he could make out a squat stone obelisk, about half the height of a man.
"Looks like a road marker. They enchant them to glow along the Imperial Ways."
"But it’s not really glowing, or someone else would be pointing at it."
"It’s obviously old. Perhaps we’re just seeing the dying dregs of the enchantment. I didn’t know there were once Imperial roads through Semarrak, but I guess the Empire does claim the forest as part of its territory."
"Roads go places," Auri pointed out, but there was nothing Fallon could do with the information, and the stone was slowly lost to sight as the group moved on.
For eight people thrust into the depths of a dangerous forest without any preparation, and with only one weapon, they were doing remarkably well. Anything actively stalking them was noticed by the Kellian long before it reached them, and Captain Faille or his mother would leave the group to take care of it. Only twice had anything dangerous even come close enough for Fallon to see.
Some of these hunters had been edible, and Tesin had supplemented the meat with mushrooms and nuts that she seemed able to spot with the merest glance. She’d even located gourds that could be hollowed out to carry only slightly odd-flavoured water. And everyone except Fallon was dressed well enough for a fine day in autumn, though the wind had picked up after midday.
In fact, Fallon thought the biggest problem most of Duchess Surclere’s rescuers had was—ironically—a lack of sleep, since dawn had arrived only a couple of hours after they’d emerged from the transportation casting. Kendall was the worst, struggling with the cost of whatever she’d done to hold open the travel casting. Had that really been a recreation of Nameen’s Walk, just as Lieutenant Meniar guessed? Elder Mage magic! Which was not a good sign at all, since there was only one person around other than Rennyn likely to know how to manage such an amazing work.
Ahead and to the right, Fallon spotted the glow of what must be another of the road markers—even further away this time. Since there was still nothing he could do about it, he followed Auri who, with an instinct for drama, had strayed over to where Sukata trailed the group with Kendall.
"It would be very easy for me to carry you," Sukata was saying. "It will not tire me."
"Yes, it would. Don’t be silly. And I don’t need carrying."
Kendall made a far from convincing attempt to walk normally, picking her feet up instead of shuffling through the leaves, and promptly staggered, snagged by some hidden obstacle. Sukata caught her, hesitated, and formally offered her arm, which Kendall pretended not to see for another few steps, then took with her usual lack of grace.
"The headache is the problem," Kendall mumbled. "The pain muffling wore off too quick."
"They are designed to have a short duration. The pain is your body’s warning that you pushed your limits, to keep you from casting again."
"Last thing I want to do is play pick up right now," Kendall muttered. "Just rest. Guess we’re going to have to stop soon anyway."
"Another hour at least until sunset," Auri put in helpfully, but Kendall and Sukata just looked grimly at the sky, and then in unison at Lord Surclere. They walked together in silence, clearly thinking about where Duchess Surclere might be at that moment, and what could be happening to her.
"I am glad you called for me, Kendall," Sukata said carefully.
The shorter girl made a face. "Why in the Hells wouldn’t I? We’re all supposed to be looking after Herself. I should have stayed in the damn room." Then she hunched her shoulders, adding: "I’m glad you heard me. Can you imagine me and the Lieutenant trying to cart the Pest about while that Imperial pain-in-the-neck played at being in charge?"
Sukata looked at her feet, and Fallon could tell that she was pleased. But then she said very softly: "He is a pain-in-the-neck with very good hearing."
Fallon, Auri and Kendall all stared forward to where Dezart Samarin was keeping pace with Lord Surclere at the front of the group. Well out of normal earshot.
"Good as yours?" Kendall muttered.
"Possibly. He hides it well, but he reacts to noises as you do not."
"Have you seen him casting?" Kendall glowered at the Kolan man’s back. "Or could it be something that’s been cast on him?"
"I have never seen him cast. But his mask is layered with enchantment, and he never strays any distance from it. It may lend him more than authority."
"Or he’s a sneaky lying mage. Not that anyone here was planning on trusting him any further than we could throw him."
Sukata’s attention had strayed to something to their left, and then her hand flickered in one of the signals that the Kellian used to talk to each other. Fallon turned to see both Darian Faille and Lord Surclere heading west. Something must be stalking them, and whatever it was required a more than usual response.
With the two older Kellian gone, Sukata hustled Kendall up to join the rest of the group, where Fallon himself had been propped neatly against a rock, and Lieutenant Meniar was using the pause to check him over.
"His colour’s not good," the Lieutenant said. "I don’t think this is sustainable."
"Borrow your slate?" Dezart Samarin asked.
Lieutenant Meniar raised his eyebrows, then wordlessly handed over his slate book, along with a stick of chalk. He’d already removed one of its pages and given it to Sukata, ready for emergencies, and three sides of the remaining two were written up with Sigillics. Dezart Samarin began writing rapidly on the remaining blank.
"Still going to say you’re not a mage?" Kendall asked acidly, while Fallon tried to peer at what the man was writing.
"Still entirely without the strength to cast usefully," Dezart Samarin replied, and handed the slate back to Lieutenant Meniar.