Gewey sulked as he bent down to pick up his knife, but he didn’t say a word.
For the rest of the lesson, Kaylia instructed Gewey in the basics of knife fighting. Gewey felt it was a bit too basic, but he did as he was told.
“You move like a drunken ox,” she observed when they were finished.
“It’s my first time,” said Gewey. “Besides, all I did was thrust and slash at nothing for close to an hour.”
“And when you do so with purpose, we’ll move on,” she answered.
“I hope you show more enthusiasm when the half-man trains you.” Gewey felt angry and embarrassed.
“Can you find your way back to camp?” asked Kaylia.
“Yes,” Gewey lied.
“Good,” she said, vanishing into the woods.
It took Gewey more than an hour to find his way back to camp.
Lee and Kaylia were talking quietly near the wagon, and Millet was sitting by the fire, poking it with a stick. Gewey walked over and sat across from Millet, his face twisted in anger.
“What’s wrong, young master?” asked Millet. “You look upset.”
“I don’t think I’m cut out for this,” said Gewey. “I thought I’d do so much better, but so far, I’ve failed at everything.”
Millet chucked.
“What’s so funny?” barked Gewey.
“Nothing lad,” said Millet. “I just remember Lord Starfinder speaking similar words a long time ago.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” said Gewey. He tossed a twig into the fire.
“I’m doing no such thing. I’m telling you the truth. When Lord Starfinder came home after his first day of training, he was quite literally in tears. In fact, he didn’t go back for a week; I had to convince him.”
The thought of Lee pouting and crying made Gewey smile.
“Don’t take too much pleasure from that,” scolded Millet. “He wasn’t hardened by years of farm work, and he is only half of what you are, if you catch my meaning. Yet look at him now: hard, strong and skilled beyond anything you could imagine.”
Gewey glanced over at Lee and thought about the fight with the bandits. He had never seen anyone move so fast. ‘He must really be holding back with me,’ he thought.
“You’ve been with Lee for a long time, yet I notice you still call him ‘lord”,” Gewey observed.
“Of course I do,” said Millet, surprised. “He is my friend, yes; but he’s also my lord and master. My family has served the house Nal’Thain for generations, and I would not dishonor them by treating the master of the house with over-familiarity. We are friends, and my love for him goes beyond that of servant and lord, but I can never let that distract me from my duty.”
Gewey looked puzzled. “But he’s not really a Nal’Thain. He told me he started as Dauvis Nal’Thain’s servant.”
“He told you correctly,” said Millet. “I remember when he arrived. I was very jealous that he was picked to serve the master of the house and I was not. But after a time we became friends, and when he rose to be the master, I became his personal assistant.”
“What did you call him before he was made a lord?” asked Gewey.
“By his name, of course,” Millet answered. “But enough about that.” Millet got to his feet and went over to his blanket. “You need to eat and rest.”
“Thank you, Millet,” Gewey said gratefully. “Thank you for the talk. I feel better.”
“I’m happy to hear it,” said Millet as he lay down.
Gewey went to sleep that night feeling determined. He would not fail, and he would not give up.
For the next few days, Gewey trained harder and harder. On three occasions he nearly threw Lee to the ground, once he managed to find Kaylia in the shadows, and he even learned to stay awake after drinking jawas tea-though just barely. Neither Lee nor Kaylia openly showed that they were pleased, but Gewey could tell they were, and it filled him with pride.
As they neared Kaltinor, Gewey noticed the landscape changing. The forest became thinner, and the road was crisscrossed with little streams spanned with wooden bridges, some in desperate need of repair. They passed farms more frequently, but many looked abandoned, their fields untended and grown over with weeds. The air was becoming colder each day, and the sun rarely peeked out from the overcast sky.
“What’s happened here?” Gewey asked Lee the day before they were to arrive in Kaltinor.
“The Dark Knight,” answered Lee. “As his power grows, you’ll see more of this. Even more reason for us to hurry. He’ll bring a hard winter, and bring it early.”
“I wish I knew where we’re going,” said Gewey.
“If I could tell you, I would,” Lee assured. “But there is still a danger that the Dark Knight could enter your mind, and we’ve had to stop your mental training in favor of more practical things. If we did both, you’d collapse from exhaustion and we need you strong.”
“This may not be a problem,” interjected Kaylia. “One of the benefits of jawas tea is that it strengthens an elf’s mental abilities.
Even the strongest mind could not enter uninvited. Though Gewey is not an elf there is a chance it may give him the same advantage.”
Lee raised an eyebrow. “Really? I had no idea jawas had that power.”
Kaylia smirked. “There’s much I know that you don’t, half-man,” she said.
“Perhaps,” said Lee. “Still, I will test if it’s effective.”
That night after Gewey finished his training with Kaylia, Lee beckoned him over. They repeated the exercise Lee had taught him, except this time Lee told Gewey not to try and keep the gate of his mind closed. Much to his amazement, Lee found himself completely unable to enter Gewey’s mind; the jawas tea seemed to work exactly as Kaylia had claimed it would.
“How long is it effective?” Lee asked Kaylia, who was standing nearby.
“One dose will last for at least two days,” Kaylia answered. “But more importantly, it builds in your system. Among my people there are those that can journey inside the mind of another. We use jawas to strengthen that ability.”
“But from what I’ve just seen, it would block minds-not make it easier to enter them,” said Lee.
Kaylia’s mouth twisted in disgust. “If your intention is to invade a mind you’re right, jawas prevents this from happening. But we do not enter uninvited as you might. With jawas, we can touch the thoughts of another with greater ease and also at greater distance.”
“That could prove quite useful,” said Lee, stroking his chin. “How much do you have?”
“Enough to last many weeks,” she answered. “At least six, I should think.”
“Is it hard to find?”
“Not in this area,” Kaylia replied. “I shall gather more for the journey while I wait for you to leave the city.”
“You’ll be coming with us into Kaltinor,” Lee said flatly. “It’s very important we gather information before we continue further west. The Dark Knight’s power grows, and we need to know what lies ahead. This may take a few days, and I might need you with me.”
Kaylia looked concerned. “And what if I’m discovered? That could prove to be a problem.”
“You won’t be discovered,” said Lee. “I have friends in Kaltinor that can hide you if need be, but I don’t think it will come to that. We’ll be staying in the Temple of Ayliazarah, so you can stay silent and hooded the entire time-like a good little pilgrim.”
It was obvious Lee was trying to get under Kaylia’s skin. The two were constantly throwing thinly veiled insults at one another. This time, Lee had the advantage. Kaylia couldn’t hide the fact that the idea of staying in a temple of one of the gods made her uncomfortable.
“I will bow and stay silent,” she seethed, “but if you think I will pretend to worship…”
Lee doubled over with laughter, further fueling Kaylia’s anger.
“Calm yourself, elf,” he said, grinning widely. “Pilgrims do not usually pray until they reach their destination.”
This did little to calm Kaylia down. With her teeth clenched and back straight, she turned and strode off into the night. When she returned, she moved her blanket far away from the others.