“Still, we should be cautious,” Lee advised. “Even if she can’t hinder us through the temples, she may have sent word to other agents of Angraal.”
“I’ll be discreet,” Maybell assured him. “But that is something that can be discussed later. For now, I would like to clean up.”
Dina brought Maybell to her room so she could wash and change. This time she did not complain about the lack of a proper bathtub.
Lee told Kaylia to gather her things, and had Gewey check the wagon.
It was nearly dark before they were all ready to leave. Minnie scolded them for leaving at such a late hour and insisted that they eat before they left; she even packed them each a meal for the road. Lee gave the woman five silvers, enough for them to have stayed for an entire week. Minnie thanked him and, despite Lee’s objections, gave him a case of their best wine.
“You seem like a man who can appreciate it,” she said as her husband loaded it into the wagon. “Most of the folks that pass through here wouldn’t know good wine from well water.”
Lee bowed graciously and climbed onto the back of the wagon.
Millet and Maybell took the front; should they run into any curious strangers, they would say that Millet was her younger brother and they were headed west to resettle. Lee jokingly suggested that Gewey and Dina maintain the guise of a married couple, but Gewey fiercely refused.
They continued down the Old Road of Santismal through the night, stopping a few hours before dawn to make camp. Kaylia told Gewey it was time they continued with their lessons and took him into an area of tree-covered hills. By the end of the lesson, he was able to find Kaylia in the shadows, and he even managed to avoid being found for more than five minutes. The lessons with the knife advanced to include more complicated tactics and maneuvers, which Gewey took to right away.
“You’ve improved,” Kaylia noted. “Soon you’ll be ready to start actual elven training.”
Gewey’s heart swelled with pride. “I practiced in the Spirit Hills.”
“Those hills are dangerous,” she warned. “As is the hermit who lives there.”
“He didn’t seem dangerous. A bit crazy maybe, but not dangerous.”
“He speaks to the spirits that live there,” she said. “And not all spirits are harmless. We elves have ventured there many times to speak to Felsafell and gain his knowledge, but we knew our peril.”
“What peril?”
“It is said Felsafell feels all that the spirits feel,” she answered.
“Their joy, their fear, their anger, but mostly their loneliness. They yearn for the souls of man and elf to join them. Should you have stayed too long, they might have trapped you there forever.”
“Is that what happened to Felsafell?”
“No one really knows who or what he is. He’s old, though-some say older than the elves. Some say he’s really a spirit in human form. No one knows for sure, but what is known is that seeking his wisdom means risking being lost in the hills forever.”
Gewey shuddered at the thought that he had spent the night in the old man’s house, and eaten at his table.
“I wonder why he let me go,” Gewey said, almost inaudibly.
“I’ve never heard of anyone who has seen where he lives, save you. Whatever he had to tell you must have been important. But beware of his words. They aren’t always what they seem.”
Gewey nodded, thinking about what he had been told about his own death and the death of a friend, hoping he had merely misinterpreted Felsafell’s words. “Believe me,” he said. “I hope I find more meanings than what I have now.”
Kaylia took Gewey’s hands and looked into his eyes. “I know you value the council of the half-man,” she said sincerely. “You trust his judgment. But he is not all knowing and cannot give you all the answers. I would help you if you let me. If you trust me with what you were told, I will help you decipher its meaning, if I can.”
Gewey thought for moment. “Yes, I would welcome it,” he said. “But not tonight. I’m too tired.”
Kaylia placed her hand on his cheek. “Of course,” she said softly.
“When you’re ready, I will help if I can.”
Gewey felt more at ease when they returned to camp. For some reason, the thought of being able to confide in Kaylia made him feel as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He noticed her watching him with a look of compassion as he lay down to sleep.
They had only slept for a few hours before they packed up camp and started out again. Gewey was concerned that Maybell hadn’t rested enough, but she seemed full of energy and eager to get going.
The noon lesson with Lee was Gewey’s best showing thus far. He found himself using the moves he’d learned from Kaylia to slip through Lee’s grasp. On his third attempt, he sent Lee to the ground.
“Excellent!” Lee shouted enthusiastically. “Tomorrow we start teaching you the sword. I see that your lessons with the elf have done you good.”
“Thank you,” said Gewey. “Her lessons have been helpful.”
“I envy that you get to train with an elf. I’ve always wanted to learn their ways of combat and stealth.”
“I’m sure Kaylia would teach you, if you asked,” Gewey asserted. “It might be good if you spent some time with her.”
“I may do just that,” Lee acknowledged. “When we have time.”
He looked thoughtfully at Gewey. “If you want to ask her about what Felsafell told you, you can.”
Gewey looked up at Lee, shocked. “Did she tell you about our conversation?”
“No,” Lee said, smiling. “But I noticed that she recognized his name when you told us about him, and I thought she might offer you her counsel. I would warn you to be careful, though. It’s obvious she’s taken a keen interest in you. The only question is, what direction will that interest take?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Lee answered, waving his hand dismissively. “Just be careful. She doesn’t appear to be the type that gives her affections lightly.”
“You don’t mean…” Gewey stammered. “You don’t think she…” Lee burst out in laughter.
“No,” he said. “But that would be a dilemma, considering the way you look at Dina.”
Gewey blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, unable to look Lee in the eye.
Lee spotted a fallen tree and sat down. “Sit,” he said. “We should talk.”
Gewey sat next to Lee with his eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
“If things had been different, your father would be where I am now,” Lee explained. “But unfortunately, it’s left to me.”
Gewey was mortified. “If you’re about to have that talk with me, my father did have it…when I was ten.”
Lee shook his head, smiling. “Not that talk. You’re a young man now-a handsome one at that-and your body has far outpaced your maturity.” Gewey looked offended, but Lee raised his hand. “I don’t mean to say you’re immature. The entire village depended on you, after you inherited the farm from your father, and you didn’t let them down even once. But dealing with women is much more difficult than running a farm. Your feelings for Dina are obvious. I’m sure she knows it, too.”
Gewey eyes shot wide.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Lee said, putting his hand on Gewey’s shoulder. “I don’t think she takes it for anything more than boyish infatuation. But when you’re young, you never feel love just a little. It’s bigger and more powerful than any enemy you’ll face. You must understand something Gewey. You are a God bound to earth as a human, and you have a great task ahead of you. I would never tell you not to explore your feelings, but I would warn you of the dangers. If Dina doesn’t feel the same as you, the pain might be unbearable, and it could end up even worse if the feelings are mutual. All I ask is that you don’t push the issue. If things happen, so be it, but please take it slowly and speak to me when you don’t know what to do. Love for you will be a touchy thing; as a God, you can’t know where it will lead.” Lee chuckled to himself. “Even as a man, it’s like walking through the forest deaf and blind.”