Questing Sucks (Book 1) (37 page)

“Thank you, Patrick.”

“Save your thanks,” Saerina demanded. “Neither of you is going anywhere near Sehn, not yet at least. He shall continue on.”

“But sister!”

“Silence! Listen to me, and listen to me carefully. Right now, we’ve but one priority. We must gather together everything we can in the area, and we must hold Hahl for as long as we are able. This is a war that will be won with time, and time alone. Orellia, I want you to leave as soon as possible and bring me my Mages. Patrick, you must go to all the nearby garrisons, and grab every single soldier, down to the cooks and muck-cleaners.”

Patrick shook his head. “I can’t just leave my garrisons undefended. Have you forgotten that the Elven cities border around Hahl? If the Elves invade, then -” he stopped short, realizing he was speaking to an Elf. “Forgive me, princess Saerina, it’s just that I’ve been traveling with you two for some time now, and I’ve come to think of you as something akin to family.”

Saerina nodded. “That’s a good thing. Then trust us as family, Patrick, and know that my people will not attack you during this time of weakness. Do not forget that you now stand united with the princess and prince of the Elven people.”

“Very well, I’ll rally the men. We cannot win this battle, though. If the enemies number even half of what has been reported, then my city will fall.” A look of sadness crossed his eyes, and once again Orellia felt pity for him in her heart.

“I know that,” Saerina said. “But like I have repeatedly said, we’re fighting for time, not victory.”

Patrick looked over his shoulder, and pointed into the distance, over looming mountains, where the beginning of a forest could be made out. “I mean no disrespect, but why do you not bring in your elves? The Elven city of Helena is not far from here.”

“Leave them,” Saerina said. “I’d rather not send Elves off to die.”

Patrick flared in outrage. “Are you mad? My men should die, but not—”

“Don’t worry, Patrick,” Saerith growled. “I don’t care what my sister says. I won’t leave you to fight these men on your own. I’ll head over there and grab every able-bodied Elf I’ve got. Sister, I’m putting my foot down on this one. I am still prince, and this is still my decision. The men and women of Helena will fight, and you’ll not countermand this.”

Orellia looked at the two princes, and then at the confident face of Saerina.

She’s playing them,
Orellia realized.
And they don’t even notice it.

It was obvious, but the two princes were clueless. Saerina was tactfully uniting them, bringing them closer together. Orellia didn’t know much about the woman, but already she could see how much of a shrewd tactician she was. It made sense, too. The closer the two princes became the better cooperation and higher chances of victory their united armies faced. Still, it astounded Orellia how easily the two princes were being manipulated.

Saerina winked at Orellia, and a shudder was sent down her spine.
She knows I know,
Orellia thought.
She knows, and she’s trying to tell me to keep quiet.

“I think it’s time to get going,” Saerina said. “Make haste, for the army will arrive in less than a week. Orellia, call your gryphon and be off to Magia, fly as if your life depends on it. Would you mind if we borrowed Kellar?”

“What for?” Orellia asked.

“Nothing major, I admire the concern you feel for those that serve under you. I’d like Kellar to head out to the outlying villages, and rally any men willing to fight for Hahl. Word travels quickly from farmer to farmer, and I have no doubt that by now his exploits are being discussed in most of the surrounding villages. They’ll trust him, and that, coupled with fear, and a desire for revenge, should bring us a hundred extra men.”

“I understand,” Orellia said. “I’ll go tell him.”

“No, I’ll take care of that. Every second counts. Off with you!”

Orellia mounted her gryphon and flew off into the bright sky.

War,
she thought.
How terrible will it be?

 

 

Shina stomped on the ground and pouted. “You expect me to believe all that?”

Cah’lia left out the part about Sehn’s health—Shina didn’t need to hear that. Otherwise, she’d told the girl everything, holding nothing back. “I’m telling you the truth, Shina, would I lie to you?”

Shina looked up at her. “You always were honest with me back at home...but what about my orders?”

Cah’lia struggled to keep her voice from cracking. “You can take Sehn when we’re done. Then you two can return together.”

Shina smiled, and pumped her fist in victory. “I’m finally gonna have something over my big brother. Man, I can’t wait to see him get brought to the discipline chamber the first time he talks back to an Archmage. Then I’ll make him pay more attention to me. Sehn used to always ignore me, and never let me come along on his adventures.”

That’s never going to happen,
Cah’lia thought.
I’m sorry, Shina. Enjoy the time with him while you can.

Cah’lia looked over her shoulder. Sehn and Nero were scribbling something down, while Rina and Wolly played with the Dwarf’s personal set of throw-and-catch. The sun was past its noon position, and it was time they got a move on.

“I guess I’ll go with you,” Shina said. “I’ll keep my brother out of trouble, but then you’ve gotta give him to me.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. It’s dangerous, Shina.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m super strong. Oh, and I’ll teach Nero a thing or two about Magic.”

Cah’lia ruffled her hair, and together they walked back to rejoin the rest of the group. Seeing their arrival, Sehn and Nero looked in opposite directions, glancing around at the clouds, then back to the floor. There was a clear look of guilt on their faces. They were up to something.

“All right, what did you two do?” Cah’lia asked. “I was only gone for twenty minutes.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Nero said. “Go away.”

Rina and Wolly packed up the equipment, and joined Cah’lia. “Did you two see Sehn or Nero do anything stupid?” Cah’lia asked.

“Rina was not paying attention, Mistress Cah’lia. Rina is sorry.”

“Old Wolly ain’t been
watch’in
as well, Mrs. Cah’lia. Ye don’t be blaming him, I be sorry!”

Cah’lia waved off the apologies, and bent down to retrieve her travel pack. “It’s fine, let me just—”

Cah’lia paused, noticing something a bit off. The bag wasn’t tied properly. Cah’lia was careful to seal their travel packs, preventing anything from falling out. She hadn’t opened it, so why did it look like it was sealed in a rush?

She peered inside, and at the same time Nero and Sehn continued to flutter their eyes around, looking at rocks, clouds, anything but her.

Oh, they definitely did something,
Cah’lia thought.

She rummaged through her belongings, checking for any sign of tampering. Her clothing was unchanged, still neatly folded. Cah’lia didn’t think Sehn knew how to fold, his clothes were always one big crumpled mess, and she knew for a fact that Nero didn’t.

She removed her shampoos, her soaps, and her perfumes, none of them had been tampered with. She checked her coin purse, and thankfully Sehn hadn’t thought to rob her—though, she didn’t think he would. He’d threaten her, but Sehn wasn’t the type to steal money from people.

Then she saw it. It was slight, but it was noticeable. Her diary was on its side, and Cah’lia always placed away her books flat, it prevented any damage to them during bumpy travel.

Did Sehn read my diary? I’ll kill him if he did.

Cah’lia hadn’t put anything too dangerous in her diary, because with Sehn you never knew what he was capable of, and flipping through her diary wasn’t something she’d put past him. “Shina,” Cah’lia whispered.

The Elven girl walked over. “Yeah?”

“I think your brother read my diary. Check to make sure yours is okay. I’m guessing you have one, right?”

Shina’s eyes widened in panic, and she darted over to her gryphon. The creature squawked, and a look of alarm crossed her girlish face. “I think he did!” she shouted.

Sehn and Nero continued to look innocently around at nothing in particular. There was a cry from Rina as well. “Mistress Cah’lia! I think Rina’s diary has been violated.” Cah’lia had been teaching the little Human how to read and write each night, and she’d insisted that Rina keep a diary to practice with.

Now Cah’lia was angry. If she found out that her little brother and Sehn were messing with their diaries, there’d be hell to pay. The three girls brought their diaries together, and with a deep breath they opened them together.

“What have you done!” Shina cried. “He didn’t just read it, he changed things!”

Cah’lia opened her diary, and was greeted by the same sight. A shiver from Rina indicated that hers too, had been tampered with. All along the pages, written in red, were corrections, cross-outs, and new sentences entirely.

Sehn cleared his throat. “The Great Sehn merely edited your diaries for fact checking, grammar, and consistency. It is nothing to be alarmed about, and I do expect payment for it. Oh, and by the way, Shina, The Great Sehn now knows all about your crush on this ‘Kellar.’ As we speak, I am sending out messengers from all corners of the world to inform him of your secret crush. He’s going to know, Shina,” he said with a grin. “Oh, he’s going to know everything.”

Shina howled at him, lightning dancing from her fingertips. “How dare you, Sehn! I’ll kill you!”

Cah’lia put down her diary, and tried to calm the raging Shina. She couldn’t touch her, not without being shocked. “It’ll be okay, Shina, just calm down.”

“Calm down? Look at what he did.” She held up her diary, which miraculously remained unaffected by all the lightning. It was clear what Sehn had changed. Where once a line read—‘Kellar is so dreamy, and I think about him every day,’ there were now lines crossed out, and words added in. If read with Sehn’s “edits,” it now said—‘Kellar is an insignificant fucking worm, and so is anyone that has a crush on him, especially if their name is Shina.’

Shina had good reason to be upset, but this was no time to be fighting. “Look, I’ll take care of this, okay? But Shina, please, we can’t be fighting right now. You know why.”

Shina sighed and then nodded. “All right, fine. I guess if you, Cah’lia, can manage to be calm,” she said glancing down at Cah’lia’s diary on the floor, “well, then I guess I can too. He got you way worse, anyway.”

“Hmm?” Cah’lia bent down and picked up her diary. She knew it would be a foolish thing to do. The smart thing would be to throw away the diary and start fresh, but curiosity won out. “What in the Gods?”