The Greater Challenge Beyond (The Southern Continent Series Book 3) (39 page)

“What point is there in expecting guards to be of any use against a man who is willing and apparently able to fight against the gods?” Inge laughingly answered.

“Grange clearly doesn’t plan to fight against us,” Halsten added.

“And any man,” the voice of Baron Holmgren unexpected rose, as he stood at his seat, “who was willing to stand up on behalf of someone who bore him ill will, that man deserves our trust and respect,” the man stated, then bowed elegantly towards Grange, before taking his seat once again.

“Tell us, Acton’s champion, what plans you have,” the king spoke to Grange, after a round of murmurs in favor of Holmgren’s gracious comments.

“I have instruction from Acton, and advice from Miriam, and I mean to follow both deities in what they have instructed,” Grange began.

“And what does he say he has from Shaine, I wonder?” one wit asked from the small crowd.

“Nightmares,” another answered, setting off a round of titters.

“As she probably has from his presence as well,” Inge added, setting off more appreciative laughter.

“At any rate,” Grange said, with a smile, “I have created the wand that will increase my abilities and give me strength,” he patted his hip.  “And now I intend to go to the Bloomingians, as Acton instructed,” he said.  “I will instruct the Bloomingians in the message of the god, and bring them back to Southgar,” he told the court.

“After that, I will prepared the weapons that Miriam says I can use to defeat the demons,” he added.

“You will not travel alone to the Bloomingians, will you?” Halsten asked.

Grange cocked an eyebrow.

“As my lord knows, a great many members of the court have received dreams of instruction, dreams telling them to travel with me to the wilderness,” Grange said.  “I believe these messages come from either Acton or Miriam, for reasons that they must know.  And so I will take companions with me into the wilderness,” he said.

“I’ll be one,” Halsten said.

“And I’ll be one too,” Inge immediately added.

“So will I,” Tranch, one of their noble cousins, who happened to be in the room, spoke up.

“I will,” Jenniline said.

“I will,” “I will,” “I will,” every one of the princesses said in turn each of them standing as they spoke, including even Brigin, the youngest, who stood up last.

“And there are a few others, not in the room, who have told me of having the dream as well,” Grange added.

“I’d ask that the palace favor us by preparing a supply train we can take with us for the long journey ahead and back,” Grange told the king.

“You shall have supplies,” the king replied.  “But must you take both of my sons, and all of my daughters?  Can you not leave someone behind for me?”

“If I were allowed to change the group your majesty, I would,” Grange said, thinking to himself about how he would cut the size of the group down to just Jenniline and himself.

“Very well,” the monarch sighed.  “We will need some time to put together the supplies you will need.  When do you plan to depart?”

Grange considered.  There was nothing to hold him back, other than assembling his team.  “Would it be possible to leave in three days?” he asked the king.

Magnus rubbed his forehead.  “We will make it so.

“And someday soon, you will return to tell us who you will choose to be your bride?” he asked.

Grange involuntarily flinched, having forgotten that it was another condition he had to meet.

“I will hope to give you an answer soon,” he started to look over at the line of princesses, then straightened his gaze.

“May the gods help him, and her,” Inge said in a voice that could be heard throughout the room, causing more amused chuckles.

“I have no more news to share, your majesty,” Grange felt it was time to conclude.  He did not have any more to tell, and he knew that lunch time was at hand.

“There is one demand we will have for you,” the king surprised Grange by saying.  The whole room turned their attention to the king, caught by surprise as well.

“We hear of this musical ability you have, and I would ask that you grace our palace with a performance of your talents before you leave on your adventure.  Would tomorrow night be suitable?” the king asked.

“Certainly, your majesty,” Grange answered automatically, so surprised by the request that he had no idea of what he answered.

“That will be delightful,” Magnus said with a smile.  He rose, and everyone else who was sitting rose respectfully as well.  He and his sons left the room through an unseen door in the back, while the rest of the group surged together.

“That went well,” Jenniline told him as she reached him, just a step ahead of the others.

“You really intend to take a traveling circus with you to see the Bloomingians?” she asked skeptically, as other crowded around and began to congratulate him and thank him.

“I will take them all, even the little one, if they’ve had the dream,” Grange answered her.

“Did you hear that?  I’m going too!” Brigin crowed in a shrill voice.

Grange listened to congratulations and praise for several minutes, until the crowd thinned out, then he walked with all the princesses to the dining hall.  They sat down to eat, as all but Jenniline and Hope began to talk about their excitement and expectations for traveling through the wilderness.

Grange listened politely, until a servant approached him with a message.

“The palace gate reports that there’s a visitor who wishes to speak with you about a dream,” the man told Grange.  “The guards are refusing to let the visitor in, of course, but agreed to let you know of the claim.”

“I’ll be right there,” Grange said, before he took one last bite of food off of the piece of roast fowl that he held.  The visitor was presumable Carrel, showing up unexpectedly early.

Grange excused himself, then followed the messenger through the palace grounds to the main gate of the palace.  When he arrived, he craned his neck, looking for some sign of Carrel, but couldn’t spot the man nor his mandolin in the vicinity of the guards who were on duty.

“Did you have a visitor for me?” Grange asked the guards as he walked into the center of the passage.

“Yes, your lordship,” one of them nodded.  “Over there,” he gestured to the left of the gate.

Grange looked over, past a woman, and saw no one waiting for him.

“Is that all I get, that blank look?” the woman said.

Grange adjusted his gaze, and looked at the woman’s features, surprised by her comment.

Her face seemed familiar, and he knew he should know her, though he couldn’t imagine what woman he would know outside the palace grounds.

“And after I let you into my bed,” she added.

And then the misty memories of his short career as an escaped prisoner flashed to the forefront of his mind.  He did recognize her – the pretty face, the voluptuous body, the heavy makeup, and the colorful clothing all were unforgettable.

“Merched?” he said quizzically.

“I am, and you are apparently in much better favor with the palace than you were the last time I saw you,” the woman said.

“I had a dream that you were on a rough journey in the rugged wilderness,” she told him.  “And I was there with you, helping you.

“I felt like I had to come tell you, to find out if you are really going someplace, and to see if I can go with you?” she said.

Grange blinked his eyes.

“You had the dream?” he asked in surprise.  “You want to come with me?”

“It felt urgent – it feels urgent right now.  I don’t know that I want to go traipsing through the wilderness – it doesn’t look fun – but I feel that I have to do it, I have to go,” she seemed to struggle to try to describe the compulsion she was under.

“I plan to leave in three days,” Grange said faintly.  There had to be a reason the gods had chosen Merched to travel with him, and he already was beginning to anticipate the reaction he would hear from Jenniline; it would not be gracious.  But the delivery of the dreams and the selection of their recipients was not in his hands, so he could not deny any of them from coming.

“Come back here the night after tomorrow, so that you’ll be with us when we leave,” he instructed.

“You would like for me to spend the night with you?” she asked in a sultry voice.  She sauntered over to him and put her hand to his cheek.

“We’ll find some place for you to sleep,” Grange hastily clarified.  “And we’re likely to be gone for a fortnight or more, so make any arrangements you need,” he advised.

She looked at him speculatively.  “I never knew when I saved you that I’d get dragged into all of this.  I hope you make it worth my while.”

“Good bye, Merched,” Grange said weakly, as he watched her turn and walk away.

Back inside the palace grounds, Grange returned to his tower, to work on adding more energy to his wand.  It was a comforting activity – he enjoyed handling the wand, and he enjoyed handling the power; it was less confusing than dealing with people much of the time.  He let himself drift into a complacent state of tranquility as he watched the energy flow endlessly into his wand.

“What’s this I hear?” Jenniline’s voice sounded metallic and harsh as she came up the steps to the top of the tower.  His comfortable solitude was broken, and he steeled himself for what was to come next.

“You mean about Merched?” he asked.

“About a woman, a certain woman, a certain kind of woman, who you met at the palace gates.  Did you tell her she could come into the palace?” Jenniline asked, as she took a position directly in front of Grange, her hands on her hips.

“She told me she had the same dream as everyone else,” Grange said.  “And I believed her.  Why should she lie?  Who would really want to go out into the wilderness to on a journey like this, unless they were truly called?  How would she have even heard about it if it wasn’t genuine?” Grange asked.

“Still,” Jenniline sputtered, “what are you going to do with her?”

“I’ll just take her along,” Grange said.  “I’m not sure what I’m going to ‘do’ with any of them.  If it was up to me I’d just take you and the two of us would go alone down to the Bloomingians,” he said.

Jenniline’s expression softened slightly.  “Well, just be sure that I’ll be watching her.  And you.”

“I can’t do anything about that,” Grange grinned, and the princess stalked off in exasperation.

They practiced at the armory, later that day and the next, and oversaw the gathering of supplies for their trip north, then Grange prepared for his concert for the palace, as Carrel and Merched came to the palace to take up residence before the next morning’s departure.

Carrel and Grange put on their concert in the largest garden of the palace complex in the evening, and Merched surprised Grange by singing with them, in a lovely contralto voice that captivated the audience.  She had come to the palace without any of her usual make up applications, looking fresh and wholesome in a way Grange hadn’t expected, as he carefully arranged for her to spend the evening in the rooms where Jenniline had formerly lived, before the princess had moved into the tower with him.

Grange ended the night with an impromptu fireworks display, shooting off aerial explosions of power and light in a variety of colors and shapes, until someone in the crowd anonymously called out for a display of “the kissing scene”, which provoked laughter, even from Grange.  Then everyone went to bed in anticipation of the departure of Grange and his companions on the way to their embassy with the Bloomingians.

Chapter 30

The departure from the palace was later than Grange expected.  Some of the princesses had difficulty awakening and being prepared for departure soon after sunrise.  Grange felt some annoyance as he went over the supplies that were loaded on the backs of a half dozen mules, but he waited and ate a larger, later, more leisurely breakfast than he had intended while the ladies slowly emerged from their rooms.

That morning was the first time the full party of travelers gathered together, and they looked upon one another curiously, observing, with some surprises, who was included in the party.  The six princesses were all prepared to travel: Jenniline, Hope, Acco, Paile, Hilto, and Brigin.  Merched was the other female in the party.  The men who were eager to travel included the two princes, Halsten and Inge, and their cousins Tranch and Skore.  Two of Hope’s perpetual suitors, Kiergar and Remar, and Carrel the musician rounded out those who had dreamed of traveling into the wilderness with Grange.

“Fourteen companions? That’s an unlucky number,” Skore observed  “Why not a lucky baker’s dozen of thirteen?”

“Maybe you could add Grange himself and call it fifteen,” Halsten suggested mildly.

“Maybe we could disinvite one of the party,” Jenniline said darkly.

“We all are here, and we all will go,” Grange said.  He looked up at the balcony, where the king and several court members stood, waiting to watch the departure of the group.

“We’ll take two days to reach Goala’s castle at Skengare, and we’ll spend the night there before we head out into the wilderness,” Grange advised.  He and all the others waved to the watchers and well-wishers, then their caravan began to move forward, along the palace drive to the main gate, the way out into the city and beyond.

The first day of their travels was along level, relatively well-maintained roads.  All the members of the party had horses to ride for the first stage of the trip, and most of them did.  Grange however, walked alongside his horse at least half the time, trying to re-accustom his legs to the rigors of walking long distances; he knew that out in the thick brush of the wilderness, the horses would not be practical, as he and the others would spend much time on the ground, cutting a path open through the bushes and trees that were the unending obstacles to travels across the land.

Grange deliberately drove the group in the early evening, past a small village with an inn, and then into a patch of forest, where he intended for the group to spend the night.  The princesses were in for a shock, he knew, spending a night out of doors, sleeping on the ground, eating the food that could be prepared over an open fire at best.  Other than for Jenniline, and Hope, to a lesser extent, it was a way of living that they had never imagined before.