Golnar sat in the palace study off the throne room at the large desk, his hands on the top, drumming his fingers against the wood. They had a problem. Kedan had defected. He had stupidly thought he knew what was better for the kingdom more than Golnar. He had gone to visit Daracha and came back with new ideas in his head. Which meant Daracha was probably working for the other side as well.

Kedan’s disappearance would be costly. He would be missed quickly by the folk and the rest of the council. Daracha’s defection would be a huge blow as well. She was on the council. She knew much of their plans. She could have been feeding the old magical folk secrets for a long time. These were things that could get in Golnar’s way. These were things that could cause all of Golnar’s hopes to come crashing down.

Besides all of this, Golnar’s magic was acting up again. He was having a hard time performing simple spells. He could barely summon a cup form a short distance. His magic that ran in his blood felt weak. The power he usually felt was not there, making him feel tired and irritable. He didn’t know what was causing it. No one else seem to be having any issues. He tried resting more. He tried eating different foods. He tried abstaining from wine. Nothing seemed to help. He woke up everyday being able to do less and less magic.

Golnar had spent days researching his problem. He looked for potions and spells that could cure him. He hadn’t found much to help him. He wondered if he drank the potion again with different blood if it would help. He didn’t know how it would affect him or whose blood he should use, so he had held off.

Golnar had also been reading about the old kings and queens that were in power before the followers of the ancients took over. They may have been weak in sentiment, but they were powerful in magic. Golnar wondered if this new king of the magical folk was powerful as well. He would love to get his hands on this boy. Maybe a potion made with his blood would spark Golnar’s magic back to life.

Golnar looked up and saw Till starring at him from a chair in front of the desk.

“Has there be no sign of Kedan anywhere in the city?” asked Golnar.

“None, we have searched every ring. He is either hiding very well or he has left the city,” replied Till.

“How did he get out of the castle to begin with?” asked Golnar.

“There have long been rumors of secret passages in the castle. I suppose there was one in his rooms,” answered Till.

“I have searched all of Kedan’s rooms three times and I have found nothing. There is nothing but solid walls. I can find no secret passages.”

“What do Camelia and Teryn say happened?” asked Till sitting forward.

“They say Kedan locked the door and ran into the bedroom. They went in after him and he had disappeared.”

“And you believe them?” asked Till.

“I don’t know. If they did help him, how would they do it? They can’t travel magically within the castle due to the many wards Philo has set up.”

“Could they have hid Kedan somehow, until you and the soldiers left?”

“We searched that room up and down. We left nothing unturned. Where would they have hidden him?” asked Golnar testily.

Till threw his hands in the air. “I guess he disappeared then. What can we do? He’s not much of a loss anyway. What did he really do?”

“Don’t underestimate his appeal to the folk. He was much loved by the people of the city and beyond. We will have a hard time explaining his disappearance,” said Golnar.

“Do you really think Daracha is involved in this?” asked Till. “Why would she be against our plans? She is on the council. She only stands to benefit.”

“I have sent her messages with no return. Philo sent some soldiers to Nemar to collect her four days ago. He received a message from them yesterday,” said Golnar folding his hands.

“And what did they have to say?” asked Till.

“They couldn’t find the village.”

“What do you mean they couldn’t find the village? It’s not overly large, but it is by far the largest villiage in the Forest of the Lowlands.”

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“They followed the map. They got to where the village should be and it’s not there. They can’t find it.”

“So, Daracha put up some heavy protection wards?” asked Till. “How did she manage that? She’s only had magic as long as I have. I can’t do anything like that, yet.”

“I’m beginning to think Daracha may have had magic for some time. Probably her whole life. I think she’s been against us from the beginning,” said Golnar.

“So, we can assume our plans are well known by the powers in Abscon.”

“Yes. She also took my notes and some of my elixir. I think it is safe to say they have that as well,” said Golnar. “These are complications we do not need.”

“So, what do we do next? How do we go forward from this?” asked Till.

“I’m not sure yet. If we go forward with our plan, we will have to watch out for attacks from the old magical folk. If they have the elixir, my writings, and the plan, they may how to attack us in a way we could not recover.”

“Do we attack them first? How did Philo’s soldiers in the mountain pass and the forest work out?”

“Philo said he hasn’t heard from either group in over a week. I think we can assume they have been dealt with. I suppose it was a foolish errand after all,” answered Golnar.

He leaned back in his chair at a loss of what to do next. They could go on with their plan, but it would be dangerous. This had to go perfectly. There could be no mistakes. If something went wrong, it could throw the whole thing off. If there was even a small spark of revolt from the folk before the changes could take place, it could turn into something they wouldn’t be able to control.

“Where is Philo?” asked Till. “Shouldn’t he be in here, discussing this? He is in charge of our soldiers. He should have some idea of what to do.”

“I have summoned him, but he has not come. I don’t know what is holding him up.”

“Have him sent for again. He thinks he can do as he pleases because he thinks he is too important to face consequences,” said Till with disgust.

“He is too important to us at this point. He can do as he pleases as long as he does his job. We need him to train and lead our soldiers. We need him to train the folk. He can perform spells and curses we couldn’t dream of.”

“What about the other man he brought to the city. That Gorm person. Can’t he do what Philo does?” asked Till.

“I’ve met him. He doesn’t have the stomach to really face his old friends. He just wanted safety and a place in the first ring. He has not interest in fighting,” replied Golnar as he stretched his fingers trying to see if he could feel any magic in them. They felt cold and numb.

“Why keep him around then? Why not dispense of him?” asked Till.

“If word gets out that we treat those who help us badly, do you think anyone else will want to help? No, we have to keep our word while we can. There may come a point where we can’t, but as long as Gorm keeps quiet, we will not have a problem.”

The door of the study opened suddenly. Golnar looked up and Till turned around in his seat. Philo strode into the room with a smug grin on his face.

“I see you don’t even bother knocking anymore, Philo?” said Till rolling his eyes as Philo sat down next to him.

“Where have you been? I summoned you an hour ago,” said Golnar harshly.

“I had correspondence to attend to,” said Philo casually. “It really couldn’t wait. Then I had to go speak with my soldiers.”

“What correspondence was so important you had to keep us waiting?” asked Till. “What do your soldiers have to do with it?”

“I’ve received a letter from a friend in the Valley,” said Philo smiling. “He is a powerful friend from an old family. He had some interesting information for us.”

Golnar sat up straight. “What information?”

“Do you still want to get to the young king? Do you want him alive?”

Golnar nodded. “That would be ideal. I’ve thought it over and killing him probably wouldn’t even stop them from fighting. If we can use the boy for our advantage it will work out better.”

“I believe I can get the boy for you,” said Philo

“How?” asked Till disbelievingly. “He is kept in Abscon and we can’t even find the village.”

“He isn’t in Abscon. The young king is in the Valley. He is staying there through spring,” said Philo.

“So,” said Till. “We can’t find the Valley either.”

“My friend can take the wards down so we can. We can lead a group of soldiers right into the town center,” said Philo smiling.

“This young king will still be hard to get to,” said Golnar looking at Philo. “Isn’t his protector always by his side? Aren’t there numerous guards available for his protection. If we are going right into the heart of the Valley our group of soldiers could get slaughtered before we even see the boy.”

“True, but the information I have from my friend has given me an idea. I don’t need a large group of soldiers. I just need a group large enough to cause problems. My friend can get me the one thing that could convince the protector, Ansel, to give up his king,” said Philo leaning forward.

“How sure are you of this plan?” asked Till. “Look what happened at the end of last summer. We will lose soldiers in this plan. If we come back empty handed, it will be a huge blow.”

Golnar nodded. “What makes you think the protector will give up his king at all? What’s so important that he would even consider it?

“Not a what but a who,” said Philo. “Even if Ansel won’t give the boy up, she would be a valuable hostage. Or if we chose to kill her, it would be a huge blow to the old magical folk. It seems Ansel thinks he is in love with the woman, maybe he will trade her for the king.”

“Who are you talking about?” asked Till impatiently.

“Gryphon Keene, the leader of the Ring,” said Philo.

Golnar sat back. “You really think you can pull this off?”

Philo nodded.

“What does your friend want in return?” asked Golnar

“He wants a safe place for him and his wife. He also doesn’t want us to hurt Gryphon. We can try our best, but what happens, happens. He should be happy enough with his own safety. “

“Alright, Philo, but if things go wrong this time, there will be consequences.”