Orenda stood in the study with the others wearing her traveling cloak, which she had sewn up in an attempt to close the hole in the back from where Shelly’s spell had stabbed her, staring down at the map pinned to the table. The cabinets were littered with her sketches now, but no one was looking at them. They were all focused on the task at hand.

“As the dragon flies,” Draco told them, “I’ll make it to the Burrow a good two days ahead of you, if everything goes as planned. But I won’t know where you are to double back for you, so we’ll be unable to communicate. If you take days longer than you should, though, I’ll come looking for you.”

“If we can get the rides,” Gareth told the group, “We should be able to make it to the burrow in about a week. If we have to go on foot it’ll take considerably longer. I don’t know what security is like on the earth continent- probably not terribly bad until we near the capital, but we all need to be on guard.”

“We don’t let them take us alive,” Bella said with great solemnity, “We never let them take us alive.”

“It won’t come to that,” Gareth said, “And what we mean by that, Rendy,” he said because he felt that it needed to be clarified, “Is that if there is to be a fight, we take out as many of them as we can before they take us down. They’ll fight for their lives like cornered animals if they have to. It isn’t a suicide mission. Don’t… don’t do anything stupid.”

“I knew what you meant,” Orenda told him.

“Hopefully the Glamorous Seagull is still there,” Gareth said. “I hope Xac appreciates this. I don’t like Uril. I’m not particularly happy to be here.”

“I’m not afraid,” Anilla said, “I came here before, after I first left my home. Everyone seemed nice enough, but I didn’t go very far inland.”

“The Emerald Knight isn’t here, Gary,” Bella put a hand on his shoulder, “He’s in the frozen north. He wouldn’t have had time to get back.”

Gareth made a noise of confirmation, but Orenda knew that he didn’t agree with Bella and she wasn’t sure she did either. Orenda didn’t know enough about sea travel to know how long it would take, she didn’t know if the Emerald Knight had water or air mages in his employ, or if he could teleport like a djinn. She didn’t know what he could do, and she suspected that Bella didn’t either.

“Get your staff, Rendy,” Falsie told her.

“Wrap it,” Gareth said, “Wrap it as if it’s a gift or somesuch, something that we’re traveling with. Wrap it in cloth. That thing’s so gaudy that having it is asking to get jumped.”

“Will you be wearing your mask?” Orenda asked him.

“That’s different,” Gareth said, “I need that, Rendy… I need it.”

“Right,” Orenda huffed.

“Get the staff and meet us on deck,” Gareth told her, “If we’re going, we’re going tonight.”

Orenda could barely see the outline of the shore in the darkness, and thought of how she had never really thought of herself as a traveler. The danger that pressed in on all sides had caused her to forget that she was going to a new place, that things were likely to be different here than they were back home, that under different circumstances this could be an amazing adventure, a chance to experience a new culture, to meet new people.

Gareth held out his arm and Draco, returning from the scouting he had done, alighted on it.

“There’s no one patrolling the shore here,” Draco said, “I mean, there are a few soldiers who seem as if they should have a job to do, but none of them are actually doing it. Half of them look drunk.”

“Wouldn’t they have the highest caliber of their military along the coastline?” Orenda asked.

“Oh to be young and naive and still believe that Xandra cares about her own people,” Gareth sighed, “The castle is fortified, Rendy. The nobility finances their own army unless war is declared. These pesant fisher-folk mean nothing to Xandra beyond the money they pay in. We probably won’t run into real trouble until we get close to the queen. This is somewhere we frequently pick up the runaways. We know what we’re doing. Just stick close to us.”

Orenda didn’t trust this information at all. Gareth had told her, himself, that he hadn’t stepped foot on Urillian soil in a good twenty years. Had he only meant that he hadn’t been to the Burrow? She doubted it. Nothing about him was very consistent and that inconsistency grated on her nerves and made her distrustful.

“This may have been easier,” She told them, “Had I taken more after my mother.”

Bella rubbed the back of her neck and pulled up the hood of her cloak, and stared up at the sky.

“A week?” She asked Gareth, and he followed her eyes toward the sky.

“We’ll be at the burrow before it happens,” he assured her. “If we aren’t… there are acres and acres of woods. Everything will be fine, darling.”

“We don’t have the time to wait,” She said with great determination, “We have to warn Xac.”

“And we shall!” Draco flew from Gareth’s arm to alight on Impy’s shoulder. He snuggled into his face, and Impy reached into his pocket and pulled out a collar. Orenda thought this might be a terrible mistake, as it would mark Draco as a “pet” rather than a “wild animal” but she understood when she saw the water crystal that stood out against the leather, and when she heard Draco speak.

“I’ll scry you, darling, when I get there.”

“Be swift,” Impy held out his arm and Draco hopped to it so Impy could kiss his scaley head, “And be safe.”

“Always,” Draco snuggled into him again, spread his wings, and took off in the direction of the shore.

“Keep it ship shape, old friend,” Gareth squeezed Impy’s shoulder.

“What’s that captain?” Impy asked, “Not to worry! Everything will be fine!”

As Orenda climbed onto the rowboat, she looked over the deck, and finally spotted Mr Bilge, mopping away furiously.

“Mr Bilge!” She called, and he looked over to her, “Goodbye! I’ll see you upon my return!”

“Bye!” He said, and went back to furiously mopping.

Orenda took her seat beside Anilla and pulled her bag into her lap. She held the staff, now hidden in cloth, to her chest and watched as Bella and Falsie tugged a rope on either side of the boat with cries of ‘heave’ and ‘ho’.

Gareth sat across from them, staring off towards the shore.

“Nothing good happens in Uril,” he said.

As the rowboat hit the waves, Orenda felt her body tense up, felt her muscles threaten to give out, and as her stomach descended into her intestines, she leaned over the side of the boat to vomit into the ocean.

“That shouldn’t happen,” Falsie said, “You ok there, girl?”

“It must be where we’re so close,” Orenda said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve, “Oh god I’m… I may pass out.”

“Thesis’s glowing eyes,” Gareth said, “I don’t understand why it hits you this hard. You would think as a half-breed you would have an immunity.”

“I don’t know,” Orenda said, trying to stay upright, “That I like that term.”

“Oh,” Gareth seemed to understand what he had said and tried to amend it, “I didn’t mean… that isn’t what I… honestly anything else I say will just dig the hole deeper, won’t it? I wasn’t trying to… I don’t know what the polite… I’m going to stop talking. Here, lie down in the bottom of the boat.”

Orenda tried, but there wasn’t enough room for her to stretch out, so she turned with her back to Gareth and laid back as best she could with her head in his lap. She felt the motion as Bella and Falsie began to row, and to her surprise, she heard Gareth’s voice, more beautiful than it normally was, as he pulled back her hood and ran his fingers through her hair.

“My father traveled to the temple,

He got me some cake

The cake is in the closet

And the closet needs a key.

The key is with a carpenter,

Who wants some money

The money is with the lady

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

And the lady wants a baby

And the baby wants some milk

And the milk is with the cow

And the cow wants some grass

And the grass is on the mountain

And the mountain wants the rain”

Despite herself, Orenda felt her eyelids drooping, felt the sickness dissipating somewhat. Gareth sang in that same tune, but in a language she didn’t understand, and the world felt so warm and heavy around her…

“Come on, darling,” Gareth said as he shook Oreanda awake. They had situated the boat under the dock, not beside of it, and would have to climb out to reach the top. Gareth had his mask pulled down again, and Orenda could not read his face, but Bella helped him pull Orenda to her feet.

“It’s cold,” Orenda said, because she had assumed that when they reached land the chill of the night would be somewhat blocked, as it always had back home. She didn’t remember it ever getting this cold in the seaside city where she grew up.

“Yes,” Bella said, “I suppose it is, for you. It’s autumn here.”

That was right! The seasons changed in Uril- it often got cold. It snowed on the solstice.

“Which is fortunet,” Gareth said, “We’re close enough to the mask festival that I may not be particularly conspicuous.”

He pulled Orenda onto the dock, and she took in the pitiful sight before her. She was still ill, and still found herself leaning heavily on Gareth, but even through the tears that blurred her vision she could tell that this place was not as nice as the capital of the colony. That shocked her- she had assumed the Urillians had poured all their money into the upkeep of the earth continent, but here, along this strip by the docks, the buildings were much smaller than she was used to, two stories at most, and made of wood that seemed as if it had been long worn down by the salt air and harsh lives.

She hadn’t considered that there may be poverty, or any kind of hardship, amongst the earth elves. The sight made her feel something that she didn’t understand. She remembered that there had been a few earth elves at the workhouse with her, when she was very young, remembered that she had seen them working away in the print shop on heavy, dangerous machines- but somehow, in her mind, they had all become the spoiled children that she had gone to school with.

But that wasn’t true. That had never been true. Even here, in the heart of the empire, people wandered, thin and gaunt, wearing clothing that had been stitched back together, that had been out of fashion for a century or more. The Glamourous Seagull wasn’t glamorous at all. The front window was broken and the glass panel had been covered with a sign that listed drink prices. Apparently if one bought an ale they would receive a free sandwich. Orenda didn’t know if that was a good deal or not.

“Most of these are fishing boats,” Bella explained as they entered the tavern, “Not military ships. No one really attacks Uril proper. Not in centuries. Not with the Emerald Knight here.”

“Right,” Orenda nodded, and allowed Falsie to tug her toward one of the many tables that lined the wall. She didn’t like to sit there, because everything felt greasy, and the wood of the table was a bit rotted in some places- she didn’t particularly like the earthy smell of rotted wood. When Gareth sat on the bench a rat skittered out from under it and ran toward the wall, hugging it in an apparent panic, until a tan cat lept from nowhere that Orenda had seen, and the rat went limp.

Orenda turned her attention to Bella, who was talking quietly with a barmaid, then to take in the other patrons, none of whom seemed to care that she and her companions were there.

“Everyone looks so… apathetic,” She said.

“Beaten down,” Anilla agreed.

“Well, the drudgery of toiling day to day and giving most of your earnings to some lord or lady and seeing no return on it will do that to you,” Gareth said.

“I thought you said there was a festival coming up,” Orenda said.

“There’s a festival just passed,” Gareth said, “Not coming up. Though it doesn’t seem to have put anyone in cheerful spirits.”

He wasn’t wrong, but there did seem to be one person who was determined to lift everyone’s spirits. Orenda heard the sound of a fiddle being tuned, then a youthful voice rang out.

“Where wonders, wars, misfortunes

And troubled times have been

Where bliss and blind confusion

Have come and gone again

Each lord dug in with pleasure

And grabbed at what lay near

Twelve platters piled past measure

Brought wine and foaming beer.

They sat there, gaping gasping

At his strange immortal sheen,

As if a ghost were passing

Every inch in green.”

The woman stood, and Orenda saw that she was a young earth elf, maybe a little older than her, but not by much, the youngest person at her table. She was not yet as worn down by life as those around her. Her spirit was catching, though, because as she sawed on the fiddle, her companions began to clap and sing along with her.

“He looked a lightning flash

They say he seemed so bright,

No mortal would dare to clash

Against the Emerald Knight.”

The table next to them began to clap as well, and Orenda watched the girl throw back an entire pint glass of something a warm yellow color, holding her fiddle and bow in her free hand with one finger extended as if to say, ‘Just a minute’- then she slammed the glass on the table and climbed onto it, rosened her bow, and began to play again.

“He blooms with blossoms set

In lines luxuriant and lush

While the notes flowing from nests,

That fill the forest hush.

He says though no one sees his face

“Why shrink back from the quest?

Though fate bring glory or disgrace

One must meet the test”.

Wherever wars appear,

Surely the Knight ought

To reign without a peer

In fields where battle's fought.”

She sang, and again others took up the chorus, drunkenly and without much skill, some with more enthusiasm than others.

“He looked a lightning flash

They say he seemed so bright,

No mortal would dare to clash

Against the Emerald Knight.”

The girl stood with one foot on her chair and the other on the table, and Orenda was amazed by the response, amazed that no one was stopping her. She had assumed that Uril would be even more stuffy, even more full of rules and regulations than the colony had been. But this girl was really cutting loose on the fiddle, filling the place with music, bringing it to life.

Orenda could have done without the song in praise to the Emerald Knight, though. How she wished she would sing literally anything else. She assumed it was some sort of Urillian propaganda.

“The meaning of his deadly way

Will show what words are worth-

And teach how hard is it to play

The game of Lover's Mirth.

Her chin and cheeks are sweet

Blending rose and white

Her voice a pleasant treat

Her small lips are delight.

The beating drums to measure

Tunes that pipes proclaim,

As each man takes his pleasure

And these two do the same.”

The girl winked, and Orenda realized that she meant everything she was saying sarcastically. She didn’t believe the Emerald Knight was a war hero, she didn’t believe that Xandra was beautiful. She was making fun of them.

And the entire bar agreed.

“He looked a lightning flash

They say he seemed so bright,

No mortal would dare to clash

Against the Emerald Knight.”

The girl giggled and continued:

“She'd such a cheerful air

Who seemed so sweet of face

And he with spotless care

Answered every case,

“My person's yours, of course,

To see you take your pleasure;

I am obliged perforce,

To serve you at your leisure.”

The blow he must wrest

To ease her troubled mind

She asked if he could quest,

And he was so inclined.”

That kind of innuendo would never be tolerated in any of her writing classes. Orenda was beginning to see a divide among the Urillians- they weren’t all like Toli’s family. Some of them were hard-working people, struggling in poverty, who hated the nobility as much as the Knights did. Even among the Knights she had never seen the kind of spirit she saw now, and she wondered if this girl was one of them.

She sang along with the others this time, as her entire table did:

“He looked a lightning flash

They say he seemed so bright

No mortal would dare to clash

Against the Emerald Knight.”

The girl drug the bow across the strings and slowed her tempo. When she sang again, the playful tone in her voice was gone; it was full of real sorrow.

“Our land, not steeped in darkness

Instead this blinding sheen

The light that pierces, heartless,

The Knight in blazing green.

The whole world lies asunder

At the mind of our great queen

We've angered our own savior:

The Holy One we need.

The world falls all around us

Please listen to our plight,

The people who sit helpless

Below the Emerald Knight.”

The crowd gave a more or less appreciative clap and the girl bowed as if she lived and breathed for attention, grinned, and hopped from where she stood to stride to the bar.

“Is that worth a meal?” She asked, “Can I sing for my supper?”

“You can quit riling the customers up,” The barmaid told her, “They get antsy when they get riled up.”

“That’s life, mama,” she giggled, “Want me to do a balled? I’ll bust out Barbra Allen or somethin’,” She slid his bow across the strings again and began to sing a different song, a more mournful tune.

Bella set a tray of drinks on the table and slid in beside Gareth.

“He’s in the back,” she said, “He’ll see us. He’s still here.”