"Cyrus is my name. Let's away."
Bren glares back at the eldarin woman and very deliberately ignores her questions.
"Yeah, let's go before anyone else gets killed for her sake."
Elias comes to Bren and says, "Old friend. Do not blame her for her father's anger. Our true enemy is the River King himself. Of course, we must prove to the village that the miller is not a murderer."
He looks serious, adding, "But justice must also be brought to the King. Even if he considers himself above it. We must reach an agreement with him. We must be careful."
"This world is one of passions, both for great joy, but also great anger. Look inside yourself and see if this mood that has consumed you is truly yours or merely this land working through you. I have always trusted you. Bren. I believe we are stronger together."
Bren listens intently to Elias. When the ranger is finished, Bren grins.
"You elves are good with words. Too good, sometimes."
Always aware that Cat knows more than she does, Eglantine nonetheless feels that the tone of this conversation is turning too harsh. Leaving Elias to talk to Bren for the moment, she turns to Ellesandra and holds out her hands.
"Ellesandra, we cannot compel you, we can only ask. The manner of asking is not always tactful, but we are fearful and in a strange land. I ask you as one woman to another to help us to save your husband. You were forced to wed him as part of a bargain and to me that's repugnant ... but ... he is as much trapped as you are."
Tears come to her eyes as she considers the pain that both Ellesendra and Froderick have suffered as pawns in a wider game.
"Please. Help us break the trap. I spoke of justice, but I think that's the wrong word. "Balance" is closer. I understand that better as well. You and Froderick both need to be freed."
"Well spoken, indeed."
|
Elias comes to Bren and says, "Old friend. Do not blame her for her father's anger. Our true enemy is the River King himself. Of course, we must prove to the village that the miller is not a murderer."
He looks serious, adding, "But justice must also be brought to the King. Even if he considers himself above it. We must reach an agreement with him. We must be careful."
"This world is one of passions, both for great joy, but also great anger. Look inside yourself and see if this mood that has consumed you is truly yours or merely this land working through you. I have always trusted you. Bren. I believe we are stronger together."
Elias:
Bren listens intently to Elias. When the ranger is finished, Bren grins.
"You elves are good with words. Too good, sometimes."
Elias: ** spoiler omitted **Elias comes to Bren and says, "Old friend. Do not blame her for her father's anger. Our true enemy is the River King himself. Of course, we must prove to the village that the miller is not a murderer."
He looks serious, adding, "But justice must also be brought to the King. Even if he considers himself above it. We must reach an agreement with him. We must be careful."
"This world is one of passions, both for great joy, but also great anger. Look inside yourself and see if this mood that has consumed you is truly yours or merely this land working through you. I have always trusted you. Bren. I believe we are stronger together."
|
|
Ellessandra leads the band away from the river, cross-country. In the late afternoon (in what seems a strangely long day), you come to a river that looks essentially identical to that back in Riverbend.
Ellesandra says, "Downriver, now, to the Feywild mill. Perhaps another hour, perhaps two or three."
Catriana's mind wanders around.
|
|
There’s a large shape in the dark woods, illuminated by the flickering light of fireflies and fey lanterns. It is a stone and timber building right up against the river. A rough wooden dam of logs and mud holds back the water, and a huge millwheel turns slowly. This mill looks remarkably like the one in Riverbend, though the dam is different, and so is the raiding party gathered near the shore of the millpond.
A couple ettercaps are the tallest, but you also see more than half a dozen Black Fey with their tall swords, many eladrin with bows, plus a single mounted rider: a young half-elf with golden hair.
That rider’s eyes burn with a cold blue, the color of cornflowers. Four blue-fletched arrows shoot from the windows of the mill and land near your feet. He shouts: “That’s a warning shot. Trouble us no further.”
Ellessandra, voice trembling, calls out, "Flax?"
The rider seems momentarily shaken on apparently recognizing Ellessandra, then yells out, "Let her go!"
"What the hells is going on, Ellesandra? What's your son doing with those Black Fey bastards?"
"That's Flax? I thought he was younger than that?"
"Ellessandra, stop! Have your son come here, without any Black Fey. Those people are dangerous."
Teeth a-gnashing, Bren spins around to face his party.
"If the Black Fey have her, that's the end of our mission! We can't just let her go!"
"She's going to talk to her son, Bren. She's coming back."
"After her! We must protect her from herself!" Yomi limps after.
Elias sighs and motions for Yomi to be quiet.
Eglantine exchanges a helpless glance with Elias and waits, hoping that Yomi will heed the elf's gesture.
"That's alright, Yomi, let her go. If they capture her, all we have to do is kill them."
After Ellesandra is far enough, Catriana says quietly to her friends: "Should we be nice and try to talk with them, or just wait to see what happens?"
"The only thing Black Fey say is 'spare me', and that's only after they've been given a good thrashing."