improved since Torroth had discovered her on waking one morning. She had been unresponsive to any attempts at resuscitation. Her vital signs hadn’t decayed and no physical sign could be found that might account for the condition. She was neither hot nor cold so fever was not considered a cause. It was as if she was in a deep slumber and couldn’t be wakened.
Torroth had been feeding her the thin broth that the healer provided. Other than that, there was nothing that he could do. That simple fact was driving him to insanity. The officer that had interrogated them after their capture made frequent appearances and would observe from the other side of the bars set into the door. He had left without saying anything both times, but Torroth thought he had detected worry in his eyes, what could be seen of his eyes in the shifting torch light.
***
Balinor had retained his haughty attitude throughout the remainder of the trip to the hidden base in the western Garoche forest. Urake hadn’t been bothered by the attitude near as much as Emeck had been. Em’risi, after that first night, had been withdrawn for the most part. She did manage to put him on edge. The way that she seemed to stare through him was rather disconcerting. Her crying had been done and now she just seemed to be trying to cope with her new existence.
Aleest was interesting. He preferred the company of the horses to the people; however, he did seem to like Emeck. The two of them could hold conversations that were silent except for the intermittent laughter. Emeck discovered that he was able to share what he sensed with the other telepath and vice versa. It seemed that the horses were primitive when it came to their thought but that frequently what they were thinking about the humans was humorous. The fleeting wonder as to why a human would pass by a perfectly good clump of grass without taking a nibble was beyond their comprehension. Aleest’s skill with animals was phenomenal at times. He often called down a passing bird to land on his offered finger or enticed a small critter up to him for a morsel of food. Emeck revealed to Urake that the young man might sound simple when he spoke although that it wasn’t the case when he was not limited to speaking with words. It turned out that he could wax eloquent when he could supplement the communication with images and emotion. Images being one of the things that Emeck found he could read if the other person was a telepath of some skill and opened his mind for communication.
A few days after they had started their journey, they found themselves surrounded by soldiers after they left the flat lands and entered the forest. One word from Balinor and the men had lowered their weapons and escorted the party into the camp. The hour was late when they arrived, but Urake was able to recognize a familiar face in the group of officers that appeared to confer with Balinor before taking the Princess to her quarters for rest.
“Say, I think I know you from someplace.” Urake turned paused in the task of removing the saddle from his horse at the statement. The officer who had apparently been in charge during Balinor’s absence stood pulling on his beard as he contemplated Urake.
“Redzyn?” Urake recognized the old landowner from Yrany, the village that Urake had raised Skeln in.
“Colonel Redzyn. How do I know you…? You bear a striking resemblance to a brewer that I used to know, but he is dead and was probably twenty years older.” Redzyn scowled as he tried to unearth the missing memory.
“I'm sorry to hear that. How did he die if I might ask?” Urake returned to loosening the stubborn strap. His back was to Redzyn so as to hide the odd quirk to the corners of his mouth.
“It really was quite tragic. The brewer and his son were killed in a house fire. Found both their skeleton’s in the ashes. Simply tragic. Reigns’ men showed up a week or so later and poked around for some reason. Never could figure out why. Have you been to Yrany anytime in the past? I know that I have seen you someplace before.” Urake weighed the options before him with a smile. On the one hand he could retain his anonymity or he could capitalize on a possible friendship. Friends were few and far