before they ever had ridden against Abbot Olin. She wondered what her meeting with Aydrian might be like. She hadn't seen him in over five years; he would be a man now, a king among men.
And they would no longer be friends. Whatever Aydrian might say to her, whatever justification he might offer, to Brynn Dharielle, the ranger of To-gai, there could be no excuse for his actions.
"We have placed the notices all about the city of Entel," one of the Touel'alfar scouts informed Juraviel only a couple of days after Juraviel had arrived back in Honce-the-Bear to secretly spread the word that the leaders of both To-gai and Behren wished to parley with King Aydrian in the city.
Soon after, Juraviel conferred with scouts outside of Ursal, where similar notices had been placed, and then outside of Palmaris. His contact in Palmaris added some other information, though, that had Juraviel more than a little unsettled.
"We must go to him," Juraviel replied to the disquieting news.
The elven scout shook his head. "There is no way to get near to him. Even with the emerald of Andur'Blough Inninness, we would need to fight our way in to his side."
Juraviel closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. He wanted to go anyway, but understood that this wasn't about his desires. He couldn't risk everything for the sake of this one man, friend though he might be.
"Keep your eyes ever turned his way, then," he bade his scout. "If an opening is to be found, let us find it."
The scout nodded, and Juraviel went on his way.
His pass back through Yorkey County brought him the welcome news that King Aydrian had posted a response indicating that he would agree to the meeting.
The elf hurried back across the mountains to Jacintha, determined to catch up with Pony before Prince Midalis sailed. She would need to know.
She walked her borrowed horse along the destroyed streets, past the crumbled houses, the barricaded doorways, and the bodies. So many bodies.
Jacintha would be a long time in recovering from the battle and the rioting. Even now, more than a week after the expulsion of Abbot Olin, Pony could hear the cries of outrage and pain, as opportunistic gangs made their way across the chaotic city.
Pony tried hard to ignore it all. The fate of Jacintha was beyond her control. Still, she winced whenever a scream echoed through the air.
There were no stars out this night, as a blanket of heavy clouds had rolled in off the ocean. Pony hoped that it would rain, that God would wash away the pools of blood and gore.
She was relieved when she passed out the city's western gate a short while later. She could see the campfires of the To-gai-ru force up in the north, so she turned her horse and walked along.
Within the hour, the cries of To-gai-ru sentries halted her. She offered no argument as they came out, surrounding her horse. She couldn't understand their commands to her, but she did dismount, and even surrendered her sword, though she kept her pouch of magical gemstones and even managed to slip a graphite unnoticed into her palm. If she had to, she would send forth a burst of stunning energy.
She was not mistreated, however, and was led straightaway to a centrally located grouping of tents, nestled on a sheltered plateau. There, Pony found Brynn and Pagonel, and they welcomed her warmly.
"May we go off alone and talk?" Pony asked after some formal greetings.
Brynn waved her guards away and led the pair to the southern lip of the plateau, away from the lights and bustle of the encampment. From that high vantage point, they could see the dark shapes of Jacintha far below, and beyond that, the campfires of a large group of soldiers and refugees who were returning to their homeland of Cosinnida with Yatol Paroud.
"Hundreds are dead," Pony lamented.
"My reports put the number into the thousands," Brynn corrected after Pagonel had interpreted the words. "Perhaps into the tens of thousands."
Pony didn't disagree with the estimate; never had she witnessed such brutality, man against man, as had occurred in the turmoil of Jacintha.
Groups seemed to be operating independently, fighting anyone who came against them, or even near them, without bothering to determine if they were friend or foe.
"And there is fighting beginning anew in other regions of Behren," Brynn went on. "Yatol Wadon will find his task of reuniting the kingdom daunting, perhaps impossible."
"Is that a bad thing?" Pony asked.
"Only