The Guided Journey (Book 6) (16 page)

“Queen Dewberry, perhaps you should go?” Acanthus said anxiously.  “My king, do I hear your major domo calling you and the queen back to the palace?”

“Perhaps you do,” Jonson spoke.  “But only for a small time, I’m sure.  When you need assistance carrying the doctor-goodness and Kestrel friend to the healing spring, you will be certain to call us to join you, I’m sure.

“Come, my darling queen,” he called, holding his hand towards Dewberry.

“Farewell, Kestrel-friend.  Farewell doctor-friend.  Farewell, fatherless-child-friend,” Dewberry said, then she took Jonson’s hand and they disappeared.

“I hope that your feelings are not hurt by the queen’s candor,” Odare told Kestrel.

“Speaking of candor,” Kestrel finally found an opportunity to switch the topic to something besides his alleged shortcomings, “I understand that you and Killcen are doing more together that simply being my bodyguard.

“Is this true, double-duty-imp friend?” he asked the wide-eyed imp.

“Stillwater!” she shouted accusingly to the imp she suspected had revealed her secret romance.

“And with Stillwater too?” Kestrel asked.  “That can’t be good for morale.”

“Perhaps,” Mulberry spoke up, “perhaps we should make our first journey, to Oaktown, so that we will be one step closer to the healing spring.  Not that I wish to interrupt the many conversations that are taking place.”

“Everyone gather together,” Stillwater urged the imps to surround Kestrel and Alicia, as he motioned for the two elves to get close to one another.

Feeling awkward and self-conscious after all the speculation over his non-paternity of Alicia’s baby, who was silently sleeping as he was coddled between the two bodies, Kestrel stiffly wrapped his arms around Alicia’s shoulders.

“You don’t have to be afraid Kestrel,” the doctor told him.  “I certainly know you’re not Silvic’s father.”

He grinned, and tightened his grip, as he felt the imps pressing against them, and then they all were in the gray space outside of the world, and they traveled to his office in Oaktown.

“Welcome,” he said as he stepped away from Alicia and her son.  “I know you’ve been in Oaktown before,” he thought of the time she and he had come to release Silvan and Giardell from their exile.  “Things are pretty quiet down here.

“We’ve got good neighbors,” he grinned as he waved to the imps overhead.

“And they’ve got good mushrooms!” Acanthus added, to a round of laughter from the imps.

“We’ll call you when we’re ready to go to the spring,” Kestrel told the blue beings, dismissing them.

“I thought I was going to have time to make this a better place for everyone to live, before this new assignment came along,” he told Alicia as they started to walk through the halls of the manor, greeting and nodding at the workers as they advanced.  Kestrel stopped to introduce Alicia to Whyte, and he asked the steward to gather together several water skins for later.

“We used to have to purchase new wine skins all the time under the former Warden, but you seem to use just as many skins for water,” the steward observed with a smile, before the two travelers continued on their tour of the manor.

“I never would have guessed I was going to see Kestrel the shy new spy serving in the role of mighty nobleman,” Alicia replied.

“I wouldn’t have either,” Kestrel agreed.  “And I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be assigned to take others on long journeys to foreign lands.

“Let’s go see the nurses,” he changed the topic.  “That’s why I brought you here – to meet the two nurses who go out with me to visit the villages and treat anyone who needs help.”

He explained his trips to meet the people of the villages as he led Alicia out of the manor.  Both the nurses lived up to Kestrel’s expectations professionally and personally, discussing illnesses and medical conditions with competence, while squabbling and bickering with vigor, as they competed to outshine one another in the presence of the visiting doctor from the cosmopolitan city of Center Trunk.

“And what is this mushroom craze you have going on here?” Alicia asked Kestrel as they left Jacquie and Parisse.  The nurses had talked about injuries to over-zealous mushroom hunters who had failed to look up while walking through the forest searching for mushrooms; several elves had bashed their heads on low-hanging tree branches.

“We have a market fortnightly, and our elves make a great deal of money selling mushrooms to the imps; the imps think they’re the greatest delicacy available.  The imps pay the elves with little white rocks called pearls, and the humans love pearls for jewelry, so our elves trade the pearls to traders from Hydrotaz,” Kestrel briefly explained.

“You have imps and humans trading with the elves down here?” she asked in surprise.

“It works pretty well.  I was afraid the elves were going to end up with too much gold and silver because they were only selling things, but now I think the humans are going to sell some cloth and other goods to our people to even things out.”

“What other miracles do you have underway beside visits to every village and trading among the races?” Alicia asked.  Her baby began to fuss.

“We just try to make life better for everyone,” Kestrel repeated his earlier assertion.  Alicia sat upon a fallen tree to begin to nurse her child, and Kestrel sat next to her.

“You know,” she said once her son was quietly situated, “you and I will never be a couple together.”

“No,” Kestrel agreed.  “It would never feel right to be more than friends.”  As he said it, he realized he had felt that way in his heart for some time.  Though Alicia was brilliant and beautiful, she and Kestrel had weathered numerous episodes in their relationship that had tangled their affection for each other with their feelings and relationships with others.  They were so tangled that there was no way to remove the impediments that might allow the two of them to attempt to unite with one another.

“But we will always be able to remain friends,” he added.

“We will always remain friends, even if you continue to think that my bedroom is the best place to meet,” she smiled gently at him.

They sat in silence until the baby was satisfied, then walked back to the manor.

“Let’s get these ready,” Kestrel suggested, starting to gather together the water skins that Whyte had acquired for him.

“Ready for what?” Alicia asked.

“We’ll take these to the healing spring with us, and then you can have a supply of its water to use with your patients,” Kestrel explained.  “And I’ll take a skin with me when I go on my journey.

“Stillwater, Stillwater, Stillwater,” he called, then waited until the imp appeared.

“My friend and I would like to go to the healing spring,” Kestrel explained.

“Just one moment, Kestrel-most popular,” the imp replied, and moments later a dozen imps appeared.  “There is much interest in being part of the team that will help you go to the spring,” Stillwater said with aplomb.

Groups surrounded Kestrel and Alicia separately, and carried them to the spring, where all the members of the smaller race were immediately immersed in the water of the spring.  Kestrel laid them in place, as Alicia, well-acquainted with the pool of water, took her son as she waded over to the traditional seating area among the rocks.

Kestrel came over to join her minutes later.

“I’m good enough to support myself with my medical work,” Alicia spoke first.  “And the crown has given me a pension as Silvan’s widow.  I don’t have to remarry to support myself, you know.”  She was suddenly ready to unburden herself.

“I’m glad,” Kestrel responded to her, confused by the comment.

“But I feel lonely.  That’s why I went out to dinner.  I don’t think I was meant to live alone for the rest of my life,” she continued.  “I want to be able to relax and talk and listen and care.

“You need that too, Kestrel,” she told him.

“I don’t know what you went through or if there was someone who broke your heart, but you need to find the right companion too.  I know you will; I know you can.  There are probably a hundred women who want to have the chance to find out if they can be the one for you.  So open up your heart Kestrel, and wait to let someone in.  You might be surprised by who turns out to be the right girl for you,” she counseled.

“Just because you’re so busy being a hero, don’t forget to enjoy the wonderful surprises that fate has waiting for you,” she told him, then patted his hand with hers.

“I think it was Fate that started all of this for me,” Kestrel laughed gently, remembering that Kere, the elven goddess of fate, had sent him to the healing spring for the first time.

They sat and chatted for another hour.  “Silvic will be the healthiest baby ever,” Alicia asserted as she held the child in the water with her.

“I better fill all those water skins for you,” Kestrel decided, and he began to labor at his task, building a considerable stockpile in a few minutes.

They were soon ready to depart from the spring, so Kestrel lifted the sprites out of the water, then draped most of the water skins around Alicia’s neck before the sprites enveloped her.  “Good luck and take care,” he told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Just remember what I told you about keeping your heart open,” Alicia smiled back.  “Have a safe journey north,” she told him.  And then moments later she was gone, and Kestrel was left with his regular three imps.

“Now, would you take me back to Oaktown?  I’d like to spend the night there, then go back to Center Trunk in the morning,” Kestrel told his crew.  “And after that, I may not need to call upon you again for a long time.”

“Why is that, Kestrel-friend?” Stillwater asked as the blue bodies surrounded him.

They transferred back to Oaktown, and Kestrel answered the question.

“Tomorrow, I must lead another elf on a long journey, to go all the way from Center Trunk to visit the elves of the Northern Forest, in Kirevee.  I plan to make that journey in the elvish way, just walking and running.  It will take a long time, and I expect that I will not have to call upon you at all in that time,” he explained.

“But to thank you for all your help, why don’t you go home for a while and come back in an hour or so?  I’ll see if I can gather up a few mushrooms for you,” he proposed.

“Oh Kestrel-tempter, I am ready to succumb to your wiles!” Mulberry darted down and pecked him on the cheek before she disappeared, while the other two imps left the premises immediately.

Pleased by the chance to give something of value to his reliable blue friends, Kestrel asked Whyte to purchase some mushrooms immediately, and he had the gray caps split evenly among three baskets when he called the imps back to his manor in Oaktown as the sun started to put an end to the day.

“Kestrel-pleasure giver,” Acanthus exclaimed, as the imps instantly spotted the baskets upon being called back to the manor.  “You are treating us so very well!”

“Almost as well as we deserve!” Mulberry added, then darted in and kissed Kestrel’s cheek again to demonstrate her affection.

“Now, go home and enjoy your mushrooms,” Kestrel ordered the imps.  “I’ll be ready in the morning to be taken back to Center Trunk, and that will be the last I foresee of my need to impose on you for the next several weeks.”

With several vigorous waves, the imps disappeared, and Kestrel was left in his Oaktown manor, free to relax for a final night in the place that he had started to come to think of as home.

Chapter 15
–The Journey North

Kestrel spoke with Whyte and encouraged him to send Parisse and Jacquie, along with Pont and Remy, out to visit villages from time to time.  They discussed the market place for the imps and elves and humans, and decided to reduce it to once a month in Kestrel’s absence, for as long as the mushroom season lasted.  Kestrel told Whyte to save the pearls he received, so that Kestrel could take them to the various human cities in the future, to trade them for other goods as he visited Graylee and Seafare and other kingdoms.

After a sound night’s sleep, he awoke early and prepared himself for his journey.  He had his knife – a blade he fondly named Lucretia once again, a pair of skins of water from the healing spring, a bow and arrow, a staff, and a pack filled with dried foods and extra clothing and protection.

“It’s all in your hands now,” he told the assembled heads of the staff of the palace as he prepared to leave.  “I expect I’ll be gone for several weeks, possibly until the end of autumn,” he told them, anticipating travels would last for at least as long as the imps were able to provide a means for him to return to Oaktown from wherever his journey might end.

“You’ve run this place pretty well without me,” he told them.  “Probably better than it’s run with me here, so I know everything will be fine.  I’ll miss you all,” he said as he made a round of impromptu hugs with them all, then called for imps to arrive.

“Kestrel-friend, we did not know if we would be able to arise to assist you this morning, our stomachs are so bloated with the meal of mushrooms you gave us last night,” Acanthus explained as the imps gathered around him.

“Shall we take you to the palace?” Stillwater asked.

“Or do you want to go back to the nice lady doctor’s bedroom again?” Mulberry asked.

“Let’s go to the palace,” Kestrel suggested.  The imps immediately surrounded him, and the travelers disappeared from the manor in Oaktown.

“He’s certainly made a change around here,” the head housekeeper said.

“I’m going to miss him.  The manor is going to seem boring without  him around,” Bernie the cook agreed.

“He’s certainly made the manor feel like a place that makes things happen and changes people’s lives,” Whyte agreed.  “We’ll just have to work harder to make sure we don’t let him down.”

In the meantime, Kestrel returned to the pantry in the palace.  “Perhaps we can find some place more dignified for our arrival in the future,” he said drily to the imps.

“Where has the king offered you a place?” Mulberry asked innocently.

“He hasn’t,” Kestrel conceded, as he opened the pantry door.  “But I haven’t asked,” he added defensively.

“Then we know who needs to take care of this matter,” the feisty imp replied.

“Never mind,” Kestrel said, knowing that he would not win the skirmish.  He stopped in the open doorway and turned to face his three floating companions.

“Thank you all, and best wishes.  I hope you always have safe journeys and lots of mushrooms until I call upon you again,” he told them.  “There’s no telling how long it will be, but I hope it will be some time, not because I don’t want to see you,” he pointedly looked at Mulberry, “but because I hope this journey is a pedestrian and simple one that requires no assistance.

“Good bye, my friends,” he said.

“Good bye Kestrel-good heart,” the imps said in unison, and then they disappeared.

It was time for Kestrel to begin his chore.

He walked resolutely until he reached an empty throne room, then entered a large public corridor beyond, and asked a startled servant to lead him to the ceremony for the departure of Hampus’s journey to the Northern Elves.

Kestrel was politely shown to a large plaza in front of the palace, a place that he vaguely remembered running through when he had raced to save the kidnapped princess Elwean.  A few functionaries were already assembling, though no notable figures had arrived yet.  Kestrel thanked his guide and released the man to return to his duties, then stood and patiently waited for the rest of the necessary cast to arrive.

An hour later the military leaders arrived.  Elder Miskel motioned Kestrel over to join them where they stood, directly below an ornate balcony that projected outward from the palace to look out across the plaza.

“You look almost ready for your journey,” Miskel said as Kestrel walked over to the small knot of professional soldiers.

“I thought I was ready,” Kestrel replied.  “What else do I need?”

“Your companion, for one thing, and the blessing of the princess for another,” the officer replied.  He pointed up at the balcony, where the doors were opening as guards came out, followed a moment later by Princess Elwean and her betrothed, Hampus, wearing a ludicrously colorful and bright uniform.

“Our beloved champion leaves us today upon an historic quest, to journey to the mythical land of the Northern Forest, to meet the elves that live there, and to establish relations with our distant brethren,” the princess pronounced, “even though the way is long and perilous.”

“When he returns, our nation will be not only safer, for having the new alliance he will forge, but we will be even more highly esteemed by our neighbors for our diplomacy,” she pronounced pompously.

“Let us send him on his way with rousing cheers as a demonstration of our esteem,” she commanded.

Cheers broke out politely, as Miskel spoke in a low voice in Kestrel’s ear.  “He must be going alone; they didn’t mention anyone else.”

“Don’t worry,” Kestrel said with a wicked grin, as the celebrities above left the balcony, the princess’s speech complete.  “He’ll certainly get the long and perilous route to Kirevee,” he promised.

“Good.  I don’t want him coming back here with any scent of heroism or success attached to the trip, if he comes back at all,” Miskel emphasized.

“That was stirring, wasn’t it?” Hampus came out of the palace to join the two.  “How long will it take you to get ready?” he asked Kestrel.

Kestrel hefted his pack onto his shoulder, and gripped his staff.  “I’m ready now,” he answered nonchalantly.

“Where are your weapons and preparations and supplies and contingency plan equipment?” Hampus asked.

“I was trained at Firheng.  I have everything I’ll need,” Kestrel answered.

“You’ll understand better after we go there,” he added.

“I’ve never heard of it, and I thought we were going directly to the Northern Forest,” the princess’s betrothed said.

“There’s no best way to get there,” Kestrel quickly answered.  “Going through Firheng will be as good a way as any.”

And so, with a round of farewells, they left the parade grounds.

“My supplies are over there,” Hampus directed Kestrel’s attention towards a warehouse.

When they entered the large sliding door in the side of the building, four elves with large packs awkwardly rose to the feet and looked at the new arrivals expectantly.

“Go get your things,” Kestrel instructed.

“They’re right here,” Hampus replied, sweeping his hand towards the four men.  “These are my bearers with my supplies.”

Kestrel’s jaw dropped in astonishment.  “Bearers?” he choked out the word.  He wasn’t sure whether he felt a greater portion of anger, incredulity, or sympathy for the lack of understanding that Hampus possessed.

“Listen,” Kestrel said.  “You can’t take four bearers on this trip.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Hampus said reflectively.  “As I see you standing there bristling with your own supplies, it does present a better heroic image, more in tune with what the princess wants me to portray.

“And I imagine you plan to pick up our other supplies at this Firheng, don’t you, anyway?” he considered.

“I’ll repack enough just for the trip to Firheng, and then we can resupply and hire bearers there,” Hampus concluded in his easy-going manner.

Elder Miskel’s concerns had seemed legitimate to Kestrel even before that moment, but as he looked at the elf’s completely unrealistic concept of preparation and self-sufficiency, he completely grasped the validity and depth of the senior officer’s antipathy towards Kestrel’s new companion.  Miskel probably was secretly hoping that Kestrel would arrange some fatal accident somewhere in the wilderness, Kestrel suspected, as he found himself shaking his head in disbelief.

Hampus had dismissed the bearers, and was going through the contents of their highly-stuffed bags, repacking items according to his own judgment.  Minutes later he hoisted his completed work upon his shoulder, standing amid a debris field of discarded detritus.

He noticed Kestrel, who looked askance at the materials that were scattered about.  “Don’t worry, someone will be assigned to clean this up,” Hampus gave a superficial grimace of regret.  “Let’s be on our way and go do great things.”

Kestrel turned without comment, and led the way off the base, out of the city, and out into the countryside of the Eastern Forest.

They said very little to one another as they traveled; Kestrel had made a few observations initially, but Hampus’s shallow responses had disgusted him.  As sunset approached some hours later, Hampus spoke up.

“Will there be an inn ahead?” he asked.

“We’ll just pick a pair of trees and spend the night,” Kestrel replied.  “No reason to waste time or money.”

“But,” Hampus started to protest, but Kestrel’s continuing pace made his resolution clear, and so he said no more.

They did choose trees once the sun had set, and each selected a trunk and climbed up for the night.

“How long will this trip be?” Hampus asked the next morning when Kestrel awoke him.

“Three more days,” Kestrel replied, satisfied that he could force a reasonable pace out of his companion.

“That’s not bad,” Hampus replied.  “So will we reach Firheng today, and then go on to the North Forest the following two days?”

“No,” Kestrel answered.  “Three days to get to Firheng,” he corrected.

“Oh,” Hampus sounded caught off-guard.  “And then how much more?”

“I have an idea, but let’s get confirmation from the experts at Firheng,” Kestrel decided he didn’t want to have to listen to Hampus’s shocked surprise at Kestrel’s anticipation of a month-long journey or more.

They journeyed the next two days with little conversation, other than Hampus’s complaints about the distance, which Kestrel thought was surprising from someone who had traveled to the unknown wilderness beyond the Eastern Forest, but at nightfall they arrived at the town that was home to the training base for the elves selected to infiltrate the human world.

“There’s a light on in Casimo’s office; we’re in luck,” Kestrel told his companion as they stood at the gate to the closely guarded base.

Kestrel’s well-known visage gained them entrance to the base, after several minutes of discussion about Hampus being allowed on base, even with papers from Miskel.

“That was outrageous,” Hampus complained to Kestrel once they were on the base.  “Don’t they know the princess outranks Miskel?” he had been peeved that his casual reference to the royal family had not produced immediate honor and recognition.  Only Kestrel’s own request, his reference to Miskel’s papers and strong wish for Hampus to visit the base, and Kestrel’s surreptitious rolling of eyes had placated the guards.

“Allow me to present you to the base commander, Casimo,” Kestrel said, recognizing that he needed to placate the wounded ego of his traveling companion.

They entered the office building, then proceeded down the hall to the door to Casimo’s outer office.  Kestrel pressed the door open, and let Hampus enter, then followed him into the room.

Belinda was sitting at her desk looking up at the new entrants.

“Oh leaf and limb!” she shouted.  “Casimo!  Casimo!” she said excitedly as she stood up.  “It’s him!  He’s come!”

“This is more of what I expected at the gate,” Hampus said in an aside to Kestrel.

Belinda circled around her desk, and came running towards them, as Casimo’s door opened, and the base commander stepped out, a sword in hand, uncertain of the meaning of Belinda’s warning.

“Belinda!” he shouted.  “You could have told me who it is!  What an honor!” he said as he sheathed his sword, then strode rapidly across the room.

Hampus stepped aside from Kestrel, giving himself more space in which to receive the greeting and accolades he expected.

Instead, the two officials from the base swarmed on Kestrel, Belinda enveloping him in an emphatic hug, which Casimo slapped his back and shoulder repeatedly.

“You are the greatest elf since the founding of the first kingdom!”
Casimo spoke warmly, while Belinda just held him tightly in her arms, her head resting on his shoulder, as she cried tears of joy.

“Oh the stories we’ve heard from the elves we have in Estone and North Harbor,”
Casimo said.  “The humans who know what happened know that the whole world owes its life to an elf from the Eastern Forest,” Casimo said.  “And we don’t hear a single thing about you from the blockheads down in Center Trunk,” the commander said.