"Why not? I thought anything was possible with magic."
"Damn you, boy, why must you do that? Okay, yes, I could undo it but it would take a long time for me to do the necessary research and find the proper spells. The point is this woman's body was taken and changed."
"Changed? But she looks like
Trina."
"Reshaped. Shifted. Transformed. Whatever you want to call it, magic was used to change her from who she used to look like to who she looks like now. Then more magic was used to freshen her up and make her look like she only just recently died," Kar explained. "The combination of spells made it difficult to discern which came first and how they worked together."
"But her armor and sword, those were the same," Alto said.
"I won't deny that she's been taken. This body is not hers
, though. It was dressed up as her but that's where the similarity ends." The wizard grinned and clapped Alto on the shoulder. "This means your lady is still very much alive!"
Alto shook his head. "No, it means this isn't her body. It doesn't mean that her real body isn't out there somewhere else."
Kar's grin faded. "I much prefer your old boyish charm to this new grim outlook."
"Come on, let's go share the news. This changes things."
Kar grunted and let Alto lead the way out of the cellar and back into the palace. Both breathed easier when they were free of the heavy spices in the air. They found Karthor in Tristam's room with Celos and Namitus. They had a table pulled up beside the bed and were playing cards.
Namitus glanced up a moment before Karthor and
the others jumped to their feet. They started to talk but Alto's glare made them pause.
"This is important?"
he growled.
"I'm doing fine, thanks," Tristam said from the bed. "Going to be a little lame for a while
, though."
Alto scowled and started to turn away. Namitus spoke and stopped him. "Alto, wait! The baron and his aid
e, that wizard—they're gone."
"The gates haven't let anyone out," Alto said. "I checked those myself."
"I know, I did, too," Namitus continued undeterred. "There's other ways out of the city, including a path that goes all the way to the river. I found a man who claims he saw them escape that way."
"The river?" Alto frowned. He'd had enough experiences with underground rivers to last him the rest of his life. It was possible they might have used it to escape.
"Well, we've got good news," Kar interjected.
"Wait, I'm not done," Namitus said. "I found a couple of other people
who claimed they saw five men riding out the north gate early last night."
"So?"
"They had six horses," the rogue said. "The sixth had a bundle tossed across it. They said it looked like a rug or a tent."
"Or a body," Kar mused. "Which makes sense, since that's not Patrina's body."
"Wait, what?" Celos rose up from his seat. He tossed his cards on the table and gathered his coins up. "We must tell Sir Amos."
"Go get him then," Alto said.
Celos's eyes flicked to the cards and then shook his head. "No, we should go to him."
"He can find me when he's ready," Alto grumbled.
"How do you know it's not Patrina?" Tristam asked. He tried to sit up higher in bed and grimaced at the pain the movement caused him.
"That body was killed days ago," Kar explained. "Magic was used to change it to look like Patrina, then more magic was used to make it look fresh."
"So she's alive!"
"Or at least not dead here," Namitus agreed.
Kar scowled at the rogue.
"We need to go and get
{out of} here," Tristam said. He put his hands down and started to swing his legs out. He groaned and stopped halfway there.
Karthor grabbed his legs and put them back fully in the center of the bed. "No, you can rest and heal."
Alto nodded. "This is my fight. I brought it on myself and I got her involved. You stay here and get better."
Tristam shook his head. "Not a chance
. I'm not that old yet."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a full share," Alto added.
Tristam stared at Alto and then he blinked. He nodded and let a smile climb onto his face. "All right then, but rest assured I'll be counting it!"
Alto returned his smile and back
ed out of the room. The others filed out. "Now what?" Namitus asked.
"We find Mordrim and Garrick," Alto said.
"Come to the throne room," Celos insisted. "I'll have your companions brought as well."
Alto pressed his lips togeth
er and nodded. "Let's go," he said.
Celos led them through the palace to the throne room where Sir Amos had set up a desk. The senior knight left the
baron's throne empty. Celos led them past the handful of merchants and other citizens who were petitioning Sir Amos in the baron's absence, apologizing as he cut them off.
"Sir Amos, we've discovered several things," Squire Celos said.
"We've learned a few things." Alto gestured at the Blades and left Celos out of it. "Lady Patrina's body does not lie in the cellar; that's an impostor made to look like her."
Sir Amos rose up from his desk. His eyes went to the g
athered residents of Highpeak. "Please excuse me. We can resume discussing your issues soon."
Two squires escorted t
wo petitioning residents out and then shut the doors behind them. Sir Amos turned back to Alto and smiled. "Sorry, but we don't know who we can trust here. Please go on."
"Five men rode out
through the north gate early last night with a sixth horse that looked to have carried a bundled-up body on it," Alto said. "And my friend here has reason to believe Mackay and Victor slipped out through a cave to the river."
Sir Amos frowned. "Why would they want Lady Patrina alive? She's bound to be trouble and I doubt a simple ransom would be sufficient."
"They still want me," Alto said.
Sir Amos nodded. "That makes sense. You've shown in the past that you will risk everything to go after her. At worst
, they capture and kill you in the mountains. At best, you bring a force of men into the mountains which they've fortified. Clearly you must stay here and wait for them."
"No," Alto said. "I will go after Patrina."
"Think beyond yourself!" Sir Amos snapped at him. "You've exposed a traitorous noble, making you even more of an icon to the people once the news is announced. That and your past deeds make you a rallying point. You must help in the defense! This is for the good of not one nation but two. One person's life is not worth risking that."
Alto felt the fires building back up inside him. "I have my priorities and I'll not be spoken to as a child. I know what's most important. As soon as my sword is finished
, I will leave."
"Your what?"
"My sword," Alto said. "It's needed for killing Sarya."
Sir Amos barked out a laugh. "I took you for a wiser young man than that. The mightiest paladin of his time could not defeat this dragon and he had an army at his back! Why are you more of a threat than he?"
"Maybe you should ask the dragon that. She seems to think so," Alto said. He turned and started to walk out of the throne room, leaving his surprised friends behind.
The doors burst open in front of him to admit the tall barbarian and the short dwarf. "We miss anything?"
asked Garrick.
"How will you find her?" Sir Amos called out.
"Find who?" Mordrim asked.
Alto turned back to the knight. "I don't know, but I've always found Lady Patrina in the past."
"She's in the cellar," Garrick said. He turned and looked at Mordrim and received a shrug in reply.
"That's not her," Alto said over his shoulder.
"Oh!" Garrick responded. "She's not dead?"
"Winter can find her," Mordrim offered.
Alto turned and stared at the dwarf. "What?"
Mordrim nodded. "Heard her talking to him a while back. She asked him if he knew where she was all the time and he seemed to act like he did. Maybe not where exactly, but at least what direction she's in."
He turned back to Sir Amos. "And where Lady Patrina's been taken, I'll find Sarya."
Sir Amos stared at him. "I could command you not to do this."
"You could, but it wouldn't work. I'm not one of your order."
"No, you take Saint Leander's name in vain and make a mockery of it!"
he said in a rising voice.
"Not any longer," Alto said. "I've a string of broken oaths behind me, including my service to Tristam and the Blades of Leander. I do this alone."
"You can call me a gnome sooner than you can leave me behind," Mordrim said.
"I'm with you
, too," Garrick said.
"The rest of us as well," Kar said. He glanced at Namitus and Karthor. They nodded.
"Karthor, you tread on dangerous ground," Sir Amos warned.
Karthor shook his head
and earned an approving nod and a smile from his father when he said, "My allegiance is to Saint Leander, Sir Amos. So long as he finds my actions acceptable, I fear no reprisals. "
Sir Amos stared at the priest and the others. He shook his head and sighed. "My responsibilities do not allow me the luxury of such stubborn principles. I remember what it was like to be young."
Kar chuckled. "I spend time with them and am reminded often. I assure you that they're still thickheaded and slow-witted."
"Very well, if I can't counsel you to stay
, I will urge you to be cautious. I wish Leander's blessing upon you."
"We still have to finish the blade and that takes time
." Alto turned to glance at Garrick. The barbarian nodded. "A few weeks, perhaps less if enough people are working on it."
Alto scowled. A few more weeks of waiting?
"Sir Amos, as a representative of the Knights of Leander, I would like to join them."
"No," Alto said even as Sir Amos began to talk.
"Squire, the Knights have fewer than one man for every ten we had the last time we faced this creature. I cannot risk the loss of even one."
"I understand," Celos said with a nod.
"If we're done here, we've got a lot of work to do that won't get done without us," Alto said.
Sir Amos motioned for them to leave.
Alto led the way while the others fell in behind him.
As they left the throne room
, Garrick glanced at Mordrim and said, "I see the resemblance in the nose and eyes. Was it on your father's side?"
"What?" Mordrim asked.
"The gnome blood."
Chapter 18
"Celos, stay a moment," Sir Amos said.
Celos shut the doors to the throne room and returned to Sir Amos. "What can I do for you, Sir Amos?"
"Times are strange," Sir Amos said. He chuckled. "Perhaps not so much for you as for me. I've spent most of my life in the service of Saint Leander and I've seen and felt amazing things. I've done amazing things, in His name."
"I've heard tales of your quests," Celos said. "They've been inspiring."
Amos chuckled. "Perhaps they are, but I have long feared the days of the saints are coming to an end. This scares me. I am too old to do inspiring things anymore."
"Let me go on this quest with Alto!" Celos asked.
Sir Amos shook his head. "Alto and his friends have done impressive things, but things that any man might accomplish.
What they go to do now is different. I believe they go to their dooms but that is not why I need you here. You are young. You have a face that the people can recognize and respect. Your martial skills are excellent and you possess knowledge of Saint Leander's teachings to rival that of a priest. In short, you are the ideal person for the next generation of Knights of Leander."
"Sir?" Celos asked, uncertain of what the elder knight was asking him.
"I want you to become a paladin, Celos."
Celos bowed his head. "It would be a great honor."
"It is not without hardship and sacrifice. You must dedicate your life to the teachings of Saint Leander and endure considerable sacrifice."
Celos nodded. "I dream of such things."
"I have written my endorsement for you to pursue such a thing when the time is right."
Celos bowed his head again. "Sir Amos, you honor me beyond belief."
"You have to earn your spurs first, Squire," Amos reminded him. "And to do that, you're going to need to do something you may not agree with."
"Sir?"
"Find Recruit Aleena and bring her in."
Celos stiffened. "Aleena? Her actions earlier were in violation of what
she'd been told but she hasn't had very much training. I don't think she should be dismissed."