7
Three days later, they made it back to the Crystal Forest. The plans they’d found were handed over to the castle guards, and they were awarded a thousand gold coins for their efforts.
Parn was in high spirits—not because of the money, but because he’d been acknowledged for what he’d done. The bribed guard was put on trial, the plot to assassinate the King was foiled, and Parn had even been praised by Duke Persia, the Prime Minister. He took another swig of ale and moved on to the next off-key verse of the song he’d been singing.
“Hey, could I come with you guys?” Woodchuck asked Parn. “You saw how useful I was, and I think we get along. My life’ll be a whole lot more interesting if I stick with you.”
“I don’t see why not,” Parn answered simply. The thief had been a big part of their success, and he’d already shown how his skills could be valuable on their journey. “Just don’t break any laws.”
The party continued on into the night, with everyone but Deedlit and Slayn drinking quite a bit of ale.
“Six hundred coins for the jewels still seems awfully low,” Woodchuck groused yet again.
“Nah, that’s market value,” Ghim cut in. Woodchuck had wanted to barter, but Ghim had quickly settled the deal, and the thief hadn’t wanted to argue gem prices with a dwarf. Anyway, the books and scrolls had brought an unexpectedly high price from a wizard the others knew, so Woodchuck couldn’t be in too bad a mood.
Truth be told, the only one of their party who wasn’t cheerful was Ghim. He sat slightly apart from the rest, sipping his wine thoughtfully.
Just when their celebration party was at its merriest, a man burst through the front door. Everyone turned to look at him as he took a few gasping breaths and staggered into the room.
“B-big trouble…” the man choked out. “Kanon has fallen. It was Beld—Emperor Beld of Marmo.”
“What?!” Parn’s cheerful mood crashed hard into despair. He sprang up from his chair.
“So, it’s begun,” Slayn muttered solemnly. “This will mean war throughout the island.”
A cold shiver ran through the entire group, and they sobered immediately.
The news reached Kadomos VII at Stone Web, and the King immediately summoned his nobles to an emergency meeting. Kanon and Alania had been allies since Kanon’s founding 250 years previous, and marriages between their royal families were common—the most recent being King Kadomos VII’s mother, who had come from the Kanon royal family.
That made Marmo’s invasion a grave insult to the Alanian royal family, and several senior vassals took the hard line that they should declare war on Marmo immediately. There were also treaties to consider—King Fahn of Valis had led a Kingdom’s Conference where they pledged to rise up and fight together in the case of any invasion.
But Kadomos VII sent no troops to Kanon. He decided to blockade the southern roads, prepare for an invasion, and wait and see. He ordered the army not to recruit mercenaries or muster the militia so as not to provoke Beld. His inaction basically acknowledged Beld as the new ruler of Kanon.
The next day, reading the official proclamation, Parn gnashed his teeth in fury. “Why?!” he bellowed, forgetting he was in public.
Slayn gently put a hand on Parn’s shoulder, hoping to comfort him. “What should we do now?”
“They’re all cowards,” Parn choked out, and Slayn could actually see tears in his eyes. He rubbed at them with one hand, and when he looked back up his eyes blazed with determination. “Let’s go to Valis,” he said.
“But the roads are closed, and there’s still a sandstorm in the western desert. There’s no way through to Valis right now.”
“We’ll get there somehow. Even if we have to go through the Forest of No Return,” he said, glowering fiercely.
“Are you serious?” Etoh objected. “Parn, you know how dangerous that place is. They call it that because nobody returns!”
“Then I’ll be the first!” Parn shouted.
“They say there’s an ancient Elvish curse there,” Ghim added with a glance at Deedlit.
“Parn…” Slayn began, hoping to offer some calming words.
“Actually, I think it’s a good idea,” said Deedlit, who’d been silently watching Parn for a while. “Let’s go through the forest. That way’s the quickest, after all.”
“You can get us through?”
“Of course,” Deedlit stated proudly with a glance at Ghim. “I’m an elf. Ancient or modern, we’re all still of a kind.”