Chapter 26: To the Refuge

  Julien

  The morning came quickly and Julien found himself standing in the courtyard of the palace horses and soldiers milling around him as they hurriedly packed supplies and saddled horses. Apparently when his father had organized an escort he went all out by his count no less than one hundred and fifty men in the royal guard colors were coming all on horseback.

  The guards were resplendent in their leather and chain mail. They wore their Tabards over their armor all blue and gold with a Griffin symbol displayed proudly on them. Julien looked down at his own clothes. He was wearing his Academy uniform again more out of habit than choice over that he wore his hooded cloak of dark Grey. His hood was down and he was very aware of the surreptitious glances the royal guards were giving him as they went about their business. At his side his hung a plain broad sword. A royal knight he hadn't met before had delivered one for each of them at dawn to their little suit of rooms. It was completely plain but well balanced. A normal weapon from the palace armory he was sure.

  He stretched a yawn escaping through his teeth. He turned and tried to check the straps on the horse a young groom was holding for him. He had to rub bleary eyes to see the straps in front of him.

  They had been up till early in the morning practicing what they had discovered. Too excited to sleep he had joined his friends as they made the small flame over and over again. Only Katrina had any trouble making the flame but after some insightful help from Carlouse she managed to do it. Then they had begun to experiment. Slowly at first but with great excitement. Even now just thinking of it sent shivers of excitement up both arms.

  They had figured out much. Julien had been able to feel the energy inside him and manipulate it to go to different parts of his body. He didn't know what effect that would have but he wasn't able to experiment. He'd even been able to enlarge the flame he could summon by somehow pulling on the thread with his mind. The more he pulled the bigger the flame had gotten until he was holding a flame the size of his palm. Unfortunately that also made the color of the thread fade to a dull lifeless version of itself. The candle, whose thread he had been using dimmed to barely a ember of flame and he decided to stop pulling the energy from it.

  After a couple of minutes the vibrancy of the color returned. But it seemed they couldn't draw infinite energy from what they were calling the Source. They did find that they could draw more from the threads connecting to a bigger source. For example they could pull more from the fireplace than a candle.

  "Julien!" He started as he heard the familiar voice call to him. He looked up ad saw the blue and gold armored figure of Eryk striding through the crowd of horses toward him. When he met Eryk's eyes he broke into a smile. He matched Eryk's smile with one of his own. He had been told that Eryk survived along with ten or so of the guardsmen but he'd been recovering the past two days. They hadn't had a chance to meet. Idly he wondered if the dour Knight Captain blamed him for the loss of so many men.

  "You couldn't even die properly you had to go fall in a unknown vat of liquid." The comment was said with mirth in his eyes but Julien knew his father had told the guards and other knights a trimmed down version what had happened. Everyone thought they fell into some kind of waste left over from The Calamity War. Everyone thought their appearance had been changed but that was it. They fact that they had been fundamentally changed into a new race was something that was not being shared. It was still too new, and they didn't know what it all meant.

  They wouldn't be the first humans to fall into a magic trap left by somehow elves. So, it had the added benefit of being plausible.

  Julien stepped forward to grasp the the man's forearm and Eryk looked startled at his features.

  " I knew they said you had been changed but seeing it is..." he trailed off and Julien offered him a small smile.

  "It's not as bad as it looks," he assured him besides we are doing all this so we can figure out what happened. He nodded to the milling crowd of warriors. Eryk joined him looking out at the sea of warriors, grooms, squire and other staff that was coming with them.

  It was then that he realized his father and four other knights in blue and gold were heading down the steps to join the throng. One of the knights a raven haired woman. Put a hunting horn to her lips and blue a long sober note that cut through the sound of the courtyard like a sword through ivy. All motion ceased in the courtyard and soldiers turned to face their monarch.

  Julien threaded through the crowd to the front when he reached it he saw his squadmates waiting for him a mixture of tired eyes greeting him. He wondered what his father was going to say and how he would explain their expedition.

  "Good morning my friends!" The Kings voice boomed stretching to farthest corners of the courtyard. Backs straightened then every single human in the courtyard bowed low the few maids that had been rushing around dipped into a low curtsy.

  "That's enough of that we have a lot to get through and not much time we have a long journey ahead and time is of the essence." His father shifted the four knights behind him stood rampant rod straight in an even line on the stairs behind him.

  "As many of you were told this this morning I'll be brief. A few days ago my son and his squad from the military academy were sent on a mission to patrol he area as practice and practical experience. They were ambushed by an elf assassin and members of a assassin's guild that resides here. A battle was fought and in the end my son and his squad faced down the elf." There were murmurs rushing through the crowd now. Worried glanced were exchanged between many of the soldiers. Julien couldn't blame them like him they had been raised to believe that the Elves were humanity's benefactors. They helped protect us and raise us out of the dark ages.

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  " I know this is a shock to many of you and I don't blame your worry. Honestly i don't know why they decided to do such a thing but during the fight my son and his squad managed to deal with the elf at great personal cost."

  He paused again and Julien took the moment to examine the faces around him. Many were alarmed now. The power of the elves was legendary. But he saw many that just firmed their jaws and nodded. No one looked at him directly.

  "As soldiers of the Royal house I expect none and I don't mean None of what we tell you next will leave your mouth to another soul. Truth be told I wasn't even going to tell you but my Captains convinced me it's necessary so you all know the danger we as a nation are in and how important this secret is." He paused to let this sink in before he continued.

  "The punishment for anyone speaking of this matter will be death." Julien's shock must've shown on his face because his father winced as their eyes met. Then his gaze firmed and he turned back to address the crowd.

  "My son and his squad were able to deal with this elf at great personal cost. During their battle a secret refuge was unearthed one they fell into. Not much is known but they fell into a pool of some sort that drastically altered their appearance and bodies. We go now to discover whether or not this refuge is Nature's bounty of some sort of cursed blade thrust into the heart of our nation." He paused again and now Julien could feel several gazes studying him from the back. He resisted the urge to turn around and stare back. It was like an itch he could not scratch but he managed to keep his yes firmly on his father.

  "Now i trust you men as my father and his father before him trusted the Royal Guards and the Royal Knights to guard our family. You have all been chosen on the basis of your loyalty. That's why i agreed to tell you this. We will also be securing the area and establishing a permanent presence in the area. There will be Beast to fight! Now gather together and listen to your commanding officers. We will head out on my Command." With a wave of his hand he dismissed them. Julien didn't bother saying goodbye to his squad as they would be riding together with his father near the front of the column. He made his way back through the crowd to his horse. The young groom who was holding the reins would barely meet his gaze and he realized the boy had a white knuckled grip on the reins. He flashed what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he put his left foot in the stirrup before vaulting on top on the massive brown chargers back. He took the reins from the boy who approached hesitantly before he maneuvered the horse through the throngs of men toward the front of the gates. Over a hundred guardsmen and fifty knights were doing the same so he had to go slow.

  When he finally reached the gate he found his father, his squad, the four knight captains whose names he only knew in passing, a white long coat wearing individual.

  "Petra?" he asked astonished. She turned in the saddle and gave him a rye grin.

  "Did you really think I'd miss an expedition like this! He smiled but noticed the leather satchels handing over the rear of her horse right behind the saddle. the bags clinked whenever the horse shuffled or shifted.

  "No i'm glad you came. Honestly i think wed have a hard time even understanding what happened to us with out you. Then he spotted a young woman who couldn't have been far into her first maiden moon struggling with a smaller pony on the other side of Petra. she had a freckled face and long auburn hair but he could the presence of a fierce intelligence behind her eyes. The look she was giving him made him reach back and pull his hood over his head. He tucked his hair into the folds of the cloak to make sure it were hidden. Petra's eyes lit up before she turned and waved the young lady forward.

  "Your Highness, this is my apprentice Rose she knows enough to help me with my work and act a decently competent physician when needed." Julien gave the young girl a nod but she wouldn't quite meet his eyes. He then turned as he heard his fathers voice commanding the gate to be opened. The creak of metal and wood resounded throughout the area as Julien finally took his place beside his father. They said nothing so focused was his father on the road ahead. The four knight captains from earlier and Eryk took up positions around the two of them and he was surprised when Altaya joined their number. It seemed even with all that had happened recently she was still taking her job as his body guard seriously. Hanging from her waist was a sword of her own and he could see the gleam of mail beneath her cloak. All the knights had long oak shafted spears and longswords strapped to their sides. large triangle shaped metal shields were strapped to their backs. They were easily as big as his torso. The knights didn't converse either their focus already on their surrounding scanning the walls of the palace.

  Finally his father raised a hand and ordered the gate to be opened. The creaking of wood and the grinding of metal filled the air as the massive gates swung outward, Then his father dropped his hand and like that they were off. They thundered through the palace district many face peaking out form walled estates to watch them go. They reached to market district quickly and Julien noted odd activity among the merchants and other people around in the square. Namely there were way more than he thought their should be. But also there were twice as many street cleaners sweeping the cobbled streets as well as others who were hanging banners with the royal crest on it from every possible place. fresh white wash was being put on the sides of houses and business signs were being touched up by painter. He didn't comment but resolved to ask his father about all the activity later. They made good time through the city, the people bowed or curtsied when they recognized the King. There was also many worried or confused faces among the commoners they passed. But then they exited the out wall gate and were once more on the road to the refuge.

  The road in front of the city was much like he remember cobbled to a certain degree until it turned into hard pack dirt. The only difference were the number of people on the road that hurriedly moved out of the way when their column of troops approached. Julien found himself studying the people on the road. Many seemed to be farmers but most were defintely merchants leading wagons filled with goods. Curious he pulled his horse up next to where his father led the forces from the front.

  "Why are there so many people coming to the city?" His father glanced at the people passing on either side of the road and then met his eyes then he sighed.

  "It seems as if ill have to get a tutor for you in economics. I didn't want to believe it but perhaps we have sheltered you to much." Julien struggled to stifle the groan that wanted to escape his mouth.

  "The Royal Curia has been called, nobles from all over the realm will be arriving in Illasium in a couple of days if they haven't already started showing up. Its one reason why I wanted to explore this refuge so soon."

  The noble houses were gathering! This explained a lot. He knew his father had called a meeting but he thought it had been just the major nobles. Apparently he had been mistaken.

  "Then why are the people,,," He was forced to trail off when his father gave him a disappointed look.

  "You tell me," was his father's response.

  "I asked you because I didn't know!" he exclaimed.

  his father's sigh of resignation nearly made him sink back in his saddle.

  "with all the nobles coming to the city comes the nobles money and their households a perfect time for farmers to sell extra product and for the merchants to sell to a wider market. as well as other services."

  Julien really didn't hear the last part. His mind was reeling. He had met a lot of nobles but for all of them to come to the city would add a hundred different problems for his father at the least. He looked over to his father who was now riding silently with a pensive look on his face. He couldn't help but wonder what troubles this royal curia would bring.