Trouble was a fact of life but the town guard patrolled in good numbers and serious problems were rare. So it was that Darrick delivered his charges reluctantly to a jailhouse that was so far empty of inebriates but stank eye-wateringly of those from previous nights.
'Don't let me down,' said Darrick, closing the grilled iron-clad wooden door.
'Can't think of any place I'd rather be,' muttered Denser.
'What do you mean?' asked The Unknown, coming to the grille.
T mean I know you've done nothing wrong but you have to believe that I'm doing this to keep you alive.'
'We don't need your help, General,' said The Unknown. 'And if we want to get out, we will.'
'My men have orders to kill you,' said Darrick. 'Please don't make them carry those out. You have no weapons, no armour and I have mages tuned to the mana spectrum right outside this door. Stay where you are. I'll be back as soon as I can.'
'You're making a very grave mistake,' said Denser. 'I'm the only one who can save her. They'll kill her. And the blood will be on your hands and I will hunt you down.'
'If it turns out that way, I won't defend myself,' said Darrick. He turned and walked away, his doubts resurfacing and shored up not just by The Raven but by the apparent ineptitude of the Dordovans. Once he had spoken to the Earl, there would be much to discuss with the Dordovan lead mage, Gorstan.
The Unknown swung from the grille to the complete contempt of Denser.
'Plan working well is it? I must say, Unknown, this tactical ploy of
yours is something else. Rescue Erienne by getting us locked up. Congratulations. You are responsible for the death of my daughter.' Denser had moved across the ten-foot-square cell as he spoke and now stood half a pace from the big warrior.
'Denser, I need you to let me think for a while, all right?' The Unknown faced the mage calmly, not wanting to go over the same arguments of the last two days.
'About what? Clever ways of getting them to shackle us to the walls?' Denser rattled one of the chains that hung at chest height all around the cell.
The Unknown looked past Denser to Ilkar. The elf had been very quiet since their capture and he knew what the Julatsan was wrestling with. He had always trusted The Unknown to make the right choice but even he had to be struggling to see what being locked in Arlen's jail could possibly do for them. The trouble was, The Unknown didn't know either. He had assumed first that they would remain with the cavalry, under guard in a tent in the camp. Even when they were riding to Arlen, he had been confident they'd be held in the castle and once there, he had no doubt he could persuade the Earl to release them. He was an old friend, after all.
But this. This was not in the plan. They had no weapons, no armour and no way of disguising magic from the guard outside. No way out. And the worst of it was that he had no answer for Denser. The Raven were caught.
'I know it looks bad now…'he began because he had to say something.
''Bad? Denser grabbed the lapels of The Unknown's jacket. 'This place is about to be crawling with Dordovans and my wife has sailed right into the middle of them and she won't even know. They'll have her before she has time to blink and then we can start to count down the number of days my daughter has to live. Gods falling Unknown, we were her only hope. And what did you do? Lead us into bloody prison! Bad. Bugger me, but that's understating our problem more than just a little.'
The Unknown pushed him gently away. 'I'm sorry. I hadn't considered we'd be put here.'
'So what are we going to do?' asked Denser, the pleading back in his face, his anger gone as soon as it had come.
The Unknown shook his head. There was no use saying anything but the truth.
T don't know.'
'Fantastic. I'll make myself comfortable, then.'
'You know, Denser, there's much more to this. You've always thought Dordover would kill her. Now you merely know the method. There's something else. I thought so outside Greythorne. I know so now. You've been rambling on about being the only one who can do something about this mess and now I want to know how. So let's hear it.' The Unknown loomed over Denser.
The Dark Mage stayed seated, looking up at the big warrior. 'Unknown, I don't know what you're talking about.'
The Unknown leaned in. 'Denser, you are an old and dear friend, and you are a mage of supreme talent. But this fist can still shatter your bearded jaw more quickly than you can cast. Now, you're hiding something, it's making you do and say stupid things, and I will find out whether you tell me or I divine it from examining your broken teeth.' The Unknown was not smiling.
Ilkar watched it all from his seat on the opposite side of the stinking cell, wondering how much intent lay behind the threat.
'Have we really been reduced to this?' he muttered. 'Sitting in cells, threatening each other?' No one answered him.
He could see Denser weighing up the threat. After a long pause, Denser waved The Unknown back a little, reached inside his shirt and pulled out some folded pages.
'I translated more of the Prophecy in Xetesk,' he said.
Ilkar stood up. 'Just how many-'
'Six,' replied Denser. He shrugged. 'I'm sorry.'
'And are you going to tell us that your next little secret's nothing important too?'
Denser shook his head, his expression terribly sad. 'No, I'm not. I can save her Ilkar. I can save Lyanna. I can save us all. I really can.'
Ilkar exchanged glances with The Unknown, knowing they were thinking the same thing. They'd heard these words before he cast Dawnthief. Both of them grinned. Ilkar spoke.
'But that's great, isn't it?' he said. T don't understand why you're being so weird about it.'
'There's a side effect,' said Denser. Ilkar went cold all over. T will die.'
General Darrick had ridden back through Arlen with four of his guard, Denser's cold certainty that Dordover would kill Lyanna weighing heavily on him. Arriving at the castle, he had been ushered into a plush fire-lit drawing room and asked to wait, if he cared to. The Earl, he had been told, was at a supper engagement to celebrate the birth of the son of a merchant noble friend and would return before midnight.
After days in a cold wet saddle or shivering in a tent, Darrick couldn't resist the lure of soup, bread and a warm fire to sit by and, after ensuring his guard were fed, despatched one with orders for Izack, and settled in.
Fighting the desire to doze, he reflected that he had fully expected to arrive in Arlen to oversee the provisioning of ships for the voyage back to wherever Erienne had come from in the Ornouth Archipelago. In fact, he'd thought he might even be able to just step aboard and sit with Erienne and help her understand while the elven ship led the Dordovans and Lysternans to the prize they all prayed they could take and control to save Balaia.
But now it seemed the Dordovans had no urgency at all and he would have to organise the whole lot himself. Hardly auspicious evidence of inter-College co-operation.
Riding through the gates of Castle Arlen, he had seen the relaxation among the guards, the smiles of those who handled the horses and what verged on informality from the squire who led them into the keep. It was as if they'd won a great victory and had no idea of the scale of forces converging on them, coming closer with every heartbeat.
Darrick had expected the Earl to be in good spirits when he arrived back from his supper, but instead, Jasto had been cool, though his words were kind enough as he shook the General's hand.
'General Darrick, what a pleasant surprise.'
'My Lord Earl.'
'I've just had a mug of mulled wine delivered. Care to join me?'
Darrick smiled. 'Perhaps a little. All this talk of soup and hot wine, it sounds like winter's upon us.'