“And cannot be reinstated once you return to the Westland?”
Ellenroh’s face turned to stone. “No, Wren. Never again.”
“You assume...” Gavilan began.
“Never!” Ellenroh snapped, and Gavilan went still.
“My Lady.” Eton Shart drew her attention gently. “Even if we do what you suggest and invoke the power of the Loden, what chance do we have of getting back to the Westland? The demons are all about. As you say, we have barely been able to hold our own within the walls of the city. What happens when those walls are gone? Will even our army be enough to get us to the beaches? And what happens to us then without boats and guides?”
“The army cannot hold the beaches for long, my Lady,” Barsimmon Oridio agreed.
“No, Bar, it can’t,” the queen said. “But I don’t propose to use the army. I think our best chance is to leave Morrowindl as we came to it—just a handful of us carrying the Loden and the rest safely captured inside.”
There was stunned silence.
“A handful, my Lady?” Barsimmon Oridio was aghast. “They won’t stand a chance!”
“Well, that’s not necessarily true,” Aurin Striate quietly mused.
The queen smiled. “No, Aurin, it isn’t. After all, my granddaughter is proof of that. She came through the demons with no one to help her but her friend Garth. The truth of the matter is that a small party stands a far better chance of getting clear than an entire army. A small party can travel quickly and without being seen. It would be a hazardous journey, but it could be done. As for what would happen once that party reached the beaches, Wren has already made those arrangements for us. The Wing Rider Tiger Ty will be there with his Roc to convey at least one of us and the Loden to safety. Other Wing Riders can remove the rest. I have thought this through carefully and I believe it is the answer to our problem. I think, my friends, it is the only answer.”
Gavilan shook his head. He was calm now, his handsome face composed. “My Lady, I know how desperate things have become. But if this gamble you propose fails, the entire Elven nation will be lost. Forever. If the party carrying the Loden is killed, the power of the Elfstone cannot be invoked and the city and its people will be trapped inside. I don’t think it is a risk we can afford to take.”
“Isn’t it, Gavilan?” the queen asked softly.
“A better risk would be to summon further magic from the earth,” he replied. His hands lifted to ward off her sharp protest. “I know the dangers. But this time we might be successful. This time the magic might be strong enough to keep us safe within the Keel, to keep the dark things locked without.”
“For how long, Gavilan? Another year? Two? And our people still imprisoned within the city?”
“Better that than their extinction. A year might give us the time we need to find a method to control the earth magic. There must be a way, my Lady. We need only discover it.”
The queen shook her head sadly. “We have been telling ourselves that for more than a hundred years. No one has found the answer yet. Look at what we have done to ourselves. Haven’t we learned anything?”
Wren did not comprehend entirely what was being said, but she understood enough to realize that somewhere along the line the Elves had run into problems with the magic they had summoned. Ellenroh was saying they should have nothing further to do with it. Gavilan was saying they needed to keep trying to master it. Without being told as much, Wren was certain that the demons were at the heart of the dispute.
“Owl.” The queen addressed Aurin Striate suddenly. “What do you think of my plan?”
The Owl shrugged. “I think it can be done, my Lady. I have spent years outside the city walls. I know that it is possible for a single man to go undetected by the demons, to travel among them. I think a handful could do the same. As you say, Wren and Garth came up from the beaches. I think they could go down again as well.”
“Are you saying that you would give the Loden to this girl and her friend?” Barsimmon Oridio exclaimed in disbelief.
“A good choice, don’t you think?” Ellenroh replied mildly. She glanced at Wren, who was thinking that she was the last person the queen should consider. “But we would have to ask them first, of course,” Ellenroh continued, as if reading her mind. “In any case, I think more than two are needed.”
“How many, then?” the Elven commander demanded.
“Yes, how many?” Eton Shart echoed.
The queen smiled, and Wren knew what she was thinking. She had them considering the proposal now, not simply arguing against it. They hadn’t agreed to anything, but they were at least weighing the merits.
“Nine,” the queen said. “The Elven number for luck. Just enough to make sure the job is done right.”
“Who would go?” Barsimmon Oridio asked quietly.
“Not you, Bar,” the queen replied. “Nor you either, Eton. This is a journey for young men. I wish you to stay with the city and our people. This will all be new for them. The Loden is only a story, after all. Someone must keep order in my absence, and you will do best.”
“Then you intend to be one of those who makes the journey?” Eton Shart said. “This journey for young men?”
“Don’t look so disapproving, First Minister,” Ellenroh chided gently. “Of course I must go. The Ruhk Staff is in my charge and the power of the Loden mine to invoke. More to the point, I am Queen. It is up to me to see to it that my people and my city are brought safely back into the Westland. Besides, the plan is mine. I cannot very well advocate it and then leave it for someone else to carry out.”
“My Lady, I don’t think...” Aurin Striate began doubtfully.
“Owl, please do not say it.” Ellenroh’s frown left the other silent. “I am certain I can repeat word for word every objection you are about to make, so don’t bother making them. If you feel it necessary, you can relate them to me as we go along since i expect you to make the journey as well.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The Owl’s seamed face was clouded with doubt.
“There is no one better able to survive outside the walls than you, Aurin Striate. You will be our eyes and ears out there, my friend.”
The Owl nodded wordlessly in acknowledgment.
Ellenroh glanced about. “Triss, I’ll need you and Cort and Dal to safeguard the Loden and the rest of us. That’s five. Eowen will go. We may have need of her visions if we are to survive. Gavilan.” She looked hopefully at her nephew. “I would like you to go as well.”
Gavilan Elessedil surprised them all with a brilliant smile. “I would like that, too, my Lady.”
Ellenroh beamed. “You can go back to calling me ‘Aunt Ell,’ Gavilan, after tonight.”
She turned finally to Wren. “And you, child. Will you go with us, too? You and your friend Garth? We need your help. You have made the journey from the beach and survived. You know something of what is out there, and that knowledge is valuable. And you are the one the Wing Rider has promised to come back for. Am I asking too much?”
Wren was silent for a moment. She didn’t bother looking over at Garth. She knew that he would go along with whatever she decided. She knew as well that she had not come all the way to Arborlon to be shut away, that Allanon had not dispatched her here to hide, and that she had not been given possession of the Elf stones only to forbear any use of them. The reality was harsh and demanding. She had been sent as more than a messenger, to do more than simply learn about who she was and from where she had come. Her part in this business—whether she liked it or not—was just beginning.
“Garth and I will come,” she answered.
She believed her grandmother wanted to reach over and hug her then, but the queen remained straight backed in her chair and simply smiled instead. What Wren saw in her eyes, though, was better than any hug.