Chapter 29

Nothing special happened on our trip back to the valley - except for Tofi complaining a bit about all that walking. Once I mentioned that Mylaela would probably be happy to take care of his aching muscles he became silent - for a moment. Truthfully, he didn’t complain that much and it only happened during our breaks. As soon as we were in the valley we met the guards who had two extra horses with them. It seemed that the others had believed in us.

My thoughts about a short rest after this mission were soon forgotten as plans started to form. First, I would need to get back to the Islands with Tofi and Helga - and Mylaela. Now that we had an option we wanted to keep the cross-country traffic to a minimum. The business was working and bringing in some money, mostly to Elise and my other friends in Aston and also to Birgit. Besides the money, we also now had a way to get some news from Aston and that was important to us. The good news was that there hadn’t been much news lately, since the Magicians and the Shinies still seemed to be recovering from what had happened to them. The bad news was that they obviously hadn’t changed their plans.

Altogether, that meant that all kinds of plans were put into motion. Some of the best Elven guards and warriors were tasked to figure out the best possible path from that very narrow pass all the way to the little bay. The idea was to use hidden animal tracks whenever possible. I would have liked to do it myself, but I would be needed elsewhere, since none of the Elves could get the business going and even I would need to use some ‘Hantaliel magic’ in order to stay unrecognizable in Aston. Since I hadn’t really socialized while I had been there, there wasn’t much risk even if I didn’t, but the smaller the risk the better. But the point was that I would be needed there until a solid operation was working between the people of the North Islands and the shipping company owned by the ‘Private Prospects’ people. The funny thing with those people was they were all the same family, many related - and yet almost all of them had different names. One of their many ways of keeping things private, I guess.

“I hope that the weather will still let us sail the northern route. There have been so many easy winters that it just cannot continue.”

””Do you sense something regarding that?””

I smiled at Tofi; I had started speaking him the Old Language during our trip back to valley.

””No.””

Tofi’s answer was almost a grunt. “You know Stian, you can be quite a bastard.”

””Without doubt you’ll remember all this when we are on that ship.””

“You can count on it. You can certainly count on it.”

I smiled since I knew that even though Tofi would certainly torture me, it would be necessary. If I wanted to do some successful trade I needed to learn as much about sailing as I could.

””You will thank me later. You should also think of the advantage it gives you when compared to Toki.””

That brought a small smile to Tofi’s face.

“It still does not save you.”

Well, I didn’t really expect that.

””Stian, do you have a moment?””

I turned to look at Ylva who had tapped me on the back after breakfast. I had been busy preparing for our next trip and there would be only a few more things to do before our departure the following morning.

That really stopped me. First I felt a bit badly. I hadn’t really paid much attention to either of the women. Then I reminded myself that, lately, I had been away from the valley more than I had been in the valley. Besides, Ylva had just said that everyone had been nice to them. I thought a moment.

””Ylva, what did you and Liv do in Aston? Or, what are you two good at?””

””Nothing special. We worked together trying to keep family things organized. Having the right people and correct stuff in the right place and time.””

Suddenly I smiled widely. ””Then I know exactly what you should do! Let’s go over there and sit down.””

Suddenly it was time for lunch but I felt quite satisfied with myself. I had just managed to give Ylva and Liv a new task which was definitely something I could do myself, but I would have to spend a lot of time away from the valley. Most likely I would need to discuss it all with Immianthe and Mylaela - or perhaps I should just inform them of what I had done. That was the way they usually acted with me. When Ylva worried whether they would be allowed to do the things I had asked them to do, I had just told them that they were allowed to use my name as an authorization, if needed.

””Think about all the resources that we have here and how they could be used for our benefit. If it seems that we do not have enough trained pigeons, then we need to have more trained pigeons. You need to start preparing and working as though things would start tomorrow. Of course, we hope that we can decide for ourselves when ‘the day’ will be, but it is also possible that we will be forced to act, and then we must be ready to react.””

Yes, Immianthe would not be happy because I had not asked her about it. However, she would not really disagree, since that was something that needed to start as soon as possible, and according to what Ylva had just told me, she and Liv would be the perfect people to do it. Besides, if those two had survived together in Aston, a few slightly annoyed Elves would be nothing. Yes, I would mention that to Immianthe just before we left, but not a moment sooner.

“You managed to piss off Immianthe a bit.”

Mylaela had moved next to me on the little boat as we were sailing up the Slow River. This was one of the normal business trips up the river, only now with a few more passengers. Even if all the people in this boat were from the valley we spoke Anglon. That was the rule - only Anglon outside the valley.

I looked at Mylaela, shrugged and smiled. “As if you have never done that to me? Just informed me of some things when there’s no way to change anything.”

“What makes you think that she will not give them new orders?”

“Because it would be stupid and she knows it, too - and that’s why she’s pissed at me, isn’t it?”

First Mylaela didn’t say anything, but then she started to giggle.

“You’re definitely learning, Stian. Maybe it took a few years, but you’re learning. Just keep it up, so we will not get bored. That’s the problem with us Elves, you know. If we get bored, then we can easily become passive - and we were passive way too long. Now you have put things in motion, and once we start doing something we can get things done. Trust me, things will work out.”

Seeing Mylaela and Elise meet in Aston was definitely interesting. Despite that Mylaela and Immianthe always complained about being the spokespersons, those two were born leaders. Bellcauniel had some of that in her, but she didn’t have the same tolerance for fools and she knew that, too. Elise was also a leader, and she knew another leader when she saw one. The mutual respect was obvious and the fact that they all were women made things even easier. That allowed me to introduce Tofi to Frode - in a way, I was sad that we couldn’t all go to Geir’s place, but risking everything just to practice a bit more or to go to visit a bar would have been stupid.

“So you’re seriously planning to sail further south and east just to find a trading partner that isn’t pissed at our fine Kingdom? Do you have any idea how far south and east you’ll need to go?”

The way Frode commented on our plan made me think that seeing Geir and going to a shabby bar might not have been a stupid thing when compared to what we were planning.

“Yep. Quite exiting, isn’t it? I can hardly wait.”

Frode looked at us and then burst out laughing. “Yes. Exciting it probably will be - and for your young friend, here, it probably isn’t even the most stupid thing he has done. Stian, after you left I have learned to appreciate this boring life.”

I raised my glass to Frode and smiled even though I felt slightly conflicted. I knew that Frode acted as a father to Elise’s and Alva’s children. Children I had never seen - and probably never would. However, I was happy for Elise and Alva - and Frode.