Chapter 41

The ride across the countryside was as slow as it had been four years earlier when Pernice and Jorgarn rode in the opposite direction. But each time, they carried the understanding they were riding toward conflict.

They rode on fine horses – a gift to them from Merg and his friends, who had bartered a longbow and a quarrel of arrows for them. Jorgarn couldn't help but smile when he thought of the youth. Merg had grown as much as anyone in his time away from Emertland. He and his industrious comrades were perhaps the wealthiest people in Freeland.

They certainly had the only product worth purchasing from the fledgling nation. But rather than collect the profits for themselves, they shared whatever they had. Merg insisted the Council conduct the bargaining sessions – with the exception of the one that netted him two fine horses – and that 80 percent of everything they received be shared with the general public. The remaining 20 percent was set aside to help them pay for the other children who helped them by gathering fallen wood from unclaimed properties and from the properties of those who had offered him permission – such as those who lived near Jorgarn.

Merg and his friends were somewhat surprised when several landowners expected compensation for the wood. He had tried to explain that the compensation came in other forms – the fact their land was cleared for them at no cost and the fact that the Council provided all necessities for anyone who worked. However, some wanted tangible services directed solely to them. After a discussion with Leyota and Pernice, Merg and his friends directed their efforts elsewhere, leaving the landholders to clear their own properties and find their own means of disposing with the wood, which created a nasty smoky smell when burned.

Fortunately for Merg, although it was the primary reason Jorgarn had selected the land, the area where he lived was filled with the types of tree he needed to use. Jorgarn and his friends – Pernice, Renoit, Fieth, Lippit and Belad – had gone deep into the forests and dragged several fallen trees for the teenagers to use. Their efforts had taken two or three weeks, but it paid great dividends for the entire country. The adults put forth as much effort as the youths in turning the raw wood into serviceable bows, but each of them insisted it was the younger group's project.

Pernice and Jorgarn had been shocked to learn that the third member of Merg's group was a female. They had offered to take the boys into the forest with them overnight. Merg and his friend, Cas, quickly agreed but the third friend, Nelida, was denied permission. Jorgarn offered to speak to the boy's parents to assure them that their son would be safe. It was only then than a laughing Merg told them that Nelida was, in fact, a girl of 13, not a boy.

Both Jorgarn and Pernice instantly wondered if they had ever emptied their bladder in front of the girl, never realizing she wasn't a boy. They joked of it later, but it caused them real consternation at the time.

Merg had been torn about returning with Jorgarn or staying behind for a few months but in the end commerce won out. Merg was the best and quickest at producing a finished bow and his efforts were necessary for the small group to fulfill the commitments they had made. If possible, Jorgarn and Pernice were even prouder of the young man who grew from the boy they adored.

Drosset rode beside the two warriors. He would take his spot in the Noble Guard when they arrived. He was already looking forward to it and he promised to be a fine warrior. He had trained with Merg, Leyota and Fieth during Jorgarn's long absence. Bralan had taken over his training upon his return to Longview.

The two men with long hair and beards created quite a stir at the inn where they stopped for the night. Jorgarn and Pernice offered to sleep in the stable but Eslada insisted they stay close by. It was not until they sat at a table away from the others that Jorgarn expressed what he had been thinking all day.

"Is it only me who finds Leyota's actions troublesome?" he asked. A glance at the table's other occupants gave him the answer – it was only he.

"I don't mean to dredge up old wounds, but I don't see how what she has done is any different from Rayna," he continued. "They both are seeking to influence things behind the curtains. They both think little of using a person's love for them against him or her. They each have hidden their true motives from those affected. Is that not obvious?"

"Ridiculous," Eslada spat. "Those two are nothing alike."

Jorgarn raised his eyebrows in an attempt to get Eslada to expound on her theory. Instead, she sat silently and glared at him.

"It is not a matter of their actions," Pernice said. "I agree, when pointed out as you have done, their actions are similar."

Eslada seemed ready to turn on Pernice but Bralan raised a hand and told him to continue.

"But the motives are entirely different," Pernice said after a thankful nod to Bralan. "Rayna sought influence and power at the expense of others. She was willing to use you, me or Denae to get what she desired but it was always for her benefit. She thought nothing of the benefit others might derive. Leyota's motive is opposite: She is willing to sacrifice what she has long desired for the benefit of her friends and for this country. She will gain nothing from Bralan's ascension; she will only lose from it. She gained nothing from going around your stubbornness to achieve what needed to be achieved; she only lost from it. I am certain she is at home, wondering if she has irrevocably harmed her relationship with you. She will likely worry about that until the next time she sees you – and maybe long afterward. But she saw no other manner of accomplishing this – and I think you agree it needs to be accomplished."

"I do agree," Jorgarn said, "but I would have helped her if she asked."

"No, you wouldn't have!" Eslada said. Bralan nodded from beside her. "You would never have permitted Wenta's help. You would have fought and bucked and obstructed until everything took five times as long to get finished as it did. I know that, Jorgarn. I know that because that is how I would have reacted. You saw by my behavior in the castle that I am not above stubborn pride. I regret that my attitude toward your Knighthood – first almost forcing you to accept it and then interfering in the way you did your duties – helped bring about this crisis. At least I recognize my part in things. I could have stepped back and allowed Bralan to handle Rayna. My pride would not permit that. I wanted to prove to her and Drosset that I would look after them and I handled it badly. I hate to admit it, but I am starting to think Rayna was actually a stabilizing influence on Denae."

"Perhaps she was," Jorgarn said. "I always looked at them like two girls playing dress up: Neither understood fully what their roles truly were and with no one to guide them on the matter, they continued forward with what they thought they should be able to do. I truly think Rayna would have grown into her position in time. She would have come to understand that there was more to being an adviser to the Heiress besides putting your friends in nice, comfortable positions."

Jorgarn shrugged.

"I always liked Rayna," he admitted.

Bralan laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I have come to realize that you like anything with wobblies," she said. "Was he like this in Umbria, Pernice? I know in Salaria, he would look at everything in a skirt."

Pernice glanced downward.

"No, Umbria was entirely different," he said sadly.

"I'm sorry, my friend," Bralan said as she put her hand on his arm. "I did not think. Of course it was different. I hope you'll forgive my insensitivity. I am not usually like that."

"I know you're not and of course I forgive you," Pernice answered. "I have missed Alite greatly over the past months, since..."

His voice trailed off and he gestured to Jorgarn with his head. Bralan nodded her understanding.

"That must have been difficult for you," Bralan said sympathetically.

"It was," Pernice admitted, "but I realized that Jorgarn had found himself in my spot for almost two years, until Alite fell. So I did what he did: I found solace in other things and focused my attention on different matters."

He smiled ruefully.

"I have high hopes upon my return to Emertland," he joked. "I understand there is a dearth of eligible young men since many of them are still in Freeland."

"You might be disappointed," Bralan said. "Many of the young women went with you, too, from what I understand. The capital lost almost half of its population in the last year. Many merchants have moved rather than deal with having few customers. It is costly to live in the capital. Prices rose as the economy slowed. I don't think King Landor understood how much coin the Guard brought into the capital – not just in their purses when they arrived but by purchasing goods and services with their wages, in taxes and in visitors. The situation with Denae created more problems on top of that. Many nobles refused to come to Court. Those who did come did not stay long. They came, discussed their business and departed.

"Court provided many things to the capital. It brought in outsiders and their coin. It allowed King Landor to meet with those he rarely sees to discuss ways to help them and to gauge how his laws are affecting them. It also allowed people to mingle, to feel as though they were a part of something bigger than themselves and their holdings. That was lost and I think Emertland is feeling the effects of it by this talk of rebellion."

"Is the King trying to raise an army?" Pernice asked.

"The problem lies in the fact that he can't afford to pay for one," Bralan answered. "The 200 soldiers who returned a year ago were all paid their back wages. Rather than spending them in Emertland or returning them in taxes on goods, you departed with them. You sailed out on ships and purchased goods from Swar. Then there is the fact that many who generated revenue for the Crown went with you. The miller and blacksmith left. Each of those employed a dozen men – who passed their money back to the Crown in the form of rents and taxes. The former Longview territories have offered men. Tark has sent men to train at the capital. But we're talking 20 or 30 men instead of 200. I believe Emertland would fall to the rebellion if Freeland does not intercede. Jorgarn, does that help explain Leyota's actions better?"

He shrugged.

"She could have told us and we would have returned," Jorgarn prompted.

"No, you wouldn't have," Pernice interrupted. "Or at least I wouldn't have. I am here for one purpose."

He gestured to Bralan.

"If it were anyone else anointed as Heiress, I would not have returned," he said flatly. "I agreed to come because it was Bralan, my friend and fellow warrior, who will ascend. The others will come for the same reason. I believe Freeland would have offered refuge for any who sought it. But I don't believe we would have fought in a war for anything less than one of our own. I feel badly for King Landor and for Sir Torbert. I truly do. But they both sat idly by and let Denae do what she was doing. They did not want to precipitate a confrontation until it proved necessary. What happened to Emertland happened because they allowed it to happen. I do not believe I would have willingly come to their aid."

Eslada pursed her lips and sighed before she spoke.

"There is always a great problem with getting communication from far-off lands," she said. "I fear it was greater this time. The news we did receive was not good. I am certain everyone believed you all had died."

"I am certain that you're wrong," Jorgarn said with a trace of anger in his voice. "There are many who did not accept that. We took 140 people from the capital besides the soldiers. I do not believe for a moment that any of them forsook us. I know for certain that the ones I call my friends did not. There were many who believed in us; It just wasn't the right people."

Pernice nodded furiously.

"I never thought for a minute he would not return!" Drosset said fiercely. "And I knew when Jorgarn came back; Pernice would be at his side. It was mostly the high nobles who wrote them off. Those of us who mattered little never did."

Eslada sighed. The matter had been the source of many arguments between her and her wards. Neither Bralan nor Drosset would hear talk of Jorgarn's death. Eslada believed it was her responsibility to try to prepare them for the news. She knew how much of an affect he had had on their young lives. Drosset had refused to leave the castle. His rationale was solid. Jorgarn was the Knight until another Knight was named. Until that time, he was a member of the Knight's staff and he needed to stay.

Bralan had no reason behind her belief. She simply said that Jorgarn was alive and that was it. Nothing Eslada said could sway her so she stopped trying. She wondered if Jorgarn was punishing her for her lack of faith by refusing to visit or to write to her.

"It is late," Jorgarn said. He could sense tension at the table between the members of the Longview family. "And we have several more hard days of riding. Where do you plan to stop on the morrow?"

"The Fieth residence," Eslada announced. "Saneth has assumed the Ladyship."

"Elobert's father has died?" Jorgarn asked.

"Yes, a month or so ago," Eslada recounted. "I believe his death set back the rebellion by a few months. They were counting upon his coin to help them. Saneth put a stop to that rapidly. Her mother has been sent abroad, although I do not know where. Did Elobert not mention it?"

Jorgarn glanced at Pernice. He hated the fact he had been so caught up in his own life that he might have missed such an event. Elobert held no love for his father but he held his sister in high regard.

"No," Pernice confirmed. "I am unsure if he knows."

"He knows," Eslada said. "I offered my condolences and he laughed. He said that I should save them for someone who was sorry to see the old goat dead – if I could find such a person."

Jorgarn and Pernice were each shaking their heads.

"Is she safe?" Pernice asked. "Lady Saneth, I mean. The ones set upon war might not take kindly to the loss of income."

"She is," Bralan replied. "King Landor has sent guards to all those he deems loyal to Emertland and who could not acquire them themselves. It makes up for the loss of the Renoits among his allies."

Jorgarn's mouth dropped again.

"Leyota's father died?" he asked. "Why did no one mention this to me? Is that why her mother is at the castle?"

He looked at Pernice again, who shook his head.

"Lord Renoit died almost four years ago," Eslada said. "I suppose you were already in Salaria. It was shortly after you left though. Chicote was still at the castle. Riset kicked her mother from the manor and Chicote made arrangements for her to live at the castle. Jorgarn, you were gone for many years. You returned for two or three weeks and left again. There is much different from what you remember."

"Well, I believe the death of one's parent might deserve a mention," he said. "Leyota didn't tell me. Chicote never mentioned it. Elobert found it not newsworthy. I believe I would at least mention in passing if my father died. Pernice, is your family well? I hate to have to ask but I suppose I should."

"My family is well, thank you," Pernice said with a smile. "Jor, I'm not certain I have heard you mention your father more than a dozen times in all the years I've known you. Even when he sent the Rangers to assist us, you referred to him as Lord Longview. Chicote's father was gone a year before he saw us. Elobert felt nothing but disdain for his father and mother. I don't think it was anything more than that."