Jain's eyes widened, like she hadn't realized just how much danger the entire party had been in. Va'del wanted to reassure her, but the Caravan Master was speaking once again.
"Now that things are stable, the rest of us have to leave. I don't like leaving the four of you here with all of the attacks lately, but the next village on our route must be running low on provisions by now. We'll leave tomorrow morning. If everything goes well, you should be able to catch up with us by the time we reach the second way cave, and I'd wager the bandits can't be operating within a three-day radius of here. They never would have been foolish enough to attack this village if it were anywhere near their base of operations. Rest now—you'll have a hard journey ahead of you."
Once the Guadel was gone, Jain squeezed Va'del's hand. "The last thing I remembered was the sight of him going after you with a knife. When I woke up I was so scared that I was going to find out you were dead. They had to bring me in here to see you still breathing before I would believe you were really alive. Even then, I was worried that you had somehow been hurt too much for a healing to work."
Va'del squeezed Jain's hand and croaked out a request for water that she somehow understood. Once Va'del had finished the cup of water he found that he was able to speak again.
"You're okay then?"
Jain nodded. "I'm fine. The Healer and some of the Guadel fixed me up without any problems. A concussion is fairly straightforward as healings go. Restoring lost blood, on the other hand, is much more difficult."
"What happens next?"
Jain shrugged uncomfortably. "I think more or less what Guadel Si'mon told you. There will be an inquiry, but you weren't in the wrong. They essentially started everything, and were the ones to first use deadly force. Even if the village Headman were to decide that you were at fault and try to discipline you, that's properly the prerogative of the Council, so he can't keep you here."
Va'del figured that things weren't as cut and dried as Jain was trying to make them out to be, or she wouldn't be looking for reasons that the Headman couldn't discipline him. "How do you figure?"
"Well traditionally, only the sponsors of a candidate can discipline him. In some circumstances the Council has stepped in, but no Headman has ever been allowed to interfere in Council business like that."
"Except that I'm not a candidate."
Jain was flushed now, either in anger that Va'del was being difficult, or in fear that he was right. "It won't matter. You're acting in the capacity of a candidate, and even Cindi won't be stupid enough to create that kind of precedent."
Va'del nodded, but he wasn't convinced. Jain probably knew him well enough to know that was the case, but she didn't press the issue.
"Things will be okay. Just get some more sleep for now."
Va'del was about to tell her there was no way he was going to be able to sleep again after just having woken up, when she reached out to touch his forehead. Darkness claimed him before he could get the words out.
##
The Headman, who had looked solemn and tired before, now looked like the only thing keeping him up and moving was fear that if he stopped to rest something catastrophic would happen.
Va'del had been saved from talking to Cindi earlier that morning. The village healer had refused her entrance to the sick room on the basis that Va'del needed to be checked over to ensure that he would be in a fit state for the inquiry, which had been moved to early afternoon.
Looking at the heavy-set Guadel now, Va'del wondered if he should have convinced the healer to let Cindi in earlier. She looks like she's going to try and kill me with her bare hands. Maybe if I'd taken the verbal beating she wanted to deliver then, she wouldn't be quite so mad now.
The Headman looked at Va'del and sighed. "Please describe the events which led to the death of guardsman Vin'i. As you know..."
Cindi interrupted whatever the Headman had been planning on saying. "This is not a trial. This candidate does not fall under your jurisdiction, and consequently this whole procedure is nothing more than a farce!"
The scowl that flashed across the Headman's face should have intimidated anyone—it certainly scared Va'del—but Cindi seemed entirely oblivious.
"I'm very well aware of the traditional immunity granted your people, Guadel! I do, however, have the right to ask for testimony from anyone in my village up to and including the cursed Council. If for no other reason than to determine what levels of punishment are appropriate for those individuals who are under my jurisdiction. Now, you'll kindly shut up and let me get on with this or I'll lodge a formal protest to the Council."
Satisfied he had Cindi temporarily cowed, the Headman turned back to Va'del. "Please proceed."
Relieved that Cindi was indeed treating him as a candidate for the purposes of the investigation, Va'del explained what had happened as carefully as he was able.
The Headman rarely interrupted, despite the fact that it was obvious he wasn't interested in the parts of the testimony surrounding how the two teenagers had ended up in the cavern with the three off-duty guardsmen.
Instead most of the questions concerned what had happened just before the fight broke out. "So they were angry with you?"
Va'del shook his head. "Not quite, they were more angry with the Council and the Capital in general."
Cindi made as if to protest that point, but the Headman again fixed her with a glare. "You may find it hard to believe, Guadel Cindi, but there is currently a great deal of ill-will towards the Council among my people. I'm doing what I can to defuse the situation, but nearly a third of the village was all but ready to try some kind of ridiculous march through the snow to the Capital, so kindly remain silent."
Turning back to Va'del, the older man continued with his questions. "And you didn't do anything to make the situation worse? I was a young man once and know how hard it can be at times to swallow a slight like that."
Va'del was startled by the seeming softening of the Headman's manner until he realized that it was probably an attempt to trap him into saying something that would make him look worse. "No, sir. I think I apologized and told them we were here to try and help."
The Healer, who had been sitting next to the Headman the entire time, spoke up for the first time. "Please tell me about the dust you said Vin'i and the others were passing around."
"I didn't really get a very good look at it. I think it was gray."
If the poor woman was exhausted and irritable from having spent the better part of two days healing Va'del and the damage he'd caused to the surviving two guardsmen, she managed not to show it. "Can you describe the effects it had on those three?"
Va'del thought for a second before nodding. "Their eyes were different than they should have been, I think. And they moved fast. Faster than I expected, but their reflexes weren't right."
The healer sat back and nodded. "By the time we found them there wasn't any sign of the dust, and they'd had time for it to work its way out of their systems, but he's describing the effects of White Out almost perfectly. Especially the increased strength that would have led to faster movement, and the loss of coordination that he would have thought was problems with their reflexes."
The Headman leaned back and rubbed his eyes before nodding resignedly. "Very well. We'll have to meet with Ta'lor. They were guardsmen, so he has the right of punishment. Knowing him he'll push for something suitable. If not we'll lean on him to make sure that they don't get off with just a slap on the wrist."
Turning to Va'del, the Headman sighed. "I'm very sorry that this happened here in my village. I'm glad that you weren't even more seriously hurt, and that you were there to save the virtue of that young lady. I won't be pursuing the matter with the Council as I think you acted in a reasonable manner. Good luck on your journey."
If Va'del had thought the end of the inquiry was anticlimactic, Cindi seemed determined to make up for it once they were back to the guest rooms. "That was one of the most irresponsible things I've ever seen anyon
e do!"
His mind reeling from the attack which he'd somehow stopped anticipating, Va'del couldn't muster a response.
"There are a hundred things you could have done to avoid that whole situation. You could have gone by yourself so that Jain wasn't ever in danger. You could have asked for directions so that you didn't run into the guards in the first place. At the very least you should have avoided killing one of the fools!"
Jain looked like she wanted to come to Va'del's defense, but Cindi quieted her with a look and continued the verbal beating. Most of the complaints followed the same vein, accusations that Va'del hadn't taken what Cindi thought were ordinary, reasonable precautions.
About the time that the teenager finally recovered enough to respond with the indignation he was feeling, he realized that doing so would be pointless, and managed to school himself to silence. Just don't say anything. Maybe if I don't fight her right now she'll decide it wasn't bad enough to push for me to be barred from classes once we get back.
Cindi's diatribe finally started to wind down, but Va'del's hope that the worst had passed was suddenly shattered as the older woman looked back and forth from him to Jain.
"And don't think I haven't noticed the way the two of you look at each other. It's completely improper, and for that reason if nothing else, I'll do everything in my power to ensure that you are never accepted as a candidate. You've all but ruined relations with one of the few villages left where we still have a reasonable chance of finding children that can be sponsored.
"That isn't the kind of thing that would be forgiven in a full Guadel, much less some incompetent boy who couldn't even keep his sponsors alive in a simple ambush. I will see you banned, Va'del. If it is the last thing I do, I'll see you banned and exiled from the Capital so that you can't make any more trouble. Not for the Guadel and not for Jain either."
##
Even Oh'scir had looked less than excited about the idea of leaving so late in the day, but if the group really intended to try and reach the safety of the caravan, every cycle would make a difference, and a little thing like spending the night outside of the shelter of one of the way caves wouldn't be allowed to influence Cindi's decisions.
Va'del had heard plenty of stories from Jasmin about miserable nights spent in what she'd called cold camps. As bad as the next leg of their journey was shaping up to be, the teenager would have gladly made it a dozen times if he thought it would somehow allow him to still attend classes once they finally got back to the Capital.
Jain looked back at Va'del frequently during their four-cycle trek, but even the knowledge that she was worried about him couldn't take the edge off of his despair.
Oh'scir finally convinced his wife to make camp for the night, but even after the light tent that would shelter the party was up, there wasn't any chance for the teenagers to talk. Va'del could see Jain growing steadily more frustrated with the situation, but couldn't bring himself to care very much.
We can't talk. I can't give Cindi any more excuse to hate me. Jain will just have to understand that. Maybe once we get back to the Capital things can be different again.
Once Cindi had finished setting up the tiny metal platform that held the worked stones, she'd activated them, and all four travelers had hunkered down in their blankets trying to sleep as the heat stone managed to heat the small tent up just enough that they wouldn't freeze during the night.
Va'del fell asleep fingering his tiny knife for the first time in weeks.
The next day's travel was even worse. Cindi demanded that they rise early in the day and push through at the best pace they could manage in the heavy wind. The effort of fighting the sudden, extremely dangerous gusts and the bitter cold left everyone physically exhausted. Even the prospect of sleeping in one of the way caves wasn't enough to generate a real lift in anyone's spirits.
The unrelenting criticism Va'del was suffering through had worn away at his spirit as much as the brutal journey had depleted his body. By the time the party stumbled into the cave, the teenager wanted nothing so much as to simply collapse into his blankets, but his sense of duty made him see to Sleepy and Hungry while Cindi set up the worked gemstones and Jain started on dinner.
Oh'scir started on the last two gurra as Va'del got the packs off of his and Jain's gurra and began rubbing them down.
The tiny Guadel worked in silence for several minutes before clearing his throat nervously. "I'm sorry about the way that she's been going at you. I know it isn't fair and I'll do what I can to soften her disposition once we get to the next village."
Oh'scir took in Va'del's confused look and smiled, an expression that looked strangely out of place on the slender man's normally dour face. "I'd have said something to her already, but there hasn't been any privacy, and if she feels like I'm undercutting her authority with you, then things will get even worse."
Va'del nodded numbly, understanding at last, but unconvinced that anything could deflect the grim future that Cindi had spent the last two days painting for him.
As the teenager finally finished up with the animals, Oh'scir clapped him on the back. "She isn't as bad as you think. Just old and set in her ways. She's more scared than you can know that she's wrong about all this, but she doesn't know any other way."
Dinner was an emotionless affair. Jain spent the whole meal trying to catch Va'del's eye. He spent the whole dinner avoiding looking at the person who was arguably his best friend, in the hopes that he could avoid giving her encouragement. That would only lead to her trying to talk to him, thereby getting them both in more trouble.
Cindi on the other hand spent the time complaining about the world in general, and Va'del specifically. Jain was on the receiving end of a couple of fairly scathing comments, which Va'del knew had to have hurt more than she let on. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but the desire melted away when confronted with his resolve not to give Cindi anything else to hang them with.
It wasn't until Va'del went to his bed roll that the reason Jain had spent so long digging through the pile of packs before dinner became apparent.
It's Javin's present.
Somehow with everything that had happened, the wool-wrapped bundle had slipped Va'del's mind. I suppose this is about as bad as things are going to get. She couldn't come up with any other way to comfort me, but she never stopped looking for something to help buoy me up.
Tears filled Va'del's eyes, blurring his vision. Somehow the teen still managed to pick loose the knots to the cords binding the long swath of cloth around the present.
The knife revealed once the wool had been unwrapped was a plain, if well-crafted, weapon that Va'del had seen before. Tracing the engraving of a pair of scrolls on the blade, Va'del felt tears break free and streak down his cheeks.
I'rone's dagger. The one he was using when they killed him. Usually weapons go back to a Guadel's sponsor, or potentially a favorite friend in their bloodline. Javin couldn't have picked any other gift that would say so emphatically how much faith he thought I'rone and his family had in me. And by extension how much faith Javin's family has in me.
Va'del's knife had been seized as part of the inquiry, and Cindi hadn't seen fit to demand it back, apparently feeling it only just that her wayward charge lose the symbol that everyone associated with the Guadel and candidates. Only Guadel and candidates fight with paired blades. She was as much as saying by such a small gesture that she didn't think I deserved to be counted among their ranks.
The teenager wiped away his tears and then slipped the sheathed blade onto his belt, hoping he hadn't already betrayed the trust Javin had placed in him.
Chapter 19
Va'del didn't really feel any better about his future when he awoke, but he'd achieved some measure of catharsis the night before as he'd realized he couldn't possibly appease Cindi. All he could hope to do was avoid giving her additional reasons to push for his dismissal and then pray that Javin and On'li could manage to convince the Council to leave him in the candidate
classes.
As a result, the normal spattering of critical remarks didn't strike as deeply, and Va'del was even able to catch Jain's eye at one point during breakfast and mouth his thanks to her.
Cindi was in a particularly foul mood, seemingly disappointed that they hadn't covered more distance. "We'll press on hard today, and should be able to rejoin the caravan a half cycle or so after dark."
Even Oh'scir seemed to doubt the wisdom of traveling after dark, but his wife quelled him with a look. "There should be a full moon tonight. Assuming there aren't any clouds, we'll have plenty of light to travel by. If not, we'll go ahead and make camp as normal, but I'd rather not spend another night out in the cold."
Once camp had been broken, the pace that Cindi demanded was even more punishing than normal. Jain had led Hungry herself without complaint the last two days, but it was evident to Va'del that she was tiring too quickly to make it through the entire day, so at their first water break he'd slipped up and tied Sleepy's lead rope to Hungry's pack and then relieved Jain of her lead rope with a wink.
Cindi saw the change before they set back out, but didn't say anything, apparently having come to the same conclusion. Jain simply hadn't had enough time to develop the endurance needed to cover the kinds of distances they were traveling each day.
Sometime after their second break for food and water, Va'del noticed an odd rock outcropping above the trail they were following. It's a wonder the wind keeps it bare of snow. Especially considering how deeply drifted everything is on this side of it.
As the party came even with the slender finger of stone, Oh'scir seemed to sense something unusual. Va'del was craning his neck in an effort to try and determine what had caused the Guadel to signal a halt, when a sudden rumble brought him spinning around just in time to see a wall of white crash into him.
The teenager tried to remember what he'd been told by Jasmin about surviving avalanches, but fear and panic were tearing at his sanity. Va'del remembered something about a curious motion Jasmin had showed him, one that was supposed to help him rise to the surface of the churning snow, but he'd felt silly practicing it, and actually trying it while being swept down the slope was nearly impossible.