hand over her mouth. “I completely forgot it’s a weekday. You’re gonna get in so much trouble! I’m so sorry.”
Ackerley laughed uncontrollably. “It’s fine—it really is.” He couldn’t remember the last time someone got so vocally riled up about him. “I don’t mind getting in trouble. I get to clean the floors—how cool is that?”
“Have I gotten you in trouble before?”
Ackerley suddenly stopped laughing. “No, not at all—why?”
“I have, haven’t I? Oh, I’m so sorry Ackerley. I won’t ask you to go with me anymore. I’ll do it myself.” She nodded with finality.
Ackerley failed to suppress a grin. “I can’t have that. Let’s decide what we want to do next. We could try to find a secret room or come back here. I like it here.”
Cerise held up a finger. “You know what I really want to do? When my parents sent me here they sent all of the kingdom’s jewels and gold. Pretty much anything that the Welgos might want. After we got here it was hidden somewhere and I haven’t seen any of it since. In those crates was a necklace that my mother gave me. It’s a family heirloom that predates the founding of Indigo. If I could do anything I would look for it. That necklace, and the beautiful pendant, always calmed me when things got scary when I was little. When a letter comes I really want to have that pendant in my hands to calm my nerves, and I can’t. There hasn’t been a letter in a while, but just in case, you know?”
“Let’s go find it some night.” Ackerley said.
“Are you sure?” Cerise asked, biting her lip. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“Don’t worry about that. I can handle a few nights with Mr. Jett.”
Ackerley didn’t want to leave that beautiful little garden. He waited until the first task was over and ran back into the castle. Unfortunately, he walked right into Craith on his way to his second task.
“And where were you this morning?”
Ackerley didn’t even bother making an excuse. He told Craith he had been wandering around. He ended up with two nights of floor cleaning.
10.
Kenton was thankful he had goggles this time. The dust from the dead wheat and dry ground was enough to send anyone off track. He even fitted Sidestep with his own pair.
The horse galloped along at a moderate pace. It was used to having extra weight, but that weight wasn’t usually so fidgety.
“Morzha, hey Morzha!”
Kenton rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
Commander Rogerseen tightened his grip on Kenton’s waist. “Slow this thing down, would you?”
“We have to get to the next base before dark.” Kenton repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Well in case you’ve forgotten I only have one leg. It’s hard to hold on with one leg.”
Kenton had definitely not forgotten. It’s all Rogerseen would talk about since they amputated it. Kenton had been made his aide simply because he was the only other person in the tent when the commander woke up. It was by far the hardest job he’d ever had. Rogerseen was difficult to deal with normally, but now that he had one leg and had to constantly take pain numbing medicine he was almost unbearable. It wasn’t entirely his fault. The medicine made it so half the time he didn’t even know where he was.
“We’ll get there faster if we don’t slow down.” Kenton said calmly. “And we can’t lose you to an attack. You’re too important.”
The road turned slightly and Rogerseen grabbed on even harder. “I don’t care about attacks. I don’t care about base. I just want this stupid horse to not fling me across the kingdom every chance it gets.”
Kenton wished Sidestep would knock the commander off. It would be a much more pleasant journey, but might end up with Kenton being dismissed or worse if anyone found out.
The castle they had been using in the Vastlands had been abandoned. The king decreed that the Welgos no longer cared about the area now that the last town had been destroyed. It took him several days to finally come around to this idea himself, long after the news of the Welgos moving on reached him. Kenton was one of the first to leave. The king believed that Rogerseen was the key to victory because of him being a masterful strategist. No one had ever seen this skill put to use, but the king swore by him and so everyone else had to as well. The new Rogerseen, complete with painkillers, was decidedly not a great strategist.
The new base was in the manor region to the northwest. The king decided that the defense of the already walled and militia heavy manor region was the kingdom’s top priority. They had done alright so far because the Welgos had not wanted to attack walled and defended areas unless money could be easily found. The kingdom had already lost the majority of their money through the sacking and burning of several key unguarded castles and holy sites early on.
If the king feared losing his soldiers because he couldn’t pay it didn’t show in the open. Though everyone knew that fleeing or speaking up about the now eminent lack of food meant they would be charged with treason and hanged immediately. They still had a great supply of inedible biscuits, but even that supply was growing worrisome.
Kenton didn’t actually care much about the food supply or the lack of payment. His payment had already been supplied through his brother staying at the only place still deemed safe. It was also the only place where Chell values were still being taught and believed in. Kenton didn’t care much about that either. He’d never known those values growing up. The castle staying safe was the only thing he cared about.
They found a small stream and stopped for a break. The commander slipped off the horse and landed with a loud thud in the water. He shouted unintelligibly with his face in the weak current until Kenton managed to get him out.
“That horse is trying to kill me!” He shouted through the airy silence. Kenton tried to hush him but he wouldn’t be quieted. “I am going to eat that thing the very next time it tries anything with my life. And where is my medicine? My leg is killing me.”
Kenton reached into one of the bags and pulled out a bulb of one of the medicinal flowers. He was saddened to see that there were only a few left.
“You’re going to have to stop going through them so fast.” He advised. “We need them to last.”
“You get your leg unceremoniously chopped off and we’ll see how you feel.”
“The doctor said the pain should have wavered by now.” Kenton said, splashing water on his face and arms.
“When the doctor gets his leg unceremoniously chopped off he can talk to me about how long the pain should last.”
Kenton handed him the flower and watched him devour it. A few minutes later Rogerseen was out cold, much to Kenton’s delight.
“Do you hate him as much as I do?” Kenton said, patting Sidestep’s neck. The horse shook his head playfully.
A few minutes later, and after a great deal of effort, both Kenton and Rogerseen were back on the horse and heading for the new base. The commander didn’t like the idea of being tied to Kenton, and so it was only when he was asleep that he allowed it.
Hours passed before the slightest thing happened. Rogerseen woke up. He wasn’t too keen on the ropes and, while still under the effects of the bulb, attempted to free himself. Kenton struggled with the commander for some time and they both almost fell off. Suddenly Rogerseen stopped.
“What’s that?” He said groggily, looking ahead.
Sidestep had turned off course and was heading towards something that was still too far off to see clearly. As they got closer a wooden wall came into view. Kenton slowed Sidestep and they moved with care towards the wall.
“A town?” Rogerseen asked, suddenly a lot more coherent.
“But there aren’t any.” Kenton said more to himself than to the commander.
“Apparently there are. Quick, let’s see how they survived.”
“I don’t feel right about this.” Kenton murmured.
“What’s not right? This is a sign that the Great Spirit hasn’
t given up on us.”
Sidestep came to a stop and Kenton watched wearily for any signs of life. A few minutes later a couple people came around the corner of the wall. They were Welgos. It was clear with their patchwork jackets and scruffy appearance.
“They’ve taken over.” Rogerseen gasped. “They probably murdered everyone and took their houses. The fiends! Quick Morzha, go kill them all.”
“How do you expect me to do that?”
“Just do it, I command you.”
“I don’t think they took anything over. None of the towns in the Vastlands had walls. And that wood. It’s not our wood. It’s too dark. Trees like that aren’t native to the Vastlands. They came from up north. Possibly even from Welgland.”
“They’re making their own towns.” Rogerseen whispered. “They’re settling.”
“Let’s get a closer look.” Kenton said.
“What about getting me to safety?” Rogerseen asked, clearly scared.
“You’re right.” Kenton agreed. “But this is a big change. We need to see what’s going on if we can. I’m going to have to report to the king on this. Let’s wait it out and see if we can tell if it’s a fort or just a town.”
“Of course it’s a fort.” Rogerseen sputtered. “Now let’s go before they attack us.”
Kenton thought it over. “You’re probably right. Alright. Let’s go and tell the king about it. He can send part of the army if he feels he needs to. Wait, do you hear that?”