The Missing Traveller

Yuri knows Lark?

Alister was taken aback. “How did you know?”

“He stays at my house when he comes to Deemstun. Before Baudouin put him into prison.”

Alister’s heart sped up. That was why the name Gunter sounded familiar; Lark mentioned him in passing from time to time. “The reasons they gave for his arrest—destroying government property and threatening to usurp the Union’s leadership—is that true?”

“In a way. Lark rarely spoke about the more unusual items he acquired, but from what I heard about the day of his arrest, it seems one of the stones he was selling was what Baudouin was searching for.” Alister and Mirielle exchanged a glance; it couldn’t be belsandra? “He hurled it off the Mount, or some claim he sent Ronan off with it. If Baudouin considered it his property, and Lark’s disposal of it destruction, the first accusation makes sense. As for the threat to the Union’s leadership…Baudouin means to become king of the entire Mount. Just because he isn’t yet, doesn’t mean he doesn’t count himself as the Union’s leadership. And as I’m sure Ren could tell you, anything said against Baudouin is taken very seriously.”

After the questioning looks Alister and Mirielle sent Lidia, she sighed, exasperated. “Yes, my name’s Ren.” She glanced at Yuri. “I’ve been going by Lidia. Anyway, the two of you can call me whatever you like. We’re breaking enough rules for me to not care.”

Of course she would have an alias, as Alister and Mirielle did. Alister spent hardly a moment of thought on Ren before he looked back at Yuri.

“So even Lark throwing a stone the king wanted off the cliff could classify as a threat to his leadership.” Alister frowned at the man. Yuri had surprised him. The man was far from dim, despite Alister’s initial assessment; so what was that quiet emptiness due to?

“That’s right. So Baudouin’s charges against Lark held an element of truth.” It was only then it occurred to Alister. Yuri called the king by his name. Lidia—Ren, Alister reminded himself—only ever said ‘His Majesty’, like she’d taught them to do. What was Yuri’s intention in addressing Baudouin casually? He quit being a Defender. Maybe he dislikes the king?

“So you received a message,” Yuri said. “Lark sent Ronan off seconds before he was captured.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “I could’ve told them all of this. Can we move on to what they’re trying to do?”

“And what would that be?”

Mirielle took a deep breath. “We want to free him from prison.”

“Why?”

Alister furrowed his eyebrows. “Why? Because Lark knows Baudouin’s plans, more than we do. All we know is he means to use the Stone of Dominus to take control of the Union. We think that stone Lark threw off Mount Era…it could’ve been a fabled stone, belsandra, which can be used to break past the wards on the Stone. If we’re going to have any hope of stopping him, we need Lark’s help.” Desperation crept into his voice. “Lid—Ren said you used to be a Defender, and you know about the prisons. Will you help us?” If Alister’s suspicions about why Yuri referred to Baudouin by his name and not his title were correct, the man would want to stop Baudouin controlling the entire Union.

Yuri’s mouth twitched in something between a grimace and an attempt at a smile. “Certainly.” Alister’s shoulders relaxed; he hadn’t even realised he was tensing them.

Mirielle’s eyebrows flew up. “Truly?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what made you quit as a Defender?” Alister asked. Mirielle shot him a confused glance.

Yuri’s voice was quieter than usual, and his eyes dark. “I no longer wished to answer to Baudouin. He will use any means to achieve his goal. No good person, especially a king, should have such a quality.” His jaw tightened. “So what’s your plan?”

Mirielle lowered her gaze. “We were hoping you could help us develop one. First of all, we’d need to find out where J—Lark is held. As a retired Defender, we’ll need your help to figure out how to break him out of prison.”

Ren snorted from her rigid position in the corner. “Madness.”

Yuri looked over at her. “What are you still doing here, if you don’t want to help? I no longer have information of where prisoners are held; you’re the only one I could trust who could find that information.”

She glared at him. “I’m not going to help. I’ve done enough to condone this ridiculous idea of theirs.”

“But you said yourself if we get caught, you’d lose your job and be put into prison as well,” Mirielle said. “If the only way we can succeed is with your help, then you don’t have much of a choice, do you?”

Alister shifted in his seat. It was too close to blackmail, what they were doing to Ren. But what choice did they have, especially if it was to stop Baudouin from abusing the power of the Stone? Yuri’s words echoed in his mind. He will use any means to achieve his goal. No good person should have such a quality. Was all they had done and would do to free Lark, justified because of what it achieved? Or lying, manipulating, stealing…was it wrong, regardless?

Ren’s frustrated noise brought him back to the situation at hand. Now isn’t the time for an existential crisis, he reminded himself firmly.

“You’re a foul piece of work, Mirna.” If Mirielle was hurt by the insult, it didn’t show on her face. “You’re right. I don’t have a choice, short of letting The Smith himself deal with your idiocy. Sure would make my life easier, but I’m not going to sentence you to death.”

Mirielle arched an eyebrow. “Thank you.”

Ren threw her hands up. “Alright then, I’m in. To be clear, I hate the two of you for forcing me into this. But if I’m going to get through this without losing my job, I’ll try my hardest not to get you caught. After I take the two of you back to the house I’ll go out to get the information.”

“Thanks,” Alister said.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. So how are we going to break him out?”

Yuri explained what he knew about Deemstun’s prison. It was in the Aronin district, had multiple levels, and each level had a low security section. The seventh level held its high security section. The cells lined the circular walls, with guards in the middle for maximum visibility. Three guards were assigned to each section.

“There’re three parts we have to think about,” Yuri said. “Getting past the iron doors and guards, breaking Lark out of his cell, and escaping. He’s probably in the high sec, and so there will be three iron doors to get past: one at the entrance to the low sec, one between that and the high sec, and another as his cell door. The first two require levers on both sides of the door to be pulled, so we’ll need at least one person able to pull them in the main entrance, one in the low sec, and a third the high sec. The cell door has one lever in a separate room of the high sec.”

Mirielle’s eyes widened. “How will we get past?”

They bounced ideas off of each other for what seemed like hours; Deemstun’s prison was designed well. Their ideas to have someone in every room to pull the levers ranged from disguise, to sneaking in, to distracting or even disposing of the guards.

Alister folded his arms. “We’ll not kill them.”

Ren chuckled. “What do you plan to do, ask them nicely?”

“There’s bound to be other ways.”

Yuri informed them well-trained guards would never fall for a distraction. Even if something chaotic enough happened, they’d split up rather than all abandoning their posts. Ren suggested stealing their weapons, but with the circular shape of the room, it would be impossible to sneak up on them.

“Besides,” Yuri said, “they’re highly trained in hand-to-hand Elin-tor.”

“If we could get close enough, we could knock them unconscious.” Ren glanced at Alister. “Or is that too violent for you, too?”

He shot her a glare as Yuri answered.

“If you managed to get that close. As soon as they noticed an intruder, they would pull the alarm, and dozens of other Defenders would be notified.”

“What if we turned the lights off?” Mirielle suggested. “The first iron door is after the main entrance, and you said there was a control room connected to the entrance.”

Ren smirked. “Then how would we see, genius?”

“We could still hold torches, but the darkness would be enough to create confusion. Then you could steal their weapons or knock them out, or whatever you needed to do. As long as we did it before the alarm was pulled.”

Yuri allowed it was possible, and they moved onto getting through to the high security section. He told them the low security section allowed some visitors, but the iron door between the two sections was only opened for a new prisoner. He then admitted his information may be out of date, seeing as he quit being a Defender fifteen years ago, and even then only had the occasional prison shift.

“We need someone on the inside,” Ren concluded.

Alister rubbed his chin. “A guard?”

Yuri shook his head. “They’re too loyal to Baudouin. They wouldn’t accept even a hundred-mark bribe. Believe me, I’m a rarity in Deemstun.”

And why is that? Alister wanted to ask.

Ren clasped her hands together. “So a prisoner, then. I can get the contact details of the families of the prisoners in the low sec area on the level Lark’s being held on. We could arrange a deal…if they help us, then we’ll bust the prisoner out, too…and they could go and visit their uncle or sister or brother or whatever, and pick up the information for us.”

Mirielle nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”

Ren raised an eyebrow at her. “Thanks for your approval.”

Yuri leaned back. “It’s a start. So you’ll acquire the information about the families this afternoon, also?”

Ren agreed, and they launched back into their debate. Yuri denied the existence of any water or waste channels close enough to the prison to utilise, and they crossed off an attempt of pure force when it became clear Yuri and Ren were the only ones with any real combat experience.

The slightest hint of curiosity flashed across Yuri’s face as he considered Alister. “You know Elin-tor, as well?”

Alister regretted bringing it up. “Hardly. I know the stances, strikes, and kicks…but I never was good at sparring.” The way Deon Boyce so easily bested him came to mind, and he touched his chest, where one of the more painful bruises used to be. “I haven’t been practising every day, either, since…I injured my leg.”

“I can teach you, if you’re interested.”

Alister agreed, although he examined the man’s build with reluctance. The man looked so withdrawn and brittle in his loose coat. It was hard to believe he was trained in Elin-tor.

Ren pulled a timepiece out of her dress pocket. “We’d best be going if we want that letter to be sent today. There’s not much use in arguing about the finer details without information from a prisoner, anyway.”

She stood and waited at the door without saying goodbye.

“It was great meeting you.” Mirielle gave Yuri a quick curtsy. “Thank you for agreeing to help us.”

“It’s the least I can do, after…” His voice trailed off into an inaudible whisper, before his eyes returned from the faraway place he seemed to stare at. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yes? Be prepared for some torenn practice, Alex.”

“It’s Alister.” The information passed between the four could condemn them all to prison, so it only made sense they used their real names. “This is Mirielle.”

“Nice to meet you.”

He showed them out the door, and Ren led them back to the twenty-third building in the Furdier district. When they came to the entrance to the square, everyone there knelt on their knees.

Alister furrowed his eyebrows at the only group of people in the square who stood. Five Defenders surrounded two girls with their arms linked around each other. One had smooth black hair which reached her waist, and the other’s wavy hair was light brown and cut just below her shoulders. Their faces were both powdered, and their dresses featured gold trim. The black-haired girl was tall, and surveyed the kneeling crowd with an amused glint in her eyes. The other girl, although shorter, seemed older with her straight-ahead stare and drawn-back shoulders.

Ren dragged Alister to his knees, and Mirielle on her other side. “Princess Esmene and Princess Sepher. They’re cousins to His Majesty.”

Mirielle craned her head up to look at the princesses. “I’ve seen her before. The tall one. She came to Bastium with Baudouin a few years ago.”

Ren lowered her voice to a whisper. “Princess Sepher. She and His Majesty were both taught by his father, Prince Nebael. After he left, His Majesty taught her.”

Alister raised his eyebrows and followed Mirielle’s gaze. Sepher, the tall black-haired girl, leaned over to her sister and whispered in her ear. The slightest smile twitched at Esmene’s lips, but she responded with a stern glance at her sister. Sepher looked as if she were suppressing a full-blown grin as she flicked her head to move her black hair out of her eyes.

Ren made a disbelieving noise. “Heads down, you gamas!”

Alister and Mirielle obeyed as the princesses and their guard made their way over to their exit.

As they passed right in front of them, Alister couldn’t help but glance up again.

Esmene fixed her eyes straight ahead, but Sepher’s eyes ran over the crowd until they fell on his. Alister stared at her, unable to look away despite Ren’s tugging of his shirt. Sepher blinked at him, surprised, and a small smile came to her full lips. Alister’s heart raced; what kind of punishment was there for showing disrespect to one of the royal family members?

But Sepher’s bright hazel eyes slid away from his, and she and her sister left the square.

Ren hauled him to his feet. “Do you realise you could’ve gotten us discovered? Nobody stares at the royalty!”

Alister’s cheeks warmed, and he crossed his arms. “But nothing happened.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “Because Princess Sepher happens to be the only one of the royalty who would let it slide. If it were her sister who looked down…” Ren shuddered, and then narrowed her eyes at him. “Just don’t do it again, alright?”

They followed Ren to her house. She stalked to her room and emerged in baggy black breeches. Alister’s eyebrows furrowed; even just around the house, his mother would wear a skirt, as would all the women in Rindor, and, as far as he could tell, the rest of the Union.

“It’s a relief to get out of that dress. Can’t stand all those layers.” She went to the door. “I’ll be back in about an hour.” Ren opened the door, and glanced back at them. “By the way, I don’t have any other clients yet, so you can stay here until there’re more. It’ll be easier.”

Alister thanked Ren as she closed the door behind her, and he and Mirielle fell into silence. It brought out a deep, subtle rumble he hadn’t noticed before, but it already sounded familiar.

“Has there been that rumbling the whole time?”

Mirielle tilted her head. “I…think so. What is it, do you think?”

He shrugged and looked around the room. Nothing about it gave away the fact they were inside Mount Era except for the complete lack of windows.

Mirielle sat at the table. “Do you realise we haven’t had time to sit around in over a week? It’s just been one crisis after another since we met. Meeting with The Smith, practising for the Flight, arriving here…”

“You’re right.” Alister sighed. His hands itched to do something. “I don’t like it.”

“Me, neither.” Mirielle slipped off her bracelet. It stayed still in her hand, and she frowned.

“What is it?”

“I can’t lift it.” She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. After exhaling, her frown grew deeper. “I can’t use candra at all. But even during the day in Bastium I’d…” she trailed off. “It’s because we’re inside the Mount. There’s no exposure to moonlight in here.”

Alister pulled his crutch onto his lap with his carving knife. “I suppose you could always go to one of the town squares, where all the mirrors reflect the light from outside.”

“That’s true.”

Working with the wood was so familiar to Alister. Despite the madness going on around them, he felt a sense of calm in carving patterns into the crutch.

“So you said Sepher came to Bastium. What was she like?”

“Just as charming as her cousin.” Mirielle tilted her head. “I remember liking her because she didn’t speak down to the servers. She thanked them each time they brought her a drink, and would sometimes include them in the conversation, without being condescending. She hung onto Baudouin’s every word, despite all the jokes she made at his expense.”

Alister raised an eyebrow. “And he didn’t care she was making fun of him?”

Mirielle shrugged. “He just came back with his own clever retort. They acted like brother and sister.”

“Hmm.”

She stood. “I’m going to go and unpack.”

“Alright.”

She left the room, and Alister was left alone with his thoughts and his crutch. He allowed himself to be drawn into the task, and it prevented any worries from clouding this mind. Grooves he carved formed the shape of lightning, with all of the splits and turns. He dug deeper for the higher points, and tapered them off when the strikes became too long. From the other end of the crutch flowed a gushing waterfall, hitting rocks and slopes on its way to the groove where he put his arm through…

The door swung open and Ren spoke at once.

“So, I’ve been perusing this list on my way home, and I’d say our best bet is one Borris Munson. He was suspected of murder and convicted of theft, but at his trial his family insisted he didn’t do it, so they’d definitely be willing to help out, I’d say—”

“Is that Ren?” Mirielle paced into the room, dabbing at her wet hair with a towel. “What did you find?”

Ren rolled her eyes, as if taking the extra seven seconds to repeat herself was such a hassle, and Alister set aside his crutch. Has it really been over an hour? He’d forgotten how time flew when he became invested in woodwork.

“Borris Munson. Convicted thief, but his family insists he didn’t do it. That’s what makes me think they’d be willing to help. Plus, he’s trained in Elin-tor, so if we do end up needing a pair of fighting fists, he’d be able to help. He’s in the low sec because—”

Alister put his knife away. “Hold on. Did you say before he was a suspected murderer?”

“Emphasis on ‘suspected’.” Ren waved her hand. “They couldn’t find enough evidence he was the one who did it, and so he’s in low sec for an extended period, longer than he should be for theft. Ten extra years for a crime he didn’t commit? I’d say he’d be keen to get out early.”

Mirielle raised her eyebrows. “But he could’ve done it?”

Ren stared at them. “Yeah, maybe.”

Alister shook his head. “We’re not going to break out a murderer. Who else have you got?”

Ren rolled her eyes. “For someone planning a prison break, you’re far too worried about right and wrong.”

“That’s why we’re planning the prison break in the first place.” Mirielle gestured at the papers. “Now who else is there?”

“Fine.” Ren paced and shuffled through her papers. “Um, let’s see…you probably wouldn’t want the arsonist...” She glanced up at Alister for confirmation, and he shook his head. “That man has no family…she stole from her family so they wouldn’t want to help…Ah, here was my second choice. Seniro Sunders, used to be in charge of collecting taxes, but he was taking a cut out of it and convicted of fraud. He knows Rukaen, so again, he can help us, and from what I can see, his family defended him fiercely at his trial.”

“And he’s on the same level as Lark?” Alister asked.

Ren held up her stack of papers. “All of these are. Level seven. It’s the only level with high sec, and Lark’s in cell number twelve.” She examined the top paper again. “So, should I set up a meeting with this Seniro’s family for tomorrow night? They all live in Ediron; hopefully I can get a hold of all of them.”

“Set it up.”

Ren managed to organise an afternoon meeting with the Sunders family, and while they walked from Yuri’s house in Reltanine to Ediron, Alister already felt the burn of his muscles which usually came the day after an intense session of Elin-tor. Yuri made Eugene’s teaching style look like it was designed for toddlers.

The withdrawn man became a flurry of calculated strikes and kicks when he used Elin-tor, and, of Alister’s injury, said he should “see it as an opportunity to develop the strength and precision of your non-dominant leg”. He reminded Alister injuries as debilitating or worse could be inflicted on him during a real fight, so learning not to rely on his health was important. He’d balanced on his good leg so much during the sparring, now both legs were close to collapse at every step. When Yuri finally allowed his legs a break, he assigned Alister to pull-ups and weight bearing exercises.

In preparation for their next session, Yuri showed him Ranvier, the single-edged sword he owned, and Alister’s mouth fell open slightly. The shining blade was curved slightly, and inscriptions in an unknown, flowing language lined the blade’s spine. The grip was smooth and leather-bound, and the tarnished gold guard twisted and curved ornately around to join with the pommel.

Yuri placed it in Alister’s hands. “It’s the only single-edged sword I have. It has quite a history, you know. It might’ve been destroyed had I not bought it.”

“Are you sure I can use it?” Alister tilted Ranvier to examine how the light bounced off the blade.

Yuri nodded. “Swords are designed to be used, not to hang on my walls. Unfortunately, Ranvier is my only single-edged sword, so you’ll have to use your staff if you want to practice dual-wielding.”

Mirielle and Ren practiced, as well. Yuri insisted Mirielle learn the fundamental defences of Elin-tor, and he sparred with Ren to gauge her fighting ability. Their sparring session went a great deal longer than Alister’s, with Ren twisting and turning out of the way in the blink of an eye. When he asked which torenn it was, Ren just shrugged and said “a combination of many, I guess”.

They discussed what they’d say to the Sunders, and continue the debate on how to take care of the guards. Yuri drew a rough idea of what he remembered the prison rooms to be, and Ren displayed her ability to pick the lock of Yuri’s safe, which was the same design as the prison cells.

Even as they discussed such a high-risk plan, the day’s routine allowed Alister to wear a contented smile when they stopped for lunch. No Defenders chasing them, or wanted hawk to find, or dangerous race to partake in. Ren’s sarcasm annoyed Mirielle, but he found himself laughing at some of her jokes.

He lost his balance on his crutch on the way to Ediron, and leaned on his injured leg to stabilise himself. His eyes shut in pain, but he made it to the thirtieth door in Ediron, where the Sunders lived.

Ren knocked on the door, and it opened in seconds to a frowning woman with curly red hair. She grunted. “Let’s get this over with.”

Ren raised her eyebrows at Mirielle and Alister as the four of them walked in. The house was free of dust, but filled with clutter. The woman gestured to the dining room table, where a teapot and cups waited. Alister, Mirielle, Ren, and Yuri took the seats on one side as the woman craned her neck upwards.

“Denipha, Brient, Luca! They’re here!”