North or Bust

In the far north, Renat walked beside his bride with a pained expression. 

"How is your head?" 

"Better than it was. But not as good as it will be if you stop asking," the princess clicked her tongue. "I swear if either of you ask to carry me again I will hit my head again just to spite you!"

The woman looked between her husband and brother. Their guilty expressions told her she had guessed right: both were on the verge of offering yet again to carry her so she wouldn't have to walk.

Mairwen chewed the inside of her cheek as she turned away. She was the reason they were walking and not on horseback. After the battle with the harpies and the concussion she sustained, Mairwen found she could only sit atop the moving steeds for short periods of time.

Days had passed with her growing dizzy and weary after less than an hour of riding. It felt like her ears were swimming when her feet were not on the ground.

Thus the group had developed a pattern of alternating between riding and walking toward the Mystic Spires. It wasn't an ideal method of travel, but it was far better than waiting until the princess was able to ride normally.

They had already lost a day from Mairwen and Eira being caught in the wooden basket, and now they were even more behind schedule with the lackluster pace.

Tension was growing as they had yet to rejoin with the soldiers. The closer the six got to the Mystic Spires, the more worry began to set in.

Having been the cause of the slowdown, Mairwen felt the worry the most. It was why she had responded so harshly to her husband's genuine question.

"I'm sorry. I am just impatient to arrive," she dipped her head slightly in apology to those around her. "I think I can stand to ride a little while now. Let us try to be fast and maybe we can make it to the base of the Mystic Spires before we have to walk again.

The suggestion was welcomed. Uri was granted Mairwen's horse for the trip while she rode double with Renat.

"Are you sure that you are up for this?" The scientist asked before lifting the princess into the saddle.

"I'm sure. I hate to think what the soldiers must think of us. They probably assume we are dead. While I don't regret leaving to save Uri, I do feel bad for not returning at the appointed time." Mairwen swallowed back tears.

They seemed to come all of the time these days. It was frustrating but also a possible side effect of the hit to her head. Renat said things would return to normal eventually. If only that time were now!

"We will find them and Hanna soon enough. With any luck they will have already made contact with the other Fates and have found a way to help them." Renat climbed up in the saddle behind his wife.

Wrapping his arms around the other rider, Renat felt Mairwen melt against his chest. "I hope you are right," she said with a yawn.

"If you are tired, you can sleep, I won't let you fall. It might even help with your dizziness because you won't be awake to notice the movement." Renat adjusted his body to cradle her better.

"If you are sure it won't bother you," Mairwen laid her head back against Renat.

"It would be my honor, Your Highness, to be your pillow," Renat chuckled.

Alaron rolled his eyes. "Let's get a move on."

The elves wisely stayed out of the discussion, taking a cue from Eira on how to behave. The soldier seemed the most devoid of emotion and was also the only non-royal. It made the three elves gravitate to her and defer to her on protocol.

So when the soldier mounted and hung back from the trio, the elves did as well.

"Hm," Eira looked at Lilith and Nath. "Would you both take the advance and Uri and I will take up the rear. We don't want anything happening to the princess while she rests."

Nodding, the sibling pair rode to the front of the column, leaving Uri and Eira behind.

Thankfully, Uri did not seem to mind being stuck with the human.

"I do find it curious that you did not have me take the lead considering I am the one who has been here most recently," Uri observed.

"I did not figure you came from this angle. Have we veered back to the path you took?" Eira would make appropriate adjustments if Uri thought he knew the terrain better.

"No, no. Of course, you are correct. I should not have doubted you." Uri dipped his head. 

Eria's stern face faltered. "Maybe you should doubt me a bit. I did want to have a moment to speak with you." 

Uri raised one eyebrow at the woman and gave a lopsided grin. "A moment alone? Should I be worried?" 

Eira frowned. "I think we all should be." 

The elf's follow-up joke died on his lips. "Speak your mind." 

"I don't want to worry the royals when they are so concerned with the princess's health, but I wanted to ask if you noticed anything strange." Eira lowered her voice, afraid to be overheard. 

"You'll have to be more specific," Uri eyed her carefully. 

"We were told terrible creatures were close to the Mystic Spires. And we saw quite a few up until we ended up with the Harpies. Since then, we have only run into one major threat." Eira watched Uri nod at all of her statements.

He hadn't been with them before they met in the woven basket, but he had heard about their experiences from Nath. "What are you getting at?"

"Shouldn't we be having more difficulty moving forward? The men are so worried about Mairwen that they have ceased being cautious in their talking and movement. I feel like we should have been attacked and eaten at least a dozen times by now, yet nothing has come to bother us. Does that not strike you as strange?" Eira blew out her cheeks. "I figured since you had just been this way recently, you might have a better idea of what is happening." 

"Oh," Uri considered her assessment. Things had been too quiet, but he had been too thankful to be suspicious. "Do you think the Harpies cleared out all the monsters from around here?" 

"That was my hope at first, but even by your account I was led to believe that these woods would be teeming with all sorts of creatures trying to get to the Spires. Unless the Harpies had more than one prison, we did not see enough animals to justify this area being so empty." Eira had considered and dismissed Uri's theory before he had mentioned it. 

It wasn't a bad thought, but to rest in it would be a grave mistake if it were untrue.

"I was happy for the easy travel, but now you are making me very wary that we are walking into a trap. What do you think is happening?" Uri paused and smiled as Alaron looked at them over his shoulder. 

"Everything alright back there?" he asked. 

"No danger in sight, Guardian. All is well back here." Uri nodded until the white-haired man turned around again. 

Eira bit her lip. "I have two theories. Either everything is being drawn to the Spires and has congregated there. Or something at the Spires is big enough that it is chasing everything off. I am not sure I like either option. So that brings me to my question that you have been avoiding...What did you see under the Spires that you couldn't defeat?" 

"Oh, that..." Uri hesitated. "It was nothing...only the biggest monster I have ever seen. But don't worry...I might know of a way to beat it...maybe..."

Eira didn't like all the half statements and maybes. She narrowed her gaze. "Tell me what you know."