Page 5 of Earthbound

‘And what, share this knowledge before we even know what it is?’ Furi said. ‘The foundation of our society is already cracking; this knowledge will break it down entirely. I wish to know what to do with the pieces when that moment comes.’

Rayan nodded, relenting to her logic.

‘I will go with Alder,’ Golan said.

Lettle shook her head. ‘No, you need to stay here, Golan. You have to run the Free the Light Initiative.’

‘You can do it without me.’

She gave him a sad smile. ‘Sadly, I cannot. You are Lightless, you are the beacon of the initiative. It could incite another rebellion if you disappear without cause. It has to be me.’

Rayan’s gaze snapped to hers. ‘You will go? Leave Mosima for four months? More, including the return journey?’

‘There is no one else,’ Lettle said softly, avoiding his stare. ‘I can speak to the Fates and guide our path. This is my journey as well as Alder’s.’

‘You’ll have to leave before we are under siege from the elven army,’ Furi said. This drew incredulous expressions until she explained what she had seen that evening.

‘They’re close, a few days away, maybe less.’

Lettle looked to the window, even though there was no sky in Mosima, no moon, no horizon. She imagined the army pouring through the cavern ceiling like ants and shivered.

‘We’ll go tonight. There’s no reason to wait.’ No reason to stay.

Rayan stiffened as though he’d heard her thoughts.

‘What of my nightmares? Without an obeah you won’t be able to translate my sleepwalking,’ Alder said.

‘I’ll go with them.’ It was like Yeeran had been waiting for the right moment to be the hero. Lettle tried not to roll her eyes.

‘No, you know the elven armies far more intimately than anyone here. You will be needed for diplomacy. ‘Furi said the word like a slur.

So it was decided that another fae would accompany them. Someone not important enough to miss, nor capable enough to be needed should they go to war.

Farhan had been both a burden and a source of amusement for Alder and Lettle. He was beyond useless as a navigator or hunter, which was fine as they both excelled in one and the other. But he had a fantastic baritone and a plethora of tavern songs that he would belt out every evening. They’d had little entertainment over the last few months so his performances had brought a smile to their faces after a long day on the trail.

He was an adequate cook, though his repertoire was limited and even Lettle had taken to experimenting with new recipes–much to Alder’s chagrin, when she nearly killed them all with poisonous mushrooms.

‘They looked like greycaps,’ she huffed.

‘Greycaps don’t grow this far east,’ Alder said as he threw the stew into a bush. ‘Check with me before you cook again.’

So she didn’t cook again.

‘We have about an hour until it snows,’ Alder said, bringing her back to the present.

Farhan trotted up to them. ‘We’re stopping here for the night?’

‘Yes, though I think we’ll need to build a shelter,’ Alder said.

Lettle nodded and got to work collecting branches and logs. Farhan had to be prompted to begin weaving the roof–despite it being the hundredth time they’d done this–but he soon got to work, his long fingers moving deftly.

Soon they had built a lean-to at the base of a large oak tree. Lettle took the first watch as she always did. Alder was prohibited from taking watch because of his tendency to sleepwalk, which meant Farhan and Lettle had survived on very little sleep over the last few months. If Alder began to speak, Lettle would wake up Farhan and he would in turn wake up his obeah.

The translated words would make it into her prophecy journal which she pored over every night.

Not that there was much to be gleaned from his talking, which seemed to mostly be riddles:

‘The curse will end when freedom is spoken.’