Author's note: Special thanks to Ardon G. Fowl, Jack Gwen, Reversal, Swedish Millionaire, and VC for helping to make this chapter possible. To my readers: I've also heard your requests for recaps, and your cries have not fallen on deaf ears. I assure you, summaries are coming, though I have no clue when. :S
Enjoy the chapter! And please don't hesitate to leave a comment! I love hearing from you; what you loved, hated, and what you'd love to see more of in the future. :)
***
We left Grenze heading south along the road, but as we passed the spot near the blighted grove where we'd cut our way out of that place, Francesca shot me a questioning look.
"Aren't we going into the blighted grove?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"If Palancar no longer opposes us, then they shouldn't have a problem with us moving through their territory anymore."
"Are you testing them?" she asked, and I smiled.
"Sort of. But I really wanna see what the progress has been with this grove tree of theirs," I replied, and she nodded.
We kept up a pretty rapid pace, since I wanted to use the cover of darkness as much as possible to keep Palancar from noticing our activities despite the foray through their territory.
Both of us now had access to speed three, with Francesca wearing the boots we'd acquired from Vanessa's avatar, while I'd swapped out my regular shin guards for the equivalent piece, but I noted that even so, our speed seemed to pale in comparison to what I remembered of Danica's.
Was she the fastest human in this world?
I wondered.
And if she was, just how fast was she?
She'd certainly been holding back when leading me to her lair, but in her fight with Hans, I did see flashes of what she was capable of, and Hans certainly seemed to be quickly overwhelmed by her sheer athletic prowess.
We ran for what felt like an hour when the first signs of light began to appear, but there was no sign of any activity along the road even then.
It took another hour before we encountered anyone, and when we did, it was a small caravan with about twenty travelers.
I signaled to Francesca to slow our approach a bit, so as to not spook them, but as we neared the group, I noted that they seemed to be carrying belongings, rather than items for trade, and there were several children, some in Lucia's age group, in addition to ten young girls who reminded me of those who had offered their service to us the day before.
As we came upon the group, an elderly Kobalt hailed us:
"Bei den Göttern --
By the Gods!
That armor... you could only be our immortal reborn! Götze, the high one!"
"Well met, traveler. To whom do I owe the honor?" I replied.
The man bowed, and everyone from their wagons quickly dismounted and knelt before us.
"My humble name is not worthy of one so distinguished," the man replied, and I shook my head, placing a hand on his shoulder, and helping him to his feet.
"Nonsense. I'd sooner renounce my own name than live without learning yours."
The man shook his head, smiling as he did.
"Linus of branch Krämer," the man replied.
"Linus. This is my companion-"
"The little lion of Kleiner Hein; Francesca," the man replied, shaking his head. "They say you cleaved four hunters asunder with one swipe of your spear. The children of the Varsung branch will quake at the very mention of your name for seasons to come."
Francesca blushed at the comment, but merely bowed to the man in response.
"The Varsung branch?" I asked, and the man nodded.
"Rest assured that branch Krämer never believed the treachery spread by Danebe and his cronies," the man said, and mumbles of agreement sounded behind him. "It is why we decided to make the trek to Grenze this day. Our support should be one of action, rather than sentiment."
I smiled in response.
"How is Palancar handling Danebe?" I asked, and the man frowned.
"There is much discussion. The council has been in deliberation for more than a day, but I fear nothing will be finalized while our people mourn the death of our matron. The loss of a matron and a princess is not something even these old eyes have lived to see."
"Well, here's to hoping that you live to see the rise of a queen," I offered, and the man's eyes lit up.
"Then the rumor is true? The seed has been sown?" the man asked, and as I nodded, cheers erupted from around the caravan. "Then perhaps my branch might be grafted onto that of a new growth this day," he continued, and I nodded again.
At the group's insistence, we were treated to a small serving of dried fruit, which I noted had been caramelized, and tasted quite sweet, but we quickly thanked the group for their hospitality, then continued on our way.
"I'm kind of jealous of how easily you talk to people like that," Francesca admitted, and I chuckled a little, as we walked along the road.
"Maybe it's my line of work, but I had to maintain diplomatic relations with clients all the time. So, I guess I do have some experience."
"Investment banker to god-king: the rise of Nathan Van Dyke," Francesca declared, and I snickered in response.
"That would make a terrible story," I replied teasingly, and Francesca shook her head at me.
"One day, people will sing songs of you."
"Of us, my little lioness," I replied, ruffling her hair playfully, and she smiled happily as we resumed our journey at a slightly quicker jog.
We didn't encounter any more travelers along the way, but as the time wound on and we never came to the grove tree, I began to worry a little.
"What's wrong?" Francesca asked, as we came to a stop along the road.
"I feel like if we should have come to that grove tree by now," I explained, as I turned to my right, and caught sight of the cluster of hills off in the distance.
We continued on for a bit, until we came to the place along the road where I was certain now that we'd encountered Palancar's contingent at that time.
"Did we miss something?" Francesca asked, as she recognized the spot as well, and I shook my head.
"No. Fucking bastards were just screwing with us," I replied, shaking my head. "Anyway, let's head into the blighted grove."
As we made our way over to the stream which we'd crossed that day, I noted that the other side of the grove looked completely different from how it did back then, as the menacing shadows that seemed to loom over us were long gone, and the atmosphere seemed so tranquil that the memory itself seemed like nothing more than the figment of my imagination.
"Where are we going from here?"
I thought about it for a bit.
"Originally, I'd planned on stopping by our old campgrounds, but the guildhall should be closer from here. Maybe we can stop by on the way back?"
Francesca nodded in agreement, so we turned our journey westward, but as we moved along for about an hour, I realized that we were probably a bit further south than I was on that night when I'd made the trip with Raul.
"Do you recognize anything?" Francesca asked, as we came to a pause, and I chuckled nervously, shaking my head.
"Everything just looks like trees."
Francesca giggled at the comment, but as I relayed my suggestion that we head north a bit, before turning westwards again, she agreed without complaint, but after another hour or so of running, I was beginning to fear that I wouldn't be able to find even the hall.
"Fuck me! I just remembered we found the hall that night because of Raul's mapping implement."
"Didn't you take that off of him?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"No; the map module I took is the one that helps us get back home. He had an internal map module which showed where the guildhall was, once we got within a five-mile radius of it."
"You mean like this?" she asked, bringing up a module which resembled his, and my mouth fell open as I stared at it.
"What? When did you get that?" I asked.
"Around when we entered Kleiner Hein. Everyone did, I think; Molly, Evie."
