Day 157 (135th)

Day 157 (135th):
I woke up with a terrible headache. My sisters also were in pain. We had to go through the exercise three times to make it stop. The elves were barely able to feel it, but they were aware of it. We mounted up and headed towards the darkness of Baaloc Prime. Only three hours in the saddle, Baaloc Prime rose out of the landscape just as hideous as we remembered and the others had speculated. It was a crude parody of Raval Palace. Two spires rose above the plain. They were different heights and inconsistent widths. The smaller ones were also uneven in height and width. A few looked like bites had been taken out of them. It was another hour before we could distinguish the wall from the city. With all the weird angles, it was hard to see the border of the wall unless someone was walking across it. The wall was very far from the "palace". A large outpost was about two hundred yards from the gates of the wall. There seemed to be far more people milling around it that it should hold. Amid all the people, one felt familiar. As we looked, a flash of black swished in front of the fort.
"The liaison is here. Why is he here so soon? The procession is still...a week?" I asked.
"Almost two," Kendar answered, "They are taking the large main road with about a dozen towns to stop and 'make appearances'. He must be setting up something underhanded. How close to read his intentions?"
I thought, then told him, "Another hundred yards should do it. That knot of traders should provide cover."
He looked and directed us towards a group of wagons.
With the swords working to block out everyone else, we focused on him. Learning his name was Nigel, we dug deeper. Whether or not "Mara" was a virgin, he planned to say she was, see to it the marriage took place as publicly as possible, and kill her after a month or so in order to make Cornwall king without the needed bloodline. Also, he was a demon hybrid and had flew to Baaloc Prime after Mary's examination. I shook as we pulled away. The others were furious when we told them, both because of the deception and the plan to kill Mara.
The group of wagons began moving towards the gate. Mutters of "it's about time" rippled through them. Alice and Anna informed us they had undergone "inspections" which resulted in two days of delay and a ten percent loss of merchandise. We slid in with them and entered the gates unchallenged. I was closed almost completely and still the chaos of Baaloc Prime was overwhelming. Kendar took the lead and the elves surrounded us. They guided us to an inn on the edge of the city near the wall. Compared to the others, it was untouched with very little evidence of patching or rework. Inside was like a cool breeze on a hot day. Very old magic kept the rest of the city out of our heads. Kendar said one of their spies had reported about this inn as being a safe place. Even the elves relaxed here. A short man came from the back and welcomed us warmly. Alice shot all of us her feelings on this man.
I stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said, "Constance is safe and with friends."
His eyes lit up and his smile widened, "She had sent a message of unique travelers in Kirpack. I am Rono, owner and innkeeper. Also, as you know, a member of Constance's faith. My home is your's."
He showed us around, got us assigned rooms, and helped us with the horses. We were his only guests. He said he had very few guests at any time. Rumors had been circulated that his inn was haunted. New Baaloc soldiers would be dared to spend the night. Very few have made it. What they heard was the wind whistling through the tunnel under the inn Rono used to smuggle. His shop, around behind the inn, was known for getting "unique items", which only a few people knew were not human made. Rono told us this as we had our evening meal in the empty common room. When we asked his opinion of the wedding, he went from smiling and open to frowning and closed. Tersely, he said he did not approve. When we told him of the ruse, his smile returned. He approved of the plan and trickery. He seemed drawn to Gretta. Finally, my honesty broke through.
"Rono, are you a leprechaun?"
All talk stopped. I wanted to hide, take back the question, and not have ever spoken.
Rono laughed, "Perceptive girl. You are correct. I am a leprechaun. Fortunately, no one around here has ever met one and just assumes I am only short. I suppose you are also aware that Constance was not human."
Kendar and the elves looked at us.
As one, we answered, "Wood nymph."
Rono smiled while the other men gasped.
"That was why she was so slight and frail," Lurox stated, "Without a forest, her strength had gradually faded."
"The garden at Raval will improve her health tremendously," Sarah beamed.
"Most of us are not human or fully human. We have hidden in plain sight all these years. Yet, now, we fear Cornwall's rule. He is far more paranoid than Maalicus ever was and has been seen killing just for the sake of killing."
"Have you seen his back, without a shirt?" Kendar asked.
"Not his full back, no. He was being fitted for armor. A portion of his shirt came up. Angry red welts were on the skin I saw. There were also some on his upper thigh. He had a loin cloth on and I saw part of his leg, the back of it. Is that significant?"
We all paled. We informed Rono of their importance. It was his turn to pale. We were all quiet as we pondered the significance of these added marks. Still silent, the seven of us rose and surrounded Rono. I told him what we were doing.
"Rono, think back to that day. See it as clearly as you see us."
We each joined hands. The two on the ends placed their free hand on Rono's head. The memories poured into us. When he saw Cornwall, we froze the scene. The part on his back was the same as Maalicus. We moved it forward until we saw his bare leg. These were definitely different. When we broke contact, we informed the rest of what they meant.
"From what we saw on his leg, Tharinzar has added strength, access to more demon magic, and a part of a spell to make the marks impossible to erase by anyone but a demon of Tharinzar's power or greater."
"So the puppet's strings cannot be cut," Kendar gravely added.
We nodded. Rono suggested we sleep on this information and see if the dawn reveals anything new. We all agreed. Rono had a large room the seven of us could sleep in comfortably. Kendar had a room to himself and the elves were two to a room. We talked a little before settling in to sleep. It was our opinion that Tharinzar did not want a repeat and had added the new marks to prevent us from removing his handy-work.