The Coldfire rendered the grove nearly as bright as day, and made the Heating easy for Ancaladar to find.
By the time Kellen rode into the clearing on Firareth, leading a string of horses he'd gone back to get mounts for the new arrivals, and tell Isinwen to make arrangements to send a baggage cart, as it would have been a long walk in the night cold otherwise the four of them had already dismounted. Vestakia was on her knees in the snow, hugging Shalkan, while Jermayan and Idalia hung back, giving Shalkan the space he needed to approach Vestakia in comfort.
They were supporting Cilarnen between them.
"Is he all right?" Kellen asked.
"Doesn't like to fly," Idalia said, doing her best to suppress a smile. "I gave him a soothing cordial."
"I am never doing that again," Cilarnen said fervently, raising his head with an effort. His speech sounded slurred. "If we were meant to fly, there would be spells for it. I'm sorry, Ancaladar, but I am not a dragon."
"I take no offense, Cilarnen," the dragon said kindly. "Many people do not like to fly."
"I am so glad you're all right, Kellen," Vestakia said, getting to her feet and brushing snow from her knees. She walked over to Kellen. "And I'm glad you won't have to fight the Shadowed Elves anymore. I tried so hard to find out what you needed to know in time!"
"Well I think they're all gone now," he said soothingly. "But I won't mind having a second opinion. Maybe tomorrow you can go down and look around. The caves are safe in most areas."
He'd spoken without really looking at her, as he'd trained himself to do. But there was something… different… in her voice, and without thinking he took a good look at her face.
She looked… old.
No, not old. Haggard. Worn, feverish, her cat-gold eyes with their slitted pupils blazing bright with fever or the edge of madness.
For an instant he forgot his Mageprice, the battle, everything but taking her away somewhere where she'd be safe
Shalkan cleared his throat.
Kellen stepped back.
No.
"We'd better get back to camp," he said.
* * * * *
VESTAKIA rode behind Cilarnen, helping him stay in the saddle. Jermayan had remained behind to oversee the unpacking Cilarnen had refused to leave until he had been told that his precious baskets would be removed just as they were and transported to his tent untouched.
"I think I would rather travel with an entire Ladies' Academy than one High Mage," Idalia scolded him, once the three of them were heading in the direction of camp.
"Wildmage Idalia, you would rather not travel with a High Mage at all," Cilarnen corrected her grandly. "We are most inconvenient."
"But sometimes useful," Idalia said. "As long as you don't try to do too much."
Cilarnen waved that aside.
Kellen thought that Cilarnen must have been doing far too much, Elemental power-source or not. He looked to be as exhausted as Vestakia did, and his condition could not be entirely accounted for by the effects of whatever Idalia had dosed him with.
He'd said the magick he was working with was dangerous to him.
How dangerous?
And would it matter? They needed all the help they could get right now. No matter the cost.
With a day's warning of their arrivaland the knowledge that, on dragonback, they would of necessity be traveling light Kellen had been able to assemble accommodations that provided not only shelter, but clothing and other basic necessities as well. He'd set aside an entire tent for Cilarnen's use, and helped Idalia and Vestakia settle him in. Cilarnen refused everything but a cup of heavily-sweetened tea.
"I promise you, Idalia, I'll eat an entire roast ox in the morning, so long as Kellen doesn't need any spells cast."
"Not tomorrow," Kellen said. He thought Idalia might slay him on the spot if he said anything else.
"Fine," Cilarnen said, thrusting the empty mug back at her, and throwing himself down in his blankets. "Now go away."
"Ah, the courtly manners of Armethalieh," Idalia said mockingly. But her voice was gentle.
"He seems very tired," Kellen said, when the three of them stood outside Cilarnen's tent.
"You don't look that much better," Idalia said tartly. "But yes. He's been wearing himself to a frazzle doing all that Redhelwar asks of him and more. But let's go somewhere warm where we can talk. I think you need to know about Nerendale."
When the three of them were gathered together in Kellen's tent, she told him about the night Cilarnen had seen the massacre at Nerendale.
"The Bounds stop our scrying, but they cannot keep a High Mage out. Cilarnen has been able to look into Armethalieh, and tell us what goes on there. They are raiding freely within the Bounds after what happened at Nerendale, you may be certain Cilarnen stays away from Them, but it's not hard to figure out from listening to the Council sessions and he's been doing quite a bit of that. 'Lord' Anigrel has convinced the Arch-Mage that Wildmages are responsible for every single death."
"How close is Anigrel to taking down the City Wards?" Kellen asked.
"Cilarnen says they're more complicated than Anigrel thought. He thinks they've been seriously tampered with, but that the Demons still can't cross the City walls physically. He says something about the Light Itself working to Heal the wards."
Kellen shook his head. "Maybe he can explain it to me, but I doubt it. It would be nice if it were true. If They can't get in, They can't get their hands on the High Mages. Or the rest of the people."
"Unless They make them come out," Idalia said.
"Or someone orders them to come out, the way they were ordered to go to Nerendale," Kellen said. "But I don't think They'll risk doing anything in sight of the walls. As much as I loathe them, the High Mages do remember… Them. If the High Mages knew who Anigrel really served, who their real enemy was, I don't think they'd sit by tamely and let him hand them over to Them."
"So they're safe or almost safe for now," Idalia said. "I never thought I'd be glad of that."
There was a jingle of bells outside the tent.
"Enter and be welcome," Kellen said automatically.
Jermayan walked in, shaking the snow from his cloak, and settled himself beside Idalia.
"Cilarnen's baskets reside with Cilarnen. You will have to await the morning to retrieve your medicines, Idalia, for I fear I would rather face an Enclave of Shadowed Elves than hear what I would hear did I tamper with his spellbooks."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Kellen smiled. He could imagine as well as Jermayan could what Cilarnen's reaction would be, though it baffled Kellen what possible harm could come of just touching the volumes. It was not, after all, as if they had any innate magic unlike, say, a Wildmage's Three Books.
"And now," Idalia said, breaking into his thoughts, "maybe you'd like to tell us why we're here? Vestakia's here because of the caverns, and she needed Jermayan to get her here, but Cilarnen isn't going to be that much use to you as far as I can imagine here, and do you really need another Healer?"
"No," Kellen said. "I need you to go to Sentarshadeen, and tell me if there's anything that Cilarnen can do there. So that means you and Jermayan and Ancaladar. Of your courtesy, Jermayan."