—
Ten days later, Maxilearned the reason behind Riftan’s concern. It was an unusually hot afternoon when three messengers arrived at Calypse Castle.
Maxi had been mixing herbs in the infirmary when she heard the loud voices outside. She stepped out to the training grounds to see what the commotion was and noticed a messenger carrying the banner of the royal family.
“We have come bearing a message,” he shouted from atop a large warhorse, “from His Majesty King Reuben to Sir Riftan Calypse, Lord of Anatol!”
Maxi’s heart sank. This could only be bad news. While she stood frozen, at a loss for what to do, Sir Obaron went to greet the messengers.
“The lord is currently out of the castle. I, Sir Dominic Obaron, shall hear the message in the lord’s stead!”
The messenger stared down at the knight, assessing him carefully, before pulling a scroll out of his cloak. He cleared his throat and read aloud, “The battle in Livadon has ended in great defeat, and the allied knights have fallen.”
A chilly silence fell over the boisterous training grounds.
Obaron’s expression turned stony. He asked in a somber voice, “Have they all been lost?”
The messenger shook his head. “Half of the army is scattered and still fighting the monsters. The rest are trapped in Louivell Castle. We do not know what the situation is insidethe castle as it is under siege by the troll army, but it is clear that they will not last if we do not send help as soon as possible.”
“Do you know what has become of the Remdragon Knights?”
“They were stationed on the front lines, so are likely among those trapped inside Louivell Castle.”
Maxi staggered back. If Melric had not come out and caught her, she would have sunk to the ground. The faces of the men who had left for the campaign—Ruth, Elliot, Remus, Ursuline—flashed before her eyes. If she was this shaken by the news, then how much worse must it be for their comrades? Everyone gathered at the training grounds looked grim.
The messenger continued somberly reading the message.
“Pursuant to the Armistice of the Seven Kingdoms, calls for reinforcements have been sent to each of the regions. Thus, I, Elnuima Reuben III, hereby command Sir Riftan Calypse, the champion of Wedon, to lead his knights to Livadon.”
“Go and bring the lord back to the castle immediately!” Sir Obaron cried to the knights, then turned his imposing gaze back to the messenger. “I would like to hear a more detailed report of the situation. Please follow me to the castle.”
The messenger and his escorts dismounted from their horses. When the men disappeared into the council room in the knights’ quarters, Maxi began to pace about like a lost child. She wanted to know the details too, but it was clearly not a meeting she could barge in on. She paced up and down the infirmary until Melric managed to persuade her toreturn to her chambers.
Not long after, she watched through a window as Riftan returned and immediately joined the other knights, remaining in the council room for a long time. Maxi was desperate to know what they were discussing. Chewing her lip, she swore that she would get her husband to give her a thorough explanation no matter what.
She could not say so for the others, but Ruth was as important to her as he was to Riftan. He was her mentor and the first friend she ever had. Tears welled in her eyes as she recalled the sorcerer’s unreasonable anger at her ominous farewell.
But, more than anything, the thought of Riftan heading into such treacherous conditions tore at her heart.
How long would they have to be apart? Three months? Six?
What if they never saw each other again?
No one knew what fate awaited the men joining the campaign. There was no guarantee that Riftan could avoid grave danger.
Maxi anxiously stared at the horizon to try to distract herself, but it was not long before she could not bear the suspense any further, and she raced out of the great hall.
—
Maxi was as whiteas a ghost as she made her way to the training grounds through the dark, clutching a lamp in one hand. She held it up as she passed through the gate, and the soldiers standing guard looked surprised to see her. She ignored them and ran straight for the council room withoutstopping.
Angry shouts rang out from behind the door of the dimly lit building.
“We cannot afford to wait that long! We must leave tomorrow. It would take us twenty days to get there even if we leave tonight!”
“Calm down, Sir Hebaron. The commander is right. There are only three or four vassalages on the way to the border, and they are small villages that do not have proper merchant guilds that could supply us with provisions. And with all these monster attacks, we can’t even be sure they are still there. It would be too dangerous for us to leave without a mage.”
“Did you not hear me? Every last guild mage has already gone north to Livadon! I’m sure you are all aware that each landed noble in the realm is frantically competing to employ more mages in their service, so how exactly do you suggest we find one?”
