The Road Trip - Part I

A JP by Tahjerius, Rosmary, and LSP

((Down the Road to Indrasel, Karavoss))

The team of mighty Ardennais horses stirred, and then the heavy cart pulled forward along the cobblestone street and headed out of Osilon toward Indrasel, and the mostly unknown danger that lay ahead of them.

V sat uncharacteristically silent as the hut-on-wheels made its way down the road. The ride had been surprisingly smooth considering the size of what the group was seated in, it truly was a small hut-on-wheels, fit for only the essentials, but nonetheless far from modest for anything that moved. V was next to the only person he had any cohesion with, this being his employer, Solandriel, and on his other side was the wall. V turned to the fellow elf, ready to crack some sort of charmingly witty joke, but he saw the worry on his face, he must have feared terribly for his wife’s safety. V decided to let him be, and turned straight ahead to see Shel, Kalena’s Half-Orc companion. V’s eyes then moved to the ex-assassin herself. V regarded Kalena with mystery, she seemed like someone he ought to know personally but couldn’t for the life of him recall anything, like an aunt that he’d only seen once as a small child. She stared out of a window, her gaze seeming almost vacant, and V felt personally responsible. The swarthy elf wondered to himself who exactly this woman was, where had she come from, and how did she know his father around the time of Dalen, especially when that was over 100 years ago?

‘What better time to find out?’

“Kalena, you mentioned that you knew my father?” V was weary he might hit a nerve with this, but he simply had to know who exactly this woman was.

Kalena was suffering a mild headache and a general feeling of malaise, but the fresh air on the journey proved somewhat revivifying, along with her excitement at the challenge that lay before her; a matter finally deserving of her exceptional skills and disconsolate energies. She was most keen to live up to Gerda's expectations of her, and out of professional pride felt a little put out that Solandriel had seen fit to recruit additional assistance to aid in his wife's rescue. And of all people, she thought in wonderment. What a small world it was to meet Oruvand's son like this – or was there more to it than mere happenstance? Were the gods playing a game with her? She decided to proceed on the assumption that it was propitious, and which heralded the beginning of some rather interesting times ahead. She only hoped they would be favourable ones.

V's question broke her out of her reverie and Kalena turned in her seat back toward him. “Yes, a very long time ago in Dalen. Such a highly capable fellow. I quite liked him, for I found him to be someone after my own heart in many ways.” She smiled nostalgically. “When we first met we were after the same quarry, a happy-go-lucky mass murderer who your father had tracked to an isolated inn in a remote part of the Bramblewood forest. Later at the Queen's direction, I assembled a task force to put down a dangerous rebel group, and he responded to my request to join it, and we renewed our acquaintance, which eventually developed into a close friendship. Or so I’d like to think.”

V listened intently, subconsciously cross-referencing what she said with what he had heard from his father. Not that he didn't believe her, however he did have to confirm if what she spoke was true, not that he could do so nearly as acutely as he would have liked. This supposed raid in Dalen didn't seem to conflict with anything he himself knew of, and he truly had no reason not to believe Kalena. This time issue, though…

"Kalena, my father, at least as I knew him, was not the most talkative. And, consider that he left Dalen to get away from the whole event of its destruction, perhaps his and your adventures before then were a sore reminder of what was taken from him, I might not talk about that either,"

But….

"Know that, even though I've honestly never heard of you before, I can tell that what you say is genuine. But, the fall of Dalen must have been- what, over 100 years ago? I mean, as an elf I'm not the best judge of human age, but I'm fairly certain you aren't a century old."

Kalena nodded, accepting the explanation as a quite reasonable one since she too was scarred and grieving all her losses. Oruvand would surely not have wanted to dwell upon the savagery of the war, of cities laid waste and the upheaval that followed the Timber Crag Empire's collapse. And even before the invasion of the Two Kingdoms, if one was not rich and powerful or otherwise strong enough to survive, life in Dalen could be cruel and unjust. She could hardly fault her old comrade for wishing to put those ugly days behind him once he had resettled in Aelmere, which was a far more enlightened kingdom in comparison. Then the rest of V's words penetrated her soporific mind and Kalena inwardly sighed that she had thoughtlessly left herself open to questions she really ought not have.

“Well, I should hope I don't look it,” she answered a bit lightheartedly before turning serious and contemplating her words carefully. “How I knew your father and lived through those great events is a rather long, involved story that would really stretch my credulity, but very basically, powerful magic took Lafayette and I... elsewhere. Trust me, the less said about that, the better. Suffice it to say, when we managed to return, more than a century had passed, but for us, it felt like only weeks, months.” She shook her head, as if unsure. Time was difficult to keep track of in a place outside the bounds of time and space of every other universe. “It has been a struggle to start anew, being so out of step with the rest of the world, and I seem to have left my heart and ambitions back in that century-gone era that is no more than a memory now; even I feel like just a memory at times...” Kalena trailed off, realizing she was saying a lot more than she wished to reveal about herself. “I am growing mauldin in my old age,” she said, trying to joke. “Not that I'm that old, by human standards...”

“Human?” Prespa chimed in. “Humans can’t even decide what a human is, but I can tell you that Mr. Fox and Ms. Valade are far from humans.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kalena asked, glancing across the seat at her.

Prespa put up a hand. “I meant no offense,” she said. “I have just examined the both of you.” she only looked to the side. “You both have injuries that should have killed normal people, or at the very least caused injury enough to be bedridden or crippled. Yet you move with a spryness. Dislocated shoulders, broken bones, arrow wounds, magic burns, several years of accidental chemical inhalation. Plenty of things more, most of which even one would be enough to cause great damage, nevertheless you two press on. It is frankly fascinating.”

“And it’s frankly obvious that doctor-patient confidentiality is a foreign concept to you,” Kalena snapped, shooting a disgusted look at the other woman.

"Well, " V started, his voice loud and sharp in an attempt to pierce the thick air of tension in the carriage, "I can't say I understand what you've been through exactly, but ours is a world that doesn't always make sense."

V truly couldn't say for sure what Kalena was talking about, or how she had been somehow displaced for her own time 100 years ago, however, he could at least tell that she desired not to push the issue.

"When you've been out and about as long as me, you pick up accounts of truly strange happenings. Alternate dimensions, sightings of alleged gods, just downright inexplicable things. Things possibly explainable by someone far more knowledgeable and gifted in the occult and arcane than myself, but I think it's best not to overly dwell on those things," He winked, smiling his trademark smile, "I guess I'll just accredit what you've said as another one of those unsolvable mysteries. For now, at least."

“There really is a certain wisdom in minding your own affairs and not concerning yourself with things that don't concern you,” Kalena agreed with a returning smile, but there was an edge of warning in her voice. “And you just never know. Perhaps our ignorance of some of those inexplicable things is a great blessing? When you stare into the abyss, and all that...”

"Ah…" V simply said, noting the ex-assassin's tone. Whatever she had experienced must have been truly terrible. Or life-changing. Or both. In all honesty, it only made him more curious, but he vowed to drop it. Sort of.

"So, what about this friend of yours. This uh… Laf-yett...lafyett… ”

“Lafayette,” Kalena corrected with an exasperated chuckle.

“Right, Lafayette, so who exactly is this Lafayette, or who is he to you, assuming his backstory and identity isn’t yet another unsolvable mystery, to never be revealed, indefinitely,” V grinned, raising a single eyebrow inquisitively.

Charmed, Kalena smiled genuinely now that they were on safer ground. “Lafayette is Merovignian, which is why his name is so tricky to pronounce; if you did not know, Merovignia is a kingdom beyond Aeran, a bit like Aelmere actually, as far as being a centre of high art, culture, and splendid cuisine, ”

“Ah, yes, the cuisine is most important,” V cut in with a smirk.

With a small, rich laugh, Kalena continued, “It however was ruled by a despot, someone Lafayette helped overthrow. When I met him he had come to Dalen ostensibly as a trader, but his true purpose was to similarly oust Queen Thalia from power, until he saw the rebels and situation in Dalen were not like those in his homeland. And so he ended up siding with Her Majesty and working with me against these rebels, even going undercover among them at one point to help bring them down. Lafayette grew to become a dear friend and adventure companion, and we have been through a lot together, to say the least. I would be just devastated if anything were to happen to him, but his skills are equal to my own, so he's someone who can well look after himself. As it appears are you.” Her gaze flicked approvingly over his lean, warrior's body and the weapons he wore. “I take it you're a bounty hunter like your father? The gods were certainly smiling on Solandriel for him to find the both of us in his hour of need, one after the other. Do you live in Karavoss or were you just passing through?”

“Well, over the years my father has amassed enough riches to purchase his own little estate in Aelmere, which is now where my mother lives. If I had to pin down any one place as my home, I'd say it'd be there. But what with this talk of uprisings and whatnot, and a general desire to just get out of the house, I packed my things and hit the road. I suppose I wanted to test myself, you'll find that in a great and prosperous kingdom such as Aelmere, thugs and ruffians in need of a thorough beatdown are rather short in supply.”

He grinned, but this time the expression was not quite as charming. There seemed to be the slightest bit of sadness hiding behind that smile this time, but it quickly washed away. "So, I suppose that our lengthy introductions in order, now, what do you think-"

He was interrupted as Prespa called back towards the others, "There is some sort of roadblock ahead."

V silenced, his gaze suddenly serious and professional as he moved up toward Kalena and Prespa, seeing a small group of armored men barring their way.

"Hold, stop right there!" one of the men called.

V cracked a small smirk as the men approached, "See what I mean? Never short of excitement."