Within These Tangled Tales

Chapter Nine

—Outskirts of Kingdom of Dolmaarangar, Xeima, World of Valdornne—

The rush of the veil faded. The ground beneath her feet was solid once more. Lulu breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the journey was finished. Now, they just had to—

"Fuck," Lulu uttered when she opened her eyes. The veil should have led them to an open plain. Instead, Lulu opened her eyes to find they had landed in the middle of a well-fortified camp.

"Intruders!" someone shouted.

Everything turned into a blur a moment later as the entire camp descended upon them. Uncle Baloren wasted not a breath. Before Lulu had even thought to grab her sword, he had already cleaved through the first enemy. He looked just as he had when he struck down Eivør's men, one-by-one. He never slowed down, his massive frame swinging with one hand a sword most would need two to wield. Those he did not strike with his sword were bludgeoned with his shield or kicked in the chest with a heavy boot. Lulu and the others followed in his wake, taking on those who were now wary to engage the strangers. It was a flurry of movement, but out of the corner of her eye, Lulu caught sight of a banner in the distance. This wasn't just any enemy camp. It was owned by the Black Gathering.

Thankfully, the camp was just a small outpost. Though it was still heavily guarded, there was a reasonable number to kill, and before long, they were all dead, lying in broken piles at their feet. Idelle was the first to move after all went still. She knelt next to one of the bodies, her eyes downcast as she shook her head.

"I double checked," she sighed quietly. "I could sense nothing on the other side of the veil. They shouldn't be here..."

Lulu shrugged. "No great loss. Eventually they would've come after us, and we'd just have to kill them, then."

Idelle looked up at her. "There're no cloaking spells nearby. I should've been able to sense them...Unless the veil itself is changing. They're unstable as it is...If the aether is unraveling, it might mean the veils could break down completely."

"So, if that happens..." Lulu frowned.

"Then, we get stuck. The veils are our only way home."

"Do you think it's happening everywhere or just this one?"

Idelle shrugged, rising slowly to her feet. "There's no way of knowing. Not without seeing others."

"Hey! Over here!" Duncan called, waving his arm.

Lulu turned. He and Isaac were against the far wall of the camp, opening a few of the shoddily built wooden cages. Eyje and Uncle Baloren made their way through the quiet camp, searching for any hidden enemies while Lulu and Idelle aided the others. The prisoners thanked them in dry, cracked voices as they stumbled out on shaking legs. They were all emaciated and dirty, confined in those small cages for who knew how long. One-by-one, they freed them all until the last man was leaning heavily against her as she helped him to the small campfire where there was food waiting. When he was seated, she made to leave, but he grasped her arm, pulling her down to try to speak. It took him a few tries, but when at last he found his voice, he looked up at her with a desperate expression.

"Please," he wheezed at her. "You must save my lord."

Lulu shook her head. "I'm not here for your lord. It makes no difference to me if he dies."

His grip tightened on her arm. "Please, you don't understand. My lord is Lord Commander Brendamir Tor'Varyan of the Dolvirri, Lord Protector of the Witch-Queen. Please, Queen Isadora does not yet know of his capture, and..."