Kings Game

Chapter 47 - Descent

(1)

Sarah gently shook Roran awake. "Kell is conscious again."

Roran groaned and sat up. Zan was still passed out beside him.

"What time is it?"

"Just before dawn. Zan will likely sleep for another hour."

Nodding, Roran crawled out of bed. He had already packed his and Zan's things so they could leave immediately after breakfast. This would be his only chance to talk with Kell for a while.

"Lead the way," he said.

Up in Kell's room, Roran found Karyn and Nul still asleep in the bed and Kell staring out the window, watching the sky slowly turn orange as the sun began making promises for the day.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice soft so as not to wake the others.

"I've been better and I've been worse. Wishing I hadn't lost my spear when we got here. One of my good spears never would have broken like that."

"I should have offered you my sword."

"I would have said no. Besides, it doesn't matter, I probably still would have lost. Phalyn is an amazing fighter, far greater than I imagined."

"Remnants gain power and experience with age," said Sarah. "She has the advantage of time. Even us lyhlim are unable to fight against her. If she hadn't backed down, I fear several of my kin would have died in the resulting battle."

"Are you in any trouble with them? It's our fault they got caught up in this."

"No, it's our fault you fought Phalyn at all. We encouraged you to call her out. If you had won she would have been bound to you. It's highly likely that she would have returned to the ebb and flow once your time together was done."

"Is that why you and yours are keen to support us?" asked Kell.

Sarah nodded. "The lyhlim are all in agreement, your mission is directly aligned with ours. We will support you as best we can."

"That's good to hear." Kell turned to face Roran. She was wearing a loose robe that was open at the front. Aside from her bandages, she was naked underneath. Dark bruises covered her ribs and chest. "How did your little plan go?"

"It went well, everything is settled. The elevators will slowly come to a halt. No one will be injured."

"Sounds like a plan you would come up with. I was thinking of telling Darling to leave the Rim, but I doubt she would listen."

"She should be okay. With the elevators out of the equation, Ahndor can quickly starve out the Uhlaran military. I imagine they'll also send a handful of Champions up here to assassinate the king and his top generals."

"You mean another handful, aside from us?"

Roran shrugged. "I think we were meant to be a catalyst. They wanted us to get caught so they could provoke the Uhlaran's into attacking, then they would have an excuse for an all out assault."

Kell grunted. "Too bad we weren't willing to play along. In a couple of days we'll be gone and it will be someone else's problem."

"Don't relax just yet, I still need to return Zan to his father. Once that's done we can leave."

"That should only take a day. Or are you expecting trouble?"

"I'm not expecting it, but I think it's a possibility. Your fiance was following us when you fought Phalyn. He stayed far enough away that Sarah couldn't spot him. I don't know how much he saw but he certainly knows we're the ones that wrecked the graveyard and the tomb."