The next hour found them in Gerrand's room with Hile Berbac and Doad Bess.
"Why did he choose the groups this way?" asked Berbac.
"I could not tell you," said Gerrand. "Other than to say I am not pleased with the choices either. You and I need to be able to come to terms to work together for this exercise, however long it will take. I made a list of supplies for each of you to collect tomorrow. We shall leave at dusk."
"Dusk?" said Hile Berbac.
"Why?" asked Doad Bess. "I do not care for night travel. Whatever your plans are, I assume they are sure to be unpleasant."
"That's why we were sent," said Berbac. "Tyman wants to punish us by being under Gerrand's thumb. Tyman does not trust us anymore."
"He wants you to watch Gerrand," said Faeya Ryr. "To keep a leash on him."
"Ha! That will be the day," said Bess. "Do we have to travel at night? In the dark? I wish we would not. I don't like it."
"Nor do I," said Gerrand. "However, I believe Macelan already has this castle watched. This battle could be over the moment we step beyond the castle. I do not detect any magic nearby but many soldiers could surround the castle before I know it. I wish to leave under the cover of darkness and travel through the night, whatever direction we decide to take."
"You don't know?" asked Hile Berbac. "I thought you knew everything, Gerrand. How is it you don't know where we are going?"
"Berbac, I haven't decided if you will be of any use or not. The longer you talk the less hope I have that you will be of help. Both you and Bess tend to speak before you think. If you cannot follow my instructions to the letter, I have no place for you and you shall go your own way. That would affect whether we need to go out of our way to find useful help."
"Gerrand," said Faeya Ryr. "Do not start bickering. There is no time for it."
"As you wish, my dear. I am considering outside help no matter the course we take. These are our options as I see them. First, we take the battle to Macelan in the mountains of Curesia. I do not know what may be waiting for us there. He may be somewhere else by now. He will be raising an army. Mercenaries would not be reliable, and to control an army of demons would tire him too much. The initial spell followed by constant supervision limits the size of the army. Perhaps one attack or two, then send them back until he rested enough to handle them again. The best alternative for Macelan is to subvert a ruler of a country and use their army."
"War between Curesia and Wierland," said Doad Bess. "One of them must be under his control. Neither one would risk such a war. They have shouted at each other many times without violence."
"Still, their past was bloody. I believe we should go to Curesia," said Hile Berbac. "Perhaps not search the mountains, at least not at first. We should investigate the towns, especially Jespin. We might even find news of Petyr Wolk."
"I sent Artus Endria there for that purpose."
"Gerrand," said Hile Berbac, shaking his head. "He is no longer part of the Council. Is there nothing you will not stoop to do?"
Gerrand glared at Berbac. "I do what I must to save the Council and keep Macelan at bay. Should I be concerned about proper protocol? Does the moderator of the Council have the answers to our crisis in his rules of order? Tyman does nothing but sits and plots his life away. He accomplishes nothing and has no value in my eyes. Artus has good qualities that I will not throw away. We need more help than we currently enjoy and I intend to use all I can. Do you argue with that?"
"No," said Berbac. "You are correct. Victory at any cost."
Gerrand glared at him.
They gathered their supplies, said their good-byes and walked out through the gates of the castles. The gates closed with a muffled crash.
"Do you think we will ever see the castle again?" asked Doad Bess.
"I do not know," said Gerrand. "We may one day. Will it be standing? That is the question I fear."
"Tyman will seal it off with a spell."
"There is no spell Macelan cannot break, or for that matter, myself. No matter if the others assisted Tyman, I would have the spell down in an hour."
"I did not know you were so powerful," said Berbac.
"I chose not to display my true powers in front of the Council."
"Why is that?" asked Bess. "Why do you keep so much to yourself? Do you think we cannot comprehend what you may reveal to us? Do you believe us to be so inferior to you?"
Gerrand did not answer. He pulled his heavy cloak around him and led them on a quick pace.
They traveled on foot to the west toward Curesia. Gerrand planned to follow the road until they crossed into Curesia then leave it as they neared Jespin. There was little cover in Wierland anyway, but the forests of Curesia grew thick near the road. Perhaps they would need to hide themselves from Macelan's army. They did not know what they would find. The Wierland hills rolled gently into Curesia's forests and the first part of their journey would pass quickly.
The cool night air refreshed Gerrand. He found the castle too enclosed, too stifling, and too much inaction. Despite what he said to Doad Bess, he loved walking in the darkness, his eyes able to see through the shadows and find the safe paths. They walked without break for two hours, then another two following a brief rest. Gerrand pushed the pace much faster than his companions expected. He heard Bess and Berbac stumble behind him, cursing under their breaths.
"Gentlemen, please keep your voices down. Although we should not meet anyone to endanger us on the way, the person I want to visit will shoot first, then find out if the noise proved friendly or not. I do not want to lose either of you. Not yet anyway."
"Where are we stopping?" asked Faeya Ryr.
"About three miles further, then we leave the road for two more miles. We shall find a hut of a hunter that I will ask to join us. He is exceptional with a bow and will aid us in tracking and feed us with his kills. I have a special plan for his skill when we reach Jespin."
"What is his name?"
"Haetane."
"I've heard of him," said Doad Bess. "However, that was years ago. Is he still living after all this time?"
Gerrand frowned. "That I cannot say. Perhaps I should have said that I hope to find him. I lose track of life spans for those without magic. Makes it difficult to keep in touch."
Faeya Ryr shook her head. "You really need someone to look after you."
Bess and Berbac snickered.
They walked the rest of the way in silence to where Gerrand led them from the road and following a steep deer trail they reach the hut. It appeared empty. They heard no noise and Gerrand rapped on the door.
"Perhaps Haetane is hunting," said Bess as he caught his breath. "He could be gone for days, Gerrand. From the pace you set I wonder do we have that much time?"
"No, we do not. I felt sure he was here."
"He is here." They turned to see a woman, grey haired with a supple grace, dressed in buckskin with a longbow in her hand. Her tanned face was lined by the weather but her eyes shone brightly with an otherness than made Gerrand uncomfortable. She pointed to a pile of rocks surrounded by flowers.
"My father is buried there. He died fifteen years ago. He spoke often of you, Gerrand. I am surprised that you actually exist. I thought you to be one of his stories he told to entertain me. As I watched you walk into the clearing, my father's stories came alive. A most disconcerting sensation."
"You took a chance coming out in the open. You do not know our business."
She shrugged. "I take few chances. My children are in the wood. Four bows trained on you. My father taught me well. I hear your voice, Gerrand, and I trust you. If you speak for your comrades, I shall call out my children."
"We shall do you no harm. You have the word of Gerrand. It is my word."
"Good." She whistled and the youths materialized out of the wood. They dressed alike, three girls and a boy. Lean and athletic, their eyes wary as their mother's. "These are my jewels. Clariare, Damaie, Eva, and Roc. We live here alone. My husband died last year from fever. I could have used your help then, Gerrand."
"What is your name?"
"Alavaria."
"Alavaria? Was your mother Alavie?"
"Yes." She smiled. It made her appear more dangerous. "I knew you'd remember. My mother died birthing me. I only know her through my father's words. I'd like to hear yours, too."
"You will. First, I would like to tell you why I came."
"You need a bowman. That is obvious. Now, you find five. We all shoot of a level with Father. We shall all join you." "Your youngest can't be more than twelve."
"Correct. Eva is twelve, Roc fourteen, Damaie seventeen and Clariare twenty. We are a match for any soldier with a bow. Eva is the best for accuracy although she doesn't have the distance of her siblings. She won a blue ribbon at the fair at Hoin last year."
"I do not doubt their skill. It is the wisdom of bringing them into danger that makes me hesitate. They have their lives ahead of them."
"They will choose as I have chosen," said Alavaria. "Father told me of the times you dropped into his life and asked his help in a crisis. He told me your requests are not done lightly and are never meaningless. We live in this forest and visit the towns infrequently, yet we hear the disquiet in the land. We can do no less than help you end the darkness filling people's lives. Of course, we wish it otherwise, but we can do no less than my father. We are not sophisticated people and have no use for court manners, but we will defend the rights of all people to live as they wish. I believe your needs are why we have remained at this house. Many times we discussed moving, but something held us here. Now we know why."
"Don't be so fatalistic."
"Do not lecture me, Gerrand. I am no longer young and have no room for grand visions of the world. There is work, death, and sometimes love, but always honor and duty. My children understand this and I wonder why so wise a man as you need to be convinced that we shall help you. Are you afraid to take our lives upon your conscience? How many years have you lived Gerrand? How many lives are already on your conscience?"
"You are overmatched, Gerrand," said Faeya Ryr. "Alavaria will beat you into the ground with your words."
"If they are as good as they say, then take them," said Hile Berbac. "You wanted one; there are five. Are we not five times better off than you have planned?"
"But the youngest ones…"
"Gerrand, take us all or leave us." Alavaria stood with her hands on her hips. Gerrand saw the steel in her eyes that reminded him of her father. Her children glared at Gerrand in the same manner. He sighed, knowing the deaths ahead of them would be cruel and he would regret the cost.
"Very well. Is there somewhere we can sit? I will tell you what I need."
"Excellent." Alavaria's expression did not change. Gerrand wondered if she ever had joy in her life. The children appeared to lack the spark too.
"There is a table in the hut. We will sit around it and Eva will make tea." Eva stuck her tongue out and ran into the hut. The first change in the stony expressions of the children and it was a childish response from Eva who would not be a child after the war with Macelan. The thought made Gerrand regret this task already.
The interior of the hut filled with few possessions allowed all of them to sit comfortably around the handmade table. Gerrand felt a pang when he saw his name carved into the wood. Haetane had asked him to do that years ago to mark his visit.
"I hope you were asked to do that," whispered Faeya Ryr. "Have you always been a child?"
"No. Only around you. Now, leave me alone, I need to think."
Eva brought tea for everyone. Hile Berbac and Doad Bess watched Gerrand closely. They had been amazed at the way Alavaria talked to him outside. They never heard of such a thing. Gerrand did not grow angry as he did at the Council. He merely accepted the words from the woman.
Briefly, Gerrand spoke of Macelan and the history of his mentor. He told them of Macelan's expected return and how the Council planned to respond.
"We are going to where we think Macelan will be and try to slow him down."
"Just the four of you?"
"Yes. We have more power than you might think although Macelan's power is very great. I know a way of placing a spell on an object and when the object strikes a target, the spell is triggered."
"Our arrows!" cried Eva. Immediately, her mother's sharp gaze fell upon her and Eva bowed her head and backed away from the table to sit with her siblings on the floor.
"Exactly right. I plan to weave spells around your arrows and send you after Macelan and his lieutenants. The problem is you must get close to them, much closer than is safe. Perhaps within the ranks of Macelan's army. You all could be killed."
Alavaria looked long at Gerrand.
"My children are all I have, but I will lead them to death if it serves." Her cold words struck Gerrand in his heart. His words left him. Faeya Ryr watched the faces of the children and they did not appear to fully appreciate their mother's determination. What Faeya Ryr saw in their faces told her that one or two of them would not follow their mother foolishly. Alavaria was a dangerous woman.
"How soon can you travel?" asked Gerrand.
"We can be ready in an hour," said Roc. Alavaria nodded, pleased with her son's efficiency.
"Good. I need to talk with my fellow Mages while you prepare. We shall be outside."
The four of them stood under a tree two hundred yards from the hut.
"Why so far from the hut?" asked Berbac.
"To be certain we won't be overheard. There is something more to Alavaria than I can see. However, I can feel it."
"I thought so myself," said Doad Bess.
"You should know something about the children," said Faeya Ryr. "They will not follow their mother blindly, not all of them. I caught flickers behind their eyes. We should be prepared for rebellion of some level against Alavaria."
Gerrand nodded. "I thought she seemed obsessive. Very easy to lose track of what is reality. Her children are disciplined. I don't believe their rebellion will be overt, but we have to wait and see."