Thekeep at Hareford was not the imposing structure that Kyia’s home was inMetamor, but it seemed just as daunting to Alex as he approached itshalls. Doubtless, it was not thestructure itself that intimidated him, but the prospect of what awaited himwithin its halls. Could he even hope toconvince Sir Dupré to rescind his earlier orders? He was nothing but a simple patrol commanderand that only as an inheritance from the company’s former commander. Sir Dupré, though his own accomplishments hadmostly been written in the Midlands, was still a respected commander with astrong military heritage, not to mention a commander to whom the lynx had neverreported. Ofcourse, Alex’s concerns only mattered if he was even offered an audience. Hehad briefly considered simply ignoring orders, but that consideration was onlylasted a few moments. While he wasconcerned by Lois’ situation, he was not about to risk his command by doingsomething rash. He also knew that hispatrol’s absence could cause weakness in the patrol structure of the Keep, andthat was even more of a concern with the quarantine in effect. Alexknew that it couldn’t be true, but he could almost swear that the guards at theentrance to the keep were the same ones that had met him on his previousvisit. Whether they were or not, theywere certainly showing the wear of the hours. One of them was stretching and jogging in place to stay awake, and theother was buffing his hooflike nails on a small file he carried in his otherhand, his partially-lidded eyes betraying the weariness with which he undertookhis simple efforts. The two acknowledgedhim as he arrived, each returning to some semblance of attention. “Halt! No one is allowed beyond without the expresspermission of Sir William Dupré,” one of them said, clearly reciting the veryorders he had been given. At points, hisvoice dipped into a nearly indecipherable drawl, but he managed to spit themessage out around his tired tongue. Alexnodded his understanding. The increasedsecurity about the keep was expected given the added pressure that Hareford wasfeeling at present. With Metamor unableto deploy their own troops in their current situation, it now fell to theOutpost, Lake Barnhardt, and the Glen Avery to manage the troopdeployments. This included the addeddifficulty of finding out where the active patrols were, since even Metamor hadlittle idea now that their companies were forced to seek other quarters due tothe plague. “Iunderstand that the commander is busy, but I would like to speak with him if itis at all possible.” Oneof the guards grimaced. “I have to behonest, that is highly unlikely. SirDupré is presently seeing only those to whom he has sent his personal summons.”
>>>>Why the isolation? Alexnodded. “Could you at least take him myname?” When the guards hesitated, thelynx pressed forward. “I am Alexhin’Valius, my patrol was just ordered out into the field.” Theungulate guard perked at the name. “Waita moment, that’s the name they told us to be listening for,” he insisted. “Sir Dupré wanted to see him right away!” Theother nodded. “I do recall that aswell.” To Alex he continued, “You’re inluck. It seems your coming wasanticipated.” >>>Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Thetwo of them opened the doors quickly, and Alex stepped through, his soft padsmaking him almost completely silent as he marched along the solid stone of thehallway. He was pointed towards SirDupré’s chambers directly, and found the way easy to follow despite the sparse,martial decoration of the keep’s hallways. He did his best to quash any fear he felt due to being expected withoutwarning. Someone had certainly mentionedtheir predicament and piqued the interest of Hareford’s new military commander. Theguards at the private chamber’s door bid him wait while they carried hisrequest to Sir Dupré. The ram’s gruffvoice was audible through the thick door as he told them to allow Alexentrance. Thelynx stepped through the door when the guard returned to find that the chambershe had been led to were, indeed, the ram’s private bedchambers. The man himself was standing in the one openarea of the room, facing the door while a boar worked calmly behind him, takingone piece of armor at a time and fastening them securely to his commander’sform. He worked with a practiceddiligence that spoke of years of experience. “Ithought you might wish to see me,” the older commander said. His lieutenant fixed a bracer to Dupré’s arm,carefully and deliberately securing each strap to be certain that none of themcould possibly come loose during combat. “Yes,sir,” Alex gave a brief bow. He was uncertain of the proper degree of deferenceto show to the man. Although Nestoriuswas both the commander of Hareford and a powerful mage, the black lionpreferred some degree of familiarity, so only the most basic formalities wereobserved. William Dupré, however, hadbeen a lord in his own land, and though his banishment had taken that titlefrom him his post as the military commander at the Outpost was worthy of somerespect at least. SirDupré gave a nod as he was armored. “Ioriginally heard that one of your party had been attacked by a mage, and wasunable to join any patrol. More recentlyI heard that the situation had been resolved. I did not understand the particulars of the situation well then, and Ido not believe I can claim to understand it now. If you could perhaps explain it better, Imight be able to better explain my own decision to deploy your patrol.” Alextook a deep breath. Of course Dupréwould not understand what had happened. He had been at the Keep for barely a few months, and in that time he hadbeen more than a little preoccupied. Perhaps if he made a good case, the lynx could manage to convince him togive them more time. Heexplained the situation as briefly as possible. The ram listened carefully, an ear flicking now and then at some phraseor word that Alex misspoke, but he nodded with a neutral expression for theduration of the explanation. Dupré’slieutenant, although clearly well versed in the art of politely ignoringconversations that were not his own, was not quite so well versed in controllinghis new body. His ears often twitched orswiveled towards the lynx whenever he mentioned something interesting. The lynx chose to ignore this. There was nothing to be gained by raising afuss over something so minor. Whilehe continued his persuasive attempts, Alex hoped that he was not being tootechnical with his explanation. Althoughhe had no trouble removing any difficult magical terms from his discussion, ashe did not know many himself, he wondered if discussing the Curse in even somedetail might cause some confusion. Ashe finished, however, Dupré seemed unfazed. He waited thoughtfully, eyes turned towards the floor, for a few momentsas his captain adjusted the last few straps of the commander’s armor. Finally, he turned back to Alex. “Iunderstand your concern and your desire to help your compatriot. I consider loyalty to be an incrediblyimportant trait in any warrior, so I cannot fault you for yours. Knowing the extent to which the Curse canaffect a man’s mind is also quite frightening.” He shook his head slowly. Hiscaptain seemed to share his opinion based on his dour expression, but hecontinued to act as ignorant of the conversation as he possibly could. “Still, my one remaining question is whetheryour friend is in any immediate danger?” Alexwanted to claim that he was, but as much as he wished he could, he could thinkof no reason to believe it was so. Lois’memory might have been shattered by the fetish spell, but his ignorance of hispast was perhaps even safer than the alternative. According to everything he had heard from themages, he also suspected that any harmful magic had already run itscourse. Lois was handicapped, to becertain, and he could only wonder at the trials that the ermine’s recoverywould entail, but there was no clear, immediate danger. “No,sir, I do not believe that I can claim he is in danger,” the lynx admitted witha sigh. Theram gave a sympathetic smile. “While Iwould like to be able to offer you more time, the fact is that I am short onmen as it is. I need everyone availableto man the patrols during the quarantine.” He waved an arm, demonstrating his own armament. “Even I am no exception. We cannot reinforce from within the Keep, sowe are left to our own devices. I knowyour men are capable, and I need you on the field.” Alex’sheart sank, but he nodded his understanding. “Thank you for considering my request, at least,” he offered. “Perhapsthere is still a partial solution,” the ram replied. The boar behind him turned to the side,taking another armored plate from where they all sat, organized upon the bed. Alex’sears perked at the renewed offer. “Sir?” “Icannot afford to lose your entire patrol, but perhaps one of your company couldremain behind to be certain of his safety.” Thelynx felt a swell of relief for a moment, before he realized the unfortunatetruth. “I’m sorry, sir, but if one of myfellows remained behind, the other would have to do so as well,” he explained. Theram’s face showed clear confusion. “Whatdo you mean?” he asked. “Theyshare a bond with one another for several reasons,” Alex explained. “Without going into much detail regarding theexact cause, the result is that they must remain close to one another at alltimes, or risk death.” >>>>Interesting SirDupré shook his head. “You surroundyourself with quite a variety of magical oddities,” he commented. His lieutenant barely suppressed achuckle. “Whatever the case, I am sorryto say that this severely limits my ability to help you in any meaningfulway. I am certain that the healers willgladly look after him in your absence, but beyond this I do not see any way Ican be of help.” “Perhapsthere is one thing you might be able to do if you cannot allow us to remainhere,” Alex proposed. “I told you of themage that assisted us in our efforts, Balrog. Would it be possible to see that his patrol is able to remain here inour absence? He is a personal friend ofLois, and he might be able to provide the necessary aid if we cannot.” Dupréconsidered the proposal in silence for a few moments before noddingslowly. “I think I may be able to allowthat request,” he agreed. “If Iunderstand correctly, his patrol company only returned from a missionthemselves recently. Giving them a fewadditional days to rest would be profitable for them.” Alexsmiled. “Thank you, sir. Unless you require me for any other purpose,I believe I should part to prepare my men for the upcoming patrol.” Theram nodded. “Indeed. Fare well on your journey. I hope our next meeting will be under morefortunate circumstances. Perhaps wecould find time to share a drink together. I do want to know the men under my command, brief though our interactionmay be.” Alexhesitated. It always concerned him whenanyone of rank showed interest in him, but he could see no ill intention of anykind behind the offer. “Thank you,” hesaid, giving a shallow bow. “I would behonored to join you if you would have me.” “Ofcourse.” Dupré smiled, and even the boarspared the lynx a glance and a smile. “Farewell! May each of us findgood success on our journeys.” AsAlex left, he wondered if he had done the right thing. He barely knew Balrog, and the only word thathad assured him of the man’s friendship to Lois had been the lutin’s own. If there was any deception in the man’swords, the lynx would not learn of it until the results had already beenwrought. Still, as he returned to thebarracks, Alex could not find it in himself to regret the decision. Lois needed someone to help him through this difficulty. Despite the risks, he truly believed thatBalrog was worthy of his trust. He justwished he could still his lingering doubts. >>>> Somnethings take time.
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