Wherever I Am

Chapter 11 - Part 2

I thought our entourage was large coming here with four contingents from Suata, but apparently, other Primors under Lord Emil were joining us along with their contingents and retinues, and we were now a troop of over two hundred people going to Baemardis. Probably well over that number, as we now had a supply train behind us and a forward unit that left hours before dawn simply to put up tents for our nightly stops.

I and my retinue now traveled directly with Lord Emil, and I was thankful for Lord Boian's presence, which had headed off the more probing questions from Lord Emil about Uncle John, Lauretti, and others of the Realm. I recognized a couple of the names as older cousins, and the others I didn't know at all. Apparently, the Covali family had been quite active here at one time, though my parents' names weren't mentioned.

This had been going on since our meeting after supper that first evening. I don't think I told Emil anything I hadn't already told Boian, and Ellie managed to stay quiet and demure most of the time when she joined us in the meetings, which again was something new for Emil and Lady Ralu.

Oana confused them. Lord Boian had added 'of the Realm' to her title as Ellie's Companion. Oana in turn kept her promise to keep her clothes on, which relieved Boian to no end. She also joined us for breakfast each day. Like Ellie sitting to my left, a child at the table like this wasn't done, but now it was. Maybe we'd start a fad, but I doubted it.

What would've been an easy two-day trip on horseback was now going to be four since everyone wanted to be there when Ellie and I touched this Golden Scroll. Were they going to cheer when we didn't die, or maybe hope that we did fry, or whatever it was supposed to do imposters? Or was it like our swords, that didn't do what legend said they should?

With no air conditioning or running water, staying in tents wasn't much different from staying in buildings except we might have better ventilation with the sides rolled partway up. We were into the middle of September, so maybe some cooler weather would be coming, but there wasn't much relief from the heat yet.

There's an Army saying that a friend told me that was so true this morning. Hurry up and wait. We were up and fed the next morning before dawn, ready to go, yet it was mid-morning before we nudged our horses into a slow walk.

The day was uneventful. Despite the crowd of people, I still expected Sobecks to charge out at us. Ellie did too and kept riding up to me from Lady Ralu's entourage every hour or so to talk, and we sometimes passed Oana back and forth during these. I had to chuckle. Apparently, a girl-child riding with Lord Emil's...well, my retinue actually, but he was leading it...was a new thing, too.

After an afternoon exchange of Oana back to Ellie, Lord Emil sidled his horse next to me. "That child saved the day in a battle?"

"She did," I replied, nodding. "After a big Sobeck disarmed me, she used my blade to slice its ankle so I could finish it with a dagger thrust into its neck. I'm pretty sure it would've taken me out shortly otherwise. It was skilled and intelligent and would've taken out Lord Boian and Maid Elexus. They were having problems with their own foes as it was."

"She handled your sword and survived?"

"She did."

"So, she is of the Realm?"

"It definitely appears that way." Boian had coached us to be somewhat noncommittal but to indicate that she must be from some bastard line of one of my relatives.

"You said it was an intelligent Sobeck?"

"Definitely seemed that way to me, compared to the ones I fought in the next battle. It felt like a human opponent, not something wolf-like."

"Boian has said similar things in the past. You will be mentioning this to Crown Lord John of the Realm."

"I will definitely be mentioning this to Uncle John, Lauretti, my parents, or any other family members who show up. I'm sure your son has mentioned how clueless we are about all of this."