The Fires of Cerran

Chapter Ten

As the two men walked briskly down the hallway, they came to the realisation of the task that had befallen them. They stopped short of the entrance that led out across the courtyard's upper walls, and simply let themselves be drowned by the silence around them.
'The Kludde nearly took us all.' Ramon said, his words trailing off. Lenren looked to his friend, down to the wounds on his arms and the bandages that still wrapped around his hand and nodded in agreement.
'You think we can do this?' Ramon asked, turning to face his friend. Lenren shrugged his shoulders in response, his gaze now fell only onto the horizon that lay ahead of them out past the doorway. He walked on for a few steps, but at the moment the sunlight hit his fair skin, he walked back and turned to face Ramon again.
'Honestly, I don't know. But it is our duty, and we must fulfil our duty until the day when we are defeated. You know that more than almost anyone in the Kingdoms.' Lenren said softly. Ramon smiled, turned and began to walk back along the corridor that they had come from.
'Where are you going?' Lenren called out, his voice echoing as it was carried along the slick stone walls of the castle.
'To tell Astriel. You speak with the messenger, we'll meet back with Velgar in the evening. From there we can try and come up with a proper plan.' Ramon returned, not so much as turning to face his friend as he fell deeper into the flickering shadows of the halls.

Against his better judgement, and without much thought on exactly what or how he would brooch the subject, Lenren continued on his walk until he came upon a quiet wing on the East quadrant of the Castle. It was a seldom used place, though some of the rooms were being made up for the arrival of the High Lords. He found guards at the doorway, but they were no bother to him, and with a quick knock at the door; he entered. It was a large, brightly lit room with a huge four poster bed towards one end and a bronze bathing tub at the other. A large stone fireplace was built into the wall beside the tub and that itself looked out upon a quiet royal orchard. Lenren looked around the place, there were iron baskets of coals that had been nailed into place on the walls, from which scented smoke was being softly emitted.
'The King has made you quite comfortable, I see.' The archer said as he found the man sitting at the edge of the bed untying his boot laces.
'I declined at first. But the servants said that the King had given them very specific orders.' The man replied, not looking up or so much as glancing towards his visitor. Lenren turned, over the fireplace hung an impressive portrait of the Old King overlooking the harbour port of Korgen at a festival, the Archer remembered it fondly.
'You were there?' Asked the man, glancing up.
Lenren nodded, still looking at the painting he found himself trying to imagine where he would have been in proportion to what it showed. He traced his fingers along its surface before stopping at a small pavilion towards the right hand of the frame.
'Probably there, getting my fill of Korgen ale whilst I could. Best drink in the West if you ask me.' He said with a smile. He turned to face the man, and was met with his sorrowful grey face.
'You're here to ask me questions, aren't you?' He said softly. Lenren nodded in reply, he found a chair and dragged it across to sit opposite the man. He made himself comfortable and watched as the rider threw his boots carelessly to one side.
'My feet, they're aching terribly.' The man said, looking up but missing contact with Lenren.
'We need as much information as you can give us.' Lenren replied, again conjuring his most sympathetic smile.
'They think you can kill it. You can't. I didn't see the beast, but I saw what it had done.' The man replied, his voice quieter. Lenren straightened himself on his chair and folded his arms.
'I need information.' He said bluntly. The man bit his lip, fiddled with his shirt buttons and then wiped then took a deep breath.
'The village itself is almost completely gone. The main path is still rideable, but the structures don't seem safe at all. If I were you, I'd look to the East Road, try and keep to the forest lines as much as you can for at least some protection.' The rider said eventually, trying to persuade himself of his knowledge.
'Go on.' Lenren replied calmly.
'The stronghold itself, we only briefly scouted it. It looks as though the... thing...has taken refuge in the inner walls, its created itself a cave from the remains of the place. The towers are almost completely gone, as are the walkway along the top. That's all I know, I swear it by the Sister herself.' The man said, holding a balled palm to the sky.
'The Sister?' Lenren asked, sitting back slightly.
'Aye, the True Sister as will be given to us when the Goddess returns.' The man replied with a hopeful smile. Lenren realised the man to be a believer in the faith of the Yellow Sisters, and he was unsettled.
'The Gods are-' He began.
'A fallacy, created by the Maester's to control the people and to blind them from the truth of the Goddess.' The man interrupted quickly. Lenren sat further back, his back resting heavily against the chair. He nodded slowly and looked the man up and down and saw, near to the inner of his elbow, a tattoo of The Sisterhood.
'You feel the need to keep it quiet though?' the Archer said, nodding towards the artwork. The man placed his hand over the tattoo, almost in a protective way.
'We are strong in our faith, we face persecution for our faith. That is the truth of it.' The man replied.
'Not from the King, and not from the Welling.' Lenren returned. The man looked uneasily to the archer and seemed to sneer slightly.
'You think so? Then I pity you Ser, for you are blind as well as scared.' He said, pointing to Lenren's arm. Lenren covered his scar immediately before taking a long look at the man.
'How many survivors are there? Really.' He asked.
'I told the King what I knew.' The man replied.
Lenren nodded slowly as he accepted the man for his word. The man looked across to the fireplace, before forcing a yawn and rubbing his eyes.
'It you please Ser, I need rest.' He didn't look the Archer in the eyes, but Lenren took the hint and walked from the room without another word.