Across the ocean Book 1: On the run

Epilogue : Giver Her a Name (Ending)

The rangers had brought Mayen and Rowen to a suitable ground for setting camp, a small clearing near a river not shown on maps of the region for being too unimportant: that is to say, they were next to a stream. There, questions were asked and repeated in different order, for the rangers were decided to know what had truly transpired during the night.

-"So," said one ranger with a feather moving from ink to book as he finished writing his last note, "let me get this straight... You two are wayside peasants from Gimvault. You left on Wednesday the nineteenth of the Summer month of Windor and reached your destination on Sunday the twenty-third and enter through the gates on the morrow. So far, so good?"

-"Yes," said Rowen massaging his legs after all the running and exertion of the night, "you have it correct."

-"And you tell me nothing in between happened, or any kind of dot to connect to the attempt at abducting you?"

-"Nothing." Rowen lied again.

-"Very well, then! You leave on the nineteenth, arrive on the twenty-third, enter the twenty-forth and meet with a relative. This man is Soren, minister of finance of Mildoyest. Your aim is to find a spouse for your son when he comes of age. Why is that?"

-"Because there are no available bachelorettes in our village."

-"You son spoke of a girl named Ilyanna... Why not her?"

Not all the questions are pertinent to be mentioned here. The interrogation covered everything, from what they did before leaving Gimvault to what they would do once back again. On the good side, not being suspected of wrong deeds gave the two wayside peasants the peace of mind and the opportunity to salvage their situation a little bit: when the ranger asked about their belongings, Mayen made sure not to let his father forget about Mulette, their trusted mule lent to them by Nerlos back home. They spoke of the steelaïn dagger as well, and both father and son wasted no time to ask if it had been seen after the battle. It had.

-"Yes," said the ranger, "and I confirm it has your name on it. Mind telling me how and why?"

Mayen burst into laughter, for this was not the first and certainly not the last time he would be asked that. Steelaïn was indeed a precious metal used for both military purposes and aesthetics by the richer folks. It was also a question he did not mind answering, as it gave him the opportunity to speak about Commendar Spencer and Commendar Alriched. His heroes... Of course, he omitted the vision, for it led to the prophecy and the mountain kite. That detail was a secret to be kept, for reasons unrelated to the situation he had been plunged into by the monster. It would not do to claim sharing the blood of Emperors in your vein and to be the hope of many. Still, talking about the dagger and seeing it given to him was like a rainbow slicing a rainy sky to let the light shine upon the land once more. How is mood had improved, making the ordeal of an experience all too similar to a game of questions more tolerable, and all that simply by having something to boast about: it had been a long time since the occasion had presented itself for it.

-"Mayen," asked the ranger with eyes looking up almost through the eyebrows for the man refused to stop writing down even for a moment when he had something in his head, "why did you not enjoy the huntress' game?"

-"It reminds me of unpleasant memories... Must I speak of them?" He really did not want to, fearing he would twist details when on the morrow the interrogation would be repeated. "I have been bullied in the past if you rea-lly must know."

Yes, this brought most certainly the discomfort back, reminding him he had been indeed rescued, but for now. The monster was still at large after all. Then Rowen was targeted with more questions, this time about what they ate, whom they had met and where they had gone. The rangers knew how unpleasant it was to be asked so many things in quick successions, so at times the subjects changed a little to make the process of gathering intel easier to endure.