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MARCHING ORDERS

Kale sat on a bench at the plank table under a great oak. A dozen marione children scurried back and forth from the house, putting out plates, cups, and platters of food. Even after a week, it felt odd to sit and be served. But every time she offered to help, she was told she was a guest.

A guest. A guest in the home of mariones. And not just any marione, but General Lee Ark.

Kale looked over to where the famous marione played ribbets with a bunch of wild children. His team of half pints scored again against the older, less organized children. The spectators, sitting on the perimeter of the field, cheered.

Lee Ark had come to her rescue along with the urohm when she was trapped by the grawligs. He’d also ridden Merlander the night she and Dar jumped from the waterfall ledge.

His wife treated Kale as a respected visitor. Mistress Ark had given Kale the most treasured spot in their home, the kitchen, to sleep in, the only room that wasn’t filled to the brim with sleeping mariones. In Lee Ark’s “cabin,” a dozen bedrooms overflowed with eleven children, various aunts and uncles and cousins, and four grandparents. Kale had not been able to sort through all the people.

Leetu lay on a narrow cot in a bedroom full of old women. There, one of the marione elders kept vigil in a rocker next to the dangerously ill emerlindian. At no time was she left alone. Kale wanted Paladin to heal her friend. Could he? She didn’t like the waiting and uncertainty that everyone else seemed to take in stride.

The meadow teemed with activity. All the neighbors had gathered at Lee Ark’s home to spend time celebrating the upset of Risto’s forces, the presence of Paladin, and each other’s company. Members of each of the high races enjoyed the festival atmosphere. Music filled the camp, children scampered about, women sat beneath the trees and did needlework as they visited, and the men played games with each other and with the small ones. Everyone here seemed friendly and joyful, even though they lived in the shadow of Risto’s fortress. This was one more thing to ask Paladin about if she ever got the chance.

Since the morning he had given his special attention to her, she had not been able to catch him alone. He was available, but only in a crowd. Every afternoon he sat with the children and told stories. In the eventide he told more tales, but to a gathering of adults who sat on the grass around a campfire and whose children nodded in their laps. As the dark grew thick beyond the light of the fire, sometimes he would explain a deeper meaning to the tale he had just told. Kale loved it all. She thirsted for more of his words, more of his wisdom. How could she ever go on to face this quest if she didn’t know everything he had to teach her first?

Paladin came out of the woods on a path edged with late autumn flowers of deep orange, purple, and golden yellow. Dar came with him, tripping along, merrily engaged in conversation. Brunstetter, the urohm master rider of the dragon who had flown to their rescue, marched behind Paladin. During their adventures, Kale had forgotten how short the doneel people were. Next to the six-foot Paladin and the fourteen-foot Brunstetter, Dar’s three-foot frame looked miniature indeed. He was tall only next to a kimen.

Paladin smiled at those who greeted him, waved off those who would have joined his small group, and headed straight for Kale. She rose to her feet, her heart speeding up with the joy of seeing him.

“Kale Allerion,” he greeted her. “Tomorrow I return to the southern border. Lee Ark stays for a season with his family, and you and your comrades resume your quest.”

Paladin nodded to Dar and Brunstetter, who immediately left his side. He sat on the bench by the table, facing the activities in the surrounding fields. “Be seated,” he commanded.

His friendly voice held a note of authority. Kale promptly sat and wondered what orders she would receive.

“Brunstetter is the leader of your expedition. Shimeran is next in command. The kimens will carry Leetu—”

“I can help,” offered Kale.

Paladin gave her the slow, thoughtful smile that warmed her heart and made her feel accepted. “No need, Kale. The kimens are very much like ants in that they can carry burdens far heavier than one would expect. And they will be performing special acts toward healing our emerlindian friend.”

“Why is she so ill, Paladin? There were few wounds on her body, and those have healed.”

Paladin’s face grew somber. “The mordakleeps engulfed her. Mordakleeps are the embodiment of nothing. Within their grasp, she was surrounded by nothing. No sounds, no sights, no smells, no taste, not the touch of something against her skin, not even the feel of her skin. Why, even her sense of up or down was hidden from her. Inside a mordakleep, there is no sign of life. In that oblivion, her mind writhed in anguish and shut down against the pain of loneliness and isolation.”

Kale pulled her arms and legs in tightly, so that she perched on the bench like a large egg.

Paladin took her hand. “You touched that emptiness when you sought Leetu with your mind. You know how devastating even a glimpse of that void is.”

She nodded, unable to respond as she remembered the awful sick feeling that had overwhelmed her.

Paladin’s warm hand on hers comforted her. His rich voice soothed even as his words disturbed her.

“Wulder has a place like that. It’s used for punishment of those who defy Him with every breath until the very last time they exhale on our world. But that punishment is not meant for Leetu. She will recover. Pretender’s imitation of Wulder’s void does not have permanent effects when the proper antidote is administered. And you will play a part in that.”

At the promise of something to do for Leetu, Kale sat up, leaned forward, and listened even more intently to Paladin.

“The kimens will sing to Leetu as they carry her. They will touch her, stroke her arms and legs, rub her head, run their delicate little fingers over her face. Dar will bring things for Leetu to smell, the best of Wulder’s scented flowers and, he assures me, some very fragrant foods he plans to fix at mealtimes. Then Wizard Fenworth will complete the cure.”

“What should I do?”

“As you travel, you will project the images you see into Leetu’s troubled mind. Beautiful flowers, peaceful meadows, striking sunsets, the funny antics of the kimens, the grace of a butterfly.”

I can do that!

“In the evening, you and Gymn will sit with her and make the healing circle. You will allow your love of adventure and your thrill at being part of the quest flow into our emerlindian friend.”

Oh, no! “Paladin, I can’t. I don’t love adventure. I’m scared to death of the quest, not thrilled.”

Paladin threw back his head and laughed. Kale pinched her lips together and scowled at him.

When the great man could speak again, after wiping tears of mirth from his cheeks, he winked at her.

“Kale, you’re learning more about Wulder every day. You’re learning about your talents and how to use them. And on this quest, you will learn some deep truths about yourself.”

“You’re saying I love adventure and find the quest thrilling.”

Paladin grinned, and Kale had the awful urge to stick her tongue out at him just as if she were no more than three years old. He laughed again and got up, reaching into his pocket.

“Here’s Gymn. He’s missed you just as much as you’ve missed him. But I have been teaching him all sorts of little tricks. You will have fun together.”

Kale eagerly took the tiny dragon. Paladin walked off to join the game of ribbets. He dropped his coat on the ground, ran into the crowd, and grabbed the ball as it flew through the air. The children on both teams cheered and swarmed around him.

“I don’t love adventure,” she told Gymn. She cuddled him under her chin, and he began to thrum. “I’d rather stay here with Lee Ark’s family.”

She looked to the outside grill where Mistress Ark turned slabs of meat over the fire. The general’s wife put lots of work into caring for her large family. Kale was positive the marione woman derived a great deal of pleasure from her labors. If Kale stayed here, she could help. After all, she knew a lot about household chores. But the thought of staying didn’t please her. She squirmed on the bench and turned her eyes in a different direction, seeking her friends. Although Kale didn’t have a family, she did have comrades: Dar, Leetu, the kimens, and Gymn. Now Brunstetter would be joining them, and the quiet giant intrigued her.

Kale watched the game of ribbets. The teams ran helter-skelter back and forth across the same ground over and over, chasing a ball the size of a chicken.

“I do not get a thrill when I think about the quest,” she muttered. Gymn hummed. It was one of Dar’s marching songs.

She held him away from her and gave him a suspicious look, her eyes narrowed, and one eyebrow crooked.

“What has Paladin been teaching you?”

The little dragon sighed, licked his lips, and blinked.

A quiet thought flickered from the creature’s mind to hers.

She yelped. “Hatch another egg? Not now. When we get to The Hall there will be plenty of time to hatch another egg.”

Gymn’s thought grew more urgent. One word drummed in Kale’s mind. “Now, now, now.”

“Not now,” said Kale.