Chapter 23

In the morning, Ayla's ass stung. But what stung most was that King Rhobart humiliated her in front of the others.

Ayla never hated someone before, but she hated King Rhobart. And she also hated the stupid snow and traveling in the cold; she hated Nordmar, and most importantly, she hated the King. And if she didn't have to talk to him for the rest of her life, she would be happy.

When breakfast was served, Ayla grabbed her plate, and when she tried to sit down, a hiss of pain escaped her lips.

Tizgar chuckled, "I think someone woke up with a sore ass."

"My father spanked me so hard once that I couldn't sit down for two weeks," Gorn said.

Ayla's cheeks heated, and she decided to finish her breakfast next to the foodshed.

"If you two have finished eating, make sure the horses are ready to leave," Ayla heard King Rhobart say while she was heading towards the foodshed.

While she was eating, Ayla studied King Rhobart. He was sitting on a log with a plate of food in his hands, but he hadn't eaten anything. He was staring at the flames with a pained expression.

'May the Darkness swallow you!' she thought.

Milton approached her with a cup of tea, "For your, umm, aches." And offered Ayla the cup.

She thought that even the whole tea in the world wouldn't make her feel better.

"I doubt I would be able to sit on the saddle because of him. Tea won't make a lot of difference," Ayla said.

"I put some gizalt to numb the pain and some embelia."

"Thank you!" Ayla said. "You are the only friend I made so far."

"He is trying," Milton said while Ayla started drinking the tea. "But you keep pushing all his buttons."

"He is a brute! And I hate him!"

Milton shook his head, "You are as stubborn as Rhobart."

The King stood, "Get ready to leave. I want to start going up the mountain as soon as possible."

Ten minutes later, the small party left behind the second camp, traveling farther into the cold land of Nordmar. When the horses started going up a mountain, half the morning had already passed. And as they advanced, the men talked among themselves, but Ayla was mostly quiet, thinking of the war prisoners.

With each step that was taking her closer to the first mine, Ayla was getting more nervous. She loved Myrthana and her people with all her heart; it was something that her mother and grandmother had taught her ever since she was little, and so, she was wondering in which state she would find the war prisoners and if there was something she could do for them.

A white hawk was flying in circles above Milton, drawing his attention.

"Ghost," Milton said when he noticed the hawk.

The King looked at the sky and said to the others, "Stop the horses!"

When he dismounted, the King extended a gloved hand for the hawk to land on.

Once the hawk landed on the King's hand, he took out a small parchment from a cylinder attached to one of the legs of the bird and read the message.

The King cursed under his breath and crumpled the parchment.

"Bad news?" Gorn asked.

"It's from Droyn. They made it to the Wolf Clan but found destroyed camps and dead hunters on their way. From the signs they found, they think there are three small groups. They found one group and are tracking the two remaining ones."

Looking at the sky and then at the trees, the King added, "We need to visit the mines as soon and as fast as possible After that, we should head off to the Wolf Clan."

A few moments later, the King looked at Ayla and mumbled, "Damn it! I should have left you at the castle."

She mumbled back, "I didn't ask to come along only to see your ugly face each day."

"Could you two stop acting like children for a few minutes?" Milton asked.

Tizgar said, "I am so sorry Eude and Hudde are missing all the fun."

" We will have to tell the twins everything that had happened once we see them, especially about the shitty parts," Gorn said and laughed.

"You two have a death wish," the King said in a cold tone that promised a lot of pain.

Milton sighed, "We better get moving before something else happens."

"Like Rhobart and Ayla killing each other?" Tizgar asked in an innocent voice.

The King ignored Tizgar and replied to the Mage, "As soon as I send a message to Droyn, we start moving."