Land's End, Part 11
It had been a difficult two days crossing the plateaus. There had been a brief breath of civilization on the second day when their path intersected with the Horatio Stem winding its way between Fort Reginald and Maradon Province. The moment the road had come into sight, hope had lurched into Gilbetron’s heart that the crystal might point them down along it. Unfortunately, the mere glance southward down the road caused the crystal to slow its rhythmic pulse. He’d worked with it long enough to know that was a bad sign. It seemed they were destined to continue through the wilderness.
He resolved to write about his experiences when he returned to the Fort, and perhaps even collect them into a book. No doubt his wanderings would be the source of a great deal of historical interest. This particular journey seemed at least worthy of a footnote in the Lystrian archives.
They made camp along the road, as the sun was already teetering low on the horizon. No need to return to the middle of nowhere until there was at least enough daylight to properly see where they were going. The Drennedels were looming nearer with each passing day, and the closer they got the more frequent were the rocky gorges that heralded the larger impediments still to come.
Just before laying down for the night, Nieka called out his name. She was standing by the fire looking north where a rider was fast approaching. Gilbetron jumped to his feet and stood conspicuously in the middle of the road.
The rider slowed, spotting the pair. When he came near enough to see their faces, he tossed back his own hood. Gilbetron was startled to find Leve looking back down at him.
“Leve!” he cried disdainfully. “I thought you were in Lystria. Last I saw, you and Memorex were holding court together. Now that Telematrice is out of the way, you can—”
“I’ve been riding five days to catch up with you,” Leve said breathlessly, ignoring Gilbetron’s words. “When I reached the Fort without encountering you, I determined that you’d gone south. I’m glad to see I was right.”
Thrown off, Gilbetron hardly knew what to say next. It was so easy to hate Telematrice’s former lover. Was it possible he’d misjudged the man? What an uncomfortable thought that was.
“I don’t understand,” was all he managed.
“After all the trouble I’ve gone to locating you, the least you could do is give me the benefit of the doubt,” Leve said. “I have some information for you. Information you’ll need if you want to save your wife.”
Gilbetron narrowed his eyes. “What kind of information?”
“She and the others are being taken to Land’s End in the west. There’s a boat harboured there ready to take them away. As long as they’re offshore, the new Lady Telematrice believes she’ll have undisputed power over both Lystria and the Western Territories. The boat’s captain is to send them into exile, to insure they get far enough away to never again raise a claim to the Lystrian throne.”
It was a lot to take in. “Why are you telling me this?” Gilbetron asked.
“Because it’s the right thing to do. Telematrice may be your wife, but I’ve always cared for her, too. You don’t have a monopoly on that. She’s a good queen. She doesn’t deserve this, and neither do any of the others.” He took a deep breath. “I want to help, Gilbetron. Please let me.”