"How often do you and Sage exchange notes?" Ethyn asked as they rode along to the border. Although the young man had assumed the two communicated often, he had never outright asked.
Once the young man had left to be trained, he and Silver had sent letters and information regularly via public messengers. It made sense that even though Sage was across the border, a similar exchange could be made.
"About every couple of weeks. Sooner if it is important and we can get someone to travel the full distance. Not everyone is willing to cross the border these days. Things have become quite complicated." Silver gripped at Daisy's reins.
"Complicated how?" Ethyn had heard rumors, but it was better to know from someone who had been experiencing it.
"There has been a bit of a border dispute. Soldiers from Lakyle have been coming into Birlian towns and demanding taxes. But they leave before King Rhodri's troops can arrive." Silver had caught up with the enemy soldiers a few times, but had not made any big impact.
"How frustrating!" Ethyn looked westward, trying uselessly to find the intruders.
"From what I understand, the king of Lakyle denies any knowledge of it but claimed he would look into it. That was many weeks ago, yet there has been no change."
"You think King Willric is doing nothing on purpose?" Ethyn wondered why the king would not keep his promise.
"I think he sent the men in the first place. He is softening up the border by creating fear and unrest." Silver looked around, certain he spotted movement. When he saw a doe and her adolescent faun, he relaxed back into Daisy's saddle.
Ethyn glanced at the deer as they hurried away. "I don't understand. Why would Willric do such a thing?"
Silver shrugged. "Perhaps he is trying to discourage Rhodri from supporting the rebels. It could be a gentle warning for his neighbor to mind his own business."
"Could be?" Ethyn did not like the Guardian's tone. There was something he was not saying.
"Well, the alternative is far more problematic, and I don't like to think about it." Silver's eyes flashed beneath his hood.
Ethyn thought for a moment, then his eyes grew wide. "You think he may be preparing for a full scale attack?"
The other man was quiet for a long time. "I do not think it it out of the realm of possibilities. Willric is known to be a very greedy man. Those kinds of people cannot be trusted to act rationally even in the face of reason."
Ethyn rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't like the idea of war at all, even though his younger self would have craved it. The knight wanted to be a distinguished hero, but at the same time knew that such a title came with a cost.
"I do hope you are wrong," the green-eyed man sighed.
"Me too. The only bright spot is that they have not come to Rynnlee. We do not take kindly to threats." Silver said with a hint of amusement. While he did not like the idea of others invading the town, he believed those who dared would end up worse off for trying.
The landscape changed slightly as the trees of the forest began to thin. The land itself dipped lower, sloping closer to the level of the sea. If they continued on long enough through Lakyle, they would eventually reach a set of plains that resembled an extended beach. Around them just now, it was still forested.
Silver led them to a large oak. It was by far the most impressive tree in the area. It was so large and its roots widespread that it looked as if it had been there since the beginning of time.
"We are here," Silver said briefly.
At first Ethyn wasn't sure what he meant, but the Guardian dismounted without the slightest hesitation. Then he dipped below one of the eroded roots of the stalwart trunk and disappeared.
"Wha—" Ethyn leapt off his loyal stallion and went to examine the root more closely. He realized that under the root, a hidden opening had been carved out of the dirt. With a small amount of ducking, he could easily fit inside.
Before he had the chance, Silver popped out his head and whistled to Daisy. She whinnied in response and left with Ethyn's horse following closely behind.
"Courage!" Ethyn yelled after his horse.
From the Darkness, Silver's arm shot out and clamped over the other man's mouth. With inhuman strength, he dragged the knight into the hole in one swift motion.
"Hush, you fool! Someone will hear you!" the Guardian hissed. He removed his hand.
"But," Ethyn whispered indignantly. "Courage just ran off without me!"
"Daisy will take good care of him. She knows where to wait until we are done." In truth, Silver trusted Daisy more than he did most people. Horses didn't have ulterior motives or agendas. The trusty mare would sit unobserved in a nearby copse of trees, and Courage would wait protectively with her.
After grumbling his disapproval, the knight fell silent and looked around. The earth that had once been around the massive root system was gone, either eroded by time or dug out by human hands long ago.
More recently, small canvas canopies had been strung between the barked tendrils and loosely covered with soil. The result was that from the top, the ground looked solid, but a bit of light was still able to filter into the manmade cave below.
And because the roots were so interwoven and unsteady, no one wanted to walk directly across them. Thus, their hideout remained hidden.
"How did you find this place?" Ethyn marveled at the ingenious design.
"I didn't. Crispin did," Silver answered as his eyes pierced the shadows.
From underneath one of the smaller roots, someone rose from the ground and stood at his full height.
"One of the advantages of being height challenged is seeing things no one else can." Crispin gave a lopsided grin.
The man was short, so short that Ethyn wondered if it was a child or an adult in the low light. Only his scraggly beard suggested the latter.
"Was beginning to think you wouldn't come." Crispin held out his forearm and shook with the Guardian. Although the shorter man could stand, Silver was forced to hunch his shoulders and to keep his head from pushing through the roots into the cloth barrier.
"I always come; you know that. I would have been even later if not for being sped along by a Fate yesterday." The cloaked figure chuckled softly.
Crispin looked warily at the newcomer. "I pictured Fates to look slightly different."
"Only slightly? I'm touched." Ethyn placed his hand on his heart. As he was the tallest of the three, his back was bent at an angle which made him appear to be in a perpetual bow.
Silver rolled his eyes upward. "If he's a Fate, then we are all doomed."
"Hey now!" The green-eyed man elbowed his friend only to be elbowed much harder and fall back again on his rear. As the knight pushed his short auburn hair out of his eyes, the light from outside the wooden tunnel caused it to glow a deep red.
Crispin's face became even more puckered as he viewed the stranger. "Then why bring Sir-I-Am-Too-Good-Looking-For-Words here with you?"
"Oh, I like him!" Ethyn dusted off himself and crawled back to the other two. He held out his forearm to the short man, "I'm—"
"An ally," Silver cut him off. "And a friend," he added more gently.
Crispin chuckled, wiping fake sweat from his brow. "Good. The less I know the better. You think Crispin is my real name?" He paused, then held his finger to his lips. "Don't answer that. You'll be wrong either way…"
"Who is this guy again?" Ethyn was getting more confused the further this conversation went.
"A spy, a jack-of-all-trades, and an ally. At your service." Crispin bowed to hide his intense amusement.
The short man enjoyed chaos a little too much for his own good. When he lifted his head, the spy was rewarded with a bemused expression from the nameless handsome man and a vacant void from the Guardian. One out of two was not bad.
"Crispin…" Silver's stern tone broke through the man's mischief. A flash of silver broke through the blackness of the cloak.
"Right right… I forget how scary you Guardians can be. I was saying just the other day how Sage is beautiful but terrifying." Crispin saw another streak of lightning and backed into the earthen wall. He knew he had misspoken but wasn't sure exactly what he had done.
Ethyn, on the other hand, knew what was wrong. "Sage was terrifying even before becoming a Guardian," he said to break the tension.
Crispin forgot his fear as his interest was piqued. "Oh! We must speak more, you and I. Any information on the Mistress of our revolution would be most helpful to me…in order to serve her better, of course."
The knight grabbed Silver's arm before he could lunge. "We didn't come here for idle chit chat, I'm afraid," Ethyn tried to redirect them.
Crispin sighed. "I kind of wanted to see what the Guardian would do, but I suppose I will have to needle him another time." The spy pulled a paper from beneath his tunic and held it out to Silver. "I believe this is for you."