"What exactly is the wording on how to break the curse?" Roland asked. "Were the halflings explicit?"
Duncan frowned.
"The curse of Darkness has its hold
Until you find eternal sleep
Or 'til you rejoin roots of old
Down within the mountain's keep.
From where you've come is where you'll find
Not what you grasp within your hand
But that which you have left behind
Morosely in that ancient land
Endeavor to destroy what still
Inhibits you from Sorcerer's will"
Roland's brow creased in thought. "And Titania takes this to mean she must destroy Klain and dig into the mountain to break the curse?"
"Our people's legacy was buried beneath Klain, according to our history. That interpretation is the most obvious one."
"What is the Sorcerer's will? Who is the Sorcerer? What exactly are you looking for under the mountain?"
"That, I do not know." Duncan shook his head.
"That's a big piece of unknown to be so confident about the meaning," Roland said flatly. "Klain isn't even directly on a mountain!"
"I cannot entirely disagree, which is why I only search for what is best for Rhone." Duncan replied, "I trust not in any prophecy as fully as Titania would have me do. However, I will do whatever is needed to free my people. It matters not if that involves killing a nation responsible for our long generations of trouble."
"Can the halflings even be trusted to tell you the truth about how to break the curse? They're the ones that put you under it."
"Titania has assured them they will never gain freedom as long as the curse is in place. She also has ways of divining truth from lies. We can be confident, at least, that the halflings believe that is the cure."
Roland sighed. "Confident enough to slaughter an entire city of people? To destroy their homes, children, and end their lives? These are not the same people that cast Rhone out hundreds of years ago!"
Duncan tilted his head. "You have sympathy for them."
"How can I not? Songslet took me there, and after she died I was raised by those people, with love and care. I have friends and others that live there."
"Friends, or more?" It hadn't escaped his notice how thoroughly averse to Brenna's attention his son had been.
Roland colored, but did not directly answer the question. He stared into his father's eyes.
"It is my home," He said finally, hoping the admission wasn't too far.
"And are you willing to destroy your 'home' if that's what it takes to free your people, Derek? To kill these 'friends' for your kinsmen's sake?"
Roland swallowed. "No. I will find another way."
He held his father's gaze to show his sincerity, knowing that now Duncan had sufficient reason to kill him as a traitor, or turn him over to Titania, or imprison him back in the Darkness. Of course, they didn't necessarily know he'd figured out how to work the necklace that opened the door. Maybe that option wasn't so bad. Maybe he could even rescue the captives.
"And what other way have you found?" Duncan's eyes narrowed. If the boy was motivated purely by love for some woman, there would be no point in letting him explore this train of thought.
"Nothing, yet." Roland admitted. "But there are ways to learn more. Libraries in Klain that I could access, people I could ask," He thought of the Fae that Finn had apparently befriended.
"And you would... go do this? To prevent war?" Duncan pursed his lips. The greatest battles were fought using the most information possible. Even if the war moved forward, it was best to know everything he could. If Klain's libraries did hold anything helpful, it would be prudent to find out before the entire city was burnt to ashes.
"Yes. Please, let me try to find another way." Roland pleaded. The blue eyes he'd inherited from his mother held hope, courage, and conviction that this was the right thing to do.
Duncan considered the request. It was a risk for him to send Derek off. It would remove the young prince from Titania's current scheming, which would satisfy Duncan. Without the secondary heir around, his own life would be temporarily safer, but that wasn't much of a factor.
Would his son, his own flesh and blood, betray his people now that he'd found them? He would have ample reason to, given that the boy believed Titania had murdered his mother. He had learned well and Duncan believed they had bonded, but what was a few weeks of training against two decades of care?
Rhone could easily come out on the losing side of the young prince's loyalties. Any fool would be able to see that.
Though Duncan's face was stoic, Roland knew what must be going on in his mind. Explaining or trying to convince him any more would only seem desperate. He was desperate, but that wouldn't help his cause. Well, causes. Though primarily he wanted to prevent war, he now did have an honest desire to help the people of Rhone. The Darkness was terrible, and he wanted to do what he could to break its curse.
At last, Duncan nodded. "I will tell Titania I have sent you on a scouting mission. You will have a horse, and you will leave now. Rhone marches as scheduled tomorrow. The attack moves forward if you do not bring back a better alternative."
Roland almost crumpled in relief. His father trusted him at least this much. The two walked back into the camp, and Roland was provided with a horse and directions for the quickest route to Klain. He brought nothing and did not even stop at his tent for supplies for fear of running into Titania.
As soon as he had the horse, he mounted and bid farewell to his father. Briefly, he was torn. He left the camp promptly before stopping, tying up his horse, and dismounting. Tracing his steps back to where Titania had led him the night before, he snapped his fingers, opening a door to the Darkness.
It was so dark, but he moved forward in a crouch as the soft glow from his necklace gave him a little light to work with. Soon, he came to the form of a man lying in the dirt.
"Wake up!" He yelled, though it came out a whisper. He wished he had a torch. The brighter the light, the more sound could be made and heard.
The man shifted and turned to Roland.
"I'm going back to Klain," Roland said quickly, "Your daughter was safe last time I saw her. I can't take you with me, but I couldn't leave you like this, without hope. I'm going to do all I can to save everyone." The horse would be too burdened with two full grown men riding it, and Roland really needed to reach Klain as quickly as he possibly could.
"Thank you," The man replied in a whisper, then laid his head back on the ground. "Tell them I'm sorry."
"Do you--" Roland debated his next words, "I can't take you with me, but I could let you out of here." The move might raise suspicion around Roland, but unlike the other captives, the Provider seemed to be completely unguarded and rarely checked.
"Please," he said.
Roland nodded. He noticed a metal buckle on the man's boot and took a moment to jerk it free, then used it to saw through the bonds around the man's hands. Though he could have just untied him, he wanted it to be plausible that the Provider had escaped off into the Darkness by himself.
"We'll leave this behind," He said, helping the provider stand and discarding the buckle amongst the now-frayed ropes. He snapped, opening a door to the light, and they stepped through together.
"Thank you," Lysander rasped, closing his eyes against the day. Even the dimmer light beneath the trees was excessive after a year in the Darkness.
"Can you find your way? I must go, and you cannot be captured or I will be suspected." Roland was regretting putting the man in a position where he might not be able to get far. If he was just to be recaptured immediately, he would be worse off than if Roland hadn't interfered.
"Nonsense." He replied, apparently gaining strength from being in his own world again. "I am a Noble. I will not be taken captive by them again. Go your way, quickly, and I will follow your tracks to mask my own."
Roland debated but a moment, and knew that he had to be off. Nodding, he jumped on his horse and left the man to fend for himself. He took only a slight detour past the stream, both to fill his own water skin and to give the other man a path to a bush with edible berries to gain some strength. He wished he could do more.
Roland felt the freedom of being alone and unwatched keenly. He kicked the horse into a gallop and wondered just how quickly he could get to Klain.