"So you're not going to tell us what to do." Roland took a deep breath. He knew to expect it, but somehow it still felt like a letdown. Why couldn't the Fae just give an instruction book on the best way to win the war and save the most lives?
"You must decide the path to take. Humanity's fate is not within my hands." Gwen closed her eyes and stepped backward into a portal that appeared behind her.
"Thank you!" Finn called after her.
"That wasn't as helpful as it could have been," Roland grumbled mildly.
"It was incredibly helpful." Finn countered, drawing his gaze. "Does your wound hurt terribly? Is it any worse? You get grumpy when you're in pain."
He grunted. "I'm fine."
Roland didn't want to admit that she was likely correct in her estimation of his propensity for less amiable moods when he was hurting. Besides, the pain wasn't as bad now as it had been before.
Finn frowned. "You have to go to City Hall. The things have to be destroyed. I'm not sure fire will do it, as some of the items are small stones. You might need a giant to crush them."
She'd launched into her thought process without waiting for his agreement, and he interrupted her.
"Destroyed? Even though the Fae don't know what would happen?" He was incredulous that the conversation would make her MORE confident in her decision instead of less.
"The Void would be lured elsewhere by its quest for power. Klain has enough power, and allies. We don't need those things. What we need is for the Void's focus to move away. We can't survive constant war!" Her face was earnest, and Roland searched her eyes for understanding.
What would the consequences be of such an action? If the Fae didn't know, surely it couldn't be good. If the consequences should be catastrophic… he didn't want the guilt of that decision to rest on his wife.
"I will go to City Hall and defend the items. I will make sure they don't fall into the Void's hands. If that seems inevitable, I will destroy them." He assured her.
Finn looked at him seriously, and nodded. He smiled, glad that she had let him take on the burden of making the final call. It would be on his conscience, not hers, should everything go incredibly wrong.
"Go quickly." She went up onto her toes to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you, Serafina," He looked into her eyes and flickered his gaze to the pantry. "Keep our children safe. If the worst should happen–"
"It won't. It can't. Be safe, come back when it's over," She said sternly. He wished he shared her confidence.
He kissed her again, and headed for the door.
"I'm leaving the guards here. Their assignment is to protect… our home." He didn't want to say 'the heirs' but that was the reality. He would have to grow used to the fact that one or more of his children would rule.
Hopefully not for a long time.
He bundled up against the cold, taking care not to disturb the now-dressed wound on his back. Kissing his wife once more, he ushered her back towards the pantry.
On his way out, he gave brief instructions to Phillip, who was standing guard just inside the front door with two of the Rhone. The body of the slain man would need to be removed, and the family kept safe.
The air was tense, and Roland belatedly recalled how his father in law had suffered at the hands of the Rhone in the past. He cringed inwardly, admiring how gracefully the man was handling the fact that everyone was now on the same side.
"It's quiet outside, Your Highness." One of the guards said.
"Good," Roland said out loud, though he wondered if it was. "Stay here, protect the house and my family. I have a mission. I will be back when I can, or when this is over."
The men nodded solemnly, not willing to challenge the prince's orders but not thrilled about the prospect of him running into danger.
Roland donned his hat, strapping his sword to his side and grabbing his spear once more. The blizzard was worse outside, and it took effort to open the door against the freezing wind.
"How much worse is this weather going to get?" He mumbled to no one in particular. He was grateful that he hadn't shaved his beard; the thick hair was a layer of added protection against the frostbite that threatened his face.
He had to lean against the pelting snow to keep from being blown over by it. How could such wind be so close to the mountain? Normally the hulking form of the nearby peak sheltered the city from the worst of the weather.
But the mountain was now approximately half of what it once was, and the gargoyles seemed to carry some magic within them that procured extreme weather. Through the elements, he could see the Rhone guards. He motioned them closer.
"Were any of you cut by goblin blades??" He yelled over the wind. Three slowly raised their hands. Roland tried to maintain a stoic face as he delivered the news.
"At least some of the blades were poisoned. Please, go inside the house and get warm. Watch for the wounds, and see whether they turn green." He had no advice for them if they did. The poison was quick and deadly. At least they could die warm by the fire. "The rest of you, guard my home and family. I will return."
He hoped that last part was true. Something strange was nagging at the back of his mind.
The men exchanged alarmed glances but obeyed the prince. The half dozen who remained raised their spears, ready to defend the home and the heirs within it with their lives.
Roland looked toward Judah, who chirped with distaste over the weather. It was strange that he hadn't seen the giant catlike creature immediately, but Judah's camouflage was nearly flawless in the white landscape.
Was the sky brightening? Or was it just the storm's ongoing flashes of lightning and thunder that fooled him into thinking so?
"Judah, friend. Can I ask you for a ride to the City Hall? After this is over I promise you all the sheep I can get you… that the giants haven't already eaten." Roland amended. Truly their country would be impoverished after all the death and hardship of this time.
The gargoyles, thankfully, seemed to have gravitated mainly towards where Jarnsaxa must be. It was unbelievable good fortune that the attack happened at night, when most women were already at home. If the alarm had been delayed…
He paused in his thoughts. The alarm hadn't been delayed, though Finn thought it had. She'd set it off. Was the plan for the goblins to silently search the tunnels until morning?
The storm brought by the gargoyles made it dark as night. The goblins would be able to fight in the open regardless of the time of day. And if there had been a delay–if the alarm had not sounded until morning or midday–many people, many women, would have been out and about, vulnerable in the streets, easily taken.
He shook off the thoughts of what might have been. What mattered was what was happening right now. He climbed onto Judah's back and urged his animal friend forward.
Roland really wanted to leave him behind, to let him continue to guard the home, but the wind was too strong for the man alone to make it very far into the city. The snowdrifts were piling up against the homes, and Judah leapt easily over them. Still, he was slowed considerably by the wind and elements. The storm raged fiercely.
Suddenly, the cat came to a stop. He'd taken a wrong turn, though Roland hadn't been able to tell in the dark blizzard around them.
Ahead, a giantess sat on the ground with a bleak look on her face. Blood coursed down her from numerous injuries, but the primary focus of his concern was purple bruising across one side of her body and her obviously labored breathing. Not Jarnsaxa, Roland noted. It must be the other one.
Judah huffed and turned toward the house. Roland realized a gargoyle was rising from the ground next to a broken window in the wall of his childhood home.
It snarled and turned its attention inward, scraping against the wood shutters that were struggling to stay in place as someone from the other side pushed.
Before Roland could react–or worry about the women and injured people inside–Judah had leapt forward and mauled the repulsive beast with his great front claws, reducing it to a whimpering, dying mass in the snow.
Satisfied that the inhabitants of the home/infirmary were safe for the moment, Roland turned his attention back towards the giantess.
The screech of fighting made him pause, assessing the situation. Ahead, a man was fighting off a gargoyle to keep it away from the enormous woman. And he was losing.