The Spirit Wilds: Magic of the Green Sage (Fall of the Sages Book 1), стр. 34
Thankfully, that wasn’t he and Marcella’s destination today.
The hall ahead of them forked, the left going to the library and council and the right to the admin quarters. They hung a left. Down a long hall they went, lined by brightly-lit alcoves and benches on one side, thick stone walls covered in tapestries of bright red and purple. They passed a set of huge iron doors that stood wide open. On the other side was the library, one of the largest in the city, holding hundreds of thousands of books and scrolls filled with knowledge that Dorrick couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
Right down the next hall was the council chambers. It sat at the end of a long, long hall lit by more than elaborate crystal chandeliers and gilded sconces around canvas oil paintings of past heroes and commanders and the like. The doors ahead came open as a few knights strode out.
Dorrick recognized Sir Padrick, his red hair tied back in a long tail, lips set in a frown. Behind him was the ever-moody and eternally-beautiful Dame Baara. Her dark skin glowed in the flickering sconce light. Neither knights looked pleased, and their squires behind them—whose names Dorrick couldn’t recall—appeared to have seen apparitions. Not a good assignment, he’d have to guess.
He didn’t think that boded well for him and Marcella.
They entered the council chambers, where all the captains and the commander convened to talk about problems facing the order. It was also where a lot of captains gave out mission assignments to squads, though others did it from their offices.
Dorrick and Marcella paused at the threshold to make sure there wasn’t another meeting already starting. Inside, sitting next to each other, were Sirs Nogrund and Terlen. They both turned when they noticed the two new knights.
“Ah, glad you made it promptly,” said Nogrund with a grin. “Come in.”
They stepped in. Dorrick had never been to the council chambers before, despite the fact that he’d grown up inside the order. It was a circular room, tall and regal, with windows on all sides so sunlight was always streaming in. The center of the room was dominated by a circular table with space in the middle for someone, like Dorrick and Marcella, to stand in—so the entire council could watch every inch of them.
Thankfully, there were only two this time.
He and Chella stood in the center and faced the two captains. They both bowed their heads. “Good morning,” they said simultaneously, quite unintentionally. Dorrick’s face went red. Marcella stifled a giggle. Now wasn’t the time to goof around.
“Good morning to the both of you,” the captain said. “Congratulations are in order.”
Marcella smiled and bowed her head even more. “Thank you, sir. Dorrick told me it was your recommendation that ultimately gave us our promotions.”
“Indeed, it was. And I stand by it. You two have earned it.”
Sir Terlen cleared his throat. “Well then, let’s have them prove it.”
Sir Nogrund’s smile faded into a line. “Yes. Of course.”
“Apologies, but we have no time to let you celebrate your new titles. Duty calls, after all.” Sir Terlen adjusted his glasses and gave them a hard stare. “You two have a mission.”
Dorrick held his breath. “The two of us, sir?”
Sir Nogrund didn’t look up from the scroll he read. “Yes, the two of you. We got a rash of urgent requests this morning and many of our captains and knights are preoccupied. This mission isn’t anything too serious. We’d usually send a captain and a small squad, but since you two work well together, we’re sending you two and your new squires.”
He heard Marcella take in a sharp breath beside him. “Squires, sir? Already?”
“All knights get a pair of squires. You know this, Bather.”
“I know, I know, I just— I assumed we had more time to learn our roles and duties before being thrown into the thick of it.”
“Normally you would,” Sir Terlen agreed as he sipped his tea. His cheeks dimpled with each sip. “But as Nogrund said, we’re in a bit of a situation here, so it’s all hands on deck.”
“It won’t be a problem, sir,” Dorrick said.
Sir Nogrund smirked. “Good, I didn’t think that it would.”
Marcella sighed. She’d wanted a few more days off. Dorrick understood the feeling, but this was part of the job. “What’s the mission, Captains?”
Sir Nogrund finished reading whatever it was he was reading—probably another request for help, if Dorrick had to guess—and looked up at the two young knights. “There’s a mining town on the other side of Helwind Pass, the only route safely through the Lazendires. It’s on the Mushroom Wilds side. Most of our settlements don’t go out that far, but our mining operations are the exceptions. We get all our coal from these towns and one of them is being terrorized by an enraged rock spirit.”
The Mushroom Wilds. Dorrick couldn’t believe it. Those wilds were part of the greater Spirit Wilds that dominated the rest of the continent, but they were far wilder due to their great distance from Al-Sevara and Masrataa alike. It would take them probably two weeks to get there, and that would be two weeks traveling in the Spirit Wilds.
That wasn’t something Dorrick thought he’d have to contend with so quickly.
He cleared his throat. “That’s quite a journey, sir.”
“Indeed, it is, which is why you’re being authorized to take as many provisions as you wish. You’ll be allowed to use the main road all the way to Helwind Pass, so it shouldn’t take you more than a week to reach the town. Most travelers aren’t authorized to use those waystations.”
“Ah, that’s a relief then,”