Since I was seeking out Caine, choosing the son of his favorite brother might keep either my buddy or myself from being killed on sight. Plus, Matthias had the knowledge of ships and fleets that would provide the cover for why we were going out in Shadow anyways. We'd go out under an ambiguous time period, do some searching, and if nothing came up, we'd loop back, find some vessels, and return to Amber. All parties seemed fine with my request, and so we made our way out.
Sometime during the second day, I turned to Matthias. "So, what happened back there, at the Tor? If you're interested in talking about it."
"What happened how?" he said, almost absently. "I was imprisoned and brainwashed. It was dark. The demons were stinky and the faeries unfriendly."
"That's more than anyone else knows, Matthias. Unfortunately, Syrana wasn't... talking much before she left." There was a long pause. "I know, from personal experience, that in such situations talking about what has happened can bring resolution."
"They weren't altogether cruel to the girls, on the way there. They tried to... protect them. The paths we took through Shadow, I think were of the sort I've heard called "broken." Unholy visions and nasty environments. They wanted to drug the girls, so they wouldn't be scared and panic. They wouldn't do it for me, though. The tiend-payer must be tested and broken and tested again. The trip there was my first test.
"Syrana... I didn't know her very well, before then, but she wouldn't take their drug, and she bore it all better than I did. I think she bore everything better than I did. Mostly, they just wanted the girls to be their maids, up until the point they were going to give them to the demons. They were being trained to serve in Hell. I don't know what the training really involved-- she wouldn't tell me. She was trying to protect me." His voice suddenly cracked. "Protect me! Augh. It was *my* job to protect her, but somehow it just didn't turn out that way. The whole time, she was a step ahead of them, and I was dragging miles behind."
"How were you able to overcome the brainwashing?"
"Syrana. She would... visit at night, and talk to me. Remind me who I was."
And before I could respond to that, the sky overhead turned dark, and hail came down around us as we scrambled to find shelter.
*****
A greenish sun was beating down upon us, and the temperature had to be approaching forty. Matthias handed me a canteen and I drank from it greedily. "Slow down there, you'll cramp," he warned.
I did his bidding and handed the jug back, looking over the vast wasteland. The ground was hard, dry as bone, and cracked and corroded as far as the eye could see. Strange vegetation made its last stand against the harsh sun and oppressive heat.
After taking his own long pull of water, Matthias scrutinized me. "It's been three days now, Griffin."
"I know." I kicked a rock down the slope -- it tumbled along a few meters before disappearing into a crack. Turning, I stepped up into the saddle. I'll be back this way when I get the time. Matthias pulled along next to me as we turned towards the way we came.
"Come on, Mat. Let's go sailing."
*****
Negotiating with nations for trade is very much a different business to that which I am accustomed. You can't just go in and use some slight of hand to amaze the masses, and your songs are just seen as the polite things each side does before getting down to what Matthias called "the nitty-gritty." In the end, Matthias and I were able to secure some of this Shadow's sailing vessels in return for sending ambassadors to Amber, trading rights, and the possibility of the people of the shadow to gain Amber citizeship, should they choose to relocate there.
With all of the paperwork and details straightened out, we enjoyed the trip through the Shadow shipping lanes back to Amber. We noticed that when approaching from sea, Amber was still quite a sight to behold. Plus and also, our new friends seemed impressed (from this distance) as well.
Matthias and I led their ambassadors on a tour of the castle, which was a bit involved, since we didn't want them to see everything. Further complicating this was Cecily's pulling Matthias away from our little tour.
Don't we have servants for this?
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