Valerien was already at the end of the plateau above the mine when Kirin caught up with him. Only five soldiers were visible in the clearing below. Two Shadow Archers watched the broad mountain road, while three other soldiers were unloading food baskets from a cart.
Valerien pointed at the archers and raised an eyebrow. Kirin nodded as if to confirm that he could do what was necessary, then nocked an arrow with a steady hand and aimed true. One of the Shadow Archers fell without even a cry. His comrade whirled around only to be instantly met by the same fate.
Valerien found himself grudgingly impressed but knew better than to say so.
To their credit, the other soldiers didn't shout or panic. They grabbed their weapons and turned over the cart to shield them. Valerien set it on fire, but two of the Low Fae summoned water from the nearby stream, extinguishing the flames. Smoke rose from the wood, but the cart remained intact.
Valerien felt a restraining hand on his arm.
"Don't move the earth, or the mine could collapse," Kirin warned.
Valerien hesitated for a moment, then said,"It seems we'll have to do this the hard way. Stay here and cover me."
"Wait," Kirin said and sent his Seeker magic out. "There are two more hiding right below us."
He picked four arrows from his quiver, broke off the iron tips and handed them to Valerien.
"You have to be fast. I only have five left."
Valerien nodded again, then ran down the slope. He burned a spear that flew towards him before it could hit him with full force. The iron just grazed the Arcanite armour and burned a small hole into the breastplate.
The hoods fell back as both soldiers charged him. He let them get close enough, threw the arrow tips into their faces, then ended their screams of agony.
One of the spearmen rose behind the cart, but Kirin's arrow punched through his chest before he could throw his weapon. Another hooded head peeked above the cover, then quickly ducked again.
Valerien ran across the clearing and was almost upon them when a small hand raised a torn piece of fabric. It was bound to the broken spear like a banner. He slowed down in surprise when he registered the colours of Lioren's first regiment.
"My lord! Please! It's us! Nira and Meeran!" a woman's voice called out.
Valerien raised his hand to signal to Kirin not to shoot. Two figures stood up behind the cart, taking off their hoods. He cursed under his breath when he recognised his brother's standard bearer and the old manservant.
"What are you doing here? Why didn't you return to my father with the rest of the troops?" he asked.
"We are your brother's retinue, my lord. We follow wherever he goes unless he commands otherwise," Nira replied reproachfully.
"More fools you," Valerien muttered.
Nira looked up at him with a hurt expression. "We never expected him to leave us to Lord Yaris and disappear without an explanation."
Valerien certainly knew what that felt like. A fleeting feeling of pity rose in him, and he pushed it down. There was only one thing he could do for them.
His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, but the sound of running footsteps behind him made him hesitate. He knew who it was even before he turned around.
"Did they surrender?" Kirin asked, sounding out of breath.
"Yes. Go free your miners," Valerien told him.
"There is no way to get inside," Kirin said.
He was a bit green in the face, but his expression was determined. Since it didn't look like he was about to collapse again, Valerien focused on the mine.
What once may have been an entrance was now covered by a wall of rocks fused into a large boulder. There was only a small, square opening, just large enough to push in baskets of food and get the hammered iron tips for spears and arrows in return.
"I see Lady Beneth is as inventive as ever," he said with a sigh.
"It was the only way to make sure that the humans could not use the iron to attack us, my lord," Nira volunteered.
Kirin's eyes blazed at her in anger, but Valerien redirected his attention to the mine.
"I can't undo Stone Fae magic, but any rock will crack under the pressure once it shifts weight," he explained. "I'll pull the soil away from under one corner, while you hold the other steady."
Kirin glanced at the soldiers and asked, "Do you trust them to do it?"
Meeran blinked in confusion and replied, "He means you, sir. We are both Water Fae."
"You two, stay here," Valerien ordered and made his way to the stone wall.
Kirin followed and protested, "Have you gone completely mad? I can't do this!"
"You absorbed my fire magic twice. Why should this be any different?"
"But I don't even know how to do it!"
Valerien shrugged. "It's as good a time as any to find out. Since you value the lives of those men so much, it will give you extra motivation."
"Is this your idea of a punishment?" Kirin asked through gritted teeth.
"It is not. You were right. The mine could collapse if I cause an earthquake. This requires precision, but I can't hold and move at the same time."
The bard closed his eyes for a moment, then pulled himself together and went to the hole in the wall.
"Everyone, go as far back as you can! This wall is coming down," he called out.
The sound of hammering stopped. Valerien could hear the sound of voices calling back, but couldn't make out the words. Kirin listened for a moment, then came back.
"What do I do now?" he asked.
"Whatever you did before," Valerien said with a shrug.
"It usually starts with you being knocked out in some way," Kirin replied dryly.
"Let's skip that step. It just means that I couldn't resist. If I allow you to tap into my magic, it will work," Valerien said, hoping that was true.
Kirin grimaced, but summoned the white light to his hand without further protest. Valerien touched the light gingerly with one finger, feeling more nervous than he liked to admit.
"Clear your mind first and concentrate. I don't want to get distracted by your memories," Kirin warned.
Valerien nodded and concentrated as he took Kirin's hand. He forced himself to relax both his body and mind. An unfamiliar but not unpleasant tickling gradually spread through his arm all the way to his chest. Fascinated, he watched golden threads leave him and flow into Kirin.
To his surprise, the process didn't feel like it was making him weaker. On the contrary, it felt soothing, like some kind of trance.
He wasn't even sure how much time had passed when Kirin pulled his hand away and said, "That's enough. Show me what to do."
They knelt on one side of the boulder. Valerien put his hand over Kirin's and helped him guide the energies.
"Can you feel it?"
Kirin nodded nervously.
"Then just hold it as it is now. When you hear a crack, move to the side," Valerien said.
Keeping an eye on Kirin, he let his energies dig under the other corner, removing the earth under it little by little. A dull crack ran through a stone, then another. Eventually, it split with a grinding sound and collapsed, sending a cloud of dust and grit into the air.
Valerien pulled the coughing bard further away from the rubble and waited.
Once the dust had settled, seven men slowly emerged from the mine, clutching hammers and pickaxes as if they expected a fight. Their skin was grey with grime and stone dust. Valerien tried not to gag from the stench when they came closer.
Their reddened eyes were full of suspicion. The burly man who led them raised his pickaxe.
Kirin cried out and jumped in front of Valerien with his arms spread wide.
"Rhys ap Madoc! Don't you remember me? You served under Sir Owain when I was his ward! You taught me how to ride," he called out.
The man slowly lowered his tool and said in a hoarse, insecure voice, "Kirin. May the gods bless you, my boy."
He turned to the others and said, "It is not a trap. He is one of our witches."
Kirin exhaled with relief and smiled, but most of the men still seemed wary.
"What about that other pretty boy? He has the same girlish hair and armour like that ice demon," one demanded.
"Sir, have you seen my son? He is only five!" another one called out.
Then they all started talking at once. Valerien endured the stench and the noise until he was sure they would not attack, then left it to Kirin to deal with their questions.
He walked back to Meeran and Nira, who observed the scene from afar with worry.
"Who is your companion, my lord? I've never seen a High Fae archer," Meeran said nervously.
Valerien looked back at Kirin, who was now surrounded by the miners.
It wasn't only the new clothes that he was wearing, but the way he stood tall and confident. Compared to the plain, hairy faces and stocky bodies of the men around him, he looked more like a High Fae than an average human.
"My lord? What will happen to us now?" Nira asked.
Valerien tore his gaze away from Kirin and focused on the soldiers again.
"Please take us back home. We are not traitors," Meeran said.
"That is debatable," Valerien said with a pointed glance at the boxes full of iron.
The Queen's orders were clear. If those two loyal fools returned to her kingdom, they would lose their heads, no matter how many valid explanations they offered.
He was about to tell them so when he noticed the voices coming closer. The miners fell over the food that had spilled from the baskets when the soldiers had overturned the cart. Kirin picked up a rolling apple, polished it on his sleeve and left the men to still their hunger.
Nira watched them with disgust, then asked the approaching bard quietly, "Is it safe to let them just roam free like that, sir? They are unpredictable, bloodthirsty beasts."
Kirin lowered the apple and scowled at her. "Beasts?"
She nodded earnestly. "Yes, sir. They don't even have a soul. No sphere rises from them when they die."
Valerien stifled a laugh at the bard's outraged expression and said sternly, "That's enough, Nira. Stop insulting his kind if you want to live."
Her brown eyes widened as she stared at Kirin. "He is a human?"
"And a witch," Valerien confirmed.
A flicker of fear crossed her face before she bowed deeply.
"I apologise, my lord. I did not mean to insult your…uh…"
"He is not mine. And he is in charge here."
Kirin bit into the apple and shot him a suspicious look. Valerien recalled all his bitter reproaches and added, "That means you are both his prisoners now."
Kirin started choking on his apple while the soldiers' eyes filled with horror.
"My lord!" Meeran cried out.
Valerien clapped the coughing bard on the back and grinned.
"Come, come, bard. Since you are so sure that a Fae could make a life among humans, they are your responsibility now."