It’s time to return to castle Tauna to check up on the inhabitants there.
Since Henry had become free from the enchantment, Henry and Alicia had begun to spend more and more time together. She had been overjoyed to learn that her kiss had had the power of breaking the enchantment, and she took this to mean that Henry truly loved her.
Henry, for his part, really did love her. It was just as Midor had said--Henry had never for a second doubted that he loved Alicia and that he wanted her. He had just had a hard time deciding whether or not she was all that he wanted. But now that he was free from the enchantment, he was realizing what a fool he had been, and was realizing what a good thing he had in Alicia, and what an idiot he would be to mess it all up again.
Henry had absolutely no memory of his enchantment, by the way. It was just a time which was completely blank to him. Sometimes, he felt like he could vaguely remember some of the weeks, as if it was all a faint memory from a dream. But for all practical purposes, he couldn’t remember any of the details. Alicia filled him in on what he had missed. Robert and Grace also filled him in on details he had missed, although there was still some tension between Grace and Alicia, so they mostly met with Henry when Alicia wasn’t around. (Henry wanted Grace and Alicia to be able to get along, but he was too socially clumsy to attempt to mediate anything, so he just left it alone.)
Meanwhile, Catherine continued to train Vivian daily in the art of magic--all things magic. Vivian was learning how to do everything, the innocuous magic (if there is such a thing) as well as the black magic.
Midor was becoming increasingly upset about it, but he didn’t say anything because he knew that he had agreed not to oppose Vivian’s magic training. So he kept his mouth shut, but it was noticeable to everyone that he was looking increasingly stressed lately. He would often sit on a log in the forest near the castle, and stare out into space. Or he could be seen nervously pacing back and forth in the garden.
Midor also occasionally talked to the others (Benevois, George, Rufus, Penelope, Helen, Charles, Sarah, Charlotte and Jason) about what they should do about poor Grinthal. They all agreed that, as much as they all had cause to hate Grinthal, keeping him imprisoned in the bottle was cruel punishment. But they did not know how to confront Catherine on it, and so, for the time being, nothing was done.
The good thing was, however, that when the new monsters came out from the ground (and new monsters were still coming out regularly) they were easily dispatched. Whoever was standing guard would run to tell the castle, Vivian would come out, and she would easily defeat the monsters with her super speed and magic sword.
General Graten, whenever he heard reports about new monsters, would sometimes get a bottle of wine, and go down to watch Vivian fight the monsters. He made a point of never attempting to help her. He remembered the arrangement was that he was in charge of the army, but Vivian would handle all the monster fighting.
Not that Vivian ever needed his help. She easily defeated all the monsters that she encountered. Occasionally General Graten would clap his hands, and shout, “Well done!” in a sort of sarcastic way, but aside from sarcastically cheering Vivian on, there was little else for him to do.
Midor warned them, however, that there were worse to come. “There are monsters that can do magic,” he said. “When they get out, you’ll have to battle their magic with your own magic.” Catherine said that she was preparing for this, and she was trying to train Vivian how to fight in spell duels.
Things started to become, if not quiet, at least a little bit predictable at Castle Tauna. People began to act like they knew what they were doing.
But predictability never lasts long at the Castle, and very soon a new element entered the picture.
Ever since Catherine had lost both her ogre and her enchantment spell on Henry, she had been looking for new bodyguards. (She was not content with the army of goblins she had in the castle, feeling that she could not trust them entirely.) Catherine sent her ravens everywhere to seek out new alliances or new bodyguards. From many dark parts of the forest, the call went out that Catherine once again wanted protection, and the call was at last answered by several dark beings.
First, there was the Minotaur, who came from the depths of the forest to Castle Tauna.
Then, there was the giant serpent, who slithered his way to the castle.
Thirdly, there was the vampire, Aefar, who flew into the castle as a bat, but then transformed himself into his human form once he flew into the castle window.
And finally, there was the bugbear.
These loathsome creatures now all lived in the castle. They mostly stayed close to Catherine. The Serpent, for example, never left her side. Aefar the vampire, of course, was never seen during daylight hours, but it was rumored that he kept constant watch over Catherine as she slept at night.
“I don’t understand,” said Henry. “All of these creatures that Catherine has brought into the castle are loathsome monsters. What is the difference between these monsters, and the monsters that we are fighting?”
“You’re right in one sense, Henry,” Midor explained. “These creatures are all ‘monsters’ in a sense. And indeed, in common everyday language, we can use the word ‘monster’ to refer to a wide variety of creatures. But in the forest, the word ‘monster’ has another sense when applied to the ancient creatures that once roamed the dark forest.”
“But why are we fighting those monsters, and tolerating Vampires and Bugbears and Minotaurs in our castle?” asked Grace.
“Because all of these creatures already live in the forest,” said Midor. “Not near Castle Tauna, of course, but they live in the dark reaches of the forest, or in the forest mountain ranges. The goal of those of us who care about the forest has never been to eradicate these creatures completely. That would be impossible, and besides, in many senses it is just as much their forest as ours. The goal has always been to keep them managed, and keep them constrained to their areas of the forest. So we do not wish to provoke a confrontation with these creatures if we do not have to. But at the same time, Catherine should not have brought them into the castle.”
The other residents of Castle Tauna were of the same opinion. With the Vampire and the Bugbear wandering the castle halls especially, the parents did not think it was safe for their children, and George and Sarah, Rufus and Charlotte, Penelope and Charles, and Helen and Jason all began to talk.
Catherine got word that they were considering leaving the castle, and she decided to have a word with them. “This castle is no longer safe for our children now that you’ve brought a vampire into it,” said George.
“On the contrary, George,” Catherine said patiently. “This castle is now the safest place for your children to stay. You see, Aefar is under strict instruction not to feed on anyone in the castle. He only goes outside of the castle to feed. So whatever you do, do not move your family out of the castle now. And please, I beg of you, keep your children inside at night time. I can’t be responsible for what happens outside.”
“So you mean,” said Rufus, “that your vampire is feeding on other people in the forest at night?”
“He has to feed somewhere,” said Catherine.
“Catherine, what have you done?” asked Penelope.
“I’m doing what has to be done for my own protection,” said Catherine. “You all know the history as well as I do, so don’t judge me. Vampires only feed on humans, so Midor, your precious animal friends will all be safe,” Catherine said sarcastically while gesturing towards Midor. “And as for the humans, it is unfortunate, I agree, but it’s unavoidable. Now, now, don’t get too upset. I know there haven’t been vampires around Castle Tauna for years, but there have always been vampires in the mountains, and in the dark parts of the forest. The mountain your father and I grew up on was crawling with vampires. So it’s no use pretending to get upset about it now, it’s always been happening in the forest. I didn’t create Aefar, I just summoned him from one part of the forest to another.”
It was General Graten who spoke up next. “What about your soldiers?” he asked. “They live in various houses around the forest.”
“I cannot protect everyone,” Catherine said carelessly. “Tell any of your soldiers to lock their windows at night. And sleep with a cross across their necks.”
“There your soldiers,” General Graten yelled back.
Catherine turned around and left. Vivian, who had stood silently by her side the whole time, simply turned around and followed her.
General Graten turned angrily to Midor. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” he asked.
Midor sighed. “She’s right, in a sense. The vampires and Bugbears, serpents and Minotaurs have always existed in the forest. It is my duty to protect the forest, but I can’t claim that she’s increasing the harm. She’s just moving the harm around.”
“Some forest ranger you are!” said General Graten. “You don’t even try to control the monsters.”
“I am always trying to control the monsters,” said Midor. “But it occurs to me that if the monsters are inside the castle guarding Catherine, then they’re not outside the castle causing trouble. Aefar will try to feed on humans, it is true, but there are measures that can be taken to ward off Vampires. I’ll start spreading the word to the forest houses, and make sure they all have enough garlic to protect their houses.”
“Garlic! Where are they going to get garlic from?”
“We may have to buy it from the markets in the Elf Kingdom. I can try to arrange for someone to go down there.”
“But we are agreed that Catherine has gone too far,” said George. “There will be a confrontation with her army of monsters soon.”
Midor scoffed at this. “Has your father taught you nothing, George? You don’t possess any means of defeating Catherine. How will you fight the Minotaur or the Bugbear or the vampire or the serpent? How will you fight the army of goblins that she has brought into this castle? You don’t start confrontations that you can’t win.”
George sighed. “You’re right, of course Midor,” he said. “But surely we have to do something. What would you suggest?”
“Until we solve the problem of the ancient monsters, we need Catherine’s help,” said Midor. “It’s been as hard for me to accept that as anyone else. But it’s the way it is. It’s no good plotting to overthrow Catherine by day, and then running to get her help when the next monster emerges.”
“But Vivian is doing most of the fighting now,” said Rufus.
“Vivian is nothing without Catherine,” said General Graten. “Catherine’s taught her everything she knows.”
“Well, at this rate, she’ll soon be stronger than Catherine,” said George. “And when she is, then maybe we can get her to turn on Catherine.”
“Strange that Catherine didn’t think of that before teaching Vivian,” said General Graten sarcastically.
“The General is right,” said Midor. “Catherine’s too smart not to have seen that coming. Catherine hasn’t trained up Vivian so that Vivian can turn against her. Catherine has trained up Vivian because Catherine knows that using that magic will corrupt Vivian the same way it has corrupted her. By the time Vivian’s training is completed, she’ll be of the same mindset as Catherine. If she’s not already. You saw how she is following Catherine everywhere now.”
“We’ve got to do something,” said George.
“As long as the portal to the monster dimension remains open,” said Midor, “there is nothing that can be done. It’s no good defeating Catherine, but then having Castle Tauna destroyed by whatever monster comes through the portal next.”
“So how do we shut down the monster portal?” asked Penelope.
“That, I have no idea,” said Midor. “That’s the problem Talon was working on before his death. But now that he’s dead, I don’t know what we can do.”
“So what are you going to do, Midor?” asked Rufus. “The great Midor always has a plan,” he said sarcastically. “You must have figured out some brilliant strategy already that involves negotiating some sort of forest wide truce.”
“I’ve spent my whole life as a peace maker in this forest,” said Midor, “because I knew that sometimes making a truce involves making an arrangement with someone you don’t like for a great good. And the truce that we need to make right now is with Catherine. I know you don’t like to hear it, but we can’t be fighting the monsters and fighting Catherine at the same time. Once the monsters are defeated, then we can worry about Catherine.”
There was silence, before George spoke up. “He’s right,” George said. “He’s right, we have to admit it.”
“But what’s the plan to defeat the monsters,” asked Rufus.
“We need to seal up the portal,” said Midor. “Catherine, as powerful as she is, can’t do that. She doesn’t know anything about the spell that created it. Only the sorcerer’s guild does. They were working on repairing it. But now that Talon is dead, we don’t have any contact with the Sorcerer’s Guild.”
“Where is the Sorcerer’s Guild?” asked Helen.
“I don’t know for certain,” said Midor. “It’s not in the forest, I know that much. I believe it’s in the land of men, but not in one of their big cities. It’s said to be hidden away in a mountain range between two human countries. But what are you asking me for? You’ve all grown up in Castle Tauna. Doesn’t Castle Tauna have a relationship with the Sorcerer's Guild? Whenever the sorcerer at Castle Tauna dies, the Sorcerer's Guild sends over a new replacement. Is that not right?”
All eyes went to Benevois. “Yes, that’s right,” she answered. “Although Talon was so old that no one is left alive who remembers how he got here. He was already at the castle when I was born.”
“But there must be knowledge of the procedure somewhere,” said Midor.
“As far as I know,” said Benevois, “When one sorcerer passes away, a new one is sent. Somehow the Sorcerer's Guild knows about it. We at Castle Tauna don’t make contact with the Sorcerer's Guild. They make contact with us.”
“Then why haven’t they sent over a new sorcerer?” asked Penelope.
“It could be a long way to travel,” said Jason. “To get out of this forest and make it to the land of men, and then to make it to the mountain ranges? Who knows how many months that could take.”
“Many months,” said Midor.
“Many months for us,” said George. “But not for a sorcerer. We’ve seen how Talon and the rest of them could fly when they wanted to.”
“All my life, I never saw Talon fly,” said Rufus, “until he started doing battle with those monsters. But he never used it as transportation. You know how he could be--he was stuck in his ways. If those other sorcerer's are anything like him, I can imagine them walking the whole way just because that’s the way it’s done--or because of some guild rules, or something.”
“Well, let’s cut to the chase then,” said Charles. “The question we’re all considering is: should we wait for the new sorcerer to come to us, or should we try to make contact with the sorcerer’s guild? That’s where this conversation is heading, is it not?”
“It is,” said Midor. “Ultimately. But first let’s weigh up everything we know. Benevois, how likely do you think it is that the Sorcerer’s Guild is already sending over a replacement for Talon?”
“Fairly likely,” she said. “They’ve been supplying Castle Tauna with a resident sorcerer for centuries. I don’t see why they would stop now. And I can’t imagine they wouldn’t know what happened to Talon. They were in close contact with him.”
“Is there anything that Castle Tauna needs to do?” said Midor. “Is there any signal that gets sent out when the Sorcerer dies? Maybe some magic candle that gets lit, or a bird that gets sent?”
Benevois paused. “Possibly. I don’t know, my father never said anything about it.”
“But if there were any such ritual…” Midor began.
“It would be in the library,” Benevois said. “I think. Most of the Castle lore is written down somewhere.”
“I can check the library,” volunteered Jason.
“I’ll help,” said Midor. “That can be our project for tomorrow. But Benevois, I just want to confirm with you. As far as you know, unless we find anything in the library, your impression is that we just wait for the sorcerer’s guild.”
“Yes, I think so. The one who knew most about all of this stuff, of course, is Talon. It’s a pity we didn’t ask him for more information before he died.”
“So,” said Charles, “assuming, for the moment, that we don’t find any new information in the library tomorrow…”
“Then we need to make a decision about whether or not to just wait, or to try to seek out the sorcerer’s guild ourselves,” George finished.
“Exactly,” said Midor. “Should we discuss that now, or should we wait to see what we find tomorrow?”
“We’re all here now,” said George.
“The problem with just waiting,” said Midor, “is that at the moment we don’t know for sure whether or not the sorcerer's guild is coming. They may be coming, like Benevois thinks, or they may not be. And we might not be able to afford to wait. We need their immediate help in sealing that portal.”
“So we send one of us out to seek out the sorcerer’s guild just to be safe?” said George. “Is that what you’re suggesting?”
“I don’t know,” Midor said. “I really don’t know. I was born in the land of men, as you know, and I know about the Coler Mountain range where the sorcerer’s guild is rumored to be located. That is, I could find it on a map, although I’ve never been there myself. It would take many months journey from here. But it’s a huge mountain range, and no man knows the exact location of where the sorcerer’s guild is. It’s rumored to be somewhere in the mountain range, but we could search it for years to find them.”
“Assuming that they want to be found,” said Jason. “What if they use their magic to hide themselves from visitors?”
“I could easily imagine them doing that,” said Rufus.
“So, it’s not at all certain the journey would be a success, even if we did make it,” said Midor.
“And yet…,” said George. “And yet, we can’t very well sit around doing nothing. We’ve got to at least try. Someone has to make the journey.”
“So who is best suited?” asked Jason.
“The journey would involve going through the land of the fairies, through the Elvish kingdom, and through the Bear King’s Kingdom,” said George. “Midor is the only one of us who would be guaranteed safe passage through all of those places. Plus, Midor is the only one of us who is familiar with the land of men. Midor, you were born in the Kingdom of Mora. You know its cities.”
“The Coler Mountain Range is outside the country of Mora,” said Midor. “It would involve travelling through several different countries in the land of men. But your general point is understood. I and General Graten are the only ones who have any experience in the land of men--aside from our young guests Henry, Grace and John.”
“So you’ll go then?” asked George.
“I can’t,” said Midor. “Such a trip would involve being absent from the forest for months. I am needed in the forest to help keep the peace between the various groups.”
“Midor,” said George gently, “Have you forgotten? You were absent from the forest for 2 years when Talon imprisoned you in the land of the monsters. And yet, the peace in the forest held.”
“Barely,” said Midor. “The alliances and treaties I help put together are beginning to fray, and I need to stay close to keep an eye on everything.”
“He’s right,” said Rufus. “Even putting aside the greater needs of the forest, we need Midor. He’s our contact with every animal in the forest.”
“I’ll go,” said General Graten.
“You’d never make it out of the forest alive,” said George. “You barely made it here with your army. That’s the reason that you’re still trapped in this castle with us.”
“That’s one of the reasons,” said General Graten. “The other reason is that King Richard would never let me back into the kingdom without the heads of your young guests. But let me worry about King Richard. If Midor would agree to escort me and help me gain safe passage through the forest…”
“We can definitely spare General Graten,” said Rufus. “I’m not sure why we even keep him around the castle in the first place. He provides absolutely no help to us.”
“In the few months I’ve been here, I’ve done more of the necessary fighting than anyone else here,” General Graten growled. “I don’t know what you ever did without me, to be honest.”
“Oh, we can spare him alright,” said Midor. “But we can’t trust him to return. As far as I’m concerned, sending General Graten is the same as not sending anyone at all. There is a chance he might return, of course. At the moment, he’s banished from his old life with King Richard in Mora. Perhaps living a life of ease in Castle Tauna is not so bad, he might think to himself. But he might just as easily find new opportunities in any of the lands he traverses on his way to the Coler Mountain range. And as soon as a new opportunity presents itself, he will disappear.”
General Graten just scoffed at this. “A life of ease! I’ve done nothing but fight monsters, goblins, ogres and dragons since I got here!” But General Graten did not disagree with the rest of Midor’s assessment. In fact, the slight nod of the head that he gave when Midor was talking about new opportunities seemed to confirm that he did indeed agree with this.
There was a brief silence after this, and then Charles stepped forward. “I’ll go,” he said.
“No, you’re too valuable as a soldier,” said Jason. “We need you to stay here and help defend Castle Tauna. I’ll go. I’m not half the fighting man you are.”
“No Jason!” Helen exclaimed.
“It’s okay,” said Jason. “I hate to leave you and young Eric. But I can’t sit around idly and do nothing either. If the castle is in danger, then Eric is in danger with it. Promise me you’ll take good care of Eric when I’m gone.”
“But you could be gone for months!” Helen protested.
“I know,” said Jason. “It breaks my heart to leave you and little Eric for that long. But the journey has got to be made.”
“You’ll need safe passage,” said Midor. “It’s a big forest, and the princes and princesses of Castle Tauna are not known once you get a few days' journey away from this castle. You’ll need safe passage through the land of the fairies, and the Elvish Kingdom, and the Bear King’s Kingdom. I can take you there.”
“What about your work in the forest?” Jason asked.
“All of that territory is the forest,” Midor responded. “The forest is much bigger than the Kingdom of Castle Tauna. I can conduct my work while I travel with you. I have business with almost all of the places we will pass through. But my business will end once we get to the land of men. When the forest ends, and you emerge into the Kingdom of Mora, then I will have to leave you to travel by yourself.”
“He’s never left the forest before,” said General Graten. “He doesn’t even know the customs of civilized countries. How do you expect him to survive in the land of Mora without any maps or money?”
“We can provide him with some gold,” said George.
“I may be able to find a map,” said Midor.
“Gentleman, don’t be stupid,” said General Graten. “I’m right here, and I am offering my services to you. I will help Jason to walk through the various countries of men until he reaches the Coler Mountains. I know, you don’t trust me. You think that I will abandon my quest the moment that I get a better offer. Very well, you know me too well for me to attempt to argue otherwise. I freely admit that I would abandon Jason the moment a better offer comes along. But at the moment, you’re planning on sending him unaided anyway. So what harm could it do if I were to help him for part of the way?”
“I don’t get it,” said Rufus. “What’s in it for you?”
“You know that I have no love left for Catherine,” said General Graten. “She’s broken her promises to me, and taken away the sword and magic potion that should be mine. I’ve no desire to stay behind and lead her army. Any new employment is preferable to staying around and helping Catherine.”
“Well argued General,” said George. “I can see no problem with letting him accompany Midor and Jason. Does anyone else object?”
“The General and I have come into conflict over methodology before,” said Midor. “You’ll recall, General, our showdown in the castle hallway.”
General Graten laughed. “You mean when you admitted that you couldn’t fight me? How could I forget that? But surely you’re not holding grudges, Midor.”
“I’m not angry about your past conduct, General, but we’ll be going through several areas where diplomacy is going to be more important than bravery. My son Robert has told me that Henry almost ignited a diplomatic crisis when Robert took him through the Bear King’s kingdom. I need you to promise me you won’t do the same.”
“Surely you’re not comparing me to Henry? I have more sense than that boy.”
“When you’re travelling through the forest with me, I need you to obey me General, in all things,” said Midor. “We’ll be encountering many unpleasant creatures, but you are not to raise your sword against any of them. Leave everything to me. If you can promise to do that, then you can come with us.”
“Midor, I have travelled through those lands once already with my army. It was one of the most disastrous campaigns of my career. If I were to pass through them again, I would seek out no conflict, and would endeavor to pass through those lands without incident. But I will not subordinate myself to you. We will travel as equals or we will not travel at all. ”
“Then you will not travel with us,” Midor said. “I appreciate your blunt honesty, General, but I cannot risk the possibility that your violence would become associated with me. It would ruin everything I have worked so hard to achieve in the forest. You must stay behind, or you can attempt to cross through the forest by yourself.”
“I see,” said General Graten slowly. “You are a hard man to negotiate with. But of course, you think you hold all the cards. You think I could never make it back on my own.”
“I would not advise you to travel alone,” Midor said. “The Fairies would never tolerate you crossing their land. As, I am told, you found out when you first came over here. I’m also told the Elves did not grant you passage. The Bear King did allow you through the first time, but that was, I am told, only to punish Henry. He wouldn’t be as generous the second time. Of course, it’s a large forest. You could go around all of these territories and kingdoms if you knew the way well enough. But you don’t.”
“You can be a real smug bastard,” General Graten growled. “You don’t know what I’ve been through in my life. I’ve made it through forests much worse than this. I bet you I could make it through these woods if I wanted to. But I will admit it would be much harder without your guidance. Very well. I offer you a compromise, Midor. I will not submit to taking orders from you, but I will promise you that throughout the time that I am your travelling companion, I will do no violence to any creature in the forest. I’ll even let you carry my sword until we get to the edge of the forest, if it will make you feel better.”
Midor extended his hand. “I will travel with you under those conditions, General.”
“So it’s settled,” said Rufus. “The three of you can set out tomorrow if you like.”
“Don’t forget about the library,” Jason said. “We still have to search and see if we can find anything about what to do when the sorcerer dies.”
“Let’s give ourselves a couple days to search the library,” said Midor. “And perhaps a day more to make preparations and say our goodbyes. If we don’t find anything, we’ll leave in four days from now.”
********************************************************************
“And so,” said Vivian sadly, “after two days in the library, you didn’t find anything.”
“I wasn’t really expecting to,” said Midor. “I’d thought all along it was unlikely that something had just been overlooked. You know your brother-in-law Jason used to spend so much time in that library. What are the odds that he had missed something?”
“So you’re leaving?”
“Jason wouldn’t make it through these woods without me. Besides, the truth is I’ve spent too much time in this castle already,” Midor said.
“What does that mean?” asked Vivian with a hurt tone in her voice.
“It’s the same discussion we had 15 years ago,” said Midor. “The forest needs me. I can’t stay here in this castle. I stayed longer than I should have because I was worried about you and Robert. But Robert is looking after himself. And there is nothing more I can do for you.”
“And what does that mean?”
“You know I’m worried about you. But you and Catherine have out-argued me. It’s selfish of me to worry about you when the forest is in danger. At least that’s what Catherine says. And I suppose she’s right. It is selfish of me. But I can’t help myself. I do worry about you.”
“But if it’s a choice between me and the forest… well, you made that choice 15 years ago, didn’t you?”
“Don’t say it like that. That was your choice as much as mine. And besides, it was different. I was saying goodbye to you then, but I didn’t have to worry about your safety then.”
“You don’t need to worry about my safety now.”
“I wish I could believe that,” said Midor. There was a pause, and then he added, “You’ll look after Robert for me while I’m gone?”
“I’ll keep my eye on him. He seems to take care of himself, though. He and Grace spend so much time together, I’m not sure he’d even notice if either of us left. You’ll say goodbye to him though?”
“I’ll say goodbye to him in the morning. I do feel a little uneasy leaving him in this castle with the goblins, the giant serpent, the vampire and the minotaur roaming the halls.”
“I know they’re not pretty to look at,” said Vivian. “But Catherine has promised me that she’ll keep them under control.”
“But if the castle does get out of control, you’ll let me know? I’ve made arrangements with Sandi and Stuart again. They will fly to your window everyday once more. If there’s trouble, let them know, and they’ll find me.”
“And what can you do all the way at the other end of the forest? Nothing that I wouldn’t be able to do with my super speed and magic sword, I’m sure. You always wanted to protect me, but I don’t need protection anymore. I can be the protection for the castle now.”
Midor smiled weakly. “Yes, you’re right. As long as you’re around, you can protect Robert much better than I can. Until something happens to you.”
“Yes, but then who would send the message?”
“Maybe I should have a word with Robert before I leave,” said Midor.
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