Erisa glared at him. “Her? Never mind, what about Tiny? He just left for the capital a couple of weeks ago. What happened?”
Will was mildly surprised by the amount of distress in his mother’s voice. Apparently, she had grown attached to the big warrior while Will was away. “He took a heavy beating for me, Mom. I mean, he actually covered me with his own body.” His throat constricted as he tried to answer. “The armor kept his skin safe, but they bruised him badly, especially his kidneys.”
His mother blanched at that. She knew quite well what that meant. “It might not be that bad, Will. If he drinks a lot of water and rests…”
“It’s that bad, Mom. The head doctor at Wurthaven felt his chances were pretty bad.”
“Isn’t there some other way? If you wait, Sammy can let Eric know. He could probably bring some of his soldier friends to help. You can’t go alone, not again.”
Will shook his head. “More people would only make it worse. Trolls don’t respect men and steel; they fear nothing aside from fire. If I go alone, I can do this. Trust me.”
“You said something similar last time.”
“I didn’t tell you what I was doing last time. Did I?”
Erisa shook her head. “You aren’t improving your case with me.”
“I’m sorry, Mom, but I’m not making a case. I’m doing this whether you approve or not.”
Tears began rolling down her cheeks. “For most mothers, watching their sons grow up brings quite a few tears, but you—I swear to the gods it will kill me. I can’t bear this.” She wiped her face on her sleeve, then added, “Come back, and when you do you’d best say hello to Sammy before you leave, or else you shouldn’t bother coming back at all.”
“What about Uncle Johnathan, or Annabelle?”
“Your uncle is living in our old house, so he can be closer to his work. The army is paying him to produce carts again. Annabelle ran away, but she left her son with us. His name is Oliver. He’s napping in the other room. Try not to wake him when you leave.”
“Damn, a lot has changed,” said Will.
“You should visit more often. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a shock.”
“Mom, I had my reasons—”
“That your bride disappeared, and you were afraid to come without her? I’m your mother, William, not the king. Just tell me and I’ll never judge you. I’m on your side, remember? I always will be, no matter how stupid you are, or how angry you make me.”
He stared at her for a moment, at a loss for words. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Go. I have a patient and it’s never good to cry in front of a patient,” she told him. Feeling riddled with guilt, he turned and headed for the bedroom. His mother’s voice called to him once more. “William. Make sure you have your mind on what you’re about. Don’t put yourself in danger until you’re focused. You can feel guilty about me after you’re back safe and sound.”
“I will, Mom,” he answered, then stepped through the door. I will? I will what, feel guilty? That was the stupidest answer ever, he chided himself. Then he dropped the topic, shoving it to the back of his mind. Erisa was right. He needed to focus on what he was doing; otherwise he’d wind up in a troll’s belly instead of returning to save anyone.
Chapter 29
Muskeglun was just as pleasant as he remembered it being, which was to say, not at all. Will could feel the oppressive atmosphere settling into his skin within seconds of passing through the congruence point. The air was hot and heavy, and a sweltering miasma of rotting vegetation made sure his nose didn’t feel left out of the fun, either. The friendly local greeters, also known as mosquitos, swarmed closer to make him feel welcome.
“I hate this damn place,” he muttered after activating the limnthal.
“Wherever you go, there you are,” said the ring cheerfully.
“What does that mean?”
“Any place is awful if you’re there,” clarified Arrogan.
“I’m in Muskeglun.”
“Ooh, all right. My mistake. You’re right. Muskeglun is in a class of its own, but think of it this way, you’re bringing happiness and joy to others.”
He wrinkled his brow in puzzlement. “What others?”
“The mosquitos.”
Will chuckled. “At least someone’s happy to see me.”
“Do you have a plan? They were pretty pissed when we left last time.”
He took a deep breath. “I sort of have a plan.”
“What is it?”
“Well, everyone I’ve talked to is pretty opposed to me coming here, for the very reason you mentioned a second ago. But on the other hand, I don’t really have a choice, otherwise I’ll lose one friend and see another maimed for life…”
Arrogan interrupted, “You’re starting to make me anxious. Skip to the plan part.”
“So thus far, in order to convince people to support my decision, I’ve been pretending I had a plan.”
The ring groaned. “And how many people fell for your bullshit?”
“Up to now, very few have given me a chance to explain. The head physician at the school didn’t, so I had to put him to sleep. The king’s Driven tried to arrest me, so I had to run from them. After that, the goddamn cat just showed up and helped without asking what I planned to do. Mom didn’t really ask either.”
“So, no one then?”
“Me,” said Will. “I fooled myself, otherwise I’d have been too scared to come. I did bring a sizeable carrot and an equally large stick, though, plus I have a translator.”
The ring made an audible sigh. “Assuming I’m the translator, what carrot and stick did you bring?”
“Two full butts of ale and twenty vials of alchemist’s fire. I’ve also got a sizeable store of white phosphorous if things completely go to hell.”
“I see. So it’s going to be, piss in the cup or I burn your village to the ground? You realize that’s a pretty awful way to behave. Burning people alive is just about the classic definition of evil, and that’s coming from someone who once killed most of his friends.”
“They’re trolls,” argued Will.
“They’re people too. Plus, if you go with threats, things are very likely to go to hell. Trolls panic when they see fire. Do you know what people do when they panic?”
“Run?”