The stag on the ceiling gazed impassively down on Tracou's prone body. Deer and other hoofed animals could easily stomp a snake to death if they felt threatened, which they often did if they spotted a snake. As long as the snake went undetected, they could avoid getting crushed. Hopefully Tracou could do the same.
Rather than begin immediately, Tracou forced himself to wait. The longer he waited, the more likely Yash would think he slept. But... if he waited too long, he would genuinely fall asleep, which would leave Pendaer exposed.
Chewing on his tongue, Tracou felt around the mosaic with magic. The black honeycomb devoured his magic instantly—even worse than the bars to Mirthal's cell. He had to do this physically. Surely removing something from a wall couldn't be difficult, but physical things tended to go poorly for him.
Tracou took in a breath and let it go. Rolling the base of his wand against his palm, he dampened any noise on his side of the curtain. He could still use magic on himself and other objects... all aside from what he needed.
Easing himself out of the bed, Tracou bit his cheek hard. His vision escaped him briefly despite the care in his movement, like it might when he was sick. He wanted to lie down, to not have to move for the next month or so. But he couldn't do that now. Perhaps when he reached Ergakan again he could sleep as long as he wanted.
Tracou approached the honeycomb shape on the wall, his footsteps softer than a spider's. He stood in front of it for a moment, trying to ignore the feeling of the object absorbing his magic. It tugged at him, always ready to take more and more—anything Tracou could dish out, the honeycomb could consume.
Gritting his teeth, Tracou grabbed the mosaic piece and gently tugged. The faint sound of rock scraping against rock hit him hard. He couldn't get rid of it. With an agonizing pace, Tracou guided the honeycomb inch by inch out of the wall until, finally, its full weight rested in Tracou's hands. Tracou set it on the bed.
The key lay within the hole left by the honeycomb. Tracou took it, and, once he had it, realized he didn't know what he should do with it. He couldn't simply hold it until he left the room. But the key was longer than his hand and three times as heavy—how could he hide it? It would pull down his sleeve and Tracou's pouch was only large enough for money, not long, stupid keys. For now, he lifted his tunic and slid the key into his hose so it rested against his hip. This way his tunic would hide the shape of the key. But... it could slide while he walked. Grimacing, Tracou shoved the teeth of the key into the fabric of his hose. Puncturing his clothes, still the only set he had, wounded him but this way the key would hopefully stay put.
Grabbing the tile again, Tracou went back to the wall. Thusfar this had gone well! He held the honeycomb up to the hole in the wall, ready to slide it back in.
A booming knock on the door made Tracou jerk backward, losing his grip on the mosaic. It slipped from his sweaty hands and hurtled toward the ground along with his heart. Tracou ducked downward and caught the honeycomb just before it smashed into the tile below.
A voice, the same one Tracou had heard the day before, requested something from the other side of the door. Yash said a few words, sounding irritated, but his chair scraped backward.
Shaking, Tracou pushed the honeycomb back into the wall. He tried to keep things quiet, but time was of the essence and he produced a few clacking noises. Then he ducked into the bed, sweat rolling down his forehead. He curled on his side, which was his preferred sleeping position anyway, and tried to ignore the key digging into his skin.
Heavy footfalls approached and Yash burst past the curtain only to hesitate. Perhaps he had forgotten about Tracou napping there because now he moved quietly. But again he paused, this time beside the bed. Tracou held his breath, glad at least that Yash stood behind him.
Then Yash moved closer.
Tracou tensed hard, so hard his muscles felt like they might snap, trying and failing to ignore Yash's presence.
Fingers brushed against his hair. Had Tracou not been fully rigid, he would have leapt out of his skin.
Fingers! In his hair! Yash! Was! Touching! Him! Why?!
Mumbling something in Winlean, Yash slid his coarse fingers down from Tracou's hair to the back of his neck. Tracou swallowed a whine.
Should he be worried? Should he do something? Would Yash keep touching him if he didn't do something? Yash hadn't gone to check on his uncle. Instead, he was feeling around Tracou's neck like he had never encountered one before.
His heart raced. If Yash felt at his pulse, he would feel it thundering under Tracou's skin. Even if humans and dezmek had different heartbeats, something Tracou had no idea about and didn't care to learn, no creature asleep could have a heart beating a mile a minute. He would know Tracou was awake and then... and then what?
Best not to find out.
Straining to refrain from something drastic, Tracou used his magic to knock on the other side of the door. Yash, startled, pulled his hand away from Tracou. A moment later, he had gone through the door to deal with his uncle.
He couldn't handle this. At home, the most Tracou had ever had to do was practice magic and occasionally see what went on with the villagers. This entire trip, from struggling against Pendaer all the way to this... It kept building, layer upon layer, increasing his baseline of stress without giving him breaks in between. Tracou heaved a shuddering breath. To think that he still hadn't finished.
Time passed. Tracou couldn't be sure how much. Lying in a bed made time move differently—either warping to a blink of an eye or slowing down enough to make every second feel like hours.
At some point, Yash returned. Again he lingered behind Tracou as he just looked at him. Then he placed a hand on his shoulder, making Tracou jolt violently.
"Oh! Were you asleep after all?"
"Um... yes."
"You must be tired to sleep through that knocking! Sorry to disturb you, then."
"It's okay." Tracou paused, then moved to sit up, unconsciously holding his hand at his side, just above the key. "But I think I should go. I don't, ah, want to leave Pedr unattended."
Yash looked him over, disapproving, but nodded. "Fine. If you decide you want to use my bed, feel free to return."
"I will, thank you."
Tracou hurried towards the exit, his arm still awkwardly attached to his hip.
"Tomorrow morning, Dezmek Tracou. I want to see you to discuss specifics. And, perhaps... Perhaps you'll allow me to commission new clothes for you? What you're wearing now is rather threadbare, though it must have looked wonderful once."
"I-If you insist..." Tracou said, force of will alone keeping his pace at a walk instead of an all-out sprint.
"Ah, or would meeting at sunset be better?"
"The morning is fine! See you tomorrow!"
Once beyond the door, Tracou leaned against it, sliding down. He met Pendaer on the floor there, sitting on the top step of the staircase.
"Finally."
Tracou locked his gaze onto Pendaer, both furious at his stupid remark and not at all surprised. He could easily do something to Pendaer right now. He could hurt him or embarrass him or something and the panic coursing through him made it seem almost like a good idea.
But Pendaer must have felt this because his eyes widened and he leaned away from Tracou.
Letting out a breath, Tracou stood and started down the stairs.
"Just shut up, okay? We'll talk in the granary."
Now that Yash's room lay behind him, Tracou felt free. He had the key! Success could only be a few more steps away—what else could they possibly need other than the key?
As it turned out, quite a bit.
Down in the courtyard, Pendaer forced Karthik to join them in the granary and laid out their options. If they ruined this chance, there would be no others. At best, Pendaer and Tracou both would be thrown into cells along with Mirthal and Sakshi. At worst, they would all be killed.
No pressure.
Karthik couldn't help them directly. If they got caught, he would lose his head first, even before the elves. A traitor had to be dealt with before enemies. So Karthik offered to help indirectly. He explained the guards' routines and the times when they changed who was on watch, which gave them their window of opportunity. Additionally, Karthik said he would leave weapons for them outside of the castle. Only Pendaer had the capacity to wield one, though, considering Mirthal's state and Tracou's and Sakshi's lack of prowess, so Pendaer requested a single spear be left for him. Pendaer insisted that he knew how to use most weapons, but spears were the most Elvish weapon to use up close. As if Tracou cared. If they had to fight their way out, Tracou could handle himself, Mirthal, Sakshi, and even Pendaer without a struggle. Hopefully.
Ina's contributions stood to be perhaps more important than Karthik's or Pendaer's. She had the horses and the wagon and, hopefully, an understanding of how to leave Dorssur. While Tracou and the others worked on freeing Mirthal, Ina would stand beyond the gate with their horses, ready to help them flee. Then, outside of Dorssur if they could manage it, she would have left the wagon there for them to take with them. Karthik, naturally, had to convey this to Ina when she returned at dusk.
"I hope this works," Karthik said.
Pendaer scoffed. "It had better."
"You'll make sure Sakshi is okay, won't you? She's—She's a handful, but she isn't a bad person. She only wants what's best for Winlea and—"
"What's best for Winlea is bad for us," Pendaer said with a sniff.
If keeping Mirthal in a dungeon counted as something that was best for Winlea, then Tracou would agree. But saying it in front of Karthik helped no one.
"Why not come with us, if you're worried about her?"
Karthik shook his head. "I want to leave, but... not yet. There's still a chance the king could recover."
Pendaer opened his mouth to explain that, no, that was hopeless unless they did something about Yash, but Tracou gave him a harsh look and he refrained.
"I want Sakshi to be out of Winlea first," Karthik continued. "Then maybe I can follow."
"Suit yourself. Remember to tell Ina ferch Angharad everything about tonight!" Pendaer ordered.
"Yes, I will."
"Good. Then go! It's getting late!"
Startled, Karthik left.
With him gone, Pendaer sat down on the floor of the granary and crossed his arms over his chest.
"We have a few hours until we have to return to the castle, so sleep."
"...What?"
"Sleep!"
Speechless, Tracou gradually moved toward the ground, his eyes on Pendaer the entire time. He couldn't quite make himself lie on the floor, though, so he continued to watch Pendaer.
"Do you plan on sleeping sitting up?"
"Why? Are you going to take my wand again?"
"What good would that do me now?! It's only been a single night and you look like death. Be quiet and sleep!"
If anyone should be suspected, it was Pendaer. The elf had demonized him for so long and in so many ways that trust would be impossible. And yet, he appeared to be serious. He offered Tracou something he needed and Tracou wanted to take it. Then again, Pendaer had a track record of doing bad things while Tracou slept, often involving tying him up.
Surely Pendaer couldn't be so stupid that he would try to pull something before a rescue mission. Tracou looked him up and down, frowning.
Then he yawned. He couldn't do this for much longer.
Facing away from Pendaer, Tracou got on his back on the ground. He fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes.
Hours later, Pendaer shook him awake.