The Jongurian Mission by Greg Strandberg Page B

Rodden’s face and he looked ahead at Halam. He reined Brick in closer, leaning in to talk to Bryn, his voice little more than a whisper.
    “He learned today that Jossen Fray will be representing the Regidian interests at the council in Baden.”
    “Who’s Jossen Fray?” Bryn asked.
    “He is a noble in the ruling family of Regidia. During the war with Jonguria he and your uncle were both stationed at Bindao, but Jossen was called back early to Adjuria. It was a rare thing, and we found out later it was because he had a direct part in the plans which would lead to the Civil War. They met again on the battlefield at Baden, and although I’m not really sure what occurred between the two men there, Halam has hated him ever since.”
    “If he had a part in bringing about the civil war, then why wasn’t he tried and sent off to Desolatia like the False King?”
    “Well,” Rodden said, “a lot of things were hard to prove, especially those things behind the scenes in Regidia. It was easy to send Grandon Fray into exile since he was the head of the Regidian royal family; it wasn’t so easy to send all the others involved.”
    They rode on in silence for a while, both thinking of times and peoples past. After a time Rodden spoke up.
    “This talk of war ’s made me forget about the geography,” he said. “I think I had just mentioned that the Klamath Plain would come across our path in a day or so, and when that happens, we’ll know that we’ve entered Culdovia. Shortly thereafter, we’ll see the Montino Mountains to our west, but they’re a shadow of their majestic glory. To really get a sense of how mighty and imposing those mountains are, and why the Montinos are able to stay in them and thus out of politics, you have to travel further west. They rise like daggers from the valley floors, straight up into the heavens. You know, Bryn, they stay snow-covered all year long.”
    “Yes,” Bryn said, “I’ve read that Montino has the longest independent history of any of the provinces because it has its mountains to keep the world out.”
    “Precisely! The Montinos have nothing to fear from the rest of Adjuria, and it’s actually Adjuria which should be thankful. The Montinos have gotten the rest of the provinces out of a bind on more than one occasion.”
    “They were the first ones to raise an army to challenge the Regidian seizure of the throne,” Bryn exclaimed excitedly.
    “Correct again, my boy,” Rodden shouted so Halam could hear. “So tell me, young scholar, what will we see next on our journey?”
    Bryn thought for a few moments before speaking. “We’ll continue along the Klamath Plain, but the Montino Mountains will lessen on our right, eventually disappearing altogether. Further on, the King’s Road will meet the Montino River coming out of the mountains, and we’ll follow it all the way to Baden.”
    “Right again. I can’t slip anything by you, young man,” Rodden said smiling. “But tell me, is that all?”
    “No, when we meet the Montino River to our west, we ’ll also see the King’s Wood on our east.”
    “Yes, when the King’s Wood is upon us we know that we aren’t but a day away from Baden.”
    “Yes, but before we get to Baden, while still following the river, we ’ll also begin to see another forest to the east of us, the Baltika Forest which covers most of Regidia.” Bryn looked down at the road for a moment then up to Rodden. “Does King’s Road go through the forest, or is it cut back from the road?” he asked.
    “There are some sections of the road which are clear, but for the most part we’ll be traveling through forest. Whether it be the King’s Wood or the Baltika Forest I know not, but the trees will crowd in on us so thickly overhead that in some areas it’ll seem we’re traveling at night even though the sun shines brightly somewhere overhead.”
    A chill went up Bryn’s spine. He hadn’t read that in any of the books. Surely there was nothing to be