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."She grabbed him by the arm, swung him around, and demanded he explain himself and pay for athorough cleaning of her carriage.He refused, of course, and brushed his hands over the seat cushions,as if that would satisfy her, or perhaps he did it because he knew it would infuriate her.I could neverfigure those two out.They argued until after dark.I finally told them I was leaving and would rejoin theirargument in the morning." Benjin looked at Catrin, a silent apology in his eyes, and she knew before hecontinued that he would not coat the truth with honey."When Wendel said he had no more to say to 'Miss Self-Important' and would join me, she saidher name was Elsa Mae Mangst, and he would do well to remember it.They started arguing all overagain, and somehow he argued her into having dinner with him.They voiced their conflicting opinionsover cold food for hours.As I said, I never understood those two."I tried to convince Wendel to move on quickly and escape the unwanted attention that hisrelationship with Elsa could only bring, but he insisted she was the key to our quest.She was highborn.She would have access to important information and would have contacts at her disposal.It didn't helpmatters that the Zjhon were waging war along the coasts, and the Mundleburins were building up forcesalong the border with Lankland.There had already been skirmishes, and the long-standing feud betweenthe Mangst and Kyte families had begun anew.No one could remember what caused the original feud,but times of peace never lasted long."On the day of her majority, Elsa claimed independence from her parents' rule and tookcommand of a border-patrol unit.The event caused quite a stir, but no one attempted to stop her.Shehad been well trained, and she assembled a force of elite fighters and rangers, those who could be asstealthy as they were lethal.Somehow, Wendel convinced Elsa we should be part of her force, and Ithink she agreed only for the opportunity to humiliate him.We trained alongside the veterans and did ourbest not to look like rank amateurs.Wendel succeeded more so than I, but I completed all the exercises.When we set out on our first official mission, we left through a fanfare that lined the streets ofMundleboro's capital city, Ravenhold."I'd thought Kenward and Wendel were the worst possible combination, but that was before Isaw Wendel and Elsa fight together.They were brazen and reckless, taking careless risks that were justnot necessary.Several good men were wounded in the first sortie, and the veterans chastised Wendeland Elsa for their foolish behavior.The journey back to Ravenhold, the ancestral home of Elsa's family,was downcast and subdued.Word of the events spread fast.Elsa's mother promptly bribed eachmember of Elsa's patrol to seek reassignment.Most accepted eagerly, not wishing to die while Elsaproved something to herself."Wendel refused the bribe, and he urged me to do the same.In the end, though, Elsa abandonedher service in the patrols.She said she wanted to be an independent ranger, a one-woman elite force.What Wendel did then was one of the stupidest things I've ever witnessed: he told her everything--ourentire story.I thought she'd have us hung, but she surprised me and was lured by the danger andexcitement, especially the possibility of reclaiming ancient knowledge.It wasn't long before the three of usbegan our journey across the wilderness in search of clues."We wandered aimlessly from hamlet to farmstead, listening to legends and fireside tales, but wefound nothing that struck us as significant.They were pleasant days for the most part, with the exceptionof the incessant bickering between Elsa and Wendel.I often wondered why two people who irritatedeach other so much would choose to spend their time together."Elsa was kind to me and never let me feel left out of conversations, but Wendel seemed toforget I existed.Elsa was beautiful and strong and high-spirited.She was exciting, and I fell in love withher.It wasn't something I did intentionally.I even made myself find things I disliked about her, but evenher flaws endeared her to me.I was hopelessly smitten, and neither of them saw it.They were blind, andso was I," he said.Catrin was lost in his story.She felt as if she were there with them, living through Benjin'smemory. "One night we sat around our fire discussing the Zjhon and their recent conquests, and Elsa toldus of their strict religious beliefs.As they conquered new lands, they quoted spiritual doctrine and forcedthe people to join their faith or face death.Wendel realized the Zjhon scriptures could hold a treasuretrove of clues, if only we could get a copy."Elsa said the common folk didn't have complete copies.They had to write them down orcommit them to memory as sermons were read.The only places that had pristine copies were churchesand the Masters' homes.Not satisfied with getting just any copy, Wendel and Elsa decided to steal onefrom the cathedral at Adderhold.They were convinced such a prestigious site would have a very oldcopy of the scriptures and, hopefully, one that had not been transcribed too many times
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