Settling in at the farmhouse, Kirsten and Thomas spent the next several days venturing to town and interviewing townspeople about why they’d become so enthralled with the new governor. Rankstine had his watchmen placed throughout Grandwood, so they had to time their interviews when the workers were on their way to and from the wall’s construction. Meanwhile, Max and Britt tasked themselves with searching for a way out of the invisible barrier that had barred them from leaving the docks. They wanted to know if it encircled the entire area or if there was a break or gateway of some sort. Bo went to town with Kirsten and Thomas but split up with them to buy food and supplies. He began observing the patterns of the newly appointed governor. Rankstine kept mostly to himself, staying in his guarded building in downtown Grandwood; none of them could bear to call the town ‘Mergwood’.
Each time Kirsten asked one of the workers why he or she thought the wall was necessary, she’d hear, “I thank Rankstine and his new leadership on behalf of our community. Many blessings to him and the emperor for saving us.”
One day after trekking back to the stone farmhouse, Kirsten left her muddy boots on the porch and entered through the front door. “The people in town are acting strangely. They seem different than before. They all think this Rankstine guy is a god or something. Everyone keeps saying things like, “blessings to him,” and thanking him for saving the community. It’s as though they’re under a spell,” Kirsten said as she helped Thomas pile kindling in the fireplace.
“Do you think Merglan could cast a spell so powerful from such a great distance?” Thomas asked.
“Assuming he’s not here. For all we know, Rankstine is Merglan in disguise?” Max suggested, speaking across the room from the kitchen.
“I highly doubt it,” Britt replied as she uncrossed her legs and sat up on the couch in front of the fireplace.
“Yeah,” Thomas said, lighting the kindling, “He probably isn’t Rankstine. I mean, seeing as how he hasn’t killed us yet and the fact that he doesn’t have a dragon.”
Kirsten hummed lightly to herself while she thought of a reply to play devil’s advocate. “Whoever he is, Rankstine is working for Merglan. I’m sure he’s already talked with him about us and has orders to keep an eye on us or take us out and soon.”
“Actually, I saw someone following us on our way home,” Bo said as he cut up fresh vegetables while his brother cut cubes of lamb for a stew they were making. The others looked at him with burning curiosity.
Britt remarked, “Really? Someone’s spying on us?” she rose from the couch and walked to the window on the front door, pushed the curtain aside, and peered into the darkening evening.
“No, the guy following us never made it all the way out here. I hid along the path about halfway here, waiting for him to walk by, but he suddenly stopped when he got close. I remained hidden, so he didn’t see me, but I could see his expression turn to confusion. He was looking up, down and all around as though he’d just realized he was lost or something,” Bo acted the part of the confused man with dramatic body movements. “It was weird, like he was trying to figure out where he was. And the strangest part of the whole deal was when I walked back out onto the path. He noticed me, waved with a smile and then turned back around, walking back toward town,” Bo shook his head and shrugged. “It was the weirdest thing.”
“That is strange,” Thomas said as he sat back on his elbows on the floor next to the rising fire.
“Why would he just turn back?” Britt asked, turning back toward the living room and welcome warmth of the fire.
Kirsten shrugged and stretched out on the floor next to Thomas, “Maybe he was under one of the spells or whatever. He could’ve been affected by something like that and it just wore off or something?”
“The way you described how he just stopped following you and looked around like he didn’t know where he was, does sound like he was affected by some kind of trance-like spell or something,” Thomas said. “And we know that either Rankstine or someone with him can do some magic. Just look at the barrier that kept us from leaving from the docks and kept Britt from reaching her crew.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Bo said, pointing his chopping knife toward Thomas.
Suddenly alert, Kirsten asked, “I just remembered. Did any of you check to see if we could leave through the forest?”
Dropping onto the couch, Britt replied, “Yes, we tried that today. Max, Bo and I spent the whole day walking in different directions to see how far we could get before running into the invisible wall. Haven’t found a breach in it yet,” she said folding her arms and crossing her legs as she lay back into the couch. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“The bay isn’t any different,” Bo said. “You know what happened to Britt and her crew out there, but we actually saw what happened.”
Britt shot Bo a menacing look, “I thought I made myself clear not to talk about that.”
“That was actually pretty funny to watch,” Max said.
“What are you guys talking about?” Kirsten asked.
“Well, Bo and I were watching from shore and we thought she’d found a way out because she’d made it pretty far beyond the shoreline. I called to her and waved, you know to say my heartfelt goodbye and all that. So she stands up as the boat is skidding through the water, raises her arm to wave back,” Max thrust his hand into the air above his head. “Like a glass plate dropped on stone, reality came when the boat rammed into the invisible wall, knocking her almost overboard.” Max slapped his hands together, “Wham! She went down hard, like a sack of potatoes.”
After a breath of silence everyone looked at Britt, who didn’t appear amused; then she cracked a smile and they all erupted in laughter, even Britt, though she was blushing, “Sure, sure. Laugh it up. We’re all trapped here together, you know.”
When the chuckles had subsided, Thomas said, “I think some of us should go to town tomorrow and spend more time spying on our new governor. Bo’s not been able to gather much information because Rankstine keeps himself locked up out of sight.”
“That’s a good idea,” Britt agreed. “I’d like to do some spying myself, but I think my time would be better spent searching for a way out of this barrier since Max and I already know the places we’ve searched.”
“We should probably split up into groups. Thomas, you and I will see what Rankstine is up to since we know Grandwood the best. We’ll be able to sneak through town more easily than the rest of you,” Kirsten suggested.
Thomas nodded in agreement.
“Britt and Max can continue searching for the barrier’s edge and any openings. Bo, what do you want to do?”
“Well, if you two want to be stealthy, I can help my brother and Britt,” Bo said.
“If we finish early, we might do some digging into what the townspeople think about Rankstine, pick up where you two have left off?” Max suggested, gesturing to Kirsten and Thomas with a long wooden spoon.
“That’s a good idea,” Britt said. “The townspeople don’t know us as well as Kirsten and Thomas. They actually might say more to us than they would to you.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Thomas said rising to help Max and Bo carry the large stew pot over to the wrought iron hook hanging over the fire. They relaxed as it cooked, their conversation turning to more light-hearted topics. Once they’d finished their meal, Thomas turned in for the night.
The first night they’d spent in the house, no one slept well. They were on edge, expecting an attack from Rankstine’s men at any moment, never leaving the living room. The next few nights had been similar, though Max and Thomas had ventured into different rooms while the others huddled together on the floor near the fireplace. They were beginning to feel more comfortable in the house, gathering wood for the fire, checking on the overall condition of the farm after the Grandwood Games attack, and coming to terms with the idea that they’d most likely be using the farmhouse as a home base for a while.
“Goodnight,” Thomas called as he headed up the stairs and closed the door to his bedroom.
“I’ll take the couch again,” Britt said, unbuckling her belt and tossing it onto the couch near the fireplace.
“Is that an official placeholder?” Max asked, walking over to look down at her as she lay belly up on the living room floor.
“Yes,” she said nodding. “You wouldn’t take your captain’s sleeping arrangements, would you?” she asked playfully.
Max stroked his smooth chin pretending to be deep in thought, “I… might be inclined.” He raised his eyebrows.
“You wouldn’t,” Britt gasped, rising to a seated position.
