Free Raven Rise by D.J. MacHale

longer trade with the Lowsee and—”
    â€œAnd now we are going to war to take what we need,” Alder said gravely, finishing Graviot’s thought.
    â€œIt is a wonderful opportunity!” Graviot said enthusiastically.
    â€œHow can war be wonderful?” Alder asked, incredulous.
    â€œOnce we defeat the Lowsee, we will not stop there. Glaze has been discovered in the lands beyond the Lowsee. Once we control those lands, the glaze will be ours.”
    Alder shot a harsh glance at Graviot. “You are saying that we plan on mining glaze again? How can that be? It is deadly to mine that mineral. Have you forgotten?”
    â€œOf course not,” Graviot scoffed. “But we will not be mining it. That will be the task of the Lowsee…once they have been conquered.”
    â€œAnd whose plan was this?”
    â€œKing Rellin’s of course!” Graviot answered, as if it were a ridiculous question to ask.
    Alder winced. It was coming full circle. Rellin once began a revolution to fight the barbaric practice of forcing his people to dig and die in the toxic glaze mines. Now that he had achieved power, he was willing to go to war to force another group of unfortunates to do the exact same thing.
    Alder looked at Graviot and said sadly, “So dying for glaze is acceptable, as long as it is somebody else who is dying?”
    Graviot shrugged. “The strong survive, Alder.”
    Alder wanted to scream. All they had been fighting for on Denduron, all they had achieved was about to be wiped out.
    â€œWhy do you look pained?” Graviot asked. “You should be proud! None of this would have been possible if not for you and Pendragon.”
    Alder gave Graviot a steely glare.
    â€œDo not be modest,” Graviot chided. “You and Pendragon brought that wondrous machine to unearth the tak. If not for the tak, none of this would be happening. Besides, it may save your life.”
    â€œSave my life?” Alder asked, stunned.
    â€œWe are about to go to war,” Graviot announced. “You have been branded a deserter. I fear you will be tried for treason, old friend. It is very possible that you will be executed. Or perhaps sent to the new glaze mines. You should hope that Rellin has mercy, because without you, we never would have recovered the tak.”
    Alder struck without thinking. He uncorked a punch that Graviot never saw coming. The unsuspecting knight probably didn’t even know he had been hit. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Alder felt a twinge of regret. Not that he had decked Graviot, but that the attack had come from an outburst of emotion. It wasn’t professional. Alder was a professional. He wouldn’t let emotions rule his actions again. There was too much at stake. He had work to do.
    He dragged the unconscious knight back into the trees, away from curious eyes. There he stripped the knight of his new, modern armor. He took off his own armor and lashed on Graviot’s. It was good that they were the same size. Now Alder could walk among the Bedoowan without attracting unwanted stares. Remaining hidden was suddenly more important than he had realized. He had been gone a long time…too long. Enough time to be charged with desertion and treason. He couldn’t be arrested. That would be disaster, because he had a mission and he could not fail.
    The Traveler knight stopped for a moment and took a breath. He was tired. He had just fought a war against an army of dados. There was nothing he wanted more than to sit down, sleep, and heal. Alder was strong. He knew he could keep going physically. It was his mental state he was more concerned with. Would he be able to bring himself to do what needed to be done to save his territory? The tak mine had to be destroyed. If he was successful, the Milago village might be destroyed along with it. Could he bring himself to do that?
    He didn’t have a choice. The future of Denduron was at