Grishel's Feather

by Guy Antibes

  Myra laughed. “Now that I am used to it, this is quite a bit of fun.”

  “We will go until my power wears out,” Jack said.

  Actually, Jack didn’t know when that would happen since most of the magic came from Eldora’s box.

  They continued on during the morning, gobbling up the miles until Jack began to feel a bit sick. “I think we are done for the moment. There is a village up ahead. Let’s get some lunch.”

  The two of them walked into a pub.

  “Where you headed?”

  “Rockedge,” Jack said. “It’s a village on the coast of the Middle Sea.”

  “I know of it. I heard there is sickness there,” the innkeeper said.

  “A friend of mine is visiting Rockledge with his new wife,” Jack said. “We are going to visit.”

  The innkeeper gave Myra an odd look.

  “My aunt and I,” Jack said. “What do you have for lunch?”

  “Nothing hot today. I can give you some bread and cold meat. The ale is good, though.”

  Pub food, Jack thought. That was the kind of nourishment he needed.

  Less than an hour later, they walked out of the village, and Jack teleported a few more times, but his stomach couldn’t take much more.

  “I don’t feel so good either,” Myra said. “I don’t think we can go much farther today.”

  Jack nodded, taking some deep breaths. He pulled out a map. “We are two-thirds of the way there, but I don’t think I can hang on for more than one more leg,” he said.

  “There is always a price to pay,” she said.

  Jack could see a few trails of smoke in the distance. “Let’s hope we are in walking distance of a larger village than the one we stopped at earlier.”

  Luck was with them, and they soon entered an actual inn at a crossroad with a market still going in the village square. Jack sat down at the table in the common room.

  “I need a little more ale before I lie down,” he said. “But I feel better. I would rather have made it to Rockedge tonight, but I can’t.”

  “We traveled in hours what would take days,” Myra said. “You are some kind of helper.”

  Jack shook his head. “If I were some kind of helper, Penny would be sitting across the table from me right now.”

  “The girl didn’t have the capacity for the power you sent through her.”

  “Can she develop more power?” Jack asked.

  Myra shrugged. “Fasher Tempest would know better than I. Some improve, and some don’t.”

  Jack looked across the table at her. “You made the errand much worse for her, you know,” he said.

  “The boys, you mean?”

  Jack nodded. “Everything, although I wouldn’t call them boys. They were nasty men.”

  Myra tilted her head in grudging acceptance. “I suppose they were. I seem to attract the worst kind, don’t I?”

  “How did you really get to know Fasher Tempest?”

  Myra looked across the room for a moment. “He saved my life. I was in Bartonsee and confronted by Alderachean priests. My life was a bit less complicated by bad decisions then. It wasn’t all that long ago,” she said. “Tempest was on his way south, but I don’t think his destination was Raker Falls.”

  “He arrived in Raker Falls about a year ago,” Jack said.

  “Oh, it was longer than that. I was desperate for money, so I stole some gold horns from the cathedral. I wasn’t in Bartonsee that long. He appeared out of nowhere.” She peered at Jack. “Did he teach you how to teleport? That was the only way he could appear in our midst like that.”

  Jack shook his head. Fasher could teleport. It didn’t surprise him at all.

  “He held out his hands for the gold. I really didn’t have a choice with three men looking down at me. What startled me was that he gave me his purse in trade and told me to walk away. I didn’t waste any time and ran away. I stayed in Bartonsee and its environs until you came.”

  Jack didn’t know what to believe. He still had kept the existence of the warded box a secret from the woman and would continue to do so. Some people would have taken the money from Fasher and tried to do better, but Myra did just the opposite. Easy come, easy go became a way of life for her as a thief.

  “Are you going to run away this time?” Jack asked.

  Myra shook her head. “You could have killed me along with the other Black Fingers, but you didn’t. If Fasher believes in you, then I will do the same. I don’t have the energy to run far. All the travel today has made a mess of me.”

  Jack didn’t know if Myra’s resolve would last beyond dinner, but he didn’t have a choice. All he had to do was keep her from stealing the feather and his objects of power.

  After a few hours rest in their rooms, they returned to the common room. Jack felt good enough at that moment to finish their journey, but Myra still looked a bit haggard.

  They ate a dinner filled with gossipy talk of the church in Fassira, the Ullori monastery, and Grishel’s Cavern. Myra had picked up an astonishing amount of useless information. Jack told her so.

  “Sometimes, trading information is more lucrative than thieving and generally a bit safer.”

  “Why did Garolla decide to move on the abbey?”

  “They were all incensed about the fire, but I think that was just an excuse. Addio stirred the pot between the two. I got the impression the battle would have been fought within a few weeks, regardless of Addio, the fire, or your showing up.” She shivered at some thought. “I was under Addio’s spell soon after I arrived at Ullori. I didn’t have much choice, not that I would have refused to leave my imprisonment. I thought Ullori would be a place of reflection, but the prioress used prisoners as slaves.”

  Jack could see that. “She included you to see what I would do?”

  Myra shrugged. “Perhaps. I was past trying to ferret out the woman’s motives at that point. Addio told me to come with him, so I came. He thought he would dangle me in front of you so you would be distracted enough so he could end your life.”

  “He saw me as a threat?”

  “Weren’t you? His men didn’t last long. Ferrio and I survived, only because we didn’t fight. He died in the fire that you set. I’d say you were a threat, all right,” she said.

  Jack sat back. “I guess I was. What happened to Ferrio?”

  “I think he died at the abbey, the fool. I told him not to go, but he was caught up in the emotion of it all.”

  Jack didn’t remember him in the fighting, but then who did he remember other than Garolla, the head.

  “Why did you join the hunting party?”

  “I lived in Corand for years. None of the others had. With Addio’s death, his influence died with him. I had to undergo another coercion spell, so I was willing enough, but not enough to fight against you on the trail.”

  Jack nodded. “I will let you go as soon as Fasher is healed.”

  “What about my two hundred crowns?”

  “You remember that?” Jack asked.

  “A lady doesn’t forget a promise unless it is to her disadvantage,” Myra said.

  Jack could believe that happening with some of the ladies he had met, even before Fasher’s errands. “I don’t see why Fasher won’t honor that.”

  “You really will return the feather to the abbey?”

  Jack nodded. “A gentleman is defined by the promises he keeps, and I intend to keep that one as well as the promise for your payment.”

  Myra shook her head. “You have a lot to learn.”

  “I’m in the process of learning it.” Jack was tired of the jousting and was happy when a server interrupted them.

  Dinner was a fine example of country cooking. Jack relished the meal after weeks of Passoranian food. Myra didn’t comment on it, but that was fine with Jack.

  Toward the end of dinner, she leaned over. “What did it feel like to use the feather?”

  “Penny soaked up all my power, but enough got through to sap Tanner of any magic within
him. The sickness spell died when his magic was exhausted.”

  It had to go somewhere, Jack thought. Perhaps that was what ailed Penny. She was full of power, and it had no place to go. He couldn’t do anything about that now. If he was truthful, he couldn’t do anything about it when he returned. He had to reach Fasher in the morning.

  Jack got Myra talking about Bartonsee, and that led to Jack describing his first errand to retrieve the Serpent’s Orb. When his story ended, he yawned. “We need to turn in early. I want to eat lunch in Rockedge tomorrow.”

  Myra shook her head. “I still don’t believe we are already across most of Corand,” she said as they parted for the night.

  Jack went to bed, thinking about what he would do if Myra didn’t show up in the morning.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  ~

  M iracles did happen, Jack thought, as Myra sat down at his table.

  “I don’t know if I should eat a lot or nothing at all,” she said. “My tummy wasn’t very happy last night.”

  Jack felt fine, but he just nodded. “Eat what you want. I don’t feel any different this morning than I do any morning, but maybe we should rest a few minutes between jumps,” Jack said.

  “Jumps? That is what you call a teleportation? I guess that is as good a term as any. You should be the one to call it. I don’t know of a wizard, or any of the clergy, who can move as far as you.”

  “I guess I have a little talent in that regard,” Jack said. He also had a goddess’s object of power to help them along the way.

  Three men walked into the common room and sat at the next table. Jack ignored them, but Myra nudged him with her foot and looked over at the newcomers.

  “Cursed Black Fingers passed me by heading west,” one of the men said. “They just forced me off the road. I couldn’t believe it, but what could I do against twenty wizards.”

  “I don’t know what has gotten into them,” another said. “They have an enclave not far from where my uncle lives, and he hasn’t had any trouble from them until recently.”

  The men turned to talk of hunting in the woods close to their farms. Jack turned to Myra. “Do you think they are heading to Rockedge?”

  “A few of the higher-ranking Black Fingers can communicate over long distances. Garolla could. I suppose they could have warned others that we were heading to the coast.”

  “Did anyone know where we were headed?” Jack asked.

  Myra made a face. “Of course they did. You told me, and I told them. I didn’t know the name of the village, but anyone familiar with the places a couple might go for a holiday could figure out a place.”

  “The village is sick,” Jack said. “Fasher might be too weak to defend himself. He is in danger.”

  “And so are we, if we go there. Are you sure you want to continue?” Myra asked.

  “Black Finger wizards don’t scare me. I am more afraid for others,” Jack said.

  Myra shook her head in amazement. “I am nearly shaking in fear, and you just sit there as calm as a summer’s morning. How do you do it?”

  “I may not be a good swordsman, but I am good using wizard bolts—”

  “And that fire spell is the worst one I have ever seen.”

  “It is a potent one. I learned it in Lajia. I don’t know many spells—”

  Myra nodded. “You’ve said that too many times. Who needs to know more spells than the ones you already have learned? Don’t say that again, at least around me,” Myra said, a bit testily.

  She fidgeted during breakfast and looked afraid while they walked out of the village and stopped at a high point on the road. Jack could see far ahead.

  “Let’s go,” Jack said, holding out his hand.

  “You will protect me?”

  Jack nodded. “As much as I am able.”

  She closed her eyes. “Two hundred crowns. Two hundred crowns. Two hundred crowns.” Myra took a deep breath and grasped his fingers, closing her eyes.

  After the teleportation, Myra’s eyes shot open. “We are alive?”

  “Why did you say that?” Jack said.

  The woman shivered. Jack wondered if she would be able to concentrate enough when she helped cure other people in Rockedge.

  “I’m worried about the Black Finger wizards.”

  Jack shrugged. “Then we won’t teleport on the road. It isn’t as if we need to follow a road, but it is convenient for meals, but we should make it to Rockedge by midday. Will you be less concerned if we travel cross country?”

  “Could you?” Myra said.

  Jack sighed. She looked relieved, and he needed a calm Myra.

  After four more jumps, they looked at the ocean in the distance. Jack wasn’t sure where Rockedge was, but he didn’t see a village.

  “I think we are lost,” Myra said.

  “Not exactly lost.” Jack pulled out the map and examined it after looking up at the sun. “I think Rockedge is to the north.”

  They jumped around until they looked down at a village from a low coastal hill. It sat on the edge of a cliff, looking over the Middle Sea. A trio of campfires rose from a copse a mile or so east of the village. That would likely be the Black Fingers.

  “How are you feeling?” Jack asked.

  Myra stared at the columns of smoke. “You can teleport me out of the village if it is invaded? I’m no fighter.”

  “I noticed that at the battle in the mountains.”

  She nodded.

  “Let’s get into the village first.” Jack could see the edge of a square from their vantage point. He didn’t waste any time. He didn’t think he had many more jumps in him without rest.

  They looked around at a few astonished villagers.

  “Is Fasher Tempest here?”

  An older man walked up to him, carrying a shield and pointing his sword at Jack. “You are a Black Finger?

  Jack showed him his hand. “No. I am Fasher Tempest’s helper. I brought something to cure him of the illness. Take us to him, please.”

  The man ordered a woman to guide Jack and Myra. They walked through the village. More people were walking around than Jack had anticipated. The illness had not struck the entire population.

  They entered a little cottage with a view overlooking the ocean.

  “Jack?” Fasher said, sitting in a chair. He had a blanket wrapped around him and looked at least as bad as Tanner.

  “Who do we cure first, you or Corina?”

  “Corina, of course,” Fasher said. “You have the feather?”

  “I do. This is Myra Pulini.”

  “Ah, of course. Hello Myra. Thank you for accompanying Jack. I had expected my apprentice. Is she outside? How did you get past the Black Finger Society wizards?”

  “We teleported from Raker Falls,” Jack said. He held up his hand, as Fasher was about to scold him. “We did it in little jumps. We found that too many jumps make you sick, but I was able to bring Myra with me. Tanner is cured.”

  Fasher sighed. “So you found out how to use the feather? I wasn’t sure you’d be able to figure that out.”

  “We learned how along the way, but we can talk about that later. Where is Corina?” Jack asked.

  “Through there.” Fasher pointed to a drape used as a door.

  Jack pulled back the curtain and entered a room with an unexpectedly large, diamond-paned window overlooking the ocean. The room smelled like someone was sick. No wonder Fasher was sitting outside. Corina looked smaller than Jack remembered. Her face was gaunt, but she recognized Jack.

  “You brought the feather?”

  Jack nodded. “I did. This is Myra Pulini. She used to be a Grishelian priestess. I’ll tell you all about it when we are finished.” Jack looked at the Passoran woman. “Let’s get this started.”

  Myra sat on the bed and took Corina’s hand. She squeezed it and then held it out for the feather.

  “Take it from this tube,” Jack said. He gripped the metal tube using the leather as a grip.

  The ex-priestes
s withdrew the feather.

  “Grishel’s Feather,” Fasher said, leaning against the doorway, wrapped up in a blanket. “I want to watch.”

  Jack nodded. “Lay the feather on Corina’s forehead.”

  Myra did as Jack asked.

  “I’m going to send power through you. Make sure you say ‘expel the sickness.’ Don’t try to keep the power, or you’ll end up like Penny.”

  “What happened to Penny?”

  Jack looked at Fasher but ignored him. He clutched Eldora’s box and channeled the power through Myra with even more will to power the feather.

  “I can feel your power. It is immense.” She looked at Corina. “Expel the sickness.”

  Corina slumped in the bed. Fasher was about to move to his new wife, but Jack stopped him. “Give her a moment to recover. She won’t have any magic. Grishel’s Feather—”

  “I know what it does,” Fasher said. Jack didn’t like the irritability in his voice.

  Corina’s eyes opened. “It’s gone,” she said.

  “If you’re like Tanner, you won’t have much strength.”

  She struggled to sit up, but Corina made it. “My magic is gone.”

  “It will come back,” Fasher said. “You lost all your magic for a moment, and that killed the spell, just like I told you.”

  Corina smiled. Already her color was improving.

  “Your turn,” Jack said.

  Fasher nodded and climbed onto the bed with Jack’s help.

  “This will be interesting,” Fasher said.

  “Are you all right, Myra?”

  She nodded. “Penny absorbed too much power. I didn’t make that mistake.”

  “On to Fasher.”

  They repeated the process, but when Myra said the trigger word, Jack gasped at the amount of power extracted from Eldora’s warded box.

  “I don’t know if I can hang on,” Myra said. She closed her eyes and moaned, but Jack could feel the draw end. Myra fell over, and Jack had to catch her.

  Jack was afraid she had ended up like Penny, but she looked up. “Thank you. Curing Fasher was a different experience.”

  Fasher didn’t faint, but sat up and smiled. “That was a curious experience,” he said. His color had instantly improved, and he jumped out of bed. He closed his eyes and rubbed his chest. “It is gone.” He cast off the blanket. “If you will excuse us, we will get dressed in more appropriate clothes and heal the rest of those afflicted in the village.”