Princess Electra Book 2 Out of Barburee

by Dory Lee Maske

  "No. I plan instead to ask advice from a wise woman."

  Serafina laughed.

  Electra continued, "It is not only Fernland that is threatened. It is Helsop and Henge as well. Barburee's reputation is known to all. Thus far they have proved invincible and without mercy."

  Serafina considered Electra's words. She glanced at the crystal ball, but did not pick it up. Finally she spoke. "War always comes in its time, but we will concern ourselves now with you and your future." Serafina closed her eyes and folded her hands in her lap. She appeared deep in thought. A minute later she opened her eyes and looked at Electra. "I know of places where you could go to immerse yourself in the study of medicine. Does such a plan interest you?"

  Electra's face lit up. "More than anything."

  Serafina nodded. "Good. Then I will tell you what you must do."

  Serafina and Electra showed up quite late for the meal Dagon had brought from the militia's mess tent. The watery stew had fallen to room temperature and had little taste. Electra complimented the dinner and ate with relish.

  Turning to Serafina, Dagon commented, "Your visit has had a remarkable effect on Electra's spirits. Do you believe that your plan to dissuade Bataar from war with Henge has worked?"

  "I do not believe so." Serafina attacked her stew with equal relish.

  "Why then are you so happy?" Dagon asked, turning to Electra.

  Electra looked down at her stew and did not meet his eyes. "It was a wonderful display of witchcraft. One can always hope."

  Chapter 34

  Barburee

  Take, Muller and Hilgard returned to their little campsite outside Twenty Quivers' tent as the sun was setting. They saw that the Barburee women had left bowls of food for them on rocks beside the fire. Bear and Smiles had just finished eating. They were leaning back on their packs near the fire, a pile of pastries between them. Bear looked at Muller with anger in his eyes, almost daring Muller to say any thing more about his being a coward because he refused to take chances around the exploding arrows.

  "You made sweet pastries?" Take asked, hesitating before picking one up.

  "Help yerself," Smiles said. "Me an' Bear showed them Barburee ladies how it's done."

  "Umm, delicious," Take took a bite and settled in next to the fire. "Did they like them?"

  "A course they liked 'em." Bear slid the pastries away before Muller could reach for one.

  "I'm glad somebody had a good day." Muller took a bowl of Barburee food and settled down to eat, purposely avoiding any mention of his disagreement with Bear earlier in the day. "We got nowhere trying to figure out why some of the packets of powder are exploding before they're supposed to."

  "Oh, Bear's got that one figgered." Smiles nudged his friend. "Tell 'em Bear."

  Muller looked at Bear, his surprise evident. "Really?"

  Bear frowned at Smiles. "Tellin' you a thing is like ta tellin' the town crier." He turned back to Muller. "I might know, but it's a guess, an yer not likely interested in hearin' bout a guess."

  "A guess is better than what we've got now. I would value your opinion." Muller tried hard to keep his voice conciliatory. "Not that we will be sharing the solution to their bad magic if we find it," Muller added softly.

  Bear was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I heard 'bout a few explosions, workin' as a baker. Seems when the air gets too full a fine pounded flour an' there's a fire near to it, the flour might just burst out aflame, like. An' it happens so sudden, it just plain explodes. Took out a storage shed down by a mill one time—they was dumpin' the flour in an' all a sudden—boom! The whole shed come apart. An' then agin, I worked with a cook, always openin' the windows, he was, any time we'd be bakin'. Said he'd had a buddy what died when a kitchen flew apart from too much flour bein' in the air. Got hit with a fryin pan what blew up an took 'im out. So here I was today, I'm poundin' dough and Smiles here is mashin' up the flour an' I look up and sees them girls got the all the air in the tent just a bleedin' bits a flour. I got everybody out a that tent in a hurry—rememberin' them stories."

  "Exploding flour?" Muller asked, his face mirroring his disbelief.

  "Believe what ya want. Ya asked and I told ya." Bear poked the fire with a stick and tried to ignore Muller.

  "There was a lot of powder in the air around those boxes." Hilgard stared into the fire, remembering. "And sometimes there was powder on the outside of the tubes. They aren't very careful about loading them."

  "Even Twenty Quivers said sometimes that white powder just explodes on its own," Take said, looking at Bear.

  "We'll watch and see. If it turns out the tubes explode early when there's powder in the air or on the tubes, we'll know. But hear me on this. We need to figure this out for Fernland's sake, and when we do, we will keep that knowledge to ourselves." Muller looked straight at Take as he emphasized the last few words.

  Take put his palms out in front to signal surrender. "But let's not be too hasty, nor too set on one way of thinking. There may be a way we can earn the gold but still keep the secret."

  Muller looked at Take suspiciously. "I doubt it."

  "Just give me a minute to think." Take walked away from the campfire and studied the stars, as they began to appear in the darkening sky. He walked back, chin in hand, nodding slowly.

  "What if..." he began. Then he walked away again, abruptly turned around and grinned at his friends. "What if we convince them that it is magic and some packets are good magic and some are bad magic."

  "Shouldn't be too hard ta do since that's what they already believe." Bear sat with his arms folded over his chest, looking at Take as though he were not very bright.

  "Right," Take continued, unfazed. "Then we as magicians can teach them the magic they need to take the spell off the ones with bad magic. All we have to do is come up with some long, involved spell or chant that will slow them down." He looked pointedly at Muller. "That means slow them down in battle as well."

  "But if they still have just as many explode, won't they get suspicious?" Hilgard asked.

  "No, because they won't have as many explode. There will be water involved that will settle the powders," Take said.

  "Then you are helping them and we can't do that." Muller's voice rose to an angry pitch.

  "This will keep them from solving the problem themselves, which they are bound to do eventually. This will keep the solution firmly in the realm of magic. If one does explode, they will suppose they have done something wrong in the chant. They will never figure out the real reason."

  Muller thought this over and finally conceded it might be a good idea. "I don't like it, a lot could go wrong, but I can't think of a good enough reason to stop you."

  A rustling sound drew their attention. They looked away from the fire into the darkened night, but saw nothing. The sound of running feet had them all straining to see what was making the noise. There could have been a shadow, more black than the moonless night.

  "Did anyone see anything?" Muller whispered.

  "I may have seen a shadow, running towards the tent, I'm not sure," Hilgard said.

  "Do ya spose a one was listenin' ta what we was sayin'? Smiles asked.

  "Do ya spose if they was listenin' they could understand what they was hearin'—that's the real question. Not many a one understands us here." Bear did not seem worried.

  "We'd best be more careful," Take said. "We don't need more trouble than we've already got."

  "There's only Twenty Quivers speaks the language as far as we know and if it was him we'll know soon when they come to take us prisoner," Muller said.

  "I'd bet it was them little girls," Bear said with a smile. "They like ta keep an eye on me."

  "Let's say it was the girls," Take said. "We'll sleep a whole lot better tonight that way."

  Chapter 35

  Barburee

  Some of the Fernland men spent a restless night, worried that T
wenty Quivers might have overheard their conversation about the exploding arrows. Since no one had come to question them during the night, they relaxed and went to the tent for breakfast as usual. Bear looked at the little girls suspiciously, wondering if they were the little spies. The girls covered their mouths with their hands and giggled with excitement. The women had made a big breakfast for the Fernland men. They were still grateful for the sweet pastries and the unexpected treat of having men cook for them. After breakfast the Fernlanders walked to the archery field, making plans along the way.

  Muller seemed to have adopted the role of leader, although Hilgard was probably the only one of the other Fernland men who would have gone along with his right to be leader. He spoke to the group as he walked. "We'll watch for a while and see if Bear's theory holds up before we try anything,"

  "I don't want to see no other poor bloke get hisself blown up if we can do ought ta stop it," Smiles said. "These folks been good ta us, givin' us food and all."

  Muller stared at Smiles with a shocked expression. "They want us to give them better weapons so they can take over Fernland that much easier."

  "We don't be knowin' that fer sure," Smiles looked down at his feet, refusing to meet Muller's eyes. He stuck out his lower lip but didn't pursue his argument.

  Bear stuck up for his friend. "He's right ya know. We don't know nothin' fer sure."

  Take shook his head. "We know for sure we didn't want to come here, and yet here we are."

  No one cared to follow that comment with one of their own.

  The archery field buzzed with activity. A group cheered as four men on horseback galloped down the field, bows drawn, in some sort of competition. Three of the men's arrows hit a sheep's skull at the far end of the field. The man who had shot the fourth arrow turned back with a sour expression. He rode to the side of the field where the bamboo tubes and boxes of powder were kept and began filling tubes. Evidently this was the penalty for losing the competition.

  The Fernland men moved closer but not too close. They all remembered the white powder was said to sometimes explode for no reason. The archer looked up at the Fernlanders, probably wondering what they were doing here.

  Muller moved closer to Hilgard. "Ask him if they will be shooting any of the exploding arrows today."

  Hilgard posed the question a few different ways before the archer understood what he was asking, then listened as the man gave a short, gruff response.

  "What did he say?" Muller asked.

  "He wants to know why we want to know."

  "Tell him ah..., tell him these men are magicians," Muller pointed to Take, Bear and Smiles.

  Hilgard tried to translate. The archer seemed interested. He called out to two of his friends, motioning them to join him. After some discussion, the archer tied a tube to an arrow. One of the men lit a candle from a cook fire at a nearby tent and brought it over. The archer settled the arrow in his bow, his friend lit the wick, and the arrow flew down the field, exploding as it hit the ground. The archers shouted and cheered. Hilgard translated their cries of "good arrow."

  The man with the candle set it down near the remaining bamboo tubes packed with explosive powders. It was a sunny day with no breeze. Powder still hung in the air where the first archer had begun packing the short lengths of bamboo. Bear and Take had been watching the tube and the boxes of powders while the Barburee archers celebrated. Bear grabbed Smiles by the sleeve and took a step back just as the tube exploded with a deafening noise. One man was hit in the leg by a piece of bamboo. Luckily, the box of white powder was too far away to be ignited by the blast.

  The man with the wounded leg left the field with two of his friends helping him.

  "Did ya see that?" Smiles asked. "Bear here knew. He pulled me back. We got ta tell them gents."

  Bear looked at Take. "Looks like ya got yer chance, Mate."

  Take and Muller studied the scorched hole left by the explosion, their ears still ringing from the blast. Take looked from Muller to Smiles, both men set on their separate views of what the archers should or should not be told.

  "I'm going to make everybody happy," Take said. "Smiles--get me a couple buckets of water. Hilgard—send one of the archers to fetch Twenty Quivers." Take waited for his water, then walked off to practice his 'good arrow' routine while the others watched.

  When Twenty Quivers arrived, Take was ready.

  "I have a spell that can take the bad magic off the arrows that are exploding too soon," Take said with more confidence than he felt.

  Twenty Quivers seemed pleased. He called out to an archer riding by on his horse. The archer frowned when Twenty Quivers told him what he wanted. The archer pointed to the tent where the wounded archer had been taken only moments before and spoke in Barburee. Twenty Quivers pointed to Take and gave the archer what sounded like an order.

  The Barburee archer dismounted and slapped his horse to move him away. He packed a bamboo tube and inserted a wick, frowning all the while. After he had tied the tube to an arrow, Take began his spell.

  Take filled his mouth with water from a dipper, then spat it out in a fine spray as he danced around the archer and his loaded arrow. He began to chant in a deep voice.

  "Sun and moon

  Sun and moon

  Arrow don't explode too soon."

  He filled his mouth again and spat out a spray that covered the archer's clothes and shoes where a little powder had spilled.

  He continued to chant.

  "North east

  South west

  Let this arrow pass the test."

  He repeated the whole sequence once more to draw out the routine in hopes of pacifying Muller, then nodded to Twenty Quivers.

  "This bad arrow is now good." Take crossed his fingers and stepped back.

  Twenty Quivers lit the wick and the archer let the arrow fly. It landed far down the field with a satisfying boom. All the archers cheered and ran to Take to find out the meaning of his complicated routine. Take took the candle from Twenty Quivers and set it down carefully in a clay bowl, far from the boxes of powder.

  Twenty Quivers explained to the archers that Take had a magic spell what would turn a bad arrow into a good one. The archers crowded around Take, congratulating him in their own tongue, and offering thanks with short, respectful bows.

  Take glanced at his friends. Smiles was clapping and cheering, Muller looked worried, but at least he was not frowning. Bear clasped his hands over his head in a sign of victory and smiled. Hilgard was trying to understand what the archers were saying to one another.

  Take already knew what the archers were saying and he thought his chances of earning a bucket full of gold coins looked very good. The victory over the bad arrows was cut short by the loud, echoing drum beat that swept over them. A multitude of drums sounded the marching cadence. The signal to pack up and move out swept through the temporary settlement. All of Barburee hurried to break camp. The Great Khan's army was on the move.

  Chapter 36

  Village of Helsop

  Serafina and Electra talked long into the night about Bataar and the threat from Barburee as well as various schemes that would leave Electra free to pursue her study of medicine. They were still sleeping long past sunrise when loud knocking on the door of Electra's cottage awakened them.

  Electra jumped up from the cot she had borrowed from Dagon to open the door. Serafina opened one eye from where she lay on Electra's cot. An anxious Tandor stood outside the door.

  "Dagon wants to see you both as soon as possible."

  "What has happened?" Electra drew her blanket around her.

  "The men from Barburee are gone, and the prisoners with them." Tandor turned and hurried away before Electra could ask more questions.

  Electra looked back at Serafina, who was up now, and gathering the things she had brought with her into a cloth bag.

  "You are not leaving so soon, are you?" Electra asked. />
  "I gave my promise for a quick return. Prince Blackwell worries about me. But first I will hear what Dagon knows of our missing ambassadors."

  "Do you suppose Bataar has gone on to Henge?"

  Serafina contemplated Electra's question for a few seconds. "He is not one to abide something he fears."

  "I doubt he fears Dagon. It is more likely you he fears." The words were no sooner out of Electra's mouth than she realized the truth of them. She turned pale. "Of course it is you he fears. You mean he can not abide you." Electra put her hand to her cheek. "You must not leave now. He and his men could be lying in wait for you."

  "Calm yourself." Serafina closed her bag and began to dress herself. "He fears me for good reason. I am not so easy to kill."

  "Dagon will send soldiers to accompany you. They will not attack if they are vastly outnumbered."

  "No." Serafina slid a black boot on and laced it around her ankle. "It is best not to show weakness. I can conjure a shield to protect myself and two men, but I could not conjure one to protect so many."

  "I should never have asked you to come here," Electra paced the width of her cottage.

  "Let us go hear what Dagon has to tell us." Serafina ignored her niece's fear for her safety. She handed Electra the same dress she had worn the night before.

  Dagon's scout galloped up to the post just as Serafina and Electra reached the door of the militia post headquarters. They stepped aside to allow the scout to enter the headquarters ahead of them.

  "Report," Dagon ordered.

  "Their tracks go north, then circle west in a wide arc. They tried to hide their tracks by turning west over gravel then raking it from behind, but we were able to pick their tracks up when the gravel gave out."

  Dagon motioned for Serafina and Electra to sit down, then he turned back to his scout. "That will do for now. If they are headed for Henge they are Blackwell's problem."

  The scout saluted and left the command post.

  "Did no one see them leave?" Electra asked.

  "I had removed the guards from watching the ambassadors. But the two stockade guards are in the clinic. They were not conscious when we found them early this morning. Our would-be assassins were also gone from the stockade. We have patrols to the south and east, but the north is not heavily guarded. I should have anticipated such an action on Bataar's part."