The Quest

by Wilbur Smith

  They left the beach and crossed the lawns to enter the courtyard of the main building through a handsome colonnade covered with flowering creepers. Grooms were waiting to take the horses, and four sturdy male attendants lifted Meren from the saddle and laid him on a litter.

  When they carried him into the building Taita walked beside him. ‘You are in good hands now,’ he comforted Meren, but the ride up the mountain in the wind and cold had taken its toll and Meren was hovering on the edge of consciousness.

  The attendants took him to a large, sparsely furnished room with a wide doorway that overlooked the lake. The walls and ceiling were tiled with pale yellow marble. They lifted him on to a padded mattress in the middle of the white marble floor, undressed him and took away his soiled clothing. Then they sponged him with hot water from a copper pipe that ran into a basin built into a corner of the room. It had a sulphurous odour, and Taita realized that it came up from one of the hot springs.

  The marble floor under their feet was pleasantly warm and he guessed that the same water ran in conduits beneath it. The warmth of the room and the water seemed to soothe Meren. The attendants dried him with linen towels, then one held a bowl to his lips and made him drink an infusion of herbs that smelt of pine. They withdrew and left Taita sitting beside his mattress. Soon Meren lapsed into a sleep so deep that Taita knew it had been induced by the potion.

  This was the first chance he had had to inspect their new surroundings.

  When he looked towards the corner of the wall adjacent to the washroom door he detected a human aura emanating from behind it. Without seeming to do so he focused closely on it, and realized there was a concealed peep-hole in the wall and they were observed through it. He would warn Meren as soon as he was awake. He looked away as though he was unaware of the watcher.

  A short while later a man and a woman entered the room, dressed in clean white knee-length tunics. Although they wore no necklaces or bracelets of magic beads and carved figurines and carried none of the other accoutrements of the arcane arts, Taita recognized them as surgeons.

  They greeted him politely by name and introduced themselves.

  ‘I am Hannah,’ said the woman.

  ‘And I am Gibba,’ said the man.

  Immediately they began their examination of the patient. At first they ignored his bandaged head and considered instead the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. They palpated his belly and chest. Hannah scratched the skin of his back with the point of a sharp stick to study the nature of the welt it raised.

  Only when they had satisfied themselves did they move to his head.

  Gibba took it between his bare knees and held it firmly. They peered into Meren’s throat, ears and nostrils. Then they unwrapped the bandage with which Taita had covered the eye. Although it was now soiled with dried blood and pus, Hannah remarked with approval on the skill with which it had been applied. She nodded at Taita to express her admiration of his art.

  They now concentrated on the empty eye socket, using a pair of silver dilators to hold the eyelids apart. Hannah ran the tip of her finger into the cavity and palpated it firmly. Meren moaned and tried to roll away his head, but Gibba held it steady between his knees. At last they stood up. Hannah bowed to Taita, her fingertips held together and touching her lips. ‘Please excuse us for a short while. We must discuss the patient’s condition.’

  They went out through the open doorway on to the lawn, where they paced together, immersed in talk. Through the doorway, Taita studied their auras. Gibba’s had the shimmering gleam of a sword blade held in the sunlight, and Taita saw that his high intelligence was cold and dispassionate.

  When he studied Hannah, he saw at once that she was a Long Liver.

  Her accumulated experience was immense, and her skills were legion. He realized that her medical ability probably surpassed his own, yet she lacked compassion. Her aura was sterile and astringent. He saw from it that in her devotion to her calling she was single-minded and would not be constrained by kindness or mercy.

  When the pair returned to the sickroom it seemed natural that Hannah should speak for them. ‘We must operate at once, before the effects of the sedative dissipate,’ she said.

  The four muscular attendants returned and squatted over Meren’s arms and legs. Hannah laid out a tray of silver surgical instruments.

  Gibba swabbed Meren’s eye socket and the surrounding skin with an aromatic herbal solution, and then, with two fingers, spread the eyelids wide and placed the silver dilators between them. Hannah chose a scalpel with a narrow, pointed blade and poised it above the pit of the socket.

  With the forefinger of her left hand she felt the back as though she was trying to find some precise spot in the inflamed lining, then used it to guide the scalpel to the point she had selected. Carefully she probed the flesh. Blood welled around the metal, and Gibba mopped it away with a swab held in the cleft at the end of an ivory rod. Hannah cut deeper until half of the blade was buried. Suddenly green pus erupted from the wound she had opened. It squirted up in a thin fountain and sprayed against the tiled ceiling of the sickroom. Meren screamed, and his whole body bucked and heaved so that the men who held him needed all their strength to prevent him tearing himself out of their grasp.

  Hannah dropped the scalpel on to the tray and clapped a cotton pad over the eye socket. The smell of the pus that dripped from the ceiling was rank and fetid. Meren collapsed under the weight of the men above him. Quickly Hannah removed the pad from his eye and slid the open jaws of a pair of bronze forceps into the incision. Taita heard the points scrape on something buried in the wound. Hannah closed the jaws until she had a firm grip on it, then drew back gently and firmly. With another gush of watery green pus the foreign object popped out. She held it up with the forceps and examined it closely. ‘I do not know what it is, do you?’ She looked at Taita, who held out his cupped hand. She dropped the thing into it.

  He stood up and crossed the room to examine it by the light from the open doorway. It was heavy for its size, a sliver the size of a pine kernel.

  Between his finger and thumb he rubbed away the blood and pus that coated it. ‘A splinter of the Red Stones!’ he exclaimed.

  ‘You recognize it?’ Hannah asked.

  ‘A piece of stone. I cannot understand how I overlooked it. I found all the other fragments.’

  ‘Don’t blame yourself, Magus. It was deeply buried. Without the infection to guide us, we might not have found it either.’ Hannah and Gibba were cleaning the socket and stuffing wadding into it. Meren had lapsed into unconsciousness. The burly attendants relaxed their hold on him.

  ‘He will rest more easily now,’ Hannah said, ‘but it will be some days before the wound has drained and we can replace the eye. Until then he must rest quietly.’

  Although he had never seen it done, Taita had heard that the surgeons of the Indies could replace a missing eye with an artificial one made of marble or glass, skillfully painted to resemble the original. Although not a perfect substitute, it was less unsightly than a glaring empty socket.

  He thanked the surgeons and their assistants as they left. Other attendants cleaned the pus from the ceiling and marble floor, then replaced the soiled bedding. At last another middle-aged woman came to watch over Meren until he recovered consciousness, and Taita left him in her care to escape from the sickroom for a while. He walked across the lawns to the beach and found a stone bench on which to rest.

  He felt tired and depressed by the long, difficult journey up the mountain, and the strain of watching the operation. He took the sliver of red stone from the pouch on his belt, and studied it again. It appeared commonplace but he was aware that this was deceptive. The tiny red crystals sparkled and seemed to emit a warm glow that repelled him. He stood up, walked to the water’s edge and drew back his arm to toss the fragment into the lake. But before he could do so there was a weighty disturbance in the depths as though a monster lurked there. He jumped back in alarm. At the same moment a co
ld wind fanned the back of his neck. He shivered and glanced round, but saw nothing alarming. The gust had passed as swiftly as it had come, and the still air was soft and warm once more. He looked back at the water as a ring of ripples spread across the surface. Then he remembered the crocodiles they had seen earlier. He looked at the fragment of red stone in his hand. It seemed innocuous, but he had felt the cold wind and he was uneasy. He dropped the stone into his pouch and started back across the lawn.

  In the middle he paused again. With all the other distractions, this was the first opportunity he had had to study the front of the sanatorium.

  The block that contained Meren’s room was at one end of the main complex. He could see five other larger blocks. Each was separated from its neighbours by a terrace over which a pergola supported vines with bunches of grapes. In this crater everything seemed fecund and fruitful.

  He felt certain that the buildings contained many extraordinary scientific marvels that had been discovered and developed here over the centuries.

  He would take the first opportunity to explore them thoroughly.

  Suddenly he was distracted by feminine voices. When he looked back he saw the three dark-skinned girls they had encountered earlier, returning along the beach. They were fully clothed and wore crowns of wild flowers in their hair. They still seemed full of high spirits. He wondered if during their picnic in the forest they had imbibed a little too deeply of the good wine of Jarri. They ignored him and went on down the beach until they were opposite the last block of buildings. Then they turned across the lawns and disappeared inside. Their unrestrained behaviour intrigued him. He wanted to speak to them: they might help him understand what was happening in this strange little world.

  However, the sun was already disappearing and the clouds were gathering. A light drizzle began to fall. It was cold on his upturned face.

  If he was to speak to the women, he must hurry. He set off after them.

  Half-way across the lawns his steps slowed, and his interest in them wavered. They are of no consequence, he thought. I should rather be with Meren. He stopped and looked up at the sky. The sun had gone behind the crater wall. It was almost dark. The thought of speaking to the women, which had seemed imperative only a short time before, slipped from his mind as though it had been erased. He turned away from the building and hurried to Meren’s sickroom. Meren sat up when Taita entered and smiled wanly.

  ‘How do you feel?’ Taita asked.

  ‘Perhaps you were right, Magus. These people seem to have helped me. There is little pain, and I am feeling stronger. Tell me what they did to me.’

  Taita opened his pouch and showed him the stone fragment. ‘They removed that from inside your head. It had mortified and was the cause of your troubles.’

  Meren reached out to take the stone, then jerked his hand back.

  ‘So small, but so evil. That foul thing has taken my eye. I want nothing to do with it. In the name of Horus, throw it away, far away.’ But Taita slipped it back into his pouch.

  A servant brought them their evening meal. The food was delicious, and they ate with appetite and enjoyment. They ended the meal with a bowl of some hot beverage, which helped them to sleep soundly. Early the next morning, Hannah and Gibba returned. When they lifted the dressing from Meren’s eye they were pleased to see that the swelling and inflammation had subsided.

  ‘We will be able to proceed in three day’s time,’ Hannah told them.

  ‘By then the wound will have settled but it will still be sufficiently open to accept the seeding.’

  ‘Seeding?’ Taita asked. ‘Learned sister, I do not understand the procedure you are describing. I thought you were planning to replace the missing eye with one made of glass or stone. What are the seeds you speak of now?’

  ‘I may not discuss the details with you, Brother Magus. Only adepts of the Guild of the Cloud Gardens are privy to this special knowledge.’

  ‘It is natural that I am disappointed not to learn more, for I am impressed with the skills you have demonstrated. This new discovery sounds even more exciting. I look forward at least to observing the end results of your new procedure.’

  Hannah frowned slightly as she replied, ‘It is not correct to describe this as a new procedure, Brother Magus. It has required the dedicated labours of five generations of surgeons here at the Cloud Gardens to bring it so far. Even now it is not yet perfected, but each day brings us closer to our goal. However, I am certain that it will not be long before you may join our Guild and take part with us in this work. I am certain also that your contribution will be unique and invaluable. Of course, if there is anything else you wish to know that is not forbidden to those outside the Inner Circle, I will be happy to discuss it with you.’

  ‘Indeed, there is something that I would like to ask.’ The thought of the girls he had first seen by the pool in the forest, then again as they returned along the beach to the sanatorium in the rain, had been lurking in the back of his mind. This seemed a good opportunity to learn more about them. But before the question reached his lips it started to fade.

  He made an effort to hold on to it. ‘I was going to ask you…’ He rubbed his temples as he tried to recall the question. Something about the women … He tried to grasp it, but it blew away like morning mist at the rise of the sun. He sighed with annoyance at his foolishness. ‘Forgive me, I have forgotten what it was.’

  ‘Then it could not have been of any great importance. It will probably come back to you later,’ Hannah said, as she rose to her feet. ‘On a different subject, Magus, I have heard that you are a botanist and herbalist of great learning. We are proud of our gardens. If you would like to visit them, I would be delighted to act as your guide.’

  Taita passed most of the following days exploring the Cloud Gardens with Hannah. He expected to be shown much of interest, but his hopes were exceeded a hundredfold. The gardens, which extended over half the area of the crater, were filled with a vast multitude of plant species from every climatic region on earth.

  ‘Our gardeners have gathered them over the centuries,’ Hannah explained. ‘They have had all that time to develop their skills and understand the needs of every species. The waters that bubble up in the springs are laden with riches, and we have constructed special barns in which we are able to manage the climate.’

  ‘There must be more to it than that.’ Taita was not completely satisfied. ‘It does not explain how giant lobelia and tree-heaths, which are plants of the high mountains, can grow beside teak and mahogany, trees of the tropical jungles.’

  ‘You are perceptive, Brother,’ Hannah conceded, ‘and correct. There is more to it than warmth, sunlight and nutrients. When you enter the Guild you will begin to realize the magnitude of the marvels we have here in Jarri. But you must not expect instant enlightenment. We are discussing a thousand-year accumulation of knowledge and wisdom. Nothing so precious can be obtained in a day.’ She swung round to face him. ‘Do you know how long I have lived in this life, Magus?’

  ‘I can see that you are a Long Liver,’ he replied.

  ‘As are you, Brother,’ she replied, ‘but I was already old on the day you were born, and I am still a novice to the Mysteries. I have enjoyed your company, these last few days. We often allow ourselves to become isolated in the rarefied intellectual climes of the Cloud Gardens, so talking to you has been a tonic as efficacious as any of our herbal preparations. However, we must go back now. I must make the final arrangements for tomorrow’s procedure.’

  They parted at the gates to the garden. It was still early in the afternoon and Taita made his way round the lake at a leisurely pace.

  From one spot there was a particularly splendid vista across the full length of the crater. When he came to it, he sat on a fallen tree-trunk and opened his mind. Like an antelope sniffing the air for the scent of the leopard, he searched the ether for any trace of a malicious presence.

  There was none that he could discern. It was tranquil, yet he knew thi
s might be an illusion: he must be close to the witch’s lair, for all the psychic signs and auguries pointed to her presence. This hidden crater would make her a perfect stronghold. The many wonders he had already discovered here might be the product of her magic. Hannah had hinted at it less than an hour ago when she had said, ‘There is more to it than warmth, sunlight and nutrients.’

  In the eye of his mind he saw Eos sitting patiently at the centre of her web like a monstrous black spider, waiting for the faintest quiver on the gossamer strands before she sprang at her prey. He knew that those invisible meshes were spread for him, that he was already trapped among them.

  Until now he had been testing the ether passively and quietly. He had been tempted to make a cast for Fenn, but he knew that if he did so he might invite the witch in her place. He could not put Fenn in such danger, and he was about to close his mind, when he was struck by a tidal wave of psychic turmoil that made him cry out and clutch his temples. He reeled and almost lost his seat on the log.

  Somewhere close to where he sat a tragedy was being played out. It was difficult for his mind to accept such sorrow and suffering, such utter evil, as rushed across the ether to him almost overwhelming him. He struggled against it, like a drowning swimmer fighting a riptide in the open ocean. He thought he was going under, but then the turmoil abated. He was left with a dark sadness that such a terrible event had touched him and he had been helpless to intervene.

  It was a long time before he recovered sufficiently to stand up and set off along the path towards the clinic. As he came out on to the beach he saw another disturbance taking place near the middle of the lake.