by Andre Norton
Morfew chuckled. “You need not trouble yourself on that account,” he chuckled. “Lormt’s stores of silver are more than adequate for our rare disbursements. I expect Master Ouen to insist that you take your own Alizonian gold back with you—no, no, do not object. Your activities in Alizon will demand copious bribes, and we truly have no use for Alizonian gold here at Lormt.”
Mereth rapped with her staff. Morfew took her slate and read, “When you dispatch your nephews to bring us messages through the postern from Krevonel Castle, how will you explain to them the sensations they will experience during the transit? Will they not be unduly frightened?”
“That is a matter I have carefully considered,” I replied. “Fortunately, I know of a reliable posset which will render the pups so drowsy that they will not notice the eerie effects of their passage. I shall tell them they must traverse a way so secret that blindfolding and complete silence are obligatory. There will be no difficulty, and no harm to the pups.”
Morfew gathered up an armful of scrolls. “Master Ouen will be gratified to hear of your intentions in that regard,” he declared. “I must carry these documents to him, and observe his progress with the final version of the letter to be sent to the Council of Witches. Should I not see you again before your own departure, Kasarian, I wish you abundant hunting and the best of hounds for your pack.”
It was pleasing to hear the familiar Alizonian farewell. “Whatever you pursue, may your blade strike true,” I responded, touching my Line badge.
When we were left alone together, I gazed at Mereth. I would never have believed that I could feel such justified respect for an elderly female bred in the Dales . . . yet her very sire was Elsenar, my own distant Foresire. It was therefore understandable—although completely contrary to Alizonian tradition—that her wit and fighting prowess should be so remarkable.
I loosed the buckle of my belt and slipped off one of my sheathed daggers, which I presented to Mereth. “Lady,” I said, “your actions at Krevonel likely saved my life, thus by our ways obligating me to a blood debt—but by the peculiar interference of Elsenar’s magic, we both spring from his Line. We are like littermates far separated in time, and among such, no blood debts may be incurred. I therefore beg you to accept this parting gift as a token of my profound regard.”
Mereth at first appeared surprised, then a faint smile twitched the corners of her mouth. She took the dagger somewhat gingerly, and wrote on her slate, “I never expected to receive a kin gift from an Alizonder. Must I beware of its poisoned blade?”
“This was a favorite throwing knife of my eldest littermate,” I explained. “Its blade is clean.”
She wiped her slate, wrote again, and proffered it to me. “I thank you doubly, Kinsman, for the value blade and for your personal actions on my behalf. Had you not ably defended me, I should have been cruelly burned, if not stabbed and poisoned. I believe that both of us have been given ample reasons to modify our initial views of one another. By surviving severe danger together, we have learned to cooperate. Now an even greater challenge lies before us. As you embark upon your efforts, take with you this silver ring crafted in the Dales. Its design is simple, and should not attract unwelcome attention if you choose to wear it in Alizon.”
I bowed to her, and fitted the ring on my right hand’s least finger. “The decoration is handsome, Lady,” I said, “like the pattern of ribs on a bloodwine leaf. I shall wear it proudly.”
Mereth extended her slate to me for the last time. “As Morfew noted, we may not see one another again. You go forth into your perilous land, while I must bide at Lormt awaiting whatever befalls us here. Take with you therefore also my Farewell Blessing: To the day of your journey, a good dawn and sunset; to the endeavor, good fortune without a break. May the Light strengthen our resolve, and ward us against the Dark.”
I touched her ring-gift to my Line badge, and bowed. “I thank you for your Blessing, Lady,” I affirmed. “It is for me a second gift, for I have received none such before. I shall send you word of my progress with Volorian and the elder barons. It would likely be wise for you and Morfew to address any return messages to me in Alizonian, should the script chance to be seen by prying eyes.”
Mereth nodded her agreement. With a final bow, I took my leave of her. The elder’s key was ready to hand in my tunic pocket. I made my way directly to Lormt’s cellar.
CHAPTER 34
Mereth–events at Lormt (3rd & 4th Days, Month of the Fringed Violet)
No sooner than Morfew had left the two of us alone, to my intense surprise, Kasarian unclasped his belt and presented me with one of his many daggers. He made a gracious speech, acknowledging that I had probably saved his life during the combat with Gurborian and Gratch. By Alizonian custom, he would therefore have owed me what he termed a blood debt, but because both of us bore Elsenar’s blood, such an obligation could not be imposed. Instead, he intended the dagger to serve as a token of his regard.
I accepted the sheathed weapon with some considerable bemusement. I had to view it as a kin gift . . . from a most extraordinary source. I inquired on my slate if the blade were poisoned, also after the Alizonian custom. Kasarian assured me the dagger was clean; it had belonged to his eldest brother, who had used it as his favorite throwing knife. I tried not to envision at what or whom it may have been thrown.
It seemed evident to me that Kasarian’s gesture was motivated by both courtesy and genuine gratitude. Despite the cruel nature of his Alizonian upbringing, Kasarian appeared to possess—at least to some degree—a sense of honor that any Dalesman could respect. From my own experience, I certainly could not fault his courage and daring.
I knew that we might well never again meet. Kasarian was about to plunge into the hazardous currents that swirled constantly around his scheming fellow barons. From my perspective, at any time, Lormt itself might be assailed by Escore’s aroused Dark mages. When Kasarian had earlier left Lormt to carry Elsenar’s jewel to the Dales, I had impulsively written for him a travel blessing. I now surveyed Kasarian for what could be the last time I should ever behold him, and without any reservations, wrote for him the solemn Farewell Blessing of the Dales. I appended to it my fervent prayer that we might be strengthened by the Light in our resolve, and safely warded against the Forces of the Dark.
Kasarian raised my personal parting gift, the silver Dales ring, to touch his House badge, then with a final graceful bow, he left me.
I recommenced my reading and sorting of documents until Nolar brought the evening meal. After sharing it, we worked on together for some hours. Gradually, my eyes grew weary, and the candlelight dimmed as I drifted into a light sleep.
I awoke quite abruptly when Duratan and Morfew burst into the room. Both of them were as excited as Dales lads opening gifts on their name-day.
“It is only one page,” Morfew exclaimed, waving an age-darkened leaf of parchment, “but it is definitely written in Elsenar’s hand. The moment I saw it, I set the others to emptying out the entire chest wherein it was found . . . but I said to Duratan that we must bring this to you immediately!”
Nolar urged Morfew to sit down, and handed him a cup of barley water, which he welcomed.
“Thank you, child,” Morfew said, subsiding breathlessly into a chair. “I have not hastened this rapidly,” he gasped, “since the time of the Turning when I abandoned my exposed position in the courtyard just before the long wall fell.”
I reached for a second candle holder to cast more light on the faded ink marks. Although I could not read the writing, being able to see it helped focus my mind upon the message it conveyed. Elsenar had composed it during that time just after the horrendous collapse of the Master Gate. I wrote for Nolar to read aloud, “Before Elsenar launched his second attempt to conjure a postern to Arvon, he wrote this letter to the surviving Mages of the Light remaining at Lormt. He feared that other Gates might be similarly opened by the Dark mages, and pleaded for a concerted effort to frame a spell . . . I find this diffi
cult to grasp, but Elsenar seems to have thought that some . . . device sustained by a spell could detect the presence of threatening Gates, or possibly guard against their opening at a given spot. His letter is incomplete. Were there no other related pages found near this one?”
Duratan shook his head, dislodging a shower of fine, soot-like particles from his hooded jerkin. “As you see, we have been burrowing. Only two days ago, a scholar chanced to notice a crack in the wall of one of the storage bins in our root cellar. Once we shifted the roots, and broke through the back wall, we gained entrance to a small chamber choked with ancient boxes and chests.” He sneezed. “And dust,” he added. “Ouen is there now, guiding the removal of each container. Many of the wooden boxes have been weakened by age or ruptured during the Turning.”
Morfew rubbed his hands together. “Documents are scattered about in glorious profusion,” he reported. “This leaf of Elsenar’s was atop one small stack, but the pages beneath it belonged to other collections. If any additional fragments by Elsenar were stored in that chamber, I am certain that Ouen will locate them.”
Duratan stood up. “I must return to assist him,” he said. “Our presentation to the Council of Witches would be immensely strengthened if we could alert them to the magical strategy that Elsenar conceived for discerning the sites of rogue Gates and posterns.”
Morfew yawned. “My bones remind me that I should be searching for my bed,” he observed. “On the morrow, Ouen will surely amend our letter to include this vital news. You and Jonja must delay your departure until we have examined every scrap of writing hidden in that root cellar.”
“I am certain,” Nolar said firmly, “that were Jonja here, she would advise Mereth to rest now, so that she will be able to transcribe any further messages by Elsenar.” Exhibiting a briskness reminiscent of Mistress Bethalie, Nolar resolutely expelled Duratan and Morfew from the room, then helped me settle for the night in a nearby quiet cubicle which we had converted into a bedchamber for my use. As she turned toward the door with her candle in hand, Nolar paused. “I shall go brew some cordials to sustain the searchers,” she remarked with a smile. “Should they find any more of Elsenar’s writings tonight, they may hasten back here to implore your interpretation, so you had best sleep while you can.”
Once Nolar had closed the door, I lay against the pillows, layers of warming quilts drawn up to my chin. My thoughts were too active to allow me to sleep.
I was concerned about Kasarian’s reception in Alizon. Even if he successfully explained his absence, he must henceforth contend with endangerment from all sides. The Lord Baron would be constantly—and justifiably—suspicious of plots against him; the equally vengeful Reptur forces would be pressing to impute responsibility for Gurborian’s disappearance; and all the other surviving members of Gurborian’s faction would still likely be dedicated to forging an alliance of convenience with Escore’s Dark mages. Even if Kasarian contrived to rally Volorian and some of the elder barons to his side, his position would remain extremely precarious . . . yet I had seen how competent Kasarian was, how quickly he acted and reacted. If anyone could thread his way through the deadly maze of Alizon’s incessant struggle for power, it should be Kasarian.
I also could not dismiss from my mind the uncertainties besetting us here at Lormt. We had to persuade the Council of Witches to take heed of our warning—but would they grant audience to Duratan and Jonja, and if they allowed Lormt’s case to be presented, would they agree to act decisively on our behalf? So much depended upon what further evidence we could provide concerning Elsenar’s plans to detect and, we had to hope, also seal or render harmless any Gates or posterns through which the Dark Forces of Escore might attack Estcarp. I had to wonder whether even clear instructions by an ancient mage could be successfully implemented by the Witches. Would their collective Power be sufficient to activate his spells? Would Elsenar have written down instructions for setting such spells? There seemed to be no end to the questions buzzing in my mind like a swarm of ill-tempered bees.
I could almost hear what Doubt would have said in his deep, earnest voice. “When you have more questions than you have answers, and when most of the questions demand time to be resolved, there is no use in wasting energy by fretting. Apply your strength to some task that can be accomplished, and let time furnish the facts you require to deal with the excess questions.”
My precious Doubt . . . I had dreamed about him only the previous night, recalling an incident that I had not thought about for years. The two of us had been examining the bolts of cloth stacked in one of our warehouses at Ulmsport. Other traders and messengers kept darting in and out, interrupting our tallying, until Doubt was festooned with three loops of cloth drawn out from separate bolts. After the final intrusion, Doubt spun around in frustration, and a great swirl of cloth unrolled from his shoulder down to the floor.
I could not, of course, laugh aloud, but I was quivering with amusement. He stared at me, affronted. “And what, may I ask,” he snapped, “is so uproarious?”
In a scrawl woefully mirth-shaken, I wrote on my slate, “You look like a piece of Elderdale twist-bread!”
Doubt glanced down at his unintended entanglement, and voiced a hearty laugh for both of us. “I had best extract myself then,” he exclaimed, “before I complete the knotting process. Although,” he added in cloth-muffled tones, “I’ve always heard that a properly knotted twist is a certain charm to ward off ill fortune.”
That dream had bridged the years as if no time had passed, but when I awoke, only the warmth of the memory lingered in my mind. I knew that I could never again feel the touch of Doubt’s hand on mine, except in memory, just as I could never again hold my betrothal jewel, the Magestone of Elsenar, gone with him to some magical place far beyond our understanding.
I realized how very much I wished that I had been able to present the Magestone to Doubt as the betrothal gift intended by my mother . . . yet I now clearly recognized that such a jewel of Power was not meant to adorn a mere bride. It was bound up in the very life of the mage who had activated and wielded it. By its awesome Power, it enabled Elsenar to travel vast distances and accomplish great works. Somehow, I felt in my heart that the Magestone had conveyed Elsenar to the place he had to go to be restored to wholeness. I could not say how I knew, but I knew. Now both Elsenar and his Magestone were irretrievably isolated from us. For centuries, they had been lapped aside, like two floating leaves diverted out of the stream of time into separate backwaters. Elsenar had been magically frozen in Narvok’s lair, as if sealed beneath a sheet of winter ice, while his exquisite jewel had passed from hand to hand, unrecognized for what it truly was until, by our efforts, it had been returned to its master. After that restoration, the pair of them had re-entered time’s on-flowing stream, now swept away from us to fulfill their magical destiny.
Doubt, too, had been swept away from me, just as inaccessibly. Amid the gushing flow of events, I was now companioned by the Lormtfolk, who had accepted me as their friend and fellow striver. In a most unbelievable fashion, I even had to admit that I had come to consider Kasarian of Alizon as one of my new companions. That he was my kinsman, I could not deny. He had shown me unfailing courtesy and unexpected gentleness. By all that I had known in my life before I came to Lormt, I would have scorned and feared him as my enemy . . . but because of what we had endured together, I began to think that I might possibly, perhaps, someday if we lived to meet again . . . call him friend.
In these twilight years of my life, I had traveled farther than I had ever expected, and seen sights beyond my most fevered imagining. A sense of belonging seeped into my awareness, easing my weary body. At last, I had found my rightful place. Lormt was the refuge I had sought without realizing that I could not fully belong in the Dales. The prospect before me was daunting; we might at any time be driven to fight for our lives, but I had survived such challenges before. Not only could I draw upon my memories for strength and sustenance, but I could rely upon my steadf
ast friends to pursue the struggle to preserve all that we held dear.
Just before I fell asleep, I glimpsed in my mind a scene that could never be, yet was somehow achieved in the realm of my fancy: Doubt was standing in a shaft of sunlight, holding out his hand to me. Suspended upon its silver chain around his neck flamed the blue glory of a jewel shaped like the Magestone, but freed from the unbearable burden of its intrinsic Power. I sensed that this was indeed the betrothal gift I would have bestowed upon my dear lord had we been allowed to wed.
Doubt’s voice seemed to whisper, “For a time yet, you must apply all your skills to defend Lormt . . . but I shall always wait for you, my beloved.”
In this golden dream, I smiled, and reached for my quill and a clean sheet of parchment. There remained much yet for me to write.
AFTERWARD
Mereth–events at Lormt (5th Day, Month of the Willow Carp/ 4th Day, Moon of the Fever Leaf)
Kasarian had gone through Lormt’s cellar postern back to Alizon on the Third Day of the Month of the Fringed Violet. Because of the discovery of the ancient, incomplete letter written by Elsenar, Duratan and Jonja delayed their departure for Es City for three more days, leaving on the Eighth Day. Our exhaustive search had disclosed two more tantalizing fragments in Elsenar’s hand, but neither contained the details we craved concerning how to detect or block posterns and Gates.
During the subsequent days, we waited anxiously at Lormt for word from either Es City or Kasarian. Nolar moved her pallet to Lormt’s cellar to watch in case Kasarian sent his nephew through the postern. Because we could not know when such a transit might occur, Ouen and Morfew asked a group of the less elderly (and more reliably alert) scholars to share the watch duty. Morfew carefully taught all of the watchers a set speech in Alizonian. He would have stayed on the site himself had the chill not so pained his bones.