Gerald, quite naturally, considering the circumstances, managed to acquire a wicked cold and was sentenced to bed rest. Spoon fed an herbal tea that Anna arranged to have brewed, he recovered quickly, and when he asked about it, she told him that Andronicus, the Royal Mage, had sent her some books on herbal remedies.
Once he recovered from his cold, he and Anna resumed their training. The Hall now became their battleground, and she was developing a quick blade. Being small in stature, she could never produce a heavy blow, but they decided she should use her speed to her advantage, striking quick but light thrusts whenever possible.
They were practicing in the Hall, just after midwinter and Anna was trying out her new shield. It was a light wooden construction, made for her size. Gerald stood opposite with practice sword and shield in hand. He advanced towards her, and she held the shield up, as she had done many times before. This time, however, instead of thrusting with his sword, he used his shield to strike hers; the force sent her tumbling.
She got up and dusted herself off. "That's not fair," she complained.
Gerald relaxed his weapon and looked at her. "What do I always tell you?" he asked.
"I know, nothing is fair in combat, but how am I supposed to stop that?"
"Come at me with your shield, and I'll show you," he explained
He stood with his shield in his left arm, facing her. As she moved forward and pushed with her shield, he stepped slightly to the right and angled his shield to the left. It was enough to throw her off balance, and she staggered forward. He tapped her lightly on the backside with the training sword. "That," he said triumphantly, "is how it's done. Now you try it."
It took her a couple of tries at it, but she soon got it down. Gerald knew the trick would never work on her again. She was fun to teach, and her excitement was infectious. When she wanted to understand how a shield wall worked, he roped in several servants to help. He showed Anna and Sophie how to hold a shield and interlock them, then the three of them made a small wall. The other servants tried to push their way through. It was quite entertaining. Anna had to convince them to try harder to break through. In the end, the servants could drive them back as the floor was rather slippery, but they could not break the wall. Anna was deliriously happy and had the cook prepare a special meal for everyone that evening. The servants joined them in the big dining room for a feast.
They were sitting at the table, having finished their dessert when Anna brought up a new subject. "Gerald," she said in a rather serious manner, "what do you know about kingsleaf?"
Gerald looked at her, once again amazed at her knowledge. "Kingsleaf is a rare herb, used for the treatment of many symptoms. Chiefly pain management I believe, but it's notoriously difficult to find."
"I've been reading up on it," she said, "in one of the books Andronicus sent me. I think we might be able to find some here, on the estate."
Gerald doubted that but one never really knew, and throughout his time at Uxley, he had learned not to discount things so quickly. "What makes you think that?" he asked.
"Well," she said, warming to the topic, "according to the books, it grows in marshy areas, and I know the northwest corner of the estate is marshy. You know, down by the grotto."
Gerald knew where she meant. They had often talked about exploring the mysterious grotto, but they had never actually made it down there. "Well, I suppose it's possible, but we'd have to wait until spring. Anything down there now would just be frozen and covered in snow and ice."
"Exactly," she said triumphantly, "and so I propose Operation Kingsleaf!"
He thought for a moment. "I suspect there'll be more than just kingsleaf there. Perhaps we should choose a different name."
She absently tossed a pastry to Tempus, who was lying at her side. The huge dog deftly caught the treat and chewed it quietly. "You're right. How about Operation Grotto!"
"Very good, Your Highness" his voice took on the 'official' tone. "We shall begin mustering the troops at once."
"Excellent," she declared. "You can be the marshal."
"Who will that make you then?" he asked.
"Why, the queen of course, or maybe the empress? That sounds far more grandiose."
"And what shall our empire be called?" he prompted.
"The Empire of Uxley of course, and Tempus will be the duke!"
"Well then, Your Empress," said Gerald, rising from his seat, "perhaps the duke will join us in the drawing room to discuss our coming campaign." He knew Tempus would follow her anywhere, the two of them were inseparable. In the evenings, they would retire to sit in front of a roaring fireplace. Gerald would sit in a comfortable armchair, but Anna would always sit on the floor, using Tempus as a backrest. Sometimes she would rise to get a hot drink, and the dog would look forlorn, waiting for her to return.
Anna rose from the table, Tempus dutifully rising from his place beside her and they made their way to the drawing room.
They got themselves comfortable, Anna once again using her dog as a backrest. She had a book of herbs from Andronicus in front of her. It was an illustrated guide with beautiful hand-drawn sketches of the various plants. Gerald was sitting comfortably in his usual chair with a hot cider beside him and was perusing a book about swords.
"Gerald," she asked almost absently, "what would kingsleaf be worth, to sell I mean."
He had to think about that for a moment. "Let's see, I remember getting some in Bodden once, cost about half a crown per leaf if I remember."
"Half a crown! If we could find one and plant it, we could make a fortune!"
"I don't think it can be done; it's only found in the wild. I don't think anyone’s ever been able to grow them in an herb garden," he responded.
"Don't be silly," she said, engrossed in her book, "of course it can be grown, it's a plant, isn't it? It just means we would have to create the right conditions for it to thrive, much like a marsh; plenty of water I suspect would do the trick, and maybe some loose soil?" She was musing now, thoroughly caught up in her idea.
By the end of the evening, she had come up with a plan and had roped Gerald into helping. They would make a special area in the garden that would be swampy and use soil they brought back from the grotto. Little did they realize what they would find come the spring.
The bitterness of winter had finally passed, and the warmth of spring enveloped the land. The mountains of snow took an interminably long time to melt. The fields turned to mush with the runoff, and the operation could not be started until the melting snow had had its chance to drain away.
Finally, after several weeks of waiting, they mounted their expedition. They wore long boots, for the mud in the grotto would most likely cling to their legs. They took food, packed into backpacks and Tempus carried, in his saddlebags, jars to fill with samples.
The trek to the grotto was lengthy, and it was over a full bell’s toll by the time they approached it. According to the maps at the Hall, the grotto consisted of a small cave in a large rock that was surrounded by a pool of water. At some point in the past, an estate owner must have decided to make a little place to escape from the cares of the world. They didn't know what to expect, but they were prepared for anything. Gerald brought his sword, in case they should run into bandits or dangerous animals, and Anna was still carrying her dagger, which was now her pride and joy. Tempus, of course, didn't need a weapon, his mouth was full of teeth which he was quite capable of using, should it be necessary.
The grotto lay in a depression in the extreme northwestern corner of the estate. They had to travel through some thick woods to find it. There must have been a trail at some point in the distant past, but if there was, it had long since grown over with weeds and underbrush. As they cleared the tree line, Gerald paused for a breath of air. Anna, always eager and full of energy, ran ahead and stopped short.
"Oh, it's beautiful," she avowed, awe filling her voice.
Gerald pushed himself forward to stand beside her. Tempus, ignoring the view, dec
ided to lay down and eat some weeds. Below them, they could see a pool of water with weeds and long grasses clogging the bank. There was, indeed, a large rock, so out of place, that took up the northern bank of the pool. The pool itself must have been about thirty yards in length and about the same width, though the actual banks were hard to determine due to the dense growth of reeds. The water looked clear, and as they watched, the sun came out, sending a cascade of shimmering light across the surface.
They made their way down to the grotto, quickly discovering another interesting fact; the ground was very muddy. It clung to their boots in great chunks, and almost immediately they were struggling just to move. The muck made sucking sounds as they pulled each foot out and tried to move forward.
Anna quickly found herself stuck in the mud and Tempus charged forth. Instantly he was covered in the stuff too, but the great beast struggled desperately to get to her. As soon as she could grasp his collar, the huge mastiff pulled her free, dragging her from the grip of the muck and mire.
They retreated to a dry spot to reconsider their plans.
"It appears," remarked Gerald, rather obviously, "that our plans will have to wait a few more weeks for the sun to dry this out a bit more."
Anna, who by this time was sitting on the ground catching her breath, was a sight to behold, for she was covered in mud from head to toe. "Yes, I think you're right," she replied breathlessly.
Tempus rose suddenly and started sniffing around, his tail wagging. They both looked at him, then Anna said, rather needlessly, "Looks like Tempus found something."
She rose from her spot on the ground and wandered over to where the great dog was sniffing. She placed her hand on him, and he sat obediently. She looked intensely at the ground. "Gerald," she beckoned, "come over here and look at this."
The interest in her voice coaxed him to rise. He walked over to where she was examining the ground. She had pulled out her dagger and now used it to point to something on the ground. Gerald knelt to get a better view; there was a depression in the mud, a footprint, but a print the likes of which he had never seen before.
"What do you make of it?" Anna asked, intrigued by the strange marks.
The prints were slightly smaller than Gerald’s hand but showed a three-toed foot of some type. His first thought was a bird print, but it was too large, and the toes were more substantive, like a lizard. The single print did not reveal much more. Gerald stood up and placed a foot beside the strange depression and put his weight on it; then he withdrew his foot.
"What are you doing?" asked Anna.
"I want to estimate how much weight made the print. You can see my foot went further into the mud, so it probably weighs less than me. You try it on the other side."
Anna deftly placed a foot on the opposite side, putting her weight on it and then withdrawing. She leaned down and looked at the result.
"My prints are about the same depth," she said after careful examination, "so, whatever it is, is probably about the same size as me. Any idea what it might be? I've never heard of anything that would leave a print like this, have you?"
Gerald thought. He had seen lizards scurrying about near Bodden, but they were much smaller and left more of a slithering trail as their bodies struck the ground. It was then that something occurred to him. "I think it was walking upright. There's no dragging of the mud on the forward edge of the print."
Anna took off her backpack and rummaged around inside. Moments later she withdrew a notepad and charcoal and began sketching the print.
She had just finished when Tempus barked, and suddenly they were surrounded by a thick fog which appeared out of nowhere. Anna panicked, "Gerald!" she cried out.
Gerald, who was only a few feet away, stepped toward her to see her shape loom out of the fog. It was mystifying. Only moments before the day had been bright and sunny. He called Tempus, and the big dog appeared through the fog. Gerald played through their actions in his mind. He was confident that if they walked directly away from the way they had been standing, they would be heading toward the tree line. He grabbed Anna's hand. "This way, don't panic, keep alert."
"Wait," she said, "I haven't finished putting everything away." She struggled with her pack, almost blind from the fog and Gerald waited nervously, not knowing if anything was about to loom out of the fog. "I've got it!" she said, and he began moving in the direction he hoped would lead them to safety.
They trod cautiously, testing the ground lest they become stuck in the mud. Time seemed to slow as they made their way slowly, painfully, toward safety. Suddenly the fog began to thin, and Gerald could see the tree line in front of them. They staggered out of the fog into the daylight. They made their way up, out of the grotto and turned to look back the way they had come. The thick fog was just beginning to disperse, but it still covered the entire pool.
"That was close," exclaimed Anna.
"A little too close, I think," agreed Gerald. "We need to do some research before we come back here. Maybe your books will give us some idea of what made those imprints."
Anna was familiar with every book in the library. "I don't think any of them mention marks like that. I'm going to write to Andronicus and include a copy of my sketch. We shouldn't do anything till we hear back from him."
"Agreed," said Gerald.
They began the trip back to the Hall; both rattled by their encounter with the fog. They stopped halfway back to get their breath and Anna, turning to Gerald began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"You! You're all covered in mud!"
He laughed. "You think that's funny, wait till you see yourself in the mirror!"
They laughed all the way back to the Hall and Tempus, always willing to join in the fun, barked and howled as they went.
Chapter 21
The Courier
Summer 958 MC
ALTHOUGH Anna had written to Andronicus immediately after returning to the Hall, they had not heard anything in response. They decided against returning to the grotto until such time as they had a better idea of what they were dealing with.
It was later in the summer, and they were in the village, sitting at a table under the old oak tree by the tavern. The sun was hot, but there was a cooling breeze, and the tree shaded them. Tempus, as usual, was lying in the sun, trying to absorb it all. Anna was eating a pastry while Gerald sipped cider. The villagers waved or hailed them to say hello as they passed. It was very relaxing, and Gerald soon found himself beginning to doze off, the only thing that stopped him from doing so was the appearance of a rider.
He was coming down the road from Wincaster covered in dust and dirt. The road through Uxley led to the north, and dispatch riders were not an uncommon occurrence. This time, however, the rider dismounted, talking to some villagers nearby. One of them pointed towards Gerald and Anna. The traveller began leading his horse in their general direction. Gerald smiled as he came closer.
"Well if I live and breathe, Edgar Greenfield! What are you doing here, you old dog!"
The courier stopped short and gazed over at his old friend. "Gerald Matheson?" he said in disbelief. "I ain’t seen you for years. How are you?"
Gerald stood, and moved forward to shake his friend’s hand. It had been years since he had seen him. "I'm good, living the life of a civilian now. How is it you've come to Uxley?" he asked.
The man smiled. "Work. I've been hired to deliver a message to someone at Uxley Hall. Is that about here somewheres?"
"Depends," responded Gerald, "who's the letter for?"
The man reached into his satchel and withdrew a letter with a wax seal on it. A name was written on the front. "Someone named Anna? Sorry, that's all it says."
"Well, you've come to the right spot." He turned to the side to indicate Anna. "This," he proclaimed, pointing at her, "is Anna."
Edgar walked over to the table and handed the letter to her.
"Thank you." She took the letter gingerly in her hands, opening it carefully, makin
g sure not to rip the paper. She glanced over the message. "It's from Andronicus, and it's quite long. Can you wait to see if I have a reply?" she requested.
"Certainly miss," responded Edgar.
Gerald sat down, "Sit down man, tell me what you've been up to. It's been ages since I saw you in Bodden."
Edgar grinned. "Well, I ain’t been in Bodden in a couple of years, I can tell you. I ain’t a soldier no more, getting too old for that stuff. I'm an independent courier now."
Gerald thought it over while Anna read her letter. Tempus had absorbed all the heat he could handle and came and sat beside his mistress, trying to see what she had in her hands. "How does that work, being a courier?" he asked.
"Oh, I runs letters for people, charging by the letter and the mile. It's not a great livin’, but I gets by. Luckily, I owns me own horse, so I save coins on that. What’re you doing now?"
"Would you believe a groundskeeper? It's a simple life, but it keeps me busy."
Anna looked up from her letter, interrupting their conversation, "Excuse me, did you say you were a courier?"
Edgar looked back at her. "That's right miss, a letter courier."
She looked thoughtful, then spoke, "Would you be interested in supplementing your income?"
"I'm always interested in extra coins," answered Edgar. "Whatcha have in mind?"
"I'm looking for people to write to me about their observations as they travel. You know, who's visiting towns, what's happening in the capital, all that sort of thing."
"You mean gossip?"
"Yes, I mean gossip," she replied flatly. "Would you be interested in writing to me about any gossip you hear? I can pay you in crowns?"
"Well," pondered Edgar, "I certainly hear more than my fair share of gossip. How much we talking about?"
"How about," she paused for a moment, "five crowns a month. Plus, I'll give you a ten crown sign-up bonus, provided you don't tell anyone you're working for me."
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