THE SWAMP, INDEED, WAS A STRANGE AND ALIEN place, with its enormous trees, stale black water, and great fleshy plants. Vines as thick as a man coiled around every tree in a vicious stranglehold. Yet, except for annoying swarms of bugs, no monsters had shown up in the night. And, as a new day appeared through the thicket overhead, everyone save the seer seemed no worse for wear.
“You should never have let that savage go,” Oberbyght complained, as he hunched before the small fire, eating a peculiar spotted fruit Letitia had found.
“You don't know their kind, or you'd have let me finish him off. What you have to do, boy, is get them before they get you.”
“I have no love for Maddigern,” Finn said, “but I don't think returning savagery with worse than savage acts makes us better than them.”
The seer made a noise in his throat and waved Finn's words away.
“It's a wonder you've stayed alive with fool thoughts like that. You don't know what that cunning fellow did to me. I made a good, honest living before Maddigern came along. My great-great-grandfather came up with the bit about the Deeply Entombed, and handed the business down. It's been smooth sailing ever since.
“By damn, there was a first-class seer. I'm good, mind you, but no one was ever as great as old Unterbyght himself. No one can conjure up something like that bell anymore. Not today, they can't. ‘Course he could figure when the fool thing'd go off. I confess, I never got the hang of that.”
“Blocks and Socks,” Finn said. “I'd be shamed to admit I had a hand in anything as cruel and vile!”
“What?” Oberbyght winced, as a fresh pain shot through his head. “My family performed a service, boy. Everyone has to believe in something, you know. And the royals love it. Always have.”
“But it's not something real,” Letitia said. “It's just something made up.”
“Well, yes, but they don't know that. There's the thing about your first-rate religion, young lady. If you know what it's about, it's no good at all.
“I would have been fine, if I hadn't brought Maddigern in. I didn't exactly bring him in, you understand. He stumbled on the thing and I had to go for thirty percent. Offerings aren't what they used to be, I'll tell you that. This King's a miser, is what he is.”
“And DeFloraine-Marie,” Finn said.
The seer's mouth curled in disgust. “It was always an uneasy thing between Maddigern and me. But it wasn't too bad until she came along. That's why I had to get out.
“I know Maddigern killed Dostagio, of course, not you. I expect the poor fellow caught the Badgie with the lady somewhere. Dostagio was a loyal servant. Would have gone straight to the King.”
Finn shook his head in disbelief. “And I thought Llowenkeef-Grymm was a fool for believing all that nonsense about eternal naps. I suppose he was, but they were all duped by you and your scheming kin.”
“Someone's got to do it,” Oberbyght said, looking hurt, looking pained, at Finn's remarks. “I don't see why it shouldn't be me. …”
LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, WILTED BY THE DEADLY heat eternally trapped within the great swamp, Finn stopped his party by a small patch of dry land, under the thick bole of an ancient tree. Insects whined about his head, and a very ugly fish turned lazily in the dark and fetid stream.
Across the water, deep within the shadow of a strangled grove of trees, a veil, a milky haze, rose above the dank and odorous ground.
Finn stood and watched a moment, for he was ever fascinated by the constant, smoky mist that hugged the earth in this primeval place. The world might have been this way in ancient times, or so some scholars said. There might well have been monsters here, as well, far more vicious than the ones in Bucerius’ head…
Then, as if a cloudy mask had slipped away, he saw this misty world for what it was, a host of wispy phantoms, the specters, grisly ghosts, huddled silently across the way. Coldies, the lifeless, the husks, the lonely dead. Hundreds of them, thousands, likely more than that, simply watching from the dark.
Here, then, was the host of sorrowful wraiths, the forgotten armies of the present and the past, who had roamed the Swamp of Bleak Demise for seven hundred years.
Did they remember, he wondered, did they recall the horrors that had brought them here? Sadly, he was certain that they did, for he had learned from others of their kind that death seemed to bring small comfort from the worrisome sphere of life. …
FIFTY-EIGHT
IMUST SAY, MASTER FINN, I HAVE GREATLY EN-joyed the tale of your ventures, though some of it, I feel, you might well have left out. The parts, I mean, where people simply talk to one another, or have some passing thought.
“Still, all in all, I commend you for your efforts. You have carried out my command, at some little risk to yourself, if your story is partially correct, and I must assume it is, for it's most unseemly to lie to your Prince.”
“I would not dream of doing so, Your Grace,” Finn said, bowing extra low so Aghen Aghenfleck could not discern the expression on his face.
Partially correct indeed! It's hardly even that, for I'm not fool enough to reveal all to you!
“Whatever, then,” said the Prince, rolling his eyes at the court assembled before him, “you will certainly receive a substantial reward, as promised. We shall see to that in time.
“I hope you will recall, of course, that it was a troop of the King's Dragoons who found your party floundering on the edge of that dreaded swamp. Their efforts have to be considered, too.
“At any rate,” the Prince continued, leaning closer to Finn, without leaving the comfort of his throne, “this ring you have brought me from the Princess of Heldessia, this is most helpful to me. Most helpful, indeed.”
Aghen Aghenfleck paused, and a cunning smile crossed his rather unappealing features.
“There was more to your mission than was revealed to you at the time, Master Finn. I am not a simpleton, you know. I did not send you to that ghastly lair of Llowenkeef-Grymm's merely to deliver a clock. There was more at stake than that.
“I share this with you because I wish the court to hear this tale as well. I must tell you now—all of you assembled here—that there is a traitor among you. A person who is in this very chamber now.”
The crowd gasped as one, and each man and woman turned to the person nearby, then backed a step away.
Finn felt suddenly numb. What was all this, now, what was this cunning fellow about? He wanted nothing more than to absent himself from this foul business as fast as he could.
“This ring tells me the traitor's name, for there are a number of rings I might have received. Each would name a man, and the ring that was sent to me would tell his name.
“I have an agent in Heldessia, you see. I will not give you that name, but it was he who gave this ring to the princess, and told her to get it to me.”
The princess, DeFloraine-Marie? Finn could scarcely believe his ears.
“There is a plot, you see, a scheme that has long been in place, which I now unmask for you. The purpose of this scheme is to stop the war between Fyxedia and Heldessia, and plunge us into a disastrous peace that would ruin the economy of both our nations, undo all we've fought for, and spread chaos throughout our lands.
“People would then want to mix with those they do not know, see places different from what they've seen. Want things they do not have and don't need. Peace would be a disaster such as we've never seen before.
“Our enemies, those who plot against me, would use that peace to gain our throne, and do away with us all.”
Another gasp, another murmur, swept through the crowd. Aghen Aghenfleck raised his jeweled hands to bring them to silence again.
“King Llowenkeef-Grymm is a useless old fool. He knows nothing about this business, so as usual, everything falls upon me. That's the burden of a prince, and I envy those of you who lead simple, ordinary lives, without the grave responsibilities I must bear for you every day.”
The Prince sat back, weary, exhausted from the strain of all this
.
“One more thing, of course. The traitor's name. It is my dear, dear brother, Lord Gherick, my own flesh and blood who would bring us to ruin.”
“No!” Gherick's face went white. “I am no traitor, brother, I am ever your loyal servant, sire!”
Finn felt a chill creep up his spine, for Lord Gherick was a friend. And, shamed as he was to think of himself at such a moment, the Prince knew that as well.
The crowd moaned, moving restlessly about. Finn knew there was not a one among them now who would admit they'd even spoken to the Prince's brother at any time.
Aghen Aghenfleck folded his hands across his chest, making little effort to hide his pleasure, as his distraught and shaken brother was led away. He turned, then, and for a moment, gave Finn a puzzled, most bewildered look.
“Is there something more you wanted, Finn? Some reason you are still here? Count VanDork, would you kindly see this fellow out? I've much to do, even if this craftsman has the time to stand about. …”
FIFTY-NINE
I T'S ALL A TERRIBLE MUDDLE,” FINN SAID. “STICKS and Bricks, Letitia, I know Gherick despised the Prince, but I cannot believe he'd go so far as to betray his own brother. Damn me, are they all daft? Clearly, forces on both sides have kept the war going for seven hundred years—so everyone can make money, everyone can have a job!”
“And so many can die,” Letitia sighed. “It's a terrible kind of trade where you come home from work without a limb, or you don't come home at all.”
Finn held her close, feeling the warmth, the sweetness of her downy flesh against his own. In the dark, her enormous Mycer eyes mirrored the buttery light of the moon that fell across their bed.
“It is a great sorrow, Letitia, that we are led down such a hurtful path by men such as Aghen Aghenfleck. Even King Llowenkeef-Grymm, though I thought him a pompous fool, had more kindness in him than the Prince.
“Someone in the palace was the Prince's agent, but I'm perplexed as to who it might be. Certainly it wasn't Maddigern, and I'm nearly sure it couldn't be the seer. It had to be someone we didn't know. Some royal or noble, perhaps. Someone who fooled the Princess DeFloraine-Marie into passing that ring to me.”
“By the way, I must remind you that it took a very long while for you to tell me about this ring. Not the sort of thing I wished to hear in a swamp while those awful bugs were biting me to death.”
“Quite frankly, I thought nothing more of the object she'd given me—or why—until we had a moment to catch our breath. Damn it all, Letitia! I'd have tossed the thing away if I'd known the dire message it contained—that my action would condemn poor Gherick!”
“You couldn't have known, my dear. Only men of a vile and treacherous nature weave such webs of sorrow and deceit.”
Finn reached out to bring her closer to him.
They whispered together for a while, then her steady breathing told him she slept. He lay there with her, grateful they were together, and praying that nothing would part them again.
He dozed for a time, then woke with a start, a most unpleasant dream of Badgies bringing him out of sleep.
Taking a care not to wake Letitia, he slipped out of bed and into his trousers, pulling on a heavy shirt against the cool of the night and feeling about for his boots.
What would happen now in Heldessia? he wondered. It would surely be a most traumatic moment when the King and his family learned it was not entirely true that napping was the same as being dead.
Maybe it would simply all go on without the seer about. Maybe the Millennial Bell would peal now and then, and the Gracious Dead would go about their duties as they'd always done before.
As he made his way carefully down the stairs, he remembered he'd forgotten to tell Letitia that Obern Oberbyght had been appointed the new Grand Sorcerer of Aghen Aghenfleck's court, for there had been a vacancy in that position since the Prince had executed the last poor magician on the Chopping of May.
Not a pleasant choice, as far as Finn was concerned. Still, since he omitted his own shortcomings in his tale to the prince, it seemed only fair—and prudent as well—to skim over other folks’ misdeeds.
When he thought of misdeeds, rogues and traders and thieves, he couldn't help but grin, and wish good Bucerius luck, wherever his ventures might take him now. He was surely a fellow who was there in time of need, and more than worthy to be named a friend
“Going out, are you? I suggest you wear a cloak, Finn. It's chipper out there tonight.”
Finn caught Julia's ruby eyes blinking in the dark. She sat at the foot of the stairs, no doubt pretending she could sleep.
“I'm walking out front for a moment, if that's all right with you.”
“Why ask for my feelings on this, or any other matter? I am only a machine, a mechanical device, an artifice, a thing, a creature of cogs and gears and wheels… “
“To say nothing of a creature who talks a great deal. Be sure and mention that.”
“Be sure and remember that I did not acquire this power of speech myself. I had some help in that.”
“I recall that indeed,” Finn said. “It's a thought that often haunts me in the night. …”
SIXTY
GARPENNY STREET WAS DARK, NOT A LIGHT IN a window anywhere in sight. The rest of the town seemed quiet as well. Except for the taverns by the waterfront, and the revelry at the palace itself, the good folk of Ulster-East put themselves to bed early nearly every night.
“And why can't I find any peace?” Finn asked himself aloud. “It's not that I don't desire the rest, and it's surely not that I don't have a warm and loving companion waiting for me beneath the covers there. Yet, here I am, walking the street like a poor homeless fool, with nowhere else to go… “
“Up and about, I see, Master Finn. You're just as restless a fellow as I recall.”
Finn started, then checked himself, for it was only a Coldie who faced him there in the dark. He truly did need a good long rest, if he was jumping at the sight of the dead. Letitia would get a laugh out of that when he—
“Kettles and Pots,” he said, the hairs standing up on the back of his neck. “Koodigern! I swear I never expected to see you again!”
The phantom was little more than a wisp, a grim reminder of his mortal Badgie self, though not as ghastly as many Finn had seen.
“I expect you're surprised, though I didn't mean to startle you, sir. I arrived here by balloon but a few nights past. It's an easy way to travel, you know. We don't take up any space, and weigh next to nothing at all.”
Koodigern seemed to enjoy his jest, and he laughed in that harsh, rattlesome manner that passes for a chuckle among the dead.
“I felt I should speak to you, Finn, for even those bereft of life look to whatever comfort we can get, when there's much that's left unsaid.”
“I can understand that. I expect there's much I'll regret when I pass from this side to the next.”
“And terribly right you are,” Koodigern said, and his ghostly shape seemed to quiver at the words. “For that's why I'm here. I am sadly torn with great regret!”
Finn waited, and the specter settled into a somber veil again.
“I must tell you, sir, that great wrongs have been done, and I am the cause of many of these myself. I was in your Prince's pay, his agent in Heldessia's court. I am not proud of this betrayal, but I had a weakness for gold, as many a mortal has found to his regret.
“It was I who discovered the traitor in Aghen Aghenfleck's court. It was I who sent the ring that would identify the man to the Prince.”
“This is a startling thing to hear,” Finn said. “I doubt you'd know it, but Lord Gherick was a particular friend of mine. I was greatly sorrowed to learn he had plotted against his brother. Though, in truth, I can't say I greatly blame him for his feelings for that miserable lout. …“
“No, that's the thing, sir. It wasn't Lord Gherick. He's not the traitor at all!”
“What's that you say? I do not understand this, Koodigern. Do yo
u tell me you falsely accused my friend?”
Once more, the grim shade trembled, each small particle of smoky substance a'shiver before coming to rest again.
“This is the guilt I bear, Master Finn. In my foolishness, I gave way to my desires for Princess DeFloraine-Marie. More foolish still, I thought she stood for the war, which her country has ever soundly supported.
“I was wrong, sir. I was cruelly taken in. I confided to the princess, shared all my secrets, for I believed she loved me as well. She said she would, indeed, see that the ring reached the Prince, in whatever manner she could.
“I gave her the proper ring, for I had learned through sources in the palace the name of the traitor in Fyxedia's court. Only she was too clever for me! She knew the traitor, and only used me to find the rings.
“The traitor is one Count VanDork, Master Finn. Only she sent the ring that would name Lord Gherick the guilty one… “
“Stones and Bones, Koodigern—a great wrong has indeed been done!”
“And then, sir, she found the perfect time to murder me. It was during the Bowser attack. Right after we'd met, and I'd given you my knife. My intention was to learn if you were close to the Prince. I would then judge if it was safe to declare myself to you.
“That never came about, of course. She killed me, in the confusion of the fight. And my death was blamed on the Bowsers.
“All along, Master Finn, it was the princess who was behind these deeds most foul. She used Maddigern, who has no kindness in his heart, the same as she used me— and any other male she so desired. She killed Dostagio, when she learned he had seen her in an intimate moment with Maddigern.
“She spread dissension between Maddigern and Oberbyght, not that she needed a great deal of work there. And Maddigern knew what she was after. What she is after still. She wants her father dead as well, so she can have the throne. And she'll likely get it, too, and bring the chaos of peace to Heldessia Land!”
Finn felt suddenly very tired, weary to the bone. “So the deed's not yet done. And Count VanDork holds his position still. Do you think he will try to slay the Prince? Is that his great mission in all of this?”
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