The Adventures of Sir Roderick, the Not-Very Brave

by James O'Loghlin

  Once all were settled, Banfor began. ‘Let me try to explain what has happened. We need to go back some years to understand what Queen Emily has done, and I need to tell you some of my own history. Some of you know that I grew up within the Circle of Mountains and left them for the first time when I was a young man. My parents had warned me to use my powers only when necessary but on the very first day I used them to persuade some villagers to offer me food and a bed. I reached out my mind, and soon they were fussing over me like I was the King! It was exhilarating.

  ‘After living all my life within the mountains I was fascinated by the busy and diverse world I had emerged into. I travelled through Baronia, Nareea and beyond. Everywhere I went, my powers made it easy for me. I could plant thoughts in people’s heads so they would do what I wanted, or I could perform some simple piece of magic to impress them.’

  He took a sip of tea.

  ‘There were many who wished to purchase the skills I had, and I was happy to sell. I was in demand, courted by monarchs wherever I went. I travelled the world helping to put down a rebellion by peasants in one place, defeat an invasion of dragons in another, and assist in conquering a new territory somewhere else.’

  Banfor looked around the room. ‘To you, who have lived your lives loyal to your country of birth, this must sound repellent. Perhaps it is, but I had nowhere to be loyal to. I used my powers to advance the interests of anyone who would pay. Afterwards I would feel burnt out and empty inside, and yet the urge to keep using them grew stronger.

  ‘I returned to Baronia where, as always, I was welcomed warmly, and given the best room in the castle. King Bertold asked, of course, for my assistance in the long-running war with Nareea, and I, of course, agreed to give it. Back then the Nareeans had the upper hand. Their army had pushed into Baronian territory, and the King wanted to push them back. He suggested I work closely with the young, brave and dashing new commander of the army: his daughter Emily, now your Queen.

  ‘With a company of knights and soldiers we roamed the Baronian countryside searching for Nareeans. I would sense their location and then we would plan our attack. Emily was clever, bold and decisive. When we attacked, I would fill the Baronians with confidence and courage, and the Nareeans with self-doubt and fear. In this way, we were successful, and soon the Nareeans were in retreat.’ He cast a slightly embarrassed glance towards King Melane, who looked sternly back, unblinking.

  ‘Most soldiers fight only because they have to, but I could tell that Emily truly loved the excitement of battle. She wanted to conquer the world. We were both, in different ways, addicted to power, and we urged each other on. I became aware that she, too, had some potential to develop mind powers, and to my great regret – I have many regrets from this period – I helped her to develop them.’

  ‘We worked together for a year and then returned to Palandan, where the King made me an honorary Baronian knight. By then, Emily was pregnant. I was the father. Sonya,’ he gestured to her, ‘was born two months after we returned to Palandan.’

  Sonya’s hand went to her mouth. ‘But . . .’ was all she could manage. Banfor put his hand gently on her arm.

  Roderick was stunned. The Queen had told him Banfor was Sonya’s father, but that her mother had died in childbirth.

  I am your mother. Could it be?

  Banfor continued. ‘I wondered if the birth of our daughter would slow Emily down but it seemed to strengthen her will to conquer. And I was so under her spell – there was nothing magical about it, it was the same spell men and women have been placing each other under for centuries – that I did whatever she bid me to do.’

  He looked regretfully at Sonya. ‘Two months after your birth we were off again, returning to battle. We left you with a wet-nurse.

  ‘Before long, the Nareean King . . .’ he looked at King Melane, ‘. . . your father, asked for peace. King Bertold was eager to accept but before the war could end, the two kings had to negotiate a peace treaty.

  ‘The end of the war should have been a source of great joy but – this is how corrupted we were – it terrified Emily and me. Both of us had become dependent upon the thrill of battle. Of course, I could have found another war in another country, but the idea of leaving her was unthinkable. While discussions between the kings continued, the armies remained in the field. One day I detected a small force of Nareeans near the Baronian village of Krindon. We should have left them alone, knowing that peace was probably only a day or two away. Instead, our force of one hundred and fifty men attacked. The Nareeans were outnumbered two to one and, with Emily urging me on, I whipped our soldiers into such a frenzy that they killed them all.

  ‘It is not easy to describe what happened next, both because it is confusing and because I am still ashamed. I had filled the Baronian soldiers with so much fury that this victory was not enough. They ransacked Krindon, hacking to death innocent people, their own countrymen and women, and burning the village to the ground. Then our company turned on itself. The soldiers fought and killed each other.’

  Roderick stared in shocked silence as Banfor looked at the ground. His next words were even more laboured.

  ‘At last I came to my senses, and tried to pull the soldiers back. But by then it was too late. It only ended when almost all the Baronian soldiers were dead, killed by each other, and those left alive were too injured to continue fighting.

  ‘Reports soon reached the King who, disgusted, ordered our arrest. I fled across several borders. If Emily had not been the King’s daughter, she would have been imprisoned. But he could not do that to his only child so instead, with his consent, she returned to the palace, collected Sonya and then, as far as Baronia knew, vanished.’

  He paused, and took another sip of his tea.

  Roderick was unable to contain his curiosity. ‘Where did she go?’

  ‘To a little farm outside Indinwick.’

  Roderick’s eyes widened.

  Banfor sighed. ‘There was another man with powers I had met in Baronia, a healer of great skill. Larn, the man Roderick and Sonya know as their father. King Bertold, who was often troubled by illness, relied greatly upon him.

  ‘I believe Emily and Larn had previously been close but when I arrived her attentions had turned to me. When we started working together with the army, Emily had tried to persuade Larn to join us. She often talked about how unstoppable the three of us would be together, but Larn was uninterested. He was a healer, and that is all he wanted to be. When Emily had to disappear she cut and dyed her hair, and went with Sonya to Larn’s farm. Even though they were only a short ride from Palandan, no one suspected who she was. None of the local people had ever seen the King’s daughter.’

  Roderick looked at Sonya. She looked as shocked as he felt. It was as if the whole foundation upon which their lives had been built was being shaken, and every sentence Banfor uttered shook it harder.

  ‘Larn had previously had great affection for Emily,’ continued Banfor, ‘and it seems that some of it remained.’

  He paused and took a deep breath. ‘Emily brought something else with her. I did not know it when we parted, but she was pregnant with our second child.’

  Banfor turned to look at Roderick, and everyone else’s eyes followed.

  ‘You,’ Banfor said softly.

  I am your mother.

  Roderick’s head spun. It was like he wasn’t really there. Not only was his mother not his mother, but his father was not his father.

  ‘I do not know all that happened in the next few years,’ continued Banfor. ‘Did Emily genuinely love Larn, or was she just using him because she needed somewhere to stay with her two young children? Did she come to enjoy life as a farm wife and mother, or was she burning with eagerness to return to Palandan? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

  ‘Meanwhile, I wandered far and wide, trying to forget Emily and what we had done. I wish I
could say I changed my ways, but I did not.

  ‘I returned to Baronia after two years. It was not hard to track down Emily. I came to the farm one night, and climbed a tree that gave me a clear view into the farmhouse.’ He looked slowly at Sonya and then to Roderick. ‘The four of you were clustered happily around the fire. As I watching that cosy domestic scene, my world changed. I saw for the first time the wickedness of my own life. I had led a worthless and immoral existence while Larn raised my children. The constant use – abuse – of my powers was sucking the life out of me, and I knew that if I continued the way I was going, I would soon be dead.

  ‘I realised one more thing; that in the happy scene I was witnessing through that farmhouse window, there was no place for me.

  ‘I hid the spell book that I had compiled on my travels in the tree. I needed to get rid of it immediately, but I could not bring myself to destroy it.’

  Roderick spoke up. ‘When I found it, I was sure it belonged to my father. And it did – just not the father I thought.’ He thought of Larn, the man who was not his father, but who had been everything he could have wanted in one, and a lump came to his throat.

  Banfor smiled, almost shyly. ‘Once I had hidden the book . . .’ His voice faltered. He looked down for a long moment then up at Sonya and Roderick. ‘I left you,’ he said quietly.

  Sonya reached her hand to his shoulder. He patted her hand, and continued in a stronger voice.

  ‘I walked through the night, promising myself that I would create no more trouble. But there were too many temptations. There was only one place I might find the strength and support I needed to change. I did not stop until I reached the Circle of Mountains.

  ‘My parents met me as I emerged from the tunnel. They knew I had done wrong, but they also knew that I had returned for the right reasons. I promised them I would never use my powers for ill again, and that I would not leave the mountains. And for many years I did not.

  ‘My life became simple. Fishing, cooking, climbing on the rocks that make up the inside walls of the mountains. I continued to feel temptation, but my parents helped me resist. The years passed and I managed to find a kind of contentment. Fifteen years after my return my parents died peacefully together. Before they did, they built the giant invisible cage and used their powers to lure two cockroaches into it, so as to prevent anyone from the outside world finding me and tempting me back to my former life.

  ‘I buried them by the river, and felt truly alone.’ Chester looked up, worriedly. ‘Luckily I had Chester,’ he said quickly, patting the bear.

  ‘I wondered if my parents’ deaths would prompt me to think of leaving again, but they did not. Life went on.’

  CHAPTER 26

  THE QUEEN

  Banfor looked at Roderick and Sonya. ‘And what of the Queen, your mother? Some things I detected when I was in the mountains, and others I have discovered since my return. Sir Drayshus and I have also had the opportunity to speak to Sir Lilley this afternoon and after only minimal persuasion,’ one corner of Sir Drayshus’s mouth lifted in wry amusement, ‘he shared his knowledge of recent events.

  ‘Emily and Larn lived without incident on the farm as Roderick and Sonya grew. Larn continued his work as a healer, growing herbs, and making ointments and potions. About a year after she had left the palace, Emily began to visit her parents again, as her father, the King, was seriously ill.

  ‘Soon after, King Bertold died. Emily was his only child and therefore next in line for the throne. Enough time had passed, it seemed, for her to be given another chance and she was crowned Queen. Larn stayed on his farm with Roderick, who was one, and Sonya, who was two. Why this happened is less clear. Did Emily feel it was her duty to become Queen, and did Larn refuse to leave his home? Did she think it was better for her children to stay with the man who they thought of as their father, rather than grow up in the unnatural environment of the palace? Did Larn think that when Emily became Queen she would again become corrupted, and persuade her to leave the children with him? Her giving you both up could have been a genuinely selfless act, or she may have been happy to move on to another life. Only she knows.

  ‘After she left, Larn employed Gwenda to cook, clean and take care of the children. Eventually they grew close and she stopped going home and became Larn’s wife.’

  Roderick’s head had never had to absorb so much new information in such a short time. He wondered how much more it could take before it started to overflow and dribble out his ears.

  ‘Why did they never tell us?’ asked Sonya.

  Banfor shrugged. ‘Perhaps it was too difficult, too complicated. Perhaps the time was never quite right.’ He took another sip of tea. ‘Emily ruled Baronia for many years without any hint of corruption or malice. She must have found the experience of being Queen challenging, daunting and interesting enough to keep her fully occupied. However, recently that changed.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Ruby.

  He turned to her. ‘Perhaps because of you.’

  ‘Me?!’

  ‘CAKE scared her. People flocked to it, and started to question things that for centuries they had accepted. CAKE threatened Emily’s power, her wealth and even her position. She discovered that you, Ruby, were CAKE’s driving force, and she wanted to get rid of you. I do not know if she tried to kill you. I suspect that would have been her preferred option, but she wasn’t able to. She was powerful enough, however, to make you disappear.’

  Ruby stiffened in her seat. ‘It was her?’

  ‘Yes, and it nearly killed her. Emily was very sick last year.’ Drayshus nodded. Roderick remembered too. For two weeks the Queen had been unable to leave her bed.

  ‘It was the effort she expended making Ruby disappear that made her so ill,’ continued Banfor. ‘Such feats sap the body’s strength. It could easily have killed Emily. But even after Ruby disappeared, CAKE kept growing. Emily realised that to safeguard her power she would have to find another way. Her solution was what we nearly experienced today: war.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Roderick.

  ‘It would have made perfect sense to her,’ said Banfor. ‘A war would undermine CAKE by showing that a large army was needed to protect Baronia. And victory, of course, would lead to a great upsurge in Emily’s own popularity. Her lust for power had re-awakened. Ruling one kingdom was not enough for her; she wanted to conquer another.

  ‘But she couldn’t just attack another kingdom without a reason. That would have made her very unpopular. She had to make it look like they were the aggressor.

  ‘Meanwhile, she wanted Roderick close. It could have been partly a maternal urge, but I think the main reason was that she had detected that he had the potential to develop strong powers, and she wanted to see if she could harness them – and him – for her own ends. Of course her spies had kept a close watch on Sonya and Roderick throughout their lives, and she knew Roderick would never willingly become a knight. So she created a situation that would allow her to unwillingly make him one.’

  Banfor explained how the Queen had faked the poisoned dart attack on the bridge.

  ‘Have we all been played for such fools?’ muttered Drayshus, shaking his head.

  ‘There was no way you could have known,’ said Banfor. ‘Emily wanted a war, but with whom? The obvious answer was Nareea. The two nations had fought before, and there was always suspicion and distrust between them. But she had to be sure that she would win. However, the only way to increase the size of the army would have been to increase taxation, and that would have pushed more people towards CAKE.

  ‘Her mind turned to sorcery. Making Ruby invisible had nearly killed Emily, so she knew her own powers were limited. Roderick had potential, but he wasn’t ready. That’s when she thought of once again enlisting my help.

  ‘But how could she persuade me to help her when it seemed I had turned my back on my previous ways? She decided t
o kidnap my – our – daughter and use her as a hostage. While she knew I had abandoned my children, she suspected, correctly, that I would still be concerned for their wellbeing.

  ‘As you know, she sent out her knights to look for me. She suspected I was in the Forest of Gilderang. She sent you in that direction, Roderick, because she thought your powers might help you get to me. And indeed they did. There was another reason, too. She knew I would know you were my son. And I did. As soon as you entered into the Circle of Mountains, I sensed who you were. Sending our son somewhere so dangerous was a sign from Emily that she meant business with our daughter.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me that I was your son then?’ asked Roderick.

  ‘I wanted to find out what was really going on before I did something as dramatic as that. I didn’t want to upend your life without a good reason.’

  ‘I think my life has been pretty thoroughly upended anyway!’ said Roderick.

  ‘True enough. Of course, before you found me, the invisible Ruby did. I listened to her story, and decided to risk using my powers to cure her. I refused her invitation to return to the world and help CAKE –’ heads turned in surprise towards Ruby, ‘– not because I did not think her cause was just, but because I was still unready to leave. I had too many bad memories of the outside world.

  ‘But when Roderick arrived, and gave me Emily’s letter, it was clear that Sonya was in danger, so I came.’

  ‘Would the Queen really have harmed her own daughter?’ asked Ruby.

  ‘I do not know. I was not prepared to take the risk.’

  Banfor turned to Roderick and smiled. ‘Even in these difficult circumstances, it was wonderful to finally meet my son. I used my powers once again, to widen the cockroach’s cage, but the effort drained me. Not only that, it re-awakened the itch that had lain dormant for so long. Roderick and Ruby, you noticed how fidgety I was afterwards. When I recovered, all I could think about was using my powers again. It has been a constant fight not to ever since. In fact, even now,’ his voice climbed higher, and a not-so-pleasant smile played at the edges of his mouth, ‘there is a part of me that wants to unleash havoc and create madness in this very room.’