by Liam Carrack
“You play your part well. No one would know you are not my hired helper.” I hoped that some praise would ease his tension. There were few present here to witness any odd conversation between master and servant. “I do not need servants. I do, however, wish for students. Do you know what it means to be a student?”
He thought back to me instead of using words aloud. I did not press him on it however. “I have learned to play many parts. What part do you wish to cast me in now old man?”
Why did they always call me that? Well you are old and a man. I suppose it is only accuracy. “My name is Horice, not old man, and I do not give you my name lightly. I know that one’s true name is a thing to cherish, and share with only those you trust and care for. This is why I changed my request as to what you would have me call you. Surely you dislike me calling you boy.”
Again the shock, but this time it was more inwardly visible than outwardly apparent. “You afford me respect. Why?” Finally a statement aloud.
“I think you worthy of it, so far. You have exceeded my expectations in many ways, and you have managed to survive in a hostile environment at a very young age. Add to that your caring for another, and you are a rather astounding fellow.”
“And what would you have of me?” I could see that we had come to the bargaining table. I would not dicker long if I could help it. I would state my wishes plainly and follow them with all the sugaring I could think of.
“I have told you I wish for students. I have a patron who is both talented and wealthy. My desire is to take you on as an apprentice of sorts. There would be tedious exercises, but you would learn to use your Skills and Abilities such as you have found in yourself, as well as working your mind. You would have a roof over your head and food in your belly. You would be clean and dry and warm in the coming cold months. All this I would offer in exchange for your word not to steal from my Lady, not to leave until your training is complete, and your dedication to your studies.”
“What of my cousin? She can not be left alone on these streets.” This was a deal breaker for him. If I could not accept his ‘cousin’ he would not accept my deal.
“May I meet her before I agree to anything?” He looked me over again warily. We were nearing the Compound’s West gate so I slowed our pace in hopes that she would be near by. That this youth could find his way back here I had no misconceptions. His lithe little body and quick mind could get him just about anywhere in this city I had no doubt, but I did not wish to lose him in case he decided not to return. I may not have discussed this venture with Llanalla yet, but if he were before her she could not help but agree. I knew her soft heart. She could no more throw a baby rabbit to a pack of wolves than send this child back out into the streets I was sure, but if he were not there it would be much easier for her to deny him. As I thought this a familiar prickle ran down my spine and I whirled to my left to catch sight of a miniature shadow picking its way closer from an alley nearby.
“Seh, see.” Had I heard that right? He was still talking in hoarse whispers as this brilliantly Gifted but dirty and emaciated young child tottered out of hiding and into the boy’s waiting arms. I shouldered all three parcels.
“This way, both of you. Pick her up if you have to, but someone no one of us wishes to deal with may be around the next corner. Into the compound with me, hurry.” How was I so sure something was wrong; that someone or something was about to cause us trouble if we were not safely within Gellissarn’s walls? The Sight! I was racing for the gate and had it shut behind all three of us just as I heard the hooves of heavy cavalry march past outside. Had they seen something? I ushered the children around into an outbuilding next to the kitchen. What was going on out there?
“What is this place?” He stared about at the stores Cook had Jesemn neatly arrange out here for her convenience.
“This is a storage building, that the vermin might not run rampant in the Hall,” I gestured toward Gellissarn Hall with my arm. “The kitchen is through that doorway. Odd, Cook is usually alert to even the slightest movement near her storehouse.”
“That? That is where you invite us to live? How many reside there now?” He was growing concerned, but I could not ascertain exactly what he thought wrong with the accommodations before him. They were some of the oldest and most lavish in all the realm.
“Let me see. Llanalla is the Lady here, her Housemistress Scinna, Cook, Dalla, Yesmena, and just there above the stable,” I was pointing again, “is were Jesemn has his rooms. Oh, and myself of course.”
“You are master of all this?” He said in awe and yet kept himself and the girl apart. We had not completed our bargain it seemed.
“No, I am employed by my Lady, Llanalla. She is Mistress of all you see.” He thought me a madman now.
“No woman could hold all this on her own. You lie old man.” He was angry. My complete candor was getting me nowhere. I could only hope that with time he would be able to trust me.
“I am Horice, as I have told you, and you have the Ability to discern truth from falsehood. I tell you no lie. Only we few live here.”
His eyes narrowed, “Yes, perhaps, but you leave something out. What is it?”
“I have not yet asked permission to take on new students.” I opened my hands as one would show ones final hand in a game of Garddak.” He was not satisfied at that.
“No, you leave some one out in your tally. Who?” His eyes narrowed and his tone was accusatory. What had been done to create such skepticism in one so young.
Maersyn. He meant the babe, but how could he know? “There is a babe within also. He is but an infant. Does his presence concern you?” I was truly curious. What could be setting off his alarm bells? His head turned to look at his tiny compatriot. I hoped he would come around. She flashed me an odd look and I was given an unexpected feeling of surety that everything would be okay.
“I suppose not.” He spit in his hand and held it out palm up. He had a look of stern resolve about him. As if he had just made the decision to go to war, or whom to marry. “If your lady permits I, Wenss, will stay.” He made a bow of sorts, then looked to the girl and she nodded her head in agreement. There was a twinkle of merriment in her eyes as if we two shared some quick joke that Wenss beside her was oblivious to. Wenss and I shook hands. The deal was struck.
Llanalla
Cook had a pitcher in her hands, and the lad was trailing her with cups. I hadn’t seen Cook hustle so since Garvyn had broken his arm falling from a tree at least 15 years ago. He had received a stern talking to afterward for scaring her. I hoped I wouldn’t be on the receiving end of such a scathing lecture for this. She slowed only a moment when she came close enough to get a good look at the rabble in her herb garden. She made me proud when she picked her skirts back up and kept heading in our direction.
I picked a leaf or two of mint, and swayed them beneath the fallen woman’s nose. Her eyes flickered open, and we got her sitting high enough to drink from one of the cups. Jesemn came next with a litter. Dalla followed with what looked like … honey cakes? I nearly laughed out loud. How markedly different this rag tag jumble of people were from those children that I remembered assembled on this lawn eating honey cakes when I was a child. The amusing comparison aside I had to regain some order. I was up and leading the way back toward the hall before I realized that I had not yet introduced myself to the refugees to whom I had granted asylum, nor had I learned their story.
The woman declined the litter, but was slow in gaining the steps of the back portico of Gellissarn Hall. There we sat in the shade and I approached Aahurn and Lord … What’s-his-name. “I must needs know who you are, and from whom I am sheltering you.” This Lord looked at Aahurn incredulously, then back to me.
“Lady, I owe you a profound thanks, but might I ask to speak with the Lord of this manor?”
I wasn’t affronted merely amused. I had read that the Dynaly women were not active in politics, nor could they own land or conduct business, but I had, until this momen
t, thought this an exaggeration. “I am Lady here. I have no husband, nor is my father still living. If you wish to treat, you will treat with me.” I said this with as much candor and good nature as I could summon.
“You Lady, are Ruler of this Hall?” He was incredulous. It was a good thing Aunt Trefalla wasn’t around. I would hate to see them spar over this point.
“Yes.” I put hands to hips and readied for a battle that I hoped I might avoid if I kept my head clear and my wits about me. I was of a height to look him directly in the eye and regardless of my appearance my status in my own home was unshakable. His was questionable. I had only the word of a man I had just met to back it. “Aahurn tells me that you were a man of great import in Dynal. It appears you have fallen on hard times.” I had meant this simply as an observation, but he took immediate offense.
“Your people do me ill, Lady. I have been rebuffed at every door and chased from your Council as a beggar and a ruffian though I carry regal documentation.” He was growling at me. I hoped it was his apparently desperate situation and not some general hatred of all women that had him reacting in this way.
“Perhaps it is your present appearance. Do not take that as a jibe.” I tried to modulate my tone to one of sympathetic, if stern, cooperation and not one of condescension. “My people take great stock in the face one shows the world. Your present state may not be by choice, but the Council Guards do not look too closely, and there are many who beg entrance these days.” I could feel my facial expression change as an intriguing question reasserted itself in my mind. “What regal documentation do you carry and why? Perhaps I could facilitate some meeting between you. I have family ties to a member of the council.” That was stretching the truth, but I could have a hearing at the council by tomorrow if I truly wished it.
He appeared to be mulling this information over with a wry grimace. He found these dealings unsavory, I could see that plainly. “Hmmm. I suppose I have no choice. My name is Lord Fistall. I was second to his Majesty King Jeivall and am now Guardian to King Maevall.” He gestured to the babe in arms. It looked as though he took his position seriously, but I could tell that he had no interest in being tied to an infant, King or no. “The maids are his wet nurse, and his late mother’s maids.” He gave them no names, I guessed that in his mind they held no importance save that they keep the child out of his way. “I do wish to have conference with your… Council, as soon as may be arranged.” He held obvious distain for our governing body, but that was of little import to me.
“I will gain entrance in tomorrows assembly, but for now you must rest. I will assign you quarters within my home, and afford you with all the amenities this Hall can safely offer. I suggest that you accept my hospitality that you might go forth to the Council in what they will consider a presentable state. I will be busy tending to the mess you have left outside my walls until the late meal. Please attend me then, that I may be able to relate my progress.” I turned on my heel and strode into the Hall to look for Cook and Scinna. Behind me I could feel that Lord Fistall was seething at the idea that a woman was telling him what to do and where to attend her, but it only brought a smile to my lips. The smile vanished when I saw Scinna’s look of disapproval. I grabbed her by the arm and beckoned Cook to follow me into the formal dinning room I so often avoided.
“You would embroil us further in their troubles? What are you thinking girl?” Scinna was obviously unhappy.
“I am thinking we have a cover story, and three women trained in tending children, free for the asking. They would not have followed thusly,” I pointed over my shoulder in the general direction of the party on the veranda, “if they weren’t believers in a cause. They would hardly walk away from their duty now when there is promise of a roof over their heads and food for their stomachs. Besides that, if what the man says is true, we could be doing a great deed for Dynal and for all Phirra. His clothes may be in tatters, but his armor and weaponry are of the finest quality. I remember going down to the Blacksmith’s Guild Hall with Garvyn when we were young. I can tell fine workmanship as well as you Scinna. Take a close look.”
“He could have taken it off a corpse.” Why did she suddenly sound so much like a petulant child?
“Aahurn recognized him, and called him by name.”
“Who?” Her look changed to one of wary distrust. What was going through her mind?
“Aahurn. The younger man standing with that Lord Fistall.” She looked even more uncomfortable and distrusting after I pointed him out. Why was that?
“This could all be a ruse. You have let looters into our very home. We are all dead.” There was real fear in her eyes now. She was backing away, but Cook grabbed her elbow and did what I could not. She slapped Scinna right across the face.
“Don’t be stupid. If that were their aim they would have begun by now, and I’ve never heard of raiders without horses who tote about with them maids and a babe. Now child, who is this Aherd, and how do you know him?” She didn’t sound very trusting either.
I had never heard Cook like this, but she was right. “His name is Aahurn, with an N, and Seamstress Mennia has him in her employ. He was helping me home with my purchases, and he knew Garvyn. I’m sure of it. He has the Gift and he is a good man, of that I am equally sure.” Though why I couldn’t say. “As to the boy who I sent to you for help, I don’t know who he is, but he was right where I needed him when I needed him. His motives may be suspect, but again something tells me he is a good person.”
“Very well, what would you have of us Lady?” Cook had never acquiesced to my authority in so obvious a way before. I knew not what to make of it for a moment.
“I need you to begin preparing a grand meal for the Lord, Aahurn, Horice, and myself, to be served in here, a hearty meal for the maids, the boy, and the babes. I will need Yesmena and Dalla to air out their best for serving duties. Feed them before us, I know it’s not custom, but I have a feeling this meal will be long and tedious and I don’t want to hear their stomachs. They must appear aloof and utterly unperturbed by anything that goes on here. Keep Jesemn out of the sight of these two as much as possible. The fewer men they see here the more off balance that pompous Fistall will be.” I turned to Scinna. “I need you to air out the rooms in the West wing for Fistall and Aahurn. Put the maids in rooms near the nursery, you know which ones. Barracks the Fighter somewhere in one of the outbuildings, but keep him away from his Lord if you can. Treat the boy as if he were Aahurn’s squire or valet. Stay cold and aloof, both of you. You are my generals. We must appear to be as free thinking and capable as any man could ever hope to be. I trust in your judgment. Do not let me down.”
They both nodded to me like the generals I had named them and went off on their assignments. I had heaped their plates high and I hoped they would not choke on it. They were neither of them as young as they once were, and these tasks were hardly the norm in this house. Damn! Tobbyrn. In all this fuss I had forgotten. Would he show on time? At all? Would his presence undermine my authority? Would he know Aahurn? I was making for the nursery in hopes of finding Maersyn with whichever woman had won, but decided against it and walked back to where I could hear voices. Where was Horice in all this?
Sir Aahurn Sorvil of Dynal Emrys
“Calm yourself Llawylla girl.” I was smiling even to my eyes now. Garvyn had been right about his feisty younger sister. No one would call her little. She was almost as tall as I, but slender and willowy. So many of these Phiriaen were heavy and slothful, but not this winsome girl. She had a spark, and now she was staring shockedly at me.
“Gods Damned Fucking Idiots! How dare they, those Piss Swilling Sons of Whores. I’ll rip off your heads and shit down your throats!” It wasn’t in Phiriaen trade tongue, but I knew my own language and I lunged to cover Llanalla’s ears. It wasn’t that I thought she had never heard such sentiments, but I knew that voice and I needed her to think well of the man; not swayed to ill-judgment of him by his coarse statements. She tugged my hands away as Lord
Fistall came into view. He was ragged. So, it was true. We had fallen completely. I was crushed. I hadn’t really believed it until this moment. The loss I felt ached as no other disappointment ever had. It was like a physical wound. I would never again swim the lakes I had known as a child. I would never see the fields choked with bleating goats or walk through hamlets filled with the smiling faces of my brethren. Would I never see my brother and his family again? What of my sister, my mother?
All this flashed through my mind in a single moment before my training as a warrior kicked in. The ladies purchases I left in the dust. We were close enough to her Compound that she could drag them into the rear gate herself if need be. He had women with him! Lord Fistall was a good man, but he was all warrior, what was he doing escorting women about? They looked as badly off, if not worse, than he did. At least he still had his mail and Riverblane at his hand.
I heard her exclaim behind me. Did she think her purchases more important than human life? Perhaps Garvyn had been wrong about her liberal ideas. I had hoped to gain her trust and convince her that she could do something to aid those of my people swelling the streets of this and other Phiriaen Cities. Perhaps I need not bother. So, she was as materialistic and self absorbed as the rest of her self-important people. A bitter lump rose in my throat, but I tried not to let it show through in my hasty reply of who he was and that I meant to help him whether she liked it or not.
I looked down the street, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. I looked back over my shoulder and gaped. Scuf had apparently followed us, even though I had bade him not to, and had picked up what I had dropped. I watched him as he was slipping in the back gate of Gellisarn Hall. The women that had been trailing Lord Fistall were missing. Could she be offering a safe haven to a group of Dynaly refugees? She still held the gate open and stared at me, obviously waiting. I grabbed Lord Fistall and shoved him toward the offered hospitality. Had I misjudged this woman or had she simply thought to deliver us more quietly into custody? My instincts said the latter, but my Gift suggested safety. One of Lord Fistall’s men rushed toward us at that moment and I could see the rising dust of cavalry heading this way.