by Jenny Ealey
More clearly than anything else Tarkyn could have done, that question in the face of seeing Stormaway surrounded by angry woodfolk, told them that he assumed the wizard was in no danger, though whether it was because of the woodfolk’s inherent goodwill or the wizard’s power wasn’t clear.
Tree Wind faced Tarkyn, hands on hips, and said belligerently, “We have just found out that Falling Rain was starved and kept almost constantly awake the whole time he was captive, in spite of the fact that he was desperately ill. We are not very impressed. I hope you feel your welfare is worth that sort of disregard for humanity.”
“I think you know I do not,” replied Tarkyn evenly. “I do not know what is common practice in interrogating prisoners since I have never been directly involved in it myself. However, I must confess that I suspect some prisoners have met with far worse fates than sleep deprivation and starvation.” When an angry babble of voices greeted this, the prince put up his hands, “I’m not saying I condone it. I’m just saying I suspect it happens. However, in Falling Rain’s case I was unaware of anything other than the mind control. Saying that, all my information emanates from Stormaway.” He transferred his gaze to the wizard, “Stormaway, I am giving you a direct order to answer truthfully. Were you aware of the starvation and sleep deprivation that Falling Rain says that he suffered?”
“No, Sire, I was not.”
The dangerous air of displeasure among the woodfolk changed to confusion then consternation.
Falling Rain waved his hand in exasperation, “Why would you believe a wizard above me, a woodman?”
“We don’t,” explained Waterstone. “We believe both of you. Stormaway would not disobey a direct order from Tarkyn and so we know he is telling the truth. But equally, we have no reason to doubt you.”
“…which leaves us with the uncomfortable knowledge that other people knew about you,” said Autumn Leaves, “and were working independently of the king and Stormaway in trying to extract information from you.”
“But who? I don’t know who these people were,” said Falling Rain.
Waterstone glanced from Stormaway to Tarkyn before returning his gaze to Falling Rain. “We can hypothesize but only you can really tell us that. It will be in your memories. If you share them with Tarkyn, who is the only sorcerer who can receive images, he may recognise them.”
Falling Rain’s eyes flared in alarm. He made a sudden move as though to flick into hiding but Tree Wind reached out and grasped him firmly on his shoulder before he could disappear.
“Let me go,” he snapped, twisting his shoulder out of her grasp. “I am not going to open my mind up to some stinking sorcerer. You may all have fallen under his spell but I have no reason to trust him.”
“You don’t have to show him directly,” said Tree Wind, after a moment’s thought. “You can show your memories to one of us and we can transmit the images to Tarkyn.”
“I don’t want to trust him with my memories even indirectly. I don’t want to expose my suffering and weakness to a complete stranger, particularlythat stranger.”
Tree Wind was about to say something further but Tarkyn waved his hand to curtail her, “No. Don’t push him. He’s quite right. I wouldn’t want to begin my relationship with a stranger by showing him what I went through with the virus or the mountainfolk, for instance. Leave the poor man alone. He has enough to contend with, coming back amongst you all. When he feels easier among us and has caught up with everything that has happened, he may feel differently.” Just when everyone was thinking how understanding Tarkyn was being, he added firmly, “However, Falling Rain, I do not wish to be referred to again as a stinking sorcerer. I expect my respectful treatment of you to be reciprocated. Even if you do not trust me, I do not think that is too much to ask. Do you?”
Falling Rain’s eyes narrowed as he tried to gauge the measure of the man before him. “No. That is not too much. I will agree to an armed truce, so to speak. I beg your pardon for speaking offensively.”
Tarkyn nodded shortly, saying as he left, “For those of you who wish to, we will discuss the implications of Falling Rain’s revelations on the other side of the firesite when you are ready. You may or may not join us as you see fit, Falling Rain.”
Even as he left, Waterstone and Rainstorm peeled off to follow him. When Tarkyn turned to plonk himself despondently against a log, he found them hard on his heels.
“Falling Rain is really angry, isn’t he?” said Rainstorm, as they sat down on either side of him.
“Understandably… and Tree Wind has reverted to type again.” Tarkyn sighed, “After all these weeks of looking forward to meeting Falling Rain, now that we’ve found him, he absolutely detests me.”
“Hardly surprising. He hates what was done to him,” said Rainstorm, “And let’s face it, any of us would, especially when it led to his long exile.”
“And he must see Markazon and you as the cause of all his misfortune,” Waterstone glanced sideways at Tarkyn, “I think he may be your biggest challenge yet. He has more reason to be resentful of you than the rest of us put together.”
“Well, at least he’s not resentful about the oath. He didn’t swear it.” Tarkyn suddenly gave a wry grin, “It’s great, isn’t it? A new reason for being hated.”
“I don’t think he’s too keen on anybody right now,” said Stormaway, joining them. “It is only hours since he found out that twelve years of his life were wasted because of miscommunication. He needs time to come to terms with it.” He handed around a wine flask and some stoneware cups. “I am shocked by what he told us, though. I’ve been racking my brains to work out who it could have been.” He glanced around the group, “Falling Rain wasn’t kept in the dungeons, you know. Because we knew we had found someone extraordinary, I kept him hidden in my private rooms. So I suspect my apprentice, Journeyman Cloudmaker, must have been one of the conspirators because he knew how to enter my rooms and where keys were kept.”
“And he’s been at the centre of the efforts to hunt us down,” added Waterstone.
Other woodfolk began to drift over to join them. Lapping Water handed Tarkyn a soft doughy roll with honey in it before sitting down, “Here you are. To cheer you up.”
Tarkyn smiled at her, “Thanks. Did I look upset?”
She put her head on one side as she considered, “Not exactly. But you seem to sort out one episode of ill feeling just in time for another to pop up and take its place. It must wear you down sometimes.”
Tarkyn nodded but said nothing further because too many people were now listening. He noticed that Falling Rain and Tree Wind had stayed on their own on the other side of the firesite. He scanned the perimeter of the clearing and spotted the egret perched high in a tree beyond the firelight, neck retracted as she waited faithfully. Sending up waves of reassurance and an invitation, he showed her Falling Rain sitting with Tree Wind away from the crowd. He was rewarded with the sight of her taking off and gliding down in a wide spiral to land beside Falling Rain. He watched Falling Rain break off from his discussion with Tree Wind and, with a gentle smile, stroke Elsie. After a moment, Falling Rain raised his head and looked directly across at Tarkyn who smiled slightly in return before having his attention claimed by Rainstorm.
“Did you see that? That egret just flew down into the middle of our firesite, calm as you like, and landed right next to Falling Rain.”
Tarkyn grinned broadly, “Yes, I did see that. That is Elsie, Falling Rain’s pet egret. He reared her from a chick. She’s coming with us. So don’t go shooting her for dinner by mistake.”
Rainstorm and North Wind looked at each other and went out of focus for a minute or two. North Wind smiled, “There. Done. We just told everyone so that no one makes a mistake. We’ll have to make sure the kids know in the morning. They’ll probably love finding things for her to eat. I wonder if she’ll let them near her?”
“I think you’d better have that discussion with Falling Rain later,” answered Waterstone. He looked quizzical
ly at Tarkyn, “Now, do you think we can drag our minds back to the issue of other sorcerers knowing about us?”
“Sorry, big brother,” said Tarkyn meekly, with a smile in his eyes. He hesitated and then said, “Can I just sort out a couple of things that I’ve been wondering about?” After a rhetorical pause for permission, he continued, “Firstly, how could Falling Rain have led Markazon and Stormaway to you in the first place? Why didn’t you just get warning from your lookouts and flick into hiding as you usually do? And secondly, why didn’t someone try to use mind control on Golden Toad and Rushwind when they were held captive?”
“It was one of the few times in woodfolk history that we couldn’t flick into hiding,” answered Summer Rain. “There were too many sick people who were unable to move themselves and we couldn’t leave them unprotected. A casual passer-by still would not have found us because of our camouflage, but Falling Rain knew where we were.”
“And that young upstart, Journeyman, did try to use mind control on us,” replied Golden Toad, “But generally, woodfolk can resist it since we use it effectively ourselves. Falling Rain would only have succumbed because of his weakened state which we’ve just discovered was even more weakened by hunger and lack of sleep. And secondly, Journeyman didn’t really know what he was doing.”
“Whereas, I can assure you, I did. Mind control is not a natural skill for sorcerers,” explained Stormaway. “And even with training, not all wizards are able to pick it up. Unfortunately, or so I thought at the time - now I think, fortunately - Journeyman was not a particularly adept apprentice. Good at weather, as you’ve witnessed. Not bad at shielding. Had a way with training animals but used the stick more than the carrot. Never got the hang of mind control. Couldn’t remember herbs and potions. Altogether, a bit of a dead loss, really.”
“Do you remember with whom he spent his free time?” asked Danton.
Stormaway took a sip of wine as he thought about it, then shrugged, “I took very little interest in his antics outside the confines of my office. He did strike me as a little toadeater though. I think he spent quite a bit of his time fostering powerful connections; ensuring he had a position to move into after he finished his training. I must say I didn’t expect it to be my position he moved into. But after Markazon died, I was ousted and Journeyman took my place as court wizard. Pure idiocy on the twins’ part. Journeyman was far less skilled than I.” He shrugged, “But there you are. I should have paid more attention to what he was doingbetween lessons, not in lessons.”
Tarkyn frowned in frustration, “We really need to know from Falling Rain, don’t we?”
“And I don’t think we can leave it too long. It is important to our safety that we know who knows about us,” added Autumn Leaves.
Lapping Water smiled at him, “It can’t be that urgent. We have done without the knowledge for twelve years.”
“But something has changed,” Autumn Leaves helped himself to some wine from the flask as he talked, “We have had three woodfolk captured, and a pack of wolves trained up to look for us. Suddenly, whoever knows about us wants to find us.”
“Hmm, I think Tarkyn is what has changed,” said Lapping Water, glancing at the prince. “That same Journeyman who controlled the wolves also led the hunting party that tracked down Tarkyn.”
“But the first time, the wolves didn’t follow Tarkyn’s scent. They stopped searching when they couldn’t follow our scent up into the trees even though Tarkyn’s scent was on the ground leading to the road,” objected Waterstone.
Lapping Water threw her hands up. “I don’t know. Maybe they weren’t looking for Tarkyn then. When the next hunt set out, they knew Tarkyn had been in the area because of the fire.”
They were interrupted at this point by the appearance of Falling Rain at the edge of the group. He stood there, hands on hips and looked around the woodfolk. “Because it is important to the safety of woodfolk, I will release my memories to you,” He raised his hand to quell the murmurs of thanks. “On two conditions.” The woodman brought his hard gaze to bear on Tarkyn. “That you, Tarkyn Tamadil, will agree to receiveall the memories I wish you to see and that you, in exchange, will expose your memories of suffering to me.”
Tarkyn stared back at him, knowing that Falling Rain was planning to wreak his revenge on him by forcing him to confront the extent of the pain inflicted on the woodman both in captivity and in exile. He also believed that Falling Rain would revel in any pain the prince had endured and consider it to be due punishment for what the woodman had been through. But more than this, Tarkyn knew he had no choice if he was to fulfil his commitment to the woodfolk to protect them. As he drew breath to reply, Lapping Water, Waterstone, Rainstorm and several others rose hotly to his defence.
Falling Rain glared at them, “You people are pathetic. This man should face what was done on his behalf. If you want my knowledge, those are my conditions. Take them or leave them.”
Amid another round of protests, Tarkyn said quietly, “I will take them.”
“No, Tarkyn,” exclaimed Lapping Water. “You shouldn’t have to endure this.”
Tarkyn raised a hand, as others joined their voices to hers. “After what has happened to him, Falling Rain deserves his pound of flesh. And he is right. Since it was done for my sake, I should be the one to give it to him. Waterstone told him that we would make him reparation in any way we could. So here is an opportunity to do so, at least in part.” Tarkyn locked gazes with Falling Rain and, ignoring the burning hatred he saw in the woodman’s eyes, asked mildly, “Would you like someone with you while you do this?”
Falling Rain glanced at Tree Wind but then said firmly, “No. This is between you and me only.”
Tarkyn shrugged apologetically, “I am afraid I will have to insist that at least one person stands guard over us during the proceedings. I have undertaken not to place myself in unnecessary danger and I’m afraid that, since I have had no undertaking from you not to harm me, I must insure my safety while I am concentrating. If, however, you feel you can give me that assurance, lookouts can be deployed simply to ensure that we are not disturbed.”
Falling Rain’s eyes narrowed as he considered his options. “And who will ensure that you do not harm me?”
Tarkyn raised his eyebrows slightly, “My oath to protect all woodfolk will ensure that.”
Falling Rain realised that everyone around him, whether he agreed with them or not, had complete faith in Tarkyn’s word and would not see the need for further protection for him.
Surprisingly, Waterstone spoke up, “I will undertake to offer you protection above and beyond Tarkyn’s word. I would not see you feeling isolated and unsupported.” He gave a wry smile, “There is not much I could do against Tarkyn’s power if he chose to use it, but I could throw myself between you, I suppose.” His smile broadened, “And I could argue with him.”
Falling Rain’s stance relaxed slightly, “Thank you, Waterstone,” he said warmly. “That means a great deal to me.” He looked back at Tarkyn, “I will give you my word not to harm you until the sunrise. Then I will review it. If you are willing to accept my word, then I will accept your assurance that you will not harm me,” he glanced at Waterstone, “and so will not draw on Waterstone’s offer of protection.”
Tarkyn nodded and stood up. He took a deep breath. “Lead the way. I am sure you will know somewhere near here that will suit our purpose.” Without meeting the eyes of any of the gathered woodfolk, their prince walked resolutely out of the clearing in the wake of the vengeful woodman, to accept his punishment for deeds done by others at a time when he was only a small boy.
Chapter 64
Falling Rain led them into the depths of nearby pine forest. Once they had pushed their way through the outer skirts of the pine trees, they found themselves in another world of damp mosses and soft pine needles.
Tarkyn murmured, “Lumaya,” and raised a soft ball of white light. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said. “Sorcerers aren’t as adept in th
e dark as woodfolk.” He gazed around at the closely woven canopy above them and the soft yellow and green mosses that grew in such profusion between and up the trees. A narrow trickle of water gurgled gently as it pushed its way through the moss and pine needles. “This is beautiful in here, isn’t it?”
Falling Rain eyed him but didn’t reply, simply showing him to a dry spot where they could sit cross-legged opposite each other on a soft bed of dry pine needles. “You can put that out now,” he said. “There are luminous fungi on many of these trees. They will give us enough light to be able to discern each other in the darkness.”
When Tarkyn extinguished his light, he gradually became aware of a soft, pale yellow light that was emanating from the trunks of nearby trees. He walked over and peered up closely at the fungi. “What do these look like in daylight?”
Falling Rain shrugged, “Just plain brown, uninteresting fungi. Look. There are similar toadstools over there. Exactly the same. Magical at night. Unexceptional during the day.”
“Hmm, amazing.” Tarkyn took a sharp breath and became business-like as he returned to take up his position sitting opposite Falling Rain. “Right. I suppose we had better get on with it. You realise I can only send you images and feelings, don’t you. But I think that is what you want really, isn’t it? The feelings?”
Falling Rain nodded shortly, “And what about you? Can you pick up the words in my memories or only images?”
Tarkyn raised his eyebrow in surprise, “Now you mention it, I realise I can pick up words if they are direct memories but I can’t if they are images or mind talking.” He settled his elbows into his knees and looked straight into Falling Rain’s eyes. “Right. You’re calling the shots. So how do you want to do this?”
“You will show me what I ask, then I will show you what I choose. In the end I will show you all you want to know. Agreed?” he asked rhetorically. Falling Rain was clearly enjoying wielding his power. “I understand you were also exiled. Let me see that.”