* * *
"I only tell you this because I am old and it no longer matters whether my death comes today or next turn," the physician's clouded eyes attempted to make out Rodrik's face. Nearly blind, the old physician had to rely on his sense of touch to treat many patients. If the King had allowed it, he would have left Lironis long ago.
"There were two babes inside Tandelis' court that morning, one of which was Lady Rinda's. That is the one the King sent to the kitchens." A coughing fit engulfed the ancient healer, and his manservant quickly brought watered wine for the old man to drink.
"That is the story he believes, at least," the physician croaked. "Have you ever thought to ask yourself why the deaths and deformities plaguing Fyris have not touched Lironis? I ask you to ponder that. And if you value your life and the life of your Prince, you'd best be well away from here before long." Wetness gurgled in the old physician's throat as he accepted another sip of wine.
Without a reply, Rodrik turned on his heel and walked away. He hadn't failed to see the hopeless expression on the manservant's face, however. It begged Rodrik to take him along as well.
* * *
"So Father sent Lady Rinda's child to the kitchens. Was that better than killing her outright?" Amlis studied Rodrik's face. Rodrik revealed no emotion, except for the white lines around his lips. Rodrik was furious.
At the time of Tandelis' death, Rinda was a widow—her husband had died in an unfortunate hunting accident according to Yevil, who'd happened upon the body. Savaged by wild boars, he'd reported. Lord Andwil's death had left behind a grieving widow and a child less than two turns of age. Barely six moon-turns later, Rinda was also dead, as was her child, according to official records.
"Amlis, I tell you this because I trust you. The physician says two babes were inside Tandelis' court that morning. Your father believes he sent Rinda's daughter to the kitchens." Amlis' eyes widened in shock at Rodrik's words.
* * *
"Finder, there is no time to instruct you in the matters of politics, and it wouldn't matter much to you anyway. Just stand still, don't fidget and whatever you do, don't spill my wine," Amlis muttered as I struggled to keep up with his angry walk. His legs were much longer than mine, although he was still three fingers shorter than Wolter.
We were on our way to a council meeting with the King and his inner circle, who acted as his advisors. Everyone in the palace knew that Tamblin and Yevil had their way in all things; the others merely nodded and agreed, heaping praise upon the King for making such wise and timely judgments.
Even Timblor, usually not at a loss for words, kept silent while his father and the King's right hand spoke. I'd determined that deaths might occur if anyone thought to disagree with Yevil or the King.
"Has our Finder committed any other transgressions? I wouldn't mind a glass of wine and a bit of amusement, brother," Timblor and Brin caught up with us just outside the King's council chambers. Timblor was dressed rakishly in a well-fitted red velvet tunic over blue trousers, his black boots polished until they shone. Brin was good at his job; there was no doubt of that. I turned my face away from the Heir while Amlis slapped his chuckling brother halfheartedly on the back and walked into the council chamber behind him.
The room was built in an oval, with glass windows along the outside wall. The glass itself would have built a city from its worth, and just like the window in Amlis' study, each pane was tightly fitted into the frame and sealed against the weather.
A fireplace large enough for six tall men to stand inside roared against the inside wall and three rugs lay on the floor, one of which supported a long, heavy oak table. Taking my position at the left of Amlis' chair, I prepared myself for a long and trying session of standing still. Things often have a way of veering away from any normal plan, however, and that day proved it easily.
The King, his sons and the inner circle were all seated when two large men bore a sheep into the room and dumped it on the table. Gasps and whispers began immediately, and I could see plain enough that the sheep had two heads and five legs.
Chapter 4
"This is happening throughout Fyris," Yevil stood to speak. The King settled for glaring malevolently at the dead sheep instead, as if his will could force the carcass into a normal shape. "At first I dismissed the reports, as a misshapen animal or babe here and there is to be expected. That is no longer true. Six in the same herd were born deformed. This one is the most palatable to look upon." Yevil had been drinking before this meeting; his eyes, normally a clearer green, were clouded, just as they'd been the first time I'd seen him.
Amlis' fingers gripped the arms of his chair tightly, while his brother dismissed the sheep's carcass altogether, preferring to sip his wine and stare out the large windows. "What is this to us?" Timblor sniffed.
"This, coupled with the fact that the herds are not producing lambs, calves or piglets as they should. Hens have ceased laying. We must find a cause for this and rid our land of its taint," Yevil snarled at Timblor. Timblor ignored Yevil's anger—wasn't wise enough to recognize it. Amlis judiciously said nothing.
"What could possibly cause that?" Hirill asked. I did not turn in his direction but wondered why he would ask—after all, it was only a few days since he'd sat at an inn with Rodrik's father and Prince Amlis, writing a letter to someone who might consent to control whatever was poisoning Fyris.
"It has to be the barbarians. There's no other explanation," Tamblin growled his first words of the meeting. "They have wizards or conjurers or some such, who are attempting to kill us and take over our land. I want each of you to ride out today and prepare the cities in your principalities for conscription and war. Bring all able-bodied men to Lironis for training. Then we will set forth and attack."
"What about ships?" another of Tamblin's circle asked. "We'll need them to sail northward."
"Ah, that's where my youngest will help," Tamblin turned a nasty grin toward Amlis.
* * *
"There are no wizards or conjurers, and no threat of attack from the barbarians," Amlis angrily shoved personal items into a trunk that Finder had carefully filled with folded clothing. "Father is looking to preserve his own life as long as possible. He knows Fyris is dying, so he looks to take healthy land away from the barbarians in the north."
"I know this as well as you, cousin," Rodrik muttered. "At least we will be back in Vhrist, even if we are forced to oversee construction of Tamblin's fleet."
* * *
Nirok delivered the last of my uniforms, only to see them packed inside a small trunk. Amlis was taking me with him, when he could have left me with Wolter in the kitchens. I did have one last errand to run, however, before I pulled out Amlis' traveling clothes in preparation for our journey in the morning. None saw me as I ghosted through the palace, retrieved my written papers from beneath my old bed and slipped them inside my trunk.
* * *
"Old Broom will never survive the journey. You'll have Stepper instead," Garth led the small mare out of a stall, already saddled and bridled. Rodrik's twelve men were mounted and waiting outside the stable as Amlis set foot in his stirrup and hauled himself into Runner's saddle.
We'll get along fine, I sent to the mare, soothing her with a hand to her nose. She nodded cordially and allowed me to climb awkwardly onto her back. Three men took the lead, four the rear and Rodrik joined the others who rode at Amlis' side, effectively surrounding the Prince as we made our way out of Lironis. At least I would see what Fyris had for mountains, I consoled myself as the only life I'd known was left behind.
* * *
"They'll do what he tells them," Tamblin informed Yevil. "Forget going after him for the moment. It'll be far easier to bring about his death when we attack the barbarians, eh?" Yevil offered Tamblin a black look and stalked away from the King's study.
* * *
The road shifted, rolled and eventually forked after half a day, where our party chose to stop, relieve themselves and get a drink of water befor
e resuming the journey.
"It's shorter this way, as Vhrist is at the northwestern edge of Fyris," Rodrik explained to me after asking if I needed to find a bush somewhere. I shook my head. They didn't know and I had no inclination to tell them that I never needed the slops.
Wolter and the others in the kitchen always assumed I eliminated waste just as they did, but they were wrong. Hoping I could keep it from these, I determined to pretend at times, just to preserve that façade.
No, I have no idea why I have never had to perform this most basic function, and I was grateful that none had ever paid close enough attention to learn of it. My legs and back were suffering from being in the saddle for half a day and I figured I would be very sore come nightfall, when the Prince stopped for the evening at an inn somewhere.
Eventually we would be traveling parallel with the Western Sea—I recalled it from the maps I'd studied. Many towns and villages lay along the western road, most of them thriving on what was netted from the water or from farms and herds situated farther inland.
"We'll see the waters of the Western Sea tomorrow afternoon," Amlis informed me as we rode along. "Have you ever seen the sea, Finder?"
Mutely I shook my head. Surely, he could have worked that out for himself—I'd never been outside Lironis before. Still, I wouldn't meet his eyes and he heaved an agitated sigh.
"It could not be helped," he said. "A beating withheld might give others the idea that they could harm me through you. I hope you come to understand that, one day. Rodrik and I both hope that your skin will not scar as a result. It was more fragile than we guessed." He reined Runner and pulled ahead of Stepper, as if the admission embarrassed him in some way.
"No insult was intended when he offered the money," Rodrik added softly and moved Midnight forward to keep pace with Amlis. What did they think to gain, offering explanations to a lowly servant? I mattered little, after all, and even I knew the beatings were expected. I'd just not thought them to hurt my soul as much as they had.
The inn was a welcome sight after a long day's ride, and none of us had eaten since breakfast. My inner thighs ached so badly when I dismounted I had to hold onto Stepper's saddle until my legs stopped shaking. It surprised me—I could climb up and down palace steps easily every day, but riding impacted my body in other ways, I discovered.
Riding was also not the only thing bringing discomfort—did they all feel it as I did? The wrongness about the land? I hadn't felt it in Lironis, and truly hadn't understood completely when Rodrik's father said that Fyris was being poisoned. Now I fully realized the impact of his statement.
"At least the snow is gone. I was worried," Rodrik hefted his saddlebag from Midnight's back. Struggling to walk and remain upright at the same time, I made my way to Amlis, so I could carry his personal belongings into the inn.
Two grooms and a handful of Rodrik's men stayed to tend the horses; I carried Amlis' saddlebag and worked to keep up with him as we walked into the inn. Rooms were parceled out by a beaming innkeeper and his eldest son, while his wife cooked with the aid of two helpers.
After looking at the innkeeper once, I knew he'd lost a young daughter only two moon-turns earlier. Unable to offer condolences, I settled Amlis' things into the largest room available, then set out soap and the towel the inn had provided next to an ewer of warm water. His jacket I also took, and brushed the dust of the road away from it while Amlis washed his face and hands. While he stood, I wiped his boots—he refused to take them off first, so I knelt at his feet to perform that task. I made myself as presentable as I could afterward before following him to the main room for a meal.
"Finder, how is the food?" Amlis whispered as plates of fowl were set before him and Rodrik, then given to Rodrik's men after that. I would eat last of all as Amlis' servant, and it would be a vegetable stew, since Rodrik informed the innkeeper's wife that I could not consume meat.
I nodded—the food was fine if plain, but Amlis didn't seem to mind. They were all hungry (as was I) and began eating immediately, once the Prince took his first bite.
* * *
"They say you can't speak," the innkeeper's wife sat opposite me as I ate my vegetable stew with thick pieces of bread after the others had retired. The bread wasn't as fine as Wolter could turn out, but he likely had better ingredients since he cooked for the King.
"They say you understand things well enough." The wife's face was reddened from working in the kitchen all day; her hair had escaped the bun at the back of her head and clouded about her face in wisps of brown. "They tell me you can find things." Those words had me looking up from my stew, my mouth full of potato, carrots and leeks, to stare at the woman. Who had let that slip?
"My daughter had a necklace, given to her by my mother. Both dead now," the woman sighed and looked away for a moment.
I imagined that in better times, the woman might have carried a bit of plumpness, but the wrongness in Fyris was taking a toll on all its inhabitants. I hadn't seen anyone with excess weight since leaving Lironis. Carefully I laid aside the wooden spoon I'd been handed with my meal and swallowed the bit of food I'd mostly chewed. Standing, I beckoned for the woman to follow.
The necklace was behind a narrow bed covered in a patchwork quilt. A small piece of the rough wood wall had been carefully worked away, leaving a tiny space behind it. The necklace lay there, hidden inside a piece of soft cloth. The woman wept when I handed it to her.
Waving off her thanks, I went back to my stew. Working my way through the rest of it, although it had gone cold and congealed, I handed my bowl back to the woman when I was done and went to prepare Amlis' bed for the evening.
I slept in Amlis' room that night, curled up on a straw mattress provided by the innkeeper. My discomfort at sleeping in the same room with another person may not have gone unnoticed—I slept fitfully and turned often, although my spot beside the fire was comfortable enough.
I had no memory of ever sleeping in the presence of another, and with Amlis being the first one, my uneasiness only increased. What if I spoke in my sleep, as others had? The results of that revelation could be disastrous. Rodrik slept by the door inside Amlis' suite as well, plus, his men switched places regularly to stand guard outside the Prince's room.
Waking at my usual time (which was quite early), I made up the fire and tidied things quietly while Amlis and Rodrik slept. Amlis, I must confess, snored a little, but Rodrik was as silent as a cat.
Both men wanted breakfast in the room when they woke, so I trailed one of Rodrik's men and carried back a pot of hot tea and cups while the man carried the heavy tray. I set out plates of food and fresh bread, but Amlis sighed at the absence of eggs on his plate.
Tamblin had been correct about that, at least—the hens had stopped laying. And with no eggs, there would be no chicks, and likely the poultry living now would sicken and die. Even sleeping on the second floor of an inn, the soil of Fyris had groaned in my dreams.
The leftover bread, butter and a tiny bit of honey were offered to me after Amlis and Rodrik ate, so I nibbled as I packed Amlis' saddlebag while he shaved and dressed. As we were leaving, however, the innkeeper's wife approached me and handed over a small bag. Looking inside, I discovered that she'd gifted me with a small chunk of carefully wrapped cheese and a tiny loaf of bread.
She'd also given me something I greatly needed—a new smallbrush and a tiny pouch of the powder one could use to clean teeth. I nearly wept as I embraced her—none had ever thought to offer a gift to me before. Not like this, anyway. My old brush had few bristles left in it and I worried about finding a replacement. That one had been left behind by a minor noble's wife when I was ten, and I'd taken it before the maids thought to claim it.
"She found this for me," the woman touched the necklace at her throat at Rodrik's questioning glance. It was a pretty necklace, made of small gold links with a blue stone hanging down. I could only imagine that her daughter and her mother before her had treasured the thing.
"I knew when
you called her name," the woman said immediately, when Amlis asked how she'd known of my talent. "Someone riding through mentioned a kitchen girl who could find things. It is only fitting that she serve a Prince, with that sort of gift."
"Here." Amlis tossed a gold piece to the woman, who caught it expertly, her eyes wide. "And do not mention Finder to any other, if you please."
"Of course not, my Prince." The woman curtsied deeply to Amlis and backed inside the inn quickly.
* * *
The next eleven days went much the same, except I was not called upon to find anything by innkeepers. The weather turned unpredictable, as it usually does in early spring, and at times, we rode through rain or snow. The worst was a brief spate of hail, which the horses did not like at all. I didn't like it either, as a few hailstones bounced off my head. At least the hailstones were small; larger ones might have rendered some of us unconscious.
"Finder, come." Amlis and Rodrik broke away from the road while the guards took a short break. The day was fine, with puffy white clouds floating overhead as I pointed Stepper in the direction Amlis was heading. "I want to show you the best view between Lironis and Vhrist," Amlis explained as I urged Stepper to follow Runner and Midnight.
Half a click away we found ourselves on a high cliff overlooking water that seemed to stretch forever. Early afternoon had arrived and sunlight glittered on the water brighter than thousands of tiny candles. Tall spires of rock stood not far out, while the force of the waves crashed into them, tossing up white spray while birds wheeled and called out around them. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and I drew in a breath, astonished by the sight of it.
"You like it, don't you?" Amlis chuckled beside me. I nodded in stunned wonder, staring as long as I could without blinking to imprint the vision in my memory. Even the air I breathed was filled with a golden glow as sunlight played across the Western Sea.
Finder: First Ordinance, Book One Page 5