“I went to Brendinas,” said Gruffyd. “I found a retired royal guardsman there who taught me advanced sword work.”
“A valuable skill, I expect,” said Eynon. “I’m sure your training will help you in the royal guard. We’re headed to Tyford.”
Gruffyd nodded.
“Tyford’s nice,” he said, “but it’s not Brendinas.”
“I doubt I’ll ever get all the way to the capital,” said Eynon.
Gruffyd was silent, staring at Eynon. After two heartbeats, Eynon asked a question.
“How did you win a spot in the guard?”
“My teacher got me in,” said Gruffyd after his own long pause. “He put in a good word for me with the senior guard captain. They served together when the old King was still on the throne.”
“I’m sure you’ll be an asset to the realm’s defense,” said Eynon.
“Thank you,” said Gruffyd stiffly, like one dog taking the measure of another.
He looked at Eynon’s cap and the wreath of holly around it.
“How long have you been wandering?”
“Only a little while,” said Eynon. He didn’t want to admit it was only his second day away from home.
“So you’ll be gone for a long time after Merry gets back?”
Eynon was saved from having to reply by Merry returning to stand beside him. She carried one of the jugs of hard cider and passed it to Gruffyd with both hands. After Gruffyd accepted the jug, Merry took Eynon’s near hand and held it. She felt warm and Eynon decided he liked holding hands with Merry, even if it was only a subterfuge.
“That’s for your father,” Merry told Gruffyd, indicating the jug. “See that he gets it unopened. If not, our mothers will talk and I’ll know and the next cider jug you try to steal a drink from will be filled with vinegar.”
“I’ll give it to him,” said Gruffyd, shaking his head. “He’ll share it with me, anyway.”
“So long as he’s the first to taste it,” said Merry. “My da says it’s some of his best.”
She smiled and leaned into Eynon’s shoulder. He was almost a foot taller than Merry and involuntarily dropped her hand and put his arm around her. She cuddled into his chest and stared up into Eynon’s eyes before looking at Gruffyd again. The three of them stood awkwardly and Merry squeezed Eynon’s hand.
“We should probably be going,” said Eynon. “We have a lot of miles to travel.”
“That’s right,” said Merry. “Nice to see you again, Gruffyd. Good luck with joining the royal guard. I’m sure you’ll be happy in Brendinas.”
“Wait,” said Gruffyd. “I want you to meet someone.”
A young woman about Eynon’s age was walking onto the dock. She was of medium height with fine features and had lips so red she looked like she’d been eating fresh cherries. She was lithe and her hair was long, blonde, and braided. She wore a fashionable sky-blue dress, complemented by a belt around her hips made from shiny brass plates. A thin sword with a polished hilt hung from the belt.
When the young woman reached Gruffyd, she put her arm around his waist and he draped his across her shoulders.
“I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Nyssia,” said Gruffyd, slowly. “She’s from Brendinas. Her father is my sword master. She’s started learning from him as well.”
Gruffyd looked at Merry expectantly, as if worried about her reaction, but his concern quickly disappeared.
“I’m so very pleased to meet you,” said Merry. “Welcome to the Rhuthro valley!”
Merry stepped close and embraced Nyssia, who seemed pleased, but a bit surprised at Merry’s actions.
“But,” said Nyssia, “I thought, I mean Gruff said, that is…”
“Did Gruffyd tell you we were once sweethearts?” asked Merry. “Don’t worry. That was long ago, when we were children. I couldn’t be happier that he found a charming woman like you to be his wife.”
The young woman from the capital smiled and looked relieved.
“Thank you,” she said. “That makes me feel so much better.”
Merry stepped back to take Eynon’s hand, then cuddle in under his arm again.
“You can see my affections are now bestowed on another,” she said.
Eynon smiled and squeezed Merry’s shoulder to reinforce her message.
“I’m glad you’re not angry with me,” said Gruffyd.
“No,” said Merry. “I’m very happy for you both. May your years together be filled with joy, health, love and peace.”
Gruffyd smiled, looking like a big dog who’s been praised by its owner. Nyssia beamed at Merry and Eynon.
“And we wish the two of you the same,” she said.
“Now we really must be on our way,” said Merry.
“It was a pleasure meeting you both,” said Eynon.
“Nyssia and I leave for the capital in the morning,” said Gruffyd. “Her father said we should return quickly to be in place for the muster.”
“The muster?” asked Eynon.
“Shush, now,” said Nyssia to Gruffyd. “Father said not to say…”
“I’m sorry,” said Gruffyd. “Safe travels. Perhaps we’ll meet downriver.”
“Perhaps,” said Merry.
With only a few more pleasantries, Eynon and Merry returned to their boat and cast off. They waved at Gruffyd and Nyssia as they pulled away and didn’t talk for several minutes, until they were well out of earshot. The sun was higher and the light scattered off the water. It was going to be a warm day. The river carried them at least a quarter mile beyond the squat buildings at the toll station.
“That was interesting,” said Eynon from the bow.
“It was,” said Merry. “I never suspected Gruffyd would find room inside his thick skull to care as much about a woman as does about his sword.”
“I think you’re selling him short,” said Eynon. “The man is obviously besotted, and Nyssia seems very nice, for a city girl.”
“How many city girls do you know?”
“One,” said Eynon. “And she seems very nice, so that proves it.”
“Your logic is dubious,” said Merry, “but in this case I’m so relieved to be free of Gruffyd’s attentions, I’ll take it.”
Eynon turned and nodded his head.
“So glad I have your approval, dear lady. It was a delight to assist you in your unneeded subterfuge.”
“Well, we didn’t know it was unneeded until we got there, did we?” she asked. “And thank you, you played your part well.”
Merry paused as they followed the current downriver. They she abruptly changed the course of the conversation, if not their boat.
“I think Gruffyd is in for a surprise with Nyssia.”
“How so?” asked Eynon.
“When we hugged, I could feel her muscles,” said Merry. “I don’t think Nyssia is new to the art of the sword—I think she’s been learning since she could walk.”
“Hah!” said Eynon. He looked ahead and rubbed his chin. “Why would she be interested in someone like Gruffyd?”
“He’s a baron’s eldest son,” said Merry, as if that explained everything.
Eynon didn’t say anything for a minute.
“It was nice to hold your hand,” said Merry to break the silence. “Just don’t get any ideas.”
“That was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Eynon quickly.
He looked over his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows.
“Stop that,” she sniffed. Then she giggled.
“Oh no,” said Merry, putting one hand to her mouth. “We forgot to use the privy.”
Chapter 5
“Wizards are never what you expect.
It’s a requirement of the profession.”
—
Ealdamon’s Epigrams
Merry eased the boat up to a sturdy wooden dock near a small tower with crenellations at the top, a few miles farther down the river on the east bank. The tower was set back from the water on top of a stone outcropping that increased its elevation and surely gave anyone standing on top of it an excellent view up and down the Rhuthro valley. Eynon wondered if it was the home of the hedge wizard Merry had mentioned.
“That’s where our hedge wizard lives,” said Merry.
Eynon smiled. He’d been making good guesses lately.
“I like to drop off a jug of cider for him on my trips to Tyford,” she continued. “He also has a real privy so I don’t have to go in the woods.”
“I can appreciate the advantages of that,” said Eynon. “In the castle at Caercadel I’ve heard they have garderobes—privies on the inside that are open to the river at the bottom of their chutes.”
“They do,” said Merry, “and they’re trouble. The settlements downstream would be happier if the chutes on the Caercadel garderobes led to a pit or a moat or something. I’m glad we’re far enough downstream for fish to deal with their waste before it gets to us.”
Eynon thought for a few seconds.
“Where does Applegarth get its water?”
“From a well,” said Merry. “A deep well.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” said Eynon.
Once the boat was in place, Merry tied off her end and Eynon did likewise. He was pleased when he stepped up to the dock as easily as he would have hopped on top of a stump back home. He couldn’t match Merry’s effortless motions as she transferred from the boat’s raised rear deck to the dock in two quick steps, but he was getting better at it.
Eynon could see why Merry wore a short tunic, trousers and sturdy boots. Her outfit was much more practical than long skirts for a boat master.
He was surprised that no one had come to meet them.
“Is your hedge wizard home?” asked Eynon.
“He doesn’t have a flag out to say he’s elsewhere,” Merry replied. “I think he’s in. He’s probably preoccupied.”
Eynon noticed there was a pole extending from a niche between the battlements on top of the tower, but didn’t see anything flying from it.
“A flag?”
“Yes. Holdings along the river have different colors and symbols to represent them,” said Merry. “We carry them when we bring our tithes to the earl. When all the holdings’ nobles parade into court together it’s almost like a rainbow.”
“That sounds pretty,” said Eynon. “Maybe I’ll get to see it someday. We don’t do things that way in the Coombe, except for the baron.”
He paused and looked up at the tower, wondering if the hedge wizard’s privy had one hole or two.
“What does Applegarth’s flag look like?”
“It’s white with a wide, wavy blue line from top to bottom, between two red apples,” said Merry.
“Will you teach me the flags of the holdings along the river?”
“Maybe—after I visit the privy,” she said. “Stay with the boat and guard it.”
“I can do that,” said Eynon. “Now hurry. I need to pay a visit there myself.”
Merry walked quickly up the gravel path from the dock and around the granite outcrop below the tower. Eynon watched the river for a few moments, then decided staring at running water made things worse. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and moved a few yards up the path to examine the hedge wizard’s tower in more detail.
It was built like the circular stone keep at Caercadel, but on a much smaller scale. The baron’s main keep was eighty feet across, while the tower before him was only twenty. From the placement of its narrow windows, the squat tower had only two levels, compared to Caercadel’s five.
“Excuse me, young man. Are you traveling with Merry?”
Eynon nearly levitated with surprise. He turned around to see a man in his forties or fifties with a weathered face, wearing a bleached-white linen tunic and a sky-blue cloak. He was bald, with a fringe of long, graying hair. The man wore a wide gold circlet with a blue gem on his brow. The band of the circlet was etched with intricate knotwork patterns. A solid-looking ironwood staff as tall as his shoulders was in his right hand, while a mesh bag holding three large, iridescent, and still squirming fish was in his left. The fish, the mesh bag, and the old man’s clothes were dripping wet.
Eynon stared at the older man and consciously closed his mouth.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” said the man with wet clothes. “But you had been standing on my dock.”
Eynon spoke without taking time to think.
“Where did you come from?”
“There are many ways to answer that question,” said the man. “You could ask my parents for details about of the physical act that led to my birth, but alas, they’re no longer living. Or I could respond philosophically and discuss various theories concerning the origin of my mind, my body, and my innermost self.”
This was not what Eynon had expected. He had no idea how to reply.
“Instead,” continued the old man, “I will follow the example of an ancient teacher and answer a question with another question.”
He paused and looked at Eynon thoughtfully, as if determining whether or not he was worth instructing, and decided in the affirmative.
“Where do you think I came from?”
Eynon shook his head to clear it, took a deep breath, and puzzled out an answer.
“You’re clearly the hedge wizard who lives in this tower,” said Eynon. “Merry told me about you. She’s…”
“…behind the tower using the necessarium, I know,” said the man.
“I think she’s in the privy,” said Eynon.
The man in wet robes smiled at him and waved the hand holding the mesh bag with the fish to urge Eynon to continue.
“Given that your clothes are wet, and you’re carrying fish,” said Eynon, “I expect I didn’t see you because you were under the dock checking some sort of trap.”
“Very good,” said the older man, smiling more broadly. “You’re observant and reached a reasonable conclusion. I was actually walking underwater collecting fish that like to congregate under overhanging rocks on the banks,” he said. “Since very few people are familiar with the capabilities of wizards, your response was well-reasoned, if not entirely accurate.”
Eynon appreciated what he took to be a compliment, of a sort, and remembered his manners.
“Thank you, good wizard,” he said, bowing deeply. “I’m Eynon of Haywall—in the Coombe.”
“I should visit the Coombe someday,” said the man in wet robes. “I’ve intended to for many years, but never found the time.”
While the hedge wizard spoke, his robes went from wet to dry in front of Eynon’s eyes.
Eynon managed to keep his mouth closed, but his eyebrows rose. He went back to shifting from foot to foot.
“I’d be glad to advise you on the highlights of the region,” said Eynon, “should you ever have a chance to visit.”
The wizard released his staff, which remained perfectly balanced and vertical. He took a step toward Eynon and extended his hand.
“Thank you, Eynon,” he said as the two shook hands. “I may take you up on your offer. I’m Doethan. Pleased to meet you, young man. Let’s head up the hill so you can eliminate what’s distracting you and I can fry up these fish for our lunch.”
“Pleased to meet you as well, your wizardness, sir,” said Eynon.
“Doethan,” said the man in a kindly voice.
“Doethan,” said Eynon. “I’d be glad to come up the hill with you, but I promised Merry I’d guard the boat until she got back.”
“Don’t worry,” said Doethan. “I’ll ward the bo
at and its cargo so no one will bother them. Grab a jug of cider for me and I’ll see to it.”
Eynon walked back on the dock and stepped down into the boat. He remembered Merry had said one of the cider jugs was for the hedge wizard, so he put a jug on the dock and stepped up to stand beside it.
Doethan reclaimed his staff and joined Eynon, handing him the mesh bag of trout and encouraging Eynon to stand behind him. Then the hedge wizard made several passes with his staff pointed toward the boat while reciting words Eynon didn’t understand. The blue magestone in his circlet glowed and the knotwork etched in the gold band sparkled.
When Doethan finished speaking, the circlet’s glow briefly brightened, then disappeared. Doethan lowered his staff and tilted it up the hill to indicate it was time for Eynon to get moving, but Eynon didn’t budge.
“How did you protect the boat, sir?” Eynon asked. “It looks the same.”
“Try getting on board,” said Doethan.
Eynon did. He stepped forward. The closer he got to the boat, the more he didn’t want to get in it. He fought that feeling and put his foot on the thwart at the bow, then pulled it back quickly. It felt like he’d hugged a nest of unhappy wolfhornets. His toes buzzed and tingled painfully. The fish in the mesh bag were squirming. The sound of a pack of angry dogs baying came from the tower, while the unmistakable clank and click of crossbows being cocked echoed from its battlements.
Eynon backed up rapidly. The loop on the bag of fish slid down to his elbow as he clapped his hands.
“That’s marvelous!” he said. “The avoidance spell discourages anyone from getting aboard and the hounds and crossbow sounds reinforce your intent, while alerting anyone in the tower that an attempted robbery is in progress.”
The Congruent Apprentice (The Congruent Mage Series Book 1) Page 6