The Journey Home: The Ingenairii Series: Beyond the Twenty Cities

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “Not that I know of,” the duke answered. “They don’t need one with their ability to use demons against cities. The army they do have is busy fighting the lacertii along the Michian border. But I don’t see how you think you’re going to disable the restorers in Oyster Bay and Michian.

  “Who are you two? What does it mean that two strange ingenairii,” he paused, “I know you’re a Warrior,” he said to Andi, who had silently continued to eat. “But I don’t really even know that you’re one. Are you?” he asked Alec.

  “He is the pre-eminent ingenaire of the world,” Andi replied as Alec took another bite of his apple.

  “His name is Alec,” she said.

  “Named after the hero?” the duke asked.

  Andi reached over suddenly and jerked Alec’s sleeve, revealing the line of marks that rose up his forearm. “Not named after the hero,” she said, “he is the hero,” she finished in a dramatic whisper.

  The duke’s eyes widened, and his face grew pale. “You’re jesting, my lady.” He paused as he examined Alec’s arm, “I’ve never seen an ingenaire with so many marks,” he said.

  Alec finished the apple and set down the core, then reached for another.

  “When I returned to help the Dominion defeat the Michian invasion in the first real war, before I married Jeswyne, the myth of a returned Alec was a powerful symbol that helped the morale of the people and the soldiers in the fight against the invaders,” Alec said.

  “And after I drove the sorcerers out of Michian, the myth of my name remained with the surviving sorcerers even as they migrated across the ocean and wound up on the periphery of the Avonellene empire,” he added.

  “So I know the name of Alec would have some impact on the campaign we wage. Don’t you think so, your grace?” Alec took a bite from the second apple and waited for the man’s comments.

  “You truly are Alec returned?” the duke asked.

  “He is the Demonslayer and King,” Andi said for Alec, who was chewing the apple, a soft one that had spent the winter in storage somewhere in the bowels of the palace.

  “If you are the Demonslayer, I will pledge my city to support you in any way,” the duke cried.

  “Good,” Alec said. “So that brings us back to the question of who can you call upon to be your allies? The church? The merchants? The people? The traders? Who do we have to work with?”

  “The traders, the native traders who are left, they would support you,” Remton answered. “The ingenairii gave preferential treatment to the Michian clans they brought with them.”

  “How much control of your own palace do you have right now?” Alec probed.

  “There are some guards who are loyal to me, and most who are loyal to Karson,” the duke replied.

  “What did you see in the cells down below?” Alec asked Andi. “Are there any there we should set free?”

  “I thought that with your Spiritual abilities you would be a better judge of that than I am, so we released none of them,” Andi answered.

  “I will go sort through the prisoners right now. You two go and round up any that the duke thinks are not trustworthy, and bring them down to the cells,” Alec said. “But first, if you have closets, your grace, may my lady find more suitable clothes to wear? She’s been in my spare shirt for two days, and I’m sure she wants something more substantial.”

  Andi grinned at him.

  “There are many closets upstairs where my daughter’s wardrobe is located. We’ll go look there immediately,” Remton answered.

  “Will you be able to set them free, my daughter and grand-daughter?” he asked Alec.

  “Where are they?” Alec responded.

  “Every great city has hostages held in the palace at Oyster Bay,” the duke replied. “Those two are my hostages, held to assure my cooperation.”

  “What are their names?” Andi asked.

  “Tonshire is my daughter, and Pegot is my granddaughter,” he replied.

  Alec stood. “I’ll go check the prisoners, you meet me there, and then we’ll run one more errand before we call it a day,” he said. He grinned conspiratorially at Andi, then left the room to go down into the depths of the palace.

  Alec had gone down to the ingenairii quarters under the palace many times, when Merle had been the court ingenaire of Goldenfields, and Alec had been a student of his. He had been to the prison cells of the palace as well, but only very seldom. The Duke Toulon of Alec’s youth had seen little need to keep many prisoners in the palace when they could easily be sent to civilian jails.

  Nonetheless Alec went past a few servants and entered the lower level where the cells were located.

  He carried no lantern or torch, but instead created a string of bulbs of light that flew through the air in front of him, and when he arrived at his destination they circled lazily around the common space that all the cells’ doors opened upon. Alec engaged his Spiritual energy as well as his Light energy, and he stood in the center of the space, allowing dozens of pairs of eyes to stare at him from the doors around him.

  “Ingenaire! Ingenaire! We’re your true followers! Protect us; release us,” voices called loudly from one cell. As Alec approached it he realized it was the very guards who he had consigned to the cells earlier. “Oh Lord, it’s you!” one of them sobbed. “The others here have already killed Karson. They’ll kill us too if you don’t protect us.”

  Alec fetched the keys from the empty desk, and opened the door. “Everyone who wasn’t just put in the cell with Karson, come out and line up,” Alec ordered. “Don’t try to run away, or you’ll pay the consequences,” he warned them, sensing a slippery sense of ethics in someone who was approaching.

  As the dozen men filed out of the small cell, much to Alec’s dismay at the overcrowding, one man did dash towards the stairs. Knowing that he had to set an example among the dozens of men trapped in the prison, Alec directed one of his balls of light to streak at the man and strike him, setting him ablaze for just a moment before the man flashed into a pile of ashes.

  There was stunned silence, and then murmuring and whispers. “I warned everyone. I need absolute cooperation, or there will be costs to pay,” he spoke loudly. The men in the cells heard him, and the men lined up outside the cells looked nervously at the remaining balls of light that continued to circle overhead.

  Alec touched each man in the line briefly. Some he questioned, “Who do you support, the ingenairii or a free Duchy of Goldenfields?” Others he only sensed their character remotely. Most of the men he sent back into the cell, but three he instructed to wait by the stairs.

  He opened another cell, and questioned those men as well, setting four of them free and reinterring the others. As he opened the third cell Andi and the Duke entered the prison, the duke watching the balls of light circling overhead as the men in the third cell obediently filed out and lined up. Two more joined the little cluster of free men while the rest went back.

  “These are your men, your grace,” Alec pointed at the men he had set free. “I’m sure you’ll have more soon. Have you sorted out the guards on duty?” he asked as he walked over to stand close to them, trusting the prisoners to remain in their assigned places.

  “We came down to show you my new outfit first,” Andi said, showing off the tight leather pants and dark red shirt she wore.

  Alec looked at her appreciatively. “The wrapping is almost as lovely as the gift,” he told her, producing a shy smile. “I’ll look forward to seeing more of you soon; we’ll have a couple of errands to run tonight,” he told her before they separated to finish their duties.

  He finished sorting through the prisoners, producing almost three dozen reliable men and women who he trusted. Andi and the Duke brought over a dozen members of the guard down to the cells and jailed them in turn.

  As he rose back up out of the depths of the dungeon, Alec led the newly freed forces up to the guard armory, where they were introduced to the existing members of the guard deemed trustworthy by the Duke, and
then assigned to three squads with a promise that organization and training would begin in earnest the next day; Alec and Andi each armed themselves fully from the weapons in the armory. Once that was done, Alec and Andi went to the kitchen again and Alec raided the herbs again, taking all of the crumbled homewort leaves and more sugar lumps, throwing them all in a sack that he gave Andi to hold as he placed his arms around her.

  “Let’s make this interesting now,” he said, and they teleported to the palace in Oyster Bay.

  Chapter 18 – The First Visit to Oyster Bay

  After their moments of nothingness in transit, Alec and Andi landed in a pitch black, warm enclosure that was redolent with organic odors.

  “Oh Alec, where are we?” Andi placed her hand over her nose.

  In response, a circle of small white lights began to dance overhead, revealing stables full of horses. “We’re going to find the restorers and put them out of commission,” Alec said.

  He began to lead Andi through the stables, discovering that the pens and stalls and aisles felt remarkably familiar even after centuries of absence. They inspected one barn without finding any signs of restorers, then crossed an empty yard to a second building. As soon as he opened the door and smelled the spicy atmosphere, Alec knew he had discovered his targets. “Here we are Andi,” he said.

  “Alec, wait,” Andi told him as he stood at the threshold. “Look up there,” she gestured upward.

  Alec looked at the full moon that hung overhead. “Andi! It’ll be tonight!” he said excitedly. She reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly.

  I’m so ready, Alec, her spirit told his. I’ve waited so long; I want to feel whole again, reunited with you.

  He smiled warmly, wondering what it would be like to feel the intimate knowledge of her that she held of him. He released her hand. “Let’s get these things done quickly,” he replied, and they entered the stables.

  “Take a handful of this mix and give it to every restorer in the stalls on the left; I’ll treat the ones on the right,” he told his companion as he held the bag of herbs and sugar open. He reached in and took a handful of the feed while a single dim bulb of light floated above them, providing a subtle, blue glow, and they began their task of giving each animal the treat that was greedily licked up.

  There were a dozen and a half restorers in occupied stalls, and one empty stall. “That must be for the one in Goldenfields,” Alec said. “So if there’s only one empty stall, we’ve hopefully disabled the entire herd of restorers in the Dominion.”

  “Won’t there be some that come here from Michian?” Andi asked.

  “There will be sooner or later. We probably have some time to get Goldenfields organized before anyone realizes there’s something happening here, and in the meantime we can go to Michian and give treats to all the restorers there,” Alec replied. “Now, we ought to go to the palace and find Tonshire and Pegot, and take them home to Goldenfields.” He led the way out of the barn, extinguished his lights, and cloaked them in invisibility.

  They entered the palace through a side door, and walked until Alec stopped in the hallway. “I know a shortcut to get to the residential wing,” he told Andi. “We can go this way,” and he began to walk to the right, then went around a corner and stopped. They had reached a large and busy kitchen area. “I don’t remember this being here,” he said sheepishly.

  “Things can change after nine hundred years,” Andi said with a twinkle in her eye.

  “I haven’t been alive for nine hundred years!” Alec protested, then saw the grin on Andi’s face.

  “Is there someone back there?” one of the kitchen helpers asked, looking in their location.

  Alec nodded his head, turned around and went back the other direction. They entered a main hall that appeared to lead through official drawing rooms, formal and well-tended. Where their path intersected with a grand hall, they saw a pair of guards, as well as a maid carrying a tray of food.

  “Why don’t we ask the maid how to get to the residential wing?” Andi asked softly.

  “We don’t need to ask. I lived here for a hundred years,” Alec replied.

  “Is that why we were just in the kitchen?” Andi asked.

  “Alright,” Alec snapped. “We’ll follow the maid and ask her.” He made good on the plan, and as soon as they were alone in a hallway with the maid, he released his Light energy and made them visible.

  “Excuse me,” Andi called loudly, catching the maid’s attention.

  “Yes, my lady,” the young girl replied, dropping a curtsy as she turned.

  “Can you help us? We’re lost, and this palace is so big! We’re trying to find the Lady Tonshire and her daughter,” Andi explained.

  “You’re as far as possible from where you should be! How did you get here?” the maid asked. “I can’t even give you directions.

  “I’ll lead you there myself as soon as I deliver this tray to the viceroy,” the girl told them. “If you’ll wait here I’ll be right back.”

  They agreed and waited patiently for the girl to return, standing discreetly against the wall. “I don’t know where we are,” Alec muttered more than once. “How could they have messed up the palace so badly?”

  Andi listened indulgently, and when the maid came they fell into step with her. They received no challenges from the set of guards they had already seen at the first hallway intersection, but minutes later, after a pair of turns that Alec recognized and a pair that he didn’t recognize, a quartet of guards stopped them.

  “No guests are permitted after sundown,” the lead guard spoke woodenly.

  Andi raised the sleeve of her new red shirt and showed her ingenaire mark. “No one?” she asked.

  “My apologies, my lady,” the guard leader’s tone changed dramatically. “I apologize for not recognizing you. Please proceed,” he said as he instructed another guard to open the door for them.

  “My lady,” the maid added as soon as they were through the door. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you either. I thought I knew all the Warrior ingenairii. I should have taken you to see the viceroy. My apologies, my lady,” she paid no attention to Alec, not having seen him display any ingenaire marks, as she was sure any ingenairii would do.

  “We appreciate your help,” Andi said kindly. “You’re doing just what we asked. Lead on to Lady Tonshire, please.”

  “You’re so much nicer than the other ingenairii,” the girl said, then stopped herself with a hand placed in front of her mouth, “no offense intended, ma’am.”

  “None taken. I’ve met many ingenairii I didn’t like, and some I really enjoy,” she slipped her hand into Alec’s as they began walking again.

  Five minutes later they came to a small ballroom, from which many hallways dispersed. “The lady guests are kept down that way,” the maid pointed down the hall to the left. “I can’t tell you which door is hers, I’m afraid.”

  “You can go now, my friend. We’ll find her from here,” Andi replied as she dismissed the girl. “Thank you for your help.”

  “Let’s go knock on doors,” Alec said as soon as the girl was out of sight. They strolled down the hallway, one that was strangely decrepit in appearance, in contrast to everything else they had seen in the palace. Paint was faded, the edges of the carpets were frayed, and faint shadowy residue of candle smoke remained above the wall-mounted sconces.

  At random they knocked on a door, for all the doors along the hallway were closed. “This could almost be the quarters where I used to live,” Alec said suddenly, just as there was a rattle at the door, and a girl opened it to greet them.

  “May I help you?” the girl asked. She appeared to be about Andi’s own age, in her early twenties. Her complexion was fair, perhaps even pale.

  Alec craned his neck to peer into the chamber, looking past the girl at the room beyond her, as Andi addressed her. “We are trying to find the Lady Tonshire of Goldenfields, and her daughter Pegot.”

  “Who are you? Why do you want
them?” the girl asked, then caught a glimpse of the mark on Andi’s arm, and her eyes grew large.

  “We have done nothing wrong, my lady,” the girl told Andi earnestly, her voice rising in panic. “We have remained obedient and calm.”

  “Open the door and let us enter,” Andi told her. “We are here with good news.”

  A tear began to fall down the girl’s cheek in disbelief that there was any good likely to come from a visit by an ingenaire, but she opened the door wide and beckoned them in.

  “Who was it Pegot?” a querulous voice asked from the inner room.

  “We have visitors, mother,” the girl replied. “It’s,” she hesitated, “an ingenaire and a man are here to see us.” There was a soft moan from the other room.

  “Can your mother join us here?” Alec asked. He was convinced now that the room felt so familiar because he was in fact standing in his own former room from his long-ago days in the Dominion.

  “Her health is failing,” Pegot replied. “She has great difficulty moving.”

  “You know, this used to be the king’s own room,” Alec said at last. “You’re staying in a royal apartment.”

  “That’s why we’re here. It’s supposed to be bad luck. The ingenairii and their viceroy will not take care of this wing of the palace. They hope it will collapse someday, and do away with another reminder of Alec,” Pegot replied. “Would you like to sit down?” she had regained her composure in the course of the small talk.

  “No, I’d like to go see your mother instead,” Alec answered, taking a step past Pegot towards the bedroom.

  She put a hand out to hold his shoulder momentarily. “Please sir, let her be,” then she hastily jerked her hand away as she realized what she had done. She went down on her knees. “I apologize profoundly.”

  Alec stopped, and extended his Spirit energy. The girl was nervous, worried, full of pain and fear and sadness. He reached a hand down to take hers, and helped her rise to her feet again. “Do not fear or fret. The Lord has sent you a friend tonight, and all your worries will be eased,” he said gently, looking into her eyes and projecting his sense of Spiritual comfort to her as he squeezed her hands.