“I don’t think that Merle should be the one to give such an order,” Genia said. “Given his closeness as the adviser to Duke Toulon, I think his motives and findings would be held suspect. For that matter Alec, you too will need to be cautious about your words and actions when we return to Ingenairii Hill.”
“We can’t return to Ingenairii Hill unless we return to remove the murderers and clean out the conspirators and restore a rightful king to the throne of the Dominion. Those are the things I believe we need to plan to do right now. We are given great responsibility in the lands to serve the king, and we need to protect the lands and establish the rule of law and honor to the throne we should serve,” Alec said heatedly.
“I understand your devotion to the Duke, but we need to consider the situation we are in. We need to restore unity among the ingenairii. We need to work as a united Ingenairii Council to answer the questions about the death of the king. And practically speaking, we need to have resources to work with, such as the money that flows into Oyster Bay on our behalf,” Straynon answered in a deliberate tone.
“If it’s money you need, I’m sure Duke Toulon will redirect his payments from work in Goldenfields to coffers for you here, and can even arrange for increased amounts of ingenaire work and payments throughout the duchy. He is a good and honorable man, and I’m sure that if you meet him you will understand why you should work with him, rather than separate yourself from him. Especially when you think about the alternative of trying to live peacefully with the usurpers back at Oyster Bay,” Alec replied, forcing himself to be calmer.
“Why don’t we arrange to set up a meeting with him so that you can judge him for yourselves?” Alec asked.
“Alec, it’s not a matter of choosing the Duke versus those back at Oyster Bay,” Suffett said. “I believe he is a very good man, and the fact that you are so loyal to him confirms to me that he is a man of principle. But we need to pull the ingenairii together, and that has to happen in Oyster Bay, back on Ingenairii Hill. I think the thing we ought to do is send a group to meet with the folks back home and find out if they will agree to an investigation by some Spirit ingenairii, and arrange terms for us all to return.”
“Suffett’s right. Let’s send a delegation of three or four. Gora, you’re a new face, so perhaps you and I and a couple of junior ingenairii from other houses can go and work out the details. It’ll be a chance for you to get your feet wet in the world on the politics of the Council,” Straynon offered.
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that,” the new Council member replied.
Alec sat back, stunned by the speedy apparent decision of the Oyster Bay refugees to plan to completely capitulate and return to Ingenairii Hill.
“What terms are unacceptable to you?” he asked. “Are you just going to go back no matter what? Do you have any principles that must be upheld, or is this just a matter of going back and arranging a fig leaf to cover the deal?”
“Alec, I know you’re bitter. I don’t want you to think that your Duke is in any way endangered by a reunion of the Ingenairii Hill leadership. We know this is a well-governed duchy and a prosperous land. It is the heart of the Dominion, and we are not going with any plan to see any harm come this way,” Genia said. “Let us send the small delegation as suggested, hear their report when they return and we’ll face the questions then. Let’s dismiss for now, and plan to meet again in four weeks, or upon the return of the delegation, whichever is sooner.”
Merle, you didn’t say a single thing the whole time,” Alec said, turning to his neighbor and speaking in a low voice as the others rose to leave.
“Alec what point is there in saying anything? You heard these people,” he gestured towards the others. “They’re like frightened rabbits looking for a hole to scurry into. They’ve never lived away from Ingenairii Hill and its luxurious life since they’ve been there. They don’t see the choices they’re making. They only see what they’ve always known.
Merle stood to leave. “Alec, everything you said was true. But they have made up their minds, and had them made up before we began. You and I can talk further tomorrow.”
Alec watched him leave the room, then stood to leave himself. “Wait and see what we hear, Alec,” Genia told him. “We would like to work with you and your followers to truly reunite the ingenairii.”
Alec stood and stared at her. “I will listen, but I will not compromise with murderers,” he said in what he hoped was a reasonable tone, and left the room.
As he walked back towards his shop, he tried to understand what he could do next. He had thought it was so clear that the ingenairii must work with the duke that he had already begun to think of ways to incorporate their skills into the tactics the Guard would use in the battle to capture Oyster Bay, if that became necessary. Now those plans were a waste of time. What would his other efforts at leadership yield, he wondered in self-doubt. Would the cavalry idea turn out to be just as misinformed? He walked slowly, until he remembered that he was supposed to be purchasing more beds for other apprentices to join those in his shop.
Should he even expect more ingenairii to join him now, he wondered glumly. Genia had referred to his followers, and Bethany had said something similar, although at the time he hadn’t realized what it might imply. He deliberated over the thought of whether he might lead a splinter away from the group that had broken off in fleeing to Goldenfields. With his mind so pre-occupied, he walked to the same furniture shop he had visited months ago with Leah, and entered to look at beds and tiers of bunks.
The proprietress of the store led him to a room in the back where they had some bunk beds, and Alec purchased four sets of them for delivery the following day, as well as two regular beds to be delivered, which Alec judged would be enough at least for tomorrow, if any new apprentices did join them.
Chapter 7 – Changes in the Shop
Alec walked the rest of the way back to his shop, where he found an old man standing in front of the door. “Is there a healer in this place?” the man asked as Alec opened the front door to enter.
“Yes, there is,” Alec told him, “Come in and I’ll see you in a second,” he brought the man inside.
Bethany, Ellen and Cassie were all gone, presumably on their various errands.
“Come into this examination room,” Alec told the man. “What seems to be the problem?”
“It’s my neck. It hurts constantly, so bad that I hate to get up in the morning,” the man said. “My daughter and her husband let me live with them, and I want to help out around the place, but I can’t do anything besides sit and moan.”
Alec looked at the man and imagined his life. His frame appeared shrunken, though he must have once been a strong man with physical strength. A moment of sympathy let Alec imagine the frustration of sitting idly by instead of helping to maintain the house. “What does your son-in-law do?” Alec asked politely, as he began to use his health vision to examine the man’s neck closely.
“He’s just a blacksmith now,” the man told Alec. “He used to be a metal craftsman in Stronghold, but a little trouble we had there made us pull up roots, and now he just fixes wagon wheels, makes horseshoes, nails, and other things. He earns a living.”
Alec placed his hands on the man’s neck, and prayed for healing. He called forth his own powers, and gently addressed them to the bones and nerves and muscles in the neck, reshaping and strengthening a few small areas. “Let me go find some herbs for you. I’ll be right back,” Alec told the man. He went down to his supplies and brought forth a small supply of items. He had managed to significantly reduce the cause of the pain, though not eliminate it; the effects of old age were beyond his ability to completely reverse.
“Here are two things for you to use,” Alec told him. “Here is some salve that you can rub into your neck, and here is some willowbark you can boil for tea to reduce pain. I think you’ll do much better with these and some pain adjustment I tried to give you.”
“I know it sounds crazy, bu
t I feel better already,” the man said, looking at him. “How can a young fellow like you already be a healer?”
“Just a talent from God,” Alec said. “Your son-in-law, did he ever make swords or weapons in Stronghold?”
“He can make anything. He was trained with the best of them at the smithies there,” the man said.
“Ask him to come visit me tomorrow after dinner, would you please?” Alec asked.
“I’ll do that. How much do I owe you?” the father asked, rising.
“Nothing today. Just take care of yourself and ask that son-in-law to come over. What’s his name?” Alec requested as they walked towards the door.
“Thank you, sir. His name is Neill,” the man said and he walked down the street, passing Ellen and Cassie as they came around the corner.
“You look satisfied, Alec,” Cassie said as she entered the shop, while Ellen returned to the kitchen to work on their meal. “Did things go well this afternoon?”
Alec remembered the meeting with the ingenairii. “No, things went about as wrong as possible. The leaders of the ingenairii are determined to go back to Ingenairii Hill and peacefully return to their lives as soon as possible with as little controversy as possible. They completely rejected doing anything other than working out a deal with the murderers who stayed behind.
“On the other hand,” he continued before Cassie could express any sympathy, “when I got home an old man was here looking for a healer, and I healed him. It felt very nice to do something like that for a person and feel that his life will be a little better because of something I could do for him.”
“How did your visits to start up the healing business go this afternoon?” he asked.
“I’m sorry about the ingenairii, Alec. I hope they’ll see the error of their ways. I remember fleeing from Oyster Bay, and the fear everyone had at the time and the confusion in the city. It’s amazing that they’ve managed to forget. They’re going to regret their decision,” Cassie said as decisively as Alec had ever heard her speak.
“Around the neighborhood we heard many kind words about Leah, and many people were pleased to hear that the healers shop is going to re-open,” she changed the topic. “I think that you’ll have a good stream of customers back in here quickly.”
“And you’re willing to treat them? Happy to treat them?” Alec asked her. “After you see Merle tomorrow morning you’ll be ready to come do good works for the people of Goldenfields?”
“I really look forward to doing it,” Cassie said. She began to say more, but the front door slammed shut loudly.
“Is Alec here?” they heard Bethany ask. “You won’t believe what I heard among the apprentices!
“Alec!” she said, entered the exam room they were sitting in. “I hear that you had a terrible meeting today with the council! The word over at the cathedral is that the leaders have decided to go back to Ingenairii Hill and make peace, and you’re furious with them for not promoting the Duke!”
“Well, in this case rumor is roughly correct,” Alec agreed. “The three old members of the council had their minds made up – before we even began -- that they needed to get back to Oyster Hill and resume living as if nothing had ever happened. The new lady from the plant house, Gora, agreed with them, and there was nothing I could say that would change their minds. They’re sending people immediately to Oyster Bay to negotiate the terms of return.”
“I never felt so angry in my whole life, well, at least not since I faced Elgin as he left the docks,” Alec said. “They said they want to work with me and my followers. I don’t even pretend to know what that means, but I can’t conceive of any possible arrangement they’ll work out with Dosta and Fallion that I could accept. Not unless they somehow produce Aristotle and he tells me this is the right thing to do.”
“What they meant by your followers is that there are many younger members and apprentices here who feel exactly as you do about trusting the Fire and Warrior ingenairii. They have rallied around you as an example of a fighter, even before this meeting today, as they’ve heard the talk about going back to Ingenairii Hill,” Bethany said.
“Have you bought the extra beds we talked about?” she asked.
Alec told them what he had done. “They’ll be delivered tomorrow,” he explained.
“Let’s see, that’s a total of ten beds,” Bethany said. “If you put the bunks in a couple of rooms upstairs, and the other beds downstairs, that’s sleeping room for ten more. You can have that many people sleeping here tomorrow night, and if you want to put more bunks in place, you’ll have people to fill them all. I think there are at least twenty who will refuse to go back if you refuse.”
“Twenty?” Alec asked in astonishment. “You’re sure there’s that many? Are they all apprentices? What houses do they come from?”
“It is more apprentices than marked ingenairii, although I don’t think there’s a thimbleful of a difference between a senior apprentice and a full ingenaire, other than the pay the house has to give. They are pretty spread around, I believe. I couldn’t give you twenty names, but from the number of people I’ve talked to, it’s about a third that are opposed to return. About half are in favor, and a few don’t know what to think.”
“Tomorrow morning, could you go to the shop where I ordered the beds, and have them deliver all bunk beds instead of any regular beds?” Alec asked. “That’ll give us twelve new beds we can add. We’ll have to talk to Ellen to make her aware of our possible population explosion.”
“What happens then, Alec?” Bethany asked. “When you have all those renegade ingenairii here, what do you plan to do? They’re going to get bored here too, eventually, if you don’t have some plan for them.”
“I think a plan is forming, but it will depend on what talents they bring and what their goals are besides just not following the herd back to Oyster Bay. I’m going to ponder that and see how it develops,” he answered.
“Let’s go talk to Ellen,” he said, standing up. He felt energized by Bethany’s unexpected news of support. He clasped her hand in his and walked with her down the hallway, Cassie striding behind them.
“Ellen,” Alec approached the housekeeper and cook as she worked in the kitchen. “We may start having many more people begin to stay with us in the next few days. Will you need to hire some extra help to assist you here?”
“Oh, that’s not likely. How many extra people do you expect?” she replied.
“It sounds like we might have ten or more new ones tomorrow night, and then add a few more after that if we have room for them,” Alec tried to sound nonchalant.
“You think you’re going to squeeze a dozen or more people in this house?” Ellen said incredulously. “How in heaven’s name are you going to do that? There isn’t room!”
“We’ll put several sets of bunk beds upstairs on the third floor,” Alec explained.
“And will these be boys or girls?” Ellen asked.
Alec looked at Bethany. “I’m happy to say that it will be mostly young men,” she replied with a chuckle.
“Well, if any of this comes to pass, then yes, I think some extra help will be needed,” Ellen said. “Now out of the kitchen for a few minutes and let me finish up tonight’s dinner.”
They retreated upstairs, walking up to the third floor to imagine how the bunks could be arranged to give everyone the most room. “I suppose Cassie and I will need to move bunks into her room as well so we can share with more people,” Bethany conjectured.
”Let’s wait and see how many people really decide to join us here. Did you firmly offer space to anyone?” Alec asked her.
“I asked those we spoke about, plus a couple more. They all said they wanted to move over to us, and that was before some of them even heard about today’s decision,” she replied.
They walked back downstairs to the kitchen, where Ellen had food on the table for them. “I’m going to start working with the Guard tomorrow morning to begin evaluating what we’ve got and setting thi
ngs moving to make it the fighting force it needs to be,” Alec told them. “Do you think that our group of ingenairii would be interested in training to become swordsmen?”
Bethany looked at him. “No one besides warrior ingenairii ever did any weapon training, and frankly, I don’t remember any of them doing it until you took Nathaniel and Moriah with you to the palace. Which isn’t to say it can’t be done. These folks have had a lot shaken up in their lives and a lot of old habits broken, Alec. When they get here, ask them. They may love to have something to do to spend their time, and they might be able to learn something.”
Hannah grew fidgety towards the end of the meal, and Cassie left the table with her to go play.
“Would you like to keep your promise now?” Bethany asked Alec as they sat alone at the table.
“What promise was that?” Alec asked, alert to the fact that it could be a trick question.
“You promised you watch me model some of the clothes I bought yesterday,” she said with a serious expression.
“A promise like that has to be kept,” Alec said solemnly.
“Bethany led him upstairs. “You wait in Cassie’s room, and I’ll change in my room and come to you,” Bethany directed him.
Alec went into Cassie’s room and sat on a chair, watching the doorway. After what seemed like a long time, he heard a sound in the hallway, and Bethany appeared in the doorframe. She no longer wore her utilitarian gray trousers and top that she had frequently worn while in Goldenfields, but now wore a similar outfit in a dark blue color.
“There’s nothing very special about this other than the fact it’s the color of my house, and I really like blue besides,” she explained, twirling quickly to show all sides. “Now let me go show you something different,” and she was off down the hall. Four more times she came back down the hall, wearing dresses and skirts and blouses to explain their appealing features. “Give me five minutes, then you come down the hall to my room for the last one,” she instructed him as she left Cassie’s room again.
The Loss of Power: Goldenfields and Bondell Page 8