She had never answered any of his letters, and though that hurt his feelings, Kestrel still speculated about how she was doing, and wondered if he would ever see her again. It seemed unlikely; Firheng and Estone had quickly come to feel more like his home than Elmheng did.
A cloud moved in front of the sun, and Kestrel judged that it was time to awaken his sprite friends. He pulled each out of the water and waited for them to awaken, then received his trip back to Center Trunk.
“I’ll tell Jonson he missed a trip to the spring. He’ll be extremely jealous!” Dewberry triumphantly crowed. “Now, here’s my goodbye kiss,” she pecked his lips with hers, and then Kestrel was alone in his room.
He gathered up his bags of water and walked to the rooms where Alicia had operated on him before, and found her at a desk, talking to an attendant. “Here’s the water,” he placed the pile of skins on a table.
“That’s wonderful! We’ll be able to help so many patients with all of that,” she gushed appreciatively to Kestrel.
“Now what?” Kestrel asked.
“I need for you to get drunk and pass out,” Alicia said. “Same as last time.”
“Where’s the nearest tavern?” he asked.
“Let me take you there,” she said, standing up.
“Is there someone else who I could go with?” he asked stiffly.
“All you want to do is drink a lot of ale in a hurry. What’s the harm in doing it with me?” she asked plaintively.
“You’ll make it taste sour,” Kestrel said abruptly.
There was a long moment of silence, then they each said, “Alright, fine,” at the same time.
“Let’s go,” she said, removing the apron she had been wearing. “Gailer,” she called to a nearby assistant. “Would you tell my husband I’ve gone out for drinks with Kestrel, and we’ll be back soon? Thank you,” she said, then opened the door and motioned for Kestrel to lead the way out of the building.
The tavern wasn’t far from the base; it was nearly right across the street from the main gate. Because it was still only early afternoon the tavern had little business inside, and Alicia took Kestrel to a small table for two, set in a corner away from the other customers.
“Tell me about the yeti,” Alicia asked after the dispirited waiter had placed two mugs of ale before Kestrel and water in front of her.
Kestrel took a long drink from his ale first, then began to describe the battle.
“No, I meant carving it up. I heard that you sold parts in Estone,” Alicia said. “Was it bought for what I think it was bought for?”
“Virility?” Kestrel suggested.
“Exactly!” Alicia said triumphantly. “How much did the men of Estone pay to enhance their precious virility?”
“Well, it wasn’t just men from Estone, there was an auction with traders from other countries too, human countries,” Kestrel explained.
“Well of course, human countries; it doesn’t have an effect on elven men,” she told him.
“It doesn’t?” Kestrel asked, never having considered the difference.
“No. Why? Did you save a little for yourself?” Alicia asked archly.
Kestrel sputtered the ale he was swallowing. “No!” he answered indignantly. “I don’t have any need of it!”
“Well, and proud of it too, I see,” Alicia said simply. “So how much did the human men pay for their virility?”
The waiter responded to Alicia’s signal, and brought another pint of ale to the table, taking the empty glass away from in front of Kestrel.
“The total paid was one hundred twenty golds,” Kestrel gave her an answer as he picked up his drink.
“One hundred twenty golds?!” Alicia’s voice sounded so loud that heads turned. “One hundred twenty golds?” she repeated. “You got that much money?”
“I didn’t get any,” Kestrel said primly. “Castona got fifty for making the arrangements, and Merilla got the rest,” he sighed.
“And who’s Merilla? Why’d she deserve so much? You’re the one who killed the yeti, right?” Alicia immediately asked.
“The yeti killed her husband, and she had two little boys to raise. I took her all the way back to the city from their homestead in the wilderness, and I told her she could have the proceeds from the sale,” Kestrel explained. “She’s going to buy a house in the city around the corner from her parents, so she can raise them close to family.
“There’s a leather shop that rents the ground floor, so she’ll have an income. We thought that was a good idea, before we found out how much total money she’d have,” he spoke expansively between sips of his ale.
“The leather monger seems like a nice human, soft if you ask me, but that’s who her mother wants her to marry, it’s pretty clear,” he added disapprovingly.
“And you don’t think he’s good enough for her?” Alicia asked, watching him closely.
“No, of course not,” Kestrel agreed.
“Is she pretty?” Alicia asked, “For a human woman, I mean?”
“I think she is pretty. She’s not someone a man would drool over, but she’s got a wonderful smile and pretty hair, and you find out her figure is really much better than you realize when you see her undressed,” Kestrel answered. “Human women have a lot more curves and flesh than elven women, and there’s something to be said for that.
“Of course I saw you naked at the healing spring, and you’re good looking too,” he tried to be polite.
Alicia sat upright, and discreetly looked down at her own figure momentarily.
“Did you love her?” she asked.
“I did. I do. I’m not sure,” Kestrel started on the newest ale to arrive, slumping forward and struggling to drink it. “I knew I had to leave her, but I think we could have been happy together. She knew I was an elf, and it didn’t bother her. She’s got such a good heart. I could trust her,” he sighed deeply, then sat back and his head tilted backwards as he began to snore.
Alicia took several coins from her purse and placed them on the table, then came around the corner and lugged Kestrel’s arm up over her shoulder, and began to walk him out of the tavern, him dragging more than moving his legs. As soon as she reached the gate of the base a pair of guards came to relieve her, and took him to her designated surgery room.
Silvan was there waiting for her. “How’s our volunteer? Did he spend the afternoon cursing you? I’m sorry you had to put up with that,” the colonel comforted his wife as she began to tie the straps in place.
“No, he was well-behaved. We talked about male virility,” she looked up at Silvan. “He says he doesn’t have any problems.”
The colonel’s face colored faintly, but his wife continued. “He sold the yeti parts for one hundred twenty golds, and gave most of the proceeds to a pretty human widow. I’m fairly confident that if you ever couldn’t find your agent here, he’d be at a house over a leather goods shop.”
Alicia placed the blocks beside his head, and strapped his head rigidly in place, then opened a skin of the healing water and placed it within reach. “I’m going to start cutting now, so you might as well leave the room and let me concentrate on this now.”
Silvan obligingly departed from the room, and Alicia picked up one of the finely honed cutting knife. “Poor Kestrel,” she whispered. “So much confusion in that good heart of yours. I’m afraid things aren’t going to get any easier from here on out.”
And then she put her blade to work, reshaping his identity once again.
Chapter 28 – The Operation
When Kestrel awoke, Giardell was standing in the room keeping watch over him.
“Can you release me?” Kestrel asked, rattling the straps that held his wrists in place.
“I’ll go wake the doctor, and she can tell,” Giardell answered. He stepped out of the room and returned within two minutes, Alicia coming behind him and hurriedly wrapping a robe around herself as she arrived.
“How are you Kestrel?” she asked, as she started to unw
rap his bandages.
“I’m thirsty, and my ears hurt,” he said.
She stopped working on the bandages and held a straw to his lips. “Here, drink slowly,” she instructed.
“Why do my ears hurt?” Kestrel asked.
“I didn’t use as much of the healing water this time,” Alicia explained as she finished taking the largest bandages away. “I got to thinking that it might contribute to the restoration of your elven features, so I really only used a light touch of the water this time to help you heal.”
Kestrel could suddenly see light as she removed the gauze from his eyes and begin to touch his eyebrows. “They’re still a little swollen, but within a couple of days they’ll be fine,” she spoke to herself.
“Can you unstrap my arms and legs?” Kestrel asked.
“Will you promise not to try to harm me?” Alicia asked, stepping back from him.
“I’ll promise, this time,” Kestrel agreed, making Giardell give a quick guffaw as he stood watch over the doctor and patient.
Alicia unbuckled the straps on his wrists and upper arms, then his ankles and legs. She returned to his head as he massaged his hands. After she had the blocks removed and the bandages off his ears, she picked up a small mirror.
“Sit up and take a look, Kestrel,” she told him.
He accepted the mirror and examined himself.
“They’re still a little swollen, but that’ll be gone before you get to Firheng. By the time you get back to Estone, Merilla will be ready to welcome you as a handsome human lover with open arms,” Alicia told him.
“But no elf maid would have me,” he retorted.
“You don’t know that,” Alicia snapped back.
“Go wake the colonel,” she told Giardell.
“Didn’t he wake when you woke up?” Kestrel asked as the guard left the room.
“We aren’t sleeping together,” she replied. “Tonight,” she added after a second’s thought. “I slept apart so that I could come see you if needed.”
They remained silent after that, as Alicia bent her face down close to Kestrel’s, peering closely at the relocated eyebrows, as his eyes examined her complexion and her features, noting the seeming perfection of her skin and her chin, on which he noticed a very slight cleft, and especially her lips. Her robe hung loose and gaped slightly, allowing his vision to follow her throat line down to her chest, and the slight swelling of her breasts, a clean smooth surface of flawless light skin.
“Well, how’s the subject?” Silvan asked as he entered the room.
“He’s in good shape,” Alicia responded. “There’s more swelling than last time, but I think that’s only because I used less of the healing water.
“I’ll fix some willow bark for you right now,” she looked down at Kestrel’s eyes as she stepped away from him.
“If you want me to hold him here, or if he wants to stay here for observation, we can plan to do that. Otherwise, I think your new human is ready to be sent up to Firheng and Estone; he knows the way pretty well by now, don’t you, Kestrel?” she continued.
“What would you like to do, Kestrel?” Silvan asked. “Leave once the sun is up, or stay for a day or two to be sure this is good?”
“I’m not a ‘new human,’” Kestrel said testily. “The ears don’t make me more human. I’ll trust her; I’ll be ready to go this morning. Will this be the real assignment, or just more practice and testing?” he asked.
“This will be the true assignment,” Silvan began.
“I’m sorry Kestrel; I didn’t mean to say it offensively,” Alicia interrupted, returning to hand her patient a small mug of painkiller.
“It’s okay,” he muttered in reply, then began to drink from the mug, and looked at Silvan for more information.
“We will assign you to travel up to Estone, to take a ship from there to the Great Sea, and then back through the Inland Seas to Graylee. We want you to learn what is happening in Graylee and Hydrotaz; they are the ones attacking us,” Silvan told Kestrel. “With the seasons starting to change, we’ll want to get you moving before the shipping lanes close down, and we’ll want to get you into Graylee in time to join their forces before they begin attacks next spring.
“I’ll write most of this up and send it with you in a messenger tube to Firheng. You can spend a few days there practicing your skills, while I put together more details and plans that I’ll send up to you in the next few days,” Silvan explained.
Kestrel nodded his head as he finished sipping the bitter drink Alicia had prepared.
“Let’s let Kestrel get some sleep,” Alicia suggested. “We can send him on his way in the morning.”
Once they all departed, Kestrel lay back on the thin cushion of his cot and thought about his return to human form. He’d have to skulk along the roads for the next few days to get to Firheng, and he’d need to keep a hood up at all times, as well as sleep in trees, no matter what the weather. And he’d have to remember to take another skin of healing water back to Belinda, he decided, so that she could continue to treat her husband.
Amid those random thoughts, sleep overcame him. He awoke the next morning to the sight of Alicia, dressed and active, preparing another dose of willow bark for him to take. “And here are the powders for three more,” she gave him a small leather pouch.
“May I have a skin of healing water?” Kestrel asked.
“What for?” Alicia asked, examining him.
“There’s a woman who works at the base in Firheng. Her husband was badly hurt years ago, and I’ve been trying to give her some of the water every chance I can so that he can recuperate,” Kestrel answered.
Alicia bent under a cabinet, and rose holding a skin. “Here’s your skin for your friend; you’re the one who brought it all, so you ought to take what you want. Just be careful about exposing yourself to the water, you know.”
She quickly began to examine his ears and eyebrows again. “You’re cleared to go,” she told him. “Be careful Kestrel. I can’t do anything for you once you’re on your way, but I’ll think about you and pray for you.”
“Thank you, Alicia,” He said as he stood. “Do you have something with a hood I can wear to go see Silvan?” he asked, looking around.
“Of course! I didn’t even think about the fact that you look human again. Let me run and get something,” she exclaimed, and left the room for several minutes.
“I hope we part on better terms this time than we did last time,” she told him as she handed the cowl to him minutes later.
“We do. I understand better this time, and you didn’t try to trick me this time, I think,” he replied. He pulled the cowl around his shoulders and lifted the hood to cover and shade his face and head, then walked to the door and turned. “Farewell,” they each said at the same time, and smiled, before he left the building to return to his quarters and get his belongings.
Minutes later he was back in the building on the top floor, passing Giardell as the guard held Silvan’s door open for him.
“Here are your orders,” the colonel said as he held out a blue taped message tube. “Commander Casimo will put you to work fine-tuning your training and giving you more time to spend with horses; depending on what happens in Graylee, you could ride a horse quite a bit. They keep very large herds on the plains,” Silvan said. “I’ll send more information about your future within a week, so you won’t be trapped in Firheng too long before you can get to Estone and visit your human friend on your way to the docks,” he smiled gently.
Though Kestrel wasn’t sure what he would do or who he would see in Estone, he nodded politely. “I’ll do my best. I never thought I’d become a spy,” he said.
“None of us do, Kestrel. But I think you’re making the adjustment as well as can be expected. We wouldn’t want to have you as a spy if you were too interested in skullduggery and deceit,” Silvan replied. He rose and walked Kestrel to the door. “Put your hood up and have a good trip,” he said, then watched Kestrel leave, and went
to the window to watch him walk away from the building, on his way to becoming a spy for the Elven nation.
Chapter 29 – The Gamble
Kestrel felt that he spent his entire journey to Firheng walking into a blustery autumn rainstorm. His journey started out in nice weather, but after half a day the clouds rolled in, and his first night in a tree was when the rain started. After that the rain continued for the next three days, so constant and cold that Kestrel decided to forego a tree one night and built an impromptu shelter in a small gulley, letting his hair dry that night out of the rain. Nothing else ever got dry for the rest of his trip, and he was exhausted by the time he arrived at the gates of Firheng at sunset of his fourth day on the road.
The woods had been crowded with elves all along the route of his journey, leaving him in constant fear of exposure to the workers among the trees. It was nut harvesting season, and every elf that could be spared in every small village throughout the Eastern Forest was at work, gathering bushels of nuts that would be roasted, ground, treated, baked, and used in every way possible. The elves loved the robust flavor of nuts, much preferred it to grain, as a source of food that could be shredded into flour or otherwise processed. Kestrel kept his hood tightly bound upon his head as he passed the forest workers who walked and bent over throughout the forest, who left great bushels filled with nuts along the roadside, waiting to be carried back to the silos and storehouses where they became the property of the elven people.
Upon his eventual arrival at Firheng Kestrel went to his usual room and undressed and unpacked, spreading items out to dry, as he found a few dry items in his things that been left behind in his fourth floor bedroom. After pulling those clothes on he went to the commissary and picked among the leftovers for dinner, then went back to his room and slept soundly through the night.
The Inner Seas Kingdoms: 01 - The Healing Spring Page 29