by J Battle
‘That’s very generous of you to offer,’ said Richard, with a little shake of his head, ’but, what about your people?’
‘I ain’t got any, Mr Lord, sir. My ma, she passed, and I ain’t never known my pa, though she always said he spoke pretty, when she knew him, like, she did. So, there’s no-one to worry, and I reckon the Giant will take better care of this set of eyes than he did the last set he had.’
‘Well, lad, let’s see how this works,’ said Ferrooll, propping both fists against the ground. ‘I’m going to stand up, and we’ll see if you like the height, ‘cause I heard you little people don’t like to be too far from the ground. And if you’re fine with that, you can take me to yon tavern, and then you can order me some ale and some food. How does that sound?’
‘Sounds just about right to me, Mr Giant.’
‘Have you got a name, little boy, or did your ma pass before she gave you one?’
‘Ben, Mr Giant, and I got other names as well, but you can call me Ben.’
‘Well, Ben, here we go,’ as he spoke, Ferrooll pushed himself upwards and Ben laughed when he found himself looking down on the men below.
‘Hello, little people,’ he called, and he gave them a wave for good measure.
‘Now, little person,’ said Ferrooll, with a suddenly serious tone to his voice, ’there is something that has to be done before we go any further, and that’s this knife sticking in me eye.’
Ben leaned to take a closer look.
‘Is it sticking in, or is it sticking out?’
‘Take it from a Giant who knows what’s what, little man. It’s sticking in.’
‘What you going to do?’
‘Well, I reckon there’s nought to be done but pull it out.’
‘Won’t that hurt?’
‘No more than leaving it where it is, I reckon.’
With that, he took the handle of the knife between the tips of his index finger and thumb and eased it from his eye.
‘Now, that smarts,’ he said, as he tossed the offending blade away. ‘I’ll tell you that and not ask for nothing in return.’
He turned then and began to walk away from the men.
‘Lead me to the tavern, boy. That can be your first duty, for sure.’
Lancer and Richard watched them go.
‘Now, Lord Richard, we must talk of serious things. Will you walk with me?’ said Lancer, after a moment, with a hard expression on his lean face.
Together, they walked along the road, away from the tavern and further in to Verdant.
‘You slew the Trytor? The second one?’
‘Yes, but…well I barged past the human guards he had, and they didn’t really try to stop me. But I was in such a rush, and I had one eye on Ferrooll, and I’ve never ran with a sword in my hand before, and my feet got tangled and I began to fall, and it was a lucky blow.’
‘So…?’
‘It was a lucky blow. I’d hesitate to say I could do the same again. I am not a soldier, Lancer, and I never was. But I will do what I can. I will do what I must.’
Lancer smiled, and he linked his arm through Richard’s.
‘Brave words indeed, my friend. And from a lucky man.’
They came to the top of a rise in the road, and a long narrow valley was revealed to them.
‘What say we use a little mind instead of brawn, my friend? What would you say to that? When it comes to strength, we are at a disadvantage, without our friendly Giant, don’t you think?’
‘We can’t expect him to do anything more than he has done already.’
‘No, of course. So, we must be slippery, as your man Jumba would have said, if he was here.’
‘Slippery?’
‘Like an oily fish, he said.’
‘If that is what is required.’
‘So, Lord Richard, tell me this, if you will. Is that purse you carry full of gold coins, or copper?’
‘Copper? Why would I carry copper? It is all gold, of course.’
‘Then that is good. Now, just beyond this valley, there is a small town, and I think you should take a walk down there, and you should use some of those coins to hire yourself a workforce; 50 or so should suffice, I think. And you should be sure that each man is strong and hale and willing, and he should have an axe, I think, or he’ll be no use to you.’
‘And what will you be doing, whilst I am about your business?’
‘Well, I haven’t had a chance to try the ale in that tavern back a ways, and the Giant speaks so highly of it.’
Chapter 55 Jimmywood
His lodgings for the night were a little less comfortable than he cared for, and rather more guarded than he was used to, but at least it gave him the opportunity to remove his wet clothes.
A generous soul might have called it a Huntsman's cottage, though a more accurate description would certainly have included the word hovel.
‘My room has a lock,’ the lady had advised him, ‘but yours does not. However, be sure not to wander in the night for Raarwoar will rest outside of your door, and she can be angry when roused unexpectedly.’
'Do you have...' He hesitated to ask, even as the need was growing. 'Do you have, perhaps, something I could smoke, to ease my passage to sleep?'
'We have no harroweed here, my friend. We do not accept such an abomination in our land.'
It was the answer he expected. It was the answer he dreaded.
'Perhaps some common or garden pipeweed then?'
The lady shook her head and closed the door to his room, leaving him alone and smokeless.
Throughout the long sleepless night, he was comforted by the knowledge that he would surely be rewarded with the finest harroweed before the end of the following day.
When he heard movement outside his door, he felt that it was safe to leave and seek out breakfast. He found no sign of the dangerous animal outside his room and wondered if it had been a ruse.
'Tealeaf?' asked the lady, a large beaker in her hand, as he entered the main room of the hovel.
'Yes, my Lady,' he croaked.
'Alas, we will have to be sustained by the memory of breakfasts past, as we have no food here.'
'Then I will feast on the breakfast I was presented with when I stayed at the Rampant Cockerill, on the road to Masterton at the end of last year.'
Such a breakfast not requiring much in the way of time, he soon stepped out of the outer door of the decrepit building and received his first view of the land behind the mist. The lady joined him.
'What do you think?' she asked.
'Well...?' He looked along the length of the valley. He studied the rising land to his left, and the steeper climb to his right. 'I thought...' He gave up; there was not a single nice comment he could think to make.
'It was not always like this, Jimmywood.' She pointed at the slope ahead of them. 'When I was a girl, those drab, bare fields were so lush and green, and the forest over yonder, it glowed with health. This benighted water you see running the length of the valley was a full and vibrant river. This dry, powdery soil at our feet was rich and dark; full of the chance of life.'
'What changed?'
'Now you will hear the truth Jimmywood, and no denials. It is the waning of the Magic, and the mage. Together, they are losing their puissance. The years have drained them. They can no longer hold back the icy wind from the north that flays the life from the land, or prevent God's Saddle from sucking the water of life from the valley.
'It will ease a little with the new moon when the Wellstone is renewed, if the mage has the strength still to put himself through that onerous ordeal.'
She smiled at him, and he could have fallen into that smile and forgotten his terrible need for the weed.
'So you see, I spoke close to the truth when I denied the existence of Magic, for there is precious little here.'
'Ho there, Lady Alice. Ho there, stranger.'
Together they turned and watched the approach of Jefro, who seemed full of vigour even thought he'd
had little opportunity to sleep.
'What aid do you have, Jefro?' asked Alice.
'None to speak of, my Lady. He will do nothing until the new moon, and very little of use then, if you ask me for the truth.'
'Still, you seem in good spirits?'
'Better good than bad, my Lady, as I always say. I have had time to think as I walked, and it occurs to me that I have never yet had the opportunity to kill one of these Elvenfolk creatures.'
'But you can't kill them; not on your own. You'd need 10 men at least to stand a chance of success,' Jimmywood blurted.
'And yet I have only myself. Sufficient to the moment I will have to be.'
'Have you seen one, up close like? They are near as tall as Giants, with long limbs, and they are quick; you cannot conceive how quickly they move when the bloodthirst of battle is on them. You'll not take him with a sword; I tell you that, my friend, for he will rip your heart out at your first lunge and have it eaten before your dead body hits the ground.' Jimmywood found that he was suddenly agitated at the prospect.
'Your concern is gratifying, but have no fear for me. I will not be standing chest to chest with your crawlord; I will destroy him from a distance. Then I will walk over and have his head for my wall. And all without a single bead of perspiration on my brow, or the slightest increase in heart beats.'
Jimmywood shook his head. 'You hope to kill him with an arrow? He will laugh and pluck it from his chest and use it to clean his teeth.'
Jefro nodded. 'In that case, no ordinary arrow will do. And no common bow. The mage has been of some use perhaps, for he has given me this bow and this arrow.'
He handed the long stiff bow to Jimmywood. He made an attempt to draw it, but found that he lacked the strength. He then took the arrow from Jefro. It was long and heavy, with a head as long as his hand.
'Can you draw this bow? Can you fire this arrow?'
'Have no fear on that account. If you take a close look at the head, you will notice a dusting of grey.'
Jimmywood looked and he saw.
'The dust is from the Wellstone and when that arrow hits your crawlord, it will be as if he has been struck by a thousand arrows. He will not endure such a shock. That arrow was made many years ago, when the Wellstone and the mage were in their full strength. It was meant for a Giant, but other means were used to turn him away.'
'Will the Magic still be strong, after all this time?'
'Who can say, with Magic? I am not a mage and mayhap it will bounce off his chest when it reaches its target. We shall see.'
‘What do you wish of me?’
‘You will lead him out into the open, of course, Jimmywood, until he is within sight of Jefro’s bow.’ There was jest in her voice, as if she spoke of no more than a stroll in the woods.
‘You will trust me so far?’
‘We trust you as far as your honour will stretch. When you go beyond it, then you will feel the ice of Jefro’s blade.’
‘When? Surely you will allow me an if?’
‘Prove me wrong, then Jimmywood; it would please me greatly if you did so.’ Though she seemed so young, she spoke with quiet authority.
‘We should make haste if we are to reach the meeting place with enough time to scout a suitable hiding place,’ said Jefro, slinging the bow and quiver over his broad shoulders.
‘Indeed you should. Take care dear Jefro and be sure to return to us hale and hearty. And you, newly met Jimmywood, take advantage of the good fortune that brought you here, and the redemption that is almost visible in your future.’
‘I will, my Lady. I will.’
She watched as the two men set off towards the reservoir and wondered when treachery would raise its hideous head.
Chapter 56 Meldon
Meldon sat up in the bed and watched her as she danced, and it was certainly a sight to see, he thought. Why do women hide their bodies away in fancy clothes that do not begin to approach the beauty of their naked bodies?
‘Will you dance with me, my Lord Regent?’ said Fleur, with a somewhat lascivious smile. ‘Will you warm me, my Lord Regent?’ She wrapped her arms around herself and pretended a shiver.
‘Will you satisfy me, my Lord Regent?’ she said, and she opened her arms in offering.
Meldon smiled and nodded, because he was just about ready to go again, but a hesitant knock on the door spoiled the moment for them both.
‘My Lord Regent, beg your pardon and that, but…’ The door opened, slowly, but nothing else happened.
‘What is it, man?’
‘Sorry to disturb, like, but…’
‘Come inside, man!’
A narrow head appeared in the doorway.
‘If you don’t mind, sir, but…oh, I didn’t know you weren’t…’
At the sight of Fleur’s naked body, his tongue lost the ability to manage his words.
‘Don’t you be looking at her, Jerrold!’
‘Sorry, sir, but…’
‘Oh, don’t you worry. You can look at her right breast. It’s a very fine breast, don’t you think?’
Jerrold could only nod.
‘But you can’t look at her left breast. Just her right. Is that clear?’
Jerrold closed his eyes, because he couldn’t think how to look at one without the other.
‘What do you want, man?’
‘Sorry, sir, and all that, but there’s a challenger in the square, like he’s come to try to win the Stone, and we didn’t know what to say to him. Because the prince, well you know…’
‘Give the man a small purse for his trouble and send him on his way. There will be no more challengers. Make an announcement about it. I don’t want to be bothered with such things.’
‘Yes, sir, Mr Regent, I’ll do that right away.’
‘And Jerrold?’
‘Yes, my Lord Regent, sir?’
‘Don’t you think it would be impolite to leave just like that, without saying goodbye to her right breast?’
‘Er…yes, my Lord, I …well, g-goodbye…right breast.’ He gave a little bow, because it seemed the thing to do.
‘Did you look at her left breast?’
‘No, my Lord, I hardly even know it’s there.’ Jerrold closed his eyes again, because he’d found himself looking directly at the forbidden breast.
‘And what about the lady herself? Don’t you think you should acknowledge her in some way, after all this discussion of her breasts?’
‘Yes, my Lord. Sorry, my Lord. Goodbye…my Lady.’
Before Meldon could say another word, he was gone.
‘You were cruel to mock him so,’ said Fleur, with a broad smile.
‘Cruel? You think that cruel? You will see much worse, I assure you. Now, he called you a lady. Are you a lady?’
She came closer, and she put one knee on the bed. ‘Depends what you want from me, my Regent.’ She pouted, and that was the end of any sort of conversation for the next hour or so.
Later, Meldon was alone in his private quarters. He planned to move into what had been Prince Torn’s suite, but he was having it decorated to match his own tastes first.
He knelt by his bed and pulled out the box he’d hidden beneath it. With a smooth movement, he opened the lid, and he looked down at the dull brown surface of the Wellstone.
The Magic that had carried him on a wave of pleasure and self-indulgence over the past few days was beginning to wane, and soon he would have to renew the power.
But, not today, he thought.
In truth, would he need to again? Everyone knew that he had access to the Magic and would destroy anyone who stood against him. Did he really have to subject himself to the agony that contact with the Stone would bring, when he’d already achieved his deepest wish?
He was in charge here now. They all bowed to him now, and he had an enthusiastic and inventive lover now, so what need for the pain?
He could keep it here, locked away, and, if he ever needed it, if there was some challenge to his authority, or if h
e needed to demonstrate his power, then here it was.
He closed the box, and he pushed it back under the bed.
As he left the room behind him, he felt the relief, and he found that he was really in quite a good mood.
Fleur watched him as he walked along the corridor with something of spring in his step. He’d nearly caught her spying on him, and her breasts were still heaving with the fright she’d felt.
But she’d watched him long enough to see what he was about.
He had the prince’s Wellstone hidden beneath his bed, and it was a foolishly unsafe place to keep an object of such value.
She’d leave it be for the time being, until she could see how things would develop with Meldon. If there should ever come a time when he grew tired of her, or if he became so unpleasant that she could no longer bear to have him touch her, well, Rekk her brother would surely have ideas on what could be done with this most valuable and prized Stone. Of that she was certain.
Chapter 57 Anders
Across the roof of the world they raced, the young man and his broad solid mount, running barefoot across the white barrier of God’s Saddle.
‘Faster, Rootheart, faster, for our glory awaits us. Pound the ice with your feet, batter your way across its great immensity and bring me home to a hero’s welcome.’
Rootheart made no comment. He just ran; the Wellstone clasped to his chest, as he tried yet again to make sense of what he was experiencing. He could see what he was doing, and he knew that it was not something he wanted to do. It was the last thing in the world he would have done, stepping onto the sea of ice that would lead them somewhere he did not expect to want to be. But there was some power preventing him from linking the thoughts together into a guide he could follow; some disconnect. Oh, he thought at last, it is the Stone. The Stone controls me. I must put it down. Somehow, he remained clasped to its hard, cold mass.
A little later; it is not the Stone that controls me, he thought, it is the man. I know his name, but it will not come to me just yet.
Later still; if it is the man, I should cast him from me; throw him to the ground, he thought. Yet still he ran.