Misthaven: The Complete Trilogy

by J Battle

  Alice sat opposite them, with her father to her left and Cavour to her right.

  Ferrooll, of course, sat on the floor, by the side of Richard.

  ‘Time to talk of what must be done,’ began Ellaine.

  ‘What? Already? Before the food is served?’ Ferrooll shook his head in amazement that talk might come before food.

  ‘The earlier we start, the earlier we will be finished and on our way about our tasks,’ answered Ellaine, with a little smile.

  ‘You plan to go to Fairisle?’ asked Richard, looking a little pale, but without his bandage for the first time.

  ‘Ay, that’s where we need to be.’

  ‘What danger will we find there?’

  ‘Father, you are not well enough yet for such...exertions.’ The concern on Alice’s face would have melted a heart of stone.

  ‘Don’t you go worrying about me, my dear...’

  ‘Forgive me, Lord Richard, but you should listen to your daughter. For one with so few Falls of Leaves, she is filled with wisdom.’ There was a tone in Ellaine’s voice that suggested she would brook no argument.

  ‘Ay, Ellaine, you are right enough there, but I have responsibilities that I cannot ignore.’

  ‘Mayhap that could be decided later.’ Cavour tapped his pipe on the table as he spoke. ‘Earlier, I took a walk around the harbour and bid the Giant good morn, though he seemed less than pleased to see me. I noticed a ship tied up to the dock. Large enough I reckon to make the crossing with a handy group of adventurers.’

  ‘That will save time. We must speak to the captain and book passage.’ Elllaine looked set to stand up and leave.

  ‘Before that, if you will, tell us what danger, what threat you see. For you are a seer, are you not?’

  Ellaine studied Cavour for a moment before she smiled.

  ‘I always forget, you should watch the quiet ones, for they see what is to be seen.’

  Cavour shrugged and brought his empty pipe to his lips.

  ‘There is an evil...presence on Fairisle. We have seen what it did to the Giants, drawing them to their death, and the world is less without them. I suspect something also happened to the Elvenfolk and, despite the manner of their fall these past few centuries, that is also a terrible loss to the world.’

  ‘How does this evil presence manifest itself? Is it a man who can be struck down by a...special sword?’ Richard leaned forward as he spoke.

  Ellaine reached over and placed a small hand on his.

  ‘This is not a Trytor we face.’ She looked around the group. ‘Oh, the Trytor is big and strong and fierce, that is true. Or it was. But they could be outwitted by a clever Giant, if such a creature existed. Forgive my words there, Ferrooll, and do not take offence.’

  ‘No offence, little woman. I knew a clever Giant once. Well, he told me he was clever, and why would he lie? He fell off a cliff he said wasn’t really there, as I remember.’

  ‘Well he must have been clever then. Now, I can’t rightly tell you what we’ll find, my friends. I am a seer, you are right there, Cavour, but I don’t see clearly, and I don’t see everything. I reckon he is a man, or mostly a man anyway. But there is something else, something unnatural, and of course, there’s Magic.’

  ‘If there’s Magic, I’ll rip the Stone from his hands and shove it up a place it ain’t polite to speak of in front of ladies.’ Rootheart’s voice echoed across the almost empty barroom.

  Ellaine smiled and gently touched his elbow.

  ‘Ay, lad, mayhap you will, if it comes to it...’ She turned away from him then and rustled in her bag for her pipe.

  Before any more words could be spoken, the outside door slammed and Tom rushed in, with his face flushed and his hair all a mess.

  ‘Tom, what is it?’ asked Alice.

  ‘My Lady...it’s Mage Evens. He’s...I went to see him, like, to thank him for...you know, giving the Stone to me, like, to help Sam. And I knocked on his door, I did, though I didn’t expect him to answer, with him being taken to his bed and all, but it’s polite to knock anyways, I reckon. So, I waited a minute, and then I went inside, and it were cold, it were, and I went over to his little bedroom, like I did last time, when he gave me the Stone...’ He came to a stop and, whatever his eyes were seeing, it wasn‘t in the room.

  ‘Go on, Tom,’ said Alice, gently.

  ‘I...well, I went in, and he weren’t moving. He were just lay on the bed like, and his face, what I could see, were white and his eyes they were open, but they weren’t seeing nothing, and I knew, I was sure...so I put my hand on his chest, and then I put my ear against his mouth, and...well, he’s dead. Mage Evens, he’s gone and died, my Lady.’

  ‘Come and sit down, Tom. That’s terrible to hear. He was...we’ll all miss him so much.’

  Richard made room for him on the bench so that he could squeeze in next to Alice.

  Ellaine’s eyes were on those of Cavour. He nodded as he understood.

  Whatever mourning and sorrow was due to the old mage, there were things that had to be done, and soon, lest the world be overwhelmed with mourning and sorrow.

  Chapter 58 Richard

  He stood calmly before the small group, and whatever physical pain remained was no match for the loss he felt.

  He looked around. Alice was there by the grave of course, and her beautiful eyes clung to his face.

  Beside her was Tom, and then Sam, still looking pale after his ordeal. Prince Torn was standing a little behind his son, with his head bowed in respect and his hands clasped before him.

  Ellaine was just to one side, with Rootheart and Ferrrooll towering over her small figure. Despite that, she drew the eye.

  Frenk’s broad face seemed to exude sadness as he watched the grave-digger about his grim business.

  It was a small enough crowd to watch the old mage’s passing, thought Richard, considering all he’d done for the town and the valley. The word had been sent out, but there was little time, so mayhap that was the cause. Though Frenk had taken him to one side earlier and spoken of a dark foreboding that seemed to be pressing the people down with its weight.

  ‘It’s just our sorrow for the loss of a good man,’ he’d said, but was he wrong? Was it something else?

  ‘Thank you to everyone for coming. There is little I need to say. We all knew Mage Evens and the gift he was to our people. If we had the time, I’m sure we’d all have stories we could tell over free-flowing ale of his kindness and wisdom, and his grumpiness, I should say.’ He smiled at the memories. ‘But for now, we’ll bow our heads and see him into the ground.’

  The grave-digger and his two sons lowered the woven basket that held all that remained of Mage Evens into the ground.

  ‘He should have this with him,’ whispered Sam, holding up a heavy cloth bag. ‘It wants to be buried with him it does. It’s only right, I reckons.’

  Alice placed a hand on the bag and pushed it back.

  ‘No, Sam. It was a trial to him in his life, and he should be left to rest now. He has no need of it now and...I’d have it elsewhere, if you understand me.’

  ‘Elsewhere, my lady? I don’t rightly know what you mean. But it’s his Stone, so I reckoned...’

  ‘Shush now, Sam,’ whispered Tom, ‘I know what the Lady means, and I reckon she’s about right. We’ll have ourselves a chat about it later, when there’s no-one about.’

  ‘If you say so, Tom, but...well, I don’t know what’s right now, I don’t. I thought I had it, but it’s slipped through my fingers.’

  ‘No need to worry when you’ve me to keep a firm grip on things for you.’

  Ellaine stepped forward and cast a single white flower into the grave.

  ‘I didn’t know this man,’ she said, softly, in a sing-song voice, ‘and that is my loss. But I am Ellaine Woewearer, and it is my trial to sing songs of sorrow and loss for the dead, and to witness their end. I will not sing today of Daniell Evens, for his loss is too raw to those who remain.’

  She lifted her
head and closed her eyes. ‘Daniell Evens, we see you.’ The words floated on the air for a moment, and then she turned and began to walk back towards the town, with Rooteheart’s massive hand on her slim shoulder.

  **********

  ‘If you will allow, Prince Torn, I’d need to take a walk with Sam here.’

  ‘It’s not ‘Prince’ any longer, Tom. You can call me Mr Torn, and I’m sure you’ll keep an eye on Sam for me.’

  ‘You’re right enough for a summer’s morn, Pr...Mr Torn,’ said Tom, with a little nod of his head that could have been taken as a bow, for old habits linger, even for the young.

  ‘Where are we going?’ asked Sam, eager to be out in the open.

  ‘Not very far, I reckon,’ replied Tom, with a wry smile, ‘if you go back and get that old bag you had.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course. I’ll be back before you can count to ten, and no cheating.’

  With the heavy bag slung over Sam’s shoulder, they left the little house that Torn had secured for them.

  ‘Where are we going?’ repeated Sam, as they walked towards the east gate.

  ‘Well, you know why the Lady didn’t want the Stone to go in Mage Evens’ grave?’

  ‘I...well, she didn’t say, did she?’

  ‘No, because she’s clever and careful, and so must we be.’

  ‘Well, I’ll be careful and you can be clever. That would work I reckon.’

  ‘Mayhap you’re right. So, she didn’t want the Stone in...hold on there a minute and we’ll go through the gate and bid good morn to the guard.’

  They were soon outside the gate and on the coast road, with a stern look from the guard to send them on their way.

  ‘I know why the Lady didn’t want the Stone in the mage’s grave,’ said Sam, when they were safely out of earshot. ‘She don’t reckon the Stone is good, and she don’t want anyone knowing where it’s buried. If we put it with the mage, then everyone would know where it is.’

  ‘That’s right enough, Sam. I knew you’d get it. And that’s why we’re taking it someplace secret.’

  ‘It must be secret, ‘cause I don’t know where it is.’

  ‘Soon enough, Sam. Soon enough.’

  They walked in silence for a while, which was a rare thing to say when Tom was in the company. The sea to their right was almost still, and there was not a breath of a breeze in the air.

  ‘What’s wrong, Tom?’ said Sam, when the silence had lasted for long enough.

  ‘I...well, when we’ve seen to this Stone...we’ve to go and find Gorge, I reckon. He ain’t been seen for days, and that ain’t right.’

  ‘He rushed off all of a sudden, and he hardly said a word, when he came to see me,’ said Sam. ‘We best be quick then. Where are we going? I ain’t been this way before.’

  ‘If we carry on for half a day, we’ll come to a swampy place, and that’ll be a good place to hide the Stone.’

  ‘Half a day! But, I’ve only had a light breakfast, and we’ll miss lunch, and not get back for supper.’

  Tom laughed and reached into his pocket.

  ‘I pinched this off Dan the Man’s plate when he weren’t looking.’

  A broad grin split Sam’s face.

  ‘I love a nice piece of pork pie, I do.’

  Chapter 59 Dryan

  He walked into the rulehall and stopped at the sight that was presented to him.

  The Trytor, back on his throne, but covered in a teeming mass of creatures, wriggling and fighting each other for the tasty bits.

  As he watched, the body slumped to one side, and a dozen of the little beasts fell to the floor. But soon enough they leapt back to the feast.

  ‘A fitting end for such a creature,’ he said, wondering that he felt no joy. ‘I should be joining in, laughing and dancing with the little darlings. But I’ve never seen such rats before, and I’d be a fool to get too close, lest I provide a second course for them.’

  He slipped back through the door, taking care to lock it behind him.

  Outside in the sunshine, he called some men to him from the tavern across the square.

  ‘Come now and help me close these doors. The Trytor is no more, and none shall enter his home.’

  It took the strength of ten men to close the great wooden doors and set the locks and bolts that would never be removed.

  ‘Now, lads,’ said Dryan, from the steps, ‘we are not yet finished. There is another entrance, just the other side of town; a hidden entrance, but that too will need to be sealed.’

  ‘You’ll allow us a drink first, will you not?’ asked a florid-faced man, who had already been seen to give less than his full effort to the task.

  ‘Ay, Brondin, you’re right there. We’ll have a tankard of good ale before we get back to it, and I’ll be paying, I will.’

  ‘That’s only right, Mr Dryan; only right,’ said Brondin, and he moved towards the tavern with considerable more haste than he’d previously demonstrated.

  The tankard of ale soon became two, and why not, for the scourge of the Trytor was no more and a celebration was surely due.

  It was whilst he was supping his second tankard that a young lad rushed in, panting and eyes-wide with excitement.

  ‘Mr Dryan, sir,’ he gasped. ‘My ma, she said to fetch you, and quick, she said, or there’ll be no supper for me, she said.’

  Dryan smiled down at the boy.

  ‘And why are we to worry about your supper?’

  The boy looked back at him, all confused for a moment.

  ‘No, you’ve got to come. There’s giant rats just walking up the main street like they own the place. And they don’t care that we can see them. And they’re as big as dogs, they are.’

  ‘Come along men, let’s see to this,’ said Dryan, planting his half empty tankard on the table.

  There much muttering and grumbling, but they all followed him outside.

  ‘Oh, my,’ said one of them.

  ‘For f...,’ said another.

  ‘I’ll get my axe,’ said a third.

  The rest were speechless as the column of oversized rats marched past them, clicking and squeaking as they went, two by two.

  No-one moved as the thousands of creatures, each as long as a tall man’s forearm, left the town and worked their determined way up the rocky slope towards the mountains beyond.

  ‘Well, I’ve never seen the like,’ said Dryan with a shake of his head.

  ‘My ale’s getting warm,’ said Brondin, turning to push his way back into the tavern.

  Dryan watched him go, and the rest following him.

  ‘Back to the wife, I reckon,’ he said, ‘for now at least. But there’ll be a lot to do. A government, that’s what we need, and good wise men, and they’ll be as rare as thoughts in a Giant’s head.’

  He walked down Main Street, towards his home and his wife. She hadn’t wanted him to come. She’d called him a fool for even thinking of it. But it wasn’t the first time she’d called him a fool, and it was unlikely to be the last.

  ‘He was wounded, my dear,’ he’d argued, ‘and he hasn’t been heard from since. I just need to be sure that he is dead. That we are free; truly free.’

  ‘And if you walk in there and find his fat ugly face looking at you, what then, my idiot husband?’

  He hadn’t answered her. Instead he’d given her a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She’d let him go, as she always had, but that didn’t mean that the sharp edge of her tongue wasn’t still to be felt when he returned.

  Chapter 60 Cavour

  ‘I spoke to him, Ellaine, and he refused.’

  She gave him an appraising look, with something of a smile to accompany it.

  ‘So, you left it at that?’

  ‘No, of course not. I spoke some more, and I was quite insistent. I can be quite insistent, when it suits me.’

  ‘I’m sure you can, Cavour.’

  ‘But still he refused. He wouldn’t take gold, and he wouldn’t be persuaded, even when I gave him my sternest look.
’

  ‘So, are we to swim then? Is that what you are saying?’

  ‘No, that would be...taxing, I reckon. No, I said to him, ‘take a look over the rail there and tell me what you see.’ And he said, ‘I’ll see naught but a dock, if my memory serves.’ So, I said...’

  ‘Can we have less of ‘he says’ and ‘you says?’ Can we not just get to the crux of the matter?’

  Cavour smiled and shook his head. Then he gestured with his pipe.

  ‘Will you not allow me a little enjoyment of my wit?’

  ‘It seems to me that enjoyment of your wit might be a solitary occupation.’

  ‘If we must have it like that, he looked at the dock and he saw that great big Giant you have sitting there doing nothing but counting seabirds, and missing most of them by my judgement. And I told him that I’d been polite and asked nicely, but the next person to ask would be the Giant, and he wasn’t well known for his politeness, and he’d never heard of nicely.’

  ‘For a quiet man, you take long enough to tell a story.’

  ‘To get to the point, that swayed him and he agreed to take us, as long as there are no Giants coming along with us.’

  ‘You could have started off with that line and saved us all some time.’

  ‘Ah now, Ellaine. I’ve been on the road for such a long time, and it is a rare pleasure to talk to a woman who is fair of face and wise of mind.’

  ‘Are you saying that wise and handsome women are a rarity?’ She asked, with mock severity.

  ‘Not at all. I am saying that such treasured women would rarely deign to speak to one such as I.’

  ‘What is to stop the captain from sailing off without us?’

  ‘Ah well, I did think of that. Now, I don’t know much about ships, but they have a big long chain attached to an anchor, and that chain is currently wrapped around one hand of the Giant, so the ship won’t be going anywhere.’

  ‘Then we will leave on the morning tide.’