by J Battle
‘I can catch all I need, if I have a stick. Don’t you worry about that.’
‘Better get some sleep. I reckon we’ll be there by morning.’
‘Don’t reckon that idea will help me sleep, so thanks for saying it to me.’
‘You’re very welcome, Sam. Any time you want to know what’s going to frighten you next, just give me a call.’
‘I could get out of this bed and give you a thump instead,’ offered Sam.
‘That’s more like it, Sam. Mayhap one day you’ll get to be as big as that Rootheart fellow, and then I would be worried about a punch from you.’
‘You’re saying you ain’t worried now?’
‘Concerned, Sam. Concerned. I’ll give you that. But nothing worries me.’
Sam lay back on his bed and closed his eyes, wishing that he was as free of worry as his friend.
*********
Captain Harrb leaned against his wheel, with a pipe hanging unlit from his mouth, and he muttered a couple of ripe sailor’s curses, to see if that would improve his mood.
‘I don’t like this. Not at all,’ he said, to one-one but his pipe. ‘If I survive the day, I’ll go west and see how the work is that way, and not return to this foul place.
His ship was but a few hundred yards from the small harbour on Fairisle, and he was in no hurry to get any closer.
He could see that the tangleweed encroachment had developed since he was last here. There was little left of the dock to see, and there were thick vines and stalks reaching out into the water. The wind had turned and was blowing off the island, bringing a rich, fetid stench of rotting vegetation.
‘I’ll not enter the harbour. No I won’t. It ain’t safe. Not for my ship, and not for my passengers.’
‘Talking to yourself, captain?’
He turned as Ellaine joined him on deck, looking like she had slept the sleep of the innocent. If he’d been 30 years younger, he might have taken more than a passing interest.
‘It’s the only time I gets any sense, when I talk to meself. At least I know what I’m talking about; mostly, anyways.’
‘And what is stopping you from entering the harbour?’
‘It’s the weed, miss. You can see it above the water, but you can’t see it below. Who knows what’s down there, ready to tangle up my ship?’
‘So, how will we land?’
‘I’ll tell you what I told them Elvenfolk, I will. You can row yourself, ‘cause I ain’t risking any of my men, and they wouldn’t go if I asked them. There’s only one boat, ‘cause the Elvenfolk never came back with the boats they took. If you survive, you can use it to row back, and I’ll wait here until sunset tomorrow. If you ain’t back by then, then I reckon you ain’t coming back, and I’ll take my losses like a man and be off to more welcoming waters.’
‘That’s all we can expect of you, kind sir,’ Ellaine replied. She touched his arm and smiled.
If he’d been that younger man, he’d have said, ‘damn it all but I’ll come with you,’ but he was too old and wise for such folly, so he returned her smile with a sad frown, and he pulled his arm away.
Chapter 77 Gorge
The sun was still rubbing the sleep from its eyes when he reached the beach, walking slowly, as if every step was an effort; a waste of energy that could have been used for so much more.
The sea was restless, throwing white-topped waves at the beach, as if it too was angry and frustrated.
Gorge stopped when he reached the edge of the water, feeling the icy chill on his feet.
Across the sea his friends were...what were they doing now? Had they arrived? Or was their journey delayed by the heavy sea?
‘Mayhap the sea will slow them down, and keep them alive a little longer.’
His words were caught by the wind and ripped to nonsensical pieces of sound, but there was no-one to hear them.
If there had been a boat, abandoned by some nonchalant sailor, he’d have had it into the water without a second thought, and scooped the sea with his hands to cross its undulating width. Anything to have a chance to help his friends.
But here he was, helpless and useless, standing on an empty beach, complaining to an uncaring sea.
‘The Magic is gone,’ he said, digging his heel into the sand. ‘I’ve searched as hard as I could, but I’ve thrown it all away. And what good did it do? Came close to flooding the valley, that’s what I did, and I hurt Sam, and now he’s off to save the world if he can and no help from me.’
‘There are other things that need doing, Gorge, and you can help here, even without your Magic.’
He turned to Alice, and he offered her a weak smile.
‘I didn’t hear you coming.’
‘Ay, well you wouldn’t, when you are deep in conversation with the sea.’ Her smile was the real thing, warm and gentle.
‘When you don’t get an answer, it’s more like a soliloquy.’
‘I meant what I said, Gorge. The valley is without Magic, truly without, with no prospect of its return, for the first time in living memory, and we’ve relied on it, we have. And too much, if you ask me. Now, we have to adapt and learn how to live the way the rest of the world does. And that’s something a clever boy, well, he can make a contribution, if nothing else. We need leaders, Gorge, and mayhap that could be you. What do you think?’
Gorge had watched her face as she spoke. Now he turned his head back to the sea.
‘That’s all very well, Lady Alice, and it all makes sense, when you say it out loud, like. But that’s the future, you’re talking about...’
‘We make the future today, that’s what my father would say, if he was here.’
‘And he would be right enough if he said it. And, mayhap, tomorrow we can set to work on the future and everything will be fine and dandy. But today? Today, Sam and Tom, and the rest of them, they’re going to do something to try to stop whatever it is on that island, and we can’t say who will come back, can we?’
‘No,’ said Alice, her smile replaced by a frown. ‘But she’s a fierce and clever woman, that Ellaine, and she knows what she’s doing. If anyone can get them all back safe and sound, then it would be her.’
Gorge turned his back on her then, for he didn’t need words of comfort or encouragement. He needed his friends back here on the mainland where they belonged. He needed them all up in the treehouse, talking nonsense and smoking their pipes the whole day long. He needed them all sat at Dan the Man’s table, digging into his tatoe pie whilst he regaled them with words of wisdom he’d picked up during his long life.
But most of all, he needed them not to die.
Chapter 78 Too few
The little boat moved easily through the water, powered as it was by the strength of Rootheart’s strong arms.
They were in the harbour now, and they could no longer see the ship that was their only hope of a safe return.
‘Hold on tight there, Sam,’ said Torn, sharply, his attention on the looming tangleweed. ‘It was never like this, not before,’ he said, as if he was alone.
‘You wouldn’t have me cutting that ‘til my hands bled, would you?’
Torn turned to his son. Possible words ran through his head, but none of them were any use to him, or to Sam.
‘Shall I sing a jolly song, to ease the journey, if not the tension?’ asked Lancer, looking as if he was about to stand up to aid his singing.
‘There’s a time for singing, my dear, and this is not the time,’ said Ellaine, wrapped in a shawl against the chill sea air. ‘And don’t stand up, you fool. You’ll have us all in the water before you’re finished.’
‘I’ll have you know I’m the king’s brother, and a modicum more respect is due,’ replied Lancer, haughtily.
‘I knew you when you were a fool, Lancer, and I liked you better for it.’
‘I was often a fool, Woewearer, but I was always the king’s brother, so there.’
‘Well now, if I had the time or the inclination, I’d continue this non
sense, but I have neither, so I will allow you your little victory, Lancer the Dancer.’
‘Each one counts, my dear, no matter how small.’
Silence fell on the little boat, with each passenger wrapped in a shawl of worry and tension.
‘We are here,’ said Ellaine, at last. ‘Lads, you get out first, for you are the lightest, and I shall follow. But don’t you go wandering off now.’
Tom could have mentioned that Sam was considerably heavier than the slim woman, but he had far more sense than that.
There was barely room for the six of them on the quay, with the looming bulk of the tangleweed encroaching on all but one side.
Ellaine stood before each of them and placed her hand on their heads.
‘Fortune friend,’ she said to each one, and then she passed on to the next.
Sam gulped when she came to him, but he held firm as her cool hand touched him.
‘Friends, it is time now to take our foe to task, and we shall prevail, for right is on our side. Wisdom is on our side. Justice is on our side.’
Tom looked away, for he couldn’t help thinking that if there had been any wisdom about, none of them would be here. They’d be off gallivanting across the meadows of the mainland, and mayhap they’d pick flowers as they went.
Still, he kept his thoughts to himself as they walked in single file along the edge of the quay towards the way out of the dock.
The road was empty, save for the dark green mass of the tangleweed which occupied the right side of the road as they walked.
Ellaine held her head high as she walked, because she didn’t want the group to see the doubt that had suddenly assailed her.
She cared for each member of the group, though she knew little of Torn, yet here she was, about to sacrifice them all on the altar of necessity.
If they all fell, and their foe was vanquished, then she would count the day victorious. That had been her plan all along. She had lived for thousands of years, and had many more to come, so, why would she risk herself in their place? After all, they were only human.
Send the men first. Rootheart for his strength, and in a world of wishes, that could be enough. Torn for his knowledge of Magic, and his somewhat sly ways. Lancer; she hadn’t planned on Lancer, but mayhap his wit and unpredictable intelligence would aid their cause.
As the men fell, the boys would act, to see if distraction and fortune would suffice.
As she walked along ahead of the small group, she knew that it was all naught but folly. She could sense the power that awaited them, and they would be brushed aside like chaff before a strong wind, and she would be left alone to make the sacrifice that would be demanded of her.
She would be required to pit the unknowable ancient Magic that ran through her body against this new form of Magic. How would the old Magic that is fare against the new Magic that does?
The old Magic kept her alive, but she could do nothing else with it, so how was this anything other than a pointless sacrifice?
She sighed as she walked. Mayhap the cost of her destruction would allow the others an opportunity? It could happen, she thought, in a world of wishes, if we lived in such a world.
‘Ellaine! Stop! Look back there,’ called Sam, full of excitement. ‘I just looked back, to be sure we weren’t being followed, like, and I saw them.’
The group turned as one, and they stared into the harbour, at the multitude of white bobbing heads that filled the water of the harbour.
Chapter 79 Garraldi
He leant over the bar and found something fascinating within the depths of his tankard, or so it may have seemed to anyone who cared to watch him.
In Lord Richard’s tavern, in the heart of Verdant, there were few enough to show any interest.
That was until Dryan walked in all of a bustle, with the air of a man who has little time to waste.
‘Garraldi!’ he said, when he noticed him there. ‘You’re back.’
‘Ay, Dryan, you’re right enough. The Trytor must have hired you for your brains, I reckon.’
‘Are you alone?’ he scanned the bar.
‘Ay, again you see so clearly, it’s hard not to think you’re some sort of wizard.’
Dryan joined him at the bar and ordered a tankard.
‘How did things fare in Hesselton? Did you get there safely?’
‘Ay, we did, but there’s dark stuff going on, and it soured the visit for me, so I left.’
‘And your brother? And the Giants?’
‘Cavour is right enough, I’d say. If he fell in a barrel full of horse manure, he’d have a bunch of roses in his hands before you knew what was happening. And the Giants, well, I can’t see anyone left in the land who could hurt them.’
‘Good, good. It’s been so busy here, but I’ve still thought of you lot from time to time.’
Garraldi took a drink of his ale whilst he worked up the energy to ask a question, by way of contributing to the conversation.
‘Why so busy?’ he asked. It was short, and no-one said he had to listen to the answer.
‘We’re creating a new form of government, man. Can you believe it?’
Garraldi shrugged expressively.
‘We’re free of the Trytor for the first time in a hundred generations, and now we have to learn to rule ourselves.’
‘How do you do that?’ asked Garraldi, because it seemed expected of him. ‘I tell myself all the time that I should be a better person, but I never take any notice of myself.’
‘We elect a council to govern on behalf of the people.’
‘What people?’
‘All of the people.’
‘What, like me? What about Dirty Aggie? Her who lives down on the edge of the marsh.’
‘Everyone, Garraldi. Every man, woman and child. They all have a right to a say in how their land is governed.’
‘You’re going to ask a child how to run the country? You’re going to ask a woman how to the run the country?’
‘Ay, Garraldi. The last at least.’
‘But, what do women know about such things? Nothing, if you ask me and don’t take offense at the plain-talking truth.’
‘None of us do, Garraldi. That’s why it is so exciting. We have to learn how to rule.’
‘So we’ve got to teach ourselves, as well as rule ourselves? Mayhap next, we’ll be carrying ourselves.’
‘You’ve almost got it, man. But we won’t be carrying ourselves, we’ll be carrying each other.’ Dryan’s face fairly glowed at the prospect.
‘What was all that noise I heard before?’
‘We’re building a council building, up against the Trytor’s main doors. It will block the entrance off forever.’
‘Why do you need a building? Can’t they meet here? There’s chairs and tables, and that fine big window. And there’s ale.’
‘We need a building, for the council to meet in privacy.’
‘Privacy? Privacy from who?’
‘Well...’
‘You mean privacy from those blessed people you talked about, don’t you? Why can’t they sit beside you and offer their thoughts on the matter at hand? That’d make good sense, seems to me.’
‘We...well, very laudable though your suggestion might be, it is a little, shall we say naïve, and it is hardly the way these things are done.’
‘Seems to me I heard of Trytors and kings ruling countries, but I ain’t heard of ordinary men doing it, and I can’t see how it would work. Who’s going to listen to you? Do what you say? I know I won’t.’ He waved to the barman for two more tankards.
‘Oh...I really don’t...well, now you’ve ordered them, it would be rude to refuse.’ Dryan knocked back the last of his ale, then he considered his drinking companion for a moment.
‘Can I ask your advice?’
Garraldi tilted his head in a way that could be taken as affirmative.
‘You see, finance is a critical part of any government, and so we need to raise money.’
‘W
ho from?’
‘From the people, of course.’
‘Them people again. One minute they’re ruling themselves, the next you’re ruling them in secret, and now you’re taking their money. You’ll be sacrificing their first-born next.’
‘That’s entirely uncalled for, Garraldi. We are doing our best.’
‘What was the question you were going to ask?’
‘Yes, of course. We have a way to gather the funds we need, and we are worried that it might not be very...popular.’
‘You’re taking their money and you think they might squeal?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that. So, we plan to take a percentage of a person’s income... ’
‘Which people? Rich people? Lords and ladies?’
‘No, everyone.’
‘Even people who don’t have any coin? Poor people.’
‘If they earn coin, it is only right that they should contribute.’
‘How much?’
‘Sorry?’
‘You said percentage. How much of a percentage?’
‘We are stilling working on the exact figure.’
Garraldi sighed and shook his head before he took a drink.
‘This percentage, when do you take it? Is it when he’s paid all his bills and fed his children? Is that when you take a piece of what he’s got left?’
‘We base it on his income.’
‘So, what he gets, not what he’s got left?’
‘It’s the only way this can work.’
Garraldi drained his ale and slammed his tankard down on the bar.
‘My pa, and my ma, they both had a thing or two to say about this sort of thing, and sometimes, I even listened. So, there’s only one thing left for me to do.’
‘And what’s that?’ sighed Dryan.
‘I’m going join your council and make sure you do things right.’