She said to no one in particular, just out loud, “My children were here today and they both think me dead. I could have brought them such joy to show them I was alive.”
“You will,” Andronicus said. “In a short time you will, trust me.”
Joanna replied, “I do trust you or I would not have done as you have asked, even though it has broken my heart.”
Two figures stood at the top of a tremendous falls looking out over a wonderful kingdom, each very much alone but knowing that in the valley below, four wonderful people were now bringing relief and life to the sick and dying who needed them more than they.
Chapter 11
A Tangled Web is Time
Man thinks that hindsight is always twenty-twenty, but in reality it would only be so if man could see all the infinite possibilities for every action, and that ability belongs only to God.....
--The Wisdom of Fathers
Time is a feature that is unkind to humanity. It slows down and speeds up as if it had its own will and delighted in being cruel to people. Such was the case of the four who arrived at the bottom of the falls and were in a hurry to reach the Rollins’ dukeship and bring aid to the people there. They were eager because they now had a cure for something thought uncurable. But now they could not get there fast enough, and no one more so than Andrew. He fully understood the nature of the sickness that plagued the northeast part of the kingdom and only wished himself there to help. If only he could have been there earlier, people would not be dying.
They exited the chamber at the bottom of the falls, crossed the narrow ledge and then were on dry ground. They found their horses still staked in the same area they had left them, mounted up, and rode south a little ways below the falls. There they let the horses drink and afterwards, crossed the Halfstaff to the other side of the northeast kingdom that was quarantined. It was not long until they met some guards from the Rollins Dukeship who called a halt to their company. As the riders approached telling them of the quarantine, the guards stopped mid sentence as they recognized the king.
“Sire,” one addressed the king, “I do not think it wise to journey to this part of the kingdom. It is not safe for you.”
“We must be allowed to see Duke Jasper Rollins, immediately,” Raven said.
The man shook his head, “I have my orders. No one is to pass into our lands or leave because of the plague. Surely you must realize this is for the safety of the whole kingdom?”
Now Andrew’s impatience started to show, “How dare you question the king! You will let us pass immediately or suffer the consequences.”
With that Andrew began to draw his sword and the man’s eyes grew very large when Raven spoke, “Andrew, please, put away your sword. Let me deal with this. Arms should be a last resort.”
Andrew nodded, still red with anger at the delay this was causing.
Raven turned to the man and said, “You will let us pass because we have a cure for the plague, and we will be in no danger, I promise.”
Raven could clearly see the indecision in the man’s eyes, but he yielded and let them pass.
“Do not worry,” Raven called back as they rode through, “I will speak to Duke Rollins on your behalf and tell him how well you are guarding the borders.”
Soon, with fast riding, they could see Rollins Castle and the small town that encircled it. And it was not long until they were spotted by the castle watch. They could see a group of armed men riding out to meet them, probably to prevent them from entering the town or castle.
When the company came to a halt in front of the four, the king was recognized and the oldest son of Duke Rollins, Terry, could be heard to moan, “Oh no, why have you come here? You should not be here, Your Majesty.”
“Take me to your father at once,” the king said.
Terry just nodded, turned his horse around, and led the company back the way he had come.
Raven rode up beside Terry and asked, “How bad is it?”
Terry frowned and said, “Ten have died and we know of at least thirty who are ill. They are scattered around the whole of our realm, and we do not know how it is spread.”
Andrew was listening and was a little puzzled, too, at the haphazard description of the plague’s spreading. He had thought it would be more localized.
When they entered the castle and dismounted, they were escorted to the duke’s private study to meet with him. When Terry knocked and they were asked to enter, the duke rose to greet the guests but then went pale when he saw it was the king and Andrew and their brides.
“What have you done coming here?” Jasper questioned in a panicked voice. “You bring great jeopardy upon yourself and the kingdom by being here.”
Raven realized for the first time how much these people cared for their king, being so frightened for his health. It made him love them that much more.
Raven spoke with a compassionate voice as he said. “We believe we have a cure for the plague and want to help.”
“You should have sent it across with my men instead of coming yourself,” replied Jasper.
“I know,” Raven said, “but a king must at times hazard himself for the kingdom to help those who suffer. Besides I believe we are not in any danger. I told the same to your border guards and commanded them to let us pass.”
Now Andrew took over, “We believe it is not an infectious plague, but a kind of poisoning. Tell me is there anyone ill here in the castle?”
“Yes,” Jasper said, “my own wife has started with the thirst.”
“Then we must do this at once,” Andrew said. “Have your cooks burn some thin slices of bread until they are black and gather some milk and bring it here to me.”
It was not long before servants returned bringing the blackened bread and milk to Andrew. He took some of the milk and placed it in a cup and added a small quantity of the compound he had gotten from Andronicus and mixed it in. Then he told them to take this burnt bread and milk to Jasper’s wife and make her eat it and drink the milk. Then he asked Jasper Rollins to bring him a sample of drinking water from every source that supplied water in the city and castle in order to be tested. As they brought Andrew samples of water, he tested them one by one. But none changed color as they should have if they were contaminated. He then instructed the servants to give Jasper’s wife plenty of water a half an hour after she had eaten the blackened bread and drank the milk.
“Your wife will recover,” Andrew said confidently. “Only those in the very late stages of poisoning may not survive.”
He turned to Terry Rollins and asked if he had watched the whole procedure and Terry nodded.
“Good,” Andrew said. “Here is some of the compound: half a spoonful for every cup of milk for anyone else you know who is sick.”
Terry took the compound and headed for the kitchen to get some more blackened bread and milk.
Jasper Rollins was at a loss the whole time Andrew had taken over. How, he wondered, did they find a cure for this terrible plague?
He had his doubts that anything could stop so terrible a death, but he had no other alternative either. So maybe partly in hope and partly in desperation, he gave full cooperation to the four who had come on this errand of mercy.
After Terry had left, Andrew began to ask Duke Rollins where the plague had started. This was the one thing Duke Rollins was sure of. He explained it had originated a two hours’ ride northeast of the castle in a section where grapes were grown and wine was produced. Andrew asked if there was any water or wine present in the castle from that particular area.
Duke Rollins thought for a bit, then added, “I believe we do have some wine from that area, but it is a sweet wine called Ralinna that many women prefer to drink. It has a softer, less harsh bite than normal wine.”
All of a sudden it dawned upon Jasper that his wife had drunk some of that very wine in the past and just a few days ago. He sent a servant to retrieve the wine from his wife’s quarters and
had it brought to Andrew. Andrew poured some of the wine into the water he had already tested that still had the chemical testing agent present, and immediately the water changed to a blue color.
“We must send word to the whole kingdom that they are not to drink any wine from this area,” Andrew said. “What family produced this wine?”
“The Mendoza family, I believe,” replied Jasper.
“Then send word: No one is to drink the wine that comes from the Mendoza family.”
Jasper did as Andrew had instructed and asked, “What shall we do next?”
“I think we should travel to the Mendoza family and find the source of this poison,” said Raven.
They all agreed and soon were mounted and heading toward the north east portion of the kingdom. Jasper Rollins was leading the way to where the Mendoza vineyards were located with Andrew riding beside him.
Turning to Andrew he asked, “Are you sure that this is the source of the plague in our kingdom?”
“Yes,” replied Andrew, “the test showed the wine is contaminated.”
“I just want to make sure before we confront the Mendozas with such a serious accusation,’’ said Jasper.
“There will be no accusation,” replied Andrew sternly. “No one knew the wine was contaminated and I know beyond any doubt that no one did this intentionally.”
Jasper breathed a sigh of relief just as they topped a knoll to peer down at the smoke of several fires near a farm and vineyards. As they neared the vineyards, a man came to meet them, waving his hands and shouting for them to stay away. It was Gallé Mendoza and he was yelling that the plague was there at their farm. The five rode on until they were close enough to carry on a conversation without shouting and stopped there. Gallé had a strained saddened look about him but it was masked by fear as well, especially as he eyed the five riders and began to recognize first Duke Rollins, then the king and Andrew, and then each of their brides. As Raven’s eyes swept over the farm, recognition set in, the fires were bodies being burned because of the plague. His heart saddened at the sight, remembering his own ache and loss at the burning so unexpectedly of his own mother after a similar death.
Raven turned to Gallé and spoke, “Sir, we do not believe this sickness to be a plague, but a poisoning of sort. We must speak to you about it if you will allow.”
Gallé nodded and said, “Come, if you are not afraid to enter my humble home and we will talk.”
The five rode slowly beside Gallé as they surveyed and passed the fires consuming the dead till they were at a very nicely constructed villa.
As they dismounted, Lorriel asked if there were any who were still ill and had not died. Gallé confirmed that there were two who were still ill, his oldest daughter and his brother’s wife. Lorriel and Rebekka excused themselves and headed for the kitchen to prepare the burnt, blackened bread as Andrew explained that they had found a cure for the sickness.
Gallé just shook his head, “There is no cure for this terrible plague,” was all he said.
As they had entered the estate of Gallé, Raven could tell it had been an elegant and well furnished home which suited the famous wine makers of the kingdom. Only now it had the gloom and despair of death hanging over its normal joyful setting.
Gallé ushered them into the main room, spacious and well furnished, seated his guests and himself, then turned to the king and asked, “How can I be of service to you, Your Majesty?”
Raven began, “We are interested in a certain wine, Ralinna. We would like to know its ingredients.”
“Ah,” nodded Gallé, “Ralinna, a sweet wine preferred by the women of the kingdom. Why do you wish to know its secrets?” Gallé said this with his brow furrowed and one eye raised in suspicion, for no wine master divulges his secrets, lest a special wine become common place as others could produce it if they knew how.
“We believe it to be the source of poisoning or the plague that has struck this part of the kingdom,” replied Andrew.
Gallé’s mouth dropped open and he shook his head in denial, “That cannot be true. We have produced this wine for generations. How can it be poisoned?”
Andrew began with an easy tone to explain to Gallé what had probably happened, knowing he would be defensive about the whole situation, “The poison has not been in high concentrations in the past, and probably a single bottle would not make someone sick. But it is cumulative. The poison builds up in the body until at last it overcomes a person and they sicken and die. This is why we need to know the ingredients of the wine so we can find the source of the poison and stop it once and for all.”
Gallé considered this for a moment and then said, “I will tell you the secret of the sweet wine. I never cared for it much anyway. It was my grandmother’s recipe. The real secret of the wine is a spring next to the cliffs on our property. It is a sweet water and when mixed with the wine, gives it its sweetness. We add the water just before we bottle it.”
“Are there any other wines that have this water in them?” asked Andrew.
“No,” replied Gallé, “it is the only one.”
“I think we will find the spring is the source of the poison,” Andrew said quite plainly. “Will you take us there?”
Gallé nodded just as Lorriel and Rebekka entered with some blackened bread and milk. Andrew took some of the compound he had and added it to the milk. Rebekka and Lorriel then left to administer the cure for the sickness to those who were ill.
“Do you think this cure will save the lives of my daughter and my brother’s wife?” Gallé asked.
“It depends,” Andrew said truthfully. “We have not had much time for those who have been treated with the cure to respond, and if they are too sick it may not help. But I believe we have a good chance to cure those who are ill. The first thing you must do is get rid of all the Ralinna wine so no one drinks any more.”
Gallé called one of the kitchen workers and gave instruction to dispose of any open bottles of Ralinna wine, but did not give the order to destroy his store of it for he was not yet convinced that this was the source of the plague. Andrew understood his reluctance and wondered what he could do to prove to Gallé that the wine was poisoned.
“Do you have any water here that you would use for drinking?” Andrew asked.
Gallé sent and received a pitcher full of water for the guests. Andrew poured some in a clear glass and added the detecting agent but the water remained clear.
Gallé looked at Andrew with a puzzled expression on his face, “What were you doing with the water?”
“I have put the agent into it to test for the poison, but there is no poison in this water, so it remained clear,” answered Andrew. “Now, let us go to the spring and I will test the water the same way and we shall see what will happen.”
They rode to the spring and dismounted, Gallé in the lead. Slowly they walked to the little creek that flowed from the ground near the rocky cliffs.
“Does it always flow like this?” asked Raven.
“No,” Gallé replied, “some years it is dry. This year it is flowing more than usual.”
Andrew stepped up to the spring and dipped his clear glass container into the spring and washed it out several times before finally getting a sample. The water had a particular odor to it, but not unpleasant like that of the hot sulfur springs of the south. He then placed some of the testing agent in the water and it immediately turned dark blue.
Gallé was so surprised he stuttered out a question, “This would not be a magician’s trick, would it?”
“Sadly, no,” answered Andrew. “The water is contaminated with some poisons and metals. Here is the source of the plague in the kingdom.”
Gallé shook his head, “I would not have believed it if I had not seen the water change color. And I know you would not have any reason to deceive me, to what end? I will destroy all the Ralinna wine. I just pray it is not too late for my oldest daughter and my brother’s wife.”
&nb
sp; “This would also explain why more women have died from this plague than men,” Andrew stated, “since more women drink this wine than men. You need to fence this spring off and post a sign warning anyone who may drink of it that it is poisoned.”
Gallé nodded slowly, and with a sad expression spoke to Andrew and the king, “I know beyond any doubt that what you say is now true. More than two years ago, I sent a special shipment to your mother as a gift. We added extra sweet water from this spring to the wine and she died the death of the plague because of us.” Gallé stopped speaking but looked at King Raven to see how this news would be taken. Not being able to hold his gaze long added, “Exact upon us the punishment you see fit for the death of Queen Joanna, for we are guilty of her death and many others.”
Jasper Rollins was pale and shocked by this new revelation, and wondered also what the king would do. He feared that a heavy penalty would be due all of them from the king for such a tragedy.
Raven did not speak for awhile, then spoke in a somber compassionate voice, “I know the queen died from this same poison, but I also know that you did not know, nor could know that this water was contaminated. I do not find fault with the Mendoza family nor you, Gallé. Let us be thankful that we have found the source of the plague and that no one else will drink this water.”
Gallé Mendoza was overcome with the generosity of the king and fell at his feet thanking him for his mercy.
Raven bid him rise and only said, “Make sure no one else drinks this water. Your family is now the guardian of this spring of death. Guard it well.”
Jasper Rollins watched all of this and admired the king for his wisdom.
He is just, he thought, knowing that no one really was at fault for such an unpredictable source of ill. As others have pledged to follow this man, so do I since I have seen his justice.
They gathered up their things and headed back to Gallé Mendoza’s villa to get Lorriel and Rebekka before heading back to Duke Rollins’ castle. At the villa, Andrew asked Lorriel and Rebekka how the administering of the cure had gone.
The King's Folly Page 29