The Necromancer Part I

by Mike Voyce

  As we emerged out of the well in the Great Hall the brothers had lit the space with a prodigal number of candles so the light almost dazzled. The brothers wanted to see in what condition Gilbert returned, and what we brought back. I held the candle aloft, and they were amazed as they had been when I brought the keys.

  Without the discipline usual to Brother Gilbert, the brothers decided on a brief holiday, we drank beer, all crowded round the long table. All of us were loath to go to our beds at last but, as Gilbert returned to his usual manner, the candles were extinguished and we went our ways.

  We repeated this journey on two more nights before Brother Gilbert declared himself ready to report to the Bishop; there now stood three candles on the long table and we were fearful of taking more. We had been fearful to venture outside the Chapel, for all we explored its interior, for neither of us could think of any plan in the event of discovery. I was fearful also to let go my hold on Brother Gilbert during our coming and goings, for all my grip relaxed, I could not bring myself to let go entirely.

  Reporting to the Bishop was now most difficult.

  The events of Friday the 13th day of June, which took place in the White Tower of the Tower of London, only came to us by degrees. We were now entirely cut off from Cambridge by the orders of John and Bartholomew, and Gilbert agreed. We had little news from Holborn or London and relied on Brother Matthew, who was now our spy and only link to my lord Bishop himself.

  Matthew told us there had been a great disturbance at the meeting of the new king’s Great Council. The Lord Hastings had been arrested for high treason and for witchcraft and taken away, as also had been the Bishop and certain others. Lord Hastings was after times tried and beheaded, while the Bishop was taken into the custody of the Duke of Buckingham and sent, under close guard, to the Duke’s stronghold of Brecon.

  It would become Brother Matthew’s great work to find entry to the castle at Brecon, and entry to the Bishop’s presence, but we were told Brecon lay a long way off, in the principality of Wales, and the journey there was both long and difficult. Matthew would be given special licences and favours through the offices of the arch-deacon in Holborn, and should have horses and messengers at his service, together with a purse of money for what the See could not supply.

  We also learned, at the end of June, that all London was in turbulence and that, by popular demand, the new king’s uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester, would be king, and the new King would be king no more.

  It was an anxious time for the brothers, and all would now have to wait for the Bishop and Brother Matthew.”

  ***

  Chapter 21 – The Next Step

  There was hardly any pause before Thomas resumed his story.

  The Duke of Buckingham’s absence with the new king, distracted his household, and many of the Duke’s officers went with him. Perhaps if Buckingham had been present in Brecon the Bishop would have been more restricted. As it was Brother Matthew was able to masquerade as a traveling merchant, with urgent business with the Bishop, and with papers from the palace at Holborn to be signed. Within two weeks the Duke’s officers had accepted him as a visitor to the Bishop, they even accepted the exchange of papers. On separate occasion’s both Gilbert and Thomas were allowed to go there also; they were not allowed to see Morton himself, but they came close enough for the practice of their skills.

  It would be wrong to say Matthew boasted, but he grew and shone in the admiration of his brothers.

  Messages were conveyed from Brecon to brothers John and Bartholomew, who left Hatfield for more than a week. When they came back, the brothers brought two boys. These two were to be called ‘the Young Gentlemen’ but were never to be named; the boys were clean, and they were dressed in fine silks and velvet. The brothers were strictly ordered not to talk to the boys beyond what was necessary, and not to talk about them at all. Speculation arose that these two were the princes who had lately been lodged in the Tower, and somehow Bishop Morton had managed to extract them.

  “For myself I did not know what to think or even know for certain the boys concerned my own and Brother Gilbert’s working until I was summoned to receive the Bishop’s instructions.

  First I was asked a question,

  ‘Can anything, or anyone, be taken from the Underworld without being replaced by an equivalent?’

  This had been a speculation and debate within the School, as part of our Magic studies of correspondences and substitutions. From the keys and the cloth I knew some things could be taken, but not whether this could be true of people and spirits.

  I answered that I thought it possible, but most of the brothers and the Bishop himself disagreed. By authority of the Bishop of Ely we were not to take the chance. It became clear to me my lord Bishop’s plan was the Young Gentlemen should be taken into the Tower of London, to be left there in substitution for the sons of the late King Edward IV, who would then be taken out.”

  There was a silence.

  “You did not approve?”

  “Brother John pointed out that substitution would delay the moment of discovery, and it was likely the Gentlemen would be well treated, and it would increase the safety of bringing the Princes here. What could I do?”

  Thomas’ voice acquired a whining tone which surely, even in his own ears, was sufficient answer to the question.

  “And it made your task the harder?”

  “This was not all. It seems I was to take others, perhaps John and Bartholomew.

  I prayed for guidance. Yet I was so afraid that my steps had already strayed too far from the path and there was no way now except into further damnation. My sleep was disturbed by terrible dreams and I prayed even more to the Great Circe than I did to Our Lord.”

  Tell me of your work in the well.”

  “It was Gilbert as well as I who schooled the Gentlemen in what they must do. And we went into the well to the bottom which was not stony. There was little room and the cramping of our bodies together made me feel unsafe and dizzy. When I felt so my purpose would unbalance and we would all find ourselves on the stony floor of the well when we should have been elsewhere.

  The problem was at the foot of the shaft, where the space was narrowest and I explained it all to Gilbert, and then to John and Bartholomew. I was told to rest and that I was tired and I was prescribed other work to do.”

  It seemed to me it was not just this carrying of others which tired Thomas, but the recounting of it, and I offered him a pause from telling his tale. Thomas would have none of it.

  “It seemed that weeks passed, but I cannot tell whether days or weeks or how many. I could no longer keep my mind even to reading my beloved books and there were days I spent sat in the garden. The brethren were solicitous and encouraged me in quiet voices.

  It seemed to me it would have been sufficient to alter the space at the bottom of the well, and the mason who made it was called in. They told me the difficulty of widening the space would be more work than digging another shaft.

  Gilbert, John and Bartholomew had all been lowered down the well, separately and together. They had tried to repeat my journeys, but even Gilbert, who had travelled to the White Tower with me, could never leave the well in the Great Hall.

  After a time Brother John told me the Bishop had ordered a solution, which was even now in hand, and I should be patient while it was made ready. It lifted my spirits, though I did not yet know this solution.”

  Now I intervened more firmly, telling him we must pause this story so I, also, could do other work. I wanted to look at the Bishop’s solution through my own eyes, and I told Thomas he must be patient.

  ***

  Chapter 22 – Morton’s Solution

  Brothers John and Bartholomew were in the Great Hall when masters Nathaniel and ‘Legley’ arrived. They were sitting at the long table with a freshly opened letter before them, the ribbon dangling from it still with the Bishop’s seal attached. The stone-masons were left to stand.

  “Masters, we m
ay have a commission for you from my lord bishop.

  First I must learn something from you. It is rumoured the society of masons keeps it secrets, will you also keep the secrets of our bishop?”

  John spoke with more authority and less courtesy than Gilbert would have done. Nathaniel, ever mindful of his own dignity, did not like it but his companion spoke first, he spoke with a French accent,

  “Is it not well known milord?”

  John looked at him,

  “Master Nathaniel we know, and you sir?”

  “Mon nom, c’est Pierre, ‘the Rock,’ mon cher confrere, he calls me Legley.”

  The Frenchman’s manner was well judged, a combination of urbane authority, John answered his smile,

  “I see why.”

  Legley had the spare height you saw in Thomas, but his back was straighter and he carried himself with confidence and purpose Thomas did not have.

  “The commission Brother John.”

  Nathaniel did not wish to stand too close to Legley, and that was something into which I should look.

  “We have instructions to build a mine, with a large chamber at the end of it. It must stand some way from this house, but not too far, and it must be out of sight. The whole must look like a barrow from ancient times when it is finished.”

  Legley resumed,

  “And it must be a barrow, covered with grass, from the time it is builded? Yes?

  John nodded.

  “Then you must find us a small hill.”

  It was normal for Nathaniel to let Legley negotiate and no more would be settled until the site was chosen and agreed upon.

 

  None of the brothers knew the land around Hatfield. There were many untrodden and closed places in the woodlands, possible places in riverbanks where spoil could be removed by barge, and the brothers’ survey took many days.

  Finally a place was found, beyond the palace itself, close to a small river, to the northeast and hidden in woodland. It did not include a hill.

  “If it is to be, it is to be; we shall build a hill. What we dig from the ground we shall use for the roof. It makes it easy for the inside to be bigger.”

  It was very much a surprise to find Legley speaking so positively. John and Bartholomew were dubious, and Nathaniel would certainly have turned the commission down. Legley encouraged the others, almost a dynamo of energy, and I wondered why.

  “If you set yourself to do a thing, you should do it. Not so?”

  By any standards the work went quickly. It was done by day labourers brought in by Legley. They were not local men; they were silent and worked hard, camping on the site itself. Even so, the work took weeks. Thomas was brought to the site. At first he just looked around; then he sat against a tree and seemed to go to sleep. After that he was energetic, encouraging everybody, enthusiasm reborn.

  The site was not close to the palace, anyone going from one to the other should have to walk, and there were no paths. Even if you could find the way it might take an hour, at night even longer. Brother Gilbert thought of a solution to finding the way. A beacon should be mounted on a platform so it could be seen from afar. Jacob was set to make a large iron brazier to hold the beacon.

  Work went with imagination and with no fuss. I couldn’t help feeling, had it been done today, it would have been done much less well, with inferior results. Everyone worked from one very large plan, drawn by Legley and agreed between him and Nathaniel. The wooden beams which formed the internal structure were not cut to exact measurements, they were measured against each other, without question, and they fit together without difficulty. The cutting of the timber was the one part left to village labour, even then the beams were carried away from the saw-mill by servants of the palace, firstly by cart and then on foot.

  It was with no little pride that Brother John wrote to the Bishop, to announce completion of the work. Wanting to show his part, Gilbert added his own letter; both being careful that no-one but the Bishop, and Matthew who carried the letters, would understand their meaning.

  ***

  Chapter 23 – Brother Thomas returns to the Work

  It was nothing short of a miracle so much should have been accomplished while the Duke was still away with the King, but all was still far from ready for Morton’s next coupe. Now everything depended on Thomas. After that it would still all come to nothing without the work of John and Bartholomew, with the Young Gentlemen. Feeling powerless, Bishop Morton sat in comfort and ease in Brecon Castle, sending his instructions and waiting.

  “In Cambridge and in Hatfield I have no concern with kings and princes.”

  These were Thomas’ first words when I returned to him.

  “It was clear the Young Gentlemen, brought by brothers John and Bartholomew, were to do with the Princes who were the sons of the late King. The favours of the Gentlemen agreed with the reports that came to us of the Princes, most greatly with he who was said to be King Edward V. It troubled me, for I sensed the Princes were roaming the whole of the Great Tower, though mostly within the Inner Ward. I never saw them, but servants spoke of them. Gilbert agreed. We stayed, one night, in the Great Chapel, till after the break of dawn. From what he saw by first light, and the torches still burning, Gilbert learned to visit the Tower through his great gift in seeing. He heard the talk and once, by the light of day, saw two boys playing happily in a garden.

  If the Gentlemen were not the Princes it came to me that our lord Bishop meant them no good and would leave them in the Tower in place of the true Princes. I resolved that this should not come to pass.

  I hoped when I could not carry more than myself and Gilbert to the Great Chapel the Bishop would let go his plan. Then the masons created a great work and wonder in the woods and I knew the Bishop would never let go. Then it was I began to form my own plan.

  It came to me I would follow the Bishop in all his designs but, when it came to leaving the Young Gentlemen, I would do none such. I would carry them to the well in the Great Hall while all others would be watching for me at the hole in the woods. When I came to the woods I should tell some story for my delay and the Gentlemen should make their escape.

  “Why not just refuse to do it, say you’ve lost the power.”

  It was plain I thought Thomas plan unsatisfactory.

  “Do you not know the Bishop?”

  Um, yes it was one thing for me to say ‘resist the Bishop,’ I realised it would be quite another for Thomas to do it. He confirmed it for me.

  “Even from prison, my lord Bishop could reach me.”

  So it was Thomas went back to work.

  “My first task was to learn the new place in the woods. The masons had covered it with earth and had cut turf from elsewhere which they laid over the bare earth of the roof. Master Legley had instructed you shouldn’t see it unless you knew it was there, even in this deserted spot, and the entrance is masked by a fold in the land, a little turned away from the river. The way in is guarded by an iron gate commissioned from Jacob the smith, and you have to stoop as you go in. After moving five awkwardly paces you come to the larger space; at the deepest place it is nearly seven feet from top to bottom and its circle is nine feet across. The walls are lined with brick clay and the brothers covered it with a lime-wash; around the edge is a trench which can be drained to the river.

  The trench brought to my mind we were to describe a magic circle, and the trench would be filled with the blood of sacrifice as the Great Circe taught in the first spell I gave to the Bishop. I told the Bishop that sacrifice is not needful, but I bethought me he wouldn’t listen.

  It was loathly I carried out my first task, to take brothers John and Bartholomew to the Great Chapel of Saint John.

  All the while of building this new place I was told it was to take John and Bartholomew, as I took Gilbert before times. Gilbert and I schooled them in what they must do but they were not as ready as students as Gilbert had been.

  On first going to the new place I took only myself. Where el
se should I go but the Chapel of St John? I found it easy and familiar but without reason to stay. I found going and coming to the floor I should now called ‘the floor which isn’t earth’ is so very like it was in the well of the Great Hall my mind needed to make no difference.

  On the second going to the new place I took brothers John and Bartholomew. We set out from the Great Hall, then across the fields, I could see well by the candles in the hall. The brothers each carried long knives. I asked for what purpose they could have knives nearly as long as swords. Bartholomew answered,

  ‘We do the Bishop’s bidding Thomas, not yours. We are instructed to bring these and other things.’

  And he drew from his robe a vile. The tincture inside the glass was indistinct but it must be some poison or potion for use in the Tower. Bartholomew smiled,

  ‘We also have special skills of use to the Bishop.’

  I set my face to show no feelings but led the way to the new place, showing our footing by torchlight.

  The going and coming was as it always is. John and Bartholomew did as they were told, following my instructions at all points.

  The brothers set out with a swagger they seemed to have lost in the Chapel of St. John. I led them to the high alter, to better see their faces.

  ‘Must we stay here brother, in the sight of Our Lord?’

  I surprised myself, and told them with a boldness not my own,

  ‘In Hatfield you may be confident. Here I am master, and it is by my art you may come and go.’

  It was an over boldness, regretted as soon as spoken. We left shortly after.

  We were forbidden to bring the Gentlemen to the Chapel, for they should come but once.

  It being so, for my part, all was in readiness for my lord Bishop’s next pleasure.

  ***

  Chapter 24 – A Tudor Riot

  You may be sure Morton’s spies, from outside the mystery school, were watching the Princes. You may also be sure Morton no long needed plans of the Tower and its guards, or a schedule of guards’ movements; he knew them by heart. It must have been frustrating to him, the Princes would not settle for any single point in the eighteen acres of the Tower complex. They had spent time in the Garden Tower, they liked its pretty green and yellow floor; they stayed for a while in the Lanthorn Tower, close to where Henry Tudor would later make his home. None of these places were in safe reach of the White Tower, where Thomas had made his entry, and where Morton expected the Princes to be.