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He looked at his sword, breathed on the blade, and wiped it with a piece of cloth. The steel was still so blank that he could see his own reflection quite clearly in it.
He had finished unpacking and placed the few belongings he owned in the cupboard when a young man dressed in the robes of a novice knocked on his still-open door.
“Father,” he said quietly. Prolur raised his head and looked at him. “Haugén Elden told me to inform you that lunch is ready and that he is awaiting you,” the youngster continued, noticeably nervous.
“Thank you.” Prolur lay the sword on the bed. “I take it he is expecting me in the banquet hall.”
“No, Father. Supper is being served in the tower.”
“In the tower?” Prolur said as he corrected the hood on his robe.
“Haugén Elden always dines there.” The novice began to walk down the corridor. “He says that he enjoys the view from above.”
Prolur ran up behind him and followed him closely. “How long have you been a novice here?”
“A few months only, Father,” the young man answered. “I joined shortly after the first stones of this monastery had been laid.”
“You are from Saurania then?”
“My parents owned a farm in the area, but it was destroyed during the war.”
Prolur felt a stab of guilt in his chest when he heard the words of the young man. “What made you decide to join the order?”
“We were forced to move into Barnavor to find work when the war ended, but times were difficult. I am the oldest of my siblings, and I thought it only right that I leave to support myself.” They had reached the hall with the three doorways. The young man turned and looked at Prolur, both pain and anger visible in the depths of his green eyes. “Novices are not invited to partake in the haugén’s supper. I ate in the kitchen together with Father Laster.” The novice’s voice trembled. He walked past Prolur and disappeared through one of the doorways. Prolur stood there and watched him leave.
“I am sorry,” he whispered.
Several hundred winding steps led up to the top of the tower, and Prolur could definitely feel his age as his legs got more and more tired after each step past the first hundred.
At the top of the stairs was a wooden ceiling with a square hole in it from where a flickering light emitted. He stuck his head through the hole and scouted around. The tower itself was only a round room surrounded by glass windows. In the center of the room stood a long square table covered with silver dishes, hiding something hot, and delicious-smelling steam rose from holes in the dome-shaped lids as candles burned in expensive-looking silver holders. In the center of the cone-shaped ceiling hung an iron chandelier, holding a multitude of candles.
By the table stood two chairs opposite each other, and one of them was occupied by Elden who was observing Prolur’s bewildered head. “Join me, Prolur,” he exclaimed, clearly very pleased with himself.
Prolur slowly climbed up onto the floor and looked around again. He walked up to one of the wide windows and looked out. He was facing the south and the Grand Theio Ocean. It didn’t look friendly out there. The waves crashed against the peninsula under the grey sky. The rain had once again ceased, and the sun was still hiding behind the clouds that were thin enough to let it gently light the land.
“You have a wonderful view here,” Prolur said.
“If only the weather were better,” Elden replied. “From here on it only gets worse.” Prolur turned, and Elden pointed to the chair opposite his own. “Do sit down.”
Prolur obeyed the request, and Elden poured wine from a brown clay jug into a crystal wine glass in front of him. “More Dourian wine, Prolur? I love to sit here and watch the world.”
“Will we be the only ones for lunch?” Prolur asked as he raised the glass and saluted Elden.
“Laster does not feel that eating good food is right for people like us. He eats in the kitchen, and then it is mostly unspiced meat and potatoes. It is his own form of an ascetic life.” Elden lifted the cover off a platter and revealed a plump roasted goose resting on a bed of piping hot vegetables. “I myself, as I told you earlier, believe in complete comfort.” He rose and took a large serving knife, cut a piece of goose, and laid it on Prolur’s plate. Potatoes and assorted greens followed, and then topping it off was a creamy brown sauce with a redcurrant jelly.
“Who is the novice you sent to collect me?” Prolur asked as he let the goose bathe in the sauce.
“He is our first Sauranian addition.” Elden had already taken a mouthful of freshly baked bread. “His name is Avar, and he is the son of a farmer who lost his home during the war.”
“So he told me. A tragic story.” Prolur moved the fork to his mouth and let the smell fill his nostrils. It made his mouth water like never before. He opened wide and put the fork in his mouth, closing his eyes as a multitude of flavors he had never tasted before exploded over his taste buds. This was something very different from his old convent’s soups and stale bread or the gritty, salted meat the army had served. “This is absolutely wonderful,” he said when he had rinsed another forkful down with sweet wine.
“It is not excellent. We only have a local cook who comes from the city and leaves every night. Luckily, a brother from Haugar will be here soon. You have not tasted wonderful until you have tasted his cooking.”
“I have never had anything like this.”
Elden laughed out loud, a heartfelt laugh so true that it stirred a sensation of joy within Prolur, and he raised his glass to a toast. “To Sir Prolur di Sangior,” Elden began, “a welcome addition to our great convent. May the rest of your days here be the best you have ever had.”
Prolur looked down at the glass he still held in his hand, smiled when he heard Elden’s words, and raised it as well. “I am sure I will be very happy here,” he said.
The lunch continued with more goose, bread rolls, and wine. Prolur didn’t want to seem like a barbarian, but everything was so wonderful that he was unable to stop himself from eating. Elden didn’t mind. He smiled and filled his guest’s glass, again and again, laughing every time Prolur gave the meal praise.
When only bones remained of the goose, and crumbs from the rolls lay swimming at the bottom of the gravy boat, Elden ducked under the table and revealed a tray with a round dish on it. “This, my friend,” he said as he put the tray on the table and picked up a knife, “is a delicious gailerian cake, chocolate, and gailerian berries. I picked the recipe up at an inn close to Rhennistad a few years ago.” He cut a slice and moved it over onto a wood plate and then handed it to Prolur. He gave himself a slice, uncorked a brown bottle, and poured some of the contents into another glass. “This cake has to be enjoyed with the finest of brandies. Unfortunately, we only have the local kind.”
Prolur had never been one to drink brandy, but he swallowed it down anyway and tried not to show how much it burned his throat. Elden suddenly became serious and looked very stern, every muscle in his face tightening.
“Prolur, I have something important to tell you.”
“What might that be?” Prolur felt slightly nervous.
Elden’s face lit up again, and his face turned into a smile. “It is not so serious, my friend.” Elden let a laugh escape his throat. “I was just informed, after I had left you, in fact, that Lord di Sauria is on his way.”
“Why?”
“His emissary told me that his lordship is most interested in meeting you. He will be here the day after tomorrow.”
“So soon?” Prolur was surprised. “I assume that his lordship lives in the royal palace in Quinstad?”
“That is correct.” Elden took a bite of his cake.
“It is several days' ride from here. Five at least. How can he be here so shortly after my arrival?”
“Lord di Sauria has taken a very special interest in your arrival here. I would not be surprised if he was informed as soon as you left Haugar. He was scheduled to be in this region.”
“I was not aware that I was such a popular man.” Prolur laughed, and Elden smiled at him.
“Do not worry,” Elden said. “An entire day will pass before he is here with his entourage.”
“His entourage?”
“Yes, royal guards, servants, advisors, and such. They are all very afraid that Quale’s followers are behind every corner, and therefore, no expense is spared when safety is concerned.”
They both fell silent and continued to sip the brandy. They finished their desserts, and Elden rose from the table. “We have a lot to prepare tomorrow,” he began. “A welcome feast to plan, sleeping arrangements to organize, and the lord has yet to decide the length of his visit.”
Prolur rose as well, and Elden walked towards him and laid a friendly hand on his shoulder. “I will give you a tour of the rest of the monastery, and then you may spend the day as you wish.”
They walked down the stairs and left the dishes for the monastery cook.
The tour consisted of showing Prolur many half-finished buildings, like the library, the study room, and several storage areas. There was the huge kitchen, with places for every kind of pot and pan Prolur could have imagined, and an impressive and generous hygiene facility. Everything was so much brighter and bigger than he had been accustomed to back home. After he had seen it all, he spent the remaining hours of the day in the tower with Laster and Elden, looking out over the ocean and discussing the future of, what Elden promised would be, the most important monastery in the known world.