Curses and Blessings
Day 98
147 Days Remaining
Ullin and Eldwin stayed low, Ullin on his belly, and Eldwin crouching on his knees, as they peered over an old moss-covered log and downward toward the gorge below. They could see the roadway running through the trees on this side of the gorge and where it joined the Toll Road about a hundred yards directly under the high ledge where they hid. Stretching from that point below and crossing over the gorge was the bridge, a long narrow affair, barely wide enough for three riders abreast. It was built by the same craftsmen who had constructed the bridge at Tulith Attis and with something of the same appearance as the stonework of its two supporting arches, one on either side of the rocky walls of the deep gorge. In between these two a full third of the bridge was supported from chains and cables, more like the bridge at Passdale. Ullin saw only four soldiers on the near side of the bridge; there were probably more of them out of sight below the treetops that blocked the downward view. He counted six on the far side and two more on the bridge itself.
Ullin's stunning refusal of the treasure, along with his charge to the little people, had created friction between Robby and himself. Robby was disappointed and upset at Ullin, and the Nowhereans were baffled. Afterwards, he and Robby had a mild argument, in the presence of their companions, but out of earshot of the Nowhereans. Clearly, Robby did not approve, but Ullin, though apologetic, stood firm. It helped that Ashlord seemed to support Ullin's decision, and Ashlord suggested that it might be a good thing to give the Nowhereans a new mission. The group talked late into the night, until the tension between them abated, and all agreed to be off and away in the morning. So they slept restlessly that night in the cave. At first light, Ullin left with Eldwin to scout the way ahead to the gorge while Robby and the others prepared for departure.
"It looks as though the far side is where their camp must be," Ullin observed. "They don't seem very cautious, since the gates are open on both ends and no one mans the guard platforms."
"Hm. Yer eyes are not blinded by the fog, then?" Eldwin asked, peering hard toward where Ullin was looking.
"Fog? It is a clear morning."
"For ye, it may be so. But I can only barely see this side of the bridge. A thick rollin' mist rises from the middle of the gorge, an' I see no break in those gray clouds from there to the sky."
"Do you not see even the mountain tops beyond?"
"No. Only, high up there," Eldwin pointed nearly straight up," some bit of blue."
"What about southward? What do you see there?" Ullin gestured to their left.
"Just a bit of road, nearby trees on hills. But behind those the fog is thick, an' I do not even see shadows in it."
"So that is the way of Bailorg's curse?"
"Yes, it is, an' has been so since it was uttered against us. Many, many times we have tried to go through the mists, only to find ourselves where we began. Nearly every year some one of us tries again, but never gets far. I, meself, tried not three years ago, on the southeast side of our lands."
"What if I guided you? My eyes can see the way."
"We have tried that. Here, take my hand."
When Ullin did so, the scene darkened into a murky cloud, boiling constantly but not moving away, blocking Ullin's view of the bridge and the gorge and the lands beyond. When he let go of Eldwin's hand, the mist evaporated, and once again Ullin could see all that he had before.
"Great stars!"
"We have tried followin' those that travel along the road, even by tyin' rope an' twine to them. But always our knots come undone, or the cord comes unraveled, an' we lose those who lead us in the fog, even though they are but an arm's reach away."
"I do not understand how such a thing can be," Ullin said, shaking his head. "Though I have encountered many mysterious things."
"We don't understand it, either, how a person's words may change the world of others before their very eyes."
Ullin turned and put his back against the trunk, sprawling his long legs out.
"I supposed that's the way of it, isn't it?" he reflected. "That so much of what we do comes from what is said. A man may take offense and lash out because of it, or fall in love at the sweetness of its sound."
Eldwin slumped down beside him.
"But how may the mist that I see come of words, an' one's size be reduced by the speakin' of them?"
"It is beyond me. How do the geese know that winter comes and fly away southward? How does a tree learn to steal fire from Sir Sun, to give it back in our hearths? And what makes shy Lady Moon to show her whole face only once a month, gaining and losing her courage little by little, over and over?"
"Such matters are too great for me own poor mind," sighed Eldwin. "Though, if I could read, perhaps some of the answers may be found in the books an' stories we have collected in our town."
"More words!" Ullin chuckled. "But surely things may be learned from the wise ones who wrote of them. Someday, I hope to spend all of my days reading again all of the things that I read as a child, and new things, too. It is something like your way of traveling, reading is. With just a little effort, one can go far in little time. Tell me, why have you never learned?"
"Oh, sir! It is a shame upon me," Eldwin said, shrugging. "But I am too weak for the task. An', to make me shame all the greater, I am the only one among all of me family who is of age an' cannot read. I have tried, surely! An' many have tried to teach me. But I do not see letters properly. They do not stay still for me as they do for others. A word that I am taught becomes some other word when I later look upon it. Sometimes, I think I know what the word is supposed to say, but I become confused an' lose me place an' cannot find the word again."
"Yet you seem very knowledgeable, nonetheless."
"Oh, I remember things extraordinarily well. I practice what is told to me by sayin' them again an' again," Eldwin tapped his head, "up here. Me children or grandchildren read to me nearly every night, too, an' so I learn of things that way, as well. An' every seventh day, we have a gatherin' of the town, an' things are read an' stories are told to each other. On special occasions, we do the same. Such as Winter's Night when we recite our year's story an' repeat the story of our beginnings in these lands. There is much told, then, an' I listen an' listen."
Just then they heard a distant shout. Quickly peering over the fallen tree, Ullin saw the gate lowered on the near side of the bridge and some stirring on the far side. Three figures on buckmarls were being challenged as they approached the far gate, one in the lead and two side by side just behind. They drew to a halt and exchanged words with the guards and the lead rider handed down something, papers maybe, or payment more likely, to the commanding Damar in charge of the others.
"What do ye see?" Eldwin asked.
"Three riders from the westlands."
"How can ye tell?"
"They ride buckmarls. They are being made to pay a crossing fee, I think. Here they come."
Eldwin squinted hard to see into the fog and saw at last dark figures emerge halfway across the bridge, like shadows in the mist. It was odd for him to see the Damar soldiers on this side of the bridge wave a signal to the shrouded side, and then, in response to something they saw, lift the gate to permit the riders to pass.
"Now I see them. They are takin' the Toll Road," he said.
"I think we should keep an eye on them," Ullin suggested. "You know these lands. Can we get ahead of them?"
"Surely. If ye take me hand, we'll pop right through to the next bend."
• • •
As soon as they started, Ullin and Eldwin arrived far along the way at a place slightly above a bend in the road. Eldwin released Ullin's hand, and for a brief moment Ullin swayed with a slight dizzy spell from the rapid popping. After a few minutes, the riders appeared at an easy pace, and Ullin and Eldwin quickly hid behind a tree. A few yards away, the riders halted and remained still. Ullin and Eldwin heard the soft hooves stop and the nearby snort of a buckmarl, and Eldwin looked up at Ullin in alarm.
"They've smoked us," Ullin said softly. Stepping out from behind the tree, Ullin faced the travelers. The two in the rear already had arrows on their bowstrings, and one was turning to face the other way while the other urged his mount in front of their leader.
"Who goes!" Ullin called, his own hand instinctively on his hilt.
"What business is it of yours? You do not own this road or these lands," retorted the one now in front, his bow creaking and his arrow pointing at Ullin.
Ullin heard soft popping around him and understood that they were now joined all around by Eldwin's fellows, though he could see none of them, so well they were hidden. The hooded head of the rider in the middle turned, hearing the sound, too, Ullin surmised.
"I am charged with the safe keeping of these lands!" Herbert's shrill voice proclaimed. Glancing down, Ullin saw him standing just to his right. "An' I keep this road, too. The challenge stands. Who are ye? An' why do ye travel this way?"
"You are the one called Herbert," said a woman's voice from under the hood.
"I well know me own name!" Herbert shot back in his usual impatient manner. "What is yers?"
"You never asked before," she said. She dismounted and approached, her escort easing his string somewhat as she passed him. She lifted her hood. "Do you need to know it now?"
Her face was broad and round with high cheekbones and dark tan skin. Her light brown hair was loose over her back with long braids over the front of her shoulders in the fashion of Vanaran warriors. A band of red copper, burnished and studded with a single green gemstone wrapped her forehead and held her hair back. It was shaped along the sides like the narrow wings of a bird. Down from this band hung a sheer black veil to her nose, completely covering her eyes.
Ullin was struck by the powerful resemblance to Sheila but could see this woman was of ageless Elifaen blood. He bowed as the others around him knelt. He detected not only some deep respect they had for her, but also fear.
"I have come again, as I said I would," she told them. "But this is not one of your people. He has the look of Duinnor about him. Answer me, Eldwin. Come! Rise and tell me who this Kingsman is."
Eldwin nodded at Ullin, and the two of them stepped down from the bank and onto the roadway to face her. When Eldwin hesitated, she said to him, "You wonder at my veil, but fear it not. I am the same who left you here those many years ago. Those years have had their share of wear on me no less than you, and this veil I wear is the result, as a shield for my weary eyes. Please, tell me: Who is your would-be protector?"
"This is Ullin Saheed, House of Fairoak, House of Tallin."
"The Joined House of Fairoak and Tallin. I know of it. Many Fairoaks have been my friends, though it is a long time since their lands were given up. Tallin was a great lord of Men, and I recall his defiance, both in battle and, later, in the courts of Duinnor. A general who led his forces at their front. I heard that when the Fairoak lands were lost, Lord Tallin took his family back to their old lands in the east. It is a place nearby, I think."
"He is my grandfather. Tallinvale is some days ride from here."
"Hm-m," she nodded. "Then perhaps I have seen you before, too. I was told that Tallin Kingsmen are first among those sent by Duinnor to fight the Dragonkind. The honor of doing so is only given to the mighty, or to those Duinnor fears. It may be that we have fought together? Upon Tamkal Plain? Or perhaps at the Battle of Saerdulin?"
"I am not Elifaen, and those battles were before my time."
"Oh, well, there have been more recent battles. Garmitor. The Green Citadel."
"I fought at Garmitor. My father was at the second siege of the Green Citadel and died near a place called Peldown."
"Ah, the Gory Gulch," she said, and a cloud crossed her face. "I was not there. Many of our kin rest forever in that place."
During this time, the two who were still mounted put away their arrows, though they remained wary. After a long pause, the lady looked at Eldwin, then at Herbert. Addressing them all, she said, "My name is Esildre, of the House of Elmwood. We are in the northlands of Vanara."
"I have traveled through that country," Ullin nodded, "and have seen the great trees that grow there. And I have passed through the Valley of Dreams and visited the Temple of Beleron there. It is a beautiful land, and its people no less than the land."
"My father retains extensive lands there," she said, "but my relations are mostly in lower Vanara. I, myself, reside in northernmost Vanara, near the border of Duinnor."
She smiled and turned to Eldwin, reaching out her hand.
"I am pleased to see you, Eldwin. I think you have much to tell me, as you had the first and second times we saw each other."
Eldwin blushed and took her hand meekly and bowed.
"I do, Lady. Yer comin' is as ye foretold, an' those things ye divined have come to pass."
"Are they? But you do not seem happy. Tell me, is there trouble among your people?"
Eldwin shook his head, glancing at Ullin, and then nodded, struggling for words. Ullin looked on, sensing the many emotions stirring within himself and within those around him. She was beautiful, and, like Sheila, was feminine in spite of her manner of dress. But Esildre sought not to hide her qualities. And everything about her—the sensual cast of her armor, the movement of her head and arms, her poise and enigmatic smile, everything—was feminine with a natural air of confidence. Ullin felt an unexpected pang in his heart when she turned her veil his way, but, at the same time, he felt an unimaginable gulf between them. He wondered if she might be one of the First Ones who once soared lithely through the air and who later felt the wings torn from her body. One who saw the departure of Aperion and a host of her own kind, trapped ever since in a spiral of violence, steeped in melancholia alien to her fiber yet now the ruling stars of her long life. How much of the Faere was still within her? And how much of the Elifaen might she be? Ullin had seen the Elifaen in battle. Their blood ran as red as that of Men, and yet when in the pitch of the fight they fought with a viciousness and cold cunning that made one wonder if ever they had a heart. But, no. He had also seen the Elifaen in sorrow. Their tears ran as hot and their anguish as deep, perhaps deeper, than any Man. Ullin wondered how, after such losses, they found the heart to grip the hilt or pull the bowstring. Having lived among them for so long, as close relations and as comrades, Ullin was no closer to any such answer. His grandfather could perhaps tell him. Or Mirabella, who was one of them. Or Ashlord. Perhaps, as a Dragonkind once said, they lost their heart with their wings. Shaking himself, he interrupted Eldwin's stammer.
"Lady Esildre," he said, not without some wavering in his voice, incongruously wishing he could glimpse behind the veil that shrouded her eyes. One can tell so much from the eyes, he thought as he spoke. "Lady Esildre, these woods are not safe," he stated. "I beg you come away from here and join us in Eldwin's town."
She smiled and looked around at the other Nowhereans who quietly stood by. She then looked into the trees beyond them and up onto the hills around.
"I see that I am not the only source of your fear," she observed. "Take me to the treasure of Tulith Attis. First, let me look upon it. Then we shall speak."
• • •
It was in complete and eerie silence that they entered the Foyer, with Eldwin leading Esildre, and the other Nowhereans following. As Esildre passed through, she turned her head and looked across the room at Robby who was examining his maps. Raising his head at the procession, he caught her veiled gaze as she moved lightly along. Just before she disappeared into the passage leading to the Treasure Room, she turned from Robby and looked at Ashlord, giving a slight nod to his bow. When she had gone, Robby pushed back his chair and stood at his table, somewhat shaken.
"It appears as though, but for my refusal of the Treasure, all of the curses may soon be broken," Ullin said, coming over to Robby.
"Is that her? The lady of their tales?"
"Why, she's the very image of Sheila!" Billy whispered, standing close to Robby. "Only, well, not."
Ullin nodded and told them her name and how they came along the Toll Road from across the bridge.
"Ashlord, do you know her?"
"I have seen her once before. Long ago. But I only know her by reputation. My associate in Duinnor knows her quite well, though, and he has told me somewhat about her. Like Lyrium, she has long been a recluse. That she is traveling in the open world..." Ashlord's voice trailed off as he scratched his chin. "First Lyrium. And now Esildre." He shook himself. "Like all her kind, she is not to be trifled with."
"Reputation?" Billy asked. "What reputation?"
"I cannot tell you now, if you do not already know. But I beg you all to speak no more than you must. Her House is closely allied with Duinnor. Her father is Lord Banis, one of the most powerful in Duinnor, second only to the King, though I understand she and her father are estranged. At any rate, do not allow yourself to be alone with her."
"Of, course! Lord Banis!" Ullin declared. "Who has not heard of him!"
"Me, for one!" snorted Billy.
"And me, for two. Will she lift her curse from the Nowhereans?" Robby asked.
Ullin shrugged. "I don't know. She seems to have chosen Eldwin to speak for his people. I am sure he will ask her about it."
At this time the Elders began emerging from the passageway and leaving the caves. They looked subdued and worried. Millithorpe broke away from them and came over to Robby.
"She dismisses all of us, save Eldwin. She wishes to speak with him alone. She tells us to assemble our people and wait for her in the town. But she asks that you and your companions remain here so that she may speak with you before she comes to us."
Millithorpe then departed with the others just as Sheila and Ibin arrived bringing the horses and all of their belongings. In addition to returning the things taken for the fine, the Nowhereans also gave them fresh provisions of hard cheese and flour, dried fruits, nuts, and a sack of fresh-picked apples. They had been especially generous since Ibin and Sheila had given them so many new songs.
"I heard there were visitors from the west," Sheila said when she entered, gesturing at Esildre's escorts at the entrance. She saw the pensive expressions of her companions, and when she was told who had arrived, she grew just as concerned as they. While they waited for Esildre's return, they talked of their preparations to leave, and Ullin told them about the bridge at the gorge while Ibin softly plucked the mandolin. Robby sat back down, but, instead of looking at the maps, he tapped his pencil to Ibin's tune and listened as Ashlord spoke about the region ahead of them.
"Beyond the gorge are two or three days of travel to the Plains of Bletharn," Ashlord said. "Between here and there, it is a thick forest, mostly uninhabited, I think. Where the mountains end, there is a road that reaches north and south along this side of the Missenflo. If I'm not too far off, we should reach our crossing on the third day out from here, where the Missenflo's waters are broad and shallow. It has been a fording place for so many years that its bottom was paved in the last age. There once was much more traffic that way, but for many years, now, most travelers have chosen a more northern route. But just north of the river crossing sits Tulith Morgair, Robby, and it overlooks the ford. And, beyond the river stretch out the plains."
Robby nodded and was about to say something, but seeing Esildre and Eldwin emerge from the passageway, he stood. The others stood, too, and bowed. Esildre turned to Eldwin and took his hand, giving him a little smile.
"Leave us, now, dear Eldwin. Await with the others. I promise I will consider what you have told me, but no other promise do I make."
"I thank ye," he bowed. And to Robby, he said, "By yer leave, sir."
"By all means. I will see you before we depart."
They watched Eldwin go, then Esildre turned to the group, looking at each in turn. She seemed as if she was about to speak to Sheila, but she suddenly turned to Ashlord.
"Collandoth, you are called among my kind."
"That is so."
"There are many stories attached to your name."
"And to yours, Esildre, Lady of Elmwood."
"It is said you are a Watcher and, as well, that you have been counsel to many of the high and the mighty, both Men and Elifaen. Is it true, that you were even an envoy to the Palace of the Sun?"
"All that was long ago."
"They say the women of the Dragonkind are as beautiful as they are fierce, and that few can resist their charms."
"Beautiful, indeed. And as fierce as any woman may be who has something to be fierce about. But the few I was privileged to know were gentle, and they were as concerned with their households and their arts as any woman elsewhere, I would say."
"It is strange to hear you speak of privilege and gentleness where it concerns the race that has brought so much pain and suffering into the world."
"Aperion is wise, Lady, as is his Creator. Surely, you need little reminding that it was not the Dragonkind who caused the Fall, nor they who first gave offense. The entire sufferings of the world cannot be blamed upon them." Ashlord sensed that he was too sharp and added, "Besides, it was a time of peace when I was there."
"Peace! A thing seldom seen. And the chill in my bones tells me that less will be seen in the days that come. Perhaps you feel it, too?"
Ashlord did not answer.
"There are rumors," she went on, looking at Robby, "spoken in the courts of Duinnor, of a new power arising in the east. Of old prophecies coming to pass, bringing change. Those who watch the heavens say Aperion stirs from his abode. Some say that the growing might of the Redvests is the power foretold. But others say elsewise. Some even whisper that a new king comes forth. Naturally, all these rumors make Duinnor wary, and the people are unsettled."
Robby remained expressionless, and none of the others spoke or took their eyes from her.
"And even though the frontiers of southern Vanara are quiet, and few Dragonkind stir," she went on. "My people grow nervous, too. It is as when the air grows still before a coming storm. Might it come from the south, I wonder? Or from the east?"
"From both, I fear," said Ashlord, "for the powers of the southeast will soon be joined to those of the southwest. The Tracian leadership, it seems, has made some pact with the Dragonlands. They gather their forces against Masurthia and Altoria as we speak. The Damar are now the servants of Tracia, and in the middle Eastlands between Glareth and Tracia, only Tallinvale stands, cut off on all sides."
"Tallinvale," she stated. To Ullin, she turned. "Your home. Knowing these things, you leave there?"
"Our hope is to arouse Duinnor," Ullin replied.
"Arouse Duinnor? Duinnor is as a person in a deep but restless sleep. It will take a great shaking, indeed, to wake Duinnor to any threat. But is that not what Vanara is for? To thwart any advance from the south? And has not Vanara always done so?"
"Yet that's our task," Billy said, somewhat defiantly.
"I see. And something more, too. Why else would such an odd company travel together? A Kingsman, a Melnari, three boys and a girl? And if it is Duinnor that you go to, why do you take this way, through the land of your enemies?"
"We take the only way open to us," said Robby. "And our business with Duinnor is just so."
"Ah," Esildre nodded. "You do not trust me. And why should you? These little people fear me, too. But look at them. They have overcome the hardships laid upon them and have turned their curses into blessings. Because they could not leave, they made an inhospitable land into a place that would be the envy of many. Because they were made small, their needs are smaller. And yet notice you their vigor? It is the match of any three times their size. Even the shunning that came about because of their early misguided ways of thieving has now given them peace from others, and their way of moving, a surprise even to me, is a gift to them. Yes, they fear me. And they fear you, too. Who are we to take these things away from them?"
"They should be given a chance in the world," Sheila said. "Whether they leave or stay should be their decision." Sheila glanced sharply at Ullin.
"Perhaps," Esildre replied, looking at Ullin, too. "Eldwin told me of the return of the Treasure to the heir. Of his refusal until certain conditions are met. Perhaps your decision was wise, Ullin Saheed, and not for the reasons you had in mind. The choice will indeed be theirs, and a serious matter to decide. Whether to leave, and, if so, where to go, east or west? If they do as you say, their effort may teach them much they have not already learned. On the other hand, if they do not go to the aid of Tallinvale, but choose instead to abandon these lands, their way of life will be unmade. Who can say what evil they may set their hearts upon?"
"Evil? Why do you speak of these people so?" Sheila asked.
"Yes, if they fall away from their ways, from this land that holds them to their ways and the fates that brought them here. For I cannot take away the gift of movement their Elders possess. They will have the ability to travel easily and quickly throughout the world. No land will be closed to them. Great things they may do, if they choose, in darkness or in light. Yes, wise, Ullin. And a great risk, too, for who can resist mighty power? And who may resist the corruption that such power brings?"
She let that sink in for a few moments.
"For my part, I will tell you why I come this way, and perhaps you will tell me how you came to be here, too?"
They looked at each other, nodding reluctantly, mindful of Ashlord's words.
"We shall let Ashlord speak for us," said Robby, "but we would indeed like to hear of your travels. There is some fine beer here in this keg, and I'm sure Ibin would be glad to hoist it to the table and twist the tap, if you'd care to have some."
"Beer, oh my, yes."
"OhI'll, I'll, I'lldothat," Ibin said, nearly throwing down his mandolin and rushing over. Perhaps he did not understand all their talk, or if he did he found it somewhat distant, but he understood good hospitality, and he especially understood good beer.
"Maybe ye'd like to sit a spell?" Billy asked, trying to be cordial and putting a blanket down on a crate for her. "An' d'ye reckon yer two fellers would like a sip?"
"Most surely they would."
"Then I'll fetch them."
"They will not join us. They will remain just outside, vigilant as they always are. And do not be offended if they do not speak," she said. "They seldom do. A nod from them is as good as a tale."
"Alrighty," Billy shrugged, taking two tankards from Ibin. "Then I'll hand 'em these an' be right back."
Esildre took off her cloak and undid her straps and light armor, and slid out of them, revealing much more of her feminine shape than any expected to see, barely hidden under a short, tight-fitting bodice, the drawstrings of which she loosened for further comfort. She wore no other clothing below her breasts and above her low, narrow breechcloth, black and crimson-edged that draped over leather leggings. But around the narrows of her waist was a thin gold chain, glittering against her tan skin as she moved in the lamplight. Whether she was conscious of her beauty's effect upon the males present or simply immodest, she gave no sign and was, regardless, very comfortable with herself.
"There! That's better, and thank you." She accepted a tankard from Ibin. She took a drink, then another deeper draught. "Mmm. Men make such rich beer! Not like the airy stuff we call beer. Well, I suppose I'll speak first."
She took another drink and sat down on the crates and pulled one leg up under her, and leaned back on one arm while she held the tankard with the other.
"Great stars!" Ullin muttered softly, closing his eyes and raising his eyebrows with a little shake of his head.
Billy struggled to close his mouth, failed, and at last did so with an audible clop. He hurried to the opening, and, while looking over his shoulder at her, he shoved the tankards into the hands of her escorts, and fairly rushed back in, stumbling into a seat, hardly taking his eyes from Esildre for even a moment.
"A very long time ago," she said, "I withdrew from the world, to live privately and in my own way. I remained somewhat ignorant of the happenings of the world, and for a long time dismissed the stirrings that I felt. But, many months ago, I received a message from an old friend, begging me to visit him in Duinnor to discuss matters that are private between us. I was reluctant, for I have no love of that place. And though it was not the first invitation I had received from him, I could refuse no longer. So I traveled there to abide for a time. I learned much and saw much. The might and power of Duinnor and the changes wrought in that realm since I was last there are profound. My father, who holds a position of authority there, is now at the center of this power, though I did not wish to see him or for him to know that I was there. We are not close, as a father and daughter should be. I will not explain why."
She took another sip, looking down into her tankard for a moment before continuing.
"I am not one of those of my kind who is gifted with Sight," she said. "Yet the west has been filled with strange omens, and the Seers go about with little to say and with worry on their faces. Though they may see meanings hidden to the rest of us, the rest of us are not without wit and can hardly ignore the things that have happened.
"A new star appeared, low over the western edge of the world, and it burned red from Midwinter last until it sank from sight on Midsummer's Eve. The astrologers called it Veritask, named for Aperion's soothsayer, and they say it foretells other omens of sky and earth and water. Three months and more ago, late on the night of my arrival in Duinnor, all of the bells of the Westlands rang of their own accord. The great bells of the towers, as well as the chimes of the temples and courts, and the service bells in all of the houses of all the people. Three times did they ring with great force and invisible agitation, causing a terrible alarm throughout the land. The people were called out to arms. Soldiers of all armies and Houses rushed to their posts. The many gates of Duinnor were pushed closed against any coming attack. Kingsmen crowded the fortifications of the Palace, and watchfires were lit throughout the countryside. A terrible calamity was feared and expected, yet no enemy came. I was in the Temple when this happened, just outside Duinnor City. A powerful urge overcame me to take up arms and fly away east against some unknown foe. It was a terrible and fearful thing to feel, and difficult to resist. After three weeks, and owing much to the influence of the Temple, I was calmer. Yet the people of Duinnor remain nervous still.
"While I abided in the Temple during those days of alarm, I heard from the monks tales of strange creatures that had been seen in the faraway seawaters off the coast of Glareth. Creatures that sang songs of enchantment and that danced upon the waves. I, who remember the First Days, before the Fall and before the world was remade, remember, too, that some of our kind arose from the sea and others of us followed their invitation to retire into the sea away from the woods and the fields. When I heard the monks' stories, a deep longing grew in me, a yearning to find those creatures and to see for myself if they may be brothers and sisters of the Elifaen who may have escaped our fate. Again, my heart urged me to go eastward. And, as it happened, there were other matters I desired to attend to in the east. Though I was advised against it, I could resist the urge no longer. So I and my two great-nephews who insisted on being my escorts set out. It was our intent to travel northeast along the Osterflo, through the mountains to the Locks of Karthia, and from there go down in boats to Glareth by the Sea.
"But on the twentieth night of our journey, a dream came to me. It was a memory-dream of when I came to Tulith Attis with my brother Navis. But in this dream, I became small, like the people here, and became lost in the fog and mist. All the while, as I fought vine and limb to find my way, a mighty bell thundered and tolled. The dream persisted in my thoughts for the next few days. At last, I understood better my urge to come east, and we turned south and rode hard to come here. We came down off the Middlemount, well east of Nasakeeria, of course, and passed through the plains. We tarried nowhere, stopped for no challenge, and rested only when our buckmarls needed rest. And here we are."
While she spoke, Ashlord remained standing, scratching his bearded chin and looking from Sheila to Esildre and back. He smiled and nodded whenever Esildre looked his way, and politely muttered, "Oh. You don't say."
Robby, who had pulled up a crate to sit before Esildre while she spoke, noted Ashlord's familiar deep-and-distant look, and wondered briefly which part of Esildre's tale he contemplated, or if the mystic was thinking at all of Esildre's words. Ullin and the others had also dragged over crates or boxes to sit on, and though Billy and Ullin appeared thoroughly enchanted by her, and Ibin enraptured, Sheila seemed stiff and wore a wooden expression.
Esildre's two escorts came in and returned the two tankards, and bowed in thanks. When they removed their helmets, it was a surprise to see that they had the look of boys not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, and were identical in every way, except one had green eyes and the other blue, with long sun-blond hair tied in ponytails, small sharp noses, and thin lips. Their skin was pale and freckled, as if they had never spent a day outside, though they had the tough, muscular bearing of two who had spent little of their life indoors. Young though they seemed, there was something in their manner indicated to Ullin, at least, that they were Elifaen, and had seen and done more, perhaps, than he ever would. The pair placed their helmets next to Esildre's gear and retreated back to the cave opening to resume their watch.
Ashlord nodded and smiled as everyone looked at him. Then he shook himself, realizing they were expecting him to speak.
"Ah. A very interesting account, Lady Esildre," he said. "I suppose it is my turn. Well. Let's see. Sixteen days ago—is that all? It seems longer—yes, sixteen days ago, we were all going about our business in County Barley when an army of Redvest soldiers from Tracia, about three or four thousand strong, invaded the lands. There was a fight or two, but most of Barley and Passdale, the chief town there, were taken by the enemy, and many of the inhabitants fled to Janhaven to the west of those parts. The Tracian Redvests seemed uninterested in advancing to Janhaven, in spite of the supplies and stores there in warehouses and factors' floors. Perhaps they did not wish to extend their forces, for the road to Janhaven has become a deathtrap for them. Anyway, the invaders took as many captives as they could. Their intent is apparently to loot the region of grain and food for transport southward where the main forces of their armies are gathering. We fear that the Redvests of Tracia have reached an accord with the Dragonkind, and that they work together toward an upcoming attack against Masurthia and Altoria. Meanwhile, my guess is that the army that took Passdale is the northernmost force of Redvests, and that the lands from there southward are under their occupation, too. Word of all this was sent to Glareth, but the messenger was pursued by enemy hunters. And Glareth is far away, so the Ruling Prince may not have word of the invasion for some time. It was decided that a small group should go to Duinnor to represent Barley and the Eastlands in an effort to bring aid. That is where we go. We first went to Tallinvale. And it was there that we learned the breadth of the war that is in the making. Tallinvale, which has held a precarious pact of peace with the Damar and with Tracia, now realizes that their valley is isolated and surrounded. Lord Tallin foresees that the Redvests will wait until the spring for their offensive upon Masurthia. But he also knows that the Redvests cannot leave Tallinvale upon its flank. And so Lord Tallin prepares for the coming attack and siege. Tallin City is a formidable fortress, and no small force may hope to take it, so Lord Tallin expects a great army will come against him. It is his aim to delay or to weaken the Redvests, making their springtime offensive less powerful. We have until then, springtime, if we are lucky, and if Tracia does not launch its westward attack beforehand. So to Duinnor we go, to rouse Duinnor to the threats that mount, and then to return with an army sufficient to relieve the city and free the Eastlands of the invaders."
Esildre appeared thoughtful, and the twins, who could hear everything, exchanged blank looks.
"If Lord Tallin remains the soldier he once was, then the Redvests will pay dearly, for he is reputed to be merciless in battle, cunning, and impassioned with the strength of ten men. And, it is said, he inspires the same in all who follow him. Yet, you haven't much time, particularly if Tracia and the Dragonlands have united. Altoria is weak and has always been well protected by the Hinderlands. If the Dragonkind can break through the passes, Altoria will certainly fall. Masurthia cannot resist an assault from east and from west by such armies as you describe. Together the invading armies would outflank Vanara, and the plains will be an easy road to Duinnor."
"Just so," said Ashlord.
"Yet, there is more to your tale than you have told. Even Eldwin did not tell me all, I suspect. He could hardly explain how the Treasure Room, barred so strongly, was opened with such ease, and much to everyone's astonishment. He showed me the bands that burst asunder, and how their welds were split."
She looked at the group, but none made an answer to her.
"And he told me," she went on, "how Ullin Saheed Tallin, here, was declared to be heir of the Treasure of Tulith Attis, and so the rightful spoils of that place have been returned, by my brother's decree. I find it curious that it was done in the manner Eldwin described, that his own cousin," she looked from Ullin to Robby, "bestowed the honor and declared the spoils returned. And that you also declared their value increased a thousand-fold from the day of their theft from Tulith Attis."
"At least that much increased," Robby said bluntly. Without being able to see her expression, he could not tell if her tone was accusative, or merely curious. "And Ullin's lineage is no secret."
"You are right on both points. I think your company is a very talented one, and more noble than you may seem, at first glance. I will not press you too hard on your secrets. The world is full of them, for good or ill."
She took a long sip of beer, and her expression, what they could see of it that was not hidden by her veil, was one of pleasure at the refreshment. She turned to Robby again.
"Eldwin tells me that the one originally responsible for his people's plight, the one who brought them to Tulith Attis as slaves, is now dead," she said. "That the one called Bailorg died at your own hands."
"That is true, Lady Esildre," Robby nodded. "Our dispute led to a fight, and it was my life or his."
"I see. And the nature of your dispute?"
"Bailorg sought to harm one of our companions, Billy, here," Ashlord intervened. "Luckily for Billy, Robby rescued him."
" 'At's right!" Billy added. "Ol' Robby, here, saved me life!"
"I see. And I sense one tale must lead into the next," she nodded. She turned her head toward the opening of the cave, still nodding as she sighed. "But why was Bailorg in your region? Do you know?"
Ashlord shrugged.
"We learned his name from Robby," he said, "who overheard one of his men address him. We also learned that one of his associates was a Dragonkind, and we suspect that another was an agent for Tracia. Bailorg's true role in things remains a mystery. Until we arrived here and heard the tale of these people, we had no idea that his ties to the Dragonkind went so far back in history. Apparently, his deeds at Tulith Attis, here in Nowhere, and elsewhere, have woven a dark weft farther and deeper than we may ever know."
"Yes, I can only believe that is true," Esildre replied, obviously unsatisfied with their answers. Turning back to Robby, she said, "Then it was fortunate for you to be where you were to save your friend. And fortunate for so many others, too."
Her tone, Robby thought, had a note of disappointment, in spite of her words.
"I deeply regret that Navis and I did not find him after we encountered these people," she finally said. "But our search was a short one. I am to blame for that tragic failure. My brother and I should have persisted. So much evil would have been averted had we found him."
Her speech drifted off with an undertone of profound distress. She took another swallow of beer, holding the tankard with both her hands to hide how they were shaking. She swallowed, and took another gulp.
"Because you will go the way that I have come," she then continued, "I will tell you that there are strange things happening in the lands west of here. We avoided the few towns along the way, but came across signs of unrest and trouble. Abandoned farms. Odd signs made with wood or standing stones placed in the fields or amongst the deserted livestock. Duinnor sends patrols, but they go no farther south than the pass between Nasakeeria and the Mossweren Heights to the west. A traveler we met along our way said that a small Kingsman army was already posted somewhere south, somewhere east of Forest Islindia. Their mission or purpose was not known to him. Later, when we forded the Missenflo and entered the mountains, we felt a strange and unsettled air within the forest. The woods there are unnaturally quiet, as if nervous and sullen. We were cautious, and did not stop but to water and rest our mounts. We encountered no one until we came to the bridge at the gorge."
A strong breeze blew into the Foyer, flickering the lamps. Esildre turned her head to the entrance as the air stirred her hair. The breeze faded away, and she looked back at Robby.
"I must go," she said, rising. Everyone else stood as her great-nephews helped her on with her armor.
"They will be glad to hear your decision," Ullin said as she strapped on her harness and shifted her sword.
"Perhaps we should all go," she replied. "After all, this now pertains to you, too."
To this they agreed, and after removing the saddles and packs from the horses ("No need to tire 'em out ahead of time," said Billy), they walked together to town. They reached the square at midday, and there were more people gathered than before. The Elders were gathered, the chairs now in a broad semicircle facing the chair that previously had been given to Sheila and was meant now for their Elifaen visitor. The Elders each stood beside his or her chair, and their families of every generation were grouped behind them. Every inhabitant was there, called away from tasks and chores wherever they were, the young as well as the old, summoned by urgent messengers sent out by the council. Now, pressing close to their Elders, the crowd grew quiet, and they bowed, opening a path for the visitors.
Esildre did not take the chair reserved for her. Robby with his company stood behind her and her escorts as she turned to the gathering.
"I will not lift my curse laid upon you," she said immediately in a loud voice for all to hear. There was a sigh of relief on many faces, for how would they protect themselves if the Elders could no longer pop around so swiftly? But others wisely waited for the caveat they felt coming.
"A curse may only be uttered in the throes of passion. The passion of love or hatred, compassion, or anger, and the Great Powers must join in sympathy to that passion, for better or for ill. When a curse is uttered, it becomes its own spirit, with its own life, one might say. In this way, a true curse is born in the same way as a true blessing and cannot easily be undone. He that utters it has never the power to revoke it, no matter how it may later be regretted. When the conditions, if any, of its being are fulfilled, and its purpose is gone from the world, so it, too, goes away. Curses and blessings are two faces of the same power, and one may sometimes become the other as it turns upon itself. I will not lift the curse because I cannot."
"You now have the power that I, in my passion and compassion, brought into the world. I made no condition upon it, and I cannot say when your long life or your power to move about may depart from you. Use them wisely I beseech you! And if you have any blessings in this life, use them to be blessings upon others whenever you may."
The Elders looked at one another solemnly. Some shook hands with arms around each other, and, after a few moments, the crowd absorbed something of the situation and the meaning of her words. Their spirits began to lift, and they began talking excitedly with each other of their prospects, speculating, as they always had, but now with a growing sense of how their plight could soon change.
Eldwin stood on his chair and, facing his people, cried, "Hear me! Hear me!" with his hands in the air.
"I put this before the Elders an' before ye all," he said once he had everyone's attention. "Let us give thanks to Lady Esildre an' to the Lords Robby an' Ullin. We have now a greater hope of saving our people an' of entering the world for our protection an' the protection of these lands. Let us resolve ourselves, now, to break the first curse as we have been instructed, so that we may freely travel from these lands as need may be. An' by the permission given by Lord Ullin, let us use the Hoard to accomplish the things before us. Let the council meet until plans are made, an' let us then carry them out with a good heart an' great hope. Let this day an' this night be one of celebration, putting aside all other business so that we might give thanks an' good fellowship to one another an' to our honored guests. What say ye?"
These suggestions were met with enthusiastic agreement, and immediately groups broke forward to join the Elders, bowing before Esildre and thanking her. They bowed to Robby and Ullin, too, and asked their permission to prepare a table so that all of their visitors could be entertained and fed. Robby, who, like Ashlord, was anxious to make their departure and to cross the gorge, was reluctant. But he could not help smiling at the pleas and excitement of the Nowhereans. Makewine and Arldewain were competing with others for Ullin's attention, asking the Kingsman about the best ways to establish watches and to make some kind of defense of their lands against the Damar.
"They may send spies or scouts to probe you," Ullin speculated. "And they may make some attempt in some force. I doubt they will come on horseback, preferring to send their soldiers through the hilly forest on foot, perhaps in the guise of hunters. But it is unlikely that a full assault will come until next year. They will be too busy elsewhere. It will be up to you Elders, who have the gift of speed, to form the main guard of your lands, since you may quickly spread word and warning of any intrusion and may assemble well before the rest of your people. Tell me, how long might it take a man such as I, without your power of movement, to walk the borders of Nowhere and to arrive back where he began?"
Makewine scratched his chin, eyeing Ullin's long legs while Arldewain shrugged.
"About half as long as it would take us?" he speculated.
• • •
Ibin, as seemed his fate, was again the center of playful attention, and he soon had two small children high up on either shoulder where they both stood shrieking with laughter as they clutched his curly hair for balance. Another three or four clung to his belt, dangling out as he spun around and around with another child in each of his hands. And another little one, who had lost his grip and slipped from Ibin's belt, was clinging onto his right thigh with arms and legs wrapped around his thick muscles like a vise.
• • •
"If ye pardon me, ye have the look of a Wise Man," a woman said to Ashlord. "This is my daughter, Eldwyna. She gathers herbs and makes use of them as medicines for our people. I have taught her all I know, and her wisdom in those things now surpasses her teacher. Still, many plants were strange to us when we first came here, and some that we used in our old country cannot be found."
"Would ye share with us, sir, any wisdom ye may have of such things?" asked Eldwyna.
"Perhaps a better instructor would be Sheila, here," Ashlord suggested. "I have taught her some along those lines, and she has learned more from a wise countrywoman of her land. Sheila is more artful in such matters than I shall ever be."
Sheila blushed at the tribute, saying, "That is doubtful, but I would be glad, in the little time we have, to share what I can."
"So in addition to singing with a beautiful voice," the woman said, "yer also a healer!"
"I wouldn't say so. I do a little bit of everything I can, I suppose. But I am a master at nothing. Except perhaps the bow and arrow."
• • •
"Sos, ye see, these cows kept goin' through thar, boggin' down an' gettin' stuck an' such," Billy regaled a group of fascinated Nowhereans. "So what we did was build this broad bridge, sort of. A wide, high thing on piles that we drove down into the mud. Then, onto them piles we made a frame, just like buildin' a floor for a house, with joists an' such. Now, the cows go onto this thing an' they can get at them flowers an' bushes they love so much, ones what grew up along the edges an' in gaps we left in the floor. We didn't need to mind after 'em so much after then, an' our hands could do other things 'sides pullin' cows out of mud ever day er two.
"Now, ever'body knows how pigs like acorns, so I say ye just make the platform up high so they can get at the tree limbs growin' up thar, an' at them acorns what come out or fall on it. Build yer hoist first, real sturdy-like, with a heavy weight on the end like rocks in a basket or some such. Much like the gate on yer Toll Road. 'Cept higher an' stronger. Get it workin' real good, like, then use it for haulin' up yer timbers. Later, once yer all done with the buildin' of the thing, use it for haulin' up yer swine an' feed an' troughs an' such-like. An' water, too, an' such. It'd be a lotta work, but I reckon ye've done harder things. An' it ain't like buildin' fine houses, such as ye've done all through yer town. But it's gotta be strong enough for the pigs, an' dirt an' mud, too, for 'em to roll around in. An', of course, ye gotta put some fence around it to keep 'em from fallin' off. Yep, a lotta work. But, like I said, it ain't gotta be fancy. It's just gotta get the job done."
• • •
Robby, meanwhile, had returned to the caves with Millithorpe and Herbert to prepare for the distribution of those items from the Hoard that would be of use to the community, as well as to retrieve those things that might be wanted during the evening's celebrations, such as casks of wine and some of beer. So it was that while many of the Nowhereans prepared for an evening of feasting and celebration, the various members of Robby's company spent the afternoon separately, with Ashlord meeting with Esildre and many of the Elders. It was late afternoon, nigh upon sunset, before most of them were all assembled once more, except Robby and Millithorpe, still at the caves working. Ashlord, who pardoned himself to fetch Robby to the feast, smiled when he entered the caves and saw him bent over a ledger.
"Are you to work all evening, too?" Ashlord asked. "A fine feast is being prepared and awaits."
"Oh, no," Robby replied, smiling. "We are just finishing up."
"In that case, perhaps Millithorpe wouldn't mind letting the others know that we'll be along shortly?" Ashlord asked.
"Oh, why yes. Of, course, sir. That is, if..." Millithorpe looked from Ashlord to Robby.
"Oh, we're quite through here, I suppose," Robby said, wiping ink from a quill. "I'll just put away some of these ledgers and be right along."
"Very well, sir. Then I shall see you soon!"
Robby got up from his makeshift desk and put the stack of ledgers on the shelf behind him.
"I take it you want to have a word alone?" he asked as he pushed the book spines even with each other.
"Yes. About Esildre."
"Oh?"
"Yes," Ashlord sat on a low stool and laid his stick across his legs. "There are many rumors, legends, and tales surrounding her."
"So you implied earlier. What kind of tales?"
"Many are the kind that, now that I have met her for myself, I do not believe, calling her a sorceress and a witch. Other tales, ones that I have had on good authority to be true, are almost beyond belief. Let me sum them up by saying that she is despised and shunned in Duinnor, and her estrangement from her father is real."
"Why? I mean, why despised?"
"She was, for a time, consort to Secundur."
"No! Truly?"
"Yes. And though she managed to escape Secundur's clutches, it is said that he spited her with curses, and still has his claws in her."
"What do you mean?"
"As I just said, I do not believe everything that is told about her. How she escaped Shatuum is a mystery, but she has suffered from the experience ever since. I know more, but will wait until we are away before telling you. Meanwhile, more than any of us, you should guard your words with her. And, for goodness sakes, until we depart, do not let yourself be alone with her. You have a friendly nature, and she may delve more from you than you might intend. Mind you, I have no reason to distrust her. I only wish us to be cautious, just as we must be with everyone we meet along the way."
Ashlord stood. "Agreed?"
"I'll be careful," Robby answered.
"Good. Then let us make haste for supper!"
• • •
By the time they arrived, a long table had been made for them with Esildre at the head at one end, with Ashlord and Robby to sit on either side, and the others, except Ullin, had places along the table with an Elder in between each. It was after sunset when Ullin at last returned from a partial tour of the boundaries, and he took the place saved for him across from Sheila. He told his friends that since he had already seen the Toll Road as well as a good portion of the western border along the gorge, he felt he needed to inspect other areas of Nowhere. So he, Makewine, and a few others, had hiked with Ullin around the north and eastern sides of the lands.
"This little valley is surrounded on all sides by hills, many falling away into treacherous ravines to the north and northeast and into the gorge on the west," he reported to the table. "There are only a few places where a man, with much determination and strength, may pass. And those places are easily watched. The greater problem is to the south and east, along the Toll Road area."
The square around their table had been transformed for the festivities with lamps and a main table of food for the crowds, a sort of potluck, with everyone sharing whatever was ready at hand. And people came from their houses gaily dressed and with these food offerings in pots and trays and jugs. A number of musical groups played and sang songs, some of them newly learned from Sheila and Ibin. Many of the Elders sitting at the table with Robby's company bounced children on their knees, some still in swaddling. There was a constant coming and going of people desiring to introduce themselves or some member of their family, so that conversation was difficult to carry on at any length. Ullin, particularly, seemed amused and humbled that so many wanted to greet him. The day fell into night, the chill that normally descended with it came only mildly, and the stars twinkled bright and giddy overhead.
Later, some of the musicians strummed up a slow tune, joined by low pipes, and Eldwin said to Robby, "This song is about how we came here."
The tables grew quiet as the piper and strummers moved through the opening strains. Then a young man and girl stepped forward and sang together, tenor and soprano, and told of the trials of their people, taken from their homes and marched off as slaves. They sang of their hardships and of the battlefields they passed through, of the viciousness of the Dragon soldiers who drove them with their whips and clubs. The young man sang the words of the dying soldier that Eldwin had found, and the girl sang of the locket that hung about his neck and of the likeness within. The tenor then sang the words of Eldwin,
"Though I am but a slave, this locket I will take from thee,
Though the drum of thy heart is still, oh soldier young and brave,
This promise I will make to thee:
If ever my chains are broken and freedom comes my way
I will this locket take and go to Glareth Bay.
And there to find your lover and say these words for you:
That ever were you brave, and ever were you true."
Though the words were simple and had little to do with the Nowhereans, there was hardly a dry eye amongst the listeners. The ballad went on, describing the terrible scene of Tulith Attis and the flight from there, laden with loot and laboring under the whips of Bailorg's drivers. When they came to the part about the curses and the tenor sang the part of Bailorg and of Navis, terrible in their wrath, the girl sang the part of Esildre with the note of hope and promise, and together they added,
"Oh Lady come again, it's been so long from now to then!
May it be soon, and the tally made,
The Hoard made equal to the redemption paid.
Oh Lady come again, it's been so long from now to then."
There was a hearty round of applause, and the singers took each other's hand and bowed together. And Esildre stood and bowed very low to the singers, which elicited even more clapping and a few hurrahs. A livelier jig followed and many began to dance, Ibin among them, having coaxed Sheila out with him, while Billy, with another tankard in hand, held forth with one of his tall tales before a crowd of enraptured little folk. Ullin moved down the table to sit nearer to Ashlord, Esildre, and Robby, and they discussed further the situation in the south and east. During a lull in the conversation, Robby turned to Esildre.
"If you pardon me asking, you are one of the First Ones, are you not?"
Esildre, who was watching Sheila dance, turned to Robby and said, "Yes."
"Yet you have a father and a mother?"
"Yes. I see your confusion. How am I a First One when there were others before me?"
"Just so."
"There was a time before the days were counted. The Time Before Time, it is now called. The world was different, then, as it may never be again. The spirit of Beras moved across the face of the earth, which he created, and his spirit brought forth the trees and the mountains, the mighty and the lowly, and made rivers to flow and the seas to rise to the shore. It was then that those things he first created gave birth to new creatures by dint of their spirit, born as their voices sang the praise of Beras and reveled in their existence under the sun and moon and stars. These were the Firstborn. Among those that came into being, some were born of the trees and forest, and some of the wind and water, some of starlight and moonlight, and some of sunlight, as Aperion himself was. These came into being with the birds and the creatures of the forest and the denizens of the sea, and all spoke to one another with the First Tongue, there being no difference among them except manifested form. These, the Faerekind, rejoiced in one another, and it is of the union of two such Faerekind that I was born in those days before days, and I remember when I had wings."
"How long was it, then, after that time of the creation until when the wings were taken from you and your kindred?"
"How long? How long is a mountain's rise and fall? How long does a falling star twinkle? Time was not heavy upon us, and not even the seasons of the year changed. All was as a golden summer. How long? A million millennia. A single heartbeat."
"Your father is in Duinnor, as you told us," Ullin said. "What of your mother?"
"My mother is with Aperion," she said bluntly. "She refused to take up against the Dragonkind and begged my father not to honor his pledge to fight them. I, my sister Atlana, and Navis, my brother, all remained in the world with my father. I because I thought I was in love with another of our kind and would not be parted from him. That was my mistake, for it was not love, as I came to learn. Atlana likewise could not be parted from her lover, and they lived happily for many years and had children who are still living. She died where your father did, at Gory Gulch. Navis remained in the world because he was ever loyal to his father and hated the Dragonkind. But he, too, is long dead."
Sadness lowered Esildre's voice, and the lamplight created deep shadows across her face. Robby glanced at Ullin, who had an expression of regret.
"I beg your pardon," Ullin said, "for arousing sad memories."
"Do not fret. But if you will excuse me," she said, rising gracefully and smiling kindly, "I wish to walk privately. I will see you off tomorrow." She nodded at Robby and turned to Ashlord. "Thank you for your news. I wish I could offer some in return, but little has changed in the west, other than what I have told you."
"Where do you and your two escorts go from here?" asked Robby.
"That is on my mind, and I will soon decide. Perhaps to Glareth, as I had planned. Or maybe to Tallinvale. Perhaps even to Janhaven. Perhaps I will know by sunrise. I do not know."
The members of the table rose and bowed as she departed along the lane northward toward the woodland groves, her great-nephews following at a respectful distance.
"If she goes to Janhaven," Robby said, "I should like to ask her to carry a note to my mother. Billy! Billy!"
Billy looked his way, and Robby motioned for him to come over.
"Pardon me, gents," he said as he bowed. Then he swaggered over to Robby.
"Billy, there's a chance that Lady Esildre may be able to take letters to Janhaven. Do you want to write to your mother?"
"Aye! That I would!"
"Then let's go back to the caves and do so."
"I should appreciate it if I could borrow paper and ink, too," Ullin said. "For if she goes to Glareth, perhaps she'll carry a missive to my own mother."
• • •
Ullin's letter was a short one, and he finished more quickly than Robby, who wrote several pages, and Billy, who struggled over every word and had hardly written half of a page. But Ullin knew that his own mother's sight was failing and that she would likely turn to her housekeeper of many years to read his letter to her, so, just as his companions were, he was cautious about what he wrote. They all agreed to say, however, that they were writing from the middle of nowhere, and Robby added to his line a parenthetical, "Ask Mr. Furaman." Indeed, none of them said a great deal to their mothers, not knowing how much to trust the couriers, but each saying how healthy and hale he was, and that they were making progress toward their goal, though at a slower pace than wished.
Ullin folded his letter, sealed it with wax, and excused himself from the others to "walk off the wine," and left them still scratching away. Outside, he let his eyes adjust to the night and then walked along the side path that led along the floor of the cliffs, passing other caves, winding its way up and down and among the boulders and trees until it brought him to the waterfall and the place where Robby and Eldwyna had met, the so-called Pool of Desire. The water danced down the sheer face of the cliff above before making a little jump over a ledge just above Ullin's height, and then it splashed into the broad shallow pool below. The night air was turning cooler, and a slight breeze shook the overhanging boughs that swung like dark boats in the air, floating at their moorings between his gaze and the bright stars above. Here the pathway ended, and he waded through the pool, little more than ankle deep, and to the other side where the brook lapped over rocks and trickled away downward and through the woods. He followed it just a yard or so down and then sat on a mossy stone and was lost to time and to his thoughts for a long while, his cloak pulled close about him, not so much for warmth as out of habit. Later, Lady Moon strolled over the hilltops, rising into the sky with half her face hidden and sending her beams floating through the trees. At some point Ullin noticed this and looked up at her, pulling in a long take of air and heaving a great sigh.
"What I would not give to have you appear before me now," he muttered softly as he fingered the locket about his neck. "Might you now be looking upon the Queen of Night as I do? Does she remind you, as she does me, of our time together under her cool evening gaze? Why must a mere thing as leagues hinder us when so much else does? Why did I ever leave?"
Ullin was not one for making speeches or unnecessary talk. He was not unfriendly in his attitude or manner; indeed, when in the society of others he was good company. He contributed to conversation, asked meaningful questions, made thoughtful observations, and related interesting stories and anecdotes as the occasion might suggest. Naturally reticent, he never showed it. But there was much he never talked about, and only the most observant company might sense when he skillfully guided conversation to other topics. Even with Ashlord, with whom he was most open among his travel companions, Ullin held back. Only when asked would Ullin speak of his years in the desert, the battles he had witnessed and fought, and the harsh living that his previous duties required. Never did he speak of the special assignments that took him deep into the Dragonlands, or what he saw and did there. Ashlord knew more than any about those experiences, and he always seemed satisfied with Ullin's abridged versions. Perhaps Ashlord had other sources, Ullin mused, and had little need to delve too much into the Kingsman's past. But those experiences taught Ullin to think for himself, to quickly size up any situation, and to take unhesitating action. Survival depended on it. It was what made him a good soldier, filling the gaps in his orders with keen judgment, taking advantage of chance when it favored. And his other skills, at weapons and tactics, at handling men, and at reading his own peculiar warning senses, made him an ideal scout, officer, and patrol leader.
When Ashlord came to him in Vanara, and offered a commission to work with him, Ullin jumped at the chance to get as far away from the desert as possible. Looking back, it was an ironic reaction because almost immediately, and ever since, he felt a deep longing to go back, to find his way, somehow, through the southern mountains of Vanara, back out into the desert, and to the Free City of Kajarahn. It was a miracle that he had survived what should have been a death trek from the desert. And though he still could not say for sure how it was that he survived and made it out, the longing to return to the place of his suffering grew stronger with every passing year. But it was not the desert itself that attracted him so, nor was it the pain that place had inflicted upon him, but the memory of the person he had left behind and had ever since longed to see again.
Robby would never understand. No one would.
Ullin fingered the locket beneath his shirt. So many things to explain! No. And now he had risked Robby's ire by refusing the Hoard and by placing unreasonable conditions on these meek Nowhereans. Could they truly be of any help? But Tallinvale, the eastern lands, needed allies, any they could get, even if they were little people, unsure, untested, naïve of the world, and, well, small. He rubbed his head. It was too much.
"I should have stayed in the desert," he muttered. "My bones would be better off bleaching in the sun, as do those of my kin."
"Why do you say such a thing as that?"
Ullin flinched at the voice, not realizing that he had spoken his thoughts aloud, and turned to see Esildre standing on the other side of the pool. He felt his face redden as he stood.
"I think you do not mean it," she went on, stooping to put her hand to the water. She first held her open palm near to the rippling surface, then dipped into the water and drew it up, watching the moon-sparkled beads drip away. "You have much that so many long for or would envy. Strength. Wealth. Freedom."
"Freedom?" Ullin snorted. "What freedom do I have? Bound by contrary oaths. Shackled by circumstance and jostled along paths not of my desire. What would you know of my freedom?"
"You choose, nonetheless. Your loyalties. Your way of facing that which you would rather not face. You choose. To go on, to keep moving. That is your freedom, if nothing else is. I heard how you refused the Hoard, how you made a challenge to these people. So, not only do you choose for yourself, you choose also for others. Your freedom, your choices, gives you power over others."
Ullin stepped up to the edge of the pool and looked across at her. She stood and put aside her cloak.
"I wish to bathe. If you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Ullin shrugged. "Why do you veil your eyes? The light is not strong enough to hurt them."
"It is to avoid...complications."
"Take it off and look me in the eyes with your own. Then talk to me of choice and of freedom."
"I dare not."
"Then I will help you," Ullin strode through the pool toward her, but she shrank away, drawing her sword.
"Would you strike me for such a thing?" he asked.
"To save you, I would."
"To save me? From what?" He stepped out of the pool and stood before her.
"From me," she raised the sword.
"From you! By striking me you would save me?"
Before she could react, Ullin sprang forward and gripped her sword arm, locking the weapon upright, and held her other wrist to prevent it from reaching her dagger. She squirmed, but he held her tight, his face close to hers.
"No!" she cried, though she ceased her struggle.
"Do not fight me."
"I have no wish to."
"Look me in the eye and say that."
"No." She tried to shrink away. She did not sense he had already eased his grip, or that he had stepped back from her just a bit. She was already fighting the deep swell of desire that could not be controlled, could not be pushed away. If she had any contrary thoughts or reactions, they may have been those of surprise or of disappointment. Not in Ullin, but in her own circumstance. Not since she had left her castle on the borders of Shatuum had the curse come upon her. For months, since Raynor had summoned her, she thought she was free of it. She wore the veil, as Raynor had insisted, in fear that the shadow of Secundur might return. And now it did. She shot out her freed hand and gripped Ullin's arm just as he was turning away. She shook with remorse, with futile resistance, and with animal anticipation. Ullin saw two moonlit tears fall away from her face as she dropped her sword and reached up to pull away the veil.
When her eyes met his, they burst into flame and something streaked from hers to his, setting off a fire within him. He staggered with the weight of a thousand years of sadness, crossing through into anger and remorse, and passing into shame and resignation, now released like a beast too long caged, too long humiliated and ruined by a world made small by the trap. He was unaware of the ruddy glow that surrounded them and engulfed them. Ullin was filled with desire and longing, not for Esildre—for he no longer even saw her—but for the vision he now saw, and held, of the one he longed for most in all the world. He was not capable, in his state, of questioning how it was that she could be here, how she could be touching him and pressing her lips once again to his. There was no possibility of doubt in their touch as they passionately embraced. He was happy, filled with complete joy, and they rejoiced in the pleasure of each other as only those truly in love may do when passion is at its utmost. Together they committed themselves to each other, flesh and spirit, heedless of consequence, mindless of the impossibility of their union.
Ullin and Esildre were lost. Another presence took them over, shadowy and cruel. It dogged Esildre, and she knew of it, and wore her veil because of it, to guard herself, and others, against it. It was her bane, and her weakness, her demon held so carefully in check for so many years. The shadow that she thought might be gone from her life after so many months of peace. But she was wrong, it was still with her, and it had never slept. Now, as it had done so many times before, it used her, as a hook may hold a lure. And, stabbing through each with its unrelenting barb, it made lure and prey willing puppets to its string. It delighted in tugging deeper and deeper into the couple, as vengeance for ancient rebuffs that its Master took for betrayal. And, if such long, thin shadows may do so, it laughed, revelling in their compliance.
But Ullin was strong, and the desire of his heart, she whom the shadow conjured Esildre to represent, was his true love. Still, the shadow vied with him, determined to leave its barb in him. Delivered through the hapless Esildre, it would nevertheless be a thorn that would, in its own time, continue to do its work of madness and discord. Just as it had with all of its victims before him. With Esildre as its lure, the curse upon her pulled its string, and set its poisoned barb deep into Ullin's soul.
• • •
Lady Moon hid her face behind her fan and peeked through the treetops at Ullin's body, prostrate, half in and half out of the cold pool. His heart, full and complete just moments before, now shuddered as his dreamlike swoon turned dark. He stood, warm and satisfied, as if the overhead sun glowed from within him, holding the hand of his refound love. Her smile vanished as a cloud crossed the sun, and she dropped his hand. The bright day grew black, and horror grew within his heart. Now he saw her again, standing over him in battle gear, just as she was when he first beheld her those years before, faraway and across the southern mountains. All but her eyes were covered, and they were deep tearful pools of disappointment.
"Are you so weak that you would betray me in this manner?" she demanded. "But I should not blame you. We are long parted and far away. And she is very beautiful."
Then she turned away and a shiver passed through Ullin's body. He awoke, thrashing in the pool to gain his feet, the water heavy, like the quick-blown sand of the duney desert, making him clumsy and off balance.
"Come back!" he cried out. But now he understood. His heart pounded against the crushing realization of what had happened as he turned this way and that, looking for her. And her. But no one was there. Esildre was gone, if she was ever actually there. And so, too, was the object of Ullin's deepest affection.
He groaned aloud at his humiliation, grabbing up his clothes and cursing as he dressed. Once he was dressed, he paced, still cursing himself, wondering how he could face his companions. Anger at Esildre swept him, then passed; she had tried to warn him. Shame, confusion, and black self-loathing racked him as the ache of his passion taunted him spitefully.
"Bones! Bones!" he cried, drawing his dagger and immediately putting it away. He took the dagger out again, looking at the dim glint of the blade. "Worthless fool! Worthless and weak!"
So easily is the worth of anything, everything, called into question! How well Doubt knows every gate and every path into the heart, never long without its companion, Pain, in the guise of whatever suffering is at hand, great or small. But Ullin knew this, familiar too much with the turnings of his own heart.
"My use is what I make it to be," he said, putting away his dagger. "A little farther I must go. For the sake of those I love and care about, though they may despise me and hold me in contempt of their favor."
Feeling a new pain in his shoulder, he reached into his shirt and flinched when he touched bleeding scratches. The growing desire to pass it all off on a strange dream was thus obliterated by this confirmation of a darker experience.
Quickly, owing to his training and to the direction of his remorse, the Kingsman slipped out of his blouse and took out his dagger and knelt over the pool, dipping the shirt into the water and washing his wound and his dagger ritually.
"Let this water wash away my transgressions," he recited as he washed. "Let not dishonor stain my name."
His hands shook as he dipped again and squeezed out the water over his head.
"Let this water wash away the hurt I give to others," his voice cracked, his eyes full of tears. "Let no enemy...let no enemy entice me to evil."
He stopped, having no heart to continue the ritual, staring at his blurry moonlit reflection in the rippling pool.
"Oh, fie upon me!" he cried, falling into the speech of the west, staring again at his dagger. "It is useless! And I am trapped! Oh, blade! Ye rightly desire my blood. And I would give it to thee, now, but I needs put thee off for a time, if I may bear it. For duty is greater than grief, and honor still requires of me some effort to my companions, unworthy though I am."
He put his blouse back on and slinked away, still trying to gather his composure, looking about as he went through the woods. He did not see Esildre hiding from him within the nearby brush.
When she could no longer hear his receding movement, she got to her feet and, dragging her clothes, went to the pool. Standing in the spray of the falls, she scooped up gravel and sand, and she viciously scrubbed, making terrible bleeding scratches all over her body. Then she fell to her hands and knees, sobbing as she let the cold water wash across her back. While she wept, the blood was rinsed away, and all her wounds rapidly healed so that no blemish remained but those that shed no blood and cannot be seen. And in that eternal moment of her Elifaen mind, all her woes and all her hopes were crossed and recrossed, questioned and confirmed. But what settled upon her at last was the wish that one man could really be with her now. A man who, if he wished to do so, might have within his heart the power to make everything good and to heal all her wounds. This thought suddenly stilled her, like something mysterious which is seen but not believed, not understood, and not even to be contemplated. Then, without a sound, her lips quivered his name, and her tears came once more.