The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold (15 page)
Read The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold Online
Authors: Jeffrey Quyle
“
Circh, come in here,” he called as he opened his eyes after the prayer, released his powers and knelt next to Delle. He took a deep breath and tried to relax as he engaged his healing powers and looked at Durer. The young leader’s injuries were severe, but healable. There was no poison in the wounds, making the loss of blood the most serious aspect of Durer’s injuries. Alec concentrated on healing the stabs that had punctured his torso, removing the harm to the organs and closing the wounds on the surface, as the audience of cousins watching gasped in surprise. “Delle, send someone to get the third team and bring them here,” Alec suggested as he stood up, and Delle obediently left the hall.
Alec, Circh, and two cousins Alec did not know stood idly for several seconds waiting for Delle to return. Alec heard the approach of a group, but was relieved to see that it was Delle leading Brandeis and three others to join them. They now had eight healthy members and Durer. “Brandeis, we don’t have the advantage of surprise, and Durer is injured. He needs rest. What do you think we should do?”
“
We need Durer, Alec. Without him the cousins won’t stick together,” Brandeis said, almost beseechingly.
“
Do you think we should take him back to the cousins’ apartment area to rest and be protected?” Alec probed, trying to offer some potential action.
A sound outside the door drew the attention of all the young folks just then. “It’s a large group of Green Jackets,” said someone looking out a window.
“
Circh, lead us back to that stairway you and I came through,” Alec ordered. “Brandeis, Delle, you,” he added to someone he didn’t know, “help me carry Durer,” he lifted a shoulder and waited. The others joined in, and the group began moving down a hall. They reached the stairs as they heard the front door broken down.
“
Hurry! Everyone hurry,” Alec chided them. They started to descend the staircase behind Circh. As he reached the bottom step Alec heard a sound above and saw one of Mooreen’s henchmen appear. “Here, take Durer,” he told the closest member of his group, and pulled out a dagger that he hurled upstairs, sinking it in the stomach of the man above.
“
All of you go. I’ll stay here to delay them so you have time to get back to the apartments,” he said in a low urgent voice to Brandeis. There was no dissension from the shaken crew, and they moved away into the dim tunnel, while Alec remained where he could watch the top of the stairs. He intended to remain there for only ten minutes to give the others time to flee, then he would follow after them.
Another figure appeared in the doorway and Alec unleashed another dagger, placing it in someone’s shoulder, drawing further oaths and shouts. Suddenly he thought he detected a noise behind him and drew his sword. He hadn’t considered the possibility that the Green Jackets might have entered the tunnels elsewhere. With one last look up the stairs, Alec started to cautiously back down the passageway, his warrior powers long gone, watchfully turning in circles as he walked.
He came to a fork in the tunnel and stopped. He had no idea which way to go. He listened for any sound that might give a clue, but there were none. Using only instinct, he turned to the right and followed the new passage as it dipped slightly. He heard sounds behind him, the clear sounds of several people, and he crouched down further as he walked. The passage was an unbelievably long one, longer than he remembered having walked on the way, and he started to believe he was lost.
There were no side passages or doors to offer other ways to go, but after many minutes a dim light appeared. Alec stopped several yards from the source of the light; an iron gate that blocked off an entrance that overlooked the banks of the river. He was in a dead end. Disgusted to have wasted so much time, Alec turned and began to trot back, fearful that he would be separated from the rest of his group when they would need him.
Three Green Jackets were standing at the fork where Alec had gone the wrong way, and they were facing him as he returned. “You should surrender now, and come with us peacefully,” their leader told Alec as they spread out to challenge him. Alec thought back to the many times in Oyster Bay and Goldenfields when he had fought multiple opponents with blades. Taking one of the daggers out of his dwindling supply, Alec threw it at the left guard, hitting his right knee and sending the manto the ground.
“
You may flee or surrender,” Alec countered. “I am going to go help my friends. If you try to stop me, I will go right through you,” he threatened.
The two guards, undeterred, charged at him. Alec swung his sword disarming one, then stepped back out of the way as the remaining guard stabbed at him. Alec sliced the man in the neck, and stood still as he watched the disarmed Green Jacket run away, leaving the two other Green Jackets on the ground, one injured and one dead. Alec also took off, running down the corridor he had not chosen before, desperate to find and protect his friends.
Around a corner he stopped suddenly. A maid, the one Alec and Circh had passed earlier carrying laundry, lay on the floor. Her scalp was bloody. Alec looked down at her with his health vision. She was not dead, only unconscious, and the scalp wound was more bloody than harmful. He brushed back her hair, and rested his hand on her forehead, applying healing powers to knit the split flesh back together and remove the pain she felt.
He heard a noise and looked up. A squad of half a dozen men were approaching from the direction he had just come, men who were armed but not wearing the Green Jacket livery. They were apparently members of the traditional Locksfort Guard service. And they had found him, bowed over a wounded woman, a scene Alec knew could be misinterpreted. And he was still wearing a stolen Green Jacket uniform, he realized!
“
Get away from her! What did you do?” a guard asked.
Alec looked again to make sure the woman would be fine, then stood up. “We Green Jackets are here to take over and take whatever we want,” he blustered. “You are the old way; we’re in charge now with Lady Mooreen’s approval.”
With that, Alec took off running rapidly, taking every turn he could find, losing himself completely, and hopefully losing the men chasing him. And hopefully, too, he had left more of a bad taste for Green Jackets in their mouths.
Alec came to a stairwell, and climbed up. He realized he would never find his way to freedom if he remained in the confusing, dark confines of the servant tunnels. Opening the door at the top of the staircase, Alec stepped into a laundry room, where several workers were busy at their chores. Alec strolled through, grabbing a pair of pants on his way, and ran outside. He looked around, and saw that he was near the stables, the one landmark he was able to easily identify. Dashing over to it, he went inside, stooped down in an empty stall, and shed his green jacket and pants, pulling on his purloined trousers to go with the dirty white shirt he had worn for some time.
Carefully, Alec again left the now familiar stables, and walked back towards the apartment complex that housed the rebellious generation of young Locksforts. He heard, then saw, a pitched battle raging outside the building entrance. Green Jackets were fighting against a combination of young Locksforts and old family guards, and the Green Jackets appeared to be winning. Unsheathing his own weapon, Alec ran towards the melee, and engaged two Green Jackets immediately, drawing their attack away from an overmatched cousins. Alec fought with renewed vigor, seeing the opportunity to help these men and women of his own youion, who seemed to be trying to stand up for the right kind of leadership for Stronghold.
He saw Brandeis, and fought his way towards the determined cousin, wreaking havoc on Green Jackets as he went, and reversing the balance of the battle, until he was almost at Brandeis’s side and felt a sword blade cut the back of his shoulder. Turning, he flipped his sword to his right hand and hacked at his attacker, then joined Brandeis with his back to the exterior wall of the apartment.
“
Alec! It’s good to have you back,” Brandeis shouted. A moment later he shouted again. “They’re breaking! They’re fleeing! Guards, hunt them down and lock them in the dungeon under the stables. We’ve put several there already.”
Two score fighters were quickly gone and only a handful of the Locksfort cousins were left standing there, so that the courtyard fell eerily silent. Alec went around to the wounded, healing the injuries as best he could. Brandeis came over to him a minute later. “We were afraid you had been sacrificed, Alec, but we got Durer back here and inside. The group of us,” he gestured to four or five others, “were going back out to try to find you when the Green Jackets came together to attack. Fortunately, the family guards started appearing to fight with us and then, even better, you appeared.”
“
Let’s go see Durer,” Alec suggested, and they walked into the house. Up in Johanna’s rooms they found Durer lying asleep, with both Noranda and Johanna watching over him. “Alec! Thank you,” Johanna spoke quietly, standing and hugging him as he stood by Durer. “Brandeis said you saved his life. You have done so many good things in the little time I’ve known you. I never knew that healing powers would be so extraordinary!”
Noranda came over too, and took his hand. “Alec has been extraordinary for a long time, haven’t you?” she said, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then stepped back and leaned against Brandeis, who curled his arm around her shoulders.
“
Is there still a plan to follow?” Alec asked. He still wanted to chase after Mooreen, and especially Elcome. His conviction that the renegade Goldenfields’ officer was guilty of spreading the disgraceful rumors about Alec had become stronger the more Alec pieced together knowledge about Stronghold efforts to unseat the Duke, and to remove Alec from Goldenfields as a step in that direction. Elcome had been the agent for Mooreen, and had spread the rumors, as well as probably stealing money from Alec and the duchy. Alec wanted to face Elcome, and get revenge.
And then what? He suddenly asked himself. What would he do next, when the cousins controlled Stronghold and Elcome had met justice?
He would go home to Bethany.
Chapter 16 – The Unknown Animal
“
Alec, we have the Family Guard on our side now,” he heard Brandeis say. “We will soon have control of the whole compound. Should we go ahead and follow Durer’s plan to go after Mooreen?”
“
We have to,” Noranda jumped into the conversation as she stood in Brandeis’s embrace. She had a particular distrust of Mooreen after nearly being forced by her aunt into an arranged marriage, not to mention being imprisoned in the dungeon with Brandeis and Alec. “We’re committed now. She’ll look for revenge if she remains in control.”
“
I agree with Noranda,” Alec nodded. “Mooreen and Elcome will want to control and punish you all. They’re probably planning it right now.”
“
Alec, will you lead our group to capture them?” Brandeis asked. “I trust you, and I know Durer trusts you.”
Alec thought for a moment. He knew that he would do this, but he wondered how he had come to be so involved in the affairs of the Locksfort family. He had come to Stronghold thinking of them as a collection of criminals and evil-doers. He had found instead that he liked many of them, and was even willing to fight for them. Now he wanted to lead them in battle. It was a strange turn of events, but afterwards he would be able to do what he wanted to do: leave, return to Bethany in Goldenfields, and help the Dominion settle down into stability, allowing his role to diminish.
“
Yes, I am ready to lead,” he said out loud. “It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” he looked at Brandeis and Noranda. “We didn’t think we’d get this far this fast, did we?”
“
Gather up the folks you want to send, and let’s get going,” he suggested. He excused himself for a minute, and when he came back, Brandeis had collected a handful of loyal cousins with the skills to fight. “Your group is ready and waiting downstairs. Good luck and thank you for doing so much for us. I’m glad we have you to rely on.”
Alec went downstairs to meet five cousins with swords. He asked the oldest looking woman to lead them to the south apartments, and followed with the rest of the group for ten minutes as they walked across the grounds without attracting any attention. “That’s it,” she pointed as the others nodded. They were apparently facing a different side than Alec had seen before, because he didn’t recognize it. “Let’s go inside and start going through every room,” he suggested, and the whole group of six went in a large door, where Alec at last recognized the back hallway he and Circh had entered. Two of his daggers lay in a corner, still dark with blood stains as Alec retrieved them. He cleaned them and added them back to his bandolier, then went up the stairs with his group to begin searching for their prey.
The building had long crooked hallways, and they went down one then up the other as they entered every room and searched each one. All the rooms on that floor were empty, some clean and undisturbed, a few showing signs of turbulent and violent activity.
“
The third floor is the top. If they’re not up there, they’ve left the building,” one boy said.
As Alec led them to the top of the stairs, he heard noises, giving clear evidence that someone was still in the building. He sheathed his sword and pulled out two daggers. All five of the other members of his group were in the hallway with him, and sounds of voices were coming from around a corner.
Alec knelt and peered around the corner, where four Green Jackets were hoisting a large case upon their shoulders. Alec stood, whispered directions to his followers, then launched himself at the unprepared enemies. He flung one dagger and disabled one man, then pulled out his sword. The case crashed to the ground in the confusion. As Alec fenced with a Green Jacket, he saw Elcome stick his head out of a doorway at the onset of the racket. When the Goldenfields traitor saw Alec approaching, he slammed the door shut.
Goaded by the sight of his enemy, Alec flew through the guards, and ran forward to get Elcome, shouting over his shoulder to the others to hold the Green Jackets captive. He grabbed hold of the door knob of Elcome’s sanctuary and tried to turn it, but the door was locked. He hit the door twice with his shoulder, then started kicking hard until he heard the sound of splintering wood, after which the door gave way and he was in, looking all around at an empty room. The only things he found were a second door and a smell like livestock. Opening the second door he entered a connected room, where he stopped in astonishment.
Mooreen and Elcome were sitting on top of something gray and hairless, an animal with a face like a hippopotamus (as Alec had seen painted on the sides of his carnival wagons), and about the size of a pony. As Alec’s eyes registered the inexplicable scene, Elcome recognized him, his face showing an expression of crafty satisfaction, and then the animal and its two passengers vanished from sight. They simply disappeared from the middle of the room, leaving Alec astonished.
Confused for a second, then wondering if a light ingenaire was hiding his quarry, Alec swung his blade through space all around the room, but could find nothing. He looked around the room, at the debris that littered the floor. Stems and leaves of plants, along with piles of manure were all that remained in the room. Puzzled, Alec left the room and returned to the hallway. “What did they have in there?” he asked one of the Green Jackets, pointing towards the empty room.
The guard looked at Alec in confusion, and Alec prodded the next one. “What did they have in that room?” he asked with more force in his voice.
“
We’ve never been in there. None of us were ever allowed in. It’s some kind of animal; we deliver bales of plants every day,” the guard said.
“
What kind of animal is it?” Alec asked.
“
None of us ever saw it. We don’t know. Mooreen and her helper are the only ones that ever went in there,” the guard answered.
Alec sensed that the guard was telling the truth. “You two,” he pointed to two of the Locksfort cousins, “Go back to the apartments and tell them that
Half the case held jewels and gold, valuables of substantial wealth. The other half of the case was filled with scrolls of paper, rolled and tied with ribbons. Alec pulled one at random and looked at it. The handwriting, a bold, dark scrawl, was addressed to Mooreen, and peremptorily directed her to continue to work at securing a favorable regime in Oyster Bay and the removal of all military forces from the city. Scattered throughout the document were words and phrases that Alec did not recognize, with symbols that were foreign to him. He rolled the paper back up and put it back in the case, disquieted by the message.
Someone had been ordering Mooreen to carry out her treacherous acts. The message was valuable for implicating her in the treachery that had killed the king and led to chaos in Oyster Bay. But it shook Alec to believe that Mooreen was only acting on behalf of someone else.
“
Where are they, Alec?” one of the remaining Locksfort girls, Emilia, asked. “What is happening?”
“
I don’t know,” Alec admitted. “Mooreen and Elcome disappeared from that room, and I don’t know where they went,” he said, not willing to speak in front of the several sets of ears regarding the full extent of the inexplicable things he had seen. Alec sat down on the floor, his back against the wall, and tried to comprehend everything that was happening. So much had occurred, and had taken place so quickly and impulsively, that it was hard to make sense of it all. He saw long streaks of sunlight coming through a window and realized that the sun was setting at the end of a long, long day.
Chapter 17 – The Change in Power
Alec sat without speaking for several minutes, until he heard footsteps approaching. He drew his sword and stood at the corner of the hall, waiting to see if the new arrivals were friends or foes. Brandeis’s face rose first above the staircase, and Alec dropped his sword thankfully. He was worn out, and happy to avoid another battle. It was hard to believe that the morning had begun with Brandeis, Noranda and him outside the Locksfort compound trying to sneak in.
“
What’s the story Alec? Have we won?” Brandeis asked cautiously as he affectionately shook the healer’s hand.
“
Yes, I think we’ve won,” Alec replied, still mindful of the many sets of ears that surrounded them. “Come with me and let me show you something,” he pulled on Brandeis to separate him from the group of followers. Together the two entered the chamber Alec had seen Elcome disappear into, and Alec/p>
“
We had Mooreen and Elcome trapped up here,” Alec explained. “There’s a case of things out in the hall – gold, jewelry, and papers. I think they planned to take it with them, but we got here faster than they expected.”
“
So where are they?” Brandeis asked simply.
Alec opened the second door and let Brandeis walk into the room. Alec spoke as the Locksfort man crinkled his nose. “I opened this door and Mooreen and Elcome were on a thing, some type of animal, and they all disappeared into thin air. I thought it might have been an ingenaire trick; I checked the room, but they truly are gone. I’ve never seen anything like the animal they were on. Have you ever heard of anything like it?” he finished.
“
And the case out in the hallway,” he continued suddenly. “I looked inside, and read one of the papers inside. It was a message to Mooreen from someone, and it gave her orders to put a puppet in command at Oyster Bay. Who could that be from?”
Brandeis looked around in bewilderment. “So we don’t know where she went, or how she left, or who she’s working with, or what she’s doing? Do you really think we’re in control here?” he asked.
Alec led the way out of the improvised stable, and pulled the door closed. “She’s not here now.” He suddenly imagined Aristotle speaking to him, telling him about the importance of taking command. “And you need to go tell your people here that you control the compound now. She’s run away; that’s the good news we’ve got to spread. She was beaten and she fled. The longer it takes to start spreading the news, the more nervous folks will be. We need to get the good news out to make folks believe that you and Durer are in charge.
“
Then you need to round up all the Green Jackets, put them on a ship and send them as far down river as you can.”
“
Yeah, you’re right,” Brandeis agreed. He stood silent for just a moment, then opened the door and stepped out. “Carson, go back to our apartments and let everyone know that Mooreen has run away and we are in control of the compound. Marsso, go to the Guard headquarters and tell them the same thing. Ask the commander to come to our apartment and find me or Durer for direction. The rest of you, take these prisoners to the dungeon, and let’s take this case back to our apartment with us.”
Alec joined the group escorting the prisoners to the dungeon, and afterwards went with them back to their apartments as darkness fell. A small group of loyal family guards arrived just ahead of Alec’s group, and met with Brandeis, while Alec went up to Johanna’s apartment to check on Durer. Noranda was alone with her brother when Alec walked in.
“
Oh Alec,” she said as she looked at him in the doorway, still wearing the dirty shirt that had blood stains from the long day of fighting. “Are you alright?”
He smiled at her as he walked over, and standing next to her, rubbed her short, bristly hair. “I’m fine,” he answered.
She shook her fist at him and growled “Stop it, you bum! When my hair grows back, I won’t cut it until it’s down to my waist!”
“
Has he woken up?” Alec asked, motioning towards Durer as he approached the bed.
“
He snored once. Other than that, he’s slept soundly,” she replied as Alec sat down on the floor and used his health vision to check on the sleeper. Satisfied that Durer was recovering suitably, Alec reached out and touched him, infusing him with additional energy to hasten his recovery.
“
We heard that Mooreen is gone. What’s happening now?” Noranda asked, kneeling on the floor beside Alec.
“
She escaped. I don’t know where she went, but I don’t think she’s still around here. The old Guard just sent leaders over to meet with Brandeis about taking control,” Alec told her. He leaned heavily against her. “Oh Lord, what a day it’s been,” he said as he closed his eyes and rested.
Noranda cautiously adjusted herself to lean back against the wall as she heard Alec’s breathing develop the regular rhythm of sleep, and closed her own eyes. When Johanna looked in an hour later, the two were still asleep, and she spread a blanket over them for the night.
Chapter 18 – Departure From Friends
Noranda awoke first the next morning, her shoulder and neck cramped from the awkward position and the weight of Alec sleeping against her. She gingerly wiggled herself out from under Alec, and stood up, to see that her brother was awake and watching her. He arched an eyebrow at her, and raised himself on his elbow. Noranda stepped over to him and hugged him. “I am so glad to see you!” Noranda whispered.
“
I am glad to be able to see,” Durer gently replied. “I thought I was dead. How did I come to be here with you two watching over me?” he asked.
“
Alec did it,” his sister told him. “He healed you, fought our battles and beat the Green Jackets, then chased Mooreen out of the compound.”
“
Should we make him king of the Locksforts?” Durer asked with good humor. “It sounds like he did more for us than we did for ourselves.”
There was a gentle tap at the door, and Brandeis and Johanna peeked in. “Durer!” Brandeis shouted, promptly awakening Alec. Johanna walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, taking Durer’s hand in hers with a happy smile, and Noranda arose to step over by Brandeis and feel his arm encircle her shoulder.
Alec sat up and looked at the happy couples. He felt two immediate reactions: he felt a great sense of joy to see them together and secure for now in their ability to make their own decisions about life and love; and he felt an intense longing to see Bethany, so that he could hug her and tell her he loved her.
Together, the group talked for over an hour as the stories about the battles in the compound were retold and analyzed. “We need to tell the city there is a new order among the Locksforts,” Durer said at the end of the conversation. “They must be on pins and needles wondering what ruckus we’ve raised in here. Ask a scribe to write a proclamation,” he suggested. “We’ll do it,” Brandeis said, raising his and Noranda’s intertwined hands, and they stepped abruptly out the door.
“
That was too easy,” Durer said suspiciously, looking at Johanna.
“
They want time to be together,” she replied patiently.
“
I’d like to go find Walnut and ride around the city,” Alec said, standing up. He suspected that Durer and Johanna might also want to have some private moments together.
“
Where will you go?” Durer asked. “You’re not going to leave us, are you?”
“
No, not today,” Alec replied. “But soon. I want to go home and see someone,” he said wistfully.
Johanna felt a catch in her throat at the longing tone she heard in Alec’s voice, so different from the forceful energies he had projected during the previous day.
“
If you want to ride around the city this morning, perhaps we could go back to the children’s hospital in the afternoon,” she suggested.
Alec happily agreed to the proposition, and left to go to the stables for a happy reunion with Walnut. They left the walls of the Locksfort compound and even the city, to ride through the countryside on a perfect early autumn day. Alec brushed Walnut for a long time afterwards, then returned to Johanna’s apartment to meet her. They strolled through the city to the hospital, talking a great deal as they walked. Alec finished his treatment of the boy he had seen several days before, and then gave his services to other children as well.
That night, Alec expressed his need to leave and asked for space on a ship going down river to Oyster Bay. “Alec, we can’t bear to see you go,” Brandeis said on behalf of many of the cousins as they stood together in an impromptu reception for the departing hero. “But we don’t have any right to ask you to stay. In the past few days, you’ve done things that were beyond the ability of any of us to imagine and changed our lives forever.”
“
When will we see you again?” Durer asked.
“
I hope it won’t be long, but there’s no predicting,” Alec said. “You have a lot to do here establishing control over the Locksfort business and finding out who was directing Mooreen in the coup, but I hope you’ll come visit me sometime.”
They all laughed with a subtle undercurrent of melancholy that they wouldn’t be together for a long time, if ever.
Alec slept soundly that night, and when he awoke the next morning, he and Walnut were escorted to the Locksfort docks by a large number of the cousins, anxious to honor him appropriately. Alec said his farewells and shared a hug with Johanna a handshake with Durer, and a hug with Brandeis. “You asked me once if I believe in John Mark and Jesus,” Alec reminded Brandeis. “Without them and my faith in them, none of this could have happened. I hope you will believe in them too,” he told his friend. Then last came Noranda, and a long hug with an emotional whispered tête-à-tête.
“
Alec, I’m alive because of you, and in love because of you, and free to marry Brandeis because of you,” she told him. “I cannot repay you in any way possible. After all these months of separation, I felt completely comfortable with you as soon as you awoke me. You were the truest friend.”
“
Noranda, I came here just to free you. I travelled across the whole Dominion to heal you. And coming here has given me so much more than I could have ever guessed. I have good friends here now, and I never would have believed it if someone had told me how much the Locksforts would mean to me,” he confessed. “On some level, I will be sad about the fact that you and I are not ever going to be a couple,” he admitted. “But knowing Brandeis makes me pleased to know what a good person you have as your future spouse.
“
Come visit me sometime,” he urged. “You’ve traveled across the Dominion yourself! Don’t stay here forever,” he rubbed her short hair playfully, and she reached up to return the sport by rubbing his own head full of hair that had grown out since being cut on the
Current Rider
.
They parted company and Alec climbed aboard the rakish sailing ship, which quickly left the dock and began to glide down the river taking Alec back to Oyster Bay. Alec stood on the deck for a long time watching the docks and the people on them grow smaller, then watching the city itself grow smaller, until the ship turned the bend in the river, and only the top of a tower in the Locksfort compound remained visible for a short time more. He continued to wipe tears from his eyes for a long time after that.
Chapter 19 – The Return to Oyster Bay
In Goldenfields, Imelda received the news that her ever-growing cavalry force was going to be deployed to the war front to fight the lacertii. With Oyster Bay perceived to no longer be hostile, and Bondell back under the Prince’s control, the Duke had decided to send more of his forces up the Giffey to turn the tide in the on-going series of lacertii skirmishes occurring along the river.
She was jubilant at the prospect, ready to prove how good the cavalry could be in a battle. And as she prepared to leave for the front, Lewis and Inga were preparing to return to serve in the Palace for their tour of duty at home.
In Oyster Bay meanwhile, Bethany and Tritos were a regular couple after many weeks of courtship. Alec was discussed very little in the city, and only by a few leaders in the palace and on Ingenairii Hill. “When do think we’ll hear anything else about him?” Rander asked Rubicon. “Is he ever really going to come back here to help us?”
“
I think the only thing we can be sure of with Alec is that he’ll do something unexpected,” Rubicon answered. “He’s only been gone a few weeks now, less than three months. Last time he disappeared, it was for longer than this.”
Alec was actually on-board a ship heading towards Oyster Bay, and making good time. His ship was one of two vessels hurrying towards the capital from Stronghold. As Alec’s ship stopped at Three Forks to re-provision, the vessel that had left Stronghold two days ahead of his entered the docks at Oyster Bay, and a diplomatic pouch was unloaded and read by the Locksfort ambassadors in the city, who blanched at learning that they were to deliver a ransom note from Mooreen to the officials of Oyster Bay offering the return of Alec in exchange for cash and exclusive trading privileges for the next two years.
The Locksfort ambassadors delayed delivery of the note for a day as they reinforced the walls and security of their docks and called all their people in for safety, then sent the note to the Palace and waited to see what would happen. When Rander received the note he grew as pale as the Locksforts had; he immediately sent notes to the cathedral, the army and Ingenairii Hill summoning allies to the palace to discuss the issue.
“
They’re digging their own grave up there and I can’t imagine why,” Ari commented angrily. “Mooreen is hungry for power, but why would she do something as foolhardy as this? She has to know that this will sow so much long term ill-will that she will suffer.”
“
Well, she’s not thinking that way, and we need to get up there to set the lad free,” General Hewlett from the army commented.
“
How long will it take to send a force to Stronghold?” Rander asked.
“
Arranging supplies and transportation, then the journey itself will take around two months,” Aristotle responded. “So you’ll have troops trying to besiege or battle a large, strong city as you head into winter.”
“
Do you think the Locksfort representatives here have the power to negotiate?” the Prelate asked. “These terms must be open to some degree of reasonable alteration.”
Rander rubbed his eyes with his hands as he sat in the hard wooden chair within the stony walls of the meeting room. He felt incapable of making such a huge decision, and wished he was still just an officer in the Palace Guard. “Why don’t we all think about this and try to come up with suggestions, then get back together tomorrow afternoon to discuss it further,” he recommended.
“
And don’t breathe a word of this to anyone,” Ari sternly added. “We don’t need more uncertainty and chaos in the city streets. Things are fragile enough here.”
The next day, two things happened. The conclave of leaders resumed in the afternoon, and at about the same time, Alec’s ship pulled into a slip at the Locksfort compound. For the Locksfort proctor, the manifest provided by the ship’s captain nearly led to the onset of a heart attack. The crown protector for whom he had just asked ransom was now on his property as an honored guest of the new leaders of his employer.
Alec was puzzled as he was shown into the offices of the proctor. He was eager to disembark Walnut and return to the palace and then to Ingenairii Hill. He wasn’t sure if Bethany would have come back to Oyster Bay or if she was still in Goldenfields, but he was eager to see Aristotle and tell him all that had happened. He especially wanted Ari to explain to him what Mooreen and Elcome had done to escape, and what it meant. In the meantime he was being shown into this office for unknown reasons, probably just for social pleasantries.
The door opened, and Carpad the proctor walked in with two guards. “Thank you for your time, healer,” Carpad began. He wanted to find the right words to handle such a delicate situation. “Timing is everything sometimes, don’t you agree?” he began nervously.
“
Two days ago, another ship from Stronghold arrived, and yesterday I passed along its message to the palace,” he explained as he watched the blank expression on Alec’s face. “The message was from Mooreen and said that you were being held hostage at Stronghold,” he saw realization dawn on Alec’s face.
“
Apparently, something changed, because you don’t appear to be a hostage,” he finished with an unspoken plea for an explanation. “We’ve shipped very little here in recent months, and after this, I doubt we’ll have any reason to try to do business in Oyster Bay.”
Alec felt pity for the man. He gave a quick explanation of what had happened in Stronghold and made a suggestion. “Let me have Walnut quickly, and let me ride over to the Palace. I imagine that my arrival and explanation will help to calm the waters.”
Carpad gratefully agreed, clinging to any hope for some escape from his perilous circumstances. He led Alec back to the docks, and arranged his passage out of the ship yard. “I’ll send a messenger back to let you know everything is okay,” Alec promised as he rode through the gate. Within a few minutes he was at a ferry slip, walking Walnut on board so they could cross to the north shore of the river.
Alec rode through a commercial district, looking at the shops, many of them closed, and wondering about the state of the city. He came upon the great street that led from the cathedral to Ingenairii Hill, and turned right. He passed the cathedral and came within sight of the royal palace. Guards were at the gates he was pleased to see, and the building looked to be in good shape. He dismounted, stopped to look for a moment, then took a deep breath and led Walnut up to the gate. He did not recognize the guards, and as he expected, they did not recognize him as they asked what his business was at the palace.
“
I’ve come to see Rander and Brannis,” he told the guards. “My name is Alec, and I am supposed to be here,” he explained, at a loss for how to announce himself.
The guards looked skeptical. “Do you have a note or an order for goods you’re supposed to deliver?” one asked.
“
I’m supposed to be the ‘crown protector,’” Alec expanded. “Go ask any officer.”
The guards decided they weren’t going to waste their time on a crackpot on the street, and told Alec to leave the gate. Flummoxed but not surprised, Alec left the gate and rode to another one, then another, until he saw someone he recognized on duty. “Harole, will you let me in the palace grounds?” he called from atop Walnut.
The guard looked up and his eyes grew big. Even with the additional facial scar, he recognized Alec. “Good Lord almighty!” he exclaimed loudly. “You really are alive. Come in, come in! Shall we get an escort for you?”
“
No,” Alec answered. “I know my way around,” and with that he gave his thanks and walked Walnut into the palace grounds.
Alec took his horse to the stables and placed him in a stall, then went to the armory, where a brief scan showed no sign of Brannis. With that avenue for information closed, Alec walked into the official wing of the palace, where he found guards outside a meeting room door.
“
Who’s in there?” he asked.
“
If you have to ask, you don’t need to know,” one guard responded.
“
Is Rander in there? Are they meeting about the ransom the Locksforts are demanding?” Alec asked further, grinning at the circumstances.
“
How would you know about any ransom, and what’s so funny?” the other guard asked.
“
You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Alec answered. “Now, if you’ll let me just go in there I can make this a very short meeting and make everyone here much happier.”
“
We have orders to avoid disruptions. Why don’t you move along?” the guard told him.
“
I’m the crown protector. I’m supposed to be in charge of the palace,” Alec explained, knowing that it was fruitless to expect success.
“
We’ve had enough of you. Now get moving,” one guard said.
“
Wait, Tiel,” his companion said. “He does look a little like Alec. I worked with him at practice in the armory last year. He may be who he says he is. Let’s ask Brannis to come out here. If he is Alec, Brannis will know.”
After further debate the skeptic opened the door and went inside, then came out with Brannis behind him. “Who could you possibly think I need to meet in the middle of a meeting like this?” Brannis’ voice preceded him out the door.
Alec felt a lump in his throat as he saw Brannis step into the hallway. The man in charge of the armory was clearly annoyed by this interruption, until he looked at Alec, and recognition dawned on his face.
“
This can’t be!” he said loudly as he hugged Alec and thumped him on the back. “We thought you were in Stronghold. We’re talking about you right now! Come in here, lad, come in!” he yanked on Alec’s arm and pulled him into the meeting room. Alec shrugged his shoulders and grinned at the guards as he followed Brannis into the room.
“
I’ve got the answer,” Brannis said loudly. “You can pay the ransom to me and I’ll set Alec free,” he told the group as he held Alec’s hand above his head to draw attention.
Chairs scraped across the floor as people pushed away from the table and started to mob the unexpected new arrival. Alec was crushed and overwhelmed by the men who crowded around him in welcome. Minutes after his arrival, he was placed at the head of the table, so that he could tell his story. He stood silently for a few seconds, looking at the many familiar faces. He then launched into his narrative, only to be interrupted by questions at almost every sentence.
“
Wait, everyone,” Aristotle interjected. “Let the boy tell his story first, and then we can question him. Otherwise we’ll never get through the first telling of the story, and I suspect it is quite a story to hear.”
With that the high spirits in the room subsided slightly, and Alec proceeded. As his story moved towards its end, a cart of dinner foods was rolled into the room for the attendees, who ignored the sustenance while they listened in rapt attention to the epic tale. While Alec left many of the personal elements out of his telling, he still aroused emotions in all of his audience, and when he finished saying, “So here I am,” the room erupted in applause.
“
So what was the creature you saw, and how did Mooreen escape?” Aristotle asked Alec.
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If you don’t know, I’m not sure that anyone in the Dominion does,” Alec answered. He had been sure that Aristotle would have the answer to that very question that had troubled him since his departure from Stronghold.
“
You clearly imply that the animal was their means of disappearing,” Aristotle stated. “But you don’t know that for sure, and we don’t know how far they moved. They could be on the other side of the Pale Mountains, or they could be in a different part of the Locksfort home. There are no records, no stories, no myths, I can refer to for an explanation Alec. We’ll leave that be for the present moment.
“
So,” he paused dramatically to gain everyone’s attention, “the good news is now we don’t have to decide what the highest price is that we’d pay for your ransom!” All those at the table burst out laughing, and Alec saw that Ari was redirecting the conversation and pulling them all together.
“
Tell me how things are here and around the Dominion,” Alec suggested. Alec listened to the men at the table discus you s state of the world, and how things had changed since he had disappeared from Oyster Bay.
A tense peace existed in Oyster Bay as Rander maintained the title of Steward with Aristotle’s support and the use of troops, including those from Slone. Without a king on the throne, and after Alec’s disappearance, the nobles had resumed jockeying for influence and power. Only the absence of dissident ingenairii prevented the rebels from trying again to take control of the city.
In Goldenfields the Duke was fighting a slowly losing battle against lacertii from the mountains, who were besieging the easternmost fort that had been established last year. Some of the invaders had bypassed the fort and were fighting towards the spot where Alec’s fountain still spewed forth its healing waters. Bondell was calm. There were fewer ships on the river than in the past, and less trade now occurred, with Goldenfields at war, Stronghold’s Locksforts essentially embargoed by many communities, and Oyster Bay unhealed from its civil unrest. The flood of news, opinions, and conjectures flowed on and on.
“
In my opinion, this city is starting to die,” Rander said. “The well to do are leaving town, the ingenairii are depleted, the mob is restless, and there is more and more disease in the streets.”
Alec bowed his head for a moment, wondering how so much could go wrong, and without any notion about how to solve the problems. The city was a deluge of memories for Alec, mostly good ones from his apprenticeship on Ingenairii Hill, but not so much from his brief, violent return to seek revenge against a power-hungry group of coup-leaders. It pained him to find that life here was getting worse, when he should be helping to make it better.