JESSAN - A TALE OF WIZARDRY Chapter 19
Copyright 2006 Trewin Greenaway All Rights Reserved
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I try to post a new chapter every Saturday if possible. (I know I've been slipping up lately, but, hey, it's summer!!) Anyway, if you're enjoying the story, do let me know!
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Chapter 19
THE FIRE HAD BEEN FED, a large tub placed on the floor. It was full of hot water, scented with a scattering of sweet herbs. I was soaking in it, attended by Alfrund and Onna, while Orien and Grysta talked in the other room. Alfrund was using a coarse scrubbing cloth to remove blood and clots of the Summoner's brain from my body while Onna burnt my shirt, too blood-stained to be cleaned and, in any case, too contaminated by the events of today for me to consider ever wearing again.
Despite myself, my mind kept returning to Faryn, each time filling my eyes with tears. I splashed water in my face and said to Alfrund, "my spirit needs a good scouring as much as my body. Perhaps I should summon Orien for a touch of his own expertise."
"Perhaps," Alfrund said, and laughed. "But then again, a little self-pity is a sweet balm." He squeezed out the cloth and told me to lift up my arms. It was actually good to hear him laugh and to have him close by. I realized how much I missed him. What Caelas had offered me was most wonderful but with Alfrund I felt much more myself, or, more realistically, like the Jessan of old, who was fast being displaced by Jessan the Nithaial. And it was he whom I would have to call up again as soon as this bath was over.
"I hope you're not thinking, Jessan," Onna said, as she came over with more hot water for my tub. "Your poor little brain deserves a rest."
"Truly, Onna," I said. "It was like having my skull crushed beneath a screw press."
"There's no 'like' about it," Alfrund said, taking the kettle and, after testing the hotness, pouring some over my head. Onna, seeing what he was washing out of my hair, made a noise of disgust.
"More Summoner," Alfred agreed. "But it's all washing out. And that is evidence of what I meant: like all such forces, those of the mind have physical effects." He gently ran his fingers over the top of my head. "Grysta found no evidence of damage, happily, but much tenderness."
He returned the kettle to Onna, saying, "Heat yet more water, for he will need a good rinsing." To me he added, "You were a sight to behold, walking through the streets^×an apparition from the Eve of Lost Souls."
"Grysta will be credited for a miracle, then," I said, "when I appear in public view again." I reached up and captured Alfrund's hand. "I shall be glad to finally be showing you Sondaram," I went on, "even on such a sad day. I wished to take you there from the moment I had summoned it to return."
Alfrund bent over and kissed me and I kissed him back. "We'll all go," I continued, "Grysta and Onna, too. I don't want a council of men only."
"Or maybe not only the council of those you've slept with," Onna teased me.
"That, too," I agreed, "although as every hour passes it gets harder to find them."
CAELAS TOOK LONGER TO COME THAN I'D EXPECTED, but it gave me time to rest, drink some broth, as little as I'd appetite for it, and to gather my things. Orien thought it best that I take up residence in Sondaram, if only for the night. He, too, saw it was time for me to assume my role as Nithaial and leave that as Alfrund's apprentice behind.
When Caelas did arrive, it was clear that he'd come to the same conclusion. He was followed by several soldiers, some carrying objects of furniture and others bedding and large soft carpets of lovely and complex weave.
"I've expropriated all this from the quarters of the late Lord of the Fort," he said, saluting me. "You will find it comfortable enough until better can be provided."
I'd meant to take them up the hidden stairway, but at the last moment I changed my mind. I wasn't being cautious, but I found I liked knowing something about Sondaram that the rest did not. So we climbed the track up the side of the hill, and found that a unit of soldiers still stood guard at the crest. They stood at attention as we approached.
"I've stationed them here, myself," Caelas said, "to remain until things at the fort are better ordered."
As we passed by, they stared at me with much curiosity, perhaps because I was the Nithaial or perhaps from a rumor that Caelas and I were lovers. I was glad I was wearing my new shirt, in which I felt quite handsome. I even flushed a little as we passed them, but not so much, I think, that it was noticed. In any case, I forgot them immediately, so great was my delight at being with Grysta, Onna, and Alfrund as they had their first sight of Sondaram.
First, however, I had a task to do. I beckoned the soldiers carrying Faryn's remain on a pallet, and took them with me to where the force played at the center of the room. I then removed my clothing, lifted the bundle into my arms, and stepped across into the flickering blue light. At once it lifted me and my burden up, and, as it did so, purified Faryn's body, transforming it out of death and into energy. When my arms were finally empty, I lifted them and I let the force sweep my thoughts away, clear my mind, flush out the pain that had spread like little roots all over my skull, the sorrow in my heart.
I emerged feeling refreshed and further comforted, amused by the naked awe of the soldiers, who fell to their knees the moment I appeared. "Thank you," I said to them. "You may return to your fellows." Then I led my friends and lovers out onto the terrace where we settled ourselves in the shade of the alestran trees.
And so our council began.
Orien opened his mouth but I gestured gently with my hand for him to close it again. What had happened in the town square had startled him into seeing me with new eyes if not new respect, and I had no wish for the moment to return to playing the pupil.
I turned to Caelas and asked, "What is the situation at the fort?"
"Heartening," Caelas replied. "There's a group that still believes that if the Nithaial could be captured or killed, The Unnameable One might yet relent, but they are a tiny minority. The others have taken heart from the reappearance of Sondaram and the death of the Lord of the Fort before the eyes of the whole town. And they also know that if the demon lord and the troops at his command are allowed to pass through the Gates of Karn, all the soldiers here will be tortured and then slaughtered, for not preventing what happened yesterday."
"The Lord of the Fort was protected by a ring of soldiers," I said, "and yet I don't remember harming any. What became of them?"
"They had never before witnessed a Nithaial in a state of great rage," Caelas answered, "nor at such close range. As I heard it, they were simply tossed aside as if by a great wind. Those who could pick themselves up, did so and fled to the fort. Those who couldn't witnessed what happened after, a story they've now told a hundred times. There's no soldier this side of the mountains who'd dare lift a finger against you."
I now turned to Orien. "Once again, my actions have forced you to reconsider your plans. What do you advise that we do now?"
"Nithaial," Orien replied, but in his gravest voice, "if we stay we might help Caelas hold the Gates, but we would also face the undivided wrath of The Unnameable One. If we^×meaning only you, Alfrund, and myself^×flee, His rage will follow after us, and He'll leave Gedd to the mercies of the demon lord and the army he commands. Both choices, however, are but counsels of despair, for I can see no good end to either."
I turned to Alfrund and asked, "What say you, my twerë?"
"I think that we should go," he answered. "Your struggle with The Unnameable One through the Summoner has not hurt Him one whit, only enraged Him more. I fear He will now strike Gedd from afar unless we distract Him by going south. Fendal has offered us the loan of two of his apprentices, Wendma and Hestal, to sail the boat to Pharros for us and then bring it back."
"But why not sail north?" Grysta demanded. "Beyond the mountains are the great northern wilds^×you could hide there for years and not be found."
Orien shook his head. "I've considered that," he answered. "But we would be taking Jessan much further from any seat of power; the wilds have dangers none of us have ever confronted; and to merely survive there would take all our effort.
"And when we emerge from them a few years from now," he continued, "what then? Remember, Grysta, one of our purposes is to also draw the attention of The Unnameable One away from Jessan's twin. If we bury ourselves in the wilds, we'll free up the hunt for him."
Grysta sighed. "But the south!" she groaned. "First there's Cytheria to pass, the poisoned city of the dead, and beyond it Pharros,^×a strange and dangerous place if half of what I've heard is true^×and the port city of Heref, where agents of The Unnameable One will be waiting for your landing. Have you taken this into your calculations as well?"
Orien looked at her grimly. "I've already said there are no good choices," he answered shortly. "But yes, I've considered these things. Ships pass by Cytheria regularly and few are lost that keep well out to sea. And it's not my plan to sail as far as Heref. We'll slip ashore before then and head directly for the border city of Ciprias, which is neither dangerous nor strange and where we have friends. And then, with luck, we'll find our way to Wethrelast, the palace of the air, where Jessan will come into his full powers."
"And the true war will begin," said Caelas.
Orien nodded. "And the true war will begin."
THE TALK CONTINUED, but the decision had already been reached: we would sail south tomorrow. I left Caelas, Alfrund, and Orien to discuss the logistics of this, and took Grysta and Onna for a tour of Sondaram, upstairs first, where the soldiers, at Caelas's orders, had set up a room for me. It was a large one, with doors leading off from it on both sides, opening into what I assumed were vestiaries or the like.
Set out before us was a large bed, carved wooden chairs, and a military writing table with folding legs, which held pens, ink, paper, and a small oil lamp. The bed was heaped with pillows and soft sheeting; the floor was covered with many overlapping carpets. The Lord of the Fort, I thought, had pampered himself well.
Onna went across and lay, arms spread, on the bed. "I've never one seen so large and comfortable," she said. "I could roll up in it and fall asleep at once."
Grysta sniffed. "That is just why such things are best kept out of reach," she said crossly. "Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. And you should know enough to realize that to throw yourself on someone else's bed is quite unseemly."
"Grysta!" Onna exclaimed. "You should not toy with Jessan's innocence by talking of such things!"
Something like a smile flickered across Grysta's face. "He puts aside his childhood and assumes the responsibilities of a man tomorrow, Onna," she answered. "I imagine he's been learning from Alfrund and others what those entail."
This made me blush, to Onna's great pleasure. But she got up from the bed and after looking at the view of the sea from my windows, we went out, for I wished to show them the secret room beneath the main hall and what it contained. As we left, I dropped my bag beside the writing table and left my wand on top of it. It was tedious, I was finding, to have to carry it always.
As Caelas had done, Grysta and Onna, too, made the gesture of obeisance when we entered the lower room. "Such a place is very holy," Grysta said, "for it's dear to Gesryma, the Great Mother of Blessed Name. It's usual in such places to have a statue of Her at the center where your throne sits; you should always remember this when you sit there. It's an emblem of Her love for you that you've been given that privilege."
"In my village," I answered somewhat abashed, "we learned little of such things. Such worship we made was to the sea spirits, asking that our lives be watched over out on the water and our fishing be successful."
Grysta nodded. "You'd have found it little different if you'd been raised here in Gedd. The Unnameable One has done all in His power to obliterate even the memory of the Old Ways. But those of us who can, preserve them for the time when they can become open once again."
I remembered Alfrund telling me that Grysta was, in secret, a witch, and her words now expanded that word and gave it wider meaning. I looked at her but said nothing, since it wasn't for me to bring the subject up.
Instead I dimmed the lights and made the statues glow, for I now saw that this was part of the holiness of the place. Grysta saw the broken figures, and tears flowed down her face. "These are evil times, indeed," she sighed, and took my arm. "I pray that I live long enough to see that change."
We returned to quiet. Orien, Alfrund, and Caelas were contentedly eating their fill of alestran, which they had only to reach up their hands to pick from the branches.
When he saw us, Caelas stood up and said, "Nithaial, where is the servant with the damp cloth that we might wipe our faces and our hands?"
I sighed. "My lack of hospitality shames me," I replied, "but I thought in the army, soldiers have other ways of dealing with that problem... as with many others."
Caelas smiled. "Yes, we do," he said, "if it comes to that." He pulled a small cloth from his pouch and used it to wipe his hands and face. He then offered it to Alfrund and Orien, who did the same.
"Alfrund will return to stay tonight with you," Orien said. "But we must all leave now for there's much to be done before the morrow."
I thought about this for a moment, then went to Alfrund, took his hands, and said, "No. I wish you to spend the night with Fendal. I'll be safe here and will sleep soundly in my new bed, as Onna can attest. I look forward to much time spent with you starting tomorrow, and Fendal can look forward to none."
Alfrund began to protest but I gently pushed him away. In truth, my noble little speech didn't come from the heart but from where I thought my heart ought to be. I wasn't in the least looking forward to a night alone after what happened today, even in Sondaram.
But Alfrund took me at my word and I bade them all goodbye. We would meet again at Grysta's house in the morning and proceed down to the dock together.