Tag: fantasy novel

Summer 40: thoroughly

Matthew ELeave a comment

Most treasured Zann,

We had a plan. But the first real challenge would be coming and going from the palace. “The way I got here isn’t really practical,” I had told Wryth. “You have to infiltrate Cas Crid and hope everything goes just right.”

“There must be a way. There are greenkind here in the palace who visit the world frequently,” she said.

“Then let’s get hold of one of them.”

She tapped her chin speculatively. I knew she was thinking what I was thinking. Abducting a lauran noble? They’d kill us. And probably go to war with Amaydya.

Of course, it would be easy to just physically walk out of the place. We could do that. But that wouldn’t put us in the normal world where all the people lived. That’s why, when I tried going to the palace recently on the coach, I found the place empty. The greenkind had removed their court to some kind of realm that wasn’t exactly the same one that we humans lived in. And that realm was where Wryth and I were now.

Our favourite idea was to just break the spell, or whatever it was, that was keeping the palace just outside of existence. It was going to have to happen eventually anyway. But I pointed out to Wryth that this would put us in conflict with the royal greenkind, the Valnelatars and all that, before we wanted to be. And she pointed out to me that if we did break the spell they’d probably just do something else instead and we’d be just as badly off. So we didn’t pursue it.

“One considers,” Wryth said, gazing into the air, “In Amaydya we have little knowledge of the greenkind. Just what we hear from Crideon and its surrounding lands. But we do have stories of, oh, the strange people of the forest. The pranks they play on one, and so forth.”

“That’s hard to imagine,” I said. “But go on.”

“Yes. In one such story, the lost children must find their way out of the mazes and webs of the forest people. Spells that keep them lost and entrapped. So they pull a trick on the magic spells. They wear their cloaks and caps backwards on their bodies, does one see, and then the mazes and webs think that they’re walking in the other direction, and does not keep them bound in the spells.”

I thought about it. I had never heard of anything like that. “Do you really think it’s that simple?”

“I don’t know. But one could attempt it quite easily.”

“I like it,” I said, and stood up. She collected an extra guard cap and shortcoat from her guardpost, and we went down to the main gate.

We were standing in the sun, putting the uniforms on backwards, when a greenkind man cleared his throat.

I looked over. He was looking at us skeptically, and the cords around his sword were hanging free. He was in uniform, like us, except that his was gleaming white from his shako to his slippers. It was, of course, one of the royal greenkind guards of the Immaculate Zone.

The Immaculate Zone were the personal guards of the Valnelatar family. They never cooperated with the Rosolla Guards, and in fact preferred to pretend that we didn’t exist. They were a burning pain in the pisser.

“A moment, goodfolk,” he said. Right away, putting us in our place. You call someone “goodfolk” if you want them to dig a hole in your lane. Or shine your boots. “You are Amaydyan guards?”

“I am an officer of the Amaydyan guards,” Wryth answered. “My colleague borrows our uniform because of the unseasonal chill in the air.” The weather, by the way, was sunny and warm.

He frowned at her and moved his hand around me, as though he was feeling the air near my body with the back of his hand. Then he poked my leg.

“Ow,” I said. “Don’t do that.”

“Who are you?” he asked.

“My name’s Srix,” I said. “Who are you?”

“I am Llyll of the Immaculate Zone. Do you know what that means?”

“That you wipe thoroughly?” Wryth tilted her head forward at an angle that didn’t suggest that she found anything amusing.

“It means that you cannot lie to me.”

I knew this, of course. They could determine the truth of anything you said to them. They had all kinds of annoying little tricks like that. “I’ve just been telling Wryth here that you fellows in the Immaculate Zone were all very handsome and pleasant and that I liked you very much.” This time Wryth did smile, just a little.

Llyll frowned again. I don’t think he was used to being the butt of the joke. “The Immaculate Zone is charged with keeping danger from threatening the royal family at all times. And you are redolent with forbidden magic. Who are you?”

I didn’t want to talk to him about the magic. It was probably the effect of tasting the Sauce back during the Nap that he was detecting, and that conversation couldn’t go anywhere good. Might as well give him some truth that he wouldn’t know what to do with. “I am a special operative of the Rosolla Guard, and I’m on a mission to resolve the current crisis. I’ve encountered many different kinds of magic on this mission and you aren’t authorized to know about any of it. But if you want to keep the Valnelatars safe, you should be helping me.”

Llyll didn’t like that, but it was all true, so he couldn’t object. “And your name?”

“My name is Srix,” I said, meeting his gaze, speaking carefully enough that he knew that I knew that he knew that I was lying. “We’re going now, and you can give us a nice little kiss to welcome us back when you see us again. Which you will.” And we strode off through the main gate.

And Wryth’s silly trick with the backwards clothing worked! I could see the old coach stop at the bottom of the hill.

“I see the rumours one hears of the good relations between the Rosollas and the Zone are true,” Wryth said. “Isn’t he authorized to hear about your experiences?”

“No. They’re my experiences, and I didn’t authorize him, so he’s not authorized. This was a good trick, by the way, with the caps and coats. I wonder if it works more than once.”

“One must roll dice on occasion,” she said, and took a sheaf of Amaydyan intelligence reports out of an inside pocket, so we could consult them about our destination.

I’m so sorry,

Ybel

Summer 39: insignia

Matthew ELeave a comment

Dearest Zann,

Wryth led me back inside the palace. “If you would like a sword, to replace your guard sword,” she said, indicating my empty scabbard, “we have some very good ones in our suites. One does not like to boast. But Amaydyan weapons are far superior to whatever garden implements the greenkind allow you.”

“That’s very generous of you,” I told her. “But, no, thank you. I don’t use weapons.”

She thought about this. “Why is that?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

Wryth paused again. Generous of her to assume that my stances were well-thought-out enough to be worth contemplation by a second person. “How can one fulfill the duties of a palace guard if one is not willing to hurt another? For that matter, how can one save the city against its many problems if one is not willing to hurt another?”

“Maybe one can’t. Maybe I can’t.”

“And so?”

“And so I’m not going to release a weary sigh and resolve to pick up the sword again. Because that isn’t in me anymore. Because if we could solve this problem that way, someone would have done it already. Because I don’t believe in it.”

“Well. One must admire your bravery.”

“Not if you don’t want to. This city is full of brave people. May I make a speech?”

She laughed. “Please do!”

“Thank you. I’ve had many adventures recently and met so many brave people. Citizens and guards, humans and greenkind, wizards and children and revolutionaries and criminals and eccentrics and fools and one giant anteater. They’re all willing to take their chances against the world and everything that the world can throw at them. The worse things get, the braver they become. But things have kept getting worse. Maybe bravery isn’t what we need.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know. But if there’s a solution, I’ll find it.”

We were silent, climbing tower steps. Eventually, Wryth said, “Presumably the objection to swords would also apply to strong magic.”

“That’s embarrassing,” I said. “I had actually been hoping for some kind of magical solution. But you’re right. It’s just another kind of sword.”

“Or, that’s what it seems like to two guards, at least.” And that also was true.

“Are the Amaydyan roosts much farther? I’ve never been there before,” I said.

“No reason one should have, if one is a palace guard. The embassies bring their own guards with them. Our rooms are somewhat higher, I fear. In better days there are magical chambers to move us up and down the towers, but now that the palace is sequestered from the outside world, those conveniences are unavailable.”

“Oh well.”

“Just so.”

We were both used to exerting ourselves all day, but still, we were panting when we finally reached the Amaydyan rooms of this high tower. The four guards there waited alertly for us. Wryth indicated me and said, “This fellow is Ybel. He’s an important Rosolla Guard. One should know him, if one meets him elsewhere.” They saluted, that weird Amaydyan salute where you spin your hand around. “Anything to report?”

“No, ensign,” one said.

“Good. Continue.”

We entered a large round room in which clerks and guards were suddenly trying to look busy. Wryth surveyed them briefly and led me to a spiral staircase in the centre of the room. We descended.

Down here was a small bureau, very well appointed, where an elderly woman at a table was painting a small object. She looked up. “Ah, Wryth. And a new person.”

“Yes, Lord Ambassador,” she said. “This is Ybel of the Rosolla Guard. I’ve been conferring with him on the current conditions.”

“Good, good. Have my new figures been delivered? One observes that the last ones were very unsatisfactory.”

“No, Lord Ambassador. The artisan has fled the city. We’re trying to find a substitute.”

“Oh dear. Well, do keep me informed about that. I’m just finishing up the Parthage officers today.” She held up the thing she had been painting: a little figure of a soldier in a yellow uniform, brandishing a poleax. “The insignia isn’t molded properly at all, but I can paint it so that one cannot notice.”

“Very skillful, Lord Ambassador. Do you have more orders for me?”

“No, no. You always know what to do. Thank you, Wryth. Honoured to have met you, Ybus.” Wryth saluted and we withdrew. She took me up two staircases to her own small bureau.

“So,” I said.

“Yes.”

“What you’re telling me is that we’re working alone here.”

“One suspects that this is the case.”

“Then it’s a good thing that we’re both so wise and clever.”

Wryth nodded gravely, and got out a slate and some chalk, and we began to plot.

Love,

Ybel

Summer 38: clamped

Matthew ELeave a comment

Dearest Zann,

A strong pair of hands clamped my shoulders and pulled me backwards. Ambe’s foyer furnishings clung on as hard as they could, which lost me a lot of skin from my arms, but whoever was pulling me away was stronger. I fell back against them and we tumbled back onto the grass.

I twisted around to see who had saved me. It was Wryth, the Amaydyan guard officer. “Are you hurt?” she said.

“Not badly,” I said. “Thank you very much.”

“I am pleased to be of use. Does one encounter such hazards often in this palace? I confess your peril was one I had no knowledge of.”

She helped me to my feet. “I think it’s a spell that Ambe uses to guard her lair when she’s not in it. Which I should have thought of before pushing my face in there. Foolish of me.”

“I see. A magical spell that is also your colleague, then. And mine,” she said, grinning.

“Ay, I guess so.”

“I saw you crossing the courtyard. I caught you up because I wished to speak with you.” She pointed to a canopied greenfolk thing where people could sit.

“Oh. Well. What would you like to talk about?” We sat down on the thing.

She made a squaring-up gesture. “Our delegation to Crideon is in a difficult position. This court is cut off from the rest of the world, and is doing nothing to address the catastrophe outside. Some of the rebels are demanding that we be turned over to them as prisoners.”

“They are?” Not the ones at Cas Crid, I thought, Acea would never stand for that.

“They are. Many of your countrymen have no love for mine. One struggles to imagine a resolution to this conflict. So I am spending a lot of time thinking what to do. And when I see you, I think, perhaps he would be good to talk to.”

I nodded slowly. “I want to stop it all,” I said. “I don’t know how, or who can help, or what to do next. But I’m going to do something, because I don’t know who else is. Will you help? If you can?”

Wryth considered. “I remember you pushing a bench, at a wedding, to save your guards from being killed. I thought to myself, that is a clever man, not just to push a bench, but to know that the bench must be pushed. It is why I thought I should talk to you. Yes, I will help, if I can.”

I hadn’t expected to feel such relief. “Thank you,” I said. “Again.”

“How does one begin such a conspiracy?”

I reached out my hand and she shook it.

“Perhaps you’d like to speak to the Amaydyan ambassador?” she suggested.

That sounded like a good idea.

All my love,

Ybel

Summer 35: potatoes

Matthew ELeave a comment

Dearest Zann,

Acea stared after us as his soldiers took me away. Of course that’s all he did. He didn’t want to talk to me nor I wanted to talk to him. I loved him. But clearly, clearly, the best thing would be if we never saw each other again.

I didn’t resist. I didn’t speak. What was to say? There was nothing I wanted to know or wanted anyone else to know. I made no mystery about what Acea was doing here; he had heard that the people of Crideon were being repressed by Lord Clear and the greenkind, and he came to help. Just like he and I used to do in other places. And here I was.

The rebel soldiers would put me in a cell. And eventually Acea would come and talk to me. And we would hurt each other. And nothing would be resolved. And he’d let me go, because why not. And then I’d slink off and scheme some more.

“In here,” one of the soldiers said, shoving me toward a door, not too rough.

“No,” I said, putting out an arm against the doorframe. “Wait.”

He thumped me with a spearbutt. “Acea said–“

“I know what he said. But I’d like to do something useful here. Can we do something useful?”

They both had their spears leveled now. “What are you talking about? You’re a Rosolla, and–“

“I came here to try to fix things. Not to fight you fellows. Or anybody. Well, maybe Lord Clear. But all I can do from in there is to make Acea feel bad. Can we do something else instead? Can you think of anything else you can do with me? Ay, keep me out of trouble. But don’t leave me in there like potatoes.”

“Just get in,” the first soldier said, but the second one interrupted.

“No, no; I get this. Well, partly. Let’s take him upstairs. That’ll be fine. We can keep an eye on him.”

“You believe him?” the first one said.

“A little. Come on. Let’s see what happens.”

Grateful as I was, I winced on behalf of Acea. If I was leading a rebellion and one of my men wanted to disobey my orders about a prisoner to ‘see what happens’, my head would pop off of my neck and go bouncing down the lane.

They led me upstairs and out into a little courtyard. There were soldiers training with spears and swords, but also some in a corner sitting around drinking water. They brought me to this corner and shoved me down on a bench. One of them called, “Ancient!” and an officer trotted over.

It was Fafafa. “Oh,” he said, “you’ve got Ybel here. I guess that was inevitable.”

“You know him, sir?”

“I’m his friend,” I interrupted.

Fafafa looked at me, fondly, I thought. “Are you? Still?”

“I don’t know if you’re my friend, but I’m yours.”

Fafafa grinned and sat down. He beckoned a soldier and said, “Could you get my friend some water, please?”

I drank it. Cold and clean.

Love,

Ybel

Summer 34: trusted

Matthew ELeave a comment

Precious Zann:

Seeing Wande there in the tower changed everything. As natural as it felt to stand around on guard duty again, the whole situation in Cas Crid was untenable. I had to figure out how to resolve it as soon as possible; there were just too many things going on. I had to find Srix or Candur or Ambe or somebody.

And leave Wande and Jhusdhe unguarded?

Well…

There was no worry about them coming out of their rooms. They didn’t want to. And if they changed their mind and did want to, I certainly wasn’t going to stand in their way.

But what about guarding them against someone coming to hurt them? To kill them, or take them away? In that case, there ought to be more than one man on the post. Back at the palace, we only put a single person on a post if nobody was ever going to notice it.

Anyway, the biggest threat to Wande and Jhus was Lord Clear himself, and if he came to harm them, just to be a pissard, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

Leaving Wande and Jhus unguarded, I took a quick swig from the jug and headed back down the tower. Once I was in the passage under the tower, I confidently headed north.

And almost immediately was confronted by a T-junction where my only choices were east and west.

My studies of the map of Cas Crid had led me to expect that I could go north from here, and that that was probably the best way to get to the rest of the Rosollas. I didn’t know what to do with east-or-west.

I tried east.

Obviously I was hoping that this passage would swing north again, but it didn’t; it went south and also downstairs. I went through a door at the bottom of the stairs and the passage went south again. Fine, I thought, let’s go back and try the other way, but when I tried, the door had locked behind me.

I swore cheerfully and continued south. Then there were more twists and turns and intersections and rooms I don’t remember. The part I do remember is that I walked into one room and got knocked down.

I hit the floor and gasped; someone landed on me.

“Don’t move, you piss splasher!” a voice said. The owner of the voice was kneeling on my back and holding a shaking knife to my throat. I didn’t move. He kept talking. “Drop–no, you’re not armed. Are you here to surrender?”

“Are you one of the rebels?” I said. “I didn’t know you fellows were this close.”

“I don’t have to answer your questions, guard!”

“Let’s just say I’m here peacefully; is it well?”

“I’ve got a surrendering guard here!” he shrieked out. “Come help me with him!” He bent his head down by my ear and said, in a low voice, “I promise if this is a trap I’m going to stab you in the pizzle.”

“It’s no trap,” I said. “I just don’t know my way around in this place.”

Footsteps. People arriving, probably more rebels.

“Let’s see what you’ve got!” said one voice.

“That’s a Rosolla uniform,” said another. I knew that voice! But– “They never surrender. It’s their oath. Let’s have a look at him.”

They picked me up and turned me around and for the first time in years Acea and I were face to face.

He still looked so good. But– “Ybel,” he said, astonished.

“You know him?” one of the others said.

“I know she’s not to be trusted,” Acea said. “Take her away. I mean, take him away.”

Love,

Ybel

Summer 33: bumbers

Matthew ELeave a comment

Most precious Zann,

I suppose there could have been some other prisoner who ate dried bumbers, but I assumed immediately that Wande and Jhusdhe were behind the door I was guarding. But why? They never did anything; what could the point possibly be of locking them up?

It must be about me, I decided, incorrectly. After all, Lord Clear hated me for ruining his plan with the Great Beast of Crideon. And… learned that I had escaped? And found out that Wande and I were partners, and captured them to… take some kind of revenge on me? It sounded weak, but what other reason could there be?

Usually, I hope, I’m not so self-centered that I can’t think past it, at least a little bit. But that time I was stuck on one idea.

One thing was explained, anyway; if Clear had them locked up in here, it made sense that the wizards wouldn’t be able to find them for me. Cas Crid may have been protected from magical searching even without Clear.

I knocked on the door, not too loud. I was nervous! Why was I nervous?

A moment passed, and I heard Wande say, “I’m here.”

I unlocked and opened the door. And there she was: she looked good. Not hurt. Clean. She stepped back, shocked. Then forward to hug me.

“Ybel! Where–No, never mind! I’m glad you’re all right.”

“I’m glad you’re all right. Have you been here all this time?”

“I–oh. I can’t talk to you about this now.” She let me go. “Ybel, it’s a curst situation, but I’m a prisoner and you’re a guard, and I’m not going to talk about it like that.”

“I don’t care about that,” I told her. “I’ve been looking for you all over the place. I can’t believe you’re here. Come on, let’s go, let’s get out of here. Wake Jhus and we’ll go.”

“Go where?”

“Away! Out of the castle, out of the city. I’m not leaving you two locked up in this musty old pisspot. Once you’re gone, Clear won’t have anything to hold over my head, and–“

“Over your head? Look, Ybel, how do you plan on getting out of the castle?”

She had a point. I didn’t really know where the castle was, exactly. Not really in the world, not in the laur. What other choices were there? “I don’t know. Maybe we can find Ambe and she can help. But we shouldn’t waste time!”

“Wait. My turn now. Well?”

“Well.”

She sighed. “I don’t know if escaping is the right thing to do. And there are complications. For one… I don’t think you and I are together anymore, are we?”

We could be. But… I remembered my time with Ellewen. “Maybe not. I suppose not. But we can still–“

Wande nodded. “And there’s something else. Jhus wants to stay.”

Spoiled brat kid. “Jhus wants a lot of things. If you tell her–“

“She wants to stay here because her father is here.” And she waited for me to understand that.

I understood it. “Her father? Wait. Is it Clear? Were you and Lord Clear…”

She nodded again, and said, “Can we close the door now? I don’t want to answer any more questions. From you or,” she signaled around with her eyes, “anybody else.” And stepped back.

I gave her a pat on the arm, closed the door, and locked it.

Now what do I do, I thought.

All my love,

Ybel

Summer 32: closed door

Matthew ELeave a comment

Most precious Zann,

“Day,” I said cautiously.

“Ybel,” Trall said, surprised. “How did you get here?” Carsaduam stepped over to help me up.

“Hard to explain. Are we all here? All the guards?”

“We are now,” Carsaduam said. “You were the only one missing.”

“Oh.” I started for the door, not wanting to be trapped anywhere. They let me, and we left the room. “And… why are we here? Is Lord Clear here?”

The corridors of Cas Crid were much smaller than those of the Palace. Shorter and narrower, and made of brick. “Mmm,” Carsaduam said. “He holds our oaths. He’s trying to conquer Crideon for himself, not for the rest of the laurans. He’s got us and some townspeople that he’s lured in here. But the castle’s not safe because some rebel townspeople were using Cas Crid as a lair before we got here, and they’re holding out in some places. And they don’t like us anyway.”

“Truly?”

“Ay. We need you. We need everyone. Are you ready to start now? I mean right now. Candur will be glad that you’ve turned up. We can get you a uniform at the guardpost just up here. No more blue pajazuse! Back to the old grey-and-whites.”

“Well,” I said, and followed them. “So there’s fighting in the castle? Now?”

“They’re dug in pretty well,” Trall said. “They have some kind of magic. Lord Clear could probably handle them all by himself, but the laurans in the palace are fighting him magically. He’s, uh. We try not to talk to him or attract his attention.”

“He’s a pisshearted murderer is what he is,” I told them.

Carsaduam turned a corner and we entered a guardpost at the base of a tower. He tossed me a bundle of equipment and I started changing clothes. “He could be ten times a murderer for all I care, if he’d only keep his murdering to our enemies. But he doesn’t care about us any more than he does the rebels. I think he wants the rebels and us to kill each other off until it’s just him.”

“Sounds like we’re talking about the same man.”

Trall handed me some bread wrapped around a bit of cheese and said, “Come on. You can start your first shift. We’ve had Old Aldo on this door for almost two shifts now and he needs a rest.”

“Well. I can guard a door. What’s behind it?” I ate as he showed me the way upstairs.

“Lord Clear has someone in an upper room here. Somebody important, I don’t know. Nobody goes in, nobody comes out. Just food twice a day. Simple as that.”

“Greenkind or human?”

“Piss in my pockets if I know. We guard the door, that’s all. Oh, but you always did ask too many questions.” He frowned at me. “Maybe that’s why Candur likes you. But that’s his business.”

We were in a different tower now. I couldn’t be sure which one, but it was a wide circle in shape. The guard platform was a half moon at the top of the stairs, and Aldo clapped me on the back as I took his place. Aldo leaned on Trall a bit going downstairs.

I was alone, and back on guard.

I had a closed door to protect. I had a lamp and a jug of water on an upturned barrel nearby. I had a cheap sword that I didn’t want. And there was a tray near the stairs with what was left of the previous meal for whoever was in the rooms, waiting to be taken back down. I glanced at it.

On one of the plates, there were some uneaten vegetables, sprinkled with dried bumblebees. Just like Wande makes for Jhusdhe.

All my love,

Ybel

Summer 31: mound

Matthew ELeave a comment

Most treasured Zann,

One thing I had managed to do was spend a few minutes with a map of Cas Crid. I had never seen the place back when it was still standing; I had only come to Crideon after it had been thrown down. And even then I had never really looked at the ruins. So if I was going to figure out how to get in, I needed to know what the layout of the place was.

As castles went it didn’t make a lot of sense. Crideon hadn’t been in any danger of invasion for centuries. (Or so they thought.) So the castle, before it was destroyed, was just another city building in a lot of ways. Different kings had added to it, torn parts down, built things on top of other things, and even included some buildings that were by any reasonable standard down the street from the actual castle. There was only about a third of the original curtainwall left, and it wasn’t really trying to defend anything so much as it was trying to stay out of the way. But I thought I had a good understanding of its main parts as I strolled up to it that morning.

Unusually for Crideon before noon, there was a mist around Cas Crid. I thought it seemed like a very lauran, greenkind kind of mist. Dark gray, with vague blue and yellow lights inside it. Like a fool, I walked right into it.

And then everything was different.

Life was pleasant inside the mist, as long as you kept out of the way of Lord Clear. Much nicer than the harsh sunshine world with all the filthy men and women. How long had I been standing here looking at the cairns of earth that had been raised over the corpse of Castle Crideon? Many days, surely, and contented ones. But now perhaps I could continue on my way, and find the rest of the Rosolla Guard within.

I strolled past the first mound, trying to fit it to what I remembered of the map. The one I wanted, I thought, should be in the middle of the cluster of mounds. I didn’t have a shovel with me. What was the point of digging up ruins? If Clear and the Rosollas and everyone were in here, it was through magic, and therefore I would have to find some kind of magic.

One good place to look might be at the top of the central mound.

Climbing a hill of dirt was one of the least frightening things I had tried to do in the past few swings. It was messy but not really very difficult. The mist was still everywhere, but I could see about twenty feet in all directions, and that was enough. Finally I stood on top of the mound, greyness all about me. There was something up ahead to the left, so I went to investigate. It was a flagpole, only about ten feet tall, flying a blue banner with a blue diamond on it. Lord Clear’s, surely. Could it be magical? It could.

I reached up to touch it, maybe to pull it down, and was wrenched aside magically! Something pulled me, roughly, through some walls of reality, and flung me to the ground. My hand stung where it had brushed the cloth of the flag.

I was in a stone room, somewhere, sprawled on the floor. A small torch provided the only light. There was one door, and it opened. Two Rosolla Guards strode in.

Trall and Carsaduam.

Love,

Ybel

Summer 31: light heavy

Matthew ELeave a comment

Dearest Zann,

Coy and Lasl let me sleep in their boat that night. I don’t know where they slept. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, though it was a little cold.

The next days were… not uneventful, but frustrating. I had a lot of things I wanted to do, but I couldn’t do them until I did other things first. I needed money, for one thing, so I worked most of a day on the docks and accumulated a small handful of pennies. Spent a couple on passage upriver to the palace.

The laziest siege in history was happening outside the palace walls, and as far as I could tell nothing was happening inside them. The greenkind were in there, no doubt, but they weren’t letting themselves be seen. It wasn’t difficult to evade the besiegers and slip into the place, but once I did I was alone. Nothing but echoes in the great halls. Ambe wasn’t in her lair, none of the Rosollas were in our guardrooms. Ellewen wasn’t there; I left him a note just in case.

I figured this might be my chance and sought out the kitchen to see if there was any Sauce around. I couldn’t even find the kitchen. I knew where it had been, but it was hidden from my eyes now.

I found a bit of food in one of the guardrooms and slept there that night. Next morning, back to Crideon and look for Srix. I tried Birch Spit but the place was abandoned. Only one thing left to try, and I wasn’t looking forward to it: go to Cas Crid and see what was happening there.

The city was much emptier than usual too. Where had everyone gone? Fled to the countryside? The war, or whatever it was, certainly wasn’t over, but nobody troubled me as I skulked down the streets and alleys. Mostly I just heard cries and other noises in the distance.

One thing I should probably mention is that thing I found and put in my pocket, back in the laur, as I was turning to ash and crumbling away. It was still in my pocket. Somehow. It was a seedpod of some kind. Made of tough fibers, greeny-pink in colour. When I first took a good look at it, I turned it over and over to see its various details, and I could swear that it turned lighter and heavier as I did so. Heavy, light, heavy, light. In the end I put it away safely.

No more delays. Next time I’ll tell you about Cas Crid and what I found there.

All my love,

Ybel

Summer 30: head

Matthew ELeave a comment

Most beloved Zann,

Coy and Lasl were telling the truth when they said they knew of a tavern that was still open and operating normally. It was a place called Sosi’s, and I thought I might have been there once before. Just a little waterfront joint made of two joined cellars.

The first thing I saw coming down the stairs into the common room was a glass jar with a human head in it, in some kind of green liquid, hanging over our heads. The head glared at me for a moment, and then nodded, allowing me to pass.

“He gave you a good long look,” Lasl said. “Got some secrets? Usually he’ll let any normal customer in.”

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Always just call him ‘the head’. I think he was a wizard.”

The common room was about half full. We sat at the end of a long table. Coy looked over at Sosi, behind the bar, and held up three fingers. Sosi nodded.

“So, Ybel,” Coy said. “Do you think you’re going back to the Guard?”

“Maybe. Probably. Something like it, anyway. I’m still thinking. What about you two? How do you live?” They will glance at each other before answering me, I thought to myself.

Before answering me, they glanced at each other. “We get by,” Lasl said. “There’s always something you can do with a boat. Fishing, if nothing else.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“It’s a pretty good life. Lot of dangerous people in the streets that don’t come out onto the water. Lot of politics that can be avoided. And the air’s always fresh.”

Sosi brought us a large trencher of bread with some strips of fried fish, pickled radishes, and wedges of cheese. Also, three mugs of stout.

“Sounds nice,” I said, trying not to stuff my mouth too greedily. The bread wasn’t very good, but it was fresh.

“Sort of thing that appeals to you?”

I smiled. “I hate to say this, because I’m so hungry for this food, and you’ve already done so much for me. But… you’re only telling me the good parts.”

“What do you mean?” Coy asked.

“I mean that sailing up and down the river in the sunshine sounds much better than having to worry about palace intrigue… but I don’t think I’d like smuggling goods into the city very much, especially when I’d have to deal with the neighbourhood gangs.” I wasn’t sure whether to look Lasl dead in the eye when I said that, or to look Coy dead in the eye, so I switched back and forth between the two of them. I don’t think it made me seem as formidable as I wanted.

“There is that,” Lasl said calmly.

“If you don’t mind my asking, does your gang think of you as their soldiers or their mercenaries?”

“Oh, mercenaries, definitely. They’re too close-knit for us to be anything else. You have to have grown up in their same four-block area or they don’t trust you. Why?”

“I’m just wondering. I don’t have an offer to make, but I would like to start collecting useful people who are available to, well, help the city out from time to time.”

“Are we not helping the city already?” Coy said, pointing a radish at me. “That stuff we bring in, most of it’s food.”

“Food that some mean dastards get a nice profit on before anyone gets to eat it. I agree, it does help, some, but I’d like some other choices for us.”

Lasl shrugged. “If you’ve got something to say, I’ll listen.”

I took a swig of stout. “Sometimes I think we never really woke up from the Nap.” Coy looked at me questioningly, but I didn’t elaborate.

The Nap. We all fell asleep and drowsed while the greenfolk took everything from us. And then we woke, and saw what had happened, and… nothing. We didn’t fight, or leave, or band together. We reacted slowly. We accepted this new madness as a fact and went along with it. Me as much as anybody.

And that was unusual for me. Back before the Nap, up north, I wasn’t like that at all. I… well, never mind that right now. I did a lot of things. I made people react to me. And now? I gave up everything I ever cared about to loiter around a palace on the offchance that a drop of the Sauce would fall in my mouth. But then, I was a different person now, wasn’t I?

But I’d never be so different that I would let everything come to an end just because I was too busy counting the bubbles in my piss. Maybe the people of Crideon had lost the trick of making things happen. Fine. I would relearn it.

And I knew who I had to find first.

All my love,

Ybel