Footwizard

by Terry Mancour

  That caused Alya to burst out laughing despite herself, before she excused herself.

  “Lord Kanlan, the Magelaw has no need of your coin,” she assured. “Nor did we come to rob your treasury. My lord husband is incredibly wealthy, and he did not make that coin on the backs of his people, but through the practice of the arcane arts. Indeed, he invests in his people and their welfare in ways that would infuriate a Wilderlord – and has. Perhaps the Wilderlords would have demanded such tribute, but the Magelaw is interested in other things that you have, not your gold and silver.”

  “I hereby excuse your arrearage in tribute,” I agreed, casually. “I’ll make it official, once the oaths of fealty are sworn.”

  That news affected Kanlan more than the other news from the south. He looked positively overcome with emotion.

  “My lord count, we are not paupers!” he protested.

  “Neither have you called upon the resources of your liege in nearly seventy years,” I reminded him. “Your debt was with the old regime. Now that you are a part of the Magelaw, we shall reach a new agreement on what Anferny shall owe. I do not demand tribute in corn or gold if a domain cannot pay their share. And I tailor their assigned rate to their prosperity.”

  “That is uncommonly generous of you, my lord count!” young Lord Kanset exclaimed. “I could get used to being ruled by a wizard if such is your governance. I keep the accounts,” he added. “We put aside a bit, when we can, toward our presumed debt. You just made my job much easier.”

  “And mine harder,” sighed Tandine. “If you truly intend to increase commerce with Anferny, that will mean more strangers coming through the wastes. And more problems.”

  “Speaking of which, we were followed into the wastes by a company of gurvani . . . led by some treacherous Alka Alon,” I advised. “They are on a mission against me. The Kasari allowed them to pass, but I fear they will create mischief, if you are not warned and watchful for them. They are our enemies.”

  “The Alka Alon? Are enemies?” Kanset asked, surprised.

  “They are but a few renegades, my lord,” Lilastien assured. “They appear as our old, warlike forms – not the simple ‘elves’ you may envision. They wear bodies as large as a human, but they are more angular and sparer of form. They have been the ones stirring up the gurvani, and worse. It is a long tale, of how they turned away from reason and pursued instead their brutal ideology; perhaps I shall have my granddaughter tell you, for here she approaches.”

  Ithalia and Nattia were, indeed, arriving from wherever they had found to settle their hawks, both still wearing their flying gear even in the heat. Lord Kanset stood, at once, at the sight of the women – particularly Ithalia.

  “My ladies!” he blurted out, clearly smitten at the very sight of the Tera Alon maiden. She was, of course, incredibly beautiful from a human perspective, and she did cut a dashing figure when she was flying. “Welcome to Anferny! Please, join us for wine!”

  We enjoyed another glass with the newcomers, while we watched an amazingly glorious sunset across the valley below. Then we retired to the keep, while the important folk from Anferny Town, summoned to court to bear witness to the ceremony, began to arrive. After Lord Kanlan called his court to order and introduced first Viscount Tyndal and then me and Alya, he declared his intention to renew Anferny’s fealty to their liege. The exchange of oaths was quickly done, and then I announced the forgiveness of whatever debts in tax or tribute the domain might owe.

  That made me extremely popular, as it turns out.

  In truth, I spent far more on the expedition to get there than Anferny owed in back taxes. It amounted to a few hundred ounces of silver which wouldn’t be worth the effort to carry back through the wastes. But the effect on the local economy was rather dramatic; what was a minor amount to me was a serious matter for the few thousand people here.

  The feast that night was merry, elaborate, and fulfilling; there was a string of what I assume were the best musicians in the domain to entertain us while we dined and talked. I could not help but notice how much attention Kanset was paying to Ithalia during the feast. He kept in close conversation with her all evening. Ithalia had long grown used to the stares of mortal men at her maidenly form. Ishi, herself, could not have designed a more attractive body. In her time among us, Ithalia had learned how to ignore the sexual attention she received from men (and the occasional woman) moved to impropriety by their attraction.

  But it became clear before the end of the meal that Kanset was smitten with more than the maiden’s charms; he seemed captivated by her conversation, as well. So much so that she did not, apparently, realize the extent of his desires until the trenchers were being carried away. I think I even witnessed the moment it happened. Kanset asked her some quiet question and suddenly her entire face changed. A new expression appeared upon it, and Lilastien burst out laughing.

  “Dear gods, Minalan, my granddaughter barely knows the boy is interested in her – truly interested, not merely aroused,” she snickered.

  “He cannot be the first humani boy to express an interest,” I considered.

  “No, but he is the first humani boy I’ve seen her react to,” she said, smiling. “She’s hopeless with Alkan males – it’s a little sad to watch. And she’s indifferent to most human men. But from that expression, something this lad said or did affected her, I’d wager.”

  “He’s an intelligent enough boy,” I agreed, after consideration.

  “He’s more than intelligent, he’s willing to listen,” Alya pointed out. “Unlike Tyndal, over there, who has been arguing with Tandine all night.”

  “Tyndal would argue with his horse, if there was no better opponent,” I pointed out. “He’s clearly flirting with her. And she likes it, despite herself.”

  “Ah, but my granddaughter has never felt real love – desire, arousal, genuine romantic interest. She’s too distracted by her work and her interests. And most humani males are so incredibly boring,” she said, without being purposefully insulting. “Usually, it’s impossible to catch her attention. But this boy may have a chance, if I read her expression well enough.

  “Now,” she said, rising, “let me see if I can find a private room, somewhere, and convince Lord Kanlan to submit to my scanner. I’m guessing he has permanent spinal injury, but I will know soon enough – and what I might be able to do to assist him, if anything. Such injuries were daunting even in the days of Perwyn, when I had access to a full surgery suite and a true pharmacopoeium. But that doesn’t mean I cannot look and see if there is something I can do to ease his suffering. He’s doped on poppy resin, right now, and he’s still in agony.”

  “It would not be amiss if I had this lord in my debt,” I said, quietly, as I helped her tug on her white coat.

  “I understand the politics, Minalan,” she said, sighing and rolling her eyes. “My oath was to the health of the man. Hippocrates – one of your ancestors from your homeworld – made that clear in the oath he requires all physicians in his order to swear.”

  “You would honor an oath to a man who was not even born on this world?” I asked, curious.

  “If you knew who you spoke of you would not have to ask,” she said, shaking her head. “Hippocrates is the basis for all human medicine. The moral underpinnings of how the sick and injured can expect to be treated, and the ethical guidelines for what is and is not medicine. How much your people have lost . . .” she said and headed toward the ornate chair that Lord Kanlan held forth upon.

  I watched as she approached the nobleman and quietly convinced him to join her in a more secluded place. In a more worldly court that might have inspired gossip or scandal. But it was interesting to note that in Anferny it didn’t raise as much as an eyebrow. The clergy, the burghers and the nobles all dismissed the lord of the domain disappearing with an exotic-looking but nonetheless attractive middle-aged stranger in the middle of a feast. Indeed, they treated the matter as if it happened frequently. There was no hint of scandal. When I over
heard the folk from Anferny Town mention their lord, it was always with respect and admiration.

  Whatever faults or deficits Lord Kanlan might have had, physically, he had the trust of his people and that’s always an important measure of a lord’s capabilities. Even without an attendant wife to oversee his actions, he was trusted to contend with strange women slipping off for a private audience without the risk of dark rumor. That told me quite a lot about the politics of Anferny, too. And the character of its lord.

  It was even more telling that Lady Tandine did not immediately succumb to Tyndal’s increasingly boastful charms. My former apprentice had found some sophistication, since he left my employ, I noted. They had been seated proximate to one another, and I’d been paying some attention to their conversation, even when I could not overhear it. Lady Tandine was resisting mightily; yet Tyndal saw that resistance as a challenge, and he was not relenting in his casual banter. It seemed to be having an effect on the lass.

  More importantly, Lady Ithalia seemed quite disconcerted by young Lord Kanset’s attentions. Indeed, he was proving quite effective in engaging her interest, and the Tera Alon maiden appeared to have little idea how to contend with such a persistent and charming suitor. I concluded that the previous humani men who had tried to woo the most wild of the Emissaries had been handicapped by the knowledge of her position and importance within the Alka Alon council. Lord Kanset had no such knowledge – a fact the maiden could not escape.

  Indeed, it became quite apparent that Lady Ithalia had little idea of how to contend with a boy who was interested in her without understanding that context. Kanset had no idea that she was special, and while he was quite enchanted with her beauty, I was impressed by how he engaged her intellect. He had just the right combination of genuine interest and charm, as well as a disarming character that proclaimed his nobility without the arrogant manner that most humani women can smell like a discreet fart. Ithalia was captivated, by the time her grandmother coaxed Kanset’s father into a private room.

  “I think I like this place,” Alya whispered to me, as she surveyed our dining companions. “There is romance, here,” she said, nodding toward Gareth and Nattia. They seemed to be inordinately affectionate, despite the presence of her disapproving brother. Even he was flirting with one of the town girls, though he never took his eyes off Gareth.

  “It’s exotic,” I suggested. “That’s going to affect our people. Besides,” I proposed, “there isn’t a lot of opportunity to find an interesting mate in a place like this.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Alya nodded, as she sipped her wine. “I grew up in Boval Vale, remember? We could go nine, ten months without seeing a stranger. When we did . . .” she said, trailing off, staring at me pointedly with a shrug of her head.

  “Hey! I wasn’t a stranger!” I protested. “I was just a dashing fellow with an interesting trade and an intriguing accent. Any man from out of town might catch your fancy,” I suggested.

  “Perhaps,” my wife shrugged. “You would not be the first such flirtation I enjoyed. I’m just starting to believe that Anferny is the sort of place where such fancies are wrought,” she considered, philosophically.

  I was silent. I couldn’t really disagree. The tension in the great hall between the natives and the visitors was palpable. Even Tyndal and Tandine were settling down from their thorny discussion and behaving like adults by the end of supper.

  “My lady wife, I think you are correct,” I chuckled. “Though I suspect your motives.”

  “If my motives weren’t clear enough,” Alya muttered, the wine clearly influencing her sense of inhibition, “then you aren’t half the wizard the legends say you are. Indeed, that’s the very reason I brought them up in the first place,” she said, giving me a meaningful glance.

  There actually might be some benefit to bringing your wife along on a quest, I reflected, as she leaned into me for a kiss. It cuts through all of the awkward banter and youthful uncertainty and allows you to get right to the good parts.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Shaking Earth

  Most disconcerting are the tremors that plague Anghysbel. One moment life is normal, and the next, with no warning, everything in sight begins vibrating with an unholy intensity from which there is no respite nor remedy. It keeps a man on edge, until he grows used to the sudden events. Then, after a few moments of abject terror, life resumes its static state.

  From the Expedition Book of Anghysbel,

  Recorded by Gareth of Vanador

  Despite the urgency of our errands, our party tarried at Anferny Castle for six eventful days.

  I don’t begrudge the time spent there; indeed, it was worthwhile, restful and fulfilling to get to know the folk of Anferny. In many ways, it was run similarly to most Wilderlands domains. In other ways it was very different.

  The few small estates around the castle produced an abundance of grain, thanks to the rich volcanic soils, but the summer crops had only a few months to grow and be harvested. The town acted as local market, administrative center and manufactory for goods the estates could not produce. The High Street was small, but there were shoemakers, chandlers, tailors, and a bakery near the market. There were only three other streets, and a few connecting lanes, where coopers, joiners, carpenters, smiths, weavers, and wheelwrights had their shops. But there was usually only one or two examples of each craft to supply the small population.

  The temple and the few shrines handled recordkeeping, education of the young, and good moral guidance – Huin’s stark sect was the most popular, but Trygg and the other gods of the Narasi pantheon were well-represented. There were no lawbrothers, but an aging Kasari man acted as magistrate and his judgements were considered fair by all.

  But then there were the differences. In some ways Anferny was already more like Sevendor or Vanador than Vorone. The castle employed a few Lakeshire Tal as servants and a Kilnusk smith. Several odd local species had been domesticated and husbanded. A few shops did things I had never heard of before – what in two hells was a “chaserer?” Or a “rannit-man?” One thing that was missing was a decent inn. Though there were four taverns in town, there were not enough travelers to justify more than a rooming house in Anferny. It was not particularly nice – indeed, it seemed a little shabby.

  But the baths? The baths were glorious.

  An older building in a back corner of town proved to have the most magnificent hot baths. It had been developed early in the settlement, on the foundations of a building constructed by the Ancients, and then continuously improved since. It was elegant, in a rustic sort of way.

  Two large chambers straddled a central hall, all of it paved with beautiful pink and white marble and other polished stone. The basins were massive, large enough for three or four people. Women used the western chamber, while men enjoyed the eastern side.

  The baths were a major social function of Anferny, we discovered, far more than in most towns. All social classes attended at least once a week, and all were afforded the same luxurious service regardless of status. It was the center of town gossip more than even the market or the temple.

  The bath master was a portly man wearing a luxurious brown beard that made up for his balding pate. He seemed to genuinely enjoy his work. Incredible scented soaps and lotions were provided, as well as a bath attendant and an incredibly soft llama-wool towel. Wine, ale and rum were available for a few pennies, and he occasionally had musicians play for his patrons.

  The water that was piped in from a natural hot spring so hot it was barely tolerable. The first basin was like sitting in a soup pot. The second was mixed with just enough cold water from a separate spring to be pleasant. The third was far cooler than the first. The pretty young bath attendant suggested a brief foray into the first great tank, a glass of wine and idle conversation in the second, and a satisfactory cool-down in quiet reflection in the third. She was eager to help towel off the patrons when they had completed the regimen. I tipped her heavily and felt like a new
man afterward. A much better smelling man. Another three pennies got me a haircut and my beard trimmed.

  Getting to know Lord Kanlan and his children was also a benefit of our extended stay in Anferny, as well as the five or six other noble families that kept the estates running under their direction. With the crops in for the summer and the mowing another month away, the folk of Anferny were enjoying a brief midsummer respite from work in the fields, and my people provided them with an ideal, if unexpected, distraction.

  Indeed, Lord Kanlan sponsored a hastily organized tournament on the castle’s listfield, just to give his men (and his daughter) the opportunity to cross lances with Tyndal and the six Knights of Callierd he’d brought with us.

  That drew a bit of a crowd from the countryside when it was announced. That was one benefit to having such a small domain: every one of Kanlan’s estates was no more than a half-day’s travel. Word traveled very quickly, and by the time the trumpets sounded there was even a delegation from Lakeshire crowding the stands and wagering heavily on the results. It was a merry time, and it gave Alya the chance to present the victor (Lady Tandine, who prevailed over Sir Entargin of Callierd, two lances to one) with the prize.

  Young Lord Kanset eschewed the tournament, electing instead to give Ithalia an extensive tour of the castle and towns and, in return, learn about her hawkcraft. Ormar prowled the gardens and mines of the place examining its natural alchemy, making copious notes. And Gareth and Nattia disappeared into the temple in town for the opportunity to go through the old records that had piled up over a century.

  Lilastien spent her time preparing for an operation.

  “Lord Kanlan’s injury is to the lower spine and pelvis,” she reported, showing me a ghostly image on her tray as we had luncheon in the courtyard the day after the tournament. “It was extensive, but I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen in my scans.”