by Drew Wagar
‘I thank you, Torin, Prince of Scallia.’ She gestured to the others in turn. ‘This is Priestess Mira, Priestess Fion and Acolyte Kiri. We come to discuss a matter of treaty with you.’
The woman smiled. It seemed honest and open to Torin, which immediately put him on his guard.
Let’s see how far this goodwill goes then, witch …
‘We received your demand,’ Torin said. ‘We do not understand it. I would have an explanation before I consider whether I will allow it.’
‘I would be happy to explain,’ Charis answered. ‘The matter is complex, perhaps we could discuss in the shade?’
They want to talk?
Torin looked them over again. ‘You have travelled a long way, you must be tired. We offer you food and drink such as we have. Once refreshed, then perhaps we can discuss your demand.’
Charis bowed. ‘We would be indebted to you, Torin, Prince of Scallia.’
Maybe this is going to be easier than I thought.
Torin signalled to his guards. They stepped aside, flanking the group of women on either side.
‘Follow me,’ Torin said. ‘Make no sudden moves. These are dangerous times, the folk of the town are uneasy. I would hate for anyone to get hurt.’
‘We will do as you say, rest assured,’ Charis said. ‘You and they have nothing to fear from us.’
I’ll be the judge of that!
Torin took the lead and the strange tableaux walked back towards the town.
Kiri followed at the rear, sparing the guard on her left a glance as she walked forward towards the town. He was big and strong, maybe twelve hands tall. He was dressed in a leathery armour with a short sword buckled at his waist. His bare arms were well muscled, his fingers closed in a fist. His stance was tense.
Ready for trouble. Do they expect us to attack them …
The temptation to reach out and explore the minds of the men around her was great, but she stayed true to Charis’ wish and merely observed.
As Torin approached the town gates, they opened outwards. He led them inside. Kiri looked up as they ventured under the arch that held the gates. Around them were armed men, standing on walkways that ran around the inside of the walls. Kiri could immediately see crossbows and long-bows pointed at them. She heard the sound of them being pulled back, ready to shoot.
Torin stopped and turned.
Charis addressed him directly. ‘You have no need for your weapons, unless you intend to kill us immediately?’
Kiri wondered if that had been Torin’s intention. He looked at Charis blankly for a moment before waving at the guards around them. They slowly lowered their weapons. The gates were closed behind them.
Torin looked at Charis.
‘My apologies … Priestess Charis,’ he answered. ‘We did not know what to expect. I have met your folk only once before and that meeting did not go well.’
Charis bowed her head momentarily. ‘We have not been … diplomatic in the past, Prince Torin. We would make amends for that now. We have a new leader and would prefer peaceful relations with our neighbours. That is one reason why I am here.’
‘And your search is the other reason?’ Torin asked.
‘It is,’ Charis answered.
Torin nodded, pursing his lips. ‘It is good that you are straightforward. We will talk. I will have accommodations made up for you.’ He ventured a smile. ‘We will eat first. We have a saying that a hungry stomach has no ears.’
Charis returned the smile. ‘We would be most grateful.’
She’s a charmer and no mistake, but Liana was right. They try to hide their weakness!
Torin signalled to his senior guard and spoke to him closely so as not to be overheard.
‘See to accommodations for them. Give them separate rooms, the best we can spare.’
‘Aye, sire.’
He turned to Charis as the guard departed.
‘Our hospitality is limited, but what we have is at your disposal. We will prepare rooms for you.’
Charis bowed her head. ‘I thank you, Prince Torin. But you need not go to trouble on our behalf, our needs are few.’
‘The king would not hear of emissaries being treated less well than we can afford,’ Torin answered.
‘The King of Scallia?’ Charis asked.
Torin was about to answer that Ioric was his brother, but then thought better of it.
She probes, as do I …
‘Perhaps you might travel with us to our city, given time,’ Torin responded. ‘We would be able to entertain you that much more appropriately. I’m afraid Varda is not one of our richer towns.’
‘I should like that, Prince Torin.’
‘You are not quite as I expected, Priestess Charis.’
Charis smiled again. ‘And what did you expect, my good Prince?’
‘The last time I met a witch …’ Torin immediately regretted the slip. ‘I’m sorry, I meant no offence, I …’
‘I understand, Prince,’ Charis said. ‘Our people are … different to yours. It is true that many amongst us possess certain … gifts that might be thought of as … otherworldly.’
So, not all of them. Well that is interesting. How many then? And what can they do?
‘These gifts … I encountered a woman not long ago, she attacked my men and I.’
Charis looked shocked.
‘Attacked?’
‘A pain, in the head. Excruciating. This gift of yours? It seems more like a weapon.’
‘I apologise on behalf of Drayden for such treatment,’ Charis said. ‘It is not our way, such things are forbidden.’
She looks genuinely dismayed …
‘It is outlawed,’ Charis continued. ‘It should not happen. That you, as Prince, should have suffered at our hands is unforgivable. Our gifts are not supposed to be used thusly.’
‘But clearly they can.’
Charis looked momentarily uncomfortable. ‘I would not wish to criticise our previous high priestess, but it was my firm belief that she did not control some of our more … brazen priestesses.’
‘And you say your leadership has changed?’
‘We have a new high priestess, younger and more energetic, fully seized of the need to build relationships between our peoples.’
Torin nodded. ‘I understand so little, are all your people thus gifted? We know that women are in command …’
‘Only women possess the gift,’ Charis confirmed. ‘Why that should be we do not know. Those that are found with it are selected, we call them candids. If they possess it in sufficient abundance we train them as acolytes. Kiri is one such acolyte.’
Charis indicated the girl standing not far behind her. Torin spared her a glance, she was pretty enough, if thin and bony. There was a hardness about her expression and stance that put him on edge though. The girl returned his stare without smiling.
I do not believe she shares her mistress’ ideals, she’s more like the witch I met before.
‘If they pass certain criteria they are admitted to the priestesship,’ Charis concluded.
‘And how many priestesses are there?’
Charis smiled. ‘A good number.’
And she’s no fool, either!
‘This gift, is it true you can start fires at will?’ Torin asked. ‘Forgive me, but we hear so many legends …’
Charis laughed. ‘Fire? No, it gives understanding and insight. Some can use theirs for healing, Kiri and I have trained in this.’ She indicated the girl behind her again.
‘And pain, it would seem.’
‘That would be a misuse of our healing gifts. I can only apologise again, Prince Torin.’
So pain they can inflict, but their powers are exaggerated, the stuff of legend and myth. We can take them …
Torin nodded. ‘I accept your apology.’
The guard returned.
‘Rooms are prepared, sire.’
Torin nodded.
‘It has been a pleasure unlooked for, Priestess Charis,�
� Torin said. ‘Refresh yourselves, I will send for you in due course. We will talk further.’
‘By your leave, Prince.’
Charis bowed once again.
Kiri was itching to reach out and probe Torin’s mind, but she continued to hold herself in check as Charis continued to talk to him. Her voice was placatory, soft and smooth. Kiri couldn’t tell if Torin believed her or not.
I don’t trust him though. That look he gave me. And Charis reveals too much about us in the name of peace …
Torin and his guards left as four young women were summoned from within the town. Each curtsied in front of them. They were dressed as maids, in frocks and simple cooking clothes.
‘This way, ma’ams.’
The priestesses were led through the streets of the town. Kiri looked around as they moved on. All the buildings were low and crudely made for the most part, composed of shadewood planks and beams. The windows were small and mostly shuttered against Lacaille’s light, looking mean and dingy to her eyes.
After a short walk they arrived at what appeared to be the town hall and were led inside and up a wooden staircase.
‘Rooms are on this floor,’ one maid said, ‘The hall is below. Prince Torin will receive you there.’
The maids led them off in different directions. Kiri couldn’t help but voice her concern using the seeing.
They’re splitting us up, we should stick together!
She caught a stern look from Charis and subsided unhappily and allowed herself to be led away.
The maid led her along the corridor to a closed door. Charis and the others weren’t too far away, Kiri’s room was a corridor length away from Fion’s. The maid let her inside.
The room was well furnished, with a comfortable looking bed, a pair of candles and a basin of steaming water, sweetsand and towels. It did look inviting.
‘I will bring food,’ the maid said, ‘Is there anything you do not like to eat?’
Kiri nearly laughed.
Once I rummaged in the waste piles outside the city just to stay alive …
Kiri ventured a smile. ‘I am not fussy.’
The maid nodded. ‘I will return in two spells. Please, feel free to use the water. It is freshly heated.’
Kiri nodded and the maid withdrew. Kiri waited for a moment, expecting the door to suddenly be locked from without, but it wasn’t.
Maybe I’m being too suspicious … they’re hardly likely to welcome us with open arms.
She made good use of the hot water, taking the chance to cleanse the sweat from her body and rub herself down with the sweetsand. By the time the maid returned, she felt refreshed and clean.
The maid offered her a plate of meats and some dried and cut sweetbuds. She sniffed them, but they seemed fresh and wholesome. Her stomach rumbled and she began to eat.
They could have killed us at the gate. Maybe Charis is right.
‘Are we prepared?’ Torin said, casting his eyes around the room. Shutters had been drawn, candles and bowls of burning oil lit the interior of the main hall.
‘Everything is in place as you requested, should negotiations fail, sire.’
‘And if negotiations go well?’ the other guard queried.
Torin ignored him. ‘Summon them.’
Kiri heard a knock at her door. She grasped her kai and stood up, opening the door from the inside. One of the guards she recognised from before was standing outside, looking at her. His expression dour. Kiri could smell his musty sweaty stench already. She wrinkled her nose.
‘Prince Torin has summoned you to the hall,’ he said. ‘Follow me.’
Kiri did as she was bid, joining Mira and Fion as they were also led back down the staircase to the lower level. Charis was waiting for them.
‘Prince Torin wishes to speak with me about the treaty,’ she said, conscious that the guards still stood nearby. ‘I will talk to him. Should I require anything, I will ask. Otherwise please be silent. Understood?’
Kiri nodded, but a frown formed on her face.
Yes, Charis. Stay quiet, Kiri. Be a good acolyte, Kiri … I hear you …
The guards took them to a larger pair of double doors which opened into a hall. It was pretty much bare, with just a few candles and oil burners for light. The shutters were closed, which seemed an odd waste of Lacaille’s light.
‘I prefer not to be overheard,’ Torin said, as if seeing Kiri’s glance. ‘I trust you are all refreshed?’
‘Your hospitality was without fault, Prince Torin,’ Charis answered.
Torin stood at the other end of the hall. He was dressed as before. In front of him was a table upon which an ancient looking document was placed. As they approached he unrolled the parchment, flattening it with a pair of furler wood weights. Kiri stayed in her customary position, directly behind Charis and also behind the other two priestesses.
‘You have the treaty,’ Charis said.
‘I do,’ Torin returned.
‘Then you understand what we seek?’
‘Not entirely. I have questions,’ Torin answered.
Charis nodded. ‘I will do my best to answer them.’
Kiri saw Torin straighten. ‘This treaty was signed near two hundred rounds ago. It commits Scallia to provide a tithe of young girls and women of noble birth, less than eighteen rounds of age to Drayden every five rounds. A tithe we have honoured to the letter since its inception.’
‘It is as you say, Prince Torin.’
‘I delivered one such tithe only last round. It was received, yes?’
‘It was.’
Torin nodded. ‘And to what purpose do you put our women?’
‘They are tested to see if they possess the gift, if they do they are trained in its use. Some may become priestesses in time.’
‘And if they do not pass your tests?’
‘We find them such roles as they are capable of. They are well treated.’
‘You do not return them to us?’
‘That is not the will of Lacaille.’
Kiri blinked.
Charis told me they were allowed to return home if they didn’t have the gift …
Torin seemed puzzled too. ‘The will of Lacaille?’
Charis took a step forward in front of Kiri, her voice earnest and bright. ‘It is the true religion, the reason we are priestesses. We serve Lacaille. The holy books from the before times state how Lacaille should be served and honoured. She requires the obedience of all peoples.’
‘She?’ Torin echoed. ‘Our endless light is a woman?’
Kiri could feel Mira and Fion were amused by what Torin had said. She heard a faint chuckle but saw a warning gesture from Charis.
‘Lacaille is female, if that is what you mean.’
‘And these holy books, they demand this tithe?’
‘We call them the elements,’ Charis explained. ‘And they require us to seek out the gifted and nurture them wherever they may be found.’ ‘And we can’t nurture them ourselves?’
‘That is not the …’
‘…will of Lacaille,’ Torin finished for her. ‘I see.’
‘We once ruled throughout the Voren empire,’ Charis explained. ‘All our lands, Drayden, Scallia and others too, were part of that empire. Alas, it broke up. The priestesses tried to hold it together, but the lands were laid waste by war. We will unite them once again in time. The founder of our priestesses arranged for the tithe to be given.’
‘You intend to conquer us?’
‘We have no ambitions in your lands, Prince Torin. We only seek to nurture the gift in all its forms. Our purpose as vouchsafed to us by the will of Lacaille. All those with the gift must be under our tutelage.’
Torin sighed and Kiri watched him walk around the table, leaning against it nonchalantly with his arms folded, still facing the four women of Drayden.
‘And this search you have requested then? Was our tithe insufficient?’
Charis shook her head. ‘Not in the least. We simply wish to look f
or any others that possess the gift.’
‘More?’ Torin said, his eyebrows rising. ‘You wish us to give up more of our women?’
‘Only if we find them. An untutored gift can be extremely dangerous to those around them.’
‘And where would you conduct this search?’
‘With your co-operation we would travel to your towns and cities. The search is not a difficult thing. We can detect the gift in those that have it. We do not expect there to be many, a handful, no more.’
‘So more of our young women would be taken? Would you leave any for us?’
‘We would only take a tiny fraction. It would be best for them and safest for you.’
Torin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘So … We give you our youngest noble girls every five rounds in accordance to a treaty signed before all of us were born. This we have done for two hundred rounds. Now you ask our … cooperation … to take more of them. What if we say no?’
Torin placed his hands on his hips. Charis licked her lips, forming her next words carefully.
‘Defying the will of Lacaille would not be wise. There are strict rules. If Lacaille were to be angered by your conduct, steps would have to be taken for the good of all.’
‘And what would those be, Priestess Charis? Will you strike us down with your mental pains?’
‘Not by my wish. Your duty is enshrined in law and tradition. The tithe, the search … you are beholden. You risk the wrath of Lacaille herself, bringing her wrath upon us all.’
‘Perhaps I might break with tradition.’
‘That is not an option available to you.’
‘I beg to differ.’
Kiri watched in growing alarm as Torin turned to one side, removed the weight and rolled up the parchment. Charis, Mira and Fion gasped in dismay as he dipped the end in one of the flaming bowls of oil. Flames rapidly spread up its length.
‘There. We have no treaty anymore.’
He dropped the flaming parchment to the floor.
‘You are a fool,’ Charis said. ‘Don’t you realise you give us no choice …’
At some hidden signal crossbow bolts fired across the room from concealed positions out of Kiri’s line of sight. With a cry Mira and Loran fell their length on the floor.
