Priestess Oakheart looked grave as she said this. I wondered how old she was, and how many times she had had to do this.
"Was your journey successful?" the priestess enquired.
"Yes, more than I had hoped," I replied, "would you eat with us? We have much to tell you."
"I will," priestess Oakheart answered.
Chapter 24
Priestess Oakheart, Chessina and I were drinking tea in the sitting room while waiting for dinner to be cooked. The tower kitchen was capable of preparing meals more quickly than mundane cooks, but there is a limit to how much things can be speeded up.
"Tomorrow, before I leave, I must introduce you to Goody Aria and her daughter Vella who act as housekeeper and maid to Elizelle, they are away at the moment, dealing with their effects," said priestess Oakheart. "Aria is a widow. Her layabout husband drowned when he fell into the farm well while drunk. Aria and Vella can't manage the farm on their own."
"Thank you, priestess Oakheart for choosing locals who need help as well as being able to do the job," I remarked, "and their wages will help to mitigate their problems."
"Wages?" said the priestess looking puzzled. “I thought they would just be given food and board."
"Oh, no. They will be paid," I said firmly. “I will find out from Matille the village wise-woman what is a reasonable wage, and the royal wizard Dragovar shall pay it."
"Thank you Castamir, you are generous," the priestess said, then added dryly, "particularly with someone else's money."
I smiled beatifically at her, yes alright, it was actually much closer to a smirk.
"By the way, did the body of Aria's late husband poison the well?" I asked.
"Not for long," said Priestess Oakheart, giving me a wintry smile. “I am glad you have returned, Castamir, Chessina, so I may give my full attention to my duties."
"Ah," I responded, "we need to talk to you about that."
"Proceed," said the priestess in a flat tone, while looking askance at us.
"Chessina is under a curse which puts her very soul at risk," I began, "we have discovered how to remove the curse. Thanks in great part to Dragovar and his apprentices. Actually removing the curse will be very dangerous and we might not survive the attempt. The attempt must be made on the solstice, in just under a week."
I didn't give priestess Oakheart all the details as I still wasn't sure how she would react to Chessina being a demon. We could tell her the details afterwards, if we survived to do so.
"We wanted to come back home to spend a little time with Elizelle," said Chessina, putting up her chin defiantly. The priestess' expression softened.
"I see," she said, "is there anything I can do to help you both?"
"I don't know," I replied, "what do you know of mirrors that can trap the soul and prevent it leaving the place of waiting?"
"Not much," replied the priestess, "my goddess Silvana's domain is the cycle of life, death and birth. She has scant cause to concern herself with the place of waiting or the souls of mortals. I'm afraid I can be of little help."
"Priestess Oakheart," Chessina began. I could tell from her manner that she had made up her mind to do something, "what is your name? I don't mean to ask for a truename or anything like that, but what may we call you, what verbal identifier may we use?" Chessina glanced impishly at me when she said this.
The priestess sat for a moment, lost in thought.
"You may call me Silavara," she said at last.
"What a pretty name," said Chessina, "what does it mean?"
"Woodsweet, a woody shrub with medicinal properties," answered priestess Woodsweet.
"Silavara," said Chessina, smiling at the priestess, "who owns the farm that Aria and Vella had to leave?"
Silavara looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I really don't know," she replied. “I'm afraid it's something I've never considered."
"It's something that needs to be looked into," I said, "please excuse me ladies, I'm going to write to Dragovar immediately, before I forget."
oOo
Dear Dragovar,
Our journey was uneventful and we arrived safely at the tower. The cottage is now finished and Elizelle is in residence. You will be pleased to know that Elizelle seems healthy. You may be less pleased to know that you have three new employees; Elizelle's wet-nurse, housekeeper and maid. I will let you know how much their wages are as soon as I find out what suitable wages for such servants should be.
On a related note, will you clarify the ownership of the village of Fair Pastures and its surrounding farms. I have, rather high-handedly I admit, taken it under my protection, but who actually owns it? I understood that the Towermaster owns the land, but I find myself wondering, did your family purchase any lands in addition to the hunting lodge where Pennover was living? This question came up as Elizelle's housekeeper and maid, a mother and daughter called Aria and Vella, had to leave their farm as Aria's husband, who's name I don’t know and care less, fell into the farm well while drunk, and subsequently drowned. It was close to the hunting lodge. Who should take over the farm? Is the decision up to the farm owner, whoever that is, or is it the responsibility of Garrzlan Catchpole the village headman? Please let me know.
I shall conclude this missive as delicious smells are wafting from the dining room. Ah, the joys of a meal untouched by human hand.
Castamir
As we sat down to eat I turned to Silavara.
"There is one thing you can do for us, if you would," I said.
"What is it?" queried the priestess.
"If we do not survive the attempt to remove Chessina's curse," I replied. “I have named a successor as towermaster. She is very young and I would be grateful if you would give her any help you can."
"I will do so, Towermaster Castamir," Silavara replied formally.
oOo
The next few days passed in domestic tranquillity as we spent time with, and got to know Elizelle and those looking after her. Being only a few weeks old, Elizelle wasn't exactly a good conversationalist, but I found myself looking forward to holding her. I didn't get much chance to do that however as Chessina almost monopolised Elizelle and seemed to have a distinctly maternal expression, giving the lie to her earlier comment about not liking children. I took the opportunity one day, while Chessina was thus preoccupied, to go into the forest to visit Priestess Silavara. I wanted to ask if she would perform the handfasting ceremony for Chessina and myself, assuming we survived, to which the priestess agreed readily. I also wanted to check that I could connect to the tower without my staff and I thought that being in a place sacred to another deity than Arcana would be a good test. I found that I could connect without difficulty which gave me confidence of doing so within the Place of Waiting.
I also performed some research in the tower library and I shared what I had learned with Chessina over dinner one evening.
"I've been looking into ownership of the land around the tower love, and I've come across something interesting," I said to Chessina.
"What's that?" Chessina replied.
I reflected for a moment before replying how lucky I was to have someone who didn't mind me lecturing at her from time to time.
"All the land around here was claimed at one time by the elves," I began.
"Are elves real then?" Chessina interrupted. “I thought they were just mythical creatures."
"No, they're real enough," I replied, "but they don't like non-elves much, keep themselves to themselves, and are very good at hiding. I think that Silavara might be able to find elves who were hiding thanks to her connection to Silvana, goddess of woods and the wilds, but I doubt anyone else would."
"What about Dragovar or your master Harmon?" asked Chessina, "would they be able to find elves with magic?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not," I replied, "elves are extremely magical beings. That ties up with what I found out. I came across a document, written in elvish of course, giving land in perpetuity, for the building of a tower and
a small nearby habitation, in exchange for helping elves with a mighty ritual."
"What sort of ritual?" asked Chessina, puzzled.
"I'm not fluent in elvish," I replied, "and the document is a little obscure but whatever it was it was enough that the elves gave up some land in exchange, which they wouldn't do lightly. The original towermaster, whoever they were, the document doesn't mention a name, was 'given land for building a tower', so that goes back before the tower was here, and that is a long time."
"How long has the tower been here?" Chessina asked.
I don't really know," I replied. "Well over a thousand years. It may be several thousand, it might be ten thousand, it might be more. I just don't know."
We both sat quietly for a moment and I reflected on just how much our home meant to me.
"That tells us about the original ownership of the land, but what about the village of Fair Pastures, do you own it or not?" asked Chessina, somewhat impatiently.
"I found a ninety-nine-year lease for land to build a hunting lodge signed by Morin, who was towermaster before Harmon," I replied, "but the village wasn't mentioned and that expired decades ago. I can't find a more recent one. But plainly it was not purchased as I believed."
"Why did Morin lease the land?" Chessina asked.
"Maybe he needed money quickly for experiments," I replied, "the lease document doesn't say."
"So how did the village come to be administered by the Duke?" Chessina enquired, waspishly.
"I don't know," I answered, "but I do recall Harmon saying that Morin could be very lackadaisical about things that didn't interest him. It could be that he just didn't bother about the village and the then current duke took over by default."
"That is most unsatisfactory," announced Chessina.
"Yes," was all I could reply.
We went over to the cottage after dinner to say goodnight to Elizelle and thereafter Chessina had certain definite ideas of what we should be doing thereafter and I shelved the question for a later time.
oOo
As we were sitting down to breakfast the next day, a letter arrived at the table. From the handwriting it was from Dragovar.
Dear Castamir,
I must tell you with a certain amount of embarrassment on my part, and a great deal of consternation on my brother the duke's part, that the family have never had any formal right to the village of Fair Pastures at all. We did have a ninety-nine -year lease on the land occupied by our hunting lodge. Unfortunately, this lease ran out four score and seven years ago.
My brother is somewhat concerned about this matter, and yes, I am speaking litotically. I am sure that you and I as friends, can sort out this unfortunate matter bequeathed to us by our forebears.
Dragovar
After consulting with Chessina I wrote back.
Dear Dragovar,
This misunderstanding was the fault of neither myself nor your brother, so please reassure him that I bear him no enmity. As your family has had the rents from Fair Pastures for all this while, might I suggest that the duke, your brother, take out another ninety-nine year lease on the land, backdated eighty-seven years so that, technically, the lease never lapsed and still has twelve years to run, thus leaving no stain on your family's reputation. This would give me enough money to make sure that the village farms and buildings are in good condition. I would rather settle things this way than have to go into the village accounts for the last eighty-seven years.
If this is agreeable, please have the papers ready to sign as soon as Chessina and I return for the curse-breaking attempt.
Castamir and Chessina
The next day we got up early as we intended to return to the capital as it was nearly time for the ritual to reclaim Chessina's soul. We both wanted to see Silavara to say farewell and tell her about the village ownership. The journey to Silavara's cottage didn't seem so oppressive as it had previously, perhaps the forest was getting used to us, or maybe Silavara had come to like us. The circle of trees was still as magnificent and awe inspiring as it had been before. Silavara was waiting to greet us outside her cottage as if she knew we were coming. She almost certainly did, I imagine that very little that occurred in the forest was not known to Silavara.
"Towermaster Castamir, apprentice Chessina, please enter and welcome to my home," said Silavara formally, inclining her head to us.
"Thank you Priestess Oakheart, we are honoured," I replied equally formally, as we made the appropriate gestures.
Once again there was food on the small table waiting for us, bread, soft cheese and this time, milk. We sat at Silavara's invitation and ate and drank, the milk was unsurprisingly, goat's milk, and yes, the cheese was salty though not too much.
"We are leaving shortly to return to the capital and then we shall attempt to remove the curse on Chessina," I began, "and we wanted to tell you what is going on."
"Thank you," replied Silavara gravely.
"Dragovar and I have discovered that the village of Fair Pastures has always belonged to the tower and has never been a part of the Duchy of Osierleet, the land the hunting lodge is on is leased to the Duchy, the current lease runs out in twelve years. The duke is providing me with a lump sum in compensation for the rents taken in error. This means that we can do any repairs, renovations or improvements that the village needs. We'd be grateful if you would let us know what needs doing when we return and what is a reasonable rent to charge the villagers."
We were treated to one of Silavara's austere smiles.
"Thank you Castamir, Chessina, that is both thoughtful and just what I would expect of Harmon's successor," Silavara replied, getting up and turning to a small cabinet mounted on a wall. Opening it she took out a glass vial filled with a clear colourless liquid, in the dimness of the cottage it shone with a faint blue glow, "please accept this gift, it is water from my spring, sanctified to Silvana, my goddess."
"Thank you Silavara," I said, earnestly, taking the flask. I noticed Chessina drawing slightly away from it, a disconcerted expression on her face.
"Silavara, are you sure it's only water?" Chessina asked, getting up and moving away, "Castamir, please put it in your pocket, and keep it away from me."
"I wondered if it might affect you," Silavara remarked, "it will have a much greater effect on others. You will need to pour the liquid, the vial is of dwarf-made glass, as strong as steel and so will not break if thrown. I want to help you as much as I can, not only because my goddess desires it, but because I have grown fond of you both."
Impulsively, Chessina went over and hugged the priestess, who returned the embrace.
Chapter 25
The water Silavara had blessed was causing Chessina some distress as evidenced by her keeping a slight distance from me on our way back to the tower. When we got there I hastened to a storeroom and retrieved a small box that was used to store potentially harmful magic items. It was lined with lead and enchanted with protective runes. The padding within expanded to hold the vial steady when I placed it in the box. I love magic!
"Is that better, love?" I asked Chessina when I returned to the vestibule where she was waiting. “I've put the phial in a protective box. It's in my pocket."
"Much better, thank you, I can't really feel it," Chessina replied with a smile.
Our bags were already packed and waiting for us thanks to the tower servants so I activated the rug and we flew off towards the capital. Chessina looked pensive when I turned to her.
"Chessina, I do have confidence that we are going to succeed in the ritual," I reassured her, "but whatever happens it doesn't really matter as long as we are together."
I was rewarded with a passionate kiss, and thereafter we found ways to alleviate the boredom of a long journey.
oOo
As before a flurry of servants attended our arrival at the royal wizard's tower, and after making ourselves comfortable as the euphemism goes, we were ushered into Dragovar's private sitting room. Dragovar and Tasayne were waiting there in
a very domestic scene and rose to greet us as we entered. Tasayne approached Chessina with outstretched arms and the two girls embraced.
"A good journey, I trust?" Dragovar asked, "and a successful visit as well?"
"We had no problems travelling," I replied, "and Elizelle is thriving as well as being adorable."
"Am I so transparent?" asked Dragovar ruefully.
"To your friends," I replied.
We sat and Tasayne rang for tea.
"We have been thinking about the ritual," said Dragovar, after the servants had withdrawn.
"So have we," I remarked dryly.
"Don't interrupt," Dragovar said waspishly.
"Sorry," I muttered as Chessina and Tasayne I noted, both rolled their eyes at me.
"I think that the ritual to rejoin Chessina's soul should be performed at the old temple where she was sacrificed," announced Dragovar.
"I agree," I replied after a moment's thought. “I've been researching in the tower library and I don't think that replicating the time of the sacrifice would be a good idea. Dawn on Chessina/Shareen's birthday seems more auspicious."
"The day after tomorrow, then," said Dragovar.
I nodded as my stomach gave a sudden flip, we were committed.
"Are Elinne and Tasseder in the capital?" Chessina asked.
"They are," replied Dragovar. “I thought to invite them to dinner this evening, if you are up to it?"
I glanced at Chessina, who nodded.
"Of course," she answered. “I look forward to seeing them again."
oOo
Chessina embraced both Tasseder and Elinne when they arrived and we soon sat down to a simple meal.
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