Soon Elbryan and Pony were alone at the fire, and Juraviel came down from the trees behind to join them.
“What did you say to him?” the ranger asked, guessing that the elf had spent some private time with the surprising Roger Lockless.
“The same thing I said to you at the milking trough when you were blinded by pride,” Juraviel replied with a sly look.
Elbryan blushed deeply and looked away from Pony and the elf, remembering all too clearly that embarrassing moment. He had just fought with Tuntunareal fight and not a planned sparring matchaccusing the female elf of cheating at a contest that left him with a cold meal. Tuntun had summarily battered him, but the young Elbryan, blinded by anger and pride, had not accepted the defeat well, had spouted foolish words and idle threats.
Belli’mar Juraviel, his mentor, and the closest thing he could then call a friend in all of Andur’Blough Inninness, had promptly thrashed him, putting him into the cold water of the trough several times.
“A painful lesson,” Juraviel said at length. “But one that stayed with you all these years.”
Elbryan couldn’t deny the truth of that.
“This young Roger has promise,” the elf went on. “It was no small matter for him to come in here and side with you, even though he knew that you were right.”
“He is maturing,” Pony agreed.
Juraviel nodded. “I will begin scouting our path this night,” he explained.
“A wide berth of the powries,” Pony said.
The elf nodded again.
“One last question,” Elbryan begged as ever-elusive Juraviel started back to the trees. The elf turned to regard him. “Have the powries really reinforced?”
“Would it make a difference in your choice?” the elf asked.
“None.”
Juraviel smiled. “To my knowledgeand that knowledge is great concerning this matter, do not doubtRoger Lockless has been nowhere near Caer Tinella this night.”
The ranger had suspected as much, and the confirmation made him admire Roger’s choice all the more.
There was no sign of pursuit; as Father Abbot Markwart had figured, Baron Bildeborough, Abbot Dobrinion, and indeed all of Palmaris, were simply glad to be rid of the monks from St.-Mere-Abelle. They set camp that night across the Masur Delaval, the lights of Palmaris clear in the distance.
After conferring with Brother Francis and learning of the man’s discoveries from his brief time inside the thoughts of Connor Bildeborough, the Father Abbot spent a lot of time alone, pacing, fighting hard to control his mounting anxiety. Just a score of feet away, inside the ring of wagons, the firelight blazed and the monks talked happily of returning to their home. The Father Abbot blocked it all out, had no time for such petty matters. Connor Bildeborough knew of the search for the woman, and furthermore, he believed the woman to be operating, with the magical stones, not too far away in the battleground north of Palmaris. Francis had caught the name Caer Tinella in that brief invasion of Connor’s thoughts, and a quick look at his maps confirmed that to be a town along the road to the Timberlands, a town Francis and the caravan had passed on their wild run to Palmaris.
The goal was close, so close, the end of the troubles of Avelyn Desbris, the restoration of Father Abbot Dalebert Markwart’s good name in the annals of the Abellican Church. Youseff and Dandelion would complete the task and retrieve the stones, and then all that would be left for Markwart would be the complete denunciation of the heretic Avelyn. He would destroy the legend as the explosion at Aida had destroyed the body.
Then all would be well, would be as it had been before.
“Or will it?” the Father Abbot asked himself aloud. He sighed deeply and considered the potential trail of problems his expedition had set for him. Jojonah was no ally and would likely oppose him, perhaps even going so far as to speak positively and publicly concerning dead Avelyn! And Abbot Dobrinion was no longer even neutral on the matter. The abbot of St. Precious was surely outraged at the abduction of the Chilichunks, and at his own treatment by the contingent from St.-Mere-Abelle. Particularly the latter, the Father Abbot mused, thinking that the abbot was more concerned with his wounded pride than his tortured subjects.
And what of Baron Bildeborough, who was already prepared to do battle with the Church for the sake of his nephew?
As he rolled the problems over and over in his thoughts, they each appeared to Markwart as a huddled black creature, and each seemed to grow with every rethinking, mounting powerfully, until they were black walls surrounding him, choking him, burying him!
The old man stamped the ground and issued a stifled cry. Would all the world and all the Church turn against him? Was he alone in his understanding of the truth? What conspiracies had that wicked Jojonah and that fool Dobrinion launched? To say nothing of the rot started by the evil Avelyn Desbris!
Markwart’s mind whirled, looking for holes in those black walls, seeking some way to fight down the darkness. He must call Jojonah back from the trail to Ursal, bring him back into St.-Mere-Abelle, where he could watch over the man’s every move. Yes, that was necessary.
And he must set Youseff and Dandelion on the trail at once, settling the issue of Avelyn’s cache, returning the gemstones to their rightful place in St.-Mere-Abelle. Yes, that would be prudent.
And Connor and Dobrinion would prove to be trouble. They had to be persuaded, or…
The Father Abbot stood very still in the small clearing outside the wagon ring, steadying his breathing. The strength was back in his heart now, the will to fight on, to do whatever necessary to gain the desired end. Gradually he was able to open his eyes, and then to unclench his taut fists.
“Father Abbot?”
The call came from behind, a familiar voice and not an enemy. He turned to see a very concerned Brother Francis staring at him.
“Father Abbot?” the man said again.
“Go and tell Brothers Youseff and Dandelion to come to me,” the old man instructed. “And then you join in the discussion within the wagon ring. I must know the mood of my brothers.”
“Yes, Father Abbot,” Francis replied. “But should you be out here alone, with monsters”
“Now!” Markwart growled.
Brother Francis disappeared behind another wagon, into the more common area within the ring. A moment later two forms, one hulking, the other lithe, appeared, moving silently to bow before their master.
“It is time for you to put your training to use,” Markwart said to them. “Brother Justice is your title now, for each of you, the only name that you will know, the only name by which you will refer to each other. You cannot comprehend the urgency of this matter; the fate of all the Church rests on your actions these next few days.
“Brother Francis has come to believe that the stolen gemstones are in the hands of the woman, Jilseponie Ault, who is referred to as Jill or Pony by her friends,” the old man went on. “And she, we believe, is in the region about Caer Tinella, north of Palmaris, along the road to the Timberlands.”
“We go straightaway,” Youseff replied.
“You go in the morning,” Father Abbot Markwart corrected. “In disguise, and appearing as no monk. You go by ferry across the river, then into Palmaris. The journey north will wait one day.”
“Yes, Father Abbot,” the pair said in unison, cuing on the old man’s hesitation.
“Or five days,” Markwart went on, “if that is what it takes. You see, we have a problem in Palmaris, one which you must eliminate.”
Again Markwart hesitated, considering the course. Perhaps he should split the pair, that if one of them failed in this matter, the other might still get to the stones. Perhaps he should bypass Palmaris and concentrate on the gemstones, and then, when that issue was settled, he could send the pair back out.
No, he realized. By that time the conspiracy against him would be fully entrenched, perhaps even expecting trouble from him, and even worse, Connor knew of the woman and might find her before the m
onks.
“Connor Bildeborough,” he said suddenly. “He has become a problem to me, to all the Church. He seeks the gemstones for his personal gain,” he lied.
“The problem is to be eliminated,” Brother Youseff reasoned.
“Leave no trail.”
After a long silence the two men bowed and turned about, starting away.
Markwart hardly noticed the movement, as he considered his last words.Leave no trail.
Would that be possible with a suspicious Abbot Dobrinion in Palmaris? Dobrinion was no fool, nor was he weak with the few stones he possessed, one of which was a soul stone. The man might even find Connor’s spirit before it flew far from the world, and from it learn the truth.
But Dobrinion was alone, isolated. There wasn’t another monk at St. Precious of any consequence, not another who could use hematite for so difficult a task.
“Brothers Justice,” Markwart said.
The two men spun about, running back to stand before their superior.
“The trouble is deeper than Connor Bildeborough, for he is in league with another who might put the stones to devastating use,” Markwart explained. “If this man gets the gemstones, he will claim leadership of the Church, and will assume his place in St.-Mere-Abelle.”
It was all preposterous, of course, but the two men, their minds bent by the expert work of Master De’Unnero, hung intent on every word.
“It pains me greatly,” the Father Abbot lied. “Yet, I have no choice in the matter. You must kill two men in Palmaris, the other being Dobrinion Calislas, abbot of St. Precious.”
Just a hint of surprise showed on the alert face of Brother Youseff, while Brother Dandelion accepted the order as easily as if Markwart had just told him to throw away the dinner scraps.
“It must appear to be an accident,” Markwart went on. “Or an act of our monster enemies, perhaps. There can be no mistakes. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father Abbot,” Brother Dandelion replied at once.
Markwart studied Youseff, who wore a wicked smile. The man nodded, and it seemed to Markwart that he was enjoying the prospect of this immensely.
“Your reward awaits you at St.-Mere-Abelle,” Markwart finished.
“Our reward, Father Abbot, is in the service, in the act itself,” Brother Youseff declared.
Now Father Abbot Markwart, too, was smiling wickedly. And feeling much better. Suddenly, as with his earlier reflections, everything seemed to come clear to him, as though he had found a deeper level of concentration where all the worries could be put aside, all distractions ignored, and problems could be resolved logically and with foresight. He reconsidered his course about recalling Master Jojonah. Let the man be gone to Ursal until he died, for all he cared, for without Dobrinion’s backing, Master Jojonah seemed no real threat.
Yes, if all went well with the Brothers Justice, the elimination of two potential problems and the retrieval of the stones, the issue would be settled, as would his own place in the history of the Abellican Order. Now the Father Abbot was agitated again, excited. He knew that he could not sleep this night and had to find some distraction, something to allow him to believe he was working toward that most coveted goal. He went to Brother Francis then, bidding the man to collect Grady Chilichunk and meet him outside the wagon ring. When Francis arrived, verily dragging the protesting Grady, Markwart motioned for him to follow and then led the pair far away from the ring.
“Is this safe?” Brother Francis dared to ask.
“Brothers Youseff and Dandelion are shadowing our every move,” Markwart lied, for he was little concerned about any monsters, sensing somehow that few were about. Like the revelations that had come to him, he just somehow knew there was no danger out here.
Not for him, anyway. Poor Grady Chilichunk could not claim the same.
“You were her brother, for years,” Markwart said to him.
“Not by choice, nor by blood,” Grady replied, spitting every word with contempt.
“But by circumstance, and that is equally damning,” Markwart came back.
Grady chuckled and turned away, but Francis was there in an instant, forcing the man’s head back so he looked Markwart in the eye.
“You are not repentant,” Markwart remarked.
Grady tried to look away again, and this time Francis not only forced his head back, but kicked him hard in the back of the knees, dropping him to a kneeling position before the Father Abbot. The young monk stayed right beside Grady, keeping him in that position, grabbing him by the hair and turning up his head so he could not look away from his superior.
“I have committed no crime!” Grady protested. “Nor, certainly, have my parents. You are the unholy one!” Grady Chilichunk had never been a brave man. He always followed the course of luxury, willingly serving as lackey to men of higher position, particularly Connor Bildeborough, that his own life be easier. Nor had he ever been a dutiful son, turning his back on his parents and their businessexcept for the monies it provided himfor many years. But now, helpless and hopeless on the road with the brutal and powerful monks, something changed within Grady, some sense of responsibility. He cared little for his own comfort at that time, focusing rather on the fact that his parents, his mother, were being so ill-treated. All the world had gone crazy, it seemed, and Grady somehow understood that all the whining and pleading and cooperating he could muster would not get him, and certainly not his parents, out of this trouble. With hopelessness came anger, and that anger in Grady sparked actiona rare thing for the cowardly man. He spat up at Markwart, hitting the Father Abbot in the face.
Markwart only laughed, unconcerned, but Francis, horrified that this common peasant would do such a thing to the Father Abbot, drove his elbow into the side of Grady’s head. The man groaned and tumbled, and Francis was on him, kicking him hard, again in the head, then falling atop him, rolling him over onto his belly and yanking his arms painfully behind his back.
Grady said nothing, was too dazed to even offer a protest.
“Enough, Brother Francis,” Markwart said calmly, patting his hand in the air. “His actions only verify that this one has turned his back on the Abellican Church and all the goodliness in the world.”
Still Grady only lay limply beneath Brother Francis, groaning softly.
“Well, it seems as though we’ll get nothing important from this one this night,” Markwart remarked.
“I am sorry, Father Abbot,” Francis said with alarm, but again Markwart was making no complaints. Given the events he had set into motion, the Father Abbot was simply in too fine a mood to let anything upset him.
“Take him back and put him in his bed,” Markwart said.
Brother Francis hauled Grady to his feet and started away, but then stopped, realizing that Markwart wasn’t following.
“I will enjoy the peace of the night,” the Father Abbot explained.
“Alone?” Francis asked. “Out here?”
“Be gone,” Markwart bade him. “There is no danger out here.”
Francis found that he had little choice but to follow the command. He left slowly, looking back often, and every time seeing his Father Abbot standing calmly, unafraid.
For indeed Father Abbot Markwart was absolutely certain of his safety, for though he didn’t know it, he was not alone.
The spirit of Bestesbulzibar was with him, relishing in his choices this dark night, guiding those decisions.
Much later on, Markwart slept contentedly, so much so that when Francis came to rouse him at the dawn, he instructed the brother to go away, and to let the others sleep in, as well. Several hours later Markwart did rise, to find most of the camp astir and a very nervous Brother Francis pacing back and forth near the three wagons that each held one of the Chilichunks.
“He’ll not awaken,” the brother explained to Markwart when he came over to see what was the matter.
“Who?”
“The son, Grady,” Francis explained, shaking his head, then nodding tow
ard the wagon that held the man. Markwart went in, and came back out grim-faced.
“Bury him by the side of the road,” the Father Abbot said. “A shallow grave, unconsecrated ground.” And he walked by Francis as though nothing out of sorts was going on, as though this had just been another routine order. He stopped just a few steps away and turned back on Francis. “And make certain that the other prisoners, particularly the dangerous centaur, know nothing of this,” he explained. “And Brother Francis, you bury him yourself, after, the caravan has departed.”
A panicked look came over Francis, to which Markwart only chuckled and walked away, leaving the brother alone with his guilt.
Francis’ thoughts whirled. He had killed a man! The night before, he must have hit Grady too hard, or kicked him too hard. He replayed the events over and over, wondering how he had done such a thing, or what he might have done differently, all the while fighting hard not to scream out aloud.
He was trembling, eyes darting all about. He felt the sweat on his forehead as he saw the Father Abbot coming back toward him.
“Be at peace, brother,” Markwart said. “It was an unfortunate accident.”
“I killed him,” Francis gasped in reply.
“You defended your Father Abbot,” Markwart answered. “I will perform a ceremony of absolution back at St.-Mere-Abelle, but I assure you that your penitential prayers will be light.”
Trying to hide his grin, Markwart left the man.
Brother Francis was not so easily calmed. He could understand the logic of Markwart’s argumentthe man had, after all, spat in the face of the Father Abbot of the Abellican Church. But while Francis could logically argue that this had indeed been an unfortunate accident, his own actions justified, the rationalization could not take root in his heart. The pedestal had been knocked out from under him, that pervasive self-belief that he was above all other men. Francis had made mistakes before, of course, and he knew it, but not to this extreme. He remembered all the times of his life when he had imagined that he was the only real person, and that everyone else, and everything else, was merely a part of his dream of consciousness.
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