Foundations Broken and Built

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “You have nearly completed your task on your continent. Don’t wait too long to finish it off – that temple in Ivaric must be destroyed soon, before it can begin again to re-assert its evil influence.

  “Once that is done, then you can relax and enjoy some of your rewards before the true battle begins – you will go across the water to Rolemica, and we will give you an ally who can work with you to defeat L’Anvien once and for all, ending this evil chapter of misery and doom,” the goddess told him.

  “I’m going to go to Rolemica?” Silas asked aloud. He realized that he had expected that such a journey was likely to happen someday, but the goddess herself had just confirmed it directly. “Will it be a long journey? Will we succeed?” he asked of himself and whatever allies the goddess had in mind for him.

  “I wouldn’t send you if I didn’t think you could succeed,” Kai responded encouragingly. “I’ll give you a partner you can count on to do great things with you.”

  “He’s my protégé,” Krusima interrupted. “I’m the one who’s sent him on this journey so far. Don’t pretend you deserve credit for the great things that have been done,” the god pettishly protested. “I’m the one he’s going to ask to help with the next great act.”

  “Yes dear, and you’ve done quite well so far,” Kai mildly agreed.

  “And you believe that pairing him with Kestrel makes a winning strategy?” Krusima asked, as Silas listened in fascination to the gods bicker with one another. “They’re both extremely lucky fellows, to have survived as many mistakes as they’ve each made, I’ll grant you that, but luck is hardly a strategy.”

  “They’ll have your support to guide them; I’m sure they’ll succeed,” Kai spoke soothingly, though as Silas listened to her tone, he could almost imagine he saw the goddess wink at him.

  “Kestrel?” he asked. “Kestrel the elf from the Healing Spring?” he tried to clarify.

  “The very same,” Kai confirmed. “The two of you seemed to get along well enough. And Kestrel will bring Kere’s and Morph’s support along as well, and it never hurts to have an extra god or two to help.”

  “That Kere’s been confoundedly kind to my protégé,” Krusima grumbled. “Doesn’t she need to stick to her elves, and let me take care of this human hero?”

  “She does seem to have a peculiar affection for our Silas,” Kai agreed. “But this conversation can be had later,” she asserted suddenly. “Silas dear, go talk to your princess and let her know what your future holds, and don’t make any plans to settle down too soon just yet,” the goddess directed. “Celebrate your victories for now, and heal that leg of yours,” the goddess directed, and then there was silence.

  Silas looked idly down at the leg stump that still soaked in the pail of spring water, while he considered the ramifications of all that the conversation with the gods had revealed.

  Another campaign against L’Anvien, this time on the demi-god’s own home soil, on the great continent of Rolemica. It was an intimidating thought.

  “Lumene,” he felt a sudden compulsion to speak out to the Princess. “I’d like to talk to you tonight, when your time allows,” he sent the message with his Voice, attuned to be heard by her ears only. “I love you,” he impulsively added, then felt his cheeks grow red in embarrassment for having spoken the words out loud. He didn’t think he had ever said it directly to the woman, and he knew he should have said it face-to-face for the first time.

  “Dewberry?” he called. His mind was spinning with bits and sparks of contemplation and confusion as he tried to make sense of all that was happening in his life.

  Fighting a war against Ivaric almost seemed simple suddenly. It had been a straightforward affair. Now he found that he was juggling reactions to Lumene and Mata and Kai and much more, as the path of his future seemed to swerve and veer in directions that he couldn’t anticipate.

  “Odare? Stillwater?” he called for the imps and sprites, any one of them. He needed to know something that he hoped they would tell him.

  Stillwater appeared, and Silas was glad to see him. The imp seemed to have the most commonsense of any of the blue-skinned beings Silas had met.

  “Queen Dewberry sent me to see what we can do to help our mighty companion,” Stillwater greeted Silas. “She would have come herself immediately upon your call, but Jonson was massaging her shoulders and neck, and she thought I could determine if there was an emergency – she didn’t believe there was.

  “And of course Odare said she’d wait to come to see if there was a trip to the magical spring waters in the offing, since I was going to come see you anyway,” the imp rattled on.

  “So what may I do for you, since it doesn’t appear there is a life or death issue at stake,” the imp asked, as he looked around the empty room.

  “I just was told by my gods that the war against L’Anvien isn’t complete, and I’ll have to fight more,” Silas explained. “Will the imps and sprites still help me, or have you already finished playing your part?” he asked.

  “Silas-friend,” Stillwater said encouragingly, as he drifted over and took a seat on the bed next to Silas. “Of course we will always be your companions! Look at those eyes! They mark you as a friend of our races.

  “Now Kestrel-friend claimed that he got his purple eyes from the gnomes, and perhaps that is true in some nonsensical fashion, but we are the imps and sprites, the best of all races, and we name you our friend! We will stand with you as you fight the corruptor-of-souls,” Stillwater stoutly proclaimed.

  “And if you happen to take us to the waters of the great magical spring, that is something we will gladly help you accomplish as well. Any time you want. Even at this very moment, if you wish,” Stillwater hinted.

  Silas grinned and chuckled. He put his arm around Stillwater’s small shoulders and hugged the imp tightly.

  “There may not be a trip to the healing waters this afternoon, but perhaps sometime soon,” Silas promised. “And there is still a bit of work to do here on our own continent; I need to return to Ivaric to destroy the temple of L’Anvien there,” he reported.

  “Shall we fetch you and Riesta-friend together again to go tear down the black house of evilness?” Stillwater made a fist to signal the imps’ determination to help in the battle.

  “Riesta would be a good ally for that particular fight,” Silas agreed. “When the time comes, you should go get Riesta-friend.”

  “You have plans to spend time with Riesta-friend, do you?” Lumene’s voice asked with dangerous mildness from the doorway to the room. Silas realized he hadn’t heard her enter as he had conversed with Stillwater.

  “Hello Princess-friend,” Stillwater looked over his shoulder at Lumene and casually greeted her. “I’m sure my Queen Dewberry would bid me offer you her greetings, if she were here herself instead of sitting on the throne letting King Jonson massage her shoulders for her.”

  “The Queen gets a shoulder massage? What a wonderful example of how royalty should be treated,” Lumene smiled gently as she stepped into the room and approached the friendly tete-a-tete.

  “I appreciate your time, Stillwater, and your show of friendship. You may return to the court of the imps now and tell them all that we will work together again soon,” Silas sensed that he should spend time alone with Lumene, since the Princess had clearly made time to come visit him.

  “Farewell then friends,” Stillwater said to them both as he floated up into the air, then gave a lavish bow, and disappeared.

  “You do live a peculiar life,” Lumene shook her head. She came over to stand next to him. “Is this seat taken?” she asked as she motioned to the spot where the imp had sat moments before.

  “It’s saved just for you,” Silas grinned, glad to see the friendly nature Lumene had on display.

  “You have plans to go on an adventure with Riesta? She’s the Mover from Faralag?” Lumene asked.

  “She is a Mover from Faralag, the one who pulled Preeanne to safety in Ivaric,” Silas agreed. “But
it was Stillwater’s idea to have her work with me on the next battle, against the L’Anvien temple in Ivaric,” he quickly clarified. “It hadn’t occurred to me; I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’m still just learning things, a great many things,” he said meaningfully.

  “Lumene,” he wanted to tell her that he loved her, now that they truly were face-to-face. He wanted to say it in as meaningful a way as possible. He lifted his wounded leg from the pail of healing water, then carefully slipped down onto the floor and attempted to kneel at her feet as she sat and looked at him in surprise, a curious expression on her face.

  “Silas, what are you doing?” she asked.

  His missing foot was causing problems he found, and he had trouble maintaining his balance as he wobbled on the floor.

  He felt his leg turn, and he lurched to the side. His remaining foot swept wide to try to save his upright position, but instead, it struck the pail of healing water, knocking the pail over and sending a sheet of water sweeping across the floor.

  Lumene shrieked, and lifted her feet from the floor, just as Silas reached out to steady himself, and instinctively grabbed her knee. The princess, off balance, slid towards the edge of the mattress, then slipped down onto the floor next to Silas, both of them soaked in the puddle of water he had created.

  “Silas!” she laughed at the comical series of errors. “What were you doing?”

  They were seated next to one another, and he grinned back, for a moment, then he reached over and took one of her hands in hers.

  “I wanted to tell you that I love you,” he explained.

  “Silas,” Lumene’s voice softened. “You know I appreciate hearing that, even if half my dress got wet in the process. I got goosebumps when you said that earlier, when you spoke through the air to me. But after all we went through, and after all your protestations about your obligations to Mata, why are you telling me now?” she asked.

  “I’ve had a couple of conversations,” he said. He pressed his hands against the bed and lifted himself upright as he leaned against the mattress, then paused.

  “I shouldn’t sit down again on the bed while my pants are wet,” he counseled himself.

  “No, and I shouldn’t either,” Lumene agreed. “But what does that have to do with anything?” she asked.

  “I think this might be a long conversation, and I thought we could sit comfortably while we talked,” he explained his reasoning. “Instead of sitting here on the floor in the puddle.”

  “Can you talk to Jade, and ask her to bring me a clean, preferably dry, dress?” the princess asked. “I can change into something dry, and so can you, and we can have a long talk.

  “But then I need to go to dinner with the Earl of Kauihome, from the southern part of the island,” she added.

  Silas sent a message to Jade, then Lumene helped him change his own clothes, just as Jade and a maid arrived with the new outfit for Lumene.

  “Look away, ladies,” Lumene said casually as she helped Silas pull his pants up around his waist.

  “Has something happened?” Jade asked dubiously as she examined the puddle on the floor.

  “We’ll have to have a member of the staff clean this up, but not right away,” Lumene indicated, as she took the dress from the maid, then went to the dressing room and changed. She handed the wet dress back to the maid and asked for a few minutes of privacy with Silas.

  “I’ll be out soon,” she promised.

  “You have your dinner,” Jade reminded her.

  “I know, and I’ll be there,” Lumene nodded.

  “Silas, tell me your story,” she spoke in clipped tones, feeling the lateness of the hour. “I’m afraid I don’t have much time.”

  The whole encounter and moment felt spoiled for Silas. The slip, the visitors, the hurriedness, all took away from the romance he had felt welling in his heart.

  “I’ll tell you some other time,” he answered ungraciously. “Go ahead and go to your dinner,” he insisted. He rose to his foot once again, and grabbed the cane that rested against the bedside table.

  “Fine,” Lumene stood up too, frustrated by the turn of events, but she took a deep breath and brought her emotions under control, as her mother had taught her since she was a little girl.

  “I’ll look forward to our conversation, and I’m still very glad you told me you loved me; it’s a special thing to hear, especially coming from you,” she told him graciously, then left the room.

  Silas stood alone, feeling childish and petty. Lumene wasn’t at fault for the turn of events, he admitted. He had been too excited by the news that he had been given to be patient and pliable to the circumstances.

  “Lumene,” he again pitched his voice to softly reach her distant ears, “I’m sorry I didn’t handle that well. I just wanted to let you know that Mata and I talked today, and she wants to go with Tagg to raise a family back in Brigamme; she doesn’t want a relationship with me anymore. But she was very nice in the way she said it,” he considered aloud, as he began to contemplate the fact that the result of the conversation might appear as though Mata had rejected him.

  “And I talked with Krusima and Kai today too. They want me to go to the great continent, Rolemica, and destroy L’Anvien in his own home. But they said I’ll be teamed with Kestrel, an elf I met at the healing spring a couple of times – he seems like a good fellow, and he has some interesting powers of his own.

  “We can talk about it tomorrow, if you have time,” he felt relief in having unburdened himself of the information to the princess. “Take care and have a lovely evening. Good night,” he finished. He considered adding ‘I love you’ one more time, but decided it would be too many times, too soon.

  A few moments later he had second thoughts. “I love you,” he sent the last message, pleased with himself.

  He decided he would soak his leg stump in the healing waters once more, after he ordered a tray of food to be delivered for his dinner. With his trusty cane, he went to the hallway door and flagged down a servant, who politely agreed to have a tray delivered to him. With that done, he went back and filled the empty pail of water then examined the end of his calf, before he plunged it into the water. It looked better, he thought hopefully. There already seemed to be more flesh that extended down further.

  He laid back on the mattress and closed his eyes, then heard the arrival of his dinner tray as his door creaked open.

  “Just leave it,” he spoke without looking. “Thank you,” he added.

  “I will not just leave it!” an enraged Lumene came stalking across the room, her heels clicking loudly on the stone floor.

  Silas sat up abruptly, in time to see a red-faced Lumene approach him at a rapid clip.

  “How dare you send me all those messages just when I’m about to sit down with an Earl?” she shouted. “I had to put a hand to my stomach, and whimper about female issues so that I could duck out of the dinner, all because you wanted to give me life-changing information!”

  She reached both her hands down and grabbed the sides of his face. Silas began to prepare to call upon his powers to defend himself from the angry woman, but Lumene pressed her lips against his and began a long, deep kiss that left him breathless.

  “That axe man cut off your foot, not your head,” Lumene lectured Silas in a calmer tone when the kiss was ended. “Use your brain – you still have it. That news isn’t something you write in a note – or send through the air, in your case,” she sternly informed him. “That news needs to be told face-to-face.

  “Now you stay here and behave – don’t send me any messages. I’m going to go back to my dinner, and I’ll see you later,” she turned and immediately strode away, leaving Silas gaping as he watched the back of her figure recede and disappear.

  Minutes later, he jumped with a start when there was a knock on the door, as a servant brought his dinner tray. Silas bade the man leave the tray, and then he nibbled on the food thoughtfully. He had blundered thoroughly in trying to bring his feelings for
Lumene into the open. He had found that circumstances had finally allowed it, and he had discovered that he wanted to do it, but he had been overwhelmed by the fluid situation, coming so soon atop the radical change in the war – his war – against Ivaric and L’Anvien.

  Silas carefully carried the tray of uneaten food across the room with one hand when he was done eating, while the other hand held and wielded his cane. Then he decided that he had time to kill, and he could do something productive while he waited for Lumene to return. He had a new message to send to Riesta, based on Stillwater’s suggestion that the Mover would be a good partner for Silas to work with to tear down L’Anvien’s temple in Ivaric. He wasn’t sure where Riesta was, but he decided to spend time sending messages to her in several directions, in the hopes than one of them would reach her.

  And so he did, sending the message to her potential position if she had sailed away with the fleet, and then to her potential position if the caravan wagons had carried her away from Ivaric overland, and then he sent the message straight down to Faralag city, in case the imps had carried the girl all the way back there. He asked her to be his partner in attacking the temple, combining their joint abilities as they had done in Faralag, whenever the time came to launch such an attack.

  Soon after that task was finished, Lumene entered his room.

  “Gracious Silas, what are you doing out of bed?” she asked as she stood and studied him while he stood by the window. “You need to get in bed and rest. You do that while I change into something comfortable,” she instructed before she slipped out of the room once again. He heard her voice speak in muffled tones in the hallway for a moment, and then there was silence, while Silas slipped into his bed and began to relax.

  Minutes later she returned, wearing a light robe over her night gown.

  “I had to dismiss the guards in the hall for the night,” she explained as she lay down on his bed next to him. “I told them I didn’t need a guard duty when I had the Abomination in the palace to protect me!” she smiled.