They walked up the river a little ways to the palace on the island, and crossed the bridge to the gate. “I’d like to see Colonel Ryder,” Alec told the unfamiliar guard at the gate. “May I tell him who is seeking him?” the guard asked, and wrote Alec’s request on a note, which he gave to a messenger boy to carry into the grounds.
Minutes later a note came back with the boy. “You’re to go directly to the armory to meet the Colonel,” the guard said.
Alec led Appel through the grounds of the palace to the Guard enclave at the end of the island, where they entered the armory. It was for Alec an uncanny sense of returning home. Ryder was practicing with Alec’s least favorite Guardsman, Imelda. Alec and Appel watched the two move back and forth, until they broke at a signal from the colonel. Ryder walked over to Alec and accepted his salute, then shook his hand heartily.
“Alec, you are the best news I’ve had in a week. I’m glad to see you back, particularly if you’re here to stay. Are you here to stay?” he asked with a quizzical look at Appel.
“This is my friend, Appel, an air ingenaire, who helped move our boat up the river from Oyster Bay to here. He’ll be leaving again this afternoon. But I will be staying for as long as the Duke needs me,” Alec told the colonel.
Reluctantly, Alec introduced Appel to Imelda. “She’s the one who gave me the love mark here,” he told Appel, trying to keep things light.
“And I’ll give him another one any time I want,” Imelda said with a sour tone.
“You’ll never touch me again unless I allow you to,” Alec said with sudden defiance.
“Oh no,” Colonel Ryder moaned.
“Do you want to test that right now?” Imelda said, raising her blade slightly.
“I’m ready for the challenge. Let me get the equipment,” Alec answered, his dander unexpectedly rising rapidly.
He went into the equipment room and put on protective gear and grabbed a practice blade, then returned to the floor.
“I would have hoped that the two of you could have gone longer than thirty seconds before feuding again,” the colonel said. “Get this over with here and now, and out of your systems. I don’t want to hear, see or smell any further quarreling between the two of you.”
Alec went on the offensive, challenging Imelda immediately. She defended herself well, as effectively as the best of the officers at Oyster Bay. She managed to withstand the initial attack, but could not gain the initiative, and continued to back up until Alec threw a lethal flurry of thrusts and parries that left her down on her knees.
“You’re better than when you left, but if you were right-handed I’d have handled that,” Imelda said grudgingly, refusing Alec’s hand offered to help her up.
He flipped the sword to his right hand. “Alright, let’s try it,” he challenged.
She looked at him in surprise, then glared, and placed her blade in motion, going on a ferocious attack herself. Alec fell back a step in defense, but gave no further ground, holding his spot as Imelda moved in closer and closer, pressing the offensive. Alec saw an opportunity he could have exploited with his quicker left hand, but wasn’t able to move his right hand quickly enough to take advantage of the chance. He continued to hold a steady defense, until Imelda’s adrenaline started to wear off, then he went on the attack himself. He pressed Imelda and stood almost chest-to-chest against her.
“Shall we call this a draw?” he asked, and stepped two quick steps back.
She looked at him, still angry, then lowered her blade. “It’s a draw,” she agreed.
Alec held out his hand to shake, but she refused and walked away.
“Alec, I’m going to be glad to see your blade among us, even more than I expected,” Ryder said. “I’ll appreciate your healing power and your advice on what’s happening in the world. I just wish I was glad to see you and Imelda getting along as well. This is not a time to stir dissension among the Guards. We’re very thin on the ground here in the city, and tensions are high.”
“Colonel, I’m sorry,” Alec said. “I’ll do my best to fit in.”
“Well, if you’ve got time, let’s go to my office and fill each other in on the state of the world. I think I’d rather talk with you than spar with you!” Ryder said.
When they sat down, the colonel began telling Alec of all that was going on in the duchy. “Our forces on the road expedition had moved more than a week beyond the sand bars, and were building the fort that was intended to be the end of our new lands.”
“Apparently one evening near dusk lacertii scouts stumbled across our pickets, who I suspect were not particularly alert. A small melee alerted both sides to the surprise encounter. The main body of the lacertii came down on us very quickly, and since many of our folks were working at the fort or were scattered along the road without proper arms, we suffered heavy losses.”
“A small squad rode down the road to alert other units and rally a force, while the survivors withdrew into the fort, which still had one wall incomplete. That night was apparently a very uncomfortable siege for those in the fort, but just before dawn our forces from outside the fort launched a surprise counterattack that did considerable harm to the lacertii, and pinned many against the fort walls, where we were able to wipe them out. The remainder of the lacertii withdrew back out of the area, leaving many dead and a few prisoners.”
“Both Lewis and Inga were among the injuries. I’ll give credit to your training of our medics; I suspect it saved their lives and many others. I’m not sure there was anyone from the fort who wasn’t injured. The lacertii were relentless in mounting attacks during the night at the fort.
“Overall, I would guess we took more damage than we gave. The army was in the brunt of the attack of course, and I know they’ll not be so unprepared next time. They are sending a great number of men there right now. There are no army soldiers, and very few Guards in the city here with everyone going to the eastern front,” the colonel told them. “And that’s not a good situation either, to be stripped so bare here at home.”
“I was sent back by Aristotle, the head of the ingenairii’ council, and told specifically to stay close to and protect the Duke,” Alec told Ryder. “I hope I can obey Ari and you both by serving in the Guard.”
“After watching your blade over there, I made up my mind that I’m adding you to the rotation for the Duke’s personal body guard,” the colonel responded. “I’m very curious about what made the ingenairii’ council decide to appoint you to watch out for the Duke though. Would you mind telling me?”
Alec looked at Appel, who had silently listened with great interest to the news of the battle. “What I am going to say here is not for discussion on Ingenairii’ Hill or in Oyster Bay, agreed?” With Appel’s nod of assent, Alec began, “Aristotle made the decision, not the full council, just to clarify. His belief is that we must protect the Duke, because he is a strong and likely candidate to be the next ruler on the throne of the Dominion after Gildevny passes away. Ari must see him as the best choice for that. There has been an assassination attempt against the Duke, as we all know. Most folks don’t know – as a matter of fact, almost nobody knows -- but there has been one against the king too, not to mention that I’ve had two attempts on my own life.
“Ari sees all this turmoil coming at the same time as the lacertii wars as no coincidence. He says he believes it is probably all coming from the same source of evil, and worries about calamitous results if too many bad things happen at once. So he wants to keep the Duke alive, and the King alive, and to defeat the lacertii.”
“I’m here to keep the Duke alive at the very least,” Alec said.
Colonel Ryder looked at Alec. “If you are willing to trust such information to your friend here,” he motioned towards Appel, “then so shall I. I presume you know about the coded message we found here recently?”
“I’ve heard some general descriptions about its contents,” Alec agreed, feeling slightly uncomfortable discussing himself in front of Appel.
“What Rastall gave me,” Ryder continued, “was a long letter that did two things. It praised someone here for so effectively driving you out of Goldenfields, where you’ll ‘no longer meddle’ in plans to change things here. Rumors about you were specifically mentioned as a very effective tool for reducing your usefulness to Goldenfields, and the letter writer promised that you would be ‘dealt with.’”
Ryder paused. “I like the rest of the letter even less. It said that the Duke’s rule would come to an end soon, and promised a great reward to its recipient when that occurred.
“It sickens me; I know everyone here, and would trust them all. Now it seems you may be the one I should trust most, ironically, given the wishes of the letter writer. The Duke knows about this of course, as does Noah Rastall, and Merle. Alec, I regret so much that you have experienced being the target of this malevolence. But I think you’ve handled it well, and don’t seem too bitter about it.”
Alec thought about all the times he had felt a darkness on his soul; he knew there was now and always would be a bitterness within him. “You have no way of knowing who is involved?” he asked.
“We don’t, Alec. There are no names, no dates, no identifiers. We suspect it came from Stronghold or Oyster Bay, but have no proof,” Ryder admitted. “We unfortunately won’t say anything about this publicly and clear your reputation, because we don’t want to tip off the traitor to the fact that we have this message. I know you can bear this further injustice, but I’m sorry you’ll have to for a while longer.
“You are not nearly so young as you seemed a few months ago when you came among us,” Ryder began to steer the conversation in a new direction. “In fact you look like you’ve aged three or four years in just a couple of months. But it still amazes me that someone your age can know and do all that you do. I think that you’re as special as the Duke himself, in some way.
“What I will do is present you to the Duke tomorrow morning for reinstatement to active duty after your leave of absence, and then have you start taking a shift each day with the Duke as body guard. I also think we need to train more medics, and you probably should look at the supplies we have available. And if possible, maybe you should help train the new recruits in swordsmanship. That’s as far as your duties as an officer of the Guard,” Ryder told him. “Of course, there is still some resentment about Inga’s departure, so don’t expect to be loved, but just do your duty and serve the Duke, and I know you’ll soon be respected as much as you deserve.
“Do you have duties as an ingenaire that you need to address? Are you actually an ingenaire now?” Ryder asked with curiously.
At the mention of Inga’s name, Alec thought about her reaction if she and Lewis learned that the nasty rumors of infidelity had been planted as weapons against Goldenfields. He belatedly responded to Ryder’s question, and pulled up his left sleeve, revealing the gleaming healers mark on his forearm. “I am recognized as a full ingenaire for healing powers,” Alec admitted, but did not say anything more about his warrior powers. He lowered the sleeve. “I should go see Merle, to let him know my status with regard to you and the Duke as well as Aristotle’s directions to me.”
“Well Alec, I’ll see you back here tomorrow morning. Come as early as you can,” Ryder said as he stood up. “I look forward to talking to you more about what’s happening in Oyster Bay.
“And I’m very glad to have you back,” he concluded as he shook hands with both of the travelers and watched them leave his office.
Alec and Appel left the Guard grounds, and went to Merle’s space at the other end of the island. Alec knocked on the door and was allowed in by a new apprentice he did not recognize. He asked for Merle, and soon the ingenaire came out. “Alec! It’s a pleasure to see you again,” he said. Alec introduced Appel to Merle, and they walked back to Merle’s office to talk.
“Aristotle has asked me to stay here and help guard the Duke,” Alec told Merle. “Colonel Ryder has agreed to appoint me to the Duke’s personal guard duty daily.”
“Does Aristotle think things are that critical, that he needs to send you here, or is he just trying to keep you out of trouble in Oyster Bay?” Merle asked perceptively. “Never mind, you don’t have to answer that.”
“Well, he does think things are critical here, and he worries about the Duke,” Alec answered.
“We have a serious situation here alright, Alec. The city and the countryside are very nervous about the fact that our own army has seen and fought lacertii, practically in our own land. There is hoarding going on now, prices are starting to rise, and people are edgy. And add to that the fact that most of the army has been pulled out of the cities to go to war, and I worry about what could happen,” Merle said. “People are nervous, and perhaps inclined to do things they wouldn’t do in more prosperous times. The fabric of civil life can start to unravel when people begin to put their own concerns too far above the community.”
“Well, we’ll have time to talk about that. What else will you be doing back here?”
Alec told him. “The colonel has asked me to start training more medics, and to secure supplies for the medic kits. He also asked if I could help train new recruits, but I think he was kidding about that. I came to see what I could do for you.”
“There’s nothing in particular you need to do here; let’s just make sure we talk,” Merle told him. “For now I don’t need anything that you have time to give us. But tell me, what are you as an ingenaire? I know you have the Healers House re-established, but what of your other pursuits?”
“Well,” Alec said carefully, “I did some training with the warriors, but haven’t passed their test, and I didn’t pursue anything else. I didn’t have that much time. Still,” he paused, and decided to show Merle all his marks. He raised both arms and shook them, causing the sleeves to slide down. On his right arm the sword and the hourglass shimmered in the gloomy room, while the caduceus glinted on the left.
Merle reached out a hand and let his fingers gently touch the two unfamiliar symbols. “I’ve never seen these before, and I can’t even imagine what this one is,” he said as his hand drew back from the hourglass.
Alec launched into an abbreviated explanation of what had occurred at the Locksforts compound, answering Merle’s questions until the older ingenaire’s curiosity was satisfied. At last he returned to the original topic.
“Maybe there is something you can do to help me. I do have a boy who shows some aptitude for warrior skills. Maybe you can help us train him until he is sent to Oyster Bay,” Merle suggested.
“I’ll try to work out a schedule to meet him regularly,” Alec said. “We need more warriors with an attitude like ours.”
Appel and Alec left Merle’s room and walked across the bridge.
“Alec, you’ve got so much to do here,” Appel said. “I thought you were busy back at Oyster Bay, but this is another level above that.”
“There’s probably too much to do it all successfully,” Alec agreed. “I want to help the Guard and help Merle and I need to take care of Leah, and I wish I could go fight the lacertii, and be back in Oyster Bay to help with everything there.”
“So how did you and Imelda get so far down the feuding road? I’m surprised I didn’t see blood spilt this morning,” Appel said. “Fighting with a woman, especially when she’s such an attractive girl. That’s not like you at all,” he gibed his friend.
“Imelda blames me for her cousin leaving the city to go to the fort. Imelda joined the Guard to be with Inga, and they are separated. I am involved and share
the blame, and you heard what we said about the rumors that were planted? Those rumors said that Inga and I had grown too affectionate for each other, and she’s married to another officer,” Alec admitted, too caught up in the raw emotions of the topic to see any humor in Appel’s joke. “And that is what I will face.”
“What did Merle mean about your other pursuits? You said you trained some with the warriors? Your marks show more than that,” Appel asked He’d seen Alec’s arms the night of the ill-fated swimming party, but had never know what the hourglass denoted, despite listening to much speculation among the other young ingenairii.
“When Merle tested me for powers, he thought I might be something other than a healer and a warrior. I carried out some early warrior training with Rubicon, but then I became a healer and more.”
“When you go back,” Alec said to his friend, “Please stop and tell Cassie I’m praying for her, and tell Bethany I send her my greetings, and that I miss seeing her.” They were approaching the dockyard. “Thank you again for powering our vessel here so quickly, and for being a friend. I wish I had more time to show you around Goldenfields a little.”
“Alec,” Appel said as they shook hands to part, “I’ve enjoyed the things you’ve shown me, and my only wish is that you knew a way for me to avoid the long trip back down to Oyster Bay; you seem to know an awful lot about most other things going on in the Dominion. Being your friend is a pleasure and a privilege. Take care of yourself, and we’ll let you know if we find any clues about your assassination attempts.”
They parted with a hug, then Alec watched Appel pick his way among the docks, and idly watched a ship arrive from down river, with several armed men disembarking.
At the Seat of Power: Goldenfields and the Dominion Page 27
