Princess Electra Book 3 Gypsy Music

by Dory Lee Maske

  Chapter 43

  Village of Helsop

  Dagon had kept count of the days Electra and Tandor had been gone on their sea voyage to Barburee. He judged that they should be returning in a few days time if all went well. He hoped that if he went to meet Electra when she returned, she might agree to accompany him back to Helsop for a visit. He wanted to make sure she would be impressed by the progress of her proposed school of medicine.

  Dagon inspected the work on Electra's school and found it quite satisfactory. He had used most of the lumber from King Geoffrey's first shipment to frame in classrooms and living quarters for Electra's future medical students. The remainder of the lumber he had used to construct rafts.

  He mounted his horse and rode up to the headwaters of Cold River where it began as trickles of melt water from the great ice mountain. The glacier was receding a little and had left behind huge piles of rocks. These were the rocks that would serve as his castle walls.

  Dagon saw Deimos at the edge of a rock pile. He left his horse to graze on the rich grass and hailed his old friend.

  "How goes the work, Deimos?"

  Deimos wiped perspiration from his face with his sleeve and waved Dagon closer.

  "The rafts are working well." Deimos walked with Dagon to the shallow beginnings of Cold River. There the three rafts were being loaded with rocks. The rocks were rolled from the foot of Ice Mountain on to the waiting rafts. The rafts were held in place by two ropes, reaching from both river banks, each rope staked into the banks of the river to hold the raft in place. As soon as a raft began to sink, one rock was removed and loading began on the next raft.

  When all three rafts were filled to capacity, the stakes holding the rafts in place were pulled up and men took the ends of the ropes and began to walk along shore guiding the rafts downstream. They would stay with the rafts until the river swung around north of the village to the castle building site. Here the rafts were beached and the rocks rolled off the rafts for use as building blocks. So far the rock walls of the new castle reached about waist high.

  A man rolling rocks onto the third raft yelled out. "That's all this raft can handle. Pull up the stakes and let's take 'em down."

  Dagon and Deimos walked along the shore with the men guiding the rafts. They led their horses downriver toward the castle site, chatting as they walked.

  "It is a good system," Deimos said, "We've not had any serious injuries yet and these rocks will make a strong wall."

  Dagon nodded. "Mortaring the rocks together is a big job, but we have time and plenty of rocks."

  "The workers are enthusiastic."

  Dagon raised an eyebrow. "No complaints about the low wages?"

  Deimos laughed. "This is Helsop, after all. No one here has experienced anything other than low wages in his lifetime." He looked to the south where the top of the framing on Electra's school was visible over the low roofs of the village houses. "How goes work on the school?"

  Dagon followed his gaze. "We used up the first load of lumber. We can cart some rocks over for reinforcement and hearths but work will slow down until we get more lumber."

  Deimos hesitated, wondering about the wisdom of putting his thought into words, then squared his shoulders and asked his question. "How long does she plan to stay at King's Lake?"

  Dagon knew who the 'she' was in Deimos's question. The whole village wondered quietly whether Electra would ever return to Helsop. Surely life at Fernland's castle had its advantages.

  Dagon looked his friend in the eyes. "I think she will be back when she believes she has no more to learn from her mentor physician."

  Deimos nodded. "What do you make of King Geoffrey sending lumber?"

  Dagon shrugged. "I always suspect a political motive when it comes to King Geoffrey. I'm a little baffled by it myself."

  Deimos watched the men roll the last rocks off the rafts next to the half built castle wall. They then picked up the ropes to begin pulling the rafts back upstream. "I'd best get back to work. They'll need my help pulling the rafts against the current." He stopped and turned back briefly. "Any news about Tandor and the others?"

  "I don't expect the ship to return for a few more days. I'm thinking of going back down to Fernland to be there when the ship comes in."

  Deimos nodded. "Let me know if you want company." He mounted his horse and rode off to help his men with a backwards wave.

  As Dagon neared the village he noticed a cloud of dust to the south and decided to ride out to see who was on the road to Helsop. He was happy to see a cart full of lumber and caught his breath when he saw what followed the cart of lumber. A dozen Royal Guardsmen escorted Fernland's Royal Carriage into Helsop.

  Queen Delphinia had occasionally accompanied shipments of lumber in the past to visit Electra. But Electra was not here, so why would she come this time? Dagon spurred his horse to a gallop and rode off to meet his visitors. He saluted the Royal Guard Captain. "Who comes in the carriage?" he asked.

  "His Majesty King Geoffrey and Her Majesty Queen Delphinia," the captain announced.

  Dagon's first thought was worry that something had happened to Electra's ship. That thought took flight when Queen Delphinia stuck her head out the carriage window, smiled and waved.

  Dagon managed a friendly smile. "Welcome, all," he shouted as he signaled to the captain of the Royal Guard. "Please follow me to the new school." Dagon waved back to Queen Delphinia, then rode on ahead to the school where he quickly threw tools and boards aside to clear the entrance.

  Dagon waited outside the school wondering why the king had come and what he could do to entertain the royal couple. He decided he could have a bed brought into his house and the king and queen could stay there while he bunked down at post headquarters.

  Dagon helped Delphinia down from the carriage. "We here in Helsop are honored by your visit. I thought you would like to see the progress we have made on Electra's school."

  Delphinia beamed an excited smile. "Yes. We would like that very much." She peered at the unfinished entrance to the school. "Look Geoffrey. It is quite large."

  Encouraged by her remark, Dagon led them through the old cottage which now functioned as an entrance to the school. The next rooms on either side of a hall were the classrooms. The hall continued to a large kitchen dining area on one side and bedrooms on the other. Some of the rooms had the beginnings of rock hearths for heating and cooking.

  "This is quite nice, do you not agree, Geoffrey?"

  So far King Geoffrey had made no comment though he seemed interested in how the school was shaping up, checking beams and posts along the way.

  Dagon continued in his role as tour guide. "We are very glad to have the new lumber you have brought with you. We had gone about as far as we could with the last load." Dagon wondered why they had not told him they were coming.

  Delphinia answered the unasked question. "We decided at the last minute to accompany the lumber. We needed a diversion. It seems so lonely at the castle with both of the children gone."

  "I see," Dagon said. "I'm delighted that you did. You must stay at my house tonight. I will have dinner brought in from the mess tent."

  "We do not want to inconvenience you," Delphinia protested.

  "Nonsense. I stay at post headquarters most nights anyway. I insist."

  "If you are sure then," Delphinia agreed.

  King Geoffrey seemed content to let Delphinia do all the talking. Dagon decided that this must be a social visit after all.

  "I see you are building a castle," King Geoffrey said.

  "A small one. We would like to have a defensive position. It is a thing we have always aspired to."

  "Are you expecting trouble?" Geoffrey asked.

  "Helsop has seen its share. I would have to say trouble seems to find us."

  King Geoffrey grunted. "Perhaps we could see how your castle is progressing later."

  "It would be my pleasure to
give you a tour." Dagon wondered if King Geoffrey could possibly see a castle in Helsop as some kind of threat. He would be sure to show him the rafts that brought in the rocks in case Geoffrey thought they were using lumber meant for Electra's school to build Helsop's castle. The possible reasons behind this visit were making him anxious.

  After the king and queen were settled into Dagon's house, Dagon took Geoffrey on an inspection of the castle. The king seemed interested in the rafting enterprise and nodded as Dagon explained his reasoning for the location of the castle and the barracks behind it.

  "I think it will do," King Geoffrey stated.

  "It will do...defensively?" Dagon asked, hesitant to say more.

  "It will do as a home for Electra," Geoffrey corrected.

  "For Electra, of course." Dagon breathed a sigh of relief.

  Over dinner that evening Delphinia praised the simple meal. "You must return with us in the carriage. In a few days the children should be home. I know you will want to be there to welcome them."

  Dagon thought to himself. Is it possible they have actually accepted me as their future son-in-law? He decided a 'wait and see' attitude was the wisest choice as he thanked them for their invitation.