by L. M. Roth
For some mystifying reason, Cort felt drawn to this land. How beautiful it was; the mountains rose only a mile or two in height and from the shore he could glimpse inland waterfalls that cascaded from the hills. As they circled around to the other side he saw rugged outcroppings and streams of clear water. A sunbeam broke through the clouds at that moment, bathing the land in a soft clear light that lent an aura of divine favor to the isle that was in stark contrast to the sea around it, a cold slate blue that lapped roughly on the shore. The entire effect was of a place untouched by man, wild and remote. He had never heard of this land in any of his previous travels, and asked the Captain what he knew of it.
“Ah, a fair land it is,” he agreed as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. “But not friendly.”
And he dismissed Cort’s questions with an abrupt shake of his head. Cort, however, was not to be deterred. The land intrigued him, as did his sense of being drawn to it.
“What do you mean, it is not friendly?” he asked. “Are the inhabitants hostile to strangers? Are they dangerous? If that is so, how do they do trade with other countries?”
“The people are aloof,” the Captain replied. “They believe they are descended from gods who came to earth long ago. They say that for many generations of men they were happy in their land, and ruled it in justice and mercy. Sickness and disease was unknown to them, for their land had been blessed with every healing herb. But they say that a stranger long ago came to their shores and corrupted their people and destroyed their divine heritage. Now they have no communication with others except for the trade that is necessary to ensure the survival of their people.”
“That sounds like an intriguing story,” Cort said. “Tell me; who was the stranger that came to them, and how did he corrupt their people?”
“I know not,” the Captain answered. “The legend is that the daughters of the king married with the sons of this man and the divine strain was tainted with lesser blood. There are many versions of this story, but the people of Darian do not mix with other peoples, and so the full truth is not told.”
Cort digested this statement in silence but with a rising tide of curiosity. How he longed to visit this land and meet the people!
The Captain continued.
“We shall take on a load of herbs and healing oils here; for they produce the finest in the world.”
Cort ambled along the shore of Darian. They had landed on the greener side of the island where a pier had been constructed for the convenience of the ships which came to trade with the people. Cort told Siv what the Captain had related to him, and she also was eager to see something of this mysterious land. Brit was nursing a lingering cold and decided to stay in her cabin and rest.
There was a cluster of stalls along the shore that reminded Cort of the stalls in the fishing village of Annick where he had met his brother Brenus many years ago. Tears stung his eyes as the unexpected memory came unbidden to his mind. How he missed him! Would the ache never leave him, but remain in his heart til the end of his days?
He was sobered by the thought, and Siv was quick to catch his change of mood. She said nothing, but put her arm through his and strolled along beside him. Cort was soothed by the presence of his wife, and took comfort in her gentle sympathy.
They soon came to the stalls, and with the swift changes of mood for which Cort was known, he was caught up at once in the investigation of their wares. One peddler held up a vial of some sweet smelling fragrance to him: would he like to buy it for his lady? he was asked.
Siv smelled it and let out a sigh of delight.
“How lovely!” she breathed. “What is it?”
The peddler, sniffing the aroma of a potential sale, gave her an ingratiating smile, and answered her with eagerness in his voice.
“It is mint, a very rare form of it. One whiff will cure headache and lift the spirits. I have many oils that will heal many ailments. What does the lady desire? For I am sure that I have it among my wares.”
Siv glanced at Cort: surely there was nothing wrong with an oil that brought a cure. It was surely different from a potion that had been enchanted with a spell spoken by a sorcerer. Wasn’t it?
Cort hesitated but felt no resistance in his spirit. It was true that Dominio had given many plants and herbs for medicine, and he could not discern anything evil in the vial offered to Siv. He nodded his head and paid the peddler.
Siv was delighted and asked him if he had any cure for a cold. Her mother-in-law, she explained, had a particularly severe one that was causing considerable discomfort. Did he have any such treatment?
“But yes!” the peddler exclaimed. “Tell her to take jut one drop of this oil. It is from the haleo berry, which grows in our mountains. It will heal anything, no matter what the ailment, whether it be a mere cold, or a life threatening illness. I have even seen it repair wounded flesh. My boy was bitten by a dog, and I applied one drop and in no time the flesh was made whole again!”
Cort looked skeptical at this last statement, but there was a way to determine whether the peddler spoke the truth. Only that morning he had scraped his finger on the wooden rail of the ship as he grasped it during their disembarkment. He decided to test the oil.
He held up his finger and asked the peddler to apply a drop. With delight the man did so, and he joined Cort and Siv in anticipation of the results. They were far better than Cort expected.
He caught his breath as the scrape, which had already turned red, seemed to disappear even as he gazed at it, and the angry red faded to a faint pink before blending in with the tone of his skin.
“That is amazing!” he marveled.
He turned to Siv and they laughed in sheer delight.
“Yes,” he said to the peddler, “we will buy it. And the mint also.”
When they boarded the ship, Siv hurried to Brit’s side and administered the dose to her mother-in-law. The cough that had plagued her and kept her awake at night stopped, and her head immediately cleared of the congestion that had made her days miserable. The hoarseness of her voice was soothed, and she bestowed a grateful smile on Siv.
“Oh, how wonderful it is to breathe freely,” she sighed. “What did you give me, daughter?”
“A healing oil, from a strange land,” Siv replied.
“Yes indeed,” Cort chimed in. “And it is my intention that we shall return there one day to investigate it further. But now we must journey on until we come to the destination that Dominio has for us at present.”
Chapter IX
An Expedited Destination
The days grew hot again with skies that turned a bright, hard blue, their cloudless state offering no relief from the unrelenting sun that seemed always to hang directly overhead, and beat down on them mercilessly as if to punish them for wrongs unknown. They journeyed on, and a day came when Cort spied a strange shape on the water not far from land. They were traveling a few miles off the fertile coast of a country unknown to him, and one that was not on the ship’s itinerary.
The Captain had decided to keep close to shore because the storms of late August that heralded the imminence of autumn were about to descend and he did not want to be caught at sea when a gale blew up. Better to stick close to land, though well out to sea, and not be in the middle of the ocean with no harbor to shelter them.
Thus it was that on this sultry day, when the air was heavy, and sweat from his brow traveled unimpeded to his lip that Cort saw the object that would expedite him and his family to their destination.
He was standing at the rail trying in vain to catch a breath of air, when he noticed a large dark shape not far off the starboard. He leaned over the rail to get a better look, when suddenly it rose up before him in a long and terrifying ascent from the water. It seemed to fill the sky as it rose higher and higher in the water. Later he would estimate the creature at a length of about seventy to eighty feet, larger than any creature he had ever seen.
Just at that moment the lookout spied it also and raised the ala
rm.
“Whale, right ahead! Everyone take cover!”
Cort searched frantically for his wife and mother. He found them in their cabin and hurried them to the deck above. It would not be wise to be caught below if any collision ensued, he told them; for they would be trapped and would drown in the rush of water that would fill the hold. Brit managed to collect their bundles; she did not desire that they be destitute if any harm to the ship left them adrift, she explained.
They scrambled above and saw that the whale was now directly in their path. The crew were all scurrying about with no purpose that Cort could detect, but the Captain was twirling the wheel in a desperate attempt to steer clear of the massive creature that now lay in wait for them and threatened their destruction.
But with a sickening sound of splintering wood Cort knew it was too late. He grabbed the hands of Siv and Brit and hunkered down with them on the deck as planks flew up around them. The lookout fell with a shriek from the crow’s nest and lay still and unmoving. The Captain was left with a wheel in his hands that was no longer attached to its mooring, and with a stunned face gave the order to evacuate the ship.
The crew scrambled to unload some smaller boats that were piled on the aft side. The ship was now taking on water so fast that a list was noticeable. Cort took one look at the rapidly descending deck and the feeble attempts of the crew to loose the boats, securely fastened to their berths. And he decided not to wait for the crew.
“Quickly, follow me!” he urged his wife and mother.
He hurried to the front of the ship where a section of planking had detached itself and now formed a small raft. He managed to grab a corner of it and pull it closer. He hastily deposited Siv on the top, then Brit, and he climbed up on it last of all.
“Take one of those loose boards that you see floating around and row with it,” he instructed Siv.
She followed the direction of his pointing finger and clutched at the nearest one. He lunged for another and together they pulled for the shore they saw nearby. There was no sign of the whale that had destroyed the ship. They could see the Captain and crew still trying to unload the smaller boats when the deck slipped below the water and spilled them all into the sea.
Cort groaned; he and Siv prayed for their safety, but wasted no time in ensuring their own. They pulled on the boards and rowed together as one. Brit held onto the raft with a white face but did not complain or cry out. In a shorter time than he would have imagined possible they reached the coast of the land they had seen in the distance. Within an hour of the shipwreck they landed on its shores and walked safely along the beach.
Now that Cort was on the land itself he was able to discern the country in which they now found themselves. He had never seen it from the shore, always having journeyed from inland to reach it, and so had not recognized the coastline.
It was Gaudereaux.
When they realized where they were, Cort decided that they should hasten to an inn where they could change into dry clothes and collect their bearings before planning their course. They did so at once, and Brit felt that she needed to take a brief nap to rest from the excitement of the morning. Siv thought this an excellent plan, and said she would join her, leaving Cort to entertain himself.
He was not long at a loss for plans on how to do so. He reasoned that Dominio had allowed the wreck to the ship to deliver them onto the shores of Gaudereaux. He took a walk along the coastline, and discovered to his relief that many of the crew along with the Captain had now made it to the shore as well.
They never did succeed in unloading the boats from their berths, but the pressure of the water when it overtook the ship had succeeded in dislodging the boats, and they were able to seat themselves in the ones that landed upright, and straddle those that turned over in the water. After a roll call they discovered that no hands were lost except the lookout, and the Captain said it was no surprise considering how far he fell. But he should have been more alert and spotted the creature sooner: were it not for that the collision might have been avoided entirely.
Cort did not offer an opinion, but merely congratulated them on their narrow escape from a watery grave. They would stay here, the Captain said, until they could book passage on another ship and return to Valerium. He could notify Cort when he had news of that. Cort nodded, but did not comment or commit himself to the plan. He did not know how long he would be in Gaudereaux, but he did not feel he was to continue with the Captain and the crew on their return to Valerium.
He was prepared to continue his journey, and to take willingly whatever adventure Dominio sent to him.
It had been many years since Cort had seen the villa he now looked upon in the lush green valley below. He had been only a small boy when he had traveled with Dag and Marcus as they had attempted to appease the Empress Aurora and bring back the objects she demanded from their quest. And the land before him was one to which he had never wanted to willingly return.
Now he had been led here in a most dramatic fashion. Even as he beheld the luxuriant panorama below him, he dreaded the interview to come, one that he could not avoid.
For he knew in his heart that the purpose of this unplanned visit to Gaudereaux was to call on Pascal and Gaelle, the parents of Fanchon, who had been his hosts so long ago.
And here he would discover the truth behind the tale that had been told him by Fanchon’s daughter, who had come to Eirinia and wreaked pain and destruction on the man she held responsible for her death.
Chapter X
A Visit With Old Friends
Cort and Siv were greeted effusively by Pascal and tenderly by his wife.
But how wonderful to see him! Pascal exclaimed. And how he had grown since last they saw him. Why, he was a man now, a tall young man with a wife, and a fine one at that!
Gaelle smiled at him and patted his cheek with remembered fondness. Cort recalled how much he had liked this couple and some of the dread he had felt in calling on them fell away from him at their obvious joy in seeing him.
And yet there was pain for them as well, he sensed. For how could they not be reminded of Dag and the betrothal to their daughter that had come to naught, and yet had been instrumental in her death if Melisande’s account was to be believed.
He had decided to take Siv with him on the pretext of introducing his new bride to the couple, as was the custom among civilized people. Brit remained behind at the inn so as not to overwhelm Pascal and Gaelle. He did not rush to state his true purpose in the visit, but was content to allow the conversation to proceed naturally. That the couple was at first puzzled by his call was evident, though quickly masked by their genuine joy at the reunion.
Why, it made him feel young again to see Cort! Pascal said. Ah, the memories of that merry band of young people who had lightened their hearts when they stayed at the villa. Where were they now, Pascal asked. Did they fare well?
Gaelle nudged him slightly and took over the line of questioning. How good it was to see Cort, she said. And what a pleasure to meet his bride!
But he sensed that she did not really wish to hear news of Dag. That it would only bring pain to speak of him Cort was well aware. And yet there was no way to avoid it…
At last the question he waited for was put to him.
“And what brings you to Gaudereaux?” Gaelle inquired. “For I believe you went to Eirinia, did you not?”
Cort blinked his eyes in astonishment: he had not been aware that Fanchon’s parents had known his ultimate destination. He had never seen them again after they left their daughter here to return with Marcus to Valerium to report to the Empress Aurora.
“Yes, I did go to Erinia and I made my home there,” he replied. “But I admit I am puzzled how news of that reached you here in Gaudereaux. For I have not seen anyone from your land until recently. How came you to have any news of me?”
And he turned to face her in genuine puzzlement as a frown wrinkled his brow. But Gaelle merely smiled at his surprise.
“It was
Governor Urbanus,” she stated simply. “Or Emperor Urbanus as he now is. You see, he always retained a fondness for Gaudereaux, and he paid a visit a year ago last spring. It was spring that he loved in this land, the gentle warmth that came earlier than in other lands, and the flowers, which he said were more enchanting than the delicate blooms that grow in Valerium.
“He called on us and mentioned that he saw much of Marcus Maximus, who lived in Potentus, and that you and your father occasionally visited him. It was he who told us that you and, you and…Dag, had made your home in Eirinia.”
For a moment, Gaelle faltered over Dag’s name and Cort feared she would not be able to finish her sentence. But she resolutely continued and Cort admired the fact that she did not shed tears or show any anger when mentioning the man who had affected the fate of her daughter.
Gaelle recovered her composure and returned to her question.
“You are visiting Gaudereaux, Cort? Are you enjoying some travels, or is Gaudereaux merely on your way to some other destination?”
Cort did not wish to deceive this couple that he still felt such a warm affection for. He suddenly realized that they were now related to him by marriage, and knew also that this fact provided him with all the excuse he needed for his visit.
“Yes, I am enjoying some travels,” he answered. “I have my wife and mother with me, but they are relaxing in an inn after the ordeal which we have just passed through. Our ship had an unexpected meeting with a whale this morning and that changed not only our plans but the Captain’s and crew’s as well. All are safe, except for the lookout who did not spot it in time, and fell to his death.”
