Audrey of Farmerton

by M. Gregg Roe

  “Good. Try to be more careful.” He sat back down and continued reading.

  Audrey walked out of the parlor and went to her room. When she told Almera and Draymund about it later, they were happy to hear what their son had done for her. She was just happy he had actually talked to her.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  The following day, Audrey had her final self-defense class. There were two other students remaining, and she had discovered that neither of them had any interest in further martial arts training. At the end of the class, Grasapa gave all three of them personalized parchment certificates and thanked them.

  Audrey waited for the other two women to leave and then approached Grasapa. “I would like to enroll here as a regular student,” she said seriously.

  Grasapa nodded. “Excellent. You made it all the way through and have performed well. You are a quick learner, and you have excellent reflexes. We will continue the current schedule of every other day in the afternoon, but now the real lessons will start.”

  Audrey was absolutely delighted. “Okay!” she exclaimed. “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

  She smiled all the way back to the mansion.

  12

  ‡ Clerics ‡

  Carlinda hadn’t been exaggerating when she told her that Grasapa worked her students hard. The new lessons were much more exhausting than the self-defense classes had been. Grasapa did all of the exercises along with her, but it didn’t seem to tire her at all. It nearly killed Audrey. Just walking back to the mansion afterward was a struggle. And when she arrived, she went straight to her room and soaked in her tub. After dinner, she went straight back to her room and laid down. She never helped cook dinner on class days. Almera told her it was fine, but she still felt guilty about it.

  Initially, all of her lessons were private. Grasapa began by teaching her a few basic stances, kicks, punches, and blocks. Then she taught her a series of slow movements that incorporated many of them, known simply as the Slow Form. Once she had mastered it, Audrey found the Slow Form to be very relaxing, and she often performed it before going to bed.

  Her tuition at Xlee’s Martial Arts Academy was now thirty silver per month. It was a flat rate, allowing her to attend as many classes as she desired. When she told Draymund how much it was, he simply handed her a gold piece and said, “That will pay for three months. Or until you lose interest. You can keep the rest.”

  He was grinning as he spoke, and she replied testily, “I am not going to lose interest.”

  But she took the coin without arguing about it. She could always donate the excess to the temple or a charity. Grasapa refused to allow her to pay for three months in advance. She too seemed to believe that Audrey wouldn’t last that long before quitting. That just made her even more determined to prove the two of them wrong.

  The uniforms that Grasapa sold at her school were surprisingly inexpensive. Audrey bought two more so that she wouldn’t have to launder so often. She worried that Saxloc might get nosy and sneak into her room when she wasn’t there. He would certainly recognize the uniforms. For reasons she really couldn’t explain, she didn’t want him to know about her Shorinken training.

  Audrey always closed her door, but it didn’t have a lock of any kind. From what she could tell, shops and restaurants and other houses all had locks on both their doors and windows. But the mansion didn’t even have locks on the outside doors. Or on the iron gate that allowed access to the grounds. It seemed to her that thieves could walk in any time the house was empty, and then walk right out with Almera’s jewelry and all of the other expensive items that absolutely filled the place. They must be relying on Draymund’s connection to Celebern to protect them, but she had never seen Novox employees anywhere nearby.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  For her sixth lesson, Grasapa took Audrey to a room that had padding on most of the floor and told her that she needed to learn to fall properly. Grasapa smiled when she saw the confused look on her face. She summoned one of her students and proceeded to demonstrate a number of throwing techniques, each resulting in the young woman being slammed into the padding with Grasapa controlling one of her arms or legs. The young woman jumped right back up each time with a happy smile. Audrey began watching more carefully, and she could see that the woman was twisting her body and using her free arm to lessen the effect of the impact. Audrey spent the rest of the lesson trying to learn falls and rolls, but it was more difficult than it looked.

  After her lesson, the woman who had assisted Grasapa approached her. Her name was Nissa, and she was short, busty, blond-haired, blue-eyed, and quite cute. But most of all she was talkative—incredibly talkative. Within minutes, Audrey had learned that Nissa was an orphan, that she worked as a barmaid at a place called the Axe & Spear, and that she eventually wanted to travel, marry, have children, and so on. Then Nissa started peppering her with questions. Audrey told her where she was from, and that she had come to the Witch’s City to try to find a better life. Nissa was impressed that Audrey was from another place and that she had traveled on a ship from Rohoville.

  “Where do you live?” Nissa asked innocently. “I live in a real dump in a bad area. The place I work is really seedy too. I’m always getting pawed at by drunks. That’s why I started taking lessons here. I can even break up brawls now if they start getting out of hand, which they usually do because of all the drinking.”

  She finally ran out of breath and Audrey replied, “A nice couple named Draymund and Almera took me in. They’ve been very kind to me.”

  Nissa’s eyes went very wide. “You live with Saxloc!” she said excitedly. “Is he your boyfriend? You’re so lucky, Audrey. Saxloc’s not as handsome as Gabriel, but he’s really sweet. And those pointed ears are kind of sexy, don’t you think?” Nissa began to blush. “Actually, I really like Gabriel, but I’m afraid to tell him. His parents are really important and I’m sure they wouldn’t approve of someone like me.”

  Audrey was in shock. It had never occurred to her that someone like Nissa would know the names of Saxloc’s parents, let alone know Saxloc personally. She wondered why Saxloc and Gabriel would go drinking at a seedy tavern. It seemed particularly out of character for Saxloc. She couldn’t picture him going into a place like that wearing his fancy clothing.

  “I do live with Saxloc’s parents,” she admitted, “but Saxloc isn’t my boyfriend, at least not yet.” Nissa smiled mischievously. “Does Saxloc really drink at the place where you work?”

  “Sure. He and Gabriel and Hankin are all regulars. And Siljan too when she’s in town. I really like all of them. The first time they ever came to the Axe & Spear there was a really nasty brawl and I was killed. But I’m fine now. Isn’t that amazing?”

  Audrey stared at her in astonishment. “You were killed?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Yes. And then they took my body to a temple and a cleric used some kind of magic to bring me back to life. It was at the Temple of Karth. I always try to donate money there every month. It’s weird, but I don’t remember anything about being dead. Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of afterlife? But maybe that’s just how it works.”

  Audrey’s head was swimming from all the new information and Nissa’s rapid-fire delivery. “We didn’t have clerics where I grew up, Nissa, so this is all new to me. Anyway, I need to change and get home. It was nice meeting you.”

  “Okay! And say hello to Saxloc for me.” Nissa certainly didn’t lack for energy.

  “Uh … actually, I’m trying to keep this secret from Saxloc. I want to surprise him.”

  “Wow! That’s really neat! Don’t worry, I won’t say a word about having met you. Okay? See you!”

  Audrey quickly went to the changing room and put on her normal clothes. Her mind was racing as she walked home. At one point, she was so distracted that she nearly walked into a wall. They have clerics here who can raise the dead! She remembered hearing stories that had people dying and coming back to life, but she had thought that those were all j
ust made up. She thought of all the people who had died in Farmerton during her own short life, and it made her very sad.

  Then she found herself thinking that she really should have figured it out earlier. Raising the dead seemed like a miracle, but what the LifeStaff had done for her was also miraculous. It hadn’t just completely healed her leg, it had erased every single scar that was on her body. That had really surprised her when she first noticed it.

  When she arrived back at the mansion, she went looking for Almera and found her outside trimming some rosebushes. She walked up and said, “Almera, I just found out that the clerics here can raise the dead. Can you tell me how that works?”

  Almera dropped the shears she was holding in surprise. She gave Audrey a gentle hug before replying. “I’m sorry. I had no idea that you didn’t know about that. The head clerics of all three temples here can use magic to raise the dead. The LifeStaff can even bring someone back who has been dead for a long time. It’s a powerful magic, and it doesn’t always work. It used to work better, but things changed after Andoran’s death. You should speak with Draymund. He was studying to become a cleric of Arwon before he decided to become a dragon-slayer.”

  Audrey stood with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. “Andoran is dead?” she asked in horror. She had always thought of the legendary creator of Andoran’s Realm as an equal of the gods themselves.

  Almera slapped her forehead with her hand. “I’ve done it again. Yes, Andoran is dead, but it’s not common knowledge. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  “Okay, I won’t tell anyone. Did you ever die, Almera?”

  “No, but I’ve come close. Draymund has died twice, and once it was a dragon. Remind him of that if he starts acting too full of himself,” she concluded with a devilish smile.

  “You know,” mused Audrey. “I often wondered why you would let someone as young as Saxloc go off on dangerous adventures. But this explains it. If Saxloc dies, then his friends will take his body to a temple and have him raised from the dead.”

  “Very good, Audrey! That’s exactly right. I still worry about Saxloc, of course, but I know he will always come back.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Audrey jerked awake, feeling her left shoulder being shaken. She was on the rug in front of one of the fireplaces, lying on her side and curled up tightly. Her face was still wet with tears, and the front of her shirt felt damp.

  “Are you all right?” It was Saxloc’s voice, and he sounded concerned.

  She let go of her knees and raised herself up. He was standing next to her looking both concerned and puzzled. She was surprised to see that it was already getting dark. He must have activated one of the glow-cubes first because she could see it glowing off to her right.

  Audrey glared at him and yelled, “I am not all right! I will never be all right! Just leave me alone and stop pretending that you even care!”

  Draymund and Almera had gone out to dinner earlier that evening. She hadn’t seen Saxloc since breakfast, so she fixed herself a simple meal and then cleaned up the kitchen. Then she went to the library and picked out a book on plants that had many illustrations. She sat down in the parlor and began to look through it, but she just couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about were the people she had known that were now dead: Quentin, Janny, her uncle, all of her grandparents, her sister. How many of them would be alive if a powerful cleric had lived in their village? Even someone like Siljan or Saxloc would have been able to save many lives using their healing magic. Tears began to stream down her cheeks and she didn’t know how to stop them. She had been completely overcome by grief, ending up lying on the floor weeping uncontrollably.

  Saxloc stared at her, looking serious and a little angry. “Tell me what’s wrong,” he insisted. “Why are you crying?”

  Audrey put a hand to her cheek in surprise; she hadn’t even realized that she had begun crying again. She stared at Saxloc and narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never wanted for anything. You live in incredible luxury and don’t even seem to realize it. The clothes you’re wearing are probably worth more than the house I grew up in.”

  Now he was definitely getting angry. “Audrey, you are wrong. I know that I’m not typical. I’ve been to your village and others like it. I know how most people live. And I’m not living a life of luxury when I go adventuring.”

  He looked like he was thinking about just walking out, but then he looked directly at her and said. “Please tell me what’s wrong. What has got you so upset?”

  She wiped her face with her hand and managed to get her crying under control. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and then resting her chin on her knees. “Death,” she said. “It’s all about death.”

  He picked up one of the overstuffed chairs, put it down facing her, and then lowered himself into it. He looked very serious as he motioned and said, “Go on. Explain it to me. Please.”

  Audrey sighed and tried to compose her thoughts. “If someone here gets a bad injury or comes down with a nasty illness, then you just take them to a temple. A cleric uses some healing magic, and that takes care of it. Everything’s fine. I knew this before I even came here, of course. I wouldn’t even be alive if you hadn’t healed my leg. And later I saw Alessandra using her magic to heal people. It’s commonplace for you, but to me, it seemed like a miracle.”

  She chewed on her lower lip, trying to think how to explain it to him. “Today,” she continued, “I found out that the clerics here can bring people back from the dead.”

  “You didn’t know that?” he asked with a startled look.

  “No. I didn’t know it was even possible. And no one ever thought to mention it to me. I guess everyone here just takes it for granted.

  “Saxloc, I don’t have any living grandparents. My cousins are now growing up without a father. A man in the village died keeping the crocodile from finishing me off. My little sister died when she was two!”

  Saxloc looked very uncomfortable as she continued to stare directly at him. “It’s just not fair,” she continued. “In Farmerton people just die. From injuries. From disease. From stupid things. And no one brings them back. They’re just dead. Forever. It’s not fair!”

  He sat and stared at her, and Audrey thought that he now looked almost sympathetic. “That’s just the way things are,” he said gently. “There aren’t that many clerics, and they tend to settle in cities because that is where they can do the most good. Most clerics aren’t powerful enough to raise the dead, and it doesn’t always work.”

  She stared at him with a sorrowful expression. “The man who saved me—his name was Quentin. He hadn’t been dead very long when you and your friends arrived. Couldn’t you have taken him to be raised?”

  “In theory, yes. We do try to help people, but we can’t help everyone. Carrying the corpse of someone we didn’t know all the way back to Rohoville was just never going to happen. Besides, wouldn’t they have already burned his body?”

  Audrey sighed and felt very depressed. “Yes, that’s what we do in Farmerton. We burn the body and scatter the ashes in the lake. But we shouldn’t. We should take the bodies to Alessandra’s temple. That’s closer, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I’m not certain if Alessandra has that capability. At the time I healed you we hadn’t even met Alessandra yet.”

  “Oh.” That hadn’t occurred to her.

  “There’s actually a very good reason that they burn the bodies in Farmerton. Dead bodies can be reanimated by evil clerics into undead.”

  “Undead?” She had never heard the word before.

  “Living corpses. Animated skeletons. Ghosts. Ghouls. There’s a large variety, and they are all horrible creatures. A village with a graveyard full of bodies is a prime target for evil clerics. Even here in the Witch’s City, bodies that can’t be brought back, or which remain unidentified, are always burned.”

  She thought about it for a moment before askin
g, “Are evil clerics more common than good ones?”

  Saxloc nodded. “They probably are. They don’t have to be humans or elves either. They could be goblins or orcs or something.”

  “I didn’t know that. I guess it’s better that Quentin went to the afterlife cleanly, rather than become some evil creature.”

  “Yes, it probably was. Bodies turned into undead can’t be restored to life by any means. That probably indicates that their soul has been destroyed, instead of going to an afterlife.”

  “I see. Thank you for explaining, Saxloc. You’re very wise.” She actually did feel better now.

  Audrey began to get up, and she was pleasantly surprised when he promptly jumped up and helped her. Then she realized that she actually did need his help. Her legs were weak and she felt drained.

  “Shall I help you to your room?” he asked, still firmly holding her left arm.

  She hesitated. “No. Help me to the kitchen. I’m going to drown my sorrows in rice wine.”

  “Then I suppose I had better join you,” he said, clearly amused. “I don’t want to have to explain to my parents why you are lying on the kitchen floor in a drunken stupor.”

  Audrey didn’t end up in a drunken stupor, but she did eventually end up on the floor. As they drank, Saxloc tried to explain about the different types of magic that could do things like heal, cure diseases, raise the dead, or even restore a lost limb. She didn’t understand much of it, and he didn’t appear to notice. Then he began talking about the LifeStaff, but she really didn’t understand that either.

  After refilling both of their cups, she was surprised to hear herself asking something that she had been wondering about for a long time. “Saxloc, why did you come back?”

  “Come back where? To Farmerton?”

  “Yes. Why didn’t you just forget about it? Not tell your parents.”

  Saxloc shook his head. “That’s exactly what Hankin advised.”

  “So why didn’t you do that?” The wine was definitely starting to go to her head.