Audrey of Farmerton

by M. Gregg Roe

  “I have. I would like to accompany them so that I can visit my parents in Farmerton. They will be going right by there on the way.”

  Almera shook her head. “It would sound more convincing if you said you wanted to visit someone in Farmerton that you actually liked. What do you want from us?”

  “Just back me up. I’m going to ask him first.”

  “That will never work. I’ll handle it. Just try not to die along the way. Remember, raising the dead doesn’t always work.”

  Audrey had no intention of dying. That was why she had been training so hard.

  Saxloc finally appeared just before noon. He came into the kitchen in search of food while she was helping Almera to make lunch. He looked tired, but he was also very hungry and quickly consumed the bread, sausage, and cheese that Almera put in front of him. When he finished eating, Almera walked up to him and smiled.

  “Saxloc, dear,” she said in a deceptively sweet voice.

  “Yes, Mother,” he replied warily.

  “Are you going to be escorting Siljan back to her temple soon?”

  He thought about it. “Probably, but I don’t know when. We just got back, and then we were in a big fight early this morning.”

  “I’m certain that you will all be fine in a day or two. The weather isn’t that bad right now, so I think you should leave soon.”

  “I guess that makes sense. I’ll talk to Siljan later and see what her plans are.”

  “Good. Since you’re going that way, I would like you to take Audrey along. She wants to visit her parents in Farmerton and it’s right on the way.”

  Saxloc was incredulous. “Audrey doesn’t even like her parents. She helped us get rid of them. No. This is ridiculous.”

  Audrey spoke up. “I don’t hate my parents, Saxloc. I’m their only child and they haven’t seen me in months. And I do have other family and friends in Farmerton.”

  Almera stared straight at her son. “Saxloc,” she said in a commanding voice. “Take Audrey to Farmerton.”

  He shook his head and asked, “Do I have to bring her back afterward?”

  Audrey glared at him, but Almera’s face went hard and began turning red. “Only if you are planning on coming back. I don’t ever want to hear you say something like that again! Do you understand? Contact all your friends today and start arranging it.”

  Saxloc had clearly given up. He stood, lowered his head, and replied, “Yes, Mother.” He walked out of the kitchen looking angry.

  “Thank you, Almera,” she said while thinking that Almera had made a mess of things. It would have been better if she had just asked him herself. Audrey was thoroughly tired of Almera’s meddling as far as she and Saxloc were concerned. Things were going to change whether Almera wanted them to or not.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Over dinner that evening, Saxloc told them that Gabriel, Hankin, and Siljan had all agreed to go. They would be leaving the day after tomorrow. He looked unhappy, but Audrey was absolutely thrilled. It was finally going to happen!

  After dinner, she followed Saxloc out and told him she wanted to speak with him. “About what?” he asked angrily as they stood in the parlor.

  She looked directly at him and said, “I need to apologize. I understand about the time being different on Kaldir now. I ran into Siljan at the market and she explained it to me. I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

  Saxloc was startled and she thought he looked guilty. “That’s all right. I shouldn’t have expected you to know something like that.” He hesitated. “I shouldn’t have called you stupid.”

  She smiled slightly. “No. Uneducated would have been a better choice. I’m still learning.”

  That made him smile. “Yes, and that’s a good thing.” His smile vanished as he said, “Audrey, this trip could be dangerous, and will certainly be cold and uncomfortable. We will be spending a lot of time outside, including sleeping. You will need proper clothing and a warm blanket. Maybe we should go out shopping tomorrow.”

  Audrey was amazed and now wished that she hadn’t already bought everything. “I’ve already asked your father for advice,” she lied, realizing that she really should have done just that. “I’ve got everything I need.” At least she hoped she had.

  “All right. I guess you really should visit your parents. It has been a while.”

  She nodded. “Almost seven months. We’ve been engaged for nine months.”

  “That long? You still want to marry me?” He sounded amazed.

  “No. I don’t.”

  Audrey turned and walked out as he stood with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  The following day, Audrey read in the morning, ate at the market, and then went for her lesson. She told Grasapa that she was going to be traveling with Saxloc and his friends and that she wasn’t sure when she would be back.

  “I’m going to wait until we’re attacked to reveal my skills,” she said excitedly.

  “Audrey, I would really prefer that you rely on the four of them to protect you. You simply do not understand how dangerous it is. You are going to get yourself killed.”

  Her enthusiasm was draining away. “Uh … I promise I’ll be careful.”

  Grasapa thought a moment and then nodded. “Change back into your regular clothes. We will go and have tea, and I will give you what advice I can.”

  “Okay. And thank you.”

  Audrey ended up spending over two hours at a cafe speaking with Grasapa. She discussed tactics for handling a variety of situations: one opponent, two opponents, completely surrounded. The last one was frightening to think about, but it allowed for attacks without any concern about one’s allies—keeping track of one’s allies was important. She talked about how to work together with people using weapons to fight and stressed the importance of protecting spell-casters, particularly those who were poor at combat. Above all, Grasapa urged her to stay back and only fight if necessary. And to use her throwing knives before closing with an opponent. Audrey thanked her profusely afterward and insisted on paying for the tea and snacks.

  She spent the remainder of the afternoon packing for her trip. She carefully cleaned, sharpened, and oiled her dagger and throwing knives. She would be wearing the dagger, but the throwing knives would be a dead giveaway, and she didn’t want to risk spoiling her surprise. She packed them away in the bottom of her backpack.

  She laid out the clothing and boots she would be wearing tomorrow, and then tried to decide what else to take. She selected a plain pair of leather shoes, and carefully rolled up a shirt and pair of pants. She also included two sets of additional underclothes and another pair of socks. She packed her supply of AP powder, just in case. Finally, she rolled up the lightweight blanket she had bought and stowed it. There was still room in the backpack, but it already felt heavy to her.

  They had dinner in the dining room that evening because they had a guest. Almera had invited her father, and Audrey was delighted. Daragrim chatted amiably and told them to be careful on their journey. Saxloc was in a surprisingly good mood, and he willingly answered his grandfather’s questions about his recent adventures. As usual, Audrey didn’t understand much of it, but she refrained from asking any questions.

  After dinner, Saxloc excused himself, saying that he still had some packing to do. The four of them went into the parlor and had some rice wine. Audrey asked Daragrim about his late wife and how they had met, but she was confused to learn that he was from a city called Vox that was located outside of Andoran’s Realm.

  “Does Vox have any relation to Celebern’s company Novox?” she asked.

  Draymund laughed heartily. “That’s just Celebern’s little joke. He didn’t care for Vox, and he wants people to know it. But almost no one here has even heard of Vox, so it’s more of a private joke.”

  Just after Audrey had gone to her room for the night, there was a knock at her door. She opened it and saw Draymund standing in the hallway holding a small ceramic flask with a cork stopper.
He handed it to her, saying, “Here, Audrey. Take this with you. It’s called Eldin’s Energy Elixir and there are four doses of it in there. You can think of it as your own personal Recovery spell.”

  Audrey was delighted. “Thank you, Draymund. All I have to do is drink it?”

  “That’s right. You probably won’t need it since both Saxloc and Siljan can cast Recovery.”

  She thought for a moment. “Actually, I really hope that I don’t need it. But thank you very much.”

  “You are welcome, Audrey. Take care.”

  Audrey was so excited that night that she could hardly sleep. It’s finally here! My very first adventure. I can’t wait.

  25

  ‡ Rohoville ‡

  In the cold early morning, Audrey found herself walking to the Novox docks alongside Saxloc. There was no conversation, but he was in a good mood. He had approved of how she was outfitted, even complimenting her for being armed with a dagger. Draymund had assisted by telling Saxloc that he had helped her to select it.

  They arrived at the dock of a Novox ship named “No Hope”, which she found somewhat ominous. Hankin was already on board the ship speaking with the crew. As they boarded, he turned and said, “Welcome. It’s nice to see you again, Audrey.”

  She smiled at him and replied, “Thank you for agreeing to escort me to Farmerton.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s an easy trip, and I owe Saxloc for helping out the other night.”

  “No you don’t, Hankin,” said Saxloc. “Celebern paid us well for the job. And besides, it was an interesting change of pace. How long did it take you to get all of that flour out of your hair and clothing?”

  Hankin scowled. “Don’t ask. And we had all better watch out this trip. I saw Siljan take a sack of flour with her when we left.”

  Saxloc laughed, and then he walked over toward some benches nearby and sat down. Hankin winked at her before returning to talking with the crew. Audrey wasn’t sure what he meant by the wink, but she remembered him telling her that she looked different and worried that he might have said something to Saxloc. She also had no idea of what the two of them had been talking about. She walked over and sat down by Saxloc.

  Gabriel and Siljan soon arrived along with a young woman that Audrey had never seen before. She was Audrey’s height and had dark hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her oval face was striking, with large violet-colored eyes, a wide mouth, and thick lips. Under her dark gray hooded cloak, she was wearing a loose brown shirt and matching pants of poor quality. Her belt held both a dagger and a sword whose scabbard was much slimmer than the one that Saxloc employed.

  “Hi!” she said brightly with a lovely smile. “You must be Audrey. I’m Aliva. I got tired of living on Kaldir, so I came back here for a while. I’m coming along because I want to see the temple where Siljan is studying.”

  Audrey nodded at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Aliva. Thank you for coming along.”

  She found herself thinking that Aliva had a sexy voice and that she spoke with a strange accent that was different from the one that Gabriel and Siljan both had. Then she noticed that both Hankin and Saxloc were staring at Aliva with odd expressions, but she had no idea why.

  Gabriel simply nodded at Hankin, and then at Audrey and Saxloc as he took a seat on the bench facing them. Aliva sat down next to Gabriel, and Audrey noticed that Siljan had gone to talk with Hankin, who didn’t look happy about it.

  Before long, Siljan and Hankin walked over, with Siljan grinning and Hankin looking annoyed. Siljan sat down on the other side of Gabriel, and Hankin on the other side of Saxloc, across from Siljan.

  Siljan eyed Audrey and Saxloc. “Taking your girlfriend to see her parents, Saxloc?” she asked tauntingly.

  He responded by glaring at her, and Audrey was surprised when Siljan frowned and then turned her attention to Gabriel. She began teasing him about having gone on a date with Petra, who Audrey still had never met. Gabriel was clearly irritated, but he didn’t say anything in response. Hankin seemed to find it all very entertaining until Siljan turned her attention to him. He jumped up and began to walk away, but Siljan promptly followed. Aliva had been sitting quietly and smiling throughout the entire scene. She just seemed to find it all amusing.

  The ship soon cast off and headed downriver toward Rohoville. There was a definite headwind, but it looked to Audrey that they were moving at a decent clip.

  Hankin and Siljan returned and took their same seats, with neither of them looking happy. Saxloc told everyone that they would be spending the night at the Royal Stone Thing. Audrey assumed that it must be some kind of joke, but he sounded serious and the others simply nodded.

  Aliva suddenly began to speak. “There are some things that I want to tell you. Siljan already knows about it, but I’m tired of keeping it a secret. But first I want to tell you about what Siljan and I did.”

  She then described how a young man had tried to rob her. Aliva managed to befriend him and discovered that he had a younger brother who was very ill. She recruited Siljan to help, and Siljan used her magic to cure the boy’s illness. They then took the two of them to the Temple of Arwon to receive further aid, because they were both undernourished.

  “I felt really great after that,” said Aliva with a lovely smile. “I’m finding that I really like helping people.” Gabriel seemed especially pleased by her remark, and he praised both Aliva and Siljan.

  “This is what I want to tell you,” continued Aliva. “You know how I’m always teasing people who are attracted to me and then rejecting them? There’s a good reason for it. Well, not the teasing part. That was cruel and I’m not going to do it anymore. I rejected them because if I were to have sex with them, they would almost certainly die. I never learned to control my powers properly, and now there’s no one to teach me,” she concluded sadly.

  Saxloc, Gabriel, and Hankin all looked surprised, but Audrey was horrified. Aliva appeared human, but Audrey wondered if she really was. She didn’t want to ask Saxloc or the others because it would just make her appear stupid. Aliva was now going on about having sold all of her jewelry, but Audrey felt afraid of her and couldn’t concentrate.

  Saxloc and his friends spent the rest of the trip chatting about their adventures. She could hardly follow any of it, but Aliva obviously knew about some of it, joining in from time to time.

  She kept finding herself staring at Aliva. There was something odd about her face, and she finally realized that Aliva was wearing a great deal of makeup. Audrey had never worn makeup, but Almera and Cinda sometimes did. She was almost certain that Aliva was using makeup to make herself appear uglier. She had skillfully created dark circles under her eyes, deemphasized her prominent cheekbones, and made her face appear less symmetrical. Is that to discourage men from being attracted to her? This is very strange. Suddenly, Aliva looked directly at her and winked. Audrey hurriedly looked away, feeling a chill. Aliva seemed very open and friendly, but she wondered if it was all an act and felt afraid.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  They arrived at Rohoville in the mid-afternoon with light snow falling. The city was covered with a fresh blanket of snow, making everything look pure and pristine. They walked east from the docks and were soon traveling uphill. They passed between two hills, and Audrey recognized the large house on the left from her first brief visit. It was where people named Adrian and Asria lived. There was a large, ornate-looking building on the even higher hill to the right.

  “That building houses all three of the temples here,” said Aliva suddenly. Audrey gave her a startled look, but Aliva just smiled in response. “I noticed you looking. It’s a three-sided building for the three primary gods: Dukane, Arwon, and Karth.” Audrey gave her a grateful look, and Aliva continued pointing things out as they began to climb a very broad hill with a castle visible at the top. “That’s the Royal Stone Thing,” Aliva told her. “Before Danj became King it was just the Stone Thing. It’s a silly name, but Danj is a simple man who everyone respects, so they
all decided to just accept his name for it. Danj is really sweet and you’ll absolutely love his wife Sabrina when you meet her.”

  The two of them were now walking well behind the others. “Thank you, Aliva. That’s very interesting. I barely saw anything of Rohoville when I was here before.”

  Aliva cocked an eyebrow. “And Saxloc hasn’t told you anything, has he? I heard from Gabriel about how he’s been treating you. It’s shameful. But I also heard about how you trapped him into being your fiancé. That wasn’t very nice.”

  Audrey didn’t feel like explaining the details, so she lowered her head and said, “No. It wasn’t. But Saxloc did save my life and I was desperate to escape my village. I just had to get out of there.”

  “And you love Saxloc, don’t you, Audrey? I can see the way you look at him.”

  Audrey jerked her head up and stared at Aliva, but her face showed nothing but compassion and empathy. “Maybe. I’m just not sure,” she replied quietly. It was the truth.

  “Then don’t give up. Saxloc will figure it out eventually.”

  They soon arrived at the top of the hill. This castle wasn’t as large as the Witch’s Castle, but it was taller and appeared both well-constructed and formidable. Blue and red pennons were visible atop the walls. The guards in front of the castle were wearing blue-and-red checkered surcoats.

  The guards clearly recognized Audrey’s companions. They promptly opened the doors and the six of them walked right past and into a large entryway. A thin, gray-haired man who looked like some kind of steward appeared and led them to a set of large doors that were labeled “Throne Room”. He opened the doors and declared, “You are entering the presence of Good King Danj the Good Who is Spoken of by the Gods, and Queen Sabrina.”

  Good King Danj the Good? Audrey was baffled and looked around at the others. None of them seemed to find it unusual or funny. What is going on?

  The steward led them into a large room festooned with bright tapestries. A blue-and-red striped carpet led up to a broad platform upon which were situated two ornate, high-back, wooden chairs. The left chair was occupied by a regal-looking middle-aged woman with long black hair wearing a bright blue dress. In the right chair was a powerfully built man with short dark hair and a beard just beginning to gray. He was also dressed in blue and had a gold circlet studded with red gems on his head.