Audrey of Farmerton

by M. Gregg Roe

  Cinda was smiling as Celebern removed her cloak. “Lord Celebern has engaged me this evening as his companion and bodyguard,” she announced proudly, making fists of both her hands. Audrey laughed again as she saw that the two of them were both dressed in dark blue with metallic gold accents. They matched remarkably well, and that had to be deliberate. She wondered if Celebern had actually bought the dress for Cinda.

  Celebern bowed to them. “I am honored to be invited here tonight, and that Lady Cinda consented to accompany me.”

  Audrey knew that Cinda was being paid, but Celebern had obviously requested her specifically, probably at Almera’s suggestion. She found herself wondering what other of Cinda’s services he had requested. She knew it was useless to ask because confidentiality was part of the agreement.

  Celebern hadn’t seen Audrey in quite a while, and he was quite complimentary and flattering. Over dinner, he told them that Novox was doing quite well and that he was pleased by Hankin’s performance. Cinda sat next to Celebern, and she chatted amiably on a variety of topics.

  After dinner, they all went into the parlor with some rice wine. Almera, Draymund, and Celebern told the story of how they had found a book that eventually led them to encounter Albert, the infamous purple-robed wizard. Albert informed them that the magical disruption caused by Andoran’s death had brought an end to the Great Cold. The frozen continents were now beginning to rapidly warm, and he asked for their assistance to recover the bodies of his former companions before they thawed.

  The three of them, along with Branwyn and Milric, ended up being magically transported to Yunn by Albert, who then departed and left them there for a long while. They found a number of ice-encased bodies in the Sixth City of Yunn. They had the LifeStaff with them and were able to use it to bring one of the bodies back to life. They were aided in this by a woman with greenish skin who seemed to be part plant, and who had once been a cleric of Arwon. The person they resurrected was Birchbark, a powerful druid. He didn’t speak their language, but the plant woman was able to help with that as well. Birchbark was able to identify many of the other bodies, and they ended up hauling those off to an underground area populated by friendly dwarves. Birchbark also gave the plant woman a name: Fern.

  They had some other adventures on Yunn and gradually used the LifeStaff to restore some of Birchbark’s companions, including Danj, Medea, Adrian, and Asria. It was gradual because the LifeStaff could only perform that kind of resurrection once per month. They also found the EarthStaff there, which Birchbark could employ.

  Albert finally returned and took all of them, as well as the remaining frozen bodies, back to the Witch’s City. All of the bodies were eventually resurrected using the LifeStaff. The list of those recovered was astonishing, and Audrey was amazed by how many of them she had met. It included: Danj and Sabrina, and their children Bjarni and Siljan; Mardan and Medea, and their son Gabriel; Grasapa and Dulls, and their daughter Ariel; Adrian and Asria; Xlee; and even Oljot, the wizard who now provided magical transportation to Kaldir.

  The story continued, telling how Birchbark performed research and eventually used magic to restore Fern to a normal human. He fell in love with her, and the two married.

  Audrey clapped her hands in delight. “That’s so romantic! Now I finally understand how all of those people who lived a century ago ended up here alive. Were you really pregnant with Saxloc when you were there, Almera?”

  “Yes,” she replied, “and it was my dire threats that finally convinced Albert to bring us all back here.”

  After the story was over, Audrey really wanted to speak privately with Cinda, but her friend took her job seriously. She was almost always by Celebern’s side, and often holding his arm. She refilled his goblet for him without even being asked. Audrey actually found it a little unsettling.

  Celebern, Cinda, Draymund, and Almera ended up together talking about Novox, while Audrey and Saxloc drifted over to the far side of the parlor. Audrey was feeling a little light-headed from the wine as she asked, “How was your date, Saxloc? Did you give little Rosalind a thrill?”

  Saxloc looked at her oddly. Then he smiled. “Drunk again, I see. No, I didn’t give Rosalind a thrill. That would be going much too fast for someone like her. A goodnight kiss was about all she could handle.”

  She nodded, which made her feel even more light-headed. “I think that’s wise. She looks kind of delicate.”

  “She definitely is. We’re going out again tomorrow night. She insisted.”

  “You’ll get her this time, Saxloc. Just like I got Erwin.”

  He suddenly took her goblet from her hand. He poured the rest into his own goblet and then placed it on a nearby table, saying, “I think you’ve had enough.”

  Saxloc hesitated before asking her, “Well, how was it? Did Erwin satisfy you?”

  She frowned and thought about what to say. Just thinking was challenging at the moment. “No better than you,” she lied.

  He nodded. “Are you going to see him again?”

  “I don’t think so. At least not for a while. He’s really busy.”

  Saxloc looked sympathetic. “Don’t worry, Audrey. Relationships are difficult, and we’re both new to it.”

  “You’re sweet,” she said as she smiled at him. “Now make sure you get Rosalind this time!”

  “I’ll do my best,” he assured her.

  He wouldn’t let her drink anything other than water the remainder of the evening, something that she was very grateful for the following morning. Saxloc brought Rosalind back to the mansion the following evening, and Audrey kept to her room. He didn’t talk about his date afterward, and she didn’t ask. She went on two more dates herself over the next few days with a different young man that she met at the Witch’s Castle.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Audrey used some of her free time to go shopping. She needed a lighter cloak for the trip because it was warmer now. This time she was careful and asked many questions. The one she purchased was well-made, and its fabric was waterproof and easy to clean, but the shopkeeper was shocked when she asked him how easy it would be to get bloodstains out of it. She also purchased some additional clothing, including a lightweight dress that wouldn’t wrinkle easily.

  Next, she went to a leatherworker and had him make her two wrist sheaths to hold her throwing knives. The ones she had used before hadn’t worked well, and one of them had broken. She also bought a new whetstone and some oil for maintaining and sharpening her weapons.

  Audrey went to the Witch’s Castle and asked to see Daragrim. He was delighted to see her and took her out to lunch. She told him what had been going on in her life, and that she was worried about the upcoming mission to kill Morton.

  Daragrim was serious as he said, “You are right to be worried. Evil clerics can be fearsome opponents. They employ powerful spells and can transform corpses into an incredible variety of malevolent creatures that will obey their every command. It sounds to me like you have been researching them, and that you will have at least one cleric on your side. Siljan should now be able to call on divine power to harm or even destroy undead.”

  “I didn’t know that,” she replied. “Then I’ll stay close to Siljan.”

  “Actually,” said Daragrim with a grin, “you should do the opposite. This Morton will probably be selectively targeting Siljan and any other of her fellow clerics.”

  “I see. That makes sense.”

  On the way home, Audrey stopped at a wine shop. She wanted to buy a bottle for Draymund and Almera as a thank-you. She told the young clerk that she was looking for a quality wine that wasn’t overly expensive. He smiled and said, “I’ve got just the thing.” He went in back and then returned with a bottle that he handed to her, saying, “That’s an excellent grape wine and it’s quite reasonably priced.”

  Audrey looked at the bottle and couldn’t help but smile. The label showed a drawing of a bunch of grapes, and it was called “Alessandra’s Special Reserve”.

  “
It comes from a mysterious temple somewhere deep below the Hills of Andoran,” intoned the clerk in a serious voice. “Alessandra has been making wine for fifty years, and every bottle is blessed by Kyran himself.”

  She put down the bottle and began to laugh. The clerk looked offended. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve actually met Alessandra and she’s nowhere near that old. But I can certainly imagine her making up a story like that to sell more wine.”

  “You’ve met her?” he asked, looking doubtful.

  “Yes, this last Winter. She is a Priestess of Kyran, so the part about Kyran blessing the bottles may be true. Actually, I’ll be seeing her again before long.”

  The clerk still didn’t look like he believed her. “If you do see her, tell her to send more of this here. We sell every bottle we can get.”

  “I will. And I’ll take this bottle. Please wrap it up nice for me.”

  Audrey presented it to Draymund and Almera after dinner that evening and they were delighted by her gift.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “Did you remember to pack a dress?” asked Saxloc as the two of them sat in Audrey’s room. “Or are you planning to make me buy you another one from Dora’s shop?”

  Audrey laughed before answering him. “Yes, but don’t get your hopes up. I bought a new one that should be able to survive being stuffed in a backpack. Sorry, but it barely shows any cleavage.” He made such a pouty face that she burst out laughing.

  “I am disappointed,” he confessed, “but you’re right about needing clothes that don’t stain or wrinkle easily.”

  “Shall we discuss our dating efforts?” she asked. “That’s why I wanted to speak with you before we leave tomorrow. I’ll go first.”

  “All right.”

  “Okay. I haven’t seen Erwin since our most recent date, and I am not going to try to visit him in Rohoville. I did go on two dates with another man. I met him when I returned that book about magic to the castle library, and he asked me to dinner.”

  She was surprised to see Saxloc close his eyes briefly with a look of exasperation. “Let me guess. He’s thin and has long dark hair and a mustache. His name is Viktor and he’s very charming.”

  “Yes. You know him?”

  “I’ve seen him there and I know of him. He has a reputation for pursuing women, and he usually succeeds from what I hear.”

  “Then you will find this amusing. For the first date, we went to a steamed vegetable place that I really like that doesn’t seem to have a name. He walked me home afterward and didn’t even expect a kiss. He was a perfect gentleman, and I was happy when he asked me out again.

  “For the second date, he took me to The Watch since I had mentioned that I liked it. We had a lovely dinner and then went for a nice walk while holding hands. We somehow just happened to end up near his apartment. He asked me in for a drink, and I foolishly agreed. As soon as we were inside, he was all over me.”

  Saxloc smiled and asked, “How badly did you hurt him?”

  “Pretty badly,” she admitted. “I was mad. I had actually told him that I was studying martial arts, but he obviously didn’t believe me. He believes me now.”

  “I’m sure that he does,” Saxloc commented drily.

  “Now I want to hear about you and Rosalind,” she said eagerly.

  Saxloc adopted a serious expression. “Rosalind. I brought her back home on our second date, but I just gave her a tour of the mansion and the grounds. Except for the trophy room; I was afraid to show it to her. She was impressed by everything, but also overwhelmed. Nothing happened between us, and she wouldn’t even allow me to walk her home.”

  He looked directly at her. “Audrey, I haven’t copulated with Rosalind and I’m not sure I want to. There’s something odd about her and it worries me. She begged me to go out with her again. I put her off, explaining that I was busy preparing for the trip.” He sighed. “But I did agree to go out with her when we get back. She is incredibly persistent.”

  It sounded to her like Rosalind had become fixated on Saxloc. That was definitely a concern. “What about me living in the mansion and us going on this trip together?” she asked.

  Saxloc shook his head. “That didn’t seem to bother her. That’s odd too. I can’t figure her out.”

  Audrey shrugged and smiled. “Okay. You can deal with her when we get back. At least you’re rid of her for a few days.”

  “That’s true. This has been interesting talking about things.”

  “Yes, it really has,” she agreed.

  “Audrey, do you think there’s still hope for our relationship?”

  She gave him a startled look, surprised at his sudden serious turn. She thought about it carefully before saying, “Yes, I think there’s still hope. Let’s see how things go during our trip. We’ll have lots of time to talk.”

  Saxloc smiled. “We will indeed.”

  37

  ‡ Return ‡

  “Here we go again!” announced Audrey as the two of them walked toward the docks on a cool and misty morning. They were each fully outfitted for adventuring. “Are you planning to leave me in Farmerton this time?” she asked with a silly grin.

  “Only if you want me to,” he replied, matching her grin. “What surprises do you have in store this trip?”

  Audrey put a finger to her chin and scrunched up her face. “Let’s see. I really am Andoran’s daughter? I’ve decided to go back home and become a pig farmer? I really have been after your parents’ money, and this has all been a really long and complicated ploy?”

  He shook his head. “You are so silly at times, Audrey. Not that I’m complaining. Do you still think of Farmerton as home?”

  The question surprised her. “Yes. It’s where I grew up. And it’s where my best friend and family live. I’m looking forward to seeing them.”

  He didn’t reply, and the two of them continued their walk in silence.

  Gabriel and Hankin were already on board the ship when they arrived at the docks, and the ship soon cast off. When the three of them predictably began to talk about old adventures, she was able to follow much of it and even participate at times. Hankin was surprised, and she told him how she had been hearing a lot of the old stories from the original participants.

  Once in Rohoville, they went straight to the Royal Stone Thing. Audrey and Saxloc had been assigned a single room, but she was surprised when he promptly requested separate rooms. Hankin once again went off on some errand for Novox. Audrey decided that she wanted to go back to the dress shop and speak with Dora, and she told Gabriel and Saxloc where she was going.

  As she headed out of the castle, she turned a corner and saw that there was a red-haired girl running down the hall right at her. There was no time to dodge, so she braced herself. The girl hit her, bounced backward, and landed on her rear end. She started rubbing her rear with one hand and said, “Ouch! Why don’t you watch where you’re going? Who are you, anyway?”

  “My name is Audrey. Who are you?”

  “I’m Petra of course,” she replied snottily. She sprang to her feet with a look of concentration. “You’re Saxloc’s girlfriend, which means that he’s here too. Is Gabriel here? Is he?”

  She sounded incredibly excited, and now Audrey understood why Gabriel had been so eager to be rid of her. The girl was rude and irritating.

  “Yes, he’s here, but I don’t …” she trailed off as Petra raced past her and disappeared around the corner. “I hope Gabriel has a good place to hide,” she said aloud, before continuing on and out of the castle.

  Audrey found her way to A-Dora-ble Dresses after asking directions from a city guard. It was just as badly organized as before. Dora soon appeared from the back, this time wearing a bright yellow dress with a wide V-shaped neckline. Dora pointed and said, “I remember you. You made your friend buy you the dark red dress. You’re …” She tilted her head, looking baffled.

  “Audrey.”

  “Right. I’m really bad with names. Sorry.”

  “
That’s okay. I wanted to come back here and thank you. I really like that dress. Several people complimented me on it, and I told them where it was from.”

  “So that was you!” said Dora, grinning and showing her teeth. “Queen Sabrina herself came here and ordered two dresses from me. She said that my shop had been recommended to her. Hey! Why don’t I take you to dinner as thanks?”

  Audrey was going to decline but then changed her mind. “Okay, but I will need to send a message that I’m not eating dinner at the castle tonight.”

  “Good! There’s a boy in a nearby shop that will carry a message for a couple of copper pieces. You can write it out at my desk in back.”

  It took a while for Dora to find a piece of paper and clear a spot on her desk. Audrey wasn’t sure who to send it to, so she just addressed it to Queen Sabrina and wrote a brief message. She gave Dora the note and two copper pieces, and Dora was only gone for a few minutes before returning.

  “I’ll probably see Queen Sabrina tomorrow morning at breakfast,” said Audrey. “I’ll ask her how she likes your dresses and—”

  “Don’t do that!” said Dora in a near panic. “I haven’t finished her dresses yet, and they were supposed to be done days ago.”

  Audrey couldn’t help but laugh at Dora’s horrified expression. “Well, okay,” she said. “Then why don’t you take them to her personally when you’re done?”

  Dora lowered her eyes. “I guess I could do that. I should probably apologize in person.”

  “Yes, I really think you should. Why don’t you show me the dresses after we’ve eaten? Maybe I can help you with them. I also want to tell you about this really embarrassing dress that I made for myself.”

  Dora’s face lit up. “Ooh! You sew dresses too? This will be such fun!”

  It was fun. The dresses that Dora was making for Sabrina were beautiful and regal-looking, and Audrey was able to help somewhat. Dora had her sketch the dress that she had made and was very complimentary.