The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah)

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  Theresa’s herbs were on the right-hand side of the wagon. The dried and powdered herbs were in neatly labeled containers and were packed in the cabinets closest to the driver’s seat. The cabinet closest to the back of the wagon had netting over the front instead of a door, and some of her potted herbs were stored in there, but most of the pots were in a wooden trough which had been anchored to the top of the cabinets on the right-hand side of the wagon. Bags of cloth bandages were tied to special metal rings that had been attached to the metal hoops that supported the canvas top. Their bedrolls were stacked on top of the left-hand cabinets and the tarps were piled on the driver’s seat. About half a dozen coils of rope were lying on the ground beside the front wheel. Karl nodded to himself, satisfied with their provisions.

  While the others were still outside, busy with the horses, Drusilla and Theresa had set out some platters of bread, cheese, and fruit along the kitchen counter. Joan was the first one to come into the kitchen, and as soon as she washed up, she started setting the table. When Theresa brought over some silverware for Joan to set out, Joan noticed that she was wearing a pendant just like Drusilla’s. While the others were washing up, she quietly asked Theresa if she was wearing the pendant because she was a sister.

  Theresa nodded and whispered, “I’ll tell you all about it, but not here, later, once we’re on our way.”

  After the Tellurians had finished eating and were relaxing around the table, Drusilla ginned and said that she had a big surprise for them. “Most of the townspeople have met Theresa and know that she’s going to travel with a group of minstrels to Nandelia. I thought it might be a good idea for you to put on your first show in front of a friendly audience, so I’ve invited everyone in town to come here for a performance this evening.”

  “Today?” Joan gasped.

  Drusilla nodded.

  “But we haven’t rehearsed with Theresa in over a week,” Darrell said.

  “That’s not a problem,” Drusilla assured him. “Theresa shouldn’t sing with you tonight anyway. You’re supposed to be meeting her here for the first time, remember? She wouldn’t know your routine.”

  “What time are we supposed to begin?” Karl asked.

  “They’ll start drifting in after they’ve eaten dinner, so you should plan to start in about three hours.”

  Steve nodded and asked, “How many songs should we do?”

  “Well, the show should last anywhere between one and two hours, but if the audience starts getting restless after an hour, bring it to an end. If they’re caught up in it, sing as long as you like, but two hours is long enough. You’ll be worn out by that time.”

  “But I don’t know if we can be ready in three hours!” Joan’s face had gone slightly pale. “We need to practice!”

  “You’ll just have to be ready. I assure you that your audience will be,” Drusilla said matter-of-factly. “When you’re on the road, you’ll usually perform within an hour or two of your arrival, and that includes time for tending to your horses and eating dinner yourselves. It won’t take but a few minutes for you to unload your instruments, and you can sing in whatever you happen to have on, but there won’t be a lot of extra time for you to practice.”

  Karl nodded again and asked, “Where are we going to perform?”

  “I thought we’d use the front porch. Most of the time your stage will be a spot near the back of a tavern, but it might be the sidewalk in the town square. You won’t know what to expect until you get there, so you’ll just have to be flexible.”

  “What about the people? Where do they sit?” Chris asked.

  “Tonight they’ll sit on the front lawn. If you’re in a tavern, they’ll sit on chairs, sit on the floor, or stand. They’ll be fine. They know what to expect.”

  Joan let out a deep sigh. “I never expected to feel this scared.”

  “You aren’t the only one,” Darrell said. “I feel positively sick. I wish I hadn’t eaten.”

  “Look, these people are friends of mine, and they plan to have a good time tonight. They’re not coming here to judge, only to enjoy,” Drusilla said with a smile. “I figured you’d probably be a bit nervous before your first performance. That’s why we had something light for you to snack on. You’ve got three hours to get over it before you have to go on stage. We’ll eat dinner later tonight, after it’s over.”

  “Well,” Kevin said with a grin, “I have to admit I feel relieved. I was getting really spooked today when we rode through town. Now I know why they were looking at us like they were.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Chris mumbled. “You don’t have to go on stage.”

  “Okay,” Karl said as he stood up from the table. “The best cure for opening night jitters is to get busy. Let’s unload the instruments and run through a couple of numbers in the front room before we set up outside. That should settle us down. Now, Drusilla, where would you like for us to stack the dishes?”

  “Leave them here. I’ll take care of those while you get set up,” Theresa said as she started gathering the empty plates. She took a stack of them over to the sink as the men went out back to begin unloading the wagon. Joan followed her with several of the mugs, and by the time the instruments had been unloaded and set up in the front room, the dishes were done.

  After they’d practiced for about an hour, Joan called it quits and told everyone to take an hour off and then meet back in the front room so that they could get set up on the porch.

  Before the hour was up, people began arriving for the show. They came in wagons, in carriages, on horseback, and a few arrived on foot. Horses were tied to whatever happened to be handy, including other wagons. There were teenage couples, young married couples, parents with children, elderly couples, and a few adults who appeared to be single. Some brought blankets or tarps to sit on, some brought wooden crates, and a few brought chairs. One elderly couple drove up in a small wagon that had two rocking chairs loaded on the back. After they parked their wagon, they climbed in the back, sat in the chairs, and waited for the show to start. Most of the women had packed picnic baskets with snacks, and the innkeeper had moved a couple of kegs of scog out onto the sidewalk to sell to the gathering crowd. By the time the Tellurians began to set up on the front porch, the yard was filled and the road was blocked.

  Steve began the show with a quick welcome. He introduced the group as the Traveling Tellurians, the same name that Chris had painted on the side of the wagon. Then he stepped to the side as Joan began to play the opening number on the harp. After a few minutes, the others joined in and the performance was underway.

  The enthusiasm of the crowd was contagious, and soon the performers forgot about being nervous and started having a good time, which made the show even better. After they had been on stage for about an hour and a half, and had gone through all of the songs they had planned to do, Steve stepped forward to thank the audience and to bring the show to a close. The crowd gave them a standing ovation and asked them to perform just one more song. Steve looked around at Joan, who nodded and mouthed, “Country Roads” to everyone.

  During their last week at Kalen’s they had altered John Denver’s lyrics a bit to make the song fit Terah. It was one of their favorite songs, but they weren’t sure how the people from Terah would respond to it since Drusilla hadn’t been around to give them her opinion. Joan doubted that they would ever have a more receptive crowd to try it out on, so she decided to give it a shot. When they finished the song, the crowd was absolutely silent for a couple of heartbeats, and then they broke into a rousing cheer.

  The Tellurians walked to the edge of the porch, joined hands and bowed deeply while the crowd roared. After the applause died down a bit, they began to gather their instruments and take them back inside, and the people in the audience started packing up their picnic baskets, blankets, and chairs. By the time all of the instruments had been stored back in the wagon, the front yard was completely empty.

  Drusilla had prepared dinner for them during the show and
had set the table while they were packing up. After everyone was seated around the table, she said, “You were really good. This town will be talking about that show for months. If you put on performances like that while you’re traveling, no one will ever doubt that you really are minstrels.”

  “I can’t believe how well it went,” Joan said with a smile. She hadn’t been able to stop grinning since the last ovation.

  “After the first couple of songs I forgot about being scared and started enjoying it,” Darrell said. “No wonder people wanted to get into the concert scene at home. It’s fun.”

  They talked about the show and about small changes that they wanted to make while they were eating. As they finished dinner and the talk started dying down, fatigue settled over them like a mantle.

  With a deep sigh, Karl said, “I’m really tired. I guess we were all on an adrenaline high for a while there, but I feel like the tide just washed out. I have nothing left. Let’s get ready for bed.”

  Joan and Theresa helped Drusilla clear up from dinner while the men went outside to check on the horses and be sure that everything was secure for the night. By the time they returned, the dishes were done and everyone headed for bed.

  The chapel was not set up for healthy guests. There was one small bedroom for Drusilla, another small one that Theresa was using, and a large room with a long row of cots for those who were too sick to go home. Fortunately, all of the cots were empty.

  Shortly after dawn the next morning, everyone was up. After breakfast, the men went outside to hitch the teams to the wagons and saddle the other horses. Joan stayed inside long enough to help clear up from breakfast, but then she went outside to help with the horses and to give Theresa a chance to say good-bye to Drusilla in private. By the time Theresa and Drusilla walked out on the back porch, Theresa’s wagon was parked beside the steps. Kevin had turned his wagon around and had pulled it behind Theresa’s. Everyone else was mounted and ready to go.

  Theresa hugged Drusilla, wiped the tears from her eyes, smiled, and climbed up on the wagon seat. Drusilla had taught her how to drive a team over the past week, so she felt at ease as she gathered the reins in her hands, released the side brake, and looked at Karl.

  “Well, Drusilla, I guess we need to head out. Thanks for everything,” Karl said as he moved to the front of Theresa’s wagon. As he waved and started down the drive to the road, Joan moved up to ride beside Theresa, Chris moved back to ride beside Kevin, and Steve and Darrell brought up the rear.

  Drusilla stood on her porch until they were out of sight. She never expected to see any of them again. Even if, by some miracle, they did manage to survive the next year and make it to Camden, her work was in Drisden. It would be many years before she returned to Camden to live, and she seriously doubted that any of them would still be around there by then. She sighed, wiped a tear out of her eye, and went back inside.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  For the first couple of hours the road passed through farmland. Then it passed through a lightly wooded area until mid-afternoon when the woods gave way to more farms. They pulled in to the next town a little before dinnertime.

  It was about the same size as Drisden, but there was no sign of a Chapel of Light. When they reached the town square, Karl rode over to the hitching post in front of the inn, dismounted, tied his horse, and went inside to see what arrangements he could make for their room and board.

  The door opened into a lobby area that ran the full length of the building but was only about six feet deep. A narrow stairway on the left-hand side of the desk led upstairs and a hall on the right-hand side led to the tavern located behind the lobby.

  Karl could hear laughter and bits of conversation coming from the tavern area and the smell of fresh cooked food made his stomach growl. He approached the desk and asked the man behind the counter if he was the innkeeper. When the man nodded, Karl asked if he would like to have the Traveling Tellurians perform for his customers that evening.

  “And how much would it cost me?” the innkeeper asked brusquely.

  “Room and board for us and our horses.”

  “How many are we talking about?”

  “We have seven people, eleven horses, and two wagons.”

  “What?! No!” the man said, shaking his head. “The price’s too high. I’ll let you have one room and dinner. You pay for the other rooms, breakfast, and stable fees for the horses.”

  “Two rooms, dinner, breakfast, and all stable fees for the horses.”

  “I’d lose money on that deal! Two rooms, dinner, and half the stable fees. And that’s my final offer.”

  About that time, Theresa opened the door and walked over to stand beside Karl. “Do you have a Chapel of Light here? I didn’t see one when we rode in,” she said to the innkeeper. Then she turned towards Karl and said, “I thought I might stop in for a few minutes to see the local sister.”

  The innkeeper’s mouth dropped open as he saw the medallion around Theresa’s neck. “Sister, are you traveling with the minstrels?”

  As Theresa turned to face him, she smiled one of her sweetest smiles and nodded. The innkeeper turned to Karl and growled, “You should have told me that a sister was traveling with you.” Then he turned back to Theresa and said in a very gentlemanly tone, “Of course we’ll offer you room and board, and we’ll stable your horses for you, too.”

  Theresa smiled again and said, “Why thank you, sir. That’s very generous.”

  “Sister, could I prevail upon you for something for my stomach?” the innkeeper said in a hushed voice. “It seems that I’m troubled more and more by my wife’s cooking. When I was younger I could eat anything, but now …”

  “I’ll be happy to fix something for you as soon as we take care of our horses,” Theresa said in a demure tone. “Now, if you’ll just tell us where to fine the stables, and what we should tell the stable master concerning his fees, we’ll be on our way.”

  “Tell him that Janon said to put up your horses for the night and to let you pull your wagons inside, too. Here, give him this.” The innkeeper picked up a quill pen and scribbled a note on a piece of rough paper. Then he handed the paper to Theresa.

  “Thank you, sir. And I’ll return shortly with something for your stomach,” Theresa said as she turned to leave.

  Karl nodded to the innkeeper and followed Theresa out of the lobby. When he caught up with her, he grinned and said, “Your timing was perfect. We couldn’t have done that any better if we’d planned it. What made you decide to come in anyway?”

  “I thought it might help. Drusilla said that people would become a lot more helpful if they knew that a sister was involved. Just thought I’d give it a try.”

  “Well, it definitely worked. You had him eating out of your hand.” Karl gave her a hand up to the seat of the wagon and walked back over to his horse. After he untied it, he mounted and led the group over to the stable.

  As they approached the stable yard, Karl moved to one side to let Theresa pull her wagon up beside him. When the stable master came out of the barn, Theresa handed him the note from the innkeeper. The man took it, read it, nodded, and opened the barn doors. Theresa and Kevin pulled the wagons to one side, climbed down and began unhitching their horses while the others dismounted and started unsaddling theirs.

  As soon as the stable master saw Theresa start to unhitch her team, he walked over and took the reins out of her hands. “No, Sister, let me. You should rest. I’m sure you’ve had a tiring day.”

  Theresa smiled at him and said, “Why thank you. I’d really appreciate that. We’re going to be performing at the tavern in a little while and there are a few things I need to do in the back of my wagon before I go over there. Thanks again.” Then she walked around her wagon, lifted the canvas flap, and climbed inside to prepare a packet of tea for the innkeeper’s stomach.

  Before they left the stable, Karl made arrangements for two of the Tellurians to sleep in the loft to keep an eye on the wagons. When they returned to the inn,
the innkeeper hurried them into the tavern, where all but one of the tables had been removed. As soon as they sat down, the waitress brought out plates of steaming food. While the Tellurians ate dinner, the innkeeper and a couple of other men set up chairs and crates for the audience.

  Almost the very instant that the Tellurians finished eating, their plates were whisked away and the table was carried out of the tavern to make room for their stage. When they left to go get their instruments, the innkeeper opened the door to the tavern and the audience poured in. By the time the Tellurians returned, they had to go through the kitchen to get to the stage area. Although there was standing room only, the crowd fell silent as soon as Steve stepped to the front to introduce the group.

  Theresa may not have practiced with them for over a week, but her performance was flawless. The ninety-minute program ran without a hitch. When the cheering began to die down at the end of the show, the innkeeper came out of the kitchen carrying a large tray loaded with seven mugs of scog. He wandered around the stage area offering each of the Tellurians a mug as he congratulated them on a terrific performance. When he came to Theresa and Joan, he also handed them the key to their room and suggested that maybe they would like to go on upstairs while the men took care of storing the instruments.

  As Joan opened the door to their room and stepped inside, she let out a small sigh. The room was so small that three pieces of furniture made it feel crowded. The door was in one corner of the room and a bed that looked to be a bit smaller than a regular double bed was set flush against the next corner. Between the bed and the door was a small table, just large enough for a pitcher of water, washbasin, and a small glowstone box. On the other side of the narrow room, at the foot of the bed, was a small straight-back chair. Above the chair, there was a tiny window covered by a piece of canvas.

  “Oh well, I wasn’t really expecting Holiday Inn,” Joan said.

  “No, but this room is hardly big enough for the two of us. How are the guys going to manage three in a room this size?” Theresa asked.