“Well, I suppose you’re right, I am a bit hungry.” I said, as I started to pull myself out of the covers.
I was halfway out of the covers when I realized, quite horrifyingly, that I was not clothed. Worse, the girl holding the platter of food was giggling at me. I was suddenly very glad I did not throw the covers off past my waist. It did explain however, the ease with which I used the chamber pot in my previously incapacitated state.
“It’s ok, I saw your dongle when they brought you in. I was told to go to my room, but I didn’t listen.”
“Wait… What?” I said lamely, again.
“Here’s your food! I’m gonna go eat something better for dinner. BYE!” She said as she handed me my food and skipped out of the room.
If I wasn’t so hungry I would have been embarrassed, and I probably would have examined more closely her use of the word ‘dongle’. Regardless, I tucked in and devoured my food. Unfortunately, this gave me extreme indigestion. Apparently if you don’t eat for a long time, then gorge yourself, your system gets angry; or at least mine did. With nothing on, and not knowing where I was, I did the only thing I could. I befouled the apparently decorative chamber pot a second time.
Later that evening I was awoken again by the young lady. She was less than enthused by the chamber pot situation. At least that’s what I read her wrinkled nose and narrowed eyes to mean.
“I brought you some clothes. As much fun as it is to see your fiddly bits, my father insists that you get dressed if you’re awake. Something about inappropriateness or something. Like I don’t see these things all the time when I volunteer down at the Hospital. Yet somehow it’s ok when I am doing charity medical work, but when we actually take in a patient because the hospital won’t take them, OH NO, that’s inappropriate…”
“Wait, what do you mean the hospital wouldn’t take me?”
“Oh, they collected you, patched you up, and put you in a ward bed. But that sword of yours kept appearing. They said they put it in storage 3 times, but it kept appearing by your side. Freaked them out. They said you must be a mage and were going to throw you out on the street or turn you in to the church; there was much debate over this. But I intervened and convinced my dad to take you in. After all, it’s not like you have anywhere to go or anything…”
“I live in a farm outside of town. My parents have lived there for years. Why not just send me home?”
“Oh god, you really don’t know do you… My dad said something about not telling you too much at a time. But what the hell, you deserve to know.”
“Know what?”
“Your farm is gone. They found you in a giant hole in the ground. The other nurses said there were chunks of broken wood all over the countryside. You were the only person around.”
“No. That makes no sense, I was there, my parents were there and… Well, we were all there.”
The pause was because I realized that telling this girl that we were being attacked by an inquisitor squad over alleged magic use was probably not the best idea given the circumstances.
“They said you and that sword were the only things not blown to smithereens within an acre of your parents’ farm. But then I didn’t hike all that way out there, so who knows.”
“My parents, my farm, everything is gone?”
“Ummmm… Yeah? Sorry, that’s really insensitive of me… Sorry about your loss! I’ll check in with you later.” And with that she flounced out the door.
My headache was now back in force. A serious pounding, throbbing headache. And the glinting of the sword in the corner of the room was not helping.
“God damn it, you twinkling bastard. Why the fuck did you survive and nothing else?”
Why the fuck do you think swords can talk?
“Wait, what?...”
After all, how many swords have you actually seen before me?”
At this point I started looking around the room to find the source of the voice. But I was all alone.
Keep looking bright boy, I am sure someone will eventually turn up to appease your cognitive dissonance.
“Wait, so I am not imagining this. You really are talking?”
First off, if you knew what cognitive dissonance meant you would know it was me. Second, I am not technically talking. When was the last time you saw a sword talk? No, our communications are going on in your head. Which is funny because you keep speaking out loud like I have ears.
“Wait, talking in my head? I haven’t heard of swords doing that either.”
Yeah, but you live in a part of the world where magic is viewed as the work of the devil. So there are lots of things about it you don’t know or understand.
“That makes some sense… I guess… Wait, can anyone else hear you?”
No, you idiot. The only person that can hear me is you. But, because you keep talking out loud, instead of in your head, anyone walking by can hear you.
Well, that makes sense. Can you hear me now? Talking in my head?
Again, yes, I can hear you talking in your head.
“Did I hear you saying something? Do you need something?” Said the blond girl, sticking her head in the door.
“Well, actually I could use a little tea, if you have any?” I said, hoping that would mean she would go away.
“Sure, I will send down to the kitchens for it. Besides I could use some tea too. WILLIKINS! Oh, he’s the butler, by the way. WILLIKINS! We need some tea here.” And again, she flounced out of the room.
Need I say that it’s better if you do not talk out loud to me when people are around?
“OK.”
Oops, I mean ok.
Yeah… Oops. Moron.
A few minutes later the blond girl returned and sat in one of the chairs. And it was that moment that I realized that, aside from knowing she was the mayor’s daughter, I had no idea what her name was. I figured that this was as good of an opportunity for an introduction as any.
“I know this seems a little odd, but I don’t even know your name. You have been helping me the past few days and all I know is that you are the mayor’s daughter.”
“Oh, sorry! I should have introduced myself. I just get so used to everyone knowing me around here that I forget that you farmers are so removed from society. My name is Meredith.”
“Well Meredith, my name is Tyr, and thanks for helping me out these past few days.”
“I know your name. It was on your toe tag at the hospital.”
“Toe tag?”
“Yeah, when you were brought in on the cart, they thought you would be dead from internal injuries soon, so they toe tagged you on the way in to save time. Jokes on them though, you pulled through and got better!”
“Uh yeah, funny joke…”
“Serves them right, they aren’t supposed to do stuff like that. Against protocols and all that. But they figured what with you being the only survivor no one would drop by and complain. Still daddy dropped by and saw you breathing with a toe tag on and raised hell. And what with your sword and the weirdness of how your farm blew up, no one objected to him taking you in. He thinks of it as some sort of charity. Good to show the world that he is a caring sort. Funny though, he leaves the actual caring for you to me. Well, me and Willikins.”
“I see… Still, nice of both of you taking me in. Also, what happened to me? What happened to my parents? What happened at the farm?”
“Well, no one knows really. Just that you were found in a large hole in the ground and that your farm was just… gone. Oh and that evil looking sword was near you. We took that back to the hospital as well.”
“You said something about it following me?”
“Yeah, daddy didn’t like the look of that thing at all. So he had it locked in a chest in the basement. But it reappeared in here with you less than a day later. So this time he locked it in the attic. Same deal. So after that, he just kept it in here not wanting to touch it.”
“Wow, really? That… Doesn’t make any sense. I haven’t seen that swo
rd since…” And then I realized that perhaps bringing up where I saw that sword last was a bad idea. “Well, I don’t remember ever having seen it before waking up in here.”
“Well, that’s odd and no mistake. Still, no odder than you being the only survivor of whatever made that huge hole in the ground.”
“Yeah… Are you sure that I was the only survivor?”
“Yup. We searched through the debris, but there wasn’t anything left. Really it’s a miracle you survived at all.”
“So, then… My parents…”
“Oh. Oh Tyr, I’m so sorry. I hadn’t realized… Oh… I’m so sorry…”
No need for me to dwell on the next half hour of grieving here. Meredith did her best to comfort me, but there is not much you can do for a kid who just realized his parents are dead.
Chapter 3.
It was a few days before I was really in any shape to talk to anyone. Fortunately, Meredith kept me fed and Willikins kept the chamber pot clean. By this point, they had given up on calling it decorative.
It wasn’t until I was fully recovered that I met the Mayor. He was a big man, over 6 feet tall and just as broad. And while he was normally, from what I remember from my previous trips into town, an affable friendly guy, he seemed strangely reticent around me. It wasn’t until dinner a few days after my recovery that I found out why.
Since my recovery I had been taking meals with the Mayor and Meredith. Meredith said it was because it spared Willikins having to bring it up to me in my room. Still, my feeling was that the Mayor wanted to keep an eye on me. After all, I had been spending a lot of time with his daughter since he took me in. At least that was what I thought was bothering him.
On my third such dinner the mayor made an announcement.
“Son, I feel I should let you know, in the next few days, there are going to be some clerics coming here to take a look at that godless blade we found you with. I have let you keep it till now only because my previous attempts to put it away safely failed.”
“You sent for clerics to look at my sword?” I asked.
“As soon as they brought you here son. There is something unsavory about that blade and it would do you some good to be away from it. No good comes from a young man like yourself having a blade like that.”
“But sir, that’s all I have left from… From the calamity that killed my family and destroyed our farm. I would rather hold onto it. Not because it’s a weapon, but as a keepsake.”
“I know son, and were it not such an evil looking blade, a blade that can seemingly escape locked boxes, I would not have called for the clerics. But after all the fuss the people at the hospital had surrounding it and you, well, the church would have insisted they look into it anyway. I really had no choice.”
“But you’re the mayor, can’t you just turn them away?”
“Hah! Son, you have a lot to learn about who runs this country if you think I have the power to turn away church officials. I serve at their pleasure. I run this town because they can’t be bothered. In larger towns and cities, the mayors are church officials. We are one of the few towns small enough not to rate more than a single friar to look after the town. That is the only reason I have been allowed to be mayor.”
“I… I guess I see your point sir.” And then realizing I might have been wearing out my welcome by questioning him, I said: “I’m sorry for questioning you about it, sir. You’ve been so kind to take me in and it isn’t my place.”
“It’s ok son, I understand. After what you have gone through, well, I can afford to be tolerant.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The rest of the dinner was spent in silence. I was quite nervous about the idea of facing the church’s inquiries again. After all, my last meeting with church officials hadn’t gone so well. Worse, I was concerned about putting the mayor and his daughter in any danger. They really had been gracious to take me in. If it wasn’t for them, I likely would have already ended up in the hands of the church. And given what happened to their inquisitors, I doubt they would have been as gracious hosts as the Mayor and Meredith were.
Once dinner was over, I headed back to my room. I was full of conflicting thoughts and emotions. My first thought was fear that the church would steal my sword away before I could figure out why it had bonded to me and why it could talk to me. Also, I was afraid that they would not stop at just taking the sword, that they would imprison me… Or worse. The last group of inquisitors had hardly been friendly.
Moreover, while I had time to grieve while I was recuperating, I was not at all sure what happened to cause the death of my parents and the explosion of the farm. I remembered the inquisitor trying to kill my mother, but nothing after that. Really, all I had to go on that my former life was over was the word of the Mayor and his daughter. Still, they didn’t really have reason to lie to me, and I doubt my parents would be ok with being parted from me for so long… Still, I had doubts.
You can’t honestly think that these inquisitors will be any nicer than the last ones. If we are really lucky, maybe they won’t kill everyone in this house and take me.
Well, you were with them at the time, what do you remember of your life before you bonded to me?
Kid, I am an inanimate chunk of metal. It’s safe to say that I don’t know anything that you don’t know.
Oh, so then you’re no help about the church’s motivations.
Well, we do know that their goal is to root out magic and heresy. And we know that for decades they didn’t give a shit about this far flung region of the holy empire. So something drew them this way. It is safe to say that whatever that is, they haven’t lost their curiosity about it.
So then what should we do? If I run now, what will they do to Meredith and the Mayor? I owe them a lot. I don’t want them to be in danger on my account. But if I stay, will their situation be any better?
Well, the inquisitors are expecting to see you and me. If you are not here, I doubt they would look kindly on the Mayor or Meredith for not keeping you here. So if you are really concerned with their welfare, we may be stuck meeting with these inquisitors.
You may be right. They tried to kill my mom for no reason at all as far as I can see. If they would do that, I bet they could do anything. Maybe if we are nice and polite, we can at the very least lead them away from this place.
True enough. If all they do is try and take me with them, well, we both know that no bonds or box can keep me away. Give them a few hours’ head start, then call me back, then they will have nothing and the Mayor and Meredith will be safe.
OK, so then it’s agreed, we try and lead these inquisitors away from the Mayor and Meredith.
Agreed.
And with that having been settled, there was nothing left to do that night but turn in. Unfortunately, I did not sleep well. I had too many worries and too many thoughts to sleep. They were all fighting for attention, and like people all shouting in a crowded space, the cacophony drowned out most rational thought. Fortunately, I did eventually sleep, if fitfully.
Breakfast the next day was a somber affair. Everyone apparently was focused on their own thoughts. Willikins was the only one apparently unaffected. But then, from what I remember of him now, he was always professional. I can’t remember him ever having spoken actually…
Unfortunately, no one knew when to expect the inquisitors, so we each spent most of the day fretting in our own way. I spent the day in my room mostly. I was debating what to do when they confronted me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really come up with anything other than lead them away from the Mayor and Meredith. The sword was no help either.
I don’t know why you are spending all this time fretting. We have a plan; it’s as good as we can come up with given how little information we have. You just need to put on your big boy pants and stop sulking.
He was right of course, but that didn’t make me any less apprehensive about the coming confrontation. For at this point, I was sure it would become a confrontation. Not without g
ood reason though, considering what I had gone through to that point.
The inquisitors did not show up until right before dinner. I assume because that way we had to invite them to dinner. Well, I say we, but I mean the Mayor.
The doorbell rang at just after 6pm. I remember this well because I had spent the better part of the day checking the old clock the Mayor kept at the top of the landing. Such luxuries were unknown to us at the farm; we did our time reckoning by the sun and the sun dial. It was much cheaper than a proper clock, you didn’t need to wind a sun dial and it never needed to be repaired. No moving parts after all. Still once you knew it was there, it was hard not to watch time go by with such precision. This is especially so when you are dreading something.
01 - The Price of Talent Page 3
