A Bitter Brew

by Greg Curtis

  Hendrick continued making rubbing after rubbing as he worked his way down to the bottom of the obelisk's second side and then started on the third. And all the while he hoped for some sort of response from the bronze people. Something to say who they were or why they were watching him.

  But there was nothing. Not when he took the last rubbing of the last side of the obelisk. Not when he packed away all the pieces of parchment into the leather cylinder he'd brought with him. Not when he walked all the way back out of the temple to the flat stone patch he'd arrived on. Not even when he let Val return to his normal business – much against the sage's wishes. Val wanted to stay and watch the bronze people –but he couldn't do it unless Hendrick was there. There were limits to the spell and one of them was that his visage could not be more than a certain distance from Hendrick.

  After that Hendrick remained there for a while, staring at the three of them and wondering what all of this had been about. They in turn stared back at him, but still said nothing. So he said farewell to them with a helpless shrug and a wave, and returned to Styrion.

  A heartbeat later they were gone along with the temple and the rest of that world, while he was left standing in an open field, twenty leagues from the Hold. Whoever they were, why ever they'd come, it didn't matter anymore.

  But as he began his long walk back to the city, one long step at a time, he did have to wonder what the purpose of their visit had been. Because he was sure there had to be some purpose. And he doubted it had anything to do with the temple. After all, it had been sitting there as a ruin for thousands of years. They could have visited it at any time. It seemed too coincidental that they should arrive at the same time he did. Which could only mean that they had come to see who had disturbed the temple grounds. He wasn't sure if he liked that.

  Chapter Twenty

  The Royal Quarters in Styrion Hold were not as big or as grand as Marnie had imagined. Then again, she realised as walked down the gated street, this was Styrion Hold not Styrion Might. It was not the royal city. There was no castle. No walled inner city for the Court. And here the so called royal quarters were really just a gated section of the city where the mayor and the King's representative to the city lived along with the heads of a number of trading concerns. With the arrival of the royal family in the city however, a dozen of the houses had been seized for their use.

  She wondered how the minor nobles and heads of the lessor houses felt about that. Actually the thought made her smile. It was nice to think of the nobles having their property seized. Though of course she was quick to hide any trace of her pleasure as she walked down the street. The soldier might notice and she was supposed to be being diplomatic. Hendrick had told them it was important. Actually he'd been most insistent about it – and for some reason he'd kept looking at her when he'd said it!

  But he needn't have worried. She could be respectful. She was wearing her new dress, and it had been cleaned thoroughly for the occasion even if it wasn't really grand enough for this part of the city. She had also bathed and then swept her hair up into an elegant knot rather than leaving it hanging wild as her mother would call it. It would be a shame to have gone to all that trouble, only to have the visit end in acrimony before it even began.

  Marnie carried on down the street, passing one elegant three or four story mansion after another. She did try not to notice all the disapproving stares being cast her way. The soldiers cast a few of them, but they had been given their orders and knew better than to say anything when they saw her arm. But the nobles, especially the younger ones taking tea out on the front yards of their homes, weren't so circumspect. Some just scowled. Others turned away from her as she passed. A few called out “afflicted” as if she was diseased and they needed to warn others. Maybe, she thought, she should have worn a dress with full sleeves. Something to make it a little less obvious that she was afflicted to the casual glance. But the thought of being called a witch again, stopped her doing that.

  Despite Hendrick's belief that what they were doing would be the start of a better world in which their people became respected for their gifts, she knew the truth. They would always be feared and shunned. They could not expect to be given anything but would have to take what they were due. But then Hendrick was noble born and raised by priests. Respectful of positions and titles, and cautious in all things. He was not truly one of them. Had he been born a commoner he would have understood much more about the world.

  It was just a pity that the others did not understand that. Most of them thought he was brave and wise. They also considered him a Prince when it was nothing but a title with no substance behind it. They would follow him happily. Few were willing to follow her in building Altanis. But those numbers she promised herself, would grow. Once they realised that Hendrick could only bring them so much.

  His plan might end some of the unfair strictures that were placed on their people. But it depended on how fully his stepmother Marda kept her word. And from everything Hendrick had said, she had given no specifics. The King meanwhile had made only the smallest of concessions. A very few of their gifts had been proclaimed as worthy of being charged for. Healing spells mostly. For a time while the war was going, she anticipated that the worst of the disdain for them would be hidden. But once the war was over she had no doubt that things would mostly return to how they had been.

  Her way was the path to respect and a true place for them in the world. Altanis would be born again in time, and wizards would once more walk the world. Until that day happened, she and those who thought like her would build their strength, using Hendrick's quiet revolution as their cover. Pretending to follow him until the time was right to declare themselves.

  In keeping with that strategy, Marnie had gone through the ceremony again, acquiring just the two spells his plan called for. She was sure she could have accepted four, but for the moment she was being good. One of them though was going to be useful. Chameleon would allow her to match the colours of her skin to her surroundings, rendering her close to invisible. It was a pity that she had to be naked to make full use of it though. The other spell – Antidote – wasn't going to be of much use at all, unfortunately. Being able to produce a cure to any poison wasn't much of a weapon. The others who had absorbed new spells had similarly been both fortunate and unfortunate. But that was the nature of the afflicted's world. Having magic was one thing. Having useful magic was something else entirely.

  “We're here.” The guard stopped in front of a wrought iron gate leading to a massive four story mansion. He didn't open it for her she noticed. Nor did the two guards on the other side, despite the fact that she was expected. Pillocks!

  “I'm Marnie Holdwright. Lady Peri sent for me.” She announced herself, and then when the guards at the gate still didn't open it, lifted the latch and pushed it open. They didn't stop her. That lent her the courage to step through and then walk along the garden path between rows of ornamental flowers, to the front door.

  Ornamental flowers! She had to fight an urge to cry at the waste. People had to waste time and effort watering and caring for the plants. Watering soil that would have been better used for growing herbs and vegetables. Crops and fruit trees. Her family would never have wasted their time or their land on such things. But that she supposed was the difference between the nobility and the rest. The nobility could afford such things. They could indulge their love of beauty. They didn't need to grow crops to eat and sell.

  Nor did they need to suffer in cramped poorly built houses. The mansion in front of her had surely been built by the best stone masons that could be found. Marble stones were laid one on top of the other to create walls that were almost as tall as they were wide. The rectangular windows were lined up perfectly to form four dead straight lines without the slightest deviation. And they were filled with the best glass. She couldn't see any ripples in it at all. But most impressive of all were the fluted marble columns that stood in front of the house. Standing four stories tall they supported a larg
e extension of the roof that sheltered those who might visit. Perish the thought that visitors might get wet waiting for the door to be answered!

  Two more soldiers were standing guard beside the fluted columns that formed the entrance way, their uniforms neat and tidy, brass buttons all brightly polished. Once again they ignored her. They had been told to expect her and had been ordered to let her pass. But no one could ever order them to show respect to one of the afflicted! So once again she announced herself and when they didn't respond, opened the door herself and stepped inside.

  The foyer proved to be as grand as the outside. The huge double doors opened to a room that was surely a dozen feet wide and sixty long. A room that had absolutely nothing in it save black and white tiles on the floor, and a central staircase beginning half way along its length. There were also some paintings on the wall. But that was it! The rest was empty space. A single room as large as her family's entire home, and it was empty! She shook her head slightly in disbelief at the waste.

  “Miss Holdwright?” A man in a dark grey suit approached from a side room. His expression was carefully neutral.

  “Yes?”

  “The Lady will see you now. If you'll follow me.” He turned and walked along the foyer to the base of the stairs where he opened one of the doors off to the side. Marnie had to hurry to catch up with him.

  “My Lady, Miss Holdwright is here to see you.” The man managed a polite nod to whoever was inside the chamber, and then stepped aside to let Marnie pass. He didn't need to. The door was easily wide enough to allow several people to walk past him at once.

  The chamber proved to be a drawing room. Another of those rooms that anyone sensible would realise was just wasted space. An oak table stood in the middle of the room, and to one side there was a buttoned leather sofa and two chairs. By the windows were a side table and a further pair of buttoned leather arm chairs. Lady Peri was sitting on one of them working on a piece of embroidery.

  She embroidered? Marnie was surprised by that, though she didn't know why. What she did know was that she had been taught patchwork as a girl, a far more practical skill when you wanted something to keep you warm during the cold winter months. Embroidery was for people who had endless time on their hands and liked the finer things.

  Marnie walked over to the Lady, idly wondering why the floor boards weren't creaking under her feet, until she was finally standing before her.

  “You asked to see me Lady Peri?”

  “Of course my dear.” The Lady managed a polite smile. “Please have a seat.” She gestured at the chair opposite her.

  Marnie took the seat as asked, and in doing so finally understood the point of this room. Of the house and the ornamental garden. The soldiers and the servants. Of the way the Lady was dressed, and even why she was busy with her embroidery.

  Everything in this room and this great house was about impression. It had nothing to do with being comfortable or having a warm, dry home large enough for family. It was about telling anyone who visited how wealthy and powerful you were. Lady Peri likely didn't even need as many servants as she had, or the guards in the front yard. But that was also about making sure people knew how rich and important she was.

  Even the Lady's politeness towards her was an act Marnie realised. The Lady didn't need to be polite towards her. She wanted something from her. Marnie waited patiently to find out what.

  “So how is life at the Temple?”

  “Fine thank you Lady Peri.” Casual conversation she wondered? Or was there some point to the question? She suspected the latter. Marnie was beginning to realise that everything Lady Peri said had a purpose.

  “Your family?”

  “I have not heard yet Lady Peri. But I expect they're well.” At least she hoped so, but they were a long way away and it was hard to be sure of anything.

  “And my son? You are not fighting too seriously with him?” The Lady asked it as if it was a matter of casual interest only. Not as a mother who cared for her child would ask.

  But then Marnie remembered Hendrick telling her about the distance between him and his family. As she recalled she had been dismissive of his complaints. But meeting with his mother in this place she discovered some sympathy for him. At least she had a family who cared for her. Not a cold, perfectly coiffured woman.

  “We have our disagreements, as I'm sure you know Lady Peri.” In fact Marnie was beginning to realise that the Lady knew a lot more about what happened in the Temple than she would have expected. No doubt she had some well-placed spies.

  “Indeed I had heard. And I was saddened by it.” Her face and her voice gave no sign of sorrow however. “Good people shouldn't fight. Especially not over such a foolish matter.”

  “Foolish matter Lady Peri?” Marnie thought she'd better learn what else the Lady knew before she found out the hard way. The one thing she had learned about Lady Peri from when the negotiations had been ongoing in Styrion Might was that the Lady was a very smart woman. She always had a plan. The King might be a fool – Marnie didn't know as she'd never met him – but in his fifth wife at least he had wed a woman worthy of the title of Queen. Or maybe nemesis. The Lady was both smart and dangerous.

  “Of course. You are both seeking the same thing. A better life for the afflicted. You just have slightly different ideas of what that might look like.”

  “Your son is overly cautious.” Marnie set out the heart of their disagreement plainly, if not as forcefully as she would normally.

  “Perhaps so. But he is also extremely well educated – I made sure of that. And he has a very wise head on his shoulders. Not an “old head” as I believe you put it.”

  Old? How did she know about that Marnie wondered? The Lady must have spies everywhere. But it wasn't important she decided. “So, you think I should just do as he says?”

  “Child, I think you should carefully consider the outcomes of your actions before you take them. And anger is never a good guide.” She sighed.

  “We two live in an unfair world. Unfair in more ways than one. You find it harsh that because you are afflicted, your place in society is so low. I find it unfortunate that because I was born a woman I should never be given a position of authority. We are alike in that at least.”

  “But where we differ is in how we choose to address our problems. You believe that the answer lies in struggle. Perhaps violent struggle. I prefer a more peaceful approach. One of wisdom and persuasion. One that does not result in the spilling of blood.”

  “The power behind the throne Lady Peri?”

  “Perhaps. Although I prefer to think of it as a gentle word spoken in an ear at the right moment.” The Lady managed a smile. It might even have been genuine.

  “And is this such a word Lady Peri?” Somehow Marnie suspected it might be. “Because I do not intend to give up on my hopes.”

  “And nor should you, my dear. I wouldn't want you to. But I would always counsel learning the consequences of what those hopes and dreams may bring. Will they be all that you want? Or will you cry bitter tears of regret?” She turned her head and nodded slightly, and the man in the dark grey suit stepped forward carrying a heavy book in his hand.

  “As I said, I made certain that my son was extremely well educated. That he should know all the philosophy, arts and science, the tenets of the various faiths and the history of the realm. But there was always one subject I asked that he not be taught. I did not want him to know the history of Malthas – the realm which existed before Styrion.”

  The realm that existed before Styrion? Marnie was shocked to hear that. She'd never known that there had been such a realm. Styrion itself was over fifteen hundred years old. Wrestled so it was said, from the chaos that had existed before it.

  “Not because I worried about what he would do with the knowledge,” Lady Peri carried on, seemingly not noticing Marnie's surprise. “But because we have always asked that no one should learn of that particular part of history. The priests know something of it, but they al
so know to keep the knowledge they have to themselves.”

  “It is this knowledge that I am sharing with you now.” She nodded to her man and he handed the book to Marnie.

  Marnie looked at it, wondering what could possibly be so important that the King would not want it revealed. And why Lady Peri would give it to her. Reading the title though peaked her interest.

  “Altanis? It was the capital of Malthus? It existed?” She was shocked. She had always been told it was only a story.

  “Oh yes, it existed. And it died. Sixteen hundred years ago or there about. It died when the wizards went to war with each other and in so doing destroyed the entire realm of Malthas with it.”

  “The wizards destroyed a realm?” Marnie suddenly understood why the Lady was telling her about it.

  “And more. Much more. All those myths and legends the bards sing of. The little people, the fairies and dwarves. The big people too – the giants. The wondrous creatures that roamed the lands and flew through the skies. All gone. Killed by the wizards of Altanis. By the time they were done there was only a world left in ashes.”