The Loss of Power: Goldenfields and Bondell

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “Have you seen a doctor about your eye?” he asked as he handed over his coins.

  “Not that it’s any business of yours, but no, I can’t afford such a thing,” she said curtly.

  “There’s everything needed for a salve right here at the market,” Alec told her. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  She watched him with suspicion as he walked over to the section where many herb sellers were set up. In a matter of twenty minutes Alec found everything he needed, and returned to the woman.

  “Is your home nearby?” he asked. “I need to grate some of these and mix the portions to make the salve.”

  “I’ll be done here in an hour if you’ll wait,” the woman said, still looking at Alec as though she was judging his sincerity.

  Alec sat on the curb near her table and watched the neighborhood children running in a game of tag, darting and weaving among the stalls, customers, and pedestrians in the area. One boy fell and skinned his knee, crying as he tried to staunch the flow of blood.

  Alec approached the boy, kneeled, and pulled a stalk of green herb out of his bag. “Here, place this in your knee and it will take the sting away,” he instructed the boy, rolling the herbs between his hands to release the juices inside.

  The boy placed the green mass on his knee, as several of his playmates gathered around. “What are you doing?” asked a tall girl, the apparent leader of the group.

  “This plant juice will make his knee feel better,” Alec told her. “And this one,” he said pulling out some dried flowers, “will help it to heal faster.” He removed the greens and replaced them with the petals, which stuck fast to the wound. “Leave them on there and they’ll fall off in two days or so,” Alec told the child, patting his head as he rose from his crouch.” Does it feel better?” he asked.

  “The hurting stopped already,” the boy nodded his head.

  “My hand hurts; can you make it better?” asked a girl with an infected hangnail.

  “Let me get something for that,” Alec said. “I’ll be right back.” He walked over to a vendor and bought a bunch of small relindo roots.

  “Here,” he said as he sliced off bits from the roots, and added some saffron and aromatic oil. “Keep this on your sore as long as you can,” he told the girl, rubbing the ointment around her fingertip.

  Another child and then another and another asked Alec to treat some ailment or wound, and Alec complied, working in the midst of the market as more children flocked to seek treatment, all of which he managed to provide without any ingenaire powers, through simple treatments and advice. After a while Alec looked up to see the old woman whose eye he had promised to treat. She was standing a little distance from him observing all the children gathered around, and a gentle smile had grown on her face.

  “Are you finished?” he asked her.

  “I am,” she said. “Are you?”

  Alec looked at the mass of children around him. “Not yet.” He turned to the small faces watching him. “I’ll treat three more, then I have to leave, but I’ll try to come back sometime,” he said to soften the disappointment he saw. Alec realized that the children of this impoverished neighborhood never received medical treatment, and probably rarely had any adults outside of the neighborhood treat them with kindness. “You’ve all been a pleasure to meet,” he told them as the closest children received their cures.

  Alec stood to leave as a chorus of groans rose from the children, then one child said, “Thank you, Alec,” echoed by several others. “Thank you’s,” were still following him as he left the group behind and followed the old lady around a corner and through a narrow, dark alley to a steep staircase.

  “Up we go,” she directed as she slowly began to climb.

  Alec followed her up to her apartment, a bare three room location. He stood at a table with his ingredients and prepared the ointment as his patient watched him closely.

  “You’re younger than I realized,” she commented. “You’re not much older than those kids on the street, are you?”

  “I’ve got a few years on most of them,” Alec said defensively. “Here, sit down,” he directed. Alec applied the ointment to her eye, then placed a bandage over it and wrapped a cloth around to hold it to her. “I’ll leave this extra treatment here,” he told her. “Tomorrow night rub a fresh layer on, and then again every night until the dish is empty.”

  “Who are you and why are you doing this? We’re poor people down here at Cobble Market; we can’t pay you for your works,” she said.

  “My name is Alec, and I’m a guest of the Prince, from Goldenfields,” he told her. “I know how to heal, and I enjoy helping people, especially those who can’t get help anywhere else.

  “That’s all there is,” he told her, packing his bag again to leave, as he grew wearier from the time spent being active.

  “My name is Anna. Will you come back sometime? I’d like to do something for you. I appreciate your kindness, especially to the young folks. That was my grandson whose skinned knee you treated,” she told him.

  “I’ll come back,” he promised, “but not for several days.”

  When he returned to the barracks Alec sat down to write to Colonel Ryder, explaining what was occurring in Bondell and what he thought were the best plans to follow. “I have had a vision that I will not be healed until I make a journey to a sacred pool. I’m going to leave on that trip the same day that this letter begins its trip to you. I expect to be back in a few days, and I hope to have my strength restored.” He did not tell the colonel that after the trip to the pool he expected to begin another pilgrimage, away from Bondell and Goldenfields, to go to Stronghold and redeem the promise he had made for Natalie. He did add a postscript, asking that the next group bring as much healing water as possible from the spring on the river, to be used by the newly trained guards.

  When he felt he had written as much information as was useful for the colonel, he sealed the envelope, then wrote another letter, this one to Bethany.

  “I’ve not been able to recover,” he told her. “A vision at the cathedral told me that I must make a journey to restore and redeem myself. I do not know how long I will take, but I must do as I was told. Take care of yourself and Cassie and all the other ingenairii in Goldenfields. I have confidence in all of you to have a great impact on all the people around you.”

  He could write nothing else to the pretty girl he had kissed farewell just a few days ago. He felt a tumultuous conflict within himself over his thoughts about both Noranda and Bethany. But the vision had made clear what path he must follow now, and he would listen to the vision, even though his heart told him something else. He sealed that letter too, addressed the envelope, and went to sleep.

  Chapter 20 – The Desert Journey

  The morning broke bright, with no exceptional features to presage the journeys that would begin during its day.

  Alec awoke to the sound of activity, and went out to join the forces in the barracks. He conferred with the eager Captain Whelan, who was looking forward to returning to his home in Goldenfields after weeks spent in Bondell. Alec turned his letters over to Whelan, who added them to the pile he had of several others written to loved ones back home.

  Whelan has his own horse and a pack animal to carry extra water, and one of the Bondell recruits on another horse to help guide him on the first two days of the journey.

  Satisfied that all was ready, Whelan said his farewells and mounted his animal, riding off to a brief round of congratulatory clapping. Alec turned to Pember, standing next to him, and began explaining what would happen next.

  “Pember, I went to the cathedral to be healed yesterday. I was told that I must go to another place, a spring in the mountains, if I want to be truly healed,” Alec told him. “I am going to leave this morning to find the pool and its benefits. As it is now, you’re in charge of this unit until either the replacements from Goldenfields arrive, or I return. I don’t expect it will be a burden on you; you’re doing everything now a
nyway, since I am able to do next to nothing.”

  “You’re just going to ride away and leave me in charge?” Pember asked in astonishment.

  “That’s right. That’s why I sent Whelan away this morning, so that there would be no disputing your authority. You can do this job here in Bondell, and I have to take this journey to be healed. Unless I am strengthened, I’ll never be able to make the trip back to Goldenfields; I’ll never be able to serve the Duke or the ingenairii or anyone else until I regain my abilities. You know that I’m not able to do any activity for more than a couple of hours each day anyway,” Alec explained. “You know and the men know,” he continued, to which Pember reluctantly nodded his head.

  “You’ll do a good job here. You just need to train your recruits here as if you were training Guards back home, and you need to train the palace to accept this strength and security as a necessity. You’ll have Faldor to do most of that. Just keep him informed, take his advice and everything will be fine.”

  “How long will you be gone?” Pember asked, having accepted Alec’s directive in the manner of a natural second-in-command.

  “The priest told me it’s a three day journey to the pool, so I’m guessing that with my strength it will take five or six days each way. Make it a fortnight and I should be back,” Alec calculated.

  “What if the next unit from Goldenfields arrives before you do? Should we wait for you before we return home?” Pember wanted to know.

  “I don’t think you should wait needlessly long. A day or two to introduce the new forces to the Prince and the recruits and the routine will be enough time. Then take your fellows home so they can see their sweethearts again,” Alec said with a grin. “I’ll come along at my own pace afterwards.”

  “I’m going to go tell Faldor and the Prince now of my departure, and then we’ll tell the rest of our contingent, and I’ll be on my way,” Alec summed up.

  Alec entered the palace and searched for Faldor, the prince’s chamberlain, who was monitoring a meeting between the prince and the Locksfort trading clan. Faldor saw Alec waiting, and left the discussion to go see the warrior.

  “You look grim, my friend,” Faldor greeted Alec. “Are you kicking me out of the sword training because of my uncanny abilities?”

  “Well, that was my original thought,” Alec played along with the jest for a moment, then grew serious. “I’ve come to let you know that I am going to leave the city for a few days to try to find a cure to my ailment. In my absence Lt. Pember will continue our program of training and protection. He’ll do a good job for the Prince,” Alec assured the power behind the throne.

  “What cure are you looking for?” Faldor asked.

  “I’m going to a sacred spring, the Pool of John Mark that Friar Chaer told me about,” Alec answered. “I had a vision that it was the place for my healing, and I’m going to go today.”

  “That’s just a fairy tale, I thought,” Faldor said skeptically. “Do you really expect any good to come from this?”

  “I had a vision that was very clear in its direction,” Alec said. “I accept that vision. I’m going to leave shortly. I hope that when I return I’ll be of more service to you before I move on. Take care of Pember and let him know if you have any ideas about how to implement things here. He’s in his first command, so a little tactful advice would probably be helpful. If I’m not back within a fortnight, you may first see new Guards from Goldenfields arriving to take over your training. Try not to out-duel them too much, eh?”

  “Godspeed to you on your journey then Alec,” Faldor said as he smiled a half smile at the joke. “Come back to us soon and safely. I’ll tell the Prince you have paid your respects, and we’ll arrange to get Lt. Pember in to see him in a day or two.”

  Alec thanked Faldor, and left the palace. He returned to the barracks, where Pember assembled the men to hear Alec’s announcement of the temporary change in command. Several of the Goldenfields men came up to Alec and wished him well, encouraging him to return swiftly. Then Alec led his horse and a supply horse through the city to the cathedral grounds to see Chaer and pick up the map that would direct him to the pool of John Mark.

  “You are famous among the priests now,” the friar told him when Alec entered his workshop. “Having a vision while immersed in holy water is a story that makes the rounds pretty fast here.” He paused. “For myself, I think seeing a pretty girl in the cathedral is what makes the story noteworthy, but who am I to judge? Maybe that’s why they keep me out here in the workshop away from the public?”

  He continued. “I’ve prepared this map, and here are some churches where I think you can spend the night on part of your pilgrimage. Travel safely, and when you come back be sure to show us all the fruits of your miraculous healing. I suspect the bishop is already planning the construction of a new chapel to commemorate a miracle here on our grounds!”

  Alec knew that Chaer was growing facetious, and laughed with him, then took the map and returned to his horses. Shortly after noon he was riding out of the city and towards the mountains in the south of Bondell.

  As he rode alone, Alec noticed the land around him. Here near the sea and the capital, the land was apparently fruitful, with many farms evident, and several small villages to pass though on the road south. He remembered that Bondell had no true second city, with only the capital and scattered settlements along the coastal plain and in the inland valleys between the rivers. The port in the capital bay was busy as a trans-shipment point for goods that arrived by ship from distant lands outside the Dominion. The population grew thinner further south, and grew less loyal to the Prince of Bondell, or the Dominion. The villages below South Harbor were tribes and groups referred to as fratres consanguineique, hopefully brothers and kinsmen in times of trouble.

  Alec had no one to talk with on this journey, the first time he’d traveled alone since he had fled from ingenairii in Goldenfields’ eastern wilderness, following his healing of Captain Lewis on the river road expedition. Frail as his physical constitution had grown over the past few days of powerlessness, he rode along in a silent stupor, passively letting the horses follow the road at their own pace.

  As sunset began to occur, Alec saw a village church steeple ahead, and decided to stop for the evening. That night, and the following night he stayed in such churches, resting on a mat rolled out on the floor. By his third day of the journey however he saw the landscape change. He was further inland now, and further from the capital. The population was growing thinner, the land was growing drier, and as his third night approached, he was nowhere near any structure of any kind. He spent the night in a small woody patch off the road, his horses tied to a tree.

  The next day he came to a structure that Chaer had marked on his map, a monastery at the edge of the desert, and although it was only mid-afternoon, Alec stopped for the evening. He decided to use the well in the monastery to fill all his water bags for the remaining trip to the pool, as well as for the journey back. He didn’t expect to find any water elsewhere, based on the description Chaer had given him.

  The master of the monastery offered Alec their hospitality, and commented on the rarity of visitors in their location. “I’m on a pilgrimage to seek the pool of John Mark,” Alec explained. “A friar at the cathedral said this would be a likely place to stop.”

  The master’s gaze told Alec that he was an even more unusual visitor that usual. Hearing the bell toll the invitation to prayer at that moment, Alec asked for permission to join the monks in their sacraments, and the master led him to the chapel, as many others were streaming in. Alec knelt among the men and sang the hymns along with them, then feeling at peace, excused himself to tend to his horses. He decided to make his own bed in the hay loft above the stables, and fell quickly asleep.

  Noises below awoke him the next morning, and Alec climbed down from the loft to find the monastery team of mules moving to work at the well, where their efforts brought the day’s ration of water from the deep hole in the center of
the courtyard. Alec fed his horses and ate the monk’s simple breakfast fare, then hooked his own horses up to the well and drew forth enough water to fill all his bags and skins.

  Alec felt relieved to have joined in the prayers and hymns the day before, and a sensation of peace settled over him as he rode away from the isolated settlement of worshippers. He placidly sat in his saddle as the horse followed the faint track through the desert, keeping a far off blur that he believed was a singular mountain straight in front as his goal. Alec was at peace with the notion that he would eventually get to his goal, and would be cured through some unknown agency. Chaer had not known exactly how the pool’s legendary healing powers acted, but Alec wasn’t concerned. His fate was now in the hands of God he felt. The vision of Noranda had been a sign that he had a destiny to follow and he could no longer put it off to pursue his own priorities. That same vision had troubled his conscious, and he spent much of his slumbering ride contemplating Noranda and Bethany, torn by his affections for each.

  As night fell Alec was barely awake in his saddle, but was pleased at the progress he had made. Switching and watering the horses regularly had taken little time from the journey, and allowed him to move for hours. Throwing caution aside in the deserted landscape, Alec finally halted and dismounted in the middle of the track he was following. He hobbled, watered and fed the horses, then wrapped himself in several blankets on the ground and fell quickly asleep.

  The next morning Alec woke earlier than usual and immediately began his journey. The mountain was closer now, it appeared as a mountain even to his stunted vision, and seemed within reach before the end of the day. The sun passed from his right to overhead, then set on his left as the spring-like day went by and the miles moved behind the horses. Alec reached a stony valley of stunted trees and bushes at the foot of the mountain as the western sky turned pink. A few nearby mountains had been visible on the farther horizon, but this mountain was removed from the rest of its family like a brother set apart, like Joseph apart from his brothers, Alec thought as he remembered a story he’d learned in the orphanage.