Visions of Power

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “Her identity as an heir of the Locksfort clan is now widely known, so the ingenairii will have to release her soon to her family. How the family will deal with her is hard to say. She was a favorite of her uncle, until she ran away to avoid an arranged betrothment. She’s been gone from the clan for months and things are bound to be different,” the bishop answered. “The Locksforts are notorious for putting advancement for the clan above other concerns, and Noranda’s flight didn’t rest easy with them.”

  Ellison nudged his arm. “We’ve been gone quite a while. We need to get back to the Palace,” he said, pointing to the sun moving far towards the western horizon.

  “You’re right; I understand. Let me ask one more question for now. What will the ingenairii do next, after they hear her story?” Alec continued.

  “That’s something we aren’t sure about. Your friend Aristotle seemed determined that they know about the events at Walnut Creek, so it must trigger some ritual or prophecy they have. Maybe it simply is seen as a threat to the kingdom, which I believe it is, though not immediately.”

  “Our own leadership may talk to them to try to ascertain what they plan to do, and if it is something we should play a role in,” Cardinal Humano explained. “This game is just beginning, and there’s everything still to be decided, I would guess. In the meantime there are other games further along and easier for some people to understand,” he cryptically finished.

  “Healer, thank you for trusting us. We will keep the source of your secret hidden among we four alone in the church,” the Bishop said to Alec. “Please come back anytime you think appropriate. You can ask to speak to Brother James here, and he will discreetly arrange whatever you are looking for from us.”

  Ellison and Alec left the chapel first, and were soon off the cathedral grounds. Ellison took Alec a different way than they had come. They immediately crossed over the bridge that led from the cathedral to the opposite side of the Giffey River. As they walked, Ellison remained introspectively silent, leaving Alec to devote his attention to the neighborhood they passed through. It was a gritty quarter of town, with shops and factories that produced less desirable products, along with smoke and smells, and the homes were evidently those of a poorer working class. It reminded Alec of the tannery he had left behind.

  They turned up a street and Ellison led Alec inside a large, deep shop. “Why are we here?” Alec asked, looking at the metal gear of war displayed around the front room.

  Just then a man in a leather apron emerged from the back of the store. “How can I help a member of the King’s Guard?” he asked Ellison.

  “We wish to purchase a weapon for my friend here,” Ellison told the smith, indicating Alec. “It should be constructed to the standards required for Guard officers. Can you help us?”

  Alec looked in astonishment at Ellison, who produced a small leather bag of gold for the benefit of the smith.

  The craftsman looked at Alec. “I’ve made many a sword for the Guard in my day, and I appreciate your trust in my work. Alright young man, let’s look at you, and you tell me what you need.”

  Before Alec could respond, Ellison spoke up again. “He is not yet trained, and probably can’t tell you what he needs. I spoke with the Guard who is beginning his training, and she gave me her suggestions on length, weight, center of balance, and cutting edge. Let’s run him through a few paces to confirm her thoughts, and then we’ll leave things in your hands.”

  “This is what you and Imelda and the Duke were talking about,” Alec voiced his realization. “This is very kind, better than I deserve. My arm is still sore from this morning’s workout,” Alec protested. “I’m not sure I can raise a blade this afternoon.”

  The other two chuckled while Ellison began looking through a variety of display blades, looking for those that approximated Inga’s suggestions.

  Alec alternately held each of the three and tried to parry and thrust with them as Ellison fenced with his own blade. The smith stood and watched.

  After five minutes the two conversed and agreed on what was needed. “It’s a bit of a challenge to form the blade for a left-handed Guardsman. If there’s no hurry, come back in three weeks time and I’ll have your blade ready for you to receive,” the smith offered.

  “That’ll give us more time to train him so he will someday deserve to carry one of your arms, Delvin,” Ellison said. “Thank you for your help.”

  As Ellison and Alec left the shop they began to weave through the maze of the industrial side of town on the east bank of the river.

  “I never expected to be a swordsman, Ellison,” Alec said. “I don’t know how to repay you for this. Let me know what I owe.”

  “You owe nothing. The Duke is providing this blade to you as payment for your medical services in saving the life of his guard. He is an honorable man, and would not let your deeds on behalf of Inga go unrewarded. Inga has made the commitment to be your personal trainer so that you develop the skills to make the blade and the Guard proud of you,” Ellison explained, with emotion creeping into his voice. “We all rely on one another in the Guard. After we lost Delph in the assassination attempt, for you to bring back Inga, not to mention the Duke, was a huge lift for the spirits of the whole corps.” He fell silent, lost in emotion.

  “You were telling those churchmen the truth about everything back there, weren’t you?” he finally asked in a change of topic. “Those lacertii battles and that cave of miracles, it really happened?”

  “I couldn’t make up a story like that. I’ve never imagined such things,” Alec said. “I had heard children’s tales about lacertii, and I suppose I thought they might exist, but I never believed I’d run into one. As far as the Cave goes, I feel so blessed in my soul to have experienced that. It gives me so much faith, and it makes me feel so responsible for sharing my blessing with others.”

  “You won’t talk to anyone about that, will you?” Alec asked. “Not even Leah knows about how I experienced the miracle of the cave.”

  I shall talk to no one about it without your leave,” Ellison replied. “Now lets cross this bridge and then take a boat to the east side dock on the Palace Island, and we’ll be back in a few minutes time.”

  When they got back to the palace, Alec returned to the infirmary, while Ellison went to other duties. Inside the infirmary, the Duke was sitting in bed reading papers. He looked up when Alec entered. “Good to see you healer. Have you had a good day?”

  “Yes, your honor, I have. Thank you very much for the gift of the sword. I’ll do my best to honor it, and you. Now, how have you been feeling today? Are you ready for your presentation this evening?”

  The Duke assured Alec that he had rested all afternoon after his mid-day meeting and felt ready to walk into his presentation in the Palace. Shortly thereafter, some of the advisers arrived again.

  “The pigeons have been sent to our posts ordering the immediate return of 800 soldiers to Goldenfields. I expect they will arrive in about two more days,” Major Abraham, the army officer from last night’s meeting, reported.

  “A convoy of wagons with supplies is being prepared, and may be dispatched tomorrow evening,” he added. “The second set of wagons for the further supply depot is also being gathered, and will probably leave here in three to five days. They don’t need to leave so far ahead of the expeditionary force, since the new recruits will probably slow down the pace of travel the first few days. At any rate, we need time to collect some of the construction tools that the second convoy will be carrying,” he added.

  “Merle, how can you help us in this project?” the Duke asked his ingenaire.

  “I have thought about our discussion this afternoon, your grace, and believe that we can send three apprentice ingenairii along, to specialize in water, stone, and fire activities. Given the objectives you have, I think their talents will be very helpful, and it will be good for them to have some practical experience in their magical work. Little enough of that occurs in the Dominion these days,” the
bearded ingenaire replied.

  “And the rest of you have done your parts? The audience is assembled in the large room and ready?” the Duke looked around the group in general. All nodded.

  “Inga is ready?” the Duke looked at Alec. “We felt that the sight of both of us healed and back on our feet would more dramatically demonstrate how feeble the attempt on my life was. Since you were working our good guard out today, I presumed you’d allow her to stand present tonight as well, dramatic stitches on her face for all to see.”

  Alec nodded his agreement that Inga was healthy enough to attend the event tonight, though he had really looked forward to spending quiet time chatting with her in the infirmary again.

  “In that case, go find our fighting girl and have her meet us in the preparatory room off the hall. Everyone, let’s go make a statement. Doctor, we’ll see you back here in an hour or so,” the Duke said and he was out the door with his entourage and guards.

  Alec was alone inside the infirmary for the first time he could remember. He decided to go to the back room to straighten up and organize the medications there. He had already decided to leave most of them in the infirmary, and to take with him back to his shop only a few that had a short life before they lost their potency.

  On the counter between two earthen jars filled with herbs he noticed a piece of paper sticking out. Curious, he pulled it out and looked at it. The paper was strangely thick, of a type he had never seen before. His name was printed on the front of the folded note. He opened it and read:

  Sir Healer,

  Your friend Aristotle has been informed of your presence in Goldenfields, and the good works you have done. He promises to see you when he is soonest able, in the months to come. His counsel to you is to remain quiet about who you are and what you know, and to await his meeting.

  He is most pleased that you still live, and sends his affection to you.

  Merle.

  Chapter 21 – Reflections on a Note

  Alec read the note again, and again. He felt relief and joy, to know that his friend and mentor Aristotle the ingenaire was alive somehow, and back in the Dominion, and Ari knew that Alec was alive as well. In the space of just a few hours this afternoon he’d heard news about both Ari and Natalie, the two lost friends he so desperately wanted to see. Alec couldn’t stand the suspense of waiting for a chance to talk to Merle about the note and learn more about Ari, and the mystery of what had happened to him.

  Alec felt satisfaction and simultaneous remorse. At least Natalie had been in this very city, but his path had just missed crossing hers. Ari had probably been here as well; Alec jumped to the conclusion that the mysterious person smuggled through the Guards’ tunnel for Merle had probably been Ari, and their paths had likewise just missed crossing.

  Yet this day he had learned that neither of his friends were what he suspected. Natalie, the girl who meant so much to him, was not simply a carnival performer, but was a member of a strong and prestigious trading clan. And Ari, like a father to him, who he always suspected was capable of more than simple magic tricks, was a unique leader in both the ingenairii’s councils as well as in the church, the only such person capable of perhaps bridging the gap between the two great power centers.

  Had Ari and Natalie been dishonest with him? Alec resented that his friends had withheld secrets from him. Did they not trust him, he wondered. Yet he knew that he was keeping secrets of his own. Leah didn’t know about his miraculous visit to the Cave, despite the close friendship they held.

  Though he didn’t realize it consciously, Alec himself was not the person the others had known during their caravan days. He had become a miraculous healer, a friend of the inner court of the most power noble in the realm, and an honorary member of the Goldenfields Guard, the most capable fighting force in the kingdom, as well as head of a household of his own with Leah. He had come to rely on his own judgment in making important decisions. He was not the easily-led carnival hired hand he’d been just weeks ago.

  Alec’s thoughts circled back around to the paper he still held in his hand. He considered all the implications of Merle’s note. Ari had survived the battle with the lacertii in Walnut Creek, just as he had survived at Riverside. Alec remembered how battered the Riverside battle had left Ari; he marveled at the notion that Ari had managed to travel all the way down river from Walnut Creek on his own. It must have been a draining journey. He pondered what he could have done to heal the crippled ingenaire.

  Would Ari and Natalie meet one another again, he wondered? What did Merle know about the three of them, or about him in particular? He had feared being discovered and captured by ingenairii, and now he seemed to be revealed to one of them, although one that so far seemed harmless, possibly even friendly. He knew that his holy experience in the cave made him a marked man whose memories would be desirable to both church and ingenaire leaders.

  A noise at the door roused him from his reverie. He returned to the front room to find that an hour or more had passed already and Inga was returning to the infirmary.

  Hello Alec,” she happily greeted him as they caught sight of one another. “The Duke did great tonight. That pronouncement of his will create quite a stir among the nobility and the merchants, I suspect.”

  “What exactly did he tell folks? No, first I want to know how you feel, and how the Duke held up. Will he be back here soon himself?” Alec asked.

  “I feel as though nothing happened to me, and I still can’t believe you healed me that well. I feel so well I’d planned on sleeping in my own home tonight, but Lewis is not there, so I thought I’d come back here to be with you again. The Duke has made a privileged decision, by the way,” she said, looking at him with an expressionless face. “He plans to spend the night in his own quarters tonight, unless you recall him back here. He wants to resume something like normal life now. I thought he seemed fine throughout the pronouncement tonight, and he was still standing in a receiving line greeting the nobles and letting them examine him when I left.”

  Alec thought only a second about the Duke. His health was good enough to return to his quarters and Alec felt no need to do more than check on him again in another day or two. He expressed his lack of concern to Inga. “Provided,” he added, “that you keep a close eye on him so that the next assassin doesn’t get as close as this one did.”

  Inga looked at him ruefully. “The Guard will not let him go to the toilet with less than four men around him now, I suspect. He’ll have trouble trying to ever again have a private visit with any of the pretty young ladies in waiting at the court,” she said with a smile.

  “So what was his message to the court, and how was it received?” Alec returned to his question. A fortnight ago he hadn’t known a person in Goldenfields, and now, he reflected, he was starting to follow the nuances of local politics.

  “You know most of the major ideas he presented. A large force is going to go upriver to lands beyond our current borders, and will establish a new fortress to guard us from any possible enemy approaching from that direction. They will also build a road and a canal lock to bypass the river shallows. And they will open up new lands for sale by the Duke to loyal subjects who wish to establish estates in the region. The proceeds from the land sales will be used to offset the cost of the expedition. Of course no mention was made about the new conscripts who will join the expedition.

  “It was judged by the Duke’s advisers that he will have pleased the loyal nobles by providing new lands for their younger sons, and the bankers because of the notes they’ll earn interest on, and the traders because there is no new taxes but there are potential new markets in the east someday. Plus the army can do something about the lacerta threat, to make everyone happy,” Inga analyzed the situation for him.

  “I found it more interesting than anything to look at where the sour faces were, of those who weren’t satisfied by the Duke’s triumphant public return. I expect Rastall and Kelvin took note of who those folks were too.”

 
; Thinking about the emotions of ingratitude and gratitude, Alec suddenly remembered the sword that was now on order for him. He knew that Inga was a central member of the plot to treat him to such a weapon. “Inga, thank you for the sword we ordered today. The smith expects it to be ready in less than a month,” he said.

  Inga smiled a broad smile, with a genuine warmth that gave Alec goose bumps. “Which shop did Ellison take you to?” she asked.

  “We went to Delvin’s,” he answered.

  “There’s no better in the duchy,” she said. “He was trained in Stronghold and makes weapons as good as theirs.”

  “Now, you’ll be here every morning for training won’t you?” she asked in a tone that left no doubt Alec would be there. “We’ll return to the armory tomorrow morning, and after tomorrow, you’ll be expected here every day for instruction to make sure that you are worthy of such a weapon.”

  “I’ll be here every morning,” Alec affirmed. “Is Ellison available to join us?” he asked her, his mind suddenly returning to the stories about Natalie and Ari he had heard earlier.

  “No, he’s on an assignment, but you can talk to him tomorrow. I expect he’ll be the one to smuggle you out after your fencing lesson tomorrow morning,” she replied.

  Alec realized that the sun had set long ago, and he saw fatigue starting to show on Inga’s face.

  “I need to clean up in back, and then we might as well go to bed. Besides, I need to develop an ointment to take some of the ache out of my arm from all the work you’ve made it do,” he glibly said.

  He closed up his items in the back, took the message from Merle and hid it inside a canister, fixed another dose of the facial scar prevention ointment for Inga, and returned to the infirmary.