“I don’t honestly know right now,” Alec admitted. “My ability to see the health of other people is not working at the moment, and I can only try to use the same tools and remedies that other healers use.”
“How could a blessing like that leave you?” James asked with concern.
Alec sighed. “I have been tested for ingenaire abilities, and found that I have them. Last night I used them for the first time, but it left me completely drained, like I had been beaten and battered and deprived of food and sleep for days and more. I can’t find my healing powers, and I don’t even want to think about trying to use my ingenaire powers.”
James looked at him with concern. “Alec, you’re changing far too fast for your own good. A few weeks ago when I saw you treat the Duke, you were clearly still a boy, albeit a boy performing miraculous works.
“Now here you are a healer and an ingenaire and I don’t know what else, but apparently more than that I can tell, just by looking at you. Try to relax and slow down and enjoy life. You are too young to take on many responsibilities like this. Pray for guidance and listen to what the Lord tells you,” James said as he stood to go. “That’s my advice to you.
“I have to go now. Would you like for me to return tomorrow?” he asked as they walked to the door.
“Yes, do come back, and hopefully it will be the last time we’ll need you to help her heal,” Alec paused. “Thank you, brother. I appreciate your prayers, and your advice. I will pray about it.”
Mid-day arrived with no further visitors. Leah arose and came downstairs. “Thank you for putting me to bed, I feel much better now. How is Ellen doing?” she asked.
“I can’t tell fully yet, but I think she is healing. Her wounds look better, and her pulse and breathing are strong. I’ve given her another dose so that she will continue to sleep and heal, and I had a priest come pray for her health. I can’t do much else right now,” he added.
“I know you can’t Alec. I hope you know I understand that you’re doing everything you can,” Leah said. “You seemed like such a nice boy when we met in Walnut Creek. That’s only been a few months ago, and I am amazed at how much you’ve changed. We both have, but you more so than I could have ever imagined possible for one person.
“I hope you’re happy. I mean aside from the problems of last night,” she carefully added.
“I’m almost too busy to be happy it seems, but being busy makes me happy too,” Alec, said reflecting on the words he’d heard earlier that day, the advice from James and the inferences from Merle. “Merle said it’s almost time for me to go to Oyster Bay for more training. I think maybe I should go, after things calm down here.” He looked at her to see her reaction.
“Once Ellen is back on her feet, I think that would be fine. If it’s what you want, you should do it. What will happen when you finish? Will you come back here?” Leah wanted to know.
“I would come back to serve Duke Toulon. I may not ever get to spend time here providing care the way we expected, but this shop, with you serving the people, seems to work out,” he suggested, not mentioning the prospects of reaching Natalie, presuming he found her.
“Alec, is this shop going to work out in the long run? I will have the baby, and care for it. What will happen when you meet a woman to be your wife? Will she come back to Goldenfields with you? We won’t all live here together. Do you have any plans?” Leah asked, with a level gaze in his eyes.
“No, I don’t have any plans for that. Right now I have no idea why any man would think he could make any plans with any woman,” Alec said with self-pity.
Leah laughed. “Poor Alec, learning how difficult love promises to be.” She came around the table and gave him a hug. “A boy as good looking as you, and as good-hearted as you, will have no problem finding a woman. You just make sure to pick the right one.”
Alec smiled at her advice.
Later that day, with Leah assuring Alec that she could take care of things, he gathered up his medical supplies for the Guard, and borrowing a hand cart from Henree, took it all to the infirmary. He worked alone in the empty building’s back room, getting each of the twelve kits completely assembled, and having two spares as well. As he stepped out into the front room he found Colonel Ryder sitting there alone.
“Alec, how are you today?” Ryder asked, closely watching him.
“I’ve been better, to be honest, but not so bad now,” Alec admitted.
“Do you have time for a talk?” Ryder asked.
“Alec felt his heart sink at the question. “Yes, sir,” he replied.
“It’s not a colonel to captain talk; this is a DR to Alec talk. I’ve heard some stories about last night. You feature prominently in all of them. There are apparently some dead men, quite a clutch of them. There was some carousing in a tavern. There was an unbelievable display of ingenaire abilities. And there is Guardsman Inga’s request this morning to be transferred to join her husband on the river expedition.”
“Have you granted her request?” Alec was surprised to hear of her choice, and surprised at the question that sprang from his mouth, while he felt his heart sink.
“Not yet, but I will. I respect her and Lewis so much that I will do this for their marriage,” Ryder said.
“They’re both good people. I care for them both,” Alec agreed.
“What happened? Tell me your version,” Ryder told him after a long pause.
Alec launched into the events of the evening. The tavern with the apprentices, falling into Yula’s lap. Returning to the shop, and unleashing his warrior powers. Finding Inga there, and then caring for Ellen, without his abilities. His decision to go to Oyster Bay.
“That ties a lot of loose ends together pretty well,” Ryder commented when Alec finally brought his story to a close. “I think a lot of things could have happened just a little differently, and we wouldn’t have so many ramifications to deal with. But I’m glad you killed those vermin; men like that should be wiped out. That’s probably the only good thing to come out of the situation.
“You know, there have been unpleasant rumors about you and Inga of late. She needs to get away now, though it’s sad to run away from lies like that. After her wounds protecting the Duke, I didn’t expect something like this to be launched against her. She has no enemies. What about you? Do you have any enemies already?” he asked.
Alec thought. “I have wondered. When Inga told me about those nasty stories, I wondered what I could have done to deserve this. I can’t think of a thing. I told Inga, I’m too busy to do anything to upset people, and I still believe that. I hope that going away to Oyster Bay will give me a chance to come back and start over.”
“So one day I’ve got you and Inga both here, and by next week neither of you will be here. If you and Inga hadn’t been at the same tavern, and been thought to have met afterwards, none of this would have come to a boil, but nasty rumors can’t be squelched, and I don’t blame her or you for wanting to get away from all this. I’ll miss having both of you here, but I think it’s best that you go to do what you need to do.”
“I’d like to do training with the medics before I leave. Can we do it the next couple of days?” Alec asked.
“I’ll arrange for the medics to assemble here each of the next three afternoons. Will that be sufficient?” Ryder asked.
“Yes, that will be fine,” Alec replied. “If Ellen heals sufficiently, I expect to leave next week.”
“Very well. You will be granted temporary leave for three months training time at Oyster Bay. You’ll be coming back to us won’t you?” Ryder asked.
“The Duke is a good man, and I want to serve him and Goldenfields,” Alec said. “I’ll be back.”
“That’s good news, at least,” Ryder replied. “I know the Duke would like to have you back here with him.”
“Who should I train with at swords the next few mornings?”
Ryder thought. “I’m going to replace Inga on bodyguard duty with a guardsman named Nellon. Let
’s just give him some extra work on his swordsmanship. Bring your best blade a couple of times and put him to a test, starting tomorrow morning.”
For Ryder, the end of the conversation capped the end of an unpleasant duty. Although he was convinced that Alec and Inga had done nothing wrong, he knew that the prevalent opinion was against them, against Alec in particular, as the newcomer. Ryder seldom thought that backing away from a challenge was the right way to handle a problem, but in this case he had reluctantly concluded that only time away would allow the issue to fade away. Someone was planting the rumors, and keeping them going, he was sure, but he couldn’t figure out who it could be. It was only within the Guard, and it seemed mostly aimed at Alec, with Inga suffering harm only as a collateral result. Without knowing who was trying to undermine Alec, Ryder couldn’t discover the originator of the painful lies that had deprived him of two young people he enjoyed and admired. He shook his head one more time, and then slowly returned his mind to his other duties.
Alec left the guards’ sector with a heavy heart. He parked his handcart at the bridge gate and walked to see Merle. When he entered the ingenaire suites, the other students all stopped to look at him in silence. Roland came over to him.
“Alec, we’ve heard that you had a bad adventure last night? Are the stories true?” he asked.
By now Alec had repeated his tale as many times as he could stand. “There was a problem, but I doubt the rumors got it right. Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said. “Is Merle available?”
“For you, I think he will be. Wait just a moment,” Roland said and he disappeared through a door.
A minute later, standing alone the whole time, Alec saw the door open and Roland beckon him back. Alec was shown to the ingenaire’s room with the river window, where Merle sat awaiting him.
“I’d like to leave for Oyster Bay next week. Can you make the arrangements for me there?” Alec asked.
“Yes, I will. I will write to Aristotle and prepare him to receive you and guide you to the appropriate sponsor among the warriors. Will you be traveling on one of your friend Natha’s boats?” Merle asked.
“Probably. That makes sense, but I haven’t thought about it yet,” Alec replied. “Will I be free to come back to Goldenfields?”
“Yes, they will allow you to come back on your own at any time. On the other hand, if you want to reach full membership in your house, you have to complete the full training and receive acceptance by the house. In that case you get to help govern the house, but you are limited to serving where the house or the council decides you should go.
“Once someone starts training at Oyster Bay they almost always end up staying to follow their house. Less than one in a hundred actually turns down the offer of acceptance,” Merle candidly told him. “The leadership is very pragmatic. If you were an ingenaire from a Stronghold trading clan, you would be assigned to Stronghold. If you were an officer in the Duke’s Guard, you would be assigned to Goldenfields.
“Alec, this is a rough thing to do, but it’s the right thing for you to do. I’m sorry you’re going under the circumstances you are, but you’ll find that this is best. And you’ll finally be re-united with Aristotle. He is looking at the big picture for the kingdom, and you’ll be lucky to help him in his plans.”
Alec slipped out of the rooms after meeting Merle, and returned with the empty handcart to Baker Street.
Leah told him that Ellen remained sedated. “I think it’s probably time we move her to a bed,” Alec said. “When Ellison comes tomorrow, he and I can move her.”
Alec told Leah that both Colonel Ryder and Merle agreed that he could go to Oyster Bay for training next week.
The next morning, Alec awoke feeling better and more energized than the previous day. He picked up his Captain’s sword and went to meet his new sparring partner; he wondered fleetingly if it might prove to be the newcomer he had fenced with a few days ago, the girl who had such a quick blade and engaging grin. He’d not thought to ask her name at the time they met. As it turned out though, at the armory he met a heavyset man, older than himself by almost fifteen years it appeared, but a man with a pleasant demeanor.
“So am I training you or are you training me?” he asked Alec as they put on their protective gear and stepped onto the mat.
“Inga thought it was both. I need practice of any kind, and most others need to learn how to handle a left-handed blade,” Alec replied.
“You’re not one of those, are you?” Nellon groaned. “Here I’m barely awake, you’re lighter and quicker than I am, and now you’ve got a sinister bent to top it all off. Alright, let’s have at it then.”
Nellon charged at Alec competently, and forced him to take a step back, and then another back to gain his balance. Alec exerted his defense and worked Nellon to a draw for several minutes. They practiced, feeling one another out and probing to find opportunities.
While jesting, Nellon had accurately forecast the basic facts of the match. Alec was faster, and saved himself several times only with his quickness. Although at first his left sided blade kept Nellon off-balance, as the larger guardsman grew used to it he began to effectively stay on the offensive more and more. Alec found that facing an opponent with weight and strength greater that Inga gave him a new challenge, as he wasn’t able to move his opponent’s blade and redirect their movement very easily.
After an hour they broke for water. “You’re very good,” Nellon told him. “You’re fast enough to move away from traps, and smart enough to see them coming. I’m used to playing with other heavyweights like myself,” he laughed while patting his stomach. “And I am learning that a left-handed blade looks a lot different for some reason.”
“You’re a new challenge for me,” Alec returned the critique. “You’ve got mass that I can’t maneuver around to do what I’d like with. I have to spend more time looking for a mistake instead of trying to dictate what happens.”
“Alright, let’s have at it again then,” Nellon said as he stood, and they resumed their efforts for a second hour of work.
“See you again tomorrow Alec,” Nellon said after they cleaned their equipment. “You’re a good blade, and you seem like a better person than I’ve heard.”
Alec was pleased by the compliment, left-handed though it was, and was thankful he’d brought his own blade, whose balance and weight had helped him protect himself from Nellon’s frequent slashes. He took it home to sharpen and polish it before returning to the infirmary for the afternoon session with the medics.
At the shop he found a surprise visitor waiting for him, Noah Rastall. He’d not seen the Duke’s adviser in several weeks, not since he had healed the Duke while staying in the infirmary.
“Alec good to see you again, and for you, it’s going to be good to see me, I suspect,” Rastall said with his usual urbane manner and sly grin.
“If you’ve got a little time for me, I have some papers for you to sign regarding your partnership with Duke Toulon and trader Natha Millershome in a business venture,” Rastall said as he unrolled a thick sheath of papers.
“Your friend Natha has sampled some of the water you mentioned from the spring up river in the new territory. He has also tested selling it, and found that it is a very profitable venture,” Rastall explained.
“Natha is the active partner in this. He is supplying the transportation and distribution of the water. The Duke is providing a decree and grant of land so that Natha will be the sole distributor of the water for fifteen years, and Duke Toulon has agreed to build a military fort at the site of the spring to help protect that exclusivity.
“You apparently don’t have to provide anything, but you and the Duke and Natha will equally share in the profits of the sale of the water. If you will sign these papers, it will ratify the arrangements. In addition, you will sign a separate agreement with the Duke providing you with an additional interest in the profits from the sale of the water for twenty years beyond the original agreement with Natha.”
Ratsall said and added very conversationally, “The Duke thinks well of you. I believe you are going to become a very wealthy man.”
“I’d like to make two changes in the contract,” Alec announced.
Rastall looked at him in surprise. “Really? What would those be?” he asked warily.
I’d like for one barrel to be delivered to my shop each week, and I’d like the spring to be available to the public after church each week for the poor to get a jug of water for themselves at no cost,” Alec said.
Rastall looked at him with raised eyebrows. “I think that will be acceptable to all parties,” he decided. “I’ll add it here, and you can initial your agreement to that provision, then I’ll get the others to do so as well. There’s no one out there to take advantage of the free access, so why do you want that, if I might ask?”
“There’s no one there now, but someday there will be. The Duke wants people to settle out there,” Alec told him. “And when they do, we’ll treat them fairly.”
Rastall thought about it some more. “That sounds fine. I’m sure it won’t be a problem.
“Alright, next is the matter of where you want your funds deposited. Do you have a bank?”
“Yes,” Alec replied, “at Traders Bank, down on Riverfront Square.”
“That’s a good bank. It would be a good place to require your funds to be deposited. As it happens, I understand you’re going to be traveling to Oyster Bay?’
Alec nodded.
“In that case, you might want to also set up an account at Pierpont Bank. They have an office here, but their main office is at Oyster Bay, so you can arrange for a draft on your account to be transferred quite easily to you there. You could have a portion of your funds deposited at each bank and protect yourself a little better, although they are both such sound banks I don’t think you need to lose sleep over either of them,” Rastall said with the ease of someone who regularly dealt with finances.
Alec accepted Rastall’s advice to establish an account with Pierpont, and signed the paperwork to deposit his funds equally between the two banks.
Visions of Power Page 40
