"I first introduce Bilaylin Bosk, late of Bosk Manor in County Barley," Robby said.
"I am Lyrium, and I am happy to meet you."
"The pleasure is all me own, Lady Faere," Billy bowed low, with surprising elegance.
"Unless I mistake it, are you not named for a mighty captain of Men? The one my people called Bilaylin the Hammer?"
"Yes, ma'am. That was me ancestor from long ago, indeed, who served it is said in the faraway lands of Vanara. It was he who came back east an' 'stablished our lands. He died, it is told, fightin' at Tulith Attis, an' his bones are what lay this day in a tomb nearby to our hall."
"I remember him well," she said, her smile diminished for a brief moment. "I see that you are lately wounded. Do you suffer much pain?"
"Oh, no ma'am. That is to say, just a bit of headache now an' again. Nuthin' to speak of. Yet, I thank ye for askin'."
"And you have a stalwart companion. What is your name, good sir?"
"Myname, mynameis, mynameisIbinBrinnin!"
"I am Lyrium. Do you play the mandolin?"
"OhyesIplayit. Ullin, Ullingaveittome, tometodayandhe, heshowed, Ullingaveittometodayandheshowedmehow."
"Perhaps someday, when you return from your journey, you will play it for me?"
"Ohyes!"
They bowed to each other, smiling, and Robby led her next to Ullin.
"Lady Lyrium," Ullin said, bowing low with his hand to his chest. "I am honored to greet you."
"Ullin Saheed of the House of Fairoak and the House of Tallin, son of Aram. I knew your grandmother's family, as well as others of your grandfather's lineage, long ago, of course. And I have heard of you, of your service both to Duinnor and your aid to Vanara and to Queen Serith Ellyn. I'm sure it was a comfort to the Queen to have one so capable as you to serve her passage to Glareth."
"My part in things is exaggerated, I am sure," he bowed again. "I am afraid the Queen's travels have not been without hardship, as it is with all Vanarans who travel eastward. But what little I have done to ease her way has been an honor for me."
"For you, yes, and an honor to others," she said to him. She paused, casting a long glance up at the hall. "Do you perceive, as I do, that a great cloud has been over this house for many years?"
"Yes, Lady. Though these lands prosper in the peace it has known, the House of Tallin and Fairoak has been troubled for many years by sadness and grief at the loss of its sons and its mistress."
"That is so, indeed. The burden of regret is heavy, and its weight of grief long borne. Yet, tonight, a storm breaks quietly upon your grandfather, I think, just as a greater storm will soon break upon this land. He is a perplexing man."
Ullin followed her gaze upward to a window high in the tower above, where the silhouette of a single figure stood, then turned away.
"So it has been said before," he said. "I fear for my House and what these days may bring upon it."
"You are not alone, Ullin Saheed," she nodded and took his hand. "It is in the power of this House to shape the world, and he who has long been withdrawn from the workings of the world may, if he has the will to choose, play a part at last."
"Perhaps, Lady," Ullin bowed.
"But that is beyond your influence, I see. Your path is elsewhere, with this company?"
"Yes. I have bound myself to Robby and to this company, for what help I may give."
Lyrium looked long into Ullin's eyes and saw much, and he, in turn, felt her seeing. Then, in the language of the west that none but Ashlord and Ullin understood, she said, squeezing his hand, "I see that the malaise of indecision that afflicts your grandfather does not exist in you, for you have ever been decisive and determined in your duty and in your quandaries. But ever have your choices been for yourself alone. Soon you may taste of the cup of worry that your grandfather has long lived upon. When decisions are made for others, the weight of them may be as mountains to the caring and concerned. Your strength of body and the prowess at arms you possess will be tested, yes, but so too will be the resolve of your heart. Men have disappointed you, and so have the Elifaen, for why else would you remain alone and not a powerful leader of armed companies, entrusted by Duinnor?"
"I have seen my share of fighting in the west, Lady, as have all my family. My way has taken me far from those fields of honor, and I have for these past years served my duty to Duinnor, and continue to do so, in my way, by aiding those who wish to preserve the Seven Realms. I have given up the ambitions I once had. It is now my desire, my hope, to be a steadfast helper in the task before us, no more."
"Yes. Yet you are still drawn back to those desert lands. Drawn by what, I wonder?"
Ullin did not reply, and held her gaze with difficulty. Ashlord, nearby, was attentive to what passed between the two, and his eyes darted back and forth between them.
Lyrium nodded and smiled, saying nothing more to Ullin, who appeared somewhat shaken by the question. Robby drew Lyrium's attention to Ashlord.
"Ashlord, called Collandoth in other tongues," Robby said.
"One of the Melnari," Lyrium said as she and Ashlord bowed to each other.
"Yes, Lady Lyrium," Ashlord replied.
"I have heard of you. A learned one, a servant of the powerful and a friend of the meek. A Watcher, but also a Doer. Yours has been a long tread upon the earth, with many twists and turns, many roles to play, and much to see."
"I have had many paths to follow, my lady. And many mysteries and wonders to delve."
"Then you must wonder at me, too."
"I do, my lady. I am happy to know that you escaped Tulith Attis. Might I ask after the other members of your household?"
"Of my family, I, alone, escaped. My husband, sister, and her husband were all lost. Only my daughters, who were not there, now remain of my family."
"I am deeply sorry," Ashlord said, bowing again. "My condolences. And I assume these items that you offered to Robby are amongst those things you brought away from Tulith Attis."
"Only the sword. I came by the ring much later," Lyrium said. "I sense that you wonder about other things that were in my keeping."
"I do, since the House of Fairfir was one of the Seven High Houses, and the only one, besides Fairlinden, that still remains."
"Only the sword, Collandoth, was I able to bring away. I do not know the fate of the other things that you may wonder about. They are lost to the world, likely smashed for their jewels and melted down for their gold by the Dragonkind. I have long since learned to live without them, and I do not pursue or search for such things anymore. They are gone."
"I see. I am sorry. Please forgive me."
"It is I and my House who should beg forgiveness," Lyrium said. "So much and so many were entrusted to Fairfir, and we failed to protect them. I sense, too, that you have many questions concerning Tulith Attis. I have traveled far, coming from the west. And the nearer I came, the more I felt the power of those lost objects grow, like a weight upon my heart. Since arriving here, my anxiety is almost unbearable, as if the Seven that I lost were present here within this garden, crying out to me. I do not understand the sensation, and I did not expect such feelings when I set out to come here. It must be that I am near to Tulith Attis, where I last saw them, and where so much else was lost, too. Husbands, sisters, friends."
Lyrium hesitated, her eyes momentarily misty and distant, her forehead wrinkled in thought. Then her expression changed and hardened somewhat as she looked again at Ashlord.
"However, my purpose in coming here lies not with the past, nor the things of the past, but with the present and with the future."
"Of course, Lady Lyrium," Ashlord nodded. "But the water penned up long ago waits to break upon us, so that the past will flow violently into the present, I fear, and threaten to sweep away our future. The betrayal of Tulith Attis still infects the world, and it clouds the minds of Men and Elifaen with suspicion and mistrust. If that, at least, could be put to rest, one way or the other—"
"I fled the fortress
when it was betrayed," interrupted Lyrium. "I saw the creature who caused our gate to be opened to the enemy. He was attired in unfamiliar armor from head to toe. I will not speak further of it."
"Ah. Once more, I beg your pardon, Lady Lyrium," Ashlord said with a sympathetic bow. "As you say, I have been a Watcher, and such things that reach out from the past and cast a shadow over the present are amongst the things I watch and study."
"I quite understand. It is your way. And mine, too. But it seems that your watching may be nearing its end, for few signs remain to be divined, and the ending and beginning of things is at hand. Do you now play both mortician and midwife to those things, to the passing away and coming of things?"
"If that is my place, then that is my duty."
"Then your time is nigh at hand," Lyrium said, smiling sadly, turning back to Robby.
Ashlord bowed once more as Robby gestured to Sheila.
"And this is my particular friend, Sheila Pradkin, late of Barley."
"Lady Lyrium." Sheila bowed rather than curtseyed since she was wearing her usual breeches and blouse instead of a gown.
"Sheila Pradkin," Lyrium repeated, offering Sheila her hand. Sheila took it, and Lyrium held it, looking deep into her eyes, and Sheila's face reddened with an odd sensation of being exposed. Suddenly, the awkward sensation was quenched by a stilling peace and an inexplicable sense of pride filled her heart. As Sheila drew herself up to stand proudly, Lyrium's smile vanished, her grip upon Sheila's hand tightened as an expression of recognition and shock briefly crossed her face. It was only a moment, but such a moment as only the Elifaen may know, when all coming moments pause and all receding moments hesitate.
"Do I know you?" Lyrium asked, more to herself than to Sheila.
Sheila, bewildered as much by Lyrium's expression as her question, shook her head and was about to answer.
"Pardon me," Lyrium said, her smile reappearing. "I sense that you have been through much. More than any of your companions may ever know. Yet your healing is not yet done."
"I am mending as well as can be," Sheila said. "I thank you for your concern, though I am baffled by how you might know."
"I See," Lyrium said.
Lyrium tilted her head sideways, and with curiosity's brow she studied Sheila again, and once more seemed on the verge of recognition. Suddenly, she grinned and said, "Will you come sit with me for a time?" Sheila, surprised, looked to Robby as if asking for permission. He smiled and gave Sheila a little bow.
"Mother," said Belmira, "the hour is late...
"...and our carriage will not wait."
Lyrium nodded at her daughters and led Sheila quickly across the garden and back to the bench.
"Perhaps I know some member of your family, from years past," said Lyrium, "and that is why you seem familiar to me."
"My mother and father both died of fever when I was very young," said Sheila. "And I do not even know their names. So I can tell you little about my ancestry."
"You are not Elifaen, then. Yet there is a special quality about you, rare in Mortals."
"I am flattered that you say so. No, I am not Elifaen," Sheila replied.
The anxiety that Lyrium had only moments before expressed to Ashlord seemed to ease. Glancing quickly across the garden at Sheila's waiting friends, she realized that the tense and fearful feelings in her heart had reached a climax when speaking with Robby. Now, sitting some distance away with Sheila, Lyrium's heart felt inexplicably lighter. It was baffling. As baffling as the face of the young girl she now sat with. A face so much like a dear friend that Lyrium had lost during the battle for Tulith Attis. Her anxiety was replaced by curiosity, and by a tenderness so powerful that it was all she could do not to take Sheila's face in her hands and kiss her in loving memory of her lost friend.
"Tell me, then," said Lyrium, "are you and Robby very much in love?"
"Does it show?" asked Sheila.
"One need not have the gift of Sight to see it."
Sheila's companions watched as the two sat and chatted in low tones, unable to hear what they said to each other. From time to time they laughed and giggled, just as small girls might, and every now and then Sheila, or Lyrium, or both would glance in Robby's direction as they spoke. They talked in such a manner for a long while, still holding hands and looking earnestly at each other the whole time, as the rest of the group waited, silent and somewhat awkwardly. Robby was curious that they continued to speak for so long, but the happy glow on Sheila's face was one that he had not seen for a long time, and he hoped that Lyrium was speaking words of encouragement. In time, Lyrium and Sheila stood and walked back together to rejoin the others, smiling as they came.
"Where do you go from here?" Sheila asked as her friends gathered around them.
"I was to return to my place of hiding," Lyrium said. "But now I feel the need to visit Glareth by the Sea."
Strangely, as Robby and the others gathered to listen, Lyrium felt her anxieties return.
"Oh. To take word of the Redvests," Sheila said.
"No. To look into other matters. I will take word nonetheless. However, the hour is late, and I must depart," Lyrium told them. "I would offer to you our conveyance into the west, but my borrowed carriage will not serve any but those of my race. And, besides, the carriage and escorts are only mine for this night. They must all return to their owner and master before moonrise tomorrow evening. So I have little, it turns out, to offer you, except my blessings and the friendship of myself and my people. Wherever your road may take you, our prayers and hopes are with you." She looked at Robby as she continued speaking. "For many generations of Men, I and others like me have watched the great Houses of our people and those of Men, looking for the One, the Hidden One, who will bring justice and unity to all our peoples. It is significant, perhaps, that Tallin Hall be the place of our meeting, Elifaen and Men, for not only is this place the result of one of the greatest unions between those two races, but it is rich in the history of reaching out to others. Even a Dragon Man was once welcomed here, did you know? Now, in this place of goodwill, beclouded though it is, you truly begin your quest. I bid you all look for signs, in your hearts and in the earth and sky, to encourage you. Trust and rely upon each other. Remain true, and you will find the courage that you need. Farewell!"
Her voice faded into almost a squeak. Her frame shrank and her clothes deteriorated into the simple dress she wore before. Her back hunched, and her thick black hair became thin and gray. Elmira and Belmira took her by the arms and led her to the carriage waiting at the garden gate. Tyrillick appeared, standing beside the carriage, and as he opened the door, brilliant gold light flowed out, as when one opens curtains to the bright morning sun, causing the company to blink. Through the opened door Robby caught a glimpse of a garden-like wood, with trees and blooming flowers, and he heard the sound of tittering birds and gurgling brooks. The ladies entered, the door closed, making sudden darkness, and the caravan was away. The soldiers, mounted alike on their steeds, followed quickly behind. Their departure was eerie and silent, with not a hoof nor a wagon wheel heard. No drum tapped, no horn blew, and no string was plucked. Robby and his company of friends blinked and peered after it, but could see nothing and hear nothing of its travel away from Tallin Hall. They felt the distinct sensation one has when waking from a mysterious dream. Lyrium's words and something of her presence remained with them as they turned to go into the Hall. As they made their way to their rooms, each said very little, but gave each other long searching looks as if none knew quite what to make of the visit.
Walking close to Ashlord, and speaking quietly, Ullin struggled to put his sense of wonder into words, and gave up, shaking his head.
"I know," said Ashlord. "That she survived the massacre is a great wonder. And to emerge from hiding only now, after all these centuries."
He was fully aware of the melancholy mood that had settled on the group, and he spoke to Ullin softly, not wishing for his words to intrude upon the thoughts of the
rest of their companions.
"Still," he went on, "she has much to hide, I suppose. If her whereabouts became known to our enemies, no doubt she would be in great danger. Why she chose this time and this place to meet Robby I cannot say. And I think she said much less than she knows."
Ullin nodded and paused outside the door to Ashlord's room as the others passed by.
"Get a good night's sleep," he told them. "We'll be on our way tomorrow."
Sheila hovered at her door, as if to say something, but then went inside. After the doors were closed, Ullin turned back to Ashlord.
"But surely," he said, "Lyrium's visit is a great sign that we are right about Robby, is it not?"
"It is, indeed," Ashlord nodded. "To come out of hiding and to give us her encouragement, in spite of the danger of doing so, was a brave and kind gesture. But she tested Robby, too, and measured him. And, I think, she was pleased by his response. Lyrium is surrounded by mystery, though, and she keeps to herself much that she knows and Sees."
"I heard you question her about the objects kept at Tulith Attis, the Seven Bloodcoins entrusted to her House. So they are truly lost."
"Yes. You saw her distress. If she does not have them, they are gone. As for the traitor, I think she knows, as a certainty, who he is. But why she would not say, I cannot guess."
"Could he have taken them?"
"It is possible."
"Hm. Much to think on," Ullin said. "What will you do tonight, Collandoth?"
"I will look in on your grandfather, I think. Afterwards, I hope to spend the night reading," Ashlord replied. "I have borrowed some books from the library and intend to finish them before dawn. And you?"
"I walk the walls with my friend Weylan. Then I turn in."
"Let us strive to be away from here by noon, if we possibly can," Ashlord suggested to him. "I fear the red-bearded one may have alerted the Damar about our presence. Our way west will thus take longer with the greater caution we will need."
The Nature of a Curse (Volume 2 of the Year of the Red Door) Page 24
