The Nature of a Curse (Volume 2 of the Year of the Red Door)

by William Timothy Murray

  • • •

  Not very long afterwards, Sheila sat with her arms around her knees and watched from the top of the old wall that surrounded the Hall. She saw the comings and goings, anxious riders speeding to and fro, some in the livery of the Hall, some soldiers with light arms, and some ordinary looking boys. As more came, more went, bearing away from the Hall saddlebags of scrolled parchments. All left at a gallop, some turning south and others northward, the dust of their passing barely settled before the next rider thundered by.

  "It'stime, it'stimetogo,Sheila."

  She turned and saw Ibin, his mandolin slung over his shoulder, looking up from below. She smiled at him and jumped down from the wall, and soon they rejoined the rest of their company at the stables. Ullin and Billy were lashing the last of the supplies onto the pack animals while Robby led out their riding horses, already saddled. Her things, her bow and sword, and her saddlebags were neatly stacked where she had left them, and as she checked her saddle and tied on her gear she looked around.

  "Where's Ashlord?"

  "Went off to see that Dargul feller," Billy said, jerking his chin at the Hall. "Said somethin' 'bout last minute somethin' er other."

  "He wanted to know a few things about Toolant," Robby told her.

  • • •

  "Why yes, of course he was watched," Dargul was telling Ashlord. Ashlord trailed Dargul as the elderly counselor went quickly hither and yon about the Hall making necessary and urgent arrangements. There was lease-writing he had to supervise, done by a group of scribes. There were messages to be written and messengers to summon for their dispatch. And there were accounting books to review, deeds to locate, census rolls to check, all with quickly summoned clerks and foremen helping (and new ones arriving every few minutes), and a myriad of other things needing haste but also care. With Ashlord in tow, Dargul did all this, passing from room to room, dodging aides and assistants who trotted back and forth across the halls from one doorway to the next with stacks of papers and books, and avoiding collision with soldiers who were reporting for duty here or there, or being sent out to all parts of the valley. It was as busy a place as any place could be, and busier than Tallin Hall had ever been before. Yet, amid the seeming confusion, Dargul went competently about, resolving arguments, putting the final touches on various letters and decrees, going over routes, and authorizing the purchase of building materials for various storehouses, barracks, workshops, and kitchens that were to be assembled. Alarmed city fathers and leading citizens came, were told what they needed to be told, and left to hurry to their assignments and to make ready their businesses. Sheriffs and their deputies came to receive arrest warrants for known Tracian spies staying nearby. The lawmen were also given various decrees and proclamations to carry out, especially in the line of closing certain establishments known for providing haven and illegal trade for Damar agents and conspirators, and for the establishment of guards at every well and every spring within the walls.

  "And as counselor he had a fair number of visitors from foreign parts, just as I do."

  "He may have come alone or in the company of a few others," Ashlord told him, stepping out of the way of a clerk who charged around the corner. "His name was Bailorg. And he was one of the Elifaen, from Vanara, I think."

  "Bailorg, Bailorg. I can't say that the name strikes me in any particular way."

  "He was tall, blond,"

  "Yes, yes, yes!" Dargul exclaimed. "I remember him, now. Yes, he came here several times. I am sorry I am so thick! I only actually met him once and did not care for the looks of him, too shifty-eyed by far. He had men with him that always lurked nearby but never spoke, remaining in arms the whole while, helmets, even. I took them to be his bodyguards."

  "Several times, do you say?"

  "Yes, I met him when he came the first time, about three years ago, applying for use of the library. In fact, Toolant brought him to me. I took him to be from Duinnor, though. It is not unusual for our libraries to be visited, and Lord Tallin is generous in his permission. He returned last winter and then again in the spring. I only know because I signed the house pass for him each time. It was one of the few duties left to me when Toolant displaced me, so to speak. I did not pay much notice to Bailorg, my attention by then wholly concerned with Toolant's intrigues."

  "But they could have conspired together?"

  "I suppose. Though I know of no connection. His visit, like all who visit, was reported to Lord Tallin. It did not arouse concern. Excuse me! No, those are not needed in there," he stopped a servant bringing more pots of ink and quills. "Down the hall, to the left, where all the scribbling is going on. Oh how I wish we had one of those new writing presses! You would not believe the imbecilic way some of these 'learned scribes' shape their letters! And I've already dismissed four who were intent on decorating each and every copy with flowery illuminations before each paragraph, each taking two hours on a single copy. At a time like this! School children would be better by far!"

  "Do you know what it was that he was looking for in the library?"

  "What? No, I cannot guess. I can't remember which of our footmen attended him. I could find out and ask."

  "Well. No, that is not necessary, I don't think. You have more pressing matters, and I will not take up more of your time," said Ashlord, reaching for Dargul's hand, "and my companions await me. Please express our gratitude to Lord Tallin, if you will. And also share our thanks with the servants of the house, Windard, especially."

  • • •

  The others were waiting for Ashlord in front of the Hall as he emerged, but he said little as he slung his bag over the saddle and climbed after it. The yard was noisy still, with comings and goings, and as they made their way through the estate grounds and then out into the city beyond, everywhere seemed all a-bustle and a-jostle, and every few minutes another galloping rider would fly past them. This traffic increased as they made the western gate and passed through it.

  "We make our way to the village of Undertree, some few miles from here, at the rim of the valley," Ullin told Billy as they passed through the cultivated fields and over the stone canal bridges that surrounded Tallin City. They followed the same road that Lyrium and her party had traveled the night before, straight westward until it curved to take the first of many turns that would carry them up and into the west hills overlooking Tallinvale. At last, gaining the crest of the first line of hills, they stopped and gathered together to look back over the valley below. The afternoon sun was bright and the day was warm, and all along the roads that crisscrossed below were riders and wagons and carts and people moving. Several times as they watched, one of these riders would overtake them and gallop past, disappearing into the forest northward or southward or straight on along the western road.

  "All this commotion," said Billy. "Will thar truly be fightin', like I heard outside me room this mornin'?"

  "Looks like it," said Robby. "They mean to buy time by provoking the Redvests and delaying them from their westward attacks, if they can."

  "But just since yesterday?" Sheila asked. "Yesterday, when we arrived, your grandfather didn't seem too interested in helping."

  "Yeah, but that was afore Robby had a chat with his granddad," Billy said to her. She looked at Robby, who shook his head.

  "It is a fearful thing he embarks upon," Ullin put in. "However he came by the decision."

  "Yes," added Ashlord, reining his horse around to lead them on. "I'm afraid he has thrown away the sheath."

  "Thrown away the sheath?" asked Billy, nudging his horse alongside Ullin who was still gazing across his valley. "What's 'at mean?"

  "It means there's no turning back," Ullin replied, pulling his horse around to follow Ashlord.

  • • •

  They passed many crossroads and on through places where the pasture-quilted hills and patchwork woods held small cottages, and on through more intersections where cattle paths and foot paths came and went, and everywhere people were out and about. Riders c
ontinued to go by, some coming and others going, but the farther along they went, the fewer they saw, and the hills became more rugged and forested as the day fell toward late afternoon. Several times, Billy tried to strike up some note of conversation, but he found that his friends had little enthusiasm for talking, and they remained silent, for the most part, moving as quickly as their pack animals would allow. So it was a somber group that entered the village of Undertree, a small town of shops and cottages. They found the inn, stabled their horses as the sun set, and, since there were no other travelers staying there this night, they had the keeper and the cook to themselves and the whole of the great room, too, and the bright fire in the hearth. After some beer, they sat at a long table and ate a hearty stew and talked of the days to come.

  "Do the Seven Realms rule all of the lands between here and Duinnor?" Sheila asked Ullin.

  "No, there are many places amongst and between that have never been part of any realm or kingdom. Wild places, some. Others forbidden and closed to outsiders. Some are forests, others are swamps, and still other places are in the mountains or even the open plain. And there are other places, not forbidden at all, inhabited by Men or Elifaen, that swear no oath to Duinnor and rule themselves apart from all the happenings in the world outside of their lands. Sudamoor is one such kingdom, where men farm and fish and abide together in many towns and villages, led by a line of kings that they have supported for many generations. Gardask is another land, not so hospitable, where the folk live meager but free lives, choosing their chiefs and leaders and making their own laws as they see fit. They are a scrappy folk, easily incited to violence, and not against raiding other lands for cattle or booty."

  "What about them forbidden places?" Billy piped up. "Why are they forbidden?"

  "Only because few who go into those places ever come away," Ashlord put forward. "Or if they ever do, they wish they never had, living the rest of their days in terror or in some madness of mind."

  "Like whar, for instance?"

  "Like Nasakeeria," said Ullin, "a high country on the northern plains between here and Duinnor. All travelers avoid that place, even though passing around it takes days. Its boundaries are marked by the discarded bones of those who attempted to penetrate its secrets."

  "Discarded?" Billy asked. "By what?"

  "By those who live there, it is said, who conjure a mysterious fire to consume any who attempt to cross their border. There have been many witnesses to the fire."

  "Get on!"

  "It is true," Ashlord said. "During the time of the Dragonkind invasion that destroyed Tulith Attis, Duinnor dispatched an army to the east, and in their haste they attempted to pass through Nasakeeria. Fifteen thousand swordsmen, three thousand archers, and a thousand horsemen, along with their train of supplies entered Nasakeeria. When they did so, they dispatched a messenger to Duinnor with word of their progress. Only he survived. Two weeks later, when no other messengers came, riders were sent. They found only clean white bones laid out in vast arrays. Skulls here, ribs there, leg-bones yonder, and so forth, bleaching in the sun beneath the fluttering battle flags of each company and division. Likewise, the bones of their horses and cattle were found. But no equipment was found, other than the pennants and the lances upon which they flew. No swords, saddles, shields, arrows, or clothing of any kind. And none of the bones bore any mark whatsoever, as would be expected if they had died in battle."

  Billy's mouth was opening and closing, as if he was trying to form some word of comment. Ibin's mouth just hung open at the tale.

  "Had Duinnor's army gone around, it is likely they would have reached Tulith Attis in time to render aid, if not break the siege entirely. As it was, they sent another army, but it did not reach the east in time, and it caused Queen Serith Ellyn's army to be delayed. That is why, even to this day, Duinnor is often blamed for the slaughter that took place in the Eastlands."

  The company fell silent for a few moments as they all wondered at the tale.

  "But that's not all," Robby said. "Did not that same fate await another army some time later?"

  "Indeed it did, another small army, marching swiftly from the south, nearly three hundred years ago," Ullin said. "Now their bones, too, mingle with the others. You have done some reading?"

  "A little."

  "But what Duinnor fool would send another army into Nasakeeria after what happened to the first?" Sheila cried incredulously.

  "The second army knew nothing of the first," Ashlord said. "It was from the Dragonlands."

  "Oh," Sheila was taken aback. She had forgotten lessons that Ashlord had taught her during her stay with him at Tulith Attis. Three hundred years ago, a Dragonkind army moved swiftly out of the deserts, broke through the mountains south of Vanara and, surprising everyone, made a daring and devastating dash straight out and around Vanara, swinging northward toward Duinnor. She now remembered that when she asked what had stopped them, Ashlord only said "Their own bad luck." The lesson had been interrupted by Certina, and then by Ashlord's request that she go to Passdale to meet Ullin. That was the day Robby set out for Tulith Attis with Ullin's delivery, the day he rang the Bell. Suddenly she was lost in a different line of thinking, about then and now, about knowledge and ignorance, and about the smallness of her old life in Barley. In an odd way, she thought, this situation, arising from the misfortune that befell Barley and the hopeless quest pressed upon Robby, was a relief from the oppression of her life before. Then she remembered the kindness of Frizella and Mirabella, the gentleness of Robby's father, and the happiness—yes, she could say that, now—of her stay with the Ribbons. The loss of all that settled somberly upon her heart.

  "The Dragonkind?" asked Billy.

  "Yes," nodded Ullin. "And had it not been for Nasakeeria, the army would have reached Duinnor with little resistance, the Realm's armies being scattered to the east and southwest. Since that time, Duinnor has grown more reluctant to send its best forces very far, sending instead armies made up of poorly trained and ill-led men. So the burden of defense fell more and more upon Vanara. The Dragonkind army may have failed in its attempt, but it succeeded in weakening the Seven Realms in ways only now coming to light."

  "Nasakeeria may have many secrets," said Robby. "But at least we know that it plays no favors with intruders."

  "An' none of them folk, er them creatures, whatever they may be, none of them have ever come out of Nasakeeria?" Billy asked.

  "Who knows?" said Ullin.

  "The place is inscrutable," stated Ashlord.

  "But we do not go that way, do we?" Robby asked.

  "Not at all. I intend to lead us west and a bit south along these foothills before entering the mountains," Ashlord told them as they ate. "We will abandon the roads, so as not to risk capture by the Damar who are surely on alert after last night. So we must try to make our way cross-country as best as we can for as far as we may."

  "That's liable to be rough," commented Billy.

  "I know, but unless you can think of a better way to pass through without getting our throats parted, I think we must try."

  "How long will it take us to move through Damar country?" asked Sheila.

  "Once we enter the mountains, it would be about a hundred leagues, from east to west, as the bird flies," Ashlord replied, passing another bowl to Ibin. "If we make forty miles each day, about a week to cross through."

  "That may be optimistic," Ullin said. "The days are growing shorter and night comes early in the mountains, anyway."

  "Yes, it will be difficult," Ashlord agreed. "Which is why we should all turn in after we eat and strive to depart before dawn. We have the loft room, upstairs, not so fancy as Tallin Hall, but better than you'll find for many nights to come. So I suggest you go to them soon and enjoy them while you can."

  "Did you learn anything about Bailorg?" Robby asked as he tore off a lump of bread for his stew.

  "Dargul knew little, except that he came to use the library," Ashlord replied. "I suspect some connection w
ith Toolant."

  "And you have some history with the red-bearded one, is that not so?" Ullin asked.

  "Yes, I'm afraid I do. Years ago, we were at the same time in the service of Duinnor. He left service and disappeared for many years, turning up first in Vanara and then, later, in Tracia. I have always thought him capable of the most foul deeds, but he surpassed even my imaginations in Tracia."

  "Why? What did he do?"

  "He was instrumental in bringing down the Prince, I believe. He came into a position of counselor to the Tracian Royal House, and escaped capture even when many were taken and executed. A slippery one, surely. He showed up in Glareth not many years ago, with some plan to rid the Thunder Mountains of the bandits that lurk there, or so he said. It was suspected that he was an agent of the new Tracian overlords who feared the refugees in Glareth would foment resistance. Prince Carbane, I'm happy to say, considered Toolant's proposals to send forces into the Thunder Mountains quite outrageous, and Toolant soon left Glareth with nothing accomplished except the further tarnishing of his reputation. Then, as I gather, he showed up in Tallinvale and established himself there, seeking to accomplish the same that he strove to do in Glareth. Lord Tallin would hear none of it, thankfully, but led Toolant on so as to use him as a means to pry other Redvest spies and agents from the woodwork. I dare say many are being rounded up this day and will soon find their path southward, or worse."

  "So you don't think Bailorg and Toolant were partners, do you?"

  "No, I do not. But they may have shared sympathies, so to speak. And Toolant, an Elifaen but much younger of the two, was very likely all too happy to assist Bailorg. Remember Bailorg's letters? A more involved plot than Toolant was privy to, I'm sure. If Toolant had known about the plot to kidnap you, and the bounty Bailorg thought to receive by doing it, he would surely have attempted to carry it out himself. He had ample warning of our approach, but did nothing. I only hope we make it through the mountains and beyond his reach, or the reach of the Damar, before they realize their missed opportunity." Ashlord nodded at Robby's bowl. "You should pay more attention to your food. You need to eat and rest well tonight. It gets hard from here on. We'll have plenty of time to talk on the road."