"I wouldn't say never. And I travel only because I must. If ever my lot frees me to do so, perhaps I will seek out places such as those you speak of. But I'm beginning to think no one is truly free, and that all have bonds of some kind or other that may not be escaped."
"Oh! That is a glum way of putting it!"
"I'm sorry!" Robby laughed. "But you should be grateful for the beautiful land you live in, and the home you have, safe and peaceful in a troubled world."
"I am! Surely we strive to keep in mind each an' every day those woes that brought our people here an' left us imprisoned in these lands."
Robby nodded.
"An' if one is to have such glum thoughts, this is the place to have them, certainly."
"Why is that?"
"We call this place the Pool of Desire," she said. "Some say it is a bewitched place an' that it charms those who sit near its waters. Many of our people will not come here. They say it causes the mind to wander an' the heart to turn to impossible desires."
"I had no idea," Robby replied, looking around. He thought of the wanderings of his own mind just a few moments ago and chuckled. "Maybe it is true, though, in a way. Still, it seems a pleasant enough place to me. What is your name?"
"Eldwyna."
"And the little one?"
"He is Aldred. We came looking for Eldwin. Millithorpe said ye had gone for a walk, an' since I did not see ye on the path from town, I thought ye may have come this way. I thought perhaps Eldwin was with ye."
"Are you related?"
"He is my grandfather."
"And is this your son, or perhaps your younger brother?"
"Oh," she giggled. "No, he's me grandson."
"Goodness! Forgive me. But your people seem so young compared to most others I've met. Besides the Elifaen."
"Truly age does not touch us in the same way as it does others. So we have been told. We age, but slowly."
"A blessing."
"In some ways, perhaps. But, though we have few children, our mouths increase an' our lands do not. We are not as few in number as we once were."
"I, myself, am barely over a score of years in age," Robby stated.
"That is quite young, indeed. But ye do not act so. There is something very old about ye."
"Perhaps it is just weariness," Robby chuckled. "Tell me, you said I was the first stranger you had spoken to. I thought Eldwin and Millithorpe told me your people used to trade goods with outsiders. A man named Furaman, among others."
"Yes. But, in the first place, Mr. Furaman would not be a stranger an' would be a welcome sight if ever he came this way again. And, in the second place, all trading was done along the Toll Road, an' no one was ever before allowed into our valley or town. The Elders maintain a careful watch on our borders. Should any try to find our valley, or wander too close, the Elders turn them away. There was a time when the Damar soldiers sought us out with ill-intent. But we harried them mercilessly with all manner of pestering. They have not troubled us for many years, though we think they keep the traders away."
"I see."
"Well, anyway, I need to leave ye to yer work an' speak with me grandfather," she said, turning back toward the cave. "I suppose he's somewhere around the Hoard, or working deep within?"
"Oh, no! I'm sorry," Robby said, standing up. "Pardon me for not saying so before, but Eldwin is not here. He is in town, or thereabouts, trying to stir the Elders to have a meeting."
Eldwyna rolled her eyes in an expression of exasperation and shifted the baby to her other side.
"I'm sorry," Robby repeated.
"An' we came all this way! Do ye know if he will return soon?"
"I cannot say. You are welcome to wait."
"I wish I could, but I need to get back to chores."
"May I pass along some message, then?"
"I only wanted to know if he would be able to help us today with the new cottage we are building. If he cannot help, we will ask a cousin."
"Oh," Robby replied. "I suppose my coming has disrupted a lot of work. But I'll be needing Eldwin's help, and I don't see how he'll be able to help with the cottage. I am sorry."
"Oh, of course. I know grandfather has put himself in yer service, an' what ye do is more important than any cottage. Especially if ye find that our Hoard is of worth. Many of us have put aside their work in hopes of that. But others of us do not share such great hope, an' we continue in our work an' chores. It is hard to see how the riches taken from Tulith Attis could be matched, much less surpassed by our gleanings."
"Well," Robby shrugged, "I cannot yet say. But who knows?"
"Then I will leave ye to yer task," she said. "I have to find me cousin, an' he lives all the way on the other side of the valley, an' the day gets no longer by putting things off."
"I enjoyed talking with you. Perhaps you will pop over to see me again."
"I don't think so," she laughed. "Only the Elders have that ability. The rest of us may only be carried by our feet."
"Oh. I didn't know."
"No matter. But perhaps I'll see ye again. Good day!"
"Good day to you both!"
Robby watched her go, with the baby peering at him over her shoulder in such a way that Robby was compelled to give a little wave which was returned by the child. Smiling, he went back to the cave where Timbo was just coming from the weapons room.
"I made the list an' count, just as ye told me," he reported, holding out the list for Robby. "But there are many things that are strange to me. That is to say, I do not know what to call them. I'm afraid I didn't get very far along. But I drew little figures of them, along here, see? An' a count beside them giving their number."
"You did well. Honestly, I'm not sure I know what that is," Robby said pointing to a sketch that looked vaguely like a large spoon. "But perhaps I will know when I see it later when we look together. Next, I need you to sort things out, several stacks for each thing. Those that are in the best condition, those not so good, and those in poor condition. Be careful and ask for help with the heavy things."
Not long afterwards, Limbo appeared, and soon Robby was busy keeping up with their reports and questions, making his notes and preparing to assess all of the things. The boys came and went, and Robby often had to help them move something, or answer some question, or direct the sorting. When he returned from one such errand, he found Millithorpe had lit more lamps, and the Foyer was aglow in amber light. He was surprised when he looked to the cave opening and saw only a gaping blackness outside where night had settled on the land. The sound of Millithorpe's scratching pen was answered by the distant calls of a night bird and the subtle drone of crickets.
"I am surprised there are no bats," he said as he sat beside Millithorpe.
"They do not like the lamp oil," Millithorpe replied, not looking up from his copying. "And they have taken to other caves nearby."
Robby stifled a yawn.
"What I wouldn't do for a cup of coffee!"
"I remember coffee," Millithorpe looked up with a faraway expression. "With cream and sweet liquor!"
"Nothing quite like it, for when you need a lift."
"Aye. We have a nice tea, though. If you wish, I can pop over to my cottage and fetch a pot."
"I don't want you to go to any trouble."
"It would be no trouble and, anyway, with your leave, I'd like to look in on my missus. It being past dark and all."
"Oh. I guess I didn't realize, but of course you have a family. I suppose I am putting a great deal of people to trouble over this."
"Oh, no, sir. Not at all. That is to say, it is only my missus and myself. And what trouble we go to is nothing, oh truly, nothing whatsoever compared to what we may someday gain from it."
"Well, why don't you go see your wife? Can you come back in the morning?"
"Unless you need me before then. Where will you sleep tonight?"
"Oh. Hm. I guess it isn't practical for me to return to my friends. I'll be fine just stretched out he
re."
"Then I will have some blankets brought to you."
"That would be nice. Thank you."
"May I also suggest that perhaps it is time to eat? It is a little beyond our customary time. And, if you meant what you said earlier, the boys would enjoy a bite, I'm sure. I'll sup with my missus."
"Oh, yes, certainly. I'll fetch the others."
"Then I'll see you in the morning!"
Robby went to the sundries room and asked Seltin to find the other boys as he picked out some plates and cups and other things. After convincing the boys that, in the first place he would not eat unless they did, and, in the second place, it was fine to borrow the dishes and so forth, they sat together and ate from the full platter and drank the beer. The boys were polite and answered Robby's questions but said little on their own for the better part of the meal. Even with what little they did say, Robby was surprised at how well-spoken they were, and he learned that they had a very active school and even a library of books and scrolls, one of the few things that could be borrowed from the Hoard by copying.
"In the days when traders came along the Toll Road," Seltin explained, "news of the outside world was to be had. We got books that way, too, an' often we traded for stories, written down as they were told by passing travelers."
"Oh?"
"Yes. There was a family of minstrels who used to regularly come this way. Though they were poor in other ways, they were rich in songs and lore, an' in tales and stories."
"My grandmother even met a prince, once," chimed in Jimbo. "He was traveling to Tallin Valley from Vanara in the west an' gave to her all manner of genealogies of the Elifaen lines. She spent three days in his camp an' among his people an' copied fifty scrolls of tales an' lore."
"An' once," Timbo said, "me Uncle Eldwin saved from a bear a mighty hunter who came from the northlands beyond Duinnor. They became great friends, so he says. In gratitude to Uncle Eldwin, he sent to us a whole wagon of gifts, including silver and gold an' fine cloth an' tools, as well as a case of stories from Glareth-country full of sea-tales an' magic adventures."
As they went on, with growing ease in Robby's company, he realized that, for all their isolation, they seemed to be more knowledgeable and better read than himself. Although he felt their knowledge to be quaint, outdated certainly, he felt a pang that he himself could offer little better. Still, they seemed to have a genuine hunger for and delight in all sorts of lore and knowledge about all things. Which made it odd, Robby thought, that they asked very few questions about himself, his home, or his travels, even though he sensed their curiosity. Perhaps it was out of politeness, he thought. He spoke with care, not wishing to give away anything too particular about his reasons for being on the road. The boys listened intently, rarely interrupted, and, he noticed, they did not eat or drink as he spoke, though they had no inhibitions about doing so while one of their own talked.
They chatted on after the last morsel was gone and the dishes were cleaned away. Though Robby thought it was not much of a meal when divided so many ways, they looked satisfied, and Timbo, having pushed back his stool, patted his belly contentedly. They talked of the great storm and each related their own tales. Robby left out much, most, in fact, of his own tale, but he described the damage to Barley and the death of Passdale's mayor.
"No one here was killed, as in your town," said Jimbo, "for which we are most thankful. But the water pouring down the slopes brought some trees an' boulders with it, an' many of us took shelter right here and also in other caves nearby."
Robby listened to their account of the damage and the loss of crops and found himself wishing he could help them, thinking of his own people and their plight. But he did not mention their troubles, or talk about the Redvests or the invasion, or the coming war, or why he and his companions were on the road. Oddly, he had not been asked, so he concluded that some agreement must have been exacted of them to refrain from such questions. Just as he was thinking of Eldwin, the little man entered the cave at the head of a dozen or so others, most carrying bundles, some with long boards and others with tools. Eldwin had changed out of his fancy suit and now wore work clothes and waistcoat.
"Just over there, nearby those shelves, I think," he instructed those in his party who awkwardly bowed to Robby as they passed with their loads and immediately set to work on some little construction. Five of the group, who carried no bundles and who were dressed in colorful outfits, stood aside as Eldwin approached Robby.
"We have brought things to make a cot for ye," he said. "I ran into Millithorpe on the way an' brought blankets, too, an' straw for a mattress of sorts. That is, should ye decide to sleep here rather than with yer companions."
"I'll stay here. But I'd like to send another message to them."
"Certainly."
"And who are these gentlemen? Elders?"
"Just so, sir." Eldwin nodded to them, and Robby bowed and shook their hands. "This is Larris, Brolith, Arldewain, Torridge, an' Makewine. I have seen many of the Elders today, makin' yer request, an' these have come to question ye about it."
Arldewain cleared his throat and looked at the others before speaking.
"We are concerned," he said, "that the accounting done by Millithorpe is not sufficient for you to make a reckoning as to the value of the Hoard. Can you tell us why that is?"
"Millithorpe is a good keeper of the Hoard," Robby began. "He has followed the instructions given to him, and the work he has done is to be commended. But the records are not kept in a way so as to assign value to the things, or to tally up the amount of value as a whole. The Great Hoard, as you call it, those things from Tulith Attis, is to be the measure for all other things combined. Therefore, I must inspect the items in that chamber."
"You have looked into the chamber of the Great Hoard, have you not?" asked Makewine.
"Yes."
"Then you have seen how the Great Treasure does not gather dust, nor does it tarnish or decay."
"I have seen that. It is most uncanny."
"Would it not seem, then, that their condition is unchanged?"
"It would seem so, yes," Robby shrugged. "But those things were taken in a time of war, carried off through battlefields, and carted across many leagues. What condition were they in when they were taken, forcibly, from those who would not easily give them up? What damage might those things have suffered at that time or even before then? And then afterwards, on the way here? Yes, I have looked into the chamber. But a thing looked at from a distance does not always show its value, as I'm sure you may appreciate."
"Well said, I admit," replied Brolith. "I remember those days too well, as all we Elders do. The road was hard, and we cared little for our burdens except to rid ourselves of them."
"And I was one of those who went to Tulith Attis itself," said Larris, shaking his head and giving a slight shudder at the memory. "Cast into piles by the coarse Dragonkind for us to carry out. With my own shirt, Bailorg made me to wipe the blood from a headpiece of gold. I remember the horrible grin on his face as he took it from me and held it up to admire."
"So you understand why I must look at those things," said Robby. "Will you and the others give me permission to go into that room and do so?"
"Eldwin did a fair job of convincing us before we came," said Makewine. "And you have satisfied our questions, I think."
The others nodded.
"A meeting of the Elders will take place tomorrow, and we will put the question to vote. Herbert will oppose, naturally, but I think we may prevail with four-fifths of the vote needed. However, even if the Elders agree that you need to gain entry into the Hoard, they may not wish to give permission because of the labor needed."
"Our people, that is, those not already helping you," picked up Larris, "are busy making ready for winter, gleaning what food and fuel may be had, salvaging crops and salting fish."
"The gates have not been opened since the bands were forged around the bars," explained Brolith. "Our smithies tell us they will
have to make cutting chisels and irons."
"That means the forge will have to be kindled and stoked with cut wood. Bellows remade and certain other tools."
"Many hands will be needed."
"We think it will take about twelve of us working several days to open the gates."
As they talked, Eldwin's workers had assembled Robby's cot in short order and were now standing with Seltin and his cousins, listening to the exchange. Robby considered for a moment what they said.
"Be that as it may," he said at last. "Let the permission for me to go into the Hoard be one thing, and let the decision to do the work of opening it for me be another thing. Please meet with the Elders and let me know how things stand. If permission cannot be granted, then I and my companions must be on our way, without our things, to make our journey as well as we can. If permission is granted, a way to open the gates will be found, somehow. But know this: The breaking of the curses upon your people depends on your wit and wisdom. If you do your part, I will most assuredly do mine."
The five Elders agreed, then quickly departed. Turning to the others, Robby politely thanked and dismissed his helpers until morning, all but Eldwin whom he asked to linger. Seating himself at the desk he began to write a note to his companions, speaking to Eldwin as he did so.
"Everyone did a fine job today," he said. "I admit I was discouraged this morning when I first saw the books. But Millithorpe and I are well on our way to sorting them out. All the helpers did fine work, too. Tomorrow, I'll begin making my notes as to the value of things. But you, especially, Eldwin, have done well, and I thank you for all your efforts."
"That is kind of ye to say, sir, an' ye should have our gratitude," Eldwin bowed. "Not all of us take great delight in our way of takin' a toll on the road or a fee as we do. I wish I could just give ye back all yer things an' let us be friends."
"Perhaps we may become friends, anyway."
"I hope so. Whether ye succeed or fail, an' whether we act wisely or not."
"Thank you for saying so."
Robby continued to write, turned the sheet over and filled that side, too, leaving just enough room to sign his name. He folded it and handed it to Eldwin.
The Nature of a Curse (Volume 2 of the Year of the Red Door) Page 44
