Orin The Great Ch. 08

Deceivers Among Us (continued)

Early the next morning, a young page came by to knock on the door to Orin's shared room, waking the youth up and asking for him to get ready for the day's events. The sleeping chamber was smaller than Orin had imagined it to be, as it only had two narrow beds and one armoire inside of it. The pillows and mattresses where comfortable, so he had no complaint about that. No windows were built into the room; instead, lighting was provided by four candleholders mounted and centered on each wall.

"Are you ready, Bartram?" Orin asked, sitting up.

The archer was still asleep, the young man noticed, as Bartram had his head covered up with a blanket.

"Bartram!" Orin called out.

"You'll have to go without me." The man's muffled voice returned. "I am so used to sleeping out of doors that I was hardly able to sleep a wink last night. These mattresses here are just too soft!"

"But Bartram, I need you! All of these noble knights will have their squires and their pages handing them weapons and readying their mounts and all that. I can't do that all of that by myself!"

"I'm sure the Lady will lend you the services of one of her men, if you ask her."

"I would much rather have you do it."

"I would only embarrass you, Orin." Bartram argued. "I will fall asleep during the events and we will both look bad. Go on without me this time."

"Are you sure about it?"

The archer was staunch, so that in the end Orin dressed and made his way out. He ended up enlisting Miriam to help him, of all people.

Orin had a full day of competition. Early on, he raced against several of the younger castle knights. Those men were accustomed to riding on horses more than running into the woods on foot, so Orin was able to beat them easily.

The fencing was another matter. This was swordplay while wearing full armor, with a system of points awarded for strikes on the opponents' body. The reason Orin did not do as well in this event was because he hardly ever wore armor at all. Its weight stifled his movements and made his breaths ragged. His opponents were quick to score points against him.

He did much better while wearing light armor, that is, leather and cloth attire, and while using a wooden practice sword so he did not have to worry about cutting his foes. That arrangement was more in Orin's natural fighting style. The youth was also good at long-handled weapons such as pikes, spears and quarterstaffs. With the axe and mace, he was average, and with the bow he was admittedly horrible.

Orin grappled, climbed and carried heavy weights from one side of the exercise yard to the other, along with other knights who were becoming as fatigued as he was. He had the chance to ride a warhorse and maneuver it, which he wasn't so good at, but still he found the event very exciting.

At the conclusion, Orin and the other young knights lined up before a small grandstand full of nobles. An announcer informed the crowd of their placement. Overall, Orin had come in fifth out of nine. When the announcer excluded the events that Orin had little or no training in, such as archery, fencing and horse riding, he was lifted to second best. That was enough to brighten Orin's demeanor for the rest of the day.

"You are invited to a banquet this evening." A page informed the youth, once the competitors were dismissed. "Will you attend, and if so, will you attend with a lady?"

"I will." Orin replied. "With a lady."

"Very good, sir." The page curtsied and strode off.

While Orin was a common man, he found that he did like being inside the castle after all, and the respect he was shown by the nobles and the young men he'd competed against. Most of all, he was impressed with being called 'sir.'

When Orin returned to his chamber, he found Miriam standing by the door.

"I placed fifth overall, but a good second on my best events." The young man boasted. "Oh, you should have seen me, Miriam! I was a devil with a sword in my hand!"

"I'm sure you did well." The girl replied. "I did want to see you at the judging, but Sundri had me busy the moment the events were over. She has sent me to the market three different times since then!"

"To buy what?"

"A number of herbs and ingredients. Can you believe she asked for powdered human bone? Whatever does she need that for? She said she might have to go elsewhere for the other things she needs, because a place such as this will not have them. The reason I am here, Orin, is because I am to bathe you and make you presentable for tonight's supper with the nobles. Sundri specifically requested that I attend to you and no one else."

"Bathe me? But I took a bath only yesterday!"

"Orin, you should smell yourself right now. You smell like a dead ox."

"Oh, fine, you can bathe me. I'd rather it be you than some other person I don't know. Have you seen Bartram around? I haven't seen him all day."

"No, I don't know where he went."

Orin frowned, turning to open the chamber door. "Perhaps he left a note."

As the door swung open, he saw the archer pacing through the room. When the man realized Orin was walking in, he quickly jumped into his bed and covered his head up with the blanket.

"Bartram, have you been hiding in here all day?" Orin hurried over, with Miriam shutting the door before following. "Bartram, get out from underneath that blanket!"

"Leave me be, Orin!" The man's voice was heard.

"What is the matter?"

"I don't feel well."

"Are you ill? Should I call a physician?"

"No, no, just go away and leave me be."

"I needed you today." Orin told him. "And will I need you later this evening. I've been invited to supper with the nobles, and I would like to take you with me as my squire."

"I cannot go."

"Why not? You have to go!"

"If you have to know the truth, Sundri has cursed me. She did what she threatened to do yesterday."

"What, she made your head into the size of an apple?" Orin asked.

"No that was Sundri's threat to me." Miriam reminded him.

"So it was." Orin recalled. "What did Sundri do, Bartram?"

"It has to do with my man-sack."

"Oh." Orin looked repulsed. "Are you serious, Bartram?"

"Yes, she did it all right."

"Miriam," Orin turned aside. "We must find out if this is true. Stick your hand under Bartram's blanket and touch his face."

"Why do I have to do it?" The girl balked. "You do it!"

"That's not all Sundri did." Bartram revealed.

"What else?"

"I won't say it, and I won't show you, either."

Orin turned to Miriam. "You see how upset Bartram is. You have to do it! Go on, I'll owe you a favor if you do."

Miriam suspired in resignation, before she stuck her hand under the blanket. The hidden archer let the girl find his face, and its freakiness. "Oh, what's this? Bartram, is this what I think?"

"Yes." The archer was heard grumbling.

"What is it, Miriam?" Orin pressed.

"Well, Bartram has a sack on his chin, which is very disgusting, mind you. He also has... Well... His nose is quite a bit longer now, and, how should I say it? Flaccid?"

"Bartram, is it true?" Orin exclaimed. "Do you have a flaccid nose?"

"It is a cock, damn it!" Bartram shouted. "Sundri has put cock in the place where my nose once was! She came into this room earlier, and she said there is only one way to get rid of this aberration!"

Orin and Miriam looked at each other, but it was he who spoke first. "What is that one way, Bartram? How do we get rid of your flaccid nose?"

"According to Sundri, I have to harden it and make it burst like a man."

"Oh." Orin's stomach turned. "I should bring Sundri. You might have to make a few promises to her so that she'll reverse her spell and return you to normal."

"I already tried." Bartram lamented. "She said I would never question her again, after this. If I don't have someone, that is, someone that is not me, fulfill her instructions, then my nose and chin will stay this way forever."

"Why did you have to anger her?" Orin asked. "Miriam, it is up to you. Do what you must to remove this wicked curse!"

"How did I end up in these situations?" Miriam groaned.

"I said I will owe you a favor, didn't I?"

"Two favors."

"That's fine. Make it three. We must get Bartram back to normal! I need him at my side for this noble supper!"

Miriam gave Orin such a scathing look one might have thought was meant for an enemy. Drawing up her courage, the raven-haired young woman put her hand under the blanket again, gripping that rather strange and floppy thing now hanging from Bartram's face. "It feels like a small cucumber. I will never see those vegetables in the same way again, thanks to this horrible sorcery."

Under the blanket, which was actually quite a soft blanket made of linen, Miriam made like a milkmaid. The girl displayed a grimace. "I can feel his nose... I mean this thing on his face, I can feel it getting harder."

Only a few moments had passed, before the revulsion had set into her so much she stood up and ran to the bed-pot. Her stomach had lurched, causing her to vomit.

"Enough." Sundri's imperious voice was heard from across the chamber.

Orin and Miriam both looked that way. The sorceress could not keep a straight face for long, as she was soon seen giggling at what she had done.

"Have you been here all this time, spying on us?" Orin went to stand before her.

"No, I only just came in when you and Miriam opened the door."

Orin pointed a finger into her face. "I demand you return Bartram's face to normal, or else!"

"Or else what?" Sundri asked, already flirting with him. "What are you going to do to me, Orin, cockle me into submission?"

"Yes, I am!" Orin lunged at her.

The young man was in such a ready mood for action that he grappled Sundri to the hard floor right away. The moment his larger form had pinned Sundri, Orin began poking and tickling at her sides until she burst out laughing.

"Stop it, Orin!" She bellowed out a river of giggles. "Stop it, please!"

"Not until you promise to fix Bartram!"

"All right, I promise!"

Doubtfully, Orin paused. "Is this a trick?"

"No, Orin, you can trust me." She answered, letting her body go slack. "I won't keep the truth from you. I was jealous because I know you've been exploring sexual matters with our good friend Bartram. Kiss me so that I will know you haven't forgotten me. I'll put Bartram into his usual self right away."

Orin did kiss her, as she lay there on the floor. It was no simple kiss, either, but a good and longing intimate contact. To spice things up, Orin even fondled Sundri's breast.

"This jealousy has to stop." Orin told her. "You are my dear companion, Sundri. If I did not want you near me I would have said it long ago."

"I wish I wasn't so old." She lamented.

"Have you heard me complain about that?" Orin asked. Once he was on his feet, he brought the sorceress up. "I need Bartram to be in a good demeanor for tonight's supper, and he won't be if he has a cock hanging from his face, will he? I also need a lady to attend with me. Guess who I was planning to ask, Sundri?"

"One of the maidens that cheered for you at the competition?"

"No, you old chicken! I was going to ask you!"

This looked to please the sorceress immensely. "Stop teasing me, Orin."

"What, do you think I don't mind your company in the forest, but I do mind it here at this castle? Go to your chamber, Sundri, and put your best gown on for me."

"What about me?" The archer asked, still hidden under the blanket.

"Oh, right." Orin replied. "First change Bartram back, and then go find your gown. One of the young knights that I competed with is to lend me an outfit for supper. I believe it is colored in blue with gold edging. Try to find a gown that will match, please!"

"I will, Orin." Sundri agreed. "I have to change your plan slightly. This room does not have a bathing tub, but mine does. Miriam can take you there to bathe you. While you are bathing, I will set Bartram right again. Go with Miriam now. She will warm up your water and scrub you from head to arse. When you are finished with your bath, Miriam will change the water and I will take mine."

"I'm not your servant!" Miriam barked.

"Don't start up another argument with me." Sundri frowned. "I can't teach you if you can't follow directions. These directions are as simple as I can make them. Bathe Orin, and then bathe me."

When Miriam looked to ready to give a retort, Sundri held her hand out to keep the young woman silent. "Yes, you are my servant. You were a servant for the witches that began your training, and you will be a servant for me so I can continue it. Be quiet, take Orin, and do what I've told you."

Disgruntled, Miriam turned and strode out. Orin cast one last look at the man hidden beneath the blanket, before he excused himself and followed. Since Orin left the door open slightly, the sorceress called upon a breeze of wind to finish shutting it, before she went to sit at the edge of Bartram's cot.

"I will tell you something that very few people know about." Sundri admitted. "I have told you before, that I had a lover who broke my heart. That is why I ran off to become a recluse for many years. What I have not told you is that it was my jealousy that angered that man the most. It is happening again, Bartram. I am smitten with Orin. I am not ashamed to tell you, despite that I am so old and withered, and he is so young and full of life. Forgive me, Bartram, for doing this to you."

The man's muffled voice was heard under the blanket.

"I can't hear you. Pull the cover away from your face. Don't worry so much about my reaction. This isn't the first time I've created this sort of sorcery."

Feeling incredibly humiliated, Bartram pulled the blanket down to his chest. The cock in the center of his face, and the sack hanging from his chin were plainly evident.

Sundri took his flaccid nose into her hand. "I was not kidding about the remedy. If Miriam would have milked you into bliss, the effect would have worn off soon after."

"I am breathing through my mouth, Sundri." Bartram said.

The sorceress giggled. "I suppose you would have to, wouldn't you? At least you are not terrified like the last man I did this to. If I make your nose hard, will you let me suck it? Will you let me ride on it?"

"You say the strangest things, Sundri."

"That is because I am a strange woman." She was in accord. "We are pressed for time, I'm afraid. That means I cannot do what I would like to with you in this nosy state of affairs. Will you let me try with you on some other day?"

"Let us put the shoe on the other foot." Bartram challenged her. "Let me put your sexual pieces in a place where they don't belong!"

Sundri looked surprised to hear this. "Where would you put them? Would you like for me to have an extra breast? What if my cleft was found under my armpit? Would that excite you?"

Bartram considered this for a moment, but only a very short moment. "Forget I said that. It would give me nightmares, I swear. I think I will have nightmares now, thanks to what you've done to me."

"I was only teasing you, Bartram." Sundri cooed. She snapped her fingers. "There, you are no longer an aberration. Am I still your dear?"

Bartram touched his face, making sure the magic was gone from it. "What do you want me to say, Sundri? Do I have to hold my tongue now, out of fear that you will do some other abominable act on me?"

"No, of course not. I don't want you to fear me; I want you to love me. I've told you; I was jealous before, but I am over it now. Sit up so that I can hold you. I want for you to feel my heart beating, and I also want to feel yours. I am not a bad woman, not anymore. Orin is very special to me, but so are you. Do you remember? You took me out of the Devil's Crag because you wanted to. It was your idea, Bartram. If it was not for you, I would still be there now."

"I don't trust you anymore." Bartram revealed, guardedly.

"Of course you don't. People who cannot manipulate magic will never trust those of us who do. I give you everything I have, don't I? I give you my wealth, my protection and even my body. I love Orin more than the world, but that doesn't mean that I don't love you as well."

Sundri ran her hand over Bartram's face, feeling especially around his nose and chin, as if reminding him of her great power.

"Orin will take a while for his bath." She said. "It should give us enough time, don't you think?"

Bartram looked in the eyes of the sorceress. When she leaned closer to him and kissed him, much of his suspicions left him. When Sundri pressed her body onto his chest, he lay back on the cot and brought her down with him.

"If I would have known it was this sort of event, I would have brought my grandmother along as well."

It was an offhanded, cruel remark, made by a well to do braggart. That comment had been uttered just loudly enough for several bystanders to hear it, and also the recipient. A few listeners laughed outright, as those were people who were entertained by insults. A few others grinned or chuckled politely. Those types wanted popularity from all quarters, and would not risk their chances by being bold and denouncing the culprit. Only one or two made it a point to reprimand the joker, but that cold-hearted man merely laughed and turned his callous attention elsewhere.

Orin was not near Sundri when the comment was made, but it was clear just how thin the older woman's skin was only a moment later, when she excused herself and left the crowded banquet chamber. A servant went to Orin and Bartram and whispered not only the insult, but also the identity of the man that had cast it. The two men left the engagement right after, catching up with the sorceress just as she was about to ascend the narrow, spiraling staircase that led upstairs to the guest chambers.

"Sundri, stop!" Orin called out.

The sorceress did stop, but only when she was certain her two friends drew near, and no one else.

"I will put that imbecile in his place." Orin vowed. "It was one of the knights from the competition earlier. He was insulting me all morning, until I grappled him down to the grass and held him until he quit."

"No, Orin." Sundri said.

"It wasn't right for him to say that. I would be happy to knock him off his block!"

"So would I." Bartram added.

"No, Orin. And you too, Bartram. Stay out of this."

"If you're leaving the gathering, then so are we." Orin decided.

"No, Orin." Sundri replied for the third time. "Go back and be seen by these people. They call it hobnobbing. Go and hob and nob with them as you are supposed to. This will cause the nobles here to see you and interact with you. It is important that you socialize with them, and that they welcome you, considering the reason you have been brought here to secretly give Lady Oryala the male sire she is yearning for. You are to give these people the impression that you are one of them, and that you may very well stay here for a good duration until all of this is done with."

"And what are you going to do? Run off to your chamber so you can mope for the rest of the night?"

"No, I have my spell-working to worry about. Do you really think that one insult will break me into fifty pieces? If I were angry, I would have caused a chandelier to fall on that dolt's head. I didn't do that because..."

"Because you didn't want to ruin our agreement with Lady Oryala." Orin cut her off.

"No. I didn't do it because I must control my emotions, after what I did to Bartram. In the past, it was my emotions that put me into a lot of trouble. Go back to your little party. As a matter of fact, I will be sending Miriam to spend the night in your chamber. I need some time to myself. The magic I am working with is very delicate, and also very powerful."

"I think it would be better if you weren't left alone." Orin decided. "Keep Bartram or I by your side tonight."