Varna Ch. 05

Nathal had no choice but to introduce me. Tir Albo barely deigned to notice me. His attention was on Durgat. It was mildly amusing to watch the Tir attempt to intimidate my massive bodyguard by glaring at him.

- "And this is Gerdar Khuter." said Nathal. A skinny, hatchet-faced individual stepped forward to offer me his hand.

- "Pleased to meet you, Lord Tauma." he said.

- "I wish that I could say the same, my Lords. Or that the circumstances were different. Why are you here?"

Nathal frowned. I was upstaging him, and asking uncomfortably direct questions at the same time. "That is what I'm here to ascertain, brother." He then turned back to Tir Albo. "My father sent my brother along so that he might gain a bit more education."

- "The elves are hostile." said Tir Albo. "They have attacked human settlers. Two men are dead. We are here to prevent any more of these attacks."

- "Why would the elves attack?" I asked. "And who are these 'settlers'? Where were these men attempting to settle? Would it have been on elven land, by any chance?"

- "Don't be silly, Tauma." said Nathal. "The elves don't believe in land ownership. They don't hold title to land the way we do."             

That was all the answer I needed. They were in league. Nathal had known exactly what he would find when he arrived. He'd known even before we left Elmina. But was this Father's doing, or some scheme of Nathal's? Either way, I knew that I wasn't going to get answers here.

I left. With Durgat, Glasha, and four half-orcs, I crossed the symbolic little bridge at Tanarive.

- "That's far enough." said a voice. I couldn't see anyone.

- "My name is Tauma Cunedda." I said. "I'm the son of the Duke."

There was silence for a moment or two.

- "Why are you here?"

- "To find out what's going on." I said. "Who can I talk to?"

- "I'll talk to you." said a new voice. An elf came out of the underbrush, with a bow in hand.

She wore plain, homespun green. She was attractive, in a way - if you like women who are strong and forceful (plainly, I did). I was struck by her presence and poise. She was angry, but it was under control.

- "You know my name." I said. I then introduced Glasha, Durgat and the others.

- "I am Alissara." said the elf.

- "Can you tell me what's going on? Please?"

- "You truly don't know? We've sent three requests for aid."

- "Aid? From whom?" Even as I said that, I realized what she meant. "From the Duke?"

- "Who else can help us?" said Alissara.

I took a moment to compose myself.

- "If you'll tell me what's been going on - it may be that I can."

Tanarive creek was the border. On the western side was elven land - guaranteed to them by the first Duke, Arivan Cunedda. The elves were surprised that this wasn't common knowledge. To them, 200 years was well within living memory.

- "You did not know this?" said Alissara.

- "That doesn't matter. I believe you. The important thing is... can you prove it?"

- "We can."

Humans had begun to cross the Tanarive. Elves had informed them - perhaps indelicately - that they had to leave. When the humans had refused, the elves encouraged them to re-cross the creek, by stealing their livestock, or terrorizing them by night.

The next incursions included armed human parties. They were very profligate with their arrows, firing indiscriminately at shadows and unexpected sounds. The elves showed remarkable restraint, and refrained from killing.

The third wave of humans was markedly different. These groups consisted entirely and exclusively of armed men. They felled trees, and set large bonfires. They were clearly seeking confrontation.

- "We did not show ourselves." said Alissara. "But we killed a few men, and chased them back across the Tanarive. Then the men-at-arms began to arrive. And the letters."

- "Letters?"

- "From the Tir. Tir Albo. Promising that every human life lost would have to met by elven deaths, to balance the scales. A life for a life, he called it."

I told Alissara the truth: that the elves' pleas for help had gone unanswered - that my brother, Nathal, was here to help Tir Albo, and not to curtail his activities.

- "I want to help you." I said. "I'm trying to figure out what we can do."

I had Durgat and four half-orc warriors. Alissara had twenty-five elven archers. And I had Glasha.

Fortunately, Glasha and Alissara liked each other from the very start. Alissara watched over my lover as she went into a time-walking trance.

Just before dawn, Glasha awoke, and told us what she'd seen.

We made our preparations accordingly.

Gerdar Khuter, with a score of his own men-at-arms and thirty more human militia-men, crossed the bridge over the Tanarive creek.

They were unopposed. It was only a diversion, and so we ignored them.

The main approach - or the main attack, as my brother referred to it, came half a league to the west. Thirty of Tir Albo's men, backed by the same number of militia, scrambled across the creek. Nathal's horsemen were behind them, in support. They immediately ran into opposition they hadn't expected.

Elven arrows flashed over their heads. Then I stepped forward, accompanied by five half-orc warriors, including Durgat.

- "Go back!" I shouted.

I could see Tir Albo - and my brother, Nathal. I don't believe that either of them gave a signal. But an archer loosed his arrow - at me.

I saw it coming. I'd already gathered some aether, but I needed more. At that moment, I understood what Glasha had done when Merik was beating me. I didn't think: I just reacted. I pushed the aether into a shield.

I didn't stop the arrow.

Yes, I should probably have ducked, or dodged. I might have avoided the arrow entirely. Might, I say. But then I wouldn't have been in any position to prevent a conflict. Blood would have been spilled - and we would have lost.

So I snapped an aether shield into being directly in front of me. The arrow was not a pine cone; it went through my barrier. But the moment it touched my shield, the arrow slowed. It immediately lost momentum; I could see it happen.

The arrow passed through my magical defence, and penetrated my cloak. Likewise, it pierced my linen over shirt and my soft undershirt. The arrowhead drove on into my chest.

The pain was sharp, and quite intense. My breath caught in my throat. Somehow, I didn't cry out. That might have been because the arrow had only penetrated my skin, to the depth of less than an inch.

Glasha screamed.

It might have been her scream, or perhaps the sight of the Duke's son with an arrow protruding from his chest, but men stopped in their tracks. It felt as though silence descended over that section of Tanarive Creek (but that might have been only my imagination).

I don't know for certain that all eyes were upon me - but most probably were. I had a sizeable audience, then, as I reached up to take hold of the arrow... and pulled it from my chest.

- "Go back!" I shouted again, holding the arrow over my head.

They could still have attacked. I doubt that I could have stopped another arrow. But it was quite plain now that they would have to kill the Duke's son in order to succeed. Both Nathal and Tir Albo hesitated to take that step. My death would have been regrettable, if it came about as an accident; murder would have been more difficult to explain.

A number of the men were already backing away, especially the archers and spearmen. Perhaps they suspected that the Deities were not on their side, this day.

They retreated.

***

Glasha and Durgat had just enough self-control to refrain from rushing to my aid. I wouldn't let them remove my cloak or examine me.

- "I'm fine." I insisted. "I'm not hurt."

People talk. Sometimes, they repeat stupid misconceptions. In later days, I had folk ask me if it was true that I still wore the arrow around my neck, as a talisman.

Some believed that I'd donated it to a temple of Kithara (or Kelthala - Innocence, or Vengeance - take your pick). In another version of the story, I'd invoked Kelthala and hurled the arrow at the archer who fired it, whereupon the poor fellow promptly burst into flame.

In fact, I gave the arrow to Alissara, because she asked if she could have it.

I eventually let Glasha examine me. It wasn't much of a wound, but she was still very angry with me.

Durgat and the half-orcs were far more impressed; they knew that I wasn't much of a fighter, but they respected both courage and madness (if indeed those are separate things).

Nathal and Tir Albo didn't make a move the next day. Even without the local humans and 'settlers', they had a decided advantage in numbers. I wondered if superstitious dread was working on their followers.

In any case, they hesitated for another day - and with that, their opportunity passed.

Yazgash and her troops arrived, after successive forced marches. They were exhausted, but their arrival had not gone unnoticed. We now had forty half-orcs. And a very tired groom, named Osha, who thought that he had to accompany the half-orcs on their march.

The half-orcs would be tough to beat. Tir Albo's men-at-arms would not relish the idea of going up against them. If my brother and his noble friends, Tir Albo and Gerdar Khuter, had been reluctant to attack us today, they would be even more unlikely to try it tomorrow.

That was why we went on the offensive.

Alissara, Yazgash and I walked across the Tanarive bridge, armed only with a piece of parchment. No one barred our way.

Tir Albo would not run away, or try to avoid us. He stood and waited for us in the open. Gerdar Khuter did likewise, as did Nathal with his faithful shadow, the poet Gedere. Proud men - and unhappy men, now, since they did not know what we intended, or how they were going to extricate themselves from the situation they'd created.

- "What now, brother?" said Nathal.

I ignored him. It didn't matter what he said, or did. Tir Albo was the fulcrum, here. If I could move him, Khuter would go, too.

Nathal did not take well to being ignored, or overshadowed. "I'm glad," he said, loudly, "to see that that arrow missed you."

- "It didn't." I said. "Tir Albo: had your lands been under attack, I would have come to your aid. If one your villages or hamlets had been threatened, I would have helped you defend it. Instead, I found that the land of the elves was in danger."

- "The elves don't own land." sneered Nathal.

- "They most assuredly do." I held up the parchment. "This is one of three copies of the charter granted by Arivan Cunedda, First Duke of Varna, granting the elves sole possession of the lands west of the Tanarive, for a distance of one hundred leagues."

Now there was definitely silence all around me.

"A copy of this agreement resides in Elmina. It's a shame that we forgot about it. Can you see this signature? Arivan Cunedda. My ancestor, and yours, brother."

I raised my voice, so that all could hear me.

"Why are we here? The Duke of Varna gave the land beyond the creek to the elves. They are not at fault here. How would you respond, if your lands were being encroached on?"

They might have killed us. There were only three of us - unarmed. But how to explain the death of the Duke's son, the commander of his half-orc guard, and an elven chieftain? And how to prevent Durgat and the half-orcs from taking a totally disproportionate and decidedly bloody vengeance - to say nothing of what the elves might do.

Tir Albo was a thief, and an opportunist. But he was also a man of honour, in his own estimation. When confronted with unpleasant facts, and a game he couldn't win, he made a semi-dignified retreat.

- "I was unaware of this treaty, Lord Tauma." he said. "I will withdraw my men at once."

Gerdar Khuter mumbled something similar, and followed suit.

The Tanarive crisis was over. Its after-effects, though, were only beginning to be felt.

- "I won't forget this." whispered my brother, when he thought that no one could hear.

- "You should try." I told him.

***

In this case, Glasha was wiser than I was.

- "You have to get home before your brother does." she said. "Your father has to hear the truth, first."

She was right. I left at the crack of dawn, with only Durgat and Osha the groom, and six horses. Durgat was worth five men, and we would need Osha's expertise to keep our mounts in good shape.

It was one of the most important experiences of my young life - and it was nothing short of an ordeal. The only thing that kept me going, at times, was the knowledge that my companions were suffering just as badly, if not worse than I was.

Durgat was no rider. I'd learned that on our Grand Tour. He was incredibly tough, and would never complain, but he was having trouble walking when we stopped to make camp. Osha worked with horses; he rarely got a chance to ride them - and certainly not for six or seven days straight.

As for me... I was soft. The journey to Tanarive had been difficult, but the return race was beyond horrible. Yazgash's training had done nothing to prepare my backside for the constant pounding, or my inner thighs for the endless chafing of hours in the saddle. It took a supreme effort of will to unsaddle the horses when we stopped for the night, and another struggle of mind over matter to get back in the saddle the next morning.

There was no point in heading for the river. Travelling by boat would have been painless, but we would not have made good time, working against the current. Overland it had to be, at a steady pace.

We made it. I earnestly hoped that I would never have to do such a thing ever again.

My sister and my younger brother were there to meet us.

- "What happened to you? Where's Glasha?" she asked. "Are you wounded?"

- "Glasha is fine. I'm not wounded. But I have no skin left on the inside of my legs. And I haven't been able to feel my backside for five days."

- "You look terrible." said Toran.

- "Where is Father?" I asked.

- "He's with Aludar. He came home yesterday."

- "You stink." said Sanatha. "You need a bath, before you see Father - and it will do wonders for sore muscles."             

She had a good point there. I took Durgat and Osha with me. The bath house was reserved for my family, and occasionally, our servants. But my bodyguard and my new favourite groom were just as filthy and just as sore as I was. The indoor pool was a legacy of the last Kings of Varna, and the Cuneddas had quickly seen the wisdom of preserving and maintaining it. It was big enough to actually swim in, from end to end, and nearly five feet deep at all points.

The floor around the pool was tiled, and there were pegs along the wells for hanging garments of towels. There had once been tables, I'm told, for the Kings to lie on, naked, while their slaves massaged them. It would have been nice to have been a King, just for an hour or so.

Both of my companions were unsure of themselves - neither had even been here before. I had to insist, several times, that they were my guests, and that they should damn well get into the pool.

A good soak did wonders for my stiff and sore parts - and my mood. Less than an hour later, I was waiting outside the Duke's audience chamber.

When Tir Storum's guardsmen finally admitted me, I saw that Aludar was still there. My oldest brother looked... better, for lack of a better word. More relaxed (considering that he'd been closeted with my father for some time), and in good health.

Aludar smiled at me, and gave me a slight nod.

- "Why are you here?" said Father. "Why isn't Nathal with you?"

- "Nathal wasn't with me from the very beginning, Father."

He paused for several moments, as he assimilated what I'd said. "Don't play word games with me. Explain yourself."

I started at the very beginning, with Nathal trying to outpace us so that he could arrive at Tanarive first. I left out Durgat's horse-scattering ventures.

- "Tir Albo claimed that the elves had attacked human settlers." I said. "I saw no evidence of any damage on the east side of the creek. It turned out that humans had been pushing into elven territory. They were asked to leave, and warned. I saw close to a hundred armed men, under the Tir, and Gerdar Khuter."

- "And?"

- "And my brother's conduct was... worrisome. He immediately sided with the humans. I crossed the creek, to speak with the elves. They had a markedly different tale to tell."

- "As well they might."

I didn't mention Glasha's time-walk, or the fact that she'd witnessed Nathal and Tir Albo planning their attack. Instead, I described the armed crossing of the Tanarive, and the confrontation I'd participated in.

- "And they retreated." said my father.

- "Yes."

- "Because you were there. And you just happened to be exactly where the main force crossed over." My father just stared at me. "What are you leaving out, Tauma?"

It sounded strange, to hear my name from his lips; he'd used it so rarely. I didn't see how I could avoid it - he was going to hear about it eventually - so I told him about the arrow. I minimized the magic, and emphasized the luck.

- "Where is this arrow?" he asked.

- "I gave it to Alissara." I went on to tell them of the following day,, when Alissara, Yazgash and I had shown Arivan Cunedda's treaty with the elves to Tir Albo and Nathal.

- "You saw this document?"

- "I have it here, Father."

He held out his hand. I stepped forward and passed it to him.

My father was a master at ignoring others. Aludar and I might just as well not have been there. Tir Storum and his guards might have been mere ornaments, like wall-sconces or tapestries. He looked over the parchment, reading every word - and then he started over, from the beginning.

- "You believe that this is genuine?"

- "There should be a matching copy in the archives." I said. "The elves themselves have a second copy. It's not a forgery, Father - did you see the signature? And the seal?"

- "Hmm." That was his only reaction. After that, he read it all over again, a third time, while we stood and waited.

Finally, he looked up again, and stared at me. It was several moments before he spoke.

"You should have brought that arrow home. It could have become a talisman of our House - a symbol of our luck. You may be the most intelligent of my sons, but still you couldn't see how this might have benefited us."

I was momentarily stunned. 'The most intelligent of my sons'. That was the first compliment my father had paid me in... I couldn't remember how long. But was he praising me, or insulting my brother?

Aludar was considered the brightest one in the family. He was widely read, and well-read (not always the same thing). He was a master of intellectual pursuits, including games (no one but Glasha knew that I let him win against me).

My father had said that to hurt Aludar - to sting him. It was definitely not meant as a compliment. The irony, of course, was that it was true.

***

I spent much of the following morning with Aludar. I asked about his trip to Whydah, while trying to avoid being drawn into a discussion about Mother. Aludar was far more interested in the events on the Tanarive, in any case.

Neither of us mentioned my father's comment about my intelligence. Aludar had been passing me books since I could read, and I'd never beaten him at any games of strategy or skill. I don't believe that he suspected I'd been letting him win - just as I was quite certain that he considered himself the most intelligent person in our family.

But that only meant that he had to have taken my father's remark as a personal attack. Did it have to do with what they were discussing before I arrived? Or was it simply another example of my father deliberately belittling one of his children?