The guild war, p.2
The Guild War, page 2
part #3 of Andoran's Realm Series
‡ ‡ ‡
For Branwyn, the man’s death could hardly have come at a worse time. Or a worse place—the tile floor of her house’s entryway. Valwyn and Petra had watched in horror as the old man clutched his chest and tried to speak, his face twisted into a rictus of pain. And that had been followed by her own failure to save him, despite being a Priestess of Arwon. The simple truth was that the man had reached the end of his natural life, and she could do nothing other than ease his pain as he passed.
Valwyn suddenly burst into tears and fled. Branwyn exchanged a glance with her husband, and he promptly followed. It wasn’t his strong suit, but she knew that Milric would do what he could to comfort their daughter. Petra simply looked sad as she bent down and gently closed the man’s eyes. That finally roused the man’s wife from her state of shock. Branwyn barely managed to catch the woman as her legs gave way and she dropped her cane. “Sleep!” ordered Branwyn, and the spell’s effect was instant, causing the woman’s eyes to close and body to relax. Branwyn then carefully lowered the old woman to the floor next to her dead husband.
“It was his heart,” said Petra in a quiet voice. “I’ve seen it before.”
“Yes, his heart is worn out. I could raise him from the dead, but he would just die again.”
As Petra stood silently, Branwyn tried to formulate a plan of action. It was well past midnight, and they were all in their nightclothes. Consoling the woman could wait until morning, but not dealing with the body. It needed to be taken to her temple and prepared.
“Petra, please go tell Milric to get dressed and then come see me.”
“And I’ll stay with Valwyn,” she said, before turning and rushing off.
Branwyn looked down at the elderly couple. Like herself, they were half-elves. A century was the typical lifespan of a half-elf, and Branwyn suspected that they were both near that age, if not past it. Having never seen them at her temple, she wondered how they had known to come to her home.
When Milric returned, Branwyn snapped out a series of orders. Her husband was the Captain of the Rohoville City Guard, and she knew that was the best way to communicate clearly with him. He would rouse Branwyn’s acolytes and see that both the woman and her husband’s body were transported to the temple.
In her daughter’s bedroom, Branwyn found the opposite of what she had expected. It was Valwyn who was trying to comfort Petra as she lay on the bed with both hands pressed to her forehead and her teeth gritted in pain. It was another headache—a bad one from the look of it.
Branwyn walked up, placed her left hand on top of Petra’s head, concentrated, and said, “Recovery!” As always, she could sense the wrongness in the girl’s brain but do nothing to remove it. But she could relieve the pain and tension. Petra’s arms fell to her sides as she sighed with relief and said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You can go back to bed.”
Valwyn sat down on the side of her bed after Petra departed. “Is Petra going to be okay?” she asked, looking worried.
It wasn’t the question that Branwyn had expected. “Eventually,” she answered, seating herself next to her daughter. “She’s having them less often.”
“I still can’t believe that she did that to herself. She almost died.”
Branwyn knew that all too well. Petra had employed her innate power of telekinesis to free herself from her captors, but it was her later overuse of that power when she was being hunted that had somehow damaged her brain. Ermizad, annoyingly, hadn’t been concerned, simply telling her cousin to stop using that power until the headaches stopped.
“How are you, Valwyn? Still having bad dreams?”
She pursed her lips before answering, “Some.”
Branwyn’s daughter was suffering her own aftereffects after being abducted. Only Hanna seemed unaffected. Being tied up and at the mercy of strange men had awakened a deep-seated fear in Valwyn, plaguing her with nightmares of being raped and abused.
“Is Valwyn going to be okay?” asked Branwyn, smiling as she echoed her daughter’s earlier question.
“Eventually,” replied Valwyn, matching her smile. “Petra told me that those men wouldn’t have raped us. They’d have taken us back to Zardis and sold us.”
“And virgins are worth more?”
“A lot more,” said Valwyn, actually sounding proud.
“Do you want to talk about what just happened?”
Sadness filled her daughter’s face. “I know he was just old, but I thought it would be more peaceful.”
“Sometimes it is. But it’s natural to resist, to fight until the very end. He didn’t want to go, but it was his time.”
Valwyn nodded. “I understand. I’m going back to bed.”
“Sleep well, Valwyn.”
After getting dressed in her priestess robes, Branwyn went to the sitting room to wait. What Petra had told Valwyn was probably true, but it was far more likely that those men had planned to use the two girls and then kill them. Her daughter would probably figure it out eventually, but for now the girl was clearly relieved.
Branwyn closed her eyes as she tried to prepare herself. Tomorrow would be trying. She would need to deal with the wife and any other family, to explain, to reassure, to console. The existence of magic that could restore the dead to life often led to anger when a permanent death occurred. But that was part of her job. By the time that her husband returned, Branwyn was sound asleep.
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“I fear for our future. This will end badly.”
“You believe that the plan will fail?”
“It may well succeed, but death breeds death. We invite retaliation.”
“Let them retaliate. They will never find those responsible. Their efforts will be wasted.”
“You are young. I have seen this before. Arrogance and overconfidence inevitably lead to disaster.”
“And you are old. They will be caught unaware and defenseless. We will triumph.”
“You prove my point. No weapon is perfect. No plan is perfect. Enemies always manifest unexpected abilities and behaviors. This will end badly.”
“Even if it should, the Guild will survive.”
“And now you grasp at aphorisms. The Guild now is nothing like the one I joined in my youth. It is only the name that survives.”
“Has it changed so much?”
“A good question. Yes, it has changed greatly. But change is required for survival.”
“So you do believe the Guild will survive?”
“Only in the sense that something with that name will continue. That does not mean that either of us will survive.”
“They would not dare to strike us here, not in our home, not where we are strongest.”
“That is exactly where they will strike if we antagonize them. They are not as weak as you and others believe. The witch is an unknown, and they have the cooperation of an Eye of Andoran.”
“The Eye only concerns herself with threats to the Realm. The witch will be neutralized. We have planned for everything.”
“You are young. It is impossible to plan for all eventualities. This will end badly.”
“You repeat yourself, but you have a point. There are aspects of the plan that concern me.”
“And yet you continue to support it.”
“Yes. I am young, but also ambitious.”
“As was I once. Now it is my role to complain about the impetuousness of youth.”
“You do that well.”
“And now you employ sarcasm. You are young. If you wish to become old, then you must plan for the worst. It has not happened in centuries, but enemies have rooted us out before. You would do well to review our history.”
“You are old, but I bow to your greater wisdom. I will do as you suggest and think upon your words.”
“As you should. Good fortune, Aspirant.”
“Good fortune, Elder.”
2
‡ Family ‡
Medea was concerned about her daughter. Marryn had been deeply affected by the events of the previous evening. Finding the body would have been bad enough, but she had also heard the young woman’s frantic cries for help and screams of agony. Medea had done what she could, cleaning up her daughter and trying to calm her, but it hadn’t been enough. She doubted if the girl had gotten any sleep.
It was mid-morning before Marryn finally emerged from her room, pale and red-eyed, with her long red hair a disheveled mess. She simply sat at the dining table, staring at the food that Medea had put in front of her. Finally, she picked up a spoon and began to eat the rice porridge, but it looked mechanical—more out of habit than hunger.
Of the four of them, only Marryn was unaccustomed to the results of violent death. Medea and her husband were both former adventurers, and Gabriel was one now. As a result, the three of them were inured to blood and gore. From her son’s description, Marryn had witnessed the aftermath of a concerted effort to kill a young woman and her unborn child. That had clearly resonated, amplifying the impact, and filling her daughter with fear.
Marryn finished all of her porridge and then began to eat the piece of dark bread that Medea had spread liberally with butter. Her expression was blank as she carefully chewed each bite before swallowing. When she finished, she wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin and then dropped it on the table.
Medea strode over and seated herself opposite her daughter. “Are you feeling better now?” she asked gently. “Do you want more?”
Marryn looked briefly startled to see her there. “No. It was fine. I feel a little better.” She abruptly yawned, then shook her head as if to clear it. “Has there been any word? Did they catch the killer?”
That, at least, was an opportunity to cheer her daughter. Her husband had gone out after breakfast and brought back the news. He had then made a surprising suggestion as to how to help Marryn. Mardan rarely contributed to his daughter’s upbringing these days—teenage girls seemed to baffle him—but he understood violence and its effects on people.
Medea smiled as she said, “Yes. The killer has been arrested and the young woman has been raised from the dead.”
“Who was it?” she asked.
“The victim—her name is Kianna—was having an affair with a married man.”
“His wife killed her?”
“Yes. It’s very unfortunate.” That was an understatement.
“Fabric,” said Marryn suddenly, with a distant look. “She works at a fabric store. That’s where I’ve seen her. I went there with Aliva and Audrey.”
“Her unborn child could not be saved,” said Medea quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“Then they’ll probably execute the wife.”
“That’s not certain. It was a crime of passion.”
Marryn pressed her lips tightly together and simply sat, seemingly deep in thought. Medea picked up the dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen. After cleaning them, she returned to the dining table and began to wipe it with a damp cloth. Only then did Marryn finally snap out of her reverie.
“I’m trying to understand why it happened,” said Marryn slowly, sounding more like her usual self. “But I don’t know enough. Did the man know Kianna was pregnant? Did the wife know? Did Kianna get pregnant deliberately to trap the man? That might have forced him to confess and precipitated everything.”
Analyzing everything logically was typical of the girl. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Medea suggested, smiling warmly. “Gabriel should be back from his practice soon. He volunteered to take you to the Temple of Karth so that you can see her.”
Her daughter finally showed some emotion. “I’d like that. I want to see her alive again and talk to her. But then I’m going to sleep the rest of the day. I didn’t sleep very well.”
“I know, Marryn, and that’s fine. But you also need to pack. We are traveling to Rohoville tomorrow, and it’s an early ship.”
“I’d forgotten about that. Where are we staying? And for how long?”
Medea held up three fingers. “Three nights. You will be staying with Alinda, and I will be at the castle. By now, Danj probably has a new story about how he single-handedly rescued all three girls. I can’t wait to hear it,” she concluded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. That actually made Marryn laugh.
“Better you than me. I want to see Hanna, Valwyn, and Petra, and hear about what happened to them. It must have been frightening.”
“I’m sure it was. I simply want to visit old friends and spend some time away from your father.” She instantly regretted adding that last part, but it was too late now. Mardan’s incessant complaining about his job was driving them all crazy.
There was sadness in Marryn’s eyes as she asked, “We’re going to have to move out, aren’t we?”
Medea nodded solemnly. “Yes. It’s only a matter of time before your father resigns or Ermizad dismisses him. We need to be ready.” It would be a huge change for all of them. They had lived in the Witch’s Castle for most of Marryn’s life, taking advantage of the free housing provided to council members.
“I could tell that you’ve been saving up, but we don’t have enough money,” said Marryn. Her shoulders slumped as she sat back in her chair.
It wasn’t surprising that Marryn had noticed. She had been managing the family finances for nearly three years. Arithmetic and numbers were Marryn’s passion, and that included accounting and finance.
“We have more than you know about,” countered Medea. “We have forty gold pieces in a secure location.”
“It’s not enough,” Marryn insisted, motioning with her left arm. “Not for a house in a decent neighborhood.”
“I know. It was enough when we stashed it away, but we didn’t anticipate prices going up so much.” Medea had been shocked when she started looking for places to move to.
Marryn sighed heavily. “Prices are high because the city is prospering. You should have started saving more years ago, instead of giving so much to charity.”
Medea found her daughter’s tone of voice irritating, but the girl had a point. “You’re right, but it’s too late now. We’ll find something we can afford and get jobs.”
Now Marryn was clearly exasperated. “Doing what? Gabriel could find work as a guard, but Father’s real skill is leading armies, and you’re a tracker and giant-slayer.”
Once again, Medea couldn’t deny the truth of her daughter’s words. “I can wait tables or work as a shop clerk. But you’re right about your father.”
Marryn rolled her eyes. “I will die of embarrassment if you end up working some menial job. What will my friends think?”
Her daughter’s comment about her friends was more sad than annoying. They weren’t real friends, just rich teenage girls that she had been desperately trying to befriend. And they were sometimes cruel, excluding Marryn from activities and then claiming to have forgotten to invite her. Marryn would be seeing her real friends tomorrow in Rohoville.
“I can look for work as an accountant,” said Marryn. “Novox is always looking for good people.”
Novox was looking for accountants who were good at hiding things from government scrutiny. “Your father’s head would explode if you went to work for Celebern,” Medea told her grinning daughter. “But it’s not a bad idea. Maybe you can find some more part-time work, like what you do for Audrey and Aliva.”
“I’ll look into it when we get back. I’ve also got some ideas for Demon Dresses. Those dresses are profitable, but there just aren’t that many woman who both want and can afford one.”
Medea would have bought one for herself if they weren’t so expensive. “Such as?” she prompted, interested in hearing her daughter’s ideas.
“Dresses that are less expensive but still sexy. I’m thinking several styles with a choice of color and maybe some options. But there’s something else. Do you happen to know what those old underclothes of yours are made from? The ones from Kaldir.”
“The ones I seldom wear because they’re irreplaceable? Actually, I do know. The material was called elasticloth. It’s made from fibers extracted from a vine that grew there.”
“Grew?” Marryn was frowning now. “The Great Cold?”
Medea was pleased by her daughter’s deduction. “Yes. Many types of plants no longer grow there. But there is a similar vine that grows here in Andoran’s Realm. It’s called paravine.”
“And you think that might work?” asked Marryn eagerly.
“I think it’s worth looking into.”
“Then I’ll draw up a plan to investigate it,” she announced. “Have I told you lately what a wonderful mother you are?”
Medea returned her daughter’s smile. “Not recently and not nearly often enough.”
“Then I’ll try to do better.” Marryn got up and gave her a quick hug. “I’ve got a purpose now. I’m going to make a fortune selling women’s underwear!”
“You can sell them to men too—at least a version of the underpants.”
“Really?” asked Marryn.
“Yes. Now go get cleaned up.”
Marryn dashed out of the room, and Medea went back to her cleaning. She hoped that her daughter did succeed. Those really were her favorite underclothes. They were both comfortable and sexy.
‡ ‡ ‡
Seeing Kianna alive again was a huge relief to Marryn. But she received no answers to her questions. The young woman was both distraught and angry. From what Marryn could tell, she was angry at both the man and his wife. And when Marryn described how she and Gabriel had arrived too late that angered Kianna even more. Marryn excused herself and fled, certain that they would be keeping the young woman at the temple for some time in order to counsel her.
Marryn found her brother waiting for her just outside the temple’s entrance, at the top of the wide stone stairs. “Do you feel better now?” he promptly asked.
