The lands which lay between the domain of the Drixi and the Kingdom of Linster were many and varied. Small kingdoms and settlements were crowded together along bounteous rivers and precious tracts of fertile land, while elsewhere there were vast empty spaces. Empty that is save the wild and solitary beings who make such places their homes. On the off chance that one of these sundry beings had happened to glance at the sky, he might have espied a tiny squarish object passing high above him. And if he’d had particularly good eyes, such a being might well have seen that the object was more or less flat, and that huddled upon it was the queerest assortment of characters.
It had been just over a day since Hae-jin, Joan and the others had made their escape from the fortress of the Drixi on their borrowed flying carpet. There must have been something about the magic of such carpets which went beyond the ability to fly, for despite hurtling through the air at tremendous speed there seemed little danger of anyone being blown off the edge. Even so, the wind was still strong and frankly unpleasant as it whipped around the bodies of the passengers. Likewise, even as there was clearly some force which prevented the carpet from collapsing completely under the weight of its passengers, it still yielded alarmingly beneath them. Ursilda’s weight in particular created a substantial depression in the carpet, and the other passengers quickly found themselves pressed around her as they inevitably slipped into it. Not that they would likely have chosen otherwise, for with a complement in sum of two humans, three wogs, a Bird, a Fox and a Bear there was not much room to go around, and nobody was inclined to sit near the edges if they could help it. At first the Bird attempted to fly on his own rather than ride, but finding it next to impossible to keep up he soon abandoned this course and remained huddled on the carpet with the others. All in all it was a tedious mode of travel. There was hardly room to move, and conversation was all but hopeless, as they were obliged to shout over the wind in order to be heard Thankfully, the Bird had the foresight to prepare a basket of provisions, and periodically he would instruct the carpet to set down in some deserted spot or other to give the passengers time to eat and refresh themselves before carrying on again. All this took more time though, and despite the wondrous speed of the carpet the journey to Linster still took many hours. They had left the fortress of the Drixi in the middle of the night, and by the time they arrived in Linster it was nearly sunset on the following day.
Hae-jin, of course, hadn’t the foggiest idea where he was. The night had been like being lost in a sea of stars, and once daylight had broken he could only gaze at the forest and fields which passed slowly beneath him. It was a dazzling view nonetheless, and quite informative so far as the lay of the land was concerned, although this knowledge would perhaps be less useful to Hae-jin until their destination was nearly upon them. It was not until the Bird at last let forth a jolly whoop and announced that they were over Linster that Hae-jin could really make use of his vantage point and attempt to familiarize himself with this new land.
Beneath them was a pleasant enough looking countryside. Most of it was cultivated in some way, the land being composed largely of great fields which were divided into many long ribbon-like strips of ploughed land, each many hundreds of feet long. Between these fields there were pastures and meadows as well as orchards and carefully tended woodlands. Every scrap of land seemed to be developed in some way, and even the wastes and defiles were dotted with grazing livestock. There were of course many habitations as well. Most of the buildings seemed to be clustered in small, dense villages, although here and there were also scattered farmsteads or monasteries which were more isolated, and every so often Hae-jin would catch sight of a full sized town. Indeed, just visible now through the haze of the horizon was what appeared to be a particularly large town, a proper city in fact. From the density of the buildings, Hae-jin guessed that it might have a population of several thousand persons, far greater than that of any of the tiny villages he had seen hitherto. He didn’t get a much closer look at it though, for at this point the carpet began to descend, apparently headed to a point in the countryside several miles from the city.
The ground was coming up on them fast. They were now passing over a small village, and as it sped by beneath them Hae-jin had a brief impression of timber framed cottages clustered around a central green containing a small church and a manor house. In a moment the village was behind them as the carpet hurled silently through the air, with a fleeting shadow as the only hint of it’s passing.
Suddenly the carpet took a sharp turn, fearfully jostling the passengers against one another and nearly catapulting the lot of them off. The carpet now halted just a few feet above the earth earth and gently floated the rest of the way to the ground. The moment it touched the earth, the carpet lurched and a violent wave rolled along its length, unseating the passengers and sending them all to the ground in a tumble. It then took off again and hovered nearby, quivering slightly. Perhaps the magical object was somehow aware that it had been “borrowed” under dubious circumstances and was now being missed.
Hae-jin scrambled to his feet and looked around. He and his comrades had landed in a field of barley, which grew to well past Hae-jin’s knees and was intermixed with an assortment of other weeds and grasses. From what he had seen on the way down he guessed they was maybe half a mile or more from the village and several miles more from the larger city. Nearby to one side of them were the fringes of a small patch of woodland, while on the other side of the field Hae-jin could see a substantial looking homestead containing what appeared to be a dilapidated watermill.
Meanwhile, Hae-jin realized that while he had been taking stock of his surroundings the Bird had been speaking with the magic carpet. Hae-jin turned to look just in time to see the Bird make a parting remark, perhaps dictating a message of apology to the owner, and Hae-jin was suddenly horrified as the carpet lept into the air and rocketed away into the sky.
“Hey!”
The Bird turned to look at Hae-jin.
“Something wrong, General?”
“Yes, something is very much wrong. That carpet would have been invaluable to us. I assume you’ve sent it back to its owner?”
“Why yes, of course I did. Made a promise (well, more of an IOU, I suppose), and I always keep my promises.”
“Do you indeed? Well, your fidelity has cost us dearly now. That carpet would have been invaluable to us.”
“Perhaps. But I must keep my promises.”
“Hmphf.”
Hae-jin cocked an eye at Joan.
“Do you know where we are?”
“Yes. The village we passed over just now is Tresham, my home. That group of buildings just across the field is Mortimer’s Mill. The miller Hugh Mortimer is a yeomen, and he’s one of us.”
“How do you mean, ‘one of us’?”
“There are four of us you see, myself and three of the local yeomen: Hugh Mortimer, Will Little, and Rob Sykes. These men have been my allies throughout this endeavor, and they are the only ones in Tresham who know about our mission. Mortimer’s place will likely be our best refuge at present, there’s plenty of room and ever since the mill failed few people ever come here.”
“Can Mortimer be trusted?”
“Absolutely. As I said, he’s one of us.”
“Yet someone has clearly betrayed you. Gurth knew exactly where we were when we opened Harin’s vault. There must be traitor in your midst.”
“I can’t believe that. Neither Mortimer, Little or Sykes would ever have sold us out to Gurth.”
“Yet one of them must have.”
The Bird flapped his wings impatiently.
“Please my friends, this is no time to bicker. Before anything else I think it’s time we took shelter; there is no need to advertise our presence in the country prematurely. I suggest we relocate to yonder woods, and then we can argue to all our hearts content.”
The Bird’s point was taken as salient, and a short while later the lot of them were under the shade of the trees, squatting as best they could among the sparse brambles, for there was surprisingly little cover to be found. The forest itself was as much a part of the rural economy as the fields were, with the floors cleared and harvested and the trees regularly coppiced and pollarded. And there they were, man, woman, wightbeast and wog, huddled together beneath the trees as they discussed the situation before them.
There was now no doubt in anyone’s mind that their circumstance had long been compromised. Exactly how much Gurth knew of their plans was not known for certain, however it was clear that he had been informed well in advance of their intent to open Harin’s vault, and consequently he must be equally aware that the curse was now in danger of being broken.
“The question is”, remarked Alwog, “what the devil the Bird thought he was doing bringing all of us here in the first place? I assume there’s no breaking the curse now that the girl Lindsey has been misplaced. Just precisely what is it that you expect my brothers and I to do in this dratted country? We can sit around in the woods all you like, but that’ll still cost you an extra twenty-one marks a week.”
“Twenty two!”
“Shutup. How about it, Bird?”
The Bird ruffled his feathers a bit, looking just slightly self conscious.
“As I have already explained, my associates are at this moment searching assiduously for our missing member. I have the highest hopes that she shall soon be restored to us and we can get on with breaking the curse. However, there is still quite a bit to be done in the meanwhile. The fact is, breaking the curse simply won’t solve our problem, not entirely.”
“Ha! I might have known it. You’ve messed up again Bird, haven’t you?”
“Not in the least. It was always understood that more would be required than simply breaking the curse. It’s not as if Gurth and his minions will simply evaporate the moment the curse is lifted. They must still be dealt with. Hae-jin and I have already spoken about this.”
“Oh really? So you and the Zhongling have been holding out on the rest of us?”
“Oh no, not at all. Not intentionally that is. I merely contracted your services for assistance at Harin’s vault, the rest is a private matter between Hae-jin and myself. It was not originally intended that you and Ursilda would need to be involved any further.”
“So you have messed up again, haven’t you?”
“No I haven’t, not again anyway. But I think we will be needing all of your services for a bit longer than intended. You will all be properly compensated of course, and my associates have seen to it that Ursilda’s cubs are being properly looked after.”
“Nobody can look after my cubs as properly as myself, I’ll have you know.”
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“Oh no, I never wished to imply that. But we have got a substitute to do it in the meanwhile, two sisters by the name of Legara and Symphira. I believe you are acquainted with them.”
“What, those two silly dryads? I suppose they’ll do well enough, though I shouldn’t wonder I’ll come home to find my poor cubs hopelessly fat and spoiled.”
“That’s all well and good”, Alwog interjected, “but what do you want us to do? If you’re really just going to have us sit in the woods I’ll have to charge an additional fee for boredom.”
Hae-jin now spoke up.
“The Bird is correct. He and I spoke on this matter many days ago, back when he first approached me with this venture. We have a job of our own to do here, and I will certainly be grateful to both Ursilda and the Wogs for their aid in carrying it out. Likewise, if the Fox wishes to join our cause I would be equally grateful.”
The Fox had been sitting quietly all this time, sniffing the air about him and licking his paws idly now and then as the conversation went back and forth. Now he looked up and winked humorously.
“I should be delighted to help out, if only I knew what I were helping out with. So far you’ve said a fair bit about this curse of yours that needs breaking, but there seems to be another side of this business you haven’t spoken much of yet. I’m quite fascinated. I presume that once the curse is broken you’re next move will be to do away with this man Gurth?”
Hae-jin and the Bird exchanged a look. So far Hae-jin hadn’t spoken with anyone else about the things he and the Bird had discussed in the beginning, before Hae-jin had even left Zhongyang. Just how much of that should he reveal now?
The Bird took the initiative first, and spoke.
“In essence that is correct. I’m sure Gurth’s demise would be welcomed by most everyone in Linster, but the fact is that the situation is more complex than that. Things have become, shall we say, volatile. To put it bluntly, Linster is getting quite close to exploding.”
“How do you mean?”
“I think we can discuss that in more detail another time. Suffice to say, we could be in for rather a long haul. For the moment, I think our principal concern should be to establish a secure base of operations. I had hoped that Mortimer’s Mill would serve that purpose.”
“But we still don’t know that this man Mortimer can be trusted”, Hae-jin interjected, “For all we know it was he who betrayed us to Gurth.”
“Quite right. I propose that we wait here until nightfall, at which point I’ll fly over to the mill and see who’s at home. If Mortimer is there alone we can perhaps interview him.”
Ursilda grunted. “And if Mortimer is a traitor or if Gurth’s men are keeping watch on the mill you and your golden feathers will be spotted for sure, and you’ll come back with an arrow in your gizzard. Send the Fox instead. Even if he’s seen he won’t raise any suspicion.”
This comment was followed by a bit more discussion and bickering, but at length an accord was at last reached, and at dusk Bartholomew scampered across the field towards the mill while the others waited anxiously in the woods.
The Fox was a long time gone. It had been agreed that he would scout around the area a bit to ensure that no one was spying on the property, but Hae-jin feared that when dealing with someone of Gurth’s resources they would be hard pressed to have any true assurance of secrecy. The Fox might perhaps spot a man or a Zard lurking around the house somewhere, but what if Gurth were employing owls, or even bats? Or what if there trees themselves were serving as his eyes? Hae-jin shivered.
Finally, after a very long wait indeed there was a rustle at the edge of the field and Fox bounded out from among the tall stalks of barley.
“I’m back!”
Ursilda snorted derisively
“So we noticed. Well, what have you to say for yourself, Fox?”
Bartholomew paused and licked himself with deliberation for a moment. He wasn’t about to be hassled by some imperious Bear.
“The farm is pretty much deserted. I didn’t see anyone spying on the place from the outside, and on the grounds itself I saw only two people, both humans. One is an older man, a bit frail looking and grey haired. The other is a young boy with red hair. I’ll own I’m not very good at guessing the ages of humans, but I’d say he’s far from full grown while still far too large to be a mere kit.”
“That would be Tom Oates.”, Joan observed, “He’s an orphan which Mortimer took in years ago. The other is Mortimer himself. But I’m surprised they were the only ones you saw, I would have expected Watt the farmhand have been there as well. Are you sure there was no one else?”
“Quite sure. It was definitely just the two.”
“Hmm. That still seems odd to me. Still, I suppose there’s nothing for it now but to go and and talk to Mortimer.”
“I’m still not sure you should go in alone”, Hae-jin interjected.
“We agreed I should go first. Don’t worry, Bartholomew will follow and keep an eye on me.”
With that, Joan ducked her head down low and began to creep slowly across the field, followed by the Fox as the others stayed behind beneath the trees.
Joan and the Fox crept together as far as the farmhouse, at which time they agreed that Joan would go in alone to talk to Mortimer while Bartholomew kept watch outside. With that, Joan softly opened the door of the house and slipped inside.
But Bartholomew did not remain to keep watch.
Bartholomew had always fancied himself a particularly clever and talented sort of Fox, even for one of his kind. He was accustomed to observing things which ordinarily escaped the attention of others. And Bartholomew had caught a scent. It had been a subtle thing, exotic and tantalizing and hardly a proper smell at all really, which made it all the more fascinating. He noticed it the moment he set paw inside the farmyard, and while Joan was busy talking to Mortimer, Bartholomew resolved to find it.
The Fox began to rove stealthily around the farmyard, dipping his nose to the ground now and then as he came across some hint of the elusive oder. Suddenly, there it was. Bartholomew began following the trail now, moving at a trot as his nose almost scraped the surface of the earth. The trail proved to be a confusing one, crisscrossing in all directions across the farmyard. But there was one thread which was stronger than the others, and bit by bit the Fox was able to pick it out and at length he tracked it to a place right at the base of the barn wall.
The barn walls were made of bare wattle made from springy strips of wood woven together like basketwork. Here the scent was stronger than ever, though by now it was quite clearly something which was more than a simple odor. Bartholomew was sure he was smelling magic. He ran his nose along the length of the wattle, trying to find the source of the odor.
And just as suddenly again, he found it. There, crammed in a ap between the wattle, was an object. It was small and black and irregularly shaped, and even with his own keen night eyes the Fox could hardly make out what it was. He felt it gently with the tip of his nose. It was hard and just a little bit sharp, like a large piece of flint. Gingerly he tried biting at it to see if he could get it out. It wasn’t easy, for the stone was small and hard and pointy. But it wasn’t set very tightly in the wattle and a fair chunk of it was sticking out, as if someone had put it there with the idea being able to remove it again easily. Twisting his head this way and that while carefully prodding the object with his teeth the Fox finally managed to knock the thing free of the wattle and onto the ground. The Fox looked at it keenly for a moment, and then gingerly picked it up in his jowls and carried it away from the barn. Casting about himself for a moment he spotted a place where he was sure he could find it again quickly. Depositing the stone there, Bartholomew then made his way back to the farmhouse, for by now he could just hear the sound of Joan’s voice softly calling his name.
Beneath the trees across the barley field, Hae-jin was anxiously watching the mill, looking for any sign of either Joan’s return or the Fox bringing word that disaster had struck. Yet all remained quiet and still.
Finally, after what seemed like an eon, Hae-jin was certain he saw movement around the house. At first Hae-jin wasn’t sure whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or if someone were indeed moving around the farmyard. Then abruptly the sound of a whinney floated from across the breeze, and out of the homestead there came a rider on horseback. The rider was a smallish sort of person, and Hae-jin thought he could just catch a glint of red hair as the rider paused briefly in the night and looked around before spurring his mount on again into the darkness.
Suddenly the fringes of the field rustled before him again, and the Fox popped out of the barley.
“Hullo Hae-jin! It’s alright, Joan says for the rest of you to come inside. Oh, and she says to hurry and also to be sneaky about it. Apparently there have been some disturbing developments as of late, much as we already suspected. I’ll see you at the mill!”
With that the Fox darted back into the barley.
As was usually the case when trying to manage things between the Ursilda, the Wogs and the Bird, there was a bit of bickering at first, but soon enough Hae-jin was creeping across the field towards the mill, followed in turn by the still quarrelling wogs, the lurching frame of the great Bear and the iridescent plumage of the Bird. Apparently they were not in any immediate danger, which Hae-jin counted as fortunate given his party’s general lack of subtlety.
Mortimer’s Mill proved to be a modestly substantial farmstead in its own right. Besides the mill itself there were several more buildings on the property, including a barn and byre and a fine looking house. Hae-jin guessed that this man Mortimer was fairly rich, or at least he had been once upon a time. Though it was difficult to tell in the darkness, Hae-jin still was left with the impression that the shadowy structures around him were in a worse state of repair than they otherwise might have been.
The windows of the main house were shuttered, but as they were drawing in very close Hae-jin could now see faint cracks of light behind them. It seemed that the householder was awake. Suddenly there was a blaze of light as the door to the house was opened and Joan appeared, her graceful shape silhouetted against the firelight behind her. Hae-jin quickened his pace as he approached the woman at the door. Joan had a tense sort of look on her face, and Hae-jin approached she beckoned him inside urgently.
“Come inside quickly. Mortimer has sent Tom off to fetch Little and Sykes. The rest of us should stay out of sight. Things aren’t safe anymore. Gurth is on the move, and Watt has gone missing.”
As Hae-jin stepped across the threshold Joan’s hand stole out and tightly grasped his own, her slender and soft fingers entwining tensely with his as the woman’s whole manner exuded a peculiar mixture of iron willed determination and barely contained terror.
The interior of the house was bathed with a dancing red light. On one end was the source of that light, a fire recently renewed with freshly stacked logs. The room Hae-jin found himself in seemed modestly well appointed, if plain and stark by comparison to the Zhongish palaces to which Hae-jin had once been accustomed. In one corner there stood a brightly painted cupboard, while in another there was a sturdy lock. Removable panels shuttered the windows from the inside, which possessed no glass. Various well stocked shelves lined the walls, and in the middle of the room there was a good sized table set with benches. Most notable of all was a simple but well made and elaborately painted high backed chair which at the present moment was set beside the fire and occupied by a gray haired man who was regarding the newcomers keenly.
“Good Lord, Joan, who is this you have brought here?”
“This is General Moon Hae-jin, Hugh. The Good Folk have sent him to help us.”
“Looks like Robin Goodfellow himself, or else some other kind of demon.”
Mortimer looked Hae-jin up and down quizzically. Hae-jin was suddenly conscious that his features were a bit foreign looking compared to that of Joan and Mortimer. Apparently he was going to have to get used to standing out in a crowd while here in Linster.
Mortimer was now looking past Hae-jin, and his eyes had widened as the wogs just shoved their way through the door.
“Make that the Devil and three of his imps. And are those some animals I see out there? Have you brought a legion of familiars as well? What on earth have you done, Joan?”
“These are the persons the Good Folk have sent to help us. Hae-jin is foreign but he is as human as you or I, and I assure you that the none of the others are demons, but friends come from many far places to aid us in our hour of need.”
At this point Hae-jin caught a glimpse of gold as the Bird pushed his way past the others and hopped up onto the table, which wobbled and creaked alarmingly beneath his weight. Mortimer stared wide eyed at the dazzling creature before him as the bird’s iridescent feathers glinted and glittered in the light of the fire.
The Bird skewered Mortimer with a glittering black eye and spoke softly.
“Gaze upon me, Hugh Mortimer, and know that I am a true servant of the Good Folk. I have been commissioned by them to secure your deliverance, and to the consummation of that end myself and my fellows do pledge our lives.”
“Hoy! I’ll have you know a pledge like that’ll cost you a full sixty silver marks a day!”
“Sixty-one!”
The Bird flapped his wings impatiently.
“Oh, do shutup the both of you! The Good Folk will see to it that you are properly paid when all this is done. Well, Mortimer, what say you? Will you accept our aid?”
Mortimer looked helplessly to Joan, who set her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
“Listen to the Bird, Hugh. We are all allies here.”
Mortimer threw up his hands resignedly.
“Fine. Who am I to argue while a thing like that sits on top of my table? But you’ll have to convince the others. Tom is making the rounds to Skyes and Little now. They should be here soon enough. Tell the rest of your menagerie to come inside, no need to have them wait outdoors and be spotted by someone.”