Adelfried
Adelfried trudged to the door, hoping he might never get there, only to find he had. When he opened it, he found his brother brushing his hair back, dressed in his fancy black tunic trimmed in gold thread. It was almost as if he struck a pose when the door opened. He stood holding the staff, with the Root mounted on top. A big smile jumped across his face like he had just won a great honor and was ready to receive it. There was a manic joy in his voice. “Addy! Leyna!” He sniffed the air and swept into the room triumphantly. “Wow, it smells great in here, Leyna.” He saw Adelfried’s startled reaction to the Root in his hand. “With the attack today, I figured it was best to keep it close. Am I right?”
Adelfried wagged a finger at Harold. “There’s no need for the Root’s power or any magic in here,” he said not bothering to hide his disgust. “Put it down at once.”
Harold walked to the corner still preserving his smile and leaned the staff against the wall with reverence. “Satisfied?”
“Uncle ‘Arold!” Minna came rushing over to give him a hug.
“And how is my little badger?” Harold said, picking her up and giving her a big squeeze. “Your dad said no magic. So, I am sorry, no fun today.” Harold made an exaggerated frown on his face, as he set her down. When Adelfried went to sit back at the table, he caught Harold out of the corner of his eye making his face glow bright red with magic and wagging his finger in the air just as he had. This sent Minna into a fit of giggles.
“Have you eaten, Harold?” Leyna said, seeing the whole scene unfolding and cracking a small smile.
“You’d have to chain me in the dungeon to stop me from getting whatever it is you have cooking. I could smell it before grumpy opened the door.”
“Fish stew. I’ll fix you a bowl.”
“Thank you, Leyna. I’ll say it again, you made the right decision with this one, Addy. And I am not just talking about how gorgeous she is, but her cooking. You know Leyna, I almost wished you were ugly, then Addy might have missed you and then I could have had a chance,” Harold said, staring at Leyna as she scooped some stew into a bowl.
Leyna shook her head. “Oh, stop Harold, you are much too kind.”
Harold turned to Adelfried. “Well, I doubt your husband would agree.”
“Why?” Adelfried started in a quiet but serious tone hoping Minna would not listen in on the conversation. “Why did you murder hundreds of innocent people?
Harold's mouth fell open as if insulted. “Innocents? Those innocents were trying to kill us. Don’t be so naïve.” He turned to Leyna looking for an ally. “I tell you, we sat there and stared down hundreds of soldiers ready to kill us where we stood Leyna. And your husband says innocent. What will we do with him?”
“A simple show of force would have sufficed. Even Conrad agreed with me. Not a slaughter.”
“You agree with Conrad? Well, that is a first. I am going to have to remember this day, an extraordinary event indeed.” Harold paused to let his joke lighten the mood, which it failed to do. “Now we can expand our reach and bring peace to all these fighting warlords who call themselves kings. Think of all the wonders you have concocted with the Root, the healing we can provide, the marvels we can share with people. What are a handful of deaths as compared to countless more we can now feed and save? Now we can take over their lands and care for these people. A tiny sacrifice when you think of all—”
“A tiny sacrifice! Tell that to the piles of ash in the meadow,” Adelfried said, throwing his spoon down on the table in disgust.
“Addy.” Harold put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. His voice was soothing. “Don’t be so small minded, look past your walls, think of how much more we can do.”
“Killing is not how you do it.” Adelfried jerked his shoulder out of Harold’s hand.
Harold retreated to the other side of the table holding his hands up. “I’m just saying we could help people with the Root.”
“The Root is boiling your mind. In what way is murdering them helping anyone?”
Leyna stood up, “Come, Minna,” she said as she took her daughter’s hand. “Let Papa and your uncle talk.”
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“What about dessert?” Minna said, raising her voice as if she were being taken advantage of. “I saw that plate of cookies in the kitchen.”
Leyna’s voice firmed. “Minna, come now, or there will be no dessert.”
“Can I at least have a cookie? Please!”
Leyna walked over and grabbed the plate and put it in front of Minna, who grabbed one before running off to the other room. Leyna set down the plate in front of Adelfried and Harold.
“You two will remember you are brothers.” Leyna commanded, eyeing them both before following Minna out of the room.
Silence held the room for an uncomfortably long time, both refusing to speak until Harold gave in. “Addy.” His tone was now serious and quiet. “Trust me on this, it might hurt a little at the beginning, but imagine a future where there is no hunger, no fighting, no want for the basics of life for these people. Think about this little paradise you’ve created between these walls. The power of the Root has no limit. With their army gone, we can stop the cycle of war and provide for them, we can provide for everyone.”
Adelfried slammed his fist down on the table. “Not by force! The first step can’t be killing. This stops now.”
Harold’s lips pursed, eyes narrowed. His voice lowered. “I suggest you check your tone.”
Ice grabbed Adelfried’s back. It was as if there were a different person sitting across from him. “Is that a threat?”
“I said suggest, that is not a threat.” Harold’s voice changed to the same eerie tone from earlier in the day. “Why do you feel threatened?”
That was it. His brother had gone mad. He had to separate him from and the Root, and it had to be now.
Adelfried rose, forcing calm into his voice. “Let’s step back and let our heads cool.” He put a hand on Harold’s shoulder. “Here, let me show you what I have been working on. I’ll be right back.”
He left for his workshop down the hall from the main room. He passed his shelf of rock experiments. He had spent so much time creating varying stone compositions to build the fort. A large orange cat with a jagged scar on its side slept on his workbench. The cat meowed as he approached. It was the first creature he had ever healed successfully, and it never left his workshop because of it. It was amazing how far he had come.
Adelfried thumbed through a selection of small glass vials on the workbench, each filled with water and a small white crystal. He picked up a vial with the largest crystal in it. These crystals could be endowed with magic. It had been one of his main areas of study as of late. The larger the crystal, the more magic it could hold. His most recent discovery was the ability to open long-distance doorways with a potion. He swirled the potion with the largest crystal in his hand. He didn’t have a choice, he reminded himself. He had to do this. He grabbed a bag of silver coins and left to face his brother in the main room.
“This is one of my new gateway elixirs,” Adelfried held it up for Harold to see. “More powerful than the one that I use to go to the lake.”
“Yes, those are becoming one of your more useful marvels.”
Adelfried put the bottle down on the table and took a deep breath. He stared directly at Harold and in a somber voice said, “I have decided that your punishment is banishment. You shall be cut off from the Root henceforth.”
“What?” Harold said, raising his voice. “Why, because I defended us? I protected your family and the people here. You dare tell me to leave?”
“Harold, I love you, and I am doing what I must, for you as much as everyone else.” Adelfried tossed the bag coins on the table. “This will let you live comfortably until I come and check up on you.”
“You are banishing me because of these evil people. They—”
“Which people?” Adelfried yelled. “The ones you threw over the waterfall or the thousand dead in the meadow?”
Harold hands curled into fists. His eyes darted side to side like trapped animal looking for an escape. “You’re pathetic. You have the power to shape the world and yet you lack the conviction to do anything meaningful. A fort and a handful of curatives is all you have to show for being handed the powers of a god. You don’t deserve the Root.” His hand reached for the staff. It flew towards his outstretched hand. Adelfried, expecting a desperate move like this, hit Harold’s hand with a bolt of magic. He screamed, grabbing his hand.
The staff clattered as it hit the floor. Adelfried picked it up and examined the Root which was still held in place by the delicate prongs.
“How dare you!” Harold screamed. He cradled his charred black hand with his good one. “You care about that damn Root more than your own brother.”
Adelfried’s chest heaved. In his haste he had hit Harold with too strong of a blast. He stepped towards his brother. “I’m sorry, let Leyna heal it for you, she—”
“Stay away from me!” Harold screamed.
Minna came running into the room. “Papa, don’t argue with Uncle ‘Arold, let’s all eat cookies.” Harold grabbed Minna in a big hug with his good hand.
“Yes, Adelfried, let’s have cookies.” Harold said, with malice in his voice. “I say you put the Root down and I put Minna down and we enjoy some of Leyna’s delicious cookies and talk about this. What do you say, brother?”
Minna struggled against the hold she was in. “Uncle ‘Arold, you are holding me too tight. You’re hurting me.”
“How dare you!” Leyna screamed, appearing from behind Harold and smashing a ceramic pot into the back of Harold’s head. He crumpled to his knees letting Minna loose from his grip.
“Addy, now! Send him away!” Leyna yelled swooping up Minna and running from the room.
“I don’t think so.” Harold growled. He fired a blast of magic from his good hand.
Adelfried raised his arms instinctively deflecting the attack. It ricocheted into the table which exploded into a cloud of splinters. The doorway potion sailed through the air towards Adelfried and the Root before slamming into it. A flash of blinding light forced his eyes closed. His knees buckled. He fell to the ground. But instead of the stone floor, the ground was soft and wet.