Bronze Magic (Book 1) (59 page)

“Oh ho. Up on your high horse already, your lordship.” Waterstone
stopped and put his hands on his hips. “Well, let me tell you something,
my young buck. I call him Tarkyn because he gave me his express
permission to do so and there is nothing I would ever say about Tarkyn
that I wouldn’t say to his face. Not only that, you will have to watch
your step in the way you speak to people around here. Not everyone
acknowledges the prince as their liege and even among those who do,
there are serious pockets of resentment. Luckily you tried that one on
me first or you might have found yourself in the middle of a nasty fight.”
Danton glowered at him. “I might ask who you are, to be throwing
your weight around like this.”
Waterstone thought of several levelling replies he could produce but
settled for, “I am no more or less than a woodman. All woodfolk are of
equal rank so you are speaking to the highest rank in the forest, other
than the prince.”
“Or the lowest.” snapped Danton.
“I can see your mathematical concepts are excellent,” replied Waterstone
dryly. He turned and began walking again. “Danton, I do not wish to fall
out with you. I would say that you and I both spend a lot of our time
standing up for our prince. I don’t think he will feel very comfortable if
he finds us at loggerheads.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Waterstone glanced
sideways at the young sorcerer. “I think I should point out that the
reputation of sorcerers among woodfolk is based on the information
we have had about Andoran and Sargon, Tarkyn’s brothers and bandits.
Tarkyn is the only sorcerer we know who has mitigated that impression.”
Danton’s eyes widened. He gave a low whistle. “Oh my stars! So what
guarantee do I have that you people won’t turn on me?”
“None.” Waterstone eyes met and held the sorcerer’s. “And nothing
would protect you, if you tried to hurt the prince.”
Danton returned his gaze steadily for several long seconds. “You are
right,” he said at last, turning away. “We do have a lot in common.
And after that little warning, I feel rather intimidated at the thought of
meeting crowds of sorcerer-hating woodfolk.”
“As well you might, particularly since your arrival has delayed our
response to a serious crisis.”
“I beg your pardon for inconveniencing you,” said Danton stiffly. Then
he shot the woodman a shy smile, “But my prince’s welfare is very dear to
me. You have no idea what a relief it is to have found him safe. Perhaps
in return for your safekeeping of him, I could assist you with your crisis.
This has something to do with those wolves, doesn’t it?”
Waterstone nodded, a gleam of approval in his eye. “You are no fool. I’ll
give you that much.” He hesitated, “We would appreciate your help but
you do not owe us anything. Many of us are sworn to protect the prince.”
Danton snorted, “So were many sorcerers who have now turned on
him. But their loyalty to the king overrides their loyalty to Prince Tarkyn.”
Waterstone was on the cusp of saying that woodfolk were not so fickle
when he remembered the recent conflict their loyalty to Tarkyn and
woodfolk lore that they had just spent a week resolving. “It is difficult
when disparate commitments come into conflict.”
“Especially when stringent penalties are exacted for forsaking them.”
“How true,” said Waterstone warmly. “What penalty would you face
for forsaking Tarkyn?”
Danton raised his eyebrows in surprise. “None, now that he is exiled,
except my own conscience. It is for forsaking the king that I would face
punishment.”
“I see. So nothing is now compelling you to behave as you do towards
Tarkyn.”
“My respect and lifelong devotion to him compel it.”
“Extraordinary.” Waterstone fell into a reverie for a little while, before
giving himself a shake and saying, “Well, having seen how you behave
around the prince, I think you are going to be shocked by many things
you see. I suggest you keep your reactions to yourself and talk to Tarkyn
or me about it afterwards.”
Just as he finished saying this, Tarkyn and Rainstorm reached the
clearing ahead of them. No one stood up, although someone brought
each of them a bowl of porridge and a spoon.
Tarkyn nodded his thanks and then said to everyone, “I would like
to introduce Danton Patronell to you. I’ll leave you to get to know each
other in your own time.” So saying, he sat himself down against a log to
eat, next to Rainstorm.
Danton stopped dead in his tracks and stared in shock. Tarkyn looked
around at him and gave a smile. “Danton, get yourself a bowl of a porridge
and sit down here,” he said, patting the ground beside him.
Someone thrust a bowl and spoon into the bemused sorcerer’s hands
as he sat down. When Waterstone joined them, he whispered, “Thank
heavens you warned me. I would have ripped shreds off everyone if I’d
been left to my own devices.”
Rainstorm frowned at him. “What’s your problem? They’re just not
talkative yet because they’ve all just woken up.”
Tarkyn smiled. “I don’t think that is the issue. Unless I’m much
mistaken, my liegeman here expected everyone to stand up and bow.”
“He’s mad, prince,” said Rainstorm firmly. “Why would anyone do
that?”
“Prince?… You address His Highness merely as
prince
?” came a
strangled query from Danton.
Waterstone was grinning hugely. “You’re doing well, Danton. Just
keep that outrage in check and you’ll be fine. “
A few minutes later, Stormaway, Autumn Leaves and Thunder Storm
came over to join them.
“So Danton,” said Waterstone cheerfully, “this is the merry group who
stood vigil with you and over you last night. You were lucky. At least you
and Stormaway were on the ground. We four were up in the trees. You
can barely move without a bough groaning; so you have to be even more
careful about changing position.”
“And if this blasted prince hadn’t been so scrupulous…,” began
Autumn Leaves. He stopped as Danton choked on his porridge and went
bright red. “Are you all right?” asked Autumn Leaves in some concern as
he belted him helpfully on the back.
Danton nodded while Waterstone and Tarkyn grinned at each other.
When Danton recovered, Autumn Leaves resumed his whinge. “So as I
was saying, if this blasted prince hadn’t been so scrupulous, we could have
just used mind control on you and had it sorted in five minutes. As it is,
all five of us, actually six of us including you, are dog tired from staying
up all night.”
The prince smiled at the woodman’s diatribe. “I’m sorry Autumn Leaves.
Thank you to all of you for doing that. At least this way I can face Danton.”
Danton frowned, “Your Highness, why are you apologising? It is our
duty to protect you in whatever way you see fit.”
“It might be your duty,” retorted Rainstorm, “But it’s certainly not
mine. And even if it were, I wouldn’t be told how to do it.”
“Yes, thank you, Rainstorm,” said Tarkyn dryly. “I think we all know
your views on authority.”
Danton eyed Rainstorm but let the issue drop, mindful of Waterstone’s
warning. Instead he asked about mind control. When the whole discussion
had been explained to him, he looked a little ill. “You woodfolk are scary,
aren’t you? I don’t know how I would have felt about it. I might have
liked it better than the cool welcome I received.”
“You still would have received the cool welcome. But you would have
been subjected to mind control as well,” said Tarkyn. “And you would
still have known I didn’t trust you.”
Danton shrugged. “I don’t know why you’ve decided to trust me now.
Just because I didn’t attack the first night means nothing. If I were going
to do anything, I would wait for several nights and make sure I knew
what safeguards were in place, how you two would react, if anyone else
was around…” He looked at the prince with his head on one side. “You
didn’t look as though you were ready to trust me when I came back with
the wood this morning, Sire. You looked cold, and unwelcoming, and
like someone I had never met before.”
“It was your reaction to that expression that decided it,” explained
Waterstone. “We saw how upset you were. Tarkyn picked up your feelings
of anger and disappointment when you threw the wood down. Those are
not the reactions of a thwarted killer or kidnapper. Anger and frustration
maybe; not disappointment. And then you verified it by saying you were
going to leave.”
“So, how did Prince Tarkyn suddenly know what you had all decided?”
The woodfolk all looked at one another. By mutual agreement,
Autumn Leaves explained the prince’s and their different forms of mental
communication.
When Danton had digested this, he raised his eyebrows and turned
to the prince. “And more importantly, why was it not your sole decision,
Your Highness?”
The prince grimaced. “I think you will find very little around here is
my sole decision, but least of all that one. The woodfolk have remained
hidden from sorcerers and wizards for hundreds of years. It is not my
place to disrupt that. Besides, just as you are, so am I pledged not to
reveal their presence. So are all woodfolk. It had to be a full community
decision.”
“And if they had not decided in my favour?” asked Danton slowly.
“I would have argued for you, if I alone had decided that I trusted
you. But I would never have revealed the presence of the woodfolk to
you and I would have had to let you go on your way, even if it had cost
our friendship.”
Danton nodded his head briskly and surprised them all by saying,
“That is as it should be. You cannot break an oath, even for a friendship.”
Tarkyn could not resist throwing a small triumphant glance at Autumn
Leaves.
“All right. All right,” grumped Autumn Leaves. “So maybe there are
two honourable sorcerers. That still leaves thousands unaccounted for.”
nce breakfast was over, Tarkyn looked around at his little cohort and
sighed. “I suppose I had better have that discussion with the group
that chose the encampment. Thunder Storm, could you please ask
them to gather over on the other side of the clearing there?”
Once the woodfolk had gathered, Tarkyn stood up, ready to head over
to them. Immediately, Danton also rose to his feet.
Tarkyn smiled, “No, Danton. Could you stay here for the moment,
please? I need to do this alone.” When the sorcerer remained standing,
the prince added, “Danton, you have my permission to be seated.” He
looked at the others. “Perhaps you could explain about the oath to
Danton while you’re waiting. There is a lot he needs to know.”
The blond headed sorcerer sat down but sent a glowering look
around the rest of the group who had remained carelessly seated while
the
prince
stood.
As Tarkyn
moved
away,
he
heard
Waterstone
murmuring something quietly to the feisty young guardsman that
seemed to calm him.
As the prince approached Tree Wind’s group, he saw them watching
him apprehensively. He noticed Running Feet and Ancient Oak sitting
deep in their midst even though they had voted the other way. Tarkyn
had already decided that reading the riot act would only serve to
crystallise this groups’ first impressions of him and would do little to
further goodwill between them.
So when he reached them, he said, “Shall we all sit down so we can
discuss things in comfort?” Once everyone was seated, he asked, “Why
do you think I wanted to talk to you today?”
After a few moments’ silence, a scowly young man, reminiscent
of Rainstorm, said, “Because we supported Tree Wind’s idea and you
didn’t like that. You want us to support your opinions. My name is
North Wind.”
“And what were my opinions?”
“Presumably to search out Golden Toad and his family at the southern
swamp,” sneered the young man.
Tarkyn looked around the group. “And what made you decide that
searching for Golden Toad was my preferred option?”
North Wind shrugged, “Obvious, really. All your cronies advocated
for it.”
The prince frowned, “All my what?”
“You know, cronies. The people who keep company with you.”
The prince’s face cleared, “Ah. You must mean the people who had
enough courage to endure whatever I threw at them so that you, as a
people, could uphold your oath.” Tarkyn took a deep breath to quell the
anger he felt building up. “In actual fact, you all supported my opinion,
for which I would like to thank you. Your option saved me from having
to do two lots of searching.”
Inevitably, Tree Wind spoke up. “So why didn’t you just decide to go
with the better option instead of leaving it to chance?”
“Because I do not want to decide for you. I want you to have the
choice. I trust the judgement of the woodfolk. You have made decisions
by consensus for hundreds of years. Last night, opinions were based on
prejudice and because of that no one would shift and no decision was
reached. If I had given myself the power to break the deadlock, I would
have undermined the whole authority of woodfolk society.”
There was stunned silence.
Eventually, when no one spoke, the prince said mildly, “None of you
has given me a chance. You left me on the second day after my arrival,
injured and unconscious, and haven’t come near me again until two days
ago. I know you resent the oath. I know you resent me. But I am not my
father. He never had to live with the oath as I have done.” Tarkyn ran his
hand through his hair. “I am not asking you to like me or even to come
near me. But I do want to make sure that your decision-making ability is
not crippled by prejudice. Sometimes I will be right. Sometimes I will be
wrong. Just as all of you are, from time to time. Don’t use my opinion as
a foil for your own. Listen to my opinion but make your own decisions
based on your own knowledge. You are strong independent people. Make
sure you stay that way.”
Tarkyn stood up and left without another word being spoken. Tree
Wind and her group watched him walk back across the clearing in
silence. When eventually they spoke amongst themselves, it was clear,
even from a distance that they were still stunned.