The Wizard's Curse (Book 2) (30 page)

Suddenly the prince spoke. Everyone was so intent on Dripping Rock that another voice came as a shock. “Excuse me for interrupting, but how could you all have come to an agreement to take an oath with that level of resentment among you?”

Dripping Rock glanced at Dry Berry uncertainly before replying, “I think some people’s concerns were not given sufficient attention.”

“And now those people are dead?”

Dripping Rock shook his head, “No, I’m happy to say, not all of them. But I believe we have been more assiduous this time in listening to the dissenters’ views and debating with them.”

“I see. Go on.” Tarkyn stopped himself from glancing across at Blizzard to gauge his reaction.

“So, now that the mayhem of today has died down and we have had a chance to gather all the details of the prince’s activities within the forest, and to actually see his affinity with the creatures of the woodlands, we can reiterate our intention of joining our fellow woodfolk in swearing an oath of allegiance to him, if he will accept it. And this time, I believe we will have unanimous agreement.” Dripping Rock had a very strange way of addressing Tarkyn in the third person, as if he were talking about someone else.

“I understand you have debated long and hard amongst yourselves but I have not been a party to these discussions. So I would ask, why would such egalitarian people as yourselves choose to swear an oath of allegiance?”

“Because, even if we must concede a degree of autonomy to the prince, we at least will remain equal among ourselves.”

“With the exception of Waterstone’s and Ancient Oak’s brother.”

Dripping Rock’s eyes widened but he merely said, “Even as you say.”

Unexpectedly, Tarkyn turned to Blizzard and asked pleasantly, “And what is this oath that you are prepared to swear to me?”

Blizzard turned red and blinked like a rabbit caught in a bright light. “I, I am not sure, Your Highness. That is, I do not know the exact words. But I am prepared to swear it, on my honour.”

“I will not force you to swear it, or harm you if you don’t. But I need to know why you would. What has changed your mind?”

“Hearing about all the things that you have done already to help woodfolk. But more than that, watching your family and friends supporting you so vehemently after we heard you give them the right to say what they pleased.”

Tarkyn regarded him steadily, “They always have that right. That was a tactical remark, not a permission.” After a moment’s thought, he asked, “And what of Lord Danton? Has your attitude changed towards him too?”

Blizzard threw a sharp glance at Danton before facing the prince and replying, “I don’t know why I am bearing the brunt of your interrogation. The thought that woodfolk might be killed by sorcerers has always been everybody’s worst nightmare, not just mine.” He cleared his throat and dropped his eyes. “It is difficult to accept strangers among us when we have been brought up to avoid anyone who is not woodfolk. But my mind is no more closed than the next person’s.” He looked back up, “I was angry and upset. I have known those men who were killed, all my life. They may not have been the best of men but they were not always the worst either. And no one had told me half of what I know now.”

“So can you cope with Danton living among us?”

“Yes. He has proved his worth.” Blizzard shrugged, “Besides, now I understand that he did not kill those men. You did. And if I had been beaten up like that, I would have too.”

Although this was a simplistic version of Tarkyn’s reasons for having his assailants killed, there was enough truth in it to leave it uncorrected. “I beg your pardon if I seemed to be badgering you. I chose you to question because you seemed the most antagonistic earlier. I felt that if you could justify your change of heart then I could be satisfied that everyone’s change of heart was genuine. Thank you for helping me.”

Tarkyn turned back to Dripping Rock, “Please accept my apologies for interrupting your flow. Now that I have it clear in my mind why you wish to swear this oath, we come to what. What oath are you planning to swear?”

On the other side of the fire, Thunder Storm and Waterstone stood up and came around to stand before Tarkyn.

“I will say it to you so that they are not swearing something you may not agree to,” rumbled Thunder Storm. When Tarkyn nodded, he spoke the words quietly so that only those closest to him could hear.

Tarkyn gave a slight smile and said, “There is just one slight change I would ask to be made. In the last phrase, can we change ‘my fellow woodfolk’ to ‘your fellow woodfolk’. Then it is clearer than I too am woodfolk. Do you agree?”

Waterstone smiled, “Yes, I agree. I will put it to them. I’m sure they won’t mind.” After a short mind conference, he nodded and said, “If you would please stand, Your Highness, Thunder Storm will orchestrate the oath-taking.”

Tarkyn noted the use of his title and followed Waterstone’s request.

“Must they kneel? It is so embarrassing,” whispered Waterstone.

Tarkyn raised his eyebrows and said quietly, “You had to do it. So must they. I will begin the proceedings. Then Thunder Storm can dictate the oath for them.”

The prince drew himself up and spoke in a strong clear voice, “If you wish me to accept your allegiance, you must kneel before me to swear your fealty.”

With discomforted glances between them, the mountainfolk sank down to kneel before their forest guardian.

“Now repeat the words of the oath after Thunder Storm.”

Every member of the mountainfolk incanted,
“
On behalf of the forests of Eskuzor, the creatures of the woods, the birds of the air and the fish in the streams, I give my solemn vow to honour, serve and protect you, Tarkyn Tamadil, Prince of Eskuzor, Guardian of the Forest, until the end of my days. I am bound by my honour to fulfil this oath in support of you and your fellow woodfol
k
.”

“Thank you. I accept your oath. And now I will re-avow my oath to you.” Tarkyn created a bronze flame to shine up from his hand as he intoned,
“
I, Tarkyn Tamadil, Prince of the Forests of Eskuzor, Guardian of the Forest, give my solemn vow that I will fulfil my obligations and responsibilities as your liege lord and will protect the woodfolk and the forests of Eskuzor. Your just cause will be my cause and your fate will be my fate. This is the covenant beqeathed to me by my father, Markazon Tamadil, 48th King of Eskuzo
r
.”

There was no dramatic ending to this oath-taking because it was bound by honour not by sorcery. Tarkyn quietly extinguished his flame and looked around at the kneeling mountainfolk, “You have overcome a disastrous set of events today to come to a resolution between us all. You may rise, secure in the knowledge that the woodfolk style of governance has once more found a way through.”

Chapter
23

Deep in the night, Tarkyn lay sleepless within his shelter. His body was exhausted and hurting, but his mind could not release its hold on consciousness. Every time he began to sink towards sleep, a slight sound or a sudden thought would startle him back into full wakefulness. His mind kept going over and over the attack on him. The same thing happened each time he tried to focus to heal himself. He couldn’t let down his guard enough to focus inwardly. He did not feel safe among these woodfolk but placing  Danton or a member of the home guard outside his shelter would have insulted the mountainfolk who had so newly sworn their allegiance to him.

Although he had accepted their oath in order to mend the rift between woodfolk, he did not yet have any faith in their honour. He had meant what he said when he had told them that only time would test the calibre of their integrity.

In the darkest hour before dawn, he finally gave up the struggle to sleep and, pulling his cloak around him, slipped out of his shelter to go for a walk. As soon as he straightened up, he heard a quiet rustling in the branches above him and looked up to see a large eagle owl keeping watch over his doorway. Before he had taken two steps, Waterstone appeared at his side from one direction and Autumn Leaves from the other.

His shoulders sagged with relief and he smiled in the darkness. Waterstone took hold of his arm and guided him sure-footedly away from the sleeping woodfolk and down to the stream where they could talk unnoticed.

Tarkyn sent him a picture of lookouts with a query.

“It’s all right. Our people are guarding this side of the clearing,” replied Waterstone quietly. “What’s up?”

Tarkyn gave a rueful grin, “I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t know you two were keeping watch or I might have been able to.”

“Sorry, Tarkyn,” said Autumn Leaves. “We couldn’t find an opportunity to tell you. I hoped you might realise that we wouldn’t leave you unguarded again.”

When they found somewhere to sit, Tarkyn groaned with the effort of lowering himself down.

“Haven’t you done anything about healing yourself yet?” asked Waterstone.

Tarkyn shook his head, “I didn’t feel safe enough to concentrate. I’m sorry. I know you spent hours sorting things out with the Mountainfolk, but I can’t just turn around and start trusting them after what they  did to me.”

“So you were going to take a walk in the dark, in amongst them all, were you, without your shield? That didn’t strike you as foolhardy?” asked Autumn Leaves.

Tarkyn shrugged, “I didn’t feel safe in the shelter. So I thought I might as well not feel safe outside instead. If I had put up my shield I would have given away the fact that I still didn’t trust them, wouldn’t I?” He pulled his cloak up around his shoulders, “I think I have thrown enough scorn on their honour for one day.”

“So now you know we’re here and you know your feathered friend is guarding you too, do you want to go back and try going to sleep again?”

“What about you two?”

Waterstone smiled, “We take turns on watch, remember? Though to be honest, Autumn Leaves and I have stayed vigilant all night tonight. Maybe we’ll sleep tomorrow sometime. So, if you want to make our effort worthwhile, you should take advantage of it to get some sleep and repair yourself.”

Tarkyn yawned, “Thanks, you two. I will.”

He lifted himself up gingerly from the ground taking noticeably more time than usual. Just as he straightened, a slight rustling came from a nearby bush. He jerked around and froze, staring wild-eyed at the source of the sound. A little hedgehog came trundling out and wandered unconcernedly along the edge of the bushes before disappearing into another hole.

“Tarkyn, it’s all right now. We’re here,” said Waterstone firmly.

Tarkyn pushed his hair back with a shaking hand. “Sorry. I know you are. I’m just a little on edge still.”

“Hmm, you are, aren’t you? No wonder you haven’t been able to sleep.” Unseen by Tarkyn in the darkness, Autumn Leaves went out of focus for a few seconds.

Before they reached the clearing, Summer Rain arrived and presented Tarkyn with a mixture of herbs stirred into a cup of water. “Here. Drink this. It will ease the pain, relax you and allow you to sleep. Be assured we and your raptors will protect you while you sleep.”

Tarkyn threw Autumn Leaves a wry glance before throwing down the draught.

“Ugh. Disgusting as usual, Summer Rain. How do manage to find such foul-tasting herbs?” He sighed, “Thank you one and all. My life is now truly in your hands if I am about to succumb to a sleeping draught. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He slipped back into his shelter and lay down. For a few minutes, he lay smiling into the darkness thinking about the care of his friends before the sleeping draught took hold and finally drew him down into oblivion.

Chapter
24

It was late in the morning when the prince finally appeared. As he stepped out of his shelter, he nearly fell over Sparrow and the other children playing outside, with Creaking Bough and Thunder Storm apparently supervising them. He glanced up into the tree but the owl was gone. However, as he scanned the area, he spotted a large black kite up in a distant tree but in full view of Tarkyn’s shelter.

“Good morning, all,” he said. “You’ve been playing very quietly. I didn’t even hear you.”

Sparrow looked up and gasped, “Tarkyn! You look terrible. I thought you were going to fix your face.”

The bruising had now come out on his face and the whole right hand side was mottled dark blue and purple. He had a black eye, and his jaw and one side of his lip were swollen.

Thunder Storm stood up and came to greet him, “What’s happened? Why can’t you heal yourself?”

Tarkyn glanced at the children and said, “Nothing to worry about. I just might need Summer Rain’s help.” He shrugged and winced as it pulled on bruising lower down, “Someone’s help, anyway. I don’t seem to be able to do it on my own.”

“I’ll come with you for the walk,” said Thunder Storm casually. Once they were out of earshot of the children, he said, “Don’t you need to have your hand against a tree?”

“Maybe I do. I thought I would have enough strength to heal myself without it.”

Thunder Storm surveyed him, “You’re not looking particularly strong at the moment, if you ask me. I think your body may well have used up its reserves, coping with the shock from all of that.” He paused, “And you healed Rainstorm, Summer Rain and Danton as well, yesterday.”