Gene Wolfe - The Wizard

“Is a woman, and a woman, having half the strength of a man, must bear twice the burden. How is he?”

“Weak, Your Majesty, but stronger than he was when you left him. He has lost a great deal of blood.”

“And endured a lot of pain. I know. Is he eating?”

“Soup, I think, Your Majesty. Broth.”

“Does he speak of me?”

“With the greatest affection, Your Majesty. My former master explained to him that you had sent him to His Majesty, and His Majesty praised you to the skies, if I may put it thus picturesquely.”

“He’s awake then, and speaking.”

“Happily so, Your Majesty.” Mani coughed delicately. “He spoke of your wisdom, Your Majesty. Not of your wisdom exclusively, of course, for he praised your beauty as well. But he spoke glowingly of it. He—Here I can’t help but be indelicate, Your Majesty yet I think the matter important.”

Idnn nodded encouragement, her nod just visible by the gray light filtering through the doorway.

“He compared your insight to that of his first minister, Lord Thiazi, Your Majesty.” Mani purred. “He judged yours to be superior.”

“I must thank His Majesty as soon as possible, Mani. He has paid me a great compliment.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. He likewise compared your acumen to your noble father’s, again judging in your favor. That, Your Majesty, has a certain bearing upon my errand.”

Idnn’s hands left Mani. “I hope you’re not about to tell me something to my father’s discredit.”

“Your Majesty is the best judge. Your noble father is eager that Sir Able enter your royal husband’s service.”

“I know it.”

“A most impressive prophecy having assured him that your throne shall stand secure if Sir Able is your royal husband’s vassal. Your husband wishes the same, for the same reason.”

“I know all that,” Idnn said brusquely. “Come to the point, Mani.”

He made her a small, seated bow. “I am making every effort to do so, Your Majesty. I considered my preliminaries necessary. Doubtless you are also aware that your noble father designs the death of Sir Svon’s squire.”

At these words Uns, who had been listening outside the pavilion for the past minute or two, edged a little closer.

Svon woke Toug, shaking his shoulder. “I wish I could let you sleep, but Lord Beel wants to talk to us together.”

Etela sat up. “And me. I’m going with.”

“You need a bath,” Svon told her.

“It’s just charcoal from our shop.” Etela tried to scrape her arm with a forefinger. “Smoke ‘n stuff.”

“You really do need a bath,” Toug confirmed. “Clean clothes, too. My sister...”

“Left with Sir Able,” Svon said brusquely.

Mute, Toug nodded.

“I wish we had her back. I wish we had Sir Able back, too. He won’t return until he brings the duke, so he said.”

“And my sister won’t return at all.” Toug got out of bed, found Sword Breaker, and looked around. “Where’s Mani?”

“If you don’t know, I certainly don’t.”

Etela said, “Put on more wood,” and Toug did.

“You’d better be sparing,” Svon told him. “There’s only so much, unless we can go out and get more.”

“Unless?” Toug looked around at him.

“I think something like that’s what His Lordship wants to talk about. We won’t know until we hear him, and we won’t hear him until you’re dressed.”

Nodding, Toug turned to Etela. “My sister’s gone, but Baki’s still around, or I think she is. I know Pouk is, and he knows all the women. Find someone and tell them I said to give you a bath and see that you wash your clothes.”

“I want—”

“Breakfast. I know. Say I said to feed you, too.”

“To go with.”

Toug took a deep breath. “When you’re clean and wearing a clean dress, and you’ve had breakfast, you can come with me anyplace I go.”

He and Svon left. As they climbed down the oversized stair, Svon said, “You’re not really going to take her, are you? Any foray outside the castle will be dangerous.”

Toug shrugged. “We may not be going anywhere, and if we are, we’ll be gone...”

A heavy tread on the steps above interrupted. Both stopped and moved to one side.

“Gud mornin’. Wud you want me to carry you?”

Svon smiled. “Good morning, Schildstarr. I know your offer is kindly meant, but these steps don’t really pose much of a problem for my squire and me.”

“As you will. I’m for the lordlin’. An’ you?”

“If you mean Lord Beel, the same.”

“Stir stump, then. I’ll not come for you.” Schildstarr paused, then chuckled. “You sma’ folk set us to work here. In our north country, we dinna fetch nor carry.”

Still laughing, he preceded them, and they followed him as quickly as they could.

“Here’s our dilemma,” Thiazi told Svon and Toug. “As you just heard, we’re sending Schildstarr and his men to buy the forge and tools, and to collect more of His Majesty’s loyal subjects if they can. Lord Beel,” he nodded toward him, “fears we cannot trust him. Perhaps I should not tell you that, since it may influence your own thinking. But I have no doubt you knew it before.”

Svon nodded.

Beel said, “You’re entitled to your own opinions, both of you, and I’d like to have them. Can we, Sir Svon?”

“I would not, Your Lordship. No more than we must.”

Beel nodded. “Squire Toug?”

“I don’t think he’d go against the king,” Toug said slowly. “Only we’re not the king.”

“We act for him,” Thiazi declared.

“But Schildstarr isn’t sure we’re honest about it. Or that’s how it seems to me, My Lord.”

“There you have it.” Beel laid a leather bag on the table. “That’s gold, a lot of it. I want you two—alone—to go into the town with it. Take no men-at-arms, and no archers. Just the two of you. Will you do it?”

Svon said, “Certainly, Your Lordship.”

“Squire?”

Toug took a deep breath. “If Sir Svon goes, I’ll go.”

“Good. We’ve been hiding in here. You may think that’s too harsh a word, but it’s the truth. Hiding, and hoping His Majesty would recover and save us. And then Her Majesty, my daughter...” Beel paused, rubbing his forehead. “She left—rode to fetch Sir Able. That made it worse, for me anyway.”

“To tell you the truth,” Svon said, “I’ve been hoping for something like this.”

Thiazi cleared his throat. That throat looked as long as Toug’s forearm, and the clearing of it was like the noise of barrels rolled on cobblestones. “We can’t hide, as Lord Beel calls it, much longer. There isn’t enough food. We’ve told Schildstarr to tell everyone he meets that His Majesty is recovering.”

Beel muttered, “They heard that.”

“Of course they did. I repeat it to emphasize it. We also told him to buy food, if he can.”

Svon nodded. So did Toug.

“Now I tell you the same things. If you speak to any of our sons of Angr, tell them His Majesty will be well soon. If you speak to slaves, as seems more likely, the same.”

“We will.” Svon nodded.

Beel added, “Buy food, if you can. Wagon loads of it. If Schildstarr brings more Angrborn we’ll need tons of it. And in fact we need tons of it already, for Thrym and his men and for ourselves. To say nothing of the slaves.”

“We’ll get what we can,” Svon said stoutly.

Toug added, “I think Schildstarr will, too. It’s food for him and his men, a lot of it.”

Beel nodded. “So far we’ve only asked you to do some of the things Schildstarr will be doing. But there’s much more. No doubt you guessed.”