The Guided Journey (Book 6) Page 5

  The thought caused him to hurry his step, and he returned to Stillwater, Mulberry, and Acanthus, then traveled with them to the healing spring. He placed the imps in the water, then undressed, filled his skins with the enchanted fluid, and went to relax among the stones where the water was warm and he could drowsily keep an eye on the imps.

  Kestrel fell asleep and awoke with a start twice during the afternoon, noting the movement of the sun as the daylight grew brighter, then dimmer, and the shadows of the surrounding trees swung from one side of the pool of spring water to the other.

  At last he roused himself from his relaxation and waded back to the imps. He pulled them out of the water and laid them on the grass, then dressed himself before he awoke them from the unmatchable dreams that the water inspired within the souls of the small blue beings.

  “Let us sleep more!” Mulberry pleaded. “Those were such dreams – the dancing among the stars, the lights that followed me!”

  “Now I know why the members of the court want to come here so desperately,” Acanthus agreed. “This is truly spectacular.

  “You’ll count us as permanent members of Lord Kestrel-hero’s guard, won’t you?” he asked Stillwater.

  “If the assignment were mine to make, of course,” Stillwater said. “I’m not sure there’s really still a squad specifically and permanently assigned to our friend. But I haven’t been reassigned to do anything else yet, so I am treating our friend as my assignment still, and you are here on temporary assignment. I’m afraid to ask for you to be assigned, until I know what Killcen and Odare decide about their future, and I’m afraid that if I call attention to myself I might be assigned elsewhere!” he gave a rambling answer.

  “Let’s return to the smithy and pick up my staff,” Kestrel broke into the conversation.

  “As you wish, Kestrel work-duty maker,” Stillwater replied.

  They traveled through the unknown once again, and then Kestrel stepped around corner of the smithy and returned to make the rest of the payment for his new staff. “Thank you, again,” Kestrel told the smith as he grabbed his staff with both hands, enjoying the weight and feel of the wood.

  “Whatever happened to that elf lady you were with last time? She was attractive,” the smith commented.

  “She’s engaged to a nobleman in Graylee,” Kestrel replied. “She’s my cousin, actually.”

  “A human from Graylee engaged to an elf? I never would have thought I’d live to hear that!” the smith said.

  “Better days are upon us,” Kestrel said reassuringly. He saluted the smith, then returned to the imps, who spirited him and his cargo of water skins back to the patio of the manor in Oaktown.

  “Thank you all,” Kestrel expressed his appreciation to his imp friends. “I do not plan any other trips that will trouble you for a few days.”

  “Trouble us all that you need to go to the healing spring,” Mulberry urged him.

  The imps left, and Kestrel carried his new staff and water skins into his office, then closed the patio doors and went out in search of food and Whyte. He found both in the kitchen.

  “My lord!” the head cook exclaimed. “Gone all day and misses dinner, but manages to find the kitchen eventually.” The man smiled as he dished out a bowl of stew in anticipation of Kestrel’s appetite.

  “What news for the day?” Kestrel asked Whyte.

  “Remarkably little. Your two nurses agreed to go on your first tour of the villages. I didn’t know how to pick which you would take and which you would leave,” the steward advised.

  The next days were relaxed, as Kestrel wrote a letter to the king to announce the delivery of his remittance of revenues for the throne, and he prepared for his trip through several villages of his domain. The day after he watched a squad of guards depart from Oaktown carrying the remittance funds to the capitol of Center Trunk, he and his three companions set out as a smaller contingent.

  Each of them carried a set of skins of water from the healing spring, as well as food and other supplies. After seeing how much they had to carry, Kestrel told Remy to pick a friend to bring along as a bearer, while he longed for a good horse to carry their goods, and promised himself he’d break the elven tradition by bringing a steed to his home someday.

  Jacquie and Parisse were the two nurses, a pair of matronly elves who held on to a fierce, lifelong competition to be considered the favorite nurse of Oaktown. They were not motivated to go on Kestrel’s procession through the villages because they desired to spread good health and wellness so much as they sought to deny their rival from being the one to receive credit for any services delivered. Remy and his friend Pont quickly learned not to allow either of the women to examine them, because the attention of one immediately led to the attention of the other, and often seemed to escalate the amount of painful treatment practiced on the boys.

  The journey involved a long walk outward, due north, to the farthest village that was considered to owe allegiance to Oaktown. Little Wheel it was called, to differentiate itself from Big Wheel, the village that was twenty miles further north, and not a part of the Oaktown domain. Kestrel and his companions arrived there before sundown. They went to the village tavern, where Kestrel rented the only sleeping room suitable for use, and reserved it in the name of the two nurses, who had no desire to share a room with one another. He told the boys that they and he would sleep in the trees of the surrounding forest when it was time to go to sleep.

  The five of them sat at a table amidst the noise and conversations of the tavern, which was the social center of the village of Little Wheel. The two nurses sulked without speaking, while the two boys giggled and pointed as they took in the sights of the foreign location.

  “I have an announcement to make,” Kestrel shouted loudly three times after dinner, until the room quieted and all eyes turned to look at him in puzzlement, and to some degree in disdain, as they perceived that a part-human visitor had drank too much of the ale that was the specialty beverage of the tavern.

  “We come from Oaktown,” Kestrel announced. “We come to visit Little Wheel and to learn about your village, and to offer to treat any ailments or injuries that the elves here are suffering.

  “I am the new lord of the manor of Oaktown, the Warden of the Marches, and I want to visit each and every village that answers and submits to the manor,” he explained. The room grew profoundly silent.

  “See, I told you they wouldn’t believe it,” Jacquie, one of the nurses, whispered to Parisse, the other nurse, in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room.

  There was a round of sniggers, and Kestrel wondered why he hadn’t been aware of the competitive animosity between the two women during the hurried rescue mission to Cedar Gully – perhaps there had been enough other people around to insulate the two from one another, he theorized.

  He loudly cleared his throat. “For those of you who choose to believe,” he paused as there was an appreciative smattering of laughter, “we will be available most of the day tomorrow in the town square for anyone who wants to visit with us, whether to seek treatment, or to ask about Oaktown, or to tell me about anything you wish the manor to do for your village.”

  “Not that he’d do anything in a million years, mind you, I’ll wager,” Parisse returned a whispered comment to Jacquie, making the room erupt in laughter.

  “I swear they’re even better at being nurses than they are at being comediennes,” Kestrel told the crowd. “Last week we were in Cedar Gully and they helped tend to a whole village that had the plague.”

  The crowd gave a murmur of approval, and Kestrel decided he’d done as well as he could manage under the circumstances. He stepped down from atop the bench he stood on, and turned to Remy and Pont. “Are you boys ready to go find some trees for the night?” he asked.

  The two elves were bright-eyed from the excitement of watching the crowd interaction with Kestrel, and they stood with nervous energy.

  “Will you two be alright with your room for the nigh
t” Kestrel asked the two nurses.

  “We’ve shared rooms for years. Mom didn’t believe in us having separate rooms as girls,” Parisse answered.

  Kestrel stood in dumbfounded silence. “You two are sisters?” he asked faintly.

  “Have been all my life,” Jacquie told him briskly. “She’s two years older than me. And it shows.”

  “It doesn’t show anything to me,” Pont told Remy, in a quiet tone that the sisters didn’t hear.

  “We’ll meet you in the square after breakfast,” Kestrel told the women.

  “What if no one comes?” Parisse asked.

  “Then we’ll leave to head to the next village,” he answered promptly. “Let’s go, boys,” he turned and led them out of the room quickly, before the sister nurses could spring another surprise on him. “We’ll go find some trees. I’m partial to chestnuts, if that doesn’t bother you?” he asked politely.

  “Chestnut trees are good,” the boys answered simultaneously, and they began to trot along behind Kestrel as he led them towards the edge of town.

  “My lord?” a man’s voice called. It was a husky voice, and the words were slurred, causing Kestrel to anticipate trouble as he turned to spot the source of the words.

  “Why are you here stirring up trouble like this, my lord, if you are a lord?” the man said. He came from the direction of the tavern, the same direction that Kestrel and his companions had come from; he had apparently followed them out into the darkening sky.

  “Go on away, don’t give folks crazy ideas about healing things that the gods won’t change,” the man said as he stumbled forward.

  “There’s nothing crazy in what we offer. We’re just here to help,” Kestrel answered. He prudently maneuvered himself into a position in front of the boys, to shield them from any sudden hostility that the elf might vent.

  “My wife’ll hear about this and she’ll bring her boys to see you in the morning, blind things with no arms, who she wears herself out trying to care for,” the man spoke angrily, but his voice changed to one that was mournful. “She used to be so full of life, but caring for those two has taken all the life out of her.

  “I don’t even go home most nights,” he muttered, then looked around. His eyes focused on Kestrel, and he suddenly swung his fist at the face of the lord of the manor at Oaktown.

  His actions were slowed by the ale he’d drunk, and Kestrel easily evaded the effort, then grabbed the man from behind and immobilized his arms.

  “Let go of me you round-eared freak!” the man shouted.

  “Where does your wife live?” Kestrel asked, and he tightened his grip on the man’s arms. “Show us which way to your wife’s house.”

  “It’s down there,” the man nodded his head. “Let go of me!”

  Kestrel propelled the man in the direction he indicated, as the two wide-eyed boys followed.

  “Which house?” Kestrel asked again after they’d travelled a hundred paces.

  “The blue roof. Let me go! Don’t go in there,” the man was angry, then pleading.

  Kestrel released his hold on the man, and pressed him away, backward, in the direction of the town, away from the house with the blue roof.

  “Go someplace and sleep,” Kestrel told the man.

  “Stillwater!” Kestrel called. “Acanthus! Mulberry!”

  “What are you doing?” Pont asked. “Aaahh!” he shouted in surprise a moment later as the three imps were dimly visible in the increasing gloom of the night.

  “My friends, I would like to take six or so elves to the healing spring tonight. Can you gather together enough imps to carry us all, and all of you could spend the night as well?” Kestrel asked, feeling assured of the answer he would receive.

  The imps did not even answer, but disappeared.

  “What happened?” Remy asked.

  “They went to find more imps to help carry us to the healing spring,” Kestrel answered. He stepped up and knocked on the door of the house with the blue roof.

  “Come in,” a harried voice called.

  “We’re going to do that gray thing again with the imps?” Remy asked at the same time.

  Kestrel opened the door, and saw that the tiny two room home was occupied with a careworn woman and two teenagers who laid on pallets, as she fed them pieces of acorns, the elven staple.

  Just then the woman screamed, and a flying parade of imps came soaring over Kestrel’s shoulder, then veered sharply in a circular motion as they quickly reached the other wall of the tiny habitation. They winked out of existence before starting to collide with one another.

  “What is this?” the woman screamed, as the last few imps remained in the house and circled around, reducing their speed to accommodate the size of the space available.

  “We’ve come to carry you and your boys to a spring where the water has special healing powers,” Kestrel answered. “My friends the imps have a special way to carry us there quickly.”

  “I didn’t think imps were real!” the woman said.

  “What is it mama?” one of the blind boys asked, sitting up.

  “Who are you?” she asked Kestrel at the same time.

  “My name is Kestrel, and I’m the new lord of Oaktown,” Kestrel answered. “I’ve come to Little Wheel to meet the people here and to try to treat illnesses and problems. I heard about your sons, and I’d like for the imps to carry them to a special healing spring that can help them.”

  “Help us do what?” one of the boys asked.

  “Feel better,” Kestrel said guardedly. He wasn’t sure he wanted to promise a miraculous cure of sight and limbs, even though he had confidence that the spring waters could achieve such an extraordinary change.

  “What is this about?” the mother demanded. “You show up out of nowhere, an elf I don’t know, with these blue imps I don’t believe exist, and you want to take my boys away to make them feel better?”

  “If she does not believe in us, perhaps we should just go to the enchanted spring without her,” suggested one of the imps.

  “Stillwater, have a trio take Remy to the spring. Remy, when you get there just wait for me. Help anyone else who comes before I do,” Kestrel made a snap decision to move things forward.

  The imps surrounded the elven boy, who grinned momentarily, then disappeared.

  “Where did he go? What are you doing?” the mother was distraught by the strange turn of events.

  “Stillwater, tell others to take the two boys on the beds to the spring, and wait there for me. I’ll be there in a minute,” Kestrel gave his next order.

  A bevy of imps settled in around the boys.

  “What’s happening?”

  “That tickles!”

  “Who are you?”

  The boys were asking rapid fire questions as they were surrounded by imps.

  “What are you doing to my boys? Leave them alone!” the mother screamed, and then the boys were gone and she wailed in terror.

  “We’re going to go see your boys now, and join them,” Kestrel said steadily. He felt some guilt over forcing her into such a frightening situation, but knew it was the right thing to do. He reached out and grabbed the woman, then pulled her into a firm hug. “Take Pont and us to the spring,” he shouted to Stillwater, as the woman screamed and started to scratch him with her fingers.

  Stillwater sensed the urgency in Kestrel’s voice, and the imps swarmed instantly, then departed just as quickly, as the mother was in the middle of a scream. Kestrel knew she would feel as though she were asphyxiating from the lack of air during their seconds of transport, but within moments they emerged in the dim nighttime glen by the spring.

  “Mom? Where are we? What happened?” the twins were asking, terror in their voices, as Remy tried to assure them that all would be alright, and as imps were casually undressing on the lawn by the shallow sand bar.

  “I’m here; right here!” the woman thrust herself away from Kestrel and ran to her children. “You’re okay,” she told them.

&n
bsp; “Where are we? How can you do this to us?” she whirled to ask Kestrel.

  “Let me help the imps first, and then I’ll explain,” Kestrel told her as he strode over to the edge of the spring. He paused to remove his boots and then his other clothes, splashed through the warm water to where the imps were waiting, and he submerged them into the water.

  Several minutes later, the job complete, he swam over to the edge of the pool and spoke to the other elves. “The water of this spring is endowed with healing powers. It can heal anything short of death. I thought your boys would benefit from soaking in the water.

  “There are some stones over there where the water is comfortably warm, and I thought we all might just soak in the water there. I’ll help guide the boys there,” he offered.

  “What are you promising?” the woman asked.

  “My only promise,” Kestrel hesitated, “is that they will feel better. My hope is that their condition will improve.

  “This water does amazing things. I’ve had it make my ears change shape in just a matter of a few weeks instead of several months in the past,” he tried to explain.

  “You say what – they’ll grow eyes and arms?” she asked disdainfully.

  “Will we mother?” one of the boys asked cautiously.

  “Of course not!” she snapped.

  “Why are you doing this? Take us home,” she told Kestrel.

  “Get in the water and swim over to the rocks,” Kestrel turned to Remy and Pont. “We’ll stay here for a while, and you’ll feel better.”

  “Let me take your boys in the water. They’ll enjoy it,” Kestrel urged the woman. “You’d like it too if you’d just relax and soak in the spring. He climbed up, and the woman quickly turned her head.

  “Here,” Kestrel helped one of the boys stand. Their clothes were only simple smocks, he realized, and he lifted the cover off the first boy. “We’re going in the water, just trust me,” he told the boy and he guided him forward and then splashed into the pool with him.

  “This is fantastic!” the boy squealed with delight. “Come in Gallie!” he called to his brother.