The Black Robe (The Sword and the Spell) (22 page)

“Your sister needs help, as do some of the others. I have some healing skills and would help them if you would let me.”

“Don’t need no ‘elp from you or any man.”

Callabris watched her go with a puzzled frown on his face. Compunction spells didn’t always work but the one he had just used on her hadn’t had any effect whatsoever. He waited until Trad approached the barred door with a skin of water in his hand.

“Don’t mind my sister, she just ‘ates men. I don’t blame ‘er really.” He looked passed Callabris to where Allowyn sat propped up against the wall. “’E goin’ to be all right?”

“Yes, with my healer’s help he will be fine. He meant what he said, he will help your injured too if you will let him. Dozo is a good man.”

The boy nodded. “Yeh, well that’s what they all say until yer give them everything you’ve got and then when there’s nowt else to give they turn into bad men.” He shrugged, dropped the water skin through the bars and walked away.

When the last of the children had disappeared from sight Callabris walked back into the mine where Dozo was attending to Allowyn. He had already helped him off with the heaviest parts of his armour, wrapped him in his own thick cloak and was now cleaning the small cut on his temple. Callabris nodded to Dozo who finished what he was doing and walked away to let the two of them talk in private.

“Are you all right?”

Allowyn nodded and then wished he hadn’t. “Yes, just a bit dizzy and weak from the fever. He looked down not being able to look Callabris in the eye. “I’m sorry master, I’ve failed you. I have let you be captured and I’ve lost my weapons. I don’t deserve to be your protector anymore.”

“Nonsense, you could no more hurt those children than I could raise a sword against a man and as for your weapons you will have them back soon enough.”

“If you will open the door as soon as it drops dark I will go and reclaim what is ours and then we can be on our way.”

Callabris smiled and sat down beside him. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I think we will be free a long time before that.”

The magician looked up as Dozo approached carrying a battered tin mug with a hole in it and a few scraps of wood and looking pleased with himself. He pulled a small pouch from beneath his jerkin and held it up as if he had just won a bag of golden gellstart. “Lord, if you would be so kind as to attend to this mug and provide us with fire then I can make some nice herb tea to pass the time.”

*

They were half way through sharing a second mug of herb tea when they heard footsteps approach. From the sound of shuffling feet and the mutter of voices there appeared to be quite a few people who had come to see them, but as Callabris didn’t move, Allowyn and Dozo stayed where they were.

Their inactivity surprised Stanner. She didn’t know much about keeping prisoners but she had supposed that if you were locked in a mine you would be anxious to see who it was who held the key and to learn what was going to happen to you. It wasn’t the only thing which surprised her; somehow they had managed to start a fire and she was absolutely certain the only things that had been left in the side tunnel were a few scrap ends of wood and some broken and rusting pans. She looked down at her daughter and the niggling doubt that she’d had after seeing the captured weapons started turning into a cold dread in the pit of her stomach. Stanner looked at Banyon who stood next to her, propped up on his crutches, and she could see the look of worry on his face too.

Carefully she slipped the baldric of throwing knives from over her head and let it dangle from her hand, hidden from view by her skirts. “You, guard, come into the light where I can see you.”

Allowyn passed the empty mug to Dozo, pulled on his studded gloves and stood. The rest and the herb tea had cleared his head and his fever was, at last, disappearing. As long as he didn’t have to fight more than two opponents at once he would not shame himself. He strode to the barred door and the woman at the front of the small crowd took a hasty step back; even without his full armour and with his two sword sheaths empty there could be no doubt what he was.

“O, sweet Goddess,” she muttered under her breath and then took a hesitant step forward and held out the baldric. “Is this yours?” Allowyn nodded but said nothing. Stanner turned to her companions to see if anyone wanted to say something, but they all looked as terrified as she was. “Old one, please come forward where we can see you better.”

Callabris stood, walked to the door and studied the group. There were five of them; the boy and the girl he had already met. Then there was the woman who had spoken, who was tall and slim, in the middle span of her life and who was clearly the leader of the group. Next to her was a man on crutches with half his leg missing and another older woman who looked petrified. If these were really their captors they were a desperate bunch indeed.

“Sir,” said Stanner, trying to keep the waiver out of her voice. “Sir, would you remove your cloak please.”

Callabris smiled and let the brown cloak drop to the ground. There was a sudden gasp of shock and the woman jumped backwards before turning on the two children who stood behind her, clipping the boy smartly around the head. “You fools! Don’t you know what you have done? You’ve captured a magician!” She turned back with tears of panic in her eyes. “Lord, please forgive them. They are just ignorant, stupid children who don’t know any better. Please, they didn’t mean you any harm.” She swung angrily back to the boy. “Trad, unlock the door and let his lordship out.”

“That won’t be necessary, lady.” Callabris pushed on the door and stepped out as it swung open for him. Allowyn followed closely behind. “I believe that some of the children who attacked us are injured. My servant is also a healer and if you would allow it, he will do what he can to help.” He smiled at the woman who looked too terrified to speak. “And if you could return my protector’s weapons to him and stop him glowering over my shoulder I would be much obliged.”

Stanner handed Allowyn his baldric, uncertain if she should curtsey or go down on her knees, instead she waved the older woman forward who handed Allowyn the two swords she had been holding. He took them without saying a word and felt much better when all his weapons were back in place.

“Now, lady, if you would be kind enough to lead the way Dozo will do what he can for the injured children, and you can tell me what you are doing in this desolate place and why small children are running wild and attacking peaceful travellers.”

Stanner nodded and set off with the others following closely behind. As Dozo had guessed the pathway, she followed, led away from the mine workings and wound around several rocky outcrops until it reached a large, shallow basin containing a dozen or so low stone buildings. At one time they must have housed several hundred mine workers, but by the look of the place that was a long time ago. Now all but three of the buildings were derelict with their roofs caved in and doors and shutters missing or hanging off, only held together with rusty nails. In contrast a number of troughs, which had once been used in the mine, had been filled with soil, and sprigs of bright green foliage were growing in neat, straight lines.

The older woman touched Dozo lightly on the arm and beckoned him to follow her to the largest of the three habitable buildings. As half a dozen children sat on a rickety bench outside he guessed this was where the children slept. Before he went inside the long building he stopped and looked the children over. They were all thin and ragged and looked as if they hadn’t eaten a good meal in a seven day. He reached inside his jerkin and pulled out a small roll of dried meat strips which he carried in case of emergencies and tossed it to the girl at the end of the line. If this wasn’t an emergency then he didn’t know what was. He ducked inside the dimly lit building with the sound of the children’s excited voices in his ears and Trad’s sister, Ennett, following closely behind daring him to harm a single child.

There were other children outside the buildings as well. One group was gathered around the horses, holding their reins as if they were unsure what to do with them. Allowyn moved quickly up to Callabris’s side, said something quietly in his ear and when he received a brief nod of approval he turned away to see to the horses. As a protector he should have stayed with his master but he doubted if Callabris was in any danger, and Dozo would soon need his herbs and his healer’s kit. He glanced behind just to check on his master and found that Trad was following him. He slowed so the boy could catch up.

“Why did you attack us?”

“It weren’t my idea, it was Ennett. She’s gone a bit mad since the men done ‘er.” Allowyn looked at him in puzzlement and Trad blushed. “You know, what men do to woman with their thingies, only there were three of them and she didn’t want them to do it to ‘er, so now she ‘ates all men, even me sometimes. Ennett thought that if we ‘ad your weapons we could fight back and Banyon ‘ad said that if we could get ‘old of an’orse we could bang it on the ‘ead and cook it. Ma was right angry when she found out what we’d done.”

Allowyn said nothing, only looked around at the desperate faces of the ragged children and gently took the reins of his horse from the hands of a small boy. He had been born in north Essenland and had lived there with his brother for ten summers until the Enclave had sent for them to start their training. They had been lucky, their parents were land owners but he knew that life was harder for those who worked the land or mined ore in Essenland’s Silver Hills. Life might have been hard, but in all the time he had been growing up and in all his travels since, he had never seen so many starving children in one place.

“Where have you all come from?”

“All over. Our village was burned down and our pa was ‘ung with all the other men. They took the women away and left the young’uns. We aint no use them, see. Ma and I were out pickin’ nuts an’ got missed. When we got back she took all the young’uns and ‘as been collecting them ever since. They take the men to the mines now instead of ‘anging them so Ennett thought if we got some weapons we could free them and then they would kill the ones who done ‘er.”

Allowyn shook his head in disbelief and sorrow. King Porteous had always done his best for the people, but Vorgret cared nothing for them. He wondered what evil it was that was sweeping the six kingdoms and corrupting everything it touched. “What do you eat?”

“We catch ‘oppers and dig roots but it aint ever enough. Ma’s got a big pot out back and we put in whatever we got and share it out, but there aint been anything in it for a seven day now and the things Banyon planted don’t grow quick enough.”

“Do you have firewood and water?” Trad nodded. “Do you know how to cook oats?”

Trad nodded again, his eyes alive with excitement. “Sure do, sir, an’ the young’uns can ‘elp so the water will boil quicker.”

“Good but leave some of the older ones to help with the horses and stacking our things.”

He reached into one of the large saddle bags and pulled out a fat sack of oats wrapped in a leather sack to keep them fresh. They had been saving them for the last part of the journey, once they had crossed the Silver Hills Bridge. It was open moorland there so there would be plenty of game. If the only thing they had to eat was roasted moor runner then it wouldn’t be much of a hardship. He reached into another saddle bag and pulled out a thick roll, untied the top and took out half a dozen strips of dried meat, trying to ignore the sighs and whimpers of the children around him. He handed the rest of the roll to Trad.

“Half a strip each to those who help you and the rest go into the pot when the oats start to thicken. And Trad, no cheating and no holding back anything for tomorrow.”

Trad nodded vigorously, clutching the parcels to himself as if they might suddenly disappear and then sorting the children into two groups before charging off with a trail of eager children behind him. Allowyn turned back and studied the group he had been left with. There were eight of them, thin and ragged and not one had seen nine summers. It was hard to tell which were girls and which were boys, so he split them into pairs as best as he could and gave each pair a strip of dried meat between them. Whilst they were chewing the tough meat he checked out the other buildings until he found one which would be suitable to stable the horses. When he returned the children were waiting for him expectantly, knowing there were more strips of dried meat in his pocket. He would have liked to have given it to them there and then, but there was work to be done first.

“Have any of you worked with horses before?”

One boy, a summer or two younger than the rest, hesitantly put up his hand. “My pa used to drive the master’s plough ‘orse and sometimes ‘e let me lead ‘im.” He stopped for a moment and wiped a tear away on the back of his hand. “They stuck my pa with a spear an’ took the ‘orse.”

Allowyn suddenly wished he hadn’t asked. “Then you will be head groom.” He handed the reins of his big horse to the boy. “And the rest of you will be second grooms like they have in the palace in Alewinder.”

He handed each pair the reins of a horse and then led them into the direction of the building he had chosen as a stable. In his life as a protector he had done many strange things but teaching a flock of small children to be grooms was amongst the strangest. If his brother were alive to see him now he would laugh himself to tears.

*

By the time Allowyn slipped through the door of the building where Stanner had taken his master, darkness had almost fallen. As he stacked their belongings in one corner he was relieved to see that his master had been well cared for and was seated comfortably on a bench by the fire eating oats and meat cooked in the communal pot. He didn’t like to leave Callabris for so long in the company of strangers without his sword being at hand, but there had been so much to do. He had shown the grooms how to care for the horses and had organised them into two shifts to guard them and their stores.

Once that was done he had visited Dozo in the long building where the children slept and had given him what encouragement he could as the healer tried to help so many sick children. There had been a few women to help him and Ennett had followed him around like a stray hound, but he still looked overwhelmed by the task. In between that, he had kept an eye on Trad and the cook pot, and had organised sentries using the three injured men who were in the camp as squad leaders. All three had lost a limb and had other wounds, but they could use the children as messengers if they needed to call for help, and they were thankful to be of some use.