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Undercurrent part 25
“Llinos? Llinos, what’s wrong, sister? Why are you crying?” Huw hadn’t seen his little sister for over a week now and that was not normal. They’d spent at least an hour or so each day together every day ever since the death of their mother Erilys, either here at the Trade House or across the way at the Bardic Hall where Huw studied his craft. There had been a few times in the past where one or the other of them had been busy and missed a day but they had never been apart for more than one day even during the previous year’s chaos here in The Hook. Never, that was, until now. Seeing Llinos crying like this made Huw feel like a cur. He crouched down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.“Linnie, I’m sorry. I was supposed to write a ballad on something that happened during the siege of The Hook and I got all caught up in it. I’m sorry I stayed away so long. I won’t let it happen again. I came yesterday but they said you were feeling ill and didn’t want any company. Are you still sick?” He tried to set his hand on her forehead to see if she was feverish. but she moved her head and pushed the hand away. “Llinos, are you mad at me?” She shook her head. “N-n-no.” “Then what’s amiss? Is one of the others bullying you? Tell me and I’ll set them straight, I swear! ” Llinos looked up at him, a copy in miniature of their mother, wiping tears away from striking grey eyes. “It’s all my fault, Huw. Please don’t hate me.” “I can’t hate you, never you. You’re my sister.” Huw shifted now to fully sit on the doorstep beside her. “Now, tell me. What’s made you cry?” She looked down at her hands. “I lost it, Huw. “she whispered. “I lost Mama’s harp.” She began to cry again. “Are you certain, Linnie? Could you have left it someplace and forgot where you left it?” The glare she gave him was so much like Erilys’ when she’d caught him doing something wrong . “I am NOT a ninny, Huw ap Gethin. It was Mama’s! I wouldn’t just leave it lying around.” She wiped at her eyes once more. “I put it away and the next day when I went to take it out, it was gone.” Huw nodded thoughtfully. “That’s not losing something, Linnie. But somebody took it. Does anyone else know where you keep the harp?” She took a few seconds to think. “Only Ewan. I told him where I keep it back during the Troubles, in case something happened to me. He was supposed to tell you where it was so you could have it.” Llinos frowned. “But, Huw, Ewan’s my friend. He wouldn’t steal Mama’s harp. It’s not worth anything to anyone but us, right, so why would it be worth stealing?” He hugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, Linnie. But I’ll find out.” ******************************************** Ewan turned out to be a scrawny eleven year old with unruly brown hair and a slightly runny nose. Huw regarded him with all the suspicion that a more mature thirteen year old would have for male friends of a younger sister. He had cornered Ewan in the Trade House dining hall. “Hello, Ewan. “ Huw slid on the bench next to the other boy. “I’m Llinos’ brother Huw …” he paused as the boy’s chin began to tremble. “…and I want to ask you what you might know about her harp. It’s gone missing you see.” Ewan jumped up so fast he knocked over his dinner plate as everyone in the dining hall turned to stare at the racket. “I didn’t want to do it! I didn’t! He’ll kill me! He‘ll kill my da!” And then he burst into tears. Huw looked around. The Trade House staff and students were now giving him hostile stares. “Here now, Ewan, no one’s going to kill you. Where is the harp now? Why did you take it?” “He told me to do it!” Ewan settled back onto the bench but leaned as far away from Huw as he could. “He said Da owed him money from the games and `less I did what he said then he’d make an example of my Da.” “And he said stealing the harp would cancel the debt?” Ewan paled; stealing was forbidden in the Trade House. He nodded miserably. “He didn’t mention the harp, just anything that had belonged to Llinos’ and your Ma. Something that you might miss, he said.” Huw nodded but didn’t speak again right away. Somebody had bullied poor Ewan into stealing not for profit but for revenge and he had a pretty good idea who the only person in all of Camelot might be to do such a thing. Asking the next question was only a formality. “Who put you up to this, Ewan?” ********************** In the privacy of a room on the second floor of Fat Henry’s Cador the innkeeper poured himself a glass of win and sat back in his chair. A small decorated harp case sat on the desk before him and he mockingly toasted it with the liquor. “Bit by bit, Erilys, bit by bit I will have my vengeance.” He took a sip of the wine. Something stirred in the shadows in the far corner of the room. Cador stared as they seemed to stretch and then parted to reveal a man lounging against the wall.“Really Cador, I would think you’d have better and more important use for your time then revenging yourself on two children.” “Milord. You hadn’t returned for so long. I thought …” The Shadowlord laughed as he moved across the room to Cador. “Not hardly, fool. Pour me some of that wine.” He settled into the chair opposite the tavern keeper. “Then I want to hear everything there is to know about current affairs in Camelot.” © 02/07 Undercurrent part 26 "Cador stole your mother's harp?" Huw shook his head. "Not directly. One of Linnie's friends did it after Cador threatened his father." "That's it! I'm going to make that man wish he'd never been born!" Jera looked over at her husband. "Shall we go pay the damn bully a visit?" Ashevathallion grinned at his wife and shook his head. "As much as I am tempted by the thought of doing just that, melda, I doubt Ian would be pleased with us if we dealt with Cador as we wish." "Kraik!" Jera muttered before taking a sip of her tea. The three of them were sitting in a small room that served as a sort of office for Ashe here at the Bardic Hall, Huw feeling like a small child again as he sat with the two tall elves. He'd come back to the Hall right after he'd calmed poor Ewan down and then sought out Ashe and Jera to ask their advice. "Should I go to Lord Blackthorn or one of the guards to report the theft?" "You could do that, yes." Ashe nodded. "But no doubt Cador would deny everything and hide the harp where only he could ever find it. Then it would boil down to his word against young Ewan's and we know how that would turn out, don't we?" By now Jera was over her initial anger and looked thoughtfully at her husband. "There are ways we could make Cador tell the truth." "There are, yes. But using a Truth Spell would set a bad precedent. Besides, we are kin to the Guardian. If we force Cador to confess and Ian punishes him it will look as if we've used his position for our own purposes. No, we need another way to deal with Master Cador." Huw stared at his own teacup. He didn't really like tea so he'd accepted the cup when Jera offered it but hadn't drank a drop. "There's nothing the law can do?" "There is the law, and then there is justice, Huw. The trick is obtaining justice without breaking the law. And I think I have an answer." Jera passed a small jar to Huw. "Try a little honey in your tea, dear." "What is it you have in mind, chaya?" Ashe recognized the expression on Jera's face as one that meant she'd thought of an idea with a bit of mischief. "It depends on a few things. Huw, did your mother ever let you play her harp?" Huw nodded. "She taught me how to play a few short songs on it, lullabies mostly, to help keep Linnie quiet when she was smaller. Cador didn't like it when Linnie cried." Jera restrained herself from making a comment on Cador's lineage. "Good. Do you recall how the harp felt in your hands? Do you remember how the harp looked?" "I think I see where you are going with this, love." Ashe grinned at his wife. Huw looked from one Sithryn to the other in puzzlement. "Yes, yes I do! But what good will that do us?" "Oh a great deal of it, young Huw. Give me your hand." Jera smiled and reached over to take it in her own even as Ashe clasped her other hand in his."We're going to play a harp, the three of us." "And won't someone be surprised?" Ashe murmured happily as they slipped into the light trance. ***************************** In another room further Down Hook, Hubert the Shadowlord was staring unhappily across the room at Cador. "Lost? If this is some sort of feeble attempt at humor on your part, Cador, it is an ill-advised one. Now where is the Cauldron?" "Truly, lord, I would not jest about such a thing, not with you! Never with you! It is as I said. The Cauldron was stolen from the Guardian as he and others were bringing it back through The Wyld. All that I could find out is that some Fae lord's minions were behind the theft." "The Fae? It's been centuries since they've meddled in mortal affairs." "But they are now, lord. It's The Wyld stirring again, ever since last year when The Hook was seized all that power…" "I told you not to speak of that time to me, ever again!" Cador licked his lips. "Yes, milord. But it started shortly after that, The Wyld that is, while we were gone from Camelot. Wild magic, people call it." Hubert cursed softly. Cador obviously was telling the truth, or at least the truth as he knew it. The man was almost as pale as his apron. "What House?" "I don't know, lord but I can find out. I have a fairly reliable source who…" Cador stopped a soft ripple of harp strings sounded in the room. "What is that?" The music came again, wach string plucked as if a musician was warming up and testing his instrument before launching into a song. Cador turned wild-eyed to the Shadowlord. "Are you doing this?" "Hardly. I'm tone-deaf." Hubert scowled as he got to his feet. "At a guess I would wager that someone has found you out in your petty vengeance and now is reclaiming what is theirs." "Do something, lord!" Hubert shook his head. "And call attention to myself and your association with me? Don't be absurd. You've been poking at a sleeping bear with a stick, Cador. Now it's awake and angry, and you best deal with it before it devours you. I've warned you about this!" Cador scowled. "It's mine! She was mine, and everything she had and owned as well, including those two brats!" "Don't be a fool, Cador." The shadows began to thicken near where Hubert stood. "My advice to you is to get rid of the harp. I think you will find you won' t have a moments rest until you return it to the owner. So do it. I won't be back until you have dealt with this little mess you've made." He gathered shadows around himself like a shroud and then he was gone. The harp began to play a lullaby. © 03/07 Undercurrent part 27 The harp wouldn't stop playing. The first thing Cador did after Hubert left him to deal with this newproblem was to return the harp to the small closet where he'd kept it ever since that brat had brought it to him. That had been a mistake because even shut away the music continued to play. Cador took it back out before the noise compromised the location of the other items concealed there. Next he tried moving it to a small unused room on the top floor of the tavern, in fact the room that Erilys and her children had occupied before they'd betrayed him. Cador was rather pleased with the irony of the move. He set in down on the floor in the middle of the room and left, locking the door behind himself before starting downstairs to get back to tending to business. The harp music followed him down the stairwell, growing louder with each step further away. Cador scowled as customers looked upwards curiously at the tavern ceiling and then turned to look at him. "What?" he snapped. Heads turned away; people knew better than to stick their noses into his business. But he knew what they were talking about even as they leaned closer to each other and whispered. Cador turned and went back upstairs, retrieved the harp and then walked back out to his own room. The damnable harp played on but at least it was not as loud now. He set it back on the table and stared moodily at it for several minutes as the lullaby continued. "Damn you, if I can't have it, no one else can." He grabbed it with both hands and raised it up over his head to smash it to bits on the floor. He couldn't. Try as he might for the next few moments, Cador could not throw the harp. Sweat ran down his face as he struggled against the unseen force that kept him from his vengeance. As soon as the thought formed in his mind that it was futile to continue, he was able to move once more. He put the harp back down on the table once more and cursed again as he wiped at his face. "There has to be a way." The sound of a child's laugh outside gave him another idea. He moved to the window, opened it and looked down at the group of boys below. "Here, who wants to earn a copper?" The fools just stood there and stared at him. "Alright, two coppers!" One of the boys raised a hand cautiously and Cador told him how to reach his room. When the volunteer finally appeared in the doorway Cador handed him the poker from the room's fireplace and pointed at the harp on his desk. "Smash that and I'll give you three coppers." The dolt stared at him. "What?" "Smash that harp! I want it destroyed. DO IT!" Several minutes later the boy dropped the poker and ran out the room without his money, leaving the harp still playing atop a now badly scarred tabletop. Every blow he'd aimed somehow was turned aside to strike the table instead Cador let out a long string of invective as he heard excited voices floating up from the street below. Not only had he failed to stop the music but now the whole damn Hook would know what was goin on. So, direct attempts to harm the harp would not work; perhaps simple neglect would do. He picked it up and went down the hidden staircase that led to the storeroom below. Once there he left the damnable instrument leaning against a wall by the door leading into the tunnels that ran under The Hook. A small trickle of water leaked down on the harp where it now sat. Perhaps dirt and water would do what brute strength had failed to accomplish and Cador knew from personal experience that noise from the storeroom never was heard above. The lullabye was still playing when he shut the storeroom door. **************** It was several hours later that the shaking began. Cador was by the bar deep in conversation with an informant when he noticed that the cups on the shelf behind the bar were moving. He wasn't the only person to think something was amiss. Several customers looked wildly about as dust fell from the ceiling. Plates rattled and spoons fell to the floor as every few seconds the building shook again. A wide eyed kitchen boy ran out and wrung his hands as Cador glared at him.Around them customers were moving quickly out of the tavern. "Master…" Cador resisted the urge to grab the boy by the throat. "Well? What is it now?" "It's the Dag, sir!" "The Dag?" Ordinarily The Dag was completely harmless, a gentle spirit that enjoyed playing a friendly game of tag with unsuspecting intruders into the tunnels. "What is it doing?" The boy gulped. "It's trying to break down the door!" he stopped before he said too much. All Cador's employees were warned never to mention the door into the tunnels. He waited for Cador to cuff him for the mistake as the tavern owner slowly stood but the big man made no move to hit him. He walked past to the stairs leading to the storeroom. When he came back up he was carrying the harp. It had been playing a wild jig when he picked it up, music it seemed that had aroused The Dag's curiosity but now as he strode angrily towards the tavern door it fell silent for a moment. "Lock up behind me !" Cador snarled to the kitchen boy as he started up the street towards the Bardic College. The music started to play once more. ***************************** "He's coming!" Huw stood by the front door and looked at Jera and Ashe with awe. "It worked!" He looked down Shore Road. One of the other students had spotted Cador moving this way but he hadn't come into view just yet. Even so there was no doubt of what was going on even if they couldn't see it yet. There was loud harp music, a triumphant march echoing off the close walls of the buildings along the Road, as well as the unmistakable sounds of a crowd of people on the move. Jera grinned. "I told you it would." "I must admit, love, that I am as impressed as young Huw here. Well done!" Ashe gave his wife a quick hug and then resumed his place beside Huw as Cador rounded the bend in the Road and trudged angrily towards them. Ashe leaned down slightly to murmur into Huw's ear. "Go on. We'll stay back a few paces." "Why? He won't talk to me. I'm just another boy to bully as far as Cador is concerned." "You go get your mother's harp. I guarantee you he won't think that of you anymore." Huw looked doubtful but he nodded and then stepped out into the middle of the Road to face Cador. "You have something of mine. Have you come to return it?" Huw was grateful for the hours of training for singing that kept his voice strong and steady. "Here!" Cador thrust the harp towards the boy. "Keep the accursed thing." The harp gave a loud final ripple of notes and then fell silent. The crowd around them had already quieted and there wasn't a sound as Huw looked his mother's prized possession over carefully and then nodded. "Very well. I think we're finished here. I don't expect you'll make the same mistake again. Good day, Master Cador." Huw turned and walked away, obviously dismissing Cador. The tavern owner stared after Huw, his hands clenched into fists. Then he turned away as well and started back for Fat Henry's Tavern as the onlookers hooted and laughed. None however, came within range of Cador's fists. *********************************** "What a fiasco You made a spectacle of yourself! Give me one good reason why I should keep you in my employ?" Cador took another sip of ale and looked up. The Shadowlord had been waiting for him on his return to the main room of the tavern even though the door had been securely locked. "Bran's Cauldron. I know where it is. That reason enough?" © 04/07 (still in progress...) |