Griffin's Daughter

“ All of us have lived here in Darguinia for many years,” Wambo said, sitting down to Magnes’s left. “I last saw our homeland over thirty summers ago. Fadili came into this world right here within these walls.”

“ It must be hard for you all, being so far away from home,” Magnes said.

“ Darguinia has become our home. Our work is very important, and the people are grateful. We don’t serve the rich here, oh no. Poor working folk, slaves, beggars, and whores-that’s who we treat. All of the people who can’t afford the fees that Balnath’s priests swindle out of their patients. Bah!” Wambo spat in disgust.

“ How, then, can the temple afford to buy supplies and support all of us if we charge no fees?” Magnes asked.

“ I didn’t say that we charged no fees. Of course, our patients must pay something, but only what they can afford, and many times, it’s trade. And we have the Arena.”

“ The arena?” queried Magnes.

Jouma the chiurgeon spoke up for the first time. “The Grand Arena. We hold contracts with several of the yards to provide care and healing for their fighters, both slave and free. It brings in a tidy sum every month, and it’s steady.”

“ It’s our Arena contracts that allow us to offer so much for so little to the poor. We’d be out of business without them,” Wambo added.

“ Tomorrow, we visit the de Guera Yard, our biggest contract,” Jouma continued. “Yesterday was an off-day, so there won’t be any new injuries to treat, just follow-ups and the usual little things-runny noses, headaches, coughs and such. Lady de Guera runs a tight yard. She sees to it that her slaves stay healthy and her prizefighters stay clean, or they don’t work. You can come with me if you like.”

“ Yes, I would love to, thank you,” Magnes agreed.

Several more people had since entered the refectory and had taken places at the table. Wambo introduced them as they sat. Last to enter came a young woman upon whose arm leaned a small man. To Magnes’s amazement, the man appeared to be even older than Wambo.

“ Father Ndoma, the leke or head of our order,” Wambo whispered into Magnes’s ear, indicating the frail elder with a lift of his chin. He waited until the Father’s attendant had settled the old man in a high backed chair at the head of the table, then shouted, “Leke Ndoma, this is Tilo! He has come this very day to join us as our new herbalist!” Wambo looked at Magnes, tapped his ear and explained, “Leke Ndoma is nearly deaf…Has been for at least a year. My lungs have grown very strong from shouting.”

“ Eh? A new recruit?” the ancient cleric piped in a thin, reedy voice. “Well, where is he? Let him come forward so I can look at him!”

Magnes rose from his seat and approached the leke’s chair. Unsure of how to demonstrate respect to the elder, he decided to incline his head as he would toward his own father. Just that brief thought of the duke twisted Magnes’s gut into a painful knot, but he resolutely pushed his feelings back down into the dark place underneath his heart and sealed them off.

The old man regarded Magnes quizzically. He clicked his tongue and muttered something in a language Magnes did not understand, then asked,

“ You are a Soldaran nobleman, yes?” His black eyes glittered shrewdly.

“ Yes, Father,” Magnes answered. He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. The priest’s eyes seemed to penetrate through all of the shields Magnes had erected to protect himself, discerning the true man beneath the facade.

“ You’ll have to speak up, my son. I haven’t much hearing left… Never mind…I know who you are. Welcome.” He waved a spidery brown hand, giving Magnes leave to go back to his place at the table.

Magnes returned to his seat, unsettled. What had the leke meant by his last remark?

He pondered the question all throughout the meal, which, as Wambo had warned earlier, proved to be highly spiced. His companions, mistaking his distraction for shyness, attempted to draw him out with conversation. He could tell that they were fishing for clues about his background. He fed them only enough details to make up a plausible story. He was the son of a minor noble house, estranged from his family and looking to make his own way in the world. They all seemed to accept him at his word, and he felt a momentary twinge of guilt at the deception, but he told himself that no harm would come of it.

After dinner, Magnes went with Fadili to inspect the pharmacy. He found it to be meticulously organized and well stocked.

“ Our old herbalist Tima died last winter of the lung fever,” Fadili explained. “She was teaching me.” The young man’s voice quivered with sadness.

“ I’ll teach you now, Fadili,” Magnes stated. Something about the youth reminded him of Dari. A wave of homesickness weakened his knees and brought tears to his eyes. He wondered if Dari now looked after Storm.

“ Are you not well?” Fadili asked. Magnes quickly shook his head.

“ I’m fine. It’s…it’s just that I’m not used to the spiciness of your food, that’s all. It has unsettled my stomach a little, but I’ll be recovered by morning. Don’t worry!” He laughed wanly. “I’ll make myself some peppermint tea. That’s always good to ease indigestion.”

“ I’ll make it for you and bring it to your room,” Fadili offered. Magnes thanked him and made his way back to his little chamber. There, he applied flint and steel to the small clay lamp sitting on a wall shelf by the door and lay down upon his cot.

The straw-stuffed mattress smelled a little musty, but mercifully, seemed flea-free. He would see about getting some fresh straw later. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared up at the wood-beamed ceiling, allowing his mind to drift.

A soft knock at the door heralded the arrival of the tea. Magnes got up to let Fadili in and took the steaming mug from the young novice with a murmured “Thank you” and “Goodnight.” He carried the tea over to the cot and sat on the edge, sipping carefully and thinking.

How long ago that fateful Sansa night seemed now, when all of the events that so drastically changed his life had been put into motion. If only his father had not procured that horrible girl, then insisted that he marry her. If only Jelena’s choices hadn’t been so grim-flight or slavery.

Jelena.

What has become of you, Cousin? Are you happily married to Ashinji Sakehera? Have you found your father yet?

What will happen to you and Ashinji when Soldara brings war to Alasiri? Gods, how I miss you! I just pray that you are safe.

He took a final sip of the tea, got up from the bed and went to extinguish the lamp, then lay down again to sleep.

Chapter 25

A New Threat

Ashinji!

Jelena cried his name over and over in her head as she ran, half-blinded by darkness and tears. Somehow, she managed to reach the barracks without falling or running into anyone.

The barracks were deserted. All of the guards either still reveled at the feast or were on duty. She could be alone with her grief. She flung herself down on her bunk and gave in to despair. Her wish had come true, but it was all for naught. Ashinji loved her- loved her -but she didn’t think that even his love