Korryn drove a vicious elbow into the midriff of the guard on his left, and as the man slumped forward he snatched at his sword. The other guard drew his own weapon and darted forward, but Korryn was free with sword in hand, dancing sideways and looking for a way out.
“Take him!” roared the captain, drawing his own sword. Stammel charged, unarmed as he was, with Bosk and Devlin behind him. Korryn swung at Stammel, cursing; Stammel barely evaded the blow. Korryn backed, edging toward the unarmed witnesses as guards converged from around the courtyard. Suddenly Kolya slipped behind him and wrapped a powerful arm around his neck. Korryn fell backwards, gasping. She held him until the guards had jerked the sword out of his hands and grabbed his arms.
“If it were my decision, he’d be in chains,” she said calmly, dusting her hand on her robe.
“At once,” said Sejek. The guards grinned as they dragged Korryn away. “Now, Stammel—”
“Sir,” said Stammel, “I’d like permission to dismiss the formation now. They’ve seen as much as they can learn from.”
“I think you’re right. Go ahead, but I’ll want you for the rest of this.”
“Yes, sir.” Stammel turned away. The captain, frowning, spoke to the witnesses.
“Mayor Fontaine, Councilor Ministiera, I appreciate your efforts. You will want to take more testimony from both Paksenarrion and Stephi, I presume.”
“Indeed yes,” said the mayor. “You have quite a complicated problem here, Captain.”
“You’ll remand Stephi to the Duke’s Court, I assume,” said Kolya.
“Yes. I must. Corporal Stephi—” he gestured to the corporal.
“Yes, sir.”
“This must be investigated further. You must consider yourself under arrest from this time. I’ll have to see whether Stammel will trust your parole; he’s within his rights to refuse it until Captain Valichi returns.”
“I understand, sir. I wish I did know what happened.”
While they were talking, Stammel had spoken to the other recruit sergeants and the formation had dispersed. He had told his own corporals to take the unit outside to drill. “And keep ’em busy,” he said, “until I come out and relieve you. We have a lot to work off. I’ll be there as soon as I find out how Paks is, and what the captain is going to do.”
So it was in a nearly empty courtyard that the captain turned to Stammel and said, “Well, Sergeant, you were right. I wouldn’t have thought it, but—”
“Sir, I was sure Paksenarrion was not to blame—but I’m not sure your corporal is. If Korryn gave him something, a drug or something like that—”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Something strange has happened—”
“I agree,” said Kolya. “And I think this should be discussed in somewhat more privacy.”
The mayor nodded. “I’d suggest the Duke’s Court, Captain Sejek.”
“A good idea. Stephi, get dressed and come with us. Guard, you’d best come too.” The captain turned away and headed for the Duke’s Gate. Stammel and the witnesses followed him; Stephi pulled on his tunic and came after them, trailed by the guard.
Chapter Five
In the Duke’s Court, the little group clustered near the fountain. The witnesses sat on its stone rim; the others stood.
“Tell us first, Stephi, everything that happened yesterday after you left me in Duke’s East,” said the captain.
“Yes, sir. Well, I came directly here with the men; we didn’t stop at all in Duke’s East. When we arrived, I asked a recruit to call the quartermaster for me—I don’t know what his name was, a stocky brown-haired boy—and had the men put up their horses and turn in their swords. Then I talked to the quartermaster, and gave him your letter, sir, and we went into the storerooms and started marking what we were to take back. Suddenly I realized that it was getting late, and I hadn’t told anyone you were coming yet, so I left the quartermaster and went through the Duke’s Gate to speak to the steward.”
“Had you had anything to eat or drink, Stephi?”
“No, sir, nothing but water. We got here after lunch. But when I’d spoken to the Duke’s steward, he asked if I’d like some ale. Tell you the truth, sir, that’s one reason I didn’t stop in the village. When I came up here six months ago with a message, the steward gave me some ale while I waited for the reply, and—and I was hoping, sir, he might again. Not that I’d have asked, of course, it being the Duke’s own ale. But, sir, you know how tasty it is.”
“Indeed I do. So you drank ale, then? How much?”
“Well, the steward brought out a ewer and a tankard, and the ewer was full. I poured out a tankard of it, and he left to go back inside and give orders to the servants. It was as good as I remembered, or better. I finished that tankard, sir, and thought of pouring out another. But I thought how strong the ale was, and I didn’t want to be drunk—but he’d said to drink hearty, and it was already out of the cask—he wouldn’t pour it back in—” Stephi’s tanned face was flushed with embarrassment. “So I—well—sir, I poured it into the flask I was carrying, after pouring the rest of my water out. There was maybe a swallow left in the ewer, and I drank that. Then the steward came back, and asked how I liked the ale, and I said fine, and he asked if I wanted more, or something to eat, and I said no, I’d eat with the men at mess, and thanked him.”
“Where is that flask now, Stephi?” asked Kolya.
“With my things, I suppose; I took it back to the barn and put it in my saddlebags.”
“Go on, then.”
“After that, after I put the flask up, it was nearly time for supper. I saw you ride in, sir, and go on through the Duke’s Gate, and then I collected the men and we went to eat.”
“What did you eat?”
“The usual, sir. Bread, cheese, stew. The men ate the same. I remember feeling a little—annoyed—at the noise. It seemed louder, all that banging and clattering. I wondered if I shouldn’t have had that last swallow of ale, but nobody else seemed to notice anything about me, and I was steady on my feet. But then, sir—it’s as if I was— was thinking about something else. You know how you can do something routine, but you aren’t thinking about it, and a little later you can’t remember if you’ve done it? I know I left the mess hall, but it’s hazy after that. I think I walked out into the court, but I’m not sure even of that. Then—nothing, until I woke in the infirmary.” Stephi looked around at the puzzled faces.
“How long would you say it lasted?” asked Kolya of the captain.
“The violent phase—only a quarterglass or a little longer; the loss of memory seems to be about six hours.”
“It’s consistent with a potion or spell,” said the mayor.
“A potion, I’d say. We don’t have a mage in range for this,” said the captain.
“I think we need to check the Duke’s ale. If someone has tampered with it—” The mayor’s long face scowled at them.
“I’ll get the steward.” Sejek disappeared into the arched doorway of the Duke’s Hall. It was some little time before he came out; he had a large flask of tawny liquid, and the steward carried a ewer and tankard on a tray. Venneristimon looked concerned, and was talking as he came.
“I’m quite sure, Captain Sejek,” he was saying, “that nothing is wrong with the Duke’s ale. It’s true that this cask has been tapped some time, but I fail to see how anything could have adulterated it. Perhaps I simply should not have given the poor fellow quite so much. I mean, he
“We’ll have to check it, Venner, and make sure. The Duke has enemies enough who might wish to poison his stores.” The captain put the flask he was carrying down in front of the witnesses. “I drew this off, myself,” he said. “It smelled all right. I had Venner bring out the same ewer and tankard he served Stephi with. Do you recognize ’em, Stephi?”
Stephi reached for the utensils and Venner released them. He turned the tankard around in his hands. “Yes, sir, it’s the same. There’s a dent here on the rim, see? And the ewer matched the pattern, same as this one
