"I am going too."
"No. After you proved to me you have all the political grace of a wéhkàx, you will be involved in no more sensitive affairs with me."
"She was killing him for no reason! You heard Caudra. He knew nothing more than the shadow Cedric knew of the killing of Lord Archne. That man spent a lifetime following orders, a lifetime to making sure the Archne household ran smoothly, that their privileged were fed well and given lives of comfort. How was he rewarded?"
"What part of 'be cautious with the Eirdred nobles' did you not understand? What is one life to the lives of nations? What is one eye for one old man compared to the thousands of eyes of children slaughtered if war comes?" Vaughn practically spit at his former protege before taking a step back and calming himself.
"I have another job for you anyway. A responsibility to take on your own for the first time, without me watching your every move. You'll be spending more time with Caudra trying to weed out the traitor in the Augur."
"You cannot go alone."
"Against one woman? Of course I can. Don't be naive. Her power is in deceit, not in physical strength. But no matter. I will not be going alone. I am bringing the SecondSword Keubroc to assist me. The Wuob recommends him highly and he knows how these Eirdred nobles behave."
"There is another reason."
"Of course there is. Corheab also mentioned the man might be worthy of more. He is being considered for bei'thal training by the pnum'bei'thal. This will be my opportunity to judge that, make the offer, and if rejected, remove the problem without much fuss."
"And the Wuob is satisfied with losing his best officer, either to the Silent Scholar or to your blade?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course he doesn't realize that one way or another, his SecondSword isn't coming back. If you are looking to prove yourself while I am gone, you can make it your business to see that he is well replaced." Vaughn added, "Don't hesitate to interview the Wuob as well. He may be Yibouhese, but that man operates on fear. Who knows the depths of his loyalty."
"You have no argument from me, Vaughn'rdaup. The man is an opportunist." Gregor plopped himself down on a seat of velvet cushion while he watched his mentor prepare for his departure.
"Find any excuse to be around him with Caudra. People rarely advertise their secrets even to themselves in the privacy of their own mind."
"I understand."
"Oh and one more thing Gregor."
"Yes rduap?"
"That man the Archne head of house staff is going to be executed. It will end the questions with Ketrae Archne and we'll maintain the illusion that the City Enforcers had collected evidence on our behalf. Let this be. Do nothing, say nothing about this. If you must make peace with this, consider that this will end his torment. Prove to me you can be a fine officer of the Empire. Do not interfere."
Gregor said nothing has his superior bei'thal exited the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Chapter 11 - Part IV
The sound of work crews humming turned to singing as they climbed up the massive stone foundation of the late Main Hall. Though work crews remained in small groups, working on distinct tasks, the singing merged word, and in unison they chanted the melody. Black and gold in ribbons dances about their bare arms as they pushed stones and hammered wood into place.
'Sei pahm chelr rok dorthet mei' 'Sing me songs of high warm tide'
Huelt pathen juih dorak My lover said to me
'Dorthet krü'shaih tau tihued, shok! 'Of plums and wine and apple tarts
du shah du kel jen'shei' To chase away this frost'
'Greml du Trik, Shik, Duredul 'No Trik or Shik or Duredul'
Buet jau nechlin puiht Can free me from this bore
Hul huelt krau'oir dulen reniht For pork and fish and potatoes
du par du pok du gorl They drain near all my soul.'
kae kae kae! (women) Hey hey hey!
roi roi roi! (men) Ho ho ho!
Hul pathen, kae lah'l krüpahm'elt muih daz But honey is an all-tide treat, my dear
Kae lah'l krü'pahm'elt muih daz Honey is an all-tide treat.
roi kae! (men) Ho! (women) Hey!
Krü hihn pahm ahihm Bees know warmtide gives way to coldtide
'L archne tsih'erl, archne feeih'ed And they gather up their stores
Jurch, lah'l krü'pahm'elt muih daz So honey is an all tide treat!
"Lord Vaughn, Lord Gregor." a petite woman of creamy coffee hair half pinned and draped well below her back approached the party, taking two of the three men well off guard. Bei'Caudra stood unaffected, seemingly in a different world.
The lady's soft robes of satin red were embroidered with graceful vines of ivy in the imperial style while ket shoes lifted her up and ensured the lackadaisical fabric never touched the dirt. And in the construction, there was a lot of dirt.
Vaughn bei'thal recomposed himself and bowed slightly. "I am Vaughn, servant of her wisdom. May I assume that we are in company of the Lady of the house?"
"You may."
Gregor similarly straightened himself before offering a bow of respect. He had not expected to meet the lady outside of her receiving room, even if it was currently comprised of a few sheets of canvas and some wooden poles.
"I was told to expect you, and I am glad that you have not disappointed. Come, walk with me. I have not yet seen the extent of the damage."
Anger. Rage! Caudra's thoughts floated to the surface of the minds of the bei'thal. With an exhausted pause, the bei translated the raw emotion flowing from the woman to his masters. But not at you. Not to Yibouh.
"Lady Archne..."
"Lord Vaughn, spare me that name for now. There are more important things at stake."
And the last person to bear that name murdered my brother, destroyed the legacy of our family, and forced me to leave the center of civilization.
Though Vaughn kept a face of stone, Gregor raised an eyebrow to the new Lady Archne - an act that was not unnoticed by the small woman. "It has been a while since I've been afforded a title. And my tattoo ceremony won't be taking place until the Main Hall is up. I feel I am little more than a steward at this point."
"It must be difficult to come back to this," Gregor offered sympathetically, to which Ketrae nodded.
"I was not told of your companion here." she said, finally noticing the hooded man that trailed Gregor and Vaughn. "Sir, I'd know who paid the Archne a visit. Your name please."
Caudra lowered his eyes and bowed respectfully but remained silent, as was his capacity.
"Merely a servant from the Augur to assist us in paying our respects in the Receiving Room. We had not expected to be graced with your presence out here. I can send him away if you would prefer." Vaughn offered nonchalantly.
"No, that is not needed." she looked back skeptically, but added, "You will forgive me, it has been some time since I have been involved in the Eirdred court. We do not have to deal with such formalities with our peers at the University. Still sir, I'd have your name."
Before she could demand again Gregor spoke up, "He is unable to respond, having been made mute from a childhood riddled with throat pox. We know him as Caudra, however."
"I see. Well met." her attention satisfied, she turned to the site before her, another building raized to its stone foundations. "In the days that followed, many of our vassals, some who had served Archne for generations fled the scene. Most have since returned. Of those who had not, I am suspicious.
"Of the head of house staff, I am most certainly suspicious. But not a night ago he was retrieved from his hometown and now he awaits our company in our cells."
The barracks might have been destroyed, but the whore had been kind enough to leave us our prisons. That she could see the insides herself. The thoughts of Ketrae buzzed to Gregor and Vaughn though Caudra's willing mind.
In the bowels of the building, it did not take long to see precisely just how suspicious the new Lady Archne has been of poor Vergaihl. Chained intimately to a wall, the elder man had only a waterfall of blood where his left eye had been. On his nearly naked body, cuts and bruises hinting of the flesh's history with a barbed whip adorned each limb and his chest.
Sympathetic to the man, Gregor could not be silent. "My lady, whatever this man's crimes, he needs to be appraised by the City Enforcers before punishment is enacted."
"Don't concern yourself with protocol Gregor. It is more important to get to the truth of the matter and if the Lady Ketrae has done that, the City Enforcers cannot help but to agree with her methods." Vaughn placed his hand on his protege's shoulder. "There are times when what is written stands in the way of what is right."
"Indeed Lord Vaughn. And we have learned much." Ketrae said, ignoring Gregor's rashness.
"We are listening."
"We believe my brother's murderer still lives." she spit at the chained man, "Vergaihl admits to that at least."
"Is this true?" Vaughn turned to the tortured man, though he merely lingered in consciousness. He slapped the man's face. "Does your Lady live?"
"Death has the faces of the women of Archne." he uttered painfully, "Oh, Keeper Sheg, I am your host, innocent and naive. I have worshiped the wrong one all my life."
"Yes, he does not hesitate to proclaim his innocence in this project, yet he has no grand answer for why he did not return to the estate, and how he knows that she is alive."
Gregor reached out his arm to clasp Caudra's wrist firmly before letting go. He approached Vergaihl and placed his hand gently alongside the man's face.
"You called him Vergaihl?" he turned back to the lady and she nodded. He turned back to his quarry and stared directly into the man's eyes. "Vergaihl, have you seen the woman Zaexyl Archne, formerly known as Reiba, since you have left the estate?"
"She let me go, she let me go. And now I am back, but she let me go." he muttered with words as cracked as his lips.
She let me go but I saw her run too. Run west. That woman is death to me. Just wanted to see my family again. Wanted to forget her. Forget Archne. But Archne will never let me forget. Cedric had been used. I had been used. There is no peace for the loyal. No peace for those who love their houses. Came the voice from Caudra's abilities.
Gregor blanched. "Lady Archne, let this man go. He did you no harm."
Ketrae furrowed her brows, "There must be justice. Rel demands it, I feel his host upon me. I will not let the guilty go."
Idiot! Vaughn thought with such anger and intensity that Caudra picked up on it and echoed reproach to Gregor. "My lady, please do not take my apprentice's words seriously." he barked the word 'apprentice'; a word he had not used for Gregor in many tides. "He is rash and impudent. But perhaps it is time to bring the man before the City Enforcers. Let justice be served to the guilty."
"Very well, but I would be kept informed of any further information you receive and the final verdict."
"Agreed." Vaughn nodded.
"Good. I believe the City Enforcers have already been here collecting their evidence." she reached down to her ankle and withdrew a small dagger from a sheath strapped to her leg. "Please return this to whoever came to investigate prior to my arrival and report their findings to me at the soonest convenience." she passed the dagger on to Vaughn.
Taking it in hand, there was no mistaking it, he was holding a standard issue dagger of the City Enforcers.
Gregor. Vaughn thought through Bei'Caudra. We told Corheab that this was work for the bei'thal only, correct? It was clear no Enforcers were to take part in this investigation?
Yes rduap.
Looking at the small dagger again, he appreciated the utility of such a knife. It was useless in battle, but great for other purposes, like cutting rope or hewing a bow. It was carried by most every low level soldier and likely provided hours of entertainment while patrolling the city walls.
It looks like the Augur has a traitor in it's midst.
___________________________________________________________________________
LITERAL TRANSLATION OF SONG
"(command) warm middle came song give'
I(possessive) lover (inward direction/ to me) spoke
'song cold frost/dew (example: krü'shaih = frost, pahm'shaih = dew) (outward direction) push(future), however/conditional on!
with/including plum, with wine, pastry'apple
'Others(passive) with/including Trik/farm Shik/fishing spot and Duredul/market
stuck in boringness is
I (passive) I (possessive) most'higher spirit is removing
with pork with fish with potato
(Expletives used only by women and feminized men)
(Expletives used only by men and masculinized women)
My lover, (emphasis) honey (passive) all-tide's treat is eaten
(emphasis) honey (passive) all-tide's treat is eaten
Cold (circular forward direction) warm becomes
(that fact) if known by bees, bees will prepare
Therefore, (emphasis) honey (passive) all-tide treat is eaten
'Sei pahm chelr rok dorthet mei' 'Sing me songs of high warm tide'
Huelt pathen juih dorak My lover said to me
'Dorthet krü'shaih tau tihued, shok! 'Of plums and wine and apple tarts
du shah du kel jen'shei' To chase away this frost'
'Greml du Trik, Shik, Duredul 'No Trik or Shik or Duredul'
Buet jau nechlin puiht Can free me from this bore
Hul huelt krau'oir dulen reniht For pork and fish and potatoes
du par du pok du gorl They drain near all my soul.'
kae kae kae! (women) Hey hey hey!
roi roi roi! (men) Ho ho ho!
Hul pathen, kae lah'l krüpahm'elt muih daz But honey is an all-tide treat, my dear
Kae lah'l krü'pahm'elt muih daz Honey is an all-tide treat.
Krü hihn pahm ahihm Bees know warmtide gives way to coldtide
'L archne tsih'erl, archne feeih'ed And they gather up their stores
Jurch, lah'l krü'pahm'elt muih daz So honey is an all tide treat!
The lady's soft robes of satin red were embroidered with graceful vines of ivy in the imperial style while ket shoes lifted her up and ensured the lackadaisical fabric never touched the dirt. And in the construction, there was a lot of dirt.
Vaughn bei'thal recomposed himself and bowed slightly. "I am Vaughn, servant of her wisdom. May I assume that we are in company of the Lady of the house?"
"You may."
Gregor similarly straightened himself before offering a bow of respect. He had not expected to meet the lady outside of her receiving room, even if it was currently comprised of a few sheets of canvas and some wooden poles.
"I was told to expect you, and I am glad that you have not disappointed. Come, walk with me. I have not yet seen the extent of the damage."
Anger. Rage! Caudra's thoughts floated to the surface of the minds of the bei'thal. With an exhausted pause, the bei translated the raw emotion flowing from the woman to his masters. But not at you. Not to Yibouh.
"Lady Archne..."
"Lord Vaughn, spare me that name for now. There are more important things at stake."
And the last person to bear that name murdered my brother, destroyed the legacy of our family, and forced me to leave the center of civilization.
Though Vaughn kept a face of stone, Gregor raised an eyebrow to the new Lady Archne - an act that was not unnoticed by the small woman. "It has been a while since I've been afforded a title. And my tattoo ceremony won't be taking place until the Main Hall is up. I feel I am little more than a steward at this point."
"It must be difficult to come back to this," Gregor offered sympathetically, to which Ketrae nodded.
"I was not told of your companion here." she said, finally noticing the hooded man that trailed Gregor and Vaughn. "Sir, I'd know who paid the Archne a visit. Your name please."
Caudra lowered his eyes and bowed respectfully but remained silent, as was his capacity.
"Merely a servant from the Augur to assist us in paying our respects in the Receiving Room. We had not expected to be graced with your presence out here. I can send him away if you would prefer." Vaughn offered nonchalantly.
"No, that is not needed." she looked back skeptically, but added, "You will forgive me, it has been some time since I have been involved in the Eirdred court. We do not have to deal with such formalities with our peers at the University. Still sir, I'd have your name."
Before she could demand again Gregor spoke up, "He is unable to respond, having been made mute from a childhood riddled with throat pox. We know him as Caudra, however."
"I see. Well met." her attention satisfied, she turned to the site before her, another building raized to its stone foundations. "In the days that followed, many of our vassals, some who had served Archne for generations fled the scene. Most have since returned. Of those who had not, I am suspicious.
"Of the head of house staff, I am most certainly suspicious. But not a night ago he was retrieved from his hometown and now he awaits our company in our cells."
The barracks might have been destroyed, but the whore had been kind enough to leave us our prisons. That she could see the insides herself. The thoughts of Ketrae buzzed to Gregor and Vaughn though Caudra's willing mind.
In the bowels of the building, it did not take long to see precisely just how suspicious the new Lady Archne has been of poor Vergaihl. Chained intimately to a wall, the elder man had only a waterfall of blood where his left eye had been. On his nearly naked body, cuts and bruises hinting of the flesh's history with a barbed whip adorned each limb and his chest.
Sympathetic to the man, Gregor could not be silent. "My lady, whatever this man's crimes, he needs to be appraised by the City Enforcers before punishment is enacted."
"Don't concern yourself with protocol Gregor. It is more important to get to the truth of the matter and if the Lady Ketrae has done that, the City Enforcers cannot help but to agree with her methods." Vaughn placed his hand on his protege's shoulder. "There are times when what is written stands in the way of what is right."
"Indeed Lord Vaughn. And we have learned much." Ketrae said, ignoring Gregor's rashness.
"We are listening."
"We believe my brother's murderer still lives." she spit at the chained man, "Vergaihl admits to that at least."
"Is this true?" Vaughn turned to the tortured man, though he merely lingered in consciousness. He slapped the man's face. "Does your Lady live?"
"Death has the faces of the women of Archne." he uttered painfully, "Oh, Keeper Sheg, I am your host, innocent and naive. I have worshiped the wrong one all my life."
"Yes, he does not hesitate to proclaim his innocence in this project, yet he has no grand answer for why he did not return to the estate, and how he knows that she is alive."
Gregor reached out his arm to clasp Caudra's wrist firmly before letting go. He approached Vergaihl and placed his hand gently alongside the man's face.
"You called him Vergaihl?" he turned back to the lady and she nodded. He turned back to his quarry and stared directly into the man's eyes. "Vergaihl, have you seen the woman Zaexyl Archne, formerly known as Reiba, since you have left the estate?"
"She let me go, she let me go. And now I am back, but she let me go." he muttered with words as cracked as his lips.
She let me go but I saw her run too. Run west. That woman is death to me. Just wanted to see my family again. Wanted to forget her. Forget Archne. But Archne will never let me forget. Cedric had been used. I had been used. There is no peace for the loyal. No peace for those who love their houses. Came the voice from Caudra's abilities.
Gregor blanched. "Lady Archne, let this man go. He did you no harm."
Ketrae furrowed her brows, "There must be justice. Rel demands it, I feel his host upon me. I will not let the guilty go."
Idiot! Vaughn thought with such anger and intensity that Caudra picked up on it and echoed reproach to Gregor. "My lady, please do not take my apprentice's words seriously." he barked the word 'apprentice'; a word he had not used for Gregor in many tides. "He is rash and impudent. But perhaps it is time to bring the man before the City Enforcers. Let justice be served to the guilty."
"Very well, but I would be kept informed of any further information you receive and the final verdict."
"Agreed." Vaughn nodded.
"Good. I believe the City Enforcers have already been here collecting their evidence." she reached down to her ankle and withdrew a small dagger from a sheath strapped to her leg. "Please return this to whoever came to investigate prior to my arrival and report their findings to me at the soonest convenience." she passed the dagger on to Vaughn.
Taking it in hand, there was no mistaking it, he was holding a standard issue dagger of the City Enforcers.
Gregor. Vaughn thought through Bei'Caudra. We told Corheab that this was work for the bei'thal only, correct? It was clear no Enforcers were to take part in this investigation?
Yes rduap.
Looking at the small dagger again, he appreciated the utility of such a knife. It was useless in battle, but great for other purposes, like cutting rope or hewing a bow. It was carried by most every low level soldier and likely provided hours of entertainment while patrolling the city walls.
It looks like the Augur has a traitor in it's midst.
___________________________________________________________________________
LITERAL TRANSLATION OF SONG
"(command) warm middle came song give'
I(possessive) lover (inward direction/ to me) spoke
'song cold frost/dew (example: krü'shaih = frost, pahm'shaih = dew) (outward direction) push(future), however/conditional on!
with/including plum, with wine, pastry'apple
'Others(passive) with/including Trik/farm Shik/fishing spot and Duredul/market
stuck in boringness is
I (passive) I (possessive) most'higher spirit is removing
with pork with fish with potato
(Expletives used only by women and feminized men)
(Expletives used only by men and masculinized women)
My lover, (emphasis) honey (passive) all-tide's treat is eaten
(emphasis) honey (passive) all-tide's treat is eaten
Cold (circular forward direction) warm becomes
(that fact) if known by bees, bees will prepare
Therefore, (emphasis) honey (passive) all-tide treat is eaten
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