Chapter 15
Summons
Near the Milon-Bascon Border
On the third day after their arrival at the Palace of the Lake, Prince Wilfried's entourage joined Prince Rickardt's as they set out for Gottestag. Joining the Prince were six of his courtiers. Each of these brought with him a knight and his lance of three or four men and at least as many serving men. Though certainly no army, the two Princes' retinues could surely hold their own against foes of similar numbers, though the whole point of Prince Wilfried joining Prince Rickardt was that they would not have to test their strength of arms until it counted most.
A carriage had been prepared for the Prince, but he refused to ride in it, dismissing it as womanish when he had a perfectly good mount of his own. It was perhaps appropriate then that a woman was sent to them. The Lady Sigislinde Prince Rickardt had spoken of met them on the second day after they had departed the Palace of the Lake. The lady herself seemed wholly guileless, fulfilling her duty as Prince Rickardt's presumptive fiancée and the daughter of the Prince of Milon's right-hand man to accompany the young Prince on his journey to pay homage to their liege in Gottestag.
When the Prince declined Lady Sigislinde's entreaties to ride with her in the carriage, she then took notice of Gudrun in Prince Wilfried's company and sought to make the seeress her companion on the road. Although it was not without risk, Prince Wilfried trusted Gudrun to be able to deal with Lady Sigislinde wisely and not betray their true purpose. And so the carriage became host to Lady Sigislinde, her two ladies-in-waiting, Gudrun, and Gudrun's maidservants, who were granted special leave to serve as fellow companions to balance the two sides.
Prince Wilfried had found Lady Sigislinde to be rather striking, tall for a woman yet delicate to the point of appearing fragile. She was gentle in her manners and fair to look upon. Prince Rickardt's description of her as 'not so disagreeable' did not begin to do her justice. Of course, Wilfried's affection for Gudrun could not be eclipsed so easily, but if he could find such a woman as Lady Sigislinde to be his Queen, such a match would certainly be not so disagreeable.
While Prince Wilfried may have found himself charmed by Lady Sigislinde, Prince Rickardt's genial mask was quick to slip when no one else was looking, and at least as he rode alongside Prince Wilfried, he did not conceal his discontent.
"Your temper has turned foul ever since we gained the fair addition to our company, Your Highness," Prince Wilfried noted.
"As well it should, Master Wilbrandt," Prince Rickardt grumbled. "I'm sure the girl herself is as innocent as a dove, but that snake of a father of hers knows exactly what he's doing. He has no proof, of course, but he doesn't trust me and so he would hazard his daughter to put bit and bridle on me. He knows that whatever I mean to do, I will not do it so easily if it puts her at risk."
"It sounds like your affection for her is not so little."
"I could hate the sight of her and still not be beast enough to put an innocent girl at risk of life and limb."
"It speaks well to your character, Your Highness."
"But it bodes ill for our purpose."
"Whatever could you mean, Your Highness?" Prince Wilfried asked, making a well-practiced show of feigning ignorance even though there did not appear to be anyone listening. "We are merely travelling to Gottestag to pay homage to the Queen of the South."
Prince Rickardt caught his meaning and managed a bit of a wry grin as he replied, "I believe she is calling herself 'Empress of the Southern Lands' these days."
"'Empress of the Southern Lands'..." Prince Wilfried mused. "No doubt she means to add the lands of the North, the East and the West to her empire as well."
"All in due time, I'm sure," Prince Rickardt replied.
Returning to the topic, Prince Wilfried said, "You have only pledged to go with us as far as Gottestag, Your Highness. We will manage our business ourselves from there and you can devote your attentions to your lady fair."
Prince Rickardt sighed heavily. Apparently the prospect did not appeal to him so much.
"Would that I could stand at your side when you pay your respects to our Queen," he said.
"Fear not, Your Highness," Prince Wilfried replied, "After the Queen, there will be many others who remain who will need respects paid to them. You will get your fill of it."
Prince Rickardt eyed the carriage and said, "I believe I have already told you of the respects I intend to pay."
"Grim work," Prince Wilfried said, "but such is our duty."
Though there was little more to say on the matter, anything else that would have been said was interrupted by the sounding of a horn in the distance. Prince Wilfried recognized it as the call of a royal herald.
"What fresh hell is this?" Prince Rickardt muttered as he raised his first and called out to the convoy, "All halt! All halt!"
The order was echoed by several of the knights and the convoy came to a halt while they awaited the approach of the herald. A trumpeter sounded a call to signal to the herald that they had heard him.
As they herald drew nearer, it could be seen that he wore Milonese livery and was likely dispatched by Prince Rickardt's father himself.
"My Prince, hail!" the herald cried, saluting Prince Rickardt. "I come with word from His Highness, your lord father."
"Take a moment and catch your breath, man," Prince Rickardt said. "Surely my father's message can wait that long."
"Begging your pardon, my Prince," the herald said, "but I was ordered to relay message with all haste."
"Well then, out with it, man," Prince Rickardt said, concealing his unease well but not so well that Prince Wilfried could not see it.
"Word has reached the ears of Lord Shahazz'in that Your Highness means to travel to Gottestag to pay homage to Her Majesty the Queen. His Lordship has stated his desire that Your Highness go to Lewenfort so that he might bless you on your journey."
Prince Rickardt seemed to blanch a little as he heard this. The delay in his answer was brief but unmistakable.
"You can tell my father that I have received his message and tell the Lord Shahazz'in that I most humbly accept his beneficent offer of hospitality. Now, go refresh yourself and your mount before you return."
"Yes, Your Highness," the herald replied with an obliging bob of his head. "Thank you, Your Highness. By your leave, Your Highness."
Prince Rickardt nodded to dismiss the herald and once he withdrew, the Prince muttered some curse under his breath.
"Lord Shahazz'in..." Prince Wilfried said. "The Witch-Queen's governor-general of Bergeny, yes?"
"Yes," Prince Rickardt said grimly. "What have you heard of him?"
"Naught but his name."
"I have only met him on one or two occasions," Prince Rickardt said, "and then he concealed himself from our view, but I have heard stories. That he is some unholy creature, the stuff of nightmares... That he has curious magic that allows him to search out the hearts of men. If that magic were to be used against us..."
"But you cannot refuse his... invitation."
Prince Rickardt shook his head.
"To refuse the one who stands in the place of our King would be unthinkable even in the most peaceful of times. Now it could be taken for treason and we could find our corpses hanging from gibbets while our heads decorate the castle walls. And that may well be preferable to coming face-to-face with Lord Shahazz'in."
Prince Rickardt was silent for a moment as he thought over the problem. Prince Wilfried considered what they might do as well. Between the two of them, surely they could come up with some sort of solution.
"I think it may be best for us to go our separate ways," Prince Rickardt said. "Having declared my intent to go to Gottestag, I fear I will be unable to contrive an acceptable excuse for turning back, but at least I can find some reason to be waylaid. It will buy you some time, time enough to cross over into Gotland at least, I would hope. If you make all due haste, perhaps you can reach Gottestag before any pursuers can catch up to you."
"You speak of pursuers as if they were a certainty, Your Highness," Prince Wilfried replied.
"If the stories of Lord Shahazz'in's witchcraft are to be believed, anything I would try to conceal would be brought to light no matter how I might resist. At very least, if you go now, there is nothing more that I can tell him."
Assuming what Prince Rickardt believed to be true was in fact true, then his solution may well have been the best one, but it was a hard thing to accept. The road to Gottestag seemed wide open to them, but now Prince Wilfried could see the gates slowly closing. This whole venture could be in vain, but if Prince Wilfried and his entourage were to fall into the hands of this Lord Shahazz'in, their failure would be certain. Prince Rickardt was prepared to sacrifice himself to give them the best possible chance under the circumstances. It would be a poor thing to squander such resolve.
"Let us hold a council when we can afford a private moment," Prince Wilfried said. "We should not rely on our own wisdom alone for such a decision."
Prince Rickardt nodded.
"Well said, Master Wilbrandt. We will see what opportunity we can find, perhaps in one of the watches of the night."
Prince Wilfried managed a wry grin and said, "I believe the witching hour would have a suitable irony to it."
* * *
It was shortly after the changing of the guard for the third watch when Prince Rickardt slipped into Prince Wilfried's tent, where Bishop Friedman, Kolman, and Gudrun were waiting for him. It would not have been practical to try to fit Sir Hengist inside as well, so he waited outside with Sir Eckhardt to keep watch against any unwelcome eyes or ears that might try to spy on their council.
Prince Rickardt gave a curt salute to the assembly and told them, "I trust Master Wilbrandt has informed you of the situation."
"I would like to know more about the magic of this Lord Shahazz'in, Your Highness," Kolman said.
Prince Rickardt shook his head.
"I can tell you no more than the rumors I have heard, Master Kolman. Perhaps they are true and perhaps they are not, but it would be folly to hazard this venture because we underestimated one so esteemed by the Witch Queen."
Prince Wilfried looked to Gudrun and said to her, "Tell His Highness what you have seen, Gudrun."
Gudrun curtseyed, then told Prince Rickardt, "There is a perilous crossroads on our way. The closer we get, the clearer its shape. Ever since we were joined by Lady Sigislinde, I have not had the liberty to look deeper, but now I will make a fresh attempt. By your leave..."
The seeress knelt down and unslung the satchel she was carrying. She removed a small silver censer and several pouches. She then reached over and took up the tongs lying next to the brazier heating the tent, picking up a couple hot coals and placing them inside the censer. Next she measured out materials from the pouches, sprinkling them on the coals one after the other. She blew into the censer to enliven the coals so that they would burn up the mixture more quickly, raising up plumes of blue and pink smoke that mingled together as they rose into the air.
Gudrun breathed in the smoke and her eyes rolled back as she went into a trance. She held up her hands and it took a moment for Prince Wilfried to take her meaning.
As he held one hand, he told Prince Rickardt, "Please take her hand, Your Highness. It will help her to trace the threads of your future."
Prince Rickardt did so with only the briefest hint of hesitation. Once he did, Gudrun's head drooped down and hung there for a short while until a shudder ran through her body and she threw her head back. Her body twisted and convulsed as if she were being taken by a fit of the falling sickness and her arms strained against the hold of the two princes.
"Gudrun!" Prince Wilfried cried.
Before either of the princes could do anything, though, Kolman held out his hand to stop them.
"Do not let go!" the sorcerer hissed, almost forgetting to keep his voice low so as not to draw unwanted attention from outside the tent. "You will break the spell and she will have to start all over again. The fit will pass. Be patient."
Though concerned for Gudrun's sake, Prince Wilfried trusted Kolman's words, tightening his grip on her hand for whatever comfort it might give her. Some time passed and Gudrun's convulsions subsided and her body went limp. After a little more time passed, she raised her head and straightened herself back up.
"You may let go now, Your Highness," she said in a low voice, her breathing somewhat labored.
Prince Rickardt let go of her hand, but Prince Wilfried did not, instead reaching around her with his free hand to help lift her to her feet. He continued to hold her, like two partners about to dance. He looked into her eyes and she into his. The Prince knew his duty, but he could well have forgotten it staring into those gentle eyes.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Gudrun said, "but I can stand on my own two feet."
However, as she moved to pull away, the Prince could feel her weight shifting as she started to lose her balance, so he drew her closer to him.
"It would seem your feet are not so firmly planted yet, my lady," Prince Wilfried told her.
Though he was making every effort to handle her deftly, the Prince could feel his heart beating faster and his face flushing. Even for all her reserve, Gudrun could not suppress a faint blush giving color to her cheeks.
An annoyed Kolman cleared his throat and an even more annoyed Bishop Friedman frowned mightily.
Gudrun averted her eyes as she turned herself around so that the Prince was now embracing her from behind. Whether she liked it or not, she still needed to lean on him for support after her ordeal.
"The future never takes a single shape for those who would pierce beyond the veil," she began. "However, the closer an event, the more determined the actors on the stage, the clearer the vision becomes." She nodded to the censer and said, "And then there are certain concoctions that help make the vision clearer still."
"And what did you see?" Prince Rickardt asked.
Gudrun rested her hand on Prince Wilfried's arm encircling her waist to steady her as she said, "I saw... a monster. I have never seen the like, but its eye saw through me like glass. I could hide nothing from its gaze. I was laid bare before it, stripped to the bone. If we were to go to Lewenfort, our venture will surely fail."
"If I were to go alone?" Prince Rickardt asked.
"All of your secrets will be known," Gudrun replied. "If you are not killed outright, chains and torment await you."
Prince Rickardt hardened his jaw as he heard this, but he did not surrender to the vision so easily.
"What if Master Kolman were to place a charm on me, as he did with Arnolf, so that I would forget everything? Lord Shahazz'in cannot take what I do not have."
Gudrun held out her hand for Prince Rickardt to take, then extended the other to Kolman, who furrowed his brow as he took it. Gudrun closed her eyes and this time she did not seem to exert herself as greatly as she was not racked with the same apparent agony as before.
Her lips moved wordlessly before she began to give voice her vision.
"Indeed, Master Kolman's arts could buy us time, but I cannot promise what will happen to you, Your Highness."
"I have vowed to give my life for my land and her people," Prince Rickardt said. "It would be to my eternal shame to sacrifice your venture to save my own skin, but since there is no promise of even that, I would gladly offer myself to help you strike a blow against the Witch Queen. Cast your charm, sorcerer."
Kolman looked to Prince Wilfried, who told him, "I would not have you spurn His Highness' resolve, Master Kolman. Do as he says." He then told Prince Rickardt, "I am sorry that it has come to this, Your Highness."
Prince Rickardt managed a weak smile and said, "There are many misfortunes that a man might face. If one man's misfortune might be turned into another's fortune, is there not some comfort in that?"
"I pray you will not come to curse us for it," Prince Wilfried said.
"As do I," Prince Rickardt replied.
"Fear not, Your Highness," Kolman said as he began to prepare the materials for his charm. "When my charm has done its work, you will not remember who it is that you would curse."
If those were meant to be words of comfort, they had all the warmth of a winter's eve, but so long as Kolman's charm did its work, it would be better consolation than any mere words could give.