<html> <body> Forgot yesterday's part, so there's two for today. Inchoate Carillion, Inconstant Cuckold By Charles Matthias In a small rooftop garden she’d established nestled a single sprout of green, the stem rising through the loam she kept warm with an anchored spell. The preparations had been exquisite and costly, but already, before most any other flower would emerge especially one native to more southerly climes, Jessica’s hyacinth was showing buds. In another week the blossoms would open and her reservoir of power would begin. And with it, as she had seen in her dreams last night, she would be able to change the Curses and hold them for hours, even days on end. Perhaps even longer. The possibilities, from mischief to generous aid, were endless. Her experiments on Maud and Larssen had proven prophetic if taxing. She could hardly wait to see how long the spells would last once the purple and red blossoms broke forth into the sun’s glistening embrace, drinking of the currents of magic like nectar. Jessica stroked the green stem and slender leaves with the tip of one wing, then straightened and sighed in contentment. Her breath misted in the air, but only faintly and quickly dissipated. There was invariable a fog over Lake Barnhardt in the morning, and while it lingered over the center of the lack like a massive white turtle, it had long since burned off the town. Smoke curled from chimneys, and the air resounded with the clanging of the smithy, the bleating of real animals, and the shouts of merchants readying wares and the farmers seeking them in preparation for the growing season. Weyden’s company was returning to Metamor next week. And though it had long been her home, she knew she’d miss Lake Barnhardt. She glanced down to her small planter nestled against one corner of the barrack’s roof and cracked her beak in an avian grin. “I will be coming back once a week to tend you my little one.” Unlike Charles’s vine which she’d often observed leaning into the rat’s gentle caresses, her hyacinth merely bent then bounced back into place at her touch. Jessica stretched her toes, talons digging into the soft earth, then stretched her wings and hopped to the edge of the barracks. She stopped when something in the distance caught her sharp gaze. A large figure was flying toward them from the north. On its back were two roughly human-shaped figures. She knew them. Jessica shifted into her normal hawk-sized form and jumped from the rooftop in her excitement. They met on the other side of the lake where pine and ash thrust up through a clatter of granite stones larger than even many inns. She landed on a flat stretch overlooking the lake, with the tops of trees peering just above the ledge. Brush clung to every scrap of dirt amidst the stone. Guernef came to a ponderous stop, his wings beating heavily, clattering branches and sending the last of the snow in a swirling mist to either side. Before either Andares or Abafouq could climb off the Nauh-kaee’s back, Jessica had resumed her most human appearance and hopped to their sides to hug them. “Oh, it’s so good to see you! Abafouq, Andares, Guernef! Why have you not visited sooner? I’ve missed you.” “It is strange how quickly time has disappeared,” Abafouq admitted as he straighten his woolen cloak. “You have a saying, ‘it seems only yesterday’ yes? That is how I feel.” “I know what you mean,” she agreed. “And it is with much sadness we admit that our coming here is to say goodbye.” Abafouq, with a few words supplied by Andares, explained their plan to her. Jessica listened with heavy heart. Her objections made no more dent in their resolve than Kayla’s or James’s had. And they came to an end when Guernef finally spoke. “There comes an end to all things. We three of the sky know such things. It too must end. And so we part. But we shall not forget you, and the wind will hear our songs always.” Jessica blinked golden eyes at the white-feathered and furred creature. “We three?” She shook her head. “No, don’t bother. I’m so, I can’t explain it, I don’t think you should either. So you have to go, please don’t go forever. Write. Send messages. Maybe we could even set up a magic scrying stone like Misha uses to speak to his sister. Just don’t leave our lives forever.” Andares smiled faintly and put a slender, silvery hand on her wing shoulder. “We will not do that. If nothing else, letters will be written. Of that you may rest assured.” “And we certainly don’t want to part,” Abafouq said with a long sigh. “But we must. Before we go, how are things with you?” “They go well. I am learning many new things since we returned. And soon I will be married to Weyden. I wish you could stay for the wedding.” None of them spoke for several seconds. A crisp breeze caught at her feathers and made Abafouq grasp his cloak in dismay. The trees rattled as dry bones. Finally, Jessica flung herself at the Åelf and held him close in her wings. Her voice was strained and almost tearful. “You’ve been such good, dear friends! I’ll miss you all!” Andares held her gently for several long moments before she bounced from to Abafouq whom she bent down to embrace. The Binoq had a firmer grip and almost hang off her neck before he finally let go. Guernef’s embrace was slight, a gentle cradling with one wing and a beak nuzzle much like those she and Weyden gave to each other. She returned it, barely able to keep her tears at bay. Their final goodbyes were short, hesitant but quick, as if none of them wished to leave but feared to linger. Jessica watched them fly to the south on Guernef’s back, but for once her hawk’s eyes had trouble focusing. The tears streamed down her feathers and she trembled. The cold air cut her like so many little knives. She couldn’t wait to return to Metamor. She could be close to Kayla and Lindsey there at least. Jessica flapped her wings and returned to the city. Right then she just wanted to forget everything. ---------- At the southern end of the valley, where the broad fields fought with the encroaching forests clustering beneath te edges of the mountains, the sun warmed the land and presaged the coming Spring. Its promise was sweet to the Metamorians who had endured a Winter wondering whether they would be attacked yet again. For the people of Jetta, it was time to begin planting crops. And it was also time to check and repair the defences. The two visiting knights, their squires, and several members of Jetta’s militia patrolled the southern palisades. Egland frequently rattled the wooden slats and pointed out those that needed replacing. Only a few did. By the time they reached a small bluff on which an old tower stood, the sun was beginning its way back down. There they met a surprising pair. Resting a hearty paw against the stone tower was the bear Sho Rosewain. And speaking with her, dressed in a black robe dirtied about the ankles, was the Questioner priest Felsah. “Father Felsah,” Sir Egland said in faint delight. “I did not know you were in Jetta.” The priest nodded to the knights, squires, and foot soldiers following them. “Sir Egland. Sir Saulius. I arrived only an hour past.” Egland noted his still human appearance. “The Curses haven’t touched you I see, Father.” “Not yet no,” Felsah agreed.. He smiled to the much larger bear who grinned back. “But I’m sure it will not be long now.” “I’ve been showing him the tower,” Sho said in her basso rumble. The bear patted the stone and glanced up at the unfinished cupola. “We’ll be able to see for miles once it’s finished.” “I’m surprised you don’t have more,” Egland commented, casting a glance back at the militia captain, a broad shouldered woman with close-cropped brown hair and a bow slung over her shoulder. She jutted her chin at the tower. “There used to be. Hasn’t been as much need since the Curses.” Sho almost growled. “There is a need! I was kept in a cage not one mile from this spot until I became this!” The militia captain held up one hand. “I know. I know. That’s why the tower’s being built.” “We need more stones,” Sho pointed out. Felsah set a hand gently on her massive arm and she seemed to still. Sir Egland and Sir Saulius both dismounted. Their squires followed them. Egland glanced over the southern fields on either side of the tower. The palisade kept the tower defended from all but the north where Jetta lay. The boundary of the Curses lay somewhere in the mixed shrub and low hills before him. Stone markers had been placed to warn travellers. But they’d also been used to make roadside attractions like Sho for villainous showmen. Egland studied the tower and grimaced at the dark lines of mould between the close-fitting blocks of granite. “This looks like an older tower.” “The older tower burned a dozen years ago,” the militia captain explained. But Charles was already pressing his paws against the stone. Sir Saulius beckoned him back, but the rat would not be distracted. This was stone. The flesh on his paws turned hard and grey, and then pressed into the stone. Sho jumped back and made the sign of the yew over her chest. Felsah stared in dumbfounded surprise. Even Egland began to stutter at the sight. Charles didn’t hear any of them. He felt the complaint of long neglect and the brittleness of a roaring fire. But there was a smouldering hope in the rock too. His still flesh muzzle creased in a smile, and his whiskers twitched across the tower wall. He withdrew his paws and let them return to flesh. “The stone is old,” Charles said, “and it did suffer fire, but it is still strong. You’ll want to shore up with another inner layer of stone and wood before building any higher. But I think this will be a fine tower. Now you need more stone. I can find some for you and help convince it to be shaped well.” Nobody took him up on the offer. Instead everyone gazed at him with a mixture of fright and wonder. Only Sir Saulius knew his secret. His knight moved in closer and put a single paw on his shoulder. “My squire didst suffer a magical spell which made him living stone. But the spell hath been broken and he now controls the stone. ‘Tis nothing to fear.” “You can become stone?” Sho asked as she neared her precious tower. She rubbed the spot Charles had slipped his paw in and marvelled. “How?” “A spell, but the caster is now dead. It no longer traps me. But, I can communicate with stone. It’s...” he groped for the right word for several seconds but gave up with a shake of his head. “I cannot explain it. But, while this,” and all of his flesh turned to granite and his eyes to obsidian jewels, “I can pass through stone as if it were water.” Sho put one paw on the top of his head and her dark eyes widened. “Oh! You’re so cold!” “I’m stone,” he replied. “Although if I stay out in the sun like this long enough I’m told I start to get warm.” “You don’t know?” He shook his head. “I can’t feel as much like this. Except for other stones. Those I feel.” “Other stones?” Felsah asked, his lips a faint, but unreadable line. “Do you think yourself a stone?” Charles closed his eyes, and when he opened them he was flesh again. “Forgive me. I spent over four months as living stone; it was hard enough then keeping my thoughts straight. I have not become a full statue often since then. Stone thoughts can be... easy to accept sometimes.” Felsah rubbed his chin, “We will have to discuss that some time. It is very curious.” “But another time,” Sir Egland said with a sweep of his arm. “This tower ought to be rebuilt. And not just to keep foreigners from forcing their victims to suffer the Curse. Our southern borders have been peaceful for many years, but that may not always be the case. I will recommend that several more towers be built along the palisade.” “Oh they will be,” Sho assured them, to which the captain nodded vigorously. “And I’d like to take you up on your offer to help...” “Charles,” he supplied. “And it will have to wait some time. I am eager to return to my wife and children up in Glen Avery.” “Isn’t that at the northern end of the Valley?” Sho asked. He nodded. “Then may Eli grant you a speedy return. But if you could help us, we would welcome it.” “I will try. If Sir Saulius gives me leave, I can come with you and now and show you good stone.” “After we hath completed our inspection of the palisade,” Saulius said in a gentle but firm tone. “‘Twill not be much longer.” Sho bowed her head a full foot lower and placed her paws together as if praying. Thank you, Charles. We will be here.” Sir Egland patted the tower one last time and cast a commanding glance across the menagerie of Metamorian soldiers. “With that settled, let us continue. Mount up. We’ve another mile to inspect and the sun won’t be with us forever.” Charles felt the mildest twinges of disappointment as he left the stone tower behind and resumed his duties. Felsah and Sho waved to them as they continued their ride east along the palisade. ---------- May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love, Charles Matthias !DSPAM:4e67e6e124631804284693! </body> </html>