With a Single Spell

CHAPTER 31

The three of them were given the use of a suite of rooms on the second floor of the castle, around a corner from the princesses’ wing, consisting of a small, cozy sitting room, a small bedchamber Peren appropriated that had probably originally been intended for a valet, and a large and elegant chamber equipped with a magnificent canopied bed. Although Dwomor Keep was still well populated, the departure of dozens of dragon hunters had left the place with considerably more free space than when Tobas and Peren had last seen it; and as guests who might have actually won the right to marry princesses, they rated significantly better accommodations. As best anyone could recall, a prince had shared this suite with a lesser noble during those closing days of Summersend.

Peren stayed to rest for only one night before departing again, leading a caravan of wagons, soldiers, assorted workmen, and curiosity seekers into the hills, intent on bringing back proof of the dragon’s demise. Tobas and Karanissa watched him go from the battlements and then adjourned to their splendid bedchamber to make the best of his absence. Their rooms in Dwomor were far more suitable for a honeymoon than the open country or ruined cottage had been.

Despite their rather peculiar and uncertain status whenever they left their suite to roam the castle, the newlyweds thoroughly enjoyed their relative privacy for the first two or three nights after Peren left. By the time the fourth night came with no sign of his return, however, they began to worry somewhat. Their uneasiness grew steadily throughout the next day, as Peren still did not appear; quite aside from their own concern about their friend, the inhabitants of the castle, from King Derneth himself right down to the chambermaids, seemed to be treating them with mounting suspicion. They were officially still guests, but it was obvious that they were also now prisoners; guards eyed them closely any time either of them stepped out into the courtyard, and it was made plain, silently but unquestionably that they would not be permitted to leave the castle. No one spoke to them unnecessarily; on one occasion Tobas glimpsed the Princess Alorria being herded quickly away by the Lord Chamberlain, lest she might have spoken to the foreign wizard.

Alorria, judging by the expression Tobas thought he saw, was not at all happy to see him, though he was unsure whether that was because she believed him to be a fraud, because she was frightened by him, perhaps embarrassed somehow, or possibly, because she resented the fact that he had married someone else.

Tobas and Karanissa retired early that night, too worried to enjoy each other’s company properly. Simply being together in the great canopied bed was soothing, however; as an hour or two wore slowly by, though neither of them slept, they both calmed down considerably. Nonetheless, midevening of this fifth night after Peren’s party had gone to fetch the dragon’s head found them both still lying awake.

Shortly after their arrival they had hung the tapestry on one wall of their bedchamber, being extremely careful not to touch its surface. By unspoken mutual consent, both had wanted it hung, but neither of them intended to use it immediately. Once the hanging was securely in place, they had hidden it with the simple drapery that had covered that wall before their arrival, this concealment being necessary to prevent unwanted questions from servants or visitors and, far more importantly, to prevent anyone from accidentally touching it and winding up at the gates of their castle. Now, reaching out from the bed, Tobas had pulled the drapery back, and both of them were staring at the tapestry.

“I think I miss the place,” Karanissa admitted after a few moments of silent contemplation.

“I know I miss it,” Tobas replied. “It was all ours, with no chamberlains or kings to worry about, no princesses and peasants staring at me every time I go out. And the servants did what we told them without trying to beg for favors, constantly apologizing for everything, or acting as if obeying me were beneath their dignity. If I knew my way around here better and were welcome into the kitchens, I think I’d rather not bother the servants at all.”

“It’s not just the servants; everybody here is suspicious. They seem to think we’re here under false pretenses, as if there’s anything here we would bother defrauding them of!”

“I know. The castle in the tapestry, strange as it is, is finer than Dwomor could ever have been.”

“It was so lonely, though, before you arrived,” Karanissa said, snuggling closer to him under the quilts.

“It was never lonely for me,” Tobas answered, his arm encircling her shoulders. “You were always there.”

“Do you think we should go back?”

“I don’t know. We can get back out now, if we want to. Both tapestries are working.”

“But we can only get out way up there in the mountains, and it’s almost winter. The snows could come any day now.”

“We’ll need to go back some time, at least for a while; the only position they could possibly give me here is court wizard, and for that I’ll need the Book of Spells and some of the supplies and ingredients from Derithon’s study. I don’t think I’m going to find hair from unborn children or mummified bat wings here in Dwomor Keep.”

“Maybe I’m just being cowardly, wanting to slink back to my refuge instead of facing the World,” Karanissa said bitterly.

“No, that’s not it!” Tobas was shocked at her words. “You survived there alone for four hundred years; you’re no coward!”

Impulsively she hugged him, then nuzzled him silently for a moment. He returned her embrace. She smiled up at him, then said contemplatively, “You know, if I did go back, I’m sure that within a month or two, at most, I’d want to get out again, to see the sun and the moons and the stars and other people and green fields and trees and mountains and streams and all the rest of it.”

“Of course; so would I. There’s nothing wrong with that. Nobody wants to stay cooped up at home all the time.”

“It is really our home, isn’t it?” Karanissa’s tone was wistful.

“Yes, of course, you lived there for so long, how could it not be home?”

“But you didn’t live there very long!”

Tobas shrugged. “I haven’t got any other home; I got kicked out of the one I grew up in and burned down the next. And the castle had you in it, wherever you are would be home.”

She punched him lightly. “Oh, stop flattering! I’m trying to be serious.”

“I’m being serious!”

“Really, Tobas, should we just get up right now and walk through the tapestry?”

“You’re asking me for advice? You’re the one who’s centuries old; I’m just eighteen,” Tobas said. Before she could make any retort, he quickly went on. “But no, we shouldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to Peren when he gets back. Besides, the Dwomorites might not like it, and this is the place I know how to get to from the wrecked castle; when we came back out, they might take offense. And we can use that money. The wine cellar is empty, among other things. No ale, no oushka, no figs or pomegranates. Some of Derithon’s supplies are about used up, and others have gone bad with age. If you’re not picky, I suppose the castle does have all the food we’ll ever need, really, but we’ll want either money or magic to add some variety, and for any number of things. And if we have children, we don’t want them growing up all alone in there.”

“I hadn’t thought about children.”

“Don’t you want any?”

“I hadn’t thought about it, really.”

“Well, you probably should,” he said, smiling. “If we keep on as we have, they’re likely to happen.”

“Let them happen, then!” She giggled. He hugged her to him for a moment.

“Then we shouldn’t cut ourselves off in the tapestry,” he said. “Not if we’re going to lead a decent life and have children.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Besides, I want to see the World.” She paused, considering, then asked anxiously, “It isn’t all like Dwomor, is it?”

“Aha! So that’s what’s really bothering you! No, it isn’t all like Dwomor. This is one of the least pleasant places I’ve seen, as a matter of fact. I think you’d be impressed by Ethshar of the Spices; it’s not as primitive as this place. Or even the beaches near Telven...” His voice trailed off.

“What is it?”

“I just realized; I can’t stay in the tapestry! I owe someone an apology and a new boat. And besides, I promised Peren I’d put curses on the people who robbed him if he wanted me to.”

“Well, it’s settled, then. We’ll just have to learn to deal with the World. We’ll get the money, and you’ll take the position here, and we’ll travel and see Ethshar and Telven and buy those people their new boat, and whenever we want to get away from it all, we can just step into the tapestry.”

“We’ll need to make a proper road down from the wreck if we do that, either that, or I’ll need to learn to fly.” He hesitated, then added thoughtfully, “I could do that, I suppose. Derithon had some flying spells that didn’t look too difficult.”

“I think that would be fun, flying down from the mountains.”

“Oh, I almost forgot, though; we’d still have to do some hiking at first, each time. Wizardry doesn’t work right around the castle.” “Is there anything you can do about that?”

“I don’t really know. I don’t know anything about it. It seems as if there ought to be some use for such a place, though.” He thought for a moment, then suggested, “Maybe we could set up a village there for people who have been cursed. The curses wouldn’t work. Of course, they’d have to stay up there indefinitely, and we could charge a good price for showing them where it is. Then we’d have a village right there and wouldn’t need to come all the way back to Dwomor for everything.”

Karanissa shook her head. “It won’t work,” she said. “At least, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Sooner or later someone would go exploring in the flying castle and mess up the hidden room, and we wouldn’t be able to get out that way.”

“You’re right,” Tobas agreed immediately. “It needs more thought. I can’t even put any protective spells in place, because they, won’t work there.” He sighed. “Oh, well, it was an idea. Maybe eventually I’ll manage to make another tapestry showing somewhere more convenient, and then we can set up our colony for the victims of curses.”

“You’ll make another tapestry,” Karanissa said confidently. “It can’t be that hard. If Derry could do it, you can do it.”

“It may take years,” Tobas reminded her.

“Well, I’ve got forever, and they say a witch’s love can keep a man young. You’ve got a recipe for an eternal youth spell in that book of Derry’s; you can work your way up to that, and then we’ll both have forever.” She leaned over and kissed him.

Someone knocked at the door.

Startled that anyone would be about so late, Tobas called, “What is it?”

“Your companion has returned, my lord wizard,” announced the voice of one of the few servants who spoke Ethsharitic.

“Well, it’s about time!” Karanissa said, rolling quickly out of the bed onto her feet. Tobas followed suit, and both grabbed for the nearest decent clothing.

A moment later the witch and the wizard descended the staircase together and marched out to the torchlit courtyard, where a curious crowd, much of it still in night-clothes, was staring at the various fragments of the dragon that now occupied a long line of wagons.

“My lord Tobas,” someone said behind him. Tobas turned and found the Lord Chamberlain, his ceremonial robes wrinkled, obviously himself just roused from sleep. “My apologies, sir, for doubting you. You are indeed entitled to the reward; and despite the hour, his Majesty the King is waiting in the audience chamber at this moment, eager to have the matter settled. We do not wish there to be any further delay and hope you will come now and make your choice. If you would be so kind as to follow me?”

Grinning broadly, with Karanissa on his arm, Tobas followed.

Peren was waiting at the door of the audience chamber. “I’m sorry I took so long,” he said, speaking quickly. “But it was hard keeping that bunch together, and it took a long time to chop the thing up. They insisted on bringing it all back. They wanted practically every scale and drop of blood. And then on the way back they kept stopping to rest, too! Half of them wanted to stop and make camp at sundown this evening, but we were so close, I insisted we should press on, and here we are. I’m sorry it’s so late.”

“That’s all right,” Tobas said. “We thought that the delays were probably something like that. We weren’t really worried, after all, we knew we’d killed the dragon. Besides, we could always go through the tapestry if we had to escape quickly.”

Peren nodded, not really listening. “Did you know that the crown is claiming the dragon’s remains?” he said, clearly agitated. “They say that since we were working for them, they own the dragon; we don’t get to keep any for ourselves.”

“Well, with all that gold, we shouldn’t need-” Tobas began.

“Hush!” the chamberlain said, as the door of the audience chamber swung open.

The three adventurers obeyed and were appropriately quiet and obeisant as they were brought before his Majesty Derneth the Second, King of Dwomor and Rightful Lord of the Holy Kingdom of Old Ethshar. Tobas wondered idly whether this last title was a new acquisition or merely one they hadn’t come across previously.

They noticed immediately that, in addition to a small assortment of rather befuddled advisors, the king was surrounded by his unmarried daughters. All five princesses stood to the left of the throne, arrayed in fine white gowns, though Tobas noted a few untied bows and unfastened buttons, clear proof of the hurry with which they had dressed. Zerrea was grinning behind her hand, and Alorria was visibly excited, but the older three merely seemed sleepy.

Servants were still lighting candles along the sides of the hall; about two-thirds of the racks were aglow when the king motioned for the three foreigners to rise from their formal bows.

“Hello,” he said politely when everyone was upright once more. “We understand you three actually managed to kill that dragon.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Tobas replied. “We did.”

“Congratulations, my boy!” He smiled broadly, if a trifle insincerely. “In that case, we assume that you have come here for your reward.”

“Yes, your Majesty, I-”

“Which one do you want?” He gestured at the five princesses, wasting no time on preliminaries. Tinira, somewhat more awake than her older sisters, blushed, and Zerrea giggled; Alorria licked her lips nervously. “Pick one, and then we can all get back to bed.”

Somewhat distressed at the king’s cavalier treatment of his own daughters, as well as dismayed at the assumption that he would marry one, Tobas began, “Ah... your Majesty, I-”

Peren interrupted. “If it pleases your Majesty, I would ask for the hand of the Princess Tinira. My comrade, Lord Tobas, has voiced no objection to my choice in previous discussion.”

“Good enough, then.” The king’s smile seemed suddenly more sincere. “Tinira, step forth to meet your betrothed!”

The princess stepped forward, eyes downcast, and made her way to Peren’s side. He took her hand gravely.

“Had you left the choice to me,” the king remarked casually, “I would have offered Falissa and I do wish that you hadn’t lost the other two members of your original group, but this will have to be good enough. My blessings upon you, Peren, it is Peren, isn’t it? Peren, and Tinira. And now, Wizard, what of your choice?”

“Your Majesty, I’m already married,” Tobas answered boldly. “The witch Karanissa of the Mountains is my wife as well as my comrade.”

The king stared at him for a moment, every trace of his smile gone, then demanded, “What of it?”

Tobas stammered for a moment, then said, “I mean only that I cannot take one of your beautiful daughters’ as my wife. I will be pleased and honored to accept the other promised rewards, but-”

“You don’t understand,” Derneth said, cutting him off. “You obviously don’t understand the situation at all. Someone has misled you badly. You do want the reward money, don’t you?”

“Yes, I-” Tobas began.

“Well, then,” the king said, cutting him off, “you must marry one or more of my daughters. The gold and the positions in my realm are their dowries. The sole reward for slaying the dragon is the hand of a princess; the dowry comes with that, but you can’t have the dowry without the bride. If we had simply wanted to pay out a thousand gold pieces to have the dragon slain, do you think we would have gone about it the way we did?”

“I hadn’t thought-”

“Of course not! That would be stupid and wasteful. For half that much, we could get a professional dragon hunter down from Aldagmor, or a really good magician of some sort from Ethshar, no disparagement of your own powers is intended, since you were obviously capable of the job, but you must admit you had no prior reputation. No, we wanted to find husbands for my daughters, husbands who would prove their worth against the monster!”

“But-” Elner had been right all along, Tobas realized, and his own suspicions well-founded. Once again his protest was cut short by the king before it truly began.

“It didn’t work out the way we planned, though, with only three of you involved and one of you a woman. We’ve promised the full thousand to whoever slew the dragon, and we’ll honor that, but we’ll be damned before we’ll let you get away with not marrying at least one of our daughters into the bargain!” He glowered down at Tobas.

“But I’m already married!” Tobas said in almost a wail, abruptly aware of his own youth and insignificance before this suddenly formidable figure.

“And what difference does that make?”

Tobas had no good answer to that. He had certainly never intended to have more than one wife; very few men did. However, there was no law against polygamy, nor even any strong custom; Tobas had known men with two wives, back in Telven, and had even heard of men with three. The only restriction custom imposed was that a man had to have enough money to keep two families and a home big enough for them.

With the dowry a princess would bring, and living in Dwomor Keep, Tobas realized he would have both. Even if he left Dwomor, he and Karanissa owned a large enough castle for any number of families.

He did not want a second wife, though. He started to prepare a polite little speech declining the honor, telling the king to keep the gold; after all, with Derithon’s magic he was sure he could earn all the money he would need elsewhere. “Your Majesty, I must-”

Karanissa’s elbow jabbed him in the side. “Don’t be stupid!” she whispered fiercely, obviously aware of what he had in mind, whether by witchcraft or common sense Tobas could not tell. “We can use the gold and the goodwill, and I don’t mind having another wife around. I’m not the jealous type; I couldn’t be, with Derry what he was. But I do like money. Go on and take your pick.”

Startled, Tobas stammered again, glanced at Karanissa, saw her nod firmly, then turned back to the king and said, reluctantly, “Your Majesty, I must apologize for the delay; all of your daughters are so beautiful that making a choice is agony.”

“Take them all, then!” Derneth said, waving an arm recklessly.

“But,” Tobas said quickly, before the king’s suggestion could be taken seriously, “if choose I must, I will choose Alorria.”

“Oh, Tobas!” Alorria shrieked gleefully, her eyes widening with what Tobas could only interpret as delight; she ran to him and hugged him fiercely.

Tinira was somewhat more restrained in embracing Peren.

With that, except for the polite farewells, the audience was over; details of distributing the dowries would be settled only when the heroes were safely married. The king slipped quietly out a back door, presumably to return to his bed, and a moment later Tobas found the Lord Chamberlain at his side, discussing wedding arrangements.