Carack

Carack Ch16 p1

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Chapter 16 Madron

Gerent spent the afternoon watching the preparations for departure by both those inside the castle and out. Everyone was busy except him, he sat and watched as the Brownies filled wagons with supplies, tents were taken down and saddle bags filled out on the plains. He watched as N’zar and Cam followed Euny’s directions and went around the refugees giving orders and directing where the men should form up in the evening. They were to set out as dusk fell so that they could cross the open land without attracting too much attention. Nearly everyone was going and those who weren’t were busy helping those who were, Gerent thought the castle would feel very empty once the fighting force had left. Meendhu knew that it would take six days to reach Netherzoyland and so it had been agreed that the force needed to set out as soon as possible.

The last meal together was a hurried informal one, N’zar hardly sat with them at all, but kept taking some food in his hand and walking out to deal with issues that arose, Euny watched all that went on and had a quiet conversation with Sancret before he rose and announced that it was time to go. M’zera, Lady Gytha, Sancret, Umberstan and Gerent went out onto the castle walls to watch them ride out as the sun was setting, giving a vivid red and orange underside to the clouds. Gerent wished that he were going with them, to do something, rather than sit as bait in Widnbrea. The columns of horses, men and wagons trailed off across the plain and when they had disappeared into the gathering gloom the watchers all left the walls, feeling rather deflated in the quietness after the hustle and bustle of the day.

The next morning at breakfast Gerent sat with a very quiet M’zera, she ate little and appeared very upset, Gerent assumed it was due to Cam and N’zar leaving. He excused himself as soon as possible and went up the stairs to the observation room where he hoped to find Sancret. He was not wrong, Sancret was there, pouring over books and repeating spells to himself, or saying things such as:

‘That won’t be any use,’ or ‘how did he expect anyone to follow that?’ Gerent guessed he had not eaten and so he called Umberstan and asked the Brownie to bring Sancret some scrambled eggs, which the Brownie duly did. Only when Gerent physically took a book from his hands and put the plate there instead did Sancret realise he was there.

‘Good morning, I’m sorry I was getting carried away again wasn’t I? Thanks for this.’ He said forking in some of the eggs as he wandered around the room picking up the odd book, examining the spine and dropping it again. Everything in the room was now as it had been before hiding in the mural, except for the well, Gerent looked down it and could see the level of water was glinting about sixteen meters down.

‘It is rising, I have hopes that it should be back to full height by tomorrow, it was empty when I first came to Widnbrea. When I initially entered this room first I thought it very odd to have this empty shaft in the middle and wasn’t until about a week later that I came back to discover it was full.’

‘Sancret?’

‘Mmm?’ Sancret had opened another book but glanced up at Gerent.

‘Do you think having Brownie blood would give me Brownie powers?’

Sancret slowly lowered the book.

‘I don’t know, I don’t think such a thing has been done before, why do you ask?’

‘Because yesterday after I saw Fawnstan I wished to be outside and there I was, with you on the walls.’

‘Hmm, sounds like you have then, try wanting to be over there say,’ and Sancret pointed across the room to where a telescope stood. Gerent looked down at his feet and tried to wish himself by the telescope’ but felt nothing happen, the stones beneath his feet looked the same.