Carack

Carack Ch15 revised and complete

Chapter 15 Brunnstan

On awaking Gerent felt better than he had done for several weeks, the aches had gone and he actually felt as though he had slept. He could hear an odd sort of noise. It sounded like a low toned wailing and he opened his eyes to find M’zera sat beside him, her head bent over some sewing.

‘Hello’ said Gerent, ‘How are you?’ M’zera dropped her sewing in her lap and smiled at him.

‘More to the point how do you feel?’ she asked, Gerent rolled over onto his side and said

‘I feel fine, how come you are here and not one of the Brownies?’

‘Well they’re all busy and I was not.’ She replied hesitatingly.

‘Where’s Sancret, is he Ok?’

‘He is resting, it took a great deal out of him to save you after keeping us all safe.’

‘Was I that ill?’ Gerent asked and M’zera hung her head.

‘I could not help it, it was not me, I saw what she was doing but I could not stop her.’ She replied.

‘What do you mean? Are you talking about Morvah? Is she the reason I was ill?’

‘Those needles she threw at you before the pony fell, they were working their way inward into your body gradually and were just beginning to pierce your heart, you would have died last night if Brunnstan hadn’t noticed you were not at the celebrations and found you. Sancret managed to transpose all of the needles out of you.’

‘Oh, so that’s what Madron meant by walking corpse, well I do feel much better, I feel I could get up. Hang on, if Sancret transposed the needles out what did he put in their place?’ M’zera hung her head again and said, ‘It would be better to ask the mage that, I was not present at the time.’

‘Well I certainly have to thank Brunnstan when I see him next. What is that noise?’ Gerent could still hear the continuous, muffled sonorous chant that seemed to be both inside and outside.

‘I don’t know,’ said M’zera, ‘I’ll go and look.’ And she left before Gerent could say any more. He got up, dressed and glanced out of the windows to see the sky was grey with scudding clouds, that looked like they would bring rain. He noted that for all that a stiff breeze that there was blowing the banners were still. Gerent put this down to Sancret being asleep or resting as M’zera had said, but as he turned from the window, the door opened and Sancret came in. Gerent glanced back at the banners and then at Sancret, if he was awake and they were still, it must mean that Sancret was sad.

‘What’s up?’ Gerent asked, seeing by Sancret’s face that something was wrong.

‘M’zera told me you were awake, I thought I would come and see how you are,’ replied the warlock.

‘What’s wrong, something is and that noise what is it?’

‘Don’t worry about that it will stop soon, it’s something the Brownies have to do. How are you?’

‘I am fine, I’m better than fine, whatever you did it really worked. M’zera said it was needles, she said you transposed them out, but what did you put in instead?’

‘Well there was only one thing I could use, but there it’s done and you have recovered.’ Gerent could tell that Sancret was trying to hide something and he persisted.

‘What did you transpose into me? There must have been a lot of it for there were hundreds of needles to come out.’

Sancret sighed and sat on the edge of Gerent’s bed, he looked tired.