Orlando.
Orlando starts another tale. "Roberto, my companion at the time, had just asked for as glass of wine instead of beer: that's what brought the two tall strangers over to pick a fight. Not that Roberto and I really minded - both of us were in fairly, shall I say, high spirits and the world had seemed too quiet of late. Still, I'm not overly inclined to simple brawling, so I watered with the bravos that Roberto and I could best them on any even terms. Ha! I don't know what we were thinking, but at the time Roberto and I thought it was hilariously funny. Mercifully, these two had been drinking at least as much as we had, so when they eventually challenged us with cinquinada, we beat them handily. We offered to buy then drinks with the winnings, and spent a few more hours drinking down our winnings with them. Frag and Hrathar, brothers, were friendly enough fellows, currently working as guards for someone or other. Exactly who didn't seem important from the bottom of a few bottles of wine.
"Alas, our 'prowess' was not unobserved. A young guardsman called down the watch for 'public brawling' or some such nonsense. By the time the watch showed up we were drinking so peaceably that they didn't even notice us the first time they came in. It wasn't until the second time, with our young zealot in the lead, that they rounded us up. Our two northern friends had just left, so Roberto and I got to visit the dungeon of Verscone without the pleasure of their company. It was a charming place, after a fashion; plenty of rats and skeletons for everyone. It was not, however, a pleasant place to wake up in after a long night of drinking. Roberto, never at his best in the morning, was not amused and very likely would have expressed this to me in a manner I might remember had his head not protested so. I didn't help the matter any, for despite my own ailing head, I couldn't resist singing a few lines of some drinking song our friends had taught us last night. Ah me. Our breakfast consisted of a bucket of cold water, for which we were grateful, and some rancid scraps from last night's table, for which we were incensed. The somewhat fishy smell filled our chamber and drove us to thoughts of escape even more quickly and fervently than the last time Roberto and I had spent a night imprisoned together. Of course, that is another story, but may it suffice to say that both Roberto and I were accustomed from birth to much more pleasant accommodations?
"The smell must have deranged us, because when we were hauled before the Chancellor of Verscone we agreed that we'd rather perform some unspecified task for him than spend another minute in that cell. I suppose both of us could protest youth and ignorance, but truly,
"The Chancellor wanted us to find the Jewel of Lothar and bring it to him. He explained that it was not currently owned by anyone and gave us a good idea of where to start looking. He did not mention his purpose: to give it to the King of Verscone in return for the hand of the Princess. The Chancellor was an old schemer from way back and never told anyone more than he wanted them to know.
"Well, there was nothing for it and the task didn't seem so bad after all, so we disentangled ourselves from the Chancellor as quickly as we could and went to equip ourselves. Making free with the royal stables by invoking the Chancellor's name and the urgency of our quest, we set off fairly well mounted and equipped. Our goal was a castle, long abandoned and, of course, rumored to be inhabited by fearsome beasts.
"It was a day that would have been much wasted by wasting away in a dungeon, and we rode through it in fairly high spirits. Our journey was relatively untroubled, even though we were traveling through fairly wild country. The boughs of trees completely covered the road in places, and, in others, the sun shone brightly. Roberto was whistling to the birds, as was his habit. I think he sent a message home: Roberto's family has a knack for communicating via birds. They tie a slip of paper onto a bird, mutter and whistle to it for a few minutes and somehow it flies off to whichever family member they intended the message for. I asked him if it was magic, and he smiled and said, "Maybe - but I don't think so. I miss my family, and when I want to send a bird to them all I really do is think about the one I want to talk to. I tell the bird how much I miss them. But it only seems to work for family. I miss Ebreio, our old fencing master, too, but I've never been able to send him a message." At any rate, he used this ability to let his family know where their second son was from time to time. I would that I could do the same for my father. Ah well.
"We stopped late at an inn along the roadside and spent a comfortable night finished by a last large breakfast before we had to subsist on each other's cooking. The new day promised to be somewhat story, which made it tempting to linger. But we thought we might be able to reach our goal by mid-afternoon if we tried hard, so we put ourselves to it and rode to put miles behind us.
"By some trick of fate, we noticed a branch in the trail where an old track seemed to leave the path of the new to wend its way uphill. We knew the castle was up on the bluffs along the trail, so we decided - well, I convinced Roberto - to try the old path. I suppose I had noticed it because it resembled the ancient roads near my home, roads that are considered fortunate to travel. So I followed the oval stones that led up the hill as quickly as I could. As we climbed out of the valley, the storm the morning had promised broke with force. The air was filled with the crack and rumble of thunder and sheets of rain. Somehow, our high spirits were - somewhat dampened.
"As we rode, Roberto noticed an unusual little freshet: it was water running down an ancient stair! This was not the ruin we were seeking, but perhaps it would afford shelter. Up we went. Roberto went up first, by virtue of being the one to have seen it. He found something quickly, for he came slipping down to beckon me up. "Bring the horses," he shouted over the storm. The stair was steep, but we got them up it. At the top of the stair, we found the ruins of a great hall with a pool over much of the former floor. The force of the storm was much abated by trees and the remaining masonry. We might have been content to simply pitch camp right in the hall, but we saw signs of more intact ruins at the far end of the hall. We drew our swords, mindful of stories of danger in the area, and went through the doorway.
"Inside was dim, but the roof was still good. As our eyes adjusted, we saw the floor was scattered with ancient bones. Still complete skeletons, they seemed to have been running from something that struck them down from behind. Something that came from the hall....
"A few more minutes of exploration failed to turn up anything more exciting, so we spent the remaining hours of the day clearing the chamber of its ancient inhabitants and preparing for the night. Stones were plentiful in the courtyard, so Roberto and I compromised and built a single cairn, using some of the fallen carved and shaped stonework to make the cairn a little more elaborate. Roberto remembered his family priest's words well enough that he pronounced some ceremony in a language I did not know. I did not know what else to say, so I offered a prayer that they might be remembered for the good they had done, even though I must say it seemed a little hollow, all things considered. We brought the horses inside, and managed to block the doorway thoroughly enough that we felt safe and did not keep watch through the night.
"At some hour in the night, I awoke thinking someone was moving about in the room. I was just about to ask Roberto why he was making so much noise when I realized that he was still asleep nearby; he snores a trifle, which I suppose has made him a sound sleeper. The horses? No, it sounded as if someone were trying to shift the barrier away. I grasped my sword and rose as silently as I could. I still could not see clearly, so I took a few steps towards the door. Something at the door turned, so I dropped the scabbard from my sword. In the light, I saw a girl standing at the barrier. She stood trembling with her back to the wall. When she saw the sword, she gasped faintly. When I saw her, I lowered my sword quickly. Her face was tear-stained and her whole aspect so pitiable that I reached out and took her shoulder.
"Please," she said. "I must go warn my family."
"Where are they? Warn them of what?"
"They're outside. I must warn them of the dragon. I saw it coming!"
Dragon!? This would be trouble - rather more than I or Roberto had anticipated.
"Come, let me wake my companion." I had not let go of her shoulder, and as I turned, I guided her away from the wall. She was, in fact, quite cold and her shivering could not have been from fear alone. So I led her to where our fire had been and sat her down next to the still warm embers before I turned to wake Roberto. I shook hem awake and said, "We have company - and trouble. The young lady," I turned to glance in her direction and she was gone. "She must have panicked. There's a young lady who was just here saying her family was outside and there was a dragon coming."
"This was enough to get Roberto awake. "Dragon? Great Lady!" Actually, I think he said something far less repeatable than that. We decided that the girl was probably in less danger than the family, so we moved enough of the barrier to get through. We tumbled out into the darkness. It was still raining, though not as fiercely, and we stumbled around for some minutes without seeing any trace of another party. Roberto said, "Maybe there's actually another entrance. Let's find the girl."
"We went back and looked for her, but found nothing. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and Roberto was beginning to give me some funny looks when, just as we came back to our chamber, the horses began to whinny and stamp. They had been dozing peaceably a few moments before, so we went over to calm them. Then we heard giant wing-beats and a wave of dread passed over us. It seemed an eternity before I could bring myself to move. "The door - we should close it," I hissed at Roberto.
"Shh - don't move. If we can keep the horses still, maybe it will go away."
"I never saw the creature, but there is no doubt in my mind that it was a dragon. There was no further sound, but Roberto remained still for another five minutes. I drew a breath to speak and he silenced me with a gesture. I realized that I could feel it, too - the presence was still there. It is a credit to our horses that they kept still for so long; I've never felt so grateful to an animal as when we finally heard the creature launch itself in the air and fly away. We knew it had gone, for the weight of its presence had lifted as it rose into the night. If the horses had panicked, the dragon would surely have come for them - and so found us. The mystery of the girl would wait for morning. Somehow, after renewing and reinforcing the barricade, we got to sleep and did not wake until daylight.
"Day brought a lessening of the storm. It was still a miserable day for travel, but daylight seemed a blessing after the night. Breakfast was quick and rough, for we were eager to quit the ruin. Still Roberto found time to re-explore some of the previous night's territory. It seemed he found what he was looking for: a remaining skeleton, smaller and somehow more delicate than the ones we had found before. A ghost, looking for its family. Looking at the skeleton and thinking of the pretty girl, so young, so frightened, I felt real sorrow for the unknown dead. We placed the skeleton with the others and re-closed the cairn. Our words of mourning carried more feeling this time, and truth to tell, I felt better about burying them all. At least there was some hint of their lives to remember for them.
"Ah well, that done, we returned to our journey. Neither one of us commented on the possible proximity of a dragon. If it turned out that the dragon was in possession of the jewel we sought - well, I think Roberto would have agreed that this would have violated what the Chancellor had said about the jewel being unclaimed. I would happily return to give him the dragon's compliments, assuming we survived that long.
"The road turned back upon itself again and again, climbing up the steep slopes of the valley walls. When it reached the top, it split: one branch went down the other side and the other went along the ridge. The latter was clearly what we wanted, so we took it with all haste. We were much closer to our destination, and could even make out glimpses of it through the trees once in a while. Although it was clear that the road had long been neglected, it still had animal tracks on it and, indeed, there was almost a trail through the overgrowth. By pure luck we were warned of the need for greater caution without ill effects. We had just stopped to discuss whether we should dismount and lead the horses, to better check for traps, when my horse chose to relieve himself. The resulting stream ran forward and suddenly sank into the ground: there was a cleverly concealed pit right in front of us! Once again, I blessed my horse. Giving him back to the Chancellor was going to be difficult. We dismounted and started off through the trees towards our goal.
"Our goal proved to be fairly well ruined. Little more was left than the inner bailey walls; the other walls were largely overgrown and screened by trees. We tossed a coin to see who had to stay with the horses while the other scouted and I lost. Both of us agreed -- waiting was always the worst part, and this time was no exception. Roberto had been gone some minutes when a pair of short and surly-looking creatures came sneaking around. I had hidden myself as best I could, but the horses were in plain view. I suppose it wasn't the brightest thing to do, but when one of them drew its rusty sword and seemed about to do my horse grievous harm, I skewered him with an arrow. Mercifully, that was enough to drop him. The second spent just a few too many moments looking around wildly before shouting; he too fell with my arrow in him. I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when I heard a rough shout and more of the creatures hove into view. I leapt from concealment to draw them from the horses and drew my sword. Alas, there were four of them, and I could hear more shouts in the distance. Quickly this was becoming much more than Roberto and I had bargained for. Not knowing what else to do, I rushed to the attack, and managed to kill one of them simply by virtue of having a longer reach. Three to one seemed infinitely better than four to one, but it was all I could do to keep myself from being carved to bits.
"Out of the woods came a huge brutish man who swatted two of them with one swipe of his club. I dispatched the other, and was about to thank my rescuer when he turned on me and nearly squashed me with another blow of his club. Not knowing if Roberto was in similar or even worse straits made me a little desperate. I could here more noises of battle starting and knew our only choice was escape. I rushed my opponent and dodged under his heavy swing. By luck this turned him so his back was almost to me. I swung with as much force as I could muster and caught him square in the back. My sword lodged tightly in him, and I would have been sorely put to fight on had the blow not killed him. As it was, I left the sword in the body and grabbed the horses: we had spears that would serve as light lances, so I readied one and started to ride my horse over the rubble of the old wall to the clearer ground inside.
"There I was met with a strange sight. Roberto had climbed the inner bailey wall and seemed unharmed. The goblins, for such were the short ones, were fighting a band of ogres, the larger creatures, and it seemed that all were too involved in their own troubles to bother about us. The gate of the inner bailey had been thrown open to allow the goblins to meet the ogres. As the gate was on the far side from the combat, well, I rode in and we closed the gate behind us. Roberto had surprised the guards on the wall and simply pushed them over as they shot at the ogres below. Always, always, always - it is the watchers and waiters that get the worst of the trouble. Roberto had a bruise on his leg from where one of the guards had kicked him on the way over; I was wondering if all my ribs were intact and hoping I'd stop bleeding soon.
"Still, we had a quest, so after a few choice and well-worn words, we set to it. Supposedly the Jewel was to be found at the bottom of the well. So, after storming an empty and defenseless well-house, I was lowered down the well by Roberto. It was his turn to wait. The well was far from dry. It had about five feet of water at the bottom and, if anything, it was colder than the rain. I was really beginning to wonder if everything was going to run in Roberto's favor when I heard the sounds of battle diminishing. Down into the cold water I plunged, searching the bottom for some box or object. Objects I certainly found - some of which I sent up to Robert in the bucket: most of them bits of bone. An old knife was probably the thing of greatest value. I was just about to tell Roberto to haul me back up, when my foot found something stuck to the floor of the well. By this time, I was getting a little numb, so it took me a minute or two to find it. When I finally poked my head up out of the water, Roberto shouted down to me, "I don't mean to be impatient, but there are goblins climbing over the walls. I've gotten a few of them, but there are too many to shoot them all."
"I think I've found something! There's a ring in the floor!"
"Great! We're looking for a jewel! Is it a jeweled ring?"
"Look, I know you're feeling a little tense up there, but you know what I mean."
There was a pause as Roberto fired more arrows. "All right, what do you want me to do?"
"I can't seem to lift it by myself, but I've hooked the chain from the bucket onto the ring. See if you can lift it."
"Shouting at the bottom of a well is very loud, so I was glad to let conversation lapse for a moment. Roberto turned the crank and the chain grew taut, but the stone wouldn't budge. In frustration, I planted my feet and gave a heave on the chain as well. To my surprise, it broke loose and the stone swung free. I guided the stone to one side and Roberto released the chain. The resulting hole was about two and a half feet wide and seemed to have no bottom. It seemed as though we had already run out of time, but, quickly, I took the chain in one hand and the largest lump of rock I could manage with the other. With a deep breath, I plunged into the hole head first. The cold was almost painful and my ears sent stabbing pains through my head. But, at the end of the chain, I reached bottom. There was a sealed urn with a handle. Success! Clumsily I hooked the chain to the handle of the urn and wiggled the chain as best I could. Nothing happened. I wiggled again. My breath was running short and I had visions of goblins besetting my friend and companion, not to mention Roberto - well, all right, perhaps I was more worried about Roberto than my horse. Then the chain began to move. Up and up it went. I tried to climb, but I was just too numb; it was all I could do to hold on. Mercifully, when I reached the top it was Roberto turning the crank. I tumbled over the edge of the well and helped him with the urn.
"All right, let's get out of here!"
"Wait. Wait! How? And besides, we still don't know we have the Jewel."
Exasperated, Roberto went back to his bow work. For the most part he seemed to have convinced the goblins to keep their heads down. Only a few would peek over once in a while. Still, it took the occasional arrow to keep them from climbing over, and not all of these struck home; soon we would be out of arrows.
"The first boom of the battering ram caught us by surprise. The urn gave me some trouble, and several strokes of the ram thudded home, weakening the bar that held the door, before I got the urn open. Yes, there it was: the Jewel was, indeed, unmistakable: an amethyst as large as my fist, cut and polished into a glittering sphere. Boom, crack, Boom. We returned our thoughts to our current dilemma. Having had a few moments to recover from my dive, I hatched a plan. Roberto said I was mad, but what could we do?
"We got our horses ready. Two of us with bows, and the apparent success of the ram, had dissuaded the goblins from climbing the ramparts, so we did not have to worry about them seeing what we were up to. We hooked a rope to the chain after drawing it up with the stone attached. The other end of the rope went to the bar at the gate. A second rope held the windlass up until the right moment: we pulled the bar just as the ram was about to strike. Its force flung the gates wide and drew the whole crew well into the courtyard. Roberto and I charged through to miraculous freedom amidst the shrieks of the frustrated goblins. Down the main road we rode; wary of traps but much in need of haste. This was the road we would have come up had we not taken our little detour. It was well that we had not, for as we came down we passed several guard posts - some manned by goblins - who were so surprised at our appearance that they did not manage to lift a finger against us before we were gone.
"I suppose we were helped as well by the storm, which chose to renew its onslaught, pelting us with rain as fiercely as the goblins would have wished to pelt us with arrows - and might have, if they could have seen us. I suppose I was a little grateful, but I did not feel well. The cold had seeped through to my bones and was making me shiver terribly.
"We reached the valley floor and commenced to ride in earnest. Once again, our horses served us well, but, alas, they tired before we reached the nearest inn and we had to make do with what shelter we could find. It was none too good. By morning I was definitely ill, feverish and shaking uncontrollably. Roberto, bless his heart, did as much for me as he could and got me up on my horse so we could ride to the inn. We made it, but there was no healer of any kind nearby. I was confined to my bed for a day and was able to do little more the next day than sit in the common room. Roberto, having been too concerned for my well being the day before, left to complete our quest by delivering the gem and to find me help if he could. Alas, he took both horses with him, but, given the subsequent events, perhaps it was just as well.
"Roberto left in the early morning, and I spent the day in an enforced idleness that, had I had just a little more energy, would have made me ill company indeed. As it was, I was too weak to do much more than sit before the fire. One of the young tavern girls took it upon herself to make certain I was comfortable, for which I was grateful, and various members of the staff dropped by and chatted with me. I wouldn't say that much of the chatter was all that interesting, but it was ever so much better than nothing at all, that I was more than politely attentive. The young lad whose job it was to clean the ashes from all the fireplaces that day was, hmmm, particularly endearing in his confidences. I awoke late in the night to the sound of horses arriving. At first I thought it was Roberto back already, but upon waking up more completely, I realized that the voices weren't right. There seemed to be three people - only two of whom were speaking. Something seemed familiar about the voices, but I drifted off to sleep before I could place it.
"I awoke in the morning from a particularly pleasant dream to find that my condition had improved yet more. I came down to the common room for breakfast, and to discreetly inquire if there was any word of Roberto. As I was pursuing this, one of the late night visitors came in. Once again the voice was familiar, so I turned to look. It was one of our tall friends from the city, oddly enough. He seemed in a hurry, so I did not attempt to accost him. Instead I called the innkeeper to me and inquired as to the nature of his party and their expected length of stay. Obviously they were not staying long; they were already making arrangements to leave. On learning that they had not already paid their bill, I paid it for them. I figured I could torment our friends a little and pass it off as paying with their money anyway, which would be true. I went to sit in my chair to see what would happen. The three, my two friends and a slight youth, came down. Frag, the elder of the two I knew, attempted to pay. He was not amused and came striding to my chair where the innkeeper had pointed him. It took him a few moments to recognize me and he seemed so earnest that, for a moment, I was afraid that he wouldn't laugh. He did, however, and his relief seemed a little extreme, too. I started to wonder what was up.
"Frag - yes, Roberto and I had already teased him about it sounding like "frog" - exchanged glances with his brother, shrugged, and said, "Can I speak with you more privately?" The invitation to be let in on the secret was too great a temptation, so I agreed. I even used the knowledge gained from the servants to reject several spots that seemed private but provided excellent places for servants to overhear. We wound up outside in the trees. Frag began by saying that their companion was not who he seemed to be. "He" was, in fact, the daughter of a noble house fleeing an intolerable marriage. Her father, to thwart her favored suitor, had said that he would give her hand only to whoever gave him a certain jewel. Unfortunately, rather than her beau it was an old servant who produced the gem. My heart sank. When he got around to asking if Roberto and I would like to join them in escorting the lady, I was still a little stunned. I found my voice and replied I would join them gladly - that I thought it was only fair. Then I told him the story of what Roberto and I had been doing. I wasn't sure if he was going to laugh or explode, but he chose to laugh. We both had a good chuckle before going back to the inn together. With a kind word or two to the staff, I managed to get breakfast brought to my room, and we four retired there to plan.
"The Princess, for such she was, had intended to search for Lord Marcus, her favorite, and had set off to look for him. She admitted that she did not know where he had gone, so it was not a very good plan. But she hadn't had time to come up with a better one. I sat and thought for a while. The King had set the condition some months ago during court, choosing a jewel famous enough that everyone would know of it and would have heard many stories as to its whereabouts. The Princess revealed that the King had sent out several parties of guardsmen in secret to find the gem, choosing men loyal to him. Presumably the King could so make certain the gem would be found only by whomever he chose. Unfortunately, the plan backfired when the Chancellor presented the gem to the King, who realized his folly too late and could not go back on his word. Slowly a plan began to form, and after I had explained it and convinced everyone it might work, we settled down to wait for Roberto.
"Roberto took his own sweet time getting back, but towards the end of the day he came, riding hard on a sorry nag that probably should have been out to pasture. He brought medicine that did seem to work, and some words of derision for the horse markets in the city. I did not let him carry on too far before I told him what had happened while he was gone. His reaction to how we had been duped was similar to mine, though a little more hot-blooded. I told him the plan and he agreed to give it a try.
"Roberto, making use of the birds again, sent home to have the glassmakers of his city make a certain item. That done, we tried to keep the Princess calm for ten days while we waited for it to arrive. Several times troops of guards showed up, but the chambermaid and the scullery girl and the ash boy and all the others were on our side and hid our Princess well. When we were asked our business we simply said, "Staying out of town, staying out of trouble." It was an answer that might have gotten us in trouble, but Roberto and I were a little bigger than the average guard, and Frag and Hrathar were a lot bigger than average. More than once I figured they must have been a great deal more drunk than Roberto and I were on that night in the tavern, and blessed our luck. They had even come to like wine, though we did not make any attempt to drink our landlord dry. Once or twice unknown but suspicious ruffians showed up at the inn; some even tried to pick a fight. One set even jumped Roberto when he went outside. They did not figure that I'd be willing to jump out of a window to aid my friend or that Frag and Hrathar would be willing to follow. After having three of them served their gizzards, the rest ran off. One of them I recognized as one of the Chancellor's men.
"Our package came, and Roberto lifted out what looked for all the world like the Jewel of Lothar. "My family," he said with enough filial pride to fill the room. Nobody else noticed, so I said nothing, fun as it was to tease him. It was perfect for our plan. We set off that afternoon, having purchased good horses through the innkeeper. This time, Roberto got to wait, though he had our three good friends for company, so it wasn't quite the same. I rode on with a spare horse, as a messenger would and showed the Princess' signet ring to the guards, praying that they would only see it as the royal seal. They let me pass, and I rode up the street. Once I was out of sight, I doubled back to where I was to meet Roberto, and over the wall he came. Together we rode to the castle. The Princess had told us of the door she used, concealed in the bushes by the moat. The moat was one of the least pleasant I had swum in, but I figured the Princess had survived, so we would too. The door was there and we made our way in.
"It was well after midnight, and all the castle was asleep. It took forever to find the Jewel. Even though the Princess had had several good ideas as to where the King might keep it, we exhausted every one and had still not found the Jewel. The last place we checked was a casket in his bedchamber. Just as we were leaving, the King turned in his sleep. We froze. This would be truly difficult to explain should he wake. I stared at him in the dark and could just make out a round shape held loosely in his hand. Could it be? Roberto, at my signal, tossed me the false gem and I gingerly switched them.
"Blessing our fortune, we beat a hasty retreat only to discover to our horror that as we had come in we had left soggy, boggy footprints on the stone floor, leading straight from the secret door. Our brains raced-what to do? Roberto had the idea: the Princess had a maid servant whom she trusted above all others and who stayed in her quarters. By luck she was in her room, so we wrote a note explaining that she must mop up the footprints to save the Princess and sealed it with the Princess' seal. I was elected to be the one to wake her, on the basis that I was the gentler looking. It doesn't seem to matter how gentle looking a man is; when a lady wakes up to find a strange man in her bedchamber, she screams. The maid was no exception - so before she could scream much, I was compelled to clap my hand over her mouth. I quickly explained that I meant no harm, that I was serving the Princess and if she loved her Princess at all she would have to read the note. Alas, she could not read, but she did recognize the seal and so believed me when I told her what she must do. That Roberto .... Just because everyone in his city is literate...!
"We quitted the castle and rode just as the sky began to lighten. Roberto went back over the wall and I played the messenger, riding Roberto's horse this time, and passed through the gate again. So far, so good.
"After cleaning up, all of us - even the Princess - dressed in Roberto's family hunting livery, or the closest we could come to it given the few days we had to prepare. We presented ourselves at the gate with a request for an audience. Roberto was dressed as befitted his station as the second son of the house of Aradici, virtual rulers of Ohrada. Our pretext was the desire to pursue a white hind into the King's forest; we had been in pursuit of it when it crossed the border. It was a little flimsy, for most of the time people just pursue and figure they won't get caught. But one is supposed to ask. We were admitted to the royal presence at the breakfast table, and with the usual formalities and pleasantries, made our request which was duly granted. Roberto then mentioned, "Oh, and by the way, I had heard that you were now in possession of the fabled Jewel of Lothar. Might I be allowed to see it?" The natural rivalry of nearby countries prompted the King to have the gem fetched at once, that he might display his newest possession - doubtless hoping to gain some joy from its acquisition as well. Roberto examined it for a few minutes and said, "It is indeed beautiful. Most impressive in fact - but it is also glass." The snake even made the last words sound sad. The rest of us managed to keep well-bred silence. The Princess even looked genuinely sorry for her father, who was much taken aback by this.
The King said, "How can you be certain? I'm sure it is real!"
"I suppose I might be wrong. Do you have a jeweler or other appraiser that can be summoned? If I am wrong, I will gladly give you this emerald as a token of apology. It is nothing compared to your gem, but it is a fine stone nonetheless." His emerald was a find stone indeed, worth a goodly sum. The King was somewhat mollified. He sent for the best jeweler, to be dragged out of bed if necessary. The King was an early riser, as the Princess had informed us.
"The jeweler came - a man of Liben, it seemed, but settled in this city - and looked at the jewel for only a moment before pronouncing it glass. "Very good glass," Roberto chimed in. The jeweler gave him a look, but agreed that the fake was very good. Roberto tried not to look proud. The King was scarcely listening and shouted for the guards to wake the Chancellor and drag him hither. We were content to let the Chancellor suffer the King's wrath for a while, but when it seemed that rather than place him in the stocks for a while as he deserved, he was going to have him beheaded, we decided to intercede. "O King, stay your wrath a moment."
"The Chancellor's eyes grew wide as he saw Roberto, but he was not given a chance to speak as Roberto quickly continued, "There are several things which must be said. Your Chancellor sent two men off to find the Jewel, but he sent them after the wrong Jewel - for what he sent them for was a mere stone and what he wanted was something far more precious. This he did not mention. It should then be no surprise that what he gave you did not turn out to be the Jewel you wanted and now you find yourself with neither gem nor Jewel. However, as I am here to repair the damage of all duplicity as best I can, here..." with a small flourish, "is the Jewel you sought."
"The King, having once been fooled, said, "Ah! I think I will have the jeweler verify the authenticity of the gem, if you don't mind. But I suppose that, having fulfilled the quest I have set, you will have the Princess' hand. Once we find her, that is." Well, Roberto was a much better match than the Chancellor; indeed, possibly a better match than Marcus, the Princess' favorite, as there were heretofore no blood ties betwixt Ohrada and Verscone. The King was visibly pleased with the match. We, however, had other ideas.
"'I would be delighted by such a trade of riches, your Grace, were it not that I happen to know that the Princess has already given her heart to an eminently suitable young man. So I hope you will forgive me if, instead, I present the Jewel to her so that she may make her choice." As he said the last, he pulled off the Princess' hat and let her hair fall down. Then he went down on bended knew before her and gave her the Jewel. Ah, Roberto, that wasn't quite how we had planned it, but you always did have a gift for theatrics. The King was stunned and couldn't speak for minutes. The Chancellor was gasping like a dying halibut. All in all, the sight was worth it - even if the King had us all thrown in the dungeon in chains. We'd seen his dungeons before; they weren't so bad. Mercifully, the King saw his folly and reconciled with his daughter. Just in time, too, for young Marcus came tearing in like a madman just then, having only just heard that the Chancellor had found the gem. There was a round of explanations and a predictable exchange of Jewel for Princess. The only sour face was the Chancellor's. He had to spend some time in the stocks, but he did keep his job, so far as I know. The Princess, just as we were ducking out, stopped us and said, "Frag and Hrathar have had their pay. Is there anything I can give that would repay you for your help?" Roberto and I exchanged glances. "Well," I said, "there are these horses...."
"The Princess smiled. She knew the ones I meant and gave them gladly, though I suspect the King missed them the next time he went hunting. We left, feeling much better about the world and willing to let it be quiet for a while. Frag and Hrathar stayed in the Princess' employ, so we spent another night drinking and singing with them before parting ways. Roberto and I were feeling generous, and had several gifts brought to the inn where we stayed. The Jewel was not the only gem in the urn, you see. And the emerald Roberto had offered was not the finest of the others that filled the urn. However, the story of what happened to that fortune is another story."
"Now that is truly a tale of adventure," exclaims Fiamma, who had been strangely quiet for some time. "And how appropriate that it ends with the child of the king being able to choose her suitor. I suppose your father didn't tell the ladies of his kingdom that they could wed you for returning a fine gemstone...."
Orlando looks surprised, briefly. Then he laughs. Then he looks pained and mutters, "I know who would find it too - yikes!"
Shadya's voice holds admiration. "You, O Prince, could well have studied under the fabled tale-tellers of my people who often enjoy the tale within tale within tale. Such is beyond my ability to spin, but I will gladly listen."
Fiamma objects, "No, Shadya. Tell us more about your people."
"Nay, Sweet Singer," the turbaned warrior shook her head, "I am fit only to tell of what I myself have experienced."
"Jewel of Lothar" copyright 1996 C.Ebert. The contents of this site are copyright 2004 Sheryl A. Knowles unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.