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IN THE END, JALDIS AND RHION did not go to Nerriok after all The ri and heavily and ith fever Their little stock of s left behind in the attic of the Black Pig; Rhion hunted patiently through the snowy thickets and road banks for elf-dock and borage to take down the old rowing in his lungs But the winter woods kept their secrets, and when he returned to the inn, well after noon, he found his teacher no better and dared not leave hi spells without the ithal to aid the physical body, for et you to so one of the intervals in which the fever had been reduced byill and shaky He took fro-crystal, a lump of yellowed quartz half the size of his fist, and held it to the wan light froht ca to try to contact the Ladies of the Moon They&039;re the closest place we can take you"
Jaldis sighed, and his groping hand touched the voice-box long enough for it to whisper the word, "corrupt"
But the shake of his head was only of regret, not refusal, and Rhion settled himself into a corner of the old kitchen with his crystal to work
He chose the kitchen hearth - which he suspected had been the inal inn - because at that point a h he couldn&039;t yet, like Jaldis, siy like thin music in the air, he had had the suspicion that the inn was built upon a ley, and a brief test with a pendulu the Holy Hill beyond Imber with one of the now-inundated shrines of the ancient city of Sligo Cradling the crystal in his hands with its largest facet angled to the pallid -light, he slipped into meditation, and after a few minutes saw, as if reflected in a reat distance away, the Gray Lady&039;s face
He had never h he had heard of her, frobound led the Valley of the Morne She looked puzzled, to see in her scrying-er&039;s face; but when Rhion explained to her who he was and that Jaldis the Blind was ill and in need at the old inn on the Imber road, she said immediately, "Of course The Cock in Britches" Her wide h I think the sign has a rooster on it these days There are Marsh near there I shall send them to fetch you here"
In the days before the earthquake the city of Sligo, built on a cluster of granite hills where the Morne estuary narrowed to its valley between the hills of Fel and the great granite spine of the Mountains of the Sun, had been a the inland wealth of Nerriok and ruling most of the In Islands and wide stretches of valley farreat river&039;s shores Now all that remained of those fertile fare for the thick-wooled, black-faced sheep, isolated oases a beds of angelica and cattail, bog-oak and , a thousand crisscrossing water channels where the tall reeds oblins dwelled as if the place had been theirs from the foundations of the world For the rest, Mhorvianne the Merciful, Goddess of Waters, had claimed her own But whether An, the Moon as she orshipped in Sligo of old - in Nerriok they worshipped Sioghis, Moon-God of the southern lands - was in fact merely an aspect of Mhorvianne as some said, no one these days knew
As for the Lady of the Moon, soht, descended as she was from the Archpriestesses of the ancient shrine; some, that she held sway over them by means of her enchantic for foodstuffs and wool - still others claimed they traded their bodies as well
Crouched uneasily beside Jaldis&039; head in the stern of the long canoe, watching the black silhouette of the Marshh the dense, fog-locked silence of the saltfor certain about the Drowned Lands To enter here was to enter a whispering, sunken labyrinth, where the bulrushes and water weeds grew thick and the footing was uncertain - where the water was never open water, the land never dry land Hu salt-oak loo Now and then, nearly obliterated by tall stands of reeds and al trees, the ables could be discerned, rising up through the broaters, the decaying res sunk deep underneath
The Marshmen themselves were a silent folk, wiry and small, impossible to track and difficult to speak to even when they consented to be seen They used the Coe, lilting inflection, but Rhion had to invoke the Spell of Tongues, thewords mind to mind, to comprehend what they whispered to one another in their own dialect Eyes green as angelica or the uncertain hazel which was no identifiable color - the color of the sea where it ran to the salt e - peered watchfully from beneath loose thatches of thick brown hair at the tizards Often during the three-day journey, by sled across the frozen sweetthe brown reed beds of the salt, Rhion had felt the sensation of those strangely colored eyes watching hie superstitions, Jaldis had told hi since died out Wrapped in the gray-green plaid of the native blankets, Rhion could see the curling line of blue tattoo marks on the boatman&039;s hands and ears, and could count half a dozen little "dollies" woven of feathers and straw dangling fro prow
"Rhion" The voice of the sounding-box was soft as a single viol string, bowed in an e down here in the salt ht had fallen; in spite of the blankets in which the Marsh sounded bad
"They will try to take the books," he murmured, as Rhion bent down close to hilance up at the Marshman on the prow, then at the bundles of volu the secrets of the Dark Well, the means to look behind the very curtains of Reality; scrolls of deic of Ill
Like twists of driftrapped in rags, the cold fingers tightened urgently over Rhion&039;s hands "The Ladies are greedy for knowledge, stealing it where they can froes, other Orders Do not let them do this" The voice of the box paused, while Jaldis bent all his attention on stifling a cough, the sound of it deep and ain and in pain, as he had been throughout the journey despite all that Rhion could do "Do not whatever they may offer Whatever they s, shifting theray curtain Blurs of daffodil-yellow light wavered in the e, di fro platforned to rise and fall with the seasonal level of the marshes and the inundations of the tides Just beyond the circle of the laht which surrounded it, onflies above theup at the island, Rhion could see where the long roots of trees and dangling, winter-black vines gripped the ancient blocks of hewn stone walls just visible above the waters; everything see weed
On the platform itself stood four women, dressed not in the robes of any order of wizardry, but like the Marshwomen themselves, in belted wool tunics of dull plaids or checks, or brightened by creork flowers The Gray Lady he recognized Even if he had not seen her in the scrying-stone three days ago, he would have known at first sight of her that she was, like Jaldis, aforward "You arethrough scrying-crystal, a wizard&039;s appearance was not the same to another wizard as it was in the flesh; Rhion noted that the Lady was older than she had appeared in the crystal&039;s depths Certainly ten years older than he, if not more, her square, homey face was framed in heavy streams of malt-brown hair: There were blue tattoos on her ears, and her hands were knotted and strong from bread bowl, distaff, and loom The ladies behind her were clearly as used as she to manual tasks, for they lifted Jaldis from his bed in the canoe as easily and deftly as if he had lain on a couch and carried hi wooden stair
Another lady stepped forward to take the books "I&039;ll get those," Rhion said and shouldered once again the heavy sack Deeply as he regretted the volurateful he hadn&039;t let the iht he detected a deep-hid flicker of ironic amuses on what had been the tips of Sligo&039;s hills, the house they had prepared for Jaldis had once been a palace, now fallen into deep decay Vine and ardens had run riot in centuries of neglect, and the heavy pillars, wider at the top than the bottoetation that, in several rooun to part the stones the chalazed with randolass like pieces of a puzzle, were nearly obscured under a thick brown jungle of creepers, an open latticework in the leafless winter, but pro to be an ihout the night, as he sat up with the Gray Lady at Jaldis&039; bedside, the faint scrape and rustle of that living cloak blended with the Lady&039;s -spells and the bubble of the kettle whose healing steams filled the room with the scents of elfdock and false dandelion; in the -light where it fell upon Jaldis&039; pillow
"He should rest better now" The Lady ran her strong brown fingers through her hair, and shook out the cloudy ether in the villa&039;s ruined porch Through the low of the corown riot of laurel and thorny bougainvillea around what had been a shrine, was no more than a saffron blur, like a yellow pinch of raveled wool, though the fragrance of baking bread hung upon the wet air like a hymn Beneath it, Rhion smelled damp earth, water, and the sea; beyond the matted vines that enclosed the tiny chamber of the porch, the marsh was utterly silent, save for the isolated notes of stone chimes stirred by a breath of wind It seemed to Rhion that they were cut off in that shadowy ruin - from the Forty Realms, froet some rest yourself," she added She deftly separated and braided the strearayness of his face, the blue-brown sue more visible when he removed his spectacles to rub his eyes "You look all-in" Her voice was low and very sweet, like the ht At tinized the spells she wove, but had had the iral part of them, a lullaby to soothe weary flesh, a bribe to te soul to re-spells without thehis head "I didn&039;t have ely The queasiness which sometimes assailed hi, and he felt slightly lightheaded and ravenous for sweets
"You did ith the spells alone I&039;ve seen men much worse in like case"
Rhion smiled a little "I don&039;t think that was my efforts so et the better of hie if you look long enough - but in the winter it&039;s hard"
"Perhaps while you&039;re here you&039;d like to speak to some of our healers, and see the scrolls and herbals we have in our library" She gestured out into the iinally taken for the diain, he saw the outline of what had been a pillared porch, a few cru steps, and the prihted froo&039;s glory, though much of it was lost in the earthquake and the floods that came after We add to it e can"
The words, Yeah, I arned about that, were on his lips, but he clipped theht very well have saved Jaldis&039; life last night Moreover, in spite of Jaldis&039; warnings, after a night of working at her side, of seeing her patient care and her willingness to perforreatly inclined to like the woman
"Come" She took his hand and led hiet you bread and honey Or shall I have one of the girls bring it to you here?" For she saw hiloom of the house, where Jaldis lay helpless with his books piled in the corner near his bed
"What did he h peasant fingers, stained with silver and herbs, "when he spoke in his delirium of the Dark Well?"
Rhion had taken the voice-box fro the sudden intentness of the Lady&039;s eyes, but not before the oldto it in fevered dreams, had sta out to him from the iridescent dark After Rhion had reently amid the patched linen sheets, his h he had not uttered a sound Even in his deliriu bleatings of awith him, Rhion had never heard hiain, with sharp interest in her face "Thecalled a Well of Seeing," she continued "It was said to &039;grant sight into other worlds and other tilyph is very clear &039;Other worlds&039; "
"I I don&039;t" Rhion staaze and unable to look away "He found reference to it in some notes he&039;d inherited froh theot out with our lives, but the notes were destroyed" The story sounded lame and thin even to hiht his tongue and clog his brain, as if the inventive portion of his mind had taken the equivalent of pheelas root and subsided into nuainst the marble hip of a caryatid nearly hidden within the vines beside her, and her hand, still enclosing Rhion&039;s, had that sah her grip she could read the bones within his flesh and plu shoals of his soul "You escaped with your lives - and with the books?"
"With e could seize" He felt a kind of confusion creeping over him, his mind distracted by the question of whether it would be worse to avoid her eyes or to try to hold that clear, tawny gaze wanting to will himself to meet her eyes but obliquely aware that if he did she could read his heart And through it all her sweet alto voice drew at his concentration as it had drawn back Jaldis&039; wavering will to live
"The books, but not the notes, that so filled his fevered dreams?"
"I That is" He knew he shouldeven reled, enth of her hand and the strength of her gaze and the gentle, drawing sweetness of her voice To lie see about the size of a fish it has seen She waited quietly, watching hi and waiting for the truth, since the foundation stones of time were laid
For an instant it seemed as if that were, in fact, the case - a h hisof tiave hiic needed for hi, his face cla Desperately he fixed his thoughts on Jaldis&039; buzzing voice: They are greedy for knowledge greedy for knowledge the gentle coaxing did not seereed, but that, he understood noas part of the spell
He pulled his hand froainst the caryatid opposite the one she leaned upon, as if she had drawn him off balance physically as well as in his mind
After a reat power a thing to be kept hidden at all costs"
Face still averted, Rhion ed to whisper, "I don&039;t know about that"
There was silence, filled with the scents of water and fog, but he felt her th of her spells
He took a deep breath "Please let ers of the caryatids would be, but war the perspiration that wet his skin "You work very hard for ahi beauty of her spells, her voice was light, like a healer&039;s s for joy
He looked around at her again and saw only a sturdy brown-haired woman with one braid plaited and the other still undone upon her shoulder, and a s, half affectionate, in her eyes Abstractedly he identified the creork flowers on her hoold, lobelia, thistle, and iris; a thin strand of blue spirit-beads circled her throat
"Go back and sit with hiently "I&039;ll send someone over with bread and honey - and I promise you I won&039;t dose it to question you further or to send you to sleep" And she sain at his blush "You may sleep, if you will No one will trouble you"
Rhion wasn&039;t sure he could believe her on that score - he&039;d been badly shaken by the spells she&039;d cast - but as he stumbled back into the dimness of the house, he reflected that he probably didn&039;t have much choice in the matter He stood for aat the cracked black-and-white mosaic of the ancient tile floor, the frescoes of birds and dancers on the walls, faded now to cloudy shapes, like uish the tune His body hurt for sleep, and more than that for food, particularly sweets; he knew, too, that any circle or spell of protection he ht lay around the books stacked in the corner beyond the bed would be, at this point, no more potent than the chalk scribbles around the bed itself, sed by feet and bereft of their power
Propped upon pillows, Jaldis lay in the narrow bed of cottonwood poles, deeply asleep, a vessel of gently stea down at the ruined face, too exhausted to feel much beyond a tremendous sadness for which he could find no name
In time he picked up Jaldis&039; cloak andhimself in his own cloak, lay down in front of the books on the floor He slept alht and witchfire and snow-clad silence, all reflected in shy gray eyes
Jaldis mended slowly The Gray Lady and the other Ladies of the Moon whom Rhion quickly came to knoell nursed the oldspells and herb-lore for which they were faence and unstinting sy than all the , the Gray Ladythe Dark Well, though Rhion would generally volunteer to sit with his ht, when his fever rose and he sohtly," Jaldis said, when Rhion told hiht "It is not well that the Witches of the Moon learn the secrets of the Morkensik Order" His voice was a fragile thread; his hand stroked restlessly at the silky curve of the dark red wood, toyed with the glittering flotsa the faded quilts
"I don&039;t think she learned any secrets" Rhion glanced across at the books, still heaped in their corner with his discarded blankets and the empty bowl from his breakfast In spite of the Gray Lady&039;s assurances, he&039;d been a little dubious about the breakfast; much as it was his instinct to like her, he wouldn&039;t have put it past her to dose his porridge with pheelas root; and several ti, he&039;d su to the ends of his fingers, just to s you had seen - of boats with h the sky, of carts that ic things without ic," the blind wizard echoed and his powerful chest rose and fell with his sigh "Things that can be used by anyone, for good or ill, for whatever purposes they choose, without the training or restraint of wizardry And the wizards theic in their bones, in their hearts, in their veins, even as ere born, for whom no expression of such power is possible Wizards who are taught to forget; who, if they cannot forget, go slowly insane"
Rhion was silent, re to us, Rhion," that soft, ain, soo and help For their sakes, and for our own" Then the arthritic claws slipped from the silky wood, and Jaldis drifted back into his dreams
In those days Rhion had to contend with dreae in his scrying-crystal he told himself that it was simply to ascertain that she and her sister and her sister&039;s baby did, in fact, reach Ie of Tally, very properly attired in a rust-colored gown stitched with silver and sardonyx, sitting quietly in a corner of a painted marble hall while the short, pluued in polite hatred with a colorless young h the crystal, used in this fashion, was silent, he could read frigid spite and conte man&039;s slender body, while all the jewels on the pluht with the tre away into the nonco herself neither to see nor hear, but her hands, all but concealed under the pheasant feathers which trimmed her oversleeves, were balled into white-knuckled fists
After that he told himself - for a time, at least - that he only wanted to make sure that this wretchedness, whatever it was, had passed That she was all right That she was happy
And so she was, in the brown frozen landscape of the Imber hills He could see it in her face, and in the way she laughed with her favorite irl like herself, but full-breasted and bold - and the chief of her honor guard, a broad-chested and rather stupid-looking young de else moderately presentable who cay, endlessly-circling pack of red and gold bird-hunters whose ears she would comb and whose paws she would search for thorns Alone she was happy, curled up with a silken quilt about her beside a bronze fire-dish in her bedroos asleep at her feet, the huge branch of cheap kitchen candles flaring like a halo behind her head and turning her hair to a halo of treacle and gold
But more than once he saw her, white-lipped and silent, at table with her sister and the fair young man who must be her sister&039;s husband, while servants displayed herbed savories and frumentaries on painted platters for their approval, delicacies which Tally was clearly barely able to touch On one such occasion, during yet anotherroom and return to her chair a fewclearly just voh the i to the fact that the rooo been ensorcelled to prevent scrying - he saw her and her sister holding one another tight, like two victih waters, weeping by candlelight
And with passionate despair he thought Da that to you !
In ti-stone away as he would have put away an addictive drug
But like a drug it murmured to him when he was alone
Rhion had always known that such behavior was against the ethics of wizardry and never called up her is that Jaldis had told hiht him to use a crystal, and later to prepare one for use, was that the powers of a scryer were not to be used for private pleasure or for private gain