16

Once again, Detlef gave her his arm for support. They set off at a very leisurely pace. The way back to the hall to close the circle Alena had started, took them past the stables. The stable was quite small by most standards. No one who lived in town had horses. Alena had horses but they lived at Crabapple Farm. The stable was maintained for the occasional visitor or trader who came over the mountains with horses or mules. The blacksmith spent most of his time doing finer work. On occasion he made swords, but usually he made some of the best daggers in the area. He was also a fine silver and goldsmith, crafting fine rings, torques, brooches, cloak pins and earrings. He was known for some of the finest scroll work and detailed figures in a variety of metals.

When Julin, the Smith of Deepshade, did his fine work, he placed his bench just outside of the stable doors, to get the bright sun light and enjoy the fresh air. He sat at his bench now, working on a gold and silver insignia for a shield. He stopped work as they approached. When Alena got near to his work table and he got a clear look at her face, he scowled darkly, making some comment under his breath that they could not understand. He showed Alena and Detlef what he was working on, quietly detailing the rest of the work he had to do to the piece. They were genuinely impressed by the artistry of the pair of dragons entwined on the face of the emblem.

As Alena listened, she looked up in to the stable and expected to see the big grey destrier stabled within, but the stable was empty. She made some sort of grunting noise which brought the attention of Detlef and Julin to her. They looked at her quizzically.

“Oh, I thought to see the horse Brutus within,” she said. “Has Greydere taken him for a walk again today?”

“The man and his horse both left town yesterday afternoon,” said Julin.

“Georg came and got his horse?”

“No, ma’am. Greydere left with his horse, Brutus. He said they were off over the mountains.”

“I wonder does his master know Greydere has left with his horse.” Alena kept at it, not sure why she was pushing the conversation.

“Who is Greydere’s master?” asked Julin.

“Why Georg, of course,” said Alena.

Julin laughed out loud, startling some children playing near by.

“Greydere has no master except maybe his father.” Julin continued to chuckle to himself.

“He said he was Georg’s slave,” said Alena. Her temper began to bubble. “He said he was a slave.”

“That man is no man’s slave. He is a fighting man. Did you not see his horse? He speaks to Brutus like a brother. Only a soldier and his destrier act like that. Take my word for it; Greydere is no man’s slave.” He shook his head then grinned at her. “Mayhap, he was calling himself your slave?” Detlef punched Julin on the shoulder and told him to keep his wild ideas to himself, but she could tell he had been grinning himself.

She turned from both men and stomped off home. Greydere was making a fool of her. She wanted to know what the hell was going on. Who was this man, telling her he was a slave, when it seemed clear now that he was no such thing and then to just leave without saying goodbye. She stopped in her tracks. Why on earth would it be necessary for him to say goodbye to her? No, she was mad because he had lied, not only to her, but to the other people in the hall. And Georg had lied, too. And this was a real flat out lie, not like those little evading lies he told her when they were talking.

First thing tomorrow morning she would send one of the pages over to Zell to have Georg brought to her, so he could explain what was going on and tell her exactly who Greydere was and what relationship Georg and Greydere had to one another. She might even hit one or both of them. She was so angry over this she was not watching where she walked and she stepped in a crack in the cobbles, twisted her ankle and fell down, skinny the palms of her hands. She started crying. She sat where she was in the street bawling her eyes out for any one to see.

Several people came to her aid wondering if she had been attacked again. Between sobs, she managed to let them know that other than a sprained ankle, she was not hurt again. She cried the whole way back to the hall. They passed her off to Marta who seemed to know what was wrong with Alena. Marta cooed to her like a baby, hugging her and patting her on the back. Marta ushered Alena into her room and spent the rest of the evening pampering Alena, bringing her teas and little bits of bread with clotted cream and honey. Marta sat with Alena and listened to Alena rant about liars and men who were no good. Marta thought Alena was talking about Wolfram as Alena never mentioned any names. Alena talked herself out and finally fell asleep. The heavy teas Marta had given Alena may have had something to do with her drowsiness. She slept peacefully all night long.

In the morning, she was still mad at Greydere and Georg. She rose and dressed quickly with out any help. She e=went into the main hall, found one of the grooms whose father was a fisherman and sent him on the errand to find Georg and bring him back to Alena. They boy was happy to be outside and on the lake. He ran off promising success. Now, Alena had to wait. She alternated between working on her wedding clothes, which she was slowly starting to hate and helping Marta with the daily chores. She decided to do some other mending because Marta told her she was in the way.

By noon, the boy had not returned. Now, she was beginning to worry. She kept poking her head out of the door every fifteen minutes on the look out for boy and man. After about the fifth look, Alena saw Balder the Druid coming up the path from the lake. Behind him, Alena could see the groom she had sent on the errand playing with other children. Alena, now with another reason to be angry, left the hall on the way to chastise the boy.

Balder stopped her on her way. She tried to tell him she needed to go talk to the boy as he was to do an errand for her which he did not complete. Balder said he knew of the errand and that the boy did as she had asked. Unfortunately, Georg had left Zell two nights ago. He had packed up all of his belongings and rode off without telling anyone except the inn keeper and the stable hand. Alena asked Balder if he knew that Greydere had also left the same night and that he was no slave. Balder said that he had heard Greydere had left. Detlef had told him. And Balder too suspected that Greydere was no man’s property.

Alena and Balder went back into the hall and sat at the table. They discussed the fact that now they were down to one good prospect for a husband for Alena. Dierk was the only contender left of the ones she had met. They decided it was best that the next day she meet with three of the last six and the other three the next day. Alena wondered out loud why Georg and Greydere had left. She even voiced the fear that they may be the ones who murdered Vix and Elsin. She was shocked at the idea. She could not believe that either man could commit such a brutal and hateful act. Balder reminded her that they really did not know either man very well and they had already proven themselves to be liars.

She went to be disheartened and a bit depressed. This whole process did not seem to be working out the way they had envisioned it. She hoped that there were a few more good men that she could choose from when all was said and done. While she liked Dierk well enough and she did find him very exciting, there was something missing and even though she knew she had no real right to expect love in marriage, a girl could hope.

She rose the next day and dressed with care. She did not worry about the appearance of her face. All of the men had already seen her and the story of her attack had been cast about broadly, perhaps being told hundreds of miles away by now. She was up earlier than usual but she wanted the time to work out the kinks, aches and stiffness she was still feeling. She had already breakfasted and was walking around the room when Balder the Druid arrived and he was alone.

Balder motioned for Alena to sit down. She obliged, wondering about the extremely serious look upon his face. It took some moments to compose his thoughts before he spoke.

“Yesterday after we spoke, I went to Zell to plan the meetings of the last six men.” He coughed into his fist. Alena offered him some wine. He sipped at it and cleared his throat. I gathered five of the men in the inn, but I could not find Makt. He was staying in the inn but there was no answer when I knocked on his room door. I checked with the innkeeper. He had not checked out but he had not been seen in several days. We called Tomas the Magistrate to the inn and had him look in Makt’s room. All of his belongings were there but he was not. Nothing seemed to be missing. There was even some gold hidden in his things. It seemed clear he had not left.” Balder drank more of the wine, more than what was needed for a dry throat and more than what was usual so early in the morning.

“We sent people out to ask questions about when Makt was last seen and to search for him. No one in town had seen him for about three days. It was hard for anyone to remember. He was a very quiet man who had kept mostly to himself.”

They searched all around town, Balder told her, circling wider and wider until some of the searchers were out on the heather. Then several of the men from town and two of the men Alena was to meet with, Handel and Otta ran in to town, in near hysterics. Balder had never seen men attack in such a way. Once they were able to calm them all down, they discovered that this group of men had found Makt stretched out on the heather and staked like a deer skin curing in the sun.

“Tomas and I went out alone to the spot the men described. We could not get any of the men to take us there. They were more upset than I had ever seen grown men to be. At first we scoffed at their behavior, but once Tomas and I had found Makt’s body, we could not blame them.” Balder took another deep steadying breath. He debated in his mind whether to give Alena any details but he knew she would insist upon knowing some of them, so he made them the bare facts.

“He had been staked to the ground, wrists and ankles tied with leathers thongs that must have been wet when first tied. The sun had dried the leather slowly cutting off the circulation in his hands and feet which had turned black. He was naked and his body showed signs off being cut repeatedly with a knife point. He also showed signs of being bitten by small animals, possibly while still alive. The look on his face told off the pain and suffering he had endured before death over took him. It was a ghastly sight.” Balder raked his hand across his eyes. “We, none of us, had ever seen anything like it.” He stopped talking and sat quietly staring at the table. Alena did not disturb him, but poured him more wine.

“We brought his body back to town and placed it with the bodies of Elsin and Vix in the ice house. Someone had come forward after we got done to say that they had seen Makt leave town three days ago with a dark haired man, but that was the only description we could get.” Balder looked up and into her eyes, and his held such sadness and pain that Alena had to look away. “We just can’t imagine that anyone we know would be capable of committing these murders. Tomas says that certain things make him think that the same person killed all three men. Something to do with the knife used and the odd shape of the cuts. He thinks that if he could get any idea of who it might be and find his dagger, Tomas could prove the man was the killer.”

Balder stood up abruptly. He began pacing around the table, circling it. He was angry because despite these killings they must continue on with their project and he had lost his heart for it. Balder was sure these killings had something to do with Alena’s future marriage but they must still go on. He was sure that Victorius the Roman Governor would not care how many people were getting killed. Alena would need to follow the law or loose her properties.

“Handel and Otta have left. Seeing Makt’s body convinced them that they are not that interested in marrying you. I suppose it is just as well. You do not need anyone who is not willing to stick around when things get difficult, although to be honest with you, I do not blame them much.” Balder sat back down.

“So, today, you must meet with the last three men, Rolf, Liedt and Klaus. You will meet with them in that order. Then tomorrow we will see how many men you will have to choose from. If anyone has any appetite, mayhap you can host a dinner for whoever is left and we can see how they do in a room together.” Balder put his head down on the table. He shook a bit as he sat there. At first Alena thought he was crying, but then she realized he shook from exhaustion.

“Balder, you must go home and get some sleep. Have you been up all night?” She touched his shoulder and he jumped.

“I’m sorry I must have dozed off briefly. I will go to bed.” He rose and drained the wine in his cup. “Make sure you are not left alone with any of these men. As a matter of fact make sure you are not left alone with any man, even one you have known all of your life.”

This comment sent a shiver down Alena’s back. Surely, these horrible deeds could not have been done by anyone she knew.

“Tomas is questioning everyone trying to get an idea of where the dead men were and with whom and who may have been missing around the time each man was killed. He figures that whoever did these things would have been covered in blood so he would have needed to be alone to clean up well before being around other people.” Alena walked with Balder to the door. “So far he has not found anyone that fit his idea of what must have happened.” He yawned widely. “I must go to bed. Do the best you can.” Balder left.