Instead, he opened his eyes.
The face of an elderly woman stared back. A familiar face, so like Eloise.
“Ebenezer?”
“Sally?” he said. “What happened?” The last thing he remembered was the Midsummer Festival. He had argued with Gar’rth and then the youth had run off to chase the Wyrd.
She hit me, I think.
“You were injured by the Wyrd,” Sally confirmed. “You have been asleep now for nearly a week, on and off. You have woken twice before, and talked coherently. Do you remember that?”
Ebenezer shook his head.
“No. No, I don’t.”
“Well, try and stay awake now,” she responded. “Father Lawrence said head injuries are nasty things and can have strange effects. He has helped tend you, along with Ellamaria and Lucretia, Lady Caroline’s maid. The King has even been to see you, although I think it was also because of his deSire to see Ellamaria.”
The words meant little to Ebenezer. His head ached and he struggled to sit upright.
“Where is Gar’rth?” he asked. “I remember now… he changed.” He went cold and turned sharply to Sally. “They know, don’t they? They know about Gar’rth.”
“Calm yourself, old friend,” she said gently. “I have told you this before, when you woke the first time. We talked for an hour then, and you seemed quite lucid. Evidently you have forgotten.” Sally sighed. “I do not know what you mean about Gar’rth, but he is no longer in Varrock. Nor are the rest of your friends. They have gone to Morytania as part-”
Ebenezer made a high-pitched wheezing sound. Her look kept him from speaking, though, and she continued.
“As part of an embassy, Ebenezer. To seek peace-not to fight. They will be there by now. They left the day after your injury, and Albertus went with them. They even left messages for you, which you read the first time you woke.
“They are on the floor by your bedside. Do you wish to read them again?”
He shook his head.
“No,” he replied, struggling to remain calm. “Not yet. I have no recollection of waking before. Perhaps my mind is damaged.”
Gods don’t let that be so! Please, if you are listening now Saradomin, grant me the use of my faculties.
“I do not think so, Ebenezer,” she said. “Father Lawrence thinks it is a concussion and that you will recover in due course. Do you feel well enough to stand?”
Whether I feel well enough is besides the point. I won’t lie here like a decadent prince while my friends ride into danger. I must help, in any way I can.
He summoned his strength and twisted his legs from the bed onto the stone floor.
Muscle cramp, as expected. Hip joint clicking. All is well then, no changes there.
He thrust himself forward and tottered for a moment. His head ached, and the world about him spun slowly, as if he had had too much ale.
At least if I were drunk, I would have an excuse.
Somehow he held. He straightened his back and winced at the familiar twang of muscle.
Then, with an exaggerated flair and a smile that would have made Eloise proud, he raised his arms above his head, as if he were a giant awakening from an age-long slumber.
Back world! The Alchemist has returned!
He gave a wicked chuckle and took a step forward.
It will take more than a bat-winged horror to stop-
His left knee buckled, and he fell forward into Sally’s waiting arms. Gingerly, she pushed him back to his bed, where he sat with a flushed face.
“I shall find you a walking stick,” she said matter-of-factly. “Wait here, you silly old fool.” She smiled as she left him alone to think.
If I can’t march off to war, then I might as well unleash my greatest weapon.
He began to organize his thoughts.
Where do I start?
The Wyrd has killed a great number of citizens from all walks of life. She has kidnapped several people, children mainly, targeting some for a specific purpose. Those like the child Gar’rth was trying to save. The creature wanted her in particular.
And the tailor’s child, which Theodore failed to save.
Ebenezer sighed and put a hand to the back of his head. The bandages there were stiff and he was glad he didn’t have a mirror to hand.
Why? Why that child? There has to be a reason there.
The door banged open and Sally returned with a walking stick, her face in shock. Behind her Ebenezer could see Captain Rovin and Father Lawrence, and the blanched face of Lady Caroline.
Something is wrong.
“What is it?” he asked, a cold dread making him nauseous.
“We have just received word from Paterdomus,” Captain Rovin said. “I am afraid it is bad-several horses of the embassy, including Albertus’s mule and Castimir’s yak, have returned of their own accord, riderless. Drezel sent word by pigeon yesterday, and he thinks we should assume the worse. King Roald has sent command to The Wilderness garrisons to move to the east, for fear that this incident might provoke Morytania into futher action.”
No. This can’t be. Not with Gar’rth and Kara.
This isn’t right.
Ebenezer felt his eyes water. He groaned on the bed.
“Please,” he said, his voice broken. “Please leave me. I need some time. Just a little time.”
But it will take more than that. They were my friends.
He hid his face in his hands and didn’t hear the door close. But when he looked up a short time later, he found only Sally remaining.
She was crying.
How utterly selfish of me! She has lost Albertus, too.
“I am sorry, Sally. I am so sorry.”
She nodded and sat by his side, her head on his shoulder.
Sometime later, a knock at the door disturbed them. Ebenezer looked through blurred eyes as a man in a wizard’s robes stepped into the room.
“I do not know if you remember, but my name is Layte Aubury,” he said softly. “I am sorry to intrude on you like this, but I feel it necessary to tell you that all is not lost. Castimir, at least, lives still, and I believe he is unharmed.”
Sally rubbed her eyes.
“How can you know that?” she asked.
Aubury lowered his gaze briefly to the floor before raising his head again.
“I have been in contact with the Wizards’ Tower. In light of the message from Paterdomus, I asked them if they could discern news of Castimir. They have informed me that he is alive and unhurt. Thus far.”
Wizards and their magical ways, the alchemist fumed. Confound them all.
“But how?” Sally asked again. “So soon. I don’t understand.”
Aubury gave Ebenezer a long look. The alchemist saw how his hand dipped to the wand at his belt, and how he brushed it with his fingers.
“Magic exists that allows people to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye, Sally,” Ebenezer explained. “You know I once tried out as a wizard, years ago. I know that certain spells exist but such power was far beyond me.”
Aubury nodded.
“It is not a spell for the novice,” he said. “But just as individuals may travel long distances, so too can we commune. And that is what we have been doing. I have asked for Castimir’s yak to be sent on to Varrock, for it is not appropriate that his belongings may fall into the hands of someone who is not of our order.
“Castimir is alive, and it may well be that his comrades are also.”
Sally’s face lit up. Ebenezer’s heart raced.
Then there is hope still. And now is the moment when all our efforts must be put to the task.
Now.