Chapter 19
Morth's plants were rare, but they both understood that Morth sought knowledge too. He was using Whandall's explorations to map the forest.
Morth wasn't stingy with his rewards. Whandall collected medicines to ease pain and reduce a swelling and bring sleep. Foxglove leaves made a powder that would send a man into jittery mania just before a fight. Poppies yielded a brown gum that gave good dreams. All of these lost their power if not used, and often Whandall had more than Morth and Placehold combined would need.
He began trading them for favors on the street.
Morth always told how to use the powdered leaves. Sniff carefully. Never more than once a week, and don't ever heat them first. Whandall was careful to do the same.
Then one day he was summoned to Pelzed.
Pelzed was angry. "Did you give Duddigract some of your foxglove?" he demanded.
Duddigract was one of Pelzed's advisors, a big man with a bad attitude, always muttering about what he'd like to do to the Lords. He was usually behind Pelzed. Today he wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"No, Lord. We don't get along."
"He's dead," Pelzed said. "Some Maze Runners raiders came into the Walk. I sent Duddigract to deal with them." He turned to one of the men behind him. "Renwilds, tell it again."
"Yes, Lord. Duddigract saw the Ma/e Runners. Five of (hem. There were only six of us, but Duddigract looked mean. The Ma/e Runners looked scared, and I was sure they'd run if we gave them a chance. We could chase them out. They'd run, they'd he gone with no blood shed, and they'd drop anything they gathered. 1 started to say that to Duddigract, and I saw he had a leaf full of white stuff. He took a big sniff of that, then he stuffed a wad of brown gum in his mouth and chewed, then he took another big sniff from the leaf. We tried to say something but he just grinned, said it would be a shame to waste it, now he was ready to fight."
Pelzed looked to Whandall. "You know what he's talking about," Pelzed said.
"Yes, Lord. I always tell people how dangerous the white foxglove powder is. The brown gum is safe enough, that just puts you to sleep, but the white is dangerous."
"What does the white do?" Pelzed demanded.
"Lord, I don't know. I just know that's what Morth of Atlantis tells his customers. He never sells them more than a pinch or two of white, and he makes them sniff it there in the shop. He won't sell them any more until it's been a week or more. Brown he'll sell any time, but not white."
"Say more, Renwilds," Pelzed ordered.
"I'd say that magician knows what he's talking about," Renwilds said. "Duddigract sniffed that stuff and got a big grin, and all of a sudden he was a wild man. He took out his knife and before any of us could say anything he was all over the Maze Runners. They were ready to talk, you know, brag a little before they ran, and we were all set to brag back, and there's Duddigract with his knife out. He cut down two with no warning; they didn't even get to draw. By then the others had their knives out and one of them cut Duddigract, and Lord, it was like he didn't even feel it. Duddigract yelled, but it wasn't like he was hurt, it was like the Burning had come. We were sure Yangin-Atep had him, but Duddigract didn't want to burn anything. He just wanted to kill! He killed another Maze Runner, and the others dropped everything and ran. They were really scared, but so were we, Lord. When the Maze Runners ran, Duddigract looked at us like he didn't know us!"
Pelzed nodded grimly. "Go on."
Renwilds shrugged. "It was that powder, Lord. It summons invisible monsters."
"Uh huh. Why didn't you chase the Maze Runners?"
"Too fast, Lord, and we'd have had to get around Duddigract! So we were trying to figure what to do when Duddigract screamed again and fell down, babbling about how monsters were after him, and he curled up like he was going to sleep, only he never woke up."
"Where did he get it?" Pelzed demanded.
"He wouldn't tell us, Lord. Said he'd gathered it, but he wouldn't say where."
Pelzed turned to Whandall. "Well?"
Whandall told what he knew. "Lord, about a week ago some Black Lotus warriors caught me near the east border. There were too many to fight, so I let them gather a bag of powders I was taking to Morth. Maybe there was enough in there to do that to Duddigract. Or maybe they mixed the powders. But I don't know how they got from Black Lotus to Duddigract!"
"You didn't tell me they gathered anything, Whandall. Just that they'd chased you."
"I was embarrassed, Lord."
Pelzed nodded thoughtfully. "I sent Duddigract to look into it," he said. "He must have caught up with the Lotus warriors. And he never told me! Never told me!" Pelzed grew visibly angry, but not with Whandall. "It's his own fault, then," Pelzed said. "But Whandall, be careful with those powders."
"I will, Lord."
But there were always more powders, and friends were always ready to accept them. There was so much he could buy with foxglove.
But some liked the stuff too much.
One day three followed him home. Resalet came out with two uncles and chased them away.
That evening Whandall was summoned to Resalet's big northeast room on the second floor. Resalet eyed him critically. "Dargramnet says you're smart," Resalet said. "Or used to say it."
Whandall nodded. It had been a year since Mother's Mother had recognized Whandall when she saw him. Now she sat by the window and talked of old days and old times to anyone who would listen. The stories were interesting, but she told the same ones over and over.
"So if you're smart, why are you acting like a fool?"
Whandall thought for a moment, then took a handful of shells from his pouch and laid them on Resalet's table.
"Yes, bigger fools than you will pay," Resalet said. "And if they think you keep that stuff here? They'll come to take it. We'll have to fight. We'll lose people; there'll be blood money. The Lords may get involved. We can't fight Lordsmen!"
"Lords don't care about hemp," Whandall said. "They keep hemp gum! In ebony boxes."
"Don't show off for me, boy," Resalet said. "I know you've been to
Lordshills, and look what it got you! You came in heat up and useless, u lot more trouble than you were worth. Hadn't been that Dargramnet likes you, we'd have thrown you out to the coyotes. I don't know what the Lords do at home, but down here hemp trouble gets you Lordsmen. Enough Lords-men and they tear your house down. This is Placehold! We've had Place-hold longer than I've been alive, and we're not going to lose it because of you."
Whandall tried to change the subject. "The Bull Fizzles sell hemp. Pelzed serves hemp tea."
"Pelzed is damn careful with his tea," Resalet said. "And since when did Serpent's Walk learn from Bull Pizzle?" He shook his fists violently. "And I don't care if Serpent's Walk sells hemp; we're Placehold. Whandall, if you want to trade powders, do it somewhere else. Get your own house. Placehold doesn't want the trouble. Do you understand me?"
"Pelzed offered me a house in Dark Man's Cup," Whandall said. "Should I take it?"
"If you like."
Whandall was startled to realize that Resalet meant it. Up to then it was just a boy talking to adults, but Resalet meant it. He really could be thrown out of Placehold.
He thought about living alone. It might be fun. But the other boys his age who moved out of their households to live alone were mostly dead.