Epilogue
Note: Seriously folks. First draft here. Also, since I've run out of story before hitting 50,000 words, expect some, ah, interesting stuff for the next few days. Backfills, backstory, maybe even weirder stuff as I explore this story in a fun way before I start into revisions.
Tired as they all were, the group decided that they would take Brant directly tho the mayor, and all together, instead of just sending Mason with him.
But Kaelyn had a stop to make along the way and wouldn't be dissuaded. “healer First” she said as she took Ellis to Colm's cottage and tended to his arm the right way. Once the bone was properly set, the skin covered over with numbing salves and carefully sewn, (a process that neither Mason nor Brant could watch, to Kaelyn's secret amusement and Daisy's not-as-secret amusement), and the joints stiffened with spells and willow rods, then Kaelyn agreed to keep heading to town.
Their arrival in the town square was the subject of conversation and story for many years. They made quite a sight; Kaelyn and Ellis bloodied, Brant tied and Daisy dirty but radiant. Mason was there too (look, this is a first draft.).
They went directly to the Mayor's house, and didn't need to be announced; the crowd had preceded them. Daisy stepped forward and curtsied, and said, “Lord Mayor, Brant kidnapped me, but I have been freed. We remand him to your custody.” And she untied Brant's wrists. The crowd shied back like she was releasing a wild wolf. Brant stepped forward, hesitantly and haltingly said, “I will submit quietly. Just tell me where to go. “
Strand didn't have a jail; they hadn't ever really needed one, but one of the ships in th harbor had a brig, and Brant was escorted to the ship, and quietly locked up.
But the crowd didn't disperse, Daisy looked like a queen who had been in hiding; the dirt and fatigue on her face only accentuated the radiance underneath. It wasn't fair, Kaelyn thought. Daisy, catching her eye, said, “you have your own admirers as well, Kay,” but she said it without sound, which caught Kaelyn by surprise.
“Hey, if we can share a blanket, we can share thoughts,” Daisy said and smiled. (I will probably cut this telepathy thing).
Kaelyn looked around, and had to admit that Daisy had a point. A number of the younger children were looking at her, wide eyed. Daisy had been rescued, but the blood on Kaelyn spoke of her deeds, her sacrifice, and even without hearing the story it was obvious that Kaelyn had been a rescuer not a rescued.
Ellis spoke to the mayor quietly. “We are all very tied, and injured, and need to recover a bit. But when we have washed up and rested we will talk to you about Brant,” He said. The Mayor nodded. he was a good man, genuinely committed to running Strand as fairly as possible, but this was far outside of the occasional drunken brawl that was the extent of Strand's usual lawlessness.
the quartet headed west in a crowd of respectful but very interested followers, mostly younger people, but a few adults with nothing much else to do. They mostly walked in silence, Except for Daisy who kept assuring people that she was fine.
They got to the long road that reached from the church on the hill on the north to Sonja's workshop in a glade to the south. Ellis looked at the other three and said, “well, this is where we part, I think,” but Mason stepped forward. “Ellis, won't you join us? Im sure my Magister would love to hear your part of this story, and Colm should know who guided Kaelyn.”
Ellis looked up at the taller apprentice and said. “Well...of course, if you think it would be appropriate for me to to come with you. “
Daisy smiled and nodded. “Of course!”
Sonja's workshop doors were open and there was a large table spread with food on the lawn. Six chairs sat in a circle around a metal fire pit, and as they approached Colm, Marion, and Sonja emerged, each carrying a few more dishes for the feast.
Marion saw them approached and squealed. She quickly set her pan down on the table and ran to Daisy, already sobbing as she fell into the younger girl's arms. Kaelyn was going to go report to Colm, but Marion pulled her into the hug as well, and held her close for a long tme.
Mason and Ellis approached the Master Healer and Magister Wizard. There was a moment of tense evaluation as Colm, Sonja, and Ellis eyed one another, not sure how this was going to break.
Mason spoke first. “We have freed Daisy from Brant and Brand from a demon. We couldn't have done it without Priest Ellis.”
Sonja looked at the younger priest, observed his injured and repaired arm and nodded. Then she looked over Mason and took his hand in hers. “Blood. Not yours. Not Brant's. We know his blood all too well.”
“Kaelyn's.” Mason said. Sonja nodded. “She seems to have recovered.”
Colm stepped closer to Ellis and said, “Thank you for taking care of Kaelyn.”
Ellis said “she has spent at least as much time taking care of me.” And ellis looked down at his injured arm. “May I?” Ellis nodded and Colm carefully inspected the injuries and the work Kaelyn had done. “Does it hurt?” He asked.
“It's...it doesn't feel great.”
Colm nodded and said. “There are certain preparations that The Divine has created to help with such injuries. With your permission, I could reduce the pain a bit more than even Kaelyn's already excellent ministrations.”
Ellis smiled. “Who am I to say no to the ministrations of the Divine?”
About this tme Marion and Daisy finally separated and Marion said, “There is enough for everyone, please, friends, come, eat.” to the crowd.
then Sonja, Marion, and Colm led Daisy, Kaelyn, Ellis, and Mason to come chairs, and served them each a plate of their favorites. And then the masters sat and let the four tell their story.
The sun went down and the wizards called forth lights above the crowd, many of them now seated on the grass to listen. Colm mended the fire periodically to keep them all warm. Marion went into Sonja's house to bring blankets out for those who were seated on the grass.
Daisy told her part of the story, Kaelyn interleaved her part, Mason said very little but sat close to Kaelyn. Ellis seemed content to answer questions when they were put to him directly, indeed an odd reticence seemed to have come over the normally loquacious priest.
When the moon was seeking its bed The story wrapped up, and Colm said, “you have all done well, far better, indeed, than we had any reason to expect. And now, I suspect you are exhausted. I know I am. Not as young as I once was.” And he took Marion's hand, and with the two other healers made ready to leave.
“Kaylyn...Kay,” Mason said as she picked up her satchel.
“Oh! Yes, Mason?”
“I just wanted you to know that...no matter what, and whenever, if you need me, or need help...I'm...I'll always be there for you.”
“Mason, that's...that's very comforting,” Kaelyn began, and realized that tiptoeing around like this was too tiring by half. Instead she leaned her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. he froze for a second, then put his arms around her as well, and stroked her hair.
And then there was another hand on Kaelyn's back. She pulled her head away from Mason's chest to see Daisy, eyes sparkling, face lit up in a smile. “Let's go home, Kay.” Kaelyn held Mason for a second more and said “all right.”
That night, for the first night in weeks, Kaelyn slept warm, under Daisy's comforter. Daisy said she had grown fond of the other one, so they traded.
A week later, a small group was gathered in the mayor's office. Brant sat in plain, un-dyed linen, alone in the middle fo the room. The mayor had heard the entire story, indeed it seemed all he heard was variants on the story. now he sat behind his desk, his eyes on Brant. Behind the mayor sat Colm and Sonja. To their sides Daisy, Kaelyn, Ellis, and Mason.
the mayor questioned Brant briefly, to see if there were any major discrepancies between the tale Brant told and the one he head heard already. Finally he asked. “What then shall we do? Kidnapping, demon magic, murder, these are charges and crimes beyond my wit to adjudicate. What wisdom do our sages, healers, and priests have to share?
Daisy stood. “If I may? Lord Mayor, Brant has broken the law, this is not contested, and he has admitted to and confessed his wrongs. the judgments for his actions have to fall to you, but I must ask for mercy on his behalf. I don't mean that he should be immediately returned to his former life, that would not be mercy. Instead I ask that whatever course you pursue, it be done with Brant's well being in mind. We went to great effort to bring him back from that demon.”
The mayor smiled, “Master Colm told me you would say something like that. Very well. We will consider mercy. Sonja, Colm, will you stay here? Everyone else, please wait in the dining room across the hall.”
The five young people dutifully tramped across the hall. “Thank you, Daisy,” Brant said, unable to make eye contact. Daisy said “of course.”
Brant sat at one end of the table, Mason and Kaelyn sat at the other. Daisy joined them. Ellis looked at the table and at across from Brant.
“Why did she ask them to take it easy on me? I was going to...I told her, over and over, that I was going to kill her.” Brant said, eyes drilling into Ellis'.
“She's practicing mercy, it seems. It's a valuable quality.” Ellis leaned back. “Brant, if I can ask you, what do you want, now?”
Brant shrugged. “I don't know. Does it matter? I'm going to jail. “
“I don't think you are, and it does matter. What would you do if you had the freedom to do anything at all?”
“I'd...I think I'd like to learn an art. Druidic perhaps, or arcane.”
“have you considered the priesthood?” Ellis asked and Brant chuckled quickly. “Why would I? I'm the opposite of the priesthood, I'm...I'm your enemy.”
“Brant, you have intense faith, and dedication, and devotion. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a long road, but if you are considering an art, come talk to me as well.”
Daisy came down to their end of the table and sat next to Ellis. “Brant, you need to know something. I don't hate you, none of us do. You made a mistake that got out of hand; that happens. Whatever happens, those of us in this room have shared something intense, far more intense than anyone else can know. We're all part of something together. Including you, Brant. When your debt is repaid, I hope you come and find all of us, not just Ellis.”
And his sentence was this:
Brant was to leave Strand for five years, but not alone, not as an exile. he was to be a servant in the house of the mayor's brother, many hundreds of miles south along the coast. At the end fo five years, if he had proven his reform and desired to do so, he would be allowed to return to Strand, but not before.
A week after Brant left on a merchantman heading south, There was another departure.
Colm held out a silver scythe to Daisy, and named her Sojourner. Marion dressed her in a long gray cloak, and Daisy said, “oh, dove gray!” making her the first apprentice to figure that out, until she laughed and admitted that Kaelyn had told her.
Kaelyn was wearing her much-stained and carefully cleaned Sojourner's cloak, tears on her cheeks as Daisy accepted her Sojourn. There was a village to the north, deep in a logging valley, that needed a healer. Colm described the post, explaining with all gravity that there were many loggers who got injured while in the line of duty, and the cures from the fey and the druids were too expensive.
“Master Colm! You're sending her to my hometown? Kaelyn said and laughed even through her tears.
“Well, I was going to assign you another sojourn, to Coombe, but Daisy heard me discussing it with Mama and told me to switch them. then she said 'I fixed it!' and walked out. So I guess you will have to stay on here, in Strand, Sojourner Kaelyn.”
“Well, until a certain wizard makes Sojourner. Then she might make a journey with him.”
Kaelyn smiled, laughed indignantly, cried and then gave up and just hugged Daisy.
“Don't let Mason turn you into a wizard,” Daisy said.
“Never,” Kaelyn said. “Whatever else happens, I'm a healer first.”