The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online Read online

  Keys!! The reason they came to the palace!!

  “Majesty,” Alexander began, “these are indeed tremendous gifts, and we are in awe of your kindness and generosity. We have taken much of your time this morning, and for that I apologize. I know we interrupted a regular meeting with your counselors,” he said with a smile that said counselors behind him couldn’t see. The king had to fight not to return the smile. “Yet these embassy keys reminded me of another of our reasons for coming here today. Would you indulge us for a moment longer?” With a nod from the king, who finally had a reason to let loose the smile he’d been holding, Alexander produced his golden key, handing it to the king. “We found four of these identical keys in a box we took from the final cavern in the dungeon. There were no doors or chests to be found that would match these keys. They were bound to each of us as we took them in hand. We were hoping you might have some knowledge of them?”

  The king examined the key closely, turning it about. He then showed it to the captain, and beckoned Master Knox over to examine it as well. Both shook their heads and had nothing to offer.

  “I’m afraid I have nothing to offer you in regards to this. It appears to be a simple key. But the name ‘Key to the kingdom’ intrigues me, as I’m sure it did you. If you’d like, I can ask Master Gando, our palace archivist, to investigate it.”

  “Thank you, Majesty. That would be greatly appreciated. We will leave you to resume your day. If you need anything of any of us, just call.” The four friends bowed once more to the king, then turned and made their way out of the palace.

  Once outside the gate, Brick punched Alexander in the arm. “That worked out damn well, lad! That was some purty talkin’ ya did in there!”

  “Look who’s talking, you poetic sweet talker you! Talking the king into providing you with what amounts to free booze for life! And they wouldn’t have believed any of it if you hadn’t thought to bring along that nasty demon head.”

  “Yer right!” said the dwarf, thumping himself on the chest. “It were all MY doin! Ye can all thank me now!” The friends all laughed and gave the dwarf a group hug. “What’re we waitin for? Let’s go see our new guild hall!”

  The group of friends turned to the right and headed west from the main gate. Just as they set off, Captain Redmond called out, stepping out of the gate and waving for them to wait. As he approached, he smiled at Sasha. “I am headed home to visit my wife for lunch. And since your new home is just beyond my own, I thought maybe you’d like to stop on the way and say hello?”

  Sasha clapped her hands together and bounced happily. “I’d LOVE to, Captain! I have SO many questions for her. Thank you!”

  As the captain winked at them, Max coughed, and looked at Sasha. “Headed home for lunch. Yeah. Translation: He’s headed home to warn his wife that he just volunteered to trap her in a small space with YOU for potentially several years. Poor woman.”

  Sasha threw Max a furious look that promised retribution, but the captain just laughed. “It’s true, I didn’t consult with my lady wife before volunteering her services. But she has mentioned taking an apprentice on occasion, and truly has need for an assistant in her healing duties. And I have a feeling she’ll like you!” The captain paused for a moment as they walked, and looked thoughtful, then a bit sheepish. “Still, if you don’t mind, give me just a moment to speak to her before you come in?” They all chuckled as they continued on down the block. In just a few moments they arrived in front the Alchemy shop. As the captain excused himself and stepped inside, Sasha and the others looked around.

  The cobbled road they stood on was about fifty feet wide, and ran alongside the massive outer wall of the keep to the north. The south side of the street was lined with a combination of large homes and what looked to be higher end businesses. Directly in front of them was a large home with three floors, with Lady Redmond’s alchemy shop taking up a good portion of the first. To their left was what appeared to be another home behind a short stone wall with manicured gardens visible through the gate. This home was only two floors, but had ornately carved doors and window shutters that suggested quality and wealth. Beyond that, at the corner of their lane and the main thoroughfare, was a large Inn. The ground floor was an elegant looking restaurant with a small outdoor café. Finely embroidered umbrellas above each table and very sharply uniformed wait staff were seating and serving a lunch crowd of well-dressed customers. It looked as if each of the upstairs rooms had its own balcony with ornately shaped iron railing.

  Turning the other direction, to the right of the alchemy shop sat a very large, bulky structure that was all thick walls with blocky doorways and windows. There was a stone perimeter wall 8 feet high, and a heavy iron gate. Through the gate could be seen a cobblestone courtyard, and a single main entry door. The door, and the window shutters visible on the ground floor, were all made of iron. A pair of guards with wicked looking halberds stood on either side of the door, and another pair stood post at the gate, watching passersby with grim expressions. The crests on their breastplates resembled a quill and ledger. Max gestured upward, pointing out archers patrolling the second storey roof of the building.

  “That’s the merchant’s guild house,” the captain explained as he exited the shop, seeing the direction of their gazes. “The security is mostly pretense, as there’s no real money in there to speak of. But they like their privacy and their secrets. They store copies of all their various trade agreements and contracts in there for safekeeping.” He smiled and waved Sasha toward the door of the shop, “Please, come and meet your new mentor!” He held the door for Sasha and the others to enter before following them inside.

  The interior of the shop was filled with rows of shelves and glass cases. The main room was brightly lit with sunlight from the front windows that reflected off hundreds of bottles and vials containing liquids and powders of every color imaginable, all very neatly organized. Herbs hung in drying bundles from the rafters of the 10 foot high ceiling. Two doors led from the back of the shop. Through one door, Sasha could see a small but well-appointed sitting room with a round table and several chairs, and a stairway leading up to what she assumed was the couple’s living quarters. The other back room had several work benches and stools and looked to be a working lab.

  Lady Redmond was standing in front of the main counter, and immediately reached out both hands to grasp Sasha’s. “So, you must be Sasha. The young lady my husband speaks so highly of! And you would be Alexander, Max, and… Brick?” She favored each of them with a smile. “Please, come in, all of you! My name is Lydia.” As she spoke she led Sasha toward the sitting room. “All of you, make yourselves comfortable. Tea is almost ready, and I’ll prepare us all some lunch while we talk. I understand we’re going to be neighbors?”

  The captain and the four friends each took seats at the table as Lydia bustled about a small kitchen area on one side of the room. She removed a teakettle from what appeared to be a magical stovetop at one end of the counter, and poured hot water into a tea pot. She then sprinkled in a mixture of tea leaves before setting the lid on top. She brought the teapot and six cups on a tray to the table. “Husband, please pour the tea for our new friends while I see to the food.” The captain dutifully poured the tea into cups, handing one to each of the friends before pouring one for himself, and another for his lady wife, which he set at the empty place next to him.

  “Please, Lady Redmond,” Sasha began, rising from her chair, “let me help with the food? I’m an excellent cook.”

  “Sit, sit dear. There’s no cooking to do. I was expecting my husband for lunch, and he often brings home stray guardsmen, squires, or stable boys, so I always make plenty of food. I don’t think they feed those poor boys enough in the barracks, as they all seem to eat enough for 3 men when they’re here! And none of this ‘Lady’ business! Call me Lydia. I insist.”

  Smiling, Sasha sat back down and sipped her tea. “This is delicious!”

  “Thank you dear. It’s a special blend I creat
ed. I think you’ll find it provides a boost to your health and energy as well,” Lydia replied. The friends quickly checked their stat sheets and confirmed. Plus 10 to stamina and plus 10 each for health and mana regen for four hours! “Just one of the many advantages of a thorough understanding of herbs and alchemy,” she added with a wink as she removed a large pot from the stovetop and moved to set it on the table. She then retrieved a few small loaves of bread and a stack of bowls from a sideboard and proceeded to fill each one and pass them around the table.

  “That smells just heavenly,” Brick was already salivating as a bowl of what looked and smelled like lamb stew was set in front of him. His hand twitched toward his spoon, but he visibly controlled himself, politely waiting for everyone to be served.

  “Indeed it does,” agreed Alexander, as the others echoed similar sentiments.

  Once everyone was served, Lydia took the seat next to her husband and patted his hand affectionately. “Dig in, everyone! We don’t stand on ceremony in this house. Eat!”

  Before she’d even finished speaking, Brick had inhaled a large spoonful of the stew and was rolling his eyes in ecstasy. “By Durin’s…” he looked quickly at Lady Redmond as he blushed and checked himself. “By Durin’s mighty hammer! This be the best food I’ve had in me life!”

  Laughing at the embarrassed dwarf, Lydia tore one of the loaves of bread in half. Shouting “Incoming!” she tossed it across the table at Brick. Wide-eyed and caught by surprise, the dwarf fumbled the bread before getting a good grasp on it. He looked toward the Lady with his mouth hanging open in shock. “Relax, master dwarf. As I said, we don’t stand on ceremony here. I married a soldier, with soldier’s habits, and before I trained him properly, the manners of drunken bear. I was an adventurer myself once. A little rough language won’t embarrass me. And I’m glad you like the stew,” she chuckled, tossing the other half of the loaf to Max while the captain laughed out loud at the surprised look on their guest’s faces.

  Brick’s face lit up with a wide and mischievous grin. “It be a shame the captain found ye first, M’lady… Lydia,” he corrected as she raised an eyebrow, “or I’d drop to me knees’n beg ya to marry me right here’n now!”

  Lydia laughed again as she more sedately passed bread to the others at the table. “You’d have had to shave that beard and mustache first, Brick dear. I don’t like the ticklish feeling when I’m being kissed!” she parried, leaning over to lightly kiss her very amused and clean shaven husband.

  Brick look truly scandalized and spluttered a few nonsensical syllables. “WHAT??! Shave me… I canno…” getting control of himself and realizing she was teasing him, the dwarf bellowed, “BWAHAHAHA! Well played. Well played!” and quickly returned his focus to the stew as the others all laughed.

  Max spoke up as he set down his spoon and made a small bow toward Lydia. “Lydia, my thanks to you. Not only for this delicious meal. But also for making my short friend here blush for the first time in all the years that I’ve known him!” Lydia solemnly nodded her head in return, then smiled as Brick managed to hit Max in the face with his bread without looking up or pausing in the consumption of his stew.

  With that, the table grew quiet for time, as everyone focused on their meal. Though there were a few sighs of contentment and even a faint and entirely unladylike grunt of pleasure from Sasha as she bit into the bread. Once everyone was finished and the table had been cleared away, Lydia sat back down at the table and addressed Sasha. “Now, Sasha, tell me about yourself.”

  “Well…” Sasha began, “I am a druid. When I first came to this land, I felt a connection to the forest and the animals, and couldn’t have become anything else. I’ve a few good healing spells that I use to keep these idiots alive when they stumble into beasts and monsters and get themselves hurt,” she smirked at Alexander. “I’ve been friends with Alex since we were small children. It was clear to me even then that he needed someone with common sense to watch over him. These other two…” she motioned to Brick and Max, “just sort of started following us around a few years ago. I can’t seem to get rid of them!” She smiled, quite happy with herself. “I’ve been studying alchemy and cooking, though not formally. I’ve just found a few recipes here and there, and followed them as best I can.”

  “Well, dear. It would be my pleasure to teach you what I know about healing, cooking, and alchemy. Lord knows I can barely keep up, between running the shop, healing those that need it, and making enough potions to go around! You’ll be a welcome addition, believe me,” Lydia smiled at Sasha.

  “Oh! That reminds me,” Sasha exclaimed as she reached into her inventory bag and pulled out all the bundles of feather-root she’d gathered in the caves. “I couldn’t identify these when we found them. but the captain explained this morning that they’re called feather-root, and that you have a use for them. Please, take these as a thank you for this wonderful meal and for being so kind!” She passed the pile of herbs across the table to Lydia, who made a halting motion with her hands.

  “No, no. I can’t possibly. Do you know what these are worth, Sasha? Each leaf is sufficient to make an infusion that can then be converted into a half dozen of the high quality healing potions. I sell those potions here in the shop for 20 gold each. There are…” she looked at the bundles of herbs on the table, “there are hundreds of leaves here. Enough to make a thousand potions or more!”

  “They are yours,” Sasha insisted, “they are of small value compared to the knowledge and skills you are sharing with me.”

  Max, always with one eye on the bottom line, and having done the math on the value of the herbs, coughed and pounded his chest seemingly in pain, but wisely said nothing. Lydia still made as if to push the herbs back across the table toward Sasha, but Alexander reached out to touch her arm.

  “Please Lydia. The king has been very generous to us today. As have your husband and yourself. And if these herbs can be used to help heal the captain’s soldiers or the people of Stormforge, we are honored to gift them to you.” The other companions all nodded in agreement.

  “Wife,” the captain added quietly, taking her hand in his. “If it will ease your conscience, I’m sure these fine young adventurers would not mind if you provided them with some of the potions you make from these plants. After all, I’m guessing they will be doing a considerable amount of… stumbling into beasts and monsters, was it?” He winked at Sasha as everyone laughed at his semi-clever joke.

  With tears in her eyes, Lydia stood and moved around the table. She pulled Sasha to her feet and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, dear child. Thank all of you. My husband tells me the king today named you Friends of the Realm for your actions in service to others. And still you offer more and ask nothing in return. From now on, you are all more than friends. You are to consider yourselves family.”

  Your reputation with Captain Redmond has increased to Ally.

  Your reputation with Lady Lydia Redmond has increased to Cherished.

  The friends all smiled happily at receiving this notification. I didn’t even know there was a ‘Cherished’ level! Did she just make that up somehow? Alexander thought.

  “Ok, you young people have a new home to go see. I’ve kept you long enough,” Lydia said, beginning to shoo them toward the front of the shop. “Sasha, come see me tomorrow, if you have some time and we’ll begin your lessons.”

  As they filed out the door, Sasha stopped to hug Lydia again. “Of course I’ll stop by tomorrow! Thank you again, so much!”

  The captain kissed his wife as he followed the foursome out into the street, and guided them to the left, past the merchant’s guild house. Stopping at the next structure, he began, “This is it. The former embassy. Now home of the Greystone Guild!” It was a striking three storey structure in the middle of an extensive walled compound. There was a 10 foot high stone wall, and a much taller gatehouse that, judging by the length of the tunnel between the gate and the courtyard, must be about 20 feet thick. Beyond the gate the view was limite
d to a set of sturdy looking iron oak doors. Sasha got out the keys, and made ready to unlock the gate. “If you kids need anything you know where to find us. I can arrange for a wagon and a few lazy squires to help you move, if you need it. Just let me know. And thank you again, for all you’ve done today.” The captain bowed his head slightly, turned and quickly headed back to the palace.

  Sasha quickly found the proper key and opened the gate. As they walked through the small bailey with its high archway easily tall enough to permit carriages to pass through, Brick grunted in approval and pointed to the ceiling. There were clearly visible murder holes along the ceiling and both walls. As they passed through the open inner gate, the group stopped to take in the compound.

  Directly ahead, maybe 30 yards across a courtyard was the main structure. A large home built with what looked like smooth river rocks and mortar. The two main entry doors were indeed iron oak, each roughly 10 feet tall and 3 feet wide. The second floor had several sets of French doors that all led out to a stone railed balcony that stretched the width of the building. The third floor windows suggested a series of smaller rooms. All the windows and French doors had masterfully carved iron shutters that, when closed, would turn the place into a formidable fortress. The roof was flat, but one could see what looked like the upper portion of a gazebo set back from the edge.