“A thousand rags in the hands of hundreds of boys like yourself. You’ll have your turn at it.” He turned and put his hands on his hips. “Now, here’s what you’ll be doing.” He pointed to a long side table. “In a few minutes, some large pitchers of ale will be fetched in here as well as some large decanters of wine, then you’ll have your work to do. See those goblets?” he asked, pointing to those already upon the table.
Talon nodded.
“Some of them will be filled with ale. Others will be filled with wine. Do you know the difference?”
Talon suddenly found himself wanting to smile. He kept his face straight as he said, “I’ve tasted both.’’
Leo feigned a frown. “In front of the guests you will call me ‘Master Cook,’ is that clear?’’
“Yes, Master Cook.’’
“Well, then, where was I?” He looked puzzled a moment. “Oh, yes, your task is to stand upon this side of the table. This side only, is that clear?’’
Talon nodded.
“Observe the guests before you. There will be six on this side, seven upon the other, and two guests will be seated over there.” He pointed to the pair of chairs at the end of the table on Talon’s right. “No one will sit at the other end.’’
“Six on this side, Master Cook,” Talon repeated.
“You will be responsible to keep the goblets filled.
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Should a guest have to ask for more ale or wine, Kendrick’s honor will be besmirched and I will view that as a personal affront. I will most likely ask Robert de Lyis to have Pasko beat you.’’
“Yes, Master Cook.’’
“Make certain you pour ale into those goblets with ale, and wine only into those with wine in them. I have heard some barbarous people down in Kesh actually mix them, but I find that difficult to believe. In any event, mix them and I will ask Robert de Lyis to have Pasko beat you.’’
“Yes, Master Cook.’’
With a playful slap to the back of Talon’s head, he said,
“I may ask Robert de Lyis to have Pasko beat you just because you are a boy, and boys are annoying. Stay here.’’
With that, the Master Cook departed, leaving Talon alone in the room.
Talon let his eyes wander. There were tapestries above the sideboard behind him, and in the right corner of the room as he faced the table, a small hearth with another at the far left corner opposite him. Between the two they would provide ample heat for the long dining hall on any but the coldest nights.
Against the far wall another side table waited, and in a moment, Lars entered carrying a huge platter with dressed-out mutton heaped upon it. In what appeared to be controlled frenzy, Meggie and Lela, with several others he had seen in the kitchen whose names were unknown to him, hurried into the room, bearing platters of steaming vegetables, hot breads, pots of condiments and honey, tubs of freshly churned butter, plates with roasted duck, rabbit, and chicken. They would move to the sideboards and place each item, hurry past one another without disturbing anything upon the tables or interfering with what was being carried, and return a moment later with another 9261.01 3/13/03 12:53 PM Page 55
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platter. There were many items of food unlike anything Talon had seen before. Some fruits of strange color and texture were placed alongside familiar apples, pears, and plums.
Then the ale and wine were fetched in, and Lars remained standing opposite Talon on the other side of the table as Meggie went to the left end of the far table and Lela went to the right end of the sideboard behind Talon.
There seemed to be but the merest pause, a moment in which to catch one’s breath, to compose oneself, then the door on the right across from Talon opened and a parade of well-dressed men and women entered.
They filed in, each taking a place at the table, based upon some system of rank, Talon assumed, for a man and woman stood behind the chairs at the end of the table and those who filed in after each took a place, in order. Talon saw this was much like the seating in the men’s long house in his village. The senior chieftain would sit upon the high seat, the one most prominent in the building, with the second most senior chieftain on his right, the third on his left, thus and so forth until every man in the village was in his place. A change in order occurred only when a man above died, so any man in the village might expect to sit in the same place for years.
Last through the door was Kendrick, dressed much as he had been the first time Talon had seen him. His hair and beard looked freshly washed and combed, but his tunic was much the same color, and the trousers and boots were still serviceable. He stepped to the chair before the man at the head of the table and pulled it out.
Talon saw Lars moving to the chair closest to the head of the table and put his hands upon it to pull it out. Talon hesitated only a moment, then moved to his right to the chair closest to the head and mimicked Kendrick’s and 9261.01 3/13/03 12:53 PM Page 56
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Lars’s motions: pulled the chair out with a slight turn, allowing the dinner guest—in the case of Talon’s, a striking woman of middle years with a lavish necklace of emeralds around her neck—to move in and be seated, pushing the chair in slightly as the guest sat. Talon was only a beat behind the others, but he managed the feat without a flaw.
He anticipated his need to move down to the next chair and repeat the action, and quickly all the guests were seated.
As Talon returned to his station, he saw Kendrick watching him and Lars move back to stand before his sideboard.
The girls began serving food, and then Lars took up a pitcher of ale and a decanter of wine and moved to the head of the table. Talon hesitated, looked at Kendrick, whose eyes narrowed only in the slightest as he glanced first from Talon to the sideboard, then back to the young man.
Talon duplicated Lars’s movements and was at the side of the man at the head of the table, offering his choice of wine or ale. The man spoke in a heavily accented speech, but the words were Roldemish, and it was clear that in the flurry of witticism and observations, he was instructing Talon to pour the wine. Talon did so, attempting not to drip upon the table or the guest.
He then moved down the row of other guests, quickly filling goblets as instructed.
Once that had been accomplished, the rest of the evening passed without event. Throughout the course of the meal he refilled goblet after goblet, and when his own pitchers and decanters were nearly empty, one of the girls fetched them to the kitchen for a refill.
From Talon’s inexperienced point of view things seem to progress smoothly enough. Near the end of the meal he sought to refill the goblet of the man at the head of the table, who indicated he wished no more by putting his hand briefly over the goblet before him.
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Talon had no idea what to say, so he bowed slightly and backed away.
Kendrick stood discreetly behind the head of the table, watching every move of his staff, looking for any need that was going unmet.
When the meal was over, the guests indicated they were ready to leave. Talon hurried to a place behind the first chair as he saw Kendrick and Lars do so, and was only a half beat behind in gently pulling out the chairs so the guests could rise gracefully.
When the last guest was through the door, Kendrick followed, and as the door into the common room swung shut, the door from the serving room swung open and Leo strode through, shouting, “All right then! What are you about! Get this mess cleaned up!’’
Suddenly Meggie, Lela, and Lars were grabbing platters and dishes off the tables, and Talon did likewise. They hurried back and forth between the dining room and kitchen and the task of cleaning began.
br /> Talon quickly sensed a rhythm in this business, a matching of task to person, and he found it easy to anticipate what to do next. By the end of the night’s work, he felt comfortable in the tasks asked of him, and knew that he would be even better able to execute them the next time he was asked.
As the kitchen staff prepared for the morning meal, several staying to prepare the morning’s bread, Lela came to him, and said, “Before you sleep, Kendrick wants to see you.’’
He looked around and quietly asked, “Where?’’
“In the common room,” she replied.
He made his way there and found Kendrick sitting at one of the long tables before the bar with Robert de Lyis on the other side, both enjoying a mug of ale.
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Kendrick said, “Boy, you are called ‘Talon’?”
“Sir,” said Talon in agreement.
“Talon of the Silver Hawk,” supplied Robert.
“That is an Orosini name,” said Kendrick.
“Yes, sir.’’
“We have seen a few of your people by here from time to time over the years, but you tend to stay up in your mountains.”
Talon nodded, uncertain if an answer was required.
Kendrick studied him a moment in silence, then said,
“You hold your tongue. That is a good quality.” He rose and came to stand before Talon as if seeking to see something in his face up close he could not see from a distance.
After a brief inspection, he asked, “What did Leo say you were to do?’’
“I was to pour wine into wine goblets and ale into ale goblets.’’
“That was all?’’
“Yes, sir.’’
Kendrick smiled. “Leo thinks it amusing to toss a boy into service without mentioning all the duties. I shall again have to have words with him. You did well enough, and none of the guests realized you were not experienced.” He turned to Robert, and said, “I will leave him to you. Good night.’’
Robert rose and nodded in farewell, then motioned for Talon to come sit.
Talon did so, and Robert studied him.
Finally, Robert said, “Do you know the name of the man who sat at the head of the table?’’
Talon said, “Yes.’’
“Who is he?’’
“Count Ramon DeBarges.”
“How do you know that?’’
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“I saw him before, the last time he visited the inn. Lela told me his name.’’
“How many rings did he wear on his left hand?’’
Talon was surprised by the question, but said nothing as he tried to remember. After calling up an image of the count holding his wine goblet for more wine, he answered,
“Three. A large red stone in a silver setting upon his smallest finger. A carved gold ring upon his next finger, and a gold ring with two green stones upon his pointing finger.’’
“Good,” said Robert. “The green stones are emeralds.
The red stone is a ruby.’’
Talon wondered what the purpose of these questions was, but kept silent.
“How many emeralds in the necklace worn by the Lady to the Count’s left?’’
Talon paused, then said, “Seven, I think.’’
“You think or you know?’’
Talon hesitated, then said, “I think.’’
“Nine.” Robert studied the young man’s face, as if expecting him to say something, but Talon remained silent.
After a long pause, he asked, “Do you remember what the Count and the man two places down, on his right, were speaking of when you were serving ale to the lady between them?’’
Talon remained quiet a minute as he searched his memory. “Something about dogs, I think.’’
“Think or know?’’
“Know,” said Talon. “They were speaking of dogs.’’
“What about dogs?’’
“Something about hunting dogs.” He paused, then added, “I still do not speak the Roldemish tongue well, Robert.’’
De Lyis was motionless for a few seconds, then nodded.
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“Fair enough.” He then launched into a serious of questions, ranging from who ate what, what was discussed at various times, what manner of clothing and accessories the ladies wore, how many drinks each man consumed, until it seemed to Talon he would be there all night.
Suddenly, Robert said, “We are done. Return to the barn and sleep there until you are called. Then you will be moving into the servants’ quarters here; you will share a room with Gibbs and Lars.’’
“Am I then to be a servant in Kendrick’s household?”
Robert smiled slightly. “For a time, young Talon. For a time.’’
Talon rose and made his way through the kitchen, where loaves were rising before the hearth, waiting to be baked first thing in the morning. Realizing he had not eaten for hours, Talon paused to snatch an apple from a large bowl and bit into it. He judged them to be used for pies, but was content that the loss of one would be no great hardship for Leo.
Making his way outside, he saw the eastern sky was lightening. Soon it would be the time before dawn his people knew as the Wolf’s Tail, that grey-upon-grey time in which a man can steal an early march on the hunt or a long journey, before the dawn breaks.
Entering the barn and seeking out his pallet, Talon threw himself down, fatigue overwhelming him, the half-eaten apple falling from his hand. As he wondered what fate had in store for him and the reason behind Robert’s many and seemingly pointless questions, Talon fell quickly into an exhausted sleep.
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FOUR
GAMES
Talon frowned.
He looked at the cards laid out upon the table and attempted to discern any choice that might create a solution. After examining the four cards he had just turned over, he realized there was no possible way he could continue the game.
Sighing, half in frustration, half out of boredom, he swept up the cards and began reshuffling them. He resisted the temptation to turn and see if the two men watching him were showing any reaction.
The white-haired man he had thought of as “Snowcap,”
but who was actually named Magnus, stood beside Robert, who was sitting on a stool, brought into the dining room from the common room. Robert had introduced the concept of cards to Talon a week earlier.
The deck consisted of fifty-two cards, in four suits: 9261.01 3/13/03 12:53 PM Page 62
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cups, wands, swords, and diamonds, each a different color, the cups being blue, wands green, swords black, and diamonds yellow. They were used primarily for games like lin-land, pashawa, and poker, or po-kir as it was called in Kesh. Robert had demonstrated several games and had Talon play a few hands of each to get familiar with the ordering of the suits, from the card known as the “ace,”
which Robert explained came from a Bas-Tyran word for
“unit,” to the lord. The lower cards were numbered from two to ten, but Talon saw no logic as to why the unit, or the one as he thought of it, was the most valuable card, more so than the lord, lady, or captain.
Talon smiled slightly to himself. He didn’t know why that little fact, that the lowest number, the single unit, was the most valuable card, irritated him. Still, he did well enough with the games Robert had taught him. Then Robert had introduced him to the concept of solitary play, using the deck for idle amusement when lacking opposing players. The games were roughly a variation on a theme, different “layouts,” as Robert called them, with different wa
ys in which to draw cards from the deck. Some games required the player to build cards in rows based on rank, in alternating colors of light and dark, or in order of number, or a combination.
Earlier in the previous day Robert had taken Talon from the kitchen—there were no guests, so duty was light—and had brought him into the dining hall. There he had introduced the game of “four lords.’’
It was a perplexing game. Four lords were laid out from right to left, and four cards were dealt faceup. The object of the game was to place the cards by suit next to the lords, the only prohibition being that cards must be placed next to cards of the same number or suit. The next goal was to create “packs” of four identical number cards, in a square.
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This continued until all four aces were together, at which point they were retired from the game. Then the twos, and so forth until only the lords remained.
Talon had discovered early on that it was a very difficult game to win, relying far too much on the random luck of cards coming out in a certain order, rather than skill. But some skill was required in anticipating situations in which cards would be isolated from others of like value.
For half a day Talon had eagerly played the game, determined to become a master at it. Then he realized just how much random luck was involved and became disenchanted with it. Yet Robert still insisted that he play, and sat behind silently to observe.
As Talon laid out the next game, he wondered not for the first time exactly why Robert was doing this.
__
Magnus whispered, “Robert, why are you doing this?’’
Robert whispered, “The boy’s people have little abstract logic in their daily lives. They were hunters, farmers, poets, and warriors, but their mathematics were basic, and all the disciplines based upon advanced logic were lacking to them. They had builders, yes, but no engineers and far fewer magic-users than any other people I’m aware of, perhaps one or two throughout the entire land of the Orosini.’’
They spoke in the King’s Tongue, the language of the Kingdom of the Isles, to prevent Talon from understanding them—and Robert judged his hearing very sharp.