Terence watched it until it had stopped, then said, "And now you go get it again?"
"Yes," Sisyphus replied pleasantly, starting down the slope.
Terence fell into step beside him. "Why?" he asked. Sisyphus only shrugged. "To push a rock up a hill only to have to do it again is ... it's—"
"Absurd?" supplied Sisyphus.
"Yes, absurd."
"And your life is not?"
Terence didn't reply. They walked together in silence for several seconds. They came to the rock, and Sisyphus braced his shoulders against it. "But if you know it's absurd," Terence said, "why do you do it?"
Sisyphus grinned. "The task is absurd. So are they all. But I am not my task. I am more. I am Sisyphus." With that he grunted and began rolling his burden back toward the hill.
Slowly Terence nodded, then with chin lifted he walked back around the hill to where Tieresias still sat. "Sir," Terence said. "I ask again. Who is preventing other worlds from entering Britain now, and what is the plot that has been laid against my king?"
The Old One sighed. "And I reply again. Who cares?"
"I care."
"Why?"
"Because to serve my friends is who I am. Not to do so is to deny myself. You called me the Duke of Avalon: do not do so again. I am more than that. I am Terence."
Tieresias was still for a long moment, then nodded. "I am glad to meet you. The plot against Arthur was laid by his half-sister Morgause, who sometimes calls herself the Enchantress." Terence nodded. He had been nearly certain of that already. Tieresias went on. "It is she who has cast a spell over your land, shutting the gates to otherworldly voices. The spell cannot last long, but it will last long enough for her plot to succeed."
"And what is her plot?"
"Did you not hear me? It will succeed. The end of Arthur's kingdom is in sight."
"Did you not hear me? I don't stand with Arthur because I believe he can win. I stand with him because I will not do otherwise. What is the plot?"
"She has sent her son to Camelot, to infiltrate the Round Table and to drag the king down by guile and dissension."
"Her son?" Terence said, horror slowly filling his breast.
"Yes. Her son: conceived by guile and enchantment many years ago, and raised in hatred too pure for any mortal to withstand. That son is now hardly human at all—a man filled with such a deep well of hatred that he is capable of poisoning a great emperor merely from spite."
"Poisoning an emperor?" Terence repeated. "Alexander?"
"Yes, merely because Alexander was wise and just and averted a war that the boy might have enjoyed watching."
"What is this son's name?" Terence asked grimly.
"You already know, Terence."
Terence nodded. "Mordred," he said.
The Courtly Love of Cligés and Fenice
Sylvanus left Terence and Dinadan at the cave of the oracle. One moment he was there, chuckling and bidding them an excellent morning, and the next he was gone, and the wall of the cave was again sheer and impenetrable rock. Dinadan felt the surface, then turned and looked around them. It was early morning, and birds whistled and chirped among the tiny buds that were beginning to show on the trees.
"Terence? You've traveled between worlds before," Dinadan began. "Does it always feel so discouraging to return?"
"Discouraging?"
"Coming back to this world—it's so flat and colorless."
Terence frowned. "Dinadan, we've just come out of a cave into the open air. How can you say that it's colorless?" In fact, Terence had just been noting that Delphi had much more color than when they had left. Surely the trees had not been budding then?
"I didn't mean that kind of color," Dinadan said. "But does it always feel strange to return?"
Terence nodded, deciding not to explain in any more detail until his suspicions were confirmed. "Come on. Let's find old Acoriondes."
As Sylvanus had promised, Acoriondes was still asleep, in exactly the same position in which they had left him. The only difference was in his beard. Usually closely trimmed, Acoriondes's beard hung in wild, grizzled tangles, almost to the ground. A month, maybe? Terence thought, considering the whiskers. Six weeks?
"Terence? Look at the fire," Dinadan said. Where they had made their fire the night before, there were only one or two slightly blackened sticks to show it had ever been there. In its place grew several inches of new spring grass, poking out of cracks in the ancient stone. Dinadan looked intently at him. "Terence?"
"Sometimes," Terence explained, "when you visit another world, you come back to find that time has been moving on without you in this one."
"How much time?"
"Once Gawain and I were gone for a few months and came back seven years later. That was before you got to court. But I don't think it's so bad this time. It's obviously spring, but it's the same year. We should build a fire and make some breakfast. When Acorion-des wakes up, he'll be hungry.
Dinadan built the fire and fetched water while Terence scouted the area for food. The dried food that had been in their packs was long gone, foraged by small animals and birds, so he took his bow and arrows and was able to kill a wild goat that he found among the rocks. On his way back to camp, passing by the now closed door of the oracle, he found a thick vine covered with ripe grapes and gathered an armload to bring along. By the time Acoriondes began to stir and stretch, the meat was nearly cooked. "I must have been very tired, the counselor said. "I slept soundly.
Neither Terence nor Dinadan replied. Together they breakfasted on roast meat and grapes. Acoriondes examined the grapes without comment, but ate ravenously. At last he said, "What happened to our bread?
"I think some animals got into it, Terence said. "It's all gone."
"Hmm."
Dinadan glanced at Terence and with one raised eyebrow indicated clearly that he thought Terence ought to say something.
"And fresh grapes, too, Acoriondes mused. "Odd, in late winter, don't you think?"
Terence nodded.
"Except that it doesn't seem to be winter any longer, does it?
Terence took a breath. "You yourself said that this place had been considered uncanny. It does appear that, by some mysterious power, what felt like one night to us has lasted for several weeks.
Acoriondes pondered this. "And the grapes?
"That I can't explain," Terence said. "If I were one of the ancient Greeks, who believed in the pagan gods, I would say that we had been given a gift by the god of wine.
"God is such a limiting word," Dinadan murmured.
For another few minutes, they ate in silence. At last Acoriondes said, "It would seem that you are correct and that several weeks are past. Forgive me, but would you be angry if I cut short our traveling? I find that I am anxious about the regent and the court in Athens.
"No, indeed, Terence replied promptly. "I feel the same way about Arthur and England. I will return with you to Athens to get my horse, but will leave at once for my own land. He glanced at Dinadan inquiringly.
"Not unless you need me, Dinadan said. "I still want to learn Greek, and there are new lands and languages to visit from here.
Terence nodded. He would have been glad of the company on the return, but in other ways he was relieved. Terence had not told Dinadan what he had learned from Tieresias and wasn't sure he would be able to, at least in its full significance. Like Arthur, Gawain, Lancelot, and Kai, Terence had promised not to reveal that Mordred was Arthur's son. Without that knowledge, the information that Mordred was also the son of Arthur's greatest enemy carried less meaning. As much as Terence had learned to appreciate Dinadan on this journey, he would be glad to finish his travels alone.
By inquiring obliquely in villages along the way, the three friends determined that just over a month had passed since they had separated from the imperial party. Twice, in small taverns, Acoriondes overheard snatches of gloomy conversation about the "upset at the court, and once he heard someone talking about the Caliph'
s army. Acoriondes explained that the Caliph was the ruler of the Seljuk Empire, a powerful realm east of Constantinople, but he forebore to ask for further information from the townspeople. "By the time the story gets to the taverns, he explained, "it has probably been distorted beyond recognition. All we can be certain of is that matters are unsettled, both at court and on the frontiers.
They were able to obtain more direct information soon. On the outskirts of Athens, they came upon a wide field where a courtier was hunting with a falcon. When they drew near, the falconer looked up, then cried joyously, "Kyrie!" and ran with outstretched arms toward them. It was Bernard. For nearly an hour, Acoriondes and his squire sat beside the road and spoke quickly and urgently in their own language. Watching them, Terence could tell only that startling events had taken place. Acoriondes's sharp questions often bore a note of alarm, occasionally incredulity. Dinadan, too, blinked with surprise several times, and Terence guessed that he was understanding much of Bernard's speech.
At last Bernard finished his recital and answered all his master's questions. Acoriondes stood, "Come! We must go.
"You want to tell me what's going on? Terence asked. "Is it Cligés and Fenice still?"
"Cligés and Fenice are dead," Acoriondes said.
Now it was Terence's turn to blink with surprise. "But how?
"Fenice grew ill shortly after arriving in Athens. Nothing could help her.
"Not even her nurse? Thessala? Terence asked.
"Not even she. Bernard says that a famous doctor of Salerno happened to arrive shortly after she took ill, but he, too, failed to cure her.
Dinadan cleared his throat. "That was one of the bits I had trouble with, actually, he said. "I must be getting similar words confused, but it sounded to me as if Bernard said that Cligés threw the doctor into the sea."
"You understood that?" Acoriondes demanded.
"If that's really what he said, Dinadan replied. "But why—?
"Bernard isn't certain himself. It seems that the doctor told Alis that he knew exactly what was wrong with Fenice and could cure her, if he would only be allowed to treat her alone. So Alis banished everyone from the room, and sure enough the doctor had her back on her feet within an hour. But then, it appears, Fenice told Thessala that the doctor had tortured her cruelly while they were alone. When Cligés heard that, he went to the doctor in a rage and threw him from a window, at a spot where the palace goes up to the edge of a cliff. They never found the doctor's remains. The next day, Fenice took ill again.
"Did she, now? Terence said softly.
"Two days later, she died. Bernard says that Alis is inconsolable, has not eaten or drunk enough to keep a dog alive, and goes every day to weep for an hour outside her tomb. He cares neither for himself nor for the empire, but seems only to long for death.
Bernard pointed away to the north, where a white marble tower jutted above the level of the low trees, and said something. Acoriondes examined the marble turret for a moment, then interpreted. "Bernard says that is the top of Fenice's tomb. It was built as a summer home for a wealthy merchant, but Fenice had seen and admired it. On her deathbed, she asked that Alis buy that home, leave her body there, and wall it up without doors or windows for eternity.
"And he did? Dinadan asked.
"At great expense to the imperial treasury, Acoriondes added.
"But wait, Terence said suddenly. "You said that Cligés was dead, too.
"Yes, would you explain that? added Dinadan. "That's another part I didn't get.
"I didn't at first, either," Acoriondes said. He drew a deep breath, then said, "Once Fenice was gone, Cligés made no effort to hide his love for her.
"I hadn't noticed any particular effort before, Dinadan said.
"Nor I, but it grew worse. He wailed and moaned and tore his clothes and outmourned his uncle. Then, on the day of the funeral, when Fenice's coffin was carried to the tomb and walled up inside, Cligés was nowhere to be found.
"Eugh! Dinadan said. "You mean he was hiding inside the tomb?
"Not in the tomb, Acoriondes said. "Thessala and Alis both insisted that every corner of the old house and garden be searched before the gates in the walls were sealed. No one was there.
"Then where—?" Terence began.
"Two weeks later, a note was found in Cligés's room, hidden so that it would not be discovered right away, Acoriondes went on. "In the note, Cligés told what he was going to do. Apparently the night before the funeral he sealed himself inside the coffin with Fenice."
There was a long silence. "Now, that's ugly, Dinadan said at last.
Acoriondes wore his expressionless face. "He said he wanted to spend eternity with his love," he finished tonelessly.
"And what if the blithering ass changed his mind after he was sealed in? Dinadan wondered aloud.
"I believe it is best not to think about it, Acorion-des said.
"Oh, right. I'll just think happy thoughts instead," Dinadan replied. "Do you think they wore matching outfits? That would be adorable!"
"Shut up, Dinadan," said Terence. "Bernard?"
"Yes, Squire Terence?" Bernard replied, in halting English.
"Do you think that you could show me Fenice's tomb?
Bernard glanced at Acoriondes, who translated for him. "But yes, Squire Terence. When?
"At once, Terence replied. He looked up at Acoriondes and said, "You go to the regent. He needs you. But if you could spare Bernard for a while, I would like to see this tomb.
"How will you understand each other?
"Bernard has some English. Dinadan has some Greek. We'll join you shortly.
"As you wish, Acoriondes replied. He struck off down the road toward the palace, while Bernard led the others through the thinly forested area to the north. Perhaps because of the language differences, they made the trip in complete silence but for the sound of Bernard's and Dinadan's footsteps. Less than half an hour later, they stood outside Fenice's tomb.
It was a pleasant, rather ornate country villa built on a hill so as to catch the sea breezes, away from the dirt and heat of the city in summer. High stone walls rose from the forest floor, enclosing and concealing a wide area. At one end of the hidden area, a majestic marble tower jutted up, and on the other side a few trees showed above the wall. Terence pointed at the trees and said to Bernard, "Is there a garden on that side?
Bernard hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, yes. A garden and a...pege."
"A spring, Dinadan translated. "Shame to close up fresh water inside a tomb.
Bernard took a quick breath, and his eyes lit up as a covey of quail, or some similar bird, rose with a loud drumming of wings from within the garden. Bernard's right hand stole toward his left arm, on which he still carried his hooded falcon. Terence caught his hand. "Another time, Terence said. "We are not here for hunting.
"Why are we here?" asked Dinadan.
"I was just curious, Terence said vaguely. "Let's walk around the walls.
It took them several minutes to complete the circuit—the enclosure was larger than it looked. They found the two former gates in the wall, now securely sealed with cut stone and mortar. They also found, by one of the closed gates, a wilting bouquet of flowers. Dinadan asked Bernard a question in hesitant Greek, listened to the reply, then said to Terence, "Alis. Bernard says he brings fresh flowers every day."
Terence nodded.
"Curious thing, Dinadan added. "Bernard says that the old nurse, Thessala, comes up every day as well.
"Why is that strange? Terence asked. "Fenice had been her charge since she was born.
"Only one bunch of flowers," Dinadan pointed out.
Terence nodded again, and looking into Dinadan's eyes saw a reflection of his own suspicions. He glanced at Bernard and said, "Let's go now."
Terence and Dinadan spoke only of incidentals on the road to Athens, neither being sure how much English Bernard understood, but even after they arrived at the imperial palace they had no chance to talk privately. Acor
iondes met them at the doorway and took them aside at once. His face was lined with deep anxiety.
"Alis is ill? Terence asked.
"Alis is an idiot, Acoriondes replied shortly. "He has no thought for anything but his own grief. He says he will never leave Athens, never leave Fenice's tomb, never return to Constantinople.
Dinadan pursed his lips. "I suppose an emperor who never visits his capital isn't ideal."
"Especially when the Caliph is preparing for war in the east, Acoriondes said bitterly. "It seems that messengers from the eastern borders have been sending alarming messages for weeks now. Spies tell us of new military exercises, new weapons, and now even a new army brought in from Africa. The courtier hesitated, then said, "At least, we fear it is an army. A large caravan has arrived, anyway. The spies were not certain that all were soldiers, but the caravan was led by the most famous of all the Moorish warriors, a fierce knight named Palomides.
Dinadan was silent, but Terence said, "I've heard that name.
"Everyone has heard of him. He fought against your own knights in Jerusalem. We fear that he has been brought in to lead a sneak attack, breaking the treaty between our empires.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Dinadan said calmly.
Acoriondes gave Dinadan an irritated look. "How can you say—?
"I know Palomides. We rode together in England a while back.
Both Acoriondes and Terence stared at him. Terence said, "In England? But—
"He never made it to Camelot."
"Why should we not fear Palomides? Acoriondes demanded.
"If you go up against him in battle, you should jolly well fear him all you can. But if you're worried about sneak attacks and broken promises, you're wasting your time. Think of the most honorable man you've ever known. Now color his skin darker. That's Palomides.
Acoriondes looked hard at Dinadan for a moment, then relaxed visibly. "I have learned to trust your judgment, my friend. But we still must send a delegation to the Caliph to reaffirm the treaty, making sure that all is well. Alis can't be bothered, though. He has no thought for anything but picking flowers to take to that irritating girl's tomb."