quester amongat the flowers 21

 

Chapter 21

 

Quester set up an army camp bed in Erman Stayvuhsantus’s cell, so he could rest, and keep an eye on his patient. Lukas had laid the swooning man on his side with a pad under his bleeding nose. Quester dozed, half aware, and was awake like a cat when his patient stirred. Erman Stayvuhsantus sat up, and took in that the Justiciar was in his cell.

“What did you do to me?” he asked.

“I removed the tumour which was pressing on your brain,” said Quester. “You should find that you can see better.”

“Yes... and I am without pain! I never realised that it was so constant!” said Stayvuhsantus.

“It is a mitigation in heresy cases, as well as my recommendation that you be considered a heathen not a heretic,” said Quester.

“What does that mean?” asked Stayvuhsantus.

“Education in the way of the Blessed Abe, rather than potentially executed,” said Quester.

“Void! I – I had made up my mind that you had some grudge against me and were out to get me whatever, but... you would not remove a tumour just so I could enjoy being executed without headaches.”

“I thought at first you were just some stubborn, selfish man who wanted to thrust the worship of the Blessed Abe out of his life as inconvenient. You are a lot more complex than I realised.”

“Please go easy on my wife, who is not complex; she was not raised to worship, and indeed, considers the way of priests to be evil, for enforcing the terrible marriage her parents had.”

“Erman, I am delighted that your thoughts turn to another. I fancy I will find her some retreat with gentle nuns who will care for her.”

“Her own father used her. Ambria is her own aunt, as you might say.  My wife has little interest in sex, as you can imagine; she lets me pick her secretaries, and I choose the ones who are not averse to being my mistress during their tenure. My wife generally tires of them and sacks them, not for warming my bed... uh, or other furniture... but because she tires readily of people and wants someone fresh to entertain her. She is shallow, but it is not her fault. She is also inclined to eat for comfort. She... well, a retreat, or an asylum would suit her best, I think, but she has enjoyed the social life.”

“I will take your analysis under advisement,” said Quester. “I am going to pray to give thanks for your deliverance from the tumour, and that your understanding of the love of the god-hero will increase. Will you pray with me?”

“I suppose it can’t hurt,” said Erman.

Quester opened the leaves he had had hinged to the frame of his precious picture of the Blessed Abe, which allowed it to stand on its own, and set it on the chair in the cell, kneeling before it, his hands making the sign of the eagle, palms to himself. Self-consciously, the other man copied him.

“Oh, Blessed Father of Mankind, who has channelled his power through me to relieve Erman of his pain, thank you for your gift of healing, and thank you for showing Erman Your blessed love. Enter his heart, and help him find spiritual healing, and the knowledge that one day he will see his father again in Your mansions. In Your name.”

“I... almost felt warmth about me,” said Erman, hesitantly. “A bit like my father’s embrace.”

“Yes; the love of Abe is like a father’s embrace,” said Quester. “I still have a father, though as a Justiciar, I am supposed to be devoid of family, but recently an evil man tried to arrange for him to be seen as a traitor, and to have me have to execute him. Fortunately, witnesses were available to ensure this did not happen.”

“That is monstrous.”

“I wondered at first how many enemies I had made in New Capital,” said Quester, dryly. “I’m going to let you go with the Hussars, who have care of your daughter, to make your peace with her; and to stay and learn from them if you will, as she is, nominally as a servant to Lukas.”

“Servant? What does that entail?” he was suspicious.

“Mostly clearing up after Lukas’s art and sculpture, I suspect.  The Highbred are altered at puberty to have no sexual urges. They are as safe as... well, safer even than nuns, for there are women who have such proclivities and do not suppress them.”

“I did not know.”

“I reassured Ambria on that point, too. There are militia, who have normal urges but nobody would dare touch the servant of the Psion Martial.”

“I am not sure if I feel a fool for having denied all things out of my understanding, or if I feel a fool for considering believing.”

“You were misinformed, not a fool. Now, you are on the path to wisdom.  Will you sleep? I am tired, and need to sleep for an early start.  I will stay with you, though, in case you need me.”

“I should laugh at your trust. But I do not; I actually appreciate it.”

 

oOoOo

 

“Miz Antilla, you can’t go wandering around at night without permission, dragging Miz Vanrensula into trouble,” said Mr. Hawlus, catching the girls as they went in.

“But we did have permission; indeed, orders,” said Kiliana. “We were summoned by Justiciar Quester.”

“That might work for you, Miz Antilla, as his assistant, but you have no call to take your friend....”

“You would have her ignore the summons to spend some time with her mother before her mother leaves to carry out her sentence? I don’t think Quester would be very pleased with you for that lack of compassion.”

“She should have gone to a responsible adult so we knew where she was,” said Hawlus.

“She did. Justiciar Quester, who is now her guardian,” said Kiliana. “The pervert is in custody.”

“And what if a fire broke out, and we had to count heads, to check if anyone was missing?” asked Hawlus.

“You mean the fire bell is not audible in the sports pavillion block? Isn’t that carelessness on the part of the school?” said Kiliana.

“It is audible,” said Hawlus.

“Then, naturally, we would muster. As would any girls having a knockabout softball game in the gymnasium under normal circumstances, or walking in the grounds when the weather permits it. Curfew is at the ninth hour of the evening. It was ten minutes before that time, and moreover, Burdock gave us an escort. I fail to see what the problem is.”

Hawlus considered.

“I panicked because as far as I could see, two pupils were missing, and one of the other girls reported bloodcurdling screams from the gymnasium and I hoped you had not heard, and been frightened, or seized as hostages by prisoners.”

He was nonplussed that the girls giggled.

“Oh, the bloodcurdling screams was us, sir,” said Jessica. “Softening up the prisoners for Lord Quester, so they cave and talk, so he won’t have to torture them. He doesn’t like torture. It was Kiliana’s idea and I volunteered to help.”

“I see,” said Hawlus. His mouth twitched. “I can see the attraction of helping like that.  But please will you inform a member of staff of the school if you plan to be out of the building well into the night?”

“Certainly, if you wish,” said Kiliana. “I may send a note, however.”

“That is acceptable,” said Hawlus.

 

 

“You’ll be in trouble,” said Lutsilla, when the girls entered their dormitory. “It’s after curfew, and you disappeared.”

“It’s after curfew because Mr. Hawlus wanted to excuse himself to us for getting hysterical,” said Kiliana. “Naturally, we forgave him, under the circumstances, but it was a little tedious of him.”

This left Lutsilla gaping and wordless.

 

oOoOo

 

“Void, are we made to get up so early? I feel as if I’ve hardly slept,” said Erman Stayvuhsantus.

“You don’t have to get up; unless you want to accept service with me as your penance and learn about the Blessed Abe from me,” said Quester.

“Rocketfire! Who else would I accept it from?” said Erman. “Are you serious? That I should be your... what, servant?”

“Assistant. I don’t keep servants, though Kiliana has a maid, more because the girl needed somewhere,” said Quester.  “I have collected some interesting assistants. I want to help you because I can feel your emptiness crying for fulfillment.”

“You will have to post a steward for my businesses; I can’t let my employees down.”

“It will be done; I expect most of your staff will be released with a caution if I don’t find serious heresy. And, as I said, I think most of you are no heretics, but heathens. I will be talking to Most Senior Justiciar Zadok about this matter, and I fancy most of those I have seized will be required to take faith classes.”

“I imagine you know every saint.”

“Oh, you’d imagine wrong.  I had to dredge my memory when we were on Jeralderford Island; such a minor saint.  A good man whose heart was in the right place, but who believed Commutants were like the rest of us. Misguided,” he added. “I looked him up; he was an admiral of sea fleets, but some say he was part of the Sanctified Tech Family Ford.”

“Uh, you’ll have to enlighten me.”

“Their patriarch was Thoz Tell Ford, who was instrumental in spreading steam power; then Heni Ford, who invented ground cars.  I’m not precisely sure where Edzel Ford and Cortina Ford come in, and we only know the title of Prefect Ford.”

“That seems fairly encyclopedic to me,” laughed Erman.

“Oh, I know more about the saints who appeal to me; loyal Koshkush, patron of the Hussars, and my own special patron saint, Saint Yulyssus. A man who believed strongly in the freedom of all men and women, and who fought for his beliefs. But he granted freedom to the enemy when the fight was won, and treated them with honour.”

“Was that the Commutants?”

“No, that was before the Empire, when some people still kept slaves, and it was when the Blessed Abe rose to take his own place, ruling with kindness and firmness until he was struck down by the Nameless Parasite and Transcended.”

“How is it known that He, er, Transcended?” asked Erman.

“Because of the Cataclysm,” said Quester. “He lay in a limbo between life and death for hundreds of years, but the distress caused by the Cataclysm forced him to call on his saints to help him heal, and to take on the guidance of Mankind from Beyond. And this is known because of the fortunate souls whose minds he touched first in the early days. The new government which arose was glad of his guidance, and to be shown why the Cataclysm had happened, and how to attempt to avoid such terrible things, and to feed as many survivors as possible.”

“I owe you to at least listen. You believe, and you have cured my worsening sight and the pains in my head.”

“I am the vehicle for the power of Abe,” said Quester, simply.

 

Erman followed Quester from the cell, when beckoned.

“You can freshen up in the showers, shortly,” said Quester. “We can get some of your clothes later, but I really want to talk to Zadok.   Burdock, Erman is a prisoner at large as he will be working off his penance working for me.”

Burdock sighed.

“You mean I’m going to have to remember his name,” he said.

“If you please, Burdock.”

“And Stray-vagrant was such a good one, too,” said Burdock, mournfully.

Erman stared.

“You make up ignorant-sounding name-substitutes on purpose?” he said, incredulously.

“A man has to have hobbies,” said Burdock.

“Well, I’ll be sent round the moon!” said Erman. “I apologise for calling you an idiot.”

“You mean, I’m not an idiot for an Ogroid?” said Burdock.

“No, that’s immaterial... I lashed out, and that was wrong, and worse for those Ogroids who aren’t smart. I only know one very smart one, in my employ.”

“Well, that’s handsome; I’m sorry I called you an idiot, too,” said Burdock. “I didn’t know much about the Blessed Abe, but Lord Quester learned me... taught me... good.” He looked thoughtful. “You know another smart Ogroid?”

 “I have an Ogroid gardener, just a lad, but he’s worth listening to. Bugloss is his name.”

Burdock’s face lit up.

“Oh, me lud! That might be my little brother! We can take him with us can’t we?”

“Certainly, if he wants to go,” said Quester.

“Ah, a familial tendency to unexpected intellect,” said Erman.

“He ain’t stupid, nowise,” said Burdock. “But they sold me into the army.”

Quester frowned.

“Sold?” he asked, sharply.

“Well, it ain’t put so clear-cut, but essentially it’s what it is,” said Burdock. Quester shook his head angrily.

“There is altogether too much irregularity,” he said.

“I bought Bugloss,” said Erman.  “It was a donation to the research fund of Semi-humans, but it was a fee. I heard him poetising about the former First Consul, and I could not resist having such wit to hand.”

“That’s my little brother, all right,” said Burdock, proudly. “Right academical he is, with poetry and all.”

Quester managed not to groan at the thought of the dry humour of his assistant doubled and with added poetry. Kiliana, who had brought breakfast again, was openly laughing.

“I appear to be likely to be adding to my staff,” said Quester.