Iber Investigates

Iber knew Lynah was up to something. Magically appearing and then disappearing with little or no explanation made it clear to Iber that she had some other agenda all together, and it was probably up to him to find out. Freeing Vyna and her village was part of her secret, but Iber was no where near putting the pieces together. What could a village unstuck from a girl’s head have to do with Lynah?

Iber also knew that as much as Vyna wanted to leave immediately, he needed to stay and investigate. He just had to figure out how to tell her. Vyna had slept through most of the night. Iber had managed to catch some sleep on the floor, wanting to stay close. His stomach rumbled as early morning set in, and seeing Vyna still soundly asleep, Iber stepped out onto the small porch.

The village was a mess. Half eaten plates of food were strewn about on porches and tables. Multiple casks of ale were lying about, broken and empty. The fires were dead in their grates, and several people lay where they had passed out from their revels the night before. Even the dog wandering down the street was walking slightly off kilter. The party had obviously lasted all night.

Iber stepped back into the house and investigated the larder. He still had some supplies of his own, but he would rather use what he found, saving his for later. He managed to find some day old bread, and a few eggs. They would do. Iber stoked the fire, he’d kept going in the fireplace, adding some more logs. He found a pan and soon the eggs were sizzling quite nicely. He toasted the bread, and then sat down at the table to eat, leaving enough eggs for Vyna when she awoke.

“Goodness, is that food?” A voice said from the doorway. Iber turned and saw Vyna’s grandfather standing with his hand over his stomach. Despite his slightly green tinged palor, he looked quite good for a grandfather. Iber would have thought him to be closer to his own age than old enough to have grown children with grown children.

“If you want some, I’ll have to make some more. I only made enough for Vyna and myself,” Iber said.

“No. Just the thought makes my stomach churn. I think I’ll go lie down for a while.” He walked across the room and towards the back bedroom. As an afterthought, he turned. “Don’t worry. We’ll start gathering the calca, just as soon as our stomachs return.”

“Calca?” Iber asked.

“Yes. In payment for services.”

“Payment?” Iber repeated. “We don’t get paid.”

“That’s what I thought, but Master Lynah said you needed a bucket of calca a day. I mean, we appreciate your help, but that’s a lot. We won’t be able to keep delivering that supply for very long. Very long in your years… and in mine. We’ll have to stop feeding it to children, which means we’ll have to watch them grow old and die while we remain young. It really is a lot to ask.”

“The Great Mages do not except payment, so you can just forget what Lynah said. I don’t even know what calca is.”

“Well, how do I know who to believe. She was the one who performed the magic. I don’t doubt that you are who you say you are, but obviously she’s a bit more powerful than you are, which means if she comes back and we don’t have payment, she might be rather mad.”

“True,” Iber considered, “but as soon as I tell the rest of the mages what she’s up to, they’ll be happy to straighten her out. I’m pretty sure it will be six against one.” That’s if Malek had accepted the no payment policy, but he didn’t think it bore mentioning out loud. “I just need to figure exactly what she’s up to? Why does she need the calca? What does it do?”

“Perhaps it’s better if I show you,” he said. He sighed and put his other hand over his stomach. “If you could give me a few moments… to freshen up?”

Iber nodded. He wanted to finish his breakfast anyway.

When the two of them left the house, Vyna and most of the rest of the village was still fast asleep.