Orin The Great Ch. 08

"Fine, Orin. If I need either of you, I will send for you."

As Sundri turned to head up the stairs, Bartram asked, "Are you sure you are well?"

"I'm fine, Bartram." She said, before she strode off.

Orin did return to the banquet chamber, and he mingled with the crowd, but his heart was not into it. When others began to notice, the youth claimed that the soreness and bruises from the earlier events were finally showing up.

Bartram led them to the table with the most alcohol resting on it. They sat with the drunken men of the castle and joined into a drinking game, where any man that grinned or laughed had to down a mug of strong ale. The winner was either the drunkest man, or the man left most sober, but the game was so far along by then that nobody remembered which.

A stir occurred among the drinkers, when Miriam drew a chair and sat between her two friends. Instead of the drab kirtle she'd worn earlier, she was now dressed in a red gown that showed chest and cleavage, and she had subtle reddish powder on her eyelids and cheeks. At once, the imbibed sorts that did not know her began making passes at her.

"Did something happen with Sundri?" Orin asked.

"She told me to leave the chamber. I was about to, when she called me back and told me that she would dress me up first, so that I wouldn't have to go directly to your room and stay there alone while waiting for you. Sundri said I should have fun, if I wanted to."

"Well, my dear, you look exquisite." Bartram slurred. "You look like a little lady."

"I have always wanted to dress this way, but I never thought I would have the chance to." She admitted. "There is something else, although I am embarrassed to say it. Sundri became impatient with me when I could not follow her lessons on magic. She said I would never amount to anything more than a diviner if I didn't put more effort into it. She said there is magic around me naturally, but that I had to learn to tap into it so that I could make it work for me. I don't understand even the basics of it yet!"

"Don't you worry." Bartram consoled her. "When I first taught Orin how to shoot a bow, he was shooting the blasted bow and not the arrow!"

Miriam looked puzzled for a breath's time, and then she started giggling. Bartram broke out in chortles.

"He's joking, Miriam!" Orin insisted. "But I will tell you this. I had much trouble with the bow at first. Not that much trouble, but some, surely."

"Orin could not shoot a tree at ten paces." Bartram ribbed.

"Shut your mouth, Bartram!" Orin threatened, causing Miriam to laugh again.

"If you are going to spend the night in our chamber," Bartram remarked. "Perhaps you can show Orin that new trick you have learned."

"What new trick?" Orin asked.

Bartram grinned a drunken grin, before Miriam went to set her hand over his mouth.

"A dancing trick." She told Orin. "That's what he meant; a dancing trick."

The three left the banquet hall as soon as the first of the guests began to leave the castle for the night. Together, they walked down the wide hallway, and in a single column, they climbed up the very narrow stairway.

"I wonder if I should stop in with Sundri." Miriam wondered.

"No, you leave her be." Bartram pulled her toward their chamber. "She said she had her ends to sort out, so let her sort them out. If she needs us, she knows where to find us."

Once in the sleeping room, Bartram went directly to his cot and toppled over onto it. Orin shut the door, while Miriam stood there quietly.

"Are you tired?" Orin asked. "You can take my cot. I will sleep on the floor."

"Orin, you must help me to take off my dress first." She hinted.

"They always make a woman's dress so complicated, don't they?" Orin replied. "Too many hooks, too many clasps and too many buttons. All right."

Orin fumbled with the dress more than Miriam did. When she stood there in her brassiere and undergarment, the exhausted young man went to sit on his cot.

"Orin, are you watching me?" Miriam asked, before she pulled her brassiere down to reveal her apple-sized breasts.

"I am watching." Orin grinned. His head looked to be too heavy for his body, prompting the young man to stretch out on his cot.

Miriam stood there, waiting for Orin to recover his senses. She had been hoping and waiting for Orin to make a pass at her, but he never had. All he had to do now was sit up and look at her, and she would go to him, but alas, he didn't do this either. It was only after several moments had passed that she heard Orin's snores.

Miriam frowned. Orin was asleep. When she looked to the second cot, she saw that Bartram was equally in slumber.

"I am so stupid for waiting so long." She sighed. "I should have bedded Orin right away, but I was too shy then. Perhaps I will have better luck in the morning, if Orin isn't too bruised up and sore."

She found the men's cloaks and spread them on the floor. They would have to serve as her bed for the night, as there wasn't much else she could use. Her pretty red dress, that was to be her pillow.

Orin had a strange dream that night. He dreamt he was in a bathhouse; much like the venue Bartram had recently taken him to. Along the walls were rows of erotic paintings depicting men and women nude on narrow beds, or nude men, all of them in the act of coitus. Orin was nude and standing at the edge of a bath. Already sitting in the warm water was a handsome, muscular brute.

"Won't you join me?" The attractive man asked.

"I think I will." Orin answered.

The athletic man stood up, holding out his arm to help Orin step in with him. When the man stood, Orin saw the water streaming from his body. He saw that the man's cock was hard, and that it was as large as Orin's entire forearm.

Terrified, Orin ran away from the bath. He ran through the hallway and past the dressing room, and pushed his way through the men standing and socializing by the entrance. Orin kept running until he stood outside.

Bartram was out there, fully nude and sitting on a horse. The archer held his arm out. "Quickly, Orin! We have no time to lose!"

When the muscular man had held his arm out, Orin had refused it and run. This time, he took Bartram's offer and hopped on the back of the horse. Together, the two nude men rode away from the bathhouse at a fast gallop. Only when they had left that place and Castra Devana behind did Orin notice that the horse had Sundri's face on it.

They rode across the countryside, when out of nowhere, a great burst of wind knocked Orin from his horse. The wind was powerful and strong, as it kept Orin from getting back on his feet. Bartram and the horse with Sundri's face rode on, becoming small in the distance, while Orin wrestled to break free from the wind that held him.

Orin was startled awake, as the same entity that had gripped him in his dream was also holding him down in reality. He pushed away at it, feeling the pressure on his body lessen as the spirit left him.

"What the devil?" Orin cried out, jerking to the side so quickly he ended up falling on the floor, with the cot toppled over on its edge.

As the young man sprang to his feet, he became aware that he stood in the sleeping chamber, with Bartram sound asleep on the other cot, and Miriam slumbering there on the floor. The single candle that lit his friends also revealed a grayish wisp in the form of a man, standing by the end of Orin's cot. Surely, it was this creature that had attacked him.

"What are you?" Orin demanded. "What do you want with me?"

"The ancient mistress will speak with you." The spirit said. "Go alone to see her."

"What ancient mistress? Do you mean Sundri? Hold on! You are that last demon from Red Rock, aren't you? You are the last of the Three Old Men!"

"I am." The spirit admitted.

"Well, what are you doing here?"

"Go to see the ancient mistress." It repeated.

"Don't call her that! Sundri certainly isn't ancient! You are the one that is ancient!"

"What do you know about her? Go alone to see her."

Before Orin's eyes, the demon vanished. The startled youth wondered if perhaps the three demons had gotten loose and were even now tormenting Sundri. He thought to wake his friends, then reconsidered and left. If there was trouble, the only person in that entire kingdom that could counter it was probably Sundri.

Sundri's chamber was only a couple of doors away from Orin's. Expecting the worst, Orin burst into the room, trying to take in the scene at once. The three demons were there, none of them captive but swirling free near the ceiling. Sundri stood in the center of the room, beside a table with odd materials on it, and over a great white circle with strange markings all around its edge.

"Shut the door, Orin." Sundri directed.

"What is happening here?" Orin asked.

"We are negotiating a contract. Now shut the door and come to stand inside this circle of protection with me."

Suspiciously, Orin eyed the hovering demons, before he complied with the orders. He hurried over to Sundri's side. "Tell me what happens here."

"What you see before you is my spell of fertility." Sundri motioned toward the tabletop.

"What about the demons?"

"Have patience, Orin." The sorceress answered. "I need you for this part of the ritual, but I have another matter I must make you aware of first."

"Go on."

"Miriam will not do as my apprentice." Sundri revealed. "She knows only the most rudimentary of magic, and half of what she knows is inaccurate. I simply do not have the time or the patience to teach her."

"Are you sure about that? Are you giving her a fair chance?"

Sundri gave him a look of irritation. "Do you think I do not know how to teach magic? That girl is a dunce, Orin. Listen to me. I will give you an example of how magic works. Are you ready to hear it?"

"I don't know." Orin shrugged. "I suppose I am."

The sorceress gave him a most pleasing smile. "Hello and good morning. Are you awake, my dear? Today's lesson will be in grammar, an undertaking in the spelling of common words."

She paused to let the statement sink in. "Do you understand what I just did?"

"No, not at all." Orin replied.

"If I was using my power of intent, those simple sentences would have been enough to kill you. Of course, the simpleton Miriam did not understand it either, and she has had some prior training, mind you."

"Are you saying you just gave me a threat of death?" Orin wondered.

"Yes, but let me explain why and how I did it." Sundri elaborated. "First of all, a witch such as myself has gathered a tremendous amount of power, or magical energy, throughout the many years I have been in practice. A witch cannot simply tell her enemy, listen here, I mean to kill you before the week is done. That would be too obvious and the witch will have given her intentions away. A good spellcaster will use doublespeak to get intentions across. Are you ready to hear how?"

Orin shrugged back indecisively.

"You may not want to hear it, but I will tell you anyway." Sundri decided. "In the case that someone might use witchcraft against you, I want you to be able to recognize it. Witchcraft is belief. I believe I can hurt you, if I choose to, and I can send you an evil magic while I am smiling right to your face. Allow me to break things down so I can show you just how potent words in doublespeak can be. I said Hello, but that is not what I meant. I could envision seeing you in Hell while I said it. I said Good Morning, but in witch-talk that is mourning as in death. In the same way, Awake becomes A Wake, as in a wake for the dead. Grammar is from Grimoire, which are books of spells, undertaking comes from undertaker, another reference to death, and spelling in this case is not the spelling of words but the spelling or casting of spells. Did you catch all of that?"

"I believe I did."

"That will put you ahead of Miriam, because she could not understand any of it." Sundri motioned toward the table. "Come closer so that I can perform this ritual. I need you to be present for it to work properly."

Orin took in the various items before them, while the three spirits came in closer. "Did you release the two demons you had captured? Why did you do that?"

"I need them to be present as well." The sorceress replied. "Actually, I need them for several reasons. I wish to know the properties of the magic cloth they were bound with, so that I can fashion a magic piece of clothing for you, to keep evil away from you. I need them to help me with this fertility spell, to make sure it is a success. I also need their help in another matter that I will tell you about in the future. Now are you ready to help me with this ritual?"

"If you say it is necessary, then yes." Orin agreed. "For you, I will do it."

"Good. Clear your mind for a moment. Think of nothing else besides a pregnant Lady Oryala with a big, fat stomach. I will explain what all of this is as I go along. Here we have a simple crystal bowl. Here is my knife that is called an athema. This is a witch's dagger that focuses magic, used for rituals such as this one. I am using it to crack this egg open, carefully as I will need the shell later. The inside of the egg goes into the bowl. Next we have this fig, which I have already taken the seeds out of. Stand here, where I am, so that you can do the rest for me."

Orin scooted over.

"Take the seeds and sprinkle them onto the egg's insides." Sundri instructed. "Now use my athema to mix both the seeds and the egg. Good, Orin, you are much better than Miriam at following simple directions. Keep mixing both together. Now, set my athema to the side on this cloth. Pick up the soft shell of the fig and make it as small as possible, and put that into the eggshell. Do this carefully, as we don't want the fragile fig shell to break into pieces. Set the eggshell here into this chalice. Again, imagine Lady Oryala pregnant with child, with a boy-child, while I say these words. Let what I have brought together come together. Let the result be as I have envisioned it. Let Lady Oryala have the sire that she desires."

The sorceress repeated the incantation three times.

"Can you remember those words, Orin?" She asked.

In his head, Orin recited them. "Yes, I can."

"I will leave these items here on this table." Sundri motioned to them. "Tomorrow, you are to take the eggshell out to a spot of open land and bury it. Make the hole with my athema. Set the eggshell into the hole, and pour the mixture on top of it. When it is all poured, cover the hole up and repeat the incantation three times, in the same way you just heard me say it. Surely, Miriam would have botched this, but you won't. You can follow orders a hundred times better than she can."

"Perhaps you could come with me, so that I can be sure it is done right."

"No, I have to go elsewhere." Sundri answered decisively. "I will take these three demons and Miriam with me. This matter will take me several days to accomplish. You will go on with the task of impregnating Oryala. She will be given a sign that all has gone well, and then she will grant you knighthood. All you are to do is pledge your sword to her. She will send you on an errand to the north, and that is where I will meet up with you and Bartram."

"You don't want to be here when her pregnancy occurs?" Orin questioned.

"No, I do not. I cannot risk anyone figuring out that the Lady conceived partly through the use of magic. Imagine the uproar if that were found out! I need to be far away when the announcement happens. You and Bartram can stay, but you are not to let on to anyone what you are really here for. I should warn you, Orin."

"Of what?"

"The Lady is taking a liking to you. I wonder why? You don't have that charm with other women, do you?" She smirked at him. "Orin, you adorable piece of man-flesh. I cannot imagine what I would do without you. Here is the warning. There is an apothecary here that serves the nobles. This is the person I went to inquire of regarding some of the more exotic ingredients I still need. This person knows a little bit of magic, but he cannot practice it openly. In confidence, I asked him if any nobles had purchased magical items since we arrived here, and he said yes. A servant of Lady Oryala asked for a purchase of a love potion consisting of henbane and verbena. Now, whom do you think Oryala might have in mind when she indirectly purchases a love potion? Orin, don't drink anything that woman puts into your hand, or else you'll be smitten with her and never want to leave this place. That would make me very upset, Orin."

"I don't think I like castle politics and intrigue, dear."

Sundri sighed. "Neither do I, but sometimes we are smeared by things we try so hard to stay away from."

"I want to ask you something." Orin started, glancing up at the three demons that were still watching over them. "Why do those spirits always call you an ancient? You aren't so old as to be called that, are you?"

The sorceress' countenance looked to change into a melancholy. "One day, Orin, you will know who I really am. Until that day comes, remember that I love you, and that I will do anything for you. I will even change the world for you, Orin, with their help."

She motioned up at the floating demons.

"You scare me sometimes." Orin said.

"With good reason!" Sundri laughed. "It wasn't called the Devil's Crag before I got there! A few things I must mention, before I leave..."

"You're leaving now?"

"The sooner the better, for what I have planned to do next. Sleep in this chamber tonight. Take my mixture out in the morning, as I've already said you should, and try not to let anyone witness what you do. Do not sleep with any women at all, else you'll ruin the spell ahead of time. When the moon is full, jump Oryala's bones as many times as you want to, but be discreet about the affair..."

"And don't drink her potion." Orin added.

"Correct, don't drink her potion. If Bartram shakes his arse at you, you can go ahead and throttle him. You won't get him pregnant unless the good gods have decided to play a great cosmic joke on the two of you."

"You won't get angry if I did that?"

"Orin, I want you all to myself, but I won't imprison you like I did to..." Sundri said, stopping when she realized what she'd said. She leaned in closer to him. "I've made many mistakes in my life, but I won't make any more, I promise you. If I need to send you a message, I will send it through them."

They both looked up at the demons, who were grinning down at the two humans.

"You see how happy they are now that I've released the two?" Sundri mentioned. "They want things, and I want things. We will work things out between us, and they will pass messages along if necessary. The next time I see you, Orin, you will be a knight. Look forward to that, and also look forward to seeing me again."

She kissed him, before she pulled away and went to wave her arms over her magic circle. The three demons vanished the moment the circle did.

"Sleep here." The sorceress said, as she started to the door. "I will wake Miriam and take her with me. Give Oryala what she wants, so that she will give you what you want. Then I will have what I want and we can all be happy about it."

"What about all of your items?" Orin asked.

"What items, Orin?"

As the young man looked at the table, he discovered that most everything was gone. The only things left were the bowl with the mixture and the chalice with the eggshell. When he turned his head toward the chamber door, he found that Sundri had vanished as well.

"How did that happen?" He wondered.

A few days later, Orin and Bartram were found in a private section of the bathhouse. The two men were chatting about mundane subjects, until they both looked at each other ready to say what was really on their minds.