Epilogue IV: Telbarisk

Fifteen Years Prior

Telbarisk was staring out a window when Caudin and his council left the room. He turned and kept pace with the group, waiting patiently for his friend to finish his thoughts.

“Tel! I haven’t seen you for a few days. How are things?”

“They are well, Caudin.”

“You usually don’t find me like this. Is there something…” He frowned. “Is there something you need to talk about?”

“My brother is dead.”

He slowed his pace. “Leave us,” he said to the rest of the group. He eyed Anla and Al and jerked his head to follow. They walked to an adjacent wing that hadn’t been opened yet and stepped into an almost bare room without curtains and with sheets over the chairs.

Caudin turned to Tel and asked, “You’re certain he’s dead?”

“Yes.”

The Emperor sighed loudly. “You need to go home, then.”

“Jormé arrived yesterday in the city. He has agreed to take me to the port in Nourabrikot on his return journey to Gheny.”

“I see. And your answer?”

“I have to go home, Caudin. I am king now, and I feel that my exile will be lifted now that he is dead. It may have been earlier, but… I will miss you, all of you, as well as the friends I have made.”

“We’ll have to take a special diplomatic trip to Ervaskin,” Caudin suggested. “Perhaps in the spring, when the weather gets better and your lands start to thaw. It will be wonderful to show Al and Anla your home, if we’re invited.”

It was meant to be a joke. But, Telbarisk’s face fell and his shoulders sagged. He looked at each of them in turn. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“What for?” Anla asked.

“I have been thinking a great deal about things for a long time. I have seen the good of bringing new ideas and things into a place. But, I also saw what they did to my brother and to other grivvens.

“My brother was not a greedy boy. He would often make things for me, or give me part of a sweet he received. He shared and took care of me. The man he grew to became was only because of outside influences. He was told that in order to take care of his people, he needed things that he only wanted. I remember the days when he was just curious, when he showed me things like shoes and candles. It was only after speaking with some of the ambassadors did he begin to show me gold and jewels with a look in his eye I didn’t understand.”

“I’m sorry, Tel, for being a part of that,” Caudin said.

“It wasn’t you. He was already infected by the time your people came. And you never encouraged his avarice.”

“But, that was just your brother…”

Telbarisk shook his head. “He had supporters, people who also wished to see our land plundered for trinkets. Some were loud about their wishes, other merely curious.”

“But, you’ve learned so much!” Al said. “You know how we work. You know a bad deal from a good one, who to trust and who not to trust, when to walk away from a situation.”

“I know only a small amount of what I should. There is still far too much in your complicated world that I will never understand. If stay longer to learn, my people will be exposed while others try to fool my parents. And even if I know enough, my people will not. I won’t be able to teach them in time. Maybe some day,” he said, then barely as a whisper, “but not in your lifetime.”

Anla took a deep breath, then sighed before embracing him. “Tel, you don’t know how sad you are making me. You have been one of the greatest friends I’ve ever had. You have saved our lives countless times, and you’ve saved mine, just by listening to me, just by being someone I can turn to in my darkest hour. I wish you would stay, but I think you’re right, so I will wish you well.”

Al opened his arms and moved forward. “No, we’re not doing this,” Caudin said and the two looked at him. “The Baronet here slunk off to Samenstrar to avoid a fuss. We will say ‘goodbye’ in a proper way tomorrow. Invite Jormé to the palace. Hell, invite his whole crew. You’re not leaving until you are properly thanked.”

“If this is what you want,” Telbarisk said.

“Of course it’s what I want. And it’s what’s called for.”

They decided on a banquet at noon the next day. Though classified as small, it still had over two dozen people in attendance, including Alistad, Jemerie, and Jormé. Towards the end of the meal, when guests became more informal, his friends took him aside.

“I was going to give you some books to read on your journey,” Al said, “but I thought this might be better.” He handed him a twined bundle of a journal, a sheath of high quality paper, and two boxes, one with quills and ink and the other with art supplies. “I wrote a letter to you because I’m not going to remember everything I want to say. But, basically it says I love you and I’ll miss you.” He hugged his friend and stood back as Anla cut in.

“I didn’t have as much time as I wanted, but this is a box of sounds. I captured some birds and animals, some are from people. I tried to put as many in as possible. I hope they don’t break during your journey.” She hugged him fiercely.

With a smirk on his face, Caudin brought out several lacquered boxes. “I would like to gift to you the official royal collection of rocks. There is one from every duchy as well as samples of each kind.”

Telbarisk’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. “This is…too much. I can’t accept this.”

“Tel, they’re rocks. I can have someone get new ones in a few months’ time. I knew you would appreciate them.”

“Yes. Thank you. All of you.”

He finally hugged Caudin. They walked him down to the courtyard and said goodbye once more as he climbed into the carriage he shared with Jormé.

The three stood next to each other, Caudin’s arm around Anla’s waist. “This is…painful,” she said. “I can’t believe we’ll never see him again.”

“We can still write,” Al said. “Maybe Jormé will stop by to see if he changes his mind.”

“You’re right, Wizard. We can try, but I think his mind is made up. And I can’t exactly fault him for that.”

* * *

Telbarisk was melancholy from the time the ship left the harbor of Lake Mirscau in Eri Ranvel down the Gris River, and out to the sea. Jorme let him be for the first two days, but on the third he took a few minutes to sit next to his friend on the forecastle deck.

“You miss them,” he said. Tel nodded. “This is because you’re a good person and they are good people.”

“I’ll never see them again.”

“Likely.”

“My life has been theirs and theirs mine for the past five years. They have done so much for me.”

“And you for them. They’ve become a part of you and sometimes it’s hard to untangle things once they’ve become entangled. You are mourning their loss from your life.”

“Yes.”

“This is how I felt when I left on my first journey. I told myself I was ready, but the first week I was on a ship I was miserable.”

“How did you stop being miserable?”

“Threw myself into my work Kept myself busy.”

“I am already make the winds favorable and-”

“I know! I’m not asking you to do more, Tel. I’m thinking you should speak with the crew, maybe learn a few games to play. It won’t replace your friends, but it might take your mind off of them for a while.”

Tel thought about this for some time and realized Jormé was right. He had missed Kelouya and his family, but he had chosen to grow his crops on his island, then to leave with Jormé’s men, then to have his adventure with Caudin, Anladet, and Alpine. He pined for home, but he had never rejected the present, of making new connections. They same would be true for his new future.

He was reintroduced to the crew members he remembered. The first mate, Abri, had traded in his inventions for something more sensible. Jormé knocked on the door to the cabin and opened it to reveal Abri hunched over at his desk, a bottle in front of him as well as a set of tools. Inside the bottle was miniature ship’s hull glued down.

“Can I borrow your finger?” Abri asked. Tel scooted forward and watched while Abri tugged on several strings. The mast straightened. Abri placed his finger on the ends of the strings and used a tool to straighten the yards and glue the sails. “Thanks. That’s always the trickiest part.”

“That’s how they make ships in bottles?” Tel asked.

“Oh, you didn’t know? Sometimes sailors do this when we’re out at sea,” Jormé said. “It’s better than staring at the horizon or yet another round of Maccre.”

“I didn’t know there was an answer to it. Anladet didn’t know when I bought one in Calaba. I thought it was one of those things that no one could answer, like why are leaves shaped the way they are or why can’t penguins fly.”

“Not everyone knows. It’s the novelty of it. It seems like an impossible thing, but there’s a logical explanation to it.” He led them outside the cabin, claiming the fumes from the glue were too strong. “Are there other things you have questions about?”

“Yes. I just never thought to ask things because it was confusing and no one explained it.” He turned to Jormé as they stood on the main deck. “Why is the sea blue?”

“The sea is blue because the sky is blue. It reflects the sky. That’s why the water gets darker the deeper the farther from the sky you get. I mean, unless you are religious, and then the sea is blue because Queyella said so.”

He nodded. “Why are clouds white?”

“Clouds are collections of steam and smoke trapped high in the sky. Steam and smoke are white, and so are the clouds.”

“I need to read my notes,” Telbarisk said, heading towards the cabin he used to store his things, “and pick out the things I should ask.”

“Fine, but maybe spread the questions around to the whole crew. I would love nothing more than to teach you about the world, Tel, but I do have a job.”

The weeks at sea slipped by quickly while he his days reviewing his notes, jotting questions down in his new journal from Alpine, and asking the crew about various subjects. Why had he been almost hanged by those townspeople? Why did they have calendars? What were the corners of the known world and what did people think were beyond them? It was like he had awaken from a dream and had never asked someone to interpret it.

Still, despite his new enthusiasm, he knew where they were. He could sense Ervaskin not just with his magic, but with in his bones.

He was heart-soaring across his home, being rowed to shore by Jormé, when he found Kelouya. She was, actually, not far from the shore and stood still as he swirled the wind around her. She touched the cheek he brushed and sighed, a tear spilling down her cheek. He pressed against her jaw with as much power as she could, turning her head to his direction. He was close enough to the shore to hear her cry out and to see her drop her basket before running into the water.

“Go,” Jormé said, steadying the boat. Telbarisk was already over the side and his feet barely touched the bottom. He ran fast through the water, wrapped his arms around Kelouya, and kissed her, finally after all their years apart.