Saving the Singer Chapter Three
Deductions and Navigations
Mirana gently mopped Alannah's forehead with a cold cloth, sighing in anxiety. Alannah had been drifting in and out of consciousness, and her body was alternately hot and cold. She was muttering under her breath, but Mirana could only make out a few of the words in the jumble of English and Outlandish. She frowned in worry, and then turned as she heard footsteps behind her. "Hello, Tarrant. Has Stayne left yet?"
Tarrant nodded, and then looked over at Alannah in concern. "He left about ten minutes ago. Majesty, I have something I must tell you. It is my belief that Alannah was deliberately poisoned. With your permission, I would like to find out who did it, and what their reason behind such a heinous act."
Mirana put her hand to her mouth in shock. "Who would do such a thing?" She nodded once. "Tarrant, I give you my full permission to conduct an investigation into this matter." She sighed, turning to look at Alannah. "If we could only figure out how she came to ingest Sleeper's Bane in the first place, we might have a starting point. But I haven't found any puncture wounds, and Alannah would never drink anything with the poison in it." At Tarrant's confused look, Mirana explained. "She is a healer, so she is able to recognize when a drink has been doctored."
Tarrant bit his lip, thinking. "Well, what about absorption through the skin? I've been doing some readings about Sleeper's Bane, and according to texts, that's one way to administer the poison. All someone has to do is coat a glove with the poison, and brush against their intended victim. Alannah comes in contact with several people each day. It would be easy for someone to get close enough to her."
Mirana was about to answer when a low moan came from the bed. She turned, and stared into Alannah's fever bright eyes. "Alannah!"
Alannah gulped, trying to form words, but was unsuccessful. She gave an exaggerated frown of annoyance, and looked over at Tarrant, making frantic writing motions with her hands. He nodded in understanding, and pulled a piece of paper and pencil out of his coat pocket. Mirana stared, and Tarrant gave a shy smile. "I keep paper and pencil on hand so when I get an idea for a hat, I can do a quick sketch before reaching my shop."
He handed the paper and pencil to Alannah, and she wrote slowly, and then fell back exhausted. Tarrant came forward and plucked the paper from her fingers, reading the scraggly writing.
"Ilosivic?"
Tarrant looked at her, and spoke in a soft voice. "He has gone to find the Unicorn, to ask for three hairs from his tail. He'll be back before you know it."
Alannah frowned, and then gestured for the paper once more. Tarrant handed it to her, and she wrote a reply, and then handed it back to him.
"Children?"
"They are with Alice, and are perfectly safe." He sighed. "We haven't told them what happened. All we told them was that their Momma was sick."
Alannah nodded weakly, and then took the paper one more time. She wrote again, and then fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Tarrant took the paper, and sighed at what she had written.
"Why?"
He looked at her sleeping form. "My Lady, that is precisely what I intend to find out."
He bowed to Mirana, and left the room.
Stayne bought Grey Star to a halt, gazing in trepidation at the marshy swamp that was the Gummer Slough. It stretched in all directions, and the stench it gave off was stomach churning. He dismounted, and carefully led Grey Star forward. He had walked about three feet into the marsh when the ground became swampy, and he jumped back to solid ground before he was sucked under. He sighed in frustration, wondering how in Time he was going to make it through, when he heard a soft tittering sound. He looked around, and noticed a small bird sitting on a nearby tree branch, staring at him. The bird tittered again, and then spoke in a high, fluttery voice. "Man wants to cross the swamp, he does. But man doesn't know the secret way. Bird know, not man. Bird finds secret way through, but man sinks into the swamp!" The bird tittered in laughter, and Stayne glared at it.
"You know the way through? Show me."
The bird tittered, and then cocked his head in mischief. "Why should bird show you the way? What does man need that's at the other end?"
Stayne sighed. "The Unicorn. My wife will die unless I get hairs from his tail. Please, help me."
The bird looked at him. "Man's wife have name? Bird wants to know."
Stayne nodded. "Alannah, why?"
The bird fluttered its wings, and sang a joyful note. "Bird knows her! She killed Boojum, saved Underland! Bird will help her husband through swamp. Follow bird, he shows you and horse way through!"
Stayne frowned in slight skepticism. "That's all well and good, but how do I know you will lead me on the right path?"
The bird flew over, and landed on Grey Star's saddle. "Bird swears by Underland itself. He will lead you straight through swamp." The bird flew to the tree, and tittered in impatience. "So come, follow!"
Stayne mounted Grey Star, and set off after the bird. The bird flew ahead, making sure that Stayne could see him at all times, and kept twittering in encouragement. "Come, man. We are nearly to end of swamp! See, you can see break in trees! Few more moments!"
Stayne sighed in relief. While the bird had shown him a solid path, there will still places where the marsh encroached on the path, and both Stayne and Grey Star had been splashed by the foul water more than once. Luckily, one of the properties of the Gummer Slough was that once a person was free of it, the smell and swamp water evaporated. He sighed again as they came out of the swamp. The bird was perched on a branch, and Stayne smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you for all your help. I don't suppose you know where the Unicorn might be?"
The bird shook his head. "Bird not knows, sorry. But bird hope you find Unicorn, save wife!"
Stayne smiled grimly. "I hope I do too."
He rode down the path, determined to find the Unicorn. Suddenly, Absolem's cryptic comment came back to him-'You will find the other half of the answer when you reach the Slough.' Stayne frowned, racking his brains. 'There was nothing in the swamp, I'm sure of it. But maybe the answer is outside the swamp. But where?'
He glanced around, hoping to find a clue, and his eye was drawn to a tree that stood apart from the others. It was large, and there was a large knot in the middle. Stayne walked over, and pressed the knot. Much to his surprise, it sank into the tree, revealing a wide set of stairs. The opening was large enough for two men.
Stayne took Grey Star's reins, and carefully led him down the stairs, heading towards what he was certain was the domain of the Unicorn.
Next-Tarrant continues to play detective, and finds some likely suspects.
