34: For Better or For Worse

We decided that Gulgad would go south, pursuing the ruby thieves, while the rest of us would head north after Natassia and her suitor. Faustus, the dockmaster, agreed to take us down river on one of the faster boats on the dock. It was fine sailing weather, and we were soon making good time. Fautus expressed some misgivings about the journey but Kurtis reminded him that he had stolen the boat we were on so he would be in trouble if he didn’t do what we said, which was a bit unfair as he was only doing it because Kurtis had told him to in the name of the gravin, but that’s what Kurtis is like these days. Sometimes I feel like it would be best if he just went back to singing in boozy dives in the slums of Ubersreik. Sometimes I think they were happier times.

The short boat journey reminded me of why I enjoyed travelling on the river, especially on these smaller boats. The Emperor Wilhelm was relaxing enough but you didn’t get the feeling of movement or the elements on that luxury craft. I had been keeping an eye on the deckhands and pilots of these vessels and feel like I have picked up enough to be able to sail a boat myself, if I ever need to.

I thought that if I ever had to leave the cult of Shallya then taking on the simple life of a boatman might be for me. I must have been wondering it aloud because Otto asked me what I would do with all the orphans I was supposed to be saving. And that made me think of a floating orphanage, where we could earn enough money to feed the orphans by using the floating orphanage to carry cargo up and down the Reik. That sounds a bit stupid, now. But then it was Otto’s idea.

Solvej asked Faustus about Albrecht the Fish who replied that he was some sort of low-level mobster, but not from round here, and not really that infamous. And so she went back to her book. I asked how she was getting on, learning to read, and she complained that I had not been helping her enough, so I agreed to listen to her reading. But to be honest, some of the content was not what you might consider entirely Shallyan, so I made my excuses and left her to her quivering bosoms.

Perhaps I should have offered her more guidance on the matter. Perhaps I should have been offering her more guidance all along. Perhaps some of the day’s impending tragedy could be put down to my lack of care and attention for Solvej. I feel like I tried my best, for some time, and I did help her in the early days, but it has become increasingly difficult. And perhaps I am at fault for lacking persistence.

It wasn’t long before we saw a small hamlet with a jetty and a boat docked. Faustus recognised it as the one the absconding lovers had taken and so we pulled alongside. Kurtis seemed very keen to sort this out and jumped ashore purposefully. Erhardt and Solvej scouted around the edges of the village while Otto and I went to check out the boat. We found some cloths on board which we guessed had been the ones Natassia had used for her disguise.

Kurtis shouted to warn the entire village that we were there, and that Natassia should come out and return to the castle with us or there would be trouble, but no one emerged. We saw some movement in one of the houses, and so Otto knocked on the door. He claimed to be a monk of Shallya, which was probably a bad call on his part, because the woman replying to him was a priest of Shallya herself and could easily see through his ruse. But then, a blind rat could probably see through one of Otto’s ruses.

Solvej explained that we were looking for Natassia, and the priest replied that she was under her protection. When they realised, this was a priest of Shallya they called for me, and so I went to sort things out. The priest looked at me rather disapprovingly but I managed to convince her to let me into the house so we could discuss the issue, and Otto joined us as I explained that he was my assistant and a fellow monk of Shallya. I’m not sure exactly where Shallya might stand on me lying to a fellow cultist, but I think it is safe to say that Otto does follow Shallya and he is my assistant, in a sense, and as I have already planned to enrol him at the temple as soon as we return to Nuln, I feel like perhaps I wasn’t lying after all.

We had a bit of a theological joust in regard to the situation and Shallya’s religious strictures, and Brother Otto contributed quite well to the intellectual discourse. But Sister Herwig was adamant that Natassia did not love Karl-Heinz and that she should be allowed to marry for love. In fact, she said, that if we had not interrupted just when we did, then they would already be married.

From his demeanour I decided her lover, Joachim, was probably not a noble and that there was no sort of political influence on their decision. They were genuinely running away together because they loved each other. I found it difficult to be enthusiastic about our task, now, but we were employed by the gravin and it was up to us to see that the marriage to the Ambossteins went ahead. We were interrupted by Kurtis banging on the door insisting that Natassia come out. And so I left to talk to him while Otto stayed in the house to make sure no one got married while we weren’t looking.

I explained the situation and we had a heated debate in the middle of the village. First of all, Solvej seemed to be touched by the romance of the situation and prepared to let the couple go on their way, but then remembered our recent safety and comfort had been at the patronage of the gravin and so she seemed to steel herself in order to get the job done. Kurtis was weirdly determined to split the couple up and bring Natassia back for the gravin. I suppose he was determined to do anything the gravin asked as he clearly enjoyed being her pet. But also, with his relationship with Genevieve gone wrong now, I got the impression he was a bit jealous of Natassia and Joachim. Meanwhile Erhardt just sloped off, completely uninterested in our dilemma. And Otto’s opinion doesn’t count.

I was conflicted. I had a lot of sympathy for the couple, and I believed that Shallya would want them to find happiness together, but we were in the employ of the gravin who had more worldly issues to consider. Perhaps the marriage might strengthen the two noble houses, and perhaps this might lead to more stability and peace. Perhaps we would be making the world better for more people just by denying happiness to two. And as Kurtis quite aptly said, for all the power and privilege the nobility enjoys they sometimes have to make small sacrifices, and this was one of those sacrifices.

So, we were mostly agreed to seize the couple. I thought that there might be a fight, and so wanting to support my colleagues I grabbed Solvej’s crossbow and stood there, intimidatingly, like a crossbowman, probably. But there was no fight. Kurtis barged in and demanded they all return to Castle Grauenberg. Kurtis has certainly got a lot more assertive and intimidating lately. I can’t quite put my finger on precisely, how, though. Solvej stood in support with her bow, and I was there with the crossbow. Sister Herwig looked at me in disgust, and I guess she had a point, and so I looked away. But the couple meekly acquiesced to Kurtis’ demands. I guess Joachim was a lover and not a fighter.

Herwig insisted on coming with us. I especially didn’t want her there, reminding me that I had just defied Shallya. We had soon got them on the boat and were heading back. No one felt good about it, however, and there was a palpable silence on the boat, and it started to drizzle, making the mood even worse. in the end Faustus broke the silence by offering to sing shanties, and I shocked everyone by singing The Ladies of l’Anguille, even though I don’t really understand the lyrics. I won’t be doing that again.

As we were nearing Castle Grauenberg, Kurtis told me that he would be getting rid of Sister Herwig. He didn’t want her sticking her nose in around the castle and causing trouble for us. He thought things would go smoother if we just left her on the riverbank in the middle of nowhere. This was plainly wrong, and I should have stuck up for her, but to be honest, I didn’t want her hanging around constantly reminding me of my failure to Shallya and judging me all the time, so I agree with Kurtis. May Shallya forgive me.

So we left Herwig on the bank. I couldn’t look at her, but she wished Natassia and Joachim good luck. Kurtis seemed pleased but no one else was very happy about it. And a while later we pulled into the dock beneath Grauenberg and disembarked. It was still light, and however depressing our mission, I took some pride in the fact we had managed it so quickly and it looked like we had saved the day, at least for the von Saponatheims and the von Ambossteins if no one else. I gave Faustus a crown and told him to keep his mouth shut about the whole episode, which he was very happy with. I need to start bribing people more frugally, but it’s difficult, especially when you don’t have change for a crown.

I was worried about what the gravin might do to Joachim so arranged to have him hidden in our apartments, while Kurtis delivered Natassia to her prospective sister-in-law. I thought that might give us a little room to manoeuvre. We made the couple say their goodbyes, and they embraced. I could see that Otto was tearful because he was blubbing all over the place, but I couldn’t tell whether Solvej was, because I had something in my eye. Kurtis looked pleased with himself, however, and Erhardt just wandered off. We took Joachim to our rooms and tied him up. I don’t recall who tied the knots, but this does become a point of contention later.

Kurtis took Natassia to the gravin. And when Natassia had been bundled off to prepare for the wedding, she asked him whether Joachim might become a problem, but Kurtis told her that she had nothing to worry about, as the man was a commoner and not that impressive. The gravin said she would decide on his fate later, which sounded a bit sinister. And she told Kurtis that she was happy, once again, that she could rely on him so heavily. And there was already another matter she wished him to deal with.

Natassia’s elder brother, Manfred, was running around the castle causing mayhem. He was clearly very disturbed and needed to be apprehended before he could do any more damage. Several bodies had already been found and if his secret, that he was the true heir to the Graf von Saponatheim, was discovered it would be a disaster for the von Saponatheims and for the diplomatic marriage we were trying to support. This was obviously the man we had discovered eating the servant in the kitchens the night before.

Kurtis came back to tell us we needed to search for Manfred, and Otto went to check out the Graf’s tower. He saw the graf in one of the windows preparing for the wedding ceremony, but there was no sign of Manfred.

Solvej had her own plan. She went to see Joachim and told him that she had decided to give him a chance for happiness. She told him all about Manfred von Saponatheim and explained that if Joachim could somehow expose this truth, then Natassia would no longer be considered the heir and he might be able to marry her after all. Our hands were tied, because we were working for the gravin, but maybe Joachim could achieve this. And she was trusting him not to reveal what she had done to anyone, or Solvej would be in serious trouble. Joachim looked a bit nonplussed at the offer but was happy to be free.

Solvej then went to the old crumbling wing of the castle to look for Manfred. She bumped into Erhardt who was there for his own mysterious reasons. They couldn’t find any sign of Manfred and so Solvej headed for the klitchens. But Erhardt heard a caw from a raven, or crow, or whatever, and went to see what the bird wanted. It had a ribbon tied to its foot, and the ribbon led out of the window and down to a ledge and a black leather book. He pulled the ribbon up and grabbed the book. I got the impression that Erhardt had been after this tome for a while, but I don’t understand what it was or any of this really. It was all crazy magic stuff.

The wedding ceremony was starting, and I thought it might be useful if I mixed with the nobility. At least, if the ceremony was disturbed by the mad von Saponatheim I would be on hand to smooth things over. I suppose, as I am a man of the cloth, they assumed I had some sort of official business there. I may have ended up with one of the best seats in the house, but unfortunately that meant I had to sit tight throughout the ceremony and was unable to do anything else. I did, however, have a good view of Natassia’s face, and I could clearly see that she loathed every second of it. We heard a scream coming from the far end of the great hall, but the officials ignored it, and continued with the wedding.

Manfred was walking naked through the courtyard making his way towards the great hall. Solvej saw this and just managed to tackle him and the two of them tussled on the floor, in what must have been a rather unsightly struggle. Manfred demanded to know where his father was. He was of course sat close to me watching the wedding, but Solvej told him he was still in his tower and so Manfred made off in that direction and Solvej followed him.

Meanwhile Otto bumped into Joachim. At first, he was frightened but Otto managed to convince him that he was on his side. Joachim told Otto that he was going to walk in on the wedding ceremony and tell everyone that his wedding to Natassia had already been consummated. Otto wondered how Joachim had escaped, and so Joachim told him about Solvej’s plan to get Manfred involved in the ceremony. The pair of them then went to the tower to see Manfred and they saw Solvej on the stairs listening to Manfred behind the closed door tearing his father’s apartment apart.

Seeing that Otto was now in on her plan, Solvej got mad. She told Joachim that she had been doing him a favour and that he should have kept his mouth shut and that if he ever told anyone else about it, she would kill him. Joachim promised he wouldn’t, and so Solvej opened the door and told him to do what he had to. Joachim looked perplexed and didn’t really understand or wasn’t prepared to carry out Solvej’s plan. And so she pushed him into the room and closed the door. Then blamed Otto for the mess and stormed off. Otto was left on his own listening to the sound of Manfred ripping Joachim apart and eating him, while Solvej fetched the guards and told them where Manfred was.

And Karl-Hainz and Natassia were pronounced man and wife, and the crowd rose in applause. The procession filed out into the courtyard, with Natassia weeping, and Karl-Heinz seething, and the hall was readied for the feast. I haven’t been to many weddings, but I can’t say this had been the happiest one.

During the feast, Otto told me everything that had happened with Solvej. We discussed how much she had changed and how we probably needed to be careful of her. Otto suggested I try to pray with her, but I told him that I thought the time when I could have made an effective intervention was in the past, now.

Kurtis ended up talking to the dowager duchess about her ruby and he assured her he had one of his best agents on the case and he was sure he would turn up with it first thing in the morning. The dowager told him that if that were true then he would certainly be richly rewarded. In fact, he could have anything he liked, she said, suggestively.

The gravin wanted to know whether Kurtis had dealt with Manfred and told him that Joachim might have to be killed, but Kurtis told her that he thought he posed little threat. Then he bumped into me and Otto. Otto told him everything that had happened, as well as Solvej’s plan. Otto broke down a bit and wailed about the terrible screams he had heard as Joachim had been eaten alive. When we got to the tower, there were a number of guards restraining Manfred. I had a vial of yellowish liquid Erhardt had taken from the assassin he had found in the gravin’s chambers. Erhardt’s theory was that it was a sleeping draught, and the assassin had intended to give it to the gravin in order to ensure that she slept long enough to be discovered next to the body. He had asked me what the potion really was, but I have to say, I didn’t have a clue.

I decided to give it to Manfred, however. If it was a sleeping draught, then it would mean the guards would be able to deal with him without causing a scene. But, I think, as I was pouring it down his throat, I kind of wished that perhaps it wasn’t a sleeping draught, after all. Although it is anathema to the teachings of Shallya, I think I wanted the potion to be a deadly poison. I think that might have been better for the poor fellow and for everyone else. But Erhardt’s theory was correct and soon Manfred was sleeping peacefully.

When the guards had gone, Solvej sort of apologised and sort of explained herself. It was a long explanation of what she had been hoping to achieve, and I think I understood most of it. She also came up with a plausible story that Kurtis could tell the gravin, which made us look good, although it blamed Otto for not tying Joachim up properly. It seemed a bit mean to throw him under the carriage like that, especially as the whole debacle had been the result of Solvej’s plan. Solvej ended by gave Otto a friendly squeeze on the arm, but I think I saw him flinch.

When Kurtis reported all this to the gravin, she was very pleased and said Manfred would be  whisked away at first light to somewhere he could get help. Kurtis asked the gravin for advice about Solvej, but the gravin confessed she had not really noticed her much. She said she knew she was friendly with some of her hand maidens and said she would ask some of them to keep an eye on her, for Kurtis.

In the morning, we were due to leave quite early, on the Emperor Wilhelm, on our way back to Nuln. We saw Natassia on the jetty. She addressed us quite formally. She said that she didn’t forgive us for what we had done, but she wanted to know that we had made sure that no harm had come to Joachim. There was a long silence, and none of us knew what to say.

Now Otto is a very honest chap, the only honest one, I would say, among us at that time, which is to his credit. But there can be moments when too much honesty turns out to be a bad thing. And I think this was one such moment. And so Otto told Natassia, in some detail, how Joachim had been eaten alive by her mad brother.

Sometimes I think I am not really cut out for this life. Sometimes I think I should just find a job as a simple boatman and go where the work and the river takes me. The pace of life is relaxing, and I would not be at the mercy of these greedy nobles and all their schemes. I think it is these schemes that have driven Solvej to do what she does, desperate for the safety of the gravin’s patronage. Sometimes I remember the old Solvej eating pork pies and pickled herring on the riverfront in Ubersreik, chatting pleasantly to the other watchmen about nothing at all, and I think that was a happy time. But that all seems a very long time ago, now.