TMOHD Chapter 22: Questions About Being Besieged

[duchess of malfi]

In the proceeding chapter, well dissected by our resident Sith Lord, we finally get out from the walls of Orison. As chapter 22 begins, we are still in the great outdoors under the sunshine, out in the cold...

Terisa and Geraden, in the company of their two prisoners, Nyle and a product of Imagery, have been found by some of Lebbick's guards.

Fortunately, Geraden took charge before anyone - perhaps including the Apt himself - realized what he was doing

He directs the guards to follow the trail of Guardsman Argus, who had been following Prince Kragen. Terisa is feeling both very cold, and very sick from having killed one of the red furry creatures...and then they come upon more guards, and with them, the body of Argus. Geraden feels responsible for his loss, as he had sent him to follow the Alends alone...

The Apt turned. Terisa could hardly recognize him: he appeared more dangerous then Artagel had ever been.

Upon the return to Orison, Lebbick sends the red hairy being and Nyle to the dungeons. He is furious over the loss of Argus. He also seems to be very interested in the horse and tack of the red furry attacker...and he orders Geraden and Terisa and the guard captain to one of the guardrooms to meet with him. While he seems to be in a very grim mood, he also sees how cold Terisa is, and orders hot mulled wine for her to drink. He then has the captain report, and orders guards to follow the Alends and to backtrack the creatures...and to get a falconer to try to find out more about the carrier pigeons.

Then the captain leaves and the questioning of Geraden and Terisa begins.
The Castellan accuses Terisa of being part of a conspiracy because she knows about carrier pigeons. Geraden defends her, and begins explaining the events in the courtyard of Orison, and how they came to believe that Nyle, Elega, and the Alends are working together...and that they had told all of this to the Tor. Lebbick becomes very dangerous at this point and asks why they hadn't told him, and his answer comes from the Tor, who had just arrived.

I love the Tor. I know SRD says his favorite character is Lebbick, but I am a Tor girl.

The Tor tells Lebbick that he had not been told anything because he is too prone to excesses, and rather than waiting to see how the plots had worked out and see who and what they would lead to, he would have immediately arrested all involved...and Lebbick admits that he has tried to have Princess Elega arrested, and she cannot be found.

The discussion changes over to the red furries, and Terisa tells of how she killed one in defense of Geraden...

"He was fighting for his life." she whispered. "I had to help him. Didn't I? I can't spend my whole life just sitting on my hands and wondering when I'm going to fade. I can't. That's worse than doing something wrong. Isn't it?"

Those words made me so proud of Terisa. It shows how much she has grown as a person since the beginning of the story. Remember how even in her dreams she was passive back then? She has become a much stronger, more forceful person.

The Castellan points out that the creature rode a horse wearing a type of bridle only used in Tor. The Tor accepts that perhaps the rogue Imager is operating in his Care -- and turns the discussion to preparations for the arrival of the Alend army, who will undoubtedly lay siege to Orison. The stores are a bit low, with it being the end of winter, but the biggest concern is the huge hole in the wall from the exit of the Champion...

The Castellan takes Geraden and Terisa down to the dungeons to help with the questioning of the prisoners. First they run into Artagel on a litter, who had been down to visit Nyle. Artagel begs Geraden -- as

the smart one of the family

to find Elega and stop her from doing whatever it is she plans on doing to betray Mordant...

The next person they run into is another of my favorite characters, the Adept Havelock. He is there to check out and make silly faces at the red furred being. Terisa knows not to ask him questions, so they have a very weird conversation, with Terisa making bland statements about the weather, and Havelock responding with bits of knowledge about the furry dude and the evil Vagel...but he takes even Terisa by surprise when he whips out his little sun mirror and fries the red hairy guy...

[danlo]

This is a particullarly tough chapter for me as I really liked Argus. On the other hand Argus' death brings serious passion and reality out of Ribuld, as well it should. Suddenly the fun "bluecollar" team of Argus and Ribuld is transformed into first local casualty and ardent avenger. I don't mean to belittle those terms but they are important. Tho we've seen the bodies of Tor's son and men of Perdon, Argus' death brings it all home to Orision. Not only is this the first death we see in Demense but the first involving Alends. Now we know this is all too unaviodable and all too real.

In the wake of the loss of his bestfriend, Ribuld's passion is almost beyond limits and his captian is the only person who can keep him from killing Nyle,

"Nobody cares what happens to you. If you weren't a son of the Domne--and if your brothers weren't better men than you are--we would have let you ride off and make a shitass of yourself in front of the Perdon. You talk about fun."

"Ribuld," warned the captian, that's enough."

But Ribuld couldn't stop. "I'm sure the Perdon would have thought it was fun to be offered the kingship of Mordant"--he was ventilating a vicious grief--"if we captured that fornicating Prince, and the whole Alend army was helpless against us. Geraden did you a favor."

Nyle avoided the guard's glare.

"Argus did you a favor, you rotten--"

"Ribuld!" The captian's voice cut like a whip. "I said that's enough."

Ribuld rolled the whites of his eyes, glaring like a wounded predatior. His scar flamed with blood. Nevertheless the captian's command caught and held him. he turned his back on Nyle, began untying Argus' wrists.

"He doesn't have any family. Somebody has to bury him."

It's an interesting point Ribuld makes about Kragen I'm not sure it would have had that effect (it's more than that isn't it?) but it would've put a serious crimp in Alend's plans. A certian Imager would not see that crimp as advantageous to his own, would he?

With the loss of Argus Ribuld becomes a much more vivid character in this complex cast and with all the value and love placed on family in Mordant's world SRD mercilessly breaks that veil beyond Lebbick (at least he had a wife) and even Terisa (to some degree). Call me a weinnie, but the fact that Argus had NO family, at all, that really destroyed me...

[duchess of malfi]

Those two really did have a deep friendship, and a lot of respect for each other, didn't they -- meaning Argus and Ribuld.

The fact that Argus had no family makes me wonder about his background. Did he lose his family at a very young age in the wars that birthed Mordant? Did he become a soldier because he had no family? Did a friendly soldier or soldiers in the service of Joyse or one of the Cares perhaps take it upon themselves to feed a little kid with no parents? I suppose we will never know, but little details like this make chacracters come springing to life...

[danlo]

Spoiler

There's a tragic character later on: Underwell-- who reminds me of Argus' situation

(lalala!)

[Revan]

Spoiler

Ribuld doesn't seem to care in the second book... I mean he is near to the Prince quite a few times... and he doesn't bother mentioning it...

(You are spoiling--you can talk like this in the MN discusion forum or wait till the apropriate time in A Man Rides Through, but not here.-danlo)