The Spirit Stone - Katharine Kerr [90]
‘You have a point, truly.’
Nevyn laid a tube of sulphur on top of one of Aderyn’s sacks of medicinals, then left the tent. He found Loddlaen standing right outside, staring down at the ground. When Nevyn spoke to him, he looked up fast and took a step back, then laughed.
‘You startled me, sir,’ Loddlaen said. ‘Is Da in there?’
‘He’s not,’ Nevyn said. ‘He’s off looking for food.’
‘Well, it’s not truly important. Val was just showing me her new gem, and I was wondering what you and he thought of it.’
‘Both of us found it very impressive, not that we could tell much about it. It seems to be a showstone of sorts, though.’
‘I thought it was marvellous. It radiates an odd sort of power, doesn’t it?’
‘It does, but what sort of power? That’s what I don’t know. Here, did Val let you look into it?’
‘She did. I saw a light moving in it, but it might just have been a reflection from the sunlight. It’s a crystal, after all.’
‘So it is. But the light moved?’
‘Back and forth, as if it were the end of a rope someone was swinging. When I told Val that, she got excited, but she doesn’t know what it means.’
‘Well, no doubt she’ll figure it out. She’s got quite an affinity for gems.’
‘She certainly does. Well, my thanks. I’ll find Da sooner or later, no doubt.’
Loddlaen turned and walked away. Nevyn watched him till he disappeared among the tents and general clutter. I’ve got to do somewhat for that lad, he told himself. But I wonder if his father will let me?
On the morrow, Aderyn’s healing work occupied him until mid-afternoon. When it came time to leave the disorder of the camp in order to work with the scroll, Valandario joined them. Aderyn insisted on Loddlaen coming along as well. Nevyn decided against arguing the point, mostly out of respect for his friend, but also because he wondered just how much of a dweomer gift Loddlaen might show.
The four of them returned to the spot in the shade of the willow trees and settled themselves in the grass. As before, Aderyn paced out a protective circle. The blue light built up the pentagrams even faster and more solidly than it had the day before. Nevyn could feel power flowing from Valandario to contribute to the ritual, but from Loddlaen, nothing. Once they started working with the scroll, however, Loddlaen read off several of the red marginal notes and had information to add.
‘This one here, number seven,’ Loddlaen said. ‘The note says that ra-as corresponds to our word van-el, the East. Whoever wrote it didn’t realize that there’s an older Elvish word for east, ra-san-ah. I wonder if the two are related.’
‘That’s very interesting,’ Nevyn said. ‘Where did you hear it, ra-san-ah, I mean?’
‘In one of Dev’s songs, the one he does at the day of remembrance for the Great Burning. He learned the song from an older bard who learned it from a man who’d been alive at the time.’
Nevyn began to think that indeed, he’d judged the lad’s gifts too harshly, but once they began reciting the formulae, it became obvious that Loddlaen’s knowledge came from the intellect, not from the deeper levels of the mind that need to resonate with dweomer workings if the workings are to have any effect.
‘Rah-as ee Sal-mah-noo par-ah-de-zo-od.’ Aderyn was reading from the seventh formula. ‘Oh-ay Kah-ree-mee Ah-ah-oh.’ He paused and turned to Loddlaen. ‘What images does that evoke for you?’
‘Images?’ Loddlaen said. ‘I don’t see any. Is it some sort of description?’
‘It is. Well, let’s try the next one.’
As Aderyn continued to read from the scroll, Loddlaen’s response was always the same. He saw nothing, felt nothing from hearing this alien tongue. Finally, after Aderyn had read five separate formulae, his disappointment began to show in his voice. Loddlaen began to describe images, but they had nothing to do with the text or with the work Aderyn and Nevyn had done on the previous day.
‘You’re just making those up, aren’t you?’ Aderyn said finally. ‘You’re not really trying at all.’
‘Da, I am trying.’ Loddlaen kept his gaze on the grass in front of him. ‘I’m sorry.’
Aderyn set his mouth in