He told me he did not hold high hopes for this one either. That said, he also told me that his informant this time was far more reliable than the last three.
Regardless the relic, a petrified branch of an adela tree, or the adela tree, the first one the goddess Adele created, was important enough to make an attempt so that was what he was doing.
We were now out of Lunwynian waters and in those of Middleland. The relic, Frey’s informant told him, was in the possession of Phobin who happened to be the lover of Princess Sjofn’s cousin, Broderick who was King Baldur’s son.
Frey didn’t have a lot to say about Broderick but, reading between the lines, I got the sense he didn’t like him much. He had less to say about Phobin but what he did say you didn’t have to read between the lines. He disliked Phobin flat out. And I got the feeling he would have probably liked Broderick more if he hadn’t chosen Phobin as partner.
Frey had also cautiously informed me that this mission was complicated. And it was complicated because Frey had been to Middleland recently and his last mission there had been dangerous. It had also been secret. Further, it had been politically sensitive. And lastly, my father didn’t know about it nor, incidentally, the one Frey was currently planning.
This was because Frey tended to tell Atticus about these missions after they were successful for if things went awry (eek!), Atticus could honestly claim no knowledge of them. Unless, of course, it was my father who asked Frey to accomplish them.
Though, that said, the last one was so sensitive, Father still didn’t know about it.
King Baldur also hadn’t known about Frey’s previous mission, Frey wasn’t fired up for either brother to know and he was intent upon entering Middleland, hopefully retrieving the relic and exiting without anyone being the wiser about this mission and, with any luck, they were still no one wiser about the last.
As the story goes, Thad had a communication from a woman he had once had a somewhat long affair with and still held in high regard. This communication was an urgent request to aid in the escape of another woman as she was desperate to flee her captor.
Thad, still carrying feelings for his ex-lover and therefore trusting her, agreed to assist without actually getting all the information. Frey had not meant to go, seeing as he was getting married, though he did offer Thad one of his vessels. But, once married and deciding he’d rather be at sea doing dangerous deeds with his men than hanging with a lesbian (in all fairness, I could see this) at his wedding celebration to her and after, he’d changed his mind, deposited me at his hunting cabin and gone.
Once they arrived, they found that Thad’s friend was actually the maid to King Baldur’s personal sorceress, a woman with great power but even so, she was controlled by Baldur.
It was a sad story, actually, because Frey and Thad had learned from the maid that this sorceress, named Circe (totally kickass name, by the by) had displayed she held magic from practically birth. In order to control her power, Baldur had kidnapped her when she was very young. And to make certain to keep her with no attempts made to gain her return; he’d executed both of her parents.
Yes, executed two people in order to steal their daughter.
It seemed my uncle was a true peach.
Unfortunately for her, not only did she hold a great deal of magic, she also grew into great beauty. So my lovely uncle (not), had started forcing himself on her when she was fourteen and she was still known to be his mistress even though she was more than double that age now.
That was to say, Circe was his unwilling mistress.
Nevertheless, she was a prized possession of King Baldur’s for more reasons than one and assisting her to escape was, as Frey phrased it, “politically sensitive” (but what he meant was politically explosive thus Father still being none the wiser).
However, two things happened. One, Frey was Frey and Thad told me that, upon learning her story, he didn’t hesitate to agree to help her escape. Two, the sorceress’s maid had relayed that Circe had information about the elfin relic everyone was seeking and she would pay for their efforts by providing this information to Frey.
Therefore, Circe was Frey’s source and although centuries of experience with disappointment made him keep his expectations in check, as the days went by and launching the operation came closer, I could feel the men’s restless excitement.
Expectations might be in check but there was still hope.
Yes, this was how important the relic was.
Thinking of all this, I pushed deeper into my trunk to find a clean pair of breeches to wear, pulled some out, a small pouch dropped out of a fold and with it a piece of paper fluttered.
I stared at the tiny, purple satin pouch on the floor by my knee then reached down to pick up the folded piece of paper.
I opened it and read:
Sweet Finnie,
We hope you find this sooner rather than later.
We’ve packed some adela tea for you to use with your husband.
We don’t know if you’ve read about this in your books but in case you haven’t, we’ll explain.
Harvesting anything from adela trees, which grow very slowly and are very susceptible to disease, is strictly controlled. Any adela tree is sacred for they are created by the goddess but also they are the entry point of the elves from their realm into ours. If anything were to happen to the adelas, the elves would be trapped under the earth for eternity and no one wants that so they are handled carefully.
Adela tree branches can be gathered only for wedding bundles and their bark is harvested cautiously and used for a special tea. Adela tea is quite expensive, very rare and not used widely.