Return to Kinthaldith

A novel by Meredith Skye

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The next day, Lord Risser still hadn't returned. Lujen took Jesh to the library inside the main house and got him permission to read more books. Jesh spent some time researching the Court of Lords and their law system there.

Jesh also studied the Houses that made up the Court of Lords. Officially, there were sixteen Houses that had membership in the Court. The Hasson was the most populated House, but the Terresheld'eneth was the largest for land, and they had almost as many people, though the Hasson had long had a feud with that house.

Jesh remembered that the houses to the north had been friendly to the Hasson during Lord Demmin's time. But now, according to Lujen, Risser had befriended many of the southern houses, who had been opposed to contact with the Prenth and their technology.

One morning, Jesh sat in the study with a stack of paper, working on the resolution. He crumpled up the page he had been writing and tossed it aside. Impatient, he got up and paced around the room. He needed his notebook, the one from his bag. In it, he had notes on the criterion for writing the resolution. It would be difficult to make much more progress without that.

The door opened, and Lujen entered. "Jesh, good morning," he said.

Jesh nodded.

"Everything all right?" asked Lujen.

"No. I need that notebook. Has no one seen my bag?" He didn't hold out much hope.

"I asked Lady Tireth'darra just this morning, and there is still no word."

Jesh muttered something and paced back over to his desk but didn't sit down. "I need that. It contains details I need to know."

Lujen set his cloak on the couch, watching Jesh. "Why don't you come with me to Arrassen? I think you could use a break."

"And do what?" asked Jesh, discouraged.

"Something else, for a while anyway. I'm going shopping at the market. It'll be good for you to get some fresh air."

Jesh nodded assent.

* * * * *

The two-hour journey to Arrassen led them through mostly low-lying fields of hay, wheat, or rye, dotted with the occasional fruit orchard. Jesh rode alongside Lujen on horseback. Being back in the saddle reminded Jesh of his younger days, back when he really enjoyed riding. Now, he was badly out of practice, though he'd gotten some opportunity at the stable. The cool fall air felt refreshing, and a dim sun attempted to warm the chill morning air.

After a while, Jesh relaxed some, though he was still urgent about getting the resolution done and finding an opportunity to speak to Lord Risser about it. The Heir, however, hadn't returned yet from Yannishannor, so nothing could really be done. And Jesh worried that without the Heir, nothing would be possible. Would he help? A bleak sense of foreboding surrounded that question and lay heavily on Jesh's mind. How could he convince the headstrong, opinionated, stubborn conservative son of Demmin of the urgency of embracing new ways?

The town of Arrassen lay in the middle of a farming community. The Hasson'landith held some of the most fertile farmland of all the houses. The Hasson mainly produced beer—dark ale and light ale. Of course, during Lord Demmin's day, printing and making books had been a big part of the Hasson's industry. Lord Risser hadn't followed after his father in that regard. If it weren't for Lady Tireth and her occasional printing requests for poetry and other small books, Jesh was certain Risser would have destroyed the printing press and melted it down.