There is no time for regret once the soup has been served.
“You’re from the continent?” said the Earl.
Radulfus tried not to look at the skull on the table before him as he considered his answer. He had heard that this particular English prince referred to anyone who crossed the Channel as “from the Continent”, regardless of their origin. Radulfus had heard of the Earl’s habits and that is why he’d made a point of crossing paths with him on his daily hunt. Here was a man legendary for bradaggio and coarse manners and cruelty. What the Bavarian merchant wanted to discover was whether his host was stupid or fond of theater. He was now certain it was the latter, though he had not expected the degrees to which the Earl would stoop to ensure that the show would, no matter the consequences, go on.
“Yes.” said Radulfus. “And what sort of stew is this?”
“Oh mutton or some such shit. What do you think of it?”
Everyone else ate their food from silver plates. Radulfus and the lady of the castle were the only ones eating from human heads. When he first saw the woman, the merchant remarked on how lovely she was. He was a wealthy man and not given to envy. However, on this occasion he made an exception. He had known many people with money and many with power, but so few with such a rare beauty serving at their pleasure. And yet her lord chose to torture her with something approaching cannibalism. Then again, perhaps this is what she enjoyed. Was it possible that the Earl had found himself a woman who was not only the image of physical perfection, but also shared in his rare interests? Now Radulfus was faced with the unexpected prospect of deciding whether or not this was also something to be envious of.
“Do you know…” said the Earl, pointing a knife and drooling in his beard. “I have heard of you. They say you travel not for money, but for knowledge. I have heard that you have sufficient wealth for your needs and continue with the life of a merchant because you crave the experience of new lands and peoples. I will not ask you if this is true because I am sure it is. What I will ask is, do you really think it better to be learned than to be powerful?”
Radulfus considered his words carefully and said, “It is suitable for me.” He gestured to the walls of the grand palace, and to the paintings on the walls, and said, “I am not an earl or a baron or a king and I don’t have the slightest sense of obligation to the land and to predecessors who ruled it. I have a deep respect for the weight of time that brings you both great power and great responsibilities.”
The rude man laughed and said, “You have no such respect. I’ve seen how you regard my wife. You and your curiosity can go to hell. I would rather command an army by day and sleep with a goddess by night than loose myself to the sea as you do.”
The merchant forced himself to eat and was dismayed to find the dinner sumptuous. The Earl offered his guest a room for the evening and Radulfus could hardly refuse. First, there was the matter of the rain, which is to say the classical English gale coming off the sea. Second, there was the matter of what storms may have burst forth from inside the house should he refuse his host’s slightest request. A servant escorted him to a well appointed room in the west end of the castle. As the servant lit a fire on the far side of the room, Radulfus saw a light through the window. Someone with a lantern was wandering along the ridge of the berm that the Earl had build around the castle.
“Who would be out there at this time?” the merchant asked himself.
The servant shook his head and set a lamp by the bed. Radulfus tried to sleep, but he could not. How could anyone be expected to sleep after such a dinner? The room in which he slept was very large and the fire quite distant from the bed. Thus, Radulfus lit the lamp. He found two dead men hanging by their arms on the wall. Any of the other fears he had thus far entertained had become invisible beneath the thoughts that were now fomenting in his mind. He took his belongings and burst forth into the night. He thought of avoiding the main road and trying to find his way through the woods, but there was some figure wandering the hills and anyone out in this weather at this time of night was a person to be reckoned with.
It didn’t matter. As Radulfus approached the main gate, he saw a lantern emerge from the gloom and approach him. There was a shadow behind the light. At last, the shadow formed into the shape of the Earl. The merchant wasn’t really surprised. What did surprise him was that his host did not look the least bit intimidating. He was dressed in rags like a peasant and his face looked hollowed and worn. His body was hunched over and weakened. Seeing that his guest was struck mute, the Earl spoke first.
“I am sorry that I have frightened you.” he said. “It was of course my intent, but I can’t help myself. Some years ago, I discovered that my wife was sleeping with my rival. I found them in the act and of course I murdered the man on the spot, cutting off his head. Then I rode off and removed the head of his son, leaving no heir. I placed the skull of my wife’s lover before her every evening to remind her that she is privileged, but that privilege is fleeting. The other skull I place before everyone who enters my domain to make it clear to them what happens to those who cross me.”
“I’ve heard of your temper.” said Radulfus. “And I admit that I had not imagined the depths to which it reached. My only regret is my own stupidity. I have travelled throughout the world and sailed through many storms. I am all too familiar with the fragility of life and the cruelty of man. I don’t fault you for what you must do to protect your plot of earth.”
He wasn’t sure whether these words were something he believed, but they were definitely something he felt his host wanted to hear. Whatever Radulfus knew of humanity, one certain thing was that flattery of one kind or another was an essential skill when it came to keeping one’s head. He could only imagine what the bodies hanging in his bedroom had done to this crazed individual, the prince who wandered the woods soaking and torn.
“I envy you.” said the Earl. “The relatives of that man killed two of my own kinsmen. I hung the bodies in my bedroom to remind me that there is no security in this world, even for a man of power and wealth such as myself. I am certain that I will live, but there is little I can do to protect those dearest to me when someone has set his mind upon hurting them.
“Eventually, I was unable to sleep. I no longer stay in my own room at night, preferring to wander the land. I think to myself that if I am disguised and prepared, some day I will come across the murderers and set forth once again the cycle of revenge. I admit to you, my friend, that I am not the idiot that others say I am. Neither am I a savage. However, a savage lives within me and there is nothing I can do to expel him. The smarter part of me would rather let my wife leave than live this way, would rather bury my kinsmen then let their remains rot in unholy demise upon my chamber walls. And if I am really to be honest with you, I dress this way because I would rather be a peasant than live with the creature that haunts my mind.”
At once Radulfus had a notion.
“Come with me.” he said. “Become a merchant, a happy wanderer.”
“I am afraid I can’t do that. The demon will not let me leave without someone to tend to my vengeances. I am happy now that I have found that person. Once I stopped sleeping in my own home and dressing in my own clothes, I started to feel some freedom. I knew that I had to force anyone who crossed my threshold to stay in that room and see those bodies and become filled with rage and fear.”
“And what did you hope to accomplish by this?” said the merchant.
“A man such as yourself knows what a man such as me is like. But you became so confused with turns of envy and judgement and fear that you could no longer listen to reason. That is the kind of man I need to take charge of my territory and my wife and my kin. That is the kind of man I need to carry on with my duties, to carry the weight of my ancestors.”
“If you think I am going to stay…”
“I know you will stay. You slept in the room and now the spell of this place will not release you. I, however, am free. You are welcome to attempt an escape if you like. The gate is there. However, I think you will find yourself turning back no matter how hard you may try. That was the case for me, and as I am sure you by now realize - I was never anyone’s fool.”
With those words, the impoverished prince turned and took his lantern away with him in the night.
image courtesy of pixabay
