Ra?”
Kendrick ignored the question. “Please go on.”
“The festival is a carnival of music, dancing, games, feasts, and frolicking that lasts two full days. And it costs nothing—Lord Ra provides everything.”
“Do all of the youth attend?” Duncan asked.
“No, but most do,” Frayne said soberly. “My son, Hamlin, started asking to attend when he was fifteen. In my heart I knew it wouldn’t be good for him, and my wife was vehemently against it. But all of his friends had attended numerous times. People ridiculed me for denying my son the joy of his youth, and Hamlin kept asking. So I finally relented. I convinced myself that his attending one festival couldn’t possibly hurt anything.”
Frayne stopped and stared at nothing for a time. Kendrick glanced at Duncan. He wondered if Frayne’s story was relevant at all to their mission but decided that anything they could learn about Lord Ra might be helpful in some way. He waited patiently for Frayne to continue.
Frayne finally looked at Kendrick. “Hamlin loved the festival, and at first it didn’t seem there would be any problems. But when I said no to the next festival, he left in the middle of the night to join his friends. He also began asking to attend the fetes that Lord Ra hosts every Friday evening. Eventually I wearied of the fight and let Hamlin choose his own path. I was such a fool.”
“What happened?”
“I lost my son, that’s what happened. Hamlin’s whole focus became the pleasures and indulgences Lord Ra offered at the castle. I watched my son begin to wither away from the man I’d hoped he would become.My wife and I began to fight, and our home became a bed of hostility. I didn’t know what was happening. I still don’t really.”
Frayne’s eyes filled with tears. “Six months ago, Hamlin didn’t come back from the festival. His friends said they looked for him, but he was gone. They thought he’d left early. I tried to speak with Lord Ra, but …” Frayne’s voice trailed off to silence, and he began to gaze into nothingness again.
“Are other boys missing?” Kendrick asked.
Frayne nodded. “Not just boys. Girls too.” A fire sparked in his eyes, drying the tears. “It’s maddening! Most of them come back week after week, month after month. They’re different, but they come back. But some don’t come back, and it’s as if the city denies that they ever existed. No one will talk about it, and they continue to let their own children march off to Lord Ra’s revelry.”
“I don’t understand,” Duncan said. “What does Lord Ra have to gain by hosting a festival every month and fetes every week?”
“He recruits some of the young men and a few young women to become knights that serve in his castle,” Frayne said, “and those who are selected fare well indeed. That’s what many of the parents are hoping for when they allow their youth to attend the festivities.”
“How are they selected?” Kendrick asked.
Frayne shrugged. “I think it has something to do with the games and sports during the festivals, but I don’t know for sure. Hamlin wouldn’t tell me much about what happened inside the castle walls.”
“Tell us more about Lord Ra,” Duncan said.
“I don’t know much about him really. Just that he is extremely wealthy and, considering the size of his castle, he must be very powerful.”
“Can you direct us to his castle?” Kendrick asked.
Frayne laughed. “Certainly … come with me.” He exited the back room and walked to the front of his shop. Kendrick and Duncan followed him outside and down the street just a few paces. The main thoroughfare curved to the right and, as they walked, the shops acrossthe street and the trees behind them slowly retreated from view to reveal a magnificent castle set against the beautiful green of the forest and the rocky backdrop of Mount Quarnell. For all the castle’s beauty and splendor, however, Kendrick felt the hairs on his neck stand
Kendrick ignored the question. “Please go on.”
“The festival is a carnival of music, dancing, games, feasts, and frolicking that lasts two full days. And it costs nothing—Lord Ra provides everything.”
“Do all of the youth attend?” Duncan asked.
“No, but most do,” Frayne said soberly. “My son, Hamlin, started asking to attend when he was fifteen. In my heart I knew it wouldn’t be good for him, and my wife was vehemently against it. But all of his friends had attended numerous times. People ridiculed me for denying my son the joy of his youth, and Hamlin kept asking. So I finally relented. I convinced myself that his attending one festival couldn’t possibly hurt anything.”
Frayne stopped and stared at nothing for a time. Kendrick glanced at Duncan. He wondered if Frayne’s story was relevant at all to their mission but decided that anything they could learn about Lord Ra might be helpful in some way. He waited patiently for Frayne to continue.
Frayne finally looked at Kendrick. “Hamlin loved the festival, and at first it didn’t seem there would be any problems. But when I said no to the next festival, he left in the middle of the night to join his friends. He also began asking to attend the fetes that Lord Ra hosts every Friday evening. Eventually I wearied of the fight and let Hamlin choose his own path. I was such a fool.”
“What happened?”
“I lost my son, that’s what happened. Hamlin’s whole focus became the pleasures and indulgences Lord Ra offered at the castle. I watched my son begin to wither away from the man I’d hoped he would become.My wife and I began to fight, and our home became a bed of hostility. I didn’t know what was happening. I still don’t really.”
Frayne’s eyes filled with tears. “Six months ago, Hamlin didn’t come back from the festival. His friends said they looked for him, but he was gone. They thought he’d left early. I tried to speak with Lord Ra, but …” Frayne’s voice trailed off to silence, and he began to gaze into nothingness again.
“Are other boys missing?” Kendrick asked.
Frayne nodded. “Not just boys. Girls too.” A fire sparked in his eyes, drying the tears. “It’s maddening! Most of them come back week after week, month after month. They’re different, but they come back. But some don’t come back, and it’s as if the city denies that they ever existed. No one will talk about it, and they continue to let their own children march off to Lord Ra’s revelry.”
“I don’t understand,” Duncan said. “What does Lord Ra have to gain by hosting a festival every month and fetes every week?”
“He recruits some of the young men and a few young women to become knights that serve in his castle,” Frayne said, “and those who are selected fare well indeed. That’s what many of the parents are hoping for when they allow their youth to attend the festivities.”
“How are they selected?” Kendrick asked.
Frayne shrugged. “I think it has something to do with the games and sports during the festivals, but I don’t know for sure. Hamlin wouldn’t tell me much about what happened inside the castle walls.”
“Tell us more about Lord Ra,” Duncan said.
“I don’t know much about him really. Just that he is extremely wealthy and, considering the size of his castle, he must be very powerful.”
“Can you direct us to his castle?” Kendrick asked.
Frayne laughed. “Certainly … come with me.” He exited the back room and walked to the front of his shop. Kendrick and Duncan followed him outside and down the street just a few paces. The main thoroughfare curved to the right and, as they walked, the shops acrossthe street and the trees behind them slowly retreated from view to reveal a magnificent castle set against the beautiful green of the forest and the rocky backdrop of Mount Quarnell. For all the castle’s beauty and splendor, however, Kendrick felt the hairs on his neck stand
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