It was Hauser that opened it. He stood there for a minute with his mouth open, then grinned, stepped outside, and shook my hand. For a minute I thought he was going to hug me! “Macurdy!” he said. “What brings you here? I’ve been picturing you in a manor somewhere, or a palace! Come in!”
“I’ll stable my horse first,” I said. He said he’d do it, but I said I’d better, Hog being touchy with strangers. In the horse shed, I lit the lamp with my finger, hung up Hog’s tack, and curried him three-four minutes, which was plenty, given the winter weather. Then I went back to the house.
I’d hardly knocked again before Hauser opened the door. Arbel was standing with him, and gave me one of his long looks. Then he grinned bigger than I’d ever seen him before; grins aren’t Arbel’s specialty. “So,” he said, “the hero of Wolf Springs returns. It’s good to see you, Macurdy.” He led us to his parlor and we all three sat down. “What brings you back?”
He’d called me the hero of Wolf Springs! And his aura said he was being sarcastic! “I’m going back to Farside,” I told him, “and Oz wasn’t a whole lot farther than Ferny Cove. Besides, I was in Oztown twice, getting ready for the war, and never got to Wolf Springs to apologize or thank you. You did a lot for me, and I’ve always felt bad about leaving Oz the way I did. It must have hurt your reputation. Wolf Springs’ too.”
Arbel laughed. “Hurt my reputation? You became famous in Oz as the man who climbed a tree to drive a jaguar out. The man who beat up half the House of Heroes, or at least a number of them, including a sergeant famous as a brawler, and rode off with the best looking, most daring and admired spear maiden in Oz. And then became really famous for the war.”
My jaw must have been down on my chest when he finished, but it didn’t stay there long, because the next thing he said was, “Where is your spear maiden?”
I didn’t tell him flat out; I led into it. “She and I were leaders in the rebellion that got Pavo crowned king,” I said, “and she was with me all the way through the war. She was a colonel, wounded at the Battle of Ternass. Then we got married. She died about three weeks ago. Drowned.” I told him how it happened, how Blue Wing had fetched me—the whole thing except how terrible I’d felt. “We burned her body outside the palace,” I finished. “The king and queen were there, and a couple thousand veterans of the war. Not to mention most of Teklapori. She was well-known and much admired.”
Arbel shook his head, looking sober. “A grievous loss, Macurdy,” he said. “I can see the scar. I can also see you’ve healed.” None of us said anything more right away. Then he smiled a little. “You’ve gotten a reputation as a wizard, too. You killed the evil Quaie with a ball of fire. . . .”
My eyes must have bugged out. “How did you hear about that?” I asked.
“The story spread through the empire and Marches; merchants carried it from there. It reached Oz this winter. And our troops brought home other stories. Perhaps exaggerated.”
“Probably.” It was an invitation to tell him stories, and I would before I left, but not just then. “You asked what brought me here. I told you part of it, but there’s more.” I stopped then. I’d been taking it for granted he’d say yes. “If you’ll change your mind,” I went on, “and teach me more of the shaman’s profession, mainly the healing skills, I’d like to try them on Farside. I’ll be glad to pay you for your trouble.”
He laughed out loud. “But you’re not sure I will, because I sent you to the militia. Well. I’ll be happy to. But first, tell me what magicks you’ve demonstrated since I saw you last.”
I did, not leaving out about my new teeth, though I could hardly take credit for them. It’d been Varia’s spells, and from there, my jaws had taken over. I told him the luck I’d had with the healing he’d taught me, him and Omara, and about learning to keep myself warm. And about looking into the eye holes in that skull on the headwaters of the Tuliptree; to me that was bigger magic than the way I’d killed Quaie. “I guess when I was here before,” I said, “I wasn’t really ready to learn much.”