Chapter 29
When Caedmon first introduced himself, Alistar had thought that his name had sounded somewhat familiar. Now he knew why. As chance would have it, Caedmon was the uncle that he and Raidon had planned to seek out after a short stay in Malford, since his landholdings were quite close to the mines. This explained the dramatic reaction that the man had shown after hearing about everything that had happened to his sister in Crystellum.
He had immediately sent out a trusted messenger on his fastest horse, providing him with a large sum of money along with a letter branded with a wax seal. He intended to buy her freedom immediately, for five times the amount that a healthy slave at Crystellum would cost, which was no small amount. He'd assured Alistar the next morning that, no matter how attached an owner might be to their slave, to turn down such an offer would be insanity. Especially since slaves from those mines were pricier than most.
The day after Alistar had told his story, Caedmon explained a few things to him. Up until the day before, his estranged uncle and the rest of their family had believed that Laisha had died nearly ten years ago, shortly after he was born. The last time they had seen each other had been at her wedding, where she had been married off by their father against her will, and left to her fate in a neighbouring province of the Baldor Empire, a kingdom that was heavy with social unrest. They had kept in touch through letter exchanges, though eventually she stopped responding. News of her and her family's demise came shortly after they had lost contact with her.
As it were, it would take the messenger several days to arrive at Crystellum, and just as long to return with Alistar's mother. The thought of seeing her again did wonders to remedy his depression, but he was anxious about telling her of his uncle Raidon's fate. How could he face her, when he'd just stood there and watched him die?
Alistar now found himself in a whole new world, one so fresh and fascinating that, as the days passed, his anxieties were pushed to the peripherals of his thoughts. Still, he missed his mother more than anything, and his mood wouldn't lift until she was standing before him happy and unharmed.
The two helper ladies that had fed and dressed him on his first day—house servants, as they were called—were tasked with seeing to Alistar's every need, something that he found unnecessary. Having people waiting on him was rather unpleasant, but they were considerate enough to give him space and they were always soft spoken. With the exception of Servan, nobody outside of his family had ever addressed him with such tones. After hearing portions of his tragic past, it seemed that their sympathy was sincere.
In truth, he enjoyed it whenever the house servants came by his room to check up on him.
Caedmon visited him quite often, usually asking if he'd like to wander around the manor house, or even head into the city. While Alistar usually accepted the offers to walk around the home, he sternly refused all other invitations. He had decided to wait until he reunited with his mother before heading into such a grand and wondrous place, which he occasionally gazed upon with longing eyes from behind windows on the manor's upper storeys.
Contrary to his earlier behavior, Caedmon was a calm and approachable sort of person, and was always working on some task or other. From the way the house servants interacted with him, it was evident that he was well respected within the estate. Alistar had overheard his two helpers discussing how strange Caedmon had behaved on the evening of his awakening, that the man had been restless and in great distress.