Interlude: Ship of Fools, Part IV. Talking Marriage With Mallus
<Around midnight, aft rail, MCSDF Windsprint, 7 days from port at Narayan:CITY.>
"Can you marry?" asks Rackhir.
"No," says Mallus, with a surprisingly forlorn quality in his voice. He takes a sip of gin. "In order to join the Lovesworn you must have a broken heart. And once you join, you may never know true love again."
"I meant, can you perform marriages for other people?".
"Oh. Yeah, sure. By the power invested to us by the Eternal Physick of Love, the fulcrum upon which all souls balance, we can marry...thought their legality is questionable in certain parts of CITY, particularly Eris. What are you getting at, Rackhir?"
Clearly preferring the sound of his own voice, Mallus continues before Rackhir can reply.
"So you want to marry off the two lovebirds before we hit port. Before Delphine's father can stop her? Or before Baker Boy decides to devote his life to an entirely different sort of crumpet?
"Well, you have no shortage of people capable of marrying them on this trip. I count eight. Captains Revi and Spar, the five priestesses of the Goddess of Love, not to mention myself. To be on the safe side, we call all perform the ceremony. That should cover all bets, from the ridiculous to the sublime.
"Why, someone should get married before we dock, this is practically the love boat.... Hmmmm, that Felicity from the Shrine is quite the little minx.
"But I'm curious as to why you're interested in facilitating their matrimony, Rackhir. There's a good chance once they get married she ceases being rich. So what's your angle?"
Rackhir does not pause for a moment before replying.
"I am... well..., let us say that without a master to serve my life has no purpose or meaning. My people would say Ronin, but I can not claim such a rank. She is the Lord whom I serve, so her interests are mine. She wishes to marry Joachim and you tell us they truly love each other. She has risked her life several times already to find and help save him. So the more secure their marriage is and the less interference possible, the safer she should be."
"As to her wealth, I do not serve her for reward, so her wealth is irrelevant to me. It is my duty to serve her interests as much as possible, so I will warn her of the possible consequences, but I think we both know what her answer is likely to be."
After a moment Rackhir continues with the ghost of a smile on his face. "Besides as the tales tell us, what nobler cause is there than True Love?" The capital letters are clear in his voice.
Rackhir then offers Mallus a lime.
"You sound just like Lazlo Lovesworn. Ever hear of him, Lazlo and Chain of Love? He fights with this absurd-looking barbed chain thing, I swear he looks like a circus performer. Anyway, he's all about the noble service and 'True Love'. I wonder why he gets all the tales written about him? He must have a publicist...and where the hell did you get that lime?!" Mallus snaps it up greedily, showing surprising quickness of hand.
"You know, Rackhir, if someone breaks your heart, you should consider joining the Lovesworn. You wouldn't happen to be a good tracker, would you? Fond of the wild? My Order needs those types, but lately all we've been getting are applicants better suited to navigating art openings and cocktail parties."
"If you should require my aid Mallus, I believe that the Lady Delphine would be happy to have me join you in reuniting separated lovers. I am a fair tracker, though much better as a killer. Combat is where my talents truly lie."
Mallus considers Rachkir a moment, then says "I might just take you up on that offer someday. My usual traveling companions for dangerous journeys are a tad...unreliable. Dononan Ben Donovan is a fine swordsman, but he may well be insane. And Mattameo the monk is unduly burdened by principles. Though he's a remarkably stylish dresser. For a Hannu.
And you say you like fighting? That's fabulous. I try to avoid it if at all possible... I have an acute sensitivity to pain... Anyway Rackhir, maybe you should talk to Delphine and Joachim. I am forbidden from trying to influence them. As the old saying goes, I can lead a horse to water, but not make it drown."
Rackhir bows to Mallus and replies "I will go now to broach the subject with Lady Delphine and her paramour. Turning to walk away, Rackhir pauses for a moment and adds. "With regards to the lime, the ladies of St. Tarte's are called that for more than one reason Mallus."
Ignoring Rackhir, Mallus says absently, "I was in love once. In fact I was engaged. A week before the wedding my fiancé tried to stop a man who was committing suicide by jumping into the Pit of Erebus. But he was a lot stronger than she was, so he pulled her with him."
Mallus stops talking for a minute or so. He drinks gin.
"One of these days, Rackhir, I'm going in after her. Any chance you're game for that?" asks Mallus, his fine features twisting into a mask of self-disgust.
Rackhir shrugs.
"Perhaps someday. I see no point in dying just yet. Life is not yet so great a burden, nor death such a release. I suspect though, that my path may well lead me in that direction one day. Meifumado, is a path often tread by those such as I.
"Meifumado?" says Mallus, "I don't think that word means what I think it means, since I think in means a noodle dish you can get in Little Ajakhan. Care to explain?"
Rackhir nods, "Meifumado is the path to Hell. The way of demons and damnation. It is both a path of one's own choosing, and the inevitable result of the choices one has already made. It is the life we chose, the life we lead. Those who live by violence, what ever the reason, however pure, however noble, often find themselves walking its dark path."
Taking a heavy slug from his drink Mallus replies "No, I'm not ready for the Pit yet, either. The horrors that crawl out of it are bad enough. Only a madman would crawl in. In fact, I know a madman who did, an alchemist I deal with in Saltbend. Riven Sugarglass.
Nowadays he looks like a wax statue of a man that was melted, split in two, and stuck back together by a committee of blind men."