Between Two Fires
by Christopher Buehlman
Contents
Twenty-One: Of Monsters, and of Blessings
Overview
Skirting Beaune, the travelers witness signs of Delphine’s monsters before finding refuge at an inn. They meet Rinaldo, a Tuscan merchant, whom Delphine warns away with unnerving, intimate knowledge. Thomas and Rinaldo hunt and kill a boar for food. At Chalon-sur-Saône, Rinaldo departs as the trio boards a risky river passage.
Summary
Keeping wide of Beaune, Thomas, Delphine, and Père Matthieu see a stripped tree hung with smoked people and beasts, and a vast, unnaturally dark burrow strewn with severed feet. The menace drives them on. Luck follows: they find an inn run by a former Franciscan, who credits Saint Francis’s protection and confirms the nearby horrors.
There they meet Rinaldo Carbonelli, a young Tuscan merchant returning from Paris, elated by a letter proving his wife lives. Delphine, smitten yet alarmed by her inner prompting, abruptly tells Rinaldo not to travel with them. When pressed, she speaks perfect Florentine and reveals intimate details of his wife and their courtship, terrifying him into heeding her warning.
Rinaldo nonetheless walks with them toward Chalon-sur-Saône. He and Thomas hunt to provision the group, first stalking a stag, then confronted by a charging boar after Rinaldo’s arrow wounds it. Thomas engages while Rinaldo looses again; together they kill the boar, feast, and save the hide for Rinaldo against the mountain cold.
Approaching Chalon-sur-Saône, Rinaldo decides not to join the river journey, accepting Delphine’s ominous counsel. The trio prepares to continue by water as planned, taking passage with dangerous men. Rinaldo departs for Italy, while Thomas, Delphine, and Père Matthieu move closer to Avignon through a perilous alliance.
Who Appears
- DelphineWarns Rinaldo away with uncanny, intimate knowledge; briefly infatuated; her monsters’ signs haunt the countryside.
- ThomasHunts with Rinaldo, helps kill a charging boar, provides muscle and protection on the journey.
- Père MatthieuTravels warily past Beaune’s horrors, secures hospitality, acts as interpreter and spiritual comfort to Rinaldo.
- Rinaldo CarbonelliTuscan merchant returning to his wife; hunts with Thomas; heeds Delphine’s warning and parts at Chalon-sur-Saône.
- Innkeeper (former Franciscan)Hosts the group near Chagny, credits Saint Francis for protecting his house from plague and monsters.