Ravenwood

by Lowell, Nathan

  Frank offered no comment as they walked further and further, just kept his eyes sweeping the trees and undergrowth to their right.

  Tanyth was about to give up on the vision when the scene snapped into focus. She stopped in her tracks, her head twisted to the left and the angle on her hut matched the angle from her dream. Her breath caught in her throat. Frank fetched up his step and looked to her in concern.

  “Did you see something, mum?”

  Tanyth turned her head and looked straight into the woods in the opposite direction. Just behind the verge of undergrowth a large oak lifted a canopy of leaves to the sky. “Here.”

  Frank peered into the brush and poked the hay fork ahead. Nothing stirred so he stepped into the cover of the forest. Tanyth followed and was relieved to find nobody there. She stepped carefully around Frank and walked further into the woods, glancing back periodically, looking for the tree where the raven had perched. She was still not sure if what she’d seen was a vision, a dream, or something else and the uncertainty scraped her nerves raw. There were several likely candidates for perches but she was unable to pick out one that she could point to and say with certainty.

  “What are you looking for, mum?” Frank’s voice was low but drew her back to the reality.

  She turned to see him with the fork planted in the ground and looking alternately at her and then around at the surrounding woods, unsure what he should be looking for but obviously alarmed at her actions.

  “Sorry.” Her reply was likewise hushed. “I was just looking to see if I could see anybody. I must have been mistaken.”

  Frank nodded. “Well, mum, there’s nobody here now for certain.”

  She sighed and made one last turn around. “Maybe I was wrong.” Her eyes went to the base of the oak and the large roots behind which the man in her vision had been lying.

  Frank’s eyes followed her gaze and he stepped closer to the tree to peer downward. He looked up at her, eyes wide in surprise. “He’s gone now, but there was somebody here right enough.” He pointed with the tines of the fork and she stepped closer to see what he was looking at.

  In the small depression behind the tree, small clumps of forest grasses were crushed and a seedling had been bent over and nearly broken off near the ground. Her mind overlaid the image of the man rolling over and tossing the small twig at the raven and her eyes went to a sparse and broken hemlock with a single solid branch about five feet above the ground.

  “We need to let the others know.” Frank’s voice carried anger and urgency.

  Tanyth nodded absently, lost inside her mind, somewhere between madness and horror.

  “Mum?” Frank was looking at her, half turned toward the village but unwilling to leave her standing there alone.

  She shook her head and smiled, if a bit tentatively. “Yes, of course, Frank. Thank you for coming with me.”

  “Thank you, mum, for being so watchful.”

  She shrugged and shook her head again, walking ahead of Frank and stepping out into the open light of morning.

  They walked briskly away from the woods but Tanyth stopped in the track that led to the Pike.

  Frank halted beside her in surprise. “Mum? We need to let the others know.”

  “Let them know what, Frank?” Her voice wasn’t challenging but curious. “That we’re being watched from the woods, certainly, but what do we do about it?” She looked around her. “What can they want?”

  Frank grimaced. “Just to make trouble, I suspect.”

  She shook her head. “There has to be something more to it. They can make trouble any where. They know we have nothing worth their time here, so why are they still here?”

  Frank shrugged. “Well, there’s still the women, mum?” He blushed when he realized what he was suggesting and to whom.

  She caught the embarrassed look on his face and it tickled her more than it might have in other circumstances. “That’s possible, but I suspect they want something more than a fast tumble.”

  “You have a reason for sayin’ that, mum?” Frank asked.

  “They rode off. Now they’re back. Yesterday the idea of a little strike-and-go on some defenseless women might have appealed in a kind of spur of the moment idea.” She pursed her lips and leaned on her staff. “That moment passed when they rode away.”

  Frank rested the butt of the fork on the ground and cocked his head quizzically. “There’s some truth to that, mum.” His brow furrowed as he thought. “But what could they want?”

  “We have food, water, houses.”

  “But they got a good enough look yesterday to know we ain’t rich here.”

  “Except they know there’s something up that trail and they didn’t get to see that yesterday.” She nodded at the track that led up to the clay quarry.

  “That’s true enough, mum, but if they’ve had a man watching the village, they must have had a chance to scout up there.”

  “Or they will soon. Jakey and the others went up just after sun up and our friend must have seen or heard them go.”

  “So, we can assume they’ll know who, how many, and what’s going on here. That’s more’n they knew riding in yesterday. But why’d they come back for a second look, mum?”

  Tanyth shrugged in reply. “I don’t know, Frank. That’s what bothers me.” She eyed him for a moment. “How soon before you take the next load to town?”

  He blinked at the sudden change in subject. “Jakey and the boys say they’ll be done in another couple of days. The wagon can only carry so many barrels of the clay safely and they’re filling the last one tomorrow or the next day. I’ll be taking the lorry wagon up there today so we can begin stacking them.”

  “First things first. Is there an old wheel rim or barrel hoop we can hang up as an alarm bell?”

  He nodded. “I suspect there’s at least one up in the store room.” He motioned with his head and they started up the track. Three chickens scurried out of their path, clucking angrily at being disturbed in their scratching.

  Frank went around the side of the barn and under the shed roof where the ox cart usually rested. He rummaged in the weeds growing up along the foundation and pulled a half buried metal barrel hoop out of the ground. He held it up in boyish triumph. “I knew it.” The rim was hardly new but it appeared sound except for a break in its smooth curve. A small chunk of metal was missing from the ring.

  He lugged it out and set it beside the front of the barn while he rummaged in the tack room and brought back a long strip of leather. He held it up for Tanyth to see. “Busted reins. Be good to hang this on though.”

  He fashioned a quick loop and held the rig up by the leather strap. “Whack it, mum!”

  She looked around for something to hit it with for a moment then felt foolish for overlooking the staff that was already in her hand. She hit it once with the gnarled knot at the top. The resulting gong didn’t seem quite as sharp as she’d have hoped.

  Frank screwed up his mouth in a grimace. “Didn’t sound much like an alarm bell, did it, mum?”

  She shook her head ruefully. “Nope. I was hoping for something with a bit more clang to it.”

  He nodded at the barn door. “There’s a couple iron pokers standin’ just inside the door there, mum. Try one of them.”

  She stepped into the barn, and selected one of the indicated fire irons. She leaned her staff against the barn door and gripped the poker in both hands.

  Frank grinned at her and held the leather up higher to give her a good target.

  She drew back and gave it a good whack. The resulting discordant clang echoed up her arms and across the valley. She grinned and saw the answering grin break across Frank’s face as well.

  He laughed in delight. “All we need to do is hang this someplace handy.” He lowered it to the ground and let it lean against his leg. “Where do you think?”

  She grimaced in thought. “Not in the front of the village.”

  He frowned in concentration and turned his gaze to the li
ne of trees behind the huts. “Someplace behind the line of houses but maybe not as far as the quarry track?”

  She nodded in reply. “Is there enough of an overhang to hang it off the eaves there on the backside of the last hut?” She pointed to where she meant.

  He nodded. “Yup. We’ll wanna ask Megan and Harry if it’s ok, but that looks like a good place.” He took the ring over to the barn and leaned it against the building. “Harry’s up at the quarry now, but I’ll see him in a bit when I take the wagon up.”

  Tanyth put the poker beside the ring and retrieved her staff from its resting place. “I’ll talk to Megan, too.” She looked up at him. “And thank you, Frank. I appreciate your going with me to look in the woods.”

  He smiled. “You call on me anytime, mum.” He shook his head in amusement. “Funny things happen around you, but it ain’t been half dull here since you arrived.”

  She laughed. “Thank you, I think.”

  He tipped his head in a shortened bow and turned to head into the barn. “Well I need to harness up a couple of these critters and get that lorry up the track, mum, but hollar if you need anything.”

  “I will, Frank. I will.” She watched him amble into the barn and move among the shadows, speaking softly to the horses and moving deliberately around them. She surprised herself by noticing how nicely he filled out his jacket. She snorted softly and turned her feet toward her hut. “Fool woman. Got no time for that silliness.”

  Still, it bothered her. What did they want with the village? Simple harassment didn’t put food in the pot and even bully boys needed to eat. Her thoughts chased themselves around in her head but caught up to no conclusions. Part of it seemed logical to her. She cursed the darn foolishness that young men got themselves into all the time. The fact that they’d come back, and that she couldn’t figure out why, bothered her almost as much as the raven visions.

  The memories from the two episodes exploded in her. She’d been distracted enough to overlook the the implications but the reality of it crashed over her again between one step and the next. She had to grab her staff and stop to keep from losing her balance. She leaned heavily on it, not quite gasping for breath.

  She’d been able to dismiss the dream of the raven’s flying. Just a dream, of course, she didn’t really see the men through a raven’s eye. But what of the morning? How could she have known about the spy in the wood if not for the raven? “Madness.” She hissed the word. “Madness.” Suddenly conscious that she stood in the middle of the track, she drew herself up, gathering her strength and straightening her tunic. A cup of chamomile tea would set her right. She was sure of it. With her resolve held firmly like a shield, she resumed her sedate stroll to the hut. As she entered she studiously ignored the streak of white bird droppings on the roof.

  Chapter 14

  After Madness, Laundry

  The chamomile tea helped sooth her nerves as did focusing on washing out her meager supply of clothing. She spread the wet clothes on the grass outside her back door and let her mind idle on the idea that she might be going mad.

  “You’re not going mad.” She said it to herself but had difficulty accepting it in the face of her experiences.

  She poured a bit more hot water over the chamomile and pulled a chair up to the hearth. The exertion of laundry had warmed her body, but she still felt cold inside. The warmth of the fire, and the growing warmth of the day, slowly unwound her and she sipped her tea in contemplation. Whatever was happening, it was not madness. She’d had a vision that seemed real. “Twice!” she reminded herself. The first could have been a dream. The second might have been as well except that she’d taken Frank and investigated only to find that the man–or somebody–had actually been there. “Not madness.” She said the words distinctly aloud as if to convince herself.

  She breathed easier. “Not madness.” She repeated it softly and stared into the fire. “Not madness.”

  The sound of feet outside her door and the whisperings of children interrupted her revery. A timid knock sounded followed by a polite silence.

  She smiled and crossed to open the door. Riley stood there with several of his small chums. In their arms they carried her clothing. “Riley? What’s all this?”

  “Sorry to disturb you, mum, but we found these blowin’ away.”

  She looked out and realized that what had been a calm morning had turned into a breezy afternoon. She laughed and held out her hands. “Thank you so much for rounding these up.”

  The children all stepped up and placed the articles of clothing into her hands, as if jewels to the queen. She had to bite back her laughter at their solemnity. When all the clothing had been delivered–what little of it there actually was–she bowed to the assembly. “Thank you very kindly. I’ll take pains to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  Riley stepped forward and held out a small coil of rope. “Ma sent this over, mum. She says you should ask any time you need help.”

  “Thank you, Riley, and thank your mother for me. This’ll help a great deal.”

  “You’re welcome, mum.” He stood expectantly.

  “Is there something else, Riley?”

  “Yes, mum, we was wonderin’ if we could help you gather herbs and stuff.”

  His entourage stood like good little soldiers and looked hopeful, if a bit awe struck.

  Her eyes went to the tree line and she considered. It wouldn’t do to take the children into the forest, but perhaps there was something they could do. “Yes, Riley. I think you can. There are some very valuable materials right here in the village that should be harvested and set to drying before the frosts come and destroy them.” She looked from small face to small dirty face and smiled. “Would you like to help me?”

  They all nodded happily.

  “Excellent. Then one moment while I put away my clothes and I’ll be right out and we can begin.”

  She stepped down into the hut and tossed the clothing onto the cot. She pulled out the gleaner’s bag and dumped the collection of nuts and fruit onto the hearthstone. She pricked several of the chestnuts with her belt knife and slid them into the hot ash for later. She slapped her hat on her head, picked up her staff and stepped back out into the early afternoon sun.

  “What’ll we pick, mum?” A little girl with wavy blonde hair was looking up at her with wide green eyes.

  “Mints, I think.” She leaned down to get at the little girl’s level. “And who are you?”

  “I’m Sandy, mum!” She announced it proudly. “I’m Megan and Harry’s offshoot!”

  Tanyth smiled at the gap-toothed grin looking up. “Well, Sandy, let’s go find some mint. Do you know what mint is?”

  Tanyth headed off to the back of the hut where she’d already noticed that Mother Alderton had some very healthy stands of peppermint and cat mint.

  Sandy fell in beside her on one side and Riley, not to be outdone, took the other. The three of them led the parade of small people around the corner and into the taller plants. “I do, mum. Mint is a weed!”

  “A weed?”

  “Yes, mum! Momma says that every time she finds the mint has jumped the fence and gotten into the garden! ’Get this weed out of my vegetable patch!’” Sandy smiled up winningly. “She usually uses a bad word that I’m not allowed to say.”

  Tanyth controlled her grin with an effort. “Well, mints are very robust plants. They spread easily and grow very fast.”

  “Is that a good thing, mum?” Riley asked.

  “Yes, Riley. Unless you’re trying to grow vegetables and the mint keeps getting in the way.”

  He nodded sagely. “Yes, mum, I can see that.”

  Tanyth stopped in a weedy looking patch that was so rich in mint varieties that the aroma nearly overwhelmed her. “Well, here we are!”

  The children looked disappointed, and Riley spoke up. “I thought we were gonna go collectin’, mum!”

  “We are.” She smiled at them. “And you’re all going to be very helpful, I know.”r />
  Sandy tugged on her pants leg. “But we di’n’t go anywheres, mum. Just behind your house.”

  Tanyth nodded. “Yes. That’s because I need to collect all this before the winter kills it. Almost all of these plants are different kinds of mints. They have different smells, and different flowers, and different shapes, but they all have two things in common.”

  The children all looked up at her expectantly.

  She reached down and pulled a couple of leaves from a nearby plant, crushing them between her fingers before holding her hand out to the children, one at a time. “Smell. What do you smell?”

  “Smells green.” Sandy looked up at her after almost rubbing her nose in the crushed leaves.

  Tanyth nodded happily. “Yes, it does. That’s a very good description. That green smell is the smell of mint. All these plants have that same smell. Not exactly the same, mind you, but enough to tell it’s a mint.”

  When all the children had sniffed her hand, she smiled. “And the other thing is that they all have square stems!”

  The children’s eyes all grew large and they started looking at the plants around them. Tanyth crouched, trimmed a stalk of gray catmint off at the base with her knife, and stood up again showing them all the four cornered cross section of the stem.

  “Any plant that has a square stem and smells green like that is a mint. They smell good, make nice tea, and sometimes people even make mint jelly!”

  Sandy announced clearly. “I like jelly. It’s very good on bread.”

  Tanyth laughed. “Yes, young miss, it is indeed.”

  Riley looked about him. “How much of this do we have to collect?”

  Tanyth could see him measuring and calculating how long the mint collecting might go on and he wasn’t happy with the answer. “All of this needs to be harvested before frost kills it.” She watched his face drop before taking pity on him. “But we’ll only gather a few stalks to set to dry today. We can get more tomorrow.” That announcement cheered them greatly.