The Blacksmith

by Howe, Barbara;

  A swordsmith one day, and I was already a disgrace. Probably a new low for them. Master Clive, at least, hadn’t lost the seal.

  The half-mile to the woods was the longest journey I’d ever made. I’d lost my head start; the first search party climbed the ridge before I reached cover. On horseback against the sky, they were easy to see, but my clothes, caked with mud, blended in with the hillside. Even so, on foot and injured, I had no chance of escaping without help.

  I sat down on a boulder and leaned my aching head against a tree trunk, hoping it would stop spinning long enough to let me think. I had planned on circling southwest, bypassing Crossroads. Now I had to go there, if I could. By the road, the town was a day’s walk, even if I had been in good shape. Tunnel entrances were scattered around here and there all over the district, to let folk get to the Earth Guildhall when sick or injured, but most were in villages, and the nearest one I knew of was several miles away.

  This morning, thinking about that bonny earth witch again had set me whistling. Now my throat closed up and my eyes stung.

  I gritted my teeth and started walking.

  Several riders went past on the track at the edge of the woods, but I stuck to a deer trail in the shadows and they didn’t see me. When a bugle sounded from the ridge, I guessed they had found Charcoal.

  By dusk I had walked less than two miles. I welcomed the dark to hide me from the search parties, but it also meant shuffling along, testing every step to avoid a fall. If I fell I might not get up again.

  The drizzle changed to a cold, hard rain. In rough country a man can die of cold in the middle of summer if caught out overnight and unprepared. The headache and dizziness were getting worse, too.

  I leaned against a tree and prayed aloud for help. A moment later a fox walked across the path. He trotted to the next bend and waited. I lurched after him. He didn’t run. When I got close he trotted on ahead and stopped again at the next bend. He wasn’t much more than a shadow among the brush. I wasn’t sure I wasn’t dreaming him.

  The fox led the way for a hundred yards, heading uphill. We came to a rocky outcropping and he went halfway around, then dove towards the ground and disappeared.

  I followed, and found a narrow gap between the rocks. I stuck my arm through and felt empty space. I edged in sideways, calling myself crazy for following the fox. Inside, it was pitch black and cramped, but no worse than Sam’s mum’s root cellar, and it was dry and warmer than outside. I sat down and leaned against the back of the cave, resting my broken hand on the cold rock floor.

  Several minutes passed before I realised my back was against a wooden door. I raised my right hand, braced for pain to shoot through it, then thought about using my left hand. I knocked.

  “Who’s there?”

  I gave the answers laid down in the old tales. “A wanted man.”

  “What do you seek?”

  “Healing and shelter for the night. I mean you no harm, so help me, God.”

  The door jerked open and I fell in.

  The Two Grannies

  “For God’s sake, you damned fool,” Granny Mildred said, “we couldn’t open the door until you asked for help. We thought you might die on us before you got around to it. What took you so long?”

  I couldn’t answer. The fall had knocked out of me everything I had left.

  I lay half on, half off a blanket. Hazel grabbed the corners, tossed one end to Mildred, and pulled. If they hadn’t been witches they would never have moved me, even the two of them together, but somehow they not only dragged me into a room with a fire, they lifted me onto a table and rolled me over onto my back.

  Hazel slid warm hands under my shirt and stood without moving, head bowed and eyes closed. The saw blade in my side stopped its stabbing. If I’d been able to sit up, I would have kissed her.

  Mildred was still swearing at me. “God Almighty, Duncan, could you weigh any more? If we use all our magic carting you around, you big lug, we won’t have any left for healing.”

  “You’re supposed to pretend you don’t know me.” I couldn’t draw breath for more than a mumble.

  She snorted. “When the whole district knows you’re on the run? Not much point.”

  “But if anybody else comes…”

  “Aye, that would mean trouble. You deal with him for a few minutes, lass. I’ll set the spells on the tunnels so nobody’ll come through tonight unless they won’t last till morning.” She poked me with her wand. “Be quiet and don’t move.”

  As if she needed to tell me not to bother a healer at work, especially one working on me. Hazel moved her hands across my belly, and other pains went away. I closed my eyes and floated in the heavens. She pulled her hands out of my shirt, and put them on either side of my head. My head stopped hammering.

  Something wet hit my chin. I opened my eyes, and watched another tear slide down Hazel’s cheek and drip onto me. Of course laying hands on me would hurt a healer, as banged up as I was. I tried to push her away, and couldn’t move, or talk.

  She shivered, tears flowed, and that darling face screwed up tight. She let go and staggered to a stool with her head in her hands, sobbing. I watched, and cursed without sound.

  Mildred came back. I glared at her.

  She said, “Well, sonny, what did you expect? I told you not to talk or move. You got something to say? Say it.”

  “I meant it when I said I wouldn’t harm you. You shouldn’t have let her—”

  “Don’t be an ass. If we couldn’t handle a little pain we wouldn’t be healers.”

  Hazel straightened up and smiled. The smile didn’t last long. “I’ve never dealt with anyone before who had so many injuries at once, that’s all. Next time I’ll be better prepared.”

  I said, “But you’ve got salves and potions and I don’t know what—”

  “Don’t tell us how to do our job, sonny.” Mildred picked up my hand, and it stopped hurting. I would have kissed her, too, wrinkles and all. “We use those where we can, but laying on hands is faster, and for some things it’s the only way.” She bent over, holding her own hand tight against her chest, and looking every one of her eighty-some-odd years.

  “It isn’t right. Men are supposed to protect women, not hurt them. Don’t do that again.”

  They gave each other the look women have that says all men are idiots. Mildred said, “As if you could do anything about it in your condition. What happened? We saw that earl’s whelp. That fight didn’t do this to you.”

  “I had a fight with the hill. Rock slide.”

  “That’s one fight you lost.”

  “Nae, you should see the hill. Those stones aren’t getting up again.” I couldn’t smile; my face hurt.

  Mildred snorted. “You must be feeling better. What did you do for him, lass?”

  “Set three broken ribs, treated the bruised kidneys, liver, and spleen, stopped the bleeding from the sword wound, and cured the concussion.”

  Mildred whistled. “The Guild Council said you were good. Should’ve listened.”

  Hazel’s smile lasted this time. “And since you’re dealing with his hand, that’s the worst of it. There are other bruises, and a slew of dirty cuts and scrapes, but those aren’t urgent.” She started pulling things out of a cupboard: sponges and towels, salves, wraps, potions, needle and thread.

  Mildred said, “Get out of those filthy clothes so we can do the rest of it properly. Sit up and take them off, but don’t use your right hand.”

  Hazel said, “He shouldn’t use his left arm either.”

  Mildred sighed. “Well then, you lout, we’ll get you undressed, this once, but don’t think we’ll make a habit of it. And it’s all coming off. Don’t try to be modest, we’ve seen it all before.”

  That was true, but I didn’t have to like it. They set to work and I couldn’t stop them, so I tried not to think a
bout it and pretended my nether parts belonged to somebody else. By the time I was naked Mildred was doddering. She threw a blanket over me and sat down on a stool to boss. Like Hazel needed any bossing.

  I said, “Tell me about Maggie.”

  “Sorry, lad, there’s been no news about your sister.” Mildred patted my arm. “Don’t worry about her; she’ll be fine.”

  “If she reaches the Water Guild before the earl’s men catch her, you mean.” I stared at the ceiling. She’d be fined for fighting back, but what he had done to her would offset most of it. So the old stories said. The newer ones worried me.

  Mildred said, “Doug and Jessie were on their way before the duke’s men got back, but moving slowly with the wagon. Everybody in Nettleton chipped in and bought the livestock, so they’ve got a little money.”

  God bless the neighbours. They couldn’t have paid what the animals were worth, but it was better than leaving them to the guards’ tender mercies. If the duke lifted the eviction order, Doug and Jessie would get the same animals back.

  They weren’t in immediate danger—I hoped. Right now, the Frost Maiden protected them, in one of the few times she was on our side. Taking revenge on people of any rank who weren’t involved in a dispute, and who had witnesses to prove it, was sure to earn even an aristo a hex that would keep him cold a long, long time. Then, too, the duke had ordered them to leave the farm, and attacking someone obeying their lord’s orders was another good way to earn a case of frostbite. Those laws were even older than the aristos’ shields.

  “Mildred, he said he was shielded. He shouldn’t be dead.”

  Mildred and Hazel gave each other worried looks. Hazel said, “We’ve been wondering about that. Wasn’t he second in line to an earl?”

  “Aye. He made a point of saying he was second in line. But I hit him, and my arm didn’t go numb. I didn’t mean to kill him. He was swinging a sword at me and I wanted to make him drop it.”

  The worried looks on the two faces deepened. “Listen, lad,” Mildred said, “don’t beat yourself up over that nasty piece of work. What I want to know is why did they pick on your brother? It’d make more sense if you’d been back awhile, throwing your weight around, and they’d gone after you. And don’t give me any backtalk. You know you act pretty highhanded sometimes.”

  “What do you mean, sometimes?”

  “But if anybody here has a reputation for being decent, clean-living folk, and more willing to give somebody a hand than to pick a fight, it’s you Archers.”

  “The duke knows that, but Uncle Will used to say the duchess thinks we’re the loudest whingers in the district. Maybe she thinks she can get rid of Doug now that Uncle Will isn’t around to stick up for him.”

  “Maybe. More folk have been asking him for advice, like they used to ask your dad, since his word is what convinced the duke to rebuild that bridge, but if she wants to drive him out, why didn’t she do it last summer?”

  “Because it takes a while to talk the duke into doing anything, and she’d forget about us while they’re down south for the winter.”

  Mildred chewed on her thumb. “Maybe. If she’s behind this, she’s more a fool than I’d thought, and I didn’t have a high opinion of her to start with. They’ve gone and stirred up more trouble themselves than any Archer has ever done.”

  “Aye. I doubt even I could piss off half the district in one go.”

  “Half? Everybody. And they’re not just angry—they’re all scared silly they’re next.”

  “If they keep paying their rents and taxes, and keep their heads down, she ought to leave them alone. We’re the pain in the arse she wanted rid of.”

  “For Pete’s sake, sonny, are you that thick? Nobody else sees it that way. They know you lot have stuck up for the dukes, long after they stopped deserving it. If you’re not safe, then nobody is, and they might as well raise hell now since it’s just a matter of time till they’re forced off their land, too.”

  I tried to sit up. Hazel kept me pinned down with one finger. I said, “Raising hell won’t do any good. It won’t hurt the duke. It just means other folk will be running for their lives, too.” I rolled my head to get a good look at Mildred. “And I don’t want to get you in trouble, either. I’ll go as soon as you two are done working me over.”

  She snorted. “Don’t be an ass, lad. You’ll be in no shape to go anywhere for several days yet. We can hide you that long. And when you’re ready to leave, we’ll send you out an unmarked tunnel the duke doesn’t know about, like the one you came in on.”

  “It’s marked now. I left a trail of blood. As soon as they set the dogs on it they’ll find it.”

  Hazel’s head jerked up. “Rocks! What’ll we do?”

  Mildred said, “Move the last bit so the trail ends in the burn. I reckoned we would do that after he was asleep.” She gave me a poke, none too gentle, with her wand. “And I’ll thank you for not shooting your mouth off any more and scaring my assistant, or making me give away any more secrets. Come on lass. I’ll show you some tricks they don’t teach in the Warren.” She threw another blanket at me. “Stay there, sonny.”

  As if I wanted to move. The next thing I knew, I was jolted awake, howling. Mildred was rubbing a lotion that stung like the dickens on a scrape across my shin. Hazel had a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

  Mildred handed her the bottle and the cloth. “Told you that would wake him up.”

  Hazel mouthed, “Sorry,” at me, but kept rubbing.

  I held my breath until she stopped. “What the blazes was that for?”

  “Cleaning dirt out of the scrapes,” Mildred said.

  “I thought I had a thick skin.”

  “You do. That’s why we’re using it full strength.”

  Hazel said, “Wouldn’t want to miss anything.” She started cleaning another scrape.

  Through clenched teeth, I said, “Very thoughtful of you, ma’am.”

  She gave me a sweet smile and spread on a salve that killed the stinging. I worked at unknotting my jaw muscles.

  Mildred said, “How did you find that door, anyway? I didn’t know about that one.”

  “I asked for help, and a fox led me there.”

  “A fox, eh?” She screwed up her face. “Sounds like old Granddad Gavin’s work, from four hundred years ago. Another period when the duke was acting too heavy-handed. Not a good time.”

  “At least when the king found out what the duke had done, he demoted that one. No chance of that now.”

  “Nae, ‘fraid not. Where will you go when you leave here?”

  I told her the route Doug and I had laid out. Hazel set down her jar of salve and listened. While I talked the two healers gave each other another long look.

  Mildred said, “You didn’t think that through today.”

  “Nae. Dad saw disaster coming years ago, when the duke first brought his duchess home. Doug and I have been thinking about it a long time.”

  “That’s why you and Douggie have been so interested in those maps, isn’t it?”

  “Aye.”

  “Well…I take back what I said about you being thick. I was going to give you some advice, but it doesn’t sound like you need it. My assistant doesn’t need me to supervise her either. I’m going to bed.” She gave me a squeeze on the shoulder. “I’ll find out what I can about Maggie in the morning.”

  A tiny window, high in the wall of a tiny room, showed a red sky. I lay on a too-short, too-narrow bed, not knowing or caring why I was there, and listened to my belly growl like I hadn’t eaten since…since yesterday’s breakfast. Memories crowded in: Charcoal, Maggie with a sword at her throat, the lost seal, the brat’s smashed head.

  The sky faded to purple. I’d slept through an entire day, and those two grannies were in danger every minute I stayed in their house. I rolled to my feet, and grabbed at the wall to keep from
falling down. My legs were as unsteady as a new lamb’s. I sat down hard on the bed and put my head in my hands.

  The door opened and Mildred came in with a lamp. I yanked the sheet over me before I remembered I was wearing a nightshirt, big even on me. Uncle Will’s, Hazel had said. I didn’t ask how Mildred had come by it.

  “Maggie,” I said.

  “Safe and sound in Quays.” She put the lamp on a shelf and sat on the bed beside me. Hazel followed her in with a tray, laden with enough food for two men. She sat on the only stool. If the room had been any smaller, she would have been in my lap. I wouldn’t have minded.

  “Is it safe?” I said.

  “For now, yes,” she said, “but you have to stay in this room. The mundane staff are in bed, and we’ve set alarms, but Mildred and I will have to run if anyone comes.” She put a hand on my knee, and strength and life flowed into me, enough that I could face the world again.

  Mildred said, “Douggie and the rest spent the night at a farm about halfway. They were in good shape when they left in the morning.”

  “Thank God,” I said, and tucked in.

  She waited until half the food was gone before telling the other news. “Word’s gotten around, and feelings are running high. You’re a lost cause, but Douggie… There’s a crowd over at the tavern now talking about marching on the duke.”

  The roast beef I was wolfing down didn’t look so tasty anymore. “To do what?”

  Mildred chewed on her lip before answering. “To tell him that if he runs Douggie off his land, they’ll burn his manor house to the ground.”

  “Frost it.” I put the fork down. “That won’t help Doug, and good people will get hurt.”

  “I know it.” She patted my arm. “Eat, lad. Aren’t you still hungry?”

  Around another forkful, I mumbled, “If I could make trouble for her nastiness, the duchess, I would, but I don’t want trouble for my friends and neighbours. Talk some sense into them.”