Rani
7th Undecim
Last night our camp was subdued. Christopher made the most noise. I heard his muffled groans throughout the night. From what I am told, Bianca tended him the whole time, wiping away the sweat and dribbling water, until she fell asleep over him just before dawn. We had to wake her so that she could eat and drink. She is almost moving like an automaton. Who would have thought it?
They left that site and continued on for several more days in the same pattern. Bianca is showing no response to the still chill air or the noises…to nothing but her husband. She had even failed to react when a large hopper burst out of the vegetation beside the track and bounded down slope away from them. It took Aziz saying to Bianca as he ate that he missed the Father’s prayers to wake her a little from her total focus on Christopher…that actually made her shake herself and look around a bit wildly.
“How long has it been?” she asked.
“Five days,” replied Ayesha. “You have not replied to us at all, whatever we have said. We have been able to get you to do things, but you have not really known that we were here, even when we were handing you things.”
“That is not what my husband would have done, I am sorry. I am not a priest, but I am the priest’s wife, and I am the best qualified here. I have forgotten my duty to you.” She looked around at everyone preparing to eat. “Now, let us pray.” It seems that she remembers most of the prayers and rituals that her husband performs on the road, and now she has begun to lead all her believers through them.
“If the Church thinks that I deserve a title, it is going to get some service out of me. I know that Deacons can lead a service, and perform everything except one of the Sacraments. And a Presbytera has to be at least worth the same as a Deacon.”
Bianca
12th Undecim
One by one, they tell me that they have been on edge…deflated despite their victory, and now they feel a little more peaceful. Even Ayesha has told me that she was becoming familiar with the priest and his services, and as for not having them as a part of the background to her daily life, even she had begun to miss them.
Saying the prayers is a balm for my soul as well. I can feel my faith building again. My hands clutch this icon of Saint Jude, and I know in my heart that my husband will regain his mind and all will be well. I may still be concerned, but by showing a better face to the world, it is rubbing off on the others.
Bianca
13th Undecim
At least there is no sign of the dragon, and we have reached the junction of the old road down from the Dwarven road, where it headed down to the path along the base of the mountains, without incident.
They had been on that road for a day when something happened. That night, after they had stopped, Bianca was leading them in prayer. There is another voice, a thin and weak voice that has joined in. Christopher…my husband. Bianca stopped immediately and threw herself on him with tears of joy.
“Don’t let me stop you, my dear,” Christopher said weakly. “Finish what you are doing and then we will talk…go on…finish.” Bianca kissed him and returned to the prayers, adding a few more in fervent thanks for him starting to recover. It was only a partial recovery. He was weak from his ordeal and he said that he still felt a craving for the drug within him. At least he was able to sit up and sip the soup that I held for him. Now I can just hold him while Hulagu carefully uses a spell to heat him some more.
Bianca
14th Undecim
The next day Christopher was still too weak to walk, but he started to take a little solid food, and when they stopped that night was able to slowly rise and take himself away from where they had set up to relieve himself. He walked away from them like an old man, supporting himself on his staff, and was still very shaky as he staggered from tree to tree. He came back and rummaged in his pack and brought out some stems from a package.
“Please cut these up and boil them and put them in some soup for me. No-one else eat of the result,” he said. He paused and then added, “Unless you have had some difficulty with a tightness of your bowels, in which case, pray join me.” He gave a weak smile. “For myself I will give a prayer of thanks that Lakshmi made me bring these just in case.”
That night he held a service for them all and the next day he felt strong enough to start walking, despite still shaking a little. I notice that Aziz and Astrid just looked at each other and packed their stretcher along just in case. And just as well, it was needed again well before we took a mid-day break.
Although they had time to go further, they camped that night again under the strange pine tree inside its ruins and set out early the next morning. By the time that they had reached the base of the trail he was walking strongly and had started trying to carry his own pack. And he can forget about that. He is far too weak, and it will make him worse again. But thank the Lord that he is getting stronger. He can now walk for much of the day.
They turned left onto the path for home and, with Mousehole only another night away, even Father Christopher had a spring in his step as they picked up their pace. Tonight, we will spend under the cliff off the road, and then we will be home.
Rani
Soon after they re-joined the path Astrid appeared waving at them and hurrying back. “It is a new beginning,” she said. “You will never believe who we are about to come up on from behind. It is an omen of our future.”
I wish that she would just say things instead of making us guess. “What are you on about? Haven’t we had enough of omens?”
“Oh…” replied Astrid dismissively. “Personally, I am not even sure if we are finished with that first lot yet. No, we have our Darkreach trader ahead of us. It is Carausius and his guards: Karas and Festus, the ones you didn’t like me following. I just thought that I would tell you that I am about to go up and say hello. If you hurry up and keep low, you will see the fun.” She grinned and turned around to head back.
Even though she now has problems every morning, she seems to enjoy them for what they signify, and her irrepressible nature keeps re-emerging. I wish it wouldn’t. “But why do we want to stop them?”
Astrid stopped and turned around again, returning. “Firstly,” she said, “it will be fun, and we could all do with some fun. Second, and even more important, Mousehole will only survive if it is prosperous.” She patted her stomach. “I want my little Kharling to be really wealthy, not just prosperous. We will only get that way in Mousehole if we have traders beating a path to our door. These are traders.
“We need cloth, we need men, and we need so many things for a village that you can’t even imagine. I mean, Sãjah makes candles for us, but they are not very good. Even you must notice how much they smoke when alight and you do not have the time to make us enough magical lights. We are lucky because the girls have taught themselves to make do with so little, but there are things we can do really well, and we need to sell these to get the things that we cannot make.
“Wolfneck survives with whales and fish, fur and some plants. We sold these to everyone else. Most other things we bought even most of our cloth. We have so much more for us in Mousehole. Instead of being at the end of a road pressed against a cold sea, we own this whole track and everything around it.
“Just from the gifts that we know of, well…Bryony and I think that we can sell plants. Between them, Aine, Sãjah and Lãdi, and all of our entertainers can make the Hall of Mice famous, and people will want to come here to hear them and eat our food. We have our mines. We have lots of mages, we have the grazing lands, but for any of this to work we need people to come to us.
“We cannot send out our own caravans to trade. There are not enough of us. These traders ahead of us will spread the word if we want them to.” She stood there with her arms crossed and with a determined look on her face.
My wife is nudging me. “She is right, dearest,” said Theodora. “We
may have defeated the Masters for the moment, and we can and will bring all their treasure down to Mousehole, but treasure doesn’t make you wealthy. What good is wealth if our people are not happy and well-fed? You cannot eat it or get Fear to wear it. We have to do something with it.”
Theo-dear has turned to Astrid. “Go on and see your Caracticus, or whatever his name is. Welcome him to our land and tell him that his first trip through will be free, and that he can call in to see what he can sell to us in the village or what he can buy from us.”
Astrid
I am going to cheat and use the ring. I run up the path and then dodge through the forest. I know this area and can be almost silent. I’m now ahead of them and stop behind a tree and…take the ring off.
Peering around, it she saw some of her people’s heads appear behind the trader, peering over the ridge. When the three were about twenty paces away, she stepped out from behind the tree with her left hand open and raised palm first in greeting, her spear held upright in her right hand and her bow cased in its woollen cloth roll on her back.
“Carausius, Karas and Festus,” she said in Darkspeech, “how nice to see you all again.”
Karas started to raise his bow, but he has quickly realised that, if this was an ambush, it is a very odd one and actually raising his bow might provoke someone putting an arrow through him. He is not dumb then, even if he and Festus are looking wildly around. “Who are you? I have never seen you before” spluttered Carausius. “Why are you stopping us? How do you know our names?”
Astrid grinned. “I have my ways,” she said. “You haven’t seen me, but I have seen you, and listened to you when you were heading down to the Swamp to trade last autumn and when you returned so happy to Darkreach.”
“But…”
“But nothing. Oh sorry, I did not introduce myself. I am Astrid the Cat, from the mighty village of Mousehole. When last I saw you, we were not open for business, but now we are and I want to invite you to come in to see us, and to stay at our inn, the Hall of Mice, and perhaps you might have something to sell us or perhaps you might like to buy from us. I think that we have some things that you will want to see, and we will have more in times to come.”
“There is no village here…we went through last year.” Astrid was nodding with a smile on her face as he said this, and her mocking expression made Carausius just peter out in what he was saying without completing the sentence.
I will wait until he stops. “Yes, there is. We are just hard to see if we don’t want you to find us. I will introduce you to our Princesses when they catch up, and we will then be going on towards our home. We might not see you at the campsite tonight, but we will let you know when you come up to our village. Remember the old bridge a day south of here?”
Carausius nodded. “Well, we live near there. Now, don’t panic when everyone catches up, for there are quite a few of us, but we mean you no harm.” She gave a little bow, waved back towards the others and started to walk down the road towards home. Bryony and Aziz had come jogging quietly up from behind them while Astrid spoke. They came level to the three who were now stopped and looking around.
“Hello,” said Aziz in Darkspeech. All three jumped and spun around. Aziz has pointed at Bryony. “She would say hello too, but she not speak this tongue. We will see you later at home,” and now they are coming to join me. We will wait now and watch and listen to the rest.
“Boss…” Karas, who was at the rear, had turned and noticed the others approaching the three men. He turned again and spoke to Carausius, “there are more of them.” The three traders are just standing dumbfounded as they go past one by one.
Everyone is saying hello, many in Darkspeech, but I notice that Theodora is keeping her eyes shaded. Probably a good idea…that can wait and, at the moment, might be too much of a shock for the poor men who, by the time we have all passed are already looking a bit stunned. Now it is time for us to head on. She motioned with hands and the three ran ahead again.
Theodora
“Now we are past them, do we push on tonight, or use the hidden campsite. You have all forgotten my eyes. If anyone from Darkreach sees me, they will know exactly who I am, or at least who my family is. I don’t want that known until we are safely home.”
Rani thought for a moment. “We will have to pass the traders again if we used the hidden site, but that doesn’t matter. That way they will know we mean no harm to them, and a little mystery as to where we were camped will not hurt them and will add to our legend in their eyes. It never hurts to be thought to have more powers than you actually have. Anyway, after Astrid’s show earlier they will already think we are more than a little odd.”
Astrid is right. We were careful, and we could see them clearly from here as they went past. Now, in the clear morning’s light, as we prepare to set out, we can see the smoke from their fire. Our valley will be alert to people coming in along the road.
Astrid
15th Undecim
We have set out nice and early and we are upon them before they have set out. “Hello, we are here again” They have stopped what they were doing as once more we come up, this time all of us at once. I might tease them a bit more. “Tonight, you can sleep in the Hall of Mice as our first guests. Is there anything we can tell the cook to get ready for you?”
“Ummm…anything from Darkreach.” From his face Carausius is feeling lost.
“I will see what Kutsulbalik can arrange,” she replied. “We will see you then.”
Again, the party filed past the traders and, this time, each of the Mice bid them good morning in one tongue or another, before hurrying on their way back home. I note that once again Theodora has kept her eyes hidden with her head bent under the cowl of her cloak.
Chapter XIII
Astrid
15th Undecim
Just short of where they had ambushed the bandits, and when they were temporarily out of sight of the watch point, Rani called Astrid back. “We don’t know what has happened in the valley while we have been away. Remember what we have done to over-confident people as they have approached what they thought of as a safe haven. I want you and Ayesha to put on your rings and go ahead of us. Go up to the cave and check that no one is there, and then go on up to the watch point. We will come along very slowly. You are to let us know if anything is amiss.”
Astrid nodded, slung her bow and put out her hand to Ayesha. “We had better stay in touch, or else we won’t know where the other is. Let us go then.” Holding hands, they put their rings on and disappeared.
Astrid looked back before they went out of sight. Rani has held the main group stationary for a while. This time she is making them move slowly and, remembering what they had done to the confident bandits, with more than a little caution…good. We need to hurry, though.
Lakshmi was up on the watch area, dressed in leather, and carrying a horse bow as well as her knives. She was relaying news excitedly on the return of the wayfaring group through a Talker, when first Ayesha and then Astrid took their rings off behind her.
“Boo,” said Astrid quietly, and was rewarded with a strangled sound and a startled look as the very young-looking girl (who was actually older than Astrid) spun around pulling out a hastily drawn short-sword with her free hand.
While Lakshmi hugged and greeted Ayesha, Astrid stood up and waved to the returning Mice. Just coming into view in the distance over the ridge behind them were the traders. Astrid then grabbed the Talker.
“Hello, anyone who is listening. This is the Cat. Can someone find either Sãjah or Lãdi?” We need Mousehole’s head domestic and cook now. “And let me talk to them please. Who is here anyway?” It turns out to be the young mage, Fãtima, who is on the roof watch and she is already calling down below. Apparently, the village is already a hive of activity.
Astrid let the village know about the merchants, but wouldn’t be drawn a
bout what had happened. “Let the storytellers tell everyone when we are all together. I am not going to ruin the tale with my rough version. The main thing for now is that we are all back safely and it is a lovely day.”
Rani
The travellers returned to a welcome from almost the whole village. They cannot wait. They are all at the gate already. Fear flew at Rani and Theodora, trying hard to hug them both at once. It is not just us though.
I worried about him fitting in, but Aziz is being mobbed by the other children, all dressed in their kilts, who want their monster back to play with. He is roaring at them and they shriek and run away to come back when he kneels to let them swarm all over him. Who would have thought that a Hob was so good with children?
His wife carries his shield and he gathers them up and carries them all back to the village in his arms or on his shoulders. Our recovered priest is grabbed by Theodule and Thord by Harald. It is a scene of general rejoicing.
“What is this about traders?” Sãjah asked Rani.
“Remember the ones who passed last autumn? Astrid has invited them in to stay at the Hall. She thinks that we should encourage them.”
“Indeed, we should,” said Sãjah. “We are getting the rooms ready now. Hagar and Shilpa are already hard at work. Do we charge them? Are we now an inn? What do they have to trade?”
“I guess that we are an inn of sorts. But I don’t know whether to charge them, and I don’t think that we have time to work it out. I think it best if we tell them that, because they are our first visitors, they are to be our guests for this visit. I think Astrid was having too much fun playing with them, and pulling their legs to ask anything practical about what they might have to trade to us. This time they have five pack animals and they seem to be very well laden, but what it all is, I don’t know. What can we sell them?”
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