Engaging Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 2)

by Cary J Lenehan

  Finally the women…the sound of harp and lute, with only a low and soft drumming behind it as a steady beat sounds like a female version of the same music that had been playing for Harald. I wouldn’t say soft, but still it is feminine. Elizabeth is in first. She wears leather, but padded combat leathers rather than work wear. She has been training in sword and shield and bears the one on her hip and the other on her back, but the only thing she is actually good at is throwing knives, and those are strapped on to her as well. The bride is dressed the same, but with two shortswords, one high on each side as well as her knives. A horse bow is in a case at her belt and a quiver is on the other side. Goditha is giving her away and she continues the martial theme. She has found a mail hauberk that fits her. No shield, but there is a sword hung on her left side with a long dagger on her right ready to be cross-drawn to parry. To me it looks like a Dwarven wedding party and could turn very ugly if the participants have too much to drink and grow belligerent.

  Lakshmi’s present is a silver necklace set with citrine. She is the only bride so far to take her necklace off during the feast, but it is so that the bride and groom could sit with their heads together evaluating the workmanship and its value. This is almost automatic for both of them and they are not thinking about it or realising what people will think until their action is noticed and people started to laugh at the Dwarven reaction. Even Thord is laughing. Lakshmi sticks out her tongue at her wedding guests and the two continue until they finish, and Harald again fastens the necklace in place.

  Interspersed with other melodies and dances the musicians reprised the two tunes and added another couple. They were proud of themselves. None of them were dwarves, but Fãtima, who seemed to know something about every culture’s music and was the musician playing the harp, had known a few tunes and had taught them to the rest of the players. Apparently they had been practicing these secretly, and often late at night, in one of the most remote of the abandoned buildings and it had been very cold, but it worked. Both Thord and Harald had congratulated them, more than slightly drunkenly and very tearfully.

  When the village had escorted them to Harald’s workshop and residence, Harald opened the door and, before Lakshmi could enter, swept her up in his arms and kissed her before carrying her into the house. He kicked the door closed behind him with his boot.

  ~~~

  What with everyone else getting married, I have been waiting for this question to come up. I was not sure when it would come, but I knew it would. What is surprising is how it is being put to me.

  After Mass had finished Sajãh and Fortunata came up to speak to Christopher. Norbert was waiting near the door. Sajãh took the lead. “You are probably aware that Norbert has been sleeping with both of us. It was our decision and our choice. He either had us both or he had neither.” Christopher nodded. “Do you have a problem with that?” Christopher shook his head.

  What will happen next? The two women are looking at each other.

  Sajãh said, “It has worked for us very well until now. We think that he has gotten us both pregnant but he will not marry us. In my culture a man is proud to have two wives, or even more. Norbert said that in his culture this is not acceptable. He shouldn’t live with us both, but it was not unknown, but he couldn’t marry us both. He said he would marry one of us, and he wants to, but he will not say which one he wants to marry and the other could live with the married couple as a leman, a concubine, but we said this was not acceptable to us. We want you to help us in this and make him marry us.” Fortunata nodded vigorously and both glared back at Norbert who stood near the door trying to look defiant.

  It has come. Time for me to steel myself, take a deep breath and gesture to Norbert to join us. When he had, Christopher said, “Norbert, these ladies want to marry you and they say that you have refused to do so. Is this true?”

  “Yes Father. I cannot marry two women at once, for that is wrong. I will marry either one of them, and they can choose which one as I love them both equally and would like to make them happy, but you know that I can only marry one.” The women are glaring at him and he has crossed his arms and put on an expression that men who are in trouble with their partners for no cause that they can see are all familiar with. I have seen that look a few times, even on Rani.

  I do know the way out of this, but I had been hoping to avoid it. “You are not quite correct in that, Norbert.”

  He is looking blankly at me as the words sink in. He is visibly deflating with his air of injured dignity punctured. “Not quite right?” he asked.

  “No. The verse in the Bible that says that priests must marry goes like this: ‘Choose your priests from amongst men who have but one wife,’ so your problem is solved.” He proudly looked at the three of them. The three of them are looking back blankly. I am expecting too much of them. He sighed. “If you must choose your priests from among men who have only one wife, it implies that there are men in the congregation who have more than one wife. There is no condemnation of these men, they are just forbidden to become priests.” He looked directly at Norbert. “Are you planning on becoming a priest and have not told me yet?”

  “No,” said Norbert, surprised.

  “Then congratulations on getting engaged to two women with the blessing of me, as the local representative of the Church. In fact I specifically mentioned your circumstances to my Metropolitan and he, reluctantly, agrees with me.” I feel smug. It is not something that the Church points out to people, but it is there for them in the Gospels if they choose to read it. Few choose to read the actual words, or have the chance to. Most take what they are raised with or what they are told by others. There is still little reaction from them. What I said seems not to have sunk in. “I have solved your problem. When do you want to be married?”

  Now the women look at each other. Now they look at me. Lastly they both look at Norbert…it is taking them enough time…there it is. There was a sudden cry of delight from the two women. They hugged each other and then Norbert. Norbert looked out of the hug and said, still a trifle dubiously, “I think, seeing there are two dresses, that we need at least two weeks Father, that is if Sajãh wants to be married in a Christian ceremony.”

  Sajãh responded by hitting him playfully. “I have spoken with Ayesha on this already. I can marry you, but my children must be raised as Muslim.” She said to Christopher, “Do you have problems with this?”

  This, in turn, gives me pause…“May I suggest something? I will marry you as a Mullah would, instead of my ceremony. You shall raise all of the children in the knowledge of both religions and, when they become adult you tell them that they all must choose between them. Whichever is most true should win them over.”

  Now it is Sajãh’s turn to think for a bit. She nodded. “It is a deal.”

  ~~~

  Rani

  The day came when the first of the trainee mages made their first cup of tea. Making a cup of tea was the name of one of the standard learning spells that involves heating a cup of water with herbs in it until it boiled. It is one of the few spells that works equally well for the opposites of Fire and Water, although they approach it differently. Most trainee mages take a long time to make this first vital step as they spend a lot of their time running around as servants for their masters. The longer it takes for a student to learn how to be a mage means the longer it is that the mage has a free servant at hand. My apprentices have a lot less other duties and so they can spend more time learning. I am a good teacher. I am hard on them and keep them working hour after hour. Few have even a clue to when they were born, so I have been teaching them all four elements to see which of them they work best and worst with. Hulagu has taken advantage of this duality. He had been born on the third day of the second week of the sign of the Lizard. He is going to be a Water mage. I am so proud. He has adjusted his thoughts so quickly to the task. Hulagu had called her over as all of the other students gathered around. There in front of him is a steaming mug of tea. He looks very proud,
but very tired with the breakthrough that he has made. Casting spells takes a lot of effort, and the first casts you make are the hardest as the mind twists around to learn a whole new way of doing things. Most people after their first successful cast are as drained as they would be after a full day of very hard work. It takes a long while to get more relaxed with the effort.

  With that incentive in front of her, Verily was the next to partly succeed and she did it later in the same session. Her water however, does not boil. It has flashed, almost in an instant, into steam to envelop her. She sits proud, ignoring the pain.

  “Call Father Christopher…she is scalded.” It seems, from the strength of the spell, that she might be a fire mage, a powerful one of some sort, and that she will have to learn a lot more control before she can go much further. She will be my true apprentice…a battle mage.

  Over the next week the others showed what they could be. I am not surprised that Naeve favours Earth. Fortunata turns in the same direction. Tiny Bilqĩs, the smallest of all the women, has, as a child, been taught some glassblowing and is now again taking it up. The reason for her early easy success with such a task was now obvious. She is also going to be a fire mage and has empathy with any attempt to work with that element. Fatima follows Water. I am also not surprised that the mason Goditha shows that she is another Earth mage. She is already thinking ahead of ways of using her magic in the service of her craft and has been hoping that this element is the one that she will favour. It is good when fate follows our wishes. I am worried about Parminder. She has picked up the simple spells of each of the four elements. She is not strong in her casting, but she can perform them all with equal facility.

  More than a little concerned, Rani sat the girl down. “You have reached the stage of being a real apprentice in that you can cast your first spells. By this stage, like the others, you should have some idea what your element will be, but I still see you, each day, casting from all four. Is there no area where you feel more comfortable? Is there something about yourself that you are not telling me?”

  She is looking unhappy as she shifts in her seat. “What do you mean?”

  “Well let us look around. Lakshmi did not tell us of her upbringing until it was almost too late. Are you sure that there is nothing at all in your past that you need to tell me?” She looks uncomfortable. “There is nothing…unusual…nothing that, say happens to you, but does not happen to Goditha?” She has opened her mouth as if to say something and then shakes her head. I think that she is lying to me. “There is something that you want to say, but are scared to, isn’t there?” asked Rani. “Would you be happier if you talked with Father Christopher about it?” Her head is drooping. She is going to—

  Suddenly the words came tumbling out. “It is just that… sometimes…when I am near them…I think that I feel what the horses feel…and there is a cat that lives in the stables. I know when it is hunting and when it is being combed or happy and…and once I looked up and saw an eagle and for a while I thought that I was the eagle looking down at me. Am I going mad?” She looks very unhappy indeed.

  “Really?” I know that my voice is showing my astonishment. How much more is there ahead of us to discover? “How many more surprises will Mousehole give us? You are not going mad. It is possible that you may have something that is very rare. If I had known about these…feelings…we would be working on them as well and, if you were born among the Khitan they would have been praising you…ask Hulagu…you would have been raised as a shaman among them. Some people can, without using any magic at all, read minds. None know how. You may have the ability to do that with animals.” She still looks worried. “This is very good, little one. You do not even know if these are all of the animals that you can do it with yet… Did this just start to happen when we started working?” Parminder nodded. “…I wonder. It is rare, very rare…we will keep training you. It is possible, just possible, that you are one who is born into the realm of the Spirit. Most of those who are born into this realm become priests as they are often more…spiritual perhaps…than they are connected to magic. Those who become mages have no particular affinity with any of the elements…regardless of when they are born. They can use all realms in the same fashion. I know of none in Haven who are Spirit mages currently and there are no records of them that we have going back into The Burning. I once read some old writings that spoke about this. We will work on your ability with animals, which may have been triggered by your touch with the Spirit world, and we will assume that you are of the Spirit realm. This is very good little one. Go and be happy and tell your husband. We have been lax in this. We must start to look for any other skills that may be hidden amongst you.”

  ~~~

  We began with only a few buildings lived in, but now as winter begins to set in, my village is starting to spread out. All of those who are married are in their own houses now and the old slave quarters are abandoned. Those who want to live together have moved into the bandit barracks for the larger rooms and the better beds that are there.

  ~~~

  Having had the attack from the hobgoblins as well as the proof that the Masters wanted to retake the valley, weapons training has become even more focussed. The progress of most of my people is swift…even among those who will be going on to Dwarvenholme have to improve, even if it is just to stay ahead of their students.

  The children are getting on with their lessons and now that some are starting to show signs of literacy, I note that Ruth is now able to go beyond the basics with them and started teaching calligraphy and reading them poetry. It helps that Ruth writes her own poetry, as does my Theo-dear, and now the children are starting to work on their own and I have to admire Fear’s attempts.

  I wish I could appreciate music, but drums I can take and I am glad that one of the successes with the children was when Kãhina brought each of the girls their own drum that she had made for them. I may be tone-deaf, but even I can enjoy rhythm.

  Father Theodule is often in helping with the children, but he has conceded to me that Ruth, as a teacher of the young, is far beyond his skills. We have been lucky.

  ~~~

  Father Christopher

  I should have been on the lookout for this indulgence, I suppose, but such customs do little harm and help bind people together. I missed it, but Fortunata forestalled Norbert being hung over for his wedding. She had been sure that this was being planned, so she cornered Giles. He tried to look innocent, but she insisted that anything that take place must be at least two nights before. This time the number taking part was larger with not just Giles, as Fortunata had suspected, but also with Thord, Robin, Harald, Goditha, Stefan, Basil and Hulagu taking part. At least hangovers made the repentance more genuine next morning at Confession.

  ~~~

  The wedding itself was different to all of its predecessors in many ways. The groom, in tunic and trews, was attended by Harald and the women having decided this between themselves, was first married to Fortunata. She was attended by Parminder and given away by Stefan. The first bride then took a pace back and Sajãh was brought in wearing a white dress under a white canopy that was carried by Fãtima, Umm, Hagar and Bilqĩs, and accompanied by Ayesha. She took her place up the front and seven white dishes, each containing something white, sugar, cream, yoghurt and so on, were placed in front of her.

  Here we go. I now have to preach a sermon on marriage that does not mention Christ or, in fact Christianity, and with all listening. I then ask each of them if they want this marriage. Three times I ask each of them and, after the third time they each answer, “Yes”.

  Then Sajãh said, “I, Sajãh, offer you myself in marriage and in accordance with the instructions of the Holy Qu’ran and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him. I pledge, in honesty and with sincerity, to be for you an obedient and faithful wife.”

  Norbert drew a deep breath and replied, “I, Norbert, pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you a faithful and helpful husband.”

&nbs
p; “I pronounce you man and wife,” and, while the two brides embrace each other and then their husband, the attendant women begin to ululate. Some of the onlookers join in. Evidently the Khitan women are used to this practice, and they have, obviously, trained my wife how to do it as well as dance.

  ~~~

  The feast began. In deference to the history of one of the brides it was the first wedding that had occurred in the village at which no alcohol or pork was served.

  ~~~

  As the winter progressed, more of the married women, freed at last from restrictions, and with the aid of Father Christopher’s prayers, reported that they thought that they were pregnant. Also, as the year advanced much of the training had to be moved into the hall as the weather grew colder and colder and there was the occasional day when the fields outside the wall would lie under a light cover of snow. Only archery would take place outside on those days and even that had to be cancelled on one day. Those who were doing duty out at the lookout were very glad of the cloak of warmth.

  ~~~

  Astrid

  I am the only one glad about the snow. “It is only a light coating, but it should be enough,” she said. Now we amaze them with my skis that Dulcie made for me. The snow is deep enough. I can cover our whole valley and have even climbed through the snow up the river track so that I could launch myself back down. I have not had so much fun in a long time.

  Astrid ended near the wall, sending up a shower of snow over the watchers in front of her. She did this every day if there was enough snow. Try as she might though, the only person she could convince to try this was Basil and he did not show any great aptitude for the practice. She was so glad of the snow that she would eagerly swap a sentry duty on the roof for one at the lookout so that she could ski back and forth. She even had Fortunata make her some loose white clothing, to wear over her normal clothes, so that, even if she lacked one of the rings, she would be hard to see. “What use is a ring like that, when everyone can see the tracks I leave?” She also made some things to attach to her feet, which, while they looked comical, allowed her to run over snow where others sunk in up to their knees. She preferred these if she was avoiding tracks and used to carry them with her on her back—when she took the skis off, she put them on, until it was time to climb.