by Unknown
“A saucy wench alone in the forest. Well met, I say”
Mira approached the wagon. “Well met indeed. Don’t do anything rash. There are armed men at both sides”
“You mean the little red haired fellow hiding in the trees? Why his knees are knocking so loud I can hear him from where I’m sitting. Don’t you think its bad manners pointing that at me? After all, if I was of a nefarious inclination I would hardly drive through the woods singing at the top of my voice. Now would I?”
Mira looked back. “Norry, get out here…. We need your wagon”.
“Do you intend to rob me? What is the world coming to when ladies… I am assuming you are a lady… go about the forest robbing honest journeymen”
You are a Tinker?
“I prefer Tinsmith,” Norry came out. “Well met young man” Norry stared at him.
“I wish to hire your wagon to take me and my companion to the Royal City. You may accompany us, naturally”
“Very kind of you, however I am bound to Witch’s Keep and parts beyond”
“That is unfortunate. How much to buy you wagon?”
“If we are to negotiate I should know your names”
“I am Mira, my companion is Norry”
“My name is Hawkmoon and the price is fifty Ducats” A girl peered over the half door, her hair tousled from sleep.
“Has this man been bothering you?” Mira enquired.
“Only with his singing”... Reba told them of what happened to her family.
“What are you plans for her?” Mira looked to Hawkmoon.
“I will leave her in the care of the sisters at the Keep.” He replied, oblivious to the glare from his charge. “They will take care of her and find her family”
“And the cost of hiring it?”
“That is the hire cost. It is four hundred to purchase”.
“That is daylight robbery”
“Am I pointing a crossbow at you?”
Mira raised her hand to her face. Her legs gave out. Norry caught her before she hit the ground.
Hawkmoon dismounted and they carried her to the rear of the wagon. They placed her on the cot. Heat rose in waves. Beads of sweat ran from her face. Hawkmoon started to unbutton her dress. “What are you doing?” Norry glared at him.
“She has a fever . We have to bring it down.” Unclothed it was clear that the flies had bitten through her clothes. Red weals marked her upper arms back and shoulders. There were lesions on her breasts.
Norry went to his bedroll and returned with a jar. Hawkmoon smelt it.
Have you more of this?
“I will have to borrow your horse”.
“Quick as you can”
Using the rest of the ointment he covered her with a cotton sheet. Hawkmoon lifted her and carried her into the shade. It was evening before the Halfpint came back. The fever peaked at midnight leaving her to a deep slumber.
When they stopped the next day Hawkmoon carried her from the wagon to a bed of moss.. Insects hovered near but would not touch her. Darkness fell . Hawkmoon went to the forest to meet the wolves. Mira slept through the night. By dawn the following day most of the lesions had faded. She awoke and lifted the blankets
“Who removed my clothing?” She stared at Hawkmoon.
“Your companion’s modesty would have killed you. The flies in these parts are deadly. Ypu were lucky to have one of the Wee Folk. Only they know the cure You have lived through something that has killed strong men.. For the rest of your life, no insect will harm you. ”
“I will pay whatever you ask for your wagon.”
“That crossbow of yours would suffice.”
Norry returned, smiling at Mira.“My lady, you are well... We… that is. We had to”. The princess smiled. “It’s fine, Norry. Could you bring food?
On the Road
The fever came back the next day. They remained at the clearing while she slept in the shadow of a Mallorn.Norry took a basket of laundry to the water’s edge. Hawkmoon was there cleaning weapons. The Halfpint weighed the clothes with rocks and came to sit by the Ranger. “It is an honour to meet you”
“Do you play cards?”
“I have poor luck”
“It’s not your luck, it’s your face. Where did you know me from?”
“I saw you in the city. You brought in magickers for execution.”
“Dangerous people are looking for you.”
“How did you know about me?”
“We are interested in explosions. When chemists are involved we are more than interested. The incident in the yard drew a lot of attention. Did you always want to be a bomb maker?”
“I wanted to join the Rangers and I had to have something they would be interested in “
” You certainly have their interest now.”
Norry threw a pebble. “The old folks are philosophical... Put it behind you. Be thankful for today… That sort of talk. My generation want revenge. I spent years wondering how I might be accepted. It was obvious that I could not go as a soldier; I mean, look at me…. I had to bring something they could use, something valuable. I could not make swords. I was not a Bowyer. I knew about chemicals. At night, when the work was finished I worked on my experiments. It went on for years with no result only to start a number of fires.
The owner took a consignment of chemicals. We were given the job of unloading it. The other apprentice was a lazy sort.He tried to double the load so he could finish early and get down to the Mermaid to see his girl. . I was in the cellar, when it happened.
I climbed the ladder to look out the grate. There was one last boxI knew it because it was from the factor that made the acid and his boxes were always falling apart. There was a flash. I don’t remember much after that. When I came back the yard was a shambles. There was a hole big enough to hide a wagon. They found pieces of the apprentice mixed with the horse. I said I had been downstairs in the cellar. That was where they found me so they believed me. The boss was arrested.
It took a week to clear the yard. Around that time I began to notice some odd coves hanging about. They seemed interested in me. A little too interested if you take my meaning. The master gave me the job of sorting out the accounts. He had lost his licence so the shop was going out of business. I was going through the accounts when I spotted a mistake on the delivery . Instead of two vials of Lantanic we received one and another of a new acid. Its name is Cantharum. I sat there wondering; is it that simple, a blend of Cantharic and Lantanic acid?
I took a tiny drop of the new acid and placed it together with the Lantanic… Nothing happened.
I went over it step by step. Something was different. If I could find what I would have the answer. Then it hit me. In the laboratory we use surfaces that do not react with chemicals. The acid had fallen on cobblestone. When it got dark I went out and collected a piece from near the crater. I ground it to dust. I had a feeling I was close so I burnt all the records and stored the chemicals away. For safety I went down into the cellar. I placed a little of the powder to a dish and added the Cantharic. I dropped the tiniest drop of the acid…
I was thrown across the room .When I woke I could hear voices and hammering on the front door... I went upstairs. I searched for the money box and found it. I stole from my master, but I had to have money. I took a vial of Cantharuic acid another of Lantanic; and a piece of stone. I climbed through the window as voices came along the corridor.
Gypsy caravans assemble in the town square. They wait for dark because if they go at night they don’t have to pay the toll .. They would take passengers, if you had coin. They would take hidden passengers if you paid triple. I paid triple and extra for a change of clothes.” Norry took the stones from the basket and hoisted it onto the bank.
“I heard later there was a thousand Ducats on my head. If I had murdered a baron it would not have been more. I told the clan leader of my discovery and what it could do. It might have been foolish to trust someone but the Wampyrhii are savage on the gypsies
; even worse than they were with us. They take the best of their young people. Sometimes by force, sometimes by a tithe.So, here I am and I believe this is what you’re looking for”
Norry gave Hawkmoon a leather tube. It contained a sheet of parchment crowded with symbols and handwriting.
“The problem is to deliver the agent to the target and have it react at that precise moment. Not sooner, not later. I have been thinking about glass, or pottery. A way must be found to create something strong enough to withstand the forces generated by launch from a catapult but weak enough to shatter on landing”
Hawkmoon put the tube inside his tunic. “Your dream of joining the Rangers is about come true... ”
Rite of Passage.
The women longed for him though it could never be. His blood was tainted. His grandfather did not see the eyes with their strange cast. ... Chatto was all that remained of his daughter. Other clans had Dhampir, but not like Chatto.
Certain of the Dhampirii were women. Despite their beauty they would never find husbands…. Most of them never saw old age. Either they died in combat or the craving broke them at last. When they felt it coming they took their own lives or asked to be put down.. The practice of raising infected children was dying out as the Gypsies became more civilized.
Gowreen had died in an attack four years after his son was born. In latter times talk had grown of changing their routes. Some wondered about settling down ; giving up their travelling ways.. Where would they live? Neither town nor village would have them...
Shaleen’s gate was a week past. The guards let them through without hindrance. They were bound for a mountain called Halvas, better known as the Mountain of Trial. It was in Reiver country set aside as a place of combat between Traveller and Wampyrhh.
There was talk about Chatto around the campfires; him and a certain girl... She had brothers and they were not happy. Sooner or later they would want to do something. A bolt dipped in paste from the Shaleen spider, if it failed to kill him, would paralyze long enough to take his head.. Whatever happened on the mountain Chatto would not be coming home. Darran felt the heart squeeze in his chest He jerked the reins in anger making the horse stumble.
Halvas loomed in the afternoon, fourteen days beyond the Gate. They stopped at the foot of the mountain. Chatto bid farewell to Zek who would leave them to say their goodbyes. They climbed the trail to a false summit, where they stopped. His grandfather fussed with gear and food. Did he think he had enough for the coming days? What about his tools? He had a small axe. Good little weapon…
He touched the old man on the shoulder. “Go down, Grandfather Set up camp and wait. I will be down in a few days. Any longer and I won’t be coming.”
Darran looked at his grandson in the fading light. The sun caught the gleam of amber in his eyes. It took him back eighteen years. Anya whispered to him with her last breath.
“Don’t let them harm the boy. He will be mighty”
When Chatto was seven revenants found their way into camp. They went to the back of the Lupari’s tent and made a hole in it.. They were pulling out little Sheba when Chatto ran at them and darted a burning torch in the face of the one holding her. It shrieked, dropping the child. Chatto gathered her up and bolted. The commotion brought the men running.
“Here,” His grandfather handed him a capsule. “Put this in your mouth. Wedge it in the space where the tooth is missing.”
“I have no use for a suicide pill”.
“It is not for suicide. If you are restrained break it and spit. It will give you a moment”.
Chatto examined the object. The tooth had been pulled when he was fourteen. Taking the horse he started up the trail without a backward glance. Darran went back to his kinsman waiting at the ford.
The moons were down. They would not return for ten days The horse was fed, and tethered to a sapling..... The fire would make him easy to find but he had not come to hide. Whoever came would have to announce himself. The hate between the Travellers and the Wampyrhii was centuries old yet there was a strange honour between them. They knew each other as only bitter enemies could. The Travelling People had suffered more than most but no one knew as much about killing vampires. Night came and went. Daylight and the next four days were occupied gathering food , honing blades and waiting. It came on the fifth night.
The silence was broken by a long screech. A winged form flitted across the trees landing with a thump in the woods beyond. He started to assemble his weapons. There was a leather webbing with knives. This he strapped to his chest. The sword he drew from its scabbard was gleaming in the starlight. The previous Winter an elf had brought it to the camp. He handed to his father, nodded to Chatto and left. Slipping the blade in the sheath he lifted the crossbow. It had been the favourite weapon of their last Dhampir . Worn and rusted parts had been replaced.
A tall shape stepped from the trees . Chatto felt a push at the edges of his mind.
That is not part of the rules.
Rules. There are no rules. What is this? A lovely girl. What’s her name?
Her name is Kesa, but you will never see her. This is where you die.
The creature screamed, launching itself.. He had been trained to expect it, yet the speed of the monster was shocking.
One moment he was a distance apart. The next he was standing close grasping him by the throat. Chatto reached for his sword ;the vampire ripped it from his grip and threw it in the bushes. Its face was altering shape. The mouth was expanding, lips peeling back over bloody gums. The teeth were elongating They did not meet because the jaws were widening, the chin dropping down Blood dripped from its open maw. It whispered in his mind.
To come all this way… My beast could have killed you. Still. I can find your woman. It will not be a complete loss.
As consciousness flickered he remembered his grandfathers’ words. Searching for the capsule with the tip of his tongue , it refused to come loose. Shadows darkened as the face of the vampire loomed closer. In a final effort he pushed at the capsule with the tip of his tongue. It rolled free to be crushed under a molar. The taste was appalling. As the vampire drew back to strike, he spat. It reared back shrieking. Chatto pushed a dagger in its eye. To his astonishment the monster drew the blade with the eyeball attached and charged. . For as long as he could remember, the warriors of the clan had taught him. His grandfather had been the hardest taskmaster.
“If you take enough time to think, you are dead. You must complete the move before you know what you have done.”
The elven blade came across and down. Its head rolled in the sand. He could hear the pounding of his heart. The thing at his feet began to shrivel and rot. In moments there was nothing more than a bundle of cloth. A shout forced its way from his chest turning to a scream of triumph as it escaped his lips. Down the mountain his grandfather heard it and roared.
Mistress of Spies.
He was solidly built, dressed in light armour .
“Have a seat, Bashir” .
Morah continued to read, squinting at the smaller script. Singing came from the open window. Every tavern in the city was straining at the seams. The officer sat waiting for the Director to finish. She was reading a report on him.
“So captain, you have applied to join our little band?” Morah looked up from her reading. She was handsome more than beautiful…... She had clear skin and blue eyes. She seemed to have the components of beauty without the use for them. Her hair was short, as was her temper
“Yes director. My father was a Ranger, it is a tradition in our family.”
“You have chosen an interesting time to join us. You should do well.”
“If I live long enough”...
“Explain.”
“These are dangerous times. The explosion in the Reiver population means war. Strongbow is preparing to invade. They can’t go North. They are not a seafaring race ... They can’t go East , the tribes would slaughter them. The Wampyrhii are colluding with the Reivers. Yet here we are in the s
outh, running down our armies, retiring our ships, when we should be building our forces. The dogs on the street know it yet anyone who talks about war is arrested.
Some of my men have been beaten up by the Party for Peace. They send peace missions to the Reivers. Our patrols have been curtailed as a “gesture of goodwill”. And it is not just us. Everyone is at it. The only exception is Silverlode... When the mines were sacked not one raider came by way of the Pass. Not one. That was decades ago and still no one knows how they got a thousand raiders into the mines. If I had my way….”
Morah lifted her hand “Enough Captain… some time away from the city might suit you.”
“Director I want nothing more than to take my lancers out and do what we were trained to do. Since they began to pull in the patrols the countryside is infested . Towns and villages have disappeared. Thousands are flocking to the city only to be turned away at the city walls. We have the worst refugee problem….”
She passed a sealed letter across her desk. “Your orders. Take a patrol and go South .You are to look for a party led by Hawkmoon, and escort them to the city”.
The captain took the envelope. “I am amazed that you were able to get these orders issued.”
“We still have friends in high places… I will tell you two things, Captain. First your application to join the Rangers has been approved. Second, it is unlikely that, however long you serve; you will be asked to escort a more important group than this. I cannot stress this enough. Bring them back safely. Hawkmoon drives a monstrosity of a wagon. He thinks of it as his home. You are to supply horses and have the wagon brought on later... Hawkmoon tends to be free and easy with authority and irritating if he is of a mind. In any event I want him here with his party as soon as possible”.
“Thank you Director”The captain passed the secretary who closed the door.. “A good prospect”