It sounded so simple. Simple and easy, however, did not always coincide. To dig a trench for draining rainwater from around a building was simple.
Colar took the hammer once more. "All the more reason to rebuild the water gates and the walls." He looked left and right. "If there is no other business?"
The door at the far end of the room opened, and a page bowed low to a woman in dark blue. She carried a staff, and Aedelbert saw that a lighter blue half-veil hid her upper face. He rose to his feet before thinking.
"This is auspicious," the woman declared, her voice carrying to all parts of the room. The guests turned, stood, and many bowed, then scooted out of the way. Wood scraped wood as the benches parted to make a passageway for her. She strode forward and Aedelbert saw gold on the caps of her staff, and silver and a blue stone in her chain of office. He bowed as she passed him.
"I am Alruna, priestess of Donwah, Lady of the Waters." Her words sent ripples through the room and the councilors bowed.
"Welcome, honored Sister," Colar intoned. "Be welcome in the name of the people of Garmouth."
"Thank you." She looked left and right. "I will open the temple for worship on the morrow."
The ripple became a wave of motion and in one case dismay. Did the woman not want a priestess of Donwah in the city? Why not? Aedelbert could guess—she'd probably planned to ask for one of her daughters or a sister to be appointed acolyte until a priestess arrived.
The council widow pinned the unhappy woman with a glare, as if warning her off. The other woman glared back and Aedelbert gritted his teeth. The priestess turned and pointed to the unhappy matron. "I was sent."
The matron bowed and kept her face hidden by the folds of her headdress. Oh, he did not want to be in her shoes when she attended worship next, or visited the well or fountain for water. Ah! Having the priestess here meant that she would take over responsibility for the well, fountains, and possibly the moat. He'd have to remind Ehric and Caedda so they could pay the proper respects. They owed the Lady of Waters for the work She had done in the rocks.
"Sent, Priestess Alruna?" A bit of a squeak ended the question, and the mouse in Colar's throat ran up and down as he swallowed.
"Yes. Things are moving, things besides water. The Emperor has come to render justice. Justice to all claims." Something in her voice set Aedelbert on guard, and he wondered which claims she meant. Not just a market squabble, to be certain. "I open the temple tomorrow," Alruna repeated. She turned and swept out of the room. Aedelbert thought he heard the sound of water flowing as she departed. He must not have been the only one, because several people at the council table and among the witnesses shivered and made signs of blessing or warding. Not that trying to ward off a goddess as all-reaching as Donwah would be wise. Man could live without breads and grains, or so it was said, but not without water.
A long silence filled the room after the priestess departed. Finally, Colar cleared his throat. Two people jumped. "Given the information from Master Caedda, and the most welcome re-opening of Donwah's temple, I move that we begin shifting supplies into the walls, supplies beyond the standard winter provisions. Discussion?"
None of the councilors spoke.
"All in favor?"
Ten voices chorused, "Aye."
"Opposed?"
A bored, bland-faced man said, "Aye."
"Mistress Brihac?"
The craft mistress said, "I abstain due to conflicts with my confraternity."
Colar did not appear surprised. "So noted. The motion passes." He hesitated, a little nervous as he looked to the door. "Is there any other business?"
Silence. Silence. The man smiled and let his shoulders drop with relief, then tapped the wooden block three times with the wooden hammer. "The meeting is at an end. Go with the blessings of the gods."
Neither stone cutter spoke until they'd gotten to The Ore Cart and both had tankards of dark beer in their hands. "I believe the matter of custody of Donwah's temple has been settled," Caedda said after a thoughtful sip. "Roasted too long."
Aedelbert rolled the beer on his tongue. The dark, bitter under-flavor confirmed Caedda's observation. "In a rather decisive manner. Remind me not to ask 'why me?' in the future."
"Either of us. Many questions are best left unanswered. Like 'What was her name, anyway?' " Caedda winked.
"Desire versus ability," Aedelbert pointed to the tankard.
Caedda drank. "Have you heard any more questions concerning the missing great-hauler?"
Trust him to bring that problem back to the surface. "Not yet, but I wonder if we ever will. The owner's interest seemed, ah," he searched for the right word. "Less than intense, as if he had low expectations and less desire for the beast's return."
"Hmm. Still..." Caedda stared past Aedelbert's shoulder, then shrugged, making their private hand-sign of warning. "It's hard to identify them once they've been cooked." A man in farmer's clothes stomped past, followed by a tray-laden apprentice brewer.
Aedelbert chuckled. "I'd be scared to eat the bird if I could identify which one it was after it went into the pot."
A run-away girl, the town preparing for a siege, the new priestess... The gossips would not lack for fodder for the next few days and nights.
11
Preparing for the Storm
Wassa caught them before they could get more than a few doors away from The Ore Cart. "Good. Change of plan." He took a deep breath. "No smelter work for now. Turold and Winfrith agree. We need walls before the third smelter."
Aedelbert opened his mouth to refuse. Caedda stomped on his foot, hard enough to get through the heavy leather. "Are we getting paid? Because if not, we go back to the smelter."
Before Wassa could answer, a piercing whistle made all three men flinch. "There they are! They stole the girl, and they're with that blight-blasted bastard of a land thief." The shrill voice could have cut stone as well as shattering glass and ruining ears.
The trio turned toward the sound. What sort of fool whistled like that? Aedelbert heard Wassa's under-breath groan as Widow Leoflead bore down on them, all but dragging two of the town watch behind her. "I saw them with a child and a great-hauler. That had to be the girl."
Caedda waited until the guards and their furious guide came closer. Then he declared, "If you are referring to the great-hauler and her handler, Goodwife, I hired them because Master Winfrith needed a source of great-hauler dung, and a bird to drag materials from storage sites to the smelter site."
"The boy," the widow hissed, "wore clothes I saw being put in the need box at Yoorst's temple. They are hand-overs from Widow Chanu's son what died four eight-days back and the family declared them ill-bought. Person wearin' em walked like a girl. Only one girl with a great-hauler gone missin'!" She came so close that Caedda probably smelled what she'd had for supper the day before. "They stole her same way's he stole my trees."
Was she touched in the head? Aedelbert had seen people so eaten by an idea or desire that it ate through their heads and they lived for nothing by that desire, like the farmer who kept trying to teach schaef to graze in trees like wild capri did. So long as they weren't a danger, most families kept that sort of poor soul within the family. Widow Leoflaed sounded enough like that farmer that Aedelbert really wondered.
The watchmen listened to her, and to Caedda. Finally the one with the town-blade on his belt scuffed the street cobbles with one boot toe and said, "Master Caedda, will you and your associate please come to the Council Hall? If anyone has registered a missing relative, it will be known in the watch office there." His partner studied the roof eves above the three stone-workers' heads, doing his best to memorize the carvings. Neither man acted as if he wanted to be there, but Widow Leoflaed had citizen's right.
Wassa made a small shooing motion with his right hand as he did his best to keep from attracting the widow's attention. If she whistled again, who knew what ill luck she'd pull down on them? The men and women passing through the street on business glanced
at the scene with mild interest, but no one stopped. A few hurried their steps, and one women spun around so fast that her skirts snapped like a banner in the wind as she fled back the way she'd come. Aedelbert had seen the woman cornering people in the past, often about her trade rights and if they were trading into her right. No wise man cared to be pulled into that sort of dispute. Aedelbert copied the mine master's gesture where Caedda could see it. He wagged two fingers, meaning "seen."
"We will certainly go with you to see if any missing person has been listed," Caedda told the watchman. "That way we can pass true news to the others, rather than some of the," he gave Leoflaed a pointed glare, "rumors that I've heard swirling around."
"I saw them take the girl, lured her out of the walls and away from her father they did. They're no better than Wassa, may his bowels rot for stealin' my trees." Her hiss carried so much poison that Aedelbert wanted to rinse in the closest wash trough lest he take sick. The watchman with the pike tipped his head toward the main market square and the stone-cutters followed. Wassa disappeared into the closest doorway. Aedelbert thought him wise. At least everyone knew of the problem, and they likely ignored Leoflaed's charges.
She hurried ahead and marched toward the Council Hall, head high, as if leading a procession. Behind them, Aedelbert heard the lead watchman mutter, "If she wasn't so good with herbs and tinctures, her trade would have withered years back." Who would want to do business with someone who spent all their time fighting? Not Aedelbert if he could help it. "Mind the buckets," he said louder. Someone had stripped the old plaster from off their front wall, dropping chunks of white all over the wooden boards in front of the business and house. The men stepped down into the street, mindful of the buckets of fresh plaster.
The timbers sagged a little in the middle, under a window. "Wonder if someone added too much attic?" Caedda kept his voice down. "Or if the timber wasn't quite long enough to reach?"
"Or someone got careless with the ax and didn't bother tellin' the buyer," Aedelbert reminded his partner. "Not that such ever happens."
"Oh no, never." One of the watchmen coughed, hiding a laugh at Caedda's somber assurance. They continued on, past two more orange buildings, and into the main square. A few farmers and their wives dickered with craftsmen or sold produce and milk-foods. A large cheese wheel caught Aedelbert's eye and he blinked at the bright green color. Who colored cheese wax that shade? That was, he hoped it was wax. Bright green should only be plant foods, not dairy or meat. The woman with the cheese shook three times with a man in miller's clothes. He let go of her hand, slapped a coin or service token into her other palm, and lifted the cheese. He perched it on his shoulder and sauntered off, smiling as if he'd gotten the best of the dealings. For her part, the dairywife too smiled broadly, pleased by the payment. Aedelbert wondered who had shorted whom.
He, Caedda, Widow Leoflaed, and the two guards climbed the steps, then turned left and ducked into the ground-level office where the watch kept their records. A notary mage at the front desk peered up at them from her papers. Before she could ask their business, Widow Leoflaed pointed her finger at the stone-cutters. "They lured a farmer's daughter up to the new smelters and stole a great-hauler. I saw them sneakin' out of the gate at dawn two eight-days back."
Aedelbert held up one hand. "My partner and I hired a great-hauler and handler at Master Winfrith's request to provide manure and haulage up at the smelter."
"The boy with the great-hauler was wearin' clothes from the Yoorst charity box and is a girl, one of the farmers' missin' daughters!"
The notary's eyes unfocused a little, then snapped back and she raised one dark eyebrow. The plainly clad woman squinted and peered at the matron, then at Aedelbert. "Missing daughter?" She stood and peered at two large books, then pulled the second one from the shelf and set it on the table beside her pens and inks and paper. The notary peered again at Aedelbert, leaning over the table. He reached into the larger of his belt pouches and removed a seal-ring and offered it to her. She took it, eyes unfocusing once more. He saw a faint glow over the top of the ring, and she smiled, then returned it. "Master Aedelbert Starken, thank you." The notary turned pages in the book until she reached just past half-way through the tome.
"Missing declarations," she read aloud, running one finger down the edge of the page. "Laundry, laundry, a pay purse," she looked up. "Henk, did anyone find that one?"
The watchman with the town blade said, "Yes, ma'am, Artun did, gave it to Master Colar to return, which he did. Should have been recorded."
She snorted. "No surprises who was on duty, most likely. Hmm," she read down the list. "Great-hauler male, great-hauler gelding, schaef, schaef with mark and fresh shearing, laundry, two meat pies," the notary pursed her lips. "Given who they stole the pies from, that should be punishment enough. Daughter, white of hair, wearing blue, that would be Mad Hannah since I see four dates listed. Poor child," she sighed. "Daughter, adult, wearing brown, hair shorn. Daughter, not wanted, still child, father renounces all claim and debts, but also lists great-hauler."
Caedda and Aedelbert both leaned back. "A man disowns his own child, still a child?" Aedelbert really wanted to thump that sorry excuse for a sire.
"Says so, not even claiming her clothing as custom allows." The notary rotated the book so the men could see the page. Widow Leoflaed leaned over to see as well. "Wants the beast more than the child, and even that's not much. A half copper's not even pot price for a mature female."
"Aye, feather's are worth more than a half-copper," the senior watchman said from behind Aedelbert. "Wonder if the bird's got summat wrong that the farmer don' care to mention?"
"One wonders." The notary turned the book back to herself once more, closed the cover, and sat, folding her hands and resting them on the table. "Do any of those describe the individual you claim to have seen, Goodwife Leoflaed?"
"The last one, she's the one they lured up to the mine, with the bird! Arrest them for child-theft. Wassa thinks to spread his evil, but I will stop it this time."
The notary mage covered her eyes with one hand. "Gentlemen, please escort Goodwife Leoflaed to her business. I will attend to this myself."
"Yes, ma'am."
The widow opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, sniffed, and stalked out with her head high. The watchmen followed.
After they left, the notary murmured, "I owe him." She opened a small ink vial and picked up a pen, making notes on one of the pages. Louder, she said, "Master Aedelbert, have you by any chance seen a missing great-hauler?"
"No, ma'am. Scavenger's rats hear my words, I hired a great-hauler and handler on contract, and the handler owns the bird." He made the sign for god oath as he spoke. "Hired at the request of Master Winfrith for as long as the smelter needs great-hauler dung."
"Thank you, sir." Skritch skritch skritch. "It is so noted, should anyone raise further question." Aedelbert handed her his ring again, and Caedda did likewise. The notary mage inspected both, sealed the page with her seal and theirs, and offered them the pen. Both men signed the document attesting that Winfrith had hired a great-hauler, owned by the handler. Aedelbert felt not the slightest qualm, since he had spoken the pure truth. Not all of the truth, but the truth. "Since this is in response to a false charge, and for the public good, there is no fee or donation requested. We'll add it to Mistress Leoflaed's taxes for making a false public accusation. If anyone raises a question, direct them to this office, Masters."
"Thank you, and may the gods grant you good fortune," Aedelbert replied.
"Likewise."
Two journeymen had come in behind the stone cutters, so Caedda and Aedelbert eased around them and scooted away from the building. Aedelbert squinted in the bright, late-summer sun. "Would that all problems could be solved so easily."
"Agreed. Now, back to the Wassa problem." Caedda led the way over to the corner of the market, where general laborer gathered during the hiring fairs. "I can work on the wall, as can Ehric. Can you?" He folded hi
s arms, eyebrows up.
Aedelbert thought hard. He did not want to even for double pay, but neither did he dare try to explain why he refused. And would Wassa cancel their contract if he did not agree? "I'd prefer not, but I can. I'll be useless at the end of the day."
Caedda glanced left and right. "Ehric as well, I suspect. If anything, he worries me more. If he's already seeing into stone, what happens if he comes into his adult strength around the masons?"
Shit. "We'll have to remind him to stay closed no matter how much he wants to read the stones with more than his eyes and hands." And be ready to get the boy off the work site the instant he looked as if his sight might break through. For once Aedelbert hoped that Ehric would be that odd boy who started strong then stopped developing. Half of mages seemed to be that way, but more women than men if what he'd heard was true. Scavenger be praised my sight came to me slowly. "And we'd better plan on buying more food," Aedelbert warned Caedda, loudly enough for the journeyman pretending not to be listening in. "He's growing again."
"Oh he is indeed. He'll never fit in a mine at this rate. He's already turning those trousers into breeches." Caedda folded his arms. "There has to be a way to stop boys from growing."
"If you find one, good sir, I'll buy the secret from ye," a passing goodwife called over her shoulder.
Aedelbert chuckled. "Maybe we could do like the teamster who trained his great haulers to eat nowt bout wood chips."
"And then he'd die just as we get him trained," Caedda finished the old saying. "The Golden Loaf is doing too well from us."
The two stone-cutters turned toward the almost-finished wall and the masons' work area. "Do you want to eat end-of-the-season meat pies? I thought you'd learned better."
Miners and Empire Page 15