by P. S. Power
For one thing, they took days to dry, even with a fire in them, if you did it right.
Still, bread baking, while it needed care, yeast and time, didn’t require him to actively work the whole time, so he sat, a bit away from the smoke of the fire pit, and ate his bowl of meat and stew, with the hard bread. It needed a bit more salt, which he didn’t add to his own portion, since he didn’t want to start the idea that people could rummage through his tins of spices like that. They were for cooking, only.
Which would last until people realized he had them and where they were. He wasn’t wrestling a knight to protect his pepper, after all.
No one thanked him for the food, once it was cooked, just eating it, since it was his task to prepare it for them. Sir Rob, what they were calling Prince Robarts for the trip out, moved to sit near him, along with Sir Humphrey.
“Anders... I mean, Andy, how are thing going for you, so far?”
It was a request for a report, as well as the man checking in with the child in the group, no doubt. The words sounded kind enough, at any rate.
“Well, so far. The oxen are willing to eat almost anything on the road, but I’ll collect some for them, before we start the first watch. For the horses, as well. Those are pickier. The weather will hold for the night and we might have some help coming, in cooking off the rest of the elk that leaves, for the morning meal. I have bread going right now, out of supplies, for the morning. I need to do another batch, if I can. We can have meat, bread and potage for first meal. If I can get up early enough, that is. Hard bread and cheese, possibly with some late fruit, if I can find anything like that, for mid-meal.” He thought for a moment, then spoke even more softly.
“There are no threats that I can find, so far. That will have to be checked a few times per day, of course. What do you have going on so far?” The question bordered on rude, but he didn’t mean it that way. The other man had been riding patrol, as a knight and guard all day. That meant he’d had a chance to observe and talk to people.
He looked away then.
“The last seventeen wagons are mainly camp followers. Wives and children of soldiers, planning to pick up tasks such as cooking and washing, once near the front. They really aren’t well prepared for the journey. They have some old horses and broken down wagons, too little food and the children are dressed in half rags. I... Don’t know what we can do for them. Probably nothing, given the conditions of travel.”
There was a glare at the man, from Sir Humphrey.
“It’s their responsibility to care for themselves, on a trip like this. If they can’t, they shouldn’t have come.”
The words were hard, even for a knight. The thing there was that they weren’t what the man normally sounded like at all. He seemed concerned, and like he might be hiding that fact behind gruff words and a hard face.
Anders nodded.
“Right. Well, I’ll try to keep what food I can coming in as we move. That might be enough that way. As for clothing, I... Well, I can fix what they have and do more if I can get some materials. That... I have a bit with me, but that’s for gambeson... I also don’t want to go around doing... Well, you know. Not openly.”
They both nodded at the words.
Prince Robarts took a deep breath.
“Still, if it’s down to children freezing or starving and you bearing the scorn of these people for a few weeks...”
He snorted at the Prince, who gave him a questioning look. As if he wasn’t used to that sort of response at all.
“Then we make sure that people are cared for. Clearly.” His voice sounded old for the moment, just as three women came into the circle of the fire light.
Anders waved, genially.
“Ah! These are Mary, the one in red, Betha in the yellow skirt and...” He had to shake his head then. “I’m sorry, I haven’t made your acquaintance, as of yet.
Mary waved at the woman in brown, with nice blue ribbon woven through her bodice.
“This is Neera. We came to help you, with your meat?”
The words got a string of laughs, even if Anders didn’t get it at all. They had meat and it needed to be cooked, so the help would be appreciated. He still had food, but moved away from it, to help get the ladies set up. One of the older men, Sir Norman, waved to the women.
“Are you taking trade? I could use a ride, if that isn’t an imposition...”
Anders got that one, at least. So he smiled.
“Fine to set up, but these ladies came to work. In exchange for food later, if there isn’t enough to go around. You should make arrangements for later, if that’s what they want to do.” He didn’t know how that kind of thing worked in the real world, he just didn’t want his new helpers stolen away before they even did anything.
Mary handled it well enough on her own, thankfully.
“That sounds nice. We can... Work out the details on that? We’re on the road for weeks, just up the way, so plenty of time for that. If your need is powerful, you might go forward to our camp and ask there? We have lots of lovely young ladies with us. Unless you see something you like here? In that case...”
She trailed off, which was probably a mistake on her part, since Anders interrupted her patter.
“In that case, wait for the meat to at least be started, so we can see how many of us it’s going to take? Sir Rob the Kind Hearted wishes for us to see about making certain that the women and children at the back have enough food and possibly some clothing to wear. I don’t know how to do that last one, but I might be able to collect a bit more food each day, now that I know.” That was the plan, except for the part where he was teasing a knight. Sir Humphrey didn’t do that, even while some of the others chuckled a little over the idea.
He just touched his chin, as if playing at considering something.
“It is spoken that Sir Rob is the most gentle of spirits, off the battle field. Brave on it, so we shouldn’t mock him, Andy. We might be able to get you some aid in that hunting, if you need it. Faine and... Ery. We’ll need the rest to keep on our guard, at least after the first few days.” He shook his head and made direct eye contact with Anders. “That’s a problem with such details. The time spent close to town is relatively safe, so by the time we’re in actual danger, everyone will be comfortable, which will let thieves try to sneak in or attacks to come. At least once we’re closer to the border.”
Mary didn’t speak to the knight, directly, since he was clearly in charge. Instead she glanced at Anders and smiled.
“You have helpers already? That’s coming up in the world a bit I bet. Then, you’re already a...” She stopped then and frowned for a second. Then realized that might seem mean, so added a flash of a smile to the end. “You have me there. I’ve never seen a boy your age going about dressed like a fine knight, I have to say. You’re their cook? The hunter too, except...”
The woman shook her head, giving Neera, the black haired one with the dark skin and coal black eyes a chance to speak.
“I know, Vero the wagoner said he saw you dragging a full-grown buck elk, alone. Not one man in twenty can do that. That’s a bit strange-like, isn’t it?”
Everyone went silent for a moment, since it really was. For his part, Anders just shrugged.
“Maybe, but I’ll tell you this, hoisting it in the air over a branch pretty much took the skin from my palms.” He held those out, for proof. They did look red, but weren’t that bad, really.
Sir Humphrey simple waved those thoughts away.
“Anders is the head page for the castle. He’s being trained to carry messages for the kingdom. I have no clue why he’s hunting and cooking for us, but I’m not going to tell him not to do that, are you?” Those words broke the tension that had been forming, pretty well.
It was Ery, who was a squire, so had a reason to be dressed as he was, who spoke then.
“Andy works hard, all the time. If he’s on the road, he has to be able to fight well enough to make sure any messages or packages get through.
The Guard Captain makes him fire three hundred arrows a day, I heard. He has to practice fighting full guards, as well. That’s just his training so far. I don’t know what else will be required of him, to be honest. He gets a few years, before that, I think.” He glanced at the other knights there, as if one of them would back him up in his lie.
Robarts did, chuckling a bit.
“More riding, I think. You earned that by being good at passing messages in the castle, didn’t you, Andy?” There was a bit of poking to the tone, as if that might not be the truth.
So he frowned a bit and then nodded at Mary.
“The honest truth is that I was pretty good at hiding from work, so one of the servants put my name in for the position, with a recommendation that it might mean I’d be hard to catch.” He hung his head then, as if in real shame.
It was funny, but Anders actually felt it for a second. Farad didn’t, even though he could tell the other portion of him was going through an actual lesson, in the moment. The one where he learned the value of reputation.
Squire Faine, across the fire from him, made a soft sound and waved a hand.
“Still, he has the position now and I’ve not heard anyone complain about him. I know that my belly won’t be aching this night, thanks to him, so... We should see to that roasting? We are doing it that way, right? I’m not really certain how that kind of thing is done.”
Anders had that down, so went through it, carefully.
Really, they only needed five people to keep all the meat turning correctly, as long as they kept an eye on it. Four would work in a pinch, but that’s what he had, since Ery had to go and tend the animals. That simply meant Anders hopping back and forth, like a mad man, until it was time for the first watch. He was on that one, though Sir Humphrey allowed that he could spend part of the time making sure the bread would keep and that the meat was stored away properly for the night.
For the watch, he got his spear out of the wagon. He needed to do his nightly bow exercises, too, if he could, but if a real attack came, it was too hard to shoot in the dark. Then, standing in place, he used his wizard skills to check on everything. Most of the people with them had turned in for the night, but there were some who were restless and a few that seemed up to no good. At least in their intent. He opened his eyes, moving carefully in the dark, ready to act if it was needed.
It wasn’t, of course. Not yet. A few of the men seemed eager enough to have time with the women with them, but lacked a way of doing that via trade or coin. It shocked Farad when he realized that at least one of them was just going to wait and try to catch one of the women alone, if he could. Then force her to do what he wanted.
To that man, it seemed safe enough. Whores were so distrusted when it came to that kind of relations that they wouldn’t even bother reporting it.
Anders followed the thoughts to a man near the first third of the camp, the big meadow they were in being backed by a stream. He simply marked who the fellow was, and decided to watch him. After all, thinking about a crime and doing it were different things.
Which didn’t mean Anders didn’t collect the man’s name, going deeply into a trance and picking through his thoughts for the correct information. It wasn’t all that pleasant, since the man had done such things before, on previous journeys. Mainly about ten years back, in the last war. It was too risky for him to do that kind of thing at other times.
His name, Rofer Keen, leapt out, into Anders awareness, from the blackness he was in at the moment. He drifted over to the hall of memories, changing the character of the trance, in order to affix the name and other information there, so he wouldn’t forget it. Then, since he had a job to do, even if it wasn’t a real thing in anyone else’s mind, he walked the rounds, until it was time for the next shift. That meant he had to wake Squire Elson, who took some shaking to rouse.
Then he got his bow out and pulled it three hundred times, aiming in his mind, so that he’d stay in condition for the work, later. It was hard, since Captain Ford had insisted he go up in power on the bow again. Not double his old bow, thankfully. Half again stronger though, which meant his hands and shoulders ached when he finally laid down and curled into a ball, under the wagon. It gave him a real, if low, roof and meant that he was right there, to guard the goods in it, if anyone decided that a spot of theft was a good idea.
It was interesting, but the feeling at the camp was that anyone bothering to steal from them would sneak in, rather than attempting to challenge the guards they had, outright. He’d felt that, as he moved around, in the dark. No one had called to him, staying near their own fires, for safety. It largely stayed that way, until he heard movement around him. He sat up, the wagon high enough for him to do that without hitting his head, then crawled out quickly, ready to start casting spells, if it was needed.
It wasn’t, thankfully. People were just getting up for the day, since there was light on the edge of the horizon already. Anders rubbed his face, muttered his cleaning spells without thinking, and used a new one to care for his mouth and teeth. It left him cleaner than doing it the normal way, but was strange enough that he didn’t really love doing it. Things flew from his mouth and teeth, rushing away with a sound that buzzed on the inside of his skull.
He used the remaining wood to build the fire back up, and ran to the stream, to get a pot of water, which he set to boiling. Then, wincing a bit, thinking of the children who might not have anything to eat that day, except what he provided, he closed his eyes, and tried to find some food for them. There was, about half a mile off the road, a nice grove of wild apples and some late berries that hadn’t been consumed by the bears yet.
If he had a real name for them, he could have simply called the things to himself. They were too small though, which meant that the only way for him to get at them would be to physically go there and collect something up. In what was essentially the dark. On the good side, he could use magic for that, if he got within ten paces, so he wasn’t going to have to climb a tree in the dim, early, light.
Thinking about it, he rummaged for a few canvas sacks, out of the back of the wagon, in his own gear, and then, hoping he didn’t get himself killed by falling down, tried to dash to the trees. That didn’t really work, until he dropped into a trance, using his wizard skills for it. Even that wasn’t perfect, since it wasn’t truly seeing, but he managed not to fall every ten steps, and made better time.
The simple part was filling the things. One had large, very ripe, gosberries in it. The pale green fruits were slightly hairy on the outside, and a little sour on the inside, but were considered a treat. Each one was the size of an egg, which meant they were strong enough to be carried in a bag, if he was gentle with it. The apples were hardier, naturally. The ones he found were the half-sour type. Red and orange colored on the outside, making good pies, if you had enough sugar. Which he did, of course.
There were also a mix of other berries and even some nuts, that he managed to call to himself as he walked, trotting again, back to the camp. In order to make it work, he had to cause the bags to float along with him, since they were too heavy for him to carry over that kind of distance, otherwise.
He also got more roots and greens in, as well as some wild garlic and almost by chance, some honey comb. True, he had to flee from some bees, and the treat was only the size of four of his hands put together, and two of them high, but it was worth it, Anders thought. At least as long as they didn’t catch him in the camp, and sting him in retaliation.
Not that he could blame them for it. They worked hard to make the honey and he was simply stealing it from them. Not that he wasn’t going to do it again, if he could find more of it. There was nothing in the area, that he could find.
Above him, the sky was a lighter blue at the edges and still dark above, when he floated the two and a half large sacks of food into the camp, trailing in the air behind him. No one saw him doing it, but there was no other way, other than magic, for him to explain where the things came from.
Rather than worry about that, he set to work, chopping bits of cooked elk, sweetening it with some of the honey he’d collected, and then frying it before making the fine powdered oats which would be the first meal. That and the soft bread he’d made the night before.
Many people were up already, seeing to animals and making whatever they were eating that day, by the time the squires and knights went to the stream to wash up and came back to their makeshift camp. One of them, Sir Norman, sniffed the air and nodded at him.
“That’s pleasant. There’s honey?”
He lifted his head then, and nodded.
“I found some, earlier. Some other things as well. It’s in the back of the wagon.”
The fellow, who was trustworthy, being a knight like he was, walked over and looked at the sacks, poking around. When he came back, the man heaved a sigh.
“It’s too much, you know that, right? Just having this will mean magic, to some of these folks. Then, I say it’s not that large of a matter. They won’t care if magic is about, if it’s filling their bellies and keeping them safe.”
Screwing up his face, Anders tilted his head, then went back to stirring the thickened gruel in the heavy pot, to prevent burning. The meat was already added in, so the tan food had some dark brown bits in it. There was enough for each person traveling with them to have a full bowl. Others were joining them, so he waved at Sir Norman, who rubbed at his short blond hair, then his thick mustache. That was shorn on the sides, which wasn’t how he used to wear it, at a guess.
Everyone came by, to get some of the still fresh bread, their portion of pottage and a few pieces of fruit. The gosberries were the most popular, being sweeter than the apples. Anders took some of both, needing the extra food like he did. No one else mentioned the new food, but he got some looks that told him they understood where it had come from.