034 – An Afternoon Rest And Evening Entertainment

They turned up a draw, and across a saddle. Finally they entered a clearing, and stopped. Steven looked around, after a long day of hiking he was surprised to stop as he and Caspian usually went on for an hour more. Steven was startled to see a village around him. It was built right into the land, with very little done to change or prove the land that was not directly agricultural. Doors and windows looked out from between scrub and trees. Children were running around, as young and old adults were tending to chores. A light breeze up the draw kept the air fresh.

Steven nudged Caspian. “Are we in Hobbiton, or the home of Gustav Stickley?”

“Where?” Caspian was completely baffled by this comment from Steven.

“Sorry. Out of context joke.”

“Right.”

They stood in the area for a moment, and then were directed to another side area, a hollow in the terrain. In the bottom of this hollow was a hole. It was surrounded by two tiers of benches. The rectangular hole was about 8 feet deep, and lined by finished stone. They were settled on the inner row of benches, on the short side of the hole. Steven estimated it was about 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. As they settled down, loops of rope were put around their ankles. Steven was in the middle, with Caspian to his right and Abey to his left. They put down their traveling gear around them. Cyrril fluttered around the hollow, investigating whatever he could find.

A guard spoke to Abey for a moment.

“We are to stay here. And not go anywhere unescorted. Now, if you will excuse me for a bit.” She then turned to the guard and spoke in their language.

The guard nodded, and Abey slipped her ankle out of her loop, and went with another guard out of the hollow.

Steven turned to Caspian at this point.

“Why are you letting her do all the talking?”

Caspian was working his boots off as he answered. “Because she speaks the language better than I do.”

“Right.”

They were sorting their gear and stretching a bit when Abey returned. She seemed to bounce along, enjoying what was happening. She slipped her foot into her loop, and made herself comfortable, as Steven watched.

“So, what happens now?”

“Well, we wait.” Abey stretched a bit, and sat on the ground, her back against the bench. “Come dinner time, the village will assemble, and we will take our turns in the pit. Kill or be killed.”

“Who will we fight?”

“Whatever critter they toss in with you.”

“What do we fight with?”

“What ever you take in with you.”

“You’re excited.”

“Yeah.”

Caspian leaned over to join in. “Why?”

She smiled up at both men. “Remember my irritation over what my mother did not send with you?”

Both men nodded, vaguely.

“Well, I was looking for a certain necklace, with matching bracelet and earrings. Mom never liked them. There was a lot that Mom didn’t like that way.”

Caspian interrupted, “What made these special?”

“I made them myself. ‘Umpa was from this land. He kidnapped and raped ‘Nana. She eventually came to love him, but only after he took her home to Beowa. Well, mom really dislikes the idea of being the bastard child of a rape, never mind that her brothers and sister are all legitimate. So, as ‘Nana was able to tend the farm with the kids help ‘Umpa returned to his people. But only for the summers. Come harvest he was back, and working as hard as the rest, usually with a stock of meat and summer-furs to trade. Well. Mom married, and I came along. ‘Umpa and ‘Nana both came back to this land, a village to the south of here. I spent most summers and one winter with them, to mom’s chagrin. Along the way, I learned their tongue.

“Well, at Mom’s request, I was kept off limits from the young men. To Mom’s chagrin, ‘Umpa taught me to hunt. So, the necklace and earrings were made from the teeth and claws of things I killed those summers, while tending ‘Nana’s flocks. The bracelet was the claws and teeth of a mountain cat that I killed,” Abey gestured to the pit, “in taking a turn in a pit.”

Steven guessed the rest. “So your mother did not approve, and to discourage you, she did not send them. That might also explain whom your parents ‘gave’ you to.”

Abey nodded.

When Steven had first found her, he had thought Abey to be a helpless waif. But as he got to know her, he discovered that she was far from helpless. Save in the face of her social situation. Until he came along.

“She did not send my sling either. That is why I had to borrow one. Otherwise I would be contributing to the meals more.” Abey turned to her belt at that point and pulled the sling off with its bag of shot and handed it back to Caspian.

Caspian spoke as he put the sling away under his coat. “Oh, yes. ‘It’s not a woman’s place to provide. Only to tend and prepare what is provided.’”

“That’s Mom. Now, after telling who my grandparents are, I get to go back in the pit. And claim a new set of trophies.”

This idea intrigued Steven. Caspian was also very interested, but down played his enthusiasm.

“How is this? Are there some rules for going in,” Steven asked.

“As I said before, it is a test of valor. I have actually been in 6 times. The seventh time is against the nastiest critter they will put in. Also the contest is really to put yourself to the level of the critter you are there with. To face a mountain cat with a sword is considered less than using a knife.”

Abey turned to the guard, and spoke to him in their language. He left and returned shortly, with a bag that he gave to her. She opened it, pulled its contents out. They were gauntlets, of various sizes. Made of leather, the fingers looked to end just beyond the first knuckle. Fixed between each finger and running to a plate attached to the palm was a set of four short curved blades. They all looked well used and cared for, and were tied in pairs by the laces that would be used to tie them closed. The blades looked well cared for, and sharp enough. Abey sorted through the pile, and tried on three pair, before finding one that she liked.

It came half way up her forearm, and wrapped tight, to reinforce the wrist. The blades were a bit longer than her fingers, when spread. When she clenched to a fist, she gripped the plate that held the blades, and pinched the blades between her fingers. They looked generally like claws.

“Using these, and dressed in as much as the critter is, is considered the pinnacle of valor.”

Caspian looked for a moment, as Cyrril fluttered over to examine the gauntlets. “Have you used something like those before?”

“The last two times.” Abey smiled in a wistful remembrance. “If you really want to impress these people, go for as even a match against the critter as you can.”

The village was signaled by a bell from somewhere nearby, and people filtered in to the hollow to watch the spectacle. Steven noticed that many bore the marks of various slashes. A few had missing eyes, or misshapen limbs. Many more looked as fit as any Steven had encountered. Several young men with spears took up positions around the pit, and stood there as if to guard it. Torches were lit, though the sun was still coming through the trees.

Caspian put his boots back on, and called Cyrril to order. He had only removed his cloak and shoulder bag, keeping his coat on, and his staff nearby. Abey had removed her boots, as had Steven. As for that, they had all generally divested themselves of their travel gear, having sat there or stood near for some time. Steven had honed his knife, and sword. Also he had put his crossbow, pack, and coat aside.

An older man called the assembly to order, by standing on the bench beside Abey, his hands raised for attention. Shortly the crown was quiet. The man addressed them briefly, and gestured to the three of them, and then to the pit.

He turned to them, and addressed them in the common tongue.

“Who will go first?”

Abey stood up. “I will.” She then switched to the local tongue, and addressed the crowd.

They roared back in challenge. The gauntlets she had picked out earlier were presented to her.

Abey quickly divested herself of her clothes, down to her boob-tube and breach cloth. She pulled her hair from its restraint and let it hang down her back. Then she pulled the gauntlets on and the leader tied them closed. A set of barbed knee pads was tied on. Barefoot, and nearly naked, she stepped to the center of the wall, and raised her fists in the air in salute. She stood where she could be seen by all, idly clanging the blades together.

Steven remembered watching her at the lake. Then he was not close enough to see any detail. Earlier when she had offered herself to him, the light was not bright enough for a detailed look, and he was concerned about other things. Now with her close enough to touch, and in just her skivvies, he could see as she moved around she had three sets of claw marks across her body. One that ran down her left side, from below her ribs to mid-thigh; a concentric set that ran across her shoulder blades; one set that ran down her belly.

Steven looked quickly at Caspian. But he was looking across the pit, to where a cage was being moved by extended carry handles to the edge.

Abey dropped into the pit, walked to the middle, and yelled in the native language for a few moments. The crowd yelled in nearly joyous frenzy.

She challenged the crowd again. They yelled again and began to chant. Then at the far end, the cage was in position. The carry handles were long enough for two men on either side, or to allow a lot of room for one. Some snarling critter was inside, spitting and growling.

Steven turned and noticed that Caspian had suddenly moved. He had thrown his hood over Cyrril, and was working to get the little dragon in a restraining hold. One of the locals looked ready to help, but Caspian quickly had Cyrril under control.

The crowd roared, and Steven turned to see something land on its feet below the cage. In the light available, it looked to be about the size of a small adult bear. It staggered a bit, and regained its composure, then looked about in irritation and hissed at the noise. The crowd quieted, and Abey screamed at the thing. Steven decided it looked about like he figured a wolverine would, but was a bit larger, and possibly different in the construction of its head and face.

She stood her ground as it surveyed the situation. It looked around, and decided it wanted out more than it wanted her. It turned to leap back the way it came. Three young men with spears moved to block its way, as Abey also moved. She charged and leapt on its back, her weight colliding with it as its spring started. She wrapped her arms around it, as it crashed into the wall, instead of onto it. They tumbled and it snarled as she stayed on top. She got off it, and backhanded its muzzle. Steven was not sure, but thought he could see its back torn up a bit where her knee pads had bit in as she landed.

It rounded on her, and swatted at her, growling. Abey dodged, and the thing turned away, to try to escape again. Again, she stopped it, by backhanding its ears. It flinched, and turned back to her, it swatted again, and she backed away. It paced a bit before her, as she matched it. She again swatted it when it tried to turn away.

Steven realized that she had not yet used the cutting edges of the claws yet. “She must want the trophy.”

“Yes.” The leader beside him on the bench agreed.

It paced a bit more, then tamped its hind legs a bit, and crouched, facing her. She faced it square, slightly to its right. It would have to leap slightly diagonal, and Steven wondered if she had torn up this side’s rear leg. Its spring was almost a surprise, but in the instant before it moved, it flinched.

Abey lunged as the thing leapt, and pulled it over, so that she landed on top of it, as it landed on its side. It was thicker and heavier than she was, and growled and swiped at her, as she worked to stay on top. It bit into her left shoulder, as it scratched and grabbed at her back, and looked to be trying to get its rear legs in to do damage.

Abey screamed as it bit her, and got her right hand in under its neck. Her arm jerked out hard, and into the paw on that side. Blood washed out from under her head as the creature tried to continue struggling.

Their noises stopped, and the creature stopped moving.

Steven watched as Abey got up from the now dead beast. She had a fresh set of deep scratches on the middle of her back running from the center to the left, and had to open its jaw to get its teeth out of her flesh. Streams of blood ran down from the bite. Her left arm hung at her side, though she worked the elbow and hand. She stood up, and caught her breath. Then turned her head up and yelled, raising her right hand.

The crowd yelled back, and then quieted.

Abey walked back to this side of the pit, and a looped rope was dropped to her. Her face and front were covered in blood, though most of it was not hers. She put her foot in the loop, and held on with her right hand. Steven could see that her right gauntlet was soaked in blood. The damage to her shoulder on her front was more severe than her back, as it had evidently been chewing on her a bit. A healer emerged from the crowd and began tending to her.

“Are you ok?” Steven leaned past the leader to make eye contact.

She was still breathing a bit hard. “Yeah. My shoulder is a mess, but I’m fine. You’re next.”

Abey chuckled, and winced as the healer poured what smelled of alcohol over the bite to begin cleansing it.

035 – Steven Plays Along, Caspian Does Not

Steven turned and watched, as four men were in the far side of the pit, looping rope to the paws of the critter, and pulling its corpse out. The head hung at a sickening angle, as she had torn most of the neck out the right side. Blood pooled on the dirt floor of the pit.

Steven felt a flash of nausea. He then stood up. He had been thinking about this all day, and had decided to pair his machismo and common sense together. He had kept his trousers on, but removed the rest. The crowd murmured in apparent approval, and some awe at his size. He pulled out his ka-bar knife, and slipped the loop off his ankle. He then stepped to the edge of the pit, and looked around.

The master of ceremonies stood to his side.

“She has explained things to you?”

“Some. I go in, and fight what ever you dump in with me. Neither is allowed to leave until one is dead.”

“Ready?”

Steven looked at the shorter man. “What am I fighting?”

“Dinner.”

A cage was brought forward.

“In you go.” A hand was put to the small of Steven’s back and gently pushed him forward.

Steven had been thinking about what they would toss in with him all day. If it really was dinner, then would he fight one of the local deer-like things, or a horde of the bunny like critters he and Caspian had been mostly subsiding on? On the other hand, canine was an acceptable dish in some places, and what looked like wolf and fox prints had been spotted. Or they might even have a taste for some of these more exotic predatory critters, like what Abey had just torn up. Or maybe a mountain cat equivalent, like Abey had mentioned fighting earlier.

Steven took one step forward, and landed in a 3 point crouch, knife held to the side. He watched as the cage was opened and tipped up. The absurdity of this suddenly hit Steven, and he tossed dignity to the wind. The wind threw absurdity back in his face, as a sheep was dropped in. The crowd all laughed at this, and Steven joined them.

“Mutton-bustin’.” Steven muttered under his breath. “I think I would have preferred a wolf.”

Steven shrugged, and walked forward. It took him several moments to corner and catch the thing; the crowd was laughing itself silly as he did. Finally, he caught the thing, and slit its throat wide. He then turned it over, and got ready to eviscerate it, but was stopped by a native. They took it out as Steven went over to the wall.

He jumped up and pulled himself up to sit on the wall, and then moved to the bench. Abey was still being tended, as her shoulder was worse than he had first supposed. She had a blanket over her right side, and across her lap, while her left side was exposed and the bite was being treated. Another person was painting the fresh claw marks on her back.

She looked at him, with mirth. Heedless of her partial nakedness.

“I expected a predator, for all your talk of valor.” Steven had a slightly bitter feeling. “It does not feel right to kill, and then not help dress it.”

The master of ceremonies heard this. “Then go do so.”

Steven looked at him, and then turned to Caspian, who just shrugged.

Steven got up to leave, and Caspian got up. Steven walked around the far side of the pit and started after the crew that had taken the dead sheep, his bloody knife still in his hand. Then the noise from the crowd changed.

He stopped to see what Caspian was doing.

Cyrril was on the bench, crouched on Caspian’s staff. In the pit, Caspian had not removed his boots or shirt, and he still wore all his weapons and other equipment. This got some derisive calls from the crowd. They dumped in another sheep. But Caspian caught it magically before it landed, and floated it back out. He then yelled in the native’s language. This was met by some unbelieving laughter.

So Caspian put his hands out in front of him. Steven could taste electricity in his mouth, which he was coming to associate with Caspian’s casting a strong spell. Suddenly three cages were floating over the heads of the crowd, and over the pit. The crown hushed, in wonder. Some in fear, others in anger.

The cages lowered to the level of the pit, and tipped over; three of the same critters that Abey had fought were dumped out. The cages then were tossed to the ground beyond the pit, as Caspian turned his attention to the critters. He reached around his left hip and drew out his bush knife in an underhand grip, and faced the three hissing and growling creatures as they got to their feet. Everybody went quiet as this outlander faced three.

Caspian was in no mood to prolong this, and he just did not want his nose rubbed in his perceived weakness. Where Steven had shown the good humor to play their game, Caspian wanted to win it on his terms. He yelled what the magic-users felt was a null-magic spell, which blanked out all the active magic in the area, and held it suppressed. Thus, he could not use magic to get out of this.

The three critters were evidently familiar with each other, so they wasted no time in picking out the danger among them. Caspian stepped toward the first, feinted a lunge that backed it off a bit; he then kicked the second under its jaw, knocking it aside as it swiped at him and missed. The third charged, and Caspian brought the knife in a low side sweep that got under its chin, and opened its throat up, as it leapt on him. Caspian let this carry him down, keeping it between him and the first one. It tried to snap at him, but he avoided its one try, while being soaked by blood. He let go of it and rolled to his left. His grip switched to overhand, and stabbed the second one in its throat and sliced down, killing it solidly. He then got up, and faced the first one, as it leapt off the body of the last. His knife quickly came up to the beast’s mouth, as his arms caught its paws, and they went over the body of the second. Its momentum was enough to carry it off Caspian as his knife, going with, all but cut its jaw off. Caspian rolled quickly to his belly, and to face it, as it got to its feet in obvious distress.

Caspian looked about quickly, and saw what he wanted. He got up as the thing stumbled a bit, but it was not paying attention to him. Caspian ran to one of the walls, jumped up, and grabbed the bottom of a spear that was being held by one of the pit-minders. He pulled it out of the startled man’s hands, and into the pit, quickly taking a proper grip. He advanced on the distressed creature, and poked it once to get its attention, then ran the spear home, putting the wounded creature out of its misery.

The crowd was thrilled by the blood sport, but distressed at how efficient this outlander had done it. And by what method, in general violation of their cultural rules. A stunned buzz replaced what had been a howling cheer previously. Caspian tossed the spear up to its owner, and picked up his knife, turning away from the three bodies.

Steven forgot about finishing his kill, and went back to where Caspian was climbing out.

“What was that?”

Caspian looked up to Steven. “That was playing their game my way.”

Caspian picked up the staff, and tapped it on the stone. The magic-users felt the spell that nullified the magic dissipate. This was to the healer’s relief, as he continued working on Abey’s shoulder. Steven could see now that her collar bone was broken, as well as her chest and shoulder muscles being torn and chewed.

Caspian kept a hold on the staff, and closed his eyes and spoke an unknown word. As if a squeegee was running down him, all the blood and dirt ran out of and down Caspian’s outfit, some rolled out of his knife’s sheath, and onto the ground at his feet. He then stepped to his seat and sat down.

Steven was a bit dumb struck. Caspian was always doing things his way, but he had generally abided the customs of the area, as he knew them. As Steven judged the reaction, Caspian had just turned off this village from anything more than a civil discourse with him. Steven looked around, as the master of ceremonies stepped up, and closed the evening’s festivities here. This as the handlers were getting the three critters out of the pit.

Steven looked at Abey, but she was busy with the healer. Caspian gathered his gear, and walked toward the lit town square. The Master of Ceremonies came over to Steven.

“Are you going to help slaughter your kill?”

“Um, I think it is already finished. Where can I go clean up?”

A woman was motioned over, and given instructions. She took Steven’s hand, and her children gathered his gear, and they led him away into the dusk. They took him to a trough and pumped some water for him from the well next to it. One of the older children showed up, and handed Steven what turned out to be a strong ash-soap. It quickly and efficiently cleaned things up. The children left, and the woman waited patiently while Steven removed his trousers. As he washed up the rest of the way, she took the trousers to the other end of the trough, and quickly washed the little bit of blood off them, and returned them, damp.

Steven got back dressed, and shouldered his gear, and followed the woman to the town square. He was toasted and hailed as he sat down next to Caspian. Caspian sat on the end of the bench, of the table at the end of the gathering. Cyrril was not in evidence. Caspian picked his way through a joint of meat, with a plate of vegetables in front of him, and a mug to the side.

Steven’s stuff was put aside, by Caspian’s and Abey’s. As that happened, a spit was brought across the gathering, and placed over a fire. Steven guessed that it was his sheep, from the size. As he sat, a plate with three kabobs of roast vegetables, and a mug was put in front of him by some servers.

Steven pulled out his folding knife, and began using it to eat. He sniffed the brew in the mug. It smelled of a slightly fermented fruit juice. He nudged Caspian. “What is this?”

“Local home-brew. Not much to it. It’s fine.”

They had already gone the rounds about alcoholic drinks in the first few days on planet. Steven kept some wine around the house, but only served it with certain cultural dinners, or cooked with it. Roxanne’s family did not drink alcoholic drinks in general, due to her father. Mike had a DUI-hit-and-run when he was in college that had scared him sober. When Caspian had deliberately tested Steven with some local moonshine in their first village, Steven had ended up dumping it in Caspian’s lap.

Steven enjoyed the vegetables, and was on his last one when a joint of meat was brought around.

“They want to know how much you want.” Caspian translated.

“How much is a serving?”

They carved a piece off. Steven looked at it, and then held up two fingers. They cut a second piece and put them on his plate. Caspian took one piece himself, and the servers went on.

“Other servers will be around with other stuff. Don’t fill up on just one thing.” Caspian leaned over, while holding the last of the joint in his hand.

Abey came past, her left arm in a sling. She was in just a toga at the moment, having other wise cleaned up. “And don’t be afraid to leave some behind. The leftovers are cleaned up and either stewed or fed to the hounds.”

Abey continued further into the group, to sit elsewhere. The children that had already helped Steven came and claimed him, and took him to sit with Abey, surrounded by more children and a few older ones. As Steven turned to sit to Abey’s left, he noticed Caspian had been brought with, and sat to Steven’s left. One little girl began braiding a seventh brain into Abey’s left side hair.

Steven finished his bite. “How’s the shoulder?”

“It should be completely healed in a day or two, thanks to his potion. But I need to salve the bite to keep it moist, and prevent it from going rotten.”

Prevent infection, Steven thought to himself, sensible.

“Wizard,” Abey asked across Steven. “Why did you do what you did?”

“I don’t like being the butt of jokes.”

“You wouldn’t have been. Didn’t you hear what I was saying to the crowd? For me, this was a rite of passage.” The little girl finished and disappeared.

Steven interrupted. “And what was mine?”

“A bit of fun, and a test to see how domesticated you are. That you wanted to go help slaughter it was a good bonus.” Abey bit into some roast vegetable.

“And what of his?” Steven motioned to Caspian.

“These people live by the hunt. What he did was not any sort of ritual, as mine was. His was a pure display of dominance. But, do you know what happens to rogue alphas?”

“They are driven out, and sometimes the pack turns on them.”

Abey nodded. “That is what he has branded himself.”

With Abey to translate and help Steven with the culture, he found he was enjoying his first real sit-down meal since arriving on planet. And there was the promise of plenty left over for them to take with. When Steven finally crawled into a borrowed bunk, he was well sated, and as relaxed as he could be.

036 – A Few Days Of Rest, Then Up The Next Mountains

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 26

Abey is hurt and I could use a rest. This seems like as good a place as any.

The next morning, they had breakfast, and then mulled around. Caspian wanted to get going, but Abey was not yet ready to go. Steven decided that they needed a few days of rest, and that these people were kind enough. So they stayed. Caspian busied himself with the local magic users, for as far as they would talk to him. Abey took time to get fitted for a leather singlet, and equipping herself with some local goods. Steven just found a good shade spot, watching some children, and dozed for a bit.

He was aroused by hearing a class of youngsters being drilled in some oral tradition. Three old men and one old woman were taking turns teaching the children their lessons. Two were recitation drills. One was evidently math, and the last was some kind of test on previous material.

In the afternoon, Steven helped clean up some of the debris from the night before, and was invited to try his hand at some hunting and stalking. Steven was mildly surprised to see a co-ed party, as he half expected to see it as men-only. Abey later explained that the party was chosen by skill, and need, thought there was a patriarchal undercurrent to the society. While the men took the lead in providing, the women were not discouraged from their own talents and skills, whatever these are.

They outfitted him as one of them, in a singlet and poncho, instead of his shirt. It was as big as their largest man wore, and was still a bit short for Steven, though plenty in girth. They passed on changing out his boots and BDU trousers. He got a head band and some face and arm paint. He impressed them with his stealth, for being so large. He took his crossbow out with a hunting party, and used it to bring down a local deer-thing.

Steven realized that part of the reason that he did not like hunting anymore was it was too close to what he had done in the Marines, as a sniper. His dad had taught him and taken him hunting as a boy. But once in the Corps, his hunting days were through.

Now, he slaughtered his kill, not as clean as the natives, but well enough to impress them that he had a grasp of the subject. That night, Steven and Caspian ate with one of the families. Not a feast as the night before, but just as filling.

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 28

Nice place to visit, nice people. But I don’t want to live here.

Abey showed up with her left arm still in a sling, but otherwise ready to hit the trail, after two days. She was dressed closer to the locals than she had been prior; wearing a leather singlet with her leather belt over a linen tank-top, and her trousers and boots. She wore a native choker of semi-precious stones intermixed with claws and teeth, with a matching arm band on her left bicep. A claw and a fang hung from a piercing each on each ear. Also there was now a dangle from each of the seven tiny braids on the left side of her head. She had a new roll of something added to her bedroll, tied to the top of her backpack. Her shoulder bag, full of food, hung at her left hip. Steven noticed a knife on the outboard side of her right boot.

As they walked, she detached and unrolled a new poncho, the new roll from her bag, and put it on. Steven realized this replaced the thinner fabric cloak her mother had sent. She also had her own sling and shot bag, now. Lastly she carried but did not put on a set of gauntlets. Steven had noticed several of the locals wore a fingerless gauntlet set when hunting, and presumed that this was a pair of the same.

Steven recognized Abey beginning to walk in an assured predator’s gate.

They talked some as they traveled about how to present themselves. The truth would do well enough, but might not be fully believable. The idea of passing her of as married to either man was briefly considered, then dismissed. None of them would be comfortable acting that part. Soon they settled on her being fostered to Steven. He was not sure he could fumble his way through acting as if she were his actual daughter; Abey likewise did not want to try too much artifice. But a fostering relationship in this area was one step removed from Master-Apprentice, and that was acceptable, as he decided to start helping her make a ghillie suit, and one for himself, just to see how much of that he could remember.

Traveling in the direction they were going, they had one more mountain range to climb, then ultimately down on to the coastal plains. Caspian was loath to admit that he had only traveled this way once, and had only vague memories of the specific layout. He did not even remember the names of the area. But he did remember the maps he had seen and the tracker held true. He just hoped he could find a good path over these mountains, and quietly hoped that Abey might be of help that way. Along the way, Abey realized that Caspian and Steven did not even know the names of The Kingdom, Dorston, or of the capitol city they were heading for, Veradale. The Jemed Highlands they had left as they climbed the Gulco Mountains was in the Duchy of Jemela.

Caspian had sheepishly admitted to not really being worried about names. “We are just passing through. We don’t need to worry about where we are, just where we are going.”

*          *          *

Roxanne had quickly realized that while the Pages were sent about on a first-come-first-served basis, there were some favorites played by both the staff and the pages. One girl had taken a particular liking to Rox and showed up more often than any of the others. In a free moment, she asked Rox to teach her how to fight. On asking, Rox learned that this girl was considered by the Guard instructors too young to teach, yet; also she had seen Rox practicing one morning. After being asked, when Rox had a free moment she would show the girl the basics of her style of martial arts. The Sorceress caught her doing this, and revealed that the girl was the daughter of a peasant, and therefore looked down on by some. She then scheduled a bit of time each day for Rox to practice herself, and teach this girl. The Sorceress even sat in to watch some.

In return the page-girl had begun to show Roxanne all around the Palace, and its adjoining buildings. From this Roxanne had realized this Palace Complex was on the first tier up the side of the mountains from the valley floor. Some of the towers and wings were tall enough to look across at the second and third tiers. Depending on the tower and viewpoint, she could see any horizon in any direction, save south. The north side of the palace crossed an outcrop that had nothing directly below it on the east or west, to the city below on the valley floor. She also learned the name of the city, Veradale, and the name of The Kingdom it was capitol of, Dorston.

Now Rox sat on a wall-seat she had been shown, watching The Queen’s return in a courtyard below. A guard stood nearby where Rox sat, pike in hand, observing everything.

Two closed carriages with a platoon of cavalry entered, followed by three open cargo carts. The cavalry moved off as the wagons turned in the yard and stopped by some stairs that Roxanne had learned led into the royal wing. Two women got out of the front one, the first stepping aside for the second. Rox guessed that the second was The Queen, by etiquette, as she could not judge their clothing from this angle. The second carriage pulled up to the official entrance and two men and two women got out and went into the wing where the throne room was.

Some porters attacked the cargo carts. Two chests were removed from one and taken into the royal wing. Another was taken into the office wing. The rest were left on the carts and they were taken out into the guard’s yard and out of Rox’s sight.

That evening, the Sorceress did not show up for the usual dinner practice. Rox asked the stewards what was happening.

“The Queen is returned, with the new Ambassador from The Kingdom to the south. There is a formal dinner tonight, and all the Ministers are required to be in attendance.”

Roxanne picked up and crunched into a vegetable slice. Then did what she would scold her own kids for, and while chewing said, “I guess it’s just as well I don’t rank that.”

The Sorceress returned late that evening, exhausted. She wore a green colored formal gown unlike any Roxanne had before seen, and several pounds of gold jewelry. A page came and helped Rox help The Sorceress out of her jewelry and formal gown. The Sorceress stood on a pedestal as she was undressed. Rox wanted to speak, but The Sorceress would not while the page was there. Once the main layers of the gown were removed, and the next loosened, The Sorceress dismissed the page. She still had an underskirt, girdle, flounce and whatever was under that. She had stepped out of her formal slippers as she mounted the pedestal.

“My assistant will be sufficient from here. You may report back to your superiors.”

The page bowed and left.

As soon as the door closed, The Sorceress seamed to sag under the weight of the foundation garment and petticoats. “I hate formal state dinners; so tedious.”

Rox started the conversation at the only place she could think of. “My Lady, is there something going on between the two kingdoms, or is this simply a changing of staff?” She continued to open the fasteners on the layered under skirt.

“There is a trade agreement being worked out. The Queen was there surveying their textiles and wool. We are offering both money and some minerals. They want what I think amounts to war material. As I understand, their neighbor to the south is getting belligerent.”

Rox got the last button opened, and The Sorceress held the under skirt up as Rox opened it and then slid it up and over The Sorceress’s head and put it carefully aside. “Peace through strength is good, so long as you have enough strength to show your neighbor it is not worth the effort of conflict, my lady.”

The Sorceress pulled at the strings for the girdle that laced up her back. “Yes. But in this case I think both sides are trying for peace through a first crushing blow. My concern is which side is really doing the provoking.”

Rox loosened the girdle up its length. The Sorceress relaxed visibly as it released. “My Lady, that is not anything I have any idea about, and I think not really my business.”

The Sorceress took a deep breath. “No, it is not.”

Rox pulled the girdle up and over The Sorceress’s head and arms. She still had a flounce and last petticoat, but other than that was down to a strapless shift. The flounce was quickly removed, and this bottom petticoat quickly followed.

Rox presented a dressing gown and the Sorceress tied its sash as she stepped down and over to a chair. Here she removed a pair of linen stockings, wiggling her toes as she did.

Rox felt a little apprehensive about what she really wanted to talk of. “My lady, what about what we have talked about, about The Queen and King? How does that go?”

The Sorceress wiped makeup off as she spoke. “I see The Queen tomorrow, and can start to talk about it then. So far all the girls are fine with it. The one with The King now is anxious to get out of the Palace and enter a religious order. I might be worried about that, except her family wanted her there from the start. The Trade Minister thinks an heir is fine. The Military staff all thinks it is high time for an heir to be appointed. The Lands Minister will be relieved, as he is wondering whether he might be carving up bits for new countesses. The City Minister has no complaint. The Church tells me they have already been bugging The King about this discretely, out of my earshot. It turns out they thought I was part of the problem. As far as my responsibilities, several of the women have left the harem over the years, and are married or have taken vows, or are in the diplomatic service. Others are almost useless downstairs, freeloading on the palace budget.”

Rox stood aside watching. “How is that, about the church, my lady?”

“Most of the church endorses marriage. The part that does not is celibate and usually in a monastic order of some kind. They tolerate harems, so long as there are no troubles about them. But they figured that I was continuing to supply new women to The King to keep him away from his wife, not at her request. I think I have begun to smooth that over, but will need to proceed carefully. I gather that they have also begun to press The Queen, but I am not certain. If they have not yet, we may be able to ally over this.”

Rox watched and guessed that there was more to what The Church had said to The Sorceress, from the way she talked about them as much as from what she was not saying. But again that was not Rox’s business.

038 – Formally On Display

The Sorceress joined the procession as it started out of the suite. She wore a dark green gown with her full set of regalia, demarking her station. Rox had seen her wearing this necklace and collar set once, but had been forbidden to do anything about helping with it. They marched to a formal dining room, flanked by a quad of guards.

The walls of the room were the same color white to light grey as the rest of the stone that the palace was either carved or constructed from. The columns rose up to vaulted arches supporting the roof, four stories up. Every third column all the way around the perimeter had a medium sized fireplace within, half with fires in tonight. From the entrance, the room was longer than it was wide; with stained glass windows on the three sides the doors were not on. The room had several straight tables at the far end, and the same number of round tables at the close end. Stewards’ tables lined the outer edge, with stair wells going down between the walls and the tables.

Several people were already sitting at several tables with the stewards bringing up food from below. Roxanne was escorted to a round table and instructed to sit. The Sorceress was escorted to a seat at one of the straight tables. The Court began to arrive. As The King and Queen arrived, everyone stood. They were shortly followed by the Ambassadors from each of the southern countries. As the various ministers and guests arrived they were announced, and shown to seats, but otherwise the conversations continued. Assorted Traders and Merchants from the local communities and other countries were seated at the table where Roxanne was.

As the dinner progressed Roxanne felt herself under scrutiny. These merchants were interested in her origin and antecedents, in a polite manor, but once they realized that she was a slave in the palace, and of no real possibility of selling or buying large quantities, they dismissed her from the conversation. Roxanne listened carefully; most of the conversation was about buying and selling. A third of the guests were local. The other two thirds were divided between the two southern kingdoms. They mostly talked of trafficking in the local silks, foodstuffs, and salt.

Roxanne would later be told that she was watched by the guards to see if she recognized any of the people there, or if they recognize her. The conclusion reached after consideration what that Roxanne only knows those she has met, and none of those here appear to recognize her. Either she was a very good spy, unknown to any of those here, or totally honest in being from elsewhere and not involved.

Once the dinner was done, Roxanne was approached by a steward and quietly told that she was dismissed and to return to her suite. Rox glanced briefly at where the Sorceress sat in conversation, and then stood and excused herself, and was escorted down the closest stairwell. Linell waited down in this kitchen area, and guided Roxanne back to her suite. Linell then helped Rox undress from the formal gown and hang it on a dummy that had been left by the tailor. Roxanne then got to wait. Linell departed to go off duty.

The Sorceress came back late and simply sent Rox to bed.

*          *          *

The second day out of the native village Abey felt good enough to remove the sling. The Healer’s magic had repaired her broken bone and torn up muscle, generally, but she had to be careful to get it back to full strength, and not over stress her shoulder too quickly. She would keep the scars on her left collar and shoulder from the mauling she took, as well as the light scratches on her back. But with the salve the healer had given, she was healing quickly. She applied it apparently at need, and had a little bag of it that she drew from.

As they tracked across the highlands to the mountains, Abey and Steven decided that hunting and keeping the pelts might be a good way to earn some keep. At their insistence, Caspian went with them off the main road Abey had brought then along, and back onto the game trails. In this instance, these were a bit out of the way, where prior Caspian had been following them as the shortest path. Abey soon proved as good with her sling as Steven did with his crossbow. Abey drew the main duty of tanning the hides, as Caspian had no knowledge of how and Steven was ages out of practice. Their little bundle of hides soon began to grow. The ghillie suits were abandoned incomplete, as they were deemed too impractical.

*          *          *

The next morning, Linell woke Rox with instruction to help her bathe and dress. Rox was to attend court, as The Sorceress’s assistant. The Tailors returned while Rox bathed in the cold water and quickly made a set of formal outfits for Rox to wear. These were essentially the same as the Sorceress’s costumes, but in a light blue color instead of the green the Sorceress wore. Roxanne sat in a chair off the side of the dais behind the Sorceress. Mostly she just got to sit and watch.

One thing that Rox watched with some interest was the interaction of The King and Queen, and The Sorceress. Mostly The Sorceress sat aside and watched herself, speaking only when spoken to. The King plowed through issues quickly, passing some things to The Queen to handle and pass a decision, and plowing through others himself. The ministers came and went according to the business they had to do. Rox noticed that there was a pair of guards who sat and watched her, and only her. The King quickly moved through the other mostly domestic business, and then called in the Ambassadors to discuss the trade treaty. Roxanne listened, grasping only the general principles, but was quickly out of her depth for particulars. After a few moments, she only paid polite attention. They stopped the discussion for lunch; one of the guards who watched Rox spoke briefly to The Queen, who in turn spoke briefly to the Sorceress. Just before lunch was brought in Roxanne was dismissed from Court, and escorted from the office wing, then left to get back to her suite on her own.

Roxanne returned to her suite, changed clothes, and set about her chores. Just before dinner a procession arrived. The Queen and The Sorceress were escorted by eight guards. Once the women were within the suite, two guards turned aside to stand in the corners of the hall and the rest departed, closing the doors to the suite.

Roxanne stood at attention in the doorway of her room. The Sorceress looked at her, smiled, spoke a word and waved her hand. Rox felt the magic in the chains and their bands on her arms and legs dissipate.

The Queen relaxed. “You have leave to speak and act freely.”

Rox looked at the women. “Are you joining us for dinner?”

The three women sat at the table chattering as friends do. The guards stood at the corners of the room, flanking the doors. The stewards came up the stairway and served the women, and also gave some to the guards. Roxanne sat and watched old friends talk as only old friends do. Roxanne had again explained and told her story, this time to The Queen.

“Did you see their livery or symbols?” The Queen had a keen interest in the kidnappers.

Roxanne had to shake her head. “No. If I did, I do not remember. I spent most of my time with them half awake, or less.”

“I am left to wonder who it was. That circle has attracted travelers of all kinds. The Kings of the kingdoms around it have long since stopped trying to manage what there is of that.” The Queen evidently knew more about that circle than Roxanne would have guessed.

Roxanne paused, letting The Queen control the conversation.

“I suppose I have to apologize. My husband included your arrival in his correspondence to me while I was out of the palace. He was concerned by the timing of your arrival that you might be a spy. It was easy enough to leave you in the charge of The Sorceress until I could return. We needed to see if you knew or were known by any of our . . . neighbors. We brought you to the dinner last night and to court this morning to test their reaction to you and your reaction to them. Had you recognized them, or they reacted to you, there might have been more reason to be concerned. Now, we see that you are most likely not known, or a good actor. Besides you were dismissed before we got to the real meat of the issues.”

Rox considered this. “I accept your apology.”

The dinner the rest of the evening drifted to other conversation topics. The one Rox wanted to ask about was never brought up.

Several days later The Sorceress shared breakfast with Roxanne. The treaty had been signed the night before. As the conversation continued, Rox looked for an opening to ask about the one issue that did interest her.

The Sorceress was quietly amused and slightly embarrassed. “The Queen has been home for about a week. In that time, The King granted a dismissal to his last harem-girl. The Queen has insisted on his time, and his bed. I have not mentioned it to you, but I wrote to The Queen once I had the church lined up.”

The Sorceress looked around conspiratorially. “I have realized she had been going into The King on her own over the years, and she was gratified at the idea of having him all to herself again, if even for a little while, as he might think for now.”

That afternoon The Sorceress took Rox into the city. They went shopping and on other personal errands. Rox learned that her gold slave chains actually had a significant social status, as she was from the Palace complex. As they went, the Sorceress mentioned for the first time that Roxanne had a bit of funds at her disposal. This surprised Roxanne, but she did not have much need to spend just now. Rather to save it to buy her own freedom.

039 – Pactical Magic And Fight Training

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 38

At last, a high mountain range. Got to watch for late season avalanches.

Rox entered the work room to clean it, and found bits of cord and string laid out on the work table, arranged by size. Yesterday had been an extensive conversation on what The Sorceress called resonance. Part of the summary was that material things had a kind of memory about them that magic could use; for instance small bits could be used to magically emulate the effects of having and using the whole, spells could be transmitted from one bit of a broken thing to another bit of that broken thing. A previous lesson was that many times small bits of stuff were used to focus the mind, and better organize the energy of the magic. Rox guessed that today would be a drill on using the bits of cord to magically emulate the whole cord, or to put magic on one part and pass it to another.

As Roxanne swept the room, she came back to the dressing mirror under the silk cover. The Sorceress had essentially confirmed that, while being itself magically inert, the mirror was used in some of her spells from time to time, including looking at things a distance away. She had yet to teach Rox how to do this.

Rox wanted to try to see Diana and Alex with it, as well as Steven. But still did not yet know if she knew how to do so. She felt that she began to understand feeling the energy, ‘mana’ The Sorceress called it. Then forming the idea in her head, clearly, of what she wanted to have happen. The problem she kept encountering was that she kept jumping over intermediate steps to the conclusion. The Sorceress was trying to teach her all the intermediate steps, and the why's, not just the how's. So the desire to see had to wait.

A secondary issue in the lessons had to do with The Sorceress herself. Her specialties and perceptions were focused in energy. She always in every lesson stressed control of energy, which for her was easy from practice, and also a necessity. For Rox, this was more a lesson in focus and management. In the theory lessons, The Sorceress had mentioned that a disciplined practitioner could both control the flow in their own use, but also the control of others flows of energy. One could control the direction and volume and block this flow. This could be used to dispel spells, or patterns of energy, or to create spells, or patterns of energy. These patterns ranged from destructive, through neutral, to empowering.

After lunch, The Sorceress came and began first by drilling Rox on the types of cord she had. Each was made of a different fiber, and good for specific things. This Rox already knew, if only innately from growing up, and what Steven had taught in their time together. As expected, they drilled both on using the bits to emulate the whole, and on using the bits to pass energy on to the other parts.

But this part of the lesson went quickly, and then The Sorceress went into an explanation of what the cord bits could be used for, as ingredients of more complex spells.

She then had Rox collect a few ingredients from prior lessons.

“Now, hold them in your hand. What are they and what are they for?” The Sorceress had moved Rox to the middle of the room.

Rox looked at the bits. “Fine fiber cord, elastic, good for climbing. A small metal hook, good for securing things. A bit of resin, good for making things sticky. A bit of thread, good for binding things together.”

“Good. Now look up. See the ring. That is your target.” The Sorceress pointed at a ring secured to the keystone of the vaulted arch two stories above them in the center of the room.

“Now, pull together the mana; using the objects and ideas about them create a climbing line: a grapnel at the end, the cord secured to it and tied closed by the thread, and tacky enough to hold onto via the resin.”

Rox concentrated chanting quietly in the language she spoke with The Sorceress instead of English, she gathered energy, feeling it flow as a trickle of tingling through her, and focus and swirl around in her hand, going through and organizing in the four things in her hand. She had a question, and almost lost her concentration. “Do I need to physically toss it?”

“Only if it helps to actualize in your mind. Otherwise you just need to shape it as there with your mind. Let it draw as much mana as it needs, don’t try to force it, just be a conduit.” The Sorceress stood face to face with Rox.

Rox focused, felt a flow of mana-energy through her, and there the line was, large enough to comfortably wrap her hand around, hanging in front of her from a hook in the ceiling. It glowed slightly, and tingled in her growing sense of magic. She noticed that the thread, resin and cord were gone from her hand, but the hook remained.

“Now, climb it.” The Sorceress backed off, giving Roxanne room.

Rox dropped the hook as she took the rope in hand, and felt a tingle rather than the rough surface of a fibrous rope. A rational part of her mind was telling her that this was impossible. But over the last weeks that part of her mind had increasingly been put to silence. Rox took the rope in both hands, and pulled her feet off the ground, then pinched the rope between her feet, and reached up to pull again. As she went to release her second hand, to start up in earnest, Rox felt her concentration slip, the energy of the rope dissipate and she fell a short distance to land on her feet, and collapse to sitting, hard. Her back hurt briefly from landing on the stone floor.

The Sorceress gave Rox a moment to collect herself then asked “What happened?”

Rox got to her feet. “I am not sure. I started to climb, and then the spell dissipated.”

“Were you concentrating on the spell, or on climbing?”

Rox thought a moment. “Climbing, my lady.”

The Sorceress nodded, remembering her own struggles in school. “That is why you fell. You let go of the spell and it ceased.”

Rox rubbed her rump, aching slightly where she had landed hard.

The Sorceress moved back to the table, trying to decide what to do next. “You needn’t worry to hard yet. This is a lesson that I had to go through several times as a school girl, before I was good enough at dividing my attention to keep a spell going and do something else. Like juggling, eventually it gets to be natural.”

Rox picked up the hook from the floor. “How high did you get?”

“The first time I did it, I did not even get to where I could fall. It took a month of practice before I could get my own height off the ground and keep the spell going. After that, I got to the bell the instructor had set up. There was one girl in class who realized she was afraid of heights, and broke her leg falling from that high after getting up there.”

Rox put the hook on the table. “My lady, where did the cord, thread, and resin go?”

The Sorceress “You noticed. Good. Most un-living organic stuff disintegrates as a spell is cast through it. The best theory is that it looses it physical cohesion as its pattern is put into the spell. Metals and most rocks don’t. It is figured it has to do with the way the matter is organized in it, and that stone and metal was never alive.”

Rox though about this. “Metal is essentially a crystal; I suppose stone is similar, whereas the organic stuff is a cellular arrangement. I guess that if something is alive, it has energy to draw on to maintain its form? So while the cellular stuff can be rearranged by life, metals and stones are not rearranged thus. So the magic disintegrates the organic in copying its pattern, but not the inorganic.”

The Sorceress nodded. “That is the theory.”

Roxanne turned and leaned against the table. “You have taught me a bunch of fundamentals, how to do a handful of house keeping spells. I cobbled together a spell on that jar that reassembled it to its base, wherever the bulk of it was, though that has dissipated. I just climbed half my height up a magic rope. What else do I need to know to use that mirror?”

The Sorceress turned to face the mirror, under its cover, putting aside the other idea that was not forming despite her efforts. “You want to see your kids.”

”And if possible, my husband.” Rox almost stepped toward the mirror.

The Sorceress thought for a moment. ”The spell I have just taught you, about the rope, is a second year student’s spell. Using the mirror is something that many adults can’t do correctly. But you are determined. How much do you know about light?”

Rox sensed meaning more than the surface in this question. “Insofar as its interaction or governing by magic, I can’t say that I know anything.”

The Sorceress smiled. “Admitting your ignorance is always a good start. I do not have the spells to use it as you wish memorized. It will take me some time to find where I have them written. Tomorrow, after your chores, you may look through my index…”

Rox interrupted. “My lady, I have not been taught your script. While I can read and write in my own language, I cannot in yours.” Rox felt her own hopes smothered as she said this.

The Sorceress, unused to being interrupted watched as Roxanne slumped. She started again. “Perhaps so, but if I write out the characters surely you can compare them.”

The Sorceress watched Roxanne perk up a bit, at this. “Now, about light…”

The lesson went on for a while, and Roxanne learned several new ideas, and a few old ones that she had always considered to be preposterous or new age mumbo-jumbo.

*          *          *

Caspian, Steven, and Abey hunted their way through the mountains, keeping as many pelts as they could. Steven lost three bolts, but managed to take down and harvest the local equivalent of a deer. This had required making a larger frame to stretch the hide on, and a travois to carry the usable meat. This was all a bit awkward to carry. As they crossed the highest pass of the range they encountered snow, and a brief spring snow storm. This only caused discomfort rather than actual hindrance. When it was time to camp Steven and Caspian would build a lean-to and all three would huddle under it keeping each other warm in their blankets and accumulated scrub.

They descended into the foot hills and the farms, and warmer climate, a bit dirty from their traveling. They kept the pelts and other usable pieces of what they harvested to have something to sell. After a day of travel past the farms, and small villages, they approached the outer walls of a city.

*          *          *

When Linell next showed up for her lesson, she had a black eye, and favored her right foot. Rox took her to task for this.

“Well, there are a few bullies in the older pages.” Linell acted like all children telling something that she was afraid she was going to be in trouble for.

Rox stood with her fists at her hips, waiting. “And?”

Linell tried to melt into the floor. “At lunch yesterday, one of the older ones tried to bully one of the younger ones.”

Rox waited patiently. Linell did not want to say more.

“Don’t the Guards or people in charge of the Pages, or other stewards move to stop this?” Rox asked, not knowing anything about how this might be handled, or even where the Pages took lunch.

Linell shook her head. “No, in some cases the bully’s are recruited by the army, or navy. Others simply graduate from the pages and go home, as we all will when old enough.”

“So how did you get a black eye?” Rox asked patiently, practicing the patience she had learned dealing with her own children.

But Linell did not want to tell.

“Were you the bully?”

Linell moved her head in what Rox had come to recognize as the negative answer. “No. the bully tripped my little brother, so I stood up and slugged him. The bully’s friend hit me then, knocking me into the table. I got back up and kicked him. Then the Page Master came and had to pull me off him. I was told that if I get in another fight, I will be sent home.”

Tears were starting to well in the girls eyes.

Rox put her hands down and knelt, to look at the girl closer to eye level, and wrapped her in a hug. The girl went formally stiff, and Rox let go, and let the girl move back to arm’s length.

“What happened to the bullies?” Rox let go of the girl, who seemed more comfortable standing in front of her.

“The one that I kicked had to go see a healer. The other just got up and was told to leave me and my brother alone.” Linell seemed a bit more relaxed, since Rox was not trying to punish.

Rox looked at Linell. “So, do you want to learn how to block punches, so that you don’t get hit in the face again?”

Linell had sore forearms when she left.