As Emlyn reaches for a knife to start peeling vegetables, Benger points her to a stool in the corner. “You can drag that over and sit here, enjoying your tea,” Benger frowns, “You were almost face-first in your stew last night, and you were fighting again today, despite being told to rest. So, rest. I’ll peel and chop.”
Nodding bashfully, Emlyn grabs the stool, plops down, and takes a cautious sip of the hot tea. Looking at his mother, Benger notices that one of her eyebrows is raised, and he sighs heavily.
“Let me begin at the beginning,” Benger sighs, “We were riding on the Duke’s Road out of Harito heading here when Nia noticed that a bunch of bandits were robbing the entire family of one of the kitchen staff from the Temple.”
“It’s important to stay in the good graces of the kitchen staff,” Nia grins, “That’s how I get extra desserts and bigger helpings.”
Despite herself, Oja chuckles. Using carrot slices and peas to illustrate the situation, Emlyn lays out the killing zone that the bandits had set up around Jathon’s family.
A couple of potato cubes illustrate the two of them, and some greens represent the trees.
“This is how things started out,” Emlyn explains, “and thank the Goddess that Jathon’s got a cool head. He played it perfectly and talked his family out of the center of that noose.” Emlyn moves the peas out of the encircling carrots and plops down more carrots and some greens. She carefully places one of the peas off to the side with more carrot slices.“This side of the road is heavily forested. They had men in the underbrush, but it's so thick there that it’s hard for much of anything to move.”
“What happened then?” Oja asks.
“They made my mare angry,” Emlyn grins, “When we first approached, one of them made some comment about dining on horse, and she took offense. When I kneed her and directed her to ride them over, she didn’t hesitate an instant. I think she gave an especially good trampling to the fellow who threatened to eat her.”
“That’s only the start of it,” Benger sighs, “They’d taken Jathon’s baby brother. Apparently, the little fellow had to answer the call of nature. When he went into the woods to find a tree, they captured him and tried to use him to force the family to surrender. We didn’t know until later that these bandits were slavers. I went with Jathon to try to find his baby brother while Nia took the fight to the bandits. Fortunately, she was equipped for hunting and was, and I’m quoting the Goddess, ‘running through the treetops like a mad squirrel’ hunting the bandits.”
“Most of them never bothered to look up,” Emlyn shrugs, “They were easy targets. The only hard part was that there were so many of them, and I was racing to keep them from getting too close to you or Jathon. I was really pleased when I heard you shouting at the bandits to get away from the boy.”
Popping a carrot slice into his mouth, he looks at Emlyn, “I kept expecting them to pop out at us at any moment, and when they didn’t, I thought that was your doing. I heard them trying to converge on us, but they never managed it. Master Branaulf said that you were proficient with a bow, but I had no idea that you could do anything like that. I don’t think I knew that anyone could do that.”
“If you have the right gear,” Emlyn shrugs, “it’s not so difficult. I’m going to have to ask Master Lokrag to reforge my cats' claws when we get back to the Temple. I cracked one of the claws on the left hand when I was fighting with that asshat in the tree. I think it's because it’s not as strong as it ought to be.”
“Because the steel itself is terrible?” Benger asks.
Emlyn nods her agreement as she sips her tea, “It’ll do for hunting, if there’s anywhere near here to take an elk or a deer, but nothing more serious than that until it’s reforged.”
“What’s this about fighting again today, and why are you here early?” Oja asks.
“It’s a bit of a holdover from yesterday,” Emlyn shrugs, “We had stopped at an inn and were planning to spend the night. Jessop sent a messenger to meet me at the inn with news about our upcoming mission. That won’t start until we’re back from this break, but with the balls and parties going on right now, it's a good time to ask Dru and Jessop to do some poking around and gossip gathering. When dinner was over, I went upstairs to go to sleep. That’s when I found someone trying to get into my room. Turns out that our bandits had a noble sponsor who’s been making unwanted relations disappear from The Duke’s Highway for some time now. Their sponsor showed up to try to capture Benger so they could force us to spring the ones I left alive before they could spill all the secrets. Fortunately, we caught them instead and were able to hand them over to Duke Arnet’s spymaster since he was at the inn.”
“After all of that, the Goddess decided that Nia really does need to rest,” Benger sighs, “so she arranged our transport here. We didn’t have to ride anywhere except from just the other side of the hill.”
“So that explains the look,” Oja nods, “I had wondered what that was about. Since I know you’re both sworn not to lie, I was curious.”
Glancing curiously at Oja, Emlyn says, “I have a very odd question.”
Slicing steadily away at the vegetables, Oja nods.
Emlyn asks, “Would you mind if I took a look at your farm implements? Scythes, hoes, plows, sickles, and the like. I’m hoping that the steel here is better.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“You’re welcome to look. Benger can show you,” Oja shrugs, “but we break them all the time and have to get them reforged. It’s right expensive.”
“I’ve got a plan to fix that,” Emlyn shrugs, “but I have to find decent ore to make decent steel.”
“If you can do anything about that,” Oja nods, “you’d have the gratitude of every farmer in Tassatung.”
Turning thoughtful, Emlyn glances at Benger, “I hadn’t considered farm implements and all the other things good steel is useful for until just now. Didn’t you tell me that anything to do with farming gets the duke’s attention?”
Blushing a bit, Benger nods, “Yes, I did. I think I said that the…ah, first time we met.”
Oja looks curiously at the pair as Emlyn grins.
“I’ve long since forgiven you for that,” Emlyn chuckles, “but I wonder if I could interest him in a joint venture. That might make it more affordable for the Temple.”
“You’d be in a better position to find that out,” Benger grins back, “since you’re on a first-name basis with his sons.”
Startled, Oja looks at Emlyn and gestures before resuming her preparations.
“I met them at a ball,” Emlyn explains, “We’re just friends. I’m no longer of the same social status, but they were kind enough to attend my induction ceremony.”
“Prince Armeniel even sent her a present,” Benger adds, “since he couldn’t attend in person.”
“I was able to solve a problem for him,” Emlyn grins, “that he hadn’t been able to solve for himself. It was more an expression of gratitude for that than anything else. Now I have to attend another ball when we return, expressly at his wish, and you’re coming with me. Maybe Saris and Hiltar too. I don’t want to have to skewer some lordling who thinks he’s going to take advantage of the penniless orphan.”
“You shouldn’t complain,” Benger shrugs, “You’ve made friends with the crown prince and all of the duke’s sons. Mama got a rug. You got some trinkets. Your sense of things seems to always work out well for you and everyone else.”
“What did the prince get?” Oja asks.
“He can visit the privy in peace,” Benger laughs, “without being pestered by women throwing their daughters at him. Nia told Master Ember about what had been going on when she gave her statement about the events. Master Ember relayed that to the justices in the case. The justices included the mothers in the punishment and also told the king what had been happening. Now, when the prince needs to handle his personal needs, guards are posted to ensure he can do so without disruption.”
“I never heard what happened,” Emlyn asks curiously, “after I gave my statement. What happened to them?”
“Oh ho,” Benger grins, “The cow pies and their mothers are stuck for the next two years cleaning all the gutters in Harito. It has been arranged that none of them, not even the mothers and their daughters, are on the same crew. It’s a slightly different kind of shoveling shit than they were doing before, but I think they’ll feel right at home with it.”
“I hope they learn their lesson,” Emlyn says slowly, “but I doubt that group will. If any of them or their families try to contact anyone in our cohort, let me know right away. Since they’re female, I can handle them in ways the rest of you can’t without getting into a lot of trouble.”
“Handle them how?” Oja asks.
“If I happen to lose my temper and punch one of them,” Emlyn explains, “No one thinks much of it, and it’s just girls squabbling. If Benger or any of the boys does that, they’ll be in serious trouble.”
“What happens if it gets out of hand?” Oja says, “Punching people doesn’t always end well.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Emlyn agrees, “but after that business with the hired assassins, even if it does get violent, I doubt that I’ll have much trouble out of it once the initial scuffle is over.”
“You seem awfully calm about someone sending assassins after you,” Oja says, “Shouldn’t you take it more seriously?”
“It’s a matter of perspective,” Emlyn shrugs, “I’ve faced entire armies with nothing more than a few of my childhood friends. I suppose that’s shifted my definition of what’s serious.”
Oja gives Benger a look, but Benger nods in confirmation. Surprised, Oja continues chopping, unsure what to say.
“What are you making?” Emlyn asks, seeking to fill the awkward silence.
“Oh, this… It’s one of Benger’s favorites,” Oja says, “We take everything and pack it into a big, lidded pan and pop it into the oven so it can bake.”
“It’s like stew with less soup and more food,” Benger grins, “All of us love it.”
“Sounds delicious,” Emlyn nods.
“I should probably introduce you to the ravening horde before dinner,” Benger says, grabbing an apple. “Let’s go out to the barn.”
“I wanted to ask if I can take Vonham for a ride on Snowflake after dinner,” Emlyn says, “I wanted to distract him, and he seems to like her, so I offered him a ride, but only if you agree.”
“Feel free to take him. If it keeps his attention for more than a quarter of an hour,” Oja shrugs, “I’ll be surprised. Odds are he’ll be back in here, looking for something to eat in short order. Dubor, Rand, or Arrok would probably love it if Vonham turns out not to be all that interested.”
“There’s more to Snowflake than meets the eye,” Emlyn says with a nod, “She’s got a fairly impressive repertoire of commands. She comes across as a solid, placid, ordinary mare, and she is, most of the time. I thought I’d see if she wants to show off a bit for Vonham. If she does, she might hold his interest for more than a few minutes.”
“Let’s go,” Benger nudges, “You can take a look at our tools, too, since I think most of my brothers are out in the barn getting the horses settled in.”
“Thank you for the tea,” Emlyn says politely to Oja, “Where should I leave the mug?”
“The sink is just there,” Oja points, “If you set it upright on the drain board, I’ll make you another cup when I’m done with dinner.”
“That would be lovely,” Emlyn grins and happily leaves her cup on the drainboard and follows Benger out to the barn.
A large, timber-framed structure with carved boards framing the double door, each of the wall panels, and the door to the hay loft, greets her.
She frowns as she points at the roof, “Is that… grass growing on your roof?”
“Yah, yah,” Benger replies, slipping back into the local dialect, “Haint ye ever seen turf afore?” At an odd look from Emlyn, he grins and returns to the dialect she knows better, “It’s amazing. If we need to replace it, we can hack some out of one of the pastures. It keeps the barn warmer in winter, cooler in summer, helps stop icicles from forming, and keeps the roof weatherproof longer.”
“It’s very pretty,” Emlyn says, “especially so for something readily available and so inexpensive.”
“You should see it when Mama tosses flower seeds out and they’re all blooming,” Benger replies, “It’s like a little meadow up there.”
“Are icicles such a problem here?” Emlyn asks with concern.
“I forget that you’re not from around here,” Benger explains, “Imagine something as long as your forearm, pointed like a dagger, and falling from one of the eaves up there.” He points to the second story of the large hayloft. “Any time you step outside or start into a building, always glance up,” Benger advises her, “If it’s large and even looks like it's dripping, go around. I’ve seen them fall and bury themselves in the frozen ground. Not something you want dropping on your head.”
“That does sound painful,” she nods as she glances up before going into the barn.
Have you ever lived anywhere that got really cold in the winter? Where was it? How cold? Let me know in the comments.
There's a hotel/spa in Iceland where you can go lay in the hot springs and watch the Northern Lights.