Phantom: Karma Slave
By PhantomChajo

(AN: Sorry to take so long on getting this chapter up. But a false start and several re-writes later it's finally finished. And to my Reviewer.. Thanks.*S* )


Chapter 10

For the next candlemark or more, Rebecca refused to let Jensy or Nadal out of her sight. Both children kept protesting the treatment too.

"Mama, we can take care of ourselves" Nadal said when his request to join the other local children playing was refused.

Rebecca was about to refuse one more time when Phantom cut in. "Do let them go play. You do more harm then good by keeping them tied to your apron strings."

Rebecca turned on Phantom, "Do you have any children? Do you know how to care for and raise them? You may be a paying guest, but I do ask that you keep your-"

"Mother!" Jensy said in surprise at her mother's words and tone.

Phantom held up her hand. "Peace Widow Rebecca. All I say is you show your fear of the councilman by keeping your children close. Fear of his threat and fear of his power over you, no matter what you say otherwise."

"She's right Mother and you know it," Jensy added in.

Rebecca fretted for the next few minutes, before throwing up her hands. "All right, all right. You two can go play. But I want you back for lunch and afternoon chores," she said pointing her finger at both children.

"Yes mama," they said in unison before heading out the door at a fast pace.

"Now that young ears are not about to listen in on adults talking." Phantom trailed off a moment. "as much as I hate to ask, but perchance could I borrow something to war until my clothes are ready?"

Rebecca blinked, then raised a hand to her cheek, just now realizing that her guest had been sitting there in nothing but a thin, short robe. "Oh OH! Yes do you mind if it's a man's tunic and pants? I still have some of my husband's things. I just couldn't bring myself to be rid of them."

"They will do nicely. I prefer pants over shirts any day," Phantom said with a smile.

A little while later, when Phantom was dressed in a pair of pants that needed a belt to hold up as well as the legs rolled up to keep from walking on them and a shirt just as big. But she didn't mind, they were comfortable and soft from many washings.

The two women returned to the main room and settled down. Rebecca picked up some sewing from a basket next to her chair as Phantom settled in a second chair then glanced up at the blade and bow above the mantel. "Tell me about your husband if you don't mind that is."

Rebecca looked up at the weapons then sighed. "Baily was the best man a woman could have. Caring, helpful, and protective all at the same time. We meet when he came into town on a trip to re-supply a merchant's caravan. He was one of the guards."

"So he was an experienced fighter?" Phantom asked.

"Oh aye. Before becoming a caravan guard, he told me he spent a few years on the road adventuring. Apparently he had a close call and decided to find a safer path." Rebecca shook her head. "He had a wicked looking scar down his side from where a nasty critter had gotten him.

Phantom nodded as she stored away the information. "Aaahh but he lost none of his skill I take it?"

"Oh no, everyday, at least when possible, he would spend time with some of the local town guards and practice. After settling down that is," she smiled in memory. "he was quite a popular fellow. Always helping others, never shying away from chores and work."

"So that's how he got into the situation in which he vanished?"

Rebecca nodded as she put down the sewing, glancing outside. There was still a few candlemarks till lunch would need to be started. "Aye, some of the locals started having problems with the livestock vanishing and such. One family even packed up and moved back into town cause of it." She stood up and moved around some. "My Baily and several others volunteered to go after the nasties that were causing the problems. They spent the next several weeks tracking the critters down, only coming back to restock their supplies and check on the news."

Phantom nodded and stood up also. "We can continue as you do what ever chore needs to be done. I'm willing to give you a hand as you do so." Before the widow could continue Phantom shook her head. "I learn from watching and you gain extra help."

Rebecca just shook her head, finding this drow to be rather odd. But considering she never meet any drow at all before this, she had nothing to judge by. "Nothing exciting about doing laundry or fixing a meal."

"No, but it's useful for when I'm out in the wilds without anyone about to show me how or do it for me," Phantom chuckled. "There are many adventurers out there now that have no clue how to fix a tear in their clothes, prepare an edible mean or even wash clothes properly. They just come into a town with a pouch full of coins and expect to pay for the services. While that is nice in the fact one earns money and the other does not have to do anything, it can become habit forming."

Rebecca thought it over a moment. Indeed she had a point. "Suite yourself then," the widow commented as she headed towards the kitchen. First was to get lunch started as well as prepare supper for the night.

"Tomorrow I need to go to the marketplace and shop. The lauder is getting a bit bare," Rebecca said as she looked it over.

"I need to do some looking myself. Do you mind if I accompany you?" Phantom asked.

Rebecca thought a moment and shrugged. "No, not at all, other then the obvious you're a drow."

Phantom smiled. "Then they will either refuse to sell to me or try and raise the price, or lower the prices drastically in fear of me." She just shrugged.

Rebecca nodded, then shrugged once more. "But right now, you can help with the clothes." And out the back door she went, with a grin. "You can carry the basket of wet things as I hang them up. But first I need to pull the dry clothes off the line, then wring out the next batch to be hung up." She nodded to a covered shed like area. "You can either stir the tub of clothes or scrub them then, once the water is heated up properly. But first, I need the fire started and the water pumped into the tub."

Phantom looked at the arrangement. There was some strange arrangement of tubs lined up. Four in all with one higher then the next, the last being the longest. At the tallest one, which as it turned out, was made of metal, was set above a fire kiln and had something that looked like a blacksmith bellows next to it. Off to the side was some sort of press like thing that had two rollers and a crank with a small tub below it. "What is all that stuff?"

"Baily knew the Gnome that set this up for us. They traveled together once. See that handle? You just move it up and down to bring up the water from the well, it fills the pot where I heat the water. The top tub is where I rinse the clothes out, the next one down is the soaking tub, the next after that is the scrubbing tub."

"And that thing?" Phantom asked.

"That's the wringer. You take the clean wet cloths and run them through the press as you crank the handle. But watch out, the stone rollers are heavy enough to bruise if your not careful."

Phantom eyed it again then nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Rebecca moved under the covered shed and pointed at the etched line inside the pot. "Fill it to here please. It will take it a little bit to get hot again."

"And what about the last one?" Phantom asked as she started pumping the water.

"That one is where the dirty water settles before I let it out into the yard trough to be used in watering the garden. For some reason the plants grow like crazy using it." Rebecca started empting the water from the scrub tub, then stoppered it. From there she went up the line. "This whole thing use to be steam powered but wouldn't work half the time. That is until Baily re-worked it some. Now with a little physical labor, it works all the time."

Phantom nodded as she finished filling the pot. It wasn't as difficult as a blacksmith's bellows, but still as repetitive. A good warm up if nothing else. "Want me to turn the wringer crank?" she gestured to the handle.

"Please, that way things gets done faster. And I don't have to spend all day trying to keep it moving smoothly and not get the clothes caught in it!" Rebecca said with a chuckle. "I've had to back it up many a time cause the legs of a pair of pants gets coiled up in it or a shirt sleeve" she shook her head.

Phantom just chuckled at the image that came to mind. Unlike the pump, this took a little effort to get moving. Once things were ready to hang up, Phantom carried the basket full of wet clothes while Rebecca carried the empty one for the dry clothes.

"So, in a dragon's shell, your husband was an adventurer, then a caravan guard, he then decided to settle down, wooed and wed you, became a friend to everyone he meet and went off to help get rid of some monsters lurking about, then vanished," Phantom summed up everything in a few short sentences.

"Hmm aye, that would be it." Rebecca said as she sorted though the dry, almost dry and still damp clothes on the line.

"Alright. Now tell me about the Councilman from this morning, Toras I believe his name was," Phantom said.

Rebecca screwed up her face in a look of disgust. "That that ooooo.. I don't have a word to describe him."

Phantom just grinned. "Iblith," she supplied.

"Iblith?"

"Iblith. It means excretement, dung, manure, scat, muck, droppings. Take your pick. Any way you look at it, it describes something that comes out the hind end of an animal and has little value or use to anyone," supplied a melodious voice from behind the pair.

Phantom turned slightly, eyebrow arched, but just because she was unarmed, did not mean she was without weapons.

Rebecca turned and grinned, "Robyns!" then set her basket down and moved to give the person a hug. "It's been a long time since you were here. Are you staying long? Is your companions with you?" More would have been asked or said but the children's voices interrupted anything else the adults would have said.

"Uncle Robyns!" said in unison as the pair made a mad dash over to the man, wrapping their arms about him and hugging him.

"Well you two have certainly grown," he returned the hugs. He then glanced at Phantom, curios as to why a Drow would be above ground, here in the town, and have the brightest red hair ever seen. "Was I correct?"

Phantom tilted her head to the side a moment then nodded. "Indeed."

Rebecca just laughed. "You keep your Bard's curiosity to yourself Robyns. For now at least and help with the rest of this. Jensy, Nadal. Take your uncle's things up to his normal room then get cleaned up. As soon as we're finished, we can have lunch."

The children sighed then nodded, but knew the afternoon chores were put off till tomorrow. Grabbing his packs, they headed into the house.

In less time then it would normally take, the first batch of laundry was put in a basket to be folded, the second was on the line and the third was soaking. Lunch was had and the group retired to the main room to catch up on everything.