Chapter 5:
Plans in Motion
The very next morning Khalid and Jaheira left for Athkatla, and Haer'Dalis left to go find Saemon Havarian. The bard's task was a distinctly more difficult one, but Brynn was confident that if anyone could manage it, it would be Haer'Dalis. With the three of them gone the keep was a little quieter, but not by much. The very walls seemed to be almost vibrating with the excitement of the Blades as they prepared for their newest adventure.
Brynn was so excited she felt a little jittery, so to calm herself she indulged in a longer than normal practice session with her swords on the lawn outside the keep. Eyes close to the morning sun, she gracefully moved through a series of exercises, a kata. Each movement was like a dance, or a work of art, or a poem perhaps; it was meant to be beautiful, but also meant to prepare the body, and, equally as important, prepare the mind, for a battle. When she was through she went through the kata again, working to perfect the flex of every muscle, to cut with the perfect force and dexterity, to flow through each movement like water. By the third time through, sweat was pouring down her forehead, slicking her long hair to her back and her sleeveless tunic and her leggings to her skin. Her eyes stung because sweat had seeped into them even though they were closed, and sweat made her grip on the hilts of her katanas hard to manage. She kept going anyway.
She felt the position of the sun shift slowly as she practice, from directly in her face to above her head, and at last she stopped. Her knees threatened to give way, and she sat down hard on the grass, breathing hard. At last she opened her eyes and wiped the sweat from her face with her forearm. She leaned backward, resting her head on the ground, and closed her eyes again, willing her heart and breathing to slow, and after a while they obeyed her.
Finally she got to her feet again, feeling refreshed and focused. The usual onlookers, guards leaning against the castle walls as they passed by on their patrols, maids who were going about their chores, had gathered to watch their Lady practice, and Brynn smiled at them and waved them onto their business. Ashamed that they had been staring, they hurried off.
Sometimes others waited patiently on the grass nearby for Brynn to finish her daily practice routine. Not even Yoshimo dared bother Brynn for anything less than an invasion while she was practicing her katas. It was her one time to be truly alone with herself, and she treasured the privacy. Today, Brynn's major domo waited for her, looking vaguely off put for being made to wait longer than usual, and coming across the drawbridge was Imoen.
Brynn scooped up her tunic from the grass beneath a nearby tree and dried herself as best she could with it, then put it on. "Something going on?" she asked the major domo.
The major domo sniffed, something he habitually did before speaking, and said, "Yes, my lady, it seems that several of the farmers are requesting an audience with you... after you change and bathe of course."
Brynn shook her head. "I won't make them wait for me," she said. She smelled her tunic and under tunic. "I don't stink too badly, so I don't think they'll mind."
The major domo's cheek twitched briefly. "As you wish, my lady. Please follow me."
As they passed by Imoen on the way into the keep, Brynn smiled at her sister and called out, "Something you need?"
Imoen fell into step next to Brynn. "Just to talk to you about these disguises. It can wait until whatever you're doing gets done."
Brynn nodded. "Could you run and get Nalia for me? If I'm ever going to hand this keep over to her she's got to learn how to run it. Tell her I'll be in the grand hall."
"Right!" Imoen said. She dashed into courtyard, up the stairs to the second floor entrance and into the castle.
"There are servants for that, my lady," the major domo said. "There is no need for the Lady Imoen..."
"Imoen doesn't seem to mind. She likes to run," Brynn replied. "Besides, there were no servants right here to ask."
"Very good, my lady," the major domo said, sniffing indifferently.
Inside the grand hall two men, twins if the way one's features exactly mirrored the other's were any clue, were waiting for Brynn.
"Presenting the Lady Brynn Trueblade," the major domo said grandly. "My lady this is Norbet and this Nolson, farmers."
Brynn waved him away and gestured for both of them men to have a seat. "So, please tell me what the problem is gentlemen."
Both men began at the same time.
"Well, ye see m'lady..."
"It's like this, m'lady..."
They stopped and glared at one another.
"You first er... Norbet," Brynn said, pointing to the man on the right.
Norbet smirked at Nolson. "Well, m'lady, this berk's cows broke through the fence 'tween our two farms an' ruined me crops. Et all me carrots n' all me squash, they did!"
"Aye, berk, but yer bloody fence cut me cows up," Nolson rebutted angrily. He turned beseeching eyes on Brynn. "I 'ad to butcher one 'o me best dairy cows. Now 'e wants me t'pay fer his crops, but 'e won't pay fer my cattle!"
"T'was yer job to make sure the fence was built proper!" Norbet growled. "So's yer fault yer damn cows got hurt."
"T'was not me job to keep the fence proper, t'was yourn!" Nolson accused.
"Twas not!"
"T'was so!"
Brynn interrupted. "Aren't the two of you ashamed to be arguing like children? You're brothers, aren't you? Why aren't you able to work this out on your own?"
"How'd ye know we were brothers?" Nolson and Norbet asked at the same time, both wearing the same expression of awe.
Brynn sighed. "Never mind that," she said. "What I want to know is why you had to bring this to me."
"'E won't pay fer me cows until I pay for 'is crops!"
"'E won't pay fer me crops until I pay for 'is cows!"
Hearing footsteps coming down the wooden stairs into the grand hall, Brynn turned and was relieved to see Nalia coming to join the meeting. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Gentlemen, would you please tell Lady Nalia your complaints."
Both men began at the same time, again.
"One at a time, Norbet, you first," Brynn directed.
So the twin brothers told their story again to Nalia, who seemed just as bothered by their complaints as Brynn. "Why don't you just pay at the same time?" she asked.
"Well, ye see m'lady," Nolson said, grabbing his stained cap and twisting it in his hands, "I shouldn't 'ave t'pay. T'was Norbet's job to keep the fence in good repair."
"T'was not!"
"T'was!"
"T'was n..."
"Quiet!" Brynn ordered.
Norbet and Nolson were very, very quiet.
"Now, it seems to me that both of you are equally at fault," Brynn continued calmly. "No matter what, both of you were responsible for that fence, and therefore both of you are responsible for the damages to the other's property. If you didn't want Nolson's cows in your fields, then you would have seen to the fence," she said to Norbet, "and if you didn't want your cows to get injured you would have seen to the fence too," she added to Nolson. "Wouldn't you agree, Nalia?"
Nalia nodded. "Yes," she said.
"And what would you suggest I do, Nalia?" Brynn asked her.
"Well, I would have some independent party assess the value of the lost crops and livestock, and have them cover the cost," Nalia said carefully, her forehead knotted with thought. "Next, I would have both men pay for the replacement of the fence equally and have them work together to build a new one, then require both to insure it's upkeep for as long as they share that property line."
Brynn smiled. "Exactly what I was thinking." She turned to the two farmers. "Now, hear my judgment!"
Nolson and Norbet stood up very straight and looked very solemn. "Yes m'lady!" they said in unison.
"First off I will assign an independent investigator to assess the damage to each of your property," Brynn said. "Next, Norbet will pay in full the cost of the damage to Nolson's cows, and Nolson will pay in full the cost of the damage to Norbet's crops. Third, both of you will pay for a replacement fence and work together to build it and maintain it, taking equal responsibility for all repairs and damage done to it for as long as you share that property line. Do you understand?"
"Yes m'lady!"
"Good. I wish you both the best of luck," Brynn told them.
Each feeling satisfied, Nolson and Norbet allowed the major domo to escort them to the door.
Brynn turned to Nalia. "Good job," she told the young human mage. "I'll be turning the keep over to you in no time at all."
Nalia merely smiled, and Brynn wondered what exactly that meant. After all, didn't Nalia want to take over running her own keep at some point? Or did she just expect Brynn to take care of it forever? Brynn decided that was a question best left to time when she didn't have so many other things to be doing.
"Nalia, do you think you could tell one of the maids to find Imoen and tell her to meet me in the office?" Brynn asked. "She had something she wanted to talk to me about before I got busy taking care of keep business."
"Oh yes! That!" Nalia exclaimed. "I can tell you if you want."
Brynn thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Sure, if Imoen has something to add I'll catch up to her later."
Nalia nodded. "You see, Brynn, we were discussing the disguises this morning, and it's a very complicated business. After all, it's not easy to make one of us look, sound and act like someone from Wa, not without much more magic than we have the time for."
Brynn said, "I know, I have no clue how we're going to ever be able to pass a big oaf like Minsc off."
Nalia gave Brynn a look of agreement. "Precisely. Besides, so much magic would be obvious to anyone with the means to detect it, so Imoen, Dynaheir, Aerie and I came up with an idea or two. Firstly, we can use an illusion spell to make everyone looking like they belong in Kara-Tur, and another spell can be used to translate what we say and what is said to us."
"Sounds like a plan," Brynn told her. "What's the next part?"
"Well, this is where it gets... tricky," Nalia said. "As you know the customs of Wa are distinctly different that the customs of the Sword Coast, and no illusion spell can mask a serious social error of the kind we would all undoubtedly commit. This means that we all need to be taught in short order everything that a native of Wa would have been taught from childhood."
"Thank the gods we have to natives of Wa on hand," Brynn said with a lopsided smile.
"Exactly," Nalia confirmed. "We can use magic to change the physical aspects of the Blades, but I believe a intense study of the traditions and customs of Wa is in order."
"Anything more?"
Nalia shrugged. "A couple of things," she said. "We're going to need appropriate clothing, that sort of thing is hard to manage perfectly with illusions, and I think when Haer'Dalis gets back we will all need acting lessons so that we don't unconsciously betray our foreign origins."
"Definitely. I agree completely," Brynn said. She clapped Nalia on the shoulder. "Thanks for all the effort you're putting into this."
Nalia smiled at her. "It's no problem, we have a mission to accomplish."
"I know," Brynn said to her, "but it really isn't your mission, it's mine and Touga's, so I'm glad that you're willing to help out."
Nalia raised an eyebrow. "We're the Blades of Honor, and you're our fearless leader, Brynn. Your mission is our mission, and like you said to Touga we're a team." She sighed. "Speaking of mission, I'll go find Imoen and tell her that I've talked to you." She grinned and walked up the stairs and out of the great hall.
Brynn stood where she was for a moment, and then she too left the hall. Nalia's right, she thought, even I said it was their mission too, but for some reason I just can't shake the feeling that maybe I shouldn't be getting everyone involved. This is, after all a personal favor from me to Master Touga. But then, she decided after a moment, I'm really going to need everyone when push comes to shove. Brynn considered the matter as she walked up to her office on the keep's upper floor, knowing somehow that she had made the right choice -the only choice- in deciding that this mission to Wa was something all the Blades should be involved in.
But something's going to go wrong, her mind whispered to her. Don't be silly, something always goes wrong, she chided herself. Something always goes wrong, and this time will be no different. All we can do is prepare ourselves so that when that something does go wrong we'll be ready.
To Be Continued ____________________________________________________________________________ __ I'm so unbelieveably sorry that loading this chapter took so long! I've been so busy getting ready to go to college in the fall that getting this chapter up kind of got put on the back burner. I've also been away from my computer for a lot of the time this summer -I went with my sister to her college in New Hampshire at the end of June, and then was up at my cottage on and off all July. Then, when I finally had the chapter the way I wanted it, I had trouble getting it to upload in html format. Arrrrgh! Hopefully the next chapters will arrive more regularly than this one did!
Thanks for your patience The Blue Sorceress
The very next morning Khalid and Jaheira left for Athkatla, and Haer'Dalis left to go find Saemon Havarian. The bard's task was a distinctly more difficult one, but Brynn was confident that if anyone could manage it, it would be Haer'Dalis. With the three of them gone the keep was a little quieter, but not by much. The very walls seemed to be almost vibrating with the excitement of the Blades as they prepared for their newest adventure.
Brynn was so excited she felt a little jittery, so to calm herself she indulged in a longer than normal practice session with her swords on the lawn outside the keep. Eyes close to the morning sun, she gracefully moved through a series of exercises, a kata. Each movement was like a dance, or a work of art, or a poem perhaps; it was meant to be beautiful, but also meant to prepare the body, and, equally as important, prepare the mind, for a battle. When she was through she went through the kata again, working to perfect the flex of every muscle, to cut with the perfect force and dexterity, to flow through each movement like water. By the third time through, sweat was pouring down her forehead, slicking her long hair to her back and her sleeveless tunic and her leggings to her skin. Her eyes stung because sweat had seeped into them even though they were closed, and sweat made her grip on the hilts of her katanas hard to manage. She kept going anyway.
She felt the position of the sun shift slowly as she practice, from directly in her face to above her head, and at last she stopped. Her knees threatened to give way, and she sat down hard on the grass, breathing hard. At last she opened her eyes and wiped the sweat from her face with her forearm. She leaned backward, resting her head on the ground, and closed her eyes again, willing her heart and breathing to slow, and after a while they obeyed her.
Finally she got to her feet again, feeling refreshed and focused. The usual onlookers, guards leaning against the castle walls as they passed by on their patrols, maids who were going about their chores, had gathered to watch their Lady practice, and Brynn smiled at them and waved them onto their business. Ashamed that they had been staring, they hurried off.
Sometimes others waited patiently on the grass nearby for Brynn to finish her daily practice routine. Not even Yoshimo dared bother Brynn for anything less than an invasion while she was practicing her katas. It was her one time to be truly alone with herself, and she treasured the privacy. Today, Brynn's major domo waited for her, looking vaguely off put for being made to wait longer than usual, and coming across the drawbridge was Imoen.
Brynn scooped up her tunic from the grass beneath a nearby tree and dried herself as best she could with it, then put it on. "Something going on?" she asked the major domo.
The major domo sniffed, something he habitually did before speaking, and said, "Yes, my lady, it seems that several of the farmers are requesting an audience with you... after you change and bathe of course."
Brynn shook her head. "I won't make them wait for me," she said. She smelled her tunic and under tunic. "I don't stink too badly, so I don't think they'll mind."
The major domo's cheek twitched briefly. "As you wish, my lady. Please follow me."
As they passed by Imoen on the way into the keep, Brynn smiled at her sister and called out, "Something you need?"
Imoen fell into step next to Brynn. "Just to talk to you about these disguises. It can wait until whatever you're doing gets done."
Brynn nodded. "Could you run and get Nalia for me? If I'm ever going to hand this keep over to her she's got to learn how to run it. Tell her I'll be in the grand hall."
"Right!" Imoen said. She dashed into courtyard, up the stairs to the second floor entrance and into the castle.
"There are servants for that, my lady," the major domo said. "There is no need for the Lady Imoen..."
"Imoen doesn't seem to mind. She likes to run," Brynn replied. "Besides, there were no servants right here to ask."
"Very good, my lady," the major domo said, sniffing indifferently.
Inside the grand hall two men, twins if the way one's features exactly mirrored the other's were any clue, were waiting for Brynn.
"Presenting the Lady Brynn Trueblade," the major domo said grandly. "My lady this is Norbet and this Nolson, farmers."
Brynn waved him away and gestured for both of them men to have a seat. "So, please tell me what the problem is gentlemen."
Both men began at the same time.
"Well, ye see m'lady..."
"It's like this, m'lady..."
They stopped and glared at one another.
"You first er... Norbet," Brynn said, pointing to the man on the right.
Norbet smirked at Nolson. "Well, m'lady, this berk's cows broke through the fence 'tween our two farms an' ruined me crops. Et all me carrots n' all me squash, they did!"
"Aye, berk, but yer bloody fence cut me cows up," Nolson rebutted angrily. He turned beseeching eyes on Brynn. "I 'ad to butcher one 'o me best dairy cows. Now 'e wants me t'pay fer his crops, but 'e won't pay fer my cattle!"
"T'was yer job to make sure the fence was built proper!" Norbet growled. "So's yer fault yer damn cows got hurt."
"T'was not me job to keep the fence proper, t'was yourn!" Nolson accused.
"Twas not!"
"T'was so!"
Brynn interrupted. "Aren't the two of you ashamed to be arguing like children? You're brothers, aren't you? Why aren't you able to work this out on your own?"
"How'd ye know we were brothers?" Nolson and Norbet asked at the same time, both wearing the same expression of awe.
Brynn sighed. "Never mind that," she said. "What I want to know is why you had to bring this to me."
"'E won't pay fer me cows until I pay for 'is crops!"
"'E won't pay fer me crops until I pay for 'is cows!"
Hearing footsteps coming down the wooden stairs into the grand hall, Brynn turned and was relieved to see Nalia coming to join the meeting. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Gentlemen, would you please tell Lady Nalia your complaints."
Both men began at the same time, again.
"One at a time, Norbet, you first," Brynn directed.
So the twin brothers told their story again to Nalia, who seemed just as bothered by their complaints as Brynn. "Why don't you just pay at the same time?" she asked.
"Well, ye see m'lady," Nolson said, grabbing his stained cap and twisting it in his hands, "I shouldn't 'ave t'pay. T'was Norbet's job to keep the fence in good repair."
"T'was not!"
"T'was!"
"T'was n..."
"Quiet!" Brynn ordered.
Norbet and Nolson were very, very quiet.
"Now, it seems to me that both of you are equally at fault," Brynn continued calmly. "No matter what, both of you were responsible for that fence, and therefore both of you are responsible for the damages to the other's property. If you didn't want Nolson's cows in your fields, then you would have seen to the fence," she said to Norbet, "and if you didn't want your cows to get injured you would have seen to the fence too," she added to Nolson. "Wouldn't you agree, Nalia?"
Nalia nodded. "Yes," she said.
"And what would you suggest I do, Nalia?" Brynn asked her.
"Well, I would have some independent party assess the value of the lost crops and livestock, and have them cover the cost," Nalia said carefully, her forehead knotted with thought. "Next, I would have both men pay for the replacement of the fence equally and have them work together to build a new one, then require both to insure it's upkeep for as long as they share that property line."
Brynn smiled. "Exactly what I was thinking." She turned to the two farmers. "Now, hear my judgment!"
Nolson and Norbet stood up very straight and looked very solemn. "Yes m'lady!" they said in unison.
"First off I will assign an independent investigator to assess the damage to each of your property," Brynn said. "Next, Norbet will pay in full the cost of the damage to Nolson's cows, and Nolson will pay in full the cost of the damage to Norbet's crops. Third, both of you will pay for a replacement fence and work together to build it and maintain it, taking equal responsibility for all repairs and damage done to it for as long as you share that property line. Do you understand?"
"Yes m'lady!"
"Good. I wish you both the best of luck," Brynn told them.
Each feeling satisfied, Nolson and Norbet allowed the major domo to escort them to the door.
Brynn turned to Nalia. "Good job," she told the young human mage. "I'll be turning the keep over to you in no time at all."
Nalia merely smiled, and Brynn wondered what exactly that meant. After all, didn't Nalia want to take over running her own keep at some point? Or did she just expect Brynn to take care of it forever? Brynn decided that was a question best left to time when she didn't have so many other things to be doing.
"Nalia, do you think you could tell one of the maids to find Imoen and tell her to meet me in the office?" Brynn asked. "She had something she wanted to talk to me about before I got busy taking care of keep business."
"Oh yes! That!" Nalia exclaimed. "I can tell you if you want."
Brynn thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Sure, if Imoen has something to add I'll catch up to her later."
Nalia nodded. "You see, Brynn, we were discussing the disguises this morning, and it's a very complicated business. After all, it's not easy to make one of us look, sound and act like someone from Wa, not without much more magic than we have the time for."
Brynn said, "I know, I have no clue how we're going to ever be able to pass a big oaf like Minsc off."
Nalia gave Brynn a look of agreement. "Precisely. Besides, so much magic would be obvious to anyone with the means to detect it, so Imoen, Dynaheir, Aerie and I came up with an idea or two. Firstly, we can use an illusion spell to make everyone looking like they belong in Kara-Tur, and another spell can be used to translate what we say and what is said to us."
"Sounds like a plan," Brynn told her. "What's the next part?"
"Well, this is where it gets... tricky," Nalia said. "As you know the customs of Wa are distinctly different that the customs of the Sword Coast, and no illusion spell can mask a serious social error of the kind we would all undoubtedly commit. This means that we all need to be taught in short order everything that a native of Wa would have been taught from childhood."
"Thank the gods we have to natives of Wa on hand," Brynn said with a lopsided smile.
"Exactly," Nalia confirmed. "We can use magic to change the physical aspects of the Blades, but I believe a intense study of the traditions and customs of Wa is in order."
"Anything more?"
Nalia shrugged. "A couple of things," she said. "We're going to need appropriate clothing, that sort of thing is hard to manage perfectly with illusions, and I think when Haer'Dalis gets back we will all need acting lessons so that we don't unconsciously betray our foreign origins."
"Definitely. I agree completely," Brynn said. She clapped Nalia on the shoulder. "Thanks for all the effort you're putting into this."
Nalia smiled at her. "It's no problem, we have a mission to accomplish."
"I know," Brynn said to her, "but it really isn't your mission, it's mine and Touga's, so I'm glad that you're willing to help out."
Nalia raised an eyebrow. "We're the Blades of Honor, and you're our fearless leader, Brynn. Your mission is our mission, and like you said to Touga we're a team." She sighed. "Speaking of mission, I'll go find Imoen and tell her that I've talked to you." She grinned and walked up the stairs and out of the great hall.
Brynn stood where she was for a moment, and then she too left the hall. Nalia's right, she thought, even I said it was their mission too, but for some reason I just can't shake the feeling that maybe I shouldn't be getting everyone involved. This is, after all a personal favor from me to Master Touga. But then, she decided after a moment, I'm really going to need everyone when push comes to shove. Brynn considered the matter as she walked up to her office on the keep's upper floor, knowing somehow that she had made the right choice -the only choice- in deciding that this mission to Wa was something all the Blades should be involved in.
But something's going to go wrong, her mind whispered to her. Don't be silly, something always goes wrong, she chided herself. Something always goes wrong, and this time will be no different. All we can do is prepare ourselves so that when that something does go wrong we'll be ready.
To Be Continued ____________________________________________________________________________ __ I'm so unbelieveably sorry that loading this chapter took so long! I've been so busy getting ready to go to college in the fall that getting this chapter up kind of got put on the back burner. I've also been away from my computer for a lot of the time this summer -I went with my sister to her college in New Hampshire at the end of June, and then was up at my cottage on and off all July. Then, when I finally had the chapter the way I wanted it, I had trouble getting it to upload in html format. Arrrrgh! Hopefully the next chapters will arrive more regularly than this one did!
Thanks for your patience The Blue Sorceress