*Blinks* Oi…school needs to end already. Anyways, much apologies for the wait, it was out of my hands. Please enjoy your chapter, and all that Jazz…yeah.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Gwen came darting into the band room, a French horn in one hand and a Baritone in the other. "She left me behind!!" she wailed, her short, wavy, black/brown hair bouncing up and down as she ran into the locker room and stuffed both instruments into their appropriate lockers. "Manda's gonna kill me for being late to help and Brenna forgot her instrument as WELL as to wake me this morning…so I had to go back and get that…"
"Easy, Gwen," said Jenny, glancing over her shoulder as she finished piling her shoes, markers, and flute into her locker. Her dark blue shirt highlighted her short, dark brown hair and pale skin with freckles. "Amanda's in a good mood, and you aren't late for practice or anything so I don't know what you were worrying about…"
"I was supposed to help in the uniform room," replied Gwen quickly.
"Lyssa's here," pointed out Jenny. "So they probably didn't even need your help…"
"Where's Brenna and Libby?" asked Nicole, sticking her head in the room all of a sudden. Her hair reached her shoulder, brown and curly as Brenna's when she wanted it to be. Short and skinny, she looked like she should be a freshman instead of a graduated senior.
"Obviously not here," said Gwen, locking her locker with a 'snap'. "Probably by the uniform room with Amanda. Come on, I have to go find them too." They went together to the uniform room, Gwen taking the lead and opening the door to find a young guy looking up from a leather book that Jenny was sure she'd seen sometime before.
"Jack!" yelled Gwen, going and grabbing his collar as he looked up in surprise. "What are you doing in here?! You know only uniform people are allowed!!"
"I came to get my pants hemmed and no one was here, man!" he said, jerking out of her grip and adjusting his gold chain that she'd messed up so it hung right again. His black hair in cornrows, which he checked as well, and skin as dark as Jenny's was pale, he stood out in the crowd of mainly white kids that made up their band. "It ain't my fault 'Manda decided to skip out on her job, y'know." He motioned to the band trousers he was wearing, which went down well over his heals.
"Let him alone, Gwen," said Jenny, "What's that you're holding-"
Jenny was cut off as Nicole tripped into a stool and sent it crashing over, pushing her into Jenny who bumped into Gwen who grabbed Jack's collar and made him drop the book that resulted in the fated flash of light…
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Devan rubbed his hands together as he picked out the spells he wanted to use this time. Nothing ordinary, that was for sure. Hm…a little look changer here…a lost clan there…a shrinker spell and a powerful wind to go with it…
"Getting bored?" asked Grendal as he flipped through the pages of the huge volume, sending up dust with every turn.
"Not in the least," he replied, another wolfish grin adorning his face as he packaged it all up and set them off with a nod. "How could I when things are just starting to get interesting?"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Brenna and Rupal sat across from each other in the kitchen, the table crowded with ledgers and check ledgers and cross ledgers and charts and graphs and every other sort of thing a financial person might use to get a common person to understand what was happening with the money they had.
"See this?" asked Rupal for the thousandth time, holding up a graph that showed how their income and spending varied from month to month. "You understand why we have to save for the winter months because we produce less and buy more during that time?"
"Yes, I get that," replied Brenna, nodding her head slowly.
"Ok." Rupal sighed; it had taken an hour just to get that concept across. "And do you understand this chart, which shows how much we spend and make during the summer, also showing the varying amounts we can save?"
"Uh…yeah…" Brenna furrowed her brow. "Sorta…"
"Math was never your strong point, was it?" asked Rupal, feeling like a harassed schoolteacher. "Hey, I grow stuff, I don't sell it," retorted Brenna. "I wouldn't even NEED to know this stuff if the tax people didn't insist that I do the finance stuff with them instead of you."
"That's only because you won't let me co-sign with the farm," countered Rupal. "Let me do that, and I can all make it go away…"
Brenna pouted. "But I wanna own the farm…"
"It's not like I'm going to sell it or anything," muttered Rupal. "Anyways, here's how much we made since we came here, this is what we gave already, and this is what we still owe." She showed three figures to Brenna in succession. "They may ask to see our crop ledgers, that's the brown and black book. If they want to see our tax records, it's the two red books. One's the regular, the other's the double check of it. I do the first one, and Cheeks or Libby usually does the second. If they don't balance the same, or the people see any discrepancies call one of us three and we'll work it out for you."
"Ok, the brown, the black, and the two reds," repeated Brenna, hoping she could commit it all to memory. "What we made, what we gave, and what we still owe, right? Ok, I can do this…"
"Good," replied Rupal. "Because we're screwed if you can't. People who screw with their taxes get put in jail and their property sold."
Brenna turned an interesting shade of red/white. Red for her anger, and white from fear of being accused unfairly.
"Moving on," said Rupal shortly. "This is our file of receipts, in dated order, here's a copy of them in amount order, and here's another copy in Alphabetical order by the name of the person who collected it, ok? Each one is labeled Dated, Amount, or By Name. Can you remember that?"
"Dated, Amount or By Name," repeated Brenna; trying to keep up with everything she was saying. "Files of tax receipts, just in case they want to check them against their records."
"Exactly." Rupal rummaged through the papers, coming up with a thick, bound leather book. "And this is the Master Records."
Brenna looked at the thing in awe. It had to be half a foot thick at the least, as big as her history book and as heavy as two. "Master Records?"
"It has a reference to everything in here," went on Rupal, showing her the 100-page index. "A cross-section of all amounts made, a transactions made, all acquired property records, and the like. You have to have a thorough knowledge of it before the meeting, because they might want to see something and you'll have to show them the exact page…"
"Here's the deed, sign here, and go to the meeting for me," said Brenna, whipping out the deed and a pen before getting Rupal to sign it and putting it in the master ledger book. "Ok, yea…bye." And she disappeared.
Rupal chuckled to herself as she put all the books and ledgers away, keeping out only a single piece of paper. She went to the door just as the usual tax collector came by. Showing him the single, signed paper with the deed, he nodded and accepted her bag of coins before moving on.
"That's that," she said to herself, dusting her hands and going back into the house. "Now where did Kaitlin hide those cookies…"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Nicole shook her head as she slowly came to, Jenny calling her name from somewhere nearby. But where, she couldn't focus on anything. Moving slowly, she got to her feet and realized she had a staff in her hands. Looking at it, she realized something else. Her white skin was now a chocolate brown…
"AHHH!!"
"Huh??"
Nicole felt something wrap around her and pick her up, but was so absorbed with trying to figure out what had happened she didn't even realize it until she was brought even with a really, really large face…
"I found her, I think," said a familiar voice, the face as dark as hers. Two other faces joined it, each just as large and as dark. One of them she recognized. "Jack??! Where are we, what happened?!" She paused for a moment. "And when did you get so big?!"
"I'm not big," he replied, glancing at the other two. "You just got really, really small…"
"Say what?!"
"Dude," said Gwen, the large face she'd seen at first. "You're, like, six inches tall. And maybe not even that…"
"No I'm not!"
"Then why are you as big as my hand?" asked Gwen. Nicole looked down, realizing for the first time just who it was who'd picked her up.
"Oh my gosh…oh my gosh, no…"
"Breath, Nicole," said Jenny, who was the other face. "Breath, we need you with us right now, believe me, because I do not want to haul your six inch hide back to your mother…"
"I'm breathing," Nicole retorted, sitting with her head in her hands. "Why am I six inches tall and black? Will someone PLEASE explain this to me, because I am so incredibly lost…"
Jenny sat down on a log, Gwen sitting beside her and setting Nicole on her leg while Jack before them on the ground. "I think," she said carefully. "That we've been sent to another world." Her voice had a hopeful note to it, one Nicole had never heard before.
"What's so good about that?" she asked grumpily. "And how do you know? Has some wizard blasted your mind with all this knowledge or something?!"
"No, but…look. A year or so ago, me and Alyse and Amanda and Brenna and a bunch of others where sent to another realm all together…in one of Tamora Pierce's books," said Jenny, trying to explain it to them as clearing as possible.
"Tamora Pierce…" said Jack to himself. "That was the name of the author on the cover…"
"Then it was the same," said Jenny to herself with a grin. "Or at least…well, do you remember the title, Jack? Anything about it at all??"
"Something about Circle of Magic this or that," he replied lightly. "Not that I much cared, but it looked interesting and I had gotten bored reading so I figured there was no harm in looking it over…"
"Circle of Magic?!" cried Nicole as Jenny's face fell. "You mean to tell me we are in THE Circle of Magic?" She looked at all three of them, realizing each bore a staff with the same family symbols on it. "Holy cow, you guys, we're Traders…"
Gwen looked entirely confused. "Huh? All I know is I'm the opposite of Michael Jackson…"
"We're what?" asked Jack, finally decided he wanted some answers. "Alright, now that someone knows WHERE we are, will you explain it to me and how exactly we're going to get home?"
"I don't know!" cried Gwen, holding still only because Nicole was sitting on her lap. "It wasn't me, I swear!! Although, I do admit that the idea of being wherever we are rather than at home is rather appealing right about now…"
"I'll explain it as best I can," said Jenny, standing and straightening her tunic out of habit. She was dressed in sea boots, leggings, a full shirt and light tunic. All of it was in russet and light blue colors, an odd mixture of dark and light at the hems of her tunic where it was embroidered. Her ebony staff was similar to the others, the only different being a wave of wire at the edge of the top, signifying something but what she had no idea.
Nicole and Jack were dressed the same, his cornrows still in place and gold chain tucked under his shirt. His, hers, and Gwen's staff were exactly alike, with winds and a bird flitting across on opposite sides. Gwen's clothes were different though, a simple but sturdy skirt with a long sleeved, full shirt that would allow her to move freely and a sash about it all. Around her shoulders was a short cape, with a hood that could be laced against the sea's high winds.
"You had the book," she said carefully, pointing at Jack. "It's a portal to another, realm, ok? When the book closes, everyone in contact with it is sucked in…"
"But how do we get home?" he asked, cutting in on whatever she had to say next. "A brother can't leave a lovely thang like Lylia hangin', y'know. She and I gotta date tonight."
"You'll get to that date," promised Jenny. "It just might take you…say…four years or so."
"FOUR YEAR?!" Jack went off on a round of curses and oaths that would make sailors blush, Gwen paying close attention for later usage.
"Listen to me!" cried Jenny. "This is how it works, ok? Just a rough version, but, yeah. We do whatever the path laid out for us requires, live our lives and eventually meet up with the others, and then go home."
"What others?" asked Nicole, perking up some.
"There will be others who were sucked in," said Jenny confidently. "And one pair specifically chosen just to find us all and bring us all together."
"What happens then?" asked Jack suspiciously. "You said I'd make my date, Jen, but I'm not seeing how here."
"We go back to the exact time we were brought in," explained Jenny. "Or, sometime near to it. Just relax, Jack, you'll get home…eventually."
"Eventually," he replied. "Great, that's just great, now I gotta wait some 5 years before I can get it on with my honey and you're telling me everything's going to be fine?! What are you on, girl, crack? You been smoking some joints or something?!"
"Jenny!" cried Gwen with a pout. "If you're going to do that, the least you could do is share…"
"Enough!" cried Nicole. "Look, I see coins in Jenny's purse, and a sign right there that says there's a town down the road. Let's go there, talk it over some food, and get a room for the night." She glanced around the darkening sky. "I don't fancy sleeping under the stars much…"
"And I agree with her," said Jenny, helping Gwen to her feet and looking at Nicole for a moment. "Hey, Nicole, why don't you hide in a pocket or something? Even here, people can't normally be six inches tall…"
"Do I have to?" whined Nicole, pouting slightly.
"Yes, you do," replied Gwen, scooping her up and sticking her in her pouch. "See? Nice and cozy…"
"I'm going to kill you for this later!" yelled Nicole as they flap closed on her.
Gwen laughed. "I'd like to see you try, sweety, seeing as any implement of destruction that would be worth using is bigger than you…"
"Aw, the mini-short stuff having some trouble being so small?" said Jack sarcastically, swinging his staff over his shoulders and walking off after Jenny.
"Shove it, Jack!"
He just laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. "Not likely, squirt."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Randy stuck his tongue out in concentration as he stared at the rope before him, formulating the picture of fire in his mind. He formed it in his hand, feeling the heat that radiated from it but wouldn't scorch him because it was his creation, then formed it in the air above the rope itself.
Now came the tricky part.
He slowly called the same light and energy that created the fire in the air to come on the rope, to appear and dance as it should without burning the rope or using it as fuel in any way. Bit by bit it appeared, slowly forming on the area he wanted, keeping its heat and energy within itself and feeding off of that…
Randy let his attention slip as a fly landed on his nose and the rope burst into flame, the tabletop going with it as he screamed in pain from his hands getting scorched. Bryanna came running it, grabbing the pail of sand he had by the door for a later experiment and pouring it over the fire since there was no water available.
"You moron," she growled as she put out the last of the flames, turning his attention to his hands once she was finished. "I swear, one of these days…" She grabbed her healer's kit from the corner, Olivia coming in to see what all the commotion was about.
"What's going on?" she asked as she stopped at the door, smelling the burn wood and sand and seeing Randy's burnt hands. "Randy! What did you do to yourself this time?!"
"He was an idiot, that's what," replied Bryanna, having him turn his chair away from the table and towards the bed so she could sit there to do her work.
"I was just trying to get the fire illusion to work," he whined, wincing as Bryanna began to smear some cream over his tender skin. "Mmm…it didn't exactly work as planned…"
"No sh-"
"What's going on here?!" cried the Inn keeper, running in with a bucket in either hand. "We smelled smoke down in the common room…"
"It's alright," Olivia quickly assured him. "He just did something he shouldn't have, and we apologize for the damage. Will this cover it?" She pulled out a silver crescent from her pocket, putting it firmly in his hand.
"Yes," he said quickly, backing out of the room and as far from the mages as he could. "I'll just leave these right here in case you need them…" He set the buckets outside the door and hightailed it back down to the main room, away from all forms of magic that he didn't understand.
"You moron!" she ranted at Randy the moment he was gone, Bryanna layering bandages over his hands. "You could've taken down the whole building, had that gotten out of control, what were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking I had it right," he snapped back, getting a smack on his sore hands from Bryanna for moving around too much. "Ow!! Sorry…"
"Don't you ever, EVER do that again, you brainless, impotent son of a bastard's apprentice!!"
"You stole that from the cobbler, didn't you?" remarked Bryanna as she finished up Randy's other hand.
"And if I did?" Olivia glared daggers at her as well.
"Just asking…" She secured the last bandage, holding back the urge to smack him a cross the face because she'd have to heal any bruises she gave him before they went back to their new Teacher, and she didn't feel like wasting the energy. "You do that again, I won't heal you, and you'll be on your own for getting yourself patched up." She packed up her things put the kit away and left, leaving behind a packet of tealeaves to help with the pain.
"And I'll support her entirely," added Olivia, turning to go. "Clean up this mess before we get back, alright? It's your fault it's there, after all…"
"But…I…"
"I SAID CLEAN IT UP!!"
"…yes ma'am…" Randy looked at his bandaged hands with the fingers all put together, then at the mess before him. "Now how am I supposed to do this?"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Amanda and Ben were ushered into a dark hall, the entire thing wreathed in shadows except at the head of the grand table where two forms sat with mage lights around them. With a guard on either side and both armed to the teeth, she wasn't entirely sure she liked what she was seeing right about then.
Silven curled at her neck as they went into the light, her animal eyes having a harder time adjusting as they were looked over by the Master of the Holding.
"You are Briteyes, I presume?" asked a cordial voice, Amanda focusing on the fellow it came from. He looked to be in his mid fifties, and extremely obese with folds of fat enclosing his entire being. Mouse brown hair and eyes, he wasn't exactly handsome, but she'd seen far worse before. "With the youngling Scamp and their amazing squirrel Silven. I must say, I've never liked the rodents, but if you have trained her as they say you have perhaps this one isn't so bad…"
Lyssa twitched her ears and bared her fangs angrily. #Rodent?! Did he just call me a RODENT?!#
"I am," replied Amanda, hushing Silven by putting her hand on her head. "And this is Scamp and Silven." Out of the corner of her mouth, she added, "Just let it go, Silven…"
Lyssa sat back down, grumbling to herself. #Call me a rodent…I'll rodent him if he does it again…#
"I am glad you have accepted my invitation to play," he said demurely, a slight smile gracing his face. "This is my son, Artor, and I am Lord Hemson." The pale blonde beside him nodded his head, a thin lad of 15 or so with a serious face but twinkling brown eyes that made Amanda figure he must not be that bad after all.
"My thanks, Lord Hemson, for the invitation," replied Amanda as protocol demanded; bowing deeply and having Ben do the same.
"I understand you stuck a deal with my trusty servant," said Lord Hemson, motioning as the bald guy from before came out of the shadows. "What is it that I could do that would make you pleased enough with me that you will stay and play for us?"
"I would think a bit of food and rest, as we've just come off a long journey, before we are required to play," replied Amanda quickly. "A full meal afterwards, a place by your hearth to sleep for the night, and enough supplies or money to get us to the next big town so we can get back home."
"Done," he replied instantly. "A bit more demanding…but I supposed you have a right to be if you are as good as you claim…" He grinned oddly. "You, bring these two some bread, cheese, and water." It was done, and not long after the trio prepared to perform.
Benjamin did simple flips and juggling tricks, alternating that with playing the tambourine or flute and singing to Amanda's music. Amanda herself let off playing every once in awhile to do a few tricks for the boy, but seeing he found them only amusing and not amazing as her usual younger crowd did, she stuck to the music and the occasion balancing act with Ben on her shoulders.
Finishing with such an act, Ben jumped into a controlled tumble and rolled a little before coming up on his feet into a bow.
"Bravo! Bravo!!" cried Lord Hemson, his entire being jiggling with laughter as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Goodness, Artor, do you think they've earned their stay for the night?"
"Of course they have, father," he replied, a giant grin coming across his face. "In fact, that is the best birthday performance I have ever had!"
"Thank you," replied Ben, ducking his head in embarrassment.
"Are we settled on the agreement, then?" asked Amanda, more interested on that then anything else.
"Of course," he replied instantly. "I swear on my life, Briteyes, you and your brother are safe and welcome to stay while you're with my walls."
"We appreciate the offer," she replied, feeling Silven curl up on her shoulder again. "But…we need to head home."
"Family?" asked the Lord, raising his brows slightly.
"More business," came the terse reply.
"Of course," he said, dismissing them with a relieved wave of his hand. "My servants will bright you blankets and some more food, and you may sleep by the fire there. Will that do?"
"That will do," replied Ben, grabbing his things and waving once more at the son before going and arranging them the way he liked. "Goodnight, sir, and thanks!
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Jenny glanced around as they walked through the bustling town, blending in with the rest of the people there as well as she had back in Tortal. Gwen and Randy followed close behind, both still unsure about their surroundings, with Nicole hiding on Gwen's shoulder among her hair where she could see without being seen.
"Why are we going this anyways?" asked Jack for the fifth time, picking his breakfast from his teeth with a toothpick while eyeing some pickpockets warily.
"Because I have a feeling this is what we should be doing," sighed Jenny, getting tired of his constant questioning. "It's just a feeling, ok? A pull…like whoever it is who's running this place this time wants us to go this way."
"And what good does that do us if we don't even have enough to get beds and meals tonight?" he retorted.
"Maybe it'll get us that, numbskull," retorted Jenny. She turned and half glared at him, pausing slightly. "Do you know something I don't? A job we might get, or a place we might stay that you have knowledge of that I'm not privy to?" When Jack didn't answer, she turned and started walking again. "Unless you got a better idea, oh wise friend of mine, I'd suggest you pipe down and let me follow this one through."
"Yeah, whatever…"
They came to a large, wooden building with a Trader symbol over the door and a guard on either side. "State your business with the Trader Council," said the one on the right in Trader talk, stepping in their path so Jenny could not enter the building without going by him first.
"We're the remainder of the crew of First Ship Windsor," stated Jenny firmly, not even realizing she'd switched to another language or she'd understood him perfectly without the use of a translator. Jack realized it, and wondered where the name had come from as well, but kept his mouth shut, as he had no idea what was going on at the moment. "My name is Jenny, and I wish to speak with the Judges of the Council on the fate of the other Windsor Ships."
"Enter then, Trader Jenny," said the guard, stepping back briskly. "And wait for your turn to speak with the Council Judges."
"Of course." They filed in, and took a seat among the others, talking among themselves as they waited for their turn.
"You were talking in another language back there," said Jack nervously, running his hands along his chain as he balanced his staff on the wall. "And I understood it, too. What the hell is going on here?"
"It's part of the process," said Jenny carefully. "Though I didn't notice it…was I really?"
"Yep, sounded like a bunch of gabble at first, but my brain just kinda reverted it as I listened," stuck in Gwen with a grin. "It was pretty cool."
"Then the changes aren't in just appearance…"
"And what was with the 'First Ship Windsor' deal?" went on Jack. "What is that, too? Some code name or something?"
"Let me explain," said Nicole, coming out of Gwen's hair and sitting out in the open since they were in a secluded corner for the moment. "Trader's do talk a different language than the rest of the normal people. They speak Imperial, we speak Trader, but since we all can hear and speak both I think that'll work to our advantage. As for the First Ship Windsor thing, I think that's our family name. First Ship means we had the highest ship, the original one of the family, and were probably the head family in the Matriarchal Line. Windsor was probably the Clan name. So, if there were, say, 5 daughters in the original family, then there are five ship Windsors and it would grow with time."
"What's 'Matriarchal' mean?" asked Jack, looking a little suspicious. "Shouldn't that be Patriarchal or something?"
"Nope, most family ties in the Trader world go down the Mother's side," replied Nicole with a saucy smile. "Welcome to a world ruled mainly by women, Jack. Enjoy your stay."
"Are you the crew of the First Ship Windsor?" asked a Trader in robes, Nicole diving back into her hiding spot at his entrance.
"We are," replied Jenny, rising quickly to her feet.
"The Judges will receive you now," he said carefully, walking into the room beyond without waiting for them to follow. Going after him, they found themselves in a large room with Traders sitting in rows of benches all the way up to the front where the judges sat. Five regular Traders and one mirmander, or Trader mage, sat at the front of the room, waiting patiently for them to take their seats at the front and bring before them their complaint, request, or plea.
"State your business with the Council," said the first Trader judge, the chief judge as well as a man, motioning for the scribe to begin his writing. "As well as what Caravan or Ship you are of." Everything was done in Trader talk, and all four were still fairly amazed that they could not only understand but also speak the language as easily as their own.
"We are the First Ship Windsor," replied Jenny firmly, holding out her staff as evidence. The two birds with their bits of wind and the wire edge on hers showed easily in the lamplight. "That should state enough of our business with the Council."
"Jen, what are you doing?!" demanded Jack as a murmur rose from the crowd. "I swear, this is the most messed up thing I've ever done before in my life, including getting high on the school roof last week!"
"The Windsor clan was wiped out three generations ago," said one of the Judges in surprise. "All four ships and their crews gone, yet here you claim to be one of them…how can we be sure you are them and not some imposter of sorts? Explain to me how this can be."
"The four Ships of Windsor were last reported to be in the Pebbled Sea, where they not?" asked Jenny, letting the words flow from her mouth though she had no idea what is was that she said. "We were separated in a storm just sound of Hatar Island, the First and Fourth ship continuing South after the devastating wreckage done to our vessel. The Second and Third, we found later, had been attacked right after the storm by a Pirate ship, and both were sunk after being looted for they were about ready to fall apart themselves.
"This we know because the Fourth Ship was forced to stay in port at the first stop we could find, crippled almost beyond repair and while there they found two surviving members of the family who had been sold into slavery there. By then we were even beyond Janaal, which reaches around Sotat and then goes for several leagues along the coast. The First Ship and Fourth Ship we sold, taking was profits from it we could and making our way North. The Trader Council there recorded our passing, and gave us shelter while we stayed there, but they could help us no more than that for our home Council was here, Nambar Island. A contact was sent this way, but apparently it never reached here.
"From there, Captain Myran, my Grandmother, persuaded the Council to allow them to live in one of the secluded Trader Villages, those who were left from the storms either too injured or old for work and needing time to get themselves put back together before anything could be done. Years passed, things changed, and due to some of our crew finding mates among those in the village two new generations were born. Before my Grandmother Myran died, she made me promise to come here and collect that which she left behind, for it was the only thing she could give me as the first born of her first born. Mother had died years before that, thus making me the sole inheritor of the entire Windsor Clan accounts. Contact those below Janaal if you wish, the Sibnav Trader Council. With me are my cousins Gwen and Jack, the only offspring of Myran's second born. With them, I will share what I gain."
"That wasn't you talking, was it?" asked Jack as the Council began to talk among themselves. Jenny turned to look at him slightly.
"I don't think so…" she admitted, going slightly pale.
"There is another with you whom you have not mentioned," said the mirmander suddenly, rising to his or her feet. It was hard to tell with the layers of yellow robes, veils, and makeup he/she wore. "Is there not?"
Gwen felt Nicole freeze on her shoulder, feeling her own heart stop as well. "Oh crap…"
"What do you mean by another?" asked Jenny, simply turning to face the mirmander while leaning on her staff.
"This is what I mean." A burst of wind shot towards Gwen, enough that it would've pummeled them over if Nicole had not suddenly made a sign with her hands and pushed with all her might, creating a shield that the wind harmlessly rebounded off. Somehow, though she wasn't sure of the particulars at the moment, she sat Indian style and floated out on a puff of wind, coming to stop before the mirmander with a grin.
"Eh…hello."
"A nymph," commented the mirmander, trying to keep herself calm though her hand shook as she held it out for the miniature person to land on.
"Yes," agreed Nicole with a nod, instantly liking the sound of the word. "A nymph."
"It is the Windsor Clan," proclaimed the mirmander faintly, "For in the history of all mirmanders has their Clan been able to persuade one of these creatures to bind itself to their family forever…"
"Then it is so," said the Chief Judge, rising to his feet as the rest of the Council did as well. "As in the first days when our people carried fire, weaving, and metal-work to non-traders, the kaqs, so it is now. Jenny Windsor and cousins, sole survivors of the Windsor Clan, we declare all accounts left by your family will be rectified and brought back with the backing of the Council until every last debt and gain has been restored. As it was then, let it be so now."
"As it was then, let it be so now," repeated Jenny, nodding in thanks as she and her new 'cousins' were led out the side door to the place where they'd be told everything they would gain from this.
"So the little mini brat does have a use," commented Jack, still weirded out by the whole thing.
Nicole floated by, bopping him on the head with her mini staff. "Ah, shaddup."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
"Cheeks!!" called Libby, not feeling up to hauling the horse crap to the compost pile and wondering if she could force Cheeks to do it instead. "Cheeks, where are you?"
"He's not out here!" called Brenna, looking up from the cabbage patch she was weeding. "I gave him the afternoon off since he did all the plowing this morning while I slept in."
"Have any idea where he might be?" asked Libby hopefully.
"Not a clue," replied Brenna honestly. "He won't be in the fields, though, I know that much…"
"Alright." Libby went for the house, opening the back door and yelling as loud as she could. "Cheeks!!!"
"He's not here!" called Kaitlin from the kitchen. "He ran out an hour or so ago, refusing to eat anymore of my cookies!"
"Small wonder, considering he spent half a night over in the outhouse last time he took some," Libby called back with an amused grin.
Kaitlin pouted from her spot at the counter, beating some eggs into flour and yeast. "Aww…it wasn't so bad, at least I made sure it wouldn't last the WHOLE night, you know…"
"Right…" Libby rolled her eyes, then wandered back outside, walking in circles as she tried to figure out where he might be. Going by the sheep and goat field, she was about to turn back and go do it herself when she noticed a random hand sticking out from among all the sheep asleep in the center of the field. "Hm??"
Walking over and nudging a few wooly bodies aside, she found him dozing under the mound with a sheep in either arm and a goat snuggled up on top of his belly.
"Oh my gosh…" Libby almost fell over laughing he was so funny looking and cute at the same time. At the same time, she felt kinda sad. That was how she and her bunnies used to sleep, and Pinky had been left behind in the real world…
Nudging him with her toe, she said, "Cheekums, Kaitlin and the twins are coming at the only way to escape their wrath is to go haul the horse poop for me…"
"Say what?!" Cheeks was awake in a heartbeat, scrambling through the sheep and goats and running for the barn as fast as he could. Not that Libby knew if he'd done anything to them recently, but the odds were fairly good since just last week they'd snuck into his room and hung his underwear from the top of the barn and nothing had come out yet as far as revenge…
^_^ "Teehee!"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Randy sat reading the book that was weighed down at the corners, absently picking at the edges of the scabs that covered the backs of his hands when he got them both caught on the front of his shirt and ripped them away quickly without thinking about it.
"YEEOUCH!!!"
Bryanna and Olivia jumped at the sound, Bryanna grabbing her healer's kit with a sigh as she saw the raw skin of the burns revealed again. "Randy…!"
"I know, I know," he said quickly, wincing as she held his hand down by the wrist so she could clean out the burns since he'd so kindly ripped them open for her. "I shouldn't pick at it…but I can't help it sometimes, you know! It itches like a mother most of the time…"
"Pull of the scabs again, and I won't give you the painkillers that only make it itch," threatened Bryanna, rubbing more salve over it and bandaging it up as quickly as she could. She could've just healed it, bringing the wounds to close without leaving the least bit of a scar. But she felt he needed to learn a lesson, and besides, there was no use wasting her gift when the salve would do the same work with just a little bit more time. The only reason it would scar would be if he kept ripping it off like that… "I'll let it heal naturally, and trust me you'll be without the full use of your hands for far longer than you'd like."
"Ok, ok! I understand…" Randy laid his head on the book, resting it there while she wrapped them in bandages again. He'd just gotten the last set off the night before, from the first time he'd taken the scabs off. That had been by accident, though, not because they'd itched but because he'd been restless and cracked them wide open in his sleep. "Really, I am sorry…"
Olivia watched from the corner of her eye, only half her attention directed to the notes in front of her. She tried to concentrate better on them, to figure out her problem with replication, but couldn't concentrate on anything but his hands. They were unusually big hands, but also very gentle when it came down it to…
"Olivia," said Bryanna, breaking into her train of thought. "Can you hand me that bottle right there?"
"Hm?" asked Olivia, still in a bit of a daze from having been caught off guard. "Say what?"
"The bottle, by your hand."
"Oh…here." She handed it over with a nod. Bryanna let Randy take a sip, then put it back in her bag.
"Remember what I said, Randy…"
"I know, I know…" he sighed, looking at his fingerless paws again. Oh how he wished it were healed and done with. "Well, time for my lesson. Goodbye, my fair beauties until then!"
"And to hell with you!" called Olivia from her corner, annoyed with him for ruining her concentration.
Bryanna nodded with a growl. "Same here!"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
"Psst!!"
Amanda dove deeper into her blankets, holding Ben in her arms for warmth and Silven snuggled at her neck. Whoever it was could wake, she KNEW it wasn't dawn yet and there was no way anyone was going to make her move with something less than an emergency move from that spot.
"Pssst!! Milady!! Please, wakeup!!"
"What?" she growled, barely opening one eye and staring up at the servant who was incessantly shaking her arm urgently. "This had better be good…"
"Please, keep your voice down," he begged. "This is a matter of your freedom, if you count that as an emergency…"
"Explain," she demanded, fully awake and sitting up suddenly. "Now."
"The Master has promised you sanctuary while you're here, yes?" asked the servant quickly."
"Yes."
"When does it end?"
"When I leave these walls."
"Exactly. The Master has a company of Mercs who work for him," explained the servant quickly. "Once you are back in the swamp, they will ambush you dressed as beggars and drag you back to the town and sell you as slaves. There, the bald fellow will buy you and bring you back here, putting you forever in his debt and sealing you to forever be his slave!"
"Please, for the love of God, tell me you aren't serious," hissed Amanda, grabbing his shirt.
"I wish I could," he replied sadly. "But I fell for it myself, as a juggler who caught his eye, and will be here for the rest of my life. If you follow me now, I can perhaps give you a chance of escape, though…"
"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Amanda, feeling very alone as well as wary all of a sudden. "Why are you going to help me and my brother when you yourself won't escape?"
"As one performer to another," he said solemnly, showing her the tattoo of his old troupe. "It is my duty to help those who would serve the same fate as I. Will you trust me now?"
Amanda looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "I will." She roused Ben and Silven as quickly and quietly as possible, packing their things while the manservant kept watch at the door. Throwing on the cloaks he'd brought them, he led them down to the servants' hallway, where they slipped out of a side gate that was reserved for the hired helps use only.
The fellow paid off the guard there, knowing he would tell later on but it would buy the pair a few hours time for the moment. Slipping in and out of the shadows as fast as they could, they made it to an Inn in the poorer edge of the district.
"Another set?" asked the man in the stable, bringing out a sack with old raggedly clothes in it.
"Yep," replied the manservant. "This is a friend, he'll give you what you need in exchange for what you can leave behind to get you far enough away to escape." Amanda and Ben traded off their regular clothes and all the extra sets; their nicer cloaks and pins; all of Amanda's earrings except for the cuff, chain, and stud; their boots and sandals; all their extra coins; and a few bits and baubles they'd collected over time.
"Keeping the instruments could be dangerous, miss," advised the Innkeeper friend.
"I know," replied Amanda. "But they're what we have to keep us alive."
"Suit yourself…" They were given old shirts, pants, and sashes with worn out sandals to cover their feet and shabby wraps that pulled over their heads with hoods to wear, all common cuts to what people there wore. Their bags were exchanged for others, older ones, filled with those things they'd kept and enough food to keep them going for awhile so they wouldn't have to stop and earn more.
"Head south, to Sotat, for he'll expect you to flee north out of the country into Zalai," he advised them as he mounted them on the friend's horse just inside the edge of the town. The mount was as shabby as they, though he was fast and strong under his mottled coat. "Leave the mount at the Yellow Bird in Hajra, then, and it will be brought back up to us when the next train comes through. We have done this before, if you can tell."
"I can," replied Amanda with a slight grin. She rubbed the gentle, but still strong gelding they'd been given between the ears as Ben clung to her back tightly and Silven sat in her front pocket. He'd never been on an untethered horse before. "Thank you, whoever you are."
"I would tell you, but if you're caught it would be my head," he replied with a salute. "Goddess speed!"
"And Goddess safety, to you!" Amanda spurned the beast out of the stable yard and down the road, a steady canter that she wouldn't stop until dawn. Ben had fallen asleep long before that, trusting the rope she had that tied him to her to keep him on while she led the horse through the swamp and onwards south. They were fugitives now, due to her own blind trust in others, and since she'd gotten them it in she swore she'd get them back out. She had to.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Nicole giggled to herself on the deck of the ship they'd inherited, playing with her winds as Jack and Jenny went over every inch of it together in some sort of 'inspection' or other. Not that she cared much; she was having too much fun getting to know her new friends, the winds!
Letting them frisk about like playful pups, she began to feel the differences in each individual one. This one a bit more powerful, this one less, this one had a hint of the south of it, and this one the north. This one brought with it feelings of a wet rainforest, this one a dry desert. They played with her, told her stories, made her laugh, to her were the same as people.
"What are you doing?" asked Gwen, walking by and hearing her talking out loud for some reason.
"Talking to the wind!" replied Nicole with a blonde grin, though her hair was as dark as ever.
"Right…" Gwen whistled to herself as she walked away. Wow, that girl had lost it somewhere along the line.
"Careful now!" she said in surprise as one nearly knocked her from her perch. "Oh, alright…here we go!!"
Standing suddenly, she dove off the top of the cabin she was on and was caught by them, spinning and twisting in their movements as they frisked about her. If she wished, they'd take her anywhere she wanted, all she had to do was ask. For now, though, she was content to let them go where they would within the confines of the ship itself.
Being whisked through a door, she found herself flung in the air and landing on Jenny's shoulder, so unprepared for the jump that she landed in a sprawled fashion and almost fell off.
"Smooth," commented Jack sarcastically. "You think that landing up on your own or did you have some help?"
"Can it, bean brain-"
"Enough," said Jenny before it could escalate any further. As funny as it had been when Nicole had touched Jack off and she'd run around the deck for hours avoiding being stomped on (missing her time after time had only made him madder and it hadn't stopped until it had been time to eat) by his rather large boots, she'd rather not have it happen again.
All in all, their outlook was very good. The ship they'd been sold to replace their 'old one' was in good condition, the sides and bottom waterproof and with enough space to fit all of them plus a good sized crew that they'd start to put together soon. Jenny had been made Captain, being the direct inheritor, and Jack her First mate since he was older than Gwen. All that, plus the nice nest egg they still had in some investment or another going for them, even if they did lose the ship they'd still have enough to live off of for quite a long time.
Now all they had to do was figure out what they were going to do with all of it.
"Anyone hungry?" asked Jenny, seeing the sun had reached it's zenith in the sky and feeling her stomach begin to complain a little. She'd taken over at the ship's cook as well, for the moment, until they hired another one in her place.
"I always am," replied Jack immediately. "Come on, woman, get me my meal going already!"
"Say that again and I'll make sure the only one who eats is the sharks that feast on your body!" called Gwen from the doorway where she stood.
"And if you die I'm fairly sure you don't come back," added Jennifer with a grin. "Better be careful, Jack. Remember, you're the only guy here and this is still a culture ruled by women that we're a part of…"
"You're only saying that cuz you don't have any proof otherwise!" he countered angrily. "Come on, now, give a brother a break, I was just playing…"
"How about I give you a break and you go make lunch?" offered Jenny, shrugging her shoulders lightly.
"What?!" cried Jack in outrage. "What you be talking about, me making you food, that's women's-" Seeing the looking Gwen's eye, he stopped and sighed. "Fine, alright, I'll make lunch. Man, my dad would kill me if he knew I stooped to this…"
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him!" called Nicole, darted off into the air as Jack tried to make a lunge at her. "Hehe!!"
"Oh man…"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
"What is it, Dev?" asked Trystan without looking up from her work, sending off a spell in the space of a breath as she waited for her answer. "Well?"
"Just looking for something," he mumbled as he flipped through her files, his nose already immersed in one even though she hadn't given him permission yet. She snapped it from his hands, giving him one of her glares.
"If you tell me, I can help you find it faster and get you out of my hair quicker too," she said in a soft, dangerous voice, making him think that might be the wisest course of action.
"I want the spell to get these back," he said, handing her a list of three names.
"Where did you get these?" asked Trystan in surprise.
Devan grimaced. "A dream."
"Ah…" Trystan scribbled down some stuff and gave it to him before giving him a magic push back to his own workshop. "And don't come back!"
"Get what you were looking for?" asked Grendal, looking at Devan on the floor as he came to from Trystan's forced exit back home.
"Of course," he replied confidently. "Hehe…"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Libby yawned as she woke from her dream, and what a beautiful dream it had been! All her bunnies, surrounding her and loving her…
*thump*
Libby froze, glancing around and seeing nothing that would make such a sound in her room.
*thump* *thump*
Putting her feet on the floor, she almost screamed as three small and furry objects that exploded from under her bed suddenly assaulted them. "OH MY GOSH!! HE-….Pinky?! Rose?! IFORGET?!!"
Scooping them up in her arms, she pranced about the room singing bunny-type songs at the top of her lungs.
"Libby, are you ok?" asked Brenna, sticking her head in the door as it was time for breakfast and Libby should've already been out milking the cows.
"Guess what?" asked Libby, bringing the trio up in front of her face (all of which looked at Brenna with an air of 'it'll all be over soon…') with a flourish. "BUNNIES!!"
"Oh my gosh…" said Brenna, stumbling back a few feet. "I just can't believe it…"
"What?" asked Libby, getting a little worried, what's wrong?"
"You…" Brenna blinked, a grin spreading over her face. "You're so cute…you about killed me with your cuteness…"
"I did not!"
"Did too!"
"Says who?!"
"Me."
"Bah!" Libby hugged her bunnies and scooted past Brenna out the door. "Come, my dears, time to eat!"
"You are so adorable sometimes, Lib…"
"Never as adorable as you, Vixie."
"Ah," Brenna smiled wickedly, "But nothing can beat the perfect pink anime girl!"
"…schmoo."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Bryanna, Olivia, and Randy rode into Winding Circle, each with a paper they had to write and send to Lightbridge before the end of the moon and figuring they might as well use what resources were at hand for it.
Bryanna split off from the other two, heading for the Water temple, which was also the head of the Healers. "Excuse me," she said to one of the novices who were tending the fountain at the front. "Could you direct me to one of the Master Mage Healers, by any chance?"
"Healer Henna be the one you want, then," said the lad through his thick accent. "You can find her 'round the side, pro'ly eatin' under the trees."
"Thank you." Bryanna left at a trot, finding a plump, wide-hipped woman in a blue Water Temple habit sitting on the ground under a tree.
"Hello, child," she said, her dark brown eyes looking up at her kindly. With hair the same color and skin like newly minted copper, Bryanna took a moment to study her with a nod. "Can I help you with something?"
"I'm Bryanna," she said lightly, sitting across from her. "A journeyman from Lightbridge, and I need someone to help explain this healing concept to me." She gladly handed over the stack of loose papers, hugging her knees to her chest once her hands were free.
"Oh, this is simple enough, dear," replied the dedicate. "By the way, I'm Dedicate Henna. Now, back to your problem, this concept is based on the idea that we never stop growing…"
Olivia had split off from Randy the moment she could slip away without him noticing, in no particular hurry to get her paper done and just wanting to spend some time alone for once. After all, the last teacher they'd had had given her most of her information and all she had to do now was put the paper in order and write it al out.
Wandering along the winding paths, she didn't even notice the little cottage off to the side until she was even with its gate and she almost ran into one of the occupants coming out.
"Oh! Excuse me," said the Dedicate, giving her a bright smile as she scooted by with a basket of mended clothes in either hand. "By Mila, I didn't see you there. Are you looking for someone?"
"Not really," replied Olivia, grinning ever so slightly at the woman. "Sorry about that."
"Oh, that's alright," replied the Dedicate as she headed down the path. "The fault is more mine than yours. May you weave a path to that which you seek!"
"Ah, yeah, you too," called back Olivia, unsure of what to say. These nun and monk looking people were strange sometimes.
Glancing around, she noticed another figure over the fence, one that looked familiar but she couldn't place her until she stood up and went to retrieve water from the well. "Dedicate Rosethorn."
"Hm?" The Earth temple Dedicate looked up, her habit kilted up to her knees and her feet covered in dirt. "Oh, it's you. The student from Urda's House, right?"
"Yeah," replied Olivia, walking through the gate and walking towards here. "Just waiting for my friends…"
"Stop!" called Rosethorn as she was about to step through part of the flowers. "Step on it and I'll cover you in vines…"
Olivia pulled back her foot, seeing a tiny plant there. "Over something that small??"
"It's a growing tomato plant, one of the first to come up as a seedling instead of a bit off the original plant," explained Rosethorn as she wiped off her hands. "Mila, I can't tell you how much I love tomatoes, too. It's an important plant to me, as some of your creations are to you."
"Like my sculptures and such?" asked Olivia, creating a similar replica of it in her hand. Just a rough copy, nothing as refined as she usually sold in mage's ice, but it seemed to please the dedicate none the less.
"Somewhat, I suppose."
Randy had somehow wandered his way into the libraries, slowly running one still bandaged hand along the spines off the books as he looked for something along the lines of illusions or light magics. Finding one that he'd been looking for removed from the bookcase by another just as he was reaching for it, he asked, "Excuse me, could I see that for moment? I'll give it back in just a second, I promise."
"This one?" asked the mage, holding up the book he'd just taken from the shelf.
"Yes, that one," said Randy, trying to hide his hands in his sleeves. The mage seemed to notice them, though, and frowned.
"What did you do to yourself, youngling? Light a fire while trying to hold onto it?" he asked, catching Randy's sleeve in his hand and noticing the burn marks on the fingertips as he brought it up to his face.
"Sort of…" admitted Randy with a shrug. "An illusion got away from me, is all really."
"Hm…" The mage let go and seemed to focus inwards for a moment before shaking his head and focusing on Randy once more. He had long, black hair with silver streaks tied back in a horsetail and wore fine clothes that, while they were a few years behind in fashion, were still well cut and spoke of money, power, or both. "I am Nikolaren Goldeneye, the illusion and scrying mage. Who are you?"
"Randy, a journey man from Lightbridge," he replied quickly as he paled at the same time. "Are you really THE Nikolaren Goldeneye? The most powerful scrying mage in the WORLD?!"
"Well," replied the mage. "I wouldn't put it that way, but…yes."
"Could you help me with this?" asked Randy, taking the book and flipping through the pages quickly. "This spell here, its logic is alright and I can complete the first part but then something happens and it literally blows up in my face…"
"Certainly," replied Niko, taking the book back and flipping through to the pages Randy was looking for. "Alright, you start with your basic image…"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Amanda and Ben road into Hajra after almost two weeks of hard travel, their enemies either a few days behind them at worst or had hopefully turned and gone back home at best. It was just dawn, and only a few farmers and an occasional street rat running across the path to see them pass through as they headed for the lower end of town at a swift trot.
Coming to a line of Inns, it was easy to pick out theirs by the lack of drunks lying outside the front and the bright yellow painted bird that served as its sign. Slowing to a walk and entering the stable yard at a lazy pace, the stable boy only glanced at them before starting in surprise and running in the Inn for someone else
Dismounting stiffly as they hadn't been out of the saddle much for the past several days, Amanda was just helping Ben from his seat when an older fellow bustled out, a worried look on his face.
"You be from up north, milady?" he asked, noting their lack of reaction to his appearance and the condition of their mount. She handed the token she'd been given before leaving to him and went on taking their things off the horse before turning it entirely over to the stable boy.
"He catch you too?" asked the man, recognizing it and relaxing visibly.
"Yes," replied Amanda, the circles under her eyes belying the amount of stress they'd been under.
"Come, I'll get you a small pack of vittles, then set you off to one of the better parts of town where you can ply your trade for a week. If they trace the horse to here, I say a fellow a fortnight ago who was heading East and didn't want his extra mount no more sold it to me. If you don't hear from me in a week, head any direction but east, ok? That's the way I'll throw 'em if they do show after that."
He noticed their instruments and added, "And don't go making a spectacle of yourself, now, become famous again real fast and get your name all over the place. That's what attracted him in the first place, no sense in getting his attention again."
"We won't," replied Amanda, slinging everything over her shoulder and putting an arm around Ben's shoulders. Silven climbed out of her pocket and perched on her shoulder. "Where to, now?"
The man gave her the pack of food and sent her off a few streets down and to the right, more or less in the low-end market where any quality performer worth his salt wouldn't be. Amanda took the hint and played simple, but well known tunes and left the lute out of more than slightly tune even though it nearly killed her musical ear to listen to it.
The day came and went, a few of the upper class folks passing through every now and then and the occasional well-meaning fellow throwing a dirty copper or two into their bowl which Silven still guarded like the best watchdog around. For dinner they bought some gravy and rolls from a vendor, licking up every bite hungrily from not eating hot food for weeks. Their food pack was still unopened, but they figured they'd save that incase there came a day they didn't make anything and had nothing to eat.
"Where are we going to sleep?" asked Ben, curling up against her side from the cold as he wrapped his rags about him a little tighter.
"Right here," replied Amanda gently. "I know, we're in the street, but we have an overhang above us and we're just high enough to keep us out of the sewer…probably the best deal we're going to get."
#We're still alive, right?# added Silven as he began to object. #We're still alive and we're still together, living like this for a week won't hurt us that much…#
"I promise you," said Amanda, bringing him in her arms and warming him as best she could. "As soon as we're far enough away, and get a real job, we'll stop, get baths, get new clothes, and go home to Emelan."
"Alright." He snuggled farther into her rags and fell asleep, leaving her leaning against the wall, awake, and with Silven curled on top of his head. Amanda was just about to drift off to sleep herself when she noticed a shadow slipping towards from around the corner, snippets of muffled voices drifting on the wind.
"Roach…are you…food…?"
"Shaddup…sure…"
"…be right…"
"…keep watch…get it…"
"Why? …get good…all time…"
"…do it Slug!"
Amanda relaxed and waited. Of all the places to meet the boy who would become the famous Briar Moss someday…he wasn't a murderer, and at best he might try to flinch her bread or coins left over. Keeping her eyes closed as one of them crept up to her, the other keeping an eye on the street for any guards as the first began to slip his hand behind Amanda's back for the pack that was there.
Grabbing his hand, she silenced him with a look as she opened her eyes, feeling him freeze in her grip. "Take this," she hissed, pitying him as he was hardly more than a skeleton at that point and giving him the rest of her rolls from dinner. "Come again tomorrow, I might give you more, try and steal from me again and I'll give you to the guards." He nodded and fled, his buddy surprised by his action but still pleased that he'd apparently gotten some food.
The week passed, everyday they acted out their part as beggar musicians, and every night she came and fed the boy and whoever came with him with what was left of her dinner. It was never much, but probably better than they'd see for a while, and that was what mattered to her. Leaving a dawn on the 8th day, they breathed a sigh of relief that no sign of their pursuers had come and they were safe at last. It was finally time to head home.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
The entire farm woke at dawn as Brenna cast them all from their beds, put reapers or machetes in their hands and made them help with the harvest. Even the twins came over to lend a hand (though they were given the job of tying up the sheaves of grain, and forbidden to touch anything with a blade on it) and with everyone helping the process went much faster than it would have if it had just been Brenna and Cheeks with occasional help from Libby or Kaitlin.
Rupal, who'd never harvested anything before in her life, was finding mowing down stroke after stroke of wheat rather satisfying once Cheeks had showed her how to do it and Libby filled bag after bag of with ears of corn that Cheeks took back to the barn and stored in the empty stalls for later. The stalks they'd been on were cut down and hauled back to the compost pile, turning into the fertilizer that would be used next year on the farm.
Brenna herself mowed down the hay, pitching it into a separate wagon made just for it while Kaitlin stood inside and packed it all down, jumping up and down the whole time until she thought her legs would fall off.
Needless to say, they were half dead that night and dreaded the day to come, with their muscles made of mush and bones of rubber, and not even the thick stew Kaitlin managed to put together helped them feel any more human. Even with all the pain and suffering, they managed to put all the greater part of their harvest away in three days of hard work and suffering.
Now all they had to do was figure out what to do with it.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Olivia idly wandered through the library alone, having left Bryanna somewhere out in the gardens studying some plant or another for her healing thing and Randy doing happy dances on the wall because he'd finally figured out how to make things 'appear' to burn without really burning them or himself in the process.
She came across a section of Ice mages and stopped, picking out the first one that really caught her eye and thumbing through it for any tips or concepts she might take from it.
"Excuse me," said a quiet voice, getting her attention just as she was about to sit down and read a section about freezing living beings without killing them. She looked up, seeing a dedicate in a blue habit with some sort of a stripe around her sleeve; and while that stripe seemed to have some sort of importance to it she couldn't place it at the moment and figured it must not be that important after all. "Do you require some help looking for something?"
"No, thanks," replied Olivia, about to return to her book when the dedicate sat across from her.
"I am Head Dedicate Moonstream," the woman explained, her indifferent eyes capturing most of Olivia's attention. Not in rapture or anything, mostly in curiosity and a touch of annoyance.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Olivia, ducking her head as she paid proper the proper respects to the Dedicate. "I did not mean to be rude…"
"No, it's alright, I was not calling you out on protocol," replied Moonstream steadily. "I have a question, though, when did you become a journeyman, and begin your schooling wandering from teacher to teacher?"
"Hm, just over a year ago," replied Olivia in surprise. "In fact, it was a year just a week or so ago, I think."
Moonstream nodded to herself, almost as if she was confirming something she already knew. "Hm, well, thank you. Just so you know, I've met another like you, you are not alone." She got up and left the table, leaving a very confused Olivia behind with far more questions than answers, none of which she asked to be presented to her.
"Well, that was strange…"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Hm, chappies over, new characters are in, there's more chaos then ever, and the first of the plots is taking over. Well, hope you enjoyed it. Please review, 'cuz I wrote this for you on my birthday when I could've been, um, doing something other than that. Yeah. ^_~
~Crosseyebutterfly~