THE CHILDREN OF THE SPIDER, Part 6
There was a question that I had to get settled. It might influence future decisions.
"How did you get here?" I asked Jonah. "You obviously didn't ride overland all the way from Nyack. So did you fly? Or did you teleport?"
We were still standing just outside a shop in the village of Crowe. Jonah had picked up a bottle of rather aggressive hooch and we were sharing it back and forth. I couldn't help but notice that the locals were steering clear of us. Since we were both bedraggled, covered with dried blood, armed and armored, and choking down raw whiskey, I really couldn't blame them. We looked like trouble waiting to happen.
At a nearby street-crossing, a pair of Folk halberdiers had paused to keep a wary eye on us. The village and the nearby area were crawling with troops. They were protecting the village, but they were also Lord Crowe's fall-back reserve in case something went wrong with his mission into Creed territory.
Jonah hesitated before replying. Then he made a decision and plunged on.
"I used the family teleporter," Jonah told me. "We have one on retainer."
"You're kidding," I said, shaking my head in amazement. There aren't many dependable long-range teleporters - most of them are extremely powerful Elves - and they demand spectacularly stiff fees. Off hand, I wouldn't have thought even my family had the wealth to hire a teleporter as a full-time servant.
"When did that happen?" I asked.
Jonah made helpless gesture. "I don't know. Until I was introduced to him, I had no idea we had one in service of the family. I suppose your father keeps him pretty busy."
"How do you get in touch with him?"
"I don't. He's supposed to check in with me every few days. Sometimes, if you call him in your head, he'll appear. I haven't seen him since he dropped me near your village."
Giving me a long look, the bottle still in his hand, Jonah took another drink before continuing. "While we're telling secrets, do you want to tell me what's going on with you?"
I laughed grimly. "You wouldn't believe me if I did."
Jonah frowned. "Try me."
"When we were at the shrine? And I fell flat on my face? I had a vision."
Jonah's eyebrows rose. "Uncle Ben... since when are you a religious man?"
"Since never," I said flatly as I took the bottle from Jonah, "but if you want to go back to the shrine and argue with the First Spider, you go right ahead. I'll stay here and finish the bottle."
We were half-drunk by the time we got to the bathhouse.
If our destination surprises you, remember that Jonah and I were both men of rank. And we had to be reasonably presentable when we finally found Lord Ashe and Jessica. We were a mess from our fight with the Creed, so a trip to the local bathhouse wasn't really an odd decision on our part.
"Three coppers each for the public bath," the bored and portly Folk proprietor told us. "The bath water is only two hours old and we haven't had many customers yet. If you want a private bath, that costs a silver, but the water is guaranteed fresh. A personal attendant costs another three coppers - a silver if you also want sex. We have lock-boxes for your personables at no extra charge."
"The public bath is fine," I told him as I handed over some coins.
Then we entered the anteroom. Jonah and I undressed and locked away our weapons and gear - and the bottle of moonshine. A worker sluiced us down with luke-warm water and we used soap and rough cloths to wash the grime and dried blood from our bodies. After that, we entered the large, steam-filled, room that contained the main bath.
The room wasn't crowded - it wasn't that late in the day - but there were five other bathers. Three were in the bath itself, enjoying the warm water. In a strategically darkened corner, two men were seated close together on a bench, quietly enjoying each other's company in a reasonably unobtrusive way. Folk and Wilder aren't as unabashedly public about sex as the Blood. However, the baths are something of an exception. It's customary to ignore that sort of thing when you're in a bathhouse, as long as it isn't rudely wanton.
Jonah and I slipped carefully into the hot water of bath, being careful not to splash anyone. I sighed as the heat began soaking into my bones.
"Why, hello," I heard Jonah say politely.
"Hello," a female voice responded.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I really hadn't been paying attention. I followed Jonah's gaze and saw that he was speaking to a rough-edged, but still attractive, young woman. She was neck-deep in the bath and her coal-black hair was tied back with a strip of soft leather. Her eyes were darkly alert and her skin was dusky. Then I suddenly recognized her. We were sharing a bath with the Blood ranger we'd met at the shrine.
"I decided to do this instead of getting a meal," she told me with a slight smile. It took me a moment to remember that I'd given her a coin in exchange for the way she'd politely surrendered the shrine to us.
"It was just a suggestion," I reassured her.
The ranger pursed her lips thoughtfully. "There's a story going around about two Wilder who saved a wagon-load of wounded. One jumped off the wagon to hold back a bunch of Creed. The other left the wagon once the village was in sight and ran back for his friend. That wouldn't happen to be you two, would it? That would explain all of those Creed heads you left at the shrine."
"That's us, but we were just doing our duty," I told her with shrug. Well... actually, I'd done my duty. Jonah wasn't formally a part of this war, so he'd essentially volunteered his services.
"Actually, we're Scatter, not Wilder," Jonah added, "and we didn't save everyone."
The ranger shook her head sadly. "So I've heard, but where the Creed are involved you're lucky if you can keep anyone alive."
"Are you sworn to Lord Crowe's pack?" I asked. "Or are you militia?"
"Militia," she replied proudly. "My family serves Crowe before Crowe. We have walked the wilds hereabouts for two centuries and more."
Jonah looked puzzled.
"That means they serve the village of Crowe and then Lord Crowe," I told him. Jonah nodded in understanding, although he probably didn't grasp the subtleties that were involved. The politics and loyalties of the militia-rangers are complex. They are an independent breed, and if a lord is having trouble with his people, the first to voice the concerns of the farmers and woods-folk will most likely be the common-rangers. If a lord turns into a tyrant, the first battles against his misrule will be in the darkness of the woods, between pack-rangers and militia-rangers.
It is a wise lord who listens to his unsworn rangers. Back in Ashe, the elder of the common-rangers have free reign to enter Lord James' hall and talk to him whenever they want.
"You're not from around here," the ranger said off-handedly.
She was speaking to Jonah, and I had the impression she was trying to keep her eyes off Jonah's chest and shoulders. Jonah was doing much the same with her.
I was having trouble hiding a smile.
"I'm from Nyack," Jonah replied.
The ranger's eyes brightened and she leaned forward. Suddenly, she wasn't a deadly woods-woman. Instead, she was a curious girl who looked much younger than her true age.
"Nyack? Really? Tell me about it!" she asked eagerly.
After a half-hour in the bath, we left. The ranger - her name was Dani - accompanied us. She and Jonah were obviously a bit taken with each other. They'd been talking non-stop since we'd met in the bath.
The same two Folk halberdiers who'd been watching us earlier were waiting across the street as we left the bathhouse. A Blood samurai was with them. The three of them made a point of not looking at us, and we didn't react to them, but we weren't fooling each other.
We ended up near the village square, sitting on a rough bench, with our backs to a wall. Dani helped us finish the last of the moonshine.
The conversation was still being dominated by Dani and Jonah. Jonah was dazzling her with tales of the big city. It took a while, but I eventually worked a word in edgewise.
"We're trying to track down Lord Ashe," I said.
Dani immediately nodded. "He came through the area a while back, on his way to Lock. I understand he took part in a Storm-oath. A flying priestess came all the way from Alban to give the oath. We caught the edge of the thunderstorm she called up - it was spectacular."
Then she paused thoughtfully. "You know... I haven't heard that Lord Ashe has been back this way. Unless he has more business up north, I imagine he should be coming through here soon. You're best bet to find him might be to just wait."
That sounded like good advice, but I had to consider the possibility that Dani also wanted Jonah to stick around. Of course, given the fighting on the other side of the frontier, it was more than likely that Lord Ashe would want to see how Lady Olivia - his junior wife - was doing.
"I can't see your lord passing through and not wanting a report on Lord Crowe's battle," Jonah said to me.
"And Lord Crowe is pulling his troops back here," Dani added. "Lady Olivia is with them."
I squinted up at the sky. It really wasn't that late, but the case for staying in the village was a good one.
"We'll stay here," I told Jonah, "and we'll wait for Lord Crowe's return. As long as Lady Olivia is with Lord Crowe, then Lord Ashe will stop by."
It was early evening, but the sun was still up. Dani and Jonah had vanished. Wherever they were, I hoped they were having fun.
I was waiting near the still heavily-guarded gate, sitting on the steps of a guardtower. You could tell that Lord Crowe's small army was approaching. I'd counted over a dozen wagons with injured in the last hour. All of them had been guarded by a mix of archers and samurai. Lord Crowe was compensating for what looked like a Creed tactic of pursuing injured auxiliaries. That was good.
One of the gate samurai wandered over to me. The guards had just allowed another wagon to pass through the gate.
"Senior samurai, there's word of your lord," he told me - I'd identified myself to him and his companions. As a consequence, I was being treated with more formality. The samurai commanding the gate had even ordered a local boy to take my blood-stained cloak into the village and get it washed.
"Lord Crowe's force is spreading out to handle Creed raiders," the samurai added. "But his main body will be here by nightfall. Scouts tell us that your Lord is riding here to meet them."
"Thank you," I said. The samurai gave me a formal salute, I returned it, and he went back to the gate.
Between the stone and wooden palisade and the guard-tower, an orb spider was industriously working on an impressive web. I held a hand near the spider and it turned towards me. After a moment of hesitation, it crawled along my fingers and onto the back of my hand. Orb spiders are big and ominous looking, but unless you're an insect they aren't dangerous.
"What do you think, little brother?" I asked it.
Above use, a cloud crossed the face of the sun. The spider's glistening brown and yellow form - adapted to the local vegetation - turned dark in the sudden shadow.
As I considered that, the spider waved it's forelegs at me. I put my hand closer to the central point of the web. The spider crawled back into its web, settling comfortably into position as it waited for some careless prey to stumble into its trap.
"Good hunting," I told it quietly.
"Make way!" a samurai at the gate suddenly roared.
That meant someone of importance was present, and everyone else was being cleared out of their path.
I got to my feet and walked closer to the gate.
Lord Ashe, Lady Emma, and Jessica - all escorted by a mix of Ashe and Crowe cavalry - entered through the gate.
Lord Ashe spotted me immediately.
"Ben!" he called, raising a hand in my direction. Then his eyes narrowed when he saw the look on his face.
After letting out a long breath, I walked over to only lord I've ever wanted to serve and handed him the badge that declared me to be his senior samurai. He took it in surprise. I remembered the day when Jimmy hooked that badge into the links of my chain-shirt. It had been an unexpected moment, and a proud one.
"My lord," I said quietly. "I regret that I must leave your service."