"How far we travel in life matters far less than those we meet along the way." – Mark Twain
"It appears we're being exiled for a time." Bredin said as they neared Leuven.
::You mean you are being exiled.:: Lacaral responded. ::I had nothing to do with it.::
"Don't sound aggrieved. At least we're not sweltering in Haven."
Lacaral snorted. ::No, we're sweltering on the North Trade Road instead. And this winter, we're going to freeze our parts off up near the Iftel border.::
They rounded the last bend before Leuven and saw Tom and Bryston coming towards them. They hadn't bothered with any tack – Tom had simply mounted Bryston bareback.
"Hi, Bred." Tom greeted him. "Or should I say 'Welcome, Herald Bredin?' Bryston told me you were close."
Though Tom's year-group was two years behind Bredin's, Tom had always travelled with Bredin and Lars when they had gone home at breaks. They knew each other well.
"Hi, Tom. We're heading north to meet my Internship Mentor, Herald Mani. We'll be in the Northeast Corner."
Tom looked puzzled. "I met Herald Mani when he came through a moon ago. Don't interns generally leave Haven together with their mentors?"
"It's complicated." Bredin said. Reflecting that Tom would probably get the whole story eventually, Bredin told him about Herald Mata's injury and how he had been reassigned to Herald Mani after his fight with Kensie Poldara. Trying to be fair, Bredin told Tom of his exchange with Lady Naril.
::Bryston would have told him if you hadn't.:: Lacaral pointed out.
"You mean you would have told Bryston and Bryston would have told him." Bredin said. He sent an image of Companions crowded around a tea table, knitting and gossiping.
Lacaral bucked hard. Bredin managed to stay in the saddle. Bryston shared the image with Tom, who giggled. "They do like to gossip, don't they?"
::We prefer to think of it as keeping each other informed.:: Bryston said.
They entered the innyard. Due to the amount of gear he was bringing and not wanting to take the time to remove it and then put it back on, Bredin simply loosened Lacaral's girth and removed the bridle before going inside with Tom. It was still early morning. The two shared a quick kava before Bredin set out once more.
It was just noon when Bredin arrived at Bransat. To his surprise, his nephew and Martin Poldara were waiting at the gate of Bransat Manor under the watchful eye of his sister in law and Martin's governess.
The two boys rushed forward to hug Lacaral while an embarrassed Twyla explained. "He said you would be coming. Or rather, that Lacaral would be coming and he insisted that we had to tell Martin."
Bredin smiled and nodded. Leif's awareness of approaching Companions had manifested during Bredin's pre-internship leave. Their common mania for Companions had led to an unlikely friendship between the son of a saddlemaker and the son of a count.
"Very well." Bredin said. He reached down and lifted Leif up onto the saddle. "Let's get you home."
"Martin come with us." Leif said.
Bredin glanced at the young highborn, who looked ready to burst into tears. Lacaral stamped a hoof.
Bredin sighed. He looked at Lucy Valmis. "Do you mind?" He asked.
The governess smiled and nodded. "I will fetch the trap to take him home afterwards." Martin's frown turned to a grin as he ran forward with his arms raised to Bredin.
As Bredin lifted Martin up, Mistress Valmis smiled and turned back up the driveway to the manor.
Bredin stared at her in surprise. "You're leaving him with me?"
The governess twitched her lip. "If I can't trust a Herald, who can I trust?"
"Come in a candlemark," Bredin said, "that is all the time I can take for a luncheon with my parents."
With the two toddlers in front of him, Bredin headed for his parents' home.
Zelar was standing in the doorway, talking to Ilis Dane. Zelar looked up in surprise as Lacaral trotted down the street with Leif and Martin seated in front of Bredin.
Bredin handed the two boys down before dismounting and embracing his mother. He greeted Ilis Dane politely. The Reeve's wife smiled and excused herself.
"This is a surprise." Zelar said. "We did not expect to see you for a year."
"I am on my way to meet my internship mentor. He is already on circuit up north. I can spare a candlemark for lunch, then I have to go on. I'll be staying in a waystation beyond Poldara tonight."
Enro emerged from the shop and Bredin embraced his father. Enro helped Bredin quickly untack Lacaral. "You have Kerenos' own load of equipment here, son." Enro remarked. "Hello, Lacaral. Good to see you again." He added to the Companion. Lacaral bobbed his head in greeting.
"This is only half of it – enough to last until they can ship the rest to the Winefold resupply station, where I will pick up my pack mule. I will be on the road for a year and a half." Bredin explained. "If we are lucky, I may be here for the Midwinter after next."
Enro had a sheltered table in the yard for his workmen to rest. The family sat there for their lunch, allowing Lacaral to join them while they ate. Bredin watched with amusement as his father deferred to Martin even though the boy was still too young to be aware of his rank.
::If Count Wyeth allows the friendship to continue, it will do good for both of them. It will make it easier for them later.:: Lacaral put in.
::Later?:: Bredin asked.
::Nothing is written in stone.:: Lacaral said.
Carefully keeping his sigh inside, Bredin replied ::I see you are back to playing Wise Man on the Mountain.::
Lacaral snorted loudly.
All too soon, the candlemark was over. Bredin re-saddled Lacaral. While Bredin said farewell to his parents, the two boys gave Lacaral a final hug. With a backward wave to his family, Bredin and Lacaral cantered over the bridge and headed north.
They passed through Poldara in the afternoon and two candlemarks north of the county capital, Lacaral trotted down a narrow path two miles from Hexton, a large village off the North Trade Road.
The waystation was unoccupied. Bredin got down from Lacaral and quickly stripped the Companion's tack. Bredin groomed and fed Lacaral before going about readying the waystation for the night. The firepit was still damp; Bredin checked the log. Herald Brion had been there the night before.
By sunset, Bredin had made and eaten his dinner – his cooking skills had improved greatly since his first stay in a waystation when he had travelled with Jan – and sat watching Lacaral graze as the stars came out.
He thought about his years in the Collegium and before that led to this moment. 'And now, the adventure begins.' He thought to himself.
Lacaral snorted, then whickered. ::You are going to be seeing the same problems again and again in village after village. It will get tedious very quickly.::
::As for the 'adventure' part,:: Lacaral continued ::please don't piss yourself when it happens. I have to wear that saddle.::
The next day, Bredin and Lacaral headed east from Hexton, spending the nights in waystations. On the fourth night, he arrived at the village of Fallin just as Herald Eva finished her cases for the day. He followed Eva to the waystation. Her pack mule was in a small paddock fenced off at one end of the meadow.
They untacked Blyden and Lacaral and put out grain for them and the mule. Bredin laid out his bedroll and put his gear away. Eva pronounced herself tired of waystation food, so they walked back to the inn at Fallin for a bespoke meal.
To Bredin's dismay, they had no sooner sat down than a travelling minstrel struck up "The Grey Stallion". Bredin blushed furiously while Eva gave him a speculative look.
Their meal arrived. As they ate, Eva asked Bredin where he was heading. When he told her that he was to meet Herald Mani for his internship circuit, she grimaced.
"Is there a problem?" Bredin asked.
"I interned with him just before the Tedrel Wars." She said. "He is very demanding and very impatient. Brilliant man, however. You will learn a lot from him."
"Is he hard to get along with?" Bredin asked.
Eva made an equivocating motion with her hand. "Not really. He'd cut off his arm to help you when you need it. But he'll leave you in tears when you've been stupid. Let him lead. He usually has more than one purpose even when you think he is just asking a question. I saw him tear a strip off two farmers while he reset their boundary marker – he made them see how their own pigheadedness had turned what could have been resolved in a quarter-candlemark into a year-long dispute."
When Bredin looked puzzled at the last, Eva went on. "He could have just reset the boundary marker and been done with it. By giving them a humiliating lecture in front of the whole village, he planted the notion in their heads – and in the heads of everyone else in the village – that it was better to be reasonable than turn a minor dispute into a feud. He also fined them both for 'disturbing the peace.'"
They returned to the waystation as the last twilight faded. After putting things away for the night, they undressed for bed.
As Bredin turned out the lantern, the sound of galloping hooves arose outside. Alarmed, Bredin reached out to Lacaral. The Companion was completely focused, shutting Bredin out. Bredin used his farsight. He was grateful for the darkness of the waystation, which hid his blushes.
"Blyden isn't the only one who has missed male companionship." Eva said. "I'd like to see if the Grey Stallion lives up to the legend."
Bredin stopped in shock, then recovered. "Let's see how the story unfolds." He said as he got into her bed.
Just after noon on the eleventh day, Bredin met Herald Mani at the village of Corston, where Mani was in the middle of his cases. Mani welcomed Bredin and introduced him as his intern. Mani told Bredin to leave his gear at the waystation and be back in a candlemark.
The waystation was a half mile from the village. Bredin untacked and groomed Lacaral. After quickly washing up and checking his uniform to ensure he was presentable, Bredin walked back to the village. Lacaral followed and joined Caiseal in the shade of a tree beside the village square. Caiseal seemed relieved as half the mob of children surrounding her moved to Lacaral.
Bredin sat behind and to one side Mani as the Herald judged the cases brought before him. The cases were much like the ones he had seen in Mirilin's City Court. The principal difference was that Mani was much less tactful than Mirilin.
"Oliver Clain, you knew damned well that calf was not from your own cow." Mani berated a farmer who claimed he had thought that a calf he had found in his field had been from one of his cows. "You should have realized it wouldn't survive when none of your own cows would nurse it. You were too stupid to keep it alive and too stupid to do the honest thing and return it to your neighbor. So, not only are you not gaining a calf, I am ordering that you give Ben Naseby two of your calves of his choosing to make up for the trouble you caused."
Herald Mani was similarly blunt, bordering on rudeness, with anyone who he deemed not to have used their brains. However, when a simple minded girl came forward to claim that she had been cheated of her wages, Mani was endlessly patient in getting her story from her. By careful questioning of the girl and her employer, Mani determined that the girl had been confused and that the employer had not knowingly deceived her. Patiently, he explained her wages to the girl until he was sure she understood. At the end of her case, Mani ordered the Headman and his council to see to it that things were properly explained to her in the future.
Once the girl left, Mani called a bystander forward. Mani had overheard him refer to the girl as 'the village idiot', Mani gave the bystander a blistering lecture, concluding with "Your insult shows that you are no smarter than she and lack any compassion. I will note your name. If you are ever brought before a Herald, your cruelty today will weigh in the judgment. Get out of my sight."
Late in the afternoon, Herald Mani called an end to the cases for the day. He picked up his papers and notes and, with a nod to Bredin, led the way back to the waystation. Caiseal walked beside him. Bredin and Lacaral followed in silence.
They reached the waystation. Herald Mani carefully put his papers away before taking a seat on one side of the firepit. He pointed to the bench on the other side. "Sit!" He ordered. Bredin carefully took a seat.
"I did not ask for an intern. Elcarth hasn't 'favored' me with one in years. I do not like explaining myself to people who should keep silent until they are asked for their opinion – if I happen to want their opinion, which I usually don't. You've been Chosen, which presumably means you have a brain inside that skull. I expect you to use it before you speak. If you do that, you will probably get the answer before you ask me. You will get a better understanding that way. When you do ask a question, I expect the question will show that you have thought about the problem. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Senior." Bredin said meekly.
"For the first six moons, you are going to listen to the cases and listen only. I do not want to hear a peep out of you, no matter how important you think it is. Just button your lip. If you have something you absolutely have to tell me, tell me in mindspeech. You do have mindspeech, don't you?"
"Yes, Senior. I have mindspeech with most other Heralds." Bredin said.
"Most?" Mani's eyebrows went up.
"As long as they have mindspeech themselves." Bredin explained.
Mani nodded. ::Can you hear me?:: He thought at Bredin.
::Yes, Senior.:: Bredin replied the same way.
"Feels solid enough." Mani's voice had mild approval. "What's your range?"
"About a mile for most Heralds." Bredin said. "I was able to talk to Ylsa at three miles."
"Not many Heralds are as powerful as Ylsa." Mani said. "You've got a good useful range if we ever have to work at a distance."
"So." Mani said "Shut up and listen for the next six moons. And I really mean listen. Pay attention. I will quiz you on the cases at the end of each day."
"Yes, Senior."
"What did you think of Goodman Clain?" Mani asked.
Bredin blinked at the change in the discussion. He thought quickly. "I do not understand why you gave his neighbor two calves in compensation. Wouldn't just replacing the calf be sufficient?"
"Think deeper." Mani said.
Bredin puzzled a moment. "To teach him a lesson? If he'd been honest in the beginning, there wouldn't have been any trouble?"
"Better." Mani said. "I want more."
Bredin's mind raced while Mani watched him impassively. "Um. If Ben Naseby hadn't figured out that Clain had the calf and the calf had survived, Clain would have gained at his neighbor's expense. There was a chance Clain would never have been found out. If the worst that could happen to Clain for his dishonesty was having to give up the calf, he is taking no risk by being deceitful. Putting a penalty on deceit gives him a reason to be honest, even if he wants to cheat."
"Exactly. If he's not found out, he gains a calf. If he only has to replace it when's he's found out, he's no worse off." Mani summarized.
"But the calf died." Bredin said.
Mani just stared at him.
Bredin chewed his lip. He guessed. "It's his own fault the calf died. His own cows wouldn't accept the calf, he should have seen that there was no way to gain and returned it then."
"Exactly so. Now you are thinking." Mani said. "Any questions?"
"Why should the other farmer profit, though? He shouldn't have let his calf go astray." Bredin said.
"Good point. I'd have taken the value of the second calf as a fine if Goodman Naseby had been careless or neglectful. You came in too late to hear it, so you couldn't have known. There was a sudden windstorm that day. It scattered livestock, knocked down trees and broke fences all around here. Naseby's fences were good; he wasn't at fault. There was no reason to blame him."
The Senior Herald stood up and stretched. "Let's see if you can cook."