Sãjah thought briefly and started trying to call instructions over the general din. “Lakshmi…oh, she is outside. Giles, Eleanor, Aine,” she had named the four who had the most likely saleable produce at hand: herbs, cheese, jewellery and spirits. “Come here, please. Goditha, be a dear and get your weapons, and ask Lakshmi to come in and do the rest of the watch, please. Tell her to think about…oh no…I keep forgetting the Talker. I will do that.”
Rani called Astrid over. “Seeing that these seem to be your traders and you can speak to them, you can wait at the gate and show them in.”
“That is fine. Basil will be busy upsetting Lãdi in the kitchen anyway. It is about time she learnt some more of his way of cooking things, if we are going to get more people in from Darkreach. They will be more relaxed when we trade with them if we have them full of the food they are used to…and beer.”
“Better get Shilpa or Ruth ready to do the dealing with them. They both used to be traders, but neither speaks Darkspeech well enough, so if you can get your wife to translate…” She stopped and grinned, “Well, one sight of her eyes and we should get very good prices on everything.” She handed her pack to Tabitha and asked that she take Basil’s as well, so that he could go straight to work in the kitchen.
The Mice returned excitedly to the village. Everyone was again told that explanations would wait until tonight, but that it would be worth the wait.
They were nearly back to the village gates when Sajãh came over to Rani. “I forgot when we saw you first, but you may need to know,” she said. “We have prisoners, and perhaps three new residents…that is, if you do not mind having them.”
“Prisoners? New people?”
Sãjah nodded. “Five days after you left, two men appeared coming south on the path with two women and a little girl. Robin was on duty, and after checking with Eleanor, he let them in as if he were a bandit. They are slavers, and they had been told that new girls were wanted here, and they were bringing the first of them in.
“The little girl and one woman are both from the Brotherhood, and the other woman is from near Greensin, we think that she may want to go home, but we are not sure. The bandits are in cells in the back of the guardroom. That is why Eleanor is not here to see you. She is making sure they are secure and locked up tight, so that we can ignore them when the traders are here. I didn’t think that taking prisoners and questioning them was something we wanted to talk about in front of any visitors we want to make a good impression on.
“We thought that you should try them and let the Presbytera find out what she can before we do anything with them. Several of the girls were brought here by them, and we all know that they have been here before, so they are guilty.
“They have not been gentle when they dealt with anyone, and we have to make sure that they are secure, as a few of the girls have wanted to kill them already, but we thought it best if we waited for you before we did. The Presbytera may get them to talk before they die. I have been telling them that, but I am not sure that they believe me”
Christopher
While all the turmoil is going on, and before tonight, we should have a quick service of thanks. I will see who we can gather. It is, after all, the feast day of Saint Jude and our hopeless cause has actually succeeded, and what is more, we are bringing home an icon of the Saint all at the same time. It would be wrong not to take the opportunity to thank God and the Saint at the very first chance. We would not want to be seen to be ungrateful. He turned to Theodule and explained why they needed to gather some people…even a few.
Astrid
It is nice to just wander out to the watch point and sit talking to Goditha on the stone bench. Instead of tramping with a full pack and expecting a dragon, I can just talk and watch the sky and the birds wheeling in it until the traders draw close. Eventually, they approached the bridge and she went down to greet them.
They are obviously surprised that there is something here in what had seemed to them just a useless side valley, one of many that they had passed, but they looked to have recovered from the shock that I gave them earlier. Wait until they see Theodora.
She waved up to Goditha and went towards the village with the three men and their horses. The shod hooves of the horses clattered on the stone of the path as the water roared past them. The men were at least polite, and only quietly smiled when she told them the name of the village.
They went through the gate to the valley. Their eyes are growing wider and wider. She explained the gate to them. Rani had not mentioned that, but it is a good idea for the rumour to get out into the world that Mousehole is impregnable. I will have a child living here soon, and I want her to be safe from the world and all in it.
She pointed out their fields and their flocks, and explained that the valley was ringed with tall mountains and cliffs. She could see that the traders saw the watcher on the roof of the Hall of Mice. “That is one of our mages. We have ten now in Mousehole,” she said proudly.
I may not have seen a real town yet, just my home and Evilhalt, but I have been told that some of them didn’t have ten mages. Wolfneck has only seven, and Bjarni isn’t any better than the junior Mice mages, and neither Magnus nor Leif, the two senior mages, come anywhere near to matching either Rani or Theodora.
Verily was waiting at the village gate for them. “Rani said to bring them straight to the hall. Lãdi and Basil have some things ready for them to eat and drink while they are trading, and Theodora is waiting there with Shilpa and Ruth. Rani thought it best to get the trading over with while we are all sober, and then we can all relax and hear the story of what has happened while you were away.”
Verily was staring at the traders with wide eyes. Apart from the male Mice, she has never seen men who did not want to abuse her, and while she is married to a Hobgoblin, these were some of the Kharl of legend…and much more visibly so than either Basil or I.
“Stop looking at them like that, Verily.” Astrid used Hindi. “These are Karas and Festus. They are part-Kharl, the same as Basil and I am, and they are just as much people as we are, or Aziz is…and I am sure that they can speak at least a little Hindi.” She turned to the traders.
“I am sorry, but the people here are not used to strangers who are not going to hurt them…I am sure that you will hear the story later, and apart from my husband and I, they have never met an Insakharl before.” As the traders went up the courtyard they could see people moving around and working, while little girls wearing just short leather kilts peered from around skirts. It all gives our one short but wide street a general bustle of activity.
Waiting outside the hall were Bianca and the Khitan. “We are here to help you unload your goods so that you can show us what you have,” said Bianca in Hindi. “Do you want to show us what you want taken off, then we can unload the beasts and take them to the stables.” Carausius was surprised. He obviously isn’t used to this amount of help from customers, and is, at least a trifle nervous. The guards are looking around and eyeing the number of armed people all around them as if weighing up their chances. Not very high…so relax.
“Stop worrying. If we had meant you harm, it would have happened already. We outnumber you and we could even have taken you captive when you slept. The fact that we haven’t done so, should show you that we want much more from you than just one lot of plunder. We want to trade with you. What do you have for us?” Quickly she was given a summary of the goods that they had with them.
Carausius had the pack horses unloaded and taken away. He is looking ready to go inside. It is time to make him a bit more nervous. “That will all be brought in. You need to follow me,” she paused. “If I might give you some advice…it might be an idea to bow once you enter. One of our Princesses is used to that,” and without any more explanation she strode through the door and bowed herself.
I am right. Theodora is glaring at me for that. She is sitting on one of our bigg
est chairs up front with Aziz and Thord on each side of her and the two traders on one side…so she deserves it.
“Your Highness, I bring you the trader Carausius from Ardlark and his guards, Karas and Festus from Mouthguard in your old land of Darkreach. They bring…” She spoilt the impression a bit by forgetting exactly what they had, “I cannot remember the names, but they bring cloth to trade...should I get Fortunata as well?” Theodora nodded, and Astrid spun around to get the dressmaker forgetting the sight she wished to see.
Theodora
Ha…she has missed their reaction. This Carausius is addressing me as he would any other barbarian village headman, his men noticed though. So much for me being anonymous. I should have put my disguise back on…they are flat on their faces at my feet. Now he notices them and he looks again at me…at his guards and then again at me. Ahh, now he notices my eyes, stops speaking in the middle of a sentence and joins the others on the floor. I should have expected it. “Stand up all of you…get up. Do you want to trade or not?”
Astrid set it all up, didn’t she? “We are not in Darkreach now, and I am not my Granther. Someone please bring them some chairs and food.” Oh, curses, I meant that to calm them. I think that I just made it worse. I just confirmed to them what they just thought likely before…that I really am a Princess of Darkreach. All three men are hugging the floor even tighter. It looks like it will take several more minutes for others to calm the traders down and get them off the floor.
Astrid returned as this was taking place. “Damn,” she said. “I should have waited a bit. Was it fun?” she asked innocently.
It turns out that, not only do they have cloth, but most of it is unusual. It includes khmel, cloth made of camel hair; gotar, cloth made from the fleece of goats and of several types; walla, the cloth made from the llama and alpaca; and sh-hone, cloth made of a seaweed. Some of that we need for our mages.
The rest of the load they stated was just made up of several types of hemp cloth, mainly as serge, as they had not been able to get enough of the others. Fortunata and Astrid are interested in any cloth but they are trying to avoid showing it. I know that the hemp will enable them to make durable everyday clothes, and that is what we have the least of.
On a small table nearby were some samples of gems and herbs, and a couple of pieces of cheese and two bottles. The trader was plied with food by Bilqĩs while Umm had sat the guards down and was looking after them, and was asking them about their journey and where they were from.
I should be listening to what they say as well as the trading. I note that both of them have some Hindi, but that they both have a little more Arabic, as they had both been guards for trips to the Caliphate. Poor trader, he is not sure whether to look at those he is bargaining with, or me as the interpreter…and he is scared to look at me. I will be glad to get a deal struck.
Finally, we have a deal. “Would I also be able to ask you to take a message to Ardlark for my family please?”
“Certainly, my lady.” Oh dear, he has realised who I meant it for and now he is all flustered again. He definitely does not move in Court circles, does he? Now I have to calm him down…again.
It looks like Basil is going to tell us that we have food. Good. Why is he coming over to this Carausius? “Could you deliver a message for me, please, when you go home?”
“Yes, I could.” He is looking at Basil with relief as just a normal person. Basil already has it written and hands it over and he looks at the addressee. Oh dear…I can see that it says Strategos Panterius and Basil is making it worse as he hands over a small diamond, one that we had brought down from Dwarvenholme…tiny really…as payment.
The letter has one of those Antikataskopeía sigil things on it in a green wax. Carausius has read the address and looked at the size of the diamond and his mind is working hard as he wonders again what he has stumbled into. The panic on his face is evident. Will we ever get him calm?
Rani
With the traders here, and presumably returning straight home, the secret of Dwarvenholme will not remain a secret for long. We really only should stay home for a day and then, this time with horses, we should return to empty the treasure room and the library. We could explore the rest of the old Dwarven complex…no…in two thousand years, and given the size of the piles in the treasure rooms, most of the items of value are likely to have been brought into that one place. She leant over to speak to Theodora.
Theodora
It is nice to have some of the food of home. I have not had Garthcurr Hopper on rice for a long time. I didn’t know that we had the spices for that sort of thing. Now that we have eaten, what should I put in my letter to Granther…and what has Basil already put in his?
Although we want to get more of the treasure that is there, we cannot keep Dwarvenholme for ourselves, there are not enough of us to hold it, and anyway it belongs to the Dwarves as a whole. Besides, we already have a very good home of our own.
The secret of Dwarvenholme will soon be out and people will be racing there. This could spark conflict in the mountains near to Mousehole. It would be best for us to forestall this, and to gain some goodwill by telling the Dwarves about it ourselves, instead of them getting it second-hand. I wonder if Thord could travel north with the traders to see them on their way, and then go on to Kharlsbane and lead a group to Dwarvenholme before coming back to Mousehole…that is if he wants to return to us. I have to discuss this with Rani.
“We need to do something with Dwarvenholme,” they both said at the same time. Astrid, who was coming up and had been about to ask them when everyone was going to be allowed to hear what happened, nearly exploded with laughter. She turned to the hall. “Not only do they complete sentences for each other,” she said. “Now they have started saying the same thing as each other at the same time.”
She started laughing at the discomfiture she was causing. Why did she have to hear that? I can feel myself blushing. At least Carausius, seated next to us, looks scandalised at Astrid. He is right. Such obvious disrespect is not the way that the Imperial family should be treated in public. How do I stop her?
When Astrid had recovered from her mirth, she asked her question. I am looking at my husband and she is looking at me. I am sure mine is the most important question. Rani took Theodora’s hand and started to move her away from everyone, so that they could have a quiet conversation without being overhead. “Wait a minute,” she said over her shoulder to Astrid as they left. “Talk to your trader, we need to discuss what we each thought of.”
Astrid
Well, I am going to sit down and not stand to talk to a seated person. She sat in Theodora’s chair. Carausius is looking shocked again. He does that a lot. “You cannot sit there like that” he said.
Astrid bounced up and down a bit. “You are right,” she said and stood up. Carausius looks relieved. “I don’t know how Theodora puts up with that chair. It is so hard. She must be much better padded than I am.” She grabbed a cushion and put it on the chair and sat back down again. “That is much better…now tell me…are you pleased with your deal here?” Carausius’ expression is back to that of shock. It may as well stay that way.
I can see Carausius is not sure how to answer that. “I have made a good profit, perhaps not as good as I could have gotten in the Swamp, but I have cut near a month off my round trip and so might get three trips in for a season for the same costs.” He answers slowly. You can see his mind turning over. If I am right, he is thinking, ‘What right has this girl with the strange accent, who claimed to be Insakharl, but looks and sounds like none he had ever seen, have to ask him? Why does she treat the Princess with such disrespect, and how does she get away with it?’ Basil came up and gave Astrid a kiss.
“Carausius, I want you to meet my husband, Basil. He is with Hrothnog’s intelligence service…looking after the Princess at the direct order of the Emperor who sent him to her.” I guessed that mos
t people do not openly talk about that service, and I have the poor man spluttering into his drink…again. Astrid grinned and Basil turned to his wife.
“Puss, we need him to come back here with more trade. Stop trying to do your best to scare him off.” He turned to the trader. “I apologise for my wife. You know what our Insakharl sense of humour is like? Well, she has inherited more than her fair share. She enjoys, more than anything else, making practical jokes and watching how people react to them. She is always teasing the Princess. If the Princess would only stop blushing, she would not get teased half as much.” He turned to Astrid again, “Would she?” I may try and look innocent at that, but Basil’s raised eyebrow shows that it is not working at all.
“I forgot to mention,” he continued to Carausius, “if you do intend to come back here, let the officer you give my letter to know when you are thinking of coming. You may have a reply to bring back to me. You will be paid for that as well. I need not tell you that, despite what my wife thinks, it is best not to mention to anyone else who you are carrying messages for. It will probably be far safer for you that way.” He kissed Astrid again. “Now stand up and stop being nekulturny.” He indicated behind her. “The Princesses want their seats again.”
“Thank you, Basil,” said Rani. “Can you quieten them down please and see if everyone is here. If they are, then Ayesha is going to tell them all what we have been doing. Make sure that they all have drinks and are comfortable. It will be a long story.” She turned to the trader, “Are you all going to follow if the story is in Hindi?” He nodded. “Good, I am not a storyteller, but my wife tells me that doing it in two languages is harder.”
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