Clearing the Web

by Cary J Lenehan

  Eleanor looked at the pile and started picking through the jewellery. “I will take all that needs repair,” she said. “One of the best ways to learn and get better is to repair things. That way you see how they were made, and you have to force yourself to look at the work of different craftspeople and to follow the way that they made them.”

  She hurried away and came back with a bucket and began to pick over the pile, and placed broken pieces, or those missing a gem, into the bucket. After she had finished that task she went and got a smaller bucket, and began to pick over the gems, taking gems of different values and different sizes that might fill some of the gaps that she had noticed.

  The two buckets normally used to hold water, between them hold enough wealth to buy whole large towns as well as the land around them. Red and blue and green and yellow light reflects off the contents and they make a noise like gravel in the bucket of a builder when they are hefted. It is…awesome.

  While Eleanor was working, Rani was looking over the pile of objects. I should be able to rekindle the magic in the light stands. Having been used once for this purpose it should be easier to do it again, I think. I have never tried. This way, each house will have at least one permanent light source, and then candles will only occasionally need to be used. That is a good idea. It will mean that everyone will be able to have some of the treasure for themselves as proof of their wealth.

  Rani looked at the plates and goblets. Some are too grand for everyday use…well, maybe not for Princess. But for everyone else they are. She started to sort out the ones that could be shared out like the light stands. She realised that what she was collecting was a fabulous set of plate. Like our best clothes, which we save for important occasions, these can be saved for important dinners or when we have visitors that we want to impress.

  She had Valeria bring Sajãh to her, and she shared these thoughts. Sajãh agreed with her and, summoning help, began to remove the chosen pieces and select more. “There is a storage room in the Hall of Mice that I can get Dulcie and Tabitha to work on with shelves and a better door, and we can make it a strong-room for the plate,” she said smugly. “This will polish up beautifully and we will have it there ready for when we need it,” she said proprietarily as she looked over the collection.

  Rani then went over the jewellery that Eleanor had left. There were still many pieces there. Some were nearly as lavish as Astrid’s ruby necklace, some were only small rings. Some of these should be shared out, but we need to keep some for the wedding gifts, and even more so, some should be kept as gifts for outside the village.

  She went and got Theodora, and asked her to choose some pieces that would be suitable for rulers. My wife is more in touch with both jewellery and the tastes of the nobility than I am. Darkreach, Haven, Freehold and the Caliphate should all be provided for.

  Next, she got her to pick lesser pieces, ones that would be suitable for the rulers of individual towns and villages if they decided to hand them out. When this was done, they took these items to the hidden cupboard in the Hall of Mice.

  Next, they picked over the pile looking for wedding gifts, trying to choose pieces that would suit each of the unmarried women of the village. To help them in this they gathered in Astrid, Verily and Bianca, who had been talking outside when they returned to the hall. They all had fun making suggestions as to what would suit each person.

  When this was done, they still had a small heap of jewellery left over, something that perhaps would fit into two more large buckets with a bit left over. Outside of our valley this would be a major treasure. Here it is the leftovers. Tonight, I will invite everyone to take a couple of items that they want for themselves.

  The rest of the gems we will put in store against need. Once we work out the exact orientations of the mages, some will be needed to make them items to add to their ability to cast. Just as I, as a fire mage from the moon of the dragon, work better with a single ruby set in mithril on me when I cast, so shall all of our apprentices have their aids…when we can work out their exact moons…and that is one thing I intend doing over the next few months.

  This leaves the coin. Deciding to keep it is one thing. Where to keep it is another. Eventually she realised where. There is already one place large enough and with a lock. We have the Masters’ contact room in the mine. It is ideal. We can keep the spare gems there as well. The few weapons that we found and brought back we can take to the armoury until Father Christopher has determined what they are, and whether it is safe to use them. I already have the helpers handy. It is time to get the wealth stored away.

  That night Rani announced her plans for the wealth of the valley, and asked if anyone had better ideas. It seemed that no-one did and they all had a fun night picking and choosing items from the pile. There were a few minor disagreements over who saw something first, but there was really so much there that they were soon smoothed over.

  Rani

  15th Primus

  This wealth that we have really has become a joke. Naeve is going out to milk the cows, with Maria to help her. She is wearing her most comfortable dress for her pregnancy, her leather kilt. She has refused to have a new dress made that will only fit her when she is this size. So, she is proudly wearing just a kilt and sandals, along with two arm rings that would not have looked out of place on a lady in the Maharajah’s court in Haven.

  Rani could scarce stop herself laughing at the sight, but then stopped. Coming from where I did, such wealth is natural. What Naeve, a woman who has come from a long line of milkmaids, has on her arms is far more wealth than has ever been seen by all of her family in all the years that she has been alive, and she is celebrating this by wearing the bands just because she can. What little precious objects her ancestors have owned they probably kept on them or near to them. She is just doing the same.

  Chapter XXXIV

  Theodora

  4th Secundus

  As the cards had said, the summer was turning into one of peace. The days have become filled with work and training, and the nights are often spent communally. Even when people choose to eat in their homes, they often drift down to the hall afterwards where there are music and entertainment and people sit around quietly talking and amusing themselves.

  The Khitan decided that some of the flocks should be taken up to the meadow and this was done. This added to the chores with the cart making frequent trips up and down. Dulcie, Goditha and Tabitha even began to make a second cart.

  As time progressed, Father Christopher confirmed that every one of the married women (except for the mages and Goditha) was pregnant. He even admitted that Hulagu’s köle were going to be mothers as well. When he said this, those listening all looked at Bianca, but she just smiled. How the pregnancies will affect the relationships among the three she might know, but she is not telling.

  Theodora

  7th Secundus

  The conversation among several of the unmarried women has turned to their prospects and not necessarily in a good way.

  “What man of the Caliphate will have me?” asked Lãdi bitterly. “I have not been a virgin, in any part of my body, for the eight years since those animals brought me here. I have seen thirty years and was the oldest slave here. It is only my skill with a spoon, with flattery and in bed that was keeping me alive with the bandits. Even with those, I know that I would not have lived much longer.

  “I am not sure if I would want any man who would want me, as I could end up as the fourth wife of an old man who just wanted me to cook for him, or where I would have to use what I have learnt here to coax him into getting up when he was tired, and the other wives didn’t want him. They all want young and silly virgins who will give them back their youth, not make them feel old.”

  She turned to where the Princesses sat on cushions. “If you are going somewhere else, see if you can find me a man, like Aziz loves Verily, who will want me for myself and what I
can still give. I may not have long to do it in, but I want children and something more than lust. I have been with a woman before, we all have here, but I don’t want a wife or a woman as my husband. I want a good man. Is that too much to ask?” Several others among the women murmured their support for her.

  Theodora sat up from where she had been lying with her head in Rani’s lap. “I need to visit my home soon, after Astrid has delivered and is in a condition to travel. We cannot go before, as I don’t think that Basil will leave without his wife and he won’t let me leave without him. When we go, I may take you with us and we will see what we see. I think that the Muslim men of Darkreach may be more practical than the ones you are used to. Perhaps we can find one there who suits you.”

  Christopher then spoke up. “I also need to go back to see the Metropolitan. I will ask him if there are men he can send as suitors. I cannot promise you anything, unless you are willing to trust me to be your matchmaker to make a contract on your behalf, but we might have some success. We need more people in the village anyway.”

  The women begin to think about this and start talking about what they might seek in a man. At least they are not all asking me. Some prefer to trust Bianca to find someone and some ask Astrid rather than a Princess or the Presbytera.

  Many are still scarred from their time as slaves, and simply want a man who will be gentle. It is a relief to all that they do not have to think about the wealth of the man they would marry. I would not know how to approach that subject. They can choose a person just because they like him.

  At least coming from Mousehole has the advantage that the wealth of a suitor is never going to be an issue. Having survived their past, and not really needing money, they can concentrate on other matters.

  Bianca loudly made one general announcement on this issue. “Despite requests from several of you on the matter, I am not asking to inspect any man physically. The women I find men for will have to take that as they find it.”

  Ayesha

  The others are all busy, but none of the Muslim women have come to ask my aid, but then, Lãdi is right. There are not likely to be any worthwhile men in the Caliphate who will take them as a first wife.

  This left her wondering about herself. I am the only virgin in the village, except for the two new arrivals and probably Rani, and Rani has made it clear that she has no intention of knowing a man now, and Maria, at least, has already talked with Astrid.

  Am I, Ayesha, going to stay a virgin forever? Should I seek a husband myself? Will a man from the Caliphate expect me to stay in his home and to leave Mousehole? Could I, a ghazi of the Caliph, accept a man from Darkreach?

  How do my dreams about Hulagu, which I am still having, even with him away in the meadows, fit in with all of this? Can I take him as a husband? Will he accept me, a woman who is not a tribeswoman, and who has no intention of ever being one? Will he even stay in the valley once his köle are delivered and he goes back to the tribes to find husbands for them to allow them to be free? In the end, it will all turn out as Allah, the Compassionate, wills.

  Astrid

  Why is Fãtima taking me aside? She looks embarrassed. “The others are asking for their ideal man, and I want mine. Will you agree to not tell this to anyone who does not need to know?”

  “Yes…of course”

  “Then, well, I actually miss some elements of my old life under the bandits.” She is blushing, and her voice has gone very quiet. “I want a man who will give me…when I want it…some pain. I have found the only time I can really…find release…is when I am being punished and treated fully as a slave and I want this…sometimes. I like men, but I actually enjoyed some of the attention I received from the bandit women. I don’t want someone who will be too rough and actually damage me, as sometimes happened with the men.”

  “I do not know how I am going to raise this subject with a man, but I will try and help you,” Astrid answered her. You may be grateful now, but wait until I succeed before you celebrate. I have no idea how to find a man who can be what Fãtima wants. I may have been sworn to secrecy on this, what I say with my husband does not count. Maybe he can help me in this.

  Theodora

  9th Secundus

  Everyone was excited when Theodora decided to teach as many as it was possible how to use the carpet. “Although Air mages are better with them, any mage can use one and often many people who are not mages, but who could possibly have some magic.”

  In the end, we have the mage trainees as well as Hagar, Eleanor and Lãdi who are able to control it to my satisfaction. Once this was done, on fine days, the carpet was often to be seen floating around the valley and going for longer and longer trips, up the valley and finally into the upper valley.

  Although the watch at the entrance to the valley was not abandoned, with a carpet and a Talker they could even keep a good watch on the whole area around Mousehole. My husband, thinking about how easily we approached the valley, has deemed it prudent to make this an extra precaution, rather than replace what we are fairly sure will work. I think that, as usual, she is right.

  The books that they had brought back mainly had mentions of Dwarvenholme or of Mousehole, although several were works that more broadly talked about the world. I am spending a lot of my time in the library. Astrid, in trying to learn the languages that others use more competently than she does, has surprised herself by also coming to love being among the books and, as her pregnancy progresses, is spending more time there.

  Ruth was also often to be seen there, in her little amount of free time, and sometimes Rani or Bryony, who actually knew something about the subject of geography before she had come to the village.

  I am surprised to discover that there is indeed a ‘Beyond.’ I need to apologise to Astrid over my earlier doubt. There seems to be a lot of Beyond. It is much bigger than just the ice land to the north that Astrid had described. There are other places like the Land. We have several books that talk of another land to the west, giving it different names but all agreeing that it is wild and untamed. Two talk of a land to the east that runs from near the ice to the north nearly down to the ice in the south.

  “Astrid, is there ice in the south?”

  “Not that I know,” she replied. “I thought that it got hotter and hotter. Ask your husband. She is from the south.”

  That land has many different people in it and, according to the books there is even a race of lizards that talk and made tools. Some of the drawings of one of the places there look sort of like Darkreach, but with only humans in the kingdom. The only Kharl mentioned live in their own kingdoms. They are not a part of a larger Empire.

  “But it is said that Granther made the Kharl, and he has never mentioned other lands having them as well. Why would they be there if he doesn’t pay any attention there; that I know of at least…and I am sure that we would all have heard if he were away from Darkreach for long, to the areas outside The Land?” Astrid did not answer. She just shrugged.

  There is one land that is talked about where everyone who lives there is black, where magic does not work the same as in other places, and sometimes does not work at all; a place where no-one can speak to the inhabitants. The people who live there wear no clothes and do not use metal unless they are given it.

  They exist in a blasted hell of heat and sand that is raised high all around above the sea. The few travellers who reach their land, according to the one book that mentions the place, leave as soon as they can. It said that there is no water there and that it never rains except along the edges. No other place is as hot or as dry.

  Along with many islands, some large and some small, one other land was mentioned in a few books. It was called the Great Southern Land. Theodora and Astrid both noticed that, although several books mentioned it, even if the authors had been very good at describing everywhere else that they had been, they were very vague, and indeed often contradictor
y, about what was to be found there. “It sounds like some very good air mages live there and turn peoples’ thoughts away from it.”

  Astrid

  10th Secundus

  Now that is very interesting. The northernmost isle off the coast of the Land had borne another name once. We people of Wolfneck and Skrice simply called it the Shunned Isle. Once, it had been a lively city called Arnflorst. Now it is a deserted ruin and a prohibited place.

  The sailors from the two villages in the north will not land there…ever. They will not even fish in its waters, and they definitely will never take shelter in its lee during a storm. It is regarded as an evil place.

  Apparently, once it had been a bright and shining city, its people travelled all around the world and, if I have it right, the runes on the stone marking the path to Dwarvenholme are neither Dwarven nor Darkspeech, or rather they may have once been both of them. They are the writing and the speech of the city.

  This is even more exciting. I have heard tales of the Sea Nomads. I have never met them of course, but I have heard tales, even if I do not believe them, of towns that float and of their boats, as tall as the tallest trees. One book talks a lot about them. “I wonder if these people still live or if they died during the Burning. Wild fire on a ship would be devastating.”

  Rani

  Not all of the books are about geography. Some are books about magic: why it works and how it works and speculations about it. When she stops looking at those others with Astrid, I need to get Princess to look at these. They may help her with new spells.

  I idly delved into this section of the library at the University and now I find that we have a copy of one of the books that was often mentioned there: Dar Lagrange’s ‘Speculations on the Nature of the Physical and Non-Physical Worlds.’ We have a book that was thought to have been lost forever.