Clearing the Web

by Cary J Lenehan

  Chapter LVI

  Norbert

  30th December

  So once again we wait on our trader. He had better bring more metal. With all of the repairs that are being made to the buildings, I am almost out and having to scavenge rusty bits to make nails and hinges. We need a new plough, and fittings for the second cart, and I cannot do those.

  It always seems to be iron that is in the shortest supply and places the most limits on doing anything, but that is the case anywhere. Why is iron so scarce? I am sure that people use magic so much simply because we lack sufficient quantities of the right metals to work with and to make enough tools. Magic may be hard to work with, but finding enough iron is even harder and more seem able to work with magic than with metals.

  Astrid

  Carausius’ arrival is starting to look a bit like a procession. Some of our villagers are going out to look over the people he has with him. Out in front walks Karas, behind him Candidas is driving one cart, with the packhorses and a string of unladen horses strung behind on a series of leads, one behind the other, then comes Carausius tending the horses and walking with three women dressed in Caliphate fashion and huddled together as if they are uncertain of their reception and a little afraid. With them is a man who is dressed more for a city than the mountains.

  Next in the procession is a young woman driving a second cart, and then some cattle and several sheep, then finally Festus walks in the rear looking more like a shepherd than a guard. The woman on the cart is armed much as Candidas, with shortswords and light leather armour, and she has a shield propped beside her.

  Of the three Caliphate women, only one, a tiny girl as small as Bilqĩs and as pretty, has a bow and the others, one not much taller and another who is above average in height, have only daggers.

  The man, likewise, has only daggers, but he walks like a man who is sure of himself. His eyes keep looking from woman to woman, not resting on any, but passing on as he sees new ones, and he is rejecting each one…he is seeking someone. I’ll keep an eye on him and who he seeks.

  “Greetings, Carausius, and welcome back to the valley of Mice. I suppose that you are going to keep close as to who these people are, even from me, despite me getting you a much sought-after wedding invitation, one that probably still has you dining out on the strength of your stories from it and your new connections.”

  “Alas, I must” he replied in a tone of fake regret. “I am sorely grieved, but I am sure that you understand that your Princesses will not want to be kept waiting forlornly while we chat idly outside and keep them waiting.”

  “Your incredibly false sadness is betrayed by that grin. Come on up to the hall. Can you say what you have with you at least?”

  “Only that you should leave the second cart strictly alone and allow us to unpack it. Most of what it has on it is just iron, but there are some wooden boxes on board that should not be touched and should be handled with care. Let Candidas and the girl driving it unload that one and let no-one touch the boxes afterwards.”

  Now they are before the stables and Candidas, Festus and Karas are starting to unload the carts and packs and put the horses inside. The Khitan are ignoring the rest and fussing over the horses that they bought in Ardlark. Bianca told me that they will now have enough beasts to start building a proper herd and also have remounts available at the same time. Naeve is behaving even worse over the sheep and cattle. They didn’t tell her about them.

  The rest trooped into the hall. Carausius is followed by his charges and the rest of the village in a gaggle, all trying to find out what they can and commenting on the new arrivals. At least they are using Hindi.

  The new man is interesting, but he seems to pay no attention to anyone…wait…he and Valeria, standing behind the Princesses, have locked gazes. He has smiled, and she has blushed in return, and nearly dropped the bag that she is holding. Well, our first suitor arrives. I will teach him to try and keep secrets, and I might steal some of Carausius’ thunder.

  “Your Excellencies. I present our trader Carausius who brings with him iron, something that needs careful handling, some more girls and a suitor for your attendant Valeria.” I have another blush from Valeria, a surprised look from both Carausius and the Princesses, a sharp look from the man and various noises of approval from the Mice. The idea that, at last, a suitor had arrived for at least one of them seems to have general approval.

  “How did you…I didn’t say anything…have you started to read minds?” stuttered Carausius. Astrid just looked smug. Christopher and Theodule are nodding to each other…almost as if they expected this.

  “Stop being a clown, Astrid, and let Carausius get on with explaining. Greetings, Carausius,” said Rani with a touch of annoyance. “What do you have for us this time?”

  “I have brought all of the ordered goods, including a quantity of good metal, iron, copper, tin, pewter and lead. I have two packhorses with enough good slate on them for one large roof or two small ones or else many repairs.

  “It is marvellous what my new connections can do. Because of them I have even managed to obtain a supply of molotails of the most powerful sort. I figured that they could come in useful against your dragon…that is the stuff that needs to be handled carefully.

  “I have some candles and incense, more cloth, spices, seeds and even some tree seedlings of apples, apricots and quinces. They should grow well here, and I have not noticed any so far. I have…” And here he stopped and began to dig in a large flat pouch hanging at his side. “I nearly forgot. I have letters, just like I was one of the Oxys Dromos, the Imperial messengers.”

  He started looking through them and handing them out. “That is one for the Princesses from their Ambassador, the Empress, beloved be her name. One for Basil from his brother…and for Astrid from Basil’s sister…and for Ayesha from the Imam of the main mosque, and finally one for Father Christopher from Metropolitan Tarasios. I have been told by all of them that I have to wait for replies. Now, where was I…oh yes.

  “I have introductions, even if Astrid spoilt one surprise. The man here is Nikephorus Cheilas, and he is the first man to come along with me to seek a bride. He tells me that he already knows your waiting woman and that he wants to marry her. I don’t know how she feels, but he has brought a reference to the Princesses from Thamar Lydas, the Magister Cubicularius of where you stayed, that I have seen, or I would not have brought him.

  “These three women have been sent by the Imam Iyãd ibn Walĩd, and he probably has said more in his letter to Ayesha, but he told me that they are some of the girls he discussed with her from Ardlark, and that he awaits a reply from Brinkhold and that he hopes to have some men to send along soon.”

  “They do not come empty handed, but he sends them—and this takes up a lot of space on one of the carts—with tools of their trade to set them up. They have looms and wheels.” From the expressions on the girl’s faces, this is news to them.

  “I will let them tell their own stories, and they certainly have stories, but the shortest one with the bow is called Yumn.” An elaborate obeisance towards the Princesses…never done that before and has no clue. “She tells me that she is a skilled carpet maker. The other short one is Rabi’ah and the taller is Zafirah.” The girls each make a deep obeisance when their names are mentioned, but not as bad as the first. “I have been told that they are both spinners and weavers. I am not able to judge these things, but the Imam assures me that this is true.”

  He looked around and grabbed the other girl and dragged her forward “And this is my daughter Theodora, whom Astrid called Theodora Lígo, and demanded that I bring her along. She has come with me, on this trip at least. As you are aware, I have no son and so, and Astrid is right in this, she should learn the business. Hopefully one day she will get herself a husband who will do the hard work for her. But for the present…”

  “Well,” said Rani, looking at her
wife, “let us get on with negotiations. Astrid, Ayesha, Bianca, can you take these young ladies aside and find out all about them. I am interested in why we have more women instead of potential husbands, but that can wait.”

  “Princess,” said Ayesha, “that is, in fact my fault and I fully take the blame; may Allah, the Merciful, forgive me. I told the Imam that, although we needed men most, we would even be interested in the right girls with the right skills and…background, if you take my meaning. We will talk with them and see if that is the case.”

  She turned to the three girls and gestured commandingly. “Come with us and we will talk.” The three new girls are looking at us as if we will bite them and are clustering close together as we leave.

  Ayesha

  We will put them at ease. Hall of Mice, seats and kaf with locum and baklava. Ayesha smiled. I remember how the Princess had tried to put me at ease as I was sent out on this mission, what seems to be a lifetime ago. Now I sit in a similar fashion as I work out how to deal with the life of another.

  Astrid and Bianca are just looking at me to take the lead and I am unsure where to begin. For a start, what language will we use? Astrid and Bianca have no Arabic, but then Bianca has very little Darkspeech, but her sense probably doesn’t need language. Darkspeech it is then.

  “I am Ayesha bint Hãritha. I am a ghazi from the Caliphate, and it seems, the spiritual leader of the Faithful in this village, which is called Mousehole. This is Astrid the Cat. She is a hunter from the north and is married to a Tribune of the Antikataskopeía.” The three girls look scared at that, particularly with Astrid smiling that quite carnivorous smile of hers at them.

  “The other woman is the Presbytera Bianca, the wife of one of our Christian priests.” Bianca heard her name and smiled. “She does not speak Darkspeech, but she has her own ways of finding out if you tell lies that do not need her to understand a word of what you say. She only needs to be near you when you speak.” Now they looked terrified…no I needed to say that.

  “Now, you are going to tell us all about yourselves and why the Imam sent you to us.” They look at each other. None want to be first. “Come on, speak up.” Again, they exchange looks.

  The smallest spoke first, looking from one to another of the three sitting in front of her. “If your Excellencies would be pleased…”

  Astrid interrupted her. “We are not Excellencies. I am just a hunter, and Ayesha is…well, she is a warrior, and Bianca is…what Bianca is. None of us is really noble. It is only our Princesses who are Excellencies. You can just call us by our names. Now, continue.”

  “Yes, Ex…umm Astrid. I am Yumn. I am an orphan. My parents were carpet makers, but they were very poor and could not seem to ever get out of debt. When they died, there was no money for me to have, and I had no connections and could expect little as mahr, a dowry, from a husband, nor had I anything to give him. Their loom was even taken from me by a moneylender to settle some of their debt, so I could not earn anything.”

  “I had no other skills, and was too small for the army, and so I entered into a contract that would earn me better money than I could get otherwise, in the hope that I could get enough to set up my own business. After some time, I was approached by the Imam, after prayers and he asked my story and a week later he asked if I wanted to come to a place where I could make a fresh start. My work was not what I had hoped it would be, and I was glad to say yes.”

  Now I understand … ‘enter a contract’ indeed. “You were a prostitute. You were all prostitutes.” They don’t look happy at that. “I thought so. The Imam took my meaning.” She turned to the other Mice and changed to Latin. “I offered him a place to send girls like this, good girls who had no choices, and who wanted to make a new start. Let us see what the other two have to say.” She turned back to the Darkreach girls. “Continue.”

  “You do not mind that we sold our bodies?” asked Yumn, with a tone of wonder in her voice.

  “Most of the women in our village have done that, one way or another,” said Astrid dismissively and with a wave of her hand. “It is of no importance. Women often do what women must do in order to survive. Who is next?”

  “If it pleases you, I am Zafirah,” said the tall one of the three, and the plainest, but still a more than attractive girl. “My family also had no money, and a moneylender was threatening us. I have two brothers and three sisters, all younger than me. I sold myself to pay off the debt and give my parents some extra money, so that the rest of my family would stay free.”

  “The Imam also talked with me. In fact, he talked to all of the women of the Faith in our line of work. We are the only ones who he talked to a second time who then decided to come. Many did not want to leave the city for an uncertain future away from home in the wilds.”

  “I did not want to leave my parents and siblings, but I was lost to them anyway. Carausius told us that the imam bought us as slaves to free us, and we now owe him a huge debt that we cannot repay, but because of him I can now start a new life.” She looked at the third girl.

  “I am Rabi’ah.” Her voice is bitter even in saying her own name. “My father is a drunk and a fool, and he sold me to a slaver as none would give mahr to a daughter of such a man, and with what he got for me, he could drink more and not be burdened with the expense of keeping me. I did what I was told. Even doing what I did was better than my life had been.”

  “I had fourteen more years left of my time, and I was counting the days. I am glad to be free and will make no trouble. We are spinners and weavers and we will work hard just to be free.”

  The others are nodding, and so we now make a decision in the name of Allah, the Compassionate. Ayesha switched to Hindi. “I think that we should let them stay.”

  Astrid

  Who cares what they did? Astrid turned to Bianca “Did your sense, whatever it is, do anything?”

  “No. Was I supposed to find something?” was the reply.

  “Only if they were lying, I suppose. I agree with Ayesha. So what if they sold their bodies. That is between them and their God, and their priest sent them to us. I will report back to the Princesses.”

  “Bianca should go back and have a talk with this Nikephorus fellow with her husband, and Ayesha, you can keep these three occupied by showing them the village.” Ayesha went to object. “You can speak Arabic. We only have a few words of it. They may still have other things to say, and you can best put them at ease. We cannot.”

  She switched back to Darkspeech. “Girls, finish your kaf and sweets, and then Ayesha will show you around the village, and we will see where you can set up your looms if you decide to stay.” She stood and took Bianca away, leaving Ayesha with the three.

  Astrid and Bianca arrived just as the trade negotiations were finished. They must have gone well, as Carausius, Ruth, and Shilpa all look happy. Theodora has just called Nikephorus up and is getting Valeria to where she can see her. We are just in time. Bianca and Astrid edged forward. Bianca has grabbed Christopher.

  “Young man,” Theodora said in Darkspeech. “I think that you can now explain yourself.”

  “Excellency,” he said, “I was a praetor koubikoularios, an upper servant,” I am not the only blank face he saw… “in the Imperial household, and I met your serving woman when you visited, and she was learning in our schools. We danced, and we enjoyed ourselves and then, when she had left, I realised that she meant more to me than just a brief relationship. So, I decided to follow her and seek your approval to ask for her hand in matrimony.”

  “If she chooses to come back to Ardlark, I will have my job back. If she prefers to remain here, which I suspect she will, I will then seek to find a position with you. I have brought with me a reference from both my superior, and from the Magister Cubicularius Thamar, whom you know.”

  “Assuming that we let you stay, and that is not pre-empting anything that Valeria may say, what would you bri
ng to us?” asked Rani.

  “Excellency, I am an experienced personal attendant. I speak most of the languages of Darkreach, although I admit that this is not likely to be of much use here. I have skills in cooking, in makeup and beauty care, and in running a household, and I brought with me a good quantity of useful supplies along these lines,” he replied.

  Valeria is obviously thinking she is just speaking to herself. She quietly added: “And he dances divinely.” Now she realises that she spoke aloud and blushes. He is as well. How sweet.

  “You do realise the past that lies behind most of the women here?” Theodora asked. She is looking at Valeria as much as at the man.

  “Yes Excellency,” he replied. “Your story is much told in the Empire and our new, and much beloved, Empress has made no secret of it. She stands as an example of strength of character to women throughout the Empire. The Emperor has chosen a bride from Mousehole. I hope that he does not mind if I follow his example.”

  Theodora continued. “You do realise that, if you come here, you are leaving Darkreach behind. You will owe allegiance to us in our valley, not the Emperor.”

  “As you have yourself done. That was made clear to me before I left,” Nikephorus replied. “I have been told that the Emperor himself happily gives us permission to do this if we wish and, from what I hear, this is even included in your Treaty with him.” Theodora nodded.

  Theodora and Rani then looked at each other and then at Christopher and Bianca. “I believe him to be a good man,” said Christopher.

  “And I feel nothing untoward from him,” said Bianca.

  “In that case,” said Theodora. “You have our permission to proceed. We will discuss other issues later.”

  Everyone in the room is now looking at one or another of the pair.

  “Here? Now?” asked Nikephorus, looking around him.