by Derek Palmer
""Sorry about not bringing you some real food, Stian. We have enough work in herding that group and making sure that they won't see anything they aren't supposed to see.""
""I'm okay - and thanks for these.""
""That's just self-protection. Both Fainauriel and I know how cranky you'll get if you are hungry.""
I know that I should have protested, but that's hard to do when you have your mouth full.
The delegation left the following day and there was a group of armed women following them and making sure that nobody stayed behind. I did some patrols outside the village just to confirm that nobody else tried to slip in while the focus was on the delegation. As far as I could tell, nobody tried anything and also the delegation behaved as they should.
After dinner, I was asked to meet Mylaela, Immianthe and the other Elders who were available. Some wine was served and then it was time to talk. Or in my case, to listen.
""So, now we know where we stand. We have some serious enemies in our Northern border and the royals have decided that we aren't something that they should be afraid of anymore. Since they don't openly want to break the agreements their ancestors have made they asked those Ugly People to do it for them. I guess that summarizes our situation right now.""
Mylaela's comment sounded quite harsh, but I found it hard to break. Mylaela just had help a short pause before she continued.
""Of course there's the fact that not all of you knew what we found out while questioning some of those Ugly People. Their own valley has reached its limits in how many of them it can support and they claimed that some promises were made if they can take over this valley. There were also some ridiculous thoughts about sending them out of our country.""
Her words were echoing inside my head when it suddenly felt like multiple candles had been lighted inside my head. The combination of her words, my discussions with the Guardians during the hunt and the fairy tales my mother had told me. Not forgetting the dark side of the Guardian world revealed to me by the old moderator.
""Army. They want to raise an army from those Ugly People.""
Suddenly all the women were looking at me. I shrugged.
""I mean, what are they good at? They are fighters more than anything and scary as hell just because they are so ugly. I have been told that there have been ambitious royals ruling this country who have dreamed about having more and more land to rule. They have tried several times and always failed before and as a result of that, trade has come difficult because our Kingdom is loathed especially because they have been using Magicians in their warfare.""
Now all the women were really looking at me and they had become all silent. As the leader, Mylaela was the one to break the silence.
""Stian, I have to admit that your idea makes sense when combined with the things we have heard. Now it seems that we have been sitting and waiting here way too long, just feeling sorry for ourselves. But how do you know all that?""
I shook my head.
""I don't really know anything, it's just a combination of things. But those things about history are things that my mother taught me during the winters at my old home. Some of them were teachings and some of them were told as fairy tales, even if they really were teachings.""
The discussion that followed was something that showed me that these 'Pretty Faces' were something more than just pretty faces. Of course I knew that already since I had been hunting with Leilatha and Shalana - and you cannot kill tens of attacking Trolls with just your pretty face. No, these women could be ferocious fighters if necessary, and they were also smart. In a way they reminded me a lot of my mother - and not just because of the fact that also my mother had been able to use magic.
An immediate decision was made to raise the security all over the valley. I would be asked to scan the surroundings with my special skill but besides that there would be patrols keeping eye of all the known passes to the valley. Not only that, all those patrols would have some pigeons that would be used to deliver messages to the village - independent of the fact if something was discovered or not. There would probably be some murmur because of the inconvenience, but nothing serious. Not after the attack of those hundred Trolls.
But those were only the very short-term plans. There would also be some - very careful - patrolling done outside this valley. Very careful, since the general opinion was that no more losses would be accepted - and if someone would be captured also the new secrets would be revealed. Like Immianthe said:
""I'm sure that they are already suspecting something, but they cannot be sure. We must assume that everything those Ugly People know is also told to the Humans. I was almost certain that the people who visited here were checking for all the women they could see.""
Which meant that they - the Guardians and the people they worked for - might suspect that there was someone around who knew some magic. Some male. Then there was a possibility that some of the escaped Trolls had noticed that Melima had been pregnant. Yes, they might already suspect something.
""After their losses I'm certain that it'll be a while before those Ugly People try a direct attack again. But from now on we cannot take our safety for granted. Not even in this valley.""
Mylaela looked around while saying that and all the others were nodding to her.
""So, that's what we need to do in very short term. If we think a bit further we need new generations of Alfar. Our people have been killed and probably captured during the decades without us really knowing it. I'm sure that the Ugly People will start growing a new generation of soldiers immediately and we need to respond to it at least somewhat. Besides, teaching the children will make much more sense if there is more than one group of children.""
Suddenly the women were looking at me, again.
""Stian, I sense and know that you're quite happy living with Fainauriel and me, but this is something we need - and don't even try to say that you haven't been thinking about it yourself.""
I still had no idea how Bellcauniel was doing it but she managed to add such an amount of pure sexual lust to her statement that I blushed. Planned or not, the look on my face generated several bursts of laughter around me. I smiled a bit and shook my head.
""I have two conditions - you need to start including some of the younger generation in your meetings, maybe some of those who already are mothers and have therefore matured. That should help you in the future. Maybe that would help some of them to mature a bit faster. The second is that I only want to meet women who willingly come to me. My mother would come to haunt me if I'd touch someone against her will.""
I had no idea how well I could read those older women but none of them showed any signs of disapproval when they nodded at me. Immianthe even patted my hand.
""Your mother must have been a special woman.""
""She was. She really was.""
I resisted the urge to say that she had taught me that I should 'never trust the Elves'. Barely. Besides, I wanted to trust my new friends.
--
Chapter 8
That day there was some more discussion about long term plans, but no decisions were made and I remained silent to that point. I had some ideas but they might be all stupid ones. I needed to know more and, as I now had more or less secured my position here, I would be able to do just that. Besides helping the Elves.
Fainauriel and Bellcauniel very seldom failed to tease me if I looked tired in the morning. The point of that was that they knew that I'd do my best to make them suffer because of that teasing. The problem was that there was only one of me but it didn't stop me trying. Of course, there were breaks, since Allynna had informed me that, until she had three fully trained assistants, I'd need to make sure that there wouldn't be ten babies coming close to each other. I could use the breaks.
Besides training with arms, other kinds of lessons started - and sometimes I was the one giving the training. After all, I was the one who had read all kinds of books, and now it was up to me to translate those teachings from Ang
lon to the Old Language. It turned out to be my task to teach Anglon, too. That hadn't been part of my plans, but when I complained about it to my unruly spouses, they both just laughed at me. I was supposed to be the man in our house and when I told them that, they laughed even harder. After that, I had to make sure that both of them were punished accordingly. One more reason to look tired in the morning.
Then there were Leilatha and Shalana. I wasn't sure which one of them was most afraid - those two fearless hunters were afraid that those old memories would be too much, that they would not be able to do this. I was afraid of losing the friendship that I had managed to create with those two women who had first tried to kill me. In the end, it was clear that we were still close friends but there wasn't the same kind of special connection as there was with Fainauriel and Bellcauniel.
In general, I was quite happy with my life. Even though I knew that it wouldn't last.
The winter in the valley was so pleasant that it didn't feel like a winter to me. However, the lengthening of the days told me that we were going towards spring - and summer. I went to talk to Mylaela.
""We need to find out what is happening outside this valley. Besides that, I need to cash some of my Bonds and maybe create some false trails.""
""I take it that you have really been thinking about this.""
""Yes, I have.""
""Why don't you tell me about it, then.""
It just wasn't so easy to do that for real. A quick peek from the Southern pass had told me that there was a group outside the valley keeping an eye on everybody who'd try to come in - or go out. Another indication of the changed status of this community was that the trade with the outside world had more or less stopped, and the few traders who came to meet the Elves at the Southern pass had only second-class products to offer, claiming bad weather or some other things that were clearly excuses. The worst thing was that the rye grains they tried to deliver were contaminated by ergot! All that meant that the community needed to become even more self-sufficient - and in a hurry.
The newly formed administrative group discussed the situation. That group now contained some of the former Elders and some women from the younger generation. This time it was Caladwen - who had been busy reading and translating my books all during wintertime - who explained the situation.
""We are quite aware that the Human population thinks of us as pretty but shallow creatures who don't need to care about aging or getting ugly. On the other hand, there were people who were grateful to us because of what we could tell them about healing deceases and treating wounds.""
Allynna kept nodding while Caladwen spoke. Mylaela also nodded but also shook her head.
""Now it seems that those things are more or less being ignored and, as Stian here told us, most of the normal people don't know any of that. We also need to remember that those Ugly People can offer some of the same things we do. Now it seems clear that the current rulers want to get rid of us and also use the Ugly People for their own benefit.""
""They don't know who they are dealing with. They don't understand the Ugly People like we do.""
""That's much too true, Sabariel, much too true. However, I cannot see any way to make them believe us until something really happens. An army of Ugly People is a very bad idea, a very bad idea indeed. Altogether, these things mean that we need to make some preparations for our own future. The first part is the start of direct trade and maybe helping the Humans close to us.""
The first part of our mission was to get away from the valley with something to trade - and some Bonds to cash. There were a few known ways to access the valley from outside and without doubt the Guardians were watching all of them. However, the Elves had had more than enough time to explore their valley and all the routes in and out of it. The only problem with our current Eastern route was that we could not use a cart, just ponies - and Luna. Even Luna needed to be walked and guided through the worst parts of the pass. Those ponies seemed to be more sure-footed than I was - and thanks to the Ugly People there now were enough ponies that could be used.
The moment when I again saw the forest and the eastern plains that seemed endless was almost surreal. It was just a bit less than three years ago when I set my foot on this side of the mountains for the first time and I left the area almost a year later - less than two years ago, now. When I came to this side for the first time, I was a naïve village boy and now... well, I guess that I still was a village boy, but not so naïve anymore, after losing one fiancé and two homes. I closed my eyes but I was still able to feel the morning sun on my face. Only then, I concentrated on the area in front of us.
I was already sure that there was nothing that would threaten us, but I still wanted to check my skills and a part of me wanted to cry out in joy about everything I found there. Two herds of deer, a pack of wolves and one bear further in the north. Up here, the nature reminded me a bit of the more harsh surroundings of my old home village, just as some small patches of snow in the ground did.
There was a smile in my face when I turned to face the rest of the group.
""There should be nothing threatening close by. I'm certain that there's a game trail nearby going in the direction where we want to go.""
Previously we had agreed that trade trips would be made separately from my Bond cashing trips. I would start cashing my remaining Bonds on the western coast, as close to my old home as possible - and that trip would take place immediately after this trip. Trade had priority, since people couldn't eat money - or Bonds. Besides, we needed to know the value of the goods we wanted to trade. We had dried herbs, very good honey and high-quality wine and liquor. Even with the ponies, there was a limited amount we could carry, but the quality of the products was so good that it probably compensated for the limited quantity.
My job here was reconnaissance. I would go to the town first, and maybe buy some samples of the products the Elves would come to sell. That would give us the possibility to compare our products to the ones available and I would also try to find a reliable buyer. Or rather, someone who would be willing to trade with the Elves and ignore the officials and their demands. Such an easy piece of work. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to do that. Yes, I had more recent experience of some merchants, one good, one bad and a few others. That didn’t really make me an expert; but at least I could go to them without any trouble, unlike the Elven women. So, my expertise wasn't really the point. I just happened to be the only one who could do it safely. Trying to find an honest merchant who'd be crooked enough to do some business with the Elves, even if that kind of behavior was probably discouraged by the authorities... like I said, an easy piece of work for a village boy who had never visited a real town.
""Stian, we know that it has been a long time since any of us visited any town but we Alfar have a long memory - and certain things stay in our minds probably forever. As far as we know, towns and cities are more or less the same in all worlds, there are good areas and not so good areas. Places to go and places to avoid. Some of us even spent a few moments in the capital city before we moved.""
I listened to Meldainiel and tried to absorb all the information I could from her. At the end we found out that my knowledge probably equaled hers even if mine was solely from my mother's teachings and warnings. Still, I didn't really know what to expect when I rode into the town. There were some stables outside the town where I could buy care for Luna during my stay in town. I accepted the second place I checked, but only after checking their stalls and after a promise that the horses are walked during the day. I paid for four days with a promise that I'll get some refund if I could finish my business in shorter time.
Nothing that was said, and nothing I was told, had really prepared me for what I was facing when I entered the town. Since this was an inland town, there were no walls or gates for protection, but still there was a clear border separating the town and the outskirts. From the direction I entered the town, the houses were immediately two floors high and there were even
higher buildings closer to the center of the town. There were some wider roads separating the blocks - they didn't want the whole town to burn down in case of fire - and instead of open ditches they had mostly covered drains. Very clever.
But the first thing that really hit me wasn't the height of the buildings or the innovations they used to keep the town cleaner. No, it was the number of people. I had never seen so many people in my life at the same time - and not only seen, but also felt. If my skill in detecting living beings was an asset while hunting; here, inside this town, it was something terrifying. I had never before really had to close myself down in the way I had to do now. If I was going to visit towns or other places with lots of people I really needed to learn to do this. Oh, I could do it - but I had to actively keep on reminding myself to do it and that was exhausting.
At the stables, I had asked for a recommendation for accommodation, and I surprised myself by finding the place without a problem. Well, it helped a bit that the streets were straight and perpendicular. Still, I was proud of myself for finding the right guest house - or inn, as it was called here. It also helped that they had a big, hanging signboard that could be seen from a distance. Also, the reason for the recommendation became evident as soon as I entered the house, since the owners were clearly related. Well, if they took good care of animals, maybe they would take good care of people, too. At least I'd have a solid roof over my head - unlike the Elven women hiding in the forest.
