the Leathermines

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The other two messenger teams came back, also with all their members and with extra supplies purchased.

The morning meeting was going on when the teams arrived.  A small cheer was led as they came in, their packs and cloaks dragging on the stone floor beside them.  The riders were tired and looked like they had all been riding hard through the night.  The meeting was opened to the reports of the messengers and it was mostly happy reports made.

There had been a road washed out for one of the teams which delayed them.  The other had been delayed after they had been stopped at the gate into the Capitol City, the guard suspicious when multiple teams had come through saying almost the same thing.  The soldier of the team was able to convince the commander of the watch that all had been real and that it was just a precaution because of weather and possible rebels. After most of a day.

The salt pigs that each of the messengers carried back to the keep were heartily accepted by Orgia, the few oils and spices brought back also with an open hand.  They had not taken much with them as far as monies went, but the salt and oils were going to help keep the household running for just a little bit longer.

One of the protector teams handed Laun a small pouch, a few baked goods inside.  Laun saw the grey ribbon and the claperless bell sewn on the end as the tie of the pouch.  Laun nibbled on one of Marie’s travel cakes and offered some to those around her until Geralk was able to take the last, and the pouch with the sewn coded message in it.  There was a finger under Laun’s bottom lip for a flash, a responding one back from Geralk, telling her he knew it was to be kept secret, whatever the message was. »Read More

Back to Chapter 5

Three teams of messengers had been sent out.  Each had a soldier and two of the Salam-Dir protector teams on horseback.  With the rain and unknown machinations from Rosemond, each set of messengers had the same messages to go to the same people, but were going different routes.

It took a week, but the first of the messenger teams came back, all messages delivered and supplies purchased.  Nothing was reported back publicly to commanders or nobles or the King as nothing had really been amiss on the journey.  The messengers had a few boxes of supplies that had been purchased for the kitchens. Disa took the tea and oil with her back to the kitchen, a smile on her face.

Lady Beatia had sent just one message back with the first team to contact her.  Laun was able to read the message before Selene was presented it and found that the noble Lady was far more understanding than she thought she would be.  Selene was not disowned.  Beatia thanked her daughter for telling her where she had gotten to, and that she was safe with the King.  She did say that if Selene did not get back to their home before the season was over, there would be consequences, but those were not listed.

Selene and Lin had taken over one of the tents in the troupe’s wooded area for several days and both seemed happy as they emerged.  The young noble seemed to have shed her upbringing in more than her clothing.  The troupe accepted her into them and the two seemed inseparable, for the moment. »Read More

Back to chapter 3 - Tribute

There was relief on several faces in the steamy Great Hall as Hunter carried Laun in from the storm.  They both had blankets around them and warmed honeyed wine in their hands as room was made at one of the benches.

Laun was not going to argue with Disa as her maid stood over her to make sure Laun drank what she was given.  It did taste good and warmed her core as the wool blanket first sucked up the water from her and then warmed with the steam created from her body, relaxing her back and legs.

The rain outside was leveling off to a steady rate after the first of the storm had pushed through.  They had been able to prepare, but the mud was still up to the knees on some people in the courtyards, not quite that far on Hunter.  He had carried Laun most of the way from Hellon’s Hill, against Laun’s wishes at first.  It meant that he was coated with the splash and mud up past the top of his breeches.

Disa, taking the emptied mugs, looked at the mud on the legs sticking out from under the blanket wrapped around Hunter.  Laun caught the look right before Disa handed off the mugs to another kitchen staff.

“You need to strip.”  Disa had been practicing her Matron stare and even Laun cringed as Orgia’s second crossed her arms while waiting for the large man to do as she said.

Hunter looked at Laun.  She nodded and said, “She means it.  I wouldn’t go against her.”

The boots were slick but finally came off.  The blanket hardly covered his bare chest and he looked around as he tried to hold the blanket over his shoulders and undo his breeches at the same time.  Laun started to giggle and knew that she was going to need to strip down, too.  She was not as muddy, but the few layers she had on were almost transparent from the rain. »Read More

Back to Chapter 2

There were storms on the Western horizon when the gathered people woke.  Everyone on the grounds saw it coming and brought what could be into the keep and tied down everything else.

The first night had only one major thing that happened within the gathered people.  The two soldiers who had found a small stash of ale and had drained it were now regretting starting a fight, as they were hauling wheel barrows full of human waste to one of the far crap pits under the eye of a protector team.

The winds started to pick up, cooling the land and the people but telling everyone that it was going to be a hard storm.  It was cool enough that the archers still stationed on the walkway at the top of the keep were wearing capes against the weather.  They could hear the swearing of the soldiers as they were being loaded with their third load of crap from the privy in the keep.

Laun was walking through the paths in Hellon’s Hill to make sure nothing was left behind from the revelries the night before.  She could hear the swearing of the soldiers as they were being led down the road and smiled.  She had held the usual morning gathering in the Great Hall, more people pushed into the room than she had ever seen.  The fight was brought up, the soldiers standing at parade rest in the moving mass of the meeting.  Falmir was going to break their rank.  The Captain was just going to have them work in the mess kitchen.  Laun leaned over and whispered to Dreng who smiled and nodded.  Those of the household waited for Laun to speak, seeing the slightly wicked look, and when Falmir heard of the punishment, he roared with laughter. »Read More

The scout yelled at the top of his lungs as he came into the Great Hall, “They are an hour away!”

There was little time to do anything else but make sure the bread wasn’t burned and check on the archers on the walkway.  Laun wasn’t going to do either of those.

Laun Dresden, Lady of Salam-Dir, was handing a stack of paper and parchment to Geralk to clear the head table as Orgia looked with a disapproving eye at them from the kitchens’ door.  Laun had wanted to have a meeting with the people who could give input, but it was going to have to wait, and Laun was going to have to play the next few hours by ear.  She was used to that, but it would have been nice to get solid information and some opinions before Falmir had arrived.

She actually missed Falmir.  She was scared shitless to what was going to happen once he found that she had been harboring his father, her grandfather, at the Salam-Dir keep.  Falmir had created a coup backed by the neighboring Kingdom of Rosemond just over a year before and Laun had been a thorn in Falmir’s side ever since.  King Dreng was a big hurdle, but not the only one with the first visit King Falmir was having to Salam-Dir.

Laun pushed herself up off the bench and settled her tunic around her growing belly.  She had been woken far earlier than usual by the babies in her belly seemingly to dance along her ribcage, and on her bladder.  The trip to and from the privy that morning had been a welcome familiarity and had made the last few days seem more real than the last few months.  Going back to bed in the morning dim was well worth being woken by the babies.

Having been kidnapped had not been as pleasant.  Especially when it had been by someone she had trusted in her bed and with her sword.  But he had taken the ransom Falmir had offered and had bought enough supplies and hired enough men to help keep the Salam-Dir lands impenetrable while Laun had wormed her way through the political scene in the Palace, and into Falmir’s heart. »Read More