Ch: 29.5 I Said Esoterica…
Shai woke and stretched dreamily, like a well fed cat and snuggled closer to Gary with a contented murmur. She burrowed into his arms and let the warm, perfumed sunshine carry her back off to sleep.
She only faintly remembered Talum helping Gary into Esperanza’s bed with her. He was a good boy, they would need to do something nice for him. Maybe an enchanted toolbelt? Her boy would surely dream up something fanciful.
#
“I don’t trust that woman Khan, she has an eye for you, I can tell.” Luna said sullenly, a dangerous condition to leave a dangerous woman in.
“It would be beneath me to say she has an eye for everyone… but that is the case. If you had been touched by Joy or Water you would be in as much peril as any.”
“If I had a shaved iron bit for every time I heard that excuse from some man…” She began, before Khan silenced her with a kiss.
“Esperanza has only slightly more interest in me than she does in Liam or Tawny.” He said with a naughty grin she had never seen before. “In fact, with your blessing from the god of Beasts, you are one affinity away from banging Esperanza like a drum all day long.”
“Khan! I have never heard you speak that way before? Where is my shy, retiring, gentleman of manners?” She asked in mock outrage.
“Him? He’s not a virgin anymore.” Khan said smugly.
“Khan? Really? You never?” She pulled him closer and settled in to watch the strange kids he had fixed them to somehow. “You are a hopeless romantic.”
#
Becky, Dannyl, Liam and Tawny were gathered around the pianoforte, working on something Gary called twelve bar blues.
“These words make no sense Becky, I have to put up with it from Gary, but you should be better than that!” Dannyl complained.
“What is a louisiana and why am I supposed to be deep down in it? I don’t even know what a regular orleans is, why am I singing about a new one? Railroad tracks?”
Becky sighed with long suffering patience. “You know that look he gets when he pulls something insane out of nowhere?” She asked Dannyl, really selling the annoying factor. “You wanna do that to him right? See him all confused and lost?”
“Yeah, but this makes no sense at all…” He pleaded.
“You've been leaning on Gary and Shai’s gifts too much.” Becky sassed him. “They can’t know what we are up to until it happens. That’s why it works, it’s the surprise factor, once more from the top!”
#
“You lost all your horses… all of them, and this trooper… Levin is the negligent party. Why was this not taken to the duty officer for discipline? Am I your second? The demotion comes as a surprise.”
Baron Eglund was old, but hale and insufferably glib. The old fool never saw an opportunity to bring Brennan up short, but that he pounced on it.
“My lord is wise beyond all others.” Brennan replied in the sycophantic tone he had perfected years ago for just these occasions. That never failed to twist the old man up.
“Yes, I’m sure.” He said dryly. “I trust you managed to smooth the ruffled feathers of our young acolyte of Healer?” He said, leaving little room to wriggle.
“Your sentiments and the animal were handed over and I departed, her mood seemed cool.” Brennan answered. “I am not her confidante.”
“And the boy? Did you find any insight into that matter?” The old man demanded.
“I did not see him, I doubt he lives. At the gate I detected the scent of putrefaction beginning. If that creature still lives it will not be for long.”
Eglund sighed and shook his head slowly. “I have decided to send you campaigning this spring, after the feast of Water you will begin circuit riding in earnest with a select troop of my choosing.” The old man smiled benignly. “Nazar will be your second, I trust he is a suitable replacement for Khan?”
“I see we are surrendering even the pretense that I am actually in command. So I shall be shepherded by your pet orphans, very well uncle. I hope your confidence in them is well founded.” He stood to leave with a sickly smile. “I shall enjoy what freedom remains to me then, good day uncle.”
“Before you go,” The old man checked the parchments on his desk for a moment. “a mistress Thune, has been charged with procuring and indenture prostitution. Her case should come up in the court of Order within the week.”
A wash of cold dread and fury flooded Brennan’s body, beginning at the empty space where his stomach had been.
“The charges are startling, you should observe the proceedings. It should be highly informative.” That cursed smile of patriarchal disappointment lingered even still. “Sadly, her client list and such have been lost, at least temporarily. Though I hear she kept scrupulous records, blackmail seems to figure highly into her business plan. I certainly hope no one notable has stepped in that mire…”
Brennan Fallon swept through the halls of the baronial residence like a chill draft. His passage fluttered fine and understated tapestries, made candles flicker in their iron sconces and otherwise went unremarked. Not a soul appeared until he was outside and stomping across the forecourt in an icy fury.
#
After he passed, a soft chime rang. Workers, servants and staff began their duties again, emerging from their quarters with relieved chatter.
“Third visit this month, we won’t be able to keep up with the chores if he comes by again.” Young Andres complained as he went back to hauling firewood.
“Chores can be caught up, would you rather a maid fell into his hands? Or your own tender self?” Head butler Tinely snapped. “Mind your duties and tend our lord with care. His lordship’s troubles become our troubles if the worst should happen.”
Back in his chambers Brennan fell onto his fluffy white bed with a relieved grunt. That first morning, waking under a bush by the roadside, he had still possessed a measure of the fine feelings his night in the stable had wrought. Those were all gone now.
Even abusing Levin mercilessly the whole trip, had failed to divert or entertain his unsettled mind. Usually a night in Thune’s unregistered brothel would help… that was out. That fool was done for, luckily her records were lost.
Too bad, that latest girl had been delightfully innocent, bought for a pittance from some impoverished hill settlement. Finding a new flesh peddler was going to be tiresome.
Brennan had tried the common brothels in disguise, since a baron’s heir could not rut in common whorehouses without sparking scandal.
He had been quickly banned from them all due to some schemes of his uncle no doubt. He only left a few bruises and marks on the tarts, nothing that would reduce their value. It must have been his uncle.
He shucked out of his travel gear and tossed it in the corner for his valet and eyed his now soiled bedding with distaste. He tugged the bellpull to have his personal servants come clean the mess up while he went to bathe.
The palace bathing facilities were among the best in the region, old baron Eglund had them remodeled and updated regularly. Now that he had seen that damn smith and her house of wonders it felt dull and unimpressive.
The water was hot and aromatic with oil of rose and lavender. Steam curled from the doorway enticingly and the murals on the wall bore scenes of woodland glades drawn in loving detail. But it felt cheap and tawdry now.
He scrubbed with the fine milled soap the city’s alchemists were so proud of, then eased into the pool of steaming water with a deep sigh of delight.
Not nearly as good, the water was simply water. Even without that floating corpse bobbing about, that had been a bath to remember. ‘Damn those urchins!’ He thought viciously.
#
Gary crept away before mid morning, leaving Shai passed out in Esperanza’s surprising little bedroom, that was a delightful place to wake up. Even if it was disorienting to find himself in a strange and enticingly scented bed.
Back in the common room Ivy was abusing poor Esperanza mercilessly. “I think three bronze marks for the household goods and groceries is fair, now we need to agree on the sap. Aside from whatever Gary and Shai came up with for the ring of course…”
Ivy’s stormwinds battered Esperanza onto the rocks without mercy, pulling concession and agreement from her, one after the other, much as looters would pillage a wreck.
“Very well, three gold marks, to be settled in Port Ellis.” She said, the way one might agree to a painful dental procedure. “Now it comes to what Gary wishes for the ring, this I must have, save that I indenture myself or sell Esperanza. Speak your price Gary.”
Ivy jumped in surprise, the boy had somehow slipped loose from Shai’s arms and made his way back inside, after a long morning asleep in the bow of the boat. “What are you doing up Gary, does someone need to go get Shai?”
“No, let her sleep, I owe Esperanza for letting us use her cabin, I’m in a tough spot though.” He said, tugging at an earlobe in deep thought.
“Well, I told Shai to negotiate the new ring’s price and the tax man wants my sweet behind right now.” He scrubbed his unshaven chin thoughtfully. “I might piss off the duke just for fun, but if I undercut Shai that’s the end of me.”
“You take a taste and smell ring on loan, when the duke is happy, you and Shai can get the price sorted, deal?”
She nodded, taking the small ring box with a shy smile. “You play the game well Gary, we shall see who has the keener edge eventually, for now let us enjoy the duel.”
She swept in like a warm wind and kissed him full on the lips before fluttering away in a cloud of brown ringlets and sandalwood perfume. “Now this one owes sweet Shai twice a debt!” She sang as she scampered for her boat.
“That’s all well and good for Esperanza, but what about poor Falco!” Gary called after the departing woman, while thudding away on a tiny drum hung from his belt.
“We will have to get him set up, let me think on that.” he murmured to himself.”
He paced slowly around the pool, breathing as though he were running sprints. “You dont wanna taste all that doo-doo right Falco? How do you feel about piercings?” He cooed at the aquatic animal. “Tawny, can you work your magic…?” Tawny’s gaze was getting mighty chilly.
“I will not be putting magic flipper rings in any dolphins, or whatever madness you have up your… Blowhole?” She polled the group with her eyes to see how that one landed.
“That was very smooth, nice execution!” Liam whispered, too loudly.
“Yes, very good, no notes. I was thinking about subdermal implants though.” Gary said, suddenly standing very, close and still tap, tap tapping on a small drum at his waist.
Tawny stared at him in puzzlement. “What? Did that not translate?” He looked around and no one was picking up what he was trying to put down.
“I would make a little enchanted charm or token, you make a small cut and put it in, sew it up, all done. A couple hours in the pool and that’s it!”
In absolute silence Gary could almost hear their heartbeats as the room stared at him. Some had mouths open in horror, others were just confused.
Liam and Becky looked at each other and nodded silently. “Gary, this is a thing that is not spoken of.” Liam said firmly.
“My apologies, I seem to have found a taboo… again.” He said, as the room stared at him aghast. “What, I’m not from here, I never know what is going to set you guys off. Are tattoos ok? You gonna shun Luna?”
“Tattoos are rare and uncommon. While some find them offensive, they do not violate any law or tradition. My apologies Luna, yours is a lovely adornment.” Tawny said with sincerity. “Implantation of a foreign device is a punishment for the lowest or highest of criminals.”
“If a person is convicted in the court of Order of a crime of sufficient gravity, they may be sentenced to lifetime indenture, and or severance.” She shuddered softly and continued in a quiet voice.
“Severance is a ritual to cut the penitent off from all Contracts, magic and gifts. Six priests of at least three gods are required to create the tablet of severance. Once inserted in the convicted, they will never be any more than a mundane person again.” She rubbed her arms as though chilled, until a blanket appeared over her shoulders.
“This is very rarely done outside the nobility, most commoners prefer execution or indenture to War for life.” She finished sadly. “Nobles are denied that in the case of conviction. Their punishment is living as a mundane commoner, usually as a laborer. Poetic I think.”
“So, the greatest punishment for a noble is to make them live like we orphans do. What crimes get you sentenced to indenture, besides simply being an orphan?” Gary asked sourly. “I wanna know what you guys think is an equivalent crime.”
“To be sentenced to five years indenture? Embezzlement, theft of an item of greater than one bronze mark in value, assault, robbery. The list goes on, why?” Tawny asked, seeming genuinely confused by the question.
“So, if I actually did what ol’ What'shisface Grabbyhands accused me of, I would be sentenced to five years of indenture. Or I could just exist, that seems just. Your god of Order needs to answer some questions.”
Luna and Khan were whispering nearby while staring intently. “What?” She almost shouted. “He’s the perverted boy whore with the clubs and knives? That makes this the magic whorehouse in the woods?”
When she looked back from Khan, the boy was gone. “Where did that mooncalf go?” She asked, searching about as the group slowly edged away from her, as though she had passed some particularly noxious gas.
“He must be around, I still hear that damnable drum…” Luna said, failing to notice the growing distance between herself and the others.
Ever so slowly, like a breeze building on a calm morning, his voice came whispering in from all around. “You met a friend of mine, didn’t you… Errdel? Arrdel? Irdel Renth…. Yes, I remember him. Is he telling tales?”
She searched all around, looking for the source of the drum and the whisper, to no avail. “Yes, there was a man telling tales for drink… Come out boy, I won’t hurt you?”
Now she noticed, Khan was over in the kitchen, near the stove pretending to make tea. Several of the others found an urgent need to bathe. The boat crew were huddled together near the fire, pretending they were not watching with great interest. That left her isolated in the common room yet all eyes were on her, as though expecting a show.
With a loud and heartfelt sigh, Khan strode over to Luna and stood beside her, looking grim and determined. “Gary, whatever you do to her, you should do to me, I did not warn her when she told me that story earlier.”
“What is this Khan? What madness is upon them?” She whispered, reading his fatalistic and resigned body language and woeful tone. Her hand drifted to the long knife at her belt, finding comfort in its worn grip.
“No steel Luna, that will just make it worse…” He whispered tensely, “The only danger is to our dignity… and sanity.”
The horrid whisper returned, sliding venomously through the still air. “I never liked that word, whore… even when used in jest or in ‘guy talk’. For my first solid week that was all I heard, all I was accused of and suspected of…”
Almost without anyone noticing, the boy was back, slouched in a seat by the fire, his drum fallen silent.
“I just don’t have the strength, I’ll have to give you the full treatment in a few more days. Put a pin in that, we will get back to it. Somebody, please help me back into the pool. I'm kinda stuck here.”
Once he was soaking in the bath again the mood settled. “What was all that?” Luna asked, confusion and concern written across the mobile portions of her face.
“When agitated, he has fits, they are not dangerous… mostly. Just very odd. You will have to experience it for yourself.” Khan whispered in her ear. “I have yet to be… ensnared by one of his events, though, I hear it is an exciting and mysterious thing.”
“I can’t wait to be wrapped up in madness, Khan. Thank you so much for this.” She said, jabbing him in the ribs with one finger on each beat.
The boy had a conversation with the dolphin for some time, floating about with the familiar in the bath and becoming more lively by the minute.
“He mends quickly.” Luna said quietly as they watched the proceedings from a couch by the fire. “Will he be fully recovered before we reach Port Ellis?”
They watched as he emerged from the pool, nearly standing like a human. He toweled himself off and dressed himself without even falling over or needing to sit down. Impressive work for someone who looked as though his guts had been stomped out by a horse.
“Any assumptions we make now will be worthless in an hour. Let’s just watch and see what unfolds, so far they have been a genuine delight. Well aside from our first meeting, Gary wanted to murder me just a little.”
He gave his watchers a cheery wave and headed through an unobtrusive sliding door and vanished down a set of stairs.
“What?” Luna snorted “You said he is helpless with arms…” She grabbed him by the sleeve urgently. “What did you do? More of your high handed paternal advice? Try to make him a good soldier and hurt his feelings?”
She winked her missing eye, making her eyepatch and tattoo writhe in ways Khan found endearing, though most men would blanch and look away from that side of her face.
“If you want me to continue being your disciplinarian, I'm going to need a title and pay rate.” She eyed the sliding door. “Should I go down there and give him some of the rough stuff? I won’t set back his recovery much.”
“We aren’t in War’s legion anymore Luna, that's not how things are done in the peaceful world.” He took her hand from his sleeve and pressed it in both of his, while gazing into her eye.
“Please, learn this new way with me in Wheatford, these children know more about really living than you and I.” He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “We are not their commanders or leaders, we are their older brother and sister, returned from a distant land. Let them teach us my love.”
He pressed her back from his embrace and spoke very low and clearly. “Don’t try any of your old tricks in this house. That stumbling, half dead boy is a deadly dangerous foe in this place, one with no training or skill.”
He said seriously “I cautioned you to treat him like a strange dog, remember that. He can bite here.”
“If your puppy bites me I have only myself to blame, I’m off to have a chat with that boy and see for myself what he is made of.” She said with a grin. “Something tells me we will come to an arrangement.”
With a sly smile, she slipped away after a quick hello to Khan’s mustache. ‘Gods I love that tickle.’ She thought as she slipped through the door and down the stairs like a shadow by candlelight.
Down the stone steps without a whisper of sound, she turned the landing and descended into the room. The boy was nowhere to be seen in the vast and uncluttered chamber. Strange benches and objects lined three walls, while stacks of goods, boxes and bales stood on racks and shelves against the last.
“Welcome to the workshop, Luna.” He said from the landing directly behind her. “Do you have a commission? Need repairs?” He asked in a strange lilting cadence and sing song accent. “Tell me what brings you down into the belly of the beast on a winter morning?”
He strode down the last few steps in bold, flowing movements.
“Do you need the Healer girl?” Luna asked from above the jumble of poorly arranged limbs at the foot of the stairs.
“Owww.” He moaned softly. “I bet that looked badass until I fell down… I did that to defuse the situation… cause I didn’t wanna intimidate you too much. Help me up please?”
He was heavier than she expected by a good measure, she barely managed to lever him into a sofa that appeared nearby when she looked away.
As he sank into the plush red tapestry couch, Luna tripped and fell into a pale blue wing chair with moons and stars scattered in unfamiliar constellations across the cushions.
He set a small plate of cakes on the table between them, from nowhere, onto a table that only now existed. He set a kettle on a small iron stove that warmed their little nook very pleasantly. While paper screens with fanciful paintings of waterfalls and plants created an intimate conversation space.
“The tea will be ready soon, that kette was pretty hot when I took it from the kitchen. What brings you down into my dank dismal basement mistress Luna?” Gary asked when she finished looking over the chair she had tumbled into.
