Ch: 53 A Crew of Villains

Morning came late, Gary woke shortly before first bell, as the younglings made their way to the bath in the cold, drizzly predawn hours.

As usual, the whole family was there in the bed and just beginning to stir. Gary gathered up the two little ones and headed down stairs while the women got their acts together. 

Amy fussed sleepily until the water hit her toes. Then things got active in all the best ways. She had picked up some moves from Becky and Shai, the girl became a high kicking, prancing engine of glee. Her tiny bare feet splashed and skipped through the shallows in exuberant spinning whirls until she dove in, with a shout of pure childlike joy.

 

Wilford flopped over the side like a retiring mob boss, sinking right on down. He paddled about, blissfully uninterested in the goings on above him.

Shai kept throwing nervous glances and stayed near him, despite the message his happily wiggling bottom sent.

 

At second bell, the whole family went over to the dinning hall to eat and plot with the rest of the orphans.

 

Liam stood at the beginning of the meal, when the whole Adventure compound was present. 

“We are all going through big changes, I know things might seem scary or confusing, but we are all going through this together. Please, raise your hand if you have been offered a Contract by Joy or Knowledge, or both.”

A solid thirty hands went up, nearly half of the orphans over fifteen had a hand raised, smiling happily.

 

Gary stood and joined Liam. “We are working on getting the other gods on board, gang. If you don’t fit with Joy or Knowledge we are in negotiations with some of the spirits and Beast.” He grinned at his big, loose knit family.

“Craft, Order and War are not answering my messages… yet. They will come around.” He did a clumsy little dance and jumped up on a bench. 

 

“All right orphans, this week end is the festival of Secret, next year it might be the feast of Knowledge.” He stomped on his bench for effect, bringing a little ruckus into the game.  

“Either way we are thinking about getting up to some mischief. Anyone here interested in some light hearted fun?” Gary’s wild eyed grin was infectious, spreading rapidly in the crowd.

The thunder that rose all around suggested that yes, they were… and they would very much like to, thank you very much. 

“When we have a plan ready we will let you know. If you have suggestions let us know. Crafting classes will be going on in the shop all day. Come by, learn something fun and get creative.” 

 

Gary sank down, while Ivy rose with Dannyl. “We have a lot of cooking to do, any volunteers that wanna help, meet in the kitchen at third bell. Chocolate teams, be ready on festival day, you will be key to success.” 

 

The blonde girl shook her fist in excitement, stomped on the bench and howled out; “Orphans show no mercy, but now we show them how to have fun!” 

 

The room was large, too large for the hundred and eighty or so permanent residents of the campus. It echoed their shouts back and resounded them with fury. 

Once, the place would have been a sea of brown, gray and faded working people’s clothes, now shocking blasts of color exploded here and there.

A sprinkle of girls and boys in bright colored skirts and coats and a number of cheerful scarves and cloaks had suddenly appeared. They brought a light hearted feel to a scene that might otherwise have seemed mildly sinister

 

Ivy had her arm around Tallum’s, she smiled wide and kept raking the muck. “I want all our skaters and board riders out in the streets, if it’s less than utter chaos around town, I will be very disappointed.” Her blue eyes scanned the crowd, blazing with unrestrained glee. 

 

Dannyl clapped twice and yelled out into the crowd. “Musicians, make it loud, the temple of Joy will be backing our play, get out there and bring some noise.” 

He smiled at them all and spoke loud and clear. “We want this to be fun, so keep it light gang, no property damage. This is our chance to make things happen.”

 

Liam took the floor, as silence fell. Their dour and even tempered leader rose, climbed onto a table and spoke in a clear calm voice.

“The orphans of Wheatford are no longer going to wait and accept the fate we have been given. We will be making our own way, learning our own crafts… Deciding our own contracts where we can!” He shook his fist in joyous rage, bringing the crowd to their feet.

“These are orphan’s secrets, we reveal nothing to outsiders, let them all wonder and worry… just like we do. Orphans show no mercy!” He sank back down beside Tawny, who seemed shaken and a little paler than her usual golden.

“Liam, are we going too far? This is all very sudden.” She spoke in his ear, over the ruckus and received only a hug and a deep, long kiss in reply. Which only made the crowd shout louder and longer.

#

 

In the temple of Craft, Otho of Joy was meeting with Theophus of Craft and a select group of master crafters.

“Joy will be doing a bit of strolling music and tale telling throughout town, wherever our lady moves us to act. The first evening dance will be held in the temple ward, in the court of Joy as usual.” Otho announced, handing the floor to Theo.

 

“We will erect all the usual games and booths, does anyone have additional thoughts?” His eyes settled on master Harlan, resplendent in his formal apron and vestments.

“Master Harlan, You have lost both of your advanced apprentices, so I suggest you combine your efforts with mine. Gaming was highly profitable last year.” Theo said smugly.

 

“Wi respect priest Theophus, me an mine hae commissions an much work tae do, we will nae be participating this year.” He grinned cheekily at the crowd. 

“Well, we plan tae have some fun an games yet, but Harlan’s forge will be shuttered fer the feast o Secret.” He announced, to the surprise of the assembly.

 

“Highly irregular, but as you wish. We have received a bit of good news, trade ship Esperanza will be basing her operations from Wheatford for the foreseeable future. Consider that as you plan for the coming year.” The Craft priest smiled as though this were a personal triumph.

“The captain has requested that we consider improvements to the existing dock, I have denied her request. If she wants a better pier they can build it themselves.” 

He smiled coldly now. “Any commissions  or contracts related to Esperanza’s activities are entirely the responsibility of the parties involved. Do not come to the temple with complaints, Craft has no interest in shipping.”

 

“Tis tradition that Craft does hae responsibility fer maintaining the pier in the docklands and by such, hae some interest in shipping matters, ye do no longer?” Harlan pressed. “Tis nae a formal tradition nor law, do ye say, so it shall be.”

 

“I do say so, Craft has no interest in fishermen, river traders or goatherds, let Order manage them. We shall profit by concentrating on the craft and market wards.” He announced. 

“Lord Craft instructs that we focus on our works, I predict a busy year to come!” Theo clapped his broad hard hands together in dignified glee.

#

 

Busy days and peaceful nights followed, Shai dosed her boy with duskmoon pollen each night, leaving his internal guests free to get up to their nocturnal hijinks.

Each day found young people from all over town in ones and twos, marching to the Adventure compound to seek out Becky, the newly minted and very busy, high priestess.

 

“Go complain to Order, I’m not interested in his laws. Knowledge is unbound by mortal law, that is our position. Any child that is offered and accepts Contract, is a member of this cult.” She smiled serenely at the gathered children, while ignoring their outraged parents. “Again, complain to Order. He knows where we live.”

 

Otho found himself busy as well, the cult of Joy had many adherents, but Contracts with her had become rare, as War, Order and Craft offered more tangible and immediate benefits.

Suddenly, children were accepting her sweet call, bypassing their staid and conservative parents entirely. Otho raked in this bounty with glee, while informing outraged parents that complaints should be filed with the temple of Order. “Joy is not concerned with such matters my children, let us consider instead the sublime benefits a Contract with lady Joy conferrs…-” 

He waved to the departing parents’ rigid backs sadly as they stomped away, while eyeing his small group of happy but nervous youngsters. “I am as surprised as any of you.” He chortled. “They will come around, Joy is persuasive, as you now know. Come darlings, let's get you inducted properly. A friend of mine has a remarkable baptismal pool…”

#

 

Otho and his Joyous took over the private bath for, “Super Serious Cult Business.” According to Ivy. She found herself growing closer in her own bonds with Joy, since fully embracing percussion as a funky article of faith.

“Tallum is going to be joining us soon. He doesn't feel ready for a new Contract yet, but soon.” She whispered to Otho, while the new cultists; orphans, market kids and townies all splashed and goofed together. 

“Is that Levin over there? Last time I saw him he looked like he had a pickled herring up his ass!” Ivy sputtered, watching the lean and tall youth, confidently holding court among his peers. 

 

His easy smile and cool gray eyes had more than one of the girls watching him with open interest. 

“...riding on patrol for War is a hard life, but satisfying, I’ve seen four cities now. I like this one the best so far.” He said, all smoothly casual while smiling with square jawed good lookingness. 

Lounging on the curb of the pool, surrounded by a small group of chatting teens, he seemed in his element.

“Oh! Ivy, is Becky around today?” He asked, entirely too casually, losing interest in everything and everyone else. A small number of young women noticed and seemed disappointed. One or two noticed and seemed even more interested.

 

“She’s pretty busy tomorrow, Secret is up to some fun stuff, we have orphan’s business as well… then there's the little matter of her being the high priestess of Knowledge…” Ivy gave an eloquent shrug of her smooth pale shoulders that most men his age would have had trouble dealing with in the bath. She let a tiny smile of approval cross her lips when he was only slightly distracted.

“Give her some time, she’s got a lot on her plate.” Ivy winked at him and grinned. “If you ask her, she might sponsor you for membership in a certain secret society.”

#

 

The whole family woke together, long before first bell on festival day, excited and eager to see what the day held in store.

“Sooo… is young Levin taking you to the dance?” Gary asked, when he cornered Becky at breakfast, his eyebrows bouncing dangerously.

“Young Levin is two years younger than you ya mook.” she grumbled, until her first sip of coffee landed. 

“Wait, technically…” Becky thought for a moment. “Shai we need to talk about your biggest baby, he’s got a mouth on him for being less than six months old.” She called to her huge, ginger sister.

 

“Dinnae remind me, I hae barely found a moment’s peace these last days and nights. He hae the manic energy of a wee bairn.” She complained good naturedly from the kitchen, where Gary was pulling a frittata from the oven with a harried expression on his face.

 

“Wilford, girls are mean and we’re outnumbered, this is our life now. Who wants cheese?” He asked in despair. Everyone did. 

 

Becky took the little ones off to bathe with the rowdy orphans, leaving the pair to prepare for the day. Shai seemed mildly put out when she tried to dress. 

“Boy o mine, one that I love… where be mine clothes?” She asked, in rising alarm. “There be only this black thing…” She said holding up a dark silk blouse with wide flared sleeves and billowing cuffs.

 

“Thats the stuff…” Gary mumbled, a hungry look in his eye that she quite liked.

 

“Very well boy, fer today I shall be thy dress up doll. I shall hae mine own back anon.” She whispered while slipping into her surprise wardrobe. 

 

Slick, shiny black silk pants fit her in ways that trousers traditionally did not in Wheatford, the waist was scandalously low, and barely laced closed. They hugged her bottom in new and unfamiliar ways, while the underthings were barely there at all, little more than a thin wisp of silk and a few slender cords. That made the whole arrangement feel even more naughty. 

Her silk blouse rippled and shimmered, glossy black and cinched closed just below her bust, leaving her pale midriff bare. It draped off her shoulders lazily, seeming always on the edge of slipping down and exposing her breasts. It managed to hold on just barely, though with no effort on her part.

 

He helped her tie on a mask of soft black satin, covering only her eyes, and crowned her with a sassy tricorn hat bearing a truly enormous black plume, trailing off over her pale shoulder.

She gave a slow twirl, ending with her hands on her waist, just as her bronze and silver chimes settled around those delicious hips with a merry tinkle. “Ohh! I hae a fine tummy fer a mother of two. Ye are a lucky man.”

 

“None were ever luckier.” He said, drawing her close for a kiss and a fondle of that backside so proudly on display.

 

She looked him up and down, his outfit was even stranger. He wore loose white linen pants, secured with a bright crimson sash. Over that a loose, sleeveless shirt of gray and white stripes that opened wide at the front, exposing what was shaping up to be a nicely muscled chest.

A crimson mask and bandana in silk finished his odd appearance. He too, took a spin, revealing that Shai’s was not the only bottom being displayed. Her hand cupped a linen clad cheek and gave an appreciative squeeze. 

“Aye, tis a dancer’s arse, now we need only fit thee with a dancer’s legs, man of mine.”

  A few of his ghastly purple scars peeked out when he moved, but otherwise she approved. “I shall enjoy peeling ye out of that soon, fer tis too cold tae go about in such, ye fool.”

 

“Is it though? Is it too cold? We will see, you have a final piece to your costume lover.” He handed her  a wide flat box of golden ash wood and she was mildly surprised by the weight. She set it on the bed and flipped the lid open with a gasp of pleasure.

 

Bright, gleaming steel and brass shone from a nest of blue silk. Two bell brass guards, carved and incised with complex figures and long, sweeping, rune chased blades begged her to take them in hand. One sword a handspan shorter than the other and both curved gracefully to a chisel point.

“Ohh tis bonny, though too fine fer fighting boy. Am I some princess tae wear pretty ornaments?” He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his hands on her smooth, flat tummy.

“Harlan made the blades, Tallum did the guards. I just made the grips and scabbards, They will hold up to anything you dish out love.” 

He gently wrapped a black leather baldrick and sword belt around her, placing the scabbarded weapons on her hips, perfectly arranged to leave her chimes and blades free.

 

She kissed him fiercely and ran her fingernails down his back, through his thin silk shirt, Gary’s shudder of pleasure made her giggle. “Aye ye will spoil me, clever man.”

 

Second bell interrupted them while they were still dressed, so they went downstairs, only mildly disappointed.

Tallum greeted them at the foot of the stairs dressed in a furry ape costume, while Ivy clung to his arm in a gown of flowing white. 

“Becky made me dress like this… Ivy looks so good, I just wanna carry her off somewhere though... So that’s ok.” 

The big man kept sneaking hungry glances at his tiny blonde mate, their size difference made even more obvious by the costumes.

 

“Nice work Becky, there is a certain art to making an elaborate joke that almost no one will get.” 

He made an exaggerated chefs kiss at the young woman, who took a deep bow, basking in imaginary accolades and cheers. 

 

Wilford was dressed much like Gary, with a wooden hook hand painted in cheerful colors and a tiny wooden cutlass tucked in his sash. His red mask and bandana made the serious young lad seem almost dangerous. A hilariously hard looking baby villain waved his hook hand happily. “Treasure.” He declared.

Amy was all in, from her head to her shiny black boots. Wide blue pantaloons and a sash of indigo led to a white blouse of flowing lace, that seemed to billow and dance even when she was still. 

She wore a toy rapier on a blue damask baldrick and long captain’s coat of cobalt blue wool. Her hat was a masterpiece of foolish whimsy. 

A tricorn of deep blue groundworm felt, with lace, bows, flowers, garlands of vines, a veil of shimmering blue beaded lace and a cockade of brilliant white swan feathers rising two feet above her head. She covered one eye with a patch of sky blue silk, beaded in the image of a fierce swooping hawk.

 

Becky went for low slung, billowing skirts and petticoats. Each layer dyed in the colors of a raging forest fire. Reds and orange chased yellow across her swirling form. Her bare ebon midriff and arms were drifting smoke around the shimmering red blouse concealing her modest bosom.

Holly leaves and berries peeked from her thick black plait, while a tiny red admiral’s hat perched atop her head, fastened with a cunning wooden rapier hat pin, making a very sassy point.

 

“Wait…” Tallum said, looking confused through his ape mask. “You guys are all cute and sexy pirates… Ivy is a goddess of desire, why am I a monkey?”

 

“Trust me Tallum, it will be great, just don’t climb any buildings.” Becky giggled at them, while the rest just looked lost. 

 

“Shai, my love.” Gary said quietly. “You gotta check out some of the cultural treasures hidden in my brain. It's not all catgirls, harems and tentacles you know.”

 

“There is a lot of that though.” Becky complained. “How many volumes of poorly written smut did you read on that tiny magic tile? I worry about you two.” Her look of disappointment warred with the laughter in those sparkling brown eyes.

 

“What are catgirls? Ow!” Tallum asked. “I was just asking…” He complained, when Shai kicked his ankle.

 

“Oh… Tallum, I see you are a man of culture as well. I’ll set you up with some light reading after the fest…- Ow!” 

Gary rubbed his matching sore ankle and hopped up and down with his huge friend. Wilford grabbed his ankle and tried hopping along with them, but he fell over promptly while giggling.

 

Liam joined them, dressed in a fitted blue coat, open at the front and boldly cut, with twin lines of brass buttons. On his head he wore a blue tricorn hat, banded with red and white ribbons. Low waisted, white silk pants that flared wide at the cuffs tapered on their way up to, hugging up so tight, they were going to give Tawny fits. They snugged up to his backside so close, only careful stitchcraft and a quilted codpiece saved his frontside modesty. A red sash tasseled at one end in white and the other in blue finished his outfit. 

Yeah, no shirt. His chiseled torso was on display, from his slim, muscular hips, to the collarbones and shoulders that made so many of Wheatford’s ladies sigh when he passed.

 

Dannyl came strolling in, draped in a moldering shroud, his face painted in ghastly decay. He even had a plump white maggot carved in bone, clinging to his nostril and another on his earlobe.

  “I saw Tawny headed this way, I think…” The handsome young corpse said with a smile that showed blackened teeth and gums.

 

Moments later a figure entered, dressed in flowing robes dyed the color of weathered bronze. The beautiful woman inside was painted in the same hue. Places where the paint wore off, showed her healthy bronze skin beneath. 

Her hair was dusted with green chalk and a crown of weathered bronze rays emerged from her verdigris tresses. She held an elaborately carved wooden scepter in the form of a green torch bearing a gilt flame in one hand and a green wooden tablet in the other.  

“You look a treat, you tasty morsel of a man!” Tawny said happily while rushing Liam. “Becky had this very high concept statue idea, I really enjoy the effect.” 

Liam seemed to find voluminous folds of pale blue-green silk delightful to let his hands wander through as well.

“This is a lovely poem…” Tawny sighed to Gary, when she was done embracing her man and being subtly fondled while the little ones were distracted by Becky, who made a big production of taking another elaborate bow. “Is it from your home? It seems like the kind of thing you would like.”

 

“Yes, it is, we’re really good at big ideas and aspirations. We super suck at bringing them to fruition… But I’m not a revolutionary today, I’m the dread pirate Shai’s cabin boy.” He saluted Shai with enthusiasm and scooped up bosun Wilford. 

“Let’s get out of harbor and find what adventure awaits on the boundless seas of Wheatford!”

 

“Boy we kinnae go out in winter wearing such! Tis nae warm enough fer me, never ye mind the wee ones. Best we hae coats and wraps.” Shai rolled her eyes so hard she almost stumbled, when her boy just opened the front door and stepped outside with a grin.

 

“I tucked a tiny little comfort enchantment in your belts and hats, you should be warm and comfy all day. Well, as long as you stay within a mile of one of us.” He smiled at his human friends. 

“We are going to change our world guys. Just a little today. Tomorrow? We’ll see.” He beckoned them out into the misty morning.