Ch: 76 Professional Ethics
“The rest of our human friends are in the private bath, we wanted the kids to meet you guys with just the family, they are new to the neighborhood.” Gary mumbled sleepily. “I’m sure the others can get up to speed in the morning. Night night.”
The odd little family trooped upstairs in their green robes and vanished.
“Nevermind that, let’s go and get acquainted with the others. I prefer a calm and quiet breakfast.” Becky announced to their new friends. She chivvied the whole group of humans and humanoids out of the bath and into the common room for introductions.
Annie and the other familiars got the horses put to bed in the stable, creating a warm equine paradise by the side of a wintery road.
#
Annie had the other equines up and out, grazing and warming up in the predawn hours. She led her little herd in exercises, while the humans did the same in the garden.
“Ye kin go play wi the horsies after yer stretches and breakfast. Nae ye kinnae do yer exercises twice as fast. Amy, ye do know better. An ye dinnae mind yer fitness ye to wind up like Gary…” She smiled at her man, working his way through an acrobatic bit of choreography under Dannyl’s instruction.
“Gunnar.” He gasped between moves. “Is.” He nearly slipped and fell in the middle of a high kicking twirl, landing heavily. “Ruthless.” Gary recovered from his stumble and tried to shift into the next position, only to fall over his slow moving left leg.
“Trust your body, Gary, if you hesitate for an injury that no longer exists, you wind up on the lawn… Or in a fight, we have to bury you under it.” Dannyl scolded mildly while the musician caught his breath.
“I’ve been watching the martial artists from your world, they can be quite skilled, this Jackie Chan fellow is quite good.” He mused, sipping his coffee in a lounge while Gary wheezed. “Why did you not learn any of these styles? Was it your injury?”
“Yeah, that’s it, damage to my meridians made cultivation impossible, now you can help me get my qi moving again…” He snarked, while Dannyl nodded and Tawny smiled.
“Exactly. Once your energy flow is balanced you can really begin cultivating your body and power.” Tawny agreed, from her own lounge. “Your energy management, qi accumulation and dispersal is abysmal, but that will come in time.”
“Gunnar’s father is a renowned instructor in the art, the young man’s reputation is not far behind. Don’t be fooled by the simple dancing barber, he has ridden out on a few monster interdictions.”
“Listen to young Dannyl and Tawny, the grace of their movement tells me they know of what they speak.” Streeka sang, from where she was sliding on her belly, down a smooth patch of lawn, into the pool to frolic.
“Hot water in winter… such a luxury. Remind me to always travel with this group.”
#
The new friends departed after a pleasant breakfast, melting into the woods silently with friendly waves and wagging tails. Except for Streeka, she slipped into the river and vanished entirely. “I shall meet you at the joining of the waters, until then.” She chittered softly, before disappearing.
Shortly before mid day, they looked down on the marshy expanse and the now even more verdant islet. Small shrubs and bushes dotted it, showing signs of careful placement, along with a fire ring and a small stockpile of firewood tucked under a causeway arch, out of the weather.
“Someone decided they like my island…” Gary said with a smile, as he looked over the changes. Someone had rolled a few sections of log to serve as seating around the fire ring.
The causeway had less to recommend it at the moment. The Port Fallon side, downstream, was nearly washed away entirely, while the upstream side looked less than structurally sound. There were no gaps in the roadway, but the terracotta culvert pipes were clogged with debris.
Swirling, dark water surged and nibbled at the compacted earth and gravel of the causeway, backed up to just a few inches below the roadway as the water pushed through the gap downstream.
As they rode down the long slope to the foot of the causeway, Streeka and another figure slipped from the water and greeted them. “Beaver you met, Human Gary, now you all meet Beaver, Uggoth the builder.” She announced formally. “He declares this structure safe to travel. You need not fear.”
He bobbed a very formal bow and smacked his tail on the wet clay bank affirmatively. “The waters subside, a dam was built upstream, designed to fail and wash this causeway out.” He chirped and grunted charmingly.
“The culprits have fled, leaving few signs. I will show you the dam site tomorrow if you wish to investigate. Such activities are antisocial and wrong.” He said firmly. “Humans have been lodging on this lovely island lately, you should lodge there too.”
Even with Uggoth’s assurances it was a nerve wracking trip to the island. Sure enough the waters were receding. Dark forms moved among the tangled limbs and branches in the water, working diligently as the music played.
Once they reached the island, things eased up a little. The fire ring itself was dug down into the silt, lined with stones and nicely built, sheltered from the worst weather and comfy feeling. Someone took the time to plant a few berry bushes and a few wet loving herbs. Mint, lemongrass and wild onions clustered here and there on the island, peeking up through the tough, springy turf.
With the Sparrowhawks along for the ride and the aquatic workers popping sleek, dark heads up to check the scene occasionally, Gary pulled out all the stops. He got the whole band rocking along in a simple boogie, turned Tallum and Ivy loose on the bass and percussion side and let it rip.
Well it's alright, riding around in the breeze
Well it's alright, if you live the life you please
Well it's alright, doing the best you can
Well it's alright, as long as you lend a hand
It felt like a Travelling Wilburys kinda day. Slowly, by the time the house was fully manifested, one culvert after another cleared itself of the clogging trees, saplings and silt. Enormous clumps of brush popped free and floated downstream, releasing the backed up flow.
Streeka, Uggoth and a number of young, muddy beaver and otter people slipped from the now calm water, looking fat and sassy. The youngsters frolicked in the pool while their elders lounged with tea and cakes.
“Our Stonesmiths will come soon to repair this roadway. They are our public face when we must deal with humans who are not familiar with us.” Streeka chirped happily. “Their ‘tribal, animal totem armor’ soothes humans, they assume things that they see are the result of human gifts and magic.”
The bathers did their duty, by ‘patrolling’ the marsh’s perimeter in small groups, while Amicus, Otho and Streeka discussed complex matters with Solange and Kai in the big pool.
“...no one ever suspected because even the gods got pulled into the grift. Now we just have to turn that around and choke out their little cult.” Gary said, with a sinister chill in his voice.
“I do mean choke, their rituals are designed to maximize the suffering of others, not for any magical reason, but because that’s what the cult expects. The one I ‘talked to’ had a real sadistic streak. I get the impression that is a feature of their group.”
Shai gave him a poke in the ribs under the water. “Dinnae become bloodthirsty boy, ye dinnae hae the temperament.” She grumbled. “Stick tae making music an keeping yer woman happy, tis what ye do best.”
#
Larksong and Evard were ‘working out’ together, after lunch. Mostly, they were chasing each other through the nearby woods and laughing, until they came rushing back looking concerned.
“Party of riders approaching, looks like a patrol ride from War, no banner.” Evard announced at the gate, while Larksong climbed the carriage house like a squirrel for a better view.
“War indeed, they look worn through as well.” She sang from her perch on the roof. “We were not observed, they will come into view shortly.”
The sound of a beaver tail slapping on the water’s surface prompted a general exodus. Sleek forms vanished down the overflow and into the marsh, while Solange became a lovely potted magnolia bonsai in the common room. She sat on the pianoforte, perfuming the room, while her stick insect form hid in Thirp’s garden chandelier.
“I must meet the creator of this structure, Gary druid. The glamors and artifice are exquisite. Bravo!” She whispered from her hiding place.
“It’s a gift from a friend. She’s very talented, maybe you will meet her someday…”
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Despite the hurried departure of the non human party, the approaching riders were not making very good time.
“Brennan! Good to see you!” Khan shouted across the raging waterway. “You look cold and wet over there… that must be miserable.”
“Khan… still a nursemaid to a pack of greenies I see. Perhaps that one legged old coot will find something useful for you to do in the summer season.” Brennan used his helmet enchantment to project his voice across the torrent.
“I can’t hear you Brennan… there is a ford, a day’s ride up stream on your side. We will be gone by the time you get here…”
After the warparty rode off upstream, Luna giggled. “We will have to make it up to Malus and the boys and poor Nazar. I will delight in Brennan’s discomfort on those muddy game trails, while the boat from port Ellis arrives this evening.”
#
The boat from Ellis tied up and offloaded a small troupe of characters in hilarious animal costumes. Most were plush costumes with little effort made to hide that fact. Making the occasional paw or claw not particularly noticeable.
One was a dark figure all in highly wrought light armor, with a feline cast, not unlike Liam’s. They moved with a sense of direction and intent, like the stalking panther their armor was styled after.
“That works?” Gary whispered to Runningtree. “People fall for that?”
“Never underestimate the power of expectation. They expect tribal mages in quaint costumes. All veterans of War and Adventurers know of us, most are allies or neutral to us… with townsmen it is easier to cultivate an air of mystery.” She said calmly, as the party approached.
A massive figure in a plush bear costume lumbered up. Most of that was definitely not stuffing. They raised one massive plush paw and waved in greeting.
“You must be the ducklings that have been splashing about so loudly. Hello, I am Maer, leader and speaker for the Stonesmith’s guild…”
“Save it Maer, they already know Kai and have a dryad in the bath.” Streeka said from the waterside, as she shook herself dry. “We will barely raise a ripple in this pond.”
“Oh thank the gods, it’s not so bad in winter, but come spring we avoid human lands and stay outside the fringe.” He rumbled, as he waddled up to hug tiny Streeka.
“Yes, yes come treat this like the lodge. Bathe, be free, we will be undisturbed in this place for at least a day and a half.” She chivvied her crew into the garden to shed their outfits and bathe.
“Even on the fringe, we seldom stay in human inns. We shall try not to offend.” Streeka murmured to a bemused Gary and Shai. “Go inside, I will bring them in when they are ready.”
About an hour later Streeka led her party into the common room, a nervous collection of very interesting people.
Uggoth and another Beaver person, a woman named Grol were very calm and mellow. They stood around four feet and had less pronounced teeth than beaver ancestry might suggest. They were soft spoken and very polite, snacking quietly on raw vegetables from the garden.
Maer was big, not tall, but wide and big, a bear by any measure. Standing just over five feet, no one seemed to tower over him, he simply exuded presence and solidity. “It’s an Earth shaman thing…” He shrugged chocolate brown, furry shoulders.
He was followed by a large man with small antlers on his forehead and furry knees. He was otherwise unremarkable; aside from being nearly Liam’s match in the ‘hot guy’ competition.
“Names, Glenn, nice to meet everyone…” His voice was buttery smooth too, he had dimples and smooth golden tan skin….
‘What an asshole.’ Gary thought, completely rationally. “Nice to meet you too… damn, you are charming bro. Is that a glamor or something?”
“I’m a shaman of Light, there’s a lot of Joy bouncing around in this house so things get a little… is that Otho, Beloved of Joy?” Otho waved happily from the bar.
“Glenn, come try this! My young protege is a bit of an alchemist.” He waved a clay jug marked clearly ‘DO NOT DRINK’ in six alphabets and a skull-n-bones.
“This plum wine packs a…” Otho’s eyes crossed and he slipped to the floor out cold.
Tawny rushed to the old man’s fallen form, checked his vitals and then sniffed the jug. While she blinked watering eyes and reeled from the fumes, Gary took over.
“Tallum, help me put him to bed. Nobody drink that, it ain't plum wine. It's a solvent liquor with haunted plum tree amber and deathshead locust wax. I use it to polish instruments.” He patted the old man fondly. “Let’s pack him into the grotto, save him a hangover.”
Shai slipped behind the bar as the pair dragged the inn’s first blackout drunk of the evening away.
“Nae others shall get up tae such foolishness, lest sweet Shai shut off the taps. This be a decent house.”
Gary and Tallum re-emerged from the grotto to meet the last three members of the Stonesmiths. A full figured, almost paunchy badger couple, they were sleek and sleepy, but friendly nonetheless.
“This is our usual hibernation time,” He began. “only the duke’s call woke us early.” She finished. The mated pair always spoke that way, one beginning, while the other finished.
They traded every task and action off seamlessly as a single unit, even feeding each other without fanfare or hesitation.
“Humans often find,” She began. “our pairbond confusing.” He concluded.
“No, we get it, you do you.” Gary and Shai nodded together and tried the feeding each other thing. It failed hilariously.
The last member introduced herself while the pair were still wiping crumbs off their faces. The others wore his green robes, relaxing and enjoying the freedom of very casual dress.
The only apparent warrior in their group, the figure in the cat mask and armor was a startling transformation. Gone was the menacing dark armor with the snarling panther face, a charming young cat girl skipped up the path from the bathing pool.
She looked ready for a spring festival, dressed in a light blue dress with lace and panels of embroidery at the bodice and hem. Her gray striped fur and big golden eyes entranced Amy and Wilford immediately. Prancing up in the spring sunshine, the two youngest Bathers launched themselves her way with squeals of delight.
“Ooh! Human kits! I have never seen any before, a male and a female too! Let me get a good sniff of you!”
“This is Nara, our ranger and guardian, a deadly fighter I assure you…” Maer said with some embarrassment. “Please Nara, not the balls of yarn…”
Tawny and Liam were playing something light and gay in the corner, their music fit well with the charming cat woman juggling colorful balls of yarn in the common room.
“Pish tush, Maer. Don’t be an old ninny, in Kai’s lagoon there is little to worry about.” She added two more balls to her spinning wheel of colors. “Something about this place feels safe in any case.”
She deftly began bouncing the balls in a cascade pattern flicking them off her fingertips effortlessly. Amy and Wilford followed her dancing steps as she skipped across the floor, light as a whisper.
“She really is a terror in action, I swear.” Maer said lamely, struggling to maintain his dignity.
“In this house, terror hae no place master Bear, kindly quash such talk.” Shai scolded, as she joined the dance, emulating her sinuous and nimble footwork. “Tis a complex dance… do it hae a name?”
“No, I just wiggle how the music moves me. You are quite nimble, human.” Shai, the kids and Becky led her off to the dance floor, nearer the music.
Gary slipped behind the bar and took an obnoxious pose. He leaned casually, while polishing a glass with a rag, both of which he conjured just for that reason.
”We have stout, and three hard ciders, apple, pear or grenadier. The wine is barely old enough to drink, I don’t recommend it yet, give me a few more months.” Gary said with a smile.
“What did that old man drink?” Uggoth asked, nose twitching in interest. “Smells potent.”
“No dice, try my apple moonshine. Solange, where’s that jug?” He pried it away from the giggling dryad and traded her for a cup of honeyed milk. For some reason she always took that deal.
Maer’s nose twitched in interest. “Really? Honeyed milk is very intoxicating to dryads, or so the legends go.”
“Well, that explains a lot… thanks Maer, I wonder if coffee would help? Best we wait to find out.” He poured a measure for the bear and slid it over. “Apple brandy with honey and spices. You are gonna love it.”
#
“Turns out beavers are lightweights…” Gary remarked to the slightly tipsy bear man. The beavers were slumped on the bar, snoring peacefully.
“You two are cut off. Solange, they didn’t finish their drinks. Wanna…” She was already there, slipping onto a seat beside them and snaking their glasses away silently.
“Mortals are fragile things Gary, I notice you do not drink, yourself. Why is that?” She cocked her head to the side, a bit of her insect nature showing.
“I feel like I’ve been tripping balls since I got here. I taste it, but let’s keep Gary, as in control as we can. Besides, I’m not even a year old yet, what kind of person are you?” He demanded with a goofy grin.
“Child, you are all infants to me, even the beloved of Joy. I remember when your species first tasted wine, before you learned speech, even. You had discovered music, interestingly enough…” She looked him up and down appraisingly.
“Yes, I think you will do well. It is decided, I will not destroy you!” She clapped and swayed in her seat while watching Nara and his family dance. “Go join them boy, I will tend your bar.”
Ivy swept her into a gentle hug and placed the tipsy spirit on the sofa by the fire. “I will tend the bar, you will sober up.”
All in all, they had a very pleasant evening with new friends under a warm roof. The pleasant awareness that Brennan Fallon was sleeping in a bush somewhere cold made the experience all the sweeter.
Becky luxuriated in the quiet of her room. She had Amy and Wilford snuggled close, enjoying the idea of a cold wet, shivering Brennan, somewhere out in the woods.
#
“Beastmen sign, looks like otter and beaver clan.” Malus called. “We should camp here, weather coming in. feels like sleet.”
They were in a pleasant little glade, with evening shadows growing longer by the moment. Paw prints and a mud slip at the water’s edge were the only signs of occupancy remaining.
“There should be a lodge nearby, we can shelter there tonight. Jeng says he can find it before last light.”
“We camp here, I will not stay in some muddy burrow dug by animals.” He snapped.
With a shrug, the troopers fell to work, pitching The lordling’s tent and setting the horse line. In short order the small camp was set, a small cluster of tents, a cookfire, privy trench and horseline with a tarped off pile of tack nearby.
“The lodge is abandoned, in that thicket if the weather gets too foul, my lord.” Malus called from the tent flap while the young lord ate an early dinner of trail biscuits and dried beef stewed with dried vegetables. “Cursed rations, even when stewed it tastes dry.”
“Bran did the cooking, shall I convey your thoughts, milord?” Malus asked sweetly, a jarring sound coming from that pug nosed flat faced brawler. “He did ask for our thoughts… we all wisely praised his skills.”
Pedro Nazar coughed politely, from where he leaned on a tree. “Tell Bran I found his stew delightful.” He said, with a wink at the short burly warrior in red. “I enjoy the way my knees bend right now and would like to maintain their current alignment.”
With a disgusted grunt, Bennan twitched his tent flaps closed and buttoned them.
“Well, he’s in for the night, let’s get the horses someplace safe and get comfy, we may be stuck here a day or two.” Malus said, as the first wet, heavy flakes and drops fell. “Joining the lads in the beaver lodge? It’s a squeeze to get in but it’s dry and warm.”
“No, I will stay to haul his lordship in before he freezes.” Nazar sighed. “Pity we could not reach the inn. Even thinking of those baths makes my heart hurt”
“We slept in the stable and had breakfast in the garden once, bloody enchanting. The look on Brennan’s face warms my heart when I remember.” Malus seemed genuinely nostalgic.
The stout warrior smiled as he related an unlikely tale of horses in slippers and humiliated lordlings.
“...so his groom, Levin gets back and requests a transfer to Wheatford. Says he’s in love with the skinny waitress and tells Brennan, right in camp, unless he approves it, all his lordship’s most embarrassing secrets will be told to everyone who will listen.”
They collected the two teamsters, who were finishing their work, tarping off part of the thicket as a makeshift horse barn.
“Fine work gentlemen, retire to the shelter, I will look after the ‘commander’ tonight. Stay warm, stay safe.” Nazar buttoned up his own tent, pulled every stitch of warm clothing he owned on and bundled in his bedroll to carefully tend his tiny stove.
Sometimes a silent, quiet storm can be as dangerous as any furious tempest. The rain and snow traded off, melting and freezing in turns, until the temperature dropped too low. Frozen rain clattered off his frozen tent, while a gentle breeze contributed little beyond a bone chilling draft.
When the first tree cracked that was enough. He extinguished his stove, bundled up and went to collect the half frozen lordling. The tent flap crackled, and he had to break a thin skin of ice to exit the tent. Cold air slapped him rudely around the cheeks and pointed out the gaps in his scarf arrangement.
Predictably, Brennan had a bottle of wine or two in him, equally predictably, his stove was barely lit and his lips were a pale blue. With a grunt of disgust he dragged the whole bedroll to the thicket and into the no-longer abandoned lodge. “I am a professional.” He reminded himself, over and over again on the short walk.