Lisaykos, Healing Shrine, Aybhas, Harvest season, 9th rot., 3rd day
The meeting of the Convocation and the Lord Holders in Weirgos was postponed until the storm blew through. The weather started in the night shortly after dinner, forcing my son to accept one of my guestrooms for the night. This made Katsa happy since she dragged Irhessa off to talk for the rest of the evening. Poor Twee was disappointed when Katsa took Irhessa down to her guestroom. I believe the little Chem was looking forward to chatting with my son. Emily rescued him and the two of them vanished to her bedroom where I believe she was quizzing him on how to say basic phrases in the water tongue, as Twee called it.
I did some work before I turned in, as is my habit. Then I checked on Emily to see if she was asleep. She had fallen asleep reading again, sitting crosslegged, slumped back on the pillows with an open volume of law revisions in front of her. I inserted a slip of vellum to mark her place, closed the codex, and moved it to on top of one of the clothes chests. Then I cast a brief stasis on her so she wouldn't wake and tucked her in.
She always looked so peaceful when she slept. When it was quiet like this, as most of the shrine also slept, I could feel the direct pull of the godmarks on me. Even as one of the strongest mages in Foskos, nine godmarks were difficult to ignore, especially when she was sleeping. She looked so young and small and fragile, despite my knowing that she was resilient and tough now that she had her health back.
For me, the godmarks made me feel like Emily was the most precious existence. I had to fight my constant desire to follow her everywhere and keep her safe. I had to admit that I was protective of her before the incident with Aylem a year and a half ago but the godmarks had intensified that feeling. I was confident I could sort out my own feelings from the effect of the godmarks. Emily had won my admiration from the beginning with her ability to work hard without complaint. The godmarks were independent of that.
Discovering her obsidian-sharp mind, self-reliance, and quirky but easy-going personality deepened my admiration into true liking and protectiveness. I would have tried to keep her safe even without the godmarks, but their presence threatened to turn that protectiveness into obsession. I fought against it every day because I knew she often felt trapped by our efforts to keep her safe.
Having tucked her in, I took my shower, confident that Emily would sleep through the sound of the running water. She always did. I knew that by the time I was done, Eskurt would have left his spot on my bedroom armchair to curl up next to Emily on her bed. I toss and turn too much when I sleep for Eskurt to sleep next to me. When Emily isn’t here, I usually wake up to him sleeping at the foot of my bed where my sleeping habits won’t disturb him.
He really did like Emily. Despite her complaints, I could tell she had some fondness for him. When he snuggled next to her, or across her legs, on her lounge in my study, I would catch her scratching him or taunting him with a piece of string. If Emily wasn't around, Eskurt would sleep on my worktable next to me, sit on Aylem’s lap while she worked, or curl up with Senlyosart while she spent most afternoons on the lounge next to Wolkayrs’ worktable. The cat was decent company, except when he decided to stalk my feet or my sleeves while I was working.
The snow had started already when I got into bed. As I listened to the wind rattle and whistle past the windows, I doubted that we would be leaving in the morning. I was right.
I always wake about a quarter before the first bell of the day. The drafts through the windows had chilled my quarters during the night. After I refreshed the warming charm on the temperature crystals, I opened my mind to searching for Fassex. Her mindcasting could reach every other high priestess. If her mind was casting about for someone looking for her, which was often the case early in the morning, she would notice me. I couldn't reach her on my own.
I hoped to connect with her before my sisters in the northern shrines left for Weirgos, in case the storm missed them. These early cold-season storms often went more east than north, leaving the kingdom north of Is’syal untouched.
*Mother?*
*Katsa, you’re not who I’m looking for. Go back to sleep.*
*Sorry, mother. This is when I always wake up and you know I’m sensitive to mindcasting. Besides, you’re just down the corridor. You’re so close, I couldn’t help but notice.*
*Of course you noticed, Lord Gunndit, with two strong mages related by blood in the same place,* Fassex mindcasted, with a heavy nuance of amusement at my exchange with my daughter. Fassex wasn’t very loud but that was normal considering how far away she was, in the most remote shrine in the kingdom. Her mind magic was without peer. *Were you looking for me, Sister Lisaykos?*
*I was indeed, Sister Fassex. How’s the weather in Yant?*
*Cold with a bit of wind. Completely overcast. Smells like snow. Is the weather bad down south?*
*You could say that. It’s been snowing since the one-quarter night bell and I wouldn’t let any eagles or winged horses fly in this wind. I expect the garrison will be sending griffins out to find anyone stranded on the river or the roads. The storm came in very fast after sundown.*
*So, Lisaykos dear, are you suggesting we postpone our meeting until the storm blows through?* Only Fassex could manage to convey shammed innocence in a mindcasting from that distance. Somehow, I was left with the impression that she had batted her eyes at me mentally. What a show-off.
I’ve never been good with trading witty banter, especially with Fassex, so I didn’t even try. *I don’t know how far north the storm has gone, but we won’t be able to leave until it blows through down here. Would you please contact the rest of the Convocation and postpone the meeting until the storm is over?*
*Of course, I will. I will leave informing Aylem, Kamagishi, and Senlyosart to you. From here, it feels like all of them are still asleep,* Fassex quipped. She was certainly feeling feisty this morning. She could be a handful when she was in one of her rowdy moods, but I would rather deal with her like this than when she was being contrary.
*Before I do that,* Fassex dropped the banter and was serious, *I assume the Queen and our little prophet managed to come home with no problems other than the delay so Aylem could recover?*
*Yes, they arrived just as the sun was going down yesterday evening, with an unlooked-for escort of free eagles who guided them through the mountains.*
There was a pause and then Fassex replied, *I confess that the behavior of the free Eagles surprises me, but we can discuss that in person in a day or so. Let me contact our sisters and then the Lord Holders who put off traveling until today. Tell Aylem I said hello.* Then she was gone from my mind.
I got up and started my morning routine. I was still in my housecoat and had just sat down to do my hair when Blinda knocked. “Come,” I said, opening the door with my mind’s hand for her.
“Holiness,” she put her hands pressed together against her face and bowed her head in the less-informal obeisance of the Impotuans, “my mistress was wondering about traveling in this weather.”
“We will not be traveling until the storm blows through,” I paused in mid-braid. “The meeting and the formalities at the Shrine of Vassu have been postponed. Sister Losnana can go back to sleep if she wants, though morn repast will be served at the usual time.”
Blinda bowed herself out. As soon as she left, Katsa showed up.
"Good morning, mother," my daughter was all smiles today. "I take it going to Weirgos is delayed?" She looked at me doing my hair, took the comb away from me, and removed my hands from braiding my hair.
“Katsa,” I started to protest. I tried to recover my comb and hair and found my hands being held down by my daughter’s mind magic.
“Be a good little high priestess and let me fix your hair for you,” she purred, contented. I knew better than to try to resist. Katsa’s mind magic was stronger than mine.
“Yes, contrary child, the trip to Weirgos is postponed until the weather blows through. Poor Twee. He’s been more and more nervous as his revelation gets closer. Now he must wait a day or two more.”
“Hmm,” Katsa paused to look at what she wanted to do with my hair, “caul or pins? Have you a preference?”
“I’m not going anywhere today, so why don’t you indulge yourself, dear?”
“I will do that, then," Katsa sounded pleased and a little mischievous. "Where is Twee?"
“He’s been staying with Priestess Thourfosi and Scholar Attendant Wolkayrs, at their house across from the gate into the east garden. He spends his time in a warm tub of water when Thourfosi is home, and she brings him here when she comes in. The poor thing doesn’t do well in the cold weather. It’s been quite a challenge finding ways to keep him warm since he doesn’t like to wear clothes.”
“So what was that black thing he was wearing yesterday? I noticed it wasn’t cloth and it had that padded roll around what I assume was his neck.”
I had to laugh, “Chem don’t really have necks. He’s built like a salamander or a lizard more than a fur-bearing animal. We’ve been calling what he’s been wearing the body sock. It’s made of thin rubber that stretches. Sister Raoleer came up with it. Twee puts it on in his tub so there’s a trapped layer of water between the water and his skin. For reasons I don’t understand at all, though Emily has tried her best to explain it to me, that thin layer of water helps keep him warm. There’s also an embedded crystal over his chest that takes a warming charm if he needs to go outside.”
“But Mother,” Katsa paused in the pulling and plaiting of my poor hair, “that can’t possibly keep him warm in this weather. How can he travel? I assumed he was flying since he would have had to leave three or four days ago to get to Weirgos by wagon.”
“Your clever brother made a sheepskin sack that has a Chem-shaped hood and arms. To fly, Twee gets in the bag. Then he is placed in front of whoever he is flying with and the two of them are belted together. Twee can close the hood and arms from the inside with drawstrings if the air outside is too cold. The person he is with has to cast warmth inside the sheepskin sack since Twee is cold-blooded. Being this far north is quite dangerous for a Chem.”
“I'm beginning to feel quite sorry for the poor fellow," Katsa finished braiding and started pinning. "Don't his gills need to stay wet? I remember reading somewhere that Chem have to keep their gills wet all the time, even out of the water, or they die."
“You remember correctly,” I figured out what Katsa was doing with my hair. She was coiling four thin braids around the crown of my head like a diadem. It was a flattering arrangement. I seldom wore my hair this way since I couldn’t do it myself.
"And…?" Katsa prodded since I paused as I contemplated hair arranging.
"The roll around his non-existent neck is a bladder with water in it," I explained. "Those clever folks at the Builder Shrine have come up with a way to drip water from the bladder through a hollow rubber-cloth wick to keep Twee's gills wet. All he has to do is press on the bladder and the water will travel through the wick and down his gills. There's some sort of valve arrangement in there. I confess I have no idea how it works."
“Mother, do you ever get the feeling that the world is changing too fast?” Katsa asked, concern in her voice. “I begin to understand why the scriptures describe the ages of miracles and prophets as times of great upheaval.”
“Katsa, Luv," I sighed, "I sleep next door to a Coyn who talks to gods several times a season. Tiki takes her out drinking with other boy gods and Galt bribes her to do what the gods desire with foods she misses from her previous life that don't exist here. She has ridden on the back of Erhonsay in her aspect of an Owl, on Galt as a griffin-sized cat, and on Vassu in her aspect as a shark. Two days ago, she and that walking, overpowered magical anomaly we call Aylem turned the largest city in this world into a smoking smoldering crater to please the cat god. Compared to that, Emily's introduction of new materials and new ways to do things is outright boring. And none of that compares with my experiences talking face-to-face with Mugash herself." I found myself scowling at too much change, something that I forced myself not to think of lest it upset me too much.
“Mother?” Katsa sounded worried.
I let out a breath, “Yes, child, the world is indeed changing too fast, and we all are caught in the middle of it.”
Thuorfosi’s knock pattern sounded on the door into my bedroom from the dining room.
“Priestess Thurofosi is earlier than usual,” Katsa remarked, inserting the last of the hairpins. "There, I'm done."
“Come," I said so I could be heard through the thick wood door. "Thank you, Katsa. I've always like this hairstyle. Thuorfosi was scheduled to wake Emily early today since we were originally going to be traveling."
Thuorfosi walked in, stopped to look at me, and then beamed, "You haven’t worn your hair like that in ages, Great One, and it looks wonderful on you.” Then she blinked, “Oh.” Blushing, she bowed her head and put her hand over her heart, “May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One, Revered One.”
I chuckled. I found Thuorfosi’s straightforward ways were always a joy. “And also upon you, Thuorfosi. Here to wake the bundle of trouble?”
“Of course. I only have eight more days to indulge myself, and she's going to be gone for one or more of those," Thuorfosi grinned with a mischievous glint in her eye. "This may be my last chance to torture that unsuspecting victim next door. Who knows where we all may land two years from now when my leave is over? Now," she was suddenly thoughtful, "I am assuming that you are not traveling to Weirgos this morning. Am I correct?"
“You have assumed correctly. You may leave the bundle of trouble safely in bed for a little while longer. Can I trouble you to inform those in the guest quarters that we are postponing our trip until the weather blows through?”
“Certainly. Twee will be overjoyed. He's been looking nervous all the way here from the house," Thuorfosi smiled. "So, I need to inform the King and Queen, as well as the Holy Senlyosart, Kamagishi, Losnana, Foyuna, and Mieth downstairs. Priestess Arma stayed here last night so I'll need to find her too unless she's already with her mother. I believe Lord Gunndit already knows. Am I missing anyone?"
“My son, who arrived last night. He’s in room 12. Also, you need to inform the Princess. Her parents wanted her to attend the revelation. You don’t need to inform Losnana. She already knows. Oh, gods,” I realized I had forgotten about the two at the palace in Is’syal. “I need to find Fassex again to make sure she messages the palace. The Prince and the Revered Garki are planning to attend too. I forgot about them. I hope Fassex remembered. If you’ll excuse me, dear?”
Thuorfosi nodded at me and vanished through the dining room door on her way back to the study.
“I can get this for you, mother,” Katsa said, pulling up a stool and sitting down next to me at my dressing table. “Fassex is easy to find.”
“Show-off,” I accused her.
“Of course,” Katsa looked pleased with herself. She suffered from the Gunndit family trait of exhibitionism. There was no such thing as a shy or reserved Gunndit. I was content to let Katsa take care of the chore of finding Fassex for me as I got up and picked out what boring work clothes I would wear today.
Emily disappointed Thourfosi by getting out of bed and finding me to ask if I could heat the water in the tank for the shower. She was dressed and eating her morning repast when Thuorfosi returned from the errand I sent her on. Besides eating, Emily was also intent on sketching and scribbling something on some scrap paper. Aylem, always an early riser, had seated Emily and fetched her food and tea. Then Aylem sat next to her and watched intently as Emily worked.
Thuorfosi's face fell when she saw Emily up, dressed, and at the table. I felt guilty for having stolen one of her few mornings left with Emily.
“Thuorfosi, get yourself some food,” I invited her. It wasn’t an organized meal. The staff had set up the serving dishes on the big sideboard and everyone was serving themselves, except for Emily and Senlyosart, who needed someone to bring them their food.
“We ate at home, Mistress,” she shrugged.
“Well, pour yourself some tea and sit, dear,” I pointed to the empty chair next to the King. “We’re being very informal this morning and now that you’ve run that long errand for me, pregnant ladies should get off their feet and rest for a moment.”
Imstay paused mid-bite to turn on the charm and smiled at Thuorfosi. She gave in and poured herself some tea. Before sitting down, she stopped to look over Emily’s shoulder at what the Coyn was scribbling and Aylem was studying so intently. The only other person present, Senlyosart, was observing the tableau with curiosity.
“Emily, dear heart,” Thuorfosi frowned in concentration, “what is that a drawing of? And what are those numbers?”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“Trying to figure out how to size the fipple on a wood pipe so it will play a musical note,” Emily said without looking up. Her pencil didn’t even stop moving.
“I thought you had forgotten about this after we came home from Ud’s place,” Aylem said to Emily in a barely audible voice.
“Nope, I've been thinking about it on and off. I've been stumped by it, to tell the truth, trying to figure out how you get a sound out of a hollow round or square pipe. Then it occurred to me on our trip back from Salicet, that it was simple. The solution was to use a fipple. Then the problem became how to build a fipple in a hollow square pipe. That's what I've been trying to sketch."
“What’s a fipple?” I had to ask.
“It's the shaped plug at the top of any wind instrument like a grumble or a fingered whistle," Senlyosart answered. "It constricts the airflow next to the notch. The pitch is controlled by the length of the instrument and any holes in the body of the grumble or whistle."
“Will it work?” Aylem asked.
“I think so," Emily. "I was thinking of visiting the shop in the north market that makes musical instruments and showing this to the folks who work there. That will kill a little time while we wait for the storm to move on."
“What?” Aylem looked at Emily in disbelief. “Today? In that wind?”
“The wind is not that bad and the new path from the East Garden down to the eastside alley in the market is sheltered from the worst of it. The alley is covered most of the way to the musical instrument shop so there shouldn’t be much snow, and it’s the fourth shop down on the east side, so it’s not far.”
“And you were going to walk?” Aylem gave Emily a disapproving glare.
“Why not? I was thinking of visiting my musician friends down at the garrison afterward. Nasty weather is always a good time to get together and make music.”
“Someone should go with you,” Aylem pronounced in her Queen voice, pushing back at Emily’s assertion of independence.
“Fine, I’ll take Asgotl,” Emily stated.
“Good luck with that," Thuorfosi added. "I doubt that lazy bag of griffin bones will want to stick his beak outside. He's happily snoring away out in the hallway by the stairs. He will turn you down, Emily. Let one of us take you."
“Look, I don't need an escort," Emily said with quiet stubbornness. "It's not as if there won't be a wraith or two following me, you know. It's not like I'll be out there by myself. I'm going, and I'll be taking just myself, thank you."
The Ice Queen glared down at Emily and the Prophet and Destroyer of Cities glared back. Aylem blinked first.
“Em, I’m just worried about you. The city isn’t easy to get around for someone as small as you and the weather is a problem.” Aylem tried to reason with the immovable object named Emily.
“So, who rescued whose kids after they were stranded by a blizzard in the snow-covered wilderness? Hmm? Compared to that place, Aybhas is a day nursery for small children."
With that, Emily had her way. Aylem had no way to counter. I suppose I could have asserted myself to keep her inside or to send an escort, but I recognized in Emily the desire to get away from all the Cosm she lived with. She needed time away from us and she was now strong enough to fight for it. I could tolerate her assertions of going off on her own because as Emily pointed out, there would be one of my son’s wraiths watching her.
In hindsight, having a wraith on her trail didn’t stop her from breaking her collarbone in the afternoon while playing in the snow with the Coyn from the Shrine of Sassoo. All of the Coyn there living in the barracks at the garrison had taken leave of their collective senses. Emily wasn’t the only one with broken bones. Six of them including Emily, all adults, broke themselves while sliding down a hill on a piece of wood. The Guards took all of them to the chapel shrine hospital for the city’s Coyn. The poor healers on duty panicked when they realized one of the injured was Emily.
It's times like this that remind me that there is a bit of a wild streak in Emily that keeps me up at night when I am reminded of it. When she is sitting safely in her bedroom or even when she is up at the Builder Shrine in Omexkel among her crazy mekaner friends, it’s easy to forget that this is the same woman-child that drops Cosm with rocks from a sling, creates potions that explode or make fire, and hunts and kills snow bears. Underneath her growing veneer of respectability and acceptance as a prophet still lurks a feral Coyn.
I was just a tad cruel to little Emily. I sent Thuorfosi to bring her home.
----------------------------------------
Emily, Aybhas, Harvest season, 9th rot., 3rd day
I retreated to my bedroom and pulled out my cold-weather clothes, which at the moment were mostly flying clothes. I settled on the sheepskin coat and the flying mitts. For once, I also unfolded the hood on the shirt that Ud made me to wear it outside. It fit very close to my head so it would help keep the wind out. I wore three pairs of wool pants and three layers of tunics on top of Ud's shirt. I also pulled out the bear paw boots and laced them on over the doubled-up stockings I put on. They were so soft inside. I had lined them with deerskin.
Then I confronted the task of getting into the east garden. I usually had to ask the lady who was in charge of groundskeeping to open the east door for me. The problem was that when it snowed, the entire grounds staff spent all of their efforts to keep the north entrance and the road and paths that led up to it clear. She and her staff would be focused on that since medical emergencies came into the shrine through the north doors. It was also no way to get from the north entrance into the east garden. Lisaykos had the east garden walled off from the north entrance to keep Cosm out.
I didn't want to ask anyone to help me leave the shrine. This was my escape and I wasn’t going to ask for so much as an iota of aid. Having boxed myself in by being stubborn and walking out under my own power, I realized that the only way out of the shrine today was the north entrance, which would take me past the greeting table. Then I would need to circle the shrine on the path that led to the west garden. Once there, I could follow it around through the south garden and then through the gardeners' gate into the east garden. It would be a lot of walking.
I realized there was another way to leave that would get me into the east garden. I could jump off the south balcony and then walk. Ud’s shirt would manage the landing for me. The wraith sentry at the doors out to the balcony looked at me in disbelief when I asked to have the door opened so I could go outside on the balcony. We were both startled when Usruldes appeared out of the air.
“No,” he loomed over me, arms folded.
“No, what?” I looked up and asked.
“I saw that thought, young lady,” despite the mask, I could tell Usruldes was unhappy with me. “The answer is no. Your guard detail would perish from fright if you jumped off the balcony wall just to get to the garden. I know about Ud’s shirt. So does your detail but they don’t think like you do. It is a bit extreme, you know. There's also no guarantee that you wouldn't get blown into a bush or a tree on your way down, and then we’d have to rescue you. That would give the Queen a better place to argue from for keeping you safely inside with this lovely weather we’re having. I don’t think you’d want that.”
“So, Usruldes, what do you suggest?” I asked, feeling annoyed.
“Why don’t we go down the stairs together and then stroll to the east doors? I’ll open the doors for you and you’ll be in the east garden without traumatizing your guard detail. Deal?”
I sighed, “sure.”
“Are those the infamous bear paw boots?” Usruldes got down on his knees and crouched to get a closer look. He sounded amused. “I’ve only seen them once and that was from a distance. Are they warm?
“Warm and waterproof,” I replied, lifting a foot so he could see better.
“Aren’t they hard to walk in? They’re a lot wider than your feet.”
“I’ve never had any trouble walking in them. The way the bear toes splay out makes it easier to balance in the snow.”
“Intriguing. Well, after you, Great One,” he stood and gestured at the stairwell. The healers we passed on the stair and in the hallways all stopped and bowed their heads at me, their hands over their hearts. I found the wary eyes they gave Usruldes interesting, though more than a handful looked at him with approval and respect. I guessed his reputation as a healer and his fighting prowess during the attack on the shrine by the Impotuans was lifting his reputation among the Priestesses of Mugash.
Usruldes opened the door for me and waved as I turned down the descending pathway cut for Coyn access. The lane dropped down below the level of the ground, between steep banks cut into the garden. The snow came half up to my knees but it was very fine and powdery, the sort of snow skiers used to seek out in the powder bowls of the Rockies on Earth. I was scattering it into the air as I walked. The lane went through a tunnel under the main east-west road that passed in front of the north side of the shrine. Then it swerved to the left to connect to the alley in the back of the shops on the east side of the north market.
The market sloped downhill to the original north gate into the city. Aybhas outgrew its original walls centuries and centuries ago. On the other side of the original gate, the ground started to climb again to the left of the road. The shorter hill between the old wall and the river, on the northwest side of the city, was capped with the fortress of the Aybhas Garrison. The walk to the east gate of the garrison grounds was a pleasant downhill from the shrine.
As I had heard from the Sasso Shrine Coyn staying in one of the barracks, the walk from the garrison to the shrine was all uphill, usually with musical instruments in hand. The Aybhas guards made it a habit to escort the Sassoo Shrine Coyn from the garrison gate to the entrance of the alley every morning and again in the evening, to help them cross the busy road through the middle of the north market.
Ruxlos’ musical instrument shop was the fourth door down on the east side of the market. I rang the small bell that told the people inside that a Coyn would be using the half door. It was a custom that prevented accidents at shared doors. Cosm didn’t use the bell. They used a door knocker instead.
I opened the half door, stepped through as fast as I could, and closed it behind me to keep the wind and snow out. The older Coyn woman who had cut and fitted the neck on my guitar got up from her workbench and came down the mezzanine stair to meet me. The rest of the shop’s Coyn inhabitants were busy at their work benches along the shop’s mezzanine. The Cosm Craftmaster Ruxlos was tending to the workshop wood stove on the main floor.
“Pick-up, drop-off, or longer business, love?” she smiled at me. “Aren’t you a bit young to be running errands in this weather, girl?”
I pulled off my mitts. “This is longer business, and I’m not that young. I’m just regretfully short.”
“Well, there’s a bench behind you so you can pull off those…,” there was a pause and the woman's jaw dropped. "What is on your feet?" she exclaimed.
"Oh," I realized my bear paw boots would be novelties. Foolish me. I should have worn the flying boots instead. "I made these for myself a few years ago when I was living out in the forest. They are very warm and they're waterproof and they make it easy to balance in the snow."
“Your master is a tanner or a leather worker?” She looked confused.
I hadn't pulled the muffler from my face yet so she couldn’t see who I was. This was getting embarrassing. I clasped her hand between mine in apology, “I’m sorry. I don’t have a master. I’m Emily underneath all this cold weather gear.”
Her other hand flew up to cover her open mouth, “Goodness!” She pulled her skirts back and got on her knees. Everyone else in the shop did too, though Ruxlos closed the stove door first.
“May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One,” the woman said, making a full obeisance.
“And also upon you all. Please rise. Is there somewhere I can put my coat?”
She got up and led me to the bench she mentioned, "Please, sit there, Great One and we'll take care of that for you. If you want to get out of those snow-covered...are those boots? They look like the paws off of a wild animal."
“They are boots. I covered them with the skin and pads off the paws of a dead bear cub I found," I sat down, pulled down my coat hood, and undid the muffler.
“Well, I have some slips you can use and you can put your boots with ours over by the stove.”
Craftmaster Ruxlos came over and knelt in front of me, "You do honor to my shop, Great One. I can take your gear for you."
“Thank you. Give me a moment more to get out of all this stuff,” I stood to shrug off the heavy sheepskin coat.
“You look flustered, Kirkun,” Ruxlos looked at the Coyn woman who greeted me with some concern.
The woman, Kirkun, sighed, “Maybe a little. It’s been a year since the Great One last visited our shop, Rux. It was unexpected, that’s all. I usually don’t speak with any of the important people who come to the shop.”
I handed the coat, muffler, and mitts to Ruxlos and sat back down to untie the lacing that held the bear paws on. The lacing was a bit complicated so it took a long moment and then they were off.
“Kirkun,” I looked up from my feet and smiled at her, “You said you had some slips I could wear?” I really wasn’t outgoing as a person but since the gods stuck me with the prophet gig, I made the effort to be friendly to other people, especially Coyn.
“They are right here, Great One,” she handed them to me. “I can take your boots.”
“Thanks," I took the slips. By the time I had them on my feet, Ruxlos had returned. She sat me on her work table so we could talk. We spent the next three bells discussing how to make wooden organ pipes, how to create a bellows, and how to make a keyboard to operate the mechanism to make the pipes sing.
While we were talking, Rux would go and feed the wood stove from time to time. I stopped her one of those times because of what she was about to put into the fire, “Ruxlos, that piece of the wood with the curled end? You’re going to burn that?”
"Why, yes, Great One," she looked at me with a puzzled expression. "That's the backside off of a prell whose body had cracked after gluing. Once the wood has cracked, it's not useable as a musical instrument. Might as well use it for firewood."
I looked at the piece. It was long and flat with curled ends. To my eyes, it looked like a toboggan with two front ends. I wanted to take it and find a hill. The snow might be too dry and powdery for sledding, but I still wanted to try.
I talked Ruxlos into giving me the piece of toboggan-shaped wood. Even though it was taller than I was, it wasn’t heavy since the wood for musical instruments tends to be thin. Then I took it with me to the barracks residence of the Sassoo Shrine Coyn. The building where the Coyn lived was on a slope, like all of the barracks in the garrison compound. After we finished jamming all afternoon, I explained what the piece of wood could be used for. Soon most of the Sassoo Coyn were taking turns sledding down the incline between the barracks and the retaining wall. The slope was just steep enough to get up some enjoyable speed without going too fast.
We gained an audience. The Guards were fascinated. Several off-duty garrison gals watched the Coyn children and then the Coyn adults discover the joys of sledding, amazed at how much fun we all had. After the children and most of the adults had gotten cold and worn out, only six of us were left outside. Myself, three young guys and two gals then engaged in some serious fun with my makeshift toboggan.
On our ninth run, the gal at the front got her ankle turned the wrong way as she sat down and tried to tuck her legs in. Before she could fix how she was sitting, the guy at the back started pushing to build up speed. The gal up front started screaming because she was stuck with her ankle twisted while we were moving. Someone, not me, decided to try to stop the toboggan by trying to swerve a sharp turn. What that did was send the toboggan into the retaining wall.
The pile-up was epic. The gal with the turned ankle ended up breaking it. The other gal got a concussion. The guy pushing the sled got a nasty gash on his face. The guy in front of him broke some ribs. The third guy hurt his neck.
I noticed I couldn’t get out of the pile of sledders. My shoulder and upper arm just wouldn’t move and the top of my shoulder next to my neck started to hurt. I couldn’t even sit up.
By the time we had discovered we were all hurt, the off-duty guards watching us came to the rescue. We were all placed on the carrying boards used to take accident victims to the healers. We were taken to the big chapel shrine the healers had for treating Coyn on the northeast side of the city.
The response inside the chapel shrine was impressive. Coming through the door, each sledder was taken straight to a separate treatment room still strapped down on the carrying board. My healer appeared immediately. She looked around 40.
“Welladay," the healer gave me a professional reassuring smile that was leavened with a large dose of sympathy. “I’m Priestess Issilvos. The Guard who carried you inside said you can’t move your arm after sliding down a hill on a board with your friends and hitting a wall.”
“That sounds right,” I looked up at her.
“We need to get your coat and gear off you, but first, let me just do a quick assessment,” she placed her fingers on my cheek. Her eyebrows went up after a moment, “You have broken your collarbone. Please do not try to sit up or move.”
She got up, opened the door, and shouted, “I need the priestess currently in charge of the chapel, highest urgency, room seven.”
“Priestess,” I was confused and concerned, “you said it was just a broken collarbone. What else is wrong?”
“Nothing physical,” she looked troubled, “but you have nine godmarks that tell me that you’re the Blessed Emily.”
“Is that a problem? It shouldn’t keep you from setting the broken bone.” It didn’t make sense to me to send me up to the main shrine just to set a broken bone.
“Yes, you are right, Great One. Setting the bone comes first, so I need to get your winter gear off you. I should get some extra hands in here to help. We'll have to get your coat off you and that will take some doing." She walked back to the door, which she opened, and shouted a second time, "I need a trainee, room seven."
She vanished for a moment as she bent over and then reappeared with a basket that she put next to me. She took off my mitts and put them in the basket. Then she went to take off my boots and paused at the sight of the bear paws. I really should have worn the flying boots.
She had my boots off faster than I could take them off. She was undoing the buttons on my coat when the door opened.
A familiar voice with an Impotuan accent started talking, “Issilvos, what is the…?” I heard a loud sigh behind me where I couldn’t see, “Little friend Emly, what are you doing in my chapel shrine?” She still couldn’t say my name correctly.
“Is that you Arma?” I beamed. I hadn’t seen Arma for about a rotation.
“Yes, it is I,” Arma walked to where I could see her. “Issilvos, why is the Prophet Emly in my chapel shrine?”
“Broken collarbone,” Issilvos replied.
“Let’s see what’s keeping a trainee from getting here,” Arma frowned at me. “You get her patched up and I will contact the main shrine.”
The trainee showed up just then.
“Trainee Sanipsil,” Arma smiled, “remember my telling you to be open-minded and prepared for the strangest things to happen?”
“Yes, Senior,” the young silverhair looked worried. Given that she was about as tall as Twessera and that she was working here, she was probably close to being elevated to a full healer soon.
“Tell me, little one,” Arma smiled down at me, “what do you think protocol should be when someone of rank is taken to a chapel shrine with injuries?”
“I wouldn’t bother, though if someone were a real stiff board about that sort of thing, I would say head bows only. Someone who is injured shouldn’t be put in the position of exchanging blessings,” I had a suspicion of what Arma was up to.
Arma’s smile had gone incandescent, “Trainee Sanipsil, allow me to introduce you to the Blessed Emily.”
“Welladay,” I waved at the poor girl. When she managed to stop gaping, she started to kneel only to be stopped by Arma.
“Sanipsil,” Arma looked at the trainee with sympathy, “head bows are not out of line, but don’t force an injured person to exchange blessings.”
“Oh.” Sanipsil blinked. Then she made a bowing obeisance.
“Can you feel the godmarks from there, Sanipsil?” Arma asked.
“I’m not sure,” the trainee looked uncertain.
“Which side is the broken collarbone on?" Arma asked me. I pointed at my right shoulder with my left hand. Arma looked at Sanipsil and pointed at her hand, "Take the Prophet's hand, Sanipsil and feel the godmarks. You might not get another opportunity to experience this."
I held out my hand to the girl, “It’s alright. I don’t bite.”
She very gently held my hand. It was a little disconcerting, watching her eyes grow wide. I had no idea what godmarks felt like so it was often hard to cope with how mages reacted to them.
Arma left, looking happy at creating a nice teaching moment for the trainee. I was soon stripped to my underwear without any discomfort. I was amazed to discover, while Issilvos and Sanipsil removed my clothes, the use of a charm that takes clothes apart at the seams so they can be taken off without having to cut them off, and then puts them back together.
Issilvos asked Sanipsil to set the bone. The kid looked nervous at first but soon was all business. She was helping me into my outer overtunic when Arma showed back up with Thuorfosi in tow.
I could tell from the malevolent smile on Thourfosi’s face that my life for the next few days would be a trial for me.