Hengen and Father operated from a solid brick warehouse just past the bridge over the disused moat. The small office was vacant, so Aud walked around to where wide doors opened on to a clutter of agricultural implements, a tangle of wood, copper, leather belts and spoked wheels as high as her shoulder. The air was heavy with the smells of chaff, grease, manure and the rich black earth of the Terl valley. From somewhere above came a repeated thumping. A woman in stained coveralls came forward at her call, took her name and shouted up to the loft. There was an answering mumble, the shout was repeated, and a wiry man dropped down the ladder. Aud looked at his grimy hands and dust-covered clothes, and gave him a small bow. The man made a corresponding gesture with the hammer in his hand, realised it was there, and put it on a bench.
The man proved to be Hengen himself. When he had grasped her name and purpose, Aud was ushered into a rather smelly back room, papers and a bag of parts removed from a chair and offered tea. When she left an hour later it was with new information and a lingering odour of grease. She retreated to the town square for tea that did not taste of machinery and considered. The reaper broke down at the end of the season, always in the same part of the valley. That area was below the hills, and near where the Terl valley narrowed to a gorge. According to Hengen, other Items were not affected, and the harvester itself worked well for at least a week before breaking down. An older model, one that did not winnow, thresh and sort, had worked those farms for decades without an issue.
So was the problem with the area, the harvester, or some change in the last three years? She would have to investigate. Hengen had pointed out the place on a map; it was no more than a two hour walk. She would go out there tomorrow and check. A hike in the country was just what she had come to do. She and Jeoreh had often taken the children on long walks through the forests around Pelsie, gathering mushrooms by the basketful after the rainy season or swimming in the pools in the heat. She allowed herself to indulge in fond reminiscence for a few minutes, then turned her mind to what she would need to take.
* * * *
Aud whistled as she walked. The sun was mild, her boots comfortable, the trail clear and she had a good breakfast under her ribs. She had left early the next morning, setting a steady pace through the town, out on to the north road and then turning off to follow the river. The sun was in her eyes at first, then rose enough to allow a clear view. The cold season was not far away and the air had a pleasant bite. The ether here had a smooth feeling, the gentle ripples from the river over to her right like the even breaths of someone sleeping soundly. On she went, winding along in shallow curves, in and out of the dappled shade thrown by small stands of trees. The land felt content. An hour later the feel was much the same. Aud stopped to draw a set of small wind-chimes from her pack, untangle the strings and hang them from a branch. They twisted slowly, tinkling as the wind caught the tubes. Aud studied them for several minutes, found nothing remarkable, and went on.
Further on the valley began to narrow, the broad bottom-lands shrink in. The hills loomed ahead, patched with rough grass and forest. Aud tested the surround with the wind chimes again. This time the tinkling was more frantic, the notes discordant. She frowned, extended her senses, stood a long moment quite still in the dusty road. The river was running faster here, the water noisy over the stones. The ether moved with it, as was to be expected. Less expected was an underlying turbulence, a formlessly chaotic beat that swirled out from the flowing water to disturb the fields. Aud unlaced her boots, hopped out of her socks, stepped across the roadside ditch into the stubbled field and dug her toes into the earth. Yes, the influence was there, too, seeping through the soil against the flow of groundwater.
Aud considered as she dusted her feet off and put her footwear back on. The disturbance related to the river, that much was clear. But what was it? A natural change in the ether? Was the Wild growing, sending out tendrils downstream into this quiet valley to drive innocent harvest machines into breakdown? Or had something – or someone - upstream created some influence that sent the ether awry? She looked up the valley. Only one way to find out. She would be prudent and go no more than – she checked the sun – an hour or so up the path she could see, then turn around and come back.
An hour later she trod a path that wound along the ridge, perhaps half-way between the river below and the windy heights above. The water below was grey and fast, loud over the rocks. If it were not for the irritatingly uneven flows of the ether it would be a pleasant hike in the country, the walking just hard enough to test the muscles. The trail climbed higher above the water, then higher still as the valley narrowed. It was wide enough that she could step out with confidence, despite the steep fall on her right hand. Aromatic plants clung to the slopes wherever the soil allowed, insects hummed, birds darted about, the breeze frisked along the gorge. Aud paused from time to time, sometimes to extend her senses, sometimes just to enjoy the view. She was in no hurry.
Higher yet, and now pines fringed the heights to her left. A dark band of trees higher up sent out lines straggling down towards the path. The river below had kept pace with the rise of the path and, if narrower, was no less noisy. The opposite bank showed steep rock faces crusted with vines and pocked with holes and ledges. Aud paused in a small bay, felt the ether and frowned. The expected turbulence was there, but now there was an added disturbance, a current she could best describe as a shrill rasp. She essayed a petty spell, grimaced as it stuttered to a halt, tried again in a more soothing mode. A brief burst of vigorous clapping filled the air, causing birds to wheel away in alarm. Aud tried another petty spell, one to prevent sunburn. This time she caught the mood of the surround, and felt the spell cast a cooling layer on her face. Good, but there was still that tone of unease in the ether, like the rankling of a splinter in the flesh. Perhaps the source was yet higher up. She started out again, rounded the corner and was pleased to see someone coming the other way. Here was someone who likely could tell of any strange or unusual happenings in the locality.
The on-comer was a man of middle height and sturdy build, stumping along with the aid of a staff. He wore the rough shirt and dark waistcoat of a labourer, topped by a battered hat. A farm-worker, out looking for a stray animal, was Aud’s guess. The man came closer, planting the staff solidly with each step. At a few paces, Aud called out.
“Good day. I am Magistra Aud, out here testing the surround. Could you spare me a moment?” At least that was what she started to say. The man did not halt, walked straight up to her and thrust her over the edge of the path even as she was speaking. Her arms flailed wildly, her feet went out from under and she was tumbling down the slope towards the rushing water. Aud caught at the woody stems and rough stone, smacked into rocks, scraped over loose dirt and scree. A few bruising impacts slowed her descent, she somehow managed to twist on to her back and dig her heels in. She finally came to rest in a choking cloud of grit, thoroughly battered. Her hands were scraped raw, her clothes torn, her hat lost and her left knee agony.
Aud coughed, spat dust from her mouth, cautiously twitched her hurting limbs. The movement started a small slide, and Aud froze. After a moment she dared open her eyes, to see the blue sky whirling above. Another few moments and the view settled, although the pain remained. Pain everywhere, fiery sharp in her knee, throbbing in her back and sides, smarting in her hands and face, clasping the back of her head like a giant hand. Aud clenched her teeth and ever so slowly raised her head. The river was loud below her feet, the noise of water a teasing reminder of the debris coating her mouth. She could not be far from a fall that would take her drowned corpse downstream, a horrid surprise to the fishers of Terlwen. With the same creaking caution she turned her head left and right. There, thankfully within easy reach, a dwarfish tree angling out from a crevice, the trunk surely strong enough to hold her weight. Aud let her fingers drag her arm across the ground until she could wrap an elbow around the rough bark. She took a minute to gather her strength, then pulled on that arm until she was sitting half-upright. The move set the world turning giddily once again
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Aud closed her eyes to let her head clear. A crash nearby made her open them again, to see stones sliding away from a broken shrub. She wondered muzzily if the push had all been a mistake, and the man was coming to rescue her. Did he have ropes? Would he start a landslide that would send them both into the river? A rock the size of her head landed nearby with a thump and rattle, and bounded on into the water. The man was throwing rocks at her! She could not stay here. Her outrage helped lift the fog from her mind, replaced by a determination to report this thug to the authorities. To do so, she must avoid being squashed or carried into the river. With her free hand Aud felt awkwardly for her breast pocket, where she always carried – like a prudent mother – a vial of Healing. A damp patch, a prickle of glass. Smashed in the fall.
Could she concentrate enough to cast a spell? Aud recalled the time she had fallen from a stepladder at home and broken her ankle. Her eldest had been just four. She had been frantic with worry for her child (little mischief that she was!) and used a Summoning to call the neighbours. If she could do that then, she could do something now. Was she not a magician and a mother? Another rock smashed into the slope a few paces away. Aud cleared her thoughts, felt the surround, matched Words to the flow, managed a spell with enormous effort. The Beneficent Touch surged through her. The worst ills had been mended, even if she was still far from healthy. What now? She must get away.
Aud’s magical expertise was with crafting Items and household spells. Clean clothes would not avail her now. What would? Her senior year in school, that was it! She had been maze-tag champion. Words lent strength to her legs, the grasp of a gecko to her hands and feet. She sprang up, let the treacherous ground carry her, leapt high and long across the torrent to land sprawled against the cliff opposite. A scramble, a ledge, another leap, a quick traverse and she was sheltering in a deep cleft even as a stone thrown with real venom cracked into the cliff face. Aud did not linger. The Clinging Grasp and Giant’s Leap took her up the cleft in a desperate rush, legs thrusting with etheric force. The cleft opened at the top, she burst out and ran zig-zagging up the slope, each bound throwing her forward and up, into the cover of the trees and on further. When the spell lapsed and she sank to the ground Aud was well up the ridge and out of sight of the trail
It was some time before she was able to take stock. She was alone on an upland of - she looked around - mostly rough grass, with small copses here and there. Her clothes were ripped and dirty, her hair a mess, her body bruised and scraped. Her pack had gone in the fall. Her mouth was dry and her throat hurt. On the plus side, there was plenty of daylight left and Terlwen was – she squinted at the sun – roughly that way, maybe four hours’ walk. Was her knee up to it? It still twinged. She had some access to the ether, but best to preserve that against some other maniacal rustic. For all she knew the whole countryside could be infested with murderous farm-hands. Aud levered herself to her feet, hobbled over to the nearest copse and found a stick. With it she ought to be able to manage a slow walk. There would be streams, or puddles.
* * * *
Aud limped across the bridge into Terlwen as the sun was setting. Old men dangling lines in the water gaped as she passed, and a curious urchin followed her determined progress to the town hall. There was another vial of healing in her room at the inn; for that matter, she was now on safe ground and could spend her remaining access on healing herself. Both could wait. The hunt for her assailant must be set on foot as soon as possible.
The town hall doors were closed. Aud huffed in frustration and demanded of a passer-by where she could find the head constable.
“Head constable, lady? There’s only the one constable, old Messeny, and the twentiers, o’course. Messeny will be at home at his table. Likes his dinner, he does.”
“His dining habits are of no concern. I have official business with him. Urgent business. Where might I find him?”
The passer-by inquired of another, and they of a third, and at last one offered to show Aud to Messeny’s home. So it was with a small crowd at her back that Aud knocked on Messeny’s door. An elderly woman answered, clad for an evening at home in a patched robe, slippers, and soft bonnet. Faded eyes took in Aud in her tatters and grime and the gaggle of curious faces behind. Her anxious query of “Neighbours, what means this?” was met with several simultaneous explanations, finally over-ridden by Aud.
“I am Magistra Aud, a partner of the Pelsie Mage-Wrights, and I have a serious charge to lay before the constable. I take it he is available?”
The old lady hesitated, asked if the matter could wait until morning, finally conceded that Aud could enter. The door was shut on the neighbours, and Aud left in the entry while she informed the constable. There were two chairs, but Aud did not want to leave her dirt on the upholstery. Instead she leaned on her stick and looked around. It was a comfortable home, the worn furniture of good quality, walls cluttered with mementos of family and friends, the few Items probably heirlooms. Aud cast a knowing eye at the glowstone hanging above: an older style of basket, light settled to a mellow radiance. At least four decades old, perhaps five, was her judgement. A stone plaque on the wall showed the weather at different locations around Terlwen as well as the height of the river. The coat-rack had dipped obligingly when she entered, then curled back in disappointment.
An interior door opened and she was beckoned into a cosy dining chamber, where an older man sat with chair pushed back from the remnants of a substantial meal. Aud’s empty stomach growled as the odours reached her nose, and he chuckled.
“I am sure we can find you something. No good talking while hungry – distracts from the matter at hand, eh?”
“A cup of tea would be welcome,” Aud acknowledged. “The matter I am come on is more important than a meal, however. I am come,” she drew a deep breath “to report an attempted murder.”
“Dear me. Sit down and tell me.”
Aud sat, drank her tea and told her tale. At the end Messeny leaned back, hands folded across his stomach.
“A distressing experience indeed. You say this occurred in the upper valley? May I ask what you were doing there?”
“I was looking into certain anomalies in the ether,” Aud said.
“Hmm. Aside from issues of identification, the area verges on being Wild. I will make inquiries, of course, but no obvious suspect springs to mind. We are a law-abiding community, apart from drunkenness, cattle theft, fishing rights and the occasional brawl. And Sun-Turn, of course. Murder is outside our usual run.”
“It’s in your run now,” said Aud shortly.
“As I said, I will look into it,” was the response. “Will you join me in dessert? Star-fruit with honey and spices.”
Aud declined the offer, was shown out, and returned to her inn, seething. She did not know if Messeny believed her; even if he did, she had no confidence that he would investigate the matter with any thoroughness. She doubted he would recognise a clue if it were right next to him, and not just because he couldn’t see his own feet without a mirror. Speaking of which, the mirror in her room showed her as a scarecrow, not a professional woman. Perhaps she should have tidied herself up before confronting Messeny; it may not have swayed him from his meal, but her present appearance could not have lent conviction. Aud retreated to the bath chamber for a long soak in very hot water. Magic could heal the flesh but the memory of hurt remained. And her lower back still pained her. Her garments went in a pile on the floor, to be thrown out. There was no salvaging that shirt, and it had been one of her favourites. Another score against her assailant. In this mood she wrapped herself in a gown and ate a meal in her room, barely noticing the food. A glass of brown ale did nothing to cheer her up.