LITMIR.BIZ

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all she sees is what we ourselves have noted. A quiet orderly settlement in the peace of the early day. And a very fruitful valley, just beyond those hills.’

      So we joined the others and trooped off the boat to stand a respectful distance behind our prince as he was welcomed to Elliania Blackwater’s mothershouse and holdings. The words of the greeting were simple, and in their simplicity I heard ritual. By this act of greeting and granting permission to come ashore, the women asserted both their ownership over the land and their authority over any people who set foot in Wuislington. Despite this, I was still surprised when a similar ritual of welcoming was offered to the Boar Clan members who disembarked behind us. As they replied to the welcome, I heard what had eluded me before. In accepting the welcome, they also pledged on the honour of their mothershouse that each man would be responsible for the good conduct of all the others. The penalty for violating the hospitality was not specifically spoken. A moment later, the sense of such a ritual came to me. In a nation of sea raiders, there must be some safeguard that made their own homes inviolable to other raiders in their absence. I suspected some ancient alliance of the women of the various clans was at work here, and wondered what punishment a man’s own mothershouse would mete out to him for transgressing the welcome of another clan’s.

      Greetings finished, the women of the Narwhal mothershouse led the Prince and his party away. His guard followed them, and then came Web, Swift and me with Thick. The lad walked before us while Web and I supported Thick. Behind us came the Boar crew, talking of beer and women and making jests about the four of us. Above us, Risk wheeled in the clear blue sky. Beach gravel crunched under our feet on the well-tended road.

      I had expected Wuislington to be larger and closer to the water. As the Boar sailors, impatient with our plodding progress, passed us, Web engaged one in conversation. The man was plainly eager to hasten on with his fellows, and just as obviously reluctant to be seen in the company of the half-wit and his keepers. So his response was brief but courteous, as Web always seemed to bring out courtesy in those he spoke to. He explained that the harbour was good but not excellent. There was little current to worry about, but when the prevailing winds blew they were strong and cold enough ‘to scour the flesh from a man’s bones!’ Wuislington was built in a sheltered dip of the land, just beyond the next rise, where the wind blew over it rather than through it.

      So we found it to be. The town was cupped in a sheltering palm of land. We followed the road down into it, and the day seemed to grow stiller and warmer as we descended. The town below us was well planned. The wood-and-stone mothershouse was the largest structure, towering as stronghouse over the simpler cottages and huts of the town. An immense painted narwhal decorated the slated roof of the house. Behind the mothershouse was a cultivated green that reminded me of the Women’s Garden at Buckkeep Castle. The streets of the town were laid out in concentric rings around it, with most of the markets and tradesmen’s homes at the section nearest to the sea-road. All this we saw before our closeness to it hid it from us.

      The Prince’s party had long vanished from our sight, but Riddle came back to us, puffing slightly from trotting. ‘I’m to show you to your lodging,’ he explained.

      ‘We won’t be housed with the Prince, then?’ I asked uneasily.

      ‘They’ll be housed as guests in the mothershouse, along with his minstrel and companions. There is special housing for warriors of visiting clans, outside the stronghouse. Men of other clans may be guests there during the day, but warriors are not permitted to spend the night within the stronghouse. The Prince’s guard will be housed away from him. We don’t like it, but Lord Chade has told Captain Longwick to accept it. And a cottage has been arranged for Thick. The Prince orders that you take lodging with him.’ Riddle looked uncomfortable. In a quieter voice, as if offering apology, he added, ‘I’ll make sure your sea chest is brought there. And his things as well.’

      ‘Thanks.’

      I didn’t have to ask. Thick’s difference made him unacceptable as a guest in the mothershouse. Well, at least they had been wise enough not to put us in with the guards. Nonetheless, it was becoming taxing to me to share Thick’s outcast status. Little as I liked the intrigues of the Farseer Court, when I was too far removed from Dutiful and Chade, I felt ill at ease. I knew we were in danger here, but the greatest danger is always the one we are ignorant of. I wanted to hear what Chade heard, to know moment by moment how our negotiation was unfolding. Yet Chade could not demand that we be housed closer to the Prince, and someone had to remain with Thick. I was the logical choice. It all made sense, which didn’t decrease the frustration I felt.

      They did not insult us. The one-room stone cottage was clean, even though it smelled of disuse. Obviously it had not been inhabited for some months, yet there was wood in the hod and pots for cooking. The water cask was brimming with cold fresh water. There was a table and chairs, and a bed with two blankets on it in the corner. Sunlight lay across the floor in a fall from the single window. I’d stayed in worse places.

      Thick said little as we settled him onto the bed. He was wheezing from the walk and his cheeks were red, but it was not the flush of health, but the mark of a sick man who had over-exerted himself. I pulled the shoes from his feet and then tucked the blankets around him. I suspected that the nights would be chilly here even in summer, and wondered if the two coverings would be enough to keep him comfortable.

      ‘Do you need any help here?’ Web asked me. Swift stood impatiently by the door, looking toward the mothershouse, two streets away.

      ‘Not from you, but I’ll need Swift for a time.’ I had expected the look of dismay the boy gave me. It didn’t dampen my resolve. I took coin from my purse. ‘Go to the market. I have no idea what you’ll find there. Be very polite, but get us something to eat. Meat and vegetables for a soup. Fresh bread if they have it. Fruit. Cheese, fish. Whatever this will buy.’

      By his face, he was torn between nervousness and a boy’s eagerness to explore a new place. I set the money on his palm and hoped the Outislanders would accept Six Duchies coins.

      ‘Then,’ I added, and saw him wince. ‘Go back to the ship. Riddle will see to our chests, but I want you to get extra bedding from the bunks there. Enough to make up pallets for you and me, as well as extra blankets for Thick.’

      ‘But, I’m to stay in the mothershouse, with the Prince and Web and all …’ His voice dribbled away in disappointment as I shook my head.

      ‘I’ll need you here, Swift.’

      He glanced at Web as if seeking his support. The Witmaster’s face remained calm and neutral. ‘Are you sure there is no way I can be of assistance?’ he asked me again.

      ‘Actually,’ and I was suddenly almost frozen by how difficult it was to ask, ‘if you wouldn’t mind coming back later, I’d enjoy a few hours to myself. Unless the Prince needs you elsewhere.’

      ‘I will do that. Thank you for asking.’ His second comment was genuine, not an idle courtesy. I let a moment pass in silence as I handled his words. He praised me for finally being able to ask a favour of him. When I met his eyes, I realized how long that silence had been but his face was as calm and patient as ever. Again I had that feeling he was stalking me, not as a hunter stalks prey but as a trainer befriends a wary animal.

      ‘Thank you,’ I managed.

      ‘And perhaps I’ll accompany Swift to the market, for I am as curious to see this town as he is. I promise we won’t dawdle, however. Do you think a sweet pastry might tempt Thick to eat, if we chanced upon a bakery?’

      ‘Yes.’ Thick’s voice was wavering as he replied, but I took heart from this show of interest. ‘And cheese,’ he added hopefully.

      ‘Pastries and cheese should probably be what you look for first,’ I amended. I turned to Thick with a smile but his eyes wandered away from me. I was still unforgiven for forcing him aboard the ship. I knew I’d have to do it at least two more times, for our journey back to Zylig and then for the ship that would take us to Aslevjal. I could not make myself face the thought of the eventual journey home. It seemed hopelessly far away now.

      Web and Swift left, the

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