Chapter 1 Setting the Stage
Carr grasped the stone with both hands and grunted at the
effort to lift it to the waiting hands above him. The stone was taken by the
man above and he turned back to face the man below to receive another stone.
He looked to the horse drawn wagon below and estimated how
many more stones there were to be lifted up. Above him the masons were
carefully laying each lifted stone in a bed of mortar.
The wagon looked to have enough to keep them going until
sundown, bringing an end to the toils of the day. He tried to empty his mind of
his fatigue and the pain from his hands which felt the hard use of grasping
stones despite the leather gloves he wore.
It sometimes helped to remember why he and his neighbors
were doing this, but at present his state of fatigue rendered that remedy
impotent.
Suddenly, there was a shout from above “ROCK”! Carr covered
his head with his hands and arms and pressed himself close to the steep slope.
Despite the feeling of alarm, he could not help but remember the first time a
rock had fallen and the foreman yelled at every one to protect themselves by
getting as close to the rock wall as they would to their girlfriend. One wise
guy had called out:
“I can’t get any closer! My buttons are in the way!”
He heard the crashing rush of the tumbling stone as it flew
past him. He straightened up and turned his head to watch the path of the bounding
stone. It blessedly missed all the men in the chain below him. When it hit a
very large boulder near the bottom, it burst into many smaller fragments which
pelted the horses hitched to the wagon.
The horses sounded their alarm and bolted with the wagon,
the teamster desperately chasing after, having been aroused from his nap in the
shade.
Carr and the rest of the crew burst into laughter; first in the
giddy flush of relief that comes from a narrow escape. Secondly, and more
heartily, at the hapless teamster rapidly disappearing in pursuit of his
charges.
As the laughter began to taper off, Carr felt a sudden chill
up and down his spine. His father had been killed in a massive rock fall not
far from this spot almost two years ago.
Carr was a tall youth recently turned twenty. He had
handsome even features and a symmetrical face marred only by his slightly
crooked nose, the result of a ball that took a bad hop in a game a couple of
years ago. He had light brown hair and was growing a real mustache, his beard
still the thin fuzz of youth. He had broad shoulders and powerful arms, not
just from lifting stone, but from practice at archery since he could stand.
The people of his valley were experts with the powerful six
foot war bows they made, and they practiced with the sword from an early age as
well.
Carr and the others were engaged in building a dam across
the stony gulch to catch and to retain some of the furious run-off from the
copious spring rains against the dryness of the summer. Irrigation ditches had
already been dug that would take the water from the dams to the fields. It
seemed that each year the spring floods grew larger and the summer rains less,
to the point that crops often failed and livestock were in peril.
The oldest people of the area insisted that it was not
always so, but it seemed to those younger that it had always been this way.
When these doubts were raised in discussion the elders pointed to the many
wells that had gone dry, and the fact that the wells had to be made deeper and
deeper to reach the receding water table. In fact, it had reached the point
that wells had to be so deep in most places that they caved in before water
could be reached. Men with picks, shovels and hammers with star drills had
reached the limit that could be reached by those means.
There was perhaps an
hour or so of daylight left, not enough to bring up another wagon load of
stone. Carr and the others straightened up, stretching their backs, and climbed
down the rocky slope to where the crew’s wagon was parked. They climbed into
the wagon, Carr taking a seat next to Joad on the wagon bed amid the residue of
their lunches and the rest of their gear. Joad had become Carr’s close friend
during this year of work on the dam. Joad lived with his family on the other
side of the valley from Carr, and they had not previously met.
Joad opened the
conversation:
“Carr, are you
looking forward to returning to your family when the work on this dam is
finished?”
“It has been hard”
Carr replied, “I will have to be the man of the family now for my mother and
sisters. I will have little time for anything else.”
“Your father was one
of the best, everyone in Balan’s Valley outside of the city looked up to him”
Joad said.
Aldan, one of the
masons joined in:
“Your father was one of
the first to see the need for building dams across the seven gulches that lead
into the canyon. We can keep back a lot of the water from the spring floods, and
then we can control the floods as the water comes rushing out of the canyon
into Balan’s Valley. It’s two birds with one stone so to speak; irrigation for
the dry spells and preventing the damage from floods during the wet season.”
“Not that those city people, all high and mighty, understand
any of our problems. All they want is more taxes out of us.” said Jans, one of
the many sons of the farmers making up most of the crew. “The only thing they
care about is their mansions, their monuments and their temples, in that
order.”
“Too right” added
Joad “A fat lot of good all the prayers and sacrifices in the temples have done
for us.”
Aldan looked away into the distance and said:
“I always wondered how
Carr’s father was able to convince Lord Balan to back this project. It’s not
like the muckety-mucks to get involved in anything outside of their city lives,
especially where spending money, as opposed to making money, is concerned. And more
is the pity that he is not here with us today to see the plan coming to
fruition.”
“A lot of the Lords, Ladies and Priests will argue to the
bitter end that there is no problem with the rains and the wells. They all
insist it’s just a plot by us out in the valleys to get out of paying taxes”
observed Carr.
“We know where a lot of the taxes go” said Aldan “The nobles
just have to have plaster on every surface of their mansions and temples. Did
you know that it takes twenty good size trees to fire the Kilns to make a
couple of square meters of plaster on their walls? That comes to about a
thousand trees or more to plaster one of their mansions.”
“That’s not the only problem” said Joad “the hills up into
the mountains are being stripped bare, so there are no pine trees to collect
pine nuts from.”
Pine nuts had become
an increasingly important part of the valley people’s diet as more and more of
the corn and millet went to paying the taxes.
Carr added,
“And desperate people
are trying to farm those hillsides where the soil is poor, and the rains wash what
soil there is down into Balan’s Valley every spring.”
Aldan shifted his gaze from the horizon to his companions
and said:
“You have to wonder
where it will all end. It doesn’t seem like it would be any where we would want
to be.”
The wagon arrived at their campsite, and the men piled out,
filing into a line for the evening bowl of beans, corn, and tomato sauce with
hot peppers. Carr, Aldan, Jan and Joad joined a group that was working the
north gulch dam, the farthest up the canyon. There were greetings as Aldan was
known to the mason of that group, a man called Joisen. Introductions were made
all around the table.
The conversation first visited the progress each group had
made, their common complaints of the laziness of the wagon teamsters who
refused to a man to help with loading or unloading the wagons. There was
uproarious laughter as Joad told of the rock fall and the last they had seen of
their teamster. All of the men at the table seemed to feel that the lazy
teamster had his just deserts for one day at least.
Then the northerners told of the occasional strangers they
had seen.
“They come down from
the high mountains and act very sneaky” Joisen, the leader of the northerners,
said. His tall, lanky and dark companion added “They do their best to stay
hidden, like they were spying on us, but the area around the north canyon is so
barren, it is hard to stay completely out of sight.”
“Right ragged and starved looking they looked too” said the
slight blonde fellow next on the bench, as he leaned on the table with both
elbows. “I think it shows that they are in hard way on the other side of the
mountains. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are looking for likely places to
raid.”
Joisen looked directly at the blonde fellow and said:
“You may have
something there my friend. If they were looking for help or any honest business
they would come up to us openly.”
Aldan then entered the conversation:
“I have never heard
very much about the folk on the other side of the mountains. The routes over
those mountains are so difficult that no one ever makes that journey, except
for those who are outlawed and fleeing the authorities. The merchants and peddlers
take their trade south from our area, to the City and out onto the plains.”
“If over the mountains is a land for outlaws, one should
expect the worst” said Carr. “Have any of you told the soldiers about what you
have seen?”
“Indeed we have” said Joisen. “Why only the other day a Hand of five men
and their Bannerman passed by and asked if we had seen anything strange or odd.
It was like they knew there were strange doings up in the mountains, not like
when they are searching for an outlaw on the loose.”
A sound of applause came to the group from a campfire across
the way.
“It must be the Story Man” said Joad “Let’s go and hear a
tale or two. It always helps me get off to a good night’s sleep, just like when
my Granddad would tell us stories back at home before bed.”
The group arose from the table and ambled over to the
campfire, taking seats on the logs encircling the fire. Carr mused that their
timing was off as they arrived just as the Story Man was passing his hat. He
added a small copper to the hat as it came his way. More men ambled over from
the tables and took places around the fire.
The Story Man was an older fellow, perhaps of about fifty
years. His partially bald head was encircled with hair of silvery white, and he
had a neatly trimmed short beard of the same color. He collected his hat and glanced
at its meager take. He saw the crowd growing larger and decided to make one
more try at shaking some more coins from this crowd.
“I would tell you a story of Crow” he began.
Crow was perhaps the most well known of characters in the
stories told in Balan’s Valley. Tall, dark of hair and eye, pale of complexion,
he was a master trickster. He was able to take human form or that of a crow.
Images of Crow were used by people of Balan’s Valley to ward off misfortune.
That the priests had a great dislike of Crow stories ensured their popularity
with the People. The Story Man began his tale….
“Now in the days before the people came to this land, it was
the land of the animal spirits. These were not animals, or people but magical
beings that had some of the aspects of both the animals and the people. Despite
their magic, the people were so numerous and kept coming and coming, gradually
driving the animal spirits from the land by the pressure of their numbers.”
“Even the magic of the Animal spirits could not stem the
tide. No one knows where the animal spirits went. Some say they went
underground, some say they arose into the sky, still others say they went to a
far off magical place.”
“There was one among them who was the smartest and the most
tricksy, and he has remained among the people. He is able to present himself in
a way that people cannot see his animal spirit nature under the face he shows
to them. He is known as Crow or sometimes he is called The Trickster.”
The Story man launched into the body of his tale:
“Every man should have a song, one of his own. Such a song
is made from the high points of a man’s life. The first time he brings home
game to feed others, the time when he meets his first love, the time when he
discovers what he does best, when his first child is born.”
“He sings the song on great occasions, although it is not
always heard by others. Sometimes it is only for the ears of someone special.
He might even leave it to his son.”
“Another man might be a gifted singer. His songs are nearly
always heard by others and it pleases them to hear it. Sometimes he sings it
just to please others.”
“There was a man called No Song because he owned no song. He
was never very good at hunting; he had no knack for growing crops. Many people
thought him mentally deficient.”
“At the celebrations, feasts and dances he would hide or
disappear into the crowd, because people would point at him and say:
“Over there is that
pitiful man who has no song.”
“One day No Song was sitting by the creek fishing. He was
having no luck because the crayfish kept stealing his bait. No Song became
angry. So when he saw a great crayfish come out from under a rock at the bottom
of the stream and grab his bait in his claw, No Song yanked hard on his fishing
pole. The crayfish was pulled from the water and flew through the air, landing
on the bank near No Song.”
“Crow had been watching this taking place from a perch in a
tree. As No Song raised a stone to crush the crayfish, Crow took on his human
form and appeared to No Song, who dropped the stone. Crayfish was on his back
and flailing with all his legs.”
“Crow said to No Song:
“Do not crush Crayfish; I would have him for my lunch. What
would you like in exchange for him?”
“No Song could see that this was not a normal person
speaking to him, and in the beings face he saw the dark black eyes and the hair
that shimmered iridescent blue-black and knew that this was Crow. No Song said
to him:
“I recognize you Crow. You could give me a song, and then
people would not call me No Song any longer. But it must not be one of you
raucous songs such as your kin caw, it must be a song that people would like to
hear, that would set young women’s hearts to flutter. It must be a song that
would cause people to admire me.”
“No Song then considered what he knew of Crow from all the
stories told about him. So No Song added a condition to his wish:
“It must not be one of your tricks that you take back, or
one that turns against me as you often do with your gifts.”
To which Crow replied:
“How can you think such a thing of me? I would never take
advantage of a pitiful person such as one who has no song. But you must use the
song wisely for a proper purpose, to court a maiden or to gladden the hearts of
others at a special occasion. Not to take advantage of others.”
“This I would gladly promise” said No Song.
“So Crow taught him a song, and there was a great surprise!
Once No Song had a song to sing it turned out that he had a most pleasing
voice, without any further help from Crow.”
“There came a celebration, and No Song stood up in turn and
sang his song. People were astonished. They made him sing it again, and after
some others took their turns there were many who wanted to hear his song again,
and he saw that it pleased them so he did, and the confidence that gave him
caused him to sing it even better.”
“People that night began to call him “Sings So Well”. Sings
So Well pleased the young maidens the most of all the people, as young maidens
seem to be most vulnerable to a pretty song. One of the most beautiful and
forward of the maidens took Sings So Well by the hand and led him away from the
crowds.”
“Soon Sings So Well traveled from feast to celebration to
special occasion, doing little else in life. He sang his song so often that
people became used to it, and wanted to hear something different. Young maidens
became attracted to other singers with newer songs, and who could also dance
beautifully.”
“Sings So Well had no other song, and he danced clumsily.
Soon he was no longer welcome at celebrations, and he was back to hiding from
crowds, and sitting on the stream bank fishing. People began to call him “Used to
Sing”.
Crow was pleased because he kept his word about making no
tricks and that No Song got his just desserts for misusing his song.
Chapter 2 A Homecoming
Carr now found himself in the dregs of winter. Soon the
first hints of spring would be in the air. Work on the dams was winding up, and
Carr and his crew had finished their dam. The wall of rock had buttresses built
out and the space between the buttresses had been filled in with rubble and
soil to reinforce against the weight of water which would soon be pressing on
the dam. The spring rains would soon be on them.
Aldan, who had lots of experience as an engineer as well as
a mason from his work on the many temples and buildings in the city, was
satisfied with his work. The chief builder and engineer for the entire project
expressed his pleasure with their work with an authorization for a bonus to
their pay.
With a pleasing weight in his purse, Carr was now seated in
the bed of a wagon, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves on the gravel road a soporific
in his ears. He would be home by evening if the journey continued to be
uneventful. He was looking forward to
seeing his mother, older sister Carrie, and Edde and Eddeth, cousins of the Carr’s.
Edde and Eddeth had lost their house and most of their land
though bad luck and being over extended. They had merged their remaining assets
with the Carr family which became an extended family and economic partnership.
Although Carr did not realize it, his family would find that
Carr had changed in many ways. The nineteen year old adolescent who had left to
work on the project a year ago was returning to them a twenty year old young
man. Hard work and the company of older men had hastened the process, and
Carr’s family would be surprised at the cumulative changes.
Carr’s body had been hardened by the work, burnishing out
the last of his youthful softness, and put an edge to his personality. He now
had the manner and physical presence of a grown man, all planes and corded
muscle which showed through his clothing. His garments were now tight to nearly
bursting the seams where they had formerly been loose.
Carr and the others in the wagon had talked themselves out
by this point, and each stop of the wagon winnowed the journey’s companions.
Carr drifted into daydreams. He saw himself with the full stature
of “The Man of the Family”. He saw himself directing the work on the farm and
with new respect in the larger community from this status. His dreams began to
grow in grandeur, and he saw himself as an object of admiration among the girls
in the community. The focus of these thoughts came to rest on Petra, and how
she would be impressed with his enhanced status.
Carr had had a crush on Petra since school days. He had
passed notes to her and brought her small gifts which he blushingly had
presented in his clumsy school boy manner.
Petra on her part had been friendly, and had not rejected
him out right, but she had not encouraged him either. Carr had not discerned
that she had any favorite among the other boys, so he had not been discouraged.
When the school had a dance, she seemed happy to be asked to be his partner.
However, school came to an end, Petra’s family lived far
enough away from Carr’s that further contact had been restricted to those few
events which brought families of the area together.
Furthermore, there were all the chores to be done, and then
Carr’s Father had died. Petra’s family did come to the funeral, but Carr had
not been able to further his contact with Petra beyond the brief formalities
due to the press of all the other guests and his duties as the eldest son. She
had placed her hands around his shoulders and drawn him close, her chin on his
shoulder, when her turn came in the reception line. Was it his imagination or
did her embrace last just a bit longer and was it a bit tighter than propriety
called for? And then he was off on the dam project, unable to follow up on his
romantic intentions.
Carr’s daydreaming mind now segued into thoughts about his
father, the circumstances of his death, and the connection between his father
and Lord Balan.
Was his mother correct in her belief that the death had not
been accidental, and that it was a result of his father’s activities on behalf
of Lord Balan? Carr in his daydreams saw himself delving into the mystery, following
clues and leads as in a detective story, finally confronting the evil doers and
extracting revenge upon them on behalf of his family. He would be as clever,
tricksy and smoothly competent as Crow in the many stories he had heard all his
life.
The wagon came to a stop and he was shaken from his sleep by
the teamster. Carr was the last one in the wagon and as he looked about he
realized that he was home.
There was a great, tall, magnificent spreading walnut tree
just past the entrance to the family compound. Whenever he looked at it Carr
thought of all the generations of his family that had enjoyed its shade, been
nurtured by the nuts and who had in turn cared for and nurtured the tree. The
stones marking the graves of his ancestors were in its shade. The tree was a
living symbol of the family’s long relationship to the land.
*****
Carr awoke the next morning in his own bed. There had been a
joyous reunion the evening before at his return. Carr’s mother, Carrole, had
been tearful and his older sister Carrie jubilant. Edde and Eddeth were also
very happy to see him. As the evening passed in happy talk and enjoyment of
this spontaneous celebration, Carr slowly became aware of two things: Carrie
was very much the leader and center of things in the household now, and Carr’s
mother had become withdrawn and quiet compared to how Carr remembered her.
Carrie had blossomed physically as well. A year older than
Carr, she had filled out into the full curves of a woman, but she still
retained the energy and excitement of a girl. She wore her sandy brown hair in
a pony tail which exposed her tiny pink ears. She had sparkling blue eyes which
caught one’s attention from across the room. She positively glowed with good
health and energy.
Carr’s mother, Carole, had changed too. For the first time he
noticed the many strands of gray in her hair. Next he noticed a subdued
dullness about her eyes, a thinness of her face and the beginning of hollows in
her temples. She seemed withdrawn into her inner self. The proud, straight
carriage of her frame, taller than usual in women, was still unbent but
something in her posture suggested a diminishing. As the family was adjusting
to the changes in Carr, he too was adjusting to the changes in them.
He arose, dressed, rushed through his morning grooming, and
entered the kitchen to the welcome aroma of fresh bread, eggs and sausage.
Carrole was at the range, just as Carr had always seen her in the mornings for
as long as he could remember.
He drew close to her and embraced her in a bear hug. His
mother shrugged him off wordlessly. Disconcerted, Carr looked intently at her,
but she continued to avoid his gaze.
“Mom?” he asked of
her. She turned and looked at Carr.
“I am sorry Carr; I
just have so many things to do, so much on my mind right now”. There was
something wrong and troubling in her eyes.
Before he could pursue these thoughts further, his sister
entered the kitchen, bursting with energy and a sunny smile.
“So, you have finally decided to join the rest of us and be
productive! Those months you spent on the dams in the company of those lazy
louts has ruined you for honest work!” She crowed.
Carr laughed and held up his calloused and hardened hands.
“Look at these” he exclaimed, “Do these look to be the hands
of a lazy lay-about?”
She grinned slyly and admitted “I suppose we could allow you
one morning, as you are newly home and unaccustomed to farmer’s hours.”
“I know” he replied “A farmer works as long as he can see his
hand in front of his face.”
They both sat down to the table and Carrole placed heaping
plates of food in front of each of them. Carr set to the food as if starving.
Carrie’s demeanour now changed and she opened up in a
businesslike manner. “As soon as we have eaten I want to take you on a tour of
things here. We have made many changes to the operation and there is a lot for
you to catch up on.”
They rose from the table and found Carrole standing in the
door way, arms crossed and blocking their egress. She cleared her throat loudly
in a staged sort of way and gave them “the look”. Sheepishly they returned to
the table, picked up their plates, and carried them to the sink.
Carr worked the handle of the pump up and down and Carrie washed
and placed their plates and utensils in the drying rack next to the sink.
That was the first spark of Carrole’s former self Carr had
noticed. This seemed so normal and natural to Carr that he began to think there
was not so much wrong with his mother as he had thought. Carrie and Carr
hurried out into the yard.
In the light of day,
Carr began to see many things that had not been as they were when he left. Most
notably was the cottage for Edde and Eddeth. It was built of stone with a roof
of tile, as were all the other structures in the area. This mode of
construction had taken over from the earlier methods featuring extensive use of
wood. Wood had become too precious a commodity to use so extravagantly in building.
Next he noticed that the largest outbuilding had been extensively
remodeled and enlarged. He turned a questioning glance to his sister.
“Come” she said “You must see what wonders Edde and Eddeth
have done”. They entered the building. Carr was astonished to see a finished flagstone
floor where he had remembered packed earth. The building was now weather tight.
Even more astonishing were equipment for processing and spinning of wool into
yarn, and the looms; a smaller one for yard goods and a larger one for sheet
cloth.
“You can see that Edde
and Eddeth have been busy” Carrie said.
“Edde and Eddeth have merged what is left of their land with
us, enough pasture for a flock to support Eddeth’s craft. And then there is the woodland that Edde
carefully manages to supply us with wood as needed and as a nursery for growing
seedlings.
He calls it “farming” trees and he plans to get others in
the area to replant trees and “farm” them. By farming the trees he expects to
produce more food, more timber and more fuel. He is anxious for you to see how
he plans to make it all work.”
Before he could digest it all, Carrie grabbed his arm and
led him outside.
“I know it is a bit of a shock to you. We have to find better
ways to utilize our farm if we are to avoid losing it. There are other changes
too.”
If the family had been surprised at the changes in Carr that
a year’s absence had brought about, it was little compared to the surprises
that Carr was finding in the farm.
Carrie showed him how their land had been reassessed and the
uses of each parcel changed. There was less land set aside for water thirsty
corn, which had always been their main cash crop. More land had been allotted
to production of less water dependent crops such as millet and sorghum. There
was a detailed plan for rotation of crops to avoid depletion of the soil, and
extensive composting of all organic material, including household waste, to
renew the soil.
Areas had been fenced for pasture for the cattle and sheep,
a large shed had been built to house poultry. A sty had been built for pigs.
There was a new store house for grain and hay and a drying shed for preserving
vegetables and fruit, as well as a smoke house for meats. There was a nursery
where Edde was raising his tree seedlings.
As Carrie explained all the changes and how each fit into a
plan for making the farm more prosperous, Carr grew in awe of his sister. She
had become “The Man of the House” in his absence. She was the one with the
vision to lead.
He was not sure how he felt about that, he had been dreaming
of how the stature of that position would be his. Disappointment took root in
his thoughts. Carrie had taken on a lot of stature and maturity. She absolutely
reveled in the fulfillment of her new role.
Carrie expanded, holding forth on the changes that had been
made.
“We have to focus on the production of items for market, and
on increasing the self sufficiency of the operation. Edde and Eddeth are a proven
asset; they add a lot of value to the wool we produce. The yarn and fabric
bring in far more than we could get just out of raw wool. We are looking into
how we can make marketable products out of the other commodities we grow. If we
could mill our grain, for example, we could then market flour, cereals and
animal feed. And canned or preserved vegetables would bring in more than fresh and
it would be possible to time entry of the preserved goods into the market for
the best prices since they would not be perishable.”
Carr was doing a mental double take at how well everything
was going without him. Carrie was doing a superb job of things, and clearly
thriving on the responsibilities and challenges. He was astonished at how well
she had taken to the responsibilities.
What was left for
him, “The Man of the Family”? Disappointment began to blossom into jealousy.
Wanting to change the subject, Carr said:
“What is going on with Mom? There was something not right
with her this morning, or am I reading too much into things?” Carr asked his
sister.
“No, you are not
imagining things” Carrie said. “Most days she just seems to be going through
the motions of life, no real heart in it. I suppose she is still bound up in grief
at the loss of Father. And anger is never far beneath the surface. When she
does speak at length, it is always the same subject, how Lord Balan led father
into things that wound up getting him killed. That it was not an accident.”
Carr thought about that for a minute.
“I know that Father
was meeting a lot with Balan’s agent, and even with the Lord himself. And it is
common knowledge that Balan is not popular with the other Lords or the Priests.
He always seemed to be on our side of things. The kind of changes he is pushing
for here in Balan’s Valley have been very good for us, but undercut the interests
of others. Like plaster for example.”
Carrie took up the subject:
“Balan has forbidden
the wanton cutting of timber on his extensive lands, and encouraged reforestation
on all the marginal lands left from logging. He is all for Edde’s concept of
the farming of trees, and has opened some of his holdings to Edde. He has
banned the use of plaster in all his own buildings and taxed plaster very
heavily when used by anyone, even the Priests, within the areas under his
control.”
She continued:
“Furthermore, he is
leasing most of his woodlands to ordinary people on terms which would result in
the eventual ownership of those lands so that the woodlands could be passed on and
sustained within their families. The leases are conditional upon adoption of Edde’s
methods of reforestation, and the careful use of the lumber and wood. The aim is
to create a sustainable resource that would be in the interest of the families
to maintain.”
“In fact, it is necessary to obtain a permit to cut timber
from our own lands. Edde has been appointed Forrest Master by Lord Balan and he
designates the trees to be harvested, and the trees that are to remain. The clear
cutting of forest is forbidden. The idea is to increase the sustainability of
the woods and to maintain the population of the most desirable species,
eliminating the “weed” trees.”
Carr made a mental
note to himself to have a talk with Edde.
Carr and Carrie’s father had been one of Lord Balan’s
earliest advocates, adopting Balan’s ideas and evangelizing to all the other
people of Balan’s Valley. As these ideas were practiced and as the people of
the valley added their own ideas, the local economy improved. The flow of money
into the pockets of the people of Balan’s Valley had reduced the inflow to the
coffers of the aristocracy, priests and the well connected in The City. Could all
of this really have made their father a target for retribution? Carr could see certain
logic in that. Had things gotten to the point that those powerful figures from
The City would do such a thing out here in Balan’s territory? Moreover, would
they target such a small fish as their father?
Their father had been killed in a rock slide when he had
been out touring the gorges scouting out likely sites for the dams. The fall
had occurred in the dry time of summer when rock falls were almost unknown.
Falls most commonly occurred during the rainy times when the rushing water
destabilized loose rock.
It had been their father’s idea to keep back as much of the
water as could be held against the dry season, and to also reduce the damage of
the spring floods. Lord Balan had been a backer of the plan and put the full
force of his influence and resources behind the scheme. Carr supposed that the
slide could have been triggered by malefactors, but it really did not seem
likely in the bright light of day.
Carr directed his attention back to his sister:
“Has there been any
evidence found that the slide that killed Father was anything but an accident?”
“No,” Carrie said, “But you can see how many people could
see it that way. I have my own suspicions. It has become an obsession with
Mom.”
In a quieter mood, conversation temporarily exhausted, the siblings
made their way back to the house. Carr’s mind was agitated by the many things
he had to think about, and there were no easy conclusions for him to draw from
any of them.
*****
At the end of the row, Carr stood upright and eased his back
which had grown stiff from bending over, hoeing between the rows of vegetables.
He looked back and then forward. There remained two more rows to weed with the
hoe. Yesterday it had been moving compost to the seedling beds, and then adding
manure from the barn yard to the compost pile. Somehow he had pictured things
much differently than this when he was working on the dams. He had pictured
himself appointing the tasks and setting priorities. It was a bur under his
blanket to be following his sister’s direction. However, his ideas and
suggestions were welcomed which made him feel part of the decision making.
Just when he was feeling some equanimity in the situation,
he had been sent to collect the dried “meadow muffins” or “cow pies” from the
grazing meadows to be used as fuel for the cooking fires. His sense of
resentment heated up again. The “muffins” were a resource not to be scorned
where wood was too precious to be used extensively for fires. The dried
droppings burned well, with no noticeable odor.
Carr always enjoyed working with Edde. In many ways it was
like working with his father. Edde had such a good nature and such a sense of
humor that being with Edde made Carr feel good about things.
Tomorrow, he and Edde would be leaving the chores behind to
attend a meeting and drills with the militia. Carr was looking forward to a
break from the endless round of chores. Truth be told, he was also looking
forward to being out from under his sisters thumb. His mother’s incessant
gloomy outlook and constant stream of carping was wearing on him as well.
When he saw how well his sister managed their mother without
any sign of resentment, he felt guilty for the irritation he felt. A few days
break from all of this was going to be most welcome.
Chapter 3 The Militia
Carr arose early the next morning, before the sunrise, and collected
his pack and weapons. He found a bundle of sandwiches, some shelled walnuts and
apples that his mother had left out for him in the kitchen. He took a long look
around at the comfort of the kitchen, sighed at having to leave it again so
soon, and left by the kitchen door.
He crossed the compound to the cottage that Edde and Eddeth
had built. Edde was waiting for him by the fire with hot tea and biscuits. Edde
was shorter than Carr by more than a head. He had jet black hair and a full but
closely cropped beard. His body build was stout, like an Ox, but not fat. He
too had powerful arms and shoulders from practice with the war bow and in his
case, the battle axe.
Edde motioned for quiet with a finger raised to his lips,
and pointed up at the expansive loft where Eddeth was asleep. Edde and Eddeth
had made their living quarters up there. The two men quickly consumed a hasty
breakfast of biscuits, butter and jam, departing the cottage as they ate.
Once they were outside, Edde stopped Carr and inspected his
pack and weapons. Carr carried his bow, a long staff of yew six feet long, as tall
as Carr.
The light colored, springy outer wood of the staff faced outward
from the archer. The darker, rigid heartwood of the staff faced toward the
archer. The result was a bow that took all a man’s strength to bend and string it.
Only a very powerful man could bring it to full draw, but when an arrow was let
fly, it had great range and packed a powerful punch.
There was a quiver of arrows, some with razor sharp broad
head points, some with steel piercing bodkin points, and a pouch with spare
bowstrings. There was a rectangular shield of iron wood rimmed with steel and with
a hard plate of steel in the center.
The shield hung on his back so that it covered his pack.
Lastly there was a war axe, which had a hook on one side for pulling and a
blade on the other for hacking. All the able bodied men of Balan’s Valley were
similarly equipped, some with short stabbing swords, two handed long swords or
spears instead of axes. Edde complimented Carr “You have kept your weapons in
good condition. I hope you have kept up your skills with them as well.” Carr,
like all the men of the valley, had been practicing with the bow since not long
after he could stand.
Archery was a skill that the men of Balan’s valley excelled
at, and it showed in the broad shoulders and muscular arms that drawing of the
yew bows produced. Carr was no exception. With that they set out on the road to
the meeting ground.
At first they only engaged in small talk, but gradually it
grew into more serious conversation. Eddie’s resentment of the moneylenders was
evident, front and center.
“Eddeth and I borrowed heavily to finance the loom, carding
and spinning equipment. We spent so much time on getting the equipment
assembled and into production, that the crops were neglected. Then there was
the weather, dryer than expected, and the harvest suffered greatly. Still we
could have made a go of it. But those bastard money lenders moved in, and
called in our debt. We were unable to make their mortgage, the moneylenders
refused further credit, and the vultures from the city seized our land.”
It became apparent that this had been the game of the money
lenders all along, setting the payments such that the debtors would sooner or
later fail. Then the Moneylenders could acquire land at a value far less than
the open market rate. Others in Balan’s Valley had fallen into the trap as
well.
Edde continued:
“The money lenders
care little for the equipment, as the land was the aim of the vultures. That
was a saving grace for us as the equipment was and is our future.” An
arrangement had been made with Carr’s family, and Edde and Eddeth had moved in.
Edde also expressed his skepticism concerning the rock slide
that had killed Carr’s father. He observed:
“Rockslides generally
only occurred in the rainy times as the running water loosens things, and when
the warm sun hits the winter cold stone. Once things dry out and warm up, it is
rare for such a fall to occur. I inspected the site of the fall carefully but I
did not detect signs of foul play. But I can’t help thinking that it was all
too neat and convenient that the fall should happen right when your father was passing
directly underneath.”
Moving on to his other favorite subject, Edde began to
explain his ideas for farming of trees.
“You have to look at it as just that” he said “only it takes
place over many seasons instead of a single one. We are careful to cull out the
trees that do not have value, such as the scrubby twisted short ones, and
replant with trees that are of greater value for timber, nuts, fruit, and so
on. The culled scrub and the deadfalls are used for fuel. In the nursery, I
grow seedlings of the best varieties for replanting.”
He beamed with excitement as he was getting to what he
considered his cleverest idea.
“You know that most trees do not produce good seed nuts or
fruit until they are tall and mature?” he asked. Then he nodded. “I collect
branches from the best trees and graft them onto root stock from seedlings.
That gives me saplings that think that they are tall and mature.” He grinned
with pride at his cleverness. “I can control the pollination, and it makes it
so much easier to gather good nuts, fruit and seeds.” Carr was impressed with
the simplicity of the idea.
By and by, they arrived at the training ground and they fell
in with the other militia men. They grouped in “hands” of five men, two hands
making up a squad, and twenty squads making up a company. Each squad was led by
a Bannerman, and the company led by a Captain.
The men fell to greeting each set of new arrivals, and there
was much talking, boasting and good cheer abounded.
Some small groups of the men gathered, playing a game. Two
men stood back to back and on the count of three spun about and displayed a
hand signal. One man held out a fist, symbolizing the Mayor and his power and
authority. The second man held out his fist with the thumb and small finger
extended. This symbolized the Hunter’s bow. The Mayor rules the Hunter, so the
man displaying the bow lost.
They turned back to back and counted three again, whirling
about. This time the first man displayed a fist with the index and middle
fingers extended out side by side, symbolizing the head and beak of Crow. The
second man had displayed the fist of the Mayor. Crow always tricks the Mayor,
so the second man lost.
They turned and
counted to three again. This time the Crow and the Bow were displayed, the
Hunter’s Bow defeating Crow. The first man had won two out of three turns, so
he collected a small wager from the second man. There were many jests and the
slapping of shoulders among the on lookers.
A war horn made from a large bull’s horn sounded, and the
men rushed in what seemed to be confusion but which resolved in orderly ranks
and silence where the buzz and laughter of conversation had been. The Bannermen
made inspection of each squad’s gear. Then twenty Bannermen stood before the Captain
and clapped their swords against their armor breastplates to signify that all
was in order. The Captain prodded his horse forward and he addressed the two
hundred men of the gathered company.
Herr, the Captain, was an impressive figure, of powerful
build but much more lean and than other men of his age. His iron grey hair and
beard were full and luxurious. Many envied his craggy, handsome countenance, so
popular with the ladies. His record of service and bravery made him an object
of admiration among the men as well.
Herr’s clarion voice rang out:
“Men, I am pleased
with how you have turned out for this weekend of drill and practice. Our
southern borders are secure and threat of war from those lands seems far away
at present. The last conflicts with those peoples seem to have settled matters
between us for good and all. The peoples of both lands prosper with peace.”
“But we face great uncertainty of the peoples from over the
mountains to the north. There have been many reports of small groups sneaking
about, perhaps reconnoitering our lands. We know very little of those peoples,
but there are indications that they are in a bad way, so we must be vigilant in
case they pose a threat. We will be sending squads to patrol our northern
borders. Your Bannermen will apprise you of your squads schedules.”
“We also will have new duties to protect our timber from
those who would steal it. We will be organizing patrols to keep an eye on
matters in our forests as well. I will not keep you longer from your drill.
Keep to your wits and strength about you and we will return you to your homes
on the morrow. Dismissed!”
With that the Bannermen lead each squad off to practice the
arts of war. The basic manner of defense was the Shield Wall. The men would
interlink themselves behind their shields to form a solid wall. A second rank
would hold shields over head to protect both ranks from descending arrows. A variation was to form a Phalanx, a wedge
shaped formation with shields interlocked at the sides and overhead, which
would try to punch through the opposing force, like a modern tank.
The Shield Wall could also be used bulldozer fashion to push
the enemy backwards. The men would chant and every four beats advance a step. Almost
all battles devolved eventually to the confrontation of one Shield Wall against
another. The tactic then was either to turn the flank of your opponents’ Shield
Wall, or to penetrate it. The men practiced at forming the Shield Wall, and the
tactics to counter an opponents’ Shield Wall.
Those with hooks on their axes would use the hooks to get a
hold on the upper edges of the opponents’ shields and try to pull them down. Those
with spears would try to get at the enemy between shields or from underneath
the Shield Wall. Others would batter against the opponent’s shields with sword
and axe. Once penetration was made or the wall flanked, the melee would begin.
Carr took his place in the front rank next to Edde. They
interlocked shields with their left hands, leaving their right hands free to ply
weapons. On command, the shield wall began to advance toward their opponents at
a steady walking pace. Even though they were now armed only with wooden blunt
swords and crooked sticks and staffs to simulate actual weapons, Carr could
feel the edginess building as they approached an opposing shield wall.
At a blast of the war horn, they broke into double time,
shifting the shields and positions to form a phalanx on the move. Carr and Edde
were at the point of the formation which crashed headlong into the opposing
shield wall. There was the shock of impact, a moment of intense struggle for
balance and at the same time the blows of weapons all about him. Carr felt the
adrenaline rush of combat, time slowing to a crawl as suddenly everything about
him devolved into chaos. He swung his stick axe, parried with his shield,
driving forward, always forward against his opponent. The phalanx and the
opposing shield wall dissolved into confusion. Carr became the center of his
personal cyclone, losing track of everything except dodging the blows of his
opponent and the desperation of getting his own blows in.
A double blast of the war horn brought the melee to a
sputtering stop. The men of both sides stood panting or bent over to help
fallen comrades back to their feet. Carr felt his heart pounding; it seemed
that it could not beat any faster.
His breath came in ragged gasps and it felt as if his lungs
could not get air fast enough. He began to feel the pain on various parts of
his person where blows had landed. It came to him that if this had been for
real, each of those points of pain would be wounds, some of them very serious.
In those few brief moments of combat, it seemed he had come nearly
to the end of his strength. How would it be in real battle which would not be
brought to a close by the sounding of the war horn?
At that moment he realized that he had completely lost track
of Edde. He was not supposed to do that, they were to stick together as a unit,
protecting each other as they fought. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned
to find Edde, just as out of breath and near exhaustion as he was.
Herr’s voice rose above the mass of men, the expression of
his face was a thunderstorm:
“What a bunch of
sheep you are! You lost all cohesion the instant you met in force! You would
have all been slaughtered and your homes and women folk left to the enemy! Now
form up and we will do it again! Get it right this time or I will keep you at
it all night!”
And so it went for the rest of the day. There was also
practice in archery and the use of powerful crossbows. The crossbows were slow
to crank back and load, requiring the coordinated effort of two men, but they
were devastating to armored horsemen. A well aimed bolt from one of these
crossbows could bring down a charging horse.
Bodkin points on arrows and crossbow bolts were a new innovation
as an anti armor weapon. The Bodkins were made of the hardest steel, about the same
length and diameter as a finger, but square in cross section, with sharp edges.
At the tip, they tapered to a pyramidal point that could pierce metal, just
like the point of a can opener.
Then there was practice at sword fighting, breaking
formation and regrouping, and in the tactics of standing against mounted
horsemen with pikes to stab at horse or rider and halberds to hook and unhorse
the rider.
Fuldar the Bannerman of Carr and Edde’s Hand watched them
carefully, coaching here, and correcting there. He was a grizzled veteran of
the wars to the south and had a reputation as a fierce fighter. With the build
of a Bear and straw blonde braided beard and hair shot with silver, tied back
with a leather thong, he was a man one would notice in a crowd.
When at last Fuldar
called an end to the drills the men were completely exhausted, with just enough
energy to eat and set out their bedding by the campfires. As he rolled out his
bedding, Carr began to think of home. He had barely gotten used to being there
when he had been off to this drilling of the militia.
Thoughts of home led to thoughts of the many chores to be
done, and that brought to his mind the inevitability that his sister would be
the one directing who did those chores. While that thought in particular
rankled, Carr knew with a certainty that it was the right thing for him to cede
leadership to Carrie.
Fuldar called out that Carr should report to him. Carr fell
in front of Fuldar. Fuldar looked him up and down before speaking.
“What is this with you and an Axe?” He questioned. “The Axe
is a weapon for a heavy man, someone who can use his weight to pull down his
opponent in the shield wall, like your cousin Edde. You are tall and agile,
with great reflexes, but thin and too light of build for an axe man. I know you
to be an excellent swordsman as your father was before you. Did you not inherit
your father’s sword?”
Carr’s father had been the owner of a rare sword, one of the
finest examples of the Sword forger’s craft.
“The sword accompanied my father into the next word” Carr
replied. “The axe was available.” Fuldar further regarded Carr.
“I want to see you
with a proper sword by the next time we meet. You easily defeated every man in this
squad at swordplay before, and I mark that you could possibly be unmatched in
the entire company. That is a capability I would not have wasted”
It was true that a talent for the sword ran in Carr’s
family. His father had trained them all from child hood onwards, including
Carrie and Carrole. Carrie was a match for almost any man at swordplay.
Carr returned to the area where his squad was bedded. As
Carr and his companions settled into their blankets, Fuldar began a tale….
*****
Once when he was walking about the woods, Crow came across a
very large and thick sycamore tree. It was so thick in the trunk that it would require
six men to encircle it with arms outstretched. There were some bushes growing
about the base of the tree on one side. When Crow looked more closely he
discovered that there was an opening hidden behind the bushes. Stooping low,
Crow entered the opening and discovered that the trunk of the sycamore was
hollow.
Crow moved himself into the sycamore right away. It was just
near enough to the people of the area, and just far enough away. When he was in
the form of a crow, he could sit in the upper branches and see for very long
distances in every direction. When he was in human form he could enter and
leave discretely.
Now that he had a place to make a home out of, he set about
to improve it. He collected green willow branches and wove a great nest like a
basket. He lined it with leaves and ferns to have a soft and warm place to
sleep. In fact, he became so comfortable that the urge to decorate grew strong.
One day when flying in crow form, he spotted a bit of glass
glinting in the sun. Crow liked how shiny and bright it was. It gave him the
idea that he should take it back to his home so that he could enjoy it there
instead of flying all the way to this spot to see it.
Soon he was collecting all manner of things, small ones when
he was in crow form, larger when he walked as a man. Some were just trash, and
others were quite valuable, but they all were pretty things to Crow. Being an
animal spirit, neither animal nor human, Crow did not have a peg to hang the
value of such things on as humans did. He knew what he liked, and cared little
for what others might treasure or discard.
There was a jewel that a rich man’s woman had left on a
window sill. He had snatched it and flown away with it. There was a twisted bit
of shiny metal and a ladies looking glass. There were two pearls from a
necklace that broke, spilling all over the street. There was a magical knife, with
a jeweled handle, taken from the workroom of a wizard. That knife could cut
anything. There was a counterfeit coin of lead with a very thin coat of gold,
and a real gold coin as well. There was a shiny metal bowl filled with different
bits of broken colored glass, and there were many other things arranged here
and there to Crow’s fancy. The thing that all Crow’s treasures had in common
was that they were shiny or sparkly.
One night as dawn approached Crow was up and set out to see
about some new doings of the people of Balan’s Valley. Crow always wanted to
know about any new thing happening as it frequently brought a resource he could
exploit. Knowledge of new things happening also often kept Crow out of trouble.
Not long after Crow set out, four bandits came along. They
had robbed a caravan the previous day and had spent the night in hard travel.
They wanted to find a place in which they could lie low for the day. Perhaps it
was just luck, or perhaps it was because they had a similar furtive outlook on
the world as did Crow, that caused them to find the hidden entrance when they
came upon the great sycamore tree.
The four bandits entered the hollow tree, as it was big
enough to admit them all, if somewhat tightly. They were astonished at Crow’s eclectic
collection. They quickly separated out the things of value, and destroyed
Crow’s wattle-work nest in the process. Thinking that the owner might be back
soon, they decided to continue their flight into the day.
Sometime later, Crow came home, his curiosity satisfied. In
his bird form he landed in the upper branches, and dropped down into the hollow
of the tree. He was greatly angered at the destruction he found. His nest was
broken and his treasures scattered. As he began to put things right, he began
to notice all the things that were missing.
“I’ve been robbed!” he cried. Having possessions for the
first time in his life, Crow was incensed that someone would take them. Taking
on his bird form, he flew into the sky and began to search for the malefactors
responsible.
Now, for all his cleverness, Crow was not a tracker. He was
having no luck at finding his thieves or at picking up their trail. They could
have gone in any direction. So when he came across the Hunter, he knew that he
needed the Hunter’s skills.
But why should the Hunter be willing to help Crow? Since he
had always kept an eye on the people of the Valley, Crow also knew what problem
the Hunter always faced at the end of the day. That problem was the Village
Headman, who had authority over the Hunter.
Crow flew down, landing in front of the Hunter, and in the
same instant, Crow took on his human form. Seeing this transformation, the
Hunter instantly knew who he had encountered. Crow approached the Hunter and
explained his problem. Then Crow then whispered in the Hunters ear how the
Hunter could put one over on the Headman. The Hunter considered and agreed to
help Crow track down the bandits.
It did not take the Hunter long pick up the bandits trail.
By and by the Hunter and Crow arrived at the lip of the hollow in the hills
where the bandits were sleeping out the day. Silently, Crow thanked the hunter,
and indicated that he should watch what would come next.
Crow became as still as a statue, and the hunter saw a
vacant look come into Crow’s dark eyes. Crow had entered the dream world. He
entered the dreams of each of the four bandits and quickly learned what each
one of them feared most. Then he filled their heads with images terrible and
powerful of their very worst fears. Crow made these images grow and multiply so
that the bandits awoke screaming and ran off in four different directions in
mindless panic.
Crow gathered his treasures and as a bonus offered the
Hunter the magical knife that could cut anything. This was not an idle impulse
of generosity. Crow knew that the Hunter alone among the people of the village
had the capability to thwart him.
Crow was counting on being able to call a favor or two from
the Hunter sometime in the future. In the same stream of self interested
strategy, Crow told the Hunter to get the people of the village to come and
help themselves to the remainder of the bandits plunder.
Crow counted on the good will of the villagers and this
would bring him more of that. As to what the Hunter would do with his magical
knife, and how he put one over on the Mayor, that is a tale for another time.
*****
Morning came and the men of Fuldar’s squad arose with the
clanging of the morning bell. They completed their morning toilet and fell in
before Herr, the Captain, in expectation of final instructions and dismissal. From
Horseback Herr’s voice rang out like a clarion call:
“There are going to
be some changes in the composition of our hands. Fuldar’s squad is being tasked
with a different mission. The aim of these
changes is to make this squad into an independently functioning reconnaissance
unit of the company. To help prepare the company for this mission, Fuldar’s
squad is being given two tasks.”
“The First Hand, Fuldar in command, and seconded by Edde,
will take on the task of patrolling the forests, with the aim of enforcing the
permits for logging and apprehending any one logging contrary to those permits.
This Hand will also be on the lookout for any incursion or activity from those
peoples from over the mountains.”
“The Second Hand will be responsible for patrolling in the
foot hills and in the mountains with the task of finding out what is bringing
these people into our territory. They will be authorized to scout into the
territory on the other side of the mountains as necessary and only when the
leader of that Hand deems them sufficiently experienced to do so.”
“The Second Hand will be led by Yeager, the Hunter, whom you
all know to be the most experienced hunter, tracker and stalker among the
people of Balan’s Valley. I will accompany either hand from time to time. Disssmisssed!”
He concluded. The men erupted in cheers.
Be sure to check out my other novel, "The End of Shift Report", also an e-book download on Amazon.com. A sample can be read at www.endofshiftreport.blogspot.com
