Quaint Escapes for Traitorous Bastards: Ch. 17 Pt. 1

 Notes: Triggers for references to abuse in this one, but it's leading up to a really fun chapter next time ;)

Title: Quaint Escapes for Traitorous Bastards: Ch. 17 Pt. 1

***

Chapter Seventeen, Part One

 

Photo by Hu Chen

Fill the Cup

 

Hiram walked back to the town square in a daze, barely conscious of what was happening around him. It was good that he had a baby in his arms to excuse his lack of attention, because someone could have called his name out or even stepped right up to him and he wouldn’t have noticed it, not with his mind spinning so quickly. It wasn’t until Baby Davey was plucked right out of his arms that Hiram realized he was not only back, but the square itself had filled with people while he was gone. There was the smell of fresh food from street stalls, cries of joy and laughter from children watching the Druid’s stag or pulling the Wizard’s sparkles out of the sky, and even the Healer had set up a tent and was doing some proper work on little hurts.

“You two were gone for so long!” Letty commented as she hoisted her littlest brother up into the air, making him laugh. “Did you have a nice walk?”

“We did,” Hiram said, pulling himself together enough to hopefully seem natural. “We walked all the way to the edge of town to pay a short visit to the Vilnias.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t let them give him anything to eat or drink, did you? They gave Clyde a skewer of some kind once and he ended up having the shits for three days.”

“No food or drink of any kind,” Hiram promised. “In fact, he’s probably thirsty.”

“Oh, he’s an empty pit, this one,” Letty said, smiling at Davey. “An empty pit!” She leaned in a bit closer and sniffed. “I take it back, he’s a stinky sinkhole! Stinkhole baby!” She blew air on his tummy, and Davey laughed and laughed. “Yes, let’s change your messiness, yes! There’s got to be a free table around here somewhere.”

“By the troughs, perhaps,” Hiram suggested, pointing to where the boys who tied up people’s mounts usually kept time.

“Good thinking.” Letty headed over there with her brother, and Hiram moved into the shadow of the Yew Brew and leaned against the wall. As good a company as Letty and her siblings were, he was grateful for some time to himself, so to speak.

Not totally by himself. “Phlox,” he murmured. “Tell me what you make of what we just heard.”

“I make that you should stay the hells out of it.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You have no choice, Hiram. You can’t have anything to do with magic, and especially not with Gemmel’s Tower. Not after what happened in Garrison.”

Hiram huffed a breath. “Gemmel’s Tower is supposed to be impregnable. How did Avery and that bastard manage to get into it not once, but twice?”

Phlox was silent for a moment. “Perhaps you’re thinking about ‘impregnable’ the wrong way. The dwarves who attacked my land of fire determined it to be impregnable for many years, but that protection came at a steep cost to my people. I lost many children to their cold, quenching blades, and was only able to hold out as long as we did by virtue of superior numbers.”

“Gemmel’s Tower is empty, though.”

“That doesn’t mean that nothing remains of those who once lived there.”

Hiram opened his mouth to keep arguing, but just then a tone cut across the square, pure and ringing, that drew every eye to the man striding into the middle of the crowd with a lute in his hands and a smile across his handsome face. He had long, coppery hair that caught the light like a flame, a narrow nose and a wide, beaming mouth framed by a darker red goatee. He drew every eye as he stepped up next to the Wizard, who banished the rest of her glimmering sprites so that he could have the audience’s full attention.

“Good people of Lollop,” the Bard called out. His voice was as smooth as a river rock, and his fingers danced as he played a series of lilting chords on his lute. “We of the Thread are here in service to your town and people, looking for the overlooked and aiding the unaided. All we ask is a little of your time, attention, and perhaps—” he grinned “—a pint or two.” That got some laughs, and he forged on. “As for my part in this, I am here to be the eyes and ears of the God of Music, of merriment, of good cheer and fine times. Come and listen, and see if my God speaks in your heart.”

He launched into the standard searching song for the Thread, one that was meant to be infused with power that would tug at the hearts of children with a lyrical spark. There was a bit of power in this one—a tiny bit, though, just enough to qualify without being strong enough to actually do much. Given that Hiram knew for a fact this Bard was not only capable, he was downright masterful, the lack of effort felt almost offensive. Given the grimace on the Wizard’s face, he imagined he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Well. If the Bard was here, at least that meant he wasn’t tormenting Avery anymore. Hiram cast his gaze around for the teacher, but he didn’t hold out hope for seeing him here. Who would want to come to watch their tormentor play the role of a good man for others, all the while knowing the darkness that lurked in his heart?

There must be something I can do. Hiram knew magic inside and out, backwards and forwards. He was the greatest wizard to grace the empire for three generations; in his heyday, he’d ended entire battles by doing nothing more than showing up on the field and letting the other side get a look at him.

He wasn’t going to be bested by not being able to do magic, not when it could mean the difference between Avery living and dying.

I’ll save you.

First things first, though—he had to make sure Letty got her due.

The afternoon wore into evening, and Hiram took his turn helping various children navigate getting to the outhouse, buying them all lunch (and several fresh carrots and a cupful of strawberries for Knight as well), helping Rickie climb a tree without falling and breaking his head, and finally taking Davey back once he was full, clean, and tired and holding him as he fell asleep.

There was something terribly calming about holding a sleeping baby. Hiram stared down at the child’s sweet little face, watched how his pudgy fingers naturally curled together like the petals of a night-blooming flower at dawn’s first light, and even though his heart ached for Avery, in that moment it ached more with the sweetness of remembering how it felt to hold Misha.

She’d been a colicky thing as an infant, almost impossible to settle for long, and with Andy consumed with the work of running the empire and her mother disinterested, it had fallen on Hiram to handle most of her care. Oh, he could have turned her over to a dozen different nursemaids, but from the moment he’d first cradled her against his chest, the love that welled up had blotted out every second thought. She became his world, and for the first time ever, the ferocity of his love was reciprocated with equal intensity.

Hiram closed his eyes and rocked Baby Davey. “Let her be well,” he whispered into the noise, not a hint of power in his voice apart from the love any parent bore for their child. “Please, please, let her be well. Let every ill that might hurt her fall on me instead; let her know joy and love and dear companionship. Let her be well.”

As the sun began to set, the festivities of the Thread came to a close. The Wizard conjured up a platform and stepped up onto it with a slightly impatient air as she waited for her companions to come and stand with her. “We appreciate the welcome given to us by your fine town,” she said with a nod. “The Thread is dedicated to doing its utmost to help the children of the Empire reach their fullest potential. This, however, is not Lollop’s year for a wizard.”

“Nor for a healer.”

“Nor, regrettably, for a bard.”

The Druid paused. “Not quite time yet for a druid,” he said, his eyes piercing the crowd. “But I’ll come back next year, and if the one I’m thinking of has worked hard on her spark, she might very well belong with the Thread.”

He was talking about Millie. Hiram craned his neck until he could see the girl, standing next to her big sister. There was excitement on Millie’s face, and a slightly strained smile on Letty’s even as she hugged her sister tight.

The Wizard straightened her monocle and smiled.

No, no, you’re not all done. That can’t be it!

“Well, then! I think we can still call this a success, and—”

“Not so fast.” The Guide stumped over from where she’d been standing by the wagons and up onto the platform. She glared at her fellows before squinting out into the crowd. “Few remember that I’m a full member of the Thread,” she said. “A priestess of Mertha, I am; the Wayfinder, the Bargainer, the One who Makes the Path. There’s few in this world who’re attuned to my goddess, and fewer still who make good use of her powers. In ten years, I’ve never found an initiate.” She turned her gaze onto Letty. “Until now.”

Letty’s gasp was audible even in the crowd.

“A girl of rare talent,” the Guide went on gently, “who saw a dismal scene and turned it into a joyful one, who brought people together for good and let no one, not even me, talk her out of it. Letty Devane.” She held out a weathered but strong hand. “I am Priestess Wynne Michelson, born of Galenish but raised on the road. I want to welcome you to the Thread, and bring you onto the Path of Blessed Mertha. What do you say?”

“I…”

Say yes! Threads were uniquely imbued with the power to accept a child of their own free will, rather than relying on their family to hand them over like local temples were. It was one of the ways that they endeavored to keep countries from hoarding talent they could use against the emperor. If Letty said yes, then it didn’t matter that she was only fifteen. Her father couldn’t legally stop her.

“I…” Letty began to tremble. “I want to, more than anything, but…

No!

“But I can’t leave my family. I…”

“We’ll be all right!” Millie insisted. “I’ll help Mama, and Clyde is old enough to help work the market with Pa. You have to go!”

“I want to, but…”

“You have to go.”

That was a new voice, one Hiram had never heard before. He turned with the rest of the crowd to look at the woman who’d just stepped into the square.

It was Letty’s mother, Celiane, and Hiram’s breath caught in his throat as he saw how swollen and bruised her face was. Murmurs erupted in the crowd, mutterings about her “brute of a husband” and “haven’t seen her in an age.”

“Ma!” Letty’s voice was agonized. “Ma, when did he—why—” She cut herself off with effort, undoubtedly raised not to speak about the wrongs that went on in her home. Her mother, far from chiding her daughter, made an effort to smile instead.

“It’s all right.” This close, Hiram could see the thick streaks of gray in her thin hair, and make out the too-sharp lines of her shoulders. Her voice, however, was as clear as a fresh drop of dew. “It’s going to be all right. I won’t let you walk my path.” She moved closer, and the people of Lollop parted for her. “You deserve better, sweetheart. More.”

“Ma?”

Celiane reached her oldest daughter and smoothed the hair back from Letty’s face. “My spark is gone,” she said, no pity in her voice, just fact. “But once, it was everything to me. Then I had you, and I knew why things had turned out the way they had. And once you’re gone things will change yet again, but we’ll be all right.

“That is.” She raised her chin and stared out defiantly. “If anyone is willing to help house my children and I for the night.” Or more went unsaid, but everyone heard it. It was plain that she was running from her husband’s abuse. Her bruises were too fresh, the marks too distinctive to have come from anything but a fist.

Granth’s poor treatment of his family was far from secret in town, but as long as no one outwardly complained, nothing was done. That was simply the way it was, and even Hiram had fallen into the trap of thinking he could only help from a distance instead of confronting Granth directly. For a woman who, as far as he knew, hadn’t been seen in town in years, that had left her isolated in a way only her children could relieve.

No one had gone to her, but something this time had moved Celiane to take the first step—to seize back control of her own destiny. It must have been so hard to gather her tattered courage together after years under an awful man’s thumb and step out into the world again. Her bravery was both inspiring and humbling, but would it be rewarded?

“I have a place for you.” Hiram was relieved to see Mistress Tate step up and take Celiane’s hand. “A safe place, I promise.”

Hiram half expected someone to try and shout her down, but there was nothing. Celiane nodded, and it was like a spell broke. Sound came back, laughter slowly infusing back into the crowd as people thronged up to congratulate Letty and chat at the family. Watching it all, Hiram felt both a sharp surge of relief and an impending wave of exhaustion.

One problem down, many more to go.

He wove through the crowd until he was close enough to Celiane for her to see her youngest in his arms. She reached for Davey and Hiram handed him over, a gentle passage that the baby didn’t even stir for. “Thank you,” Celiane said as she cradled her child close.

Hiram shook his head. “Don’t thank me. We should have acted sooner.”

“I think no one would have acted at all without your presence in Letty’s life, Master Emblic.” She smiled crookedly. “Not even me.”

It was kind of her to absolve him, but Hiram couldn’t be so sanguine himself. Now wasn’t the time for investigating that thought, though—especially not when the Bard was so close, playing a merry tune that adroitly covered up the blackness in his soul.

You’re next. Somehow, you’re next. But first things first: Hiram needed to get home.

Well, absolutely first thing first—he needed to retrieve Knight from Millie, then get home.

 

Quaint Escapes for Traitorous Bastards Ch. 16 Pt. 2

 Notes: Some of you will have seen this coming. Others...hopefully not. Either way, enjoy!

Title: Quaint Escapes for Traitorous Bastards, Ch. 16 Pt. 2

***

 Chapter Sixteen, Part Two

 

Photo by Chirayu Sharma

Threaded

 

It took Hiram fewer than five steps into the Yew Brew to determine that, in fact, it was not as good a place to start as any. There was no missing Bard inside, or if they were there, they weren’t in a performing mood. There was a man in the white robes of a Healer, a bit stained from travel, his hands practically flying about as he chanted a calming prayer over…

High Priest Velagros?

Mayor Hurst was there as well, in the middle of an argument with Jonn over the suitability of performing a healing on a person out in the open like this. “—not appropriate, is all I’m saying, sir!” Jonn insisted, wringing his hands in his apron. “There’s a free room right upstairs they could use.”

“And have you charge for it?” The mayor sneered. “You Gnomes, ready to wring the last drop of money from a purse at the first chance. Almost as bad as Dwarves, the lot of you.”

Jonn looked distraught, Robard looked like he was about to launch himself off his stool at the bar and start a fistfight, and the rest of the regulars were sitting back with frowns on their faces, not quite ready to intervene but not enjoying the show either. Fence-sitters, Hiram thought with a glower. Well, that wasn’t his way, baby or not.

The Healer broke the standoff before Hiram could, though. “I’ve never seen a man of your stature with an aura so awry, sir,” he said with a tsk. “It shouldn’t be possible, not for someone who’s learned the basic shielding spells for their minds and souls. Heavens, did you even try to protect yourself from the backlash?”

“It was rather more than I imagined I’d have to deal with,” Velagros said, and Hiram was a little startled by how thin his voice was. “Now can you put me to rights or not?”

The Healer huffed. “If I haven’t managed it after an hour, I’m not going to manage it here. We need to go to the Temple of Bayd in Garrison—Oribel’s would be even better, to be honest.”

“You can’t take that kind of time away from our temple, Ismaen,” Mayor Hurst insisted. “What will our own people do?”

“I have acolytes they can rely on,” Velagros whispered. “He’s right. I cannot stay. I can barely perform my duties as things stand right now. If it becomes worse…” He shuddered. “The things I feel when I close my eyes, the power of those painful emotions…I don’t know how it could get worse, and I don’t want to.”

Ah. They were talking about him, then, about the ritual cleansing that had gone so wrong. Hiram didn’t know the aftereffects were still bedeviling the man. He’d have offered to make him a tea that would help him gets some distance from the experience. Hiram was sure he had the right mushrooms somewhere…

But not right now. Right now the best thing he could do was move on and not attract attention, especially when the results were primed to be poor. I’m just a humble herbalist, after all. What do I know of healing and spell recovery?

More than he liked to remember.

Hiram left quietly, bouncing Davey a little bit as the baby finished the apple slice and began looking for something else to gum. The crowd had picked up a bit by the plaza, probably mostly for the fun of watching a confrontation between one of their own and the Guide of the Thread, but perhaps it would grow for the right reasons soon. In the meantime, he would continue his search for the Bard.

The second obvious choice was The Highwayman, the inn and tavern on the east side of town that he’d passed on his way to Garrison. It was a seedy looking place, with timbers stained black from tar and a roof with visible holes in the thatching, but Hiram had gotten to know the owners somewhat after his time at market. The Vilnias were an older couple, both of them retired after adventuring consumed their prime years, and what the inn lacked in the homely charm of the Brew, it made up for in the promise of circumspection. The Highwayman was a no-questions-asked sort of place, ideal for meetings with people who might be considered less savory if they came all the way into town.

Mistress Vilnia was blind in one eye with the other getting steadily worse, while Master Vilnia moved with an ingenious pair of crutches that affixed to his forearms after taking an arrow to the hip long ago. Together they could just about manage to keep the place in cheap booze and greasy food, and it was genuinely lovely to see how sweet they were to one another.

They weren’t that kind to anyone else, but Hiram had hacked out a small place in their tolerance with his remedies for what ailed them. Not to mention, the pair of them were wild about babies, especially since they saw their own children so infrequently.

The door stuck, then squealed as Hiram pushed his way inside. The front room of the place was half as large as the Brew’s and far from crowded at this time of day. The Highwayman was a place for nighttime activities, not warm meals and merry chatter. There was a table in the back where a person that Hiram thought might be a Gnoll in a hooded cloak was sitting, but the second he entered the room the brigand shot to his paws and darted out the back door.

“Scaring off my paying customers, eh?” came the crotchety voice of Mistress Vilnia as she stepped out from behind the bar. “How unfriendly of you, Master Emblic.”

“I’ve no idea why he ran off,” Hiram said, although he was willing to bet it was because the Gnoll smelled Mule on his clothes and knew better than to stick around, just in case.

Mistress Vilnia cackled. “Oh, don’t you?” She pointed a gnarled finger at him, shaking it with mock menace. “Just what a rogue like you would say, hmm? Don’t bother to deny it, I know the look!”

Her guess, though wrong, wasn’t so wrong that he couldn’t be amused by it, especially because she guessed something different every time she saw him. “Oh, I’ve never had the dexterity of a rogue,” Hiram assured her as he shifted Davey on his hip.

“Ha! I know a man who’s good with his fingers when I see one, lad.”

A laugh burst out of Hiram despite himself, and Mistress Vilnia grinned triumphantly. “You’ve quite a way with words, Mistress,” he managed after a moment.

“Aye, that I do. Should have heard me when I was young.” Her rheumy eyes went unfocused. “I could have given that silver-tongued Bard a run for his money.”

Just where Hiram had been hoping the conversation was heading. “Is the Bard accompanying the Thread here, then?”

“Mm, in a room in the back.” Her gaze sharpened again. “And I don’t mean to tell people their business, Master Emblic, but I’d think twice about lettin’ my man go having private meetings with Bards, if you know what I mean.”

He blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Young Avery! They’ve been triflin’ back there together for a quarter hour, at this point.” She crossed her arms. “I s’pose he didn’t tell you, eh? Make sure you’re choosin’ the right man, Master Emblic. Any lover who’ll set you aside for the first smooth-talking, pretty faced bit of silk he sees is no good man for the long term.”

Hiram was entirely taken aback. No, more than that—he was stunned. Not because he thought Avery was stepping out on him, as there was no formal arrangement between them to be stepped out on, but that he had any reason to meet with a random Bard in The Highwayman.

Well, fine, the stepping out part did hurt some. Perhaps more than some. But…

“Och, poor lad.” Mistress Vilnia patted his cheek, then reached for Davey, who went to her with a happy, baby giggle. “Aye, you’re a sweet one,” she cooed, patting his arm with a wizened palm. “You’ll stay with old granny while your uncle checks on his naughty man, won’t you?”

“I don’t think I should—”

“Down yon hall, straight back, last door on the left.”

Hiram felt roundly dismissed. He had to admit, his curiosity was strong as well. Perhaps just for a moment. He nodded, then turned away and slowly walked down the hall Mistress Vilnia had indicated, careful not to let the boards squeak beneath his feet. The farther he got, though, the worse he felt about it.

What kind of relationship could he ever hope to build with Avery if he didn’t trust him? What sort of precedent was he setting?

But then, you already set a precedent for lying to the man. Avery didn’t know who Hiram truly was, and the way things were going Hiram would have to leave Lollop before he could even consider revealing himself. He should turn around. He should turn around and get Davey and go back to—

“—think you can say no to me?”

Hiram paused mid-turn. That wasn’t Avery’s voice. That was someone else, someone who knew how to project, and he sounded furious.

“I am saying no. It’s too dangerous, Marlon!” There was Avery, and he also sounded angry and…afraid? “Two tries was too many!”

“Not tries,” the other man—Marlon—argued. “Two successes! The loot you got from those trips in was enough to keep us in ale and women for years.”

“You call what happened to me a success?” Avery demanded, an edge of hysteria in his voice. “I barely survived last time! And the time before that…it ruined me for years, Marlon. I still can’t show my face to the world for a week out of every month. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for Narion’s care.”

“But Narion is caring for you, so you’re fine.”

“I’m not fine, I’m barely—Marlon.” Avery’s voice went softer, his tone placating. “See things from my perspective, won’t you? I’m finally starting to become someone I can live with. I can’t throw that away just for the chance of getting in and out of Gemmel’s Tower alive again.”

Gemmel’s Tower? What in the hells?

Marlon laughed mockingly. “Is that the story you’re going with? Becoming a better person?” There was a sound like footsteps, and then the slow strum of a lute. “I hear it’s more that you’ve found someone you want to live with. What do you think they’d say when they learn what you really are?”

“Marlon, please…”

The strumming got louder. “If I went to them and told them the truth about you, hmm? That you’re a monster through and through, and that you always will be.”

“Marlon.”

“No, Avery, you don’t get to refuse me. Not now, not ever. Do this job well, though, and perhaps I’ll let you keep your happy home for a few more years.” He hit a low note, and suddenly his voice was infused with such power that it almost bowled Hiram over, and he was outside the room. “You shall speak to no one of this and do as I bid you, or share the pain of consequences with the man you love.” It was more than an order he’d given; it was a geis, a bond of power.

It was completely and utterly amoral, and Hiram wanted to use his own powers to rip this door of its hinges and trap the bastard doing this in a pocket portal for the next hundred years. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t use his powers; not even a susurrus, not now. It was too dangerous.

“I’m glad we understand each other,” Marlon said a moment later in his normal voice. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and put on a bit of a show for the simpletons here or lose my standing with Wynne and the others. If you show up, remember to refer to me as Robb, won’t you sweetheart?”

A board creaked, and Hiram realized he was going to be found if he stayed put. He turned on his heel and hurried back down the hall, mind spinning with everything he’d just learned. His face felt hot and his chest cold, and his hands were shaking. How dare that man? How dare he? And yet, what could Hiram do about it now? How could he help Avery without giving himself away?

He found Mistress Vilnia by the front door, amusing Davey with a little lizard she’d coaxed onto her hand. “Watch him catch that little bug, eh? Mmm, yummy! We likes a good bug now and again, don’t we?”

“Pardon me, Mistress,” Hiram said as calmly as he could. “But this young man and I need to be getting back to the square.”

She squinted at him in the bright light, then sighed. “Eh, lad. Sorry it wasn’t what you wanted to hear.”

He forced a smile for her. “I’m perfectly all right, Mistress. Thank you for your assistance.” Hiram took Davey back, then set off at a brisk pace for the center of town once more.

He had a lot of thinking to do.

Quaint Escapes for Traitorous Bastards Ch. 16 Pt. 1

 Notes: It's all going to come together, darlins...

Title: Quaint Escapes for Traitorous Bastards Ch. 16 Pt. 1

 

***

 

Chapter Sixteen, Part One

Photo by Scott Eckersley

 

Threading

 

Hiram was starting to get concerned by the time Letty’s knock finally sounded against the front door. He’d assumed she’d be here as bright and early as she normally was, ready to hound him through the second half of his first cup of tea and whatever he’d scraped together for breakfast, then out the door like it was a Market Day. The fact that he had time for not one but two full cups of tea, a piece of toasted bread with soft, melting sheep’s cheese slathered on top, and a full groom of Knight left him wondering if he needed to go and get her.

But then came the knock, and Hiram exhaled his anxiety and went to open it. He found himself staring at the entire gaggle of children from Letty’s household—everyone but Jem was there, from ten-year-old Millie, quiet and dark-haired, to the frowning face of seven-year-old Clyde, to Rickie, all the way down to Baby Davey, who was just coming up on one, if Hiram remembered correctly. He blinked in confusion and looked at Letty, who was holding the baby with a determined smile on her face.

More of a manic grin, honestly. She was smiling so stiffly and fiercely that it had to hurt her cheeks a bit.

“Good morning, Master Emblic!” she said, too bright and too loud. Oh, something was wrong, something was decidedly wrong, but he couldn’t ask her about it in front of all her siblings. Not when she was trying so hard to make them think everything was all right. “Pa gave us all the day off to go with you to see the Thread. Isn’t that lovely?”

“Utterly lovely,” he said. He meant it, too. Anything that got all those kids out of that miserable house was a good thing, and he’d always been fond of children. He glanced down at Rickie and smiled, and was relieved when the little boy stepped inside like he didn’t have a concern in the world. It was like a spell broke, and the rest of them relaxed enough to come inside when he stepped back as well. “I was just finishing breakfast, but there’s some extra if anyone is hungry.”

Clyde sniffed the air. “Issat Fremont cheese?”

“Fresh from the last market,” Hiram said.

“I want some—ow!” Clyde rubbed his shoulder where Letty whapped him. “He asked!”

“It doesn’t matter if he asked, you mind your manners,” she scolded him. “And we should really get going if we want to make it to the town square before all the fun is over.”

She had a point, but Hiram wasn’t about to let this little flock of children go hungry. “The bread will be stale after this morning,” he said, pointing to the large loaf on his countertop. “You’re doing me a favor helping me eat it, honestly.”

Letty rolled her eyes but accepted it. “I’ll cook it up, though,” she said challengingly. “Otherwise this one will hound you for more and more cheese until there’s none left for anyone else.” She went to hand the baby to Millie, who Hiram noticed was staring longingly at Knight in his bed in the corner.

“Allow me,” Hiram said, reaching out for the little tyke. “I promise not to drop him,” he added when Letty hesitated, which made her scoff and her siblings giggle. “And you’re welcome to go play with Knight,” he added to Millie. “I’m sure he’s missed you.”

She just nodded, a blush flooding her cheeks, then hurried over to the corner. Letty started cooking, Clyde stayed with her to help cut bread and “inspect the cheese,” and Hiram sat down in his chair with Baby Davey on one hip and looked around with a helpless smile. It was nice, having so many people in his home. He’d never been one to isolate himself, always part of a crowd back when he was Xerome, but Lollop had been different. Maybe once all the fuss over the damn Tower was over he could change that more permanently, reach out to Avery more often, perhaps even bring him home and—

Rickie tugged the edge of his tunic with one little hand. “Esme?” he whispered.

“Outside,” Hiram whispered back. “Hunting, I think.” She’d mentioned something about being peckish last night, not in the mood for her usual prey, and Hiram hadn’t seen her since. He assumed she was off stalking a wild boar, perhaps even a wolf—just not another Imperial messenger, for the sake of all that’s Holy.

“Oh.” Rickie looked a bit sad. Hiram cast around for an idea that would liven him up, and—

“What do you think about bringing Knight to Lollop with us?” he asked.

Four pairs of eyes immediately turned his way, while Baby Davey happily gummed his own fist. “What do you mean?” Letty asked a bit warily.

“Just as an outing for him,” Hiram soothed. “Something he might find a bit more interesting than another day inside with me or limited to the garden. Plus, that way he’d get to spend some more time with you all. I know he’s missed you.” He meant it, too. Knight didn’t pine, precisely; not in the way a horse or dog might. But there were times when he lay down heavily on Hiram’s feet and refused to get up, or when he’d shove his face into Hiram’s hip and sigh, his ears low and droopy. Hiram knew the signs of a longing heart well enough to recognize it in others.

“He needs a harness of some kind,” Letty said after a moment.

“I can make one!” Millie stood up eagerly, finally meeting Hiram’s eyes. “If you’ve some scrap cloth or extra ribbon, Master Emblic, I can make a harness and a lead for him.”

Hiram would rip one of his shirts into scraps right now if it meant keeping the children happy. Fortunately… “I’ve got ample scraps from restocking my jars,” he said, pointing to a basket on the bottom level of the cabinet. “See if anything in there suits. If not, we’ll figure it out.”

“Finally!” Clyde exclaimed. Hiram turned to watch him snatch a piece of bread out of his sister’s hand and begin to scarf it down, despite how the cheese on top still steamed. “Ow—um—s’goo, Le’y.”

“You’re such a little barbarian,” Letty said, pushing her brother away from the stove. “Eat slower so you don’t choke!”

It took another half an hour for all the food to be consumed, the harness and lead to be made, and the wagon to be tied up to Mule, who seemed delighted to be pulling a load of children around. He even let Millie give his nose a tentative kiss and put his bridle on, while Rickie stood a few feet away with Knight frolicking by his side.

“I think she might be a good candidate for the Thread,” Letty whispered to Hiram as they watched. “As a Druid or a Ranger. She’s the best with the rabbits by far; they always calm down when she’s around.”

“Hmm. She’s a bit young yet,” Hiram said.

“Younger is better than being too old, like me.”

Who told you that? Letty would be on the older side for an initiate, but she was far from aged out of the Thread’s considerations. Hiram saw the sheen of tears in her eyes and laid a concerned hand on her shoulder. “Letty, did something happen at home?”

Letty bit her lower lip and wiped her eyes. “No, nothing. Everything’s fine, it’s like it always is. Pa’s just…” She heaved a shuddering breath. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”

They went, trundling down the road together. The children were relaxed and merry, for the most part, but Hiram could feel the tension in them ratchet up as they went by their dark, silent house. What had happened in there? Where was their mother? What had their father done?

Hiram pushed aside his curiosity as they reached the edge of Lollop. Now was a time for good cheer and celebration; Threads were about more than finding appropriate candidates to serve the Gods with their sparks. They were mobile festivals, moments of connection and outreach, a “thread” to tie the outer reaches of the Vordurian Empire back to its heart in Galenish. They were times of music and celebration, fun and exciting spells, animal showmanship, and healing charity. They were delightful…or, they should be.

As they entered the town square, Hiram immediately determined that this had to be the dullest, most downhearted depiction of a Thread he had ever witnessed himself. There was no music from the Bard, no bright and shining spells from the Wizard…in fact, it took a moment for him to even tell which member of the Thread the wizard was, hunched in front of a ledger as she ticked her way through numbers and barely even looked at the children in front of her.

There was the Healer’s cart, as well as a few acolytes of Melemor talking to the already chosen initiates gathered in front of it, but no full Healer. The only one making any sort of effort was the Druid, introducing children to his enormous stag and letting them greet the animal one-by-one. Over by the rest of the caravan, ensuring the horses were fed and watered, was the Guide, her lips drawn into a thin, terse line.

It was more than dull, it was downright disheartening. But what could Hiram do about it? He couldn’t confront them about not doing their Imperial duty, not if he didn’t want to draw attention to himself, and he couldn’t pick up the slack on their behalf.

He had underestimated the absolute outrage that the girl at his side was capable of. Letty had come expecting something amazing, something to delight her younger siblings with and take her mind off whatever heaviness was weighing her down, and she was brutally disappointed.

Letty wasn’t the sort of girl to let such a disappointment stand.

“What…how…this isn’t right!” she burst out, anger and indignation clear in her ringing voice. A full half the people in the square turned to stare at her as Letty got down from the cart, fire in her eyes. “Where’s the Mayor? Where’s our Chief Healer? Where are all the people? Why are you doing it this way?”

It was like the Gods themselves had suddenly cracked open the clouds in Hiram’s mind and laid out a way for the future to unfold as he’d hoped. “Why don’t you bring it up with that lady over there?” he said, pointing at the Guide. “She’s the one who leads the Thread.”

Letty set her jaw. “I will!” She marched off, and Hiram held in a smile as he felt the heat from Phlox flare for a moment. It was as good an opening as he could give her, and hopefully the Guide would feel the full effects of Letty’s ability to turn the tide in her favor.

The rest of the children scrambled out of the cart, and Millie handed Knight’s lead over to Clyde and took the reins from Hiram. “I’ll put him in Master Jonn’s stable,” she murmured. “There’s no room out here, and he won’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Hiram said.

“I wanna go see the deer,” Clyde said, and grabbed Rickie by the hand. A second later Hiram was alone except for Baby Davey, who was still gumming on a piece of apple from home.

“Well.” Hiram boosted the child a bit higher on his hip. “Let’s see if we can’t find some more people to help liven this place up.” Such as the missing Bard. Perhaps they’d gone into the Yew Brew for a quick pint.

It was as good a place to start as any.