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Oaths? What were oaths to those destined for Vothan's Hall, chosen by
Vothan the Chooser to do His will in this world?
CHAPTER 2
Gengrich looked up at the gray sky. The villagers standing in front of him
would probably think he was praying to Yatar for the wisdom to give fair
judgment. Actually he was trying to guess if it was going to rain before he
reached home.
The sky said nothing about either rain or judgment. He could wait on the rain,
but the judgment had to be given now. The villagers had given up half a day's
work to bear witness before their lord; they would resent no judgment almost
as much as a bad judgment.
Here goes nothing.
"I have heard all the witnesses from the villages of Fallen Eagle and Oak
Creek. I have prayed to Yatar for guidance. Now I, Lord Gengrich do
Zyphron, do give this as my judgment in the matter of the strayed cow of Oak
Creek.
"I judge that the cow was indeed found unlawfully in the pastures of Fallen
Eagle. I also judge that the cow strayed because of negligence by the herdboy,
Bemis son of Nestor."
The faces of the Oak Creek people looked as grim as the sky. "I also find that
the herdboy was trying to herd the cow back home when the men of Fallen
Eagle came upon him. Therefore they had no cause to beat him so that he has
been unfit for work these past ten days. They also had no cause to hurry the
cow along so that she miscarried of a heifer calf."
"That old screw would've miscarried if we'n tapped her w' a feather!" shouted
someone from Fallen Eagle. "Everybody knows that!"
"That cow was as healthy as yer big wind, Kuris!" came an equally loud reply
from the Oak Creek side.
Now voices were raised on both sides, and a few fists. It would be knives and
flails next. Gengrich signaled to Boyd, who shouted:
"Silence for the Lord's judgment!" and signaled to the guards. The thump of
pike-butts striking the ground brought results.
"I therefore find that the offense of Fallen Eagle is the greater, and they
owe a fine of four silvers plus two silvers toward the cost of healing the
herdboy. I
have also learned that this is the cow's third miscarriage. I will therefore
buy her from the village of Oak Creek for eight silvers, that she may be
slaughtered and provide a feast for both villages. If at that feast they will
also swear peace with each other, I shall send bread and wine from my
cellars."
Gengrich studied the crowd and was relieved to see long faces turn to smiles.
A few villagers from Fallen Eagle still looked sullen, and a few of the Oak
Creekers made rude gestures, but it looked as if the feud had been headed off.
"I thank you for your loyalty in bringing this matter before me. Yatar grant
you warm beds this winter and good crops and sleek beasts next year."
Fat bloody chance, he added to himself. Aloud, he called for his horse.
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They were riding past the stumps of the oak trees that had given Oak Creek its
name when Boyd pulled close to him. "Arnie, how'd you know about the cow's
miscarrying? She looked like it to me, but you're a city boy. No offense
meant."
"I'm a city boy who knows how to use spies. One of Vinicianus's people went in
disguised as a traveling shoemaker. He kept his ears open and his mouth shut
until he got home."
"Oho."
The bridge over the creek had fallen during the last bunch of earthquakes, but
it hadn't rained for a couple of days. They forded with the water no higher
than the bellies of the horses, and were checking their gear on the far side
when four men in Gengrich's colors rode up leading one of his warhorses.
"Lord Gengrich! A message from the Lord Vinicianus. He begs you to return at
once to the castle. He has sent a fresh mount."
The horse was Buster, Gengrich's favorite. If Vinicianus had risked sending
him out, it must be something worse than a flooded privy. Still, he was
supposed to hear cases in three more villages. . . .
"What is it?"
The messenger lowered his voice. "He says it is an important message from the
north."
"Very well. Alex, take fifteen men and ride on to the other three villages.
Hear the witnesses "
"Me? I'm no feudal judge!"
"You're the best they'll get today, buddy. Or do you want to spend half the
winter patrolling their fields for barn-burners and cattle thieves?"
"You put it that way, no. Okay, hear the witnesses, and then ?"
"Tell each of them to send a man to Castle Zyphron. I'll give my judgment
tomorrow."
Gengrich waited until Boyd had picked his men. Alex has his problems. But he
takes orders and you don't have to watch him every minute. It's worth a few
bribes to husbands and fathers.
Bloody tears ran from the staring eyes of the man in the bed. The fingers of
his bandaged hands all ended at the first joint. His cheeks and nose were
blackened ruins, stinking with infection and decay.
His moans rose to a gasping scream as Guilford unwrapped the bandages from one
foot. Gengrich turned away, his stomach twitching. The foot was black halfway
to the heel. The toes dangled in shreds of flesh, and the smell was beyond
anything Arnie Gengrich could have imagined.
He forced himself not to be sick as Guilford snipped away the dead flesh,
amputated the ruined toes, doused everything with antiseptics and ointments,
and put on fresh bandages. When Guilford started on the other foot, Gengrich
bolted for the door. As he went out he heard the screams turn into words:
"Evil bandits thought she sent them didn't knowkilled killed . . ."
Gengrich stopped. "Eh?"
Guilford shook his head. "No point in you staying, Arnie. That's more sense
than he's made in the last couple hours. Go on, before I have to tend you
too!"
Gengrich nodded and stumbled through the door.
He stood on the castle wall and drew in deep lungfuls of damp chilly air. He
watched the carpenters at work on the south gate. The castle had come off
pretty well in the last quakes. Not like Rustengo. The big port city was
supposed to be one-third in ruins now, with a lot of the rest ready to fall
down if you sneezed hard.
He wondered if that would take some of the wind out of
Schultzy's sails. Last time Mort had come for a visit he'd acted like a royal
ambassador. Maybe he did have clout in Rustengo; he'd always been good at
looking out for himself. Lucky too, and Gengrich had, learned that luck counts
for a lot.
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Time, Mort. For you and me. We got anything the Captain wants, time to produce
it. We ain't either one of us going to hold on down here much longer.
"Arnie?"
Guilford was standing behind him. "Yeah, Frank?"
"I gave him a knockout dose of babble juice. If he's lucky, he won't wake up."
"That bad?"
"That bad. If I was a real M.D. with the whole nine yards I still couldn't
save his hands or feet. As it is, the gangrene's spreading, he's got
hemorraghic fever, and he's developing pneumonia. I'm surprised he got far
enough for our patrols to pick him up."
"He's from up north?"
"Far as I can tell. From what he said before he went out of his head, he was
some kind of clerk at Castle Dravan. Something made him think he and a couple
of his friends were in danger. They cooked up a story about a dying mother and
rode off in the middle of a snowstorm. They figured nobody would try to track
them. If they didn't come back at all, everybody would think the storm got
them." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]