Techromancy Scrolls: Adept (4 page)

His mouth was watering as he stared at Goliath. “Would ya be selling him too?” I shook my head and his shoulders slumped. I knew Goliath was worth four or five gold. Draft horses had many uses.

He looked at me then just started throwing the bearskins and saddles over his broad shoulders. A few minutes later, he had me put my mark on a bill of sale and I walked out with a beautiful used saddle, tack and blanket for my Stallion. I grinned at the fact that he may not know how to read but he was just fine reading and writing numbers. His mark on the bill of sale was just some loopy gibberish instead of an X, I'm sure he was used to dealing with people who could not read and wanted them to think he was a learned man.

I hefted the saddle into the wagon with a smile. I had more than enough for the medicines now, even enough to have the doctor out to our place since I didn't wish mother to travel in her current state.

I took off the brake and the man called out, “Young miss.”

I called back, “Laney. Herder.”

He said, “Laney, come by to deal anytime. Ask for Heath.”

I waved at the man and traveled the twenty yards to the blacksmith and dismounted. I learned from my last mistake and had the letter at the ready as I stepped into the smithy. It was ungodly hot with the huge fire pit and bellows stoking the flames higher. Two men without shirts and more muscle and sweat than any four men should have, were pounding out metal on their anvils with skilled strikes of their huge hammers.

One looked over toward me, then quenched the blade he was working on in a bucket. He smiled and started walking over, I sighed in resignation. It was Kyle Smith, the boy mother tried to marry me off to last season. I told mother that I would be betrothed to no man.

He stepped up to me, he had certainly filled out and muscled up in the past year. “Laney! What brings you here?” There was hope in his eyes and I felt terrible for the man, he truly was a good person, I just had no want to court anyone.

Before he got his hopes up. I handed him the letter as I nudged my head to Goliath out the big doors and said quickly, “My horse needs to be shod, is the farrier here today?”

He looked at the letter and whistled. “You fought marauders?”

I blushed and blurted, “Not by choice!”

He chuckled. “Nobody fights marauders by choice.” He smiled and said, “You're quite a woman, Laney.” I wish he'd stop saying nice things, it made me feel guilty for not returning his affections.

He seemed to sense my unease and said as he walked outside with me trailing behind. “I can handle it. No need for the farrier, he overcharges. I can have it done in an hour for... a penny a shoe?” He squinted at the price knowing how tight money was with mother down.

I nodded and pulled out my coin purse then looked at all the iron strapped wagon wheels leaning against the smithy, then at the wagon. The wheels were in such disrepair, I'd hate to break a spoke while I was out scavenging or bringing things to market. I had coin now and more to come when I sold my salvage. I could look at this as an investment. “How much to refit new wheels?”

He looked at me like I had just sprung a nut. Then looked at the wheels and said, “If you give us your old ones in trade, I could give you the new wheels and the shoes for... a silver?”

I spit into my hand and offered it. “Done.”

He spit in his. “Done!” And we shook.

I held my coin purse close to me so he couldn't see the contents and I pulled out one of my bounty silvers and put it in his hand. He blinked at it then smiled at me and said, “Give me some time. Pick it up at noon?” I nodded and took some stuff from the wagon.

He stepped up and looked under the canvas sheet in the wagon and whistled. “I heard you were scavenging now. A woman of many facets.”

I shook a finger at him and squinted playfully, “It all better be there when I return.”

He chuckled and held his hands up in surrender and headed back into the smithy. I turned toward the hospital and hurried on my way. This was my most important task for the day.

I hated the hospital, it always smelled of herbs, antiseptic, alcohol, and sickness. But it was arguably the most modern building in the village besides the castle. Every room had electric lights and heat, they could even keep the rooms cool in the scorching heat of summer. It also had running water pumped through pipes using electric powered pumps. It truly was a marvel if you forgot the smells and the sick and dying people. They even had machines that could hear the heartbeat and breathing of someone without a stethoscope.

Most of the advancements the Techromancers developed that were not dedicated to the defense of the realm, were dedicated to medical advancement. They say that one day our medical capabilities will rival those of the Before Times.

I walked into the front room, there were a dozen people waiting in chairs. I stepped up to the woman at the front desk and dug out the slip of paper from my pocket that had mother's prescriptions written on it. She looked up at me and smiled as I slid the paper over and said, “Hello ma'am, I'm Laney Herder, daughter of Margret.” I nudged my chin at the paper. “I've come to purchase her medicines.”

She looked the papers over then gave me a sympathetic look. She wrote some stuff in a ledger and said with one squinted eye, indicating she knew how painful the cost was, “It would be three gold four penny.”

I nodded and quickly pulled three gold and a silver from my coin purse and slid them to her. “Is that enough to have the doctor come look at her?”

She covered my hand and the coins and just looked at me for a long moment until I met her eyes, then she nodded. “He is going out this afternoon on house calls. Where are you located?”

I said hopefully, “We're the chicken herders in Cheap Quarter, near the main portcullis.”

She nodded and wrote something in another book then looked at a calendar with writings on it behind her. She said absently as she wrote Margret Herder on the calendar. “He'll be out around seven tonight.” She looked up at me, “Is that okay?”

I was nodding fervently. She smiled and stood, “Alright then, I'll be right back with the medicines, or would you rather the doctor bring them in case there has been a change?”

That made sense to me so I nodded again and said, “That would probably be best. Thank you so much ma'am.”

She looked happy that I was happy. Maybe the hospital wasn't as bad as I thought. I left the hospital with a weight lifted off my heart knowing maybe mother could get better.

I looked at the clock tower in the church as the bell chimed eleven. The day was just shooting by. I still had to make it to the castle to sell my scrap and I still had plenty of coin in my purse. I turned back toward the market, I was going to treat myself to a mid day meal. I hadn't had one in the market since mother was healthy. I felt a little guilty spending money on myself but I was in an extremely giddy mood.

I glanced back at the west wall, were it extended into the lake, and the swimming hole and bath house. I needed to be clean for church in the morning and I wanted to look presentable when I went to barter at the castle. I made the decision to bathe after I picked up Goliath and my wagon.

In the market I found a Gypsy food vendor, I ordered one of those mouth watering skewers with chunks of meat and vegetables alternating on it, a buttered roll and a large cup of grape juice. I thought about getting wine or mead instead, now that I was of age, but decided against it. It was expensive but worth the half penny. The smell of the food alone had me salivating.

I passed a seamstress on my way back to the smithy then paused to look at the back of the cart. There was a bar with dozens of tunics hanging from it. I looked down at my threadbare shirt and chastised myself as I stepped back and started looking through the offerings.

One and a half pennies later I walked off with one new tunic for me, one for Jace, and a new nightshirt for mother. I stopped my frivolous spending and walked away from the stacks of trousers the seamstress had, before I could waste any more money.

I smiled at the tunic I had chosen for myself. Instead of the usual natural browns and tans of the threads, this one had been dyed a rich hunter green and the seamstress had embellished the sleeve cuffs and collar with yellow leaves that looked almost gold. It was the nicest shirt I had ever owned.

After picking up Goliath and the wagon and stowing my purchases I headed down to the baths. Again drawing people's eyes, most likely wondering why a young woman such as myself had such a stallion. I know it would have been a curiosity for me if I had witnessed it.

I set the brake at the public baths. They weren't busy today. Or perhaps it was because it was midday, I had never visited them during the day.

This was a perk of living in Wexbury. The baths were open to all at no charge, and were famous through all the realms. Wexbury extended into the lake for the sole purpose of this convenience. The founders of the keep determined that cleanliness kept away many of the blights and disease that pestered other realms. So they designed the keep to include a safe area for swimming and bathing within the walls.

I looked around, there was another wagon with two older draft horses at the yoke, and three mares hitched beside it. I took my new tunic with me and entered the arch into the women's side of the bath house. There was a ten foot tall stone wall that divided the men from the women, and the baths had underwater entrances into the swimming hole. They even had a smaller area on the other side of the bath house where they had heated water pools in the winter. I found it odd not to have to stand in line.

I walked over to the elderly matron of the bath, Hannah, and greeted her. The pleasant portly woman was always dressed impeccably for a serf, just as well as any noble. She had the rich speech patterns commonly associated with the nobles as well, indicating a good education. Though she was of lower station, I have always found it odd that the noble women paid her great respect.

She handed me a large white towel and I turned and sat at the benches and undressed self consciously as I looked out to the waters just beyond the benches. There were only nine or ten women in the large fifty foot square waters. Some had oils and soaps they were cleaning with. I was jealous of such luxury.

I undressed and stacked my clothing on the bench, hiding my coin purse in a boot. I wrapped in the towel and started toward the waters when a rich voice called over from the matron. “Laney? Fancy meeting you here.”

I froze then turned slowly to see Lady Celeste in full armor with another knight taking towels from Hannah. I walked up to her with my eyes lowered and said shyly, “Celeste.”

Hannah spit out quickly, “Mind your tongue girl! Address the lady properly!” I glanced over and then winced, waiting for her raised hand to come down on my cheek. Why was everyone disciplining me lately?

Lady Celeste caught the matron's strike gracefully and far more gently than I would have thought possible. She chuckled out to the woman, “It is alright Hannah, I gave her leave to address me so. We are old comrades in arms, Laney and I.”

She shot me yet another one of her winks as I wondered if blushing could be terminal. Hannah was immediately her calm professional self and she simply tilted her head to me in acknowledgment, “I apologize miss, I was not aware.” Then she bowed her head slightly to the knights, “Lady Celeste, Lady Verna.” To my surprise they both returned the bow if not slightly shallower.

Before I knew what was happening, the Techno Knight had looped her arm in mine and was dragging me to the benches, “You simply must join Verna and I.”

I tried to protest but she ignored me and I sat and turned away from them as they removed their armor and disrobed. I turned back when they had towels around themselves. She said, “Laney, this is Lady Verna, Knight of the Realm, and my best friend.”

She turned to the woman who appeared to have as much muscle as the blacksmiths but still somehow looked very feminine despite the ragged scar that cut diagonally across her face from the temple down her neck to the opposite shoulder. It made her look dangerous and oddly alluring. Celeste told her, “Ver, this is Laney Herder.”

The woman grinned at me and offered a hand and said in a soft alto, “Laney.”

I shook her hand, it was like grasping iron and I lowered my eyes in respect. “Lady Verna.”

She chuckled, “None of that Laney. If you are a friend of our Celeste here then you can call me Verna. She hasn't shut up about you all day.”

She had been speaking of me? I bobbed my head, chanced a look up, and acknowledged the request, “Lady.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled and turned toward the water and dropped her towel just before she stepped in. I blinked, even her back muscles had muscles.

Celeste chuckled and I glanced up to see her watching me then said knowingly, like she knew what I was thinking, “Yeah, she's always working out and sparring in her free time. I think it is an obsession with her. She has to compete with the men. Maybe it is to make sure her husband, Sir Kristof doesn't surpass her in the ranks.”

We stepped up to the the carved stone steps that led down into the water and Celeste let her towel drop to the ground, and I stopped breathing as she walked slowly down the steps into the water. She... her body... those curves. I believed I had just witnessed an angel. I was feeling so warm and flush. Dear lord, I was aroused!