Part Fifty
Kato stopped eating and worrying what would come of Beryl playing at cards with Reif and the ranchers when he saw Duma stagger in from the yard and go directly to the fireplace within the common room. Kato left the plates on the table, mostly empty as he had started on Duma's share when he had not soon returned. Kato asked if Duma was well, but Duma did not answer. He seemed unlike himself, or very much like he had been when Dale had first brought him away from Marduk's Clan, like a wounded, untamed creature that would strike at anyone, even if they sought to aid him.
"Duma, let us go upstairs," Kato said. He reached out to touch Duma's arm, and Duma flinched away from him. If they remained in this room, the locals would get suspicious of this behavior. "Duma, I am going to our room. Follow me. I am your companion now and you know I would not hurt you, unless you tried to hurt me first."
Kato then walked, as merrily as he could, toward the stairs. He did not look back, but Duma did follow.
When they both came into their room, Duma went into a corner and sat and did not look toward Kato.
Kato spoke to him, asking what had happened outside and if Duma was injured, but Duma did not reply.
They had not been in the room more than a few minutes when the door opened. Kato reached toward his dagger, cursing himself for not remembering to lock the door, when he saw it was Ugarit. She pushed the veils from her face and glared at Kato, thinking she could have killed him before he reached his weapon and that she would rather have strong Orcs for companions.
Ugarit then walked toward Duma and kicked his leg, though it hurt her a lot to put weight on her bad leg; it would have made less sense to kick him with it. Duma did not even look up at her. "You stink of woman! How could you do something so foolish? Even I know enough of Mannish customs to understand that your taking your pleasure of some woman is no way to appear Elvish and secretive! I hope she tasted good! She looks as ugly as an Elf!"
Duma did not move or speak.
"What woman?" Kato asked.
"The white-skin female, veiled in black, with yellow hair, and a pitifully soft body. This wretched excuse for an Orc endangered us all by taking her into some small building. I saw them from the hole in the wall."
Kato swallowed, beginning to puzzle together what had happened and what it might mean. He had seen two women come in and sit together. Later a third had come in through the rear door and joined them. Now Kato thought about what he had seen, he had thought the one the Men bowed to unaccustomed to such treatment and the one supposedly her maid carrying herself rather haughtily. All veiled, if they switched gowns, the noblewoman could pass as a maid and do things that might have seemed unseemly for a noble.
Ugarit stood, balancing Tashmetum on a hip, her leg hurting. Duma did not look like an Orc who had played with or spoiled anything. He looked like a pet whipped beyond tolerance. He did not seem like Duma at all, but like Elf-Scream. "Why do you look like you have been beaten when you have just had your way with some woman?" Ugarit whispered. Even as she said it, she realized the answer. "No. I do not understand. You are strong. You are the one who will pick up Death-Shadow's whip! I know you are strong! You are Duma and you are strong! How could you? How could you just...?"
Ugarit put Tashmetum down on the bed. How could that be? A female that could make Men pleasure her against their will? It did not seem a good thing.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Kato whispered. "Did she make some threat?"
Ugarit was resigned to the fact that she would belong to one who was strong enough to keep her, but she had seen how it was with Marduk and Sarpanit. She knew one's being strong enough to keep her did not necessarily mean they used that strength against her. It could be strength that was used to protect her. Marduk was strong enough to force Sarpanit, but he did not force her. It had been forcing when Razh-Razh was with Aladima, and sometimes it was use of force when Masters had pets pleasure them, but Razh-Razh had been a stupid Orc and not all Masters had to use force. It was enough they established they were the Master, and not necessary to prove it each time by punishing or harming their pet. Well, many times there was hurting, but maybe the old way was wrong. Ugarit would not be taken unwillingly, she would fight, even to her death. She would be with one who was strong but knew how to hold back their strength.
Ugarit understood that even one willing to fight rather than surrender could meet with one stronger than they, able to manipulate them, or to keep them a breath away from death. "I do not understand!" Ugarit cried. "You are strong! You are an Orc! How could she have power over you?"
"Because he is an Orc," Kato said calmly. "He is an Orc in a town of Men and he was alone with a woman. Even if he did not hurt her at all, she could have claimed it and had him hunted."
"You would not look like this if you had not wanted to refuse," Ugarit said to Duma. "You did refuse, and she became upset and used threats to make you comply. Is it true?"
Duma said nothing.
"Duma. It will be all right," Kato said kindly. Some part of him wondered why a male would resist taking that woman, but he understood from Duma's reaction that something very difficult and painful had happened, and questioning Duma's taste would not help matters. "I know you have been injured. It does not matter to me how you came into the situation. I know you did your best. It does not matter if you are male or not or whether you are an Orc or not. It was wrong what was done to you and you did what you could to save your life and likely our lives, as we are here as your companions."
"It is just stupid to save my life like that!" Ugarit said loudly.
"Quiet," Kato said.
"She is not an Orc, so she cannot make you her pet! She does not have the right. If we were not in this cursed, Mannish town, Death-Shadow would humiliate her just for presuming you to be her play thing! If we were not in this place, you could have struck her, even if she is female. I see no Chieftain promising you to each other! You have every right to smack her if she moves too close. You can have better than that bitch. Let us kill her! Kill her, Duma!"
Tears came from Duma's eyes and he sobbed, yet still he formed no words.
"Miss Ugarit, I do not believe you are helping the matter. We are in a Man town for a purpose. Duma withstood dishonorable treatment for the sake of our cause. I know he respects females, but he certainly could have avoided one, if not otherwise manipulated. Do not yell at him so. We should appreciate his sacrifice. I am curious as to why you refused her, as...no, forgive me, I know I speak very freely at times, but I am not without feeling. Perhaps in Duma's place, even I would have refused."
Ugarit growled. "Halfling, do not presume I am your Orc. I am not here to help you."
Kato rolled his eyes. Ugarit was not that helpful. It seemed truer that they were helping her.
Ugarit wrapped her veils over her face and hair again. "Watch Tashmetum. Bring water for Duma to wash. Bathing is not harmful to Orcs."
"Miss Ugarit, I do not see a whip in your hand."
Ugarit limped quickly to the door, opened it, and then slammed it shut behind her.
Kato could not determine whether the sound coming from Duma was laughter or sobbing.
Kato did mind Tashmetum, though he still called her Violet, and he did leave the room briefly to request a bath be prepared. When the servants had gone, Kato sat feeding Violet, while Duma sat in the small tub. The little Orc had digested rice well enough and now Kato fed her creamed wheat.
Duma was still in the bath when they heard Ugarit scream his name from the next room and then pound on the wall between. Duma sprang from the water, obsidian blade already in his hand and rushed to the room next door. Kato remained, pulling violet close to his chest and lifting, from the bed, the dagger that served him as sword.
Ugarit was backed against the wall with her knives drawn when Duma arrived. His blade of black glass was at the throat of the black-clothed figure within a second.
"Duma, it is Beryl," he said calmly.
Duma could feel the vibration through the blade as Beryl spoke. He could smell Elf blood, the blade was so tight to his throat.
Ugarit lowered her knives and looked at Duma in puzzlement. He was naked, wet, and holding a knife to Beryl Green-cloak's throat!
"She poisoned the late Marshal's wife. Not the best way to seem an innocent merchant girl," Beryl said, just as calmly as ever.
Duma withdrew his knife and looked at the blood on the blade. He looked then to Ugarit. "You poisoned her?"
"You speak," Ugarit said softly, then growled, turned her head sharply, and said, "I do not wish to look on so much of your strange Elven skin."
Beryl rolled his shoulders then pulled a blanket from Ugarit's bed and presented it with a flourish to Duma. He looked to Ugarit as Duma wrapped the cloth around his waist. "What did you give her?"
"Is she dead?" Duma asked.
"No," Ugarit answered confidently.
"They took her raving mad and doubled in pain from the inn. I ask you again, what did you give her?"
"Fungus collected from damp grain and root of cotton," Ugarit said with a shrug. "She deserved it. I would have killed her, but that would have endangered Duma's purpose here."
"Do not take that tone with me little girl-Orc. I could kill you both easily. Any fondness I hold for Duma does not extend to you license to act out Orcish law in this town without some retribution." Beryl wiped a finger over the line of blood on his throat and then licked the blood from the finger. It did not seem an Elvish thing to do. "Any fondness I hold does not mean holding a knife to my throat will be automatically forgiven, Duma."
"I am sorry I cut you, Beryl. If you please, forgive me. But, sorry as I am, it is not proper your being here. If you have a difference with Ugarit, you should come to me. It is my responsibility for bringing her into the town."
"You children are meddling with customs you do not understand. Now, even if Lady Cirsten soon conceives, it will not be believed that the child is that of her late husband. Too many people saw the type of pain she suffered. Did you know the effect of the poisons you used?"
Ugarit did not speak, but her expression said that female Orcs made a point to be among those Orcs familiar with poisons and that the question demonstrated stupidity.
"Duma, why did Ugarit give those poisons to Cirsten?"
"Is that her name?"
"Yes. She is the widow of the late Marshal, who was slain by Marduk, or so I gather from the stories I have heard."
"Marduk will be pleased that line is ended," Duma said.
"Yet, that was not your motive, as you did not know who she was until I told you."
Duma considered for a moment telling Beryl it was not his concern, but he did not really seem to mind telling Beryl. He had felt wretched before, but now he understood Ugarit had made certain Cirsten could force no half-breed children from him, Duma felt somewhat better about the situation. He had faced being a pet and manipulation before, and gotten past it, so he believed he would feel even better soon. "Ugarit did it for me, to insure that woman conceived no half-breed children. I would not have risked the possibility, but safer activity seemed distasteful when I smelled Man all over her and when she realized I would refuse her, she implied threat. You know if I did not do as she wanted, she could have me hunted."
"If she realizes she has been poisoned, you may be hunted."
"Then, help us get Dale and the others out of the prison and we can all leave."
"If we force these Men, it will come to battle and we will all be hunted as criminals. Reif was working to have Cirsten convince her brother-in-law to free the prisoners, but she may not be very helpful now. I must wait for a messenger from the King, or appeal to the Marshal. I wish you would have picked some other female to be less interested in."
"Kato understood better than you," Duma accused at a whisper. "That woman pretended to be a servant, not a noble, and she most definitely made advances toward me. How am I at fault for being seduced?"
"I know it is painful, Duma, and I do agree she behaved wrongly, but you must learn that seduction can and often should be resisted. Cirsten was wrong, but you put yourself in the position of being alone with her and that was just unwise. It is not a matter of you being taken by force. It is a matter of seduction and coercion. Such situations can be avoided."
"It is easy for you to say, because you are an Elf and have children and your drive for mating activity is quite low."
Ugarit laughed at this, though the others ignored her.
Duma continued, "You do not even know what it feels like to be mortal! If we always resisted being seduced, all mortal races would die."
Beryl sighed. "I am sorry, Duma. Forgive me. It is true. I have not your gift. I do not know what it is like to be mortal. I watch things sprout, grow, bloom, wither and die, but I am not like such things. I am removed."
"I will try to chose more carefully next time. I think perhaps you spoke out of concern for me. Maybe there is one time you were seduced that you regret."
Beryl laughed coldly. "At my age, likely not just one. I would spare you from it if I could, but perhaps we should all live and let live."
"If there is one who does not let me live as I will, then I will have no regret about harming or killing them," Ugarit said. "You Elves are weak."
"Ugarit, do not speak to Beryl in such a manner. He is strong, smart, and very old. Treat him as one who is so advantageous to please that he does not need to hold a whip."
"Orcs do not have Masters anymore."
"Not a Master. An ally. A strong ally."
Beryl was pleased enough with Duma's sentiment and turned toward the doorway. Kato was there, holding the baby as he watched the passage. "Caerig," Beryl said.
Kato lifted his head toward Beryl and smiled at him.
"I want you to take these children someplace safe. You found a place to hide?"
"Yes," Kato said, though he looked disappointed.
"We can help you, Beryl," Duma said.
"No, Beryl is correct," Kato said, watching the passage beyond the door for other guests, again. "Perhaps we could have found a way to free the others, but now someone in this town knows you are in disguise. You should leave, for your own safety, and we must go with you, as we have all been seen together."
"It was a good effort, but you can trust me to see to their release. I can tell you where to find the horses, and you can go to a safe place with them and rest, heal your injuries. Kato, if you will tell me how to find you, I will bring the others as soon as they may come."
It was agreed, and so Kato told Beryl how to find his cave, and in turn Beryl explained where the horses were to be found. In the night, Kato, Duma and Ugarit, along with the baby, went to the storehouse and were admitted to retrieve their cart. Some of the storehouse guards had been bribed to alert certain local businessmen if Kato were to leave, and so before leaving, a few more deals were made and Kato told the merchants the small city his business was based in, and promised that he would add their town to the route kept by his employees as soon as a message could reach them.
When they last saw Beryl on the street, he called quietly to them and promised that he would try to visit them if his plan were to take many more days and that it would be helpful if Kato could make an inventory for him, so that he would know what to buy back from locals and what merely needed replenishing.
It was a full day before they saw Beryl again. The Elf snuck up upon Duma as he and Ugarit were out looking for supper. Ugarit turned one of the spears she used as a crutch toward Beryl when she saw him on the bank with Duma. Beryl ignored the spear. "Where is this hole? I came by tracking the horses; Kato's landmarks seem to have been Halfling size."
"If Ugarit is finished, I can take you to him now," Duma said brightly. He was feeling better after a day sitting at a small fire within a cave shaping stones.
Ugarit held up a string of fish.
"That is well done. Resourceful girl-Orc, is she not? And what did you find?"
Duma showed a pouch containing nuts and greens. "I think they are all edible."
Beryl smiled. "You did well for one who lived in a cave. I will have a look at them. Without me, I am certain Ugarit could at least have identified poisons. Fortunately, I am here, and I even brought meat."
"To share?" Ugarit asked.
"To those it suits me to reward."
Ugarit put her spear to the ground and used it to pull herself up from the edge of the water.
"So, you climbed trees?" Beryl asked as they went toward the cave.
"It is not so difficult. I am half Elf."
"It is quite correct to say 'halfelven', though Men assume this always means one would be partly of their race."
Kato greeted them as soon as they reached the lower part of the cave. Beryl looked only a little uneasy; though Elves generally shied from holes in the earth, he had ventured into caves and mines before. Beryl was confident he would see stars again.
"What news?" Kato asked. "Have you seen the others? Are they well?"
Beryl walked around the small rock-ringed fire and sat down upon the floor. He found the height of the chamber more agreeable when seated. "I saw them today. They are not well. They have some better food and water than they did at first, but I am told that was Reif's doing. They have used some of the water to wash, but they are all miserable in those cells. The air is bad and they have only those buckets, and no leaves."
Beryl drew a bundle from under his cloak and then a jug, which had been hanging from a string slung over his shoulder. "I am afraid I did not bring you any gift, Kato," Beryl said. He used the short name more often when they had company. "Perhaps the Orcs will share with you."
Kato grimaced. Perhaps they would, these were strange Orcs, one being halfelven, one a girl and the last a baby, but it still sounded ridiculous for Beryl to say Orcs would share.
"Milk and beef. This cut was not very expensive, Men seem to value the less bony parts, but I thought to Orcs, this would seem fine, and I do not mean in the way that Wizards expect horsemeat to please Orcs."
"What is wrong with horsemeat?" Ugarit asked.
"Do not mind her, she picks the rice out of her weevils," Kato laughed.
Duma did not bother to speak, but took the bundle and unwrapped the meat from the oilcloth and twine. "Ribs?"
"Yes. Plenty of bones to clean and sharpen your teeth, and plenty of meat on the bone as well. I wish to keep my allies strong."
"I will cook it."
"I know how to cook meat," Duma said firmly. "You can make a device to hold the meat over the fire."
"Actually, you want to cook it over coals," Beryl told them, and then turned his full attention to Kato. The Halfling thought Ugarit and Duma behaving very Orcish, the way they argued over meat.
"I mainly came to retrieve Brethil and a change of clothes. My disguise served its purpose, as I did not know what I would find in the town, only that I was searching the area for news, after finding the horses. Now it would be more useful to appear as someone more like myself and officially request their freedom and tell these ranchers that our friends do have leave of their King to travel his country. Reif informed the warden, but the trouble has been that the Marshal, Odin that is, has not set himself to take care of business since his brother's death."
"And Cirsten?"
"Recovering. The rumor is that she carried her husband's child but in her grief lost it. Now I suppose Odin may marry her. He has no wife or even a lady he courts, and Cirsten is yet young, and has nowhere else to go, unless she means to return to her family's lands further north."
"Is she really part-Elven?" Duma asked.
"No," Beryl said, and without hesitation. "It is just a rumor, if you heard it said."
Duma returned to rearranging cut lengths of tree branch over the glowing coals below to make a place to rest the meat as it cooked.
"Beryl, do you think it will work?" Kato asked, "Your plan?"
"I could not do it at first, not knowing the situation, but now, with Reif remaining in the city, as well as his Men, I do not fear for myself, as an associate of those held prisoner. I believe if Odin can be made to understand that Reif is not being manipulative, and that their prisoners really are known to the King, and that they are not a threat, he will order their release."
"I hope it is soon. I do not mind this cave, but I imagine it must be horrible for the others."
"Confinement can be horrible," Beryl agreed. "Duma."
Duma looked up from putting the ribs on the fire. Beside him, Ugarit was putting fish on sticks in order to hold them over the fire.
"Dale has asked twice now about you, and the Orcs. How did you survive the battle and come to find these two? And do you know how many other Orcs survived and if Marduk was among them?"
Duma glanced to Ugarit a moment before answering, not to gain permission, but only to be aware of her level of approval. Ugarit tried to look unconcerned. Duma then told Beryl of the battle, how they had deprived the Men of light and how reinforcements had come and Ugarit had been injured in their charge. He explained how they had gone into a tree and seen Marduk slay the Marshal. As Ugarit was hurt, they had remained in the tree when Marduk ordered the Orcs to run. "Marduk and his Pet, Dog, survived, unless they were hunted since we last saw them. We saw Sarpanit go also, and she is a strong female belonging to Marduk. Another female, Damkina, was killed, but we got rid of her body by pulling it into the river. We found her daughter with Kato, when walking along the river."
"We struck our deal," Kato said. "Ugarit relieves me of having to care for the baby and I allow them to both shelter here. When Ugarit wishes, she may go and take Violet."
"Tashmetum," Ugarit growled.
Beryl laughed. Then he said, "If you have supper preparations in hand, I would like to speak to Kato privately about matters of inventory and merchandizing. Is there a place we might talk?"
"Let us take Brethil's gear from here, outside. We may speak there, as you prepare her to return to Ebbettsfield."
They gathered the gear and soon left. "They are not only going to talk," Duma said quietly.
"What would they do?" Ugarit asked.
"I know, but I do not think Kato or Beryl would like me to tell. Forget I said anything. Perhaps we should let Kato have the fish. He will be hungry when he comes back."
"You know a lot that you do not tell Marduk."
"Yes, but if the things I learn do not tell me anything about their attitude towards Orcs, then Marduk does not need to know."
"I will find him again."
"You are a good tracker."
When Kato later returned merrily and alone, supper was eaten. When the food was gone, they went to their separate chambers. Kato shifted his bed nearer to the embers of the fire and slept immediately. Ugarit bathed Tashmetum, washed her swaddling and then went out to dump the water. When Ugarit came back into the cave, she heard picking and grinding noises from the section of cavern Duma had claimed.
Ugarit fed Tashmetum some milk and then settled her into her basket to sleep. She had rested during daylight, so Ugarit went back to her painting. She had collected charcoal, withered berries, several colors of earth and clay, rocks that ground marks onto other rough surfaces and some water. She mixed and applied the paint to the walls with her fingers. She had already completed the depiction of proper breeding. It seemed a good thing to paint, in case Orcs too shelter in the cave in the future, but Kato had seen the painting with his lantern and laughed.
Ugarit started painting a scene of Men attacking Orcs.
The prisoners had been in the cells four nights, and now nearly four days as well, when Reif and Beryl finally stood together, before Odin in his hall. Beryl had reminded Odin of the duration of their containment and then continued, "and though it seems they have been made aware of the accusations against them, they have been called before neither appointed official nor yourself to defend themselves against the charges."
The warden, now at Odin's side, informed him in whisper that the town's magistrate was away and their lawyer slain.
"I have been occupied with serious family matters," Odin said.
"I understand and I am sorry for your loss, but now you have agreed to hear my complaint, will you free the prisoners?"
"I do not know that I can just free them. We have laws to uphold. Perhaps some of their charges could be dropped, but now I have heard from my advisors on the matter, it does seem the Orcs were in these parts because the foreigners were here. Strangely, my Men report many Western Half-Orcs among those they fought or slew. We have had Orcs on our lands in the past, but they were minions of the...one who shall not be named, coming to steal our horses. They have a different look, the Orcs from various regions do. And now I am hearing rumors that Orcs were sighted within the town."
"If we were to wait for the King's messenger he would confirm that there is one Orc who is known personally to the King and who has leave to travel his lands. He is not only an Orc, but kin to one of the Elves you hold, and may have come in some guise looking for his companions. He is quite a...honest creature, I assure you."
"Reif, can this be true?" Odin asked. "Our Lord having dealings with an Orc?"
"I saw him. He is also half Elf, as Master Greencloak had explained. He aided in recovering some stolen horses and also personally turned other Orcs away from our Capitol."
"And this one was not our prisoner?" Odin asked.
"No, only Elves and Men," the warden answered.
"I truly wish to be done with the matter. We are housing petty criminals in the inn for lack of cells."
"Odin, the King's messenger is on his way here. I could not lie, knowing he might contradict me. Those Elves and their companions have leave to travel through our country, and even to return, should they wish. I know the one you accuse of sorcery personally. He fought with us during the war and was raised in the west. I do not claim to give reference for the others, but I know Beryl, and that he has been known to the King and his kin for many years. If Beryl asks anything of our people, it is with cause, and should be granted."
"I shall release them, but I want them off my land. If they are so well known to you, then they may travel on your side of the river, Reif." Odin then turned to the warden. "Release all the prisoners, even those in the inn. Say that it is in quiet celebration of my succession as Marshal that I pardon all our prisoners."
"You see that I am now such a bad fellow?" Reif asked of Beryl as they walked from Odin's hall.
"I never said you were bad."
Reif laughed. "I did not say before, but you look younger again, but I have said it before. You do look younger every time I see you."
"It is only hair coloring. I went to gather ingredients for my hair coloring."
"You look good."
"When will you settle with a wife, I wonder."
"You know I am not the sort. It is not that I would like to settle with some boy either. I would simply rather my life remain as it is."
"I know."