In the cool of the early summer evening, Dani sat peacefully in a sturdy wooden chair that had been fetched from inside her house, both of her feet comfortably resting on the slightly warm, grassy ground. On her right sat her grocery basket, which she had lined with cloth that morning. Within it lay twelve fresh laurel branches and a ball of twine. In her lap, she was working on making a sturdy twine braid. Just to the left of her, sitting on a wooden stool, sat the natural muscle bound beauty of Meridha, who had reported that Hindy had been prevented from leaving campus. In her lap was the four page letter that had come from Hindy's mother; Cimaretto, knowing how important the letter was, had sent Meridha in Hindy's stead.
While Dani had been caught off guard by the tall young woman, she welcomed her inside without much delay. She had braced herself for the same strong mountain accent with which Hindy spoke, only to be pleasantly surprised- and then terribly embarrassed- to discover that Meridha sounded much more like a heartland Cormyrean. Fortunately enough, Meridha wasn't wounded by Dani's assumption, and explained that most of her Suzailian commanders had the same expectation. With the ice between them broken, the off-duty Purple Dragon had gone on to explain just what kept Hindy away from Dani's house.
The explanation, given over the finding and moving of a lantern, a chair, a stool, and the basket into the grassy area between Dani's house and the houses on the street behind hers, had taken the better part of twenty minutes.
"...so now we're all back on alert again," Meridha finished, turning the last page over and leaning closer to the lantern that she'd brought to see if there were any sort of secret writing or seal on the back. "We're lucky this letter got to us before all of that happened. Chimi's crying 'we're being set up' as loudly as he can, but top brass hasn't forgotten that Garimond made him defend himself in open court, two days before Greengrass, for not confessing his spectral companion- neither during his basic training and testing, nor at any retest or check-in after that."
Dani gave a disgusted grunt. "I very strongly suspect that if any of the College's educating staff had suspected the nightwatch's commanding officer would do them any harm with magic, between all- what, twenty of them? Thirty? More than that, if you count all the assistants that actually teach the classes, but... someone would have done something about it."
Meridha shrugged, a slow, eventual movement that tumbled a few coppery tresses over her square and freckled shoulders.
"I'm telling you, they would have," Dani argued, looking up from her braiding momentarily. "No mage trusts a fighter to handle magical matters."
"They're sore that Chimi didn't admit that he was both," Meridha reminded. "And he's another Skullwatch soldier to turn up with 'spell-like abilities' without having said anything about them."
"Oh, really- they can't have expected any of those boys to have been honest about anything at the first!" Dani huffed, returning her attentions to the twine braid. "Some of them were torn away from their families to fight Zhentarim at such a tender age that they hadn't even yet learned a trade!"
"Ugh!" Meridha exclaimed, wondering if Cimaretto had been enlisted then, or at some point afterward.
"Further, the Drow uses both weapons and spells with some degree of dexterity; didn't they remember the way he warded that poor girl's cottage while he tortured her within? Whoever is skirtfasted to her now had better be just as good, if not better."
"I'd certainly hope so," Meridha sighed as she looked back down into her lap. "But that's not the-"
"And further still," Dani pressed on, ignoring Meridha, "what is the point of having any nightwatch on duty at all, if you're going to ignore what they say is happening at night?"
"It didn't happen at night; it was discovered at night," Meridha explained, taking her beautiful hazel eyes off the letter to look up at Dani, whose face was still pinched. "Chimi said the poison rig alone would have taken hours to build and disguise, and that even though the stun spell was probably just a failsafe, it still required a good bit of work. So either the Drow, or some other new threat, got into campus during the day, set the rig and the spell up, disguised all of it with some kind of illusion spell work, and then left. The day guards all just walked right past it."
"They must be embarrassed," Dani huffed, "since half of them are supposed to be actively casting or powering protective wards."
Meridha tapped her nose a few times to indicate that Dani had hit upon the correct answer. "Well, when Chimi came onto campus for the night, he got some feeling, like he always does, sent the patrolling guard back to base without saying anything, and went after what felt- or possibly smelled, knowing him- wrong by himself. Only took about half the damage the poison should've done him, and gods be praised his sword is enchanted against mind-effecting spells, or we might be burying him instead of worrying whether or not he'll get suspended again."
Dani crunched her fingers around the twine in her hands for a few seconds. "Idiot weapon draggers-"
Meridha winced as though she'd been threatened with a backhand, and Dani took a breath.
"My dear, I pray you take no offense. Diego... and yourself, clearly... you're exceptions. But I find most fighters to be tragically stupid. Make decisions that a town fool would blush at. The underlings mindlessly carry out orders that are utterly bankrupt of intelligence, and... well, I hope no one is seriously thinking of suspending Diego for actually doing his job. Just think if Kagran had actually been heading for his house at the time- what did the assailant have in store for him?"
"If he'd been lost or killed, Braunie'd wail the loudest, you ask me," Meridha said, trying to lighten the mood. "She keeps saying she's so glad she kept him that extra hour, that she's never been so thankful to have had an argument over a bar tab in her life. Now, don't get me wrong, she's always been demonstrative, but there was something about how she said it- makes one think, you know?"
"I remember when Kagran and Eydla were married," Dani lamented, picking up one of the laurel branches and the twine that was still in the basket. She held all the items in her lap for a moment as she gazed into mid-distance. "I'd married Marcel just the springtide before, and he closed his stall for the morning, so that we might attend together. They had a painful ceremony- they couldn't afford a priest of Lathander, or a registrar to properly change either of their names- and we all had to stand, shivering in the early Tarsakh cold like vagrants, huddled up nervously outside the Pillars because the gathering was technically illegal, and there were so many soldiers nearby, but... they were so happy... ah, well. That hefty old bar wench can pine all she wants to. In his own mind, Kagran Riversley is still a happily married man, and he will be until he lays down next to his so much beloved Eydla for the last time. I wonder if he won't be too upset to come by at week's end? I might send him a discreet message and ask."
Meridha bit her lips, unsure of what to say in response. Dani, looking down and noting her discomfort, sighed deeply and began cutting twine to tie the laurel branch to the braid she'd just finished.
"In the meantime, I shall pray that Lathander keeps him clear of all evil intents upon his person, and I'll have the news of whether or not Diego's been suspended again from that man himself. Now, dear, what does Hindy's letter say?"
"It starts off with village business, if you want to hear that?" Meridha offered, rustling the papers so that the first page was on top of the pile again. "It's not in Common, so I have to kind of translate as I go."
"If you think it's proper, then yes," Dani replied as she leaned over to put her scissors back into the basket. Seconds later, she righted herself sharply and looked down at Meridha. "Wait, girl- what language is it in?"
"I... I don't know," the strongly build young woman stammered with a touch of embarrassment. "It might be some kind of a mash of Lowland Draconic and Common, but all spelled out in Common. I only know that because when Hindy first came out of her mouth with it, Keegan Tanner- a classmate of hers- about fell out of his chair with surprise. Said it sounded like listening to a pair of kobolds, and at first, I really took offense, but then I realized he was too utterly gobsmacked to have been trying to make a bad joke. Turns out he'd earned his entrance to the College by doing a sociological study of the creatures, and he'd taught himself their language in order to really dig into their culture."
Dani gave a short puff of voiced surprise as she picked up the second laurel branch. "And how did Hindy take it?"
"How'd she take it?" Meridha chuckled with a smirk. "She handfasted herself to the kid. They came apart three ice breakings ago, but never came far enough apart, you ask me. He's not creepy about it, but if she stays in one place long enough, he'll drift toward her and plant himself."
"I believe I might have seen or heard of the boy once or twice, but I can't say I paid very much attention," Dani said apologetically as she cut the twine for the second branch and placed both the scissors and the twine back in her basket. "I might ask Hindy, when she's able to visit again."
Meridha smiled a bit more as she skimmed the letter. "Ah, yes, well... okay, so Aunty Delyth- that's Hindy's mum- says another pack of missionaries have come to the village, on the same nonsense of how they must 'turn to the sun of healing,' or whatever," she began after a few moments of silence. "The villagers are treating them normally, if not necessarily respectfully- bit of price gouging, bit of language twisting, bit of giving them bad directions so that the militia folk have time to find someone who wants to guide them up the various wildland paths before they get themselves killed by beasts while trying to visit the recluses on their own. Or killed by the recluses once they get there, to be quite honest- one or two of those folks are still cannibals. Anyway, they're all alive, despite their own best efforts, and everybody's doing their fair share to keep them that way."
"I suppose that's kind enough of them," Dani noted. "What is the village's common faith, if there is one?"
"Most of them are followers of Mielikki," Meridha replied. "Aunty Boudica is agnostic, and my mum is kind of... I don't know... she believes in everybody's gods, I guess. She and my pop raised us all to respect nature, but that was about it; they were big into each of us finding faith on our own. Anyway, Aunty Delyth says the War Wizards came for Aunty Boudica, again, and she rejected them, again. She's getting a reputation for loading them up with nonsense spells before putting them out of her house; Aunty Delyth thinks she's trying her hardest to pretend she's crazy so that they'll leave her alone."
"Why are the War Wizards after Boudica?" Dani asked, cutting a piece of twine to begin work on the the third laurel branch.
"I don't know- no one tells me anything," Meridha shrugged. "Nothing magic related, anyway. Which is just as well, since I wouldn't understand a word. I do know that unlike Aunty Delyth, who's just a druid, Aunty Boudica's a proper wizard; she trained with some full-blooded Elf somewhere."
"There's no such thing as 'just a druid,' dear," Dani scolded gently. "There's plenty of folk strutting about the College who would have you think that wizards are the best casters, but frankly, a wizard is fairly lost without their spell book. Michi often marveled at how the so-called 'wild mages' worked. Every day, she had to look over her book and factor how much arcane energy she'd need to power a select few of the spells written there, whereas the magic workers with whom she lived simply carried all the spells they were capable of within themselves somehow, just naturally supplied with the potential force necessary to cast anything they needed. No factoring, no hour long meditation sessions, just use what you need as you need it. That kind of flexibility is to be respected."
"Like I said, I wouldn't know the first thing," Meridha shrugged with a pleasant smile. "Mum's a bard, so she can do a bit of magic-y stuff, but she didn't pass any of it down to me. I train with my swords and hammer every morning; if I didn't, I wouldn't feel ready for the day. I've seen bandits, adventurers, and mercenaries just pick up a blade, a staff, or a bow and put a natural hurting on other people, but I certainly take my pride in being better than most of them. Maybe wizards feel the same toward druids and bards."
"Perhaps," Dani noted, thinking of Cimaretto's humming blue ward and Hindy's hissing black one. "But I don't know that it's as simple as that."
Meridha watched the shadows of contemplation cross Dani's face for a few moments, then returned to scanning the letter. "Anyway, Aunty Delyth says that even though it's a big risk, Aunty Boudica's wanting to visit with Hindy, and she'll see what help she can be while she's here. She's going to Daerlun to visit our Uncle Kleggie after Memmy's handfasting, and plans to be here before midsummer, so-"
"Wait, shouldn't you and Hindy be present for Memmy's handfasting?" Dani asked. "I understand that whatever Hindy did down here was impermanent and therefore didn't call for the family to be nearby, but if there's some sort of event back in her home-"
"Oh, no, no, all springtide handfastings are impermanent," Meridha corrected. "All that made Hindy's different was that it wasn't done at the festival- and that at first, Tanner was truly upset over Hindy's not caring whether he told his parents or not because he thought they were getting proper married. Now, if the match lasts the year, and Memmy and- wait, who is it?- oh, Triton Surrey. If she and Surrey want to make a real go of marriage, then there'll be a party to seal the bond."
"I'll bet the missionaries felt confirmed in their belief that the village needed conversion when that was explained to them, if it was at all," Dani said. "For we who believe in Lathander, the handfasting is permanent."
"There wasn't any confusion before the first pack of them showed up, to be honest," Meridha noted as she pulled some of the hair that had fallen into her face back over her head. "Now, we have the same word for two different events. I didn't think to tell Hindy about that, since I haven't handfasted myself even once, but until recently, she chose herself a boy per year. Once he sorted things out, Tanner was a good sport. Unfortunately, the other two guys she handfasted herself to- one was Isak Pentreig, I don't remember the other one's name- they were both awful about it. The one went around campus telling crude stories about her. Pentreig tried to sue her for falsifying marriage claims, or something of that tune. Dunno how he got on the docket, but all the judges must've understood the confusion. The first judge asks, 'Miss Keymun, when did you handfast yourself to Ser Pentreig?' She was all exasperated, she just said, 'Lahst sprengteide, a'caurse!' Everybody laughed, and out went the case. She hasn't done anything this season, but Tanner's hanging around more often for a reason, you ask me."
"He's likely more understanding because, having made a study of an entirely different race already, he's aware that this is simply a difference in societal vocabulary and norms- one with which he can easily make peace," Dani shrugged as she picked up the wreath and checked it from different directions.
"How do you all do it?" Meridha asked suddenly. "I mean, you and your husband, and Kagran and his wife, and others... it seems you're all quite lucky, to have married the correct person the first time."
"It's not a perfect system," Dani scoffed. "Parents do most of the work, if you're fortunate. You do get the odd aldermaiden or toy anchor, but for the most part, most of us are appropriately matched up by adults who are well aware of who they raised. I... can't say that Marcel and I did Michele justice... in that area. We... never seemed to find the right time."
"Well, she kind of handfasted herself to Chimi," Meridha suggested hopefully.
"That seems quite likely, yes," Dani sighed. "I wonder precisely when she did."
Meridha stole a glance up at Dani's distant, wistful eyes and made a solid decision to change the subject, no matter how awkwardly. "The reason spring handfasting isn't permanent is because sometimes, you start to live with someone, and then you realize you can't stand them. I wonder what happens to heartlanders who get stuck with people they hate."
Dani put the wreath in her lap and laughed. "We sue for divorce, dear!" she exclaimed. "Well, that is to say you incite your husband to do it, as women can't initiate the proceedings. First, have your friends to gossip unkindly about you amongst each other where their husbands can hear it. They must lament that the reason you're gadding about is sexual dissatisfaction. He'll get word one way or another, and he'll be counseled by all and sundry to put in a suit to be rid of you. Now, if you were to come to open court, as you're supposed to do when you're being sued for divorce, you would have to confess whether or not you are gadding and why. However, the prospect of being branded as a rusted toy anchor- a man who can't keep hold of the woman he married- is so mortifying that your husband will almost certainly meet with a representative from the Pillars and pay whatever it takes to get a writ of divorce without the case ever gracing the docket. Next, gather your things together and return to your parents. Or, if they're no longer living, request housing from an order of priestesses- the deliquents who call themselves priestesses of Lliira are the best choice for an active woman. Finally, and especially if by chance the rumors have taken real hold, you must find an unmarried man who might bring a defamation of character suit against your former husband. You'll find that quite a few travelling mercenaries provide this service for a very low fee, although you must avoid the unscrupulous sorts who demand alternate payment methods, if you catch my meaning. Once you've hired a good man, you must be seen with him a few times in public, so that it may be understood that he is courting you. Otherwise, he'd have no reason to be offended by the rumors, you see. Have him noise it abroad that he intends to bring the suit, and either your former husband will pay him to keep the matter quiet, or you'll be proven innocent and awarded, since there won't be a shred of real evidence that you ever did gad about in the first place. A lot of divorced women with no surviving parents do that part simply to get enough coin to make a proper start to their new lives."
For a few moments, Meridha simply stared at Dani, who smiled tenderly down at her.
"A dear friend of mine had dotish parents who married her off to a wicked brute. She was desperate; told me it was either divorce or murder. And since she'd inherited every bit of her parents' smarts, I knew she'd get herself hung. So, I gathered our knitting circle, we hired one of the Coalwater mercenaries to be her defamation defendant, and we took care of her from the beginning to the end. It was only fortunate that she took a fabulous liking to the mercenary. Married him a few years later."
"I don't know what to think of that," Meridha admitted, her glossy hazel eyes lending truth to her words.
"It's a very long-winded way of admitting that your way is much more honest," Dani chuckled, picking up the wreath to inspect it again. "More egalitarian as well- is it always the women who handfast themselves, or can men do it too?"
"No, it's always the women," Meridha replied. "We're the ones gotta bear the children, so we're the ones that do the picking of who we might want to do it for. Did she have children by that first man? Your friend?"
"Yes; two," Dani admitted. "At the time, the first was of five years, and the other, four. Of good humor and quite loving, shockingly enough- a testament to that woman's strength and patience in the face of the beastly man who gave them to her. They were all for the scheme to get her free of their father, but their imaginations were so fantastic that we- the knitting circle, that is- had to teach them how to lie properly. I'd tell you everyone's names, understand, but you might know them. And in your position... well... you'd have to turn us all in, wouldn't you?"
Meridha blinked at Dani for a few seconds, then reached over to tug lightly at Dani's forearm so that she would put the wreath back down. "First, I'm not for tattling. Second, the Pillars closed both cases, and that's all. Last, that woman risked losing her children or being hung to get the life she has now. She deserves to have it without me so much as thinking a bad thought in her direction. May her gods protect her and hers, whoever they are."
Dani, who had turned to look at Meridha when her arm had been tugged, let go of the wreath entirely and took both of Meridha's hands in her own. "Don't let all this frighten you, my dear. I'm certain that there's other men like Keegan and Diego, who would accept you for exactly who you are and exactly what you believe. Or women, if that's what you find you prefer."
Meridha bit her lips and blushed profusely, and Dani smiled as she let go of the powerful fighter's hands. Again she took up the wreath to inspect the underside of it, and Meridha watched her carefully twist a few wiggly branches so that the leaves would lay without poking the person wearing it in the eye or the side of the head.
"That'll be a lucky person, whoever they are," she pronounced firmly as she cut a few small pieces of twine to tie the branches she had just fixed more securely. "Now, did the letter say anything else?"
"Well, after that, it's just Aunty Delyth admonishing Hindy to keep at her studies, not to fall slack in anything no matter what is going on around her. She tells her to confide in me, or Chimi, or you."
Dani unceremoniously turned and sat the wreath on Meridha's head, and the latter turned surprised, but clear hazel eyes up to the former. The wreath, snagged at once on the wealth of radiant red hair, didn't slide an inch.
"Well, one down, three to go," Dani proclaimed, fascinated at once by Meridha's plain, open face. "If it fits you, it'll be too small for Diego. Do you want to keep it, or do you want me to hold on to it until the end of the ten-day?"
"Am I going somewhere at week's end?" Meridha asked simply. "I might have to put in a request for leave, and with things as they are, I might not get it."
"Marcel always showed a bit of his filthy Westgate colors at Greengrass," Dani smiled sadly. "He drank like a pirate the entire week, staggering from one friend's house to another until he returned to throw a scandalously wild party at our own house at week's end. I kept myself separate from his friends' jealous, backstabbing wives, but I do still throw a week's end bash of sorts for my own family and friends. And if you weren't invited to it properly, then I pray you accept my apology and my invitation both at once. I would be remiss if I did not, at this late date, accept the man whom Michi chose for herself, after the manner of the culture from which that man came. And as Delyth preaches me to be as good to Hindy as are you and Diego, I ought to walk worthy of her words."
"Heartlanders use a lot of words for simple stuff," Meridha smiled gratefully. "All that you can say with, 'Krew mie'nnua.' 'Krew' can be either blood or wine; you fight hard with someone, or you drink hard with someone, you're family. Not an 'I bequeath you my name' kind of thing. You, Hindy, and Chimi are buckling down to finish the fight Michi started; all Aunty Delyth did was tell Hindy to trust that bond a bit earlier than normal."
And Dani sat back and chuckled, folding her hands into her lap.
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