Julina gets more closely involved with the town in a surprising fashion.

 
Julina of Blackstone
Her Chronicles

by Julia Phillips

005 — The Ring of Power?

The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended.
This story is copyright © 2013 - 2020 Julia Phillips. All rights reserved.

It uses some of the associated characters and situations that arise from the world called ‘Anmar’ created by Penny Lane, whose stories
are also copyright © 2010 - 2020 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

One very memorable day, there had been a great excitement throughout the place as a huge wagon train laboured its way into town.

This was the largest wagon train ever seen in Blackstone. And yet, when I look back on that day, it was really only to be expected. Our Baroness had introduced many wonders to the town (more of these later!) and had then been attacked as she was out riding on her own lands; from that moment on, everyone was just waiting for some reaction from downvalley, without really realising it. Our first thoughts, all of us who saw it as it approached, was that it seemed highly probable that this might be at least a part of that reaction.

But this wagon train was far larger than anyone could ever remember seeing, over and above any seen back in the good pakh-wool years. It was far too big to be overlooked, even without the billowing clouds of dust. I felt quite sorry for those in the rear, and when it neared us I could see they nearly all had mouths and noses covered with scarves.

In the great throng, there were some three hands or so of soldiers dressed in colours I had never seen before, and there were also near to three hands of wagons, with associated drivers, guards and labourers. There were also some mounted men not in uniform. Of course, these numbers only became obvious after that large caravan had reached us — as yet it was too far away to be certain of who and what this was all about. It did make a very impressive sight as it ground relatively slowly towards the bridge, but the warning bugle of the town guards had, a while before, made us all bustle to get out of sight — the precautions formulated after the Trogan disaster and the later attack up in the Blackstone Vale. It afforded us more than a quarter of a bell, probably nearer half a bell, as the huge wagon train lumbered up the slope towards town. Strangers nowadays were treated with extreme caution, especially strangers in such large numbers.

By and by, the head of the procession came up the Main Street. The Baroness and the Prince, amongst others, appeared from the Claw’s courtyard and stood waiting in the middle of the street, as the huge mass of men, dranakh, frayen and wagons made their way up the slope, before coming mostly to a halt in front of the small party. Then it could be seen that some of the wagons were empty, obviously destined to join the ever-increasing flow of those taking our mined coal southwards as soon as they could, but two or maybe three of the empty ones pulled into the courtyard of the Claw. It was difficult to be sure, as the warning bugle calls had made most of those of us not necessary for defence scurry into relatively safer places wherefrom direct observation was not easy.

It soon became apparent that the soldiers were part of the wagon train for a specific reason; it was not long before the news ran around town that this train brought with it a command from the King no less for the Baroness and the Prince to return to the Palace. The troops had been sent by Lord Trosanar to escort the nobles down to Trosanar’s keep in Tranidor. Though why it was felt that the nineteen men already in town were insufficient, I could not work out for sure — probably the news of the attack had been garbled somehow and those downvalley were over-reacting.

What it meant though was that the Baroness and the Prince now had only one or two days, three at the very most, to settle everything they wanted to. This meant that many organised and hoped-for events such as my planned quick meeting with Mylady Merizel were understandably cancelled. I did manage to inform Master Jepp that I now had two hands of students that were keen to learn, and all of them were girls. He was taken considerably aback by THAT news, and paled slightly more when I added that I hadn’t even started to sound out the opinions of the boys yet.

We had heard that a new Steward had been appointed at an informal ceremony in the common room of the Ptuvil’s Claw. It was that nice man who had been here a while now, the one who also had a military bearing, and had arrived in a very unusual conveyance, part carriage and part wagon. It had come to light that he was not only the father of the Baroness' guard commander, but also a good friend of the old Steward, Mesulkin, who sadly was now too ill to continue. Our new Steward had been something important in the Royal Palace guard apparently, and quite famous as a result, although I had until then never heard of a Bleskin.

As a result of all this, we all felt somewhat reassured, particularly as there was an obvious affection between himself and the Baroness. (For a little while, the rumour was that she was his daughter — but as that directly contradicted with much that had elsewise been said about her, it was discounted fairly easily.) But to know that the Baroness held him in such regard, AND that he was a friend of the past Steward, AND that he was distantly related to Master Brydas was a great relief to us all, as it was far less likely he would be an arrogant, overbearing, greedy, grasping, inconsiderate, scheming, murderous, money-grabbing yoke about all our necks as had been the recent experience with Trogan and his pack.

The all-clear had been sounded, so folk resumed their normal activities. I was close enough to hear some of what was said between those who were obviously the principals, and saw the guard captain (referred to as a Quadrant for some reason) make a fool of himself as he addressed the wrong person as the Baroness. Surely anyone with half a brain would recognise the distinctive haircut Mylady bore?

I was just walking up Main Street past the Watch Office having been joined by Kords who had completed her commissions. We were discussing what I would be cooking for the family that evening, and how much of it we could use for the rest of the week, and that depended in a way on Father’s schedule, and …

“Well met, Mistresses Julina and Kordulet!” said Mistress Patilla as she swung her head from me to Kords in turn. She was in the company of two others, so we had been accosted by the trio of Mistresses Epp, Patilla and Hasinet.

“Well met Mistresses! What can we do for you?” I replied on our behalf

“We understand that you, Kordulet, are becoming a cook of some note nowadays?”

Kords blushed and shyly nodded her head, looking at me for approval.

“And Master Kordulen is down at the roadhouse with a work party clearing some of the road ditches, so will not be home this night?”

I started to get a little upset since I wasn’t sure I wanted our business bandied about in the middle of the High Street. But Epp, whom I trusted, gave me a little nod of encouragement and I decided to let this continue for a little while, to see where it was leading.

Kords looked at me and I nodded that she could answer. She stuttered out her reply: “That is correct, Mistress!”

“Do you think that you could do us a favour, if it pleases you?”

“Probably, Mistress,” she answered both warily and hesitantly, but without checking with me this time.

I was proud of that reply she had given, and had to grin. No outright acceptance without more information. The other women all acknowledged the wise caution.

“Well we have a little emergency that has suddenly arisen for which we require the help of Mistress Julina. Do you think that you could let her come to us in say a bell’s time? We don’t suppose we will keep her for more than a bell, at the most two. Could you manage to get the household things started while we take her away just for a short while?”

“Oh yes, Mistress. I know how to do everything now!” she positively beamed with both pride at her achievements and relief at the request seeming to be fairly simple. I suppressed a snort as I bit back a retort. I was fully aware that she had barely scratched the surface of the fund of knowledge required for running a home.

“Shemel is travelling, so we could all meet at the Epphomes, say a quarter after the next full bell?”

“As you say, Mistresses!”

We parted and I watched them scurry off to another house. There was an urgency emanating from them, which was, of course, highly intriguing. I walked home with Kords, fully occupied in my head. Half of my mind was occupied with what I had to do to get Kords up to a sufficient state to be able to do the meal, half my mind was occupied with speculating about whatever those women might want with me.

And, as everyone knows, a housewife needs more than just a whole mind, so another half of my mind was running swiftly over the list of chores to be done and which of them could be set back a while and a further half of my mind was panicking about what to wear. The rest of my mind was occupied in chatting to Kords, and making sure the other children would be controlled while I was off, and calculating how long it would take me to get from home over to Epp’s home now that the campingplace was nearly always occupied with a number of wagons and miners’ sleeping arrangements — which reminded me that we younger ones would have to find another place to gather, the campingplace being so busy nowadays, and some of the glances we girls were getting from some of the rougher miners were very uncomfortable and disturbing.

As you can readily appreciate, that walk home was something of a blur for me as I look back at it from a distance.

--- --- ---

I tried very hard not to keep smoothing my skirts as I joined the women over at Epp’s. I didn’t want to seem nervous, but I confess I was — very nervous. My poor kerchief was practically twisted to bits.

I was, of course, one of the earlier arrivals and was welcomed most sweetly by Epp, a long-time friend despite being twice my age and more. I’m sure my jaw dropped further and further open as woman after woman arrived until we were three hands or so in total. All were the most respected of women, and I asked myself for the umpteenth time just what I was doing there. Eventually, the door was shut after another arrival and this signalled a stilling of the tongues — a feat I had never seen before, so many women and none talking! All faces turned towards Epp once she had raised her hands briefly to indicate that she was ready to start whatever this was.

“Well met, all. There are apologies from Lendra and Gramobona, but otherwise we are all here. As is also Mistress Julina, I’m sure you will all have noted. She is now just a month or so shy of being an adult and we thought to bring her into our ‘circle’ just a little earlier than her adulthood as the circumstances seem to demand a certain hurriedness. As is indicated by the short notice and unseemly haste in arranging this afternoon’s get-together.

“So first let me quickly encapsulate what we know about Julina, to remind ourselves of her attributes. She has bravely, with dignity and uncomplainingly taken over the duties so sadly left behind by Julissa and has brought up her family in an exemplary fashion. She also has her basic letters and numbers and has a wise head on those young shoulders. I was proud to suggest that she would make a valuable member of our little group, and I was gratified to have received a unanimous endorsement, for which I thank you ladies.

“And, Julina, you must know that you are both a very welcome and a very valuable addition to our gatherings. We all of us understand that of course you have no idea what this is all about. I would normally take the time to explain some things and give some forewarnings. But today we are in haste. I know you as both a friend and also as a student, so I strongly suggest you do as you normally do — sit back, keep your ears and mind open, and contribute something when you feel you can. Do not be afraid of making suggestions, no-one here will laugh at you and any natural embarrassment of thinking you have made a mistake if your suggestion is not adopted will soon be a thing of the past. We search for all suggestions, and NONE is stupid. There may be reasons that the suggestion cannot be adopted that are beyond the suggester’s experience, and we will, whenever possible, explain fully.

“We are gathered here today to formulate a policy for the advancement of Blackstone itself. The haste comes because we have learnt that the Baroness and her entourage will be required to depart very soon, so we must determine if there is anything that we must have from her before then.

“So let’s start with the new Steward. What think we of him? …”

And so were my eyes opened to some real politics here in our town. These women were convinced (and with a certain amount of justification) that just leaving things to the men would mean that certain needs would be overlooked. I learnt rapidly that afternoon to expand my vision from the narrowness of home life and to apply it to a far wider sphere than I had ever imagined. Things became obvious to me that were previously just taken for granted. I was shocked to have a confirmation that there could be as many as a hand of thousands of new bodies soon to come.

And what would need to be here for them when they came?

There was a list a mark long.

Requirements ranged from bathing through housekeeping and down to laundry, passing through cooking and cleaning.

Clothing repairs as well as clothes freshly made for sale.

Bedding.

And so it went on.

Discussions were held about the best way to gain coin from these activities and how to minimise the influence of outsiders coming to steal our market from us, the original town dwellers.

And all these were the things supplied normally by women.

Other things were mentioned that were also normally supplied by women.

The group discussed very practically when (note ‘when’, not ‘whether’) a whorehouse would be required. It made sense that having such an establishment would probably reduce the number of rapes and drunken sexual advances for the townswomen and girls. I thought again of the disquiet we younger women were feeling nowadays up by our gathering place. These women even came to a conclusion about where they felt the whorehouse would be best positioned, bearing in mind always that the final decision on where to have the major workings had yet to be made.

Then there were other things not necessarily restricted to those normally associated just with women.

Candles, which also meant candlesticks.

Mining tools.

Cutlery and crockery.

Cooking utensils.

Food production and storage.

Furniture.

House building.

Animal grazing and stabling.

And a whole host more.

Were the current resources of the Town sufficient for foreseen needs? If not, had the men sent off for extra Guildsmen? Talking of which, was there any news of a new shoemaker?

There was one particular suggestion that made me prick up my ears and which ended up giving me much food for thought.

Apparently, at the height of the wool trade, there had been the two inns operating, but the common rooms got noisy and crowded, so an enterprising neighbour had opened a drinking salon in his home, where only the best behaviour was tolerated and no drunkenness allowed. Entrance was by invitation only, and if you were too disorderly, such an invitation was withheld. Food could be ordered but only a full day or more in advance. The couple that had run it were now too old to resurrect it, and were considering leaving town anyway.

These women decided that it would be the perfect thing for Master Michen to do as his father would not last much longer and Master Michen would need a job of work to avoid dwelling on his loss. His injured arm made it awkward for him to go off into the mountains alone. (When this was said, I caught a couple of the women present give each other significant glances, but had no time to enquire further on that score.) Michen and his father would also benefit from a move away from the outskirts to a town house, probably the one that had previously been the more exclusive drinking salon. Then their dilapidated house out near my family could be used as the site for this new Community Hall about which we had heard recently, which would ease the building as most of the land had already been flattened. (My eyes widened as this was all planned with absolutely no reference to all the people involved, although it was all perfectly logical and sensible. I confess I was further shocked when it all came to pass within a matter of days.)

I was however able to contribute to this conversation after my knowledge of Michen’s background, gained from that evening meal and subsequent chats. I had had the feeling that there was something else he wanted to tell me, but for some reason would only hold back on imparting this news. When I mentioned his past activities (again I caught a meaningful glance between those two women) then they all agreed that he should be the organiser of the huntsmen, even if he himself was not currently able to wield a weapon, and was unlikely to regain that ability. The conversation then passed on to who were the most reliable that could be the nucleus of Michen’s new team and a list was drawn up to be passed to him from one of the husbands. And this too came to pass within a week, even though I was absolutely convinced that Michen hadn’t even thought about it before. Somehow he was persuaded to do all this and the huntsmen were too. I felt a little guilty at first that my remarks had thrust these responsibilities upon him, but later on I could see that he actually thrived upon it, and there was a spring in his step as he walked amongst us, smiling despite the pain from his wounds.

Then the discussions changed, in a seemingly natural flow, to alternative establishments. Certainly not a subject I had ever considered up to that moment.

Where would a visiting dignitary be able to go for a quiet, well-cooked meal? As matters currently stood, there would only be the Bell, and that is anything but quiet, particularly with more and more miners and wagoneers appearing, daily it sometimes seemed. It was assumed naturally that the Ptuvil’s Claw would no longer be available in its old capacity, but maybe plans could be changed once we knew what was envisaged for it. So it was decided that another establishment would be required and a number of existing properties were suggested. The whole attitude was vaguely disquieting to me as it was as if the current occupiers had no choice in the matter. But it was still and again all perfectly logical, perfectly sensible and would bring benefits to existing citizens, so I could not really voice my vague apprehensions.

The things these people then went on and thought about, and even listed, covered every aspect of a modern life. And all of it achieved in a period of less than two bells — I had never seen such a thing, so many women, and barely an argument, barely a raised voice, barely a sharp remark.

Some of these topics they knew were on the list being used by the Baroness, and therefore also being used by the Steward and that Bezan fellow who was responsible for the town planning so that the increase in residents could be handled efficiently. We had some knowledge of these matters, having gained information from the serving girls as to some of the conversations round tables. Almost as an aside, we all agreed that this Bezan would make a good addition to the Town Council — sorry, I mean ‘Assembly’ (I keep calling it by its old name!). (‘Older’ Julina observes: See how it all started out as ‘they’ but is now ‘we’. How quickly my younger self adapted and was absorbed!)

I made several contributions from the younger ones’ points of view and was gratified that some of them were accepted, particularly the need for a safer place for us all to gather. They all nodded thoughtfully as I described the feelings we girls were now getting. I was actually quite surprised at just how much they all knew about us all, which was both a worry and yet at the same time a relief. It was agreed that the new Community Hall would be the best place in the future, but that maybe, in the meantime, we should gather down by the bridge — at the level area there where we normally had the pyres, and where Trogan and company had met their ends. I acknowledged the sense of this, but it would seem so very strange to us, because in the past we could all, mostly, just skip downhill to get home — now we would have an uphill journey which would make it seem more like work than fun.

A list of topics to be clarified if possible was drawn up, and the married ones amongst us were allocated various of those topics to be brought up by their husbands with the Baronial staff, if at all possible — otherwise later with the Steward and the Town Assembly.

The meeting drew to a close when Epp, as hostess and therefore being in charge this time, asked if anyone had any recommendations for additional members to their group. Everyone thought that Mistress Yanda’s suggestion of Mistress Sukhana at the Claw would very probably be a good addition, but as the future of the Claw was uncertain, as Mistress Sukhana was a very fresh newcomer and as it was likely that she and Master Brydas might have other more intimate things on their minds for a while, it was decided to wait until approaching her. It was also a possibility that she would depart with the Baroness, having come up to the town with her, but all there gathered felt this to be a theoretical possibility rather than a probability.

I was turning over a lot of things in my mind as I trudged homewards; homewards to a home that suddenly seemed so narrow and tiny compared with some of the topics recently discussed.

I definitely grew up that afternoon by leaps and bounds. I was sure that there would be little left for me to learn in the rest of my life. (‘Older’ Julia says: Oh the innocence of youth!)

Of course, as it transpired, not everything went as we women had planned, but a large proportion DID pan out the way the discussions had gone. It was recognised that a lot of this had to do with the fact that a woman was the one who had the ultimate control, and she, our Baroness, had indeed laid some good foundations. We later learnt that in fact Mylady had strongly suggested to the Coun… — er, Assembly - that they bring some feminine presence into their little club. I’m sure this came as a large shock to those with established views, but I have to be fair and report that at least they actually considered it, rather than just blustered and blathered prior to rejecting it out of hand.

Trogan’s period of degradations had wreaked havoc in our town and in many lives — some unfortunates having even passed away as a direct result and also some indirectly. There is a commonfolk saying that “Each cloud, however dark underneath, is in the sun above” and it seemed to me to be an appropriate saying at this time, since some good did indeed come from that awful period.

That sad episode, accompanied as it was by the arrival of the Baroness and the Prince, made us examine closely the workings of our town; how it was run, and how it should be run. We all consequently could now have confidence in the future, all the while considering all that the Baroness had suggested; the suggestions about mine location planning, the suggestions about workings disposal and the suggested ways of dealing with the predicted unprecedented expansion, all meant that we were surely to become one of the foremost organised towns in the entirety of our land. (‘Older’ Julina says: Yes we were, as it transpired. Obviously, we didn’t manage it without some mistakes, and other communities benefitted from our experiences, but, even today, we still lead the way and have become accustomed to regular visits from other communities’ town planning committees.)

Before Trogan, we had an Assembly of ten men, of whom six were able to continue, although poor Blandel was still severely weakened. Even poorer Mesulkin, our hitherto Steward, was driven beyond his endurance by his incarceration at Trogan’s hands and could no longer contribute his acknowledged skills — he is a charming man who has always carried the interests of the Town in his foremost thoughts. He indeed had garnered much respect from all the residents. The other three who had served upon the Assembly were no longer with us — Polbinar and the Watch Master had died due to Trogan’s actions, and the Shoemaker had treasoned himself with the attack on the Prince and Mylady in which he himself died. The other six who were able to continue were: Blandel, Brydas, Fedren, Jepp, Sinidar and Torin.

After that first women’s ‘circle’ meeting I had attended, then, the very next morning, Mylady had a meeting with what had now become the new Assembly:
- Bezan, a mason but with Town Planning responsibilities;
- Blandel, mason;
- Bleskin, Steward;
- Brydas, smith;
- Fedren, keeper of the Bell Inn and also this new Watch Officer, now called a ‘Sheriff’;
- Jepp, scribe;
- Selden, agent for the Messenger Service;
- Sinidar, tanner;
- Torin, carpenter;
- Yarling, miners' chief, with planning responsibilities.

This was a very clever mix of experience of Town matters, and the visionaries required for the expected expansion; long-term residents being mixed with the newcomers charged with developing the town in an orderly fashion.

At the end of this meeting, Mylady distributed the amazing things that had been delivered to her.

Brydas received the steam engine, whilst Jepp received the strange writing machine and nearly all the paper. Fedren had been elected to be the ‘Sheriff’ so he got the large telesskopp. But what was of most interest to us all of the female persuasion was the destination of that marvellous flat glass mirror. There had been many arguments and quite some barging when it was hung in the common room of the Ptuvil’s Claw, and we were all agog to know where it was going to go to, if it was to be moved at all.

Mylady had solved the problem of what to do with the Claw and with Mistress Sukhana in quite a clever way. Mistress Sukhana was granted a contract to lease the building from Mylady so she could remain in charge of it, and then Mylady had negotiated a deal with Master Tenson (or some name like that) who ran the wagon company so that the wagon company paid Mistress Sukhana to use the Claw as offices, storage and accommodation for the men, and, presumably, the occasional woman. But that meant that the Claw would no longer be a public Inn and the Common Room would not just be open as it was now — meaning the marvellous mirror would be shut away. But Mylady had even thought of that and had donated it to Yanda, via Fedren, to hang in her Common Room over at the Bell Inn. We all breathed a sigh of relief, although some were displeased to have to enter an uncouth drinking room. I grinned inwardly at that, as their long-held firm convictions that Inns were no less than dens of iniquity faded rapidly given a chance to see themselves as they presented to others. I was able to show some of my knowledge, when I reported that the secret of making flat glass had been given to the ancient town glassmaker who was overdue for retirement (and who had no apprentice to continue his craft). He would require a little assistance from the smith — but we all felt relieved to know that, sooner or later, there would be the possibility of locally produced flat glass mirrors.

So, concerning the new Assembly, all four newcomers were unmarried, whereas when we consider the members that had served on the past Assembly as well, then indeed all of these had been married; but nowadays only half of them still were, death having visited in various ways. Two of the remaining three wives were, however, in our women’s group; Yanda was married to Fedren, and Shantoona to Jepp. (‘Older’ Julina says: In the weeks and months to come, much of what was discussed in the Assembly was known to the women’s ‘circle’ (as Epp had called it) almost before the sun rose the next day.)

But there were some more formal things to be done before all that happened; principally the seamstresses had worked hard and went that afternoon to give some presents to the departing women. Myladies Garia and Merizel, of course, along with the three maids, Jenet, Jasinet and Lanilla. And finally, my friend Senidet. I was told that the Baroness was near overcome with emotion at the surprise she received, and the others were all genuinely grateful for the gifts, and, perhaps, the thoughts behind them.

We didn’t see much of the Baronial party after that, obviously they required time to pack their considerable quantity of belongings, and then be sure that everything that could be done before departure was performed. I had family duties of course, as had many others, so the afternoon faded into the evening, and from there into the night.

And so it came to pass that we all returned the next day to witness the grand departure. I suppose that we added to the chaos, since the street was barely large enough for the huge knot of people and things about to depart without having to try to accommodate a large group of onlookers.

There was one incident that made me smile as the mass of humans, frayen, dranakh and wagons blocked the town. Someone yelled out “Torin!” and two men next to each other swung round and answered. One was the town carpenter, Master Torin, and the other was one of the guards. They both laughed at that, and the guardsmen went off to do whatever his command had been. I knew that it is possible for people of the same name to come together (in fact another of Mylady’s arriving party had had the same name as one of Trogan’s thugs, if memory serves) but I had never seen two with the same name actually standing next to each other and not know what they had in common. The expressions on their faces are a treasured memory of what was actually quite a sad time.

Yes, there were quite a few tears as we townsfolk waved off the caravan of wagons that fateful morning. It seemed to me that everyone who lived within a pair of marks had found some excuse to be in town, and the sight of twelve wagons, with thirty or so mounted soldiers and some mounted tradesmen, wending its way down to and across the bridge was one that would remain long ingrained in all our minds.

The wagon train however, left behind it an almost tangible air of hope, expectation and even excitement. There were many opportunities about to appear to make most, if not all, of us considerably better off than we had been. It was up to us, each family and each individual to work together to ensure that it would happen. Some we knew wouldn’t, but we mostly already knew who they would be. All were aware that it would not be easy.

The future seemed so bright to those of us prepared to put that work in.