A Glibertarians Exclusive: Season of Ice VI
Tillgatt
Hengist was gone when Mabinne awoke; he had a way of arising, dressing, and slipping out without disturbing her. She dressed quickly, donning the heavy blue dress, and wrapping a warm shawl about her neck and shoulders. She found the purse of coin and left the inn, walking east on the crowded street. The shopping area was an Hengist described; vendors of clothing, jewelry and other luxury goods shouted and haggled all about. But Mabinne was looking for something in particular.
After a half-hour of exploring, she found what she was seeking. Mabinne was glad to see that the practice for identifying a magic shop was the same in Ikslund as in Beretan; a simple placard on the door bearing a distinctive pattern of waving lines. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and went inside.
A small chime jangled as the door closed behind her. From behind a curtain came a woman, clearly an Ashlander, short, swarthy, and smiling. “Hello, my dear,” she said. Then she looked closer at Mabinne, and her expression grew guarded and her accent more pronounced. “Beretanian, then, are ye?” It wasn’t the first time in the trading village that someone had looked at Mabinne with suspicion.
“I am Beretanian,” Mabinne assured the woman, “My name is Mabinne. But I live here now, in Ikslund, with a man of Ikslund, on a homestead north of the hills.”
“As you say,” the Ashlander said. “I suppose you would hardly be here otherwise, after all that happened… Well, never mind. I am Duress. What can I do for you?”
Mabinne moved closer to the store’s small counter. She unwrapped the shawl she wore about her neck to reveal the binding collar. “Can you remove this?”
Duress leaned forward and examined the collar. “No,” she said. “In the first place, it’s strictly against guild rules. I presume whoever put that on you – your Ikslunder man, perhaps? Then he had good reason to do so, and I won’t interfere. In the second place, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. It’s keyed to the user, and no one else can remove it. Only he can do that, and love, if he dies, it stays on you until you die.”
“I thought as much,” Mabinne said. “He may remove it, one day… In the meantime, may I look at your wares?”
Duress nodded. She extracted a long Ashlander pipe from a robe pocket, stuffed some foul-smelling weed in it, lit it and proceeded to puff out clouds of smoke.
Mabinne presumed the smoke was intended to make the air unpleasant and so to cause her to leave faster, but she ignored it. Most of the shop’s content was typical, herbs, potions, poultices. But in one basket…
“What are these?” Mabinne picked up a small black crystal on a silver chain. In the basket lay another identical crystal and chain. They were like nothing Mabinne had seen before, black with a hint of purple, about as long as her middle finger.
“Soul crystals,” Duress said. “They can greatly amplify a magic-user’s power for a brief time. Using them destroys them, but the results can be impressive. Mind you, they don’t contain a person’s soul; that’s just a story to scare children. But they do work. But love, your magic is useless to you while you wear that collar. Amplifying nothing still gives you nothing.”
Mabinne ignored that comment. “How much?”
“Six gold each. Eleven gets you both.”
Mabinne picked up the other gem. “Will you sell them to me?”
Duress looked at her, exhaling another cloud of thick smoke. “Why not? Few magic-users about, and the Ikslunder magic users consider those naught but Ashlander superstition. Stupid. I suppose you can’t use them, so what’s the harm?”
“I’ll give you seven for both.”
“Nine, love, no less. I’m no fool.”
“If you’re no fool, then why did you already admit to me that no one hereabouts is interested in these? Eight.”
Duress scowled. “Damn me for a big mouth,” she said. Then she smiled. “Well haggled, love. Very well. Eight it is.”
Mabinne handed over the coins and tucked the gems into her pouch. She’d tell Hengist they were jewelry. And, as long as she wore the collar, that’s all they would be.
She went back out into the chilly morning. She bought a few heavy shawls, a warm fur hood for Hengist, and made her way back to the inn to find Hengist seated in the main hall, swilling an ale, and telling Bjorn a story of a bear hunt in the mountains.
“Ah, my sweet,” he greeted Mabinne. “I have what you asked – Ashlander yeast, five sacks of wheat, two of barley, salt and spices. We’ll eat well this winter, eh?”
“We will. Here,” she said, handing Hengist the fur hood. “I know the winters here are cold. It’s important to keep your head covered.”
Hengist looked from her to the hood, then back; he broke out in a grin. “I thank you, sweet,” he breathed. Clearly a gift was the last thing he expected.
And honestly, Mabinne mused, I’m not sure… I don’t know why, but his pleasure… pleases me.
Why?
The next morning, wagon loaded, they set off for home.
The autumn brought cooler weather during the day, and downright cold weather at night; Mabinne grew to appreciate the several large hearths in the house, even if feeding them required her to help Hengist in cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. For a few days Gerd came over to help. Hengist quietly explained that Gerd couldn’t handle an axe, but that he was good at carrying the split wood to the overhanging shed attached to the house and stacking it within.
Then Gerd had to go back to help his parents with harvesting, and Mabinne was left to carry wood, as Hengist chopped and split. He seemed to relish the task, whirling the axe expertly around his head, and working bare-chested even in the chill autumn air.
On one particularly bright, sunny day, Mabinne took note of the several ugly scars that Hengist’s back and chest were adorned with. He had never mentioned being injured, but surely the life of a raider was a hard one – and several of those blows must have come close to killing him.
And where would I be, she wondered, if one of them had? Back in Beretan, certainly.
The thought came as something of a surprise, but not as surprising as realizing she hadn’t thought of Beretan or her dead husband in some time.
Am I actually coming to accept this life? Hengist may have taken her in a raid, may have raped her in her own house and ordered the murder of her husband – but here, in this place, he treated her with deference, even kindness. He had encouraged her to order his house, kitchen and furnishings as best suited her, and hurried to carry out her wishes in the slightest regard where those things were concerned. She had noted another thing; over the weeks he had stopped referring to the place as “my house,” and instead as “our house.”
He was good to his family, going out of his way to accommodate a nephew who clearly was damaged in some way.
And at night, in the bed, he strove to be gentle and considerate, even tender.
It was a perplexing contradiction, the two sides to this man; Mabinne wondered if she’d ever understand it.
Meanwhile, there was wood to be carried. Hengist had stopped chopping for a moment and was watching her. She picked up several chunks of cordwood, more than she had been carrying. Then she tried for one more; with her load balanced, she straightened up, took a step – and stumbled over a rough patch of earth, spilling the wood onto the ground.
Hengist let out a shout of laughter. “Careful, sweet,” he chided her. “Ambition suits you, but if you try to carry all this at once, we’ll be out here into the night.”
Mabinne looked at the wood on the ground. She looked at Hengist, who was still chuckling merrily. She looked back at the wood, then back at Hengist.
Then, for the first time, she smiled at him. Hengist’s face broke out in a huge grin.
Mabine can’t handle too much wood.
Noted.
*Golf clap*
But she willing to try for more – what a trooper.
The thought came as something of a surprise, but not as surprising as realizing she hadn’t thought of Beretan or her dead husband in some time.
Stockholm Syndrome?
Excellent chapter, Animal!
Stockholm Syndrome is likely a survival adaptation which helps to avoid your tribe’s genes becoming extinct when conquered by another tribe. Women especially seem to have this instinct, which would ensure that her genes are passed on to the next generation, even if her original mate’s might not be.
Likely. I listen to the History on Fire podcast, and he’s done a lot on the Indians and how they would absorb captives into the tribe.
The Comanche were well known for killing adults in families and kidnapping the children into the tribe. They believed that the whites had “strong magic” and felt they could benefit by having whites as members of the tribe who were raised as Comanche.
Interesting. Sounds like the basis for the Dinneh in Pournelle’s War World series.
Now Mabinne has some digital magic, 1 use and done . As usual, Animal, the story continues to keep me hooked.
Thanks for making me wait another week.
Another great installment. I like how you’re keeping us guessing.
At least we know we will have a great story teller when we are either hiding in caves from our government or hudled around a barrel from the results of Democracy.
Thanks Animal for the continued stories
Really sorry for OT. On son’s dental x-rays found an “odd” spot on the jaw and the very cool 3D x-rays it’s some sort of …
I dunno nor does the oral surgeon. Exploring it now while they remove wisdoms so here’s hoping to some weird “the bone didn’t fully develop” and not something worse.
This is why I don’t do the medical appointments. I’m an anxious wreck
It’s always worse when it’s one of the kids instead of us.
Prayers for it being nothing.
Even if our kids are grown up and looking at SS
Sorry. Hopefully it is nothing.
Thanks
Found…nothing. follow up in a few months just check nothing changed
Then, for the first time, she smiled at him. Hengist’s face broke out in a huge grin.
Stockholm Syndrome.
Are you fucking kidding me?
https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1592219685080424448
Man, he looks unsteady on his feet.
It would be a shame if nature caught up with him in China.
Are you ready for President Kamala?
No
JHTFC
He’s wearing the livery of his sponsors.
You laugh but we may all be wearing the new style, comes complete with a mask pocket.
Trend setter, Chinese equivalent of the British Invasion, circa 1962
Honk honk.
I’m more concerned about his coziness with Castreau, totalitarian twink of the north.
Is this just a big “fuck you” to the US, or is he so isolated in his bubble that his handlers have him convinced dressing like that was the diplomatic thing to do? Maybe Xi made him do it for the lulz.
I’m convinced the White House staff is wholly populated by overgrown children.
Along with the press corp.
He’s got some kid with him, matching jackets but different color. Hope that’s a heavyweight on the lightweight.
Biden wearing a Mao clown outfit to meet with Xi will be played in every WWIII documentary one day. It will be just like that Neville Chamberlain waving paper video.
I think Chamberlain gets an unfair beating in history. Britain was not in any shape for another war, and he knew it. He began rearmament programs. On the diplomatic front, he started building up defense pacts with other countries. He was also a bit smarter about Stalin than Churchill.
Biden won’t get half the beating from historians he deserves.
I think the reason is because whether they were in shape for it or not, war was coming. Churchill understood this, Chamberlain did not, and many people engaged in wishful thinking that it wouldn’t happen. Yes, they continued to rearm, but only cautiously because he didn’t want the Germans to take it as a violation of the Munich treaty. And he didn’t think much of the Soviets, and never thought they would cooperate with the Germans due to ideological differences, another major misunderstanding of the nature of war on his part.
No he’s not kidding you, he’s lying to you, that was last night at a ASEAN summit dinner,
Joe wore a normal old western suit to his meeting with Xi.
So what? You don’t dress like fucking Mao ever.
Not even for Halloween? Or a greatest killers costume party?
Perfectly acceptable.
Then it’s a good thing Biden didn’t.
I’m curious, do Asian delegates sometimes dress up in cowboy suits when they visit the US?
Ugh. Leaders, not delegates.
I don’t know but this seems to be a tradition at this dinner, every picture I find from past ones all the leaders are dressed in similar jackets, the year Trump went they were even all the same color. And also is that style wear actually the equivalent of a cowboy suit? Seems its the formal dinner wear of SE Asia, I’d imagine Asian delegate sometimes wear western style tuxedos to formal dinners in the US.
Note to self: calling out the boss in public is a career limiting move.
Whoopsie.
I’m not surprised that it was not optimized for performance.
I expect that if the guy had just answered with a real number, Musk would have let slide.
His bitching about the boss arguing with an employee in public when he called out the boss in public certainly didn’t help him.
I home none of my management lurks here.
I’ve thought the same about coworkers I’ve told about this place in the past. I don’t anymore.
I just have to be careful not to talk shit about my stupid little brother.
/looks around
Reminds me of how ppl thought that it was mostly the useless content managing/HR/etc crew who could be shed and Musk could at least keep the tech staff, then one of the Tesla teams looked at the twitter code and said “nope, you can fire half these people, too.” lol
If he had just said “Hey, Elon, I’ve been working on the Android side for six years, I have some ideas. I’ll email you.”, he’d probably get a promotion.
But, what a dumbass. Especially considering the company is in the middle of a major RIF and the blood is probably ankle-deep in the hallways.
From his text, it doesn’t sound like he had ideas, just that he disagreed with the boss.
Oh he did throw out three things, but he really did take more time being antagonistic, so I missed it.
Just another example that Twitter tends to anger up the blood and causes otherwise reasonable people to act like idiots.
“Assumes facts not in evidence.” 😉
Thank you.
Dumbass
Speak truth to power.
No consequences. Ever.
My new favorite Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jesus
LOLOLOL
Well He’s verified so He must be the real deal. Does His feed say anything about the Rapture coming soon because it sure seems like it must be just around the corner.
A report from the steel match on Saturday:
tacticalshit.com is in fact an actual website that is selling 115gr 9mm for $0.239/rd. And they ship to NY.
https://shop.tacticalshit.com/grind-hard-brass-9mm-115gr-fmj