The Winter Road Read online

  “Here she is!” said Chalky.

  Chalky was the Hillfast merchant who was coming with me all the way through the Circle. He had brought his whole family, wife Edma, his son, an albino like him, and his two young girls, who was a bit older than Mosa. Chalky was a weaselly, canny junior partner in a larger merchant interest, but he was looking to settle in Stockson, as I was for a while, and get a slice of the plant trade that was coming up from Ahmstad and Donag. He was hoping they’d make him a full partner, not least because he was taking note of all he’d seen so far of my plans. Fine by me, he’d be my man by the time we hit Stockson.

  “Hope you’re all talking about something other than that fucking bandit,” I said.

  They give each other a look.

  “Right, what have you heard?” I held out my pipe for Thad to pack it.

  “Heard off a man bringing his family through from an Eeghersen theit,” said Chalky. “He’s camped outside with Fierksen’s lot. Seems this Khiese is bloodthirsty, gutting and stringing up those coming through the Circle, which weren’t many anyway as, if you’ll pardon me, the clans there in’t exactly friendly. Spoke of a strange howling, not wolves, more like screaming, and almost every night he heard it echoing over the hills and woods. Apparently it’s them as makes this noise.”

  “And I killed twenty men single-handed on a dayer,” I said, “before scaling a fort’s walls and ending a siege by bedding the castellan so vigorously he fell asleep so I could take the keys to the fort’s secret gates. Lots of stories seem to gain weight and colour as they go from mouth to mouth.”

  “That’s a fair point,” said Chalky, who paused a moment to wonder at how unusual and specific my answer seemed to be, “but if there’s something to all this, if it’s not just that we got to negotiate with the clans there, which you said was going to be straightforward, will we turn back?”

  “Clans have dealt with bandits, I saw my own da do it more than once. We’re going to show them all there’s another way. If we fail then fine, we’ll come back.”

  They seemed settled enough with this and shortly Chalky’s boy Calut joined us as he’d started his pipe a few months previous and was looking for a sly pinch of kannab himself while his ma Edma wasn’t in sight.

  “You looking after your ma, Cal?” said Chalky.

  “Course. Ma asked if Thad or that other drudha got something for her hands. Skin’s cracking again and she says she can’t stop scratching.”

  “Go on, tell her I’ll come by with something later,” said Thad, who was slurring a bit as he handed back my pipe. I pulled on the pipe and savoured a sweet smoke that pleased my nose while my throat and then my head went numb. I was already worrying less about preparations for the next day.

  “Aude and me have been talking, and I’ve got to say, Amondsen, well done. These outposts you built are run thrannie by that Omar and Fitblood. Must’ve took a lot of coin for that and these trails have been laid.”

  “You have had a guess at how much as well, I reckon. Remember Thiek has paid in for this outpost. He’ll have an interest in it.”

  “I haven’t told them what it’s cost, my love,” said Aude.

  Chalky laughed at this and held up his hand. “Course I’ve wondered. You done well, old girl. Makes Othbutter look bad though don’t it? Less he lays claim to this somehow. Crogan’s no better, looking for a bit of glory, I expect.”

  “He’s going to be as much use as a severed cock out in the hinterland.” I took another pull on the pipe. It was turning my head to jam and butterflies.

  “When were you last back there with your family?” said Thad. Aude had asked me the same the previous night as I cutched him and Mosa.

  “It was about eight years ago, just after we come back off campaign. You stopped with Nazz but I couldn’t face him, not without I might have killed him for how he trapped us and left us for dead. I went back to see Ma and Da instead, but both had gone into our bloodlands. Just my brother Thruun was left, polishing the family chain and strutting about the settlement. He made a speech saying how grand our da was, never mind our ma. Couldn’t find it in himself to give her a mention, even after she’s buried.”

  “That’s the way there as it is anywhere when you’re a woman,” said Thad. “Unless you’re a drudha or you’re paying the colour, it’s just fucking and farming. And Teyr Amondsen wasn’t for farming.”

  That got us all laughing.

  “How will your brother feel when we refer to you as Master Amondsen? You were meant to give up the name as a girl, if I recall custom in the Circle correctly, take Aude’s,” said Chalky. He held a hand up then quick. “I’m not meaning anything by that, mind you, don’t think I am.”

  “Course not,” says Aude, “she’s done more than me in my life, why should it be my name against it?” They all nodded at this, Thad putting his hand on Aude’s shoulder, moved a bit by that, I think.

  “He won’t like it, my brother. It’ll feed a view that I think I’m better than them for not giving up the name once he’d been born. Maybe it’ll inspire the girls there to see what a girl can do, that we deserve our own names to be part of the weave. That said, these babs are the only clue they’ll have I’m a woman with my skin all rust-red and my head shaved and looking like this.” By “weave” I meant the Family tapestry, the litany of the rope, names of fathers and sons only, names of future sons and all, to make it seem inevitable, make it seem like your family must prevail.

  “I have to say I agree with Sanger about you paying the colour again,” said Thad. “It’s been many years, and those are wild lands, no law but what Families decide, and living’s hard, they think with their guts and blades.”

  “I don’t … I know, I didn’t want Mosa or Aude to see me going through stoning fightbrews.”

  “You’re a veteran. They know that.”

  “I want to wait until we’ve got a better sense of the lands.”

  Thad shook his head. “Taking my number-four cold could kill you, no matter you were on it for years.”

  He was right. Fightbrews was volatile, you didn’t know how much juice was in each one, how potent the amony or caffin was. One bad batch could lose a war, whether it be too weak or too strong. Never mind that it could simply kill you if it wasn’t mixed right.

  “You know your plant, Thad, it’s always an even brew when you’re cooking.”

  He nodded and huddled into his furs. “Glad spring’s here. I’ll take rain over snow all day long.”

  Still, for all what I said, when I looked over at the firepit at a couple of boys spooning fat on a pig they’d spitted and hung, I thought back to me and my brother Thruun doing the same as duts. I’d spoon on the fat from a small bucket for the feasts my da would hold if old Auksen come to our settlement with his retinue, usually to do justice and agree tithes for Hillfast. Thruun would sit with me at the pig and cut away at the crispy shining stripes of brown and blackened skin. With a nod he’d toss the odd strip up for me to catch in my mouth, my hands being busy with the ladle and bucket. I’d hold the nob of fat and meat in my teeth while I blew over it, then I’d bite down and it would flake apart into delicious splinters. Seems like all these laws and customs for men and against women don’t get noticed when we’re all duts. I wish it could be like that again.

  “How’s the blisters, Aude? And how’s Mosa coping,” said Thad. “There’s some fair walking to be done yet to her family’s longhouse in Amondell.”

  “Mosa is coping with this travelling better than I am, he’s enjoying it. I’m a boy of streets and docks, not all these miles of grasses, trees and fucking awful wind. How do you not go mad with it howling over the heights and on the plains?”

  “How do you not go mad with all the shouting and the stink of fish and whales and shit in the streets?” I said.

  “That’s the smell of adventure, the smell of the sea.”

  “It’s the smell of shit is what it is.” I kissed him.

  “Put him down, Teyr,” said Chalk
y.

  “Let’s have a toast and finish these,” said Aude. “I’m dreading the start tomorrow already.” They raised their cups to me. “To you, Teyr Amondsen.”

  My cup was empty, but my line was inevitable. “To me.”

  The van rolled out the next morning. I said farewell to Thiek Blackmore, who was going to stay and help Omar with the outpost, and I did rounds with Eirin and Yalle, inventory with Thad and Chalky. Eirin’s crew was front and back, an easy pace led by the horses in the dark before dawn. As I’d promised them, we did a full van drill and it went well, giving us some confidence in things being ordered, expectations of each other, soldier and noke, being clear. We slept a bit better too for believing we had a good watch going at nights and good scouting and flagging in the days. The mountains of the Crutter-Vuri lit up pink with the first sun, but around us was all shining frost and black rutted earth of the tracks we had to follow east to the Crith. We pushed it some on the first day on the hard ground to the river. These was lowlands, willows stood sentinel over frozen pools and bone-coloured sedge. Mosa and Chalky’s girls mimicked the throaty gargling of the brown-hooded tarmigans, which was their attempt to aid a few of Jinsy’s bowmen, thinking the tarmigans would come at us to see off a threat. Too early for eggs but I took my shortbow and shot one that flew out of the grass. Skallern’s swords give a cheer and howled at Jinsy’s bowmen, two of whom missed before a third one found another bird.

  It put us in good spirits and singing was soon taken up, though here I knew that Aude would find few equals, his high clear voice earning whistles from men and women alike as he sang verses from The Doom of Hedler, when the ill-fated love Hedler holds for the magist Halfussen turns her mad with grief as he returns, heartbroken, to the sky out of duty to Sillindar’s call.

  Some heavy sleet made it tough going for us through to the Breke, the main bridge over the Crith if you’re leaving or going to Elder Hill or Faldon. We took it over my own bridge as we was hoping for more news from a well-travelled trail. Must have been over a hundred years old now, the work of the mason Beddesen, or Stoneheart as he was called by many both here and back at Hillfast, where he had built the chief’s hall and the guildhall. Fierksen had five men posted at the bridge, tucked away in their hut keeping dry. I asked their letnant about the comings and goings and there was fuck all from the Sedgeway, just barges and boats on the river and few enough of them.

  After a night at the bridge we moved on east into the Sedgeway. The next week or so would be hard going as the land rose. To the south, hills, now mottled black and white as the snows receded, climbed to the peaks against which we’d find the main Seikkerson settlement, the first we’d have to secure the trust and support of if this road through the Circle was to succeed. North rose the mountains proper of the Crutter-Vuri, and the first clan to the north was the Eeghersens. The Sedgeway was a sort of channel into the plains of the Circle as the hills curved away east on both sides around wide plains and forests. Around the Circle was the rest of its clans, each sharing some part of the plains. In the middle, in the heart of the Circle, was the Almet, and the Oskoro within it. It was generations ago that all the clan leaders last undertook what we called “Walks” in the Almet forest; families making keeps with each other, blood ties to ensure peace, justice to be decided. None now went near the heart of the Circle by all accounts, the plains around the Almet went unclaimed and unwalked. Our route would take us into the Seikkerson lands southwest of it, but I was nervous and keen to go there and see the Oskoro, give them the gift I saved them all these years.

  With five carts and more horses heavy loaded we had to keep to the main trails over the lower hills that was the Seikkersons’ borders. Eirin had sent a few outriders ahead to get a view of how the trails was looking and whether we’d get any problems keeping the carts moving. We had planks and rope for the heavy mud of the thaws and for fording streams. Two of the outriders we’d sent ahead had waited for us to catch up and with them was three men looking much the worse for the weather. One seemed unable to stand and was scratching his head and looking about him as though he’d mislaid a mug of beer in a tavern. The other two had the downward look, I thought, of men fearing for their lives.

  “They were screaming and running when we rode up, thinking we meant to kill them,” said one of our riders. Crogan walked forward with me and Eirin.

  “I’m Crogan Othbutter, brother to the chief. You are safe here.” He looked them up and down. They was muddied, one nursed an arm, none had packs or cloaks. The only one that seemed to pay attention to Crogan and the rest of us held what must have been a flask. He had a knife, the only weapon between any of them I could see.

  “Afin! Afin! This is a van, a proper van, not whiteboys.” He had tears in his eyes and he clutched the good arm of his friend. He looked at the carts desperately. “You must have something you can spare us from these wagons? Water we found yesterday, but Crosh, him on his knees there, he took badly to some mushrooms he found that we swore were bracky-tops, but they don’t mek you sick if you cut the stem.”

  “Thad, Steyning!” I shouted back. “Need something to empty a man’s belly and fast.”

  “I’m Afin,” said the other man, and as he spoke I could see a wild tiredness in his eyes, grass in bloodied clumps of hair and swellings where cuts had infected. From his breath at ten paces I knew him to have some infection in his mouth as well. “We come from Aeller’s Hill. This van is a welcome sight to us all.”

  Yalle walked up. “What’s stopping us?” She took a look at the three sorry men. “This? You’re serious, Master? We’re going to run into a lot more than these so soon after winter. Too fucking work-shy and soaked or addled on shiel.”

  “Afin, I’m Lord Crogan, Chief Othbutter’s brother. How did you come to be like this?” Crogan had half an eye on Yalle as he said it. She shook her head. Afin was distracted, looking about at us all.

  “Your lordship, have you come to settle on clan matters? We’ve been put out by men who have said they’re from the elder Seikkerson and they rode us off the land. But they was the whiteboys of Khiese. I am Lanny Gildersen, second in line to the Gildersen house.” This was the first man who spoke to us.

  “No, Lanny,” said Afin. “I told you: Elder Seikkerson dun’t know anything of them, he wouldn’t stand with anyone against your family.”

  “Respectfully, Master,” said Yalle, “if we’re intent on giving away supplies to liars and beggars, I’ll have Bela throw them some bilt and we move on.”

  “No.” This was Thad, who had walked between us to the men. “We are here to build bridges and make good relations between Hillfast and all the clans through the Circle.”

  “Seikkerson is with Khiese,” said Afin, “you didn’t see the seal.” They was arguing with each other, ignoring us.

  “This is true?” said Crogan, trying to intervene with as much dignity as their ignorance allowed him. “Seikkerson has abandoned your family for some bandit? It makes no sense. Gildersen and Seikkerson have had peace for generations, as close an alliance as can be expected among those competing for clan rights. Your family have been allies, have you not?” Yalle then interrupted him, though she was talking to me.

  “Steyning will not be wasting plant on beggars yet to prove they are who they say.”

  Thad glared at me as he started mixing a drink for Crosh, who was now groaning. Crogan said nothing but also gave me a stare by way of reply to her.

  “We’ll waste our plant then, Yalle. You are correct to question this as it strictly falls outside your purse’s terms. These are Hillfast people. We are Hillfast people and we will help them.”

  Thad went about his work with a practised economy. He saw a chance to exercise his healing art and we watched as he went about it, though Yalle excused herself and led Steyning away by the arm, who had shortly arrived. Crosh seemed a lot more at ease after his drink, until it hit his belly and sent him running for the nearest trees while we helped Afin with his pain.

 
Lanny Gildersen was who he said he was, give word of his Family and clan that satisfied us, and he spoke some more after a drink. “Seikkerson was demanding far more in tithes and tribute than he had previously and upset all his affiliated Families. Us Gildersens being proud enough refused him. I can see how Afin could think what followed was him, but I can’t believe it. A few days after our messenger returned from sending our refusal a number of horsemen came and forced our men out of our main settlement. They killed everyone who resisted. The horses and the horsemen were daubed in chalk perhaps, or white masks—it wasn’t clear for they arrived at night and dropped sporebags all about, addling us and giving us visions.”

  They remembered little more and was keen to be on their way once Crosh was upright and they was given a bag of water, some bread and lard. I told them they’d need to keep west until they reached Faldon Ridge outpost and to ask for Omar.

  As we prepared them, Aude and Mosa come up to me.

  “Are they good now, Ma?” said Mosa.

  “Yes Mo, they have no home so we’ll give them some food and send them to our outpost over the Crith bridge.”

  He was pleased with this. “They don’t look well. Who hurt them?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “She’s been kind, your mother,” said Lanny. “She seen there’s plenty here to help her people with and she’s shared it.” He smiled at Mosa and Aude.

  “I’m sorry you’ve been expelled from your homeland,” said Aude. Lanny looked down and nodded.

  “We should go, Lanny,” said Afin. “We’re grateful to you, Othbutter, and to you, Amondsen.” He put his arm around Lanny and called to Crosh, who could only hobble. The three of them was talking as they helped each other along.

  I leaned into Aude, enjoying the way he’d stretch his neck a fraction to fit my head under his jaw, and I kissed the amber stone of his necklace. About us the van prepared to get moving.

  “Are you missing that morning drenching under the falls?” I said. “I can smell your sweat.”