17

Alena went to sit in the chair by the fire after putting more wood on to burn. She was chilled after listening to Balder. She had Marta bring her some wine. If anything called for a drink so early in the morning it was the story that Balder had told her. She could not believe these things were done by anyone she knew. And that would leave the strangers in her midst. Alena took Balder’s warning to heart.

Rolf arrived shortly after Balder the Druid had left. He was shown to the chair opposite where Alena by a groom who hovered nearby at all times. He was from an area called Hellzig, also a mountain region, but with no mines to add wealth to the people. There were only a few farms that raised goats for wool. He was about twenty, although he said he was not sure as his father was not a very good record keeper and his mother had died giving birth to her seventh child, one of Rolf’s younger brothers; he had four. He also had two older brothers. A family of seven boys would make most men happy but Rolf’s father did not know what to do with them all. So here he was, tall, thin with dirty blonde hair, a serious man would really wanted to travel the world to seek his fortune but was ordered here to attempt to fill the family coffers.

Alena asked him if he did not understand that all of her property would remain in her possession after she married and the man would have to live with her. There would be no gold to enrich another man’s holdings. He agreed that he had been told all of this and the messenger had also told his father, but they did not believe that it would remain so after the marriage. How could a woman, a wife, hold property away from her husband? Alena listened to Rolf talk to her as if she were not the one that would be that wife. She let him talk; he seemed to need it, as if no one ever listened to what he had to say. She encouraged him several times to talk about where he would go if he could travel. He talked of India, Africa, following the Spice Road to the Far East.

“You should go,” said Alena. “What could be holding you back? You could hire on to a merchant to go on the caravans. You could follow your dream and you would be relieving your father of an extra son he does not need. There is no reason for you to stay here. I will not marry you so you have no chance of gaining my holdings.”

Rolf jumped up.

“I was hoping you would say that. Now I can go with a clear conscious. I am off.” He bowed to Alena, waved to the room at large and skipped from the building. First there was stunned silence then everyone burst out laughing.

Alena took a break to go to the outhouse. She walked around the hall to the communal toilet house. This building had stalls with benches that had holes in the seats. These seats were positioned over an underground stream that remove the bodily waste from the town and deposited it deep under the lake. When she got back to the hall, she found a man with dark brown hair, brown eyes and heavy brows sitting in her chair. You could tell he had muscles and strength but these were covered by a layer of fat that spoke of his love for ale and food. He was indulging in mead as she watched him. He was also gnawing on a bone. Alena walked up to him and stood by her chair. With a mouth full of mead be pointed to the other chair.

“No, sir, you must move to that chair. You are seated in mine. Did no one tell you?” Alena knew they would have but she wanted to see what he would say. She waited for his response and none was forth coming. “Sir, please move to the other chair.”

“You can sit there for a guest, surely,” he said, “I like these cushions. This chair is much more comfortable than that one.”

Alena decided there was no point in arguing. She had already written this man off of her list. He was Liedt von Linz. He came from a relatively large town just over the other side of the mountains and a day’s ride west. He snapped his fingers to have more mead poured for him. He spoke to her in between chewing a mouth full of pork roast. Bits of meat flew from his waving hand as he spoke and gestured to punctuate what he believed to be very important information.

“You are lucky I am still here what with the dead piling up and others running away. This seems like a well off town. I think I could like it here. I would not bother you much; food, drink and sport, that is all I require and I would leave the running of things that would provide them to you.” He flicked his hand that held a piece of meat at her. A spot of grease hit her in the face. She wiped it away but he never missed a beat.

“You would not mind if I brought my mistress here would you? You are not really my type, too energetic, too efficient. I mean I will do my duty when called upon, but I must have someone more to my liking available.”

Alena could not take any more. She stood up abruptly startling Liedt out of his self-indulgent behavior for one brief moment. Alena used that time to take the cup of mead from him. She handed it to a groom who had run up to her to help. Another groom was there to take the plate of pork she pulled from Liedt’s hands. He protested the removal of his food and drink. He stood to get them back but Alena was ready for him. She began pushing him towards the door. He tried to resist half heartedly, but he found he was no match for a room full of people that stood behind her.

“Fine, I am leaving. Stop pushing me.” Liedt swatted at her.

“Get out you mannerless oaf.”

“You are missing out on the best deal you will get. I saw Dierk packing up today. He does not want to stick around and get killed. I do not think you will find Klaus much to your liking so there is no one left but me. You should rethink how you treat me.”

“Get out now!” Alena shoved him through the open door. He turned to make a final comment and Marta slammed the door in his face.

“Oh my, that was bad,” said Alena. “But do you think Dierk is really leaving?” No one could give her an answer. “We must send someone to check and to tell Balder.”

They gathered together all of the grooms and gave them instructions that sent them in different directions to find different people. One of the grooms, the youngest, Sonjit, was sent to find Balder the Druid, which should be an easy and quick task as Balder would likely be at home and still asleep after being up all night. The groom, Mortimer, who was the son of the fisherman Alena had sent on an errand previously, was once again sent across the lake, this time to look for Dierk and find out if he was leaving.

The oldest of the three grooms, Plamen, an orphan boy of twelve and the last in his family’s line, was so full of energy that he always seemed to be vibrating. Alena sent him on the longest errand. He was instructed to find all of the members of the town council and invite them to tonight’s evening meal to discuss the town’s position and its options. Plamen ran out the door almost before Alena was done speaking.

Klaus, the final man that Alena had to interview was not due until after the noon meal. Everybody helped set the table. They were having a pork stew with onions and rutabagas and bread for dunking. They sat down and were half way through the meal when Balder arrived. He looked haggard, tired and not his usual kempt self. He joined them for the rest of the meal and looked more alert and refreshed after eating.

After clearing the debris of the meal away everyone went back to their usual chores and Alena and Balder sat closer together so they could talk. Alena told Balder about her meeting with Liedt and how badly it had gone and how unsuitable he would be as a husband. She told him about the grooms she had sent out and what their missions were to let him know they were busy trying to fix the situation.

“We had so many options when we began this mess.” Balder shook his head, dejected. “Now, we are almost out of choices.”

“Do not be discouraged yet Balder. Dierk is a good choice and a very promising prospect, so as long as we can make sure he does not leave, I can marry him.” She spoke with some cheer in her voice, forcing herself to sound optimistic. “And I still have Klaus yet to meet. He could be a possibility. Liedt was not someone whose opinion I would accept.”

“I am just tired and disheartened. I do not understand these killings we have had here and it has been generations since we have had a murder. No one in living memory remembers one.” Balder rose from the table and stretched out his back. “Do not mind me today. Some days I feel my age more than others. I will be back to my old self soon enough.” He flashed her an exaggerated grin. “See, better already.”

“You will see; everything will work itself out.” Alena walked Balder to the door. “What will you do now?”

“I will go down to the lake and wait by the docks for Mortimer to return from Zell.” Balder patted Alena on the arm. “If you or anyone else needs me that is where I will be.”

Alena watched Balder walk down to the lake. She saw Klaus coming from that direction. Balder stopped Klaus and the two of them talked for several minutes. Alena watched Balder point in her direction. Both men looked and saw her standing in the doorway. Klaus gave her a tentative wave. She finger waved back to him and went back into the hall to wait for him.

It was not long before he came in to join her. He walked in without knocking pausing once inside to adjust to the darker room. The sun was quite bright today and repairs were being made on the buildings shutters so some of them were closed for fittings. Because of their contact with Roman traders, Deepshade homes had windows made of glass that allowed light into their buildings and kept drafts out. The glass was being cleaned to remove the winter dirt. Window openings used to circulate air had leather coverings that could be removed to allow a breeze in or stretch tight over the window to keep cold air out. These were also being mended or replaced as needed.

Once Klaus was used to the darker room, he came over to the fireplace where Alena was seated in her usual chair. He bowed to her in greeting and asked if he could sit. She gave her permission and he sat in the chair rather awkwardly. Klaus had very long legs and the chair was too low to the ground for him. Alena suggested he turn the chair in such a way that he could stretch his legs out in front of him. He thanked her and gladly moved the chair on an angle to hers. Alena watched him move. He was much taller than the average man, at least two heads taller than her self. His limbs were long and lean, but he moved with grace. Like the other men on the list, he was in his early twenties. He had a mass of red hair that he wore down to his shoulders and he had a matching beard a mustache. Bright green eyes sparkled within all of that hair and when he smiled at her in thanks after rearranging the furniture, his teeth flashes and his cheeks were round rosy apples. He looked like a pleasant happy man and Alena wondered if her up coming conversation with him would live up to her expectations. She asked him if he wanted any wine or beer or if he were hungry. He asked for water. Klaus told her that Deepshade had the best water he had ever tasted. In many places he would not even dream of drinking water, but theirs seemed to be so clear and clear and utterly refreshing. Alena explained that they had a special well they used that was filled by a stream that came out of the alpine mountains and ran through an ancient peat bog before getting to the well, which was actually a natural spring.

After discussing Deepshade’s water, they moved on to talking about the people. Klaus wondered how they could allow two outsiders to rule their town when it was obviously a hereditary place. She explained that the outsiders would be denied certain privileges, such as placement in the Charnel House after death or true ownership of any real property if they had no children that marry locals. Since Alena did not have any children with Konrad, she would now never be a true resident of the town. But if she had children with her new husband and those children married natives, then her children would be full town citizens. He wanted to know why she did not just marry another native of the town. She explained that the town had an ancestral law that prevented one outsider from marrying more than one town member. They thought this would prevent jealousy and greed from taking over anyone’s lives.

Klaus asked some very intelligent questions about the salt mines workings. He wanted to know how many people worked in the mines and were they all from the town of Deepshade; what kind of salt did the mine produce and how much; where were the salt products stored until they were taken to market and how often was it all taken to market; what sorts of goods did the town receive in the way of exchange for their salt products.

He asked all of these questions at once and rather quickly. His pointed questions made Alena a bit nervous; they seemed very detailed and overly knowledgeable for mere curiosity. She evaded answering by saying that she wasn’t really involved in the detailed operations of the mines and these answers could wait until if and when she married her new husband. Klaus seemed very disappointed, but hid it well and he moved on smoothly to other things.