"Very good." The judge abruptly stood up. "I now call a ten-minute recess."
He swept out. I knew where he was going-to private chambers for a good laugh.
I felt an urge to do the same. I headed for the exit, carefully avoiding the dismayed eyes of the Joustin' Time team. They were not complete fools. They knew they had ten minutes to agree among themselves on the terms of a mediated settlement.
Near the door I came to the group of people who had arrived late. It offered the impression of a group, but actually it was just Helga Svensen and Flora McTavish.
Together! Clad today in light, springtime armor, they sat side by side smiling at the world.
"Mr. Carver." Helga reached out and enveloped my hand in hers. "You were brilliant, totally brilliant."
"You were." Flora beamed at me. "Helga told me you'd do it, but I didn't see how. You're a genius!"
"Not really." I coughed modestly. "It's far from over, you know. And all I did was read the fine print."
"But how you read it!" Flora's eyes were shining. "Would you be willing to read my fine print?"
While I was pondering the possible implications of that question, Helga stood up. "I'm going to leave the two of you to talk. Is it too soon for me to go and see Waldo?"
I thought of my partner, splinted and swathed from head to toe. In his present condition I didn't think that even Waldo could get into too much trouble. "You can go and see him," I said, "but you won't see much of him."
"I'll tell him things are going well." She thundered out, shaking the floor with her girlish tread.
I turned to Flora. "I don't understand. She brought you here. She's talking to you."
"Of course she is. Helga and I are best friends."
"But you drugged her and tried to kill her!"
"Oh, nonsense. Drugged her a wee bit, aye, but that's all in the game. I knew it wasn't Helga, the minute I saw that lance wobbling about. I thought she was snoring in her tent, and somebody had tied a stuffed dummy up there on her horse."
Stuffed, perhaps, and far too frequently for someone on a perennial diet; but Waldo was no dummy.
"There's a big tournament coming up on Ceres," Flora went on. "I'd like you to be there with me."
I could not talk any longer. A buzz of activity at the front of the room announced that Judge Solomon had entered and Duncan Whiteside was already stepping toward him, an anxious expression on his face.
I ran for the steps, calling over my shoulder, "Go there, and do what?"
I think that Flora, behind me, said, "Read my fine print." But it sounded an awful lot like, "Be my fine prince."
Patterns in the Chain by Steven Piziks
Knit one, purl two. Knit one, purl two.
A shadow drifted across the mouth of Mother Berchte's cave. She waited and rocked, careful to keep her tail away from the stone rockers of her chair. White sparks snapped from her needles.
Knit one, purl two. Knit one, purl two.
The shadow drifted closer, and Mother Berchte lost patience. "I see you," she growled. "Get in here."
The shadow froze.
"Yes, I mean you. Move it."
Knit one, purl two. Knit one, purl two.
The shadow hesitantly stepped into the light thrown by the fireplace. The girl was young, not yet twenty. She held a short sword before her with a farily competent air, though her grip was so tight Berchte was sure she was leaving permanent fingerprints on the hilt. The girl's red-blond hair had recently been hacked off. Probably with a blunt dagger, if Berchte was any judge.
"Well?" Mother Berchte prompted in her harsh voice. "What's your name, girlie?"
Knit one, purl two. Knit one, purl two. Berchte's needles glowed like angry volcanos. The girl tried not to recoil, and Mother Berchte grinned. Berchte knew full well she was an imposing sight, almost eight feet tall with horns on her head and fangs in her mouth and claws on her fingertips. And a tail, of course. The latter was a bitch if she wasn't careful with the rocking chair.
"Jeweline," the girl said timidly. "My name is Jeweline."
Of course it is, Mother Berchte thought. "And?" she said aloud. "You didn't climb all the way up here just to tell me your name."
Jeweline took a deep breath. Although the inflation of her chest did nothing for Mother Berchte, it earned an admiring snort from Nassirskaegi in his corner. Jeweline's head snapped around and her eyes widened for a split second before she could school her features back into impassivity. Berchte awarded her silent points for quick recovery. Many people reacted badly to giant goats the size of horses, but few hid their surprise so quickly. Nassirskaegi yawned, revealing yellow teeth.
"Um… r-raiders attacked our holding," Jeweline said. "My parents were slain, my brothers murdered. My sisters were taken. I need to rescue them."
"With that?" Mother Berchte pointed scornfully at Jeweline's sword with her chin. Her knitting needles flashed through another row, and the swiftly growing shirt clinked in her lap.
"With your help," Jeweline said. "If you'll give it."
Mother Berchte nodded and rocked, knitting without answering. Jeweline shifted uncomfortably. A drop of sweat trickled down her face.
Knit one, purl two. Knit one, purl two.
"Well, why not?" Mother Berchte said at last. "That's a hell of a climb, and you deserve something for it. Choose one."
Jeweline peered about the dimly-lit cave. "Choose one what?"
Mother Berchte blew at the fireplace. The flames blazed up, throwing the cave into almost painful brightness. Dozens of mail shirts glittered and sparkled from every wall, each with a unique style and design. Different types of wire knitted artfully into the weave created patterns and pictures. This one showed a silvery dragon breathing copper fire. That one portrayed an exquisitely-rendered griffon leaping into a star-flecked sky. Another twisted the eye with a fractal pattern of falling red-gold leaves.
Jeweline gasped and lowered her sword. "You made all these?"
Mother Berchte grinned with crooked teeth and briefly held up the half-finished hauberk in her lap before returning to work. The needles sparked and flashed. Friction and torsion softened the wire, making it easier to work.
Jeweline whistled under her breath, sheathed her sword, and went over to examine the mail shirts. Mother Berchte watched her until the girl's eye fell on a shirt hanging in a corner half hidden by a stout wooden wardrobe. The shirt was old and rusting. It looked like moths had been at it, though what kind of moths would go for solid steel even Mother Berchte didn't care to think about.
Knit one, purl two. Knit one, purl two.
Jeweline put out a finger to touch the old hauberk, and a sly smile stole over her face. Mother Berchte narrowed her eyes and kept on knitting. The girl had obviously heard some of the old tales. Either that or she had been down to the river talking to Father Fluss. Slobbery bastard. And Jeweline was just the type to set him slobbering.
"What about this one?" Jeweline asked, holding up the rusty shirt.
"You don't want that one, girl," Mother Berchte replied evenly. "It's old and poorly made."
"I don't want to be greedy," Jeweline said in a modest voice. "I'll take it."