Bast was armed now, having picked up her saber and bow on the way out the door. She wore the weapons as if they were just another form of clothing, to such an extent that they almost escaped notice. In fact they mostly did escape notice because everyone was looking at the elf carrying them.
“Not so in Elfheim?” Rachel asked, trying not to notice the looks of the men in the area. Bast was a walking advertisement in more ways than one and made her feel positively homely. Bast, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice at all.
“No, our homes are in the Wood,” Bast said. “And we don’t change the area around us more than necessary. I suppose, with humans, this is necessary.” She sighed again. “So many humans. I haven’t visited the human cities in many years. This is more than I have seen in one place in a long time.”
“More than I’ve seen in a long time, too,” Rachel admitted.
“Some of them are not so bad, though,” Bast said. “Look at those two over there, one for each of us!”
Rachel looked where she was pointing and laughed. “I don’t know who the one on the left is, but the one on the right is Herzer Herrick.”
“A friend?” Bast asked, walking towards the two young men. “Introduce me?”
“Bast!”
“Oh, sorry, is he yours?” Bast asked. “I never stop to think about that.”
“No, he’s not ‘mine,’ ” Rachel said. “It’s just…”
“Good, then you can introduce me and you can have the other one!”
“What if I don’t want one?” Rachel asked.
“You like girls?” Bast asked. “Hmm… I haven’t tried it in a long time. Maybe threesome?”
“Bast!”
“Oh, sorry, virgin princess time, eh?” the elf winked. “I know that ploy, too. Works every time!”
“Bast!” she hissed as they neared the two men. “Be good!”
“I’m not just good, girlie, I’m great.”
“Hi, Rachel,” Herzer said. He was dirty and looked as if he hadn’t had time to wash that morning. He also looked as if he hadn’t slept well.
“Hi, Herzer, this is Bast,” Rachel said.
Bast in the meantime was circling the young man and inspecting him as if he was a prize horse. “Hmmm…”
“Hi, Bast?” Herzer said. “Rachel, this is Mike. I met him and Courtney last night.”
“Quick work,” Bast said. “I think maybe I like you a little more cleaned up, but if you work that quick…”
“Courtney is Mike’s…”
“Girlfriend,” Mike said, looking at Rachel with approval. “And you’re…”
“Sorry, Mike, this is Rachel Ghorbani.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about you,” he said, sticking out his hand. “You’re Edmund Talbot’s daughter.”
“Always,” Rachel said sourly. “How’s it been, Herzer?”
“Well, dirt is remarkably soft to sleep on if you’re tired enough,” he said cheerfully. “And breakfast was cornmeal mush. Just that. But things are looking up; we’re both going to be going into the apprenticeship program. What are you going to be doing?”
“I’ve got the funny feeling I’m being groomed as a doctor,” Rachel admitted.
“Makes sense with who your mom and dad are,” Herzer admitted. “And you, Bast?”
“I’m just wandering through,” she said, looking him up and down. “I know where there’s a creek that’s just right for a bath. Want to join me?”
“BAST!”
Herzer looked shocked for a minute then tried not to grin and tried not to look at Rachel at the same time. “Uhmm… maybe later?”
“Sure, I’ve got things to do with Rachel right now,” Bast admitted. “Sometime this afternoon?”
“Uh, sure,” Herzer said, clearly not sure if he was having his leg pulled.
“After lunch, I’ll meet you by the tavern in town,” Bast said. “I’ll bring the soap.”
“Okay,” Herzer said, looking light-headed.
“See you then,” Bast said, waving as she turned away. She grabbed Rachel by the arm and gave them a wiggle in goodbye.
“Where are we going now?” Rachel asked acerbically. “Now that you’ve mortally embarrassed me.”
“The other one looked as if he wouldn’t mind sharing the stream,” Bast said philosophically. “And I want to see who’s coming in. There were more people headed this way and people are so much fun to watch.”
Rachel sighed as she was towed, very much like a barge behind a smaller tug was the thought that crossed her mind, to the edge of the encampment by the Via Apallia.
There were large numbers of people on the road. Not thousands, but a steady stream of every sort of humanity. Some of them kept going down the road, either for other settlements that were their planned destination or just into the wilderness for some reason of their own. Most, however, were turning into the village, and Rachel hoped that this was the peak of the flow. If it wasn’t, Raven’s Mill would quickly become uninhabitable.
“So many people. Some stopping, some not,” Bast said finally.
“Tom told me yesterday that there’s a guard post up the road. They warn the people about the rules of Raven’s Mill.”
“What rules, nobody told me about rules,” Bast said unhappily. “I hate rules.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Rachel said. “The rules are pretty simple. You can get three days’ food and shelter. After that you have to find work. There’s an apprenticeship program starting up and some people are going into that. To stay permanently you have to abide by the charter of Raven’s Mill. You have to agree to defend it, to pay taxes, things like that. But you also get a vote on major items. You can stay for the three days without being bound to the charter, but after that you have to abide by it.”
“Hmmm… taxes. I hate taxes.”
“I don’t think anyone’s going to try to tax you Bast.”
Bast was having a fine old time, pointing out the more humorous individuals and groups with quick, witty descriptions. Then she stopped and frankly stared at the latest apparition. The man was fairly old for a human, with graying hair cut short to the sides of his scalp. He was dressed in old, worn leather armor with a short sword banging on his hip. On his back was a huge leather rucksack and across it were two poles from which hung more bags. On his right arm was a large wooden shield with an iron rim, the boss of which had been worked into the figure of an eagle with its wings spread.
He had been marching down the road, back ramrod straight and at a very steady pace. When he reached the turn to Raven’s Mill he made a precise left face and marched towards the reception tent.
“So who is that man? He looks as if he’s a badly made marching toy or as if someone has shoved a piece of steel in his spine. And it hurt.”
“Oh, he’s a reenactor,” Rachel said with a laugh. “I’m surprised you’ve never met him; he’s been friends with my father since forever. His name is Miles Rutherford but everybody calls him ‘Gunny.’ ”
“He doesn’t come across as your normal Pict or Viking or knight in shining armor.”
“Oh, no, he’s an early industrial reenactor.
“Early industrial?”
“Yeah. There were some big wars fought in the Po’ele back in the preinformation period. The character he plays is one of the noncommissioned officers of the infantry that fought in those campaigns.”
“Oh. Okay? If his name is ‘Miles,’ why does everyone call him ‘Gunny’?”
“Good morning, my name is June Lasker,” June said without looking up from the record of the last arrival. She knew it was impolite but she didn’t seem to have time to do it any other way. She heard the next person walk up and stomp to a halt but she hadn’t seen who it was yet. “I’ll be asking you a few questions, giving you a short introduction to Raven’s Mill Settlement processes and then answering yours to the best of my ability. What is your name?” she said, looking up.