Chapter 10

Selda Netweaver sat doing what she had done her entire life. She wove and repaired fishing nets. She was doing what her mother before her had done. This family skill faded back into antiquity, guessed at ten generations. That was figured out by her eldest son when he looked at the town records. The town of Havens Bay sat on the coast of a large bay that was sheltered by high hills and steep cliffs most of the way around. Being three days hard ride north of Fairham’s Cove made them important to the region.

Each day, the fishing fleets headed out to begin setting the nets to catch the fish they used and sold. When the ships came in each day with the filled nets that had been laid two days before, they would be unloaded by the dockworkers, clearing out the ship’s hold in under an hour. The nets would be rolled to be checked and repaired by the net weavers the following day. The fishing crew would pick up the nets that were waiting for them to take out the next day.

Havens Bay was large for a fishing community. It had a standing population of around ten thousand. Havens Bay also had fish preparation factories located near the docks. The fish would be unloaded and wash shoots sent the fresh and mostly still flopping catch straight in to be scaled, filleted, prepared, and stored to be sent to the city every day. Most days two hundred vessels would bring in their hauls of fish. Other factories handled shellfish and crustaceans. With the recent access to the freezers and chillers, fish storage had improved greatly.

Selda Netweaver finished the last nets she was assigned that day. Her old hands were quick to repair any damaged net she had come across. In her sixty-odd years, this is what she was good at. She had outlived six husbands and six of her eight children. The first two husbands had produced the first five children between them. They were lost in storms at sea, their ships never recovered. Husband three accounted for the rest. He passed away when a lung fever washed over the town and had killed two thousand men, women, and children in less than a day. Husband seven was forced to flee when he was found raping a girl then trying to sell her to the Ice Spine slavers. Number eight she had killed herself when he started beating on her when drunk. The cleaver split his head wide open in the street. She became annoyed with the local gendarmes when they only gave her a fine for littering and disturbing the peace late at night.

Selda did have a strange talent though. Her nets tended to last longer and have larger hauls. It was like the fish would seek out the net she made to be caught in. Nobody complained if they knew what was good for them. After an idiot would be sent away in disgrace, she could be heard muttering a block away about insulant children daring to call her a witch.

This all changed after the events of the Flash and the Floods. The connecting roads the towns and cities had been damaged badly, in some cases, totally destroyed. The fishing fleet was still secured out of the water when this happened, so Haven’s Bay had plenty of hands to help in the rebuilding. Roads and Bridges all the way to the Cove had to be rebuilt before the fishing fleet could sail. They had to have a way to move the processed fish to the city.

It was while Selda was assisting in making some shaped bricks for a bridge that she discovered her talent. The Flash had scared her because she felt her hands catch fire even though nothing was burned. She discovered she could make the freshly formed bricks heat up and dry in a few minutes rather than having to sit in the sun for several days.

‘If I can heat bricks, what else can I do?’ she began wondering. She did the obvious, she picked up a pebble and made a glowstone. She experimented and found she make many new tools. She had always wanted to be able to walk to and from the net line without being harassed. She took a wood disk and soon had a way to be not seen while she held it in her hand. A local pickpocket caught her one morning as she appeared out of nowhere. He didn’t want to anger the witch, but he wanted what she had. He saw her pocket the disk and figured that must be how she could disappear as she did.

Selda enjoyed not being bothered as she walked. She did discover quickly that being invisible had its drawbacks as well. People would run into her if she didn’t make an effort to get out of the way. She had thought about being able to take anything she wanted, but her morals against stealing kept her from going down that dangerous path.

The pickpocket had walked by her several times that day. He studied her closely and then just before the end of the workday as the sun went down, he slipped in close and lifted the disk from her pocket. He got away before she even noticed it was missing. As Selda prepared to return to her little hovel, she reached into the pocket, only to find the disk was missing. ‘Well, that little sneak actually worked up the nerve.’ She thought. ‘I will see that he pays for this.’ She had quickly found she could affect anything she had made at a distance. She willed it to stop working, and it did, just as he slipped into the main bank’s vault. His sudden appearance caused quite a stir. He tried to explain about the disk, but since it no longer worked, he was going to be in the city lockup for a few days at the very least.

Selda heard the gossip the next morning and chuckled evilly. ‘I bet when he is free, he will come and try to blackmail me. Well, I can handle that.’ She spent a few coins at a woodworker’s shop and collected several dozen of the disks. She made them do the same as her first one had done. At her age, Selda had made many friends, and a few enemies along the way. One particular man, a really big man was known to her. He didn’t care how old a woman was so long as she was willing. He was a bounty hunter and his team was some of the best on the coastal planes. She heard he was in town at his usual watering hole so she would pay him a visit.

Freeman was enjoying being able to relax for a few minutes. Nobody was after him, he didn’t have any contracts to collect on right then, so he was happy for the time to relax. He spotted Selda as soon as she walked in. She spotted Freeman as well and went to join him at his table. It was his table if he was in town. Back in a dark corner with no way to sneak upon him. Selda decided he needed a good shaking up. Anyplace you felt was safe, was also the point of greatest danger. She stepped around a corner and took hold of one of the discs in her pocket. She carefully made her way around the busy room, avoiding bumping into people along the way. She sat down next to Freeman who was watching the room intently now. She let go of the disc and he about smacked his head on the ceiling when she suddenly appeared next to him. Freeman sat down, glaring at Selda angrily. “Woman, I don’t know how you did that, but don’t do it again. Sneaking up on an old man like that. Evil woman, evil.” She grinned at him but said nothing.

The barmaid came around and Selda ordered a mug of ale. When she had taken a solid swig, she finally spoke. “Freeman, you are always complaining about how hard it is to sneak up on your quarry. I have found a way to make your life easier.” Selda spoke in her old woman’s voice, quavering and thin. “Help a frail old woman out in feeding her children with a few coins, young sir?”

“You are anything but frail Selda, so don’t pull that old street beggar crap on me.” He downed the rest of his mug and smacked it down on the table. Turning to face the old woman, he asked, “What did you do and how did you do it?” He watched as Selda pulled something out of her pocket and set it on the table for him to examine. It was one of the new disks she had made. When she saw his confused expression, she explained.

“You know how my nets always seemed to be a bit better than others. How they almost always had a bigger catch?” He nodded he was aware of that. “Well, after the Flash and Thaw, I noticed my nets started becoming even better.” She sipped a bit of the drink she had ordered after she had joined Freeman. “Well, I was starting to bring in more funds than was good for me with the improved nets. I figured out if I can make better nets, what else can I make.” She pulled out a smooth, rounded stone and set it on the table. It gave off a pleasant glow that lit the corner to a near daylight brightness. She put it away and the darkness of the dim lanterns returned.

“I was worried I would be robbed or even killed, so I thought about making something that would make it so others would not see me,” she said. “It worked the first time I tried it. I did have a few problems though.”

“Folks would run into you.” Said Freeman.

“Yes. That made me far more cautious while I went from home to the docks and back.” She looked around, then lowered her voice. “A pickpocket spotted me when I appeared at the dock. He lifted the disk I had made and got away with it.” She sipped and slipped the disk back in the pocket with the others. “He was careless and stole a purse from a traveling merchant for the Cove. The man felt the boost and was able to grab his arm before he got clear. The little sneak sold me out to that rich man. He came to me and offered a plat for each.” She grinned now, “And who am I to turn down serious money when it comes my way. I made them, he paid me and was on his way. I did ask what he was planning to use them for. He wanted to sneak around and spy on his competitors.”

“That seems safe enough, “said Freeman.

“Maybe. He said he would have to avoid the notice of that new enchanter that everybody is in such a dither about.” She finished her drink and said, “I figured you of all people could use these in your line of work.” Selda pulled the stack out and set it on the table. “These are for you and your team. Use them wisely Freeman.” She slipped away from the table and started to leave.

“What will you do now Selda? You are a talent.” He asked her.

She looked back and smiled sadly, “The same thing I have done my entire life, mending the nets. They will be better nets now.” She exited and the darkness settled deeper in the corner where Freeman sat, looking at the stack of disks in front of him.

He stood and picked up and pocked them. He had a new contract to fulfill so he would give them a try on the job. The Eastern Bards association wanted a rebel bard captured, so he would capture her. The compass he had was an artifact from some ages in the past, so he was able to tune it to the person he sought. If these worked out, his job would be much easier.

Robin

Robin was sore in ways she had never dreamed of. If Ledger ever made a line of those toys to sell, he would own the Kingdom in a year. Her stomach muscles were weak and her legs shaking as she made her way downstairs to the dining room. She was glad Ledger had gagged her as tightly as he had, or she would have blown the roof off of the building. Ledger was right behind her as she led the way. The others were already downstairs, eating a morning meal of sausage and eggs.

Brena and Aco both looked at her, their eyes going wide at her disheveled appearance. “By the Goddess, what happened to you girl?” asked Brena. Aco was looking at Ledger in a strange manner that made him nervous.

Robin pointed her thumb behind her, “Ask mister gadget, and pray your men never have him make what he used on me for them.” She looked at Aco, “You wouldn’t survive Aco, it would turn you inside out.” She saw Andrew and Aston giving Ledger the look that said, ‘We are going to have a little man talk later.’ Robin shuddered. As much as she ached now, she wanted it again, and again, and again. “I need food,” she said.

When both had their plates filled and seated, they ate in silence. Ledger, despite his best efforts not to, kept ginning in a way that had Brena wanting to run and hide. Andrew saw the look and finally broke the silence. “What did you make this time that has Robin a wreck and these two looking at us in terror,” he asked.

Before he could speak, Robin smacked him up the side of the head, not hard, but enough to get the message across to keep his mouth shut. This just made him laugh out loud now. Damn it, Ledger, I want to save them from that ... That thing you made!” she snapped at him.” Brena and Aco had to know, “Come on Robin,” said Aco. Time for a ladies meeting.” She pulled Robin to her feet and the two women dragged her off to find out what he had done to her.

Aston grinned, “Spill it, Ledger, what did you make that can wreck a woman so completely.”

Ledger blushed, not wanting to embarrass Robin any further, “You know how they react when you vibrated the button at the top of the slit with your fingers?” Both just nodded they did. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know the short stick I’ve been carving and smoothing?” Both nodded as they had noticed this. “Well, I set it up so I could make vibrate really fast.” They blinked. “So fast that as soon as I touched her with it, the only part of her still touching the bed were her heels and the back of her head. I am glad I took the precaution of gagging her before we started or the building wouldn’t have a roof anymore.”

Both men looked at each other and said together, “We want one as well.”

They shut up and settled down as the women returned. They felt the glare of very unfriendly thoughts from the women. Robin sat down hard and winced from the discomfort. This just set off a round of giggles from the five. “Not funny.” She glared at the men, then her gaze settled on Ledger. “It goes against my better judgment, but you are to make two more of those nightmares.” She glared and Brena now, “They insisted,” she muttered.

Ledger played it safe and said the two words all kept men and husbands say when they know their continued ability to have sex is counted on, “Yes dear.” This just set off another round of laughter at the table. Robin had one more come back for her fellow travelers. “Imagine staying in the saddle all day then.” She shut up and continued to eat. Aco and Brena on the other hand stopped laughing at the thought.

The rest of the day was spent working their way west, following one of the partially repaired roads to the coast. After seeing the pain Robin was in as she rode, Brena and Aco said that any attempt to use the vibrating rod on them outside the city would lead to pain and suffering of the men. Andrew, Aston, and Ledger took the threat very seriously and agreed with them.

Four days after the encounter with Freeman, they arrived at the town in question. As they sat at one of the three major inns they had chosen the stay in, Ledger kept his senses out for anybody tapping into the weave. It wasn’t until early evening that he felt something being used. It had the same feeling as the invisibility disk, so he had found one. If it wasn’t the creator of them, maybe they could tell him where they had purchased it. Ledger and a recovered Robin went out for a walk in the fading light. Robin just wanted the company. Ledger was tracking the possible source of devices the could cause such chaos if not brought under control quickly.

Robin could tell Ledger was distracted as they walked. He kept pausing, looking around as if searching for something. “What is it Ledger, what are you feeling? Robin asked as she guided him around a lamp post.

“I can feel the source of the invisibility disks. She is here and very close to us now.” He closed his eyes and focused on the weave. Before he had repaired the connections, this would have been easy to spot. Now with the space around him filled with thousands of lines, he had to concentrate to find the one he wanted. This one was moving towards him, that much he could feel. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction he felt it was in and waited. They didn’t see anybody coming towards them from the way Ledger had indicated, but a sudden cough and sneeze gave the hidden person away. Robin drew a breath, ready to try and capture the invisible person, but Ledger motioned for her to hold off. He tossed a handful of dust in the direction he wanted. He watched the dust cloud and spotted what he was after. I faint figure attempted to move around the cloud, but still managed to create a visible disturbance. Ledger stepped towards the hidden figure and snatched at it. He felt the cloth of a sleeve and said, “You may as well drop the invisibility, I have you now.”

Selda was in a state of panic. ‘How had he spotted her?’ she wondered. Selda had several tricks she could try to use to escape. She groped in her pocket until she found the largest disk at the bottom of the stack. She pulled it out and slapped it on Robin’s arm. As soon as it touched Robin, there was a cracking sound and Robin cried out and collapsed. Selda spun to attempt to hit Ledger next. She didn’t have a chance against him she realized. She felt the power in the disk just go away. All the disks died right then. When she tried to reset the stunner disk, she suddenly found herself on the stones, cold and shivering as a light rain fell on her. ‘Strange,’ she thought, ‘It was clear and warm when I ... What was I doing?’ Selda was clueless, her mind a blank on where she was going and what she had been doing.

Ledger was keeping an eye on Selda as she regained consciousness. If she showed even a hint at being able to enchant again, he would have to kill her. Robin wanted to sing loudly in the woman’s ears, but he had restrained her. Once Selda was standing, Ledger approached her.

“Selda, I am Ledger Fireham. It has been seven days since we first met, but you won’t remember any of the conversations we have had in that time. I had to see to that to prevent the need to kill you outright.” Ledger paused and waited for the response he expected from her.

“You erased my memory? Why? Why would you need to do that?” she demanded to know.

Ledger gave her an abbreviated account of some of the conversations they had shared. “As soon as you stunned my mate, I found and pulled your life thread in the weave, rendering you unconscious. After Robin recovered, I studied what you had created. Even though I had removed the power from the objects you had created, I could still tell what you had made with all those disks. I must say, Brena was more than a little bit upset by the lock pick you had devised. Just hold it to the lock and pop, it was open. She was relieved when you hadn’t sold any yet. The invisibility disks will be around for some time yet, but eventually, they will all be found and destroyed.”

“So why am I still alive, boy” demanded Selda.

“Because I was able to remove your ability to enchant things.” Ledger nodded sadly at remembering what he had done to her. “You were creating tools that would have caused chaos in the Thieves and Brotherhood. I didn’t see the need to kill you after I have removed your ability to tap into the weave.”

“So I can’t produce any more of the disks?” Ledger nodded that she couldn’t. “Do you know how many contracts I have to supply the invisibility disks boy?” He nodded that he did. “So I told you then. These bastards from up north wanted as many as I could make every week. They will kill me now.”

“I doubt that Selda,” said Ledger.

She shook her head, “I didn’t tell you everything then, did I?” She walked over to the stone bench that was set into the side of a building and sat. “Boy, there are darker things in this world than the evil over the sea.” She saw Ledger’s surprise at that, “Boy, I have lived and worked on the docks my entire life. I see and hear things that others might miss. I know all about the Blood Queen and her spies. They have used our docks several times over the years to drop off and pick up agents.” She saw his angry expression, “Hey, they paid the portage and docking fees, so who are we to complain. No, the threat is from the north. If you see a medallion with a snake, s head with humanoid features, you are treading on deadly ground. That cult is the most insane on Gardallan as far as I know.”

Ledger listened, then without a word, stood and walked away. He didn’t go far though. The others had heard what was said and none were happy. Andrew said, “I have seen that medallion once, early on in my travels. They were slavers.”

“I have seen one as well,” said Aston. They all admitted to seeing that medallion at least once in their lives.

They remained silent in thought for a few minutes, then Brena broke the silence. “We have always thought the slavers were independent operators. Bandit groups and the like. What if we have been wrong all along?” She asked. The others remained silent, waiting for her to finish her thoughts. “Suppose the Ice Spine have been the operators of the slaver rings all along. The few I have encountered while on the road all tended to be heading north to some degree, or towards one of the Ice Spine Mountain cuts.”

Now Andrew spoke, “I never thought of it that way, but your right, they always seemed to be heading north.” He considered, “I think we may be seeing something bigger than we could imagine. Always women and young girls, never any males of any age. They kill them but keep the women to transport...” He sat down on a stump when he had a horrible idea. “Ice Spine as I understand it is far older than the southern Storm Sea kingdoms.” He looked around for a moment, “Aston, can your reach anybody in the library archives in the castle?”

“No, I don’t know anybody in the central library. We would need to return to the Cove and look up the records ourselves.” Aston could tell Andrew was not thrilled with the prospect of going back to the main city to find what they needed.

Brena climbed down from her horse she had mounted when it had looked like they were ready to ride out. “I need to go back regardless. I have to set things in motion to get control of the disks that that woman has made. Even one invisible pickpocket can cause chaos in the streets.”

“Alright then,” Andrew said. “We turn around and head back to the Cove.” He looked at the road from the Fishing village and said, “At least some of the roads in this area have been repaired. That will make things easier for us.” He looked at Selda, “Go back to your work Selda. We need to be on our way to solve a mystery that is older than the Kingdom.” The old woman stood and shuffled away, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Brena remounted and soon they were on the newly rebuilt road south. They had an easier time except at a few river fords that had not had the bridges built. It took half the time to make it back to the Cove that it took to reach Havens Bay. Their sudden return to the Broken Sword caused a bit of an uproar. They were not expected back for several months at the very least. Once they had been up to their rooms to wash and change, Brena excused herself and made her way to the nearest entrance to the thieves guild.

Aco and Robin both penned notes to be sent to their respective schools with word of what they had encountered. Aco also asked that any historical records of the pre-kingdom era be forwarded to her as well. She explained that things may be darker than any could have dreamed. Ledger checked on his business and spent the next few days helping them catch up on several large and complex orders.

Brena

The Thieves guild was in chaos the first day Brena had returned. The reports of hidden pickpockets, thieves, and robbers were out of control. Brena called an emergency meeting of the Guild and Brotherhood leadership. “Here is all we learned from the woman that made the disks.” She went on to explain how they worked and some of the limitations. “Catching them and collecting those things will take months, if not years to completely purge them.” Brena saw the questions on their faces, “The woman that made them has been dealt with. She can’t make any more of them to sell.” The meeting was winding down when a pile of papers suddenly fell off a table in the back of the room.

“Block the doors, hurry,” Brena ordered. The room had an open vent hole and she saw dust scrape from the wall below it. “They’re going for the vent, stop them!” she yelled. The representative of the Brotherhood rushed over and made a grab at something that he couldn’t see. He found he had his arms around a small pair of legs. He grunted when he got a solid kick in the teeth. That made him hold harder and pull the invisible person back from the escape. As he pulled away from the wall, Brena heard a sudden grunt as the hidden spy hit the floor face first. As the spy was pulled along a trail of blood appeared on the floor. She knelt down and felt around until she found the hand holding the disk. She pried it loose and slipped it into her own pocket for safekeeping. The spy appeared once the disk was removed.

Brena saw it was a young boy of about twelve or thirteen. She also recognized him as a street urchin of minor skills. He was quickly bound and tied to the chair so he could be questioned. Brena left that chore to those with the skill of extracting information from a prisoner. “I must speak with the Brotherhood, she needs to know what we are facing.” ‘I am beginning to regret telling Ledger to leave this alone and not turn them all off.’ She left to talk to her opposite number in the Brotherhood.

Ledger

Ledger was at loose ends. Brena’s order to not get involved in the security issues had him bored with little to do. He had checked in with the other enchanters and saw that business was going well. The only issue that kept cropping up was keeping anything that had motion running. He was sitting in the old archive’s museum to study a few old items. The fan had run down while he had been away, so the plates had to be moved outside or they would freeze solid. He had it spun up again to move the stuffy air around. He was looking at the structure inside the case but hadn’t been able to gain any further understanding of how it had originally worked. In frustration, he tried to bounce an iron pin off the side of the fan’s case. It took a few seconds for it to sink in that the pin was stuck to the side of the case. He reached over and was able to pull the pin away, but he felt a force pulling the pin back to the case.

‘Ok, that does it, I am opening this thing up. I have to see how it is constructed inside to find out what just caused this to happen.’ He let the pin snap back to the spot on the casing, then pulled it free to set back in the small box of other pins it had been in. He noticed that other pins seemed attracted to the iron pin now as well. Not strongly, but the effect was there. He stopped the blade and used a small flat-ended rod, a screwdriver to remove the screws the six screws that held the case together. As he was doing this a senior curator saw what he was doing and came over to stop Ledger. Ledger let a pin stick to the side of the rounded case, then showed the curator what happened with the others.

Now the curator, James Edi, senior curator of the artifacts of antiquity was interested. Ledger wrote down each step as he completed the case opening. Inside was a mystery to both of them as they looked at the tightly wound mass of coiled wires. Ledger moved the pin he was holding to find what was attracting it. He found it and James snorted, “Load stones? How could a loadstone make a shaft spin?” he said aloud.

Now Ledger understood what he was looking at. He knew a compass used these to point north. How it worked here was another question. He spun the blade by hand to see how it seemed to work, but nothing happened that he could detect. He fed a touch of power and the blade moved slowly around. The end away from the blades had what appeared to be copper sheeting, cut in segments wrapped around the shaft. Other bits made contact with the sheets and small sparks would flash as the contact went from one sheet to the next. The copper was green with age so he stopped the blade and wiped the green off. Once he had a path for the contacts all the way around, he reapplied the power level he had used before. The blades took off and the fan spun off the bench it had accelerated so hard. Ledger cut the energy off and looked at the metal mess on the floor. The blades had flown off and the wires were now smoking, giving off an acrid stench he had never smelled before. He picked it up, being careful to not touch the part that was giving off smoke.

James commented dryly, “Well Ledger, that was, shall we say, interesting.”

“It wasn’t quite what I was expecting,” Ledger replied. “There had to be a way to send in a controlled amount of energy. The vocal controls work well enough, but they had ways of controlling it I can’t begin to imagine.”

“Ledger, why not wait and try again later. This is tech that was from an age that used the power, but in a way that we have no understanding of now.” James began putting all the parts in a box that he labeled as the fan experiment. They could control how much energy went in to make something work. You, on the other hand, are like a large hammer with the way you apply the power. It is in the degree of control that has us at a standstill. Now, why not go visit your lady friend. I hear there is a small war breaking out between the various factions in the bards.”

Ledger thanked him and climbed the stairs to the ground floor, thinking about how fan blades worked. The archives exited near a small water wheel in a public garden. He paused, staring at how the water pushed the blade buckets down with the weight it provided. He began to have an idea that would work, and the driver for the fan had given him much to think about. On his way back to the Broken Sword, he paused at a fountain in a plaza. It had an odd sort of decoration in the middle. It was a water wheel like he had been trying to imagine, and something else. The wheel had a rod mounted off-center and was jointed a foot away from where it was attached to the wheel. Another rod was pushed up then pulled down by the motion of the wheel and first rod. The second rod would open a flap that allowed water to pour out into a trough. When the rod was pushed back up, it closes the flap. The water in the trough poured out and down to drive the wheel. It was slow but steady in its action. An older man noticed his attention on the mechanism and came over to talk to Ledger about it.