OOM: Taking Sameth to Gotland again

[ostro_goth]

Teja is in the forge, gathering a few things he is meaning to take to Gotland and show to Aligern -- for Adalgoth had told him that he would come to see them, soon.

It would, of course, be cheating history -- but then, Teja would gladly give his people any reasonable help he may.

No fire-arms, of course.

And then, of course, in the end, all his aid might result in could just as well be the development of the famous Ulberht swords that Teja has read about...

Comments

[gotland_npc]

"That is shiny," the little girl says.

She's young enough to not dismiss the Charter Marks as optical illusions, like Wachis, Adalgoth and Aligern probably do.

[makesthings]

He looks up at her voice as the Marks slip into the metal and smiles as the Mark on his forehead glows gold,

"It is and hot, don't get too close."

[gotland_npc]

She is hugging a remarkably patient Count in her arms, and nods earnestly.

"There's sparkle on your face too!"

"Do not get too close to men working fiery craft!" Wachis warns.

"Yes, dad," the little girl says.

[makesthings]

"There is, its connected to the work I'm doing,"

That was the last spell he needed to do and the rings are stronger and tighter around the bucket so he sets it down,

"Do you like being in the forge?"

[gotland_npc]

"Oh yes!" the little girl says. "It's warm and shiny and they make nice things. Is that the bucket Rauthgundis broke?"

[makesthings]

"It is but it should be all fixed now. I always liked being in the forge too, there's always something happening and if the smith's nice, you can learn how to make things."

[gotland_npc]

"I can't make things from iron," the girl says. "I'm just a girl, dummy!"

Wachis looks up.

"Don't call the king's apprentice a dummy, Hilde, or you'll have to go back inside," he says.

[makesthings]

Sam frowns and looks at her,

"You'd have to find someone to teach you if you wanted to learn. What do you want to do when you're bigger?"

[gotland_npc]

"My dad won't let me call you what you are!" Hilde grins. "I'm a girl! I'll marry and have kids and keep house. Girls do that!"

Pause.

"He's a dummy," she whispers into Count's fur.

[makesthings]

Now Sam laughs,

"I was only asking because my mother helps to defend our kingdom so I don't see why you couldn't be a smith if you wanted to."

[ostro_goth]

That gets everybody's attention, oddly.

"She can't," Wachis just says.

"Your friend," Aligern says to Teja, archly, "seems to have very odd ideas about what men and women are, and can do."

Teja pulls the bellows, and answers, "He is from a very different world."

Aligern pushes the billet into the fire with long tongs.

"Quite obviously," he says.

Adalgoth, feeding charcoal to the fire, gives an almost worried look at Sameth.

[makesthings]

Aligern's tone makes Sam turn and stop talking and look uncomfortable, he's pretty sure that he's being insulted somehow.

The problem is he's not sure what's being insinuated against him so he focuses on his work again and turns red.

[gotland_npc]

"I won't be a smith!" little Hilde says, worried that she's the reason the grown-ups are suddenly so bristly.

She hugs Count closely.

"Dad, want me go help mum?" she then asks, not wanting to get pitched out outright.

[makesthings]

Sam looks down in the fire and ends up saying so quietly that maybe only Hilde can hear him,

"I won't be one either, its not my duty."

[gotland_npc]

Hilde heard him, and comes closer.

"But you're the king's apprentice, and a boy!" she whispers.

[makesthings]

He looks at her and tries to smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes as he whispers back,

"Of course, you don't need to worry about other places. For now I work in the forge."

[gotland_npc]

"What's your duty?" she whispers back.

[makesthings]

He doesn't want to tell her about the Dead and that kind of sorrow, this isn't the place for it,

"It doesn't matter. What did you say about getting ready for dinner?"

[gotland_npc]

"I can go ask mum and Gotho if it's ready, and that the king is here," Hilde says, putting Count down.

[makesthings]

Sam looks over to Teja, he's not sure what to do and is feeling rather out of place.

[gotland_npc]

"Teja, I think you little friend needs instructions," Aligern says.

They are now actually folding the metal, but Aligern still notices Sameth's hesitation.

[makesthings]

The diminutive makes Sam think of Mogget and he hates it, this is foolish.

He knows what to do in a forge and moves to help, drawing in on himself like he does at Belisaere.

This is something he's useful at and this man doesn't know that he's a failure of an Abhorsen-in-Waiting, there's just something else he's doing badly.

[ostro_goth]

This causes Teja to speak up quite plainly.

"You might call Sameth my apprentice," he says to Aligern, "and he is that to me, a very useful and clever one. But you are not justified in calling him anything else. You are cynical where I am grim; but in this, you overshoot your mark."

He looks around. "What I am showing you, Sameth has learned long ago," he then says. "So would you two go in, Sameth, and ask about dinner, and then maybe send Hilde back to tell us how long we have until dinner, while we others stay here, Wachis working the bellows, and Adalgoth feeding the fire, so we shall be done soon?"

He wants Sameth gone before he truly realises what Aligern is insinuating.

[makesthings]

Its when Teja says something else that Sam realizes what's being insinuated and turns red before saying in his most formal voice,

"I'll do that and my Kait prefers me for her bed. I'm just glad to know Teja and all he can teach me about duty and work beside him in his forge."

Then he looks to Hilde and manages a slightly better smile,

"We should tell your mother how many to expect for dinner."

[ostro_goth]

Teja, for once, actually grins at Aligern, who looks a bit thunderstruck.

"Well, that was plainly plain," he finally says.

He doesn't argue about Adalgoth having had Gotho, because insinuating things about Adalgoth (even though half of everybody, including Gotho, always thought those rumours true) out loud, in front of Wachis and his little daughter, would be inexcusably rude.

Even though those rumours and insinuations might probably be true by now, if they were not before.

"Life and politics, on the other hand, sometimes are horrifyingly complex."

He looks around, sighs again, then turns back to the (amazingly!) still smiling Teja, and concentrates on the techniques of folding steel again.

Hilde, still holding Count and not certain what has happened, holds out her hand to Sameth.

"I'll take you to the house!" she says, proudly.