That Steleshame had its own blacksmith was a mark of the prestige granted it by the king’s protection. But the blacksmith, a short, burly man stained almost as dark as Liath by years of working in fire and ash, did not recognize the bow or the case, nor did he recall when or how the weapon had come to Steleshame. Indeed, no one did, and Gisela soon chased the children back to their chores and the women back to their weaving and spinning.
She presided over the midday meal of roasted chickens, leeks, bread, cheese, honeyed mead, and apples. When the meal was finished and all had toasted St. Bonfilia, whose day this was, Gisela allowed her niece, a handsome young woman with pale blonde hair, to bring forward the two new cloaks.
“Spun last winter,” she said, “of Andallan wool from the Pyrani Mountains. The wool from that region is particularly strong and warm. My cousin’s husband brought me four bags of it from Medemelacha.”
“Medemelacha is a long way from here,” said Wolfhere.
“He travels by ship every other year,” explained Gisela, not without pride. “We have a prosperous holding, enough to feed the king should his progress ever ride this way!”
“Be careful what you wish for,” muttered Hanna. “I can only imagine what it must take to feed all the people who travel with the king.”
“It has been six years since the king visited Gent,” said Wolfhere calmly, not seeming to scorn Mistress Gisela’s boast. “And with the current troubles we have heard of, perhaps you will get your wish.”
She nodded briskly. “The Dragons rode through not twelve days ago, as I told you. But they rode in great haste, and I could do no more than give them provisions while the blacksmith checked over their armor and gear. Then they were on their way.”
As Gisela spoke, Liath noticed to her surprise that the niece blushed a bright red and lifted the bundled cloaks up to conceal her face.
Mistress Gisela clucked, shaking her head. “Ai, yes, I hope the Dragons can drive the Eika away. Gent is only three days’ ride from here, if the rains haven’t been bad. It is out through Gent that my cousin’s husband travels, down the Veser River and out by the northern sea west along the coast of Wendar and then west and south along the coast of Varre and farther south yet to Salia, to the emporia there. If the Eika continue to raid, or if they invade, as some say they have this spring, then—well!” She threw up her hands in distress, but Liath suspected that Mistress Gisela relished having an audience to appreciate her family’s importance and far-ranging connections. “How will we trade by sea if the river is in the hands of savages?”