The Robin and the Kestrel - Chapter Sixteen

[kalinara]

So last time, we saw our characters engage in communication and teamwork! Yay! They also successfully saved a lady from a Chekhov's gun two books in the setting. Nicely done, Ms. Lackey.



We rejoin our heroes, and Lady Orlina, in the wagon, where they're having food and tending to cuts and bruises. Lady Orlina doesn't really seem to notice hers. We get a bit more substantial a description at this point:

She was certainly younger than Robin had assumed, given her rank—in early middle age at most. It was the lady's leanness that had fooled her into thinking Orlina was older; there was not even a single strand of gray in her hair, and the muscles beneath the dress had been as strong as an acrobat's. But she ate like one who had been starving for a day, and drank so much tea Robin had to make a second pot. The tale was a long time in the telling, and it was well past moonrise before they finished it. They had a great deal of explaining to do; the lady believed them, but Robin had the feeling that if she had not found herself on a road in the middle of nowhere, with no memory of how she got there, she would not have.

Orlina's not ignorant of magic either, noting that there's Guild lore about silk insulating magic. Robin agrees, the same is said in Roma lore, but they don't have any. Orlina, being a rich guildwoman type, is happy to offer a handkerchief. Robin wraps up the pendant, noticing with relief that its "music" stops.

Orlina is not surprised that the High Bishop had a set up like this though. He rose really fast in the ranks, and his adversaries and obstacles had a habit of conveniently leaving Gradford. Probably straight for the Skull Hill Ghost.

They ask if she has anywhere safe to go, since the Abbey's not safe.

There's a really nice echo being set up here, that might have worked even better if this scene were in Kestrel's point of view:

Orlina looked down at her hands. "Other than my office of Master Weaver, I have nothing," she said softly; but she did not sound vulnerable, she sounded detached. "Padrik took it all from me, with a few moments of lies and some shoddy magic tricks." She looked up again, and there was fire in her eyes. "I should go back there and confront the dog! I—"

They remind her that's a bad idea and they note they have some contacts that may be able to help. Orlina says she has nowhere to go, and Robin finishes the echo:

"You're still a Master of the Weavers, lady," Robin continued, as another idea occurred to her. "He didn't take that away from you, because he can't. Your Guild isn't one of the ones supporting him in Gradford; it should give you shelter that you're entitled to. You earned it, by your own work."

When a helpless, starving Jonny tells Talaysen of the Free Bards, that he has nothing. Talaysen reminds him of his musical skill. There are things that can't be taken away so easily.

Orlina appreciates it:

Some of her color returned; some of her pride as well. "That's true, young lady," she said after a moment, the fire returning to her hazel eyes. "And the Guild does take care of its own." She sat in thought for a moment. "I think I have enough gold and jewelry on my person to purchase transportation to the nearest Guild Hall." She smiled slyly. "And what that fool doesn't know is that the Master's pendant does not identify the Master, at least in our Guild. The ring does, made for the Master's hand."

And there's another really nice, and very subtle note for Ms. Lackey, here. Note that comment about gold and jewelry. I think I mentioned something about that in a previous review. And it's something that goes overlooked in a lot of action-girl feminist stories, that decry a character's interest in jewels or gowns.

Historically, particularly in Europe, there were many times when women were not allowed to own property or wealth in her own right. She generally was allowed to own her jewelry and clothing though, as they're strictly ornamental rather than practical. But if a woman had to flee an abusive spouse, or was set aside or abandoned by said spouse, then suddenly those jewels and gowns become very important as something she could sell and thus survive.

(If, for example, Niall from Chronicles of the Cheysuli got bespelled and suddenly kicked his daughters out on the street, Maeve might well be in a better position for survival than Keely. Because very few men in that setting would hire a female swordswoman. But Maeve could sell her gowns and jewels.)

So Padrik's whole "austerity culture" wasn't just an expression of piety, it was a means of subtly weakening the already rough position of women in this society. Orlina's defiance of the custom wasn't just rebellion, it's a matter of her survival.

The bit about the pendant does seem a bit contrived though. She happens to have the ring to prove who she is. The echo might be stronger if she had to use her skills to prove her mastery, but then I suppose that might be difficult to do quickly.

Anyway, the actual departure of Orlina is off page. We're told that they found a shepherd's home that also housed a member of the Weaver's Guild (there's a sigil burned in the door), which makes sense. The family is happy to welcome Orlina and shelter her. They apparently have no love for the Abbot of Carthell, who cheats and gives short measure in his trades.

So now that they're alone, it's time to do something. And interestingly, it's Jonny who is suggesting the criminal activity: breaking into the Abbey. Apparently, back when he was on his own, he used to break into Church buildings all the time to look for a safe place to sleep. Apparently only the Treasury and the kitchen are actually guarded.

I like this for two reasons. 1) I enjoy the sudden reveal of criminal history. Generally, Robin gets to be the more roguish of the two...which has some uncomfortable stereotypical elements when you stop and think of it. It's good to know that Jonny, the non-Roma, is also an unrepentant criminal.

2) And the more subtle bit: he's actually TALKING about his past and his trauma, if only in indirect ways. How terrifying and horrible must it have been to have to break into a church building to be able to sleep safely? But it's communication! They're learning!

Robin gets why the treasury is guarded, but why the kitchen? Hungry young novices, mostly.

So they dress all in dark clothes and prepare to break in. Jonny, impulsively, brings the pendant. We get to see his expertise at work:

They took their time; no point in hurrying and possibly giving themselves away with an unusual sound, or worse still, a fall. Kestrel straddled the bough he had chosen, lying on his stomach, and pulling himself along with both hands, while both legs remained wrapped around it. If he lost his grip, he would still be held by his legs. Gwyna was behind him; he hoped she had chosen a similarly safe way to cross. Excitement warmed him; now they were finally doing something. It felt good, after all this time of simply sitting back and watching things happen.

The bulwark of the wall lay below him—then behind him. If this had been summer, this would have been a bad place to come in, for the soft ground would have betrayed him by holding his footprints. But the ground was rock-hard, and any tracks he left in the frost would be gone with the first morning light.

Bits of bark caught in his sweater, and the bough sank towards the ground. Good! That meant less of a drop.

Dude knows what he's doing. It's suddenly a lot less of a mystery as to how he survived so long on his own.

He does manage a crap landing and almost twists an ankle, but that happens. The actual breaking and entering part goes on for a while, but it's pretty fun to read, and he remembers enough about how most Abbey's are structured to find it.

The Library was always next to the Scriptorium, where the manuscripts and books were copied. The Scriptorium needed very good light, which generally meant a southern exposure; the Library demanded much less, lest the manuscripts fade. He thought that the wall they had come in on faced south—

There were two doors to the left; none to the right. He went left, and opened the one to the room that had an outside wall.

The smell told him it was the Scriptorium; wet ink and paint drying.

So the room across the hallway should be the Library.

Have you considered going into thievery full time dude? I think you'd be really good at it.

I like this bit too:

Gwyna might be skilled at picking pockets, but he was a Master of Library Locks.

Now now, you can play who's the better criminal later.

Actually, the library is REALLY impressive:

There were hundreds of books in here, not the mere two or three dozen he had expected! Bookshelves filled the room, reaching from floor to ceiling, and all of the shelves were full. If they were cataloged in any way, he didn't know what it was. The key to all this probably resided in the Librarian's head—

Fortunately, Jonny has that pendant. He remembers Talaysen's magic lessons about the laws of magic. Basically, things that are related are connected, and may attract or resonate. The pendant has something to do with the Ghost, and therefore may be able to lead them to something else related to the Ghost.

It's a bit of a stretch, but we are talking about magic. It's plausible, I think. He listens to the pendant's discordant "music" and then searches for something similar. There's actually a lot "music" in the library, and he'd like to explore it more, but they don't have a lot of time.

He finally hears something, behind a hollow panel. Unfortunately, he and Gwyna can't get it open.

But that's when they end up with a guest:

He was about to make another attempt, this time at forcing the panel open, when he felt a presence behind him.

He turned; Gwyna whirled at the same instant.

Brother Reymond stared at them in dumb shock, his mouth agape with surprise.

Oops! It's that guy!

They wrestle him down and restrain him. He's rather understandably freaked out, but they eventually get to explain. They tell him everything basically: the Ghost, the Patronos, Lady Orlina. Reymond is horrified. He remembers people visiting the Abbot, apparently in a trance, who then disappear. He remembers seeing the pendant. He believes them.

Moreover, he's been researching too. He remembered their questions about the Ghost, and he did some looking. He's been able to find out that the Ghost was bound by the first Abbot fifty years before, and that there are other manuscripts that would say more. But he hasn't been able to find them.

They ask if they could be behind the panel they found. And Brother Reymond does, indeed, know how to open it. There's a bound manuscript inside, which Reymond gets and reads first.

He shares it with the others. The First Abbot, he'd already known, was a dick who got rejected from the Justiciars. His other writings are "full of bile in the guise of piety", which is a lovely turn of phrase.

Anyway, the manuscript describes finding a spell that will bind and enslave a being to a particular place. The being must be alive at the time, which means he has to murder someone to do it. He intends to target a nonhuman traveler, since it would be a grave and mortal sin to murder a human, but "monsters" are beyond Church law.

Nice guy. To his credit, Reymond is horrified. The spell is in there too, Reymond does not read that, but does read the triumphant retelling of having drugged a non-human, carried him out to the Hill (which is referred to as "Bare Hill" here), and then killed/bound him with a spell. It woke up a hundred times more powerful and deadly than when it was alive.

Aw. Poor ghost.

The next bit is a BIT contrived, because the Abbot basically gloats about everyone the Ghost kills at command. And how it's started to kill anyone who crosses after sundown anyway. There's a list of the people the Abbot sent, which makes sense. AND a list of accidental victims. Which...how would he even have KNOWN? But the Priest of Westhaven is mentioned. So continuity, yay!

Oh, THIS is how he knows:

But his voice was strong again. "This fiend wrote here, in his own hand, that he told the Priest only 'some things were better left to the hand of God,' and the Priest ignored his warning. His warning! That was no warning—that was not even an attempt at a warning! This man was a monster, a demon in human guise—"

Okay, so the mention of the Priest makes sense. The fact that there's a whole list really doesn't. But okay.

Anyway, the current Abbot is just following in his predecessor's footsteps. And, well, Padrik was educated here as well. Reymond admits, brokenly, that it had been a source of pride that Padrik had become High Bishop. Not so much now.

I like Robin's response, which is to relay a proverb that two bad grapes don't mean all grapes are bad, but two spoiled grapes contaminate the whole bunch. It's applicable to a lot of institutional evils, I think.

Anyway, Reymond proves himself better than his fellows. He's not a mage, per se, but he's studied some magic in the course of his work, so he's going to try to find a way to break the spell holding the Ghost. He thinks there may be some kind of physical link that can be broken, and he should be able to find it. He also intends to keep watch for any other victims Padrik sends, to free them and then, if he can, he can even take them straight to the Justiciars at Kingsford.

Jonny is really impressed that the guy's willing to face a scary homicidal ghost to try to free it. AND to go on a long and uncomfortable journey. Reymond is the kind of guy that could restore one's faith in the Church!

Aw. It is something I like about Lackey though, she's usually very good at providing us with non-monolithic villainous groups. It may be part of what's jarring about the Patsono Roma. I feel like maybe the inclusion of someone who is uncomfortable with what they're doing might have made it felt a bit less like a caricature.

There's something else Reymond can do. Robin borrows pen and paper and writes a message to be given to the first Roma he meets, it has to get to a Rom named Peregrine. I...wonder though. She's reporting the Patsono clan, which is good. But I wonder: what if the first Rom that Raymond meets is a Patsono who heard about his relatives' good fortune?

Also, weren't we told once that Roma don't really hold with reading and writing? Though I think it was Talaysen who said it, and he might have been incorrect. Also, Gwyna is a Free Bard and Peregrine is a Mage, so they might read and write even if most Roma don't.

As for Robin and Kestrel, they intend to go back and try to see if they can expose Padrik without getting tossed in jail. They can at least show folks how he does some of his tricks.

There's some conjecture that THIS is why Padrik had forbidden public entertainment - so no one sees a slight of hand artist do his tricks. But they can still show people privately. Jonny even considers the possibility of playing trickster instead of musician at Ardana's. Maybe the ladies there can help set up some afternoon appointments.

So they talk a bit more with Brother Reymond, then depart. The chapter ends here!