A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 24
The edge rang off the back of his opponent's hand harmlessly. Slaten realized that his effort to dodge had truly overdrawn himself, leaving his final strike slow and weak. Even at his best, however, he wasn't sure if he could have cut through this mansthein's strangely armored hands. Though he was looking death in the face, Slaten found himself staring at those hands, wondering if it was a trick of the light or if they truly...
Several Bloodskins attacked at once, striking the mansthein from all sides. He reacted with surprising ferocity, catching one weapon and goring another Bloodskin, but there were too many. With part of Slaten's sword through his stomach, he couldn't fight back against their superior numbers and was eventually cut down.
It took most of Slaten's strength to keep his sword raised, but he saw that the battle was mostly over and surviving mansthein were being hunted in either direction down the road. As he watched, one final defensive knot was shattered as Melal charged directly into their weapons, impossibly avoiding any injury.
Only one fight remained: Chief Bufogu trading blows with the Catai. Yet as Slaten watched, he realized that it was a demonstration, not a fight.
Both warriors had lost their weapons and struck at one another with their fists, Bufogu not giving way to his larger opponent. Yet from their movements and the hot strength burning within the Bloodskin Chief, Slaten could tell that he was far superior to a Catai. His body seemed nearly as capable of absorbing punishment, each blow struck with bone-breaking force, and he was quick on his feet.
The only reason Bufogu was dragging the battle out was to let all of his men see his strength. It seemed an effective tactic, as Bloodskin warriors began circling the two, calling out encouragement, advice, or mockery of the mansthein.
As the danger faded away, Slaten struggled to stay on his feet. His world took on a dreamlike quality and he found himself staring down at the body of his last opponent. The man's hands were heavy and out of proportion to his body, but they looked like hands, not the jaw-like weapons he remembered. Had that been a delusion in the middle of combat, or had they truly changed?
While looking at the hands, Slaten realized that he should search the body more carefully. The man carried a flint, an eating knife, and several other practical items. Mostly disappointing. But as Slaten reached inside the man's tunic, he found a spindle of metal, firmly tied to the interior by a string around one spherical end. He had seen such a thing a few times before. A mansthein tool that spanned the world in the blink of an eye.
"That is an injury worthy of a Bloodskin man!" The booming voice took him off guard and Slaten found that Hogowo stood beside him. A vicious gash in the other man's shoulder bared a bit of bone, yet he ignored it, instead jabbing a finger at Slaten's shoulder. "I thought I'd received a grave injury, but yours takes the prize!"
Slaten numbly stared at his shoulder and realized that it looked truly horrendous. Much of his shirt had been torn away and half his torso was covered in blood. It hurt even through the numbness, but Slaten realized that the injury was much less serious than it appeared. His defensive arts had protected him somewhat, even if the effort had exhausted him.
Hogowo didn't seem to require a response, wandering away to talk to the others. Many Bloodskin warriors seemed to be comparing injuries, and apparently more blood was more respectable. That struck him as madness, since in the absence of a healer surely even Bloodskin bodies would be at risk of death.
Chief Bufogu struck down the Catai and roared out his triumph, signaling the true end of the battle. Those Bloodskins who weren't comparing injuries - or bleeding out on the rocks - began to loot the wagons, calling out whenever they found something particularly valuable. Yet again, he saw that some of the fallen were stabbed by their own comrades, but only those who had already died.
None of that mattered to Slaten. He only wanted to sit down and focus on surviving his shoulder injury, yet his legs locked in place. After the rush of the battle, he found himself strangely apathetic. He had survived, but for what?
A practical part of his mind forced him to examine the battleground for a weapon to replace the one he had lost. Most of the mansthein used crude, cheaply forged swords that would not hold up well in combat between warriors. Slaten wandered to one of the wagons that appeared to be filled with weapons. The blood coating one half of his body seemed to grant him permission to step through the Bloodskin warriors, who let him take his pick.
Once he had an adequate weapon, Slaten considered if he could replace his clothes. His Oken mantle, which had served him well all throughout the Chorhan Expanse, was destroyed beyond repair. None of the wagons seemed to contain clothing, however, only weapons and other supplies.
And, strangely, a large quantity of steel, forged into bars for transport. The Bloodskins who discovered that several of the wagons contained only steel were furious, one hurling a bar high into the mountains. Slaten bent down to pick up one bar. Beyond being surprised at how heavy it was, he didn't know enough about unforged steel to be sure of its quality.
He couldn't find it in him to fight over the spoils with the others. Instead he merely stood on the sidelines, thinking again about the way Natala had stared at him. Finding the silver spindle made him think of Celivia as well. Was he cursed, that both of his recent relationships had ended with his betrayal?
Those thoughts would lead him to dark places, so Slaten forced himself to focus. He examined the pile of items that the raiders had thrown aside for anything that might be valuable. Strangely they seemed to ignore jewelry, though that held just as little value to him. They threw aside a few items that he picked up as potentially useful, but little of it registered.
Until he found himself staring at a Yenith board. A cleverly worked hinge allowed it to bend in half, forming a sort of case. When he opened it, he discovered that all the pieces lay within. The set was finely worked, something that would have been a source of pride back in any Oken village.
His first thought was that Natala would want to learn how to play Yenith. Immediately he recoiled against it, thinking of her betrayal. But in the end he took the board with him.
Chapter 19
-
"Three other clans that deserve mention are those with rising reputations that could become a threat in the future. The Skullcrusher clan has a fearsome reputation among raiders and are said to be marshaling strength for a major attack on their rivals. The Bloodskin clan is one of the few clans growing in number, with a particular tendency to target mansthein caravans. There are rumors of a Heartblood clan of all female warriors where men are subordinate, but we were unable to determine to what degree this clan serves as a cultural specter."
- Scholars of the Blue Mask
-
The tranquility of the village might not have taken Tani any closer to Mount Tmil, but it was wonderful for her soul. She could sleep mostly without worry in exchange for a little hunting and simple farm work. In the evenings she spoke with Cabari and Rubako or simply sat and let her sein soak in the calmness of village life.
She told herself that her waiting served an explicit purpose: she needed to understand the Steelbone clan before she ventured further. Though Cabari said that they were fortunate to have the clan as their protectors, her voice always carried a strange hesitation, and Rubako always looked away with a surly expression when she raised the subject.
When the raiders finally arrived, it was almost without warning: one of the village men herding woolly bicorns let out a call. Tani grabbed her weapons and leapt to her feet, only to see that no one else in the village reacted with panic. They simply went quiet, some hiding within their houses, some gathering materials, and some only standing in silence.
Not long after, the Steelbones strode into the village. They struck her as exactly the same as all the other raiders, unified only by gray cloth collars that she suspected were made from ombo wool. As the small group came to a halt in the center of the village, she reflected that they were perhaps younger than average, many of them roughly her age.
One man strode forward, clearly the leader. He was several years older than the others and leaner than she'd come to expect from raiders, yet he moved with unexpected grace. She realized he was also the first raider she'd seen wearing any jewelry, a pair of shining bracers around his bare upper arms. Even as she noted that he had piercing hazel eyes and a handsome jaw, she slipped a throwing knife into her hand.
"The time for payment has come!" He called into the village and then watched in satisfaction with his arms folded as several people emerged with bundles of garments and baskets of food. When they retreated, he frowned. "This isn't everything we agreed."
"Please, Mohuno, this is all we can spare." One of the older men wrung his hands on the edge of his outermost cloth, eyes firmly on the ground. "It has been a difficult spring."
Mohuno stepped forward toward the man, who flinched back, then shook his head. "If this is all you can spare, we will take no more. But if you bring us such excuses the next time we arrive..."
He left the threat hanging in the air and the old man nodded furiously, babbling gratitude. The Steelbone leader had already forgotten him, eyes sweeping over the village. Having seen how little the villagers had, Tani thought that what he offered was not protection but extortion. Though he didn't seem as violent as the other raiders, he carried that same arrogance.
"Have any of the raiding clans troubled you?" Mohuno asked, and the question seemed more than cursory. Tani had to admit that perhaps he offered some protection after all.
"There have been no raiders," the old man said, "but there wa-"
He cut off as an old woman elbowed him in the side, but it was too late. Mohuno focused on him sharply. "Someone else came?"
Though the old man didn't answer, his gaze did shift toward the house where Tani currently hid. That flicker of his eyes was enough for Mohuno to turn on them. From within, Rubako scowled and started to pick up his spear, but Tani couldn't allow them to suffer in any way for her. She emerged from her hiding place to stand in front of the house.
"I am merely a traveler in these lands." She kept her back straight and forced her hands to stay on her belt as all the raiders turned to look at her. "I have taken nothing from these people and I want no part of wars between raiding clans."
"Well, then you are welcome. Very welcome indeed." His eyes ran over her quickly, but she felt their every movement before he looked directly at her. "At what brings you to the mountains of the Steelbones?"
"If I refuse to answer, will you attack me?"
"Of course not. The Steelbones offer protection, not violence."
"It doesn't look that way to me."
To her surprise, Mohuno responded by grinning. He turned and waved to his men. "Find your hosts for the night and, as we always do-" The raider stopped to give her an exaggerated glance. "-do no harm to these peasants. Take nothing they do not offer and touch no one who does not wish it."
The small group of raiders moved into the village, immediately greeted by villagers who rushed to offer them food and lodging. None of them touched the weapons they carried, but there was no need. All of the force was built into the polite words of their leader, who Tani remained uncertain of. She could see either unknowing amusement or intentional mockery in those dancing eyes.
"You have a sharp tongue." He came to stand in front of her and she took a step back so that she wouldn't need to look too far upward at him. "I like that. Too many of the village girls are so shy and bashful."
Though she mistrusted him, Tani didn't see any urge toward violence in Mohuno's eyes. If he intended to argue, she would cooperate. "Because you arrive with large groups of trained warriors and the threat of abandoning them to raiders if they do not comply."
Anger flashed on his face only briefly, but it caught on the edges of her mind. "Every other village in the Sotunn Mountains either fights for their lives against other clans or suffers their violent raiding. I offer everyone in my territory protection at a fair price. You think me some brutal tyrant, but I am their guardian."
"For people who struggle to survive, does it matter whether their food is taken with violence or kindness?"
"That's a stupid question! If we raided violently, we would take more and leave many dead. Villages this small would cease to exist. We are the stones upon which they can build their homes."
"If you and all other raiders ceased to exist, their homes would not collapse. They would flourish."
Mohuno let out a laugh, the emotion appearing just as quickly as his anger. "And what a grand world that would be! If all warriors laid down their arms, we might build something truly great... but I do not think the clans will do that in my lifetime. And I do not think it is any different in your lands, not given the weapons and the sein you carry."
Tani stiffened, though because of what he said instead of his mockery. She had to admit that he was at least partially right, even if his view was wrongheaded. "Being a warrior does not mean living by taking from others. I have traveled to many lands and only here do you find raiding clans like these."
"I would like to visit those other lands. Perhaps I might even believe you. Tell me, are all women warriors in such places?"
"Many." The fact that he had not attacked her when she argued with him made part of Tani want to relax, which brought a different sort of tension. "You are not going to tell me that women cannot be warriors?"
"Some believe that. I did, once." Mohuno turned away from her to gaze to the north. "If you had lived in the mountains your entire life, you would know that the Steelbones once attacked travelers from the Maenhu, stealing their armor and weapons. But we took too much, and too quickly. One day they sent against us a mere three warrior errants, and they killed most of our tribe's strongest men. Those who I had thought were strength itself fell like animals."
When he didn't continue, Tani found herself prompting. "And those warriors were women?"
"It was impossible to tell, clad in their suits of metal. But I survived long enough to hide, and I saw when they removed their helms that two of the three were women. And even among our own people, I have seen that hot and cold blood flow together in most. So no, I will not tell you that you cannot be a warrior."
"If most of your clan's strongest warriors died, how did you survive?"
"A good question!" Mohuno grinned and spread his arms as he turned back to her, and only then did Tani realize that he'd baited her. "Normally, a broken clan would be destroyed by its neighbors. But I gathered the survivors, led them to safety, and rebuilt the Steelbone clan. Here, we have realized that the clans have much to learn from those outside our lands."
"I suppose that is admirable." Now that she had established her immediate safety, Tani found herself wanting nothing more to do with Mohuno. He was handsome, but she knew that he would be an immense source of frustration. "I apologize for condemning you. If you will leave me alone, I will bother you no more."
"Perhaps I would like to be bothered." He stepped forward again, so close that they nearly touched. Tani automatically put a hand to the hilt of her sickle knife.
"Is that the real reason you go to collect each payment? In the hope of forcing women to sleep with you?"
"Forcing? I've never needed to do such a thing in my life. This village may be too small to have many young women, but in others, volunteers willingly throw themselves at us."
"The same way they willingly give you their food?"
Mohuno smiled and shook his head. "You are stubborn, but you do not know our ways. These people lived in terror for generations before they came under our protection. Most of them have never gone far from their homes, so they are happy to warm a dashing young warrior."
His infuriating arrogance nearly made her snap back at him. Strangely, it was thoughts of Slaten that made her pause. He would say that they did not know the culture of the Sotunn Mountains and could not judge. She wasn't sure if she agreed with that, but she accepted that arguing with this raider would not accomplish anything. Besides, if she pushed too far she might find violence underneath that smile.
"I can see that you are not so impressed." Mohuno shook his head, still smiling. "But I am quite impressed, and now I'll not be content with some local village girl. If you refuse me, I'm going to have to fuck a bicorn."
Tani gaped at the sudden turn, which made him grin.
"You would probably be better conversation, but you see bicorns are very woolly indeed."
"I'd probably be better conversation?" She hadn't meant to answer, yet found herself responding to his provocation.
"Bicorns habitually butt heads with one another. For a brute like me, that's close enough."
Despite herself, Tani laughed, and when she saw his answering grin she didn't feel as frustrated as she should have. Mohuno was clearly arrogant, but it was not the stiff arrogance that she hated in so many men. He thought a great deal of himself without insisting that others do the same.
Compared to the Bloodskins or the Stormpeaks, it was acceptable.
"Come now," Mohuno said, putting a hand to his chest. "Are you going to leave a poor man to spend the night with bicorns?"
"I can see the passion in your eyes when you talk about them. Far be it from me to stand in the way of love." Her retort got a laugh from him and she took the opportunity to turn away and duck into the hut. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw that he had taken a step after her, but didn't follow. After shaking his head, he walked away.
Once inside, Tani breathed a sigh of relief, though for more complex reasons than she had expected.
Behind her, she saw the siblings watching her with considerable surprise. Rubako shook his head at her. "I wouldn't test him. All he cares about is enriching himself."
"Does he take more than he claimed?" Tani asked. Rubako just spat out the back door and then made his way outside. Cabari remained quiet, her eyes downcast, and Tani sat down beside her. She said nothing until eventually the other woman spoke.
