Interregnum Ch. 01

Finally, there was Anise. Odo never had much of a recollection of her, because she died on 1182 at the age of eight. It was a horrible event that tore the village apart with grief. Anise drowned in the village well, only to have Aelith find her after she was dead. Aelith wasn't the same person after that event, it had scarred her somehow.

It was odd thinking about it now because things had changed. John was reasonable, his brother wasn't. Hugh is a blacksmith's apprentice about a month off from leaving Ralf to become a journeyman. Aelith is the well-off daughter of a successful farmer, a valuable commodity in the village of Trevby. There were not many prospects to which she could marry here since there were few men of age.

Odo shrugged off his past memories and started walking back home in a short span of time.

Narla saw her son arrive first. The sight of her sent Odo in a state of happiness.

Instead of recognising Odo's arrival, Narla went back inside the house. The glare in her eyes before she entered the house was all the warning that Odo needed. Odo heeded to her wishes and set about to the shed with an iron will.

Once Odo arrived at the shed, he began laying out his bundles of sticks and poles of wood in a line before using his bill to hack away at some of the sticks, turning them into fine kindling-bits that were to be fed into the fire. Sometimes Odo used a spare piece of firewood on the spine of the bill to further the chopping power of the blade but was careful not to whack his hand with it.

Once the sticks were cut to sufficient size, he returned the bill to his belt.

Odo grabbed several bales full of the cut sticks onto a small wooden compartment near the roof of the oven so that the heat would dry the sticks out. Once the sticks were ordered out, he grabbed the poles and staves of fresh wood and gathered them together on a separate enclosure away from the rain and moisture so that they could dry out over time slowly. The 'green' hazel poles could be sold today if he wished it since a good bunch always went for a farthing or two, or a cut penny. They were bendy yet strong and great for constructing willow fences.

Once the sticks were all assembled, Odo retrieved the driest cut-up pieces and began to feed them inside the small entrance that held the faint fire in the oven. It was fortunate that Odo had returned when he had, otherwise the now faint flickers of flame would have been dead.

Odo was careful in throwing the kindling in to ensure that there was an even burn. Odo had learned over many months of trial and error the best ways to throw them in, but was always careful to not throw them in too strongly, otherwise it would just knock off other loose bits of wood and stir them around. Ashwood was great for starting the fire but burned with less heat than other woods.

Odo's brow had grown sweaty in the time it took him to build up a sufficient enough fire for the oven.

Odo was toiling away, now throwing in chunks of firewood that were quite thick when the voice of a woman issued forth. It was a voice that Odo knew well.

"Winters end to you Odo, is your mother around?"

It was Aelith Ludgren, eighteen years of age, and soon to be nineteen in two months time. Her reddish-brown hair, her round and freckled face, they were both the centrepieces of her body. Her green eyes were like gleaming emeralds in the light. Her cleavage lacked in depth but her waist and thighs made up for that potential shortcoming, not that Odo cared about breast size that much. He only liked women who were nice to him, and that was rare, for what woman could possibly find an orc to be good company?

Today, Odo noticed that she was wearing a Tan-dyed dress of what must have been twilled wool. Over her dress was a sleeveless surcoat of grey woolen fabric with two vertical slits cut at the waist so that Aelith could reach through to her belt to retrieve her pouch without having to remove her surcoat. She was wearing weld-dyed hose, the yellow was fresh and had yet to fade, so it must have been newly fashioned. Her hair was free and uninhibited by the usual cowl that adult women usually wore, showing that she was unmarried.

Odo quickly wiped off his brow before turning to face Aelith.

"Yes, mother is inside. Winters end to you."

Aelith Ludgren may not have realised it, but Odo had already noticed her infatuation for him, it had seemingly started at age twelve, though Odo didn't know why. He was not sure if it was his orcish traits that attracted her because he had nothing in exchange that he could provide her. He owned no lands and owned very little money. He had nothing but a pittance, roughly three silver shillings worth in silver pennies, should all things be equal.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother. I will return when she is out." Aelith said, her eyes drawn to Odo's body.

"Nay." Odo turned from the opening of the oven. He suddenly felt self-conscious when he noticed all the soot that blanketed his hands, and he tried to disguise them.

Aelith eyed Odo as though he were a piece of venison basting over a roaring fire.

Odo spoke up, to take away from the awkward silence. "I pray my appearance is not too dirty."

Aelith's eyes gauged Odo up and down for a moment or so, before giving her reply.

"Not at all, you look rather fine in that tunic. The light blue goes well with your pinkish grey skin, and it matches with the tone of your eyes."

"Really?" Odo always wondered what he looked like outside of his own body. Odo only saw his reflection in bodies of clear water, he wasn't impressed. "I always was partial to red clothing myself, but the only dyed fabric was in blue when mother made it, not a madder root in sight that could be bought. Even if there was, I'd have to have been a burgher's son to earn that."

Narla, seemingly hearing the conversation, spoke out from within the house.

"Who's that voice I'm hearing? Odo!" Not a moment later Narla came through the door.

Narla spotted Aelith to the side and grinned. Odo did not like that grin.

Aelith offered a greeting to Narla. "Winters end to you."

Narla simply nodded her head. "Winters end to you Aelith. Tell me, why would you be here if not to cavort with my son, I take it?"

Aelith's face blushed up with red swathes throughout her cheeks.

"Ma!" Odo's voice was strained from shock at what his mother had said. Narla grinned; she took every opportunity to embarrass her son whenever she was able to.

Aelith simply spoke back to Narla in the hopes of dashing the flames that lit up her face. "Thomas wants your best bread for the feast. Dad's willing to pay as much as two silver shillings if you can make enough in time. He will provide the flour."

Odo was shocked. Two silver shillings were about the equivalent of three to four months of pay for the normal two penny wage without factoring in life expenses, which would make it about six to eight months. That was equivalent to about ten months worth of wages for Odo depending on how much he could sell off for the crops and the wooden poles that he could sell, minus the crops to be given annually to the fief lord.

Odo could only sell when merchants came through, where he could sell off some of his stored ash for a pittance of what he could get if he went to the cities and sold them himself, but money was money and Odo gave the poles to them for little. If Odo had his way, he would go to a city but his mother needed him on most days, day-in-day-out.

"Very well, I will see what I can do." Narla sighed to herself, thinking about what she should do with the profits. "Odo, do whatever you want for a few hours. It would be better if you weren't here whilst I work."

"Really?" Odo said.

Narla walked inside the house, seeing no need to talk further.

"Maybe we should go somewhere?" Aelith offered whilst at the same time took to holding Odo's hands on her hip as though she were his wife. Odo was shocked, but decided to not be vocal and went along with her ploy.

"Where do you want to go?" Odo said.

"Take me to the woods." Aelith said, eyes gauging Odo's face for his reaction.

Odo turned to look at her face to see if she was joking, she was not.

"There is little there in the forest except for trees, vermin, and bandit-folk. I will not take you there."

Aelith pouted her lips for a moment but decided on a new course of action.

"Take me home then."

If there was a warning sign, it was being lit up right now within Odo's head. Aelith was attractive, but Odo could not see himself in a relationship with her. Odo thought about it for a moment but decided that he might as well go to Thomas's house and check up on their homestead.

Odo lead the way with Aelith holding onto Odo's hand all the while. To be honest, it reminded him of his childhood, having Aelith on his arms again. He had to admit... he could see himself liking this.

"How is Thomas anyway, I haven't seen him for a good while?"

Aelith turned her head to face Odo. "Dad is good. He is marrying me off to some perspective from another village, though Da's waiting for the bride-price."

Odo didn't know whether to feel relieved or jealous. It was true that while Odo didn't foster any love for Aelith, he knew that she would make a fine wife and would bear fine children. At that unbidden image, he wondered if quarter orc babies were a possibility, but threw that thought right out of the window.

Upon arriving at Thomas Ludgren's homestead, Thomas made his way over to Odo and his daughter, though upon seeing Odo and Aelith's hands together, he viewed Odo with suspicion.

"Odo Garlok, whose hands do you think you are holding?"

Thomas saying Odo's name would have been a part of a normal conversation, but the moment he heard his last name being mentioned, his brain kicked into overdrive.

"Nothing Thomas, your daughter was the one who held herself in my hands."

Thomas laughed, knowing what Odo said was the truth.

"My comely daughter thinks to escape a marriage by climbing her way into this young man's braies, huh?"

Aelith knew she had been caught out.

"How did you know?"

Thomas didn't even answer her question, instead, he turned his head to face Odo before ushering a simple declaration.

"Odo, if your cock so much as pierces my daughter's flower, you will be paying the bride price and the dowry. Now be off with you."

Thomas was about to leave when the clap-clap-clap steps of a horse came through the fields.

Odo noticed the figure of the man upon the horse travelling at amble pace. It was Wayloran Ludfie, adorned in a cote made of fine woollen broadcloth in a red colour, his head covered in a woad-dyed hood with a brim that was rolled twice. Both items were so well tailored that anyone would think him to be a low-born noble. Wayloran Ludfie was rich enough that he hired work hands to attend to his lands whilst he ran the local tavern, which was the centrepiece of the whole village of Trevby. Odo knew that Wayloran travelled to and fro thrice-yearly to purchase supplies in bulk at a city. From there, Wayloran probably visited the churches nearby Trevby to buy good quality ale, which was presumably carted through. Odo had no idea how Wayloran got his ale anyway, and Odo didn't care, but Wayloran always stocked good drink.

"Thomas... Odo, have you heard?" Wayloran cleared his throat for a moment before he started shouting out again. "A gang of rival knights have overtaken the neighbouring fief lord's manor and put his head on a stake..."

Thomas laughed before he issued a hate filled statement. "They took Guer's head? well I cannot complain since the fucking bastard got what he deserved. My daughter and me, we ate boiled nettles and grass the last part of the winter because of his taxes."

Aelith remained quiet.

Odo butted in, attempting to kiss-ass to Thomas. "Guer Rieslag is dead... long may he rot."

Wayloran grinned before speaking again. "Hahahahahaha, blast and damnation to him, the bugger-eyed bastard is dead now. I lost good money from you lot not having the money to buy from me!"

Odo took the chance to brag back to Wayloran. "Now you are going to lose all of your drink Wayloran. I heard ale is served for cheap on festive days, and if you water down the drink's, I will know it. You're going to be a pauper this year, Wayloran! Better start selling your clothes back to the cheats in the cities."

Wayloran chuckled for a moment, stopping his horse short of Odo before speaking down. "I know it, to my shame... To my shame that I will not serve you if you continue speaking ill of me."

Odo laughed back. "To shame that I won't be able to drink. You may not have heard this before, but I heard that us Orc-men can drink you all under house and cart. You would lose all your income if you debarred me from your establishment."

"I never would leave you out of my establishment, I need you too much!" Wayloran quickly tapped his hood, to emphasise what he was going to say. "See, you all make me rich, a penny at a time."

Thomas quickly spoke up, laughing under his teeth. "Fuck you, you prancy-nancy bastard... be off with you Wayloran, tell the village the great news."

Wayloran grinned. "Fuck you too, Thomas, you keep that daughter of yours wrapped up tight. I have heard that Orc-boys are keen on free daughters."

Odo laughed as Wayloran was rushing off. "We were just discussing that earlier, you moon-calf... Not with that bride-price on her!"

Wayloran turned his head and shouted back to Odo. "I'm sure you were, you lusty cur-dog!"

Twenty seconds later, Wayloran had departed from the horizon, obscured by trees.

Thomas struck Odo lightly across a shoulder. "You remember this Odo, you watch yourself with my daughter." Thomas sighed to himself. "I like you, but I like getting paid too. You have strength, fortitude, and you are most of all a kindly fellow, but you lack money and influence. I have no qualms about you visiting my daughter as a friend, but if you fuck my daughter, I will be disappointed in you."

Thomas walked away, not that Odo could comment further since he agreed with him. Odo was not husband material to Aelith, whose father was influential. Thomas could even be the next Reeve someday, how could Odo compare to that.

Aelith quickly jumped onto Odo's back as soon as Thomas had left. He was shocked by her conduct.

"Aelith, what is wrong with you?"

Aelith shrugged. "Look, I don't want to be given away to somebody else whom I have never met before, I want to be with somebody I know, somebody I trust... I want you."

Odo sighed, he did not know how to approach the subject, but he tried his best.

"Look Aelith, your father has made this clear to me... I cannot take you, not without harming myself, financially, I would be hurt, my mother would be hurt, I would be hurt. I am afraid that I cannot be the one to love you... I am afraid that I cannot take you in the way that you want me to take you."

Aelith looked down to the ground sullenly. "I know Odo, I know... it just, it hurts somehow."

Odo took his right hand and placed it on Aelith's shoulder. "Listen, we can meet up at the tavern and enjoy ourselves as friends, it may be your last Winter's end feast here in the village. You'll be off with your husband and I will still be here, sowing and ploughing the fields all through the seasons with keen eye, but at the least we can have these few fun days left to remember each other by."

"You're right Odo... I will look forward to it, I hope I do."

Odo removed his hand from Aelith's shoulder, before turning to leave. "I must leave now; I will be working away at the lodge."

Aelith looked up, her eyes watery with held back tears. "May I come with you, I have nothing to do around here, except think about my future with a husband who I have never seen before... the thought that he might be ugly or deformed, or that his temperament might be horrible..."

Odo shook his arm in an attempt to dissuade her thoughts. "Sure, if you like watching a big orc-man like myself carve out a few bowls with a lathe and a piece of sharpened iron. I don't know how that could be called fun."

Aelith giggled and Odo smiled at her response.

It took about fifteen minutes of walking before Odo arrived at the lodge, which was about forty paces away from the tavern.

"Taking the lady out for a stroll before she meets the ugly outsider from beyond the village, huh!?"

Odo turned around, grinning all the while. It was Roderick, woodsman and carpenter and the man to whom Odo was apprenticed for the past six years.

Odo held out his hand, and Roderick shook it.

"You are free for today, Odo. Today we dance and sing and eat our fill of fine winter fare."

Aelith looked at Roderick, her eyes drawn by the manner with which both men spoke.

Roderick grinned to himself as he noticed Aelith's attention, then made a joke. "Odo, there is to be no screwing in here either, if you two wish to fuck, do it outside."

Odo laughed at the crude humour of his master, then swore back.

"If there is fucking to be going on in here, it will be on you, Roderick. It will be you getting screwed over when we tip over and ruin all your expensive tools in my haste to finish!"

Aelith's face grew red in the sidelines while the two laughed at the joke, to her expense.

"A haste to finish is it... If your work experience shows the same as in your bed, I will feel sorry for your women, Odo. You finish much too fast for an apprentice... that is a great trait for a man on the job, but finishing too fast in bed... not good!"

Odo had no comeback for that.

Roderick stood there for a moment, his face now showed that he was serious.

"Now, Aelith, I trust your father is going to have you married off?"

Aelith nodded her head up and down, affirming his question.

"If there is an affair going around, my ears are deaf and my eyes are blind... but that is all I can promise."

Odo tried to inform Roderick of Odo's situation.

"Roderick, there is nothing that will occur between me and Aelith, we are friends dealing with the threat of never being able to see one another again for the entirety of our lives, and so we wish to be together for the last moments. I won't lay with Aelith, not without destroying my own life in the process."

Roderick sighed for a moment, then coughed, then murmured a small sentence beneath his breath.

"I see... makes me sad."

Roderick left after a moment.

Now in front of the Lodge with nothing to do, Odo realised that he was now filled with time. There was no job needing his attention for several hours, what could he do to pass the time?

****

Baron Reginald Osprey, Sixth son of Guilebern, sat in his newly conquered hall of Dunsby Manor.

Reginald was once the fief lord of Drarby, but thanks to the downfall of King Hjaralda, Reginald can now safely call himself the ruler of Drarby and its nearby villages in everything but name. Almost... there was but one more claimant from the line of Rieslag, whom were previous owners from the time of King Pepin, whom stipulated that they be rightful owners of Drarby and the lands and villages surrounding it in perpetuity, for an act of valour on the field of Arjor in Ballingar in 1084.

But, that ruling was overturned when Guilebern, whom through similar acts of valour on the field of Libera, managed to capture six knights and Prince Lorin and ransomed them off with enough money to pay for lands and titles. King Hjaralda took personal note of his accomplishments and made him his comptroller of finances over the central region of Wrydia six years later.

Reginald Osprey put his hand to his goblet of hippocras and set it to his lips. He enjoyed the exoticness, the spices and the way that it warmed its way down through his entire body.

And with his body being warmed, he thought back to how he had accomplished his new accolade.