The House of Leaves

Polished — 24m06s — 2023/12/12

In the year 1122, the judge clerics began recording the number of Ebertin’s people killed or abducted by naga, and also the number of naga killed by the people. In that first year of record, there were 181 humans killed or abducted by naga, and there were 23 naga killed by men. In 1336, the last year for which there are numbers, there were 1,427 men killed or abducted by naga, and 393 naga killed by the people. Both these numbers may seem dramatically increased, but one must remember that there are far more people in Ebertin these days, and it is believed that there are far more naga in Beletrain—so it is not surprising that there is such an increase in losses on both sides.

Indeed, the current marks may look high when compared to that first year, but over the centuries the numbers have seen much greater peaks. For example, in the year 1306, the judge clerics recorded the abduction of 6,438 of the people, of which most were children; and in the year 1127, a total of 25,423 were killed or abducted, most of whom died during the Long Night—as the fourth of Somerlie turned to the fifth. This tragic battle is also known as the Revealing, the First Fight, and the Night of the Fang—among other titles given by the various militias that fought in the action.

The years 1309 and 1310 saw the most naga die by human hands, as the Two-Year War, also called the Low Burning culminated in 12,190 naga deaths in the first year, and 13,761 naga deaths the second. This action involved 68 militias and over 150,000 men, of which a total of 17,753 died—though their sacrifice more than doubled the territory that men controlled under the city.

Still, these large numbers are dwarfed by the greatest calamity of this long running conflict. In 1189, members of the Ebon Star Militia poisoned several of the underground waterways, aqueducts, and canals. At the time, little was known of the complex waterworks that ran through Beletrain—indeed, little is still known—though we know far more than before. Most men dared not mess with the miraculous system, as it feeds both cities clean water and also removes their wastes—yet the Ebon Star proceeded with the poisoning anyway. The hope was to cripple the naga—but it is believed that the action killed almost exclusively humans. According to the judge clerics 108,242 people—nearly one in every ten people of the great city—died as a result of the ‘Bad Drink’, as the incident is commonly called. Once their actions came to light, the Ebon Star militia was forced to disband after Muaha Dalinfoers declared them negligent in the extreme. Sixteen men and women were hanged for their part in the crime, and another thirty-one suffered years of imprisonment.

— On the Bloody Shores of Kundilae: A History of the Long War between the Men of Ebertin and the Naga of Beletrain, by Wybrow the Wanderer. Page 32

~!@#$%^&*()_+ 6.2 +_)(*&^%$#@!~

The first night at the House of Leaves, Baet witnessed the brothers Homoth and Komotz play cards as they maintained the first watch. He studied the game, fascinated by the strange style of their cards, and itched his palms. The second night, the brothers played several games against Baet, who proved to be a fast learner. The third night, the brothers broke out the copper and began to play each other for money. They tried to tempt Baet into playing with them again, but this time he refused.

On his way to bed, Toar happened past the friendly game, and since he could interpret for the group, the brothers asked why the guard refused to play for mere copper. “You must remember,” Toar replied for Baet. “We were quite recently prisoners, and all our stuff was taken, including our money,” he shrugged. “He has nothing to bet.”

Homoth and Komotz stared at each other for a long second, surprised that they had not realized this on their own. With a nod, Komotz pushed a small stack of copper at the Saot. “It shall be quicker for me to take money from two men instead of one," he smiled.

“Well I simply have too much of it!" Homoth declared and pushed more copper bits toward Baet.

The two small piles stared at the Saot, and a stupid grin spread across his face. Figuring the hours would be long and tedious if he only watched the game from afar—and since the brothers made such a demonstration of wanting him to play—he allowed himself to be persuaded. Besides, it was just a few copper!

The three men whiled away the hours as they played card games that were new to Baet—yet, the Saot was a consummate gambler, and he quickly divined the mechanics of their foreign games. With Lady Luck on his side, Baet lost little and gained a great deal. He collected bits and bots from the generous brothers as they scratched their heads in disbelief and introduced the Saot to some of their favorite curse words.

But the games would not last forever. Deep into the fourth night, as the next guard approached, the front door smashed open. Aim appeared with Elpis over one shoulder and Wenifas leaning on the other. “Coming through!” he bellowed as he stepped into the room, and immediately handed the priestess off to the first available hands, those that belonged to Baet.

The Saot guard stared at the entrancing foreigner, her face a mask of trepidation and askance, as she held a fussing and irritable Evereste. The beautiful priestess was not her usual dour self, but seemed sapped and completely lost. Baet took her in hand, and Wenifas was all too happy to accept his support, a fact that both excited and concerned the guard. With a flutter in his heart, Baet led her to a couch and had her sit.

Wenifas flounced on the couch and almost spilled her babe. She was covered in grime, her hair was a tangle, and her right hand was wrapped in a soiled bandage. She had developed quite a smell as she hushed her daughter. She moaned and sighed as she settled against the cushions of the couch—and even though it came from exhaustion and frustration, Baet found the sounds to be quite erotic.

The house woke and bodies started to pour down the stairs—but not before Scurra, Duboha, and Apulton entered the house. Apulton closed and secured the door behind them, then Aim proceeded up the stairs with a heavily bandaged Elpis on his shoulder—as he struggled against the rush of traffic coming down the stairs.

Celesi appeared among the others. “Weni!” she called, then ran down and joined the priestess on the couch. She wrapped the older lady in a hug.

“Oh!” the priestess said, and slowly put a reciprocating arm around Celesi. “I missed you too,” she squawked, and looked as if she would cry.

Evereste squirmed and chirped. Celesi frowned as Wenifas hushed her child once more, then leaned back on the couch, all but defeated. Celesi took hold of the child and gingerly pulled the girl from the priestess.

Wenifas tried to protest.

“My sweet sister, you must relax,” Celesi kissed the priestess as she took possession of the babe. "We can all see that you have suffered something dreadful, and I have had too much time to rest! Let me see to your child. I shall care for her as if she were my own.”

Wenifas relinquished Evereste. “She needs changed,” the priestess confessed. “She needs food.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’ve had nothing to give her,” she collapsed back into the couch.

Celesi soothed Wenifas and stroked her hair. “I will see that she is tended. Sit, relax, and know that we are here for you.”

“Where's Meu?” Wenifas asked.

Celesi frowned and shook her head. “She is not among us,” she said, as there was still no sign of the old slender redhead.

Wenifas buried her face in Celesi’s shoulder, and began to bawl. “There are so many of us missing!”

Celesi turned toward Baet with a critical eye. “Get some food,” she ordered the myopic guard. “Get fruit and soft things for the baby.”

More than happy to be of assistance, Baet went into the kitchen and searched through the pantry and chill box. He assembled a plate of berries, a soft pear, milk, honey, and a bit of cheese; the light sort of fare he preferred when he was sick. He returned as Celesi finished with the child's diaper. Wenifas was slumped to the side, her eyes closed as she breathed even. Was the beauty asleep so soon?

Celesi took the plate from Baet with one hand and gave him the spent diaper with the other. “Thank you,” she said with a smile, as she figured he should be encouraged for his good behavior. Then, she forgot about him and turned her attention back to Evereste.

“Thank Jeiju!” Traust stated as he arrived in the room, with the duke and his captain behind him. He was all too happy to see Scurra and Wenifas; and to know that Elpis was also home. They may be in a sore condition—especially Elpis—but that was much preferred to being lost. “Where have you been?!” He asked his cousin, Scurra. “We heard of what happened to Yandira, and we feared the worst…”

“Yes,” Scurra began. “We were ambushed at the Lady’s estate. We fought our way back to the road—but during the fracas, Elpis was struck. It was a shallow strike, but it nicked the artery, and he bled something fierce. For a time I thought he'd bleed out—but he humped that hill,” she continued. “Anyway, we were chased from the Lady's land and managed to lose them as we approached the slant streets.”

Traust frowned. “We were right to think they would go after our friends—but I did not expect them to be so immediate! I should not have sent so few to go to the Lady's house. Then we may not have lost her.”

Scurra shook her head. “Even if we all went, it wouldn’t have been enough. There were at least fifty soldiers there.” She glanced about the room, then asked her own question. “Have you seen the wanted posters?”

“Wanted posters?” Traust began. “I haven’t been off the property since we arrived.”

Scurra shrugged. “We saw a couple yesterday though I cannot say they look much like us.”

“What are we worth?” Andrus asked.

“You’re a hundred chit,” she informed.

Andrus frowned. “A hundred chit barely seems worth it.”

“The ones they really want are the foreign duke, and my brother,” Scurra said. “It seems to be accepted that they orchestrated Kezodel's death. The two are worth five thousand chabling a piece.”

That impressed the room—at least, most of it. “It's fake money, no matter the amount,” Andrus snorted, “It's like they don't really want to catch us at all.”

“Even if their money is a lie, it is a generally accepted lie,” Traust noted. “And since it is accepted, five thousand chabling would see a frugal man through many years. But enough of the price on our heads,” he continued. “You were running from Degorouth and Ministrians near the slant streets. It took you four days to get from there to here?”

Scurra gave a nod and continued with her story. “We got away, but we were going the wrong direction. We decided to backtrack through the tunnels of Beletrain—which got us away from the Degorouth and Ministrians—but brought us other problems.”

“No!” Homoth's eyes grew wide at the suggestion. “You saw a naga!?”

Scurra bobbled her head about, shaking and nodding all at once. “I wouldn't say I saw it,” Scurra admitted, “But we certainly had a run-in with one of the bastards.” She leaned close to Traust. “You'll notice the priestess is missing her boy,” she whispered.

Celesi's eyes went wide as she heard the hushed statement. She glanced about room—though she knew she would not find the lad. No wonder Wenifas was so distressed! The others shook their heads. Celesi thanked their stars that Wenifas was oblivious to the conversation. With a lump in her throat, Celesi cradled Evereste a little bit tighter.

“Well, there is some good news,” Traust replied. “Your brother is awake—or should I say he is out of his coma. How he sleeps through all this noise is beyond me.”

Scurra gave a nod. “If he is well, then we should wake him. I would like him to see Elpis.”

Traust shrugged. “He’s sore with scarring about his face and chest, and his hands are as thin as twigs. Saleos can see to Elpis—unless you think it is truly necessary to bother the shaman.”

“If Saleos is up to the task, I suppose we could leave it there,” Scurra replied. “Either way, I should like him to see after the priestess. She’s—well—its mostly emotional, but someone should take a look at her hand too.”

“It’s an awful lot for one man,” Apulton said as he stood. “Perhaps I should wake the shaman after all?” With a nod from Traust, Apulton proceeded to take the stairs two at a time.

“Figures you'd be the one to see a naga,” Homoth complained.

“The naga,” Scurra repeated. “Damned thing tried to take my head off with a mallet! I just heard it and managed to dodge—but I lost my footing and fell. Lucky for me, the beast turned on the others, or I’d be dead. Still, it was not so lucky for the others. The beast was more than a match for Elpis since our cousin has just the one good arm. Then the beast turned on the priestess,” she continued. “The priestess saved us all. She found a black powder bomb in the folds of my brother's cloak and jammed it into the naga’s face—which is how she managed to burn up her hand.”

“So the beast screamed and disappeared back into the murk with it’s face on fire—but it had sense enough to take the boy with it,” Scurra hanged her head. “What were we to do? We could not search for him,” she began to choke up. “After the naga, I wrapped another rag around Elpis, and we limped for the exit at full hobble,” she shook her head. “We came out of the tunnels at Fowler's Auction. Fowler promised to send word and asked that we stay until you could come get us—I assume you heard nothing from the man?”

“Not a peep,” Duboha confirmed. “We received no word from anyone, and we’ve checked all our drops religiously.”

Scurra huffed. “At first, I thought nothing was wrong at Fowler’s and managed to sleep for a bit. Then I suffered a nightmare, and when I woke, I could not shake a sense of dread—so we left and made for the apartment in Peverly. There was no sight or sound of the Ladies of the Daffodil, still we stayed there until noon—which was the only decent sleep I’ve had in days. Last night, we stayed in some ditch among the homeless, then continued along our way as the sun came up. About sundown, your sneaks found us down by the Church of the Muaha Dalinfoers.”

“That’s a slow trek indeed,” Andrus noted.

Scurra snorted. “I had to drag a half dead man and escort a woman lost in her sorrows. Each time I turned around, the priestess was wandering off and Elpis was doing his best to die on me! We were forced to take a lot of breaks, and this city is way too big!” she finished with a dramatic wave. Her anger didn't last. It melted into a smile as she stared at the worried faces all about. “By Jeiju, it's good to be among friends!” She said as she hugged them one and all. “I’m gonna sleep well tonight!” she grinned.

Apulton returned, and since there was a lull in conversation, he spoke. “Your brother will be down in a bit. He means to see Elpis, and he says he has something for the priestess if she should want it.”

Celesi turned to Baet, who was oblivious to the conversation since it was all in Trohl—until the apprentice Jay turned to him and spoke in Ministrian. “Will you see the lady up to my room?”

Baet nodded and gently picked Wenifas off the couch. To the Saot's delight, she laid her head against his shoulder. He carried the priestess up the stairs as the others continued to converse. Despite the dirt and wear of her misadventures, she was still a sight to see, and since the babe was changed, she didn't smell near as much as before. His heart soared.

At the end of the hall, Baet shifted Wenifas so he might open the door—and felt a familiar lump press against his chest. it was Cloud Breaker! He knew it immediately!

The musket was tucked somewhere among the folds of the shaman’s cloak, as the cloak was wrapped about the priestess. Baet glanced down the hall. Sure that they were alone, he shifted the woman in his arms and felt about her person, in hopes that he might retrieve his weapon. With a moan and a whimper, Wenifas protested his touch. Baet shushed her as he continued to dig about the layers of her clothes.

The door across the hall popped open. Krumpus stepped from his room looking haggard and worn. The angry scar about his face and neck no longer smoldered as it had in the Great Court—but it still added a ghoulish element to his scowl—as he noted the Saot’s hand buried in the priestess' clothing.

Chagrined, Baet pulled his hand out from under the folds of the cloak. “It's not what you think!” he defended with the offending arm in the air.

With a snort, Krumpus grabbed the man’s ear; then pulled Baet into his room and ordered him to set the lady on the bed. Once the priestess was down, Krumpus pushed Baet out of the room and down the stairs, all while the guard protested his innocence.

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