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Over the next few an to wane, another twenty-seven villagers returned, and twenty-five of the to kiss Aulutis&039; foot and swear their allegiance to him in order to stay The tho refused cursed Csi terrible ruin for her and her son, who had not been bathed in the blood of a sacrificial horse; they had come at the end of summer, and Csimenae had assumed the threat of winter would incline them to make their vows to Aulutis When they refused, she had pointedly ignored the as they execrated her naone and she was alone in her house did she give way to the tears that had alle chair and held Aulutis close to her while she did her best to stifle her sobs

"You have been very brave," Sanct&039; Gerh the narrow rear door that led to the barn and the sheepfold

"What are you doing here?" she de with her effort to control it; she put both her arms around Aulutis

"I have finished ht be in soates" He had expected such a confrontation, but had not thought it would co as she wiped her eyes "I ary"

"No doubt," said Sanct&039; Germain "Others before you have done the salaring at hin of weakness, not of fury If I had horses, they would know better I would an to rock Aulutis, cal him and herself at the same time

"Rilsilin said that five men refused to make their vows to your son," Sanct&039; Germain went on

"Five? What five would be so defiant?" She did not quite laugh, but the barking sound sheoutside "Two; just two One was Dantho, who keepskept the olive trees He said he is entitled to rule here, nothe has the right to rule"

"And did he rule here before the Great Pox?" Sanct&039; Ger her more closely than she knew

"His cousin did Occathin He and his father before hin wife to the village; he was disgraced by her Before then, it was the old priests who ruled here Occathin&039;s father changed that, randfather could He was head of the woodsone to a monastery where the o, who trapped animals for their hides He has no importance here No one will mind if he stays away" She had ht Her face was alert and she spoke with banked ei, to find a living for theiven to their hter had been "The horses did not hold much honor in his sacrifice, and those one"

"Did Dantho say so?" Sanct&039; Geres of her eyes tighten

"No Dantho says that all of Occathin&039;s blood will coht to any of this" She held up her head "You do not knohat scorn I feel for all of thehtly ironic as a way to shore up her flagging spirits; some of his own memories were equally harsh, but he did not speak of them

She wiped furiously at her eyes "I do not want them here If they despise me, let them live in the forest, with the rest of the beasts" Her face tightened "The signs are for an early winter Perhaps they will starve"

"Perhaps they will have to ask you to take thele excla so foolish? They have chosen their way" As Aulutis began to cry, she rocked hiht be prudent to show them clemency, should they ask for it, for the sake of the other returning villagers," he said, taking care not to argue the point He glanced at the shelves that served as a pantry, and noticed that there were very few bits of bread left "Have theat him "We have not made a donation, so they-"

"If you need a few coins for the donation, I will provide them You ant the flour shortly, or the rains will make it hard to fetch the barrels up muddy tracks" He realized he should have tended to this on his own, that she would never ask anything of hi beholden to him

"Why should you pay for flour when you eat no bread?" she challenged, daring now to look him full in the face "It would be better to let me have one of your two horses, for a true sacrifice"

"I want the flour for the sake of the village," he said quietly "I do not plan to leave here before spring, and perhaps not then Why should I want to see all of you starving simply because my appetites are not what yours are" He came a few steps closer to her "Tell n of my devotion to Aulutis"

Her voice and her n of anything?"

"Because he is a baby; one day soon he will eat bread and cheese, as you do It would be best if you have bread to give hih of a crop planted to provide bread for more than a week or two after you harvest it" He did not change his deaze convinced her

"All right Since you will be here until spring, and perhaps longer" She cocked her head "Why do you want to stay so long? You do not have to re a haven froi, or the Church?" It was the first tiarded hii ould be pleased to detain me because I would be of use to them And I alad to coood-will of the Episcus and the Jews, and no one has counterhed, knowing she expectedto Tolosa where I have holdings I have a blood relative in Rome, and I may visit there to show honor to-"

"Yes, yes," she said impatiently "But it is still odd to o to Tolosa"

"If the roads are in bad repair, I would have to stay in another village on another road in another part of the ood as any of them" He smiled briefly "And here I have been made to feel welco flour is useful," he pointed out

"I will believe you because it suitsher child through the worn linen of his tunica "And because ers In better tiers would have planted enough grain to h the winter Well They have sworn allegiance to my son, and in his name I must take care to see they are taken care of"

Sanct&039; Germain saw her quick frown "Do you want to send word to the monastery at Templo Antica? It is near Osca They have flour to sell"

"If you will go there and bring back ill need, I will be grateful I will not ask for either of your horses if you do this for us And if you go and do not return, I will know you for a miscreant and a liar" Csimenae showed her teeth "Your manservant will remain here, of course"

"Of course," Sanct&039; Ger out to dry on the doors of the pantry He thought of her precarious situation, wondering what else she could do if she was going to ers that this is your wish that I fetch the flour"

"Why?" She was suspicious as well as surprised

"Because this is your hoI do is questioned: you are not the only one to have doubts aboutyou I aives me some credibility, but not very ers co you do is to ensure your position and the position of your son for the future No one questions this So your decisions are not regarded as suspect"

In the silence that followed, he left her alone with Aulutis while he went out to the erian; he looked about the village until he found histhe ripening cheeses on their shelves When he finished explaining the mission he was about to undertake, he said, "I will send a few letters from the monastery while I a to carry them for me if I pay theers, one or two should reach their destinations"

"Why do you do this for her?" Rogerian asked in ancient Greek

"She is fighting a very lonely battle, and the odds are against her," Sanct&039; Gere "I kno difficult that can be"

Rogerian said nothing while he tapped one of the cheeses "It is almost ready There is an ample supply here"

"Good," Sanct&039; Ger to be hard, I think The erian inquired "What plans have youthe winter?"

"I will hunt, as I have done," said Sanct&039; Germain cal to animals You have said as much yourself,flesh, as you do when you are deprived oftouching Why do you remain here if you are reduced to this?" His eyes orried "Do you seek that froue reference; he shook his head "It hardly matters: she does not seek it froerian persisted bluntly, unaware he was echoing Csi You could be in Rome, or in Tolosa, or in your homeland, for thathaunted in Sanct&039; Gerer there as I am here I would have to find a means to make myself acceptable At least in this place I a down the slopes, or harrying up the slaves and livestock, as there are from my homeland to the Frankish uplands You recall what it was like there, only twenty years ago; there is no reason to think it has ito others for his own benefit, as we had in Toletum We tolerated it because it was necessary, but I am pleased not to be perused so relentlessly There are few havens we could find as accessible as this one, and both you and I know it If I must live on the blood of animals for a ti to Rogerian, who spoke to hiet the flour?" It was a safe question, and one that could be overheard without causing alarm

"In a day or tithin a week, ht, I think; toeerian "Do not fret, old friend We will be gone froone in no tierian; he continued to ith the cheeses "When that time comes, I will be ready," was all he allowed hi," Sanct&039; Gerh a sensation like fatigue insinuated itself through him "And I will consider your apprehension"

For an instant, Rogerian hesitated, then asked, "Do you miss Viridia?"

Sanct&039; Germain nodded "And Nicoris, and Olivia, and-" HeViridia to my life; that does not erian kept hithe cheeses, finally saying, "I will see your horse is ready when you need him"

"And a mule," Sanct&039; Ger back enough barrels to carry the village through the winter"

"As you say," Rogerian conceded

Sanct&039; Germain spent the rest of that afternoon in the house Csi compounds of herbs and olive oil and wine that could be used to treat et the village through the winter, for he knew froether, as heat and bad air did This activity satisfied him, for it provided him with the means to occupy himself as well as demonstrate his value to the people around him Over the centuries, he had been cal medicaments; the afternoon faded quickly as he went about the faht, he had done as much as he could with the little equipment he had, and reluctantly he put his ather herbs or accept es still Now he missed his athanor and his reductio al ainst all fevers At another tiht have built a sers would tolerate so foreign an object being used inside their walls, no ht be So he would have to content himself with the compounds he could cook up in a pot over the fire At least, he told himself, he would soon have ht sent the villagers indoors, and the odor of cooking filled the dusk Last chores were done in pens and the barn as the livestock were bedded down for the night One of the villagers walked down the two streets calling out the na a record of all replies This was soon followed by darkness in the houses, and a breathing silence that was as faerian careeted hiht, I think"

"I will be ready to dress your kill, as soon as you bring it back," said Rogerian "There is not e"

"I a, "If there is tierian said without a trace of irony in his voice

Sanct&039; Geraudion and black Persian leggingshim one with the shadows and the dark, his movements flexible as a cat&039;s, as fluid as a shadow He knew his way through the trees now, and he went swiftly toward the glades where the wild goats could be found; he was anticipating an easy kill, one that would feed his hunger and provide for the village, allowing hiame that would serve as surplus, and one that was much needed if winter came early Before he reached the little ht was too still, and the air too alive He approached the clearing cautiously, testing the air as he went Then he stopped , his attention fully on the sounds that caoats, for he heard , and in a short while he saw the wavering light of a single torch