The Farris Channel (27 page)

The products of the Forts went mostly to pay the head-taxes on the Gens. Any Sime was entitled to keep one Gen for the Kill that month, but any extra Gens were taxed. Right now they had many extra Gens, but the selyn a channel collected wasn’t useful for paying taxes. Companions were ruined for the Kill and had no market value, but they would be confiscated if their taxes weren’t paid. The regular donors would be sold for the Kill.

Rimon said, “So we must find a more local source of good, thick strong, well tanned leather. We don’t have the skills and means to tan leather. We do have a large supply of horsehide though, from all those animals that died in the attack this fall. And there were some cow hides, a few sheepskins. All of that was saved, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. We found them,” said Eric, “when we rummaged to the back of the store room. They’re well scraped, but raw, and have been pretty much frozen solid for months now. No vermin have been at them, so they’re whole. A few were used to make rawhide to braid into rope, but most of the hides are there.”

“They’re tradable. Benart, didn’t you say we have a surplus of grain?”

“A wagon load or so of extra wheat.”

“But with Shifron gone,” said Frevven, “there’s no place to buy tanned leather.”

“The leather we traded for in Shifron, or Ardo for that matter, had been stolen out-Territory,” said Rimon. “We’re very close to the border here. Somewhere over that mountain at the south end of this valley is a Gen community that has a tanner. We have to set up a trade.”

“I know who you can trade with!” said BanSha jumping up. “Tuzhel’s uncle.”

Solamar had forgotten the young channel was in the room. “BanSha we can’t trade right over the border in the town where Tuzhel grew up. The Freeband Raiders have been raiding there. There’s no way we could convince those Gens we’re not Raiders.”

Eric said, “People would never agree! Fort Hope has told everyone how they tried trading out-Territory and it destroyed them. Some of the Fort Unity and Fort Veritt people, at least the ones willing to do anything you say, might go for it, but the fight will tear this Fort apart.”

Rimon’s eyes met Solamar’s and then Lexy’s.

Solamar had left home, traveled far, escaped death repeatedly, and buried many friends, all because he believed Rimon Farris and the Forts were the hope of humanity. Even with the Forts failing, his mission was to make that hope survive. Instead, he’d found a woman and a home. He let Rimon zlin that in him.

Rimon studied BanSha. “Go get Tuzhel. And do not even think a word about any of this outside this room.”

When the young man had left, Rimon again looked around at his lifelong friends and current allies. “I have seen too many injuries due to flimsy boots. The situation is a critical health issue. RenSimes augmenting must have reliable footgear and gloves. Come spring, they’ll have to work like that again, clearing stumps from the new fields, planting, shearing sheep, all the rest.”

Jhiti said, “We can’t defend this Fort with boots that are falling off our feet. My scouts are all right now because we’re not keeping a watch on Shifron while the weather has the Raiders confined. The truth is, we don’t have the boots and gear to mount that watch again.”

Rimon said, one hand on his belt buckle, “So, I won’t put this decision to a debate of the whole Fort, or a vote.”

If his staunchest supporters deserted him over this, Rimon would have lost Fort Rimon.

Rinda said, “The Council will be angry when they find out what you’re up to, but they won’t find out from me. Just don’t make the mistakes we made trading with Gens. Fort Hope is gone. This is our last refuge.” The Gen Councilor’s nager trembled with apprehension not age.

“And it’s my home,” said Lexy. “We could send an all Gen team of traders. Fort Hope sent Simes, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” said Rinda nodding at Frevven.

“Do any of our Gens know Genlan?” asked Frevven.

It was a reasonable question especially for a renSime raised in-Territory to ask. The only people who came over the border from Gen Territory to live here were Simes who had changed over among the Gens. If they made it over the border, usually they had Killed someone they loved who had tried to care for them or who tried to murder them.

Either way, they arrived in Sime Territory ignorant of the language and customs and with no means of getting a Kill. Most died very quickly at the hands of the civilized juncts or joined Freeband Raiders where they died within a couple of years of the dissipating lifestyle. Few ever wanted to speak the Gen language again.

A Gen born and raised out-Territory, stayed snug in Gen Territory never knowing Simes even had their own language to portray the reality of their Sime senses. A few Gens though, in border towns were children of Gens who established in-Territory and escaped to live free as Wild Gens. Some of those taught their children a little Simelan.

In the Forts, channels learned as much Genlan as they could. Some Simes from Gen Territory spoke Genlan to their children, to give them the option of going there if they should establish instead of changing over.

Bruce suggested a few Gens who knew Genlan, Kahleen came up with more, Rimon added some, and several people contributed names. Benart and Val made lists.

Frevven said, “At least one of the people we send has to be familiar with grades of leather. And Endra is too old to be making this kind of a trip in winter.”

Eric and Endra suggested one Gen who tooled leather as a hobby, and another Gen who prepared sheepskin for documents. Neither spoke a word of Genlan or could grade boot leather. Other than the master cobblers, the most expert judge of leather grades was Bekka Esren.

Rimon brightened. He filled them in on Bekka’s qualifications. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of every individual born in Fort Rimon. Bekka was a child who might change over soon.

Bekka’s parents were the leaders of the Church of the Unity in Fort Rimon. The Church counted learning a little Genlan as a religious duty, though their only daughter had little interest in the Church or its social status in the Fort.

“I didn’t know,” confessed Rimon, “that she was studying leather craft.”

Endra added, “She wants to be an artist in leather, and we’ve found a good market for well tooled items. Bekka is level headed, responsible, old enough to control herself. She’s tall enough to pass for adult among the Gens, even if she is still flat chested. If I can’t go, Bekka’s my choice.”

There was heated discussion of the ethics of risking a child too young to understand the dangers, but then Rimon said, “I’ll check her for signs of changeover before mentioning this idea to her parents. They might decide on the basis of who would be her guardians on this trek. If they decide against it, we’ll try your second suggestion. Just remember, Frevven is right that to justify the risk, we have to bring back the right sorts of leathers.”

Solamar thought Bekka’s parents would agree. They were both renSimes he had come to know when giving them transfer. They both proudly traced their lineage to the original Fort Freedom, before Rimon Farris, Delri’s grandfather, arrived there. They had even tried to recruit him to their Unity worship services and he intended to go at least once to see how they worshipped.

As few Unity families as there were, they wielded a great deal of influence on matters of ethics even among those not of their religion. Their support of Rimon against this new Council was unwavering. Bekka, a close friend of BanSha, had already befriended Tuzhel and was trying to teach him about the Church of the Unity.

Before BanSha returned, they had a list of Gens who could handle pack horses, rough camping, and speak Genlan.

Solamar said, “I’d be worried that a group of Gens would get lost in the trackless hills. If they stick to the trails our scouts have seen the Raiders using, they’d surely be caught by the Raiders.”

BanSha opened the outer door, letting cold air in.

Jhiti said, “I can send scouts with them all the way to the border, not by the known trails, but over toward the southwest. The pass there is worse than Fremir, but we can get them through. My scouts can set up a beacon and when they zlin the Gens returning up the next valley, light a fire to guide them right to the correct pass. It’s a very rough approach from the Gen side. Even Simes could find themselves trapped in a box canyon.”

Solamar said, “I volunteer to be waiting at that pass when they get back. I’ll take down their fields so we’ll be less of a target, and do any healing necessary.”

The whole room rang with Kahleen’s silent determination to be at his side during this venture.

Even the Gens who just donated selyn to the channels produced many times the amount of selyn that a Gen from out-Territory would. Now their production was greatly exaggerated, thanks to Rimon’s schedule that exposed them to Simes working under augmentation. Even just a few days after donating selyn, they would be easy for the Raiders to spot from a distance.

Rimon said, “Val will find a volunteer channel for that duty then. You’re right, Solamar, it’ll be necessary to have a channel waiting for them. I’d choose myself.”

Lexy looked from one to the other wanting to elbow Solamar out of that job. Solamar was oddly gratified that his welfare had become important to her as hers was to him.

Tuzhel followed BanSha in just in time to hear Jhiti’s comment and couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.

“What pass?” asked Tuzhel. “What Companions? Who’s in trouble? Can I help?”

Rimon explained what they wanted to do, and Tuzhel rounded on BanSha jabbing a tentacle at the young channel. “You fooled me! I never suspected a thing!”

Solamar edged forward prepared to augment to keep the youngsters from tearing each other apart, but a moment later they were both laughing hysterically at BanSha’s marvelous nageric achievement of fooling a renSime.

BanSha demonstrated how he’d lied to Tuzhel under orders from Rimon and had everyone laughing. It took Rimon, Lexy and Solamar nearly a minute to reform the ambient and get their attention.

“Of course I’ll go,” Tuzhel told Rimon. “My uncle always has stocks of tanned leather by this time of winter. Even if my uncle has been taken by the Raiders other people know where his stock is hidden. They’ll trade.”

“Tuzhel, you can’t go,” announced Rimon.

Tuzhel objected nagerically and BanSha grabbed the fields. Rimon showed BanSha how to handle the nageric spike and left him to it. “Tuzhel, all our traders will be Gens. We want you to help in two ways. Make us a map to the town, and where to find the tannery. Then we’ll want you to help concoct reasonable lies to tell the Gens.”

Solamar had forgotten that Gens could lie among themselves undetected.

Crestfallen, then stubborn, then disappointed, Tuzhel finally accepted Rimon’s verdict. BanSha handled Tuzhel’s riotous fields better than Xanon would have after only one lesson.

Solamar asked, “How long will the trip take?”

Tuzhel said, “On foot, from High Crossing to the border southeast of here, it’s about six days. In this weather though, with loaded horses in tow and staying off any useful trails, it could take twice that. More if it’s only Gens.”

Discussion raged again, but a real plan emerged that Solamar thought could actually work.

Rimon raised his voice and delivered his decision. “Benart will enlist three or four Gen volunteers to take pack horses loaded with trade goods and return with leather stock. Jhiti will prepare and secure a trail to the border and have his experts search for a weather window. Also Jhiti’s scouts will equip the expedition. Tuzhel will work with the volunteers to develop a plausible lie about where they’re from and why they’re making this emergency trade in the middle of winter. It has to be something that won’t be discovered come spring and bring them down on us.”

Rimon zlinned Solamar’s cracked boots. “I’d like to see them ready to ride during the next break in the weather. With such a long trip, they must expect to endure two or more storms on the trail.”

He paused, then suggested quietly, one hand unconsciously straying back to his belt. “It might be best if the new Council and their supporters don’t hear about this until the group has departed.”

Rinda’s nager proclaimed adamant agreement with that. “I’ll do my best to keep them busy and distracted.”

* * * * * * *

I knew it wouldn’t work,
thought Solamar.

It had taken six days to ready the expedition and in all that time, Rinda kept the new Council from noticing the conferences and meetings as volunteers were enlisted.

Jhiti’s scouts cut a new trail southwest and cached supplies, preparing to support the group that would wait for the Gens to return to the border. Rinda told the Council Jhiti was supporting a logging expedition that would also forage for pine nuts. That elicited total disinterest from the busy Councilors and it was also true since the firewood consumption had stripped out local supplies.

Val juggled the schedule so that all the Gens who were going donated selyn the last evening before they left.

The day Lexy celebrated the first three months of her pregnancy, everything was ready for the trading expedition to High Crossing. The Gens assembled with Jhiti’s scouts and the loggers outside the stables just before dawn.