Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Smelting

The Pockmarked Man is a well-known figure in the folklore and drama of the Six Duchies.A puppeteer troupe is really poor if it doesn't have puppets of the pockmarked man, because the pockmarked man can not only play his traditional role, but also be used as a harbinger of disaster in other common plays.Sometimes the pockmarked man's puppet was hung just like that on the set, to give the scene an ominous atmosphere.His symbolism is universally known throughout the Six Duchies. It is said that the roots of this legend can be traced back to the time when the land was first inhabited, not when the Outer Isles Zhanyuan family conquered the principalities, but when immigrants from farther back first settled here.Even the Outislanders have another version of this basic legend, a cautionary tale of El, the god of the sea, thrown into a rage at being abandoned.

When the sea was young, El, the first old god, believed in the inhabitants of the islands.He gave to them his sea and everything that swam in it, and all the land the sea touched became theirs.For many years, the people were grateful.They fished the seas, dwelt on the shores wherever they liked, and robbed anyone who set foot in the land that El gave them.In addition, if someone dared to sail in their seas, of course they became a legitimate target of snatching.These men prospered and became hard and strong, for the sea of ​​El was like a sieve to pick out the best.Their lives were hard and dangerous, but one that made their boys strong men and their girls women as fearless at the hearth as they were on deck.These people honored El, and paid homage to the old god, and cursed only in his name.El is also very proud of his people.

But the generous El has blessed his people too much.Not enough men died in the harsh winters, and the storms he raised were too mild to subdue sailing.So the number of these people increased, and their cattle and sheep also increased.In good times and easy life, weak children don't die, they grow up, stay at home, and plow the fields to feed the bloated cattle and birds and others as weak as they are thing.These diggers did not praise the strong winds and the great waves of El, but they praised or cursed in the name of Ada, the old god of those who dug and planted and tended cattle.So Ada blessed her weak people, so that their plants and livestock would multiply and increase.This made El very unhappy, but he ignored them, for he had strong people who lived on ships and waves, who blessed and cursed in his name, and who sent storms and winters to encourage them .

But as time passed, fewer and fewer people were loyal to El.The weak people who lived on the soil tempted the sailors and bore them children suitable for farming, so they left the winter coast and the frosty grasslands everywhere, and went south to the soft land where grapes and grains grew.Every year, fewer and fewer people cultivated the sea that El gave them, and harvested the fish that El gave them, and El heard his name less and less in the words of blessings or curses.In the end there was only one man left to bless or curse in the name of El, a thin old man too old to go to sea, with swollen joints and few teeth left in his mouth.His blessings or curses were weak, and Al sounded insulted rather than pleased, because El didn't like old bony old men.

At last a storm came, which was supposed to finish off the old man and his boat, but when the icy waves broke over the old man, clinging to the wreck of the boat, he had the audacity to call Al's name for mercy , even though everyone knew El didn't know mercy.The old man's blasphemous words made El furious, and he refused to take the old man into his sea, but washed him on the shore, and put a curse on him, so that he could never sail again, and he could not die .The old man crawled out of the salty tide with scars all over his face and body, as if the barnacles had once clinged to him.He staggered to his feet and walked into the soft ground. No matter where he went, he saw weak diggers.He warned of their folly, saying that El would raise a new people, stronger, and give them what they had inherited; Do not listen to him.However, no matter where the elderly go, disease will follow.What he spreads is this pustular-pox type of disease, which doesn't care whether you are strong or weak, hard or weak, as long as you touch it, you will get sick.This is fitting, since everyone knows that impetigo pox comes from dirty dust and spreads by digging the soil.

That's what the story is about.The pock-faced man thus becomes a harbinger of death and disease, condemning those who live a weak and easy life because of the fertility of the land. The other two villages were robbed after Yelian Town.The villagers of Yanmen paid the ransom, and the next day the waves washed up the mutilated body parts, and the whole village gathered together to bury the dead.The news reached Buckkeep with no words of defense attached, only the unspoken opinion of the villagers that if the king's troops were alert enough, their village would at least have been informed of the approaching robbers. warning sign.

Sheep Marsh is up to the challenge head on.They refused to pay, but news of Smelting Town had spread everywhere, and they made preparations.They went to meet the released hostages with bridles and handcuffs and anklets, and brought back their own people, some of whom had to be knocked unconscious before being tied up and taken back to their respective homes.The whole village is united in trying to bring these people back to what they were before.The story of Sheep's Marsh is the most widely told: a mother who ferociously refused to breastfeed a baby brought to her, cursing that she hated the weeping and wet thing; The child cried and screamed, and when his heartbroken father couldn't resist untying him, he immediately grabbed the baking fork and rushed at his father.Some swear, wrestle, and spit on their loved ones; others are content to be tied up and live an idle life, eating and drinking the food and ale that is put in front of them, but never saying a word Gratitude or affection.These people will not attack their families after they are released, but they will not go to work, and they will not sit with everyone in the evening.They steal without remorse, even from their own children; they spend their money carelessly, they devour their food; they bring no joy to anyone, not even a kind word.But the news from Sheep Marsh is that the villagers intend to persevere until the "red boat disease" passes.This gave some hope to the nobles of Buckkeep, who admired the courage of the villagers of Sheepmoor and swore they would do the same if their own kin were forged by robbers.

Sheep's Marsh and its brave inhabitants became a focal point for renewed spirit and unity among the six duchies.King Shrewd levied more taxes in their name, some of which went to buy corn for those who were too busy caring for chained kin to rebuild broken herds or re-plow burned fields; The tax money was used to build more ships and hire more men to patrol the coast. In the beginning, people were proud of being able to help.People living on the cliffs by the sea began to look out spontaneously, and messengers, messenger birds, and beacon fires were all set up; some villages sent sheep and supplies to Sheep Marsh for those most in need.But as the weeks passed, and the returned hostages showed no signs of recovery, these hopes and offerings began to seem pathetic rather than noble.Those who had been most supportive of the effort now declare that if they were taken hostage, they would rather be thrown in pieces into the sea than come back and inflict such hardship and heartbreak on their own families.

To make matters worse, I think, the royal family itself is not sure what to do in these extraordinary times.It would be better if the king issued a decree that the people must or must not pay ransom for the hostages.Regardless of whether the order must be paid or not, there will always be people who disagree, but at least the king has expressed his position in this way, and the people will feel that the royal family is facing this threat.As a result, the increased patrols and lookouts gave the impression that Buckkeep itself was terrified by this new threat without any strategy for facing it.In the absence of a king's order, the villages and towns along the coast made up their own minds, and the town councils met to decide what to do if they were smelted.Some villages decide this way, some villages decide that.

"But wherever," Chade told me wearily, "they decide that nothing matters except that it weakens their loyalty to the kingdom. Whether they pay or don't pay, the robbers can drink They laughed at us over their blood ale, because when our villages and towns made this decision, their minds were not "in case we are smelted" but "when we are smelted". Being raped, they have already been raped mentally. They look at their families, mothers look at their children, men look at their parents, and they have already given up on them in their hearts, thinking that they must either die or be smelted. This way the kingdom cannot Really work, because each town has to make its own decisions, disconnected from the whole; we'll split into a thousand towns, each worrying about what to do if they get robbed. If Shrewd and Verity don't hurry Take action, and the kingdom will exist only in name only in the minds of its former rulers." "But what can they do?" I demanded. "No matter what order you give, it will be wrong!" I took up the tongs, and pushed the cauldron I was looking at into the fire a little.

"Sometimes," muttered Chade, "it's better to be wrong than to be silent. Well, boy, if even a little boy like you can see that it's wrong to decide to pay or not to pay, the others certainly I can see it, but at least such an order would give us a national response, not as if each town had to lick its own wounds. And besides issuing such an order, Shrewd and Verity should also Take other action." He moved closer, poking his head into the bubbling liquid in the cauldron. "Hot it up," he suggested. I picked up a small bellows and carefully fanned the fire. "For example?" "Organize and rob those Outer Islanders instead. Provide ships and supplies to anyone who will go and rob them. Forbid people to let cattle and sheep graze on the meadows by the coast, the sight is too tempting Yes. If we can't send troops to protect every village, then provide more arms to the villagers. For the sake of God Ada's plow, give them pills made of karisi seeds and belladonna, and put them in the Small pouch on wrist so if they get caught by robbers, they can kill themselves and avoid being hostages. Whatever the king does at this hour is better than being so damn indecisive .” I sat there staring at Chade. I had never heard him speak with such force, nor heard him criticize Shrewd so explicitly.This shocked me so much that I dared not take a breath, wishing he would go on, but almost afraid to hear what he might say.He didn't seem to realize that I was staring at him. "A little further in, but be careful, if it explodes, King Shrewd's pock-faced men may turn from one to two." He glanced at me. "Yes, that's how I got my scars. But judging from King Shrewd's attitude towards my recent comments, it seems that I really have a pustular pox rash." Your head is full of ominous omens , warning, and caution," he said to me. "But I think you want that boy trained in the Skill only because you haven't been trained yourself.That's a very bad ambition, Chade, get rid of it! "It's almost as if the ghost of the queen spoke through the mouth of the king." Chade's resentment held me still. "Junqi. We need him most now." He continued after a while. "Shrewd is holding back, Verity is a good soldier, but he listens too much to his father. Verity wants to be second, not first, and he won't take the initiative. We need horsemen. If he's here, he'll be there Go to those towns and talk to people who have loved ones that were taken by smelting. Hell, he's even going to talk to those who were smelted...." "Do you think it's going to do any good?" I asked softly, barely daring to move, feeling that Chade was talking to himself rather than me. "It won't solve the problem, yes, but it will make our people feel like the ruler is involved and caring. Sometimes that's enough, boy. But Verity just moves his toy soldiers around and thinks Strategies, but Shrewd watched all this happen, not thinking about his people, but only thinking about how he would ensure that Regal could take power safely and securely if Verity killed himself. ?” I blurted out in surprise.The emperor who only knows how to wear beautiful clothes and hold his head high?He was always following Shrewd around, but I never thought of him as a real prince, and I was horrified to hear his name in this kind of discussion. "He's become his father's favorite." Chade scowled. "Since the Queen's death, Shrewd has been pampering him blindly. Now that Regal has no mother to be loyal to, Shrewdly tried to buy him with gifts, and he was very good at using this opportunity to say what Dad liked to hear. And Shrewd let him go too far, letting him run around and waste his money on useless travel to Farrow and Tirs to hear his mother's people say things that made him think he was important. The boy should Somebody keep him at home and spend his time - and the king's money - on more responsible things. He spends enough money to go around and equip a warship." Then suddenly displeased Said, "That's too hot! It's going to break, tick it off quickly." But his words were too late, and the cauldron cracked open with the sound of cracking ice, and its contents filled Chade's room with acrid smoke, and there was no class or talk that night. He didn't call me again anytime soon.My other classes were still going on, but Chade didn't see me for weeks and I missed him.I know he's not unhappy with me, but just worried about something in his heart.One day I took a moment to push my mind toward him, only to feel secrecy and incongruity, and a hard smack on the back of the head because Burrich had caught me. "Stop it," he cursed, ignoring my carefully-crafted look of surprise and innocence.He glanced around the stable where I was raking manure, as if expecting to see a dog or cat hiding there. "There's nothing here!" he exclaimed. "Only manure and straw," I agree, rubbing the back of my head. "Then what were you doing just now?" "In a daze," I muttered. "It's just a daze." "You can't fool me, Fitz." He growled. "You are not allowed to do this in my stable, you are not allowed to treat animals like me with that perverted method, and you are not allowed to insult the blood of the horse. Don't forget what I said to you." I gritted my teeth and lowered my head to continue working. After a while, I heard him walk away with a sigh.I continued digging, simmering with rage, determined not to let Burrich catch me by surprise again. The rest of that summer was a whirlpool, with so much going on that it's hard for me to remember how it all went.Even the air seemed to be different overnight.I went into town and heard people talking about fortifications and heightening of the guard.Only one or two towns were smelted that summer, but it felt like 100, as those stories were repeated over and over, growing bigger and bigger as word of mouth spread. "It's like that's the only thing people talk about," Molly complained to me. In the summer evening sun, we took a walk on Long Beach.After a sweltering day, the sea breeze provided a welcome bit of cooling.Burrich was sent to Spring's Mouth to see if he could figure out why the animals there had big, sore patches on their hides.In this way, I don't have to go to class in the morning, but there is a lot of work to do. I have to take over from him to take care of the horses and hounds, especially when Cobb is away. Horses and hounds on a summer hunt. But on the other hand, I am more alone at night, and I have more time to go to the city. Evening walks with Molly have almost become a routine for me.Her father's health was getting worse and worse, and he fell asleep early and deeply every night with almost no alcohol.Molly would have a little cheese and salami, or a small loaf of bread and some smoked fish, and we would put things in a basket, take a bottle of cheap wine, and walk down the beach to the rocks on the breakwater, and sit and relax. On the rocks with the last warmth of the day, Molly would tell me about her business for the day and the gossip she had heard all day.When we walk, our elbows sometimes touch. "Sarah, the butcher's daughter, told me how she wished winter would come. She said the snow would drive the red-ships a little back to their own shores, and we'd have a breather, and not be so afraid; and then Coty also said that we may not be afraid of more smelting, but we will still be afraid of those who have been smelted running around. Rumor has it that some of those people in smelting town have left there, because there is nothing to steal there now They rob travelers in droves." "I suspect. Those who rob are probably just pretending to be forged people so that people won't find them. There are no forged people left. What kind of human nature is there, it is impossible to do anything in groups." I lazily retorted her.I looked across the harbour, and the strong sunlight on the water nearly closed my eyes.I didn't have to look at Molly to know she was next to me.It's an interesting tension that I don't quite understand.She was 16 and I was almost 14, and the two-year age gap stood between us like an impassable wall, yet she always found time for me and seemed to enjoy my company.She seemed to be aware of me as well as I was aware of her, but if I poked at her for a moment, she would back away, stop to pour out the pebbles that had run into her shoes, or talk suddenly about her illness Her father needed her very much.However, if I withdraw my feeling from that tightness, she becomes unsure again, embarrassed to speak, and will try to look at my face, the shape of my mouth, and my eyes.I don't understand what's going on, there seems to be a tight thread between us.But now I could hear an exasperation in her tone. "Oh, I see. You know so much about the Forged! You know more than the people they robbed, don't you?" Her harsh words came so suddenly that I didn't know how to react, and it took me a while to speak.Molly didn't know anything about Chade and me, and of course she didn't know that I had made an extra trip to Forge with him, but she only knew that I was an errand boy in the castle, either doing clerkships or working for the stable master. Work.I can't reveal that I've seen Forge with my own eyes, let alone tell her how I felt about it. "I've heard the guards chat in the stables and in the kitchen at night, and they've seen a lot of soldiers of all kinds. It's them who say that the people who have been forged have no friendships, no families, no human relationships at all. .But, I think, if one of them starts robbing travelers, the others will follow suit, so that it's almost like a gang of bandits." "Maybe!" I seemed to make her Toned down a bit. "Look there, let's climb up there and eat!" "Over there" is a rock protruding from the rock face, not part of the breakwater.But I nodded in agreement, and we spent the next few minutes trying to get ourselves and the food basket up there.It's a little harder to climb up there than we've been to before.I found myself noticing how Molly was pulling her skirt, and taking the opportunity to grab her arm to steady her, or take her hand to help her up the steeper places while she held on to the basket.All of a sudden it dawned on me that Molly suggested we climb up here precisely because she wanted this to happen.We finally climbed the ledge and sat looking out to sea, her food basket between us, and I savored my awareness of her awareness of me.This feeling reminds me of the multiple sticks that the jugglers in Chunqing kept throwing up, back and forth, more and more, and faster and faster.The silence lasted for a while until one of us had to speak, I looked at her but she turned her head to him, looked into the basket and said, "Oh, dandelion wine? I thought it wouldn't be until the middle of winter Good dandelion wine." "It was made last year...had a winter enough for it to ripen." I told her, and taking the bottle from her, tried to break the cork with my knife .She watched me fiddle with it in vain for a while, then took the bottle and took out her own thin knife with a sheath, poked it in and twisted it and pulled the cork out with a skill I envied. She saw my eyes and shrugged. "I've been helping my father uncork bottles for as long as I can remember. It used to be because he was too drunk to do it by himself, and now he doesn't have the strength in his hands even when he's sober." Painful and bitter. "Ah!" I hurriedly tried to find a more pleasant topic. "Look, it's the 'Daughter of the Rain'!" I pointed to the water, where a slender boat was paddling into the harbor. "I've always thought it was the most beautiful ship in the whole harbor." "It was just out on patrol. The cloth merchants united to raise a sum of money, and almost every merchant in the city contributed, even me. , although I can only donate a few candles to light its lantern. Now there are warriors on board, who can escort the ships from here to the Highlands, and then the 'Green Spray' will take over there and send them to the coast further north." "This I haven't heard of it." I was surprised that such a thing had never been heard in the castle.My heart sinks, for even Buckkeep is starting to take matters into its own hands, regardless of the king's advice or permission.I said so too. "Well, if King Shrewd is only tucking and frowning at this situation, people have to try their best to find their own way! He sits safely in his castle, of course he can tell us to be strong, anyway, the tempered It won't be his son or brother or younger daughter." I can't think of anything to say in defense of my king, and it shames me.Spurred on by shame, I said, "Well, you're almost as safe as a king down there in Buckkeep!" Molly looked at me steadily. "I used to have a relative who was an apprentice in Smelting Town." She paused, and then said cautiously: "If I said that we were all relieved to hear that he was just killed, would you think I'm cold-blooded? Yes We weren't sure what happened to him for a week or so, but finally word got in from someone who saw him die. My dad and I were relieved. We could grieve for him knowing he was just dying, We will miss him and stop worrying about whether he is still alive, living like a beast, causing misery to others and disgrace to himself." I was silent for a moment, and then said, "I'm sorry." This sounded useless and insufficient, and I reached out to pat her motionless hand.For a second I barely felt her there, as if her pain had jolted her into a state of emotional numbing, like someone who's been smelted.But then she sighed, and I felt her next to me again. "You know," I ventured, "maybe the King doesn't know what to do himself, and maybe he doesn't know how to handle the situation any more than we do." "He's the King!" Molly protested. "His name is Shrewd, so he should be resourceful! Now everyone is saying that the reason why he doesn't take action is to save money. Since the desperate businessman will pay for the mercenary himself, why should he pay for it out of his own pocket?" What? But, forget it, let's not talk about it..." She raised a hand to stop me. "We didn't come to this quiet and cool place to talk politics and scary things. Tell me what you've been doing lately! Did that spotted bitch have puppies?" So we talked about other things, about Spotted's puppies, about the idea of ​​a stallion that shouldn't be messing around trying to hit a mare in heat, and she told me she was going to pick up green balls Guo came to scent the candles and pick blackberries, and said that she would be very busy this week. While making blackberry jam for winter, she would continue to look at the store and make candles. We ate and drank as we chatted, watching the summer sun hover over the horizon, almost but not quite setting.The tension I felt between us was a pleasurable feeling, both suspenseful and wonderful.I saw it as an extension of this new strange sense of mine, so I was amazed that Molly seemed to sense it and respond to it too.I want to talk to her about this, and ask her if she realizes other people exist in the same way I do, but I'm afraid that if I do, I'll reveal my true self to her, as I did to her earlier. or she'd be disgusted with me, as I know Burrich would be if he found out I had the power.So I smile and we talk and I don't speak my mind. I walk her down the quiet street and say good night to her at the door of the candle shop.She paused, as if there was something else she wanted to say, but she only gave me a questioning look, and said softly and vaguely: "Good night, newcomer." I walked home under a dark blue sky flecked with bright stars, past the guards who were always throwing dice, to the stables.I did a quick tour of the stables, but despite the new litter of puppies, it was all quiet and peaceful.I noticed two more strange horses in a fenced pasture, and a tame horse for a lady who lived in the stables: I thought some noble lady visiting here had come to the palace!Wondering what brought her here in Xiafu, admiring her excellent horse, I left the stables and walked to the castle. Out of habit, I went around to the kitchen first.The cook knew the appetites of the stable boy and the soldiers very well, and knew that the ordinary three meals were not enough to fill our stomachs.Especially recently I found myself hungry all day long, and Master Ji Jingfeng declared that if I continued to grow so fast, I would have to wrap myself in a cloth made of bark like a savage, because she really didn't know what to do It keeps my clothes fit.As I walked through the kitchen door I was already thinking of the big earthenware bowl that the cook always filled with soft buns and covered with a cloth, and I was thinking of a particular round of cheese , thinking it would be great to have some ale with those two things. A woman sat at the table.She was eating mac and cheese, but when she saw me come in, she jumped up and put her hand to her heart, as if I were pock-marked.I pause. "I didn't mean to scare you, ma'am. I'm just hungry and looking for something to eat. Do you mind if I stay here?" The lady sat back slowly in her chair, and I wondered to myself what a person of her rank was doing alone in the kitchen at night.Despite her plain cream gown and tired face, her birth was evident, and the tame horse in the stable was clearly hers and not some lady's maid.If she wakes up hungry, why not ask a servant to bring her something to eat? The hand she was clutching to her chest raised to pat her lips, as if to steady her rapid breathing.She spoke, her voice rising and falling, almost musical. "You eat yours! I was just a little scared just now, you... came in too suddenly." I walk around the big kitchen, from the ale barrel to the cheese to the bread, but it doesn't matter where I go.Her eyes were all-following me.The food in her hand dropped on the table when I came in, and she still hasn't touched it.I poured myself a glass of ale and turned to find her eyes wide open at me.She immediately looked away, moved her mouth, but said nothing. "Shall I help you get something?" I asked politely. "What are you looking for? Would you like some ale?" "I'll trouble you then," she said softly.I handed her the glass I had just poured and placed it on the table in front of her.She flinched when I approached her, as if I had some kind of contagious disease.I wondered if I had stink from working in the stables, but probably not, because if I did, Molly would have mentioned it.Molly has always been straightforward with me on such matters. I poured myself another glass and, looking around, decided that I'd better take the food back to the room, the lady's whole demeanor showing that she was uncomfortable with my presence.But as I was trying to hold the bread, the cheese, and the glass at the same time, she gestured to the bench opposite her. "Sit down," she told me, as if reading my thoughts. "I shouldn't scare you away from eating well." Her tone was neither commanding nor inviting, but somewhere in between.I sat down where she pointed, and hurriedly put the food and wine glasses on the table, spilling a little ale.I sat down and felt her looking at me, her own food still on the table.I ducked my head to avoid her gaze, and ate and drank quickly, like a mouse stalking and eating in a corner, suspecting a cat was waiting behind the door.She didn't stare at me rudely, but she stared at me openly, with the kind of observation that made me lose my hands and made me acutely aware that I had just unconsciously wiped my mouth with my sleeve. I couldn't think of what to say, but the silence made me restless.The bread felt so dry in my mouth that I coughed and tried to swallow it with a sip of ale, but I choked again.She frowned, her mouth tightened, and even though I was staring at the plate, I could still feel her eyes.I ate hurriedly, intent only on escaping from her hazel eyes and silent mouth drawn into a straight line.I stuffed the last few pieces of bread and cheese into my mouth, stood up quickly, bumped into the table in my haste, and almost knocked over the bench behind me.I headed for the door, then remembered that Burrich once taught me how to say goodbye when a lady was around.I swallowed the few bites I had in my mouth. "Good night, ma'am," I muttered, thinking it was wrong, but I couldn't think of anything better.I walked sideways to the door. "Wait a minute," she said, and I stopped a little, and she asked, "Do you sleep upstairs, or in the stable?" "Both, sometimes. I mean, sometimes here and there. Ah, good night, ma'am." I turned around and almost escaped, and when I was halfway up the stairs, it occurred to me that the question she asked was very strange.As I undressed for bed, I found myself clutching my empty glass of ale.I went to bed feeling like a fool, wondering why this happened.