Elf Maidens of Thurn

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Chapter 71: Truce

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Jaro, TM and Arona disembark from the Esmeralda and join Hinano, Tayn and me in a quiet corner of a local tavern for breakfast.

"When did the Hesperus arrive?" asks Jaro, referring to the large Thurnian ship moored further along the quayside.

"Yesterday," I reply. "The Bardos authorities arrested the captain and crew. However, Tayn doesn't think they'll be charged with any serious offence. They abandoned their cargo of Elf Maidens further up the coast, which didn't please the Bardos authorities. Fortunately the women were soon located and they're being accommodated in one of the dockside warehouses. It's far from ideal, but its the best we could do in the circumstances. We need to ferry them to Madiana as soon as we can."

"How many are there?" asks Jaro.

"Fifty three Elf Maidens, sixteen adolescents and twenty one young children," I reply. "They seem to be holding up okay despite their ordeal. I haven't had the opportunity to talk with them individually."

"I've spoken to some of them," adds Hinano, who spent last night in the warehouse with the women, notably the Elf Maidens in heat. "Most are angry at the Thurnians for the way they were rounded up and deported, but very few feel homesick for Thurn. In some respects, I think they are glad to be away from the prejudice and bigotry of Thurnian society."

"How have you fared?" I ask Jaro and Arona.

"We managed to tow the Amelia to a small bay near the proposed Tomyris settlement on Madiana," replies Jaro. "There was some minor damage to the ship which Harry and Roland are repairing. We need to refit the Amelia with bedding and supplies, and we must acquire a boat to ferry everyone to and from shore. The Esme's jolly boat is too small to handle the number of people you intend to house on the Amelia."

When Tayn and I first discovered the Amelia abandoned at the east quay, we noticed that she had been stripped of her masts and rigging, along with anything portable. That included the two longboats that the Amelia once carried to ferry her passengers to and from shore.

"We've found traders willing to supply mattresses and bedding, and others who will sell us food," I reply. "But we need money to pay for them."

"Aegle has provided details of better designs and technology for about half of the items on the Bardos administrators' wish list," says Arona. "Hopefully what we have will be enough to persuade them to part with some of the money we need."

"What of the Hesperus and her crew?" asks TM. "Surely they'll be charged with kidnapping and piracy?"

"That's unlikely," replies Tayn. "The captain carries an official Thurnian government warrant, so any serious charges aren't likely to stick. Besides, the Bardos authorities seem eager to avoid any conflict with Thurn. As long as the captain of the Hesperus pays for 'warehousing his cargo', he and his crew are likely to be set free before long."

"Hmmm ... free to return to Thurn and transport another batch of elves to Bardos," muses Jaro.

"Further deportations are likely regardless of which ship carries them," I say. "The elves aboard the Hesperus don't seem to have suffered unbearable hardship on their journey here. If the Thurnians resort to using other ships to carry out the deportations, then the passengers might suffer harsher conditions."

While our activities over the last week have largely achieved our short-term goals, we still have much more to do. Arona and Hinano visit the Bardos administrators and walk away with sufficient money for our immediate needs. The designs and documents Arona left with the administrators don't guarantee that the revealed technology can be successfully applied. However, that's a problem for the administrators to solve. The Merope have frequently shown that understanding the theory of new technology doesn't always lead to reliable implementations of that technology.

We load the Esme's hold with the mattresses, bedding and food various merchants have been holding for us. Jaro locates a suitable longboat, which diminishes our pot of money further. The longboat is too large to fit on the Esme's deck, so Jaro opts for towing it to Madiana. Unfortunately it doesn't look as though the sea is going to be calm enough to tow the boat for the next few days.

Transporting all ninety elves who arrived from Thurn will require the Esme' to make two or three round trips to Madiana. The prospect of using the Hesperus to make the trip is soon dispelled when the Bardos authorities insist on keeping the crew in jail until all the newly arrived elves leave Bardos.

"Why don't you leave the longboat with us in Bardos and transport the supplies back to Madiana?" I suggest when it's clear the sea is too rough to tow the longboat. "Perhaps you should also take some of the adolescent elves and Elf Maidens to help get everything set up on the Amelia. Some of them can also help with building the settlement on shore."

Jaro agrees to my proposal although it means that those on the Amelia will be stuck on board until Jaro can return with a longboat. Fortunately the Amelia is anchored near enough to shore that people can swim to the beach in the event of an emergency. Arona also offers to return to Madiana to extract more technology information from Aegle that can be sold to the Bardos authorities. While we have enough money for our immediate needs, we are likely to need more supplies before long.

"I presume that the Esmeralda won't be returning to Tewhanga in the near future," says TM to me once we split up after breakfast.

"You will need to ask Jaro about that," I reply. "He will need to return to Tewhanga in order to receive the second half of his charter fee. But I don't know when he intends to do that."

"I suspect Jaro doesn't intend to return to the east at all," says TM. "He and the others seem content to remain in the Ribbean Sea. I presume you and Arona are stuck here now that the Purists are deporting Elf Maidens from Thurn."

"Yes, Arona and I no longer have the option of returning to Thurn ... at least for the foreseeable future. We must make a new life here on Bardos or Madiana. Despite Jaro's wishes, he and the crew of the Esme' will honour their contract and return to Tewhanga if you wish to return to Thurn. You aren't of our race, so you should be welcome back in Thurn."

"I wish to return to Thurn simply to challenge the Purists' racist policies," says TM. "However, I won't ask Jaro to make a special trip simply to return me to Thurn. When the crew of the Hesperus are released from jail, I will approach them for passage back to Thurn. However, I will need money to pay for my passage."

"Okay," I reply. "If the captain agrees to take you, then I'll arrange for your fare to be paid. However, I ask a favour in return. I want you to hand my research paper to the professor at the Education Centre. I'll not have it said that I reneged on the terms of the bequest that funded this expedition. If the professor is satisfied with my work, then he can choose to publish it ... or not. I doubt publication of my work will do any further harm to the Tomyis."

"Yes, I'll do that," agrees TM. "Somebody needs to speak out against Thurnian injustice done to the Tomyris a century ago, and to their descendants ever since."

The next two weeks pass in a blur of activity. Those abandoned in Bardos by the crew of the Hesperus are progressively ferried to Madiana. The hulk of the Amelia provides adequate accommodation for the women while construction of the Tomyris settlement is advanced. All of the newly arrived adolescents and Elf Maidens are soon enlisted in helping create the new Tomyris settlement. The Bardos authorities release the crew of the Hesperus from jail once the last of the elves leave the dockside warehouse.

Captain Rowan of the Hesperus is presented with a bill for the elves 'warehousing' which he initially refuses to pay. Before the resulting impasse turns ugly, I take the opportunity to negotiate a deal between the Bardos authorities, Captain Rowan and the Tomyris on Madiana. In exchange for negotiating a compromise over the outstanding warehousing bill, I persuade Captain Rowan to accept TM as a passenger on the voyage back to Thurn. Since the Hesperus is likely to be used for further deportations from Thurn, I also obtain the captain's agreement to deliver future elven passengers directly to Madiana. I settle the residual debt, which the Bardos administrators have generously reduced against the promise of more technology. Once the matter is resolved, the Hesperus wastes no time in departing for Thurn with TM on board.

By now Hinano, Akamu, Teuila and Taito have all returned to the Aegle Potiora to prepare for the awakening of the remaining Tomyris in hibernation. Arona continues to interrogate the Aegle intelligence for marketable information to sell to the Bardos administration. In most cases, the 'new' technologies are simply designs already in common use in Thurn.

I remain in Bardos as a house guest of Karo, Mohi and Tayn. Two Elf Maidens, Heeni and Ngaire, are also temporary guests. Both are suckling babies still too young for an elven crèche. Although they endured the passage aboard the Hesperus, they readily accept Karo's offer of temporary accommodation in preference to the cramped conditions aboard the Amelia. It gives me a chance to find out what happened in Thur after I left.

"We all received a summons to report to the Great Hall," says Ngaire as she relates how the Elf Maidens were rounded up and imprisoned on the Hesperus. "There were about two hundred adults and a similar number of adolescents and children. At first we didn't realise that we were all Elf Maidens. We have been so used to hiding our racial origins."

"Did anyone explain what was going on?" asks Kora, prompting Ngaire to continue her tale.

"Not at first. A woman dressed in ceremonial robes addressed us from a platform. Someone standing near me identified her as a government official. However, the robes she was wearing marked her as a member of the Purists. She said that we were to be transferred out of the city for our safety."

"So what happened next?" asks Kora, when Ngaire seems unsure whether to continue.

"We were made to stand in line while they matched our names to a register another Purist member was holding. Then we were divided into four groups. Those in my group were told to report to the docks the following morning, ready to be taken to somewhere safe. None of us knew why our safety was suddenly threatened, nor where we were going. The other groups were told to remain within designated areas of the city until transport could be arranged for them."

"So the other groups may have already left Thurn?!?" I say, alarmed at the prospect of more elves arriving before we can accommodate them all.

"I don't think that's likely," says Heeni. "I overheard two of the Hesperus's officer talking while we were at sea. Apparently the Mariners are refusing to play any part in transporting unwilling passengers, so the Purists must use Thurnian owned and crewed ships to transport us. Only the Hesperus is large enough, and with sufficient range, to make such a long journey. I think it's likely that the Purists are waiting for the Hesperus to return to Thur for another load."

"I hope you are right," I reply. "But what of your possessions and jobs?".

"Our possessions had to be abandoned," says Ngaire. "Despite numerous protests from employers, only a handful of adolescents were take off the list of those to be transported in the first group. I think they will be included in the next group."

"What about those who live and work outside of Thur?" I ask.

"We don't know," replies Ngaire. "All of our group lived and worked in Thur. We weren't given a chance to communicate with anyone outside of the city

"I doubt the Purists will limit their activities to Thur alone," says Heeni. "They may not encroach on Atenex settlements, but that's far from certain. The Atenex have always been indifferent to the plight of Elf Maidens, particularly those who pretend to be Atenex."

I give a brief shudder at Heeni's words. Like most Elf Maidens, I've spent most of my life pretending to be Atenex to avoid the social prejudice targeted at Elf Maidens. I suppose there are many Atenex who feel they are being disadvantaged by being racially similar to Elf Maidens. I don't condone the Atenex attitude, but I understand how easily their discontent can be fuelled by the likes of the Purists.

"Why do the people of Bardos treat us with suspicion and disdain?" asks Heeni.

"That's a sentiment applied towards all of us descended from a Potiora race, and not just those who arrived on the Hesperus," says Tayn. "The Bardos are 'old human'. When the ancient civilisation collapsed, and our planet was nearly made uninhabitable, their ancestors were abandoned to their fate while our ancient forebears protected their own wellbeing. Those chosen to be genetically modified and placed in hibernation were selected from the wealthy elite of society. It's a label that we all carry to this day, even though we don't possess anything more than the 'old humans'. The ancient social divide and mistrust still exists."

"Perhaps now that we are sharing the technology provided by the Aegle Potiora, we might smooth relations between our two groups," I muse. "'Old humans' must think that those of us of the Potiora races want to be superior through our control of knowledge stored by the various Potiora."

Even as I say the words, I realise the truth of what I've said. Control of knowledge is jealously guarded by several of the Potiora races. The Thurnians, Merope, Phebes, and even the Atenex, all filter and control the information and knowledge available through the network of Potiora. It wasn't always so, but gone are the enlightened days of Alexandrescu and Cassandra.

As we discuss the events that resulted in the deportation of the Elf Maidens, I come to accept that the Purists may have learned of the location of the Aegle Potiora directly from the Lampetia Potiora. As Jaro, Tayn and others have previously commented, organising such a thorough round-up of Elf Maidens couldn't have occurred so quickly if my expedition was the source of revealing the Tomyris location to the Purists. The insight eases my fear that I've been the great betrayer of my race.

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Chapter 72: A Promise to Tayn

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Those in Madiana are soon kept busy dealing with the Tomyris awoken from hibernation. Hinano and Akamu show themselves to be competent community leaders. Work assignments are allocated fairly to all the adults and adolescents. Thanks to the extra workers, the Tomyris are making good progress in constructing their new settlement. At first there is a social division between the Elf Maidens and the Tomyris caused by our misaligned cultures. Fortunately the driving urge for sex soon overcomes any prejudices. The adolescents and children have no difficulty in mingling, and the minor differences in the elven language between Elf Maidens and Tomyris is soon overcome.

While I've so far resisted giving formal acceptance of Tayn's offer to place his collar on me, other Elf Maidens have been less hesitant. According to Nyra, more than a dozen women have accepted collars from recently awoken Tomyris men. Apparently a large collection of collars and rings were included it the items stored by the Tomyris before they re-entered hibernation, underscoring the symbolic importance placed on the tokens by Tomyris society.

Tayn hasn't pushed me into accepting his collar. He pretends he hasn't noticed that I've acquired a ring to give him in exchange. I'm not sure what is holding me back from accepting his collar. I feel the need to talk with Arona about our future, but that's difficult at the moment. Arona now lives and works on Madiana, while my duties keep me in Bardos. Maia or Nyra are usually the link between Arona and me, relaying messages between us as we each play our part in establishing the Tomyris settlement.

The Esmeralda makes two round trips each week between Bardos and Madiana. At other times, Jaro transports goods and passengers between Bardos and nearby islands in the Ribbean Sea. I soon realise that using the Esme' for ferrying supplies and messages between Bardos and Madiana is a wasteful use of the Esme's capabilities. There are several smaller sailing ships based in Bardos that could service Madiana just as well. Although my new role is to work with Tayn in liaising with the Bardos administration and merchants, Tayn agrees that I should make a short visit to the new Tomyris settlement to see for myself how things are progressing. My journey aboard the Esme' gives me a chance to talk with Jaro and the other Mariners.

"We need to discuss the financial arrangement that was agreed back in Tewhanga," I say to Jaro and the older Mariners. "You have helped us establish the Tomyris settlement, even though that wasn't part of our original agreement. I don't expect the Esme' to shuttle back and forth between Bardos and Madiana forever. If you wish to return to Tewhanga to claim the other half of the charter fee, then I'm willing to release you from further duties here."

"We have no intention of returning to Tewhanga," replies Jaro. "However, I agree that we need to come to a new arrangement. The most profitable trade for the Esme' would be to transport goods between the western mainland ports and Bardos. But we can only do that if we cease the regular trips between Madiana and Bardos."

"Do you know if any of the sailing ships based in Bardos are willing and able to provide a service between Bardos and Madiana?" I ask.

"I will make inquiries," replies Jaro. "I'm friendly with the captain of the Julianna. The Julianna is an old ship, but she might be suitable to take over the servicing of Madiana."

We arrive at the Tomyris settlement by midday. I'm impressed by the progress made in building a permanent settlement on Madiana. For the first time I see the Tomyris who have recently emerged from hibernation. Physically, Elf Maidens are slightly taller than their Tomyris counterparts, although there are too few Tomyris adult females to be sure of the comparison. Elf Maidens have slightly lighter skin, possibly a natural adaptation due to the colder Thurnian climate.

With many more arrivals expected from Thurn ... all of whom will be female ... the gender balance among the new community will soon skew towards a predominantly female society. Quite how the current patriarchal Tomyris governance will adapt is probably one of the major challenges facing our combined future. The next few generation of births will gradually restore an equal gender balance, but that will take several decades.

I meet with Arona, who spends half her time at the Aegle Potiora, and half at the new settlement. Now that most of the Tomyris have been transferred to the new settlement, there's less need for the Esme' to make regular trips to the Aegle Potiora. An overland route between the settlement and the Aegle tower has been established, although it takes the best part of a day to make the journey.

"We can shorten the journey if the longboat can ferry us across the inlet," says Arona. "That isn't a problem when travelling north to the Aegle tower, but signalling for a ride across the inlet in the other direction is problematic. We've tried flags and lights, but they can't always be seen from the south shore. The trek around the eastern end of the inlet takes an extra four hours."

Arona and I take a walk along the shoreline as we discuss our hopes and ideas for the future. Arona tells me that she is pregnant. That's not surprising given the number of times she and TM fucked on the journey from Tewhanga. I'm due in heat again within the next few days and I confess that it's one of the reasons for my delay in giving Tayn an answer to his offer. If I'm pregnant, then the father could be any one of four possibilities. I'm not sure how Tayn will take to the possibility that any child I carry may not be his.