The Sword Maiden

Feast

Just as Redwar had finished speaking, Mr. Lotcin strode in, and following him were many of the miners.

"There ya are!" He crowed out. "Why you all cramped up there? Now's a time to celebrate, and ya gotta be a part of it!"

The miners behind him let out a shout of agreement.

"We're havin' a picnic n' dance over on the green by the well, and we insist that ya join us as guests a' honor!"

Redwar stood and let his half smile grow just a bit. "We're honored, Mr. Lotcin, thank you."

I shoved back my chair and stood along with the others. Mr. Lotcin came forward and his grin disappeared behind a solemn face.

"Ya helped save our wives and children," Mr. Lotcin replied seriously. "And perhaps even the right to work in the mines as we please. Tis' the least we can do."

He turned to me. "You, I especially have to thank, Ms. Ravine. You defended my sister and her daughter from the cowardly swine that was tryin' to grab 'em."

I blushed and lowered my eyes. I hadn't known that the woman and girl were related to him so closely. "Thank you, sir. I didn't know they were of your family, but I'm glad I was able to prevent their kidnapping."

He nodded and turned to face all of us. "We're all grateful for what you've done for us. The first Feast of the Life Giver, the Feast of the Harvest, is the day after tomorrow, and we'd like you to stay with us to celebrate it. It is a Feast of Thanksgiving, and we're thankful to the Life Giver for you."

My eyes widened, not from surprise at the invitation but at the fact that I'd completely forgotten how close that Feast was.

"We will gladly stay and celebrate with you," Redwar replied for us.

Mr. Lotcin's wide grin then returned in full force. "Good! Now come on, the women have nearly got all the food stuffs a'ready for the picnic dinner, and I don't know about ya, but I'm starved from dealin' with bandits and mayors!"

I laughed then, not at Mr. Lotcin's statement, but at the accent that had come back into his voice. His habit of switching from fine speech and then to accented speech was amusing.

The miners boistorously escorted us out to where the well was. The wide expanse between it and the forest provided the perfect spot for an afternoon picnic. And it truly was an afternoon picnic, for the sun had passed the point of noon a while ago.

When I smelled the food, my stomach, who's complaints had been smothered by the events of the day up to that point, came alive. Suddenly, I felt like I might faint if I didn't eat something soon.

Mr. Lotcin took all of us over to his brothers' families. His brothers' wives had whipped up a feast of sandwiches made of pork, veal, and beef, two different types of salad, mashed potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and several different types of fruit including Pearlots.

The two wives welcomed us and began dishing up all the food. I knew that if my mother were here, she'd be helping with the serving, and so I tried to volunteer my own services despite my hunger. Valeria also volunteered. But the two ladies, and the daughters who was also helping, would not have it. They insisted I take up a plate and glass, and sit myself down on the blanket spread over the greenery. To be honest, I didn't resist all that hard.

As soon as I sat down, a daughter came over and asked me what I'd like to drink. I felt like I could serve myself, but they weren't having any of it. So I told her that I'd like some lemon and honeyed water. While she was gone with my glass getting that, one of the wives came over and took my plate.