Mystery at Shadow Peak (4)

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 7th August 2022
Series: Mystery at Shadow Peak

Characters: Jorghan
Description: Jorghan speaks to the Master Crafters
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 9, day 5 of Turn 10

"Blasting powder? It's kept in the smithy, all right, but in a locked
safe in a side room, where the smith had his tanks of chemicals, for
cleaning and polishing and suchlike. Well away from the forge fire."

Jorghan had risen early, refreshed by the mountain air, and after a
quick bath and breakfast with the hold workers, had headed down to the
Master Miner's cot, hoping to catch him before he set off for the day's
work. He was a short, stocky man in his fifties, his eyes squinting a
little in the light. Like most of the holders, he was polite, but made
no pretence of friendship with the missing steward, or concern about his
disappearance. When Jorghan asked about the accident at the smithy, his
manner became somewhat more wary.

"It was as fire-proof as anywhere in the hold," he went on. "Not a
danger to the main building, but close enough to keep an eye on."

"Who has the key to the safe?"

"There are - were - two. I've got the one." Master Harobben patted the
ring of keys on his belt. "The Holder had the other. Can't say if it was
found."

"Not the smith?"

"No, he'd no use for the powder, and it's not something I'd let a
journeyman handle even if he was of my Craft."

"Can you show me?" Jorghan asked. "Where it's kept now, I mean. It's in
the new smithy?"

The Master Miner didn't look thrilled about the idea, but he nodded.
"Warder Alekis has asked us to give you every assistance, but I'd
appreciate it if you could keep it quick. I've got work to do." He began
to walk briskly back down the path to the Hold. "Don't like to be late.
Sets a bad example for the men."

Jorghan turned on his heel and kept pace with the miner as they crossed
the courtyard towards the new building. "They're all holders, your men?"

"I've got two journeymen, but the rest are hold labourers, yes."
Harobben frowned. "No convicts, if that's what you mean. I don't hold
with it and nor did Holder Beliron. Mining's a skilled job, whether
you've craft rank or not, and it can't be done by any holdless ruffian
or light-fingered drudge. Least, not in these hills. New Warder's smart
enough to know that, at least."

"And Holder Belkas?"

"He raised the idea once or twice, but I told him what you save in wages
you pay out on guards. And if one of them brings the whole mine down on
everyone's head, then he'd regret pinching a mark or two."

That confirmed what Jorghan had heard, that prison labour wasn't used so
much in these smaller holds. He followed the man into the smithy, which
stood empty for now, the forge cold and the shelves bare of all but a
few tools. There was a faint scent of blackrock dust and metal in the
air. The Master Miner opened a side door into a room not much bigger
than a cupboard, also lined with empty shelves apart from a solitary
tank which looked like agenothree, and a wooden chest on the floor by
the far wall which sported a solid-looking padlock.

"This is the same arrangement as the old smithy. We haven't replaced the
safe yet, so that journeyman from Grystan Hold put a lock on the box the
fresh supplies came in." He crouched beside the chest and, taking the
ring of keys from his belt, opened it. Jorghan kept well back, but he
saw the small sacks of powder, neatly tucked one alongside the other.

"So you had your key at the time of the explosion - "

"Yes. My wife and I were just sitting down to dinner, blast rattled our
cot to its foundations. Knew what it was straight away." The miner
relocked the chest and straightened with a grunt.

"But the Holder was here."

Harobben scrubbed at his thinning grey hair. "Holder Belkas wasn't half
the man his father was, but he was minehold bred. He wasn't fool enough
to go playing with that stuff without reason, and nor was that poor lad.
No-one born here would be. I can't explain it."

Jorghan thought over what he'd heard as the man locked up the smithy and
they parted. No-one born in a mine hold - but not everyone had been. The
posted crafters hadn't...and nor had the missing steward. And then,
while the Master and the Holder might have had the only keys to the
safe, locks could be picked. By smiths, perhaps. Or thieves.

He kept an eye on the sky as he headed past the stables. Thread was due
to fall in the afternoon, and he could already see preparations being
made: shutters banging, sacks and boxes being carried inside, beasts
being led into the barns. Not wanting to disturb the beastcrafters at
such a time, he returned to the Hold, noticing the message flag for the
runner had gone up, though there wasn't likely to be anyone out in the
open today.

The noon meal was brief, some cold meat, bread and cheese. Jorghan asked
one or two of the hold workers about the steward. The response had
become familiar - no-one had known him well but the dead Holder, no-one
knew where he'd gone or regretted his departure. Then came the
discordant clanging of a warning bell, high up in the hold's tower - it
must be deafening in the holder's office - and the last of the workers
came streaming in to the hall. No miners, from what he'd heard they
would work through it, deep underground.

The Master Beastcrafter came in last, a white-haired man of around
seventy but still spry, drying his hands on a cloth. He seated himself
at one of the long tables with a gusty sigh and accepted a mug from one
of the drudges. Jorghan waited for a while to give him time to settle,
then picked up his mug and went to join him.

"You're the one who's here to find Steward Sogreal?" He snorted. "Good
luck with that. Most likely, he's sunning himself on some beach in the
North, drinking away his ill-gotten gains."

"Ill-gotten?"

"No-one could ever prove anything, mind, but he was into something he
shouldn't have been. I came across him round the back of the stables
once, talking to two strangers. They hushed up as soon as they saw me,
but marks were mentioned." Master Iovrey scowled. "Never would happened
in Holder Beliron's day."

Jorghan's eyes flickered with interest. "Do you think you'd recognise
them again?"

"Maybe. Villainous-looking pair. Holdless people, if I'm any judge."

"I've got some pictures I might ask you to take a look at." If the
steward had been involved with any of the local bands, that would
explain a lot.

He asked a few more questions about the steward's character. The master
beastcrafter was refreshingly plain-spoken after the more guarded
responses he'd got from the other holders, but they came to much the
same thing. The steward had showed up out of nowhere, he had some
connection with Holder Belkas, and wasn't known for honesty or
frugality. Jorghan remembered the lavishly furnished holder's office,
and wondered if the two men had that in common.

"Oh, one more thing," he said as the Master finished up his klah. "The
Headwoman mentioned you had a young stable lad go missing?"

"Yulen. Yes." Just like that, the stablemaster's mouth clamped shut into
a disapproving line. "That was a while back."

"Before Holder Belkas' time?"

"Yes, it was just before his father's accident."

A lot had happened around that time, Jorghen thought. The death of the
old Holder, the new one taking over, the arrival of the steward and now
this young man disappearing. "Headwoman Viklara mentioned he might have
wanted to do better for himself?"

"You could say that." Iovrey stood, abruptly. "I'd better round up the
ground crew. Good luck with your search, Guardsman."

Jorghan watched him go, thinking it over. He'd come to investigate one
mystery, and now it seemed that there were at least two others all
wrapped up together. What had been going on at Shadow Peak? What had the
Holder got himself into?

There wasn't much he could do in the way of a search until he got a
response to his request from the Hold. Except - he grimaced. Sifting
through Records wasn't his favourite duty, but perhaps that Holder's
office at the top of the long stair held some clue to what had happened
back then.

Last updated on the October 30th 2022

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