So… Erne’s family stayed in the new village. It needs a better name! Tal-Rayen is like, so old-fashioned. Every other village in Valdyas is called New Village! But they’re doing well, and we gained and lost some people in our travelling school. I really should make a list! There are more people than I actually remember inviting, and sometimes I look for someone, and get told, “Oh, they stayed in Tal-Borin, they wanted to learn with Rava, the smith.”

We kissed and cuddled and made promises and told everyone to keep their spirits up, and then we went EAST. It’s almost the Feast of Mizran, but we’re finally, three months late, on our way HOME!!!

In fact, the weather is beginning to turn. Last year, the first rains in Selday came early, before the feast, but there was a dry spell afterwards. We’ve been seeing clouds for some days now.

I can’t wait to be home! I want someone to make me pregnant! I want to sleep with a man, and have him make me pregnant and then I want to kiss him… All over.

We cannot visit all villages… There are too many of them. We’re enormously behind “schedule” — and we’re just getting tired. Not tired of meeting new people and seeing new places, but tired of not being home, of, well, acting, sort of, all the time. Baroness and Sheriff. Wife and wife. Guild masters. Cute girls showing that that it doesn’t matter who you fall in love with, it’s all okay. Laying down the law (that’s still me taking out the book of laws from the slit in my skirt and thumping it on table). Looking everywhere for gifted people, for things that can be done to improve Idanyas, for things that can be done to make the people here a bit tough, dash it. It’s our job, but two weeks of mindless fucking in Tal-Borin wasn’t enough of a break! And of course, we were planning the first real Guild Fight in Idanyas in centuries, too, back then.

Compromise. There’s a larger village quite close by, Tal-Ryth, and we’ve spent our evening training session making everyone contact someone in the villages around Tal-Ryth, and telling everyone to come there, if they want to meet the Baroness. And to bring food and drink and tents and things. Moyri talked to the people in Tal-Ryth, and they told her that, yeah, that’s usually the place everyone comes for the great Feasts, so, no big problem. Only, a visiting baroness…

That’s something special.

All villages are south of the West-East road (from Selday, it’s the East-West road, of course). There are only two roads crossing Idanyas, well, only one real road. The real one is this one; it cuts Idanyas in two, with the hilly bits to the north, and the less hilly bits to the south. It’s kept in reasonable condition; I’ve been told it was better back when the Hand of Anshen governed, but since the Ishey have appeared, it’s improving. Most bridges are obviously Ishey work, whether wood or stone, but they are all equally obviously new construction, no matter the decoration.

Hah, I adore Ishey. Especially the men. They have such a splendid sense of fun! Our Ishey boys from Selday, Mazao and Julao, they were actually jealous and wanted a chance for them to make a big story for themselves, after seeing bridge after bridge.

But bridges are getting a bit boring, aren’t they?

The Ishey boys should figure out something new.

We’re travelling towards Tal-Ryth now. Half-way through we met a group of people, almost a complete village, and I fell into talking to the blacksmith. He’s such a handsome man! And smart, too. He’s the village head, he’s the blacksmith, and he’s a Master in the Guild of Anshen who takes his duty seriously. We had so much to talk about, and all the time, I was melting in my saddle, just because.

Well, damn it. I guess I’ve found out something about myself. I already knew I was a compulsive giver; like Maile in Essle said, if someone wants something from me, I will give it, unless they are really nasty about it. If there’s even the slightest chance of even the smallest bit of praise, I haven’t been able to say, no, until I met Moyri.

But there’s another thing… Over the past years, ever since this kind of started, I guess… I have learned — no, that’s the wrong word, I’ve become aware that I really enjoy carnal relations. I like having a pussy rubbing my pussy. I like having a dick tickle my tonsils. I like skin on my skin, and I like wetness rubbing me. I like… I like fucking like an addict likes brandy.

And when I met Moyri, again, I decided I would not let that rule myself. It’s getting harder, especially since Moyri doesn’t really get the problem, not yet, because it’s weird, isn’t it? It’s weird. I’m weird. But…

I know about Ichan now, so I won’t, and I will fight me myself, because it’s just a symptom, and nothing more.

In the village, we were welcomed heartily. It’s good to have a routine! I went off with the priestesses of Naigha, while Moyri, Halla and Vauri went into the books and local rules. The priestess and her acolytes decided pretty quickly that one of them would come with us to go to the Hospital and the Selday Temple.

But that’s when we hit a snag.

That’s to say, things were getting complicated.

There’s this village; there’s an Ishey settlement on the mountain, probably intending to mine, which means they need a Royal Patent, there’s a leper village — and then there are bandits.

After the banquet, before the dancing, I took one of the acolytes with me, to share a good, long piss — wait, that sounds weird. I noticed she was getting fidgety, so I asked her to take me to the place where we could go. And when we were going at having our go, so she couldn’t jump up and run away, not without sartorial disaster, I asked her whether there were any local people with the bandits.

And as I expected, there were. One Rava, notably. NOT a good girl.

So… Local people. That evening, after the banquet, we did a group seeing session, and, yeah, we found people hiding away in a valley to the north. Interestingly, that valley was overseen by the new Ishey settlement!

So the next day, I took some of our Ishey, and we went up. It was quite a climb! In fact, half-way we had to leave our horses with a team of mules that was grazing placidly in a hill meadow, and we had to climb all the way ourselves.

Then we arrived at the house-in-becoming. The chief was a thirty-year old Ishey man, and he is SO gorgeous! I almost forgot my resolution of the day before. Gods… He is gorgeous. Maybe even more because of his mind, than because of his body, though that is too…

Down, Khushi! Down! You’re not a ready rabbit!

Tineh, the Ishey girl we had with us, noticed my discomfort, and giggled, making it worse.

“Mazao, we have to talk!” I gasped

But after that we managed a good, decent, innuendo-free palaver, and I got them all to come with us to celebrate the Feast of Mizran. Besides, there are legal things to be discussed before people can dig up wealth out of Valdyan soil, and there health things to be mandated, since where there’s copper, there’s lead, and where there’s silver, there’s tin and mercury. And I do CARE VERY MUCH about people staying healthy in my bailiwick, thank you very much.

But when we went down to Tal-Ryth, Mazao kissed me! On my mouth! I guess he had noticed he was attracting me, but this WOULD NOT DO.

So I asked Anshen to be Present, and he was, and took over Mazao’s lips.

And that was nice, I like kissing Anshen.

And Mazao was properly abashed, too.