The Robin And The Kestrel

The cartwright (whose name Kestrel still did not know) nodded, respect in his eyes, presumably that Robin was so well-informed. Kestrel sighed, but only to himself. There would be no bargaining here.

'G-go ahead,' he said, trying not to let the words choke him.

The cartwright nodded and strode briskly off down the lane towards the cluster of buildings at the front of the Waymeet, presumably to get his partner, tools, and the new axle.

'D-do we s-stay here?' he asked Robin. 'Are w-we s-supposed to help?'

'Not at that price,' she replied, jumping down out of the wagon. 'I heard him out here, so I locked everything up, figuring if he could start immediately, we could go wander around the Waymeet for a while, and see if there's anyone I know here. We can't do anything in the wagon while he has it up on blocks, changing out the axle.'

She reached up and locked the back door, then slipped the key in her pocket. The bird in the tree above them, who had been silent while the cartwright was prodding the wagon, burst into song, and she looked up and smiled at it.

That smile lit up his heart and brought a smile to his lips. He reached for her hand, and she slipped it into his. 'Th-there's lots of n-news t-to tell, and m-more t-to hear. L-let's at least g-go tell Gypsies and F-Free B-Bards ab- bout Wren and L-L-Lark. And th-the w-welcome to Free B-Bards in B-Birnam. Th-that's g-good news.'

'Surely,' she agreed. 'And we'll see if there's anything of interest to us in what the other folk here have to tell us in the way of news.'

To Robin's delight, the first people they encountered, cooking up a breakfast of sausage around their fire, were people she knew very well. It was a trio of Free Bards: Linnet, Gannet, and Blackbird. Blackbird jumped up, nearly stepping into the fire, when he spotted Robin, and rushed to hug her.

Linnet was a tiny thing, with long, coppery-brown hair that reached almost to her ankles when she let it down. Gannet's hair was as red as flame, his milky face speckled with freckles; Blackbird's red-gold hair was lighter and wavy rather than curly, like Gannet's. All three had sparkling green eyes, and slight builds. They made a striking group, whether they were dressed for the road or in their performance costumes.

She made the introductions hastily; none of the trio had ever seen Jonny or even heard of him, so far as she knew.

'Linnet is flute, Gannet is drum, and Blackbird is a mandolin player,' she told him, concluding the introduction. 'Kestrel is a harpist, and he's learning lute _'

'Well, if Master Wren declared he's one of us, that's good enough for me,' Blackbird declared. 'No other qualifications needed. Now, we heard there was some kind of to-do over in Birnam_but how did you end up mixed in it, and how did you end up wedded?'

She glanced over at Kestrel, who shrugged, and settled down on one of the logs arranged as seats around the open fire. 'Finish your meal and we'll see if we can't get it all sorted out for you,' she said, following his example. 'We've already eaten, so go right ahead.'

Jonny didn't say a great deal, but he did interject a word or phrase now and again; enough that it didn't look as if she was doing all the talking. Linnet and her two partners kept mostly quiet, although by their eyes, they were intensely excited by the whole story. They passed sausages and bread to each other, and filled tea-mugs, without their gazes ever leaving the faces of the two tale-tellers.

'_ and then, well, it was just a matter of getting wedded,' Robin concluded.

Kestrel grinned wryly. 'And s-so p-p-publicly that K-King R-Rolend c-couldn't th-think I w-was g-going to b- back out of my p-p-pledge. S-s-so here w-we are.'

'Lark and Wren are still in Birnam, and King Rolend made Wren his Bard Laurel, so he said to pass the word that Free Bards are welcome in any place in Birnam,' Robin added. 'That's the biggest news, really. Apparently the Bardic Guild in Birnam was one of the biggest benefactors of the old King's spendthrift ways, and they are not happy with Rolend.'

'And th-the f-f-feeling is m-mutual,' Jonny pointed out. 'Th-things th-that Wren w-wants, he's h-happy t-to g-give. P-politely th-thumbing his n-nose at the G-G-Guild.'

'Like the right for any musician to work anywhere, and take anyone's pay, at least in Birnam.' Gwyna made no secret of her satisfaction, and the other three looked so satisfied that Robin wondered if they had been having trouble finding a wintering-over spot.

'Well, that's the best news I've had since the Kingsford Faire!' Linnet exclaimed. She glanced over at her two partners, who nodded. 'I think the situation in Birnam is well worth crossing those damned fens, even at this late in