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Stories from the Verse
Con Version
Chapter 21: Cooper 7
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Brown 288
He had already on a previous excursion reached the top of what the locals called North Hill, two thousand feet above the mountain village of Anderberg. Nor was he by any means the first one, as most of the local boys and a lot of the local girls had been up there as well. But he had this time walked around to the far side, and was attempting the northeast approach, which had never been done before.
Looking up the fifty foot ice cliff, he understood why. He would require crampons, pitons, and an ice axe to get up that. Instead of that, he had his leather boots, his wick-away sweat socks, a quality walking stick, and decades of mountain walking experience. That taught him that just because one path was impassable, it did not mean there were not others. He walked lightly over the loose detritus at the base of the cliff, working northward, on the far side from Anderberg.
With several detours down, and one false attempt up, he came to what looked like a promising slope upward that he should be able to manage with stick in one hand and the other on the rock–but it was getting later, and it was four miles back to the Tell chalet. Time to start back. He planned to return on his next free day.
A bit over an hour later, and an hour before sunset, he entered the warm exposed timber-framed chalet. The scent of rosti–braided bread–cooking by the fireplace brought a smile to his face. In the back room he could hear a spinning wheel singing as the servant girl worked.
Wilhelm and Hans were sitting at the dinner table with two men in more rough clothes. On a desk behind the table lay a dozen cheese wheels, and listening to them talk, Brian could mostly catch the discussion in German. The men were two brothers, cheesemakers, and they were trying to get needles for their wives, and thread, along with the salt to make their cheeses. After taxes, they would be only able to get one needle for two women, and little thread. They were disappointed and angry, but then Brian heard a note of falseness in Wilhelm’s voice.
He would be able to get the thread they needed, and one needle and the salt. Barrelmaster wondered because Wilhelm had seemed a very honest man, and then Brian understood. The men would get their thread for their wives, and Wilhelm would pay for it out of his own pocket, and claim it was his good bargaining skills that got them the thread. Brian shook his head; he should have known Wilhelm would not stoop to lie for some low reason. He did not agree with lying even in that case, but it was for good motives. He took a bench by the wall, and waited until the meeting was done.
After the cheesemaking brothers left, Wilhelm said a bit gruffly, My people are proud, and do not like to accept charity. Brian nodded, and kept his own counsel. Supper was served, and plans were revealed to go down the mountain on the morrow. They had a full load of cheese wheels, some wooden carved objects, crystals found on the mountains, and even a wolf skin from a ‘mangy beast looking for a kid to eat’ which Wilhelm had shot with his crossbow. They had a full list of ‘must gets’ and another list of ‘nice to gets’ from the town in the valley, Wenbrunnen.
That night, he slept troubled. They rose early in the morning, and had a hurried breakfast of cold tea and bread slathered with butter and jam. To his delight, Brian was able to guide the mule down the first part of the track where it was wider. Then Hans took over, and drove them most of the way while Wilhelm slept crumpled up around the cheese in the back. He had his mighty crossbow with him, for as he said there were wolves of the two legged kind on occasion. Two hours later, at the base of the mountain, with the Axon Cliffs to his right, Hans gave back the reins, and Brian drove the mule and cart over the long, narrow stone bridge above the tumbling stone-filled river into Wenbrunnen.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with eleven other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #501: Characters Orienting. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
