BattleAxe First Read: Chapter Twenty-Five: The Goodpeople Renkin

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Chapter Twenty-Four (Part II) | Table of Contents | Chapter Twenty-Six (Part I)

SCSF: A good day, everyone, and welcome back to BattleAxe! Last time, Faraday and co. reached the farm of the Renkins and they had some interesting dreams.

For the reader post:

On part I of the Peek at the Glossary, Maegwin notes that the Acharites do not have any festivals, and she suggests some, like a “harvest festival” or “a celebration of the birth of Achtor, for example, or more festivals centered around farming, e.g. the first planting or seeding in spring. Or, given the importance of their military, they could have a Veterans' Day, or a Day of the Axes as a general celebration of the military's prowess. Or a Victory Day to celebrate the defeat of the other races.” (Thank you for the worldbuilding!)

The NRSG suggests that the last two would have made for a better opening to the book than Priam’s nameday. They also note that the absence of such festivals for humans (and their prevalence for the Avar and Icarii) seems quite intentional. I think it would work if Douglass meant it like “the Way of the Axe and the Plough has damaged the Acharites’ culture”, but to me it feels more like “the Avar and Icarii are cooler than the Acharites”.

Cardboard Worldbuilding: 38 (because I get the feeling Douglass did not think about the festivals very well)

FYRP: 93

On the second part of the previous chapter, Epistler notes that Yr ought to have succumbed to hypothermia while they walked across the plains.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 23

Indeed, given that she constantly fell on the ground, I would have expected her to simply not get up again eventually, no matter if she is not human. At least, she should have been in a worse condition than Faraday and Timozel.

I also note that her deliberately not walking with someone else or huddling with the pigs is… well, downright suicidal.

Ill Logic: 118

And, as Epistler notes, Jack does nothing to help her, no matter that she might die, and that the Prophecy would then be broken. What a hero.

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 75

Chessy points out that the farmhouse of the Renkins is not the farm itself, which Douglass does seem to imply.

PPP: 160

On the matter of the Goodwife shrugging “prosaically”, she and Wolfgoddess note that it does not exactly make sense here. For myself, I would have chosen to have her walk to the larder “prosaically”.

PPP: 161

Wolfgoddess rightly notes that it seems that the people of Achar mostly live in towns, which I note makes it quite unlikely that they could “control the landscape” or anything like that.

IYES: 13 (if you want to have this, Douglass, do make it plausible)

Finally, she notes that the Plains of Arcness would also be full of all kinds of life.

Now for the next chapter, then!

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Goodpeople Renkin

Hmmm, the chapter title itself is decent (and apparently Douglass liked this scheme enough to use it in DarkGlass Mountain) but I do not like the term “Goodpeople”. I think… Let me use the term “Noble” as an example. I could see someone be called “Nobleman Renkin” or “Noblewife Renkin” (though the last one does not quite work, since “noblewoman” already exist), and the plural title would be “Nobles Renkin”, not “Noblepeople Renkin”. In this case, “Goods Renkin” does not sound good to me, so I would go with “Good Renkins”. I just do not think that the plural of a title should be formed with “people”.

A Better Commando Name: 33

We open on Faraday slowly waking, “revelling in the warmth of the bed” and in the remains of her dream. She dozes for a bit, feeling Yr sleeping deeply, listening to the Renkins and “their children” moving around the house. Finally the “delicious smell of fresh baked bread” wakes her and she opens her eyes and sits up, “hugging the warm comforter to her breasts”. Yr protests a bit at that. (A “comforter”? That sounds a bit out of place to me.)

Then we get some description. The Renkins live in “a typical one-roomed farmhouse”. At one end, there is a “huge fire” that is fed by “the dried peat that country people [dig] from the marshes during the summer”.

Ooh, this would be a very nice thing to expand upon. After all, I presume that the destruction of the forests that once stood near and the refusal to plant more has lead them to switch to peat for fuel. The trouble is that peat is not renewable, or at least it grows back much more slowly than trees, so eventually, they would need to switch to something else entirely. (And that even leaves aside the damage to the marshes this would do.)

So, of course, there is no expansion on this. It would be such a good opportunity to show how bad the destruction of the forests has been, but Douglass did not bother to take it. I get the distinct feeling this is, in part, because of a “marshes are icky” attitude from her.

IYES: 14

Well, a “large cauldron” hangs over the flames, and “kettles and pots” simmer on a grate before the fire. Twin toddler boys “play[] cheerfully” some distance away. The Goodman dozes against the stones of the fireplace. The “plump Goodwife” bustles between the pots and a solid table that has been scarred by knives over the generations.

Hmm, I am quite sure that the Goodwife will never receive a proper name, which is a problem as she will play a quite big role in StarMan…

A Better Commando Name: 34

Since I do want to name her, and keep to Douglass’ naming customs… I will call her Thedithe from now on.

We are told there is not much more furniture in the rest of the house, except for the bed, “a number of benches”, “a large storage cupboard” (which I presume is the larder) and “two large iron chests”. There are shelves on the wall which hold “the family’s possessions”. At this, we get a remark that wood is “rare and difficult to procure in Achar”, and the Renkins must have saved for quite a while to buy furniture “made from the small number of plantation trees grown in Achar”.

My, Douglass actually thought this through and showed some negative consequences of the destruction of the forests!

We are further told that “[c]heeses, hams and ropes of dried onions” hang from the ceiling, “well out of the way of dogs and children”. …Why are dogs brought up when there are no dogs here?

PPP: 162

On the wall next to the fire, a “tightly swaddled baby” hangs “suspended from a nail”, lulled to sleep by “the constricting linen wraps around its chest”. Thedithe now notes that Faraday is awake and brings her a “mug of broth” from one of the pots. She says that Faraday and her companions “slept away most of the day”. Well, that is not exactly surprising… I do not even see any mention of them sleeping while they climbed out of the complex.

There is a note that she speaks with “the soft country burr of southern Achar”, which Faraday finds “more musical and easier on the ear than the harsher accents of Skarabost”. That is a nice bit of characterisation, I think. Faraday accepts the mug and takes a sip. Jack and Timozel still lie on the benches, Timozel “tossing a little” as if “his sleep were disturbed”. I think I know why…

Thedithe notes Faraday look at them and says that Faraday was “very lucky” to find Jack, because she certainly would have died if she had not found shelter. Faraday looks back at Thedithe and we get a description of her. She is in her “early thirties”, “plump but clearly careworn” by her hard life. She has “[s]tringy brown hair” that she wears in a “functional knot”. She is wearing the “brown worsted dress” that most country folk prefer with the sleeves rolled up above her elbows. This dress is covered by “a rough, black-weave apron”. She has “reddened and chapped hands” that she twists above her “protruding stomach”.

Well, good to know all this. Faraday realises that she has been staring at the Goodwife, and quickly smiles “to cover her bad manners”. She touches Thedithe’s hand briefly and says that they are all “very grateful” for her help. The past few days they had “very little to drink” and nothing to eat, and their clothes were not at all sufficient. She and Yr were “close to death” until Jack brought them here, and Timozel was too exhausted to support them. She says that she does not know how they can “adequately repay” the Goodwife for the kindness she has shown them.

Ah, this is quite sweet of Faraday! The Goodwife says that it is nothing more than any “Artor-fearing soul” would do. (Still, she did save their lives, so…) She pauses and then finds the courage to say what she want to say. So we get this:

“Oh, my Lady, you are so beautiful!” Faraday’s brief touch had emboldened the country woman and she reached out an admiring hand and smoothed back Faraday’s chestnut hair from her forehead. The Goodwife had never seen a noblewoman this close and she marvelled at the softness and whiteness of Faraday’s skin. Among those of her rank women had weather-lined faces by the time they were twenty, courtesy of the long months spent either in the field or helping their menfolk herd the livestock to pasture.

I… can get what Douglass was aiming for, in that Thedithe might be amazed at someone who still has smooth skin. Still… she messed up the execution quite a bit, especially since she has the Goodwife wonder at how “white” Faraday’s skin is, and the focus on Faraday’s beauty. It just feels more like Thedithe marvelling over the beauty of Douglass’s self-insert (though, of course, given how much Faraday is picked on, it kind of feels not?).

Faraday does not react to this at all, which makes it feel quite out-of-place. Instead, she just finishes her broth and says that they are all “so dirty”, and might they please wash themselves, and also have some “clean clothes” while they “brush out” their dirty ones? Yr has no clothing at all. Faraday quickly improvises that Yr was caught in the storm while washing and her clothing “[was] blown away”. If the Goodwife could spare her “one of [her] work dresses”, she will repay her will for her trouble.

We are then informed that Faraday is wearing a “thin gold chain strung with five pearls” that will repay the Renkins “more than adequately” for anything they might give. Um, when have we heard about this chain before? She must have had it since Tare at least, and yet I cannot remember seeing it mentioned at any point. I can almost see Douglass inserting it into the story right now.

PPP: 163

Well, Thedithe is so thrilled at having “such a noble and gracious guest” that she would have had trouble refusing if Faraday has asked for all her possessions. Hmm, that seems a little excessive to me. In fact, I think this fits into a larger pattern… so I think it might be time for this:

Godmode Engaged: 1

Either way, Faraday wakes Yr and the Goodwife leads them to a “small shed behind the house” where there are “barrels of rainwater”. Yr complains about being woken “so abruptly”. The Goodwife gives them “towels and blankets, a bar of rough yellow soap, two of her work dresses and short woollen caps as well as boots for Yr”, and lets them scrub themselves clean with “buckets of cold water”. Well, that is quite nice of her.

They wash “quickly but thoroughly”, shivering in the cold air, then quickly put on the dresses. Their skin is red from their scrubbing and, in places, “blue [] from the cold”. The dresses hang loosely on them, and Faraday’s ankles stick out beneath hers. So Faraday is taller than Yr? That does help with picturing them. They both “smile[] wryly” at the sight of themselves, and then “cinch[] [the dresses] tight to their waists” with “woollen ties”. The dresses are warm, so Yr and Faraday stay to wash their hair, “taking it in turns to scrub and massage the scalp of the other”.

Hmm, I agree with Epistler that they might make for a good romantic pairing, if Douglass had wanted to go that way. When they go back into the farmhouse, Thedithe has woken Jack and Timozel, who are “[sitting] bleary-eyed” before the fire, sipping mugs of broth. Faraday notes that Jack has once again assumed his “vacant, simple expression” and she marvels at how easily he does it. Who cannot trust a man “with such a transparent face”, who seems “so slow and witless” as to be incapable of doing any bad things, she thinks. “Poor Jack, good-natured Jack, doomed by his mental fog to spend the rest of his life herding pigs across the plains of Arcness. Hah!”

Well, he did not come across as particularly trustworthy even on his first appearance. Yes, Faraday did trust him, but I doubt whether she was capable of judging that, so I am not convinced.

Timozel has pulled his bench before the fire and stares into it as he sips his broth, “his blue eyes dark”. Oh, is he affected by his dreams? He has put his axe and sword by the door “as a gesture of goodwill”, but Faraday notes he still has his knife in his boot “within easy reach”. I mean, if he is to be Faraday’s Champion, he needs some means of defence, and it might come in useful in other ways than fighting, so I cannot fault him. His “white woollen shirt and grey leather jerkin and trousers” are dusty and dirty, and his face is streaked where he tried to wash it. He nods to acknowledge Faraday, but his eyes stay “grave and his face unsmiling”.

Faraday tells him that the Goodwife has left soap and towels behind the house, so he can wash himself and he will “feel so much better”. Timozel empties his mug and nods again. He gives the mug to Thedithe, who is “hovering around her guests”. Then there is an abrupt transition to her perspective.

PPP: 164

She gushes about her home is graced with “the noble presence of such a fine Lady”, and now “a handsome and awesome Axe-Wielder”, too! She thinks about what a tale she will have to tell to her friends when she visits. She then beams at Timozel and gives him “one of her husband’s clean and mended shirts”.

In response, Timozel gives her a “courtly bow”, calls her “Madam Goodwife” and says that her hospitality is greater than any he has had before, and he is humbled. Ah, Timozel, I love you. The Goodwife “blushe[s] with pleasure to the roots of her hair” and curtsies, which is noted to be not so elegant. Timozel leaves. The Goodwife turns to Faraday and says that she is very lucky to have “such a courtly warrior” to protect him. Faraday “incline[s] her head gracefully”, fully agreeing and goes to dry her hair by the fire.

Scene break, and we are back with Yr, who “slip[s] noiselessly into the shed”. Oh no… She silently watches Timozel, who has his back to her, washing himself. She says he is “still perhaps too thin”, but “time and maturity” will solve that, and already he is “handsomely muscled”. It is quite bold of you to assume that you will be around him for so long, Yr. Her eyes “glow brightly with desire” (um…) as she looks him over, noting how is pale skin “contrast[s] so wonderfully” with his “darker body hair”. She has been attracted to him since she first saw him, and him pledging himself as Faraday’s Champion makes him “completely irresistible”. I still do not like that at all. Then we get this:

It was time for this youthful Axe-Wielder to learn some new skills.

So Yr plans to have sex with Timozel, no matter that he already indicated that he is not interested. And, though we have not seen it so far, she presumably has mind-control powers, too. I can only conclude that she is willing to rape Timozel to get what she wants. I… this is a bit worse than I expected, frankly.

Consent No, Incest Yes: 2

She scrapes her foot, and Timozel looks over his shoulder, expecting to see Jack or the Goodman, or perhaps Thedithe. He raises an eyebrow at seeing Yr and turns around, “a washer and the sudsy soap in his hands”. Yr is caught off balance by this, because Timozel is “yet young” and he “should have been discomforted by her frank observation of his nakedness”. Because he would only be discomforted because he is young, and not because she is spying on him naked when he has made clear he is not interested?

Consent No, Incest Yes: 3

Yr decides that the trip through the Chamber of the Star Gate must have changed him. She then takes the washer and soap from his hands and throws them into a bucket, then licks his chest. She “trickle[s]” her hands, “lightly, teasingly” down his body, and she can feel him get aroused. We get this: “Yr laughed softly, pleased.” That sounds quite like a villain line, especially given the context.

Suddenly Timozel grabs her and pushes her tightly against the wall of the shed, and “grope[s] with her skirts”. He “hoarsely” asks her if this is what she was after and if he has understood her correctly, and then has sex with her. A few “long grasping, gasping, frantic minutes later”, they are done, and Timozel lets Yr go and goes to wash further. Yr, lost for words, drops to the ground and wonders if she has “finally met her equal in matters of the flesh”, as Timozel has “the vigour of a man”.

There is another scene break, and we are back with Faraday, who frowns as Timozel and Yr enter the house. They look different. Timozel looks “more relaxed, walking into the dimly lit house with a slight swagger.”

So… I think that Yr having sex with him is supposed to have had a good effect on him? Or is this supposed to be an effect of his “maturation”? Either way, if he does not want to, he does not want to, and I truly do not like this is apparently something that he “learns better” about.

Consent No, Incest Yes: 4

Concerning Timozel pushing her against the wall… given how Axis behaved earlier, I think Douglass just thought that was likeable.

Well, Yr’s “normal exuberance” is somewhat repressed, apparently (when have we seen her “exuberant”?) and she plays the maid and plaits Faraday’s hair in a “crown around her head”. Hmm, does Yr think that Faraday will become queen? Either way, it comes across like Yr emphasising how little choice Faraday has…

Jack only needs one look at Timozel and Yr to know “precisely what had happened”. The only thing he is uncertain about is who of them “look[s] the more satisfied”. Blegh.

There is a sudden change of topic now. Because Jack is supposed to be the pig herder, Faraday and Timozel ask if they can get “some clothes, food and blankets” for their journey to one of the Rhaetian towns. Faraday unfastens her necklace (now called a “necklet”) and gives it to the Goodman, “anxiously” asking if it will be enough.

The Renkins just gape at “the generous Lady”, and Thedithe is so stunned that she puts the baby she is feeding down to sleep but forgets to tuck her breast out of sight. They she that for the necklet, she can have “a dozen blankets, food for a week, and their trusty mule and his packs” to carry it. They are “abjectly apologetic” about not having a “gently palfrey” for Faraday or a “high-stepping charger” for “the courageous warrior”, but the mule is sound and has a “sweet disposition” and he will carry their packs, or perhaps Faraday herself, “patiently”.

The Renkins then look at each other “in wonder”. The necklet will not only pay for the goods and the mule they will give, but there will be enough left to “buy a team of oxen and some new furniture”! Well, that is very nice of Faraday, then! They make their bargain, and shake hands with “great goodwill and genuine relief” on Faraday and Timozel’s part, as this will help them journey through the “deepening autumn”.

Thedithe insists they eat to seal the bargain, which they do. Then, Timozel takes charge and insists they go to sleep early, because they still need some more strength and he wants to leave early in the morning. So Faraday and Yr go into the Renkins’ bed, Jack and Timozel wrap up in blankets and sleep before the fire, and the Renkins themselves spend their time resolving how they will spend the money from the necklet. There the chapter ends.

That was… a little boring, frankly. What has this plot amounted to so far? It certainly seems to be given far too much attention for what it has given, I think. Either way, it seems that we will get some more plot from now on. Until next time, then!