***
The days following Glint’s recovery were full of hectic preparations, for he and Azrael had decided to leave the manor and go on a journey. Glint had told Azrael of how he wanted to train before he went to Quicksilver and present himself before the giant iron gate of the warrior’s guild. The youth still hadn’t decided whether he actually wanted to join. As a child he’d loved the guilds, and more recently he hated them. Now, things were less clear, but at least Alfjötr seemed to be a better man than Glint had thought, and so hope remained. Regardless, he needed training and so kept quiet. Azrael had agreed with the youth’s wish, and expressed that he wanted to teach Glint a few things, as well as see to some matters of his own
In accordance to tradition, the area under the manor’s influence participated in the two’s preparations for departure. Everything of value was gathered from the nearby villages: foods, wines, water skins, ropes, compasses, blankets, and all sorts of travel gear considered a must were brought together. Glint and folk -Glint’s area was comprised of but one small town and a tiny village- now stood in a glade a ways away from the manor in a ring around Azrael as a mounting mound of possessions grew in front of the smartly clad man. The onlookers were apprehensive, watching a butler’s smile grow wider as more and more things were brought to him, as if the possessions were offerings for a god. The man was allowed to take all of it and sell it, in fact, which would leave the townsfolk with almost nothing. Thus apprehension grew as the man’s apparent joy grew and he began to snap his fingers to some sort of inner song.
Watching the scene, feeling as nervous as the others, Glint heard Mary move in next to him and mutter, “He won’t do it, I know he won’t.” Her red hair seemed almost aflame today, and the cold of winter gave her skin a ruddy complexion. Her jaw was set, determined and proud.
“Mary,” Glint said, not willing to scar the image of the man in front of her, but electing for caution, “we don’t know him. None of us do. He gives away nothing and plays us like puppets on a string. How can you be so sure that it isn’t all an act? How he treats us politely and helps? It could all be for a bigger scam, you know.”
In the chilly breeze, Azrael shivered a little. He hadn’t worn anything over his butler’s suit. He called it a shame for a butler to hide his uniform, and Glint wondered if he’d played the part before. Mary said furiously yet quietly, “He’s not that kind of person, melord.” Glint knew her answer to be wishful thinking, yet he also knew that part of him simply wanted her to stop looking at Azrael for just one second and turn her bright brown eyes onto him. None were safe from wishful thinking, it seemed.
Still, Glint breathed a sigh of relief when Azrael chose the more worn out practical things over the expensive antiques and family heirlooms, overcompensated the owners for commandeered wares, and returned all the rest to their rightful owners personally. Glint tried hard, for his part, not to notice Mary’s expression, yet he knew his was not too far off from that same happiness. No matter how jealous he got, he was still glad to see the villagers treated fairly. How different this view was from what he’d thought before living there.
Some of the more bitter townsfolk, those used to being exploited and who had been muttering about thievery the entire time, looked as dishevelled as the trees around them, their leaves of contempt stripped off cleanly off and scattered onto the ground by white kindness hidden behind raven eyes. They watched the proceedings in stunned silence and received their money with disbelief.
All in all, Glint couldn’t help but feel proud when he saw Azrael slip in a few copper coins into an ornate pocket watch, give it back to its owner, a teary eyes old lady, and stop her from kissing his hand, as was customary. The old lady received a peck upon her grandmotherly forehead instead and was lead away by her son, openly weeping.
“Well then!” announced Azrael when only the manor inhabitants were left, “We have everything now, so let’s start packing.”
All in all, it was a good day for people miles around.
The Final Life Page 16
