Wolloh took a long drink of ale. “I’ve read a bit about it but not enough to know much.” He stood up and crossed to the stove. After stirring the stew, he took a small sip from the wooden spoon. “Almost ready.”
“Cutlery is over there. Why don’t you set the table while I refill our mugs.”
Wolloh lay in the lower bunk, musing about the evening. Dinner had been delicious. Good food, good ale, and Velar’s easy companionship had made for a comfortable evening, the first Wolloh had experienced in a long time. He had learned a lot, as well.
The planet of Persow was mostly agricultural. It’s one city, Scitym, was really a small town that provided a supply depot and communication center for the populace. There was some fishing in the planet’s ocean. Villages traded back and forth and bartered for what was needed. Geela, he discovered, was a tiny village near the base of Persow’s only mountain range. Relevart might or might not be found there.
Wolloh yawned and rolled onto his side. Sleep came fast and deep. Dreams danced through his subconscious…his mother, his sister, his father. Everyone turned away. No one spoke to him or looked him in the eye. Water dripping penetrated the nightmares. He opened his eyes to a dim and unfamiliar space. He came to sitting in one abrupt movement.
“What the…” He stared at his surroundings—dirt and cobwebs, musty old hay, the tumble of boards that made up the remains of an ancient shed. Rain dripped from overhead, and wind found its way through every crack and cranny. “Velar?”
The lack of answer sent a shiver up his spine. Was last night a dream? He glanced at his pack where it leaned against a fallen beam. A small book with a tattered, scarlet cover rested next to it. The title, The Art of DiMensionery and The Order of Esprow , was etched in gold. As he flipped through the pages, he noted occasional notations in the margins and sections that were starred. He lowered the book to rest on his knee and glanced around the interior of the shack. Last night… Velar was here. He looked back at the book. He left this for me. The sound of rain and wind made him snuggle beneath the blanket regardless of the dust that rose when he moved. Today is not a travel day. He began to read.
When he finally set the book aside, he had finished over half. Moving like a man in a trance, he dealt with his personal needs and fixed a meal from food he found wrapped in brown paper near his pack. For a time he stood in the dilapidated doorway. A lazy, gentle rain continued to fall. The wind of early morning had died down. The world was green and wet and hazy. “Wonder if they have discovered I’m missing yet? Will they come back to search? Somehow I doubt it. But…one never knows. At least I have today.” The sound of his own voice brought him a sense of comfort. For reasons unknown to him, he felt less alone.
He returned to his makeshift bed and picked up the book. Everything about its contents fascinated and excited him. The more he read, the more he knew DiMensionery was right for him. As far back as he could remember, he had been able to do things his friends could not. Rather than incur their interest or jealously, he had kept his gifts secret. Unable to explain or even understand how he could move something without touching it or know what was going on in another room or even in someone else’s mind, he had stifled them for so long that he had almost ceased to be aware of them. The only other person who knows is PaPa. I wonder… He smiled.
Reading about DiMensionery made him look at his strange gifts from a whole new perspective. I want to know more…to do more. Shape shifting! How I would love to shape shift to a bird, to fly, to sail on the wind.
The final chapter of the book dealt with how one became a DiMensioner and what initiation into the Order of Esprow meant. When he finally closed it, he sat in a mesmerized silence for a long time.
Gradually, he became aware of the world around him and the lateness of the day. The rain had stopped and the sun had broken through. Tentative rays seeped through cracks in the roof, highlighting each particle of dust he launched into the air as he moved. It felt good to stand. He stretched and ducked beneath the lopsided doorframe. Grinning, he watched a rainbow arc above the clearing. “Rainbows…luck for those beneath them. I could definitely use some luck.” He watched it melt away before he returned to bed and curled up. Sleep took him to another place.
An old man rocked on a rickety porch. Beside him a dog sprawled. It lifted its shaggy head. The old man smiled. “Soon,” he said. “The boy will be here soon.”
Wolloh woke feeling rested and alert. “Time to find Relevart. I am going to become a DiMensioner.” He whistled as he packed his gear. Dried fruit and a chunk of cheese filled his belly as he left the shed behind. The day felt hopeful. I feel happy for the first time since Jaff disappeared and left me to… Pushing the thought away, he shoved a hand in his jacket pocket. Paper crinkled between his fingers. Withdrawing it, he unfolded it and stared at a map to Geela!
He trudged along a track through the woods that took him in the general direction he wanted to travel. A sudden awareness of tension in the forest made him drop to his knee. Listening intently, he closed his eyes and let his senses heighten. At least three men traveled parallel to his track…and not too far away. Friend or foe? Stay still or move? Hide?
Voices drawing nearer gave him the answer. “You sure he jumped ship here, Tade?”
“Got word from a pal. Bounty’s hefty, too. Keep your eyes peeled. He’s tricky. They want him alive.”
Wolloh crouched lower. A bounty? Why do they want me alive? PaPa knew something. I wish…
Tade’s voice interrupted. “Heard there’s a shed back there a bit. An old track’ll take us there.”
“Do we have to search in the woods?” The man sounded irritated. “Bet the rain made it sloppy wet in there.”
“Ya want the bounty or not?” demanded a third man.
“Suppose so. Let’s split up.”
Hunkered down behind his bush, Wolloh contemplated his next move. A rabbit shot through the brush toward his enemies.
“Ha! A meal on the run!” A gun fired. Tade’s frustration filled the woods. “Da’am! Missed. Where there’s one there’s bound ta be more.”
One of his companions spoke up. “I say we catch dinner, then find pretty boy.”
While they scrambled around, Wolloh made use of the noise to cover his retreat further into the forest. When he had created a sizable gap between him and them, he stopped and tuned into his internal compass. Picturing the spot on the map that represented Geela, he closed his eyes and rotated slowly. Whoosh. His eyes flew open. He blinked and stared. The woods had disappeared. Ahead, down a dirt road, were the outskirts of a small village.
“What just happened? Did I teleport? I read about it last night, but I couldn’t have. Could I?” A wide grin turned into a laugh of delight. “I think I did.” Whistling a jaunty tune, he ambled along the road. The first building he came to was long and low with shuttered windows and a door that gaped open. Above it, a rickety sigh read Smithy .
Inside a short, muscular man pulled a pair of tongs holding a red-hot piece of metal from the fire and glanced up. “Can I help ya?”
“Is this Geela?”
“Yep.”
“I’m looking for a man named Relevart.”
“If you be lookin’, ’magine he’ll find ya—if he wants to be found.” He picked up a large hammer and indicated the mountains. “I’d head that way if I was you.” The clang of the hammer against metal brought an end to the conversation.
Wolloh stepped from the dimness of the smithy into the bright heat of the day. Avoiding mud-caked ruts that formed the semblance of a road, he allowed the hunger gnawing at his belly to nudge him toward a rambling old house that emitted the fragrance of fresh baked bread. A sign painted with pink roses and printed in tidy, square letters said Baked Goodies.
A round, middle-aged woman noted his entrance with a smile. “Cero told me there was a stranger in town.”
“Cero?”
She jerked her thumb the direction of the blacksmith’s shoppe. “The Smithy.”
> Wolloh narrowed his eyes. “Did you just speak in my head?”
“Oops! Sorry. Habit. Ya know if you can hear me you gotta be able to use mind speech, too.”
“Telepathy?”
She nodded. “Go ahead. Try.”
He watched her faced closely. “I’m Wolloh.”
“Good to meet ya, Wolloh. Interesting name.”
He laughed out loud. “It is, isn’t it? I did it.”
“You did. I’m Kaleen. Ya hungry?”
“Starving. Can I buy some bread?”
Kaleen handed him a tray laden with a fresh loaf, a tub of butter, and a bowl of berry preserves. “Take a seat over there. I get ya a cuppa tea.”
While she poured hot water into a teapot, he sat down at a round table by a large window and smeared butter and preserves on a crust of bread. The first bite made him lick his lips with pleasure.
Kaleen placed a mug of steaming tea on the table and sat down opposite him, cradling hers in her hands. “You lookin’ for Relevart. He be hard to find, ’less he wants to be found.”
Wolloh took a sip of tea laced with honey and cream. “But he does live around here, right?”
“Most times he does. Might disappear for a while, but he always comes back. The elders say he’s been here longer than time.”
“How do I let him know I’m looking for him?”
She inhaled the sweet fragrance of her tea, sipped it, and gave him a quizzical smile. “He knows.”
“How?”
“Think.”
Understanding dawned. “He knows everything happening on Persow, doesn’t he?”
She bit into a piece of bread. A small pink tongue licked jelly from the corner of her mouth. “He knows much, much more than that.”
For a time they sat in silence, savoring good food and sipping their tea. Wolloh’s agile mind was brimming with questions. Instinct told him to wait. The answers would come and sooner than later. Setting his empty mug on the tray, he looked at his hostess.
“What do I owe you?”
“Not a thing.” She rose and picked up the tray. “Walk toward the mountains. By dusk you’ll come to a grove of trees beside a creek. Make camp and see what happens. If nothing does…keep walking until dusk the next day. A campsite will present itself if need be. It may take one day. It may take many. Whatever you do, don’t give up. You may have to prove to yourself and to Relevart that you are determined to find him and that you understand what finding him means. I wish you the luck of the rainbow.”
He took the tray from her and carried it to the counter. “You saw it here?”
“I saw you beneath it. You must go. The men who are after you are headed this way.”
“How do you…?”
She shook her head. “Go, Wolloh. The answers to all your questions await you.” With that, she turned away and began piling dishes in the sink.
He couldn’t seem to make himself leave.
Water splashed from a hand pump into her wooden washtub. “Go.”
He shrugged on his pack and walked to the door. “Thank you, Kaleen.”
A hummed melody escorted him outside. Smiling, he made his way through the village and down a track that ran beside fields of green, leafy crops. As the sun began its descent, he reached a grove of trees nestled in a gully between two hills. A creek tumbled over and around a series of large stones to form a small pool within its boundaries. A sudden desire to bathe made him drop his pack and undress. Sunlight gleamed on the ring his mother had given him. He slid it off, tucked it in a small pouch, and stuffed it in his pants’ pocket. It won’t do to lose the only thing I have that MaMa gave me.
He tested the water with a toe. “It’s warm! A hot springs?” The bottom was sandy but for three large, black rocks sitting near the center. As he waded toward them, the temperature of the water increased. Sitting with his back resting against a rock, he let the water’s heat pull the fatigue from his body. He closed his eyes and listened to the creek’s splish-splashed journey. The twitter of birds in the trees, the screech of a hawk, the chitter of a nearby squirrel all combined to form a lullaby. I should get out before I fall asleep. He leaned forward and splashed water on his face. The water stilled. Silence so deep it seemed to cut his flesh sent a chill creeping over his skin. His gaze darted from tree to tree. He began to rise.
“I wouldn’t if I was you.” Tade stepped from the behind a tree, a weapon pointed at Wolloh’s chest. “We got ya surrounded, pretty boy, so don’t try nothin’.”
Wolloh controlled his desire to glance toward his pack…and his boots. “What is it you want, Tade?”
“You the makings of my day… Know how much you be worth?”
Wolloh remained quiet.
Tade laughed. “They want ya bad, pretty boy. Real bad.” He motioned his comrades closer. “Stand up very slow. Make a quick move and I’ll blow your leg off. Didn’t say they wanted ya whole.”
Wolloh felt suddenly dizzy. The desire to become a DiMensioner overwhelmed him. His focus blurred. Tade grew fuzzy.
“Hey!” The word faded. The world faded and refocused. Wolloh stood in front of a fieldstone cottage in the last rays of the setting sun.
A low laugh made him look more closely at the dim outline of an open door. “Go on, Dog. Sniff out our visitor.”
Paws hit the porch in a scramble of claw against wood. A black and tan dog with silky feathered legs and tail bound down the steps and loped toward him. Its cool nose brushed his bare thigh. He glanced down and blushed.
“Yep, boy. You’re as naked as the day you were born. A fitting way to begin your new life, don’t you think?” An older man emerged from the shadows. He was taller than Wolloh and thin. White hair floated around his head like a morning mist. His high forehead glistened in the final moments of the day. His smile was toothy and broad.
And…he moves with the agility of a young man.
“I am younger than time, young Wolloh, but not by much.”
Wolloh felt a thrill of excitement. “You’re Relevart.”
“Hummmmmm. Better get you dressed, boy.” He indicated the porch. “Your pack and clothes are over there. Thought you might like them, especially your boots and your MaMa’s ring. Dinner’s reheating. Grab your things and come on in.” He turned and disappeared into the cottage.
A rough tongue licked Wolloh’s palm. He looked down at the black, shaggy dog. With a sharp bark, Shyllee dashed round him, and then bound up the steps after its master. Gathering his scattered wits, Wolloh followed. He collected his belongs, stepped through the door, and immediately dropped them again.
“I…you…this…” He shook his head trying to clear his confusion.
The man tossed him a towel. “You going to stand there shivering or get yourself dressed?”
Wolloh scrubbed at his hair, then dried the rest of his body. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. “This is the same…” Words failed him. He stepped into his pants and made himself focus. “I know this place.” His gaze flitted from the cook stove to the fireplace to the shelves lined with books to the sleeping space where a glowing wooden trunk nestled at the foot of a set of bunk beds. “Are you him or…” He sank down on a chair by the table and shook his head again.
The man laughed and set a bowl of stew down in front of him. “Remember this?”
“I made it. Are you going to explain, or just let me sit here feeling totally witless?”
“We’ll eat, and then we’ll talk.” He took a mouthful of stew. “This is delicious. You’re a good cook.”
Wolloh stared at his bowl. I made this stew how many returns ago? He pushed a piece of meat deeper into the thick gravy. The smell brought water to his mouth. The last thing I ate was bread and jelly with Kaleen. His stomach rumbled. He glanced up to find his host seemingly absorbed in eating. Another grumble made him lift the spoon to his mouth. Before he knew it, the bowl was empty. He sighed and sat back in his chair.
“I imagine being full will improve your mood. Would y
ou like more?” His host prepared to rise.
“I don’t need more stew. What I need to know is…” He swallowed. “Are you Relevart? And if so…” He made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “Please explain this?”
Picking up a full mug of dark ale from the table, his host stood and set it down by a chair in front of the fireplace. “Bring your ale and join me, Wolloh.” With quiet efficiency, he lit the paper beneath carefully placed kindling and nursed a fire into existence. When it was going well, he added two or three larger pieces of wood, waited to make sure they caught, and sat down.
Wolloh settled himself in chair and sat sipping the rich, dark Persow ale.
After a short silence broken only by the snap and crackle of the fire, the man turned his attention to Wolloh. “As you have already guessed, I am the man called Relevart. I have some things to say that you will not like hearing. Please listen without interrupting. If you can do that, your questions will be answered.”
Wolloh felt tension furrow his brow. He rubbed his forehead and nodded.
“Until recently, the greater part of your short life was spent in the comfort of your parents’ home, where you were protected from harm. Although I do not feel that you are selfish, I do know that you are excessively proud and that arrogance has often led you to do and say things that have gotten you in trouble. Since you have talents far beyond the scope of your present knowledge, you have been watched by many. Fortunately for you, your father knew this, and you were smart enough to follow his advice and keep your emerging gifts under wraps…so to speak.
“One of the groups that observed you from afar was the Mocendi League. What they saw made them determined to make you one of their own. After they contacted your father and he refused to cooperate, they contacted your friend, Jaff, who jumped at their offer of wealth in exchange for your banishment from Roahymn. Their plans were progressing nicely. You were convicted, banned, and sentenced to spend time on Soputto’s penal colony. Had your father not interfered, you would never have reached it.” He stopped to sip his ale and stare into the fire.
Wolloh squirmed with the desire to speak, swallowed the now tasteless brew, and forced himself to remain quiet.
The UnFolding Collection Two Page 52
