Heavier Than a Mountain (Destiny's Crucible Book 3)

by Olan Thorensen

  “All right, Culich, I’ll do the best I can.”

  “Good, Yozef. If possible, have something done in another month. Hetman Orosz has sent notice to all clans for an All-Clan Conclave in Orosz City. The only topic will be the Narthani and what we plan to do about them. I’m hoping all the clans finally realize the danger and we can come to an agreement on our actions. Naturally, you will need to come with me.”

  Oh, hell.

  “Now, I think Vortig wants to look at progress in the cannon foundry. We’ll set up another foundry in Caernford, as soon as you succeed in casting a larger barrel than the swivels you’ve done so far. You two go ahead, and I’ll visit with Maera.”

  Yozef guided Luwis to the foundry, leaving Culich and Maera sitting in the meeting room.

  “I must say, Maera, I’m a little surprised and, yes, disappointed that you didn’t speak up to help me with your husband. I know how much you want to move back to Caernford, and you also know how duty to the clan comes before personal desires. Yozef may not originally be a Keelander, but he’s a member of both the clan and our family now, so he should better recognize what he’s obligated to do.”

  “First, Father, he is my husband, and if there’s a loyalty conflict between him and you, he will always come first. And no, I don’t see a conflict between duty to the clan and husband. As you say, Yozef is not from Caedellium, and how he reacts will never be the same as someone raised his whole life in Keelan Province. That doesn’t mean he won’t support the clan; it just might not be with the timing and level of enthusiasm you want. I believe you’ll find him important in ways probably neither of us can predict or even possibly appreciate.

  “Yes, he can be frustrating, including times when he dithers about doing something we believe is obvious and necessary. He once told me a quote that had been used to describe his people. An allied realm leader had said that ‘They will always end up doing the right thing, after trying everything else.’ I believe all of us just have to be patient and trust that he will always, or at least most of the time, come around to doing what’s necessary.”

  “I understand, Maera, and I didn’t mean to sound critical. It was just my own expectation obscuring that you might see things differently than me, and I have to trust your instinct about Yozef. So, do I perceive correctly that your moving to Caernford is certain?”

  “Yes, Father, I think you can. As Yozef and I have talked the last months, I’ve seen him slowly accept what’s necessary. What you saw today is simply some residual resistance. Don’t worry. I’ll work on him, gently, and I’ve several ideas and arguments to ease the transition for him.”

  Maera’s Machinations

  Yozef fought a persistent and futile rearguard action. “One negative about moving is I won’t have Wyfor Kales to give me my monthly sparring lesson. I suppose I could find someone in Caernford, though no one else is likely to be as good as Kales.”

  “Didn’t Kales tell you? He’s moving to Caernford. His wife is originally from Salford on the coast, and she has many relatives there and around Caernford.”

  Maera saw no reason to bother Yozef with details, such as how she had talked to Kales after having to ask half of the town where he lived. She learned that he and his wife had a cozy, well-maintained and furnished house on the western edge of Abersford.

  Teena Kales was a plain-looking woman until she smiled, and her friendly, down-to-Anyar personality shined. She was suitably impressed when the hetman’s daughter and the wife of Yozef Kolsko came calling, more so than her husband. He received a stern look and a preemptive order to show proper respect and fetch their pregnant visitor a chair to their porch. There, the three of them sat facing a lovely view of hills to the west.

  “Don’t mind Wyfor, Sen Kolsko-Keelan, he never did learn proper respect for visitors, and ignore the scowl. His look is far worse than his bite.”

  Maera wasn’t so sure. Her few exchanges with Kales had fit Yozef’s description of a dangerous man with a murky off-island history, but his gaze of open affection and tolerance for his wife seemed real.

  In the next quarter hour, Maera learned from the vociferous woman that she had been made a widow during the raid on St. Sidryn’s. Her husband was one of the few to die defending the courtyard. He had been one of Kales’s cousins. She and Kales had known each other as children, before he sailed off Caedellium and returned twenty-three years later. Her three children were on their own, and she and Kales had married only two months ago.

  Maera, in return, recounted a few items of her own history, though she downplayed being the hetman’s daughter. As soon as she could slip it into the conversation, she mentioned that she and Yozef would be moving to Caernford.

  “Which is why I wanted to talk to you, Ser Kales. Yozef values the training you’ve given him and how you looked after him during the Moreland City battle.”

  “I suppose I did at times,” said Kales. “Other times I was keeping up with him, especially once he decided to operate half the Narthani cannon by himself.”

  Maera was sure she detected approval in the normally blasé man.

  “We both appreciate how you kept an occasional eye on him since he came back. You know, with worries about possible Narthani agents and how valuable Yozef has been. I’ve been talking with the hetman. My father would value your moving to Caernford to help keep a safe eye on Yozef and train Keelan men in the things Yozef says you’re so good at.”

  Another detail Maera omitted was that neither Yozef nor her father had thought about Kales moving.

  Kales tugged at his pointed beard. “Caernford? Well, it’s a real city, not that I have anything against Abersford, but I wouldn’t mind it.” He turned to his wife. “What about you, Teena? You’ve lived here a long time. Would you consider moving to Caernford?”

  “Why, Wyfor, I’d have to think about it. I have friends here, but not much family. Two of my children are in Caernford or nearby, and you know I have a sister and a brother there. The rest of my family is in Salford, and Caernford’s a little farther away than Abersford, but I don’t visit Salford that often.”

  “It’s probably easier to visit Salford from Caernford than Abersford, since there are regular carriages and wagons to and from Salford,” suggested Kales, who sat farther back in his chair and spoke more to himself than to Maera or his wife. “You know, it’s certainly a lot more interesting with Kolsko around, and Carnigan’s right that the man needs someone looking after him. If Kolsko moves, then I assume Carnigan and Balwis will go, too. I’d miss the three of them. Then there’s nothing here for me to do during the day. We don’t need coin, but I wouldn’t mind helping to get other Keelanders ready for whatever comes against the Narthani.”

  Kales refocused on the two women. “Sen Kolsko-Keelan, Teena and I will talk this over and let you know what we decide.”

  Maera bid her goodbyes and walked home humming to herself. Now she’d have to tell her father that she knew of an expert hand-to-hand combat man who could be persuaded to move to Caernford and become involved in training Keelan men. She’d also let Yozef know that Kales intended to move to Caernford.

  “Hello, Carnigan,” Maera said, when she found the big man weeding flowers behind the cathedral.

  “Maera. How are you this day?”

  It had taken Maera several months to convince Carnigan to address her by her first name, and once he acquiesced, it was as if he switched to a different personality. Now he seemed comfortable treating her as a true friend.

  “I’m fine, and the baby has started to make itself known, kicking and squirming,” she said, stroking her abdomen. “But there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. You may have heard that Yozef and I are moving to Caernford?”

  Carnigan’s usually impassive face fell. “No, I hadn’t heard. I suppose that makes sense, what with Yozef’s projects expanding so much and his becoming more important to the clan.”

  “Yes,” said Maera, “though I’m worried about him. As you know, he sometimes d
oesn’t take enough care of himself, and I’d be so relieved if you were still around. You know he thinks of you as his best friend. Is there any way you could also move to Caernford?”

  Carnigan’s face lit up for a moment, then settled back into passivity. “I’m not sure. I would have to talk to Abbot Sistian about that. I don’t know if it’s possible.”

  “Why don’t you see him as soon as you can and talk about it with him? I’m sure something could be worked out.”

  “Okay, Maera, I will,” he said doubtfully.

  “Thanks, Carnigan. I’ll let you get back to work.”

  Maera walked off, thinking, Now I need to talk with Sistian about how good it would be for both Yozef and Carnigan if his friend could move to Caernford the same time we do.

  “Hello, Filtin, I see you’re busy as always,” Maera said, interrupting Filtin Fuller and three other workers. “Is that the new kerosene distillation column you’re working on?”

  “Yes, isn’t it a beauty! Almost thirty feet tall and able to produce three hundred lanterns-worth of kerosene in a single run. There’s still more residue than we’d like, but . . . ” Filtin rambled on into technical details that didn’t interest Maera.

  She let him run down his enthusiasm and waited for an opening. “So, Filtin, have you heard that Yozef and I are moving to Caernford?”

  “Wonderful, Maera! My family and I will also be moving there. We just decided. I’ll set up a new distillation factory, as Yozef calls them. Nerlin was unsure of the idea, but the increased pay was too good an opportunity to miss. I’m excited about building the factory brand new, instead of constantly modifying the original here in Abersford. I’ve discussed it with Yozef, and the plan is to produce daily three times as much as here. The distance to transport the crude oil is farther, but we will build much larger wagons and have people looking at oil seeps in northern Keelan. And, of course, anywhere Yozef is has to be more interesting than where he’s not. We’re already packing our possessions, and I’m planning to be in Caernford in two sixdays.”

  Maera congratulated him on his new position and made her exit. Well, that was easy, she thought. Yozef had said he wanted Filtin to move, but she hadn’t realized it would be so soon and so definite. One more person Yozef felt comfortable with accounted for.

  She visited Cadwulf Beynom but had doubts he could be enticed. Only a few moments of discussion confirmed it was not practical for Cadwulf to move to Caernford. The plan for the University of Abersford called for four initial departments, one of which was Applied Mathematics. The Beynoms’ son had taken all of the mathematics Yozef had to teach and had gone beyond. Even before the university formally functioned, a small cadre of mathematics scholastics and aspiring students had gathered in Abersford. When Maera mentioned the possibility of moving to Caernford, Cadwulf declared he had no intention of moving, for unspecified personal reasons, no matter what happened to the university plan. She would have to talk with Yozef about what to do with the university.

  Maera also considered whether it was practical to convince Bronwyn Merton-Linton to relocate, but she immediately dismissed the possibility. Yozef had had an affair with Bronwyn before he and Maera met, and a child resulted. At Yozef’s suggestion, Bronwyn had joined the marriage of her sister and her husband, and they had merged the two farms inherited from the sisters’ parents. The child, Aragorn, was developing well in a healthy family and felt secure in that environment.

  Her final stop was at the Snarling Graeko inn and pub, whose lower floor had been the main social stop for Yozef since he’d arrived in Caedellium. He spent at least one night a sixday there, usually with Carnigan, regularly with Filtin, and occasionally with Cadwulf and Kales, drinking ale and telling stories that no one had ever heard. At the pub, he’d had the initial inspiration to produce ether, and there Maera suspected he first felt part of the community.

  It was mid-afternoon when she walked into the pub. Only four patrons occupied tables, though she knew the number would steadily increase as people ended their workday, to peak well after most people’s evening meal. No one noticed her, neither the few patrons nor the single barmaid snoozing at a table. She was about to wake the barmaid when the innkeeper walked in from a back room carrying a tray of steins. He set the tray down on a table and hurried over to her. She occasionally visited the pub with Yozef, either sitting with an ale, until she became with child, or participating in a corner of the pub dedicated to Go players, the game Yozef said was nearly identical to one played in his homeland.

  Yet she had never come to the Snarling Graeko alone or at this time of day.

  “Sen Kolsko-Keelan,” said the innkeeper, “can I help you?”

  “Hello, Ser Kuwaith, could we sit and talk for a moment?”

  “Certainly, certainly,” said the surprised man, conveying his puzzlement at what Yozef’s wife and the hetman’s daughter had to say to him. He pulled out a chair for her from the nearest table and sat across from her.

  “Ser Kuwaith, my husband, Yozef, has enjoyed his evenings here at the Snarling Graeko, and he has told me that your beer is considered the best in Abersford. Unfortunately, we are moving to Caernford in a few sixdays, and Yozef will miss being your regular customer. I was wondering if you might consider establishing another inn and pub in Caernford?”

  “Why . . . no . . . I can’t say I have,” said the obviously surprised Kuwaith. “Why would I? Abersford is my wife’s and my home. We were both born here.”

  “I didn’t necessarily mean to ask if you yourself might move to Caernford, only that you open another establishment there. You might be the owner or part owner to ensure that the business was properly set up and the beer equaled the quality you have here. Another person could be the proprietor, either working for you or a partner.”

  Kuwaith listened with a puzzled expression, resting his chin on his palm.

  “I realize there are already many pubs in Caernford,” Maera continued, “but I’m certain that when we move, Yozef and some of the other people who move at the same time would become customers. Naturally, I would accompany Yozef occasionally, and it’s possible patrons of the other pubs would come to a new pub known to be the favorite of Yozef Kolsko and members of the hetman’s family. You might even give it the same name, the Snarling Graeko. You know, if it was successful, you might even open other pubs in other cities and provinces.”

  Kuwaith licked his lips, his eyes taking on a distant focus, as if making a mental calculation. “Yes . . . such a pub might do quite well. I could spend a few days each month there. My cousin Aberlol brews for the Happy Stallion, and I know he’s wanted to operate his own pub. I wonder . . .”

  Maera allowed a smile to play at the corners of her mouth. She had been prepared to offer coin incentives to get Kuwaith interested. There was no need. Once he was committed, she would persuade him and his cousin, if that’s who ended up operating the Caernford franchise, as Yozef called such arrangements, to make the Caernford Snarling Graeko structure and ambiance look as much like the one in Abersford as possible.

  CHAPTER 10: DECISION

  Kolsko Home, Abersford

  After meeting with her father, Maera didn’t press Yozef about moving to Caernford. She knew he took time to mull over decisions and would reinitiate the discussion on his own. She felt satisfied that she had facilitated his thinking without appearing too manipulative. She was learning patience, a trait she recognized that she’d often lacked before marrying Yozef. He listened to her like no one else ever had. Yet even more important, he could almost always be convinced by her or she by him. The sole exception concerned her desire to learn more details of how he came to Caedellium. She had acquiesced to his refusal to tell her more, after he had admitted he felt he couldn’t share certain facts with anyone. She took comfort in his statement that she was the one he wanted to tell the most and would do so, if he ever found it possible.

  While she waited to continue the discussion about moving, she had more than enough to keep her bu
sy.

  During the next two sixdays, Maera noticed Yozef’s changing mood. After meeting with her father, Yozef acted quieter than usual, an indication he was chewing over something. He bordered on terse with her and the Faughns several times, a trait unlike his normal behavior. Within ten days, he seemed more relaxed and commented several times about Filtin moving to Caernford to set up the new distillation facility and Wyfor hinting he and his wife were considering the same move.

  The morning after a storm had moved through Abersford, they finished a meal of kava, fruit, and French toast. Yozef had introduced the toast two years previously, and it had spread over Caedellium, even into Narthani-controlled territory by an unknown route. Maera had been a fervent convert the first time she tried it, but Yozef still wasn’t satisfied with the taste, because duck eggs didn’t taste the same as those from chickens. And chickens hadn’t been included among the assorted terrestrial animal species, along with humans, transplanted to Anyar by an alien race.

  Elian Faughn had eaten with them that morning, an occasional routine left over from before Yozef had married Maera. When Yozef had lived alone, the gentle elderly woman often delayed her eating until she’d prepared the meal for him, rather than having breakfast with her husband, Brak, who always started work well before dawn. Yozef had long ago given up trying to tell the man he didn’t need to work so hard. Brak was prickly about not taking charity.