Chronicles of Nahtan Boxed Set #1: The First Three Herridon Chronicles Books: Mo'ani's Way, Halona's Way, Nahtan's Way

by D. L. Kramer

  Paki started squirming under Mo'ani's steady gaze. Mo'ani seemed to be searching inside him for something.

  "I can't train him for that," Mo'ani finally said, a note of finality in his voice. "He's too young, but I can make sure he learns to read."

  Paki opened his mouth to protest Mo'ani's decision before having the chance to explain himself, but Adie nudged him with her foot and slightly shook her head.

  Mo'ani turned to Jayehl. "After he eats, take the boy to a room for the night. Tomorrow morning he can move into a room with a couple others his age after he meets the librarian."

  Jayehl nodded his head.

  "I'll go see to his room now," Jayehl said, saluting both Mo'ani and Kile before leaving.

  "Now," Mo'ani looked back at Kile, seeming to have forgotten Paki was there. "You said you'd seen some things that bothered you?"

  "One that stands out," Adie said. "We ran into Janec in Castyl. He was looking for Kile on the murder charge."

  "Nothing strange about that," Mo'ani noted.

  "Not yet," Adie stated. "He went after Nicho and Paki's horses. I distracted him while Kile could move into position. Paki's stallion," she paused to give Paki a brief smile. "Performed heroically in taking care of Janec, then chased most of the church guards out, leaving four or five for Kile and me."

  "They were children," Kile finished, his voice grim. "Only a few years older than the lad."

  Mo'ani's brow creased with concern.

  "What bothered me," Adie continued. "Was that Janec was in charge of them. Did something happen while we've been gone that caused him to fall from the Archbishop's graces?"

  "Not that I know of," Mo'ani answered. "It might bear some checking into though." He paused. "Will we have to worry about Janec anymore?"

  "Only if he managed to get to a good healer," Adie commented. "But if the Archbishop's making some big upheavals in his guard ranks, we ought to find out why."

  "Yes," Mo'ani agreed. He turned back to Kile. "I'm hoping you clarified our concerns to Desan when you made him governor?"

  "Aye," Kile nodded. "The Mo'ani there'll keep an eye on things."

  "I certainly hope so," Mo'ani sighed.

  Paki cleared his throat, not wanting to interrupt, but feeling out of place in their discussion.

  "I'm going to go check on the horses," he said quietly, standing up from his chair. "I'll see you tomorrow," he added, looking at Kile and Adie.

  "We'll make sure ye find the library," Kile nodded his head. "Good night, lad."

  "Good night," Paki said, slipping quietly from the room. As he closed the door behind him, he heard Kile beginning to tell Mo'ani about his encounter with Kiril and the BishopLord's procession.

  He easily found his way back to the yard and the stables. Slipping through the stable doors, he was greeted by the stallion's familiar nicker. Paki checked his stall, then checked on the mare and colt. They were all tired, he decided. Both the mare and the colt looked exhausted. The colt hadn't been up to any of his antics the last day or so.

  "Damn fine horses," a voice said from behind him. "Seen a bit of the bad side, but they've got good hearts."

  Paki spun around to face the stranger behind him. He was tall and stick thin. A mop of sooty black hair hung below his ears and blended with his black beard. He held a three-pronged wooden pitch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other.

  "I'm Tavish," he said, nodding to Paki. "Stable master and head trainer. You're the boy who belongs to these fine animals?"

  "They're mine, sir," Paki managed, taken back by the man's forward demeanor.

  "Not hardly," Tavish chuckled. "You're theirs. Damn fine horses," he repeated, stepping past Paki. "We'll start training that colt in the next few weeks, make a fine mount out of him." His voice trailed off as he made his way down the stable, leaving Paki to stand and blink his eyes, wondering if Tavish had even been there at all. Then he wondered if his exhaustion was beginning to play tricks with his mind.

  "Excuse me?"

  Paki blinked again and focused on Jayehl.

  "Yes?" he asked, his voice hesitant.

  "I have your room ready," he said. "If you'll come with me..."

  Paki nodded his head, paused to pat both the mare and the stallion, then followed Jayehl out of the stable.

  Jayehl led him back into the keep and up a flight of stairs. The room he took Paki to was simple, with only a bed and a washstand, but it was comfortable.

  Paki washed his face and hands for what seemed like the first time in months, pulled off his tunic, then collapsed on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

  Six - "Have you had any sort of education?"

  Paki wasn't sure how long he'd slept when Kile shook him awake. Rolling over, he was surprised to see Kile wearing a new linen shirt and that his cloak was cleaned.

  "C'mon," Kile coaxed. "Ye've slept 'alf the mornin' away."

  "I--I'm sorry," Paki scrambled to his feet and searched for his own stained, worn tunic.

  "It's been properly burned," Kile told him, sitting down on the bed. "Ye've got new clothes over on the washstand."

  Paki followed the motion of Kile's head and saw the new clothes immediately. Walking over, he picked them up and unfolded them. Both the tunic and breeches were plain, but clean. Pulling the tunic over his head, he started to pull off his old breeches, then paused and looked at Kile.

  With a faint smile, Kile stood up and stepped out the door. With the door closed, Paki changed into the clean breeches, then pulled on his worn boots.

  "Okay," he called to Kile when he was finished.

  Kile came back into the room.

  "Ye're new room's over in the south wing of the barracks," he said. "And the librarian's waitin' for ye even as we speak."

  "Mo'ani doesn't like me very much, does he?" Paki asked as Kile led him into the hallway.

  "He likes ye just fine," Kile said, pausing so Paki could catch up with him. "He just doesn't know ye."

  "He sure didn't seem to want anything to do with me last night."

  "Don't worry about that," Kile said gently. "Sometimes Mo'ani makes decisions before 'e thinks about 'em."

  "It doesn't sound like he's going to think much about me," Paki had a hard time hiding his disappointment.

  Kile paused at the foot of a flight of stairs. He looked down at Paki.

  "Don't ever think that," Kile told him. "Mo'ani takes an interest in what everyone around here learns. He'll know what ye're doin' and how well ye're doin' it." Motioning to the stairs, he pushed Paki ahead of him. "Now c'mon, ye're first readin' assignment awaits."

  Paki started up the steps. At the top, heavy double doors stood propped open. Paki and Kile stepped through the doorway and Paki was struck speechless by the stacks of scrolls, bound books and papers on the shelves ahead of him. Shelves ran from floor to ceiling completely around the room and freestanding shelves were placed at even intervals throughout. Long tables and benches were placed between the shelves and several people sat at them, absorbed in their own studying.

  Kile led Paki to a long counter just to one side of the door. Behind it, a young woman sat, carefully reading from a scroll.

  "Meda?" Kile asked. "I have ye're new student."

  The woman looked up and Paki was struck by her beauty. Her light brown hair was pulled into a topknot similar to Adie's and fearless shadows danced in her blue eyes. It was immediately apparent that she wasn't intimidated by anyone or anything. Her face was as close to perfect as he could imagine.

  "So, you're the Young Master?" she asked, her tone crystal and beautiful. She looked him up and down, as if deciding whether or not he would be an acceptable student. After several seconds, she nodded almost imperceptibly, then looked at Kile. "And you still need to quit swallowing your letters," she added, pushing her scroll to one side.

  "I doubt in the 'eat of a fight the church guards care whether or not I swallow a letter or two," Kile replied. "Unless I choke on it."

  "Of course," Meda
said simply. "I'll send a page to tell you when he's done for the day, captain," she dismissed Kile. Coming around the counter, she put an arm around Paki's shoulders and turned him to one of the tables and benches. "Now, have you had any sort of education?" she asked, guiding him to the bench.

  Paki shook his head as he sat down. Meda sat across from him. "No, ma'am," he answered, embarrassed.

  "Nothing to be ashamed of," she said, smiling. "You'd be surprised how many people can't read." Standing up, she walked to one of the nearby shelves and began picking up scrolls. After considering--then discarding--several, she finally decided on one and brought it back to the table. Sitting down beside Paki, she unrolled it in front of him. Singular shapes were spaced evenly across it, no two the same. "This is called a sampler," Meda explained. "Each of these," she ran her finger along the first several rows of shapes. "Are the letters." She paused. "Unless you're the captain, then you can drop two entire rows." Next she moved her finger along the bottom row. "And these are the numbers. Do you recognize the numbers written?"

  Paki shook his head, he hadn't heard of writing down the numbers. "I only know them on my fingers," he said.

  "All right then," Meda made herself comfortable. "We'll start with learning the letters, then move to putting them together into words."

  Paki settled into paying attention as Meda pointed out each letter. She worked with him for quite some time. By the time she finished, he could recite many of the letters back to her as she randomly pointed to them. He still didn't understand how the letters made words, or how their sounds interacted, but he was getting a good start in learning his letters.

  As Paki went through the letters again, Meda motioned for one of her assistants to come over. They spoke quietly, then the assistant slipped out of the library.

  The assistant returned within minutes of being sent out the door. Adie followed him into the library and over to where Paki sat waiting.

  "All done?" she asked.

  "Yes," Meda answered standing up.

  "Good." Adie nodded to Meda as Paki pushed back his chair. He stood up, then followed Adie from the library and down the stairs. "Let's go get you something to eat," she said. "Then we'll go to the stables. Kile and I both thought you'd probably be more comfortable working in there so you could stay by your horses."

  "I'd appreciate that," Paki said. "Are the mare and colt okay? The colt didn't seem to want to run much yesterday." When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he let Adie lead him down one of the halls.

  "They're fine," Adie assured him. "The colt's been causing havoc in the corral all morning." After turning down increasingly narrower halls, she finally stopped at a single door. Motioning for Paki to keep quiet, she pushed it open.

  Paki was immediately bombarded with a hundred different smells, each of them unique. He soon found his mouth watering as he took in the kitchen.

  People scurried from pots hanging in hearths to ovens set in the brick walls. Huge amounts of food were in every stage of preparation. Paki realized that no one seemed to notice them.

  "Here," Adie handed him a warm biscuit off a tray. Checking several other nearby trays, she soon had his hands full of fruit, biscuits with bits of fruit baked into them and slices of meat. "Now let's go before we get caught," she said, opening the door for him again. She followed Paki into the narrow hall and closed the door behind them. "After today, you'll have to eat with everyone else," she explained. "We'll just use today to show you around and find something for you to do while you're not in the library."

  Paki nodded his head, not sure if he should answer her with his mouth full.

  Adie led him out to the stables and corral. Several of the Dwellers' horses were still in the corral and Paki could see the colt and mare among them. The mare kept her distance from the other horses, but the colt ran playfully through them.

  Shouting over by the barracks drew Paki's attention. In the training yard, two young men were attacking each other with padded quarterstaffs while Kile, Mo'ani and Gharald watched from outside the yard's fence.

  Adie leaned closer to Paki. "The third man is Lieutenant Gharald," she pointed out. "He's third in command of the army after Kile and Mo'ani."

  Paki nodded his head, remembering Kile saying his name when they were greeted outside the Stronghold. He sighed as the other young men cheered their friends on. He also remembered Mo'ani's refusal to teach him anything beyond reading.

  "Don't worry," Adie continued as if hearing his thoughts. "Mo'ani just thinks you're too young now and he's right. If you're still here when you're older, he'll probably give you more serious consideration."

  "It didn't sound like that last night," Paki took the last bite from the pear Adie had given him in the kitchen. "I guess after I learn to read I can go to the village and find someplace to work."

  Adie smiled faintly. "There's a bucket there for the core," she nodded to a large slop bucket by the hogpen. "Let's go get your stallion and get him brushed out."

  Paki tossed the core into the bucket, then followed Adie into the stable. He led the stallion out while Adie found a brush for him. With her guidance, he began brushing the dirt from his coat and the burrs from his mane and tail. It took him longer than he thought and he had to stand on the corral's fence to do the stallion's back and head. When he was finished, he had to admit the horse looked entirely different and much better. His full mane now hung in soft strands and his tail shone.

  "Damn fine horse," Tavish said, coming up beside Adie as Paki finished brushing the feathering over the stallion's hooves. "What's he to be trained for?"

  "Nothing right now," Adie answered. "We were wondering if you had any work Paki could do while he's learning to read."

  Tavish studied Paki, then the stallion, then Paki again. "Will that horse pull a wagon?" he asked.

  Paki nodded his head. "He used to be a plowhorse, so I'd imagine he wouldn't have a problem with a wagon."

  "They could drive one of the supply wagons between the village and here," he offered Adie. "Other than that all I could use him for is stable work."

  "I thought you used two horses to drive?" Adie asked.

  "He's big enough he could manage it," Tavish shrugged. "Only other horse around here big enough to keep step with him is the boy's mare."

  "Shouldn't the mare stay with the colt?" Paki asked.

  "They could stand to be apart for a few hours at a time," Tavish answered. "But trips down the hill usually take an entire afternoon or morning."

  "I don't know about him going alone..." Adie started.

  "I can do it!" Paki said. "There won't be a problem, I promise."

  "You can't make promises the church guards won't keep," Adie pointed out. "But, they haven't bothered any other drivers, so you should be all right," she sighed, giving in. "We'll make sure someone goes with you the first couple of times until you learn the routes."

  "Thank you," Paki said, both to Tavish and Adie. Driving one of the supply wagons would give him plenty of time to spend with the stallion and wouldn't involve cleaning out dirty stables.

  "Put the stallion in the corral," Adie told him. "Then I'll finish showing you around."

  Paki nodded his head and led the stallion to the corral. He unlatched the gate and pushed the horse in. Before he could close the gate, however, the colt bolted through it and took off at top speed across the yard.

  "Oh, no," Paki mumbled. He hurried and latched the gate, then took off after the colt, not noticing Tavish and Adie's smiles.

  The colt changed directions sharply just as Paki leaped to catch him. Instead of landing on the horse, Paki hit one of the water barrels, knocking it over. Paki scrambled to his feet, trying to dry himself off and find where the colt had gone to. He finally spotted the colt running towards Kile and began walking quietly over towards them.

  Having lost Paki, the colt almost immediately spotted Kile standing by the training yard and picked up speed. Kile turned just before the colt skidded to a stop before him. Th
e shower of dust and rocks from his hooves covered Kile, Gharald and Mo'ani.

  "Ye blasted thing!" Kile shouted, shielding his eyes. The colt blinked up at him, then tensed himself to leap away at the first sign of Kile's approach.

  Mo'ani chuckled, dusting himself off. "Seems like you have a friend," he said.

  "A friend who's about to be fed to the dogs," Kile grumbled. He narrowed his eyes at the colt. "Ye're playin' by my rules here," he warned it.

  "You've already got Nicho," Gharald reminded him.

  "I just want 'im to leave me alone," Kile replied. "The blasted thing thinks I like chasin' after 'im."

  Mo'ani and Gharald chuckled. The confrontation had drawn the attention of just about everyone around the training yard. Moving carefully, Kile reached into his belt. Slipping his flute out, he brought it to his lips. When Mo'ani's students and apprentices saw what Kile had, a low murmur moved through them. Paki heard several people whisper about a "Dwellers' Flute".

  The song Kile played was low and could barely be heard. The colt seemed to relax and tilted his head from side to side as Kile played. Within seconds, the colt walked up to Kile's side and leaned against him. Kile lowered his flute and scratched the colt between his ears just as Paki reached him.

  "Nicho's going to be jealous," Mo'ani observed.

  "Nicho knows better," Kile responded. He motioned to Paki. "Come take him back to his mother," he said.

  Paki put his hand on the colt's back, taking hold of as much of the short mane as he could. Pulling on the colt, he led him back to the corral, not bothering to look up at the three men. Adie and Tavish came over as he closed the corral gate behind the colt.

  "Come on," Adie motioned to the buildings behind the training yard. "I'll show you around the rest of the Stronghold."

  Paki fell into step beside her as she led him away.

  "What did Kile do?" he asked. "The colt didn't run away."

  "I'm not sure exactly what he did," Adie said. "But I think it's similar to when he speaks with Nicho."