Hand of Fire: Book 1 of the Master of the Tane

by Thomas Rath

  “I waited these years,” Rani continued, “and kept it hidden because I was afraid that if you knew about it you would not be able to resist playing with it and you might stab yourself or someone else. Now that you are older, I feel you can handle the responsibility of having it without putting yourself or anyone else in danger. So here,” she said, holding it out to him. “It’s yours. The sheath is inside the hut.”

  Teek didn’t move. He just sat staring at the dagger like it was something beyond his comprehension.

  Rani smiled. “Take it Teek. It’s yours.”

  Slowly, he reached out his hand and grabbed the hilt, lifting it up into the moonlight for a better look. It felt like it belonged in his hand. Quickly, his mind drifted away to other lands and places where adventures were everywhere to be had before his mother’s voice jerked him back to reality.

  “Now, I want you to promise me that you won’t play with it like a toy. A steel blade is something to be respected and cherished. No cutting into trees with it or threatening your sisters, or anyone else for that matter.”

  Teek looked at his mother for a moment and then nodded his head and whispered, “Yes, Mother.”

  “Well, it’s getting late,” she announced with a sigh while getting to her feet. “Come along now. Let’s put that away and get us both into bed.”

  Teek followed her lead as if in a trance, still holding the blade up in front of him. With a little directing he was able to get inside and sheath it before coming back to his senses. “Thank you, Mother,” he finally said giving her a big hug. “I’ll do everything you said and won’t break your trust.” Rani just smiled and held her son close.

  That night he traveled the road of dreams to countless places, living a myriad of adventures, always brandishing his dagger before him in victory.

  Teek rose early the next morning anxious to get his traps checked and moved so he could show off his new dagger to his friends, especially Twee. “Father Twee will appreciate such a fine blade I’m sure,” he told himself while washing up before he left. “He’s probably seen and used hundreds of them. Maybe he can teach me how to use it.”

  He buckled the sheath around his waist only to find it too big for his slender body. A little disappointed that he could not wear the knife at his side in plain view, he removed the belt and carried it in the sheath instead. Hefting a couple of newly repaired traps, he headed for the door when Rani called from her mat. “Be careful Teek. And don’t be foolish with your new dagger.”

  “I will mother,” he answered while descending the ladder and then quickly returned and corrected himself. “I mean I won’t...I mean...oh you know what I mean.”

  Teek immediately noticed the unusual humidity for that time of year, which always foretold the coming of rain. The sky was just beginning to cover with clouds blocking out the sun’s rays as it broke the horizon in preparation for another day’s journey. He ignored the strange weather and made his rounds quickly, gathering from his traps the unlucky guests that would become his family’s breakfast and then rotated them to different areas. Replacing his last trap, he glanced, with satisfaction, at his haul. All in all it wasn’t a bad morning’s catch with two crabs and a couple of medium sized shrimp. “This ought to feed us nicely enough.”

  He wasted no time getting home, anxious to deliver his cargo and then be on his way. He hoped to catch some of his friends as they returned from their rounds so he could show off his new dagger. Upon reaching his hut, he hastily unloaded his catch and then called up to his mother to raise the bucket before starting off towards the main cluster of huts.

  “Teek!” Rani called down as she pulled up the trap door. “Come up and eat before you leave.”

  Teek yelled back without slowing as he continued to put distance between himself and the hut. “I’ll catch some fish later mother. Bye!”

  Rani wanted to protest but it was too late, he was already well on his way and she knew that even if he could hear her he wouldn’t.

  Teek poled around the many Teague trees that filled the swamp on his way towards, what might be considered, the town. The only reason it was considered the town was the mere fact that most of the Waseeni people’s huts were gathered in that one central area. Rani preferred the outer reaches because they didn’t have to go as far to set their traps.

  More and more huts began to appear when Teek finally came upon two other boys who were talking. Kip and Ben were a couple of years older than him, which made them feel superior. This was his chance to show them that he was just as good as they were.

  In his excitement, he pulled his canoe up too close and slightly bumped Ben’s canoe making it rock in the water.

  “Hey, watch it with that thing!” Ben growled. Ben was the larger of the two, which also made him think he was the most important. Kip, on the other hand, was nice enough if you caught him alone but as will happen, he always followed Ben’s lead.

  “What are you doing, Teek?” Kip asked trying to ease some of the tension.

  “I wanted to show you guys something my mother gave me,” Teek said trying to sound important.

  “What is it,” Ben chuckled, “a blistered rear end?” Both boys laughed making Teek turn red with frustration and anger.

  “You guys probably wouldn’t appreciate it anyway,” he said with a glare and started to maneuver his canoe away.

  “Wait, Teek,” Kip said putting his pole into Teek’s boat to hold him still. “We’re sorry, what is it?”

  Teek perked up immediately. “Do you really want to see it?”

  “Yes,” Ben said irritated. “But preferably while the sun’s still shining.”

  Teek reached down into the bottom of his canoe and lifted up his prize. Taking the dagger from the sheath he held it up for both of them to see.

  “Wow!” Ben exclaimed, “Where did your mom get that?”

  “She got it from a dwarf,” Teek answered with pride.

  “A dwarf?” Kip asked looking a bit skeptical. “There aren’t any dwarves around here.”

  “Yeah,” Ben added, “that is if they even exist.”

  Teek became defensive. “They do exist and this is a real dwarf blade!”

  Ben laughed. “Is that because that old codger Twee told you they exist or is your mom becoming daft as well?” Ben and Kip laughed while Teek tensed, becoming red in the face.

  “You guys don’t know anything,” he said sheathing his dagger and moving to pole his canoe away. “You think you’re so big but your size has robbed you of any brains.”

  “Yeah, little boy?” Ben retorted. “You watch out for dwarves and goblins now.” Both boys started laughing again as Teek moved away disappointed and angry.

  “There are real dwarves,” he said to himself making for Twee’s hut, “and this is a real dwarf blade.” The sounds of laughter faded and the excitement returned quickly as Teek neared Twee’s hut. Twee would know a dwarf’s blade when he saw one.

  He tied off his canoe and ascended the ladder that hung from his old friend’s hut. When he reached the landing he clapped his hands to announce himself and then waited. Soon an old, crooked hand pulled back the covering hanging in the doorway revealing Twee’s kind, wrinkled face.

  “Teek my boy, how have you been?” the old man perked. “Come in, come in. I just finished breakfast and was about to light my pipe.” Twee was once the tallest man in the Waseeni community but age and an old injury took their toll and bent him forward to the point that he needed a cane with which to get around. His long, white hair hung ragged past his shoulders and his brown skin hung as if melting off his bones. Everything about him contributed to the look of an aged man save the thoughtful brown eyes that twinkled with life and energy set beneath his bushy, white brows. No one knew precisely how old Twee was, even he had forgotten the exact number, but everyone believed him well past one hundred years. Most Waseeni never made it past their eightieth birthdays but old Twee kept on going. He claimed it was a blessing from a wood sprite he released from a t
rap when he was young and still traveling but most people thought he was just too empty headed to die.

  “I bet you’ve come for another story haven’t you?”

  “Yes, Father Twee,” Teek said nearly bouncing up and down with excitement. “But I also brought something to show you.”

  Twee beckoned him to the back of the hut where the window allowed the smoke from his pipe to escape. “Sit down my boy and let’s have a look then.”

  Teek helped Twee down to the floor and then sat down next to him rushing right into the events of the night before. “Do you remember the story I told you of my mother when she traveled up the river on an Appeasing Journey and met the dwarves? Well, there was more to the story that she hadn’t told me until last night. Not only did the dwarf give her the gems for the ancestors, but he also gave her this.” He reached behind him where he had tucked the dagger away in his breechcloth and produced the blade for Twee’s inspection.

  “My goodness boy,” Twee exclaimed, “a dwarven blade! That is a treasure.” He reached for it. “May I?”

  Teek nodded, handing the dagger to his old friend.

  Twee studied it intently turning it over and over in his hands. “The dwarf who gave this to your mother must have had a great respect for her to do so.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh yes. Dwarves don’t give up their metal works cheaply, oh no. Yep, she must have made quite an impression.” Twee finished his examination and then returned it. “How did you come by it?”

  Teek’s face beamed. “She gave it to me.”

  “Gave it to you? What feat of daring or great strength did you accomplish for your mother to award you with such a prize?”

  “I don’t know. Actually, I was kind of upset with her for not letting me come here last night.”

  Twee’s face became serious. “You respect your mother now lad. She deserves it from you and everyone else. You just remember that blade she’s given you and what it meant for her to get it.”

  Teek’s face turned a bit sullen at Twee’s reprimand although he knew he was right. “Yes, Father Twee.”

  “Now,” Twee smiled, returning to his jovial self, “where shall we go on our travels today?” Furrowing his brow, as if in deep thought, Twee ignited his pipe with an ember from the small firebox he kept lit for just that reason. With the heat of the swamps there was no other reason to have one. His face suddenly lightened. “Have I ever told you about the time I got lost in the Underwoods Forest?”

  Teek leaned forward slightly in anticipation, not wanting to miss a word as he shook his head no.

  “Well then, son, prepare yourself for an adventure of strange things that will curl your toes. Rely on this, if I hadn’t been there I might not have believed it myself. It was one of the last of my adventures before I returned to the swamps for good.

  “I was a councilor in the human king’s court at Calandra. Do you remember Calandra from the other stories I’ve told you?”

  Teek quickly nodded his head, anxious for the story to begin.

  “Of course you do, who could forget the grand city of Calandra?” Twee stopped for a moment staring into space as if he were far away and then suddenly went on. “Anyway, as I was saying, I was a councilor to the king when he died.”

  “He died?”

  “Oh yes, yes. Well, you know we all do at one point. But that’s not where the story begins, oh no, that would be an awful beginning to a story, quite awful. No, the story begins with the king’s son. Yes, the king had a son who took the throne when his father died. It was about that time that there was some urgent business that had to be straightened out down in the town of Willow Wood. Have I told you of Willow Wood?”

  Teek shook his head no.

  “Well, no matter. Willow Wood isn’t that important to the story. It lies at the other end of the Underwoods Forest from Calandra and that is where I was coming from.”

  Teek nodded patiently at his old friend having become accustomed to the slow starts to his stories when he skipped around the tale with little insignificant details. Teek knew that when he finally reached the core of the narrative that he would then mostly stick to it.

  “Now, I don’t remember exactly why I was sent on this errand for the king but I do remember the urgency of the situation and that great haste had to be made. So, instead of taking a longer, safer route we decided we needed to take the road from Aleron straight through the Underwoods Forest.”

  Teek sat back a little knowing that the real story would begin now. Old Twee sucked on his pipe for a moment as if collecting his thoughts and then launched into his narrative.

  “It was a cold, rainy day towards the end of a long winter when we left Aleron. We had just picked up some supplies and were leaving in the early morning anxious to be on our way and through the forest as soon as possible. None of us had been in the Underwoods before but from the stories of the local town’s folk and those we had heard before, we knew we had a long and dangerous trek before us.

  “It was myself and three other lads, all human, who began the journey, and only I made it to the end alive.”

  Teek leaned forward once again ready to catch every sweet word from Twee’s tale as they dripped from his mouth like honey.

  “We had been on the road for days, making cold camps at night, not wishing to attract any orcs that lurked about in the woods surrounding us. We could hear their strange calls and the screams of dying victims in the night. We kept guard in twos helping each other stay awake so we wouldn’t be caught by anything that might try to make us its evening meal. But, even with the guard, none of us slept much and we began to tire and become agitated. After about a week of this with no end in sight one of the humans became suspicious of the others and took off running into the woods. One of the others was going to chase after him but we held him back knowing that they would both be lost to us if he left the small road we traveled. Later that night we heard terrible screams echoing from the distance that we could only surmise came from our poor paranoid companion.

  “The next day as we continued our trek, we began to see signs on the road and in the woods around us of a large party of orcs. Their tracks were easily recognizable, as was the half eaten flesh and dung that they left in their wake. We argued about what to do for quite some time before deciding to risk leaving the road and enter the woods just far enough so we could still see it but hide easily if we happened upon any orcs. Not long after that we came upon a large thicket of wild blackberries that forced us to either move deeper into the forest or take back to the road. The signs the orcs left had been fairly fresh so we chose the woods. So far we hadn’t had any trouble.

  “We followed the thicket for about an hour before deciding it wasn’t going to end and that we should turn around and take our chances on the road. By that time the sun was starting to go down and we thought it best to make camp and wait until the morning. The humans were getting a bit restless and the cold and wet had really begun to take its toll on them so they decided to chance it and build a fire. I must admit that at the time I was not too against the idea myself.

  “We all decided to stay awake, just to be extra cautious that nothing would take us by surprise. We watched each other and the darkness around us for three or four hours before the exhaustion of the past few days eventually conquered us. Heads began to nod and finally sleep overtook each one.

  “I was awakened by a kick to the head from one of the humans as he struggled with three large orcs who had grabbed him and then clubbed him in the head before I could react. I then jumped up just as two other orcs reached for me and was lucky enough to fall back across the fire and kick sparks into their faces stalling them just long enough for me and the other human to escape into the woods. The chase was on. I knew the only way we would ever get free from the woods was if we kept close to the blackberry bushes and then turned back towards the road once we got around them, so I made sure to keep the thicket on my right and not veer from it.

  “The orcs kep
t the chase not trying to catch up but not falling behind either and I suddenly got the feeling we were being herded. I knew that if we didn’t get away from them soon we would run into a trap further ahead. I watched desperately for a place to hide and disappear from sight when the opportunity suddenly presented itself.”

  Teek sat motionless with his mouth wide open as he listened to Twee unfold his story. He began to feel a bit light headed brushing it off as just the excitement of the story. It wasn’t until a moment later when he started to black out that he realized he was holding his breath.

  “The thicket came to an end turning sharply to the right and as it did I noticed a large tree ahead of me with a hole that extended from the base to about five feet up the trunk giving it the appearance of being hollow. Not thinking, or caring, about what might have made its home in the tree, I headed for it knowing we would only be lost from the orcs view for a moment. I motioned for the human to follow but he would not and kept running along the thicket.

  “I reached the tree and climbed up inside just as the orcs rounded the berry bush. Seeing my companion in front of them, they continued the chase not noticing that I was missing.”

  “What happened to the human?” Teek asked still trying to catch his breath.

  “I don’t know, son. I never saw him again.” Twee stared into space for a moment in deep thought before he continued. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, the tree. Well, it wasn’t until the sound of the orcs faded that I finally took notice of my surroundings and with what I might be sharing my hiding place. It was at that moment that I began to feel things crawling all over me. I dared not move, not knowing what it was that had infested me and not wanting to make any noise to call back the orcs. So, I remained still in that same position for about an hour until the sun started to rise and my body screamed for a change of position.