To his relief, she did not actually go to the gates, but instead headed directly into a building nearby. He glanced at the sign hanging over the open doorway. City Administration Office? Siobhan did not pause in the doorway but strode straight in.
The place was short, short enough he could swear his hair brushed the ceiling. It was a single room with two counters forming an L-shape. Shelves upon shelves lined the walls. Rolled papers and ledgers were shoved inside in every possible direction, and Erik was convinced there was little in the way of organization in this place. No one could find something the way this place was managed.
“I’m Siobhan Maley, Guildmaster of Deepwoods from Goldschmidt,” Siobhan announced to the room in general. The two bored clerks at the counter paused in their conversation and looked up at this greeting. “I need to register a free man.”
Erik’s head snapped around and he stared down at her in astonishment. She was registering him as a free man?! Hadn’t she just said that she was going to deal with this on her way back? Why the sudden urgency?
One of the clerks raised a hand and waved her over. “Guildmaster,” his voice sounded like a bullfrog’s, “please give me the specifics. You have a man that was a slave and now needs to be registered as free?” The way he asked this suggested that she was insane for doing so.
“That’s correct.” Siobhan set her feet shoulder-length apart and met him squarely in the eyes. “You have a procedure for doing that, don’t you?”
“Ah, well, yes.” The clerk looked at his coworker, who seemed just as baffled by this. Erik knew why—slaves were a pricey and important commodity here in Quigg. The idea of setting one free was nigh unheard of. Erik was astonished there was a way to register a free man in this city to begin with. Clearing his throat, he went back to a more professional tone. “You have a bill of sale for this individual?”
Siobhan pulled it out of her wallet and handed it over.
His eyebrows arched as his eyes skimmed over it. “You bought this man in Robarge?”
“I did.”
“Then why register him here?”
“Because I want him to have the freedom to travel if he so wishes to.”
It was in that moment that Erik experienced an epiphany of sorts. Back in Converse, when he ate with her for the first time, Siobhan had told him that eating with him made them friends. He hadn’t believed her. Or maybe he had, but what she said hadn’t sunk in. But at this moment, he realized she had meant every word. To Siobhan, the two of them were friends. He was as dear to her as Beirly or Grae and she would do whatever it took to defend him.
Even in the future, the actions she took now would help defend him.
Tears pricked his eyes. Half the time he’d known this woman, he’d thought her crazy. Or whimsical. Or reckless. But none of that was true. Siobhan just had a different standard than the rest of the world. To her, the people around her were the first priority. Always. Everything else was second to that.
The clerk, with open misgivings, pulled out a clean sheet from underneath the counter. “We can register him here for you. Your full name and rank, please?”
Siobhan rattled off answers as the clerk asked them. In the space of fifteen minutes, the form was filled out, stamped and filed. Siobhan had a clean copy made for her, which she then in turn presented to Erik with a bright smile. “Here. Now you can travel without worry.”
Unable to help himself, he leaned down and grabbed her up in a bear hug.
Siobhan flailed for a moment, but laughed and hugged him back. “You’re welcome.”
“I still think you’re crazy,” he whispered against her hair. “But I wish there were a hundred more like you. The world would be a better place for it.”
“Wolf, I daresay that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” From the watery sound in her voice, the words had touched her deeply. “Now, let me down. Let’s go get dinner.”
He reluctantly let go and set her back on her feet. In a manner reminiscent of their time in Converse, she took his hand, and they walked that way back to the inn.
Chapter Six
The drivers and caravan boss were lively at dinner, throwing jokes back and forth and eating heartily. Of course, they had every reason to be in good spirits, as they were making good time on their journey and hadn’t encountered any trouble. For them, this was a smooth trip.
Erik hardly felt the same way about it. He sat in a corner and brooded, eyes staring sightlessly forward. What would happen to him after he left Deepwoods? The thought of staying in his small village until he died of old age was incomprehensible to him. He had seen so much of the world, true, but there was still so much of it he hadn’t seen. Could he be content to stay in Reske and work day-to-day without yearning for more?
He didn’t know.
Aside from that, he knew that there was another thing that urged him to stay with the guild. What Siobhan had just done for him…it was above and beyond what most people would do. Only his family and very close friends had ever done something of equal importance. The way she acted towards him made it clear that she viewed him as family. Siobhan, Beirly, and Grae felt like family to him, too. His heart gave a lurch at just the idea that he might never see them again after reaching Reske.
What was wrong with him? He had the chance to go home. Siobhan was taking him there herself. At first, he had doubted that, but so far she had made good on every promise she’d made him. Now, he knew she’d keep her word. So why did the thought of leaving her make his heart tremble?
He longed for home but at the same time, feared it. He had changed so much, so radically, that he wasn’t sure if any of his family would even be able to recognize him now. They loved him, had no doubt missed him, but he did not think home would feel the same anymore.
But that left the question, where did he belong? At this woman’s side?
Troubled, he went back and forth, arguing the matter internally. He was so lost inside his own head that Siobhan dropped into the chair next to him, making the floorboard squeak, before he realized she was anywhere nearby. Startled, his head jerked up.
“What’s troubling you so badly?” she asked him bluntly, crossing her hands comfortably over her stomach. “That guard from before?”
“Only a little,” he responded with a long sigh. Worries weighed on him so heavily that he felt ten years older. “In truth, I have no good memories of Quigg.”
Her head cocked in interest. “You mentioned before you’d been through the place.”
The way she phrased her words, he could either grunt and leave the subject alone, or elaborate. Erik looked at her for a long moment, mentally debating. From the very beginning, he’d felt he owed this woman a significant debt. Not just for the money she spent on him, but for her kindness and patience. In all the time they’d known each other, she’d never once demanded a recounting of his past or answers to her questions. It made him respect her. So the part of him that longed to accept her overtures of friendship had him opening his mouth and saying something he’d never imagined he’d say to her.
“It was in this city I lost my hand.”
Siobhan’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “HERE?!”
“I was a dark guildsman,” he pointed out in dark humor. “The only way I could have crossed into Robarge was through a slave train, Siobhan.”
Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again. She looked like a beached fish. “I guess…I never thought to question how you got through Island Pass. So that was how.”
“Aye.” His eyes went blind as the memory came back to him, vivid and strong enough to make his stump ache. “It was outside of the city walls that I lost the hand.” In reflex, his other hand came up to rub at it, only to be thwarted with the metal covering the area. Grimacing, he let his hand drop again to the table’s surface. “I told you once before, that I lost it in a battle, right?”
“Right,” she agreed, seemingly holding her breath. It was the first time he had ever come close to telling
her what happened.
“In truth, it was right after a battle.” He found it impossible to meet her eyes and instead stared steadfastly at the ceiling. “We’d been fighting a rival guild, why, I don’t remember, and it hadn’t been easy. Normally, fights like that are over quick, no more than an hour’s work. But that day, they were tenacious and constantly running from one point to another with ambushes and traps set up along the way. I was running most of the time, only fighting when I could get close enough to engage. From dawn to sunset, I was running and fighting, having no time to rest. By the time that the evening bells tolled, and we’d won, I was exhausted. Beyond exhausted.”
He dared a glance at her face and found her riveted to him. Her fixed attention made it easier, somehow, to keep going. “I went back to the main hall, intending to just find an empty cot somewhere and sleep. I was too tired to think about food. But I never made it there. I was within sight of the doors when my own guildsmen jumped me.” Erik lifted his iron hand and looked at it, but not truly seeing it. “With them combined like that, in my state, I was no match for them. They cut off my hand.”
Siobhan let out a sound like an enraged cat. “Your own guildsmen.”
“There is no honor in a dark guild.” He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “Imagine my surprise when I went into a good guild next, and saw how well you take care of each other. You three are more like family than a guild.”
“That’s what a good guild is supposed to be like,” Siobhan said patiently. Rubbing both palms over her face, she blew out an angry hiss. “Still, the fact that they would hurt you like that…it’s mind blowing. I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“Don’t try to,” he advised. “The moment you understand it, you become like them.”
“Sage advice.” Her head jerked up as an alarmed expression came over her face. “Wolf. That old guild of yours. They won’t possibly try to come back after you, will they?”
He waved this concern away. “It’s ironic, but because they did that to me, they were beaten by a rival guild about a month later. If I’d been at full strength, they likely would still be around. It was the rival guild that sold me as a slave.”
“So it’s entirely because you lost the hand that I was able to get you?” Her eyes went to his iron hand. “I now have mixed feelings about what happened.”
“As do I.”
From the other side of the room, there was a call of, “Siobhan!”
Groaning, she pushed the chair back. “A guildmaster’s work is never done, I swear.” She put a hand on his shoulder, her touch gentle and sweet. “Thank you, Wolf, for the story.”
“You’re welcome,” he whispered. Watching her go, he was overcome by the unfairness all over again. In a different world, where he hadn’t been taken from his home and forced onto such a dark path, he would have been able to stay. Stay, and be friends and an ally with that incredible woman. It was the loss of that future, more than the hand, that enraged him.
People drifted upstairs in twos and threes, and finally, the last of them retired for the night. Having no need to keep sitting there, keeping watch over people, he trudged up the stairs as well.
The bed was a fine one, the mattress just soft enough to give a man’s back some comfort, and long enough that his feet weren’t hanging off the edge. So there was no reason for him to be tossing and turning like he was. Erik finally dropped off to sleep after some effort, only to wake up a short time later in a cold sweat, his hand automatically reaching for the sword leaning against the headboard. Breathing hard, he leaned over the side of the bed, nauseated from the nightmare.
Bad memories made the worst nightmares.
Breathing slowly and deeply, he got his stomach back under control. Judging from the light coming in through the window, he couldn’t have slept for more than an hour or two. It wasn’t enough rest for him after traveling all day, but the thought of rolling over and trying again didn’t set well with him.
He moved on instinct, gravitating toward the one thing that always squelched the nightmares. Taking the quilt and sword with him, he moved on silent feet, easing out of his room and down two doors. Putting his ear to the wood, he listened for the soft, steady breathing of his guildmaster. His tremors eased, the nightmare fading, as he listened to her breath. She was deeply asleep, not a concern in her world.
Comforted by that, he sank down to the floor, putting his back against the wood. There he stayed, wrapped up in the quilt, and just listened.
An interminable time passed before the door directly across from him opened. Grae, looking mussed and half asleep, stepped out. He took in the sight of Erik sitting there, leaning against Siobhan’s door, but oddly enough didn’t look surprised. Erik felt self-conscious in this position and somewhat trapped on the floor, but Grae didn’t even ask a question, just crossed to him and turned so that he sat next to him, shoulders brushing.
Erik did not understand this situation one bit. Why would the man not be surprised to see him like this? In the middle of the night, no less.
In a hushed tone, barely audible, Grae spoke. “Ever since I was a child, when something went wrong, I went to Siobhan. Because she can face anything without flinching. Even if she can’t fix the problem, I found that being next to her is comforting.” Finally, he turned, facing Erik directly, a lopsided smile on his face. In the dim lighting of the hallway, it was barely visible, but Erik could still see it. “You and I are alike that way.”
He also felt that way? That everything in the world could be overcome as long as Siobhan was with him? In that moment, Erik felt a stronger connection to Grae than he ever had before. “I didn’t think we were anything alike.”
Grae found this funny, as he chuckled, the sound breathy and low. “Me neither, at first.”
A comfortable silence fell between them. For once, Erik didn’t feel any tension coming from Grae. He decided to just enjoy the moment, and went back to staring blankly at the opposite wall.
“You don’t do this every night,” Grae ventured, tone cautious. His tone invited a response, if Erik felt comfortable giving him one, or not.
“No,” Erik agreed, still not looking at the other man. He struggled with what to say for a moment, finally settling on, “I have no good memories of this city.”
“Ah. Siobhan mentioned to me that it was here you lost the hand.” Grae, bless the man, left it at that.
“Aye.” After contemplating that for a moment, he asked, “Is that truly all she said?”
“That and it was your own guildsmen that did it. If they were still around, she’d go hunt them down and do the same. She’s that mad about it.” Grae shook his head, snorting. “As fierce as a lioness, our Siobhan. But the thing I don’t understand is why?”
“Jealousy. Fear. When I was younger, I was new to fighting. Oh, I’d been trained in using the sword, we all are in my hometown. I was far from defenseless. But actual battle experience, that’s what I lacked. Over time, I got better. Stronger. Faster. I think it scared them.” He let his head thunk against the wood. “They weren’t sure if there was anyone in the guild strong enough to stop me, if I wanted to leave.”
“So they crippled you instead?” Grae shook his head, mouth tight. “That makes no sense to me.”
“Little does in a dark guild. Fear rules there. Fear and jealousy.” Almost without his permission, his mouth added, “It’s a miracle to belong to a guild as good as yours. You’re a blessed man, Grae.”
“Oh, I know it, trust me. The whole guild was created for my sake.”
“Have you thoughts of growing larger?”
“Certainly, now that we’re making enough money to support more people.” Grae ticked things off on his fingers. “We want more enforcers, a trader, and an apothecary or surgeon of some sort.”
So they did realize that they were short on the specialties an escorting guild needed, they just hadn’t been able to do anything about it until recently? That made sense to him. After all, Deepwoods wa
s very new. The assurance that they would be looking for an enforcer after this trip reassured him.
After another stretch of silence, Grae said in realization, “I don’t know anything about Reske, or your family. Will you tell me about them?”
Slowly, haltingly, Erik tried to describe his home and parents and siblings. Whenever he paused, unsure of what to say, Grae would ask another question, gently leading him along. Eventually, it became more natural, and Erik started to ask questions in turn, learning more about Grae and Siobhan’s families. (They had apparently grown up next door to each other.)
The night passed easily, without their notice, until eventually they grew tired of speaking and their rears went numb from sitting on a hard wood floor. Calling it quits, both men gave each other a genuine wish for sweet dreams, and went back to their beds. But this time, as Wolf crawled back onto the mattress, he knew he’d sleep well.
ӜӜӜ
After spending half the night talking in the hallway, Erik did not wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He growled at Siobhan as she knocked on his door with a wakeup call, then growled at Beirly when the man tried to get between him and the breakfast table. People more or less deemed it wise to give him space until he had at least eaten, and scattered to different tables.
With two plates of very good omelets in his stomach, he felt less inclined to murder anyone. Siobhan sank into the chair next to him, putting a mug on the table as she did. Using just one finger, she pushed it in his direction, like a woman distracting a hungry wolf with a chunk of prime meat. “Good morning?”
Amused by her caution, he grinned at her as he took the mug. “Morning.”
Relieved at his response, she fanned herself with a hand, the motion exaggerated. “Phew! It’s safe everyone, he’s back to being a human being!”
Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0) Page 8
