“Shh! Look at them. He’s asking her to stand up with him.”
“Really?” Braon dropped his voice to a whisper. “You think?
“Yeah.” Josiah pulled Braon further away as Kefira’s hand came up and brushed Yered’s face. Yered put his arms around her and leaned close to meet her kiss.
Josiah looked quickly away. He felt hot all over, the memory of warm lips touching his vivid in his mind. He envied Yered, who’d found someone who loved him, and was old enough that it was a straightforward matter to marry her, even if they would have to wait until she got back from her journey.
He and Braon waited, watching journeyman sailors climb around the rigging. Josiah was glad to let himself be distracted. He would have loved to be up there with the sailors. Ascending to the sky on slender, swaying ropes looked every bit as thrilling as kissing any girl, and a lot less complicated. Not that he’d get the chance to do either any time soon.
At length Yered and Kefira came to join them, hand in hand, flushed and breathless. Yered clapped Josiah on the shoulder. “Thanks for staying out of the way,” he murmured. Then, louder, “Do you think Mother and Father would mind coming to Elathir at midsummer? Kefira’s always wanted to stand up in the Mother’s Hall here, and I don’t care one way or the other.”
Josiah grinned. “I’ll bet they can manage. It won’t hurt them to close the shop for a few weeks.” He hugged Yered and clasped Kefira’s hand. “Congratulations, you two.”
“Thank you.” Kefira sighed and grinned ruefully at Yered. “I suppose you need to get back to work. And I’ve still got lots to do to get ready for the trip. But can you come to dinner at my parents’ tonight, so we can tell them?”
“That will be perfect. And I’ll write to my folks and drop it off with the Messengers’ Guild this afternoon. Josiah, you don’t mind if we don’t get together this evening, do you?”
“No, that’s fine. They’re happy to have me at the Mother’s Hall. I’m probably going to be staying in Elathir, so we’ll get lots of chances to visit.”
They spent a while longer in farewells, for Yered and Kefira were reluctant to part, but at length Kefira’s master showed up. Though his manner was pleasant and affable, it was clear he expected Kefira to get back to work. She ushered them off the ship and waved to Yered before turning back to her tasks.
Josiah and Braon bid farewell to Yered, and he headed back to the shipyard. Josiah and Braon wandered around the docks a bit more.
“Anything you particularly want to see?” Braon asked. “I can’t think of anything else, but we’ve got lots of time before we have to be back. I don’t want to show up early, because my master will find some work for me if she thinks I’m done showing you around.”
Josiah thought for a minute. “I remember hearing there was a big fulling mill here somewhere. Could we go see it?” He didn’t intend to ever work there, but it would be interesting to see how it differed from the mill in Korisan.
“Sure. It’s pretty far, but we can make it. Come on.”
Braon led Josiah across the city, through the market area, where they were distracted by the many varied displays, and towards a hilly area to the west. There a stream had been dammed, creating a large lake. Just below the dam two huge mill wheels turned. The one on the near side powered a grist mill. Braon and Josiah crossed the tall earthen dam on the road that ran along its top and made their way down to the fulling mill. The fuller on duty wasn’t very busy, and on hearing that Josiah was a member of his guild offered to show them around. The interior of the mill was similar to the one in Korisan, but Josiah was fascinated by the wheel, which was of a very different design than the one he was familiar with. Instead of being set down in the water that turned it from below, this wheel had a wooden chute that carried water over its top. The water poured out and filled buckets attached to the rim of the wheel, which sank and spilled their contents into a pool below.
Braon got bored well before Josiah did and urged him to finish. “We can spend some more time in the market if we hurry. I know a square where players usually put on a show this time of day. You’ll like it, they’re really funny. Come on.”
Josiah relented and they walked back across the dam. The water was almost level with the road on the left, but on the right there was a steep drop down to where the spillway fed the small stream that wound through the city until it joined the great Tarath.
They headed toward the market. As they approached an intersection they heard shouts.
“What’s going on?” Josiah asked.
“I don’t know.” Braon pointed down the cross street. A crowd of people packed the space between the buildings, yelling and shouting. The commotion moved toward them.
They strained to see. More people ran up, shoving and jostling Josiah from every direction. He was determined to find out what was causing such a stir.
“Let’s go see.” Josiah grabbed Braon’s arm and tugged him toward the disturbance. The boys wriggled through the crowd, sliding between people, occasionally pushing, until they reached the front of the throng.
Watchers kept the onlookers back, clearing the way with shouted orders. More guarded a cluster of people trudging along, hands bound with ropes. Several wizards were among the watchers, poised to intervene if any of the prisoners tried to break away.
Josiah realized who it must be an instant before he recognized Ozor’s round face. He shrank back behind Braon. “Don’t let them see me!”
“Why not?” Braon asked, though he stationed himself between Josiah and the prisoners.
“They’re the bandits I was telling you about, that captured us. Ozor—we betrayed him, and he’s killed people before for betraying him. And if he didn’t, Tereid would, he’s just as bad.” There was Tereid, close behind Ozor. Josiah scanned the captives frantically. He was just starting to hope that his friends had managed to escape somehow when he spotted them. Gan plodded in the midst of the bandits, looking miserable. Kabos brought up the rear of the group, his arm around Nirel’s shoulders. Nirel marched determinedly, her mouth set in a grim line, her eyes focused straight ahead.
Josiah bit his lip and pushed through the crowd, trying to keep up. Braon scrambled behind.
“Where are they taking them?” Josiah had to shout for Braon to hear him. He dropped back and followed the ring of watchers down the street.
“The prison, probably. It’s down that way, by the river. You’re not going to follow them all the way there, are you? We won’t have time to do anything fun.”
“I’ve got to.” Josiah dodged around a group of woman standing in the middle of the street, discussing the disturbance in loud voices. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want. I can ask for directions back to the Mother’s Hall.”
But Braon stuck with him. They followed the watchers and captives all the way across the city.
Josiah grew tired. He wondered what he hoped to accomplish. He didn’t dare get close enough to try and catch Nirel or Gan’s eye, lest one of the adults spot him.
Finally they approached the prison. The road led over a causeway that crossed a low, marshy spot, then up a small rise. They’d been paralleling the stream that led down from the mills; here it dipped south before curving around to flow into the Tarath, circling a projecting point of land. They passed a section of run-down residential buildings. Beyond was a low, wide stone building with a walled yard.
The crowd milled outside the walls. Josiah hung back, watching. At length the heavy wooden gates swung open, admitted the watchers and captives, and crashed shut.
Josiah chewed on a knuckle and stared at the locked gates as the rest of the crowd lost interest and drifted away. He was powerless to help Nirel and Gan. Nothing he could say would win their freedom, or even mitigate whatever punishment lay in store for them.
A large drop of water struck Josiah’s nose. He glanced up, only to get more water in his eyes. The grey clouds that had threatened all day were finally releasing their burden of rain. He was ti
red and had lost all appetite for exploring. “Come on, Braon. Let’s go back before we get soaked.”
Twenty-Eight
It was a long walk, uphill most of the way. The rain rapidly became a heavy downpour. The two boys ducked from awning to awning where they could, but they were still drenched by the time they arrived back at the Mother’s Hall.
Josiah had left Elkan closeted with Dabiel that morning. Their session must have lasted all day, for he found Elkan emerging from her office, looking tired.
“Vethon just brought us the news,” Elkan replied to Josiah’s excited announcement of the bandits’ arrival. He gestured back to where the older wizard was deep in conversation with Dabiel. The Guildmaster waved absently at Josiah as Elkan swung the door shut. “They’ll be brought before the Council of Guildmasters for trial at the next regular meeting, a week from Fifthday. She’d like you to stay in Elathir at least until then so you can give testimony. That will give me a chance to speak with some people about your apprenticeship. Dabiel gave me a few leads on masters who might be interested.”
Josiah nodded, guilty. He hadn’t thought how much trouble it would be for Elkan to find him a new master when he wasn’t even sure which craft he wanted to join.
After he changed into dry clothes, Josiah joined Elkan for the evening meal. He kept the table entertained with descriptions of his day’s exploits. Everyone congratulated him on his brother’s betrothal. Elkan didn’t speak of what he’d discussed with Dabiel, and for once Josiah knew better than to question him.
Sar was uneasy. He kept twitching his ears and stamping. After the meal, he went to a window and waited. Elkan joined him. “Are you sure?”
Sar snorted in reply. Elkan unfastened the shutters and cracked one open, letting in a gust of wind and a spatter of rain. People yelled in good-natured annoyance for him to close it, but Sar stuck his head out the window and sniffed the air for a long time.
Eventually he pulled his head in and exchanged a look with Elkan. Elkan closed the shutter and went over to where Dabiel chatted with a cluster of wizards by the hearth. “Sar smells more rain coming. It could last all night, he says.”
“He’s not the only one concerned. All the animals with weather sense are reporting the same. With the river so high already…” She frowned. “I’ll notify the watchers to keep abreast of the situation through the night. If it looks bad, we can try cloud herding. Don’t be surprised if I send for you before morning.”
* * *
When Josiah woke it was still the middle of the night, but the sound of muffled shouts and feet running down the corridors mixed with the howl of wind and occasional rumbles of thunder from outside. He pulled on his clothes and went to find Elkan.
“Go back to bed,” Elkan told him as he and Sar hurried toward the main hall. “There’s nothing you can do. A few streets are flooded, but nothing too bad, yet. A bunch of us are going up on the roof to try and move some of this rain out over the ocean.” He headed for a cluster of wizards and familiars waiting at the far side of the hall near a flight of stairs.
Josiah tagged after him. “Please, let me come with you. I’ve never seen you work with the weather before.”
Elkan glanced around as more wizards and familiars hurried up. “There won’t be much to see. We’ll just be pushing big masses of air around. One wizard alone can’t do much, but enough of us together can sometimes make a difference.” He sighed and shook his head at Josiah’s pleading look. “Come along then. You can run messages for us if it’s needed.”
An older man with a seagull perched on his shoulder led the way up. The stairs were wide and shallow enough to allow even the largest hoofed animals to navigate them. They climbed up several flights and emerged onto the roof.
The area was broad and flat, with waist high walls around the edge. The wind whipped rain into Josiah’s face; he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. He splashed through shallow puddles behind Elkan and Sar to the railing. It was too dark to see much, just the shadowy rooftops of the city. A square opening at the base of the wall by his feet channeled a stream of water into a spout. It arced off the roof and fell to the ground far below.
The wizards and familiars ranged themselves along the edge of the roof. Elkan put his hand on Sar’s back and waited. The leader tossed the gull into the sky; it winged off, a pale dot quickly lost in the clouds. He shouted directions. A diffuse gold glow erupted from Elkan’s hand and rose to join the light cast by the other wizards. The air above them became a vast glimmering haze, gilding the bases of the clouds.
It didn’t look like much was happening. The black clouds above slowly drifted east, but more came behind and took their places. Several times a few stars appeared and the rain let up for a while, then started again as new clouds floated in.
Josiah was miserable, drenched, freezing, and bored, but he stuck by Elkan for a full hour until a hoarse shout from the leader indicated a break. Elkan lowered his arm, rubbing wearily at his shoulder. “Josiah, go tell Master Dabiel we’re not accomplishing much. Even if we manage to clear the city, Sar says the rain goes far upstream. We’ll keep trying. Maybe when the sun rises the storm will break up.”
Josiah was guiltily glad to escape the dismal roof. Elkan must have seen his relief. “You don’t have to come back up. Dry off and go back to bed. Or see if any of the other apprentices are awake. You can help with whatever they’re doing.”
He ran downstairs and reported as ordered. Several other wizards stood with Dabiel around her desk, scowling at a map of the city. She nodded distracted acknowledgment and went back to discussing plans and precautions.
Josiah changed into dry clothes. He found Braon and a few other apprentices mopping up wet patches where water had been blown or tracked onto the smooth marble floor, creating slick hazardous areas. Josiah grabbed a mop and joined them. It was endlessly frustrating, for as soon as they finished a spot, someone would go in or out, or open a window to check the weather, and they had to start over again.
It was still dark enough to require lamps in the dining hall when they broke for breakfast. Elkan ate ravenously, and Sar consumed an unlikely quantity of hay in a very short time. “We’re making progress. There’s some clear air to the north we should be able to bring down.” He and the other wizards hurried back to the roof as soon as they finished.
But by midmorning, his hopeful forecast proved overly optimistic. Reports from the roof indicated a thick new line of storm clouds had formed to the north and west, far enough away that the wizards couldn’t reach them. Dabiel ordered them to cease their efforts.
The Guildmaster moved to a table set up in the center of the big main room, spread with many detailed city maps. Buttons hulked at her side. She called an assembly of all the Hall’s wizards; they clustered, grim and weary, to hear her words.
She looked around at them. “We’re not going to be able to stop the flooding, so we need to help the watchers evacuate the lowest areas. They’ve begun moving people to the higher parts of the city already. I want you to split up, each taking a section. Let the watchers handle what they can; save your energy for times when the Mother’s power is necessary. There will be plenty of those. Be careful out there; we need all of you back safe when this is over. Now, listen for your assignments. Avna, I want you and Blackie to take Tanner’s Row. Riron, take Dancer across the bridge and cover the west waterfront. Hedia and Blaze, go down to the dam; there’s been reports of problems there. Zerma…”
Josiah listened to the endless string of names and locations. Finally Dabiel got to the name he was waiting for. “…take Market Square. Elkan, you and Sar cover the east warehouse district and Prison Point. Gitzan and Amba…”
The crowd rapidly dispersed. Josiah ran after Elkan. “I’m coming with you.”
“Josiah, it’s not safe.” Elkan pushed his wet hair back from his face.
“Other apprentices are going with their masters.” Braon was on his way out the door, trailing a woman with a wolf at her si
de.
Elkan looked where Josiah pointed and sighed. “All right. But don’t think you’re bringing Tobi. She’d just get in the way.”
“She’s asleep in my room,” Josiah assured him. He’d wrung out his cloak, but it was still damp. He wrapped it close anyway and followed Elkan and Sar into the stormy streets.
Their assigned sector was down by the river, where large storage buildings lined the banks. The Watch was busy clearing people from the flooding areas. The river had risen out of its banks, and the lowest warehouses were several feet deep in water.
Elkan’s work began immediately. No sooner had he and Sar healed a man who’d stepped in a submerged pothole and twisted an ankle, than a watcher called them over to rescue a boy swept into the river by the current. Golden light surrounded the boy and pulled him to shore. Elkan hovered as water poured from his mouth and he gasped for air. Only after his initial ragged breaths smoothed out did Elkan surrender him to a watcher.
Another watcher ran up, requesting his help dislodging a stubborn trader. The woman was hurriedly loading her stored goods onto a wagon. The water was halfway up the wagon’s wheels and above her knees as she waded back and forth, but she resisted bitterly until Elkan summoned all the authority he could muster and ordered her out. She kept up a stream of complaints, bemoaning the money she would lose, as she flicked the horse’s reins and drove away.
The rain continued and the water rose higher. Josiah did what he could to help. Once they rescued a family trapped in their apartment over their candle shop. Josiah bore a toddler on each hip through waist deep water, while Elkan, Sar, and the mother and father carried the rest of their nine children. Another time he was the first to spot a hand waving from a tree where a woman had taken refuge from the rising water.
They labored past midday, with no thought of stopping for a meal. Josiah began to keep a sharp eye on Elkan. He was approaching the limits of his strength, stumbling at times, each exercise of the Mother’s power kept more efficient and clipped. Sar’s head hung and his ears drooped.
The Fuller's Apprentice (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 1) Page 39
