by Brian Keller
Grief watched Yoren as he backed away, and seemed satisfied to keep his gaze on him. Iona shifted to look at the prisoners left side, “Have your wounds been treated?” Without taking his eyes off the Spymaster, Grief nodded. Iona wanted to get him talking again, “Quite a few welts and burns. This wound from the crossbow might be getting infected. When was the last time you were treated by a healer?” Grief glanced at her, flashed a hint of a grin and expelled a short burst of air. It was probably a laugh, but it was almost a grunt. He said nothing else. Iona continued to look at his side, “If an infection there reached your lung. It could kill you.” Grief smiled, “It’s superficial. The bolt hit a rib and glanced off. It didn’t pierce deep enough to hit my lung.” His smile vanished, as if it were never there, “If you wish to use fear or feigned concern to get me talking, at least understand the facts first.” Iona shrugged, it had been worth a try. She asked, “You do want to live, don’t you?” She gestured toward the cell door, “To return to a life, out there?” He shrugged again, “Of course.” Yoren chuckled, “You might find things have changed… drastically.” Grief chuckled, louder this time, his voice gaining strength, “I’ll bet they have, Spymaster. Any luck with stemming the tide of Apex? I imagine the Prince might be getting impatient by now.” Yoren took two steps back into the cell, and hissed, “I’ll be asking the questions here, not you.” Grief grunted again, “That bad, is it?” He turned to her and spoke in a tone that sounded like he was confiding in her, “Be watchful of your boss. Paying snitches for dubious information takes no skill.” Yoren quickened his pace. Iona felt both men build power as Grief attempted to finish voicing his thought, “Ask him about his last partn-” Both men expended some power as the spymaster pounded a fist into Grief’s ribs. The blow barely seemed to register on the prisoner, except for interrupting his sentence. Grief actually winked at her, “It seems I should go back to being quiet now. Hope you don’t mind.” Iona was trying to reconcile this young man with being the same one who’d held a knife to her throat a few months ago. It wasn’t easy, but then again, he had spared her when he didn’t have to. In fact, by sparing her he had likely brought additional risk onto himself. The guard returned and Iona asked him directly, “Could you please assure me that this prisoner will receive medical treatment, and adequate food and water? He could be important in our ongoing investigation.” The guard appeared uncomfortable and he looked to the Spymaster for support. Yoren gave a discreet nod and the guard answered, “Of course, Miss.” Iona had leaned in close and whispered, “You spared my life. It’s the least I can do; I certainly can’t do much more.” She leaned back and stated, “I am interested in the boy who was with you a night or two before we met. I’m told he has very dark eyes. You know the boy that I mean?” Grief looked deeply into her eyes, as if searching for something. She felt no surge of power from him, but still she looked away. He smiled, “Why are you looking for him?” He paused for only a moment, then continued speaking, “He escaped the raid. He’s free, isn’t he?” He examined her face for any response and for a moment he looked almost happy, then she recognized what he was feeling…hope. His mouth curled into a playful grin, “Let me out and I’ll introduce you.” Yoren interjected, “You know where he is? You can be made to tell!” Grief calmly looked at Yoren, no expression whatsoever on his face for several seconds before he turned to warn her, his voice filled with regret, “I’d tell you to be careful, but it won’t matter.”
*****
It would have felt liberating to be back in the Forest, if not for the cloud of self-imposed responsibility that clung to him like a shroud. The sweet, clear air wafting through the branches almost turned bitter as he breathed it in, tainted by his own impatience and the knowledge of what he must be prepared to do.
Utsef' approached and interrupted his thoughts with the inevitable conversation, “The last time we sparred, you hadn't yet Manifested. You showed some promise then. How are you now?” Cooper shifted his weight and rose smoothly from his seated position, “Well enough, I suppose. There hasn't been much cause to test my speed.”
They squared off and the Journeymen in the immediate vicinity stopped whatever they were doing to watch. It wasn't uncommon to spar with many others present. That's how classes had been conducted, but having an actual audience felt different for some reason. Cooper pushed aside any self-conscious thoughts and focused on Utsef's stance.
The woodsman seemed to change his stance and posture with each step, causing Cooper to adjust accordingly with increasing frequency. After circling each other for a minute, Utsef smiled, “Alright. You've shown me most of what I expected to see.” He winked, “Shall we?” Cooper smiled thinly, “I though we already had be-” Utsef rushed forward and Cooper took a half step back to meet his offensive and accessed his Talent immediately to ward off the multitude of thrusts and slashes. Utsef used several known and practiced patterns and routines but varied from them and blended them with surprising ease. If not for Cooper's speed, he would've surely been overwhelmed within the first twenty seconds. Without knowing how long Utsef could maintain his increased speed, Cooper began to Channel some of the energy that filled the space around him. Speed came easily now and it almost seemed like he could slow Utsef's advance simply by increasing the speed of his own reactions. He slipped under a slash that would've sliced away a portion of his ear. It would have been easy enough to block, and in fact that had been Utsef's intent; to draw his blade upward and leave his ribs unguarded. Instead, Cooper avoided the strike entirely and shifted his weight forward. Since Utsef's own blade was high, his ribs were unprotected as well. From this position it would be a simple matter to drive a blade upward, behind the man's lowest ribs, and puncture his diaphragm, perhaps even into a lung. Cooper stepped through without striking and resumed his fighting crouch, forcing Utsef to pivot in order to face him. He'd lowered the previously raised blade instinctively, to protect his exposed ribs, knowing the effort would've been wasted. Cooper capitalized on Utsef's foot placement and shifted even further to the outside. This movement made it necessary for Utsef to either pivot even further, placing almost his entire weight on his front leg, or disengage entirely. He grinned slightly as he pivoted. Cooper stepped inward to slash Utsef's forward leg and Utsef brought his rear leg forward to thrust his knee at Cooper's exposed side. Cooper re-directed his slash to meet Utsef's knee strike and laid the flat of his blade against Utsef's inner thigh, just above the knee. It demonstrated the action but did nothing to impede the knee strike, which struck Cooper glancingly but enough to push him beyond the reach of any counter strike. Cooper felt the energy well up within him and he rushed forward striking at several perceived vulnerabilities in rapid succession. Utsef managed to deflect each strike but a few of them came dangerously close to striking. “Good!”, Utsef called out with an amused laugh. The teacher edged backward and risked the question, “Is there more?” Cooper recalled several sequences that Felis had used against him when they'd sparred before hunting Egil. He used them now. Utsef raised an eyebrow as he prepared to interrupt the pattern with a counter of his own. There seemed to be no end to the available energy and Cooper abandoned the pattern and captured Utsef's right wrist in the cross guard of his left hand blade, and started to twist. Utsef recognized immediately that his wrist was about to be trapped, if not broken, and withdrew completely, raising his arm high to avoid the cross guard. Anticipating this Cooper stepped forward in preparation for a devastating strike between Utsef's ribs.
All at once there was an unmistakable presence nearby. Beyond the edge of the clearing but he knew immediately that it must be Uaine, or one of the other fae. He'd never felt them before, but then he'd not yet Manifested yet when he was last here. He let his blades drop to his sides, indicating that he was ending the match. He tried to ignore the presence he felt from the woodline and turned an inquisitive eye to the teacher.
Utsef lowered his blades, “There were a few times when you could've struck me. Why didn't you?” Cooper sheathed
his blades, “It would've interrupted the session. It's enough to know that I could've.” Utsef squinted, “Just how fast are you? The depth of your Talent... I expected, waited even, for you to run out of energy. You didn't...” Cooper shrugged, “I don't know much about it. Studying Talent is more Felis' area of expertise. If he's still alive, that is.”
The statement created a pause in conversation as each of them retreated to their own memories. Utsef was the first to speak. His tone was serious and the characteristic mirthful glint in his eyes was absent, “You didn't strike when you could've. That's an important lesson to expand on.” Cooper interjected without sounding impatient, “Assassins do more than simply kill, I know.” Utsef lowered his shoulders, “True. But it's more than that. The Guild receives requests all the time, sometimes a dozen in a single day. These are reviewed and decisions are made whether to accept them or simply reject them outright. Those that are accepted are assigned to an Assassin, who then researches them. Before even creating a plan, the Assassin must decide, 'is this target worth killing?'. What changes will occur with the completion of this contract?” He paused and Cooper remained silent. He understood. Some contracts should be refused. Utsef continued, “If an Assassin decides to reject an assignment, he or she reports that to Master Vorni,” (“Not anymore.” Cooper thought.) “who then assembles a small council to hear the Assassins reasons for rejection. Those Masters then decide whether to honor the rejection, or reassign the contract.” That made sense. The Assassin might refuse for personal reasons, or the council might have a better comprehension of long-term Guild goals. There needed to be a means to re-address a rejected contract, but it couldn't very well be assigned to someone who'd already rejected it. Cooper acknowledged that he understood the motive behind Utsef's detailed explanation, “There's no council now and my client might not even be alive. What now?” Utsef's eyes glinted again, “Then you'll just have to decide for yourself. The responsibility for researching the assignment still applies. Once that is done, thoroughly done, then you'll know for yourself.” Cooper sat silently as he considered all that Utsef had just told him. He also recalled that he'd definitely felt some kind of presence in the Forest as he and Utsef had sparred. He felt sure it was Uaine, but he needed to be certain. He nodded to the Master Assassin, stood, and walked into the Forest.
Previously, Cooper had made several trips deeper into the Forest. The excuse he had given was for hunting in areas where they hadn’t been in awhile. His actual purpose had been that he knew Uaine wouldn’t approach unless he was alone. He’d made five such forays into the Forest. This time, after having sensed her earlier, he waited until he saw the telltale glimpse at the edge of his vision. He laid his bow down and sat on the ground. “Uaine? It was you that I just saw, wasn’t it? Won’t you wish me welcome?” The only sounds that answered him was the breeze through the few remaining, stubborn leaves. Cooper waited, certain that he wasn’t alone, “Uaine. I have missed talking with you. I have moved far away from the others several times, hoping for a chance to speak with you again.” This time a tinkling voice answered, “I know, Kinsman. I enjoyed talking with you before, and I wish I could say I am happy to see you now, but I’m not.” He leaned far to one side in an attempt to see her, certain that he knew where her voice was coming from. Abruptly her voice shifted to a new location, “You have nothing but violence in your mind and rage in your heart. It pains me to be near you. We may be kith, but at this moment the woodsman, Utsef, is more pleasant to be near, than you. I’ll ask that you stay away until you have light in your heart again.” Her sentence abruptly ended and there was no doubt that she had left him, alone. He waited a minute, just to be sure, then stood to begin his hunt. It wouldn’t be fitting for him to return to camp empty-handed.
The next months in the Forest were filled with events and lessons. The Manifesting of the Journeymen happened almost one right after another over the span of less than thirty days, with Loryn's occurring last. No one present had any real expertise in identifying affinities, but afterward it was determined that each of them could demonstrate increased speed and both Spen and Naro found it particularly easy to use their Talent in short bursts with little preparation. It was agreed that Gaff had either Earth or Nature affinity, as he could perform feats demanding far more strength than his small stature would seem to support. Everyone insisted that Loryn's affinities must be Fire and Air, since nothing else could explain her disposition better than that. This was said mostly to tease her, but there was certainly more than simple conjecture behind the claims.
Utsef also demonstrated a method of building a miniature hearth and chimney and using it as either a means to rapidly cook food, or heat water, or even melt metal. The principle worked mostly on the heat creating a draft and pulling the heat from the fire through the chimney. The entire miniature construction could be covered by an inverted wheelbarrow, but the amount of heat that could be generated was impressive. As Utsef demonstrated, he explained, “This differs significantly from a standard forge, once you get away from the notion that both are used to produce heat. This could be called a 'draft forge', there is no need for a bellows to force air; the heat from the fire does that for you. However, unlike a standard forge, this one works best with kindling and must be almost constantly fed.” Spen noted, “There's almost no smoke.” Utsef nodded, “True. If your kindling is dry, the only visible aspect of this forge is the open flame. If you feed too much into the fire, or the chimney isn't the proper size, you can actually end up with a small column of flame shooting skyward.”
After the lesson was over, Utsef worked with Cooper, showing him how to melt down copper, pour it into the dies that Master Loril had crafted. They cast his first token.
Chapter 4
While he felt the last months spent in the Forest had been necessary, the time had passed with a painful slowness. His mind had been continuously occupied with thoughts of friends and colleagues living in chains, or shackled far underground in the small, damp cells of Serpent Tooth Prison. Almost every night for the last month Utsef and he recited and critiqued the rough plan they had formed. During the last week, Utsef requested that the Journeymen students join them for this discussion. They would all need to know the plan from beginning to end, and any of them might have something to contribute. Cooper took this as an opportunity to introduce many of the concepts from Master Worthan’s classes on Analysis and Sabotage. The Journeymen students participated eagerly, causing Utsef to chuckle often and comment that ‘practical application is best way to learn’.
On the last morning in the Forest, as they packed up to leave, Cooper made a mental tally of what he knew he had to work with. It didn’t take long. It was a short list. Since a few months had passed, it was unlikely that security measures in Paleros would still be elevated. Still, if they all entered the city as a group, they’d likely draw some attention; and any attention at all was unwanted. If they happened to meet a caravan or group of travelers, they might join them. Otherwise, they’d need to split up into trios and enter the city separately. Cooper spoke with each Journeyman, to make certain everyone knew where they were going to meet. Gaff had been a Wharfsider kid, so he’d see to it that his group would find their way to Mardon’s ship, but if the kids got scattered, Cooper couldn’t be certain how the rest of them might be received by the Wharfsiders. Once either he or Gaff made it onboard, Mardon would know to expect the rest of them.
The first day was spent walking east. Their chances of meeting with a caravan were far greater along the road that spanned between Paleros and Kalistos City. They camped near the road and built a large fire from the wood they’d collected as they left the Forest. They hoped that a group traveling along the road would see the fire, approach them and ask to share the warmth. No one did. Before unrolling their sleeping mats, Cooper and Gaff talked their way through how they were planning to enter the city. Depending on how quickly they could move along the roadway, they might need to camp one more time. They still had plenty of venis
on to eat, some fresh and some dried, but they’d need to take a little time tomorrow to hunt. Cooper’s group would make a wide circle and enter Paleros from the south, carrying skinned rabbits, apparently with intent to sell. Gaff and the other three would arrive from the west , bringing whatever remained of the firewood. Surely the Wharfsiders would appreciate the bundles for their cooking fires.
The following morning, a couple of them stepped out into the grass on opposite sides of the road to hunt, and then jog to catch up after ten minutes or so, whether they’d killed a rabbit or not. As soon as those two caught up, two others would step out to hunt. In this manner, they moved steadily southward. By early evening, The Stand was plainly visible to the south and they’d decided to continue on. Cooper gathered up all the rabbits and divvied them up amongst the other two in his group. Gaff did the same with the bundles of firewood. Once done, Cooper led his group, Loryn and Naro, to the southwest to circle around the city. Spen had taken a few extra seconds to check the cords that secured his bundles, then had given Cooper a nod before he hefted the firewood up onto his shoulders and turned to join Gaff.
During warmer months the roadway that skirted along the southern wall of the University was usually filled with ruts. Now that the temperatures had dropped, the path had firmed up and many of the ruts had filled in. As a result, walking was easy and progress was fast.
