When I climbed up to the deck where the wheel was I looked around and enjoyed the view. Being ten foot higher allowed for a much wider view of the river basin.
"I wanted to thank you for your delicate handling of my daughter's feelings." The Captain turned his head towards me. "I think it shows that Stain was wise in choosing you for an apprentice."
That was weird. I thought Stain picked me because I had all four magic affinities. I said as much to the Captain. His eyes grew larger and he shook his head.
"You are not the first as far as I know. Simply the first he agreed to take on as his apprentice." The Captain looked back downstream. "I might be overstepping my bounds but you should know this. Not every person born with magical ability has the character to become a good mage. Just like any other ability they can turn it to the bad. Become evil if you will." He took a deep breath. "I know of two other people Stain has discovered in the past hundred years who also possessed those special abilities. But both people showed themselves to have major character flaws. One was a manipulator. She had tricked all of those around her into worshiping her. Stain actually had to destroy her to save all of those she had subjected to her magic. Even then some of them were beyond his ability to heal. The other one was a young man who only wanted to help himself to the finer things in life. He used his magic to steal and cheat. Before too long Stain found him out and attempted to teach him the error of his ways. The boy disappeared one day and no one has heard of him since. It is possible he is still alive but usually people of his nature destroy themselves somehow."
I was surprised. I did not expect this from the Captain.
He grinned. "Of course if you were of their same quality Stain would never had chosen you for an apprentice and my concern about Suzie would never have been an issue."
I thought about what he had said. I smiled, "Suzie will always be special because of our friendship, but she would not be happy with me. We are too different to be happy together."
The Captain nodded, "That is the conclusion we came to also. She values your friendship and will always count you a close friend. Now, why not go below deck and help the cook with one last meal before we arrive tomorrow morning. This will be your last night aboard the boat unless Stain has need of our services again." His dismissal was gentle but firm so I climbed down to the deck and headed toward the hold to find the cook.
"About time you arrived. I was about to come hunting your sorry carcass." The cooks voice dripped with irony. "Although what I would do with such a stringy specimen I have no idea." She smiled as I donned my apron. The rest of the evening was filled with finishing up some meat pies and making bread. I allowed all my worries to rest as I enjoyed the simple pleasures of cooking.
"Well, That is that." The cook motioned to me. "Out on deck with you. I will be there in a moment." She pushed me out and turned back to the galley. Her behavior confused me but I humored her and went on deck.
The wind was gently blowing and sun had just set. The smell of the river was everywhere, yet there was a difference. Maybe getting closer to the Trojna's Rest was the reason. Different plants or something.
"Ott." The cook had stepped up on deck and motioned me to the front of the boat. "I have talked with your master and he has allowed me to gift you a small token." She held out two things.
I took them and realized that one was a pouch and the other a piece of paper. I looked at her for an explanation.
She grinned. "Good, you have learned to wait. Cooking will do that for you." She took a deep breath and continued, "The paper is simple enough. It is called a hearth spell. It will start a cooking fire for you that will cook evenly, gently every time. Much like my fire."
Wait... if she was giving me this that made her a mage! My expression must have given me away.
"Yes Ott. I am a mage. Not very powerful. In fact compared to you, Stain, or Suzie I am not a mage. I have what you would call a small talent. It is even less than a hedge mage would have." She spoke matter-of-fact. "But what I do have allows me to work with fire. I happen to know that you can also use fire yet you are not trained. Therefore I am gifting you this spell with the expectation that you will only use it once you have learned to handle fire magic." Her tone made it clear that I would be sorry if I did not listen to her in this. "The other thing is a simple cooking set. Not the pots and such, Stain possesses those. I expect you to purchase some of your own and have included where you might purchase some of top caliber. These are the utensils that you have been using. As a mage you have accidently imbued some of your essence into these tools. They will work for you in a way that will not work for anyone else."
She placed a hand on my shoulder. "You have been a great help and good company to me during this trip. I hope that I have instilled a love of cooking in your heart. These are simply small tokens of appreciation. Always remember, cook daily. It will give you peace and comfort when you have no other source of those things." She turned and headed to the stairs, "Let's eat. It should be done and the crew is hungry."
I stood there for a moment in shock. The cook had been a mage the whole time but she thought teaching me to cook was more important. A grin slowly crept across my face. I would always remember the struggles in the kitchen and the triumphs when something cooked just right. Speaking of which, time to eat.
The atmosphere was excited and tense at dinner. The food was eaten over conversations about the various crew's plans after making port. Many seemed to have favorite places of entertainment and food to visit. Some had family. A few were still deciding what activities they would be participating in. Some of us sat there and simply listened. Raven, Suzie, and myself sat quietly and listened. We were all younger and at the whim of our elders.
"Hey you youngers! Get over here." The Captain's loud voice carried over the bustle. The noise in the room silenced for just a moment before resuming. The three of us looked at one another, stood, and walked over to the Captain. He, Stain, and Brooke sat together in a corner. They all got quiet as we walked up. The Captain elbowed Stain and motioned him to say something.
Stain grinned and rubbed his ribs, "Well tomorrow we will make port. We thought that while we made arrangements to have our things moved to an inn you youngers could have some free time."
I could feel both Raven and Suzie startle. "What about unloading and such? We all have responsibilities." Suzie piped up. Raven and I nodded. We most certainly did have things we should be handling.
All three adults grinned and Stain continued, "Well, if only there were some authorities who could dismiss your responsibilities for at least a day. Oh wait... we can!" All three adults chuckled.
Brooke spoke up, "It is noble of you to worry about such things but this port is a working port. There will be others who can move and shuffle things. You three should have a good time." She pulled a small purse out and handed it to Raven, "A small allowance for expenses while in town." The Captain and Stain followed suit, handing Suzie and myself purses that clinked lightly. "Check with us before you leave the boat. We will all want to let you know where to meet your masters at the end of the day." With that they dismissed us and we climbed to the deck.
Suzie fairly vibrated with excitement, "I love Trojna's Rest. It's full of all sorts of things to buy and look at. I will have to show you both around tomorrow. I know all sorts of little stores and eateries that you would miss otherwise." She was walking back and forth across the deck. Raven and I both grinned at her excitement.
"I have actually only been there once." Raven stated. "It was only a short stay so I would love to have such a knowledgeable guide." She smiled and looked at me. "Hopefully we can avoid any more issues like we had in Haver's Town."
"Yeah, that would be nice." I turned to Suzie who had stopped pacing, "That sounds fun. I have never been there."
Suzie grinned and suddenly grabbed both Raven and my arms. She dragged us to the front of the boat. Out in front of us a soft glow rose above the water. "Trajna's Rest!" She pointed. "You can se
e the lights of it a full day out if it is dark." She fairly bubbled.
Suddenly the night watch sounded out.
"Well, I am off to sleep." Raven turned and headed to the hold. "Do not leave without me Suzie?" She smiled and descended the stairs.
"Like I would do that." Suzie shook her head. Suddenly she smiled and looked at me. "So, you told my father you would not want to be with me?" She smirked at my reaction. "It's fine Ott. I understand. We are too alike in some things. We would only drive each other crazy." She put her arm in mine and leaned her head against mine. "But it was a nice fantasy was it not?" I could feel her body heat against mine. "The two of us working magic together the rest of our lives, having kids...." Her voice faded off. We stood that way while all I could think was this did not sound like a girl who had realized that we could not work out. I was also very aware of her body as we swayed with the river.
"Well Ott." Suzie's voice was soft and sad. "I hope that whoever it is will make you happy." She hugged my arm one last time and walked away. I heard a sound much like a soft cry, but surely that was the river.
I stood there watching the lights on the horizon wondering at the mystery that was a woman and her affection. I liked Suzie but only as a friend. Yet her attitude just now confused me. I leaned against the rail and thought about the whole mess until Stain called out to me to settle down for the night. Walking back to my hammock I found my companions in their normal spots, all already asleep. I settled down convinced that sleep would allude me.
***
I woke suddenly to the feeling that something was wrong. I sat up in my hammock and looked around me. Nothing seemed to be out of place. All of my friends were gone from their various roosts. I hopped out of the hammock and headed up to the deck. For some reason it felt as if the floor was moving around on me. I slowed down and that is when I realized, the boat was not moving. Not tied up kind of lack of movement, but as if it was not even in the water anymore. I shook my head and headed up the stairs. I was expecting a bright blast of sunlight but instead was met with the view of the inside of a large warehouse. The boat sat tied up in a slot between two docks. That was why the boat was not moving anymore. It was tied down from both sides so no rocking. That also explained the issue with my walking. I was used to the boat rocking gently under my feet.
"OTT!" Stain called from one of the docks. "Time you woke up!"
There was a steady stream of people moving from one dock to the hold lid, which had been opened, and then off the boat onto the other dock. Each person picked up a package or box and carried it down the dock to a growing pile beyond the boat. The Captain was standing at the hold giving directions to those handing items out of the hold. Suzie and Raven were off to the side talking, obviously waiting for me. I walked over to the girls.
"Good morning ladies. Are we eating on board or out in the town?" I put an arm around each of them.
Both girls chuckled and elbowed me in the ribs.
"We thought we might take you to my favorite eating place." Suzie picked up a small bag and put the strap over her head.
Raven picked up another bag and placed it on her back. "And then we plan on going shopping. Hope you have your money."
With that the two ladies walked into the stream of workers and down the gangplank. I hitched my own bag up and chased after them. They never looked back to see if I followed, simply assuming that I would. I could hear them discussing where they wanted to go today, the different shops and sellers.
"Any places I could find some archery supplies? I would like to send dad something since most of our stuff was destroyed." I mentioned to Suzie.
She thought about it and said, "I can think of a couple of places but there is one that is the best place for that kind of thing." She stopped and turned. "But we would have to send a message for them to expect us. They do not allow customers to just come by. We would have to have an appointment." She looked around. "Paul!"
One of the crew turned and approached Suzie. "Yeah?"
"Could you go to Pelican's Nest and see if Omar would have time for us to stop by for some supplies? We will check in later about when he can see us, the later the better." Suzie seemed to be sure that this Omar would be the one to see.
"Sure enough. It gets me out of unloading. At least for a while." Paul turned and headed off down the dock.
"There. That is done. Omar has the best weapons and tools in all of Trajina's Rest. He should have what you need." She turned and followed Paul down the dock. "Let's go shopping!" She and Raven locked arms and laughed as they headed off.
I just shook my head and followed. Girls were silly sometimes.
By lunchtime I had a lot more respect for the ladies shopping stamina. We had hit over twenty shops, stalls, and even a few private parlors. I had found all the supplies I needed to replenish my herbs and chemicals. I even found a few trinkets that I thought would be fun to have. We made arrangements to send all the packages back to the boat. This meant that we were not carrying anything.
"How about some lunch ladies?" I could smell some kind of fish being cooked. Smelled like the cook was using a vinegar base to cook the fish with some onions.
Both girls stopped, looked back at me, and laughed.
"Sounds good Ott. There is a small place down this dock and across the canal. Let's just say it is unique." Suzie smiled. "Perhaps you can pick up a few pointers, the cook there is our cook's cousin."
We headed down another dock and I continued looking around. I had never seen a place like this. Trajna's Rest had no land. It was floating, the entire city floated freely on the water. Each building was basically a boat hull attached to walkways called docks. These docks ran throughout the city, sometimes interrupted with bridges and stairs to allow small boats to float down the open spaces of water called canals. Occasionally there would be a large chain running down into the water. These chains were the size of my leg. Evidently they provided anchorage for the city. Surprisingly there were actually some buildings made out of stone and brick. I had asked Suzie about this and she commented that it helped keep the possibility of fire reduced. The entire city smelled of water, fish, and rope.
Reaching the food stall we ducked into the darkened area with tables. Each table had four chairs and a small bowl filled with oil.
"Giad! Are you here?" She chuckled and whispered, "He is always here. He lives above the stall."
"Suzie?" A deep voice like syrup rumbled from the back of the stall. A massive man rolled out from behind a curtain and engulfed Suzie. All I could see of her was her legs and topknot. He released her and held her at arm's length. "Girl you keep growing up like this and you are going to need a body guard. He looked over her shoulder and saw Raven and me. "Ah.. perhaps you already took care of that. Looks like you got a couple of heavily armed guards already."
Suzie chuckled and blushed, "This is Raven and Ott. Friends who rode down the river with us this time around. Raven is a knife juggler and Ott is Stain's apprentice." She added an odd emphasis on Stain's name.
Giad's eyebrows, which resembled large, fuzzy caterpillars crawled into his hair. "Really? Interesting." He put his hand out to shake. I placed my hand into his and felt a spark of magic jump between us. The hair on that arm stood up.
"Very interesting." Giad pulled his hand back and rubbed his palm. Leaning in close to me, "Water and fire hedge mage, I have been working so I am still charged. Sorry."
That made sense, magic seemed to run in some families and cook was a mage. So, evidently was her cousin.
Giad turned to Raven and took her hand. "You have some beautiful knives there my dear." He pointed to one up on her shoulder. "I know the maker of that one. If you want more like it I can suggest you talk to Omar. He has a few of them in stock." With that surprising comment he turned back to Suzie. "So, you dears have been shopping all morning and now need some sustenance?"
Suzie smiled, "Well of course. But I have a surprise for you." She turned to me and her smile was devious. "Ott assis
ted cook all the way down the river. He has actually become quite a good cook and I thought you might enjoy putting him through his paces." Oh that sneaky girl was going to get it later.
Giad's smile grew to take over most of his face. "Oh really? Well let’s see how well you learned from my wonderful cousin." His arm engulfed my upper arm and he hauled me into the kitchen while the girls laughed.
They did not laugh when Giad and I served then white fish, river oysters, and rock ferns cooked in oil. I had never cooked any of it but the basic principles were the same and Giad was as natural of a teacher as his cousin.
I sat down with the girls and we all ate while Giad caught Suzie up on some of the local gossip. At some points Suzie asked about info on specific people or shops. Giad was a wealth of information.
As we finished Giad stood up. I went to pay him and he laughed. "Your payment was helping cook. The lady's was keeping an old cook company and listening to him gossiping like a fishers wife."
He suddenly pulled me closer. "Be sure to go by the Dark Kettle. The owner will have something for you." He turned around and disappeared into the kitchen.
Suzie and Raven looked at me. "What was that about?" Suzie questioned. "That was not like Giad at all."
We stood there for a moment and then shrugged it off. "No telling." I said. "Now, where is our next destination?" We walked out onto the dock and headed deeper into the maze of docks, canals, bridges, and buildings. Occasionally we rode a small boat, called a skiff. These seemed to be a faster way to get around the town but cost a small fee to use.
We continued shopping most of the afternoon but needed to take a break.
"I think I might be shopped out." Raven sat heavily. We had stopped at a juice stall. "How many more shops exist in this town?"
The Wandering Apprentice Page 27
