A Leaf and Pebble

by Andrew Monroe

  My mind drew a blank, I couldn’t stop shaking from a mix of fear and adrenaline. Rook’s words just washed over me without much thought on my part.

  Rook nodded to himself. “A highly trained archer and a Natural on top of it. Maybe she was going to make the jump, give up the Talent to become a Learner, but wanted to wait till she’d finished us off.”

  I numbly shook my head, mostly trying to clear it.

  Rook continued. “That’s improbable. toron stones are too rare for a non-Learner to use as a pendant and there was no value left for a Learner in it. And besides, no Natural ever makes the jump. It’s a bad trade for someone gifted with a Natural’s elemental control. It’d be like giving up your native tongue permanently to try learning a foreign one.” He looked to Volant for confirmation.

  Volant shrugged, somehow looking worse off than I, though his hands seemed to be steadying. Something in his eyes matched the same shock I was feeling.

  Cloth flapped in the breeze. Qaewin and Slandash arrived. All of us just stood there, absorbing the flurry of events in silence for quite some time. A patchy brown zymph silently pawed its way over to us. Teeth bared menacingly at us when it got close enough.

  Hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as it came on. I hadn’t seen this one before, but its scars and wrinkled folds indicated it had to be much older than others I’d seen. It spared us each a glance, resting longest on Rook with that uncanny intelligence. It sniffed the dead woman contemptuously. Satisfied, it sprung away in a burst of speed that startled me more than anything else one of the big cats had done.

  Up till now, they’d all moved rather languidly. Slandash and Qaewin followed it immediately. Rook and I, without much other idea of what to do, followed as well. Volant brought up the rear, axe left behind and forgotten.

  The old zymph took us back to where we’d started with breakfast. We found a large crowd of Soft Steppers circled up around something. Now, no one was smiling. No cheering. As a whole they watched us approach with distrust, a few with such fire in their eyes that it bordered on hate.

  We stopped at the edge of the group. At first, I didn’t understand. We’d killed the assassin. No one else was fatally hurt as far as I saw. And then it hit me. They blamed us for the attack. Of course, it was our fault that the assassin had been here so they weren’t exactly wrong.

  Slandash inserted himself between us and the rest of the Soft Steppers. “Excuse my kin,” Slandash said apologetically. He shrugged, the slabs of muscle of a once-fit man flexing underneath his sweat soaked shirt.

  An unusually skinny man, roughly Slandash’s height with a bushy beard stood at the center of the crowd and scowled at us. Rook nonchalantly took a step forward, blocking the man’s view of us while also casually flashing his bandolier of knives in the process.

  Qaewin glanced back at the man, and took in the crowd behind him. “As much as we’d like you to stay, it might not be safe here anymore. There’s also that fellow we need to find.” She took a step closer to me, regret in her eyes. “Sorry Nil.” She squeezed my hand before stepping back.

  “Let’s find you some horses and travel food.” Slandash took another glance towards the crowd. “Probably better that you leave sooner rather than later.”

  Rook waded into the crowd and picked up his robe, shrugging it back on. “Consider us gone, I’ll make sure they make it somewhere safe.”

  Our horses were a short way away near a couple of wagons unaffected by the assassin’s appearance. Both mine and Volant’s packs were brought over by Qaewin, and one of Slandash’s people showed up with quite a pile of road food.

  A squat and sturdy horse, somehow making me think of a war pony followed Rook around another corner. I looked at Volant, and he shrugged just like before. He was starting to worry me. I gave both Slandash and Qaewin a hug, while Rook and Volant hopped up onto their mounts.

  “Thank you both for the hospitality,” I said with a fair hint of sadness. “I hope that you, and your kinsmen, don’t experience any other hardships on our account.”

  “May the Gods ignore you, and the land protect you,” I heard Rook whisper to Slandash as he moved away.

  Slandash gave a small salute in return. “Wander well! Wherever you go, don’t tell anyone who you are or where you came from. I’ll keep my ear to the ground on this The God’s Fury group, and hopefully avenge my family before you guys run into more trouble.”

  With a final look back, I gave Qaewin a wink. She smiled faintly, and waved. Short and sweet, and over. My heart gave a little pang of sadness as I turned back and followed across the plains.

  Yet another day of riding, but with far less joy than when the Soft Steppers had been with us. Few words were spoken between any of us as we went, and least of all by Volant. He seemed to still be coming to terms with the morning’s events.

  Rook, still a man we barely knew, was content to enjoy a peaceful, leisurely ride. But I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop worrying about what came next. They’d tried to kill us. That was something I was having trouble wrapping my head around.

  Ten

  As night fell, Rook hopped off his pony and spoke first, still as casual as could be. “Though this leisurely ride has been nice, do you two have a plan of action in mind?”

  At this point it finally hit me what was different about Rook, besides the braid and clothing. He had such a subtle, yet complete confidence in everything he did. So much so, it was almost unnoticeable. He lacked any form of hesitation.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out,” I replied. “So far, we’ve been heading towards Brod since we left, but only because Wydvis seemed the most obvious destination when trying to get out of Kalaran, and Erset was so far. Volant does stand out a bit and I figured if anything, they’d know he was from there and expect him to head home.” Pausing, I thought of home, and how great it would be to sleep in my own bed again. Eat with my parents. See friends and family. I shook myself out of it and continued. “After this morning, I was thinking we could ride straight for Wydvis?”

  Volant, who to this point had been only mildly paying attention, looked up with faint surprise. “You were serious about us going to Wydvis?” he asked hopefully.

  I looked to Rook first, trying to gauge his reaction. He smiled in return, but I couldn’t read him and he didn’t reply. “Aye, that’s where I’m thinking,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “We need to stop thinking like fugitives. Besides, the Soft Steppers reminded me how much I love real food.”

  “So you want to try hiding in plain sight?” Rook asked with a chuckle. “I fully, and with much enthusiasm, encourage this plan.” He laughed, sounding far younger than he looked. He held each of our gazes in turn. Again, his expression was hard to read, but it seemed one of approval. “I have a proposal for you both. Let’s skip the crow’s flight route, and head for the guild’s roads. From there, we will travel like normal people. Nights at inns. Warm food, the whole thing.”

  Both of us were nodding in agreement before he continued.

  “The part that might make it more interesting though,” Rook said with an easy air, “and less enjoyable is I get to train you. You both seem moderately adequate, but not quite enough to make it out of this on your own. And I’ve a feeling the longer you live, the more it would annoy people I want annoyed. So, what do you think about being taught by me in return for meals and protection to Wydvis?”

  Before Volant could object, if he even wanted to, I answered for both of us. “We’d love that and couldn’t agree more.” A more cynical part of me wondered if there was a hidden price to pay, but I didn’t let it dissuade me.

  Volant nodded in agreement. It would appear he was going to need a little more time to heal anyways. Maybe a detour would help ease his mind.

  “Most excellent!” Rook clapped with excitement. “We start tomorrow! Rest up tonight. We’ll let the horses keep watch.” With that, we ate, and then went to sleep.

  The next morning started withou
t breakfast, which was upsetting. “You must become comfortable with discomfort,” Rook said when he woke us up at the crack of dawn. “That means no food until midday for the remainder of your time with me.” He led us through a variety of stretches, twists, and seemingly insane movements having us jump over each other, roll through the grass, and a similar variety of gymnastics.

  By the end of what would have been breakfast, we were sweaty, sore, and somewhat dizzy. The horses were unfazed by any of it. As I reached mine, a whistling sound pricked my hearing. Before I could register the source, or even consider the noise, a star burst of pain erupted in the back of my head. “Godspawning left hand!” I cursed, whipping around.

  Rook stood there with a wry smile. He was juggling a number of stones that looked exactly similar to a Kingdoms set while Volant grinned next to him. As the pain began to fade, I stalked back. Rook smiled wider.

  I paused briefly when he smiled. I took another step. With a barely perceptible twitch of his hand, one of the rocks shot out of the juggling pattern and whistled towards my chest. I jumped out of the way, letting it shoot past. I stopped and glared at them both.

  Rook continued to juggle. “Nil, as you agreed, we begin training today. This morning was the warm up, you could say.” Another of the rocks shot out and this time connected with my arm as I tried to dodge. “The inspiration for this lesson should be obvious. Before we leave, I need you both to have learned how to deflect a projectile with just your respective abilities,” he continued, juggling happily.

  “This is insane,” I muttered through clenched teeth. Yesterday did show how unprepared I really was. But the lack of food this morning was putting me on edge. We had been taught a lot of theory when it came to the Skill, but like music, practice was a completely different matter. And Volant’s Talent was strong, but he’d not exactly trained combatively.

  Volant walked over and stood next to me, studying the mesmerizing, ever twisting pattern of rocks Rook made dance between his hands. Another leapt out without warning, this time at Volant. He thrust his hands out, a wall of wind barely slowing the projectile down before it hit his outstretched hand.

  My pride got the best of me. There was no way I would let Volant figure this out before me. I began to run through a series of finger movements to loosen up while trying to stoke my Skill into something useful. Focus was always the hardest part, but control and moderation would be equally important when trying to manipulate and stop such a small and fast object.

  Rook smiled wider as my determination manifested. He began to let loose the projectiles steadily, whipping them at both of us until he’d used up nearly a dozen rocks with unerring accuracy.

  It was even harder than I’d imagined. Volant started trying to deflect the stones coming at him with moderate success, but I was only able to knock a pair out of a collision course with me before my Skill was tapped and I was struck by four of the stones while panting for breath.

  When Rook ran out, we went gathered all the pieces, and Rook began again despite the headache beginning in the base of my skull. Stones came even quicker, and I gave in at one point and began blocking with my arms.

  Anger flared as pain spread from the impacts. I reached deeper, slashing out shorter and more aggressive pushes with pain fueled anger behind the movements. My head was pounding from the effort, but then, as if by the hand of a benevolent god, the last stone whizzing towards me came to a complete stop, and then actually flew back in the other direction at Rook.

  Rook caught the projectile as if this were a game he played daily and continued to juggle the few rocks he had left.

  “That was great, Nil!” Volant said, clapping. “Sometimes, you Learners are almost impressive. But, let me show you how a Natural handles such things.”

  Rook, taking this as permission to proceed, turned towards Volant and continued to juggle. As quick as lightning, one of the stones launched out at Volant. As one stone thumped into his gut, knocking the wind out of him, Rook laughed.

  Volant raised a belated hand. “A Natural’s biggest weakness is their hands,” Rook said when Volant had his breath back. “Unlike a Learner, your actions are only as fast as you move your hands, and your Skill being pushed through them.”

  Volant flashed his cockiest grin. “You got lucky on that first one. Let’s go again.”

  “Certainly.” Rook said with a hint of his own smile. His juggling never lost its rhythm.

  Volant’s eyes grew wide with surprise as two stones launched out at him. One low, one high. He flung his hands out in a big sweeping motion, sending the rocks straight up. He grinned wider, admiring the new trajectory. A third stone launched out and caught him in the thigh, wiping the grin away.

  “I do not think that lesson needs explaining,” Rook commented.

  A growl was Volant’s only response. He closed his eyes, and splayed his fingers at the ground. Dust flew up where he pointed. A twist of the hands and he raised them. Small pieces of ground were caught in micro-hurricanes. They rose up with the motion, trailing soil. He rotated his arms, and it all came together, making an impressive shield a few paces in front of him.

  Rook stopped juggling, slipping stones back into his robes. This time, it was Rook’s turn to applaud as I stared on dumbstruck. “An exquisite display” he said approvingly. “I am always amazed by what a clever Natural can do. That is exactly the kind of thinking you need to pursue. Always shift the game in your favor. That’s how you win against any opponent.”

  Volant, trembling with the effort, dropped his arms. The earthen shield fell to the ground. His shoulders sagged, but he grinned back at us happily. “I wasn’t sure that would work!”

  “Seems a good enough start to me,” Rook said with an approving smile. “You guys might not die after all.”

  Back on the horses, we moved on towards Turtle Castle road. The sun was beginning to set behind us and we’d all traded a dozen stories each when we finally saw the raised roadway cutting through the Tryst’s plains. We’d get there by the time the stolen moon had risen.

  These roads always impressed me more than most feats accomplished by the Engineer’s Guild. Though many people argued that they were a drain of resources, everyone also agreed the roads spanning around Balteris were practically works of art. Tightly packed stone and gravel gradually sloped up to a height on par with my chest.

  It was gradual enough that the horses easily continued up it with little loss of momentum. We stopped at the top, standing on the edge of the flattened cobble surface. Large, smooth stones covered the road, pressing so closely together that a wagon wheel would roll smoothly. The flat surface was nearly a dozen horses across, wider than any street in any city.

  “Might as well keep going,” I said cheerfully. The road was straight and smooth, needing much less caution than when we’d been traveling at night over uneven terrain. No one disagreed, so we continued on, riding the horses at a slow canter. A campfire began to twinkle invitingly in the distance.

  Rook, nearly invisible in the night’s pale light, took a look at Volant and I. “Gentlemen, we need to come up with a story. That campfire is most likely where we are staying tonight.” He spoke quickly and quietly, but still with the same confidence as before.

  “I think the best option would be for you both to pose as my apprentices,” Rook mused. “I’ll be a traveling entertainer, hoping to eke out a living to pay for my crippling addiction to gambling. Both of you ran from home to find a life of fortune and fame and are only a little bit bitter to be stuck with me.” Rook grinned, like it would be impossible for anyone to be bitter around him.

  Sounded easy enough, though I had no idea what traveling entertainers actually did. Volant seemed less convinced though. “How will we explain being armed, and the distinct lack of instruments most entertainers tend to have?” He looked to me for back up, and pointedly at my hatchet and pair of knives I still had.

  I shrugged, and looked to Rook.

  “Easily.” Rook said happily. “W
e entertain with mock duels and sleight of hand. Part of your lessons will be the latter, while the former will explain away anyone who sees the training I have promised you both.”

  The fire began growing visible as we trotted closer, and we continued on in silence for fear of being overheard. The camp was to the side of the road on a landing area. These were semi-fortified campsites that the builders had the forethought to include with the roads.

  A stone wall ringed the encampment facing out from the road. Metal rings lined the inside of the wall, great for horses, tents, and anything else that may be needing a strong anchor. Though from the road these landings didn’t look like much, they greatly increased the defensibility of travelers from bandits if needed. A group of merchant-looking types took up one side of the landing, wagons lined against the edge with a few tents making a line between them and everyone else on the landing.

  On the other side, where the large fire burned brightly against a cloudy sky, a small and eclectic group of men sat. Without hesitation, we headed towards the ones with a fire.

  “Good evening!” Rook shouted jovially to them. We had stopped a respectful distance away, not wanting to alarm anyone.

  Immediately, one of the larger figures stood. “Harketh!” he replied, so enthusiastically it seemed he might have mistaken us with someone he knew. “Please, join us valiant friends.”

  Volant and I exchanged looks, the first truly happy smile since he killed the assassin crossing over his face. Rook just rolled his eyes. Over the past few years, more and more of the bored and young had joined Adventurer’s United.

  Mirrored after legends of traveling heroes who banded together to fight evil, these people would wander about the countryside looking for treasures and wrongs to right while peppering their standard speech with archaic verbiage. If they couldn’t come up with a good word, they’d use “Harketh” as a catchall to mean just about anything. Now, everyone just calls them Harkers because of this.

  With not nearly enough embarrassment, we’d been planning on joining a group such as this when we finished our schooling at Jorcum’s Higher Learning Academy. Of course, neither of us would be having the opportunity anytime soon now. Now that we had a far more realistic danger pursuing us, I doubted the chance to join one of these roving bands would ever have much appeal if we survived. But still, it was great to see one on the road.