The Huntsman of Adamos (Quartet)- draft
THE WHISPERING WOODS

Have CH THE WHISPERING WOODS

Once they arrived at his new shop, Rieth began to build a fire.

“Have you found her, my lord?” Paulos asked quietly in Xelusian.

Rieth wrote in Xelusian, ‘We were sitting with her, but she doesn’t know me or of her past.’

“She looks so different. What do you require of us?” Paulos’ eyes were intense with his loyalty. To a Xelusian of the old kingdom, a blood debt was a lifelong commitment and Rieth had spent decades among the Xelusians and old Kingdom Aetherians rekindling alliances.

′Her appearance and her memories were altered by magic. The Princess is going to try to come here when the portals open to see if she can be healed. If not, I may bring her with me to Olympia or Dauntless and spend the rest of my life as this glamor.′

Paulos read the words, bowed his head, “Your talent would not be wasted. My brother and our guild brothers are at your service, my lord.”

Rieth nodded then whispered, “Paulos, you must never call me my lord, I am just Rieth the woodsmith, now. We are acting against the King’s own wishes by seeking the Blind Oracle.”

The lanky lumberman grinned at him, “So, we’re traitors to the crowns again for following our own hearts. When has that ever stopped you, huntsman?”

Rieth laughed silently, shaking his head. “Not often,” murmuring as he crumpled the paper and threw it into the fire.

Paulos pulled a flagon of Xelusian distilled spirits out and Rieth got them each a cup. The Xelusians had taken to producing the alcohol of the humans with a natural talent born from generations of potion making.

“A toast, to the Blind Oracle, may she be restored... and to my great-great-great grandnieces and grandnephews, may they have long lives as free citizens.” They both gulped a burning swallow then Paulos added, “If you hadn’t saved our sister on the Tear, Holtos and I wouldn’t have the family we have now. Our blood and our loyalty are yours, my...” He paused at Rieth’s stern look, then finished, “My friend.”

Fleur arrived early with Nevin and Bolton carrying a bed-frame, new mattress, and box of dishes to supplement the few Rieth had been given. Vela had sent a hearty breakfast for Rieth. The innkeeper and butcher left to visit another shopkeeper, leaving Rieth and Fleur to deal with the cleaning and unpacking. Rieth would never have believed a blind woman could clean a room to perfection. After Fleur polished the front window, Rieth fitted thin shelves into the frame to display his small carvings.

Banth and another old timer had shown up and were sitting on the porch in the sun, talking about the coming harvest and the weather. Yuli and Nick came by with a message for Fleur and lunch for them all from Vela. Her meeting with the mayor’s council about the school was put off a week. She had muttered a few words of profanity in one of the human languages, then had gone back to polishing the second front window with such vehemence Rieth was afraid the glass would break. Yuli stayed after Nick left.

Rieth caught her hand and took the cloth, on her inner wrist he tapped, ‘You’re going to scrub the glass off the window.’ It made her laugh. ‘Here, put these out. Carvings in the window, samples on the table.’ He gave her one of the boxes of his samples and knickknacks.

Yuli came downstairs. “I finished cleaning out the cabinets and putting up the kitchen stuff. Whomever lived here before liked feeding the mice.”

As she started putting different carved shapes on the narrow shelves, Fleur turned her head in Rieth’s direction, “Do you want to keep Fishlover over for a few days?” He had woke with Fish on his feet this morning.

Rieth tapped, ‘Maybe.’

He watched Fleur arranging his samples in the window, then she moved to the flat samples. Feeling each one carefully to ‘see’ the pattern and arranging them by type. Her fingers lingered over the next one she picked up; moonflowers and vines. It was the pattern he had carved into Jenna and Betha’s bows, the daughters she didn’t remember. Her brow creased as it did when she tried to remember something. She began trembling and blinking rapidly as she pressed her hand to her cheek by her eye. Crying out, she fainted. Rieth barely caught her in time.

“Mom!” Yuli exclaimed.

Banth was there immediately. “Yuli, go get a healer. Hold on, Fleur.”

Fleur groaned in pain as she twitched and jerked in Rieth’s arms. Banth pulled a small glass bottle out of his pocket. Rieth could smell too many things in it to identify as Banth poured a small amount into Fleur’s mouth. Rieth turned his head and sneezed, struggling to hold her still. It took a few moments, but her spasms stopped, and she seemed to relax into sleep.

“What happened?” Rieth rasped out. Banth did not know he had seen Fleur have one of her episodes as she called them. “What did you give her?”

“It’s a seizure tincture.” Banth’s mouth made a thin worried line before he answered, “Sometimes she just does that. The healers say it is because she had a brain injury when she was blinded. She needs to lay down for a while.”

Rieth carefully carried her upstairs. In his bedroom, he realized that Fleur had come up and made the bed. He pulled the blanket down and tucked her in. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment, her hand reached out and her fingertips traced his face. He held it as she fell back asleep, then wiped a tear from her cheek. She looked so beautiful but he as terrified that whatever magic they were using on her was killing her. Yuli arrived with the healer apprentice Callie and Rieth came out to find Banth in the hall.

“She’s sleeping,” Rieth whispered harshly, then he kept swallowing because he had talked too much last night and today. The few words at a time had added up. They stretched and worked his throat muscles in an uncomfortable way.

“Drink this.“Banth offered him a bottle of cold spiced tea to drink.

Rieth’s huntsman’s sense told him it was laced with truth potion from the first sip. He forced himself to take two big swallows, he coughed and then took another. He was going to have to be very careful how he answered any question for the next several hours. He set the bottle down by where he was unpacking his smaller hand tools by the upstairs workbench, as Banth sat on a chair that had come with the shop. The partial furnished nature of the space was something that surprised Rieth so last night, he had searched each piece thoroughly and found two listening devices. He left the chair and table downstairs. He was glad he and Paulos had spoken upstairs and only in Xelusian.

Banth drank from his own bottle of cold spiced tea then stated blandly, “Fleur seems to be taken with you, Rieth, and you with her.”

Rieth reached for a notepad and wrote, ‘She is so kind to everyone, I owe her much more than I can repay.’

Callie and Yuli came in the room, and the healer stated, “I’m sorry, I could find nothing wrong with Miss Fleur beyond the usual. I have to get back. I’m glad you got a shop, Rieth,”

“I am too.” He whispered and she hugged him before leaving.

Yuli glanced over the note, “Except Corbin.”

Rieth reached for the paper tablet. ‘She is especially kind to Corbin, when you dislike someone you must be extra kind to them. My mother said that often.’

Yuli shrugged, “Mom says that too, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t hate him sometimes.”

Yuli began pulling some of the books, he had packed for Rieth out of a box and putting them on a shelf then he flopped in a chair with one as Banth made casual conversation about Rieth’s life as a woodsmith. Banth’s subtle questions were a sign of his skill as an interrogator and Rieth soon realized that what his late brother had said about the elderly Guardsman was true, everyone told Banth the truth eventually. Rieth was struggling to resist the potions effects and the deceptively simple questions. He was glad to be writing and not speaking as the questions lured the truth out. Rieth carried his half-empty bottle and tablet over to the kitchen. He set it on the counter and began making dinner.

“So, Callie said you almost died sailing here. Why would you risk such a trip just for some wood?”

Rieth wrote quickly and handed the tablet to Banth, who had moved to one of the barstools pulled up to the counter that separated the kitchen and living area.

′I was working for Lord Trudolt of Thanos, doing a mosaic inlaid entryway floor. Lord Abrieth of Adamos tried to hire me away to make a room for his wife. We made an agreement that I would do the room after I finished the floor. He paid my passage to select the wood. I did not know it would be so bad. Callie saved my life.′

“Working for the King’s Uncle is an impressive commission.” Banth praised him. “I hear Lady Serapha is very beautiful and kind-hearted.”

‘She is,’ Rieth scribbled before he could stop himself, he added honestly, ‘She paid well for the work I did on Dauntless.’

He turned back to the potatoes he was cutting up and made a small gesture to Fishlover. The giant gray cat jumped up to the bartop and sat next to the bottle.

“Have you met the King?”

Rieth made another covert gesture as he dumped potatoes in the pot. Fishlover knocked the bottle off the counter and onto the floor where it shattered.

“Evil cat,” Banth grumbled, as Yuli picked the feline up off the counter.

“I’m sorry, Rieth, Fish gets bored,” Yuli apologized.

Rieth patted Yuli’s shoulder before he bent down with a towel. He stood and wrote, ‘Just like a cat, always trouble.’

Fleur appeared in the bedroom door, “What broke?” She swayed as she held to the frame for support.

“Fish broke a bottle. Are you okay, Mom?” Yuli went to her.

She hugged him tightly. “Yes, my precious... I... I don’t know what happened. I’m so sorry for the trouble, Rieth.”

′Can’t the healers help you?′ Rieth wrote.

“No. Yuli and I cope as best we can, with the help of dear old friends,” she answered as she smiled affectionately toward Banth. Rieth could feel the calm, loving glow of Fleur’s shine.

The old veteran looked embarrassed as he replied, “Tis only because you put up with this grumpy, old man.”

“And I will happily ‘put up’ with you forever.” Fleur chided.

“Mom, can we go to the Inn soon? Nick should be finished with his chores,” Yuli pled.

Fleur rolled her blind eyes at him. “But it smells like Rieth is making dinner.”

′Just venison stew that will keep for tomorrow if you have plans,′ he scribbled, then he put a cup of strong tea in her hands and she sipped it gratefully.

“We don’t have plans but Yuli hasn’t seen Nick more than a few times since school got out in the fall. It is okay, tell Vela I will see her later.”

Yuli whooped and ran downstairs with Fang behind him.

′School lets out in the Fall? But you are grading homework every week.′ Rieth penned in confusion. The eight children in Soldiers Cove had been doing school work all winter.

Fleur raised her shoulders. “I teach year around for the local families. There isn’t a school in Lumberton or Westfalls, some of the families send their kids to Soldiers Cove for late Spring and Summer classes. Sometimes the weather holds, and we can go into the Fall. But the Fall Southeasters are so much worse than the Winter ones. It’s that or they have to pay for the kids to live on Brightwater in the dormitories.”

Banth nodded in agreement. “Taking the ferry everyday isn’t an option, it’s expensive and time-consuming because the kids would have to take the ferry from Port Arbor, to Golden East Port, walk across the isle and catch a second ferry north from Golden West to Brightwater port. It’s the fastest way but still takes half a day and the children would be too tired to learn anything before they had to start back.”

′Why have they not built a school until now?′ Rieth wrote, this conversation was making him angry.

Fleur sighed, spreading her hands helplessly, “We haven’t had enough children until now. Arbor only has two hundred and thirty-eight year-around residents, and forty-one of those are now school aged children. People have children and they move back to civilization.”

Rieth thought carefully for a moment then penned, ‘Is that why there are so many empty homes and businesses?’

“Yes. There are less than fourteen hundred who live in the Southern Star all year around, but in the warmer months there are almost six thousand who come and go between the lumbermen, mill workers, and fishing fleet. This summer there will be a big end of season festival to celebrate the opening of the portal depot in Brightwater and our ability to export the exotic woods. We could have ten thousand visitors.” Banth elaborated. “Lumberton will be the featured destination on Arbor because of the lumbermills, Ambersands where they have the glassworks on Golden, and Brightwater Port. The governor’s council has already sent out notices for common laborers to work during the festival. We are hoping Soldiers Cove doesn’t get invaded.”

Fleur laughed at his grumpy last comment. “You just don’t want anyone tromping on your lawn or through your potatoes.”

“It’s bad enough your feline rolls in my garden every time you visit.” Banth shot Fishlover the stink eye and the cat ignored him by licking his paw.

“Fish thinks it’s your fault I put potatoes in his two fish soup to turn it into chowder,” Fleur teased.

Fishlover turned his head toward Fleur and mewed piteously before falling on his side for her to pet.

“Poor Fishlover, he’s wasting away.”

With a kittenish meow, the feline seemed to agree. Rieth almost laughed at the cat’s theatrics.

“That cursed beast isn’t getting any of my poached fish at dinner tonight,” Banth glared at the cat who lifted his head to Fleur’s hand, chirped and began purring loudly.

Fleur laughed then cooed, “Don’t worry, my handsome kitty. That’s right, I will share with you.” Straightening she turned to Rieth, “Would you like to join us for dinner? Vela saw an image of the cabinets you made Cassie and wants new banisters for the Inn.”

Rieth agreed reluctantly, in keeping with his identity as a woodcrafter he need to take the job, but he wanted to spend as little time around Nevin as possible. He was sure the miner had suspected who he was. The only thing that had saved Rieth’s identity was Paulos interrupting them last night and repeating the time of Rieth’s rescue of his brother by saying it had happened just before the Cataclysm. Rieth was glad they had agreed on the slight change in the story when he had first begun looking for Fleur. Having his false identity confirmed had bought Rieth more time with Fleur.

The weather had turned cold and wet, alternating between freezing rain and sleet as they hurried to the Slumbering Pines. They learned Nevin was gone to Westfalls, when they arrived. Before dinner, Rieth asked Vela what design she wanted and what kind of wood, promising he would come and measure as soon as he finished Fleur’s doors. Fish sat between Yuli and Fleur with his fish in a bowl and ate it one pawed bite at a time, much to the amusement of the dining commons’ other patrons.

The two young guardsmen who had been watching Rieth’s shop, were eating by the fire, trying not to make it obvious they were eavesdropping. But both laughed as Yuli recounted Protector Corbin’s visit after Rieth’s attack and how Fang had tried to bite the protector the next morning. It was getting late when they retired. Fang and Fish were persuaded to stay with Fleur and Yuli, but Rieth offered to take Yuli and Nick with him to look at lumber the next day for Fleur’s cabinets and doors. Yuli grinned, knowing it was a ruse, and said the wet weather would move off tonight and begged his mom to go back later in the day. Fleur had agreed because it would give her time to spend with Vela and the babies.

By midday meal, Rieth had picked out wood for Vela’s banisters and earned another commission. The Southern Sun mill owner wanted an anniversary gift for his wife. She had seen Rieth’s life like bird carvings in the shop window and loved them. Her husband wanted a hummingbirds and bells windchime. Rieth felt it was another trial by the locals to test his skills and make sure his shop belonged in their tight-knit community. He had chosen small pieces that would usually be considered scrap of the mineralized wood to make the delicate hummingbirds in all the different colors. The birds would hang far enough out from the acacia wood bells and flowers that they would not be damaged by the wind. Fleur had jokingly called him the whispering woodsmith at dinner last night, which he had shortened to Whispering Woods when he told the mill owner his shop’s name.

When Rieth and the boys arrived back at the shop, Fishlover had a pile of dead mice. Rieth had counted them and traded the cat a cube of cheese for each one. Rieth was sketching the birds for the windchimes on scraps of colored wood when Banth and Fleur arrived. Banth was grumbling but Fleur was vibrating with rage. She dropped her and Yuli’s packs on the floor by the door and sent Nick home.

“You’re too mad, Mom, calm down,” Yuli stated worriedly.

Rieth poured a cup of tea and placed it in her hands. She took a sip before she started ranting. “He expects us to just stay in this town until the meeting next week because he can’t do his job!”

Rieth rapped on the counter with a spoon, ‘Who is keeping you in town?’

Banth groaned as he lowered himself into a chair. “Protector Corbin is demanding Fleur stay in Lumberton and has banned all travel without guardsmen escort. Some of the lumbermen were traveling to Port Arbor on the southern Midcoast Road to catch the morning ferry, and were ambushed by those brigands that almost got your head, Rieth. Four men were badly injured, two stabbed with cursed weapons, all were beaten. They were taken to Brightwater but one of the men did not revive. Rumor is the brigands have been attacking smaller groups and lone travelers all over the Southern Star. Protector Corbin is putting a curfew and travel ban in effect for Arbor Isle.”

“I told him...I told him those thieves were going to murder someone! Dozens of people attacked on the three big islands and on four of the smaller ones. They have gone from stalking the inland roads to sailing between the islands like they know someone with coin is traveling. Rieth, how many were in the group that originally attacked you?” She had that calculating look he had seen so many times when he was a huntsman and she was an oracle.

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