A Coursing Passage (A Life of Magic Book 3) (12 page)

Mort looked at Stain and then Raven and myself. "Ah, the young in graftings and their master." He stepped forward. "Wheel handlers by my guess?"

Stain nodded and shook Mort's hand. "Why would you guess that?"

Mort smiled, "Because you travel with Tulip." He turned to me. "I hear a lot of things about you two. Walk carefully, even among the people." Turning back to Tulip he asked, "How can I serve?"

She grinned, "They have just bought a family wagon from Simon. They need animals to pull it. Your's are the best!"

Mort nodded, "That they are." He made a loud whistle and I could hear many hooves suddenly start moving closer. "Shall we look and see if any pick them out?"

"Pick us out?" Raven asked, surprised.

Mort looked at her and grinned, "I do not allow just anyone to take any of my friends. They must be willing to go."

The sounds of hooves grew closer until animals started to appear in the shadows of the trees. As they grew closer I could see that the animals were actually goats, but not regular goats. These goats looked as large as a pony, some standing as tall as myself. They trotted close and gathered around Mort. He scratched a few heads and talked to them. He stepped back and addressed the entire herd of goats. "This is Ott and Raven. They just bought a wagon and are in need of someone to pull it for them. Is there anyone interested in teaming up with these two young people? I think it will take at least four to do it well."

The goats all turned and looked at us. Their eyes showed that they had some form of intelligence As one the goats started to move around us, sniffing and nibbling at us. Some moved off while others moved closer. Finally there was a smaller group that stayed close while the rest faded back into the woods. There was maybe ten goats left with us.

"So you all want to help?" Mort looked proud yet a little sad.

The largest goat stepped forward and bumped Mort. "I would say that we are all intrigued." The goat spoke softly in a gentle voice.

Another goat, this one with a white spot on it's side, stepped forward. "I would like to be considered. This sounds like fun."

Each goat made a comment about the idea of helping us with the wagon.

Mort looked around, "I appreciate all of you wanting to help. But we only need four to help."

The goats walked off to the side, talking among themselves. Mort watched them, a soft smile on his face. "They always decide this way. I have had them refuse to help and at times they can not seem to agree who is going to go. They always work it out though."

Tulip sat down on a stump. "I do love talking to your friends Mort."

Mort smiled, "I think they like it when you visit. They still call you the 'Queen of all the roads"."

Tulip smiled and blushed, "That was a long time ago. I am just me now."

Stain looked intrigued but at that moment the goats returned. Four of them anyway. The rest bounced off into the woods. "We think we four will suit the purposes needed. Also we all are of the same size, so the load will be carried evenly." One of the goats stated. "Does this seem right, Mort?"

Mort looked at all of them and smiled, "I think you are right. You four will be a good pulling team." He turned to us and grinned, "Now for the terms of the contract. You do not buy these goats, you pay them. Part of their pay is the food they eat. You will pay me a set amount per goat until such a time as they no longer work with you. They will pull your wagon and anything else that needs to be pulled. You will listen to them and treat them like a fellow traveler. Do them any harm and they will free themselves and you will never touch one again." He looked at us in a serious manner.

We all nodded. "Good!" He turned to the goats, "Perhaps I should introduce you all." He pointed at a black one with a large splotch of white on her head. "This lady is Sim." He pointed at a brown goat with rust highlights, "This is Copper." Turning to the only white goat, "This is Stephan, but he goes by Ghost." Turning to the last goat he smiled, "And this is George." He turned back to us. "I want you all to meet Ott and Raven. They will be taking care of you."

I walked up to the goats and grinned, "Thank you for agreeing to work with us on the road."

The goats all startled, Ghost made the first comment. "You have beast tongue?"

I nodded and turned to Raven, "As does Raven."

The goats looked at each other and made small comments. They seemed surprised that we had beast tongue. Finally George looked up at me, "I think we will make a good team. Since you both have beasts tongue it will make things easier. When should we plan on joining you at your camp?"

I looked at Stain and Tulip. Tulip answered, "Tomorrow the wagon is being delivered to my camp. Feel free to come look at it and give us your input in the pulling arrangement." She had beast tongue also, yet the goats were not surprised by this. I was a little.

"That sounds good. Finish up the arrangements with Mort and we will see you tomorrow." Sim made this statement and all four walked off to join the herd in the woods once more.

Mort watched them go with a smile on his face. "I feel like this is a good thing. Now, about payment. I have to provide for those of the herd that live with me. There is also other considerations." He was going to continue but Stain gently put out his hand.

"We understand. How much for the first year for all four to help them?" He asked gently.

Mort looked slightly startled but then stated, "A year for one is four stone of gold. This is a stone a season. That is what it takes." He looked worried.

Stain grinned and pulled out his pouch again, "So that would be sixteen stone for all four goats for a year?"

Mort nodded, his mouth going slightly slack as Stain pulled handfuls of gold from the pouch. He eventually had a large pile of gold at his feet. "Measure this and if it is short I will make up the difference tomorrow."

Mort stared at the gold and then at Stain holding his pouch. "Thank you. I will do just that." He started to pick up the gold and move it to a small cabin that blended into the surrounding woods.

"Mort. We must be going." Tulip hugged him. "Thank you for your help."

Mort grinned, "It is I that must thank you for bringing them to me. So few can and will pay to have my friends help them." He hugged Tulip and then continued carrying the gold to the cabin.

As we walked back to the camp Tulip kept chuckling to herself. "Poor Mort. He does what he does out of love for those goats. You just made it possible for him to take care of himself and his goats for a very long time."

Stain grinned, "I am glad. He seems to have a true passion for helping them."

Tulip nodded, "That is true. He can not stand most people. That is why he lives in the woods. The goats came to him later. They are the very best animals for pulling a wagon."

Raven looked confused, "If they are the best then why do you use donkeys?"

Tulip grinned, "Because I like my little donkeys. They have such great personalities. But when I have to replace them I shall consider Mort and his goats."

We walked back to the camp and went back to our campsite for the midday meal. Tulip took the time to point out people and their skills, so that we might learn more about the camp.

***

When we got back to our campsite a disaster met us. The campsite had been destroyed. Our belongings were scattered everywhere and the tents collapsed in on themselves. Amelia and Robert were picking up items and putting them into piles. Ruth was sitting by the fire, Mophar lying limply in her lap. There were tears rolling down her face.

"He tried to stop them." Ruth whispered as she handed Mophar's broken body to me.

His poor body was beaten and broken. I held him in shock. Suddenly he ragged gasp shook his frame.

"He is still alive!" I exclaimed. 

"Ott! Be careful!" Stain put his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded and opened my magical sight. I cast a simple spell that would help me find the worst injuries. I could see Mophar's body with magic overlaying it. I carefully worked minor healing spells on each badly damaged area. As I worked his breathing grew stronger and his body reformed into the right shape. I kneeled there for what seemed all night, making sure my friend was healed. Finally I sat back, dizzy. "I have done as much as I can for now." I looked up and saw Ruth's face. Amelia and Robert stood behind her. All of them were dumbstruck. I looked down. Mophar looked normal except for the blood drying in his fur and some bruising. I glanced back up at the three. "What is wrong?"

Ruth answered in barely a whisper, "I have never seen a wheel working much like that. You healed him a little at a time yet you healed him well. What you just did would have taken most days of work to do. You did it in mere moments." Amelia nodded while Robert grinned gently.

Robert commented, "You are more powerful than we thought. It was a pleasure to watch you work." He handed me a glass of water.

I took a deep breath and sat back, "He will most likely sleep all night."

Stain nodded, "I agree with that. You will also I think. You used a lot of energy, however you did it well. Your energy was a good solid output, yet you never over worked yourself." He grinned broadly. "Much better than rushing into it and making yourself pass out."

Raven kneeled down and picked up Mophar. "I will look after him. Where are the rest? Pat, Cracklecord, and Fiosrach?"

Amelia answered her, "Cracklecord is visiting with the various smiths. Seeing if any need help or forge work done. Pat is off soaking on a large boulder, he seems to enjoy it. Fiosrach is sleeping, it seems anyway."

Stain spoke up, "What about Tag and Evins?"

Robert answered, "A sleeping potion rendered them unconscious. I have checked on them, they are groggy but doing okay."

Tulip sat down, "So what happened here?"

Ruth wiped her eyes, a look of anger taking the place of worry. "I heard a furious commotion and came running. By the time I arrived all I saw where forms slipping off in the distance. I could not even tell if it was man or woman. All I know is that all of your possessions here have been violated. The tents were collapsed and I think the food stores were ruined. A few minutes of work, yet a lot of destruction. I believe Mophar, being the only one around, attacked them and was beat for his efforts. He is very brave to have done so."

Tulip looked around. "We can fix all of this. Just the fact it happened makes my blood boil." She stood up and walked to her wagon. It was safe from any damage. "It would seem that the attackers were going after our new friends, yet chose to leave me out of the abuse."

Stain walked over to his tent. The ropes were cut and even some of the fabric was damaged. "This was a quick, well planned out attack. They worked out how to carry it out while everyone was away and not leave any witnesses. This was not a random attack nor was it impulsive." He looked around and frowned. "We must be on guard. We now know we have an enemy in the camp. One that is willing to kill."

Raven went over to her tent and pulled out some stuff. "There is nothing stolen. My knives are still here."

I looked in my tent and saw that she was right. All my possessions were still there, if in pieces or scattered.

Amelia picked up a few things and sorted them into piles, "We were sorting into broken, damaged, and fine. That way you can sort out the fine and we will all work on fixing things after a while." We all started helping clean up the campsite. It took the rest of the day to sort out all the items and working to repair those things worth saving. Eventually we returned our camp to a semblance of normal. Tulip had worked at the fire and prepared a large stew, a hearty food full of good morsels.

"Sit and eat." She handed out bowls and pushed us to take a break. "I think we are done for the day." She looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot. "We will have to set protections around this campsite. Ruth, you and Amelia should be fine. Robert you also. Since my wagon was not touched I think it shows that Stain, Ott, and Raven were the sole targets." She ate for a few moments, putting thoughts together. "Stain, I am going to insist on you setting the protections. Your habits and methods will be different than someone of the people. Something they might not recognize."

Stain nodded, "That is a good idea. I will work on that after our meal." He looked at me and smiled, "Ott, why not go settle for the night. You look wore out."

I stood and grinned when I swayed. "I am wore out. Thank you." I turned to Tulip, "Thank you for the meal."

Raven stood and helped me to my tent. There had been a large rip down one side, Ruth had quickly sealed it up for me. I sat on my cot and looked at Raven. "I am sorry this happened."

She sat down and shook her head, "It is not your fault this happened. For whatever reason, some person dislikes us being here. It could be anger, jealousy, maybe even the simply idea of us as outsiders."

I nodded and laid down. "I am so sleepy."

She smiled and nodded, "You worked hard healing Mophar. Then you helped clean up the site. You deserve plenty of sleep." She stood up and walked to the tent's entrance. "Good night Ott. Sleep well."

***