Blackstone (Book 2) (31 page)

“I haven’t spoken to her about
this yet, but I think she knows already.”

“Well, she’s a sharp woman. I
wouldn’t be surprised if she did know. Or at least sense it.”

Judging from some of the looks and
comments he’d been getting from his mother over the past two days, Erik was
sure she did know.

“Then I’ll ask,” Siobhan
concluded. “But don’t look so glum, Araan. We come out to Wynngaard regularly,
on one job or another. I’ll make sure that you see him at least once a year.”

Araan let out a breath of sharp
relief. “You can promise me this? Then, thank you. I do feel much better
hearing that.”

“It will be easy to arrange,” she
assured him. “And of course we’ll likely come during the spring or summer
months, as that’s when caravans like to travel the most. So expect us during
those seasons. If, that is, Wolf agrees to go with us.”

Erik decided that was his cue. “I
will return with you.”

The occupants in the other room
went silent and he heard two chairs squeak as they were abruptly jerked
sideways. Turning the corner, he came into view and found that his father and
Siobhan had turned sharply, searching him out in the dim lighting. Smiling, he
looked between them as he said quietly, “You’re right. I no longer belong in
Reske. I realized that the first day I was here. Faoir, I love you all, but I
can’t stay.”

His father nodded understanding,
still looking drawn and unhappy about it. “I know.”

“And I can’t leave her side,” Erik
continued, turning gentle eyes on Siobhan. “She has given me too much. I must
stay and somehow repay her.”

“If it means keeping you, I won’t
argue about who owes who.” Siobhan put a hand to her heart and blew out an
exaggerated breath. “Phew! I was afraid I’d have to somehow charm you into it.”

She’d done that the moment she’d
shown him respect while he still stood in slave chains.

His father stroked is beard
pensively. “We’ll have to break the news to the rest of the family, somehow.”

Yes, and Erik wasn’t looking
forward to that one bit. “Aye.”

Turning to Siobhan, Faoir pleaded,
“You will stay a little longer, won’t you?”

“We won’t leave this week,” she
promised him gently. “Or next, likely. Beirly has found some good places to
mine up here and wants to take some of it back with him. Grae, too, wants to
build a path from here to Quigg so that we can easily come and go. That will take
a good week all by itself.”

A thought that hadn’t occurred to
Erik, although it should have. With prebuilt paths, they could easily come and
go without spending much time on the road.

Pointing a finger at him, Siobhan
ordered mock-sternly, “You are hereby forbidden to help build that path. You
are to spend every moment possible with friends and family.”

Chuckling, he swept her an
exaggerated bow. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good.” Satisfied, she pushed
herself to her feet. “I’m going to bed. See you both in the morning.”

Erik knew that she was gracefully
leaving and giving father and son private time to talk. Taking it, he sat in
the chair she had just vacated.

“Well, son,” Faoir said, easing
back into his chair. “If I had a way to change the past, I would wish we’d been
able to find you that day you were kidnapped. But if this is how life must be,
at least I know you’re in good company and under a good guildmaster. This way,
at least, we’ll see you regularly.”

If Erik had his choice, he might
very well go back to that dreadful day he had been kidnapped. But when all was
said and done… “I couldn’t agree more.”

 “And so ends the story of Erik
Wolfinsky.”

Wynngaardian that he was, Rune
responded promptly. “That was a fine telling, and I thank ya for it.”

Wolf inclined his head. “I enjoyed
the telling.”

After that traditional exchange
was done, Rune was speechless for a long time. Finally, he managed with a
hoarse voice, “And I thought I was difficult.”

Wolf threw back his head and
laughed. “No, I was worse. I admit I set a bad example with her. Because she
had such good success with me, she didn’t think twice about taking you on.”

They walked a few paces in
silence, Rune mulling this over. “So even though ya made it home, ya decided ta
stay with Deepwoods.”

“Oh, I had all sorts of
justifications and reasons for it at the time, mostly that I owed Siobhan too
much to just stay in Reske. But the truth was, I’d formed deep ties with her. I
was very fond of Beirly and Grae by that point too. I wanted to stay with them.”
Wolf shrugged, as the decision now seemed completely clear-cut to him and
obvious to make.

“I know.” Rune’s tone was certain,
and Wolf was sure that he really did know. “I had ta make the same choice.”

“Yes, you did.” Wolf shook his
head in memory, amused by it still. “Siobhan is terrible about forcing people
to do things. She’ll entice you, bribe you, and charm you into it, but she’ll
never force you. I was worried we’d lose you because of how she is. But in the
end, you’re like me. You fell in love with the guild and couldn’t bear to part
with it.”

Rune wasn’t yet open enough to
admit to that. Out loud. But actions spoke louder than words and the fact that
he stayed even when things were uncomfortable for him spoke volumes. Besides,
Wolf had been where the boy stood. He knew exactly what was going through that
head.

As an afterthought, he added, “And
it’s not like I had to choose one or the other. I still see my family at least
once a year. Siobhan makes sure of it. Partially for me to see them, partially
for us to pick up things to trade.”

“If I had family in Sateren, she’d
likely take us there once a year, too.”

“Undoubtedly,” Wolf agreed.

Rune ducked his head to glance at
Wolf’s iron hand. It caught flickers of light now and again, letting off a dim
glow. “Ya said that because ya lost the hand, ya were able to meet Siobhan. Do
ya not regret it? Even a little?”

“No, not at all.” Wolf’s gaze
gravitated toward the sleeping camp and he felt a hum of contentment settle
into his chest. It was a feeling he always had when he saw them and knew they
were safe and well. “The hand was the price I had to pay to bring me to
Deepwoods. They are well worth the price.”

For Saoleord
: (From most formal to informal)

Zhi
– used when speaking to an older person of great
important. Gender neutral

Jia
– used when speaking to a guest or a person of
higher status. Gender neutral

Gui
– used for people that are strangers with no
special significance. Gender neutral.

Ajie
– used for an elder sister, relative, or older
female friend.

Ren
– used for an older brother, relative, or older
male friend.

Jae
– used for a sister or close female friend of the
same age.

Xian
– used for a younger brother or male friend near
the same age.

Teherani
:

Maee
– used to denote respect from the speaker. Not
gender specific.

Siobhan Maley
– Guildmaster of Deepwoods. Siobhan is
from Widstoe, Robarge. She’s twenty-eight years old. Dual wielding swordsman.

Grae Masson
– Master Pathfinder. Hails from Widstoe,
Robarge. Twenty-eight years old.

Erik Wolfinsky
– “Wolf” the Enforcer. From Reske,
Wynngaard. He was kidnapped as a child and sold as a slave until his late
teens, when he lost a hand in a bad fight with a dark guild. Then he went on
the black market for cheap because he was crippled. Shiobhan bought him and
gave him the choice of going back home, but he chose to stay and work off his
debt with her. In return, she had an iron hand built for him to replace the
lost one. Wolf uses shield and broadsword. He’s thirty years old.

Markl Hammon
– Scholar. Markl uses a sword spear, and
hails from a prominent family in Winziane, Robarge. He’s twenty-five.

Tran Amar
– Enforcer. He’s also something of a
translator, as he speaks three dialects fluently. Tran comes from Jioni,
Teherani. Tran has twin swords that he keeps at the back of his waist, but
often just uses his fists and feet to fight. He’s thirty-two.

Conli Rorona
– Physician. Conli comes from a family
of apothecarists on Island Pass. He’s forty years old. 

Denney Icean
– Half-Teheranian, half-Wynngaardian,
she is Conli’s niece. Denney has an amazing ability with animals. She’s twenty
years old, the second to youngest member of Deepwoods.

Fei Man Lei
– Enforcer. Hailing from the mountains of
Saoleord, he is the only sensible fighter in Deepwoods. He fights with any
weapon that comes to hand. Twenty-six years old. 

Beirly Kierkegaard
– Fixer. Beirly comes from
Widstoe, and is one of the founding members of Deepwoods. He’s known with his
ability with tools, and can make or fix anything. Thirty-two years old. 

Sylvie Waverly
– Trader. Hails from Coravine, Orin.
Sylvie is twenty-six.

Rune Maley
– Enforcer. Former assassin from Silent
Order that adopts the guild and refuses to leave. He is the youngest member of
Deepwoods at eighteen years old.

Bo Sei Jin
– City Master of Saoleord.

Kim Ram Im
– Master Historian of Saoleord.

Sei Ja
Na
– Master Librarian of Saoleord and
the only woman on the council.

Hyun Woo
– City General of Saoleord and Master Strategist.
He volunteers to teach the enforcers of Deepwoods strategy and becomes their
teacher.

Oh Jae Pyo
– Commerce Expert and council member of
Saoleord.

Ryu Jin Ho
– Master Strategist of Saoleord that
volunteers to go with Deepwoods into Robarge. He stays and alongside Hyun Woo,
helps them with the war.

Cha Ji An
– Designated Ambassador from Saoleord. She
also stays with Deepwoods and helps them with the war.

Gared Darrens
– Guildmaster of Blackstone, the guild
in charge of Goldschmidt.

Verheimr –
Planet’s name.

Wynngaard – Northwestern Continent

Quigg
– Once nothing more than a trading post, Quigg
has become a major trading city over the past century. With no formal design or
planning, the city has sprawled in every conceivable direction as people have
deemed it necessary. It’s an infamous labyrinth and even natives are known to
get lost if they wander outside of an area they know. Despite the fact that it
rests on Wynngaardian soil, it has no distinct ethnic group and is instead a
catch-all for every nationality of people. Quigg is unusual because despite its
size, no single guild rules over it. Quigg is Denney’s hometown and where she
and Conli met.

Sateren
– One of the largest guild cities in the four
continents, it is ruled by the Iron Dragain Guild. Sateren has existed since
the time of governments, and parts of the city are so old that there are no
records of when they were built. It is a predominantly Wynngaardian city, but
there are enough foreign tradesmen coming in via Quigg and the Dual Channel
that people of other nationalities don’t warrant a second glance. Sateren
prides itself on trade first and foremost, with various food products and
highly bred dogs being their main source of trade goods. Sateren is Rune’s
hometown.

Vakkiod
– Most villages in Wynngaard do not prefer to
deal with the outside world or have any true business dealings with the guild
cities, and Vakkiod is no exception. A small village, it makes most of its
livelihood through various herds and fishing from the relatively nearby Drahn
Lake.

Drahn Lake
– This lake is famous for never completely
thawing year round. The northern section always has chunks of ice floating in
it no matter if it’s high summer.

Winter’s Heart
– A grassland famous for being
completely slick with ice most of the year. It’s only unfrozen during the high
summer months

Reske
– All of Wynngaard is known to produce strong
people who are excellent at fighting, but even then Reske is in a league all on
its own. A more mountainous region, Reske is wrapped up in winter most of the
year and the people there are practically immune to the cold. They get their
livelihood from the sea, especially from Wulfschanz Harbor, and all Reskens can
sail every a ship, even under the most arduous situations. This is Wolf’s
hometown and where he was kidnapped at fourteen.

Teherani – Southwestern Continent

Cymer
– The wealthiest city of Teherani by far, Cymer
is ruled by the White Dawn Guild. With the trade coming in through Robin’s Wake
and the Grey Bridges, it is considered to be
the
trading hub for the
Teherani continent. It is also the most ethnically diverse city of this land as
it sees more foreigners than Teheranians.

Pryiam’s Waters
– Pryiam’s Waters are famous for
being leech infested and no soul dares to actually enter this huge lake. The
Teherani people are well-known for using their own limbs to get them wherever
they want to go, but the one exception to this is swimming because no one is
willing to enter leech-infested waters. Despite that, quite a bit of trading
activity happens because of the lake as people load barges with different trade
goods.

Torrian’s Island
– This is completely grassland
without any civilization on it. The Teherani people leave their herds and herd
dogs on the island for months at a time as it’s completely safe from predators.

The Exiled Lands
– This wasteland doesn’t have a
single plant growing on it, not even cacti. The natives here do not venture
into the heart of it for fear of being baked alive, and instead skirt around
the edges whenever they wish to travel. Those that are thrown out of their
villages as punishment for crimes committed are exiled to these lands, never to
be seen again.

Bog’s Marsh
– One of the few marshes that exist in
the four continents, this area is well known for its leeches, poisonous snakes,
and very unfriendly human inhabitants. It is this marshland that Denney was
lost in for four days, wandering until she was found again by her guild
members. (They’ve never let her live that down, either.)

Jioni
– Tran’s hometown and the place that he lived
until he was a little shy of turning seventeen. As a small village, it is
unknown by most and has no noticeable trade or specialty. The village mainly
survives by trade and hunting in the forests around the lake’s edges.

Robarge – Southeastern Continent

Goldschmidt
– One of the more prominent guild cities
of the continent, it is ruled by Blackstone Guild. A sprawling, industrious
city, it manufactures as much in trade goods as it buys. Deepwoods Guild was
founded in this city, registered as a sub-guild of Blackstone, and it is there
that it’s existed for the past decade.

Widstoe
– Ruled by High Legacy Guild, this city is
the second oldest in Robarge and was founded just after the governments fell.
Situated on the edge of Exidor Port, it does more trade by sea than any other
city aside from Island Pass. Beirly, Grae, and Siobhan hail from this city.

Winziane
– Infamous in the world for being a wildly
successful city in spite of the fact that it has no specialty, Winziane is a
relatively new city in Robarge and has only existed for the past eighty years.
It was built and now run by the Silvermoon Guild, Markl Hammon’s family.

Converse
– The last city that one can stop in before
leaving the continent via the Grey Bridges, it serves travelers from all
nationalities and backgrounds. More than trade goods, it specializes in
services as it sees more travelers than any other city aside from Island Pass.
Converse began as a simple camping area, erected by the workers who built the
Grey Bridges over a millennia ago. It has grown considerably since that time
but in spite of its size, no official guild rules over this city. Converse
boasts the largest black market on Robarge and is where Siobhan bought Wolf.

Stott
– Despite the fact that it is the last city
before you cross the Third Bridge over to Orin, Stott has no true wealth or
size to it. Few choose to stay there as it takes no more than five hours to
cross the Third Bridge and there’s no reason to delay the journey by staying in
the city. With poor trade opportunities and no real draw to visitors, it has
always struggled financially.

Orin – Northeastern Continent

Wingate
– Founded by dwarves many centuries ago, it
is now mostly owned and operated by humans. Wingate thrives off the trade
coming in from the Dual Channel and across the Third Bridge, but despite that,
it is the poorest guild-operated city of all of Verheimr. The Highlords Guild
runs this city, but do so only because of tradition instead of any real money
or power. This is Conli’s hometown although he spent very little of his life
there.

Saoleord
– Home of some of the fiercest, most renown
fighters, this city is shrouded in mystery. It is the most inaccessible city of
Verheimr and the people that built the city designed it that way on purpose.
They did not want any outside influence, and they are rarely seen outside of
their homeland. Rumors have it that there is no leadership, guild, or
government ruling over the city but there is no basis for this. Fei was born
and raised here but left at the tender age of fifteen.

Coravine
– The Fallen Ward Guild, who founded and
rule over Coravine, have petitioned many times for help in building a fourth
bridge that would connect Orin directly to Wynngaard. Unfortunately, their
pleas have fallen on deaf ears with the other guilds and so they are only able
to do trading by sea on the Dual Channel. Perhaps because of this, the city has
never flourished, and the only people that come to it do so either by boat or
from Gibbons. This is Sylvie’s hometown.

The Grey Bridges -
Built during the time of
governments, the Grey Bridges have existed almost longer than history records.
It started as a simple project by the ancient monarchies of Robarge and
Wynngaard in order to promote trade between the four continents. A mammoth
project, it took nearly a hundred and twenty years for all four bridges to be
complete. Spanning fifty feet wide, the bridges were built to accommodate a
great amount of traffic coming and going both directions. At the time of their
construction, they cleared the water by thirty-five feet, but due to the slow
shift of currents, the buildup of silt and sand, and other such factors, that
is no longer the case. Now, the bridges are susceptible of flooding during high
tide. Despite this, they are still heavily in use and are the more popular
method of traveling from one continent to another. The main connection for
three of the bridges is Island Pass, which serves as a gatekeeper for
Wynngaard, Teherani, and Robarge. Conli is from this island.