Escana (8 page)

Solomon
frowned. 'Were you at the Chipped Flagon overnight?'

Jakob
shovelled an egg into his mouth in what he hoped was a nonchalant
manner. 'No, I arrived in the morning but they didn't have an
opening, Harvester took pity on me and said I could work here
instead.'

Solomon's
smile returned, apparently the lie had been enough to ease his fears.
'He'll hire anyone and anything so long as they have two hands and a
strong back. You appear to qualify.'

Jakob
put on a false grin that belied the nervous energy coursing through
him. 'We'll see if I'm worth paying when I get out there, I've never
farmed before.'

The
man stopped his fork mid-way to his mouth, bacon hanging there
limply, he looked up at him incredulously. 'You've never farmed
before in your life?'

Telling
the man about his lack of experience had been the wrong thing to say,
Jakob just hoped it didn't get back to Harvester. 'I was born in the
city, I only moved here a few weeks ago.'

Solomon
shrugged and turned his attention back to his breakfast. 'I guess
you're right, we'll find out if you're worth much soon enough. Just
try not to fuck anything up, okay?'

Jakob
didn't need to be a great observer of people to know what that sneer
implied. He was the stupid city boy coming out to rub shoulders with
good honest country folk when he had no right being here. This
conversation was getting worse by the minute, at least there was a
veneer of civility in spite of their mutual dislike.

'I
think you'll find us city folk are full of surprises,' he said into
the growing silence.

He
knew he should be diplomatic with Solomon, that antagonising the man
was only going to make his job harder in the long term, yet he
couldn't help the pit of jealousy bubbling within him. What the hell
did someone like Ella see in this man? It was a childish thought, yet
it festered in spite of his efforts to dampen it down.

Solomon
didn't respond to him, though the stabbing motions with his fork had
increased somewhat, scratching the plate and clearly displaying a
foul mood.

Jakob
finished off his meal in silence, even the presence of Solomon
couldn't spoil what turned out to be an excellent fried breakfast.
Now that he was well-rested and well-fed he felt he could approach
this whole Harvester situation with a renewed optimism.

Solomon
made a point of ignoring him as he left the room, Jakob returned the
favour. He cleared up his plate and made his way out in his own time,
refusing to be rushed.

The
sun was fully in the sky now, a multitude of animal noises greeted
him and the air was hot and clingy. Jakob was starting to get used to
the stench of the place, it was no worse than the city slums. He had
no idea if his dealings with Solomon had jeopardised his place or
not.

He
waved at one of the nearby farmhands and asked him where he could
find Harvester. The boy looked at him as if he were daft and gestured
out into the fields. He didn't thank the boy.

The
fields of Harvester's farm stretched out for miles either way, a
series of men could be seen working in each one and the entire area
seemed to be surrounded by the same high hedge he had seen at the
gate.

He
wandered about rather aimlessly as the boy's directions were vague at
best, then he found himself pondering as to how on Earth he was meant
to find one man in such a vast and open expanse. His fears were soon
allayed by a stream of curses echoing in Harvester's voice from a
field nearby.

He
crossed over and saw that the cart from the inn had tipped over and
landed on top of the man, who was gesturing furiously at the workers
around him. Solomon was crouched nearby, straining at the cart as he
attempted to right it. The panicking horses were being chased down in
the field by a few hands. The whole scene was utter disarray and
chaos.

Gathering
speed, Jakob rushed over and joined Solomon's side. A few other men
were straining at the cart now but whatever way it had toppled had
pinned it to the ground.

Solomon
scowled at him, as if this was somehow Jakob's fault, he then
addressed one of the other men. 'Get to the tool shed, we may have to
cut him loose if we can't get this damn thing off.'

He
gave the cart a final heave and then fell back, swearing in
frustration.

Lift
the cart.

Jakob looked around, but nobody
was speaking to him.

You
can do this. Lift the cart.

His hands glided over the rough
wooden surface of their own accord, seeking purchase. He didn't
realise he was bracing until he started to lift.

It was a strange sensation, like
everything went bright and lost focus in an instant. He saw the lip
of the cart resting above his clenched hands and experimentally
flexed his arms, it rose a little. Gathering his strength, he forced
the wood to rise further and further until he found himself
overturning it entirely.

He seemed to fall backward, as if
in a dream, then reality came surging back to him. His vision focused
and his hearing stopped being muffled, the brightness receded and he
found himself staring up at the sky.

The first thing he saw was the
face of a stranger, fear and wonder in his eyes. Then a few more
faces gathered on the corners of his vision, he thought he heard
someone asking if he was alive.

Rough
hands grabbed him and he shook his head back into consciousness,
Harvester had been propped up against the now upright cart and was
being tended to, everyone else was staring at him.

'What
are you?' Solomon asked, he was breathing heavily and had a fist full
of his shirt.

Jakob
looked him directly in the eyes, he felt no fear in doing so. 'The
cart needed lifted, so I lifted it.'

This
matter-of-fact statement only seemed to enrage Solomon more. 'You
come in here from the city and you lift the whole fucking cart by
yourself? Seven men couldn't move that thing but you do it on your
own. Are you going to give me some shit about all city men being as
strong as you?'

Jakob
shook his head, his head too dazed to manage anger. 'You're right, no
city man I've ever seen can do that. I just saw that the cart had
tipped over and that it needed to be moved.'

Solomon
shoved him up against it now, he thought he felt a splinter prick his
back. 'What makes you so strong in the first place?'

Another
voice cut in nervously. 'Maybe we shouldn't be antagonising him,
after all if he's as strong as he looks...'

Solomon
glared at the other man. 'Shut up you, I'll do the talking here.'

Jakob
responded in what he hoped was his most calming tone. 'I honestly
don't know, this has never happened to me before. Can you please let
me go now?'

The
grip on his shirt didn't loosen any, he saw Ella to Solomon's right,
staring at him in quiet contemplation.

'Why
should I let the likes of you go? What if you're some kind of demon?'

It
was Harvester who finally broke it up. 'Fucking hell boy, don't act
so spooked. If it were a demon it'd be doing nastier things than
saving my legs, don't you think?'

Solomon
finally loosened his grip, all the while he kept a distrustful eye on
Jakob, as if expecting him to burst into flames and smoke. 'I'm
watching you, you hear me?'

Harvester
beckoned him over to the cart where he was now sat, waving away the
ministrations of a makeshift physician. Solomon stalked off with a
silent Ella in tow, Jakob watched her leave with some regret.

'Don't
mind him boy, he's a superstitious sort. You have him spooked is all,
he didn't mean to get angry with you.'

Jakob
found that hard to believe.

The
big farmer tested his leg experimentally and winced. 'Well, it was
fucked before and it's just as fucked now, seems like you saved me an
amputation anyway.'

He
nodded, not knowing what to say to the man.

'I
was going to wait until tomorrow to see what a city boy could do out
in the fields but it seems you've proved your worth to me already. I
see you found the place easily enough anyway, you can come back
tomorrow morning and the job's as good as yours.'

Jakob
felt a surge in his chest that he couldn't quite explain, it
certainly wasn't the prospect of doing slave labour for a pittance.
He had nowhere to live either so the stability he'd been craving
wasn't there either. Was this another guiding post leading him along
a predestined path?

He
found himself at a loss then, picking his way through the fields,
eventually sitting on what looked like an abandoned wooden wheel.

He
puzzled over his new-found strength for a time, yet finding no
answers from his own musings brought nothing but frustration. The day
crept onward at a monotonous pace, he had nowhere to go and nothing
to do but wait. The temptation to seek out Ella and divine her place
in the proceedings was one that he stifled with less guilt than
before. He spent a long time with those thoughts, watching the sun
start to sink into the evening sky.

H
e finally
decided to make his way back to the inn, trying his best to avoid
both the dogs and his father in the process. The light was fading in
earnest when he made it to the Chipped Flagon. The noise pouring out
of the open door indicated that it was much busier than the morning.

It
was probably as close to the bustle of the city that Jakob had seen
since arriving at Escana, a multitude of sweaty bodies milling about
and an endless buzzing of conversation that stole the air from the
room. He didn't recognise anyone at the bar and stopped in his
tracks, uncertain of where to find Jimmy.

'Jakob
my boy!' Garth called from one of the tables. 'You look like a lost
lamb, what's the matter?'

He
made his way over to the smith and declined the seat that was pushed
over to him by the man's leg. 'I'm looking for Jimmy, have you seen
him?'

Garth
nodded. 'He's upstairs in the Golden Rat, why don't you take a seat
and wait for him?'

Given
that Jakob had no idea what a Golden Rat was or where it was located,
he was hard pressed to excuse himself and begrudgingly sunk into the
chair. He knew he should start making small talk with the man but he
couldn't bring himself to find any words, the big smith didn't seem
too put-off by this.

'Business
is bad,' Garth finally muttered into his drink.

Jakob
didn't know if he was expecting a response or not. 'What's wrong with
your business? Are there no customers?'

He
gave a wheezy chuckle to that, eyes still firmly fixed on his flagon.
'Nothing wrong with the number of folks in Escana, it's elsewhere
that's the problem.'

Jakob
opened his mouth to ask why but found Garth waving his hand at him.

'It
doesn't matter, it's just me complaining to myself.' The smith leaned
forward then, taking a good look at him. 'You look just like your
Dad, you know that?'

Thom.
The
Warden.
Not
Dad
.
'I've been told that, yes.' Jakob looked over his shoulder. 'He's not
here, is he?'

Garth
shook his head, mistaking Jakob's apprehension. 'Nah, he'll be back
tomorrow, nasty little border dispute he's gone to settle overnight.'

Jakob
sighed in relief, not caring if Garth noticed.

'You
alright kid? You seem a little on edge.'

Jakob
waved it away in what he hoped was a fine imitation of the smith's
own gesture. 'I'm fine, I've just had a long day.'

It
seemed to be enough to stop him asking any more questions, he had
very little to say to the man and even less inclination to do so
given his friendship with the Warden.

He
declined Garth's offer to buy him a drink and they sat in silence for
some time, occasionally he would spot Garth taking a look at him as
if trying to see through him. It was clear the man knew nothing about
the estrangement of his father.

It
was an unexpected relief when he spotted Jimmy coming down the
stairs. Trying to hide any signs of it, he quickly bid farewell to
Garth and walked over to greet the boy.

He
was wearing what must have been considered finery for someone of his
position and earnings, some kind of red jacket that was of a style
unfamiliar to him that matched his freshly cleaned shirt and
trousers.

'Well
we can't have you looking like that, can we?' Jimmy said, staring up
and down at him and making Jakob painfully aware that he was coated
in dust and mud from the days exertions.

'I'm
just back from Harvester's plantation, I didn't have time to change.'
Jakob decided to omit mentioning that he'd only been left with the
shirt on his back.

Jimmy
shrugged. 'You look about my size, I'm sure I could lend you spares
if you take care of them.' He pointed at a bit of hedge that had
stubbornly clung on to Jakob's trousers.