Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0)

Published by Raconteur House

Antioch, TN

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and
incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

ORIGINS

A Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories

A Raconteur House book/ published by arrangement with the
author

PRINTING HISTORY

Raconteur House mass-market edition/May 2016

Copyright © 2016 by Honor Raconteur

Cover by Katie Griffin

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or
distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not
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violation of the author’s rights.

Purchase only authorized editions.

For information address:

Raconteur House

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www.raconteurhouse.com

Other books by Honor Raconteur
Published by Raconteur House

THE ADVENT MAGE CYCLE

Book One:
Jaunten
Book Two:
Magus
Book Three:
Advent
Book Four:
Balancer
Advent Mage Compendium
The Dragon’s Mage
The Lost Mage
Warlords Rising *

SINGLE TITLES

Special Forces 01

The Midnight Quest

Kingslayer

THE ARTIFACTOR SERIES

The Child Prince
The Dreamer’s Curse
The Scofflaw Magician

DEEPWOODS SAGA

Deepwoods
Blackstone
Fallen Ward

Origins

KINGMAKERS

Arrows of Change
Arrows of Promise

*Coming soon

The day was a good one for travel as they bypassed Stott and
traveled on the Grey Bridge leading into Orin. As the cart rumbled along, Fei
gave them a history lesson, pitching his voice to carry over the sound of wheels
turning and Kit’s hooves. Markl was especially glued to this discourse and wrote
notes furiously in his book. Tran, on the other hand, just listened intently,
his memory absorbing every word Fei said.

Fei stopped mid-sentence, coughing, and held up a hand to
indicate they should wait.

“Fei, perhaps you should take a break,” Siobhan suggested.
“You’re not used to talking this much, you’ll lose your voice if you keep going
like this.”

He grimaced, swallowed several gulps of water, and agreed
somewhat hoarsely, “I think I should.”

Markl shook out his writing hand, a rueful grimace on his
face. “I’d certainly appreciate it. I can barely keep up with him.”

“Then enough cultural lessons for now, I think.” Siobhan
tried to shift a little on the cart bench, but in truth there was no way to sit
on wood for hours at a time and not have a numb posterior after a while. They
still had another two or three hours before they reached the other end of the
bridge and arrived at Channel’s Pass. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt her to walk for a
while, get the blood flowing again.

Hopping off, she walked at the back, taking in the view. The
water looked a little low for this time of year—she could see part of the
riverbank because it was exposed—but otherwise it looked as it always did.

Rune dropped out of the cart as well and set his pace to
hers so he could walk alongside. “Siobhan.”

“Hmm?”

“Grae mentioned to me that Deepwoods was formed because of
him.”

Typical Wynngaardian that he was, when it became quiet for
any stretch of time, Rune went looking for a good story. After years of living
with Wolf, she recognized the signs immediately. “That’s right, it was. Grae
being Grae, I suppose he only told you the bare bones of it.”

She got a very dissatisfied look in response.

Laughing, Siobhan said rhetorically, “After living with Wolf
for a decade, you’d think the man would understand that when a Wynngaardian
asks for a story, he wants the
full
story, all details included.”

Rune perked up as he realized she was more open to the idea
of talking than his master had been. “Will ya tell me?”

“I’d be glad to.”

Siobhan looked up from the lists in front of her and
blinked. “What did you just say?”

Her childhood friend frowned at her. “Will you actually
listen?”

“I was half-listening—I’m just convinced I heard you wrong;
now, what did you just say? You want to strike out on your own?”

“Right. I want to stop working with Master.”

This looked serious. Serious enough, at least, for her to
put her own work aside for a few minutes and get to the bottom of Grae’s sudden
announcement. Siobhan normally had no time to spare at this hour, as it was two
days before Market Day and she was the coordinator for the vendors along three
streets. She had a mountain of paperwork to plough through to make sure that
everyone was licensed, their inventory had been checked by the city’s
enforcers, and they were clear on which area they could set up in. But even
with the stacks of paperwork in front of her, she felt she had to make ten
minutes for Grae.

“Back up and start at the beginning.”

Grae pulled a stool out of the corner and sat next to her
desk. “Master’s the one with the clients, not me, and they don’t trust me as
much as they do him. They only use me if he refuses to go, or if he’s already
traveling with another group and isn’t available. I’m not getting enough to
live on. He keeps saying ‘give it time’ but I’ve been licensed now for two
years and the situation isn’t improving. I need to strike out on my own, in a
different city; otherwise I can’t make a living.”

That was a very sound reason to move out of Widstoe. Siobhan
hadn’t expected anything else out of Grae, as he always had a logical reason
for doing things, and wasn’t the type to get carried away by fancy. That said,
she didn’t like the idea of him going out on his own. Pathmakers were rare and
highly desired by everyone. Grae, especially, was not the combative sort, and
he would be an easy target.

“Alright. I see what you’re driving at. But I don’t think
you should go out on your own, that’s far too dangerous.”

He nodded in somber agreement. “I don’t think so either. But
I don’t want to just pick a city and join a random guild, either. I don’t do
well with lots of people. And being surrounded by strangers is a little…”

Right, with his personality, it would be terrifying. “What
do you want to do, then?”

Grae blinked hopeful eyes at her. “Will you form a guild
with me?”

Form a guild? Siobhan rephrased the request carefully,
working her way through the idea as she spoke. “Form a guild in a city we don’t
know all by ourselves?”

“It’ll be less scary if we’re together,” he said with
absolute certainty.

While that was true, it wasn’t quite the worry she was
trying to get through to him. “Grae, to begin with, I think we need to consider
just
which
city we’re going to move to. And then we need to look up the
rules on what it takes to form a guild. I’m not sure if just two people will
meet the criteria.”

Grae paused as if this idea hadn’t occurred to him before.
“But if it isn’t, then who else can we ask to join?”

That was a very good question and one that Siobhan didn’t
have an immediate answer to. “Let’s get information before we ask ourselves
questions we don’t have the answers to. It might be easier to form a business
than a guild.”

“Might be,” Grae allowed. “But you will go with me, right?”

Siobhan was not in the least surprised that he was set on
having her as a business partner. Grae had always trusted her judgement with
people over his own, and, if the option was available, he let her do all of the
talking for the both of them. She looked around at the dingy little room she
was in, overflowing with stacks of paperwork on all sides, and thought about
being the assistant market coordinator for the rest of her life.

“You bet I’ll go with you.”

That won her an outright grin. “What do you think we should
do first?”

“Well, why don’t you go to the city office and find out what
the requirements are for forming a guild?” she suggested. “And get some
information about which cities have Pathmakers and which ones would be the best
to start a guild in.” Knowing that the idea of walking up to a complete
stranger and asking all of those questions terrified him, she casually added,
“Kenneth works there in the afternoons; if you go now, you should be able to
catch him.”

Grae blew out a relieved breath. “Right, I’d forgotten he
worked there part time. And you?”

“I need to finish this stack off first, but then I’ll go
hunt down Beirly.”

“Beirly?” Grae repeated in confusion. “Why?”

“Well, he owns a carpentry business, after all. I figure the
best source of information about how to set up a business and the possible
pitfalls would be something he would know.”

“That’s a good thought,” Grae agreed thoughtfully. “Then,
should I meet you at his place?”

“Probably the shop; he tends to stay there late into the
evenings before Market Day.”

“There, then.” Decided, Grae popped off the stool and kindly
returned it to its corner before heading out of her office.

Siobhan watched him go, tapping a finger against the surface
of the table. Shy Grae wanted to push out into the world, make his own business
or guild, and leave Widstoe altogether? The situation had to be dire to push
him to that point. Siobhan hadn’t won any great position in this city either,
and if it wasn’t for that fact that she was still living at home, she probably
wouldn’t be making enough to live on at this job. Maybe it was time for them to
both move on and make something of themselves.

Determined, she set her mind to the paperwork, wanting to
get it done as quickly as possible. She had a fire in her now to go and have
that talk with Beirly.

ӜӜӜ

Beirly greeted her warmly enough, always happy to have
someone to talk to while he worked, but two sentences in she won his unwavering
attention. He braced himself against the edge of his worktable, dusted his arms
free of shavings, and repeated, “You and Grae want to leave Widstoe and form
your own business.”

“Or guild,” she confirmed, perching on the edge of another
worktable. “We’re not sure which one will be better at this point, but Grae’s
at city hall getting more information.”

“Why?”

“Beirly, think about it. Grae isn’t getting enough business
on his own to make a living. My job isn’t glamorous or well-paid either.
Shouldn’t we think about doing something more with our lives?”

“But leave Widstoe?” Beirly objected.

“We have to leave Widstoe, it won’t work if we stay in this
city. Everyone here automatically goes to Grae’s master for pathmaking. We need
to go into a city that has no Pathmaker; otherwise, we don’t stand a chance of
making it.”

Scratching at his beard, Beirly regarded her with thoughtful
silence for a long moment. “It’s not safe, not with just the two of you going.”

“I agree.” Siobhan would admit that she was a decent
swordswoman but not anything spectacular. Grae could barely defend himself. It
would not be wise for them to go out on their own. “I think that if we choose
to have a guild, we’ll need more than two members anyway. I’m not sure who to
ask to be a third member, though.”

Beirly got this unreadable expression on his face. “Why’s
that?”

“Because most of our friends already have established lives
and business here,” Siobhan said promptly. “Like you.”

“I think a true friend would drop all that and pull up his
roots rather than see the two of you go off alone,” Beirly opined quietly. “But
we’ll leave that aside for the moment. What city are you thinking of?”

“That’s one of the questions that Grae’s asking now—” she
cut herself off as the door to the workshop opened and Grae stepped through.
“Speak of the devil and here he is. Grae, what did you discover?”

“You’re right, it takes more than two people to form a
guild,” Grae informed her, closing the door behind him. It was a warm summer
evening and he must have been hurrying, as there was sweat on his forehead,
which he wiped off as he came in. “Hello, Beirly.”

“Grae,” Beirly greeted, expression softening. “Last thing I
expected to hear today was that my shy friend decided to move to a different
city.”

“It’s a matter of must at this point,” Grae grumbled,
grimacing. “So, we need at least three members to form a guild, and Kenneth
highly recommended doing a guild over doing a business. He said especially if
I’m doing pathmaking, it’ll take a guild pass to get through all of the cities.
Just having a business license will not help us in some places.”

That was a very good point and one she had not considered.
Even Grae’s master was part of a guild for that reason.

“Even if you say ‘guild instead of business’ a guild is run
most like a business,” Beirly corrected. “Especially if you’re going to form an
escorting guild, which you’ll have to do to put your pathmaking skills to use.
So. That answers one thing, but my question still stands: what city?”

“I have a list of cities that don’t have a Pathmaker.” Grae
pulled a sheet out of his vest pocket and laid it on the table next to
Siobhan’s thigh.

She craned her torso and head around so that she could read
it. “Is this listed from largest city to smallest?”

“Yes.”

“Goldschmidt, Oatman, Vellshire, Baring, Converse, Stott.”

“So basically, it’s only Widstoe, Winziane, and Goodliffe
that are out on Robarge.” Beirly stroked his beard, eyes blindly staring ahead.
“I would think something along a trade route would be the best bet.”

“Which means Converse, Goldschmidt, or Stott,” Siobhan said,
ticking them off on her fingers. “Grae, I’ll be frank, I’m not fond of the idea
of joining a smaller city’s main guild.”

“Master advised against it,” he admitted. “He said the smaller
guilds don’t have as much clout, and I’d be safer under the protection of a
large guild.”

“In that case, our choice is really only Goldschmidt. It’s
the only one large enough and in the right location to form an escorting
guild.” As an afterthought, she added, “Unless we want to move to a different
continent.”

“And into a totally different culture?” Grae looked horrified.
“No thanks.”

“That’s rather what I’m thinking. Alright, Goldschmidt it
is. At least, we’ll try that city first.” Siobhan rubbed her hands together.
“Now we’ll need a timeline and to think of someone or several someones to go
with us. I think I can just give notice at work and pack up and be ready to go.
Say, about two weeks?”

“I don’t need more time than that.” Grae’s mouth turned down
into an uncertain frown. “But who can we ask?”

For some reason Beirly just sighed, head hanging. “What am I
going to do with you two?”

Siobhan studied him, a suspicion forming in the back of her
mind. The way he had been reacting, and some of the things he said, was
starting to form an overall picture. “Beirly. Want to sell your business and
come with us?”

Grae made a noise of surprised protest but Beirly didn’t
even look up. He just heaved another year’s worth of sighs. “I think I’d
better,” he finally groaned. “Someone’s got to work the business angle of
things and watch your backs, or there’s going to be real trouble.”

She didn’t mean to grin, as it probably looked demented, but
she couldn’t help it. Beirly would have been her top choice if she were forced
to name people who she would form a guild with. “We’d be very glad to have
you,” she said sincerely.

Beirly finally looked up, and there was a growing excitement
as the idea of forming a guild took hold. “Mind, I’ll need more than two weeks.
And we need to do more research about Goldschmidt before we form true plans.”

“Three weeks, then,” she said cheerfully, “And I’ll take the
caravan bosses aside at work and talk to them. They’re bound to know things.”

“Three weeks,” Beirly repeated in despair, looking around
his shop. “I have to find a buyer for this place, Shi. We’ll need the funds to
form a guild with until we’re making enough money to afford our own Hall.”

“I’ll help you advertise,” she promised.

“And you’ll need to talk to your families, both of you, and
tell them what you’re planning. They might want to talk you out of it.”

Grae gave him a dubious look. “And have one less mouth to
feed? My parents will likely help me pack.”

“Mine too.” Siobhan knew that Beirly was now just throwing
out objections for the sake of being the devil’s advocate. He’d always been the
one to talk sense into them when he felt like they were being rash. “Three
weeks, then, is the goal.”

ӜӜӜ

Three weeks and four days later, they arrived in
Goldschmidt.

Siobhan felt like it had taken something of a miracle for
her to see these city gates. Neither her family nor Grae’s had put up much of
an argument as they were glad to see their children go and try to make
something of themselves. The thing that held them back the most was finding a
buyer for Beirly’s shop. The business was successful enough to attract buyers,
but most wanted the tools as well, and trying to convince Beirly to give up his
tools was like prying children out of a mother’s hands. It finally came down to
a matter of weight: they only had so much room in the cart, Grae had only one
path that led to Goldschmidt he could use, and Beirly literally could not
afford to take every tool.

It took much patience and time, but eventually he weeded it
down to the essential tools and what he called the ‘irreplaceable tools’ and
they finally finished packing.

Grae had a letter in his pocket from his master, as well as
his pathmaking license; Siobhan had the information necessary to fill out the
paperwork to start a guild with, so it was just a matter now of finding the
right place to go.

They were stopped inside the gates, of course, by the city
enforcers. Siobhan put on her best smile and looked the enforcer dead in the
eyes. “Hello. I’m Siobhan Maley, with me are Grae Masson and Beirly
Kierkegaard. We’d like to move into this city and form a guild. Whom do we need
to talk to?”