Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0) (16 page)

Grae’s dire prediction fortunately did not come true. The
storm was indeed a terrible one but at midnight it abruptly stopped except for
a few sputtering raindrops. Then it abated completely. The water level was
indeed higher than normal, but by the time they made it the length of Island
Pass and to the Grey Bridge, it had receded enough to make travel to Teherani
safe again.

It took them a full day to reach Dykes, the first city on
Teherani soil. Like Quigg, or Converse, it had an eclectic population of every
possible race and people. It collected travelers the way most trade cities did,
and the architecture was as varied as its people. Fei had been through here
many times and enjoyed the place more than most cities, as it had a certain
freedom to explore that most places did not. Security was taken very, very
seriously in Dykes. The enforcers here had no sense of humor, not even about
the smallest of crimes, and it was one of the few places in Teherani (or any of
the four continents, for that matter) that a woman could walk about unescorted
without any fear.

This would be the one city that Fei felt it safe to let his
guard down a little. He couldn’t, of course—that wasn’t part of his job. At
least, not until the caravan was squared away for the evening he couldn’t.
Still, he didn’t have to keep a sharp lookout in all directions either.

Jacobs was beyond happy to get in as early as they did, as
it gave him two full hours in the market before it closed for the day. He was
quick to offload some of his wares and start bargaining. It fell more to
Deepwoods to get the rest of the caravans actually settled at an inn. Fei
followed the wagons themselves while Siobhan dealt with the drivers, making
sure that everything was tucked away securely for the night. Retrieving his own
bag, he headed into the inn. It was a popular one for caravans to use because
of its large stableyard, so he had been here multiple times before. It was
clean and spacious with the wonderful aroma of dinner preparations wafting from
the kitchen.

Fei looked around, trying to spot someone from the guild.
Beirly and Grae were settled at a table near the door, and there was only a
tankard in both man’s hands, suggesting that they weren’t settled on staying in
for the evening but were intending to go out. Perhaps they had plans to
sightsee or do a little trading of their own?

He headed for them, intending to ask their plans, when he
realized that both men kept casting nervous looks toward the ceiling. Strange
behavior. Drawing out a chair, he sat next to Grae and asked, “Is something
wrong?”

“Wolf’s in for it.” Beirly didn’t so much as glance at Fei,
eyes glued on the ceiling as if he could see through it.

That did and didn’t answer his question.

Fortunately, Grae elaborated. “He got into one of his
overprotective moods. Siobhan’s temper snapped.”

“Overprotective,” Fei repeated in confusion. “But it’s
Dykes.”

“That’s exactly why Shi’s temper snapped,” Beirly responded
sourly. “Only half the time is it the place that sets Wolf off. The other half,
we don’t know what it is that gets him acting like this. Could be a bad dream
for all we know. But he chose the wrong way to approach her, and now her back’s
up. She’s dragged him onto the roof so that she can yell at him.”

Oh so that was why they were both staring at the ceiling.
Although this was the main floor, there were two floors in between them and the
roof, so why they thought they would be able to hear anything—

A loud roar shook the timbers. Fei actually flinched in
surprise. Just how loud could Wolfinsky yell?!

Another, equally loud burst of words shook the building and
all of the patrons looked around as if wondering what force of nature was
impacting the inn so. Fei was torn. Did he need to go up there and try to
mediate? Would it be better to wait until they broke apart on their own accord
and then speak to them individually?

Grae folded down his fingers into his palm in a noticeable
countdown. “Five seconds. Ten.”

“Oh that’s not good.” Beirly winced. “Yelling is bad, but
silence is worse.”

There was a loud thumping from the staircase, sounding like
an elephant descending. Wolfinsky appeared with an attitude so black it was
like he heralded a mother storm. He spotted them and went straight for their
table, dropping into a chair so hard that it creaked alarmingly. Fei half
expected for the man to be dumped straight to the floor. Without a word, Beirly
slid his own tankard toward Wolfinsky, and it was accepted and drained in one
long pull.

The drink did not noticeably help Wolfinsky gain his temper.
Neither Beirly nor Grae seemed to have either the words or courage to try and
speak to him. In fact, Grae was doing his best impersonation of thin air.

Mentally sighing, Fei found the best way to approach the
matter, and spoke calmly, “She is being stubborn, I take it.”

Wolfinsky let out a growl like an injured wolf. “Always
stubborn.”

Fei had to bite down on the words, ‘Look who’s talking.’ It
would be exactly the wrong thing to say in this moment. “She wishes to go out?”

“Something at the market that she wants.”
She doesn’t
want me going with her
was implied by his tone and the blowout argument
that had just ended on the roof.

It might be a pretext to give herself a little space from
the rest of the guild. One could only be in another’s personal space day in and
day out without wanting a break from it all. “As it happens, I wish to pick up
a few essential while we are here.”

Drawn out of his dark glower at the empty tankard, Wolfinsky
finally looked up. “You think you can finagle it so you can go with her?”

Fei just smiled.

“I’d feel better about it if you did.”

“Then I will.” Fei put words to actions and stood, heading
for the roof. It took a little searching to find the second staircase that led
the way to the very top, as before the argument took place, Fei wasn’t aware
that the patrons could actually access the roof of the inn. But he did find it,
and when he came outside, found that it was nothing more than a clear space
with four benches set on either side and a railing that went around the top.
Siobhan was prone on one of the benches with an arm flung across her eyes. Her
breathing was still quick, what he could see of her face flushed, so she hadn’t
regained her temper yet.

Pausing in the doorway, he knocked against the frame to get
her attention. “Maley-zhi?”

With a deep, cleansing breath she sat up and looked at him.
Anger still smoldered in her eyes but she responded calmly enough, “Yes, Fei?”

Fei had a mother, sisters, and more cousins than he could
count. He knew how to phrase this to not set Siobhan off again. “I am going
into the market to pick up a few things. Is there anything that you need? I can
get them for you if you wish.”

“There are a few things I want to buy, but I need to pick
them up myself.”

“Ah, I see. You are welcome to accompany me, if that’s the
case.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Wolf asked you to go with
me.”

“He did not,” Fei answered truthfully. “I did not ask
because I thought you needed the protection. Shopping is more enjoyable with a
friend, is all.”

“Is that right.” Siobhan didn’t believe him—she was
unaccountably sharp, this woman—but she smiled and he knew that even though she
didn’t buy his story, she would pretend that she did. “Then let’s go shopping
before we lose daylight.”

ӜӜӜ

They made it to Wade without further incident. As Fei’s
contract with Jacob ended there, he was officially at loose ends, but Beirly
reminded him that they still had an agreement considering a hand in place. Fei
was delighted when the whole guild informed him that he was to come back to
Goldschmidt with them and stay for as long as he cared to. The return trip was
done much faster, as they only had one cart and five people to transport. They
returned in two and a half days, a fraction of the time.

Fei and Beirly started working on the hand the morning after
their arrival, picking up where they left off. This time, Fei tried to keep his
notes on hand, but it turned out to be largely useless, as he was so wrapped up
in the physical learning that he forgot he even had notes at times. Beirly
laughed and assured him he’d help him write it all down over dinner, so Fei
gave up and trusted the man would do just that.

They stopped for lunch, then again at mid-afternoon to let
things cool, but returned to the workshop right before dinner to make sure the
temperature on the kiln was still correct. Firing metal at the wrong
temperature, or letting it cool too fast, would cause weakness and stress and
would warp the whole thing. It was imperative that the kiln’s temperatures cool
at the right rate.

Satisfied by the temperature gauge, Beirly stepped back and
assured Fei, “It’s doing just fine. Nothing more we can do tonight. Shall we
continue with your notes while we wait for dinner?”

“That seems the best use of time,” Fei agreed, scooping the
notes up. As they walked into the main part of the Hall, he asked, “Do you know
what she’s cooking? It’s not a scent I’m familiar with.”

“Smells rather like Shepherd’s Pie, but I hope she isn’t, as
the stove—”

From the back right, there was a yelp of surprise and pain,
then a terrible clatter as metal struck wood and bounced. Fei was through the
kitchen door in a heartbeat, moving so fast that his mind raced to keep up.

All across the floor were pots and pans, most lying on their
sides, although a few were upside down altogether. No, wait, some of those
weren’t pans. It looked like the stove top eyes, although why…? He set that
question aside and looked up to find Siobhan pressed back against the hutch
with her hand pressed against her heart, eyes wide in a pale face. “Maley-zhi,
you are well?”

“Shi, what happened?” Beirly demanded at practically the
same time, moving toward her.

“That thrice-cursed stove
has
to go, Beirly,” she
managed, pulling herself together enough to glare at the stove in question.
“This is the fourth time that thing has attacked me. I’m done with it.”

“The stove attacked you?” Fei asked, staring at it and
wondering how that was even possible.

At that point Wolfinsky burst into the room, nearly running
smack into Fei, and had to catch himself on the door jamb to avoid doing
exactly that. “Siobhan?!”

“I’m alright, I’m alright,” she assured him quickly and only
then managed to move away from the hutch. “It’s that benighted stove.”

Wolfinsky took in the whole scene and gave a disgusted
growl. “Beirly, we need to just replace this thing. I can’t stand the thought
that it might hurt Siobhan.”

Taking pity on Fei’s confusion, Beirly explained, “The stove
isn’t quite built right. I don’t know if it came that way, or if the previous
owners did something stupid with it, but the stove eyes don’t fit right. If the
stove gets too hot, then the eyes warp and they’ll pop out and send anything on
top flying. It’s happened more than once. I keep trying to fix it, but this is
darksteel, and hard to work with. I don’t have the right tools.”

“Dinner,” Siobhan drawled, “needless to say, is not
happening at home tonight. Let’s go to the Rose and Crown to get something.
Wolf, go find Grae to tell him. I’ll clean this up.”

Fei silently pitched in and helped settle things back in
their proper places. When the pots were in the sink, he took over mopping the
food off of the floor. 

Beirly and Siobhan talked finances and timelines as they
scrubbed the pots and put them up, which gave him the space to think quietly
for a few minutes. Why had he reacted that way? He wasn’t on duty, he wasn’t an
enforcer in this guild, and yet at the first hint that something had gone
wrong, he’d raced forward. Was it just habit by now? After three years, it was
entirely possible. Or perhaps instead there was a different reason, as it was a
woman that had been in trouble.

In his mind’s eye, he pictured it being Wolfinsky instead of
Siobhan that had cried out. It almost made him chuckle. But no, even if it had been
Wolfinsky, he likely would have raced in here just the same. It wasn’t because
it was a woman in distress that had made him react so.

He looked at Siobhan and Beirly as they worked. Even though
Siobhan had been startled badly, almost hurt, she was already back to her usual
good spirits and laughing at some funny comment of Beirly’s.

Fei did not believe that she needed his protection. She was
a strong woman in her own right, and if her strength ever failed her, then
Wolfinsky would certainly be enough to fight off whatever danger she faced. And
yet….and yet. His instincts were to protect. Not just her, but Beirly. Grae.
Even Wolfinsky.

How very, very strange.

Not once had Fei ever considered joining a guild. Even now
the notion didn’t really tempt him. If he was focused on having a safe, more
comfortable life, then he never would have left home to begin with. Saoleord
was infinitely safer than the rest of the world. The people here in Robarge
always gave him that reason for joining a guild, but in truth, it did not sway
him. Siobhan was the first to give him a different reason entirely—he would
gain a family by joining a guild. After three years of separation from all of
the friends and family he had, the notion of having another family around him
was very tantalizing.

They said the best way to see a person’s true personality
was to go on a trip with them. Or to see how they reacted in a moment of stress
or danger. Fei had seen these people in all of those situations. He knew that
at their core, they were good people, and ones that he had grown to like. Could
he consider them family?

That really was the question he needed an answer to. And he
couldn’t, not in this moment.