Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0) (18 page)

Perhaps he had, at that. When he thought of what he was like
at fifteen, so naïve coming into Robarge, he had to wonder just what it was
that safeguarded him. Fighting skills alone could not account for it. That she
worried for him warmed Fei’s heart. “I am glad to stay,” he added honestly. “I
have grown fond of all of you.”

“And we of you. Aside from liking you, I need you. You
mediate when fights break out, which is something that I’m not always able to
do.”

So she’d caught that, ne? He shouldn’t be surprised—not much
got past Siobhan. “Then, if you will accept me as a member?”

“Absolutely.”

“Offices are closed at this hour of the day,” Wolfinsky
pointed out.

Siobhan growled in frustration. “So they are. Then we’ll do
the paperwork the minute they open tomorrow.”

“So you’ll be my brother in truth then.” Wolfinsky settled
into a satisfied expression. “Good. I’m glad.”

So was he. “Since that is the case, I must change how I
address both of you. It is no longer appropriate. I will call you Siobhan-ajie
and Wolf-ren.”

Siobhan paused, not quite knowing how to react to this. “Ah,
you never have explained how your honorifics work., ‘Ajie’ is for…?”

“An older sister or relative.” Seeing that she looked
pleased but confused, he elaborated quietly, “Deepwoods is a family, is it
not?”

“It is,” she agreed, expression softening. “It is indeed.”

“And that is the story of Man Fei Lei.”

“It was a good telling and I thank ya for it.” Rune paused,
ruminating on it. “You’re wrong. It was an interesting story.”

Fei didn’t see how. “Why do you think so?”

“Because even though ya weren’t looking for a guild, they
still charmed ya into joining. Did ya really join because it felt like they
needed ya?”

“I truly did. It was that more than anything that drew me
in. Well, and I really did long for that sense of ‘family’ again. I had not
tired of traveling, or learning new things, but not having a place to rest or
people to rely on had worn thin. If Deepwoods had not been an escorting guild,
I’m not sure if I would have made the same decision. With them, I could pursue
all of my desires without sacrificing anything.”

Rune nodded in complete understanding, as well he should, as
he had more or less reached the same conclusion that Fei had for almost the
same reasons.

“You see now, don’t you, why I said we are very alike?” Fei
asked, watching Rune’s reaction from the corner of his eye.

“We both weren’t looking for a guild to join,” Rune said
slowly, the light starting to dawn. “We both only joined in the beginning
because they needed us, but we stayed because we could see more of the world
with them and they felt like family to us.”

“Precisely so. It is why I said that at our cores, you and I
are not very different.”

“Well.” Rune didn’t quite know how to react to that. He went
back to scrubbing dishes. “I thought it was because we like to sit up high and
sneak behind people.”

“And that,” Fei agreed, chuckling.

Rune scrubbed some more. Without looking up from his hands,
he said quietly, “It’s good ya joined. I wouldn’t have known how to belong in
Deepwoods without ya.”

That was literal truth. Fei had spent many a night coaching
the ex-assassin and then spent a good majority of the day running around
pacifying people when Rune did step on toes. “I am this guild’s peacemaker,
after all.”

“Even now?”

“Always.”

After two solid days of stone gathering, Tran was ready to
admit to himself that he felt like an old man. His back was trying to settle
into a semi-permanent hunch, his knees protested whenever he bent them, and his
hands were dry and cracking. After dinner dishes were washed, he put his hands
against his back and arched backward, trying to straighten out his spine. As he
did this, he saw Rune smirking at him. He scowled back. There was about ten
years difference between them, which wasn’t much in the long view of things,
but a nineteen year old’s recovery powers were much better than a thirty year
old’s.

He’d make the kid suffer for that smirk later.

They’d spent the day gathering stones for both Pathmakers,
still building the path toward Saoleord. Grae had asked Tran to teach all of
the different Way Songs to Rune as they worked. Having nothing better to do,
and knowing that their future safety depended on Rune’s knowledge, he had done
so. The kid now had five songs stuck firmly in his head and another half-learned.
Tran judged that by the time they had this path built, Rune would know all of
the major routes. The other Way Songs, the ones that led to the more obscure
places, he could teach him slowly over time.

Siobhan clapped her hands loudly, calling for people’s
attention. “Let’s mix up pairings a little. Wolf, you and Conli take first
watch. Tran, you and Rune take second. Beirly and Fei take third. Sylvie, you
take fourth.”

Sometimes Tran didn’t understand how Siobhan’s mind worked.
She was obviously trying to mix up who was taking watch so that the same people
weren’t losing sleep every night. Of course, the enforcers drew the short straw
on things like night watch. They were the ones that really needed to be on
guard. But why mix up the pairings like that?

Well, it didn’t matter. Shrugging, he gave her a nod of
consent before shaking out his bedroll and rolling himself into it. It felt
like he had just closed his eyes before Conli’s hand landed on his shoulder and
shook him awake.

“You up?” Conli murmured in a low tone.

Tran grunted something unintelligible.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Chuckling, Conli moved off to
find his own bed.

Resigned to being awake for a few hours, Tran sat up,
pushing the blanket off, and got to his feet. Finding his boots by firelight,
he laced them up and then put both swords back on.

Rune, not having any weapons, was ready before him and
patiently waiting by the fire. When he saw that Tran was ready, he signaled him
with a beckoning gesture and started off for the outer perimeter. Tran,
stifling a yawn, followed. 

They walked in peaceful silence for a while, the grass
rustling against their boots, with the perfect ocean breeze caressing their
skin. It was nights like these that Tran enjoyed most.

“Last night,” Rune said in a quiet voice, “I asked Wolf-dog
ta tell me how he came into the guild.”

Tran blinked in surprise. “I thought you knew how he came
in.”

“I knew the basics,” Rune corrected. “I knew Siobhan bought
him off a black market. I knew he was in a dark guild before that. But that’s
not a full story.”

After living with Wolf for nearly eight years, Tran fully
understood that the Wynngaardians valued having the
full
tale, not just
the bare bones of it. One of the few things they could both agree on was the
value of a complete story. “Ahh. He told you, then?”

“He did.” Rune sounded satisfied, like a man remembering a
feast at a banquet. “But I’m just as curious about everyone else. I don’t know
how the rest of ya came into Deepwoods either. So, Tran Amar, will ya tell me
your story?”

Tran grinned at him. “I’d be pleased to.”

What to do now? Tran looked around him, taking in this
foreign city. He’d passed Goldschmidt twice now, briefly stopping once to stay
overnight, but he couldn’t say that he’d spent
time
here before. Since
leaving home, he’d been all over Wynngaard and Robarge, but while familiar with
most of it, he couldn’t claim to know any part of it well.

Tran scratched at the stubble on his chin, looking both ways
and trying to figure out where the nearest job board would be. He’d signed on
as a temporary caravan guard simply because it was the only work to be had, but
the job had ended once they’d reached Goldschmidt. It left him in an unfamiliar
city with no work. Worse, it was approaching the winter season; if he didn’t
find something to do, he’d soon run out of money entirely. For a man as large
as him, skipping meals was simply not an option.

He was in the livestock markets now, and the odds of there
being any job boards nearby were slim. Not knowing where to go, he struck out
blindly, hoping to go more towards the center of town. Hitting a pocket clear
of people, he stretched out into a slow run, enjoying the feel of it. He’d been
forced to walk for several months now, keeping pace with the caravans, and had
missed running.

Seven years he had been doing this, going from one caravan
to the next, acting as a guard. Once he had been employed by the same trader
for nearly two years, until a bad accident had put the man permanently out of
business. When he’d left home at seventeen, he’d never imagined he’d lose all
stability in his life by doing so. At first it had been thrilling, exciting to
never know where he was going to end up, but that had worn off fairly quickly.
Funny how the adventure stories had never described being short on money, or
having to scrounge for meals and a place to sleep. Tran didn’t mind roughing it
now and again, but he was a man that appreciated the home comforts.

Maybe it was time to find a guild to join.

He’d toyed with this idea before, but had never reached a
definite conclusion one way or another. Most of the guilds that he’d come
across were very stationary by nature, or they didn’t have positions open for a
man of his skills. The stationary guilds, the ones that never left a city, were
of no interest to him. There was too much of the world he hadn’t seen yet. He
wouldn’t be content staying in one place the rest of his life. The crafting
guilds, and supply guilds, and anything of that nature wouldn’t have a use for
him anyway. He would need a trading guild or an escorting guild, and few of
those had positions open.

Tran would have to come across a brand new guild, one that
was still short on members, and that was a hard thing to find without knowing
someone that knew someone that could point him in the right direction. He had a
letter of recommendation from his previous three bosses in his bags, and that
would help, but only if he found a guildmaster to give them
to
.

Goldschmidt lay directly on the main trade route in Robarge.
Surely here, of all places, he could find a few escorting guilds or trading
guilds that were looking for an enforcer? If not, maybe one last job that would
take him to a city where he would have better odds of finding winter work?

A particularly sharp gust of wind cut through the city
streets, making a shiver race along his skin. Hissing at the force of it, he
snugged his jacket up a little tighter underneath his chin. It was October now,
so they had another month until the winter snows came in. If he was to find
work, he’d best be quick about it.

Finally, he hit a main street and got out of the market
area. There were clothing shops, shoe shops, trunk shops, and things of that
ilk. If he’d had the spare change for it, he’d like to get that hole in his
left boot patched, but things like that would have to wait until he had another
job. Ducking his head against the force of the wind, he trudged along, hoping
he was going the right way. In this cold weather, most people were quickly
darting between buildings, leaving the streets empty. Only a few people passed
him, and none were inclined to stop and answer questions. More’s the pity. He
could use a few answers right now.

“I said
go!
”

Tran’s head snapped up. The tone behind that command was all
wrong. It spoke of fear and panic, and a desperate determination to not sound
either. The voice was high, sweetly feminine, although from here he couldn’t
tell exactly where it had come from. Somewhere up ahead.

“Now, sweets, we’re concerned for you,” a male voice
responded. The man must have chewed gravel every day to have a voice like that.
The sneer and lust in the voice made the fine hairs on Tran’s neck stand on
end.

Whoever that man was, he was no friend of the woman’s. It
didn’t sound like she had any help nearby, either. Tran wasn’t one to turn his
back on a situation like this, so he lengthened his stride, trying to follow
his ears so he could find her before things got out of hand.

“Listen to me,” she commanded, the scrape of a boot heal on
stone accompanying her words. “I’m from a guild. My enforcer doesn’t have any
sense of humor when it comes to the women being hurt. If you do something to
me, he
will
hunt you down like the dogs you are.”

“But we’re trying to help you, lovey,” a different male
voice crooned.

Two men? No, three, as someone else laughed like this was
funny. Three men and one woman? Those cowards. They truly were like a pack of
wild dogs, cornering their prey.

Two thoughts ran through Tran’s mind, one after another. If
the girl was part of a guild, and had an enforcer in it, where was he? And if
Tran saved her, would she repay him by introducing him to a guild that needed
an enforcer? At the very least, surely she could tell him where the job boards
were.

He rounded a corner and finally found them. A dark,
stunningly beautiful brunette was pinned against the wall. She had a dagger in
one hand, but from the way she gripped it, she knew it wouldn’t do her much
good. Arranged in front of her were four men, all of them seedy looking, and
even from here he could smell the cheap alcohol. Four men against one woman.
Tran shook his head. Unbelievable.

Tran planted his feet shoulder-width apart and cleared his
throat loudly to get their attention. It worked. The girl gave him a glance
that became an outright stare. He more or less knew why. His pitch black skin
and hair marked him clearly as a Teheranian, which was rare in Robarge. To top
it off, he was a veritable giant among these people. He got reactions like this
all of the time.

The men looked him over from top to bottom before exchanging
uneasy glances. Even four on one, they weren’t sure they could take him. It was
a good assessment—they couldn’t.

One of them, braver than his comrades, said slowly, “We’re
not in a sharing mood.”

Tran gave him a smile known to make lesser men tremble. “I’m
not in a tolerant one. Four men against one woman? For shame.”

The shortest among them took a step forward, swaggering with
false bravado. (Or maybe he really was that drunk.) “Move on with you!”

Ignoring him, Tran turned to her and said, “I need
information. If I get rid of this scum, will you answer some questions for me
and introduce me to a good guildmaster?” He’d help her regardless, but he
wasn’t above using the situation to his advantage when possible.

The brunette’s eyes lit up. “Deal.”

Well, this day was looking up already. With a feral smile,
he cracked his knuckles against both palms. “Boys, your luck just went sour. I
am now this woman’s bodyguard.”

They swore at him in a stupidly repetitive fashion and then
charged, like four bulls after the same red flag. He hadn’t faced four
opponents at once in quite some time. Laughing, he waded into the middle of
them. Ducking low—well, for him it was low, it put his head at about waist
height—he swept a leg out and knocked one man to the ground. His head made a
meaty thunk as it hit the cobblestone. Not focusing on him, Tran kept moving,
hands lashing out and finding bones to break.

His opponents were drunk and on top of that, poor fighters.
He broke arms, noses, and a few ribs without trying to do any real damage. In
fact, he had to stop cold and back off three steps before he accidentally
killed someone. When he did retreat, he made sure to put the pretty brunette at
his back. No need to leave her open to danger. These four might strike upon the
idea of using her as a hostage, and that always got messy.

However, when Tran backed off, the four were in too much
pain to be interested in anything but escape. Gathering each other up, they
helped the more injured to their feet and limped away. Tran, watching this,
spat in disgust. Weaklings. That hadn’t been a fight at all. He wasn’t even
breathing hard yet.

“Phew.” The girl at his back slumped against the wall, her
hands shaking. “I’m so glad you came along.”

“So am I.” Tran turned to face her. She was a little thing,
not even reaching his collar bones. Close up like this, he could see she had
the type of stunning looks that would draw trouble like bees to honey. What was
she doing out here alone?

From the way she looked up at him, even though they had a
deal, his sheer size was scaring her. Hoping to put her at ease, he offered a
hand and introduced himself. “Tran Amar.”

Hesitantly, she grasped his arm and returned, “Sylvie
Waverly of Deepwoods.”

“Pleasure.” Tran grinned and tried to look friendly. It must
have worked, as she smiled back at him, although it was a little timid.
“Deepwoods is your guild?”

“Yes, that’s right. Um, you said you wanted information?”

“I do.” Looking up at the sky, Tran judged he had only a few
hours of sunlight left. “But let’s walk and talk. I’ll take you home.”

Sylvie didn’t seem entirely comfortable about this idea, but
even she realized that trying to fight off one man was better than running into
another group of them. And he, at least, hadn’t tried to do anything to her
yet. Giving him her tentative trust, she ducked her head in agreement. “This
way.”

Tran fell into step with her, subtly studying her as she
moved back onto the main street. She was dressed well, clothes not necessarily
new but they were clean and in good repair. He’d never heard of the Deepwoods
guild, but it must be a decent one if their members could dress like this.

“What is it you need to know?” Sylvie asked.

“Ah, I’m looking for work as an enforcer. Do you know of any
guilds that have an opening? I’d like one that’s either an escorting guild or
trade guild.”

She blinked up at him, startled. “You’re looking for an
escorting guild to be an enforcer for? Now that’s a coincidence. My guild is
a—”

“SYLVIE!”

They stopped dead at this hail. Sylvie seemed relieved, so
whoever it was, she knew him well. Tran studied the man coming toward them,
eyebrows climbing. The man was a giant, at least as large as he himself was.
But this was no Teheranian—with that ice blond hair and fair skin, he had to be
Wynngaardian. And was that an iron right hand he had?

Tran had no chance to ask questions as between one heartbeat
and the next, the blond stranger was on him. The first punch was entirely
unexpected, and Tran felt the pain of it explode in his stomach. It actually
sent him a full step backwards, the force of it was so strong. He hadn’t
encountered another fighter like this in years.

A familiar thrill of adrenaline shot up his spine and he
felt his pulse quicken.
Finally
, a real fight to be had!

“Wait, Wolf—” Sylvie started, sounding dismayed.

Neither man really noticed her. Tran was already putting his
guard up, and the next time that deadly punch came his direction, he blocked
it, caught it, and sent the blond reeling backwards.

“Wolf, he wasn’t—” Sylvie’s words were lost as they went for
each other once again.

Tran found it hard to parry all of the attacks flying in his
direction. He was just as glad that neither of them had room to draw the swords
at their hips, as their fists alone were capable of dealing serious damage. He
was a beat too late in guarding his face and that deadly iron hand grazed his
chin, making his head snap back.

Blinking, a little dazed, Tran moved on instinct and ducked
low, leg snapping out to catch the other man in the gut. It didn’t quite
connect, but it made his opponent leap back to avoid the kick, which gave him
some breathing room.

“STOP RIGHT NOW!”

Both men stopped dead and looked at Sylvie in surprise. Tran
had honestly forgotten about her. The expression on the blond’s face made him
think he’d done the same.

Panting under the force of her shout, Sylvie put both hands
on her hips and glared up at the blond. “Wolf, will you stop jumping to
conclusions? This man did not attack me, he
rescued
me. In fact, he was
very kindly escorting me home.”

“Oh.” The man called Wolf looked a little sheepish.

Tran eased back up to his full height, not sure if he needed
to still be on guard or not. The ferocity of their exchange only a moment
before made him think that this man, whoever he was, had real fighting
experience. Tran hadn’t encountered that kind of bloodlust before except for
the one time he’d run into a dark guild. This was not someone he would take
lightly.

Sylvie seemed to think that the fight was over, however, as
she relaxed and made civil introductions. “Tran Amar, be you known to Erik
Wolfinsky. He’s the enforcer in my guild. Wolf, this is Tran Amar. He’s looking
for a guild to join.”

Tran held out a hand, which Wolf grudgingly clasped. “Sorry
for before,” he said, the voice surprisingly smooth from a man that large. “Sylvie’s
known to attract trouble when she goes out.” Letting go, Wolf gave her a
meaningful stare. “Which she is now forbidden from doing.”