The Fuller's Apprentice (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 1) (49 page)

Josiah clasped her hand in greeting. She seemed nice, with lively eyes and a ready smile. From the way she and Yered stood close to each other and kept their fingers twined together, he could tell they were deeply in love. He felt bad all over again for intruding on Yered’s time with her.

Kefira joined them at the table and placed her order. Yered asked Josiah about his travels, so Josiah told how he’d met Elkan, and some of their adventures. Before long their dishes arrived. Josiah’s was a filet of white, flaky fish, smothered in a rich creamy sauce with strong spices. He’d eaten all sorts of strange food on his journey, but he quickly decided this was among his favorites. No one spoke much while they devoured the meal.

Yered leaned back with a satisfied sigh. “Kefira, Josiah’s told us about his travels; why don’t you tell him where you’re going?”

Kefira didn’t need much encouragement to regale a new audience with the subject that was clearly dear to her heart. “I’m very lucky to get this chance as a second-year journeyman. Usually you’d have to be doing your masterwork to get a berth on one of the big ships. But Master Talman asked me to accompany him when he was awarded the captaincy. We’ll be going all the way down to the outpost at Ziat, almost to the southern boundary stone. We’re taking them supplies, and they’ll have a full cargo for us to bring back, mahogany and teak, sugar cane, fruits and nuts and spices, everything that only grows so far south.”

Braon leaned forward. “Isn’t that the ship Master Odera is going on? And my friend Tana. She was scared to travel so far, but I told her she was lucky her master got picked for the trip.”

“Yes, we’ll be taking a wizard along to visit the folk at the outpost. It’s been a year since the last ship went down, so they’ll have lots of work for her.”

Josiah knew how true that was. But something Kefira had said pricked his curiosity. “Boundary stone?”

“I can hardly believe I’ll actually get to see it. It’s a tower made of rocks, right on the shore, at the tip of a point. Supposedly wizards built it a thousand years ago, when people first came to Tevenar. There’s another just like it up north. The Law of Isolation forbids anyone to sail beyond them.”

“I remember Elkan telling me about that.” Josiah tried to recall what he had said. “It’s so the people in the other parts of the world won’t find us, right?”

Kefira shrugged. “That’s what they say. Nobody in the Sailors’ Guild really believes there are people anywhere else. But we’ll never know, because there’s always a wizard along on any voyage that ventures near, to enforce the Law.”

Josiah mopped up the last traces of sauce from his plate with a piece of bread as Yered paid for the meal. It wasn’t yet time for the midday break to be over, so Kefira took the group to the docks and showed them her ship. It was an impressive sight, at least as long as the Mother’s Hall, with two tall masts. It was moored at the very end of the long pier that extended into the river, towering over the smaller vessels docked along either side.

Kefira put her hands on her hips and surveyed it with pride. “Bet you’ll never get to work on anything so big,” she teased Yered.

Yered shrugged mildly. “We build whatever the sailors and fishers order. She won’t let me forget that the one I’m working on now is just a lowly fishing boat that will never sail a hundred miles from Elathir,” he explained to Josiah and Braon.

“I didn’t say that,” Kefira protested, but her voice still held a mischievous tone. “Every ship has its place. Even if it’s just to provide us with more delicious flounder like we just ate.”

Yered refused to rise to the bait. “I agree. Any chance of getting us on board?”

After negotiation with the sailor on duty, Kefira received permission to give them a tour. Josiah was impressed by everything he saw. They had to keep dodging out of the way of sailors and laborers bringing aboard the supplies the ship would need for its long voyage.

They ended up at the bow of the ship, looking downstream toward where the river met the open ocean. A brief break in the clouds let sunlight sparkle on the water, but soon closed again, fading the world to an even duller grey.

Kefira leaned on the railing and looking toward the horizon. Yered dropped back and put a hand on Josiah’s shoulder. “Hey, Josiah, give me a couple minutes with her, all right?”

“Sure,” Josiah replied. Yered went forward and put his elbows on the railing next to Kefira. Josiah and Braon wandered around the front section of the ship. They tried to puzzle out the purpose of the hundreds of ropes that webbed the masts overhead. Braon had saved some bread from their meal; they amused themselves tossing bits to the seagulls that swooped greedily close. Yered and Kefira stood in the bow, hands clasped, heads bent together.

As fun as seeing the ship had been, Josiah was ready to leave and explore more of the city. Surely Yered must be done by now with whatever he wanted to talk to Kefira about; it had been a lot longer than the couple of minutes he’d requested. “Come on, Braon, let’s tell them we’re ready to go.” He started toward the pair, but something in the poised, breathless way they stood, lost in each other’s eyes, warned him just in time. He grabbed Braon and dragged him back before they got too close.

“What? I thought you wanted to go,” Braon complained.

“Shh! Look at them. He’s asking her to stand up with him.”

“Really?” Braon dropped his voice to a whisper. “You think?

“Yeah.” Josiah pulled Braon further away as Kefira’s hand came up and brushed Yered’s face. Yered put his arms around her and leaned close to meet her kiss.

Josiah looked quickly away. He felt hot all over, the memory of warm lips touching his vivid in his mind. He envied Yered, who’d found someone who loved him, and was old enough that it was a straightforward matter to marry her, even if they would have to wait until she got back from her journey.

He and Braon waited, watching journeyman sailors climb around the rigging. Josiah was glad to let himself be distracted. He would have loved to be up there with the sailors. Ascending to the sky on slender, swaying ropes looked every bit as thrilling as kissing any girl, and a lot less complicated. Not that he’d get the chance to do either any time soon.

At length Yered and Kefira came to join them, hand in hand, flushed and breathless. Yered clapped Josiah on the shoulder. “Thanks for staying out of the way,” he murmured. Then, louder, “Do you think Mother and Father would mind coming to Elathir at midsummer? Kefira’s always wanted to stand up in the Mother’s Hall here, and I don’t care one way or the other.”

Josiah grinned. “I’ll bet they can manage. It won’t hurt them to close the shop for a few weeks.” He hugged Yered and clasped Kefira’s hand. “Congratulations, you two.”

“Thank you.” Kefira sighed and grinned ruefully at Yered. “I suppose you need to get back to work. And I’ve still got lots to do to get ready for the trip. But can you come to dinner at my parents’ tonight, so we can tell them?”

“That will be perfect. And I’ll write to my folks and drop it off with the Messengers’ Guild this afternoon. Josiah, you don’t mind if we don’t get together this evening, do you?”

“No, that’s fine. They’re happy to have me at the Mother’s Hall. I’m probably going to be staying in Elathir, so we’ll get lots of chances to visit.”

They spent a while longer in farewells, for Yered and Kefira were reluctant to part, but at length Kefira’s master showed up. Though his manner was pleasant and affable, it was clear he expected Kefira to get back to work. She ushered them off the ship and waved to Yered before turning back to her tasks.

Josiah and Braon bid farewell to Yered, and he headed back to the shipyard. Josiah and Braon wandered around the docks a bit more.

“Anything you particularly want to see?” Braon asked. “I can’t think of anything else, but we’ve got lots of time before we have to be back. I don’t want to show up early, because my master will find some work for me if she thinks I’m done showing you around.”

Josiah thought for a minute. “I remember hearing there was a big fulling mill here somewhere. Could we go see it?” He didn’t intend to ever work there, but it would be interesting to see how it differed from the mill in Korisan.

“Sure. It’s pretty far, but we can make it. Come on.”

Braon led Josiah across the city, through the market area, where they were distracted by the many varied displays, and towards a hilly area to the west. There a stream had been dammed, creating a large lake. Just below the dam two huge mill wheels turned. The one on the near side powered a grist mill. Braon and Josiah crossed the tall earthen dam on the road that ran along its top and made their way down to the fulling mill. The fuller on duty wasn’t very busy, and on hearing that Josiah was a member of his guild offered to show them around. The interior of the mill was similar to the one in Korisan, but Josiah was fascinated by the wheel, which was of a very different design than the one he was familiar with. Instead of being set down in the water that turned it from below, this wheel had a wooden chute that carried water over its top. The water poured out and filled buckets attached to the rim of the wheel, which sank and spilled their contents into a pool below.

Braon got bored well before Josiah did and urged him to finish. “We can spend some more time in the market if we hurry. I know a square where players usually put on a show this time of day. You’ll like it, they’re really funny. Come on.”

Josiah relented and they walked back across the dam. The water was almost level with the road on the left, but on the right there was a steep drop down to where the spillway fed the small stream that wound through the city until it joined the great Tarath.

They headed toward the market. As they approached an intersection they heard shouts.

“What’s going on?” Josiah asked.

“I don’t know.” Braon pointed down the cross street. A crowd of people packed the space between the buildings, yelling and shouting. The commotion moved toward them.

They strained to see. More people ran up, shoving and jostling Josiah from every direction. He was determined to find out what was causing such a stir.

“Let’s go see.” Josiah grabbed Braon’s arm and tugged him toward the disturbance. The boys wriggled through the crowd, sliding between people, occasionally pushing, until they reached the front of the throng.

Watchers kept the onlookers back, clearing the way with shouted orders. More guarded a cluster of people trudging along, hands bound with ropes. Several wizards were among the watchers, poised to intervene if any of the prisoners tried to break away.

Josiah realized who it must be an instant before he recognized Ozor’s round face. He shrank back behind Braon. “Don’t let them see me!”

“Why not?” Braon asked, though he stationed himself between Josiah and the prisoners.

“They’re the bandits I was telling you about, that captured us. Ozor—we betrayed him, and he’s killed people before for betraying him. And if he didn’t, Tereid would, he’s just as bad.” There was Tereid, close behind Ozor. Josiah scanned the captives frantically. He was just starting to hope that his friends had managed to escape somehow when he spotted them. Gan plodded in the midst of the bandits, looking miserable. Kabos brought up the rear of the group, his arm around Nirel’s shoulders. Nirel marched determinedly, her mouth set in a grim line, her eyes focused straight ahead.

Josiah bit his lip and pushed through the crowd, trying to keep up. Braon scrambled behind.

“Where are they taking them?” Josiah had to shout for Braon to hear him. He dropped back and followed the ring of watchers down the street.

“The prison, probably. It’s down that way, by the river. You’re not going to follow them all the way there, are you? We won’t have time to do anything fun.”

“I’ve got to.” Josiah dodged around a group of woman standing in the middle of the street, discussing the disturbance in loud voices. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want. I can ask for directions back to the Mother’s Hall.”

But Braon stuck with him. They followed the watchers and captives all the way across the city.

Josiah grew tired. He wondered what he hoped to accomplish. He didn’t dare get close enough to try and catch Nirel or Gan’s eye, lest one of the adults spot him.

Finally they approached the prison. The road led over a causeway that crossed a low, marshy spot, then up a small rise. They’d been paralleling the stream that led down from the mills; here it dipped south before curving around to flow into the Tarath, circling a projecting point of land. They passed a section of run-down residential buildings. Beyond was a low, wide stone building with a walled yard.

The crowd milled outside the walls. Josiah hung back, watching. At length the heavy wooden gates swung open, admitted the watchers and captives, and crashed shut.

Josiah chewed on a knuckle and stared at the locked gates as the rest of the crowd lost interest and drifted away. He was powerless to help Nirel and Gan. Nothing he could say would win their freedom, or even mitigate whatever punishment lay in store for them.

A large drop of water struck Josiah’s nose. He glanced up, only to get more water in his eyes. The grey clouds that had threatened all day were finally releasing their burden of rain. He was tired and had lost all appetite for exploring. “Come on, Braon. Let’s go back before we get soaked.”

Twenty-Eight

I
t was a long walk, uphill most of the way. The rain rapidly became a heavy downpour. The two boys ducked from awning to awning where they could, but they were still drenched by the time they arrived back at the Mother’s Hall.

Josiah had left Elkan closeted with Dabiel that morning. Their session must have lasted all day, for he found Elkan emerging from her office, looking tired.

“Vethon just brought us the news,” Elkan replied to Josiah’s excited announcement of the bandits’ arrival. He gestured back to where the older wizard was deep in conversation with Dabiel. The Guildmaster waved absently at Josiah as Elkan swung the door shut. “They’ll be brought before the Council of Guildmasters for trial at the next regular meeting, a week from Fifthday. She’d like you to stay in Elathir at least until then so you can give testimony. That will give me a chance to speak with some people about your apprenticeship. Dabiel gave me a few leads on masters who might be interested.”