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Caydock

Caydock

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The Guardian
Chapter Three

--
Nicodemus and Robin opened their home to Jonathan that night, allowing him to stay in their semi-warm hut instead of the freezing forest, which he was accustomed to. The sudden invitation shocked both Rowan and Jonathan, who wouldn’t have even dreamed of such a thing. It seemed as though Rowan’s parents were turning over a new leaf in terms of hospitality.

The next day dawned bright and early, with the summer sun warming the whole land before Rowan and Jonathan had even finished breakfast, which consisted of thin gruel and a few beans on the side. Rowan choked his down while Jonathan stared at his with an appreciable amount of hesitation. At long last, he tasted a bit of the gruel, turned pale and declared that he was not hungry.

Robin had been bustling around the hut all morning, which was hard to do in such confined quarters. Still, she managed to do a considerable amount of dashing back and forth, which was the customary things for mothers to do before one of their children left on a trip. Rowan had taken his sword and hunting knife and thrown a spare tunic, a belt with pouches sewn onto it and an extra pair of trousers into a hemp bag and stated that he was ready to go. His mother, however, disagreed. Throughout the short time that he had been awake, Robin continued to approach Rowan with different articles of varying ridiculousness and occasional practicality. The ridiculous items were things such as food; she seemed to forget that her son was travelling with a merchant, who is never without it. The practical things were equipment such as his boots.

With a level of astonishment, Rowan realized that he had completely forgotten any form of footwear and was sitting at the table in his woolen socks. It appeared that his mother wasn’t the only one having trouble focusing in the face of Rowan’s first real adventure.

08-Feb-2011 19:45:02

Caydock

Caydock

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With breakfast and packing out of the way, Jonathan stood from the table and said, “We’ll have to get going if we want to have a chance of making Derthi before nightfall.”

Derthi was the largest village in Adakae. It was north and east of Aridy, directly on the way to Lioper.

Rowan embraced his mother gently and she whispered, “Stay safe, Rowan.”

“I will mom,” Rowan murmured back, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Breaking free from her hug, Rowan faced his father, who stuck out his hand. Rowan gripped it firmly and the two shook hands, which, to Rowan, seemed a bit too solemn for the occasion.

Jonathan disappeared behind the curtain and Rowan grinned at his parents as he backed up slowly to the exit. “See you soon,” he said. Then, without waiting a second longer, he threw the hanging over his head and dashed outside.

Jonathan was leaning into the back of his wagon, pushing merchandise to the sides and making a clearing in the middle of a pile of pre-owned clothing. Rowan walked up to his side and watched him at work for a few seconds before saying, “Uh…what are you doing?”

The merchant continued his work, replying, “I’m making you a spot to sit. You did*’t expect me to forfeit my seat, did you?”

Rowan snorted in amazement, “You really thought I’d sit in the back of your wagon all the way to Lioper?”

Rowan ran to Victory, who he had saddled that morning, and, untying the restraining rope from the post, leapt atop his back. “See you at Lioper, Jonathan!”

With a quick command and heel tap from Rowan, the horse shot off like an arrow from a bow. Dust flew in a cloud from Victory’s heels as both man and horse fairly flew along the road. In an instant they had both disappeared from sight around a bend in the road.

08-Feb-2011 19:46:17

Caydock

Caydock

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Jonathan watched as the powerfully built Victory thundered away and then turned his gaze to his own horse. His face fell as he scrutinized the cart-horse’s scrawny legs and skinny torso. With a sigh, the salesman swung himself up to his wagon seat, staring at the spot where Rowan had disappeared.

“And I’m paying him for this?” he wondered aloud.

---

Contrary to his word, Rowan did not see Jonathan at Lioper, but rather just outside of the village.

The younger man chuckled at Jonathan’s face when the merchant saw him waiting there. “I’ve been here for over two minutes. Can’t that animal of yours move any faster?”

Jonathan sniffed, “I’ll have you know that Old Bradbuck is pulling a full cart while your horse has nothing but a scrawny little boy sitting atop him who looks slightly like a man.”

Rowan glared at him but had the grace to laugh.

“Come on,” Jonathan said, gesturing at the road, “we’ve a long way to go.”

The day was at its coolest in the early morning and the two travellers enjoyed it immensely, soaking up the sun’s comfortably warm rays. The beams of light shone through the treetops, bathing the path in a dappled pattern that dazzled the eye when stared at for too long. A soft breeze was blowing, which stirred the leaves of the aspens and oaks, causing them to shimmer beautifully. All in all, it was the perfect day for travelling.

After around five hours of travelling, the two men stopped for lunch in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Looking around the gorgeous setting, Rowan had to admit he was getting a little tired of the scenery. The first few hours had been an absolute joy to him, filled with beautiful trees and sunlight, as well as knowing that, for the first time in his life, he was out on his own. But after a while, the sun became too bright, the background became repetitive and his backside began to feel stiff and sore.

08-Feb-2011 19:47:47

Caydock

Caydock

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Whenever he had rode to Castle Stalwart and back his body had never felt like this, although he attributed that to the fact that the rides to Stalwart and back only took a few hours, while Jonathan and he had already been riding for five or more.

Jonathan hopped down from his cart and yawned loudly, patting Old Bradbuck’s neck in appreciation of the stolid horse’s efforts. The horse stared at him with one dead eye and did*’t respond, although Rowan was beginning to think that the animal never would.

While Rowan loosened Victory’s girth straps and tied to the horse to a tree, Jonathan rummaged through the front of his wagon, pulling out bags of beans and sacks of the corn. Rowan saw the action and groaned, “Beans and corn? Is that all anyone eats in this country?”

Jonathan allowed a mischievous smile to grow on his face and he shot a roguish look in Rowan’s direction, “Do you really think that entrepreneur like myself would live off of beans like common country folk? Come take a look at this.”

Rowan strode over to his friend’s side and watched as Jonathan cleared a large square in the wagon by removing even more dried food. Before continuing, Jonathan caught Rowan’s eye and said earnestly, “You cannot tell anyone about this, alright? Everyone thinks that I’m a poor merchant but they don’t realize the profit gained from selling around Adakae.” Jonathan tapped his head with his index finger, “Always think like a businessman, that’s my mantra. What do people expect to see in little backwards villages like—no offense—Aridy or Taras? They expect to see a backwards, poor travelling salesman, that’s what!”

08-Feb-2011 19:48:57

Caydock

Caydock

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Jonathan sighed mournfully, “There’s no respect for people in my trade anymore, Rowan. If people knew the profit that can be made from travelling as a merchant, why there would be a thousand merchants by tomorrow alone! They just don’t realize that being a trader, just like being a silversmith or warrior, takes talent! Everyone thinks that haggling for the best prices, travelling the country and making sure people get the best deal for their money is something that anyone can do, but it’s not.*

Rowan stared at Jonathan, “What’s the point?”

Jonathan addressed the trees, his hands held out imploringly, “Another nonbeliever! These people have eyes, yet they do not see**

Turning back to Rowan, who was wearing a disdainful and bored expression, Jonathan continued, “So we merchants keep our true wealth a secret, so that hundreds of trader wannabes don’t spring up from every corner, and I’m telling you now, if you ever tell anyone about this I’ll…never take you with me again,” he finished lamely.

Reaching over into the cart, Jonathan placed his hand, palm down, against the wood. Then, with a firm push, he shoved the board and, to Rowan’s delighted surprise, a portion of the wood fell away, revealing a large hole in the body of the wagon.

Pulling the piece of broken plank away, Jonathan showed it to Rowan. “See these interlocking sections? This makes sure that the board always reconnects. But that’s not the true secret.”

Bending so far over into the wagon that his entire torso disappeared over the edge, Jonathan fished around in the hole and then stood back up, a wrapped ham in one hand and a jug of cider in the other.

Rowan’s mouth began to water at the site of such unattainable delicacies and he felt his stomach rumble in anticipation. He rubbed it tenderly and then held up his right hand and took an oath, “I, Rowan, hereby promise that I will never tell anyone, living or dead, about the merchants’ secret.”

08-Feb-2011 19:51:23

Caydock

Caydock

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Jonathan chuckled, “That’s a bit rich, isn’t it? Living or dead?”

Rowan shrugged and pointed at the ham. “What do you plan to do with that?”

“Watch and learn,” Jonathan replied, setting the ham and jug down in the middle of the clearing. “Help me make a fire.”

In a few moments a fire was crackling in the center of the glade, although Rowan made sure to keep his distance from it. It was much too hot to sit by a fire today.

Jonathan had walked off, bucket in hand, in search of water. Since opening the secret compartment in the wagon, the merchant had revealed a pricey pot, a small metal table, to set over the fire so the pot could cook on top of the table rather than in the flames, and a bag of rice. Rowan was perplexed by the small white grain. He had never seen it before in his life, and Jonathan wasted no time explaining all the wonders of it to him.

“You see,* Jonathan had said, “rice is a type of grain that comes from the western part of Adakae, a few hundred miles north of Terlig. The northern part of the Perif River is actually what makes the rice grow. Rice grows best in swampy conditions, and the far northern banks of the Perif, right in front of the Rematan Mountains, is where it grows best. The wonder of rice is that it fills you up whether it’s cooked or not. I’ve eaten it raw when I’m in the mood for a change.”

Rowan was, to Jonathan’s delight, suitably impressed, *You buy food that’s been brought from the Rematan Mountains?”

Jonathan looked pleased, “It’s actually harvested from the Western Range of the Rematan Mountains and brought to Terlig, where it is shipped by high-end merchants to Lioper, Castle Steadfast and Byrdough.”

08-Feb-2011 19:52:18

Caydock

Caydock

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Rowan was fascinated by all this talk of far-off lands. The massive city of Byrdough was far to the east, almost at the border of Adakae. The only city farther east than it was Fort Crimson, and it wasn’t even a true city, but more of a stronghold in case the Kistarians, the Adakaens easternmost neighbor, ever decided to raid. There was no fort on the northern or southern sides of Adakae because of the impassable Rematan and Sterian Mountains, and no fort on the western side because of the Western Ateric Plain, which was a nasty arctic stretch of land that spread for about ten miles in width. It was possible to pass it, but only the strongest men could do it. Besides, there was nothing across but empty land. To settle that land would have been useless, as there was the Plain to think about, but the territory had not always been vacant. Centuries ago the Adakaens enemies, the Surdians, had lived there until the Adakaens, along with a desert tribe the Sacrot, had wiped them out forever.

But now Jonathan was returning with the bucket and, by the way he was staggering and the liquid that was sloshing all over the forest floor, he had found a stream.

Rowan hurried over and relieved the man of the burden, which he hefted easily, “Can’t have you wasting all the water now, can we?”

In a few minutes the delicious smell of cooking stew filled the clearing. Jonathan had cut a few choice chunks of meat off of the ham and wrapped the rest up, returning it to its hiding spot while Rowan fetched two wooden bowls and eating utensils from the wagon. After allowing the mixture to simmer for a few minutes longer, Jonathan took it off of the small table and lost no time pouring it into the bowls.

Rowan took one serving and shoveled a bite into his mouth. He made a choking sound and his face began to turn red, eliciting a surprised look from Jonathan. “Are you alright?” he asked, looking concerned.

08-Feb-2011 19:53:07

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Water…” Rowan croaked.

Jonathan passed him the near empty bucket and Rowan tipped his head back, flooding his mouth and entire face in the process. When the liquid was gone he passed the bucket back to Jonathan and said, “What is in that stew?!”

Jonathan looked confused, “Corn, rice, ham, beans and a chili pepper.”

“Pepper?”

“Yes, pepper.” Jonathan picked up a small green fruit and passed it to Rowan. “This is a chili pepper. They come from Terlig, too.”

But Rowan wasn’t listening this time. He was too busy looking at the oddly shaped pepper. He snapped it in half and looked inside, frowning. “And this is what made the stew so hot?”

“Yes.”

Rowan opened his mouth and bit down on one half curiously, one second before Jonathan said, “I wouldn’t do that…”

Warned a little too late, Rowan jumped to his feet, his eyes wide. He grabbed the bucket, forgetting that he had drank it all previously, and, when he saw it was empty, ran off in the direction of the river.

Jonathan watched him sprint off and looked quizzically at the remaining piece of chili pepper. Picking it up, he popped it into his mouth and munched contentedly before returning to his stew.

08-Feb-2011 19:54:01

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