Deepwoods (Book 1) (29 page)

Sylvie’s open palm acceded the point. “It was a poor
choice.”

Siobhan sighed. “I wish we knew which guild it was that is actually
over all of this. We know the bridge is being built from Coravine, but is that
simply because it’s the shortest distance to Wynngaard?”

“Even if this isn’t Fallen Ward’s idea, I can’t imagine that
they aren’t a major part of the planning,” Sylvie volunteered. “You don’t build
something near someone else’s city without their approval and help. Fallen Ward
is the only guild of any influence in Coravine; it must be them.”

“Does it matter if it’s them or not?” Denney asked,
scratching at one cheek with an idle finger. “I mean, the bridge isn’t really
an option anymore, right?”

“Even if the bridge is no longer a usable option, I think
Fallen Ward will be forced to continue down this path.” Sylvie sounded unhappy
with her own words. “Bridge or no, a trade monopoly will cripple them. Orin
already struggles economically. They can’t afford any loss in trade.”

As a native of Orin, and Coravine, Sylvie would understand
that better than anyone.

“So what do we do?” Rune asked.

Siobhan made a split second decision. “This doesn’t change
our immediate plans. We still go into Coravine and find out the guild that’s
behind all of this. But we gather more information about the bridge as we go.
We need to know how much time it’s going to take to build that thing and just
where they’re trying to build it
to
. We’re here to get information, not
make decisions that will affect the four continents.” Fortunate, that. She
didn’t even begin to want to make
those
kinds of decisions.

“And if we can’t find it out easily?” Markl asked quietly.

Siobhan met his eyes. “Two days. We’ve got two days. I don’t
think that we can afford more time than that. The rest of the world needs to
know about this bridge and quickly, otherwise it’s only going to become more
dangerous.”

“You…is your head there just to add to your height?”

“You chapo! Do you find breathing bothersome?
Eh?!
”

Siobhan let her head fall back and she groaned aloud. She
was on top of the forecastle but could clearly hear both Wolf and Tran arguing
below. Of course, both men could be thunderously loud when they were of a mind
to be. From the sounds of it, they were about ten seconds from letting fists
fly. She asked the sky, “Wasn’t someone supposed to remind me that putting Wolf
and Tran in a small area, for any length of time, is a bad idea?”

Sylvie answered the rhetorical question with a lackadaisical
tone. “But they’ve been behaving recently.”

“They’ve been behaving because they were both keeping an eye
on Rune,” Siobhan grumbled. “But now they’ve decided he’s semi-trustworthy, so
they’re free to pick fights with each other again.”

“Ahhh, is
that
why it’s been so peaceful the last few
days,” Sylvie smirked.

Markl looked between both women with a confused quirk of the
brow. “I’ve been wondering about this for a while. If they really are that bad,
why have both of them in the guild?”

“Oh, they’re fine when it’s serious or there’s danger of
some sort,” Denney assured him, her fingers absently carding through Pyper’s
fur. Both dogs were bracketed on either side of her. “When the guild’s safety
is in question, they’re perfectly in sync. It’s just at moments like this, when
there’s no enemy for them to focus on, that there’s trouble between them.”

Siobhan, resigned to what needed to happen next, pushed
herself to her feet. “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I need to knock some
heads together.”

“Need a lift?” Fei asked mock-seriously. “I’m not sure if
you’re tall enough to reach their heads.”

“Ha ha.” She wrinkled her nose at him when he grinned
impishly. “They’re slouching at the moment to avoid hitting the ceiling, so
I’ll manage. But you know, a
true
friend would offer to intervene for
me.”

“No, that would make it worse,” Fei disagreed. “If a man
goes down, he’ll just get pulled into the fight. But if
you
go, they’ll
break off. They’d never hurt you.”

“I can’t fault your logic,” she agreed ruefully. With a
shrug and a wave, she went down the short steps to the deck below and ducked
into the tiny room that her giant enforcers were supposedly making plans in.

Tran and Wolf were practically nose to nose, hurtling
insults at each other, which looked particularly ridiculous since they were
hunched over to avoid the ceiling. When she darkened the doorway, they stopped
mid-sentence and looked in her direction for all the world like two boys that
had dragged mud all over the floor.

Clearing her throat meaningfully, she asked them with a cold
smile, “Boys. Are we fighting?”

“Ah, no, Shi-maee,” Tran assured her quickly.

“Really?”

“Not one bit,” Wolf substantiated this, carefully hiding his
iron hand behind his back.

She eyed that subtle movement and wondered just what had he
been planning to do…no, she shouldn’t ask. She probably wouldn’t want to know.
“That’s good, because if memory serves, you still haven’t worked off the fines
for the
last
fight you two had. And we’d rather not wreck Master
Jarnsmor’s ship that he leant us, all things considered. Right?”

They nodded warily.

She beamed at them sunnily. “Excellent. Now, just to avoid
any possible conflict, Tran, why don’t you come up with me. When Wolf is done
down here, you two can switch places.”

Neither man could argue that they were grown adults and
could govern themselves. Not after the spectacular fights they’d had in the past
and the buildings that they’d destroyed. Tran meekly followed her upstairs and
sat next to her as she regained her former seat on the deck.

Siobhan noticed with interest that in the few minutes she’d
been gone, Sylvie had shifted positions. She had turned and was now leaning her
back against Markl’s arm, for all the world treating him like a piece of
furniture to prop herself up with. Even more interesting was that Markl didn’t
seem to mind this one bit. In fact, he had a soft expression in his eyes as he
looked at the woman so comfortably reclining against him.

Was something developing there? Siobhan knew that Sylvie
liked Markl just because he was a gentleman and she didn’t need to worry about
being around him. When had that developed into…
that
?

Beirly, who sat nearby whittling something, caught her eye
and gave a meaningful glance at the two. She nodded thoughtfully, making a
mental note to keep an eye on the situation. It’d be interesting to see if her
suspicions proved true.

Markl caught Tran’s attention with a wave of the hand and
ventured, “I’ve been meaning to ask, when did you join the guild?”

“Hmmm, I came in about six years ago,” Tran responded,
rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. “Has it been that long?”

“Closer to seven,” Sylvie corrected.

“Guess it would be.” He shrugged, not really concerned
either way. “I was working as a caravan guard, going back and forth across
Robarge, when I came to Goldschmidt. It had just hit off-season, and I was
looking for winter work, when I saw this beauty getting hassled in the street.”
He grinned at Sylvie, smile teasing.

Sylvie pulled a face. “In those days, it happened more
often. That was before Wolf put his foot down and said we weren’t allowed to go
out alone anymore.”

“Too many fights broke out because of you, that’s why,”
Siobhan drawled.

“It’s hard being this beautiful,” Sylvie lamented, a hand
raised to her forehead like a wilting damsel in distress.

Laughing, Tran continued the story. “I didn’t know what was
going on, but it was four men against her. She was holding her own, but it
still made me mad to watch it. So I stepped in and helped a little.”

“That means he broke two noses, three arms, and a few ribs,”
Sylvie translated for Markl, who was listening with wide eyes.

“When the dust settled, I offered to escort her back to her
home.” Tran’s smile went crooked. “I’m not sure if she trusted me at first, but
she went with it.”

“What I didn’t know was that Wolf had gotten worried about
me,” Sylvie picked up the thread of the story smoothly. “And he was coming my
direction, looking for me. When he saw me with an unknown man, his first
reaction was to think I’d gotten into trouble somehow. So he let a punch fly.”

Tran rubbed at his chin in memory. “Nearly broke my jaw.”

“They had quite the fight in the middle of the street before
I was able to get them to stop and explain the situation.” Sylvie shook her
head at the memory. “Then I felt bad, because Tran had gotten into
two
fights on my account, so I brought him back to the Hall to clean him up and
give him a place to stay for the night.”

“I was thankful for that, as I didn’t know the city at all.
Then Shi-maee,” he put a hand on Siobhan’s shoulder in demonstration, “got the
story, liked what she heard, and offered me a place in the guild.”

Markl’s eyebrows rose. “And Wolf?”

“Raised the roof, he yelled so loud.” There was an evil
smile on Tran’s face. “But she wouldn’t hear it. Shi-maee likes people that can
fight toe-to-toe with Wolf, which aren’t many, and men that she can trust to
protect her own. So to her mind, I was a perfect fit."

“Ahhh, I see.” Markl ruminated on this for a moment before
offering, “Is your initial meeting the reason why you two are always fighting?”

Beirly snorted. “Nothing like that. It’s just having two
roosters in the same hen yard is all.”

Tran let out a squawk of protest, which set Siobhan and
Denney to laughing.

Markl smiled too, enjoying the banter, but he wouldn’t be
deterred from the subject. “Siobhan, is that how you pick your people? By how
capable they are at fighting?”

“Great winds, no! Think about it, did I ask you that
question?”

He paused, opened his mouth, then closed it again
thoughtfully.

“See? Now, I think it’s important that we’re all able to
protect ourselves at least, and we all can in one way or another. But the
reason why I have Wolf, Tran, and Fei…well, Rune too now…as enforcers is
because some of us are not as good at fighting as others. Some of us need more
help in that area and they take up the slack.”

Markl’s head cocked slightly in question. “Then what
are
you looking for, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Hmm, a few things. A good working attitude for the most
part. The skills and talents needed to make a guild work. You’ll notice, most
of us have wildly different abilities from the others, but it’s all those
talents combined that give us strength.” She hadn’t really thought about it or
tried to frame it into words before and discovered that she had to really
struggle to find the right way to explain. “But it’s more than just that.
It’s…selflessness, I guess. Kindness.”

 Fei nodded in support of this. “The value of a man resides
in what he gives, not in what he is capable of receiving.”

She gave him a frustrated look. “How is it that I can
struggle to say something and every single time, you say it better than I can?”

Being a wise man, he didn’t try to respond, just shrugged
and looked innocent.

“Kindness…huh.” Rune stirred from his perch on the railing
and looked at every person with new eyes. “That’s why?”

Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what he meant by
that.

“What do you think, Rune?” Markl asked him gently. “Seeing
this guild work together, despite how different they are, what do you think of
them?”

“Didn’t know what ta think.” Rune caught Siobhan’s eyes, his
own expression pensive but also somehow lost. “Never saw the like of this
before. Ya watch out for each other, and work together, and talk without words.
It didn’t make sense ta me. Still doesn’t. But ya say it’s kindness?” The way
he put a twist on the word made it clear that he didn’t understand at all.

Siobhan felt it strongly in that moment. She had a chance of
reaching Rune’s heart and changing him for the better, if only she handled this
right. Praying she had the words, she got to her feet and crossed to him. He
watched her carefully, like a wounded animal ready to take flight the second he
sensed danger. Just as carefully, she reached out and picked up one of his
hands, holding it in a loose grip. “Rune. True strength
is
kindness.
Because only the truly strong can show it. Cruelty is a sign of weakness.”

He swallowed hard, eyes searching hers. “B-but….”

“Think about it,” she urged him softly. “You’ve seen Fei in
action. You’ve sparred with him. Do you see him as being weak?”

Rune instantly shook his head, almost emphatically.

“But you know, he’s one of the kindest men I’ve ever met.
He’s also one of the wisest. I’ve never heard him raise his voice at anyone
unless they were trying to hurt one of his own. Whenever I need wise council,
he’s one of the men I turn to. There’s not a trace of cruelty to be found in
him. Forsaking kindness wouldn’t make him stronger.”

A war of emotions struggled across Rune’s face. “Ta do the
job, ya leave the heart behind.”

He said it like he’d heard it a thousand times, repeated it
a thousand more. Siobhan’s denial was instinctive. “No. Anything that requires
sacrificing your heart isn’t worth it. It’s evil work that destroys you. Rune,
who taught you such a lie?”

“I…don’t remember.” He looked away from her for a moment as
if searching his memory.

Had he been raised on this insanity since infancy? Oh for
the love of…she took in a deep breath and exhaled it.

“The top of my old guild are strong,” he whispered.

“But not stronger than the ones you’ve met in this guild, or
in Iron Dragain,” she challenged. “Your old guild even sent dozens of assassins
after you and not
one
of them managed to kill you! Rune, you’ve been fed
this line about not showing kindness, not feeling anything, but you can see
with your own eyes it’s not true.
It’s not true
,” she repeated
emphatically.

“He knows,” Fei assured her from behind, voice gentle.

Siobhan half-turned, looking at Fei askance.

“He knows, Siobhan-ajie,” he repeated patiently, eyes
crinkled in a silent smile. “Flowers do not bloom in dead trees.”

Puffing out a breath, she rubbed at a temple. “You’re too
deep, Fei. Translate that.”

“He never fully believed that he must sacrifice his heart.
He kept it safe, hidden. He must have, or he would not have been able to
respond to the kindness shown him.” Fei shifted to look Rune straight in the
eye. “Right?”

Rune looked away, a little uneasily. “…Yer right.”

Ducking her head, she tried to catch his eyes again. “Rune?”

“It’s why…I was sent out alone.” He kept his eyes on the
decking, unable to look up at her. “I was sent out ta burn a man’s house. I
didn’t.”