Son of Soron (12 page)

He sold his last vials of perfume for twenty copper coins. He probably could have received better value trading for merchandise, but having the coins would allow him to eat and sleep at the Winking Mule for as long as he wanted.

Taking all his new clothing and supplies back to his room Nathan went back down to the common room for a mid-day meal. Sitting at the same small table as the night before, Nathan looked around the room observing the different people talking and eating at their tables.  At the table next to Nathan sat three traders exchanging tales of their journeys.

Nathan was not eavesdropping, but when he heard one of the men at the next table mention Elderwood that he started paying attention. “Hardly worth even stopping in Elderwood anymore, only a dozen or so villagers left. All they have now is Elderberry wine. Which is fine but hardly profitable enough to justify worrying about all the bandits that have moved into the area,” a portly gentleman spoke.

Nathan looked him over, he remembered him. The portly man was one of the many traders that would find cheap goods in the small villages, to sell in the next village or sell something from the previous village.  He would dicker and deal, trade his way south or east until he got enough goods to make a profit in one of the capital cities. If traders like him were avoiding Elderwood, the village would be in trouble. Even before the devastating attack, most of food supplies for the village came from trading. Now even more than before, a higher percentage of the villagers would be relying on these traders. Nathan felt a pang of regret that he had been gone from the village this whole time.  He wondered how he could help the villagers, his friends.  An idea formed. He could help the remaining villagers recover from the tragedy they all had suffered.

Nathan stood and took a step over towards the men’s table. “Excuse me sir, I couldn’t help but over hearing and I just wanted to tell you that on your next trip it would be wise to stop in Elderwood.”

The three men looked at Nathan. At first glance he could be mistaken for an adult due to his tall wide frame but his boyish face and soft voice gave strong evidence of his true age. Nedd, the man who had been speaking earlier, recognized Nathan. “Ah! Hello there lad, I have not seen you in a while. You have grown. Since your parents’ deaths and the burning of the mill, Elderwood hasn’t been the same.”

Nathan relaxed, the fact that the trader recognized him would make getting him to come back to the village easier. “I’ve been gone from the village since it happened. But I am on my way back now and will be selling a lot of the same perfumes and medicines that you got from my mother."

At this, all three traders perked up. Elderberry wine was okay but perfume and medicines had much higher profit margins in the cities. “Alright, lad, if you can promise that, all three of us will make sure we come through Elderwood. “Are you looking for coin or goods?”

Nathan thought about it for a moment and decided that the best thing would be as much food as possible, and supplies such as vials and small pouches. Once the village was reestablished as a good trading post he would ask for coins. “Supplies mostly. Once we have re-established good trade. I would like more coin but to start I will need goods.”

The traders had no problem with this. Glass, leather and food were not exotic items so they would not have to make any special preparations before visiting Elderwood again. “Well, I am still not fond of the idea of taking the northern roads into Salma with all the bandit problems of late, but good perfume gives me a better paying clientele in the cities. I will come to Elderwood for that,” spoke up the other trader Nathan had overheard. The trader and his traveling companion were taking their wares south to Valencia and would be back in about six weeks. Nedd had business to attend to in Progoh and would visit Elderwood in about three weeks.  Nathan was satisfied with his efforts. He would have plenty of time to organize and make potions to trade. The men had treated him as man, not a child.  Indeed, he was surprised and satisfied all at the same time. He was not used to being treated as an adult.  His size was deceptive. His maturity and mannerisms added to the deception. Nathan had changed greatly. 

Having made the decision to return to Elderwood, Nathan returned to the market and traded the remainder of his salves and potions for additional food and more empty vials. His pack was now completely full and he had a second smaller pack of supplies. His walk back to the village would take longer with the heavy packs but would be well worth it in the long run.

With clean new clothes that fit, two full packs of supplies and a new found purpose, Nathan was ready to return to Elderwood. With eager anticipation of his return home, he quickly packed his gear, gave his room a tidying and headed back down the stairs to say farewell to Big Willy. “Once again, your hospitality has been delightful Big Willy. I believe I have gained five pounds eating here these last few days, but I am off to Elderwood now.”

Big Willy smiled; he took pleasure in having the best food in the village. “You take care, boy, I am glad you found some clothes that fit; you look like a young prince now instead of a vagabond. Be wary of strangers. The roads are a dangerous place these days.”

Chapter nineteen

NATHAN LEFT BIRCHONE with a spring in his step. A lovely day to travel, he mused to himself as he adopted a ground eating pace. The journey home on the main path would be much shorter than the winding meandering walks of the last few weeks. Eventually, the heavy packs would make the journey a very tiresome endeavor but for now he strode with purpose. With good weather and lightly burdened, the trek from Birchone to Elderwood was normally about two days, but with the heavy packs, he would not be able to keep to that timetable.

As Nathan walked, he breathed in the clear crisp woodsy air and smiled to himself as the familiar scents triggered memories of walking through the forests with Ava. By the gods, I do miss her so, he thought to himself. It seemed like forever since they last walked through the forest to sit at the pond, able to enjoy each other’s company without a care in the world, before their innocence had been prematurely stolen by the tragic events. Vivid flashbacks invaded Nathan’s mind as he walked. Memories of her infectious laugh, the gentle caresses followed by swift punches, the way her lips felt on his skin… He knew the decision to go off and be alone was the right one. He felt much more at peace with himself having had the time and space to properly mourn the loss of his parents. Yet the whole time he was away, he never stopped thinking about Ava. He wondered how she felt about him and how they would interact when he returned to the village.

With his thoughts bouncing from scenario to scenario, the miles and hours moved quickly. That first day he covered a great distance before the heavy weight of his packs and the nonstop jaunt took its toll. Finally, he gave in to the desire to rest for the evening. He ate a quick meal and slept the night away dreaming of a certain girl. The next day Nathan continued his stroll towards home. The journey was uneventful; with the roads being mostly deserted, he encountered no travelers. But nightfall would reach the land before Nathan could make it all the way back to the village. He would need to spend one more night on the road before reaching his destination. Nathan remembered a nice camping spot a short ways up the road that would make an excellent place to sleep for the night. It was a spot where the creek came close to the road, fresh water would let him clean up a bit before completing his journey.

Not much later, he found the spot from his memory. From where the creek lie, it was only five miles to Elderwood. He would be home the next morning. Grateful that his journey was almost complete, Nathan set up his camp, making a fire and washing up at the creek. Later that night, while Nathan sat beside his fire, staring up into the stars, musing his upcoming return to Elderwood, he heard a twig crack; someone or something was coming from the road towards his fire. It was not unheard of for travelers to be on the main path this late at night since Elderwood was a couple hours away. But the custom of the road was always to yell a greeting before walking up to a stranger’s fire. Whatever or whoever was out there was not friendly.

Nathan was sitting on the creek side of the fire opposite of road so who or whatever lurking out there would look into the fire to try seeing him. Nathan slowly and as quietly as possible grabbed his daggers. He slipped away from the fire into the darkness of the trees besides the creek. There he crouched and waited. Dark forms made their way towards the fire.  Two armed men were standing beside his fire: bandits!

“Come on out, boy. We saw you walking up the road. No point hiding. We know how heavy your bags are, and we just here to help you out. We will be taking those bags for you, along with any money you have,” said the tall bandit beside the fire. His rough voice left no doubt, that while his words were almost pleasant, this was a robbery. Nathan calmly thought about the situation. Many of his father’s lessons about combating multiple enemies came to his mind. He readied himself for what was to come.

As the first bandit moved closer Nathan analyzed his opponent. Against the light of the fire, Nathan saw his rough leather clothing and iron sword, at least this one was not well armed. Nathan took another step back into the trees. His body disappeared into its shadows. As he waited beside the tree, he watched the second bandit circle the fire. Once the bandit was outlined by the fire, Nathan spied a double-sided ax and a large dagger on his belt. Well put together and soft moving, this one was the danger.

Nathan now had a good assessment of his enemies so he stepped out of the shadows and spoke. “You’re welcome to sit by my fire. I will charge you only five coppers a piece, but I’m afraid my bags stay with me.” He was not nearly as confident as he sounded, but his father had taught him well. He would not dishonor his father by cowering from the likes of these men.

The bandits laughed. It amused them that a young boy, albeit a large one, armed with only two large daggers would be so cocky. They would soon show him that he should have been much more afraid. In unison, the two bandits attacked without a further word.  The talkative one came from the right with an overhand swing of his sword. While the other came from the left taking a low swing towards Nathan’s knees.  It was obvious that these two had worked together before by the well-timed and co-ordinated attack. Nathan quickly jumped towards his left to get out of reach of the ax swinging towards his knees. The sword that had been coming down from the side was now directly overhead. He easily blocked this attack with his left dagger while bring his right dagger up to slice across the body of the sword wielding bandit. The sharp northern steel sliced through the man’s breeches and quickly drew blood. The sharp intake of breathe gave evidence of stinging pain. The bandit growled deep in his throat.

Nathan circled farther to his left, bringing the now-wounded bandit between himself and the ax man who was readying himself for another swing. Enraged by the sting of his wound, the first bandit swung his sword wildly around. He just missed the second bandit on his backswing, before slicing through the air toward Nathan’s chest. Again Nathan easily blocked the blow, this time with his right dagger. Pushing back against the attacking sword he forced its blade up against the hilt of Nathan’s dagger where it caught in the grooves above the hilt. Nathan gave a hard twist of his wrist catching the bandit off guard and removing the sword from his hand. At the same time, his left dagger sliced across the bandit’s face opening up his cheek and carving a small chunk out of his ear.

The now swordless bandit lifted both hands toward his face instinctively covering the cut across his cheek.  The second bandit was still behind the first. So Nathan had time to place a hard kick into the man’s now defenseless chest, sending the wounded and defeated bandit backwards into the fire. Now that the bumbling would-be swordsman was out of his way, the second bandit swiftly resumed his attack. From the calculated and smooth way the bandit moved, Nathan could tell he was a dangerous adversary, unlike the one crying and desperately rolling to put out the flames on his clothing.

The bandit swung his ax in quick short swings, not allowing his momentum to carry the ax past a point where it would not swing back to block any attacks from Nathan. They fought by the fire for several minutes. Nathan blocking the ax attacks with his daggers but unable to gain any advantage over his opponent. Finally, the bandit made a near-fatal error. He brought his left foot back around him, to take a larger swing at Nathan. This larger backswing gave Nathan the opening he needed to get close enough to the bandit to strike. Nathan quickly stepped up towards the bandit stabbing into the man’s right leg with one dagger while the second dagger sliced out across the bandit’s chest from the right. The dagger coming towards his chest forced the bandit to stop his swing and turn his momentum backward in an attempt to avoid the incoming blade.

The bandit now stood on his good leg and warily watched Nathan who had quit advancing. Nathan sensed that his combatants’ desire for combat had been dampened; he wondered if they would leave now if given the chance. “If I were you two I would take this opportunity and leave. Before you both end up as crows’ bait.” Nathan’s words no longer sounded as those of a boasting child to the bandits. They now sounded like a trained fighter giving a beaten opponent a merciful opportunity to retreat.  The ax man wisely took the opportunity to gather up his accomplice and hobble back to the road.

Nathan’s heart was pounding as he carefully watched and listened as the two enemy combatants retreated into the night. Remembering one of his father’s lessons on combat he started controlling his breathing by taking deep breaths. Holding them in for a ten count and then slowly exhaling. As he did this he closed his eyes and replayed the battle in his mind.

He found fault in several things, starting with sleeping too close to the fire. He had been lucky the bandits had come directly from the road and made too much noise. If he had not had the opportunity to retreat into the shadows, he could have been attacked while on the ground, which could have been deadly.