Chapter 5

Restadday, 15th of Planting Continued.

These thoughts troubled him, but he knew it was just his mind trying to come to grips with what he had to do and what unknowns the future held for him.

“Mother will just love these Andy. She’ll want you to come to the house to have an evening meal with the family tonight. Be there no later than two hours before sundown to get cleaned up brother.” She took the dressed birds and walked back up the path he was clearing to go home. ‘Invited to the house to eat with the family,’ he thought bemusedly. ‘Damn, I’m doing it again. This is home, it always will be home for me.’

He returned to his chore and continued to break the brush wall and soon had most of the way to the wood line cleared. As he worked, he noticed that he was picking up speed by prepping the way ahead. This was good planning and he suspected it would become second nature over time as he traveled. He soon reached the faint trail of the potato thieves and went to the next section of the overgrown brush beyond it. He smiled as he noted that the brush wasn’t as dense now and it was easier to break up and make into rolled bales for burning in the ditch. He worked all afternoon, only stopping when he went to drink water. This last time though when he went to drink, he found all his skins were empty. Andrew had not realized he had been drinking so much as he worked. Looking at the sun, he saw it was getting close to the time he would need to stop for the night anyways.

On returning to his banked fire, he found it had burned down and was nearly out. He had failed to add enough wood to keep it going all day. Banking fires was an art form he had yet to master. This suited his current needs as he put it out by breaking up and stirring the few remaining coals into the sand since he wouldn’t need the fire now. When he checked the snares, he found them all full of fat and lazy rabbits. Now he had six more rabbits to dress before going up to the house. He quickly did this and packed away his tools, making sure he hadn’t left anything out that he would need later and headed up to the house.

He walked up the repaired path to the kitchen and knocked at the sill of the door. His sister Bethany looked over and saw him standing at the door holding up the brace of rabbits. “Mom, the boy traveler is here and he brings gifts.”

Lorna looked over an smiled at what he had. “Give those to Bethany, she will cook them up for you to take out tomorrow.” He handed them to the little girl and watched and waited. “Well, boy? Go get cleaned up for dinner, I will not have you looking and smelling as you do at our table. Use the shower in the boy’s barracks.”

He thanked her and went to his old room. He looked around and it suddenly just didn’t feel like home anymore. He stripped down and stood under the hot water that poured from the nozzle. He knew this was a luxury he would come to miss in his travels. He used the large sink to wash the clothes he had been wearing and hung them on the sink edge to dry a bit while he finished washing up. He put on a set of clothes that he kept aside for just such occasions. They were a bit wrinkled from being in the bottom of the pack, but he felt they would do for the table. He took his washed clothes outside to hang when saw a rare device, a hand-cranked clothes wringer. He looked it over, wishing he had permission to use it.

He mentally kicked himself again. This is home, I can use it if I want. What is wrong with me. Why am I not thinking this is home, that these people are family. He went to the wringer and ran his wet clothes through it. The two rollers squeezed most of the water out of them as they went through. He did it a second time then shook them out and hung them at the far end away from the house on one of the clotheslines. He would retrieve them after the evening meal when he bedded down for the night.

When he went to the rear entrance near the kitchen, he checked to make sure his boots were free of any unpleasant messes and hung the wide-brimmed sun hat he had worn to keep the top of his head from burning on the hat rack. As he passed the kitchen, he saw his mother and sister busily working to finish meal preparations for the hungry tired men of the house. He watched them for a few minutes until his mother noticed him and frowned at him. He quickly fled to the front room because there is a standing rule, men stayed away from the kitchen during meal prep unless called for.

When he came to the main room, his father was already in his rocking chair sipping at a mug of hot tea. “So Andrew, how did it go today?”

Andrew sat in the chair he used most of the time next to the fireplace. He removed his boots and placed them next to the fireplace and sat back. “I made it to the wood line by the end of the afternoon. Once I was to the wood line, it got easier as the brush wasn’t as thick. I did catch some game that I sent back for tonight’s meal, so that will be a plus I think.”

“Did your mother or sister tell you about this morning’s little visit?”

Andrew cocked his head and nodded in the negative. “Well son, that girl is poison. Your mother was ready for her and made her hold the stone of true speech. Avoid her son, avoid her as if your life depended on it.” Lann reached over to the side table and took up his long thin pipe. He packed it with the weed of his choice and lit it with a burning taper from the fireplace. Once he had the pipe smoke to the level he liked, he relaxed in the chair and rocked slowly.

“She tried to claim she was with child, your child. That plan failed badly for her. Grahm didn’t believe her from the outset and the stone settled it.” He took a long pull of the pungent smoke, held it for a few seconds then blew it out in a cloud that nearly covered the ceiling. “Turns out she had been bedding every idiot in the village for money and has stolen from several of the shops. She isn’t going anywhere for a long time.”

Andrew stared wide-eyed at the news about the girl he was rather fond of. He felt a sinking in his stomach and knew he didn’t want to see Kaara again, at least not until he had a few years on the road under his feet. He glanced up when his brothers came in and settled in their chairs. They had been in the next room, waiting to help out should there be trouble, so knew the story already. Now that Andrew was appraised of the situation, they would let the matter drop.

Dinner was soon on the table and everybody reported on their day and any problems that had come up that would need addressing the next day. Only the news of the potato thieving surprised anybody. “We will have to keep an eye open for any fires out that way from now on. As dry as it is, we can’t afford a burn in the fields this close to midsummer. I looked at the trail and it leads into the woods towards the abandoned bandits hold back in the hills.” He took a bite of the quail and continued, “If any bandits have returned up there, we could be in for rough times.”

Now Lorna spoke, “As far as we know, nobody has used that place since we cleaned it out before any of you were born. If somebody is up there, we’ll have to clean it out again.” She sipped her tea, seemed to drift off as she remembered the time and trouble they had with that last mission. “I’ll not say more, only that should you see smoke from a fire out that way, get your father and me right away.”

“Father,” said Andrew in a worried tone, “How will you deal with them without your sword?”

Lann smiled a grim smile, “The Bow son, the bow. I am too old to go in swinging the blade in a pitched battle, so I will just kill them at long range. Now finish your meal and let’s get everything cleaned up for the night.” The meal was soon completed, all the meat had been eaten, the other parts of the dinner either eaten or set aside in the cool box for the morning or sent to the slop box for the hogs. Andrew was putting on his pack to head out to the tool barn to sleep in his tent again when Lorna stopped him. “Sleep in the barracks tonight son. I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen and I want you inside safe from direct harm.” She looked sad because she knew what would be said next. She had said the same to her mother once long ago, and it cost her the family she loved dearly then.

Andrew saw the look and knew he should accept, but he also knew that he would be no safer on the road once he got started on his journey. With a sad look, he answered in the way he knew would quite likely sever the bonds to his parents for all time, but it had to be done if he was to be free to travel. “Mother, as much as I appreciate the offer, I must sleep out there now. It is my future on the road, I’m sorry.” He hoisted his pack and walked out into the evening gloom, his mood reflecting the gathering night.

He set his small travel tent up by the building again, but this time he used the wall to help brace it up. He laid out his sleeping roll and saw he would need to brush it and clean it up in the morning. Dirt would ruin the leather over time, and he had to take good care of it or be stuck sleeping on the bare earth. He made one last trip to the outhouse, took a swig of water from one of his refilled skins, making a note to empty them and put in fresh-water in the morning. Once in the tent, the night air and sounds soon had him drifting off into a light sleep. This night passed without incident.

The routine of brush clearing and staff and sword practice went on for a full month beyond the event with Kaara. Andrew felt his strength increasing steadily and he was finally able to handle himself with the staff and sword without killing himself. His bow work had improved as well. He could at least hit the target every shot now.

He finished the path around the properties and soon the controlled fire had cleared the dead and dry brush so no further danger was presented in case of a wild brushfire. He started his daily jogs and soon was able to make it around several laps with a partial load on the main pack. When he felt he was ready, he set up the entire pack set with a full weight plus extra and started hiking the route for real. He was able to go nearly the full day at a steady pace by the end of the second month in summer. His sword skills continued to improve and his mother could no longer own him with the staff, at least not without a fight. It was at midsummers eve that things changed. During this time, there had been no indication that the faint trail had been used and no more potatoes had been stolen.

Restadday, 21st of Dry Hearth. Four hours before dawn.

Well before dawn, he suddenly snapped awake as he heard footsteps moving around the tool barn. He knew from the sound it wasn’t his father, the steps were to light like the person was trying to remain undetected. Andrew wondered what had happened to the dogs. They should have warned of an intruder, driven them off even. It had been the wood floorboards squeaking that had woken Andrew. Now he slowly, and as quietly as he could, climbed from his role and out of the tent. Something nagged at his mind for a few seconds and he almost cursed himself out loud for stupidity.