Chapter 6

I went to the master bedroom, took out the clothes I used to wear working as a forester, and got dressed. I would have to make some time to get the blood out of my good clothing. I made my way downstairs, went through the giant hole in the side of the house and began taking note of the exterior damage in greater detail. I saw that the entire eastern wall, on the first floor, was pretty much gone, with the pieces left showing signs of rot. The south-eastern wall was also gone, and the damage stretched up to the second floor. There were small holes in the northern and western walls, first and second floor respectively. I thought about it, and at minimum, the repair work would require two and a half trees to provide the wood necessary to replace all the damage in the house. My first task would be to get some wood-working tools, the second would be finding suitable trees to use. My only hope was that it would not take too long to find the trees.

I went back into the house, and made my way to my room and to the hidden compartment, to collect my satchel. I made sure to look around me before opening it, the house might be mine, but it did not mean someone might not enter and spy on what I was doing. I know that it makes me sound paranoid, but I would not doubt my enemy for a second. I collected my satchel and put away my bow and arrows. They had been left to rest on the floor of my room while I had bathed, and I would not need them today. I left my house and made my way to the market, where Ruben had his shop. It took me fifteen minutes to make my way to the market, because the villagers would greet me with a hello, a wave or a nod. It was nice to be greeted with acceptance and warmth instead of the distrust I was met by most when I arrived. Memories of my childhood flashed in my mind from the exchanges.

As I entered the market I looked around, I had spent time here in my early childhood, helping my father deliver tools and special items. I was not old enough to go to school then, my father thought having me help him would teach me some responsibility. It also made me feel more grown up to be able to help him with his deliveries.

The market had grown even more than the rest of the town. When I was a child, there had been only a handful of stalls - now there were buildings that looked to have stores on the bottom, and a place to live above. There were still stalls, but there were a few dozen, all spaced around the market. That is when I noticed that something was missing from the market. It was the last thing of my family that I thought I had left. Shock and anger filled me as I noticed what was missing from the center of the market, the great fountain.

Built by my family at the request of the founders of the village, it represented a communal area where everyone could meet and collect water. It ensured that no one would be without water, and had been a symbol of community within our village.

It had stood the height of my new house and of the other newer homes, with our symbol of community at the top: two hands, gripped in a sign of friendship and trust, made of solid iron. It had been made by my father’s elder father, and had taken him four months to create. The structure was gone. The base, which had taken up a third of the market area, had been repurposed. The original form and walls for the basin had been left, however, sections of it had been removed, to allow walk-through traffic. Now it was filled with kiosks, lining the wall of the basin.

My father would take me to it every Saturday, telling me of his elder father. What he was like, his ideals, his inspiration for the fountain. He would tell me of the grueling task, how his elder father had to go to a stone pit a full day’s journey away. Bringing only enough stone to craft a small portion of the fountain at a time. It had taken him three years to complete it, cutting every stone by hand, so that it would lie perfectly with another. People had come from all over the province, asking him for the secret of his technique, but he never told anyone but his son. It had been passed down with each generation, and I had looked forward to father teaching me all the family’s secret skills. The true marvel, one that no one had ever been able to figure out, was how he had made the water flow out of the fountain. He had refused to tell even his son how he was able to do it.

I wondered how they were able to seal it, and keep it from leaking everywhere. Perhaps when they had destroyed the center of the fountain, they uncovered the means to get the water, and stopped it. I then remembered father telling me that his elder father had put in a way to stop the water if the fountain needed repair. No doubt they had done that, as the Patron and the other tradesmen of the village would have known how to shut off the water. The issue remained, that a part of my family’s legacy, a monument to our service to the village, was gone. There was no reason for it, as they could have easily extended the town, as they had in the north end. I would need to find out who was responsible for removing it, but for now, I needed to make my way over to Ruben’s shop. It took me a while before I noticed his shop on the far end of the market.

As I made my way over there, I looked at the different things now present in the market. Stores catering to different foods, herbs, clothing, accessories. I was amazed at the level of commerce now happening in our village. I approached Ruben’s shop and smiled. In all the years I had been gone, it was one of the things that had not changed much. The store and shop portion that faced the market place, had not gone through much change. The shop’s large doors were blocked open, allowing any passerby to have a look at what Ruben was making, much as my father’s shop had been. The store was mostly indoors, with a few of the larger pieces for sale sitting outside. The door to the store was also blocked open, allowing villagers to leave with their new purchases with ease. At the end of the day, the large pieces would be returned into the shop to await the next day.

The part that had changed, however, was the living portion; it had been only a single long house. Now it had a second floor, the same size as the first, adding an incredible amount of space. No doubt Ruben had done the work himself, I had always been amazed at all the things he was able to do with wood. He had an amazing talent, much like my father had when it came to shaping and treating metal. As I got closer, I could see people inside the store, looking at the various items on sale. Violet and her mother, Ilane, were busy helping customers to choose the item that best suited them. I could not help but smile when I looked at Violet, and glancing at Ilane, I could see where she got her looks. She looked nothing like her age, with the same black hair as her daughter, but put into a bun. Her chest was as ample as her daughter’s and I felt a small bit of shame that I had taken the time to notice. I also noticed the slim stomach and wide hips that came with childbirth. If I had not known any better, I would have assumed that Ilane was Violet’s sister, rather than her mother.

I approached the shop, the sound of a hand plane being used filled the air. As I got closer, I could see wood shavings flying about the shop to land on the ground below. I went to pick up the shavings that had fallen by my feet, when a small hand appeared and grabbed them. As I rounded the corner I looked upon a set of brown eyes, and a face I did not recognize. It was a small boy, probably no older than eight, he looked a lot like Ruben. He had the same emerald eyes, and the black hair of his mother.

I put on the warmest smile I could and said to him,” Hello there, my name is Davik and what is your name?”

The boy just looked at me, a small amount of fear registering on his face before he dashed to his father. He bumped into Ruben’s leg, making him lose pressure, and carve an uneven piece off the wood he was working on.

Laughing he said,” what is wrong Kafe?” Ruben looked up and saw me and laughed a bit harder. He put down the plane, picked up the boy and leaned in to whisper in the boy’s ear.

“Oh, do not worry about him, Kafe,” he said,” that is Davik, he used to live here, but something happened, and he had to move away.”

The boy nodded, but I could see he was still shy. Ruben put the boy down, and watched him as he dashed away into the door leading farther into the store.

He turned to me and asked, “So, Davik, what can I do for you today?” I almost didn’t hear him ask me the question, I was lost in my memories. It was when he asked again, that I was shocked back to the present, and able to respond to the question.

“Yeah, I was looking to get my hands on a saw and some wood-working equipment. I need to fix the exterior damage to the house, and plan to get the wood from some trees outside the village.”

“I see,” he replied. “Well, you are going to need the right type of axes, saws and I think I can spare some of the tools you need.”