Fletcher

by P. S. Power

  After that, he ran off to dinner, heading to the low hall, after placing his new schedule in his room, Anders walked in, feeling half-starved and like a small horse might be enough for a meal. They weren’t having that, since it seemed venison was the meat of the evening. There were new potatoes, black bread and fresh butter, along with bitters and herbs. He took some of that, even as one of the cooks, Senna Grace, waved to him.

  She was slightly plump with age and very kind to him. More than once she’d set aside sweets that weren’t truly meant for the likes of him to go with a meal. This time she smiled.

  “Anders! I hear you’re going to be cooking for the military? Got word that I’m to show you what to do in the evenings for that. After you eat. We need to collect some things up. Today we’ll go over which is a pot and why you need a pan at times. Tomorrow, if you can manage, we’ll work with real food. Things you might find on the trail. Put together a proper spice kit. Learn what herbs are good and that. Like that on your plate. Good boy. You used to hate those things.”

  He grinned.

  “I still do. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good for me. I’ll meet you over at the side?” He was asking, since she was, it seemed to be, in charge of him. The older woman wrinkled her nose at him.

  “That’s it. Don’t dawdle too much!”

  Hurrying through his meal, using the best manners he could manage, since it was more than possible that Master Belford would turn up standing behind him if he didn’t, he made his way over to the new instructor. She didn’t pack him off outside to a fire pit, heading for the summer kitchen, instead. They had a full outdoor work area there.

  That part, the cooking, was actually a thing that Farad already knew how to do. For over seventy years he’d cooked for himself and others almost every day. It was different doing it for large groups, naturally, which was the main focus of the woman there, who presented him with large pots, pans, along with many utensils and then went over how to start a fire. He could do that one as well, since Anders and Farad both had skills that way. Still, it was covered and when they were finished for the evening, there was almost two hours left before he needed to get into bed.

  The kindly woman sent him away with a claim that he was a scamp and a swat on the rear end.

  Leaving him just enough time to get the rest of the strings he needed done, before getting off to bed. He reviewed everything, since that was one of the keys to memory. Then he drifted off easily, even on the lumpy and uncomfortable mattress. He didn't doubt that he’d miss it when the time came to be sleeping on the ground.

  In the morning he had to move quickly and technically get up before sunrise. That day there were servants about early, even if they still let him see to cleaning all the rooms. Depak Sona looked at his schedule and smiled when he got to the afternoon.

  “Very wise of this Prince, to allow you time for that. You will meet me in the large grass field, for that practice. I shall be there waiting.” His black mustache twitched a bit, with a smile.

  Anders just let his head come up.

  “I’ll see you for bow practice starting in a few days? I don’t have your bow totally finished yet. Nearly. I have to groove the end pieces for it. That should be finished today.” Even if he was on fletching duty.

  “Ah? Very good. I will enjoy that. We can work on using arrows to cast spells into the distance. Normally that is done with blood magic in the south. Foul stuff I know little of, if useful on the battlefield. There are other ways. We meet for that tomorrow, and only magic today?”

  That seemed to be the correct plan. At eight, almost exactly, Daren the hall man walked up to him, with another man in tow. Garen.

  The tall kid, who was only about sixteen, waved to him.

  “Hey, Andy! I’m supposed to make sure you eat? Seems a bit slow, not being able to work that out for yourself. Still, orders and that. What do you want. More, do you know where you’ll be at different times? I can bring things on trays, all fancy like?”

  Anders disliked being called Andy. It was a little kid’s name. That didn’t come to the surface however, since Garen was a nice enough person.

  “I should be here in the morning, at this time. At midday I’ll be at the fletching shop, working. For dinner I’ll just go to the low hall. As for what to give me… Really, whatever is available at the meal? Saving time on that will help a lot. Thank you.”

  That got waved away casually.

  “No problem, if you’re that busy. So, here, first thing, then mid-meal at the fletcher’s shop? The one out front?”

  “No, the castle guard fletcher’s shop. Out back?”

  “I know it then. Now… I can run and get you something?” He seemed fine with that, even if it was just for Anders.

  “I’ll step into the low hall for that today. You’d have to go anyway, to get something, right?”

  That got a snort.

  “Like they let me in there? I’d be heading by the kitchen or the servants’ hall for that. See you later then. Mid-meal.” The man walked off then, as if he was busy, which was probably true. Servants didn’t get a lot of time to rest, as far as he’d ever noticed.

  Grabbing something to eat would have been easier, if he hadn’t ended up with Master Belford sitting across from him. Pointing at things in the room and saying their name. In Yansian. This was done, not speaking any other language, until Anders stood and bowed to him. Needing to run off for three hours of arrow making.

  When he got in there the Master Fletcher got his attention and pointed to a bundle of sticks on the floor. There were ten of them, each holding at least fifty of the things.

  “We need to heat these, straighten them and then debark and round them. For today, you get to straighten. We do that by using heat and rolling them on the flat stone here. We need to start the fire. Unless you want to do it all with magic?” Those words were a jest. That portion was made clear by the gentle glint in the other man’s eye.

  Still, he could see the use in it, so picked one of the sticks up, focusing on the new spell. He wanted heat, not fire. Something very warm.

  “Ein-nik-neg fen.” Pointing at the specific stick he wanted worked well enough. When he touched the thing it wasn’t just warm, it was hot. Too much so to touch. Except the Fletcher did it, bending and then rolling the wood straight. It didn’t take long at all.

  “Like this? They have to be very straight. If you can roll them with your hands that’s enough. When they cool, the bark will nearly fall off. At least it does that with a fire. I hope so, since that was a lot faster than using the small fire on the wood. You should finish this before you leave, at that rate. Let me…” Handling the still warm wood the other man used a strange knife to strip the bark off. It wasn’t perfectly clean but didn’t look hard to do.

  “It seems fine. Work on this until you have to leave.”

  As with many tasks, it was boring and took him about a minute for each stave. The heating was close to instant, the bending and shaping taking longer. Some did it in moments, while others fought being made straight at all. Some of the sticks he just set aside, in frustration, since they were taking far too long.

  While he worked the fletcher stood at his bench making arrow after arrow, moving quickly at his task. At mid-meal Garen came with a tray that had a lid over it. Under that was a slab of bread, some meat and a hunk of cheese. With a large serving of cooked vegetables directly on the bread.

  “Does that work? I could have gone with a fine type meal. You said you were in here eating and working, so…”

  Anders nodded, then picked up the bread and took a bite.

  “This works. Thanks. I have to finish a horn bow. If not for you, I’d be going hungry to get it done.” The fellow waved and walked out of the shop, the Master Fletcher looking at him strangely. Then he just cleaned up a bit and walked out of the room.

  Taking ten minutes to eat, left him fifty to finish Depak’s bow. It wasn’t exactly hard, meaning he had time to color the thing a nice combina
tion of rose pink and deep red, in a diamond pattern along the back. Then he hung that up and returned the tray to the kitchen, since that had to be done each time anyway.

  He used some more magic in order to get himself tidy for the weapons practice. Where he found Captain Ford standing alone that day.

  “Just in time. Everyone was called away to a meeting, which I need to go to as well. Go over the spear work you learned yesterday. Ten times for each move. Then you can have the rest of the day, until time to practice magic.”

  The words were a bit stern, seeming to be almost grudging. A thing that left Anders feeling more than a little unwanted. Regardless he was there and it was time to work on weapons, so he did what he was told, recalling all of the movements and practicing them, one after the other. Thrusting, parrying and blocking with the spear, then drilling with the pike, pretending to be in formation.

  After that, it was tempting to go and sit someplace for a while. Relaxing and perhaps doing something for fun. Instead he stayed and went over the spear work until every move was burned into his muscles. It would, most likely, leave him sore and uncomfortable.

  Depak Sona was standing next to a small basket of rocks when Anders went to look for him. Dressed in a bright orange and gold costume, which had trousers and looked like smooth material that reflected light in an interesting fashion, even at a distance.

  As he walked up, the man looked away, then pointed, taking a single fist sized rock in his hand.

  “Bar-ere-ti ah- un bah.” The man showed the rock, holding it up, then passed it over to Anders.

  “Throw it.” The move was pantomimed going large with the swing, making it a big throw.

  Anders was knowledgeable when it came to the art of rock throwing, so flung the stone away to a good distance. As soon as it struck, the world lit up, almost as if the sun touched the ground for some reason. Then it lasted for a good long while. Before the light faded, the Magician started speaking.

  “That was set to go off with only a hit. If you make it into a deadly weapon, they can’t be that sensitive. Drop a quiver of explosion arrows and your entire troop will die. Try it now, with the same spell I just used.”

  It wasn’t hard understanding what had been said now. When he tossed it, the rock lit up, without being as powerful by even half compared to what the man next to him had done. Maybe less than a quarter, since being honest about such things was important.

  “Again.”

  When he did it, the man held his hand out, then dropped the rock at his own feet. It was bright enough to make his eyes hurt. They watered as he looked away, getting the idea that was being taught that day.

  Taking another stone, even as the one at their feet glowed brightly, he changed the spell just a little bit. Adding that it had to be hit hard, to be set off. It was simply enough done, given that he’d been told how a few days before. Just by adding more specific instructions.

  As the light faded, there were spots in front of his eyes. Next to him, the Magician opened his and laughed, having heard what was being done.

  “Try it?” The gesture was at their feet again. It resisted that small bump and activated well after being scooped up and thrown away with some power behind it. Depak did that for them.

  The glow still wasn’t incredibly bright. About the same as he’d managed before, even if it worked about as he’d intended.

  Depak smiled.

  “Rocks, arrows, birds, dogs… All of these can carry spells away from you. Still, doing that to an animal always seemed mean to me. Not that controllable, either. Once the spell is set, it will last for some days or even weeks, depending on your skill. That stone you just tossed would probably be good for four or five days. Anyone can make it work.”

  The man plucked another stone from the wicker basket, placing a far more complicated spell on it. Only using basic components that had been in the book that Anders had memorized. It was a description of the impact needs, being fairly solid, to set the spell in motion. Then when it hit a ball of water would form around it.

  Except that it was being told to happen in a single instant. When the rock was thrown by the man, there was a large noise, then warm rain fell on them, lasting for five breaths before it stopped.

  “That isn’t much of a weapon. My lesson for you here is that anything you can make happen can be delayed in time. Then released in an instant. Now, as you did with light, take a stone and make a small explosion on it. Better to be too minor than too large, since you can only throw a thing so far from you.”

  That worked pretty well and was loud, without being deafening. With a gesture, he was instructed to do it again, not stopping until the basket was empty.

  “There! You have that spell now. With practice they will last longer, as well. Most days you will not need that kind of thing. Working inside ten paces is a simple enough task. When it isn’t, you can fling things away from you to good effect.” Bending over he picked up the stone that had been dropped second, leaving them blind for a moment.

  Muttering a bit, the rock was tossed away as if it were a flying bird, into the distance. At least several hundred feet.

  “With a more complicated spell, you could turn such a thing into an accurate missile. That tends to be slow, so is used only to send very powerful spells. Using arrows is a good compromise. Faster, with enough distance and accuracy for most situations. You will have other resources that way. Tomorrow we will work on this again and some other tricks that might aid in battle, if it comes.”

  Anders could see how having more than one way to send things away from you would be helpful.

  “I could make an arrow, or even a rock with something on it and then give it to another person, who could use it, oh, ten miles away. Or… A rock could have a spell of light on it, that wouldn’t happen until it was struck? Maybe it could heat up, to keep a person warm in a storm?”

  “Ah! Clever. All of that is possible and more. For the moment there are some limits on what you can do. The basic vocabulary will be needed to make the more complex spells. Many have gone on to be very well regarded and powerful magicians with no more than what you have here. With, less in many cases. There are also tricks that will allow you to act at a distance without being there. More complex things. Using hair, skin or blood always works for that, if you know the way of it.”

  That explained how Duma Sett had contacted him with her illusion, since she had some of his hair. Which, clearly could be used to do other things to him as well. Not that it would. Everyone with a knife could stab someone. Most never would, unless driven to it. So it wasn’t really a bigger concern than that.

  “Wait… Aisla contacted me the other day, to deliver a message for her. She didn’t have anything like that. Not that I know of.”

  Looking away, toward the front of the castle, Depak spoke, his voice gentle and soft. Also distracted.

  “That kind of thing isn’t at all difficult to find, if you wish to look for it. Hair is left all over the place, for instance. A skilled practitioner can use many ways to bring such a thing to them even from outside of their reach. You could probably work that out without even learning the component for hair. With her though it is more basic. She is your second Mother, so has a child bond with you. She could probably find you anywhere you went and connect with you there. As could Lyse, if she were to practice such things. At least if she has the talent for it. That is a more advanced training. Speaking over a distance with the mind is nearly impossible, due to lack of good links. Other traditions are better at it than the one you are learning. Most lack in raw utility, day to day compared to this.”

  Anders did have to agree that it was pretty useful. It let him do a lot of things that would have taken him hours otherwise, like empty chamber pots and clean rooms. It had never occurred to him to even try to speak to a person at a distance, so the lack of that wasn’t something he was going to miss all that much. Then, he hadn’t been told that it wasn’t a thing that could be done, just that some others might ha
ve an easier time of it. That was probably why there were different schools of magic in the first place.

  Depak was still looking off into the distance, his face blank.

  “Something is coming. It is currently about two miles away from here, in that direction. Magic, and moving this direction. My guess is that it will be sluagh. The sense of it is similar to what we encountered the other day. Different this time, at the same point... We need to prepare, if that is the case. It would be good to deny such things entry into the castle, if we can. If not, we need to remove the people. Being trapped inside with no escape is not a thing that is desired in a case such as this.”

  Anders started to jog back toward the castle, not knowing if he should flee or head toward the danger. Common sense lost, so he stopped, then ran back for the basket.

  “I need rocks.” That sounded foolish, even to his own ears. Depak nodded, jogging away.

  “Then call them to the basket! The ones in the field there. Carefully. Then bespell them and meet me at the front of the castle wall. I will notify those within of what might be coming.”

  The spell to get rocks was complicated for him. Thinking it through, twice, showed him that it needed more than was easily going to be taking place. After contemplating it for far longer than felt safe, he spoke. That took twenty words, and when the last one came, nothing much happened. Until he heard a rustling in the grass in front of him. Then what looked like fifty or so tiny animals skipped and rolled in his direction. Ending in the basket he’d pointed at.

  Which was now filled with rocks.

  Then, as he walked, Anders tried to put the correct thing on each one. They weren’t all the same, and he feared that one or two might have different spells on the same stone, because the things were hard to pick out of the basket while walking. Some would cause fire, hopefully hot and searing, which would last at the end of the throw for five moments each.

  Others would explode and still others would cause anything inside ten paces to freeze solid, if it could do that at all. Five of them would simply be a point where lightning struck. He tried for power in them all, knowing that he was only going to be able to do so much that way.