Out of the Woods (The Coalescence Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  “I have this. Go get ready.”

  He hurried through that part, using the cold water shower, which was actually decently neutral for once. Given it was late enough that snow could grace the ground at any time, that seemed a bit off.

  “The shield for space work. Of course it would be able to control heat. Space has to be freezing in most places.” He didn’t know that for certain, but it was a decent guess.

  That meant, half an hour later, he was back in the front of the bake shop. Clean, with his short black hair drying, wearing plain brown. A tunic and trousers. It had come into being when he’d tapped the amulet. Just like that. Fitting perfectly and looking very serviceable. When he stopped there was a new person standing there, in the shop. Dressed in a very lovely gown. The only real problem was that she was at least seven feet tall. Lovely, but strange seeming for that.

  Tall meant bowing, so he did it quickly, trying to make his clothing into something more presentable. Teral was there, dressed in a fine green jacket that had silver buttons on it, so closing his eyes, he tried for that himself. The shifting over his body was interesting and when he looked down the whole thing was about the same. There were a few things that were different, such as the waist needing to come in on his a bit, to match. Then, since he was his own person, he changed his boots which had come into being as brown leather, to a very deep green color. Shiny though. Polished like a mirror.

  The large lady, who had her hair up in a fancy fashion, clapped for him.

  “That is nearly perfect. Can you make some loose threads appear? Make the right seam here a bit crooked? She touched his arm, only she didn’t really, just getting close, to show what she meant with no contact. When he did it, watching it happen this time, she nodded. “Good. A few scuff marks on the shoes? That will make them look real, as well as allow you to seem more humble than my brother here.”

  Meaning she was one of his Aunts. Which one he didn't know. She looked very young however. Perhaps sixteen, at a guess.

  “Are you… Aunt Taman?”

  That got a giggle, followed by a denial.

  “Not that one, no. I’m Tiera. My second favorite nephew called me up and said I needed to come and interview you for that position? I think he was joking.”

  He smiled at her, since it was clear that this woman was both playing and willing to help them out. Will made all her suggestions happen then, which got her to wink at him when it was done. She made a few corrections, the final one being for him to go for a darker shade of green.

  “Countier Four isn’t that high of a place for tonight. Not with all the rest of us being in place. I hear you have a date however? Queen Bumie. That isn’t her full name, but she seems to take it as an endearment, which is honestly how it’s meant. That will have you near the top of the table. We need to get someone for Carlisle. Maybe Princess Allison?” She seemed to mean it, even as Clemance made a rather sour face over the idea.

  Willum shook his head, recalling the earlier conversation.

  “We need to keep them apart. Cousin Clem has his eye set there, I take it? We shouldn’t get in the way.” That was probably a bit much to proclaim to the Queen of the Moon, but the woman just slapped him on the arm. Companionably.

  “Ohhh. Good point then. We don’t want to step on his toes there. She’s a catch though, if you can land her, nephew. Let me see then… That… Carlisle isn’t seeing anyone here, is he?”

  The answer to that was no. The topic left him feeling a bit uneasy however. Not so much that his brother, for all he was fine looking, didn't have anyone yet, as much as that it implied he was lacking in some way. Thankfully Aunt Tiera didn’t seem to think that was the case at all. She just shrugged.

  “Well, no problem then. He can sit next to me. That’s a bit close for a relationship, but for a meal everyone will understand. Diana… Is she betrothed yet?”

  “Not that I know of. She just turned fourteen a few weeks ago, so no one has been pushing her that way. They’d be going for Carl and I, except that there are no marriage age women around here.”

  That got a sudden smile, complete with eyes that lit up grandly.

  “Heh. That won’t last long then. Two whole countiers showing up, both over the age of fifteen and unmarried? From here, too.” She stopped then and bowed. “That isn’t an insult. It’s just that those from the country, even the nobility, are often more amenable to marrying down several steps for a good match. Normally you’d be expected to stay within three steps, but if you can go to five, which both of you probably can without too much finger wagging, then you just opened up the bidding for hundreds of young ladies. Some not so youthful as well, I bet.”

  Clemance smiled then, nodding.

  “That’s true. I hadn’t really thought about that, except that they’re both better looking than I am. Carlisle seems a bit shy, which might work for me with Allison, but Willum here is nearly perfect. I’d hate him for it, but he can’t help how he was born. Older than me as well.”

  Apparently the bit about hating him for his illusory perfection was humorous. Tiera chuckled at least. Comforting Clemance with a pat on the arm. It was a bit close, for where they were, though she seemed to get that before the boy did, removing her hand in near shock.

  “That… You get used to touching people, after a while. The rules will change again, down in the Capital, so be ready for that. Now… Do you think that Diana would be insulted being sat with Dumas tonight? He’s too young for her. Also too related for more than a bit of hand holding really. I don’t want to push her, and he won’t act improperly. That…” She clearly didn't know if that was going to be an issue or not.

  The thing there was that Willum didn’t know either.

  Everyone else came out about then. Maggie Baker was in a very plain looking dress that seemed to be identical to the nicest thing she owned, but hollow, being magical. Diana was in a blue dress that was nicer, but not anything like what Tiera had on. They both looked up at her, staring. Carl stood in the back, looking at the ground so as to not gape at her.

  It was about to get awkward though, if someone didn’t do something. Teral was simply looking at them, not thinking to try and preempt the issue.

  “Ma? This is your sister-in-law, Tiera Baker. Don’t worry about her being too tall. She used magic to make her grow like that. I’m sure we can do the rest of us too, soon? Then that top shelf in the bakery won’t vex us nearly as much.” He was joking, but Tiera nodded.

  “That’s true. Clemance asked me to come and help with the preparations for the party? This way I get to meet you first, so you won’t forget me by the end of the night. Also, this way I can grab Carlisle up as my date? We can’t get married, so it’s a family thing, but I didn’t know to get anyone for the event. It being last minute and all.” She seemed happy enough with that.

  Interestingly, if a bit stiffly, Carl bowed, his right arm going across his middle. It was a thing that Will hadn’t figured his brother would have even heard of, much less be able to get himself to do.

  “I would be honored to attend with you, if you don’t have other plans? I’ll understand if something comes up, naturally.”

  His accent was really thick, being nearly in Home Tongue, but Tiera, Queen of the Moon, answered in kind. Perfectly so.

  “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Carl.”

  Interestingly, her accent was the same as what his father always used. Which made sense, given they both had the same parents. Carl didn’t really look up at her though. Commoners didn’t address tall people well, as a rule. It was a bit intimidating for Will, but it felt like the others were being hit a lot harder than he was. To him the Queen of the Moon was impressive, for her beauty and apparently her easy going way with people. After all, she’d come from a different world just to help out his mother and sister like she had, which was impressive.

  Tiera might have as easily sent someone else for the task, given her resources and powers. There she was though, helping to make things work
when by all rights they really shouldn’t. The ladies moved into the house, to use the one mirror they had for some reason, so Clemance nodded at Carlisle, his face pleasant seeming.

  Carl had a beard, though it was kept short and tidy. Like their da’s. Willum had something similar going on, since it was the style in the village. More or less. Master Elis shaved clean each day however, at least when he came out to teach wood working. They only did that about four days a week, leaving him a lot of time to do other things. That had mainly been work around town. Repairing roads and keeping it tidy. No one had complained that he wasn’t doing his part as far as civic duty went, even if it wasn’t actually making him any coin.

  The younger man moved to touch Carlisle on the arm, changing the plain brown tunic and trousers into something a lot more interesting. It was nicer than what Willum had on, having a deep green trim around the cuffs of the jacket that melted into being. The colors were all the same however. Except that his boots matched the black that their father had going on. The interesting portion was that both of the others looked perfect. Nothing was less than tidy. His clothing, he understood, had been disguised to look real.

  Also like he was poorer than the others. Still, wealthy enough to have real clothing that was nice looking. The others were clearly dressed up in magic. At first he didn’t really get it, but decided that Aunt Tiera would have a reason for that kind of thing. What that was going to end up being, he had no clue at all. It would have been easy enough to fix, but she’d pushed at him to do it for some reason. Possibly so he wouldn’t show up his older brother. They were about the same size, with Carl being an inch or so taller than he was. About five feet, seven inches for his brother. Otherwise they looked a lot alike.

  Nice enough, in a light brown way. Like commoners, or close enough that no one would think anything of either of them working in a field or repairing the roads. Tiera was lighter than he was, but only a bit. Now Tor had been pale. So much so that it had seemed like magic or make-up at the time to him. Except that no one would do that to their hands as well. Not unless they were really vain.

  Given that the man had come to kill him earlier, that didn’t seem to be all that likely. So it was probably just easier for him to be that color than anything else.

  After a while Clemance turned to leave.

  “All right. I need to go and see to my own preparations. Come to Thomson Residence at seven-thirty or so? That will have you in before most arrive, which is a bit boring, but means that we can set up, just in case there’s a trap of some kind. Get Queen Tiera up on that? No one will try anything with her there, not if they want to survive. She has a fleet of warships, after all.” He grinned then, leaving through the front door. Waving as if they weren’t going to be seeing each other in a few hours’ time.

  He was clean, but it just made sense that the clothing could be turned off and back on, to keep it tidy. That being the case he started in on setting the bake shop to right for the end of the day. People came in, after a bit. The fact that there was a strange new hut there was probably enough to make many of them shy away. Old Larry didn’t have a wife now though, his having passed two years before. What he did have was a deal to trade fresh milk with them for a loaf of bread each day. A few times a year he brought in meat as well, so it was a fine deal for all of them.

  He was wizened, smaller than any of them and smelled a bit of fresh hemp smoke. When he walked in, he blinked, then grinned.

  “Come into coin then? Those are fancier clothes that I’d seen you in for baking, least wise.” It was spoken in Home Tongue, but with good will behind it. Happy at their perceived fortune.

  Teral sighed, then shook his head.

  “Old fortune, I’m afraid. I’d given up being Countier Second for Lairdgren County, about twenty years ago. When I first moved here? It turned out that the old Count Lairdgren didn’t like that, so he put in a letter with the new Count to force me back to work. We have to go and meet with him and some others tonight. Using that magic box out to the side? If you want you can use it to travel places. Willum learned how already, so will teach any of the village that want to give it a try.” That got a look to flow in his son’s direction.

  He nodded then.

  “That’s right. It’s part of the rules. Anyone can use them at will. Really, da, can you set up a basket for Larry? I’ll show you how it works now. I mean, I know I didn't believe any of this when I was told. No reason he should either.” It was just unbelievable, after all.

  Not that he’d say that out loud to them. They clearly had fine clothing on, even if they were playing at riches and power, which would end in their deaths if they were, they had enough gold to buy things that the man had probably never seen before.

  Laughing a bit, Old Larry moved into the box with him. Then stepped out onto the street of the Capital, near the Thomson place there.

  He clutched his chest, sucking in air for a bit, then smiled.

  “No one will be calling you a liar about this then, will they Will Baker? We can come to this place… Eh… Where are we? If’n that’s fine for the likes of me to learn of?”

  Will smiled, speaking in the same language and fashion the older man was. He probably would have understood if he spoke in Standard, but it would be harder for the other fellow to answer him that way.

  “This is the Capital City. You can go other places as well. The Moon and Mars even. A lot of the space stations as well. Other lands… Most of the big cities in Noram.”

  The man moved back toward the box, as if scared it might vanish, stranding them there. Once that thought came to mind he felt a creeping sensation that told him it might happen as well. That got him to smile, since he, unlike poor Larry, knew that his relatives lived not twenty feet down the way. So if that happened, he’d be fine. Larry would as well, at a guess. At least if he thought to request aid at their metal gate.

  Which being a commoner he simply wouldn’t think to do.

  Inside the hut structure, the man looked at the names on the wall, examining everything.

  “So… Could I go and see my brother and his family in Grenwyn, do you think?”

  That one wasn’t hard to find, or anything, so Will tapped it. When they came out, the world was strange seeming. There were low hills all over the place and nice stone paths, but no buildings. Dug into the hillock next to them was a door however, which was closed tightly. That made sense, given that snow was starting to fall from the air. Probably the first of the season. Next to the door was a window, which showed light through it.

  He glanced around as Larry started to shiver, pulling his cloth coat tighter around him.

  “This be the right place! I should go and see if I can find them…”

  Willum didn’t think that was wise. Not without warmer clothing being put on first.

  “Or come back in the morning? You can get us home, right? Do that and you can come back with a full day of light to locate your people. It’s nearing twilight now.” That left him a few hours to kill, but he didn’t really want the old man to get sick, looking for his brother. There was no way to tell how big the city of Grenwyn was. Not even if it was a city in truth at all.

  “Good thinking, Willum. I believe I can do that? Get us back to Pine Creek. Let me see here, I just use this arrow here to move the words around? Then when Pine Creek is in that blue bar…” He touched the star, but nothing happened.

  It took Will a panicked second to get why that was.

  “Oh. We need to close the door first. Here…” Once that happened, Larry had them in the village inside a few seconds. It wasn’t hard or anything.

  True, you needed to be able to read place names, but most people could do at least that. Even isolated villages had schools for nearly everyone. Some people were slow, so had problems that way, but clearly Larry wasn’t one of them. He just stood there, looking at all the names for a while.

  “A body could go on to most anyplace using this, couldn’t they? It’s really free for all and s
undry to use? Even the likes of a simple herder like myself?”

  “That’s literally the rule. The Wizard Dareg made this and set it up so that anyone can go where they like in it. He’s…” Part of Will wanted to claim that he was bad or evil, but that wasn’t the case. Not if he was willing to give the use of his magics away to good folk like Larry.

  That meant something else was likely going on then.

  “The Wizard Dareg is a good enough sort, I think. Maybe he’ll come and visit us here soon?”

  For some reason, that got the old man to laugh, like it was a joke.

  Then, he didn’t know that the Queen of the Moon was helping people get dressed for a party not fifty feet away, either. So in return, Will smiled back at him.

  It really did all sound a bit like it should make people laugh, after all.

  Chapter three

  It was, oddly, hard to get Tiera alone for long enough to explain things to her, Willum found. That was the Pine Creek way, so it didn’t shock him or even lead to confusion. Men weren’t left alone with women as a rule. Even relatives tended to stick together in clumps, if they were new. The issue wasn’t with Diana however, but rather his mother. She’d been dressed in a fine gown of multiple shades of green. Her face had been made up, or more likely, covered in magic somehow.

  The colors on her skin weren’t really there, Will thought. His little sister was doing the same thing that way. Interestingly, Tiera wasn’t. Her face was free of all covering. When he thought about that, she rubbed at her skin, then smiled.

  “Hey. None of that, now. I’m not going around sensing you constantly, am I?”

  That got him to shake his head.