Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0)

by Honor Raconteur

  They stopped for lunch, then again at mid-afternoon to let things cool, but returned to the workshop right before dinner to make sure the temperature on the kiln was still correct. Firing metal at the wrong temperature, or letting it cool too fast, would cause weakness and stress and would warp the whole thing. It was imperative that the kiln’s temperatures cool at the right rate.

  Satisfied by the temperature gauge, Beirly stepped back and assured Fei, “It’s doing just fine. Nothing more we can do tonight. Shall we continue with your notes while we wait for dinner?”

  “That seems the best use of time,” Fei agreed, scooping the notes up. As they walked into the main part of the Hall, he asked, “Do you know what she’s cooking? It’s not a scent I’m familiar with.”

  “Smells rather like Shepherd’s Pie, but I hope she isn’t, as the stove—”

  From the back right, there was a yelp of surprise and pain, then a terrible clatter as metal struck wood and bounced. Fei was through the kitchen door in a heartbeat, moving so fast that his mind raced to keep up.

  All across the floor were pots and pans, most lying on their sides, although a few were upside down altogether. No, wait, some of those weren’t pans. It looked like the stove top eyes, although why…? He set that question aside and looked up to find Siobhan pressed back against the hutch with her hand pressed against her heart, eyes wide in a pale face. “Maley-zhi, you are well?”

  “Shi, what happened?” Beirly demanded at practically the same time, moving toward her.

  “That thrice-cursed stove has to go, Beirly,” she managed, pulling herself together enough to glare at the stove in question. “This is the fourth time that thing has attacked me. I’m done with it.”

  “The stove attacked you?” Fei asked, staring at it and wondering how that was even possible.

  At that point Wolfinsky burst into the room, nearly running smack into Fei, and had to catch himself on the door jamb to avoid doing exactly that. “Siobhan?!”

  “I’m alright, I’m alright,” she assured him quickly and only then managed to move away from the hutch. “It’s that benighted stove.”

  Wolfinsky took in the whole scene and gave a disgusted growl. “Beirly, we need to just replace this thing. I can’t stand the thought that it might hurt Siobhan.”

  Taking pity on Fei’s confusion, Beirly explained, “The stove isn’t quite built right. I don’t know if it came that way, or if the previous owners did something stupid with it, but the stove eyes don’t fit right. If the stove gets too hot, then the eyes warp and they’ll pop out and send anything on top flying. It’s happened more than once. I keep trying to fix it, but this is darksteel, and hard to work with. I don’t have the right tools.”

  “Dinner,” Siobhan drawled, “needless to say, is not happening at home tonight. Let’s go to the Rose and Crown to get something. Wolf, go find Grae to tell him. I’ll clean this up.”

  Fei silently pitched in and helped settle things back in their proper places. When the pots were in the sink, he took over mopping the food off of the floor.

  Beirly and Siobhan talked finances and timelines as they scrubbed the pots and put them up, which gave him the space to think quietly for a few minutes. Why had he reacted that way? He wasn’t on duty, he wasn’t an enforcer in this guild, and yet at the first hint that something had gone wrong, he’d raced forward. Was it just habit by now? After three years, it was entirely possible. Or perhaps instead there was a different reason, as it was a woman that had been in trouble.

  In his mind’s eye, he pictured it being Wolfinsky instead of Siobhan that had cried out. It almost made him chuckle. But no, even if it had been Wolfinsky, he likely would have raced in here just the same. It wasn’t because it was a woman in distress that had made him react so.

  He looked at Siobhan and Beirly as they worked. Even though Siobhan had been startled badly, almost hurt, she was already back to her usual good spirits and laughing at some funny comment of Beirly’s.

  Fei did not believe that she needed his protection. She was a strong woman in her own right, and if her strength ever failed her, then Wolfinsky would certainly be enough to fight off whatever danger she faced. And yet….and yet. His instincts were to protect. Not just her, but Beirly. Grae. Even Wolfinsky.

  How very, very strange.

  Not once had Fei ever considered joining a guild. Even now the notion didn’t really tempt him. If he was focused on having a safe, more comfortable life, then he never would have left home to begin with. Saoleord was infinitely safer than the rest of the world. The people here in Robarge always gave him that reason for joining a guild, but in truth, it did not sway him. Siobhan was the first to give him a different reason entirely—he would gain a family by joining a guild. After three years of separation from all of the friends and family he had, the notion of having another family around him was very tantalizing.

  They said the best way to see a person’s true personality was to go on a trip with them. Or to see how they reacted in a moment of stress or danger. Fei had seen these people in all of those situations. He knew that at their core, they were good people, and ones that he had grown to like. Could he consider them family?

  That really was the question he needed an answer to. And he couldn’t, not in this moment.

  Fei rinsed out the mop and replaced it in its spot near the back door. While he had been invited, he did not need to answer this right now, and he could think on it for a while longer yet. For tonight, he had other priorities. “Kierkegaard-gui, where should we sit?”

  “The head of the table will give us more room. You have enough paper?”

  Possibly not. Fei went and fetched several sheets of paper from the workroom. Yes, this should be his first priority. That and eating dinner. The rest of the questions in his head could be resolved tomorrow.

  Chapter Nine

  Three days passed quickly in Deepwoods Hall. Part of that was because Fei and Beirly spent a good portion of the day working on Wolfinsky’s hand. But the other part of it was spending the rest of his time with the other members of Deepwoods. Fei had erroneously assumed that only Grae was educated among the guild. He was proven very wrong when several new contracts and job offers were delivered the second day to Siobhan. He found her at the table with the lot of them spread out around her, reading through them as quickly as he himself could have managed. Then, to his surprise, she consulted Beirly on the contracts and which deal would be the best for them to commit to. It was only then that he learned that, before Deepwoods was formed, Beirly had had own his own business.

  Perhaps Fei had made too many assumptions where the members of this guild were concerned.

  Since no one trusted the stove, and Siobhan had yet to find one to replace it, most of their meals were bought outside. Sometimes a person was delegated to go and fetch something back, sometimes they went out as a group. On the third, and last, evening with Deepwoods, Fei could hear Siobhan in the main room ordering Grae and Wolfinsky to go fetch them something for dinner. He wasn’t surprised when Wolfinsky gave a double tap to the workroom door before sticking his head in. “I’m fetching dinner. Any preferences?”

  Beirly paused in stitching leather and looked up. “Isn’t it clam soup day at the Rose and Crown?”

  “Are you sure that you and Siobhan aren’t related?” Wolfinsky drawled, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Those were almost her words exactly.”

  “Clam soup,” Beirly said firmly. “Fei, if you have any sense, you’ll order the same. That’s an amazing soup.”

  Fei had learned to eat just about anything in the past three years, so shrugged agreement. “Then I will have the same.”

  “Wolf, before you leave, come here a minute. Try this on.”

  Agreeable, Wolfinsky came closer and stretched out his arm. With deft fingers, Beirly took off the wooden hand and slipped on the new iron hand. “Anything pinching? Rubbing wrong?”

  Wolfinsky turned the hand this way and that, then raised it above
his head before letting it hang at his side. “Seems a mite loose.”

  “I haven’t added in the last strap yet, that’s why,” Beirly explained, studying the arm. “And the side seam isn’t double stitched yet either. It’ll be as tight as usual. Anything else?”

  “It’s fine, but…don’t you normally put cotton or felt inside as a lining?”

  A look of horror spread over Beirly’s face. “Blast and tarnation, I knew I was forgetting something. Don’t you worry, I’ll get that in tonight.”

  It was just as well Beirly hadn’t done the double stitching yet, seeing as he had to add in another layer. “Shall I cut out the cloth pieces as you sew?” Fei asked.

  “Bless you, Fei, that’ll speed things along nicely. It’s the same size, just cut in half a finger width shorter.”

  Fei had worked with leather enough to understand precisely why he said that. If the lining was cut the exact same size, it would be too large to fit inside the cup and would wrinkle and cause bumps. Nodding, he set about gathering the patterns into a different spot so that he could work in a clear space away from Beirly.

  “It’ll be done tonight,” Beirly assured Wolfinsky. “Just don’t let me work so that my soup gets cold.”

  “Yes, yes.” Wolfinsky let himself out, calling for Grae to help him as he went.

  “Fei, that black cotton there, that’s what works best,” Beirly directed, pointing to a back shelf that had folded pieces of cloth stacked in it. “It’s sturdy enough to hold up to the abuse.”

  Fetching it, Fei unfolded and smoothed out the material before cutting out the patterns as carefully as he could. Cutting it out correctly here meant not having to make adjustments later, which would hamper his progress. After it was all cut out, he replaced what was left of the cloth, then went about sewing the first two pieces together, mimicking what Beirly had done with the leather.

  The workroom door burst open and Grae tumbled in, out of breath and with a ruddy complexion that suggested he had sprinted all the way here. “Fei. Fei, get to the Rose and Crown now. Wolf’s in trouble.”

  Fei was on his feet in an instant, reaching for the sword he had set aside this morning. “How bad?”

  “It started out as a bar fight—”

  “Not unusual with Wolf,” Beirly muttered.

  “—but it’s gotten out of control. He’s outnumbered. Even for Wolf, he’s outnumbered.”

  That was as much information as Fei needed. Shoving past the Pathmaker, he sprinted for the front door, passing Siobhan as he went.

  “What’s happened?” she demanded in alarm.

  “Ask Masson-jia!” he called back as he ran, not slowing his pace.

  The Rose and Crown, fortunately, was on the same street, just a few buildings down from the Deepwoods Hall. Fei reached it in a minute flat and burst through the main doors, expecting to see mayhem.

  The scene in the main room exceeded his expectations.

  There were broken chairs, tables, and dishes everywhere. Not one piece of the floor was free of debris. Most of the evening’s patrons had already escaped, although a few braver souls were lingering around the back wall to see how the fight would end. Wolfinsky stood in the middle of the room, using his shield and wooden right hand to fight off people. He had his greatsword strapped to his back but not once did he reach for it, which told Fei a great deal. The giant Wynngaardian might be outnumbered but he had no intention to kill anyone tonight.

  But he was indeed outnumbered. There were at least a dozen men ranging around him that were intent for his blood. Some were picking up anything at hand and throwing it, making Wolfinsky retreat behind his shield, and then the men closer to him would try to attack during this distraction.

  Blood boiling, Fei drew both of the long daggers at his waist, although he respected Wolfinsky’s decision and left the sheathes on. The sword he left on his back. These were tight quarters and it would behoove him to err on the side of caution. As silently as possible, he attacked the men nearest to him, dropping them to the ground with quick efficiency. It took three falling before the others noticed him, but by then it was too late. Fei had cut himself a path to Wolfinsky’s side. He darted through and spun, putting his back to the Wynngaardian’s.

  “Fei?” Wolfinsky said in surprise. “How did you know?”

  “Masson-jia,” Fei answered succinctly.

  “Ah, that figures. I told him to run for it. But you didn’t buy this fight.”

  That amused Fei and he smiled. It must have been a scary expression, as it froze two men that had targeted him in their tracks. “I have your back, Wolfinsky-gui.”

  Wolfinsky let out a laugh of true delight. “You really are a good man, Man Fei Lei. After this, I will call you a brother.”

  Adrenaline surged in Fei’s system but along with it was something else, an emotion he could not quite define, but might have been happiness and peace. “I would be honored to be known as such.”

  The group had been surprised at Fei’s entrance but one person found his tongue enough to shake a sword at Wolfinsky and growl, “Our grudge is against you, Wolfinsky, not him!”

  “You wouldn’t have a grudge at all if you left young girls alone, you perverted goat.”

  Oh, is that what started the fight?

  Wolfinsky apparently was done talking or out of patience with his attackers, as he let out a roar, the battle cry loud enough to shake the very frame of the building. Even Fei jumped, almost startled out of his skin. With people’s ears still ringing, Wolfinsky charged the men directly in front of him, using his shield like a battering ram.

  Fei focused on his own opponents and flipped low to the ground, attacking their knees and sending them to the floor before knocking them unconscious. Feeling someone close in from behind, he spun, leg sweeping out, and caught them before a knife could slide into his back ribs.

  The fight ended almost before it had truly begun. He and Wolfinsky turned toward the doorway at the same time and found that only one man was left standing.

  Petrified, he stood there, a sword in his hand and one leg already edging for the door.

  “Is he mine or yours?” Fei asked, honestly unsure of how many men he had taken down. It could have been nine, or eight, he wasn’t sure. And he hated to cut Wolfinsky short of enemies, it wasn’t sporting.

  “Since you came in late, he can be yours,” Wolfinsky assured him. “I had a good fight before you came.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Aye, it’s fine.”

  This civil discussion of who would take him on unnerved the man more than a straightforward attack would have. Cold sweat on his skin, he threw a curse at them, spun around, and high tailed it out of the door.

  “Aw. He ran.” Fei had a notion of running him down, but really, what would be the point? Aside from his own satisfaction.

  “Drunkards tend to do that.” Wolfinsky gave a sage nod, as if he had accumulated wisdom and experience in this department. Which, judging from his demeanor in this situation and Beirly’s comment earlier, he apparently did.

  Wolfinsky turned and gestured to a dark haired man that had been hiding in the corner. “Roskin. It’s safe enough to come out. Sorry for all of this.”

  Roskin, who Fei belatedly recognized as the innkeeper, stepped into the light and came closer, although he had to pick a path to manage it. “Sorry? Don’t you apologize to me, Erik Wolfinsky. It was my daughter you were defending. With one of my enforcers sick and the other one out because of an injury, she was defenseless until you stood up for her. So I won’t take apologies from you.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Fei stood by as they discussed what to do with the men, and who would pay for the damages. A pretty young woman of about sixteen with blonde hair came up to Wolfinsky and thanked him profusely, which Fei took to be the girl he’d defended. He stood silently by and watched it play out, his thoughts turning at high speeds.

  The situation had happened because the two enforcers that usually worke
d in the inn were not there. Fei had not once thought of this before, but Deepwoods only had one enforcer. What happened if Wolfinsky was injured? Or ill? Or simply couldn’t be in two places at once? What then? There was no one else that had the necessary skills to fill his place. That was obvious enough because when things had gotten dangerous, Grae had come to fetch him. Not anyone else.

  Another, even more uncomfortable thought surfaced. What would have happened tonight if Fei hadn’t been here? Grae had been right—a dozen people were too many for Wolfinsky to handle at once. He was strong, yes, but not invincible.

  The question had been there all along of whether he needed to join Deepwoods or not. But now Fei realized that this was the wrong question. In fact, he should have been asking himself exactly the opposite.

  Wolfinsky turned to him. “Roskin says he’ll pack up dinner for us and send it over. So let’s go back for now. Are you hurt?”

  “Not at all. They were slow. And their reflexes were poor.”

  “Can’t argue that. I’m glad you held back, though, as Blackstone frowns on killing people because of scuffles like this. It would have gotten you in trouble.”

  Fei took careful note of that.

  They walked the short distance back to Deepwoods Hall in companionable silence. When they entered, they found Siobhan with a black bag in her hands, laying out several medical supplies. When the door opened, she whipped around, demanding all in one breath, “You’re both alright? No injuries? What happened? Wolf, I specifically told you not to get into any fights tonight!”

  “Group of perverts was going after Roskin’s youngest, Alice,” Wolfinsky answered calmly.

  That stopped her dead and a look of outrage spread over Siobhan’s face. “She’s not even sixteen yet! What were Roskin’s enforcers doing?”

  “They’re both out tonight because of either injury or sickness.”

  “Oh that poor girl. Then good work, Wolf. Is Roskin upset?”

  “With them, not us. In fact, we get dinner for free tonight, as soon as the kitchen remakes it. Ours met an unfortunate end.”