A World Apart (The Jake Thomas Trilogy - Book 1)

by Tolle, Steven A.

  "Thank you, Cherise. We shouldn't be long." Hailyn replied. She motioned to Jake to follow her as she headed into the store.

  As Jake entered the store, he immediately noticed the strong odor of leather. The store had an open showroom near the door, with a long desk, several chairs next to it, which stretched across the room near the back. There was an opening in the middle of the desk that had a flip top across the top of the counter. Behind the desk were a series of shelves, with a door near the right corner to go into the back of the shop. As with the short wooden tables spread out in the showroom, the shelves were stacked with various styles of boots and shoes, in different colors, much like a shoe store back home.

  Behind the desk was a younger man, maybe in his early thirties, rail-thin with a shock of dusty blond hair and blue eyes, a short blond beard, wearing a brown leather apron over his tan cotton clothing. He saw Hailyn and Jake come in and came out from behind the counter to greet them, a welcoming smile on his face.

  "Good morning, Hailyn." He said with a slight bow. He gave Jake a nod. "Welcome, stranger. What brings you into my store today?"

  "Good morning, Master Jendering." Hailyn said in greeting, nodding her head. "My friend here, Jake, is new to our city and is in need of some footwear. I know that you are one of the best cobblers in the city, so we hope you can assist us."

  "I am sure I can. Which do you want – boots or shoes?"

  "I don't know…" Jake started, looking around the room, when Hailyn cut him off.

  "Master Jonas told me that he believes that Jake should have some boots, preferably ones that resist water." She said, giving a Jake a quick smile for interrupting. "He may need to travel in the future and such boots are better for rough journeys."

  Jendering looked at Jake, one eyebrow raised in curiosity, waiting. Jake shrugged and said. "That sounds fine to me."

  He motioned Jake towards the chairs. "Please, come and sit, so I can measure your size."

  Jake sat down in one of the wooden chairs and unlaced his sandals as Jendering went behind the counter to get a pad of paper and a small knotted rope. He came back over to Jake, kneeling, handing Jake's sandals to Hailyn and using the rope to measure his feet. He took several measurements, scribbling down his numbers, then stood.

  "You are in luck today. You may not have to wear those sandals while I make your boots, as I believe that I have a pair of boots that will fit you, Jake." Jendering said, wandering over to his shelf. He grabbed a pair of tall black leather boots with laces up the side and turn down flaps at the top. He stopped and reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of light-weight cotton socks. He brought them back over to Jake, handing him the socks.

  "Here, Jake. Put on the socks and we will see how the boots fit."

  Jake pulled on the socks as Jendering knelt and unlaced the boots, setting them next to Jake's feet. Jake grabbed the left boot and slipped it on. It was a just a bit tight in the foot and he told Jendering that.

  "A little tightness is expected; the leather is soft enough that it will stretch a bit after it is worn." Jendering replied. "Put the other one on and lace them up. We'll see how they feel as you walk around."

  Jake laced up the boots and walked around the store a bit. The boots felt pretty good actually, so he decided that he would take them.

  "How much for the boots, Master Jendering?" Hailyn asked, pulling out her pouch. "Master Jonas would like Jake to have two pairs of boots, so I will double the price, if you can make another pair in his size."

  Jendering stroked his short beard. "I can easily make another pair; I have a couple of apprentices who need the work. I will make those brown, if you like, Jake." Jake nodded his assent.

  Jendering held up a hand. "I will not accept any payment for these boots. I give them as a gift to the Temple."

  "That is not necessary, Master Jendering." Hailyn protested. "You have mouths to feed and apprentices to support."

  "I will not take any payment, I said." Jendering said, face taking on a stubborn look.

  He walked over to the counter, reached over and came back with a small vial which he handed to Jake. "Jake, when you take off the boots tonight, rub some of this oil on them. It will help soften the leather and repel water."

  He looked back at Hailyn. "Do you want me to bring the other pair of boots to the Temple?"

  "Thank you for your generosity, Master Jendering." Hailyn said, bowing her head while Jendering waved away the compliment. "Jake is staying at Master Norlan's home. Please have the boots taken there."

  "I will see them delivered in a few days." The door opened and another customer came in. "If you will excuse me? It was a pleasure meeting you, Jake." Jendering stuck out his hand.

  "My pleasure, as well." Jake replied, shaking his hand. "Thank you for the boots." Master Jendering gave him a smile, a nod to Hailyn and went over to the other customer. Hailyn and Jake left the store, walking over towards Cherise, who was playing with Maxis in an empty area across the street.

  "What was that about?" Jake asked, looking over at Hailyn. "Why wouldn't he take any money?"

  "He has a young son, eight years old." Hailyn replied quietly. "About a month ago, he and his friends were playing on a very tall ladder that is built into the side of a building. His son was near the top when he lost his grip and fell. He was badly injured and barely alive when he was brought to the Temple. If not for Master Jonas, I'm not sure he would be alive today."

  "I don't understand. You and other clerics can also heal." Jake asked. "Any of you could have done it, right?"

  "Jake, our ability to heal is not just the amount of power we can wield." Hailyn said. "While strength in the clerics' power can do many things, there is a skill in healing that is learned over time. The body is a complex thing; many things have to work together for it to function properly."

  She gave a shake of her head. "I don't think I could have healed the boy, at least not completely. Your injuries, for example, were minor and any healing cleric could deal with those. Even most battlefield injuries are straightforward. With the types of injuries the boy sustained and his lack of strength, my attempt to heal him may just have easily killed him. He had multiple broken bones, internal injuries and swelling in his brain. Only Master Jonas, who was strong in his power and the most skilled at healing even before he received his staff, was able to save him."

  "I didn't realize that." Jake said, mulling that over. "Jonas had told me that not all clerics could heal, but I just assumed that was whether they could access your power. I thought the power was like a cure-all; you simply apply it and it works."

  "In many cases, the answer would be yes, but sometimes there are complexities that resist healing." Hailyn replied. Realizing the somber nature of the conversation, she changed direction and gave Jake a quick grin. "So it is better to stay healthy than hope that a cleric will be around to heal you."

  "I'll keep that in mind." Jake said with a laugh.

  They reached Cherise, who made gushing comments about Jake's new boots. As she was looking at his boots, she suddenly asked, pointing at his leg. "What's that, Jake?"

  Jake looked down and saw an earbud hanging out of his pants pocket. It must have slipped out when he was trying on his boots. He reached in and pulled out his phone. "Those are speakers for my phone." Jake replied without thinking. "I put them in my ears so I can hear it."

  "What is a 'phone'?" Cherise asked as she leaned in for a closer look. Hailyn, curious, also stepped closer to study Jake's phone.

  Jake gave it some thought, turning the phone over in his hand. "In my world, phones allow people to talk with each other over long distances; both people have to have phones for it to work. Besides allowing people to communicate, a phone can take pictures and hold music, surf the Net…" Jake caught himself. By their faces, he could see that they did not understand what he was saying.

  "Here, let me show you." Jake said, powering on the phone, conscious of its limited battery life. The girls watched as it powered up
and Jake's background picture of him, Sean and Matt, at the beach appeared. The girls were clearly delighted to see this. Jake pulled up his music app and selected some slow songs, not wanting to freak them out with some of his more rocking selections.

  "Stand closer together." Jake said, getting Cherise and Hailyn to stand shoulder to shoulder. He reached over and put an earbud in the girls' ears, then hit the play button. The girls' eyes widened when the music started playing, broad smiles on their faces. Jake let the music play for a minute or so, then hit pause. The girls pulled the earbuds out and handed them back to Jake.

  "That was magical, Jake." Hailyn said happily. "How does it do that?"

  "Uhh…that is a complicated question." Jake said, struggling for away to explain it. "I'm not sure you would understand the answer since some of the things don't exist here."

  "That's ok, Jake." Cherise gushed. "I'm just glad it worked! What else can it do?"

  Jake switched to the camera and pointed it at the girls and Maxis. He took a picture of the three of them, then showed them. Cherise clapped with delight, grabbing Hailyn and pointing.

  "I need to shut it down for now." Jake said as he closed out of the pictures. "I am not sure how long I can keep it charged." He powered the phone down, wrapping the earbuds around it and putting it back into his pocket.

  "Thank you for sharing that, Jake." Hailyn said warmly. "Do you want to continue on?" Jake nodded.

  "Where to next? It is your tour." Hailyn asked Cherise.

  Cherise grabbed Maxis' leash and they made their way down the street, with Cherise pointing out the various shops. There was a clothing store, a general store and a tavern. At the end of the buildings, there were several stands set up selling food and drink. They stopped at a vendor selling a fruit drink and Hailyn bought them all a cup. Jake found the drink to be cool and delicious. After finishing their drinks, the little group continued on their way.

  After the stands ended at the next cross-street, the shops gave way to more homes; these were closer together than the area around Cherise's house. When they reached the cross-street, Cherise asked if Jake wanted to go see her father's smithy.

  He said yes and they made their way through the neighborhood of homes. After passing several blocks of homes, a group of larger buildings appeared ahead, lining both sides of the street. These buildings were made of wood and stone, with both entry doors and large wide doors for deliveries. Jake could see several wagons and horses in the street and groups of people standing on the buildings' porches, talking. Smoke rose from chimneys on a couple of the buildings and they could hear the sounds of metal ringing on metal, wood being sawed and hammering.

  Cherise led them to the building on the far side, where the sound of banging metal was coming out of the open doors. As they entered the shop, Jake's nostrils stung with the smell of burning coals and he saw a slight smoky haze hanging in the air. Cherise took them past racks of knives, metal fixtures and stacks of raw metal into the rear of the shop. The next room opened up into a large yard with a couple of smaller outbuildings. The room had several workstations along the walls, with grinding stones on the desks and hammers, tongs and other tools hanging above them. In the center of the room was a large pool of water surrounded by several anvils. Each anvil had two barrels next to it. A brick furnace with a large leather bellows was in the back corner near the yard. Jake could see a couple of boys his age, dressed with heavy leather aprons, working with glowing hot metal rods at the anvils, supervised by an older man with a stern face. The older man saw Cherise, the sternness fading into a smile, waving her over.

  "Hello, Cherise." The man said loudly over the sound of hammering metal. "What brings you to the smithy?" He took in Jake and Hailyn standing behind Cherise, a curious look in his eyes.

  "Hello, Helman." Cherise replied happily, giving the man a quick hug. She gestured back at Jake. "I just wanted to bring Jake over to see where Father works."

  "Well, he is the back yard with a couple of guests." Helman said, pointing out into the yard. His gaze drifted back over to the boys working at the anvils. "You should go out and say hello. I am sure he will be happy to see you and your friends." He gave Jake and Hailyn a nod and walked back over to the anvils.

  The little group headed out of the smithy into the yard. The yard, covered in short grass, was surrounded by a low stone fence. A gate was built into the wall that led out to another street. Near the back of the yard, a couple of small wooden buildings were pressed against the back wall. Jake gave a little start as he could see Norlan, along with Dominic and Jonas, standing near the front of one of the buildings quietly discussing something. Dominic noticed the group approaching and the conversation ceased as they turned to face Jake and the girls.

  "Hello, Jake." Norlan said with a smile. "I see that Cherise has you out and about exploring the city." Maxis ran up to him. He reached down to pet him. "I am glad that you and Maxis have met. He likes you, it appears."

  "I am also glad to see you, Jake." Jonas said, coming over and laying a hand on Jake's shoulder. "How are you feeling today?"

  "I'm fine, thank you. Hailyn checked me out this morning." Jake replied.

  "I'm glad to hear that." Jonas planted his staff, leaning on it slightly. "We were actually just discussing you." He indicated Norlan and Dominic with a nod. "The three of us are responsible for you while you are with us. We want to give you some purpose while we figure out why you are here and how to get you back home. As I mentioned, even if Tomaris can help, it may be weeks before we hear back from him. However, we don't believe that a young man like you should just be sitting around waiting."

  "We think that we have come up with a good plan for you. Starting tomorrow, Norlan has agreed to bring you here in the mornings, allowing you to assist him and be around boys your age. In the afternoon, you'll train in combat with Dominic." Jonas gave a shake of his head, clearly not happy about that. "I would like to believe that we can keep you protected, but Dom has made a good point that our enemies took an unusual interest in you. You should have the training to defend yourself."

  "Of course, I'll always be available to you, if you need anything." Jonas finished. He held out his hand. "Does this sound like something you can agree to, Jake?"

  Jake was taken back for a second, not having giving much thought to a long-term plan. He did not see how he could refuse, given everything these men had done for him. He took Jonas' hand and shook it. "That sounds fine, Jonas. Thank you for your help."

  "It is our pleasure." Jonas said. "Now, I need to get back to the Temple." He turned to Hailyn. "Hailyn, please see Cherise and her dog back home, then come back to the Temple."

  "Of course, Master." Hailyn said with a nod.

  "You go with Hailyn and take this idiot dog with you." Norlan said good-naturedly to Cherise, nudging Maxis away with his knee. "Tell your mother that we will be home for the evening meal." He gave his daughter a quick hug.

  "I will, Father." Cherise said, a bit crestfallen that the little adventure was over. She looked over to Jake. "I guess I'll see you this evening, Jake. Have fun."

  Jake watched Hailyn and Cherise leave with Maxis out the side gate, following Jonas. Norlan came up to him. "Dominic needs you for a while, Jake. I'll see you this evening." He gave Jake a pat on the shoulder and headed back into the smithy, calling for Helman.

  "Let's go, boy." Dominic said, turning and heading for the gate. Jake caught up with him and walked by his side.

  "Where are we going?" Jake asked.

  "To the Military Quarter." Dominic answered, his long legs setting a quick pace. "You can help me wash Shadow at the stables, then we'll get you some armor and a sword for your training. Remember the way we are going, so you can find your way back."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jake and Dominic reached the street, the sounds of the smithy fading in the background. Without many people in the way, Jake could see Hailyn, Cherise and Maxis ahead of them as they turned right onto the street, the palace looming
in the background.

  Dominic's pace allowed himself and Jake to quickly overtake the three of them. He did not slow down, so Jake could only smile and shrug his shoulders as they passed by Hailyn and Cherise, talking quietly, Maxis giving a short bark.

  They left the girls behind, heading straight towards the palace. The neighborhood was made up of homes with fairly large yards. It was after they had passed several side streets when Jake realized that the wall ahead was the side of Norlan's house. Dominic turned to Jake as they passed the gate that led into the side yard. "You can see that it is a quick walk to Norlan's smithy." He indicted the street. "This is the main thoroughfare for the River Quarter that leads to the central courtyards around the palace. To help you from getting lost, just remember that all large streets in the city lead to the palace."

  They continued for several more blocks until they reached the palace courtyards. Dominic turned south and led Jake through the parks and open areas, some of the people in the area pointing at them when they recognized Dominic. After about five minutes, Jake could see a very wide paved road on their left. He asked Dominic about it.

  "That's the road that leads to the East Gate." Dominic replied.

  After they passed that road, Jake started to see more soldiers mixed in with the people going about their business. The buildings ahead all had a similar look to them. When he mentioned it, Dominic gave a short snort. "It's not called the Military Quarter for nothing, boy. The mindset of the military is uniformity; that extends to their architecture. While there are non-military buildings in the Quarter, most of the ones around the training grounds were built by the army, so they all look alike."

  Passing by several groups of soldiers who called out to him, Dominic led Jake to a large street that cut through the buildings. As soon as they got to the street, Jake could see that the street ended after a couple of blocks at a large open field surrounded by a wooden split rail fence. Inside the fence, Jake could see several groups of soldiers, some marching in formation while others were practicing with their weapons. In the background, he saw small groups of soldiers on horseback riding around. Behind the field, several long buildings, each a couple of stories tall and similar in appearance, formed a backdrop to the training area. As they reached the fence, Jake could see that it extended for at least a quarter mile.