The Congruent Apprentice (The Congruent Mage Series Book 1)

by Dave Schroeder

  “No, and no,” said Merry, slowly. “Unless you want us to be forcibly enlisted in the king’s army.”

  “I’d rather volunteer,” said Eynon. “At some point in the future.”

  “I agree,” said Merry. “The lodge should be busy processing venison. It takes a lot of supplies to feed a force in the field.”

  “So hug the east bank?” asked Eynon.

  “Yes,” said Merry. “Just don’t run us aground.”

  Still seated, she touched the bruise on her skull again and checked her body for additional injuries.

  “There’s plain cider in the jug and dried cherries in the urn,” said Eynon. “There are honey cakes, too, if you want them. See if you can drink or eat something.”

  “Cider sounds nice,” said Merry. “My mouth is dry.”

  She had several swallows from the jug and licked her lips.

  “Thank you,” said Merry, lifting the jug toward Eynon. “That was exactly what I needed. You’re a very considerate person.”

  “You’d do the same for me,” said Eynon.

  “I stand by what I said. Would you like some?”

  “Just a taste.”

  Eynon took the jug from Merry and drank, then returned it to her. She had a few more sips, then stoppered it and put the jug on the deck. When she opened the urn with the dried cherries, the raconette jumped from Eynon’s shoulder to Merry’s lap and begged.

  “Chee chee chee chee!” said the little beast.

  Merry put a dried cherry into each of its tiny palms.

  “Cheeeee!” said the raconette appreciatively.

  “I think he has a name now,” said Eynon.

  “Chee-Chee?” asked Merry.

  “That’s too long for such a small creature,” said Eynon. “I think we should call him Chee.”

  “Chee,” said the raconette definitively, and that was that.

  After half a dozen more dried cherries had gone into Chee’s mouth and Merry had her fill, she resealed the urn and broke a honey cake into three pieces. Chee stole two of them from her hand and surprised the humans by delivering one of the pieces to Eynon and keeping the other himself. Eynon nodded to Chee and said, “Thank you.”

  The raconette bobbed its head and said, “Chi-chee!” Then it returned to Merry’s lap and curled up to nap. Merry shifted slightly and leaned her upper body against Eynon’s legs, so she had a good view downriver. He liked having her close. Eynon spotted smoke ahead on the west bank and guided their boat to the east. Soon, they passed the lodge, pleased not to see anyone on its dock.

  Probably all busy butchering deer, thought Eynon. They sat quietly together while the current swept them farther north. Without being told, Eynon recentered the boat in the middle of the river.

  “I thought most of Dâron was safe for travelers,” said Eynon. “Now it seems anything but safe.”

  “It is safe, mostly, or it has been,” said Merry. “The king’s muster must be seen as a license for lawlessness.” She paused, then added, “At least by the men and women whose temperaments tend in that direction already.”

  “Why couldn’t wars come every century, not every twenty years?” asked Eynon.

  “So our grandchildren would have to fight them?”

  Eynon had no response about either war or grandchildren. Eventually, he spoke.

  “Where do we stop tonight?” he asked.

  “There’s a freeholder on the east bank who lets Applegarth crews stay in a small cabin on his land,” said Merry. “He’s put in a small dock next to it so we won’t need to get our feet wet.”

  “That sounds good,” said Eynon, “and better than staying in a tent.”

  “Didn’t you like sleeping in a tent with me?” asked Merry.

  “I don’t really know,” Eynon replied. “I don’t recall that we did much sleeping—and you must be feeling better to tease me.”

  “I am,” said Merry, “though my head still feels like it’s caught between hammer and anvil.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Eynon. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “There’s some willow bark in a red box down below,” she replied. “And a small potion bottle from Doethan.”

  “You have a healing potion and you didn’t tell me?”

  “I’m sorry,” said Merry, gently rubbing her bruise. “Something must have knocked it out of my head.”

  * * * * *

  Merry held the steering oar while Eynon found the red box with the willow bark and potion in the storage area. He was assisted in that project by an inquisitive raconette. Eynon distracted Chee with half an apple and brought the box to Merry. When he took back the steering oar, she drank the potion in one gulp and washed it down with three generous swallows of cider.

  “That’s truly vile,” she said, wiping her mouth.

  “The strongest medicine tastes the worst going down,” said Eynon as if he was reciting a lesson.

  “That’s a good one,” said Merry. “You should write it down and compete with Ealdamon.”

  “It’s not original,” said Eynon. “I heard it from my grandmother. I think she was talking about fish liver oil.”

  “Your grandmother makes you drink that foul stuff, too?” asked Merry.

  “Everyone’s grandmother does,” said Eynon. “Hmmm…”

  “What?”

  “If one of the estates on the Rhuthro presses fish liver oil, I could add that to the marshapples I’ll be carrying to the Coombe, instead of our people having to buy their oil from peddlers.”

  “Wouldn’t that make you a peddler?” asked Merry.

  “True,” said Eynon, “but I’d be a local peddler, not one of those untrustworthy fast-talking peddlers from Tyford or Brendinas.”

  “I can see your point,” she said. “I’m sure my father can help you find a source for fish livers.”

  “So long as I don’t have to press them myself.”

  “I agree,” said Merry. “I’d rather wrestle a skunk.”

  They both smiled and sat in companionable silence as they floated north. Merry chewed a piece of willow bark from the red box, making faces from its astringent taste. The sun was going down, but a few hours of daylight and dusk still remained. Eynon noticed a tall, narrow tower ahead on the east bank at the end of a long spit extending out into the river.

  “That’s the Blue Spiral Tower,” said Merry. “It marks the northern border of this section of crown forest lands.” She leaned her head back against Eynon’s knees and looked up at him. “It belongs to a powerful wizard, but she’s not in residence very often from what I’ve heard.”

  “It looks well-constructed,” said Eynon. “Have you ever been inside?”

  He admired the way the tower’s spiral of blue accent stones contrasted with the gray stone used for most of the structure. The blue stones circled up from the tower’s broad base to its conical tip and the stones in the spiral stuck a few feet out from the tower’s walls, like winding stairs.

  Something about the structure made him feel warm all over—or maybe it was just Merry leaning against him.

  “No,” said Merry. “No one has. Wardens sometimes climb the spiral steps on the outside to scan for fires and poachers.”

  Eynon felt a curious desire to stop and ascend the tower all the way to the crenellated battlements at the top. The view from up there must be spectacular, he thought.

  “The magestone in your amulet is blinking,” said Merry. “I can see it through your shirt.”

  “It is?” asked Eynon. “What should I do about it?”

  “There’s not much you can do about it except be aware of it,” said Merry. “I just hope it’s not trying to warn us about danger ahead.”

  “I don’t recall it blinking before w
e were attacked by the black boats,” said Eynon.

  “There is that,” said Merry.

  Chee stirred on Merry’s lap and leapt up to Eynon’s shoulder in two quick hops. The raconette scanned the horizon, ready to send up a warning cry if necessary.

  “Do you think he understands what we’re saying?” asked Eynon.

  “I don’t see how,” said Merry. “He’s probably reacting to our own anxiety.”

  “That must be it,” said Eynon. He shifted his head to stare at Chee. “Look there—can you see his tail from where you’re sitting?”

  “Better than you can, I suppose,” said Merry. “What about it?”

  “It’s not fluffy all the way around like a raccoon, or long and sinuous, like a wildcat. Chee’s tail is bushy on top, but flat underneath.”

  “I see it,” said Merry. “The bottom has ridges along it, and no hair.”

  “That must be why the female raconette I saw had such an easy time hanging from a branch,” said Eynon.

  “When was this?”

  “On the east bank. When you were asleep.”

  “Oh, sorry,” said Merry. “Maybe that’s what they use when they want to steal ripe cherries.”

  “Could be,” said Eynon.

  His amulet stopped blinking when the tower disappeared from view behind them. They returned to watching the river, enjoying each other’s presence without speaking. Chee made odd noises as he slept on Merry’s lap that Eynon interpreted as the raconette’s version of snoring.

  “The freeholder’s cabin is a mile or so north of here,” said Merry. “I’m feeling a lot better after that potion. Trade places, please, and let me take the steering oar.”

  She started to get to her feet.

  Eynon inspected the side of her head where the raised bruise had been. Now it was a smooth mark on the skin under her hair, only faintly purple.

  “If you’re feeling better,” said Eynon.

  “I am,” said Merry. She got up from the deck and spit bits of willow bark over the side. Then she took another drink from the cider jug and ate a few dried cherries. She shared with Chee, who didn’t seem unhappy about losing his comfortable napping spot.

  “Want some?” she asked.

  Eynon answered by opening his mouth, hoping Merry would feed him. Instead, Chee took four cherries from the open urn, climbed to Eynon’s shoulder, and fed them to him one by one.

  “He’s a considerate little fellow,” said Merry. She was close to laughing and so was Eynon.

  “That he is,” said Eynon. “Though I’d prefer it if you were the one feeding me.”

  “Maybe later,” said Merry with a twinkle in her eye that signaled she really was feeling better.

  He stood up from the navigator’s bench and traded places with Merry. Instead of sitting down, he moved behind her and rested one hand on her upper arm. He liked feeling connected. Chee stayed on Eynon’s shoulder. Then the raconette began to jump and point.

  “That’s it,” said Merry, following Chee’s finger. “There’s our cabin.”

  Eynon saw a simple, one-story log structure with a shake roof set back under the trees. A patch of grass kept short, he assumed, by grazing deer, sloped down to a sturdy wooden dock. A dozen boulders as tall as Eynon blocked a portion of the current upstream from the dock, leaving a quiet pool behind them.

  Those boulders looked like they’ve been dropped in place by erratic ice giants, thought Eynon. Similar stones sat in the middle of fields in the northern part of the Coombe and farmers had no choice but to plow around them. Eynon admired Merry’s skill as she brought the boat up to the dock. He tied off the stern, then jumped down and walked along the dock to secure the bowline. That maneuver was much easier than trying to climb over four large barrels of hard cider. Chee found a perch on top of one of the piles supporting the dock and supervised.

  Eynon and Merry removed packs, food, bedrolls and other essential supplies from the storage area under the stern deck and put them on the dock. After retrieving his pack, Eynon set the minor wards while Merry observed his technique. Chee seemed to sense their magic and didn’t try to hop back on the ship, triggering the wards. Eynon considered that a good thing, since he didn’t know how the raconette would react to baying hounds.

  Before they left the dock to begin their walk to the cabin, Chee returned to Eynon’s shoulder. A few moments later, a gray squirrel ran across their path and paused to chitter an angry protest at the newcomers invading its territory. The raconette wasn’t intimidated, even though the squirrel was nearly the same size he was. Chee looked down from his raised vantage point next to Eynon’s head and answered back forcefully with “Ch-ch-ch-chee. Cha-chee!”

  The squirrel reversed course and ran back into the forest.

  “That’s telling him, my friend,” said Eynon.

  “Chee,” agreed the raconette.

  When they reached the cabin, Merry retrieved a cast iron key from a chink between two logs and opened the door. Then they entered and put down what they were carrying. It looked like a pleasant-enough place to spend the night.

  Most of the right wall was a broad fireplace made from rounded river rocks. Half a cord of wood was neatly stacked close at hand, while a medium-sized cooking pot hung from a swinging arm, near where the fire would be when they lit one. A simple trestle table and a pair of benches sat half a dozen feet away from the fireplace and four straw-filled canvas mattresses were stacked on the floor by the cabin’s left wall. A small oiled-cloth window was in the wall facing west, near the door.

  Chee launched himself into the rafters and began exploring that part of the cabin while making soft clicking sounds.

  “All the comforts of home,” said Eynon.

  “Your home, maybe,” said Merry.

  “What’s missing?” asked Eynon. “I’m just a simple farm boy and don’t know what a sophisticated Rhuthro-valley squire-reeve’s daughter expects.”

  “We have a pump in our kitchen,” said Merry. “It’s the height of luxury—even though I have to pump it myself.”

  “So that’s where you get your muscles,” teased Eynon. “I thought it was from steering the boat.”

  “That, too,” said Merry. She posed for him and flexed her right bicep. “Plus archery practice.”

  “Archery practice? Where’s your bow, then?”

  “I didn’t bring my longbow,” said Merry. “I only use it for hunting deer and didn’t think I’d have the time for that this trip.”

  “I didn’t bring my longbow, either,” said Eynon. “I wanted to travel light on my wander year.”

  “And depend on the kindness of farmers’ daughters?”

  “Farmers’ wives, anyway.”

  They laughed and exchanged a hug and a quick kiss.

  “Fetch some water in the pot and I’ll get a fire started,” Merry instructed as she moved to the fireplace.

  “Yes, dear lady,” said Eynon. He didn’t move.

  “Alright, I deserved that,” said Merry. “Please fetch some water. I think tonight will be cool, and I want to make soup.”

  “Glad to,” said Eynon. “Where’s the well?”

  “The water is in the river,” said Merry with a smile. “Mind you don’t fall in.”

  “Yes, dear,” said Eynon.

  “And bring me some spring onions if you spot any.”

  * * * * *

  The soup was hearty and filling. Venison jerky and dried peas soaked up the water nicely. Fresh marshapple root provided richness and bits of stale bread made it thick. Eynon had found spring onions, and their flavor gave the soup a tasty bite. Even Chee enjoyed the small cup they offered him, though he was more interested in dried cherries and another piece of honey cake.

  Merry was looking tired after dinner, so
Eynon encouraged her to sit at the table and enjoy the warmth of the fire. He cleaned the pot and their bowls in the river and split more firewood to replace what they’d use, to be fair to the next travelers to stay at the cabin. Merry had assured Eynon he didn’t need to split wood, since her father paid for the use of the cabin and any wood they used with jugs of cider, but Eynon insisted.

  When he returned, they each stood guard for the other for visits to the privy, then walked down to the riverbank to wash their hands. Once they returned to the cabin, Eynon moved two of the straw mattresses close—but not too close—to the fireplace and arranged their bedrolls. The oiled-cloth window near the door changed from reddish orange to black and the only light inside was the fire’s warm glow. Merry cuddled next to Eynon and nestled in his arms. Chee curled up on top of Eynon’s pack a foot closer to the fire.

  “Thank you,” said Merry.

  “You’re welcome, I think,” said Eynon. “But for what?”

  “For saving my life.”

  “They weren’t going to kill us,” said Eynon. “They wanted to collect bounties on us as conscripts.”

  “They wanted to steal four barrels of hard cider,” said Merry, her eyes slowly closing involuntarily. “The bounties were an extra bonus.”

  Eynon gave her a gentle squeeze. “You were wonderful, holding off two of them at once,” he said. “I got to fight my opponents one at a time.”

  “You did pretty well for a farm boy,” said Merry.

  “Farm boys are often underestimated.”

  “I’ll have to remember that.”

  Eynon felt something odd, like someone was squeezing a finger on his left hand where it was pressing against Merry’s back. He checked, and Chee was still sleeping.

  “Hold on a minute,” said Eynon.

  He disengaged himself from their embrace and sat up. Merry did the same beside him. They could both see the plain gold ring on the middle finger of Eynon’s left hand slowly pulsing. He took the ring off and held it up. It continued to pulse and vibrate.