Path of The Calm (Saga of The Wolf Book 1)

by Kris Hiatt

  Treace buried his face in Jensen’s shoulder. He hugged the smith tight and Jensen hugged him back.

  “Oh, Treace,” his mother said, although he couldn’t see her; his face was firmly planted against Jensen’s large frame. He felt her soft touch on his shoulder and he let go of Jensen and flew into his mother’s arms and hugged her fiercely. He cried tears of joy and tears of pain. The bittersweet taste of love and a loved one lost.

  He pulled away and lost his balance, nearly falling off the wagon. He caught himself and moved as if it never happened. He grabbed his mother’s hand, kissed it and placed it on Jensen’s cheek. He jumped off the side of the wagon to the alarmed looks of both adults.

  “I love you and I am happy for both of you, but I need to walk for a while.”

  His mother nodded and Treace could see tears in her eyes. He hoped they weren’t like his. He hoped they were only tears of joy.

  #

  Treace understood why there were so few trees on the eastern side of Coldwater Lake. He knew why all the trees south of the lake were gone as well. If the thousands and thousands of houses and shops that made up Haven didn’t explain it well enough, then the dozens and dozens of ships in the harbor surely did. Their hulls were crafted of very long boards, boards that could only have been made from the tallest of trees; the ones around Coldwater Lake.

  He had marveled at many structures as the wagon made its way through the city of Haven. Some of the houses would have fit three or four homes the size of his within their walls. Some were made of stone and some were made of wood. The houses were packed together much tighter than the homes in Lake City. There were several mansions that rose up to touch the sky. They were at least the size of Constable Wren’s manor, but there were dozens of them, not just one like in Lake City. But the most marvelous structures were easily the huge structures of the baron and that of the Onneron Church. The baron’s palace would fit at least a quarter of Lake City inside it. The Onneron Priory wasn’t near to the size of the baron’s palace, but it was easily the second largest structure in Haven.

  He sat on the wagon while Jensen negotiated a price with a ship’s captain for his, along with his mother’s, passage to the College at Kilindric. This was either the sixth or seventh captain Jensen had spoken to, Treace wasn’t sure. So far either the captains were charging a ridiculous rate of a jin per passenger, or said they were already full. There were hundreds of people looking to travel to the College. Treace guessed there were at least two-hundred boys his age and at least one or two adults for every boy. The captains knew they had their customers right where they wanted them; between the ocean and the College, and knew they could charge outlandish prices and get away with it. Treace didn’t blame them too much.

  Finally, after what must have been the twelfth captain, Jensen found what he must have thought was a reasonable price, because he came trotting back to them wearing a smile.

  “You leave within the hour, or when the boat is full,” Jensen told them. “Get your things.”

  They all moved to the back of the wagon and retrieved their belongings. Treace grabbed his travel sack and slung it over his shoulder, then picked up the long wooden box that was his supposed gift to the Onneron Brothers. His mother only had a travel sack, which she slung over her shoulder and was ready to go. Jensen opened a crate and pulled out two swords. Treace wondered if they were for him. He wasn’t sure how the brothers felt about weaponry, but if Jensen offered, he planned on taking them.

  “Part of the deal with the captain,” Jensen explained. Treace was only mildly disappointed.

  They made their way to the boat, which was difficult due to the hundreds of people around the docks either loading up on the ship or trying to find passage on one of them. Jensen gave the captain the money and the two swords, which were looked over for defects. Treace couldn’t see how much money Jensen handed the captain, and the smith didn’t tell him.

  Treace climbed aboard the ship and was excited to be going on the ocean for the first time. This ship was quite large and had two masts. It was much larger than the craft used to fish with on Coldwater Lake, which were propelled by paddles. He was excited to see how sailing ships operated; he hadn’t read much about them up until this point. There were several other boys his age already in the vessel, with many other family members with them. Treace figured the ship must have primarily been used for cargo to and from Kadenton because he didn’t see any fishing tackle. He realized then why the fee was so large. Either it was a fishing vessel that was losing at least three to five days of fishing depending on how far away the fishing waters were, or if it was a cargo ship they were losing space in which to carry goods.

  “Good luck, Treace,” Jensen said, drawing him from his musings.

  “Thank you Jensen. Thank you for everything.”

  “You’re welcome my boy, you’re welcome.”

  The captain was watching Jensen intently. Treace guessed he was trying to ensure he wasn’t going to have a stowaway on his ship. The smith had only paid for two passengers, not three.

  “Treace, listen to me,” Jensen said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I want you to take this,” he said as he held out a folded piece of paper to Treace. “But, you must promise me that you will not open it until after your exams. Can you do that?”

  Treace recalled the last letter that was handed to him and winced slightly. He didn’t think Jensen noticed. He was confused as to why he should wait until after the exams.

  “It’s a letter of the sort a father would give to his son.”

  Jenna gave Jensen a heartwarming smile that only Treace seemed to catch.

  Treace reached for the letter, but Jensen pulled it away.

  “Not until you promise.”

  “I promise, Jensen. I won’t open it until after the exams.”

  “Good. Go ahead, take it. And read it after your mother leaves. I want its contents to remain between us.”

  “What if I don’t pass?” Treace asked, very well aware of the constable’s letter. He doubted this letter’s contents were even remotely the same.

  “You will.”

  Treace took the letter and thought it had to be a letter from Jensen telling him how proud he was that Treace was accepted into the College. Jensen couldn’t know for certain that he would pass, not completely anyway. He thought of the letter having two parts. One part would say ‘read here if you passed’, while the other would say ‘read here if you didn’t’. Treace smiled at the idea and placed the letter into his travel sack.

  “Sir, da ship’s gettin’ full,” the captain said to Jensen.

  “Okay, captain, just let me say goodbye,” Jensen said.

  He gave Treace a hug first, then looked at Jenna with a look that clearly told Treace he wanted to hug her. Treace grabbed both of them, one in each arm, and pulled them together in what Treace thought of as a family hug.

  “No matter the outcome, I’m proud of you,” Jensen said to Treace. He turned to Jenna and grasped her by the shoulders.

  “I’ll see you in a little over a week. You be careful. Stay next to the captain on the trip back. I’ve paid him extra to look out for your safety.”

  “You didn’t have to, I will be alright,” his mother said. “But thank you.”

  “I wanted to, and you’re welcome.”

  “Sir, it’s time ta go,” said the captain. “The winds’r favorable and da ship is neary full,” the captain told Jensen in the accent Treace thought of as ‘sailorese’. Every person that manned a ship that Treace had seen so far had spoken in the same fashion.

  “Alright, I’m going,” Jensen said irritably and walked down the narrow walkway that led to the dock.

  “Hoist da sails!” the captain screamed.

  Everyone that wasn’t a passenger scrambled to their feet and began the process of raising the sails by moving or adjusting the appropriate ropes and pulleys. Someone started to remove the walkway and Treace noticed a few others pulling on a
large rope that could only be attached to the ship’s anchor.

  Treace took his mother’s hand to help steady her and moved over to the other side of the ship where their belongings were and sat down with their backs against the side of the ship.

  Treace looked at the walkway that was directly across from him and realized he had forgotten to do something. He grabbed the wooden box and rushed back to the side of the ship, hoping Jensen hadn’t gone too far and that he could get the box to him.

  Jensen hadn’t moved and was busy watching all the crewmembers go about their business getting the ship ready to sail.

  “Jensen!” he yelled out.

  Jensen snapped his head toward Treace.

  “Here, take this,” Treace said and held the box out to Jensen.

  The smith couldn’t reach it. The ship had moved several feet and it was too far away for them to exchange the box.

  The smith grabbed the nearby dock pole and stretched as far as he could. Still too far.

  Treace knew the only way to get Jensen the box was to throw it. He didn’t want to risk the smith dropping it in the water, but he didn’t see any other way.

  “Don’t you drop this!” Treace said and prepared to throw the box.

  “I can’t,” Jensen managed to say before Treace threw the box, almost as hard as he could.

  Treace was glad his aim was true, and was even happier the smith caught the box. He nearly fumbled it, but managed to hold on.

  “Open it,” Treace commanded.

  “You said it was for the people at the College,” Jensen said. His facial expression indicated he didn’t understand.

  “I made it for you,” Treace said loudly, smiling. “It was always for you.”

  There was at least twenty feet between them now as the ship continued to slowly move away from the dock. Jensen untied the rope that secured the lid and opened the box. He pulled the wrapped sword from its contents and dropped the box.

  Jensen unwrapped the sword and held it in front of him, he turned it all about.

  “Thank you Jensen,” Treace shouted. He wanted to make sure the smith could hear him, so he made sure he yelled loudly. “Thank you for everything. You gave me this chance and I wanted to say thank you!”

  Even with the forty feet between them, Treace could see the tears in Jensen’s eyes. He smiled as big as he could and waved at the smith. Jensen returned both.

  When Jensen was out of sight, Treace returned to where his mother was standing. She hadn’t followed him to the railing but had stood up to watch what was going on. She wore a large smile on her face.

  “I wondered what was in the box,” she said. “That was very kind of you.”

  “He’s deserves more than a sword for what he’s done for me,” Treace said.

  “Perhaps, but it was still very thoughtful.”

  Treace sat down when he felt his face start to flush. When he looked up there were many eyes on him, most of the people wore smiles. His mother sat next to him and patted his knee.

  Seated next to him on his left was a young man that Treace guessed was a handful years older than him. He was wearing a robe, which Treace thought to be odd; he hadn’t seen many men wearing a robe before. A beautifully carved wooden staff rest across his legs. The young man looked over at Treace.

  Treace nodded his head in greeting.

  “That was very thoughtful,” the young man said to Treace, smiling.

  “Thank you.”

  “You are very welcome. Headed to the College as well, I see,” the young man said.

  “Yes, although,” Treace said, confused. This young man was absolutely not fourteen and if he was headed to the College, did that mean?

  “Oh, no, not for admissions like you, I’m already part of the brotherhood. I’m Drevic,” he explained and stuck out his hand.

  “Very nice to meet you,” Treace told him and shook his hand. He thought he was very lucky to be seated next to a full-fledged member of the Onneron Brotherhood.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Are the tests difficult?” he asked the brother.

  “Depends on the student, I would say,” Drevic said.

  “Were they for you?”

  “I really shouldn’t say,” Drevic told him.

  Treace didn’t know why Drevic couldn’t talk about it, but he didn’t think it was very nice to question everything a person that you just met has said.

  “A brother who gave away test answers would get dismissed. A brother who might have given away test answers would be thoroughly questioned and his integrity brought into question. I cannot take that chance. There are many prospective students here, and I wouldn’t want any of them to get the wrong impression of me,” Drevic said quite loudly.

  “But I didn’t ask for answers, I simply asked if the tests were hard!” Treace exclaimed, just as loud.

  “Some would say they are one in the same,” Drevic said in much lower tones.

  Treace noticed several other people listening in on their conversation and decided to leave it at that. He didn’t like the looks that some of the other kids his age were giving him. There was one nearby young man who wore what Treace thought looked to be very expensive clothing sitting with his parents that were similarly dressed. He was scowling heavily at him. Treace certainly did not like Drevic insinuating that he was trying to cheat on the exams. He decided he would keep to himself for the rest of the trip.

  Drevic got up and moved to the opposite end of the ship, his staff thudding on the wooden deck as he walked.

  Treace looked at his mother and she shrugged her shoulders as if indicating to him that it didn’t matter.

  #

  The rest of the two-day ship ride had gone by very slowly for Treace. He had thrown up only once and considered himself lucky. Many people, both adult and boy alike, had thrown up many more times. One poor young man had simply hung his head over the side of the boat for the last twelve hours. Treace had no idea how many times he threw up, but it couldn’t have been pleasant.

  They had arrived two days early and had stayed at one of the local inns. Once again, they were forced to pay too much for the accommodations for the five-day period. It seemed the people in Kilindric knew the same thing as the ship captains in Haven. Treace wondered if his mother was running out of money. He hoped they would have enough to get them both back if he was not accepted. After he had consulted with his mother, he knew they wouldn’t. He gave his mother most of the money he had, claiming to have more than enough for a return trip if need be. The only thing he could hope for was to pass the exams and get accepted.

  When Treace got his first look at the College, he couldn’t believe its size. It wasn’t as large as either the baron’s palace or the priory in Haven, but it was still very large. The stone structure was in perfect condition and Treace didn’t know if it was newly constructed or if people cleaned it frequently. The rectangular building was three stories high with one of its shorter sides facing the fields in which he stood.

  They had arrived right after dawn, but there were at least fifty other applicants in front of them in line when they got there. Treace wondered if they camped out in the fields to get in line so early. The line looked as if it went all the way to the gates, but it was hard to tell from here.

  Treace could see that there were many adults walking back down the line and guessed that once the applicant was admitted to the grounds to take the exams, the parents couldn’t stay and had to return to town. He looked up and down the line and knew that his estimation of two hundred applicants was way off; there was at least double that. His odds of getting accepted suddenly dropped significantly. He thought of him walking the streets of Haven alone, unable to return home a failure. He pushed it from his mind.

  They had made decent progress and Treace thought there were only about five applicants left in front of him. It was hard to tell because there were many family members with each applicant and Treace had a hard time seeing over the people in front of him.<
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  “This is so exciting,” his mother said. “Are you nervous?”

  “Only a little,” he said, lying. He was beyond nervous. He knew he wouldn’t be going home regardless of whether he passed or not. He would just prefer it to be on his terms.

  “I think a little nervousness is good. You’ll do well, I just know it.”

  Once there were only three people in front of him he could finally see parts of the admissions table. From what he could see, it was made of wood and had many stacks of papers lined up along its entire length. He could tell that the table sat directly in front of the gate as he suspected.

  “I hope so, Mother.”

  “Oh, and Mr. Hosmer wanted me to tell you good luck.”

  “I hope I won’t be back to tell him thanks,” he said. He thought it was a fairly clever response.

  “I’m not sure why I’m saying this, but there’s also a wager about you. On whether or not you’ll pass the exams. I hope that doesn’t make you nervous.”

  “Only if you wagered that I wouldn’t.” He was feeling quite clever indeed.

  She frowned in response, so must be she didn’t find it as humorous as he did.

  He pictured all the people in the Lumber Inn placing bets against him. He was certain Wren would be the first to bet on that. He thought of Emiah then and wondered which way she would vote.

  “Next,” a dry voice said, drawing him from his contemplations.

  Treace stepped up to the table where a middle-aged man wearing a beige robe, like the one he had seen Drevic wearing, sat, one hand holding a quill, the other drumming his fingers against the wood.

  “City of your constable’s residence?”

  “Lake City, sir.”

  The brother looked over his papers and picked up a small stack.

  “The name?”

  “Wren, sir.”

  The man looked through the few papers in the stack and said, “There is not an applicant named Wren in Lake City. You must not have completed the paperwork properly. Next!”

  “Sir,” Treace said and held an upraised hand to the applicant behind him. “My name is not Wren, it is Treace.” He knew where the man made his mistake. He had asked for the name, not his name.