Akatika's Legacy

by Kristopher Huffman

  “This is a magic book!” Ivy shouted. Realizing what she had done she instantly turned scarlet, blushing profusely.

  Sinvear gave a reproving glance to his daughter and continued. “At first I thought this was a grimoire obitus. Mages like to speak using old languages, we would call it a book of magical departure in the common. A book of deadly curses and spells. That is why I acted the way I did. Most of them have very intricate bindings and covers such as yours. This, however, looks to be an old relic of a very well to do mage or acolyte.”

  “Is that why the mage was looking so intently at it?” Ivy asked.

  “Likely was, grimoire obitus are uncommon, not something anyone should find on a peddler’s cart. Not to mention unlawful to have in Thoamira without a writ and seal from the king. Only those in military service or the king's court are given leave to have grimoire obitus.” Sinvear explained.

  “Is it actually worth something?” Gabby asked.

  “I don’t believe so, to a young lady with no inclination to do magic not much more than the gemstone in the cover. That mage may be interested in buying it. There are many of these in Ciamvier and Jenieria, mages are fairly common there and trade them back and forth among each other. If you see him again you might try talking with him about it. Might be worth selling to put away some coin for a big occasion I understand is in your future.” Sinvear said.

  Now it was time for Gabby to blush. Talking about marrying Lafe always made her blush.

  Chapter 11

  When Lafe purchased the property, he believed that having a stream running through the property was a phenomenal idea. He thought about that point a lot over the past few turnings. In fact, it was his favorite thing to think about when he was doing busy work. He would be able to fish from it and get water without having to dig a well or go to one of the common wells. He could even have one of the fancy crank pumps put in and run pipes up to the house. Like most things, however, the idea was much better in his head.

  The stream on the map was much smaller than what was actually on his newly purchased land. The banks of the stream were all but nonexistent, the bank twenty feet in every direction around the stream was just mud. Knee high mud in some areas as Lafe had found out as he inspected the land. But on the good side, that meant the delicious little shellfish with the pinchers that were common, on the bad side bugs. The old forest ended just on the other side of the stream and that meant a massive variety of bugs. It seemed as if every possible bug lived and mated in or near the stream.

  Lafe had decided that having the house near the stream was a bad idea. With his new-found fortune, he purchased the plans for a modest home, all be it spacious, from one of the draughtsmen at the land warden’s office. Conveniently located across the road from the land warden’s office was the builder’s guild.

  When Lafe signed the contract with the land warden and went across to the builder’s guild with the plans. The builder’s guild told him the foundation would be set and the walls would be up within three turnings. It had actually only taken the builders one turning to dig and a half to complete the foundation. Good weather and supplies on hand meant faster work. This made the guild master happy, the faster the work was completed the more coin he could pocket as bonuses were always part of the deal.

  A shipping company had failed; the two owners died when a ship was set upon by pirates. No one was left with access to the accounts, the company couldn’t pay its debts, one of which was to the builder’s guild for a contract to build a storehouse. The structure was never completed and that left lots of foundation stone sitting in one of the fields the builders used to store things. This also made the guild master happy because he was paid for the supplies twice.

  The supports for the two-story home had gone up and floors soon followed over the next turning. A workshop large enough for two wagons and teams to fit in it were built as well as Lafe had requested. It was there that he stored the supplies he had been gathered for the adventure. So far, he had purchased two wagons, the first was for his everyday use. The other was for Gabby and her adventures. The other held empty canvas bags and a few strong boxes, rope, lanterns, a few hatches, sleeping rolls, canvas tarps, leather water skins, a jug of oil, and some wood fires. Everything Lafe could think of for an adventure.

  Lafe was well on his way to fulfilling his part of the agreement. It was draining the newfound riches, however. The house cost more than he thought it was going to. Fixing issues with the stream, buying the supplies, two horses, and a mule left him with little more than he started with before he harvested the black yew. He had enough to make sure the house was completed, but little more than that. It seemed like so much more coin when first he got the banknote.

  Lafe had thought about leaving the lumberjack trade, he would live off the coin from the tree. Yet, here he was chopping down trees, again and again, listening to the shouting of the foreman in the distance. He got caught up in his fantasies when he was chopping lumber. Especially when he had to take a turn at stripping the smaller branches off the felled trees as he was today.

  He was so bored with the job that he barely noticed the people running out of the forest shouting. Someone must have kicked a tree while trying to cut it down. That was the surest way to get yourself killed. They had a term for it when a tree fell on top of the lumberjack who had been felling it, Widow maker.

  “Widow maker?” Lafe shouted as they came closer.

  “No, much worse.” Was the reply, Lafe couldn’t tell who shouted back the reply.

  “What then?” Lafe shouted again.

  “Dead animals everywhere. Must be a pack of wolves.” Within a few moments, the man was close enough for Lafe to identify as James Sauer.

  “How many?” Lafe questioned.

  “Couldn’t tell you, it started with one. Then we found more and more. The strangest thing was the body wasn’t mangled. Nothing was eaten. The only thing wrong was the throat, it was torn out.” Sauer said.

  “It was just sitting there?” Lafe asked, puzzled.

  “Sure enough, looked almost like it was sleeping. We figured a bear or something larger came across the wolves and they chased after it leaving the animals forgotten.”

  “That doesn’t sound like wolves.” Lafe stated.

  “Don’t know what it did, but it all happened last night. We scouted this area yesterday and they weren’t there.” Sauer replied.

  This was a very dangerous situation and the wolves, or whatever killed the animals, could still be near enough to attack any of the lumberjacks. Lafe buried his axe in the side of the tree. He knew that it was against the rules to do it, but they had to hurry. Both he and Sauer began to run. They shouted the alarm to everyone they passed on the way.

  “Wolves! Wolves! Back to the yard!”

  The forest could be a dangerous place, especially the deep forest around Gibron. They were the host to many kinds of animal. Most of these were docile game animals, however, there were the few predators that made it their home. Among those predators were the common bears, large cats, a few horrifying Griptef, and wolves. Few knew the dangers of a pack of wolves better than those that made their livelihood from the forest.

  Normal wolves were never an issue with the locals. Vargr, giant wolves that knew no fear of man, they were the real issue. Rumors came each year of someone seeing one, but those were always disproven. They hunted those unfortunate people that came to close to their territory. A massacre such as this might indicate they were actually in the forest.

  Lafe and Sauer made it to the mill and informed the foreman of the threat. Lumberjacks and scouts came pouring in as the bell, that would normally only toll twice for shift changes, range out nonstop. Axes and saws were left driven into trees or cast on the still dew-covered ground as they ran as fast as they could to safety. Leaving your tools about was a sure way to be dismissed except for one occasion and this was it. The constant tolling meant imminent danger.

  When the alarm was raised no one was able to le
ave. Everything stopped and everyone ran to the lumber yard for a head count. No one wanted to have to go back into the forest and look for someone when there was danger about. If a worker left during the headcount, they would be dismissed immediately without pay. Lafe thought this was fair, after all, they were potentially putting others in harm's way by sneaking off. Everyone formed a line and each, in turn, gave their name to the clerk, was tallied off, and left for home.

  The next day Lafe headed to the town council hall. This is where the discussion about the wolves would be. Meetings like this were common with any threat that didn’t fall under the authority of the guard or military. There would be a head count, the foreman would have told the town council of the potential Vargr pack in the area. They would determine the next course of action. A group would be formed eventually to hunt for the beasts if enough coin was offered.

  The town council hall was an austere building. It was a gift from Lord Clint to the town for their patience when the town was rebuilt. It was the largest building in town and was built out of completely from stone. Lafe could remember being a child and counting the steps his small feet made around the building. He had counted three hundred steps on every side and was amazed by its size. Now he knew the actual size was somewhere in the range of four hundred and fifty feet on each side.

  He was still in awe of the size of it, he had to admit to himself. It was well over forty feet tall. Most of the town could fit inside if the need presented itself. The walls were grey slate with a small window every thirty feet or so. Each window had a different stained-glass image in it depicting scenes from all the aspects of the town’s life. Children ran around and played hide and seek behind the columns of an exotic red stone. The two sets of massive brass reinforced oak double doors stood open allowing the throng of people to move in.

  Lafe entered and saw Sauer standing along the outside of the hall and pressed his way through the crowd. The columns inside were of the same red stone and provided annoying choke points for the movements of the crowd. The stained-glass windows provided almost no light to the inside. The majority of the light was provided by candles on massive wooden chandlers that hung in two rows along each side of the hall. The only exception was a shining stone cased in a thick glass case set into the wall at the back dais and provided enough soft white light for the entire stage it was on.

  Lafe finally made it to Sauer and leaned against the wall, making sure not to scratch the purple-heart wood paneling with the knife at his belt. “You know if they are starting soon?”

  “No idea.” Sauer replied as he turned to look at Lafe.

  “You think they’ll ask for volunteers or make an assignment?” Lafe asked.

  “If it’s like the last one they will ask for volunteers.” Sauer said.

  “Which means there will be a bounty posted tomorrow due to lack of volunteers.” Lafe returned.

  “I’m thinking it will go as high as a few silver marks per pelt.” Sauer postulated. He ran his hands through his tangled mop of black hair. “I’d join for that price.”

  Lafe nudged Sauer with his elbow and nodded to the dais. “I think they’re starting.”

  Councilman Urwin made his way to the lectern. He was an affectionate man and preferred to be called Merrill rather than councilman but few aside from friends ever did. The portly man had a mix of long tawny and grey hair. His deep blue council robes were unbuttoned displaying a cream-colored shirt and brown pants. He had been rebellious in his youth if the stories could be believed but had become the nicest, most caring individual in town after his mother passed.

  “It has been brought to our attention that there is something or many things hunting around the town. This looks like it may be wolves, possibly even Vargr by the accounts of the animal remains. We have informed the guard and Commander Lynch is here to address us.” Councilman Urwin shouted over the murmuring crowd.

  Commander Lynch stepped to the lectern and firmly grabbed the edges of the pulpit. He spoke with a booming authoritative voice, the type that made it clear he was the final word. “We are aware of the danger these attacks pose to those that work and live outside the walled sections. I want to put your minds at ease by informing you we have increased the patrols and posted additional guards in those sections.”

  “At this point, we don’t have any information about what did this. It is likely there is a group of wolves that were scared off in their hunt.” Lynch continued.

  A shout came from the audience. “No pack of wolves ever hunted like that. They hunt as a team taking down one or two deer, or the like.”

  Another voice joined the first. “Wolves don’t slaughter everything in their path. This has to be Vargr.”

  “You are correct that this seems to be odd behavior for wolves, but we have not seen or heard any reports of Vargr anywhere near our town. This area is hunted in commonly and we would have noticed signs of a Vargr den sooner. Do not spread rumors that will cause panic. We are investigating.” Lynch assured everyone.

  The man from the crowd shouted again; “How can you be sure? What are you doing about it?”

  This time several people could be heard agreeing with him. Voicing their fear and hopes for a speedy resolution.

  Waving his hands at the crowd to quiet them Lynch announced; “We are conducting a search at present. For the time being, we are asking everyone to stay within the walled area of town, if your homes are outside of the walled area please do not go outside. We expect to find the beast responsible in a day or two.”

  This time it was Sauer that shouted; “What of the lumber mill, are we supposed to stop working while you look for the wolves or whatever it is?”

  Lafe hadn’t thought about that; work would stop while the search was going on. Sauer had a horrible gambling habit and likely many debts. Him not working could be a bigger threat than the beasts of the forest in his mind. Lafe was better off than most at the mill because of his own good fortune, but he still needed the income from the mill. He truly felt for his friends at the mill.

  “I am charged with the safety of the community not the running of the mill. Your foreman can tell you what the mill is going to do.” Lynch answered.

  Commander Lynch nodded and began to walk away. Councilman Urwin replaced him at the lectern. He looked into the crowd of restless faces and saw their anxiety. The crowd wanted to be reassured that there was nothing to be afraid of. They expected answers and a plan to fix the issue, what they got was a hidden unknown beast seemingly killing at its leisure.

  “The town council is offering a commission for scouts and a hunting party. We are asking for twelve volunteers at this time. We are offering one silver mark for the commission. Those interested please come to my office after the meeting.” Councilman Urwin concluded.

  Tanner the mill’s foreman walked to the lectern beside the councilman and whispered a few words to him. Councilman Urwin turned and nodded then whispered something back. The foreman nodded.

  “The wood harvesting will be stopped while the danger in the woods exists; however, foreman Tanner has said they will run the mill all day and night. Those lumberjacks that wish to process the lumber are welcome to do so. Please give me a few minutes to get to my office. Good day, and Maerryth’s blessing be upon you.” Councilman Urwin announced.

  The crowd began to disperse filing out in a much more orderly and dignified way than what it had come in as. After a few minutes, there were only a few small groups standing around talking. Lafe noted that not a single person had gone up the stairs to visit the councilman. They could have been waiting to see if anyone else would go, but more likely they would wait until the bounty got higher. Many of the mill workers couldn’t afford that and some of the townsfolk may not have heard of the danger that had come to their town.

  Lafe was not going to stand by while this happened. He started for the stairs and shot a look at the other mill workers that tarried in the hall. He saw Sauer rolling a coin over his knuckles then flip it into the air. It
must have landed the right side up because he laughed and started to jog to the stairs as well.

  “Lose the toss?” Lafe teased.

  “You know it. I figured at least I’ll be in good company though.” Sauer replied.

  Lafe shouted to the other in the crowd; “Anyone else coming to become heroes?”

  It was a good prod, most of the men at the mill liked the idea of being heroic and manly. This was a sure way to get them the title, they only needed a little push into realizing the chance they had. Maybe others were there would join as he had because it was the right thing to do. Four other men, Lafe only barely recognized, made their way up to join them. Together they went to councilman Urwin’s office.

  The office was simple; a worn leather-bound chest in the corner, a desk just large enough to fit a mess of papers on, and two small chairs sitting across from each other. It was common practice for people in the town to let bounties grow before responding. This is why councilman Urwin looked truly shocked that anyone had come in.