Asking Questions, Part I
Kurgm walked with Master Ekla and the rest of the caravan along the road leading away from the court. It was a simple enough assignment, one they’d done several times before. Protect the caravan on its way to collect crops from the farms outside the walls of the court, then protect it on its way back. While the gardens were sizable, they weren’t enough to feed the entire city, making it necessary to have farmlands outside of the walls. While they had their own protection, especially after the incident just before the cold season, the caravan needed extra protection from thieves, dragons, and any passing forest creatures that were feeling angry that day.
Master Ekla had met Kurgm outside the tower with their orders and this information as justification. Kurgm had nodded, rubbed his eyes, yawned, and asked why they had to do it so early in the morning. He hadn’t gotten an answer for that one. Instead, a bag of trail rations and a water skin had been lobbed at his head, indicating that he was to eat on the way, and do so quickly, otherwise more objects would be lobbed at his head.
While Kurgm was slightly more awake than he had been at the time, Master Ekla kept elbowing him whenever she caught him starting to yawn.
“Don’t start, otherwise everyone else will start, and it doesn’t reflect well on the court,” Master Ekla hissed.
Kurgm nodded, still struggling to stay awake. The sun had only just started to peek out over the horizon, and they were nearing the farmlands. He’d learned early on in his time at the court that a master could have her apprentice’s identification orb go off early to wake them up when they needed to be somewhere earlier than usual. This would occasionally have a message with it. In his case, the message was always “Get moving. We have work to do.”
“You’re always awake at sunrise,” Master Ekla said, keeping her voice low. “Part of your whole ‘temple’ thing.”
“My temple thing?”
“The Sun Welcoming Ceremony, right?”
“Yeah, but I’m not usually walking a few miles, and I would’ve gotten more sleep.”
He nearly yawned again, but Master Ekla elbowed him before he could. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
The rising sun filtered through the trees around them, adding to the light from the orbs circling the caravan. There were three carts, all towing trailers for food, surrounded by a dozen knights. With the start of the harvest, they were to bring the food back for the court.
“Why can’t the farmlands be on the outskirts of the court?” Kurgm asked, putting his glasses back into place.
“You grew up in the castle. You should know the answer to that.”
“I never had time to explore or anything, remember? Our Lord True Knight had to split his time between us.”
“It was like having a little brother,” Master Ekla said. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be asking questions, though. When the court was built, they had to negotiate with the forest for the land. It was built inside the forest for protection, but they couldn’t clear out too much of it. The gardens were planted to provide for the court, but as it grew in population, they had to add the farmlands for food. Which is why the only road that leads away from the court goes right through the farmlands.”
“And we can’t live off the forest because…?”
“We have to respect the natural order. If we went around killing any animals we wanted, or taking whatever fruit or plants we found, it would slowly destroy the forest. Mother doesn’t allow us to take more than we need.”
“Who?”
“Mother. The tree who oversees the forest.”
Kurgm nodded, wondering why he’d never heard of Mother. Thinking about it, he had heard about her, but she’d never been referred to as “Mother”. Usually, it was “The Caretaker of the Forest” or the like. It never surprised him when Master Ekla knew things. She was a little like Aonva like that; both of them had their heads full of information.
He glanced back at the other knights. He realized that he was the only apprentice there, making him wonder if he was supposed to be there.
“Why am I the only apprentice here?”
“Most knights don’t think it’s safe to bring an apprentice for a caravan run after what happened before the cold season.”
That didn’t make Kurgm feel any better. He glanced around at the trees, wondering if there was something watching them. The thought of a dragon swooping down and attacking them crossed his mind, and he turned his gaze to the sky.
“Don’t worry. If we’re going to be hit, it won’t be until after we’ve collected the food,” Master Ekla said.
Once again, that didn’t inspire confidence.
“How’s Apprentice Aonva?” Master Ekla asked, likely as a way to take his mind off the possibility of an attack.
“I think she’s feeling better. It’s hard to tell, though. Her spells are working again, but she doesn’t seem upset about what happened. It’s like she’s waiting for Roshil to feel better or something.”
“They’ve been close friends for a while, that’s not going to disappear overnight.”
“Roshil enchanted her. Why doesn’t that make a difference?”
He kept his voice down so the other knights wouldn’t overhear. The night Roshil had enchanted Aonva, he’d been told not to talk about it. Master Ekla had explained that it didn’t reflect well on the court or the apprentices. Roshil would be punished by the court, but if people knew that she in particular had done something, it would complicate matters.
Why treat her different? he’d asked.
Because she is different, Master Ekla had replied, and once again, wouldn’t elaborate.
Kurgm had gotten some explanation out of Aonva about Roshil. Roshil had been cursed by a dragon years ago, which was why her eyes and hair were the way they were. It was also why most people didn’t trust her, and why they had been shunned from the Flower Blooming Ceremony a few months ago. It didn’t bother Aonva at all, and the more time Kurgm spent around Roshil, the less it bothered him.
The horses started making noise. Some tossed their heads. The knights ran to tend to them.
“Hold!” Master Ekla called, holding up her hand.
The entire caravan stopped. People started asking questions, but the other knights got them to be quiet.
Master Ekla’s nostrils flared as she took breaths through her nose.
Is she smelling for something? Kurgm couldn’t see anything in the trees around the road, but if Master Ekla had a bad feeling, he knew enough to trust it.
She stared into the trees and smelled the air again. Then she spoke in a language he didn’t understand.
That’s not Arcane.
Something in the woods called back to her in the same language. She spoke to it again. While her tone didn’t sound like anything he’d heard before, her body language suggested that she was trying to negotiate with the thing in the woods.
After a time, it let out a satisfied growl (Kurgm thought that’s what it sounded like), then Master Ekla called for them to proceed.
“What just happened?” Kurgm asked as they progressed.
“Elder Wolf sent one of her people to keep an eye on us.”
“Who did what?”
“The forest is broken into tribes by species, and each one is led by an elder. There’s a large wolf stalking us through the trees. I told him who we were, and that we meant no harm. Just a normal food run.”
“Okay, but… how?”
“The Language of Nature.”
“Still doesn’t answer my question.”
“I’m not just a master knight.”
“You’re a master druid?”
“An apprentice at the moment, but in a few weeks, I’ll be a master.”
Despite this being news to Kurgm, it wasn’t a surprise. He knew her too well.
In the distance, he saw the farmlands. The trees opened up as they reached the end of the forest. Master Ekla glanced back at the trees, then whispered something.
“Saying bye to your new friend?” Kurgm asked.
“Something like that,” she replied.
They pulled up to the farm where farmhands were waiting for them. There also several more knights around the area, more than Kurgm had seen in previous runs.
Must be because of the incident.
“Come on,” Master Ekla said. “We load, then we get back.”
That was fine with Kurgm. He wanted to get back and see Aonva again. In the back of his mind, he was worried Roshil would take advantage of his absence and pull Aonva back in again. Was she okay without him? What if he couldn’t protect her this time either?
“Apprentice Kurgm, wake up!” Master Ekla called.
He jumped to attention as she handed him sacks of food, which he passed to one of the other knights. They formed a line, moving sacks between them and into the carts.
“That should be the last of it,” came another voice from within the barns. A man walked out and greeted them. When he saw Kurgm, he smiled.
Kurgm’s face lit up when he saw who it was.
“Uncle Amnadm!”