Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0) (26 page)

“I’m splitting with my guildmaster, so I’ll take her key. We
need one more room.”

He shifted a large ring of keys on his belt and pulled four
free. “You choose who gets what. Bathing room is ready, so go in as you please,
but it shuts down at ten. Dinner will be up in a half hour and runs also until
ten. What time are you leaving in the morning?”

“An hour after sunrise.”

“I’ll have breakfast ready for you by sunrise, then.” He
gave a long look at Denney and a frown gathered on his forehead. Then he turned
to Tran. “You’d be the enforcer?”

“That’s me,” Tran confirmed easily.

“You want to keep a close eye on your young lass here. We
had a caravan come in just ahead of you, and the boss of it’s a good woman, but
she hired mostly Wynngaardian guards for it.”

Denney felt ice flood her veins. Wynngaardians all the way
out here? No, this was caravan season, anything was possible. But why here
today?!

Conli’s warm, firm hand settled on her shoulder and gripped
her in silent reassurance.

Tran barely glanced in her direction. “I’ve got her,” he
assured the innkeeper. “Are they all in this inn?”

“Party was too big,” the innkeeper denied, “and I already
had a reservation from your guild. We split them up between here and the inn
across the street.”

“I see. Thanks for the warning, Master.”

“Not at all, I don’t want trouble under my roof.” The
innkeeper focused on her and said more gently, “You stick close to your enforcer.
Even a Wynngaardian will stop and think twice about crossing the likes of him.
You’ll be safe enough at his side.”

“Thank you,” she managed.

Sylvie handed Conli the key and they trudged up two flights
of stairs and found the room to be towards the back. Denney was relieved to
find that all of the rooms were right in a row, so Tran was literally next
door, in between her and Sylvie’s rooms. He seemed glad of that as well as he
could respond instantly if there was trouble.

Tran hefted their bags into the room and then left them to
settle in. Conli closed the door to give them a few moments of privacy and
heaved out a breath, settling his back against the wood. “I’m ever so glad that
we signed up with
this
caravan and not the other one.”

“Truly,” Denney agreed fervently. “Did you almost do that?”

“They were one of the options, yes. But I felt good about
this guild because it had a female guildmaster as well as a respected
Pathmaker.” He turned blind eyes on the wall dead ahead of them. “Did you get
the feeling earlier that Guildmaster Maley and Miss Sylvie deliberately steered
the conversation so that they could tell us about each member of the guild?”

Now that he said that…. “It did sort of feel that way.”

“I think they were trying to put you at ease. It was obvious
that Wolfinsky and Tran both unnerved you.” Conli gave her a rueful smile.
“Even I found them a little unnerving at first. Mercy, I didn’t think men could
grow that size.”

“They’re giants,” she agreed fervently. “But apparently nice
giants. They’ve both reassured me several times that I’ll be protected.”

“Yes, I’m very grateful for that.” Levering himself off the
door, he went to one of his trunks. “I like the inn. It’s a very clean space.”

Denney looked about her and smiled in agreement. The twin
beds were wider than usual, which her uncle would appreciate, and were both
covered with thick quilts that looked new rather than worn. There was plenty of
space in between the beds to maneuver, and it even had a window that let in
lots of natural light. “I wish all inns were like this one.”

“Truly. Well, dinner or bath first?”

There was a knock at the door and Denney opened it to find
Tran. “Sorry to interrupt this fast, but I have to ask, do you have something
to protect your skin from the sun? How many water canteens do you have?”

“We have one canteen for each of us,” Conli replied,
straightening from his suitcase, “and I can likely make up a salve for
protection. Is this about the desert crossing?”

“Yes,” Tran confirmed. “You’ll need at least one canteen for
each day, or at least a barrel of water that you can use to fill up the
canteen. Also, I’d pick up some travel food if I were you, as the hard tack
that the caravan boss considers ‘food’ is a little…questionable.”

Conli looked at her. “Should we shop, then, before getting a
bath and dinner?”

“Probably the best option, we don’t want the shops to
close.”

“Then let’s do that. Master Tran, can we go now or do you
need to help with the caravan first?”

“Caravan’s settled,” Tran denied. “I can go now. In fact,
Sylvie prefers that as she needs to pick up a few things as well.”

“What about the rest?”

“Ah, Siobhan, Grae, and Beirly are all having dinner with
some business associates this evening.”

That’s right, the guildmaster had mentioned that on the way
here. “They’ll stay there?”

“No, just for dinner,” Tran explained simply. “They’ll be
back tonight.”

Sylvie popped in under Tran’s arm. “I’m going too.”

“Of course you are,” Tran drawled. “When do you ever miss a
chance to shop?”

She grinned and didn’t deny it.

Denney hadn’t unpacked anything or taken off her coat, so
she was ready to go. She and Conli stepped out of the room, locking the door behind
them, and followed their guides down the stairs and out of the inn.

With a complete air of confidence, Sylvie led the way,
straight into a market that looked somewhat lean of goods. Then again, it was
late in the afternoon, most of the wares should be sold at this point.

Tran verified that neither had any experience with desert
crossing, then took them under his wing and showed them the best things to
buy—everything from hats to food. Sylvie piped up whenever she had a good find,
then ruthlessly chewed down the merchants until they bought things for a song.
She did it with such charm, in between teasing Tran, that Denney found herself
warming up to the pair of them. They acted like siblings—which they obviously
weren’t—and were equally kind to her.

Conli took the opportunity to buy several herbs and lotions
that he didn’t have, then promptly opened up one of them and stayed Sylvie with
a hand that didn’t quite touch her. “Miss Sylvie. I noticed earlier a rash on
the back of your neck. How long as that been there?”

“A week?” she offered with a grimace. “I got bit by
something earlier and it swelled up on me. It’s gone down, though; it’s only a
minor aggravation now.”

“If you will permit…?” he held up the jar and with her nod,
dipped in two fingers and smeared the white substance on liberally.

“I recognize the smell,” she mentioned to him. “And while
that does help, it doesn’t make anything better.”

He stayed her again, this time with a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait. I’m not done.” Corking the bottle, he drew out a different pouch and
picked out two dark green leaves. They were flexible and shiny and somewhat
familiar to Denney as she had used these before. He placed them directly onto
Sylvie’s skin, the lotion almost gluing them in place.

“Ahhh,” Sylvie sighed in bliss. “That’s wonderful. Feels so
much cooler. What did you do?”

“Tarragon leaves have a cooling effect against bites like
this, but only coupled with this lotion,” Conli explained, tying the bag closed
again. “The properties blend well together. Try not to move your neck much and
let the leaves sit for a good hour. By morning, it’ll be faintly red, but the
irritation will be gone.”

Sylvie turned and regarded him with narrowed eyes. “I think
we need to keep you.”

Conli blinked at her, head drawing back in surprise. “Keep
me?”

“I’m growing rather fond of the pair of you,” she said,
expression not changing. “And we certainly would like to have a man with your
skills.”

“Truly,” Tran agreed.

Her uncle was obviously flattered by this, as was Denney,
although neither was sure how to react. “Well, but that’s your guildmaster’s
decision, isn’t it?”

“Siobhan charms people into doing what she wants. She hasn’t
asked you anything yet, but it will come.” Sylvie gave a sage nod, not in the
least doubtful of her own words. “But we’ll let that go for now. Thank you,
Master Conli, for the treatment. I do feel better. Tran, do we have everything
we need?”

“I think so.”

“Then let’s return to the inn. I’m famished.”

At dinner, Denney finally met Man Fei Lei. She had never met
anyone like him before. He looked different than most people, his eyes slanted
upwards at the corners, hair a pure sleek black, skin tone more yellow than
pale. He greeted both of them with quiet courtesy and then sat at the round
table, piling food onto his plate.

Sylvie sat next to her and leaned in to whisper, “Fei’s a
bit shy with strangers. He’ll warm up to you.”

Was that the case? She understood, then, as she wasn’t very
good with strangers either. Determined to not let it bother her, Denney also
dug into her dinner, which was quite sumptuous. The beef stew was thick and
filled with vegetables, rolls light and sweet, and the lemonade offered was
freshly squeezed and tart. She found herself smiling as she chewed.

“I think at this point the only two you haven’t met are
Beirly and Grae.” Sylvie leaned forward enough to snag another roll from the
basket. “Beirly you’ll adore, at least I do. He’s like this short, redheaded
bear that you want to cuddle with. He’s one of the best big brothers a girl can
have.”

“He’s also our fixer in the guild,” Wolfinsky inputted,
slapping Tran’s hand away from the basket. “Will you quit that, man, you’ve
already had four.”

“And I want a fifth. Problem, Wolf?” Tran had a challenging
look in his eye that said he was ready to go right then and there.

“Boys,” Sylvie reproved with a speaking look. “Over a roll?
Really?”

Fei stood and offered, “I’ll get another basket.”

Watching him go, Wolfinsky said slowly, “He looks a little
unbalanced to me.”

Everyone at the table immediately went on alert and turned
to stare hard at the man.

“He is weaving a little,” Conli agreed, pushing his chair
back from the table, although he didn’t stand. “Is that the initial sign?”

“Fei’s got more inherent balance than a cat,” Tran
explained, not taking his eyes off the shorter man. “So when he starts
tottering to the side like that, odds are he’s eaten something he shouldn’t.”

“We’ve weeded it down some to foods he knows he can have,”
Sylvie explained, “as he didn’t have this reaction when he was growing up. So
if he sticks to his native recipes, he’s fine. But when we’re on the road like
this, he has to eat what’s available, and we regularly have problems.”

Fei came back to the table and dropped more than sat in the
chair. His face had a distinct flush to it.

Reaching out, Sylvie put a hand to his forehead. “You’re not
feverish. Oh dear. Fei, I think you need to stop eating.”

“Still hungry,” he protested, with a completely childlike
pout on his face.

“Then I’ll find you something different,” she promised in a
croon, “But don’t eat this anymore, alright?”

“Still hungry,” he repeated, more stubbornly, and before
anyone could stop him he crammed a whole roll into his mouth.

Frustrated, Sylvie yanked his bowl away and shoved it to the
other end of the table. “You get so stubborn about the silliest things when you
get drunk.”

Conli rose and went to her side. “Perhaps if we can get him
upstairs? I’ll do a full examination.”

Tran left his seat to help. “You think you can figure it
out?”

“Likely not tonight, but it’s important to get a baseline
and start gathering information.”

Eyes bouncing between people as they spoke, Denney failed to
realize that she had caught Fei’s undivided attention. At least, until the man
left his chair in a swift movement and clamped his arms around her shoulders,
hauling her out of her own chair so he could comfortably cuddle with her, head
next to hers.

“Eeeek!”

“Whoa, Master Conli,” Tran urged, catching her uncle by the
arm. “He’s not going to do anything to her.”

Conli gave him a look that begged otherwise. “You call this
doing nothing?”

“No, see, it’s like this—”

“I love you,” Fei sighed against her hair. “Your hair is so
blonde, and eyes are so blue, and you smell nice.”

…Come again?

“What’s your name?” he asked her seriously, blinking as he
tried to focus not an inch from her face. The effort was comical to watch and
almost had her laughing despite her taut nerves.

“Denney,” she managed. “And, um, can you let go of me?”

“I can’t, because I love you.” So saying, he went back to
hugging her, although he now stroked a hand down her hair.

“When Fei’s drunk,” Sylvie explained with a long sigh, “he
loves everybody. The worst is Siobhan, he literally won’t let go of her, and he
sings poetry to her about her red hair.”

“Off-key,” Wolfinsky grumbled. “So it could be worse.”

Denney felt very trapped in the man’s arms, although
strangely not threatened. His touch was strong but not hurtful. In fact, he was
being very gentle, just stubborn.

“Fei, brother dearest,” Sylvie came around to be more in his
line of sight. “I thought you loved me?”

“I do love you, Sylvie-jae,” he assured her gravely.

“But you’re not hugging me.” Denney couldn’t see her, but
there was a distinct pout in the woman’s voice.

The ploy worked and Fei abruptly let go of her, throwing his
arms around Sylvie instead and hugging her tightly. “Your skin is so pale, and
your hair so silky, I want to sing a song to your hair.”

“I will be glad to hear it,” Sylvie responded soothingly,
already turning him for the stairs, “but let’s go up to your room so I can hear
you better. It’s noisy down here.”

“Very noisy,” Fei agreed with a face, amiably going along.
“Sylvie-jae?”

“You love me?” the woman guessed, not breaking stride.

“I love you. It’s because you smell nice.”

Denney let out a breath as they started up the stairs. That
had scared her, but now she was starting to see the humor in it. “He really does
say he loves everyone, doesn’t he?”

“It’s mostly the women,” Wolfinsky corrected, rubbing at his
forehead. “He’s a very vocal drunk. Sorry if he scared you, Miss Denney.”

“No, quite alright,” she assured him. “At least he isn’t a
violent drunk. He was quite gentle.”

“Oh, he can be violent,” Tran disagreed. “He got this way
one night about a year and a half ago, and some street thugs tried to attack
us. I’ve never seen a drunk man fight like that. It was impossible to predict
how he would move. He looked like he would fall over any second and then would
land an expert kick to someone’s nose. It was amazing.”

“But most of the time he’s this poetic drunk that loves
everybody.” Shaking his head, Wolfinsky gestured toward the stairs. “Master
Conli, if you’ll come up with me, I’ll try to get him to cooperate so you can
take a look at him.”

“I certainly will, but…If its food he reacts to, we need to
start compiling a list.”

Denney had played assistant to her uncle for nearly five
years now, so she knew what to do. “Of course. I’ll get a notebook from
upstairs.”

“No need,” Tran denied. “I’ll go with you and remember it
for you.”

Conli gave him an odd look. “You can remember things like
that?”

“Of course.”

That sounded odd to Denney. Could someone really remember
anything that they were told, just because they wanted to? But Tran said it
with such confidence that she felt it would be rude to question it. Conli
seemed to be struggling with the idea as much as she was, but he waved Tran on,
and they headed for the kitchens. 

In order to get into the kitchen, she had to speak to the
innkeeper first, and he was very alarmed to hear that one of his guests had
reacted badly to the food. Tran, who accompanied her, had to explain the
circumstances twice before the man would settle. Finally, he did call out the
head cook, who was kind enough to rattle off the ingredients. Denney tried to
keep up with the woman, but she spoke very fast. “I’m sorry, can you repeat
after—”

Tran shook his head and assured her, “It’s fine. I remember
what she said. I’ll repeat it for you later. Thank you, Madam, we do appreciate
it. I know it’s a busy hour for you, so feel free to go back.”

“I will, thank ye.” She bobbed a curtsey but paused and
said, “If ye need me to make something up special for that young man, tell me.”

“We will, thank you,” Conli said. 

Denney looked up at Tran with some confusion. “You can
remember everything she said?”

His expression was neutral as he returned her stare. “A
Teheranian’s mind can retain anything that it chooses to. Could not
your…mother? Father?”

“My mother.”

“Mother, then, do the same?”

“She was born in Quigg,” Denney explained. “I don’t think
she ever learned the true culture of the Teherani. If she did, she never passed
any of it down to me.”

“That is a shame. When a man forgets his origins, he loses
his bearings. If you wish, as we travel, I will teach you the stories that you
should have grown up on.”

Denney was delighted by this offer as she had been curious
about many things while growing up, but had had no other resource than her
mother and the other women in the brothel. And none of them would speak of
Teherani at all.

“I would like that very much.”

“Then we’ll do so. But tonight, let’s focus on a certain
drunk Saoleordian.”

ӜӜӜ

By the time Fei settled, Siobhan, Beirly and Grae were back.
Siobhan took in the news of her drunk enforcer with a pained expression and
much sighing. After checking in on him herself, she ordered people to leave him
alone and let him sleep.

In more or less mutual agreement, everyone gathered up clean
clothes and went down for baths. As a general rule, Denney disliked public
baths because it usually posed a danger to her. It was the one time that she
could not easily have her uncle available, and it was difficult to time both of
them exiting the baths in the same moment. Trouble tended to follow after she
came out. But this time, she felt a little more at ease because of the two
women with her. Siobhan especially was not a woman to be crossed. Denney knew
it just by the way the woman carried herself.

This late in the evening, the water was only warm and not
hot. She didn’t choose to linger, as Conli wasn’t known for taking long baths,
and so after she had scrubbed up, she got out. The other women also weren’t in
the mood to sit about in lukewarm water and dried off just as quickly. She
might have gotten out too fast. Would the men be out already? If not, she would
have to duck back inside for a while as she didn’t want to cross paths with the
other Wynngaardian enforcers.

The thought had barely crossed her mind as she stepped into
the cooler hallway. From the corner of her eye she saw a man step out of the
men’s bathing chambers at the same time, pale skin and fair hair. Instincts
screaming, she scrambled away, and in her terror went the wrong direction. It
wasn’t until her back slammed into a corner that she realized her mistake, but
by that point it was too late and he was blocking the exit.

“Whoa, whoa, Miss Denney! What’s wrong?”

Wolfinsky? Her paranoia had momentarily forgotten that he
was Wynngaardian too, and that it would make sense for him to come out when she
did. “I’m sorry—” she automatically apologized, but her nerves were still
jittery and she couldn’t force herself to move out of the corner.

His expression was confused but then changed with dawning
understanding and he did not attempt to move. She was very, very grateful about
that last part. Siobhan and Sylvie stepped out into the hallway, took in the
situation, and looked to Wolfinsky for an explanation. He gave them a frown and
a shake of the head that spoke volumes all by itself.

It was Sylvie that stepped around him and moved to her.
There was an understanding, sad smile on the woman’s face. “It’s bathing that’s
the most dangerous time for us. Even more than sleeping. Our usual protectors
can’t enter a woman’s bathing chamber after all.” Sylvie’s tone said she knew
it all too well.

“But you needn’t worry, Miss Denney.” Sylvie came right up
to her and put an arm around her shoulders, the gesture strangely comforting.
“For we have a magic phrase in the guild.”

“A magic phrase,” she repeated dubiously. How was a magic
phrase supposed to make anything better?

“Indeed. Tran and I came into the guild only a few months
apart. I told you that earlier, didn’t I? Yes, so I did. When he came in, he
couldn’t always tell in a glance if I needed help or not. Sometimes men just
flirt with me. Sometimes they push it too far. So he and I set up a code so
that I could ask for help before real trouble broke out. Since you’ll be
traveling with us, you can use the code as well.”

Denney felt like this was a little too good to be true.
Traces of fear still rattled along her nerves but started dissipating under
Sylvie’s forthright words. “You just say this phrase and he’ll show up?”

“Just like magic,” Sylvie responded, perhaps a bit of evil
in her smile. “Actually, he’s not the only one. Wolf’s started to do it too.
Fei comes in as well. But the one that reacts the fastest, always, is Tran.”

“That’s because the man’s been conditioned to drop
everything and run to you,” Siobhan observed. “He’s better trained than a dog
in this respect.”

Wolf snorted agreement.

Seeing their agreement, Denney felt more than a little
curious. “So what’s the phrase?”

“I need a husband.”

Denney blinked at her. Then blinked again as her mind
refused to accept that she had heard that correctly. “Come again?”

“You heard me,” Sylvie responded, eyes laughing. “It’s ‘I
need a husband.’ Say just that and he’ll show up before you can draw your next
breath.”

Thinking about it, Tran probably offered this phrase to
Sylvie to reassure her that he would protect her. Denney wasn’t as sure about
this offer extending to her as well. But still, it was kind of the woman to
offer it to her.