Son of Soron (14 page)

“By the time your father turned twenty he was a grizzled war vet tired of the bloodshed. He spoke to your grandfather about his dislike for the violent nature of the north, he ended up helping a caravan make its way from Salma to Venecia. It was there that Soron met Velaina. After your father met Velaina, he returned to the north. He told his father that he had met a woman in the southern lands and would be returning to her. Theron became furious and told Soron to never let him see him again. Later Theron would realize his mistake and try to make amends with your father, but Soron was in love with no intentions of returning to the north. Your parents lived in Venecia for a year, but when they found out she was pregnant with you they moved here to this small village. In Venecia Soron and Velaina were always in danger because of their bloodlines. They did not want you to live like that so they moved here, stopped using their full names and became simple tradespeople, a blacksmith and a maker of potions.”

Suddenly it all made sense to Nathan, that was the big mystery and why they kept so many secrets. His parents had chosen to raise him in a simple village but in order for that to work no one could know of their true pasts, not even their own son.

“How did you come to be in Elderwood Verin?”  Nathan was happy to learn more about his parents and their pasts. But he was also curious as to his own future, and what role Verin planned on playing in it. “When word that Duke Evollan attacked the village and that your parents were among the dead, Count Mavane, one of the few people in the continent with knowledge of both your parent’s identities, sent word to both families.

He explained how the duke had been sent to deal with the bandit issue. That through bad timing and poor decision making the duke came to think the village was full of bandits. And a group of southern horsemen were racing towards the village to join in an attack on him and his men. Instead of using logic or common sense the duke decided to attack the village before the horsemen would arrive. The duke gave his men orders to attack everyone, woman included, as a way of punishing bandits.

A vile man that duke Nathan thought to himself. Nathan knew that the king’s army had been involved in the attack on the village but he had never understood what really had happened until now. “And what happened to the duke?"

“When the count told him how badly he had screwed up, killing innocent villagers, and two members of royal families from other kingdoms, he understood that the king would have no choice but to imprison him and have a trial. The honorable thing to do would have been to submit himself to the kings mercy, explain the circumstances of the situation and hope that the king would be able to avoid war with Balta or the north. Instead the duke went into hiding and is now a wanted man. No better than the bandits he was sent to find,” said Verin.

Nathan was startled by this “Why would a war start?”  Nathan was a bit confused by this idea.

“Your parents may be a simple blacksmith and a healer in Elderwood. But in Balta and the north they are still a prince and a princess slain by a king’s army. Wars have started for much less. If my father had still been king then yes war surely would have started. But father has been unwell for a few years now and my older brother Verbon is now king. It was Verbon who sent me here to find out the truth of what happened and to find out if you were alive or not. “

Nathan had much to digest.  He remained silent. His father was a prince and his mother a princess.  He suddenly remembered the funny smile his mother had given him when she said his arm bracelet gift was fit for a queen. He sighed. So much he did not know.  Verin appeared to believe it was the infamous duke that blame and retribution needed to be heaped upon.  Nathan listened as Verin explained his perception of what the truth was.

Verin had been in Elderwood over a week and spent that time talking to the remaining villagers and a few scouts that Count Mavane sent to the village to check on them. Verin believed that it truly was the duke at fault and that war between Balta and Progoh could be avoided. Verin was not so sure about the prospects of war with the north being averted. Northerners were a proud people and the death of a prince was something not likely to go unanswered.

Nathan was not sure what to think, he wanted retribution for the atrocities committed but war sounded like a terrible idea. “And now that you know I am alive what is your plan?" asked Nathan.

“Well that’s up to you Nathan, if you like I can take you back to Balta or stay here with you for a while. I’ll show you a bit of the world if you liked, and there are many things I am sure your mother did not teach you that you should know” said Verin. 

He thought about this for a few moments. He had just gotten back to Elderwood and wasn’t ready to leave yet but the idea that he had more family in Balta was intriguing. “I would like to see Balta but before I leave Elderwood I would like to help the village. The ones that have chosen to stay need some help. Without the mill that burnt down during the attacks the main income is elderberry wine. Elderberry wine is not enough by itself to bring traders north during the wet season when they can travel straight from Birchone to Salma and on towards the capital. They need to do something different.” 

Verin took pride in his nephew’s words. Often the children of royal lines were raised to believe they were better than their fellow man and grew into selfish uncaring adults. His sister raising Nathan in a small village had been a good thing despite her tragic end. “Okay and how do you intend to help the village then Nathan, son of Soron?”

“I have a plan.”

Verin laughed, “That may be so, but first there is a certain girl that has been coming here every day to check if you were back yet. If I were you I would go talk to her, then we can discuss plans.”

Chapter twenty one

LEAVING VERIN, NATHAN went to the Dollan house to find Ava. With trepidation and excitement, he looked forward to seeing her again. When he knocked on the door, Bends answered, letting him in.

“Nathan, it good to see you, boy.” Bends paused for a moment, taking a good look at Nathan. “I might need to stop calling you ‘boy’ if you keep growing like this.”

Nathan smiled. It was good to be around a familiar face again, even if it was ol’ Bends teasing him about growing. “Hello Bends. It’s good to see you again too. How are things here?”

Bends gave a half-hearted smile, “Things are a little slow. Not many villagers are left and hardly any traders come through the village any more. But we are getting by.”

Nathan suspected that they were not getting by as well as he made it sound. But he didn’t want to put a damper on the friendly reunion by questioning him further. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Ava is? I would like to say hello.”

Bends chortled. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to get around to asking me that. I should say you better go find her to say hello. If she walked in here and found you just chatting up this old man, she would probably come unhinged and kill you. “Bends rubbed his chin, pretending to ponder this for a moment. “Say, that might be worth watching. Stick around, she will be back eventually.”

Nathan laughed, he could picture it happening that way. “I would rather not die today if it is okay with you.”

With a wink, Bends told Nathan where to find Ava. “She’s with her mother and sister, picking elderberries. At this time of day, you will likely find them at the creek washing the berries off.”

Grateful for the warm welcome, Nathan said goodbye. “Thank you, Bends. If you will excuse me, I am going to avoid the grim reaper by finding her now.”

Bends waved him off. “Get out of here. Welcome home, Nathan.”

The creek was only a short walk from the house and took less than a few minutes to get there. Immediately Nathan spotted the women working and waved to them, “Hey, everybody.”

Ava’s and Rose’s heads popped up at the sound of Nathan’s voice. Within seconds, Nathan found himself crashing to the ground enveloped in a bear hug with both of the girls. “Hey, you are getting my new clothes dirty,” Nathan protested.

But the girls were having nothing to do with it. They kept hugging him. “We missed you, you big bung beetle. I thought you were never coming back,” said Ava.

Finally the girls let Nathan up. “Hello, Nathan. It is good to see you again,” said Suzie, the girl’s mother. “You seem different. You have grown, and those new clothes suit you well.”

Nathan dusted off his dark green tunic and new pants. ”They are a bit fancy but my old ones didn’t fit any more so these will have to do.”

Ava agreed with her mother. “You look very nice, Nathan, and you certainly have grown.”

All of a sudden, Nathan felt a strong kick to his shins. Rose had wound up and given him a hard kick. Before she could think of doing it again he stepped back “Oww. What was that for, Rose?”

The younger girl was frowning and giving Nathan a stern glance. “That is for leaving.” She stepped closer and delivered another swift kick to Nathan’s shin, “And that is for not saying goodbye.”  With tears in her eyes, Nathan could see how hurt she was.

Nathan squatted down so he was eye level with the girl, took both her hands in his and spoke softly. “Rose, I am so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?” 

She choked back a few tears, gave him a big hug then stepped back, breaking into a big smile “Okay, but don’t let it happen again.” Rose shook a berry-stained finger at him for good measure.

Nathan was grateful with how quickly the young girls mood cleared up, leaving the past behind them. Wanting to spend some time with Ava, Nathan helped the girls finish up with the elderberries. When they were done, he took Ava for a walk into the woods. They naturally headed for their favorite spot: the pond. They said little on the way, just content to be in each other’s company once again.

When they arrived, Ava finally spoke, rapidly asking a series of questions. “How are you, Nathan? Have you been home? There is a man there that says he is your uncle, and he does remind me of your mother, is he?”

Nathan laughed. The quick series of questions was a thing Ava used to do when excited, some things never change. “Yes, I was home. Verin is my uncle. He has already told me so much that I never knew about my mother and father. It is nice to be around family again.” Nathan looked very thoughtful. He wondered what else he didn't know about his extended family.  When he had asked his parents about family, the topic was changed, re-directed and sometimes the reply was they were a part of a sad past and that the future was what counted.  As a young boy, the answers had satisfied him.  He was a child no more and the simple answers no longer satisfied. 

Ava nudged his elbow. She prompted him, “and....” 

Nathan continued filling in Ava about his travels through the swamp and how he ended up in Birchone.  He talked about the bandits on the way home and about meeting Verin.

Ava smiled at his tales. “You have been busy. I am glad you have grieved losing your parents enough to come back. It has not been the same here since the attack.” Ava grabbed a hold of Nathan, held him tight and whispered, “I really missed you.”  She took his hand, squeezing it tight.

Nathan was awash with emotions and simply replied, “I missed you, too,” while gently squeezing her fingers back.

Chapter twenty two

AFTER NATHAN RETURNED from spending time with Ava, he found Verin preparing a stew for supper. “Have a seat, Nathan. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so—plenty of time for us to talk about this plan of yours.”

Nathan’s plan was simple. Of the remaining villagers, the majority were elderberry pickers. Only a few others like Haren Frinkle, the only remaining elderberry wine maker, and the widow Noggen, who ran the village’s single Inn, remained. If enough traders purchases Haren Frinkle’s wine then he would keep buying elderberries and the rest of the village would have work. If the elderberry trade died off then the village would die off.

Since his visit to Birchone, Nathan understood that if he stayed and made salves and perfumes that traders would come. Nedd, Balvin and Verto, the three traders he had met in Birchone already intended to come to Elderwood. More would follow if Nathan stayed. The problem was he wasn’t sure he would stay. He wanted to stay out of loyalty, to rebuild...but he wanted to go.  Nathan looked forward to travelling with his uncle.   He wanted to learn more about his parent's past and the world beyond that which he knew. To keep the village going, Nathan knew someone other than himself would have to produce the medicines and perfumes that would entice traders to keep coming back to Elderwood. Nathan was torn by this; his mother had taught him many secrets that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. He decided he would not have to share all the secrets, just those safe and innocent enough to produce desirable salves and perfumes. As much as his mother had taught him, he did not see himself as a healer in the future. Passing those skills onto others would be a way of honoring her memory.

The solution to this problem was simple. When the attacks had happened, Nathan took Ava and Rose into the swamp for a week, he had spent a large portion of the time teaching the girls about the plants and flowers and what they were good for. Since they already knew which plants to gather, it would not take long to teach them how to make the perfumes and enough medicinal salves to sell. When Nedd came in a few weeks he would be bringing the supplies that Nathan had requested. Suzie Dollan and the girls would be able to use those supplies to make potions for Balvin and Verto when they came in a few months.

While Nathan explained his plan with Verin he told him about his trip to Birchone and how he was attacked on the road. Nathan gave an honest retelling of his battle with the two bandits, to which Verin commented, “Your plan to teach the Dollans basic potion making is solid. But it won’t help them if you don’t solve the bigger issue.”

Nathan was not quite sure what his uncle meant by this. “What is the bigger issue?”