Son of Soron (16 page)

For a week, Nathan had been teaching the Dollans mostly about medicines and remedies that would be useful to them as well as be something to trade. Today, he was going to start with perfume. Good perfume was hard to find in the cities despite how easy it was to make. Few had the inclination or knowledge of plants to make it and even fewer were willing to go into the swamp lands and forests to gather the necessary ingredients. Most importantly, being able to make a pleasant long lasting scent was a bit of an art form., Nathan had learned from Verin, that even at a young age, his mother had an excellent nose of the art and made her own perfumes. It was only when she and Soron moved to Elderwood that she began selling them.

“All perfumes we make will be mostly a combination of almond oil and sunflower oil. These are the carrier oils that are good for the skin. The extra oils are added to the carrier oils to change the scent. Different oils not only smell different but also have different potency and longevity. Lemon oil is light and easy to notice, but it also doesn’t last very long. Cedar oil is not as strong smelling but lasts for a long time. Lavender and jasmine are in the middle. The perfume we are making today  is mostly scents of rose, lavender and jasmine with a little bit of lemon and cedar.” 

As he spoke, he carefully added small drops of oil to a vial. Five drops rose oil, eight drops jasmine, eight drops lavender, three drops lemon oil and three of cedar oil. This filled the vial about a fifth of the way up. The rest of the vial he filled with half sunflower and half almond oil.

Rose wrinkled her little nose as if exercising it for the perfume testing. Old Bends laughed. Rose did the wrinkle thing with her nose again, and they all laughed.

Putting a piece of cork in the vial, Nathan started shaking it. “It takes a few days for the oils to blend properly, so make sure to not sell blends you just made. Quality control is vital to making a reputation of being a seller of good perfume. For each perfume vial, shake it daily and remember to it out of the sun. Mother had three different perfumes that seemed to sell really well in Progoh and two that sold really well in Venecia. This is one for Progoh and Salma,” explained Nathan.

For several weeks, the routine stayed the same. Nathan would spend most of his time with Verin sparing, practicing with the bow and then going out into the forest hunting and learning to track. When Nedd, the first trader, arrived in town they had plenty of goods for him to buy. Nathan explained to Nedd that Suzie and the Dollans made most of the potions and would continue to do so in the future. Nedd, seeing that the quality of the goods was still very high was more than pleased to agree to keep returning to Elderwood. During the weeks while Nathan and Verin were out hunting and working on Nathan’s woods-craft skills, they were also keeping tabs on all the human tracks they encountered. They now had a pretty good idea of where the bandits were coming from.

When Nedd arrived in the village, he was greeted warmly by the remaining citizens of Elderwood. His supplies were a welcome sight. Nedd seemed quite pleased by the quality and quantity of perfumes and salves the girls made under Nathan’s supervision. He promised to return for more.

When Nedd traded his goods with them, he also gave them information on the bandit situation. Often the bandits traveled in smaller numbers, like those who had attacked Nathan on his return trip from Birchone, and seemed to have one main camp in the mountains, which was the base of operations. From Nedd, they had learned that the bandits had been becoming increasingly dangerous and brazen in their attacks. Besides Nedd, who had been willing to risk the trip for he had given his word and had customers lined up for a very healthy profit, very few were willing to risk traveling in the area. The time had come to deal with this problem.

During their suppers and before sleep, Verin would often talk to Nathan about Balta, or the southern cities, teaching him about how the politics in the cities worked and how he should behave as a young member of royal bloodlines. Sometimes they would discuss the bandits and what would be the repercussions of Verin and Nathan attacking them. While Nathan had previously had combat with bandits, he had never been in a battle like the one that was to come and he had never had to kill anyone. It was a depressing topic but Nedd’s recalling of the harm the bandits had been doing lately solidified the idea in Nathan’s mind. They must stop the bandits and that would mean killing them.

…

It was Sunday. No lessons from Verin, no teaching potions to Ava and the rest of her family. Today Nathan and Ava were back at the pond in the forest having a lazy day to themselves.

Nathan didn’t want to admit it but the lessons were coming along well and soon he would be out of things to teach them. Soon it would be time to leave. As excited as Nathan was about the prospects of going to Balta, he dreaded the idea of leaving Ava behind. As they sat in the meadow grass looking up through the trees into the sparsely clouded sky, Nathan looked over at Ava. She was picking dandelion heads and blowing them into the sky and then letting them fall onto her face. She would wrinkle her freckled nose, puff a breath of air up to blow the particles from her face then repeat the process.

Ava turned and threw a handful of the dandelion heads at Nathan. “All right, spit it out.”

Nathan had been trying to figure out how to broach the subject of his coming departure; obviously Ava had sensed something was up. “What? I said nothing,” exclaimed Nathan.

Ava sighed. “Exactly, you haven’t said a word in the last hour. Even for you, that is way too long. Something is bothering you, so spit it out.”  Ava had known Nathan long enough to know all his moods; it was obvious Nathan had something to say.

“Well, I guess you are right. I just don’t know what to say.” Nathan was unsure how to proceed.

Ava, frustrated by the way the conversation was going blurted out, “You’ve been thinking about it for over an hour and that is the best you can come up with? Why not start with the fact you have been practically teaching the same lesson for the last three days, or fact that you are going to leave with your uncle soon. Why can’t you just admit you are stalling and don’t want to leave, that you are going to miss me.”

Nathan was floored; everything he had been struggling with trying to find the words to say, Ava had just covered in one mouthful. “If you knew what I was thinking, why did you let me sit here and struggle with it?”

“Because you were supposed to say it, you big dummy. If I mean so much to you that you are delaying leaving, the least you could do is say it.” Ava leaned over and wacked him on the arm, emphasizing her point.

“I’m sorry Ava. This is hard for me. I still miss mother and father a lot and being around uncle Verin has really been nice. I want to go meet the rest of my mother’s family, but I also am not looking forward to leaving you. You are my best friend and I don’t know what I will do without you.”

Ava moved over so that their bodies were touching. She grabbed his arm and pulled it around her, forcing him into a warm cuddle. “I understand your wanting to be with family, I just don’t want to lose you. I’m afraid that when you get to Balta, you will never come back.”

Nathan couldn’t imagine never seeing Ava again; the idea hurt him just to think about it. “Ava I promise when I go to Balta I will come back.”

Ava turned so that she was looking Nathan in the eyes “Say it again.”

Nathan locked eyes with her and slowly said, “I promise to come back.”

Ava reached over and grabbed the back of Nathan’s head pulling him in even closer. “You better come back or you’ll never get another of these,” she stated before passionately kissing him.

Chapter twenty three

“HAVE YOU SAID GOODBYE to her yet?” asked Verin. He had watched the telltale frequent looks between Ava and Nathan. As much as they said they were just very good friends, their friendship had all the signs of a romance. Verin remembered his first love and wished Nathan better luck in love than he had.  Being a warrior was easy compared to figuring out females. It had taken him years to figure out a fine figure and face did not mean a fine and true heart. He remembered his dalliances as a spoiled prince, and the lessons he had learned.

“No not yet.” He wished he could put it off longer, but the time had come. Nathan knew that before he left Elderwood to begin hunting down the bandits, he would have to say goodbye to Ava. He and Verin were all prepared to begin the task; the only thing left to do was say his goodbyes. This is going to be difficult, he thought to himself before answering his uncle. “I’m headed there now—just preparing myself.”

Verin smiled with sympathy for the boy. Leaving loved ones before a battle or dangerous trek was tough even among veterans. “Be honest with her and respect that this is just as hard for her as it is you.”

Nathan nodded. “Okay, I am going now.” With his uncle’s advice in mind, he headed out to meet Ava. Earlier, he had left word at her house to meet him at the pond for dinner.

He placed the basket down beside the blanket. Nathan had put together a simple meal of meats, cheeses and fresh bread, hoping a meal would make the dreaded conversation go better. He even had Miss Noggins bake him an apple pie for desert. Not long after he laid the meal out on the blanket, Ava arrived.

She smiled at the arrangement of foods. The smile was a bit forced, as if she wasn’t really happy to see it. It wasn't the first time Nathan used food to soften her up or appease her.  Something was up. “Eat and then talk?” she queried.

Nathan was more than happy to simply sit and eat together. He readily agreed. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. But as they ate, the silence became like a cloud over the meal. Normally silence between them was accepted and natural; this one felt like a brewing storm. As they nibbled on the pie, Nathan broke the silence. “I am leaving with Verin tomorrow.”

Ava looked at Nathan for a while. She stared into his eyes before asking, “Are you going to Balta now?”

Nathan looked down, unable to hold her fierce gaze. “No, we are going to go look for bandits. I will be back before I leave for Balta.” Nathan understood that she didn’t want him to leave. What Nathan did not understand was that Ava was as frustrated with him for going hunting bandits as she was for him wanting to take the trip to Balta.

“This whole hunting bandits idea is so stupid. Why can’t you just leave it to the king’s men?” Ava was angry and it showed. “You are just a boy and will get yourself killed.” Nathan took exception to these comments. ”Do you not remember the last time the king’s men came hunting bandits? And this won’t be my first altercation with outlaws.”

Ava could not accept the idea of Nathan being a warrior. She saw only the gentle friend who never minded when she hit or tripped him. She saw the boy but not the fire inside him. Raising her voice she took a hard stance. “Fine, go get yourself killed. See if I care. And while you are at it, you might as well just head to Balta when you are done getting killed. Obviously there nothing important here in Elderwood for you.” Ava had tears in her eyes but was not backing down.

“I am going after the bandits because there is something important in Elderwood for me: you. And Balta is not forever, I just want to see my family and learn who I am. Mother and father kept so many secrets from me.”

“Just go,” said Ava as she walked away.

Nathan watched as she left him, not looking back. Tears ran down his face. He did not know what he could say to her to make it different. He was going no matter how much it hurt. As much as it hurt him to leave her, the idea of leaving for Balta before making the area safe was crazy. He would not be able to live with himself if something happened to her while he was in Balta. No, Nathan thought to himself, his resolve strengthening, I have to do this. Wiping away his tears he picked up the basket and blanket, and headed back to the village to say his goodbyes to the others, especially Rose. She was upset but not nearly as much as Ava. Rose thought killing bandit sounded exciting and wanted to tag along.

When it was time to go after the bandits, Verin let Nathan lead the way. While he was the more experienced tracker and had years of combat behind him he felt that the best way for Nathan to learn, was to do. And since Nathan had made helping the village his mission it was he who needed to find the bandits and determine how to defeat them.

Verin would help as much as necessary, but the burden of responsibility lay on Nathan’s shoulders. Nathan was more than willing to accept this role. He appreciated everything that Verin was doing for him, but he needed to do this and would face this danger head on. Moreover, he was ready for this. Between his father’s training and that of his uncle Nathan had gained an incredible knowledge of fighting skills. So similar and yet so different, he mused to himself. His father had focused on defensive skills using his weapons and strategy to stay safe, fending off any number of attackers. Verin’s lessons were much more offensive, using weapons and strategy to defeat the enemies as they were found. Both styles had merit and when combined gave Nathan a well-balanced approach to battle. One he would need as they tracked and hunted down the bandits who terrorized the lands surrounding Elderwood.

The bandits’ trails, from their mountain stronghold, led a couple hours north and to the east of Elderwood. Despite finding these trails several times, they had not ventured too close at any time. They had not wanted to run into any bandits before they were ready to make an attack. Now that they were prepared to do so, they carefully followed one of the trails into the mountain. It was an older trail and whoever had come this way had made an effort to hide his tracks. But Verin was an excellent teacher and Nathan had learned more than enough to pick up the traces left by the bandit. They climbed at a rapid pace into the mountains. Still in the thickly wooded forestlands, the terrain was now becoming steep and rocky. The trail that they followed soon joined a set of tracks from another well-used trail, and within minutes a third trail, they were getting close.