Son of Soron (27 page)

Nathan realized then how difficult of situation the count was in. Trying to avert war, while dealing with the destruction left in the wake of the duke, was a delicate position for the count to be put in. The count was an honest and good man, so Nathan decided to try to help the count. He only hoped the count would not dismiss his efforts because of his youth.

“Count Mavane, how much trade does Salma do with the north? “

The count thought about it. “Very little, we used to have good trade with the north. But over the years the distrust grew faster than the trade and with the increase in bandits the last few years there has been almost none.”

“If you could have Salma trade with Amradin would you be interested?” Nathan asked.

“I would love that. Salma would benefit greatly from trading with Amradin.” The count was confused though. With kidnap and a possible war, trade was the last thing on his mind.

Nathan could see the counts confusion, “If you wait here for a couple hours, I will give you a message to take to my grandfather. If you do, it may mean peace and trade for Salma.”

Count Mavane looked closely at the young man, “Nathan I would personally take your message if it only meant a chance at peace. I will wait gladly.”

Nathan turned to Verin. ”I will be in the blacksmith shop for a couple hours. Would you draw a map from Salma to Amradin using the mountain pass at the bandit hideout?”

Verin had a pretty good idea of what Nathan was thinking and even if it didn’t work out it was well worth an attempt. And right now that gave his nephew something to think about other than Ava and the girls. He agreed to draw the map.

Before going into his father’s workshop, Nathan went to the packhorses and grabbed a couple chunks of the witch oak along with the small bags of minerals.

Once in the blacksmith shop, Nathan started a fire in the forge and got his tools ready. It frustrated Nathan sitting around in Elderwood while the girls traveled farther away. But Verin had been right, leaving today would not gain them anything, and this way he would fulfill a promise to his grandfather while possibly helping Count Mavane at the same.

Now that Nathan understood that part of his ability to craft steel was not just from his father’s lessons but from his magical energies, his bond with the earth, it made things so much easier. Instead of thinking about what he was trying to accomplish, Nathan just focused on the image in his mind. The hot iron moved and flowed like never before.

Nathan finished his project and headed back out to see Verin and the count. As he walked, he thought of his father. He would have approved of the broaches, for their artisanship and the symbolic gesture towards peace they represented. Nathan hoped the count would feel the same. Verin and the count were quietly relaxing while they waited to see what Nathan was up to. Before he revealed his latest project, Nathan needed to write a letter. Grabbing parchment, a vial of ink and a pen he sat down to write.

     To King Theron Stoneblood

Grandfather, I have safely returned to Elderwood, but things are not well here. Duke Evollan has betrayed his king, stolen from him then came to Elderwood and murdered the rest of the villagers except for my friends Ava, Rose and Sharon, which he has kidnapped. Verin and I are going after them.

Before I leave for the south, I would like you to get to know Count Mavane of Salma. He has been very helpful to me and done his best to account for the duke’s actions. I have sent him to you in hopes that you will get to know him and consider him a friend as I do.

I have suggested to the count that trade between Salma and Amradin is a good idea, I also ask you to consider this as well.

Nathan Stoneblood

p.s. the count has a trinket for you. As promised I tried to make something pretty.

p.p.s you never told me the hexin makes iron white. I think it is rather beautiful. It is no wonder dad liked it.

Done with his letter he handed it to the count and told him to read it in case something happened to the letter. Then he pulled out the two brooches he had made. Both were exactly the same size and style, a rose with a jewel in the middle. The difference being one was made with the dark black steel with a small diamond in it and the other was made with hexin. This one was a soft white color and had a ruby for a gem.

“The black rose brooch is a gift to you Count Mavane. The white rose brooch is for my grandfather if you would please give him it to him when you deliver the letter I would be most thankful.”

Count Mavane accepted the gift and letter with as much grace as he could. He was very moved by the wording of the letter and the beautiful brooches. The fact that Nathan spoke of his as a friend meant much to the count. The young man showed wisdom beyond his years; a desire for peace and peacemaking when he could have easily focused on his own losses. If the boy survived his encounter with the duke he would surely go on to great things. “Nathan, Verin, it has been an honor to meet the both of you. I will wear my brooch with pride and hope that I can do as much for you one day as you have for Salma. I pray that you find the duke and save those girls.”

As Count Mavane left to return to Salma Nathan returned to the blacksmith shop, calling out to Verin as he went. “I have one more thing to make today. “

With the count gone, and Nathan occupied in the blacksmith shop, Verin decided to finish making the witch oak bows. The curves of the bows were already completed. All Verin needed to do was carve the ends, grip and arrow nook then sand the bows down before applying linseed oil. Verin made two of the bows this way and left the third in case Nathan wanted to do it himself.

When he tied on the hemp string, the bows looked great. Verin tried to pull draw back the bowstring. Pulling as hard as he could Verin was only able to pull the string back a few inches. As he had suspected only a northerner would have the strength to use the bows. Frustrated but glad to be busy, Verin went out into to the forest to find some good wood to make arrows of.

While Verin worked on the bows and made arrows, Nathan was making weapons. When Nathan and Verin defeated the bandits, they had surprise and luck on their side. Not to mention the only really well trained warrior was the bandit leader himself. All of Duke Evollan’s men were trained veteran soldiers and they knew Nathan and Verin were coming. Better weapons might be the only advantage they would get.

First, he made a new sword for Verin. This sword was almost identical in design to the one Verin already had, same length and blade size with exactly the same grip. But Nathan gave the new sword a few key changes that made all the differences in the world. First Nathan forged it out of black steel and made the blade thinner and sharper. Normally this would also make a blade more fragile and susceptible to breaking. However, the combination of being made of the harder black steel and the magical nature of the blade countered that effect.  To give the blade its magic Nathan inserted one of his blood gems into the helm, a blood emerald that would attune the sword to its owner, making it lighter and stronger when its owner used it.

After Verin’s sword was completed, Nathan restarted the process to make new weapons for himself. Taking a short break, Nathan headed back outside. Verin was nowhere to be seen, still out collecting wood for arrows. Nathan noticed that while he had been working on the blades Verin had completed the bows. Once done, Nathan took his whetstone to the swords. He spent a lot of time while forging the swords on getting the edges flat so it would not take long to work the edges until they were extremely sharp.

Taking one of the bows up, he pulled as hard as he could, but the string barely moved. The witch oak bows were too stiff. Perfect Nathan thought to himself, this will do nicely. Then Nathan went to their supply packs and got his stack of vraber skins. On the return trip from the north Nathan had thought of a way to cut the skins so that they could make use of the extremely tough material. Grabbing the skins and the two bows, Nathan headed back into the blacksmith shop.

When Verin returned to camp Nathan was still hard at work in the blacksmith shop so he kept making more arrows. Barking and straightening the wood until he had a large bundle of arrow shafts ready to go. While gathering the wood, Verin had come across a wild turkey. The turkey provided all the feathers Verin needed and was going to make a tasty supper.

It was almost dark when Nathan finally came out to see Verin. “All done in there?” asked Verin.

Nathan had come out only holding a small bowl and dagger. ”Well actually I am almost done I just need one more thing. Hold out your hand.” Nathan pricked Verin’s arm and let the blood drop into the bowl. Once a small pool had formed in the bottom of the bowl Nathan stopped. “There, put some pressure on that and it will stop bleeding in a minute. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Verin did not know why Nathan was taking his blood. Apparently, he should have been paying more attention to what Amaden Blugroson was teaching the boy.

True to his word, Nathan came back out of the shop only a few minutes later. This time he carried a handful of gear. “Here try out this bow and then this sword.” Nathan handed the weapons to Verin.

First Verin tried the bow. It looked exactly the same as before with the exception of a small gem carved into the handle. Verin lifted the bow and tried to pull the string back “It feels heavier than before and I can’t even pull the string back.”

“hmm, okay now try the sword.” Nathan could feel Verin’s disappointment start to mount.

The sword looked beautiful. The thin black blade was razor s with an emerald in the helm. ”It is beautiful and I’ve never seen a blade so thin and sharp but it is really heavy and awkward feeling.” Verin put the sword down and shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t use either of those weapons.” Verin did not want Nathan to feel too bad. He had obviously put a lot of effort into making the weapons.

“That is because those are my weapons. Now try these ones.” Nathan handed the bow to Verin. This bow felt completely different. It was so light that it hardly even left like he was lifting a thing. Then when he pulled back on the string he was surprised by how easily the bow bent and he was able to get the string back to his cheek.

Nathan smiled, the magic he had put into the weapons was working as planned. “Ah, much better right, now try this sword.”

Verin put the bow down and accepted the second sword. Like the first it was a thin black steel blade with a small gem in the helm. When Verin took the sword it was just like the bow. Super light and well balanced, the sword felt perfect. He could not believe the quality of weapons his nephew had made him.

Verin turned to Nathan, “They are perfect. How did you do it?”

Nathan explained the bloodstones and how the bow and sword were now attuned to him. If Verin used the weapons, they were light and easy to use. If anyone else tries to use them they would be heavy and unyielding.

Verin marveled at the weapons, they were truly wondrous. It then hit him like a bolt of lightning. “Blood stones, Stoneblood, you are not the first of your line to do this.”

Nathan nodded “No, I’m not. Amaden said that for hundreds of years the Stoneblood family used magic to imbue stones. But as the use of magic died off in Solotine it became a forgotten art."

“I almost forgot, here try these on” Nathan passed Verin a pair of pants and a sleeveless shirt. “I figured out how to cut the vraber skins. I made a cutting knife out of a diamond. I imbued them as well. They will feel light and soft to you but no normal blade will slice through them. “

Verin remembered all too well how tough the vraber skins were, those deadly beasts had almost killed him. “These are excellent Nathan. We are well prepared to take on the duke and his men. Now get some sleep tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

Nathan agreed, yawning. He was tired, very tired.

Chapter thirty six

AT FIRST LIGHT, they were off. Refreshed from a decent night’s sleep, they pushed hard. The last time Nathan had gone from Birchone to Elderwood he had walked it in three days. Today, they rode into the village before noon. When they got into the small town Verin explained that he and the count had spoken about the journey and how to make it as quick as possible. The count had come to Birchone yesterday and arranged for two fresh packhorses to exchange for their own tired ones.

As they arrived at the stables, the owner had the horses ready for them. “The count explained the situation; these are my best two horses, grained and ready to go. The count also said to tell you he sent a rider to Kerth last night and two more horses will be waiting there.”

Nathan and Verin quickly removed the packs from their tired horses and switched them to the new ones. The kindly stable owner also gave them each a loaf of bread and a couple chunks of cheese, telling them to eat as they rode. They thanked the man for his kindness and were off once more.

As they headed off again Verin explained that while the road to Venecia was long, most of the journey was through the plains. Thorn, and his own mount would have little trouble keeping up a fast pace all day. The packhorses, on the other hand, would be working harder and tire quicker. By changing out the pack horses here and in Kerth they would be able to push hard and cut days off their travel time. 

Nathan was glad his uncle and the count had thought of this, he hadn’t given any thought of the burden the packhorses would have been enduring. The time savings made by switching packhorses along the way would be substantial. Nathan filed this away for future reference. He wondered what other things he would learn from his wise uncle in time.

Onward they rode. Nathan had never been south of Birchone before and while they rode at a fast pace he was still able to notice the changes in the landscape as they went. With each hour they rode, the land seemed to flatten out more. Instead of always being in the forest like the road between Birchone and Elderwood, now they were going through small forests into large, open, hilly land and then back through lightly treed regions once again. If Nathan had not been so focused on Ava, he would’ve enjoyed the different landscapes.