Thaddeus Nowak's Blog: Thoughts and Observations, page 17

Starting off right

Well, today is the first day of 2015.  I’m not one to put a great deal of stock into marking the change from one year to the next.  Mostly the new year means I’ll spend a few weeks crossing off last year’s date and scribbling in 2015.  However, I tend to hardly write checks any more, so perhaps that hassle is fading away.

While the revolution of the planet causing us to flip the calendar over to the next year isn’t a huge event in my life, I do believe that mentally marking a change in one’s life is a positive things.  It helps to be able to draw a line in the sand when making a decision to do something.  But it is the deciding that is important; that is what allows one to move forward.

So, for me, this new year will include more hiking and camping.  I had planned to do several smaller trips last year, but things always came up and we just didn’t get around to do the trips.

To start this year out right, we went on a short 3 mile hike.  The picture here is where we were coming up onto a ridge.  The wind was a bit crisp and you could see the ice in the river, but with hats and gloves, we stayed warm even in the 36 degree weather.  (And we were not the only ones out there.  If fact, there were a more people than normal on the trail today).

My eventual goal will be to do some long through hikes.  Probably not in the next year or so (getting a couple of months straight to spend hiking takes a lot of work and planning), but within the next five years, I would like to do something like the John Muir Trail.  It’s just over 200 miles long.  Then at some point, I would love to do both the Appalachian Trail (2,200 miles) and the Pacific Crest Trail (2,663 miles).  I know, when you think about those distances, the hikes seem long.  But even out of shape, last year we did over 40 miles in the mountains with considerable changes in elevation.  So, this year I am drawing the line and will get myself fit enough to do three or four weeks a solid hiking so I can eventually knock out the JMT.

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Owin #30 — More goods for The Needle

Check out the start of the series.

Photo ©Depositphotos.com / Oleksandr Minyaylo

Owin’s apprehension did not fade, though Gwen seemed to settle down after they had eaten some bread and cheese.  Her ease might also have come from the excitement of seeing things she had never witnessed before.

Looking out from the front of the ship, she spent most of the afternoon and evening watching the waves rolling across the horizon. With the occasional whitecaps, her clothes soon clung to her thin body and her cropped hair always hung on the verge of being wet enough to drip.

Niam’s Cove, as Arn had called the narrow bit of water between a pair of long rocky protrusions of land, offered a bit of calm water that only partially eased Owin’s mind. No stranger to being on board a ship, the motion of the sea did not bother him. However, the crew and his mission did.

Imtor had done his best to avoid looking at Gwen and him, but his avoidance was so pronounced, that it drew Owin’s attention. The others, Warren and Den’ah especially, seemed to enjoy themselves, telling stories and boasting about their many feats of daring and cunning.

By the time the ship slid onto the rocky beach, Owin could have claimed to sail with the most interesting people in existence. However, it did not take much to know that most of the claims were highly exaggerated.

Once The Needle was secured, Arn and Tyron headed further inland, climbing a small rise in the land that showed signed of regular use. Calvin and Den’ah grabbed a hand ax each, and with their swords, they hopped off the ship and headed after Arn and Tyron, but angled more toward the south.

“We’ll stay here for the night,” Warren said easily. “Even if The Captain can’t find our contacts. It’s too dark to sail much further and we’re far enough from any towns that no one will see the fire.”

Owin nodded his head, wishing yet again that he could read minds. “Anything you want us to do?”

“Naw, we’ve got it covered. Just sit there for now.”

Owin nodded his head. He tried to appear relaxed, but he kept a careful watch between the shore and Warren and Imtor. The two brothers continued to move about the ship, gathering and organizing supplies with all the appearance of getting together items to make dinner. However, neither of them were ever more than three steps from a loaded crossbow.

He noticed Gwen watching him with her lower lip between her teeth. The easy smile she had acquired earlier while enjoying the adventure of sailing north along the coast had faded. He forced a smile to his face and she returned it before she glanced back up the slope to where Arn and Tyron had disappeared.

Movement on the slope drew Owin’s attention, as well as that of the brothers. Calvin’s bald head was the first thing Owin noticed, but Den’ah followed closely behind him. Thank you, Owin said to himself when he saw they carried armloads of firewood. The two men moved down the slope and started stacking the wood next to a pile of stones that Owin could now tell was a fire pit.

Gwen relaxed against him, perhaps sensing his own tension fade slightly. “I’m looking forward to a nice warm fire,” she said as she watched Calvin carefully put kindling into the circle of rocks and then stack larger items over the kindling.

“Let’s see what The Captain has to say,” Warren said, inclining his head back up the slope to where Arn and Tyron descended.

The two men were quickly back at The Needle. “Sano will have his men load up the mules and bring the crates down. They have ten of them, so things will be a bit tight with the load, but we’ve carried more.” Arn glanced at Owin and Gwen. “If Gwen will do the cooking, and you help with the loading, we can get Sano and his men out of here. They’re not happy with getting delayed.”

Owin got to his feet and helped Gwen to hers. “We’d be happy to help.”

“Good. I want to be able to push off with the early tide, so it means loading everything tonight. The ship will be heavy and no fun to push off this beach.”

 

Owin knew his back would hurt in the morning when he saw the mules and the size of the crates. The Needle already had more than a dozen smaller crates and casks on board. The heavily laden mules struggled to make it down the slope to the beach. Once they did, the men leading them stepped back and let Arn, Owin and the other men untie the large wooden boxes and heft them into the ship. Each crate took four of them to load and the weight definitely caused the shallow bottomed boat to settle just a little further into the rocky beach.

Even before they were done, Sano and his men had already started to lead the unloaded mules back up the slope. I can understand their desire to be gone, but… Owin did not want to finish the thought.

With the work completed, he joined Gwen next to the fire and helped her and Den’ah finish preparing a stew for the evening meal. “Hey Den’ah, you ever deal with these guys before?”

“A few times. Why?”

“They ever that eager to leave before?”

Den’ah shrugged. “I think Sano was pissed we were so late. We had to sail a bit out of our way to pick you up.”

Owin pursed his lips. “How’d you know to pick us up? I didn’t know I was coming until just recently.”

Den’ah gave Owin a toothy grin. “The Captain’s got a holy artifact. I think that holy warrior friend of yours and his gave it to him. I’ve not seen him use it, but from what I understand, it lets them talk through Oron.” Den’ah gave him a shrug. “Don’t mess with those who do work for the gods, that’s what I always say.” Den’ah smiled and then walked over to join the other sailors who had pulled out a cask of ale and were having a drink.

Owin nodded his head, though the man did not notice. He had no intention of doing that, but at least that answers a question I had. “Gwen, I want you to stay close to me tonight. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

She looked up at him, her lower lip again between her teeth. “I think I have the same feeling.”

 

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Owin #29 — Meeting some new people

Check out the start of the series.

Photo ©Depositphotos.com / Oleksandr Minyaylo

Owin settled down onto the deck of the ship with Gwen at his side as the four sailors pushed the wide boat off the beach. Once the boat slipped into the waves, they leaped into the boat, sloshing water over the deck.

“Get on the oars and turn us around,” Arn called in his deep voice. His large presence commanded respect and he had no need to yell. Arn grabbed the tiller while another man moved toward the mast and the sail. The four men who had pushed them off, slid onto benches and pushed oars into the water.

With an easy cadence, Arn barked his command to ‘pull’ and The Needle moved further from shore. Once they were far enough away, those on the port side reversed their direction and the shallow bottomed ship rotated around to face the open sea outside the cove.

The man at the mast, and two of the rowers, grabbed ropes and quickly raised the square sail. The wind snapped the canvas taut and the ship lurched forward, causing Gwen wrapped her arm around Owin as the ship bounced up and down on the waves.

Once they cleared the cove and turned north to follow the coast, Arn called a man over to take the tiller from him. Then the big man easily moved across the open deck and around several crates to come over to them.

“You doing well?”

Owin watch Gwen nod her head, but her arm gripped his waist more tightly. “We’re good,” Owin said.

“Good. If you feel like losing your lunch, do it over the side.”

Owin raised an eyebrow. “Actually, we haven’t eaten anything. Any chance we might be able to get something?”

Arn smiled. “I think we can get you something.” He inclined his head toward the man who had initially gone to the mast. “That is my mate, Tyron.” Moving his focus around the crew, he introduced the others. “The man without any hair is Calvin. Den’ah is the blonde. Warren and Imtor are brothers.”

Owin nodded his head to each in turn. “A pleasure to meet you all.”

“What, you some ass-kisser or a Lord or some sort?” Warren asked.

“These two are good friends of a close friend of mine. I’ve told you not to give them trouble.”

“I wasn’t given’em trouble. The man just sounded like a pompous ass with all the ‘my pleasure’ crap.”

Owin smiled and spoke before Arn could. “I’m more than capable of being cordial, but don’t mistake that for me being kind. I survived the war by being exactly the opposite.”

Warren’s grin grew wider, revealing several missing teeth. “Now that’s a man I can work with.”

Arn laughed as well. “As I said, they are friends of a friend. Anyone that messes with them will deal with me.” Arn lifted his arm. “Tyron, can you get them something to eat? Once they are settled, make for Niam’s cove. We’ll be coming in late, but they should keep the shipment waiting for us.”

Owin watched as Tyron eased his way to chest at the front of the ship.  The man’s grace spoke of years at sea.  However, while Owin gaze stayed on the first mate, his attention never left Imtor.  While he had not ability to sense people’s thoughts like a priest of holy warrior, Owin knew how to read people and Imtor was not a man he trusted.

 

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Hiking: Lawn Lake, Crystal Lakes, and The Saddle

Back in August, Sherri and I did some hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.  One of the hikes that had plagued us for years was the Lawn Lake trail.  We’d been chased down by weather a couple of times and decided against it because of injures another time.  However, this year, we managed to finish the trail and more.

The Lawn Lake trail is just over 6 miles one-way.  On prior visits to Estes Park, we were told not to set Lawn Lake a destination.  The lake normally is not that thrilling and there are better hikes in the park.  If we were going to do the trail, go past Lawn Lake to the Crystal Lakes and/or The Saddle as well.

This year, that is exactly what we did.  Here is 15 minutes of things I captured with the video camera on the way.  Surprisingly, this year turned out to also be spectacular for wild flowers around the lake, so the lake became a worthwhile destination for itself.

We were at the trailhead just before 0500 local time and we hit the trail with flashlights.  The initial part of the trail has a lot of switchbacks as it climbs up a ridge.  Needless to say, I didn’t record much video until after the sun was over the horizon.

Most of the hike follows the Roaring River, which leads from Lawn Lake down to the Alluvial Fan.  The trail is generally uphill the whole way out.  Though, the trip to Lawn Lake is not that rough.  The overall elevation gain is spread over 6 miles and we found that part of the hike pretty easy.

However, the climb to the Saddle is another couple thousand feet up.  That gain is spread over just a couple of miles and parts of it gained a lot over a few hundred yards.  The Saddle comes in at over 12,300 feet.  For the even more adventurous, there are a couple of peaks beyond The Saddle that you can do.  (Perhaps next time.)

If you watch the video to The Saddle, you’ll see a small herd of bighorn sheep we encountered.  Thank goodness for zoom on the video camera.

I didn’t get sick, but I was starting to feel the effects of the altitude.  Once I hit 11.5k feet, when I put forth any strenuous exertion, I starting to get a mild headache.  This didn’t go away until after I was back under 10.5k feet.  On the way down from The Saddle, doing the mile long side trip to see the Crystal Lakes up close required a bit of extra determination, since we were still close to 12k feet.  However, that effort brought our total mileage for the day to 18 miles.  And since we had 4k feet for overall elevation gain from the trail head to The Saddle, that has made this our best single days yet for distance and overall gain.

I didn’t shoot much video on the way down and my mentioning it didn’t make the video cut, but there was some thunder and rain that moved in while we were at Crystal (Sherri was in her poncho in one shot).  Plus, we wanted to get back to the car and stopping to shoot video takes time.  In all, we reached the trailhead as the sun was setting behind the mountains, which was about 15 hours from when we set off.

A long hike normally makes me ask ‘what the hell was I thinking?’  This was no exception.  My feet hurt well before I was done.  But the next morning, as always, I was ready to get out and do it again.

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What do I want?

Image by FutUndBeidl

I am terrible to shop for.  I know it.  And I hate the dreaded question: “What do you want?”

I know why I have trouble answering that question: I don’t tend to want much in the way of little things.

Sure, I have a fairly wide range of geekdoms and I do like a number of things.  It’s just that most of what I want is not cheap and the things that are expensive, I don’t have time to really enjoy.

I seem to remember as a kid wanting more material things, but as an adult, what I want tends to be more intrinsic things that you can’t buy (unless you are really rich and own a few politicians).  Perhaps I’ve just grown boring.  Perhaps not.

Even looking to buy some things for myself, I was scouring sites like ThinkGeek looking for things I might want.  I found several things that were cool and really neat, but I really couldn’t find something I really needed.  I did buy a couple of things (I had money I had to spend there) but I don’t know how long my attention span will last for them.  Which means I’ll have to find a place to store them and they’ll just collect dust.

I’d love to get a Raspberry Pi, but I don’t have the hours and hours of time would need to dedicate to playing with it.  And I would definitely play with it.  I’m thinking radio controlled drone programmed to …

I have a number of daggers and a few swords.  I even have an old English long bow.  I do like blades and medieval weapons.  However, I probably don’t need anymore (though I’d really love a Ulfberht sword).  Or a viking long ship.  Oh, really any tall ship would do.  But, I live in Kansas, and while I could pillage up and down the rivers with a long ship, I don’t have the time.  (I’d rather be writing about pillaging up and down rivers instead).

Hobby wise, I love hiking and do enjoy photography.  The hiking really can’t be given as a gift and the lens I want costs well over a grand, so … not likely gift ideas.

It really gets hard to answer the question of “what do you want?” when you don’t know yourself.

However, if someone was going to buy me something…I did see this trebuchet the last time we took a trip to the UK.  I would not say no to that.

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Owin #28 — Time to leave

Check out the start of the series.

Photo ©Depositphotos.com / Oleksandr Minyaylo

Owin looked toward the farmhouse as he followed Denton onto the road. The smell of cooking sausage escaped an open window. However, neither Inga nor her brother was visible. At least that is one set of disappointed faces I won’t have to see.

“I’m hungry,” Gwen whispered in his ear. “Do you think we’ll get something to eat?”

While Gwen and her mother had never eaten well, he always tried to make sure they had some food. He hoped to be able to keep that up, though he expected she would go without a couple of times over the coming days. “We’ll see. Depending on the ship, we might be able to get something from the crew.”

Denton said little as they hurried down the road in generally a westerly direction. Owin knew that plenty of smaller smugglers avoided Rhyl and opted instead to use coves and sheltered beaches along the western shore. It still remained a dangerous proposition, because not only did the authorities want to put an end to the practice, due to loss of tax revenue, but also the families overseeing criminal activity did not tolerate being cut out of their perceived shares either.

Keeping to the side roads, which in many cases were little more than ruts worn into the ground, they passed a number of farmsteads and villages. Denton refused to allow them to stop at any public houses for food; however, Owin managed to steal a couple of apples from an orchard.

By the time the sun had reached its full height for the day, they had traveled for several miles along the rocky coast. The sea appeared fairly calm with only a slight breeze blowing from the south.

The further they went, the fewer people and houses they encountered, making their presence more conspicuous.  With limited trees near the coast to offer concealment, they moved from the road and stayed to the ravines and low areas. Twice they laid down in the tall grasses to avoid the notice of soldiers on patrol.

By the early afternoon, they finally crept down into a small cove the sea had worn into the rocky landscape. “We wait here,” Denton said. “This is not their typical cove, but their boat is shallow enough.”

“Who are these people?” Owin asked. “Are they just transporting us, or are they part of your cause? I’d like to know if we have to keep from getting our throats cut or not.” Owin noticed Gwen tense at that comment, but did not acknowledge it. Denton would have likely felt her fear.

“It will be a mix. Captain Arn is a friend of mine and supports my cause. He’s got a mate he trusts, but he’s also a pirate and the other four men are likely people he hired for a share to work the sails and move goods. I don’t know who they are.”

Owin bit his lip to keep from cursing but then spoke his mind anyway. “Pirates would prefer a war. They’d be able to make even more money.”

“Keep your skirt on, Owin. Arn’s a fairly big guy and he’ll frighten most people into keeping in line. He’s not an idealist, but he hates the Duke even more than you, so he’ll do anything he can to ruin the Duke’s plans. Which in my book is even better than being an idealist, because hate and greed are things you can negotiate with. Ideals just make you stubborn.”

Owin had heard that before. He and Gavin had lived by that philosophy for a while. However, when Gavin fell in love with Elsin, he suddenly found some ideals worth having. “You’re paying them for the trip, right? They won’t expect us to turn over any money when we get there?”

Denton shrugged. “They’ve been paid already, but…”

“Speaking of money, you have the ten crowns on you?”

Denton laughed. “Don’t be stupid.” The holy warrior pulled a small pouch out from his shirt and handed it to Owin. “There’s a bit over two crowns there. I’ll call it two to be nice to you. I’ll have to owe you the rest.”

Owin shook his head. “If you expect me to get to where I will need to be to protect the people you are talking about, it will cost me more than this to set that up. I said ten crowns up front because it will take most of that for prep work.”

Denton nodded his head, though Owin was not sure if Denton believed him. “I’ll send a letter with Arn to have the rest paid to you once you are there. I have friends in Solva who will take care of it.” Owin frowned but he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Looking out to the sea, movement caught his attention and that caused Denton to turn his head as well. A small boat had moved around the edge of the cove and it bounced softly over the waves as it angled toward them. Owin understood just how little privacy the ship offered. Not quite flat-bottomed, the shallow draft made the craft excellent for landing on beaches such as this one or even for moving up rivers. A square sail powered the craft forward, but Owin also noticed positions for oars on the open deck. There would be no cover from sun, wind, or rain; no privacy for Gwen at all.

He heard Gwen swallow as she watched the craft come closer. Denton even gave him the ‘I told you so’ look. However, Owin had no intention of handing Gwen over to the holy warrior. Even on that boat, she would be safer than in Denton’s hands.

Denton moved out of their concealment and walked down to the sandy shore as the boat’s sail came down. The twenty-foot long craft slid easily into the sandy beach and a broad-shouldered man leaped from the prow.

“Denton,” the man said as he clasped the smaller man’s arm and drew him in for a hug.

“Arn, it is good to see you.”

The bearded man glanced up the beach and Owin nodded his head in return. In a fair fight, Owin doubted he could match the man. His movements were smooth and agile; his arms and chest muscular. It’s a good thing I don’ fight fair unless I have to.

“That your passenger?”

“They both are,” Denton said, half turning toward Owin and Ryia. “Owin is the man I told you about. The other is Owin’s ward, the daughter of his late friend Gavin.”

“Daughter?” Arn cocked his head to the side and chuckled. “It looks like a boy.”

Owin decided to hold his tongue until he got a better read on the large captain. He had a feeling that trying to exert a sense of dominance would not go over well.

“Well, we sleep on the deck and do everything else there as well. That won’t bother your sensibilities I hope.”

Gwen shook her head no, but stayed just behind Owin.

“We can handle a trip. But I will not permit harm to come to her.”

Arn raised a crooked smile. “Have no fear; my men will take no liberties. Denton has spoken highly of you and you have my word you will be delivered safely. At least as safely as I can. On our way in, we saw a war ship patrolling in the distance. I don’t think they saw us, but I would like to be underway as soon as you climb aboard.”

Owin nodded his head. “We are ready as soon as Denton writes a letter for you.”

Denton grinned and nodded his head.

Arn stepped back and extended his hand in the direction of the boat.

 

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Owin #27 — Time to go

Check out the start of the series.

Photo ©Depositphotos.com / Oleksandr Minyaylo

The next morning the calling of a roster woke Owin from his slumber. In the middle of the night, Gwen had rolled against him and she had her head on his arm.  Now his arm had fallen asleep. Sliding out from under her, he managed to get to his feet without waking her.

Not wanting to be dishonest to Vance and Inga, Owin actually hoped he would be able to put in a full day of work before Denton returned. But that’s probably not likely. He knew the holy warrior would not give up easily and while it seemed Denton had put a strong-arm on him, Denton had the capacity to do even worse if needed.  So best to take this offer before it gets worse.

Carefully avoiding the farm equipment, Owin went out the side door and heading around the back of the barn. He relieved himself and then went to the well to wash his face and get something to drink. On the way back to the barn, against the dark morning sky, Owin noticed smoke rising from the chimney of the farm-house and suspected Inga was already preparing breakfast. “Something hot and tasty I hope.”

Moving through a flock of chickens that hoped he had their food, Owin carefully slipped back into the barn and made his way to where Gwen still slept. They could both use a bit more sleep, but a farmer’s day starts early and runs late.

“She’s actually rather pretty I imagine. At least when not covered in dirt and having her hair butchered.”

Owin stopped. Denton’s voice came from his left. Now that he had spoken, he could see the holy warrior’s shape next to a pole.

“You walked right past me on your way out. Either I’m getting better or you’re getting sloppy.”

Owin bit his lip to avid saying something he would regret. His experience with priests and holy warriors let him know they often saw very clearly in dim light. Another bloody advantage they have over everyone else. “You don’t have to be an ass. And leave Gwen alone.”

“I’m here to find out what your answer is.”

Owin shook his head. He wished he could say no. “We’ll do it, but just this one thing and we want to be paid well.”

Owin could hear the smile in Denton’s voice. “Excellent. I know I could count on you.” When the holy warrior moved, Owin easily followed his path through the barn. “You want to wake the girl before you leave?”

“She’s coming with me. I can’t trust anyone to keep her safe here.”

Denton stopped and turned back toward him. “That might be a problem on the small ship I’m putting you on. It’s got a handful of men and not a lot of privacy.”

“I’m not leaving her. You either find another ship or explain it to them.” Owin stepped closer to the man, hoping he could exert some sense of his own power. “I want ten gold crowns up front. I’ll need that to pay for supplies and figure things out. Then I want another ten when this is done.”

Owin could almost see Denton’s eyebrows rise. “You want twenty crows for this?”

“Full crows, not silver. You’re wanting me to make some serious enemies. I need to be able to get Elsin and Gwen away once this is done.” Owin crossed his arms. “And another thing. I need Elsin safely transported to a city of my choosing afterward as well. I doubt I’ll be able to come back here safely to get her.”

Denton shook his head. “You are asking a lot. Even for your work. The Duke never paid you that much.”

“Forget what I’ve been paid before. That is my fee for doing this.”

Denton sighed. “Fine. But we leave now. We have to move to the a protected harbor a few miles away and get you on the boat as soon as it arrives.”

Owin nodded his head. He doubted he would see the second half of the payment, but the first half would hopefully cover a start of a new life, even with expenses.

 

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Ladies’ Night Event

As a reminder, this coming Thursday, 11 Dec 2014, I will be in Atchison Kansas at The Artist Box for Ladies’ Night.  I’ll be there signing books, giving out copies of my map, and will be ready to chat about anything you might like.

Come on out.  I’ll be there by 6pm (perhaps a little earlier).

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Owin #26 — Who Is Denton

Check out the start of the series.

Photo ©Depositphotos.com / Oleksandr Minyaylo

“Denton is a priest of Oron. He sold his services to the Duke when your father and I worked for the Duke.”

Gwen wrinkled her brow. “Aren’t the priests of Oron a bit odd? They don’t have any temples anywhere. They just travel.”

Owin nodded his head. “They are more independent that most. I suspect they do have a High Priest and some take order from him…or her,” he added. “But really, they are more a bunch of individual collectives.  And they don’t always get along. Denton told me once he fought with another group of Oron followers that disagreed with his sect.”

He got up and crossed over to the hay pile where Gwen had sat and dropped down beside her. “Denton told the Duke he supported his cause and the Duke was happy to add another priest to his numbers. The priests of Ja’ren and Cantol did not want to get involved with any single Duke, so they tried hard to stay out of the conflicts.  Though they didn’t always stay out of it.”  Owin looked at a scar on his hand.  “Fighting a priest is difficult.  Especially if you don’t have one of your own.”  Shaking his head, he looked at Gwen.  “You tend to throw a lot of men at that kind of problem just to wear them down.  But if you commit to doing that, you have to hope you still have enough people left after you’ve thrown so many away to take whatever it was you wanted.”

“Did you and father deal with priests?”

Owin nodded his head. “Poison is the best way to weaken them. But you have to get close to do that.” He looked away, not wanting to remember everything he had done.

“Anyway, Denton was actually working against the Duke. A spy inside the ranks. Neither Gavin nor I worked with him often, only a couple of times really. But that man is good at what he does. He can read your mind if he can get a hand on you. I’ve seen him knock over a line of soldiers with a wave of the hand and a single word. We don’t want him as an enemy.”

“What did the Duke do when he found out Denton was working against him?”

“He sent eight men to their deaths trying to assassinate him. Fortunately, Gavin and I were never called to do that. Then Gavin died and the Duke decided I wasn’t worth anything by myself, so I got turned loose.”

Gwen sighed. “So, we’re going to do what he wants then; stop this assassin.”

“There’s no we. I’ll have to do this on my own.”

Gwen leaned forward. “And I’m supposed to wander around playing at being a boy? I’ve got nowhere to go. I’d guess someone would find out I’m a girl within a day or two.”

Owin did not want to agree with her. He wanted to tell her she would be safer staying behind. However, he could not leave her alone when she had powerful enemies looking for her. “You’ll have to do what I say, when I say it. And you’ll have to stay away from the assassin. How would I explain your death to your mother?”

Gwen put her hand on his arm. “I will do what you ask. But, I know I can help. Teach me how to survive. I don’t want to be afraid of people anymore.”

“Gwen, even I’m still afraid of many people. But I know what you are asking.”

 

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Owin #25 — A History Lesson

Check out the start of the series.

Photo ©Depositphotos.com / Oleksandr Minyaylo

“What did you and my father do?”

Owin did not want to meet Gwen’s eyes, but she continued to stare at him. I knew this day would come. Still looking down, he cleared his throat. “It’s a long story.” When she did not say anything, he looked up. He could not see any hate or anger in her expression, but there was a reservation he had not seen before. If only I could read minds like the priests, he thought to himself.

Seeing her determination, he nodded his head. “Your father and I grew up together. We were close and I would say we even got into a bit of trouble from time to time. However, we weren’t prepared for what happened.” Owin nodded his head, indicating she should sit down. He moved to a more comfortably position himself, trying to delay recalling the memories he had buried in his past.

“My family lived in the city of Gale. They actually owned one ship and were paying on a second one.” He smiled, remembering the party that had been thrown to celebrate acquiring the lease. “Their trade ran along the coast, going all the way to Pandaras and back. Gavin and I were even a bit spoiled. We had as much food as we wanted.  We had nice clothes.  We were not wanting.”

Seeing the look on her face, he knew her mother never really told her much about her father’s early life. “Gavin’s parents were actually better off than mine. They owned two ships and both of them were larger. His house was a deep-blue three-story, right in the heart of the merchant district. My parents lived a block away. Respectable, but the block wasn’t quite as nice.”

Owin looked back to the dirt floor of the barn. “I remember when the Duke’s men came. They demanded proof of loyalty from all the wealthy merchants.” He looked up to meet Gwen’s face. “Several merchants were discovered working against the Duke and he would accept no addition traitors. The result was a member of every family had to be handed over to be schooled and taught by families the Duke considered utterly loyal.”

“They just took you from your homes?”

“To say no meant we didn’t trust the Duke or we feared the Duke would discover some treachery.” Owin shrugged. “It was scary, but at the same time, it was an adventure. Gavin was fourteen and I was thirteen. We felt ready to take on the world. And neither of us being the oldest child meant we were spares anyway.” Owin rolled his shoulders. “Fortunately for us, Gavin and I were kept together. We were athletic and willing and wanted to fight in the war.” Owin looked back to the floor. “We had also tried to steal sweetmeats from the house of the Lord we had been assigned. We got caught doing it, but only because we got too daring.” He looked at her, remembering Gavin’s urging. “You see, we had stolen a number of other things before the day we were caught. The trouble was, instead of being punished for this–which would have been better in the long run–the Lord decided we’d be good for his program of training spies and assassins. If we could manage to sneak through his house and steal so successfully, we should be able to do it elsewhere.”

Owin shrugged and leaned back against the post behind him. “It was good for a while. We learned to fight and got to sneak around. But after a while, we learned the price we were paying. We were told to go kill a man and make it look like he died in his sleep. We said no and the Lord said fine, he’d send someone to kill our parents and make it look like they died in their sleep.”

Gwen shook her head. “That is cruel. How old were you?”

Owin did not smile at her; he suspected where she planned to take the argument. “I was your age, but it’s not the same. I had been trained for a long time in how to fight.”

“Did you do it?”

Owin sighed. “Yes. We had no choice.” He closed his eyes, wishing away the years. “We made a good team and the Duke made use of us often and as time passed, we were given more freedom. Then one day, your father met your mother and they fell in love. The three of us got along quite well. We had money, though Gavin and I sent much of it back to our parents. We wanted to buy shares in our parent’s companies so that we’d be able to retire and live well. We were promised that with time, we’d be released from service.”

“Does mother know? She never gave hint.”

Owin shook his head. “We never told her. She believes we were escorts for nobles and ambassadors. That explained our good pay and why we had to go away from time to time and why we were home and free so often. It also explained why we were never sent to the front.”

“I never knew Dad and you had wealthy families. Can we not appeal to them?”

Owin bit his lower lip. “They are all dead. It happened in one of the uprisings. Whole sections of Gale were burned. They died in their homes and our fortunes were lost.”

“I’m sorry.”

“By the time of their death, I really had no strong memories of them. We had been away for years without actually seeing them. However, the Duke’s hold on us had never been stronger. You had turned three and Gavin wanted nothing to happen to either of you.” Owin put his head into his hands. “Then Gavin died. It was my fault. I should have seen the other guards. I should have stopped him. He…he moved in too quickly.” Owin turned away. “Damn it, Gavin.”

Owin felt Gwen’s hand on his shoulder. “I know how much Dad and you meant to each other. Mother always said you two were as close as brothers.” She knelt down in front of him and waited before speaking. “Can you tell me who this man is that threaten us now?”

 

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