Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0) (12 page)

“Please do,” Siobhan encouraged. “In fact, can we help?”

“If you have ingredients to offer, that would be good.”

Several food sacks were brought forth, and while most of the
ingredients weren’t something that he could use, Fei found a few vegetables and
even a sack of brown rice that could augment his recipe. Pulling out a wok, he
put it and a little oil on the brazier and waited for it to heat as he chopped
up several vegetables. Under the curious gazes of his audience, he stirred
several thinly sliced vegetables into the wok and fried them quickly with a bottle
of seasoning he had. When it was done, he scooped it up into a large bowl, then
replaced the vegetables with the rice, and some water, and let it cook for
several minutes. “You have bowls or plates?”

People handed over their individual bowls, which he took and
filled with rice, then the vegetables on top, with more sauce to add seasoning.

Siobhan took a tentative bite, eyes popping wide. “This is
so different than anything I’ve had before.” She took another, braver bite. “I
think I like it.”

Wolfinsky had already eaten half of his bowl before she
could finish two bites. “Don’t strain yourself, Siobhan. If you don’t like it,
I’ll eat it.”

She gave him the stink eye. “You cannot have my bowl, Wolf.”

He grinned, unashamed. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

These sideways compliments made Fei smile. “There is more,
if you wish.”

“I wish,” Beirly said firmly, munching happily. “What’s this
dish called?”

“Mun-dok. It is a staple meal in my country.”

“What you did was very simple,” Siobhan leaned closer to see
the glass bottle sitting near his knee. “It’s the seasoning that makes it so
wonderful. What is that?”

“It is a mixture of my own making. It is not quite the same
as what I grew up with, but close enough. I can write down the ingredients for
you?”

“Please. Food like this that we can make quickly and easily
on the road is rare. So if we can add another recipe to our set, it’s always a
blessing.” Siobhan swatted Wolfinsky’s hand away as he reached for a third helping
and stole the spoon from him. “I get seconds before you get thirds.”

Fei felt like his gesture of gratitude had been very well
received. These people had shown him consideration, which he had not expected,
and he admitted to himself that he was growing to like them. Jacobs was right.
These were excellent travel companions.

The storm died down at some point in the wee hours of the
morning. When people emerged from their tents they found it had wreaked havoc
with their supplies, although thankfully none of the animals had gotten hurt.
It took longer than usual for them to get back on the road, as it took time to
untangle wet tents and pack everything back up.

Once again, Fei was invited to ride in the Deepwoods cart,
which he did not mind. He found a seat next to Grae and watched as the man used
a compass, sextant, and map to try and find their location. He muttered to
himself often, frowning, and re-checking both instruments without voicing his
thoughts. Whatever conclusions he had reached, he either didn’t like it or
wasn’t sure of it.

Jacobs came back to them and asked bluntly, “Where are we?”

Grae, distracted, had to blink and formulate an answer. “As
nearly as I can figure, we’re about halfway through the Hazy Forest, roughly
two days south of Stott. But I could be a little off.”

“How much off?”

“A few hours. I don’t have any good landmarks to work off
of, so I’m not entirely sure of our location, but this is my best guess.”

“All I need is a good guess,” Jacobs assured him. “We’re on
the right road, heading the right direction, and that’s good enough for me. We
crossed a good distance before the path failed, thankfully. We can make Stott
off the provisions I have packed.”

That was welcome news to Fei, as he hadn’t been sure if
Jacobs had packed any food at all.

“Then let’s move, we’re losing daylight.” Jacobs called out
to the wagons as he walked back toward the front. Beirly, in the driver’s seat,
obligingly got the reinmal moving as the rest of the caravan rumbled into
motion.

They spent the rest of the day amiably. Sometimes people
told stories—Fei was doubtful as to the full validity of some of the
tales—sometimes they sang, and if they hit a muddy patch then everyone worked
to pull the wagons through it. Wolf’s strength alone was normally enough to
pull a wagon free of a rut.

Fei still hadn’t had a chance to spar with the other
enforcer and he was itching to do so. He had a feeling, judging from the huge
broadsword at the man’s back, that Wolfinsky was a power fighter. If Fei was
quick enough he could likely dodge the attacks and break through the other
man’s defenses. Maybe.

As the day wore on, Grae became more certain of their
location, and determined that they really were about two days out. The muddy
ruts would likely make it closer to two and a half days to arrive in Stott, but
they all breathed a little easier in having a more certain grasp of their
location.

They found a slightly wider section in the road to make camp
that night. Without a storm raging above their heads, Fei had the time to put
his own tent up. One of the drivers was set to cook. Fei prayed it would be
edible, otherwise he would shift to Plan B. He had a few more questions about
pathmaking he wanted to ask Grae, so after his own camp was set up he went looking
for the man.

The Deepwoods tent was easy enough to find, as it was one of
the larger ones, and he made a beeline for it. A stone’s throw from the camp,
Siobhan and Wolfinsky were having a heated argument. He couldn’t catch all of
the words, there was too much noise all around them to filter it out, but tone
and body language was enough to tell him this wasn’t a friendly spat.

Grae and Beirly were next to the campfire watching it play
out from the corners of their eyes, hunched and turned away from the pair as if
trying to avoid the scene entirely. That didn’t bode well. Fei stopped next to
Beirly and sank down onto his haunches. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes,” Beirly groaned, prodding at the fire with a stick.
“Not the first time it’s happened, and likely won’t be the last, so don’t worry
your head about it.” 

That did and did not answer the question.

“It’s just that Wolf tends to be overprotective in
situations like these,” Grae clarified. “And Siobhan doesn’t take that well.
She’s a strong fighter in her own right, so having someone hover over her
doesn’t sit well.”

Wolfinsky had given off the vibe of someone that tended
toward being overprotective. Fei had seen it happen three times now, where
Wolfinsky had physically yanked Siobhan away from danger before she could even
try to dodge it. Yes, Fei could see how that would cause problems between the
two.

Siobhan said something that deflated Wolfinsky completely
and stomped off. She headed toward the line of wagons and other campfires,
fortunately, as having her storm into the woods would have snapped the
enforcer’s already taut nerves.

“Uh-oh,” Beirly muttered, cringing. “Wolf’s going to be in a
mood now.”

“Isn’t it your turn to deal with him?” Grae whispered
frantically.

“No way, I did it last time. And the time before that. It’s
way past your turn.”

Wolfinsky slunk into the camp like a wolf that had been
denied its prey. Waves of frustration poured off of him, so tangible as to be
almost visible. Fei looked at him and was eerily reminded of fireworks about to
go off. That kind of broiling temper was not good, especially not in a man of
that size and strength. He could do serious damage without realizing it simply
because his usual control was frayed. Beirly and Grae’s alarm now made too much
sense.

Beirly, seeing that Grae was too petrified to get a word
out, cleared his throat and prepared to say something. Fei put a hand on his
shoulder to stay him. When Beirly blinked up at him, surprised, Fei gave him a
small shake of the head before stepping forward.

“Is there something wrong, Wolfinsky-jia?”

“Woman doesn’t understand the danger out here,” Wolfinsky
growled, frustration bleeding into his words. “There’s wolves out here bigger
than she is. Bears. Moose, wild boars, and more poisonous snakes than I can
shake a stick at. She should
not
be wandering out alone at night!”

Ahh. Yes, definitely overprotective. Fei deliberately
relaxed his shoulders, hands kept away from his weapons, giving off every
signal of non-danger that he could. “Perhaps some subterfuge is in order?”

The growling paused. “Subterfuge?”

“Indeed. Let’s see, how should we phrase this? ‘Men of our
occupation must train regularly. The best way to do so is against another
opponent, in various lighting and terrain.’ If we offer her this rationale, we
can follow her all around without suspicion. Not to mention,” Fei put a sly
finger against his nose, “getting some good training in.”

The whole camp stared at him with a wide range of
expressions. Grae looked thankful he was talking Wolfinsky down, Beirly torn
between being impressed and relieved, and Wolfinsky had lost his anger
entirely. The giant enforcer gave Fei a look of respect.

“It’s a good reason,” Wolfinsky agreed slowly, “and I think
the rationale would work, but what about now? She’s weaving in and around the
camp. It’ll be hard to fight in one place and keep an eye on her.”

Fei gave him a look of mock-confusion. “The only open place
to fight at this moment that has any lighting is the road. Sparring is not a
static thing, it moves. Of course we would go the length and width of the road,
depending on where the fight takes us.”

Slapping a hand against his leg—the sound was akin to a log
snapping in half—Wolfinsky let out a roar of laughter. “I like the way you
think! Alright, then, let’s have a bout or three on the road, shall we? Between
the two of us, I think we can keep her within sight.”

“Of course,” Fei agreed genially.

Wolfinsky left the camp at a brisk stride, no longer upset.
As he turned to follow, both Beirly and Grae mouthed a fervent ‘thank you’ to
which Fei gave a slight bow of acknowledgement.

In terms of fighting, Wolfinsky was like a mountain or an
avalanche. He moved quickly enough for a man of his size, but the real danger
was when he made contact. Especially with that iron right hand of his, he could
shatter bone easily. It took considerable skill for Fei to dodge and weave in
and around those attacks. In fact, he had to exert more energy and focus than
he’d planned on, so there was no possibility to sneak any glances and keep
Siobhan in sight. Instead, he tracked her by ear, as she was easily
distinguishable among all of the male voices. This caravan had only one other
woman in it, Jacobs’ wife.

Neither of them were tired, but after an hour or so, they
stopped for a breather in mutual agreement. If a man’s blood got too hot then
he would sometimes hurt an opponent out of sheer reflex. Fei stood with arms
relaxed at his sides and breathed deep.

“I can’t see her,” Wolfinsky muttered, sneaking peeks to the
left.

“She’s behind the wagon directly opposite of me.” It was
hard to read the man’s expression from flickering firelight and the moon
overhead, but Fei could read him well enough. “It’s not the bears or the wolves
that are truly worrying you.”

Wolfinsky’s shoulders slumped, which he took as a yes.

“It must be difficult, protecting an attractive woman.”

“Beyond difficult, some days,” Wolfinsky muttered. “I’m glad
you understand that, though. The other two don’t. They just don’t
see
Siobhan like that. I guess because they grew up with each other.”

This was news to Fei. “They are childhood friends?”

“Yes, all three of them. They were the core members of
Deepwoods. I came in almost three months after the guild was established.”

Hence why the other two weren’t always sure of how to handle
Wolfinsky in one of his moods? This information shed a whole new light on their
relationships. “Do not worry. I see the problem clearly. Perhaps we should set
up a tag-team or sorts? If we switch out then she will not realize that we are
‘hovering’ quite so much.”

“You’re a good man, Man Fei Lei. Yes, let’s do that.”

If that was the way to keep peace on this journey, Fei was
more than willing to do it. Besides, Wolfinsky had a point. Siobhan would
attract trouble just because she was pretty and friendly. Could she handle that
trouble? Probably. But Fei’s job was to protect every person in the caravan,
and that included her, so he saw no problem with his offer.

“You’re a good fighter, too,” Wolfinsky added, tone
contemplative. “Have you thought about joining a guild?”

“I have not,” Fei denied. This was, curiously, the first
time he had ever been asked that question. “I do not understand guilds. We do
not have them in Saoleord.”

“Really! Then how is your society organized?”

“Family is the core of it. Then we have work groups,
companies, businesses, and a government that rules it all.”

“Government?” Wolfinsky sounded baffled by this word, as
well he should, as it was a foreign concept in most of the four continents.

“Indeed. I find the idea of guilds very strange.”

“I find the idea of a city without guilds very strange.”
Wolfinsky paused, distracted by movement. “Ah, looks like she’s heading back to
camp. Man Fei Lei, have you had dinner?”

“Not yet.”

“Then come back with me and have dinner with us.”

“You are kind. I accept.” Fei followed him back to the camp,
ruminating on the sideways invitation he had been offered. Wolfinsky liked him,
liked his skills, and obviously wanted him to think about joining Deepwoods.
While flattered, Fei didn’t know how to take this offer. Join a guild? Aside
from the fact that he still didn’t know how long he would sojourn on this
continent, he didn’t understand enough about how a guild operated to make a
decision to join one. Fei did not believe in jumping into a situation he didn’t
understand. That seemed very foolhardy.

Three years of living in the outside world had given him
plenty of opportunities for observation. From what he had seen, a guild was a
business-like structure that had strict control over its members. There was
nothing about that setup that Fei was inclined to like. There would need to be
a very compelling reason to make him enter one and right now, he didn’t see
that happening.