Origins: A Deepwoods Book - a Collection of Deepwoods Short Stories (Deepwoods Series 0) (17 page)

Fei rinsed out the mop and replaced it in its spot near the
back door. While he had been invited, he did not need to answer this right now,
and he could think on it for a while longer yet. For tonight, he had other
priorities. “Kierkegaard-gui, where should we sit?”

“The head of the table will give us more room. You have
enough paper?”

Possibly not. Fei went and fetched several sheets of paper
from the workroom. Yes, this should be his first priority. That and eating
dinner. The rest of the questions in his head could be resolved tomorrow.

Three days passed quickly in Deepwoods Hall. Part of that
was because Fei and Beirly spent a good portion of the day working on
Wolfinsky’s hand. But the other part of it was spending the rest of his time
with the other members of Deepwoods. Fei had erroneously assumed that only Grae
was educated among the guild. He was proven very wrong when several new
contracts and job offers were delivered the second day to Siobhan. He found her
at the table with the lot of them spread out around her, reading through them
as quickly as he himself could have managed. Then, to his surprise, she
consulted Beirly on the contracts and which deal would be the best for them to
commit to. It was only then that he learned that, before Deepwoods was formed,
Beirly had had own his own business.

Perhaps Fei had made too many assumptions where the members
of this guild were concerned.

Since no one trusted the stove, and Siobhan had yet to find
one to replace it, most of their meals were bought outside. Sometimes a person
was delegated to go and fetch something back, sometimes they went out as a
group. On the third, and last, evening with Deepwoods, Fei could hear Siobhan
in the main room ordering Grae and Wolfinsky to go fetch them something for
dinner. He wasn’t surprised when Wolfinsky gave a double tap to the workroom
door before sticking his head in. “I’m fetching dinner. Any preferences?”

Beirly paused in stitching leather and looked up. “Isn’t it
clam soup day at the Rose and Crown?”

“Are you sure that you and Siobhan aren’t related?”
Wolfinsky drawled, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Those were almost her
words exactly.”

“Clam soup,” Beirly said firmly. “Fei, if you have any
sense, you’ll order the same. That’s an amazing soup.”

Fei had learned to eat just about anything in the past three
years, so shrugged agreement. “Then I will have the same.”

“Wolf, before you leave, come here a minute. Try this on.”

Agreeable, Wolfinsky came closer and stretched out his arm.
With deft fingers, Beirly took off the wooden hand and slipped on the new iron
hand. “Anything pinching? Rubbing wrong?”

Wolfinsky turned the hand this way and that, then raised it
above his head before letting it hang at his side. “Seems a mite loose.”

“I haven’t added in the last strap yet, that’s why,” Beirly
explained, studying the arm. “And the side seam isn’t double stitched yet
either. It’ll be as tight as usual. Anything else?”

“It’s fine, but…don’t you normally put cotton or felt inside
as a lining?”

A look of horror spread over Beirly’s face. “Blast and
tarnation, I knew I was forgetting something. Don’t you worry, I’ll get that in
tonight.”

It was just as well Beirly hadn’t done the double stitching
yet, seeing as he had to add in another layer. “Shall I cut out the cloth
pieces as you sew?” Fei asked.

“Bless you, Fei, that’ll speed things along nicely. It’s the
same size, just cut in half a finger width shorter.”

Fei had worked with leather enough to understand precisely
why he said that. If the lining was cut the exact same size, it would be too
large to fit inside the cup and would wrinkle and cause bumps. Nodding, he set
about gathering the patterns into a different spot so that he could work in a
clear space away from Beirly.

“It’ll be done tonight,” Beirly assured Wolfinsky. “Just
don’t let me work so that my soup gets cold.”

“Yes, yes.” Wolfinsky let himself out, calling for Grae to
help him as he went.

“Fei, that black cotton there, that’s what works best,”
Beirly directed, pointing to a back shelf that had folded pieces of cloth
stacked in it. “It’s sturdy enough to hold up to the abuse.”

Fetching it, Fei unfolded and smoothed out the material
before cutting out the patterns as carefully as he could. Cutting it out
correctly here meant not having to make adjustments later, which would hamper
his progress. After it was all cut out, he replaced what was left of the cloth,
then went about sewing the first two pieces together, mimicking what Beirly had
done with the leather.

The workroom door burst open and Grae tumbled in, out of
breath and with a ruddy complexion that suggested he had sprinted all the way
here. “Fei. Fei, get to the Rose and Crown
now
. Wolf’s in trouble.”

Fei was on his feet in an instant, reaching for the sword he
had set aside this morning. “How bad?”

“It started out as a bar fight—”

“Not unusual with Wolf,” Beirly muttered.

“—but it’s gotten out of control. He’s outnumbered. Even for
Wolf, he’s outnumbered.”

That was as much information as Fei needed. Shoving past the
Pathmaker, he sprinted for the front door, passing Siobhan as he went.

“What’s happened?” she demanded in alarm.

“Ask Masson-jia!” he called back as he ran, not slowing his
pace.

The Rose and Crown, fortunately, was on the same street,
just a few buildings down from the Deepwoods Hall. Fei reached it in a minute
flat and burst through the main doors, expecting to see mayhem.

The scene in the main room exceeded his expectations.

There were broken chairs, tables, and dishes everywhere. Not
one piece of the floor was free of debris. Most of the evening’s patrons had
already escaped, although a few braver souls were lingering around the back
wall to see how the fight would end. Wolfinsky stood in the middle of the room,
using his shield and wooden right hand to fight off people. He had his
greatsword strapped to his back but not once did he reach for it, which told
Fei a great deal. The giant Wynngaardian might be outnumbered but he had no
intention to kill anyone tonight.

But he was indeed outnumbered. There were at least a dozen
men ranging around him that were intent for his blood. Some were picking up
anything at hand and throwing it, making Wolfinsky retreat behind his shield,
and then the men closer to him would try to attack during this distraction.

Blood boiling, Fei drew both of the long daggers at his
waist, although he respected Wolfinsky’s decision and left the sheathes on. The
sword he left on his back. These were tight quarters and it would behoove him
to err on the side of caution. As silently as possible, he attacked the men
nearest to him, dropping them to the ground with quick efficiency. It took
three falling before the others noticed him, but by then it was too late. Fei
had cut himself a path to Wolfinsky’s side. He darted through and spun, putting
his back to the Wynngaardian’s.

“Fei?” Wolfinsky said in surprise. “How did you know?”

“Masson-jia,” Fei answered succinctly.

“Ah, that figures. I told him to run for it. But you didn’t
buy this fight.”

That amused Fei and he smiled. It must have been a scary
expression, as it froze two men that had targeted him in their tracks. “I have
your back, Wolfinsky-gui.”

Wolfinsky let out a laugh of true delight. “You really are a
good man, Man Fei Lei. After this, I will call you a brother.”

Adrenaline surged in Fei’s system but along with it was
something else, an emotion he could not quite define, but might have been
happiness and peace. “I would be honored to be known as such.”

The group had been surprised at Fei’s entrance but one
person found his tongue enough to shake a sword at Wolfinsky and growl, “Our
grudge is against you, Wolfinsky, not him!”

“You wouldn’t have a grudge at all if you left young girls
alone, you perverted goat.”

Oh, is that what started the fight?

Wolfinsky apparently was done talking or out of patience
with his attackers, as he let out a roar, the battle cry loud enough to shake
the very frame of the building. Even Fei jumped, almost startled out of his
skin. With people’s ears still ringing, Wolfinsky charged the men directly in
front of him, using his shield like a battering ram.

Fei focused on his own opponents and flipped low to the
ground, attacking their knees and sending them to the floor before knocking
them unconscious. Feeling someone close in from behind, he spun, leg sweeping
out, and caught them before a knife could slide into his back ribs.

The fight ended almost before it had truly begun. He and
Wolfinsky turned toward the doorway at the same time and found that only one
man was left standing.

Petrified, he stood there, a sword in his hand and one leg
already edging for the door.

“Is he mine or yours?” Fei asked, honestly unsure of how
many men he had taken down. It could have been nine, or eight, he wasn’t sure.
And he hated to cut Wolfinsky short of enemies, it wasn’t sporting.

“Since you came in late, he can be yours,” Wolfinsky assured
him. “I had a good fight before you came.”

“Are you certain?”

“Aye, it’s fine.”

This civil discussion of who would take him on unnerved the
man more than a straightforward attack would have. Cold sweat on his skin, he
threw a curse at them, spun around, and high tailed it out of the door.

“Aw. He ran.” Fei had a notion of running him down, but
really, what would be the point? Aside from his own satisfaction.

“Drunkards tend to do that.” Wolfinsky gave a sage nod, as
if he had accumulated wisdom and experience in this department. Which, judging
from his demeanor in this situation and Beirly’s comment earlier, he apparently
did.     

Wolfinsky turned and gestured to a dark haired man that had
been hiding in the corner. “Roskin. It’s safe enough to come out. Sorry for all
of this.”

Roskin, who Fei belatedly recognized as the innkeeper,
stepped into the light and came closer, although he had to pick a path to
manage it. “Sorry? Don’t you apologize to me, Erik Wolfinsky. It was my
daughter you were defending. With one of my enforcers sick and the other one
out because of an injury, she was defenseless until you stood up for her. So I
won’t take apologies from you.”

“Fair enough.”

Fei stood by as they discussed what to do with the men, and
who would pay for the damages. A pretty young woman of about sixteen with
blonde hair came up to Wolfinsky and thanked him profusely, which Fei took to
be the girl he’d defended. He stood silently by and watched it play out, his
thoughts turning at high speeds.

The situation had happened because the two enforcers that
usually worked in the inn were not there. Fei had not once thought of this
before, but Deepwoods only had one enforcer. What happened if Wolfinsky was
injured? Or ill? Or simply couldn’t be in two places at once? What then? There
was no one else that had the necessary skills to fill his place. That was
obvious enough because when things had gotten dangerous, Grae had come to fetch
him. Not anyone else.

Another, even more uncomfortable thought surfaced. What
would have happened tonight if Fei hadn’t been here? Grae had been right—a
dozen people were too many for Wolfinsky to handle at once. He was strong, yes,
but not invincible.

The question had been there all along of whether he needed
to join Deepwoods or not. But now Fei realized that this was the wrong
question. In fact, he should have been asking himself exactly the opposite.

Wolfinsky turned to him. “Roskin says he’ll pack up dinner
for us and send it over. So let’s go back for now. Are you hurt?”

“Not at all. They were slow. And their reflexes were poor.”

“Can’t argue that. I’m glad you held back, though, as
Blackstone frowns on killing people because of scuffles like this. It would
have gotten you in trouble.”

Fei took careful note of that.

They walked the short distance back to Deepwoods Hall in
companionable silence. When they entered, they found Siobhan with a black bag
in her hands, laying out several medical supplies. When the door opened, she
whipped around, demanding all in one breath, “You’re both alright? No injuries?
What happened? Wolf, I specifically told you not to get into any fights
tonight!”

“Group of perverts was going after Roskin’s youngest,
Alice,” Wolfinsky answered calmly.

That stopped her dead and a look of outrage spread over
Siobhan’s face. “She’s not even sixteen yet! What were Roskin’s enforcers
doing?”

“They’re both out tonight because of either injury or
sickness.”

“Oh that poor girl. Then good work, Wolf. Is Roskin upset?”

“With them, not us. In fact, we get dinner for free tonight,
as soon as the kitchen remakes it. Ours met an unfortunate end.”

“Not the first time this week.” Dismissing the last part as
unimportant, Siobhan turned to Fei with a warm smile. “Thank you so much, Fei,
for jumping in like you did. I do worry for Wolf sometimes because he gets
overwhelmed and he doesn’t always have someone at his back. I appreciate you
fighting with him.”

That seemed like a good opening to him. Taking a breath, Fei
said firmly, “Maley-zhi.”

“Yes?”

“I think I will accept your offer and join the guild.”

Siobhan fumbled what was in her hands, nearly upsetting it
entirely, before catching the bag at the last second and placing it squarely on
the table. Only then did she turn, revealing a wide smile. “Truly?”

“I have come to the conclusion that I wish to stay.” More
like, he needed to stay. The one thing that this guild lacked was a peacemaker
and they sorely needed it. He could also admit that out of every guild he had
ever met, this was the one that he was drawn to the most. The people here were
honorable and talented. He respected them.

Siobhan launched herself at him, arms tight around his
shoulders, enough so that it almost cut off all circulation. “I absolutely will
not let you take that back.”

Not expecting a reaction quite this strong, he froze for a
second before patting her tentatively on the back. “You wish for me to join
that badly?”

“Do you know how rare it is that I find a fighter as strong
as Wolf?” Finally, she stepped back a foot, beaming. “Besides, I was truly worried
about you going out on your own. You’ve done it for three years, but honestly I
feel like you were just tempting fate. You’ve had incredible luck so far to get
by unscathed.”