Son of Soron (15 page)

Verin walked over to where Nathan was sitting and, after asking permission, took one of Nathan’s daggers. As he inspected the weapon, he continued to talk, “The big problem is bandits. Bandits started this whole mess and as long as there are bandits roaming free in the woods along the roads to Elderwood, then Elderwood will struggle. Those bandits you fought will still be in the area and likely belong to a large group.”

Nathan understood his uncle’s logic but was not sure how they could solve that issue. “But we aren’t in the kingdom, and after the duke’s attack, the king’s army will not leave the kingdom. They don’t want the outlying villages and cities fearing an expansion. Nobody wants war.” 

Verin flipped the large dagger, catching it by the tip, and then flipping it again. “Bandits may be the king’s problem, but once you made the village’s survival your problem, then the bandits became your problem. Are you going to wait for someone to take care of your problems for you or are you going to take care of them yourself?”

Nathan watched his uncle play with the dagger. He was obviously familiar with his weapons and had excellent hand-eye coordination to handle the weapons so easily. He pondered the question of the bandits for a moment. He had not thought of hunting the bandits down. He was no warrior yet, but he was not afraid. “So, how do I do that?”

Verin smiled and pointed the large dagger in his hand at Nathan. Flicking his wrist he flipped the knife around so that the blade was in his hand and threw it towards Nathan. It sunk deep into the timber beside his head.

Wide-eyed, Nathan looked at his uncle as he calculated how easily he could have died.

“While you train Suzie and the girls how to make potions, I will train you to become a ranger,” said Verin.

Nathan nodded thoughtfully and smiled. If all rangers could throw knives with accuracy like his uncle demonstrated, he wanted to become a ranger. “I will be your pupil,” he said to his uncle. “When can we start?”

Verin chuckled. “Finish your stew first, and then go talk to your friends. Tomorrow will be soon enough.” Verin was beginning to really like his sister's son.  Nathan had shown loyalty and courage, and was eager to learn. Perhaps Velaina had been wise to raise her son away from pampered courtyards where entitlement ruined many a royal prospect.

…

When Nathan approached the Dollan family about his plan, they were very excited, especially Ava and Rose. Ava clasped Nathan’s arm and turned to her mother. “We can do this mother. Nathan showed Rose and me all sorts of plants and what to make with them. We really do know what to pick.”

Even Rose chimed in proudly, “Yep, we experts mother.”

Suzie laughed and smiled at her confident daughters. The truth was she had been anxious about the future and Nathan’s plan sounded better than anything she had come up with. “Okay, Nathan. The girls know what plants to collect. But we don’t have the tools or the ability to turn them into potions.”

Nathan just smiled. “Not yet.”

The next morning Verin took Nathan into the small meadow where he had trained with his father. “Judging by your sword breakers and the account of your battle with the bandits, your father has obviously given you some training. Before I can train you further, we will have to see what skills you have. Once that is done, we can start adding to them. Defend yourself.” The second he said defend yourself Verin drew his sword and in one quick motion was attacking.

Nathan barely got his daggers out in time to block the attack. Verin moved quickly. Not only were his sword attacks fast but he also moved incredibly fast laterally, attacking Nathan from one side then instantly attacking from the other. It was all Nathan could do to keep blocking the attacks and reposition his body to try and counter Verin’s quick movements. This differed greatly from the style of attack his father used against him, but Nathan’s training showed. He was able to successfully block all of Verin’s attacks. After five minutes of the fast-paced swords play Verin stopped.

Nathan was sweating and he already could feel his heart starting to pound faster. He took the opportunity to take some deep breathes and control his body. Verin watched as he did this. “Good, your father taught you well. The sword-breaker style daggers are not conventional but with your strength, speed and hand-eye co-ordination you defended perfectly. I can see now why he chose those weapons for you. The fact that you understand the value of controlling your breathing and heart rate is also good. One less thing to teach you, but eventually you are going to have to learn to do the breathing techniques while fighting and not just after. Controlling your heart rate and breathing is vital. If we had stayed fighting at that pace, you would have slowed down and been susceptible to quick attacks.

As he worked to get his breathing under control, Nathan thought about what his uncle had said. It was similar to the things he was working on with his father before he died. Nathan could almost hear his father saying the same things.

“Now, close your eyes,” Verin commanded. He waited a full two minutes before continuing, “In detail, describe to me your surroundings.”

Nathan did as he was told. He used his memory to describe the meadow, where Verin was standing, how far they were from the edge of the forest, every detail he remembered.

“Not bad. But what about the wind? What direction was it coming from? From what angle is the sun coming down. Are there any clouds in the sky that will change how much sun and shadow there is? Is the ground a clay or rocky under the grass? From what spots in the tree line would be most likely to find an archer waiting to attack? You must learn to be completely aware of your surroundings: what can be used against you and what can also be used to your advantage.” Verin smiled. “You have a good base of skills to start with. It won’t take too long to get you up to being a respectable ranger.” Verin paused then signaled the end of the lessons for the day. “Go teach the girls potions. Tomorrow, we will continue your lessons.”

Nathan smiled. He was proud that his uncle thought he was worthy of becoming a ranger. He was also proud that his father’s training was showing. Content with the lessons, Nathan headed towards the Dollan house.

When Nathan had talked to Suzie Dollan and the girls about learning to make potions, he had given them instructions to go into the swamp and look for several plants. That next day they had gone to the swamp. The girls taught their mother which plants Nathan was talking about, they also took Bert one of the single men left in the Village for protection. Armund had been helping the Dollans, and although he was not being pushy about it, it was easy to see he fancied Suzie Dollan. Nathan had given the girls only a small list of plants to harvest: skunk cabbage, white birch bark, black currents, cedar sap and lavender. Today, he would teach them a simple salve with those ingredients.

He stood at the table of the Dollan house with the woman and old Bends on the other end watching him. It felt a little bit intimidating to be teaching adults and he told them so.

Suzy said, “Don't worry. If you get too bossy and cocky and I'll let you know,” she laughed, putting him at ease.  And on that note, the lessons began.

“First thing to remember, always have a clean workspace. Wipe the table and all your tools with lemon water before you start.” Nathan paused and waited while they followed his instructions.  “Second get a pot of water and put it over the fire. You want it to be hot but not yet boiling. While the water is getting hot start crushing the plants. Suzie and Bends probably know what I am talking about but I will explain everything so Ava and Rose know for sure," said Nathan.

Ava smiled at Nathan. She was grateful that he was teaching Rose and herself in the same way as the adults.

“The mortar and pestle are the basic tools used for crushing plants. The mortar is a clay or hard wood bowl and the pestle is a little club shaped piece of wood. I brought four sets from my mother’s supplies for you to use. Today we will make a salve for cuts. It’s a simple one and the ingredients are easy to find in the swamp. It sells well with healers from the cities, so traders will always buy a few bundles when they come through.”

“First, crush and grind the plants and flowers—lavender, white birch bark, black currents.” As Nathan talked them through the lesson, they eagerly got to work using the mortar and pestles to crush and grind the plants. The combined scents of the plants filled the room. “Next, add the ground plants to the hot water. Make sure you use the right amount of water or you will waste time waiting for more water to heat, or for too much water to boil off. As you do more potions you will get a feel for how much water to use, depending on the amount of dry ingredients you are using. Add the cedar sap into the water. Now, lower the pot so the water boils. Keep stirring the mixture. As the water boils off, you will have a thick oily paste. Let it cool and scoop the salve into the skunk cabbage leaves. Only put a small hand-sized scoop onto each leaf so the leaf can wrap several times around it. If you can’t find skunk cabbage, swamp lily also works,” said Nathan.

Nathan watched as they worked on their potions. Everyone seemed to understand his lessons. He had worried that he wouldn’t be nearly as good a teacher as his mother had been. “Tomorrow, you will go back to the swamp and get more ingredients. I will teach you another potion, but the basics will be the same as today. Good job ladies." 

Everyone enjoyed the lessons, particularly Ava and Rose, who appreciated the fact that Nathan was a patient and thorough teacher.

Ava smiled and flirted with Nathan. “Now that our lesson is done, can we go to the pond and I will teach you how to play splash.”

Nathan laughed. “Ha! We shall see who teaches whom.”

…

Verin, too, was a patient and thorough teacher.  Early the next morn, back in the meadow, he told Nathan, “Your black steel daggers are excellent weapons up close, but not all battles are fought up close. The bow is a valuable weapon for a ranger and is the main tool of a hunter. So today we are going to start your bow work.”

Verin held up two different style bows, “A long bow and a recurve bow,” he explained, while showing Nathan the two weapons. The long bow was exactly as it sounded: a sturdy-looking bow almost as tall Nathan, with a slow gentle curve. The recurve bow was a little smaller in length and when Nathan held it, the ends were bending back away from him.

Verin continued, “Long bows are easy to make quickly, are a perfectly fine weapon, and are the most common in this part of the world because of that. The recurve bow is harder to make and is harder to pull, which is a negative for some. But it also gives more energy back, so a smaller recurve bow can fire as far as a bigger long bow. Because you are such a strong lad and are only going to get stronger, we are going to build a bigger recurved bow.”

Nathan liked this idea. He was proud of inheriting his father’s strength. If building a bigger bow would take advantage of it, he would certainly do so.

“At first, it will be difficult to pull but, once you get the hang of it, it will give you range beyond any normal bowman. Northerners are not known for being fond of the bow, yet those who do have great range. However, range without accuracy is useless. We shall practice with both bows while you learn. Once we get a good piece of wood, we will build you a proper bow that takes full advantage of your strength.”

Verin set up several targets at different distances in the meadow. Each large chuck of wood had targets painted on with three rings. A ring about foot in size, a smaller second ring half that size inside it, and finally a small bull’s-eye the size of a coin in the middle. Verin took the long bow and quickly, with a smooth singular motion, pulled the arrow back and released at the first target. While the first arrow was still in the air, Verin launched the second arrow, and again the third arrow with speed and precision.

Nathan retrieved all three arrows from the targets. All were in the bull’s-eye.

Verin was an excellent marksman to no surprise. Verin handed Nathan the long bow and an arrow. He held the grip with his left hand, cocked the arrow into the nocking point with his right and then pulled back until the string was touching his cheek. He looked down the arrow at his target and adjusted his left arm to bring the arrow into line with the target. Slowly exhaling, he released. His arrow flew true and hit the target with a thud. He had hit the edge of the second ring.

Verin approved of his first attempt. “Good. Exhale slower as you shoot. You want to be as steady as possible when you release the arrow, but once you have fired, give it just long enough to clear your bow then begin notching your next arrow. Watching your arrow is not going to help at this shorter distance. Work on precision, then speed.”

After a few hours of working with the bows, they stopped and went on the next lesson. Hunting, whether for game or enemies, involved learning to read the signs on the ground. Broken branches, bent grass, depressions in wet ground, all help to show a path where someone had traveled. A skilled hunter reads the signs like a book.  A lot of this was already known to Nathan because his mother had taught him so much about the forest and how to read the scat and trails of forest animals. But Verin’s lessons were much more focused on the small details. Nathan learned how to recognize each animal’s prints, how shod horses had unique markings and how to recognize individual horses and how they moved.  Nathan’s days alternated back and forth between working with Verin and teaching the Dollans. The days were long but fulfilling.

…

“Perfume is going to be your best seller. My mother, Velaina, had an excellent reputation for the quality of her perfume, even though she tended not to make a lot of them. She preferred to make more useful things like salves. But for you, I would make more perfume. It will keep traders like Nedd coming back,” said Nathan.

As he passed his students a vial to examine, he continued the lesson. “Perfume ingredients are basic and it is easy to make. The trick is getting the ratios right and blending it well.”