CHAPTER 1

"Get that bucket filled for me, Lorra. Tole, bring more charcoal." Aliven knew his voice was harsh, but the world was a harsh place, with no room for people who did not work.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as his daughter snatched the wooden bucket from its place near the forge and left the smithy at a brisk walk for the well.

He would lose her soon, he thought, as he sorted through his store of metal. He'd two offers for her hand from neighboring farmers, but she hadn't made up her mind yet. He hoped she chose Daneel, who was soft-spoken and old enough to have proved his mettle, but she'd been showing a preference for Sovernt's youngest.

He would be happy to see her settled with either, though it would leave him only Tole and Nona, neither of whom was big enough to carry the bucket full of water or half a dozen other chores required to keep the smithy running.

"Step up, Tole," he said to his son, who had only half filled the forge coal bed. "The morning won't wait on your dawdling."

"Yes, Da," muttered the boy in a tone just this side of insolence.

"You watch your—"

Lorra's shrill scream cut through his voice.

"It doesn't look like much of a village, Papa," said Lehr.

Tier smiled at his youngest son, who had somehow crossed over from boy to man these past few months. His ash-blond hair, a legacy of his mother's people, was mostly tucked under a hat, but anyone with an eye to see could tell that there was Traveler blood in him.

Lehr's long strides had no trouble keeping up with Skew, though Tier's old warhorse was walking briskly. Tier shifted in his saddle, hoping to alleviate the steady ache in his right knee. He might believe the adage that any wound that hurt was a sign he wasn't dead yet, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it. He took a deep breath of cool forest air to remind himself that he was free and on his way home: a little pain was a small price to pay.

He squinted at the small cluster of buildings in the little green valley. "It's small, but see that first building? There's a kiln behind it. It's either a pottery or a bakery."

"But, Papa," said Tier's older son Jes, who walked on Tier's other side, "Benroln said we need grain, not pots or bread."

"Very true," agreed Tier. "But so near to a great road, they will have trade goods, too."

"There are farms all around here," explained Lehr. "They'll bring grain here where they'll see higher profits from it than if they had to transport it to a bigger market."

Jes gave a puzzled frown. It might have been that he found Lehr's explanation too complex—or something else had distracted him.

It was ironic that Jes, who looked as Rederni as any village son, would be the one to pay the highest price for his mother's Traveler blood. The lesser part of that price was the slow thoughts and slower speech that set him apart as a simpleton—though he wasn't, quite.

"It doesn't look right," said Jes after a moment.

"What doesn't?" asked Tier. Jes's conversations sometimes were as difficult to follow as a hummingbird's flight.

"The buildings." Jes stopped abruptly and stared ahead.

Tier stopped Skew and tried to see what might have attracted Jes's attention.

"There's no smoke from the smithy," said Lehr.

"That's it," said Jes, nodding with his usual exaggerated motion. "Smithies have smoke."

"Maybe the smith isn't working today," Tier said. "We'll be there soon enough." Urging Skew forward, he squeezed a little too enthusiastically with his legs and couldn't bite back a yelp.

Shadow take these knees, the wizards who broke them, and the Traveler healer who can't fix them any faster.

That last wasn't fair, and he knew it. Brewydd had told him that riding Skew rather than one of the carts was making his knees take longer to heal than necessary. But it was bad enough to have to ride while most everyone else proceeded by their shoe leather—he was not going to sit in a cart.

"Are you all right?" asked Jes, his hand hovering just over Tier's leg. "Mother told me to watch out for you."

"Just my knees." Tier gave his son a smile despite the way his right knee was throbbing. "They're taking a long time to heal up—I must be getting old."

"Mother says you push too hard," said Jes frowning. Obviously Tier's smile hadn't been as convincing as he'd intended.

They had all taken to fussing over him, which Tier found both touching and annoying. He'd rather nurse his hurts in private if he could.

"Brewydd says that your mother is fretting too much," replied Tier.

"And Mother says to leave healing to the Lark," added Lehr, though he was looking concerned as well. "Brewydd knows what she's doing."

Jes frowned.

"I'm all right," Tier said again.

Lehr, he could have just told to leave it alone, but once Jes got something on his mind he could be amazingly stubborn. So Tier caught Jes's dark eyes with his own, and said firmly, "Even your mother agreed that I was fit for a visit to a village to negotiate for supplies—that's what we Bards are supposed to do. We owe this Traveler clan more than we can repay, but I can get them good prices on the things they need and ensure that they'll have a welcome here next time they pass through. My knees still bother me, and will for a month or two more, but they are a fair bit on their way to normal." It helped that he told the truth. Jes would hear it in his voice.

Copyright © 2005 by Patricia Briggs