Pursing his lips, Jemaine eyed Kenu before nodding and fetching a tankard of fresh cider. Jemaine plopped the tin can down in front of his inquisitor and rested his elbows on the bar. Kenu took a moment to enjoy his grandfather’s cider, sipping out of the can as he decided how to phrase his question.
Head cocked to the side, Jemaine interrupted Kenu’s deliberating. “Is this personal, or is this ranger business?”
“Ranger business.”
“And I thought you were just here to visit your old friend Jemaine. You know I don’t spend time out on the water anymore, boy.”
“I know you don’t. But I do know you run a sailor bar and a lucrative trade store. And I know you keep busy playing dice with other retired captains.”
Jemaine rolled his eyes at the younger man, “You might even be sharper than your da, kid. What do you wanna know? I can’t promise help, but I can try.”
Kenu grunted acknowledgement and took another long swig of cider. “What do you know about Gullpoint still logging this deep into the summer?”
Raising an eyebrow, Jemaine stood up from the bar and crossed his arms. The bartender offered Kenu a blank look before answering, “That’s news to me. I don’t even know if that’s news. Maybe they fell behind on the quota at their docks this season. I figured you’d be asking me something about Doveport’s aggression in the islands.”
The ranger’s brow furrowed as he paused to consider Jemaine’s response. Kenu opened his mouth to reply, then closed it and cocked his head to the side. “What are you talking about?”
Jemaine chortled, shaking his head before peering down at Kenu and answering, “I’ve heard from some captains that trade in the south. Word is that Doveport’s really building up their trading posts on the islands and building forts on islands they’ve never been to before.”
Kenu remained silent, staring at his tankard and mulling over the barkeep’s information. He downed the last of his cider and looked up at Jemaine. “But you’ve no word about the logging?”
Jemaine sighed and shrugged his shoulders, “I wish I did, young’un. I’m not sure what to make of that, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Grunting, Kenu nodded and pursed his lips. He stood up and reached out to clasp Jemaine’s shoulder. “I appreciate it, my friend. It would mean a lot to me if you could spread your sails a bit and see what you can learn about the lumbering.”
The barkeeper scratched his beard and set his hand on Kenu’s right shoulder, “I’ll ask around, but I’m not sure I’ll find anything worthwhile. I’d wager they just fell behind on the spring orders.”
Kenu nodded again and turned to leave. He sidestepped over to the tavern wall and slid past the bumbling drinkers as they lounged about the dining area, throwing dice and clinking flagons. Emerging from the pub, the ranger eyed the falling sun and ambled out of the alleyway and back onto the street running parallel to the pier. He strode south for a few blocks before cutting back onto the main thoroughfare running to the city’s gate. Late in the afternoon, the traffic in the city began diminishing as the merchants and travelers finished their business and retired to the numerous restaurants and taverns catering to the weary trader.
Kenu walked up the road, glancing around at the multitude of bakeries and alehouses seeking to lure in passersby. The aromas of roasted meat and brewed tea tempted the ranger to lighten his goldpurse, but Kenu contented himself with inspecting the many denizens of Stoneoak. The sun had nearly reached the treeline when he exited the city gate, reveling in the gentle breeze dancing across the plains in front of the city.
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Laughter danced across the forest clearing, greeting Kenu as he approached his house. Stepping into his family’s cabin, a squealing young girl and the welcoming sound of the crackling fire refreshed Kenu after the lengthy walk home. He wrapped up his daughter in a big hug and spun her around and around before setting her down and approaching Mariset.
“I see you already started cooking. I’m sorry I’m late, honey, I bumped into Jemaine while I was running errands and I got caught up.”
Mariset hmphed at her husband and handed him a small knife, “I saved the fun parts for you.”
Kenu chuckled and set about dicing vegetables to dump into a pot along with the stewed rabbit. Sighing, Mariset sat down at the table and joined her daughter at a game of table archery, with one player moving targets a certain amount of squares and the other picking a square to fire at. Slicing through cabbage, onions, and garlic, Kenu smiled as he listened to his family play. Hints of spices wafted out of the stewpot as he finished preparing and set about serving the meal, eliciting appreciative groans from his wife and child. An hour later, the trio set down their bowls and released contented sighs.
“What did you ladies get up to while I was in town?”
His daughter sat up straight in her chair and launched into a lengthy and perhaps exaggerated tale of her time in the forest with her mother. Kenu’s eyes twinkled as he watched his animated daughter recount all the different birds and berries she discovered today. As the enthusiastic tale concluded, Mariset scooped Lefrea up and plopped her down into her bed. The parents tucked their princess in and kissed her cheeks before heading out into the clearing.
Hands clasped together, the two mates sat on a wooden bench made out of a large carved plank resting atop two thick stumps. Maris leaned over to the low fire lighting their small clearing and withdrew leather flasks from the edge of the pit. She grinned at Kenu and handed a flask over to her wide-eyed husband.
“You better get started if you hope to catch up, dear,” teased Maris as she sipped the warm mead.
He released a small smile, his shoulders relaxing as he took a few sips and smacked his lips,“This is perfect, honey.”
Kenu scooted closer to his wife, wrapping an arm around her as they sat by the firelight chatting and snuggling up to one another. Mariset’s head dropped onto Kenu’s shoulder after an hour and he chuckled, scooping her up and carrying her inside their cottage. He tucked her into bed before retreating back outside to the fire. Drinking through both of their flasks, he mulled over his conversation with Jemaine and stared at the dying embers.
Birdsong and Mariset’s light footsteps greeted Kenu the next morning as she settled into a seat next to her husband and held her hands out to the healthy fire he had stoked to life.
“I didn’t hear you come to bed or get out this morning.”
Kenu rubbed the back of his head before wrapping an arm around his wife, “I’ve only been out here for half an hour, trying to piece together some things before I head out tomorrow.”
"Why don't you wander out to one of the shrines in a little bit, that always clears your head."
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"I don't like to leave you two here when I'm on homestay."
"Take Lefrea with you, she'd love time with her da and praying with you would be good for her," Mariset replied, sitting up and dragging Kenu inside for breakfast.
He smiled and followed along, entering the house and sitting at the foot of his daughter's bed and giving her shoulder a gentle nudge. After breakfast Kenu gathered the plates and scraped them clean outside before using their small well to draw water to rinse them.
"Lefrea darling, take these into your ma and then meet me back out here, I've got something I want to show you out in the forest."
The little girl's eyes lit up and she raced back inside before hurrying back out with her head down to grab the plates from her father. He chortled at her as she darted back inside with the plates and then bounded back out.
"Where are we going today, daddy?"
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A half mile walk brought the pair to a square block of stone, etched with several animals stalking through a forest and an eroded border of runes framing the scene. Lefrea's eyes narrowed as she stared at the chest high altar and she walked over to trace her fingers along the etching. Various fresh and dying flowers and leaves adorned the surface of the stone as well as a few carved wooden statues depicting Domavi. Lefrea's inquisitive hands picked up one of the statues and turned it over in her hands before showing it to her father.
"That is Domavi, dear one. She is the goddess of the wild, of the forests, of the animals, of these trees. She gives us life and so we pray to her and thank her for the bounty that she gives us."
His daughter gave him a few sage nods before returning the statue to the altar, "Why does she give us the trees and the animals and everything?"
Kenu smiled and shrugged, drawing closer to the altar and kneeling down, "I'd say part of that is just her nature. She reveres nature and so she protects and guides it. I'd say the other part is that so people like us who also revere nature will worship and love her."
"I love the squirrels and the birds and the pretty orange trees in the fall."
Pulling his daughter in for a hug, Kenu laughed and agreed, "Yes the trees are rather beautiful when the seasons change aren't they? That's why I brought you out here today, honey. There's another part of the forest that isn't doing well and I wanted to ask Domavi to show me how to fix the trees."
Lefrea smiled and hugged her dad in return, "Then let's ask her."
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A host of birds greeted the rising sun, various melodies competing in volume. Squirrels and chipmunks chittered in the underbrush as they foraged. Catching sight of the cloaked ranger, several of the rodents scurried off into the forest. Kenu smiled and continued trudging along, aiming for the northern ranger outpost. The dense forest canopy shielded him from the summer sunlight. His leather armor still caused a sweat as he trekked several miles through the forest, but he offered a brief thanks to Erdesce for the gentle breeze flittering through the trees that protected him from the brunt of the heat. Half a day passed before Kenu paused and squinted at the enormous trees deep in the forest.
A lithe figure stepped from behind a tree and leveled a recurve bow at Kenu. She wore a similar green cloak and brown leather armor.
“Are you lost, traveler?”
Kenu chuckled and pulled his hood down, “Do you not recognize me, Nevasa?”
“Maybe I just wanted a chance to shoot you.”
Laughing, Kenu spread his arms wide, “I doubt you could.”
Nevasa grinned and quivered her bow. The two rangers hugged before turning and walking together. A half mile later, they arrived at a pair of behemoth doors in the middle of a wooden palisade stretching fifty yards in each direction. Nevasa nodded at Kenu and disappeared back into the forest to resume her patrol. Approaching the twenty foot tall wooden gate, Kenu called up to the rangers staffing the wall. A pair of men wielding recurve bows peered down at Kenu and offered a greeting before dipping out of sight again. Moments later, the doors began creaking open with all the speed of a tortoise.
Inside the fortifications, a wooden keep occupied the center of the outpost. Four smaller structures squatted on every corner of the square walls and a handful of rangers sat on stools around a fire burning near the southeast building. Kenu waved a hand at the assembled men and a few rangers waved back, the others spectating a game of knuckles and passing various coins back and forth. Chuckling, Kenu turned away from the gamblers and strode toward the great hall in the center of the outpost. The exterior of the hall belied its true size, with the main floor of the keep hosting a massive mess hall flanked by a pair of doors on the right and left walls.
He strode over to the left set of doors and stopped ten feet shy at a pair of long tables loaded with meats, breads, cheeses, and vegetables. Filling a plate, Kenu turned and glanced around the cafeteria before settling down at a table on the end of one of the rows. By the time he had almost finished his plate, a darker skinned man with a bushy beard and close cropped hair plopped down to his right. The newcomer clapped Kenu on the back and began shoveling food into his mouth, getting halfway through his lunch before greeting Kenu.
“Good to see you again, brother. I guess seeing yer face again means I’m headed back out into the forest soon, eh?”
Kenu snorted and nodded his head, licking his fingers as he finished his meal.
“I’d figure we’d be heading south again like normal but knowing you, I’m betting you’re gonna try and haul our asses back to Gullpoint’s camp out there, aren’t ya?”
Rolling his eyes, Kenu elbowed his partner before looking around at the other rangers eating nearby, “Shut your trap, Bakadar. I’ve still got to speak to Arnolis, but I doubt our mission is going to be routine. But I’m not sure we need everyone knowing that yet.”
Bakadar’s eyes widened and he nodded before staring down at his plate and continuing to pour food into his mouth.
Kenu finished his meal and left his plate in front of Bakadar, winking at his partner and standing up to walk to the doors on the right side of the great hall. He pushed through and strode up three flights of steps before exiting the stairwell on the fourth floor where the leadership stationed at the northern outpost kept their dorms and offices. Heading to the end of the long hall, Kenu ignored every door except the final one on the right. After a few quick breaths, he rapped on the door with a clenched fist and then cracked his knuckles one by one as he waited for the highest ranked ranger at the outpost to answer his knock.
Field Lieutenant Arnolis scratched his bushy beard and watched Kenu enter his office. Clean shaven, the young ranger’s face opposed the gruff and often unkempt appearances of his comrades. Stern green eyes greeted the lieutenant as he looked at his ranger. Returning the inspection, Kenu noted the handful of scars marring the veteran officer’s face, trophies won during decades of protecting Stoneoak. Arnolis received respect from almost every ranger; the young recruits venerated the countless tales of Arnolis leading raids against Gullpoint years ago; the veterans revered the lieutenant for the numerous untold missions left out of the history books.
An expansive white oak desk dominated the lieutenants office and matched the size of the broad shouldered and barrel chested ranger. Other than the desk, only a chest closed with a massive and shiny steel lock and a tall bookshelf stuffed with loose letters, journals, books, and dossiers decorated the room. Arnolis gestured to a chair on the opposite side of his desk and Kenu sat down, watching the lieutenant's thick arms lean forward and rest on the disorganized desk.
"What brings you to my office today, Kenu?"
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“We’ve no reason to think they would break decades of trust now, of all times. Years ago when the truce was young, sure, I was never sold on the idea of peace. But now, there are bigger fish to fry. We both have plenty of lumber, of grain, of whatever we need. It doesn’t make sense.”
Kenu nodded, hands clasped in his lap as he listened to his superior.
“I knew your father, boy. He was a good ranger and a better man. I’ll give you some of the faith I still owe him. But don’t mess this up. You don’t want to be the one to reignite the bad blood after twenty two years of peace,” Arnolis sighed, stoic frown slipping away as he searched Kenu’s face.
A few wide-eyed moments later, Kenu managed to respond, “I didn’t expect you to agree to the mission.”
“I didn’t think I would either. General Nesma seemed pretty intent on not disturbing the peace, and I agree with her. But I also knew your father. I owe him a favor or three and I plan on you remaining undetected on this little patrol.”
“Absolutely sir, we’ll be in and out and the loggers won’t see a thing. Thank you, sir.”
Arnolis stood and leveled an infamous stare at Kenu, “You’re right. They won’t see you. Dismissed.”
Kenu stood and clenched his fist over his heart and turned to exit the lieutenant’s sparse office. His heart thumped in his chest as he walked down the officer’s hallway on the top floor of the ranger keep and headed for the stairs down to the library.