Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Seven - Peace For Our Time

Oak’s signature was a bit wobbly, as was Wisp’s, but they seemed perfectly readable, especially since it was the first time either one ever wrote something.

Once the last signature was on the contract and Sebastien did a little magic to copy the contract onto a few other pages for distribution, the tension that had been filling the air evaporated like air squeaking out of a balloon.

“It’s done,” I said.

Oak nodded. “No more fighting,” he said.

We all knew that we couldn’t stay around for all that long, but we still took some time to shake hands and chat. Some of the younger dryads, probably sensing that things had calmed down, came out of the woods and poked at the lumberjacks like puppies meeting someone new.

I took Oak and Wisp and stepped aside a little, not so much for the privacy--there really wasn’t much of that since we were all outside--but to be in a spot where interruptions wouldn’t be as common. “What do you think?” I asked.

Oak took his time in answering. “I think. This is good.”

I nodded. “I really hope it is,” I said. “We’ll be sending a copy of the contract to a friend of mine. They might be able to help if things go sideways, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

The big dryad nodded. “I will tell the elders of this. Thank you, sister Broccoli.”

I grinned. “No problem! You’re a friend, Oak, even if we haven’t spent all that much time together.”

The tree paused for a moment, then placed one of his hands on my head over my helmet and started rubbing small circles.

“Um. What are you doing?” I asked.

Wisp was the one to reply. “Humans do this to the smaller things they like,” she explained.

Was he petting me?

“Uh, thanks,” I said. “I... guess we’ll be going in a bit.”

Oak stopped rubbing my head. “When you come back, you will be welcome,’ he said.

“Thanks,” I said. “Hey, did you want to check out my Beaver?” I pointed over my shoulder with a thumb. The airship above us was swaying gently in the breeze slipping above the forest.

“No,” Oak said. “Too much to do.”

I didn’t quite know what to say, so I filled the gap with hugs. First a big glomping hug for Oak, who returned it with more patting to the top of my head--which was really quite rude, but I could set that aside for now--then a big tight hug for Wisp.

“You know, if you guys want, there’s always room in our party for more,” I said. “I’m sure the girls wouldn’t mind a dryad or two with us on our adventures.”

Oak shook his head right away, and Wisp did the same after thinking about it for just a second. “No,” Oak said. “This is home. Leaving would be... wrong.”

I couldn’t do anything about that. “Well, the offer’s always on the table if you want it,” I said. “Maybe you could learn how to read and write. I bet the dryads could make great paper and such. We could write to each other!”

Oak tilted his head. “If sister Broccoli thinks so,” he agreed.

We said our goodbyes again, mostly because I was a little reluctant to just go, then I moved back over to my friends. The lumberjacks were boarding the Beaver already, and even Geoffrey was panting halfway up the ladder.

“Ready to go?” Amaryllis asked. “At this rate it will be mid-day before we’re heading out to Needleford.”

“Yeah, I think I’m ready,” I said as I set my hands on my hips and looked around one last time. The woods were nice and peaceful, probably on account of all the racket we’d made so far. It was easy to forget that this place was called the Darkwoods. “Let’s head out,” I said.

“Awa, are you going to carry us up?” Awen asked.

I grinned. “If you want,” I said.

“I do not,” Amaryllis said. “I won’t be seen being carried by anyone.”

“Uh, just Awen then?” I asked. Awen shrugged, so I scooped her up in a princess carry and bounded up onto the deck.

“S-so, um, Broccoli,” Awen began as I set her down. She lingered by my side for just a moment. “Mister Oak, is he, your, um, type?”

I laughed aloud. “I guess?” I said. “I mean, he’s got a nice chin, and did you see his abs?”

“Um,” Awen said. She was all red and cute. “I did. He’s, uh, not my type though,” she said.

“What about Wisp, she was cute,” I said.

Awen’s face twisted in undisguised confusion. “She’s a tree,” she said while her hands wiggled through the air. “That would be a bit weird.”

“I mean, you’re sorta-dating a bird,” I said.

“Awa! It’s not dating, not... ah... yet?” Awen said. “We, we’re just friends.”

“Friends who kiss?” I asked.

Awen swayed, her face very very red. “I... I need to go do some maintenance,” she said before running off.

I felt a little bad for bullying her a bit, but I was also holding back giggles. Was I teasing her too much? I’d make it up to her later! I set that aside while I helped the last of the lumberjacks and Amaryllis climb up onto the deck. Then we rolled up the ladder, yanked the anchors up, and Clive angled our bow over the horizon and the Beaver Cleaver took off into a big sweeping circle back towards the western end of the Deepwoods.

I approached Edmund and the two Mattergrove East representatives. “That went well,” I said.

The representatives looked a bit uncertain about that, but Edmund nodded. “Aye, it did,” he said.

“Not having to worry about getting an arrow in my knee while doing my job will be a nice change. And I think we’ll manage with the new work just fine. It’s not that much different than what we’re doing.”

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“Great!” I said. “I’ll be sure to follow up and see if things work out.” A glance to the side revealed the forest moving by at a good clip. With the wind now at our backs the Beaver was really speeding up. “We should be back near your compound in a little bit.”

“Oh, right,” Sebastien said. “Do you have a place where I could write some things down? I need to give you your contract and vouchers. You can redeem those at our Needleford branch, if that’s where you’re heading next.”

“That would be great,” I said. Amaryllis would be real happy too. I made a note to have her look things over before the men left. Not that I didn’t trust them, but I figured Amaryllis would be all pouty if I didn’t tell her. “Do you want to follow me? We can use the captain’s quarters. I don’t use them all that much myself.”

“Certainly,” Sebastien said.

The trip back to the compound was a little strange. Not the flight, that was perfectly ordinary, with the ship swaying gently along and bobbing with the occasional shift in the wind. What was strange was...

Actually, I wasn’t entirely sure.

Maybe I felt weird because I had been expecting more from our little side-quest. To fight some big monster, or uncover some big secret, but things had gone rather well, and there was nothing like that to worry about.

Maybe I shouldn’t have that kind of attitude. After all, things going well was hardly something to complain about. I was sure the next adventure would be a whole lot more adventure-like. I found myself frowning at the ceiling.

“Captain?” Sebastien asked.

“Hmm?” I replied, turning my attention back down to where the man was scratching away at some parchment. “Sorry, what was that?”

“You looked angry?” he tried.

“Oh, no no, I’m not angry. I’m just wondering if I just jinxed myself.”

“Jinxed?” he asked. “I’m not familiar with the term.”

I waved it off. “It’s not important,” I said. “So can you tell me anything about Needleford? I’ve never been.”

He nodded, finished writing a line with a flourish, then set his plume aside. “Needleford is a fairly young settlement, as far as those things go. Maybe a hundred years old? It started as a fishing village, then grew into a proper port between Mattergrove’s capital, Port Hazel, and some of the Deepmarsh ports.”

“So it’s a trading place?” I asked.

He wiggled his hand in a so-so gesture. “It might have been, with a side of fishing, but now it’s a proper city. It’s not as big or impressive as Port Hazel, but it is a little newer, and far more organized. The city is run by a council of mixed nobles and merchants.”

“I look forward to stopping by, then,” I said.

He smiled. “Try the fish pie. It’s a little strange at first, but it grows on you. There’re a lot of food stalls near the docks. It’s a bit of a local speciality.”

“I will,” I promised. “Ah, I should go and make sure that everything’s going well on-deck. I’ll send Amaryllis down to make sure everything’s orderly.”

“Thank you,” he said before I made my way back out.

The trip continued at a good pace. Amaryllis polished off the paperwork, Awen continued to bleed off her embarrassed energy with maintenance, and the guys on the crew worked like a well-oiled machine as we got closer to the lumberjack’s compound.

When we slowed to a stop and dropped anchor, it was only a hundred or so meters from the edge of the camp atop a muddy field covered in stumps.

Edmund shook my hand before making his way down, and soon all of the lumberjacks and the two company representatives were off the Beaver and on their way back to their camp.

I made sure to wave as hard as I could when they were walking off.

Bastion joined me as Gordon and Steve weighted anchor again. “That seems to have gone well,” he said.

“I hope so,” I said.

He patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry so much,” he said. “I know some knights who have done less good in a year than what you’ve done in an afternoon.”

I smiled over at him. It was weird that Bastion was so much shorter than me. “Thanks,” I said. “But I’m no knight. Maybe I should become one? Do they make cool armour for girls?”

Bastion laughed. “There is an order of female-only knights, but the Inquisition doesn’t take gender into account. I’m sure they might consider your application. Though, you might not do so well with the flight trials.”

“Don’t underestimate my ability to jump around,” I said.

Bastion shook his head. “I’ll be in my cabin, call me if you need any assistance with anything.”

I waved him off, then found myself standing near the bow of the Beaver with not much at all to do. “What about you?” I asked towards the figurehead of the ship.

A familiar orange head popped up and stared at me with slitted eyes.

“Alright, alright,” I said. “I won’t interrupt your work.” I left Orange to do Orange-y things, and flounced my way to the back of the ship and up to the wheel where Clive was puffing at a pipe, one taloned-hand on the ship’s controls. “Heya.”

“Capt’n,” he puffed.

“So, if you have a few minutes, could you show me a few tricks? I think being a better captain might mean knowing how to fly like a pro.”

Clive chuckled and backed away from the wheel. “Good to see you’re eager to learn. I was right afraid when the Albatross lasses told me that my new captain was all green.”

“I’m more of a pasty white... actually, I’m starting to tan a bit,” I said with a pinch to my cheek.

He snorted. “Right, let’s go over the gravity engine. It’s a tricky beast to master, but there are some neat things to do with it if you’ve figured it out.”

***