I picked up one of the many dry cookies and nibbled on it slowly. It crumbled as if it wasn’t made with enough of a binding ingredient. They had the slightest sweetness but tasted so strongly of flour over anything else. It was very unappetizing and I could see Mr. Rutherford flinch as he ate his own. He whispered under his breath that I could barely hear, “Oh, dreadful.” He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and called over another one of his servants. “Who baked today?”
The servant bowed deeply, “Your normal cook was out for the day. Celebrating a birth as you recall.”
Mr. Rutherford nodded his eyes, suddenly recognizing a conversation he had already had the day before. “That’s right. Well, I appreciate the work was attempted, but maybe get rid of all the biscuits. Subtly, don’t want to hurt our replacement’s feelings.”
We lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as we looked at each other over the table. I had my lute in my lap and asked the questions I hoped would be answered. “Any song requests?”
The man harrumphed and looked at me while stroking his chin. Humming and hawing he seemed to debate inside his head for quite a long time. “If my kids weren’t around I would definitely enjoy listening to Tawdry Wench. But, don’t tell my wife that.” He chucked dryly and there was finally a glimmer in his eyes. “I was quite fond of this song I heard while on a riverboat. It was light and airy. Do you know ‘Making the River’? Apparently it is about someone helping the gods create the World Heart river. If you’ve ever been.”
I smiled, I too had spent some years as a riverman spreading songs inspired by tales that were eventually adopted as those used to keep everyone working together at the same pace. I couldn’t reveal it as it would take most of a lifetime for one man to walk this far away from World Heart river. “While I haven’t been there, my master did some time over in that region and taught me the good ones. Let’s see if the version of ‘Making the River’ is the same as the one you're thinking of.
I started the lighter tune, it was very much more oriented by the beat of those that would be working to the music. The same eight notes set to loop centered around a single cord. It was probably the easiest song to learn. I filled the room with the music and fought the urge to seal the deal on this job with a whisper of magic. I would instead lean upon my own talent while we waited for the other instruments.
“The land is flooded, full of swamps and mud,
What are the races of men to do?
Where will they grow the cow’s cud?
What are the races of men to do?
Let’s ask the gods for their mighty graces.
They reached out to us with strength to say,
You will do your best to carve our faces,
Do it upon the trees reaching to the bay,
The land is flooded, full of swamps and mud,
What are the races of men to do?
Where will they grow the cow’s cud?
What are the races of men to do?
So the men of the world will toil,
Moving through the mud and swamps,
The boots will get stuck in wet soil,
Make sure that every step is a stomp,
The land is flooded, full of swamps and mud,
What are the races of men to do?
Where will they grow the cow’s cud?
What are the races of men to do?
When the work is to be done,
The gods will summon their serfs,
Oh how the mighty dragons will come,
They will dig all the way to the surf,
So they come from the lands,
Their magic will dig the river,
The bays will be back with sands,
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They won’t even get a sliver,
So let us praise the gods,
For they made our Heart flow,
Let us not be sods,
The world’s heart will glow.”
I watched as I sang the song and saw the eyes of Mr. Rutherford went distant as he sank into a fond memory. The riverboats were so peaceful. The gods themselves made sure the river never was too strong to let them pass. It was a commerce hub between several kingdoms along its shores. The hope of thousands of people lay upon its waters. The grip of his cane slackened to the point where it was about to drop so I concluded the song and brought him back from his reverie.
“Was that the right song Mr. Rutherford?” I asked, knowing the answer already.
His smile was genuine and warm as he looked at me nodding softly, “It was, young man. I’m surprised by the many memories it brought back to me.” I refilled his cooled tea and added some sugar to it. “My family made its money upon the river. Several generations slowly bought a fleet of river boats and barges. We became one of the premiere services of transporting goods. My father felt a change in the tides between the kingdoms. He heard too many rumors of slighted honor between them all and sold everything and moved away from the river. When we arrived here he bought up several different of the most affluent stores and built a small merchant empire. Setting us up for generations as long as we manage things correctly.”
I smiled in return and drank my cold tea. “This kingdom was once blessed by Sondet and her servant. It is wise to go where things were once so prosperous. Do you believe in the gods Mr. Rutherford?”
Nodding her, sipped his sweetened tea and sighed, “We pray to Sondet every night. We celebrate her holidays. I wish there was a true following and temple to her so that I could pay proper respects but we have built our own shrine here in the house. Are you a believer Dolan?”
Nodding, I refilled my tea cup and skipped the sugar and cream. I sniffed it and inhaled the herbal strength of it all. “I believe in all the gods, good and bad. I pay special attention to Mesdith when I travel. His grace while I am on the road is most appreciated.” I pulled the necklace of symbols of the gods and let them rattle against one another. “I give prayers to all of them for they all have a balance we can’t know of. Hopefully some small part of all of them look down upon me.”
“Wise to believe in all the gods but who knows whose domain you will end up in when your life is over. I’ll be glad to be in the infinite marketplace, where goods are always fresh and commerce is perfectly balanced. Where every business gets just the right amount of customers. No more lean years. Just the perfect amount to live happily for all eternity as long as you don’t have greed in your heart.” While he talked he pulled his own symbol of Sondet to his chest and rubbed the coin like face. Mine was wooden, his was made of a gleaming silver. “Always keep her at heart. Blessed be Sondet.”
“Blessed be Sondet,” I intoned with him.
The door to the home and the huffing of a woman as I looked. It was Missus Rutherford. Her belly was noticeably swollen. She smiled at us as we sat at the dining table and she spotted the tea. Her eyes looked slightly confused as she looked at me before the light of recognition in her eyes came to be. “You’re the man from the tailor! What are you doing here?”
Before I could answer Mr. Rutherford stood up and walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the cheeks and held her hands. “This man is Dolan Talespinner, he is to teach our children the beginnings of the wind instruments I have being fetched by Merideth. He is quite skilled with the lute and his own voice. I just need to make sure that he knows more than just the lute.”
She nodded and touched her belly protectively at the mention of their children and nodded. “Speaking of, I'm going to go check on the children and see how their manners are coming along. I’m hoping when they have a good talent under their belt we can introduce them to the court properly.” She waddled off and headed upstairs as Mr. Rutherford watched her go with love in his eyes.
I no longer had any doubt that the rumor had been false. Or at least I greatly hoped so. I kept watching as the man of the house watched his wife and then came back to himself and walked back over to me. “I had hoped she would come and help determine if you were going to be a right fit for our family. From what I’ve heard so far though I think that you will do well. As long as your skills with the wind instrument are as good as with the lute.”
We enjoyed tea once more and before we finished our second cups of tea the servant returned. Sweat was upon her brow and in her hands was clutched a case. I assumed that it contained the very instruments that I was to prove myself with. She came and set it before Mr. Rutherford and bowed to him deeply. “Your friends send their fondest regards and would love to see you for some tea at your soonest convenience.”
Mr. Rutherford nodded and smiled up at the young lady. “I’ll write a letter of invitation and see what we can coordinate. Thank you so much for your hard work. Why don’t you relax a little. Looks like the sun might be getting to you.” Once she walked away he opened the case slowly and turned it to me.
Two glorious flutes made of shining metal with gold filigree lay in the case. This was no normal level of instrument. This was worth more than all my belongings together. Selling these would nearly give me enough coins to start a thriving merchant empire. For a friend to loan something this expensive made me wonder what the favor he had done for them to earn such trust.
I swallowed dryly and fought off the audible gulp as I reached out and stoked them lightly. “These are quite beautiful instruments. It is almost sacrilegious that I have to play them. It is such an honor to use these. I pulled one of them free and marveled at how smooth the metal was. The holes to place my fingers were perfectly uniform and their placements were impeccable. “What would you like to hear?”
“I want you to go ahead and impress me. Show me the height of your skills.” His tone was almost smug.
I held the flute to my lips and started slowly playing. I slowly ramped up to greater and greater speeds. I used cyclical breathing so that my breaks between breaths were minimal. I felt my face slowly redden as I worked my best to play something flawlessly and perfectly. I slowly wrapped it up and played the ending of such a strenuous song. As I stepped back and pulled in a deep breath to recover the room was filled with light clapping.
“Spectacular. Let me treat you to dinner. That was just wonderful. I’ve never heard such a spectacularly energetic song. I almost felt like dancing.” His clapping was a wonderful way to end a day.
I couldn’t help smiling and nodded to Mr. Rutherford, “I’m honored and would love a meal.” I gingerly pulled out my own handkerchief and wiped the mouthpiece of the flute and polished away all my fingerprints leaving it as pristine as it was when I started to play it.
It wasn’t long before Missus Rutherford came down, leading two children with her. They were each a little younger than I had suspected. Maybe somewhere in the ages of five and six years old and I knew that my teaching would be a little more difficult than what I had planned for. I thought maybe they would have been Mary’s age. Hopefully they shared Mary’s talent in learning.
Missus Rutherford’s voice was soft and airy. There was a sense of someone trying to be matronly but wasn’t used to it yet. I suspected that she had servants do most of the raising for their children. “Was that you playing just a few moments ago? That was spectacular. I couldn’t believe my ears. I would expect to hear that level of skill at a concert. Guess we are blessed with quite the teacher.”
I shook my head, “I’ll do my best. Just because I can play well doesn’t speak to my ability to teach. I hope to make my own master proud as he taught me several instruments.” I closed the case and slid it back to Mr. Rutherford. “Now, what is for dinner?”