Chapter Twenty Five: Departures
［FEAR］
“What’s happening? How could this happen?”
［ANGER］
“They can’t do this to me. When my father finds out…”
［RAGE］
“I will have them all killed. Destroyed. Nothing will be left!”
［DESPAIR］
“Why hasn’t anyone come? Why…”
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Rook shook his head and sat up in the bed. He didn’t remember even getting in bed. He had a headache, and his chest felt tight and warm, as if he had been ill. But he couldn’t remember being sick.
“Oh! He’s awake! Rook! Are you alright?” said a tall woman sitting in a chair beside his bed, she had long red hair tied into a braid. Rook thought she looked familiar.
“Ey! What’s a matter with ye?”
Rook turned and saw Dilly. This was Dilly’s house, and this was the room he had been staying in. Her voice was gruff, and harsh, but her eyes were filled with sadness and worry.
He tried to remember what had happened, but he couldn’t remember anything.
“Obi?” He called out to his companion.
［Ow.］
“Obi? What’s going on? What happened?”
［Ehh, Ummm, You don’t know?］
“I can’t remember anything. But my head hurts. Did we get into an accident?”
［Hmmm. You know… Well…］
“Obi? Are you okay?”
［It’s weird. I don’t remember anything either… Just… just feeling…］
“Angry?”
［Yeah…］
“Was that a dream? Did we both have a dream? What’s going on? Are we alright?”
Rook summoned the status window.
STATUS
NAME: ROOK
CURRENT STATUS: HEALTHY
CURRENT COINS: 1,703
STATS:
* 💪 STR: 3
* 🏃 AGI: 4
* ❤️ VIT: 3
* ✨ SPT: 2
HEALTH (HP): 100 / 100%
MAGIC (MP): 100 / 100%
STAMINA (SP): 98 / 100%
Everything appeared to be normal. He had no injuries. It was confusing, but already, the pain was subsiding, and he turned to get off the bed.
“Hey! Hold up there. Just sit back down and have some water. Do ye have any pains?”
Dilly poured a glass of water from a pitcher into a wooden cup, then handed it to the woman, who sat beside him on the bed and pressed the cup into his hands.
He gave her a confused look.
“Who…”
“Rook, It’s me, Fennic. Do you remember me? We used to be together, on Rhaeger and Chelli’s farm. Remember?” She stared into his face with a hopeful look.
“Fennic?” Rook said in a confused, drowsy stupor.
He took the cup, and drank half of the water in one gulp. He felt better immediately, so he immediately drank the rest.
“Rook, remember? I was there when you arrived at the farm. I took care of you. Oh, Dilly, he was such a thing, so small and cute.”
Rook shook his head.
“Sorry… My memory is not so good. I think I remember…”
By now, the room was starting to fill with more people, and it was getting very crowded, but Dilly shooed them out and closed the door, leaving just the three of them.
“It’s okay, boy. No one is gonna do anything to ye. We’re just glad yer alright. Gave us all a bit of a shock, is all.”
Dilly reassured him, while refilling the cup of water.
“What happened? I don’t remember anything.”
“Ye had a tumble, is what. We were talking after welcoming my boys back, then you just… collapsed.”
“You were tossing and moaning like you were having a bad dream, just like you used to before,” The young woman added.
Rook tried, but could not even remember going into the forest.
“Before? Did this happen… before?”
“Dilly, when he first came to the farm, I was so worried. He couldn’t even talk, and was so small and thin. Each night, he would wake up screaming. I think he had terrible nightmares. It broke my heart.”
With a confused look, Rook scrutinized the woman. She did look familiar, but he had no memories of what she described. He didn’t recall any nightmares or problems.
“I was so worried you were not going to make it. Then, there was the problem with the wolves, and the mistress… I didn’t want to leave you there, but Rhaeger sent me away. I had no choice. Rook, I’m so sorry. I should have gone back… but…”
Dilly grabbed the woman by the shoulder and held her head to her chest, comforting the younger one while she cried.
Rook wasn’t sure what had happened. He wasn’t sure the woman was even telling the truth, though there was no reason for her to lie.
“Obi?” He asked again, hoping that his watcher could explain what she was talking about.
［Sorry, I wasn’t really aware of much back then. I was… dormant most of the time.］
“Fennic…” Rook said the name again, getting a feel for it in his mouth.
“You had short hair… you would touch my hair… you said it was…”
“Beautiful. Yes, Rook. That was me. I had never seen hair like yours before, such a pure black.”
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Flashes of memory were coming back. Just a few, and as they did, he described them out loud.
“Back then, my hair was short, like a boy’s. Oh, Rook, you remember. I’m so sorry. I should have come back for you. Can you forgive me?”
“I don’t remember much. Just a few things…”
“That’s fine, no use diggin up old roots. Rook, you rest here and we’ll bring something to eat for ye. Those animals outside must be tearing the kitchen apart, looking for more food by now. Ye, get some sleep. We’ll have proper introductions in the mornin.”
Dilly set the law down, and Fennic, the young woman, hesitantly exited the room, followed by the old woman.
Rook felt better, but was still disturbed by what had happened. the strange reappearance of someone from his past was troubling, as was his mysterious collapse. Things had been going so well, but now he could feel a cold pressure at the base of his spine. A warning that bad things had not forgotten about him.
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The next day, Rook awoke to the house full of happy mercenaries. When he came out, they greeted him like family, getting him food, and re-introducing themselves.
Besides the brothers, Teeva and Teepo, and Fennic, There was also Jenk, Patience, Sifry, and Ben. Three women and four men, who were all around the same age, mid-twenties, and seemed to be in a festive mood, finally off the job, and able to sleep in regular beds again.
Rook was once again surprised by the brother’s names, and this led to another round of everyone harassing the pair for being named after their mother’s pets.
They had been on a contract job for several weeks, collecting rare materials in the deep forest for an alchemist based in Stormhaven, where they were based. They had completed the task and were now heading back to the city.
Rook learned that they would often stay here, which was why the house was so large for one woman alone.
He also heard the true story behind Dilly, a name that only Fennic would use. Besides the brothers, everyone else always referred to her as Guild Master.
Up until five years earlier, Dilly, or Diltrea Thornwood, which was her actual full name, was the head of the mercenary guild in Stormhaven and had been so for over twenty years. Before that, she had been, just as she had boasted, the best scout in the western lands. She had retired to this house to “be done with those vipers and rats” that permeated Stormhaven politics but still commanded great respect and influence amongst the rank-and-file mercenaries.
Throughout the next few days, Rook was treated as a welcome friend and guest by everyone, and was rather overwhelmed by the casual camaraderie the mercenaries treated him with. Fennic did her best to help him adjust, and they spent some time talking, as she shared what she had been doing, and questioned him about the farm.
After being adopted as a disciple by Diltrea Thornwood, Fennic had studied hard to become a mercenary. By all rights, she would have been shunned and abandoned in a city like that, having the same sigil on her hand that as Rook, but with the support of the head of the mercenary guild, she was able to carve out a life for herself.
She had even married, although that had apparently been a subject of great drama, as both of Dilly’s sons had competed for her affections. In the end, she had chosen Teeva, which might have caused even more drama, if the brothers had not been raised to be supportive of each other.
That isn’t to say that there hadn’t been hurt feelings, but that was in the past, and now Teepo was dating Sifry.
By putting together what Rook and Fennic both remembered about the farm, a clear picture emerged of the place where they had both grown up. Rook learned things about himself that he hadn’t known, or remembered.
Fennic had been sold for bond by her parents when she was five years old. Eventually, she ended up on Rhaeger’s farm, which back then had been rather prosperous. Rhaeger’s wife would take in children who were unwanted, and gave them a home and a chance to gain a place in society.
That all ended when Fennic was around twelve. When the farm had been attacked by predators who had left the forest looking for food. During the attack, the mistress had been killed, and Rhaeger was wounded and disfigured.
After that, the farm quickly fell into ruin. Rhaeger lost himself to drink, then lost the fields. He survived by renting out his remaining livestock, and by harvesting the coins of the orphans who remained.
Fennic had been horrified to learn that they even used the purge sticks on the children there, something the mistress would never have allowed. She still carried guilt about leaving the other children, particularly Rook, who she had seen as a helpless, handicapped child. He had been only eight at the time.
Seeing him was a shock; not only could he now speak, but Dilly insisted that he had somehow been surviving alone in the forest.
For Rook, hearing about what Rhaeger’s ranch was like when he first appeared there ten years ago, helped to give a form to his cloudy recollection of that time. He still didn’t remember much, but with Fennic’s explanations, his understanding of his life was given a new context.
Disturbingly, he now felt a small amount of pity for Rhaeger and even Rhaegun. Not enough to forgive their treatment of him, but enough to understand where the pain may have come from.
Over the next few days, Rook felt his view of the world change. The mercenaries were so full of life, they were young, ambitious, and treated Rook like a younger brother, spoiling him with attention.
He never expected anyone to look at him as anything more than a bondsman. Someone to be used, hated, or pitied, but never treated like a person. Perhaps because they had accepted Fennic, none of them gave the mark on his hand a second look.
On the night before the mercenaries were planning to leave the house, Dilly pulled Rook outside to talk.
They sat at a small table she had set up in the garden that looked out at the ocean. Every time he saw this view, Rook was captivated by the endless expanse of water. Even after all this time, he still felt like it couldn’t be real, like it was some form of magic.
“So the boys are leaving tomorrow. They need to report back on their contract, and look for the next one.”
Rook nodded. He wasn’t sure how he felt now. It had been life-changing these past few days, but it didn’t give him any direction as to what to do next.
He knew that he would miss them around. With them there, the house felt complete, and he knew now that it would feel empty after they had gone. Stormhaven was only two or three days walk, so he wasn’t sad. He was sure they would be back again, but part of him wished that he could go with them.
“I was wonderin if it wasn’t a good time for you to see the city yerself,” Dilly added.
Rook almost failed to catch the meaning of her words. When he finally put it together, he was shocked.
“You… want me to leave?”
“Don’t be so needy. I’m not throwing ye out. But I’ve seen ye these past few days. There’s more to this world than helpin an old lady with her gardening.”
［Amen to that!］
“Shush!”
“Think of this as a test. Ye could go to the city with the kids, stay there for a bit. There is a lot ye should learn about the world that ye can’t do here. I’ve got friends there that can help ye, and the boys will be there ta make sure ye don’t get into too much trouble.”
“You won’t come with me?” Rook was surprised to hear the disappointment in his own words as he spoke.
“Nah, had enough of that place for a lifetime. Two maybe. When ye are done there, ye can come on back here anytime. I still have plenty more left to teach ye.”
Rook remembered seeing Dilly and Fennic talking alone several times over the past few days. He wondered if this had been what they were talking about.
［What are you worried about? This is everything you said you wanted. We can go, get back to building up your skills, and learning more about how to survive, and you can still come back whenever you want to.］
“Really? I can come back?” He asked cautiously.
“What are ye talking bout boy? Of course. You still owe me more work, by my reckoning. Ye eat like a pig, and you’ve ruined half my pots and pans. Yer one of my boys now. You owe me,” she said decisively.
“You’ll be coming when I call ye, or I’ll chase ye down and drag ye back, and don’t even think of runnin. Remember-“
“You’re the best scout in the guild,” Rook finished her standard boast for her.
“Good boy. Now, what do ye say?”
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The next morning, the mercenaries were packing up to leave for Stormhaven.
“Ma, I can take this waterstone, yeah?”
“Ma! Have ye seen my good hatchet? I can’t find it.”
The two brothers were running around the house in a near panic, while Fennic spun around Dilly, like a chick following the mother hen.
“Dilly, Ma, take these tinctures we got for the alchemist who put out this contract. They are really good at easing the winter chills. Oh, do you need me to bring back something from the marketplace next time? If we can’t get another contract right away, I can come back and stay a bit—“
“Out! Ye lazy children. Get out and go finish yer contract already. How long is the client going to put up with your dallying around? Get!”
The other mercenaries laughed and thanked the old guild master as they pushed the brothers and Fennic to the door.
“Oh, and Rook, take this. I made up some sandwiches, and other food for ye all to eat on the road.”
She pointed to a giant pile of food and supplies on the kitchen table.
“Are ye kidding, Ma? That’s way too much for him to carry. Here, Teepo and I can split it—“
“Don’t worry, I got this,” Rook said confidently.
He reached out to touch the pile of food, and it disappeared into thin air.
The room went silent as everyone stared at Rook.
“I’m a porter, after all. This much is no problem,” he added with a proud smile.
“Hear that, Ma? We got a porter now! We’re like a named party. Hey! Teeva, what are we gonna call ourselves…”
It was sad to part, but everyone was in high spirits as they walked down the hill and away from the house above the sea.
Rook was filled with apprehension, but was excited to see a city, something he had only heard vague descriptions of.
Around him were new friends. Ahead was a brand new adventure, but he could not shake the feeling that behind him were unresolved dangers still following him.
“Obi, ready to see what a city is like?”
［I’m not sure what is so interesting about a city.］
“What are you talking about?”
［Just keep an eye on the road ahead. There are always things that will trip you up, no matter how well you plan.］
“Stop being such a grump. We’re doing what you’ve been complaining about. I feel like things are starting to move our way.”
［Yeah… That’s what I’m afraid of.］
End of ROOK: The Subspace Thief - Book One