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yO~,
I've been busy lately and get less time for myself, well to be true I get time to relax a bit which I don't spend to write, but read. Writing make me loose sleep as the story keeps growing and reading relaxes me.
Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, Next one should be up soon.
Cheers!!
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Chapter 4 : Crazy man
Laazy was happy today for he had woken up before the Mistress and ran with the mules to fetch the water as the sun was still not at the its peak in the horizon. He could do it quickly today and luckily get breakfast as well. Slowly pacing the mules train out the house walls by crossing the draw bridge and down the hill. The journey downhill was more accustomed to him than these mules he carefully guided downhill or they would stumble with each other.
The village was starting it's day as well with the people who had too much Ale last night trying hard to get their bearing to return home while others clean up their shops for the day ahead. Regar Hill was a small village with just over 1500 occupants and the Regar family owned all the land. There are five families which rule the west which are : Family Trezt, Family Qhuil, Family Wine, Family Rize and Family Regar. There was no king which rule the land and those who have tried were all in history scrolls in every house library teaching the future generation on how not to control the land.
The hands of the family household are usually orphans handpicked by the house mister or mistress. They are taken at an early age and groomed to be loyal sla...hands of the house. Laazy was taken in when he was around five years old, most young boys don't live past three years of age even when under a parents warmth and care.
The young boy five year old was woken up in pain as the Mistress pinched his buttocks and after a while he went back to sleep in tears. Mistress took the lad home with a smile on her face and called him Laazy.
Laazy was happy and even felt lucky he was adopted into the Regar family, he knew what happened to children after 10 years of age, they die or that was what Mistress always told him, "You should be great full I took you in or you would have died.." and she added "Last year", "two years ago", "three years ago", etc since the day he was older than 11 years old.
He slowly passed through the village and crossed the walls towards the fresh water stream about half a league from the village gates. He found many before him, the potters apprentice, the blacksmiths apprentice, the tavern boys and maidens, all carrying pots with them to fetch water from the stream.
Laazy always looked at the different people as they gathered water and everyone collected the differently. The potter apprentices have two pots to collect the water from the side of the stream where the silt of the purest and richest minerals collect, they also carry a large leather bag to collect the silt they find which their masters would appreciate to work on.
The blacksmiths apprentice always collected water where the stream is divided and still. It is at these still places where the water is the purest and without impurities. Laazy had asked them why they needed such clean water and they replied it is to temper the steel. He seldom understood anything other than what he was told, so he didn't ask anymore, but today he really understood what tempering was and it confused him.
The tavern boys and maiden collected water where they stood when they stopped talking to look at the water and after collecting the water to its brim they would chatter back towards the village.
Laazy always gathered water nearby Stanis's hut and the water was always sweeter there or he told himself. The other reason was to meet Margis, the kindest person he had ever met, but the thought of meeting the brazen Stanis did trouble him.
As Laazy was carrying the last water barrel towards the mule, he saw the bushes shaking behind him and he turned quickly to see a bear in the far end of his view. He quickly tried to tie the barrel to the mules side, but he was not able to as his hands were trembling with fear and with the weight of the barrel. He wanted to run away, but he could not leave the mules, the Mistress would punish him and he didn't want that. He looked back again and saw that the bear was closing in slowly. He lifted the barrel and balanced it on his thighs as he fastened it around the mules sides and he started pulling at the mule's rope, but the mules were moving slowly with the weight of the barrels holding them back. Laazy looked worriedly towards the bear and saw a man like shape instead as it was much closer now and Laazy was more scared, it was Stanis.
"What are you looking at boy?", asked Stanis
"Nothing Sir, I thought... I saw... a bear.", he said slowly trying not the offend him speaking fast.
"You did or it was a bear.", he said and showed the bear pelt lying on his back, "I found this one nearby the village, so I took care of it. I wonder if Lord Regar would like to have it.", he said holding the bear pelt twice as large as him which was still dripping with blood before Laazy.
"Boy", he said looking at Laazy, "Yeess Sirr?", he replied.
"You work for the Regar household, don't ya?".
"Yes Sir."
"Tell your Mistress that Stanis, the hunter has a bear pelt which he would like to sell and that it should be ready within a week. If she is interested, she can send her someone to appraise it for the price. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir, Bear pelt, sell, tell Mistress. Got it."
"Don't forget, I will pay you for this. Yes?"
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"I don't require payment Sir, but thank you. "
"Dear, why are you scaring the young lad with that beastly thing around your shoulder. Look at your clothes, it's completely covered in blood. I got a child in my hand...", Interruped Margis looking at her husband.
Stanis looked guilty, "I'm...', he coughed, "Well be off then", he said turning and looking at Laazy who was more than happy to leave as he pulled the mules and progressed slowly towards the village.
Laazy completed four more trips after the first one and also managed to slip Stanis' message to the Mistress. He even got some breakfast which was some tomato soup and bread. It was better than usual, but he was happy for the food, when he first started working they would not make enough food to feed another, so he had to make due with a few scraps of bread they left over from the table.
Later he helped clean the carpets, windows and then lit the candles of the house, also collect the wax in a wooden bucket to return it to the house chandler.
The days went by and seasons changes in months, and with passing time the chores increased, the bear from Stanis was a rug in the Main Studyroom for which he was paid handsomely.
It was the end of Autumn and the season of final harvest before the winter. The food would be scarce and Laazy hated the winter because, bread would never be served with soup and it was always radish or carrot soup for the hands of the house. But this winter was different, the Regar House had a quest and an important one at that, he was a friend of the Lord Regar itself. The word around the house was that he was a "Medicine man" of the old people, but old hands of the house will always need rumours to speak of during the winter and Laazy had heard many in his hard years at the house.
Laazy had to sleep inside the house's hand chambers like the others because it had grown colder as days neared winter and since he had seldom used his bed, others used it as a place to store their effects. He didn't care and slept on the ground wrapping himself in the blankets given to all hands, it was a blanket made from the fur of the hill side pigs which had a thick coat. It stinks with all the cheap work done to it, but it was better than any other blanket in the house.
The next day he would be woken up as usual by the other hands of the house and his routine would start again, but today was different. The mistress had asked for him and told Hearold, a year younger than him to go fetch the water for the house.
Laazy reached the kitchen awaiting to talk with the Mistress as she was directing the cooks and the maids for the tasks of the day.
She looked at him, but didn't address him until she was done with the other maids. Laazy stood there motionless and didn't show any emotion on his face. The reason for that was because once he yawned and she punished him for that and another time he smiled, for which she made him serve all the quests and help clean their rooms with a smile, and he never smiled before her again.
"umm.. Yes, Laazy.", she said looking at him now and trying to remember what to make him do, ".. I believe you know we have a guest to entertain, Master Helldrew, and he has asked for a hand to help him with his personal tasks. Go to his room and see that you listen to everything he says. No Questions asked. Understand!!!. Good, now off with you."
"Yes Mistress.", said Laazy and left to see the guest at his room. He didn't want to ask what or why he was asked for, better to learn it by himself than be punished.
He knocked at the door and awaited for him for him to call him in, but no answer came. He knocked again, but no answer. He stood there for a few minutes, then a few more minutes passed by and he knocked again and that is when he heard it, not a call, but a loud bang, loud enough to open the door and knock Laazy a few steps back.
"OH, THAT FAILED AGAIN!!! HEY YOU... WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?", the man was shouting even though he was just few feet in front of him, but not visible because of the smoke. Laazy replied by saying that the Mistress had sent him, but the man did not reply until the greyish smoke cleared off to show a middle aged man standing before him with silver hair streaks only by the side of hair, almost as tall as him, but thin with crazy looking eyes which were not staring at him.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?", he shouted again.
"I was sent by the Mistress to help you, Sir.", Laazy replied, but the man stood there as if he didn't understand.
"OH, I FORgoot", he said and removed the pieces of wool from his ears, but he took his time, each wool he pulled out was as long as his finger and Laazy would only imagine how he managed to push them far enough into his ear.
"I hope I wasn't shouting, so what was it you said again?"
"I was sent by the Mistress to help you, Sir."
"Oh!! for my experiment. That's great, you look strong enough. First help me clean up this mess and we can start with you quickly", he said with a crazier look in his eyes and a smile as wide as his mouth would allow it.
Laazy nodded uncomfortably at the look of his face and cleaned the floor which was covered by a strange ash like dust which smelled like piss when he dusted it to an edge, but the man told him to use a wet cloth as it would not let the powder fly around and he did as he was told.
"OK, this is easier to manage with you around, so shall we start?", he said with the same crazy smile.
"Yee..s..", Laazy replied.
"Start by undressing your clothes. "