“Mr. Vino.”
Vino looked up and smiled at the greeting. He set his arrowhead down and stood up.
“So nothing happened? You seem to be alright.”
“Yeah.. You’re making arrows?”
Vino turned and nodded.
“Mhm. Spring’s pretty soon, so we’re making arrows to sell to the landlord and nearby towns. What brings you back?”
Arrowheads made by craftsmen in towns tended to be made of iron - powerful, but pricey. They were also under guild supervision, so it was tough to get much stock unless you had connections.
“Well, we’d like your help.”
“What for?”
“We’d like you to make us a map.”
Vino seemed confused.
“A map? Uh.. sorry, we don’t use them much, so it surprised me for a second. A map of what?”
“One of the area around the lake, including the streams and rivers.”
Vino let it sink in and watched them silently for a while. When he spoke, he did so quietly.
“You’re not out to build a watermill, are you?”
He was using a serious tone while obviously joking around.. just the sense of humor of a humble villager. But Lawrence had nothing to hide.
“Why, does your village need one? No, I’m just looking for a map, because it might confirm something about the legendary angel, so Sister Fran in my group wanted one.”
Vino was on his guard, but nodded when he heard their rationale.
“Oh, is that all? No problem. We’ve decided to help you out, and this just gives me another excuse for a break!”
Villagers wouldn’t work the same way as townsfolk would; in villages, everyone pitched in where needed, so an individual’s contributions weren’t as important as whether all tasks were all completed. Anyone disliking this situation could move to a bigger town, where they could find friends with common skills and happily do what they were best at. It was all a matter of perspective.
“Thanks for the help.”
“We’ll have to check with Mr. Miura, though. He’s the only one here who’s got paper and ink.”
“Thanks again.”
Vino nodded and resumed his work, like some worker at a company. The scene made Lawrence recall that he sometimes desired to work in a company, if only to be around others like Vino was right now. Holo seemed to feel the same way, and she shared a smile with Lawrence.
“Hey, Miura.”
Miura happened to be leaving his home when Vino called him. He was carrying animal hides and a sharp knife, presumably to carve them for clothing. He seemed to be good with his hands, regardless of their large size.
“What is it?”
“Looks like we caught you at just the right time.. we need some paper and ink.”
“Paper and ink?”
Miura was rightly surprised: that wouldn’t be a common request in a village. Such things cost quite a lot in remote areas.
“They need a map of the land around the lake.”
“A map?”
Miura looked at Vino, then at Lawrence. He was silent for quite a while.
“Alright.”
He handed the hides and knife to Vino before continuing.
“I’ll do it for you.”
Holo looked down at the ground, probably laughing under her breath at the distraught look on Vino’s face.
“You got to eat and entertain them yesterday, but you never finished doing this.”
Miura spoke in a devilish tone, like a wicked older brother. Vino had no choice but to nod in defeat.
“Go on. These will be for Lanan, Scott, and Serith. Ask Yana for their sizes.”
“Alright..”
Miura watched happily as Vino sadly turned away. Lawrence couldn’t help but be amused by this village; it was a shame they got caught up in this witch nonsense.
“Let’s go inside. You wanted a map of the area around the lake?”
“More accurately, the rivers and streams around it. All of them.”
Having entered his home, they noticed hunting implements scattered around. Tools for cleaning skins were there as well, like it was a workshop. The bed, hearth, and other daily necessities were scattered about as well; it was nothing like a proper company workshop in a city. And yet, the mess had a powerful sense of pride about it. This was the chief’s home.
“Oh? That’s pretty specific.”
He was quite a contrast to Vino. His mind was sharper.
“I’ll bet Vino asked if you wanted it to plan for a watermill?”
“On the nose.”
Miura smiled at Lawrence’s honesty.
“Idiot. He ran up to me all pale-faced last night to report that you’d commented on our milling skills. I just had to point out that you wouldn’t mention anything like that if you were going to build a mill. That sure shut him up good.”
He seemed to be like the landlord; watching out for the safety of himself and his charges. After clearing his desk, he spread out an old sheet of paper.
“Hope you don’t mind if I use this piece of paper.”
It was a piece a bit larger than their faces, so old and torn that it would hardly be worth anything.
“Here, a token of our gratitude.”
Miura nodded, seeing Lawrence’s offering of salt.
“Then, I’ll get right on it.”
He took up his broken quill and chipped bottle containing ink.
“This won’t take long, so just find a seat, you two.”
Lawrence nodded and sat on a wooden crate while Holo played with a chicken that had wandered indoors.
“So, have you discovered anything out about the legend?”
His question came out of nowhere. He was quickly drawing the map, but his attention was still focused on Lawrence. Plainly, he wasn’t just making idle conversation.
“Sister Fran found some clues, and shooed me off to get her a map without so much as a ’thank you’.”
“Really?”
Miura nodded. He may have thrown a kid off-track with that question, but not Lawrence.
“Did you find the witch?”
That was his real goal. As the de-facto village chief, he had more than watermills to worry about. The village could protest to high heaven to keep a watermill from being built, but rumors about their village were beyond their control. He stopped, and despite his eyes still being locked on the paper it was obvious that his attention had drifted elsewhere. Lawrence glanced at Holo as she played with the chicken, then smiled.
“No.”
He heard Miura’s quill resume.
“Really?”
That was the last thing Miura uttered, before focusing on completing the map. He was surely a marvellous hunter.
“This likely won’t be accurate when the season changes.”
Those were the next words of his mouth. The chicken seemed to have come to an understanding with Holo, and lay itself next to her foot, snoozing.
“Sister Fran said that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Huh.. sounds like this won’t take long, then.”
Miura stood, and his joints popped and cracked as a testament to his dedication. His stretching startled the chicken, and Holo listened happily to its protests.
“You can have it when the ink’s dry. You should be able to get back before sunfall.”
“Thank you kindly.”
“It’s nothing. I’m sure Vino said that to you, too.”
Lawrence didn’t want to make Vino seem lazy, but he had to smile out of courtesy. Miura grabbed the pouch of salt Lawrence had given him and thanked them. It was hard to get salt when one lacked hard coin.
“Well, I should go check up on Vino. He looks sharp, but he’s really a bumbler. If he tore the hides, I’ll whip him with the tendons.”
He was just like an artisan talking about an apprentice; it made Lawrence laugh. Holo seemed happy to hear this as she sat next to a window, gazing outside. This was just the kind of idle banter th
at any traveler would miss.
“Hmm?”
She noticed something as they went outside.
“What’s that?”
Miura halted and followed her eyes to where the village elder stood, where all would pass to enter the village. Lawrence heard noises that sounded like mice; the sound of neighing horses from at a great distance. As they came into focus, it became clear that one prominent old rider was being trailed by men with spears.
Miura’s face froze and he quickly returned indoors. He quickly grabbed a set of tools and walked out the other door of his home and through his garden to the next house. Everyone then ran back outside. Even Holo stood up.
“What’s going on?”
“No clue.. but they’re armed with spears.”
“Hmm.”
Unless Lawrence was mistaken, those spears would bear the mark of a noble family or nation. Mercenaries would arm themselves with poleaxes instead of spears, and there just weren’t many other possibilities.
One of the riders was heard shouting.
“We request the presence of Miura and the elder!”
Holo turned to Lawrence, but he didn’t reply. Miura was running back through his own home.
“The governor.. he’s finally come..”
Miura was pallid, with beads of sweat on his brow. He’d grabbed a parchment from his home, most likely the village’s deed.
“You two..”
Miura looked at Lawrence.
“There’s a small path directly to the lake behind the village; we keep it under watch so it’s safe. The governor shouldn’t be aware of it, so if you flee that way you’ll get to the lake quickly; please get this to Sister Fran.”
He rolled the map up and handed it to Lawrence, then began pushing them toward his backyard. He clearly had no time for further explanation, and not to impress them. He was making sure they understood how serious the situation truly was. When they were in the backyard, he finally spoke.
“The governor wants to destroy all traces of the legend. Please have Sister Fran inform the Church.”
“But..”
“Please! We don’t have time!”
Lawrence nervously looked at Holo, who nodded back.. but clearly, she too was hesitant. Should they flee? She had to be asking herself the same thing. They weren’t here to prove that Katerina was a witch, after all, and the governor ought to be glad that the Church regarded her as a nun. Miura’s words were just too strange.
“We’ll repay your kindness.. this is for Sister Fran’s sake as well..”
He hastily looked out the door before turning back to look at them.
“The forest and the lake will be destroyed.”
With that, he pushed Lawrence and Holo into his backyard. They stood there, eyes blinking, as the soldiers arrived at Miura’s door shouting his name. Lawrence hesitated, but still grabbed Holo’s hand. They were going to destroy the forest and the lake?
Chapter 5
Lawrence soon came across the path into the forest. It was quite narrow; barely large enough for hunters to carry a deer through. But it was well-traveled, so not only was the snow flattened but it was cleared of foliage. Walking through it proved easy, so Holo and Lawrence ran.
“What was that about?”
Holo asked the obvious question.
“I’ve no idea, but that governor looks like trouble.”
They spoke while running, only ceasing when they had to avoid tree roots. Holo would lift up her cloak and hop over them.
“Did he say ‘the forest and the lake will be destroyed?”’
“Yes.”
As he replied, Lawrence realized something. The governor had arrived suddenly, making Miura nervous. There was only one logical reason for Miura to tell them what he did. But Lawrence didn’t have the breath to announce his finding, and just held Holo’s hand as they ran up a gentle slope.
“Had I known this in advance.. I would just change forms..”
She might be joking, but there was no time to find out. They saw light to their left, and spied the light reflecting off the surface of the lake beyond the trees. After several steps, they came across the regular path to the lake. Sliding down the slope, they came across Fran and Cole’s footsteps, which seemed to both be coming and going in the same direction.
Lawrence glanced around and spotted them on the path to the waterfall from the hut. They weren’t moving; they were simply staring at something. He shook his hand free of Holo’s to shout out to them, but she stopped him.
“Ugh! ..What?”
“Shush.”
She spoke softly, making him wonder if she was joking. But she was dead serious. Looking at them again, he saw that Cole and Fran weren’t talking or moving their heads; they were perfectly frozen in place, not even breathing.
“Someone else is probably here.”
“..then shouldn’t we hide?”
“Idiot. If we are still, we will not be found, but even if we simply move behind trees we will give away our presence.”
Coming from Holo, a hunter from the forest, those words seemed authoritative. Fran had stopped Cole and the two of them kept still, despite Cole being in an awkward pose as if his first instinct had been to flee. It seemed Holo wasn’t the only one who used this tactic.. But where had Fran learned it, if even Lawrence didn’t know about it?
“Hmm.”
Holo seemed to be thinking, and perhaps about the same thing. Lawrence slowly pushed her toward them.
“What happened?”
As he quietly asked Fran, Cole finally spotted the two of them and eagerly sat down.
“Soldiers broke into the house. Why are you here?”
“They came to the village too. Their governor came with them, and we’ve been told they plan to destroy the forest and lake somehow.”
Lawrence had no idea what they were planning, but Fran seemed to have considered this in advance. The moment she heard about the governor, her expression became wrathful.
“I’m impressed by the depth of their wickedness.”
“Do you..”
Fran shushed him.
“They’re here to vanquish the witch.”
Lawrence finally understood. Katerina was dead, so what Fran said took on a literal meaning.
“It seems faith is no longer important in this age of money.”
She spoke her line effortlessly, dripping with satire, and her angry lips curled up into a sneer. But she then sighed.
“I have never been this close to the truth.. and the landlord decides to finally act now? I’m so close.. so close..”
Her fists were balled up so angrily they could be heard. The landlord had taken a third option. Time moves on, and now even the once-authoritative Church was on the decline. He’d given up on them, and wanted to erase all traces of Katerina in order to distance himself from all religious conflicts. He would likely ally with the Diva Company, begin an expedition, set up a watermill, and attract more people to his land. Indeed, wealth spoke more loudly than beliefs.
“Did you get a map?”
Fran was staring at Lawrence.
“We did.. hold on.”
He grabbed Fran to keep her from walking away and stared back at her.
“Please calm down. If the landlord’s decided to remove all traces of Katerina, we’ll only be viewed as a hindrance. Convincing him will be impossible, as he wouldn’t care about any investigations into the legendary angel.”
Her face distorted in pain. She wasn’t stupid, so even if she’d lost her temper her mind was still capable.
“I know we’re close to the truth, and that you aren’t here to fool around. But it’s simply too dangerous right now. Let’s go.”
Hearing him finish, she stepped back. She would have fallen had Cole not been there to immediately support her.
“Unbelievable.. I’m so close..”
She’d been so excited just a day ago, and of course when such high hopes came crashing down the disappointment was unbe
arable. Holo suddenly chimed in: the soldiers had left. This was their only chance to flee.
“What a shame..”
Lawrence tried to grab Fran’s hand as he spoke, but just then she spoke.
“Lute Keeman told me all about you.”
He was stunned into silence at her sudden change of topic. He never expected her to mention Keeman, and it made him feel naked in front of her. She’d chosen him, having known about him all along. But he settled down quickly. Finding Keeman in Gerube wasn’t difficult, so that was probably all she meant. A merchant’s mind was rational, and his was already rationalizing. The pieces fell into place.
“I heard that you know no fear, and seize your chances to earn. And that you know how to use social relationships to your ends.”
She wiped away her tears and tried to smile, but it only made her look worse. He couldn’t help but ask the obvious, hoping that he was guessing wrong.
“What is it you want of me?”
“Please tell them Katerina Rucci is a saint.”
Holo and Cole were stunned. If beliefs were useless, what was the point of saying that? But Lawrence knew better. The difference between a nun and a saint was vast, and they couldn’t be considered to have the same worth.. especially financially.
“Is that true?”
“She was nominated into sainthood, and is only waiting her turn. She kept her identity hidden in Lenos, but had the backing of many nobles. Her nomination letter is already in the Cardinal’s hands. Isn’t that good enough?”
She then shut her mouth, as though her mind was made up. Fran Bonilly, that proudly forward silversmith, was beyond negotiations. She was as stubborn as a human being could be. Lawrence swallowed.
“When Sister Katerina becomes Saint Katerina, what remains in that hut, including her body, will become holy relics.”
Cole gasped in realization the moment he heard that. Fran smiled as though her secret message had been deciphered.
“She has a substantial legacy, one that will even persuade the landlord to give up on building a watermill. It you don’t believe me, just read the diary in her hut. It’s full of the names of nobles and rulers who all supported her. That’s why her hut still stands to this day.”
It was something that was spoken of only in hushed whispers, but when a saint came into being their possessions became worth a lot of money. Should their deathbed be the place of a miracle, it would attract many pilgrims, and not just ones from the Church. The area could become crowded with people, which was why nobles often banded together and did their best to have saints nominated for their benefit.