Chapter Three – The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep by Kelly D. Tolman
Posted by admin on October 13, 2008
The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of Colter Halfspear as he becomes a man and an initiate of magical powers.
I expected to walk to town, but Harrim had driven not just a wagon, but the coach he saved for special days. He invited me to ride on top and help drive, and I did so gladly. As we passed the turnoff to Trakkin’s farm I looked down the road in hopes of seeing a friendly face, but saw no one.
When my father lived, we visited Harrim’s Waystop at least once a five market. The friendship between Harrim Wilder and my father stretched back into their childhood. The large two-story brick inn towers above the other buildings in the village. Local legend recounts that generations ago the Wilders trafficked in exotic herbs with the darkunders, and after growing wealthy Harrim’s grandfather had settled in Dunston with his ill-gotten wealth in a place the empire would not come looking. True or not, most in the village didn’t worry since the inn grew in popularity until it attracted buyers for crops after good summers and for crafts after bad.
The small collection of farms surrounding a small collection of huts surrounding the Waystop still bears the name of Dunston in honor of the first settler’s horse. The blacksmith owned a nice house, and the miller built a home of brick near the river, but nobody else was able to use more than mud walls to keep them warm. During the midsummer festivals we all danced and sang. Sometimes we joined with Kerby for the harvest celebration. Sometimes they joined with us. Weddings, funerals, births and the rites of Tylos each became an affair for the entire village, and more often for both Dunston and Kerby.
The first dog barked a warning as we came within fifty meters of the first house, and several others took up the cry as we trundled into the village. Jans and Lora, children of Master Tintelbar, who kept the general store darted into the street and back again, playing. I could not make out the faces of the boys at the far end of town who kicked a pig’s stomach around. They were still too young to work the fields and had managed to escape early from their daily chores.
Betta waved at Lora, and she waved back. “Can I play with them?” she asked.
“Not now,” replied mamma. “You will get your dress dirty. Besides, I think I will need your help with dinner.”
I looked around but didn’t see Anaria or anyone else close to my age. Ton and Wess would still be in the fields for a few more hours while their sisters worked at home. A slow breeze cooled the streets as we pulled around to the back of the inn. Harrim pulled the coach to a stop and jumped down. He handed me the reins before helping my mother and sister.
“Put the coach away and take care of the horses, Colter. See they get a good rub down,” he said.
I didn’t see Achard, the servant that usually did the work around the Waystop, though I hardly expected him. Every time we visited the Waystop Harrim gave his servant the day off. The work kept me busy and out of trouble, and I enjoyed the change. I found another team of horses already stabled as well as a large black stallion with imperial livery. I tended these as well, knowing that Achard would have done the same in my place. As the sun began to set I heard the workers returning from the field. I piled on the last of the hay and went to see if I could find a friendly face.
Lyekal, a tall young man with broad shoulders that had yet to acquire the strength of his father, the smith, also watched the workers returning from the fields. He noticed me and crossed the street with a smile. His hands and face were black from the forge. I sat down on the front steps of the inn, and he joined me. “I thought I heard Harrim’s carriage,” he said. “Pa didn’t let me come and look. Jans says he saw an imperial soldier ride in earlier.”
“His horse is in the stable. I haven’t been inside yet,” I said.
“Pa says there’s war coming in the north. The Eastern Watch is recruiting again. I want to join if I can. Dunston’s got nothing for me,” he said.
“Your dad won’t like that,” I replied.
“All he does is work. Even ma says he works too much,” said Lyekal.
Wess, a boy about my height, but a few winters older came along the road carrying a bundle of firewood across his shoulder. Most of the villagers had straw colored hair they cropped short in summer, like Lyekal’s, but Wess wore his black hair to his shoulders. His family came from the west about the time my father left on his second adventure. He dropped the bundle next to us and sat on it. “It was a hot one today,” he said. “How’s your crop looking Colter? I’ve not had a chance to get out your way.”
“Mostly burned to dust,” I replied. “We’ve a few patches of barley that will see us through the winter if we get some rain.”
“The whole valley used to be green through the entire summer,” said Wess. “I remember when we came we could fish in that stream that disappeared after the earth moved.”
“Pa says time will change soon enough,” said Lyekal. “I don’t think so. I’m not staying anyway. Your of age now, Wess. Why don’t you join up with me?”
“You’ve been talking the soldier for two winters now. You know your pa won’t let you,” replied Wess.
“I’ll be of age in a five-market,” replied Lyekal with a snort. “Kyven Halfspear isn’t the only hero around here. I’ve plans for myself.”
Betta found me loafing there. “Mamma says its time to help with supper.” I glared at her and she stuck her tongue out at me. I smiled back and we laughed. I waved to my friends and headed inside.
“Serve the captain,” ordered mamma. “Bring him what he asks for, but mix the wine with water if he wants more than a second cup. There’s no point making him drunk, and we’ve business to tend to tonight. There is also a pair of cloth merchants who will likely ask for more than Betta can manage herself, so you keep an eye on them as well.”
Despite her warnings, the captain ate quickly and quietly, and though he finished the second cup of wine he did not ask for more. He hardly spoke a word, and buckled on his sword immediately after eating. “I’d hoped to see more of the men. Is there a tavern in this village?” he asked.
“Sometimes they gather at the smithy after supper,” I replied.
He nodded and I watched him walk through the front door. The merchants complained about the weather as they ate, and I could not help but miss the livelier days when my father brought us here to celebrate. Mamma disappeared with Harrim into his private dining room while Betta and I ate in the kitchens. Afterwards we sat together on the front porch of the inn, laughing and listening to the sounds of the village. Lyekal walked towards us from his father’s smithy just down the street. He had replaced his smile with a scowl.
“Pa’s being unfair,” he complained. “Captain Torbridge is looking for recruits. He’ll take anyone willing, and they pay too. Not one of the men wants to join and I can’t. I tell you I’m leaving as soon as the council declares me of age.”
“I like it here,” said Betta. She laughed. “I think you would look silly with a spear. You’re too skinny.”
“What do you know?” he sneered. “You’re just a little girl.”
Betta stuck out her tongue. “None of us knows anything about the world,” I said. “I’ve been to most all the farms around Dunston and Kerby. I even went to Havensod a couple of times before pa died, but I don’t remember it much. I’ve hunted as far north as the Wynndle, or at least the west fork, and south past Trakkin’s.”
“I’ve never even been that far,” said Lyekal. “I hate this place.”
Down the street we saw the men starting to leave the smithy. “I don’t think your captain is making any friends,” I said. I stood up and took Betta by the hand. “Time for bed. Maybe your pa will change his mind.”
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Four
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