Chapter 10
Laura woke up the next morning and looked outside her window. It was a red morning and an indication that there could be foul weather that day. Quickly she went through her routine of brushing her teeth, running a comb through her short hair, and performed her ritual of stretching each morning. She wanted to be travelling as soon as it was possible. Despite the dangers of the Blackwoods, it was not going to stop her from getting what was needed to make the potion.
She made her way to Mel’s room with haste and knocked on the door. There was no response. Again, she knocked more loudly this time only to hear a muffled, unintelligible response. Opening the door, she saw a lump in the middle of the bed. More like a tent. The wizard’s posterior was sticking up from the bed, as if he had tried to wake up, only to fold himself in half and fall back to sleep.
“Wake up,” she said, pulling the sheets off of Mel.
A hand emerged, feeling around for the blankets as the drowsy wizard said, “Just give me a few more minutes.”
“We need to move out soon. It’s a red sky out and you know the old saying, ‘Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning.’”
“Well I am not a sailor,” Mel said, slowly waking up. “So I don’t know what that even means.”
“It means that we will have foul weather today and we need to get going.”
Mel groaned as he laid out flat on the bed, covering himself with the blankets, “I’ll be up in a little bit. Just need a little more…” He fell asleep before he was able to finish the sentence.
Laura left the room and headed straight for the library. The table from last night was still littered with books and notes. There was also a map, that Mel had been looking at, of the surrounding area. On it, he had traced a small path leading to Blackwood Forest that was 20 miles to the north of Burgos. In another open book was a picture of the Sleepless Swift. It was a brilliant blue with white accents along its feathers and a white crest. It had short legs while its long, swept-back wings almost resembled a crescent and it ended with a short forked tail. The bird appeared to be small in size and she wondered how hard it would be to shoot it down.
Thinking of the supplies they should take with them, Laura decided that they would need a third horse to carry their supplies. However, she had no desire to ride Stomper ever again. Not if she could help it. Though the idea of using him as a pack horse made her grin in satisfaction. But then an image of her father’s outraged face at how his horse would be used almost made her regret the idea.
Almost.
She made her way to the smithy where Ignazio, Alejandro, and the boys were back at their various jobs. Upon entering, Ignazio noticed her attire and said, “Planning to go somewhere Lieutenant?”
“Yes,” she said while waving at the boys who had waved as she entered. “Mel has discovered a potion that he believes will wake my friend up. But we need to acquire a particular ingredient for it to work.”
“I see,” Ignazio said as he hammered at a piece of steel that was glowing red. “I also see that you called my nephew by his first name. Not wizard or Muldoon, but Mel. Something I should know about?” There was a mischievous grin on the blacksmith’s face while all of a sudden there was the sound of kissing noises coming from his two sons who we were puckering their lips at each other like a pair of goldfish.
“Nothing has changed except that I view him as a friend,” Laura said while throwing a small metal pellet she had grabbed from the desk at each boy who yelped in surprise. “For someone to take the time to research and find a solution, let alone travel with me to find what I need, is the mark of a good friend. It seemed only fitting that I should not be so formal any more.”
“Like I told you,” the blacksmith said. “He is a good man.” He then turned to his sons, who were pretending to be in excruciating pain from the thrown pellets and bellowed in mock outrage, “That’s what you get for mocking someone! Now be silent, take your lumps, and get back to work!”
“The reason I came to see you,” Laura said, grinning at the boys who stuck their tongues out at her playfully. “I wanted to ask if Mel had his own horse that he prefers to ride. I am not sure how long we will be gone or if we will even come back this way. But I want to make sure I take enough supplies and start preparations while I wait for your nephew to wake up.”
“He does have a horse. Tends to use it if he has to travel long distances, which is rare.”
“That is good. I miss riding my horse, Barb, and had no plans to keep riding Stomper. Now would happen to have a bow and a full quiver of arrows as well? We are going to have to do some hunting on this trip.”
“I do have what you need that you can have free of charge,” Ignazio said, an eyebrow raised. “But what will you be hunting that this potion will need?”
“It would be better for you if I did not tell you.”
Both eyebrows now raised, the blacksmith did not press the issue any further and said, “Give me a moment and I’ll go get the bow.”
A few minutes later, Ignazio returned with a brown leather case and a quiver full of arrows. Handing it to Laura he said, “The bowstrings are in a waterproof pouch on the side of the case.”
Laura nodded her appreciation, opened up the case and pulled out a recurve bow, examining it. It was small, which suited her size, and was made from the ash tree. When strung, the tips of the bow would curve away from her while the string would rest along a section of the limb. The bow’s design made it more powerful than a straight bow and, because it was smaller, would be more ideal when hunting in a dense forest. However, it would be louder, which was a drawback for Laura.
During her training, she had learned how to use the bow and was a fair shot with it. Though not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. In her travel bag she kept a small crossbow that could be easily hidden. After a particular incident, she made it a habit to carry it with her when out in the field. While the arrows were small and couldn’t do much damage, they were coated with a fast-acting poison.
“This is perfect,” Laura said. “Thank you. Now I just need to head over to the market and pick up some food for travelling.”
“Nonsense,” Ignazio said. “You take what you need from the kitchen. That will save you a lot of time. And I am going to go wake up that nephew of mine.”
He left the smithy by a back door while Alejandro watched his older, bigger brother before turning to Laura and said, “Please take care of our nephew, Lieutenant. We all care for him and do not want anything to happen to him or you.”
“I will be sure to take care of him,” Laura said to the younger blacksmith. “You have my word. But he is a wizard, so I doubt he needs a lot of protection.”
A small smile crept up on Alejandro’s face, “Even a wizard needs help. But he also has a very bad temper when it is aroused.”
“Does he?” I would never have guessed. Aside from when we first met at the inn, I haven’t seen him raise his voice or attack anyone.”
“He can be extremely vengeful if he feels like he has been wronged or sees something he does not like.”
“Yeah,” Diego said from his place by the bellows. “Hey Jose, remember that one time cousin Mel attacked a group of men who had been bothering Asta?”
“Uh huh,” Jose said. “They said that he started beating on all of them with his staff and started throwing fireballs at them!”
“There were no fireballs thrown,” Alejandro said, correcting his nephew’s embellishment. “But he did hurt those men badly and was preparing to use magic. It was the first time he had come across Asta and, one of the reasons why she is infatuated with him. But the look on his face when he saw and heard how those men were harassing her. It set something off within him. We do not know everything about his past as a child, but something must have happened to him back then to set off such a reaction.”
“I will be sure to remember that and hope I will never have to stop him when he is angry,” Laura said as she left by the same back door that Ignazio had taken.
The door led directly into the kitchen which was bustling with activity while the smell of baking bread and roasted meat made her mouth water. There was a large center island counter where most of the preparation was taking place. Four large sinks were up against a wall underneath some large windows looking out onto the street that ran by the house to the castle walls. In a corner were two large ovens for baking. Next to that was a roasting pit for meat and a large stove with a variety of pots and pans that were sizzling, steaming, and boiling.
Kathleen, Kimiko, and a couple of servants were all wearing the same grey attire and white aprons while they cooked. They were preparing breakfast for the entire household but, amidst the whirlwind of activity Kathleen saw Laura walk in and said, “My husband already told me that you will be leaving today and that you will need food for the journey. Just give us some time and we will have that sorted for you.”
“Is there anything I can do to help,” Laura said as she watched one woman slicing onions with lightning speed.
“You are our guest,” Kimiko said as she was cracking eggs into a bowl. “It is not necessary. Just continue to make your plans and relax. We will be done making breakfast soon.”
Laura left the bustling kitchen behind her as she entered back into the reception room as Ignazio was ushering a grumpy and still tired-looking Mel down the stairs.
“You know that old saying,” the blacksmith said to his nephew. “Late to bed, early to rise, makes a young wizard healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
“I can say with certainty dear uncle,” Mel said, a look of reproach on his face. “That is not how the saying goes.”
“In your case it is,” Ignazio said, letting out a laugh and spotting Laura. “Here is you wizard Laura! I will leave you two alone to discuss your plans and be back in a little while.”
With a bow to Laura, the blacksmith went back to his place of work and the two of them returned to the library. As they entered, she asked, “When we are successful in retrieving a Sleepless Swift, will you be able to create the potion on the way back to the inn?”
“Unfortunately not,” Mel said with a slight frown on his face. “We would still need the ingredients here and it would take too long to gather them all by ourselves. Even if that were not the case, I wouldn’t be able to fit my entire laboratory inside of the tent. So I will leave a list with Kathleen of what I will need. I will also tell her to gather them from different apothecary shops.”
“Curses,” Laura said, rubbing a finger along her scar. “I was hoping we would be able to save time if you could make it on our way back to the Inn, instead of having to come back to Burgos for you to make the potion. Oh well, the line has been cast and we will have to wait and see what bites. “Laura looked at the map, staring at where the Blackwood Forest was located. “Do you have any idea where we will find the bird?”
“They tend to make their nests on cliffs or other high places,” Mel said as he pointed to the map. “There are a series of hills deep in the forest that could be where they have their nesting grounds.”
“Then we should head out soon if we want to make it to the outskirts of the forest well before nightfall. I see there are two rivers that run out of the forest. The source of the water could be the high ground we are looking for.”
“The highest point of the Blackwoods is about here,” Mel said, pointing to an area deep in the forest on the map. “That is where we should go. So we need to travel 20 miles north to the forest, then we should travel along the outskirts until we can go directly through it to that location.”
Ignazio entered the library at that point and walked over to them. Glancing down at the map, his eyes widened in shock as he noticed the drawn line’s destination and said, “The Blackwood Forest!? You can not even be thinking of going there!”
“I don’t have a choice,” Laura said. “What I need is in that forest.”
“It is suicide,” the blacksmith railed. “If an entire army could be lost in that forest, what makes you two think you can survive in there?”
“I am a wizard,” Mel said.
“You never even finished your studies at the college,” Ignazio said. “Only fully accredited wizards dare enter that forest.”
“Uncle,” Mel’s easy going manner suddenly disappeared as his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. “My knowledge of magic will be more than sufficient for this journey. Do not let my lack of a college education result in you underestimating my abilities. Those fools at the Wizard’s College limit themselves by tradition and an inability to pursue new ideas and theories.”
“So you think you can handle all those creatures that are rumored to reside in the Blackwoods,” Ignazio said. “Tsuchinoko, the cockatrice, Fo Dogs, the Fei lan, Calopus, or the Feng Hwang? What about basilisks and Guitas? Should I go on?”
“We are aware of the dangers involved Senor Fernandez,” Laura said, staying calm in the wake of the blacksmith’s anger. “But I must repeat myself. What choice do we have? Such an item will not be found here and time is of the essence.”
A soft knock was heard at the door to the library, followed by it opening with Kathleen stepping through. She was still wearing her cooking outfit as she walked over to her husband and placed a calming hand on his arm as she said, “Laura, Kimiko and I have prepared food for your journey and it is being left by your horses. Now, what is my husband yelling about?”
“These lovely pair of Dobs,” her husband said, using the term that meant dumb goblin. “They insist on getting themselves killed by going to the Blackwood Forest.”
“Could you not go to the Wizard’s College,” Kathleen asked in a still calm voice though she had reacted in shock at the mention of the forest. “Surely they would have what you need?”
“I had not thought of that,” Laura admitted.
“It would take longer,” Mel said, as he shook his head at his aunt’s suggestion. “They could very well have the ingredients we need. But they would insist on coming up with their own solution and then test it. They would never even deign to look at the work of a self-taught wizard. No matter how sound my research and theories would be. No, we would have to wait a while as they talk and discuss things even before the potion would be made. This may be dangerous, but the more time we waste, the more memories the Lieutenant’s father could lose.”
“Well I do not approve of this plan.” Ignazio roared.
“Whether you approve or not dear,” the blacksmith’s wife said in a calm manner. “They are adults, not children. They are aware of the risks and are willing to go, even if I do not think it is a wise thing to do.” She looked at Laura as she continued, “Laura, please be sure to take care of Mel.”
“Why does she need to take care of me,” Mel said, throwing his hands up into the air. “I am the wizard here and, since you both have forgotten, wizards are the only ones who have gone into the forest and returned.”
The library door burst open with a loud bang as Diego came running in, his brother following right after, startling the group.
“What don’t you approve of father>” Diego said as the two boys slid to a halt. Jose was looking at the table and what was on it.
“Nothing you need concern yourself with,” Kathleen answered while her husband’s red face indicated that he was going to yell some more.
“Aww mom,” Diego said while Jose started to tug on his older brother’s shirt excitedly. Diego looked at what his brother was staring at and then exclaimed, “You’re going to the Blackwoods!?”
“Not so loud,” their mother said as she quickly closed the door. “You are not to tell anyone what you have discovered. Is that clear?”
“But,”Jose said.
“This information is classified,” Laura said, interrupting the young boy. “We can not let the enemy know and I cannot tell you anything more about my mission.”
“We understand Lieutenant,” Diego said, giving her a salute. “May the One protect you on your mission.” Diego then nudged his brother with an elbow and they both left the adults to keep talking.
But not before their father bellowed, “If I hear anything about this from you two, I will blister your backsides so that you will not be able to sit down for a week!”
“We should finish packing and be prepared to leave within the next hour or two.” Laura said.
“Not before you have had some breakfast,” Kathleen said. “I was coming to tell you that it was ready.”
The group left the library and went to the dining table where Alejandro and Kimiko were just sitting down with Diego and Jose. Ignazio took his customary position at the head of the table, his wife and sons on his right while he had Laura and Mel sit on his left. The tone around the table was somber and, while Alejandro and Kimiko were not aware of what was happening, they could see the serious expressions on everyone’s faces. That is, except for Diego and Jose who were fidgeting with excitement and wanting to ask questions about the mission.
Breakfast passed quickly and everyone separated to take care of their daily tasks and jobs. Laura and Mel quickly packed their things and started to load up their horses. Laura was happy to be riding her little black rouncey again who whinnied her customary greeting upon sight of her.
“I have missed riding you Barb,” Laura said, vigorously rubbing her horse;s head before saddling her up. She had put on her hooded cloak and put the hood up to ward off the chill. Her armor and weapons would be carried by Stomper. Laura would put on her gear when they would leave the city well behind them.
“You, not so much.” She directed that sentence at Stomper as she placed the saddle on him and started to weigh him down with their supplies and travel packs.
Stomper’s ears flattened as he realized that no one would be riding him and that he would be carrying gear. As he started to buck in order to try and get rid of his burden, Laura pulle don the reins, forcing the destrier to look at her. His nostrils were flaring as she said, “No, I need you to help me on this journey. Even if that means you need to carry our supplies.”
She led both horses outside into the courtyard where the Fernandez family were waiting for her and Mel. The sky was overcast with clouds, which gave the appearance that it would rain that day.
As soon as there was an audience, Stomper butted her in the back with his head and she stumbled to the ground. Immediately she got up and pointed a finger at the horse, with an angry glare that promised that there would be retribution one day.
The family laughed at the scene while Stomper did a little prance as Laura led the horses up to the steps where they all were watching from. Shortly after, Mel emerged with a brown horse of Ferghana descent with a barrel-rounded body, proportionately short legs, with straight forelegs, and a powerful crest. It was a fine looking animal that was of an ancient breed of horses.
As Mell walked up to them, wearing a rich, purple hooded cloak that covered black pants and a blue shirt, his aunts and cousins hugged him while wishing good luck and to be safe. As Ignazio strode up to his nephew, Mel braced himself as the blacksmith hugged him in a back-breaking embrace and, once again, Laura could have sworn she heard some bones crack. Alejandro simply shook his nephew’s hand with an apologetic smile for his brother’s enthusiastic goodbye.
Laura was taken by surprise when Diego and Jose then rushed over to her and hugged her like they did their cousin.
“Don’t forget your promise,” Diego said, reluctantly letting go.
“I won’t,” Laura said.
Kathleen and Kimiko hugged her in turn, both saying that they looked forward to her and Mel’s safe return. Alejandro shook her hand in farewell as Ignazio strode over to her. Laura did not know what to expect and braced herself in a similar fashion to Mel. However, unlike the back-breaking embrace she had seen the wizard receive, the blacksmith was far more gentle than she would have expected.
“You watch each other’s backs,” he whispered in her ear.
Laura simply nodded while Mel exclaimed, “Are you serious!? You cripple me with your hugs and yet you treat the soldier like a delicate flower!?”
“Be silent,” Ignazio roared at the top of his voice. “I am trying to build in you some character.” Then more softly he said,” Besides, if I hug her too much, my wife might punish me. She tends to get jealous whenever I talk or get near a pretty woman.”
A hard slap on the back of his head was the only response he got from his wife as he grinned and everyone else laughed.
While still laughing, Laura and Mel mounted their horses and moved off at a swift pace as the sound of laughter and goodbyes from the Fernandez family became distant. They were on their way to the Blackwood Forest which filled her with excitement, fear, and trepidation.
As the pair of them were just getting out of sight of the house, Laura turned around for a final look and saw a small figure running to the house. The flash of golden blond hair made it seem like it might have been Asta who had just missed saying goodbye.
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