The merchant gently patted Tedi’s shoulder. “Is that true, son? I don’t mean the part about you stealing it. I mean about the only thing she left you. It seems to me from our earlier conversation, that she left you something she loved a whole lot more than that necklace. It also seems that both you and your father have forgotten that. Taking care of his pain is your job now and yours, his. Talk to him before you run away, lad.”
Tedi gazed at the merchant’s glistening eyes and nodded. “I will, Master Khatama, I will.” Tedi turned and ran back to the clearing getting there just moments before his father and Master Clava arrived. His father was walking unsteadily and mostly supported by Arik’s father. Master Clava also had a long duffel bag slung over his shoulder by a strap. The bag was stuffed solid and he rolled it off his shoulder and onto the ground.
“Tedi,” Master Clava ordered, “there is a pot and some coffee in there. Get some water from the stream and make a pot of it. Arik, forage through those provisions and round up something to eat for the four of us.”
Arik’s father eased Master Markel to a sitting position with his back against a tree. Konic sat next to him and talked quietly. Arik could not quite hear what was being said, but Tedi’s father stiffened and his eyes opened wide and he started nodding his head. The only word Arik thought he heard was Empress and it made no sense to him. Tedi finished with the coffee and took two cups over to the men. Konic sat his on the ground and held the other to Alan’s lips.
“What were they talking about?” Arik whispered to Tedi when he returned from delivering the coffee.
“I don’t know,” Tedi softly replied. “They stopped talking as soon as I approached them.” After a few moments Tedi continued. “You know, Arik, I’ve been a fool for three years. It took an old merchant to show me what was in front of my face the whole time. I’ve been so selfish and feeling sorry for myself over my mother’s disappearance that I couldn’t see how much he was hurting. At first, I thought my mother’s disappearance was just an excuse for him to start drinking and after a while I just mentally belittled him for not being able to control himself. The old man made me realize that I’m part of the reason that he still drinks. I shut him out of my life and made his loss twice as bad and my own, as well.”
Arik looked across the campfire and saw the tears welling up in Tedi’s eyes. “You really ought to tell him that, Tedi. I can keep my father busy for a while.” Arik stood up and called across the clearing. “Dad, I need you for a moment.”
Master Clava stared at the two boys near the campfire wondering what was so urgent that Tedi couldn’t help Arik with. He saw Tedi hesitantly start to walk over to where he and Alan sat and decided to find out. By the time he got to the campfire, he looked back to see Tedi kneeling next to his father. “What is it, son?” he asked Arik.
Arik walked over and hugged his father. “I just want to thank you for being here for me,” he choked. He smiled when he looked past his father and saw Tedi and Master Markel doing the same.
“I’ll always be there for you, son,” Konic replied. “As I know you will always be there for me.” Konic turned to see what Arik was staring at and sighed softly. “Now that is a sight I have longed to see, Arik. Whatever trouble this witch has brought, she has brought some good, too.”
Breaking the embrace and tending to the boiling pot, Arik asked, “What are we going to do about her, Dad? What is it she wants?”
Konic poured himself another cup of coffee and sat on a log staring into the fire. “I don’t know, son. I asked around about her and determined that she did find out where we live. I didn’t get much of an idea why she is so interested in us, though. I did have many people offer their sympathies about my boy running away up North, though,” he chuckled.
“It seemed to be the best way of getting rid of her,” admitted Arik. “I hope it works. It looks like you brought enough stuff to stay out here a month.”
“Always be prepared, son,” Konic smiled, “always be prepared. I’ll check in with Master Tern later tonight and first thing in the morning. We’ll know if she takes the bait.”
Konic lapsed into silence and Arik tried to pick up traces of Tedi’s conversation. The only things that Arik could out pick between the cricket chirps and the wind fluttering the leaves was the word necklace and an admonishment for Tedi to promise something.
Eventually, the weak soup was ready and Tedi and his father came over to the campfire. Master Markel looked steadier and more determined than anytime that Arik could remember. There wasn’t much talk around the campfire, but Arik noticed the two Markels sitting closer and more comfortably than he would have imagined before tonight.
After a while, Konic Clava rose and walked silently out of the campground. He returned about an hour later wearing a smile. “She already left,” he declared. “Master Tern said she was in such a hurry that she didn’t even ask for a refund for the room she had already paid for.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Master Markel sighed. “Konic, I would like to go fishing with you for a few days if you will have me, starting tomorrow.”
Konic smiled at his old friend as he eased himself to a seat by the fire. “You are always welcome in my boat, Alan. I have a new spot I would like to try.”
“It is good to have such a friend,” Alan said warmly. “That will give Tedi enough time to earn what we need to fix my boat properly so I may begin getting my life back together.”
Tedi touched the necklace around his neck and his father shook his head slowly. “No, Tedi, you will go with Arik hunting. When we have enough money, we will rebuild our boat together.”
Tedi beamed as his father put his shaking arm around his son and hugged him. Master Markel’s brown eyes shone with a determination that had been absent for too long. Tedi knew the next few days would be very hard on his father and being out at sea with Master Clava was just what his father needed.
Everyone sat around the campfire in silence, lost in his own thoughts. The sounds of the waves lapping steadily at the shore and the crickets’ melody in the woods were peaceful and calming.
Konic was the first to stir as he went to the long duffel bag and pulled out some blankets. He handed one to each of the group and rolled his into a pillow. “Not much sense going back to town tonight,” he announced. “It’s been a while since I camped out, but the night is fair and I am tired. First up should put on a pot of coffee.” With that he stretched out on the ground and went to sleep. Everyone soon followed.
Arik awoke to the smell of coffee and oatmeal. He sat up and looked around. It took a while for him to get his bearings and realize where he was. The two men were quietly cleaning up the campground. The only things not packed in the duffel bag were two cups and bowls and the oatmeal and coffee pots that were on the fire as well as the two blankets that he and Tedi were using. Arik leaned over and shook Tedi, who groggily awoke.
Konic looked over at the two sleepy-eyed boys. “Morning comes early and the fish won’t wait,” he chuckled. “You boys clean up and store the gear somewhere safe before you go off hunting. I think we will spend a few more days camping out if that is not objectionable to anyone.” Master Markel was whistling a tune gaily as the two men headed towards the boat.
Arik got himself some coffee and filled a cup for Tedi. “Your father seems in a good mood this morning,” he remarked. “What did you say to him last night?”
Tedi rubbed his eyes and reached for the cup. “Just something the merchant made me realize,” he answered softly. “I think your father had already softened him up by the time I spoke to him, though. Whatever the cause, it sure makes me feel good. I’m not going to be getting into any more trouble.”
The boys cleaned up the camp and stowed the bag before taking off in search of game. They hunted for a couple of hours and finally decided to head back to town. Arik had caught five rabbits and Tedi three. “I said we could be partners and split the take,” Arik began, “and I meant it.”
Tedi shook his head and laughed. “No way, fisherboy,” he chuckled. “You may have out-hunted me today, but tomorrow it will be my turn.”
The boys laughed all of the way to the Fisherman’s Inn. Master Tern was in a good mood this morning as well, although it was already later than when Arik usually showed up and customers were already eating breakfast.
“So, we have two hunters now, eh?” quipped Esta Tern. “Show me what you’ve brought for my guests. That bag doesn’t look big enough to hold a deer.”
While Arik dumped the contents of the bag and talked with Master Tern, Tedi strode over to the doorway to the common room. He began gazing at the strange and different costumes the travelers wore, wondering where they were coming from and where they were going. So little was known about the outside world and most travelers were not the talkative type. His eyes settled on a dark figure in the dimly lit corner of the common room.
