Page 9 of The Ashborn

I can’t learn if he doesn’t show up.

Ruva huffed. That much is true.

Ru? Kienna ran her fingers along the grooves of a child’s toy shaped like a dog. The details of the fur were so intricate, each strand meticulously carved one by one.

Little Flame?

Do you think this is the man Maren wanted me to find?

I hope so.

Kienna waited for an hour before the woodcarver eventually stumbled into the shop, reeking of rum. Kienna couldn’t determine whether the wrinkles in his clothes were a product of his current state or if he hadn’t bothered to iron them out initially. Strands of dark gray hair poked out in unruly places from his unkept beard, but even in his disarray, Kienna was surprised to find that his hazel-brown eyes were lifeless. She stood as he stumbled in.

He grumbled and walked to the door in the back of the shop. “Sweep the floors and tidy up. I’ll be in my workshop.”

Kienna hummed in protest. “Sweep?” Her lips remained parted as she dared to challenge her new employer. Sweeping wouldn’t help her with anything. “I was hoping, as a woodcarver’s apprentice, I would be working with, I don’t know, wood. I’ve been carving my whole life.”The man rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

“Calder, please. I⁠—”

“Master Calder,” he corrected, pausing as he slipped a key into the lock to open the back door. “You’re my apprentice. Do as you’re told.” With that, he shut himself in.

Kienna sighed as she looked around. This couldn’t have been the woodcarver Maren wanted her to find. He was disheveled and didn’t care that she was there, and she wasn’t confident he would have any information for her.

Doubt soured her mouth. Doubt of Maren’s credibility. Doubt the true woodcarver even existed. Maybe that was why no one would answer her questions. Maybe there was no carver at all. Kienna took in her lot, not quite ready to abandon this part of her mission and return to Elowen’s cottage. She found a battered straw broom and swept for most of the day.

Three large piles of sawdust sat in various places around the space by sunset when the woodcarver stumbled out. Kienna stood from wiping a low-hanging shelf and waited to be addressed. He moved slowly, dropped a bag of coins on the table, and walked out.

Are we eating veal tonight? Ruva asked, as if she could sense Kienna staring at the black velvet in front of her.

Kienna reached her hand out, the pulled back. It feels weird taking that.

You worked today. Do we not deserve to eat?

I swept today.

Ruva growled in her mind. It was a job well done. Let’s go.

Kienna grabbed the velvet bag, heavier than she expected, and left the workshop. She paused at the door. Master Calder didn’t give her a key or indicate she should lock up, and, dammit, it was his job to communicate his preferences, so Kienna decided she wouldn’t give a shit. Except…she did give a shit. She huffed as she reentered the shop and searched until she found a key under a pot beside the door.

That is so unsafe, she said to Ruva. Ruva didn’t respond. She approached from the alley and sat, boring her silver eyes into Kienna. I’m sorry. I know you’re hungry. You know you can hunt, right?

Yes, but the animals bouncing around outside aren’t seasoned with that special cream that they use at the Elarent House. I like the cream.

Domestication is a bad look for you.

Ruva bristled. Kienna locked the shop and leaned to place the key back under the pot but hesitated. He had a lot of valuable items inside. All those carvings for sale. The tools. It’d be a shame if anyone found the key and robbed him clean. She put it in her pocket instead. If today’s arrival were any indication of the schedule he kept, she’d be there well before the woodcarver anyway.

Alright, Ru. Let’s get you some veal.

—Danek—

Danek and Broan sparred on a floating island in Trinity where the Duskveil Battalion trained every day. The island hovered above rolling forests, rivers, and distant mountains, with waterfalls spilling over its edges into the endless sky below. Broan said he didn’t want to go to this island, what with their illusions being too precise, and he wasn’t looking for nightmares. He preferred the Thornclad, which was closest to the earth. As an earth mage, the Thornclad gave him more strength. Except, Broan didn’t need more, and he had quite a handle on the reins of training. Danek wanted to try illusions.

Conjuring fireflies and creating melodies of whispers as the wind went by was cool, but the moment one of the Elvish soldiers projected an illusion to a River Storm soldier, making their mind crumble within itself…well, there was no competing with that. Melodies be damned.

Broan stood tall as he tried to summon the earth but came up short. Small stones hesitantly rose before they fell, crumbling over the side of the island. The Eternal Mother blocked him, as she would on any other island not being used for its specific purpose.

“That’s fucking shit,” Broan said, kicking at the dirt. “This island is messing with my fucking head.”