I brought the light closer so I could make out the tiny writing on the paper. It read:
This ring is no longer safe with me, friend of Haakens.
Others seek it along with Haakens. Guard it well.
Keep it hidden. Be careful who you trust.
It needs to be made whole again like our land.
Take . . .
It looked like the writer, presumably Mistress Fern, had meant to write more but had not the time or the chance. Just great. Now along with a missing Da, tunnels under the cottage we never knew about, going on the road and who knew where that would lead me, being snatched off the street and held captive, now I have a ring I need to keep safe, and a riddle. “It needs to be made whole again.” Now just what did that mean? And just who is Haakens anyway?
Since I was not going to solve any of these questions this night, I found a bit of stout cord and tied the ring on it, placing the cord around my neck and tucking it in my shirt. Seemed the safest place for it at the moment. As the ring touched my bare skin, I felt a flair of heat and then only the weight of the cord around my neck. When the opportunity arose, I would need to buy a fine chain. Because the ring got me thinking about pretty baubles, I remembered the colored glass I had gotten from the glassworks and thought perhaps the Neebings might like them. I picked out several, one blue and one green, and put them in the Neebing room before collapsing on my bed. Surprisingly, sleep came quickly.
I woke suddenly to a pounding on the side of the homewagon, and my heart quickly jumped into my throat, remembering the last time there was a pounding on my homewagon. I finally recognized the voice when I could hear it over the beating of my heart.
“Come on sleepyhead, you going to sleep the day away?” called Journeywoman Clarisse.
“Alright, I’m awake. I’ll be right out,” I called back as I scrambled into my clothes and grabbed my pack.
Carz, who had sprawled out on the bed, opened one eye to look at me, yawned showing all of his teeth, and laid his head down, placing a paw over his eyes. “I take it that you are not going to accompany me this day. I’ll leave the top of the front door open for you. Don’t make a pest of yourself with Mistress Jalcones, and don’t try to tell me she isn’t slipping you treats all day.” Carz did not even twitch an ear in reply.
Journeywoman Clarisse again pounded on the homewagon. In my hurry, I almost forgot to tuck the ring beneath my shirt, and that might have created questions I did not want to answer.
The final day of the fair was almost a let down. Many of the merchants began to close up their booths by midday. Because sales were slow to nonexistent, I began to pack most of my stock and tools away in preparation for moving the cart back to the campsite at the end of the day. It was about mid-afternoon when one of the masters from the guildhall came to the booth and asked Journeywoman Clarisse if she would please come with her. The master begged my pardon but said it was important. With her was a journeyman who she instructed to pack Journeywoman Clarisse’s stock for safe travel and put it in her wagon, which was parked in back of the guildhall. I did not know if I should be worried.
Once the two were heading up the steps of the guildhall, the journeyman who had introduced himself as Journeyman David said, “Do not worry for your friend, rover. All will be well, you’ll see.”
He then turned away, began carefully packing the delicate glass items and did not invite further discussion. Journeywoman Clarisse was still not back when the final horn sounding the end of the fair blew. Journeyman David helped me disassemble the booth, and as I was hitching up the cart, said he would be my escort back to the campsite. It was a very silent walk back.
We had almost finished dinner by the time Journeywoman Clarisse’s wagon rolled in, and to my surprise, Evan was riding with her. He hopped down from the wagon, and with a dramatic flick of his cloak over his shoulder and a grand sweep of his arm, he said in a very pompous voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, children and cat, may I present Master Clarisse.”
A bright red color crept up from the now Master Clarisse’s neck as she jumped down from her wagon and playfully swatted Evan. The rest of us applauded and cheered. When the noise died down, Mistress Jalcones, who was the most practical of us, asked if the two had eaten.
Once she had each of them settled with a plate of dinner in their hands, I said, “Made Master this afternoon, aye? Well, that’s one way to get out of packing up your part of the booth.”
“No one was more surprised than I was,” Master Clarisse answered back, “and I am sorry about not being there to help close up. I hope Journeyman David helped you once he was done with my wares.”
“Not a problem. The afternoon was slow and so I was pretty much packed away and ready to take the booth down at the end of the fair. Journeyman David was very helpful and even walked back with me. Who arranged that? Not that I minded, mind you.”
“Probably Master Rollag. He was less than overjoyed when he heard about your abduction. He has taken quite a shine to you, I think. Not so much a shine to me, however, for along with the new pressure of being a master, he has assigned Evan to me as my apprentice. I cannot imagine what I have done so wrong in my life to have to carry this burden,” Master Clarisse sighed, going for a mournful look but not quite being successful. Evan, however, was much more successful at looking crestfallen.
Oscar just slapped his knee and let out a belly laugh that could be heard all over camp. “Auk, ’tis going to be a fun journey with those two traveling with us,” he said between chuckles. “Congratulations Master Clarisse on both being made Master and for acquiring such a fine apprentice. If the burden gets too much for you, I am sure we can put the lad to work. Maybe even make a rover out of him.”
“Much as I have enjoyed this folderol and foolishness, not to mention a fine meal and your good wishes, I had best put my new apprentice to work helping me rearrange the wagon so his gear is stowed properly and doesn’t fall off the back on the first major rut we hit in the road. Come along, apprentice,” Master Clarisse said in a mock stern voice. “Best hop to and earn your keep.” This display of being in command was somewhat spoiled by the wink she gave him.
I went through the routine of making sure everything was ready to go the next morning, once again looking to see that there was firewood for the next folks to camp there, checking that the fire was truly out, hauling water to top off the water barrels, inspecting the wheels and tack to make sure all were in order, hitching up the cart, and other chores. It struck me that I was just a bit jealous of the others I would be traveling with for they all had someone to share the long hours on the road, and while I had Carz, he was not a great conversationalist. I missed my family, as small as it was, and I missed the villagers. This must be what loneliness felt like.
Not one normally prone to self pity, I shook off the melancholy I was feeling and with a last look around to see if I had missed something, I went inside. Once there, it struck me that in my hurry to get going this morning, I had not checked the Neebing room so I cranked it up and opened it. At first I thought there was nothing there but then the light glinted off something shiny. I figured it was probably the light reflecting off of one of the glass baubles I had put in the night before, but when I reached in, my hand closed around a small circle of metal which was surprisingly warm. I pulled it out, slowly opened my fingers and there in my palm was a ring very similar to the one Mistress Fern had left in the puzzle box. Had the Neebings left it? Quickly I pulled out the cord with the ring that hung around my neck and placed the first ring side by side in my hand with the ring I had just found. They were both gold, they looked almost alike, but the twists in them were slightly different and the grooves just slightly off. Not a matched pair but close. What was I to make of this?
Just to be sure, I looked again into the Neebing room and saw what I had not seen before. A sheet of paper, very much the color of the room’s wall, was jammed against the side of the room. I carefully removed it trying not to tear the paper. On the outside there was written one word. It said “Nissa” in a handwriting I knew as well as my own. I opened the paper and read:
Nissa,
Tried to get close enough to talk to you at the fair, but your booth was always being watched as was your homewagon during the day. Do not think they were watching you personally, but rather, they are watching rovers in general. The two men in the tent who say they are farmers are not what they seem. Hold on to this ring. It is important. I have had too many close calls to continue to keep it. I will try to find a way to meet with you in two weeks at the fair in Crestbury. Too dangerous to meet before then. Destroy this message. Hope the Neebings do not mind I switched gifts. Stay safe.
A friend of Haakens
I sat down abruptly. Da had been here. He had been here. So close. At least I knew that as of yesterday, he had been alive. I sat for a very long time holding the paper to my chest, reluctant to let go of even this little piece of Da. Finally, I opened the door to the small wood stove, put the paper in, and lit it. I watched until I was sure all of it had been consumed and then pushed the ash around with a stick to make sure there was nothing left. I hoped no one noticed the wisp of smoke coming from the chimney stack.
All at once, I was very angry. Da should have found a way to see me. No, that was not fair, but at the very least he could have written a longer note and let me know what was going on. No, that was not fair either. He was being cautious. So far, it would seem I was just another rover to those who were looking for him and had not been discovered to be Thorval Pedersen’s daughter. Even Da had addressed the note to Nissa rather than to Arial, so if the note had been found by someone other than me, that connection still might not have been made, and he had not signed his name.
Resigned that I would have to wait at least another two weeks for contact with Da, I pulled the cord over my head, untied it, slipped the cord through the new ring, retied the cord, and tucked the rings beneath my shirt. Where the rings touched my bare skin, heat flared and then once again I could only feel the weight of the cord.
One could only wish that at least one of the note writers this day could have been more informative. First, Mistress Fern’s note was not finished, and then, Da’s note was cryptic at best. Now, I had two rings that two folks in one day felt were too dangerous for them to keep. What made my having them any less dangerous? Then, of course, let us not forget the two “farmers” across the way. I would give anything to have just a few minutes of Da’s time to get some explanation, or at the very least some direction, as to what I was to do next besides travel on and keep the rings hidden. Just what had he gotten me into anyway?
I was not any closer to figuring out the answers to my questions by the time morning arrived. I felt like I had been awake most of the night, tossing and turning. It was with great reluctance and just a bit of grousing that I crawled out of bed and splashed some cold water on my face to try to wake myself up. The sky had just begun to lighten, though the sun had not even risen yet, when I stepped out of the homewagon and began to hitch up Flick and Clover. Master Clarisse and Evan were up and had their wagon ready to go. It was going to be a cold breakfast morning, for all of us were anxious to get on the road. Even with traveling all day for two days, we were still going to miss the first day of the fair at Glendalen.
I checked the Neebing door one last time, but it was empty, so I cranked it back up and made sure it was secure. I was just checking under the homewagon to make sure everything was in order when I heard cussing coming from the “farmers”. Looking over, I could see that their horses’ bridles were in a jumble, and the reins were all knotted up. It would take time and considerable patience to untie them. One of the men sat down to work on the knots, and the other stalked off to get their horses, only to discover that they had somehow gotten loose. Every time he got close enough to one of the horses to put a halter on it, it moved just out of reach. Looked like the two “farmers” were going to have a very late start to their day.