It was hard to concentrate on the folks who dropped by my booth in droves all afternoon because of the rumors that were coming faster than a stream swollen by heavy spring rains. The fair was closing early, the fair was not closing early, the fair was not closing at all, and none of us could leave town. The Princess was in town, the Princess had left town, the Princess had canceled her appearances because she had taken ill. The Regent had declared, the Lord and Lady had declared, the frog under the overturned rain bucket had declared . . . The upshot of all the flying rumors was that no one really knew what was going on, but something definitely was in the wind. The problem was that none of us knew if it were a fair wind or an ill wind.
There were three distractions from all the rumors that afternoon. Evan’s friend Clare had been made a journeywoman, and so Evan and she were off celebrating and enjoying the afternoon, leaving us short handed. The second distraction was the worry I always felt for Da, but it was heightened this day, especially if wagons and folks were going to be scrutinized upon leaving town. The third and major distraction was with the threat of the fair closing early, many folks who might have waited until the last minute to purchase something, right at the time you wanted to be closing and packing up, were crowding the booths now. I felt sorry for Master Clarisse, for she was tending her booth alone, so we opened up the barrier between our two booths, and Master Clarisse, Shyla, and I were working together. When Master Clarisse had given Evan the afternoon off, she had not anticipated the rush we now faced.
As the fair day began to wind down, I asked Shyla to wait on the last trickle of customers and went to the back of my cart to begin to rearrange the interior, just in case the fair closed early tomorrow. We had talked about that possibility and wanted to be ready to hitch up horses and wagons and be at the beginning of the line to leave the town. If they really intended to check every wagon and everyone leaving, it was going to be a long wait. The longer the delay, the higher tempers would rise. None of us wanted to be here if things began to get ugly. I had pretty much moved everything out of the cart and was almost through moving it all back in, when I was startled by a tap on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry to have startled you, Nissa,” said Shyla in her quiet manner, “but there is a gentleman here who insists on talking to you.”
“Do you know who he is?” I inquired.
“He’s a rover unfamiliar to me. A short older man,” Shyla answered back.
I had a feeling I knew who she was talking about, so I told her to invite him back behind the booth. Just as I put the last of the items back in the cart, I looked up to see Shueller standing just a little ways from me.
“A quiet word I would have with you, if you don’t mind, about pilcher cream. Is there somewhere we can talk?” There was something in his voice that made me take notice.
“I would think my campsite might be the closest,” I remarked, as I closed the door to the cart. “Let me make some arrangements for watching the booth and I’ll be right with you.”
I quickly rounded the cart and asked Shyla and Master Clarisse if they would watch the booth. To Shyla, I asked if she would close and lock everything up, if I were not back by the time the end of the fair day horn sounded. Once that was taken care of, I rounded the back of the cart and motioned the shoemaker to follow me. When we arrived at my homewagon, I went to the rear and asked him to join me on the back steps. Carz, who was sleeping in the shade under the homewagon, crawled out and stretched his body out, first his back legs and then his front legs, before he padded up to greet me and check Shueller out. The shoemaker must have passed muster for Carz settled himself at our feet. I noted there was an alertness about him, so that while he might look as if he were lazing in the sun, I knew he was not quite as relaxed as he appeared. I wondered if he were cautious because the shoemaker was here and a stranger to him, or if there were something else. Carz was pretty sensitive to the humans around him, and he may have been picking up on the general tension which seemed to hover like a low fog over the fair this day.
Both Shueller and I discreetly glanced around to check if anyone were within listening distance, but the campground was fairly deserted. Even Mistress Jalcones was not here. I suspected she was out doing some last minute shopping for supplies, something I had hoped to have time to do this day too. I did not have any more time to think about that, or other chores I had to do before I hit the road again, because Shueller started talking in a very quiet voice.
“Since you did not question me as to what in the world pilcher cream was, I could conclude one of two things. One, you really do not know very much about herbs or medicinal plants and were trying not to look ignorant, or two, you do know about herbs and medicinal plants and also know the significance of pilcher cream. I decided to take a chance that you fit category two, and your being Neebing blessed led me to take a chance on having this brief conversation with you.”
“Go on,” I said cautiously.
“I’m closing up and leaving the fair this day rather than waiting for tomorrow. I don’t want to get caught in the madness of tomorrow should the rumors of an early closing and wagon inspections become reality.”
This was all very interesting, but I did not know how it had anything to do with me. After all, I really did not know this man, except for buying boots from him and having for some reason wanted to give him the plaque I had carved.
“I would ask a boon of you. I know you don’t know me and have no reason to trust me, but nevertheless, I would ask,” stated Shueller.
It was not going to hurt me to listen, I supposed, and I was not obligated to agree, so I indicated he should go ahead.
“Do you know the old roads to Springwell-over-Hill?”
“I haven’t traveled them personally, but I have a map,” I answered cautiously.
“Are you leaving tomorrow?” he asked.
“As soon as the fair closes, which according to rumor could be anytime tomorrow, unless they don’t allow us to leave.”
“I don’t think even the Regent’s representatives are that arrogant or that stupid. They are incurring the wrath of both the townsfolk and the nobility of Snoddleton, plus the merchants, the guilds, and the other participants of the fair to even suggest a check out procedure,” the shoemaker stated strongly. “But about that boon. Would you mind showing me your map?”
I was hesitant, but since the shoemaker had first mentioned pilcher cream when I had visited his booth, I had been thinking about the note Da had left for me in the puzzle box I had found in the root cellar back home. While I was not yet to the capitol and had not hung a green banner off the back of the homewagon, a signal to those who would seek me out and could be considered a friend, this man did know about pilcher cream.
Noting my uncertainty, Shueller said, “Had you been camped near me, you would have seen a green banner hanging off the back of my homewagon. I think we have some mutual friends in common.”
I excused myself to go into my homewagon and fetch the map. Rather than take it outside, I suggested to Shueller that he move to the front of the homewagon. While he walked around, I walked through the homewagon and climbed the steps to the front door. Unlocking it, I leaned out and indicated that Shueller should come up. I unrolled my map and spread it out on the front seat, which rested below eye level, should someone stroll by.
After studying the map for some time, Shueller asked if I had something he could use to draw with and add some notes. I was somewhat reluctant to leave him with the map when I went back into the homewagon to fetch a pen and ink. To my great relief, he was still standing there tracing a line on the map with his finger when I returned.
“This is going to take me a few minutes, if you don’t mind. Your map is a bit out of date. There are a few roads that now are washed out, a few that have reopened, and some new campsites to add to your map.” Having gained my consent, Shueller swiftly began to add lines and marks. “There, that should help. Now, here is the boon I have to ask of you. Do you see this lane here that branches off from the royal road about an hour’s ride from Snoddleton, heading southeast?”
“Yes.”
“If you follow that lane about another hour or two, there is a smaller lane that branches off and leads you due east through the hills into the next valley. Note the landmarks listed beside each turn. They are still current and easily recognizable, even near dark. You shouldn’t miss them, if you are paying attention. Once you come through the hills, you should come to a shallow stream, and just beyond that there is a small strand of woods and a good campsite. See this very faint line here on your map?”
I nodded yes to indicate I was following along.
“It’s about a quarter of a day’s ride from the campsite. It takes you south through a small valley, which is primarily occupied by sheep for summer grazing and a few lone shepherds, but they are usually found in the valley bottom and not in the wooded areas. This faint path runs along the top of the eastern hill through the woods. It is narrow but certainly able to accommodate your homewagon, and when last I traveled it, it was clear. It was built a long, long time ago to connect the valley dwellers to the next valley south. The villages that were there have long since fallen to ruin, for the soil couldn’t support crops, and so now it is just grazing land for sheep. I would ask you to meet me here,” he said pointing to a mark three-quarters down the faded line.
“Why?” I asked.
“Now is the time I need you to trust me, even when you have no reason to. It is better that you don’t know the reason why, so if anyone were to inquire as to what you are doing anywhere along the road, you can honestly say, you thought it would be a less crowded way to travel than the royal road,” he answered.
“There is one major problem with your request. My friends won’t understand why I am all of a sudden changing plans and traveling off alone. As a matter of fact, I don’t think they would graciously let me.”
“Do you trust them?”
“Yes.”
It was then that I realized that I had grown to really trust the friends that I had been traveling with: Beezle, Master Clarisse, Evan, the Jalcones, and the two rover families. I would need to talk with them, and among us we would figure out what to do when we left tomorrow. I wondered if it would be best if we stuck together or if we split up?
Shueller must have read what I had been thinking and said, “The smaller you can make your group the better, for you will be less noticeable. Can I count on you?”
Some of the urgency in the small shoemaker’s voice convinced me that this boon he was asking was a serious one, and this was a decision I should not make lightly. I really had no reason to trust this man, and yet, and yet . . . What was it about him that made me want to say yes? I would probably never know, but I found myself agreeing that I would meet him at the spot he had indicated on the map, hopefully no later than noon the day after next. When he left, I carefully re-rolled the map, put it back in the homewagon, locked both the doors, and asked Carz to stand guard. He seemed to understand my request. I arrived back at my booth in time to help Shyla close up and then headed back to the campsite and dinner. Now all I had to do was figure out how to approach my friends with this idea of traveling a different route, based on the request of a shoemaker they did not know and had not met, or so I thought.
I had pulled Oscar aside just before dinner and asked if he would talk to Bertram, and would they both meet with me after dinner. I asked if they could maybe send the children off to tend to the horses or something. I also asked the Jalcones, Beezle, Master Clarisse, and Evan to meet with me. That was the easy part. The hard part was trying to explain what I wanted without a really good reason why. After the children had gone off to their respective chores, the rest of us pulled our camp chairs close together in a circle.
“I wanted you all to know that I am planning to travel to Springwell-over-Hill by way of the back roads rather than by the royal road. I need to look for some special plants that are used in making pilcher cream,” I said, looking at Oscar and Bertram to judge their reaction. Had I not been looking, I would have missed a look that passed between them.
“Well, now, lass, I think Bertram and I will be taking the main road for we want to get there early because . . .” and at this point he seemed to hesitate.
“. . . because we want to get prime sites for camping,” Bertram jumped in smooth as can be. “We’ll arrange for us to be put together if at all possible and save you a good spot when you get there. Mayhap the Jalcones will help us?”
“We might be a little late ourselves,” stated Trader Jalcones. “Master Rollag came by this day and asked if we could take a few items to Spaglund Manor, which is a quarter of a day’s ride west of the royal road. Seems he had meant to send them with one of his drivers, that Smed fellow, when he sent him off this day, but plain forgot. Said it probably worked out better this way for Spaglund Manor would have been out of the way. We certainly don’t mind, since the Glassmakers Guild pays well.”
It was a good thing I had gotten really good at hiding my emotions where Da was concerned. To know he was already out of the town took away a great deal of the stress I had been feeling all day.
“I, for one, have had enough of crowds for one week. I think I would enjoy traveling by the back byways, if that is alright with you,” stated Master Clarisse. “Master Rollag has requested Evan’s company for the journey to Springwell-over-Hill.” Master Clarisse glanced at Evan as she said this and noted the somewhat pained look on Evan’s face. “It won’t be so bad lad. You have kept up with your studies, and I would rather have Master Rollag quizzing me than a panel of masters somewhere down the road.” Master Clarisse noticed that Evan did not look convinced.
Master Clarisse then turned to Beezle and asked, “What are your plans, Beezle?”
“It appears that word has gotten back to my uncle that I am rather good at promoting our cheeses, and he wants me to travel on to the next fair at the very least. If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep you and Nissa company. Uncle is sending a cart load of cheese down from both his estates and mine. The cart I was selling out of is headed back to be loaded up for the fair after next, so I would appreciate room for my gear in your wagon Master Clarisse, if that would be agreeable to you.”
Master Clarisse agreed that Beezle’s gear could travel in her wagon. With everybody’s travel plans sorted out, and the knowledge that Oscar and his brother would reserve spots for everybody at the next fair, the group broke up. We all used the remaining daylight to get our respective wagons and packs packed so that we could leave as soon as the fair closed the next day, or at least leave as soon as we could.
On the one hand I was sorry that our entire group would not be traveling together. On the other hand I was relieved, for I did not know just what we were heading into. While I did not want to put my friends in jeopardy, I was also grateful I was not taking this next leg of the journey alone.