Chapter 241: The Road Beyond the Markers

Ren woke when Tovan dropped the cooking pot.

It struck the ground with a dull clang, rolled against a stone, and stopped beside Pell's foot.

Pell looked down at it.

“You could have handed it to me.”

“You said you didn't want it.”

“I said I wasn't cleaning it again.”

“You were the one who burned the bottom.”

“The food didn't burn.”

Ren stayed beneath his sleeping cover while Tovan began explaining why a pot could be damaged even when the food inside remained edible. Pell interrupted him, and someone farther inside the shelter complained that neither of them needed to discuss the matter before breakfast.

Ren reached across his bedding.

His hand met the folded edge of his spare cover.

At home, Nia might have been tucked against him, with Kael and Shen close enough that someone would have stirred when he moved. He kept his hand there for a moment before sitting up.

Outside, the air was cool, and moisture still clung to the shaded ground. Ren washed, dressed, and joined the carriers preparing for the day's travel.

Barek sat beside the covered goods with the morning record open across his knee. Tovan had stopped arguing long enough to help another man adjust the binding on his shoulder pole.

“Anything troublesome?” Ren asked.

“Nothing with the goods.” Barek closed the record. “Pell says he won't cook tonight if Tovan keeps complaining.”

“Will he?”

“Cook? Probably. Complain? Certainly.”

Ren accepted the record.

Their party had left Hearthfang with deliveries promised to buyers along the eastern route and a smaller selection of merchandise available for trade. Barek had kept the committed deliveries separate from the other goods.

Ren checked the entries for their next stop and handed the record back.

“Ready after breakfast?”

“We should be.”

Barek went to help with the last covering while Ren joined the others near the fire.

Pell served warm grain with preserved meat stirred through it. Tovan had seated himself opposite the fire and was repairing a loose stitch in his carrying strap.

Ren accepted a bowl.

The grain was soft, and the meat had flavored it well. A little sourness would have suited his taste. Nia might have found something in their provisions to add, though she would have tasted the food before deciding it needed anything.

Pell settled beside him.

“Is there something wrong with it?”

“No. I was thinking about breakfast at home.”

“Ah.”

Pell ate another mouthful.

“Tell Nia we fed you properly.”

“I will.”

“Especially if you start telling her how you'd have seasoned it.”

Ren smiled and returned to his breakfast.

They left once everyone had finished eating and secured their loads.

The trading ground stood where two traveled paths met.

A broad shelter occupied one side of the clearing, and sellers had arranged goods across low platforms, woven coverings, and flat stones. Travelers moved between the stalls while carriers made their way toward the places set aside for loading.

Ren recognized several faces before he reached the shelter.

A woman bargaining over a prepared hide had drawn a small audience. Each time she questioned the quality, the seller began talking about how difficult the material had been to obtain.

She finally interrupted him.

“I understand that it was difficult to bring here. I'm asking about the thin place near the edge.”

The seller lowered the hide so they could examine it together.

Ren continued past them.

Near the shelter entrance, a merchant who sold woven travel covers greeted him.

“You're back sooner than I expected.”

“I had business waiting.”

“I heard that. I also heard you'd taken a mate.”

“That part's true.”

The man smiled and offered his congratulations.

“Will she come traveling with you?”

“Not on this journey. She's at Hearthfang with our household.”

“Perhaps next time, then.”

“I'd like that.”

A buyer approached while they were talking. She wanted a cover light enough to carry herself but strong enough to protect two baskets during rain.

The seller showed her a reinforced weave. She tested the weight, decided it was too heavy, and chose a smaller cover instead.

Ren examined the heavier material after she left.

The stitching was sound, but he wasn't looking for another burden to add to their loads. He asked the price anyway, then put the cover back.

“Not today?” the seller asked.

“Not today.”

“Come back if you change your mind.”

Ren thanked him and went to meet the merchant who had set aside his agreed purchase.

Four cloth-wrapped packets of dried fruit rested beneath a protective covering. The seller brought out the sample Ren had requested when arranging the exchange.

Ren tasted a small piece.

The fruit retained a tartness that made him think Nia would enjoy it, although he had bought the packets for trade rather than for their household.

One packet had a fraying outer tie. The seller replaced it while Ren examined the remaining wrappings.

“Those were tied before the last rain,” the man said.

“The fruit's kept well.”

“I took care with the drying.”

Ren accepted the packets and completed their agreed exchange.

Barek brought over the basket prepared for the new goods. He took two packets while Ren carried the others.

“We can fit these,” Barek said after shifting a smaller parcel. “After that, we should be careful.”

Ren held the covering while Barek adjusted the packets.

“I haven't bought anything else.”

“Yet.”

Barek finished the knot and lifted the basket to test its balance.

“That will do.”

He went to join the other carriers.

Ren made his way back beneath the shelter, where an older merchant he knew had found a place to eat.

The man invited him to sit.

A traveler beside them was complaining about the price of drying cord at a river stop. He had needed enough to repair his load and had paid more than he wanted.

“I told the seller I wouldn't forget it,” the traveler said.

“Did he lower the price?” the older merchant asked.

“No.”

“Then you might have to keep your word.”

The traveler made a face, but he was smiling when he resumed eating.

Conversation moved to the quality of cord sold along different roads. A man from farther east preferred a tighter weave. Someone else said the same kind became stiff after repeated wetting and drying.

Ren listened while eating his meal.

Eventually the older merchant turned to him.

“How is business at Hearthfang?”

“Busier than during winter. More travelers have been coming through from the eastern road.”

A trader across from them opened a packet of dried plants.

“Would anyone there buy these?”

Ren accepted a sample. The scent was pleasant but faint.

“Who buys them from you now?”

“Mostly households farther east. Some use them with food.”

Another traveler recognized the plants and asked how they'd been dried. The seller brought over the rest of his samples, and the two began comparing methods.

Ren returned the piece he'd examined.

The older merchant leaned closer once the others were occupied.

“Tell me something. How does your household feel about you leaving again so soon?”

“They knew I had work waiting.”

“That wasn't quite what I asked.”

Ren looked at the older man.

They had known each other through enough trading seasons that the question didn't feel intrusive.

“I missed them before we reached the first shelter,” Ren admitted.

The merchant's expression softened.

“I still miss mine when I'm away.”

He took another bite of food before continuing.

“My household keeps asking whether I'll travel less. Then someone hears about goods they want from a distant market, and suddenly they remember how useful my journeys are.”

Ren laughed.

“Do they send you with a list?”

“Usually several. No one seems to remember what the others asked for.”

The man was beginning to describe the most recent list when a tired traveler entered the shelter asking for water.

The newcomer had dust along his sleeves and looked relieved to find somewhere to sit.

He'd intended to use an upland passage beyond the next group of eastern trading stops. Instead, he'd taken a lower road after meeting two carriers who had turned back.

“Stone fell above the passage,” he told the gathered merchants. “Workers moved some of it, and more came down while they were clearing.”

A man nearby set aside the cord he'd been examining.

“Was anyone caught?”

“Not from what I heard. They'd already kept carriers away from that stretch.”

“Did you see the road yourself?” Ren asked.

“No. The men I met spoke with travelers coming from the other side. They turned back before reaching the workers.”

The older merchant frowned.

“There was loose stone reported along that route earlier in the season. I don't know whether it was the same place.”

The newcomer said the later fall had reportedly happened the previous day. He'd also heard talk of more stone coming down overnight, though no one he'd spoken with had confirmed it.

A merchant who intended to use that passage began asking about other roads.

One traveler knew a longer approach through a neighboring settlement. Another warned that the steeper section could be troublesome for heavily loaded carriers.

The merchant spread out a rough route sketch with his companions.

“I promised delivery before the next gathering,” he said.

One of the men traveling with him examined the alternate path.

“We should ask someone who came through there recently before we choose.”

The two continued their discussion beside the shelter wall.

Ren recognized the stopping place named by the newcomer. He took out his route papers and noted where the carriers had turned back.

Barek approached.

“Do we need another road?”

“Not for today's journey. Our next delivery is on the lower route.”

Barek looked toward the merchants discussing the detour.

“We'll ask again farther east?”

“Yes.”

Ren folded the paper.

The older merchant caught his attention before he left.

“If you hear anything firmer, send word west. People are still planning to use that passage.”

“I will.”

Ren gathered his companions, and they continued east.

The afternoon road passed between wooded slopes and exposed stretches of stone.

The party made steady progress. At one narrow turn, they waited for westbound carriers to pass, then resumed walking once the path cleared.

Later, Barek stopped to adjust a basket that was pulling unevenly against his shoulder pole. Tovan helped him settle the weight, and they continued without needing to unpack it.

Pell walked beside Ren for part of the afternoon.

For a while, neither spoke much. The shade was pleasant after the open trading ground, and the road was familiar enough that Ren could enjoy the walk without stopping to examine every turn.

Pell tilted his head toward a patch of sunlight ahead.

“Mind if we have some water there?”

“Go ahead.”

They stopped where the trees opened above the road.

Pell lowered his bundle and took out a flask. Ren accepted it when he offered.

A few travelers passed while they rested. One greeted Ren, and they exchanged a few words about the distance to the next shelter.

After the men continued on, Pell sat watching the road.

“It's quieter than I expected.”

“The road?”

“The whole journey. Last time we came this way, there were carriers arguing at every stopping place.”

“We've had plenty of arguments.”

“Mostly about one cooking pot.”

Ren laughed.

Pell stood and settled his bundle.

“Come on. Tovan will start wondering whether I've stopped to cook another meal.”

They returned to the road and caught up with the others before the next turn.

By late afternoon, they reached an established shelter.

Several travelers were already gathered there, but enough space remained for Ren's party. They set their goods beneath the protected side of the shelter and arranged their bedding.

Pell went to see what was being served for supper. Tovan sat down and began loosening his boots. Barek brought Ren the receiving record before joining the other carriers.

Ren took out his writing materials.

He recorded the four packets purchased that morning, the completed exchange, and the next delivery arrangement.

For Soren, he added the report he'd heard concerning the upland passage. He included the stopping place where the returning carriers had been encountered and noted that the account was secondhand.

He finished the report as another traveler approached.

Ren recognized the man from earlier journeys.

“I thought you were staying in Hearthfang for the season,” the traveler said.

“I've come east for a while.”

“Then perhaps we'll cross paths again.”

The man was traveling west the following morning. He expected to pass through Hearthfang if the road remained clear.

Ren set aside his writing tool.

“Would you carry something to Soren?”

“I can. I'm packing tonight.”

“Two messages. One concerns trade business. The other is personal.”

“Have them ready before I sleep.”

Ren thanked him.

He secured the trade report and took out another piece of writing material.

For Nia, he began with breakfast and the cooking-pot argument.

He told her about the woman who refused an overly heavy travel cover and the four packets of dried fruit he'd purchased. He mentioned their tart flavor and wondered whether she might like to try some when he returned, if he found more that weren't already committed to trade.

He described the old merchant's amusement at learning Ren had taken a mate.

For Kael, he included a few lines about the roads he'd traveled and asked how the work near Hearthfang's eastern crossings was progressing.

He asked Shen about the care station and whether he'd had time for a quiet evening at home.

Ren wrote that he missed them, then added that he was looking forward to eating with them again when his business was finished.

He read the letter through and folded it separately from the trade report.

The westbound traveler returned while Ren was fastening the two messages.

“This goes to Soren at the trade shelter,” Ren said, handing him the report. “The other is for Nia. Give that one to Soren too. He'll arrange for it to reach our household.”

The man checked the markings.

“I know where to find him.”

He placed both messages among his other papers and closed his traveling bag.

“I intend to leave after breakfast.”

“Thank you.”

The traveler returned to his companions with the messages.

Ren put away his writing materials and went to eat.

Supper was served near the shelter entrance.

Pell had found grain cakes and brought enough to share. He set them beside the bowls before taking his place with the others.

Tovan tasted one while listening to a conversation between two merchants about a disputed selling space at the next market.

One household had repaired the covering during the previous season. Another insisted the shelter had always been available to whoever arrived first.

Barek knew the place.

“I remember when they repaired it,” he said. “The covering had torn along one side.”

“That doesn't give them the space forever,” one merchant replied.

“I didn't say it did.”

The discussion continued over the meal.

Ren had visited that market, but he didn't know what agreement the sellers might have made. The merchants were still debating whether to involve the market elders when Pell offered him another grain cake.

Ren accepted half.

After supper, Tovan asked about the next day's journey.

Barek preferred the nearer stopping place. Tovan was willing to go farther if the loads remained comfortable, and Pell had no strong preference.

They decided to judge their progress after midday.

Ren helped gather the bowls and returned to his bedding.

Tovan had set the cooking pot beside his pack. Pell passed it without stopping this time. When Tovan picked it up, Pell turned his back and began arranging his sleeping cover.

Ren caught Tovan's eye.

“Leave him alone tonight.”

“I wasn't going to say anything.”

“Then we're in agreement.”

Tovan set the pot down and settled beneath his cover.

Across the shelter, the westbound traveler had finished packing. His traveling bag rested beside his bedding, with Ren's two messages secured inside.

Ren removed his footwear and drew his own covering over his shoulders.

He thought briefly of the letter Nia might have written. He wondered what she had done since he left, whether she'd found something interesting at the market, and what she might choose to tell him first.

He rolled onto his side.

A little farther away, the westbound traveler shifted his packed bag closer to his sleeping place before lying down.

Ren watched him settle, then closed his eyes.