An Affordance

Oona had started a small fire in the stove and was currently heating water in their kettle. She had not bothered to don her robe nor did she make any gestures in that direction. Even Rokas had not been in a hurry to get dressed fully. Given the circumstances, pants alone would suffice.

The cabin was dim. Against the window a drizzle of rain was evident. What fell did not seem to be soaking, but but from this vantage seemed to be a constant, obnoxious mist. Visibility was made even worse by a mist which clung to the forest floor well into the day. One could barely see to the other side of the road in these conditions.

"You seemed to jump right at the chance to help in that search last night." Rokas said.

"Of course I did. Nobody else around here can track half as well as I can." She stirred the pot, dumping a portion of dried porridge as she did. Her tail was wagging at a deliberate pace that seemed to mirror that of the stirring.

"I just think it was a commendable thing to do." The smith took a seat in their chair and poured himself a glass of water.

There was a pleasure in the simple domesticity of this moment. A woman that he quite liked was cooking a meal for the both of them, albeit a simple one. He was warm and inside when it was raining. Rokas wished he could just totally commit himself to enjoying the moment, but his mind was one which was always reminding him of the next problem to address. The next hurtle to be mounted.

"Oh? So was last night you commending me for such upstanding citizenship?" She looked back, grinning over her shoulder at him.

"I have to do my part to reward your service." He sipped at his water.

Oona laughed and returned her attention to the food. "Have you got anything planned today, boss?" She asked.

"Do you still need to call me that?" Rokas asked.

"Boss? If it suits me I may. Does it bother you?" She moved away from the stove and sat upon the bedroll which still rested upon the floor of the cabin.

"Not really. It just seemed a little odd considering." He gestured at nothing in particular but he hoped it was clear to what he was referring.

"I have every intention of honoring that part of my contract, whatever else happens between the two of us." She said, reaching into her nearby pack and sorting through it. "Plus, it counts as a pet name, doesn't it?"

"If you have a very broad sense of the term, it might."

"I've been called worse in that context."

"Really? You need to give an example having said that."

"The usual platitudes. Things like fair maiden, which I think is a poor choice for reasons that are probably obvious to you at this point."

Rokas had to give it to her, she wasn't exactly someone he would casually choose to refer to as "dumpling" without at least some sense of irony. She seemed to have a practical manner about her that made that sort of moniker seem all the more frivolous. There was a quality to her, both physically and in her disposition, that made her seem formidable. A suitable term of endearment would be difficult for him to settle upon.

"When was the last time you were paid?" Rokas asked, a thought having crossed his mind.

"I'm not that kind of girl, smith."

"Not what I was getting at. I haven't received anything from my contract yet, which is probably normal, but are you in need of money?"

"It was a few weeks before you got here. I am pretty cheap so it hasn't been that urgent." Oona said. "What's the matter, afraid you will have to do some work soon?"

"I will see about a posting at the temple and the inn that I am open for business, but that's beside the point. I just want to make sure you were not entirely destitute. It might do to pay another visit to the Couriers, if only to remind them we haven't forgotten that they are messing with my ability to do business."

"That's a lot of walking in this weather."

"You can keep the cabin warm for me."

"Wouldn't you rather I keep you warm?" She asked.

"Hold that thought until I get back." He certainly would be thinking about it for most of the rest of the day.

The rain was light but incessant when Rokas left the cabin. He had the hood of his heavy coat up, but could only hope that the rain wouldn't soak through before he had completed his circuit of town. He deliberated for at least a minute as he got dressed, but determined he would leave the axe at home today. Meeting with the Couriers could become contentious and it might be best to not have a deadly weapon at hand.

When he arrived at the Courier Guild's small office it was only a moment before a look of recognition passed over the face of the clerk, Matas's face. At least he would know to expect displeasure.

"Hello." Rokas decided to begin cordially.

"Greetings to you, smith." The man responded in kind, but there was a tension in his voice that did not escape Rokas's notice.

"I know it's a bit early, but have you received any word on either my or my assistant's stipend? For me I wouldn't expect it, but from what she has told me she should be due to receive her's soon."

"You would not be able to pick up a package intended for your assistant." There was an inflection when he said assistant, barely there, but Rokas took note.

"You know that we work together, you would not let me save her a trip out in this rain?"

"Though I am certain she might appreciate the gesture, such missives and packages must go only to the intended recipient. You're a big lad, but not a eight foot tall wolf-person so far as I can discern." He grinned at his own comment.

"If she had something here could you at least let me know so I can tell her?" Rokas would try another tactic.

"What people receive is strictly confidential, I would not be able to disclose that to you. Though I hear the two of you were keeping pretty close company at the inn last night, until there is a ceremony it is our duty to maintain her privacy."

Rokas's ears and face turned red. He was not ashamed, not exactly, it was just that this man, thisclerk, had no right to know of his comings and goings in any detail. Particularly his comings. It did surprise the smith that this man specifically had marked Oona and Rokas being together in an unprofessional fashion. Even if Oona and he tried to hide everything they did together from the onset, the proximity of their living arrangements would have lead to rumors before long. This was a small town. Word would spread eventually, it might be better that this was out.

"Is there something wrong with the roads? I know last time I was here you mentioned that you had no horses, I didn't notice any wagons or horses today nor any time I've passed by recently."

"I can tell you that we have not received any correspondences or packages for right about a week now. No horses or wagons have arrived either." The man said. It had not occurred to Rokas prior to this moment, but the clerk seemed to him to be a little scared. He was fidgeting and his eyes darted around the room more than the situation seemed to merit.

"At all?" Rokas had never heard of anything of the sort happening.

"I am not at liberty to discuss the exact comings and goings of packages to individuals, but let us broadly assume that nobody has received anything whatsoever." The man replied as he held his empty hands wide, a gesture which brought to the smith's attention the empty shelves behind him. These shelves held many individual compartments which, Rokas assumed, represented all the residences and businesses of Hearth. None of them contained a package or envelope at this moment. Not even any of those small illustrated cards.

"Isn't that a bit out of the ordinary?" He asked the clerk.

"I've never seen us go this long between deliveries before." Was that fear in his eyes?

"Well, I'm certain all the right steps are being taken. Thank you for your assistance." Rokas said, heading for the door.

The clerk must have been entirely cut off from anyone else in his guild at this point. Left alone and having to deal with everyone in town coming in and asking him about what was going on. It could be that he was just tired of answering the same questions and at dealing with belligerent townspeople.

Yet, that didn't suffice for what Rokas had seen in the other man's expression. The smith was not himself given to great expressions of emotion, but was inclined to notice much in others that might go unnoticed by most. He had a great memory for details and a part of him had been screaming this entire situation was not right for days now.

"I think the town is in danger."

Oona lounged upon the bed, arm propping up her head. "What do you mean?"

"When was the last time we got word from anywhere outside of Hearth?"

"I don't know, Hearth doesn't usually get a lot of travelers." She yawned.

"I think we have been cut off deliberately."

"Why and by whom?" Oona asked.

"Lets consider everything we know. First the smith in town was murdered, his workshop burnt down. Next, someone at the Mayor's estate tried to poison one or both of us. Since I arrived here in hearth not a single shipment, package, or person has arrived from outside of town. The smith who died had taken on a mysterious commission for an unknown party that the Mayor seems to be aware of. I have to assume all these events are connected in some way." As he spoke, Rokas had begun to write down all this information, hoping that when complied some greater insight would come to him.

"We know all of that already. Where is the danger coming from?"

"I am trying to figure that out. How far is it to the closest town from here?"

"That would be Rest. It's about a day on the road from here to get there."

"Have you ever been there?" Rokas asked her, looking up from his writing.

"You have, it's on the road North to the Wayfort and the passes."

"Must have not been much to it."

"There isn't." Oona said and grinned.

A feeling had been growing in his mind for a while now, but he still lacked enough information to be certain of anything. He felt more than a little silly at the conclusion he was arriving upon, but he had to know more.

"How far is the Wayfort?"

"Five days from here, if you travel light." Oona told him, but then sat up from the bed. "Are you planning a trip of some sort?"

"I think there is a conspiracy to undermine this town. Some are in on it willingly, but others are being threatened. My predecessor took on a job to make equipment for this party, whoever it is, but got cold feet. I think he tried to back out or that they were done with him and didn't want anyone to know." He tapped his pencil upon the paper, still trying to labor through the idea, "He was then killed. I suppose they wanted to keep another smith from setting up shop. Maybe they believe we might yet discover something dangerous to their agenda."

"You assume that the poison was aimed at you, boss." Oona said.

"Well, yes. If there was already one dead blacksmith doesn't it follow that another might be targeted?"

Oona had a much more focused expression than she had at the start of the conversation. "What if I was the only target, you would have just been an accident?" She asked.

"Why you though?"

"If someone had ill intent towards Hearth I could be a problem. If it is a small group with little in the way of credible fighters they might not want to risk a direct fight." She scratched her chin. "Poison would be a lot less dangerous than confronting me."

"I don't want to seem insulting, but is someone with the Wolf Pact really that much of a threat?" He asked.

She smiled, but it seemed to Rokas that she looked a little sad despite the expression. "Oh, if they have fifty armed men I wouldn't be a major roadblock. But if their number is twenty or less and in the right circumstances I could take most of their number with me before the end. Now, unarmored, if they have a few good bowmen I would be in a lot of trouble. Or if they surround me."

"You did say you could kill two men bare handed." Rokas thought back to their earlier conversation. He had been so locked in on the fact that it was his life in danger he didn't consider that he might not even be a factor in this situation.

"If you had not got help when you did who's to say they wouldn't have succeeded in killing me?"

The smith did not like to think about that. Then there was the meeting with the Mayor. "I think the Mayor might have been trying to help this group get weapons. Seeing how quickly I could make more equipment for them."

"But why wouldn't this group have their own weapons or armor?" Oona stood and walked across the room to where their sword and spear were leaning together against the wall.

"When I traveled here I was questioned more than once by guards at the forts along the way about how I intended to ply my trade. This could just be a group of organized bandits wanting to set up their own little fiefdom, but maybe The Compact is aware that something is happening in the region."

"At any given time even a small town like Hearth has a militia. The able bodied adults will do a season every couple years in it, excluding the members of certain guilds and other folks with status." She pointed at Rokas, he could only shrug. He was not aware of this arrangement. "At any given time there are around five to ten people in town or patrolling the area nearby. Many of the miners are veterans, and even the younger adults are usually skilled with the bow. Out here it pays that everyone be able to look after themselves; A small group of bandits would have their hands full trying to ransack Hearth."

When Rokas had been in town he had noticed how at least a couple of people on the street on a busy day were armed, usually with bows. He didn't think it was out of the ordinary at the time, but also it had not occurred to him that these folk might be part of an organized defense.

"What about the Wayforts? What keeps them from being a target?" Rokas asked.

"The forts all have a Garrison of at least twenty professional soldiers and a wooden palisade with a ditch around the perimeter. The bigger ones have as many as a hundred soldiers and stone walls to boot. You'd need a decent start at an army to take one out and in the process you'd let the entire Eastern Compact know something was up." She had taken the sword and spear from the wall and returned to the bed with them.

"How would they know if one of the forts was attacked?"

Oona looked over the sword as she rested it upon her knees. It shone even in the dim light of the cabin. "Every Wayfort has this sort of flame suspended in a glass canister. It is a magic thing, no idea how it works, but if the container is broken and the flame goes out another just like it will go out elsewhere and the Compact will know that there has been an attack right away."

"That's quite the defense, I thought the forts alone were the deterrent."

"Eventually Hearth is to be the seat of one of the bigger forts, but it's years from completion from the look of it." She sat the sword aside and looked over the spear that Rokas had made.

The smith remembered the bulk of the fort that loomed over the town. It would be impressive when complete, comparable with any fortification he had seen outside the immense walls of Comfort. Buildings like this did not go up over night, particularly when they were being delayed.

"Could we check on one of the other towns nearby? Just to see if everything is normal and then come back home." Rokas asked, turning away from his notes.

"You really don't want to start smithing stuff, do you?" Oona smiled at him.

"If this other town, Rest, is fine we can just turn around and come back here. Would you be up to all that walking?"

"Might do me some good. I feel well enough for most anything now." She said, handing the spear to Rokas, who took it in hand. "But I think me leaving might be a bad idea."

"Why's that?"

"If I am worth worrying about to them maybe my being alive and in town is staying their hands now."

"I am not sure we can count on you being around keeping anything bad from happening. They could be working on another solution as we speak." Rokas said as he held the spear, unsure of what she intended in having handed it to him.

"If we do this we should leave in the night. By the time anyone realizes we have left it'll be too late to react. If they notice at all. We hike a couple of hours in the dark, then set camp and finish the trip in daylight."

"You are wanting to do this tonight?"

"Better sooner than later. The town does seem to have been isolated and someone did try to kill either of us. I feel better trying to do something about it than waiting. In battle the advantage often goes to the one who takes action rather than the one who is passive."

"Okay, but what do I do with this spear?" The smith asked.

"It isyourspear. It'll help you walk in the night. I'll guide you along the way too, but we won't be taking the road."

Rokas was a little surprised she was going along with this and so quickly. He could not help but feel a little pleased that she trusted him so much as to indulge in a shot in the dark like this. It felt better to be doing something rather than nothing. It would be hard for him to go on with business pretending that there was not a danger hanging over his head. Even if Rest was fine there might be something they could learn from going there. If this lack of Couriers was confined only to Hearth it would be good to know.

Oona packed with great efficiency, and Rokas was left feeling like a bit of an afterthought. It wasn't a good idea for either of them to be alone, but if someone was to make a journey at night in the woods it would be much better that that person be Oona than he. The large backpack that Oona kept with her contained a large, waxed cloak sized appropriately for her. It was not intended for warmth, but it would keep the drizzle out if it persisted well into the night. She even had a smaller portion of waterproof material that the smith could drape around himself. It was part of a tent that she also carried in that bag.

Rokas tried to lift the satchel himself and was able to do so, but only after nearly pulling a muscle in his back. The bundle had everything she needed to travel long distances on foot and had accompanied her on the initial journey to Hearth. The use of the backpack allowed Rokas to travel very lightly, only taking his customary hip pouch and a skin of water in addition to the spear. He was not used to traveling like this and Oona accounted for this by taking on almost all of the luggage.

There were a couple of hours before the journey began where they had nothing to do but wait. It was tense, almost as though the two of them were doing something taboo in going out in the night like this, but it was odd to feel that way. They were free to come and go as they pleased and the only bonds placed upon them were their respective contracts. Nothing they intended to do tonight or the next couple of days was in any way prohibited to them.

Oona wrapped her sword up in a blanket and bound it with a length of rope and lashed it low on her backpack. It would not be hard for an observer to tell what the package held, but she had no intention of leaving it behind on this journey. Before they left the cabin, Oona having deemed it late enough to begin, she told the smith, "I am going to go out of my way a bit, but say nothing of it. In fact say nothing at all until we camp. I do not know if we are going to be followed, but I intend to make it very difficult for someone to do so unnoticed."

The lights of the cabin were extinguished. All was dark when they opened the door. Even having been in the dark for a time, it was hard for Rokas to make out much in the murk and shadow. The rain had not abated and though the fog had diminished in the day, the night found it returning thicker than ever in the light of the sun. They followed the path leading away from town for a short time before veering into the shrubs which grew at its verges and then passed deeper into the woods themselves.