The Apprentice Read Free

his name, the large man pushed himself up and out of his seat to greet
whoever had come to see him. When Horus caught sight of Rowan’s father and the
two boys, a smile broke out across his face and he returned the greeting.
    “Halloo.
I haven’t seen you around town for a while, Brennon. Are these your sons?”
    “Yes.
This is Petar, my firstborn, and this is Rowan, my second.”
    “Hello,”
Rowan said, echoing Petar’s greeting. He gave a slight bow to Horus in order to
customarily show his respect for the elder man.
    “It’s
good to meet Brennon’s sons.” Horus said, emphasizing the plural. “I didn’t
know that you had two boys. Is there anything else you’re keeping from
me?”
    “Nothing
of importance,” Brennon said. “But Horus, there is a reason I came. Has there
been any word of traders? I have extra crops from the late harvest and I am
looking to sell.”
    “Ah yes!
I s’pose it is not quite the end of the season yet, and there is still time for
traders to visit. But I would not wait on them. I do not think it likely that
they will come. A traveler visited recently and when we asked, he made no
mention of trading caravans or other travelers.”
    “I
expected as much,” Brennon said. “But I wanted to be sure. Some outside trading
would have been nice, and I am sure the village would welcome news of the
country at large.”
    “Of
course, of course,” the large man agreed. “It has been so long since we have
had any real news at all that we would welcome the chance to hear what has been
happening outside of our isolated section of the country.”
    “Since
there won’t be any traders coming to town, can you tell me who would be looking
to trade?” Rowan’s father asked.
    “Yes,
yes…Of course,” Horus said. “Myself, for one. Let me think for a moment…I know
Ol’ Hester and summa her family was paying a decent price for ‘taters and
greens. And it might be that there are a few others who would welcome some
extra crops. What do you have?”
    Brennon
listed off some of what they had harvested. Horus scratched his head and gazed
off into the distance as he thought. The big man began listing off some crops
and prices, to which Rowan’s father listened intently, nodding every so often
as he took in the information.
    Rowan
tried to listen but he was soon bored and began to tune the large man out. His
brother was able to pay attention, but Petar had a more vested interest in the
topic. When they were finished, Brennon gave Horus a coin and thanked him for
his help.
    “So what
do we do now?” Rowan asked.
    “I still
have business in town. I need to go and find some tools and things that need to
be bought, which might take a while. Why don’t the two of you go off and occupy
yourselves. Petar, I know you wanted to purchase some things and Rowan, you
have been begging for an opportunity to leave the farm, so use this as a
reprieve.”
    Rowan
nodded in agreement, though he had not failed to notice his father’s remark.
    “We will
meet back at the cart when the sun begins to fall.”

Chapter 2                              
    Their day in the village went well
enough. After they left Brennon, Rowan and Petar walked around and enjoyed
themselves, but Petar quickly abandoned Rowan to go off in search of his girl.
Rowan could not begrudge his brother, though. Alone, he spent the day wandering
aimlessly through the streets.
    The day
eventually came to an end and they all left the village, loading several new
tools and other items into the cart. Their return took much longer than it had
that morning, and Rowan spent much of the journey teasing his brother. Their
father chastised them for being foolish, but there was no true annoyance in his
tone.
    Once
back, Rowan and Petar unloaded the cart while their father checked on the
animals. When all was done, they supped together and ended their day.
    The next
morning brought with it a cold wind and a feud.
    Rowan
awoke