Soldier at the Door(6)

And this overgrown boy in front of him had his very own?

He also realized that farmers often owned a horse in conjunction with their oxen, and ranchers—yes, very successful ranchers frequently had several horses to keep up with their cattle.

But why would a father allow his son to sell such a valuable animal?

Or perhaps, he didn’t.

Shin watched the young man for signs that the sale hadn’t been sanctioned, but he met the captain’s steady gaze.

“Yes, sir, I did. So I could come chase Guarders. No forests near Waves, sir. Only salty water.”

Shin leaned back in his seat, intrigued. “There are places closer to your home where Guarders are attacking. In fact, there was that raid just a few weeks ago on Coast. Guarders came in on canoes. Might be coming to Waves in canoes, too.”

Zenos smiled cautiously. “And they’ll have just as a difficult time. The water is rougher at Waves than at Coast, sir.”

The captain nodded as he appraised the large boy, still unconvinced that he travelled so far. It was common knowledge that the waves in Waves were much stronger than Coast. The name was a bit of a giveaway.

“That it is,” Perrin said. “I’ve been to both villages. I’m not in the least bit surprised the Guarder canoes all sank, although I was rather disappointed. I was hoping someone might be able to catch one of them alive. Guess it would be rather hard to track on the water, wouldn’t it?”

Zenos nodded. “I imagine they’ve abandoned that strategy, sir. I’m confident the village of Waves will be safe from future water attacks.”

Shin watched him again for a moment—the young man held his penetrating gaze remarkably well—before Shin looked back at the map.

“A lot of people have speculated about where they launched their canoes. Around here folks are guessing they somehow managed to make a home in the marshes east of here and went south. But then they would have had to travel for quite a distance.”

“It’s not really that far, sir,” Zenos suggested.

Shin turned his attention to boy. “About fifty miles in a canoe isn’t ‘that far’? Few people would agree with you, Zenos. Anywhere more than ten miles away might as well be one hundred.”

Zenos swallowed. “Sir, you said you’ve been all the way south, so you’ve travelled, right?”

“Yes,” Shin said slowly.

“Surely you would agree that travelling one hundred twenty miles isn’t that much harder than travelling ten miles. Just . . . do it longer. Most people have never tried it, so they don’t know. You simply keep going. You don’t die from it. You rest, eat, walk, sleep. Every village has a market with food, and there are inns and taverns to stay in. Even some barns if no one’s looking,” he confessed, a little uncomfortably.

Perrin smiled.

The boy’s demeanor changed significantly when he confessed to sleeping in barns. He didn’t have to reveal that information, but apparently he didn’t know how to hold back on the truth. So, likely, he did come from a long distance.

The next question then was, why.

“You’re right,” Shin said, “I don’t understand why people fear travelling, but then again, now that I’ve settled down, I’m rather content to be where I am. Why leave home when all that I want is right here?”

“Yes, sir,” Zenos looked down at his hands and started rubbing them as if trying to remove unseen dirt.

Shin noticed the boy’s previously confident manner vanished completely, replaced by guilty behavior.

“Well, we’ll provide you a horse to chase Guarders with, but it may be rather dull here for a time. Been exceptionally quiet for over three moons now. More recently they hit Trades again, just north of Flax, out of the forest about there.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “You could have stayed near home to find Guarders,” he hinted again.

Zenos swallowed again. “But I also wanted to see the world. Saw most of it walking north, sir!” he chuckled anxiously.

“And a very long way to walk it is, Zenos.” Shin smiled genially.

Zenos smiled cautiously back.

In the same casual tone, Perrin got right to the point. “Trouble at home, son?”

Zenos shook his head rapidly. “No, sir. None at all. Not really.”

Shin put down his quill to show he wasn’t about to record anything more. “Was she pretty?”

Zenos’s eyes grew big. “Sir?”

Shin raised his eyebrows in suggestion. The boy needed to hide for two to three seasons. Long enough for anything that might be developing to arrive.

Zenos blushed a deep shade of red. “Sir, no girl! I promise! I’ve never, never—”