Here's Max ~

Max

Chapter 13

         The men of the kingdom had settled in the eastern parts of Jarosh and built the city of East Haven.  They lived in the fertile pastures of the middle lands and were farmers and shepherds.  They supplied fruits, vegetables, wine, and cloth to the kingdom.  They were average height, usually with black hair and olive skin.  The women were gifted with growing vegetables and were known for their green thumbs.  The men were brave warriors, descended from those who survived the punishing wars of the ogres and giants.  Most people lived in small cottages with larger outbuildings for their animals and tools.  Many men shared fields and helped each other with plowing, irrigation and harvesting.  The men of higher standing had sharecroppers who worked their lands for them and took a share for their own families.  East Haven was smaller and plainer than the great Elven cities or Flint Keep, but there was a school and a convent run by the Shiwas of Mira, Sisters of Mercy in the Elven tongue, the most renowned midwives and healers in all of Jarosh.

The city of East Haven was unique.  The Cyr River, flowing down from Thunder Lake, split into two branches at the northern end of the city.  The King's Branch River flowed to the west of the city, and the Sweetwater River flowed to the east.  The King's Branch was wide and flowed swiftly south, like it was in a hurry to meet the ocean.  The bridge over it, which led to the King's Branch Gate of the city, was made of stone and often crowded with townsfolk and travelers.  Large trading ships came up as far as the bridge, and warehouses and docks covered that part of the city. 

         The Sweetwater was everything the King's Branch was not.  It was narrow and ambled along slowly toward the south like it was enjoying the scenery as it passed by.  The honeysuckle that grew along either bank gave the river it's name.  Any boat lazing down it would be inundated with the smell.  It's water was green and dotted with lily pads.  Many frogs and small fish made it their home.  The bridge over it was made of wood, and it was used mostly by local farmers and hunters.

         At the northern edge of the city, where the rivers split, lived many of the city's poor folk.  They lived in shacks crowded close to each other amongst the pubs and whorehouses the sailors frequented.  Most of the men were warehousemen, sailors, or fishermen, while the women were laundresses, cooks, or seamstresses.   The renowned school of the Shiwas e Mira was on the east end of this part of the city.  The Sisters were known for educating the poor, feeding them, and taking in orphans, as well as treating the sick.  Their school also educated the realm's midwives and tutors.  

         The market was located in the center of town and at the far southern edge near the South Gate were the homes of the wealthier families.  All of the buildings in East Haven were made of wood, save the school, which bricks had been shipped in from the southeast to build.  It was the tallest building in the city, as well, with three floors and a basement.  Some of the buildings were lodges where men went to trade, have meetings, and celebrate all occasions. The wealthy families lived in homes with large gardens full of flowers in spring, and vegetables in summer and fall.  Every year at harvest time, East Haven hosted a festival.  Many from all over the realm came to enjoy the bounty.  Delicious food, sweet wine, and entertainment for all could be found there after the harvest.  

         All of the northern parts of East Haven had flooded in the past.  When the spring was particularly rainy, the rivers would insidiously rise and cover some, or all, of the warehouse district.  The school sat on a rise, which usually protected it during floods.

         Max Harcourt lived in East Haven with his father, Zak, his mother, Rose, and his little sister, Beth.  His mother's grandmother also lived with them; Max called her Amah.  His father was a tradesman.  He bought skins, meat, and crops from the local farmers and hunters.  Then he shipped it, by boat or wagon, all over the realm to other markets to sell.  His mother was a midwife, one of the most sought after in East Haven, especially for difficult deliveries.  Amah would take care of him and Beth while his mother was delivering a baby.

         His father’s warehouse was one of the largest along the river’s shore.  He had more than twenty wagons and three ships to send his goods to markets and harbors throughout Jarosh.  The largest ship, Sweet Beth, even went east of the desert to trade with the cities there.  

What was most different about Max was that he was a half breed.  At least that was what the bullies in East Haven called him when he was on his way to help his father or heading into the woods to hunt.  The really mean ones called him mongrel. Half breed stung, though he was half elf and half man so there was some truth to it, but mongrel made him feel worthless, like an animal.  His father's brother was the Lord of Havenskeep, and his mother was an elf of the Strabelius elves from Highmore. Many years ago, his parents would have been forbidden to marry. His father was even looked down on by his own brothers, John and Robert.  He didn’t really know his aunts, Ada and Andrea, they both lived so far away.  His mother’s family was more accepting. They were always welcome at Highmore.  His little sister could be annoying, but when the girls called her a half-breed, he found himself defending her.  He was almost a man, but picking on a little girl was a different story.

         Max was tall like his father with the same golden hair.  He didn’t have pointed ears like his mother, but he did have sloe eyes that were dark purple, at times almost black.  He was agile and fast.  He could move about the forest without making a sound.  With a bow, he was an excellent shot, and he loved to hunt.  He was also fair with a dagger, but a sword made him feel vulnerable.  It was too long and left him wide open for attack.

         “Amah, how would you like some rabbit for dinner?”  Max asked Amah.

         “Ooo, yes Max, you know Amah loves to eat rabbit stew.  It is easy for my old teeth to chew and so tasty.”

         “I will bring back a brace for you.  I am heading out across the river for some hunting, as soon as I am done helping father.”

         “Stay safe, dear boy.”

         “Amah, I am not a boy.  I am almost thirteen years old.”

         “I want to go, I want to go,” yelled Beth.

         “You can’t go into the forest, silly.  Stay and help Amah.  You will need to help gather vegetables for the stew.”

         Max headed over to the warehouse where his father spent his days. He had to cross the northern side of the city to get there.   Beth never came to this part of the city, but Max was old enough to pass through to help out his father.  His mixed blood, if anything, let him move about unmolested.  He was not looked upon as a rich man’s son to be bothered.  Max made his way through the market square.  It was crowded this early with women buying food for the day.  He heard babies crying and dogs yelping.  Some of the bigger children ran over to beg money from him.  Sometimes, if he had coin he would give it to them, but today, he was completely broke.  The spicy smell of sausage and the sweet smell of honey cakes were making him hungry.  He checked his pockets just to make sure.  A rock and a smashed flower he forgot to give to Amah.  He moved on to the warehouse with his stomach grumbling.  I should have eaten something at home, he thought too late.

         “Father, are you here?’

         “Down here, Max,” his father called from the back room.  The office was down a few steps, and Max slid down the wooden railing.  He saw his father eating a hunk of bread with butter and blackberry jam on it.

         “May I have a piece of bread, Father?”

         His father pushed the bread over to him.  Zak kept his face close shaven, but his hair was in a long braid down his back.  He had laugh lines around his eyes and a ready smile.  He was broad shouldered and muscular, always helping his men load and unload ships and wagons.  His father was known as a fair trader and a friendly man.  He had many friends amongst the elves and his own kind.  The dwarves also liked him, they said he could drink his weight in ale.  Any dwarf would be impressed by that. Max often thought his father looked at him and Beth with a sadness in his eyes.  Maybe he felt guilty about the half breed insults that they had to endure.  Max wasn’t sure, and his father never said.

         “Seems quiet today,” Max said.

         “It will be slow around here for a day or two.  All the ships and wagons are gone, none will return for two or three days, I expect.”

         “So it is fine if I hunt up some rabbits for Amah?”

         “Alone?”

         “Well, yes.  I am almost a man...”

         “Very well, I just wish you would spend time with others, to hunt and explore.”

         “I do hunt with Froggy sometimes.”

         “Froggy from the river?  I know him, but I was thinking maybe your cousin, Isaac, or that boy, Jasper, Sir Powell’s son.”

         “Froggy is more fun than Isaac, but he is working today, so it’s just me.  Besides, Isaac is at Havenskeep, he won't be back until the festival.  Jasper and I don't really get along, he calls Beth names, and he thinks he is too good to be friends with me.”

         Froggy was a poor dwarven boy who lived down near the river’s edge.  He was Max’s age but looked several years younger.  He had gotten the nickname Froggy from capturing frogs in the river to take to the butcher.  He was fast and could catch a basketful easily.  It always left him with some coin in his pocket.  But the best thing about Froggy was he never called Max half breed.

         Isaac was his Uncle Robert's son.  He was often away from the city at his home, Havenskeep.  Max would hunt with him sometimes, when he was in the city, but the two boys were not friends. 

         Jasper Powell was the fat, rude son of Sir Jason Powell, a knight of high standing for his service to the King as Captain of the Castle Guard.  Where the father was brave and honorable, however, the son was arrogant and lazy.”

         “I look forward to our stew then.  See you tonight,” his father looked at him with that sad look, but Max couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

         Max headed for the East Gate to cross the Sweetwater River.  After he crossed, he turned south.  The main woods were to the north; most of the boys from the city went there to hunt.  Max wanted rabbits and solitude; he didn’t want to cross paths with any of the boys from town.  The ground was moist from the morning dew, so he was able to move soundlessly.  The birds were calling and squirrels were playing tag amongst the trees.  These were the old woods, the trees were thick, and animals were plentiful.  The woods west of the city were younger; they had all been cut to build the city when men first came to East Haven.  He didn’t see any rabbits, so he hunkered down on his haunches at the base of a huge, old oak.  Mossy vines hung off its branches reaching almost to the ground.  When Max had been younger and slighter, he had been able to climb them up to the highest branches.  Now that he was growing they would no longer support his weight.  Its trunk was six feet around, and it was over 40 meters tall.  He thought if he waited quietly a rabbit would soon show itself.  He must have dozed off while he waited, because, suddenly, he woke up with a terrible pain in his legs.  It could not be from crouching so long, that had never bothered him before.  He felt like retching, and when he tried to rise, he just fell onto the ground on his side.  Then he heard a roaring in his ears and excruciating pain overcame him as he passed out.  He woke up and sat up, the pain was gone.  He needed some water, but as he stood up, something felt wrong.  He was not as tall as he should have been.  He took a few steps and realized he was not walking on two legs.  He was walking on four legs and his senses were stronger, enhanced.  What was wrong?  He tried to pinch himself, but there were no fingers.  He was an animal?  O my gods, what is happening to me?  He ran to a small pond he knew further in the woods.  He stopped to lap up some water and look at his reflection.  He was a huge cat, a panther, a golden panther.  

         He was afraid, panicked, he ran back into the woods.  He ran for a long time, but running was not changing what he was, so he slowed to a walk, trying to think.  A squirrel crossed his path, and he made it lunch.  He instinctively clawed its neck and made short work of it in two bites leaving tail and head.  He thought he would be disgusted by the raw meat, but it tasted good, the blood in his mouth felt warm and slated his thirst.  

         He stopped to rest and thought back to stories his mother told of elves who could change form.  He was only half elf, but perhaps that was what was happening to him.  He would have to look into it.  But for now, with the fear leaving, he spent the afternoon exploring the woods from his new perspective.  He could see things he could not see as a boy, like birds hiding in the trees and chipmunks running across the forest floor.  The sounds he heard were clearer, sharper, and he could hear noises from a great distance away.  His sense of smell was the most advanced of all.  He could swear he smelled Amah’s lavender oil all the way out here.  He started to become excited and amazed at the things he could do in his new form.  He was moving faster than ever before with nary a sound.  

         Once the sun was near setting, he realized he needed to get home.  How was he to go home?  Was he to stay a cat forever? Would his family wonder what happened to him?  As he neared the river, he laid down beside a tree to think, not long after, the rushing sound came back to him and the blinding pain.  Then, he was Max again.  He ran across the bridge and back through the city to home.  On the way, he realized he had no rabbits for Amah.  

“Amah, Father, I’m back, sorry I got lost.”

“They are in bed Max.  Are you alright?  Amah said you were hunting rabbits?  Look at your clothes, were you rolling in mud and blood?” said his mother.

“Hello, Mother, I never saw any rabbits today.  It's just a scratch or something.”

         “It’s not like you to get lost.  You know the woods so well.  It’s fine about the rabbit, we used chicken in the stew instead. It was still tasty.”

         “Did the baby come?”

         “Yes, all is well at the Wallace’s.  They have a new mouth to feed, a daughter.  She is a healthy little thing.  And pretty like her Ma.”

Max sat down to eat some of the chicken stew.  His mother sat mending one of Beth’s dresses and humming.  He knew why his father had married his mother.  She was beautiful and kind.  Her skin was pale as cream, and her hair was like golden silk hanging down her back.  She had pale blue eyes that twinkled when she smiled, and she was usually smiling or laughing.  Her voice was soft and melodic.  Whenever she was darning or working around the house, she would sometimes sing in Elvish.  Her voice was so clear anyone who heard her was moved.  When Max had been younger, he had loved when she would sing in the evenings.  It always helped him fall asleep.  She had grown up on Highmore in the Hall of Strabelius.  It was an ancient Elven house.  As the fourth daughter of nine children, she had been free to marry as she wished, and she wished to marry Zak Harcourt.  After her father, Elmer, became Lord of the Hall, her grandmother had come to live with them.  Max finished his stew and realized how tired he was.

“Thanks for saving me some stew, Mother.”

         “You are welcome, Max.  Sleep well.”

         “You too,” Max said as he kissed her on the cheek.

Tomorrow he was going to have to go to the library at the Shiwas school.  That was his only chance at getting information about shape shifting.  And, if they had books, he needed to read them all.  He crawled into his feather bed without washing, he was too tired.  His mind was full of confusion and doubt, but his mother's soft voice lulled him to sleep.

         Druelos ramage flicker           Dragons rain fire

         Kriegos ramage dolen           Knights rain death

         Meenwas enuve kriegos        Maidens love knights

         Enuve boni piro                     Love brings peace