Chapter Seven
Dipak didn't know what sort of clothes were appropriate for a small solstice fair in the middle of a deadly forest hosted by a dragon, but thanks to said dragon he had his entire wardrobe to pick from.
In the end, though, he kept it fairly simple, mostly keeping to the fur and leather he'd taken to wearing nearly all the time now he'd gone back to the life he'd started with.
All his ornate clothes, fit only for city life, he packed up to see if anybody wanted them in trade to use as scrap for other things.
Silk, velvet, and more could all be put to other uses by people who knew their way around needle and thread.
He included some of his jewelry in that pile as well. May as well clear out things that he no longer had use for, trade for things that were useful. Precious metals always had uses, and where magic was involved, so did jewels and pearls.
His large satchel of goods to trade, his smaller satchel of necessities should he get caught out in the woods, though that was unlikely as he could just sleep at the fairgrounds after dark, and his bow—ready as he would ever be.
Heading out, he followed Euclid's directions through the woods, hiking about two hours before pausing for a brief break for water and late breakfast, though he didn't eat too much because apparently there would be quite the feast waiting for him at the fairgrounds.
Another hour after that brought him to the enormous braided great oak, trunk bands of brown, green, and red woven together in a way that looked as though they'd been manufactured by people but was wholly natural to the tree, which could grow significantly taller than any house and was about the size of a carriage in width.
Beautiful trees, actually illegal to cut down, but when they were felled by natural causes, the wood went for a fortune.
Lochan had gifted him a jewelry box made from it, but he'd shoved it in the drawer of a bureau he no longer needed and had put in the cave behind the waterfall for now.
Should have thought to look through that for things to trade, but it was too late now.
Though he'd kept calling the area for the gathering fairgrounds, Euclid had assured him it wasn't anything so formal, just a clearing in the woods made safe by dragon magic.
Euclid was a damned liar, because it was far more than a simple cleared space in the woods.
It was an almost perfect oval, framed by trees in a way far from natural.
Posts were driven into the ground every twenty or so paces, and affixed with ornate green glass lanterns.
Across the middle were a series of stone pits meant for fires, which was smart, since it was easier for people to gather around multiple small fires than one enormous fire.
Less wasteful too. Close, but not too close, on either side of the fires were various small tables, each set with pitchers and cups.
At each end of the fires were large tables covered in identical offerings of food.
A handful of people milled about, drinking whatever was in the pitchers and nibbling at some of the food. One of them was Abrar, the blacksmith. They paused as they saw him, until a woman stepped forward. "You must be our mysterious new hunter! Dipak, right?"
"That's me," Dipak said. "I brought some old clothes and things should anyone have an interest. Where should I put it all until we do such things?"
"Over here," said Abrar, motioning him to follow. "Nobody will mess with your things. They'll be safe here until we trade. How have you been? Euclid mentioned you've been helping him clear out the riffraff that keeps wandering in causing trouble."
"Yes, mercenaries are never anything but trouble, so we dealt with them."
"It's appreciated. Most of us aren't fighters, though I suppose everyone is when it's life or death."
"You'd be surprised," Dipak said quietly, then with more levity, "So what are we drinking?"
"Wine. Euclid brings something different every time, never know where he gets the stuff. He's crafty, that one, more than he ever lets on. Not a complaint, mind you. I wish more people were like him."
"The world would be better off for it."
"This way, this way." Abrar clapped him on the back, then led him back to the tables and poured him a cup of a dark red wine that was sweet and heavily spiced.
Festival wine popular in a city further south, where it was shipped in from a mountainous country overseas, Virvane.
Euclid had gone shockingly far afield for this wine.
He took a healthy swallow, savoring the sweetness, the sharpness of the spices, a nice break from tea and water. "Where is Euclid?"
Abrar smiled and pointed. "Right there. Excellent timing."
Dipak chuckled as he turned—then forgot all about laughing, or even thinking.
Euclid was always dressed in his weird mishmash of clothing styles, amusing and charming, but right now he looked like a veritable prince of the harvest in dark brown breeches, high boots, a tunic of loosely knit yarn in myriad colors, a deep red undershirt, and his hair pulled back in a braid and bound in matching ribbons.
It was a style of dress at least a century old, but the clothes could have been made yesterday.
He barely remembered crossing the field. "Just a clearing, my ass."
Euclid grinned. "I've seen real fairgrounds—mine has nothing on those. No pretty paper banners, no flags, no bells, no jesters performing tricks…"
"Don't pout, it doesn't become you," Dipak said, lying through his teeth. "How long did it take you to get the trees to grow just so?"
"A while, though the forest was happy to cooperate.
I often bring groups of people here for safety when they wander into the forest and aren't sword-happy mercenaries out for blood.
Once they've rested, I then show them the way out.
Hasn't happened in a long time, though. The vast majority of people come in ones and twos, at most a group of three.
Come, I'll introduce you to everyone. They're all quite eager to meet you. "
They'd barely taken a few steps when the group that had already doubled in number came right toward them.
At their fore was a tall, buxom woman with light, warm brown skin, long russet hair scattered with tiny braids and all manner of beads, a gleaming gold hoop through her septum, and several piercings in her ears.
She looked to be in her forties, fifties, maybe.
Though with witches, she could also be well into her seventies, even.
"Minali," the woman said, folding her hands in front of her and bowing slightly.
It was a slightly old-fashioned greeting, something his parents and grandparents had used a great deal, but not one he'd used once he was on his own.
"I'm good at many things, after decades of practice, but I never got the knack of hunting and trapping.
I can barely manage fishing, sadly. Many of us in the woods never learned those skills and haven't much mastered them being out here, despite our best efforts.
I didn't realize until I left home and was on my own just how prized a skill hunting is, so it's good to have you with us, hunter. Be welcome."
One by one the others introduced themselves, until the names beginning to blur, thirty-seven of them in total. Together with him and Euclid, there seemed to be about thirty-nine people in attendance, most of the fifty who lived in the forest.
As promised, not all of them were human, though many were half-human, half-something else.
What, exactly, he couldn't tell, except for a woman who was half-orc, a man who was half-goblin, and two sisters who were half-nyad.
Fascinating group of people, to be sure.
Yet they thought he was interesting, and not even because of his hard-won moon eyes, but because he knew how to hunt deer and catch fish.
"Food?" Euclid asked when the introductions were over.
"Sounds like a wonderful idea."
As the nearer table was more crowded, they went to the further table and filled their plates to heaping before moving off to the side to sit on an enormous old dragon oak log that had been brought into the clearing long enough ago to grow moss and mushrooms. "No children."
"No," Euclid said, sad and wistful. "The few who had children ultimately decided to return to the world beyond the forest. I cannot blame them.
The forest is hardly a good place to raise children, and they would be lonely.
Most adults know how to be alone, even if they do not want to be, but children need other children. So they go, as is wise."
"I'd be anxious constantly with a mischievous, curious child to watch in these woods," Dipak replied with a laugh.
"Normal woods are dangerous enough. I got lost in them when I was four, five.
Cried my eyes out, I was so scared. Luck alone that my mother found me before a wolf or great serpent did.
I got distracted chasing after a rainfly.
They're quite rare where I live, and I was enchanted.
Still my favorite insect," he added, "though everyone thinks I'm silly to have a favorite insect. "
"I like jewel beetles. They're beautiful and also pleasantly crunchy when you eat whole mouthfuls of them at once."
Dipak wrinkled his nose, laughing in amusement and horror. "Can't say I've ever eaten bugs. Suppose I would if I had to."
"You are ruthlessly practical." Euclid finished his food and set his plate aside. "I…" He paused as a man came up. "Pitambar, hello again."
"I wanted to say thank you again for the fabric you brought me the other day. I know it must have been difficult to obtain."
Euclid smiled politely, nothing at all like the way he normally smiled. "What the forest doesn't provide, the goblins are happy to obtain for me."