The Gathering Storm Read online

Page 2

  Renald tucked a pinch of tabac into his pipe as Thulin pulled the wagon up beside Renalds yard. The lean, gray-haired smith handed the reins to his daughter, then climbed down from the wagon, feet throwing puffs of dust into the air when he hit the ground. Behind him the distant storm still brewed.

  Thulin pushed open the fence gate, then strode up to the porch. He looked distracted. Renald opened his mouth to give greeting, but Thulin spoke first.

  "I buried my best anvil in Gallanhas old strawberry patch, Renald," the big smith said. "You remember where that is, dont you? I packed my best set of tools there as well. Theyre well greased and inside my best chest, lined to keep it dry. That should keep the rust off of them. For a time at least. "

  Renald closed his mouth, holding his pipe half-full. If Thulin was burying his anvil . . . well, it meant he wasnt planning to come back for a while. "Thulin, what—"

  "If I dont return," Thulin said, glancing northward, "would you dig my things out and see that theyre cared for? Sell them to someone who cares, Renald. I wouldnt have just anyone beating that anvil. Took me twenty years to gather those tools, you know. "

  "But Thulin!" Renald sputtered. "Where are you going?"

  Thulin turned back to him, leaning one arm on the porch railing, those brown eyes of his solemn. "Theres a storm coming," he said. "And so I figure Ive got to head on to the north. "

  "Storm?" Renald asked. "That one on the horizon, you mean? Thulin, it looks bad—burn my bones, but it does—but theres no use running from it. Weve had bad storms before. "

  "Not like this, old friend," Thulin said. "This aint the sort of storm you ignore. "

  "Thulin?" Renald asked. "What are you talking about?"

  Before he could answer, Gallanha called from the wagon box. "Did you tell him about the pots?"

  "Ah," Thulin said. "Gallanha polished up that set of copper-bottom pots that your wife always liked. Theyre sitting on the kitchen table, waiting for Auaine, if she wants to go claim them. " With that, Thulin nodded to Renald and began to walk back toward the wagon.

  Renald sat, stupefied. Thulin always had been a blunt one; he favored saying his mind, then moving on. That was part of what Renald liked about him. But the smith could also pass through a conversation like a boulder rolling through a flock of sheep, leaving everyone dazed.

  Renald scrambled up, leaving his pipe on the chair and following Thulin down into the yard and to the wagon. Burn it, Renald thought, glancing to the sides, noticing the brown grass and dead shrubs again. Hed worked hard on that yard.

  The smith was checking on the chicken crates tied to the sides of his vehicle. Renald caught up to him, reaching out a hand, but Gallanha distracted him.

  "Here, Renald," she said from the wagon box. "Take these. " She held out a basket of eggs, one lock of golden hair straying from her bun. Renald reached over to take the basket. "Give these to Auaine. I know youre short on chickens on account of those foxes last fall. "

  Renald took the basket of eggs. Some were white, some were brown. "Yes, but where are you going, Gallanha?"

  "North, my friend," Thulin said. He walked past, laying a hand on Renalds shoulder. "There will be an army gathering, I figure. Theyll need smiths. "

  "Please," Renald said, gesturing with the basket of eggs. "At least take a few minutes. Auaine just put some bread in, one of those thick honey loaves that you like. We can discuss this over a game of stones. "

  Thulin hesitated.

  "Wed better be on the move," Gallanha said softly. "That storm is coming. "

  Thulin nodded, then climbed up into the wagon. "You might want to come north too, Renald. If you do, bring everything you can. " He paused. "Youre good enough with the tools you have here to do some small metalwork, so take your best scythes and turn them into polearms. Your two best scythes; now dont go skimping around with anything thats a second best or a third best. Get your best, because its the weapon youre going to use. "

  Renald frowned. "How do you know that there will be an army? Thulin, burn me, Im no soldier!"

  Thulin continued as if he hadnt heard the comments. "With a polearm you can pull somebody off of a horse and stab them. And, as I think about it, maybe you can take the third best and make yourself a couple of swords. "

  "What do I know about making a sword? Or about using a sword, for that matter?"

  "You can learn," Thulin said, turning north. "Everyone will be needed, Renald. Everyone. Theyre coming for us. " He glanced back at Renald. "A sword really isnt all that tough to make. You take a scythe blade and straighten it out, then you find yourself a piece of wood to act as a guard, to keep the enemys blade from sliding down and cutting your hand. Mostly youll just be using things that youve already got. "

  Renald blinked. He stopped asking questions, but he couldnt stop thinking them. They bunched up inside his brain like cattle all trying to force their way through a single gate.

  "Bring all your stock, Renald," Thulin said. "Youll eat them—or your men will eat them—and youll want the milk. And if you dont, then therell be men you can trade with for beef or mutton. Food will be scarce, what with everything spoiling so much and the winter stores having run low. Bring everything youve got. Dried beans, dried fruit, everything. "

  Renald leaned back against the gate to his yard. He felt weak and limp. Finally, he forced out just one question. "Why?"

  Thulin hesitated, then stepped away from the wagon, laying a hand on Renalds shoulder again. "Im sorry to be so abrupt. I . . . well, you know how I am with words, Renald. I dont know what that storm is. But I know what it means. Ive never held a sword, but my father fought in the Aiel War. Im a Borderlander. And that storm means the end is coming, Renald. We need to be there when it arrives. " He stopped, then turned and looked to the north, watching those building clouds as a farmhand might watch a poisonous snake he found in the middle of the field. "Light preserve us, my friend. We need to be there. "

  And with that, he removed his hand and climbed back into the wagon. Renald watched them ease off, nudging the oxen into motion, heading north. Renald watched for a long time, feeling numb.

  The distant thunder cracked, like the sound of a whip, smacking against the hills.

  The door to the farmhouse opened and shut. Auaine came out to him, gray hair in a bun. It had been that color for years now; shed grayed early, and Renald had always been fond of the color. Silver, more than gray. Like the clouds.

  "Was that Thulin?" Auaine asked, watching the distant wagon throw up dust. A single black chicken feather blew across the roadway.

  "Yes. "

  "And he didnt stay, even to chat?"

  Renald shook his head.

  "Oh, but Gallanha sent eggs!" She took the basket and began to transfer the eggs into her apron to carry them inside. "Shes such a dear. Leave the basket there on the ground; Im sure shell send someone for it. "

  Renald just stared northward.

  "Renald?" Auaine asked. "Whats gotten into you, you old stump?"

  "She polished up her pots for you," he said. "The ones with the copper bottoms. Theyre sitting on her kitchen table. Theyre yours if you want them. "

  Auaine fell silent. Then he heard a sharp sound of cracking, and he looked over his shoulder. She had let her apron grow slack, and the eggs were slipping free, plopping to the ground and cracking.

  In a very calm voice, Auaine asked, "Did she say anything else?"

  He scratched his head, which hadnt much hair left to speak of. "She said the storm was coming and they had to head north. Thulin said we should go too. "

  They stood for another moment. Auaine pulled up the edge of her apron, preserving the majority of the eggs. She didnt spare a glance for those that had fallen. She was just staring northward.

  Renald turned. The storm had jumped forward again. And it seemed to have grown darker somehow.

  "I think we oug
ht to listen to them, Renald," Auaine said. "Ill . . . Ill go fix up what well need to bring with us from the house. You can go around back and gather the men. Did they say how long well be gone?"

  "No," he said. "They didnt even really say why. Just that we need to go north for the storm. And . . . that this is the end. "

  Auaine inhaled sharply. "Well, you just get the men ready. Ill take care of the house. "

  She bustled inside, and Renald forced himself to turn away from the storm. He rounded the house and entered the barnyard, calling the farmhands together. They were a stout lot, good men, all of them. His own sons had sought their fortunes elsewhere, but his six workers were nearly as close to him as sons. Merk, Favidan, Rinnin, Veshir and Adamad gathered round. Still feeling dazed, Renald sent two to gather up the animals, two more to pack what grain and provisions they had left from the winter and the final man off to fetch Geleni, who had gone into the village for some new seed, just in case the planting had gone bad on account of their stores.

  The five men scattered. Renald stood in the farmyard for a moment, then went into the barn to fetch his lightweight forge and pull it out into the sunlight. It wasnt just an anvil, but a full, compact forge, made for moving. He had it on rollers; you couldnt work a forge in a barn. All that dust could take fire. He heaved the handles, wheeling it out to the alcove set off to the side of the yard, built from good bricks, where he could do minor repairs when he needed to.

  An hour later, he had the fire stoked. He wasnt as skilled as Thulin, but hed learned from his father that being able to handle a little of your own forgework made a big difference. Sometimes, you couldnt squander the hours it would take to go to town and back just to fix a broken hinge.

  The clouds were still there. He tried not to look at them as he left the forge and headed into the barn. Those clouds were like eyes, peeping over his shoulder.

  Inside the barn, light sprinkled down through cracks in the wall, falling on dust and hay. Hed built the structure himself some twenty-five years back. He kept planning to replace some of those warped roofing planks, but now there wouldnt be time.

  At the tool wall, he reached for his third-best scythe, but stopped. Taking a deep breath, he took the best scythe off the wall instead. He walked back out to the forge and knocked the haft off the scythe.

  As he tossed the wood aside, Veshir—eldest of his farmhands— approached, pulling a pair of goats. When Veshir saw the scythe blade on the forge, his expression grew dark. He tied the goats to a post, then trotted over to Renald, but said nothing.

  How to make a polearm? Thulin had said they were good for yanking a man off his horse. Well, he would have to replace the snath with a longer straight shaft of ashwood. The flanged end of the shaft would extend beyond the heel of the blade, shaped into a crude spearpoint and clad with a piece of tin for strength. And then he would have to heat the blade and bang off the toe about halfway, making a hook that could tug a man off his horse and maybe cut him at the same time. He slid the blade into the burning coals to heat it, then began to tie on his apron.