Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

sure it was Uaine, but he needed to be certain. He nodded to the Master Assassin, stood, and walked into the Forest.

Previously, Cooper had made several trips deeper into the Forest. The excuse he had given was for hunting in areas where they hadn’t been in awhile. His actual purpose had been that he knew Uaine wouldn’t approach unless he was alone. He’d made five such forays into the Forest. This time, after having sensed her earlier, he waited until he saw the telltale glimpse at the edge of his vision. He laid his bow down and sat on the ground. “Uaine? It was you that I just saw, wasn’t it? Won’t you wish me welcome?” The only sounds that answered him was the breeze through the few remaining, stubborn leaves. Cooper waited, certain that he wasn’t alone, “Uaine. I have missed talking with you. I have moved far away from the others several times, hoping for a chance to speak with you again.” This time a tinkling voice answered, “I know, Kinsman. I enjoyed talking with you before, and I wish I could say I am happy to see you now, but I’m not.” He leaned far to one side in an attempt to see her, certain that he knew where her voice was coming from. Abruptly her voice shifted to a new location, “You have nothing but violence in your mind and rage in your heart. It pains me to be near you. We may be kith, but at this moment the woodsman, Utsef, is more pleasant to be near, than you. I’ll ask that you stay away until you have light in your heart again.” Her sentence abruptly ended and there was no doubt that she had left him, alone. He waited a minute, just to be sure, then stood to begin his hunt. It wouldn’t be fitting for him to return to camp empty-handed.

The next months in the Forest were filled with events and lessons. The Manifesting of the Journeymen happened almost one right after another over the span of less than thirty days, with Loryn's occurring last. No one present had any real expertise in identifying affinities, but afterward it was determined that each of them could demonstrate increased speed and both Spen and Naro found it particularly easy to use their Talent in short bursts with little preparation. It was agreed that Gaff had either Earth or Nature affinity, as he could perform feats demanding far more strength than his small stature would seem to support. Everyone insisted that Loryn's affinities must be Fire and Air, since nothing else could explain her disposition better than that. This was said mostly to tease her, but there was certainly more than simple conjecture behind the claims.

Utsef also demonstrated a method of building a miniature hearth and chimney and using it as either a means to rapidly cook food, or heat water, or even melt metal. The principle worked mostly on the heat creating a draft and pulling the heat from the fire through the chimney. The entire miniature construction could be covered by an inverted wheelbarrow, but the amount of heat that could be generated was impressive. As Utsef demonstrated, he explained, “This differs significantly from a standard forge, once you get away from the notion that both are used to produce heat. This could be called a 'draft forge', there is no need for a bellows to force air; the heat from the fire does that for you. However, unlike a standard forge, this one works best with kindling and must be almost constantly fed.” Spen noted, “There's almost no smoke.” Utsef nodded, “True. If your kindling is dry, the only visible aspect of this forge is the open flame. If you feed too much into the fire, or the chimney isn't the proper size, you can actually end up with a small column of flame shooting skyward.”

After the lesson was over, Utsef worked with Cooper, showing him how to melt down copper, pour it into the dies that Master Loril had crafted. They cast his first token.

Chapter 4

While he felt the last months spent in the Forest had been necessary, the time had passed with a painful slowness. His mind had been continuously occupied with thoughts of friends and colleagues living in chains, or shackled far underground in the small, damp cells of Serpent Tooth Prison. Almost every night for the last month Utsef and he recited and critiqued the rough plan they had formed. During the last week, Utsef requested that the Journeymen students join them for this discussion. They would all need to know the plan from beginning to end, and any of them might have something to contribute. Cooper took this as an opportunity to introduce many of the concepts from Master Worthan’s classes on Analysis and Sabotage. The Journeymen students participated eagerly, causing Utsef to chuckle often and comment that ‘practical application is best way to learn’.

On the last morning in the Forest, as they packed up to leave, Cooper made a mental tally of what he knew he had to work with. It didn’t take long. It was a short list. Since a few months had passed, it was unlikely that security measures in Paleros would still be elevated. Still, if they all entered the city as a group, they’d likely draw some attention; and any attention at all was unwanted. If they happened to meet a caravan or group of travelers, they might join them. Otherwise, they’d need to split up into trios and enter the city separately. Cooper spoke with each Journeyman, to make certain everyone knew where they were going to meet. Gaff had been a Wharfsider kid, so he’d see to it that his group would find their way to Mardon’s ship, but if the kids got scattered, Cooper couldn’t be certain how the rest of them might be received by the Wharfsiders. Once either he