Ember Tell

The morrow brought visitors.

Early next day, as the sun rose over the horizon, Viraat and his son were up and about, attending to their numerous chores. There was much to do and father and son hustled and bustled about. Their chief focus was on getting a load of hides ready for Kalis, who would be arriving this morning as Zehra had mentioned last evening. Aadi looked forward to meeting his friend, the leathersmith’s son.

Aside from the sounds of their toils, their surroundings were quiet. The noises arising from their labour only served to underscore the serenity that pervaded their land. Occasionally, the sounds would stop as both father and son moved something into a chest, or merely stopped to take a breath. Amidst such a break, Aadi thought he heard wooden wheels trundling in the distance.

The clatter of a cart moving over the wood road became clearer with each passing minute. Eventually, the sound became solid as the wood underneath the cart gave way to stone. Aadi strolled towards the front gates and Viraat followed behind him. As they reached the threshold of their holdings, they spotted the cart approaching. The carter was unknown to them; he was probably one of the leathersmith’s employees. The two men sitting in the back of the cart were very familiar faces, however.

“Good day, Shan!” Aadi called out as the cart arrived at their gates. The younger of the two men hopped down from the cart, waved his hand high in the air, and replied, “Good day, Aadi!” The older, bearded man followed him and said with a gruff voice similar to Aadi’s father, “Good day to you, Viraat. It’s a fine morning.” “That it is, Kalis,” replied Viraat, greeting his friend and business associate, “I trust you had an uneventful ride?”

Kalis nodded affirmatively and said, “The weather’s great and I am looking forward to the good lady’s breakfast.” He was obviously referring to Zehra’s cooking and Viraat grunted, “I knew there had to be a better reason for you to come over; a hide load my foot!” The leathersmith laughed, “There’s no one who cooks quite like Zehra.” “I think I’ll ask Dara for her opinion,” Viraat said with a sly smile. “No, that isn’t necessary. Quite unnecessary indeed,” Kalis quickly replied and putting his arm around his friend’s shoulder, began to lead him towards his own house!

Aadi and Shan looked at each other and grinned. They followed their parents to Aadi’s home, where Zehra had already prepared a delicious breakfast. “Welcome to our house,” she greeted Kalis, who replied respectfully, “Your greeting and hospitality are most welcome, good lady.” She smiled broadly, “Oh, how formal! What did you do this time, Kalis?” Their family’s good friend beamed, “Nothing at all! I am merely ingratiating myself with you in hopes of gobbling your breakfast.”

While Zehra giggled, Viraat brought the discussion squarely back to the more important point, “I am going to send your carter to bring Dara over. She should join us too.” “Nonsense!” Kalis declared matter-of-factly, “I have appreciated my wife’s virtues enough, I assure you.” “Ha!” Viraat retorted and Zehra said, “Let’s eat.” As the five of them enjoyed a tasty morning meal, they exchanged pleasantries and enquired after their friends and businesses. It was an enjoyable conversation, topped off with a great breakfast.

As they sipped tea, Kalis brought up a new topic with a solemn expression, “Viraat, did you hear about Pati and Quince?” Aadi’s father raised an enquiring eyebrow and Kalis continued, “They have been missing for a day.” The atmosphere in the room tensed. “Where?” asked Viraat. “Deep in the forest,” Kalis replied, “Their families have asked the town guards to organise a search, but you know that takes time.” Viraat grunted in agreement, “The guard doesn’t have many bodies to spare.” Kalis nodded, “Yes. Pati and Quince aren’t the first to disappear this month either.” Viraat acknowledged this, “They haven’t found the others yet, have they?”

Kalis drank deeply from his cup and handed it to Zehra, who stood nearby listening to them. “No,” he answered, “I can’t say how carefully they searched, but it’s odd that they found no sign of them.” “What are Pati and Quince’s chances?” asked Viraat, looking at Zehra meaningfully. Kalis replied, “Not good, I think. We can only pray that they are safe, wherever they are.” Hearing this, Zehra nodded at Viraat, who immediately said, “Let’s go.” The other three men in the room looked at him, surprised. “We’ll look for them,” Viraat said decisively.

“Do you think we’ll fare better than a search party?” Kalis asked, his facial expression indicating that he didn’t oppose the notion. Looking at Zehra, Viraat replied, “If it’s too dangerous, we’ll come back and report to the town guard.” His wife nodded again, but her eyes betrayed her worry. “We’ll be fine,” Viraat reassured her and Shan chose that moment to speak up, “We’ll come along, too!” The others turned to look at him and Kalis nodded, pride in his son writ large on his face. Viraat opposed the idea, however. “You and Aadi ride with the carter and deliver the hides to Kalis’s shop,” he said. Aadi was about to interject, but Viraat spoke firmly, “That’s what you’ll do.” Shan looked at his father, but Kalis remained silent. He was proud of his son for volunteering to come along on what could be a dangerous search, but he clearly deferred to Viraat’s judgement.

Zehra said, “Both of you, be careful,” precluding any further discussion. As their fathers walked out the front door, Aadi and Shan turned to Zehra. “Will they be okay?” asked Aadi. He knew that his father was strong. After all, he had trained Aadi almost every day, honing his skill with the slingshot. His father had had adventures before, a long time ago. Aadi had learnt that by eavesdropping on his parents. However, it was a long time ago and Viraat was Aadi’s father; his son was naturally concerned for his safety. Without any information about the dangers he would face, it was only natural for Aadi to be anxious for his father’s sake. “Your father has made up his mind,” his mother replied, “Don’t worry about him. Go. Accompany the carter to Kalis’s.”

Aadi looked at his friend and Shan shrugged gently. There was nothing they could do, but follow their parents’ wishes. As the two of them left the house and headed towards Kalis’s cart, they spotted Viraat and Kalis walking towards the forest, far along the wood road. The carter saw Aadi and Shan approach and said, “Master Kalis said you’d be coming with. Hop in the back.” Aadi replied, “Let me load the trunk first.” “Do you need any help with that?” the carter asked and Shan answered, “We can handle it.”

They hefted the trunk containing a load of leather hides and swung it onto the back of the cart. The trunk landed with a deep thump and the carter glanced back to make sure everything was all right. Aadi and Shan followed the trunk and once they had sat down, Shan said, “Let’s go.” The carter replied, “Yes, Master Shan,” and off they went, the cart’s wheels trundling on the stone road towards town. They wouldn’t head into the town proper, though. The leathersmith’s holdings were situated on the outskirts of town, just like Viraat’s tannery.

The townsfolk didn’t want to live near either of their establishments, considering the many odours that emanated therefrom. Industry was productive. Industry was profitable. Industry was significant. Industry was also best kept distant. Both their businesses had earned a good name, although Kalis dealt directly with clients more than his friend. After all, the tannery produced raw material that the leathersmith refined into finished products. The Kant family had a shop, where they displayed their wares for sale. Kalis Kant never hesitated to give Viraat credit for the quality of his goods.

The friendship between the two families had thus blossomed and the next generation, Aadi and Shan, had become close too. As they headed towards the leathersmith’s land, the two friends chatted about the events of the day and the adventures that they imagined their fathers faced even as they spoke. Aadi was still worried for his father, but his friend’s company did much to help him relax. They arrived at Kalis’s workshop and Aadi helped Shan unload the trunk. Having completed the job, Shan turned to the carter and said, “Take us back to the Tells’.”

Aadi asked, “Is that okay? I can walk the way home.” “Don’t worry,” Shan replied, “I’ll meet up with Appa there anyway and we can return home, maybe after dinner.” Aadi smiled, “That’d be nice. Let’s be off.” The carter drove the cart at a leisurely pace and the two friends whiled the time away talking about trivial matters. To an onlooker, it seemed that they didn’t have a care in the world. It was well past noon, when they returned to Aadi’s house.

The two of them didn’t see their fathers anywhere. The tannery and the abattoir were empty and they figured that Zehra would be in the house. However, as they headed towards it, Aadi spotted his mother standing outside, near the wall facing the forest. Her gaze never wavered from the woods; her eyes were locked in the direction that her husband had headed that morning.