Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) by Toby Neighbors Page A

Vera’s feelings, and he would have plenty of time on the road with Stone to get a good sense of the other man’s character. Perhaps all he felt was grief. His friend was leaving, perhaps not leaving the Point, but she would no longer be the welcoming confidant she had always been. She had seen him through the death of his parents and comforted him. Whether things were good or bad, she had always been there for him with open arms. Now, things were changing, and he didn’t like change.
    Once he had the marsh schooner ready and two of the Shire mares were in their braces, he set out. The open road had always had a way of rejuvenating him. He loved the beginning of a trip. He stopped at Chancy’s Inn and got a large keg of mead, which he secured to the bench seat beside him. It would give them something to drink in the marshes where fresh water was sometimes hard to find, and it would also serve as an armrest. He propped the big battle axe on the floor with its handle pointed up and resting against the keg of mead. His own rations and the six javelins he placed in the bed of the wagon just within reach of his seat.
    The Hollist farm was one of the biggest producers of rice in the Marshlands, and the main farmhouse was sited right on the path that led out of Hassell Point. There were other villages in the Marshlands, but Hassell Point was biggest. The other villages had very little interaction with the outside world. Other than a delivery or two, usually made by Lorik, they had no contact with anyone outside of the Marshlands. Hollist was waiting at the farmhouse with three of his sons. They already had the rice dried and bagged. Hollist could have sent his rice by ship. He was close enough to the harbor, hardly an hour’s ride by wagon. He had the money to pay for the cargo to be shipped as well, but like most of the people in the Marshlands, they preferred to have one of their own moving their goods. It was not unheard of for a shipment of rice sent by sea to go missing, in which case the rice tax wouldn’t be paid and the farmer could lose everything.
    Hollist’s sons loaded the rice while Lorik got specific orders from the farmer about what he needed from the north. Once everything was settled, Hollist and Lorik shook hands. Then Lorik set off in his wagon again. There were perhaps two hours of daylight left, and while Lorik was able to keep his emotions about Vera from bubbling to the surface at first, before long he couldn’t help himself. He was sad and he wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t the type of person given to sentimentality, nor was he comfortable with lying to himself. He thought about what was bothering him again, and once more he ruled out the possibility that he had stronger feelings for Vera than he thought. He was concerned for Vera; he didn’t want to see her get hurt, and as much as he liked Stone, neither of them knew the young warrior very well. But his emotional anguish was more than just concern. He was upset about something, and he decided that pretending he wasn’t upset was not going to help him.
    Then, out of the blue, it hit him. He wasn’t bothered by the fact that Vera was leaving him or seemed to be falling in love with Stone, he was upset because he and Vera had always been the same. Neither of them was satisfied with life, but it was easier to take the disappointment when he could spend time with someone who understood how he felt. It wasn’t that Lorik didn’t like living in Hassell Point or even like his trade. He felt lucky to have all he had, but there was something missing. It was easy to look at Vera and see that what she was missing was love. She had never found the person she wanted to share her life with until perhaps now, but Lorik was different. He didn’t think love and marriage were what was missing from his life. Finding someone to share his life with might have been pleasant, but he didn’t feel like his life was incomplete because he spent most of his time alone.
    He