Terra, Frontier Village in the Kingdom of Stilyra- Late spring 11 years AR

Jon eventually was pulled aside by Leofrith who explained his plan to purchase things from Jon. It was confusing to Jon but he figured that he didn’t know the two noble children’s full story and it was clear enough that it was a plan to avoid the ire of Madam Eva. She hadn’t put a stop to Jon or his mother from doing business because they were heathens. Leading Jon to believe she just didn’t want her own family directly associating with them.

Leo of course never directly said that but her dislike for Jon’s family wasn’t exactly secret. Jon politely agreed to the noble's request, even if he could refuse he wouldn't have. He saw it as just more coin in his pocket. Leo also requested a new fishing pole with a reel and paid Jon 8 copper up front, although he requested it be delivered personally rather than through the market.

The group sat around and fished for a few more hours while Leo, Jaesmin, and a couple of the fishermen took turns casting the line and reeling it in. Jon showed how he’d attached his hook with a rock weight to help him cast it further and the corks he’d fashioned as a bobber to keep the hook from dragging across the bottom.

The men who fished for a living rarely ever used fishing poles. They did it for fun but when it came to providing fish for the village they laid gill nets in the lake or cast nets closer to the shore. At most, they’d just have a square block of wood in their hands that they’d turn to pull fish up to the boat. As they spoke, Jaesmin shrieked with delight and laughed loudly, spinning the reel. Soon she pulled in a decent-sized perch, the first one since the monster of a trout.

“Magistrates comin’,” one of the fishermen proclaimed suddenly, then looked sheepish after looking at the Leo. His warning caused a shift as everyone moved to give the proper distance from the young nobles, only Erin stayed close as she was helping Leo pull the barbed bone hook that Jon had carved from the fish’s mouth. They stood, Leo still holding the wriggling fish as the Magistrate walked onto the dock. Everyone made way and bowed.

“Yours Leofrith?” He asked looking at the perch.

“No father,” Leo said straight-faced that turned to a slight grin the next moment, “Jaesmin’s first catch.”

Despite her previous bragging, it had dawned on Leo that his sister had never actually caught a fish before today. Magistrate Ellis smiled at his daughter after reviewing her catch, he lent Leo his dagger to cut the hook free. Which he promptly did while Erin held it still.

“Father, you should see the one that Jon caught!” Jaesmin said and predictably added, “You know the heathen boy. He’s made a new invention like the stringed wheel toy and caught a fish that weighs half as much as I.” That was the name for the yo-yo-like toy, which Jon couldn’t remember thanks to being a ‘personal memory’ rather than ‘technical knowledge’. Jon’s new fishing reel however wasn’t a proper noun and he could remember what it was called, his mind automatically translating it from his old language to his new one. Aethred meanwhile was with Andrew holding up the large fish mentioned.

“Ho oh, that is quite the catch,” His father's eyes bulging slightly for a moment before he regained his composure and gave a proper aristocratic chuckle. He looked at one of the fishermen, “Perhaps we’ll have to see about getting you all some larger gill nets, I imagine there may be others like it, too large for your current ones to catch.”

Gill nets worked by allowing the fish to swim partially through the thin netting before being unable to pass completely through. They’d be unable to pull out of the net as the netting would catch in their gills as they tried to thrash free, hence the name. As it was, any fish too small could swim straight through the net and any too big wouldn’t fit to let the net catch their gills in the first place. There were different sizes of nets but none would have allowed Jon’s trout to squeeze in.

**********

Jaesmin stood to the side and instinctively clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head, Leo came to stand by her side. She watched her father discuss advancements to the fishing profession within the village while Aethred went to ready the pole and bait it with a small frog.

She stood and watched as her father followed to observe the cast and operation of the strange pole. Everyone slowly acclimated to her father’s presence and started to get a bit more relaxed and return to their previous activities. She didn’t really understand the fuss herself, her father had of course ordered people flogged and one execution but it was for actual crimes! He would never take offense if a commoner failed to bow, especially if he was walking among their space.

‘I guess it’s just different from their perspective. I’d feel just as nervous in front of the countess in Everton,” Jaes thought but put it aside.

She loved her father but wished he’d go back to the manor or go wander the village. She was enjoying herself. The fishing, the laughing, feeling the water running over her toes.

She had been wanting to talk with Jon and Erin about the wedding. She was curious what the painted runes represented, could you use other colors besides blue? The clothing was strange and exotic but the wavy braids of their mother’s hair were what caught Jaesmin’s attention the most. She sighed internally when she thought about the things she wanted to ask, wanted but never could.

“Umm... Master Leofrith, Miss Jaesmin,” Andrew approached them, “Would either of you wish to play one of the board games?” She glanced at her brother who only shrugged and gestured to her.

‘I guess that’s better than standing around here, if mother asks it’s not Jon and Erin, so no talk of heathens.”

Before she could answer their attention was diverted to a yell from the docks. Her father was holding Aethred by the cuff of his tunic, She walked barefoot towards the dock, wondering what the troublesome boy had said now. She quickly saw the truth though, her father was holding onto him to keep him from being pulled into the water, Erin squeezed past Jaesmin and ran to grab the fishing pole.

All Jaesmin could do was run back to shore and to the next dock over to get a better view. Aethred had caught something and it was fighting back. So big that her father was required to help!

Jaesmin gave a rare giggle as she watched her father, the village trouble maker, and the heathen girl fight to hold the pole and reel in the catch. She couldn’t help but feel warm looking at her father’s smile. A fisherman had offered to take the Magistrates spot but her father refused, he looked like he was enjoying the thrill like a rare treat.

“It must be nice to be able to do this all the time, fish, laugh, and swim,” Leo said what she’d been thinking.

“Can I ask why ya can’t?” Andrew had joined them on the dock as well. He looked unsure of himself but it was the best view of the struggle to pull in the fish.

“For one, I can’t swim,” Leofrith admitted, “One day I’ll rule here, my time is better spent preparing for then.”

“I thought you were fated to become a knight?” Andrew asked honestly.

“Even then, what good is playing around in the water?” Leo said dejectedly, he wanted to but knew it’d be seen as improper and unnecessary.

“To learn how to swim… what if you get tossed from your horse crossing a river or need to save a maiden that were swept away in the water?” Andrew said, speaking like it was the simplest thing in the world, “Don’t knights have to learn to fight anywhere?”

They had started to get comfortable with each other again, it had been over half a year since they had all spoken in the hideout. Jaesmin held back her smile and kept her usual face but it felt nice.

“Ahhh…” Leofrith froze up. Jaes thought Andrew was making a good point and judging by her brother’s face he hadn’t considered it before either. Why wouldn’t a knight know how to swim.

“Andrew! shut up and get the bag!” Aethred yelled out. Andrew did as he was told and ran to get the net. The end of the dock was crowded so he ended up waiting to hand it off.

The fish was close and when the moment came, Erin took the bag and stirred around the water like she was holding a giant spoon trying to get the fish in the bag. She managed to get the fish and lifted the makeshift net. Jaesmin saw the week burlap started to tear as their catch fought, to her eye the fish at least rivaled the massive trout from earlier and continued to thrash violently.

Someone ran by her and dove into the water with a splash, a moment later Jon’s head appeared next to the sack. He grabbed the tearing bag and heaved. Two more splashes and the heads of two fishermen surfaced before swimming over to Jon. The three of them got the bag under control and started dragging it to shore, those watching on the docks followed while those on shore made way. Jaesmin only now noticed the yelling had caught the attention of others, they’d been joined by picnickers and sunbathing teens.

The fisherman pushed Jon back and was handed a short wooden club by one of his compatriates. He pinned the fish down in the sack and with a whack to the head, it stopped with a few final jerks. Aethred was rubbing his arm which had to have been a little sore from the nearly 15-minute struggle, A smile across his face. A shirtless Jon stood there dripping wet. He’d help fight it out of the water but stepped back to let the professionals do what they determined needed to be done. Jaesmin guessed the club was meant to put the slippery fish down so they wouldn’t flop around the boat as the men pulled in the rest of the net.

“Gods… that’d be a fucking Midnight Pike!” one of the fishermen blurted out as they drug the black scaled fish out of the sack that had barely contained it. He didn’t even care that he had sworn in her father’s presence. If a fish could look viscous, this one did. The black scales and red eyes gave a sinister feel and its mouth was full of long needle-like teeth that looked painful if one were to touch the tip, “Boy you caught a monster!”

“Ha, told you mine’d be bigger!” Aethred said in delight looking at the fish he’d hooked.

“You had he-” Jon started to point out that he’d pulled in the trout alone while no less than six people, Jon included were responsible for pulling in this latest catch.

“No boy, I mean you caught an actual monster,” the man said back. Everyone knew the difference between animals and monsters. The latter was specific breeds of animals that were not only dangerous but had adapted to use wild magic, making them far different than their mundane cousins. That’s not to say all monsters were dangerous, a scaled toad was able to change its skin to blend in with its environment with wild magic but was as harmless as any other toad. Whereas a shadowcat, although described as a monster, was just a normal animal but as she’d nearly learned, they were deadly.

“Do you know of this ‘Midnight Pikes’ abilities?” the Magistrate asked, putting a hand on the children and pushing them back in case it was dangerous.

“I do milord, my pa caught one when I was a boy. It were nowhere as big as this but he said the slime it covers itself in were the magic bit. That it let them glide through the water like a… well like a fish but far faster than any should be able ta.” a middle-aged fisherman stepped forward with a brief bow. He looked meaningfully at Aethred, “If it pleases you, child. I’ll clean this for ya, just run back to the village and fetch some good clay jars with lids. I’ll store the scales and slime in 'em. I’ll be taking a piece of the meat though for my trouble. Not a large piece! Just enough for a taste. Hadn’t had it in oh, bout twenty-five years or so… it’s delicious.”

“So if I put the slime on me I’d swim faster?” Aethred said with a grin, “deal!”

“You’ll do no such thing boy. It don’t work like that, maybe after one of them potion-making types has at it but not by itself. Not sure what the merchant that bought the same from my pa did with it but my pa made nearly a hole silver from that one fish and it was half the size as this,” The fisherman said while glancing towards the Magistrate who was crouched down looking at the monster fish’s open maw.

Aethred didn’t get the hint so the man leaned in and Aethred quickly thanked the Magistrate for keeping the monster from pulling him into the lake. He offered a bit of the meat from the 20 lb fish which the Magistrate refused but offered to buy half the fish, stating he wished to try the rare delicacy himself. Jon stood nearby looking crestfallen. ‘Perhaps he’s upset that he didn’t catch the biggest fish’ Jaesmin thought but had to hold off on her smile.

Jaesmin walked around the outside of the group and intentionally rubbed her arm against his as she passed by, she turned to excuse herself as if she’d bumped him and made eye contact. She looked at his icy blue eyes as he apologized as well. A sweet but goofy grin appearing on his face.

She liked the smile, the blush that filled his cheeks, and the way he rubbed the back of his neck. she gave him half a smile herself before turning back to the fish. She saw his reaction at the wedding and was pleased to see it wasn’t a fluke. A great thing no one else had noticed, it’d be her little secret. Well Andrew was looking her way but she doubted the kind, gentle boy would tell anyone if he had, he'd already covered for her once.

**********

That night the whole group had fish, Trout, and monster alike. Not together, of course. They’d gone their separate ways before even returning to the village, but quite a few ate the delicious magic meat. Jon’s family only received a moderate-sized filet for his help which he split. Unseasoned and fried in oil it was still the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted. The looks around the table of closed eyes and slow chewing showed he wasn’t the only one. The trout wasn’t bad, most of it had gone into the smokehouse to preserve. Erin’s bass wasn’t worth smoking, so she sold it at the market along with the other fish they’d caught.

“You know you’re going to be busy this week,” his mother said as the five of them sat on stools around their small table, “Before you even got home I’d already heard a story of you children catching two true titans of the lake with your fishing pole.” She eyed him from the side, keeping her head straight ahead. Her tone sounded proud but Jon knew the look, she was evaluating him as if something were wrong.

“Busy?” Jon asked unsure of where the conversation was headed.

“There’s bound to be a few that wish to purchase a pole like yours,” she continued, “but I have to ask, where did you come up with the idea?”

“Ummm… I saw Andrew winding the twine of the wheeled string toy. It gave me an idea,” he lied, he felt his face get a little warmer as her look remained unwavering. He didn’t like lying to his mother about things normally and didn’t bother usually, she had a way of figuring things out. This was something else entirely.

“The twine on mine broke, I haven’t been able to play with it all week,” Andrew said confused, “You said at Aethred’s that you saw a little girl doing that and that’s where the idea came from.”

Jon silently damned Andrew but quickly took it back in case the gods took him seriously and decided to act. He realized he must have given away his thoughts as all four stared at him. Hild glanced at Andrew for a moment to judge his expression and then took a sip while resuming her side-eyed staredown.

“Really?” she said, extending the word out and not saying another. Jon’s face was now hot and he knew he probably looked red to the ears.

“Is the young master, Leofrith passing you knowledge from the Manor?” Kaden asked, “It’s dangerous business knowing the secrets of nobles.”

“That’s not it, my dear...” Hild said breaking away her stare finally as she reached out and put her hand on Kaden’s arm, “They didn’t know anything about the crossbow or the toy.”

Jon thought that might have been the most plausible lie he could have used if he’d thought of it first. He’d get punished by his parents but out of fear of mainly Madam Eva trying to reign in her family's secrets, they wouldn’t tell a soul. There were stories of commoners 'silenced' by nobles.

“It’s something to do about him staring at nothing for a moment. Anytime he gets a new idea, he does that just before and tells us,” Erin said with a very faint smirk, “It’s the same look every time and he keeps getting them. It’s like he’s surprised by what he’s seeing but he’ll just be staring at a tree or rock or something… After, he acts weird... weirder.”

Jon had officially started sweating he nearly resisted the urge to kick his sister under the table but reacted too quickly to think of the consequences. Her yelp as he kicked her shin sealed his fate. After some shared glances around the table, Kaden spoke up.

“If you’ve got a secret getting you this scared, best out with it,” he said, his voice gentle and calm, “If you can only tell your mother then do it, the rest of us will go for a walk. And don’t kick your sister.” He added the last bit as an afterthought, Erin didn’t seem to mind the kick and was actually hiding a grin; she’d be gloating about being right if it wasn’t a serious discussion.

“Ummm…. I’ve been, ah-” Jon said feeling very flustered, his mind was going an imperial mile a minute as he thought of a way out or what to do so he could calm himself down so that he could convincingly lie his way out of it. Information filled his head about anxiety and panic disorders, stress relief techniques, and resistance techniques to avoid releasing secrets.

“He’s doing it again!” Andrew said, “well I think, is that what you were talking bout?”

Jon saw Erin’s head nod with her smirk no longer hiding. It quickly faltered as tears welled in Jon’s eyes and he started to shiver. He was suddenly terrified. Hild reached out to steady him and looked at Erin.

“I dunno, when I said weird I meant he tried to act all innocent, like nothing even happened,” Erin said with a hint of panic in her tone. His mother got out of her chair and moved to wrap Jon in a tight hug.

“It’s okay sweetheart, it’s okay...” she held him from behind and rocked slowly back and forth. “You don’t need to say a thing, I promise we’ll never ask again if you promise to tell us when you’re ready.”

Jon just breathed deep, slow breaths and counted in his head to each inward breath. He focused intently on the in and out of each breath as he had his eyes closed. He originally squeezed them shut but relaxed as he followed more of the new information he’d just received from the vision. It was strange to know something you’ve never experienced in any way before, something you could feel was beyond the knowledge of others. His mother started quietly singing as he breathed and slowly calmed down, it was a soft lullaby that she’d sung to them as kids.

When he was ready he opened his eyes to see the others staring at him with concerned looks on their faces. Erin and Andrew looked away after a moment while Kaden’s eyes shifted to Jon’s shoulder, looking at his wife. She continued swaying and singing till the song was done and released him

They all continued staring or looking away awkwardly as he wiped tears from his eyes. He wasn’t completely calm but he was past the instinctual fight, flight, or freeze response his body had jumped into at the moment the fear hit him hard. He had just experienced the latter of the three. It was yet a new piece of information he’d learned.

“So, about your fishing poles. Mister Piers won’t be able to help make any during the festival but no one expects us to follow Temple doctrine. So I’ll help if you wan-” his mother made good on her promise to drop the issue but the new information he received informed him of the dangers of holding in stressors and the positive experience he may have in letting it out. It directly conflicted with the knowledge about the resistance techniques but Jon knew that was about holding information in and not about his well-being or state of mind.

“I see things! Learn things!” Jon blurted out, taking the first step. He resumed his breath exercises for a few moments, seeing everyone looking at him with confusion mixed with concern. He bit his lip a moment before continuing, “It’s I dunno, visions. Like a sudden memory of something I’ve never known even existed or never known before that moment.”

“Like what?” Erin asked quietly.

“Like…” Jon thought a moment for a good example, he glanced around the room he glanced at a small gap where the moss that had been placed between the logs and worn away, allowing a tiny crevice in between. He suddenly remembered a strong substance that could be spread like mud that would be perfect for sealing stone or brick and last longer between the logs in the walls. He even knew how to make it. He blinked a few times.

“Another one?”

“Like if you take limestone and heat it in a furnace till it’s very hot you can grind it to powder after it cools, then you add a bit of sand and small rocks to it. Once it’s done you can store but only in a dry plac-” Jon said.

“Why store it?” Andrew asked but got a flick to the back of his head from Erin.

“To use it you mix water with it until it’s like thick mud and let it dry. Once it’s dry it’ll be hard as stone and water can’t make it soft again.” Jon said before taking a deep breath and finishing quickly, “You can use it to bind rocks together like resin or glue and when it’s done it’ll be like it was one piece. You can build the walls of entire houses like that. Or you can pour it in a mold like a blacksmith does with bronze or a brick maker with clay. When it’s dry it’ll stay that shape... bricks, statues, or whatever.”

Jon went to control his breathing again. Out of all the things he could have learned, this was up there on the best things to know before divulging your greatest secret. The others just looked back and forth at each other and Andrew looking at the wall of their house. It was quiet for over a minute as the others digested Jon’s detailed conversation of cement.

“That’d be nice, solid stone walls for the house. Bet it’d be warmer and maybe we could add another room,” Andrew let out his train of thought, “too bad we can’t see if what you said was right though.”

“Why not?” Erin asked, “It wouldn’t cost much to have the blacksmith heat up a rock.”

“Because it’s a secret,” Kaden said, “this isn’t something that is ever mentioned outside of us… agreed.”

Jon internally thanked Kaden, he’d thought about it plenty and had jumped back and forth between being imprisoned and executed by members of the Temple or turned into a nobles pet, a slave in all but name. Even a slave now that he thought about it, there were none in Terra but slavery did exist.

“Hmmm… We could build our own…” Andrew said before thinking bout it, “Da, do you know how to build like what they got at the blacksmith's yard? Hey Jon, do ya know any things like how to turn iron to gold or…” Andrew’s eyes bulged as Jon’s eyebrows raised slightly, his eyes grew a little wider, and the rest of his features neutral for the third time that night. Erin’s jaw dropped while Hild and Kaden looked on with furled brows.

He unsurprisingly knew the basics for a simple furnace that would work to fire bricks and limestone much to everyone’s disappointment. They laughed as they talked about how every single one of them had a moment where they believed they’d be richer than kings. The furnace thing wasn’t a bad consolation though, well it was, but no one blamed Jon for not learning how to do the impossible.

From there it moved onto questions, Erin explained what she’d observed in the past and Jon said what he’d experienced when a vision hit. Erin vocally wondered what Jon knew and asked if Jon knew how to forge a dagger or sword, the same look spread across his face for a couple of moments and it turned out he had only at that moment learned a lot about weaponsmithing, even making weapons he’d never heard of or seen before. Unbeknownst to him, it was all information he’d gathered while watching a certain blacksmithing competition series on tv in his past life.

Erin nearly got smacked for that but begged to explain that she hadn’t expected him to get another vision. After all, he’d seen a dagger before, held one, talked about one, been to the blacksmith's shop, even seen a knife being made. Why hadn’t he had a vision till just now. It hadn’t even dawned on Jon to ever make his own weapons before. Once the realization hit that he needed to think about making or doing something himself. Either that or mentally check to see if he could remember the knowledge to trigger a vision Hild ordered Erin and Andrew NOT to start asking Jon if he knew how to make this or that, there would be dire consequences if they did.

After that, they went over things he knew but rather than ask they just had Jon tell them what visions he'd already had. It wasn’t everything he knew but much of what he knew he didn’t know how to explain. Like complex math and basic chemistry.

So he told them about things like how if you rubbed a steel or iron needle with a lodestone and placed it on something light that could float on water, the needle would always orient itself with north and south. He’d had the vision after getting momentarily lost in the North Grove. Another was the design of a machine that could be used to put words on paper over and over again.

He'd wondered bout making a panflute that led to learning about multiple instruments he could picture but he didn’t know exactly how they were made. With the most detailed being an instrument either called a violin or fiddle. He did figure out the panflute and gave it to Aethred to keep him from singing. Aethred played it happily but burned it when he learned why Jon made it.

The night started growing very late as Jon listed and occasionally explained things from dugout canoes to a wide variety of things about wilderness survival. Eventually, Hild called it a night and sent them to bed after reminding them not to mention it to anyone. She’d also told Jon that if he were to make anything else he wasn’t allowed to show anyone except family.

To push the point, she told him she worried that if he started making compasses, printing presses, and instruments others would start questioning how he knew those things. There was no way of knowing how the people in the village or House Barling would act if they started to grow suspicious. They may treat him like some gifted young artisan and let him do his thing or they may act against him out of fear or greed. The best thing to do was not let anyone get suspicious in the first place.

Late the next morning Jon walked down the street towards the manor, fishing pole in hand. He’d already been paid to make a fishing pole for Leofrith but rather than carving and cutting away to make a new one, he’d used a bit of the woodworking knowledge he had to clean up and otherwise improve the look of his old one. It was now stained and sealed to protect the wood and gave it a more impressive look. He also cut hollow rings from corkwood and slid them on to create padded handholds, secured with a strong resin-ground charcoal glue. He opted against putting a makers mark on it for fear the Madam of Terra would destroy it.

All in all, he’d only actually make three copper off the sale. He couldn't complain though, the few others that stopped by asking for one offered goods and services instead of coin, so it was likely the only coin he’d make unless he sold it to one of the traveling traders and merchants that stopped by regularly. Nearly everything on the pole was carved for nothing but the line was both costly and timely to make. He bought a total of 210 feet of thin, strong thread, and then with Erin’s help, he braided it tightly before putting it on the reel; ending up with a total of 60 feet of thin but heavy fishing line that could pull in monsters.

He made it to the entrance of the fence that separated the manor from the rest of the village. A guard met him there and after notifying them that he was making a delivery, one had him wait while they fetched Leofrith. He came down the hill looking somewhat surprised.

“You work fast,” Leo said as he bounded down the hill and accepted the ‘new’ fishing pole.

“It’s actually the one we used yesterday, I finished it up… I hope that’s alright,” Jon said while bowing, after noticing a raised eyebrow on the guard he added, “Milord.”

“That’s quite fine, I’d rather have it early,” Leo said inspecting his new purchase.

“If the line breaks another can be made by either Erin or Misses Lora but will probably cost 6 or 7 copper,” Jon said which got a look from Leofrith.

“That’s nearly what I paid for the entire pole?”

“Misses Lora’s a seamstress and we asked her to get the strongest thread she could. It cost 5 copper… It’s Aethred’s ma so I doubt misses Lora charged too much,” Jon said, “Not sure how much it’ll cost to braid the thread, me and Erin did that.”

“I see, I suppose a fine fishing pole is worthless if the line always breaks,” Leo nodded and dug into a pouch on his belt. He took out two more copper and held it out, “I should have asked for the price.”

“That’s quite alright.”

“I insist.”

“umm…”

“Jon, I’d rather not have it said I don’t pay honest pay for good work or fast delivery,” Leo said pushing his outstretched hand towards Jon who took the coins, “Oh and… this is a further order from my Father. I know you don’t abide by the work restriction during the festival but you need not worry about completing it before the solstice. I believe he intends you to have Mister Piers or Mister Kaden assist, I’ll inform him of the new price.” He held a slip of paper in his hand which Jon accepted, he bowed and turned as Leo did the same. When he was walking back he expected another cryptic note but it was just an order for a second fishing pole. He didn’t see any reason to wait till to get started, he’d had four new fishing poles to make including that one. After a moment he decided to work on them down by the lake. It was another nice day to be by the water.