Winston had visited our home every evening after he had finished work. His father was a cooper and he too was training to take up the family trade. After his daily tasks were done, he would drop by and ask about my recovery. My father would allow him to visit my room and we would talk about nothing and everything. I think he was initially inclined to visit out of guilt. The gods know my sister made her disapproval of his presence known.

Awkward obligation turned to genuine friendship when our interests aligned. Winston was in many ways the very opposite of me. He was tall and broad shouldered; his work had put weight on his frame. Four years older than me the sixteen-year-old youth was the model of rude health I wanted to be. In contrast I was small and sickly for my age, I took after my mother in my constitution. Winston was a blithe spirit; he had a broad face and honest personality. Mothers would fuss over him and he seemed to be on good terms with everybody.

What we differed in nature we were brothers in ambition. He thought becoming a clerk was better than becoming a cooper I thought the other way around. We both agreed that going to sea was better than either option. He taught me how to work with my hands and I taught him his letters. He had none of the difficulty that boys his age had. He held no rancor nor was moody. Where others may have felt embarrassed to learn from a child he was not.

We made an unusual pair, but we made up for what the other lacked. When I was eventually released, we would sit on the cliff where the Lighthouse Keep itself loomed over the city. We watched the ships go by, guessing what they were carrying and where they were bound. We would point at distant sails and pretended they were wolfships packed with Æsc raiders.

It had been many years since the Northmen raided Averntide lands. The Earl’s fleets had made his territory an unattractive target. As Lord Protector. Earl Harold defended the entirety of the Blackstone Isles. Some thirty years ago the last great invasion had been crushed at sea by a coalition of earls and lairds. The Earl was fascinated with the greater southern continent and its Old Empire. He had built great warships in their fashion and ended the northern threat. Still the occasional raider slipped past his fleets and pillaged remote holdings. Most raiders now struck lone ships, the continent, or the archipelagos to the west.

Neither of us had seen the violence of the Æsc’s in our lifetime. And perhaps that was why we could play as the Northmen or Isle folk as we crossed branches like swords. I wondered how Winston had the time for me between his work and the other children. He was well liked everyone, and I thought he had many friends. I soon realized despite his amicability he was difficult in his own way. In many ways he was too honest and born without a shred of social sensibility. He was easy going but was utterly insensitive to the egos of others. A difficult trait to have when your peers were insecure juveniles.

It was on one of those lazy afternoons after Winston had disarmed me of my branch and wrestled me to the ground, that he asked me a question. We were both watching the bay again as we caught our breath.

“You remember the day we met right?”

“Mm? How could I forget. I had my teeth kicked in.”

“Oh, yeah… Sorry about that…”

I sighed. I had only meant to rib him a little, now he was back to apologizing. I don’t think he had ever quite forgiven himself for that day. It had nearly taken the whole week I was confined to convince him I held no ill will.

“So, what is it?”

“I was just wondering what you were doing in that barrel. I had meant to ask but you know… I never got around to it.”

“Wait, you seriously don’t know?”

“No.”

A chuckle bubbled up from within. All in all, Winston was not the sharpest knife in the block. I let loose a giggle that turned into heaving bouts of laughter.

“What is it? What’s so funny?”

Bless him, he was confused rather than angry. I tried my best to reign in the overwhelming tide and had to catch my breath again.

“Well you, but mostly me. Now that I look back it feels so stupid.”

“Alright but that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Do you remember there being a ship next to those barrels?”

“Yeah, they are regulars at my fathers’ shop. Herring fishers, some of the wood in the barrels went off and they needed replacements.

“No wonder it smelled so bad. Never mind, I was trying to stow away on that ship.”

His eyes widened at my answer.

“You’re mad Eddie.”

“See, stupid. It was a stupid idea.”

I continued laughing at the absurdity of it all. It was a little sad how desperate I was to leave this life behind. But the even more pathetic ending to the escapade made it even more laughable. I felt bitter at my perceived lack of agency. Winston said nothing as he watched the waves crash into the cliffside. After a long while he spoke.

“I think you are very brave little brother. It was pretty stupid but still brave.”

We sat on the cliffside watching the sun set. I had nothing to say, what could one say to that? We went home our separate ways. I had started to help my father around the shop after my little incident. In the evenings he would spend time going over parts of his trade. Neither my sister nor I wanted to take after his profession, and he accepted that. But he still insisted we learnt some the basics. He wanted us to be able to look after ourselves. I admit it was far more engaging than geometry, and it felt good to learn something I thought was practical.

After supper and lessons, I went to my room and slipped into bed. I lay in dark as I waited for sleep to take me. My thoughts turned to tomorrow and the days after. I suppose I was an oddity as a child to consider his life at twelve. Where I would had normally chafed under my foreseeable routine, I felt better about it. I had my brother besides me and that made things a little better.

My days passed without much distinction. My sister had turned fifteen and was apprenticed to a counting house. She had a perseverance and steadiness at odds her volatile temper. She made a fine bookkeeper and later became a terrifying magnate. Perhaps you have heard of her, no? But you have most certainly felt her handiwork. Who do you think who crashed the kingdoms finances? Convenient is it not that the collapse only bankrupted the Imperial turncoats? Bah, that part of story comes much later, long after the battle of Amber Plains.

Now then, where was I? Yes, thank you Marcus. My sister had a job and my father thought I should have one too. Something to keep me busy and my mind focused on a trade. Mind you I was still only twelve and my options were limited. He relied on me more in his day job, he had me take down prescriptions and handle the money. I was still free in the afternoons and had my lessons in the evenings. Who knows, I may have even become a clerk or even an apothecary if it wasn’t for Winston.

We were at our usual place by the outer wall of the keep. It was close enough to the walls that some of the guards came to know us by sight. We had taken to making slings and launching stones at the walls. It was wrong but there was a certain rush in such things. Some of the guards thought it was funny and set targets for us to hit on the battlements. It was a dangerous and stupid idea, but I can attest that boredom from sentry duty does strange things to a man. I later learnt that they would take bets on which of us hit the targets. It was after our games that I sat down and expressed my unhappiness at my current predicament.

“So, what your saying is that your dad wants you to have a job to keep you occupied?”

I nodded glumly.

“So why don’t you get one?”

“I don’t want a desk job brother.”

“It doesn’t have to be a desk job, right? Just something you can do to settle you down.”

I nodded along but he had lost my interest.

“I hear that the whaling ships need people good with sums, at least that what my dad says. Someone to split the pay and keep records.”

“Where did he hear that?”

“From our customers largely, we get all sorts looking for good barrels.”

Winston had planted an idea in my head that quickly took root. It was a foolish idea. What kind of man would hire a child to do an adult’s job? I was talented with my letters and figures; I had a fair hand and my father had drilled into me the basics of bookkeeping. Was I qualified to professionally work a business endeavour? No. But I didn’t know that.