The Core's Origin

Uncharacteristically, Gabriel was badly distracted for the remainder of the caravan’s time in Uttara’s eastern frontier. The realization that someone was altering the people of the province was deeply disturbing, and it preoccupied all of Gabriel’s thoughts. Things grew so bad that in the last village, Marta needed to take over some of the socializing.

Fortunately, Marta shared Gabriel’s discomfort for what they had discovered, though she prevented her concerns from disrupting her work.

They discussed the matter at length on the way back to Uttara, and quickly agreed that they also needed to visit the north of the province to see just how far the effects had spread.

Unfortunately, one of their largest arguments in years came of a disagreement as to when to make the journey north.

They had heard stories of how cold and intense the northern winters could be. Neither denied that they were dangerous, but while Gabriel felt certain that they could amply prepare for the journey and set out before the first snows fell, Marta wanted to wait for spring to arrive in order to avoid any risk at all of encountering the north’s ice and snow.

In the end, they decided to compromise, and when they arrived in Uttara, Gabriel worked with his contacts to gather a reliable guide, supplies, and equipment to head north as quickly as possible so that they could beat the snow.

Gabriel had seen snow a few times before while traveling across the Savaren Empire, but while it was unpleasant, it had never carried much of a risk, unless one was in the mountains. He had seen what snowfall could do in the mountains, and how passes could close and travelers could become trapped or frozen.

He would never forget meeting the remains of the one caravan which had been caught by the wolves after a snowfall.

It took less than a week for Gabriel’s contacts to find a northern guide, as well as winter clothes and boots for the caravan’s people and guards, and even coats for the horses, which Gabriel just loved. It was far too adorable to see the animals in their cozy clothes, and he felt there could be a market for selling clothes for horses and other animals. He would have to explore that possibility further in the future.

Just nine days after returning to Uttara, Gabriel and Marta were being led north by their guide, a quiet, unassuming man who reminded Gabriel of nothing more than a deer.

Justin was not skittish, but he had large, dark eyes and would stare intently for very long periods of time. He moved cautiously and silently, and even seemed to graze when he ate his meals.

It was clear that Justin was familiar with the route north, and he guided them well. Every night saw them at a comfortable campsite that was clearly well used, and several times they shared the popular locations with other travelers.

However, everyone they met on the road was traveling south, having finished their dealings in the north. They were all eager to get south before winter trapped them in the frozen north.

Gabriel spoke with everyone they met on the trail, learning as much as he could of the northern people.

What was most interesting to him was that the northern villages were not inhospitable. In fact, they were quite the opposite. All of the travelers recounted their warm receptions, though they also cautioned Gabriel that the northerners were suspicious of outsiders. There was a simple reason why the empire had never been able to collect any taxes or even conduct a census of the north; all of the empire’s men who had been sent north had simply vanished without a trace.

In fact, Gabriel had recently learned through some of his contacts in the government that the Savaren Empire had quietly sent more than one military expedition to suppress the northern villages and force their submission, but all of those soldiers had also disappeared.

For the Savaren Empire’s military and government, the northern reaches of the Uttara Province had come to be regarded as a forbidden realm that no one would willing enter.

Oddly enough, while the government’s men invariably disappeared, traders were almost always welcomed by the villages, though as the travelers and Justin had all warned Gabriel, the northerners were all highly suspicious of strangers.

The night before they arrived at the first village, Justin spent the evening reviewing the customs of the northern villages, hoping to ensure that the visit and subsequent trades all proceeded smoothly.

“You must understand that they will not purchase any food or drink from you, and they will only accept sharing your meal if you openly take the first bite. By the same token, when they offer you a meal, they will always show you that it is safe by taking the first bite and sipping their drink first. The empire has employed many tactics against them, and they are wary of all strangers.

“A good indication of them trusting you is if you are allowed to interact with any of the children, as they are all closely protected. Don’t be surprised if you don’t even see any children in the first village. If you are allowed to proceed, you may eventually see them in other villages.”

Gabriel was curious about one thing that he had forgotten to ask about earlier. “With how suspicious you’re saying they all are, will we be forced to camp outside of the village? I was looking forward to sleeping in a warm bed.”

Justin shook his head. “They encourage traders to visit, and so almost every village has a guest house a short distance away from the rest of the village. You and Marta will be able to use that, though your guards and the wagon drivers will all need to sleep with the wagons. They’ll be allowed large fires and provided with plenty of blankets and hides, though we should have brought enough of our own.”

Gabriel nodded, but Marta’s eyes flickered as she caught something that had been left out. “And where will you be spending the nights, Justin?”

The man twitched slightly and his large, floppy hat shifted just enough to expose a bit of his tawny hair that he insisted on keeping hidden. “Well, while it’s not my village, one of my cousins married a woman there, so I’ll be staying the nights with them. I have friends or acquaintances in most of the northern villages, so you won’t need to worry about my accommodations throughout the journey, if you’re allowed to continue.”

Marta’s eyes narrowed, and Gabriel could tell that something was bothering her, though he was not entirely sure what it might be. After all, they had chosen Justin as their guide because he was from the north. They had wanted a native guide, and had succeeded in getting one, so why was Marta bothered?

After confirming that there was enough wood for the fires to last the night, Gabriel made one final check with his second before turning back to his own wagon to join Marta.

Given that Gabriel and Marta traveled extensively and had done so for many years, their personal wagon was always packed with their most valuable supplies, as well as a relatively comfortable bed, so that they never needed to sleep on the ground while traveling.

As Gabriel started getting into his blankets, he gave Marta a questioning look, which she very pointedly ignored.

“Cough, cough. So?”

“Hmmm?”

“Are you really going to leave me in the dark?” Gabriel knew better than to push Marta too far, but also knew that she enjoyed dragging things out and teasing him.

“Actually, yes. I don’t know enough yet, and I’m just not entirely certain, so I won’t be saying anything for now. I don’t want to possibly influence your own judgment of things.”

That was quite surprising, as Marta was almost always open with Gabriel about things that were important. For her to want to keep something to herself suggested that things were far more grave than he had suspected.

In fact, thinking back, the only other times that Marta had kept things to herself had been when she had been testing people and wanted to make sure that Gabriel was unaffected by her suspicions.

However, his wife’s silence instantly made Gabriel wonder who was the target of her suspicions: the village they were about to visit, or Justin?

Gabriel considered the matter for a few moments before he fell asleep.

***

It was only midday when the caravan rolled into the first northern village. Just the same as always, Gabriel’s wagon was the first to enter the village, and he was as excited as a child to meet these northerners he had heard so much about.

He eagerly looked around, but the houses were not much different from the others he had seen in Uttara Province, though the walls and roofs were a bit thicker, and the windows were smaller. Not only that, the shutters appeared to be quite thick and sturdy as well. It was readily apparent that these people took their winters very seriously.

A small group of people stepped out to meet with Gabriel and the rest of the caravan, but most of the villagers just gave curious glances as they went about their business. It was unusual for any traders to visit so late in the year, and most people had already purchased all that they needed or intended for the winter, and thus had no real interest in whatever Gabriel might have brought to trade.

What did stand out was that a young man stood with the village elder who looked to be in charge. Even more strange was that the elder seemed to treat the young man as an equal.

“Greetings, new friends! My name is Gabriel, and me and my people are here to run one last trip before winter freezes over. I could tell you all that we’ve brought for you, but there’s no need for me to go on about such things. Just give me a few moments to bring out some samples of my wares, and my goods will speak for themselves.”

“Greetings, Gabriel. I am Dustin, and this is Evon.

“While you are welcome to share your goods, I fear that we already have all that we need for this winter. Last traders left just a week or so ago, so we haven’t even had much time to go through what we traded for with them.” The old man was the one to speak to Gabriel, while the younger man, Evon, made a point of openly examining Gabriel, Marta, and the rest of the caravan.

“Naturally, I understand that, and I even took that into account when preparing goods for you. Just let me prepare my wares and I can promise that you won’t be disappointed.”

Gabriel immediately turned to get the samples out. While they had left the capital in a hurry, he was an experienced enough of a trader to know what to take to people who were looking at months of isolation. People always focused on the necessities, such as food, shelter, and clothing, but tended to ignore those things which could make the time more pleasant. Gabriel had gathered instruments, puzzles, toys, and other such things.

There were flutes and lutes, board games and dice, and even intricate blacksmiths’ puzzles. Most of the goods were small and light, and Gabriel had prepared a chest with samples of each type of good that he had brought.

Sure enough, the unusual sample display drew a good bit of attention, and within minutes, Gabriel had a small crowd gathered in front of him.

The typical haggling commenced, and it was late afternoon before Gabriel was able to speak to either Evon or Dustin, though the merchant had seen past his customers to where Justin had been speaking to Evon and the two men had embraced tightly.

It was clear who Justin’s cousin was, though the two men looked to be far more than a decade apart in age. Maybe they were second cousins?

Just as Gabriel had been warned, there was a noticeable absence of children near the people of the caravan, though he had seen bright eyes peeking at his toys and puzzles from doorways, windows, and hidden corners where the little ones believed themselves to be safely hidden.

Unexpectedly, Gabriel and Marta were invited to share dinner with Evon, his wife, and Justin in one of the houses. The young couple had no children yet, which Gabriel suspected might have been a significant factor in them playing as his hosts for the evening.

“Tell me, Gabriel, where do you come from? All of the traders who visit us here in the north are from Farun, and many of them even inherited their routes from their fathers. What brings you so far from the rest of civilization?” Evon made no secret of wanting to learn more about the merchant, despite the fact that Gabriel knew that Justin had already shared everything he knew about Gabriel and Marta.

“I come from far to the south and east, from the heart of the Savaren Empire. I’ve spent my years traveling about and setting up trade routes which my partners and comrades use later on. I’ve always had the urge to travel and explore, so I find it difficult to follow the same route each year. Actually, I’ve never even tried, and I’ve been fortunate enough to find a wife who loves the adventure as much as I do, haha.”

Marta side-eyed him, but did not even pause her conversation with Evon’s wife Becka.

Evon and Justin gave polite smiles, but whereas Justin said nothing, Evon continued to press for more information. “Well, I can understand yeh comin' to Farun if yeh're wantin' to explore and see more, but I can’t understand yeh comin' up north, much less this late in the year. From what I hear from my cousin, yeh put this expedition together pretty quick after yet got to the capital. I understand yeh were barely there a week 'fore you started on yer way up here?”

Gabriel nodded. He had expected something like this to come up from the beginning. He knew that his actions were beyond unusual, and for people as isolated and suspicious as the northerners, Gabriel’s abrupt trip north looked like he had ulterior motives.

Even worse, they were right. Gabriel and Marta had agreed to make this journey north in order to confirm their suspicions that someone was changing the people of Uttara, and after visiting the other three regions, only the north remained. Still, they had tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.

“Well, we were held up by a second trip east to the frontier, but we always intended to visit all four regions of the province this year, and we weren’t about to let a little delay hold us back from accomplishing that. Setting goals is important, and so is meeting them. While we might not finish seeing the north this year, we can at least say that we met our goal of seeing the entire province this year.”

There was clear suspicion in Evon’s eyes, but he did not immediately dismiss Gabriel’s story. “I’ll be honest with yeh, yeh should head back from here. Snow should be arriving within the month, and yeh’ll need least a week or two to get back to Guilone from 'ere. Any snow falls, yeh might not make it back at all. To be safe, yeh should follow the others who just left.”

While Gabriel appreciated the warning, there was no chance that he would turn back even half a day before it was absolutely necessary. “According to Justin, there should be a few more villages within a day or two of this place, and even more within a week’s journey. I’m thinking we’ll go to the furthest possible village north of here, which should be about a week away, and that will give us three weeks to return to the capital. We’ll be done and gone within the month, so we should be fine.”

Evon shook his head while Justin smiled at him and held out hand. After a moment, Evon sighed and went to grab a bottle from a cabinet that he then handed to his cousin. Gabriel just watched, curious about the exchange.

Only after Justin had the bottle did he turn and grin at the trader. “We had a bet. I told him the threat of the weather turning wouldn’t put you off from continuing on, while he was sure that he’d be able to convince you better than me.”

Gabriel smiled back at the man. “In that case, I believe you owe me a drink from that bottle whenever you decide to open it.”

Evon laughed at that. “He’s got yhe there. He did win that berry wine for yeh, so yeh owe him a drink of it.”

Justin nodded. “Tell you what, when I get you back to the capital, we’ll share a drink to celebrate a successful journey.”

“What? Yeh tellin' me yeh’re not only taking my best wine, yeh’re gonna enjoy it without letting me have even a sip?” Evon was clearly offended at the implication.

Despite the men’s open suspicion and pointed questioning, Gabriel found himself enjoying the time with the northerners. They were not subtle in their behavior or their words, and given what he had learned about them, Gabriel felt that they would likely be offended by people who were.

Still, while it would likely be best to be open with the men in order to earn their trust, Gabriel simply did not know enough of what was happening in the province to even know if he was looking into something dangerous or not.

Still, it might be possible to check a bit.

“I have to tell you two, this province of yours is the strangest place I’ve ever visited in the empire. It’s not your culture, but your people.” The moment Gabriel made that comment, he saw both men’s smiles grow fake as they stiffened slightly. It was readily evident that they knew something about this matter.

“I didn’t notice much in the south or the east, but when I made it to the mountains to the west, the people living there were the oddest little folk I’ve ever encountered!” The merchant continued to play the fool, and the tension leaving the two men at the mention of the westerners was visibly noticeable.

“Not one of those people came as high as my shoulder, and they all have beards, too. But if you’ve not been there, what else I saw there will shock you; even their women have beards! I even saw a hairy child, who I later found out was no more than eight summers old! Strange folk, I tell you.”

Gabriel purposely ignored Marta’s pointed glance and took a drink of the beer he had been given for the meal. There was no missing the glances exchanged between Evon and Justin, though their confusion was a surprise to Gabriel. These men clearly knew something about odd folk, yet nothing about the others in the province who Gabriel had already found.

Gabriel’s grin grew larger than ever. This was it. This was proof that the north was hiding transformed people as well, and these two men even seemed to know something about it.

“Yeh’ll have to tell us more about these people. They sound fascinatin'. I can understand why yeh enjoy travelin' all over, if yeh get to see such things.” Evon’s eyes were startlingly intense as he spoke, and Gabriel could not help wondering if he might have overplayed things a bit. “In fact, yeh’ve stoked my own itch to travel, and seein' I’ve got pretty much everything here ready for the winter, I’ll join yeh visitin' the villages. Who knows, maybe we’ll make it all the way to the furthest village where yeh can speak to my uncle, Burt. He’s traveled around a bit as well, in years past, and even made it as far as Tamar, long ago.”

Gabriel knew he was in trouble, though not what that trouble actually was. When Evon mentioned traveling with the caravan, his wife had stopped talking and had looked over at her husband with nothing more than a questioning look, but the moment Evon mentioned his uncle, Becka gasped and her cup fell to the floor, the clay vessel shattering.

Who was Burt and why did his name elicit such a strong reaction from the woman?