Brekker's Barrel

13-JESPER

Jesper sipped his jurda tea, just sweet enough for his liking. He was standing on the cottage's small porch taking in the cool, misty air of the morning. Wylan stood beside him, leaning his head of ruddy curls against Jesper's bicep.

"I miss home." Wylan whispered.

"I do too." Jesper said, taking his eyes from the rustling fields of jurda to look at his love.

"Do you think Talon will be alright? Here, I mean."

"Well, Da's been missing having people around. Maybe Talon could remedy that. Plus, he's pretty good at raising kids. At least, I'd like to think so." He shrugged playfully.

"Your father is wonderful, Jes." Wylan laughed sweetly, his freckled cheeks pink from the cold.

Jesper could never get his fill of Wylan's pinking cheeks, his sky blue eyes, the amber curls framing his face.  His mind was fascinating; his melodies beautiful. His spirit was unbreakable. The merchling had become Jesper's world, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

The two lovers watched the fields of jurda rippling in the breeze, giving each other kisses in between sips of tea.

Around mid-morning, the four of them were sitting on the kitchen floor playing marbles. Just as Talon was about to win- which Jesper might have helped with- a knock sounded at the door. 

Colm went to answer it as Jesper and Wylan silently took Talon to the living room. Since the last incident, they had hidden from visitors.

"Jes! It's your friends!" His father called.

He let out a sigh of relief and strode into the kitchen. Kaz and Inej were ushered in, already being offered tea by his father. They politely declined.

"We figured you two could use a ride home." said Inej, glancing between Jesper and Wylan.

Jesper couldn't miss the disappointed look that flashed over his father's face. He wrapped a slender arm around the man's broad shoulders to comfort him.

"We'll visit again, Da. I promise."

Colm then looked to Wylan and pulled him into an embrace. Wylan had a much smaller frame than Jesper's father, becoming enveloped in the man's arms.

"I'll miss having you around, Wy. Remember what I said about Jes causing you trouble."

Wylan chuckled. "I will. I'll see you soon."

"Can I stay?" Talon asked, giving them puppy eyes. "I like it here."

"She'll be safe here." Kaz lowered his voice so that only the adults could hear. "As far as we know we've killed everyone who wants her."

"Wants her?" Wylan and Colm asked in unison.

"My guess is that she's Grisha." Inej spoke up.

"Talon, do you have any...powers?" Jesper kneeled down to the girl who was now kicking marbles across the floor.

She appeared to be in thought for a moment.

"If I get hurt I can fix it really quick. Mama said not to tell people." She motioned with her hands, pretending to heal using her powers.

"A healer." They all gasped.

Talon looked up at them in confusion. Perhaps one day she would learn about her powers, but for now they only made the young girl a target. She would be raised as any other child, only with the gift to heal minor cuts and bruises.

Jesper would never admit it, but he rejoiced in the fact that his father would be living with a healer. He had become worried about the farmer growing old and living alone. As Talon grew her skills, she could care for him.

As the gang began to walk the long road back to the coast, Colm waved goodbye with Talon latched to his pant leg. Jesper smiled at them once more before catching up to the others on their way back to the harbor.

~~~

Jesper watched carefully as the blacksmith pulled a molten orange strip of silver from the fire. She did it with ease, holding the tongs steady as to not bend the metal. The large, chiseled woman looked to be in her forties, and had been doing this work since her youth.

"I'm still not sure why you asked me to do this, kid." She said while inspecting the glowing strip. "My prices are high."

Jesper had found the most reputable blacksmith in Ketterdam to help him craft this piece. It was crucial that it came out absolutely perfect. Jesper would accept no mistakes or blemishes.

She then began to form the silver tightly around a thin rod, ensuring that it was the correct size. The two ends connected, forming a ring of glowing amber. The rod was left on a rack to cool.

"It'll be a few hours," She said, leaving the ovenlike room, "but if sitting and watching metal cool is your thing, go for it."

As he watched her go, he kept wide eyes on the metal, acting as though he had no clue how it worked.

But before the metal hardened, Jesper took advantage of its malleability. He used his fabrikator skills to carve intricate laurels and waves into the soft metal. He carefully adjusted the design until he was satisfied.

The sharpshooter then pulled a small, perfectly round pearl from his pocket. He rolled it between his fingers one last time as he watched its perfect glow. He then embedded the Pearl into his design, making it the centerpiece.

Then, he did exactly what the blacksmith said. He sat and watched the beautiful design harden, transforming into a smooth silver color.

When she returned to take the piece off its mold, the woman was absolutely shocked to see the design that had appeared on her work. Jesper gave her no explanation. She could suspect all she wanted, but Jesper knew better than to be showing off his powers to complete strangers. He simply placed a generous amount of Kruge in her hand and went on his way, taking the creation with him.