Silencing the gods

Chapter II - The festival

The morning sunlight leaked through the curtains draped across the wooden window sill, the gray fabric not absorbing the light completely but just enough as to not hurt the eyes of
one while they slowly resume consciousness. Sitting up Jack felt as his hair fell down his face, brushing it aside as he rubbed his eyes blinking multiple times as they blurred back into focus from his slumber. He adjusted himself as he slipped his boots onto his feet, grabbing his satchel from the bedpost he had set it on for easy access since he knew he'd need it in the morning. Throwing it around his right shoulder so it rests on his left hip, he then grabbed his cloak that rested beneath, clasping it back around him. The sunlight was low so he knew he'd woken up
just in time, he'd need about an hour to tack up his horse and the cart as well as another four hours to get to Thornwall from the house depending on if anything went wrong during the trip. Checking through his bag he counted it off, vials of a red liquid sloshed in their circular containers. He'd need these incase he were to be cut or stabbed at any point, having the ability
to heal wounds on contact whether it be through pouring on to or drinking it to flow through the blood. Next was his dagger, unsheathing it he checked to see if it needed fresh oil for the blade running his finger across it he removed his thumb to see a trickle of crimson leak from a small cut. With a nod, he then grabbed his journal from it before placing it back down in the leather interior. Finally was the Three vials of water, he checked them for cracks in the glass and if the corks had gone loose yet thankfully neither was present. He placed the flap back down
before strapping it with the buckle, heading out the door and downstairs where his mother and father sat at the table both smiling.
"Good morning Jack." His mother said, followed by his father's,
"Good morning son."
"Morning mom, morning dad." He replied with a yawn, his jaw gaping for a moment revealing his canine like teeth as the air escaped.
"Sleep well?" His father asked, to which Jack shrugged.
"Sleep is sleep, whether it was good or not is up to perspective." This comment made his mother sigh, while his father laughed.
"Save the angst for some of the girls at the festival, I hear from your mother that they're going crazy over that stuff nowadays."
"Gods damn it Frank...." Violet sighed once again though a smile cracking through her attempting to be serious followed by a silenced chuckle.
"Eh, I'm not interested in people. Why should I be? Yeah, conversation can be nice but I'm just not good with it." Jack said, walking over to a plate of bread steaming from the oven.
He grabbed a small bun the size of his fist, taking a bite and tearing it away. "I'll be taking everything up once I'm done with this. '' he said once he had swallowed what he bit.
"No need, your father and I already did it. Dawn is waiting out front for you, she's tied to the fence post currently. That horse is almost too fat for her harness." Violet chuckled,
"Gods, you guys can't wait for me to leave so you can plow huh?" Jack said sarcastically, with a smirk.
"Oh no, if we wanted to fuck we'd tell you so you could leave. That or tell you we need you to go find us a random plant like we've been doing the past few years." Frank said with a grin and a mischievous smirk to which Violet's face turned a bright red that she covered.
"Frank! Hush!" she yelled behind her hands, to which Jack and his father both laughed. "Gods the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree...." Violet muttered.
"Proud of it!" Jack said almost immediately after her, "but seriously, you guys already got the wagon loaded, Dawn tacked, and my bow and quiver on there?"
"Yup, just waiting on you to finish eating, then you can go. Plus I have a special surprise for you, I made it for you about three weeks ago." his father said, reaching under the table to something that rested in his lap. It was a scabbard with leather wrapped steel and some type of black metal. On the case was a symbol Jack was very familiar with, a seven sided star where an emerald rest in the center polished to where it glinted in the sunlight. The leather was dyed forest green, Frank handed the blade to Jack. "Obsidian. You can thank your mother for that, she expanded a lot of ashay just to create it. Go on and unsheath it." he said to Jack, grabbing the handle of the weapon. It was heavy, the pommel was in the shape of a raven head while at the hilt rest a rose with thorns and vines twirling around a handguard. The blade itself was like a mirror yet the reflection that showed was distorted, some odd markings scratched on the flats just like his father's tattoos once again.
"What does it say?" Jack asked, tilting the blade watching as the engravings swirled its blade was curved slightly and came to a fine point yet it was around three centimeters thick and five feet two inches long. It weighed roughly twenty pounds, yet as Jack began to do a couple of test swings of the blade it felt as if it was cutting the air itself flowing with little resistance.
"Its name is yet to be decided, that is your blade after all."
"Hm.....Stella." Jack said, looking over the blade smiling at his father and mother.
"A perfect name, you know I had an ex named that but another story for another day. You're ready to go." Frank said with a smile, looking at his son and the blade proudly. Placing the blade around
his waist he let it hang to his right hip, the pommel glinting as it swayed in the sunlight. Finishing up the bread, he walked to the front door before Frank smiled and gestured to the wagon outside. Walking out to the wagon Jack looked at his mare, Dawn was a seventeen hands tall Shire horse pale white with blue eyes. Her body was round though there was obviously more muscle on this equine than her owner, yet despite this she was a gentle horse. Walking to her Jack pet under her mane, causing her to shake her body as her tail swayed swatting at flies. Jack kissed the horse's cheek, patting her other cheek gently.
"Alright girl, we have a long trip." He said quietly, causing her to murmur as she resumed to eat grass below her. Her upper and lower lip quivering and moving as she pulled at the grass, chewing it happily before Jack took the reins of her halter and gently pulled up twice while clicking his tongue. The stubborn mare gave a short grunt before lifting her head, allowing Jack
to remove her current reins and replace them with the extended ones for the wagon as he sat up on the ragged wooden construct. The wheel rims and some supports were the only parts really made
from metal. The rest was smoothed and hand carved oak wood, about six feet long and four feet wide with a cloth roof covering the back of the wagon as well as a small part looming over the driver's seat. Jack felt a bump under him, moving over he looked down and saw a small linen bag and a wooden pipe. A note was attached 'You're a man now, if you want to try this feel free. Love, Dad.' it read. Jack couldn't help but chuckle, taking the wooden pipe and placing it in his mouth before packing it full of the oily brown plant. Reaching into the bag he removed a flint and steel
flicking them together a spark caught the plant and embers began to form. The plant crinkled as he inhaled, the smoke hitting him in his throat as he inhaled deeper feeling it circulate in his lungs. Exhaling he felt a rush in his head, the world spinning for a moment before steadying. Little did his father know, he'd been smoking since he was fourteen so he already knew how to do so without coughing. With a flick of the reins and a whistle, Dawn began to trot down the dirt path and through the forest guiding her around trees and brush they reached a main road of dirt after about ten minutes. With this path found, they were on their way to Thornwall, a long four hour journey ahead of them due to the town being ten miles away from the cottage.