Chapter 182 TEIGEN VI
TEIGEN
"I used some of the fruits we were to eat tomorrow morning. I'm sorry if that offends you, I will pick more before I retire. I found you had some sugar powder in a small sack so I also added that to the batter" I rant, picking at my nails
"Hm. Most common folk can't afford sugar powder, hence why their bread is so tasteless and stale. I will have this bread everyday from now on, so do well to make it on time" I grin, nodding my head. "Where is your portion?"
"I ate some berries earlier, sir"
Mr. Rae glares threateningly at me, "Foolish boy, here" he cuts out a small piece of his bread and hands it over to me
Surprised at his act of kindness I accept the bread, "Than-"
"Don't talk while I'm eating" he shuts me up and I nod in understanding before I quietly dig into my bread.
Several Years passed.....
With Mr. Rae's help I became accustomed to speaking up, louder and clearer. I was no longer the timid little boy that stumbled out of the forest.
Mr. Rae and I had formed a good relationship, he began to talk to me while we ate every evening before we retired. He would take me to the market place to introduce me to all the folks that sold what I would be needing to buy for our upkeep.
I quickly took notice that Mr. Rae did not like people. That was also very evident in the location of his house, it was a bit isolated from everyone, except those who he made knives and weapons for. I soon became familiar with the townspeople and realised that I had gained a mysterious reputation amongst them. I was known as the exotic looking lad that lived with the blacksmith. I was especially popular with the mamas who sold groceries at the stalls. They would occasionally complement me, telling me I looked so handsome and they wish they met me before getting married to their ugly husbands.
I appreciated their kind words but I slipped away the moment they brought up me marrying their daughters
"I would not mind getting my two girls married to such a strong and capable man like you"
The mama who Mr. Rae took me to, to buy some clothes said once. From then Mr. Rae never went back there to patronize her again.
"Ryker boy, what are ye doing?" Mr. Rae calls out to me from inside the tavern. I'm on my knees, drawing water from the stream to wash the clothes.
"Washing clothes, sir!"
I had taken the name Ryker when I had become a man at eighteen. When Mr. Rae and I were eating one evening, I had asked why he was not married. He told me about his life story: he complained that most maidens had mamas who were looking for rich, good looking bachelors to marry them off to. And according to him he was neither of those so he never got married. He did say that he had impregnated the woman he loved but when her parents found out they refused their marriage and cast him aside. He never knew what happened to his child, neither did he know whether the child was fortunate to have been brought into this world.
He had informed me that he would have named his boy, Ryker. From then on I told Mr. Rae to address me as Ryker
"No boy. You already have a name, incase it has fallen off your mind. It is the name your dear mother gave you"
I smiled at his sentiment, "Yes it is sir. But you gave me a new life, you helped me leave my old life behind and start new. I would be honored to have that name, if you will allow me"
That was the first day I ever saw Mr. Rae tear up, and probably the last too.
In truth, I did feel sad letting go of the name my mother called me. But looking back at my past I had only managed to cause mother pain. She loved me so much but I was cursed and she did not deserve to be punished because of an unworthy son like me. Till date I never understood what really happened to that boy. I could acknowledge that I had indeed burnt him but how? I did not know.
I tried so hard to see if I could trigger the burning sensation I felt that day but to no avail. So to prevent any accidents I asked Mr. Rae to buy me a pair of his leather gloves. He understood my concerns and got me a pair and I made it a duty to never take them off, for I could not risk it. If I was to hurt Mr. Rae I would never be able to forgive myself.
Now that Mr. Rae has become comfortable with me, he had begun teaching me how to mould the different weapons he worked on. I especially took interested in the bow and arrow.
Mr. Rae would sit me down in his shack on his work bench and show me all the steps.
Firstly, we started from making the arrow. We would start by creating the shaft of the arrow. Straight branches or reeds were selected, cut to length, and trimmed to create the arrow shaft. I watched how Mr. Rae worked with so much passion and content. I admired him a lot, he was like my father.
He proceeded to buy feathers of quilt pens to attach with animal glue to the rear end of the shaft. Next, he forged the arrow head. This step required the use of his forge as he heated and hammered iron or sometimes steel, depending on the wishes of the patron to shape the arrowhead. For the final steps, Mr. Rae would ask for my assistance, not because he needed it. He had been forging weapons for over 15 years, but he would ask me to assist in assembling the arrows and attaching the metal heads to the shaft. Then, he would allow me heat and quench the metal in water to harden the metal.