Spike Thornley's Arc

Chapter 4 of 9

Six months passed. Spike had a trade, a full coin book, and a name people said with respect. He fixed torn packs and split boots until his fingers ached. But the loft above the tavern stayed quiet at night. He'd crossed three regions hoping to meet the woman he'd share a life with. Now he was rooted, and still alone. He knew everyone in Mosswood by their broken gear. He knew no one who might love him. One night he sat in the tavern's main hall, needle idle. Ire dropped a mug in front of him and leaned on the table, tail flicking. "You stitch all day and stare at the ceiling all night," she said. "It's sad, hedgehog. Even for you." "I came here looking for someone," Spike said. "A wife. A family. I found work instead." Ire studied him. Her green eyes missed nothing. "You've been looking at torn cloth, not people." She jerked her chin toward the door. "Kael's the same. Takes every job that comes and forgets he's got a home, but I remind him. You two should talk." Kael came in from the cold as she spoke, cloak dusted with frost. He moved quiet, the way he always did. A fresh cut ran along his jaw. Ire's smile dropped and immediately inspected her husband’s face. “Love, what happened?” Kael laughed sheepishly and kissed her lips before saying reassuringly, “Nothing I can’t handle, especially with Spikey here.” Kael sat across from Spike and set a torn glove on the table. "Rough job," he said. "Threat's closer than folks think." Spike took the glove and threaded his needle. "Ire says I look at cloth, not people." "She's right." Kael watched Spike work. "You want a woman. But you sit up there sewing for strangers who never stay past a mug." He nodded at the hall around them, loud with travelers. "Half the region passes through here. Traders. Wanderers. You mend their gear and let them walk." Spike's needle stopped. He looked up at the crowded room. Every night the tavern filled with new faces from far places. He'd been so buried in thread he'd never once looked up. "Stop hiding in the loft," Kael said, flat and final. "Work down here. Where they can see you." The next evening Spike did as Kael told him. Travelers stopped. They sat while he worked and they talked. A trapper told him of a woman two towns over who traded old relics. Spike listened, and for once he asked her name. He didn't find love that night. But he found the crowd, and a door out of the quiet. Then one traveler leaned close and said there’s one mysterious yet kind woman that you can only meet at the right place and time.