"Oi! You idiot!"
Vanora yelled at Bors after he, in his usual state of hangover in the morning, stumbled, knocking over the decorative plate given to her in exchange for food and drink by a traveling merchant.
It broke into pieces.
Tristran entered the tavern in the quiet moments just after dawn and saw Vanora sitting at a table with pieces of pottery in front of her. He watched as she tried to fit them together, to see her treasured plate whole once more before having to toss the pieces away.
Not wanting to hear the story of how the plate got broken, knowing that Bors would be responsible somehow, Tris silently backed out, and went around to the back of the tavern. He slipped into the kitchen for some bread for his breakfast and returned to his room in the knights' barracks.
The sight of Vanora trying to fit the pieces of pottery together stayed in his mind. It reminded him of something, a vision of someone fitting pieces of something together.
He remembered.
It was back home. A childless couple who loved children; and many children visited them. He did not, preferring instead the company of wind, grass, and sky to that of other children. He did learn the secret of this couple's popularity, however.
Always challenging himself to be ever more invisible, he looked inside their home one day, and watched a strange activity.
On the floor were two children. In front of them were pieces of colored wood that had been cut into various shapes. The children were working to fit the pieces together. He watched until they finished. The children rushed over to where the couple were sitting, she sewing and he painting on a plank of wood. The children exclaimed their success and when the picture was viewed and seen to be correctly pieced together, each child was given a treat. While the children were with the couple, Tristran changed his viewing angle and saw that the disparate pieces of wood, when properly fit together, made a scene of a group of trees with a stream running through it.
He thought it a wondrous thing he had witnessed.
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Tristran rarely let his thoughts drift backward in time. The here and now was all that mattered and it was to that he paid attention.
"I would prefer to leave this island rather than stay forever, under its dirt, becoming a part of the island itself. I must see and hear only what is now, not what was or will be, if I am to return home."
However, for the moment, in his room inside the fort, he allowed himself to think back on that wondrous image, remembered by Vanora's trying to fit the pieces of her broken plate together.
Tristran was inspired and formulated a plan.
He went to the carpenter for the piece of wood he needed. It had to be large but not too large and thin but strong enough to be cut through with a knife without breaking. He found what he needed in a pile of discarded-as-unsuitable wood and so did not have to barter with the carpenter for it.
A new addition to the bath house had been added and after soaking in the hot bath to loosen and soothe the muscles in his back, Tristran went to watch the man painting scenery on the walls of the new cold bath extension.
"I have a piece of wood I would like to have a scene painted on. It would be a scene of a group of trees and a stream running through it. Can you paint such a scene?" asked Tristran.
The painter was wary of Tristran's request. It seemed highly unlikely that this warrior knight would want to have a picture painted on a piece of wood and he wondered what would happen if he agreed and then didn't paint it to Tristran's liking. He really didn't want to die over a dispute of his painting ability.
Tristran sensed the man's hesitation, and sighing inwardly, assured the man that the painting didn't have to be perfect, just a pleasant-to-look-at scene. He offered the man four of the shiny discs that were used in exchange for goods and services by the soldiers and those employed by the fort.
The painter agreed. Four discs were too many for what Tristran wanted done but he wasn't going to argue. Clearly the knight had no real understanding of the value of money.
For Tristran, the shiny discs had no value but he knew they were of value to most of the people living in and around the fort. He would have bartered with the painter if he hadn't had several discs which he found lying around; but rather than give up something of value to him in exchange, he figured he'd just give some discs to the painter. It was easier and he didn't have anything he would be willing to give up in barter at the moment.
In time, Tristran got his piece of wood with the painted scene on it. He approved of the painting and gave the four discs to the painter. The painter took the money and made a hasty retreat lest Tristran find a flaw and change his mind.
Tris started to cut the thin piece of wood into small pieces. Doing this dulled his knives, requiring that he sharpen his knives more frequently than usual. This additional sharpening did not go unnoticed by his fellow knights.
"Have you noticed that Tristran spends more time than usual sharpening his knives?" Gawain asked of others in general one evening.
"Yeah, I noticed. Who got on yer bad side this time, Tris?" asked Bors.
Tristran did not reply; he just kept on with the sharpening.
Galahad started to make a comment but then thought better of it and kept quiet. He looked at Gawain who shook his head at Galahad and smiled.
Cutting the wood into pieces was harder than Tristran had thought so it took longer to complete his task.
It had also not gone unnoticed by others living around the fort that Tristran was spending a lot of time sharpening his knives. There was some concern about this; Tristran was known to get irritated quickly and people were becoming uncomfortable that he was spending so much time sharpening his knives. If someone hadn't been seen for a couple of days, another went to where they lived to be sure they weren't lying in a pool of blood.
Tristran was aware of the growing concern of others about the knife sharpening and enjoyed the tension it was causing. He never discouraged anyone from thinking he was a blood-thirsty killer who would kill anyone for the slightest reason. It was to his advantage for people to think this of him, even though it wasn't true. It kept the fools out of his way.
Finally, someone went to Arthur and told him of the growing unease of people and asked Arthur to talk to Tristran about it.
"So, Tristran, I understand you've been spending more time than usual sharpening your knives. This is causing concern among the people. Knowing you as I do, and therefore knowing there is nothing sinister going on, I am wondering what you are up to. Would you care to let me know what you are doing?"
As Tristran was almost finished with his cutting, he allowed Arthur to come into his room and see what he was doing. Arthur was impressed with the complexity of Tristran's task and admired the work. He said nothing to anyone about it, seeing as Tristran was almost done and the need to continue the frequent knife sharpening would end.
If anyone asked, Arthur gave assurance that Tristran was not on, nor was he planning, a killing spree. People relaxed a bit after that.
When he was finished cutting the pieces of wood, he mixed them up and tried to put them together to make the scene as it looked just after the painter had finished. It took some time for Tristran to accomplish this which he thought was a good thing. Since he was so familiar with it, and it took him quite some time to piece the picture together, he figured it would take others even longer. Be more of a challenge and therefore more rewarding when completed.
Tristran held onto the puzzle for a while, just as a reminder of what he had seen all those years ago in that couple's home.
Not being one to clutter his room and his life with material things, he finally gave the puzzle to Vanora for her children to play with. He told her of how he was inspired to make it, by seeing her trying to put the pieces of her broken plate together.
Tristran said he knew it wouldn't replace the plate but at least Bors couldn't do it any harm, seeing as it was already in pieces.
Vanora smiled at that and thanked Tristran.
Tris returned to his room to get his stone sharpener and a few knives and went out again. He sat conspicuously in the tavern. He wasn't finished yet at playing with scaring people. He enjoyed that game more than any other.