Ch 11 A Storm is Coming
Khedrick welcomed Garen and the others, there wasn't time for a welcoming party though, Raver's prediction of heavy rain had made them step up work on the first of the buildings, they had almost finished the first, only it's roof was missing.
With the addition of the extra men, the work went smoothly, even the smaller children helped, running errands and getting water for the men. The stronger of the women pitched in, while those who couldn't do the heavier work made the meals and gathered everything together in anticipation of their move into the new buildings.
By the time the first heavy drops of rain fell they had enough of the buildings covered that everyone would be dry, though some of the buildings still had open walls, those could be finished later. It was in one of these open buildings that they had built the fire for cooking the evening meal. Raver sat near the open end of the building, his plate of stew and slice of flat bread before him.
Lorimal had urged the mayor to build him an oven for baking, but, with the bad weather that was predicted, it wasn't a priority. Raver looked up to see one of the sour looks Lorimal sent his way, honestly Raver thought to himself, you'd think I called the weather myself instead of merely predicting it. He didn't let Lorimal wreak his appetite, eating the stew as quickly as he could, he had a feeling they would be hungry in the near future.
There certainly wasn't much room for crops in their basin, especially with all the trees surrounding them. He wished Gherin had stayed, but he and the two others with him had gone back to watch Olhaven.
That night for the first time Raver slept in their new house, they didn't have beds yet, so he lay on a bundle of dried grass some of the children had gathered for bedding. He pulled his blankets up to his chin and stared in the darkness waiting for sleep.
He could hear the sound of the rain faintly from where he lay, once the ladders and other finishing touches were finished he would be moving up to the attic with his brother and sister, but for now, he shared the main room with his parents and Carra. He fell asleep still thinking of their new home.
It was several days later when he was helping his father sand the floors in the main room when he felt another vision coming, it was the one about the soldier's coming to Olhaven for Carra and the young men, only this time, they didn't find her there, instead they grabbed Hermal's sister Berela and another girl he didn't know as well from one of the farmer families that hadn't wanted to leave their land.
They rounded up all the young men left and took the guard that remained, when some of the people resisted, they began to ransack their homes. In the end half the town was in flames, and several people were dead, including Hermal's father. There was a man in dull red robes with the soldier's, he seemed to revel in the destruction and the deaths, Raver thought he was a mage of some sort. he wasn't sure what kind, never having seen a mage before, not close up anyway.
"Where are most of the people" he heard the robed man ask one of the women.
"They left" she said crying.
"Why did they leave" he asked her.
She shook her head not wanting to talk, he grabbed her child and held a knife to the girl's throat "Tell me" he said in a menacing voice.
"Raver warned them" she cried out one hand raised in a silent plea.
"And who is Raver"he asked softly, letting the knife break the child's skin, a drop of blood showing against her white neck.
"He's the mayor's youngest son" she cried, not wanting to give any more information than she had to.
"How did he know" he asked.
"He has the sight" she cried when she heard her child scream, as the hold he had on her hair tightened. "He saw Ancar kill the Herald and his father, he saw you come, please, please don't hurt Amie anymore" she plead.
"Where did they go" he asked the woman.
"I don't know, no one does, they knew you would try to find them, they didn't tell anyone who stayed behind" she cried sobbing for her child.
"Pity" he said slitting the child's throat and throwing the body at her mother. She lay sobbing in the dirt holding tightly to her child. He turned back to his men "Kill them all" he said with a smile. "Kill them slowly.
Raver came to himself with tears running down his face, he had taken care of Amie once, when his mother had a meeting with the women. He looked up to see his father staring into his face a worried look in his eyes. "Tomorrow Olhaven will be no more" he said.