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She took his hand, her small one insignificant compared to the size of his, and she realized he softened his handshake to accommodate her meager strength.
“Now what is it you want from me?”
This was why she had come here, and she had to make certain she succeeded. Otherwise, her village would be doomed.
“My village is starving, though our harvest is bountiful. Philip Kilkern, earl of Culberry, was a fair and decent landlord, but he passed unexpectedly, and his property went to his nephew Peter Kilkern, who is not at all fair and definitely not decent. He demands the impossible from his tenants and forbids us to hunt on his land—and he strikes out without provocation. We are at his mercy, for many fear his heavy retributions.”
“Why come to me?”
Reena felt his question fair, and he asked it without malice or disregard to her plight—he simply wanted a reasonable explanation. She gave it.
“I have grown up hearing stories about your bravery and how you help others—for a price, of course. I knew of no other who is capable of helping my village.”
“What do you offer in exchange for my help?”
Thomas smiled and popped a piece of cheese into his mouth.
She raised her chin and spoke with pride. “I am a skilled mapmaker, and I offer you my services in exchange for your help.”
“She is a good mapmaker,” Thomas said, his words garbled, since he had not finished all of the cheese.
Magnus turned to him. “You saw her maps?”
Thomas nodded as he swallowed, then pointed to Reena. “Show him.”
Reena quickly dug several maps out of her sack, moved the food out of the way and spread out one map after another. “This one is of the village and the earl’s land, including his keep.”
Magnus looked it over carefully. “You drew this?”
“I have a fine and steady hand with a quill—good eyes and a mind that remembers what I see.”
He studied the map for several minutes, then rolled it up to glance over the second map.
Reena was fast to explain. “This is of the land that sits adjacent to Culberry land. It is Dunhurnal land; I have mapped some but not all. It is beautiful, though the keep is in sad neglect. Some believe that Peter Kilkern is attempting to gain the land to advance his holdings and wealth. If that is so, my village will surely starve, for our men travel there now to hunt.”
Magnus rubbed his chin while he studied the map with intent interest.
Reena felt a sense of hope. The Legend—she silently corrected herself; Magnus, his name was Magnus, and she must remember to refer to him by his given name—looked truly intrigued with her maps.
He rolled the map up and looked at the next one. “This is my land.”
“Aye,” she said with pride.
He looked at her. “You have been here before this visit?”
“Nay, I learned my mapmaking skills from my father. He was in this area and recorded the landmarks. I simply copied his, though now I could do a more detailed map of your property and your keep.”
“And the price for a map of my land and home would be my helping your village?”
“Nay,” she was quick to say. “I offer my mapmaking skills to you whenever you would need them.”
“You would then be my official mapmaker.”
“If that is what you wish in payment for your help, then so be it.”
He considered her offer and she prayed hard—very hard that he would agree.
“Why did the village sendyouand not a man?”
