Kane held the reins tightly as the cloaked man stepped into the clearing The morning light filtered through branches illuminating his face just enough to show age lines around his eyes and a quiet sharpness in his gaze His cloak carried the stitched pine tree emblem the same symbol that had guided Kane here

The man raised a hand in a gesture of calm I will not harm you Kane I knew your father long before the Guild tightened its grip on the northern routes My name is Erynd a name your father trusted

Kane slid down from his wagon cautiously Every muscle felt tense though he kept his expression steady My father has been dead for years If you knew him then why come to me now

Erynd approached slowly boots crunching through pine needles Because the Guild’s search for the frostroot is not about the herb It is about the supplier The source Their lost shipment One your father once protected from falling into Guild hands

Kane’s breath froze The frostroot crate He had thought it was a simple abandoned item Yet every clue pointed to deeper roots He forced his voice steady You are saying that crate was connected to my father

Erynd nodded yes Let me explain But we cannot speak in open forest Follow me to my shelter The stream hides sound and the rocks block scouts The Guild patrols sweep these woods more often than travelers know

Kane hesitated but nodded He guided his horse slowly following Erynd along the narrow path until they reached a small sheltered camp built between two large boulders A fire pit sat cool in the center with a few stacked logs around it Erynd motioned for Kane to sit

Your father was not simply a trader Erynd began He moved herbs supplies and goods for ordinary folk yes but he also protected certain shipments from the Guild’s control The Guild always wanted dominance over healing herbs rare plants and medicinal roots They controlled prices and trade routes But some goods came from free farmers in the mountains farmers who refused to pay Guild taxes Your father believed in that freedom

Kane swallowed hard My father never told me any of this

Erynd placed a hand on the wooden cylinder Kane carried Then he raised a second identical one from his cloak Your father used these to contact people outside Guild influence Simple and hidden

Kane felt his heart pound louder So the frostroot crate originally belonged to those mountain farmers

Erynd nodded It was part of a shipment that should have reached a healer collective in the ridge villages But the Guild intercepted the route They seized two wagons but one crate vanished It seems someone dropped it behind that grain house perhaps in panic or to hide it You found it before anyone else

Kane looked down slowly feeling the weight of what that meant I sold it I traded every piece Erynd

Erynd waved a hand That is not the issue The issue is the Guild believes whoever found that crate might be connected to the group who tried to smuggle it past them They think you may know the location of the farmers the healers or their hidden routes

Kane understood now They believed he had knowledge he didn’t even know existed Until now

Erynd continued Your father helped route frostroot to people who needed it not to the Guild Your father died protecting such shipments He believed in free trade not controlled trade

Kane felt a cold ache in his chest He remembered his father’s warm hands sorting herbs the way he spoke with gentle assurance He had never known the danger behind those gestures

Why are you telling me this Kane asked

Because your father wanted you to choose your own road Erynd replied The Guild believes control builds order but your father believed choice builds strength Men like him are rare whether they trade small herbs or massive crates of frostroot

Kane leaned forward eyes fixed on Erynd What does the Guild want from me now

Erynd took a slow breath They want to know whether you carry your father’s contacts They want to know if you can lead them to the farmers They want to know if you are part of the same network If you resist they will not hesitate to detain you

Kane’s stomach tightened Then what should I do Run Hide Fight

Erynd held his gaze steady Something your father said once Trade requires courage more than coin He said you had that courage too

Kane looked at the stream water rushing steady and true His father’s path had been hidden from him but now the road stretched wider He asked quietly What would you have me do

Erynd lifted his chin You must leave this ridge before the Guild patrols close it You must avoid Ironford’s roads The caravan will move west but the Guild may still search along their route A safer way exists though risky Follow the ridge stream north to the Valley of Stones Then seek the hidden village of Pinebarrow They will tell you what you need to know

Kane’s eyes widened Pinebarrow People believed it was myth a village that existed only in traveling tales

Erynd gave a faint smile Myths hide truths It exists but hidden Its people grow the herbs the Guild fears most

Erynd leaned close If you reach Pinebarrow you will find those who knew your father They will tell you what he was trying to build before he died The frostroot crate was only a small part of something larger

Kane felt the weight of a new path settle inside him He finally understood why he had been watched why the Guild cared why strangers helped him Something bigger moved beneath the surface perhaps a struggle his father once fought alone

Kane stood slowly I will go north I will reach Pinebarrow

Erynd nodded approval Then one last warning The Guild is not your only enemy Bandits know of the frostroot too Smugglers want to use your name Traders want the reward for handing you in And Ironford may have eyes that follow you even now

Kane tightened his grip on the reins Then I will keep moving

He climbed onto his wagon and Erynd stepped aside watching with grave pride You walk a path your father would respect Go Kane Follow the water north

Kane guided the wagon toward the narrow trail The stream flowed beside him His horse stepped steady the sun rising higher The forest opened slowly into brighter shapes

Kane whispered quietly Father I think I finally understand

He followed the water into the unknown