Chapter 1: Weekend Mornings

The stifling heat of a summer’s day hung heavy in the air as Ford Caldwell awoke to feel that the night had done little, if anything, to calm the onslaught of the sun. Looking at his handmade clock, he saw that it was only a few minutes past six.

To his left, he sensed an empty spot in the bed. Ford guessed that his wife, Lara, must already be awake. He smiled at the thought.

Lara loved to wake up before him on the weekends. Knowing how much his job takes a toll on him during the weekdays, she enjoyed waking him up with a fresh plate of hot breakfast on those mornings. After all, weekends were the only time Ford and Lara got to spend their mornings together.

A physician in Harbondale, Ford would occasionally be drafted as a field medic whenever raiders from the east attacked. Having just arrived home from such an occasion only a few days ago, Ford had been drowning in work while catching up with the patients he missed.

He had arrived home so tired he was ready to crawl into a coffin, but he could not bear the thought of his patients going on unattended. For all of his confidence and skill, Ford Caldwell’s one true fear was being unable to help someone in need. And Ford had seen enough of this fear to last a lifetime in the medical tents on the battlefields.

Ford, as well as many of his colleagues, had been brought in to tend to the wounded throughout a particularly long raid by a small army of dwarves. For over three weeks, nearly a full four, Ford had been working a rotating shift with five other doctors at the camp where he was stationed, tending to all manner of battlefield injuries. As usual, the Harbondale militia managed to push back the raiders and chase off any stragglers seeking glory.

Accompanying the intense heat was the smell of blood stuck in Ford’s nose. There was no blood on him. A healer at the camp had magicked away the blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids on their final day. But the healer could not magic away the smell from Ford’s memory. Nothing could erase the stench of that month’s work from his mind.

As Ford rolled out of bed, he suddenly became aware of how badly his muscles ached. His feet felt as if they might fall off if he stayed on them for any longer than it took to dress. Slowly and painfully, Ford dressed himself in his favorite clothes. A small comfort, but a needed one. As he did so, he heard Lara ascend the staircase and, passing his stench memory, smelled the wonderful meal she had prepared for him.

“Ford! You’re awake early; it’s only six o’clock.”, she said.

“6:10, actually. It took me a few minutes to get dressed through the soreness.”, he replied. “Is that bacon I smell? Eggs and breakfast potatoes?”, asked Ford.

Lara smiled at her husband and nodded her head. “Why don’t you eat this here in bed, and I’ll go back and make you some tea, my love?" Lara laughed. Taking a labored step towards her, Ford groaned out “No, no. The movement will do me some good. Help shake off the stiffness and soreness.” Lara rolled her eyes playfully but gestured for him to follow her down the stairs.

The two sat in the kitchen and enjoyed their breakfast together. There really was nothing better than weekend mornings for the Caldwell couple. The kids were still asleep and would be until at least 8 o’clock. On those joyous weekend mornings, it was as if Lara and Ford were the only two people in the world. And as if by clockwork, right at 8, the pair heard their son’s feet clumsily hit the floor. Followed by the rest of him.

Collin Caldwell was known for being extremely clumsy first thing in the morning. Ford and Lara’s sign that their daughter Claire had awoken was the sound of her dresser drawers opening and closing.

Though the children had not woken at exactly the same moment, they bounded down the stairs together to greet their father. Like their mother, Collin and Claire never got to spend their mornings with Ford. And as Ford had been away for nearly a month, they were overjoyed to spend their mornings with both parents this weekend.

Somehow, Collin and Claire seemed to be immune to the summer heat. Both had grand plans for their weekend with Ford and Lara. Collin had dreamed all month long of playing outside with his father.

“Running in the wind sounds nice”, Ford thought. But the winds that would greet them later that day would be anything but brisk or satisfying.

Claire, on the other hand, had plans to walk around all of her favorite parts of the city. Ford was not fond of this idea, as he was certain his feet would disintegrate if he were to walk that far for that long. But, loving father he was, he agreed. And as he did, he felt Lara squeeze his arm gently and rub his shoulders.

After their morning tea, brewed fresh by Lara, the family set off to enjoy their first day reunited. The sun was overbearing, and the clouds seemed to evaporate on sight. Harbondale was many miles from the sea, yet the air had a distinctly salty taste to it.

“Maybe it’s just my olfactory senses being confused by the lack of actual stench”, thought Ford. But he could see that his family noticed it, too.

The Caldwell family made their walk as brief as possible, stopping at a local tavern to get a whiff of anything other than the hot, salty air. It seemed as though half the neighborhood had done the same, for they found the tavern packed wall-to-wall with patrons when they arrived. All of the patrons attempted to wait out the strange taste in the air, but the volume of people made it harder to breathe inside than out. The Caldwells did not stay long.

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Back outside, the family of four was deceived into thinking it had cooled off a little. It had not. But not being stuffed inside that wooden box disguised as a tavern made the sweltering, salty air feel like a reprieve. It was half past ten now, and the clouds were still disappearing as quickly as they could form. Something was off in Harbondale today, and no one seemed to know what was causing it.

Collin hugged tightly to his father’s side and asked if some dwarven mage was attacking the city through the weather. In truth, Ford was not well informed about the heights of a mage’s power. Though he worked with many healers, he knew very little of the extent of their magical powers. Nevertheless, he assured his son that this could not be the work of a dwarf. Then, automatically, he assured his daughter that it wasn’t the work of a group of dwarves at her incoming question of, “What if it’s a coven of dwarven hags?”

Defeated, the family made their way back home. The four agreed they would try again the next day. But before they could arrive home, each of them had heard it.

A piercing screech.

Then Collin saw it.

A streak of color across the sky.

Ford felt fear sink into his bones. He hadn’t seen the streak of color across the sky and was unfamiliar with the accompanying sound.

Putting on a brave face, he mustered all the strength in his fatigued body. He put his arms around his family and hurriedly ushered them back toward home. The streets were full now. Everyone was attempting to evade the harsh heat and salty air while desperately making their own way home before finding out what soared through the sky.

Within minutes, surprisingly, the Caldwell family found themselves at their front door. One keyhole away from safety. One keyhole away from comfort.

Unmoved by his fear as he experienced many threatening scenes on the battlefield, Ford slipped in the key and led his family inside.

There, he comforted his wife and children and made sure to distract them all from their own fears. If it was some plot by the dwarven raiders, the militia was sure to sort it out quickly. The only discomforting thought left was that Ford would be dragged back into a new conflict to look after the wounded in makeshift tents. One screeching sound and one streak of color were all it took to ruin their weekend.

A few hours passed, and the Caldwell family never heard another sound from the skies. Ford had come to agree with his children now. He didn’t think that it was some magic that had briefly terrorized the city of Harbondale. Rather, Ford believed it to have been some ballista with a screaming arrow that flew across the sky. He had heard stories of such weapons from some of the soldiers he had treated throughout his years as a field medic. Surely, this must be one of those.

And sure enough, when the family left their home again that afternoon, all seemed well. It was hotter now than it had been that morning, so the Caldwell family did not wish to make as much of the day as originally planned. Thankfully, the salty taste in the air had subsided, and the clouds lingered in the sky. Yet the breeze brought with it no comfort. But two out of three weren’t bad. And two out of three were all that the Caldwells and Harbondale would get.

Ford and his family walked to the market for a late lunch. They had been too terrified at lunchtime to eat anything and were now very hungry. “Daddy, I’m staaaaarving”, Collin said. “How much farther to the market?” Ford replied, “Only a few more minutes; we’re almost there.” Stomachs rumbling, the four nearly ran to the first stand they saw upon arrival.

The fruit stand had a wide variety of delicious apples. There were probably other fruits there, but these were the first things the children saw, and as such, they were the first things the Caldwells ate.

Ford had been on his feet most of the day. His soreness had greatly diminished, and his muscles no longer felt stiff as a board. Lara, on the other hand, looked weary. The day had clearly taken its toll on her. Collin and Claire couldn’t be bothered by any of it; now their stomachs were full of juicy apples and delicious tarts.

Lara was concerned about the screeching sound they had heard a few hours earlier. Could it really be just some screaming arrow from a ballista? If it wasn’t, then what could it have been? Ford sounded so sure when he told the kids the stories he’d heard from soldiers, but why would there have only been one arrow set loose across the sky, and how could it have flown so high and so fast that only Collin had caught a brief glimpse at it? Lara wasn’t used to fear and nerves the way Ford was; Lara was a school teacher. Of course, Lara had to have a lot of nerve in her profession. Having so many children in a single classroom was no easy task. But Lara had never needed nerve in the face of a potential threat. She trusted her husband’s judgment, but it didn’t make her any less afraid of what might come.

“Laraaa, are you in there?”, Ford called. All of a sudden, Lara became aware that she had been lost in thought. “Sorry, yes. I’m fine, just still thinking about this morning.", she answered. Ford looked heavily at her and sighed. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s been on my mind a lot, too.” There was a pause of understanding between them. This was the first moment the two had gotten alone since the children woke up. Collin and Claire were both playing in the market square while their parents sat together on a nearby bench.

“I know what I told the kids. And it’s true, I promise. I have heard stories about screaming arrows from soldiers in the tent. But to be honest, I’ve never heard anyone mention them being so loud or being set loose over a city.”, he continued. “Only over a battlefield. From what anyone gathers, they’re extremely rare and very expensive to make. Even for dwarves.”, said Ford. “But I didn’t want the kids to worry. And I don’t want you to worry, either. Though, like me, I know you will.” Another pause. Ford and Lara looked at each other. They saw the fear in one another’s eyes and were both comforted by sharing the same feelings. Each had thought themselves alone in their worry until now, and it felt nice to know that they were not.

Ford reached into his bag and pulled out an old book. “Remember this?”, he said. Lara chuckled before replying, “Yes! How could I forget? That’s the book we both tried to check out the day we met.” They both smiled. “I tried to convince you that I needed it for class, and you told me you’d let me check it out first if I’d go out with you”, she went on. “Come to find out, you never wanted the book at all. You saw me—" "Reading at a table the night before.”, cut off Ford. “You were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I wanted so badly to talk to you, but I-“ “Needed an opportunity.”, she shot back. Again, the couple smiled. It had been many years since that day in the library. So many that the two had graduated college together, married, and started a family.

Ford was the first to break the blissful silence. “I don’t know if that was really a screaming arrow. But I know this: as long as I have my family with me, everything will be alright.” Lara nodded in agreement and laid her head on her husband’s shoulder as the two turned and watched their children play, oblivious to the summer heat.