Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series by Nicholas Taylor Page A

one in the town that was truly kind to her, and
Legon liked him too. He had always been a good family friend.
    “Ok, that sounds good.” They walked up to the door of
the shop and walked in.
    As Legon opened the door their noses were filled with
the scent of oak, cherry, pine, and other kinds of wood. They
skirted around the counter and headed into the open work area.
Sasha walked to the center of the room and ran her hand over a
large table.
    “He’s inlayed a checkered pattern on this. What do
you think—cherry and oak?” she asked, inspecting the unfinished
wood.
    Legon glanced at it. “Yup, looks like it, and big
too. I’d say for a family of eight. Looks like he’s got the chairs
in that corner. It doesn’t look like he’s here, though. His tools
are on the wall.” Way too many tools .
    “You’re right. The back door is closed, and there
isn’t even any dust in the air. Odd. I don’t think I’ve ever seen
this place like this. Do you think he’s in today?”
    She was right. Normally dust motes filled the air,
swirling up to the skylight high above them. Lighting a place like
this was difficult. Fire was an obvious liability with everything
being made of wood, and more important the air usually being filled
with sawdust. It was rare but not unheard of for a carpenter’s shop
to burn down from a fire stated by stray sawdust. Arkin’s shop was
well lit with the two skylights and large windows on either side of
the door.
    A smooth, warm voice greeted them. “Sasha, Legon, how
good to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Arkin said,
stepping into the room.
    He was tall and of a medium build, with long blond
hair and hazel eyes, a thin jaw line, and a small nose. He was
wearing a white shirt and brown pants, over which he had on a
leather apron with three pockets built into the waist. He walked
with a smooth gait and perfect posture. He was not what you would
envision a carpenter to be; he was refined and confident, qualities
that shined through not only in his countenance but also his work.
He was not an arrogant man, however. He was kind and fair, slow to
anger and had a balance of sternness and patience. Legon and Sasha
had always liked him and had gotten along with him well. There was
a smile on his face that revealed straight white teeth. 
    “We were on our way to see Kovos when I realized that
it has been far too long since I’ve seen you,” Sasha said
brightly.
    “Yes it has, and unfortunately you have caught me at
a bad time. I’ve been out hunting for the last few days and am
behind on work.”
    “Did you get anything?” Legon asked.
    “Ah … no, I didn’t but it was nice to get out,” Arkin
said. Legon detected a hint of apprehension in his voice.
    Arkin said abruptly, “Will you come by later this
week and have tea with me? Then we could catch up.”
    “We would love to,” said Sasha, and Legon piped in,
“Yeah we’ll catch you in a few days… see ya, Arkin”.
    They walked out of the shop with a wave and continued
to Kovos’. After they had walked a bit Legon leaned over to
Sasha.
    “Did something seem off to you with Arkin?” She
tilted her head slightly to the side.
    “I don’t know. He did seem a bit preoccupied, and he
was a little vague about his hunting trip.”
    “Yeah, and I’ve never known him not to bring a kill
in for us to butcher. That must mean he didn’t get anything, which
is odd for him.” As Legon spoke he looked at the ground and his
voice was soft, almost like he was talking to himself.
    “Oh well. There’s Kovos,” Sasha pointed out.
    They had arrived at their friend’s house. To the
right of it was a stone shop with smoke belching from a flue. They
both went up to the door of the shop and walked in. They were met
with a wall of heat. The one-room shop was large. Brack, Kovos’
father was by the wall on the right side of the building, standing
in front of a large furnace that curved up from the ground like a
teardrop. There was a long