The axe missed the bark by a hair.
The outskirt lady skirted back with a jump, eyeing Patnos.
Patnos exhaled, "take a wider stance kid. You are swinging an axe, not a sword."
The wanderer in the brown overcoat nodded to his advice, implemented it. Then, he swung again. Hitting the tree into the bite made prior.
"That's good!"
The outskirt lady now stared at Patnos. Patnos turned to her and stared back.
"Well, I may not be as strong as you nor as young as you Patnos, but I can still bite."
Patnos looked down, "lady, I understand but he still missed you. By, I think enough that he had a better chance hitting me than you."
The outskirt lady didn't fume, but she did reply, "Talia. Talia Cleaving."
"Lady Talia, I apologise for scaring you, but this axe is a bit power draining. As for compensation, I can cut down another tree or bush that you may use as you see fit." The wanderer retorted back between his breaths as he swung back and forth the axe.
The tree fell down.
Talia waited, having accepted that offer. Now Patnos, Talia and the wanderer in a brown overcoat were at the spot in the forest closest to the outskirts as well as the eastern end of the Tide Breaker wall.
A few more people from the outskirts looked over at the strange gathering. Three people and only one working.
Everyone from this small group went around a bit working on the morning routine but they talked around of the gathering. Whomsoever heard it, came to check it out atleast once.
For each time someone came, there was another log of an axed tree added to the pile behind Talia.
She and Patnos both looked nearer to the same age, but they rarely talked.
Patnos spoke out aloud, "these much logs is enough. Leave a log for the Lady Talia. Let's get these to the evening's horizon end of the Tide Breaker."
The wanderer asked, "why is it the evening's horizon end?"
"Uh, because eastern is rubbish to say. Evening's horizon sounds better? I guess", answered Patnos.
Talia Cleaving looking up shook her head in dejection, "he meant why take them first to the evening's horizon end. Remember, to fight that awful rule you have to keep willing yourself to remember what you want to remember."
Patnos a bit struck, had a look of disorientation, but he recollected himself. "You are right, Talia."
"Of course. Isn't that also one of your first lessons you teach to anyone in weapon mastering?" declared Talia with a slight scrunch in her brows.
Patnos nodding, lifted up one log's end. Inhaling a long breath, he eyes at the wanderer and directed him to pick the other end up with his eye movements.
The wanderer and Patnos carried the logs, half of them had been put closer to the evening's horizon end of the Tide Breaker.
"So why sixteen?" asked the wanderer in the brown overcoat.
"I reckon it's not because the original naming convention happened just for the reason that person couldn't count past sixteen. I tend to think it's more and more related to the actions", answered Patnos. He looked back at the wanderer and nodded to him to run along with him back again to the place where all the logs were.
"The actions of elements?" asked the wanderer. He wondered about not the elements he mentioned of, but of 'this overcoat is going to need another washing, isn't it?'
"Possibly, also more work less talk. Come on", Patnos encouraged.
It wasn't even the start of late morning, however over near forty long tree logs were placed right next to the Tide Breaker's one end.
The wanderer was exhausted. Patnos rather was chugging down some mix that he carried in his pockets.
"Ah! Now that's worth the effort. Wanna try kid?", Patnos extended the bottle that had that mix.
"If it's some alcohol, I prefer it only in the night alone. But if you could give me a bottle I'll use it with the action of water."
Patnos shaking his head, "it's not alcohol, it's a local enhancing mixture. It's one of Cleaving's specialty. Either you could just drink it, then the mixture will only enhance what it finds lacking temporarily based on your age, or if you know the correct extra element or ingredient to add to it, then it will enhance that in you."
The wanderer took the bottle, and smelled it. "Doesn't smell like alcohol, it's more salty in smell."
He looked at Patnos, "Really?"
Patnos nodded, "uh-huh, if you still have some doubts I could get to show you how to make it. One of masters expert in this is still in Cleaving, he is old much older than me. That's saying quite a lot coming from a 56 year old."
The wanderer bracing himself chucked down a few gulps of it. He stood up.
"Now, back to more axing, right?" he looked at Patnos.
Patnos nodding. He started on the track back to the axed trees area. "Yeah, but first we need to also take out all those trees roots. They will be more suitable to hold the logs together in the water before we put something more permanent."
The wanderer and Patnos were back at the axed place, and quite the crowd had collected there. All of them were talking to Talia.
"And then, the kid offered to cut a few more trees for the people of the outskirts, just because he thought he may have ended up hitting me! Such a gentle soul, and such a noble cause to make the Tide Breaker stronger", called out Talia to the gather crowd.
Patnos muttered to himself, "ah, so she wants to rake in a few more favors. Hmm, we could work, just a bit more."
The wanderer acted as if he hadn't heard it but he understood. He understood that Talia was not someone who was that affected by the rule of 'Remembrance is forbidden'.
Patnos spoke aloud, "so are these the new hires that you brought here Talia?"
It was time Patnos used Talia just as much as she used a hire of his.