Free Magus of Stonewylde Book One by Kit Berry

I’ve offended you,’ she said hastily. ‘I realise it’s not my place to start questioning the social structure here.’
    ‘You haven’t offended me,’ he said. ‘You just don’t understand yet. I realise that to an Outsider, Stonewylde must seem archaic and maybe even cruel. In time you’ll see just what a perfect society we have here.’
    She nodded, hoping he wasn’t irritated. She didn’t wish to antagonise him with misplaced criticism. His warmth and approval were like sunshine and she wanted to bask in it without any dark clouds of displeasure threatening to overshadow her.
    ‘So what time should we come to the Village tonight, for the storytelling?’
    ‘Come at dusk, and don’t eat beforehand because there’ll be food and drink in the Great Barn.’
    ‘Do we need to bring any money?’
    He chuckled at this.
    ‘Miranda, haven’t you realised yet? We don’t use money at Stonewylde.’
    ‘Really? No I hadn’t realised! How extraordinary!’
    ‘You have so much to learn about our lifestyle. You must remember that before you pass any judgements. But we’ve all the time in the world for you to get to know our ways and become one of us. And I really must go now. Come to the Village at sunset. You’re in for a treat tonight, I promise.’
    ‘Who’s the storyteller? Someone famous?’
    ‘He is, actually. He’s a bit of a nomad, our Clip, and he’s just got back from Australia. You can meet him properly tomorrow up at the Hall if you wish.’
    ‘So he’s one of the Hallfolk?’
    ‘Oh yes, I should say so. He’s my half-brother!’
*
    The late March afternoon wore on slowly, showers and sunshine chasing each other in the cool breeze as Yul continued clearing the overgrown garden. He’d stopped at mid-day to eat his bread and cheese, but now felt quite faint with hunger. The light was fading and soon he’d be able to stop. He was desperate to leave and get back to the Village for the Story Web in the Great Barn tonight.
    As he arrived in the Village he realised how late it was. The main cobbled street and Village Green were deserted which meant everyone must be in the Barn already. Picking up clean clothes from his cottage, he hurried to the bath house. The doors were shut and the place empty. Yul lit a lantern and looked around. All the bath cubicles were vacant, as was the communal shower room. Piles of rough, clean towels were stacked neatly by the entrance. Yul heard the boilers heating the water, partly fuelled by the solar panels on the roof and partly by the wood-burning stoves. With nobody else around, the water would be piping hot for once.
    Half an hour later a very different boy emerged, scrubbed and glowing, hair glossy and fingernails clean. He left his muddy work-clothes bundled up outside the doors to collect later and hurried along to the Great Barn. He could hear nothing for the doors were shut, but guessed that Clip would be in the middle of his preamble to the first story. He slipped in one of the small side doors and was hit by a wall of warm air and the smell of many people gathered together. The Great Barn was transformed into a theatre in the round, with tiers of wooden benches encircling a central stage. The entire Village community was seated on the benches, all focused on the man who stood in the centre.
    Clip was dressed in sky-blue robes decorated with silver stars and strange symbols. His hair was pale blond like Magus’, but he wore it much longer, hanging to his shoulders in wispy strands. He was tall too, but not so powerfully built. His eyes were deep and penetrating and his face lined, from hard living rather thanold age. He shared Magus’ magnetism and the audience was spellbound. He was in the middle of a story, his soft voice filling the Barn, long arms moving gracefully to emphasise a point. A small fire flickered on the stage, the smoke rising to find an opening concealed in the roof. The firelight etched lines and hollows in his face, for the Barn was