by Travis Pond
“Ok. Silver is best. How much does it cost sir?” asked Tureis.
The shop owner continued to nod his head and hum to himself. “Yes...young master, very fine bags.” he responded.
Now Tureis was now getting impatient and asked again with a little more edge to his voice than he would have liked, “Sir! How much do they cost?”
This time the man stopped humming and stood up straight. When he spoke he was deliberate in his speech and looked directly at Tureis. “Young master,” he said. “These...are fine bags. The best bags...you will ever find... in all the surrounding kingdoms.”
The store owner turned and went to the back of the store and bent down. From under a table he removed a small stack of bags. He walked over and handed a bag to each of them. He then looked at each of the members of the group individually and said pointing to the three new bags he brought to them, “These bags are the best bags ever made.”
The leather was the softest any of them had ever felt. The long flap was adorned by a large pure silver buckle. The inside of the bag was lined with a second layer of rough finished leather. But it was the stitching that really caught their eye.
Each and every seam was double stitched with a silver thread. The thread appeared to be very fine and perfectly placed. A double layer of stitching ran around all the seams and extended along the double thick leather strap.
“This is beautiful!” Ailish said, almost with a hint of reverence in her voice. She ran her hands along the flap and the stitches on the leather strap. She leaned over and whispered, “Tureis, we can’t afford these. Let’s just get some simple bags and get going.”
Tureis looked up at the store owner and said, “These are truly the finest bags I have ever seen. But, Ailish is right, we can’t…”
The store owner held up his hand cutting him off. He began humming again and shook his finger at Tureis. “No!” He said with some authority. His face became very serious. “I never said...you were buying them. There is…no price for you. These bags are made special...only for you. They...are yours.”
Ailish raised the bag in an attempt to object. “But…”
“No! There are no buts. They...are yours. Take them,” The store said as he stood up straight and looked directly at each of them. “You will need them...where you’re going.” He finally said. With that he turned on his heel, walked to the back of the store and disappeared.
They stood there for a couple minutes waiting for him to return. He never did. Slowly, they backed away, placed the bags over their shoulders and moved on to continue their shopping.
“So...do we know what just happened there?” Asked Seth.
“That was a little strange,” admitted Ailish.
“It seemed the more we pushed, the harder he pushed back,” said Tureis. “I wonder what he meant by we’d need them where we’re going.”
As they walked in silence, Seth looked at Tureis with a huge grin and said, “Well at least no one is chasing us and shouting thief.”
Tureis laughed out loud and Ailish just shook her head as they continued down the alley. It was now past mid-day. They continued looking through shops, finding various supplies and food as well as purchasing some skins to carry water.
Seth slowed his walking, “This is killing me! I’ve decided I hate shopping,” he said. “Now I understand why my mother has people do her shopping for her. This takes forever and I’m starving.”
“Yeah. I’m getting hungry too,” said Ailish. Tureis had stopped walking and was staring straight ahead.
“Tureis? Tureis?” asked Seth as he poked Tureis on the shoulder.
Tureis didn’t react and all of a sudden began walking toward a very small shop on the opposite side of the street. To say shop is more of an optimistic view of things. It was more of a cart that had been modified with some makeshift tables attached like wings to the front and sides, with the cart in the middle.
Sitting on a rocking chair in the middle of the circle of tables was an old woman. She had weathered wrinkled skin and thin grey hair. The dress she wore was old and tattered. She sat there, rocking in her chair, knitting as fast as her hands would move, and whistling a tune no one had ever heard.
Tureis approached the tables with Seth and Ailish close behind. He began looking over the items she had for sale. Most of her items appeared to be handmade. Knitted hats and sweaters and hand carved tobacco pipes. There were also quilts and knitted shawls.
“What are you looking for?” asked Ailish.
Seth held up a pipe, “Are you looking to start smoking one of these? Very sophisticated.” He held up the pipe to his mouth and tilted his head back, pretending to smoke like a noble.
When Tureis didn’t reply Seth set the pipe down and looked over the items on the table, all the while keeping one eye on Tureis. Tureis moved over to the corner of one of the tables and picked up a hand knitted shawl. Laying on the table, under the shawl, was a very worn book. Tureis looked at the book and then looked at the old woman, expecting some kind of response. She just sat there knitting and whistling, as if no one at all was interested in any of her goods.
Tureis looked down again and let his hand touch the book. The leather cover was very worn and dark with age. There was no title on the front of the book or the spine as it had been worn away long ago. The edges of the pages were yellow brown and uneven. At the sight of the book, Ailish and Seth joined him at his side.
Seth let out a short cough and threw his hands in the air and said, exasperated, “It’s a book! It’s always a book.”
Ailish looked closely at the book and said softly, “It’s a very old book.”
She stopped speaking and stood there staring at the book as if in a trance. Tureis just kept rubbing his hand lightly over the front cover.
Ailish reached out her hand and very softly whispered, “What is that…”
Tureis touched her hand and she stopped mid-sentence. He turned his head and looked into her eyes, his expression serious. She looked back at him questioning, but said nothing.
Finally, Tureis whispered, “Do you feel that?”
Her eyes widened as she rubbed her hand along the spine. There was an energy coming from the book she thought she recognized. Unsure of exactly what it was, she asked, “You feel it too? What is it?”
Tureis took her hand and guided it to the lower part of the spine. When she lifted the book she felt it, the unmistakable energy coming from the lower spine. When she turned the book over there was nothing on the back, except worn leather. There was no spot on the lower corner near the spine as Tueris had shown them in the cave, but the feeling was unmistakable.
She looked at Tureis, “Is that….” She didn’t finish the sentence as Tureis gave her a slight nod.
When they looked up, the old woman in the rocking chair had stopped both whistling and knitting and was now looking straight at them, her face serious. “D’ya wan ta buy shawl? Fer the perty girl?” She asked. Tureis couldn’t place her accent. She sounded like she was from somewhere very far away; either that or she didn’t have any teeth. He couldn’t be sure.
Tureis looked confused. The old woman smiled...she didn’t have any teeth! The sight of her red gums brought Tureis out of his trance and he looked down. He had forgotten he was holding the shawl. “Oh. No. Not the shawl,” said Tureis. “The book. How much for the book.”
The old woman furrowed her brow and said, “Don shel books.” she said. “Shel shawl, hat, pipe.” She moved her hand up and down the tables displaying her goods. “See. No books!”
Tureis held up the book in his hand. “This book,” he said.
The old woman looked at the book and nodded her head. Then she looked at Tureis and said, “No books. Don shel books.”
“I found this book on your tables here. Under this shawl,” He held up the sha
wl.
“D’ya wan ta buy shawl?” she asked again.
Tureis put the shawl down, “No. I want to buy the book.”
“Don shel books.” she said again, this time with a small toothless smile.
The old woman moved back to her rocking chair and sat down. After she picked up her knitting needles she looked at the three of them and smiled a toothless smile. Then she winked her eye and said clearly, “Knowledge is power.” Then immediately she began humming as her knitting needles began working.
Now clearly confused, Tureis cleared his throat, “Excuse me. I would like to buy this book.”
She put down her knitting, stopped rocking and looked at Tureis. “Don shel books. You find book on table?” she asked.
“Yes. I found it right here,” said Tureis.
She smiled her toothless smile looking directly at Tureis. “Your book. You take. You read,” she said then looked at each them and winked again. “Remember, knowledge is power,” she said with a serious tone in her voice. She then waved her hand, dismissing them, and went back to her knitting.
They slowly turned from the old woman and walked away from the table. Stopping a few yards away, they turned back, just to make sure taking the book was alright. The old woman was still just rocking in her chair, knitting. As they walked down the street, Seth asked, “Is it just me or does it feel like we’re stealing things in plain sight?”
“Actually,” Ailish replied, “It feels like we’ve been given these things. But who’s giving them to us and why?”
Tureis held up the book and felt the energy it contained. “That’s a good question,” he said.
Chapter 13
- Braon -
After enjoying a late lunch, they exited the restaurant and walked down the street browsing through the different shops. Occasionally they would stop, looking at different items for sale, even buying things from time to time. As they proceeded through town, acquiring food and supplies, it became apparent that even these new bags could be filled.
“I think we have just about everything we’ll need,” said Seth.
“I still need bolts for the crossbow,” said Ailish.
“It might be worth looking at some other weapons as well,” said Seth “After the run in with those thieves last night, I’d like to be more prepared if there’s a next time.”
Ailish looked at Seth with raised eyebrows, “If? More like when.”
Seth stopped walking, and looked at Ailish with a serious expression, “You think it could happen again?”
“Don’t you?” Ailish asked. Seth stood there, not quite knowing how to respond. Of course he understood they could face some more thieves, or even worse, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to.
“What’s that noise?” asked Tureis.
They stopped walking, stood in the middle of the street and listened. What sounded like shouting could be heard from a distance. The shouting was occasionally interrupted by a loud cheer. “I wonder what that is,” said Tureis.
“It seems to be getting pretty loud,” said Seth. “Should we go check it out?” When no one objected, they walked toward the source of the sound.
Turning the corner of the street, the scene before them was nothing they could’ve prepared themselves for. A short distance down the street a large crowd had gathered, facing away from them, shouting and raising their fists in the air. Seth and Tureis looked at each other unsure of what was happening. When they turned back to look for Ailish, they both became concerned.
“Where’s Ailish?” Seth asked nervously.
Tureis was scanning around him and into the crowd, “I have no idea. She was just here.”
“Where would she go?” asked Seth.
Tureis anxiously scanned the crowd hoping to see any glimpse of her. After a minute Tureis felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, his eyes fell on Ailish. All the worry he was harboring inside came out sounding like a very concerned father, “Ailish! Where did you go?”
She completely dismissed the concern and worry in his voice, as she was too excited to stand still. “Hey. Come on. You’ve got to see this!” she exclaimed.
Seth turned with a start, “Hey! Where did you come from?”
In her impatience, Ailish had grabbed Tureis’ arm and was leading him toward the crowd. “I went up to see what the commotion was all about,” she said. “Come on!”
Ailish didn’t stop for any more conversation, but continued walking around the edge of the crowd until she found an open spot and went through. Tureis and Seth followed, a little unsure where they were going. After pushing through the crowd they came to the front. Tureis followed Ailish into an open area at the front of the crowd. He stopped, stunned at what he was saw. “Hey,” said Tureis completely surprised, pointing toward a man in front of the crowd, “Isn’t that…?”
Just then a large man stumbled forward and came straight toward them. Ailish grabbed Tureis’ arm and pulled him to the side. The man continued to stumble and then fell right where Tureis had been standing, hitting another person in the front row. Together both of them hit the ground hard, a loud groan escaping their lips. The large man was knocked out cold and wasn’t moving.
Seth came through the crowd and joined Ailish and Tureis. “That was close!” he exclaimed.
Tureis again pointed and said, “Isn’t that…?”
“Braon!” Ailish said, cutting him off, pulling Tureis toward a safe side of the crowd.
In the center of the crowd were the scattered broken remains of a small cart. Strewn about the street were broken bowls and plates, likely the wares being sold on the cart. The source of the shouting and cheering was due to the four large men fighting one smaller man in the center. It seemed the crowd liked the underdog, since every time he would connect with a good blow the crowd would cheer.
“What’s Braon doing?” Seth asked.
“I think a better question is why are four guys trying to kill him?” asked Tureis. They observed that two of these large men were already laying on the ground out cold. The two remaining men were upset that their friends had been taken out of the fight.
Just then one of the men rushed toward Braon. Before they collided, Braon moved to the side and pushed the large man. His momentum carried him into the crowd, where he slammed into the people in the front and fell to the ground. As the man was attempting to get up, people in the crowd started to kick at his back and legs.
Before the man could fully get to his feet, Braon ran over and hit the man in the side of the head with a wooden leg from the broken cart. This sent the man to the ground with an audible thud. A loud cheer erupted from the crowd.
The lone remaining man, now realizing that he was the last one standing, decided to improve the odds in his favor. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out a large dagger and came straight at Braon.
Braon turned to face the man with the leg from the cart as his only weapon. The man thrust out the dagger and with cat like reflexes, Braon stepped to the side and brought the wooden leg down hard on the man’s wrist with a loud crunch. The man screamed and dropped the dagger, grabbing his broken wrist.
Braon picked up the dagger and faced the man. The man pulled his wrist in close to his chest and ran towards the crowd. The crowd opened up and, with one last cheer, let him run through.
Braon dropped the wooden cart leg and walked over to a small old woman sitting near the edge of the crowd. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small coin purse and gave it to the woman. She smiled, nodding her head in appreciation.
Suddenly there was a loud blast. The King’s Guard had just fired a small amount of gunpowder through a cannon. Several of the Guard were now running towards the crowd of people. Quickly the crowd began to scatter with men, women and children running in all directions. Ailish grabbed Tureis an
d Seth by the arm and moved backwards into the midst of the scattering crowd. They began walking down the street, away from the approaching Guard.
As they walked, Tureis looked all around and over his shoulder, searching for Braon. In the midst of the confusion, Braon had vanished into the throng of people running from the Guard. They continued walking with the group of people going down the street. As they approached the end of the street, they ducked into a side street behind some of the shops. ”Did you see where Braon went?” Tureis asked.
“The last I saw of him was when he fell in behind that huge group of people walking away from the group of Guard members coming up the street,” answered Ailish.
“How do we find him then?” Seth asked.
Tureis closed his eyes, placed his hand into his pocket and felt the warmth of the energy in the sphere. His mind was opened and he saw the streets of Kurith. For a moment he focused on different areas in town, sensing the dangers. He then reached out with his mind, searching for Braon. Where had he gone? Was he hiding? Had he gone somewhere specific? Did he leave town? For several minutes Tureis kept trying to focus, searching for Braon, but nothing came.
He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, both in frustration and to clear his mind. “I can’t find him. I feel like it’s possible to find him, but I don’t know how to do it,” said Tureis discouraged.
After a minute of silence, Ailish asked, “What do you suggest we do now?”
Shaking his head, Tureis said, “I don’t really know. I suppose we can wander around and maybe something will hit me.”
“Well, we can’t just sit around here. That won’t help us find Braon,” said Seth.
Looking around carefully, they slowly exited the side street and made their way down the main street. They scanned both sides of the street and into the various shops, and there didn’t appear to be any of the King’s Guard around anywhere. If any member of the King’s Guard got a good look at Seth, they may recognize him. If this happened, it would become very difficult to move throughout the kingdom. They also didn’t know if any kind of report had been issued to be on the lookout for them. To play it safe, it was in their best interest not to be seen by the Guard.