Life Bonds

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Sean considered the question. “I don’t think it does. I haven’t tried to drink to excess though either, as that’s something I abhorred before.”

  “Then why does it matter if you drink now?” Fiona pressed gently.

  “Lingering fears,” Sean admitted. “My family has had a number of drunkards. I don’t want to end up like them.”

  “If you start drinking in excess, we’ll tell you,” Myna said softly.

  “Thank you,” Sean replied, dropping his hand under the table to squeeze her thigh.

  “Excuse me,” the innkeeper said. “Sir, might you be interested in a private meal in the private room?”

  “I’d be fine with that, but why are you asking?”

  “Word about your largess has been spreading around town, and I thought it might be best if you were not visible to everyone right away.”

  “I see,” Sean said, draining his ale and standing up. “I’m going to ask for the bathing room again after dinner, as well.”

  “I shall make sure everything is in order, sir,” the innkeeper said. “If you will follow me?” He led them down a hallway to a sliding door. Ushering them inside, he waited for them to be seated. “I am having my wife prepare a special meal for you. Would you care for wine with the meal or more of what you’ve had?”

  “A light wine will be fine,” Sean said. “I’d also ask for a kettle of soothing tea for after our bath.”

  “I shall make sure everything is in order, sir,” the innkeeper said again, leaving the room with a small bow.

  “Rich merchant?” Sean asked Fiona.

  “A crafter who hasn’t made a name for themselves yet, is more likely,” Fiona said, touching her hair clip. “The way you handled Lionel and Cedran also speaks to you having dealt with well-established people before.”

  A knock on the door announced the barmaid, who came in carrying a bottle and four glasses. Pouring for each of them, she left the bottle within reach of Sean. “I will be back in a few minutes with the first course.”

  “If the sky’s clear tomorrow, we’ll make for Hearthglen,” Sean said. “Do we have enough fodder for the horses?”

  “Yes,” Fiona said, setting her glass down. “This is very good wine.”

  “I’ve never had any this good before,” Myna said as she took another sip.

  “Not many of them come in bottles,” Ryann said.

  Sean turned the bottle over and read the label. “From the White Vineyards of Westpoint.”

  Fiona sat forward. “That bottle of wine is worth at least two large bronze by itself.”

  “No wonder it tastes so good,” Myna murmured.

  “We might as well enjoy it,” Sean smiled. “It’s not like we can return it.”

  Fiona shook her head as she sipped her wine. “It’s been ages since I’ve had anything from their vineyard.”

  The maid returned with a platter of vegetables and fruits cut into small cubes. Setting the tray on the table, she took the empty bottle away when she left. She came back with a new bottle and refilled their glasses, leaving the mostly full bottle on the table.

  “I think the innkeeper is trying to bring down how much he’s going to owe you when we leave,” Fiona remarked as she speared a piece of melon.

  “Makes sense,” Sean chuckled. “I didn’t expect to have over a gold on me before we reached the city. Let’s enjoy ourselves; we’ll worry about costs after tonight.”

  “If that is your wish, Master,” Fiona said with a smile.

  “I don’t mind at all,” Ryann chuckled.

  “Master’s wish is our command,” Myna grinned.

  Conversation was mostly focused on the food after that. When the maid returned to remove the first tray, she brought with her a platter of meats and cheeses. Fiona identified them for Sean, and he filed away the names as he tasted them. The flavor of each type was a new adventure for Sean; none of them were bad, but a few were mediocre.

  The last dish was a vanilla pudding with hints of orange, which reminded Sean of a creamsicle from his old world. It was the perfect complement to the rest of the meal, and left them sated. The innkeeper followed the maid into the room when she came to clear the dishes.

  “I hope your meal was satisfactory,” the innkeeper said.

  “Not exactly what I was expecting, but it was good,” Sean replied.

  “The bathing room is empty and waiting for you, at your leisure. If you need anything else, just ask any of the staff.”

  “Thank you,” Sean said, getting to his feet. “We’ll head to the bathing room after retrieving our clothes.”

  “I will have a kettle ready when you finish your bath,” the innkeeper said and bowed out of the room.

  “Let’s go get clean and retire for the night. We have a trip ahead of us in the morning,” Sean said, motioning to the door.

  Fiona, Myna and Ryann headed out of the room with Sean trailing behind them. As they passed through the taproom, a fair number of people cheered and thanked Sean for the free meal. Sean gave them a smile and headed up the stairs to their room.

  Chapter Forty-three

  Sean woke to find Fiona and Myna curled up against him. Ryann was back in the room as well, snoring from her bed in the corner. Need to do something to thank her for last night, Sean thought. Letting me and the girls have the room for a few hours was very kind of her.

  Fiona stirred against him, her eyes opening to see him smiling at her. “Morning, Sean,” Fiona murmured, kissing him softly.

  “Morning already?” Myna asked groggily from the other side. Rubbing her eyes clear of sleep, she smiled as she saw her lovers kissing. Once they finished, she claimed a kiss from each of them.

  “We should be quiet about it, but we need to get ready to go,” Sean whispered. “I don’t know when she came back to the room, but it was after we fell asleep.”

  “I’ll go see about food,” Myna said, slipping out of the bed.

  “I’ll start getting our bags packed,” Fiona said, climbing over Sean.

  “I’ll—”

  “Shh,” Fiona said, placing a finger against his lips to cut him off. “You did enough getting us here in the storm. You just rest.”

  Sean closed his mouth and opted not to argue, as that might wake Ryann. Holding up his hands, he surrendered and snuggled down into the bed. Myna and Fiona both smiled at him as they dressed.

  Myna left first, and Fiona wasn’t not far behind her, taking their smaller bags down to the wagon. Sean sighed and stretched, feeling guilty. Getting out of bed, he began to dress. I love them, but I’m not just going to lie around doing nothing while they work. As he got his boots on, Ryann stirred and Sean paused, hoping she would go back to sleep.

  “I will protect you…” Ryann murmured before bunching up her blankets and holding it like a person.

  Biting his lip to keep from chuckling, Sean got to his feet slowly and snuck out of the room with the big bag in hand, leaving just the two blankets Ryann was using. Fiona gave him an exasperated look when she met him coming down the stairs.

  “I couldn’t get comfortable again,” Sean whispered, kissing her cheek.

  “I’ll take that from you,” Fiona said, sliding her arms through the straps to take the ruck. “Why don’t you get a table?”

  “Fiona, we have…” Myna paused when she saw the two of them there. “Sorry to have woken you, Master. I shall get a table and tea for us.” Myna slipped away before they could speak.

  “I shall join you once I drop this in the wagon,” Fiona said.

  As he walked into the common room, Sean saw Myna speaking with an older woman behind the bar. The taproom was mostly empty; the only other group was just finishing breakfast, and gave Sean a pleasant greeting as they got to their feet.

  Myna came over to join him. “Tea will be out shortly, Master.”

  Sean lowered his voice, “I couldn’t just lie there, Myna. I’m sorry.”

  Myna smiled at him. “It’s fine, Master. I’ll never be upset w
ith what you do.”

  “Neither will I,” Fiona said, coming up behind Sean. “We just want to make things easier for you.”

  Sean felt a twinge of regret for not letting them have their way. “I’ll try to adapt a bit more.”

  “Here’s your tea,” a young girl said, setting the kettle and three cups on the table. “Your breakfast will be out in a moment.”

  “We might need to delay a little,” Fiona said. “The innkeeper will need to see about exchanging some of the coin for change.”

  “We’ll be waiting on Ryann as it is,” Sean said, “she’s still asleep. We should find a way to thank her for letting us have time alone last night.”

  “I already have,” Myna told him. “Breakfast for her shall be quite filling.”

  “The deal was that you all got the same,” Sean said.

  “Ryann will be having the same as us. It’s not her fault if we don’t finish the entire meal,” Myna grinned.

  Sean raised an eyebrow at her, then saw the young girl coming towards their table with a heavily laden tray. The scent of fresh bread drifted from the three small loaves on the tray. Along with the bread was a plate of sliced cheese and a bowl of steaming meat soaking in broth.

  “I have the tray for your other companion ready for when she wakes, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Sean smiled.

  Smiling, the girl went back towards the kitchen. Sean shook his head and used his knife to split a loaf of bread in half. Have to see about getting some mustard when we get to the city, Sean mused as he made a sandwich.

  He dipped his sandwich in the broth, like the French dip sandwiches he used to enjoy. Fiona and Myna watched him before emulating his actions. The three of them ate breakfast with very little conversation.

  As they were sipping the last of their tea, Ryann came downstairs with the two blankets over her shoulder. Myna got to her feet, and collecting the blankets, headed for the stable to pack them in the wagon. Ryann joined the other two at the table.

  “Sorry for my lateness, Sean,” Ryann said, looking away from him.

  “It’s perfectly fine. We just finished breakfast,” Sean replied. “Here comes yours now. Can we get some heated cider for all of us as well?” Sean asked the young barmaid.

  “Right away,” the girl said, hurrying off to the kitchen.

  Ryann looked at the huge platter of food, before turning to Sean. “This is an equal meal?”

  “In every respect but the tea,” Sean replied. “Would you like a cup of tea to balance things out?”

  “They finished all of this?” Ryann asked dubiously.

  “All three plates were cleaned,” Sean said, evading her question. “Eat as much or as little as you like. We’re not in a big hurry, either. We still need to wait for the innkeeper for our change.”

  The hot ciders were delivered shortly after Myna came back inside. “The sky is still overcast, but it’s not as bad as it was,” she told them. “I think we can make it to Hearthglen without any major problems.”

  “Sir, I’ll be back shortly,” the innkeeper said, coming out of the back and pulling a thick coat on.

  “We’ll be waiting,” Sean said. As the innkeeper hurried off, Sean got to his feet. “I’ll be back in a minute or three.”

  “I should go as well,” Fiona said, rising to her feet. “That way, Ryann can finish her meal.”

  Ryann gave Fiona a thankful nod, then went back to working on her food. Sean led Fiona down the hall and into the stable. The stable master approached them while his helpers were hitching up the horses.

  “I’ll have your wagon ready in another minute.”

  “We’re still waiting on the innkeeper,” Sean said. “Can we get oatcakes or something for the horses?”

  “I’ll add some to your wagon, sir. I’ll need to give you this.” He dug out several large copper coins.

  Sean took them, adding them to his pouch. “Thank you for caring for my horses. It was a relief to know they were being looked after by someone who cares.”

  “Always liked the animals; people, not as much. That’s why my cousin runs the inn and I run the stables.”

  “Always do what you’re best at,” Sean said.

  They went back inside, where Ryann was just finishing off her meal. Sean chuckled softly as he took his seat. Ryann looked at him suspiciously, but before she could ask him what he found funny, the front door admitted the innkeeper.

  “Here we are, sir,” the innkeeper said, placing a small bag on the table. “Your change is in silver and bronze, with a few copper coins as well.”

  Sean picked up the bag, mentally weighing the contents before he put it into his coin pouch. “This inn was just what we needed. I shall always remember it as a haven.”

  Bowing his head, the innkeeper beamed. “Thank you. If you come back this way, we’ll be more than happy to accommodate you again.”

  Ryann had finished cleaning her plate, so Sean got to his feet. “We’ll be more than happy to stay.” With a nod and smile to the innkeeper, they all headed for the stable.

  Myna took the driver’s seat with Ryann beside her. Their furs were keeping them warm enough; the air was chill, but there was no breeze. Sean took his place in the back with Fiona sitting next to him. She draped a blanket around them both.

  “We’re ready, Myna.”

  “Understood, Master,” Myna replied, snapping the reins.

  As the wagon got moving, Fiona snuggled next to Sean. “Have you thought about trying to settle in Hearthglen?”

  “I’d like to, I’m just not sure about Sharpeye’s leadership issues. What will it take for us to settle in? I’m assuming it’ll be a decent amount of coin.”

  “The gold you have will get us a place for at least a few months, along with starting supplies for crafting. We’ll need to register your maker’s mark with the guild and pay for you to be listed as a crafter. They’ll want to know if it’s you or one of us crafting. I’d suggest having Myna tagged as the wood Shaper, and maybe yourself as the metal Shaper.”

  “We should try it. A place to actually have more than a day to rest would do us all some good,” Sean said. “Tell us a story as we travel, please.”

  Fiona smiled brightly. “I’d be glad to.”

  Character Information

  Sean Aragorn MacDougal

  Human

  Age: 33

  Gifts:

  Metal Bones, Viney Muscles, Mithril Blood, Magic Bond, Mending Body, Death Ward, Linguist, Hunter’s Blood, Infinite Possibilities

  Spells:

  Summon Water

  Talents:

  Shaper- (Wood and Metal)

  Mage Sight

  Camouflage

  Targeter

  Bonded:

  Fiona Mithrilsoul- Life Bonded

  Myna Mooncaller- Life Bonded

  Ryann Cullin- One-year Bond

  Author’s Note

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  A big thank you to my editors, Jennifer York and Samantha Bishop. Also props to Geno Ferrarini, and Sean Hickinbotham for being my Alpha Readers. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include my beta readers, in no particular order: Zee-*-Ian McAdams-*-Arthur Cuelho-*-Scott Brown-*-Buddy Brown-*-A. J. Bishop-*-Tarcha Saleeba-*-Alec Young-*-Jay Taylor-*-Justin Johanson, Josh Holmes-*-Rob Bunting-*-Isidore Fitch-*-Christina Norton-*-Luke Reynolds-*-Sawyer Aubrey-*-Nigel Hollingworth-*-Aoife Megami-*-Robert Peterson-*-Sullivan Grimm-*-Shane Bird-*-Steve Robles-*-William Reid-*-Nick Kuhns.