“No.”
She shrugged in indifference and walked away.
He walked across the river, all two feet of it, and went to sleep in the spare room Jack kept reserved in case Benny couldn’t go home. He slept soundly through the day and into the night until he heard his name being called from outside.
“What?” Benny yelled at the unknown voice.
“It’s Jack. Can I come in?”
Without waiting for an answer, Jack entered the room, grinning like a fool. He sat down on the edge of the bed and slapped Benny’s leg.
“Aiken was passed out at home. I came to tell you he wasn’t going to Down Mountain, but you were gone.” Benny said, not bothering to sit up.
“I figured as much and went with Dale and Cyc to pick the stuff up myself. Wouldn’t you know they were delivering some furs to some traders in Down Mountain? Ha ha! They gave me a ride and even loaned me their wagon to get back. Good ol’ boys, they are.”
“They’re downright loony,” Benny retorted. And so was Nadia, maybe.
“Ah, they’ve just had a rougher life than most people. Dale has anyway. Don’t know too much about the other fella. He never talks.”
Benny sat up finally and opened the shutters on his window.
“Where do you know them from?” Benny asked.
“Back when I lived in Alsbury, before moving to Gant to take over the inn when my father retired. You know the place, don’t you?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, where those orcs massacred the children at the orphanage, right?”
“Yes! It was right around that time that I met Dale. You see, Dale’s brother had been killed by an orc tribe that lived on the border of the town, and so he tried to gather a party to go snuff ‘em out, but the town didn’t want any part of it.”
“So what’d he do?” Benny asked.
“He couldn’t do nothing, the town wouldn’t let ‘em. He tried to warn them that something bad was gonna happen if those orcs weren’t taken care of, but nobody listened. That’s when the massacre happened. You see, about a mile south of the town was this big orphanage with dozens of children. Now, some orcs had been spotted hunting near the place, and Dale heard about it and tried to warn everyone before more innocent people died at the hands of those monsters. I believed him, but nobody else did and…well… Dale finally figured he’d go and check things out himself and stake the place out, and when he got there…” Jack stopped for a minute and shuddered.
“What?” Benny leaned forward, eager to hear the story through, “What happened?”
“What’d you think? The orcs had killed every last child! They’d filleted them alive, and had done all kinds of vulgar, carnal things with their bodies…some kind of ritual. Some orcs were still there, and Dale was so infuriated he tried to take on a dozen or so single handedly. That’s how he got that scar.”
“What happened then?” Benny was on the edge of the bed.
“Well, he made it back to Alsbury with his face torn to bits, and he told us what happened. Needless to say, the town finally rallied together, and we went and killed those orcs! Dale even managed to get up enough strength to lead the charge; poor sap just strapped a piece of cloth around his face and led us into the woods past that orphanage. We came upon those rotten orcs in their sleep and killed every man, woman, and child of ‘em!”
Jack gave a proud laugh and slapped his own knee before his face returned to that of shame and regret.
‘If only we’d acted sooner…anyway, after that, the town dubbed Dale the ‘Avenger of Alsbury!’ A title befitting! You should have seen ‘em, Ben. That man killed over 20 orcs single handedly, and with his face falling apart to boot!”
Benny knew if Jack said he’d been in Alsbury when this occurred, Jack was telling the truth. Taking the story to heart, Benny realized he’d been too hasty in judging the man. He was still suspicious about the other one, though.
“What about his partner? ” Benny asked.
“Who, Cyc? I dunno. He came into town shortly before the killings. Didn’t talk much even then, but he and Dale seemed to hit it off. Come to think of it, after Dale went to check out the orphanage, Cyc went along after him to help. I think he chased off the orcs and helped him back to Alsbury. You know, my memory ain’t what it used to be…anyway, after Dale got healed up the three of us did a lot of traveling, doing odd jobs here and there, until my father asked me to take over the Fox Den in Gant. It was then I decided to settle down and live out my life in peace.”
“Well, if that’s all true, I guess they aren’t all bad.”
“No! Benny, Dale may act rough and tumble, but that man is one of the best there has ever been!” Jack stood up and walked to the door before looking back at Benny. “But if he ever passes through here again, don’t tell ‘em I told you what happened. He doesn’t like bringing up the past.”
Chapter 3
Aiken ran off the next night, taking what little coin he’d had hidden in the house, and stole the blacksmith’s horse. Benny wasn’t too concerned with it, and was actually glad to be rid of him. He grabbed what few clothes, books, and trinkets he had and moved into the room at the Fox Den. It was clean and cozy, and aside from helping out with some chores every now and then, Jack let Benny do as he pleased. The weeks passed uneventfully, outside of the occasional brawls between humans and the dwarves that passed through on their way home from the mines. Liverwart usually broke up the fights. On one night, the giant even threw a particularly obnoxious patron through the window and into the river. Needless to say, Jack wasn’t too pleased.
“You dunderheaded idiot! I said stop the fight, not tear the building down!” Jack was poking Liverwart in the stomach with his finger, and the giant stood looking into the air, proud and apathetic with his arms crossed on his chest.
“I try pull apart, he num hit me,” the giant replied.
“Well, he ain’t gonna pay to replace my window, and you certainly won’t, will you?” Jack asked. “I don’t think so!”
The giant pushed Jack aside, sending him crashing into a crowd of men playing dice at a table. Jack’s face was that of pure rage, but he knew the giant could kill him in one blow. He let Liverwart stomp out of the dining hall, crushing one of the wooden steps on the porch in the process.
“Can anyone do what I ask around here?” Jack threw his hands up in the air and sat down in an unoccupied stool.
“It’s probably because you don’t pay him enough,” yelled Nap in the background, stopping a song mid-verse.
“Well, that’s the third time that dumb giant has wrecked my establishment. He’s supposed to be my bouncer. He can stop a problem in a hurry, but sooner or later he’s going to destroy the place.”
“Well, get someone else to be the bouncer,” said Nadia, “We got plenty of tough guys around here ready to bash heads if trouble starts.”
Benny heard the door slam open and turned. His gaze was immediately drawn to the gaping nostrils in Dale Beranger’s face. There was a loud yelp from Nap at the other end of the room; he quickly disappeared from sight.
“What’s this I hear about trouble?” Beranger asked.
Jack threw his hands in the air but said nothing.
“Well whatever it is, I’m sure it’s nothing a few pints can’t fix. Bring us a round!” He hobbled bow legged towards Jack’s table, pushing a patron out of his chair and commandeering it.
“Hey!” the man shouted.
“Hay’s for horses,” Beranger replied. The man shook himself off and moved to another chair.
“I feel so stupid,” Jack finally said.
“See, you’re finally being honest with yourself!” Beranger slapped Jack on the shoulder, sending him lurching forward.
“Don’t start, Dale.”
“Oh, shove off! Where’s your infamous sense of humor?”
“It just stormed out the building, or did you miss it?” Jack replied.
“What? That big buffoon? I can take him out of commission if you’d like�
��”
Beranger stood up and began to grab for the small metal rod he had stuck in his belt, but when Jack saw him reaching for it he grabbed Beranger’s wrist.
“No! No! No! No Violence!”
“But violence feels so good!” Beranger laughed.
He held out the rod, and out of nowhere it transformed into a club almost 5 feet long, and with a flick of his wrist, dozens of steel spikes several inches long popped out over the entire length of it. He slammed it down on the table where the men were gambling and ripped up a huge portion of the table. Beranger cackled like a banshee.
“What the hell!” Jack yelled, jumping to his feet.
“You like?” Beranger asked, flicking his wrist again, causing the club to transform back into the harmless steel rod, “A gift from one of my many travels…centuries old! You can’t find weapons like this anymore.”
“Well, you’re gonna need more than that if you keep destroying my property!”
Beranger pulled a hefty sack off his belt and shook it in front of Jack’s face. Benny heard the clinking of coins, and his mouth dropped to the floor as the lunatic poured over a dozen gold coins onto the floor at Jack’s feet.
“How about that?” Beranger snapped.
“Yeah… that’s better.”
Beranger turned to Benny and winked.
“He still working you like a slave driver?” he asked.
“You guessed it.” Benny was trying his best not to appear nervous. Was it for his money that Nadia liked this man?
“How’d you get back here so fast anyway?” Jack asked while frantically picking up gold from the floor, “I didn’t think you’d be passing back through here for quite some time.”
“I have a little proposition for you.” Beranger said.
“Oh no you don’t! I’m way too old to go prancing around the country with you!”
“Dear God! I never thought I’d see the day!” Beranger chuckled.
“We almost got killed half a dozen times! Hunting vampires, slaying goblin hoards, raiding ships on the coast, and countless other episodes…I’ve retired! I can barely keep this place from crumbling around me!”
“What exactly do you do?” Nadia asked Beranger, looking skeptical. But now Benny could see that there was a certain diffidence about her. She was trying to impress the man, but it didn't seem to be working.
“Anything and everything. There’s not really a title for my…” he pointed to Jack, “…our profession. Monster hunting, body guarding, mercenary work, delivery and retrieval…even assassinations if the price is right. ”
“Assassinations?! You’re joking about that last part, right?” Benny asked. Jack's faced flushed a deep scarlet of embarrassment, and he attempted to sputter out a reply to his young friend until Beranger cut in.
“Don’t worry your little head, baby boy. Mostly just escaped prisoners doomed for the gallows anyway.”
“You promised you wouldn’t tell ‘em about that part…” Jack buried his face into his hands in shame. Nadia, eager to leave the awkward conversation, made up some excuse about checking to make sure the rooms were clean for some patrons and scurried off. Despite the roar of voices within the dining hall, there was an eerie silence among the three. Then, without even thinking, Benny made a request that he at first thought had come from someone else.
“I could go with you.” Now what was he thinking of? Was he trying to get the measure of the man Nadia liked?
Jack looked up, surprised, and Beranger gave a snaggletooth grin. Did I just say that?! Benny thought. A lump formed at the back of his throat, and it was beginning to get hard for him to swallow. He was regretting his statement already.
“No!” cried Jack. “No! Absolutely not! You’ve never even left Gant before, Ben! What makes you think you can keep up with this guy?” He was furious.
“Laughing Jack, you cut me to the quick,” Beranger said. “You know I’ll look after him, and besides, the boy's big enough to do a bit of exploring on his own. The boy's grown his pubes, hasn’t he? It’s not like we’re tackling bat monsters in the Bletian Caverns. We just gotta deliver a package.” He winked at Benny again.
“Oh, really? And what kind of package is that?” Jack inquired.
“Sorry, lad. It’s confidential.” He slugged Jack on the shoulder and chuckled again.
“Well, I’m telling you, Ben, it ain’t a good idea. Not that I don’t trust Dale here, but I can’t…”
Benny cut in again, speaking against his own urge not to. His voice didn’t even sound like his own. “You can’t what? You’re not my father or my brother. You can’t make decisions for me, Jack. Everyone else my age has already left home. Aiken was the only reason I stayed around, and he’s gone now. Come on, Jack! It’s not like I’ll be gone forever; Beranger said himself it’s only one little job. We’ll be back before you know it, right?” Benny turned a pleading look to Beranger.
“Yeah, Jack. We’ll be back before you know it,” Beranger said, his whiny voice mocking Benny’s.
“Well, Ben, I guess you’re a grown lad; you can do as you please.” Jack stood up and walked back to the kitchen. He was obviously hurt. Benny’s guilt was already bringing tears to his eyes. He didn’t know why he’d said he wanted to go with Beranger; in all honesty he didn’t want to. But in some strange way, which he couldn’t explain, he felt compelled to join the scar-faced man in his journeys, regardless of what hells awaited them. Had he turned towards the window behind him, he would have noticed the figure of Cycleze, watching his every move while muttering strange incantations.
Chapter 4
Benny must’ve stood in front of Jack’s door for half an hour that night before gathering the courage to knock. He heard a faint ‘come in’ and slowly opened the door. Jack was sitting at the far end of his room on the third floor, reading a scrap of parchment under dim candlelight. He turned and saw Benny standing in the doorway, his silhouette marked by moonlight. He smiled half-heartedly and bid Benny to come in.
“Jack, I…”
“No, Ben, it’s okay.” Jack turned towards him, “you’re right. You need to get out and experience the world a bit. I trust Dale, and rowdy as he may be, he’ll keep you out of trouble.” He chuckled. “Better you than Nadia.”
“Nadia!”
“She has a crush on him, same as you do on her. But he's got no use for her. None that she'd put up with, anyway. Best to keep her close to home.”
Benny wanted to tell Jack that he was sorry, and that he didn’t know what he was doing when he said he wanted to go with Beranger and Cycleze, but as before he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Here; I pulled out my old traveling gear. Try it on.” Jack set out a traveling bag filled to the brim with clothes. Benny tried to put on a cheerful face and began putting on a thick burgundy tunic and some tan leggings. The clothes were a bit baggy on his 16-year-old frame, and the steel plated boots seemed unnecessary for long travels, but Jack insisted that the feet were a vital body part to be protected.
“If the going gets tough, your feet need to be safe before anything else. Heavy body armor will weigh you down, but if them puppies take one good blow, you're immovable…might as well throw yourself on your own sword at that point.” Jack stated.
“But, if that’s the case, they ain’t gonna do me any good. I can barely walk as it is,” Benny replied.
“Oh, you’ll get used to that before you know it. Trust me. And since you mentioned swords…” Jack pulled out an old sword from under his bed. It was sheathed and already attached to a cracked leather belt. He pulled it out to reveal an old steel blade, notched on both sides with jagged teeth, a number of which were broken off.
“I thought those were illegal in Dan since the wars?” Benny asked.
“They are…if they catch you using it. Just don’t go pulling it out for show and tell and you’ll be fine. Those Galver Dorn rangers are hardly ever patrolling Dan anyways.” He handed it to Benny and the boy strapped it on. “Now,
let’s take a look.”
He pulled Benny in front of a mirror so Benny could view his wardrobe. His face was pale and flushed with rosiness as usual, giving him a very feminine look, which he disliked. His hair was almost the same white-blond that Beranger’s had been, but was much longer and braided into a ponytail that hung down his back. The tunic was so loose that it hung off his right shoulder, and the weight of the sword pulled Benny’s pants down on the right. He looked outright ridiculous, but Laughing Jack Baldwin was as proud as any wannabe parent could be, his bald head glistening in the candlelight, and his mouth stretched from ear to ear under his heavy mustache as he grinned.
“I do say, you’re ready to conquer the world! But I will need that stuff back when you return.” He turned back to his desk and began reading the same parchment as before.
“Will you see us off in the morning?” Benny asked.
Jack merely nodded, and Benny left the room, returning to his own.
Chapter 5
The next morning came quicker then Benny expected, and after an entire night of not being able to sleep, he was even more skeptical about the journey ahead of him. Beranger and Cycleze were ready and waiting for him, having reoccupied the wagon Jack had borrowed a few weeks prior, empty except for a burlap sack that was stained a dark brown color at the bottom; it buzzed with flies. The duo sat in the front seat saying their goodbyes to Jack, who was repairing the steps Liverwart destroyed the night before.
“Rise and shine, pudding cup!” Beranger yelled as he spotted Benny, “You can ride up here with us. I’d say sit in the wagon, but there’s a package stewing back there.”
“I’m not even gonna ask…” said Jack with a chuckle. He gave a cheerful smile at Benny, but it was obvious he wasn’t glad to see the boy leave. Benny looked again at the suspicious sack, but decided it was best to ignore it; it was their business.
“Now, I’m serious, Dale! No funny stuff! Take the boy around Dan, show him some of the sites, teach him to swing that ol’ sword a bit and bring him back,” Jack was pointing his finger repeatedly at the duo. Beranger laughed while Cycleze looked forward, his chest heaving with silent laughter.
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