And he’d gotten their refunds for the trip to Murchison.
But then some bastard broke into his room and made off with all the luggage he’d worked so hard for. He’d been tired after loading all that crap onto the mule down at the caravan, then humping it up the stairs to his room at the Walton Inn. Drinking a couple of beers then going up to take a nap had been a serious mistake. Somehow, he’d slept through the bastard breaking into his room and making off with almost all of the luggage. The only silver lining was that the guy must’ve gotten spooked before he’d managed to cart away Argun’s own stuff. The guy hadn’t even gotten all the money out of Argun’s purse.
Wondering about who’d stolen the gear left him feeling furious but impotent. The people who ran the Walton Inn were the prime suspects. After all, they’d watched him carry everything upstairs. And, of course, they had a key to the room so getting in quietly would’ve been easy.
Unfortunately, a lot of other people had also seen him leading the heavily laden mule to the tavern. He couldn’t rule out a common thief with the skills to pick the room’s crude lock.
Argun sighed. He’d decided it was time to check in with Jadyn and see if she’d come to her senses. For a couple of days, he’d been waiting for her to show up and apologize. Yesterday he’d realized with frustrated embarrassment that she didn’t know where he was staying. Ergo, it would’ve been difficult for her to drop by and beg his forgiveness. He’d spent yesterday hanging around the city’s gate near the Hyllis Tavern, thinking Jadyn would come into town for some errand. She’d see him there near the gate.
He’d pictured their joyous reunion and her tearful regret that she hadn’t come with him when he left.
Unfortunately, the errand he’d hoped for apparently had never materialized.
I’m going to have to go out to that damned tavern and find her.
~~~
Feeling apprehensive about the possibility of encountering Tarc at the tavern, Argun spent the next morning hanging around the gate as well. It wasn’t until after noon that he reluctantly came to terms with the fact that Jadyn wasn’t coming into town. After all, old man Hyllis had said the students would be put to work in the kitchen and the brewery. Doing “unskilled labor” no doubt, Argun thought disdainfully, or something else menial. By now they probably all regret signing on as students.
As he finally gave in and walked through the gate, turning toward the tavern, Argun began to daydream about his welcome, not just by Jadyn, but also by Rrica and Seri. Probably not Hareh, he thought. That ass kisser’s probably enthusiastic about the lowly jobs they’ve got him doing.
Argun slowed as he approached the tavern, wondering if there was any way to be sure he wouldn’t encounter Tarc. He climbed the front stairs to the porch, then sauntered past the windows, trying to see whether Tarc was inside. The dining area was mostly empty except for a table of three men drinking beer and the young barkeep who’d brought them bread, beer and pizza that first day.
Argun walked past the last window and stopped by the windowless corner of the building that contained the brewery operation. He wondered whether he should go in and try to talk to the barkeep. Noises around the corner attracted his attention so he leaned around to see what was going on. Some male dogs were fighting over a female in heat. A couple of pretty girls were sitting on the steps watching the dogs. He didn’t think he’d seen them on his first day there at the tavern. And, if I didn’t, they won’t know I’m on the outs with the Hyllises.
Argun walked around the corner and approached the two young women. “Hello,” he said.
When they looked up, he recognized one of them was the one who’d brought the pizza the first day. He slid his eyes past her, hoping she wouldn’t notice the light of his recognition. Focusing on the second woman, he said, “Is Tarc around?”
She shook her head, “He’s gone to Cooperstown.”
Argun blinked, “Did a caravan come through on its way west? Or… did they actually head that way by themselves?”
“By themselves.”
Argun could see the women were upset about it. He realized it didn’t really matter to him. He didn’t want to study with Eva anymore. He’d always found Hareh a pain in the ass with his holier-than-thou attitude. The fact that Tarc was either dead, or about to die, was excellent news. If Tarc’s pretty sister had gone with them, that was a shame, but, after all, Argun already had a girlfriend.
The other girl on the steps interrupted Argun’s thoughts. She said, “You’re Jadyn’s ex-boyfriend, right?”
He gave her a distasteful look, “I’m still her boyfriend. We just had a little tiff.”
Looking doubtful, she cautiously said, “I don’t know about that…”
Biting back an angry retort, Argun said, “She and I do need to talk. Where is she?”
The girl shook her head, “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t want me to tell you.”
Argun almost hit the insolent bitch. He realized he’d let his feelings show on his face when the girls flinched back. Getting control, he smiled and said, “Never mind then. I’ll find her myself.”
Going back around to the front door, he entered and walked to the bar. After ordering a beer, he asked the barkeep where Jadyn was, noticing as he did so that the barkeep and the insolent girl out on the steps looked enough alike that they were probably related.
The barkeep narrowed his eyes and studied Argun for a moment. “What do you want her for?”
“Just need to talk to her.”
“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to talk to you, but I can ask her.”
Furious that all these people seemed to know his business, nonetheless Argun nodded civilly and said, “Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”
The barkeep went to the end of the bar and partially opened the door that led into the brewery. Leaning into the opening, he spoke quietly. A moment later, he leaned back out of the door and walked back down to the other end of the bar. Argun’s eyes followed him as he headed across the room and started up the stairs.
Then a voice from behind the bar startled him. “Hello, Argun.”
Turning, he saw old man Hyllis standing behind him. Shit! I should’ve known the old bastard would be back there in the brewery. “Hello Mr. Hyllis,” Argun said, trying not to let his loathing show.
“You were quite the jerk last time you were here,” Hyllis said as if such were part of an ordinary conversation.
Because you bastards acted so high and mighty, Argun thought, but he controlled his voice, replying calmly, “Yeah, I was pretty upset. I just came down to straighten things out with Jadyn.”
“You didn’t make any big points with her by stealing all their stuff.”
Argun felt his face stiffen. “Um,” he said, thinking furiously. They know I’m the one that took it?! Of course they do! That stupid ass Nader would’ve told them when they showed up to get it. He blinked, Could they be the ones who stole it from me? How? They didn’t even know where I was! “Yeah, that was a misunderstanding. I was supposed to get the gear for everyone, so I did.”
“Ah. And having gotten it, why didn’t you bring it to them?”
Mind racing to come up with a story, Argun said, “I took it to the inn where I’d gotten us some rooms. I didn’t want them to have to carry it from here to there.”
“Ah. I suppose you didn’t know they had rooms here?”
“No, no one said anything about that.”
“And then you came by here to tell them about the rooms you’d gotten, right?”
“Um…” Argun said, feeling his narrative wriggling from his grasp, “I thought they knew.”
“And when they didn’t come to stay in those rooms, you brought their gear to them here, right?”
Son of a bitch! They’re the ones that took it from me! It wasn’t the Waltons or any thief! But… how? Unable to think of anything else to say, he woodenly said, “I’d rather discuss this whole fiasco with Jadyn.”
“I think you’re going
to be waiting a long, long time,” the man said.
Argun sat there in the tavern dining room the rest of the afternoon, drinking their admittedly excellent beer and using up cash he could ill afford to spend.
He never saw Jadyn.
On his drunken way back to the Walton Inn that evening, a big guy shoved him into an alley and took the last few pennies Argun had on him.
Thank the gods he’d hidden some money in his room.
***
Abel looked up at a sound. Some people were coming out of the woods. His initial thought upon seeing one man on a horse was that the man would be the lead scout for a caravan. When another three people on horses and a small wagon pulled by a mule came out directly behind the first guy, he didn’t know what to think. A lead party for some raiders? The survivors of a ravaged caravan?
Abel’s instinct was to try to hide his goats, but it was too late for that. If he’d seen them, they’d certainly seen his herd. Instead, he tried to subtly move the herd farther from the road, all the while keeping a wary eye on the strangers.
When they got close, the man on the bay horse at the front called out. “We’re going to Cooperstown. Are we on the right road?”
Abel nodded, thinking, Even caravans are afraid to take this road unless they’re big and well-guarded. How in the world did these guys get through?
***
Deciding he needed to learn more about protecting himself, Hareh nudged his horse up beside Daussie’s. “From talking to some of those guys we captured, it sounded like you probably dosed them with some of your cayenne extract?”
She nodded.
“One of them said something splattered on his face. It sounded like it didn’t just appear there, it actually hit him?”
She nodded again. “You can port something to a spot that’s moving. So I ported droplets to spots that were moving towards their faces. When it appears, it hits and splatters. If I were to try to port a drop so it appeared right on his skin, it’d take it a while to vaporize and cause him trouble. Splattering works a lot better.”
Hareh felt a lot better to realize he’d kind of figured out how she did that one. “You have enough extract in that little amulet to take down twelve or thirteen guys?”
“Was it that many? I kind of lost track.”
“At least eleven.”
She nodded, “Could’ve been.” Reaching into her shirt, she pulled up a significantly bigger stone than the teardrop-shaped agate she’d shown him before. This one was a flattened oval and looked like it was made out of ordinary granite. “I made this bigger one when I learned we were going on this trip.” She eyed him, “I brought more extract of cayenne, so if you made an amulet for yourself, you’d have something to load into it.”
“Could I carry it in a pocket, rather than around my neck?”
“The closer it is to your head, the farther you’ll be able to port the extract.” She looked at him, “Maybe you could make a headband for your hat. One with several stones on it.” She made a face, “Of course, if you’re not wearing the hat… Or if it gets knocked off in a fight…”
Hareh sighed resignedly and started watching the road for likely stones, “I’ll make myself a necklace.”
***
It was Jadyn’s first morning off. She’d considered staying in her room and studying, but Vyrda told her everyone needed a break now and then. Nylin had the morning off too and she’d said she’d act as Jadyn’s tour guide in Clancy Vail. Their first stop was going to be a popular sweetshop that’d opened not long ago. Nylin spoke as if revealing a confidence, “I consider going to the sweetshop a form of research.”
Jadyn liked Nylin. Now she grinned at her and lifted an eyebrow, “What kind of research? A study of how to spend money?”
“No, absolutely not.” Nylin said, lifting her nose haughtily, “Someday I may open my own sweetshop, if not an entire restaurant. I must study the competition’s offerings so I’ll be able to make something even better.”
Jadyn was working on her retort when she was startled by a shout, Jadyn! It took her a moment to comprehend that it’d been a mental yell—heard with her newly recognized and suddenly quite active telepathic abilities—not something she’d heard audibly. Looking around she realized Argun’d just come around the corner up ahead of them. He’d stopped in his tracks to stare at her. He was far enough away she couldn’t read any of his thoughts beyond the mind-shout of her name. Well, actually, she could also sense his emotional state. He seemed embarrassed. She thought that was related to his slovenly appearance. At that distance, she couldn’t decide whether he was disheveled from hard work or a lack/loss of self-respect.
Nylin’d taken Jadyn’s elbow when she stopped walking. She said, “What…?” then, distastefully, “Oh, it’s your ex-boyfriend.”
Argun started toward them, then paused, glancing down at himself as if realizing his condition. After that moment of hesitation, he appeared to gain resolve and strode toward her. “Jadyn! It’s so good to see you.” He waved a hand over himself, “Sorry my appearance is so rough, but I’ve had to take some… less-than-pleasant work to support myself while I’m getting established in this shit-hole of a town.”
“Hello Argun,” Jadyn said uncertainly.
Beside her, Nylin whispered suspiciously, “Don’t trust him.”
Argun said, “Could we talk for a few moments? I’d love to hear how things are going for you.”
“Um, it’s our morning off and we’re on our way to the sweetshop. Are you on your way to work?”
Argun glanced at Nylin, apparently recognizing her. “Ah, you’re the one that brought us pizza on our first day here in Clancy Vail, right?”
Nylin slowly nodded but didn’t speak.
Argun had gotten close enough that Jadyn couldn’t ignore the roiling emotion he was hiding behind his pleasant words. Distaste for Nylin. Both anger and desire for Jadyn. Embarrassment over his appearance. Despite the fervent tempers fighting for primacy over his mind, he kept his face still as he said, “Yeah. On my way to work. But it won’t be a problem if I’m a little late. Maybe I could sit with you while you’re eating your sweet?”
She knew Nylin’d disapprove so Jadyn didn’t look at Nylin for permission. Instead, she said, “Okay,” pitching the word so it expressed her reluctance.
If Argun recognized her reluctance, he didn’t acknowledge it, merely turning the direction they’d been going and stepping to Jadyn’s side as they started walking. “Are you learning much about medicine?”
Jadyn reluctantly shook her head, “Not yet. We’ve mostly been learning the jobs at the tavern and helping out in the clinic. We’re getting to do some…” She broke off when she realized she was about to tell him about the reading she’d been doing. Vyrda and Kazy’d emphasized repeatedly how important it was to keep that a secret.
Argun apparently didn’t notice the break in her conversation. He said, “Starting on the bottom rung, huh? Have they told you how long you’ll have to stay there?”
“Well, no. At least until we become efficient at running the tavern. And, with just Vyrda and Kazy taking care of patients they’ve been so busy these past few days that they don’t get much time to teach. When Eva gets back—’
Argun interrupted, “You really think she’s going to make it back? People tell me the road to Cooperstown’s even worse than we’d heard. Even big caravans are nervous, much less a group of… three, four, how many did they take?”
Jadyn wanted to deny what he was saying, but it was far too close to her own fears. Weakly, she said, “Four. Eva didn’t think it’d be a problem.”
“Well, yeah, but what would a woman know about fighting bandits?”
Angry about his dismissal of women’s capabilities, Jadyn said, “She’s very capable.”
Argun shrugged, “I’m sure she is. About medicine. But, in general, healers aren’t soldiers you know.”
They’d arrived at the sweetshop so Jadyn could avoid ruminating over Argun’s l
ast statement. Nylin’d said the lines were long when the sweetshop had opened, but they weren’t bad this morning. Jadyn suspected they’d be worse in the afternoon. The wait was brief, then Jadyn was picking out a pastry with butter icing. Nylin chose a small cake called a blondie. When the salesgirl turned her eyes to Argun, he held his hands up, “None for me. I didn’t bring any coppers with me this morning.”
Jadyn opened her mouth to offer to buy one for him—something she’d done a million times before—but then she caught Nylin giving her a sharp shake of the head from behind Argun’s shoulder. And, she remembered how seldom Argun’d repaid such favors in the past. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend anymore! she thought, irritated at herself. “Okay, let’s go sit in the sun across the street.”
Once they were seated in the grass, Jadyn bit into the pastry. This is really good, she thought, her eyes crossing to look at the pastry’s flaky interior.
Argun gave a pleasant laugh, “Looks like you like that a lot.”
“Yeah,” Jadyn said, suppressing her instinct to hold the pastry out to Argun so he could take a bite. “It’s amazing.” She turned to Nylin and gave her a little grin, “I don’t know if it’s possible to make anything better than this.”
Nylin had a rapturous expression on her face as she chewed a piece of her blondie. Once she swallowed, she said, “I admit it’ll be difficult.” She winked, “It’s gonna require a lot more research.”
“Can I have a tiny taste?” Argun asked.
Jadyn’s nurturing instinct went to war with her determination to avoid letting Argun back into her heart. She shook her head. “You’re just gonna have to bring your coppers back down here and buy your own,” she said, unable to keep from smiling to take a little of the sting out of it.
He stood, his thoughts an explosion of vitriol. Lip curling in an ugly sneer, he said, “After all I’ve done for you? This is my repayment?”
Jadyn stood in turn. Though it was difficult in the face of the ugly impulses pouring out of him, Jadyn fashioned another small smile and said, “Oh. Seems like I’ve heard that from you before. But I’ve been wondering, what’ve you done for me? Especially lately? Let’s see. Oh, you’ve let me buy things for you? Eaten parts of my meals? Oh, wait, you were glad for me when Eva accepted me for training as a healer right?” She frowned, “No, no, that’s wrong. You weren’t happy, you were pissed. In fact, you tried to drag me away from the realization of my dreams. Then, you stole my gear from the caravan. Well, actually, you stole everybody’s gear, but—”
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