“Last night, another went missing, this time a small boy. “He had gone to fetch water from the well and never returned. When his parents went to look for him, they found the pail lying on the ground by the well, but no sign of the boy. The boy’s family lives on the edge of the forest just like Hern, though about two or three miles from his place. I was hoping that there would be some way you could help in finding them?”
“I’m not sure what help I can be, Corbin. Despite what Ceryn might’ve said, I am still pretty new to this whole magic business. I will think on it and see if I can come up with some ideas.”
“We would be grateful with whatever aid you could give.”
Nodding, James thinks for a bit. Whenever detectives are trying to solve a case, they always examine the scene of the crime. “Maybe we could ride out to Hern’s place tomorrow morning and I can look around. Maybe something would turn up.”
“Ok, then. First thing in the morning. We better be getting back before Mary sends one of the young’ens to see what’s going on.”
James agrees and they return to the house where they find Mary readying the children for bed. With a round of goodnights and several kisses, they head to their rooms. James takes his leave of Corbin and Mary and goes to his and lies down. He lies awake most of the night as he works to come up with some way in which to help.
Chapter Five
The following morning looks to be another sunny, summer day. Above stretches an expanse of crystal blue only broken by a few high clouds. Coming out of the east, a breath of wind helps to ease the heat of the day.
Corbin informs Mary about his plans to take James into town to see about the reward money. He tells her not to wait lunch for them as they will eat at the Squawking Goose.
At the barn, Corbin grabs a saddle and tosses it upon his horse’s back. As he cinches the underbelly straps, he happens to glance toward James who was looking very confused at a Gordian knot of straps held in his hand. Turning it every which way, he seemed at a loss as what to do next.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I’m sort of embarrassed to admit it but…,” Then his face turned a shade red “I’ve never saddled a horse before. In fact, I’ve never even been on one. They kind of scare me.”
Laughing, Corbin says “That’s hard to believe.” Seeing the redness of James’ embarrassment, he sobers and comes over, taking the tangled mass of straps and buckles. “Here, let me show you what to do. If you’re going to own one, you’d better learn what to do and how to care for it.”
Embarrassment turned to relief. “Thank you.”
Corbin starts by having James become acquainted with his horse. First, he has James gently stroke the face and the neck, letting the horse know that he’s a friend. Corbin then retrieves a carrot from a nearby bin and hands it to James.
Taking the carrot, James offers it to the horse that readily eats it out of his hand. Smiling, he continues petting the horse on the side of the face as it eats and soon isn’t quite as nervous around the beast as he had been.
Corbin then proceeds to instruct James in the proper placement of saddle and tack. He allows James to do the work so he will better learn what to do. When James finishes, Corbin rechecks the tightness and placement of every piece until he’s satisfied that it was done properly and will not loosen.
Once James’ horse is ready, he has him do it all over again with his. This time, James manages to do it a little faster with fewer mistakes. Once Corbin is again satisfied that everything was either done right or had been corrected, he instructs James on the proper mounting technique. Despite his stiff and sore leg, James manages to mount his horse in only two attempts. When he is up and not in immediate danger of falling off, Corbin mounts his horse and starts showing James the various nuances necessary in guiding a horse. He shows him how to use the reins and his knees to move in the desired direction. James is a quick study and soon has a basic understanding of controlling his horse. Corbin has him take the lead as they exit the barn.
In front of the house stand Corbin’s wife and Cyanna who are there to see them off. Corbin waves goodbye and begins making his way down the lane. After several feet, he realizes that James hasn’t followed. He glances back and finds him trying to get the horse to move.
James flicks the reins but the horse merely stands there. “C’mon, boy.”
The horse merely snorts and turns its head to look back at James.
Feeling slightly embarrassed with everyone watching his ineptitude, he continues his efforts, but with little success.
“Kick him gently in the sides.”
He glances to where Corbin has stopped.
“You have to show him that you are in charge.”
James nods, then gives a gentle kick. The horse snorts, but otherwise remains still. He looks to Corbin.
“Harder.”
“All right.” Then to his horse, he says, “Sorry to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.”
Bringing his feet outward from the horse, he jerks them back into its sides. The horse lurches forward.
“There you go,” Corbin praises as James flies by.
Barking erupts behind him as the dogs give chase; which only makes the horse go faster. Terrified and holding on for dear life, James feels himself slipping to the side. His scream of terror echoes across the fields.
“Tor! Cyne!” Corbin yells as his horse bolts forward to catch up with James. “Back home! NOW!”
The dogs break off their chase and glance toward their master with tails between their legs.
“Home!”
Ahead, he sees James tip even more precariously to the side. At the speed James is going, it’s likely he will suffer serious injury if he should fall. Kicking his horse in the sides, he races forward.
“James!” he hollers as the distance narrows. “Hang on!”
Just as James begins losing his balance altogether, a hand reaches out to snag his backpack. Giving out with an incoherent scream, he falls. But instead of slamming to the ground, he’s pulled to the side of Corbin’s horse. Corbin brings them to a halt and lowers a shaky and trembling James to the ground. The aftereffects of terror turn his knees to jelly and he drops in a most undignified manner to the ground.
Corbin pulls up next to him. “Are you okay?”
He looks up, face filled with embarrassment. “Yes.”
“You really weren’t lying about never having been on a horse before.”
James shakes his head. “No, I wasn’t.”
Looking back toward the house, Corbin sees Mary and Cyanna running down the lane toward them. Waving that everything is okay, he hollers, “He’s fine. Get on back.”
James’ horse had continued quite a ways before coming to a stop. Corbin leaves James on the ground to get his nerves under control while he goes to fetch the errant steed. Returning, he dismounts and extends a hand to help James to his feet.
“Now, let’s get you back on and we’ll work on those commands again,”
James takes the hand and comes to his feet. His legs have stopped their trembling and he manages to return to the saddle. Corbin remains next to him while he practices the commands for getting the horse to move without bolting into a run.
Again, James has a hard time getting his horse to go, but after a little coaching from Corbin, manages to get it moving without breaking into a mad, terrifying gallop.
Once he feels confident James will not face another wild ride, Corbin mounts and they head into town. Throughout the ride, he continues instructing James in the finer nuances of controlling his horse and also the proper care and feeding of it.
Hoping to retain at least most of the wisdom Corbin imparts, James pays close attention while at the same time concentrating on keeping his balance so he won’t fall off. He rides as close to Corbin as he can, scared to death that the horse will take off for some unknown reason leaving James in the dirt.
After what seems a very long time, though in fact wasn’t long at all, they arrive a
t the outskirts of town. Townsfolk out in the early morning offer greetings to Corbin or wave as they pass by.
They follow the road through the center of town until reaching a two-story building bearing a sign by the door depicting three stacks of coins sitting upon a table. Corbin rides to the front where he brings his horse to a halt and dismounts.
He glances to James. “This is Alexander’s place. He’s the local money lender and the one to see about your reward.” He moves to James’ side and offers a hand with dismounting.
James nods then swings down from the saddle. Dismounting, as James learns, is far easier than mounting. They secure their steeds to the hitching post and head for the door.
Alexander’s place is a single, modest-sized room with three armed guards. Two stand on either side of the entrance while the third is positioned next to a door at the opposite end of the room. Along the same wall as the door is an opening with a counter.
Upon seeing them enter, the guard positioned next to the door across the room says, “Good day, sirs. If you will wait just a moment, I shall let him know that you are here.” With that, he opens the door and disappears into the back. A short time later, a man dressed in fine clothes appears followed closely by the guard who closes the door behind them.
The man’s demeanor is warm and friendly. He crosses the room and extends his hand. “Corbin, how are you doing? Are your little ones doing well?”
Taking the hand, Corbin shakes it. “They’re doing well, as am I.” Gesturing to James he adds, “This is James. He is the one that’s here to see you.”
His attention turns to the farmer’s companion and appraises him with a cursory glance. “How may I be of service?”
James hands him the letter from the mayor.
Alexander scans the missive then nods. “Ah, yes, the reward for Garrett the Snake and his men. Heard the story last night at the Squawking Goose. The mayor said you would be coming by. What would you like to do about it?”
“What do you mean, ‘do about it’?”
“Well, I could give it all to you now, but that would be far too much for you to carry. Or, you could set up an account and I would keep it safe and secure for you until such time as you need to withdraw it.”
“Sort of like a bank?”
“Bank?” Alexander asks in confusion.
James nods. “You know, a place where you deposit money, get loans, stuff like that.”
“Uh, yes. Just like that.” Alexander glances questioningly toward Corbin who shrugs and mouths, He’s not from around here.
Oh, he replies in the same silent, discreet manner.
James considers what he might need and realizes he doesn’t have the faintest idea. Whenever he ran characters during role playing, he always liked to have fifty gold pieces. It was a tidy sum and wouldn’t impact his encumbrance too severely, and should more than suffice for his immediate needs.
“I think I’ll take fifty gold pieces and set the rest up in an account.”
“Very good, sir. If you will but wait a moment, I shall return with your coins and the papers to set up your account.” With that he turns and makes for the door. The guard opens it for him and closes it once again after he passes through.
James and Corbin wait only a few moments before the money lender appears at the opening in the wall with a leather pouch, along with three papers. He motions James to the window and opens the pouch. Spilling gold coins onto the counter, Alexander proceeds to count them with James, ensuring they are in agreement that the count is accurate. Once satisfied the number of coins is correct, he has James place the coins back into the pouch. Alexander then takes the papers and points to a line. “You need to make your mark here. This says you are entrusting us with your money, until such time you request it to be withdrawn.”
James takes the papers and to his surprise, can read them. He looks them over and finding nothing that he disagrees with, signs on the line.
Alexander takes the papers. “Thank you, sir. I am certain that you will be pleased with the level of service that my establishment will accord you and your money.”
“Thanks to you as well, Alexander,” James replies, then turns to Corbin, “Shall we go?”
He nods. “Goodbye, Alexander.”
“Goodbye, Corbin. Hope to see you again soon.” Alexander then leaves the window and disappears to the back.
Corbin turns to lead the way out the door to where the horses are waiting outside. James manages to mount without aid on the first attempt and gives Corbin a smile of triumph.
“Now, to Hern’s farm.”
James nods. “Lead on.”
They head their horses back through town and leave by a road other than the one they came in on. James finds that this time, he doesn’t feel in danger of tipping to the side. His horse also responds well to his directions and the difficulty he experienced earlier fails to return.
Once they leave the outskirts of Trendle, Corbin asks what he plans to do once they reach Hern’s place.
“I’m not really sure,” James admits. “It’s likely there will be nothing I can do.”
Hern’s farm lies several miles from town; and with his fear of riding gradually diminishing, James is able to enjoy the ride through the farmland. There’s a certain sense of freedom being on a horse gives that he never felt before. He figures it to be what driving a car for the first time must be like. His grandparents had never felt comfortable with him driving and had somehow managed to forestall any attempt he made to get his license. He wondered what they would think of him now. A touch of homesickness returned, but the sun on his face and the freedom a horse brings soon had him cheerful once more.
From the main road, they take a small lane leading toward a line of trees in the distance. Soon, a small home with a barn out back and corral to the side came into view.
“Is this it?”
Corbin nods
James slows and gives the vicinity a once over. Everything appears normal. He makes a quick loop around the house with Corbin following and fails to discover anything that might indicate the fate of Hern. Returning to the front of the house, James brings his horse to a halt and sits for a moment staring at the open front door. He then closes his eyes to see if can feel anything weird, like a residual trace of evil or magic. He doesn’t.
Yeah, like I’d know what that would feel like even if it was here, he muses to himself as he opens his eyes and dismounts.
“What do you think?”
James shrugs. “Don’t know. Let’s check out the inside.”
He and Corbin dismount and approach the front door and enter. They find the insides just as Corbin had described with dinner still on the table, though by now it was pretty ripe. There was no sign of a struggle or anything. It looked like he just up and walked away.
Returning outside, James considers the problem;
Corbin wants me to find where Hern is. How can I locate him? How did they do it in all those books I read? Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Esp., not sure how to go about those. When you need to find something you use…you use…a compass? Could I fashion a magical compass to point out the direction of Hern’s whereabouts? The image of a tracker having his hound sniff an article of clothing worn by the one he sought sprang to mind. That might just work.
“I think I may have an idea. Let’s go to the barn and see if I can find material to fashion a compass.”
“What’s a compass?”
“It’s an object one uses to find things,” James replies. “Back where I come from, they would use it to always point north. That type of compass doesn’t require magic.”
“Why would you care where north is?”
“It’s mainly used by sailors when they have no sun or stars to steer by.”
“That would make sense.”
Reaching the door to the barn Corbin opens it and steps back, allowing James to enter first.
Once within, James scans the interior to see what materials are available. Over in one corn
er are a dozen narrow posts neatly stacked. Crossing over to them, he spies one with a diameter measuring roughly three inches and takes it. Motioning for Corbin to come over, he asks, “Could you cut me a smooth, half inch section off of this one?”
“Sure,” he says and takes the post. He then carries it to a workbench near where a rack of tools hangs on the wall. Taking down a saw, Corbin positions the end of the post so it extends over the edge of the workbench. “Do you want it off the end or should I remove the end first, then cut a section?”
Rubbing his finger over the end, he finds it rough and cracked. “Maybe you should take the end off first. I’ll need it smoother than that.”
“All right.” He then proceeds to remove the unusable portion. Once it drops to the ground, he starts on the piece James requested.
While Corbin works on the post, James continues to look through the post pile and finds another that has a slightly wider diameter than the first. When Corbin finishes removing the desired section from the first post, he has him saw a similar piece from the second.
Gathering a few more items that he feels might be useful in compass construction, James returns to the workbench and waits for Corbin to finish. When Corbin is done, he returns the saw to its hook on the wall, then removes the unused portions of the posts from the workbench. After brushing away the sawdust from the surface of the workbench, he lays the two freshly-cut pieces down upon it. Stepping away, he makes room for James.
James picks up the smaller of the two and shows it to Corbin. “Is there a way you can drill a hole through this one? It needs to be slightly bigger than one of these nails?” He gestures to a pile of nails lying on the workbench.
Corbin searches the tools on the wall above the workbench, nods and takes one down. The tool reminds James of a screwdriver but the end is fashioned like a drill. Taking the piece of wood, Corbin uses the tool to bore a hole. When he has the hole the size James requires, he blows off the excess wood debris before handing it back.
James examines it. “Perfect. This will do fine. Placing both pieces of wood on the workbench, he creates a vision of what he wants to accomplish, then releases the magic as he says:
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