“Morning,” Silas said. “I’m sure going to miss this place.”
“Me too. Is Brigid up yet?”
“Haven’t seen her and her door’s still closed, so I doubt it. You want to knock?”
“Let’s give her a couple more minutes.” Yaz was already on her bad side, no reason to make it worse.
“Since we have some time to kill, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. When we confronted the man from your village, what did you do to me?”
Yaz cocked his head. “Nothing, why?”
“Are you sure? It felt like something froze me in place. I couldn’t move a muscle and whatever was doing it came from you.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Silas. I was so focused on my former master that I didn’t even see you. It was like staring down a narrow tunnel and his face was the light at the end. Whatever you felt, it wasn’t me that did it.”
Silas scratched is head. “Weird. Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Whatever happened didn’t hurt or anything. I thought maybe you had an artifact or something secret like that.”
“Nope, no secrets. I’m an open book. There’s nothing special about me aside from my memory and while that’s useful, it’s hardly an earth-shaking talent.”
Brigid’s door opened and she stepped out with her gear and weapon. Lady Cobb had given her a fine white dress and it fit her perfectly. It wasn’t exactly practical for a fight, but they weren’t expecting any trouble for a while.
“Morning,” Yaz said.
“Morning. Time to go?”
“Afraid so. Randall’s waiting to show us to the barge.”
Another part of Randall’s thank you was paying for their barge tickets down the Wallowing River. It wasn’t a direct shot to Port Steel so they’d have to switch barges in a town called Roval, but still it would save them time and money.
“I’ll go see if everyone’s ready,” Silas said.
When he’d gone Brigid smiled a little. “I guess he wants us to talk.”
“Looks like.”
“I can’t believe you just killed those two in cold blood.” Brigid wouldn’t even look at him. “It was practically murder.”
“Is it murder to hang a criminal?”
“That’s different.”
“No, it isn’t. They were guilty and this was the only justice they were going to face. I know you don’t approve, but I did what I had to and if I had to make the choice again, I’d do the same thing. The people that destroyed our home and enslaved our families are going to answer for it, to the law if possible or to me. I swear before all the watching gods.”
She sighed but didn’t argue anymore. Yaz doubted he’d convinced her to see things his way, but that was beyond his control. They walked down the stairs side by side and found Silas waiting in the entryway with Randall. The merchant was dressed to the nines in a fine silk tunic and linen trousers all in shades of green. Gold rings glittered on his fingers.
“I’m sorry to see you all go,” Randall said. “For what you did, I’d happily let you live under my roof for the rest of your days.”
“We appreciate that,” Yaz said. “But there are other people out there that still need help. I couldn’t rest in comfort knowing that.”
They shook hands then Randall shook with Silas and Brigid. “The carriage is waiting. Your horses will be well tended here. Unfortunately, they aren’t allowed on the barge. But don’t worry, you’ll be able to buy new ones in Port Steel easily enough.”
They went outside and Yaz squinted in the bright sun. A green-and-gold carriage pulled by six fine black horses waited. A man in livery opened the door and they all piled in. It was a quick, quiet trip to the docks.
When the door opened and they had all gotten out Randall handed paper tickets to each of them. “The same outfit runs the barges all the way to Port Steel. You’re paid up for the whole journey so don’t let them try and charge you extra. Good luck, my friends. Should you ever find yourselves in need, my door will always be open to you.”
With that final goodbye, Randall climbed into the carriage and they were on their own. Yaz sighed, at once disappointed and eager to get on with the search.
A line of five people had formed at the farthest-east slip. A sixty-foot-long, shallow-draft barge was tied up to the pier. A canvas tarp tied to poles shaded three-quarters of its length. Yaz and his friends moved to the rear of the line.
“Where do we sleep?” Brigid asked.
In front of them, a stout woman in a homespun dress made of unbleached cotton turned and said, “Don’t worry, sweetie, the barge stops every night at riverside campgrounds. Nothing fancy, but there are lean-tos for all the passengers.”
“Are you going to Port Steel?” Brigid asked.
“No, just to Roval. My daughter lives there with her family. I go twice a year to visit. She married a well-to-do farmer. He owns over a thousand acres and keeps ten slaves. Pays for my ticket without a word of complaint. She got lucky when she landed him, let me tell you.”
Yaz tuned out the chatter. His sole hope was to make it to Port Steel with minimal complications. It would be hard enough convincing the slave masters to part with the sales information he needed. The last thing he wanted was to deal with any extra complications.
As he stepped onto the barge, he put aside what had happened so far, good and bad, and focused on the future. He was going to find out where his parents were. He could feel it.
Author Note
Dear readers,
I hope you enjoyed The Mysterious Coin. Now that Yaz and his friends have a lead on the missing villagers, things will only get more exciting. The adventure continues in Book 3, The Dragons’ Graveyard.
Thanks for reading,
James
Also by James E Wisher
The Dragonspire Chronicles
The Black Egg
The Mysterious Coin
The Dragons’ Graveyard
The Slave War
The Sunken Tower
The Dragon Empress
Soul Force Saga
Disciples of the Horned One Trilogy:
Darkness Rising
Raging Sea and Trembling Earth
Harvest of Souls
Disciples of the Horned One Omnibus
Chains of the Fallen Arc:
Dreaming in the Dark
On Blackened Wings
Chains of the Fallen Omnibus
The Aegis of Merlin:
The Impossible Wizard
The Awakening
The Chimera Jar
The Raven’s Shadow
Escape From the Dragon Czar
Wrath of the Dragon Czar
The Four Nations Tournament
Death Incarnate
Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol 1.
Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol 2.
Other Fantasy Novels:
The Squire
Death and Honor Omnibus
The Rogue Star Series:
Children of Darkness
Children of the Void
Children of Junk
Rogue Star Omnibus Vol. 1
Children of the Black Ship
About the Author
James E. Wisher is a writer of science fiction and fantasy novels. He’s been writing since high school and reading everything he could get his hands on for as long as he can remember.
To learn more:
www.jamesewisher.com
[email protected]
The Mysterious Coin Page 18