by Adam Oster
Lance looks up at me and smiles once again.
“Well, yer much more covered now, however, ye may be more comfortable if ye were to put yer legs on tha left side o’the pony. Tha stirrups are both over there.”
“Oh,” I giggle, feeling embarrassed at myself for doing so. “I had wondered how long I’d be able to hold myself up like this.” Again I struggle to reposition myself. Lance readjusts his view toward the ground as I manage to flash my ankles and possibly even my knees on a number of occasions during my attempt. Finally, I’m on the side I’m supposed to be, feet both situated within a stirrup, and feeling almost comfortable. “Okay, I think I’m set now.”
Lance looks up. He smiles at me as he walks in front of Molly to stroke her neck. “Good girl, you’ve been mighty patient.”
“Sorry, not used to this, you know.”
“Dunna worry, Chelle. Just gotta appreciate the horse for being so good t’ya. Alright, now, ye may want to adjust yer feet slightly once again.”
I groan.
“Only a minor thing,” Lance promises. “’owever, you may find it more comfortable to have the toe of your right foot pointed up. There you go,” he says as my toe disturbs the calm of my skirt, making a slight tent. “May not seem like much, but it will allow for a much more steady ride. Feel good?”
“Yeah,” I smile confidently. “I think I could stay up here all day.”
“Alright, well, the most difficult think about riding aside is to stay atop as the horse moves. D’ya think you’re ready to try a wee trot?”
“Sure, I think so,” I grimace.
“Dunna worry. Jus’ keep a tight grip on tha reins. This saddle has a horn on it, so’s you can use that to keep yourself steady as well.”
“Okay, then what?” I ask as I grab onto the thing sticking up in the front of the saddle that I’m guessing is the horn. I hold the reins and the horn together with both hands as though I may suddenly fall off at any moment.
He makes a clicking sound with his tongue and Molly starts walking forward. I let out a little scream of surprise.
“Yer doing fine there, Chelle. Just keep holding on. When yer feeling steady, pull the reins to the right and see if you can get ‘er to turn.”
Molly has gone a good thirty feet before I realize that Lance is getting out of earshot. Before losing his ability to help altogether, I decide I need to get up the courage to attempt to turn her. I release one hand from the horn and pull the reins, trying to direct her head to the right. She pulls left. I decide to stick with it as she’s getting me closer to the person who knows how to apply the brakes.
As we near, I hear Lance say, “Hup,” rather firmly, which causes Molly to stop in her tracks. Lance runs to my side, his beautiful smile all I’m aware of as he gets close.
“Ya did good there, Chelle.”
“I was trying to make her go right, but she went left.”
“Ah, yeah,” Lance chuckles. “Just think of it as making her look the way you want her to walk, that should make it easier.”
“Oh, okay.”
“You ready to head into town?”
“You think I’m ready?”
“You didna fall off. That’s about all I can teach ya.”
“Will you come with me?”
“I canna do that, Chelle. I need t’keep an eye on the horsies here.”
“Please,” I whine.
“Ah, who am I kiddin’. These beasties ain’t left this field in ages.” He runs to a nearby red-haired horse, tall and muscular. Without a saddle he climbs onto its back and with a light kick to its side, he pulls up beside me and Molly. “Okay, Chelle, you lead the way.”
Chapter 26
“Alright,” I say uneasily. I make the clicking sound with my tongue, like Lance taught me, and Molly starts forward at her slow trot. I delicately direct her toward the opening in the fence ahead. It takes a little getting used to, but Lance’s description of aiming her head where I want to go helps me visualize the process a lot better.
Finally we’re on the street and I look at Lance with a proud grin strapped to my face.
“Ya ready to put on a little speed there, Chelle?” he asks. “It’ll take all day t’git across town at this pace.”
“Um, okay,” I say, my confidence cracking under the idea of changing tempo.
“Hup, hup,” Lance yells and Molly instantly speeds up, turning the slow trot into a rather bouncy gallop. I can’t keep my butt on the seat. Forget about steering, I just don’t want to fall off.
Lance appears at my side. “Keep that toe up,” he says loudly. I almost don’t hear him over my all-encompassing fear, but finally his reminder makes it into my brain and I comply. For whatever reason, it seems to almost immediately steady me on the saddle.
“There ye go,” he cheers. “Now you’re looking like a right EQ.”
“Yeah?”
“Naw, ya look mighty green yet, but at least yer still upright.”
“I feel pretty good about that.”
“Ye should. Sitting aside idna easy.”
We make it back to the marketplace and find Griff still working the crowd. Now it seems that he is the one who is annoying the sellers, as opposed to when I last saw him. They must have realized he doesn’t have any money.
“Hup,” I say as we near Griff. The horse doesn’t stop, or even slow, but the noise is enough to get Griff’s attention. He looks up at me with a scowl. I look back to Lance, who is following closely behind.
“Hup!” he yells. Molly stops immediately following his command.
“Hey Griff,” I shout down. “Having any luck yet?”
“Oh, come on, really? There’s no way you got a horse already!”
I grin proudly.
“Too bad you didn’t define the terms of the Scam-Off before we started,” he says as he comes to my side.
“All I wanted was to have this to hold over your head.”
Lance appears at my side from ground level. I look and see he has tied his horse to a nearby post. He holds his hand up in my direction. “Can I help you down, Chelle?” he asks.
“Chelle?” Griff asks incredulously. “Have I taught you nothing?”
“Chill out,” I reply as I take Lance’s hand to dismount. “It’s not like that name means anything around here.”
“It’s rule number one!” he yells, accentuating every syllable. “Number One! They don’t put it at the top for just any old reason. I think just for that alone, you should be considered forfeited.”
“Psh,” I laugh. “Griff, I’d like you to meet my new partner, Lance.”
“A pleasure,” Lance says as he extends his hand in Griff’s direction.
Griff stares at it and then scowls at me more sternly. “New partner? You’re still the apprentice kiddo, you don’t get to choose any partner, new or old.”
“From the looks of it, the student has now become the master,” I say as I gesture to Molly.
“Don’t press your luck, kid.”
“Milady,” Lance cuts in. “If it would not be too much trouble, I should probably return to the field and attend to the horses. Will I be able to find you this evening?”
“Yeah, we’re staying at The Goat and The Mare.”
“Perfect. I’ve business with Agnes to attend to. You have provided the perfect excuse.”
“Oh no you don’t,” Griff shouts. “You can’t come in here and take away both Chelle and Aggie.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I have no intentions of taking anything from you. In fact, if I heard correctly, you were attempting to gather some cloth, were you not?”
“What’s it to you?”
“See the woman there in the red dress?”
“You mean the dress that might be red under the years of dirt and grime?” Griff asks gruffly.
“Tis my mother. Tell her I sent you and she will provide you with whatever you need.” He turns from Griff and looks at me. His gaze stares deep into my eyes. “Chelle, I do certainly hope
to see you again this evenin’.”
“Well, you’re the guy who takes care of the stables, right?”
“One o’ ‘em.”
“Molly here’s going to need a place to stay the night. Can’t imagine there’s a better place than with you.”
“Then we shall reconvene our merriment tonight, either at the stables or at Agnes’.”
“It’s a date,” I giggle. Lance looks at me with confusion and then turns toward his horse and walks away.
“Kid, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
“Hey, why don’t we talk about it after I get you the clothes you’re looking for?”
“You’re treading a mighty thin line here.”
“From the looks of it, I’m treading it a heckuva lot better than you.”
Chapter 27
Lance’s mother is incredibly helpful in choosing out clothing for Griff that would make him look like a perfect nobleman. Actually, a quick look at her shop and anyone could tell that clothing nobles is what she does best.
What is odd is how she has absolutely no questions about why she should help us and, although she could obviously use the money, won’t even allow us to talk about reimbursing her in any way, which, of course, makes Griff happy.
I make a note to myself to ensure we come back and repay her appropriately for her services. Her clothes are definitely some of the best I’ve seen along the market here. Even more than that, the fabrics she’s using are some of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life.
It’s easy to see that she was doing very well for herself before The Wizard came to town and sent everyone with any hint of money off to war, or, from what I saw earlier today, to the hospital. I can say one thing for certain, if we end up getting stuck back in this time, and I find any source of income, I’ll easily be her best customer.
The outfit that Lance’s mother and I choose for Griff is a pretty standard, albeit amusing-looking, affair: a light blue tunic that stops just above his knees and is tied at the waist with a thin black cord. It puffs out just above the knees, and I can’t help but think that if we could get him a bowl cut for his hair, he’d look just like what I’ve always pictured a wandering minstrel would look like. We coordinate from there with some grey tights and similarly colored pointy shoes.
“I look like a fruit!” Griff says in his ever-so-tolerant-sounding way. I laugh him off, knowing that he has little choice if he wishes to give off the look of nobility around here for whatever his big con has in store.
We make our way back to Agnes’, me riding Molly and Griff being forced to keep up on foot. He changes into his new attire once we get there and after a few kind words and a quick lunch of leftover gruel and bread, we head on our way to speak to Geoffrey about what further intel he can give us regarding The Wizard.
Chapter 28
We arrive at the Greek columns outside of Geoffrey’s hangout and find the doors have been taken off their hinges by what appears to be some sort of battering ram. With my heart in my throat, we run into the building and see Geoffrey in a heap against the far wall.
“Geoffrey!” I scream as I run to him, sliding against the slick marble floor as I make it to his side.
A faint groan escapes his lips as I near.
“Oh, thank God you’re still alive!” I exclaim.
“Young madam,” Geoffrey says, a forced smile upon his lips.
“What happened?” Griff asks, looking around the room for any danger.
Geoffrey’s eyes close.
“Geoffrey!” I yell.
His eyes reopen, but they seem to be having difficulty focusing on me.
“Griff!” I say urgently.
He runs to my side. “Hey there, guy, no going out on us now. We need your help.”
Geoffrey groans again and his eyes close.
“Geoff, pal,” Griff says as he shakes the old man. “Where do we find a doctor around here?” he yells as he continues shaking. “Geoff!”
“Wait,” I say as I remember my earlier walk. “I think I saw a hospital just earlier today.”
“Great! How far is it?”
“Almost all the way to where I picked up the horse.”
“We can’t get him all the way out there like this. Do you think medieval doctors do house calls?”
“We’ve got Molly,” I offer. “Do you think you can get him on the horse?”
A louder groan escapes Geoffrey’s lips and he slumps over. Griff grabs his wrist and places his ear next to the man’s mouth.
“I think it’s too late, kid. Unless they’ve got a defibrillator unit around here somewhere.”
I barely notice my jaw dropping as my eyes return to the old man’s face.
“Shit,” Griff says as he uses his fingers to close the man’s eyelids.
I’m speechless. I’ve never even seen a dead body before, much less have one become dead right in front of me. He seemed so lively just yesterday. I suppose he was. This wasn’t a man dying from old age, I realize as I notice the blood and bruises all over his exposed skin. Someone did this to him.
“Shit!” Griff repeats.
I slowly awaken to Griff pacing behind me.
“Who could do something like this?” I ask softly.
“Who do you think?” Griff asks, the anger seething through his bared teeth.
“The Wizard?” I ask, not believing the question.
“Who else? He obviously knew we were here yesterday. He must have come to figure out what Geoff knew about us and ended up killing him over it.”
“Geoffrey was killed because of us?”
“Yeah,” Griff says roughly, then, noticing the tears welling up in my eyes, he kneels beside me and softens his tone. “Technically yes, but Geoff was already treading a fine line. He told us himself. That library of his, the whole harboring new folks thing, he wasn’t exactly a model citizen, at least in The Wizard’s eyes.”
“But,” I stammer, “but, he’s dead. Because he talked to us, he’s dead.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Chelle. There’s nothing we could have done to stop this.”
“We could have not come here at all,” I blurt out as the tears start falling on my cheeks.
“It’s not like we planned on traveling through time, kid. We didn’t even know we had until after we had met the guy.”
“That doesn’t make us any less responsible!”
“But that’s the thing, Chelle. We’re not responsible. That damned Wizard is.”
I look up at Griff through my drenched eyelids, sobs escaping without abandon. Rage builds through me as his words reach my brain. He’s right. It may be our fault that he was made into a target, but we weren’t the ones who beat him to death. We weren’t the ones who considered him nothing more than another piece of necessary collateral damage.
“What do we do?” I ask him.
“At this point, nothing,” Griff answers. “If he’s willing to do this to find us, we’re going to have to keep our heads low to make sure he doesn’t do this to anyone else. Or to us for that matter.”
“But what about the swindle?”
“The swindle’s off, kid. We’re playing with fire here. Rule # 22, ‘Never invest more into a grift than you’re willing to lose.’ This investment could mean lives.”
“What about rule 12?”
“Plan B? Plan B is to get out alive.”
“But we have to get this Wizard out of here, we have to take him down. For Geoffrey.”
“We’ll talk about that later. For now, we’ve gotta get out of here. I’d be surprised if The Wizard didn’t keep anyone behind to watch for us.”
“Okay,” I say, turning to look at Geoffrey one last time. “I’m sorry,” I say, the tears flowing faster now. “I’m so, so, sorry.”
“Chelle,” Griff says softly. “Come on.”
“Okay,” I say as I stand, my eyes never leaving Geoffrey’s face. “We’ll get him for you, Geoffrey. I’ll get him.”
“We’ll b
oth get him, alright kid?”
“Okay.”
Chapter 29
“Now, stay close. If The Wizard has left anyone behind to trail us, we’ll want to try to keep as out of sight as possible. Maybe there’s some chance they won’t notice us. I doubt it, but maybe.”
We exit the building cautiously, however, it’s immediately apparent that there isn’t a single person outside. Not one. Griff takes this to be another sign that something is up and uses a long and rather winding route back to The Goat and The Mare, reminding me a few times that you can never be too careful. After making the five minute walk between the two buildings take thirty, we finally arrive at the tavern. Molly is still tied up out front.
“We’re back, Aggie,” Griff yells as we enter the building. He sits down at one of the tables. I join him, sobbing lightly. “It’ll get better, kid. I promise.”
“I know,” I reply. “It’s not like I knew him all that well or anything, it’s just that…well—“
“Don’t worry, kid. I get it. It’s not easy to watch someone die.”
“Especially if he died because of you.”
“Yeah,” Griff replies, a somber look crossing his face as he has a staring contest with the table.
“Okay, so, what’s the plan, then?” I ask as I sniffle, attempting to regain my sensibility. “We can’t let him get away with this.”
“I barely had a plan before. Now I’ve got nothing. I mean, it seemed easy before. Get a change of clothes so he doesn’t recognize us. Nab a few other things, like the horse, to make us look like traveling nobility. Knock on the door with something to sell and get us in. You know, a basic Door-to-Door. Before you know it, we’d be out of there, necklace in hand, and back on our way home.”
“Why can’t we do that now?”
“He’s a killer, kid. I didn’t have that in my original design. That guy’s a killer and he did it because he’s looking for us. I think it’s safe to assume that he remembers our faces and is ready to lash out the second he sees us.”
“So, where does that leave us?”