"A symbol bonded with the light of Leander," Kar reminded him. "Fearsome might be more appropriate, if the boy ever figures himself out."
Karthor frowned. "He could be fearsome, indeed. That might be a terrible thing."
"Yes, it might. Let's do our best to keep him on the other end of things, shall we? I, for one, don't relish the thought of ever having to face him. He's a very stubborn and hard to kill young man."
"Father, he's our friend."
"Yes, well, there's that too. Now stop prattling on, we're missing dinner!"
Chapter 11
"We're wasting our time," Patrina argued after Alyssa delivered another round of ales. "Things are happening in our homelands and we're sitting here getting no closer to them!"
Alto set his empty cup aside and turned to look at her. "You're cute when you're frustrated."
"Uh oh," Mordrim muttered while Garrick and Carson burst out laughing. Namitus sprayed a mist of ale across the table and joined in.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing!" Patrina stabbed her finger at him.
"Good—wait. Don't what? Or do?"
Patrina opened and closed her mouth while she looked at Alto. She sighed and took a drink from her own cup. "Gah, they don't know how to make ale down here. The local brew's bad enough, but I swear they're cutting it with horse piss to make it go further."
The laughter died as the men at the table stared at her. Carson turned to Alto and asked, "Did she just say horse—"
Garrick interrupted him by slamming one hand on the table and raising his cup in the other. "It is horse piss!" he bellowed. "But I'll drink it in honor of a woman so bold!"
Alto watched his northern friend drain his newest cup and reach across to grab the one in front of Carson. Carson noticed it too late and scowled at the man. He turned to grab Namitus's ale but the rogue grinned and held it far from him.
They were getting drunk, that much was obvious. The food had come and gone: a simple meal of roast animals and vegetables, with bread to sop up the juices. It came too late to stop the ale from going to their heads and now did little except slow them down.
Alto turned when he felt a presence looming over him and blocking some of the light from the lamps. "What's the problem over here?" an off-duty guard with a ring through his nose and a cup in his hand asked.
Alto turned and was quick to say, "No pro—"
Patrina grabbed her cup and ignored Alto as she thrust it at the man. "This is the problem! The men of Peltarch would gain more hair on their chest by drinking their mother's milk than this! Unless their mother's a bull and they're pulling on the wrong teat, it should taste better too!"
Silence reigned around the table as everyone thought through Patrina's insult. Mordrim groaned and Carson showed shock at the lewd suggestion the Kelgryn princess made.
"You got hair on your chest already?" the guard asked her.
Patrina leaned forward and thrust her chest out, baring all the skin her armor left on display. "Do I look hairy?" she challenged.
The guard leered at her. "Looks like you could use some of my hair on you," he offered.
Alto stood up and turned to face him. The guard glanced at him and smirked. "Sit down, boy. This wench is looking for a man, not a whelp."
"Then she'll need to keep looking past you, won't she?" Alto growled.
One of the guard's eyebrows raised and he let out a short chuckle. "Last chance, boy. You look all brawn and no brains, so I'll speak slow and use little words. I've got a lot of friends in here and if you don't shut your mouth, you'll be spending your night in the castle dungeon. Or longer. Sometimes people get lost—what, you too? Being tall as a tree don't mean you won't fall like a tree."
A table of guards rose up behind the man with a nose ring and moved closer to support him. Carson, Mordrim, Patrina, and Namitus remained seated but Garrick had stood to show his support.
"Alto! Garrick! Sit down," Patrina hissed.
"He said a night in the castle," Alto said. "Probably better sleeping than the lice-ridden mats elsewhere in Peltarch, right? They'd be the same quality as their ale, wouldn't they?"
Patrina groaned as the guard's eyes narrowed. "That's it," he muttered. "Hand over that sword before you get your blood spilt!"
Alto turned his head when he heard a gasp. Alyssa emerged from the kitchen with a platter filled with plates. She saw what was going on and opened her mouth but a quick shake from Alto's head made her pause. He turned his back to the guard and then tilted it a little more to say over his shoulder, "Get her out."
The guard's expression soured and he opened his mouth but Alto held up his hand to stop him. "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," Alto said. "I've noticed how thick that ring in your nose is. Is that silver or steel?"
He stiffened. "Silver," he boasted. "And it's a mark of manhood to endure pain the likes of having it put in."
"I bet," Alto agreed. "I think it's missing something, though. Something that would look good on it."
The guard scoffed. "What's that, boy?"
"My knee!" Alto's hand was still up between them. He reached out before the guard could react and stuck his fingers into the ring and tugged down on it. The man's face flew forward as he reacted to the pain instinctively. Alto pulled his fingers away in time for his rising knee to smash into the guard's face.
The guard crumpled to floor amid a spreading gush of blood from his torn and smashed nose. Alto held his fingers up and realized he still held the ring wrapped around them. He shrugged and then jumped into the group of guards who were staring at their fallen comrade. Alto's fist with the ring wrapped around his fingers led the way.
Garrick roared and grabbed the edge of the table. He flipped it up and sent it crashing into the group of guards who were struggling with Alto. He reached for his sword but Patrina stopped him with a shout.
"No blades!" she yelled at him. "You draw steel and you'll get us all killed!"
Garrick let go of his sword and charged into the growing fray. He slugged a guard in the jaw and sent the man staggering back into another table and then grappled with another man who rose to meet him.
"This is a fine way to lie low," Patrina grumbled as she rose to her feet and turned to face the crowd of inn patrons. "I—"
Patrina's breath burst out of her as her legs were taken out from under her. Mordrim stood with the princess across his shoulder and her staring upside down at Carson. Her axe twisted around and the shaft smacked against the side of her face.
"Mordrim!" she shouted. "Put me down!"
Namitus jumped over and grabbed her flailing arms and lifted her up. She clamped her mouth shut and rose up and then stopped when she realized both the rogue and the dwarf had firm grips on her. They had no intention of letting her go. Carson spun away and pushed the confused patrons out of the way so that the other two could carry the squirming princess to the door and out of the inn.
Alto tasted blood in his mouth and felt the punches, kicks, elbows, and knees as he struggled on the ground. He was reminded of wrestling with his younger brothers until someone smashed a chair across his back and dropped him from his knees to the ground. He picked his head up and was struck by a fist in the side of his head. Colors burst in front of him and he heard the sound of his head striking the wooden floor.
He pushed himself away and rolled, flailing blindly with his hands as the lights and colors began to take shape again. He grabbed a leg and yanked blindly, forcing a guard forward and tripping the man over him. Alto grunted as the guard fell across his chest, but he used him as a shield from the others who were reaching for him.
The young warrior blinked the last of the dark spots from his eyes and heaved the guard up and away, clearing some room for himself. He climbed to his feet and saw Garrick was trading blows with four different guards. Three lay on the ground already and only one was struggling to rise. Alto turned and blocked a kick with his arm. His new position allowed his shield, which was skewed across his back, to sto
p another guard's punch.
He rose to one knee as the three guards in front of him stepped back for a moment to give him clearance. He glanced over and saw Alyssa standing behind the bar that Garrick had backed up to. Her lip was sucked between her teeth and then she turned and grabbed up an empty wine keg. She raised it over her head and stepped closer to the barbarian.
"Garrick! Behind you!" Alto roared just as someone crashed into his shield and upper back and drove him forward.
Garrick turned and caught the descending keg with his fist, shattering it. He pulled his hand back and ignored the blood running from his knuckles. He smiled at the open-mouthed serving maid and grabbed the back of her neck in his meaty palm. He pulled her across the bar and kissed her briefly, and then pushed her back.
The guards rushed towards him but he was ready and delivered a brutal punch to the face of one before the other two bore him down to the ground and struggled to subdue him.
Alto reached up as the man who had knocked him down wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled back, choking him. He couldn't get a solid grip on the guard's arm and realized he'd be choked out before he could figure out a way. He tried to get his feet under him and succeeded in picking himself up enough to loosen the brutal hold for a few scant gasps of breath. Then the guard shifted to compensate and tightened his grip again.
"Enough!" A voice boomed through the cacophony of the brawl.
The guards stopped moving and turned to face the newcomer. Garrick grunted and swore as he pushed the two men who were on top of him away and rose up. One was nursing his side and the other clutched his wrist. Both stayed down.
More guards rushed into the inn and spread out around the man who had shouted. He wore the livery of the guard, but it was a finer suit decorated with silver tassels. His chain shirt gleamed in the flickering light from the lamps. The man beside him had crossbows drawn and pointed at Garrick and Alto.
He turned and surveyed the damage and then shook his head. "Two men did this?"
"Those two, Captain," a man behind the bar with a towel over one shoulder said. He pointed at Garrick and Alto. "Ruffians and thugs! Who's to pay for my damages?"
Alto tried to talk but could barely wheeze. His face felt hot and puffy. His neck was pinched and itching where the guard squeezed his arm around him.
"Release him," the captain snapped.
Alto fell forward and gasped for breath. He felt a tug at his waist but he was focused on not passing out and couldn't respond to it.
"Captain!" the guard said before tossing Alto's coin purse through the air.
The captain caught it with a surprised grunt. He opened the sack and peered inside, and then frowned. "There's more to these thugs than they appear. Boris, this should cover your broken tables and chairs."
The owner of the inn caught two of the many coins the captain tossed his way, and then he turned and grabbed up the others that had fallen on the floor around him. The captain's eyes fell on Alyssa and he frowned. "Are you well, young miss?"
Alyssa stiffened and dropped her hand from where her fingers had been brushing against her recently kissed lips. She swallowed and nodded, and then said in a voice too high-pitched to be normal, "Yes, my lord. Thank you."
"For your troubles," he said and tossed a coin in her direction from Alto's purse. He tightened the purse and slipped it into a pocket before turning back to Alto and Garrick. "Not mere thieves at all, I think. Your weapons are too fine and your strength too great. No, I think we'll need to learn more about you."
Alto finally picked himself up and stared full on at the captain. He saw the man nod, but his eyes were focused above Alto's head. Alto started to twist his neck to look when something crashed into the back of his head and dropped him to the floor to stay.
Chapter 12
Jethallin stared out from the top of the hill she was on towards the red glow in the west. The sun was nearly set and still she hadn't reached the swamp. She was getting closer, though. She could smell it in the dying western breezes of the day, a touch of musky decay and moisture that made her yearn for more.
She knew better than to risk walking in the dark. She'd spied smoke from campfires to the west earlier and now she knew that there was enough of them blurring the sky that a village lay between her and the swamp. A village meant a bed and perhaps a change of clothing. If Snake-Killer would let her have the time to rest, that is.
She turned away from the edge of the hill and focused on the spot she'd chosen to make her camp. She'd used a dagger to dig up the ground and pull the grasses away from it and then gathered sticks for a fire. Whiskers sat and watched Jennaca as the baby girl reached out and played with the two pups. They licked her hands and bounced about, running into each other and falling in a tangle from time to time. Jennaca laughed at their antics.
One of the dogs brought a light brown bundle of fur and dropped it in front of the alpha female. The pack leader sniffed it and then nudged it with her nose towards Jethallin. She smiled and rolled it over. The animal's neck was broken but it was still warm.
"Good kill," she offered. She looked at the prairie dog and then glanced at Whiskers. The rat was bigger but she still saw a little resemblance. Whiskers didn't seem to care.
Jethallin took out her dagger and cleaned the carcass. The pups dove into the entrails, devouring the offal while Jethallin skinned their dinner and started a fire. As she skewered the animal and roasted it, she turned and found the mother of the pack watching her in the dark.
"Thank you, Piya," she said. "I don’t know what you understand, but your family made this an easier journey for us. I don't think it will be safe for you where we go tomorrow, though; you should return to your home. The men of the city will think you're up to no good."
Piya, the name Jethallin had decided fit the mother dog best, looked away and then laid down. She licked her lips and stared at the roasting meat.
Jethallin laughed. The dogs had brought her something every night to cook and eat. They'd stayed with her, too, lying near enough to be close but far enough away so she didn't fear that Jennaca would be hurt by a dog rolling in their sleep. She wasn't sure if Piya had adopted them as part of her pack, or if the alpha had accepted Jethallin as her mistress.
She pulled the animal away from the fire and stuck her knife in it to test it. The juices ran clear and steam rose from the meat. Jethallin cut off a chunk and tossed it so that it landed in the grass in front of Piya. The dog lowered her nose and sniffed it before scooping it up in her jaws and chomping down on it twice before swallowing it.
Jethallin cut off more of the meat and tossed it to the rest of the pack, though she took care to make sure she saved some for herself and even a few of the most tender bites for her daughter. They ate in silence and watched the fire burn low until only coals remained. Jennaca snored softly where she lay until Jethallin picked her up and startled her.
She fussed for a moment until her mother rocked her back to sleep. Jethallin settled in and watched Piya as she moved to corner her own pups. She corralled them and forced them down, and then lay down with them beside her. They were half her size, nearly big enough to survive on their own, but still the mother tended them.
Jethallin looked down at her own sleeping baby and smiled. She would protect Jennaca as long as she could, too.
When the runaway thief woke up in the morning, she was alone. Whiskers and Jennaca were with her but the dogs had disappeared. She frowned and sat up, taking care to not wake up her daughter, and then stood. She walked around but could see no signs of Piya or her pack. A few depressions in the grass gave proof that they'd spend the night but where they'd disappeared to, she didn't know.
"Maybe she did understand me," Jethallin whispered. She smiled and turned to the darker blue sky in the west. Dark columns of smoke rose from chimneys that lay on the other side of the trees growing on the side of the hill.
"Come on, sleepyheads," Jethallin said as she dropped down to gather her daughter. Jennaca stir
red and cried while rubbing at her eyes with her tiny fists. Jethallin scooped her up and fed her. Whiskers rolled over and stared at them with his beady eyes. His nose twitched and then he was up and off to dig at the base of the tree Jethallin had pruned for firewood the night before. A few moments later, he emerged with a fat grub between his teeth and gobbled it down.
Jethallin changed Jennaca as soon as she could and then made certain the coals were cold. She glanced about the hills a final time for Piya or her pack but saw nothing. She sighed and started down the hill and into the thickening trees.
With dawn still behind her, the jungle grew dark around her. Twice she surprised a bird that rose up shrieking at her in the gloomy morning. Jennaca cried out at both. After nearly an hour of walking, she found a trail leading through the forest and turned to follow it to the northwest. After ten minutes on the trail, it joined a cart path and became easier walking for them.
The cart path merged with a proper road that ran from the south and veered slightly east. She followed it to the northwest, towards the smoke and the village. She could smell it now and occasionally hear sounds of a civilization: A hammer striking steel or a horse whinnying. A woman calling out for a child and a door slamming against a frame. She found herself smiling and her pace quickened. It would be good to see normal people again.
"We're almost there," she said for her own benefit as well as her unlikely companions. She frowned and came to a stop. Whiskers stood up on his hind feet and sniffed the air. "You're a rat, and a giant one at that," she said.
Whiskers turned to look at her. "People don't like rats," Jethallin explained. "Can you wait for me outside of town until we leave?"
Whiskers dropped down on all fours but gave no sign of having understood her. She frowned and almost knelt down beside the rat. "I know it's not fair." She felt she needed to explain. "But they wouldn't understand how helpful you've been. I don't understand it and I've been with you for days now. They'd try to hurt you, probably kill you, if they saw you in town. I'm just going to get directions and then leave."
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