Cat looked at them one-by-one. She kept a straight face, leaving her thoughts unreadable. The half-elf was young, but no novice to the road’s hazards. She privately wondered if she was better off trying any kind of rescue alone or…if it came to it…dying alone without taking them with her. She felt uneasy about the risk involved. Her attitude changed somewhat when she saw Trestan close his eyes in silent prayer to his goddess. This was not the face of a scared young man; it revealed determination and love for others borne from a man who had lived a simple smith’s life. He looked to be a simple man dressed in patched, dirty clothes, wearing a rope belt. Yet she could see the resolve in his face even as he prayed for guidance. He planned to go forward.
Cat spoke softly, “Sword of the Spirit.”
Trestan’s eyes popped open, and he looked at Cat. Petrow and Mel also wondered what the half-elf was talking about. The privateer’s exotic green eyes focused on the runes of the elvish sword. She indicated the blade and explained the reference to Trestan, “Fa Iblearol re fa Dolingomo re fa sen-Salustrel. That’s what the legible runes on the blade say. Other runes merely reflect the magical enchantments placed on it. The longer version translates to ‘The sword, of the spirit of the soul’. But the short version names it Sword of the Spirit.”
Trestan looked over the foreign markings, though of course he could not make out the elf writing. Petrow and Mel were momentarily shaken from the dreadful thoughts going through their minds. Katressa Bilil had seen their course for the near future in the determination of the young smith. She looked south and spotted some haze originating from some smoke. “Look there,” Katressa pointed, though the others were not gifted as her with the keen sight of elven heritage. “It is maybe two or three ridges over. Barkan’s Crossing awaits us. We came this far, so we shouldn’t turn back without stepping foot into the town. We shall see what we can find out once we get there.”
The companions got up and hefted their packs. They set forth again towards their goal, but the hopes of success at their quest waned further. Trestan doubted they would succeed, but he found himself relying more and more on the faith in the goddess his mentor worshipped. His sorrow had turned into an almost single-minded determination to carry this quest to some kind of logical conclusion. He was well aware of the danger, and scared to put his new friends at risk, but he felt he had to walk this path.
They followed the path south.
CHAPTER 6
A busy community of craftsmen and artisans made Barkan’s Crossing the largest town in the southern part of Kashmer’s Protectorate. Dunker Keep shipped a plentiful supply of metal ore. An abundance of wools and leathers came from the local grasslands. Plenty of lumber was harvested in the nearby hills. These goods ship far and wide, either as supplies or as other useful items once skilled laborers shaped them. Many items went up the road to supply Kashmer, the trade center of the country. The northern trade delivered into Tariyka and other more distant lands. In return, many nice foreign goods, some rare, traveled by road or ship into Barkan’s Crossing. Merchant caravans also journeyed southward down the road, going past Dunker Keep to trade with items from Cloudview. The large races inhabiting the mountains rarely purchased human goods, though any successful trade originated from Kashmer’s Protectorate. The town boasted numerous shops and trades, providing all basic needs of those who live there and the needs of others trading with the town.
Barkan’s Crossing dominated a ridge, and therefore didn’t sit directly on the ocean water. A mountain river waterfall on the edge of the ridge and the town dropped a few hundred feet to the lake below. A long ramp had been carved into the ridge to support a means for wagon passage, bending back and forth as it made its gradual descent to the lake below town. The lake attached to the ocean by a wide river, good enough for shallow bottom boats to operate. From there, they could sail north to Kashmer or south to distant Orlaun. A modest harbor nicknamed Lowtown formed around the lake. The core of the town developed at the beginning of steeper foothills at the base of the mountain range. An old tower, large but crumbled into ruin, featured along the road, marked some old kingdom’s domain. The main part of town spread out along the ridgeline, beside the old tower. A stone bridge spanned the mountain river on the south side of town, though more houses and buildings had sprung up on the far side of the river.
As the past few decades rolled by, people from the distant country regions settled closer to the town out of protection. Some settled in fortified ranches in the nearby hills. The town continued to grow and spread outward, until the city walls simply divided the old town from the new. Creatures of the wild avoided the outskirts of the town, though the ranches often found guards useful against intelligent pests that sought to steal during the night. Families established houses further and further out of the town. A period of expansion would sometimes be halted by a period of fortifying. This type of change happened whenever a creature or the threat of them became serious enough on the outskirts that people wouldn’t dare build out further until fears were settled again. All of this simply combined to an abundance of fenced dwellings on the roads into town.
The party from Troutbrook walked past many of these outer dwellings as they gradually ascended the ridge to town. Trestan and Petrow felt soreness returning to their feet, but it was not as bad as the previous night. Seeing the distant rooftops of the town in sight, they felt less burdened. In fact, they were looking forward to their first trip to this renowned town. Katressa vowed to make good on her promise to buy the men new shoes. She had the coin and was willing to help them out, since they had willingly gone on this dangerous quest. At that time Mel tried starting a discussion about how some new shoes would suit him well. Cat pointedly told him he could afford to pay for his own shoes.
Looking ahead during their conversations, Trestan commented, “Barkan’s Crossing! I’ve never been here, despite father telling me he would take me some day. He gets his metal from here after it is mined further south. He’s done business down here, but as far back as I can remember I was too young for those trips. I’m sure he knows some of the local smiths.”
Cat nodded, “There are several smithies here. Several more of everything, so I guess that isn’t saying much. There is more competition between craftsmen. You’ll buy their wares cheaper here than anything they send overseas.” A moment later, she amended her comment, “Well, unless they think you are a foreigner. They have a tendency to raise the rates if that happens. They tried that on me but I figure I drove a hard bargain.”
Mel found his entry into the conversation, as he often did, “I came through here a little while back. They have a way of charging me three times as much as any humans passing through town. I found an inn that seemed well worth what I paid for it. The place was well-furnished, wonderful meals, warm baths. Let me see if I can recall the name.”
Even as Trestan and Petrow entertained thoughts of a good inn, Cat spoke, “I can think of some really luxurious places to stay in town, but we aren’t going to any of those spots. The first time the adventurers went through town they caused confrontation at the Eagle’s Nest. That is where we may stay; for I think it unlikely they would go there. I’d prefer to avoid a chance encounter with them until we have a plan. That place is nice enough if you pay for a private room, just for the view from the windows. The inn is close enough to the ridge that you can see the falls and a good part of the lower lands east to the ocean.”
Trestan said, “Any warm bed and a bath would be great. I’ve had hard days at work, but never such a long and fast walk as this. I only hope I can afford this trip with the coins I have on me. I set out to rescue a maiden, and it would look bad if I ended up penniless and having to walk back. Though you sound like you are charitable milady, I can’t ask for you to pay our way.”
“I already told you I can and will help out a lot in regards to money,” responded Cat, “Even though you both would prefer to be humble and refuse it. Have nay worries if this seems against chivalry. Around the types of
people I have known, chivalry is considered dead. I spend a lot of adventures not earning much coin, but every so now and then you really hit it big. I tell you my purse is deep enough for the three of us, and I am not lying. That doesn’t include you, Mel, you have your own means. Trestan and Petrow are here for noble purpose but simple enough beginnings, I plan to help them out accordingly with…my horse!”
Trestan stopped on the trail even as the others did, “With your horse?”
Cat halted on the trail, looking off to the side. “That’s my horse over there!”
Inside a fence-enclosed pasture, a horse observed them rather excitedly. Without the dark leather saddle and bridle neither of the two young men recognized it, but Cat recognized her horse just as easily as it seemed to recognize her. She started to run up to the fence as if rejoining a long lost friend. Trestan noticed that the adventuress still looked up and down the road, worried that the presence of the horse also meant the presence of the other adventuring party. The horse stood unguarded in someone’s pasture, with no danger in sight. Cat hugged her horse over the fence, and it nuzzled her in return. It also sniffed her over for food, and she found some to satisfy its begging.
“Well, this is an odd turn. How did you get here?” Cat talked to her horse as she rubbed the neck. “I have been worried about you!”
While Cat attended the horse, Trestan noticed a horseman in the same meadow riding towards them. He presumed it was an owner or hired rancher wondering why there were people around his fence with one of his horses. The young smith quietly pointed him out to Cat. Cat continued giving her horse attention, but said she would do the talking when the rider arrived. She made sure to stress that point to Mel. Whether the gnome really understood or not he nodded and stood back a bit. When the horseman trotted alongside the fence, they could see he was a middle-aged man who spent a lot of years in the sun. He acted friendly enough, though he had a crossbow over his back as a normal precaution.
The rider tipped his wide-brimmed, straw hat to Cat in a manner of greeting, “Fair day to you people. I am Fahjol, and I claim ownership to this ranch. Are you finding my horse interesting?”
Katressa flashed him a warm smile, which for the infiltrator was often the one weapon she ever needed. “My name is Larona. We were traveling by and I thought I recognized this horse as belonging to an acquaintance of mine. I should mention that it was supposedly stolen some days ago. You don’t look to be the type who would do that.”
The rider seemed taken aback by the news, “Why…er…nay Lady Larona. I just purchased this horse and one other from some men this morning. They rode up and claimed to have some gambling debts, and were looking for a quick and cheap sale. That aroused suspicion in me, but they were fine horses and I’d been looking to buy. So I paid them after looking the horses over to make sure I wasn’t getting sick animals or anything. I feel sorry for your friend though, but I already paid good gold on these animals.”
Katressa seemed to pout a bit, “Well, I’ll just tell him who he can talk to if he wants to get his horse back. I’m sure he can propose something; it’s not my affair.” Her face brightened a bit, and fixed pleading eyes on Fahjol. “I would be interested in a description of these men who sold you the horses. Might be someone we know and then we can find out who it was.”
The rancher eagerly obliged. He described two men, dressed in light armor and with short swords, down to a style of earring on one and an accent on another. It was no one Cat had seen; however, she bet they were some of the extra hands that joined the other party before passing Mel’s camp. Either way, Cat’s horse had arrived in Barkan’s Crossing, even if the main portion of the elf’s party hadn’t. While Cat chatted with the rancher, Trestan wondered why they might sell the two horses. The action suggested the other party had arrived at their destination, had other transport ready, or might be going somewhere horses couldn’t. His thoughts returned to the present as Cat and the rider bid each other farewell and good luck.
After a friendly handshake with Fahjol, Katressa turned her back on her horse and walked back towards the path. There was a moment’s hesitation, as Trestan and Petrow cast glances between the retreating half-elf and her seemingly abandoned mount. Mel simply followed Katressa, keeping his mouth shut. The rider stayed near the horse a bit longer, watching them as they moved away from the ranch. The party from Troutbrook was well out of earshot when Trestan spoke next.
“Milady, you do realize you left your horse behind?” Trestan asked, “Are you not going to reclaim it?”
Cat smiled slyly, “The town is right up ahead on the ridge. The way I see things, I now know where my horse is, and it has free room and board.”
Mel interpreted that as a cue to once again speak freely, as he was much accustomed to doing, “The two he described certainly sounds like it could be some of the men that passed me yesterday. It has me wondering where the more obvious ones were hiding. This group seems like it may have a habit of splitting and reforming considering what you also told me.”
Cat thought about it. “I guess with the attention they drew to themselves last time, it was best not to have the minotaur and the cleric give them away to anyone asking about them. That’s logical enough, considering they had to know someone would follow them. I don’t know where they may have left the trail, but we know they came this far. The fact that they nay longer needed the horses provides an interesting clue to the mystery and puzzle of where they are heading. We’ll ask if anyone at the entry to town saw them, but I know what they are going to say.”
* * * * *
“Nay, none meeting that description passed this way,” the guard assured them. “I was made known of their appearance a few days ago, and am well aware of the commotion they caused within our town limits. They will not be allowed re-entry, unless they gave up the elf for questioning and left the minotaur behind.”
On the northern road leading into Barkan’s Crossing stood a ramshackle building serving as the sentry post. The walls had gaps as bad as the roof had leaks. Anyone who looked at it could imagine how little shelter it provided against a winter chill. Five years ago, it had been a temporary structure set up a bowshot away from the closest buildings. Now, newer buildings and huts almost crowded beyond the north sentry point. Due to the population growth, another temporary sentry post would soon be built even further up the road. For the present, the small building housed about five guards at the most on any given day. An official toll collector sat on duty here at all hours, charging a tax on merchant caravans moving in and out of town. It was an easy post for those who liked to play cards, or get away from the crimes in the heart of town. It was once thought to be a good post for making extra coins with the help of the tax collector. Town officials ended that practice quite suddenly and publicly years ago. Being a portion of the Kashmer Protectorate, and with its main interests including trade, the local government wasn’t about to be known for making a habit of overcharging the merchants.
With the sun hovering around its highest point in the sky, the companions stood before the guards in sparse shade offered by the overhanging roof and nearby trees. Trestan and Petrow felt their stomachs growl at the sight of the noonmeal the guards were eating. The gray-bearded taxman sat at his own small table in the shade, a box and a ledger before him. He wore no armor and no weapon except the quill in his hand. He had the habit of fanning himself with a peacock-feather fan, despite his costly robes being lighter than the leather armor causing the guards to sweat out the day. The lieutenant in charge, armored with ringmail and a large mace, addressed their questions. Trestan and Petrow gave their feet a rest by sitting on some hay bales used to supply mounted militia. Mel actually started poking into the guards’ food, until their protests caused him to sulk beside the two humans. So far, Katressa had done most of the talking.
She nodded as the lieutenant answered, expecting that somehow the adventurers were bypassing the town. “Some guards from Troutbrook used horses to try to catch up with them. Did y
ou see those guards pass through?”
The lieutenant paused a bit before answering, and then decided it wasn’t any harm to answer her. “They arrived at a late hour last night. They got the same reply we gave you. Nay sign of the ones you are talking about. So, that band caused some trouble up there as well?”
Cat nodded, “I’m not sure what they intended, but they ended up kidnapping Lord Tessald’s daughter. They rode this way and are somewhere in this area. This gnome saw her with them last afternoon, and she was still their hostage.”
Up to that point the guards had been casually trying to eat and yet still look vigilant. At the mention of a kidnapped noble, all ears perked up and took notice. That was certainly big news around this area…and a potential high reward for any guard able to rescue such a prize. The lieutenant looked on with amazement. “The Troutbrook guards didn’t mention that! Nay wonder there was such a large pursuit. They may have mentioned it to my superiors inside the town. After we were unable to provide clues to those villains’ whereabouts, they still rode into town to rest for the night.”
Cat replied, “Fair enough, sir, and I thank you for enlightening me. I had a personal interest in this as they stole my horse as well.” She half-turned to include the other guards in her gaze. “Should you find any more news, or rumors, I would be interested. I know you have your duty to perform, but I would also try to offer a bonus that is worth your while.”
She started to move past the post. Trestan, Petrow and Mel rose to follow. The taxman cleared his throat in a rather obvious message that their business was not finished. The lieutenant and the guards moved enough to show that passage was still blocked. The lieutenant spoke, “As with many people entering town, we charge an entry fee. But the details of that fee I leave to the representative of our local government.” He nodded to indicate the collector.
The Earthrin Stones 1 of 3: Inheritance of a Sword and a Path Page 14