Meric wanted to dispute the Captain's choice, but did not wish to do so in front of everyone else. He had agreed to follow the man's orders. He would do that, but he never said that he would not offer his opinion about those orders. He did, however, know better than to question any order in front of others.
As everyone dispersed to see to their gear and horses, James looked at Meric and waved him along as he walked back beyond the people and preparations. Meric fell in beside James as they headed to the Captain's horse.
"I know you think you should be the one to go, but I was serious about wanting to keep you close for the protection of our royal guests. I also believe that Woodard might be a better choice. He has an advantage over you that might make a big difference."
James continued when he was confronted with the look of uncertainty on Meric's face.
"He was raised on the streets of Seegrin. He knows them, and still knows some of the... less savory characters he grew up with. I would hazard a guess that if this man we are hunting is going to be there, he will not be hanging around the better parts of town. Woodard will know who to ask and will most likely get answers with a lot less fuss than you. Since neither you nor Alyssa got a good look at the man's face it does not matter who goes, in that regard." James came to a halt at his horse before reaching to grip the saddle horn. "I have no doubts about your skill or fidelity, but you are going to need to stop thinking like a line soldier and try to go back to thinking like a commander. If there is no one else available you do what you have to do, but if you have the assets then you need to use them." He was looking Meric in the eyes, watching to make sure he got his point across.
"Understood, Captain," Meric answered.
"Ride up here with me... I think we need to talk about some things."
He returned the sharp nod that James gave him and moved to find Ferron. While he was a bit disappointed that he would not be the one going, he had to admit that the good Captain was right. Grudgingly, but still the admonition was earned. He needed to offer counsel to the captain and let him make the decision. The man knew better than he what resources were at hand. Properly chastised, Meric swung up onto his horse next to Brody as the procession finished sorting itself out. After a glance at the man which revealed him shaking his head as if at an unruly child, followed by a wide grin, Meric directed his attention forward just in time to catch Alyssa watching him. She quickly turned back to the front, but not before he saw a flash of some indefinable emotion on her face. He let it go since he did not really know what to make of it and watched her rub a comforting hand up and down the arm of the girl from the farm before pulling her in to a hug. Meric knew a bit about how the girl might be feeling, and decided that he would talk to her later if Alyssa thought she was up to it.
As the procession began to move forward Meric sped up Ferron so he could join the Captain. James was just imparting some final instructions to Woodard as he arrived.
"... and do not try to be a hero, Sergeant. If the man is not alone or if you are unsure that you can take him alive, you will wait for help to arrive. Hopefully the man will be too focused on watching for us to pay any attention to anyone hunting him."
Woodard nodded, saluted, and threw a quick grin Meric's way. He then coaxed his horse to a trot and headed up the road, breaking into a gallop before he was out of sight.
Meric watched him go for a moment and then turned his attention to the Captain. The man seemed to be content to take his time before getting to the point, so Meric patiently waited him out. The part of the woods that they were now passing through was thick with trees and growth so heavy that even the road was free of direct sunlight. While they rode through the tunnel-like section of the trail, Meric took a moment to try and let the tranquility of their surroundings soak in and quiet his rambling thoughts. The woods were beginning to come back to life around them with the sounds of birds, insects, and squirrels usually associated with the setting as Mother Nature reasserted herself after their violent intrusion from earlier. The woodlands and forests had always had a calming effect on him, taking him back to early years spent with his father hunting for food, or even just tracking for fun and instruction in woodcraft. These trips to the past would inevitably lead to the painful memories that came later, but he would never allow himself to forget his family and all the happiness they shared once upon a time. He still missed them terribly.
Meric heard James clear his throat and he shifted around to look at the man, catching him squinting as an errant shaft of sunlight hit him in the face.
The Captain looked at him seriously for a minute before speaking. "You know that everything we have heard and found so far is leading us to one conclusion. Not a completed puzzle, but without a doubt there will be more fighting with the Orcs in Glendon's future. On what scale and how soon is yet to be seen, but it is coming."
"I think we all can agree on that. It does not make sense yet, but they definitely want your kingdom engaged in hostilities," Meric replied.
"There will undoubtedly be plenty of discussion on the matter by the relevant officials in the palace when we finish our report. Knowing some of those... people as I do, there will be several nobles that will scoff at the very idea of Orcs attacking our kingdom. Any war or major battles mean gold they will have to spend and troops they will have to supply; some of them will not like giving any of either up. They will probably try to discredit us and claim the whole thing was some fancy cooked up by a scared girl wanting attention. In case you have not figured it out by now, Lady Alyssa is not your typical noble. She has no interest in currying favor with any of them and has made some enemies. While she understands court intrigue and is intelligent enough to play their games on an equal, if not superior, footing... she just does not seem to care."
This brought a grin to Meric's face as he imagined the fierce woman putting arrogant nobles in their place. He had pretty much liked her from the start, but that was enough to endear her to him for life. He tried not to judge people by their station in life, which he thought was a good idea considering Alyssa's upbringing, but most of his experience with "his betters", Arianna and Titus aside, was not exactly positive. He tried to stifle the smile as James continued.
"Fortunately for us she is very close to the Royal family. That will work in our favor, since they know her well enough to believe her..." he paused here for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Meric.
"You know, the King and Queen treat her like a sister. And her father is the commander of Glendon's military forces."
At Meric's confused look, James elaborated a little. "I just thought I should warn you. You might want to take care how familiar you are with her when they are around. Men have lost their heads over-"
"How about we get back on topic," Meric interrupted him with a flat-eyed stare.
"Right," the usually serious Captain said with a satisfied grin. "Where were we... so we might have a difficult time convincing some of them at first, but I feel that eventually the danger will be taken seriously. At that time, those in charge of the planning will need all of the information they can get regarding the enemy. They might also appreciate help from people with experience fighting the Orcs, when we actually meet with the enemy."
Meric was certain that the look on his face could only be described as dumb-struck. There was no way James actually meant what his words alluded to. "What?"
"The Lord Marshall would be a fool not to utilize four veterans with so much experience fighting the Orc armies," James stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And who was it that was talking about treason and jail cells just for associating with us, not even five days ago?"
"Not so loud. I have not informed Lady Alyssa of your situation yet," he waved a hand at Meric.
"You do not have to worry about that anymore... we had a long talk about my past, and that of my friends."
James looked him in the eye and took a moment to gauge the seriousness of Meric's reply. "How did that go?"
"Honestl
y... she took it better than you did the first time you were told. She also ultimately came to the same conclusion, although hers were based more on the current situation. So she might have needed to trust us with less time spent studying our character than you had, but in the end she chose to judge us by our actions."
James rolled his eyes at Meric's confidence in the trust that was being placed in he and his friends, but truly could not argue any of the man's points. James had known the four for just less than two years, but they had never let him down and had helped the Kingdom of Glendon more than would probably ever be officially recognized.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Old Friends
"Wood... is that you?"
The voice seemed to easily pierce the hazy din caused by the full taproom's patrons; a rowdy crowd of laborers, river rats, and other low born folk that came to The River's Bounty to tell lies and drown their sorrows with the establishment's famously bad brew. The owner always boasted that only the sturdy constitution of a riverman could handle it, and that "serving it keeps all of the soft high brow types out of this place where they don't belong".
As Wood finished dragging out the chair that the man in front of him had pushed with his foot, he swerved to the side to allow one of the serving girls to pass, burdened with a full tray of drinks which were sloshing around dangerously. He watched her shapely form skillfully navigate the room crowded with a dozen tables, and received a wink from her when she caught him looking before he turned away. The older man he sat in front of gave him a gap-toothed grin and slapped his hand down on the table making a loud crack and spraying some liquid that had puddled there in all directions.
"Ha! I knew it was. Di'nt think we'd ever see the likes of you 'round here again. Hey Sticky, look what crawled outta the gutter to grace us with his comp'ny." This last part was directed toward a neighboring table and to a skinny, beak-nosed man wearing a tunic and trousers that were not much better than rags and a fancy plumed hat with a wide brim. He looked utterly ridiculous, but anyone that knew him would keep the laughter to themselves. The name "Sticky" was not just given to him because of his thieving abilities, but also for the well used and wickedly sharp blades he secreted about his person. The man gave a cheerful grin and tipped his hat to Wood before turning back to the fellow he had been talking to.
Wood squinted at Percy in the dim lighting provided by the fireplace and the handful of lanterns hanging around the room. He brushed at the drops that had splashed on his tunic and leaned forward focusing his eyes on the few wisps on top of the man's head. "You've lost some more hair since the last time I saw you."
"Ha! Turn around an' you can probly find it on your arse! Ungrateful whelp, no respect for your betters."
Both men were grinning as they reached across the stained and aged table to shake hands. "It's good to see you still around to cause trouble, old man."
"You had better believe it. Ha! Few mugs o' this fine brew a day will cure what ails ya," Percy stated.
Wood shuddered at the thought and wondered what the drink would do to a man's insides after years of quaffing it. "That is tempting."
Percy looked at him with a knowing grin and took a long pull from his mug before letting out a satisfied sigh and smacking his lips. "Well boy... what brings ya back to the fine city of Seegrin? Sure as hell better not be back to stay. Not after all I went through to get you out an' on to better things."
Wood shook his head and replied. "No chance of that happening. I am happy where I am and plan to be there for some time." He lowered his voice and gave the old man a serious look. "I'm looking for someone and thought you might be able to help out an old friend."
"Well I do know a lotta people... Maybe I seen who you're looking for. Maybe I'll even tell you." Percy was studying him with one eye squinted almost shut and a gleam in the other that was enough to make a man nervous. Wood had "purchased" (the man may have been unconscious, but he did leave him some money) some civilian clothes from a beggar earlier so he would not stand out, but he knew Percy would not be fooled.
"Come now, Percy. Are you really gonna make me pay? You were like a father to me." He was having a hard time keeping a straight face on that one. While the man had taken him under his wing and taught him many things, he was pretty sure they were not the kind of things most fathers taught their children. Of course, those children more than likely did not have to survive the slums.
"Ha! If'n that was the case, I'd have less hair than I do now." He grumbled something unintelligible and leaned in toward Wood. "I know some of the things I taught you must have stuck, so you should know a man can't be givin' away his livelihood. Ain't no future in that," he finished speaking and took another swig from his mug.
Wood shook his head ruefully. "Same ole Percy. So what's it gonna cost me?"
"Well that'll depend on who yer lookin' for, don't it? Can't set a price without knowin' what exactly I'm sellin'."
Wood slid over the mug of ale that the serving girl had left for him, somehow without him noticing, and took a careful sip. It was just as bad as he remembered, and it took a few seconds before he could answer.
"That's fair enough." Wood propped his arms on the table and leaned forward to explain all he knew about his quarry. Percy listened carefully, nodding his head and asking a few pointed questions here and there. Wood's chair creaked and wobbled dangerously as he shifted his weight back on the seat, once he had finished talking.
Percy was looking off to his right and scratching the stubble on his cheek, before suddenly coming back to Wood. "Wait right here; I'll be back shortly." With that, his friend scurried off to the back entrance of the bar and out the door.
Wood barely had time to make sense of what had just happened when the serving girl he had admired earlier sidled up to him and draped an arm over his shoulder. "Can I get you anything else, sugar?"
He decided that a distraction was just what he needed to keep him occupied until Percy returned and so he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her wonderful curves up tight to him with a smile on his face. "Most definitely."
-X-
It was just over an hour later when Percy slid back into the chair across from Wood. His friend had a satisfied look on his face as he reached over to Wood's side of the table to grab the full ale that was still sloshing around from being set down. He gulped down half of it before coming up for air, and then sat back rubbing his hands together with glee.
"Now, let's talk about what you're gonna pay for the information I have collected on your 'Weasel'."
"You found him?"
"Ha! 'Course I found him. Ain't you learned better than to doubt me, boy?"
"Huh," was all Wood could say to that while shaking his head slightly. "I forgot myself for a moment there. It won't happen again and you have my sincerest apologies. Especially since you're going to be giving me such a great deal on what you found."
Percy had nodded smugly and started taking another long swallow until that last sentence caused him to half choke on his drink. He started spluttering before he even quit coughing. "Have you" *cough* "gone daft?" *cough, cough* "What possible reason" *cough* "mmmhhhmmm... would I have for givin' you any kind of 'deal'? *cough*
Wood grinned into his friend's red face for a second before becoming more serious. "The sick bastard is trying to murder two children... little girls, no more than 8 years old." He dipped closer and lowered his voice. "And he's going to do it by giving them to a group of Goblins." He felt bad about using his old mentor this way, but use him he would if it meant keeping those girls safe and his former mentor would not even hate him for it. The old man had a big heart and a soft spot for children, though he would deny it to anyone that claimed it was so. Wood had seen him slip food or coin to the little kids living on the street when he thought no one was looking. Percy also had an unexplained, deep hatred for Goblins. It might have been something from his distant past, but he never talked about it and neither did anyone else if they knew.
Per
cy's face lost any trace of good humor as his eyes locked on to Wood's. "You runnin' straight with me, boy?"
"I wouldn't mess with you on something like that. I'll give you a little more of the story in private, but the short of it is... my target tried to have them abducted in Yost and when that didn't work he set up an ambush in Haster Woods on the way here. Oh... and here's some info I'll pass on to you free of charge. The same group of Goblins and their three Orc commanders that tried to kill us, wiped out all but one little girl at the Ellis farm. They were slaughtered. I need to find out why."
"Ellis and his family dead?" Percy slowly scratched his left ear, and then slammed his fist down on the table. "Bastards!" His face was full of anger. "Don't you worry, boy. You won't be able to shut the man up when we're done with 'im." He turned and spit onto the rushes covering the floor.
"Just as long as he's able to talk before he meets his maker."
"Ha! You had better believe it." Percy turned to the table at his right. "Sticky! We got us some work to do this evenin'. A little vermin to hunt down."
The plume on Sticky's hat danced around erratically as he bobbed his head to show he heard and then drained his drink before standing. He tipped his hat to the man he had been talking to and joined Percy as he headed to the exit. Wood had to move fast to catch them before they were out the door and on his way he passed their serving girl, who gave him an exaggerated pout when she saw him headed to the door. He could only shrug apologetically as he left since he had no idea if he would be back.
Wood caught up to the men just as Percy finished filling Sticky in. The man had removed his hat and was rolling it up to tuck it into his belt. Wood absently wondered how the feather did not get messed up, and then promptly let that thought go and began to focus on the job ahead. When both men looked at him he gave them a little more information about what was going on. While he normally would not have shared the girls' identity with anyone outside of the escort or the army chain of command, he knew the two men with him and trusted them completely. They may not have been upstanding, law-abiding citizens, but they were absolutely loyal to him and both would lay down their life to protect any child. Especially against the kind of evil intent that Wood was filling them in on.
A Soldier's Honor: The Scepter of Maris: Book One Page 9