The Stone Warrior Page 3

  “But it’s been our home,” Adelyn argued. “Doesn’t matter whose name was on the deed, we worked the land, we lived there, it was ours in the sight of the Lords. That’s all that matters to me.”

  “Addy—” Jenny started to argue, then shook her head, smiling sadly. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to start a fight with you. I just want you to know, if you ever need a place, you can always come back and live here. I could use the help, and you’re the closest thing to family I’ve got left.”

  For a moment, looking at Jenny’s expression, Adelyn was taken back a decade, remembering the years she’d spent in this woman’s care while her parents were off to war. Jenny was almost family, and Adelyn had to admit that there were worse fates than coming to work at Maggie’s Tavern.

  But she couldn’t abandon her real family. “I appreciate it,” Adelyn said. “But I’ll be fine.”

  The tavern had five other people in it. One man, dressed the same as the three traders outside, was sitting at the bar and eating a bowl of the day’s soup. Another sat in the corner, picking at a plate of food and seeming not to notice anyone else in the room.

  Finally, two men and one woman were playing cards at a table, each holding a little pile of grubby cards and furiously tossing them onto the table one at a time. Occasionally, one of them would shout in joy or dismay as they took the pile of cards and shuffled them back into their hand. They were armed and armored, but in a mismatched variety of leather, steel, and bronze equipment. Adelyn assumed one of them was the owner of the long sharpshooter’s rifle resting by the door. Their diverse equipment implied that they were soldiers for hire, working as escorts for the real traders. Just the kind of people Adelyn had been hoping for.

  Approaching the table, Adelyn cleared her throat, just after a hand was finished, making a slight nod of her head to the open chair. “May I join?” she asked.

  The three of them all stopped, looking up at Adelyn. Not a one of them was under thirty, and all of them had scars on their hands or faces which looked like they’d been earned in fights. Adelyn was briefly concerned, but she put her hands in her pockets and took a breath, waiting for a response.

  Finally, the woman looked back to her own pile of cards, picked up the deck, and started dealing Adelyn in. “Two pins a point,” she said. “If you don’t have the coin, you can shove off. You know how to play?”

  “I don’t want to play,” Adelyn said quickly, before she could have a full hand dealt. Pulling up a chair anyways, though, she set her bundle to the side and said, “I’m just looking to discuss business.”

  “If you’re looking to trade, go talk outside,” the woman said, rolling her eyes and scooping the cards back into the deck before dealing fresh hands to the other two players.

  “I’m not looking to trade, I’m looking to hire,” Adelyn said. “What’s your name?”

  Again, everyone at the table stopped and looked at her, until again the woman broke the silence. “I’m Rose. We’re already hired,” Rose said. “What’s a kid like you need us for, anyways?”

  Adelyn cleared her throat. She’d made this speech before. “I need someone to track down a band of outlaws who kidnapped my parents and brother and fifty other good people.” That finally got everyone’s attention, and Adelyn continued with a little more confidence.

  “A little over two months ago, a group of raiders attacked our town, killed seven of its citizens, grabbed two children, and burned several houses to the ground alongside most of our crops. When we got together a militia to ride after them and rescue the kids, our people were ambushed and taken captive.” After a brief pause, she added, “They left the kids.”

  Rose frowned, then shook her head. “That’s a matter for the authorities, not a couple bodyguards.”

  “We tried that,” Adelyn said, “But the only military fort out here is a day’s ride away, and by the time we got word to them, it was too late for their help. They said they’re spread thin, and don’t have the manpower to spare on a rescue mission when we don’t even know where the victims were taken.”

  This time, the man to the left of Rose cut in, putting down his cards. “Right, ‘cause the president’s men can’t be doin’ their jobs, they have much more important things to be doing.”

  “Like tax collection!” the other man added.

  Rose smirked, but stayed focused on Adelyn’s story. “So, what do you want us to do? Spring a rescue? Fight an army? It’d take a lot more coin than you’ve got to convince me to fight a pack of armed bandits all on our lonesome.”

  Adelyn shook her head, smiling just a bit. “I just need you to find out where the victims were taken. That’s what the army said they needed before they could help. Any locals who would have a chance of tracking our people down were already taken, and the bandits covered their tracks well. I just need someone who can find where they’ve gone, and then the proper authorities can deal with the rescue.”

  Tapping a finger on the table, Rose pursed her lips in thought for a second. “How much can you pay?”

  Adelyn sat up, trying not to seem too eager. “I have thirty silver daggers,” she said. “Once you have the location.”

  It worried her to bring up the money. She had the heavy coin purse tucked into an inside pocket of her jacket, and she could feel the weight hanging there. If these guards lacked scruples, they could take it from her in a heartbeat, and she could do little to defend herself.

  It was the money her father had set aside to buy a new year’s seed crop, if the farm ever fell prey to famine or disaster. Instead of using it to save the farm, though, she was risking it on a gamble to get her family back. Money for the farm had come from selling her things, hiring herself out for labor around the town until the harvest season’s chores had grown too substantial, anywhere else she could get a bit of coin, but not a single tack had come from the money set aside. That money was for saving her family.

  If anyone will agree to take it.

  Sitting back, Rose shook her head, and Adelyn’s heart sank. “Look, kid, I feel sorry for you, but chances are they were grabbed by slavers. Even if we could find out where they went, and even if we’d work for that little, by now they’ve probably been shipped off someplace across the map. You’d be better off keeping your money.” Picking up the cards, she started to deal out fresh hands, losing interest fast.

  “Wait, I also have this,” Adelyn said quickly, grabbing the long bundle by her side and holding it up. Rose raised an eyebrow, pausing and waiting for Adelyn to continue. Adelyn did, pulling at the string keeping the bundle wrapped up to reveal the sword inside. “It’s my father’s cavalry saber. It’s royal steel, worth at least another twenty daggers.”

  Rose sighed and kept dealing cards. “Hardly. Best of luck, but we’re not going to help you.”

  Knuckles turning white as Adelyn clenched a fist, she felt hot words build in the back of her throat, ready to verbally abuse these bounty hunters. She was getting tired of the constant runarounds and refusal, and though these three were just one group in a long series of rejection, Adelyn was ready to blame them for every person who’d turned her money down.

  Before she could ready her tirade, though, a voice piped up behind her that cut through the anger like a sharp knife. “I will do it!”

  Adelyn had to turn her chair, scraping the legs against the floor so she could look over her shoulder and see the figure who’d spoken. Adelyn had initially dismissed him in favor of the three card players, but now that he was a more promising candidate, she gave him a once over. He was a man in his late twenties with dark skin and a short shock of black hair. He had a Watcher’s Hook for a weapon, but bore no other similarity to the traders: He wore no armor, his clothes were a pair of loose fitting trousers held up by a belt with half a dozen pouches, his shirt was long sleeved and woolen, and he wore a pair of black gloves which matched his black leather boots.

  “David?” Rose asked him. “Y’know we’re on contract, right?”

  “Do not worry, Rose, I will wait until our contract is complete.” Turning his gaze to Adelyn, he asked, “May I hold the sword for a moment?”

  Adelyn blinked once, surprised at the request, but she quickly pushed herself to her feet and crossed the two steps to his table, holding out the sword for him to look.

  David took the blade carefully, holding it up to eye level to look down the blade. “Well, that is certainly royal steel,” he said, examining the rippled pattern in the metal. “Your father used it in the war?”

  Nodding quickly, Adelyn supplied, “It saved his life more than once. It’s a fine blade.”

  Setting it down on the table, David pulled the glove off his right hand and ran a finger across the steel blade, feeling the metal. With this test complete, he smiled and pulled the glove back on. “It is a fine blade. My name is David,” he said, gesturing to the chair across from him. “You should sit down. I think I can find your people.”

  Chapter 4

  Ansyr [Ahn-sir] Shield, Defense

  Atof [Ah-tohf] Water

  Bren [Brehn] Fire

  Byndyn [Bihn-dihn] Wrap, bind, detain

  Efrin [Eh-frihn] Cold

  Elben [Ehlbehn] Sword

  Gild [Gihld] Force

  Hash [Hah-sh] Sound/Noise

  Heyl [Heh-ihl] Heal

  Iscov [Ihs-cohv] Find, look for

  Kin [Kihn] Family

  Nert [Nehrt] Door

  Rahk [Rahk] Break, smash

  Shane [Shahn-eh] Light

  Shtap [Sh-tahp] Throw, push

  Vend [Vehnd] Wound

  Vota [Voh-tah] Blood

  - List of commonly used words in Sacrosanct. Note the high concentration of words to be used for combat (Ansyr, Bren, Elben, Rahk, etc.) due to the frequency in which Sacrosanct is used for battle magic. Also note, Sacrosanct uses only four vowel sounds—Ah, Eh, Oh, and Ih

  Adelyn sipped coffee, slurping a bit to keep the near-boiling liquid from scalding her tongue. It was piping hot, sweet, rich, and vastly better than the boiled bean water that Adelyn always ended up with when she prepared it at home.

  Five minutes had gone by, and during them David said very little, though he insisted on buying her breakfast while they discussed details of business. Adelyn wasn’t about to say no to a free meal, but in the intervening minutes between his walking to the counter to order and his returning with a plate of bacon and fresh biscuits, he’d been quietly “hmm”-ing and examining her father’s sword. When Adelyn began to ask a question, he just shook his head without offering an answer, adding that Adelyn should finish her meal before they talked.

  “The food here is good,” Adelyn observed, gnawing on a slice of bacon.

  David nodded absently, but Adelyn noted his bowl of soup that’d been there since she arrived, still sitting half full off in the corner of the table.

  He set down the sword, drumming his fingers on the polished wooden table before finally looking up at Adelyn. “I have thought things over. As a freelance, I am currently working on another contract. It will be closed very soon, then I will be free to accept your offer. I will take this sword as an upfront payment, along with a payment of twenty five silver daggers once the task is done. I will also keep track of my expenses so that I can present you with an itemized receipt upon the completion of the job. If I am unable to complete the task, I will return the sword to you, and you will be under no obligation to give me any further compensation. Does this seem reasonable to you?”

  Adelyn started to nod in agreement, but caught herself and frowned. She sipped the coffee to give herself a second to think it over. “What guarantee do I have that you won’t simply ride off with the sword and never return?”

  “You have my word,” David offered confidently. “Those who know me know that I keep my word.”

  Adelyn shrugged, setting down the mug. “But I don’t know you, and I don’t intend to be taken in by a drifter keen on robbing me. I’m not paying for promises, no matter how trustworthy you may be. I will pay you in full once you have the location of my parents, not before.”

  David shook his head. “I do not work for free, and you could just as easily be trying to trick me into working without payment. What is to stop you from selling the sword or refusing payment once I return?”

  “We will write up a contract, and both sign it,” Adelyn offered. “You’d have a guaranteed payment that way, enforced by a court of law.”

  “A court of law? There is no court of law near here,” David countered, shaking his head. “The nearest town with any government officials is a day’s ride away, the nearest town with a judge is nearer to a week. It would cost me more in travel and time than for the job itself before I got any payment from you, if we had to rely on the court to settle things. Besides, I want the sword before I go after them, I am shy a weapon and it is good steel.”

  Adelyn raised an eyebrow at the excuse. “Your Watcher’s Hook isn’t weapon enough?”

  David sighed, rubbing his forehead with his gloved right hand. “It is just called a ‘Hook’,” he said, sounding used to offering the correction. “The Watchers do not carry weapons. If you must call it by a title, it’s a ‘dueling hook’ when less than two feet in length and a ‘long hook’ if it is any longer.”

  “Apologies,” Adelyn said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes or make a snide comment. “But is your…” She glanced at the weapon on his belt, guessing at its length, “Dueling hook... not a good enough weapon?”

  “I like to have options,” David explained, nodding slightly. “A single blade can be lost rather easily, and there are times when a second weapon can be extremely helpful.”

  Adelyn hesitated, then took a bite of the food, chewing as she talked. “Then we’re stuck. I can’t trust you to keep your bargain if you’re paid upfront, and you can’t trust me to pay you fully once you have the information I need.”

  A second went by, and David rattled his fingers on the table as he thought. “If you would like, you can accompany me on my search, so long as you can ride a horse and pledge to follow my instruction should there be any kind of conflict. It will not be easy, but it would give you a sure way of tracking my progress.”

  Adelyn smiled, realizing his trick. If she said no, then it’d be her fault for not accepting his reasonable solution to the problem. If she said yes, then she’d have to accompany him on what could be a weeks- or even months-long journey, something she couldn’t possibly afford to do. The farm needed her.

  Either way, though, David was clearly bluffing. He wanted her to turn down the offer, so that he’d be negotiating from a position of strength.

  “Fine,” she said, nodding. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Excellent.” David beamed. “As I said before, it will not be long before I am free of my current contract. It will be a week’s time or less before I am ready.”

  Adelyn blinked. She had expected some form of protest or resistance from the freelancer, but he hadn’t even blinked when she agreed to his terms. Thinking quickly, she offered, “Now, wait, I do have one other thing to add, if I’m going to accompany you. I cannot afford to pay both your expenses and mine on a long trip, and pay your whole fee as well. If I ride with you, I will only cover your expenses and fifteen daggers, not the full twenty five.” It was a ludicrous offer—Ten daggers was vastly more than her expenses would total, but if they haggled they would come to a fair middle ground.

  David thought for a second, and then nodded in response. “That sounds fair. I assume you have affairs you need to put in order?”

  Adelyn nodded without thinking, only realizing after a second what she was agreeing to. She needed his help. She was incapable of finding her family on her own, as she’d demonstrated for the seventh time that morning by the fireplace. Even with that in mind, though, going along with him was insane. She wasn’t a bounty hunter or a tracker, she was a farmer, and the only farmer who’d be there to take care of her family home.

  She had to confess that it would be immensely satisfying to be there in person when peace officers rounded up the bandits and paid them back in full for their crimes. Still, that was not something she could let play into her decision; no matter how much she wanted to deliver justice personally, personal satisfaction did not trump the needs of the farm.

  Setting down the sword, David said, “I should be back in three days. One day of travel, a day to handle my affairs, and a day to return. Four days at the most, should I be held up. You can deal with whatever you must during this period, be prepared to leave as soon as I return.”

  “These traders only have you under contract for another day?” Adelyn asked, surprised. Getting started as quickly as possible was always good news, but that was remarkably coincidental timing.

  “Not exactly,” David said, leaning in a bit and lowering his voice. “I had intended to wait until we had all made it to Drushlak, but I can simply handle my affairs now instead. It will cost me a portion of my reward to have everything handled early, but I can abide by that. Here, keep your sword until I return,” he added, sliding over the cavalry saber and getting to his feet.

  “Reward? Where are you going?” Adelyn asked, confused.

  “Where am I going? Enjoy your breakfast,” David replied, offering no explanation. After a moment of thought, though, he said, “Here, hold onto these for me as well.” Digging in a pocket, he passed her a small silver disk and a wrinkled piece of folded paper. Aside from that, he gave no reason for why he had gotten out of his seat and was walking toward the bar.

  Adelyn would have looked at the paper, but David kept her attention focused away from the objects in her hand.

  The dueling hook on his belt was not held in place by a traditional scabbard, as the curved end to the blade would made that impractical if not impossible to draw. Instead, it was held in place by a small leather strap around the hilt, which could be unclasped by popping a button. David did so, drawing his hook and raising it in one swift motion as he walked straight toward the trader sitting at the bar.