~Thorben~

The morning came quickly. Neither Thorben nor Tanrin had caught much sleep, despite sharing the watch. The strange woman, however, had no such difficulty. She was still asleep, despite it nearing midday. She needed the rest, so after taking care of horses, Thorben and Tanrin spent the morning sparing.

After the woman had fallen asleep, Tanrin had reminded him of a childhood experience of theirs. People traveling to see their father wasn’t uncommon during their childhood. A wealthy merchant had stopped to convince their father to enter into a business contract with him. The man had entered the smithy as the boys were cleaning up for the day, and their dad was putting the final touches on an exquisite shield. Thorben remembered it had a very intricate emblem featuring a steed. The man kept calling out impatiently, which caused the brothers to look at each other in concern. They knew how much their father couldn’t stand being rushed in his work. Yet his deep well of patience allowed him to hide his frustration in front of the man. He’d yelled over his shoulder that he would be right with the man, and apologized for the delay, despite it being an unscheduled visit. The man’s face grew even more annoyed at this proclamation, as if his time was more precious than everybody else’s.

Danar had finished up the shield and set it to cool before greeting the merchant. It was at this point that they had seen the woman accompanying him. She was a meek young human who dressed herself in good quality clothes, not extravagant, just well made. To a casual observer, she seemed a perfectly ordinary assistant. Only the ring on her right pinky spoke of her true station as an indentured servant. Her eyes told a different story, one of hardship and despair. Her flinch when the merchant used his hands to speak spoke volumes, and set the boys on edge.

Their father explained to the man that he would be more than happy to accept a commission for work, but would in no uncertain terms enter a contract of exclusivity that the man had hoped for. The merchant had used fancy words and promises of grandeur to entice Danar. Despite his best efforts, Danar was adamant that such a deal was not possible. The merchant, frustrated at things not going his way, turned to storm out and stomped on the girl’s foot, causing her to let out a whimper. Without slowing, he sent a backhand at her. “Out of my way, wench!”

He’d wanted to reorganize this man’s face after the display. Yet he needn’t have worried. Danar caught the woman as she fell. He guided her to a stool and sat her down. The merchant made it less than a dozen steps outside the smithy before Danar drug him back in by the scruff of his fancy silk cape. Their father’s eyes clarified they were not to get involved. As he drug the man past the weapon rack, he grabbed a dagger, and as he released the cape and turned the man to face him, he handed it to him. The woman sat frozen on the stool. Tanrin and Thorben were on either side. Tanrin had offered her refreshments.

He could still hear his father’s words. “I see you are a man who likes to use his hands. I have a proposition for you. If you can draw my blood with that dagger, I will sign your business contract…” The man’s eyes lit up, his greed evident. “But if I disarm you, then you release your servant and absolve her of debt.” Indecision lit up his features, but in the end his greed won out and he nodded in ascent. “I need to hear you say it. I consider a verbal agreement between men to be binding.”

“I, Derrick Price, heir to the Price Emporium Trading Alliance hereby, agree to the terms set forth by Danar Deepiron. If I draw his blood with this dagger, he will sign a business contract granting exclusivity to me. If he disarms be, then I will release my servant,” Derrick looked at the girl as he spoke. “What’s your name, girl?” His voice barely controlled vehemence. Hearing her answer, he continued. “Peggy Nelson, and clear her debt in its entirety.”

Their father repeated a similar statement, after which he gestured with his offhand for the man to begin. Derrick cautiously approached, which turned out to be a very foolish decision. In the blink of an eye, their father had grabbed the man’s hand that was clasping the dagger. Stunned, the man tried to escape Danar’s grip. The merchant was much too soft to escape the group of the master blacksmith, though. Nor was he able to use the dagger to cut their father as he was drug towards the anvil.

The man’s bewilderment quickly turned to terror. Their father had laid the man’s hand gripping the dagger on the anvil, grabbed his cross peen hammer and slammed it down on the man’s wrist. The man screamed in pain but could not release the dagger because of the strength of Danar’s grip, so Danar continued slamming down his hammer. The boys had tried to cover the woman’s eyes, but she pushed them away. It almost seemed as if she needed to see the outcome for herself. By the time the dagger dropped to the floor, the merchant’s hand was nothing but a bloody mass of mutilated flesh that resembled the ground meat they’d had for dinner the night before.

“Ahh, too bad. I have disarmed you. It looks like fortune didn’t favor you today,” Danar’s voice and eyes were hardener than any metal he had ever worked. He’d waited until the man’s screams had died down to a whimper, and then walked over to Peggy. With the gentleness one would use to hold a newborn babe, he lifted her hand and pulled the ring off her pinky, casually tossing it into flames of the forge.

“You’ll pay for this. I’ll have your life for this. Guards! Guards! You attacked me unprovoked.”

“We had a verbal agreement. I have three witnesses who will attest that I did nothing but disarm you. As soon as you dropped the knife, I stopped.” Danar said in that same steely voice. Then the hardness in his voice reached a degree that Thorben had never thought possible. “You ever come here again, and those same witnesses will swear that they do not know why you willingly jumped into my forge. You ever lay a hand on another woman like you did today and I will end your life. Get out of my smithy, you coward.”

They’d seen a side of their dad that they hadn’t previously known existed, but more than that, they had seen the gratitude in the woman’s eyes as the merchant left. She’d actually cried as she watched the ring melt down in the flames of the forge. Later that night, they’d both agreed to never let someone treat a woman like that if they could help it.

Coming back to the current moments, Thorben couldn’t help but help but think that something was off. He filed that away for later. They had grown lax in their training on their journey. Despite being trained by the same dwarfs, the boys had different approaches to combat. Tanrin relied on his brute strength, which lent itself well to his dwarven heritage. Thorben, while quite strong, had a distinct advantage in speed and agility. Although not raised among the elves, their blood still ran through his veins. As engrossed in the sparring match as they were, they didn’t notice when the woman had woken up and quietly began observing them.

As they came to a stop, and bowed to each other. They noticed movement and turned to see the woman staring at them wide eyed.

“Good morning, miss. I hope we didn’t alarm you. We are simply training.” Thorben said, sitting down to sharpen and clean his blade.

“Would you like to break fast?” Tanrin asked. Quickly returning his battle axe to his back harness, and he gave his brother a stern side look. Thorben caught on, finished wiping his sword, and sheathed it.

“Maybe while you eat, you wouldn’t mind sharing your name and story?” Thorben said. Tanrin’s smile hardened, but he kept silent. “We only request that you share what you are comfortable with. Your name would be helpful, so we don’t have to keep referring to you as ‘the girl.’” Tanrin handed her a bowl of dried fruit and nuts, with a bit of cheese on the side.

The girl accepted the food with a nod of thanks, but kept her eyes on the ground. After she had eaten enough to stop her stomach from growling, she softly started talking, while avoiding eye contact. “My name is Mia. I’m from Mistville, a small settlement somewhere north of here, and am trying to make my way to Eleytol. A cousin, who I hope will take me in, lives there.”

Tanrin said, “We are actually traveling that direction, and you are more than welcome to accompany us.” He either didn’t notice the look that Thorben was giving him, or was intentionally ignoring it.

“Thank you. I couldn’t ask that of you. I have no coin, and almost no supplies. Besides, I would just be a burden to you.”

“No burden at all. I would be grateful for more traveling company,” Tanrin said. “You wouldn’t believe how dry the conversation is with this guy.”

Thorben didn’t respond, but rolled his eyes.

~Mia~

As Mia awoke the next day, it surprised her to notice how high the sun was. Why didn’t they wake me up? Where are they? She momentarily panicked, thinking that they had left without her. Her eyes went wide, but she calmed down when she saw them sparring. Holy Fiddlesticks!

She had never seen people move like this! She had witnessed the occasional bar fight that was sent out into the streets, and even a mugging, but nothing like this. Such a mixture of raw power, grace, and violence being skillfully woven into a tapestry of death, and all for a morning workout.

As they finished, they bowed low to each other. Turning towards her, they began walking over. She quickly lowered her gaze.

Thorben greeted her curtly and sat to sharpen his blade. The craftsmanship was exquisite.

Only a master sword smith is capable of something like this! Everything from the etching on the blade to the gleam of the steel screamed quality. If I can find a way, that blade would sell for a nice sum. From the way he moved earlier, he knows how to use it! Might be too risky. Was he trying to intimidate her?

Mia noticed Tanrin wasn’t pleased with Thorben’s distrust. Could she use that? She’d be careful, but if she could sow the seed of frustration… well, you never knew when that might come in handy. She was so fixated on using eating as an excuse not to talk, she almost missed it when Thorben pressed for information on her background.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“My name is Mia. I’m from Mistville, a small settlement somewhere north of here, and am trying to make my way to Eleytol. I have a cousin there who I hope will take me in.” Her voice was as soft as she could make it. She kept her eyes on her food.

She barely hid her smile when Tanrin jumped to be chivalrous.

Men are so predictable. Watch some cheesy joke follow her obligatory refusal.

“Thanks, but I couldn’t ask that of you. I have no coin, and almost no supplies. I would just be a burden to you.”

Here is where things could go wrong. She could have jumped at the opportunity to join their party, but that would cause suspicion. It was a calculated risk to present them with a chance to walk away, having made an honor prescribed offer. She had to hope their honor was genuine. If they pressed, she would accept, and another layer of deceit would cloud her true motives.

In no less than two heartbeats, she had her answer and a cheesy joke.

~Thorben~

The rest of the day’s travel went well. Mia rode alongside Tanrin, as far from Thorben as she could. Tanrin did his best to draw her into the conversation, but her responses were as rare as the mythical unicorn. Her glances out of the side of her eyes weren’t. As the afternoon wore on, Thorben couldn’t feel that something was off about their newest party member.

* Perception Skill Increase

Thorben damn near fell. Instinctively reacting as if a tree branch was about to knock him off his horse. Tanrin gripped one of his knives, eyes scanning their surroundings. “Where?”

Thorben quickly righted himself. “Just dodging a very large bug,” he said, trying to cover his actions. “We’ll talk more later.”

Tanrin relaxed his grip and laughed uproariously. “A bug?! Quick dad! Rally the army! I saw a mosquito.” Tanrin said, erupting into a bought of laughter. Even Mia couldn’t help but laugh softly. He made endless insect jokes at Thorben’s expense, while he and Mia laughed until their sides hurt.

“Laugh away, brother. Laugh away.” Thorben said, trying to calm his rage.

You love your brother; you love your brother; you love your brother.

It was a mantra he had used before. He wasn’t in danger of losing his grip on his rage, but a little reminder hurt no one.

Shortly before the sun set, they made camp. They had made little distance because of Mia’s horse not being able to maintain the same pace as the others, but nobody pointed that out.

Thorben and Tanrin saw to the horses as Mia walked away from the campsite to relieve herself. They weren’t near a source of firewood, so it would be a cold camp tonight.

“Brother,” Thorben whispered, “it happened again.”

“Would you like me to take the fly on the left or grasshopper on the right?” Tanrin said. He chuckled and shooed an imaginary fly away.

“There was no insect earlier.” He grabbed his brother’s wrist as he brushed Chester. Tanrin met his eyes. “Words flashed in my vision and without thinking I ducked.” Thorben admitted.

“There was no white light in your eyes, nobody disintegrated, so what did you do?” Tanrin asked.

“I don’t know. I was just thinking about the circumstances of Mia’s appearance and words appeared, then disappeared as soon as I ducked to avoid them.”

“What did they say?” Tanrin asked.

“It happened so fast, I wasn’t able to read them.” Thorben said.

Tanrin would not understand my suspicions. Telling him would only cause hardship.

* Perception Skill Success

Son of a bitch. Is this going to happen every time I am on my hunch is correct?

* Perception Skill Success

“I’ll take first watch. I won’t be able to sleep, anyway.” Thorben said, doing his best not to react to these words floating in his vision.

“Alright, I’ll get Mia settled, eat and head to sleep. Goodnight, brother.” Tanrin said, grabbing his shoulder. “We will figure this out.”

Travel continued like this. Half a moon passed, and they saw the mountain range known as the Emerald Spires, far off in the distance. They appeared as barely a dot on the horizon, but it meant that they were getting closer to their destination.

Tanrin and Mia had started a fledgling friendship. Mia talked more, began helping to take care of the horses, and even offered to take watch. They hadn’t taken her up on the watched offer, out of concern for her ability. Though Tanrin had given Mia basic instruction on the use of knives, when it became apparent that she had no weapons training or way of defending herself. He even gave her a knife from his throwing set. She was a far stretch from a capable warrior, but she showed a natural inclination to them. Her nimbleness and agility were commendable.

“How far do you figure we have left?” Mia asked as they rode.

“Can’t be sure as we’ve never been there, but according to the information we have, we should arrive within a quarter moon.” Tanrin responded.

“It will be great to have a bed and a hot bath.” Mia said.

“Tanrin, look.” Thorben said as he pointed to dust rising in the distance behind them.

“Are you thinking trouble?” Tanrin asked.

“We have no way of knowing, but at our current pace, they will overtake us by nightfall.” Thorben said. “We should be ready, just in case.”

Nervously fidgeting, Mia asked, “Are we in danger?”

“It’s best to always assume danger, and pray you are wrong.” Tanrin said. Thorben nodded in agreement as her eyes looked at him.

“We’ll stop a bit early, and cold camp farther off the road.” Thorben told them.

“Cold camp?” Mia asked.

“No fire.” Tanrin bemoaned jokingly, trying to take the edge off her anxiety.

They veered off the road a bit before nightfall and made camp. They kept the tack on the animals, just in case. Conversation was minimal. Everyone was alert. It surprised no one when they heard grass being trampled. Thorben raised his finger to his lip to indicate they should remain silent. “If they attack, try to take a couple alive. We need to know why they are here.” Thorben said to Tanrin so softly it was near inaudible. It was night. The darkness helped them to remain unseen, or at least obscured. He wanted it to stay that way. The element of surprise was theirs for now.

Moments passed, and they heard whispers. “Where’d they go?”

“Their horses are just over there. They have to be close. Probably sleeping. That’ll make this a lot easier.” Another voice said, validating their ill intentions.

“I say we have a little fun with ‘em. See the terror in their eyes. Killing them in their sleep is no fun.” A third voice said.

Their voices definitely don’t have the same menacing quality that the Order of Buanaì did. Though it seemed their intentions were similar. Thorben thought.

He suspected bandits, but couldn’t rule anything out at this point.

“It looked like a small group, from what we could see. If that’s true, they are stupid. No one travels in a small group anymore. So maybe a little fun is warranted. Okay, do it.”

A group of eight men came into view and dismounted. “Greetings, travelers! Care to share camp?”

“We are but humble servants of the Duke. Road weary and hungry. Perhaps you’ll share your food as we ensure you have the proper writ.” Another called out, softly laughing. Thorben motioned for his brother to sink out of sight. Tanrin nodded in affirmation.

“Play along, but stay sitting,” Thorben whispered to Mia.

“Hail strangers!” Thorben said. He did his best to infuse his voice with benevolence. “I fear that my wife and I won’t have enough food to share, and we’re unaware of the need for a writ.”

Thorben glanced over and caught Mia glaring daggers at him. Her eyes seemed to say ‘Wife! He wishes!’

“Perhaps a fire, and… company while we sort this out?” The man leered at Mia. The men spread out and encircled Thorben and Mia.

“We are a rather boring couple. Never been accused of being much of a conversationalist,” Thorben said. “I’m afraid we would bore you to death.”

“You misunderstand, my good man. It isn’t so much a request as a statement of the inevitable.” The man moved closer.

“Ahhh. I see,” Thorben said, his gaze hardening. “I had hoped to avoid this, but it seems you have other ideas.”

“That I do, boy. That I do,” the man said with a wide grin.

Thorben nodded. Before anyone could react, Tanrin had kicked the man in the back of the knees, and as the man’s legs gave out, grabbed him and pressed a knife to his throat.

Tanrin leveled menacing eyes at the men. “Nobody makes a move. Unless you want him to end up dead.”

The other men froze in surprise.

“Not a smart move, boy.” The man in Tanrin’s grip said. “We are the Duke’s men, an’ the numbers are against you.”

“He has never been one for counting. Dumb as an ox, you might say,” Thorben said. “I have nothing to blame but a persistent problem with authority figures.” His voice turned as hard as his gaze. “We have questions you will answer. How many of you die giving us those answers is up to you?”

Mia sat there in shocked silence. If the boys could have heard her thoughts, they would have been screaming: Are you crazy?! There are eight of them and three of us!

The man on Tanrin’s right crept towards him. Without removing the knife from the first man’s throat, Tanrin whipped another one at him. It embedded itself in the man’s throat, and he went down gurgling.

“It seems you miscounted. I see seven of you.” Thorben’s voice could cut steel.

The other men’s hands went for their weapons. “Hold,” Tanrin’s captive called, realizing his precarious position.

“Now, what is your name, and why are you following us?” Thorben asked.

“Name’s Cliff. We collect tariffs from travelers who use the roads. Everyone knows that Duke Elroy McGuire controls these roads.” The man responded.

“What does this Duke McGregor want with us?” Thorben asked. He could see the other thugs were feeling brave.

“Duke McGuire, want with you? Nothing he doesn’t want from anyone else. Your coin.” Cliff responded.

“So Duke McGuiness sends you out to collect money and issue writs. Does he know of your tactics?” Thorben asked, his voice beginning to quake in anger.

Then men started growing red in the face in anger. Apparently, Thorben’s attitude was striking a nerve.

“Duke MGuire’s orders are to use whatever tactics necessary,” Cliff said, thin lipped. “You’d be wise to remember his name. He doesn’t tolerate insolence. As his hands in his realm, we have earned certain privileges.”

“So, let’s recap. Duke McIDon’tGiveAFuckWhatHisNameIs, sends you out to harass and rob innocent travelers,” Thorben said, pure hatred enveloping his voice. He closed his eyes, and allowed his rage to build, feeding it with images of travelers that were being beaten, raped and killed. The current situation, combined with the road weariness and recent exile, was hindering his ability to control his rage.

The surrounding men were absolutely quivering in outrage, but Thorben was beyond caring. His rage demanded vengeance, and their outrage turned to fear when he opened his eyes. “One of you may leave here with a message,” he screamed, spittle flying from his lips. “Any volunteers?”

~Tanrin~

Tanrin held Cliff with his blade pressed firmly against his neck, just breaking the skin. The slightest move would see him breathing out his neck.

Nice work with the whole name bit, bro. Duke McIDon’tGiveAFuckWhatHisNameIs! Classic! He thought with a silent chuckle. Sometimes his brother surprised him with his wittiness.

This McGuire sounds like a real prick. Though most people who got a taste of power could develop that trait, dwarfs not withstanding. Wonder what the Thorben’s exit strategy here is?

“One of you may leave here with a message,” his brother screamed, rage radiating off of him in waves. “Any volunteers?” His eyes were flashing white sparks.

Oh shit!

“Mia, run!” He shoved Cliff forward onto his face. He probably should have slit his throat first, but those eyes made him forget everything.

Tanrin saw his brother draw his Katana. Lightning danced along the blade. He fought fear’s grip and dashed away.