~Thorben~
Thorben battled through flashes of nightmarish scenes of battle, blood, and horrors that no man should see. Each cut sent unbearable pain through his soul. Unable to rip himself from the grasp of unconsciousness. He relived each gruesome moment in vivid detail. It was as if the rage was extracting a price for the enhanced speed and strength, battle awareness, and numbness to pain it had provided. Agony was all-consuming until at last it faded.
Awareness returned to Thorben as he struggled to regain consciousness. He knew better than to give any indication of change.
What had happened? Where am I? Mother’s lessons. Focus on the senses you can before risking anything. He heard muffled sounds of activity. A city maybe? An inventory on what he could feel revealed a soft pillow and mattress, along with no clothes. A healer? No, too expensive. Sound of breathing near me. Tanrin? Or an enemy? Salty taste when I breathe. We must be near the ocean. Did we reach Ingwood? Smells of firewood. Okay, Thorben, time to crack your eyes open. Damn, that’s bright.
“Might as well open your eyes, brother.” Tanrin’s voice said. “Your breathing pattern changed a couple of minutes ago. No one else would have noticed, but I have had the same training. You never could master that aspect. We need to talk.”
“Broth…. agh…. wat…” Thorben broke off into a coughing fit. Tanrin held the cup so he could drink some water, concern clear in his eyes despite his attempt at joking. After a couple of careful sips, his throat felt much better. “Brother, what happened? Where are we? Ted?” Thorben’s alarm spiking at the thought of the man being injured or dead.
“We are safe for now. I loaded you onto the wagon. Ted, while a bit roughed up, could guide me in driving the wagon. The dagger missed vital organs, but will leave a nice scar. We made it to Ingwood two days ago. Ted is resting up as well. His wife, Harper, has been caring for us. How are you feeling?”
How was he feeling? He felt like he should be relieved at still being alive. He was confused. What was going on with him? “Like I damn near died. Help me sit up. What the hell happened?” Thorben grunted as his brother raised him into a sitting position.
“I was hoping you could clarify that one, brother. Downright scared the shit out of me. The horses freaked out when I heard a scream. I grabbed my weapons and sprinted towards the sounds of battle. I have never seen you move so fast, Thorben.” Tanrin said. He saw his brother’s face pale as he recalled the memory.
“Fast? Those thugs moved so slow, they helped me look good.” Thorben attempted to joke. “No, brother, I froze in shock. You were a blur on the battlefield. Moving so fast, I barely followed, ignoring every injury you took, as if you couldn’t feel it. You single-handedly killed seven men before I arrived. I put 2 down with throwing knives from a distance because they were just as frozen as I was. After I took care of the next two, I turned to see you on the verge of being killed.”
Thorben had always been quick because of his Elven heritage. He tried to recall the battle, but the building pain behind his eyes dissuaded him. Rubbing his temple, he responded to his brother, “I’m sorry, brother. I let him sneak up on me. Thanks for saving me. How’d you do it?”
His brother sobbed, and Thorben watched as his brother composed himself. Tanrin stared into Thorben’s eyes, incredulity and concern mixed yet clear on his face. “Me?! Brother, as I met your eyes, it was like looking at death itself. You screamed a phrase that I have never heard before, but will never forget. Ceo tintreach. Your eyes turned the brightest white as a mist swirled around you both. The leader disintegrated before my eyes. You collapsed, due to blood loss, shortly after!” Tanrin said, breathing heavily, bordering on hysteria. “I did nothing but damn near piss my pants.”
Not sure if his brother was exaggerating, he sipped water to buy himself time to respond. “Mom is going to be very upset. I have heard of young dwarves regressing after potty training, but this is a little much, no?” He quipped with a smile. As the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake. His brother felt scared. Scared for him, possibly even of him. Jokes would not fix it this time. “Sorry Tanrin. I remember a little of the end of the battle,” admitted Thorben. “I remember you turning to look at me, and thinking in that moment about how much I loved you. Then things go dark.” Thorben hung his head.
Tanrin threw his arms around his brother. “I don’t care how you did it, just that you survived.” Tanrin squeezed. “I thought I had lost you. We will figure this out together.”
After a moment of seriousness, he couldn’t help but give his brother a bit of a hard time. “A point of clarification. You admit I beat you, correct?” Thorben said with a smirk. Tanrin punched him in the arm.
“I appreciate a good ribbing, but those weren’t just your run-of-the-mill bandits, Thorben. Look at this.” Tanrin said as he flung a cloak clasp at him.
Thorben caught it, despite his rugged movements, and looked closely. It was a glyph of a ram’s skull. “What is this?”
“I didn’t recognize it either. When I showed it to Ted, he damn near passed out. He said it belongs to an elite group of assassins that go by the Order of Buanaì. He wouldn’t speak much more about it, but I got the impression that they were extremely dangerous.” Tanrin said.
“A league of assassins? What the hell did they want with us?” Thorben responded.
“I don’t know, brother. The more pressing question is, how did you defeat so many of them, including the leader?” Tanrin countered.
Thorben didn’t know what to say. Instead, he told Tanrin he needed rest, and closed his eyes. While not averse to misleading his brother if the situation would lead to a chuckle at his expense, he wouldn’t lie to him about something serious. As soon as his eyelids touched, he drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The next morning came quickly. The early morning sun informed Thorben that sleep was finished, and he opened his eyes.
“Lad, I owe you.” Ted said as he chewed his eggs.
“Yes, you do, you bumpkin!” Harper exclaimed. “I’ve been telling you for the last decade you needed to hire guards.”
“Yes, dear.” Ted appeased.
“Don’t you ‘yes dear’ me! What would have happened had these lads not been with you? The roads aren’t what they once were. Things haven’t been safe for a long time!” Harper said.
“Yes, dear.” Ted said as he glanced back and forth between Thorben and Tanrin, eyes begging for help.
“You going to finish that sentence? Perhaps something like ‘Yes dear, I will head straight out and hire someone.’” Harper inquired, as she gave her husband a pointed look.
“Yes, dear, I will make some inquiries after breakfast.” Ted said.
“Well, I’d like to thank you, Mrs. Foster. Without your care, I don’t know where I would be.” Thorben said with sincerity. “I hadn’t realized how many wounds I had sustained. Thank you.”
“You think nothing more of it. You saved my husband. Just do your best not to come back and visit me as a pincushion again. Ya hear?” Harper responded, eyes glimmering. Thorben could see that she loved her husband and as much as she hid her fear in admonishing statements, she was heartfelt in her words.
“Yes, ma’am.” Thorben said between mouthfuls of the delicious, fluffy eggs.
“Not to be a downer, but what’s next?” Tanrin asked, “A secret group of assassins may be after us? Why? Where do we go? What do we do?”
Ted hissed and raised his mug. “Excellent caife, my dear.” His eyes met Tanrin’s. The message was obvious, not here. Tanrin nodded in acceptance.
“It truly is delicious, Mrs. Foster,” Tanrin said. “Your husband is a lucky man to start his days off like this.”
“Boys, once you have finished, are you up to helping me load some cargo and check the horses?” Asked Ted.
Even a blind man could see that Ted had an ulterior motive. “Yes sir,” they answered in concert. Thorben was sure that Mrs. Foster saw right through the charade, but she let it slide. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Harper rolled her eyes, “As if I don’t see what you are up to, husband. Fine, keep your secrets, but remember, you agreed to make guard inquiries and hire before you leave on your next route.”
“I agreed to make inquiries. I should leave tomorrow for the route,” corrected Ted.
“Hmmm. I am recalling it differently. Your mind must be slipping, my dear. No matter, I’m sure that you would agree it is smart for a husband to keep their wife happy. Right, husband?” Harper said.
Ted sighed in defeat. “Yes, my dear. Let’s go, boys.”
With this, they headed out into the crisp morning air. Thorben took a moment to take in a deep breath. Savoring the unfamiliar scents of the sea. He glanced around and took in the sights. A cobblestone path led to the main road connecting the docks to the rest of the town. The sound of men calling out as they worked threatened to drown out the soft sound of waves crashing against the pier. Ted and Tanrin turned and gave him a look, letting him know that now was not the time to enjoy the small things in life. He shrugged and followed them into the neighboring structure. It was a modest-looking barn like building that Thorben was sure purposely gave the impression of humbleness. There were two types of merchants in the world. Those that flaunted their wealth, or at least attempted to do so, in order to attract wealthy clientele, and those that let the quality of their wares speak for themselves. Tanrin’s instincts told him that Ted was the latter.
In the outbuilding that stored goods, the wagon, and stable the horses, Ted sat down on a crate and motioned for Thorben and Tanrin to do the same. They sat in silence for a few moments as Ted seemed to gather himself. “Boys, I told you I was a sailor, and that I had seen many things during my voyages. There is one voyage I would give anything to forget. I’ll not repeat everything, but I will tell you a bit.” He selected his words carefully.
“Most of my voyages were to transport trade goods, as is common on a merchant’s vessel. Merchants, above all, want to turn a profit. Sometimes the easiest way to do this is transportation of people, rather than trade goods. It’s not common, but not unheard of, for various groups to charter a vessel.” Ted dropped his voice lower, as if afraid of being overheard. “On this voyage, they chartered us to transport a group of five supposed foreign nobles, from their home in Dehsi around the southern Peninsula of Oleathaer and up to the coast near the city of Akh Raggog. As we passed close to Chaos Bay, pirates set us upon.”
“Our crew was caught flatfooted,” Ted said. “Our barrelman had fallen asleep, so we had no warning before being boarded. It was chaos. They cut the hired mercenaries down before we knew what was happening. We were done for. That’s when the nobles, at least what we had been told were nobles, came up on to the deck.”
Ted had a way of speaking that gripped their attention. If Thorben didn’t know he was a merchant already, he would have sworn he was a bard. Thorben and Tanrin listened, mesmerized by the story unfolding. Even the horses seemed to be captivated.
“They were wearing the same clothes as the men from the way station. One of them had a red sash. The man with the red sash stood next to the captain, looked to others, and gave a nod. The remaining three burst into action, faster than I could track. Within a few dozen heartbeats, the 30 man pirate crew lay dead. The man in the sash looked up at our barrelman, and without a word a throwing knife went through his skull, burying itself in the mast. He turned to our captain and said the only words I ever heard him mutter. Leave everything, retrieve my knife, no more delays. Without another word, they turned and glided below deck. There are nights where that voice still haunts my dreams. When the voyage was over, we asked the captain who they were. He told us, ‘I will say this now, and never mention it again. Pray you never have to deal with Order of Buanaì.’”
The three of them sat in silence for a few moments. Thorben was stunned.
Four men killed 30 combat tested pirates in such short of a time? How had he prevailed against a dozen?
“I can see it in your eyes that you understand,” Ted said. “We should all be dead. Thorben, you moved faster and were deadlier than those men, and I won’t deny that it scares me.” Ted held up a hand to forestall any comment from Thorben. “Don’t misunderstand me, I have no fear of you, as I know you are a good person. I will do what I can to aid you. You did what you had to do, but to deny that your abilities didn’t worry me would be a lie. I would keep this between us. My wife does not need to carry the burden of this knowledge.”
Thorben nodded, with Tanrin following shortly after. Thorben recognized the plea behind the words. He recognized that their presence was putting the Foster’s at risk.
Thorben looked Ted in the eyes. “We were thinking of seeing the world a bit, before returning to Steelmond. Any suggestions? Maybe a place an elf and a dwarf might find work?”
Ted returned the look, nodding in understanding, unable to hide the relief he was feeling. Thorben couldn’t blame the man. “Aye lad, if I was you I’d head across the Lucent Gulf, up the coast of Drazalar, to Andovale. It’s a peaceful town, where many a sailor has retired. Sailors hear things, yet know how to mind their own, and even turn a blind eye when needed. Find the inn. If old Harold Scully is still runnin’ the place, he’ll be a man to trust. It has some obscene name. Tell him Ted says he still owes me and this will make us good.”
“Thank you Ted. We’ll find our way as soon as we can arrange it.” Thorben said.
“Nonsense, you’ll stick around and rest and eat dinner, while I get things arranged for you. I meant what I said. I owe you, lad. I’m just sorry I can’t do more. No, get back and have another cup of caife. The missus should have another batch ready about now.”