All of this travel had made me hungry so I stopped in at the first restaurant I found. I promptly walked right back out when I saw their prices. With a sigh, I spent the next hour looking for a place I could afford.

“Maybe this is why he liked those rundown-looking places,” I mumbled, remembering the bar that my former mentor had taken me to. It wasn’t that I wanted to eat at a place like that – I was equally as likely to get sick as get a good meal – but I couldn’t afford any place nicer. Not if I wanted to make my limited money last.

Thankfully the place I found was only a restaurant and not a bar as well, even if they did sell alcohol. It meant less rough and tumble sorts and more down on your luck people like me.

A grey-haired older woman with a hunched back hobbled over to the booth I had chosen. “We have chicken soup or braised beef, what’ll it be?”

The braised beef sounded good but I went with the chicken soup figuring it was the safer option. “Does the soup come with bread?” I asked tentatively.

“No, but for a plate extra, I can bring you a loaf. You want water or ale?”

“Ale, thanks.” I handed the woman my coin for the meal since she didn’t seem inclined to take my order to the kitchen without me paying first. I guess I could understand her sentiment going by the few other people I saw eating here.

The food arrived after a long wait later and I stared at the thin-looking chicken soup. It honestly looked like someone boiled up some water and stuck a few chunks of chicken and barely serviceable vegetables in it but I didn’t care. I tore off a chunk of the rock-hard bread and dunked it into the soup.

Despite how it looked it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t great either though. Between bites of my bread, I looked down at the map I found. With nothing to do but wait for my meal, I had grown bored and dug it out of my pack. Now that I could see it better, I noticed it had numbers and line indicators on it. It didn’t take me long to figure out the numbers and location matched on the map itself.

The map seemed to cover the distance of a week's travel by horse in any direction. With a bit of effort, I managed to mark out the other numbers listed on the back and now had relative locations for each item. The problem was, I didn’t know where the map was for. All of the town names were in an unknown dialect. I didn’t even recognize the rivers that were listed.

I glanced up as someone entered the restaurant, the movement catching my eyes. The guy glanced around, saw me looking at him, and gave a small nod before sitting at a table on the far side of the room. It was a bit weird but soon the unassuming man left my thoughts, I went back to the map. There was one feature on it that could be familiar if it was what I thought it was. The problem was that I didn’t want to ride a week and a half to the west to verify if that was true or not.

If I just assumed it was what it was, that meant I was only a day away from the original mark on the map. Considering my father had specifically circled this location, I should check it out. I rolled the map up and put it back in my bag. When I looked up, the single man had been joined by another man with the darkest skin I had ever seen and a small woman.

The first man had a grin on his face as he saw me looking at them again. He raised his mug in a toast and I returned the gesture, thinking these people looked wholly out of place in a run-down establishment like this, but I didn’t want to judge them. I finished the rest of my meal, feeling like the three were watching me.

Deciding to trust my gut, I waited until the waitress was blocking their table from view as she set their food down before I grabbed my stuff and quietly left the restaurant. They hadn’t shown any outright hostility and I didn’t see a single weapon on the three of them but something about them made me feel weird.

In an effort to make sure I wasn’t being followed, I led my horse around town in a random fashion, sometimes stopping in strange spots to see if anyone was following me. None of the three people ever appeared but I did catch a couple of hard-looking men trailing me. After I spotted them, it seemed like they vanished but it concerned me enough to spend a few plates on an inn for the night.

The one I chose had a stable and my poor horse finally got a good brushing and a few fresh apples as a treat.

My sleep was fitful at best but I did manage enough to see me through another day. I figured it was a mix of nerves from the unknown followers, the three out-of-place people in the restaurant, and the fact that by midday today I would have a sword forged from quality steel.

I ate a bland breakfast served by the inn and loitered for most of the morning before leaving to get back to the Argath’s. I kept an eye out for anything unusual but nothing struck me as out of place today. The main streets were crowded again as I made my way from the less well-off section of town to the richer neighborhood where the shop resided.

The cool morning fog had burned off when the sun came out and it appeared it would be a very nice day.

When I entered the shop, both Victor and Argath were waiting behind the counter for me. I stopped in surprise.

“Come, don’t be shy,” Argath waved me over, “I always personally attend the delivery. A way of giving face to my esteemed customers,” the last part came out with little enthusiasm.

I walked up to the counter and spotted a rough wooden box on top.

“I didn’t spend any effort on the display box since it seems like you prefer to use a weapon instead of letting it collect dust. Not like some nobles, I won’t mention.” Argath grumbled. “Go ahead open it up.”

The lid of the box slid off effortlessly and I had to wonder if Argath’s last statement was true or not. There was a red silk liner around an ivory-handled blade and white-leather scabbard mixed with gold inlay. I gaped at the craftsmanship.

Argath chuffed in delight, “I said I wasn’t going to go all fancy on it but I couldn’t help myself. It's rare to get someone buying a sword from me they will actually use and the steel was much nicer than I thought. So no extra charge.”

I was speechless as I stared at the blade. Picking it up from the box, the wight surprised me a bit. I was used to my ceramic blade. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I had been carrying the metal tube around and I knew it had some weight to it.

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“Do you mind?” I asked, nodding at the sword.

“Not at all, just move back a bit from the counter and try not to hit anything.”

After taking a few steps back, I drew the blade from the sheath. Making sure nothing was within striking distance, I took a stance and lashed out in a quick combination of strikes to get a feel for the weapon. At first, I thought the handle would get slick with sweat but when I looked closer there was some sort of white inlays in the handle as well. They gave a slightly rough feel to the handle but something I was quickly learning to appreciate as I went through a quick routine.

The blade practically whistled through the air and I couldn’t help but smile as I finished.

Argath and Victor started clapping as I put the blade away. “Boy, I thought you said you lacked skill. By the Mother, if I haven’t seen someone move that fast before. Who was your teacher?”

I scratched my chin in embarrassment. “Well, I’m mostly self-taught but the moves I just displayed came from my former mentor. I would prefer not to say who he is. The guy isn’t very tolerant.”

“Well, whoever he is, he's a master with a blade, that I don’t doubt. And judging by your expression, I take it you approve?”

“How could I not. It’s more than I ever could have hoped for.”

“Good,” Argath smiled toothily. “You ever need more work or have friends that want a good steel blade, send them my way.”

I happily agreed as I shook the man’s large calloused hand. His grip was almost as hard as the metal of my blade but he didn’t try crushing my hand for which I was thankful. On the opposite side were Victor and his dainty soft hands. The man wasn’t my type but I did imagine what those hands would feel like running across my back.

With the thanks completed and the sword strapped to my belt, I was ready to head to the first marker on the map.

As I came out of the shop, I quickly looked around for my stalkers. It seemed nobody had been brave enough to get near Argath’s shop in broad daylight. I rubbed my horse gently on the neck before mounting the saddle and turning her toward the main exit to the north.

The feeling of having eyes on me never went away but I chose to keep going instead of trying to lose my pursuers in the maze of side streets. I wasn’t looking for a fight but I was getting sick of running away.

If they couldn’t take a hint and leave me alone, it was on them.

The final guard shack denoting the edge of town came and went as I rode. The landscape was more desert-like this far southwest but it wasn’t much different from home. More yellow sandstone than the red rock of my home but that was really all.

Ten minutes of slow riding later, I came to a hastily assembled blockade on the road. It had been hidden just past a curve and out of sight by the short canyon walls the road traversed through.

I cursed as I tried turning my horse but by the time I managed it, there were four people blocking the other end.

“See, Boss, I told ya we didn’t need to watch him in town. Just place a few men at all the roads out and the Mother would provide.”

“Yeah, yeah, Arvy, now shut it. Kid, do the smart thing and give us your blade and plates, then you can be on your way. This doesn’t need to get ugly.” A gap-toothed man with an arrogant swagger and the look of someone used to brawling spoke.

The first thing I noticed was the weapons. Two had ceramic shortswords similar to my old one. The others had spears with ceramic tips. I didn’t see any armor but it was hard to tell from this distance and the loose clothing they were wearing. One thing I did know was I was in trouble.

With my former mentor’s training, I might be able to take on two but not four experienced men. That didn’t stop me from pulling my sword out.

“Well, I tried doing it the easy way,” the greasy leader replied as he and the other sword wielder pulled their swords. The spearman hung back with their spears ready to jam into the ground to hold my horse if I tried to escape. Not that my old mare was willing to run through people. She was already pawing at the ground nervously and backing away as the men approached.

I decided it was better to dismount instead of having her spooked and causing me to miss. My first thought was to try and draw on my calling but I still couldn’t get a feel for it. There was something there though but it was tentative. Not enough for me to rely on it in this fight.

The men tried to circle to my sides but their trap worked in my favor more than theirs. I feinted toward the weaker looking of the two and he flinched back, bouncing off the rock wall behind him. I wasn’t close enough to take advantage of his screw up but he did slam his elbow hard back into the wall when he moved his shield to intercept my blow.

The boss hissed in annoyance at his lackey's mistake and struck out at my exposed torso. I had hoped he would react to my opening. With speed I only had thanks to my former mentor’s abuse, I reversed my blade and brought it in an arc that caught the top of the boss’s sword.

Blunt metal met brittle ceramic and I heard the distinct crack sound that ceramic makes right before it explodes.

Taken off guard by my strike, the man pitched forward a bit before stopping himself with an outstretched foot. He tried to quickly backpedal but my blade was already thrusting forward.

There was a moment of resistance as I felt my blade sink into flesh and I slashed it sideways before spinning back toward my first opponent. There was no point worrying about the boss, I knew my sword pierced his heart.

Shocked by the swift and violent death of his boss, the last man hesitated for a moment, but a moment was all I needed as my sword flashed past his slightly too slow shield. He screamed as his shield deflected my blade from a killing blow on his neck to a ragged gash that tore his cheek apart and knocked a few teeth out. Then he made the mistake of trying to flee. As soon as he turned, I lunged forward and stuck the blade deep into his side, and twisted it for good measure.

The man went rigid, his sword falling from his numb grip but I held him up and used his body as a temporary shield against the two charging spearmen. As soon as they got close, I kicked off the dying man’s back, sending him into one man’s spear. There was a scream as the man was impaled by his friend.

With those two out and one spearman occupied, I turned and saw the spear of the final man coming at me. My world seemed to come to a crawl as the spear looked like it was going to strike my throat and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. That’s when I felt my power stir. It was weak but I could sort of feel what it was capable of. Using all my will, I imparted it on the end of my attacker’s spear and pushed, trying to direct the tip of the blade away from me.

It wasn’t enough I quickly realized and I leaned back, giving up my stable footing. I felt the tip of the deadly weapon cut a thin red line across my neck. The man was fast as he tried to reset for another strike but I was faster. My hand whipped out and grabbed the spear shaft, arresting my backward motion and jerking him forward. With one hand on his spear, I shoved it back toward him hard, causing the end of it to clip him in the side as he hadn’t used a proper form when attacking me. He stumbled back and I kicked the tip of the spear sideways as he had let it drop. With him wide open, I took two steps toward him and my blade arm lashed out with a vicious stab aimed for the side of his neck.

Normally I would only have to take one step but with my shorter blade, I overcompensated. The blade sliced deep into his neck and I felt it jerk as it impacted his spine. I winced at the impact, thankful the blade was good steel and not the brittle ceramic or that one mistake would have cost me another weapon. I jerked the weapon free and turned toward the last man, only to see him turn tail and run.

The last man had abandoned his spear in his dead comrade and fled for the canyon exit. I spotted the dead man’s spear near my foot and with a bout of furious anger overtook me in that moment, I picked it up and hurled the weapon at the fleeing man. The man had covered quite the distance but I wasn’t deterred. There was no calling enhanced throw but the Mother must have been watching over me as the spear flew true and hit the man right on the back of his thigh. I ran over to get answers but by the time I got to him he had bled out. The spear had torn through the main artery of his leg and there was a large pool of blood soaking into the ground underneath him.

I hoped that these four men were acting alone but I noticed the feeling of being watched hadn’t gone away so I was starting to pay more attention to it.