Two young people talking [https://i.imgur.com/2Lzve4f.png]

THE HERO

Instantly the progress of the knife at his neck ceased. He dropped the hammer and poker felt where the knife had been. There was only the smallest amount of blood. Voices suddenly rang into his head and the room came into greater focus again.

Monte saw that Neera was outside, along with quite a few villagers. To his surprise, he saw of the familiar uniforms of the Guard apprehending the two fallen company men. Then his mind went to Mavlo. Monte saw he was still splayed on the ground near the door. He went to him and knelt. Mavlo wasn't moving at all.

"This can't happen." Monte thought. Mavlo knew the risks, but this was no way to go out.

So many thoughts were sprinting through Monte's head he couldn't catch any of them for long enough. Could he have saved Mavlo if he drew the sword? Had he been too careless?

"Please, you can’t be..." Monte started to reach in to check for a pulse.

"Dead? No Lad, I can't." The croak was barely audible, and was followed by a shallow, raspy breath.

Monte let out a sigh and wiped his brow.

"Good, because nobody was going to believe me if you didn't make it." Monte tried his best not to let the man know how upset he would have been if he was gone.

"Bring me my pipe, will you? Better start the paperwork now or I'll never finish." Mavlo said. He winced with pain as he propped himself up on one arm, but he was smiling.

"You really had me going for a while there. I figured you were a goner." Monte said. He couldn't stop himself from laughing a little. In the moment it felt right, despite and likely because of them both coming so close to death.

"I may not look like much lad, but it's going to take a lot more than that to off me." He sat up and slowly looked around the smithy as he said it.

It had barely been half a minute since the knife fell from Monte's neck but to him it felt like hours. Monte looked over where he was standing when the doors burst open. He saw a crumpled body on the ground with a Guard standing over it.

"I thought you said your post to the Capitol was a bluff." Monte was glad to see the Guard here, but surprised, given all he'd been told.

"Well, 'twas. I figured the bump to the head was making me see things. Don't know who called for these boys 'tell you the truth." Mavlo said. Monte looked at him and noticed a large welt blooming on his right temple.

Just then Neera showed up next to them with a Guard in tow. Monte and Neera exchanged glances of shock, relief, joy? Monte couldn't quite say. He watched her eyes take in Mavlo's injury and widen.

"Mavlo that looks pretty bad. But I've got just the thing for it back at the tavern." She said, somewhat playfully given the circumstances.

"Will you grill it up rare for me after?" Mavlo smiled up at her. With the help of the Guard, he stood up and made to go take stock of the rest of the situation.

"Better get started I guess." Mavlo groused.

"We'll need to take accounts from everyone here before they leave." Mavlo said to the Guard who came over with Neera. The man looked familiar to Monte, but he didn't get a good look.

The Guard nodded and helped Mavlo to his feet. The two of them left. Monte and Neera were alone.

The world was getting back up to its normal speed again. Neera was staring at him. Now her eyes held something more like gratitude, astonishment. Monte chose to break the silence.

"Good news. I think we found your spoons." Monte tried his best to be playful.

Neera threw her arms around him and gave him a long kiss on the cheek. Then she composed herself and took a step back.

"Well good. I was beginning to think I bought all those fish for nothing." She said. Her knowing look was back.

Staying in the village another night felt like a certainty given the circumstances. There were too many questions he still needed answers to. Monte was starting to get lost in his thoughts, lining the questions up. Then he heard a voice call his name. It had been some time since he'd heard such a familiar voice. He turned toward it and recognized the source of the call instantly.

"Karth?" Monte said back. He watched his academy classmate and close friend approach. He guessed it had been nearly four years since they had spoken last. Seeing him in the crisp, brilliant uniform of the Guard was new, but he looked every bit the part.

"Monte! I have to say this is not how I expected to reunite." Karth said. He sounded pleased to see Monte. Karth extended his hand. Monte took it and the men pulled each other into a half-hug. Monte didn't expect to see a friendly face either. He thought about the last time they saw each other. Karth likely knew about what happened to Monte. Monte realized it probably looked to Karth like he was in a lot of trouble now. They separated from the embrace.

"No indeed, and you must uhm... have a few questions." Monte said. Monte looked around and saw the company men who could still walk being led out of the smithy. One of them was limping badly. Three more Guard were standing around the body of the man who had held Monte at knifepoint.

"Right as always." Karth laughed as he said it.

"For starters, what brought you here anyway? I didn't think anybody from outside this village ever visited." Karth inquired.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Monte thought he saw him make eye contact with Neera as he asked. Monte pondered the implication for a moment. Had Karth been born here? Monte realized he had no idea where Karth was from. The question posed a problem for Monte. As far as Monte knew, Karth wasn't from the Capitol Guard, and didn't know about Monte's arrangements there. Luckily, Monte had a familiar alibi.

"I'm here for the market, and the tavern." Monte lied.

Karth raised an eyebrow but didn't press. Monte saw Neera roll her eyes.

"My turn. How did you know to come here?" Monte barely got his question out before an answer came.

"We received an urgent note a few days ago. It was from a name I recognized from growing up. It said there were robberies happening in town, and they were stealing utensils and candles. She made it seem urgent but…" Karth trailed off, turning to look at Neera.

"I've been having a hard time convincing my superiors this was worthwhile." Karth said, looking down at his feet

At least two of Monte's questions were answered. Karth confirmed this was indeed his hometown. And it had been Neera who wrote to them.

"But Karth came with a few others to check things out anyway. And here I thought Guard would never make it out this way." Neera directed her reply to Karth. She batted her eyes, parodying a damsel in distress.

She was looking at Karth this time with a bigger smile than Monte thought she could manage.

"I'm not too pleased with the senior Guard back at our station. We might have prevented some of this violence." Karth admitted.

Monte contemplated what would have happened if the Guard had shown up a day or two before he did. He wouldn't have found the camp, most likely. So, he wouldn't have found the ledger. Therefore, Terran's scheme to turn the market here into a money laundering operation might have never been proven.

"What will happen to Terran?" Monte asked Neera.

Neera looked puzzled. Did she not know?

"I spoke to Terran once the Guard arrived. I asked him to come with us, but he said he had urgent business and had to leave town." Neera spoke. Her eyes went unfocused for a moment, and she looked at the sky.

"The rat." She came back to and spat the words.

Just then Mavlo sauntered back over to the group. Someone had wrapped some rags around his head wound. The effect of it made him look even more ridiculous to Monte. Next to Karth, he barely looked like a Guard.

"You will need to put out a bulletin to have him taken in as soon as he shows his face somewhere. Neera here can give you his description." Mavlo said, as though he'd heard the entire conversation.

"Aye aye sir." Karth replied in the appropriate manner. Unlike Monte, Karth clearly knew better than to judge a village Guard by the condition of his uniform.

"Monte, can I have a word? In private." Mavlo looked at the other two and then focused on him.

Mavlo led him into the smithy. Monte looked at the body on the ground. There was a crossbow bolt extending from just below his left shoulder. The man who held a knife to him was the same he had held one to in the tent the night before. Monte was alive, and the old man was dead. He thought about the riddles. He knew he might never learn what they meant. Had coming here been a complete waste of time?

"Boy we couldn't have done it without you. Even with my tracking skills I never could have found that camp. And without the ledger we couldn't have set up a trap to catch the thieves in the act." Mavlo said.

Monte had been drifting off in thought and the words brought him back to reality.

"If you hadn't showed up when you did. I would have had to keep letting Terran keep getting away with it." Mavlo continued.

Mavlo was getting something off his chest. Monte wasn't sure how to respond. His father was never complementary with him. When he got to the Academy, he realized none of the senior Guard would be either. He deflected the praise.

"Thanks. You solved it, not me. I'm sorry about your friend." Monte replied.

"Friend. Hah! We go way back, sure. Since he took over the market, he hasn't been the same. I've suspected Terran was on the take for years, but I couldn't prove anything." Mavlo took a brief pause and then continued.

"Then you showed up, you had Terran's book. When I asked him about it, he couldn't keep his own story straight. I should have put the manacles on his hands right there at the camp. By now he's probably two towns over." Mavlo said it. He was staring at the ground. There was a long pause.

"I'm too tired to clean up messes like this." With this he looked right at Monte.

Mavlo kicked a box at his feet without looking down at it. Monte took the hint. At his feet was an ornate case. Monte recognized it immediately as the one containing the replica sword, the one from the Company tent. It occurred to Monte that if Karth and the Guard had come a few days before, Monte wouldn’t have found the replica. He would still be looking for any connection between his father and the Guard. Now he had something to work with.

"Look familiar?" Said Mavlo.

Monte nodded solemnly. Mavlo knew. He had to. A member of the Guard is trained to remember blades. In their line of work, swords tend to appear in different hands from time to time. And it's rarely for good reason. Monte had handed an identical sword over to Mavlo earlier that day. The sword strapped to his back right now, his father's sword. Mavlo knew Monte might want to do something with the one inside this case.

Just then realization hit Monte like a lightning bolt. The Company must have been making replicas for some time. The one in the box at his feet must have been the most convincing one yet. That's what the old man was saying, in his own strange way. All the stolen metal crafts were just materials for making replicas. Likely right here in this forge. But why his father's blade specifically? What did they hope to do with it? How much danger did carrying this heirloom put Monte in? He needed more answers.

"Do you know where this came from? Who made it? Who is it for?" Monte asked, almost pleadingly.

"Now I'm sure I have no idea what you mean. And I do hope all the goods are returned to their rightful owners…" Mavlo replied coyly.

Mavlo's eyes moved from the box and back to Monte, then he turned to look out toward the street. He couldn't have been more obvious. This replica may have been the best attempt so far, but it hadn't fooled Monte. Still, even a cheap knockoff in the wrong hands could cause problems for him in the future. Monte knew what he needed to do. He checked to see if anyone else was watching, opened the case at his feet, and tossed the replica blade into the open forge.

"You got a lot to learn Lad, but we need some new blood in this village. Join the Guard and let this old man retire in peace." Mavlo turned back to face Monte again as he said it, then touched his head wound and winced comedically.

Monte knew it wasn't possible. As soon as anyone in this village learned what was said about Monte in his own town, they would want him gone. He proved he wasn't involved in the crimes in this village, but that wouldn't be enough. Monte was still working on solving his father's murder. Until he did, it was only a matter of time before the rumors caught up with him. He couldn't solve the murders while serving as Guard in some small village either. Still, he was touched by the offer.

"Thanks, Mavlo. I'm sure I could learn a lot--" He stopped and thought about the last couple of hours. Expressing how grateful he was felt easier now.

"A lot more from you. But I need to move on, there are so many questions that need answers." Monte was firm.

"I understand. 'Still wish there was someone to help me with all the paperwork." Mavlo grinned.

Monte heard laughter and turned to see Neera and Karth still catching up. They both looked smitten.

"Mavlo, I think today might be your lucky day."

Villagers had wheeled the cart out of the blacksmith shop, and they were unloading and unpacking the crates. Already a small crowd had gathered around the open smithy doors. Monte saw smiling faces. Before tonight, he had only seen skeptical, scowling faces. These people could relax again. Coming to the village hadn't been a waste of time at all.

In the tavern later that night, much to Monte's chagrin, the piper had his flute. Neera served bad fish fried to perfection, and supplied forks, knives, and so much ale Monte forgot to use them. It wouldn't be too early, but the next morning Monte would finally get on the road to the Capitol. Maybe then he would learn what the Company men knew, why they came here at all, who the replica sword was meant for. Tonight, he would enjoy himself.