EMILY

The most pretty and powerful battle maid in Gloomwood Manor (and possibly the realm) whistled happily to herself as she walked over the last big hill on the muddy road and finally sighted Shadowfort down the hill. With Olivia tagging along but refusing to jog like a normal person, the hike out here had taken half the day. It was just past lunch now, but Emily could wait to eat until after she purchased the perfect wedding present.

In size, Shadowfort was only a bit bigger than the grounds of Gloomwood Manor, though almost the entire area was filled by one and occasional two-story homes crammed together as tightly as zarovians at an egg-laying ceremony. The first people to settle here had also had the good sense to build the first buildings on top of a gentle hill. That meant the oldest buildings were at the center, while others radiated around them on the way down.

A patchwork but well-maintained wall of wooden pikes staffed with a few weathered watch towers surrounded the town, though Emily knew the barrier was more for show than for actual defense. The kromian army that had recently attacked Gloomwood Manor would have taken the town easily had they attacked it, but fortunately for the people of Shadowfort, the kromians had been focused on the silverwood instead.

Emily strolled rapidly down the sloping road with Olivia huffing as she did her best to keep up. Ahead waited one of two openings in the battered wooden wall that sort of protected Shadowfort from invasion. It wasn’t much of a wall, and as towns went, Shadowfort wasn’t much of a town. A single guard in unmarked leather armor lounged ahead.

Emily knew the few turns that would take her directly to the Hearth’s Shadow (her favorite place to get drunk) so well she could likely walk them while blindfolded and intoxicated. Even so, she wasn’t here to drink watered-down swill and start bar fights. She was here to purchase a present, and with Olivia at her side, Emily had no doubt she would get the best one yet. Everyone at the wedding was going to be super jealous when they saw it.

Emily kept her hood up and glanced back at Olivia to ensure the younger battle maid did the same. Their disguises were perfect. They reached the entry to Shadowfort. The guard on duty gave them a cursory look and then, eyes wide, snapped to attention. He even saluted awkwardly as they passed.

Why was the gate guard saluting her? Perhaps he just did that when attractive women walked by. Emily was, after all, very pretty. Lord Gloomwood had said so himself!

Behind her, Olivia grumbled something Emily couldn’t quite make out, but Emily ignored it. Olivia’s mood had grown more dour as they walked, even though it was a wonderful sunny day. Going for a jog on a sunny day was the best way to jog, if you liked to jog. Olivia apparently didn’t!

Once in the town, a quick survey of Emily’s surroundings found hundreds of yellow souls idly going about their yellow soul business inside their little yellow soul homes. Emily had doubted there would be any red souls present, but she could never be too careful when out and about in the wide world. Assassins could be waiting anywhere, but they’d always turn red before they attacked her... at which point she would chop them, and chop them good.

Since Emily was the most powerful battle maid in Gloomwood Manor, any enemies of Lord Gloomwood would naturally come after her first. Plus, she needed to keep Olivia safe and teach her how to be a better battle maid. Emily would never admit she was jealous of Olivia’s ability to toss giant chains of fire at her enemies, but she did have to admit it was handy... so long as she could teach Olivia not to be so hesitant with them. Fire was meant to burn!

Fortunately, the narrow earthen street between the cozy wooden homes of this small town was mostly empty. Anyone who needed to go work in the fields was already out working, and anyone who had a business in the town was in their building waiting for customers. That meant the only people on the road were those going to lunch, coming from lunch, or going about other townsfolk business like townsfolk tended to do.

As Emily strolled directly down the middle of the street with Olivia all but stepping on her heels, she kept her hood up and her eyes ahead. Even so, more than one person she passed either gasped loudly at the sight of two pretty women walking through the town, dashed out of the road to clear the way, or hurried into their homes. Had the kromian invasion made them skittish around newcomers? That was the most likely explanation.

Just in case Emily stopped, raised one arm, and sniffed her armpit. She certainly didn’t smell like a fish. Mystified by the odd behavior of Shadowfort’s loyal citizens, Emily focused on her goal. Getting Lydia a wonderful wedding present.

They reached Shadowfort’s modest market square without difficulty to find a few other yellow souls haggling over fruit or spools of yarn or whatever normal people bought in their normal lives. Emily knew which stalls and wagons were always here during the day and looked for the one that normally wasn’t. When she spotted the carriage she wanted, she stiffened.

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“Is that the Hawk Merchant’s carriage?” Olivia asked in alarm. “What happened to it?”

Emily was about ready to ask that herself. She hurried through the square and ignored the one or two people who looked at her, went pale, and immediately scurried out of her way. Ahead, a tall, dark-haired woman with ruddy skin and strong muscles leaned against her gaily-colored carriage, arms crossed and scowl fixed firmly in place.

Emily didn’t know the Hawk Merchant’s real name. No one did, so far as Emily knew, and she thought that was very clever. Being known only as the “Hawk Merchant” made the merchant seem powerful and mysterious, and also, it was a really cool name. The merchant’s carriage, however, had obviously seen better days.

The carriage itself was fine dark wood, some of which Emily knew to be silverwood. Yet there was a wide gouge down one side of the carriage, and several of the brightly-colored banners that hung on the side were torn or muddied. The red hawk painted across one side had several large scratches in it that hadn’t been there last she’d seen it.

One of the carriage’s two back doors was also hanging askew on its hinges, kept closed only by a single board someone (likely the merchant herself) had hastily nailed across it. As the merchant spotted her two approaching customers, her scowl faded.

The merchant smiled right at Emily. “Thank the Eidolons you’ve arrived! I didn’t think the courier I paid to bring my message to the manor would arrive until tonight.”

“Courier?” Olivia asked timidly.

Emily stopped close by and crossed her arms. “What message?”

“The message I sent to Gloomwood Manor requesting aid. Aren’t you here because of my message?”

Emily eyed her cautiously. “Who do you think we are?”

The Hawk Merchant narrowed her eyes at them. “You’re Lord Gloomwood’s battle maids. The fact that he sent both of you to answer my summons speaks highly of him.”

Emily’s eyes widened as the Hawk Merchant somehow saw right through her perfect disguise. “You are clever!”

The merchant frowned. “How do you mean?”

“Never mind that!” Olivia said quickly. She stepped up beside Emily and pulling back her hood. “What happened to your wagon? Were you in an accident?”

“I was attacked this morning on my way to Shadowfort.”

“On our roads?” Emily asked indignantly. “By who? More kromians?”

“No, human bandits. Six of them, though I bet there were more in the woods.”

Now Emily wondered if the Hawk Merchant had hit her head. “Bandits wouldn’t dare attack a merchant on Lord Gloomwood’s roads. They know the penalty.”

The merchant rolled her eyes. “Well, they did, and they took all my best stock. I’m lucky they let me leave with my life. The leader wore a mask that hid all but her eyes, and when I tried to bargain with her, she killed both my horses with a wave of her hand.”

“She killed your horses?” Now Olivia sounded truly upset. “That’s horrible!”

“Tell me about it. I had to leave my wagon and walk all the way to town and rent another pair to pull it inside the walls. I’ll have to buy two more if I want to leave here with what little I have. Still, at least my summons didn’t go unanswered. You’re here.”

“We are here,” Emily admitted grudgingly.

This was going to be a problem. Now that the Hawk Merchant had hired a courier to go to Gloomwood Manor and report the attack, Lydia would almost certainly ask Emily to go investigate. Since she wasn’t at the manor, that meant Lydia would learn she’d already left and have questions about why she’d left.

Still... Emily had intended to go get a drink. She would just leave out the other reason she’d come out here today. There was no reason to ruin the surprise.

She didn’t want to deal with bandits. There were generally smelly and unpleasant, and sometimes they begged for their lives in the most annoying ways. She wanted to buy a present, then lunch, then a drink, in that order.

Still... as she thought more about this unexpected development, she realized it might work out for the best. In fact, this might even be better!

Though she hadn’t admitted it to Olivia, Emily wasn’t exactly flush with coin, especially after losing all that money gambling on the Shadowfort hog races last month. She’d hoped Olivia could help her find a nice but also affordable present, but now she could simply take one. The Hawk Merchant wouldn’t begrudge her a small gift for returning her stolen stock.

If she found these evil horse-killing bandits and chopped them, Emily could easily recover everything they stole. That meant she could ask to take her pick of the merchant’s recovered belongings, which meant she might be able to get a lovely wedding gift for Lydia and Lord Gloomwood without paying for it!

So today, she’d get to chop some dumb mean bandits and get the perfect gift for her best friend and her favorite manor lord. Plus, taking care of these bandits would be a good opportunity to teach Olivia to be more ruthless... provided she didn’t burn up the goods by mistake. If the bandit leader had dangerous rarity, Emily wanted to kill her quick.

“We’ll handle the bandits and get your goods back for you,” Emily said confidently. “You needn’t worry about that, Miss Hawk Merchant. These bandits won’t trouble anyone else.”

The merchant nodded gratefully. “I’m so glad to hear that. It’s reassuring to know that despite all the changes of late, Lord Gloomwood’s protection still extends to those who travel his lands and roads.”

“It does,” Emily assured her confidently. “So now, you need to tell us where on the road they attacked you. Just stay here inside the walls until we get back with your missing goods.”

“The bandits are probably all gone from there by now.”

“I know how we can pick up their trail! But I need to know where it starts, and I need you to tell me everything about how they were dressed, what weapons they carried, and if anyone other than the lady who led them demonstrated a rarity.”

Olivia tentatively tapped her shoulder. “Shouldn’t we go back to the manor for reinforcements?”

Emily glanced at her in confusion. “Why would we need those?”