Emile was outside the inn, watching the birds in the trees. In the distance she could hear the sounds of children playing, and it annoyed her. She was carefully making notes in her journal about the birds. She cast an evil glance in the direction of the children who were playing a noisy game of tag, and studied her notes. All morning her pa had been hassling her to go outside, and so she had. She knew that he wanted her to try and talk to some of the local kids that were her age, but she had no desire.
The sound of many hoofbeats broke her concentration, and she looked around for its origin. She ran around from the back of the inn to the front that faced what the small village considered their square. The king’s road ran from north to south here, and it was the road that had allowed her family's inn to be at all prosperous. The profits of the inn had always been rather inconsequential in the past, but these days it was all that kept Emile and Frederick fed.
Riding in from the south she saw two people in ridiculous clothes leading a whole pack of horses. Every horse that wasn’t being ridden was laden with sacks and bags, and one even had a small chest attached firmly to its back. Emile ran into the inn to tell her father about it. “Pa! I think there’s some nobles riding into town!”
Frederick looked up from the floor he was scrubbing on his hands and knees with a heavy brown brush and sudsy water, “Nobles eh? Did you get a look at the banners they were flying?”
Emile glance back out through the doorway before answering, “They’re not flying any banners at all.”
“Then what makes you so sure they’re nobles?”
“Cause they’re dressed up all fancy!”
“Nobles always want you to know who they are. That’s very important to nobles, banners and pennant and even fanfare sometimes.” He was looking at the floor again, scrubbing busily as he spoke, “Well, is there a wagon with them? Maybe it’s a group of merchants.”
“No, pa. No wagon. They do have a lot of stuff with them strapped to the backs of a bunch of horses.” She was craning her neck for a better look as she explained, “They’re heading over to the general store now.”
Frederick stopped scrubbing and stood up. He stepped around the wet places on the floor and looked over Emile’s head out the front door of the inn. He let out a long whistle, before pulling her inside and closing the door. “Emile, I don’t like the looks of those two. They look like a right lot of trouble.”
“Why do you say that pa?”
“Just a feeling, I guess. We’ll know for sure soon enough, nobody passes through here without staying the night.” He thought of Julie as he said this and wondered idly if she was still alive, “I mean, unless they’re going to sleep rough.”
Emile could barely contain her excitement. She loved all the travelers that passed through the town, they were rarely as boring as the people that lived here, “May I go and see what they have, pa?” She asked.
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“I don’t know Emile, last time I let you go over to the general store on your own, you talked poor old Clyde into giving you half the stock for free!” Frederick said seriously.
“I gave it back, didn’t I?” The tiny girl looked up at her father as innocently as she could, “Anyway, I just want to see what they have with them, it looked like a lot of fancy stuff.”
Frederick seemed to be considering the question when the door to the inn opened. Julie strode in looking beatdown and weary. Her back was overloaded. It looked like she had gone into a junk store and strapped everything they had for sell onto herself. She immediately started dropping things onto the still wet in some places floor.
“What happened to you, girl?”
She wriggled out of her backpack, and let it fall on the floor, before collapsing down next to it. In her right hand she held a canvas sack that was stained a rusty brown-red. Emile wondered what it contained. She looked like a completely different person than the last time she had seen her. Emile wanted to ask her at least a million questions.
“Ale, or whatever. Water even. Please.” Julie looked like she was ready to fall asleep right there on the floor.
Frederick was trying to help her up into a chair when he told Emile to get her some water, and a bottle of brandy from behind the bar. Emile rushed to do this, excited that she might get to hear Julie tell a real tale of heroism. She had realized quickly what the canvas sack must contain and was excited to hear about its acquisition.
Julie drank the water in hurried gulps, and then made a face when she took a sip from the bottle of brandy that Frederick proffered to her. He asked her again, “What happened to you?”
Julie looked from Emiles expectant eyes and back to Fredericks before she answered, “Don’t want to talk about it. They said to bring everything to you, said you’d help me get a fair price.”
Frederick nodded knowingly, and said, “Emile help me get this stuff sorted, let’s see what she brought back with her.”
Emile sprung into action. It was a pile of loot! She was surprised Julie had been able to carry it all. When she asked her about this, Julie said that she had dragged it most of the way. That explained why the backpack and most of the equipment was covered in mud. They began to sort it into piles on the floor. There were two longbows, but neither of them seemed like they would work without being strung again. Ten swords, all of which were very heavy, and one huge axe that was so heavy Emile couldn’t lift it. There were two helmets that seemed to Emile to be only half a helmet, and there was a large set of chainmail.
“Well,” Frederick said, “I don’t rightly know what anyone around here would do with any of this. The smith might be able to make the swords and other metal farm equipment. Once you get yourself under control you ought to head over there and take Emile with you.”
Julie had been staring at the canvas sack in her hand, and looked at Frederick, “They said that I ought to get you to help me get a fair price.” She said, sounding tired.
Frederick smiled at this, “No one is going to help you get a better price than my daughter.” He said with conviction, “As for what’s in that sack, you ought to get that over to the magistrate as soon as you can.”
Julie stood up and looked at the spoils of her battle spread out on the floor. “I’m so tired, can I rest a bit before we have to carry it all again.”
Emile offered to help, and Frederick said that she could rest in one of the rooms once everything was moved from the common room. He said that the three of them would load everything into the handcart out back.