The next morning I was in a part of the town I hadn't been to before.

I was close enough to the outskirts that I could see the surrounding wall and the occasional guard walking along it.

This area of the town had very few actual buildings, most of them were warehouses or small offices, the majority of the room here was open space, work yards with either stacks of stone or lumber in them.

After speaking with the innkeeper Jared, the directions he gave me, this place was my only real hope for getting my things close to my mountain.

I entered the building in front of me and stepped into a room with rich wooden décor, everything seemed to be polished to a shine and a faint smell of some kind of incense hung in the air.

Matching the polished wooden theme was a large and very expensive looking desk, behind which sat a man of middle years.

Slender, with brown and greying hair and moustache neatly trimmed and despite the obvious signs that he could clearly afford better things, he work the clothes of someone who worked hard.

“Can I help you, son?” The man asked me, looking up from some paper on the desk. His face was only mildly curious and his voice matched it.

“I think so.” I said moving further into the small building, coming to stop at the other side of the desk. “I'm looking for someone to build me a travel carriage.” I told him with a firmness to my voice.

The man's fingers released the paper he was holding, letting it rest back down on the desk. He leaned back in his chair a little and looked me up and down.

“A travel carriage is expensive to buy.” He told me in a tone of mild warning. “Especially to have one commissioned.”

Nodding at his words, I spoke on. “I know that, sir.” I told him. “I have the coin and it only really needs to be big enough for one person and some chests.”

“Do you know your letters boy?” The man asked me.

I nodded.

“And do you know what a contract is?” He asked then.

“I do.” I confirmed.

“Well, if you commission something to be crafted, something expensive then you'll need to sign a contract that says you will pay for what you commissioned.” He said to me. “You'll be legally bound by it, if you break it you'll be arrested.”

“I have the coin to pay for it.” I told him with assurance and after a moment of watching me, he nodded once and gestured to the chair my side of the desk.

I sat down and the man offered me his hand.

“I'm Marley, of Marley & Hill's. We're the best in town at what we do, I can promise you that, son.” Marley told me.

“I'm Al, sir.” I said shaking his hand. “And I came here because you were recommended.”

Marley nodded at my words, as if he was used to such things. He moved some of the papers around on his desk and set down several blank pieces.

“Are you any good at sketching, Al?” He asked me as he produced some charcoal pencils from a desk drawer.

“I uh, I don't know.” I admitted. “I've never really drawn much before.”

Marley waved a hand.

“Don't worry, son. I'm not after a masterpiece, just a rough sketch of what you think you might want. I'll help you with it and afterwards I'll see if we can come up with a design that will be something that can actually be made.” Marley explained.

And the two of us got to work.

There were things we discussed as we worked, specifics about what was expected of the travel carriage. I didn't know the exact measurements for my chests and would have to bring back their exact numbers later today but by showing him with my hands roughly what their size was was were able to come up with a design that would work.

It was small, which is what I had wanted.

It was so small in fact that it would be much cheaper than myself or Marley originally thought, it wouldn't take very long to make either.

I wasn't after anything grand and the when Marley had asked me about wheels and trims, what kind of roof I wanted and the interior furnishing, I had explained that I didn't need a lot of those things, that what I needed was function over beauty.

Marley told me that if I didn't actually care about what it looked like then, rather than starting from scratch with each new part, they could instead us some pre-made pieces which would cut down on the cost and time of making the travel carriage.

Even though the woods used would be slightly different in their colour the layer of varnishing that was used to treat the wood afterwards would make most of it look the same.

I would have to use my gold ingot though.

I wouldn't spend even a quarter of the coins I would get for it but, I still would need to exchange it because I didn't have enough coin to pay for it with what I had left in my pouch.

With the way the design was laid out, I would actually have room for four chests rather than three so the thought of buying a new chest did enter my head but I decided that I would think on the idea.

It would be at least a week before it was ready so I had that long to decide.

I ended up leaving and returning to the inn mid-morning with a length of marked cordage to measure my chests.

I picked up my last remaining ingot and headed out to exchange it for coin.

I had planned to head directly back to Marley & Hill's but the pouches of gold coins I was now carrying in my pockets made me feel like every thief in the town had eyes on me.

The fact that the grumpy trader's eyes had widened in amazement when I had returned with a full ingot of actual gold had set me on edge with my recent wealth.

Not for the first time, I worried over the amount of coin I had spent lately. I wasn't worried of the loss of wealth, which was nothing compared to what still lay in the mountain. No, I worried over any attention it might draw to me.

I was just glad that he didn't ask me where I had gotten it, I was pretty sure he had given me a lower price for my ingot than was strictly fair, but I had the coin I needed and plenty more to spare. I hadn't pressed the issue.

So I returned to the inn once more to put away what I didn't need.

After speaking with Jared and paying for another week, I went back to Marley & Hill's to return the cordage, give Marley the measurements and to put the down payment on the commissioned travel carriage.

When I showed up and offered to pay for the entire thing right then, Marley had refused me.

He said he would forgo the usual contract simply because he could plainly see that I had the coin for the carriage, he instead took half of the payment and adamantly refused to accept the rest until he could deliver on his side of the purchase.

He was clearly a man with a strong worth ethic and a sense of fairness.

He insisted on giving me a small tour of the work yard.

It was much as I had expected, covered lumbers were stacked and marked as they aged in the actual yard with only the occasional actual work taking place there.

Most of the real work took place in the large warehouse which was just a giant work shop.

He explained the process to me in simple terms and assured me that it was my right to come here at any time during open hours to check on the progress of my commission.

I found that with the design being so small and very basic that the it would only take them a few days to actually build it, but until they had finished their current projects, I would have to wait my turn.

Once a team was finished with a project, they moved onto the next one on the list until it was completed and the process happened again.

It would be tomorrow at the very earliest before one of the teams, who were currently hard at work in the warehouse, finished their current job and got around to looking at my travel carriage.

I had left Marley & Hill's after shaking Marley's hand once more and headed back towards the centre of town.

I kept trying to imagine exactly what it would look like once it was completed.

It was a very simple design, because it was going to be roofless, it was essentially a narrow version of a cart.

The width of it would be large enough to fit my chests in the short bed at the back, two chests would rest on the actual bed while a third, and possibly a fourth, would sit atop of them.

In front of the bed would be a bench seat that because of the size would be big enough for me and maybe a dog to sit on.

It was probably possible for two people to sit on the seat if they didn't mind being squashed up against each other but as it would only be me, it would be plenty wide enough.

Even though I still had the option to buy a fourth chest there was still something that did have to buy before the travel carriage was ready.

A horse.

Or at the very least, a mule.

The horse was clearly the better option as I planned the sell the horse afterwards but that was only if you didn't take into account that my experience with horses was not the best.

I could ride a horse, technically.

But I had been taught to sit on a horse and to be seen on it rather than about to truly ride it.

My uncle had ordered me to have lessons, those lessons were clinical things.

I learned about horse tack, how to put it on the horse and then how to get onto and stay on the horse.

My posture had to be perfect, I had to give sharp commands with a crop or my movements to horses that were already trained.

And that was it, so long as I had to appearance of being proficient at horsemanship then my uncle was satisfied. I wasn't allowed to continue riding horses though, the idea that it was something I might come to enjoy had been like anathema to Lord Hendrik, the idea that he might do something, however unintentional, that could benefit me or bring me joy seemed to make him sick.

My lessons had stopped once I could saddle, mount and then stay on a horse while it moved.

A mule, with their reputedly more placid natures appealed more to me, they were strong too. A mule could easily pull along the small travel carriage I had commissioned at, if not a fast pace, then at least a steady one.

They were much cheaper too.

I knew that there were some horses from special breeds that I would need a complete new GOLD ingot to buy. I had never seen one of those horses but I knew they existed, you could buy a hundred 'lesser', more common horses for that price.

A mule would be easy to take care of and I thought that a strong mule who could work hard could be welcomed at Diggin, where I hoped to be able to sell it eventually.

As I got closer and closer to the inn, I thought about asking Jared once more if he knew anywhere I could buy a mule but I decided that I wouldn't do any more shopping this day, at least not the kind that seemed more like work.

I had a week to wait and pretty much my entire time spent in Moreland's Rest had been spent doing errands.

I decided that would take a little time to relax while I waited but that was not to be, someone I recognised was waiting for me outside the inn.

***********************

I spotted the boy before he spotted me.

He looked almost completely different now.

I supposed anyone would look better after a good few meals, new clothes and not being covered in blood.

Seeing the boy close up though was different.

He looked, more... something.

I moved casually towards him and I saw it in his eyes when he recognised me.

They widened and I thought a slight look of panic appeared on his face before it smoothed out.

Miller loved that bit of power that being a guard gave him over everyone else.

He felt himself stand a little taller and a smirk playing on his own lips as he reached the boy.

I wasn't supposed to be here.

Though, I wasn't forbidden to be here either.

When I had heard that Captain Holt had released the boy without any trouble, I'd been annoyed.

The boy was obviously hiding something but the old man refused to speak about it.

Even Sal had given me one of those looks of his that meant 'Go away Miller'.

Fucking desert mongrel.

So what I was the youngest? It didn't mean they had the right to keep me in the dark.

Sure, the old man had rank but Sal was nothing but an intruder.

Who was he to tell Miller what to do?

Miller had been born and raised in Moreland's Rest and the fact the mongrel thought he was better than someone who belonged here was insulting.

If they wanted to try to keep him in the dark, he'd show them he could investigate on his own.

So he'd started looking into the boy himself.

He wished he'd followed the boy when he first left the guard house because it had taken him most of the next day to actually find the boy and that had only been by chance.

Keeping his distance had been easy, the boy was obviously not able to spot him because his skills at stealth were too great.

Once he had watched the boy return to the inn, knowing where he would always return to had made it easy to find him again, he'd spent his free time watching the boy.

He'd only been late for his shift a couple of times.

Watching were he went and what he did.

The boy had been spending coin like a wealthy noble.

It was just one more secret he would get out of 'Al' along with what really happened with the direwolf.

The three ladies and their guard had been able to tell him a few things about what the boy had brought back to the inn, the times he'd been stuck on shift.

Other than seeing him bring things back to the inn, they hadn't really been able to tell him anything worthwhile each time he had spoken to them.

I'd followed him to different places and gone back later or the next day to ask about the boy, it had taken some time and a few misses in trying to back track the boys movements but eventually I'd gotten something.

The old crone Ms Chapel who sold herbs hadn't told him anything about what the boy had bought or what he wanted.

She had told him to mind his own business but the senile old wench had let slip during her ranting about how she wouldn't sell out her customers, that Greyson the shop keeper had recognised that she was honourable in her trade.

That had sent him to the general store to see what information he could find.

He'd taken a different approach that time, rather than using his authority as a guardsman to demand answers from the shop keeper, he'd been casual about it and asked him if any younger people had spent a lot of coin there recently.

One boy had apparently and it had made him have to move up his time table, the boy had bought 'a fair amount for travelling, I suppose', according to Greyson.

“Al!” I said putting on my best smile. “We need to have a few more words with you before you leave.” I told him, putting a hand on his shoulder in what the idiot probably thought was a friendly gesture but was actually to make sure he didn't run.

I'd get answers from the boy before he tried to escape.

I'd scare the boy into talking or I'd beat them out of him if I had to.

Either way, I'd find out whatever his secrets were.

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****************

“Al!” The thin guard called Miller called out as he walked over to me, he seemed really pleased. And I knew just by looking into his eyes that he was up to something. “We need to have a few more words with you before you leave.” He told me as his hand set down on my shoulder.

I instantly felt trapped, something in my gut told me to get away from him right now. Swirls of thought had me almost reaching for magic, to violently remove him from my proximity.

The concentration it took to not do anything with magic had me freezing in place while I pushed the thoughts away.

The realisation that I stood in a busy street within the town and that besides myself and Miller being hurt, there were many townsfolk who could also be harmed by me if a stray thought took over.

“Miller.” I tried to greet him but it came out with my without a filter, my evident lack of enthusiasm apparent.

“We'll need to go somewhere a bit more private for the questions.” Miller told me, seeming to ignore my unintentional attitude slip towards him.

“The guard house?” I asked, wondering what was really going on. Captain Holt had said that I was free to go and as far as I knew I hadn't committed any crimes.

I was Miller shift slightly and look around before he spoke.

“No need for that, how about we go to your room? You have a room at this inn don't you?” Miller said with a tone to his voice I didn't understand but I definitely didn't like.

“I guess...” I said and moved forward, just to get his hand off my shoulder.

I walked through the doors to the inn and into the common room, it was empty apart from Jared who stood behind the bar with an older woman who I could only assume was his wife. The one who had provided such delicious food.

An idea struck me then.

I turned around to face Miller as he'd followed me in.

“We can talk here in the common room while we eat, the food is fantastic!” I said a little too loudly and with a forced cheerfulness.

I saw Miller's eyes glance quickly at the innkeeper and his wife before he spoke, both to me and to them.

“I'm sure it is but I've already eaten.” I said. “Besides this is private guardsman business, we need to some place we don't be interrupted or overheard.”

I could see it in his eyes that he knew what I'd tried to do but he'd ripped that away. I suspected so long as there were other people around, he would have to act civil but whatever he was planning, whatever it was I'd seen in his eyes outside would have free reign in private.

Looking over to Jared and his wife as he walked over to me, he set his arm over my shoulders in what he probably thought looked friendly, he guided me towards the stairs as he spoke. “Be sure we're not disturbed will you?” He said to the owners of the inn.

I had only enough time to meet Jared's eyes, hoping against hope that he could plainly see that something wasn't right as I silently mouthed to him two words.

I caught the edges of a frown on his wife's face before we were out of sight and heading up the stairs.

I thought about opening the only other room on my floor and going into there, rather than my own room but decided it wouldn't make much difference.

We entered my room and after moving passed the three neatly stacked chests that were against one wall, I turned to face Miller.

He was looking around at everything sharply.

His gaze was on the chests as he casually shut the room behind him.

I didn't miss him slide the lock shut either.

My unease intensified to something close to outright fear.

The only thing I had in my favour right now was that if it came down to it, I probably could use magic against him.

Being so enclosed like this, I knew meant, that I would likely hurt myself as much as Miller but there weren't any others close by.

“So.” Miller said casually. “Al.” as he took a few more steps and knocked a knuckle lightly against the top of the stacked chests. “What're you hiding in these?” He asked.

I took a second to try to order my thoughts, I had the feeling that the chests weren't that important to Miller, that it was just something to say, somewhere to start before he... tried whatever it was he was really planning.

“I'm not hiding anything in them.” I told him and he just raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose you don't mind me having a quick peak then do you? Make sure it isn't anything dangerous?” Miller smirked at me.

I shrugged.

I didn't really want him going through my things but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to try to stop him. He was a guardsman after all, he probably had the right to check them but that feeling in my gut told me that he wasn't here on official business.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the three small keys on a loop, I hesitated for a second before tossing them to him.

Miller caught them easily, still with that smirk on his face and his beady eyes glinting with something.

“Why don't you take a seat while I check these.” He said nodding to the bed, he paused in place making it clear that until I sat down he couldn't turn away from me.

I sat down and eyed the small sword on his belt.

Even when the four men had arrived at the scene with me and the direwolf. Fully armour and with more weapons, the idea of being alone in this room with Miller and just one weapon was more unsettling.

Nodding to himself slightly Miller started trying the identical keys on the top chest.

When he found the right one, he paused for a moment before swinging the lid over.

As he did, he looked at me sharply and it took a moment for me to realise he was looking for some kind of reaction.

His lips tightened slightly when I didn't react at all and I caught the edges of a frown as he turned his face back to look into the chest.

I hadn't reacted because I knew what was in that chest.

Mostly new and old clothes.

The oversized winter robe thing and the pack that had some things inside.

Nothing criminal, not even anything suspicious.

None of the chests had anything out of the ordinary in them, save that perhaps it was all a little much for a single person.

The only thing that might have been even slightly concerning to anyone were the casks of lamp oil in the bottom chest, but even they were packed right next to actual lamps.

I watched him frowning as he shuffled through the contents then opening the pack to check inside that too.

I just waited silently, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Eventually he closed the lid of the chest and giving me a glare but not speaking, he slid the big chest off the top of the stack. It thumped loudly onto the wooden floorboards of the small room and he went for the lock of the next one.

I knew that the inside of the first chest was now completely ransacked, Miller hadn't even bothered to lock the thing and while the fall hadn't even put a scratch on the chest, I hoped everything inside it was undamaged.

Opening the second chest and once more checking for my reaction, he spoke after looking inside for a moment.

“What the fuck are all these for?” Miller demanded of me.

The chest that contained mostly seeds and herbs, I honestly wouldn't have blamed him for being a little incredulous if it weren't for his obviously hostile attitude towards me.

“They're seeds so I'm going to plant for food” I told him truthfully, knowing he either wouldn't believe me or didn't want to.

He just stared at me for a moment before deliberately looking me in the eye as he pushed the heavier chest off the bottom chest once more.

It fell and hit the ground with an even louder bang this time, the now shifted weight so great that it actually stayed on its side once it hit the floorboards.

I got angry.

For a long time, the few things I had owned had never truly been mine.

At my family estate, my room could be invaded at any moment, reached for seemingly no other reason than to wake me up in the middle of the night, or just to make sure I knew that my 'retreat' was also under my uncle's power.

I had escaped and now this town bully, was ransacking my things.

My things.

For the first time in a long time they were truly my things.

I got angry like I hadn't in a very long time, it felt like a beast was trying to claw it's way out of my chest.

“What are you doing?” I yelled at Miller and moved forward towards the mess he had made, and in Miller's eyes, towards him. “You're destroying everything!”

I should have expected what came next, I truly should have.

I think that this was a more accurate representation of the saying 'blinded by anger'.

I was angrily looking at the mess he had made when he swung his fist at me.

I was suddenly sitting on the ground with a fresh feeling of pain.

“LISTEN TO ME YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Miller screamed at me as he stalked forwards, nothing but hate on his face now. “I AM A GUARD, I CAN DO WHAT I WANT! YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE HIDING!”

As I dumbly looked at the blood on my hand, a sure sign that the lip I had just touched was now split open, Miller's booted foot smashed into my shin.

I hissed with the pain as I clutched at the shin.

“WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?” I managed to shout out at him.

Miller tried to kick my other shin but I pulled back at the last second, his foot, obviously expecting to impact something instead swung up into the air.

It made him stumble off balance and he had to make flailing awkward movements with both of his arms.

I saw his eyes as he towered above me and I knew what came next.

I'd seen it before back at the estate.

If there is one thing a man like Miller hates more than being made to look a fool, no matter how slightly, it was being made to look a fool by his own actions.

He screamed at me incoherently as he dove on top of me.

He had been just a little to close and I, just a little to late to kick my legs up to try to knock him back.

I did manage to get my arms up to try to protect my head though.

It felt like the second I raised them they became numb, as Miller's rage fuelled blows hammered down, trying to get to my face.

A few of the blows managed to get and I felt my face throb in pain.

“-WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING!” Miller's screaming voice faded in and out.

Another blow got through.

“-WHAT YOU'RE FUCKING HIDING?” Miller continued to scream.

Something inside me changed.

“-ALL THAT FUCKING COIN!” From Miller.

It was as if a small part of me, deep inside, something that had been soft, something that was supposed to have been protected and nurtured had suddenly froze.

“-INK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?” Miller's screams were becoming fainter to me.

It retracted, coiled up on itself and twisted into a hard knot of steel.

I suddenly didn't care any more.

I didn't care if I got hurt, I didn't care if Miller died and I didn't even care if anyone else was hurt.

I was sick of living like this.

No more.

No more.

I roared with my own fury and the sound was shocking enough to Miller that he paused for just an instant.

My hands were already moving, my palms slapped onto his face, my fingers curled to grip it.

Then he burned.

His previous scream of fury was now one of pain, confusion and horror.

I kept my grip on him even when the wooden door to my room splintered open.

Even though I was the one pinned under Miller, I was the one bleeding and ragged.

“STOP THIS!” Roared Captain Holt and the volume in the small room was almost deafening.

I was the one in control now, I didn't let go.

It wasn't until Captain Holt and Sal dragged Miller off of me that contact was broken with him.

I was more angry than I had ever felt in my life and it was as if lightening was running through me.

I got to my feet and roared back just as loud.

“GET THAT THING-” I roared pointing at Miller, who was slumped over and whimpering. “OUT OF MY ROOM!”

Captain Holt looked like he was going to say something that I knew I would make him regret.

Even in my rage, I could guess what he saw.

A bloody and beaten boy, throwing a tantrum of some kind and so my next words were ones to let him know just how serious I was.

H bore him no ill will but there was much more going on here than he or even Miller knew.

In a cold and quiet voice, words that were a promise, an almost whispered death sentence from my lips, I spoke.

“If I see him again.” I looked Captain Holt directly in the eyes as I spoke in my quite tone. “I will kill him.”

Captain Holt just looked back at me with his blue gaze as a silence held between us.

A moment.

Then another.

Then he looked away, to Sal, who was trying to pull Miller to his feet.

“Get Miller downstairs, send for Glenn.” Holt said. “See if he can do anything about his face...” Holt trailed off, hearing his own doubt, his own lack of faith that Miller's face could be fixed.

I had to turn away as Sal dragged Miller, still whimpering, from the room.

Not because of the sight of it, or because I didn't want to look.

No.

It was because I could feel magic all around me.

It was rushing around the very air, it was almost synchronized with the vortex within me.

My hands were clenched into fists at my sides as I faced the small window that I wasn't really seeing.

I felt it when Holt took a step towards me, I actually felt it happen behind me.

“Don't.” I spoke the single word and I felt Holt stop.

“Lad...” Holt began to say but I cut him off.

“Holt.” I said and my voice was strained. “There is magic here.” I started to explain. “It's rushing all around me right now and I'm not in control of it.”

I didn't see but instead felt Holt's caution emanate out from him as he stayed still behind me.

“Is there anything I can-” Holt spoke calmly after a moment.

“No.” I cut him off. “I don't know if I can even do anything about it. Just... Stay back, don't come closer. I don't know what could....” I trailed off, my eyes closing as I tried to stop the swirling vortex within, in hopes that the one beyond would settle too.

I stood for a long time, I vaguely heard Sal's deep voice as he and Captain Holt had a hushed but low conversation behind me.

I didn't hear much but I did catch that Sal thought the Captain needed to talk to three women in the common room.

I eventually managed to block out as much outside sensation as I could, the pain, the sounds behind me and the more muffled ones coming from below.

Ever so slowly, the vortex within receded.

Receded back to what I had considered 'normal' since it had taken it's place in my mind.

Not gone, still ever-present but rather slightly muted, lower down in a deeper place.

I waited for a long time before eventually I sat down hard on the floor as the vortex around me stilled.

“Lad?” Captain Holt's voice came from being me, cautious but questioning.

I just nodded once without turning around.