1.11

“Thank you all so much.” The older guard with the bald head came over to the group. He squatted next to Hank and ruffled his hair. He looked up to the group, his eyes red.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with him.” He approached the group and shook their hands. “Name’s Bob. Captain of our town guard, and Hank’s father.”

“There’s gonna be a lot of unhappy folk around here Bob, some may not be so forgiving.” Glayda growled and joined the group. “Are you gonna pay for everything he’s done?”

“I’ll manage. I don’t know how, but I will.” Bob looked down at his son once again, a single tear rolled off his chin and hit the ground with a heavy splash.

“People died Bob. I bet there’ll be some kind of town meeting soon. Hopefully we can avoid an angry mob.” Glayda put a hand on Bob’s shoulder.

“I can only beg they don’t drive us out.”

Fenrick crouched down and revealed the glowing symbol underneath Hank’s hair.

“This is the cause of his more violent tendencies as of late.”

“What is it?” Bob asked.

“Mark of the Thrall,” explained Mamzo. “It became common toward the end of the war. It’s a powerful spell. The one who gave the mark can essentially control Hank if they wished. Most of the time, they’d just let him run amok. It amplifies whatever violent thoughts he may have.” The weight in his voice was personal.

“Can he be fixed?” Bob asked.

“Sure. Wielders of powerful magic. Or if the one who gave him the mark was killed.”

“Well, surely someone at one of the Academies will do it. Or a cleric somewhere?” said Bodwyn.

“Whoever does it will want a lot of money. Whatever components or foci that may be needed won’t be cheap. And its pretty powerful, so there could be some kind of backfire on the one trying to break the spell.”

“I can use my retirement money.” Bob got up and made to walk off.

“What about the money you’ll owe all of Cobbleson?” Glayda asked. Bob stood still and shuddered.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“How much have you got?” Sharampf rifled through her coin pouch.

“Eight hundred gold pieces. It may not seem like a lot, but I’ve worked bloody hard for that money.”

“That won’t be anywhere near enough to cover for the spell,” said Fenrick. He headed over toward Tad and lifted off a heavy sack. He walked over to Glayda and dropped the sack with a thump.

“What’s that for?” Glayda asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s twelve and a half thousand gold pieces. That should cover the damages caused by Hank. I also want it used for boarding for a little elf girl by the name of Eleanor. She has a pet rat named Scibbs. Her parents are dead. She needs to be looked after.” Fenrick’s flat tone startled everybody.

“Don’t do that, you’re only a stranger in this town. I couldn’t let you do that.” Bob walked over and lifted the gold with effort and tried to give it back to Fenrick.

“Are you sure, Fenrick? That’s a lot of money.” The pain in Bodwyn’s voice was apparent to only himself.

“I’ve never seen that much either,” said Sharampf.

“I’ll help look after her, train her up.” Mamzo put his hand on Fenrick’s shoulder and gave a little grin.

“Wait, you’re not coming?” asked Bodwyn. “But you’re good at fighting. And you have some cool magic items.”

“No. This is where I want to be, for now. A quiet life in a small town.” Mamzo grinned as he spoke.

“I’ll look after her,” said Glayda. She picked up the sack of gold with ease and had one of her staff carry it out into the back room.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not giving any of my money,” Bodwyn huffed. He crossed his arms and turned his head away.

“It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got.” Sharampf handed the five gold coins to Glayda.

“Look lass, you don’t have to do that, he’s given plenty.” Glayda jerked her thumb at Fenrick.

“No, I insist. I don’t need it. I can always get more.” Sharampf gave a cheeky look at Bodwyn. She made sure he heard every word.

“You’re making me look bad,” complained Bodwyn. He grabbed his money pouch and handed it to Glayda. “That’s forty pieces there.” Bodwyn turned away before Glayda could say anything.

“That’s a mighty thing you three have done for the town. You’re welcome to stay here for free whenever you like,” chuckled Glayda.

“Seriously?” asked Bodwyn.

“Of course. Although you’re only welcome to one drink and one meal for free, no matter how long you stay.” Glayda laughed as Bodwyn’s ears fell behind his head.

“I’m absolutely beat, I could use a rest now,” Sharampf yawned.

“Bob, Bob, there’s a fire starting to spread. We need to stop it before it’s too late.” One of the guards that had disappeared earlier had returned.

“Come on Tad, let’s go.”

Tad quickly extinguished the blaze and when everyone had started to feel a little relaxed, the group returned to The Cracked Cauldron for some much-needed rest.

Glayda quickly waived the one drink rule for the night for the group. The tavern was rowdy and cheerful, and as people retired for the night, Mamzo went and found Ellie.

“Hey kid, c’mon. We’ve got somewhere nicer for you to stay. Glayda and I are gonna look after you.”

“And Scibbs too?” The rat sat on her shoulder and squeaked at Mamzo.

“Yeah, the little blighter can come.” Mamzo flashed a smile, and the child ran at him and gave him a huge hug.

“All that money. All of it. So much. Gone!” Bodwyn waved at the air. “What are we gonna do?”

“We’ll figure that out in time. First, let’s sleep.”