by C A A Allen
Dread pushed the explosive back. “There are some chests in the Maze that will baffle even the most skilled of thieves. Chests so well fortified that your team will have to leave them down there unopened. You’ll always be haunted with the thought of what could have been in it.”
“That’s a good point,” I said. “And as far as magic users go, only a foolish questing captain would waste their precious spell prowess to open a chest.”
“A chest-buster can make you a hero, my man,” Dread said. “When a chest’s lock is too difficult, or time consuming for your thief to crack, the chest-buster will come in handy. These explosives deliver a strong and precise blast with minimum noise. Just place it on the chest and pull the string. Our chest-busters will blow the lock clean off that thing with no harm to the treasures inside. For five gold coins you can be your team’s hero.”
The man smoothed his mustache. “Since you put it that way, I’ll take one.”
“Just one?” I tossed a second in the air and caught it.
His eyes followed the movement, but he shook his head. “Just one today.”
As he walked away, I toyed with the explosive. “Our fathers’ greatest invention. Uncle Mack does a great job of crafting these things. We’ve made a whole lot of gold off of this product right here.”
“Our fathers’ great invention won’t be making us gold for much longer,” Dread said. “Our inventory has never been this low before. If your dad’s connection doesn’t come through with more huo-yao soon, we are going to be out of business.”
“Let’s not count on my father for any more huo-yao. We can find someone else to buy it from.” Frankly, we couldn’t count on my dad for anything. He was the most unreliable man in Broxington.
“The store in Trosworth is our only alternative,” Dread said. “If Moe has it in stock, he charges three hundred gold coins per sack.”
“But my dad gets those same sacks for thirty! Moe buys our chest-busters from you for re-sale. He should give us the supplier discount.”
“I do have a good rapport with Moe, but he does not do discounts on huo-yao. If your father doesn’t come through, we’re sunk.”
It wasn’t my fault that my father left us hanging. I’d wasted too many hours arguing with him to get it together and to deliver. It was up to him to hold his end of a bargain.
But this situation wouldn’t bring me down. Not today. This was my day.
I scooted out of our door and took a long look up the road. “The questers should be here any time now.”
Dread peered out the shop window standing on his tiptoes. “I’m looking forward to this too, Raff. Hey, hey look at this boy over here.” He pointed to a shifty juvenile jumping up and down in the crowd. “You ready to get some coins, Malin? I’m watching you boy.”
Malin jumped on another boy’s shoulders and stretched out a butterfly net. “Look at this, Dread!” The two boys teetered from side to side, whacking into people along the road. “I’m going to break your coin catching record this year. You just watch me.”
Dread’s mouth dropped. “Oh, that can’t be done, young Malin! The only thing you’re going to break is your back when you fall.”
“Remember getting excited like that on quester return day?” I asked. “We caught more coins than any kid in town.” Now that we had the buster shop, catching coins was child’s play.
Dread laughed and nodded. “Those were some good times. We would come up big. No sign of the questers yet. Where are they?”
I leaned a shoulder against the shop. “Since when have you been so excited about the quester’s return? I thought you didn’t like the university’s team.”
Dread pulled a betting slip from his pocket. “I got a whole lot of gold bet on their death over-under number at the Skepp.”
Dread and I placed a lot of death over-under bets. It was the most popular wager made on questing teams. The odds maker critiqued one’s team as a whole, and predicted how many members would die on their run in the Maze. Gamblers wagered that the actual number would be either higher or lower than the number the odds maker set.
“What’s the university’s number?” I asked.
“Four.” Dread ran his fingers across his betting slip. “Word is, the Maze has been dishing out an unhealthy dose of death on all questers entering it lately. I hope to make some gold on that inside information. This is going to be the big one, cousin.”
“Look!” shouted a member of the crowd. “Look at the tree tops! Here they come everyone! Here comes the university’s team!”
CHAPTER 3
I kicked over a crate and stepped on top of it to get a better view. Just as I got steady the questing university team convoy burst through an opening in the forest. The crowd roared and jammed the road leading to our Village Square.
“Yaaaaaaa!” I unleashed a primal call. “They here, Dread! They here!”
The first vessel was an elaborate four-wheeled open carriage pulled by two horses. It contained all of the team’s senior questers. Three black and gold flags of death whipped in the chilly breeze. The team’s senior fighter, a large man wearing plate armor, stood tall from the high outside box seat next to the driver. He thrust his fists up, nodded, and smiled as the crowd began to overrun the road.
“How many flags, Raff?” Dread clutched his betting slip like a lifeline. “How many flags?”
I hated the break the news to him, but it wasn’t the first time he lost a bet. And it wouldn’t be the last. “Only three. Looks like they had a clean run.”
He grabbed my sleeve. “How many did you say?”
“Just three.” The carriage rolled by with the crunch of wheels on grit. A reflection of sun off gold hit my eyes. “Dread, you got to see how much treasure they hauled in. Come look at this.” Maybe a distraction would help soften the news.
Dread tossed both hands in the air. “Oh hell no! The death over-under at the Skepp was four. Damn, damn, damn!” He ripped the slip in half, threw the pieces to the floor, and then jumped up and down on them. “I needed that payout really bad too.”
The second wagon was a tall, two-story wooden structure pulled by a team of four horses. The lower room was covered on all sides, and had portholes from which archers could fire in times of trouble. The higher room was open, and acted as a platform where several treasure chests sat displaying various coins, mainly glittering gold. It was crowded with the team’s younger members, some sat with legs dangling over the edge, others stood waving. As per tradition, they all tossed silver pennies to the cheering horde.
One day I would be riding on top of that wagon. I would stand right in the front, dig my hand deep into the treasure, and then rain down coins on all the kids. Over at the Skepp I’d buy out the bar for a whole night, drinks on me. I’d probably purchase a real nice gold bracelet for Vixenett too. She’d love it.
A mob of children scrambled through the crowd in pursuit of a coin elusively rolling on its edge. An elderly woman got knocked down and shook her fist at them. Others got trampled as the swarm twisted through the bystanders.
Dread joined me on top of the crate, gripping the shop roof for balance. “Get your coins kids! I see you!” He then turned his attention to the questers throwing out the currency and started heckling. “Why don’t you ho’s throw out some of those gold coins for a change? Ya cheap bastards!”
“If they start throwing out gold I’m pushing you away and diving in,” I said.
Dread clinched his fist. “I would have the gold in my clutch long before you got your hands on me.”
Two mules brought the third and final vessel into view. The crowd went wild with cheers and sounds of awe. The flatbed wagon held a cage containing two pitch-black hellhounds, no doubt headed for Questing University’s menagerie of Cave Maze monsters. The muscular beasts thrashed around the cage in a crazed rage. They wore muzzles, but still managed to spit scorching flames through them to the crowd’s delight. One quester’s belette got too close to the hound’s fiery breath and l
et out a high pitched screech.
“Ha, ha!” Dread mocked. “That sniffer got its tail burnt up.”
“Better its tail than its sensitive nose.”
The team convoy rolled to a stop in the middle of Village Square. One of their magic users held a finger up and shot a firework out of it into the air. The multicolored globe burst into sparkling flakes that blew wildly in the wind. A few of the big flakes fluttered down to the ground where several children made an incredible effort to snatch a souvenir. One small flake drifted nearby. I took a swipe at it, lost my balance, but righted myself.
Dread shook his head. “See?”
See what? Didn’t everyone like souvenirs?
With a crack of the coachman’s whip the convoy once again rolled on to the stage.
A rider on horseback broke off from the procession and headed toward our shop front.
Dread tapped my shoulder. “Here comes the university’s buyer. I think it’s my man Joe.” He rubbed his hands together. “Yes, yes it is. It’s my man Joe Vega. I’m in good with this guy. We should have a purchase right here. Jump down Raff.”
Joseph was a scruffy, behemoth of a man with black hair and a thick, tightly twisted gray beard. A known hard fighter and questing veteran, he had been a part of the team for as long as I could remember. He came to an abrupt stop that kicked a cloud of dirt our direction.
Dread coughed and wiped dirt from his eyes. “Hello Joe.”
Joseph stared at Dread from atop his horse. “I am going to need a dozen explosives.”
“We only have three in stock,” Dread said. “How did the Maze treat you—”
“Give me the three then!” Joseph shoveled fifteen loose gold coins from his pocket. A few bounced off of Dread’s hand to the ground. “The Cave Maze was very good to me. I need to place an order for nine more explosives, I will pick them up on my way out of town in seven days.”
Dread paused for a moment. “Um, I can do that, but I will need you to pre-pay at ten gold each.”
Joseph clenched his fists. “Ten?” He shuffled through his things and dropped a small gold-filled bag down to Dread. “Very well then, but you two better not disappoint.”
Gold to pay rent. My spirits rose when that bag hit Dreads hand. Ninety gold would put us at one hundred ten for the day, making this the most profitable single day we ever had. My cut would be plenty enough to pay rent.
Dread smiled as he examined the bag’s contents. “Trust me, we won’t disa—”
Joseph jumped down from his horse, put Dread in a strangle hold, and held a long thin dagger to his throat. “You a silly little thief. I don’t trust no one, especially a Jenkins.”
I took a step back toward the bench seat where Dread kept two poison-tipped shuriken throwing spikes. I wasn’t as accurate as him with the weapon, but at this distance, an overhead throw would land true.
Joseph pushed Dread away and pointed the blade at him. “You have my gold, and I absolutely must have the explosives in seven days. I’ll pick them up on my way out of town at sunrise.” He pointed the blade at me, and then slid it nearly across his throat. “You two do know that I am all business, right? Play games with me and I will kill you both. There will be no questions asked, and no excuses listened to. I will slit both of your throats, then sit down to some hot sop in the morning.”
Joseph’s eyes opened wide as if a sudden rush of ice water ran through his veins. “Then, then I am going to have my real pretty wench bring me a chalice filled to the brim with top shelf honey wine, and there won’t be no thoughts in my head of what I did to you two. So don’t even think about hustling me. I’m back in seven days.”
Joseph mounted his horse. Dread handed him our final three chest-busters in inventory. He snatched them and rode toward the stage.
“You call that being “in good” with the guy?” I tossed the spikes back in the bench seat.
“He was a bit skittish.” Dread rubbed the back of his head.
“He was just about to receive a couple spikes to the belfry. I just need to know one thing Dread. Are you sure your dad can have nine busters ready by the time this fool comes back?”
Dread wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead and sat on the bench. “My father can have them ready, but we only have enough huo-yao for three full-strength busters.”
I rubbed my neck in thought of Joseph’s threat. “But you just promised nine.”
Dread sprung up with his index finger raised. “What I could do is have Joe’s order cut real light, light enough to stretch the huo-yao out to the nine we need for the order.”
“We can’t pull that off! They won’t be powerful enough to put a dent in a Cave Maze chest. Joseph and Questing University will never buy from us again when they find out the explosives are bogus.” I removed the stick holding up the window panel and let it slam closed.
Dread returned the now empty chest back into the bench seat and replaced the slat. “Well your father’s supplier of huo-yao has had absolutely nothing lately. According to Moe the hags have been buying up every last sack they can get their filthy hands on, and they buy regardless of price. The cost of huo-yao at Moe’s is probably even higher than three hundred gold coins per sack now. We don’t have nearly enough gold for that.”
“We should think this over cousin. Joseph in not only the university’s buyer, he’s also a professor there. I’m probably going to have some interaction with him when I’m enrolled, he might even teach a class I’m going to be in.” This was exactly what I strove to get away from. Living the life of a scammer who constantly feared a knife in the back. Hustling people this way had caused my family to be ridiculed for years. It was a stigma that was all going to change starting with me enrolled in the university.
“Is that all you ever think about Raff? The university this, the university that. Damn! I got another plan that will keep you in the good graces of your so-called institute of higher learning.”
We stepped outside the shop. Dread locked the door, reset the booby trap and faced me. “I recently made a foolproof bet at the Skepp that’s going to pay off real big. With the gold we just received from Joe, and my bet’s payoff, we should have enough to purchase a sack of huo-yao from Moe. Then we’ll be able to fulfill the order at full strength. We’ll even have huo-yao remaining to make more inventory.”
“So our futures, and throats, ride on one of your bets Dread?” He might’ve been my best friend, but sometimes I wanted to kick him in the neck. Was he really going to rely on a bet for this? Again? Hadn’t he learned his lesson? “What did you make this so-called foolproof bet on anyway?”
Dread smacked his lips. “I can’t tell you cousin, I don’t want to jinx it.”
“Well my foolproof way to stack up gold is to win this scholarship,” I said. “Once I graduate from the university I’m almost guaranteed a spot on that team. Did you see those overflowing chests? All those questers come back with a healthy share of gold.”
“Or dead.” Dread laughed.
“Do you think I’m going to win this scholarship cousin?”
Dread pulled a betting slip from his pocket. “Hmm, let me see.”
THE SKEPPERS PUB:
ODDS TO WIN THE GIOVANNI MONDOVI SCHOLARSHIP .
Raff Jenkins / 2 - 1 / Age: 18
(Human Male - Fighter)
Weapon of choice: Short sword.
*Is an undefeated 16-0 in amateur competition.
*Has not faced competition outside of Beeston.
*Has yet to face the competition in Rettingham.
Chazekiel Manor / 3 - 1 / Age: 18
(Human Male - Fighter)
Weapon of choice: Two-handed claymore.
*Is 19-2 in amateur competition.
*Is 5-0 against competition in Rettingham.
*Only losses came at the hands of Raff Jenkins.
Zombo Packer / 4 - 1 / Age: 17
(Human Male - Magic User)
*80% execution rate on strike type spell.
*20%
execution rate on heal type spell.
*Magic users have won 3 of the 4 scholarships.
Tigress Moet / 8 - 1 /Age: 18
(Half Elf Female - Fighter)
Weapon of choice: Duel trident daggers.
*Is 13-3 in amateur competition.
*All three loses due to archery bull’s-eye misses.
*No female has ever won the scholarship.
Hornsby Shady / 30 - 1 /Age: 16
(Human Male - Thief)
Weapon of choice: Bo-shuriken throwing spikes.
*Is 7-2 in amateur competition.
*Won chest opining competition in Rettingham.
*No thief has ever won the scholarship.
Mortimer Crier / 75 - 1 /Age: 16
(Human Male - Fighter)
Weapon of choice: War scythe pollaxe.
*Is 8-1 in amateur competition.
*Will benefit from his senior year.
*Only loss came to a senior fighter in Rettingham.
Paganus / 100 - 1 /Age: 15
(Human Male - Fighter)
Weapon of choice: Buford stick.
*Is 4-0 in amateur competition.
*Will benefit from more experience.
*His unconventional weapon raises concern.
Odds subject to change.
CHAPTER 4
Dread flicked the betting slip. “You just asked an expert at the art of predicting this kind of stuff. I’ve been following the odds on the Skepp’s tote board every day. Let me get you familiar with your competition. The odds makers basically have the Davi going to you, Tigress, Zombo or that worthless bastard Chaz.”
My cousin loved to break down this stuff. I was already very familiar with my competition. Tigress, Chaz, and I all graduated from Beeston Abbey last year, with Zombo doing the same just days ago. I’d let Dread continue though. This should be good.
“Tigress is at eight-to-one. She got it bad because she’s mixed, and although I appreciate her sexy half-elfness, the university don’t. A non full-blood human has never won the scholarship, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”
