Suited for Luck

by Daniel Schinhofen

“Breakfast and other business. It’s been a busy day already,” Doc replied. “We can go when you finish the pint.”

  Rangvald laughed before tipping the mug back and draining it in one long gulp. Belching, he thunked the mug onto the table and got to his feet. “Done. Let’s get to business.”

  “Need to go by the bank first,” Doc said. “Business account to open.”

  Rangvald nodded, “A good idea. That way, I don’t have to find you every time we need more supplies. You’re good with setting up for the initial equipment today?”

  “Yes. Well, actually, you’ll be doing it. I know very little about running a successful claim.”

  “You’re very trusting,” Rangvald grunted as they left the Lily. “Is it true about the blood oath?”

  Doc glanced at him, “Where did you hear about that?”

  “Otto.”

  “Yes.”

  “Can’t very well cheat you now, now can I? My step-niece’s oath given back to the family instead of being exploited deserves to be acknowledged. Besides the offer you gave me, the fact that you respect us enough to do what you did demands I help repay the debts. Both of them.”

  “I did it because she is a young lady who shouldn’t throw her life away,” Doc replied. “I don’t fully understand the idea of the blood oath, but I do know that trouble is going to come for me and I’d feel like shit if she got caught in it, too.”

  Rangvald nodded slowly, “That only makes the debts worse for us. The fact you did so to spare her…”

  “I can’t get away from the debt?”

  “Afraid not. It would dishonor the family and clan,” Rangvald said. “I have seven men lined up to start with. Once we get there and see what we really have to work with, I can easily get another dozen or more with the prices you’re willing to pay.”

  “Good. I need it to be a profitable mine by next month.”

  “Want the buy-in for the yearly tournament?”

  “For starters,” Doc replied.

  ~*~*~

  Doc got the accounts set up with the bank. Rangvald would be allowed to deposit into Doc’s account and withdraw on the business account with no problems. Once they were finished with that, the two men went their separate ways. Doc headed back to the Lily while Rangvald went to order the equipment they’d need for the mine. Pausing on the way, Doc sighed and changed direction.

  “Welcome. Came for a different gun?” Blackbeard asked when he noticed it was Doc.

  “Need something for bears and other big threats,” Doc said.

  “I figured you might be back for that eventually,” Blackbeard nodded. “I’d suggest the Express if you want stopping power. It’s rumored to be able to put down even a charging se’sxac.”

  “Good, need something that will,” Doc said. “What’s it cost?”

  “Hundred.”

  Doc winced, “Okay, I’ll be back for it in time.”

  “I should still have it unless someone else comes in for it.”

  “I had thought it would cost twenty to forty, honestly... maybe up to sixty.”

  “The cost went up because I purchased it and made it better. More accurate now than when I got it, and I’ve made sure the sight on it is centered and ready to go. Comes with a box of ammo and the leather carrying case.”

  “No need to upsell it,” Doc said, “I’m going to need it. I’ve heard there’s a se’sxac in the woods near here and I don’t want it to find me without the big gun.”

  “Smart man.”

  “Be a couple of days, but I’ll come back to pick it up.”

  “Didn’t you win third in the tournament I heard about?”

  “Spent that already. Setting up a claim costs a good chunk of cash.”

  Blackbeard eyed him for a long moment. “You’re the one, then, are you?”

  “The one?” Doc asked while a clip from an old sci-fi show ran through his head. “I’m not the one, I don’t think.”

  “Speak with Rangvald today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Eighty for you, instead of the hundred,” Blackbeard said. “I’ve heard what you’ve done for the clan’s honor. All of us in the clan have. We’re a little shocked a human would be so understanding, honestly.”

  “Didn’t know being a respectful person was so rare.”

  “The people in this town are a bit… segmented.”

  “Racist, you mean? Bigoted and idiotic, perhaps?” Doc offered bluntly.

  Blackbeard gave a shrug, “I wouldn’t say it that way.”

  “But it’s true from what I’ve seen.”

  “Not all, but those with a vested interest with the status quo are not moving to change anything.”

  “Maybe things will change in the future,” Doc said.

  “Could be, could be,” Blackbeard mused. “I know a couple of people who are going to be looking to talk to you in the near future.”

  “Oh?”

  “Whittaker doesn’t care about helping us, and Henrick can’t do as much as she likes to let on.”

  “Sure, as long as they can keep it secret.”

  “It’s not going outside the clan. We’d dishonor the entire clan if you were found out because of us.”

  “I don’t mind helping people in need. If they can find time to pray to Lady Luck, that would be good.”

  “A number of the clan already are after hearing about you saving one of ours.”

  “Maybe my faith will increase,” Doc muttered under his breath. “I’ll be back in a day or two to pick up the rifle.”

  “I’ll put it aside for you. It’ll be here,” Blackbeard said.

  “Thank you.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Doc let out a shuddering breath as he felt the last moments of orgasm fade. “Fuck, that’s a great way to wake up.”

  Fiala and Lotus giggled at him, each kissing one of his thighs. “Wanted to make sure you’re remembering what you’ll be missing when you’re away,” Fiala told him.

  “Not likely to forget that anytime soon,” Doc sighed after noticing the first hints of daylight coming in the window. “Didn’t get much sleep, did I?”

  “Not a lot, but you wanted us to wake you,” Lotus smiled as she got out of bed. “Winning the tournament was worth it, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but that last guy just didn’t want to go away,” Doc sighed when Fiala got out of bed, too. “I did my best to kill the tournament early this time.”

  “And did a job of it,” Fiala snickered. “You didn’t make any friends, that’s for certain. Before I came to bed, Cassia told me you’d accounted for half of the people who were knocked out.”

  “I hate playing aggressive like that,” Doc grumbled. “Feels like being the school bully.”

  “I’ll go grab—” Lotus began, but the knock on the door cut her off. Peeking out, she gave Posy a smile, “Thank you.”

  “I’ll go get breakfast ready for you three,” Posy said before bouncing off.

  “I have the water,” Lotus chuckled. “She’s been devoted to making sure you have everything you need, hasn’t she?”

  “Even before he saved Daf,” Fiala nodded. “Doc, you clean up first.”

  Pushing himself out of bed, Doc stretched when his feet hit the floor. “Ah, that feels good. I actually feel pretty rested.”

  “Looks pretty good, too,” Lotus murmured.

  “Agreed,” Fiala nodded sagely.

  “Enjoy the show, ladies,” Doc chuckled as he took the kettle from Lotus.

  Doc pulled up his character information while he got dressed. While he gave it a lookover, he noticed a blinking tab. Toggling to it, he found his faith had increased enough to let him pick up another gift from Luck. He slowed down getting dressing to look over what he could purchase with his current faith total.

  “Doc?” Fiala asked.

  Doc closed the information down, blinking as he did so, “Huh?”

  “You going to finish?”

  “Yeah,” Doc said, quickly finishing
getting dressed in his travel clothes and grabbing his trail hat. “Sorry.”

  When they made it down to the private dining room, Doc was grateful that Lia had continued to let them use it for meals. The room didn’t seem to get any use besides him. He was still chewing over the options he had looked at when he took his seat.

  “Thank you,” Doc said absently as he took the cup of coffee from Fiala.

  “You’re lost again,” Fiala said as she handed Lotus a cup.

  “The amount of faith in Luck has increased, and it allows me to pick up a new gift from her,” Doc said. “I’ve been thinking over what to get.”

  “Is that because of the dwarves who’ve stopped by to speak with you?”

  “Partially. Also because of everyone here,” Doc replied. “The more people who have faith in her, the more I can do.”

  “Which we can’t let others know about until you have a place of worship,” Lotus said.

  “Correct.”

  Posy entered the room with three fully-laden plates. “You must be careful so you come back, sir. Promise?”

  Doc smiled at her earnest face, “I can’t promise, Posy, but I’ll do my very best.”

  Posy frowned and curtsied, “Okay. Will Tony and Joseph be okay?”

  “They’ll be working at the camp, so they’ll be as safe as or safer than the miners.”

  “Okay,” Posy said, leaving the room.

  “Worried for her friends,” Lotus smiled, “like we are.” She rubbed Doc’s thigh.

  “It should be fine.”

  “But the woodfolk...” Lotus said with a hint of anxiousness to her voice.

  “Only one I’m really worried about is the se’sxac,” Doc said. “It’s why I bought that big-ass rifle.”

  “There’s a dryad rumored to live near the town,” Lotus said earnestly. “You’re lucky she left you alone when you were out last time. With a group, it’s not a problem, but lone travelers need to be wary.”

  Fiala began to eat her breakfast, not correcting Lotus.

  Doc cleared his throat, “Not sure I’ll have any trouble with her, but I’ll be sure to keep my guard up.”

  “Good. We’d like you back safely.”

  Lia entered the room as they were finishing breakfast. “Oh good, I wasn’t sure if you had left yet.”

  “What can I do for you?” Doc asked once he swallowed his last bite.

  “I have an item I’d like you to give to Rosa, if you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all. What do you need me to do?”

  Lia produced a small chunk of bright yellow amber. “Just give this to her, please.”

  Doc took the amber and felt a soft warm pulse coming from it. Blinking in surprise, he quickly pocketed it. “Will do. I’m sure I’ll be seeing her on the way back from camp.”

  Lotus frowned. She wondered what they were talking about while Fiala was curious about what the amber was, but neither of them interrupted.

  “Thank you. If she has anything in return, please bring it back.”

  “Of course,” Doc said as he got to his feet. “Need to get my guns and head out.”

  “Madam,” Fiala said, “I think Lotus can run the morning table today.”

  Lotus looked a little surprised, “Really?”

  “Yes, and Jasmine can do it tomorrow.”

  “Good. I want you to pick another two and start teaching them today,” Lia smiled. “Lotus, you and Jasmine will be trading off the morning shift for the next week.”

  “Yes, Madam,” Fiala and Lotus said together.

  Doc gave Lotus a wink before giving Fiala a kiss. “See you when I get back.”

  “Stay safe,” Lotus said.

  “Come back to me,” Fiala added.

  “I'll do my damnedest.”

  ~*~*~

  Arriving at the livery, Doc gave Rangvald a slap on the back. “Everything ready?”

  “Everything is ready,” Rangvald said. “Let me introduce you to the team. This is Mr. Holyday, or Boss. Sir, these are Alf, Burk, Didi, Fulco, Ivan, Rudi, and Urs.”

  “Nice to meet you all,” Doc replied, doing his best to stick names to faces. “Let’s get going, then.”

  “You need to settle with the livery for the horses and wagon first.”

  “Be right out,” Doc said.

  A couple of minutes later, he slung his rifles onto the horse he had rented. Riding out of the yard, he gave Rangvald a nod. “Now let’s go.”

  “Let’s go, men!” Rangvald belted out.

  The dwarves all began to walk alongside the wagon Rangvald was driving. The two young boys were sitting in the back of it, looking a little nervous. Doc let Rangvald lead as they would be on the road the entire first day out of town.

  “How are you two feeling about it?” Doc called out to the kids.

  “Excited and a bit scared, sir.” Rubbing at one of his wolf ears, Tony looked at the dwarves. “They’ve been kind to us.”

  “More nervous than excited right now, sir,” Joseph said with a slight hiss, denoting his bestial nature. “They shared some candy with us.”

  Doc looked at Alf, who was closest to him, “Thank you.”

  “We’ve been told how you feel about us getting along with others,” Alf said, “and the kids are going to be taking care of us, so being mean to them is bad all around.”

  “I’d be afraid of the food if I was treating the cook bad, too,” Doc chuckled. “I don’t want anyone causing grievances on the site because of race, though. I’ll fire them if they do.”

  Alf nodded. “We won’t be causing problems. We’ve had enough of that at the other mines.”

  “Damned right,” Ivan spat. “Suez put that useless, flaccid prick, Benedict, in charge of his mine. I’ve worked mines four times longer than that idiot’s been alive.”

  “You were stupid to go there to begin with,” Urs snorted. “Goodman might hate us, but at least he’s not that dumb. Suez is going to have an accident in the next month with Tom being his foreman. We all know it.”

  “Doesn’t matter anymore,” Didi laughed. “We’re off to a new mine. This time, we have a foreman who will listen and an owner who will listen to the foreman.”

  Doc shrugged, “That’s true.” Nudging his horse forward, he rode alongside Rangvald. “Where’s the hunter?”

  “Waiting for us. She went out yesterday to get a feel for the west, and will likely have fresh meat for us.”

  “I was just wondering. Be looking forward to meeting her.”

  “Doubt you’ll get much out of her,” Rangvald chuckled. “She’s a skittish one, goes by Jesamin. Disdains guns, too. Only seen her use a bow and some knives, but I’ve seen her come back into town with enough pelts and meat to know she can do the job.”

  “How’d you meet her?”

  “Fixed one of her knives.”

  “You do bladework?”

  “Haven’t for years, not since Goodman brought Nicalas to town. He bankrolled the fucker long enough to push me out and back into mining.”

  “You can do bladework, though?”

  “I can if given the right materials and equipment to work with.”

  Doc nodded, “I’ll see what I can do. I could use a solid knife. Didn’t care for the ones I saw in the general store and I didn’t know there was a bladesmith in town.”

  “Don’t bother buying from him,” Rangvald snorted. “It’s as likely to break on you as not. I’ll talk to Blackbeard and see if I can use his shop when I’m in town next. I’ll just need you to supply the metal and some money for labor.”

  “Considering you’ll be coming back with the first load of ore, I think you can make sure it’s covered,” Doc laughed.

  “True enough,” Rangvald agreed.

  Doc dropped back so he was trailing the others again and pulled up his options for gifts from Luck, going over the ones he hadn’t checked already. The slow steady pace of the wagon and the uneventful nature of the trip let him take his time in making his choice.

&n
bsp; ~*~*~

  With the sun low on the horizon, Doc finalized his choice for gifts, and sighed in disappointment that most of his available faith was used up. Hope it was the right pick, but considering what Rosa said last time, I think it will be. Checking the new gifts again, he read their full descriptions.