by Jenner, M
“Not quite what happened, but yes, we remember,” Kern laughed.
“Well,” Ty continued, “after we parted ways at The Bull, while I was looking for a bath house I looked into this shop window and saw those two – Bok and Joli – and the chests that Solomon stole from me! I couldn’t believe my eyes, to be honest; I followed them to the Bucket of Blood inn, then went back to the shop,” Ty said, taking a cup of water from Ltyh and sipping. “Thank you.”
“So you stole the chests from the shopkeeper?” Galandrik asked.
“I was trying, but I couldn’t find a way. So I followed him and tried to do it the old-fashioned way, but it went a bit wrong and… well, he nearly had me. How was I supposed to know he had a staff-of-lightning-bolt as a walking stick?” He swallowed a big gulp of water, only to start coughing.
“Easy, fellow, take your time,” Jarrow said, leaning forward to place a hand on Ty’s shoulder.
“Yeah, a magical staff is the last thing I would expect a magic-shop owner to have,” Ltyh joked.
“Whatever,” Ty groaned, wiping water from his chin. “I got the King’s Gold back, didn’t I?”
“Yes you did, Ty, and well done,” Galandrik said.
“But where did you get the blowpipe from?” Kern quizzed.
“I picked it up in the marketplace that morning. The seller told me the darts would drop a dragon; it nearly got me killed instead.”
“But – blow darts?” Kern asked. “How long have I known you? You never use blow darts!”
“I know.” Ty smiled and then winced. “I don’t really know why, to be honest. It was just a spur of the moment buy.”
“So, tell us about these chests,” Jarrow asked.
“Of course. Please bring them to me.”
“Ltyh, fetch the chests, would you please?” Jarrow asked. Within moments the aide returned and placed the cloth-wrapped chests on the table.
Ty unwrapped one of the chests and placed it on his knees. He rested his bandaged arm over the top of the box as if to stop it falling from his knee. Using his arm to block his friends’ view of the chests, he slid his other hand under the bandaged arm and pushed the four gems that triggered the lock. A slight click was heard and Ty placed the chest back on the table. Leaning back in his chair, he used his stick to flip the lid up. Jarrow, Kern, and Galandrik stood and peered into the box.
“Is that it? Is that what all the fuss was about?” Galandrik growled.
“It appears so, my bearded friend,” Kern replied, reaching to pick up the egg.
“Not so fast!” Ty snapped. “Solomon told me to never, ever touch the eggs.”
“Why didn’t you mention that before?” Kern asked sitting back down onto his chair.
“I didn’t think we would ever see them again, let alone have the opportunity to touch them,” Ty answered breezily, closing the box with his stick.
“Why can’t we touch them?” Galandrik asked.
“He said if we touch a dragon’s egg, we’ll get dragflu – dead in days, and painfully, too!” Ty said, with eyes wide.
“I have never heard of such a thing,” Jarrow mocked.
“All right, I’ll open the box and you can stroke them Jarrow, then the proof will be in the pudding,” Ty said, reaching for the chest.
“No, no – I believe you, old friend. I was only joking; of course we can’t touch a dragon’s egg,” Jarrow said, backtracking hastily.
Ty smiled to himself and placed the chests back into the backpack. “Right. I’m going back upstairs to rest,” he said, getting to his feet with help from Ltyh.
“Take your time, friend, we need you fit,” Kern added.
Ty paused at the door, but didn’t turn around. “You would get lost without me,” he said without looking back, and the door closed behind him
Galandrik stoked the fire and before long they were sitting in front of a comfortable blaze, rolling bone dice.
“I suppose we just wait, I guess,” Galandrik sighed.
“We can’t do a lot until he is fit enough to move on,” Kern replied.
“I might even come with you,” Jarrow laughed.
“You laugh, but you would be more than welcome, friend. Plus it would give me the chance to win some of my silver back!” Kern answered, rolling the dice again.
At that moment Ltyh came bursting into the room, the door bouncing off the wall behind him. “Jarrow!” he exclaimed.
“What the hell is it, lad?” Jarrow said, springing to his feet.
“There are loads of town guards outside, and they’re heading this way,” Ltyh said, pointing out the window.
“That blasted innkeeper!” Kern spat, dashing to the window. “I knew he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
“Go warn Ty, help him to hide somewhere. Just make him disappear!” Jarrow told Ltyh, who ran out of the room; they could hear his footsteps pounding up the stairs.
“What about me and Galandrik?” Kern asked, grabbing his sword.
“Keep your weapons close, but try not to look like you’re ready for a fight – they’ll know something is afoot.”
Kern and Galandrik placed their weapons at their feet, hidden under the long table cloth.
“I’ll get the door, just be calm,” Jarrow said, straightening his shirt as they heard a loud knock on the door.
Ltyh dashed back down the stairs and into the dining room, sitting next to Kern and trying to bring his breathing back to normal. “What’s he doing up there?” Galandrik asked in a low voice.
“Not a lot. Looking for a suitable hiding place. I said I would help him, but he just muttered something about the day he needs someone to help him hide he’ll quit hiding.” Ltyh shrugged.
“That’s him all over,” Kern said, shaking his head. “I’m sure if there is somewhere to hide, he will bend into it – wait, can he even bend…? You know, I think this might go bad.”
Jarrow opened the front door. A guard stood at the door, helmet in hand; five others were ranged behind him. All six looked intimidating and severe. “Hello and good morning, sirs,” he said, smiling.
“Morning. We have some questions,” the guard stated. “When you came into town the other day, you were with four companions.”
“Yes sir, that is correct,” Jarrow answered.
“Where could we find them now?”
“Two have joined me for breakfast, and the other two have gone on their way. What is this about?” Jarrow enquired, trying to look suitably puzzled.
“We think one of them robbed a shopkeeper in town, nearly killed the poor fellow. We’d like to come in and look around – and to be honest, I am not really asking,” the guard said in a stern voice.
“But of course!” Jarrow said. “I have nothing to hide, good sir.” He stepped to one side, allowing the guards to enter his house. They spread out and began their search around the first floor of the house, checking in cupboards, under the stairs, lifting mats and chairs, looking for anywhere a hidden door might be.
Meanwhile, Jarrow returned to sit calmly at the table next to Galandrik. He picked up a jug of lime tea that was still just about warm.
“What about some lime tea for you and your boys?” Jarrow offered the guard.
“No thank you,” the guard said. Turning his attention to Ltyh, Kern, and Galandrik, he asked, “Any idea where the other two went?”
Galandrik shrugged his shoulders but offered no reply. Ltyh looked down as Kern said, “No idea. We were only traveling with them to be safe from bandits and orcs – strength in numbers and all that.”
“Go search upstairs,” the guard shouted to the others.
Under the cover of the tablecloth, Kern carefully nudged a sword towards Jarrow’s feet; Jarrow felt it bump into his shoe and gave a barely perceptible nod. Kern’s heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest.
Ty looked down the stairs though the cracked door and saw the six guards enter the house, followed by Jarrow, who closed the door behind them.
Dam
n, he thought, and gently closed the door. Using his stick, he hobbled over to the window, leaned on the bed as far as his aching limbs would allow, and carefully peeked out. Three guards were searching though the stables, stabbing hay bales with their swords, and three more were directly under his window, searching the back gardens. Impossible, he thought; he’d never escape out that way. Even if the guards hadn’t been there, he didn’t think he could have climbed out of the window, so it was a bit of a relief not to have to try. He turned back to the bed and tried to bend down to look under it, but the wound on his leg stopped him. He tried again and felt the wound start to open up. Biting his lip he rolled onto the bed, holding his leg; he felt the warm blood beginning to seep through the bandages.
After a few moments he heard the sound of someone coming up the steps. Struggling to get to his feet, he limped to the door and slowly nudged it open just enough to peek through. Five guards were nearly at the top of the stairs. He closed the door and hobbled to the cupboard and opened it, but it was full of junk. Ty knew he wouldn’t be able to hide in there without the noise and mess giving him away. He heard the sound of the door knob being turned and his heart stopped. Then he remembered the ring and desperately dipped a hand into his pocket. Fumbling, he pulled the ring out just as the door was pulled open, but he knew he’d never get it onto his finger in time.
The door swung wide and the guard entered Ty’s room. Ty felt weak with relief when he realized the guard’s head was turned to give instruction to the men behind him. Ty quickly slipped the ring on an instant before the guard turned and came in.
The soldier walked over to the bed, bent down, and lifted it with one hand to look underneath. “I knew this was a wild goose chase,” he mumbled. He knelt on the bed, opened the window, and shouted down.
“Found anything?”
Ty couldn’t hear the reply, but just then he spotted the water bowl on the floor filled with the blood-stained rags that Prolumus had used when treating him. Quickly he pushed it under the bed with his toe, praying it wouldn’t make a noise on the wooden floorboards. Fortunately, just at that moment the guard closed the window, and the creaking and shuddering of the old wooden frame masked any other sounds.
“Searching for injured halflings, who cares?” the guard muttered to himself, walking past Ty to the cupboard. It was only a small back bedroom; Ty backed up against the wall and sucked his stomach in as the guard passed.
The guard only just missed standing on Ty’s feet with his leather boots. He stood in front of the cupboard and opened up the doors with a sudden yank, as if to scare anyone hiding in there. The door nearly hit Ty in the leg, and he let out a soundless sigh of relief. Ty spied the guard’s purse hanging just in front of his nose and fumbled for his scissors; unfortunately he couldn’t find them and the chance had gone as swiftly as it had come.
The guard closed the doors and turned to face the injured thief. Ty’s heart stuttered in fear until he realized that the man was looking at a picture that hung directly above Ty’s head. He held his breath and felt for his daggers, but they were missing. The guard turned and looked up to the ceiling. Ty felt a warm trickle down his leg; he carefully glanced down and saw a drop of blood hanging from a corner of a bandage.
Please no, don’t fall, Ty thought. The guard inhaled deeply, as if to shout for reinforcements – but then he sighed, and walked out of the room. “Clear,” Ty heard him shout as the door slammed shut, and thought he might faint with relief.
Kern nudged Galandrik and nodded at the guards tromping down the stairs. “All clear, sir,” said the guard who had searched Ty’s room as his commander returned from outside.
The head guard turned to the table. “Thank you for your cooperation,” he said with a nod in Jarrow’s direction. “If you hear of anything, or remember anything, please let us know at once. Good day to you all.” The guards all left the house and slammed the door shut.
Without a word amongst them, all four men sprang up from the table and ran upstairs, jostling each other in their haste to reach Ty’s room. Jarrow opened the door, and they stared in disbelief to see Ty lying calmly on the bed.
Kern stepped in past Jarrow and folded his arms. “Care to share with us how they managed to miss an injured, bleeding thief lying on his bed?”
“Now, that would be telling,” Ty answered smugly.
“Come on, thief, tell us,” Galandrik said, perplexed.
“Just slipped into the cupboard is all,” Ty said, waving his one good arm in that direction. “I covered myself in all the junk, no big deal.”
“You simply hid in the cupboard,” Kern replied, “right,” then, shaking his head, he turned and left the room.
“Well… good to have you back, anyway,” Galandrik said with a nod, and he and Ltyh followed Kern down the stairs.
Jarrow stood at the door and looked down at Ty. “That cupboard has been stuffed full of junk since six moons ago,” he said seriously. Ty held Jarrow’s gaze, a neutral expression on his face. “You never slipped in there, did you?” he asked the injured thief.
Ty stared silently back at Jarrow. “And you never slipped under the bed.” The silence was deafening until finally Ty spoke.
“You know I can’t tell you, don’t you, Jarrow?” Ty answered, a depth of seriousness in his voice that Jarrow hadn’t heard before. As the seconds ticked by, Jarrow studied Ty’s face and could see he was never going to tell his secrets.
“Maybe you’ll tell me another day, Rat,” Jarrow said, smiling as he backed out of the bedroom shutting the door behind him.
Ty opened his palm and looked down at the ring. Three charges left, he thought, and slipped the ring into his secret pocket. Grinning to himself with the pleasure of having a secret, he shut his eyes.
“Maybe he did die after all,” Joli said, watching the guards leave the house.
“Rubbish! I can smell him,” Bok said through gritted teeth. “Plus, when Cronos named him the Rat, it was for a good reason.”
“So what’s our plan then?” Joli asked.
“Sit and wait it out, I guess. He’ll turn up somewhere… and then we’ll gut him.”
Three moons had passed. Kern, Galandrik, Ty, and Jarrow were all seated around the breakfast table, and Ltyh was serving up a breakfast of eggs, tomatoes, and ham, along with freshly baked bread.
“How are you feeling this morning, Ty?” Jarrow asked.
“Good, thanks,” Ty replied, stretching his wounded arm.
“When are we leaving?” Galandrik asked the table.
“I think we can go whenever you like, my good friend,” Ty answered, looking at Kern for approval.
“Well, I’m up for leaving after breakfast, if you two are,” Kern said, sitting back in his chair and rubbing his stomach, “I need to go soon, before Jarrow feeds me to the bursting point. I haven’t swung a sword in days,” he added.
“And you never swung it very well before,” Ty retorted, grabbing some honey and raisin bread.
“I’ve kept you alive this far,” Kern said, draining his goblet.
“Some things never change,” Galandrik interrupted. “I can see that it’s nearly back to normal for you two, so let’s talk about getting out of here, shall we?” The dwarf wiped tomato juice from his beard with a napkin.
“What about the old hide-in-a-barrel trick?” Kern said, leaning forward to place his elbows on the table.
“What about you kiss my skinny arse?” Ty replied, grabbing another piece of bread.
“That sounds good to me! I’ll grab him and you get the barrel!” Galandrik said, standing up.
“You come near me, dwarf, and I swear you’ll go over!”
“Well, what do you suggest, then?” Kern asked the thief.
“Easy. Tonight we slip away in the darkness towards Breeze. Couldn’t be any simpler,” Ty answered, approaching the open fire and rubbing his hands
“It seems to me you three don’t do simple,” Jarrow said, standing up and taking their breakfast di
shes through to the kitchen.
“What about our mounts, did you bring them?” Ty asked sitting down.
“We’ll sort all that out; just make sure you have all your belongings packed and ready to go at midnight,” Kern answered.
“I’ll go into town to get some heavy rations; it’s going to be a journey and a half, I fancy,” Galandrik sighed.
“Grab some potions as well. Most of what we didn’t use has been smashed or lost,” Kern replied.
“If you buy them from the Quarterstaff, don’t mention me,” Ty said with a laugh.
“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Galandrik smiled back.
“I’ll go get the horses sorted out,” Kern said, resting his hand on Ty’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” Ty said, placing his hand on the ranger’s.
“Any time, Ty, any time.”
The night was bright, moonlight bouncing off the silvery leaves that surrounded Jarrow’s house. The air was cold and the horses’ white breath filled the stable’s air. Jarrow looked out of his window.
“It’s time we were going, friend,” Kern said as he stood next to their host.
“I know, and although I am sad to say goodbye, I wish you all the best.”
“Why don’t you come with us, Jarrow?”
“No, Kern. I will stay here.”
“But you don’t suit this town! Come with us; adventure and let yourself feel alive again.”
“I have fought too many wars and spilt too much blood, Kern. My fighting days are over.”
Kern stared at Jarrow for a moment. “Thanks for all you’ve done for us, Jarrow.”
“You saved me from orc slavery – it was the least I could do.”
At that moment Ltyh walked in. “Horses are ready, Kern.”
“Thanks, Ltyh. Go call Ty and Galandrik, please.”
“Of course,” Ltyh said, walking to the door.
“Well… so long,” Kern said, shaking Jarrow by the forearm.
“So long, Kern Ocarn. Maybe we’ll meet again.”
“I’m damn sure we will.”
At that moment Ty and Galandrik came into the room, and said their goodbyes to Jarrow and Ltyh.
“Give my thanks to Prolumus when you see him, Jarrow, and farewell,” Ty said, shaking Jarrow’s hand then pulling his hood up over his head.
