Reciprocity : Volume 1 of The Fledgegate Cycle

by Zachary Smith

  Both girls were talking about the excitement of being in the city, and Glem let them chatter and leaned back in his chair to think about what needed to come next.

  "Three beers," Oarf said as he set them on the table. "Eiriean says the food is almost done."

  "Thank you, Oarf," Glem said.

  "We get beer?" asked Alyra.

  "It's time, one apiece, and drink it slowly," Glem replied, looking up and making eye contact with Oarf. He nodded to him and received a nod of understanding in return.

  Oarf turned away, calling to the kitchen to help bring out the food. Big bowls of dark onion soup with a thick crust of cheese baked on the top were set in front of each of them.

  Oarf set a plate of spicy sausages with mustard, and a loaf of bread fresh and hot from the oven, down on the table for them to share.

  "Let me know if you need anything," Eiriean said. "Come on, Oarf, let the folks eat in peace."

  Oarf looked over at Glem, winked, and rolled his eyes.

  The hot food was comforting after days of hunting and gathering while they traveled. Glem pushed back from his empty bowl just as Eiriean came to check on them.

  "Jorick was right; you are the best cook in the city. That was good," Glem said. "But I have to step out into the city for a bit, is there somewhere the girls can have a bath? I'd like one as well when I get back."

  "I have a room with a big copper tub in the back. I'll set Oarf to heating the water; it’s big enough that they can both soak at once. I'll put Oarf outside the door, so no one will bother them," Eiriean replied.

  "Ohhh, a bath with hot water would be wonderful," Alyra said.

  Chapter 8

  Glem left the inn and returned to the gates where they had entered. He saw Jorick standing back to the side. Meanwhile, Jorick watched a group of the younger guards closing the gates for the evening and set in place the heavy bar on the inside. The young men turned toward Jorick and snapped to attention.

  "Gate secured, Sir."

  "The four of you have the gate," Jorick barked to them. "I have spoken with the Sergeant in the gatehouse, and any problems, you should go to him first. Shifts to change at the first hour of the morning. Questions?"

  "No, Sir," the young men replied.

  "Good evening then," Jorick replied in a softer tone.

  "Jorick, can I speak with you a moment?" Glem asked as he walked up to him near the end of the exchange.

  "Glem, was it? Did you find my sister's place ok?” Jorick asked.

  "Yes, we did, and thank you. It's just as you said,” Glem replied.

  Jorick furrowed his brow and asked, "What can I do for you then?"

  "We had not intended to be traveling for the last few days. The village we lived in was about five days' walk, south and west of here. It’s gone now. The three of us are all that remain. A few dozen soldiers came through the town; they killed everyone and took all the foodstuffs and livestock. The blacksmith killed some of them, and I found this in the dirt where they fell," Glem said. He handed Jorick the medallion he had picked up.

  "This is the symbol of the king of Hasdingium. Did you see the soldiers this came from?"

  "No, only the aftermath and the bodies."

  "Were they wearing gray tunics with a red stripe across the front, running shoulder to opposite hip?"

  "Yeah, that's what I saw."

  "Damn them. They have started pushing again. Every few years, they will push on the border between our kingdoms. Usually, it’s just raiding parties, a few stolen livestock, that kind of thing. This is the first time they have put a village to the sword in over twenty years."

  "Not just one. We passed another town on our way here. No survivors,” Glem said softly as he angrily gripped the hilt of his sword with his left hand.

  "Walk with me. The gates are closed for the night, and I'm hungry. My sister keeps a pot of soup on for me on nights I’m working."

  "Good, I'll stand you a pint when we get there," Glem replied.

  The two men walked back to the inn, the silence hanging heavy between them.

  Glem and Jorick were each lost in their thoughts about the change in movements by the Southern Kingdom.

  "I’ll speak with the Captain tonight after we talk, even if I have to drag him out of bed to do it," Jorick said, opening the door to the Inn for Glem.

  ✽✽✽

  Kiiryas leaped from the second-floor loft, landing softly on the cobblestone street below. The crisp, predawn mist made the filth-covered ground even more slippery than usual, yet he did not fall. Rodents tearing at the last pieces of a discarded turkey leg, just a few feet away, failed to notice his arrival. I've improved, thought Kiiryas, as he slid into the alleyway between the inn and the stables.

  Few were out this early in the morning; even the most dedicated bakers or shopkeepers hadn’t yet started their day, and it was far past the time for tavern crawlers to find a bed for the night. Street urchins holed up in their regular spots, trying for a few hours of uncomfortable sleep before the bustle of city life returned with the sun.

  Kiiryas wore a tattered, heavily repaired cloak that covered him from head to mid-calf. A patchwork of dozens of repairs, indications of the grand garment that it once was, could still be seen in a few areas. Swatches of grays and browns dominated the dirty black of the original fabric, and threads of different size and dye, roughly sewn, hid holes and tears earned from years of use. Asymmetric in appearance, the cloak and its earth-toned coloration created a camouflage that worked in most areas in and around the city.

  Stealth, after all, was Kiiryas's greatest ally.

  Kiiryas had a few hours to kill before his scheduled meeting with Oarf, which was plenty of time to recon the city perimeter.

  ✽✽✽

  Glem woke to the sounds of the kitchen at the inn preparing for the day. I should get ready, he thought. After Jorick's conversation with the Captain last night, I expect they will want more information soon. I’ll let the girls sleep. It was a long few days, and they can use the rest.

  He slipped quietly down the stairs to the tables.

  Glem took a seat near the warm fire that had been laid on the hearth.

  Eiriean arrived with a loaf of warm crusty bread and a sharp cheese that she set on the table before him. They looked divine. "I have sausages and potatoes coming in a bit."

  "Thank you. The girls are sleeping, but if you will make sure they eat when they come down, I would appreciate it," Glem replied. "I expect I will have company shortly this morning. Has Jorick come by since he left last evening?"

  "No, and he is usually here talking with Oarf until late," Eiriean replied as she turned back to the kitchen.

  ✽✽✽

  Kiiryas had been following up on a rumor that the Clanston shipping company had signed a few large deals as of late. The employees were apparently sharing in the newly realized profits, as they had been partying it up in the tavern a few nights before. Oarf had overheard a few comments concerning large shipments coming to the outskirts of the city from the South.

  He had not overheard any mention of the manifests of these shipments and so Kiiryas had paid Oarf well for the information. Their conversation had ended, and he prepared to head out of the tavern when a strange old man came walking downstairs, a guest of the inn overnight.

  "That's the other bit of information I have for you," whispered Oarf. "His name is Glem. Says he comes from the South. Showed up here with two pretty, young girls but all three of them looked rough as can be. I think they must have had a hard few days."

  "Why should I care about them?" asked Kiiryas.

  "Because he paid with old money. We don't see it too often anymore. Sure, it spends the same, but it isn't as common as it was. King's face looked a lot younger on their coins than it does on the new ones, and he didn't seem to know the going rate for a room at all. Overpaid by double!"

  Kiiryas gave the innkeeper a disappointed look. He didn't begrudge the man for trying to make some extra money, but
cheating travelers was bad form.

  "Hey, don't be eyeing me like that, boy," Oarf admonished. "I'm an honest man, of course, and charged him fairly."

  "I still don't see why I should care," Kiiryas shot back. "Seems like an unprofitable waste of time."

  Before Oarf could continue with his reasoning, two city guards entered the tavern, heading straight for Glem.

  Perhaps there IS something worth learning about this Glem, Kiiryas decided.

  ✽✽✽

  Hmph, that was good, Glem thought as he finished the last of the sausage. Just then, the door to the inn swung open, and the two men who stood there were both in leather jerkins with overlapping disks sewn to them, and carrying swords. They looked around the tables of the inn. The men spotted Glem and with a nod, moved to his table.

  "Are you Glem?"

  "I am. Who’s asking?"

  "You are to come with us."

  Glem sighed out loud as he leaned back in his chair and looked them over.

  "It is considered polite to identify yourself before you begin making demands," Glem said.

  "We are city guards, old man, and we don't answer to you."

  Glem stood quickly and reached behind him, where he grabbed his sword by the scabbard and slipped it onto his belt.

  Startled by his sudden movement, both guards reached for their hilts before they realized that Glem was standing quietly with his arms crossed, staring at them. He laughed at their reactions and said, "Come on, children, let's go see your betters." As he walked past them toward the door, he tossed back, "My friend Jorick's sister and her husband own this inn. I would hate to damage their furniture teaching you manners."

  At the mention of Jorick, both guards turned pale behind Glem's back and hurried to catch up with him. None of them noticed Oarf and a younger man in a heavily patched cloak who both watched the exchange intently while they talked softly in the corner.

  The guards led Glem through the city that was just starting to wake up. They were telling each other stories of their own prowess, neither of them ever having actually been in a battle. Glem was listening and shaking his head, trying hard not to laugh.

  "Sir," said one of the guards as he came to attention at the entrance to a guarded courtyard flanked by a large squat building. "This is the man the Captain sent us for.”

  "Then why are you telling me? You know he doesn't like to be kept waiting," replied one of the guards at the entrance. "You should probably hurry."

  The young guards crossed the courtyard and led Glem inside. The small room behind the door had a desk on one side with a clerk manfully working on a massive stack of papers that threatened to topple over.

  "What?" he asked without looking up.

  "The Captain sent us for…"

  "He’s in the map room with Lt. Jorick. Take him back there and then get back to your barracks and clean up. You both look disgraceful," he replied without looking up. "If you are not polished to a perfect shine the next time I see you, expect to spend the next month verifying the integrity of the sewer gates."

  The young guard knocked on the darkly oiled door.

  Glem heard, "Come," gruffly from behind it.

  The large room was well lit when Glem entered, and a map of the Kingdom lay on the huge table in the middle of the room. Maps of the surrounding kingdoms and the continent hung on the walls.

  "Good morning, Jorick. It is nice to see you again," he said to the backs of the two men as his escort scurried from the room.

  "Ha," Glem laughed as he got a look at the Captain. "Is that a sword fit for a captain?"

  The Captain looked over at the chair nearby, smiled, and nodded to the blade as Glem crossed the room to it.

  Sliding the top couple inches of blade clear of the scabbard, he said, "Well, boy, it looks like you finally learned to keep your sword sharp. You've come up in the world it seems."

  Jorick looked confused. "I take it you have met before?"

  "You're older than I remember you being," said the Captain as he grasped forearms with Glem, "and shorter."

  "I'm huge to a skinny whelp of a boy, learning to clean his boots for the first time,” Glem said, laughing. Then he added soberly, "That's not why you asked me to come this morning, though."

  "You told Jorick that your village had been burned," the Captain said as he shook his head. "I can't picture you in a village. He said that you passed another in the same condition on the way here?"

  "Not only burned, but also, the people put to the sword," Glem replied while he looked at the map on the table. Our village was about here, Lorne," he said, putting his finger near the southern border. "The other one we passed was here."

  He pointed slightly closer to the city. "We were the only survivors in our village, and we didn't see any in the other village although the ashes were still smoldering when we went through. If they survived, they must have left already."

  Glem pulled the heavy medallion from his pocket and laid it down on the map.

  "This was on the ground near where the blacksmith and his boys killed a couple of them before they also died."

  "That's the emblem of the Southern King. Humph. This is Hasdingium’s declaration of war, I think," said the Captain thoughtfully. "Jorick, double the guards on all the gates, all shifts, and increase the scrutiny of people entering the city. Increase the guard on the wall as well. I fear we will be their next target."

  "I would send runners to the capital. We are headed there ourselves as soon as we resupply and rest a day,” Glem said.

  "Jorick, why are you still here? Go, man," the Captain said. Jorick saluted and turned to go. He wondered at the fortune of Glem and the Captain knowing one another.

  As he started to close the door, he could hear the men begin to talk softly.

  "I would deploy guards here…. and runners…"

  Glem's voice faded as Jorick closed the door.

  "I never heard why you left your commission? One day you were barking orders, and the next you were gone," Lorne said.

  "It is too long a story to tell right now but someday, maybe. It is good to see you again, lad. Nice to know someone with proper training is in charge here," Glem said with a chuckle. "We are at Jorick's sister's place if you need to find me."

  "I know it; she's the best cook in the city, that one," Lorne said.

  "Indeed she is! That is what took us there. Well, partly, but the promise of good food was persuasive. Anyway, I'll take my leave now. I have a lot to attend to before we are back on the road,” Glem replied.

  "Be careful Glem 'dar'Agon, as this will be an unsettled city soon," said the Captain.

  He took his time walking back to the inn, listening closely to the city. There was no fear in the conversations yet. The word of the burned villages hasn't reached the people’s ears yet. Either we are the only survivors of either town, or the others passed by without stopping here, he thought. It'll start soon enough; the people will see the extra guards on the gates, and the rumors will begin to fly.

  Glem turned the corner into the market, stopping to take in the chaos of a healthy town.

  "Meat pies, just from the oven. Get while they’re still hot,” he heard bellowed from one side of the street.

  "I'll take one," Glem replied.

  Two pennies each or three for five. Best pies to be had in town, sir," the pie seller said.

  "Can you wrap them for later? Where can I get a bag in the market?" Glem asked.

  "Three wrapped pies, and if it works, sir, I have a coarse bag that the potatoes were left in," the pie seller responded.

  "That will work fine, thank you," Glem replied. He took the proffered bag and slipped the hot pastries into the pockets on his coat.

  After he paid him for the pies, Glem slipped him an extra penny. "For the sack, friend."

  "Thank you, sir, thank you," said the pie seller.

  Deeper into the market, Glem swept his eyes over throngs of people going about their daily routines. Wives were buying bread an
d vegetables or haggling over the price of a piece of cloth or a pound of candles. It was the settled and regular cadence of a city at peace. His mental list at the ready, he found a well-to-do-looking storefront at the edge of the market with a cloak and boots on the sign.

  Glem considered the store before he entered, noting the two large men standing nearby with matching cudgels hanging from their belts.

  Hm...Security, he thought, this looks promising.

  The door opened to a room that looked more like a tannery crossed with a mill than a simple shop.

  "If you're coming in, come in, but get out of the door; you’re blocking the light," said a gray-haired woman with a severe bun. She leaned over the worktable, carefully cutting the leather laid out in front of her. "What do you want? I'm busy, don't waste my time."

  Glem stepped in and clear of the door after a quick look at the guards, and said, "Three pairs of boots, a scabbard and belt, three leather jerkins, new pants, shirts, and heavy cloaks. Durable packs to carry it all. That gets me started. Now, are you who I do business with, or is there another?" Glem rumbled.

  Without looking up, the severe woman replied, "You look like a peasant but sound like the lord's own commander barking orders in the barracks. Can you pay?"

  "Depends on the quality of the work," Glem replied.

  "Old man walks into my shop like he owns it. Barks at me and then insults my work," she mutters. "I should have you thrown out just for that. But I have a feeling that the boys would not make it through the door before you were done with them and probably not even get blood on your boots," she said louder. "I didn't miss that sword by your side."

  "Don't intend to kill anyone, just going to be traveling sooner than I would like and don't have time to waste," Glem said.

  She looked up from her work for the first time since Glem entered.

  "No nonsense. I like that. Then come take a look at some pieces I have for sale and see if they meet your quality,” she said as she moved around the worktable to a series of shelves with equipment neatly arranged on them. “Come, come. We are both busy…”