Arthur Daigle's Blog - Posts Tagged "jayden"

This story was originally intended for the Tales of Ever After anthology by Fellowship of Fantasy. It's divided into two parts because it runs a tad long, which is why it didn't end up in the anthology. I hope you enjoy it, and part 2 will be coming soon.


“You said the Walking Graveyard was dead,” Dana said as she scraped mud and bone shards off her boots. “You promised.”

“I thought it was,” Jayden replied. The Sorcerer Lord dunked his head in a nearby stream to wash his long, blond, messy hair clean. Most of the mud came out, but he had to scrub hard to remove the last few bits of soil. “The first time we fought the blasted thing I hacked it to pieces and dropped a stone tower on it. You’ll forgive me if I thought that was enough.”

Dana pointed at the foul remnants of the Walking Graveyard. The trail they were on ran through an idyllic pasture with blooming wildflowers filling the air with their perfume. An otherwise gorgeous scene was ruined by three tons of mud, bone fragments and shattered tombstones spread across the trail. “It followed us across the kingdom.”

“I normally admire tenacity, but not in this case.” Jayden waved for her to get off the trail. “Perhaps this can put the monster to rest for good. Cover your ears.”

Dana walked away while Jayden chanted. Dana was a girl of fifteen with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a dress that had been dirty before the recent battle and now was in desperate need of cleaning, along with leather boots that came up to her knees. Dana was armed with a dagger and carried a backpack and sack loaded with coins, jewelry and other minor valuables.

Not long ago, Dana had been a simple farm girl, her father the mayor of a small frontier town. A terrible monster had menaced her town, and in desperation she’d reached out to Jayden, the world’s only Sorcerer Lord. He’d helped, but it was clear Jayden was deeply troubled. There was no telling what he might do if left alone, so she’d joined him to steer him from self destructive behavior, like attacking the king and queen of their kingdom.

The chanting grew louder as Jayden continued his spell. He was handsome and charming, and dressed in outlandish black and silver clothes. He carried no weapons, but his magic made him equal to nearly any foe. Jayden carried his own backpack loaded with treasure, rewards from their missions together. Most men would rest and celebrate after acquiring such riches, but money was of little interest to Jayden. He wanted the king and queen overthrown. Nothing less would do.

A spark formed in Jayden’s hands and flew to the defeated monster. This was the second time they’d fought the Walking Graveyard, a horror of mud, stone and bone, and apparently possessing enough of a mind to take offense at their earlier victory to track them down for a rematch. It might be dead this time, but Jayden wasn’t taking chances. The spark reached the Walking Graveyard and detonated into a white-hot blast of fire that cremated and scattered the monster’s body.

“That better be enough, for its sake as well as ours,” Jayden said. “I’ve better things to do than relive old victories, and as odious as that monster was, I’ve no desire to see it suffer needlessly.”

“And we don’t want it following us into a city,” Dana added.

“That wouldn’t do. We should reach our goal before lunchtime, and I don’t want to place people in danger because of me.”

With that done Dana and Jayden resumed their journey. They were on the western edge of the kingdom and close to the sea. Dana could already smell salt water, and the ground was a mix of dirt and sand.

“Admittedly there’s a certain mayor I’d like to introduce the Walking Graveyard to,” Jayden said casually.

Dana rolled her eyes. “Not this again. We were in the town of Rustile less than half a day. Let it go.”

“Their mayor is a pompous, overbearing halfwit who thinks blind loyalty is a virtue,” Jayden replied. “It’s fools mindlessly obeying orders that make this kingdom a dystopian nightmare. No critical thinking, no mercy, no faith, only slavish obedience to those who put him in power and keep him there.”

Dana shrugged. “At least he was honest about who he is.”

“How is that to his credit?”

“He didn’t hide his beliefs like some people. Being a lying two-faced weasel would be worse. Haven’t you ever heard people say just be yourself?”

That stopped Jayden in his tracks. “That’s terrible advice! What if a man was a drunken, illiterate bigot? Being himself would be the last thing anyone around him would want.”

“Fine, so what should you do?”

“Be better,” Jayden said as he resumed walking. “Be superior to who you were the day before, the week before, the year before. Learn, grow, improve, and never stop, because the day will come when people need you to be better for their sake and your own.”

This was typical of Jayden. He was judgmental and didn’t tolerate flaws in others. When villains committed terrible deeds, Jayden’s fury was terrible, and it lasted. It might take months for his ire to die down.

Jayden also had a thin skin when it came to the royal family, and anyone actively supporting them was a valid target for his temper. The major of Rustile learned that the hard way when he received orders to obtain pastures for the king and queen’s horses to graze on. The mayor tried to follow the order by evicting farmers from their land, which would have worked except Dana and Jayden had been passing through Rustile at the time. Jayden had no trouble scattering the mayor’s bullyboys, and followed that up by first looting and then torching the mayor’s house.

“We’ve reached our destination,” Jayden told her. He pointed to a city at the end of the road, a sprawling mix of wood and stone buildings that hugged the coast. “I came here once and was impressed by the number of ships in the harbor. There may be fewer today, but I trust we can hire one to take us out to sea.”

Dana looked at Jayden’s backpack, which contained a small silvery box called the Valivaxis. It could create a gateway to another world, except the only things on that world were dead elf emperors and living monsters that made wyverns and chimera seem tame in comparison. “What do we do with you-know-what once we get there?”

“Throw it overboard far from shore, where no one can ever find it,” Jayden replied. “It’s a pity given how rare the Valivaxis is, but I don’t feel we could find a safe place for it or person to entrust it to.”

They walked for hours more, but to Dana’s surprise they saw no houses or farms, just small pine trees. There were ruins, burned or rotted away, but few signs of men. “Where is everyone?”

“The soil is poor and supports few crops,” he explained. “There are lumberjacks in the countryside, but most of the wealth comes from fishing.”

As they reached the city’s outskirts, Dana asked, “What’s this place called?”

“Welcome to Fish Bait City, once the richest city in the kingdom,” Jayden said dramatically.

“You can’t be serious,” Dana told him.

“Obviously it’s glory days are behind it,” Jayden admitted. Rats scurried down alleys strewn with garbage. Most shops were closed forever rather than for the day, their doors and windows boarded over. Brick buildings were common and somehow decaying, with crumbling bricks and many holes. The few citizens on the street wore patched clothes that should have been thrown out. Topping off an incredibly bleak picture, the salty sea air stank from rotting fish.

“I mean you’re kidding about the name, right?”

“Shockingly, no. It was once the hamlet of Fish Bait, grew to be the town of Fish Bait, and with the coming of trade routes bloomed into the city of Fish Bait.” Jayden saw her disbelieving expression and added, “It’s considered bad luck to change a settlement’s name, no matter how silly. People believe renaming a town or city risks offending the dead buried there and drawing their wrath.”

“Has that ever happened?”

Jayden shrugged. “Twice that I know of. Both events were overblown.”

Dana stepped over a pothole as deep as a cooking pot. “What happened here?”

“It’s the king and queen’s doing.” Jayden led her through the streets, where they drew little attention from passing men. “Fish Bait City had the good fortune to avoid the worst of the fighting during the civil war. Unfortunately, the conflict that devastated the rest of the kingdom left the treasury empty. Existing taxes were raised, new taxes were made, and old forgotten taxes dug up from the grave and pressed into service. Government officials robbed merchants blind, and in time the merchants stopped coming.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “The civil war was twenty years ago.”

Jayden gave her a lopsided grin. “Taxes often outlive what they were meant to pay for. Three hundred years ago there was a wine tax to fund a war against a league of necromancers. The war lasted two years and the tax is still with us.”

They traveled through the edges of Fish Bait City until they reached a large harbor. Five medium sized fishing boats were docked alongside many rowboats. There were two larger merchant ships missing their sails and masts. Fishermen and laborers were present in small numbers.

“Grim as the city is, it has one thing we need above all else: boats,” Jayden said. More softly, he added, “It shouldn’t be expensive to hire one for a few days and take our most unwelcome guest out to sea. Make arrangements for our stay. I need to have a potter cover the Valivaxis in clay and bake it into a brick to better contain it.”

“Don’t you think I should be doing that?” she asked. He looked at her curiously, and she pointed at his gaudy clothes. “We’re not in the wilderness or a small town anymore. Which one of us is going to draw less attention from the authorities?”

“I’m sure they’ll notice me.” Jayden grinned and added, “I’m equally sure there’s nothing they can do about my presence.”

With that Jayden left her alone in the city. This was the first time Dana had visited a city, even a decrepit one, and the experience was overwhelming. Countless streets ran in every direction, brick buildings loomed over her, and nothing could prepare her for the smell. The ocean lent a pleasant odor to the air, but it couldn’t compete with the stench of manure, unwashed bodies, rotting fish and boiling tar. That last vulgar smell came from fishermen coating the hulls of their boats with tar to prevent rot.

If the city was unpleasant, the people were worse. The few men on the roads refused to make eye contact. Dana’s friendly greetings went unanswered as if she didn’t exist. When she hesitated at a crossroad, an older woman sweeping out her house spoke.

“You stay indoors tonight, young lady,” the woman said. She didn’t look up, just kept sweeping. “A fog is coming. Feel it in my bones.”

“Uh, thanks,” Dana replied. That was weird. She was going to chalk up the encounter to the woman being a touch off in the head, but nearby people nodded in agreement.

“Sorry about that,” a young man said. Dana stopped and looked at him, surprised that someone was talking to her. The youth had black hair and brown eyes, and the muscular build of someone used to hard work. He wore simple leather clothes, and more importantly he carried a spear. “It takes these people a long time to warm up to you. They wouldn’t even look at me for four months.”

“Weapons can have that effect.” Dana had a natural aversion to armed men and tried to slip around him, but the man followed her. He shifted his spear to his left hand and reached out with his right.

“Chuck Lowroad, at your service. I’ve never seen you before.”

Dana adjusted her baggage to shake his hand. “Dana Illwind. I’m new in town, Mr. Lowroad. My friend and I are only staying for a short time. Um, is there a reason why you’re armed?”

Chuck laughed. “I’m not anyone’s mister. Call me Chuck. I’m with the militia. I know, I don’t look like the soldier type. I was two weeks off the farm, looking to find my place in the world, when a pressgang gave me a job, a spear and two weeks training that revolved around where to find the best ale in Fish Bait.”

Puzzled, she asked, “How does that help you protect a city?”

“It doesn’t, especially since I can’t afford a drink. The city is six months behind in paying the militia and only sort of feeds us. I’ll be rich if I ever get my back wages. Say, I can’t get you a drink, for obvious reasons, but maybe I can do you a good turn. You’re new here so let me help. I know places in the city you might like to visit and a few you’ll want to avoid.”

Dana had met her fair share of helpful young men, and she’d learned that most of them were too romantic for their own good (or hers). Chuck looked nice, but she’d rather not trust her luck. “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with your boss.”

Chuck nodded to a drunken man slouched down in a chair outside a tavern. “Leo, I’m skipping duty.”

“Bring back booze,” Leo called back.

“See, problem solved,” Chuck told her.

Dana stared at him. “Your baron is okay with this?”

“Weapons won’t solve the problems in Fish Bait City. We don’t even have crime since there’s nothing to steal. To be honest, half this job is knowing when to tell the baron we followed orders when we didn’t. You wouldn’t believe how vindictive he is. Let’s find a better topic of conversation. Do you have family here, or are you getting away from them?”

She edged away from Chuck. “This is getting personal.”

Chuck laughed. “Oh come on! Listen, people say I have a good eye for details. Let me guess your past. With those clothes you’re fresh off the farm. You’d doing okay for yourself with so much baggage. And you look confident, which is rare around here, so you’ve got an ace up your sleeve. Am I right?”

Indigent, she demanded, “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

Still slouched in his chair, Leo called out, “Talking like that’s going to get you kneed where it hurts, Chuck.”

“I’m just trying to be helpful,” Chuck protested.

“You want to be helpful?” Dana asked. “I need an inn room for the night. Point me to a good one and I’ll let that ‘fresh off the farm’ comment go.”

“It wasn’t an insult!” Chuck sighed and said, “I’ll take you to the best in Fish Bait City. It’s not what it used to be, but the food’s good and the doors have locks.”

As Chuck led Dana away, Leo said, “Don’t get mad at him, girly. He’s not evil, just dumb.”

The tour through Fish Bait was far from scenic. Streets swarmed with beggars and orphans. The stench had been bad at the city’s edge, and as they walked it actually got worse. Dana had grown up in a small town and was no stranger to farm life and the smells that entailed, but the city’s rancid odor was appalling.

Dana put a hand over her nose when she saw men leave buckets of fish entrails in an alley. “What are they doing?”

Chuck shrugged. “Fed goblins cause less trouble than hungry ones.”

Dozens of goblins scampered through the shadows, and some stopped to eat from the buckets. They were two to four feet tall and had skin colors ranging from red to gray to green. No two goblins looked alike, some having webbed fingers, pointed ears, stunted wings on their backs, sharp teeth, and one had a third arm. They dressed in rags and were armed with clubs and slings. Filthy goblins babbled and hooted as they made mischief and set traps for anyone foolish enough to follow them into the alleys.

“This is disgusting,” Dana said.

“Don’t you have goblins where you come from?”

She frowned and said, “Not this many. They sneak into town to eat table scraps before we can feed them to our chickens. Sometimes they set traps like making outhouses tip over when you use them. I once threatened to give my little brother to the goblins when he was naughty. He asked if I could help him pack. I know goblins aren’t that bad, but there are so many of them here!”

“Yeah, it’s hard to deal with,” Chuck admitted. “If you get too many goblins together they can work some kind of magic. Some old coot said goblins are so stupid and crazy that too many of them close together can warp space. I thought he was joking, right until I found myself flying into the ocean when I chased a goblin.”

“How can that be?” Dana asked. No sooner had the words left her mouth then the air began to ripple and smell musty. Her skin tingled, and live eels appeared from nowhere to rain down on her. She covered her head as goblins laughed and an old woman gathered up the eels for supper.

Dana stared at the goblins and gave Chuck a disapproving look. Chuck raised his hands in mock surrender and said, “I know it looks bad, but we leave goblins alone here. Leo gave me two pieces of advice when I was forced to take this job. Number one is which bars have good mixed drinks, which I have to take his word on until I get paid. Number two is leave beggars, orphans and goblins alone, no excuses. The Shrouded One hunts anyone who hurts them.”

“You’re afraid of a fairytale?” she asked. Nearby goblins laughed as Chuck’s face turned red. “I heard that story when I was five. The Shrouded One lurks in doorways for thieves and bandits, punishing cheating merchants and greedy mayors, stealing miser’s gold and sinking pirate ships.”

Chuck looked down as the color drained from his face. “I’ve seen that fairytale. I’ve seen men try to kill him and what happened to them for trying. And he sunk two ships.”

“You, you’re serious.”

“You bet I’m serious!” Chuck’s earlier bravado vanished. “I used to think The Shrouded One was a boogieman to scare little kids, but he’s real and lives here. You think I’m joking? Come with me.”

Chuck led Dana to the center of Fish Bait City. The buildings were larger but shockingly run down, the brickwork crumbling and wood walls rotting. Across from the ocean was a cathedral that dwarfed nearby buildings. It was in far better shape, but the windows were dark and the only people near it were beggars.

“You’re old enough to remember when the king and queen ordered the Brotherhood of the Righteous out of the kingdom five years ago, right?” Chuck asked. He pointed his spear at the cathedral and said, “The baron who rules Fish Bait City couldn’t wait to chase out the priests and monks so he could steal their property. He threw a party in the cathedral with his friends to celebrate taking it over as his new house.”

Dana eyed their surroundings nervously. No nobleman would allow beggars so close to his home. “I’m guessing that didn’t work too well.”

“A dense fog rolled in that night, and The Shrouded One came with it. The baron and his friends ran screaming into the night. The baron won’t come into Fish Bait City unless he has to, and he leaves before nightfall. These days only the homeless stay at the cathedral. That was five years ago, and The Shrouded One hasn’t left. He comes some nights and every time there’s a fog, punishing the guilty and protecting the unwanted. Hit a beggar, kick a goblin, ignore an orphan’s pleas, and you’ll pay.”

Still skeptical, Dana asked, “You’ve seen him?”

Chuck pointed at the two large ships in the bay. “Two months ago the baron ordered us to ambush The Shrouded One when he came with the fog. We waited on those two confiscated smuggler ships with every militiaman in the city. The fog rolled in, we heard church bells ring for midnight, and when the last bell tolled The Shrouded One was standing between us. I saw him get hit by arrows, spears, swords, fists, and Leo even head butted him. We just made him angry. If brotherhood priest were still here maybe they could banish him. As for us, we learned our lesson and keep out of his way.”

Dana put a hand over her face. “What is it with me running into weird monsters? Wait a minute. Why did your baron send militiamen instead of soldiers or mercenaries?”

“Oh, them.” Chuck laughed without mirth. “The king and queen are throwing a war, and everybody’s invited. Soldiers and mercenaries who are supposed to protect Fish Bait City got called away months ago. That’s why I got pressganged into the militia. Someone’s got to protect the city. The baron conscripted guys like me to do it, with a death sentence for deserters.”

Jayden had a deep and burning hatred for the royal couple, and he was sure they were going to invade neighboring kingdoms. If a city as large as Fish Bait had been stripped of defenders and left with only militiamen, then the war couldn’t be far off.

“Your baron couldn’t hire more mercenaries?”

Chuck shrugged. “Mercenaries come in by sea from time to time. The king’s agents hire them the moment they step on dry land. Doesn’t matter that we need them when the war needs them more. We even had an elf wizard show up a week ago. He left the next day with a job to hunt an enemy of the king. It wouldn’t have helped if they’d stayed.”

“Wonderful,” she said sarcastically. “It’s one hideous monster after another lately.”

“You need a place to stay tonight,” Chuck continued. He pointed out to sea, where a mist hung on the horizon. “There’s going to be a fog tonight, and that guarantees The Shrouded One will come. I’m sure you have money to pay for an inn room, but if you want protection—”

“Don’t you ever stop?”

Chuck studied her from head to foot and smiled. “I’ve got a good reason not to.”

To her relief, Dana saw Jayden coming down the street toward them. She pointed at him and told Chuck, “And there’s your reason to be a good little boy. Meet my traveling companion.”

Chuck looked worried as Jayden approached. “Wait, I’ve seen wanted posters for that guy. You travel with him? There’s a huge price on his head, and it keeps going up. The latest wanted poster puts the bounty at 1000 silver pieces! That kind of money attracts dangerous men who wouldn’t mind hurting innocent girls.” Chuck paused and gave Dana a questioning look. “You two aren’t…you know?”

“What? No!”

“So I’ve still got a chance with you?” he asked hopefully.

Dana went through her belongings until she found a gold coin. Once upon a time she would have been shocked to have such wealth, but since traveling with Jayden she’d come to see gold as a tool to be used. She pressed the coin into Chuck’s hand and said, “Here, I’m paying you to go away. Try those bars you heard about and have a drink on me.”

“But—”

“Scoot!” she scolded, and pushed him away. Chuck left looking like a puppy that had been kicked.

Jayden smiled at the spectacle. “And you thought I’d attract too much attention.”

Dana blushed. “We’ve got bigger problems than teenage boys. A fairytale lives here, and not one of the nice ones.”

And now for the exciting conclusion to Fairytales.


It took minutes to relate Chuck’s story to Jayden. He seemed curious rather than frightened, and said, “The potter I spoke with warned me to stay indoors tonight, but didn’t explain why. That’s one mystery solved.”

“I heard about The Shrouded One while I was growing up. He hunts evildoers, and lots of people think you’re a bad person. If The Shrouded One thinks so he might come after you.”

Dana and Jayden left to find an inn. Chuck had been showing her the way before he’d brought her to the abandoned cathedral, so she sort of knew the way.

“I’ve heard tales of The Shrouded One,” Jayden told her. “There are dozens of versions of the same basic story. A criminal or corrupt authority figure hurts a deserving person and The Shrouded One comes to avenge the injury. Violence ensues, The Shrouded One suffers wounds that should kill a dragon yet remains standing, and the villain suffers a terrible fate. Burned, buried, trapped, enslaved, transformed into a wombat, The Shrouded One’s penalties vary from tale to tale, but are always severe.”

They walked by more sullen residents, and Dana said, “That explains why people here act so weird. They’ve had a monster in their city for years. Why don’t the king and queen send soldiers to kill him?”

“Why risk soldiers to save a city they already ruined?” Jayden asked.

“I don’t want to fight this fairytale,” Dana said.

To her surprise, Jayden agreed. “We can’t risk losing possession of the Valivaxis. Whoever or whatever The Shrouded One is, we need to avoid him for now.”

They eventually found a two-story inn called The Oyster Beds, with a worn sign near the door showing an oyster sleeping in a luxurious bed. They’d nearly reached the inn when a filthy goblin jumped out of an alley in front of Dana and shouted, “Boogey, boogey!”

Dana put her hands on her hips. “Oh come on, was that supposed to scare me? I’m not a child!”

The goblin looked at her for a moment before saying, “You’re living in a kingdom ruled by men who would kill your parents, siblings, neighbors and cat, no questions asked. That better?”

She hesitated before asking, “Can we go back to boogey, boogey?”

The goblin folded his arms across his chest and marched off. “No. You ruined the moment.”

Jayden chuckled as he watched the goblin leave, and then he and Dana entered the inn. It wasn’t as rundown as the rest of Fish Bait City, but still looked worn out and sad. There was a common room with large empty tables, and a bar against one wall with a shocking number of whiskey bottles behind it. The only people present were a man behind the bar and a young girl mopping the floor. If the inn wasn’t impressive, at least it smelled nice from some kind of perfume.

“Ah, it’s so good to see you again, Alfonzo,” the man said. He stepped out to greet them with a smile. “I see you brought your daughter with you. So good to see you again.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Dana asked. “I’m Dana Illwind.”

“Dear girl, of course you’re not,” the man told her.

Jayden raised one eyebrow as he studied the man. “I’m not familiar with this game. You’ll have to explain the rules.”

The man pointed to a paper nailed to the wall behind the bar. “Our illustrious king and queen ordered innkeepers to report the names of our guests, and their comings and goings. Some men would rather not say such things, for reasons I don’t question, but that’s not a problem. The only guest my inn gets is Alfonzo the woodcutter, a poor but honest man who stays here when he comes to sell firewood. Sometimes dear Alfonzo brings his wife or his daughters and sons, charming children, truly.”

Jayden smiled. “I see. How often does Alfonzo stay here?”

“Why, you’ve been here quite often, sir. For tax reasons you stay in our cheapest room, but you might find a more pleasant one to your liking just this once, eh, Alfonzo?”

“Your baron doesn’t notice this?” Dana asked.

The innkeeper shrugged. “Our baron is a troubled man. I see no need to upset him.”

Jayden tossed the innkeeper a gold coin. “A room for me and another for the lady. If you serve meals we’ll pay for dinner as well.”

The innkeeper caught the coin and smiled. “We serve meals, and you’d be wise to buy them rather than go out. The only restaurants worth visiting are across town, too far away to reach before nightfall.”

“And before the fog arrives,” Jayden said.

Their host’s smile dimmed. “Ah, you’ve heard of that. Just as well. But don’t worry. If The Shrouded One didn’t come when the elf stayed with us then he won’t come now. Girl, show Alfonzo and his daughter to their rooms, and chase out any goblins that got inside.”

Their rooms were spacious and clean, but like the rest of the city had seen better days. Dana set her belongings on the floor and tested the room’s large bed before going downstairs. She met Jayden as the girl brought hollowed out loaves of bread filled with soup.

“You had an elf guest?” Jayden asked as he ate.

The innkeeper shrugged. “Elves, dwarfs, why, Alfonzo was once a young troll. But the elf we had last week, ah, he was a piece of work. The elves I’ve met were loud, rude, always complaining, but this one raised it to an art form. I lost track of how many times he told us he was a wizard and about the monsters he’d defeated. He left after one night’s stay, and without paying, I might add. He did give me this.”

Jayden leaned in as the innkeeper reached behind the bar and took out a potted plant. It was gorgeous, with leaves glittering like gems, large purple flowers tipped with gold, and perfume wafting from its blossoms so magnificent that it concealed the stench from outside.

“That’s an Imperial Starflower, a rare and magical plant,” Jayden said. “It’s also expensive.”

“He said it would improve the quality of my inn, which I can’t question, and that I could divide it into two plants once it grew larger.” The innkeeper placed the flower back behind the bar and added, “I seldom deal with wizards, but if I can sell one of the plants after dividing it then his stay may have been worth it.”

“The elf showed some class after all,” Jayden said.

The conversation ended when they looked through the windows to see residents of Fish Bait City seeking cover. Men shuttered their windows while women ushered children inside. Doors slammed shut across the city, and every chimney in view began billowing smoke. The Oyster Beds was no different, as the young girl closed doors and windows while the innkeeper piled dry wood in the fireplace.

“Worried your city’s less than esteemed guest might come down the chimney?” Jayden asked.

The innkeeper threw more wood on the fire. “It has happened but not here. I plan on keeping it that way.”

Dana’s attention was drawn to more papers tacked to the wall near the bar. These were different from the order demanding innkeepers inform on their clientele. Namely, each paper had a drawing of a man or woman, and the price the throne would pay for their arrest. Jayden’s face was on several of those papers.

“Um,” she began, and pointed a spoon at the papers.

Jayden and the innkeeper both looked at the papers. Jayden ate more of his dinner before saying, “You know who I am.”

The innkeeper seemed unbothered. “I do. I’ve even met men you’ve saved.” He cleaned a cup and put it behind the bar. “They spoke well of you and what you’ve done to save our kingdom, even though it’s bound and determined to destroy itself. It gave me hope that one day I’ll have more customers, and Alfonzo won’t be staying here anymore.”

For a moment Jayden looked bothered. “I fear that is a day long in coming.”

“I can wait, so long as it comes. Have no fear that the militia might try to arrest you. I hand out the occasional free drink to keep them happy, and most are honorable enough not to carry out our baron’s more offensive orders.”

The rest of dinner was a silent affair. Dana finished eating and went to her room on the second floor. The room was still dark when she set her belongings on the floor and searched for a lantern. She found one and lit it before closing the door.

And once that lantern was lit, she saw the words, “Little girl lost, go home,” written on the wall in tar.

Dana shrieked and raced from her room. She cried out, “Jayden!”

“Over here.” His voice sounded muffled, and in her panic it took her a few seconds to realize he was in his room and speaking through the closed door. She ran to it and grabbed the handle before she froze.

“Are you decent?”

“Morally speaking, no.”

Dana blushed again. “I mean are you dressed?”

“Oh, that. Yes.”

With that potential embarrassment out of the way, she opened the door and looked inside. Jayden’s room was no different than hers in its decorations. That included writing on the wall in tar that said, “I know your real name.”

“This is bad,” Dana whispered.

Jayden replied, “The Shrouded One is making an issue of my presence in his city.”

The innkeeper ran upstairs and into Jayden’s room. His face turned white as a sheet, and he grabbed Jayden’s arm. “I’m so sorry! I, I don’t know how he got in. The doors, we locked and barred them all! I’ll get you new rooms and clean these ones. Please, don’t ask for a refund! I can’t afford to lose the business!”

Jayden pulled free from the innkeeper and marched to the nearest window. He pulled the bar off and opened the shutters to show the street below engulfed in a dense fog. Thick as it was, the white mists didn’t hide the tall man wrapped in a ragged cloak that covered him head to foot. The strange man looked up at Jayden before moving silently down the street.

Jayden’s features hardened into a scowl. “You don’t get to walk away after that.”

“Sir, no!” the innkeeper begged in vain. Jayden ran from the room and headed downstairs to the entrance. Dana went after him in the hope she could prevent this from turning into a fight. She was two steps behind him when he unbarred the door and ran onto the foggy streets. She heard the innkeeper call out to them, but Jayden paid no attention to the man’s warning. Instead he ran into fog as dense as a cloud after an enemy who by all accounts was a fairytale given form, and one who faced many militiamen without injury, much less defeat.

“He went this way!” Jayden shouted as he turned a corner.

Their foe may have done just that, but as Dana and Jayden went around the corner they came upon a brick wall twelve feet high, with no doors or windows The Shrouded One could have gone through or places for him to hide.

“Looking for me?”

The echoing voice came from their right, but when they turned around they found The Shrouded One standing behind them, his return as silent and mysterious as his disappearance. Up close he was intimidating. The cloak didn’t leave an inch of skin exposed. What little should have been visible was covered with strips of dirty cloth wound around his body. The Shrouded One was unarmed yet showed no fear of Jayden, making him even more frightening.

“You entered my room uninvited,” Jayden replied. He cast a spell and formed a sword of utter darkness in his hands, the blade outlined in light that offered just a hint of illumination. “My coming shouldn’t surprise you.”

“Yet a surprise it remains, for all thought you long dead.” The Shrouded One’s voice came from their left, and then from behind them when he spoke again. “I first saw you twenty years ago and marveled at a boy with such promise. I mourned when I heard you’d been put to death, but seeing what you have become is far worse. You assumed the title and magic of the Sorcerer Lords, monsters in all but name. The elves of old killed those fiends, yet you took up their ways.”

Jayden hesitated before answering. “If you know who I was, you know the road I walk is not of my choosing.”

“Excuses,” The Shrouded One replied, his voice coming from above them and to the right. “Many in this land have known untold suffering without resorting to dark ways. Your acts would horrify the boy you once were. I’ve heard too many tales of the damage you leave in your wake. Fish Bait City is my home, my responsibility, and it has known too many hardships without you adding more. Others have faced me and failed. Bring chaos to these people and you will fall as they did.”

If Jayden had been spooked, it passed quickly. “For such a staunch defender your name doesn’t conjure good feelings among the people of Fish Bait City, and your claim to have met me twenty years ago rings hollow when you first appeared here five years ago.”

“Your ignorance is staggering,” The Shrouded One retorted, his echoing voice coming from near his body this time, but farther back than it should have been. “I come from this city, birthed when I am needed, dying when I am not. I was here when you first came and your face showed hope, your actions mercy, your words love. I did nothing then or for years more, staying in the shadows because I wasn’t needed.

“But now I am needed, even if I am not wanted,” The Shrouded One declared from their left. “This city was deafened by the cries of its poor, every stone soaked in their tears until I had no choice but to come. There will be no more suffering here. The baron thought otherwise. Pirates, thieves and men called knights but blackguards by their deeds came to spread evil. They regretted their deeds, as will you.”

“I take offense at you grouping me with those fiends,” Jayden said. “And if you want to compare which of us faced greater odds and won, you’ll find yourself coming up short.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “Oh for the love of God!”

The Shrouded One turned to face her. “What?”

Hoping reason would win over bravado, Dana got between Jayden and The Shrouded One. “Congratulations, you’re both intimidating, so can we move on to the part where you don’t kill each other? The only one who wins that fight is the king and queen, who hate you both.”

Turning to The Shrouded One, she said, “I’ve traveled with Jayden for months. He’s hurt men who hurt innocent people, and who would have hurt even more if he hadn’t stopped them. He’s killed monsters and saved lives. We didn’t come to hurt anyone. We have to hire a ship and leave for a few days, no damage done. Calm down and don’t start a fight you don’t need and might not win.”

“Who is this?” The Shrouded One asked from five different directions.

Jayden walked alongside Dana. “She’s a friend, and a better person than I am.”

The answer seemed to satisfy The Shrouded One. “If one innocent and pure is willing to speak on your behalf then you might not be lost. Return to The Oyster Beds inn. Leave in the morning as you plan without harming others and there shall be no fight between us. But know this, Sorcerer Lord: the darkness inside you could consume you, your one friend in this world and countless others. Turn back while there is still time.”

With that The Shrouded One drifted over to a wall with a hole at the bottom from bricks that had crumbled away. The opening was only six inches high and a foot across, but as The Shrouded One neared it his cloak slipped inside. His body shriveled and twisted as he fit into the hole until he disappeared into it.

Dana felt nauseous. “That was disturbing.”

Jayden allowed his magic sword to vanish before he turned to Dana. “That was very dangerous.”

“Fighting him would have been worse. You might not have survived, and if he’s as strong as you then this city might not have survived you two brawling.”

“True. Let’s go inside before the innkeeper locks us out.”

As they headed back to the inn, Dana cautiously asked, “The Shrouded One said he knew you, and that you had another name.”

“He spoke the truth. I came here many years ago, so long ago it feels like it happened to someone else.”

“So, feel like telling me this other name of yours?”

Jayden stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. “Dana, you’re my friend, the first one in such a long time that I wondered if I would ever have another. I trust you, I respect you and I like you more than I like myself.”

Dana blushed again. “Oh.”

“That’s why I’ll never answer that question.”

“Wait, what?”

His grip on her shoulders tightened ever so slightly. “Officially I’m dead, and safer if all men believe that. You’ve tried to protect me from my enemies and from myself, but if my real name becomes known and that I still live, that knowledge is a death sentence. I worry that The Shrouded One has this information, but I doubt he’d tell my enemies. Make no mention of this to anyone, for your sake as well as mine. Let’s get what rest we can, for tomorrow has trouble enough waiting for us.”

Jayden headed back to the inn as if the conversation was over. Dana frowned and said, “Fine, if you won’t say then I’ll guess. Let’s see, you were nice if a scary nightmare fairytale actually liked you. You would have been younger than me back then, and I bet you were cute. All the girls chased you.”

Jayden rubbed his eyes. “Dana.”

“But you didn’t notice because you were always reading books.”

That got his attention. “What makes you say that?”

“You read spell tablets from the old Sorcerer Lords, and they died out over a thousand years ago. You don’t learn that just anywhere, so somebody got you books about ancient stuff like the Sorcerer Lords and you read them. Books like that must be expensive, so your family had money.”

“Let’s stop this conversation right now,” Jayden said firmly.

Dana smiled. “I’m getting close, aren’t I?”

They’d nearly reached the inn when Dana paused. The dense fog concealed many of Fish Bait City’s poor features, but it didn’t hide the city’s sickening smell. Dana grabbed Jayden’s arm and pulled him to a stop when she said, “Jayden, hold on. That smell, it’s beautiful.”

Jayden inhaled deeply. “Gorgeous, and out of place here.”

“It’s like that pretty flower at the inn the elf used to pay for his stay.”

“I pay no one” a bombastic voice called out. “I helped a stupid, ugly, clumsy man by giving him a flower. But I accept your meager praise of the Imperial Starflower I grew.”

Dana and Jayden fell back as they saw a male elf dressed in white and green robes. He was handsome in an arrogant, sneering kind of way, his black hair styled and trimmed, his youthful face and pointed ears flawless. The elf carried a staff sprouting living vines, and those vines wrapped around his waist and grew to thick vines with arrow shaped leaves and beautiful flowers.

“It’s a variant I bred with a longer lifespan, more fragrant blooms and resistance to common plant diseases. I wouldn’t expect a destructive brigand like you to understand the work it took, but there’s a chance your second rate mind might appreciate beauty, culture or making a lasting improvement in the world.”

Jayden put himself between Dana and the elf. “Fair warning, I’ve already been insulted tonight, and it’s left me in a foul mood. Name yourself and the reason for this meeting.”

The elf came closer, the vines slithering around him as he walked. “Your kind could never hope to pronounce my name, so I use the pseudonym Green Peril when dealing with the weak minded. I trained under the greatest nature wizards of the Elf King, and I have no equal. As for why I degrade myself by visiting this cesspit of a city, the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words applies.”

Green Peril took out a rolled up sheet of paper from inside his robes and tossed it to Jayden. Jayden unrolled it to see a picture of himself with a bounty listed at the bottom.

“More accurately, you’re worth a thousand silver pieces, a paltry reward, but one it seems I must accept,” Green Peril said.

Jayden cast a spell and formed his black magic sword. “I have no quarrel with you.”

“No,” Green Peril admitted. “You have a quarrel with the local human king. He and his shrewish wife are tired of your antics. I came to become their court wizard, and hopefully bring this nation of knuckle dragging halfwits up to an acceptable level of culture. Their representative was so impressed with me that he used a magic mirror to call his king. Your nemesis approved my offer of service and promised adequate pay, but only if I proved myself worthy by bringing back your head. Elves put an end to the Sorcerer Lords in ancient times, so the offer was almost wise and well within my abilities.”

The nest of vines grew and spread as Green Peril neared. “I thought it would take weeks to track you down, when to my surprise I learned from the birds of the sky that you came to the very port where I’d first entered this festering kingdom. I hope killing you is a challenge, because finding you was child’s play.”

Dana gulped nervously. Green Peril might be a legitimate threat. Bad as that was, Jayden still had the Valivaxis. He’d had a potter bake it into a clay brick, but if Green Peril was thorough he might find it. The Valivaxis was a gateway to the graveyard of ancient elf emperors, which might tempt the elf wizard into opening it, releasing the monstrous guardians within.

Then the elf noticed Dana. “And who is this? A servant? An apprentice? A pet? Regardless of the answer, her head is of no value to me. Send her away.”

Dana glanced at Jayden and asked, “Seriously?”

“I try not to stereotype, but all the elves I’ve met were insufferable,” he told her. He looked at Green Peril and said, “You’ve no doubt researched me, but I’ve recently learned new spells and am more of a threat than you know. Your chances of winning this battle aren’t encouraging.”

Green Peril smirked. “We shall see. Sorcerer Lord Jayden, I challenge you to a duel. Let us see which of us is the greater wizard.”

Desperate to keep this fight from starting, Dana said, “How is this fair? I mean, a Sorcerer Lord versus a magic gardener?”

Jayden and Green Peril both stared at her. The elf yelled, “What?”

“Jayden kills powerful monsters like the Living Graveyard and you make pretty flowers, which you pay your bills with. Gamblers wouldn’t bet money on you. You said you studied under great wizards. If they could see you now, groveling for a job from a human king and killing for him.”

“I’m placing myself in a position of power to influence this kingdom and set it on a course that will align it with the Elf Kingdom.”

“You’re trying to get a job, and from the start you’re going to be disloyal by manipulating your boss into doing what you want,” Dana said. “Why would they hire you? Everybody within five hundred miles knows Jayden, but I’d never heard of you before tonight. For all that boasting you’re a nobody. The king and queen can do better for a court wizard. They’re just using you to do their dirty work, then bang, out the door you go without so much as a thank you.”

Before the elf could yell again, Dana asked, “And what’s with that sapling you’re carrying?”

“It’s a magic staff to focus his magic and prevent misfires,” Jayden told her.

“Why don’t you have one?”

Jayden smirked. “For the same reason healthy men don’t use crutches.”

“So take away that twig and he’s in trouble,” Dana said. “I’m not impressed.”

“You!” Green Peril yelled, but he regained his composure. “You’re trying to bait me into acting foolishly and making an error in battle.”

“Or embarrass you into not attacking. You don’t have a good reason to fight him. He’s saved lots of lives in this kingdom.”

Green Peril looked at Jayden. “So that’s why you keep her around.”

Jayden shrugged. “Clever, brave, moral compass, her value knows no limits. If you seek to curry the king and queen’s favor, know that many have tried to steer the royal couple onto a safe course. They failed. The patrons you seek care for no one save themselves. If you want to improve the kingdom then there are other ways. I can help you do it.”

Jayden’s words had as much effect as arrows fired at a brick wall. Green Peril sneered and replied, “I made a pact with the king and queen you seek to topple, and my word is my bond. You shall die tonight, and this kingdom’s future will be better in my hands than yours. Foolish man, you won’t survive this night.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Green Peril frowned as The Shrouded One drifted down the street toward them. “Sorcerer Lord, mere minutes have passed since I warned you not to bring chaos to this city, and I find you in a duel.”

Jayden pointed his ebony sword at Green Peril. “For once I didn’t start this.”

“Who or what is this?” Green Peril asked.

“The Shrouded One, fairytale come to life,” Dana said. She pointed at the elf and added, “Green Peril, elf wizard, jerk and hypocrite.”

“I won’t tolerate battles within this city,” The Shrouded One said. “Whatever quarrel you two have, settle it elsewhere.”

Green Peril shrugged, and the vines around him stretched across the misty street, wrapped around The Shrouded One’s chest and crushed him like an egg. Dana screamed as the vines tossed The Shrouded One’s tattered remains aside.

“That settles that,” Green Peril said.

“It settled nothing.”

Dana, Jayden and Green Peril whirled around to see The Shrouded One rise up behind them. The Shrouded One faced Green Peril before speaking. “You chose this fight, wizard. Now feel the wrath of an entire city.”

Green Peril’s vines grew explosively until they nearly filled the street. Half the vines struck at Jayden while the rest went after The Shrouded One. Jayden hacked away the nearest vines while The Shrouded One was torn apart again. Green Peril began casting a spell, but never finished it. Bricks flew through the air as thick as raindrops in a storm, all of them aimed at the elf. Green Peril’s vines batted most of them aside, but one struck him in the stomach and broke his concentration, ruining the spell.

“Get back!” Jayden ordered Dana. He cast another spell and formed a shield three feet across made of spinning black blades. The shield hovered in front of him, and when one of Green Peril’s vines wrapped around it the shield tore it to shreds. Two more vines struck the shield and were reduced to pulp. Jayden hacked apart another vine with his sword when it came too near, but Green Peril’s vines grew and replaced what it lost.

“This battle ends now,” The Shrouded One declared as he rose up from the misty streets. Torrents of boiling tar poured down from the roofs onto the vines, scalding them to death. Green Peril’s plant tried to regrow, but Jayden lunged in and hacked it apart. The elf fell back as Jayden and The Shrouded One advanced on him. “You had your warning. Now suffer as those before you did.”

“Your other enemies weren’t wizards, or elves,” Green Peril retorted. He cast a spell and caused roots to burst up from the street. They wrapped around The Shrouded One’s head and crushed it, destroying him once again, but no sooner had he fallen then he rose up again farther down the street. “By oaks and ancestors, how many times do I have to kill you?”

“Until you get it right!”

Jayden charged Green Peril and had nearly reached him when the elf drew a glass bottle from inside his robes. He threw it at the wall of a nearby building and it shattered to release hornets. Once free, the hornets quickly grew as big as dogs. Green Peril pointed his staff at Jayden, Dana and The Shrouded One, and the hornets flew after them.

Jayden slashed one hornet in half before a second attacked him. The monster went straight for his face and would have stung him except it hit his black shield first. Dana heard a hideous shriek as the shield ground the hornet into mush before the spell failed and the shield vanished. Two more hornets went after The Shrouded One. They’d nearly reached him when the side of a two story tall brick building peeled off and fell on them. Both hornets were crushed, leaving two more flying after Dana.

Dana ran for her life with two flying monsters in hot pursuit. Thankfully, the giant hornets weren’t as fast as their smaller cousins, and she managed to stay ahead of them. She raced down the misty streets, the sound of buzzing wings not far behind. One hornet flew up high and tried to dive onto her. Dana climbed under an empty wagon on the street. The hornet landed and tried to go after her. The moment it did, she got to the other side of the wagon and pushed hard. The wagon was heavy, but Dana was strong from years of farm work, and she rolled the wagon wheels over the hornet. Squish!

She looked around and saw the other hornet still in the air. It came closer until she heard Green Peril shout, “Not the girl, you idiot! Kill the Sorcerer Lord!”

The hornet flew back to the battle and Dana raced after it. The hornet was flying close to the ground, and as it approached Jayden it lowered its stinger, long and sharp as a dagger.

Dana charged the hornet and leapt onto its back. Her weight was enough to force the monster down. She and the hornet rolled across the filthy street until they hit a wall. The hornet struggled to get free of her as she wrapped her legs around its back. It was still trying to break loose when she drew her dagger and drove it between the armored plates on the hornet’s back and neck, taking the monster’s head off.

She returned to find the fight still in progress. Green Peril plucked a green sprig off his staff and cast a spell on it. The sprig grew into an enormous plant, easily as large as nearby buildings, and it opened a gaping maw filled with teeth. Jayden tried to hide behind a wagon on the street, but the plant swallowed him and the wagon. Green Peril followed this up by casting another spell that caused his staff to sprout a sickle blade made of wood. He sneered and marched toward The Shrouded One.

“One down, one to go,” Green Peril announced.

Dana spotted three buckets sitting in an alleyway. They smelled of rotting fish, and as she approached she saw they contained fish entrails, a disgusting bribe to placate the city’s goblins. One bucket was still full, and she grabbed it and ran after Green Peril. The elf had nearly reached The Shrouded One when she caught up and splashed rotting fish guts over the elf.

Green Peril screamed in outrage, “These are new robes!”

Dana clobbered him over the head with the bucket. “Let Jayden go!”

She didn’t know if the elf could do what she demanded, but the matter soon became moot. The plant monster cried out in agony as it coughed up the wagon it had eaten along with Jayden. It kept coughing, then threw its head back and howled as Jayden’s black sword cut it apart from the inside. The monster fell dead to the street and Jayden hacked his way to freedom.

It was dark and foggy, but Dana could still see how furious Jayden was. He dripped with sap, his long messy hair was plastered to his head, and his clothes were torn where the plant monster’s teeth had cut. He barred his teeth as his magic sword vanished and was replaced with a black whip.

“I…have had…enough,” he declared.

“A pity, because I can keep this up all night,” Green Peril replied. He kicked Dana away and gripped his staff/sickle with both hands. “So, who dies first?”

“After you,” The Shrouded One told him.

It was hard to see what happened next. The fog rippled, and Dana’s skin tingled right before a rowboat came flying through the air. It was an old wreck with a large hole below the waterline and seawater pouring out of it. Green Peril saw it hurtling toward him and leapt out of the way before it crashed into the street where he’d been standing.

Green Peril charged The Shrouded One and sliced him in half at the waist. The Shrouded One rose up from the fog a block away, and the elf yelled curses into the night. “I’ll kill you a thousand times if that’s what it takes!”

Jayden was on the elf before he got a chance to carry out the threat. He swung the black whip and it wrapped around Green Peril’s staff. The whip sizzled as it ate through the staff. As Green Peril tried to pull free the staff snapped in two.

“You needed that staff to focus your magic,” Jayden said. “It’s a limitation the magic of the Sorcerer Lords doesn’t share. Losing it won’t prevent you casting more spells, but it should weaken them enough for me to end this.”

“I have no limits!” Green Peril shouted. He cast another spell, but it took him longer and his body shook at the effort. Briars with long thorns grew up around him, spreading so fast that Jayden and Dana had to retreat. The wall of briars was twenty feet thick, five feet tall and had thorns three inches long that dripped what was almost certainly poison.

“How quaint,” Jayden said. He swung his whip at the briars, and was rewarded with a hiss as it burned through them. Briars fell to the street, still sizzling, and Jayden swung again to hack more briars down.

Green Peril began to panic. Jayden came from one side while The Shrouded One came from the other. Sweat poured off the elf as Jayden destroyed the briar wall, and there was terror in his eyes as he ran away. Jayden and The Shrouded One followed him as Green Peril fled to the port. He cast another spell, gasping at the effort it took, but he grew another nest of vines around him. Green Peril got into one of the smaller boats and his vines seized the boat’s oars. He managed to row the boat out to sea.

“You brought suffering to this city, wizard,” The Shrouded One said. “Do you really think I’ll let you escape so easily?”

Small anchors tied to tarred ropes swung from one of the large ships in the harbor and caught the edge of Green Peril’s boat. Green Peril tried to pull the anchors off, but the ropes went tight and held him in place.

On shore, Jayden began to chant. A tiny flickering spark formed in his hands as he prepared one of his more devastating spells. Green Peril saw this and cast a much faster spell that made roots burst up from the street. The roots grabbed a nearby house and collapsed it on The Shrouded One, destroying him once again, but the ropes didn’t slacken when he fell. Green Peril cried out in fear as Jayden finished his spell and sent the tiny spark flying at the elf. He jumped from the boat as the spark hit and detonated into a ball of fire.

For a second that seemed to be the end of it, but a giant hawk burst from the sea and flew away. The huge bird bobbed up and down as it fled into the night.

“Transformation magic,” Jayden said as Dana walked up alongside him. “I didn’t think he’d be strong enough to cast a spell that difficult without his staff to focus the energies. I can’t follow him and none of my spells have enough range to reach him. Still, using so much energy without a staff will exhaust him. Our foe lives, but will need days to recover his strength and months to replace his staff.”

Dana wiped sweat off her brow. “Looks like he’s not going to be the court wizard.”

“Likely not. The Shrouded One hasn’t reappeared. Hopefully he’s satisfied how the battle went and won’t cause us trouble. Let’s return to the inn. I need a bath, and we need to be out of this city before its people ask awkward questions in the morning.”

“Why aren’t people asking questions right now?” Dana asked.

Jayden and Dana looked at the houses around them. The battle had been deafeningly loud and done considerable damage to the city, yet no doors or windows opened. Militia and citizens alike made no move to investigate the disturbance.

“This is what fear does to people,” Jayden told her. “Year after year of threats they can’t stop, and the men and women can only keep their heads down and hope danger passes them by. No one should live like this, helpless and frightened, yet so many in the kingdom do. This is why I fight the king and queen, for their rule has brought suffering to good people.”

Dana paused. “Wait here.”

“Why?”

“Just wait,” she told him, and headed to the house Green Peril had destroyed. It was abandoned, thank God, but she dug through the rubble anyway until she found the tattered remains of The Shrouded One’s cloak. And in those shreds of fabric she found a small bruised goblin only two feet tall. “Are you hurt?”

“I’ll heal,” the goblin told her. He had lavender colored skin and wore leather clothes. There were straps on his waist and back where thin wood posts once connected him to the cloak of a much taller man. The goblin sat up and blinked. “How did you know?”

“My skin tingled when your warp magic threw the rowboat at Green Peril. I’d felt the same thing earlier when goblins warped live eels on me. You made The Shrouded One.”

“Sort of.” The goblin looked down as more goblins crept in. “We knew the story and how it scared people. We used to laugh how things that don’t exist frightened men. But then the civil war came, and the old queen died and the king got a new queen, a bad one. People got scared of real things, their own leaders. One day they took away the brotherhood priests, the only men left in Fish Bait City who tried to help. We had to do something, but we’re so small.”

More goblins came, some carrying bricks, others empty buckets coated with hot tar. The first goblin looked at Dana and said, “But The Shrouded One is feared. Bad men would be too scared to fight back if they thought they were fighting a fairytale. So we played a trick on the whole city. We made cloaks that fit over us like a man, and when it’s dark or foggy we come out to protect people.”

“Were any of you hurt tonight?” she asked.

Another goblin held up a shredded cloak. “Green Peril aimed high, just like all the others.”

Dana studied the growing crowd of goblins gathering around her. “You threw the bricks that flew at Green Peril. I heard your voice coming from different places because there were lots of you talking for The Shrouded One. And you were on the roofs and dumped boiling tar on him. How did you make the wall fall on his bugs?”

“Half the city is abandoned,” a goblin told her. “We’ve rigged walls and whole buildings to come down when we need them to.”

More goblins peeked out from the large ship in the harbor where they’d snared Green Peril during his escape. Others came with shredded cloaks and a few with intact cloaks folded up. It was hard to see them in the fog and impossible to guess their numbers.

“Dana?” Jayden called out.

“Give me another minute!” she called back.

The lavender goblin took Dana’s hand. “Please, you can’t tell anyone about us. We only get away with this because men are afraid. If they figure out we’re just goblins, that we can die like anyone else, they’ll hunt us down. When we’re gone Fish Bait City will get worse. I know these people deserve so much more, but we’re all they have.”

Dana looked at the mob of goblins. It was strange. Fish Bait City’s baron was an evil man who stole land from the brotherhood and no doubt did many things as bad or worse. Fear kept the baron in check. If he wasn’t afraid anymore, people who’d already suffered so much would suffer more. Jayden helped good men across the kingdom, but he could only be in one place at a time. Once he left a town or city its citizens were on their own. These people might fear The Shrouded One, but they needed his protection.

“Tell me one thing,” she said. “You said you knew Jayden as a boy. How?”

“He was part of a royal expedition, one of hundreds who wanted to improve Fish Bait City. He was young, so full of promise, but the king and queen put an end to that.” The lavender goblin looked down, as did the entire mob. “If he’d grown up to be the man we thought he would, nobody would need The Shrouded One.”

“Dana?” It was Jayden, his voice carrying a hint of concern.

“Coming!” she called back. She looked to the goblins for more information, but they said no more. Perhaps they wanted Jayden to have his secrets the same way they had theirs.

The lavender goblin looked into Dana’s eyes. “If you tell them what we’re doing, they’ll kill us.”

Dana bent down and stroked the goblin’s cheek before she left. Their lives were in her hands, and thousands of people depended on them. What choice was there? She smiled and said, “Silly goblin, you can’t kill fairytales.”

Dana Illwind and Sorcerer Lord Jayden are back in part 1 of A Fair Deal.


“Why do the ports we visit smell like something died?” Dana asked as she got off the boat. She’d been cooped up on the ramshackle fishing boat for five days, an experience made worse by the overpowering stench of dead fish permeating the wood vessel. Dana had assumed getting on land would relieve the problem, but the city of Pearl Bay smelled like a horrible mix of spoiled meat, rotting produce, manure and unwashed bodies.

“It’s a common feature of large cities,” Jayden replied. “Too many people, poor sanitation, add summer’s heat, and you have a recipe for olfactory offense.”

The captain sailed his miserable boat up to the long docks stretching out over the water and moored them to the nearest open berth. He and his three-man crew got out of the way as Jayden and Dana left their boat. The captain, a grubby man who’d seen better days, held an open out hand to Jayden.

“Deal was one gold coin going, one more on shore and no questions,” the man said.

Jayden went through the bags he’d brought along for the trip and paid the captain. “My word was given, and is kept. Good day to you, sir, and for both our sakes I suggest you forget meeting us.”

The captain grinned, showing off the few teeth he still had. “Smart men keep their mouths shut these days. They live longer that way.”

Jayden nodded to the captain and left with Dana. They headed down the dock to the stinking metropolis of Pearl Bay. Jayden swept his hands over the revolting city like he was presenting a rare prize.

“Behold, Pearl Bay, once known for rich pearl beds, excellent fishing and access to the spice trade. The pearl beds were plundered to exhaustion and poisoned by human waste, the spice trade was strangled by excessive taxes, and I’m told fishing is fair to middling. I’ve been here before and have friends we can call upon.”

Dana and Jayden left the docks and headed to the busy streets of Pearl Bay. Now that they were off the boat and away from its crew, Dana felt safe to speak. “Do you think the captain believed your story?”

“I think so,” Jayden said. The sorcerer lord was a tall man, handsome to behold. His yellow hair was perpetually messy and wore black and silver clothes that had suffered some damage in a fight with an elven wizard. He carried no weapons, but had a heavy load of baggage containing gold and minor riches. Jayden had a smirking, superior expression most of the time. Dana was actually glad to see that smug look on his face, because he was a terrifying force when he gave in his to rage. “Our trip should provoke little comment when I have a reputation for strange deeds.”

“Like trying to overthrow the king and queen,” Dana commented.

“Most men want to do that,” Jayden said. He smiled at a gnome leaning against a barrel, and resumed talking once they were far from him. “The difference is I carry out my plans. But I digress. The dear captain believes we were going to meet someone out at sea, and I hope you’ll agree I looked annoyed when no one appeared.”

“I think you scared those men,” Dana replied. Dana was a girl of fifteen with brown hair and simple clothes. She’d followed Jayden since spring when he’d saved her village from a monster. Joining him was risky, but she’d seen the good he was capable of as well as the danger he posed. Jayden needed someone to help steer him away from trouble and toward doing good. So far they’d defeated monsters and an elf wizard, and survived meeting the Shrouded One, a fairytale in Fish Bait City that was actually a mob of goblins.

Dana had a knife in her belt and carried nearly as much baggage as Jayden after their successful missions together. There was one item missing from their belongings, though, and God willing it would never be seen again.

“That might keep them quiet,” Jayden told her. “I dislike frightening people, but the fewer men who know we dumped the Valivaxis overboard during that trip the better. You did an excellent job distracting them while I got rid of it. Those men think we went for a meeting that didn’t happen when the other side didn’t arrive, a story that shouldn’t inform enemies of our real objective.”

“Is it safe, now?” Dana asked as they left the dock and went onto street crowded with men and a few dwarfs. The Valivaxis was a gateway to another world where the elves of old placed their dead emperors. They’d placed guards in the tomb, terrible monsters who’d survived the passing of centuries and could come out if the Valivaxis was opened.

Jayden smiled. “I selected that location to place the Valivaxis because there is a deep trench in that part of the ocean. The pressure of the water above it will create enough force to make it impossible for anyone to reach the Valivaxis, and that same force will help keep it closed. Our unwelcome guest is gone for good, and we may turn our attention to other goals.”

Dreading the answer, she asked, “Such as?”

“We’ve been busy for weeks dealing with the Valivaxis. I need to learn what events have occurred before making plan.”

Dana and Jayden slipped through the crowd as best they could. Their passing drew little attention, for the crowd included some men in very elaborate outfits. These included merchants hawking their goods, mercenaries from distant lands and entertainers playing music or juggling to earn coins. Dana stopped for a moment to watch an acrobat, but she hurried along when she saw a suspicious person.

“We’re being followed,” she told Jayden.

Jayden kept walking. “Describe him.”

“It’s a gnome with black hair, dressed in leather clothes. He was at the docks, and now he’s here.”

Jayden shrugged. “He could be a thief or an information broker.”

“A what?”

“Someone who learns important information and sells it. I once bought secrets from such a person, only for him to sell my location to agents of the crown. He and I had a discussion afterwards, which he eventually recovered from. If our new friend is wise he won’t make the same mistake. Ah, here we are. Welcome to The Hole in the Wall, a disreputable tavern with surprisingly good cuisine.”

The Hole in the Wall lived up to its obnoxious name. The building was dingy, dark, crowded and smelly. The tavern’s patrons were mostly human, but Dana saw two dwarfs at the bar and an eight-foot tall hairy brute of an ogre seated in a corner. Most of the rough looking men sat at small tables, drinking grog and eating unwholesome looking dishes. When Dana backed away from a man gorging what looked like skinned snakes in red sauce, he demanded, “What’s the matter? You never saw a man eat eels?”

Dana had been born and raised on a farm far from sea, and honestly replied, “I’ve never seen eels before.”

That earned her braying laughter from the man. Jayden ignored him and led Dana to a table near the back. He gestured for a waiter to come and ordered food for them. “Tell Charles I said hello.”

“He knows you’re here and wishes you weren’t,” the waiter replied tartly. “Try not to make so much of a mess this time.”

“Yep, you’ve been here before,” Dana said.

The waiter had barely left their table before a clearly drunken man stagger up to their table and asked, “Girl, what do you charge?”

Dana didn’t understand the question and was about to ask when Jayden shot to his feet and cast a spell. Shadows across the tavern stretched out to form a massive, clawed fist. Huge fingers wrapped around the man’s chest and threw him out of the tavern. Patrons across the tavern cried out in surprise and ducked under their tables. Jayden let the spell fade and addressed the crowd.

“The next man to insult the lady’s honor can expect far worse.” Jayden sat down as if the matter was settled. To Dana’s surprise, the tavern’s patrons calmed down and returned to their drinks. No one went to help the man Jayden had ejected from the building. The dwarfs even raised a toast to Jayden, and the ogre chuckled.

Confused, Dana said, “What was that about?”

“Don’t ask.”

Their food came quickly, a filling meal of grilled fish on roasted vegetables and bread. Their host came nearly as fast, a large and irate looking man with blond hair and worn sailor’s clothes.

“Ah, Charles, how good to see you,” Jayden said.

“You idiot, what were you thinking coming here again?” Charles replied through gritted teeth. “I have delicate business matters in this city, and I don’t need you drawing attention to me.”

“You run a tavern with good food and better gossip,” Jayden replied. “I’ve been gone a year and need to know what’s changed in the city. Who better to go to than you?”

“Anyone!” Charles roared. That drew attention from the patrons. Charles glowered at them until they went back to their drinks. He sat in a chair across from Jayden. “You want to know what’s changed? I changed. I have a side business that makes good profit. These men won’t inform on you, even the one you threw out. The crown doesn’t pay for information, and men who want their business kept secret deal harshly with informants. But if you make a disastrous mess like you always do, knights will search the city and might learn my secrets by accident.”

“You’re worried about your grain smuggling?” Jayden asked. Charles gasped. “I heard about that months ago. Farmers sell you their wheat rather than have it confiscated, and you sell it to smugglers who sell it in Nolod’s grain markets. That wheat would have gone to feed the king and queen’s army. I’m rather proud of you, Charles.”

Charles recovered quickly. “Then you know why I don’t want royal attention.”

“I’ll happily leave your delightful corner of the underworld alone. All I need is you to provide me current information on the king and queen’s doings. I’ll pick a target far from here, giving the loving royal couple somewhere else to send their knights.”

Charles grumbled and said, “It’s worth it to get you out of Pearl Bay. The city barely recovered from your last visit and doesn’t need your return. Who’s the girl?”

“Dana Illwind,” Dana said. “I’m his friend.”

Charles glanced between them. “I’ve never heard of you having friends, Jayden, only temporary help.”

“Dana is an exceptional woman.”

“She’d have to be to keep you in line. All right, I’ve help, for a price.”

Jayden and Charles began haggling over how much Charles’ help would cost, and Dana’s attention drifted off. The tavern was dark and dirty, so she looked out the windows where men struggled to get through crowded streets. To her surprise she saw a woman navigate the packed thoroughfare with ease. People made way for the simply dressed woman, greeting her warmly as if she was a blood relative to everyone on the road.

“Who’s she?” Dana asked.

Charles’ hard expression softened at the sight of the woman. “That’s Sarah Gress, wife of our old sheriff. The poor woman’s been on hard times since she lost her husband.”

“What happened to him?”

The question earned Dana surprised looks from nearby tables. Some men were outraged, but Charles waved them off. “She’s new in town, boys.”

The men calmed down, and one said, “Do yourself a favor and go back wherever you came from. It can’t be worse than here.”

Charles shrugged. “I’ve been in worse, just not often. Hural Gress used to be sheriff in Pearl Bay. Big man, strong like an ox and good with a sword. He upheld the law the same for rich and poor, and he was the first man to ask judges for mercy. He knew when to turn a blind eye when no harm was meant, and he could get most folks to talk over their problems rather than fight it out or go to court. He convinced men to do the right thing, or beat them down with his fists if he had to. In ten years he only drew his sword eight times. Those eight times, well, those men needed killing.”

Puzzled, Dana said, “You respected him.”

“I didn’t used to be a smuggler,” Charles replied. He sounded resigned to his situation. “Sheriff Gress was respected by all men and a fair number of dwarfs and elves. Too bad he wasn’t respected by the throne.”

Jayden scowled. “What did they do to him?”

Charles finished his drink with one swallow. “Five months ago the king and queen wrote new laws and sent copies to all the sheriffs on how to carry out their duties. Criminals were sentenced to forced labor no matter how petty the crime. No pleas accepted, no deals, no mercy. The more criminals sentenced, the more pay a sheriff gets. Sheriffs could cut men down at the slightest offense. It used to be they had to explain it to a judge when they took a life. Nowadays nobody questions when a man is killed.

“Sheriff Gress wrote a letter to the king listing why he couldn’t obey these rules, how they ignored laws hundreds of years old and the rights of men established by the founder of the dynasty. He said this would make more trouble than it would solve. He asked to be relieved of his duties on account of no man could act like that and still be called a man.”

The tavern fell quiet as customers listened to the grim tale. Charles stared down at the floor as he finished.

“Sheriff Gress got summoned to the capital. Good men told him to run, offered to help get him out of the kingdom, but the sheriff did his duty. Two months later his wife got a letter saying he’d died along the way from bone break plague.”

Dana’s jaw dropped. “There’s plague here?”

Charles held up his cup for another round, and the waiter filled it. “There hasn’t been plague in these parts for twenty years. Wouldn’t matter if there was, since Sheriff Gress had bone break as a boy and survived it. A man gets a sickness like bone break or red eyes, he never gets it again. We started hearing from other cities how men ‘died from plague’, plagues real specific about who they kill. You work for the crown and complain, appeal a ruling, question an order, and you get called to the capital to answer for it. You never seem to make it there.”

“How many times has this happened?” Jayden demanded.

“Dozens of times I can prove, hundreds more I’ve heard of.”

Shocked, Dana asked, “What did your mayor do when this happened?”

Charles scowled. “He didn’t want to end up the same way, so he kept quiet. Most folks do. Worse thing is those good men get replaced with bad ones. We got a new sheriff named Hemmelfarb a month later, and he’s got no problem with the new laws. He confiscates goods for the crown or for his own pocket, and God help anyone who protests. Sheriff Gress used to live in a house provided by the crown. That house went to Hemmelfarb, and Sarah Gress and her kids got put out on the street. We help her when we can.”

“Are you sure he’s dead?” Dana asked. “Maybe he was exiled or imprisoned.”

Charles watched Sarah Gress select fruit from a vendor. “Sheriff Gress loved that woman more than life itself. If he were alive, he’d fight through armies to reach her.

“It was a lesson to us all,” he continued. “Life was never easy here, but we got by. After what the king and queen did to Sheriff Gress, we don’t try to be honest anymore. There’s no reward for hard work when the throne can take everything you make whenever they please. As bad as the new punishments are, starving is worse.”

Jayden got up from his chair and marched out of the tavern to Sarah Gress. She glanced up from the fruit cart as he stopped in front of her. “Madam, I’m told you have suffered greatly. I would like to help.”

Most people were awed or fearful when they saw Jayden. Sarah Gress looked him in the eye. “Sir, it may surprise you to know that I have heard of you. You do not disappoint in your appearance. I hope you will forgive me, but while I am sure your offer is genuine, I have not yet fallen so far that I must accept aid from criminals.”

“You’re certain there’s nothing I can do?”

“I have lost much, sir. Leave me at least my dignity and good name.”

“As you wish.” Jayden bowed and returned to the tavern. He went to his table and looked at Dana. “I should have asked you to do that. She would have been more receptive.”

“I can try if you want,” Dana offered.

Jayden shook his head and turned to Charles. “I need a list of men she does business with, honest men I can give coins to discretely pay for her needs.”

“I know two men who can help,” he replied. He got up to leave, saying, “It’s best if we meet them quietly so your reputation doesn’t damage them. The first is Samuel Sti—oh no, not now, you fool.”

The street outside the tavern cleared as men ran to avoid a swaggering swordsman in a blue and gray uniform. He was tall and strong, healthy and young, handsome to look at, but his cruel expression showed how little he thought of the people around him.

“So, I heard a ship dropped off passengers,” the man sneered.

Jayden scowled. “Dare I ask, or is the answer too obvious?”

“That’s Sheriff Hemmelfarb,” Charles answered. “He’s as bad as he sounds. Ships he inspects lose a lot of cargo, and arrested men find their wallets a good deal lighter.”

Hemmelfarb pushed past a few men near the tavern’s door. He glanced briefly at Sarah Gress. Gress met his gaze the same way she had Jayden’s. Hemmelfarb went by her without a word as he put a hand on his sword hilt.

“We’ve been having too much of that,” Hemmelfarb said, his tone belittling. “Men seem to think they can come and go as they please without paying proper respect. That’s what this is about, respect. I’ve been here long enough I should be getting some instead of every yokel going on about a dead man who used to have the job.”

The waiter quickly poured a drink and set it on the bar. “No need for trouble, sheriff.”

Hemmelfarb made no move to accept the drink and instead drew his sword. “I think there is. Men I trust in this city said strangers came here with full bags. I’m wondering what’s in those bags. I’m wondering why they came here. I’m wondering why I have to keep making the same points to you halfwits about the law.”

Dana slid down lower in her chair, trying hard not to be noticed. When she saw the look on Jayden’s face, she reached out and took his arm to stop him. It didn’t work.

“Give me room,” Jayden said. Nearby men backed away until there was a clear space around him. Jayden cast a spell and formed an ebony sword rimmed with light. He stepped forward so the sheriff had no trouble seeing him before he raised his magic sword. Speaking loud enough to be heard outside the tavern, Jayden answered the sheriff’s challenge. “I am the man you seek. You have my undivided attention. Allow me to demonstrate why that’s a bad thing.”

“You…” Sheriff Hemmelfarb froze. His sneer disappeared and lips quivered as he took a step back. His face turned pale. Then he ran.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Gress shouted as Hemmelfarb raced by her. The sheriff tripped, dropping his sword when he landed. He left it there as he scrambled to his feet and kept running. Sarah ran after him a few steps, shouting, “Get back here!”

A few men in the tavern smirked while the dwarfs shook their heads in shame. The ogre burst out laughing. The waiter handed Jayden the drink he’d poured for the sheriff, saying, “That’s worth a round on the house.”

Sarah Gress marched over to where Hemmelfarb had fallen and picked up his sword. Her expression was so fierce that men got out of her way when she marched up to Jayden.

“You offered aid, sir, and you provided more than I could have asked for.” She held up the sword and called out, “Sheriff Hemmelfarb is supposed to uphold the law, to protect us from criminals. A wanted man with a price on his head stands before us now, and our sheriff ran! This is the measure of the man our king and queen sent to guide us, defend us, to rally us when the city is in danger! This is the man our king and queen favor after they took my husband! Tell your family, your neighbors, your friends and strangers you meet on the street! Tell them our sheriff is a coward!”

With that said, Sarah Gress stormed off with the sword. Jayden let his magic sword dissipate as he watched her leave, saying, “That is quite a woman.”

Charles slapped a hand over his face. “Of all the ways you could have ended that…go out of the back. I’ll meet you at the Kraken Hotel. God willing I’ll still have a business left in the morning.”

Dana and Jayden left, stopped only briefly when the ogre insisted on patting Jayden on the shoulder. They found the streets buzzing with gossip as men and women spread word of his showdown with the sheriff. A few men recognized Jayden and got out of his way, but otherwise their reactions were minimal.

Not sure how to begin the conversation, Dana said, “I’d never seen you cast that spell.”

“I found a spell tablet from the old sorcerer lords when I saved your town months ago,” he replied. “It took me longer than I’d like to translate and master the spell, but you saw its effectiveness.”

Hesitantly, she said, “And you thought a crowded city was a good place to use it?”

Jayden led her down a side street away from the docks. “The man at the tavern was a drunken idiot who needed a lesson, and the other patrons needed to see my abilities to prevent further insults. Throwing the lout out did both without killing him.”

“I wasn’t angry with the man, and you can do more good easily and quietly if people don’t know who you are,” she pressed. “Picking fights like that makes enemies and lets your enemies know exactly where you are.”

“I was angry with him, and I plan on being long gone before the king and queen learn of our visit.” Jayden pointed to a large hotel surrounded by rich shops. “Here we are, the Kraken Hotel. You’ll find the accommodations unusual, the prices high and the proprietor open to bribes.”

“How is any of that a good thing?”

Jayden opened the door for her, and she entered a place of dreams. Weird dreams, but dreams nonetheless. The entrance hall was bigger than her home and included a large bar, gaming tables, carpeted floors and gorgeous paintings. There was a huge beak three feet across mounted on the wall along with dozens of sharp spikes three inches long. The room’s décor was an underwater theme with shark skeletons prominently displayed above doorways.

An elf behind the bar smiled when they entered. “Ah, Sorcerer Lord Jayden. I’d heard you were in town and hoped you would grace us with your presence again.”

“Charmed to meet you again, Elegant Crane,” Jayden replied as he walked up to the elf. Jayden flipped two gold coins to the elf and added, “I’ll need a room for myself and another for the lady. The king and queen recently demanded inns and hotels report who stays with them.” Jayden tossed another gold coin. “I trust you can overlook our visit.”

“You needn’t worry about that,” the elf replied as he pocketed the coins. “Reports we send to the capital about our guests have no basis in reality. Dinner is at eight and the evening’s poker game starts at ten. Here are your keys.”

“What’s poker?” Dana asked as she followed Jayden out of the hotel’s main room.

“You must have games of chance in your hometown.”

“Sure. Pins and swings, clam toss, apples and angels. Poker is new to me.” Jayden opened a door for her and waited for her to go in. “We need to talk.”

“I see.” Jayden went in ahead of her and sat down on a large soft bed in the center of the room. Dana followed him and closed the door behind her.

Feeling nervous, she asked, “Charles wasn’t happy to see you. What did you do the last time you were here?”

“So that’s what’s got you worried. Last year I learned the king and queen were importing weapons. Namely a ship came to Pearl Bay loaded with a hundred thousand arrows. I found the ship before it was unloaded and encouraged the crew to leave.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “And by encouraged, does that mean you threatened their lives?”

“No, but your idea has merit. I offered them a bribe roughly three times their yearly salary. I’d take credit for being so generous, but I’d stolen the money from the mayor’s personal vault. Once the men were gone I burned the ship down to the waterline. I escaped without any great difficulty, largely because the late and much lamented Sheriff Gress was hunting bandits in the countryside.”

“Burning a ship is a hanging offense.”

Jayden smiled. “I commit hanging offenses every month, more often during summer.”

“It sounds like you made life harder for the people here when you burned that ship.”

Jayden looked more thoughtful as he answered. “I knew that could happen before I acted. It was a choice of which was the greater wrong. Charles and others here no doubt had their lives turned upside down when the king and queen learned what I did. At the very least security in Pearl Bay must have been tightened and citizens harassed by soldiers and mercenaries.

“But a hundred thousand arrows can kill a great many men, foreigners I’d never met and owed no debts to, but that doesn’t make their lives less important. I could greatly inconvenience many men or allow thousands or tens of thousands to die. I didn’t make the choice lightly, but given the opportunity I would do it again.”

Dana hesitated before she spoke. “There are ways to help these people and the kingdom without getting a bigger bounty on your head. They won’t be as satisfying, but you can save lives like when you closed the Valivaxis and dumped it in the ocean.”

“We sealed the Valivaxis,” he corrected her.

“There are threats out there just as big. I’ve heard of monsters, bandits, ancient curses, threats that make big parts of the kingdom off limits to everyone. If you fixed those problems you’d make the kingdom a better place. It might satisfy the king and queen since they’d have so much more land open for farmers, loggers and miners. They’d have enough land without going to war.”

“An idea I’m sure the dearly departed Sheriff Gress would agree with,” Jayden replied.

Dana’s heart sank at the mention of the old sheriff. She’d never met him, but he sounded like the kind of man she would have liked.

Jayden went on, his voice calm but his words relentless. “Dana, your idea is valid, but you used one word that ensures it won’t work. Enough. That word doesn’t exist in our enemies’ vocabulary. The king and queen control an entire kingdom. Taxes generated from these lands, if they were managed properly, should be enormous. For you and I that would be enough, more than we could possibly spend, but the king and queen want to conquer a neighboring kingdom. They seek land equal to the massive quantity they already possess. Giving them a few dozen square miles can’t compare to such a bounty.”

Softly, she asked, “Did you ever wonder if what the king and queen have done is a response to what you’re doing to them? You scare people, and scared people make bad choices.”

“I wonder a great many things, Dana. The king and queen may indeed be panicked by my actions. I hope so, although evidence to support the idea is sparse. But I have lived longer than you, traveled farther and seen more of our kingdom, and I have learned the offenses inflicted on this kingdom go back years before I began my crusade against the throne. Their misdeeds grow in number and cruelty, but they aren’t new events.”

“It’s just, this is the second city I’ve been two, both dumps, and I don’t see how what we’re doing can change that.” Dana pointed at the window and said, “Pearl Bay stinks and the people are miserable.”

Jayden kissed her on the forehead, making her blush. “Your concern does you credit. I admit nothing I do is going to help these people in the short term. Men in neighboring kingdoms deserve better lives, too, and I want the same for our people. For that to happen there must be no war. I’ve made hard choices to make that a reality. Not all those choices were correct, but they’re better than a hundred thousand arrows being fired.”

Their conversation ended when someone banged on the door. Dana opened it to let a very angry Charles into the room. He shut the door behind him before turning his fierce gaze on Jayden. “Sheriff Hemmelfarb came back with thirty mercenaries. It took some fast talking and a substantial bribe to convince him I don’t know you, so I still have a tavern.”

“I’ll toast to that,” Jayden replied. “I’ll have a bottle of wine sent to the room.”

“I’m going to need more than that.” Charles took papers from inside his shirt and laid them on the bed. He unfolded them and said, “My smuggling contacts are in port and eager for more business, but nearby farmers either had their crops confiscated or sold them to me long ago. I need product to move, the sooner the better. You want to hurt the king and queen? I need money to cover what I just lost. We can do both at once.”

Jayden rubbed his hands together. “Charles, you don’t disappoint.”

Charles showed Dana and Jayden a rough map of the docks and nearby streets. He pointed at an isolated dock and said, “A ship is scheduled to come to this dock tonight. New security rules demand ships send a cargo manifest before arriving at harbor, and this cargo is worth having. Get it for me and I’ll give you enough information to make you rich and the king and queen furious.”

Jayden shook Charles’ hand. “It’s a fair deal.”

“What’s in there?” Dana asked.

“One of my associates snuck the cargo manifest out of the harbormaster’s office.” Charles handed it to her and pointed at the middle. “The ship carries goats, sheep and one steed, all property of our new sheriff. There’s a high demand for livestock, so I can move those quickly, and I know men who will buy a horse no questions asked. But there are guards at the dock we need to deal with.”

Jayden looked at the map and asked, “Militiamen won’t be a threat. How many mercenaries are in Pearl Bay?”

“Normally none, but it’s gone up to sixty mercenaries, fierce, well trained and loyal if they’re paid on time. They obey Sheriff Hemmelfarb and no one else, and they patrol the docks at all times.”

Dana frowned as she read the cargo manifest: 34 sheep, 25 goats, 1 steed. “Why does a sheriff need sheep?”

“Livestock in the region have been commandeered to feed the army,” Charles explained. “No sheep, no wool. No wool, no clothes. No clothes, no money. Those sheep are worth gold.”

“Who else can you count on for this job?” Jayden asked.

“You, me, your girl, my smuggler friends on their ship and a dozen local boys.” Charles frowned and added, “I was going to write this off as too dangerous, but then you showed up.”

Dana held up the paper and said, “This doesn’t make sense.”

“What part?” Jayden asked.

She pointed at the manifest. “They list the animals but have one only as steed. Why not call it a horse?”

Charles looked annoyed. “The harbormaster is a barely literate drunk. Doesn’t surprise me he’d be sloppy. As for the horse, these are people with money. They can’t use simple words when they have fancy ones like steed.”

“What else is there?” Jayden pressed.

Charles pointed at other buildings on the map. “There are four warehouses nearby. Three are filled with trade goods, low value, high bulk, but still worth money.”

Jayden smiled at the news. “A distraction at one of those warehouses could draw the mercenaries away long enough to get the animals. How close are your smugglers?”

Charles pointed to a ship on a neighboring dock. “Here. We take off the animals, herd them onto our ship and send them off. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes if we do it right.”

“And what will the sheriff do when his animals get stolen?” Dana asked.

“Don’t know,” Charles said as he rolled up his papers. “Don’t care, either. It’s getting impossible to earn a living in Pearl Bay, and when the smugglers leave I’m going with them for friendlier lands. You can have your one-man campaign against the throne all for yourself, Jayden. I’m through.”

Shocked, Dana asked, “You’d abandon your homeland?”

The look Charles gave her made Jayden step between them. Charles regained his temper and said, “My homeland killed the one person I respected. Everything good here has been squeezed out. I didn’t used to be a criminal, girl. I don’t like being a criminal. And if there’s somewhere out there beyond the waves where I can go back to being a tavern keeper, where kings don’t make good men disappear, I want to live there. Think of me what you will.”

Charles headed for the door. “I’ll send for you when the ship comes.”

Once he was gone, Dana said, “I’m sorry if I made that worse.”

“Don’t apologize,” Jayden told her. “I’ve found most men can only be called upon for help a limited number of times. Ask too much and they grow weary or break under the strain. Charles has suffered much and needs time to heal.”

Here is the conclusion to A Fair Deal, with Sorcerer Lord Jayden and Dana Illwind.


It was late at night and Dana was fast asleep when there was a knock at the door. She woke to find Jayden still up waiting patiently. He opened the door to reveal the same gnome they’d seen earlier that day. The gnome tipped his cap and said, “Your assistance is needed.”

“Wait, you were at the dock when we came here, and you followed us,” she said.

The gnome smiled and took off his cap when he saw her. “Mr. Charles hired me to watch the docks and tell him when interesting ships and people come.”

Jayden left his baggage behind and told the gnome, “Lead the way, good sir.”

Dana and Jayden followed the gnome out of the hotel. They found the inn’s common room packed with men, elves and dwarfs playing poker. A lone troll was beating all comers at cards, and he beckoned them with a scaly hand to sit at his table. “You in, wizard?”

“Another time,” Jayden replied.

Dana, Jayden and the gnome went out into the cool night air. Pearl Bay’s streets were nearly deserted with the coming of darkness. The few people on the streets traveled quickly and in groups to lessen the risk of mugging. Goblins scurried between buildings to snatch up garbage and items dropped during the day. Overall it was a time and place Dana would rather be in bed with a locked door.

The gnome led them through the streets. Shapes moved in the darkness, but none tried to bar their path. It took nearly an hour to reach an empty shed lit by a single candle where Charles waited with a mob of scruffy looking men.

“Saints and angels, Charles, I thought you were bluffing when you said he was coming,” an armed man said.

“I wouldn’t have gotten you out of bed without good cause,” Charles said. His men looked nervous, so Charles walked up and put an arm around Jayden’s shoulders. “Me and the sorcerer lord have worked together before.”

Another man pointed a dagger at Dana. “Who’s this one?”

Charles hurried over and put a hand on the man’s arm, pushing it and the dagger down. “Someone he’s protective of, so let’s not annoy either of them.”

Jayden smiled. “Gentlemen, tonight I’m at your service. I can handle the heavy lifting for this endeavor, and Heaven help those who face us in battle, because nothing else can save them.”

“How much is he charging?” the man with the dagger asked.

“I’m covering his fee,” Charles said. “Now if you’re done gawking, we have a job to do. The ship we’re after arrived on time, no small accomplishment, and most of the crew disembarked to get drunk. We need to deal with only a few men onboard and distract nearby mercenaries. Jayden, can you handle the hired swords?”

Jayden studied his fingernails under the dim light. “That shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Then no more delays,” Charles said, and he blew out the candle.

Charles led the motley band out of the shed and onto the docks. They found the docks well lit by lanterns and patrolled by mercenaries wearing chain armor and armed with spears. Charles directed his men into the shadows and pointed at a distant warehouse before telling Jayden, “That’s the only empty building near the docks, and far enough away for our needs.”

Jayden nodded before he took Dana aside. “Stay here. I’ll come back soon.”

With that Jayden ran off into the dark streets. Dana pressed her back into the nearest corner and waited. She wasn’t certain of the loyalty or friendliness of the men around her, and her heart raced. Minutes went by without incident, making her wonder what Jayden was planning.

“Hey there,” a squeaky voice said. Dana nearly shrieked before she saw it was just a goblin. The filthy little creature stood only three feet tall and was dressed in rags as dirty as the bulging bag over his shoulder.

“Hi.”

The goblin set his bag on the street. “Kinda late for a little girl to be out.”

“Don’t start,” she warned him. She hesitated before saying, “I…I may be in a bit of trouble.”

The goblin’s face twisted into an insane grin at the news. “Do tell.”

“My friend has gotten himself into the kind of trouble that gets you executed, and by being around him I think I’m in just as deep.”

“That’s how you know it’s going to be fun.”

Dana frowned. She shouldn’t be saying anything to the goblin, but she was scared and needed someone to talk to, even a stranger. “He’s fighting for a good cause, but he’s going to get killed and maybe get other people killed. We’re stealing stuff owned by your sheriff. I know the sheriff is a jerk, but is that enough reason to rob someone? It seems like we’re on a slippery slope, where just working for the throne is justification to attack someone.”

She looked at the ship they were about to rob. It was ordinary enough, lit with lanterns and watched over by a few men. She frowned again and looked at the goblin. “What kind of ship is scheduled to come to port at night? That’s more dangerous than docking during the day, right?”

“Oh yeah,” the goblin replied.

Charles heard the conversation and came over. “What the, a goblin? You’d better not screw this up for us.”

The goblin laughed. “Oh please, like I owe the sheriff any favors. Speaking of favors, hold off starting the fun for a few minutes. I know some guys who’d like to watch.”

One of Charles’ followers waved for them to come. “Your friend did it.”

“Did what?” Dana asked. She came closer and saw mercenaries running toward the distant warehouse Charles had pointed out to Jayden. The building was burning brightly and sending smoke billowing into the air. Mercenaries ran over, shouting for help as they got buckets and tried to put out the flames.

Jayden soon joined them. “Setting fire to rotting wood isn’t easy.”

“That was why the warehouse was empty,” Charles told him. “A good third of the buildings in Pearl Bay are just as bad. But now that the mercenaries are busy we’ve got a ship to board. Jayden, can you clear the way?”

Jayden smiled. “Gladly. Dana had an excellent idea earlier today on how to do it.”

“I did?” Dana asked as Jayden marched up to the docked ship. She suddenly realized what he meant and ran after him. “Jayden, no!”

Too late. Jayden walked up the gangplank onto the ship. Only three crewmen remained, and they looked bored and sleepy. One man squinted as Jayden stepped in front of him.

“Who are you?” the man asked.

Jayden cast a spell and formed a black whip he swung across the ship’s deck, burning a jagged cut through the wood planks. Men cried out and backed away as Jayden pulled back his arm for another swing.

“Leave, and live long enough to grow old,” he told them. Two men ran off the ship and one jumped into the water. Jayden looked at Dana and told her, “That worked better than I’d thought, and was much cheaper than the last time I emptied a ship.”

“Tactful as a dragon,” Dana scolded him.

Charles led his ragged mob onto the ship. “Good work. Let’s clean this ship out before those men bring help. You four men keep watch. The rest of you follow me and Jayden below deck.”

Jayden opened a heavy wood door in the deck and led them into the dark, stinking bowels of the ship. Dana had grown up on a farm, so the smell of livestock and dung didn’t bother her, but there were other odors here, brine, sweat, and something sour and acidic. Rooms were lit with candles dripping wax on the floor. They found a bunkroom with seven hammocks for the crew and a small storeroom, but no animals.

Jayden came across a locked door at the front of the ship and hacked off the lock with one of his black magic swords. He looked inside before telling Dana, “This looks like the captains quarters. Search it for valuables while we check the lower deck.”

“This is definitely stealing,” she told him as Jayden led the men away. Dana frowned and looked through the room. It was a simple affair, with a hammock, wood chest filled with clothes and a smaller chest filled with papers. She couldn’t find coins, jewelry or anything else of value. With nothing else to do, she went through the papers.

“Tax payments, IOUs, registration form for a pet wombat,” she said as she flipped through the papers. “Bill of sale. This one looks new. One steed, combat class, one thousand guilders! What horse is worth that?”

The paper also listed the 34 sheep and 24 goats, and dates for the last two months, with the number of animals going down by one each day.

“Oh no.” Dana ran out of the room with the papers clutched to her chest. She ran through the ship until she found two men standing next to a wide staircase leading down. One man opened his mouth, but she pushed past him, yelling, “No time! Jayden!”

Dana raced onto the ship’s poorly lit lowest deck to find Jayden, Charles and a few men standing by a nearly empty room. There were tufts of wool in the corners and smears of dung on the floor, and one wall ended in a locked door that Jayden was preparing to hack open with his magic sword. She grabbed Jayden’s arm before he could swing. “Everyone, off the ship, now.”

“What the devil?” Charles snarled.

Dana held out the paperwork for the others to see. “The sheep and goats are gone, all of them, one a day. The only animal left onboard is the steed. Seven crewmen and a captain couldn’t eat an entire animal a day even if they wanted to.”

Jayden took the paper from her and read it. “Let’s take a few steps back, soft, quiet steps.”

Charles snatched the paper from him. “What’s going on?”

Dana backed up as she spoke. “We’re used to the word steed meaning horse, but it could be any animal a person could ride on. What sort of animal eats a sheep or goat a day and is hungry the next morning, but a man can ride it?”

Jayden replied. “Manticore, chimera, wyvern, possibly griffin, any of those are large, trainable and ravenous predators. Charles, you said Sheriff Hemmelfarb owns the contents of this ship?”

“He does,” Charles said. “Oh. Jayden, I’ve been a touch angry with you for burning a ship the last time you were in Pearl Bay, so I hope you won’t think me a hypocrite for asking you to do it again.”

“Not at all.”

Dana gulped as she tried to slip away. Docking the ship in at night made sense now. The new sheriff was bringing a very dangerous animal into a large, crowded city. People would panic if they saw it, and it might attack anyone it saw for food. Bringing the monster in at night meant the roads would be clear and the monster might be too sleepy to cause trouble.

Something on the other side of the locked door growled. There was a hiss, and what sounded like bleating.

“Chimera,” Jayden whispered. “We woke it up. Keep moving, nice and slow.”

Charles looked at the paper again. “It says here they ran out of animals to feed it days ago. The captain drugged its last meal to keep it quiet.”

There was a loud sniff before something bumped into the door.

“It smells us,” Jayden said. “Out, now!”

Jayden took up the rear as they ran out of the ship. They heard loud bangs behind them, followed by the sound of splintering wood. They reached the next floor and heard roars below as the monster followed them. Dana ran onto the fresh air of the deck just as the monster got to the ship’s second floor.

A man Charles had left on guard duty saw her and asked, “What’s go—”

“Run!” The men scattered at Dana’s command just as Charles and Jayden led the remaining men out of the ship. Dana heard a large animal bounding through the interior of the ship toward the door. Jayden slammed the door shut and found a nearby bar to seal it. He did it just in time, for the chimera slammed into the door and made stout timbers creak.

“Get off the ship so Jayden can burn it,” Charles ordered. They fled down the gangplank with Jayden acting as rearguard. There was a bang from the ship, then a louder one. “Jayden, do it!”

“That spell takes time,” Jayden said. He began chanting, and a tiny spark formed in front of him. He kept chanting as the chimera roared and rammed into the door holding it in. He was halfway through the spell when the chimera broke free and took to the sky.

The chimera was a hideous mismatched collection of animals fused together. The core of it was a lion, larger than is should have been by about two hundred pounds, but otherwise like pictures Dana had seen in books. Any comparison to normal ended there. Huge bat wings sprouted from its back and beat furiously to keep it in the air. It had two more heads, a goat head to the lion’s right and a snake head to the left. The goat head was twice the size it should have been and had sharp iron horns as long as swords. The serpent head was equally big, and a hood opened on its neck when it hissed.

Jayden finished his spell and send the tiny spark high into the sky. Dana had seen this spell kill monsters as terrible as this one, but the spark flew slower than the chimera, and it detonated into a terrible fireball too far back to do more than light up the night sky. Jayden’s spell did have one effect, though, for the monster looked down and saw him. Instantly it changed course and swooped down on him.

Jayden saw it coming and dove into the bay. The chimera showed no interest in following him and slowed down before landing on the dock. It surveyed the port with six eyes, growled and hissed, then spotted Charles and Dana. The lion head roared, and it took two steps forward before a black sword drove up through the dock and cut into one of its paws. The monster howled and took to the air again.

Dana and Charles ran to the end of the dock and helped Jayden back onto land. Charles pointed at the monster overhead and asked, “Can you kill it?”

“I’ll have you know I’m quite good at killing monsters,” He said as he squeezed water out of his hair. “I’ve brought down a manitore, estate guards, two monsters I’d rather not discuss and the Walking Graveyard.”

“We killed that one twice,” Dana corrected him. “I hope it stays dead this time. Jayden, I know you can kill it, but what do we do if it flies off and attacks people in Pearl Bay?”

Jayden stepped away from them and watched the chimera turn in flight to come back at them. “Your confidence is appreciated. Don’t worry about it killing random strangers. Chimeras are known for being fierce, strong, trainable and incredibly vain.”

“Meaning what?” she asked.

“Meaning I hurt it, and it won’t let the wound go unavenged. Charles, get your men out of here and come back with help.”

Charles ran as instructed while the chimera swooped down for another attack. It stayed too high for Jayden to strike it, and instead the snake head opened its jaws impossibly wide before spraying a stream of green droplets. Jayden and Dana dodged the attack as the chimera flew over them. The droplets splattered across the dock and stuck on fast. It bubbled and smelled foul, a harsh, acidic stench like she’d smelled on the ship.

“It’s spitting acid at us!” she yelled.

“Technically it’s acid and poison,” Jayden told her. “This would be a good time for you to run. I’ll keep our new friend occupied until help arrives.”

“If help arrives. Charles was using you to steal animals that were eaten days ago. He hasn’t got a reason to help now that the reward is gone.”

Jayden put and hand on her shoulder. “All the more reason for you to leave. This fight is about to become incredibly violent, and I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire.”

The chimera returned, this time flying lower. Jayden pushed Dana away as the lion and snake heads tried to bite them and the goat tried to impale them on its long horns. It missed by the barest of margins and tried to fly away again.

Jayden cast a spell to form his black whip and swung it. The whip stretched ridiculously long, but again the monster flew so fast he barely grazed its flank. Minor though the wound was, the chimera howled in pain.

“Run!” Jayden ordered.

Dana fled only a short distance while Jayden scanned the dark sky for the chimera. Dana worried that running in the dark might accidentally bring her closer to the monster, not farther. She knew cats could see well at night, so chances were good the chimera could see her and Jayden with the eyes of its lion head.

She spotted the chimera flying low between warehouses to give it cover from Jayden’s spells. It came for another pass and again sprayed venomous acid across the dock. Jayden dove out of the way and lashed out with his whip. This time the monster got away clean and flew into the night.

“Look at that!”

Dana spun around to see people gathering around the edge of the docks. Most wore the simple clothes of commoners, but she saw some wealthier men join them. A few men were armed with daggers and clubs.

The goblin Dana had met earlier waddled over and said, “I asked you to wait.”

“Things kind of got out of hand,” she said. “This is as dangerous as it looks. You need to get out of here before the chimera comes back.”

“That’s why I should stick around,” the goblin told her. More people came, including three elves and a troll who’d been gambling at the Kraken Hotel. A few women showed up, too, until the crowd numbered over a hundred. “A fight like this needs witnesses.”

“I’m putting everything I’ve got on the wizard,” the troll said.

“You’re on,” an elf told him.

The discussion ended when the chimera came diving out of the sky. Jayden had to run to prevent the monster from landing on him with all four clawed feet. It missed by inches, a move that cost it dearly when the dock gave way under the force of the blow. Wood boards snapped in half as the chimera’s front paws broke through. It pulled itself free easily enough, but for a few seconds it couldn’t move. Jayden swung his whip and struck the monster’s right wing. This time it was no glancing blow, but a hit that burned deeply. The chimera tried to fly off and howled in pain from the effort.

More people joined the growing crowd of spectators. They made no move to help Jayden, but that was no surprise when so few of them were armed. Instead they shouted out warnings, crying out, “Monster! Monster! Call the guard!”

Grounded, the chimera folded up its wings and faced Jayden. It was still a formidable opponent on the ground and could kill him. Instead of attacking, the monster studied him with all six eyes, one terrifying predator sizing up another. It walked to the left, closer to the ship that had brought it. Jayden followed it and casually swung his black whip from left to right.

“Someone call Sheriff Gress!” a woman screamed. Then she gasped and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh. Oh no.”

More people came, swelling the crowd past two hundred. Dana recognized some of them from The Hole in the Wall tavern. This included the ogre, the furry beast now looking silly in a nightcap and pajamas. Still more came, and new arrivals brought weapons.

The chimera charged Jayden, eating up the distance between them in seconds. He swung his whip at the monster, only for it to leap over the attack. It came down short of Jayden by a few feet and spit poison at him, missing as Jayden ducked. The chimera lunged forward just as Jayden cast a quick spell that made a globe of light. The light flashed in the monster’s many eyes, and it turned away at the last second. Jayden swung his whip again and hacked off one of the goat head’s horns. The chimera bounded off, blinking and shaking its heads until it recovered from the flash.

“Make way for the sheriff!” The crowd separated as Sheriff Hemmelfarb led sixty heavily armed mercenaries onto the docks and shoved aside anyone too slow to move. Twenty mercenaries lowered their spears for a charge. It took Dana a second to realize they weren’t pointing them at the chimera.

Sheriff Hemmelfarb stayed behind the spear wall. He’d gotten a new sword and pointed it at the chimera. “I’ll deal with this.”

If anyone thought Hemmelfarb had changed his ways, they were disappointed as he put a whistle to his lips and blew. The chimera’s goat head glanced at him while the lion and snake watched Jayden.

“Heel!” Hemmelfarb ordered. “Heel! You must obey!”

The goat head refocused its attention on Jayden. Hemmelfarb blew the whistle again to no effect. He held up an amulet and shouted, “Look! I own you! The beast trainers taught you to obey anyone holding this symbol. Heel and obey!”

Dana didn’t know much about monsters, but she knew a fair bit about trained animals. Hungry animals were less likely to obey commands, and injured ones even less so. The chimera had gone days without food and suffered serious wounds at Jayden’s hands. It wasn’t listening to anyone.

But the people of Pearl Bay were listening to Hemmelfarb. They watched him try and fail to control the monster. Many of them had seen him run away earlier that day, eroding what little faith they had in him. The crowd kept growing and its temper became increasingly foul.

Dana got behind a few men and egged on the crowd. “This is your monster? You brought a man-eating beats into our city!”

“Shut up!” Hemmelfarb yelled back. He waved the amulet in the air. “Heel! Heel! Obey!”

“You put your own people in danger!” Dana yelled. Nearby people looked at her, but in the poor light they assumed she was a fellow citizen.

Hemmelfarb lost his patience. “You’re not my people! You’re mud grubbing peasants! This is my chance at greatness, to ride a chimera at the head of the army in the coming war! I won’t lose this chance! I won’t let you vermin pull me down until I’m as low as you are!”

“That’s what we are to you?” The voice was soft and deadly. Men got out of the way as a woman wearing a nightgown approached. It was Sarah Gress, holding the sword Hemmelfarb had dropped earlier, and looking more terrifying than the chimera. “We’re not brothers and sisters to you, not even people.”

Hemmelfarm ignored her and ordered, “Kill the wizard! Feed his body to the chimera!”

“He’s on the monster’s side!” Dana yelled. The crowd looked angry to the point of going berserk, but the mercenaries’ spear wall kept them back. They edged away and shouted abuse at the sheriff.

Mercenaries advanced on Jayden at a steady march, their spears pointed at his chest. He saw them coming and backed away while the chimera watched. The mercenaries were only four yards away when Jayden swung his whip, not at the chimera but at their spears. The black whip twisted around the spears, hissings as it burned through them. Mercenaries tried to pull away, but their spears burned in half, disarming twenty of Sheriff Hemmelfarb’s men at a stroke.

There was a moment of quiet as the broken spears fell clattering to the dock. For a second no one moved, a brief lull that ended when the chimera roared and charged Jayden. The crowd of enraged men, women, dwarfs, elves, even the troll and ogre yelled war cries as they charged the mercenaries, turning the dock into a battle fiercer than anything Dana had ever seen. Even goblins swarmed from the alleys to join the townspeople.

Dana ran to help Jayden. She dodged mercenaries grappling with furious men and women. The outnumbered mercenaries were better armed and armored, but they were set upon from all sides, and not all their enemies were farmers and fishermen. The ogre bellowed as he slapped mercenaries to the ground, then grabbed one and hurled him at the others. The troll tackled another mercenary. Goblins tripped a mercenary and stole his wallet. Hemmelfarb shouted orders no one heard and insults no one listened to, impotent to stop the battle around him.

Dana struggled to get around the battle when she ran into a disarmed mercenary. The man tossed away his broken spear and drew a knife. Dana snatched the broken chimera horn off the ground and blocked his swing, then smacked him over the head with the horn. His helmet saved him from being killed, but the blow stunned him for a moment. Dana tried to run, but the mercenary grabbed her by the arm. She blocked another knife attack with the horn.

The ogre grabbed the mercenary by the arm and squeezed until the man screamed and let her go. Outraged, the ogre bellowed, “You attacked a child?”

Dana slipped away as the ogre knocked the mercenary to the ground and stomped on him. She worked her way through the fight to find Jayden still battling the chimera. The crowded battlefield kept both wizard and monster from fighting at their best. Jayden couldn’t use his whip without hitting bystanders and replaced it with his magic sword. The chimera knocked people aside, striking civilians and mercenaries alike to get at Jayden. The two met again and Jayden swung his sword at the monster’s goat head. It blocked the swing with its remaining horn, then clawed his shoulder hard enough to force him back.

Dana looked around for something, anything she could use as a weapon. She had the severed horn, plus a knife in her belt, but those couldn’t do enough damage to seriously hurt the chimera. She needed an edge.

A mercenary staggered by her before the troll knocked him over. Startled, she looked at the two and saw the ship behind them that had brought the chimera. It was still empty, and she saw tarred ropes tied to the sails. That might be enough.

Dana ran onto the ship and grabbed the nearest rope. It was tied tight to the ship, but she cut it loose with her knife and tied one end into a lasso and left the other end attached to the ship. Dana ran down the gangplank into the battle to find Jayden running from the monster. It followed him out of the confusing melee, only realizing too late that Jayden had only fled far enough to get room to fight. He lashed at it and scored a minor hit on the snake head, then another on its paw. The chimera spat poison at him once more. Jayden dodged the stream of acidic poison, but two mercenaries weren’t so lucky and cried out in pain.

Dana ran up behind the chimera and swung the lasso over the lion head. The monster didn’t realize what had happened and tried to maul Jayden. He fell back, and the chimera’s triumphant charge ended in a strangled cry as the lasso tightened around its neck. That held it in place long enough for Jayden to drive his black sword up to the hilt into the chimera’s body between the lion and goat head. The monster’s three heads cried out one last time before the beast fell limp at his feet.

Exhausted, sweaty and bleeding from the shoulder wound, Jayden staggered back and smiled at Dana. “Dear girl, you’re worth your weight in diamonds.”

Hemmelfarb saw his monster fall and screamed in outraged. “You fool! That animal was worth a fortune! I’ll make you suffer like no man in history!”

The sheriff raised his sword and managed three steps toward Jayden when he found his path blocked by Sarah Gress. There was a befuddled look on his face when she raised the very sword he had abandoned, and it changed to a look of terror as she swung it at his head. Hemmelfarb fell back to his men and found them overwhelmed by the enraged crowd. Sarah Gress kept after him, not giving up for a second.

“Oh my,” Jayden said. He was too exhausted from fighting the chimera to join her, but his eyes never left the widow. He staggered a few feet forward until Dana sat him down and bandaged his wound. “She is without a doubt the second finest woman I’ve had the privilege to meet.”

“Only the second?” she teased.

“You have to ask why she’s not first after what you did?”

Dana blushed. She’d nearly finished covering his wound when the battle flowed over them. It would have terrified her, except the mercenaries were fleeing for their lives. The armor that made it so hard to hurt them also slowed them down, and enraged citizens piled on them. The mercenaries fought their way to the ship that had brought the chimera, boarded it and went out to sea with the ship’s crew still on land shouting for them to come back.

With the fight nearly over, the troll turned his gaze on the battle between Sheriff Hemmelfarb and Sarah Gress. The troll nudged the elf he’d been gambling with and said, “I’ll give you two to one odds on the widow.”

“I lost enough money to you tonight,” the elf said, “and there’s only one way that fight is going to end.”

Dana watched Sarah slash at the sheriff and drive him back. A lone mercenary tried to intervene, only for a giant hand made of shadows to scoop him up and hurl him at the fleeing ship. Sarah glanced at Jayden and nodded before turning her fury against the sheriff once more. Their duel lasted only seconds longer.

Jayden managed to stand and staggered off with Dana. They hadn’t gone far before he said, “Look who finally came back. Hello, Charles. Did you enjoy the show?”

“Nothing goes to plan when you’re around,” Charles said. He’d returned with his men, now armed with swords and shields. Charles pointed at the docks and said, “We got no livestock from this job, no horse, and a riot broke out. I was supposed to get enough money to quit this city forever!”

“I see no reason why that should change,” Jayden said. “You told me Sheriff Hemmelfarb had the bad habit of robbing suspects and ships he inspected.”

“What do you mean had?” Charles asked suspiciously.

“Let’s just say the sheriff’s office and house are going to be unguarded for the foreseeable future. Aren’t you curious what he might have there? I know I am.”

* * * * *

Dana woke the next morning in the Kraken Hotel. She looked out a window to find Pearl Bay oddly calm. People of all races walked the street as if nothing had happened. The only sign that anything was amiss was a street vendor selling chimera kabobs.

The same goblin from the night before waddled out of an alley and smiled at her. “Hiya.”

“Hi.” Dana smiled back. “Thank you for bringing those people last night. They helped a lot.”

“I told them what they wanted to hear,” the goblin replied. “The gamblers wanted a fight to bet on, fishermen needed to know their ships might be damaged, and a lot of guys wanted to see the sheriff get what he deserved.”

The goblin’s cheerful demeanor disappeared as he gazed at her. “Goblins talk to goblins, and word travels fast when the news is important. You kept the Shrouded One’s secret in Fish Bait City. We owe you for that. Goblins might be small and weak, but we do right by our friends.”

“Thank you. Is there anything I can do in return?”

“If a plate of cheese ended up in an alleyway, that wouldn’t hurt none.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a town crier who called out, “Hear ye, hear ye, citizens of Pearl Bay. Last night foreigners of unknown nationality and race caused a disturbance on the docks. Any citizen with information on these criminals should contact the mayor’s office. Furthermore, any citizen who knows the location of Sheriff Hemmelfarb, or an identifiable portion of the sheriff’s anatomy, is encouraged to report this information to the mayor’s office.”

“You can’t believe that,” a passing elf said scornfully.

The town crier frowned. “Look, I don’t write this stuff, so lay off.”

Dana gathered up her belongings and left her room to look in on Jayden. His room was empty and she eventually found him in the hotel’s common room. He was sitting at a gaming table studying a stack of papers.

“How’s the shoulder?” she asked.

“It will heal in time, as have all my other wounds. You’d be happy to know Charles was here and left, this time for good. As promised he provided a list of potential targets in the area that will keep us busy for weeks.”

“And you gave him a whopping pile of loot from Sheriff Hemmelfarb’s house.”

Jayden shrugged. “I have enough money and he deserved compensation for his help and for the trouble I caused him. I hope he finds the peace he craves.”

“About that,” she began. “The mercenaries guarding Pearl Bay ran off and Sarah Gress took out Sheriff Hemmelfarb. There’s going to be massive repercussions for these people, and we’re responsible.”

“I doubt there will be trouble. The mayor of Pearl Bay knows what happens to people who disappoint the king and queen. He has no desire to ‘die of plague’ and every reason to tell a believable lie. I sent him a letter listing a few good lies. My favorite is blaming the whole thing on pirates and smugglers, close enough to the truth that it won’t raise questions.”

“Won’t other people tell the truth?”

“Witnesses to the event are on our side. Even if the king and queen wanted to investigate, they can’t afford to send soldiers or mercenaries with the war so close at hand. Those men are needed for the invasion. Pearl Bay is safe for now, and if their mayor wants to live he’ll lie like never before to keep the city safe.”

“How soon do we leave?” she asked.

Jayden hesitated. “There’s someone I want to speak with first. I received word that she’s on her way.”

“She?” Dana’s brow furrowed, then she smiled. “The old sheriff’s widow wants to talk with you?”

“Yes, and be polite. That’s her coming now.”

Sarah Gress entered the hotel and spotted Jayden. The elf proprietor poured her a drink as she sat across from Jayden.

“I see you are well despite the injury you suffered last night,” she said formally. “That pleases me. Sir, I have come to apologize.”

“You don’t have to,” he assured her.

“I do. I spoke cruelly to you when we first met. I judged you by your reputation without considering that those who spoke ill of you are the same ones who took my husband from me. You are a man of questionable means, but you proved your good intent when you killed Sheriff Hemmelfarb’s monster. In doing so you further proved to these people what a wretched man he was.”

“I doubt your neighbors needed more evidence of that,” Jayden said. “While your apology is unnecessary, there is something I’d like to ask you.”

Sarah Gress took a sip of her drink. “What might that be?”

“Join me,” he offered. Sarah Gress looked shocked, but Jayden persisted. “Many in our kingdom suffer as you have. Many more will suffer unless they receive help. I saw a woman of unquestionable bravery last night, and shockingly good with a sword. You saved the lives of innocent men and prevented further injustices. I can do so much more with help. You could be the difference between good men living and dying.”

Sarah blushed and looked down. “I can’t.”

“I know I ask much, but I can help you do it.”

“Your offer,” she began, and hesitated before she continued. “I am tempted more than words can say to accept, but I have responsibilities. My husband and I had two sons, the younger only now starting to walk. Last night I gave in to my anger. My sons have already lost their father, and if the battle had gone differently they could have been left orphaned. It was a mistake I can’t afford to repeat. I can’t risk my life when they depend on me.”

“I see,” Jayden replied softly.

Sarah reached over and took his hand. “I am in your debt, as is every soul in Pearl Bay. Were life fair we could repay you as you deserve. The day may come when we can offer more, but for now we can only thank you, and speak well of you to any who will listen. Forgive me for such a paltry reward.”

Sarah Gress bowed to Jayden and left the hotel. He was silent until Dana said, “You were so flirting with her.”

“Yes I was.” He frowned and got up. “There’s nothing more for us here and work to do elsewhere. Come, let’s leave before we have to pay for another night’s stay.”

When Dana got up to join him, Jayden pointed at something sticking out of one of her bags and asked, “And why are you holding on to a chimera horn?”

“I used it last night. It’s got good balance, about the right length, and it has a sharp edge. I know it’s not perfect, but do you think you can craft it into a weapon?”

Jayden smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Now that is an interesting question.”

“Dear mom and dad,” Dana wrote as a man staggered by her and fell to the floor. He’d nearly gotten back up when an angry dwarf trampled him to get an elf on the other side of the bar. “I hope you are well. I’m doing fine.”

“Keep your brawl away from the bar!” the tavern keeper yelled. “I swear I will end the tab of anyone breaking my glasses!”

“I know I have been away from home for a long time, but I found a problem so big I had to do something,” she continued. That was a diplomatic way for saying she’d met the world’s only living sorcerer lord and was trying to keep him alive. It was a full-time job. “I will come home as soon as I can, but for now I have to keep trying to fix this mess help out. I have come into some money and am sending it back with this letter.”

Two more men barreled past her table and slammed into a third man, knocking him into a wall made of tree trunks stripped of bark. The floor was packed dirt covered in sawdust, while windows and fire worms kept in glass jars provided light. The air smelled of beer, unidentified grilled meat and sweat.

Such rough surroundings were common to the market town of Despre, a dingy little community in the mountainous north of the kingdom. Buildings were crude and dirty, the people rough and hardy, and the land equal parts rich and desolate. The barely tamed north had both endless resources of timber, fish, furs and copper, while being so newly settled that there were few people willing to face monsters, storms and bandits.

“Who are you writing to?” Jayden asked from across the table. They’d taken a corner booth in the tavern and were out of the way of the brawl engulfing the tavern. Jayden’s reputation kept back men fighting nearby, and he ate a light dinner in peace. Dana had finished her meal before she started writing.

“My family. It’s been so long since they’ve seen me they must be worried.” Dana kept writing, saying, “Please give my love to Emily and Rachael, and tell Lan to stay out of my stuff while I’m gone. I’m sure he’s already eaten all my chocolates, but if you’re not careful the little pest might put my old clothes on a pig.”

“He can’t be that bad,” Jayden told her.

Dana covered the letter with her left hand. “No peaking! This is a private message, thank you very much.”

A young troll only six feet tall staggered by their table, with three men grappling the scaly brute. The troll tossed one man aside before grabbing the other two and swinging them into one another. “Feel free to jump in any time, wizard.”

The tavern keeper frantically waved his hands. “The wizard stays out of this!”

“I don’t have a horse in this race,” Jayden told the troll. “I can’t say I understand the issue, either.”

The troll pointed at a nearby dwarf. “We started that mine and it’s ours. If the dwarfs want one they can get their own instead of muscling in on our turf.”

“We did get our own!” the dwarf yelled before he was hit in the head with a chair.

“Yeah, by digging a shaft a hundred feet from ours,” the troll replied. “It’s the same ore vein, stumpy.”

Dana pressed three silver coins onto her letter and folded it over them before stuffing it into a crude envelope. Dana was a girl of only fifteen, soon to be sixteen. She had brown hair that was getting long and brown eyes. Her clothes were a mix of the thick dress and fur hat she’d had when she first met Jayden with new boots, bags, knife and a belt with an empty scabbard she’d gotten during her travels with him. Her father was the mayor of a frontier town a bit bigger than Despre and much more orderly.

The simple life she’d known ended when she’d called upon Sorcerer Lord Jayden, who sat across the table from her now. Jayden was in his thirties, handsome to behold in a roguish sort of way with his sardonic smirk, perpetually messy blond hair and black and silver clothes. Jayden carried some baggage but no weapons, as his magic was enough to keep smart enemies at a distance and deal with anyone stupid enough to challenge him.

Jayden was smart, strong, bold, charming when he felt like it, and had a near pathological hatred for the king and queen. Dana didn’t know the root cause for his rage, but in her travels with Jayden she’d seen ample evidence that such enmity was well earned. The royal couple had tried to seize the Valivaxis, a gateway to a world of dead emperors and living monsters. They’d hired an amoral elf wizard, banished the Brotherhood of the Righteous from the kingdom, killed an honest sheriff and replaced him with a cowardly fraud. Worse, they were planning a war against a neighboring kingdom, heaven only knew which one, which could kill tens of thousands.

Few men loved the king and queen, but Jayden’s hatred was so great he would do almost anything if it meant harming them or preventing their war. Dana tried her best to redirect him to helping the common man, but her efforts were temporary at best. Jayden wanted the king and queen gone. He wasn’t strong enough to end their reign yet, but he’d grown in strength in the few months they’d traveled together. It was only a matter of time until he was that powerful, provided he didn’t die first.

Dana’s train of thought was interrupted when a dwarf complained, “That scaly lummox isn’t being fair. There’s enough copper ore for decades of mining.”

The troll threw a table at the dwarf, missing by inches. “And it’s ours! Find your own claim!”

“How much longer do we have to stay here?” Dana asked as the dwarf threw a chair at the troll.

Jayden said, “Only until the dwarf I hired finishes making the chimera horn you brought from Pearl Bay into a proper weapon. He was almost giddy at the prospect of fashioning it into a short sword, and eager for the coins I paid him. I’ve seen his work and it’s splendid. He’s also one of the few swordsmiths not on the royal payroll, and can keep his mouth shut about jobs he does.”

The troll knocked a dwarf into a table before swatting aside a man. More men, trolls and dwarfs joined in until the brawl spilled over into the street outside the tavern. Struggling to be heard over the noise, Dana asked, “Is it always like this?”

Jayden smirked. “The local baron issued the license for this town to act as a marketplace for small communities around it. He doesn’t care what happens here so long as he gets a monthly fee. Half the trade here is smuggled goods. You’d be shocked how much the baron is involved in smuggling, and a sad testimony to our kingdom that even a nobleman has to do so.”

“And how does he feel about you visiting?”

“We have an understanding. I don’t cause trouble in his backyard and he lets me do business here the same as everyone else.”

A glass flew over Dana’s head to shatter against a wall. The tavern keeper pointed at a man and yelled, “I saw you throw that, Biff! Do you have any idea how much those cost? That’s it, say goodbye to your tab!”

More softly, Jayden added, “There is another reason why we came to Despre. The king and queen are preparing for war, with the kingdoms of Kaleoth, Brandish and Zentrix the obvious targets. Three weeks travel from here is the only bridge over the Race Horse River to Kaleoth. Destroying that bridge leaves only a few shallow sections of the Turtle River to ford, areas easily bottled up by defenders.”

“Destroying the bridge would shuts down trade to Kaleoth,” Dana said.

“I assume trade would end when the war starts,” Jayden pointed out.

“You’re also assuming the army is going to invade Kaleoth. If it goes after Brandish or Zentrix then destroying the bridge doesn’t do any good.”

“True,” he admitted as men, dwarfs and trolls intensified their fight. “Sparing one kingdom the possibility of invasion is worth the risk. The king and queen won’t be ready to launch an invasion for many months, giving us time to close down one avenue of attack.”

Dana frowned as people fought around her. Rough as the fight was, it was thankfully bloodless as no one drew swords or daggers. She was willing to accept that meager blessing.

Jayden saw her expression and said, “I should have made arrangements for us to stay outside town. There are times I forget your peaceful upbringing.”

“This is normal for you?”

“It didn’t used to be, but circumstances have forced me to adapt. Try not to hold this against them. At heart these people aren’t evil, even if they are crude.”

Dana did her best to ignore the fight as most of the brawlers moved outside. The tavern keeper grumbled as he set the tables and chairs upright. Thankfully the building and furnishings hadn’t suffered noticeable damage. She was surprised when a young man in wool clothes entered the tavern and took a seat not far from her and Jayden.

Smiling, the youth said, “Quite a fight going on, eh?”

“I’ve been in worse,” Jayden told him.

The youth’s smile faded as he said, “I guess nothing could be as bad as the underground lake.”

Jayden’s eyes narrowed, and he shifted in his chair to face the youth. “There are three people alive who know the relevance of that statement, and you aren’t one of them. Explain yourself while you can still breathe.”

“A friend of yours sent me,” the youth replied.

“I have one friend in this world, and she is sitting across from me.” Jayden stood up and spoke strange, arcane words to form a black sword rimmed in white in his right hand. The youth yelped and jumped up from his chair as Jayden advanced on him. “I’m giving you a second chance to avoid a closed casket funeral. Explain yourself.”

The youth held up his hands as he backed up against a wall. “Hey, wait a minute!”

The tavern keeper rolled his eyes. “You kill him, you clean up the mess.”

“I can explain,” the youth said hastily as Jayden drew near. “The guy with the cat hired me to get you. He said you’d understand the reference.”

Jayden paused. “What cat?”

“Big, black, evil, that cat. He keeps it with him all the time, and heaven help the man who gets closer than ten paces, because that ball of fur and hate goes right for your face.”

The answer must have been sufficient, for Jayden lowered his sword. “I will listen to you. If this is a trap, I assure you the cat is the least of your worries.”

The youth rolled up the sleeve on his right arm to show six inches of his forearm covered in fresh bandages. “The cat is bad enough. The guy showed up outside town on a river barge three days ago with five men and that furry psychopath. He hired me to find you and bring you to him. He said you two have worked together, and he needs help.”

“Doing what?” Jayden asked.

“He didn’t say.” The youth looked down and added, “I was given five copper pieces to deliver this message and promised another five if you come back with me. I need the money, and this guy made it sound like you’d get some kind of a reward.”

“This merits further examination,” Jayden replied. “I’ll go with you, but if there is any sign of betrayal you can count this as your last day. Dana, given the risk involved it’s best if you not come with me.”

“Leaving me here is safer?” she asked. As if on cue, there was a bang on the wall behind her, followed by a groan of pain from outside.

Jayden frowned. “That is a valid point.”

The youth hesitantly raised a hand. “I know I’m already not your favorite person, but Despre has ten men for every woman. I don’t think anyone here is stupid enough to attack the lady, but she’s going to get a lot of attention if you’re not around.”

“Too late,” Dana said as she held up three letters. “I’ve already got admirers.”

“When did you get those?” Jayden asked.

“One was handed to me when I was served lunch, another got slipped into my pocket, and I have no idea where the third came from.” Dana got up from her chair and joined Jayden. “If the guy knows things about you that no one should then it’s probably not a trap by the king and queen. Besides, who else would want to hurt you?”

Jayden chuckled. “That list goes on for quite some time.”

“So,” the youth began, “we can go meet the man with the cat, I can get paid, and you can hopefully put the nasty black sword away?”

“The black nasty sword stays in my hand until we meet your employer,” Jayden told him.

Jayden, Dana and the youth left the tavern to find the streets of Despre a battlefield. Men, dwarfs, elves, trolls and even gnomes brawled across the town in a fight that seemed to have no sides or end in sight. Dana and Jayden worked their way around the edge of the melee and to the edge of town. Most people stayed clear of them, and the few who got too close saw Jayden’s sword and gave him a wide berth.

“Where are we going?” Dana asked.

“There’s a river an hour’s walk from Despre,” the youth explained as they walked by exhausted fighters. “The river barge is moored there.”

“I’m told the wilderness is dangerous, yet you’re going with us unarmed,” Jayden pointed out.

The youth shrugged. “We have fewer problems since an ogre clan moved into town. They’re great lumberjacks, pretty good builders, and they ate the nearest monsters. You have to go pretty far to find trouble.”

The ogres in question were nearby building a barn. The furry brutes stood eight feet tall and favored kilts. One ogre was setting up a sign that read, “Clan Arm Breaker Traveling Contractors: You’ll fall before the house does.”

“I can see where they’d deter most problems,” Jayden remarked. The ogres saw him walk by and nodded, a show of respect ogres rarely gave.

The land outside Despre was hilly with fields in the places flat enough to farm. Here and there rocks jutted up from the ground, and tree stumps were common. Farther out were dense forests of pine trees. Despre’s lumberjacks had already taken a heavy toll, but despite their damage the forests seemed to stretch on forever.

“Not much farther,” the youth promised. “The river is just ahead.”

Sure enough, there was a distant roar of swift water crashing into stone. They soon came to a wide river with rocks on both shores. Not far upstream was a river barge tied to the far shore. Flat-bottomed boats like that were a common sight transporting good across the kingdom. They also saw men standing on the barge and fishing off the side. One of them smiled and waved as Jayden drew near.

“Ah, I knew you’d come. Jayden, it’s been too long.”

Jayden’s response was more subdued. “I must admit your presence surprises me, and I find it a touch disturbing that you found me.”

The man walked down a gangplank to shore and hurried over. He didn’t look like much, average height, a few too many pounds on his stomach, brown hair and eyes, and a thick mustache. His clothes were well-tailored leather, common enough. There was a twinkle in his eyes and a ready smile on his face.

“Allow me to introduce myself to the lady. I am Sir Reginald Lootmore of the Kingdom of Zentrix. You weren’t exactly hard to find, Jayden. Tales of your deeds flow as fast as this river. Wherever Sorcerer Lord Jayden goes chaos is sure to follow. It may surprise you to learn that you are credited with dozens of acts of violence committed a hundred miles from here, some of them on the same day.”

“Then why haven’t the king and queen found us?” Dana asked.

Lootmore smiled. “They have men looking for you, but few try very hard after what happened to the elf wizard Green Peril. Word is he found you and fled the kingdom the same day. The king and his loving wife will find someone more up to the task eventually, but for now your pursuers aren’t interested in finding their quarry. It helps that dear Jayden has the good sense to avoid more prosperous and populated parts of the kingdom where defenders are stronger and more numerous.”

Lootmore stopped in front of them and smiled at Dana. “This must be the young lady I’ve heard you travel with these days. I was wondering when you’d take an apprentice.”

“Dana Illwind,” she replied and curtsied. “I’m Jayden’s friend, not apprentice.”

“She’s trying to keep me from getting killed,” Jayden added.

Lootmore smiled. “Ah, a woman who likes challenges.”

Dana blushed when Lootmore kissed her hand. Jayden rolled his eyes and pointed at the men on the barge. “And who might they be?”

“Men who have long served the Lootmore family,” he explained. “You may trust them as you do me.”

Dana wasn’t sure how to address Lootmore. He called himself a knight, but he had no weapons or armor, nor the arrogance she’d seen in the few knights she’d met years ago. Instead he looked like the sort of man who any second might offer to sell her insurance. Strangely, Jayden lacked Lootmore’s enthusiasm about their meeting. She dearly wished she knew what had happened between them.

“Why did you hire that boy to get us instead of coming in person,” she asked.

“A fair question, young lady,” Lootmore conceded. “While there is currently no conflict between our kingdoms, my presence risks drawing unwanted attention and potentially causing a war. For that reason I have been careful who knows I’m here. In locating you he lived up to my every expectation.”

Jayden frowned. “Yes, you’ve found me, now kindly tell me what this is about.”

“Soon enough,” Lootmore said. He dug through his pockets and came up with copper coins for the youth who’d led them to the river. “Five copper pieces as promised. Be a good boy and never mention this to anyone.”

The youth pointed at Jayden and a black cat following Lootmore. “And get either of them mad at me? Thank you, no.”

Dana smiled as the cat came closer. It was a healthy animal, big with yellow eyes and a shiny, thick coat. “Ooh, she’s adorable. What’s her name?”

“His name, actually, and it’s Jump Scare,” Lootmore answered. “Best keep your distance before—”

There was no hiss or growl before Jump Scare leapt at Dana’s face. She didn’t have time to cry out or back away. Jayden snatched the cat out of the air and threw it into the woods, where it landed on its feet and scampered back to Lootmore.

“He does that,” Lootmore said. “My apologies.”

Jayden folded his arms across his chest. “Why do you insist on bringing that animal with you?”

“I left him home once when I went on a mission,” Lootmore replied. “Injuries were extensive. But that is neither here nor there. I am on an important mission and need help carrying it out. Of the three people I fought along side at the underground lake, only you were close enough to call upon. My task is risky, but the rewards equal the danger.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of you having a partner,” Dana said.

“You never told her about me?” Lootmore asked. He clapped a hand over his heart and looked away in mock shame. “The horror, to learn I’ve been edited out of your life’s story. What sin have I committed to be considered so low?”

“Being overly dramatic, and owning a cat that by all rights should be tormenting condemned souls in the netherworld,” Jayden said. “May I remind you how our one and only job together went?”

“We were all nearly killed, but I believe if you review your no doubt excellent memory, you’ll recall it wasn’t my fault,” Lootmore answered. “And you came away from that caper richer and with a stone tablet containing a spell of the old sorcerer lords.”

Jayden didn’t look convinced, so Lootmore waved for them to join him at his barge. “I have the details for the job over there. I think you’ll find it worth your while.”

Jayden frowned before following Lootmore to the barge. “I’m going to regret this.”

Dana followed them onto the barge. It was as nondescript as its owner, a simple vessel, fairly old and beaten up with little cargo. The men onboard were young and wore wool clothes. There were no weapons in sight, no armor, no money. If Lootmore was a knight, he hid it well.

“On to business,” Lootmore said eagerly. He unrolled a map of the kingdom and pointed to the northern regions. “We are here, far enough away from proper civilization that the authorities don’t know of our presence. Downriver is an estate owned by Baron Scalamonger, a man known for his vineyards and his loyalty to the throne. In three days he is expecting Commander Vestril of the royal army to bring a caravan of soldiers, two knights, and this is the important part, supplies.”

“What sort of supplies?” Jayden asked suspiciously.

Lootmore smiled. “The best kind. Spies in my homeland have noticed your beloved king and queen amassing weapons, hiring mercenaries, training soldiers and so on. The forces and materials they need to wage war are currently scattered across the kingdom. Last month the order went out to bring them together. It’s war, Jayden, and soon, a war the Kingdom of Zentrix might not survive.”

Jayden stared at the map. “I thought I had more time.”

“We both did.” Lootmore drew a line across the map with his finger. “Those forces are converging on the capital. From there they will train, take on more arms and prepare for a war Zentrix officials think will come in early spring. Most of these caravans are too large or far away to attack, but this one is temporarily vulnerable.”

“Temporarily vulnerable why?” Jayden asked.

“Commander Vestril is going from town to town picking up manpower and supplies. In two weeks he’ll have enough men that the caravan will be too strong to take. Until then there is a window of opportunity to attack it. The commander knows this and is being very careful, stopping at night in every town or manor he passes, going around areas known for bandits or monsters, and he’s avoiding any place you’ve been seen.”

Jayden perked up at the news. “Really?”

“I thought you’d like that. In three days Commander Vestril will visit the estate of Baron Scalamonger. The baron traditionally pays his taxes in the form of wine, and he’s known to be a very good host to visiting officials.”

“He gets them drunk,” Dana said.

“Roaring drunk,” Lootmore told her. “If I’m right, Scalamonger’s contribution to the war effort will be wine. Vestril will stop his caravan for the night, load up a copious amount of alcohol and enjoy the baron’s hospitality, leaving him and his soldiers too drunk to be a threat. This leaves us an opening.”

“How can stealing wine prevent a war?” Dana asked.

“I’m not interested in the wine.” Lootmore pointed to a town on the west of the map. “Commander Vestril stopped here a week ago and picked up eighty suits of chain armor from another baron. I’ve been sent to steal it. Less armor for the enemy and more for my people won’t prevent the war, but it tips it ever so slightly in our favor.”

Lootmore rolled up the map and put it away. “Jayden, you’ve been trying to hurt the king and queen for years. Taking this armor does that. But if you’re undecided, I can sweeten the deal.”

Lootmore reached down to open a secret compartment hidden in the barge’s floorboards. He took out a black granite tablet with writing in white marble. Jayden’s eyes lit up at the sight of it.

“I’ve been nearly as busy as you since our last encounter,” Lootmore said. “In one mission for my kingdom I came across what looked very much like the spell tablet you found in our too brief partnership. The writing is shorter than the one you found two years ago and seemed so excited by. I was rather hoping it’s a spell you don’t already have—”

“I don’t,” Jayden said.

“And might want,” Lootmore continued.

“I do.”

Lootmore held onto the tablet. “I also know you are addicted to destruction. I don’t see the appeal, but I haven’t lived the life you have. Hopefully I won’t offend you when I say you might be tempted to destroy the armor or dump it in a lake rather than let me take it. So I propose a deal. I give you the tablet here and now. In exchange you help me complete this mission, including stealing the armor.”

Jayden’s eyes were locked on the spell tablet. He made no move to take it. “I promise to do whatever is possible to help you, but I can’t guarantee results. If it comes down to letting Commander Vestril keep the armor, I’ll have no choice but to destroy it.”

Lootmore handed him the spell tablet. “I can’t ask for more. Let’s be on our way. The trip will use up most of the time we have left, and I’ve seen worrying signs in this part of the kingdom.”

Concerned, Dana asked, “What kind of signs?”

Lootmore addressed his men before he answered her. “Break down our camp and throw evidence of our visit into the river. Were I a fearful man I would call them ill omens. I saw what looked like footprints, each one two feet long and half as wide, with a stride four feet long. Stranger still, there were no toes or heel on the prints.”

Dana covered her face with her hand. “Not again.”

“Excuse me?” Lootmore asked.

“How many times do we have to kill it?” Dana asked.

Jayden held up his empty hands. “Twice didn’t do the job.”

Lootmore gave them a long-suffering look. “Doubtless there’s a story here. Feel free to share it.”

“It’s the Living Graveyard,” Jayden explained. “We found it guarding a castle on the coast and killed it to retrieve a rich treasure. The Living Graveyard doesn’t die easily, or permanently. We killed it a second time outside Fish Bait City. It reassembled itself, again, and followed us here. It seems we have two good reasons to leave quickly. Dana and I can come back later to get her new sword, which should be finished by then, but for now we should be on our way before that monstrosity finds us.”

“Then let’s begin our adventure, and may it have better results than our last one,” Lootmore said.

“It could hardly have worse,” Jayden muttered.

* * * * *

Dana, Jayden and Lootmore spent the rest of the day sailing downstream. They left the wilderness behind and entered more settled lands. There were farm fields and ranches, and occasionally small towns. Their passage drew no attention, for there were other boats engaged in fishing or trade on the river.

Lootmore stopped his barge in a small tributary where few people lived and made camp among trees growing along the river. Lootmore and his men settled down on the riverbank while Jayden stayed on the barge.

“You’re not going on shore?” Dana asked him.

“Too many people live here who are loyal to the throne or live in fear of it. Lootmore is unknown in these parts and won’t attract attention, so he can sleep where he pleases, but I have to be more careful. You may sleep on shore if you like.”

Dana settled down next to him on the barge. “I think I’ll stay with you. One of Lootmore’s men already asked if I was seeing anyone, so I’ve got my own reason to keep my distance. So, what’s the story with you and our new friend?”

Jayden kept his eyes on the shore while he answered. “Two years ago I was desperate for funds and magic. I’d heard of a cave so large there was a lake in it, and what sounded like ruins of the old sorcerer lords as well. It sounded promising, so I went there and began exploring. I wasn’t alone.”

“There were monsters in the cave?”

“Were I only so lucky. News of the cave had reached more ears than just my own. The king and queen had sent an expedition to loot the cave of valuables. There were too many men for me to fight alone, when to my surprise I met Reginald Lootmore. He’d been sent by his queen to take whatever riches were within the cave. Lootmore had already secured the aid of the famous archer Ian McShootersun. Less wisely, he’d also partnered with the alchemist Suzy Lockheart.”

Dana gave him a mischievous smile. “Were you two romantic?”

“What? That giggling lunatic nearly killed us all.” Jayden waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly. “Lootmore made a deal with me to share rewards equally and I’d get any spell tablets, a fair trade for my services. We snuck past the expedition, explored the ruins and nearly escaped when they caught up with us. It was a close fight that nearly ended in disaster when Suzy Lockheart decided a large cave with an unstable roof was the perfect place to set off explosives.”

Jayden shuddered. “It was pure luck that we weren’t crushed by falling rocks. The expedition wasn’t so fortunate. I left with a small pile of treasure and one spell tablet, and we parted company shortly thereafter. Lootmore had to report back to his queen, McShootersun had heard of better opportunities far to the north, and quite frankly I didn’t care enough to ask where Suzy Lockheart was heading. I’d assumed that was the last I’d see of them.”

“Wouldn’t it have made sense to keep working together?” Dana asked. Jayden gave her a dark look, and she hastily added, “Not Lockheart, obviously, but what about the other two? You could do so much more with help.”

“It wouldn’t have worked.” Jayden turned his attention back to the shoreline before he spoke again. “Lootmore’s loyalties are to his homeland. That’s no discredit, but he has to be careful what he does as a knight of Zentrix. His actions could start an international incident if he’s caught, meaning there are places he can’t go and deeds he can’t do. As for the other two, McShootersun is a braggart with no cause to live for except the next payday, and Heaven only knows what madness run through Suzy Lockheart’s diseased mind.”

“She came onto you, didn’t she?”

“It didn’t happen like that,” he said firmly.

“You accept help from me,” she pressed.

“That’s different.”

“How?”

Jayden looked at her and said, “I’m trying to overthrow the king and queen because of the harm they’ve done. I’ve taken great risks for little reward or none at all because I truly believed I’m making the kingdom a better place. Lootmore, McShootersun and Lockheart have no interest in that because this isn’t their homeland. They don’t love it, fear for it, dream of it, and they won’t sacrifice for it. This is your homeland. You love it, you fear for its future, you want what’s best for it, and you’ve already proven you’ll sacrifice for its wellbeing. When, not if, the worst comes to pass, I wouldn’t be able to count on them, but I can count on you.”

Dana blushed. “Thank you.”

“Now be a dear and duck. Lootmore’s cat is back.”

Dana dropped to her knees as Jump Scare made another attempt on her life. Jayden caught the hissing ball of rage as it went for her face, but this time he threw it in the water. The cat yowled and splashed to shore before heading into the camp.

“Sorry,” Lootmore called out.

“Get the cat under control or you are going to lose it!” Jayden yelled back.

It took another day to reach the estate of Baron Scalamonger. The soil was rich and had many farms and vineyards. There were no cities, only three towns and many scattered farmhouses. The baron’s manor was a wood building three stories tall surrounded by vineyards, and located miles from the nearest town. Lootmore stopped his barge at dusk in a spot where the river was flanked by trees.

“Allow me to introduce our target,” Lootmore said. “I have an old floor plan of questionable accuracy for the building. Reports say the baron has a dozen guards and can call upon fifty militiamen. There are no tamed monsters or magic weapons. It seems the baron had a bad experience once using an Industrial Magic Corporation levitating wand and has since sworn off magic.”

“Which begs the question why you need my help,” Jayden said.

“If all goes well we’ll be in and out undetected. If there is a hiccup in the plan, we’re going to be badly outnumbered. Firepower can balance the scales.” Lootmore brought out a map and showed it to them. “The estate—”

“Has a basement floor not shown on your map,” Jayden interrupted. “It also leaves out a small treasury on the third floor and an armory on the first.”

“You’ve been here before?” Dana asked.

“A very long time ago,” he replied. Jayden found a quill and inkpot among Lootmore’s supplies and drew new details on the map. “You’re missing several walls, too.”

“Are the remaining details correct?” Lootmore asked. When Jayden nodded, Lootmore said, “There is a barn outside the main building where Baron Scalamonger keeps livestock, and where he’s sure to place the oxen and wagons when they come. The caravan is scheduled to arrive tomorrow night. Once it’s dark we climb over the brick wall around the manor and barn, steal the wagons cargo and all, drive them here and load the armor onto the barge, leaving the wagons and draft animals behind. With any luck no one will notice our intrusion until morning, giving us hours to escape.”

Jayden finished fixing the map and handed it to Lootmore. “Your plan depends on our enemy being too complacent and inebriated to effectively guard their property. If nothing else, though, it means we don’t have to enter the manor where most of the guard will be stationed.”

Lootmore studied the new and improved map. “This is why I like contracting local help. Thank you, Jayden. There may have been changes made since your visit. We have time until Commander Vestril arrives, so I intend to scout out the area and ask questions from lowly underpaid residents who’d appreciate free drinks and heavier wallets.”

“Who’s there?” a woman called out from the shoreline.

“Jayden, keep back,” Lootmore said.

“I’ve got this,” Dana said. She ran over to the barge railing, smiled and waved. The woman on shore was middle aged and carrying a load of firewood. “Hi! We’re heading through the province and had to stop for the night. Sorry if we surprised you.”

“Oh, no worries,” the woman replied. She squinted as Lootmore and his crew got between her and Jayden. Jayden grumbled as they provided cover. The woman turned her attention back to Dana and said, “I was hoping you had goods to sell, but it doesn’t look like you’ve got much cargo.”

“Temporary situation,” Dana said cheerfully.

“Say, are you looking for work?” the woman asked. “Because I know fifty people who could use a hand. You could earn money to buy cargo.”

Dana’s brow furrowed. “We’re not going to be here that long.”

“You’re sure?” the woman pressed.

“Quite sure, but it was lovely to meet you,” Lootmore replied.

The woman shrugged and left. “If you change your mind, throw a stone and you’ll hit a person who can pay for help.”

Dana looked at Jayden and asked, “Is it just me, or was that weird?”

“It was a first for me,” Lootmore told her.

“People have tried to hire me before, but never as a day laborer,” Jayden added. “Lootmore, how secret does your mission have to be?”

Lootmore frowned. “As much so as possible. Why?”

Jayden pointed upriver, where an older man gave them a curious look before ambling closer. Lootmore frowned at the sight and said, “I did not anticipate this.”

“Perhaps you could introduce him to Jump Scare,” Jayden suggested. “A few grievous injuries should deter further visitors.”

The cat seemed to like the idea and jumped up onto the railing. Lootmore grabbed it before it could attack. “Don’t give him ideas.”

“Say there, young fellas,” the old timer called out. “Any of you picked grapes before, because I could really use a hand.”

It took half and hour to convince the man that they weren’t looking for a job, and another twenty minutes to explain that to the next person to walk by. Lootmore never got the chance to scout the area and looked frustrated to the point of madness, while Jayden simply rested and Dana scratched her head at their warm reception. Strangers coming to her hometown were treated with wary politeness, since they could be thieves as easily as merchants, colonists or laborers. They could earn her people’s trust, but it took time. She couldn’t see why Baron Scalamonger’s people were so quick to accept them.

It was late at night when the last farmer gave up on hiring them. They were settling in when Lootmore grabbed Jayden by the shoulder and shook him.

“Get ready, all of you. The caravan is early.”

Dana had nearly fallen asleep and needed a moment to get her bearings. “Wasn’t it supposed to come tomorrow?”

Lootmore pointed to lights on the horizon, where four wagons pulled by oxen slowly made their way toward the manor. Spearmen followed the wagons, and two knights on horseback followed them. The caravan moved glacially slow, finally stopping outside the manor’s outer walls. A cry went out and a gate opened to admit them.

“Hurry,” Lootmore said. He and his men opened secret compartments on the barge and took out swords, daggers, pry bars, rope and black clothes. They put on the black garments and coated their weapons in coal dust to hide any glimmer of reflected light, then followed by smearing coal dust around their eyes.

Worried, Dana whispered, “Jayden, what kind of knight dresses like that?”

“Lootmore is a knight by birth and thief by training,” he replied equally softly. “His kingdom sends him when they need work does discretely. It isn’t glorious and won’t win the love of his peers, but Lootmore has saved many lives and ended terrible threats.”

“You’re being more diplomatic than normal,” Lootmore said as he picked up his cat and set it on his shoulders. “Five generations ago my ancestor stole a crown from an enemy king and presented it to the King of Zentrix, who was so pleased he offered any reward my ancestor asked for. My ancestor asked to be made a knight.”

Lootmore was no longer the harmless looking man Dana had met. Now he was an ominous shadowy form, armed and terrifying to behold. The men he’d brought were almost as terrifying (they didn’t have Jump Scare). When Lootmore spoke, it was with the anger of a long-suffering man.

“My ancestor dared to rise above his station, an offense worthy of severe punishment, but he had his king’s promise. His king granted the request and at the same time showed his anger for such presumption. My family was made knights with the surname Lootmore. Loot more, Ms. Illwind. Knights shouldn’t desire loot, and my family was cursed with a name that ensured no one would ever forget how we essentially bought our knighthood with a stolen crown. I have lived with that shame for my entire life, as has five generations of my family.”

Lootmore waved his hand at the distant manor abuzz with activity. “For five generations we have been knights assigned the tasks of thieves, providing plausible deniability if caught. My superiors despise me, so they can blame me for any misdeed I commit for our country. ‘Lootmore? Doesn’t surprise me he committed a crime. The whole family is bad to the core.’ They send me out again and again to save a kingdom that despises me.”

Dana stared at him in horror. “Why do you do this if your own people hate you?”

“Because I love my country. Because there are a few men who love my family, and that number grows with each generation of Lootmores. And because I know that many kings have conquerors at the base of their family trees and criminals of the worst sort scattered among their branches. One day my family will be respected, if takes another five generations.”

Dana might be moved to tears, but Jayden wasn’t. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m here for plausible deniability as much as for my magic. Your being caught here could start the war you fear. But if Sorcerer Lord Jayden was involved, a man who hated the king and queen, the blame could be put on my shoulders if we’re seen.”

“True,” Lootmore admitted. “Be fair, Jayden, when have you ever shied away from taking credit for your actions?”

“I’ve avoided the spotlight once or twice when the situation called for it,” Jayden replied. “This isn’t one of those times.”

Lootmore looked at the manor where men brought in the caravan. “We should set out. Everyone inside will be exhausted and drunk by the time we arrive.”

They headed out on foot, a slow trip because they had to climb over fences heavy with grapevines. Fortunately no one was present to hear the noise they made. By the time they reached the manor, the men from the caravan had gone inside while the oxen, horses and wagons were in a barn. Lanterns lit up the ground between the manor and outer wall, and they heard constant loud noise from inside.

“There are no guards stationed outdoors,” Jayden said.

“Baron Scalamonger is far from hostile borders and monster infested woods, and his wine barrels are too large to easily steal,” Lootmore replied, and scaled the wall with his men.

Dana was reasonably good at climbing, but this looked beyond her. There wasn’t much space between the bricks in the wall and no vines growing on it for her to grab onto. Her hesitation gave her the time to see posters glued to the wall by the gate. There was enough light to read them thanks to the lanterns in the manor.

Several were handwritten posters on cheap paper advertising employment. She couldn’t figure out why so many landowners and businesses were short of workers. One poster was larger and made of better quality paper, and judging by its faded colors it was also the oldest.

Good citizens, come to the defense of the crown! The King and Queen call upon any man of good health to consider military service to protect the kingdom. Uniforms and weapons will be provided, with three meals a day. Recruits with criminal records will have them erased after one year’s service. Spearmen get 10 silver pieces per month! Archers get 20 silver pieces! Officers get 50 silver pieces!

Jayden walk up alongside Dana, and she heard him growl, “Protect the kingdom?”

“That’s rich,” Dana replied. “They’re the ones going on the warpath.”

Lootmore reached the top of the wall without difficulty and lowered a rope for Jayden and Dana. They climbed up and dropped down to the ground next to the barn. Lootmore and his men were already working on a lock sealing the barn door. Jayden began to cast a spell, but Lootmore waved for him to stop. In thirty seconds the lock was open and they went inside.

“Jayden, light,” Lootmore said.

Jayden cast a spell forming a small glowing globe to illuminate the barn. They saw the knights’ horses, four wagons and sixteen oxen. The animals gorged on fresh hay and drank deeply from water troughs. Lootmore climbed onto the nearest wagon and froze.

“The armor isn’t here,” Lootmore said. His men checked the other wagons and shook their heads. “I saw Commander Vestril load it with my own eyes. Where is it?”

“You described Commander Vestril as being careful to the point of paranoia,” Jayden said. “Baron Scalamonger must feel safe to not post guards, but it seems the commander is taking no chances and brought his cargo inside the manor for safekeeping.”

Lootmore climbed down from the wagon. “That must be it. Our task is more complicated and riskier, but not impossible. You said the manor has a basement. That would be the place to store so much armor. We’ll break in, get the armor and load it onto the wagons.”

“Without being seen?” Dana asked. “There are dozens more people inside the manor besides the baron’s usual staff and guards. How are we going to get eighty suits of armor out without them noticing?”

Lootmore petted his murderous cat perched on his shoulder. “I know a few ways.”

Jayden dispelled his magic light and they left the barn for the manor. There were ten windows, a main entrance in the front and a servant’s entrance at the back. All were locked, but that was little problem for Lootmore. The knight/thief picked the lock on a window and peered in. He waved for Jayden to come closer.

“It looks like a servant’s room,” Lootmore said. “Your additions to my map showed the entrance to the basement across the hall from this room. We’ll go across and take out the armor a suit at a time.”

Lootmore picked up his cat, whispered into its ear and set it on the floor. The cat went to the door and waited for him to open it, then walked casually down the hall. Dana, Jayden, Lootmore and his men then looked out the door.

There was constant noise as the baron’s staff and guests ate and spoke. They saw serving girls walk by carrying plates of food. Once they were gone, Lootmore snuck across the hall to the door leading to the basement. He opened it briefly before returning to the others.

“I spotted the armor. It’s loaded in crates and two men are guarding it. They’re watching the stairs and will see anyone who tries to go down. We need to deal with them before they raise an alarm.”

Dana watched more serving girls walking by. They wore regular clothes rather than uniforms or maid outfits. Dana had also gotten a good look at the map when Jayden had been correcting it.

“I can handle that,” she told the others. Before Jayden could stop her, she left the room and headed down the hall.

The kitchen wasn’t far from the servant’s quarters. Dana peered in from the doorway and saw an older lady preparing one plateful of food after another. Two serving girls took them as fast as the old woman set them on a table.

“Get moving, girls, and watch those soldiers,” the old woman warned. “Men like that have roaming hands.”

The girls giggled and left with the meals. Dana had to slip into a closet to avoid them, and when she came out she found the old woman had already filled the table with more plates loaded with food. Dana grabbed two plates when the woman wasn’t looking and hurried off to the winery. The winery had horizontal wine racks containing hundreds of bottles of wine, many of them covered in dust. Dana took the dustiest one, cleaned it off on her dress and took it with her.

She came back to the entrance to the basement. Smiling, she opened the door and walked downstairs. The basement was larger than her house in her hometown, and it included multiple rooms with barred doors. The rooms must not have been enough, for crates were stacked up on the floor. Two spearmen stood next to the crates.

“That’s close enough, girl,” one of them said. “Staff isn’t allowed in the basement until after we leave.”

“I’m bringing your dinners,” Dana said. She set the plates of food down on the nearest stack of crates and put the bottle next to them. “You must be hungry.”

“Roast pork!” the second man exclaimed. He set down his spear and snatched up his meal. “I haven’t had meat in weeks.”

The first man set his spear aside to eat. “That’s very generous.”

“Baron Scalamonger appreciates the sacrifices you make on behalf of our kingdom,” Dana said. She curtsied and turned to leave.

“Uh, miss,” the first man began. “You left the bottle and didn’t pour us cups. For that matter you forgot our cups.”

Dana smiled at him before she went back upstairs. “Two grown men can’t finish one bottle of wine?”

Both men cheered up at the news, and the second shouted, “We get the whole bottle? This keeps getting better!”

Dana left and slipped back into the room where her friends were hiding. She looked at Jayden and said, “I gave them the oldest wine I could find. Give them time to drink it and we can get started.”

“That has got to be the most…” Lootmore began before turning to Jayden. “I see why you work with her.”

Jayden smirked. “She’s one of a kind.”

The next hour was spent is silence as they waited for their opportunity. Voices outside their room grew louder and more cheerful as men sang drunkenly. It looked like the baron was trying to buy good faith with good wine, and it was a rousing success.

Two serving girls walked by, and Dana heard one say, “I don’t know who served them, but the guards downstairs are fed and got their hands on a full bottle.”

“They’re not allowed to drink on duty,” another servant replied.

The first girl laughed. “Good luck getting it away from them.”

Jayden and Lootmore eventually left the room and checked the stairs to the basement. Moments later they waved for the others to follow them. They found both guards passed out on the floor and snoring loudly.

Lootmore pointed to two of his men. “You keep watch and you harness the oxen in the barn. The rest of you load armor onto the wagons. Stop work if you see or hear anything suspicious.”

Working quickly, they carried one crate after another out of the basement to the servant’s room, then through the window and to the barn. They had to stop work twice when servants walked by, but they were otherwise undisturbed as the soldiers partied and drank. It took an hour to remove the twenty crates they could see. Jayden opened one of the barred doors to find thirty more crates stacked up. Removing those took another hour.

“We have thirty more to go and it’s getting late,” Jayden said.

“There’s still time to finish the job,” Lootmore replied.

Lootmore’s men were about to unbar another door when they heard a cough through a different door. Everyone froze. Dana was closest and pulled the bar off as Jayden came up behind her and cast a spell to form his black sword. Dana opened the door only an inch and peaked in. Worried, she looked to Jayden.

“We have a problem,” she said, and opened the door to reveal fifteen girls. Dana guessed their ages between ten and thirteen. The girls wore dirty dresses, and they blinked at the sudden light. Many of them crept to the back of their makeshift cell, while others clutched at one another.

Jayden looked shocked as he stepped in among the children. He let his sword dissipate and knelt down to look the nearest girl in the eyes. “Who are you?”

The girl looked down and mumbled, “Misty Rokath, sir. I hope we didn’t upset you, sir. We tried to be quiet. Are you our owner?”

Dana came in alongside Jayden and put a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t know what was going on, but the expression on Jayden’s face looked ominous.

“Slavery is illegal here,” Jayden said softly. “What made you think I could own you?”

Misty looked confused. “We were bought, sir. The harvests were poor in Skitherin Kingdom. Our families couldn’t pay their taxes. My father, he said he was sorry, but this way I’d be fed, and my owner would be kind if I did what I’m told.”

Another girl dared to speak. “We won’t cause you any trouble, sir. We’re good with a loom, and we learn fast. You’ll get your five guilder’s worth.”

“Five guilders,” Jayden began. The girls gasped and backed away as Jayden’s face turned red in fury, he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He turned to face Lootmore. “These girls were sold for the price of a pig.”

“I swear I didn’t know,” Lootmore said. His expression was hidden behind his mask, but he sounded horrified.

“We’re taking them with us,” Jayden ordered, “and to blazes with the armor.”

“We’ll take them and the armor, I promise,” Lootmore said.

It looked like they were going to argue when a voice at the top of the stairs called out, “Change of shifts! You two can drink your fill and leave us to…what the devil?”

Two spearmen froze at the doorway as the looked down at Jayden, Dana, Lootmore and three of his men. A spearman opened his mouth to shout a warning when Lootmore’s man on guard shut the door and tackled him. The second man was too surprised to more than gape at them when Jump Scare leapt at the man’s face.

“Get it off! Get it off!” The spearman flailed about before falling down the stairs. Jump Scare leapt off him to land in Lootmore’s waiting arms, then licked his paws clean.

Lootmore and his followers quickly overpowered the two guards and shoved them into an empty room in the basement. Jayden barred the door as Dana asked, “Did the soldiers hear us?”

Jayden stood as still as a statue as he listened. “I only hear merriment and drunken singing. We’re in the clear.”

Except they weren’t. A man in plate armor and a helmet stormed into the basement with four spearmen behind him. “The serving girls tell me you’re drinking on duty! When I—”

Jayden cast a spell and formed his black whip. He swung it high, lopping the blades off the men’s spears and leaving them temporarily defenseless. He ran up the stairs and shouted, “Get everyone out of here! I’ll hold them off!”

Lootmore drew a sword and ran after him. “Nothing’s going right tonight. Finish the job, men!”

The soldiers fell back and drew swords from their scabbards. The man in plate armor yelled, “We’re under attack! All soldiers to me!”

The situation turned into bedlam. Lootmore’s men tried to herd slave children out of the basement, except the girls were screaming in panic. Jayden pushed forward and drove the soldiers back with his whip. The sound of merriment elsewhere in the manor ended and was replaced by frightened shouts and the stomping of approaching men.

Dana followed Jayden and Lootmore into the hallway. They found the soldiers still falling back until they ran into more spearmen and four archers. The packed hallway made it hard for the soldiers to use their superior numbers effectively. An archer shouted, “Commander Vestril, I can’t get a clear shot!”

Commander Vestril, the man in plate armor, ordered, “Go around to the other hallway and catch them from behind!”

Jayden swung his whip at the lead soldier’s sword. The whip wrapped around it and hissed as it burned through the blade until half the weapon fell to the floor. Soldiers panicked at the sight, but not their commander.

“Back to the main hall!” Vestril ordered. His men did as instructed, and Jayden pressed them further.

“We have to hold them a while longer,” Lootmore said. He turned to see soldiers coming at them from behind. “Keep this group back and I’ll deal with the others.”

That was a tall order when the second group had archers, but Lootmore had Jump Scare. The black ball of fury raced across the floor and ran right up an archer’s body. The man had only a second to wonder what was happening when the cat reached his face. He screamed in terror and threw down his bow before grabbing at Jump Scare.

Dana stayed with Jayden as he pushed the enemy back. He got them as far as the main hall, a huge room filled with long tables, benches and a crowd of soldiers and guards. Serving girls kept behind the soldiers, as did a minstrel and two cooks. A staircase led to a second story balcony, where a drunken man so richly dressed he had to be Baron Scalamonger watched in befuddlement.

The baron swayed back and forth as he asked, “Exactly what is going on here?”

There was a momentary lull in the battle as both sides eyed one another. The soldiers and guards had a massive advantage in numbers. Jayden let his whip swing back and forth, daring any to approach him. He bared his teeth in a snarl before casting another spell to form a shield of spinning blades in front of him.

“I’ve heard of you,” Commander Vestril said. He pointed his sword at Jayden and said, “You’re the so-called sorcerer lord, a wanted man.”

Jayden pointed at the baron and yelled, “And you are a slaver, a buyer of human life! Slavery has been outlawed since the founding of the kingdom. What depths have you fallen to that you’d break this law?”

If the baron was confused before, now he was totally baffled. “W-what? The girls? Laws concerning slavery were changed five months ago. We’re allowed to buy foreigners. With so many men leaving for military duty there’s no choice but to have them or we couldn’t get any work done. H-half the nobles south of here own slaves. Don’t you keep up with current events?”

Dana gasped when she heard this. The people who’d tried to hire them and the help wanted posters made sense now. Wars require huge numbers of men to fight, and while the king and queen had hired many mercenaries, that wouldn’t be enough to invade a kingdom. Every man who signed up to become a soldier was one less worker in the fields or vineyards. Commoners had to beg for help from anyone who passed by.

But it wasn’t the same for nobles and rich landholders. With slavery accepted, men with enough money could buy the workers they needed, scooping up the poor and desperate from other kingdoms for pocket change. The young girls in the basement and who knows how many others were nothing more than property.

Commander Vestril stepped forward supported by dozens of men. “I give you one chance to surrender, a mercy you don’t deserve. Submit to royal authority and your life will be spared.”

Oh, that was the wrong thing to say. Jayden’s fury doubled, and he hissed, “I spit upon the mercy of those who buy and sell children. I scorn the authority of a king and queen so vile they debased their own people like this. I will see this house fall and all those within it flee for their lives!”

“So be it,” Commander Vestril replied. “I’ll send you to the devil.”

Boom!

The noise came from outside the manor, the sound of thick masonry shattering. Men and women gasped and backed away, crying out in confusion.

“Jayden, what’s going on?” Lootmore called out.

“Fiend, what have you done?” Vestril demanded. The wall behind the commander creaked and began to buckle. Wood beams six inches thick splintered as some great force pressed against them.

“It caught up with us again, didn’t it?” Dana asked softly.

Jayden watched cracks spread across the wall like a giant spider web. “It did.”

Dana forced a smile and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Living Graveyard!”

The wall caved in, filling the main hall with dust, and the Living Graveyard lumbered into the room. The monster was made of grave dirt, broken headstones and shattered bones, stood twelve feet tall and was eight feet across at the shoulders. There was no head, only thick legs with tombstones on the soles of the feet, long arms that ended in oversized hands with splintered coffin wood for fingernails, and a bulbous body with a cluster of human skulls in the center. Two headstones rose up from the monster’s shoulders, both with messages gouged into them. The left one read No Rest, and the right one No Peace. Lastly was its scent, the overwhelming stench of rot.

This monster had fought Jayden and Dana twice, died, and somehow reassembled itself. Such losses didn’t deter it. It had followed them halfway across the kingdom for another battle that could mean dying at their hands again, and yet it still came.

For a moment the Living Graveyard stood still, the skulls turning to study the room with their empty eyes. Then it spotted Jayden and Dana. With its quarry in sight, the Living Graveyard marched toward them. This meant crossing the entire main hall packed with armed men. The soldiers didn’t know they weren’t the monster’s target, and as it advanced they panicked and attacked.

Arrows struck the Living Graveyard. Spearmen stabbed it and swordsmen slashed at its legs and arms. Such attacks did little to a body of dirt, stone and bone, but it did catch the monster’s attention. The Living Graveyard’s skulls opened their grinning maws and howled like a hundred tormented souls. Soldiers and servants alike screamed and fell back as the monster marched on.

“Form ranks!” Vestril ordered. He dragged fleeing spearmen into a rough line and pushed them toward the monster. Their spears were no more effective a second time. Arrows flew over the men’s heads and embedded themselves in the towering monstrosity. Its response was to casually swing one arm and swat the spearmen aside.

“Get the militia!” Baron Scalamonger shouted over the chaos. “Hurry!”

The crowded hall turned into a maelstrom of chaos. Servants ran for their lives, getting in the way of the soldiers. Some soldiers banded together and fought Jayden or the Living Graveyard, while others threw down their weapons and fled. The Living Graveyard knocked over tables and chairs, splattering the floor with food and wine, but fighting only those between it and Jayden.

Jayden strode through the hall like the personification of vengeance, remorseless and unstoppable as his whip and shield of blades cut through spears, swords and arrows with equal ease. He struck anyone foolish enough to get close to him, and Dana watched him head directly for Baron Scalamonger.

“We’re not after him!” she shouted to Jayden. He marched on.

Dana shook her head in dismay and ran after him. She tripped a spearman coming after Jayden and threw a bowl of hot gravy into the face of an archer. Both men were so slow to react that she wondered if Jayden had cast a spell on them, but she remembered the soldiers were exhausted from the march here and drunk from the celebration. She, Jayden and Lootmore were the only ones at the top of their game, a slender advantage that might save them.

Jayden and the Living Graveyard met near the middle of the hall. The monster swung its right fist at him, knocking men and furniture aside before the blow even came near its target. Jayden raised his shield of blades to intercept the attack. Fist met blades, and sprayed dirt and bone shards across the room. The shield broke under the pressure, but not before mincing through the Living Graveyard’s right arm up to the elbow. The loss didn’t bother it in the least, and it raised its left arm for a swing.

“Get out of the way!” Jayden swung his whip and wrapped it around the Living Graveyard’s chest, and the whip hissed as it burned deep wounds. The Living Graveyard grabbed the whip with its left hand and pulled hard, dragging Jayden across the floor toward it. The monster slapped him with the back of its hand, sending him sprawling on the floor. Jayden rolled out of the way before the Living Graveyard stepped on him. He got to his feet and replaced the whip with his black sword. He howled and ran past the monster, bounding up the stairs to the balcony where Baron Scalamonger trembled in fear.

“I had to do it,” the baron sobbed as Jayden grabbed him by the throat. “It was this or bankruptcy.”

“No one has to do evil!” Jayden yelled. There was the sound of wood splintering, and Jayden looked over his shoulder to see the Living Graveyard tearing apart the stairs. Jayden pointed his sword at the abomination. “The only difference between you and that horror is that its evil is plain to see. You hide yours behind riches and a noble title.”

“You don’t understand,” the baron said. “You don’t know what it’s like being in charge, the expectations, the demands.”

Jayden howled like a wounded animal and threw the baron off the balcony onto the Living Graveyard. The baron screamed and fell onto the monster’s chest. It had no interest in the baron, grabbed him and tossed him aside. Jayden jumped off the balcony and landed on the Living Graveyard’s back. His knees bent when he landed, and he drove his black sword into the monster. When it grabbed for him with its left arm, he hacked it off at the wrist. Anything else would have died from those wounds. The Living Graveyard simply ran forward into the nearest wall, smashing through it and throwing Jayden off.

Dana worked her way through the panicked crowd to help Jayden. She’d nearly reached him when Commander Vestril saw her. He drew his sword and charged, screaming, “You side with him, you can die with him!”

Dana ducked between confused soldiers, dodging the first few attacks. Vestril kept after her, slashing away. He raised his sword for another attack when a black clad fighter blocked the swing with his own sword. It was Lootmore, bruised and battered, but not out.

“Try fighting a man,” Lootmore said.

Dana saw a blur of black race across the room. “I’d worry more about the cat.”

Jump Scare leapt onto Vestril, but Vestril’s plate armor offered no easy avenue for attack. This didn’t bother the cat, and it satisfied itself by shoving both front paws into the eye slits of Vestril’s helmet. Vestril staggered back, blinded with his eye slits jammed, and Lootmore attacked again and again.

Soldiers regrouped now that Jayden and the living Graveyard were busy with one another. Dana saw an archer take aim at Lootmore. She drew her knife and ran up behind him, then slashed the string of his bow. She ran past the shocked archer, grabbed a full wine bottle off the floor and clubbed a spearman in the head with it. The bottle shattered and the spearman fell.

“Get Jayden!” Lootmore shouted. He struck Vestril again and again, but his sword didn’t even scratch the commander’s plate armor.

Dana struggled to see Jayden in the melee. She finally found him getting up off the floor and heading after Baron Scalamonger. The baron hid behind a few spearmen, but they scattered when they saw Jayden coming. Terrified, the baron staggered back and bumped into the Living Graveyard.

“Not again,” the baron pleaded. The Living Graveyard kicked the baron aside and lumbered after Jayden. More spearmen came to attack both of them. The Living Graveyard howled again, and the men fell back in terror.

Jayden yelled back at the nightmarish monstrosity and swung his sword, shattering half the skulls on its body. The Living Graveyard tried to club him with its left arm, but he ran in close and struck the monster’s right knee. It buckled and the monster fell to the floor. With the biggest threat dealt with, Jayden turned to face Baron Scalamonger again. The baron was hurt and limping away when he saw Jayden heading for him.

“No, wait, I can pay a ransom,” the baron said.

A loud bang caught both their attentions. Lootmore had given up trying to cut through Commander Vestril’s plate armor and instead clubbed him with a stout oak chair. The blow staggered the commander, and another sent him to his knees. Jump Scare leapt off Vestril and returned to its owner’s shoulder.

One of Lootmore’s men ran in and reported, “We’re ready to go.”

Lootmore tossed the chair aside. “The job’s finished, Jayden. Come on.”

Jayden kicked aside the last soldier still fighting back and marched up to the baron.

“We won, Jayden!” Lootmore shouted. When that got no response, he turned to Dana and spoke more softly. “You are to my knowledge the only person he likes. If you know words to reach him, use them now.”

Dana’s mind raced as Jayden advanced on the baron. She’d seen him angry before, but never like this. What had set him off? The girls! Their plight had driven him to this, and it might be enough to redirect him.

“Jayden, the girls are free, but Baron Scalamonger called for his militia. They’ll catch the girls and bring them back. They’ll only get away if you protect them.”

For a second it seemed like she’d failed, but slowly, ever so slowly, Jayden stopped. He was breathing hard when he jogged back to her and Lootmore. Exhausted and bruised, he looked like if he had his way he’d continue the fight. Jayden took up the rear as they left the manor through one of the holes the Living Graveyard had made.

Outside they found Lootmore’s men had loaded the wagons with crates and the girls, and they had tired oxen yoked to pull them. Jayden helped Dana and Lootmore onto the last wagon and was about the climb on when they heard a now familiar howl.

“You must be joking,” Lootmore said.

It was the Living Graveyard. It had lost its right arm up to the elbow, the left at the wrist, most of its skulls and so much of the right leg that it dragged the ruined limb when it walked, and still it hunted them. It pushing through the same hole they had fled through and limped after them.

Jayden cast a spell to form a huge hand five feet across from shadows. He reached out with his real hand and sent the huge hand hurdling into the Living Graveyard. He slammed the monster into the manor.

“Die!” he screamed. His phantom hand slammed the Living Graveyard into the manor again and again until that entire side of the manor peeled off and collapsed on the monster. “Die and stay dead!”

A slave girl tugged on Dana’s arm and asked, “Does the scary man own us?”

“No one owns you, now or ever,” she promised.

* * * * *

It was late the following morning when Lootmore stopped his barge to let Dana and Jayden off. They’d traveled through the night until they were sure no one was following them. The heavily laden barge couldn’t travel fast, but it managed to reach an unpopulated wilderness. Lootmore changed back into his regular clothes and used the brief respite to address the girls he’d help rescue.

“I lack the means or money to send you back to your families. It wouldn’t be safe to even if I could. People would think you’d run off and would return you to the baron. What I can do is offer you three choices. The first is I can adopt anyone who wishes into the Lootmore family. We are not rich or respected, but we look after our own. I can apprentice you to tradesmen I know and trust. Or if you prefer I can send you to a Brotherhood of the Righteous orphanage. You’ve no need to make a decision this important hastily, but know that whatever you choose, you will be cared for.”

“Now that’s how a knight is supposed to act,” Dana said. “I don’t care how his family got their title, they deserve it.”

Lootmore got off his barge and approached Jayden. Before he could speak, Dana pointed at Jump Scare perched on the bow of the barge like a figurehead. “Your cat tried to attack me twice. Won’t he go after the girls, too?”

Sounding far more sheepish, he said, “Jump Scare calms down after he’s had a few dozen victims. He’ll be quiet for the next week or so.”

Dana stared at the cat. “What is wrong with him?”

“I used to think it was a traumatic event in his youth or a poor upbringing. Now I’m convinced he’s just evil. Still, he can be used for good purposes.” Lootmore frowned and turned to Jayden. “The good news is we got all the armor and saved these children. I admit this didn’t go as well as it could have, and I take part of the blame for that.”

Jayden had been silent since leaving the manor. He didn’t look at Lootmore when he said, “Call upon me when you need help.”

Taken aback, Lootmore asked, “Really? After that?”

“I make the offer because of what happened. In my worst nightmares I never imagined my people could sink so low. I doubt I can prevent the coming war, but I can slow it down, weaken it, anything to keep the evil we saw from spreading.”

Lootmore saluted Jayden. “It has been a pleasure, sir. I need to get these unfortunates to safety and the armor to my superiors. I hope to find you well in the future.”

With that said, Lootmore returned to the barge and sailed off. Jayden stood where he was, saying and doing nothing.

When he didn’t move, Dana said, “You said you knew that manor because you’d been there before, but the baron didn’t recognize you. It must have been a long time ago, like when you were a kid. What kind of kid is invited to the manor of a baron and ends up as the world’s only sorcerer lord?”

Jayden didn’t react at first. He turned slowly to face her before speaking. “It happened so long ago he didn’t recognize the man I’ve become, and I didn’t recognize the monster he’d turned into. I’m sorry for last night.”

“You had a reason to be angry.”

“It’s more than that.” Jayden paused before speaking again. “Last night you saw me at my worst. I gave in to a hatred I’d thought I had control of, a rage so great I could have done terrible deeds. You helped me back from the brink of becoming the villain so many people think I am, and I am indebted to you. I…won’t think less of you if you wish to return home. God knows you have good reason to after what I almost did to the baron.”

“You mean besides destroying his house, humiliating him in front of his peers and followers, freeing his slaves and knocking him around?”

Jayden managed a weak smile. “Yes, besides that.”

“I’m not walking out on you.”

“Thank you. Your loyalty is touching.”

Dana took his hand and smiled. “Nobody could have seen what we did last night without reacting, and I’m with you for another reason. Five months ago the laws in the kingdom were changed so a man could buy foreigners, and girls no different than me were made slaves. Five months from now the laws could change again, and it could be me on the auction block, or my sisters. This has to stop, and you’re the best man to do it. Now come on, my sword should be ready by now.”

As they headed north along the river, Jayden began to regain his confidence. “It’s funny you should mention that. The swordsmith has no doubt produced a weapon worthy of you, but I know ways to infuse magic into weapons. It won’t be as impressive as my spells, but I think you’ll like it.”

Smiling, she asked, “Does that mean I get to chop monsters apart?”

“Let’s start small and work up to that.”

“This had best be a joke,” Jayden said, his tone a warning of violence to come.

“Dwarfs aren’t known for their sense of humor,” Thume the bald dwarf weapon smith replied. The stout dwarf’s shoulders were nearly as broad as he was tall, and dense muscles rippled beneath his simple leather clothes. Pound for pound he was a formidable opponent, and the hammer in his left hand was a potent weapon.

What wasn’t a potent weapon was the short sword on his shop counter. The edge was dull and there was no hilt, just a metal bar on the end. She’d had visions of getting a powerful weapon when she’d taken an iron horn from a chimera Jayden had killed, and this pitiful thing wasn’t it.

Dana and Jayden had spent a lot of gold on this sword, and they needed every coin. Dana’s clothes were getting worn out on her adventures with Jayden. Months of traveling by foot and boat, fighting monsters and running for their lives had left her garments dirty and frayed at the edges. She needed new clothes, her dagger was dull and looked like it could break, their bags needed to be replaced, it was expensive and they’d wasted so much on her sword.

“I can’t use this,” Dana protested. “No one could.”

“I spent a considerable amount of gold commissioning this sword,” Jayden said. “I provided the material, which I doubt many of your clients do, high quality magic infused material! You had time enough to finish the job, yet I find the weapon, if I can call it that, unfinished, unusable, worthless.”

This wasn’t good. Jayden and Dana had first come to the frontier town of Despre a month earlier on their way to the border with Kaloeth Kingdom. Jayden had found Thume among the town’s inhabitants and been impressed with his work. He’d paid him to turn a severed chimera horn into a short sword for Dana. They’d been delayed helping an old acquaintance of Jayden and returned to collect the sword.

“But not irredeemable,” Thume countered. “The source material is impressive and holds enchantments better than I’d hoped. I can finish the job as instructed, but the end result will be nowhere near its true potential.”

Jayden pushed his messy blond hair away from his eyes. The sorcerer lord was a sight to behold any day in his black and silver clothes, but he was at his most intimidating when angry, and he was furious. “You find me at a bad time, Thume. I had a wretched experience before coming here and am in no mood for disappointments. This delay could cost others their lives.”

Thume laughed. “Humans. Impatience with your short lives makes you prone to hasty decisions. I didn’t finish work on the sword because it’s the best move for the weapon and the owner. I tested the material and proved I can make this weapon far superior to what you asked for. All I need is half an ounce of uram to forge into the sword and it will take enchantments even better. Other smiths would take your money and hand over an inferior weapon, but I have too much pride for that.”

Jayden looked like he was about to shout at the dwarf, so Dana stepped up and tried to defuse the situation. “How much does uram cost?”

Thume tilted his head to one side. “Half an ounce costs a hundred credits, if I had it.”

“If you don’t have it there’s no reason to delay finishing the sword,” Jayden snapped.

“I know where we can get it,” Thume replied. He took a sheet of paper from behind the counter and showed it to them. “This advertisement from Brastile Auction House in Brandish Kingdom lists everything they’re selling and when. At the bottom are precious metals, including half an ounce of uram. We get that and I can make a sword people will talk about for ten generations, and I mean dwarf generations, not you short lived mayflies.”

Jayden’s lip twitched. “You expect me to leave the kingdom for weeks, buy this uram for heaven above only knows how much, and then I get a sword.”

“You get a sword powerful enough to keep the young lady alive,” Thume said. “I’ve heard of you, sorcerer lord, and you seek battle like bees seek flowers. How long you’ll survive is anyone’s guess, but the lady lacks your magic. You can pay for a proper weapon now or a proper funeral later. Pick one.”

Seconds later a massive clawed hand made from shadows threw Thume out of his workshop and onto the muddy streets of Despre. Passing humans and trolls ran out of the way as the dwarf rolled by and hit a tavern. Jayden stormed out of the workshop with the shadowy hand following him. He reached out and the hand shot forward, grabbing the dwarf and swinging him into the tavern.

Dana ran after Jayden and grabbed him by the arm. “Jayden, no!”

A crowd gathered but didn’t intervene. A troll whispered to a man, “Thume sure did it this time.”

“Hey, mister,” a man called from the crowd, “I know the dwarf is a pain in the neck, but we need him still breathing. What say you put him down, alive, and we work out what he did to upset you. Hand to God, you’re not the first one he’s made mad enough to kill him, but he’s worth the trouble.”

Jayden scowled as he let the shadowy hand dissipate. Thume dropped to the ground, seemingly no worse for the attack, and even smirked. “Touched a nerve, did I?”

“You’re seconds from touching your head to the bottom of a grave,” the troll replied. “Keep your mouth shut for a change!”

The man in the crowd steeped forward and said, “Okay, show’s over, people. Lou, get the wizard a drink on the house. Stan, figure out what Thume did and see if you can patch things up before somebody gets killed.”

Thume walked back to his shop unfazed by Jayden’s attack. The troll said, “One of these days, Thume.”

Jayden left the street scowling and went to the tavern. He sat down without a word and a waiter offered him a drink. Dana took a seat next to him. He stared at the tavern wall, looking like a man on the brink of making a bad decision.

“I shouldn’t have let him get to me, but my temper is on edge since we parted company with Lootmore. I saw my homeland become so degenerate they’d accept slavery, turning girls into property, and I’m not over it.”

“It made you worry about me,” Dana said.

“I accept that I might die because it means people like you won’t. I don’t doubt your abilities or bravery, but it terrifies me we could meet a threat I can’t face, and it could cost you your life. That’s why I was excited to get you properly armed.

“Adding to my revulsion is how much good I could do in the time it will take to fix this situation. I’ve learned of places we could strike to cripple the king and queen’s war effort, men responsible for the most egregious crimes who deserve everything I can throw at them, monsters left to run riot. Instead I’m forced to ignore them in favor of dealing with a lying, treacherous dwarf.”

He turned to her and said, “It disgusts me how Thume behaved. Frontier towns like Despre have little oversight by authorities, making them one of the few places I can go for supplies, information and aid, but that same lawlessness makes Thume’s actions possible. There should be law and order in every corner of the kingdom. Instead corruption, incompetence and crime drip from these lands.”

“Maybe this is a good thing.” She winced at the look Jayden gave her. “You have trouble getting things you need here because you’re a wanted man. You’re not wanted in Brandish, so we can buy stuff there. You’re not wanted there, right?”

“You know, I’m not sure. I don’t know how far the king and queen’s influence reaches. I’ve visited other kingdoms only rarely in recent years. There was no trouble then, but warrants for my arrest may have been issued since my last visit, or possibly orders for my immediate execution wait for us.”

“Can we get a refund, or have someone else finish the job?” she asked.

“I’m certain Thume already spent what I paid him. Having another weapon smith make your sword is impossible when nearly all such men are in the king and queen’s pay. The few who could do the work are less skilled than Thume or too far away to reach. We work with him or we don’t get the sword. I believe the dwarf knew this before making such a bold demand.”

The same man from the crowd entered the tavern and sat next to Jayden. “I spoke with Thume and he told me what’s going on. I can see why you’re…murderous. Thume won’t finish the work without the materials he needs, or says he needs. God only knows how honest he’s being with either of us. But I think we have a solution.”

“Does it involve removing portions of the dwarf’s anatomy?”

“Jayden, no maiming people.”

“Thume knows where to find the metal he needs. He’s volunteered, with some persuasion, to cover half the cost of buying the uram, and he won’t charge extra for the sword. This isn’t the outcome you wanted, but it’s the best I can do.

“We need Thume,” the man continued. “He’s been a pain in the neck for years, but we don’t have a blacksmith or weapon maker to replace him. I don’t want to make an enemy of you, either. I’ve heard about the good you’ve done and what happens to people who get on your bad side. So, can we make this work?”

Jayden finished his drink and set the cup down. “This distraction puts me behind schedule and places me in needless risk. I will take your offer, but rest assured, if I so much as think the dwarf is betraying me again, Despre will need another blacksmith.”

“Thank you,” the man replied. “There’s a river route to the auction house and a barge heading that way tomorrow. Thume is going with to make sure the uram isn’t counterfeit or underweight. He’s also bringing along his share of the money to buy it. Listen, I’ve gone to this auction house before. It’s a ritzy place that needs your best manners. I don’t know if Thume is up to that. Are you?”

“I can be charming company when necessary,” Jayden told him. “If provoked I can maintain my temper for short periods of time until I can leave devastation in my wake such as few have ever seen.”

The man blinked. “Huh?”

Dana translated for him. “He’ll be a good boy until he gets outside the auction house. After that, no promises.”

* * * * *
Dana found the barge ride blissfully dull. Their cargo of timber drew no attention from bandits or monsters. Thume kept to himself and held a locked iron box with a grip only death could loosen. The barge’s crewmen were polite while keeping their distance. Given Jayden’s foul disposition that was a blessing. She’d hoped his mood would improve, but nothing could get him out of his anger.

In three days they reached the border and found no guards blocking their path. Another day brought them to a sizeable city made of brick buildings. The residents were mostly humans with a smattering of gnomes and ogres. People were well dressed, prosperous and orderly. They were polite almost to a fault, with commoners bowing and stepping aside for the rich.

The barge moored at docks near the city’s edge to unload its cargo and passengers. Jayden picked up his bags and led them onto the dock. “Welcome to Brandish, a small but prosperous kingdom run by King Ludwig the Mad. He’s a good man despite his moniker, and his people live well under largely just rules.”

“And it smells like a pig pen,” Dana added.

Jayden shrugged. “Brandish has the usual number of horses, oxen, mules and donkeys. I see men sweeping the streets, but they can’t work fast enough to keep up with thousands of pack animals relieving themselves.”

“I can see that,” she said. Once she was off the barge, she saw countless people staring at her. “Jayden, what’s going on?”

“Brandish is a land of strict social classes, much like Zentrix,” he said. “Everyone knows their place and keeps it. We are strangers and they don’t know where we fit in their hierarchy. Expect difficulty from men who think they are our betters.”

“They’re snobs,” Thume said. “They don’t respect craftsmanship, wisdom or bravery. None of us are from the right families so they’ll look down on us, but they think they’re honorable, so they’ll keep their word.”

Thume pointed his hammer at a large brick building with ornate stained glass windows. “That’s Brastile Auction House. It’s been around two hundred years, a long time by human standards.”

Heavily armed and armored soldiers met them at the dock. Their leader nodded to them before turning his attention to Jayden. “Good day, sirs, madam. You’ll forgive my presumption, but you are one Jayden, sorcerer lord?”

“The one and only.” It always amazed Dana how armed men didn’t worry Jayden.

“You may be aware of a sizeable bounty placed on your head by your homeland. You’ll find Brandish to be a civilized land, uninterested in the goings on of backwater kingdoms. No one here is interested in arresting you for actions committed elsewhere, but we expect civility from visiting guests.”

Jayden smiled at them. “My friends and I intend to make purchases and leave once our business is completed. You’ll find us polite and friendly during our stay, and we only resort to violence if others strike first.”

The soldier gave him a condescending look. “I’m sure that’s a risk where you come from, but it won’t happen here.”

“Delighted to hear it,” Jayden replied. “If there’s nothing else to discuss, we’ll be on our way.”

“Very good, sir.” The soldiers stepped aside to let them pass.

“They’ll watch us like hawks hunting mice,” Thume said.

“I expect no less,” Jayden replied. “We need a place to stay tonight.”

“The auction house handles that,” Thume told them. “They offer rooms, food, entertainment, anything to keep bidders happy and spending money.”

Brasitle Auction House was even more impressive up close, a three story building without crack or flaw, whitewashed so it shined in the sunlight. Beautiful flowering trees were planted around it, and staff members greeted them at the door.

A brightly dressed woman curtsied and smiled coyly at Jayden. “Good day, sir. How may I serve you?”

“My associates as I are interested in a specific bid, half an ounce of uram.”

“That item will be auctioned tonight at six o’clock,” the woman told him. “I’d be happy to entertain you until then.”

“She’s being friendly,” Dana whispered suspiciously to Thume. The dwarf chuckled.

“We’d like to inspect the uram prior to the bid to make sure it’s sufficient for my needs,” Jayden told her.

The woman put an arm around Jayden’s waist. “If you’ll come with me, we can ask for the auctioneer’s permission.”

They followed her inside to find the auction house a vision of luxury. Floors were covered in rich red carpeting, paintings hung from the walls, beautiful flowers grew from marble urns, and everyone they met wore beautiful clothes. Their guide led them through large, brightly lit rooms to a grand hall with countless chairs arranged around a podium.

A distinguished looking man wearing black and gold stood at the podium talking with men in simple workmen’s clothes. The woman guiding them approached the man and whispered to him before pointing at Jayden.

“Welcome to the Brastile Auction House,” the man said. “I am the chief auctioneer of this establishment. I recognize you from your reputation, sorcerer lord, and it pleases me a man of your considerable talents came to Brastile. I understand you have questions regarding an uram sample for tonight’s auction. Allow me to assure you that we take every possible care to ensure items sold here are as advertised.”

“Doubtlessly so, but you may not have enough for what I have in mind,” Jayden replied. “I’d like to see the metal weighed.”

“Naturally, sir.”

Minutes later, servants brought a locked wood box and a scale. The auctioneer opened the box and took out a sliver of shiny metal. Thume licked his lips as servants weighed it in front of him.

“It’s perfect,” Thume said.

“I’m pleased it meets your expectations,” the auctioneer replied. He gestured for the servants to put the sliver back in the box and take it away. “Bidding on the metal is scheduled for later tonight. In the meantime, allow us the honor to provide rooms, refreshments,” and he wrinkled his nose before adding, “baths.”

The woman who’d guided them took Jayden by the arm and led them to guest accommodations. They’d nearly reached stairs leading up when the front door was thrown open. A man dressed in blue and gray stomped in with two swordsmen and a serving boy meekly following them. The man was young, strong, sort of handsome, but the sneer on his face dispelled any chance he might be a friend.

“It was a terrible ride here, and, wait, what devilry is this?” The man pointed at Jayden and shouted, “Guards, arrest him!”

Armed guards emerged from nearby rooms, but they stopped well short of seizing Jayden. The man fumed and demanded, “This man is a criminal of the worst sort! Arrest him! Kill him! Do something while this building still stands!”

The auctioneer marched over with more guards following him. He stepped between the red faced man and Jayden before asking, “Sir, what is the meaning of this?”

“I am Special Envoy Imuran Tellet, captain in the royal army, trusted by my king and queen above all others! This man is responsible for countless atrocities in my homeland!”

“There are no warrants for his arrest in Brandish,” the auctioneer replied smoothly.

“You’d allow a man who’s done so much damage to walk freely?” Imuran demanded.

“It’s not the place of Brastile Auction House to judge guests. All are welcome, provided their money and behavior is good.”

“This is beyond belief!” Imuran bellowed.

“He does like shouting,” Jayden said. “Captain, if I may offer a word of advice regarding your claim to being trusted by the royal couple. They’ve had many favorites over the years. Few last long before disappointing them and being replaced, as could you.”

“You dare,” Imuran began in a low, angry tone. He took a step forward before armed guards got between him and Jayden.

The auctioneer put a hand on both men’s shoulders. “Gentlemen, whatever quarrel existing between you ended the moment you stepped through that door. You can expect equal respect and opportunities here. I do, however, insist you behave in a respectable manner. My staff will direct you to your rooms, well away from one another, and we look forward to conducting business together. Rest assured, though, that any incidents between you will be dealt with quickly, efficiently and harshly.”

Imuran looked furious but left in silence. As he went by, Dana got a closer look at the boy following him. The youth was a few years younger than her and wore simple clothes. What caught her attention was a leather collar around his neck with the letters IT burned into it. The youth didn’t make eye contact with anyone and looked down rather than ahead.

Once they were gone the guards and auctioneer returned to their duties. Jayden said, “This just became more complicated.”

Dana had a thought and ran outside, telling the others, “I’ll be back soon.”

It took her a moment to see where visitors to the auction house left their animals. The stable was decorated like the rest of the building and blended in so well she would have missed it except for the buzz of flies near large twin doors. She walked by it and saw many horses in stalls being looked after by grooms. There were also two carriages marked with a crest showing a swan. The carriages were locked when grooms tested their doors, and curtains covered the windows.

Dana smiled at the nearest groom and pointed at the carriages. “Ooh, those are gorgeous.”

“Just came in, ma’am,” the groom said cheerfully. He pointed to nearby stalls with eight healthy gray mares. “If you like those, take a look at the horses pulling them. I’ve seen my fair share of horses in this job, and those are quality mares.”

“They belong to that man in blue and gray?” she asked innocently.

“Both carriages. He must have them fully packed since all four men road on the driver’s seats on top rather than inside.”

Dana petted a mare before leaving. “Poor girl is all sweated up.”

“He must have run them hard to get them lathered up like this.” The groom smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of them even if he won’t.”

“You have the best job in the whole world.”

She went back into the auction house to find it peaceful and quiet again. Staff members pointed her to Jayden and Thume’s rooms. She knocked at Jayden’s door and waited until he answered.

“I’m presentable and the door hasn’t got a lock.”

She went inside, where Jayden was sorting through his bags. His room was as impressive as the rest of the building, with carpeted floors, solid furniture, paintings and a tin bathtub.

“Imuran came with two carriages and eight horses that they rode on instead of in,” she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. She leaned closer toward him. “I don’t care how pompous he is, he doesn’t need two carriages for four people. A groom thinks he’s carrying a lot, but that doesn’t work, either. This place sells expensive stuff like that funny metal, little things worth big money. He doesn’t need so much space.”

“A valid point,” Jayden replied. “It suggests Imuran either intends to bring someone back with him, or that he brought someone or something that didn’t leave the carriages.”

“Like what?”

Jayden took handfuls of coins from his bags and spread them across the bed. Arranging them in groups of ten, he said, “My guess would be guards he doesn’t want others to know about. Twenty, thirty, forty. As you said, this establishment sells expensive items, a worthy target for thieves and a certain sorcerer lord. It makes sense to bring added muscle to ensure he returns home with his prize.”

“They’d get hungry sitting in there, and have to use the bathroom.”

“You’re assuming they need to eat. Seventy, eighty, ninety. Plenty of monsters don’t require food or rest. Animated skeletons, golems and living armor could wait for years. Some monsters need little food, like mimics, and could wait for days.”

Dana leaned over his piles of coins. “How much do we have?”

Jayden finished counting and frowned. “Two hundred gold coins, enough if the uram goes for a fair price.”

Dana’s peasant upbringing taught her to hold on tight to any money that came her way. She winced at the thought of spending so much. “Is this sword worth it?”

“Hopefully we’ll get the uram for less. Don’t worry about the cost. I’ve acquired and spent sums far larger than this for worse reasons.” He smiled when he saw her curious look and added, “I’ll tell you about them another time. Your room is to the right of mine. Take this opportunity to clean up before the auction. Depending on Imuran’s mood, we might have to leave in a hurry once we’re done.”

Dana checked the door before she left and saw no lock and no way to bar it from the inside. “Why don’t the doors have locks?”

“This is a civilized land, Dana. Guests shouldn’t need to lock their doors, and I doubt our hosts want less civilized people to lock themselves in.”

Dana went to her room to find it a mirror image of Jayden’s. She took her time bathing, as she hadn’t had a chance to do so for weeks. Clean clothes would help, or new ones, but there wasn’t time for that. The room also had a bowl of fruit she ate. Clean, dressed and fed, she headed out to explore the auction house.

Much of the building was off limits with locked doors. She could get into halls exhibiting items for sale, including paintings, statues, jewelry, rare plants and ancient books. Buyers were inspecting the items and questioning the staff about them. Staff members included immaculately dressed men and women, but she also caught sight of armed guards circulating among the guests. Thieves might be tempted by such treasures, but would have a hard time escaping with one.

Thume was already in the exhibition halls, walking between items for sale and judging them as he walked by. “Garbage. Tasteless. Inferior. That one is tasteless inferior garbage. I didn’t think that was possible.”

Staff and bidders glared at him and some walked away, but the dwarf ignored their silent contempt. Dana caught up with him and whispered, “You’re going to get us in trouble before we buy the metal.”

“You expect me to walk by relics of the Elf Empire and say nothing? Count yourself lucky I don’t spit on them.” Thume waved his hammer at the room’s contents. “In my homeland half this junk would be broken down for parts or burned. There’s no craftsmanship here, nothing an artist poured his heart and soul into.”

“I saw your sword,” Dana said sourly. “If that’s your heart and soul, you need help.”

Thume gritted his teeth before answering. “I’ve been stuck in your miserable kingdom for sixty years, longer than your parents have been alive. Your people bring me work making horseshoes, plows, nails, and if they’re feeling generous maybe an axe to chop wood. Every day here has been a punishment, doing piddling jobs, working with inferior materials for profits barely enough to keep myself alive.

“This is the first time in sixty years I’ve a chance to do work worthy of me, to make a weapon so great dwarfs will speak of it in awe. The chimera horn, the uram, my rune magic and your master’s sorcerer magic, it’s a once in a lifetime occurrence, a gathering of resources drawn together by fate for my redemption.”

Dana put her hands on her hips. “And here I thought it was about a sword.”

“Your sword is the means for me to go home,” Thume told her. “I don’t care what you do with it. I would have made it for anyone with these resources. Whoever has it will do great deeds, and word will reach my people. Sixty years ago the dwarfs cast me out, blaming me for the crimes of my superiors. They’ll hear of this sword and want me back. Maybe not my old corporation, but one of the big names, the power players, they’ll see value in my work and take me in.”

He turned to face her and said, “No more living in a dirty frontier town. No more eating tasteless food. I’ll be among my own people again or be the personal sword smith of a king, respected once more. You’ll get your sword to overthrow your king, if you can, and I’ll be free of you mayflies.”

Dana put her hands on her hips. “Why do you keep calling me a mayfly?”

“Dwarfs live for six or seven centuries. Humans live for as many decades. You’re here and gone in the blink of an eye like a mayfly.” Thume looked pleased with himself, which turned to terror as he pointed at an exhibit hall across from theirs. “Stop him!”

Dana looked over to see Jayden admiring a painting of a man and woman with a boy richly dressed in furs and silks. There were other paintings just as good, but Jayden stood transfixed by this one.

Thume ran over and grabbed Jayden by the arm. “Don’t you dare buy that!”

“Sir, please mind your tone,” a staff member asked.

“Mind your own business,” Thume snapped, but his voice fell to whispers when he spoke to Jayden. “We don’t have money for the painting and the uram. Prioritize. Your girl’s weapon comes before paint slathered on canvas.”

Jayden’s eyes stayed on the painting. “I’m admiring the work, nothing more. As much as I wish to own it, I have no place to store it in my travels. It would be destroyed by storms or accidents, ruined no different than the ones destroyed on purpose.”

Dana stared at the painting. “Who would want to destroy it?”

Thume answered before Jayden could. “Don’t you know anything, girl? That’s your king you’re looking at.”

“Really?” Dana knew she had a king the same way she knew there were dragons, namely both were dangerous and best avoided. The king and queen lived inside a castle in the capital city, guarded by soldiers, knights and even monsters if she was foolish enough to try to visit them. No one saw them except a few powerful nobles.

“This is the king, but that’s not the queen,” Jayden replied. “This is him with his first wife and their only son. Paintings like this once hung in every nobleman’s house as a constant reminder who they served.”

“Why were they destroyed?” she asked.

Thume heaved a dramatic sigh. “My future depends on idiots. She died when your people were having their civil war. Your king remarried to arrange an alliance with a powerful noble house. His new wife didn’t want reminders of her predecessor hanging in every household that mattered. She demanded her husband order them destroyed. I thought they were all scattered ashes by now.”

Dana pointed at the painting and asked, “What happened to their son? I know the king and queen have two sons of their own. I’ve never heard of this one.”

“Prince Mastram,” Jayden said, his voice soft. “The king declared his son illegitimate, a result of his mother having an affair with an unknown courtier. The boy was exiled to the Isle of Tears and died of plague.”

Dana felt a cold lump in her heart. “We’ve heard of people dying of ‘plague’ before. Did he really get sick, or did they kill him?”

“The Isle of Tears is officially a place of exile, but that’s a polite euphemism,” Jayden told her. “It is a barren rock offshore in the far north of the kingdom. There’s no food or fuel, little water and no shelter except deep caves. The rich, powerful and well connected who commit crimes or lose royal favor have been banished there for centuries as a means to execute them without doing the deed in front of witnesses, and at the same time ensuring they die slowly from cold and starvation.”

“That’s horrible,” Dana said. She looked at the couple again and felt both sympathy and loathing. The king looked handsome, a dark haired, muscular man in fine clothes and a stern expression. His wife was a beauty with raven locks that reached to her waist. She smiled and had an arm around the king’s shoulders. Their son was the splitting image of his father, with black hair and a maturity far greater than his age would suggest.

“What man could sacrifice his own son?” Dana asked in horror.

“The same man who’d call his dead wife unfaithful,” Thume replied. He shrugged and added, “It’s common enough to get rid of unwanted heirs. They just handled it poorly.”

“You’ve got a heart as cold as a lump of stone,” she scolded him.

Thume sneered at her. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Please mind your tone,” a lady staff member said.

Thume shook his hammer at the woman. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“I’m surprised they let you keep your hammer,” Jayden commented.

“What would be the point of taking it?” Thume asked. “They let you in when you’re a spell caster and ten times as dangerous as I am. They must think they’ve got guards enough to deal with either of us if we get out of hand.”

“A valid point,” Jayden replied. He gave the painting one last glance before moving on. “The uram won’t be up for bid for several hours. Dana, I’ll fetch you when it’s time to begin. Until then feel free to look around.”

“Just don’t spend anything,” Thume added.

“I think I’ll pass,” Dana said. “I feel out of place around so much wealth. There’s no point looking at things I can’t afford and don’t have a place to put.”

Her exit was delayed when she saw Imuran and his two guards enter the exhibit hall. “Your least favorite person just showed up.”

Panicked, Jayden shouted, “Suzy Lockheart is here? Where?”

“Not her, silly.” Dana pointed at Imuran and said, “Him.”

“That fool?” Jayden asked. “Dana, the list of my least favorite people is long and competition for places on it is fierce. Imuran doesn’t deserve to be even at the end. He’s a hungry dog hoping for table scraps, possessing neither wisdom nor wits enough to be a serious threat.”

Thume leaned in closer and asked, “Who’s this Lockheart woman?”

“She worked with him once and nearly got him killed,” Dana replied. “I think she came onto him too strong, too.”

Jayden’s face turned red. “It didn’t happen like that.”

“Well, well, the traitor finally showed the wisdom to flee his country,” Imuran snarled as he came closer.

“My presence here is as temporary as your own,” Jayden replied. “I’m curious what the royal couple sent you here to buy.”

“As if I’d confide in you! You think yourself witty, urbane? You’re a nobody, soon to be a nothing! Tens of thousands of soldiers and mercenaries hunger for the chance to kill you and claim the thousand silver piece bounty on your head!”

Jayden looked offended. “That’s all I’m worth? I thought the price would be far higher after the damage I did to Baron Scalamonger’s home.”

Imuran hesitated before his fury returned. “Baron Scalamonger’s home, the missing armor, that was you? You worm!”

“Please mind your tone,” a lady staff member said.

“Shut it, you hag!” Imuran bellowed.

Dana put a hand over her face. “We’re all going to get thrown out if we keep shouting. Can everyone agree to hate each other quietly?”

Imuran’s face turned red. “I don’t take orders from—”

A guard put a hand on Imuran’s shoulder. “Excuse me, sir, but may I have a word?”

The woman who’d met Dana and Jayden when they first came to the auction house returned and put a hand on Jayden’s arm. “Forgive my interruption, sir, but one of our guests would like you to authenticate a relic from the old sorcerer lords.”

Imuran pulled free from the guard but held his temper in check. He walked away, muttering, “I get manhandled by an ape in armor while he gets eye candy.”

Dana watched the auction house’s staff separate Jayden and Imuran before either could resort to violence. It was amusing, even if she didn’t like the way the woman kept touching Jayden, but it was also an opportunity. She asked Thume, “I need you to keep them from killing each other without letting Imuran leave.”

Thume watched Imuran glare at Jayden. “Easily done. Imuran, hold a moment. Let us discuss matters of shared interest.”

With Imuran busy, Dana left the exhibit hall and headed for the guest rooms. Brastile Auction House didn’t have locks on the doors of their guest rooms, which should include Imuran’s. He’d also had his two guards with him at the exhibit hall. The auctioneer had also said he’d put Jayden and Imuran’s rooms as far away as possible. That gave her a general idea where to go.

Exhibit halls and the auction room took up most of the building, leaving two hallways for guest accommodations. Dana picked the hallway she and Jayden weren’t in and went to the rooms at the end of the hall. She knocked politely at three doors and apologized when she met people she didn’t recognize. When she knocked at a fourth, a meek voice said, “Come in.”

Dana entered to find the boy who’d come with Imuran. He sat on the room’s bed, looking miserable and staring at a wall. She stepped inside and closed the door. “Hi. My name’s Dana.”

“I don’t have a name. Some slaves do. I don’t.”

“I thought that’s what happened to you,” she said. Dana sat on the floor in front of him. “Where are you from?”

“Skitherin.” The boy met her gaze as if the effort was almost more than he could manage.

“I’m sorry. A few weeks ago I met girls from your kingdom. Their families sold them because harvests were poor. That shouldn’t happen to anyone.”

“I envy them.”

Shocked, Dana barely kept from screaming when she asked, “What?”

“Those girls’ families had no money or food. Selling them saved people they love. I was sold to cover my father’s gambling debts. Those girls were sold for a good reason. I was sold so my father could keep playing cards.”

The boy’s story was impossible for Dana to understand. How could anyone do that to someone they loved? But the king had done even worse to his own son. She’d never heard of such cruelty, and now had to wonder if it was commonplace.

The boy said, “Imuran has a temper. If he finds you here, he’ll kill you.”

Dana got up and took his hands. “Jayden and I saved those girls. We can save you, too. We’re in another kingdom. There’s got to be places we can take you where Imuran won’t think to look. You can be free again.”

The boy slid his hands out of hers. “I’ve met plenty of men in Brandish. None cared that I was bought. If I ran, they wouldn’t protect me from Imuran. He showed me what he’d do if I tried to run away. The bruises took weeks to heal.”

Near to tears, she said, “I can’t leave you like this.”

“You have to. My master hates your master more than anyone else. He’ll do anything to hurt the sorcerer. You could die with him.”

“There must be something I can do.”

“Does your master want to hurt Imuran?” When Dana nodded, the boy gave her a faint smile. “There’s a wood chest under the bed. The key is hidden under the mattress. When you’re done, put the chest and key back exactly where you found them.”

Dana found the chest and key where the boy said they’d be. She unlocked the chest, opened it and stepped back. “You’re worried about me? He’ll kill you if he finds this gone.”

“I’ve had months to think about my future. It hasn’t been encouraging. There’s nowhere to run and I’m too small to fight back.” There was fierceness in his eyes and fire in his voice when he spoke again. “But I can make my master suffer. Imuran says your master is strong. You want to help me? Be my strength. Take what you’ve found and flee before Imuran knows what we’ve done. I’ll take the punishment and smile, because I’ll be a slave who beat his master.”

Dana stared at him before collecting the chest’s contents and wrapping them in the front of her skirt. She put back the chest and key, and before she left she told the boy, “You’re coming with me when I leave.”

Dana staggered back to her room, careful not to be seen. She pulled a pillowcase off its pillow and stuffed the chest’s contents inside it. That wasn’t strong enough. She emptied her bags and stuffed them one inside the other before dumping the pillowcase inside. She shook and sweated at the thought of what she’d done and the danger she’d put the boy in, but she continued on. She’d make this right.

She went in search of Jayden. People saw her carrying the bulging bag and smiled. One said, “How quaint. The poor child brought her laundry.”

Dana ignored them and continued her hunt. She found Jayden studying a broken ivory crown on a pedestal in an exhibit hall.

“It’s definitely from the time of the sorcerer lords and was enchanted at some point, but there are only traces of magic left,” Jayden told a male elf. “This obsidian orb was the focus of the crown’s magic. The crown was destroyed when the orb cracked, and no doubt so was the man wearing it.”

“I have more broken crowns like this, but none so large,” the elf said.

“I wouldn’t spend much on it, Jayden cautioned. “It’s magic is long gone, and empowering it again won’t be easy.”

The elf laughed. “I want it as a trophy of elven achievements and the defeat of the sorcerer lords, nothing more. I use elf magic when I need it, not dark magic of long dead enemies.”

Jayden took no offense at the insult. “Their loss was the world’s gain. Ah, Dana, I’m glad you’re here. The auction is about to begin.”

“Perfect timing.” She struggled under the weight in the bag.

He looked at the bag but said nothing, merely directing her to seats near the middle of the auction hall. “This should be an interesting experience.”

Interesting didn’t begin to cover it. The crowd included men, elves, dwarfs, a minotaur, two trolls, some gnomes and a darkling. They were dressed to impress, with furs, silks, jewelry, exotic pets, strangely scented perfumes and equally odd clothes Dana had never even dreamed of. In minutes the room filled with nearly a hundred patrons and twenty staff members. The staff made every effort to keep their customers happy by offering drinks and snacks. Thankfully they’d seated Jayden and Imuran on opposite sides of the room.

Jayden accepted a drink from a serving girl and waited until she’d left before whispering, “Dana, what did you do?”

He sounded causal, curious rather than mad, but Dana hesitated before answering. Not long ago she’d seen Jayden go into a rage at the sight of girls sold into slavery. Telling him Imuran had bought a slave could have the same result.

“Dana,” he said.

“When we leave, we’re taking the boy from Imuran.”

“I can arrange that.”

Thume hurried over and sat next to them, pushing aside several people in his way. “Did they start?”

“Soon,” Jayden told him.

The auctioneer walked to a podium at the front of the room and a servant rang a bell. The room fell silent and servants handed out white cards. More servants lit lanterns and closed the windows.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Brastile Auction House,” the auctioneer announced. “It’s a pleasure to see such noteworthy individuals. We strive to provide only the finest goods for your perusal, and tonight is no exception. Rest assured that experts in their field have verified all goods being offered. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

“I see familiar faces and many new to our establishment. To clarify for our newcomers, all sales are final and must be made in cash at the end of the auction. Due to difficulties we experienced in the past, barter and letters of credit are not accepted.”

Servants brought a large ink drawing of an orchard and a map showing its location. The auctioneer said, “Without further adieu, allow me to present our first item for bid, a deed to a twenty acre pear orchard in Zentrix. The property includes eight hundred mature trees, a five-room house and a barn, both buildings in good repair. We’ll start the bidding at twenty gold coins. Do I hear twenty?”

The bidding confused Dana at first since no one spoke. Instead they raised white cards to express their interest. The auctioneer kept raising the price until no new bids came. He swung a small wood mallet on his podium to end the bidding then brought out the next item for sale.

Riches greater than her imagination were sold off in minutes. Land, livestock, jewels, precious metals, antiques centuries or even millennia old, paintings, statues and even live monsters were snapped up by people of staggering wealth. They spent thousands and then tens of thousands of gold coins in less time than it would have taken her to do her chores back home.

Servants brought out the painting that had so fascinated Jayden earlier and set it on a table for all to see. The auctioneer began by saying, “Our next item is a painting of the king and first queen of—”

“Fifty gold coins,” Imuran bid. Men and women across the room chuckled at his behavior.

The auctioneer showed no annoyance at being interrupted, merely saying, “I see this has already attracted some attention. Very well, we shall start the bidding at fifty gold coins. Do I hear fifty-five?”

“That’s what he came for?” Dana asked.

Jayden scowled. “This could be one of the last paintings of the king, his first wife and their son. The others were burned, and if he buys it then this one will be as well.”

“The king and queen are about to go to war,” Dana protested. “That’s going to cost a fortune. Buying this means less money for weapons and mercenaries.”

“This painting wounds their pride,” Jayden replied. “Burning it matters more than the cost.”

“Do I hear seventy?” the auctioneer asked.

“Seventy!” Imuran called out. He saw an elf raise his white card and quickly said, “Eighty!”

Jayden raised his card, and the auctioneer said, “I see a bid for eighty-five from the sorcerer lord. Do I hear ninety?”

Thume grabbed Jayden by the shoulder. “What are you doing? You said you’ve no place to keep that distraction even if you bought it.”

“I can’t save the painting, but I can make it more painful for him to destroy it.” Jayden raised his card again.

The elf seemed amused by Imuran’s growing frustration as the price kept going up, and he helped Jayden drive it ever higher. Jayden bid twice more until Imuran called out, “One hundred-twenty.”

“He might not go over that price if you bid again,” Thume warned. “Don’t walk out of here with goods you don’t need.”

Men from across the room looked to Jayden and the elf, and were disappointed when neither one placed a bid. The auctioneer asked, “Are there further bids? No? Going once, going twice, three times and sold to Imuran Tellet.”

The painting was carried away and replaced with a piece of broken ivory and obsidian. This didn’t interest Dana, and her attention drifted from the auction to the audience. “Imuran is sitting there watching us. Why didn’t he leave when he got the painting?”

“Let him,” Jayden replied. He smiled at Dana and said, “The longer he stays the better my chances to rob him afterwards.”

“Focus on the metal,” Thume said as the elf won the bid for the crown fragment. He grabbed Jayden’s arm and shook hard. “Look, there it is!”

“Our next item is a half ounce of pure uram,” the auctioneer said as his staff brought a velvet pillow with the metal resting on it. “It’s being sold by the dwarf corporation Smash N Grab, which is currently undergoing bankruptcy and liquidating their assets.”

Thume’s jaw dropped. “That’s one of the ten biggest dwarf corporations. Five hundred years in business and hundreds of employees, gone. Never thought I’d see them fall.”

“A word of caution to buyers, the amount of uram for sale is not sufficient to produce a magic weapon,” the auctioneer continued.

“Wait, what?” Dana asked.

“Ignore him,” Thume said. “Your chimera horn will cover the deficit.”

An elf started the bidding, and was soon followed by many more. Thirty, forty, fifty, it seemed like half the people there wanted that thin sliver of metal. Jayden didn’t seem to pay any attention to them until he raised his card and said, “One hundred gold coins.”

His bid was met with chuckles from across the room. The auctioneer said, “Sir, the next highest bid is fifty-five.”

“And I’m bidding a hundred. This experience was novel for the first three hours. Now it bores me. If a hundred gold coins makes it stop then it’s money well spent.”

The auctioneer gave only a slight smile while others laughed at Jayden. “Ladies and gentlemen, the bid now stands at one hundred gold coins. Do I hear one hundred five?”

“One hundred five,” Imuran said. Three more bids came until Imuran said, “One twenty five.”

“One hundred fifty,” Jayden said.

Imuran glared at him. “One sixty.”

“I thought this was worth a hundred,” Dana said. “What’s going on?”

“You were wondering why he didn’t leave earlier,” Jayden said. “Imuran had to be curious what we came here for. Now that he knows, he’s trying to make sure we don’t get it. One hundred seventy-five.”

A murmur filled the room as the audience watched Imuran and Jayden, their battle fought with gold instead of steel and spells. Again and again the price went up, Imuran’s by small increments and Jayden’s by large ones. Soon they were the only ones competing for the tiny sliver of metal. It was soon going for two hundred gold coins and wasn’t stopping.

“How much did you bring, Thume?” Jayden whispered.

Thume opened the locked box he’d brought. “One hundred. I can’t lose this opportunity. Spend it all if you have to.”

“Two fifty,” Imuran said. He saw Jayden hesitate and smirked, which ended when Jayden drove the price even higher. Imuran scowled and said, “Three hundred.”

“I’m out,” Jayden said.

“Keep bidding,” Dana whispered. Jayden glanced at her and she tapped the bag she’d brought. “We can go a lot higher.”

“Do you have a counter bid, sir?” the auctioneer asked.

“Four hundred,” Jayden said. Imuran raised the bid by ten coins. Jayden responded, “Four fifty. I can keep this up longer than you can, lapdog, and I don’t have an angry monarch to explain the bill to.”

Imuran looked furious, but his rage turned into a look of glee. “At least I have money to match my ambition. You don’t have that much gold.”

Staff members and the patrons alike gasped. The auctioneer pounded his mallet to gain their attention. “Sir, while you are a newcomer to this establishment, there are rules and expectations of guests. You insulted another man’s honor.”

“He has no honor,” Imuran replied, drawing more gasps from onlookers. “I saw this man and his retinue before you provided them rooms. If the sorcerer lord had as much gold as he claims, they would have struggled under the weight. Instead they walked quite easily and their bags were nearly empty. This is a deception from a man who betrayed his own kingdom.”

The auctioneer needed a moment to compose himself before speaking again. “I see. Sorcerer lord, an accusation has been made against you. Would you consent to having your funds inspected?”

Jayden held up his hands. “I have nothing to hide.”

Armed guards escorted two gnomes wearing tuxedoes to where Jayden was seated. The black haired gnomes barely came up to Dana’s waist. They spread a cloth on the floor and said. “Place all currency you’re carrying here.”

Jayden and Thume went first, and Dana followed by placing her bag. The gnomes went through the cash quickly and stacked coins in glittering piles. Bystanders watched and whispered while the gnomes double-checked their work. When they were done, they stood up and announced, “There are sufficient funds to cover the bid.”

“Very well then,” the auctioneer said. “Sorcerer lord, I apologize for this intrusion into your privacy and hope you will take no insult.”

The auctioneer turned his attention to Imuran. “Sir, you are hereby banished from Brastile Auction House for life. Your successful bid will be honored, but after paying for it you are to leave at once. I will be sending a very strongly worded letter to your king and queen expressing my displeasure at your behavior.”

Imuran pointed at the uram. “I’m not finished bidding on the metal.”

“Oh yes you are.” The auctioneer’s voice was harsh for being so soft. “Guards, escort him out. The bid stands at four fifty. Do I hear four fifty-five? No? Going, going, gone.”

More items came up for bid, but Jayden stood up and led his friends from the room. “Dana, I’m curious how much trouble the money your brought is going to get us into.”

“Oh, lots.”

Their discussion was interrupted by shouts from the guest rooms. Thume frowned and said, “That sounds like Imuran.”

“This is an outrage!”

“That’s him,” Jayden confirmed. He followed the screams to find Imuran and his guards confronted by ten stern looking guards. The noise soon brought the auctioneer, who slipped around a growing crowd of onlookers. Jayden stayed back and watched Imuran scream at the guards.

“What’s the meaning of this disruption?” the auctioneer demanded. “I still have three items left.”

A guard said, “Sir, we came to deliver the painting and learned this person has no money.”

“I was robbed!” Imuran yelled.

More people hurried over to see what was happening. The auctioneer raised his hands and his voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, please, allow us to deal with this.”

“I left my money in your guest room, assuming it would be safe,” Imuran said. “I came back to find every coin gone!”

Thume chuckled before whispering to Dana, “You’re a conniving, thieving, backstabbing little slip of a girl. I’m glad we met.”

Imuran grabbed his slave by the arm and dragged him out. “You were in there the whole time. Who took my money?”

The auctioneer waved for his guards to bring the boy over and then placed an amulet against the boy’s forehead. “This amulet will burn like a hot iron if you lie to me. Where is your master’s money?”

“It’s not his money, it belongs to the king and queen,” the boy replied. “He was issued it to buy a painting. I don’t know where the gold is now.”

Imuran saw Jayden and pointed at him. “You! You stole it!”

The boy looked at Jayden, his expression betraying nothing. “I’ve never seen that man before. He was never in the room.”

“Then the dwarf did it!” Imuran shouted. “He did it or you did!”

“I’ve never seen the dwarf before. He was never in the room.” Unprompted, he said, “I saw my master place a chest under the bed and a key under the mattress. I didn’t touch either of them. I never left the room and I didn’t fall asleep.”

“Then who took the money?” the auctioneer asked.

The boy met the auctioneer’s gaze and said, “No man has entered the room except my master and his guards.”

Dana marveled at the boy’s quick wits. Every word he said was true, yet he managed to hide her stealing Imuran’s money. No one seemed to notice that he hadn’t actually answered the last question put to him, instead using the chance to redirect suspicion on his master.

“He, he’s lying,” Imuran said.

“He would be burned to the bone if he did,” the auctioneer replied. He took the amulet off the boy, but then looked at Jayden.

Jayden marched over and held out his hand. “Place your amulet against my palm. I don’t know spells that could cloud the boy’s mind, render me invisible or teleport the money away. I didn’t ask, order, pay, bribe or threaten anyone to steal it. Does this satisfy your suspicions?”

“It does, sir, and thank you for your cooperation.” The auctioneer turned his attention and fury on Imuran. “You made a mockery of this establishment twice, insults I wouldn’t tolerate on my best day. Guards, remove him from the premises and place the painting back on the auction block.”

Imuran grabbed the auctioneer by the shoulders. “I can’t go back without it! Let me go to my country’s embassy and I can get you the money by morning!”

Guards dragged Imuran away. He left howling insults while his guards meekly followed. The auctioneer looked at the boy, who said, “I’d rather not go with him, sir.”

“I imagine not.” The auctioneer took a knife from one of his guards and said, “Stand still. Removing your collar won’t take a moment…there we go.”

Jayden, Dana and Thume waited as the auctioneer, guards and guests left. Once they were alone, Jayden asked Dana, “Do we have this young man to thank for our riches?”

“He told me where to find the box and key.” Dana smiled at the boy and said, “You’re a clever kid. We’re just lucky Imuran didn’t ask you if I took the money.”

“Imuran would never suspect you,” the boy said. “He thinks girls are for cooking and making babies.”

Dana paused. “Wow. I didn’t think I could hate him more. But why didn’t the amulet burn you when you said you didn’t know where Imuran’s money is?”

The boy shrugged. “How would I know where you put it?”

“How much was in there?” Thume asked.

The boy rubbed his neck where the collar had been. “Seven hundred gold coins. He was instructed to bring back the painting at all costs and anything else that looked worthy. I don’t know what’s going to happen to him, but if he’s smart he’ll run away. A master running away instead of a slave, I like that.”

The dwarf grinned. “That covers the bid and then some.”

“I don’t impress easily, but you showed courage and ingenuity,” Jayden told the boy. He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You have a place with me if you want it.”

The boy considered the offer for a moment before shaking his head. “You mean well, but I’ve lived all my life following other men’s orders. I’d like to be my own man for a change and make my own decisions.”

“A fair request.” Jayden smiled and added, “As you are on your own now and have no family to depend on, you’ll need some means of support. I have a considerable amount of your former master’s money left over.”

Thume rolled his eyes. “We’re not giving him the whole—”

Screams from outside ended their conversation. Jayden led his friends out into the growing darkness of twilight to find Imuran and his guards driving their two carriages, almost running over people in their way. Guests and guards from the auction house ran out as the carriages slowed to a crawl.

Imuran drove the lead carriage and pointed a sword at Jayden. “If I can’t have the painting, I’ll bring back your head!”

Imuran and his men banged on the roofs of the carriages, producing loud clunks and bangs before the doors opened to reveal four gargoyles within each carriage. The stone monsters were as big as men, with large wings, sharp claws, whip-like tails and oversized jaws filled with sharp teeth. The grinning monsters flapped their wings and took off despite their great weight.

Imuran pointed to the gargoyles and yelled, “Kill the sorcerer!”

“How bad is this?” Dana asked Jayden as she backed up.

“Gargoyles are animated stone statues, strong, fast, hard to hurt and blindly loyal to their leader, even a man as petty as Imuran.” Jayden cast a spell and formed a black sword edged with white. “Everyone back inside!”

Screaming people fled in all directions, some going into the auction house as instructed while others ran off into the night. Jayden covered their retreat as gargoyles swooped down on him. One missed clawing his head by inches while a second rammed him and knocked him to the ground. Jayden recovered quickly, dodging another gargoyle that tried to land on his head. Imuran and his guards climbed off their wagons to join the fight, a pointless move when gargoyles were so thick around Jayden that the men couldn’t get close.

The auction houses’ guards fought back bravely but to no effect. A crossbow bolt shattered against a gargoyle’s chest. A guard hit a gargoyle in the leg with his sword, only for the tip of the blade to break off. Gargoyles laughed a deep, rumbling, contemptuous sound as attacks bounced off them. Ordinary weapons couldn’t damage stone.

Magic was another story. Jayden slashed a gargoyle across the face, taking off its sneer and jaw at the same time. The gargoyle seemed puzzled by the sudden loss, even looking down at the jaw now on the street in front of it. That ended when Jayden drove his sword through its chest and pulled the blade up, splitting it in two. The gargoyle crumbled apart, even the parts Jayden hadn’t hit, and littered the ground with gravel. The other seven gargoyles took to the air and circled Jayden. He backed up against a wall and kept his sword in front of him while the gargoyles looked for an opening.

One down and seven to go wasn’t good odds, but there wasn’t much Dana could do to help. She and Jayden had started this adventure to get a magic weapon that could hurt monsters like this. The knife she carried would be as useless as the guards’ weapons.

Well, it was useless against gargoyles.

“Kill him!” Imuran yelled again while his gargoyles swept in closer, trying to bait Jayden into attacking one and leaving himself open to the rest. One gargoyle dove like a hawk and tried to crush Jayden with its great weight. Jayden jumped aside and took only a glancing blow. He swung his sword, hacking off his enemy’s leg at the knee. The damaged gargoyle shook its fist at Jayden and flew back up. He barely had time to recover before two more attacked from opposite sides. It was all he could do to avoid them.

Dana ran around the gargoyles. She didn’t get far before running into one of Imuran’s guards. For a moment the guard stood menacingly before he shoved her aside. “Out of the way, girl.”

Imuran thought little of women, a flaw his men shared as they ignored her in favor of fighting the more obvious threat. Dana took advantage of this and raced past the men, then came up behind Imuran and charged him from behind. She wrapped her arms around Imuran’s neck and squeezed. Imuran struggled to break free. He tried to talk and made a gurgling noise instead.

Dana had attacked Imuran because he was one of the few enemies she could actually hurt, but she had more impact than she’d hoped for. The gargoyle flock ceased their attacks on Jayden and instead watched Imuran. One cupped a hand to its ear while others shrugged or frowned. It took Dana a moment to figure out what was going on.

“They think he’s giving orders!” she shouted. “They do what he says, and he’s not saying anything!”

“Dana, run!” Jayden shouted as he raced to her side. Imuran’s two guards would reach her first. She waited as long as she dared before letting go of Imuran and taking cover beneath one of the carriages.

Imuran gasped before he croaked out the words, “You fools, kill the sorcerer.”

Now that they could understand what Imuran was saying, the gargoyles charged Jayden again. One tried to sweep his feet out from under him with a swing of its tail, but Jayden jumped over it. He landed and dropped to his knees as a gargoyle swooped over his head. He stabbed it with his sword and took off its right wing, causing the gargoyle to spin out of control and crash into the carriage Dana wasn’t hiding under. The blow was hard enough to tip the wagon over and break the gargoyle in half. Terrified horses harnessed to the wagon panicked and broke free of their harnesses before fleeing into the night.

Two gargoyles flew just above the street and grabbed Jayden by the arms. They flapped hard and began to gain altitude when Thume ran over and swung his hammer into a gargoyle’s back. The blow took off its head and left the body to crumble. Another swing took off the other gargoyle’s right arm. The dwarf followed that up with three more swings that dismembered the gargoyle in short order. Men and gargoyles stared at him in shock.

Thume struck his right hand against his chest. “I’m a dwarf, you idiots! I know stone, and I’m not losing my chance at redemption! Who’s next?”

The last four gargoyles charged together. Imuran pulled at his hair and screamed, “You idiots, what are you doing?”

Jayden got to his feet as the gargoyles tried to mob him and Thume. The sorcerer lord gutted a gargoyle when it tried to claw him, and followed up by cutting off the next one’s head. Thume broke his hammer against a gargoyle, shattering it like glass. The last one managed to knock Jayden to the ground and leapt on top of him. It swung its clawed hands for a killing blow when Jayden drove his sword through its chest. Gravel from its body fell so heavily that Thume had to clear it off Jayden before helping the man up.

Imuran stammered before shouting, “Why the devil did they go right at him after they saw the others get cut apart?”

Jayden dusted himself off. “You ordered them to attack me, and gargoyles are loyal to a fault. You share that flaw with them in your blind devotion to a king and queen more interested in their vanity than the wellbeing of their people.”

Guards ran out from the auction house with drawn swords and loaded crossbows. They’d been helpless against the gargoyles, but their weapons could make short work of Imuran and his men. Imuran climbed onto his remaining carriage and left his men behind. He snapped the reins and shouted, “You haven’t heard the last of me!”

The four gray mares took off like a shot. The carriage did not. Imuran’s jaw dropped and he watched his horses run off into the night.

“Dana,” Jayden asked, “did you by any chance cut the harnesses loose on those horse?”

Dana climbed out from under the carriage and sheathed her knife. “Looks like I’m good for more than cooking and having kids.”

“I never thought otherwise.”

“I, I,” Imuran stammered. Guards seized him and his two men and tied them up. Moments later the auctioneer marched outside with more guards. He studied the street with its destroyed gargoyles and carriage. He snapped his fingers, and his men dragged Imuran and his men away.

The auctioneer followed them and let rage fill his voice. “Imuran, your rank is no protection here, nor your connection to a foreign ruler. You fools are looking at decades of forced labor or worse.”

Dana was about to join Jayden when she felt a soft bump against her foot. She looked down to find a stone the size of a hen’s egg bump against her again before skidding off down the street. Other small stones made similar exits.

“Those are earth elementals,” Thume said. “They were fused into statues to make the gargoyles we fought. With the statues broken they’re free to do as they please.”

Jayden let his magic sword fade away and rubbed his bruised body. “A good if painful end to the evening.”

“End nothing.” Thume lowered his hammer. “I owe you a sword. Once we get back to Despre I’ll need a week’s work to finish the blade and all the magic you can muster to make it the weapon it’s meant to be.”

Dana smiled at them. “So I finally get a sword?”

“Soon,” Jayden told her. He paused and asked her, “Have you trained with a sword?”

“No, but how hard can it be?”

Jayden shrugged. “There may be a delay between finishing your weapon and you using it. Most swordsmen need months to become competent. Don’t give me that look, young lady.”

This is part one of the Border Crossing Story:

“Explain why I’m not allowed to use my own sword,” Dana Illwind said. She raised her right arm, wrapped in a thick layer of cotton, and added, “And this is extra ridiculous.”

“Both measures are for good reasons,” Jayden promised as he wrapped cotton around her other arm and tied it in place. He stepped back to study his work. “There now, nice and snug, and unlikely to injure yourself.”

“I’ve done some impressive stuff in the last few months, and you’ve got me wrapped up like a mummy.”

“Mummy wrappings are thinner, dirtier, smellier and frequently contain noxious parasites,” Jayden replied.

“Missing the point entirely!”

The morning had started well before degenerating into Jayden playing a demented game of dress up with Dana. Dana’s brand new sword was finished, a horn from the goat head of a chimera, forged into a weapon by a renegade dwarf, infused with a magic metal called uram, enchanted with magic by both the dwarf and the world’s only living sorcerer lord, it was a sight to behold. Dana had little experience with weapons, few peasants did, but the short sword was a thing of beauty. In the few minutes she’d been allowed to see it, she marveled at the black blade edged with silver, serrated ridges going down one side, runes cast into the base of the blade and hardwood hilt stained black.

The weapon was impressive, and Jayden wasn’t letting her touch it. She’d jumped at his offer to train her, only for Jayden to wrap her arms and legs in cotton. Then he handed her a wooden sword, more like a branch with aspirations.

“This is for your protection,” Jayden told her. The sorcerer lord was a handsome man even if a bit disheveled with his long blond hair a perpetual mess. He wore black and silver clothes and carried no weapons. Traveling unarmed was normally an invitation to being robbed, but few were stupid enough to challenge a spell caster, especially one with a list of accomplishments like Jayden’s.

“How?” Dana demanded. Dana was fifteen, sixteen next month, with brown hair, brown eyes and an athletic build. Her clothes were simple peasant wear including a skirt, blouse, leggings and fur hat, all of it durable and cheap, and a knife tucked into a sheath.

Jayden took both her hands and placed them on the wood sword. “Training with weapons is no different than learning any skill. It takes countless hours of practice and you will make mistakes. The difference is how much those mistakes cost you. Accidentally hitting your leg with a wood sword will leave a bruise. Do the same thing with a real sword and you suffer a crippling injury. Do it with a magic sword and you no longer have a leg.”

Dana hesitated. “Oh.”

“Training with a wood sword gets the mistakes out of the way early on without injury or death, and we’re doing it with padding on your arms and legs to make those mistakes less painful.”

“How long is this going to take?” she asked.

“Months. There are two kinds of fighters, the competent and the dead, and I wish to keep you out of the latter category. Nor is time an impediment. The king and queen are planning a war, but we’re too late in the year for it to start. You can practice during the winter months and be ready for the conflict in spring.”

“It’s coming that soon?”

“Depressing, I know, but the signs are there. The king and queen have amassed a sizeable army, gathered supplies, and men in their service have tame monsters like the chimera that donated a body part for your sword and the gargoyles we recently defeated. Others doubtlessly have followed this example, and monsters are extraordinarily dangerous.”

Dana looked at her wood sword a bit less disparagingly (just a bit). Jayden was right that war was on the horizon. She’d seen it growing up, when taxes in her hometown to the north were raised again and again with no cause in sight. Then her father the mayor was ordered to send her eldest brother to the capital, a prisoner in all but name to ensure her father’s support. After that the town’s militia was called up for military service. Other towns had suffered likewise, and she’d seen as bad or worse since following Jayden.

She’d joined him in appreciation for saving her town, but also to keep him out of trouble. Jayden’s hatred of the king and queen were legendary, and he struck at them any chance he got. Dana didn’t understand the root of this hate, for even after months traveling together there were still things he didn’t talk about. But she’d come to understand his feelings were well earned. She’d seen too much suffering and too many wrongs originating from the royal couple.

That was what brought them to their current location. They’d made camp in a grassy clearing in the woods. Fall was coming, trees were decked out in reds and oranges, and the morning air had a touch of chill. Pretty as it was, their camp was close to the border city of Edgeland, a likely invasion point for the Kingdom of Kaleoth.

“We’ll start with basic sword fighting techniques,” Jayden told her. “You’ll need to practice them daily before we move on to more advanced fighting styles.”

Trying to sound casual, Dana asked, “Who taught you to fight?”

“A man with considerable talent and valor, if a touch too fond of women and wine.”

“Gee, that’s vague.”

Jayden smiled. “It was meant to be. We’ll do this every morning before breakfast. You’ll find it intolerably dull, but the reward is worth the effort.”

They heard laughing in the distance, and a man call out, “There has got to be a story behind this.”

Dana and Jayden looked over to find a group of men exiting the woods. Dana counted ten of them armed with spears, axes and swords. They had no armor or shields, and their clothes were dirty and ragged.

Jayden stepped away from Dana and moved closer to their baggage and a campfire they’d made last night. Dana tried to follow him since her sword was in those bags, but Jayden held up a hand for her to stop.

“I’m not a storyteller by profession, but I think I can entertain you,” Jayden said. “Once upon a time there was a sorcerer lord known for being short tempered, ill mannered and impatient. Not surprisingly he had few friends, but he had fewer enemies than you’d think. They didn’t survive long. One day the sorcerer lord met armed men in the woods, and they, well, why spoil the ending?”

The men spread out to surround them. One said, “Oh no, do go on.”

“The ending depends solely on you. Over the years I’ve introduced a good many men to the graveyard. Whether you’re added to that number is on your head, not mine.”

One of the men snickered. “You’re a sorcerer lord? There’s but one man foolish enough to walk that road, and word is he’s in Fish Bait City.”

Another man pointed a spear at Jayden. “I think this fellow is borrowing another man’s reputation. Dress up in a silly costume—”

Jayden raised an eyebrow. “Silly?”

“And he figures men will let him pass,” the man finished. He leered at Dana. “And you have things worth taking.”

“Dana, is this your first experience with bandits?” Jayden asked.

“I’ve helped bury a few after sheriffs and soldiers caught them.”

A spearman said, “I prefer to be called a highwayman. It’s got more dignity to it.”

“I call you a thug, a fool, a coward, and rather shortly no one will call you anything,” Jayden replied.

The bandits laughed. The spearman said, “He’s sure keeping this show up longer than it’s worth.”

“Dana, would you mind putting out our campfire?” Jayden asked.

Dana rolled her eyes at Jayden’s attempt to protect her. Admittedly he wouldn’t need help. “Try not to kill them.”

As the bandits formed a wide circle around Jayden, a spearman said, “Whoever kills him gets the girl.”

That stopped Dana in her tracks. She looked at Jayden, who was now snarling mad, and told him, “You know what? Go nuts.”

Jayden cast a short spell, drawing shadows from across the clearing and nearby woods. The shadows whirled together to form an ebony clawed hand as big as a man in front of Jayden. He reached out with his right hand and the shadowy hand mimicked his movements. The bandits’ chuckles died away.

“Oh sh—” one began before the giant hand slapped him, sending him flying through the air. The hand swung back the other way and bowled two bandits off their feet. It grabbed another and hurled him into a pine tree.

“Flank him!” a bandit yelled moments before the giant hand formed a fist and hit him like a battering ram.

There was a time when Dana would have watched the spectacle, but she’d had months to get used to Jayden’s magic and bad temper. Instead she pulled off the cotton on her arms and legs while bandits screamed. She’d gotten the last of it off when a broken spear flew by her head, followed by its owner.

“Sir, ah, clearly there’s been a mistake!” a bandit called out. “We should have taken your introduction more seriously, a failure to show respect, I’ll grant you, but the matter’s now clear to see. Surely we can call off this dispute before—Jenkins, duck!”

Wham! A bandit landed at Dana’s feet, clutching his stomach. Dana tapped his head with her wood sword and said, “Do us both a favor and stay down.”

One of the bandits still standing pointed his sword at Dana. “Take the girl hostage!”

A bandit with an ax charged Dana. He threw his ax aside as he neared her and reached out with both hands in an attempt to grab her by the arms. Dana stood her ground as he came, and at the last second ducked under his grasp and drove her knee between his legs. The man cried out in agony as he fell to the ground. Dana swung her wood sword at him again and again, striking him across the face, arms and shoulders.

“I don’t think he’s a threat anymore,” Jayden called out from across the clearing.

“You’re not the one they were going to give away like a prize!”

“Point made,” he replied. Dana hit the bandit three more times, stopping only when her wood sword snapped in half.

The last two bandits fled for their lives. Jayden reached out with his monstrous hand and grabbed one by the heels. He swung his screaming victim at the last bandit, clubbing him repeatedly until both men were beaten senseless.

“I broke your sword,” Dana said.

“And by the look of it both that man’s collarbones,” Jayden said as he allowed the giant hand to dissipate. “Our foes are still breathing, as requested. I believe we have enough rope to tie them up. My map of the area shows a sheriff’s outpost not far from here where we can leave these fools.”

Dana kicked dirt on their campfire to put it out. “The punishment for banditry is—”

“Exceedingly painful, I know.” Jayden collected the bandit’s weapons and added them to his baggage. “I detest turning them over to the same authorities I seek to overthrow, but the alternatives are letting them go to menace others or killing them myself. Faced with three bad choices, I intend to let the crown do its job for a change.”

It took an hour to bind the bandits and in some cases bandaging their wounds, but they were on their way soon enough. They came across a major road and not long after that a low stone building with a heavy door and attached tollbooth. An old man manning the booth paled at the sight of Jayden. “I only have ten copper pieces and never hurt anyone you like.”

“Looks like he’s heard of you,” Dana said.

“And he possesses the common sense our friends lack,” Jayden added. “Good sir, as your pockets are so woefully empty allow me the chance to fill them. These men made the poor career move of attacking me.”

The old man stared at the captured bandits. “No one is that stupid.”

“We thought he was bluffing!” a bandit protested.

Jayden pulled the bandits along and handed the end of the rope to the old man. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s typically a bounty placed on bandits.”

The old man grabbed a sheet of paper tacked to the wall and tore it off. “They’re wanted men, all right, with a reward of fifty silver pieces, but you’d have to present them in person to get the money. Some folks might take offense at that.”

“No doubt true given my history, which is why you’re taking the credit.” Jayden handed them off and smiled. “There you go, fifty silver pieces worth of vermin, a good addition to your salary.”

“They’ll put us to death!” a bandit cried out.

“They’ll put you to work,” the old man corrected him. “Baron Vrask doesn’t kill men he can use in his granite quarry.” More softly, the old man said to Jayden, “Do yourself a favor and keep a low profile. The city is in a terrible state these days, and there are folks who’d come after the price on your head.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” Jayden replied. He left with Dana as the old man placed his wounded prisoners in a cell.

The road led through hilly country heavy with farms and ranches, but Dana saw signs of distress. Many houses were in poor repair. A few were clearly abandoned, with missing windows and doors, and some had caved in roofs. People they met on the road were simply dressed and paid no attention to them. That surprised Dana, as Jayden’s garish clothes normally drew looks wherever he went.

“We’re coming up on the city of Edgeland, which has numerous dubious distinctions,” Jayden began. “It’s on the border with the Kingdom of Kaleoth and was once a center of trade before high taxes strangled merchant traffic. The city is on Race Horse River, which should add to its value as a trade hub. Sadly the river flows so fast no boat can travel it without being destroyed.”

“Wonderful,” Dana said.

“There is the city of River Twin on the other side of the river, a pleasant part of Kaleoth that used to benefit from trade. I’m told today it’s nearly as poor as Edgeland and boasts an army contingent to keep the king and queen on their side of the border.”

“The King of Kaleoth knows a war is coming?” she asked.

“King Brent of Kaloeth is a man of great years and keen wit who can see what’s happening as plainly as we can. If the king and queen mean to surprise him, they’ve seriously underestimated the man.”

“How old is he?”

“Old enough he might shatter if he tripped. Nevertheless, he is a formidable foe and has the allegiance of a large ogre clan.” Jayden walked on in silence for a moment before adding, “He is also a man to be pitied, as he outlived his family. He has one grandson still alive, but the youth is untested. I think King Brent is staying alive out of sheer force of will to give the boy time to learn his job.”

They crested a steep hill to find Edgeland before them. It was a large city that could house fifty thousand people. Buildings were made of granite to survive merciless winter storms, and the streets were paved with cobblestone. East of the city was a wide chasm with a single bridge across it, and beyond that was a smaller city. Edgeland had a wall around it, but there were clusters of buildings outside.

“Edgeland got too big for its britches?” Dana asked playfully.

“Most cities do. Wise leaders build walls around their cities, but few leave room for expansion. When cities grow citizens build their homes outside the wall’s protection.”

Worried, she asked, “What happens to them if the city is attacked?”

“They flee inside the walls if they can and are locked outside if they move too slow.” Jayden saw her horrified look. “Grim as that possibility is, those homes are our best choice to find help. Prosperous and respected citizens live inside the city. Poor residents live beyond the city wall and are more likely to help us.”

“Hopefully they can get you new clothes.”

Looking annoyed, he said, “I wasn’t pleased when bandit questioned my taste in fashion.”

Dana waved at the distant city. “You heard the old guy who took those bandits, people here are desperate. Do you want them coming after you the moment we go in?”

Jayden frowned. “Discretion may be warranted.”

A brief tour of the homes and businesses outside Edgeland turned up furriers, cobblers, fishermen, hunters, and a pawnshop where Jayden sold the weapons he’d taken from the bandits. At long last they found a tailor who gave them a skeptical look when they approached his small shop and said, “No credit for strangers. Pay in cash or leave.”

“A charming start to the conversation,” Jayden replied. He took two silver pieces from his pockets and held them up. “I need clothes, simple, warm and functional.”

The tailor took both coins. “I might have something in your size. Let me take your measurements.”

The tailor went through his limited stock until he came up with a gray overcoat, gray shirt and black pants. An hour of stitching shortened the legs and sleeves to fit. Jayden tried on the new clothes and nodded in approval.

“A good fit, and I like the style.”

“For tax reasons I never saw you in my life,” the tailor replied as he slid both coins into hidden pockets in his pants. “Now get out of here before someone sees you.”

“You don’t get much repeat business, do you?” Dana asked.

“As far as the king and queen are concerned I don’t get any business.”

Jayden packed his old clothes into his bags, and he led Dana toward the city gate. “Now then, I believe we’re ready to go on.”

“Hold on,” Dana told him. She put her hands on his shoulders and sat him on a nearby barrel. “Wanted posters show your face. If I change your hair it might help you go unnoticed.”

“Will this take long?”

Dana took a comb from her bags and went to work. Truth be told, she’d wanted to do something about Jayden’s messy hair since the day they’d met. In minutes she had it combed and tied into a ponytail she tucked into the collar of the overcoat.

Jayden stood up and asked, “How do I look?”

“Like the kind of man my mother warned me about. Let’s go.”

With Jayden disguised they headed for the city’s main gate. They found the gates open and heavily guarded by men wearing the blue and gray of royal soldiers. The soldiers collected a minor toll without inspecting carts and bags brought into the city.

Once they were inside Edgeland, Jayden led her through the streets. “Our first priority is to study the bridge.”

Dana took a deep breath and exhaled. “You know, this is the first city you’ve brought me to that didn’t smell like a dung heap.”

“You can thank Race Horse River. Residents of Edgeland throw their garbage into the river and let it carry their filth away.”

Dana grimaced. “That’s disgusting, and could poison the water and kill off the fish.”

“That’s not a concern.” Jayden brought her to a stone railing running along the river and pointed down. Dana leaned over the railing and gasped.

Race Horse River lived up to its name. The river flowed so fast a galloping horse would have trouble keeping up with it. It was wide, too, at least eighty feet across and who knows how deep. Countless years of fast moving water had cut deep into the bedrock until the water’s surface was fifteen feet below street level.

“Race Horse River moves too fast to host fish,” Jayden explained. “Dana, look at the bridge and tell me what you see.”

Dana looked to her left and saw an engineering marvel. “It’s about a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide. I see eight columns holding it up. I think it’s made of granite.”

“Go on.”

“Guards are stationed on both sides of the bridge. Men on this side wear blue and gray, so they’re soldiers and not militia. Men on the other side wear green and gray. Who are they?”

“Kaleoth frontier soldiers,” Jayden replied. “They’re very good.”

“Two of them have staffs, so I’d pretty sure they’re wizards.” Dana kept staring at the bridge. “Jayden, no one’s crossing the bridge.”

“No, and that’s curious. I’d heard cross border trade was down, but there are no wagons, pack mules or pedestrians crossing. The guards don’t make sense, either. This is part of Baron Vrask’s territory. His men should be guarding the bridge, and they wear white and black.”

Dana looked at him and asked, “If this is Baron Vrask’s territory, why are royal soldiers guarding the city gate?”

“Another good question. This is going to be hard. I’d heard dwarfs built the bridge back when they did quality work, and it doesn’t disappoint. So many soldiers won’t help. I need time to plan my attack. That means we need a place to stay. I’ve never visited the city before, but I’m told there’s a credibly good hotel by the river.”

They walked along the river, passing a few pedestrians and one man on horseback. They found the hotel in minutes, except the building was boarded up and its sign lay on the ground.

Dana walked up to the nearest man and asked, “What happened here?”

The man spit on the street. “A law came out that hotels have to report their guests’ comings and goings to the throne. No one stayed here for months until the owner closed shop and left.”

“That leaves us in a bit of a situation,” Jayden said.

“You’re fine.” The man pointed at a nearby signpost covered in hanging wood placards. “Those are advertisements for people renting rooms. Technically they’re ‘inviting’ guests to stay out of the kindness of their hearts, no charge, so the law doesn’t apply. Of course honest God fearing folks like you might feel inclined to lend a hand with the bills, or ‘accidentally’ leave a few coins. Get the picture?”

“You paint it with such vivid colors,” Jayden said.

The man laughed and walked away. Jayden and Dana went to the signpost and studied the placards. They were small, homemade and covered in spelling errors. Each one offered one or more rooms, with cheerful descriptions of where to find them and the amenities they offered.

“Many to choose from,” Jayden said as he picked over the placards.

Dana handed him a placard. “Let’s take this one. It’s got two rooms, warm beds, a bathroom and they allow pets. Plus it’s a lady’s house.”

Jayden took the placard from her. “How can you tell?”

“The handwriting is nice, and guys don’t mention ‘super keen’ views. She even printed directions to her house.”

“It’s as good a choice as any,” he said as they walked through Edgeland. Dana was surprised how sparsely populated the city was. In ten minutes they saw only twenty people. Maybe residents were out gathering the harvest or working in mines and quarries.

Dana turned a corner near their destination and ran straight into two spearmen dressed in white and black uniforms. She cried out in surprise and backed up, quickly bowing and saying, “Sorry, sir.”

“Sir, eh?” the spearman asked. “You hear that, Nate? She called me sir.”

“Bill, don’t,” the other spearman said.

Jayden’s muscles tensed and his eyes narrowed. Dana put a hand on his arm before he could take action.

“No, I’m going to say it!” the first spearman shouted. “I’ve served ten years, fought bandits, monsters, animated skeletons, and after all that the king’s soldiers call me boy. I’m good in a fight, I know these streets like the back of my hand, I’ve upheld the law, and I get treated like a punk.”

The second spearman looked away in embarrassment. “Bill.”

“A girl, a stranger I’ve never met before, calls me sir, showing me a little bit of ulmixin respect that I can’t get from our own army! This is why people quit, Nate! This is why good men walk off the job!”

The first spearman stomped off. The second one looked down and said, “I’m sorry about that. He’s a good man, it’s just he’s been pushed too far.”

Once the second spearman ran after his friend, Dana said, “Wow.”

“Not surprising,” Jayden told her. “We’ve seen loyal men treated poorly before. Let’s get off the street before we draw any more attention.”

“What does ulmixin mean?”

Jayden reached the house described on the placard and knocked on the door. “It’s a gnomish word I’d prefer not to translate. Theirs is a language rich in obscenities.”

“Coming!” a muffled voice called from inside the house. The door opened and a young woman in a plain dress came to greet them. She looked like she was in her early twenties, with brown eyes and short brown hair, pretty in a simple sort of way. She smiled, took one look at Jayden, and froze. For a second Dana worried the woman recognized Jayden from his many wanted posters and was terrified of him. Then Dana saw the woman blush and look down. This wasn’t terror.

Dana stepped in and shook the woman’s hand. “Hi! I understand you’re renting rooms. My uncle and I need a place to stay tonight.”

“Perhaps longer,” Jayden added.

“Uh,” the woman managed. Jayden had this effect on women. Even Dana had been at a loss for words the first time she’d met him. Still, most women shook it off faster than this. “Rooms. Ah, yes, I, uh, have two rooms, ah, not technically for rent.”

“A passerby was kind enough to explain the loophole in the law,” Jayden told her. He took a gold coin from his baggage and pressed it into her left hand. “He was vague on how large a donation to make. Is this sufficient?”

“Money?” the woman asked. It looked like she was still dazed. “You’re not offering barter? I mean I’ll take money. I need money! It’s just other borders paid in flour, or eggs, or turnips. I hate turnips.”

Jayden smiled at her, making her blush again. “We’re out of turnips at the moment, so hard currency will have to do.”

“Yes, currency, money, good. That’s enough to cover a month’s stay,” she said as she led them inside. The house included plain furniture and white pillows. In stark contrast to this simplicity were the paintings hanging on the walls. Most were landscapes, including gorgeous pictures of Race Horse River, but there were also portraits of children and their pets. The house had three bedrooms with the doors open to show clean if simple furnishings.

Dana followed the woman to the rented rooms. “So, what’s your name?”

“Ah, my name’s Maya. Um, what’s yours?”

“I’m Dana Illwind.”

Maya looked puzzled. “And your uncle, who’s not following me?”

Jayden hadn’t gotten far past the door. Instead he’d put down his bags and was studying the paintings. “Uncle craves his privacy. I trust that won’t be a problem.”

“No. No, no, no, not for paying customers it’s not,” Maya said.

“I see an easel in the corner and canvas not stretched over a frame yet, so this must be your work,” Jayden said. “You have considerable skill as a painter. Clearly the lady has an eye for beauty in addition to beautiful eyes.”

Maya looked so shocked she could’ve been knocked over with a feather. Dana just rolled her eyes. She wondered if Jayden was doing this on purpose or if he didn’t even notice the effect he was having on the poor woman.

“I, um,” Maya stammered before words flooded out of her. “Dinner is at sunset, I lock the door an hour later, please don’t make too much noise after dark so the neighbors don’t complain because I need them to like me.”

“How many sentences was that?” Jayden asked playfully.

Dana got between Jayden and Maya. “We’ll be the best behaved guests you’ve had. Isn’t that right, uncle?”

Jayden picked up his bags and headed for his room. “You may count on our discretion. Come along, niece, let’s store our belongings and let the young lady go on to more important tasks.”

Dana followed Jayden to two bedrooms in the back of the house and went into the same room as Jayden. She closed the door behind them and said, “Don’t tease the landlady.”

“I complimented her, nothing more.” Jayden set down his bags and looked out a window facing the river. “Nor did I lie. As long as we’re admonishing one another, stop mentioning your name. We’re not in a small town, nor are we among friends like in Pearl Harbor. Our hostess could say things about us to the authorities. Should the king and queen learn your identity, they could go after your family.”

Dana froze. “I didn’t think of that.”

Jayden checked the window. “We can go out at night through the window without Maya noticing if we must. My hope is we can study the bridge at leisure over the next few days and look for weaknesses. I didn’t see any earlier, which worries me. Bringing it down is going to be difficult.”

“You seem really sure there’s going to be an invasion across that bridge.”

Jayden took a map out of his bags and unrolled it on the bed. “This shows the border with Kaleoth. The ground is hilly to mountainous, with only a few crossings easily blocked by Kaleoth frontier soldiers. Edgeland’s bridge over the Race Horse River is the only way to bring in large numbers of troops.”

“What’s in Kaleoth worth taking?”

“It has good pastures and a few mines, although no precious metals.” Jayden pointed at the map and said, “It’s not a large prize, but could be easily taken by a clever enemy. The capital city is only three day’s march from the border. Seizing that could be enough to end the war if they take the king and his sole heir prisoner.”

Dana pointed at a kingdom to the south. “Your sort of friend Reginald Lootmore thinks the king and queen are going to invade his home of Zentrix. You think he’s wrong?”

Jayden frowned. “Worse than that, I think he’s right. Kaleoth is a small prize. The king and queen couldn’t divide so little land among their nobles. So many ambitious men would demand a greater reward for their loyalty than Kaloeth could provide. The only way to satisfy them would be to conquer more land, and Zentrix is the next logical target. If that’s not enough, the Kingdom of Brandish will be the third and last to be invaded.”

“You think they’re going to take over three kingdoms?” Dana didn’t try to hide her surprise.

“All three have small populations, few soldiers, no strong allies and not enough money to support long campaigns.” Jayden rolled up his map and put it away. “It wouldn’t be easy to beat them, but it’s possible. Destroying that bridge may be enough to save Kaleoth from destruction.”

“That would force the king and queen to move to their backup targets,” Dana replied. “You’re saving one kingdom and dooming the other two.”

“I know.” Jayden stared out the window for a moment. “Dana, I’ve been grasping at straws since I vowed to defeat the king and queen. My blows against them have been annoyances at best. Defeating the wizard Green Peril, killing the chimera, stealing some armor and saving those girls from slavery, they were pinpricks.”

He turned to her and said, “This is my biggest strike against them, and even that leaves lives in peril. I can’t save everyone. My only hope is if I hit them hard and often I can weaken them until the armies of Zentrix and Brandish can fight the king and queen to a stalemate. That’s a brutal, bloody outcome that can’t possibly be called a victory, but it’s the only chance we have.”

There was a soft knock at the door. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“We’ll continue this conversation another time,” Jayden said.

Maya greeted them at a small table, where she’d placed hardboiled eggs, a loaf of bread, fresh apples and a pitcher of milk. “I’m sure you’re used to better than this, but it’s what I could find at market.”

“Don’t apologize,” Dana told her. “It’s good food and more than we were expecting. You’ve got a very nice house.”

“Oh I don’t own it,” Maya said as she served Jayden. “I rent it from Baron Vrask. Lots of people rent from him.”

“How did he come to own so many properties?” Jayden asked.

Maya served Dana while she answered him. “I guess you wouldn’t know if you’re not from here. Not that I’m accusing my neighbors, but, ah, you know how taxes have gone up recently? Some families couldn’t pay. Baron Vrask takes labor or barter when people can’t pay their taxes. Royal tax collectors don’t.”

Worried, Dana asked, “What happened to them?”

“Some went to Kaleoth for a few days to buy wool or visit relatives. Lots of people here have family over the border, you know. But, um, a few days turned into a few weeks and a few months and now a few years, so I think they’re not coming back.”

“Which left empty houses that could fall into disrepair if not occupied, so your baron took ownership and rents them out,” Jayden said.

“It’s a very reasonable rent and I can pay it, sort of.” Maya looked worried when she served herself last. “I sell paintings, not as many with the bridge closed, I babysit, and I give painting lessons to a few boys, but, ah, I have to take in borders to make ends meet. Not that I’m against it! They’ve all been really nice people.”

“Surely your family can offer assistance,” Jayden said. Maya’s expression went from worried to sad. Jayden put down his food. “My apologies, I’ve upset you.”

Dana asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I, um, I’m a foundling. Baron Vrask’s men found me on the street when I was a baby. The baron takes in orphans and foundlings, and he supports them until they’re adults. I had a very good upbringing! He’s a nice man, and I learned a lot about cooking and cleaning, and his artisan taught me how to paint. I’m friends with the girls and boys I grew up with at the baron’s castle. The girls are nice, and the boys are loud and messy.”

“Sounds like my brothers,” Dana said. “Boys are like that the world over.”

Jayden was silent for a moment. “When Dana introduced herself, you gave only a first name.”

“I can’t have a family name if I don’t have a family.” Maya looked miserable. “I’m sorry, I’m not being a very good host. I shouldn’t babble like this.”

“You’re not babbling,” Jayden told her. “You’re being honest, and far friendlier than I expect or deserve. You’ve also earned my respect for Baron Vrask for treating you with such kindness in your youth.”

Maya smiled at him. “Thank you.”

This is the conclusion to Border Crossing:

Dana and Jayden left Maya’s house early the next morning. It was a cool, sunny day, and Jayden headed for the bridge. They found it guarded by ten soldiers dressed in blue and gray. No one approached the bridge, and pedestrians went to the opposite side of the street when they neared it. Jayden took a seat at an outdoor café and ordered breakfast.

“Glorious morning, isn’t it?” he said as a waiter served them. Once he was gone, Jayden added, “We have to thank Maya for more than lodging when we’re done here. Her painting of the bridge was most informative.”

“How’s that?”

“The bridge is made of fitted blocks of granite, too hard to break with the spells I’ve learned, but her painting showed mortar between the blocks. I might be able to cut through it and bring down the bridge piece by piece. Still, I need a closer look to make sure her work is accurate before we begin.”

“Speaking of Maya, she’s at the end of the street,” Dana told him. Maya was standing by a wagon loaded with fresh produce. It looked like she was buying food, and quite a bit of it. Two women walked up to her and smiled. That made Dana happy. Maya had seemed so lonely before. It was good to see her cheerful. “She’s talking with friends.”

Jayden kept his eyes on the bridge. “Really, what about?”

Dana was about to scold him for expecting her to hear a conversation so far away, but then she saw one of the women point to Jayden and give Maya a predatory smile. Whatever she said made Maya blush beet red. The two women laughed, and one patted Maya on the shoulder.

“You,” Dana told him.

“A worthy topic of conversation,” Jayden said. He finished his meal and stood up. “I need you to distract the guards so I can take a look at the bridge without being noticed. This could be dangerous based on the way Edgeland’s residents avoid those men.”

“I’ll keep a healthy distance.”

A short walk brought them to the bridge. Jayden stayed back and looked like he was studying the nearby abandoned hotel while Dana came closer. She smiled at the nearest soldier and said, “Hi there. I was wondering if there’s another hotel in town. This one’s closed and I need a place to stay.”

The soldiers leaned against the bridge’s support columns and barely reacted to her question. “We’re not tour guides.”

“You must have been here longer than I have. Have you seen anywhere I—”

“Do I have to repeat myself?” a soldier demanded. He took a step closer to her. “You can sleep in a ditch for all I care.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care! Nobody does!” The soldier pointed his spear at her and shouted, “You’re not fooling anyone! The bridge is closed to traffic until the king and queen say otherwise. Nothing’s going to change that, not begging, not bribes, not whatever sob story you’ve come up with, so bug off!”

Dana ran. She made sure not to get too close to Jayden so the soldiers didn’t guess they were together. She stopped when she was a block away, and was relieved when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Sorry about that,” an unfamiliar voice said. Dana yelped again and bolted from the strange woman trying to comfort her. The woman looked startled and held up her hands. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Dana pointed at the bridge guards. “What’s going on?”

“I wish I knew,” the woman answered. “Baron Vrask’s men used to guard the bridge. They’d let through people they were sure would come back, but these men won’t let anyone cross. I was supposed to get a wool shipment from Kaleoth weeks ago, but they won’t let the wagon across or let me go to them.”

Jayden walked up alongside them and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Just a little surprised,” Dana told him.

“We shouldn’t stay here if the guards are so hostile,” he told her. He took her by the arm and led her away. The woman waved goodbye and went on her way. They’d traveled a few blocks before Jayden said, “Maya’s attention to detail is exceptional. There is half an inch of mortar between the granite blocks, the bridge’s only weakness.”

“When are you going to destroy it?”

“The guards will be at their worst at midnight. Darkness will limit their vision and the late hour will leave them tired. Until then we’ll occupy ourselves studying the town and looking for potential threats or sources of aid. I don’t expect to find either, but we’re not in a rush.”

Edgeland’s markets were sparsely populated and had little to offer. Many shops were closed with signs saying they were out of stock. Others were open but offered only the most basic supplies. Dana and Jayden attracted little attention from shopkeepers and customers.

“Why do you think they closed the bridge?” Dana asked.

“Possibly to keep Kaleoth spies out of the kingdom. It’s a draconian move that costs the kingdom far more than it benefits, but paranoia seems to be the rule of the day.”

“What’s the point of doing it now? You said they won’t invade until springtime. Keeping the bridge closed all winter is going to make people in Kaleoth suspicious, maybe enough for them to double their guards on the bridge.”

Jayden frowned. “It’s certainly odd. I’d suspect such a move closer to the advent of war, but for that to make sense the king and queen would have to invade almost at once. Kaleoth is mountainous and has many natural chokepoints. Enough snowfall would close those for months and produce a serious avalanche risk. An invading army would have to make excellent progress in the face of determined opposition or be bogged down.”

“The king and queen must know that. They’re evil, but they’re not dumb.”

“So what are we missing?” he asked.

Dana and Jayden returned to Maya’s house late that day to find her busy cooking. She blushed when she saw Jayden, but she seemed a bit more at ease with him. “Dinner will be ready in a little while.”

Dana caught the scent of spices and cooking meat. “Is that mutton?”

“I paid my rent for the year with the money you gave me,” Maya said. Dana was shocked one gold coin went so far, and was amazed when Maya added, “There was some left over, so I splurged on groceries.”

“Which you’re sharing with us,” Jayden said. “Your generosity as a hostess knows no bounds, and that smells incredible. If you’ll excuse me, I need to work in my room.”

Once he was gone, Maya asked, “I noticed your uncle doesn’t wear a ring. Does he have a girlfriend at home?”

Dana stopped to admire one of Maya’s portraits. “Him? Ha, ha, no, I haven’t met one. The only woman I think was interested in him was Suzy Lockheart, and that didn’t turn out well. I think she came on too strong.”

“Nothing happened between us!” Jayden shouted through his closed door.

“Really.” Maya tried to sound casual and failed utterly. “What’s, um, what’s he like?”

Dana froze. Jayden’s casual flirting had more of an effect than he’d realized. This could end badly. Dana tried to come up with an answer that was polite and still make it clear there was no chance for a relationship.

She struggled for a response and briefly let an honest answer cross her mind. Jayden is a man on a mission. At some point he was hurt so badly it left scars across his soul that might never heal. I think he wants a family to replace what he lost, and that’s probably what I am to him, a sister or daughter. If you’re his friend there’s nothing he won’t do to help you. If you’re his enemy there’s nothing that can save you. He’s the world’s only sorcerer lord, and powerful as he is, he’s going to get himself killed taking so many risks. I’m terrified that I can’t save him.

After much thought, she said, “He can be difficult.”

“I wouldn’t say that. He’s the nicest man I’ve ever met.”

“Come on, Maya, a pretty lady like you must get lots of attention from men.”

Maya blushed and redirected her attention back to the cooking pot. “Um, yes, well, there were two men. Um, one joined the army to make his fortune. He said he’d come back for me once he became an officer, but that was three years ago. The other one, ah, he likes me, but he likes beer, too. Lots of beer.”

Dana sat down at the dinner table and faced Maya. “That’s not husband material. Uncle has been getting better about how he treats people. He can still be harsh at times. You’re seeing him at his best.”

“He’s on his best behavior for a failed artist?” Maya sounded hopeful.

“You’re not a failure,” Dana said. She got up and pointed at the nearest painting. “This is gorgeous. My mom would pay good money for this, if she had money, good or otherwise.”

Jayden came back from his room carrying a bag. “Excuse my interruption of your no doubt fascinating discussion. Niece, we’ll need to talk about coming activities.”

Dana was happy to exit this awkward conversation and warn Jayden about Maya’s interest in him, but her joy was short lived when the bag he was carrying tore. It wasn’t surprising since he’d loaded it with stone tablets inscribed with spells of the old sorcerer lords. The heavy tablets landed with a thud on the floor, followed by a few dozen gold coins and a jeweled ring. Maya stared in amazement at the bag’s contents. Her jaw dropped and she took a step back. Dana got between Maya and the tablets.

“I can explain,” Dana said as her mind raced. “My uncle is a historian.”

Maya looked puzzled. “Historians are paid in gold?”

“Historians explore ancient places. Sometimes they find things…nice things.”

Maya put a hand over her mouth. “You looted this stuff?”

“Looted is such an ugly word,” Jayden said. “Tragically accurate, though.”

“That’s why you came here!” Maya exclaimed. “I was wondering why you were by the bridge the other day. You found this neat stuff and you’re trying to get out of the kingdom before it gets confiscated.”

“Um,” Dana began. Maya’s guess was illegal enough that she might go to the authorities.

Maya ran over and clapped her hands. “Ooh, let me see what you found! That’s a gorgeous ring! Can I try it on?”

Dana watched as Maya, giddy as a schoolgirl, gushed over the treasure and marveled at the designs on the spell tablets. Dana whispered to Jayden, “She’s an adult, right?”

“Physically, yes,” he whispered back. Louder, he asked, “I hope we can trust you with this secret?”

“Oh!” Jayden’s question dragged Maya’s attention back to him. “I won’t tell a soul. If I had half as much as you I’d keep it a secret, too. Lots of people have had their money confiscated. Tax collectors show up and suddenly you owe twice as much as you should.”

Jayden got another bag from his room and repacked the spilled goods. Maya handed back the ring and smiled at him. “I don’t think you can get to Kaleoth from here. Soldiers aren’t letting anyone come or leave. There are other places you could cross, but they’re guarded, too. You have to walk a long time to find someone to sell this to.”

“An unfortunate situation, but one that lets up enjoy your hospitality awhile longer,” Jayden told her. He smiled and looked like he was going to keep flirting with her when panicking men ran past the nearest window. More men ran by. “That’s rarely a good sign.”

Dana stuck her head out the window and saw men and women racing by. “What’s the matter?”

“There’s an army coming!” a man yelled before he turned a corner.

Dana, Jayden and Maya went outside to find every nearby street in a state of confusion, with men, women and children fleeing like their lives depended on it. Maya pointed to a nearby street corner and said, “That’s the highest point around. We’ll get the best view there.”

The sun was beginning to set as they reached the street corner and looked outside the city. The city wall made it impossible to see anything close by, but in the distance they saw what was undeniably an army approaching Edgeland. Dana guessed there were over ten thousand men in blue and gray, maybe more. It was divided into dozens of companies carrying flags and beating drums. Some companies had their own distinct flags with gruesome images like ram skulls and bloody swords.

“Why is everyone scared?” Dana asked. “Those are our soldiers.”

“Only some of them,” Jayden said. He pointed at one of the unusual flags and scowled. “Those flags are for mercenary companies, foreigners fighting for pay. Such men are known for brutality and robbing anyone they meet unless their officers keep them on a short leash. If they pass through quickly then Edgeland’s people should be safe. Otherwise they’ll suffer attacks.”

That worried Dana. If Jayden’s plan worked then the army would be stalled her for weeks or months. There was no telling how much damage they’d do, and a pretty girl like Maya with no family to protect her would be in great danger.

“Jayden, we can’t leave Maya here.”

“No, we can’t.” Jayden took Maya’s hands and said, “We’re going back to your house to collect our things. Pack whatever essentials you need. We’re getting you out of here before those men arrive.”

Maya stammered, “L-leave? Where? That many men will fill the city.”

“Please, trust me.” Jayden led Maya back to her home. They hurried to pack supplies including food and Maya’s art supplies and then left the building. There was no way to carry all of Maya’s paintings and they were forced to leave them.

Still in shock, Maya asked, “Why is an army coming here? We’re not in danger.”

“Their stay is intended to be temporary,” Jayden explained. “I was wondering why the baron’s men were removed from the city gate and the bridge. The king and queen must have worried that spies would see their army approach, so they closed the bridge to prevent Kaleoth receiving a timely warning.”

“I know people in Kaleoth!” Maya cried out. “They’re good people. They’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

Jayden put a hand on her shoulder. “No, they haven’t, and we’re going to save them.”

“Dana called you Jayden,” Maya said. Dana paused for a moment and winced when she remembered the mistake she’d made. Maya pointed at Jayden and said, “You, you’re the sorcerer lord.”

“I am.” Jayden picked up one of Maya’s bags. “I’m a wanted man with a staggeringly high price on my head because I want to stop our kingdom from invading Kaleoth and possibly other lands. Dana is helping me prevent that invasion. Maya, I need more help, a person to give the people of Kaloeth a warning.”

“I’m just a painter,” she pleaded.

“Then today is worth remembering, because a painter is going to save thousands of lives.” Jayden wasted no more time and led them to the bridge. They avoided panicking people, but doing so still slowed them down.

It was getting dark when Dana, Jayden and Maya reached the bridge to find the soldiers yawning and inattentive. Two of them were even asleep. Jayden snuck closer and hid behind a parked wagon before casting a spell. Shadows wrapped together to form an enormous clawed hand. The hand was nearly invisible in the darkness, and it came as a surprise to the soldiers when he hit them like a battering ram. Men cried out as they were tossed about. Two tried to fight back and stabbed the hand before they were bowled over. Their leader tried to run and got thirty feet before the hand threw one of his men into him.

“Subtle.” Dana’s word dripped with sarcasm.

“Tonight is going to be loud, flashy and time consuming,” he countered as he used the hand to carry defeated men to the closed hotel. “Subtle isn’t an option. Dana, help me tie these men up. Maya, cross the bridge and tell the soldiers there what you’ve seen.”

Maya hesitated. “What about you?”

Jayden cast a spell and formed a black sword edged in white. Maya gasped at the sight of the magic blade and backed away. He told her, “I’m going to slow down the enemy for as long as I can. Go. Lives depend on you.”

Maya ran across the bridge, leaving Dana and Jayden alone. It took more time than Dana liked to secure their prisoners. Once that was done, they walked onto the bridge and stopped where two large granite floor blocks met. Jayden placed the tip of the sword over a thin gap between the panels filled with mortar and drove the sword in. It bit into the mortar and sank in slowly. With a final thrust the blade went through to the bottom of the bridge. Jayden walked forward, pulling the sword with him. His magic sword cut through the mortar so slowly a snail could outrun it.

“Keep an eye on our adversaries,” Jayden said as he inched forward.

The nearby closed hotel had spaces between the bricks wide enough for Dana climb onto the roof to get a better vantage point. “The army is still coming, but they’re not rushing. It could be an hour before they reach the city gate and longer to reach us. Why aren’t they hurrying? And why aren’t there knights on horseback?”

“Why would they rush when they think friendly soldiers hold both the city gate and the bridge?” Jayden called back. “There’s no need to exhaust their men with a fast march before battle when they believe they can catch Kaleoth’s soldiers unaware. As for the knights, Kaleoth’s steep hills and mountains aren’t the place to send horses. The king and queen will save their cavalry for the flatter countryside of Zentrix and Brandish.”

Dana spotted movement outside the city. “I see people with carts and wagons fleeing into the countryside. Looks like Edgeland’s population is going to drop even more.”

“And on the other side of the bridge?”

Dana turned around and frowned. “Men are running around. Maya’s talking to one of them and pointing at us. Jayden, you said the king and queen wouldn’t attack so late in the year. Avalanches, passes closed by snow, stuff like that.”

“All good reasons not to attack rendered invalid by simple fact it hasn’t snowed yet. Campaigning will be impossible in a few weeks, giving the king and queen a brief window of opportunity to make a surprise attack and seize the capital city of Kaleoth. If they can win every battle for the next week they’ll take Kaleoth before winter comes.”

Dana watched the approaching army. “They certainly have enough men. Wait, I see something big in the front of the army. Jayden get up here.”

Jayden let his magic sword dissipate and climbed onto the closed hotel. Dana pointed at a dark towering figure leading the army. Jayden’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “That’s Wall Wolf, an iron golem that guards the king and queen. It’s served the royal family for centuries and has never been beaten. It could have won the civil war singlehandedly except it was too slow to reach most battles in time.”

“Can you stop it?”

“I won’t even be able to scratch it!” Jayden climbed down from the hotel and went back to the bridge. “If the king and queen have sent Wall Wolf then they’re totally committed to this war, even sending their personal bodyguard for the task.”

“The army is getting close to the city gate,” Dana said. She climbed down and joined Jayden. “That many men are going to close off any chance for us to escape.”

“When I’m done we’ll cross over into Kaleoth,” Jayden told her. He reformed his magic sword and drove it between two granite slabs. “We’ll find another way back into the kingdom later.”

They heard noises behind them. Dana turned to see Kaleoth soldiers gathering on their side of the border. Soldiers rolled wagons across the bridge and then overturned them to form makeshift barricades. More soldiers armed with crossbows arrived and took up positions on rooftops.

“Following Maya might be harder than you think,” Dana said.

“The bridge is open!” a man yelled. An older man ran by Dana and Jayden to Kaleoth, then two more. Soon crowds of frightened people fled the coming army. They avoided Jayden, but a man slowed down long enough to say, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but do it faster.”

Dana heard a woman cry out, “Crimson Reapers are coming! Hide your daughters!”

“Mercenaries?” Dana asked Jayden.

“Among the worst, and as brutal to civilians as they are to their enemies.”

Dana retook her place on top of the abandoned hotel. “The army reached the city gates and are coming through. We’ve got more people headed our way.”

The stream of frightened humanity turned into a river. Dana saw men and women flee into Kaleoth and clamber over the barricades. Kaleoth soldiers helped them across. She also saw Kaleoth soldiers point at Jayden as he hacked into the bridge. Some men followed suit with pickaxes and hammers.

“Ten minutes until they get here, maybe less,” Dana called out. “How far did you get?”

“Not enough by half,” Jayden called out. He’d cut far enough to reach where two large granite slabs came together. He made a ninety-degree turn and began cutting out the mortar along another side.

Dana watched the fleeing crowds shrink to a mere trickle. She’d been wrong on how long it would take the army to reach the bridge. Their pace slowed to a crawl once they were among the buildings, and she saw mercenaries breaking into homes and shops. It took a lot of effort to get them moving again, and more than one officer resorted to using a whip on his own men.

Terrifying as they were, Wall Wolf was far more frightening. Dana could make out more details as the iron golem came closer. It stood twelve feet tall and looked like an enormous knight, even if the arms and legs were far too thick and the shoulders too broad. The golem carried no weapon, not that such an enormous monster would need one. It took slow steps but never stopped marching forward. The golem kicked over a wagon in its way and stepped on it, crushing it to kindling.

“They’re two blocks away and closing,” Dana told Jayden. She climbed down and joined him. Jayden had cut a gash fifteen feet long in the bridge and still hadn’t done significant damage.

Jayden kept working. “Get ready to run for your life.”

The vanguard of the army came onto the street ahead of them while Wall Wolf was a block away but still visible above the rooftops. Soldiers and mercenaries saw Jayden and stopped a hundred feet away. Every tenth man carried a lantern, lighting up streets. Officers soon came, and following them was a man in plate armor and a purple cape.

“As I live and breath, the sorcerer lord,” the armored man said. He watched Jayden inching along and laughed. “Spitting on the bridge would be just as effective.”

Jayden drew his black sword out and raised it in a challenge. “Judging by your armor you’re from the Rendmal family, likely their eldest son Kyver. Your father served with distinction during the civil war and was known for justice and mercy, traits you clearly don’t share if you’re invading a friendly state.”

Kyver shot back, “They’ve no right to such a title.”

“Kaleoth could have sent raiding parties to loot our farms and villages during our civil war. Instead they sent food to starving families. Your father held them in high regard.”

“My father is not in command of this army,” Kyver said as Wall Wolf smashed through a house on its way to the bridge. “I am. Kaleoth is an enemy state because the king declared they are enemies, and the king’s word is law. If he said the sky is yellow and not blue then his word makes it so. Loyal men understand such things.”

“If that’s an example of your keen wit, I see why you use it so rarely,” Jayden quipped.

More soldiers and mercenaries came but stayed well back. Kyver also made no move toward Dana and Jayden. Instead Kyver held up an iron baton with a black pearl on the end. “I’ve heard tales of the damage you’ve done. I could kill you with a word, sending a thousand men after you until one of them strikes you dead, but a more efficient means is at hand. Wall Wolf, hear me and obey. Kill the sorcerer lord.”

Soldiers scattered as Wall Wolf stomped toward Jayden. Cobblestones shattered under the iron golem’s feet. Jayden let his magic sword dissipate and instead chanted words Dana recognized even if she didn’t understand them. Jayden held out his hands and a tiny spark formed between them. He kept chanting as Wall Wolf drew closer, a hundred feet and then fifty. When the spell was finished the spark flew out and stopped inches from Wall Wolf’s head.

Boom! The spark exploded into a blazing fireball that washed over the golem. Soldiers cried out in panic and fell back while Kyver stood his ground. Seconds later the flames died away and Wall Wolf took another step toward Jayden. Jayden’s most powerful spell hadn’t even scratched the golem. Kyver laughed. His men rallied to his side and laughed with him. Jayden backed away as Wall Wolf came ever closer.

Dana asked, “I’d say he weighs twenty tons, wouldn’t you?”

Jayden reformed his black sword. “At least.”

“How much weight can this bridge take?”

Jayden stopped retreating. “That’s a fascinating question. An hour ago I would have said there’s a fifty-fifty chance Wall Wolf would be too heavy to cross it.”

Dana looked at the deep gash in the bridge. “If we walk back ten steps and two more to the right, and Wall Wolf comes at us in a straight line, that would put him right here.”

Jayden and Dana backed away while soldiers and mercenaries cheered on Wall Wolf. The iron golem marched relentlessly forward, slow but never stopping as it closed the distance between them. Jayden smiled wickedly when Wall Wolf reached the damaged section of the bridge.

Crack! A slab of granite ten feet long broke free as the last bits of mortar shattered. The slab tilted up and Wall Wolf slid backwards until both the golem and bridge section fell into the raging waters below. Water shot up high into the air and rained down onto the bridge and riverbank. Soldiers cried out in rage and Kyver’s look of smug superiority vanished, replaced by shock.

“That was entertaining,” Jayden told Kyver. “What else did you bring me to play with?”

“Fetch long timbers!” Kyver yelled. “Tear down the houses to get them if you must! I want that gap covered! Archers forward!”

Dana gripped Jayden’s arm. “That’s our cue to leave.”

“It is at that,” Jayden agreed. He and Dana ran down the bridge, with Jayden grinning like the cat that caught the canary. “This will slow them down long enough for me to bring down the bridge from the other side. Kaleoth will be safe now and forev—”

Wall Wolf came up from the river, climbing up a support column to stand before Dana and Jayden. Soldiers and mercenaries cheered when the iron golem stepped in front of them and clenched its huge fists. It blocked Dana and Jayden’s escape, and the bridge was destroyed behind them, trapping the pair.

“The show’s not over, boys!” Kyver shouted to his men. “Watch the king and queen’s enemies fall!”

“Go left,” Jayden told Dana as he went right. The bridge was wide enough that Wall Wolf couldn’t fully block it, nor could the iron golem go after both of them. Wall Wolf pursued Jayden, as ordered, ignoring Dana entirely. “Dana, you’re clear, run!”

“I’m not leaving you!”

Wall Wolf stomped after Jayden. Jayden swung his sword at its heels, only for the magic blade to bounce off. His next swing was equally useless. Wall Wolf swung its right fist and missed by a wide margin. Jayden slashed his sword across the fist without effect.

“Staying won’t help!” he shouted. “Run!”

Crossbow bolts flew over Jayden’s head and hit Wall Wolf. Dana spun around and saw Kaleoth soldiers peppering the iron golem with accurate crossbow fire. Their aim was impressive, awe inspiring, and totally useless. Bolt after bolt shattered against the iron golem’s tough skin without leaving a scratch.

Wall Wolf tried to stomp on Jayden. It missed, but when Jayden ran out of the way the iron golem swung its left hand and landed a glancing blow. It was enough to send Jayden flying twenty feet farther down the bridge. Soldiers cheered and Dana screamed. Jayden struggled to his knees before falling down.

Dana tore through her bags until she found her magic short sword. She hadn’t had the opportunity to practice with it in Edgeland because it would have drawn attention. Dana didn’t know how much good it would be without training, but trapped between a raging river and an iron golem meant there were no other choices. She raised the blade high and charged. She felt it warm up as she ran, then it began to glow. She was five steps from the iron golem when the sword lit up like a bonfire. Dana screamed and slashed at Wall Wolf’s right leg.

The sword hit, no surprise when her target was large, slow and not paying attention to her. Magic blade met magic monster and produced a shower of sparks so strong Dana had to clench her eyes shut. When the light died down she stepped back and opened her eyes. She’d wounded the golem, leaving a cut eighteen inches long and a quarter inch deep.

“That’s it?” she yelled.

“Is that all you’ve got?” a soldier jeered.

Kyver looked more impressed. “Wall Wolf has never been hurt before. Only a powerful weapon could make such a scratch. Wall Wolf, hear me and obey. Kill the girl and bring me the sword.”

Wall Wolf turned to face her. Dana backed away. “Oh boy.”

More crossbow fire hit Wall Wolf as the iron golem closed in on Dana. A Kaleoth wizard shot magic flame and hit the golem in the back. Wall Wolf ignored them and kept after Dana.

Dana ran around the golem. She swung at it again, but this time it was expecting the blow and pulled away at the last second. The golem swung its fists at her and missed, but more attacks quickly followed. It was all she could do to avoid the monstrosity.

Wall Wolf raised its right foot and tried to crush her underfoot. For a moment it looked like it might do just that before a clawed black hand as big as a man wrapped around Wall Wolf’s head. The magic hand pushed forward and tipped the iron golem over. Dana looked over and saw Jayden on his knees, his right hand held forward.

The fall did Wall Wolf no harm. It grabbed the huge hand with both its hands and pulled hard. Jayden screamed in pain as his magic hand was ripped apart and evaporated. Soldiers and mercenaries laughed all the louder as Wall Wolf stood up.

Dana raised her sword as Wall Wolf advanced on her. She knew it was pointless even as she did it. Her sword had barely hurt the iron golem when she’d hit it. If she struck a joint like the knees or ankles maybe that would do actual damage, but Wall Wolf had brought down Jayden with one hit. It would need no more to finish her.

“You stupid sword, you were supposed to be special!” she screamed at it. “You barely did anything to that monster! We paid good money for you!”

Wall Wolf came closer and raised both fists over its head. Dana backed away, briefly lowering her sword. The tip of the blade grazed the bridge, cutting a groove an inch deep with the barest touch. Shocked, Dana fell back further and let her sword slide against the bridge. The sword sliced through granite blocks as if they were made of sand.

Dana gasped as she gathered her thoughts. Jayden’s sword had been able to damage the bridge but not Wall Wolf. Her sword could damage the iron golem, if only just, so it should have no trouble finishing the work Jayden started and do the job faster. Wall Wolf had survived one trip into Race Horse River. Dana intended to give it another bath.

Dana ran around Wall Wolf, staying just outside its reach. She found where two granite slabs connected in the bridge and slid her sword into the mortar between them. The blade went in easily, and she ran between the slabs, hacking through mortar like it was nothing. Wall Wolf followed her to the cheers of soldiers. Dana heard men betting on how long she’d live. Wall Wolf was beginning to catch up with her when she followed another line of mortar in the bridge, hacking through it effortlessly. Wall Wolf pursued her as ordered, not understanding the danger it was in.

Crack! Another section of the bridge gave way. Dana jumped onto the nearest stable part of the bridge as the slab underneath her tipped and slid backwards. Wall Wolf was on the opposite end of the sinking section. It was reaching for her when the slab fell into the river and took the iron golem with it. Soldiers shouted in outrage, none louder than Kyver. They cheered again when Wall Wolf climbed up the nearest support column. Dana was waiting for it.

It was hard to hurt Wall Wolf, in part because of the iron golem’s long reach. That advantage disappeared when it was climbing. Both hands held tight to the support column and had to stay there until the golem got its feet back on the bridge. That left a few precious seconds where the golem couldn’t avoid her or attack.

Dana saw Wall Wolf pulling itself up and aimed for its fingers. Sparks flew when her sword hit the thinner armor at the iron golem’s knuckles. Wall Wolf pulled itself higher up until Dana saw it eye to eye. She swung again, hacking off four fingers. Wall Wolf fell into the river again, but when it tried to climb up it couldn’t do it with only one functioning hand.

The screams of unruly mob of soldiers and mercenaries were deafening as they saw their champion fail, none louder or more horrified than Kyver. The enemy general howled like a wounded animal and beat his breasts. He regained control of himself long enough to bellow, “Archers, kill her!”

Any elation Dana had felt vanished as dozens of archers took aim at her. Magnificent as her sword was, it couldn’t stop arrows.

They didn’t get the chance to fire. Kaleoth soldiers had been helpless against Wall Wolf, but they had no problems fighting men. Crossbowmen rained down fire on the soldiers and mercenaries. Wizards in Kaleoth’s green and gray shot streams of flames and ice javelins. For a moment the soldiers held their own as archers returned fire. That ended when a single glowing ember drifted toward their side of the river. Kyver saw it coming and ran screaming from the fight with his men following suit. The spark floated lazily to the opposite side of the river before it detonated in a fireball that swallowed up nearby buildings.

Dana ran to Jayden. He was sitting up, but casting that last spell had taxed him beyond his limits. Dana reached him as he began to sway back and forth. She grabbed his shoulders and steadied him. Jayden looked at her only briefly, saying only two words before he passed out.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly. Dana put her sword away and checked Jayden’s wounds. He had several broken ribs and his right arm looked awful. Moving him could do serious harm, but she couldn’t leave him here. Dana grabbed him by the shoulders and slowly pulled him toward Kaleoth.

She’d only gotten a few feet when another set of hands took Jayden. It was Maya. She had one of Jayden’s bags over her shoulder and helped carry Jayden. Between the two of them they pulled Jayden to safety while crossbow bolts and magic flames soared overhead.

“He needs a healer,” Dana said.

“There aren’t many in Kaleoth who can treat wounds this bad,” Maya told her. They reached the other side of the bridge and soldiers helped them through the barricades. “I know a witch who might be able to help, but she charges a lot.”

“I’ll pay it,” Dana promised, “no matter the cost.”