GoCorral

Chapter 4 – Meeting in Shalerton (Continued)

“The monster brother was a great pain,
It bit at me with its fangs,
I slashed and cut with mine sword,
And bled the monster to its core,”

“The monster shed its blood,
It flooded like a river in its flood,
I rejoiced in my victory,
But the monster revived through some trickery,”

“The sword was no good to cut the beast,
It bared its fangs and prepared to feast,
I dodged to the side and cast a spell,
To kill the beast and make it unwell,”

“The marvelous spell succeeded,
The evil monster was defeated,
The town of Shaler rejoiced,
And to Alia I voiced…”

“I’ve defeated the monster,
Will you be mine?”

“Nay, brave warrior,
Ask me another time!”

Tereman finished the duet with the orange-eyed man and the Pig and Anvil erupted in applause. The pair of them had stood during the song to project to the whole room. Tereman handed the lyre back to its owner. He clapped forearms with the orange-eyed man.

“What a song! You have a talent for skolia! I am Tereman. What is your name?”

“I am Blendegad. Come, let’s sit together and give someone else a turn.”

Blendegad returned to his stool. Tereman grabbed his pack and brought his stool over to sit by Blendegad. The man with the lyre struck up a medium-paced, romantic song about Cupid and Psyche.

Tereman asked the man, “What’s your business on the road?”

Blendegad stared at him. Tereman felt his face being studied. Blendegad answered, “I’d heard about the trouble in Shalerton. I’m headed there to help.”

Tereman smiled. “What a coincidence! I am also headed to Shalerton to help.”

“Oh!” Blendegad took a moment to examine Tereman’s belongings next to him. A backpack, sword, and a panoply of bronze breastplate. A hoplite’s kit.

Tereman saw Blendegad’s gaze. “Yes, it’s a good suit of armor. Served me well the last few years.”

Blendegad asked, “No spear though?”

“I know how to use one, but always preferred a sword. Less need to switch if a beast gets close to you. I do see the appeal though.” Tereman thought of the Thracian Mare. If he’d had a spear he could’ve braced it and slain the horse before it hurt his shoulders. “I could’ve used one recently. There was this beast, a Thracian Mare.”

“You killed that one? The one by the ford?”

“Yes!”

“But I’d heard it was the town guard that killed it.”

“Until yesterday I was with the town guard. Now I’m working independently. As a free agent I can help people beyond Dalleer.”

“I feel the same,” said Blendegad.

“But let me tell you about the Thracian Mare!” Tereman continued, “The guard heard reports of a man-eating horse north of the ford. Already a man had been slain…”

In the late morning Blendegad and Tereman left the Pig and Anvil together. They spent half the night telling stories of monster slaying that enchanted and entertained the other inn guests. The other half of the night they sang or listened to others sing.

It was late when the tables and stools were stacked in the middle of the room to make room for sleeping. Bedrolls and blankets unfurled for people to rest. The inn staff disappeared through the backdoor to their private quarters. Blendegad, Tereman, and the man with the lyre were gifted with the spots closest to the fire on the right side of the inn for their performances. The left side had different rules that Blendegad was oblivious to.

After a warm night, the inn guests were awoken by bustling and cooking in the kitchen. Each of them was offered a bowl of oatmeal for one copper coin. Warm and filling, if not as tasty as the stew from the night before. After eating, Blendegad and Tereman put their armor on and gathered their things. They had not discussed it, but it was understood that they would travel to Shalerton as a group.

The two of them walked north in silence at first. It was a foggy morning. They heard birds singing to each other as the plains awoke. The smell of wet grass came to their nostrils. Blendegad realized this was the furthest he had ever been from Densmith. A feeling of foreboding and excitement filled him.

Blendegad asked Tereman, “Have you ever been to Shalerton?”

“No. I was on wilderness patrol with the guard for the last two years. We dealt with threats within a day of Dalleer. Anything beyond that was for adventurers or some other city’s problem.”

“So Shalerton was too far away to care about. What about Densmith?”

“That’s where you’re from?” Tereman asked. He must’ve noticed from Blendegad’s tone. Blendegad’s silent smile answered the question. “We went out there occasionally. It’s within the patrol boundary. But wilderness patrol usually responded to reported threats. I don’t think we got many reports from Densmith.”

Blendegad chuckled, “You’re welcome.”

Tereman laughed as well. “So you were handling everything without a word to the guard. Well, I’ll thank you on their behalf.”

The fog cleared as they continued their trek north. The sun was shining high in the east. A nice late summer day.

Tereman asked Blendegad, “Do you have any family?”

“My mother. She runs the apothecary for our village. She gave me a bunch of potions when I left.” Blendegad shook the satchel to indicate its contents. “What about you?”

“Nope. None.”

“Hmm.” Blendegad looked for a word to say. “Sorry.”

“Is she good?”

“Yes. She’s kind to me and the town. I’m lucky to have her.”

“Good.”

The two talked back and forth slowly on their trip to Shalerton. They arrived at the village in the late afternoon on their second day together. They were among the first to reach Shalerton. There were a few guild members from Phoenix that occupied the rooms in the town inn, the Pot of Comfort. Wizards, clerics, and other adventurers.

After being turned away from the inn Tereman walked away from the village center. Blendegad followed.

Tereman said, “We shouldn’t stay in town. Phoenix is run by a bunch of thieves. We’ll find a place outside of town.”

“Where though?”

“One of the farmers will let us sleep in their barn.”

“Farmers don’t like people from out of town,” Blendegad said.

“Hospitality demands though. They can’t turn us away without risking the wrath of Zeus.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You have a better idea?” Tereman asked.

“We could camp out.”

“Then our packs could be stolen from while we’re sleeping with those thieves around. We’re safer in a building.”

Blendegad sighed. Tereman knew what he was saying was true. Blendegad just didn’t like it because he was a villager himself instead of a townsfolk. He sympathized with these people more than Tereman did.

Tereman said, “It would be nice if we didn’t have to impose on them, but we’re here to help. They asked for defenders. The least they can do is accept us as guests.”

“Fine, but you talk to them.”

Tereman led Blendegad to a farmhouse a mile outside of town. A barn stood a few dozen podes away from the house. The surrounding land was bare, as typical for late summer. The farmer should be tilling the land to break up the soil before planting in fall. The field had two oxen, a few sheep and chickens wandering through it.

Tereman and Blendegad walked up to the farmhouse door. Tereman knocked on the door. The sheep stared at the newcomers. No one came to the door and Tereman could hear no one moving within.

He knocked again and shouted, “Hello! We are travelers seeking hospitality! We come to defend the village from monsters that attacked a few days ago!”

No answer. Tereman drummed his fingers on his leg and leaned against the farmhouse wall by the door.

Blendegad said, “Tereman, do you think the people that lived here might’ve been one of the ones who were kidnapped?”

Tereman pushed off the wall back onto his feet. “Maybe…” He rubbed his chin while thinking. “If they were attacked, there should be some sign in the house. Let’s just take a quick look.”

“Go in their home? Without an invitation?”

“I know. It violates hospitality, but we’re also defenders, not just guests. We’re still trying to help them.”

Blendegad said, “Alright. But if something happens, we leave the house.”

Tereman said, “Yes, of course.”

Tereman turned to the house and said, “Just in case.” Then he shouted at the farmhouse, “We’re here to help. We’re coming in to make sure you’re alright. If there’s anyone in there that doesn’t want us to come in, say something now!”

Tereman and Blendegad waited for a minute. No response came from within.

“Let’s go,” said Tereman. He pushed the farmhouse door and entered.

The farmhouse was dim inside. The first room was large, serving as a common room for everyone in the family. Shelves and cabinets lined the walls, all well stocked with food. The children’s bed was in the far right corner next to a fireplace. On the closer side of the fireplace was a doorway into a bedroom. The fireplace had openings on both sides allowing for easy passage of heat into either room. The far left of the room had a loom and tools for repairing clothes. The closer left corner held a table which drew Tereman and Blendegad’s attention.

The dining table of the farmhouse was thrown to the ground. The chairs were scattered around the table and some of the chair legs were splintered.

Blendegad said, “Something must’ve happened here.”

Tereman said, “A fight of some kind. The monsters that kidnapped people…”

Blendegad said, “What kind of monster takes the people and closes the door behind it when it leaves?

Tereman said, “Another villager could’ve closed it later on. But no blood on the ground either.”

“Very strange,” said Blendegad. “I would’ve assumed the monsters were taking people to eat them. But if that were the case, wouldn’t they have eaten one of them here before leaving?”

“Yes…” said Tereman. “What exactly are we dealing with?”

The pair poked around the farmhouse for a few minutes, trying to find any obvious clues to the fate of the family or what kind of beast had taken them. They found nothing.

Blendegad said, “Let’s bed down in the barn. It doesn’t feel right to sleep in here.”

“Agreed.” said Tereman.

Galandir settled in early for the noon announcement. He hoisted a large firewood log to a spot across the street from the Pot of Comfort. The people in charge were the lead wizard and cleric from Phoenix. They would organize everyone as they went to rescue the villagers. The log was rough, but better than standing still to wait or sitting on the ground.

The other adventurers filtered in. As the shadows diminished the wizard and the cleric stood on the Pot of Comfort’s porch. The cleric took a trumpet from one of his companions. She blew deeply into it to summon everyone to the meeting. She returned the trumpet and they waited a few minutes before speaking.

The wizard spoke first. He was wearing a dark blue tunic tied with a dark leather belt. Dozens of small pouches and bags lined his belt. His hands were covered by worn gloves that were once white. Bronze spectacles covered his green eyes and sat on his nose. He had a wide brimmed felt hat on his head with a single peacock feather tucked into the band. His skin was pale but his face was freckled. Galandir couldn’t see any hair on his head, but the man’s eyebrows were brown.

“Thank you for coming everyone. I’m sure with this many people we can rescue those who were kidnapped and return this village to its former status. My name is Forgeus Redgrain. I’m a master of the Wizards Guild in Phoenix.”

The wizard turned to the cleric. She was wearing a toga with a bronze hoplite panoply over it. The breastplate was emblazoned with a sheaf of wheat indicating that she was a warrior priestess of Demeter. Her helmet had a brown horse hair crest that stood high over her head. Brown ringlets of her own hair emerged from under the helm. She had gold armlets and bracelets around her biceps and wrists. Galandir had seen her earlier with a magnificent spear. He was sure it was an enchanted weapon. The features on her face were small. Small brown eyes, small nose, small lips. Galandir imagined the ears underneath her helmet were small as well.

She said, “I am Gallana Greenspear. I’m a master of the Clerics Guild in Phoenix and a priestess of Demeter. We’re here to help. A new monster has appeared in various places across Cimmeria. Shalerton is not the only village that has been affected. Stories of these attacks have flooded into the guilds of Phoenix. After listening to these reports and what the good people of Shalerton have to say we have compiled some information on these monsters. We’d like to share that to provide us the best chance against this threat.”

Forgeus pushed his spectacles up on his nose and prepared to continue where Gallana had left off. “The monsters are humanoids. They possess two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head, just like all of us.” Forgeus snorted as if he’d made a joke. When the crowd didn’t react he cleared his throat and continued, “They use swords that

Had a day off from work that let me finish a bit more. Mostly caught up on average word count!