Kaleh and I dragged Halvern through the wide main street, his boots drawing uneven lines in the dirt. He couldn’t carry himself after that beating, so we elected to do it for him. Doors cracked open along the way, just enough for someone to look at us and slam it back shut. Coal dust hung in the air like fog, enough to taste. The people here seemed to use it for everything, most of all for heating.
“It’s this one. Down the alley, third right-”
Halvern’s sentence was cut off by a coughing fit.
We continued down as he told us, with Agnes at the ready to switch in if we needed. Marie braced herself against the wall. She looked just fine, but something feels wrong about it.
Before we even reached the door, it flew open — somehow not off the hinge. A woman stood there with a coal smudge on her cheek, and grey streaks flowing through her hair.
She gasped like she’d just been stabbed “Hal! What happened —who are you people?”
She rushed over, hands on his cheeks as she checked for injuries herself.
A young man also appeared, drawing a knife from his belt as he stepped forward.
“Let him go-”
“Put that thing down, Tavin. They’re-”
he groaned, the shouting causing him more harm than good.
The kid didn’t stop waving the blade around, though.
“You let him go or I'll... I’ll gut you, that’s what!”
His stance was too wide to be effective. Marie’s hand shifted toward her sleeve, ready to draw steel if the kid lunged at me.
I lifted my free hand, palm out.
“Hold on there, we’re trying to help. Your ol’ man took a pretty hefty beating in the plaza.”
His eyes widened, cheeks flush with rose-red. He placed the knife back where it came from with a whispered curse. The woman, who I could assume was his loving wife, practically pulled us inside.
“He’s not too hurt... is he?”
Agnes maintained a straight face, “He's got bruising, but I still need to check his ribs and his breathing-”
“Oh thank Elgrim!” She practically jumped on her, thankful that we came with a healer.
We found ourselves in the main room, the thick walls leaning in to listen. Halvin sat at the end of a small table, the wife — Enah — was pacing the kitchen like she was hunting a rat, and Tavin returned to his room a while ago. A hefty pot was set to boil on a coal-burning stove, the fumes funneled out through a long metal pipe.
The warmth's reward enough for our trouble.
Kaleh pulled his cloak off, folding and draping it over his shoulder as he commandeered a seat at the table. His elbow met the wood with a subtle bump. I remained standing, not wanting to be too brash.
Marie did the same, leaning against the wall with an uncertain paleness to her skin.
Might be a trick of the light.
“Feels like I’ve walked into a forge, the way it was out there.” I finally commented, hoping to break the coarse tension.
“Hah, still better than freezing our ears off.” Kaleh grinned.
“Speak for yourselves.” Marie grumbled, pulling at her shirt.
Agnes continued to poke at Halvin’s injuries. He was sitting sideways on his chair, so she could get a better view of his ribs. He winced when Agnes surgically pressed a finger into his bruises, causing Enah to jump.
“Calm down, lass... let her do her job. I’ll be fine.”
We sat there still for another moment.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Enah then cleared her throat, “so you lot came in from the road?”
I nodded, “we’ve come from Arnier.” Her face turned red with anger, for what reason?
“Are you mad? Travelling in weather like this? You’d freeze faster than you can say it.”
I flinched, not expecting a scolding like she was Frey.
“We’d have stayed put for the winter if we had the choice. Long story, that...”
She let out a sigh, halting her pacing for a beat.
“I’m sorry about that. Just... even locals freeze over once every couple of years. This town’s taken enough.”
I placed a hand on my chest, honoring the dead with her. Likely the frozen winds came down from the mountains up west, sending this place into a cold snap earlier than most places.
“Now that I think about it...” I added, “what was with that Ervyan rider?”
Halvin turned to me, “if you’ve got the time, I’d love to explain further.” Then he paused, glancing over to Marie.
A beat of silence stood between us as he counted the chairs in front of him.
“Take a seat, all of you. Pulling me out from under that man’s fists — chairs are the least I can offer.”
The smell of a particularly simple stew fought with the coal smell for dominance. Even with the fire going, the air felt a little bit colder.
“See, I’m the foreman here. They all trust me to track our supplies. Imports, exports, you name it and it’s on my mind.”
His tone dropped, eyes narrowing.
“Though when you get Ervyans coming in here and demanding wheat, jerkey, bags of coal? If I don’t give it up we’ll die quickly. If I do, we’ll die slowly anyway.”
Marie side-eyed the man, jaw slowly tightening. Agnes paused mid-concoction to process the ultimatum in detail. Kaleh’s eyes were bouncing around the room, thinking of ways to put himself to use. I’d come in here, as if consequence didn’t exist, and I’d made their choice for them.
Very, and I mean very soon, they’ll show up with about a dozen riders to tear the place apart.
“Halvin, ser, I would like to help.”
His neck snapped over to meet me.
“I recognize your skill, but there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t come back after you move on.”
Marie glanced over, half-smile spread across her face as I cleared my throat.
“Maybe I can help your town fend for itself.”
Kaleh stood up, “I volunteer to help train your anti-cavalry monsters!”
That was just like him. All too eager to prove himself worthy.
Halvin shot a worried glance back at him, “monsters?”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him Kaleh meant militia.
Kaleh went into extrordinary detail about what exactly he could teach Ferhom. Cavalry traps, pike lines, aiming for the horse. Listing heaps of Arnien tactics like it was a shopping list. I suppose I could try to help him teached grounded combat, but I’m no good with a spear.
“Oh, Leonn let me help too. I can teach people emergency aid.” Agnes piped up, nearly flying out of her seat.
She's in on this?
I turned to Marie. Her arms were still crossed, but her eyes softened with a nod.
Halvin smiled at our kindness, “You people are a blessing. We can start tomorrow, but it’s getting late. Enah, dear, could you grab a lantern?”
We made our way toward a solitary inn standing near the center of town, with Halvin to guide us. The cold threatened to freeze my spine together.
“I’m sure old Drevo wont mind sparing a room. Not like we’ve got any travellers this time of year.”
He led us through the door.
“Oy, who’re these people, Hal?” Prodded an old man standing alone at the bar.
“Drevo, these are the-”
His eyebrows shot near to the top of his head.
“That’s the bleedin’ Needle-devil! They saved your hide earlier, didn’t they.”
Needle-devil? I suppose it’s some sort of absurd nickname the townspeople came up with.
Drevo spoke up again, “they said you’d cut the rider’s hand clean off with a sewing needle.”
A sigh escaped me, a sewing needle doesn’t have a hilt like this, or a fuller, or enough weight to cut like I did.
“Its not... never mind.”
Marie snickered behind me, shielding her face with her sleeve as I checked her.
Drevo waved us upstairs, “Any one room you want. Just mind the draft.”
The tavern part of this inn was not in operation. This winter, they really didn’t have much to spare for anyone. We were at the mercy of our rations, and our rations at the mercy of Agnes. The rooms at our selection fit my expectations like a glove. Two simple straw beds, one desk with a rickety stool, and a window that didn’t quite seal. A phenomenal bonus was that we got our own coal-burner for heat like at Halvin’s home, rocks and all.
Marie collapsed into the left bed shortly after slinging her pack toward the corner, she fell asleep near immediately.
She didn’t even take off her boots, she’s more tired than I thought.
Kaleh, Agnes and I shared a second of silence, all eyeing the bed.
“Rock, parchment, blade?” Kaleh suggested, lifting his fist up.
I shook my head, “Agnes’ work needs steady hands. I say she gets the other bed.”
Though he was disappointed, he relented without issue.
“I’d have snapped the frame anyway.”
“There’s always the desk, just set yourself down on it and dream” I joked.
He took a few steps toward it before my intent clicked. Marie started to snore, faintly as if whispering. I unbuckled my rapier, then slid off my boots and my cloak, before settling against the wall by the burner. Gods, so much happened today. At least I know I’ve still got it.
