Excerpts are from my first draft and subject to change. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks!
Marabella had been to Sellwood several times over the
seasons, riding with Wesley or Henry to trade for goods and supplies. It had been several moon cycles since her
last visit. She pulled the old mare to a
stop at the Roadhouse. She knew it to be
a rough place, frequented by travelers.
But, it was owned by a friend of Henry's so Marabella felt reasonably
sure she would find lodging for the night in one of his four tidy little rooms
upstairs. She tied the mare by the
cistern for horses and let her take a long drink. “I really should give you a name.” She spoke
in low tones as she brushed some of the mud from the mare's flank. The horse raised her head and looked right at
Marabella, swishing her muddy tail. “How about Nipsy!” The mare stared blankly
at her. “Clementine?” Still, no response. “What do you think of Bessamae? I’ll
call you Bess.” The mare blinked her big, soft eyes and nuzzled Marabella’s
hand. Marabella chuckled and patted her firmly. “Bess it is.”
In the failing
light Belle saw several broken chairs on the porch. Once inside, she immediately noticed that the
Roadhouse was empty except for one table of four men. Orsino, the proprietor stood behind the
bar. “Hello, my friend.” Belle greeted him. The usually friendly man said nothing. He looked to the table of men with a slight
nod and motioned for Belle to come to the bar.
Two of the men sat facing the door.
She could feel their eyes on her.
One leaned to the side to get a better view, looked her up and down,
taking in her muddy clothes, dirty face and tangled hair. He glanced to the other men and shrugged,
settling back in his chair. “What was
that all about?” Belle questioned the barman quietly.
Orsino
set a mug of ale in front of her and leaned close. “These men have been here for several
days. They're followers of that scholar
in Drosia named Koros. Every time a Demalion,
or someone they suspect is Demalion comes in, they start trouble. Half my tables and chairs have been destroyed
in the fights just this week. They've
each taken one of the four rooms I have upstairs so any travelers have to go
someplace else.”
“Isn't
there a Constable's Crew here in Sellwood?” Belle asked.
“One of
them is on the Constable's Crew. Another
is his brother. I tried complaining to
the Magistrate but he thinks they are just rough boys out for a bit of
fun. He claims as long as they pay their
bill, I should have nothing to complain about.”
Suddenly, Orsino cocked his head to the side and looked to the
door. “Where is Henry? You aren't alone are you?”
Belle
dropped her saddlebag on the barstool beside her and sighed. “I'm afraid so. I was hoping to get a room for the night, but
I suppose I'll have to head back out to the woods and look for a campsite.”
“Well,
that won't do. The wife would never let
me hear the end of it and she'd tell Ma Nan and well I just don't need that
kind of trouble.” He smiled at Belle. “You can take the loft in the stables. There's clean straw and I have some extra
blankets. I am sorry...” Orsino let out
a long sigh.
“That
sounds great!” Belle smiled
brightly. The idea of a soft bed of
straw really did sound good to her. Her
body ached from the long ride and she was not fully recovered from the savage
beating Malick had given her just a day ago.
Belle reached to her pocket for her coin pouch. “How much for me and my horse?”
“Put
your money away girl. I am glad to have
you. You just mind your lantern up in
that loft."
“I
will. Thank you Orsino. Oh, and by the
way, there’s a couple of fellows a ways back, blocking the road and setting a
trap for travelers.”
“I’ll
put the word out about them. And mind you pull that ladder up after you. Later in the night, when these fellows get in
their drink, they sometimes go looking for trouble.” He shot a glance at the table and
frowned. The men paid no notice of Belle
as she exited.
Bess
sighed as Belle removed her saddle. The stables had plenty of fresh straw and a
curry comb and rags for the animals. Though her muscles ached and she was tired,
she used the comb and rags to give the mare a proper clean up. When she was finished, she drew a large
bucket of water from the well outside to give herself a cleanup as well. Slipping to the back of the stall where Bess
munched on the oats Halsta had provided, Belle stripped off her mud spattered
shirt and used the fragrant soap from her pack to bathe. She used her bathwater to wash out her muddy
clothes. Up in the loft she hung her
clothes on the rafters to dry and finally stretched out on the soft bed of
straw and blankets. She had just begun
to doze off when she remembered the ladder.
She heard the sounds of a row in the Roadhouse as she pulled the ladder
up and flopped back down exhausted.
Belle
opened her eyes. In the darkness she
could see a shadowy figure standing over her. She reached for her knife but it
was not at her side. The figure took a
step toward her and she saw Malick brandishing her knife. She tried to back away but there was nowhere to
go. Another step closer revealed Malick's
yellow teeth in a grim smile. His gut hung with gore where she had plunged in
her blade. Belle saw his bloody hands
raise her knife. She awoke with a start.
Early morning light was streaming into the stable. Her knife was in her hand. She rubbed at her eyes to shake off the
nightmare.
Belle
readied her pack and walked Bess out of the stable to graze on the sweet vetch
growing at the edge of the woods. She
walked up to the roadhouse to give Orsino her thanks for his hospitality. Belle was intent upon getting back on her
journey. Mounting the steps she took
notice of a large wagon and team of horses tied up at the front. She walked through the open door to find the
Roadhouse in shambles. Orsino was behind
the bar slicing bread and cheese.
Standing shoulder to shoulder at the bar were two very large men. She recognized them immediately. “Does Posey know you’re in the Roadhouse at
this time of morning?” She called rather loudly. The large men turned.
“Belle!” Jak shouted.
“Tell me you didn’t do this.” Belle scolded.
“We had quite the party last night, and you missed it.” Jak elbowed his brother Bubby and they both laughed heartily. Belle glanced around the room at the overturned tables and broken pottery. She noticed a fresh bruise above Orsino’s eye.
“Your
guests again?” She looked at the barman and gestured to the destruction. Orsino shrugged and winced a bit as he
nodded. Jak lumbered over and hugged
her.
“I
didn’t expect to see you here. Aren’t
you headed for Blackwytch?” Bubby asked, stuffing a fistful of bread in his
mouth.
Belle
cocked her head to the side. “I see
you’ve heard.”
“We
didn’t think we’d catch up to ya so soon.
We took Miss Ruth to the stone cottage but Wesley weren’t around so I
figured he might a come with ya. He
here?” Bubby winked.
Marabella
blushed. “No. This is a journey I need to make alone.”
Bubby
turned to his brother and whispered loudly. “Bet your hat Wesley ain’t happy
about that.” Jak shushed him, shooting a wide eyed look in Marabella’s
direction.
A low moan from the corner caught their attention. “Our
friends are up.” Jak grinned widely.
In the corner of the room Marabella saw two of the men from
the day before. They were crumpled in a pile of overturned tables and smashed
chairs. Jak grabbed a pitcher of ale
from the bar and strode toward the men. “Wait, wait brother!” Bubby exclaimed,
retrieving the pitcher from him. “That’s no way to wake a man. What’s the
matter with you?” He reached behind the bar. Handing a large bucket to Jak, he
laughed. “No sense in wasting good ale, when water’ll do just fine.” Jak doused
the men who coughed and sputtered to life as the brothers laughed uproariously.
“I’m on the Constable’s Crew.” One of the men mumbled. “You
can’t…ow.” He winced in pain as he struggled to get to his feet. “You broke my
shoulder. I’ll have you…ow…arrested.”
Bubby strode across the room. “Oh, now don’t get all upset.
We was powerful careful not to break anybody.” He roughly helped the man to his
feet.
The man’s shoulder sagged. He was obviously injured. Bubby
grabbed him by the shoulder with one huge hand, pinning him to the wall. With a
tight grip on his arm, Bubby pulled down and twisted. Everyone heard a loud
crunch. The man let out a girl-like
scream, then spoke timidly. “Oh, well that does feel much better.”
Bubby put a long muscular arm around his shoulders. “Happens
all the time. It was just dislocated. Easy fix. You just chew on this a while,
git some breakfast in you and you’ll be fine in a day or so and ready to rough
house again.” He handed the man a sizable piece of willow bark from his pocket.
“I keep that handy all the time. Whenever my big brother Mel gits a holt a me,
I usually need it.”
The man looked incredulously at the bulky brothers. “You
mean there’s a bigger one?”
Bubby threw back his head and laughed long and loud. “I’m
the little one.” He clapped the fellow on the shoulder, making him wince. “You
see, Pap was a big man; bigger than me. And he met Mam. She was a good half
head taller than me too.”
Jak began to giggle. “We don’t know why Bubby turned out so
small. Truth is Mam is a bit taller than me too.” Jak was picking up tables and
chairs, sorting out the damaged furniture. He pulled the other fellow to his
feet. “Wake up, friend. We got to set Orsino’s place to rights before we
leave.” The man groaned and allowed himself to be plopped on a chair like a
doll. “What did we do with the other two?” Jak asked.
Orsino spooned thick porridge into several bowls on the bar.
“There’s one back here.” He laughed. Marabella peered over the bar. The man was
curled up like a child. His compatriot sniggered as he poured ale on the man
from a cup on the bar. The sleeping fellow started, throwing a few feeble
punches at the air as he sat up. Orsino helped him to stand.
He leaned heavily on
the bar, yawned and wiped his face on his sleeve. He scanned the room with a scowl. “Where’s
Tig?”
“Tig?” Bubby frowned. “Oh, the little one.” He began
laughing again. “He had a bit too much drink. We put him in here so he didn’t
git hurt.” He walked to the cabinet under the stairs. Opening the door, he
revealed Tig, sitting on a shelf amidst the extra pitchers and plates. He was
curled into a ball with his knees to his chest and his thumb in his mouth. They
all had a hardy laugh.
“Aw, don’t wake him.” Marabella crooned. The two men at the
bar and the one still sitting at the table all sniggered when Bubby closed the
cabinet as Tig snored.
Marabella moved closer to the man at the bar. He was chewing
thoughtfully on the willow bark Bubby had given him. When he turned to her she
caught him with her emerald gaze. He was immediately lost in her eyes. “Why do
you fellows harass Orsino so?”
“Now you don’t need to go tellin’ our business.” His friend
at the end of the bar barked.
But Marabella held him with her stare. He didn’t seem to
hear anything going on around him. She continued. “But Demalions are good
people. You all had a grand time of it last night. Right? Do they pay you
enough to go to all the trouble of staying away from your home and constantly fighting?”
He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “They do not. I
don’t have no problems with Demalions. They always got superior goods, knives
and such. But, the Constables Crew don’t pay much. Ain’t that many bounties and
folks around here pretty much behave. And I do like the coin.”
She leaned in closer. Marabella looked deeply into his
bleary, blood shot eyes. “Your clear conscience is worth more than the pittance
they offer. You should convince your friends that it’s time to go home and
leave poor old Orsino alone. The Demalions don’t really warrant such violence.
And don’t you think that Koros fellow must have his own reasons for starting
all this strife?”
The man nodded slowly. “True. True you are. Why should we
continue as such? None ever has no magics no how. We ain’t yet found anything
other than firesticks as for magical items.”
She perked up. “You’ve been instructed to take magical
items?”
“Yeah. They pays extra for that stuff. But we ain’t found
nothin’ like that. I don’t believe in
all that anyway. I know there be firesticks and I even heard of carry all
satchels that hold more than they should but such as that is useful and all.”
“Why does he want magical items?”
“Don’t know. Never thought about it, truly. We just was
lookin’ out for ‘em. But now I’m a wonderin’ why don’t we just go home. They
don’t pay enough for stayin’ here all the time and old Orsino is a pleasant
enough fellow.”
Marabella blinked, slowly releasing him from her spell. Then
she gave him her sweetest smile. “I think that’s a great idea. You fellows
should all go home, right after you help your new friends set the Roadhouse to
rights. You can build a few tables, can’t you?”
After
a quick breakfast, Marabella filled her waterskins and said her goodbyes. She
mounted Bess and started down the road. Passing Sellwood, she saw the town
coming to life but she only had one thought in her mind. She would push to
complete her journey today. Today she would find Geremiah, her father.
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