Chapter Six

Old Grudges Die Hard

 

 

As before, the magical portal gave me the sensation of falling, but it didn’t last as long as before. I assumed this was due to the distance we traveled being shorter, but I really had no way of knowing that and I was certain neither did Dormuris.

I stood up and brushed my pants off. We’d landed on the outskirts of Livaara near the woods. The place looked the same, not that I thought it would have changed much in a couple of months. The familiarity of the place set me at ease, despite the fear I had of running into Theo and Breg.

Dormuris held up the pack he’d brought. It was empty and had a decent sized tear in the fabric.

“All of our supplies are gone,” he said. “It must have ripped when we were in the portal.”

“Well, we can’t make the trip without food and water. Do you mind going into the town to get more? I’d rather not run the risk of bumping into my old hunter friends.”

“I don’t mind at all,” the elf answered. “Is there any place in particular I should go?”

I shrugged. “Not really.”

“I’ll be back,” Dormuris said and headed towards the road that led into Livaara. I forgot he was carrying Pemeria, so I was left to myself. I walked closer to the border of the town and stayed behind one of the taverns. After a few minutes of waiting, I felt the need to relieve myself, so I headed over to a thicket of bushes and pulled down the front of my pants.

As I was urinating, I heard a loud crash and raised voices. I finished my business, then turned around to see what was going on. I cursed my luck as I saw the two people I wanted to avoid, Theo and Breg, brawling with a group of other men. They were outnumbered, but Theo and Breg had the advantage.

They were brothers, with Theo being the oldest. Standing over six feet tall and each weighing almost as much as a minotaur, the brothers were an intimidating pair. That was part of the reason I had initially hired them. Typically the “muscle” of any group, their strength and brutality were the only thing that had saved the day many times. I turned and started to slink away when I heard Theo’s booming voice.

“Well, look who it is, Breg.”

I pretended not to hear him and kept walking. The loud thud of their footsteps grew closer. I could have ran, but my side was still hurting enough that I knew it would be a mistake. A heavy hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. Theo’s big stupid grin was plastered on his face. He was missing one of his teeth, which always caught my attention when he smiled.

“Jack! What a surprise seeing you here. What brings you? Hopefully the money you owe us.”

His tone was jovial, but I knew better than to assume he wasn’t angry. I’d seen him kill a man with that smile on his face before. I glanced at Breg. Being the youngest, he tended to follow whatever Theo did. If Theo was angry, Breg was angry. His facial expression was hard to read.

“Oh, you know. I’m on a job and had to pass through.”

“And you weren’t going to stop and say hello to your good friends?”

“It’s an urgent job,” I said. “Life and death matter.”

“Must pay a lot, then?”

“Actually, it’s not a paid job.”

“Gods above, Jack. Doing charity work now? I’m not as dumb as you think.”

“I don’t think you’re dumb,” I said. I know you are, I thought. “I’m telling you the truth.”

“What’s the job?” Theo’s breath smelled like alcohol. He could be a real menace when he was drinking.

“Pemeria. You remember her, right? Well, she’s been turned into a frog.”

Theo stared at me for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Good one, Jack. You always know how to make me laugh.”

“I’m serious,” I said. “A wizard did it by accident. I’ve got to collect some things for a different wizard to turn her back.”

Theo’s laughter subsided. “Well, I’m sorry to tell you that she’s going to be waiting a while. You aren’t going anywhere until you pay up.”

“I don’t have any money on me,” I argued.

“Breg,” Theo said. “Let’s show Jack here to our humble abode.”

If trying to run was bad, trying to fight would be worse. Breg wrapped his muscled arm over my shoulders and pulled me with him. I’d never seen their home before. We usually were on the road hunting monsters, and when we weren’t, we would split up and go our separate ways until a new job came in.

They led me to a small, squat and unadorned building near the center of town. We passed a shop and I spotted Dormuris, but his back was to me. If I couldn’t find a way to ditch the brothers, he and Pemeria would probably panic when they couldn’t find me.

“Theo, I don’t have the money I owe you now, but if you let me go I can get some. I stole an egg from the Triad and I’m sure the wizard I gave it to would—”

“Hold up,” Theo interrupted. Breg stopped walking, which made me stop walking since he still had his arm on me. “That heist was you?”

“It was,” I said proudly. “Stole the egg and flew off like a bird. Literally.”

“When I heard about that, I told Breg here that sounded like something you might do. Didn’t I, Breg?”

Breg nodded. “Yep, you sure did.”

Theo chuckled and shook his head. “You’re in a lot of trouble for that, Jack. The Triad has put a bounty on your head. A hefty one, at that. And I think Breg and I are going to collect.” His grin was devilish.

Damn.

I wouldn’t be able to talk my way out of this one, not with the promise of money for turning me over to the Triad. I shuddered. If the Triad got their hands on me … I was a dead man for sure. Master Zalore had probably sealed my fate.

Time to figure out how to escape. Theo started walking again and Breg pulled me along. We went inside their house and Breg proceeded to tie me to a chair. That definitely put a hindrance in my plan of escape.

“Guys, I’m sure we can work something out.”

“Unless it involves you paying us more than the Triad’s bounty, I don’t think we can,” Theo said. He took a seat across from me and the chair creaked under his weight.

While Theo was the smarter of the two, he was still fairly dumb compared to most people. As long as I could convince him to do what I wanted, Breg would follow his brother’s lead. So, the question was how to convince Theo to let me go? I met his eyes and hardened my gaze.

“How much is it going to take?” I asked. “If I match the amount the Triad is offering, would you let me go?”

Theo smirked and shook his head. “You already told us you don’t have any money, Jack. If you weren’t lying, where are you going to get a thousand gold coins?”

It took all of my effort not to let my mouth drop open in surprise. A thousand gold coins? That was a king’s fortune! Where the hell would I get that kind of wealth? I tried to keep my composure.

“Well,” I said, clearing my throat. “I have a new connection that can get me that much. Probably more.” Dormuris would kill me if he knew I was pulling him into my personal debts. Then again, the elf owed me his life, right?

“Oh? And who would this connection be?”

“His name’s Dormuris. He’s an elven wizard.”

Theo whistled and leaned back in his chair. “A wizard, huh? You’ve done something right if you’ve made a wizard a partner of yours. Does he know you don’t pay up on your debts?”

“He owes me his life, so my personal business doesn’t really concern him. He will do whatever I need until he fulfills his debt to me. So you see, Theo my friend, this could work out in your favor if you play your cards right.”

I could see the wheels turning. Theo’s tiny brain was trying to unwrap everything I said. If his brain really were powered by gears and such, smoke would have been coming out of his ears. There was a long moment of silence.

“How do I know you aren’t lying to save your own skin?” he asked.

“What would I gain by lying to you? You know everything about me, so it wouldn’t be hard for you to come find me if I hightailed it when you let me go.”

“Prove it.”

“Do what now?” I asked.

“Prove it. Prove that you really know this elf wizard.”

“I can do that. We passed him on the way here.”

Theo stood up. “What’s he looked like? I’ll go find him and bring him back here.”

I sighed. I was hoping I could get away without actually involving Dormuris, but it looked like Theo was a bit brighter than I remembered. “Gray robes, pointy ears. He was in the general store getting some supplies for the job I’m doing.”

“I’ll be back,” Theo said. He looked at his brother and nodded towards me. “Watch him. Don’t let him do anything or go anywhere.”

Breg nodded and took Theo’s seat after he left. He stared at me and I stared around the room, then at the floor. It was hard to judge how much time passed, but it seemed like it was taking longer than it should have. I started to doze off but snapped my head up as the door opened and Theo and Dormuris entered the house.

“Found him,” Theo said. “He was waiting outside town for you.”

“Well, there’s your proof,” I said. “Now untie me.”

“Not so fast,” Theo said as Breg rose from his chair. “Just because there’s an elf who knows you doesn’t mean he’s a wizard or that he can get the money you need.”

Dormuris looked at me, curiosity on his face. I winked at him. “D, tell these gentlemen that you are a wizard and that you can get more than enough money to match the Triad’s bounty.”

The elf looked from me to Theo, then to Breg, and back to me. I could see the trepidation in his eyes, but he did well to hide it from the brothers.

“Yes, to both of those. Now, please untie him so we can be on our way.”

“Show us your magic, elf. We aren’t stupid. Jack has tricked us more times than I care to admit.”

“I think you’re exaggerating,” I said, offended.

“Show us,” Theo repeated, ignoring me.

Dormuris looked at me and I nodded my head. We both knew that his magic was probably going to make matters worse, but we didn’t have any other options. Dormuris smiled and raised his arms. His sleeves fell backwards, revealing his tanned skin. He whispered a few words and pointed to the ropes that bound me. I expected something awful to happen to me, but instead I heard something in the fireplace. Theo’s head turned so he could look. Amidst the black coals and ash, orange flames began to crackle. The fire started small, but quickly grew larger, filling the entire space.

“That’s magic, all right,” Theo said. “I believe it, Jack.”

I was watching the look on Dormuris’s face. He appeared to be straining, his face contorting into weird looks.

“Breg, untie—”

A thunderous boom resounded, and the entire house shook. A concussive blast knocked my chair over and I crashed to the ground on my injured side.

“Argh!” I growled. Pain lanced up my side, making my arm numb. I watched Dormuris stop chanting and shake his head, as if coming back to reality from some distant place. Then he looked at the damage and his eyes widened.

“A hand, if you don’t mind,” I wiggled, trying to ease the pressure on my side, but it wasn’t working.

Dormuris knelt behind me and I felt the tightness of the ropes loosen. My arms were freed first, then the rest of my body. I crawled away from the chair and the elf helped me to my feet. The sharpness of the pain in my side diminished to an annoying throb. Theo and Breg were laying on the floor, unconscious.

“What were you trying to do?” I asked.

“I was trying to turn the ropes into coins,” Dormuris answered. “I figured that would prove I was a wizard and give them this money you were talking about.” He scowled.

“Yeah, about that,” I said, rubbing my hand on the back of my neck. “I didn’t think you would get directly involved here, so I said some things that I thought might convince them to let me go. I …” my words trailed off as I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry,” I finished lamely.

“It’s fine,” Dormuris replied. “We should probably get out of here before they wake up, though.”

“Agreed.”

We quickly left the house and headed down the street, back towards the hustle and bustle of the town’s market area. I took the lead and led the elf to the left, away from the woods.

“Where are we going?” Dormuris asked.

“If I know Theo and Breg well enough, and I’m certain I do, they won’t be out long. And they know the lay of the land here better than anyone. If we try to head for Silverwood now, they’ll find us before we get far. So, we’re going to lay low for a bit.”

Despite the fact I hadn’t been home in a long while, I remembered my way around town fairly well. At the edge of the western side of town was an old church that was always open. We went inside and sat down among the rows of pews.

It was quiet. There was a peace the building exuded, if that made any sense. I slouched on the bench and stared at the statues that lined the upraised dais where the priest usually spoke from. Painful memories began to claw their way free of my emotional walls. This place had been a refuge for me as a child, and not necessarily for religious reasons. I knew the gods existed, but I didn’t devote myself to any of them.

“Are you all right?”

I realized Dormuris was looking at me. A few tears rolled down my face and I quickly wiped them away. Damn it. Of course the elf would see me when I was weak. I nodded and turned to him.

“I’m fine. There’s a lot of memories in this town, which is why I try to avoid it. I grew up here. My parents … they were murdered here. A tribe of goblins raided when I was only a boy. I didn’t see them get killed, thank the gods, but my uncle told me what happened. The city guard didn’t exist then, so there were no defenses against anything like that.

“My uncle took me in and cared for me. I decided that day, when they died, that I would devote my life to hunting monsters and ending the torment they inflict on the innocent. The king sent soldiers here to train the men to fight. I spent most of my days learning from them. Wielding a sword, riding a horse, the things that soldiers learn. And the day I turned sixteen, I decided it was time for revenge.”

I pulled an old, tattered armband loose that was wrapped around my belt and held it up. It was dirty and yellowed with age, but the symbol drawn in blood was still visible.

“Clan Whiteclaw,” I said. “This was the clan responsible for the raid, the clan that killed my parents. On the day I planned to leave to find that goblin tribe, my uncle passed away. I took that as a sign that I was doing the right thing. I left everything I knew behind and started a new life.”

“Did you find the goblins?” Dormuris asked quietly.

I nodded. “Yes. It took a few months, but eventually I tracked them down. I slaughtered every last one. I keep this as a reminder. Every time I have a moment of weakness, when I think that it would be easier to just lay down my sword, I look at this and remember my parents. And I remember why I fight, why I hunt monsters.”

Dormuris remained silent, perhaps deep in thought. I pondered the next step in our journey. Silverwood was about an hour away. I didn’t want to wait around Livaara too long. Traveling in the dark was rarely a good idea in general, and I didn’t want to go into Silverwood blind. We stayed there in the church for a short while, enjoying the rest and the peace. Finally, I stood up and stretched.

“Let’s go catch a unicorn,” I said.