Chapter Sixteen

 

They were glad when they’d reached Springwater. They’d spent another day with Beech Wood, and Danny was as abrasive as he’d been the day before. The others warmed up a little more toward Stern, and they wished the crew well when they separated.

 

Even after that, it took a few more days by road to reach Springwater. Now, the walls of the city were in sight. The land around it had been converted from forest into farmland, giving the fifteen-foot walls clear lines of sight for at least a mile in all directions.

 

The sun was low on the horizon when they made it to the gates. The two guards there saw their badges and waved them through the opening, and Trish’s question about inns got them directions. Both guards gave Stern long looks when he passed them.

 

“Are you turning the quests in tonight?” Vulk asked as they strode down the street.

 

“Want some spending money?” Stern asked.

 

“A bit.”

 

“Then sure,” Stern said. “Trish, can you get rooms for us? I’ll meet you at the Steaming Cup.”

 

“Easy enough. Same as Waterrock?”

 

“Probably. Just do what you think is best,” Stern told her.

 

“I’ll go with Stern,” Cyra said.

 

“And I’ll go with my brother and Trish,” Cammie said.

 

“We have a plan,” Stern said.

 

“Of course we do,” Trish said. “We don’t have a Danny.”

 

All of them shuddered at the idea of having Danny in the crew.

 

“Thank the Goddess,” Cammie said. “He was worse than my brother.”

 

“Hey!”

 

“What?” Cammie asked with a glint in her eye. “You’re the worst of what we currently have.”

 

“Vulk isn’t that bad,” Cyra said. “He’s rough, but not overly abrasive.”

 

“Thanks. Wait…”

 

Trish laughed. “Okay, let’s break this up. Cyra, come with me. Cammie, you go with Stern. If we leave you two together,” she said, looking directly at the siblings, “we might have trouble before we even get to the dungeon.”

 

“Okay,” Cyra giggled.

 

Vulk grumbled under his breath. “I’m not that bad.”

 

“You aren’t. Not now,” Cyra smiled. “When we first met you, though, you weren’t as nice.”

 

Vulk looked away. “Yeah. I know.”

 

Cammie slugged his arm. “Look at you, growing up already and admitting your faults.”

 

Vulk growled at his sister. “I’ll show you—!”

 

“And this is why we’re splitting you two up,” Trish cut in with a sigh. “This way. Stern, see you in a few.”

 

“Yeah,” Stern said, shaking his head. “Come on, Cammie.”

 

Cammie grinned at her brother as she took a few quick steps to go beside Stern.

 

“Just like my siblings,” Stern muttered.

 

“Well, siblings are siblings,” Cammie snickered.

 

“Not always,” Stern said evenly. “Mine didn’t banter with me like you two do, but they did with each other.”

 

“Because of…?” Cammie trailed off.

 

“Maybe, but also age. I’m a couple of years older, at least.”

 

“But aren’t the others also separated by a year or two?”

 

Stern hesitated, then shook his head. “No. Dad has multiple wives. My brothers and sisters were born right near each other in groups. It made it easier for them to plan that way.”

 

Cammie stayed quiet, considering what he’d said as they entered the Walkers’ Hall.

 

The hall was busy. The afternoon into the evening was when the first sets of Walkers were done for the day, and the ones who hadn’t run were still hanging out. Stern exhaled deeply. As he walked toward the reception desk, he felt the eyes and emotions in the room shift hard.

 

“Blighted?” It was more of a question than a denouncement.

 

“Irregular!” Cammie snapped. “He has a damned badge on. Do you think a blighted would?”

 

The emotions in the room became even more hostile, and a majority focused on Cammie, instead.

 

“Look, we just want to make sure we’re safe. If he’s not a blighted, then we won’t gut him.”

 

“Irregular,” Stern said tightly. “Thanks.” He never stopped moving to the desk.

 

“Freak,” someone said loudly in a stage whisper.

 

“You might be, but everyone’s fine with you,” Cammie shot back. “Now, if you’re done, some of us have quests to turn in.”

 

“Collecting babies?” someone else asked. Macabre laughter came from a few people.

 

“But you’re already here.”

 

“Cammie, stop...” Stern said softly. “Engaging only ramps them up.”

 

Cammie glanced his way, then shrugged. “Fine.”

 

“At least he knows his place,” another person piped up.

 

“Rescue Squad is his place,” Cammie said. “Already pulled two people out.”

 

The room went silent as people tried to put those words together with Stern’s appearance.

 

“Walkers?” the receptionist asked.

 

Stern gave the balding man a nod. “Sir, quests completed.” Placing the dark willow shoots on the desk, he held out his hand. “Those and scurriflies.”

 

The receptionist moved his tablet over and placed the sack on it, then nodded. Once it had a moment to check the contents, he pushed the tablet toward Stern. Stern put his hand on it and inhaled as it checked him. Shaking his hand when the sensation passed, Stern waited. The receptionist looked it over before putting the sack into the bottom desk drawer, then pulling out a coin purse.

 

“Half on the accounts of my crew for retrieval,” Stern said. “I’ll take the other half.”

 

The receptionist paused as he counted, then removed a couple of coins and passed the stack to Stern. “There you go, Walker.”

 

“Thank you, sir.”

 

“Thank you for helping to retrieve the lost,” the receptionist smiled.

 

Stern bowed his head. “It’s the right thing to do.”

 

“Good luck in your run.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

As Stern turned to walk away, he saw the whole room staring at him. He scanned their faces, seeing disbelief, curiosity, fear, and a few etched with hatred. Without speaking, he led Cammie to the door.

 

“Walker?” someone called after them.

 

Stern paused and looked back. “Yes?”

 

“You’ve pulled two people out?”

 

“Yes. We’ll be joining the Rescue Squad in the next tier. It might not be the most profitable way to advance, but it’s the best thing for me.”

 

Silence fell again, and Stern left the Walkers’ Hall behind.

 

“That shut them up,” Cammie said softly as they headed for the inn.

 

“Most people don’t like to be reminded of how easy it is to be fractured and left behind,” Stern said. “Also, the comments and hatred are normal. Just ignore them unless they actually get in the way.”

 

“Just let them belittle you?” Cammie asked.

 

“No. I have to value their opinions for what they say to matter.” He gave her a sardonic smile.

 

Cammie blinked, then chuckled. “Okay, I’ll try to stay quiet next time. I have a question, though, if it’s okay?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“How can you afford it?”

 

Stern glanced at her, then shook his head. “I won’t say, but I can. As long as you and Vulk are willing to pull shards, we’ll be fine.”

 

“We’ll miss out on the gear,” Cammie said.

 

“No. Next tier, we can easily start picking up runes and other bits we’d spend points on, instead.”

 

“The auctions?” Cammie asked.

 

“Maybe a little,” Stern said. “Mostly alternative payment from the Walkers.”

 

“That’s a thing?” Cammie asked.

 

“It’s not common knowledge, but yes. Instead of money, you can ask for other payment. It’s sometimes lesser than what you would have gotten, and sometimes greater. It depends on who put up the quest for the shards.”

 

“Why isn’t that talked about?” Cammie asked. “It would get more people to pull shards.”

 

“At inflated prices,” Stern said sadly.

 

Cammie started to disagree, but thought about it and sighed. “Yeah, probably.”

 

“People being people, you know it would.”

 

Cammie couldn’t refute him, thinking about how badly it could go if more crews demanded gear to pull shards. “None of the families could easily get their loved ones back... It wouldn’t be a matter of slowly increasing the payment. It would mean having the right gear to entice a crew.”

 

“And needing enough to make pulling all the shards in multiple runs worth it,” Stern added. “The only way to get gear is from the Rescue Squad.”

 

“Retrievals?”

 

“Yes. There’s no bidding that way. You take the money or the items they give you. That’s it.”

 

“Hmm...”

 

“It’ll work out.”

 

“I trust you, Stern,” Cammie said as they approached the inn.

 

Stern felt the emotion behind the words and inhaled slowly. “Thanks. I’ll make sure you never have to change that trust.”

 

The inn was almost as lively as the Walkers’ Hall had been. People were drinking and exchanging stories when the pair entered. Silence fell quickly when everyone saw Stern.

 

“Ah, you must be the rest of Pawsitively Irregular,” a gray-haired angelic said from behind the bar. “Your bulwark did say to expect you.”

 

“Yes,” Stern said. “She arranged rooms?”

 

“I did,” Trish said as she came down into the common room. “Top floor, first room, same type as Waterrock. I thought you’d be here soon. Vulk’s waiting in the room, Cyra went for a bath, and I’ll be heading there in a minute. I wanted to arrange dinner.”

 

“See you in a bit, then,” Stern said, crossing the room.

 

Trish looked over the room as Stern walked. “As I said when I came in, he’s an irregular and a Walker.”

 

Stern felt the emotions bleed off a little, and he exhaled as he climbed the stairs. Cammie looked thoughtful, considering what Trish had said and how she must have prepared the place for Stern’s arrival.

 

Opening the suite, Stern found Vulk sitting in a comfortable chair, clearly waiting for them. “Here.” He flipped the dwarf a few coins. “Enjoy yourself.”

 

“Make sure to get a bath before bed,” Cammie told her brother pointedly.

 

Vulk just grunted as he stood up and went past them.

 

“Which room did you take?” Cammie asked as Vulk went by her.

 

He pointed, not stopping, and shut the door behind him.

 

“Oh, you’ll pay for that later, Brother.”

 

Stern wondered about why Vulk wanted to drink as soon as they got to the city, but didn’t ask. Instead, he wondered which room he was supposed to take.

 

Cammie glanced at him, then smirked. “Leaves you two choices, doesn’t it?”

 

“Not really?” Stern muttered. “Not sure if Trish is staying with me or Cyra. Ah, well. Pick a room, I guess.”

 

Cammie frowned. “Does it matter?”

 

“A bit,” Stern said.

 

“Oh…” Cammie said as realization dawned. “I thought the three of you…?”

 

“Not really,” Stern said, not looking her way. “There are things… that need to be done slowly.”

 

Cammie winced as she put the last few pieces together. “Cyra… poor thing.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Trish came in and looked at them. “What?”

 

“What room am I in?” Stern asked her.

 

“The left, with me and Cyra,” Trish said. “The bed is large enough if we snuggle.”

 

Stern stood frozen. “Okay, but—”

 

“We’ll try it tonight and see,” Trish said softly, but glanced at Cammie. “Hopefully it works.”

 

Cammie headed for her room. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to put myself into it.”

 

“You’d find out eventually,” Trish said. “Cyra doesn’t mind, if you and Vulk are respectful.”

 

“We will be, or I’ll box his ears so hard he can’t see straight.”

 

“I figured,” Trish smiled. “But I doubt he’ll do wrong.”

 

“Not if he knows what’s good for him,” Cammie said, shutting her door behind her.

 

“Trish, is this the best idea?” Stern asked.

 

“Cyra asked,” Trish said softly. “You agreed she could try more.”

 

“I did and I want to, but I worry for her, too.”

 

“We know. Trust us.”

 

“I do.”

 

“Good. Now, let’s go bathe. They have a couple’s bath, and I asked them to mark it for us. No fun times allowed, but I still want you to clean me up.”

 

Stern chuckled as Trish’s eyes smoldered. “Clean you up? Is that possible?”

 

Trish let out a wicked giggle. “No, but you should try anyway.”

 

Stern laughed as he went to drop his bag and get his clothing in order.