Chapter Twenty-seven

 

The gates of Whitewater came into view ahead of them. Vulk exhaled in relief, glad the trek was finally over. The others were also happy to see the city, as two weeks in the woods had left them all wishing to clean up.

 

“A lovely, hot, soapy bath...” Trish murmured. “I’m going to just soak in the water for a bit. Let it wash all the grime off.”

 

“We need to clean and repair our gear, too,” Cammie grumbled.

 

“Tomorrow?” Cyra asked hopefully.

 

“Tomorrow would be best,” Stern said. “Taking the days off before and after a dungeon run is good for us.”

 

Vulk grunted. “Yes, they are.”

 

“You going drinking tonight?” Stern asked, moving up beside the dwarf.

 

Vulk glanced at him. “A bit.”

 

“Would you be good with some company?”

 

A single eyebrow rose fractionally. “You’re not much of a drinker.”

 

“Normally, but I’d like to get some time away, too.”

 

“Fine, but I’m not carting you home when you pass out,” Vulk said.

 

“Not sure I could cart you back without a wheelbarrow to help,” Stern laughed.

 

Vulk chuckled. “Fair.”

 

“Ladies, you’ll be on your own tonight,” Stern said, looking back at them. “No idea when we might stumble in.”

 

Cyra nodded. “Okay. Umm... can you take the empty room when you get back, then?”

 

“This way, you don’t wake us,” Trish said.

 

“Sure,” Stern replied.

 

“I’ve been wondering, Stern, why doesn’t Pawly travel with us on the road?” Cammie asked.

 

“She hates the time traveling between cities,” Stern explained. “In the woods, she can hunt and have fun, but on the road, it’s boring for her.”

 

“Oh, I guess I can see that,” Cammie said.

 

“Just the way she’s always been,” Stern shrugged. “Even if traveling by carriage, she would prefer to not be on the road. I don’t push her on it.”

 

“For the best,” Trish said. “Might find a hairball in your boot if you tried.”

 

“No. No messes from her ever. No hairballs or other surprises. She might shred something, though.”

 

“Even worse,” Trish chuckled.

 

“Clean up, then head out?” Stern asked Vulk, turning back to the dwarf.

 

“Yeah. Cleaning up first is always a good idea.”

 

When they reached the gates, the guards eyed Stern warily, but seeing their badges, they waved the group through. Stern slowed though as he had questions. “Sir, which direction to the Walkers’ hall and inn?”

 

“Five ahead, and two north,” he pointed to make sure it was plainly understood. “Uh... irregular, right?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Stern said with a trace of tightness to his voice. “Thanks for not calling me the other thing.”

 

“No blighted is going to come strolling up with four others,” the guard snorted. “Just wanted to know.”

 

“Thanks,” Stern said as he walked past the guards.

 

“You were better with them,” Cyra said, going over to take his hand as they headed the way the guard had directed them.

 

“You and Trish being nearby helps,” he said. “The love that you two radiate really does help mellow the other emotions.”

 

“Glad we can help,” Trish said, giving him a smile.

 

“Me, too,” Stern replied.

 

It took a little while to reach the square where the guard had directed them. The Walkers’ guildhall stood sandwiched between the inn and the academy. The inn had a sign over it, declaring it to be River Rest, with the image of a camp beside a river.

 

“I’ll drop the quest off and then come over to bathe,” Stern said. “I’ll see about selling the parts from the dark willow tomorrow.”

 

“I’ll get the rooms settled,” Trish said. “Don’t take too long if you’re going out.”

 

Stern nodded as he split away from them to go into the Walkers’ hall. It was early afternoon, so the place had a good amount of people, but was far from being as busy as it would be later. When he entered, the emotion in the room shifted. Keeping a neutral expression on his face, he headed for the receptionist. The matronly woman behind the desk gave him a sorrowful look.

 

“What do you mean he’s not blighted? Look at him!” a strong male voice rose above the background murmur.

 

“He’s an irregular and the head of a crew!” another person snapped. “He’s pulled shards out and paid my crew to do it, too.”

 

That got Stern’s attention, and he looked over to see a massive man staring at him. Standing beside that individual was a wolf lykian. After a second, her name came back to Stern— Sarah Kalma, the leader of the Sharp Ears crew.

 

“Sarah, have your runs been good?” Stern asked as he slowed his pace.

 

Sarah gave the large man a “see, I told you so” look, then gave Stern a grin. “Yes. We’ve had no troubles at all since we met you. This is Blake, the newest addition to my crew.”

 

Stern gave Blake a nod. “Irregular, not blighted.” The words were a little clipped, but not overly so. “Go into the dungeon here yet?”

 

“Yesterday,” Sarah said. She tapped her badge, which had all the tin dungeons on it. “Taking a few days before we run it again. How about you?”

 

“You heard about my crew?” Stern asked, a little puzzled on that point. He stopped beside their table, aware that the whole room was listening in.

 

“Word spreads,” Sarah barked a laugh. “Your crew— which is funnily named, by the way— has been making a name for itself. How many have you pulled out now?”

 

Stern paused, then shrugged. “Four in total, if you count Cyra. As a crew, three.”

 

A louder murmur went up at his words, and Sarah blinked at him.

 

“I heard you’d done it, but not the number. That’s… a lot of dungeon points.”

 

“Yes,” Stern agreed, “but that’s four Walkers who have a chance at life again.”

 

Sarah looked away. “I didn’t…” She sighed. “I understand what you’re saying. It’s just that the majority of us need those points for equipment.”

 

“I understand,” Stern said. “The last two we pulled were a single shard each. If we’d just done one, we still would have had plenty of points left for equipment. Sometimes, just bringing a single shard out can give a family hope that their loved one might come back to them.”

 

The room was quiet again, staring at him.

 

“I didn’t mean to stop you all from your discussions,” Stern said to the room. “I’ve just always felt strongly about doing what I could for those who’ve fallen. One day, it might be me fractured and waiting to be reborn. I hope that someone like me comes along, if that comes to pass. My crew is waiting for me to drop off the quest and get paid so we can relax from our time in the woods. Please excuse me.”

 

Sarah didn’t try to stop him, and the room started to slowly pick up again, as everyone had food for thought and debate now. The receptionist gave him a long look as he approached her desk.

 

“I have dark willow shoots to turn in,” Stern said, pulling the two sacks from his backpack.

 

The older woman set her tablet before Stern. “Place them on there, please.”

 

Stern set the sacks on the tablet one at a time.

 

She took the tablet and looked at it before nodding and taking the sacks, placing them into her void drawer. With them gone, she pulled two empty sacks and a pouch out. Taking a few minutes, she counted out the coins, then stacked them in front of Stern. “Payment.”

 

“Thank you,” Stern said. He pushed half of the money back to her and pocketed the rest. “Put that on my crew’s retrieval accounts, please.”

 

The woman nodded, putting the coins back into the pouch before dropping it into the void drawer. “Will there be anything else?”

 

“Not right now. Thank you, ma’am.”

 

“My pleasure, Walker. Will you be pulling shards out of the dungeon here?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Might I request a specific person?” the receptionist asked softly, her eyes meeting his.

 

“How many shards?” Stern asked.

 

“Two.”

 

“I would normally go for the longest waiting. Has this person been fractured long?”

 

“Two years.”

 

“Good enough,” Stern sighed. “Who?”

 

“A friend of mine,” the older woman said. “He’s a smith who wanted to get another perk. The whole crew was killed. They’ve been recovered, but he still languishes.”

 

“Name?” Stern asked, feeling the sadness radiating off her.

 

“Patrick Smithton.”

 

“It’ll be a couple of days, but we’ll make his shards our priority,” Stern told her.

 

She blinked at him. “I haven’t given you the quest yet or said anything about increasing the payment.”

 

“I’ll take the quest, and there was no need,” Stern said, holding his left hand out. “I’m ready.”

 

The room behind him grew louder as word of what was happening spread.

 

It took a few moments for her to give him the quest that he’d accepted. Once he felt the knowledge in his brain, he nodded. “Have a good night, ma’am. We’ll see you in a few days.”

 

“Thank you...” the older woman choked out. Her gratitude was a hammer to Stern’s mind.

 

“It’s the right thing to do,” Stern said softly. “What’s your name, ma’am?”

 

“Rebeka,” she sniffled.

 

“Give us two or three days, Rebeka,” Stern said. Without waiting for a reply, he spun on his heel and walked away.

 

The hall was buzzing as they all discussed what they’d just seen and heard.

 

Stern rolled his shoulders as he entered the River Rest inn. Like the Walkers’ hall, it was busy, but far from packed. Conversation dimmed when he entered, but then picked up again. Stern was about to ask the innkeeper which room his crew had when Cammie came downstairs.

 

“Stern, fourth floor, second to last on the right,” Cammie said.

 

Stern saw the clean clothing in her hand and nodded. “No back stairs?”

 

“Nope,” Cammie said, “but more bathing rooms, so it’s a decent trade. See you later.”

 

Stern went for the stairs, ignoring the emotions and words from the patrons of the inn. He was glad it wasn’t all negative, but it was still intense.

 

“We’re in the second to last room on the right,” Cyra said when she saw him come up the stairs.

 

“Cammie told me,” Stern smiled at her. “I’ll be along shortly.”

 

“We’ll have the bath ready,” Trish said, coming out of the suite. “I made sure that we have the largest bathing room.”

 

“All the more reason to hurry,” Stern grinned.

 

“I’d hope so,” Trish winked. “See you soon, lover.”

 

Cyra giggled as she headed downstairs.

 

Stern went into the suite and had a moment of confusion, as there was no sign of who’d picked what room. Vulk came out of one of them with his clothing in hand. “Which rooms are taken?” Stern asked him.

 

Vulk pointed at two others. “You’re in that one,” he said, pointing to one he’d already pointed to. “The other is my sister’s.”

 

“Well, tonight, I’m in the empty one,” Stern chuckled as he went that way. “See you soon.”

 

“Stern?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Why?”

 

Stern paused a few feet from the empty room. “Kind of want to work on the friendship we’ve been building. I won’t get fall-down drunk, but I did want to hang out for a bit.”

 

“Okay. See you.”

 

Stern heard him walk out of the suite, and he exhaled. “It’s the truth,” he murmured after looking back to make sure he was alone. “It’s just not the full truth...”

 

Shaking his head, he went to drop off his stuff and get clean clothes.